STAKEHOLDER CAPITALI$M

Indigenous communities to buy stake in seven Alberta Enbridge pipelines

Lisa Johnson - 

Greg Desjarlais, chief of Frog Lake First Nation (left) and Enbridge CEO Al Monaco at an announcement of a $1.12-billion Indigenous energy investment in northern Alberta Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022 in Edmonton.

Touted as the largest Indigenous energy partnership in North America to date, 23 communities are buying a minority stake in seven northern Alberta Enbridge pipelines for $1.12 billion.

With a news conference Wednesday, newly-created Athabasca Indigenous Investments, made up of 23 First Nation and Métis communities, announced the deal to buy an 11.57 per cent non-operating interest in the Enbridge-operated pipelines in the Athabasca region.

The pipelines covered by the deal include the Athabasca, Wood Buffalo/Athabasca Twin and associated tanks, the Norlite Diluent, the Waupisoo, the Wood Buffalo, the Woodland, and the Woodland extension. Colin Gruending, executive vice-president and president of liquids pipelines at Enbridge, said they collectively transport about 45 per cent of oilsands product.

Chief Greg Desjarlais of Frog Lake First Nation said the investment brings Indigenous communities who are impacted by development in the region an important seat at the table, and will allow them to improve their quality of life.

“This investment — it creates opportunities. It’s going to allow us to send our kids to school. It’s going to allow us to send more people to treatment. It’s going to allow us to deal with the mental (health) crisis that we have in our communities, the anxiety of the young people,” he said, adding the deal should be seen as a benchmark.

“I hope the industry and other levels of government are paying attention, because our people should not be living in poverty in the land of milk and honey.”
A deepening relationship

Al Monaco, president and CEO of Enbridge, said the company aims to become a partner with Indigenous communities in future renewable, renewables, carbon capture, hydrogen and natural gas projects.

“Really it’s the beginning of a partnership and a deepening of the relationship that I think is going to be absolutely vital to what we do in the future,” said Monaco, who added the deal would not have been possible without the work of the provincial government.


The Alberta Indigenous Opportunities Corporation (AIOC) backstopped the Athabasca Indigenous Investments deal to the tune of $250 million, with the rest of the investment raised through private investors. The Crown corporation was established by the UCP government in 2019, to extend loan guarantees and give advice to Indigenous groups to get involved in natural resource and other projects.

The latest project brings the total backing from AIOC to $410 million since 2020.

Premier Jason Kenney marked the announcement as one of the most exciting and consequential of his political career.

“(It’s) an historic, game-changing deal that shows the way to the future of shared prosperity,” he said, adding that pipelines will not get built without the full participation of Indigenous people, and the most effective way to ensure that participation is for them to be equal partners with an ownership stake.
Partnership is ‘precedent-setting’: crown corp

Stan Delorme, chairman of the Buffalo Lake Métis Settlement, said Enbridge has set the bar, and the partnership is a chance “to bring attention to the other industry players that are nickel-and-diming us currently.”

Justin Bourque, president of Athabasca Indigenous Investments, said it offers an important opportunity for all 23 communities involved to act as environmental stewards.

“This partnership in general provides a completely different form that we’ve never had in terms of engagement, in terms of discussion, in terms of being able to hold accountable,” he said.

AIOC chief executive officer Chana Martineau called the deal precedent-setting.

“These communities may not otherwise have been able to access the kind of capital required to facilitate equity share ownership in projects of this size and magnitude,” she said.

Enbridge and Athabasca Indigenous Investments said the assets are underpinned by long-term resources and long-term contracts, which provide “highly predictable cash flows.”

The deal is expected to close next month.

lijohnson@postmedia.com
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‘We want to be at the table’: Indigenous leaders call for more partnerships after Enbridge deal

Paula Tran - Yesterday 

Indigenous leaders across Alberta are calling for more partnerships with the provincial government after a "historic" economic development.


Derek Johnson, Supervisor/operator for Enbridge loads pipe at a storage facility just west of Morden, Man., Thursday, Aug. 16, 2018. A press conference and tour of a Line 3 site for federal, provincial, municipal and indigenous leaders was held at the site.

© THE CANADIAN PRESS/John Woods

Enbridge Inc. signed a deal to sell a minority stake in seven pipelines in the Athabasca region of northern Alberta to a group of 23 First Nation and Métis communities for $1.12 billion.

The deal is the largest energy-related Indigenous economic partnership transaction in North America to date, according to Enbridge.

Video: Enbridge sells minority stake in 7 Alberta pipelines to Indigenous communities

The pipelines included in the agreement are the Athabasca, Wood Buffalo/Athabasca Twin and associated tanks, Norlite Diluent, Waupisoo, Wood Buffalo, Woodland and the Woodland extension.

Read more:
Why Indigenous-led projects could be key to combating Canada’s energy dilemma

Athabasca Indigenous Investments (Aii), a limited partnership of 23 Treaty 6 and Treaty 8 First Nations and Métis communities, will manage the investment which includes an 11.57 per cent non-operating interest in the pipelines.

Aii said the deal is expected to bring in more than $10 million annually to the communities represented in the partnership.

Enbridge said the assets are underpinned by long-life resources and long-term contracts, which provide highly predictable cash flows.

In March 2022, 16 Indigenous communities along the Coastal GasLink pipeline route signed option agreements for an equity stake in the project.

The deal is expected to close within the next month.

Video: Indigenous monitors track TMX pipeline progress through B.C.

Frog Lake First Nation Chief Greg Desjarlais said the deal marks a new path because it will create opportunities to improve the well-being of Indigenous peoples across the province.

"First Nations weren't the problem. We are part of the solution in this country," Desjarlais said at a news conference on Wednesday.

"This investment creates opportunities. It's going to allow us to send our kids to school. It's going to allow us to send our people to treatment. It's going to allow us to deal with the mental health crisis in our communities.

"Our people should not live in poverty on the land of milk and honey. Our milk has gone sour somewhere. We need to get back to working together."

Read more:
Indigenous monitors join province in tracking Trans Mountain pipeline progress

Desjarlais urged the Alberta government to continue inviting First Nation and Métis peoples to have a seat at the decision-making table.

These decisions will affect the generations to come, he said.

"I support economic sovereignty. I also live off the land... We always had an economy, but somewhere down the line we were excluded," the First Nation chief said.

"Today, the investment means we have an important seat at the table, and that seat cannot be ignored or overlooked... As the chief of Frog Lake, I have to have the foresight like many of our leaders do to look beyond the generations that are yet to come.

"This is what the Elders prophesized. We must work together and we must care for one another."

Read more:
Indigenous non-profit group seeks ownership stake in Trans Mountain Pipeline

Stan Delorme, chairperson of the Buffalo Lake Métis Settlement, said the funding from the deal is necessary but more needs to be done.

"Hopefully other industries are paying attention at this point in time," Delorme said.

"This is not only a historical day but also a beneficial deal... The funding is needed. Like any other community, the needs are there."

Video: Landlocked: Canada’s Energy Dilemma

Enbridge deal a major steps toward reconciliation: Alberta government

The Alberta government said the deal is a major step toward reconciliation with First Nations and Métis settlements.

According to Premier Jason Kenney, the "game-changing" deal makes the Alberta government a partner in Indigenous prosperity.

"This moves the talk of reconciliation to the real progress of reconciliaction," Kenney said at a news conference on Wednesday.

"This is the single largest Indigenous transaction in the natural resource center in the history of North America."

Video: B.C. First Nations urge Canada to cease pipeline construction

Chana Martineau, chief executive officer of the Alberta Indigenous Opportunities Corp. (AIOC), said the deal benefits all Albertans, not just Indigenous peoples.

The AIOC, a provincial crown corporation, said it provided a loan guarantee that enabled the communities to borrow the $250 million for their equity stake in the assets instead of contributing their own capital.

"The AIOC has continuously championed Indigenous prosperity and the impacts that these kinds of projects can bring to industry partners, Indigenous communities and Métis settlements across the province," Martineau said.

Enbridge chief executive officer Al Monaco said the partnership exemplifies how Enbridge and Indigenous communities can work together.

"We're actually doing something to ensure that we foster reconciliation in this country... If we can get this right going forward, then we have a lifetime of opportunity here," Monaco said.

--With files from The Canadian Press.

RIGHT WING & PROCAPITALISM

Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets are damaging to First Nations, says Merasty

The head of an Indigenous organization that advocates for sustainable and responsible resource development is pushing for “meaningful talks” to happen with Indigenous communities on how to move forward on a 42 per cent greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction target set by the federal government for 2030.

Robert Merasty, executive director of the Indigenous Resource Network, calls that target a “political statement.”

“That’s what I disagree with: Political people making their own statements without consulting with … rights holders... In our Indigenous communities, we are rights holders. We have, absolutely, certain rights that are identified within the Constitution of Canada. You need to have meaningful talks,” said Merasty.

“It’s really (been) an issue of government dictating what must be done instead of sitting and discussing and asking what should be done. That’s the fundamental approach here.”

Federal Environment and Climate Change Minister Stephen Guilbeault says consultations have happened and he continues to speak with Indigenous communities and leaders.

In June 2021 the Canadian Net-Zero Emissions Accountability Act was passed, committing Canada to achieving net zero emissions by 2050.

The Emissions Reduction Plan, published this past March, states 30,000 Canadians had input, including Indigenous peoples. It sets out a 42 per cent emissions cap on the oil and gas sector by 2030 as one of the tools to hit the zero emissions mark by 2050.

“We did consult in preparing this plan,” said Guilbeault. “It’s not something that we did on our own in Ottawa. There was a lot of consultation. I’m hearing from some Indigenous representatives that there are too much consultations that we’re doing right now on environmental issues or climate change.”

What that plan doesn’t take into account, says Merasty, is the impact such measures will have on the quality of life of Indigenous communities that have finally been able to raise the capital needed in order to partner in oil and gas development.

“Nobody supports the protection, the stewardship of our Mother Earth more than our Indigenous communities…that’s paramount. But we also have to address the dilemma of how we address the poverty,” said Merasty.

Energy projects, such as Coastal GasLink, which will deliver natural gas from the Dawson Creek area to a facility near Kitimat and has considerable Indigenous buy-in (although there are Indigenous communities that oppose the project as well), have the ability to provide Indigenous communities with tens of billions of dollars that can be used to improve their quality of life, says Merasty, and move them away from dependence on federal funding.

“So let’s sit down and talk about what’s digestible in terms of addressing our climate change. Let’s sit down and talk about how do we do it together. Because in the midst of an energy crisis that Canada is having, we can’t simply shut off our energy productions and (be) purchasing our energy from other countries. That does not make economic sense,” Merasty said.

Merasty doesn’t stand alone with his concerns about how climate change measures could impact Indigenous communities economically.

The First Nations Financial Management Board (FMB) has raised concerns over the mandatory guidelines set by the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) for how companies on the stock market will be required to disclose their GHG emissions.

“GHG reporting will likely have a negative effect directly and indirectly on the Indigenous economy, but, at the same time, it will not include reporting on the value of Indigenous stewardship of traditional territories or “natural capital.” The value of this stewardship is far in excess of GHG emission reporting penalties and additional costs that Indigenous businesses, individuals and governments may face,” wrote the FMB in a February letter to the CSA.

The FMB works with First Nations to help them establish strong financial practises and secure loans.

FMB also raised concerns that GHG reporting may have an impact on Indigenous communities and businesses that operate in remote parts of Canada if they were required to report GHG. FMB notes that these communities and businesses rely heavily on GHG-intensive electricity and transportation.

ANNOTATED

Opinion: How to get conservatives on board with environmental issues
Jerome Gessaroli 

A pedestrian walks past pro Canadian oil signs in the window of the O'Canada Gear store, 9859 76 Ave., in Edmonton Tuesday Dec. 31, 2019. The Canadian federal carbon tax takes effect across the country January 1, 2020. Photo by David Bloom© Provided by Edmonton Journal

Polls show that conservative Canadians are less inclined than progressive Canadians to prioritize environmental issues. That is unfortunate, as climate policies will only succeed if all major constituents throughout the country see them as valuable. It is not that conservatives don’t care; rather, they are opposed to how environmental policy is discussed and constructed .

Left and left-leaning progressives have dominated the environmental movement and shaped policies based on centralized big government and regulatory top-down principles. They have also inserted other social justice issues into the environmental movement, using such terms such as “climate justice” and “environmental racism.” Reflexively, conservatives will recoil at this approach.

Engaging and encouraging conservatives to support action on the environment and climate change is possible by creating policies that respect important conservative values. Such values include taking personal responsibility, protecting private property, and encouraging growth through competitive markets. It is quite possible to create effective environmental and climate policies around these values. NO IT IS NOT

Personal responsibility includes paying for the pollution one creates. Taxing pollution puts a price on it, requiring companies to pay for how much they pollute. The challenging part here is designing a pollution tax that is strictly revenue-neutral and does not unduly burden those who rely on fossil fuel use in their jobs or where they reside. 

LIKE OIL/GAS  WELL, MINING RECLAMATION THAT WILL COST TAXPAYERS MILLIONS

For example, those living in rural areas requiring trucks or farmers needing to fuel their equipment should be provided larger tax offsets to compensate for the higher carbon taxes they’ll pay. 

CORPORATE FARMERS ARE ALREADY MILLIONAIRES THANKS TO TAXPAYER SUBSIDIES

The incentive to reduce carbon emissions will still be in place, since using more fuel-efficient equipment and vehicles will reduce the carbon tax they pay and result in overall lower taxes.

In addition, any tax must only affect those companies that pollute. Too often, governments use the pretext above to impose a tax but then apply it too widely and to use the tax as an additional revenue source. Back in 2008, British Columbia introduced a well thought-out carbon tax. However, in 2017, the NDP government removed its revenue neutrality, and it is now another tax that adds to the government’s coffers. REVENUE NEUTRALITY IS A MYTH

Second, protecting private property includes valuing environmental benefits that reside on private property. Just as there should be a cost to polluting by those who pollute, there also should be benefit to private property owners for conserving environmentally important land for the public’s benefit. Think of the habitat of endangered species.

Unfortunately, regulations dealing with endangered species on private lands can create perverse incentives that increase the extinction risk. The regulations can be so burdensome that property owners are incentivized to prematurely destroy endangered species habitats on their property, to avoid future punitive regulatory costs. Shawn Regan, an environmental economist, explains the misaligned rules this way : “If I have a rare metal on my property, its value goes up, but if a rare bird occupies the land, its value disappears . ” By pricing environmental benefits, property owners have an incentive to conserve.

Third, the market economy is often blamed for pollution, but that assertion is incorrect. In the 1980s, Eastern European countries in the Soviet bloc had neither a market economy nor private property rights, yet those countries experienced terrible environmental degradation. For example, these countries on average used 75 per cent more energy per dollar of GDP as compared to the United States. And although they accounted for only 12 per cent of European output, eastern bloc countries contributed to over half of the continent’s particulate air pollution. This is but one of a multitude of pollution statistics created by their socialist system. STATE CAPITALISM IS NOT SOCIALISM

Competitive markets can help the environment. Capitalism creates economic growth. And according to the Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy on sustainability, there is a strong positive relationship between economic wealth and environmental stewardship. This makes sense. Those with greater wealth can afford and invest in more sustainable activities. BUT THEY DON'T

Market competition also improves how resources are used. For example, North American sawmill efficiency has improved to the extent that wood waste has declined from 55 per cent in the 1930s to 0.8 per cent by 2012. And the industry is still innovating by looking for ways to increase wood reuse and recycling. MAKING WOOD PELLETS FOR BIOMASS

It is possible to develop policies for the environment that are based on conservative values. Far too often, we look to the government for solutions. In turn, we get layer upon layer of costly regulatory burden. Not only do they diminish our ability to prosper, but they are often poorly designed and fail to meet their environmental goals.

By recognizing that conservative values are complementary, rather than opposed, to environmental stewardship, we will be in a better position to engage with conservatives and encourage them to join a non-partisan effort to protect the environment and fight climate change. Such efforts will not only be more effective but also sustainable in the long term, irrespective of whether conservatives or progressives hold office.

Jerome Gessaroli teaches at the British Columbia Institute of Technology and is a visiting fellow at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute. RIGHT WING THUNK TANK

Species 'Extinct' for Nearly 100 Years Bought Back to Life in Colorado

Robyn White - 

A picture shows a greenback cutthroat trout, a species once thought extinct.© CPW

The Greenback cutthroat trout, Colorado's state fish, was thought to be extinct in the 1930s, when it had been decimated due to mining pollution, overfishing and competition from other species.

Biologists from Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) said on Friday that the fish is naturally reproducing, marking the official recovery of the once-extinct species.

CPW said in a statement that "this is huge," after more than a decade of "intensive efforts" to rescue the species from the brink of extinction.

The naturally reproducing fish were found in Herman Gulch, in Clear Creek County, Colorado, one of the first places in which CPW stocked the fish.

"The long-term survival and natural reproduction of the greenbacks discovered is a major milestone for our recovery efforts and a huge win for conservation," the CPW statement read.

Related video: Conservationists Risk Their Lives Protecting Endangered Species

Duration 9:05   View on Watch

Several endangered populations were found in 1957, 1965, and the 1970s, but it was discovered that they weren't pure-bred trout, but rather a type of subspecies, CPW said in a news release.

The only pure population of the species was discovered in 2012, near Bear Creek, central Colorado, and biologists began making the trek there every spring to collect sperm and egg samples from the population of fish in the region.

A small population of the species were kept in a hatchery to enable breeding and to establish new populations, the news release said.

Biologists then gradually implemented the species in several places, including the Herman Gulch in 2016.

Now, six years later, that population has been recorded thriving and populating without their help. There are other, fledgling populations in four other streams, but the Herman Gulch batch is the only one so far to reach adulthood and begin populating on its own.

CPW will continue to place the sperm and eggs in other areas to stabilize the species.

Josh Nehring, CPW's assistant aquatic section manager, said the reproduction of the species was "truly monumental."

"CPW aquatic biologists in the Southeast Region have worked incredibly hard to protect and preserve the only known population of greenbacks in Bear Creek," Nehring said in a news release.

"Our hatchery staff along with our federal hatchery partners overcame immense obstacles to be able to replicate the species in captivity. Now to see them on the landscape in their native habitat replicating on their own is a huge sense of accomplishment for everyone involved."

Bureau Of Indian Affairs Raids Native American's Legal Medical Marijuana Crop, Feds Now Being Sued

Joana Scopel - Yesterday 


In 2019, officials from the Federal Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) seized and destroyed medical marijuana plants from a Picuris Pueblo man who is now suing for $3.5 million in damages from the U.S. Department of the Interior.



What Happened

Charles Farden, from Picuris Pueblo, one of the 23 tribal nations in the state, filed a suit with the federal agency earlier this month, alleging violations of his federal and state constitutional rights.

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“By unlawfully cutting down and burning Mr. Farden’s medical cannabis plants,” the document states. “Federal law enforcement officers committed an act that is tantamount to these same officers unlawfully entering into Mr. Farden’s home, without a warrant, going into his medicine cabinet and flushing his prescription diabetes medication down the toilet.”

The BIA declined to comment. “We do not comment on issues regarding ongoing litigation,” a spokesman for the agency wrote in an email.

Jacob Candelaria, an Albuquerque attorney who is representing Farden in the case said the three BIA agents entered Farden’s property without a search warrant. “They proceeded to cut down and then burn and destroy nine medical cannabis plants that Mr. Farden was growing,” Candelaria said. “At that time, he had his New Mexico [medical] cannabis card, and he also had a personal production license.”

A Marijuana Medical Patient

"My vegetables, my medical cannabis," replied Farden when the officers asked him why he was growing weed.

Candelaria noted that his client is diabetic and did not have access to food or water while he was handcuffed. Moreover, the tort claim states that Farden “has for several years cultivated and used medical cannabis to treat several disabling conditions, including post-traumatic stress disorder and chronic pain, in full compliance with New Mexico state law as well as the laws and traditions of the Pueblo of Picuris.

“One of the driving factors why the damages are so high in this case, we contend, is also how patently racist the Department of Interior’s enforcement of federal drug policy is,” Candelaria told The Santa Fe New Mexican.

“If you’re a non-Native person engaging in the same conduct Mr. Farden did on non-Native land, your chance of federal prosecution and conviction is next to zero because Congress has prevented the Department of Justice from using any money to enforce the law.”

According to the Taos News, Farden at the time explained to police that he was growing cannabis plants for medicinal purposes and only for his personal use. Farden, who was unsure of the officers' authority to seize the marijuana plants, also told police that he followed and complied with state production regulations.

“I explained to [Farden] several times the violations of manufacturing marijuana within federal jurisdictions,” one of the officers wrote in the report.
Native Land & Equal Rights

Picuris Pueblo decriminalized medical marijuana for members in 2015.

“For Indigenous persons on indigenous lands, there’s this huge risk and desire to criminalize, but on non-Native lands, the federal government has taken a completely hands-off approach,” said Candelaria, who is also an independent state senator.

“In Mr. Farden’s view and in my view, this is a fundamental example of racialized enforcement of drug policy (...) I think the Interior Department and [Secretary Deb Haaland], quite honestly, need to explain why the Department of Interior has chosen to take a much different approach than the Department of Justice and, in doing so, deny my client his right to medical care, to medicine,” Candelaria concluded.

Recently, Picuris Pueblo inked an intergovernmental agreement with New Mexico, a step toward setting up their own cannabis companies to operate within their communities.

Photo: Courtesy Of Ali Kazal On Unsplash

© 2022 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

HIP CAPITALI$M
South Asian Americans Are Coming Out Of The Weed Closet

Alisha Sahay - Yesterday - HuffPost 

Is weed stigma in the South Asian community finally shifting? 

(Photo: Illustration: Benjamin Currie/HuffPost; Photo: Getty Images)


When Emel, 34, consumed cannabis for the first time, it wasn’t at a house party with a cloud of smoke drifting up and onward, or any other clichéd scene that programs like D.A.R.E. used to warn her about — nor was it this great act of rebellion or dissent by an angsty American teen.

It was 2009, and Emel, who omitted her last name to avoid drug-use stigma at her job, was at a backyard barbecue hosted by a college friend’s family, whose Mexican heritage meant that their East Los Angeles home swelled with mariachi music and the chatter of aunties and uncles. The homemade brownies were perched alongside the rest of the food on the table, she recalls, readily available for the adults. Emel felt safe enough at the party to know that she’d be taken care of in case something happened — so she tried some.

“The thing I remember most is how peppery the brownie tasted,” she says. “It took an hour for the high to really hit. It was really subtle. It wasn’t scary or anything like that — it was really pleasant. It was in that moment that I was, like, ‘Oh, this isn’t that bad.’”

But it wasn’t just the taste of the brownie that had surprised her. “Nothing else happened. The earth didn’t open up and swallow me in hell because I had an edible.”

Emel grew up in Pakistan, then immigrated with her family to Los Angeles in 2003 when she was 15. Her traditional parents’ moral compass included reductive binaries that made ethics almost too simple: Don’t smoke, don’t drink and don’t dress provocatively. To do any of these things would make you “bad.” “I don’t think I’m a bad person — I think I’m a really good person,” she says. “But that battle will always be in the back of my mind because that’s how stigma boils it down.”

Many cultures condemn cannabis, but there’s something uniquely bitter about the battle that’s been waged against the substance by the South Asian community. As misguided as this is, many (especially older) members cling to their “model minority” status, and consuming weed is, well, not model minority behavior.

This judgment of cannabis use manifests in harmful rhetoric that’s internalized by people like Emel who consume with caution and intention. It’s not uncommon for brown people to hide their cannabis usage from the watchful and discerning eye of the cultural community they live in, which sometimes views users of the plant as “lazy stoners,” even though the myth has been thoroughly debunked.

Yet it was always “log kya kahenge” — “what will people think” in Hindi — a catchphrase that our parents have thought out loud when we veered away from what they deem the safest and most honorable behavior.



Nidhi Lucky Handa decided to make cannabis more accessible for her Indian community in the U.S. by launching Leune, which is now sold in several states and offers various forms of cannabis, including edibles and pre-rolled joints. (Photo: Tara Pixley for HuffPost)

“I think South Asians are one of the most community-based groups, which is a positive thing,” says Nidhi Lucky Handa, founder of the California-based cannabis company Leune. “But the exact opposite is true as well. The community is very concerned with what people think.”

A child of immigrant parents from India, Handa grew up in the suburbs of Boston. Though her parents were open to having conversations about traditionally taboo topics, like cannabis, Handa couldn’t say the same about her larger, conservative brown community. “When there was a function or birthday party, I was very aware that, even amongst my Indian peers, I would never talk about cannabis. It was an assumption that, at best, they might also smoke weed, but then it would get back to their parents and then put me in some sort of category of being a bad influence.”

Handa founded Leune in California — more than 3,000 miles away from this community in Boston — with the kind of IDGAF attitude that would make her younger self proud. The stigma she grew up with lurked in the background at times; she acknowledges that the physical distance served as armor against the whispers of the community she had grown up in. Away from home, she was able to focus on navigating the industry’s complex supply chains and ebb-and-flowing legalization. Not to mention, as a BIWOC founder in the industry, she had to face the additional laborious hurdle of having to dismantle its predominantly male and white landscape.

Though it’s easy for South Asians to deem the plant and its users as “bad influences,” the community’s stigma around the plant feels inherently contradictory. For one, it’s the South Asian cultures’ reverence for Earth and its natural elements that have led some brown people to see cannabis not as an offender but rather as another terrestrial inhabitant. “The way that my parents were, they were very interested in preventative medicine, homeopathy, ayurveda. So, from where I was sitting, cannabis was a plant first,” Handa says.



Nidhi Lucky Handa at her Hollywood office on Sept. 20. She sees cannabis as part of the tradition of honoring a tradition of medicine that relies on nature. 

(Photo: Tara Pixley for HuffPost)© Provided by HuffPost


Pari Patel, a 25-year-old who’s studying medical cannabis science and cultivating her own homegrown cannabis farm, agrees. “Having a green thumb is in my blood. I grew up with the farms in India owned by generations of farmers,” the New Yorker says. “I’m a Patel, after all, so that’s our known trait back in the motherland.”

Patel’s exposure to cannabis, however, wasn’t born solely out of curiosity. “I actually learned about [cannabis] in religious school, in a story about how the lordship used ‘bhang,’” she says, referring to the low-potent paste made from the leaves of the cannabis plant that dates to as early as 1,000 BCE. On Hindu religious holidays that celebrate Lord Shiva, like the spring festival Holi, bhang is traditionally used in food and drink: cold and milky “thandai,” thick and creamy “lassi” and ghee-ful sweets, among other sugary and savory concoctions.

Cannabis has also been recognized in both ayurvedic and Unani systems of ancient medicine as a treatment for endemic diseases like malaria, among other ailments. “The Atharva Veda” — one of four sacred pieces of Indian literature — calls bhang (which English translations posit as hemp) one of the five “kingdoms” of plants that “free us from distress,” and varying legends across India tell tales of Lord Shiva’s consumption of bhang (this is why it’s present at religious festivals that honor him). It’s this very mythological and religious significance that has allowed bhang to escape India’s otherwise strict cannabis criminalization.

If cannabis has been interwoven in the fabric of South Asian existence, where exactly did the stigma around it come from? In the U.S. and many other Western nations, the answer may not be so elusive: politics. “It’s a much more linear thing to understand in the U.S. This is a plant that has been used as a weapon, to fuel the industrial complex and to further structural racism,” Handa says. “This country is founded on this great ability to bring people together over their mutual hate for immigrant groups.”

In fact, Indian immigrants — along with Mexican immigrants and Black people — were in the crossfire of an ensuing century-long political smear campaign against cannabis beginning in the early 1900s. California’s cannabis prohibition in 1913 was accompanied by public health official Henry J. Finger’s contempt of the “Hindoos” — who were in reality predominantly Punjabi Sikh people — “a very undesirable lot” for “initiating our whites into this habit.”




The “war on drugs,” which labeled cannabis as a “gateway drug,” coincided with the influx of South Asian immigration following the 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act. In 1985, the Reagan administration successfully pressured the Rajiv Gandhi-led India, a nation looking to strengthen its relations with the U.S. and tap into American technology, to outlaw cannabis vis-a-vis the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, codifying cannabis hostility into law on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean.

Despite all this context about how weed stigma persists for South Asian Americans, some have a hard time acknowledging that very stigma could be, at least partially, a part of their assimilation process. Within our diaspora, there’s a tendency to accept ideologies, no matter how stigmatized, as impenetrable truths when they’re coming from authority figures within political, legal and social structures. For first- and second-generation brown people in the diaspora, adjusting to certain so-called truths was a matter of survival.

Cannabis was a symbol of calamity, especially as South Asians massively immigrated against the backdrop of the war on drugs; witnessed the resulting mass, disproportionate incarceration of Black people; and navigated a post-9/11 world that already stigmatized brown people. Being “good” and keeping our heads down were perceived to be the safest options.

Emel, who was raised in a Pakistani Muslim family, agrees. “It never made sense to me that a man could marry outside his religion in Islam but a woman can’t,” she says. “There are certain ideas and structures that are ingrained within us, and we accept them without question.”

Increasingly, however, brown people are challenging these predisposed, unjust structures. Patel says that, though her family disapproves of her using cannabis, she’s no longer willing to hide her cannabis use on social media and in real life. “A lot of people who have judged me have now come around and are users themselves.”



Nidhi Lucky Handa says people in her community are now even asking if they can invest in her cannabis business. 

(Photo: Tara Pixley for HuffPost)

Handa has noted a welcome shift in her community’s attitudes since launching Leune. “It was a ‘don’t talk about what she’s doing’ thing for a while,” she says. “Now I’ll get a random call, text or email asking, ‘Are you raising money? Can I invest?’”

Challenging stigmas also manifests in education. It’s important to note that cannabis can be addictive, especially for those who start as teens. But it’s crucial to recognize that cannabis can be a source of both physical and mental healing when used with informed guidance and intention.

Emel, Handa and Patel all credit weed for helping them through anxiety and other mental health struggles — a benefit that’s beginning to be backed by research. And, despite being demonized as an gateway drug, cannabis has actually shown potential as an exit drug in preventing opioid, tobacco and alcohol misuse. Medical marijuana has also been used to alleviate chronic pain and seizures in children.

Feelings around the plant are contradictory and complicated, and breaking down these barriers can be taxing. But for many South Asians, it’s worth the struggle.

“At the end of the day, [cannabis] is something that helps me be a better and healthier version of myself,” Emel says. “That is more valuable to me than preventing myself from doing something that’s ‘unsavory’ and suffering from it — preventing myself from being the whole person I can be.”

Related video: U.S. Set to Produce 27 Million Pounds

of Legal Cannabis by 2030   Duration 1:05   View on Watch

Ancient Islamic mosaics uncovered at shores of Kinneret

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF -

Ancient mosaics belonging to an early Islamic settlement have been uncovered by archaeologists from a German university in the Kinneret. The mosaics, found near Khirbat al-Minya, are believed to have acted as a contact point for Umar and local Arab tribes dating to the fifth century BCE


A VIEW of the Kinneret with the Hermon in the background. 

The view that inspired Rachel the Poetess, among others.

© (photo credit: LIAT COLLINS)

Khirbat al-Minya may have also served as a caravanserai, known to some as a caravan inn. Travelers coming through the region at the time would be able to rest there and recharge before heading back on their long, often strenuous journey.

Archaeologists from Germany's Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) discovered these ancient mosaics along the Kinneret's shoreline after geomagnetic surface surveys and subsequent excavations were done in the surrounding area.

According to JGU archaeologists, this discovery was made possible by the geomagnetic surface surveys themselves. Through this process, along with specifically-mapped "exploratory cuts," archaeologists from the Mainz team were able to prove that the caliph, which was the title of the chief Muslim civil and religious ruler, strategically planned his palace. This residence was complete with a mosque and a high gate tower close to a nearby settlement.

At the time of construction of this palace, the shoreline was believed to have been almost completely deserted.


THE WONDERFULLY watery Kinneret, photo snapped while barefoot on the rocks. 

(credit: ERICA SCHACHNE)

Prof. Dr. Hans-Peter Kuhnen of JGU uncovered remarkable details from their discoveries. “Our most recent excavations show that Caliph Walid had his palace built on the shore of the Sea of Galilee in an already carefully structured landscape that had long been inhabited."

"It was here that considerable money was subsequently made through the cultivation of sugar cane, sadly causing lasting damage to the ecosystem,” he said. What started generations ago as a money-maker would in turn have a cost that would never be repaid.

“Our research has brought this settlement adjacent to the caliph’s palace to light again, putting it in its rightful context among the history of human settlement of the Holy Land,” Kuhnen said. "Over the centuries, it experienced alternating periods of innovation and decline, but there was no real disruption to its existence during its lifetime."

The Mainz archaeologists involved with the project found stone buildings from different periods made of basalt with plastered walls, a cistern and colored mosaic floors. The tiles were found decorated with blossom designs, along with pictures of the animal and plant world of the Nile Valley.

The art found in the mosaics was believed to have symbolized "the life-giving power of the great river, which ensured Egypt's fertility through the annual Nile flood."
What can we learn from this discovery?

Archaeologists from JGU are confident this discovery shows that though life in Israel may have gone through major changes throughout the years, it never really made a full stop, which allows it to thrive today.

"With this research, we give the settlement in front of the threshold of the caliph's palace a place on the stage of the settlement history of the Holy Land, which over the centuries has experienced a change of innovation and decline, but never real breaks," a JGU representative said.

100% OF MARXISTS AGREE

'It's not a Marxist party': Newsmax host challenges ex-Trump adviser for attacking Democrats

Raw Story - Yesterday 
By David Edwards


Newsmax/screen grab© provided by RawStory

Newsmax host Bob Sellers disputed former Trump adviser John Browne after he claimed that Democratic President Joe Biden's "Marxist administration" is plotting to cancel the midterm elections.

During an interview on Wednesday, Browne suggested that Biden was behind possible sabotage of the Nord Stream pipeline.

"So you ask yourself, who benefits?" Browne said. "Certainly not Russia or the European Union. There are two others who do benefit: climate control people because this has released methane, which is by far the biggest cause of climate change than carbon which is merely a hoax."

"And Biden admitted that the other day and today his spokesman talked about green energy taking off because of this," he added.

Sellers interrupted: "You seem to be saying this came from President Biden and you think there's a reason he's doing this?"

Brown argued that Biden planned to use the emergency to cancel or postpone the midterm elections.

"I think that it benefits President Biden," Browne opined. "The Marxist administration here sees a massive defeat in November so they have to create an emergency large enough to allow Biden to cancel the midterm elections. And here they are. A climate emergency and a Russian emergency of using nuclear for the first time in 77 years that they've ever been used and spin it into such a massive emergency that he comes one and the president says I'm putting off or canceling the midterm elections."

"OK, that's your theory," Sellers replied. "And I want to make clear that it's not a Marxist Party."

"It is a Democratic Party that a lot of people feel leans way too left," he added, "and there's no evidence that that is indeed what they are trying to do but we appreciate you, John, expressing that theory as far as who may — if anybody did — who may have disrupted those pipelines."

Watch the video below or at this link.

Ancient Burial of a Young Girl Shows How We Carried Our Babies 10,000 Years Ago

Carly Cassella -ScienceAlert

A new look at an extremely rare infant burial in Europe suggests humans were carrying around their young in slings as far back as 10,000 years ago. The findings add weight to the idea that baby carriers were widely used in prehistoric times, although archaeological evidence of such cloth is not usually preserved in the fossil record.


An illustration of an infant in an ancient baby carrier.

 Researchers discovered the grave in Italy's Arma Veirana cave in 2017. In the years since, the buried infant was dubbed "Neve", and her teeth suggest she is the oldest female child interred in Europe. Notably, Neve's community laid her to rest with a large number of beads, suggesting she was well-loved and well-regarded. 

Now, a fresh analysis of the grave's contents and the child's position suggests adults carried Neve during her short life, wrapped in a shell-adorned sling.

 Nothing remains of the wrap today, but the shells surrounding Neve are perforated in such a way that indicates someone strung the shells together and sewed them on textile, fur, or hide. 

A previous 2017 study of Neve's beads estimated they took hours of work to fashion.

 Burying the ornaments would not have been a decision made lightly. These materials could have formed a sling, or they could have been a blanket or undergarment. All three theories are legitimate, but researchers behind this latest analysis, led by Arizona State University anthropologist Claudine Gravel-Miguel, suspect the baby carrier option is more likely for a few reasons. 

Because the infant's legs are tucked up over the abdomen, disguising many of the shells, Gravel-Miguel and colleagues suspect these adornments were not meant as funerary ornaments, scattered on the top of a grave. Instead, they were probably "part of a decorated garment or baby sling that was likely used during the infant's life." Some of the shell beads are even curved around the child's upper arm bone, possibly tracing the outline of the long-lost wrap.

 Careful scanning of the shells themselves shows they are well-worn, and suggests they were used for much longer than this child's short 40- to 50-day life. "The results of the study suggest that the beads were worn by members of the infant's community for a considerable period before they were sewn onto a sling, possibly used to keep the infant close to the parents while allowing their mobility, as seen in some modern forager groups," the authors surmise. 

An illustration of Neve's burial, showing the infant wrapped in a shell-adorned sling. (Mauro Cutrona)

Other burial sites on the Italian peninsula rarely encompass more than 40 perforated shells a piece, and yet Neve is buried with more than 70 along with four perforated bivalve pendants, seemingly unique to this site. The abundance of sea shells buried with Neve has allowed researchers to identify potential patterns of ornament use, in relation to the child's posture. 

Other recent studies on prehistoric infant burial sites have also found potential ornaments that look as though they were attached to fixed objects, like blankets or baby carriers. They are usually too large to have been worn by the children themselves, researchers suspect. Ancient human ornaments on clothing are usually thought to communicate identity, gender, and status, but they could also be a form of spiritual protection. A modern Indigenous community in the Amazon, for instance, uses decorations and ornaments as representations of parental care toward their offspring.

 "The baby was then likely buried in this sling to avoid reusing the beads that had failed to protect her or simply to create a lasting connection between the deceased infant and her community," the authors write. In other modern forager populations, similar decorations are still sewn on baby carriers and slings to this day. 

"Not surprisingly, in those societies, infants and children are always well adorned. Among the beads that are used to decorate and protect their bodies, the majority are 'second-hand' items, i.e., beads that have been donated by the parents, grandparents, and relatives as an act of care toward the child," the authors of the new study write.

 "This paper contributes truly original information on the archaeology of childcare," says anthrolpologist Julien Riel-Salvatore from the University of Montreal. "It bridges the science and art of archaeology to get to the 'human' element that drives the kind of research we do." 

The study was published in the Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory.

Alberta’s plan to implement provincial police force receiving some pushback

PROVINCIAL COPPERS WON'T ENFORCE

FEDERAL GUN LAWS

Yesterday 

With the Alberta government announcing their blueprint to implement a province-wide police force, some concerns have arrived from the NDP and some of the municipal governments within Alberta. NDP Justice Critic, Irfan Sabir, laid bare some issues that he had with Justice Minister Tyler Shandro’s plans after they were announced last month on Aug. 16.

“This is not a blueprint. It’s a boondoggle,” said Sabir in a press release. “The UCP will spend hundreds of millions of dollars just to set up a new police force when what Albertans want is better policing focused on addressing crime and its root causes. That’s what I hear in Calgary, where Albertans are concerned about the rise in gun violence. Alberta Municipalities and the Rural Municipalities of Alberta have both passed resolutions against this plan. Rural leaders in more than 70 communities have sent the government a letter saying they don’t want this for their residents. Alberta can invest in better policing without blowing up the RCMP. Also, the UCP should not be able to dismantle the RCMP while under investigation by the RCMP.”

With this being such an intricate topic, Cathy Heron, president of Alberta Municipalities, discussed their view on the potential provincial force.

“I would say our biggest concern has very much been the process that they have undertaken to get to their decision-making point,” said Heron in an interview with the Times. “It starts back with there really is no mandate from Albertans and really a desire to go to a provincial policing model in Alberta. The Fair Deal panel did have it as one of the recommendations, but it was rank 14 out of 15 with about 37 some per cent of the population (supporting it). That’s a question that Albertans have — ‘I don’t want this, why do they continue to go down this path?’ We are also concerned about the speed that it is going. There really is no rush to get out of (RCMP) policing — we have a contract with the federal government until 2032. We have 10 years to figure this out and transition into a new model if that’s what we want to do.”

Following this, Heron also discussed the organization’s concerns on how the provincial government is not bringing the municipalities and other organizations to this discussion and hearing what they have to say. Without talks involving Alberta municipalities, the organization doesn’t like the process that the provincial government has undertaken.

“I guess the other concern we have is they’re doing this in a bit of isolation,” said Heron. “They’re not involving the municipalities and they’re not involving the federal government in the conversation, and they probably should be involving some of the other ministries such as Health and Children Services because this is really about community safety, not just about policing. The system of crime in Alberta can partially be solved when we have better support for people who are homeless and people who have severe addictions or mental health issues. On the backend, we really need to fund justice and the Crown prosecutors so we can have a good justice around in it, so we don’t let offenders back out on the roads.”

Heron also briefly touched on some of the aspects that they like about the potential Alberta provincial police force.

“I think that we all agree the policing in Alberta should be modernize,” said Heron. “The Justice minister has a mandate from the prime minister to actually ban the gov- ernment of contracts we see in Canada, so that’s a good thing, and we understand that it could be better.”

Related video: Alberta judge lifts sealing order on police documents regarding Coutts, Alta. blockade Duration 1:36  View on Watch

 

Province aims to take over administrative responsibilities for firearms from Ottawa

Along with this discussion, Taber Mayor Andrew Prokop also touched on the topic and gave his thoughts on what’s been happening.

“That wouldn’t affect our municipal police service per se, but provincially they’re looking to replace the RCMP, and we do have an RCMP here with several members here,” said Prokop. “The Taber municipal police are responsible for the town of Taber, and the RCMP, although they are in town, they are actually responsible for the rural area, and the highway as well. A little different that way, but again, if they were to start up with provincial policing that would affect the RCMP completely, but costwise it is going to affect us all if that should be the case.”

Following this, Prokop also talked about how rural communities have suffered under the current policing system that we have right now.

“There are three different studies that have been done so far and I believe they’re on to a fourth right now as far as the viability, and the sell behind that reasoning, behind that and everything else,” said Prokop. “This has been going on for some time. It has been a United Conservative Party mandate as far as their original elections platform to do so. Part of it is, I think we’re all aware of that rural has suffered a lot of the crime element for the last several years, not just through the pandemic, but in the last several years. The rural crime rate has been high and the RCMP detachment hasn’t been able to fill a lot of their authorized staffing numbers for whatever reason, and that’s been a factor. Also, the RCMP does not work 24 hours and unfortunately, rural crime takes place generally after midnight. There is no RCMP coverage in this area. I believe the City of Red Deer they are saying police there work 24 hours, but as far as any rural detachment, I don’t know if I’m aware of any rural detachment that has 24-hour policing.”

After this, Prokop then shifted to speak on what would happen with the current RCMP members that try to provide provincial policing. He also had understandable questions around what happens to current Alberta RCMP officers.

“How do you deal with the current RCMP members? In this case, if there would be a lot that would likely come over to the provincial police side, and basically just switch uniforms different duties et cetera, but it’s a major undertaking and cost,” said Prokop. “I remember this happening 30 years ago, them talking about this and several times since, but it was always the start-up cost which was the initial hurdle and main concern to get over. Even now they’re talking about some of the costs or even guesstimating at best of what they are suggesting. There has also been research done about the cost and it would likely be higher than what’s been suggested.”

Finally, Prokop discussed how provincial policing is a method to allow Alberta’s communities to have a say in how they want their communities to be policed. That being said, not having municipalities involved in discussions is a major hurdle for both sides.

“A lot of things to consider here, and part of it is I think there is more work to be done — I’m not going to say yay or nay either way it got benefits both ways, but the cost is certainly a major concern for all of us,” said Prokop. “A part of it is when we are dealing with the RCMP, the RCMP are dealing with K division, or Edmonton as far as their head office that deals with decision making for numbers and staffing et cetera across the province. Ultimately, the policies and everything else involved are handled in Ottawa, so anyone policed by the RCMP has no say in their own community or their own area. It is strictly through the federal format and ultimately based out of Ottawa. So, that is one thing that the UCP has suggested that they would like to have some more control, so Alberta residents do you have some say.”

Ian Croft, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Taber Times

Liberal minister accuses Alberta of 'abdication' for resisting gun buybacks

Ryan Tumilty - Yesterday - National Post

OTTAWA – Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino said his government will go ahead with plans for a mandatory gun buyback program, over the objections of Alberta’s justice minister, who has said he would see to it that police in his province, including the RCMP, would not take part in the effort.


A restricted gun licence holder holds a AR-15 at his home in Langley, B.C. on May 1, 2020.

Alberta Justice Minister Tyler Shandro announced Monday he would reject the Liberals’ plans to enforce the collection of privately owned weapons for buyback, including by directing the RCMP in the province not to enforce the new legislation. He said there are much more important issues to address right now.

“It’s important to remember that Alberta taxpayers pay over $750 million per year for the RCMP and we will not tolerate taking officers off the streets in order to confiscate the property of law-abiding firearms owners.”

Mendicino wrote to Shandro last month asking for assistance implementing the government’s proposed buyback program, which aims to take what the Liberals call “assault-style” firearms out of private hands. Mendicino said Shandro simply can’t ignore a federal law because he doesn’t agree with it.

“To simply issue a letter saying we’re going to resist, we’re not going to co-operate with the federal government is wrong,” he said. “It’s an abdication of responsibility. It’s an abdication, because it suggests that any province has the ability to opt out of a federal law when it relates to firearms.”

The Liberals used an order in council to reclassify the weapons as prohibited, and beginning this fall the government will offer what they have determined to be the fair market rate for the guns. The government published a list of compensation rates earlier this summer.

Shandro announced the Alberta government would also join legal challenges against the federal government’s gun legislation that have been working through the courts.

Related video: Province aims to take over administrative responsibilities for firearms from Ottawa

Duration 1:23  View on Watch

The Liberals program aims to buyback 1,500 models of firearms the government has described as “assault style.” Mendicino said regulating firearms is squarely in the purview of the federal government and Shandro should work with the Liberals on the program instead of fighting them.

“The courts have repeatedly held this is an issue that falls within the jurisdiction of the federal government. And therefore it is our hope and our expectation that we will work collaboratively with all provinces and territories,” Mendicino said.

He said he has no doubts police forces across Alberta will take part in the program.

“We would expect that any law on the books will be enforced, by law enforcement,” Mendicino said.

The RCMP in Alberta act as the province’s police force outside of Calgary and Edmonton and the provincial government covers 70 per cent of the costs of the force.

Shandro said the contract the province has with the RCMP allows them to object when RCMP resources are being used for laws the province doesn’t support and they are invoking that provision of the contract.

Shandro said the RCMP’s senior officer in Alberta doesn’t support using his officers but an RCMP spokesperson would not confirm this when reached on Wednesday.

Shandro argued the Liberals’ entire gun control agenda is driven by politics instead of any real public safety needs and Alberta won’t help with that effort.

“While the federal government has labeled them as, in their words, ’assault style,’ that’s a label designed to scare Canadians who are unfamiliar with firearms. It’s a description based purely on their appearance,” he said. “This is politically motivated, confiscation, pure and simple. One that will do nothing to make Alberta a safer place.”

The Liberals brought in the new rules shortly after the 2020 Nova Scotia mass shooting, although the weapons used by the gunman were all either already illegal or illegally obtained and three were smuggled in from the United States.

Mendicino defended the buyback program, arguing it specifically targets weapons that were used in deadly shootings.

“Assault style rifles are not used for hunting. They’re used and were designed to exert the most amount of lethal force in the shortest period of time.”

Twitter: RyanTumilty
Email: rtumilty@postmedia.com

SEE https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/2022/09/alberta-wont-participate-in-federal.html