Hactivist group Anonymous says it has brought down several Russian government websites

Hacking group Anonymous said it has launched full-scale cyberattacks on Russian and Belarusian government websites.

“Anonymous has ongoing operations to keep .ru government websites offline, and to push information to the Russian people so they can be free of Putin’s state censorship machine,” @YourAnonNews tweeted. “We also have ongoing operations to keep the Ukrainian people online as best we can.”

  

LATERAL TRANSFER

'Attempt to interfere:' Former Alberta justice minister officially removed from post

"I would be surprised if, with a finding like this, any other cabinet minister in Canada would be kept in cabinet.”

Fri., February 25, 2022



EDMONTON — Suspended Alberta justice minister Kaycee Madu was moved to another cabinet post Friday following a report that concluded he tried to interfere in the administration of justice over a traffic ticket.

Premier Jason Kenney, in a news release, announced that Madu takes over as labour minister from Tyler Shandro, and Shandro becomes the new justice minister.

“Given (the report’s) findings, and the unique role of the office of the minister of justice and solicitor general, I have concluded that it would be appropriate for minister Madu to step aside from that position,” Kenney wrote.

The report was requested by Kenney and carried out by retired Court of Queen's Bench justice Adele Kent.

Her report concluded that Madu tried to interfere in the administration of justice, but was unsuccessful.

Madu was given the ticket on March 10, 2021.

He was pulled over by Edmonton police and charged with distracted driving for looking at his cellphone behind the wheel.

Madu, who is a lawyer, has acknowledged that he called Edmonton police Chief Dale McFee shortly after getting the ticket, but said it was not to get it overturned.

He said he wanted to be assured that he was not being singled out for enforcement because he is Black or a cabinet minister.

Madu later paid the $300 ticket.

He could not be immediately reached for comment Friday.

The story came to light last month in media reports. Kenney said at the time that he had no prior knowledge of Madu’s call to the police chief, and he suspended Madu from his justice duties pending Kent’s report.

Kent, in the report, said that regardless of Madu’s motives, the expectations are clear for those who wield power and influence.

“Did Minister Madu attempt to interfere with the administration of justice? He did,” wrote Kent.

“In Canada, the rule of law is the foundation for how society operates,” she added. “Canadians understand that principle to mean that everyone is treated the same.

“In the case of a traffic stop, there is a process to deal with traffic tickets and with any concerns about police behaviour. Phoning the chief of police directly is not an option nor is it appropriate.”

Opposition NDP Leader Rachel Notley said seeking to interfere with justice must be a firing offence for a cabinet minister.

“For Jason Kenney to allow (Madu) to stroll down the hall into another ministry and continue to sit as part of the province’s executive council is unforgivable," said Notley.

“This is utter contempt for the rule of law.”

Political scientist Lori Williams called the report striking.

"(Kent) concluded that there's a reasonable perception that Mr. Madu interfered with the administration of justice, which one would think would be grounds for removing him from cabinet.

"I would be surprised if, with a finding like this, any other cabinet minister in Canada would be kept in cabinet.”

Williams, with Mount Royal University in Calgary, added, “This wasn't the only choice available to the premier.

"It's hard to imagine this could look much worse."

Kent interviewed McFee, Madu and the officer who issued the ticket.

The officer said in the report that he was conducting speed and traffic enforcement in an unmarked vehicle when Madu drove by in a blue Ford F150 pickup truck. Madu was within the speed limit, but had one hand on the wheel and was staring at a cellphone with the other.

The officer pulled Madu over. He said Madu insisted he wasn’t on his phone and was “moderately argumentative."

“(Madu) then asked whether the constable knew who he was,” wrote Kent.

“He said he was the minister of justice three or four times during the discussion at the window.”

The officer added that Madu told him “he could not be guilty because he is the minister of justice and would not break the law.”

Madu said he mentioned his justice title once and it was after the ticket was issued.

The report said that within the hour Madu was on the phone to McFee, who was on vacation, to ascertain if he was being singled out because of his race or job title.

McFee said Madu wasn’t being racially profiled, and Kent said she found no evidence to prove otherwise.

All agreed that Madu never asked for the ticket to be cancelled or not issued.

Shandro becomes Alberta’s fourth justice minister in the three years since the United Conservative Party was elected. Sonya Savage, who took over for Madu while he was suspended, continues as energy minister.

Shandro, also a lawyer, faces an upcoming Law Society of Alberta hearing to determine if he breached code of conduct rules.

It's alleged Shandro went to the home of a member of the public and behaved inappropriately, that he used his position as minister of health to obtain personal cellphone numbers, and that he responded to an email from a member of the public by threatening to refer that person to the authorities.

— With files from Alanna Smith in Calgary

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 25, 2022.

Dean Bennett, The Canadian Press

Kenney defends Madu's cabinet appointment despite findings in report on phone call over traffic ticket

Lauren Boothby 

Alberta Premier Jason Kenney on Saturday defended appointing Kaycee Madu to a new cabinet position despite an investigation and controversy over his phone call to Edmonton’s police chief over a traffic ticket.

© Greg Southam/Postmedia Premier Jason Kenney with then Justice Minister Kaycee Madu.

Retired Court of Queen’s Bench justice Adèle Kent’s report, released Friday, states Madu tried to interfere with the administration of justice but was not successful when he was justice minister.

“The very fact that the purpose of the call was to obtain assurance that the police were acting properly rather than going through appropriate channels is an attempt to interfere with the administration of justice.” Kent also wrote that Madu’s actions created a reasonable perception that he interfered in the administration of justice.

Madu was appointed minister of labour and immigration on Friday.

Kenney, when asked Saturday if it’s acceptable for a cabinet minister to interfere in this way, denied the report concluded that interference occurred.

“The report from former justice Kent concluded that minister Madu did not interfere in the administration of justice but it did conclude that a reasonable person could have the perception of interference,” Kenney said at an unrelated news conference on Saturday.

His comment drew a reaction from the Opposition NDP, who accused the premier in a Saturday news release of “shamelessly” lying to Albertans.

“Albertans can’t trust the UCP because Jason Kenney lies about everything,” Irfan Sabir, NDP critic for justice, said.

“It is also a grave insult to the integrity of justice Kent for the premier to mislead Albertans about the contents of her report.”

Sabir said Madu abused his office and should be fired.

“It’s completely unacceptable that this kind of egregious behaviour brings absolutely no consequences in the UCP,” he said. “Kenney must eject Madu from cabinet and apologize to justice Kent for his dishonesty.”

Madu was removed from his duties as justice minister and solicitor general following media reports that he called Edmonton’s police chief after receiving a distracted driving ticket. The government then launched an independent investigation led by Kent.

Kenney said his takeaway from Kent’s report is that Madu didn’t call McFee to get a reversal on a ticket but to speak about issues of racial profiling.

However, the premier acknowledged Madu’s actions were improper.

“There is a particularly unique role of the minister of justice and solicitor general, and minister Madu ought not to have made the call. This was not the appropriate way to raise those concerns, and that is why I asked him to take on new responsibilities,” he said. “I believe Kaycee will do a fantastic job as minister of labour and immigration.”

Former health minister Tyler Shandro was moved from being minister of labour and immigration to become minister of justice and solicitor general last Friday. The Law Society of Alberta is preparing to hold a hearing into Shandro’s conduct as health minister following three complaints that he broke the society’s code of conduct.

– With files from Lisa Johnson

lboothby@postmedia.com

PEI
Art collectors look to shed light on forgotten Island artists

Sat., February 26, 2022

Restful Cove, the first painting Island artist Henry Purdy sold, led Joe Martell and Rick Smith to start their collection. (Submitted by Rick Smith - image credit)

Joe Martell says he and his partner, Rick Smith, have always been collectors of something.

But it wasn't until the last few years during the pandemic that they started to get serious about it.

It all started when they stumbled onto Restful Cove, a painting by renowned P.E.I. artist Henry Purdy. It depicts Herring Cove, a fishing village in Purdy's native Nova Scotia.

"The lady that was offering it for sale was from New Jersey," Martell said. "Her claim on the painting was that it was the first painting that Henry Purdy had ever sold as a professional artist.

"After it got here in the mail, Henry Purdy himself confirmed it for us that the story behind the painting was … true, that it was the first painting he ever sold back in 1958."

Once they got that one, Martell said, they thought, "Well, maybe there's other paintings that are out there that we could bring back to P.E.I. as well.'"

Martell and Smith have now collected about a hundred paintings, the majority done by artists from P.E.I. They are one of the few but dedicated collectors who specialize in Island art.

"The number of art collectors on the Island … I think is fairly small," said Aubrey Bell, co-owner of Gallery 18, which sells fine art, antiques and other items related to P.E.I. "But the ones who are collecting are quite avid."

Submitted by Rick Smith

Bell, whose gallery has carried works by some of the biggest names in Island art history — including some from 19th-century portraitist Robert Harris — said only a few P.E.I. artists are prominent enough for most people to consider their works "collectible."

"Often people collect art because they know the artist, or they knew the artist, or they know something about the artist," he said. "Some of our best clients for some artists tend to be descendants of the artist."

Pastoral scenes

Martell and Smith have lived in Charlottetown for 30 years. Both of their families come from P.E.I.

Martell said their goal for the collection is to have a broad representation of artists, living or dead, who are also from the Island.

The collection features a wide range of paintings produced at different times and in various styles which change according to the art movements that were then in vogue.

Submitted by Rick Smith

A common theme are landscapes and seascapes, which are always in high demand, according to Bell.

Martell said the paintings normally cost $2,000, though he said on incredibly rare occasions some could be "found for $10 online somewhere."

He said some of the paintings they've collected were done by artists whose names were all but forgotten, even on P.E.I.

"A lot of the pieces that we have come across have no information about the artist at all," Martell said. "You'd have a signature on the front. Maybe on the back, you'd have their name written on it and possibly an address. But that's it."

A spotlight on forgotten artists

Martell and Smith have been compiling biographical information for some of the artists in their collection, combing through old newspapers, gallery websites, collector sites and auction listings.

"It's nice that when you're viewing a painting there's also something that you can read to give you a little bit of history about the artist as well," Martell said.

"Rick [collects] all of those tidbits of information, then I do my best to assemble this into some sort of legible narrative that will give the reader a glimpse into the life of the artist."

Recently, they've started to post some of their findings on social media.

"Quite often we'll get a message from somebody who has a painting, and they admit they knew nothing about the artist until they saw one of Rick's posts online, and they're thrilled to learn about the artist," Martell said. "Others are just genuinely appreciative of the efforts, you know? 'Hey, great story. Yeah, never knew that.'"

Bell said such efforts can expand the public's appreciation for the artists and may give them the confidence they need to acquire some of the paintings themselves.

Submitted by Rick Smith

"We need more of this kind of thing. It's very important [for] people who may not have had an education in art," he said.

For Martell and Smith, it's all about putting a spotlight on some artists who most people wouldn't know.

"The more we dig into this, the more we realize how much artistic talent has been nurtured in this province in its history," Martell said.

"We could be talking thousands of Islanders over the last 100 or 150 years, and a lot of that talent is easily forgotten with the passing of time."

B.C.'s toxic drug crisis has changed a lot since 2017 — but the B.C. NDP's policies have not, say advocates

Sun., February 27, 2022

Advocacy group Moms Stop the Harm walks down Hastings Street in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside to mark five years of B.C.'s overdose crisis in 2021. Critics say the B.C. NDP's approach to toxic drugs hasn't changed in five years. 

(Ben Nelms/CBC - image credit)

Advocates say the lack of progress on a safe supply of drugs in B.C. — and a fixation on treating addiction instead — is in keeping with the B.C, NDP's approach since they came into power in 2017, and hindering any efforts to stop the deaths.

The province makes no mention of safe supply in its 2022/23 budget, focusing only on the ruling NDP's expansion of addiction treatment in response to the toxic drug crisis that claimed thousands of lives last year.

"Our government is tackling [the poisoned drug crisis] head on with the largest investment in mental health and addictions services in B.C.'s history," said Finance Minister Selina Robinson in her budget presentation on Tuesday.

She also said the province has applied for a federal exemption to decriminalize possession of drugs, which has not yet been granted, and invested in providing safe supply to deal with B.C.'s death toll from the toxic drug supply, which has been the worst in the country.

Illicit drug toxicity deaths by year in British Columbia

The main plank of the province's approach continues to be addiction treatment however, with Robinson touting "hundreds" of new beds being built province-wide for those experiencing drug addiction.

Mark Tyndall, professor at the University of British Columbia and founder of safe supply advocacy project MySafeSociety, says the policies enacted by the NDP in the last five years have done little to curb overdose deaths.

"We're in a totally different situation where people are buying drugs that are very toxic and unpredictable and killing them," he told CBC News.

"Waiting until the NDP government, or any government, builds a functional addiction system is way too little, way too late for most people."

Karen Ward, drug policy advisor with the City of Vancouver, says the province's current safe supply program does not reach enough people, and that proposed decriminalization will not come fast enough for those currently at risk of overdose.

"We must replace the supply entirely because it's not going to get better on its own," she said.

"If we're going to condemn people in the future to this, to thousands of deaths a year, because we don't want to change the policy, we don't want to actually try."

Continuity in policy since 2017

Tuesday's budget includes $10 million of funding across three years for the Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions, headed by Sheila Malcolmson, to build more complex care housing for those experiencing drug addiction.

The incremental funding approach is remarkably similar to programs announced in years past, including by Judy Darcy, Malcolmson's predecessor and B.C.'s first addictions minister.

But to date, no major funding has ever been devoted to regulating or safely supplying the vast majority of illicit drugs in B.C. Instead, many small-scale safe supply programs are often funded by the federal government.

Rate of overdose deaths per 100,000 in 2020

B.C.'s chief coroner has also said that most people who die of an overdose in the province are actually not addicted at all.

"The government is not responding to what the community's asking for or what a lot of public health people are asking for," Tyndall said.

"The playbook they're using is the same old playbook — that we need to try and get people off drugs."

Michael McArthur/CBC

Toxic drug supply worsening

Ever since a public health emergency was declared in 2016 due to a spike in fentanyl-related overdoses, the death toll from poisoned drugs has reached new heights.

Nearly 9,000 people have died of an overdose since, with more than 2,000 in 2021 alone.

The trajectory of the crisis has not been uniform; after two years of increasing deaths as a potent fentanyl supply flooded the illicit market, there was a slight dip in deaths in 2019, something Ward attributes to a more predictable supply of drugs by that point.

But after the first outbreak of COVID-19 in March 2020, and subsequent lockdowns, deaths immediately started to spike.

"The restrictions meant that people ... weren't able to get together so people [weren't] able to watch each other and take care of each other," Ward said.

Border restrictions also meant illicit drug manufacturers started to produce drugs domestically and "amateurishly," said Ward, meaning supply quickly became toxic as more adulterants were added.

Data shows that benzodiazepines, which can be dangerous if mixed with opioids like fentanyl, was detected in more drug samples across B.C. at the start of the pandemic.

Percentage of benzodiazepines detected in tested drugs

"The advice that [the government] is getting … it might as well be from, like, 2015, for goodness sakes," Ward said.

"They're not recognizing that they live in history, that we all live in history, and this is evolving … an evolving emergency is not getting better. It's just getting different."

N.W.T. MLA calls on government to establish regional addiction treatment centres

Sun., February 27, 2022, 

Hay River South MLA Rocky Simpson in the legislature in the fall of 2021. Simpson pushed the territorial health minister on committing to establish northern addiction treatment centres in regional communities. (Travis Burke/CBC - image credit)

A Hay River MLA is calling on the territorial government to establish permanent addiction treatment centres in the N.W.T. after two residents died from what was believed to be tainted drugs.

Rocky Simpson, MLA for Hay River South, said Indigenous people across the territory are in support of creating regional addiction treatment centres with cultural programing.

There are currently no permanent addiction treatment centres in the N.W.T., meaning residents are forced to travel south for help.

Simpson said there are often long wait lists for southern treatment centres, and by the time the client is accepted, it can be too late.

Northern centre with cultural programing

Jane Weyallon Armstrong, MLA for Monfwi, echoed this point, stating the lack of Indigenous perspective in counselling can also be detrimental.

"We need addictions, recovery and mental health services that respond to our need as Tłı̨chǫ people," Weyallon Armstrong said.

Simpson called on the territorial government to partner with Indigenous governments, community governments, non-profit service providers, residents and "most importantly" those living with addictions.

"Family members seeking help for loved ones and hearing their pleas are difficult, but necessary if we want to address the issue and to effect change. We need to hear their stories and we must not judge as they come to seek our support," Simpson said.

He asked Julie Green, territorial health minister, if she would "commit to the establishment of treatment facilities starting in regional centres."

'We do not have any on the books at this time'

Mario De Ciccio/Radio-Canada

Green responded by saying the N.W.T. provides on-the-land funding so that communities can adapt the wellness treatment to the way that suits their community best. She said there are plans to build a wellness and recovery centre in Yellowknife in 2024, but no others are "on the books at this time."

Green said the current legislative assembly must determine whether building treatment centres to be a priority in order for plans to go ahead.

Green added, brick and mortar northern treatment centres might not be the solution.

"I also want to caution [Simpson] that having a northern treatment centre is no guarantee that there won't be wait lists," she said.

Green referenced the former Nats Ejee Keh Treatment Centre on K'atl'odeeche First Nation — the last treatment centre in the N.W.T. that closed in 2013. She said when operational, it was never more than a third full.

'They're still sober, they're doing well'

Anna Desmarais/CBC

However, David Poitras, chief of Salt River First Nation and a former cultural coordinator and counsellor at the Nats Ejee Keh Treatment Centre, said that wasn't the case when he worked there.

He said at one point the facility was actually over capacity and more importantly, Poitras said, the centre was successful.

"I'm in touch with many clients that went through that program when I was there. And they're still sober, they're doing well. Some of them 20 years, some of them more, some of them a little less. But it worked, I know it worked," he said.

Poitras said there is nothing wrong with southern treatment centres and said many have cultural programming in place, which is important for Indigenous clients from the North.

But added it's always better to have programs closer to home.

"What we need to develop is more of a support program for when they come home. I really believe being closer in the Northwest Territories is better than going south," he said.

Poitras said one the biggest benefits to a local treatment centre would be having resources available to people who do return from treatment down south.

"In all the years I worked in [the] addictions field ... I've learned that no matter which program a person goes to, they have nothing but good to say about it," he said.

"The problem is when they get home and the family doesn't change, the community hasn't changed, and they don't have the support that they had in the treatment centre."

Waacking on the world stage: Montreal dancer choreographs Olympic gold-medal routine

Sun., February 27, 2022

Waacking on the world stage: Montreal dancer choreographs Olympic gold-medal routine

Anxious and crying, Montreal dancer Axelle Munezero watched her TV intently as the French skating champions she had trained for a year competed at the Winter Olympics in Beijing.

To her relief, Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron not only topped the Olympic podium, they also set a world record in rhythm dance with a score of 90.83 using her choreography.

"I don't think I was ready for that," she told CBC Montreal's Daybreak.

"I was thinking 'Oh my God, we did it. We brought waacking to the Olympics.'"

Munezero initiated the dancers to waacking, an underground club dance popularized by Los Angeles' queer communities of colour in the 1970s.

She spent about six months teaching the skaters about the dance's history before she even started to choreograph their acclaimed performance. She made them dance in unconventional places, including hallways.

"We trained in parks, in the most strange settings, and we would freestyle and dance together and they came to see some waacking battles," Munezero said.

"I really approached it like I was training dancers that wanted to become waackers and do that as a living."

Moves from underground

Munezero said it was important for her to relay the history of the dance to the figure skaters before creating a choreography for them.

"I told them I wouldn't be comfortable just giving them movements," she said. "It can show in the movement if you know where it's coming from."

"If they knew the history, they could transmit that information and inspire younger people and inspire the community to feel that they're part of this as well."

Waacking is notable for its striking arm poses inspired by Hollywood silent films. It is intricately linked to dancers expressing their vulnerability and strength.

Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP/Getty Images

"The arm movement looks like you're fighting with your arms a little bit, but at the same time, [it's] very elegant and delicate," she said.

Martine Bruneau — who co-founded Canada's largest waacking event HOTMESS with Menezero — says she's proud of the visibility her colleague helped bring to the dance.

"The more visibility the dance has, the better," she said. "The movements that skaters do have always been an inspiration for waackers … so it's kind of a full circle seeing it back on the ice."

"Seeing it sprinkled in the Olympic choreography on a global stage is something that is amazing."

Papadakis and Cizeron's win allowed Munezero to live out her own figure-skating dream vicariously.

WATCH | Papadakis and Cizeron's record-beating win:

"It was a childhood dream that never happened," she said.

After emigrating to Canada at a young age, she fell in love with skating at Montreal public skating rinks.

"I would go there at night with my mom after work," she said. "We weren't a family that had enough money to put me in classes for that, but I really really loved it."

Since the victory, Munezero has continued travelling the world to perform, teach and "spread the love for waacking."

"Now, I'm at a place where I got to choreograph this," she said. "Everything is possible if you stay true to yourself …. The world will always see the good side of it."

For more stories about the experiences of Black Canadians — from anti-Black racism to success stories within the Black community — check out Being Black in Canada, a CBC project Black Canadians can be proud of. You can read more stories here.

These Ottawans became internet famous countering convoy protesters

Sun., February 27, 2022

On the left, a counter-protester bangs a pot and ladle in downtown Ottawa. 'Blue Jacket Man' is seen in the centre yelling at protesters to leave Ottawa. Zexi Li, who is leading a class-action lawsuit against protesters, is seen on the right. (Jorge Barrera/CBC/TikTok - image credit)

Some average Ottawans became internet sensations during the so-called Freedom Convoy protests over the past month as they expressed their frustrations toward protesters in their own, unique ways.

Since arriving at the end of January, truckers and protesters stayed for more than three weeks as protests evolved into an occupation of downtown Ottawa streets. Over the Family Day long weekend, police forces from across Canada helped Ottawa's force clear out remaining trucks and protesters.

Meanwhile, some small and big acts from counter-protesters — like blocking the path of a dump truck on a residential street or banging a pot in the face of protesters — has not gone unnoticed by fellow local residents.

While many have posted online about the group, calling them Ottawa's "Avengers," others have stepped up to recognize Centretown's popular counter-protesters in person.

"We would like to invite Blue Jacket guy, Balcony Man, Pot & Ladle man, 3 grannies and of course Zexi Li to dinner on us any time," North and Navy restaurant tweeted this week.

Co-owner Adam Vettorel wanted to reach out while his Centretown restaurant reopened after disruptions caused by the protest.

"It just put a smile on our face and made us laugh at a time when there wasn't a lot of that going around, and we just wanted to extend our thanks with the only way we know how," said Vettorel.

WATCH | Counter-protesters express their frustrations in unique ways:

Zexi Li

CBC

Zexi Li is the face of a class-action lawsuit against some protesters, which brought about an injunction prohibiting participants in the convoy protest from using vehicle horns in the vicinity of downtown Ottawa.

The 21-year-old resident decided to lead the suit after she and her neighbours were subjected to relentless honking, random fireworks and choking diesel fumes from trucks parked near their homes.

"I kind of intentionally put a target on my back, but really, I'm more than happy to do so if it means that I can make a difference for the community," Li told CBC News earlier this month.

The Cooper Street trio

Stu Mills/CBC

When a small convoy of vehicles led by a dump truck tried rolling down their downtown residential street, Marika Morris, Lise Lebeau and Andrea Colbert decided to stand on the road and block their path.

"We just decided we had enough, and we thought we'd make a statement," said Colbert earlier this month, as horns roared behind her.

"The only way to communicate with them was to stand in the middle of the road and make a thumbs down sign every time they honked," Morris said at the time.

Justin Tang/The Canadian Press

Last week, after all the trucks had left her neighbourhood, Colbert said "all I did was tell a truck to eff off."

"I think that's why it went viral. Because everyone wanted to do the same thing, and so we're happy to do it for you," she said.

Blue Jacket Man

TikTok

"Blue Jacket Man," as the internet calls him, took a slightly bigger risk than the Cooper Street ladies.

One evening he strode into the middle of a street full of big rigs to tell protesters they'd come to the wrong city.



My only regret about it ... I wish I had not dropped as many F-bombs. My mom wasn't really happy about that. - Paul Atkinson

"Go to talk to Doug Ford!" he yells in the video, using profanities. "Do you know anything about civics?"

Paul Atkinson told CBC he and a few neighbours decided to go out and stand up for residents after seeing a Tweet showing a counter-protester holding a sign that said: "We will not be held hostage in our own city."

CBC

"That's when the guy in the big rig got on their horn and whaled on it, for, it must have been two-three minutes," Atkinson explained in the moments leading up to his angry rant.

"I was able to channel my rage into a bit of a diatribe," Atkinson said.

"My only regret about it, and I only have one, was that I wish I had not dropped as many F-bombs. My mom wasn't really happy about that."

Pot and Ladle Man

Jorge Barrera/CBC

As honking trucks penetrated the downtown core, "Pot And Ladle Man" fought noise with some higher pitch noise.

In a video tweet captured by a CBC reporter, a man is seen banging on a pot in a street corner as what appears to be convoy protesters try and convince him to stop.

"I was walking to a pre-arranged meeting with a group of cross-border truckers on Lyon and Queen [streets] when I walked by this situation," said the CBC's Jorge Barrera.

"I could not get a word in on the individual banging the pot. He just kept banging."

The video Barrera posted of the pot-banging man "exploded" on social media, he added, with over one million views.

CBC has tried contacting the individual, but wasn't able to get an interview.

OTTAWA

Community hopes to create 'hate free zone' after convoy protest
Sun., February 27, 2022

Centretown resident Claire Hurtig speaks at a community rally in Minto Park on Feb. 26, 2022. Being Jewish, Hurtig said she didn't feel safe in Ottawa during the three-week occupation. (Alexander Behne/CBC - image credit)

Centretown resident Claire Hurtig still feels the after-effects of Ottawa's three-week occupation.

"That absence of feeling safe in my own neighborhood was just incredibly distressing," said Hurtig, one of a number of people who spoke Saturday at community rally and show of solidarity for downtown residents.

The Minto Park event was hosted by Community Solidarity Ottawa, a coalition of labour unions, community organizations and residents.

It allowed dozens of people to gather and check in on their neighbours, reconnect as a community and plan their next steps to stamp out hate in the city.

Alexander Behne/CBC

Hateful messaging was spotted amid the crowds during the now-dispersed convoy protest, including swastikas and other anti-Semitic imagery and at least one Confederate flag.

After receiving several reports of assaults and threats, Ottawa police set up a hate crime hotline to investigate crimes related to the demonstrations.

"Because of the hateful ideas, of the kind of racist imagery added to the slogans, it didn't feel safe to go outside," said Hurtig, who is Jewish.

Trucks also blasted their horns during the day and into the night, leaving some residents hearing non-existent honking one week after police finally cleared the protesters out of the downtown.

Rachelle Elsiufi/CBC

"Sometimes in the middle of the night, I hear a snowplow and I think they are back. It's a sort of deep-seated fear that is hard to shake off," said Keith, who showed up at the park Saturday proudly wearing a rainbow-coloured mask.

Keith said he didn't feel he could wear the mask when the convoy was in town.

CBC has agreed not to use his last name because of his concerns for his safety.

"The most frustrating part [was] I felt, for my own safety, that I had to not present as queer because there was the constant threat of violence."

He now volunteers with the group Safety Walks Ottawa, which was created in response to the convoy protest to provide people with walking partners.

People who attended Saturday's event were also able to pick up posters with the slogan "Hate Free Zone."

'The beginning of our organizing'

Hassan Husseini helped organize the rally, and he said he hopes the message of the nascent movement is clear.

"This is the beginning of our organizing against the extreme right, against the white supremacists in the city. We are not going to let it happen," he said.

The group is planning a march next Saturday.

US Postal reform bill and efforts to remove Postmaster DeJoy remain stalled

Jon King, Michigan Advance
February 25, 2022

Postmaster General Louis DeJoy (Photo: Screen capture)

Despite overwhelming passage in the U.S. House of Representatives, legislation that would overhaul the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) remains hung up on a technicality in the Senate.

Meanwhile, efforts also are stalled from progressives to remove Postmaster Louis DeJoy, a Trump appointee who purposely brought about changes that slowed mail service — including removing 671 sorting machines — prior to the 2020 election.

DeJoy is currently embroiled in a dispute over a $11.3 billion contract that would purchase 165,000 new trucks for USPS, 90% of which would be gas-powered, effectively ignoring one of President Biden’s first Executive Orders, which called for “clean and zero-emission vehicles for Federal, State, local, and Tribal government fleets, including vehicles of the United States Postal Service” no later than 2035.

The deal prompted the Environmental Protection Agency to issue a letter Feb. 2, saying that in addition to containing “serious deficiencies,” the environmental review process also “lacks disclosure of important underlying information,” and stated that the Postal Service “should not proceed to a decision” on the proposal.

But a year into the Biden administration, many Democrats and other progressives are loudly asking why DeJoy has not been forced out. U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) demanded DeJoy’s resignation in December, describing his tenure at USPS as “total failure of leadership,” while Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) has been calling for his outright firing since August 2020.

What is most puzzling to DeJoy’s detractors is that with the pending confirmation of two Biden appointees to the USPS Board of Governors, the administration will technically have the five votes that would be required to remove DeJoy. But so far, there has been no inclination by at least two of those appointees to take that action.

In fact, one of the new appointees, Derek Kan, is a Republican who formerly worked as a policy advisor for Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), as well as serving as a deputy director of the White House Office of Management and Budget in the Trump administration.

Another Biden appointee, USPS Gov. Amber McReynolds, was previously asked by MSNBC whether DeJoy should be fired but declined to answer that question. Instead, she indicated that there was “a lot of confusion” when DeJoy came on board as postmaster and was “disappointed in the communications that were coming out of the postal service.”

Another of DeJoy’s critics has been U.S. Sen. Gary Peters (D-Bloomfield Twp.), who in August 2020 as the ranking Democrat on the U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, said DeJoy owed Americans both an apology and an explanation for the delays.

With Democrats taking control of the Senate last year with the barest of majorities, Peters now chairs that committee. He put forward a reform bill in May 2021 that would create nearly $50 billion in savings for the USPS by eliminating a requirement that the Postal Service pre-fund retiree health benefits for all current and retired employees for 75 years in the future (a mandate no other government entity must comply with) while also requiring future Postal Service retirees to enroll in Medicare.

In addition, Peters’ bill would require the Postal Service to maintain delivery six days a week, as well as improve transparency with the publication of easily accessible local weekly service data on the Postal Service website.

“The legislation before us is an attempt to fix those rules that make it more difficult for the Postal Service to deliver essential services and do it in a cost effective way,” said Peters. “It is something that has been discussed here in Congress for a decade or more. A decade or more. This is not an issue that just came out of nowhere. This is something we’ve been trying to fix for nearly a decade. Over the last year and a half, we have been working on bipartisan, bicameral legislation bringing people together and saying let’s just focus on what is common sense.”

Despite assurances that the bill, which earlier this month passed the House 342-92, would get a vote last week from Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), it remains in limbo after Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) blocked it from proceeding due to a minor clerical error.

Scott said on the Senate floor that while he “absolutely supports getting something done to reform the postal service” he believes the bill as currently written “doesn’t fix the underlying issues” and wants the legislation to instead proceed through the Senate committee process.

In response, Peters said that despite broad bipartisan support for the bill, “a procedural blocking technique” was slowing down the effort and that “every day we wait, it puts the Postal Service in more jeopardy. It’s time for action now.”

He also noted that since 2000, there had been five similar clerical mistakes in the transfer of a bill and that in all five instances they were settled quickly, “because people say it’s just a mistake; let’s move on with the business of the people. Let’s not play games.”

Schumer said because of Scott’s objection, a lengthy procedural process will be needed to approve the bill and bring it up for a vote. While he still predicts it will pass, it can’t be taken up again until senators return from break on March 7.

Michigan Advance is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Michigan Advance maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Susan Demas for questions: info@michiganadvance.com. Follow Michigan Advance on Facebook and Twitter.

Qatar deploys ex-spies to blunt German’s World Cup criticism

By ALAN SUDERMAN and CIARÁN FAHEY

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FIFA Executive Committee member Theo Zwanziger from Germany speaks to journalists following the committee's meeting in Zurich, Switzerland, on March 21, 2013. Zwanziger was among his sport’s most prominent critics of the decision to award the 2022 World Cup to Qatar. “I could never understand this decision. It’s one of the biggest mistakes ever made in sport,” Zwanziger said in a 2013 interview.

 (Steffen Schmidt/Keystone via AP, File)

DIEZ, Germany (AP) — As head of the German soccer federation, Theo Zwanziger was among his sport’s most prominent critics of the decision to award the 2022 World Cup to Qatar. He publicly attacked the energy-rich Gulf nation’s human rights record. He questioned the wisdom of staging the world’s most popular sporting event in searing desert heat.

“The infinite wealth of this small country of Qatar spreads almost like a cancer through football and sport,” Zwanziger once said. A member of FIFA’s executive committee, he urged world soccer’s governing body to reverse its 2010 decision.

The Qatari government was so concerned by Zwanziger’s criticism that it took action. It paid more than $10 million to a company staffed by former CIA operatives for a multi-year covert influence operation codenamed “Project Riverbed,” according to internal company documents reviewed by The Associated Press.

The records indicate that the goal of the operation was to use spycraft to silence Zwanziger. It failed.

“It’s a very, very strange feeling when you’re involved in sport and committed to the values of sport, to be followed and influenced,” Zwanziger told the AP in an interview last week.

The Qatar World Cup, now scheduled to start in November, is the culmination of more than a dozen years of effort and untold billions spent to help propel the tiny desert nation onto the world stage.

The endeavor has long been dogged by allegations of corruption and wrongdoing. U.S. prosecutors said in 2020 that bribes were paid to FIFA executive committee members to gain their votes. Qatar has denied any wrongdoing.

Documents reviewed by AP provide new details about Qatar’s efforts to win and hold onto the tournament, specifically the country’s work with former CIA officer Kevin Chalker and company, Global Risk Advisors. The documents build on AP’s previous reporting about Chalker’s work for Qatar.

Qatari officials did not respond to requests for comment.

Chalker acknowledged in a statement that GRA did work on a Project Riverbed, but said it was only “a media monitoring project staffed by interns and supervised by one full-time employee, who were responsible for reading and summarizing news articles.”

“The AP’s reporting for this article is based on false information from unidentified sources,” Chalker’s statement said.

Chalker’s spokesman David Wells said he was not at liberty to say who the client was for Project Riverbed or provide other details, like how long it ran or the name of the employees who worked for on it. Chalker’s attorney, Brian Ascher, said Zwanziger was never the subject of a covert influence campaign by GRA.

The records reviewed by AP indicate otherwise.

“The primary objective of Project Riverbed was to neutralize the effectiveness of Theo Zwanziger’s criticism of the 2022 Qatar World Cup and his attempts to compel FIFA to take the World Cup from Qatar,” a GRA document reviewed by the AP said.

The AP reviewed hundreds of pages of documents from Chalker’s companies, including a final report, memos and budget documents. Multiple sources with authorized access provided the documents to the AP. The sources said they were troubled by Chalker’s work for Qatar and requested anonymity because they feared retaliation.

The AP took several steps to verify the documents’ authenticity. That includes confirming details of various documents with different sources, such as former Chalker associates, and examining electronic documents’ metadata, or digital history, where available, to confirm who made the documents and when.

The Riverbed documents highlight the muscular spying efforts that private contractors like Chalker can provide to wealthy countries like Qatar that lack a robust intelligence agency of their own. It’s a trend that has prompted some members of Congress to propose new controls on what kind of work U.S. intelligence officials can do post-retirement.

Elliott Broidy, a one-time fundraiser for former U.S. President Donald Trump, is suing Chalker and has accused him of mounting a widespread hacking and spying campaign at Qatar’s direction. Broidy has alleged in court filings that Chalker and GRA targeted Zwanziger with a covert influence campaign like the one described in the documents reviewed by the AP. Chalker’s legal team has argued the lawsuit is meritless, and a judge dismissed Broidy’s overall complaint, while leaving the door open for the case to continue.

Project Riverbed ran from January 2012 to mid-2014 and “successfully employed complex traditional intelligence tradecraft to target individuals within Zwanziger’s circle of influence and modify sentiment associated with the Qatar World Cup,” according to one document summarizing the Riverbed effort reviewed by the AP.

In reality, this amounted to creating an “influencer network” made up of people close to the German soccer official who would pass on views to him that were favorable toward Qatar hosting the World Cup. To do this, GRA would send a “source” or “throwaway” to speak to the influencers in a way they would not suspect was a concerted messaging campaign, according to internal documents.

“These various interactions lasted seconds, minutes, or hours,” the report said. “Regardless of the time invested, the interaction always portrayed a consistent message: the 2022 World Cup in Qatar was good for business, brought together the Middle East and the West, and was good for the world.”

GRA said in a report that there were “thousands” of these interactions with Zwanziger’s network, and that it employed a “multi-pronged approach” focused on four targets – FIFA and its associates, the German soccer federation and associates, the international football community and Zwanziger’s own family -- who would then unwittingly pass the pro-Qatar message on to Zwanziger.

“This is certainly something that goes well beyond any lobbying we expected,” Zwanziger’s attorney, Hans-Jörg Metz, told the AP.

Given his key role in soccer’s governing bodies, Zwanziger was a ripe target. A lawyer by trade, he was highly respected for leading reforms of the German soccer federation, one of the biggest sports associations in the world.

When it came to the subject of Qatar hosting the World Cup, he had strong opinions and did not hold back on sharing them, even going so far as to question morals of FIFA officials amid allegations of vote-buying and corruption.

“I could never understand this decision. It’s one of the biggest mistakes ever made in sport,” Zwanziger said in a 2013 interview.

Zwanziger was not the only high-level FIFA official that was the target of Qatar-funded spying.

Chalker also helped oversee spying on former FIFA executive committee member Amos Adamu during the 2010 World Cup in Johannesburg, according to new records reviewed by the AP. That effort involved using multiple surveillance teams to follow and secretly photograph Adamu and people he met with for several days, the new records show. The effort also included obtaining Adamu’s cell phone records and recruiting a hotel security guard and a local journalist as sources, the records show.

Adamu, who has twice been banned by FIFA for unethical conduct, declined to comment.

Chalker denied ever being involved in an effort to spy on Adamu.

For Project Riverbed, Chalker hired case officers and project managers in Germany and London, including some who had previously worked for the CIA, the documents show.

The GRA records are full of opaque, florid language seemingly plucked from the pages of a spy novel: GRA would set up “Cover for Action” entities that could be used by GRA staff to work undercover, as well as “White” and “Black” — official and non-official — offices to handle administrative tasks. Broidy has also alleged in his lawsuit that such efforts at subterfuge were used against Zwanziger.

GRA’s records said Project Riverbed was initially approved for a $27 million budget and that Qatar had been late with payments and did not provide all of the funds. The lack of money led to staff turnover and wasted expenditures, such as legal and administrative fees for setting up offices that were never used, the documents say.

Despite the fiscal constraints, GRA said Riverbed was a success.

The executive report said the project had “softened Zwanziger’s criticism” and altered the German lawyer’s “sentiment to a point where he is no longer a threat to Qatar’s retention of the 2022 World Cup.”

“Zwanziger now believes Qatar should retain the 2022 World Cup so that the international community will become more aware of migrant workers’ conditions in Qatar and push for extensive reform of Qatari human and workers’ rights,” GRA says in its executive summary.

The company was wrong.

“Riverbed came to the conclusion: we’ve now brought Zwanziger to our side. Inwardly, of course, I never was,” Zwanziger said in the interview with AP.

In a radio interview with a German station in June 2015 — a year after the supposed completion of “Project Riverbed” — Zwanziger repeated his claim that Qatar is “a cancer of world football.”

It prompted the Qatar Football Association to file a civil lawsuit against Zwanziger in a bid to stop him from making such comments in future. The case was dismissed by Düsseldorf’s regional court, which ruled Zwanziger was within his right to free speech.

Zwanziger had more legal difficulties later when he and members of the German 2006 World Cup organizing committee faced corruption probes in Frankfurt and Switzerland. Zwanziger denied any wrongdoing and in August 2019 accused Swiss prosecutors of deliberately misinterpreting evidence. The Swiss trial ended in April 2020 without a judgment.

Zwanziger said it’s vindicating to now learn that he was the target of a failed manipulation campaign.

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Suderman reported from Richmond, Virginia.