All-ages drag brunch in Calgary met with protestors, counter-protestors for 2nd time in less than a month

Sun, January 15, 2023 at 6:38 p.m. MST·2 min read

Counter-protestors turned up in support of a drag brunch in Calgary this Sunday.

 (Tom Ross/CBC - image credit)

More than 100 counter-protestors gathered outside the Rec Room in northeast Calgary to support an all-ages drag brunch in the face of protestors on Sunday.

It's the second time in less than a month that a drag event in Calgary has been met with this opposition. In December, a drag brunch in Inglewood was met with protests, while another brunch was cancelled, citing threatening phone calls.

Protests have happened at all-ages drag events elsewhere, including in several U.S. states where drag story readings have been disrupted.

Some people, like community advocate for LGBTQ issues Anna Murphy, anticipate these protests becoming a pattern in Calgary — but said the counter-protestors on Sunday gave her hope.

She says it's important to continue to show up and "demonstrate who we truly are as Calgarians, which is a community that is safe, welcoming and affirming."

She also wants to see politicians and community organizations demonstrating allyship and affirming trans and queer people in order to show that "spreading misinformation, ignorance and hate … is not who we are as a community."

Tom Ross/CBC

Signs held by protestors on Sunday had messages against exposing kids to "adult entertainers," and some conflated drag shows with pedophilia. Some also carried signs saying "Jesus is Lord."

Some far right groups have alleged that all-ages drag events sexualize children or set them up to be groomed by sexual predators.

A performer who goes by the name Comrad Borscht said that, in reality, all-ages drag events are a safe, comforting space for queer children, and that organizers and performers consider their audience and make the art appropriate for kids.

"They do their best to make sure that it's just silly dancing to silly songs or or rhinestones, big hair, crazy stuff."

A larger police presence was noticeable at the protest outside the Rec Room on Sunday compared to the one in Inglewood in December, but there was no physical violence.

By early afternoon, only a handful of protestors remained.

Opinion: Focusing only on LGBTQ 'groomers' is what puts kids at risk for sexual abuse

Pat Brothwell

Asheville Citizen-Times
Sun, January 15, 2023 

Guest opinion columnist Pat Brothwell

Last weekend, I watched “Keep This Between Us” on Hulu, a four-part docuseries initially airing on the Freeform network. According to the show’s news release, the series “exposes an epidemic of widespread grooming —manipulative and coercive behavior by abusers to gain access to potential victims — in U.S. high schools.” It’s a timely topic, as accusations of grooming dominate recent headlines, aimed almost exclusively at LGBTQ people and curricula.

What’s notable about this series — and why I wanted to highlight it — is that it examines filmmaker Cheryl Nichol’s experience being groomed by a straight male high school teacher, not the demographic most currently associated with the term “groomer,” but statistically, the demographic most likely to sexually abuse children, a crime that’s rarely meaningfully addressed by pundits or legislatures, even though it’s disgustingly common. Putting the bulk of the blame on the LGBTQ community allows scores of adult groomers to continue their behavior unchecked and puts kids at risk.

The CDC reports that 1 in 4 girls and 1 in 13 boys in the U.S. experience child sexual abuse. These statistics are appalling when you consider the amount of lip service and rhetoric we devote to “saving children,” and when you consider these statistics are based on reported data, I’d imagine the actual numbers are larger.

I’m not suggesting that LGBTQ adults don’t groom children — I was unfortunately acquainted with a gay guidance counselor who used his position of power to assault minors — but A) being a member of the LGBTQ community is unequivocally not synonymous with grooming, and B) statistically it’s adults who identify as straight who abuse the most children.

There just aren’t enough LGBTQ adults living in the United States to perpetrate such a widespread crime. While Gallup reports that Americans consistently overestimate the gay population in the U.S. — American adults estimate that 1 in 4 Americans (23.6%) are gay — just 7.1% of U.S. adults identify as being part of the LGBTQ community. (Now sure, the LGBTQ population is probably larger, as again, stats are only as good as what people will admit to, and plenty of Americans are still closeted and/or coming to terms with their sexuality, but it’s the out and visible LGBTQ population consistently misaligned as “groomers.”)

Secondly, the Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network reports that males perpetrate 88% of sexual abuse claims reported to Child Protective Services. Breaking down the 7.1% of LGBTQ Americans further, less than 2% of the population are gay men. The Tucker Carlsons, Laura Ingrams and Ron DeSantises of the world can shout “groomer” at gay people all they want, but the numbers don’t add up.

How did this narrative start? It’s a pretty widespread tactic. Blame an easily vilified minority for the sins of the majority. It’s been pushed so long it’s even evangelized by the population it hurts the most. Last summer I was introduced to an Instagram account with 175,000 followers by a fellow gay man I met on a dating app (talk about … indoctrination).

This “groomer” narrative misplaces blame for heinous behavior and has allowed the grooming and abuse of minors to thrive unchecked. If you care about saving kids and ending what I feel comfortable considering an unnamed epidemic, you’ll quit equating the LGBTQ community with child sexual abuse and start examining the many behaviors society has conditioned us to be unproblematic as long as it’s straight people perpetuating them.

Last August, I wrote a piece for the Citizen-Times where I shared how I was cautioned against being open about my sexuality when I worked as a high school teacher. A well-meaning colleague warned it might result in a groomer narrative in the district where I taught, an affluent, conservative part of Pennsylvania that loved touting its family values.

Meanwhile, I had a colleague — a popular, middle-aged straight male teacher — who pretty openly texted female students late at night and on weekends, not about school work, but just to chat. I’m not suggesting anything more than texts happened, but it’s interesting to note how I, a gay man, was counseled to conceal my sexuality while this straight teacher felt very comfortable conducting inappropriate behavior openly, without fear of a besmirching narrative following him.

We’ve been groomed as a society to focus on a false-grooming narrative, and all that does is protect actual groomers and allow an alarming number of young people to be abused.

Pat Brothwell is a former high school teacher, and current writer and marketing professional living and working in Asheville.

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Groomers who most often sexually abuse children are not LGBTQ

SCHOOL AS  SOCIAL FACTORY
School meal programs struggle to serve growing number of students in need as food prices climb

Mon, January 16, 2023 

ALL INSTITUITIONS (SOCIAL FACTORIES) 

SERVE FOOD THE SAME MASS WAY
After weathering nearly three tumultuous years of adapting to restrictions and lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic, school nutrition programs in Canada are now struggling with another crisis: ever-rising food costs coupled with a surge in the number of students in need. 

(Shutterstock/Africa Studio - image credit)

As food prices in Canada continue to soar, putting pressure on families as they buy groceries, pay the rent and try to make ends meet, school nutrition programs across the country say they're struggling to provide meals to a growing number of students in need.

One national program, the Breakfast Club of Canada, which reaches more than 580,000 children, says an average of 30 to 40 per cent of students participate in the meal programs it supports in more than 3,500 schools.

With food prices remaining stubbornly high, "some averages are closer to 60 and 75 per cent of the whole school population," Judith Barry, co-founder of the breakfast organization, said in Montreal.

Grocery prices have an impact on school nutrition programs, since operators "can't get the same value and the same amount of food" they need, said Barry, who is also the group's director of government relations.

Some are forced to make tough choices, such as reducing the food items they're offering or how often a program can run.

After weathering nearly three tumultuous years of adapting to restrictions and lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic, school nutrition programs across the country are now struggling with another crisis: ever-rising food costs coupled with a surge in the number of students who need a daily meal.

For program operators, an anticipated national school food program pledged by the federal government can't come soon enough.

"All over the world, people know that kids can't learn unless they are well fed," said Debbie Field, co-ordinator of the Coalition for Healthy School Food, a national group of non-profit organizations working to increase student access to nutritious school meals.

"School food is an essential service."

Field, who is also an associate member of the Centre for Studies in Food Security at Toronto Metropolitan University, noted that when in-person classes closed down at different points earlier in the pandemic, it underlined just how important school breakfast, lunch and snack programs are for many students.

Doug Husby/CBC

Although provincial, territorial and some municipal governments have helped fund school nutrition programs, and Canada has "a lot of creative people running food programs across the country," Field said the system needs more.

"As the food prices go up, core funding to school food programs needs to be increased," she said.

Evan Mitsui/CBC

In Toronto, John Yan, executive director of the Angel Foundation for Learning, has been busy with ongoing fundraising discussions and new initiatives in hopes of boosting the support the charity provides to more than 180 student nutrition programs, which feed 61,000 students each school day.

The foundation collects financial contributions from a variety of sources, including levels of governments, private donors and fundraising campaigns with corporate partners — such as grocery retailers running the forthcoming Toonies for Tummies appeal — and turns over that funding to in-school programs.

Some schools have seen participants in food programs double, Yan said, and since these operations focus on fresh, healthy offerings and are required to follow specific nutritional guidelines, staff may have no choice but to pay higher food prices.

"In many of the schools ... that single snack or meal may be the only nutritious food that student or child gets that day," he said.

CBC

Last week, the foundation released $60,000 in emergency funds to 12 school food programs in the city. Before the pandemic, Yan said, top-up funding requests typically arrived close to the end of the school year.

"If we're already topping up emergency funds in January, I can't imagine what it's going to be like when we hit May and June."

Need is growing, principal says

Whether welcoming new families or helping serve pizza subs at lunch, Edmonton principal Maureen Matthews sees first-hand the increased need for the free snack-and-lunch program at Norwood School, a public school near the city's downtown.

"Last year, we had just over 180 students accessing our school nutrition program, and this year we're well over 220," she said.

CBC

There's also been a rise in "families who — when they come in to register their students with us — ask about whether or not we have a lunch program," Matthews said. "I see first-hand the relief on their faces when I say, 'You know what? We do offer that.'"

Norwood's program, offered through the support of Edmonton-based non-profit charitable organization E4C, operates on a "take what you need" model. On one day, 225 students might be accessing food; on the next, it might be 200 students needing a snack, lunch or both.

"We don't want to stigmatize people who are experiencing food insecurity. Food is a basic right, and it's essential to children's success," said Kelly Bickford, E4C's manager of community and school-based programs.

"If [students] need just some fruits or vegetables because their family can't afford to buy those, they can access that. Or if they need to access the whole meal, they can do that.... We just build that capacity and understanding with [the students] to know that when and if they need it, they can access it in the way that they need."

Samuel Martin/CBC

Searching for more revenue sources

In Newfoundland and Labrador, the School Lunch Association, based in St. John's, has expanded this month to serving more than 7,000 nutritious midday meals every school day. It's boosted service to 41 locations — with more seeking to join — under its pay-what-you-can model (with a modest suggested price of $4 per lunch).

Yet while more students are signing up for lunch, the group is also seeing a rise in the proportion of participants unable to pay for it, according to executive director John Finn.

Jeremy Eaton/CBC

"There's a lot of parents who reach out ... and they'll send a personal email that says: 'Hey I don't get paid until next week. I'll contribute when I can' or 'I just lost my job and times are tough. I normally pay the full amount,'" he said.

Before the pandemic, about 90 per cent of the revenue the association needs to operate came from sales, with the rest covered by donations and a provincial grant.

This school year, sales are representing 78 to 80 per cent, leaving a gap in funds at the same time that the association has seen food and supply cost increases of 11 per cent and 17 per cent, respectively. This comes after food costs had already risen 20 per cent, and supply costs were up 25 per cent, over the 2021-22 school year.

"It's a bit of a double-edged sword," Finn said. Enrolment is up, but it comes as "we're absorbing additional food costs and supply costs and then, on the opposite side, we're actually seeing a decrease in the amount of revenue we would normally achieve [from families paying]."

Jeremy Eaton/CBC

Recent efforts to pare down the association's operational costs include slight tweaks to menu items, finding new vendors and more price negotiating with existing ones.

Staff are exploring additional revenue sources: new donors, further government grants or perhaps a charitable lottery licence. Finn said he also hopes to see movement on a national school food program in this year's federal budget — as are his school nutrition peers across Canada.

Recent consultations on national program

"We have a patchwork of programs supported by individuals, the private and community sector, and that is great ... but we need more as well," said Breakfast Club co-founder Barry.

"A national school food policy would help us really build on what exists — the existing ecosystem — and would help us reach more students and more communities."

More than 5,000 participants — program organizers, parents, volunteers, teachers and more — joined consultations on a national school food program that wrapped up in December, said Karina Gould, the federal minister of families, children and social development, who was tasked with investigating a program alongside Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau.

A report gathering the information is next, with an eye to developing a program "that will work right across the country, responding to the unique needs in each province and territory," Gould told CBC News, adding that it must also be presented to her colleagues in Ottawa.

Gould said she sees this as a natural followup to the daycare program adopted across Canada last year and believes the success of that recent partnership can spark confidence for similar joint efforts across governments.

"I really see school food as an additional pillar to make sure that we're setting up all of our children for success in Canada."

Trains, buses and trucks: How 2023 could be pivotal for hydrogen technology in Canada

Mon, January 16, 2023 

Building a network of hydrogen fuelling stations is one of the biggest obstacles to growth in the sector. There is momentum in Canada, but some experts warn that the most critical question in 2023 is not so much about the technology itself but how willing governments are to support the industry. 

(Sean Gallup/Getty Images - image credit)

As the Canadian Pacific Railway locomotive moves along the tracks in Calgary, something is clearly amiss.

It's the typical size and look that you'd expect, but what's absent is the low rumbling noise of the diesel engine.

Instead, this locomotive is powered by hydrogen fuel cell and battery technology as part of a trial by the railway to explore whether the low-emission vehicles are strong enough and reliable enough to potentially one day revolutionize operations at the company.

Over the last several years, there has been an increased focus on the potential for hydrogen to decarbonize many industries and help countries reach their climate goals, while revamping energy systems along the way.

The next 12 months will be critical, experts say, in understanding whether that vision could plausibly become a reality in the near future or remain part of the imagination for decades to come.

There is excitement in the Canadian industry about what 2023 will bring as several demonstration projects are set to take place, while construction will also begin on a massive new hydrogen production facility.

Testing underway

For CP Rail, the hydrogen locomotive completed its first "revenue trip" a few months ago with the expectation to have the trains operating in Vancouver, Edmonton and Calgary by the end of 2023. The next step will be testing out the technology through the Rocky Mountains.

"It's a perfect test bed. If you can operate there: heavy haul, cold temperatures, the most challenging operational conditions I've ever experienced in my career. And if it works there, it will work everywhere," CP's chief executive, Keith Creel, said during a speech at the RailTrends 2022 conference in November.

"If this proves its mettle and it shakes out through the very tough validation test we'll give it, [it will] truly be transformational for this industry."

Relying on hydrogen as a fuel source isn't a new concept, but technology is advancing to improve performance, at the same time as there is an increased focus on climate change around the world.

Julia Wong/CBC

This year will mark the start of a few other experiments as hydrogen-powered buses and semi-trucks hit the road.

A pair of transit buses will transport passengers in Edmonton and nearby Strathcona County as part of a one-year pilot project.

New production plant

Meanwhile, a hydrogen fuelling station is under construction in Edmonton to allow the Alberta Motor Transport Association to test out semi-trucks on the province's highways. The organization is looking to offer up to four different truck models this year for local companies to try out.

"I think the next 12 months is largely a proof of concept," said David Layzell, an energy systems architect with the Transition Accelerator — a non-profit organization set up to help Canada reach its climate goals — and professor emeritus in biological sciences at the University of Calgary.

CESAR

"We can actually make hydrogen cheaper than diesel fuel today," he said, although the challenge is the much higher cost of transporting hydrogen and constructing the fuelling station.

"We are only going to get those prices down by getting to scale," Layzell said.

Hydrogen has been around for a long time, but there is renewed enthusiasm for the sector as a way to jump-start the transition to a world reliant on low-carbon energy.

Hydrogen is an energy carrier, and experts say it can be used primarily for heating and as a fuel for transportation.

The amount of pollution associated with hydrogen depends on how it's made. For instance, if solar or wind facilities — rather than a coal power plant — produce the electricity that is used to create hydrogen, the emissions are relatively low.

Construction has just begun in northeast Edmonton on the largest hydrogen plant in the world by Air Products Canada. The $1.6-billion facility will use natural gas to produce hydrogen with the goal of sequestering 95 per cent of the emissions and store them underground.

Janet French/CBC

"The challenge with hydrogen is a little bit of the chicken-or-the-egg challenge," said Kevin Krausert, chief executive of Avatar Innovations Inc., a Calgary-based firm that helps develop energy transition technologies.

"Who's going to build a major hydrogen facility if there's no demand for it, and who's going to build a whole bunch of hydrogen trucks or trains if there's no hydrogen to supply it? So you've got this sort of supply-demand challenge."

Construction of the Air Products facility, he said, begins to overcome that problem.

'Too little, too late'

There is momentum in the hydrogen sector in Canada, but some experts warn that the most critical question in the next 12 months is not so much about the technology itself but how willing governments are to support the industry.

"That is relative to what's going on to the south of us with the United States' policy supports that are very strong and very attractive and could take all the capital [investment] that we might spend up here and divert it southward," said Ed Whittingham, an Alberta-based public policy consultant.

CBC

The U.S. government's Inflation Reduction Act [IRA] includes significant subsidies to not only offset the cost of constructing a hydrogen facility but to subsidize its operations, among other funding programs.

In some cases, Whittingham said, up to 75 per cent of the cost to produce low-carbon hydrogen could be covered by the U.S. government.

"What really is going to determine whether hydrogen stays niche and stays small scale in Canada or whether it goes mainstream and Canada really becomes a serious competitor is our response to what the U.S. has done," he said.

"And it could be a case, frankly, of too little, too late."

The federal government is proposing a clean hydrogen investment tax credit to entice companies to develop new clean hydrogen projects. The tax credit will be worth at least 40 per cent for projects that meet certain labour and low-emission requirements.

In its 2022 fall economic statement, the federal government warned that the subsidies offered in the United States were more generous and increase the challenge to attract investment north of the border.

"Canada will need to do even more to secure our competitive advantage and continue creating opportunities for Canadian workers," the report said. "Without new measures to keep pace with the IRA, Canada risks being left behind."

Ottawa is currently accepting feedback on its proposed hydrogen tax credit.

The $1.6-billion Air Products facility under development in Edmonton is receiving $300 million from the federal government toward construction and an additional $161.5 million from the Alberta government once the plant is operational.

NO CAN DO

Canadian Armed Forces to resume live-fire training off coast of Vancouver Island following marine mammal study


CBC
Sat, January 14, 2023 

A southern resident killer whale swims in the Salish Sea in 2018. An endangered species, this population of just over 70 individuals lives year-round off the coasts of Oregon, Washington and British Columbia. (Joe Gaydos, UC Davis - image credit)

The Canadian Armed Forces says training involving firing guns from ships and planes will resume off the southwest coast of Vancouver Island in B.C., following a three-year pause to study its effects on marine life — which it has determined are negligible.

However, the CAF is advised to conduct further studies during training to see how in-air gunfire affects marine animals as not enough is known about the issue, according to the study.

The training area, known as "Whiskey Hotel," is in the Salish Sea along the Canadian and U.S. maritime border. It's about 295 square kilometres, roughly between Shirley, B.C. — about an hour's drive west from Victoria — and Sombrio Beach, further west. The area has been used as a range since the Second World War.

The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) says the operations were paused "out of an abundance of caution … to undertake a comprehensive third-party evaluation of

 potential impacts to marine mammals, including Southern Resident Killer Whales."

Google Maps

The Salish Sea off Vancouver Island and north of Washington State's Olympic Peninsula is habitat for many marine mammals such as killer whales, humpback whales, minke whales, grey whales, porpoises, seals, sea lions and sea otters.

Human activities in the area, such as shipping, transportation, and tourism can affect the animals. The federal government has spent millions of dollars to study marine noise levels and to patrol the waters, to try and limit harm to species such as the Southern Resident Killer Whales (SRKW), which are listed as endangered under Canada's Species at Risk Act.

"Surface gunnery is a noisy activity and we had a gap in our knowledge with regards to noise and the possible interaction with the marine mammals in the area," said Capt. Jean Stéphane Ouellet, who oversees all CAF's maritime Pacific operations.

Researching how loud noises can harm animals

Andrew Trites, head of marine mammal research at the University of British Columbia, said loud noises, such as weapon fire, has the potential to harm the animals.

"Lots of people have expressed concerns over the effect that explosions have on the behaviour of the marine mammals," he said.

Royal Canadian Navy/Twitter

CAF worked with Fisheries and Oceans Canada over the issue and hired a third party, Vancouver's Golder Associates Ltd., to look at how small-arms munitions affect marine mammals in the area.

Its study found that the noise was most likely to affect marine mammals known to often forage in the area, but that "masking of underwater communications is expected to be limited due to the lack of overlap in frequency of small arms activities (dominant frequencies) and the vocalizations of SRKW and harbour porpoises and the expected low densities of humpback and grey whales."

Nonetheless, it found that there has not been enough study of the effects of in-air gunfire on marine mammals, and CAF should seek to conduct further studies during training activities to record marine mammal behaviour, especially when they are at the surface.

The CAF says all vessels and aircraft, including those of allied nations, conducting gunnery in the area are required to comply with "stringent mitigation procedures," aimed at protecting marine mammals.

They include sharing information with the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG), so that its Marine Mammal Desk can alert CAF ships and aircraft when there is marine mammal activity in the Whiskey Hotel area and firing activities can be halted.

No firing if mammal is within 250 metres

Changes following the study include no firing if a marine mammal is within 250 metres of a vessel, and a longer observation period before firing — 30 minutes — to try and detect marine mammals in the area.

Trites says he credits the military for hiring a third-party to study the issue.

He says the report from Golder is extensive and allows the military to determine things like how far it needs to be away from marine mammals, so as not to harm their hearing with weapon fire.

"They've done their due diligence," he said.

"It doesn't mean there might not be a risk, that an animal might not pop its head up in the wrong spot at the wrong time but it is very clear that the military is very aware of the potential for them to cause harm."

HINDUISM IS NOT HINDUTVA

In India, deity decorating a calling for Hindu temple artist

Mon, January 16, 2023 



CHENNAI, India (AP) — The former computer professional — now a very specialized type of artist — locked his gaze on the deity before him.

On a recent afternoon, 33-year-old S. Goutham was perched on a ladder at the altar of the goddess Durga at the Anantha Padmanabha Swamy Temple in Chennai, India. Goutham — his hand moving steadily — was pleating a green silk sari to adorn the deity.

“You cannot get tense when you are doing this work,” he says. “You can’t do this if you are not patient. You need to become one with her.”

A computer science graduate, Goutham quit his job nearly a decade ago to pursue his calling. He has since followed in the footsteps of his ancestors as a fifth-generation decorator of temple deities.

In Hindu temples, idols are mostly made of materials such as black granite, white marble or five-metal alloys that have sacred significance. These deities are worshipped as physical, tangible representations of god (Brahman) who is believed to be infinite, omnipresent and beyond comprehension. Worship in a Hindu temple includes bathing these deities in milk, decorating them with colorful clothes, flowers, perfumes such as sandalwood, jewelry, and even weapons such as swords, clubs and tridents. Oil lamps are lit at the altar, and sacred chants and foods are offered to the gods.

Decorating the deities is a millennia-old practice that is described in the Hindu epic Ramayana, and Goutham has been learning the art since he was a toddler. He crafted his first formal decoration when he was 13 — at the very altar where he stood 20 years later on a day in November.

He has done thousands of decorations, ranging from relatively simple ones that take an hour or two to complete, to others that are more complex and take several days.

Goutham said he became interested in decorating deities as a child because of his father.

“When you are little, your father is your hero,” he said. “I wanted to be just like him.”

The first lesson Goutham got from his dad was about the weapons each god would hold. He heard stories about the power of each weapon and how gods would wield them.

“The personality of the deity and the story of the god or goddess could change depending on their weapons, the clothes they wear, the expression on their face or the position in which they are sitting or standing,” he said.

When he sets out to decorate a deity, Goutham says he has a concept of what to do, but doesn’t start out with a sketch. He goes step by step — placing the deity's hands, feet and weapons. Then, he moves on to the clothes and jewelry. Gradually, the god's form manifests.

There are rules about the types of materials that can be used on deities.

“The human body is made up of earth, water, fire, air and space, and everything you see naturally occurring on Earth is made of these elements,” Goutham said. “To show this, we decorate deities using things that occur in nature and are a representation of these elements, like copper, cloth, coconut fibers and so on.”

He says decorating a deity combines elements from art, dance and yoga, in terms of the hand gestures and postures the deities assume. Man-made materials such as plastic are prohibited. Goutham says he uses little pins to hold fabric together, but makes sure the pins don’t directly touch the idol.

He sources the deities’ arms and legs, mostly made from copper or brass, as well as the weapons and jewelry, from artisans.

He has also created an app and website for those who wish to learn more about this art and dreams of establishing an institution to train artists who can maintain the sacred tradition. While most deity decorators are men, he sees no reason why women cannot learn and practice it.

“Everyone is equal under god,” he said.

Storytelling is an important part of what he does. One of his favorite installations depicts the friendship between Lord Krishna, an incarnation of Vishnu, and Kuchela.

“It shows Krishna washing the feet of Kuchela, a poor man, conveying the message that humility is a virtue — whether you are a human being or god,” Goutham said.

The term “idol worship” may have negative connotations in some faiths. But for Hindus, deities -- which are kept in temples, homes, shops and offices -- serve as focal points “for to us channel our devotions, our actions and serve as a reminder of all the positive values that are associated with those deities,” said Suhag Shukla, executive director of the Hindu American Foundation.

Shukla says this form of worship is a way for her to connect with her ancestors.

“As a second-generation Hindu American, I didn’t grow up with all these things around me where I could absorb through osmosis,” she said. “But just knowing that I’m part of a tradition that has been passed down from generation to generation is personally powerful for me.”

In U.S. Hindu temples, community members come together to help create the costumes for the deities, and it is an act of devotion, Shukla said.

“No one has to sit there and embroider a skirt or sari for a goddess, but they do it as a display of love,” she said. “It’s humbling and empowering.”

Goutham says he doesn’t view his job as a vocation.

“You can call it service because it brings pure joy to so many and plays a role in our spiritual awakening,” he said. “But in my view, it’s much more than that. It has the power to transform people.”

Goutham has decorated deities in temples abroad as he has in tiny Indian villages and little-known temples. He remembers stopping once at a village tea shop and hearing the locals praise his decoration of their temple deity.

“It really warmed my heart,” he said.

As Goutham placed a crown and garland on the deity at the temple in Chennai, neighbor Sucharithra Surendrababu watched awestruck, snapping images of the decorated goddess on her cell phone.

“I love seeing mother Durga whether or not she is decorated,” she said. “But, when I do see her all decked up and looking gorgeous, it makes me so happy. It’s uplifting and empowering."

There are some decorations which bring tears even to the artist’s eyes.

“It’s not just something that is pretty to look at,” Goutham said. “It’s about love and faith. When you touch the deities, clothe them and decorate them, you think of them as your friends or parents. You need skill and vision to do this. But above all, it takes heart.”

___

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.

Deepa Bharath, The Associated Press

DURGA AND KALI ARE ONE

UK plan to send migrants to Rwanda faces new court challenge


Mon, January 16, 2023 



LONDON (AP) — British judges gave the go-ahead on Monday for the Court of Appeal to consider challenges to the U.K. government’s plan to send some asylum-seekers on a one-way trip to Rwanda.

Two High Court judges ruled in December that the controversial policy is legal, rejecting a lawsuit from several asylum-seekers, aid groups and a border officials’ union. The same judges said Monday that the claimants can challenge that decision on issues including whether the plan is “systemically unfair” and whether asylum-seekers would be safe in Rwanda.

No date has been set for the appeal hearing.

The Conservative government struck a deportation agreement with Rwanda last year that is intended to deter migrants from trying to reach the U.K. on risky journeys across the English Channel. More than 45,000 people arrived in Britain across the Channel in 2022, and several died in the attempt.

The U.K. plans to send some migrants who arrive in the country as stowaways or in small boats to Rwanda, where their asylum claims would be processed. Those granted asylum would stay in the East African country rather than return to Britain.

The U.K. government argues that the policy will deter criminal gangs that ferry migrants on hazardous journeys across one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes.

Human rights groups say it is immoral and inhumane to send people more than 4,000 miles (6,400 kilometers) to a country they don’t want to live in. They also cite Rwanda’s poor human rights record, including allegations of torture and killings of government opponents.

Britain has already paid Rwanda 140 million pounds ($170 million) under the deal struck in April, but no one has yet been sent to the country. The U.K. was forced to cancel the first deportation flight at the last minute in June after the European Court of Human Rights ruled the plan carried “a real risk of irreversible harm.”

Last month, the High Court said the policy didn't breach Britain’s obligations under the U.N. Refugee Convention or other international agreements. But the judges added that the government “must decide if there is anything about each person’s particular circumstances” which meant they should not be sent to Rwanda, and had failed to do that for the eight claimants in the case.

___

Follow AP’s coverage of global migration at https://apnews.com/hub/migration

The Associated Press

UK
Leasehold nightmare: why owning a council flat could land you with a ‘wipeout’ bill

Shane Hickey

THE GUARDIAN
Mon, January 16, 2023 

Photograph: Antonio Olmos/The Observer

Like many people, teacher Neil Hosken is being careful with money as the cost of living crisis pushes up his food and energy bills, and his low-cost mortgage deal comes to an end. So he was shocked to receive a letter from the council warning of a bill of up to £44,000 for repairs to his home.

Hosken is one of a growing number of leaseholders being hit with enormous bills from local authorities for their estates. Emma Clarke, a neighbour on the Taverner and Peckett Square estate in Islington, got a bill about the same size as the deposit she put down on her one-bedroom flat last May. Another neighbour, who lives in a three-bed flat, faces a bill of up to £61,000.

Hosken says the cost is completely unaffordable, and even breaking it down over five years – one option available – would almost double his current mortgage. “Even with payment plans, unless they are over decades, it simply won’t be possible to find many hundreds of pounds extra a month,” he says.

The neighbours are part of a group of an estimated 60 leaseholders who own flats on the London estate and are being charged for new windows, electrical work, scaffolding, fire safety measures, painting, roofing and brickwork.

These estimated bills are similar to those received by other leaseholders on council-run estates. Since council tenants are not liable for maintenance and repair costs, the bill for entire blocks is divided between leaseholders and the local authority freeholder.

The system has been criticised by campaigners who say that it undermines right-to-buy legislation set up to get people on the property ladder, and puts low-income leaseholders at risk of bankruptcy.

Last month, the Observer featured the case of an artist, Jamie Harris, who faces a bill of £98,000 towards repairs to the building in which he owns a flat. Unlike residents in privately owned buildings, local authority leaseholders have no right to decide the scope and timing of proposed works, or to request alternative quotes from contractors.

Jamie Harris, who faces a bill for £98,000 for repairs.

 Photograph: Sophia Evans/The Observer

In Islington, Hosken says he had budgeted for major works since he bought the flat in 2015, but the amount quoted “totally eclipses” his savings. Payment plans of up to 10 years have been offered by the council.

When she bought her flat, Clarke estimated the cost of the work would be £10,000. “I don’t feel as if I can enjoy my new home as I have this huge bill looming over me. It has left me with a lot of financial insecurity and, to be honest, a constant state of anxiety and worry.

“I am feeling more regretful than joy about my purchase,” she adds. “I live alone, and all outgoings come directly from my pay. And I’m truly concerned about whether I can afford to stay in my home.”

Another resident, who asked not to be named, has been living on the estate for almost 20 years and received an estimate of just over £50,000. “As the cost of living crisis deepens this could mean leaseholders simply cannot afford to continue to live in the property,” he says.

I am incredibly worried. I really fear it will sink me both financially, and in terms of my mental health

Neil Hosken, resident

Another flat owner, who also wished to remain anonymous, completed his purchase earlier last year only to receive an estimate of between £42,000 and £46,000 – similar to the deposit that had taken him a decade to save for. “I finally got my first flat in an area I love, and, in the blink of an eye, I’ve been whacked with this bill. I’m not able to find that sort of money on my salary while also paying my mortgage.”

Augusti George Rego, who is retired, has been in his flat since 1981 and received an estimated bill of between £57,000 and £61,000. “I would expect a Labour council to be more caring to the needs of ordinary citizens. This will take up most of my savings, leaving me at the mercy of friends and family,” he says.

Sebastian O’Kelly of campaign website Leasehold Knowledge Partnership says he receives three calls a week from people faced with “absolute wipeout local authority major works bills”. They are by no means unusual, he says. In many cases, local authorities do not have contingency funds, and the bills come all at once, resulting in private leaseholders having to foot their share.

The attraction of buying a local authority flat is that it puts homeownership within the grasp of those who might otherwise be priced out of the market. “The downside is that a council is your landlord, it has no interest or ability to control costs, and there are very high capital expenditures every so often,” says O’Kelly. However, he adds, one upside for these leaseholders is they do not have to pay for the cladding upgrades that have severely affected people on private estates.

Islington council’s executive member for homes and communities, councillor Una O’Halloran, says works on the Taverner and Peckett Square estate are at an early stage, and costings are “indicative” and “demonstrate value for money”.

“They will be subject to a statutory consultation with leaseholders, and we’re looking forward to listening carefully to their feedback,” she says. “Leaseholders will only receive a formal invoice for payment once the work is complete and the final costs have been agreed, which we anticipate will be around late 2024 to early 2025.”

The leaseholders are due to receive section 20 consultation notices that will confirm how much they must pay. Hosken says they will try to work with the council to reduce the scope of the works to essential repairs but, if they cannot make headway, may have to resort to legal action. “I am incredibly worried. I really fear it will sink me both financially, and in terms of my mental health,” he adds.

CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M
Italy's Eni, Esso offices raided in antitrust probe over fuel price breaches

Mon, January 16, 2023

Eni's logo is seen in front of its headquarters in San Donato Milanese

MILAN (Reuters) - Italy's antitrust authority said on Monday the offices of several oil companies, including Italy's Eni and Exxon Mobil Corp's ESSO Italiana unit, have been searched over alleged fuel price violations.

The authority, which carried out the inspections with the help of Italy's tax police, said it was probing irregularities concerning prices being charged at the pump which were higher than those advertised, as well failures in advertising fuel prices.

Eni, Esso, Italia Petroli, Kuwait Petroleum Italia and Tamoil allegedly failed to adopt appropriate measures "to prevent and counteract this unlawful conduct to the detriment of consumers," the competition watchdog said in a statement.

Eni had no immediate comment, while the other companies involved were not immediately available for a comment.

Fuel prices have taken centre stage in Italy after Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's executive dropped a costly reduction in excise duties introduced by the previous government when the price of petrol exceeded 2 euros per litre.

(Reporting by Cristina Carlevaro, Francesca Landini, editing by Federico Maccioni and Valentina Za)

Year after death of Indian family at U.S. border, those left behind try to move on


Sun, January 15, 2023 



Baldev Patel cannot remember much of the last conversation he had with his son and, while the memories are fast fading, the hurt remains.

Patel's son, 39-year-old Jagdish Baldevbhai Patel, was found dead along with his wife and two children on Jan. 19, 2022, near a border crossing between Manitoba and the United States.

The RCMP has said the family was trying to get into the U.S. during severe winter weather and died from exposure. Investigators also believe the deaths were linked to a human smuggling operation.

Jagdish Baldevbhai Patel's wife was 37-year-old Vaishaliben Jagdishkumar Patel. Their daughter, Vihangi Jagdishkumar Patel, was 11 years old and their son, Dharmik Jagdishkumar Patel, was three.

"We worried about him when we didn't hear from him. I talked to him two or three days before he died," Patel said of his son in an interview in Hindi from his home in Dingucha, a village of about 3,000 people in the Gujarat state of western India.

"I can't remember our last conversation very clearly. He had reached Canada. He was going to the U.S. He was happy."

He said his son lived in a single-storey house in Dingucha before leaving for Canada. That house is now locked and unoccupied.

His son held different jobs, including teaching, farming and selling kites, the father said.

"Nothing worked out."

He is not sure how his son decided on the route from Canada to the U.S., or from whom he sought help.

"He wanted to go, he went," Patel said. "He was a 40-year-old man. He knew what he was doing. He carved his own path. What could we say?"

Jayesh Chaudhary, a family friend from the village, said in an interview in Hindi that things have quietened down for the Patels since the deaths.

The family has returned to its ancestral profession of farming, he said.

"There is sadness."

Almost every household from Dingucha has someone living in Canada, the U.S., United Kingdom or Australia, he said.

Chaudhary said police officers have regularly been seen in the village talking to people since the deaths.

Anil Pratham, a high-ranking police official in Gujarat, was involved in investigating the case from January 2022 until September.

Pratham said "lots of people" want to go to a western country with expectations of a better life, financial security and might be willing to break the law to do so.

He said investigators spoke with people who had been questioned in the past for offences relating to fake credentials.

"We had to try to find out if they had any role (in the case)," he said. "Clearly nothing came out for those who were involved (in the investigation), but we saw the process … what documents were used."

The first step of coming to Canada would involve enrolment in a college or getting a job, Pratham said.

"Sometimes they show false documents at that place for admission or for a job," he said, noting their intention might be to cross into the United States.

During his investigation, he said officials followed the case of one man who falsified documents so he could go to the U.S. on a student visa.

"He was not qualified to be admitted to the college," Pratham said. "His intention was not to study, not to do the job, but something else."

What surprised him most about the investigation was the lengths to which people would go to exploit loopholes in the system, he said.

Manitoba RCMPsaid earlier this week that they had no updates on the case.

Nearly a year after their deaths, Patel said he is still asked about the final hours of his son, daughter-in-law and grandchildren.

"We are here. We don't have all the details," he said. "How are we to know what actually went on?"

In February last year, U.S. officials said a 47-year-old Florida resident had been indicted by a federal grand jury on two counts of human smuggling in the case.

Steve Anthony Shand was identified as the driver of a white van near the U.S.-Canada border that was carrying undocumented Indian nationals. He was picked up just south of the border on Jan. 19, 2022, officials said.

Five others from India were spotted soon after in the snow walking in the direction of the van. They told border officers that they had been walking for more than 11 hours in the freezing cold and that four others had become separated from the group overnight.

One man in the group also said he had paid a large amount of money to get a fake student visa in Canada and was expecting a ride to a relative's home in Chicago after he crossed the border, U.S. officials said at the time.

Ajamal Thakor, a Patel family friend who lives in Dingucha, said the parents have suffered a huge loss.

"It's not easy to see your children die," he said in Hindi.

One of the family members arranged a breakfast at the local school to mark the nearly one-year anniversary of the deaths, he said.

"It's an Indian custom."

Chaudhary said most in the close-knit community are trying to move ahead.

"For most, it's just a memory."

But Patel said memories of his son are filled with despair and worry about the future.

His son was supposed to have found a job in the U.S. and help his parents financially in their old age, he said.

"Now, we just are …"

He paused.

"We are in a lot, a lot, a lot of pain."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 15, 2023.

Hina Alam, The Canadian Press

CANADA'S MILITARY;TOXIC MASCULINITY
The military cadet program is wrestling with its own systemic sexual misconduct problem

CBC-Mon, January 16, 2023 

Army, sea and air cadets pictured at Canadian Forces Base Valcartier in Quebec. Military police report 257 sexual misconduct incidents at cadet camps and units from 2016 to 2019. (Daniel Coulombe/Radio-Canada - image credit)

A lawyer and veteran representing former cadets in a class action lawsuit says the Canadian cadet program, run by the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF), is grappling with the same sexual misconduct issues as the military.

Michael Blois, a partner at the Toronto personal injury law firm Diamond & Diamond, said plaintiffs have described a culture in the cadet program that includes grooming, rampant sexual harassment and innuendo, and a lack of follow-up within units and summer camps when cadets have raised sexual misconduct claims with superiors.

Blois and his colleagues filed a $300 million class action lawsuit last year. In the statement of claim, they said the federal government has failed when it comes to "systemic sexual assault, sexual harassment and gender-based discrimination" in the cadet program. None of the allegations have been proven in court.

Cadets, who are aged 12 to 18, are not CAF members but CAF members supervise the program. The most senior cadet instructors are commissioned officers in the military's reserve force, and CAF members often participate in cadet training, especially at summer camps. The Canadian Cadet Organizations (CCO) is the body formally responsible for the cadet program.

"If you have a sexualized, discriminatory environment within the Canadian Forces, without a doubt it's going to leak into the cadet organization," Blois told CBC News.

"There is overlap between some members of the Canadian Forces and cadet units, either as volunteers or within the structure of the training ... especially at the summertime in the different camps."

The most recent statistics DND would provide are from a 2020 military police report, which shows there were 257 "founded" incidents of sexual abuse in cadet units and camps over a four-year period from 2016 to 2019. "Founded" means law enforcement had enough evidence to substantiate that the incidents occurred.

Of the 257 incidents, military police classified 215 as sexual assaults, 19 as sexual offences against children and 23 as other sexual-related offences.

The cadet program's purpose is to "help develop skills that will help youth transition into adulthood," the Department of National Defence (DND) says on its website

CAF said in response to CBC inquiries that the cadet program consists of 46,000 youth and over 8,800 military and civilian members. Approximately 16,000 cadets attended summer cadet training centres in 2019, but in-person summer training was cancelled due to the pandemic in 2020 and 2021. Around 3,000 cadets attended summer training centres in 2022, CAF said.

The cadet program is not meant to streamline cadets into the military. But Blois, a Canadian Army veteran who spent 11 years in the CAF, said sexual misconduct issues in the cadet program may deter cadets from pursuing a military career.

"If they are a victim, that's probably steered them away, and that's a real shame," he said.

Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press

The military is struggling to meet its recruiting targets. Chief of the Defence Staff Gen. Wayne Eyre estimates the CAF is short 10,000 regular force members.

Several high-ranking officers in the military are facing allegations of sexual misconduct, and a report last year from former Supreme Court justice Louise Arbour called for changes in the CAF's culture and practices to address the issue.

Blois said sexual misconduct in the cadets won't improve until the CAF makes changes.

"Without a wholesale culture change in that regard, there's going to be no change really for the cadets," he said.

Hilary Lockhart, a representative plaintiff in the class action, alleges a cadet instructor groomed her after she joined the cadets in 2008 at age 14. The class action statement of claim said Lockhart reported the instructor's behaviour to a superior, but the cadets took no further action.

After Hilary's mother found explicit texts from the instructor on Hilary's phone, she reported them to the police. Police later charged the instructor, who was convicted.

"I never thought that the cadets program would be the worst thing to ever happen to me and my family," Lockhart said in a news conference last year, which was posted to YouTube.

Lockhart called for more transparency on sexual misconduct in the cadets.

"The fact that this dark history in the program is not divulged to parents is extremely negligent, and, quite frankly, irresponsible," she said.

A DND spokesperson said it cannot comment on ongoing litigation.

Sexual misconduct 'not tolerated' — CAF spokesperson

Maj. Jenn Jackson, the senior public affairs officer for the cadets and Junior Canadian Rangers, said the protection, safety and welfare of cadets is the program's top priority.

"We do not tolerate sexual misconduct involving cadets, their instructors, or anyone involved in the cadet program, and this includes not only unwanted physical contact, but also extends to comments, behaviours, all sexual contact involving minors and written text," Jackson said in an email statement.

Jackson said any potential criminal offence is reported to police and the alleged offender is suspended from cadet activities pending the outcome.

"Cadets are taught that unwanted sexual contact of any kind is unacceptable, and they are encouraged to report any incidents regardless of whether the offender is a peer or superior," Jackson said.

"Counselling, chaplain, police, instructors and other resources are available to cadets who have experienced unwanted sexual touching."

Jackson added that adults working with cadets are required to go through a number of screening processes — including a police records check — every five years. The program also requires that adults go through training to identify and address grooming and luring behaviour, sexual harassment and discriminatory behaviour.

Expert says hierarchical institutions vulnerable to abuse

Dr. Michael Seto, a psychologist and Forensic Research Director at the Royal Ottawa Healthcare Group, said he's not surprised at the amount of sexual misconduct in the cadets. Seto compared the problem with reports about the culture in junior hockey and child sexual abuse controversies in certain religious organizations.

Seto said that institutions with strong hierarchies — including adult supervision of children — can be prone to sexual abuse.

"We know that when there's those kinds of hierarchies in place, it can potentially increase the likelihood of this kind of behaviour," Seto told CBC News.

Victims and witnesses may also be discouraged from reporting sexual misconduct, Seto said.

"If they disclose it, they might be less likely to be believed. They — quite rightly — might believe that there's repercussions if they do or say anything," he said.

Seto said there are ways the cadet program could address the issue. They include establishing clear and accessible reporting processes with appropriate follow-up action, better bystander training and a system that ensures more than one adult is present with cadets at all times.

Blois said he hopes change will start with the cadet leadership.

"I think that clouds a lot of these young cadets views on what they should do or what's appropriate, what's right or what's wrong," he said.

"Because the person who's either assaulting them or grooming them ... is an authority figure that they look up to and are taught is an ethical, reasonable, right person because of their rank or their position."