Caesar’s favourite herb was the Viagra of ancient Rome. Until climate change killed it off

James Tapper - 
The Guardian


Of all the mysteries of ancient Rome, silphium is among the most intriguing. Romans loved the herb as much as we love chocolate. They used silphium as perfume, as medicine, as an aphrodisiac and turned it into a condiment, called laser, that they poured on to almost every dish. It was so valuable that Julius Caesar stashed more than half a tonne in his treasury.

Yet it became extinct less than a century later, by the time of Nero, and for nearly 2,000 years people have puzzled over the cause.

Researchers now believe it was the first victim of man-made climate change – and warn that we should heed the lesson of silphium or risk losing plants that are the basis of many modern flavours.

Paul Pollaro and Paul Robertson of the University of New Hampshire say their research, published in Frontiers in Conservation Science, shows that urban growth and accompanying deforestation changed the local microclimate where silphium grew.

“You’ll often see the narrative that it [became extinct] because of a mix of over-harvesting and also over-grazing – sheep were very fond of it and it made the meat more valuable,” Pollaro said. “Our argument is that regardless of how much was harvested, if the climate was changing, silphium was going to go extinct anyway.”


A coin from Cyrene shows the herb silphium on one side. Photograph: Alamy

Silphium is believed to be a species of Ferula whose modern counterparts include fennel and asafoetida, a spice often used in Indian cooking. It was a bush that grew wild only in a strip of land 30 miles wide and 125 miles long in Cyrenaica, in what is now Libya.

The ancient Greeks, who colonised the north African territory in about 630BC, tried and failed for centuries to cultivate silphium. “They talked about the frustrations of trying to transplant it – ‘why doesn’t this stupid silphium plant grow’,” Robertson said. “It had these micro-climactic requirements and they couldn’t figure it out.”

Administrators in Cyrene ordered limits on how much silphium could be harvested, and fenced off areas where it grew, Pollaro said. “There’s evidence that they knew it was declining and they tried to preserve the plant. But all of these tactics were ultimately irrelevant, because they had changed the microclimate.”

Silphium grew along the drier, sea-facing side of Libya’s Jebel al-Akhdar plateau, a fertile, forested region. After harvesting, it was exported to Rome and beyond.

“It’s hard to overstate how important silphium was because the Romans in particular were absolutely obsessed with it,” Pollaro said. “They minted coins in ancient Libya that had silphium on the front of the coin and the god or the emperor’s face on the back.”

Herodotus, Theophrastus and Pliny the Elder wrote extensively about the plant and laser. Pliny extolled it as a cure for dog bites, snake venom and haemorrhoids. It could be used as a contraceptive and the plant itself was a prized vegetable.


Children walk at Apollonia near the ancient Greek and Roman city of Cyrene, in Libya. Apollonia served as a port for the export of silphium.

 Photograph: Amr Dalsh/Reuters

Exports brought wealth, which meant expansion. The Greeks and the Romans, who took control of Cyrenaica about 90BC, cut down forests on the plateau to build bigger and better houses and to clear land for crops for the growing population.

Deforestation changed rainfall patterns, causing greater erosion on the hillsides where silphium grew, which Pollaro said was confirmed by excavations at Haua Fteah cave near Benghazi. Silphium’s microclimate was ruined and it disappeared quite rapidly.

“In a way, silphium’s value was the cause of its own decline,” Pollaro said. “Without silphium, Cyrene’s economy wouldn’t have grown so much.”

Modern climate change is having a similar impact. Asafoetida, a sap extracted from a herb that grows wild in parts of Afghanistan and neighbouring countries, is widely used in India. But its footprint is shrinking due to changes in the local climate.

Professor Monique Simmonds of Kew Gardens said coffee, carrots and rice were similarly at risk. “We rely on between 10 and 12 species for most of our food,” she said. Kew was collecting seeds of wild species for its millennium seed bank and this diversity was crucial, since modern varieties might prove vulnerable to changes in climate in ways that could not be foreseen.

“If we don’t do the research and collection of wild species, we won’t have the reserves of genetic material in banks to do crosses in the future,” Simmonds added.

Lawmakers battle over Commerce tariff probe into solar panel parts

Zack Budryk - Yesterday 10:44 a.m.
The Hill


Lawmakers are battling over a Commerce Department investigation into solar panel imports that could lead to heavy tariffs on Chinese imports that are critical to the solar panel industry.

The issue is not a partisan one: Democrats and Republicans stand on both sides of the issue, with one bipartisan group arguing the investigation itself and the tariffs that could eventually come would devastate the solar sector.

In an interview with The Hill, Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) said that both the investigation and the tariffs themselves are “causing massive disruption” in the solar industry, particularly Nevada, which has the most per capita solar jobs of any state.

“We are only able to supply about 15 percent domestically of the demand for solar panels. So we don’t have the capacity here right now to fulfill all the orders there are and even finish the projects that are already bid out,” Rosen said

Other Republicans and Democrats say Commerce was right to launch the investigation to protect U.S. jobs and prevent Chinese companies from circumventing existing laws meant to prevent the dumping of cheap products.

“A strong commitment to American manufacturing must be paired with proper trade enforcement so that investments in American production, workers, and innovation are not undermined by unfair trade practices,” Sens. Sherrod Brown (D) and Rob Portman (R) wrote in a letter to Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo in March asking that the petition for the investigation be accepted.

Brown and Portman framed the investigation in terms of American jobs at stake, writing, “if legitimate circumvention allegations go unaddressed, entire domestic industries and thousands of American manufacturing jobs are at risk.”

Commerce accepted the petition from Auxin Solar, a San Jose, Calif.-based solar company, in March. It is investigating whether several solar panel part companies in Southeast Asia are using those companies as fronts to circumvent U.S. tariffs in place on Chinese companies.

The department had previously rejected a similar petition from the trade group American Solar Manufacturers Against Chinese Circumvention.

Rosen has been joined by a group that includes Sens. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Tom Carper (D-Del.), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.) and Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) in opposing the probe.

There have been no findings yet, but the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), a trade group that represents solar power companies throughout the supply chain, has warned that the mere existence of the investigation could have profound negative consequences for the industry. In April, the group cut its projections of U.S. solar installation by 46 percent.

“While our hope and our expectation is that there will be a negative determination [and] there will not be tariffs imposed on panels … this action by the federal government has evidence of real policy uncertainty in the United States,” SEIA President Abigail Ross Hopper told The Hill.

Auxin, founded in 2008, claims it produces about 150 megawatts of solar panels per year, a minuscule amount compared to the Chinese companies whose exports provide most U.S. solar power. Those firms have capacity of 5 to 50 gigawatts.

Critics of the SEIA trade group say it includes as members several Chinese firms that are already subject to tariffs for breaking U.S. laws. Those companies are now being accused by Auxin of circumventing those tariffs by producing panels in other countries in Southeast Asia.

“If you take a close look at SEIA and [the American Clean Power Association], they have Chinese companies as members and they’re funded by them,” said Nick Iacovella of the bipartisan trade reform organization the Coalition for a Prosperous America.

These members include U.S. subsidiaries of Chinese companies Jinko Solar, JA Solar and Trina Solar, as well as Hanwha Q Cells, which is headquartered in Korea but bases its manufacturing in China.

“SEIA is working night and day to discredit and undermine this investigation, because the Commerce Department is looking at their companies, their members,” Iacovella said. “I don’t know how much more clear-cut it gets. Everybody should be questioning their motives here.”

Lawmakers in both parties have also accused the companies in question of profiting from forced labor of Uyghur ethnic minorities in Xinjiang, China. Sens. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) noted in a March 2021 letter that Jinko and JA have “publicly indicated that they source polysilicon,” a major component in solar panel manufacturing, from Xinjiang. Iacovella is a former Rubio staffer.

Dan Whitten, SEIA’s vice president of public affairs, disputed the characterization in an email to The Hill.

“The allegations of Chinese influence on SEIA are absurd and patently false. Out of SEIA’s 60 board companies, all have U.S. operations and one company has a headquarters in China. Like every board member, they have one vote.”

“SEIA represents the American solar and storage industries and American workers, full stop. Those who suggest otherwise are being fundamentally dishonest and acting in bad faith,” he said.

Auxin said the arguments the industry would be put in peril if tariffs were imposed on the imports in question are overstated.

“SEIA has always claimed that tariffs would undermine solar deployment. That has never come to pass,” Auxin CEO Mamun Rashid said in a statement to The Hill. “Solar deployment and domestic solar manufacturing has increased to historical highs with lawful duties in place.”

Rosen has co-sponsored a bill with Moran to repeal the Section 201 tariffs affecting solar panel component imports.

The Trump-era tariffs apply to imported solar cells and modules, and have long been vocally opposed by SEIA but backed by domestic solar panel manufacturers like Auxin. In February, President Biden extended the tariffs a further four years but eased their terms to exempt bifacial panels, a type of panel typically used by larger-scale developers. SEIA said at the time that it was “disappointed” with the extension but backed the exemption as a “balanced solution.”

Rosen portrayed the investigation as potentially risky to a broader agenda of rapid deployment of renewable energy in the U.S.

“We do need a green energy future. We do want a sustainable, cleaner way to produce energy. Solar is one of those ways, and we can do that every state in the country, but we have to have the right kinds of policies that allow us to continue to build what’s already on the books, and then incentivize American manufacturing to do what we need to do to continue to achieve our clean energy goals and minus and reduce energy costs,” she said.

'The broads came out!': Celebrating LGBTQ history of Broad Cove, N.L.

 The Canadian Press

ST. JOHN'S, N.L. — An event planned this summer in a small Newfoundland town aims to unite the province's LGTBQ diaspora and celebrate the lesbian history of the aptly named community of Broad Cove.

"Come Home Queer" is a play on the province's Come Home Year tourism theme, which invites Newfoundland and Labrador expats to return to the province for a visit this summer. The event, running July 15-17, is set to take place in Broad Cove, N.L., where about 30 lesbians — most of them friends from St. John's — have been settling or summering for the past three decades.

Organizer Gerry Rogers has planned a performance by Kellie Loder, readings by authors like Eva Crocker, and storytelling events about the province's LGTBQ history, including the story of Broad Cove, located about 100 kilometres west of St. John's.

"It's busting myths, you know? Rural Newfoundland and Labrador is not backwards," said Rogers who, after 30 years of visiting the town, is now building a house there to retire in. "There are lots of people here now who have children or grandchildren or relatives or friends, people in their own community who are queer. And there is acceptance."

"The broads came out!" she added.

In a province known for its uniquely named communities, Wanda Crocker says it was purely coincidence that lesbians settled in a town whose name — broad — is an old-fashioned and sometimes derogatory term for a woman. Crocker is said to be the first one to arrive — she bought a home there with her partner in 1989, and they began inviting friends out to stay with them, Rogers included.

Their guests would pitch tents in the yard and spend the weekend, drawing curious stares from residents, Crocker said in a recent interview. "They'd be stopping on the road and they have their binoculars out … we would just tell them that this is the Holy Heart reunion," she said, referring to the Holy Heart of Mary high school in St. John's, which used to be an all-girls institution.

She laughs when she imagines what they must have thought: "Like, my God, they were a poor-looking crowd, that class … they all had short hair and glasses!"

It didn't take people long to figure things out, she said. Nor did it take long for her friends to start buying their own oceanside houses in the town.

Broad Cove has since amalgamated with the neighbouring towns of Small Point, Blackhead and Adam's Cove, and roughly 385 people live in the area, according to Statistics Canada. The town sits along the northern shores of Conception Bay, on a peninsula home to places like Heart's Desire, Dildo and Red Head Cove.

In 1985, a Newfoundland town named Gayside voted to change its name to Baytona. Residents of the town, which is about 420 kilometres northwest of Broad Cove, said they were embarrassed by the name.

That kind of homophobia, however, isn't part of the story of Broad Cove, Rogers and Crocker said.

Of course some residents were uncomfortable at first with the town's growing LGTBQ population, they said. A knife-wielding man even came looking for Crocker one night, about five months after she bought her house, she recounted.

But key "transformational moments," as Crocker calls them, made them members of the community rather than outsiders.

The community stood behind Crocker when she charged the man who came at her, and he contacted her years later to apologize. The town hosted a Pride parade last year. Two members of Crocker's friend group were elected to the town council: Sue Rose is deputy mayor and Katherine Burgess is a councillor.

And then there was Beth Lacey and Pauline White's wedding in 2008, just three years after same-sex marriage was legalized in Canada.

Many in the town showed up for the ceremony, and even more hit the dance floor with the newlywed couple in their shed, Lacey said in a recent interview. It was a transformational moment.

"People came on their quads with packs of beer on the back; we had a DJ from the community and we had a grand time," Lacey said. "One of the heterosexual women from the community came over to me and she said, 'Can we have a dance? My husband doesn't like to dance.' It was just so inclusive."

They brought cards and gifts and food, and the owner of the local transport company hired to bring out the supplies waived her fee as a wedding present, Lacey said.

"And that's the way it's been here," Lacey added, noting that several artists and writers have since bought properties in the town and the surrounding area, too. "We were sort of the start of a boom on this shore."

Crocker said she hopes people from the town come out to this year's Come Home Queer celebrations, just like they did for Lacey's wedding.

"It's a long time coming, and it's a good time to celebrate," Crocker said. "Thirty years ago, I wouldn't have thought in a million years we'd be having a Holy Heart reunion … not undercover. There's no cover this time!"

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 15, 2022.

Sarah Smellie, The Canadian Press

Buddhist chaplains on the rise in US, offering broad appeal

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Wedged into a recliner in the corner of her assisted living apartment in Portland, Skylar Freimann, who has a terminal heart condition and pulmonary illness, anxiously eyed her newly arrived hospital bed on a recent day and worried over how she would maintain independence as she further loses mobility.

There to guide her along the journey was the Rev. Jo Laurence, a hospice and palliative care chaplain. But rather than invoking God or a Christian prayer, she talked of meditation, chanting and other Eastern spiritual traditions: “The body can weigh us down sometimes,” she counseled. “Where is the divine or the sacred in your decline?”

An ordained Sufi minister and practicing Zen Buddhist who brings years of meditation practice and scriptural training to support end-of-life patients, Laurence is part of a burgeoning generation of Buddhist chaplains who are increasingly common in hospitals, hospices and prisons, where the need for their services rose dramatically during the pandemic.

In a profession long dominated in the U.S. by Christian clergy, Buddhists are leading an ever more diverse field that includes Muslim, Hindu, Wiccan and even secular humanist chaplains. Buddhist chaplains say they’re uniquely positioned for the times due to their ability to appeal to a broad cultural and religious spectrum, including the growing number of Americans — roughly one-third — who identify as nonreligious.

In response, study and training opportunities have been established or expanded in recent years. They include the Buddhist Ministry Initiative at Harvard Divinity School and the Buddhism track at Union Theological Seminary, an ecumenical Christian liberal seminary in New York City. Colorado’s Naropa University, a Buddhist-inspired liberal arts college, recently launched a low-residency hybrid degree chaplaincy program. Nonaccredited certifications such as those offered by the New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care or the Upaya Zen Center in Santa Fe, New Mexico, are also popular.

“The programs keep expanding, so it seems clear that there’s a growing demand from students. And the students appear to be finding jobs after graduation,” said Monica Sanford, assistant dean for Multireligious Ministry at Harvard Divinity School and an ordained Buddhist minister.

In the past, Buddhist chaplains were often hired by the likes of hospitals and police departments specifically to minister to Asian immigrant communities. During World War II, they served Japanese American soldiers in the military. Today, however, they are more mainstream.

In a first-of-its-kind report published this month, Sanford and a colleague identified 425 chaplains in the United States, Canada and Mexico representing all major branches of Buddhism, though the researchers say there are likely many more. More than 40% work in health care, the Mapping Buddhist Chaplains in North America report found, while others serve in schools, in prisons or as self-employed counselors.

Two-thirds of respondents reported holding a Master of Divinity, another graduate degree or a chaplaincy certificate. Most of those working as staff chaplains also completed clinical pastoral education internships and residencies in health care and other settings.

Maitripa College, a Tibetan Buddhist college also in Portland, has seen increased interest in its Master of Divinity track since its launch 10 years ago, said Leigh Miller, director of academic and public programs. It appeals to a broad range, from older Buddhists with 20 years of practice to new college graduates who just started meditating, from spiritual seekers to people with multiple religious belongings.

Hospitals and other institutions are eager to hire Buddhist chaplains, Miller said, in part to boost staff diversity and also because they are adept at relating to others using inclusive, neutral language.

“Buddhist chaplains are in the habit of speaking in more universal terms, focusing on compassion, being grounded, feeling at peace,” she said. “A lot of Christian chaplains fall back on God language, leading prayers or reading Bible scriptures.”

Meanwhile, training in mindfulness and meditation, as well as beliefs regarding the nature of self, reality and the impermanence of suffering, give Buddhists unique tools to confront pain and death.

“The fruit of those hours on the (meditation) cushion really shows up in the ability to be present, to drop one’s own personal agenda and to have a kind of awareness of self and other that allows for an interdependent relationship to arise,” Miller said.

Buddhist chaplaincy also faces challenges, including how to become more accessible to Buddhists of color. The Mapping Buddhist Chaplains in North America report found that most professional Buddhist chaplains today are white and have a Christian family background, even though nearly two-thirds of the faith’s followers in the U.S. are Asian American, according to the Pew Research Center.

Traditional Buddhist communities tend to be small and run by volunteers so they often lack the resources to offer endorsements to chaplains — a necessary step for board certification, which is often required for employment.

And non-Christian chaplains can struggle with feelings of isolation and a need to code-switch in Christian-founded health care institutions where crosses hang on walls, prayers are offered at staff meetings and Jesus and the Bible are regularly invoked.

Providence Health & Services, a Catholic nonprofit based in Washington state that runs hospitals in seven Western states, is one Christian health care system seeking to change that.

Mark Thomas, a chief mission officer in Oregon, said the system employs 10 Buddhist chaplains not despite but precisely because of its Catholic identity. The aim is to ensure patients get good spiritual care however it best suits them.

“Many patients resonate with some aspect or even just a perception of Buddhism,” said Thomas, citing practices like meditation and breathing that can help them cope with suffering. “These tools have been enormously valuable.”

Laurence, the hospice chaplain at Portland’s Providence Home and Community Services, grew up in London and felt called to Buddhism after witnessing poverty, violence and racism as a caregiver in Mississippi.

She said that as more people become unchurched, many patients don’t have a language for their spirituality or it’s tied up with religious trauma. Laurence supports them in whatever way they need, be it through Christian prayer, the comfort of a cool washcloth on a forehead or a Buddhist-inspired blessing.

“For some people the language of Buddhism is a respite,” she said. “It doesn’t have the baggage, and it feels so soothing to them.”

Freimann, her patient, said she has practiced Eastern spiritual traditions and therefore was delighted to receive Laurence.

“I don’t think of God the way traditionally religious people do,” Freimann told her during the visit. “What a joy you’re here. … It would be so much harder to talk with a Christian chaplain.”

___

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

Gosia Wozniacka, The Associated Press

Support for abortion rights hits new high in NBC News poll

Rachel Scully - 
The Hill


More than 60 percent of Americans oppose the prospect of the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade as support for abortion rights reaches a new record high, according to a new NBC News poll.

The new poll released Sunday was conducted after the Supreme Court’s leaked draft opinion indicated that a majority of justices would support abolishing the constitutional right to abortion. The poll found that 63 percent of respondents said they oppose overturning the 1973 landmark decision.

While the percentage of respondents who oppose overturning Roe v. Wade has remained relatively the same over the years, it reached the highest amount of opposition in 2018, when 71 percent said they opposed overturning the decision.

In general, 60 percent of those polled said abortion should be legal. More specifically, 37 percent said it should always be legal, and 23 percent said it should be legal most of the time. In contrast, 32 percent said abortion should be illegal with exceptions, and 5 percent said it should have no exceptions.

In comparison, a combined 45 percent of respondents in the April 2013 poll said that abortion should be legal. The support later jumped to 55 percent in March 2018.

The latest results show the highest percentage of support for abortion since NBC began asking the question in 2003.

Across party lines, 84 percent of Democrats and 63 percent of independents said abortion should be legal, while only 33 percent of Republicans said the same.

Additionally, 52 percent of registered voters said they are less likely to vote for a candidate who supports overturning Roe v. Wade, while 26 percent said they are more likely to vote for one.

NBC’s poll was conducted on 1,000 adults from May 5 to May 7 and May 9 to May 10. It has a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points. The draft opinion leaked on May 2.spondents who oppose overturning Roe v. Wade has remained relatively the same over the years, it reached the highest amount of opposition in 2018, when 71 percent said they opposed overturning the decision.

In general, 60 percent of those polled said abortion should be legal. More specifically, 37 percent said it should always be legal, and 23 percent said it should be legal most of the time. In contrast, 32 percent said abortion should be illegal with exceptions, and 5 percent said it should have no exceptions.

In comparison, a combined 45 percent of respondents in the April 2013 poll said that abortion should be legal. The support later jumped to 55 percent in March 2018.

The latest results show the highest percentage of support for abortion since NBC began asking the question in 2003.

Across party lines, 84 percent of Democrats and 63 percent of independents said abortion should be legal, while only 33 percent of Republicans said the same.

Additionally, 52 percent of registered voters said they are less likely to vote for a candidate who supports overturning Roe v. Wade, while 26 percent said they are more likely to vote for one.

NBC’s poll was conducted on 1,000 adults from May 5 to May 7 and May 9 to May 10. It has a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points. The draft opinion leaked on May 2.

'Protect kids not guns': Bucks guard Pat Connaughton sports message following Friday night's shootings

Drake Bentley, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel - 

Milwaukee Bucks guard Pat Connaughton was seen wearing a message of activism while boarding the team plane headed to Boston for Game 7 of the team's Eastern Conference semifinal playoff series with the Celtics.


Connaughton had the message "PROTECT KIDS NOT GUNS" on his shirt.

The statement comes one day removed from a night of gun violence in downtown Milwaukee.

Police said at least 21 people were wounded Friday night downtown — including 17 shot in one incident — following three shootings in the downtown bar district after Game 6.

A 16-year-old girl and two men, ages 29 and 26, were shot near the corner of North King Drive and Highland Avenue. A 19-year-old man was arrested.

Then about 10:30 p.m., a 20-year-old man was shot and injured on Water Street near Highland Avenue.

The first two shootings do not appear to be connected to the third shooting, which injured 17 people, and also occurred near Water Street and Highland Avenue.

The victims ranged in age from 15 to 47. In total, 11 people, ranging in age from 19 to 30, were arrested and 10 guns were recovered.

Everyone shot downtown Friday night is expected to survive.

More: Here's what we know about the shootings near the Deer District, Water Street in Milwaukee last night

At least 11,000 people gathered in the Deer District and many were seen scrambling following reports of shots fired. Crowds also spilled over onto King Drive and Water Street.

The Bucks issued a statement following the shootings saying "the incident took place outside of the Deer District area."

Following Friday night's events, Mayor Cavalier Johnson responded by imposing an 11 p.m. curfew for all people under 21 in the downtown bar district for Saturday and Sunday.

Shortly thereafter, the Bucks sent a news release announcing that the Sunday watch party for Game 7 in the Deer District had been canceled "to allow law enforcement to devote needed resources to the continued investigation of last night’s events."

Connaughton also wore the shirt in 2020 during the NBA's first action since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, while in the NBA "bubble" in Orlando, Florida.

1 of 8 Photos in Gallery©Mike De Sisti / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
MSOE Public Safely officers remove debris from the scene near the corner of North Water Street and East Juneau Avenue in Milwaukee on Saturday, May 14, 2022 where seventeen people, ranging in age from 15 to 47, were shot and injured late Friday in Milwaukee's downtown bar district after the Milwaukee Bucks playoff game.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: 'Protect kids not guns': Bucks guard Pat Connaughton sports message following Friday night's shootings

Nova Scotia Labour Department investigating worker death at Michelin tire plant

HALIFAX — Nova Scotia’s Department of Labour says it is investigating a workplace death at a Michelin tire plant.

The department issued a brief statement saying a worker died Wednesday at Michelin’s plant in Waterville, N.S.

It says a stop work order issued for the equipment involved in the incident continues.

The department says it can’t release further details about the incident because its investigation is active.

The company was not immediately available for comment on Sunday.

In addition to its plant in Waterville, Michelin also operates plants in Bridgewater, N.S., and Granton, N.S.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 15, 2022.

CFL teams start cancelling training camp workouts after contract talks break off

TORONTO — Three CFL teams formally cancelled the start of training camp workouts Sunday after the league and its players union were unable to reach a deal on a new collective bargaining agreement.

The Montreal Alouettes, Hamilton Tiger-Cats and Toronto Argonauts formally cancelled practices Sunday, which was scheduled to be the opening day of training camp for CFL teams. More are expected to follow suit.

The CFL and CFL Players' Association broke off negotiations on a new collective bargaining agreement Saturday.

The last agreement, reached in 2019 and amended last year to allow the league to stage a 14-game campaign, expired at midnight Saturday.

The union directed players from seven of the CFL's nine teams to participate in a work stoppage beginning at 12:01 a.m. ET.

Players with the Edmonton Elks and Calgary Stampeders will report to their respective camps as they'll be in a legal strike position later this month, as per provincial labour laws.

The lone previous CFL strike came in 1974. The labour situation was resolved before the start of the season that year.

It's unclear when the CFL and CFLPA will resume negotiations.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 15, 2022.

NO CAMPING?: With CFLPA turning down CFL offer, Redblacks players told not to report Sunday

Tim Baines, Postmedia - Yesterday

Uh oh, buckle up as the CFL and its players association are taking us on what could be a bumpy ride.


© Provided by Ottawa SunOttawa Redblacks rookie camp, Wednesday at TD Place in Ottawa. Zack Pelehos (52) during camp, May 11, 2022.

Training camps were supposed to open across the league Sunday. But after talks on a new collective bargaining agreement collapsed Saturday afternoon, players from seven CFL teams, including the Redblacks, have been told to stay away from the field. The CBA that had been in place expired at midnight.

A proposal by the CFL was turned down by the CFLPA Saturday afternoon, leaving what happens next in doubt. The CFL’s offer was shared to fans and players by commissioner Randy Ambrosie. Among the highlights: Partially guaranteed contracts when re-signing veterans, increases to the league’s minimum salary (to $70,000 in 2023 and $75,000 in 2027), each roster would have a minimum of at least six Canadian players (a seventh could be either a Canadian or a nationalized American – a non-quarterback who has been in the league for at least four years or has played with the same team for three years), a starting Canadian QB would count as a national, plus 25 per cent of revenue growth to be added to the salary cap in 2023

The CFLPA bargaining committee has directed its members from seven of the league’s nine teams (B.C., Saskatchewan, Winnipeg, Hamilton, Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal) to participate in a work stoppage immediately – effective Sunday. Members under contract to clubs in Alberta (Calgary and Edmonton) will join the work stoppage as soon as provincial labour laws allow.

The Redblacks had planned to have morning practices through the week, leading to a fan fest next Saturday (May 21), from 10:15 a.m.-12:15 p.m. But what happens next … who knows? The CFL will have to show a willingness to bend on some deal-breaking issues, including the number of padded practices.

If the league and its players can put aside their differences and find common ground, the Redblacks will be looking to put two disastrous seasons behind them. With three wins and 15 losses in 2019 and three wins and 11 losses in 2021 sandwiching a lost COVID season, it’s hard to imagine there’s anywhere to go but up. How do you get people to stop talking about being a bad football team? It’s simple. Win football games.

“I try not to look too far into the past — whether it’s a winning season or a losing season,” said Paul LaPolice, going into his second season as Redblacks head coach/offensive co-ordinator. “I’m just excited to be doing football again. The past is the past. The best part of our business is every year is a brand new year. We’re all undefeated — we haven’t lost a game and we haven’t won a game yet, either.”

“What happened here last year was a lot of players got opportunities when maybe they didn’t know the league as well or maybe weren’t quite as ready,” said Redblacks general manager Shawn Burke. “I’m definitely excited to see some of the guys coming to their second training camp. The expectations will be raised for them, they’re not rookies anymore.”


© Tony Caldwell

Ottawa Redblacks rookie camp began Wednesday at TD Place in Ottawa. Keaton Bruggeling during camp.

Training camp is a coming together of old and new faces, trying to get them working together. It’ll certainly be much different than camp of a year ago, which was delayed into July.

“The biggest difference is obviously COVID protocols and everything,” said LaPolice. “The coaches were quarantined for seven days and we weren’t able to see them until the day before camp. Being able to have the time with the coaches has obviously been a welcome change.”

As for out with the old and in with the new, LaPolice said: “There are possibly 28 new guys here who have some CFL experience. We talked about in our staff meeting that one of the most important things we have to do get these guys to understand what we want and what we think wins football games in the Canadian Football League. We have to get this group to grow together, where they want to be together and don’t want to leave the building. We have to start building those relationships as soon as possible. We want to create an environment where these guys come together as a team as quickly as possible.”


© Tony Caldwell

Ottawa. Redblacks head coach Paul LaPolice at Ottawa Redblacks rookie camp at TD Place in Ottawa, May 11, 2022.

The highest-profile free agent brought in was quarterback Jeremiah Masoli, the East Division’s Most Outstanding Player in 2018. With some injuries sprinkled in, he struggled at times with consistency and hasn’t reached that level of play since. But, with significant signings on the offensive line and at receiver by the Redblacks, this could be a springboard for the 33-year-old quarterback.

“We know Jeremiah has talent, we know he has tools,” said LaPolice. “We’ve added things he’d been successful with in Hamilton to our system. Now we have to figure out what he does best — within his stuff and our stuff. I’ve got a note on my board: ‘How quickly can we get Jeremiah Masoli to take control of our offence?’ Everybody has said so many great things about the guy, how great he is as a teammate, how hard-working he is. We’ve had great conversations. He comes as advertised.”

One thing that should elevate the quality of the team is a much higher level of competition — there will be a sense of urgency with guys pushing each other for roster spots.

“Competition will always elevate everyone,” said Burke. “It’s one of the first words I brought up with Coach LaPolice. Constant competition at training camp and practice elevates you — you’re more ready to play on game day. The guys that want to be great pros, it’s my belief they’ll embrace that competition and they’ll buy in. That’ll make everybody better collectively. It’s something we focused on during free agency. We also have some good younger guys coming in to push those veterans. It’s supposed to be about the younger guys trying to take those veteran jobs and the veteran players saying, ‘Young guy, you’re not quite ready to take my job yet.’ ”

After pre-season games against Toronto May 27 (at home) and in Montreal June 3, the Redblacks will open their regular season with two games that are about as tough as it gets — against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, the two-time defending Grey Cup champs. They’re in Winnipeg June 10 and the teams will play at TD Place June 17.

“They threw us into the fire right away,” said LaPolice. “We’ll be ready to play, we’ll have a game plan.

CFL, CFLPA talks on new agreement break off

OUR BALLS ARE BIGGER THAN THE NFL

The Canadian Press

TORONTO — The CFL and CFL Players' Association broke off negotiations on a new collective bargaining agreement Saturday.

The move comes after the two sides met for roughly 16 hours into the night Friday, then returned to the bargaining table Saturday morning. The current agreement, reached in 2019 and amended last year to allow the league to stage a 14-game campaign, is slated to expire at 12 a.m. ET on Sunday.

It’s unclear when the two sides will meet again. Training camps are scheduled to open Sunday but the union has directed players from seven of of the CFL's nine teams to participate in a work stoppage beginning at 12:01 a.m. ET on Sunday.

Edmonton Elks and Calgary Stampeders players will report to camp but will join the work stoppage once provincial labour laws allow. And while the union says Montreal Alouettes players won’t report Sunday, there's confusion regarding whether Quebec labour laws would put them in a legal strike position.

In a letter to CFL players that was posted on the league's website, commissioner Randy Ambrosie outlined the offer that was tabled to the union Saturday. He said the deal, which covers seven years, boosts total player compensation "by more than $24 million over the term of the agreement – plus an opportunity to share in revenue increases as we successfully work together to grow the league."

He added it "protects jobs for Canadian players, the bedrock of the CFL. It offers partially guaranteed contracts, for the first time in our league’s history. It recognizes the contribution of veteran Americans, with a new opportunity to extend their careers with their team, without restricting free agency in any way."

Other details of the offer include:

_ Two increases in the league’s minimum salary, which was $65,000 last season.

_ $18.9 million in total guaranteed increases to the salary cap league-wide.

_ $5.94 million in guaranteed compensation paid for community outreach and promotional appearances league-wide.

_ An opportunity for 25 per cent of all revenue growth over an agreed upon threshold to be added to the salary cap starting in 2023.

_ Clubs can re-sign their veterans to partially guaranteed contracts, a first for the CFL.

_ A club can choose one American player (non-quarterback), who has been in the league for at least four years or played with the same team for at least three years, who would be considered a Nationalized American.

_ The Nationalized American would count as a National on the roster, joining 20 or 21 Canadians who also count as Nationals on the roster.

_ Each roster would have a minimum of seven National starters. This would include at least six Canadian players. The seventh starter could be either the Nationalized American or an additional Canadian.

_ The roster would also include three quarterbacks of any nationality, 19 Americans and up to two Global players.

_ A starting Canadian quarterback would count as a National (Canadian).

_ These roster changes would kick in as of 2023.

_ The minimum salary would increase to $70,000 in 2023 and $75,000 in 2027.

_ An updated code of conduct that applies to all members of the CFL community, including fans, instead of just players.

_ A CFLPA seat on the board of CFL ventures, the commercial arm of the league to allow for all to work on marketing the CFL and building its business.

"It's designed to build a true partnership with you, our talented, hard-working, community minded CFL players," Ambrosie wrote. "This is a win-win offer.

"It creates a stronger partnership, so we can work together to further improve our game and build our business. And it comes at a critical time. Our league, our clubs, and especially our players have been through so much during the pandemic. We turned the corner in 2021, working together to get back on the field. Now we have an opportunity to accelerate towards a brighter future.

"Let’s seize that opportunity, together."

In a memo to players, the union said that the league was trying to undermine the CFLPA bargaining committee.

"You have or will receive an email from your Club outlining the League's spin on the breakdown of bargaining," the memo read. "We had tabled a counter offer to the League's 'take it or leave it offer' this afternoon. Instead of using the time to consider our counter proposals the league, instead, took the time to craft the communication you just received.

"When we returned to the bargaining table the league informed us they are walking away from the bargaining table and that they would be communicating directly to you. This is an aggressive and crass effort to try to undermine your Players’ Association Bargaining Committee."

The memo also mentioned that the CFL purposefully walked away from the bargaining table to "try to interfere in our internal structure."

Despite their issues with the league's messaging, the union appears ready to resume negotiations.

"We expressed our regret at the league’s decision and told them we are ready to return to the table whenever they are prepared to negotiate in good faith."

Former Montreal Alouette Marc-Olivier Brouillette took to social media to support the players and union.

"Stay strong and united," he tweeted. "You're worth a lot more than you think. @CFLPA"

The league and union resumed negotiations last Wednesday, six days after the CFLPA rejected the CFL's first proposal.

The lone previous CFL strike came in 1974. The labour situation was resolved before the start of the season that year.

The 2022 regular season is scheduled to begin June 9.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 14, 2022.

Dan Ralph, The Canadian Press

Sirota: Biden administration’s reported $10B deal with Amazon ‘shrouded in secrecy’

Caitlin McLean - Saturday
 Provided by The Hill



David Sirota, founder of The Lever news outlet, said he believes a reported $10 billion deal between the Biden administration and Amazon is hidden in “secrecy.”

In late April, the news outlet Nextgov reported that the National Security Agency had re-awarded Amazon a contract for cloud-computing services.

“NSA recently awarded a contract to Amazon Web Services that delivers cloud computing services to support the agency’s mission,” an NSA official told Nextgov.

Sirota expressed concerns with the reported contract.

“We don’t actually know the details of this contract. It’s shrouded in secrecy, there’s a national security exemption for the details of the contract, but we know it’s a cloud computing contract,” Sirota said while appearing on Hill.TV’s “Rising.”

“There is a privacy question about what the NSA needs with a $10 billion build out of cloud computing. The mind can run wild about what that’s all about in terms of surveillance and data collection,” he added.

Sirota said the size of the contract is “huge.”

“There’s very few details about what that contract is and I think that people need to understand how big the contract is. Federal contracts go out all the time in the millions of dollars even hundred of millions of dollars. A $10 billion federal contract, even at the federal government level, that is a huge contract,” Sirota said.

Sirota said the size of the contract can provide some answers to as why the Biden administration awarded it.

“Whatever they are actually building out with that, whatever the NSA is doing with it, you can rest assured that it is a big thing,” he added.

GUESS HE CAN'T USE THE BOYS BATHROOM

Métis youth swimmer becomes 1st transgender male to compete in Manitoba

Renée Lilley - 
cbc.ca

Kahnay Johnson is breaking barriers in the Manitoba swim world by being the first transgender male to compete in the province.


© Colleen Johnson

Kahnay Johnson became the first transgender male to compete at a Manitoba swim meet last week.

On May 7, the 15-year-old Métis swimmer and member of the St. James Seals Swim Club officially competed in the male category in the Bison Sprint Invitational Meet hosted by the University of Manitoba Bisons swim team in Winnipeg.

"It was really cool, it was a little scary, but I think everything's a little scary [the] first time around," he said.

Kahnay ended up with some career-best swim times in the 50-metre freestyle, backstroke and breaststroke categories. He said he's glad to be an example for others in the sport.

"I think being able to swim as my authentic self is really good, and I really appreciate the fact that I'm able to," he said.

Kahnay said Swim Manitoba contacted him to see if he was interested in switching to the male swim category. He then re-registered as male, after five years of competing as female. Though he wasn't able to keep his previous swim times, he said he's still grateful for the opportunity, and the chance to inspire others.

"I hope that it becomes a more easily accessible thing for people to do when they switch over, when they come out, so everyone can feel that sense of support," he said.

One of Kahnay's biggest supporters is his mom, Colleen Johnson.

She said since Kahnay came out as transgender last year, it's been a different journey, especially with sports being divided into two genders.


"That made it a real challenge while Kahnay was trying to figure himself out," said Colleen.

"It made it uncomfortable, especially when it came to change rooms, and where do you fit in."
Providing a 'middle lane'

She said that since a lot of facilities in the city don't have gender-neutral change rooms, that may deter LGBTQ youth from participating in sports.

"Hopefully what Kahnay has done is going to bring some more awareness, and perhaps they can look at enhancing that experience, especially for kids that are struggling," she said.

Colleen said she hopes sports can accommodate more mixed-gender co-ed teams. She said kids just want to fit in.

"It would be nice to give them that middle lane where they can figure it out, feel comfortable while they're figuring it out, until they decide where their authentic self is."

Colleen said she's "super proud" of Kahnay.

"He has been courageous through all of this," she said.

"Kahnay has taught me so much that I never really knew and understood, so he's been a great teacher. [It's] amazing for me to continue to grow through his eyes, so that's been awesome."

Josh Koldon, head coach of the St. James Seals, has been Kahnay's swim coach for a year, but knew him from the pool before his transition.

He said he hopes Kahnay continues to swim.

"Sports tend to get named as a boys club or a girls club … it's really important to show that inclusiveness and make people comfortable in their own skin and allow them to compete however they wish," said Koldon.

"Watching him come back after the pandemic and post-transition, he's definitely been a lot happier. He enjoys the water a lot more."