Church of England to have dedicated ceremonies for gay couples

Ewan Somerville
Mon, 13 November 2023 

Two men exchange rings on their wedding day... this could soon happen in the Church of England - DGLIMAGES/ISTOCKPHOTO

Gay couples will have dedicated Church ceremonies for the first time by Easter, under plans backed by the Archbishops of Canterbury and York.

The Church of England’s two most senior leaders have publicly supported proposals for standalone same-sex blessing ceremonies, which could pave the way for churches hosting effectively gay weddings in all but name.

It emerged on the first day of a special gathering of General Synod, the Church’s ruling body, which is considering a motion this week on how to implement gay blessings following their approval in a landmark vote in February.


Nine months on, no such blessings have been given amid a dispute between conservative and liberal factions of the Church that is not expected to be settled until 2025.

Stephen Cottrell, the Archbishop of York, said the debate was “stretching us to breaking point” and “many of us have arrived at this Synod feeling weary, fearful, confused and even angry about it all”.

He warned of the risk that priests could be sued by parishioners if they deliver traditional Sunday or Evensong services with same-sex blessings embedded, because it could be interpreted as a standalone service which is currently not allowed under Church rules.
Vulnerable to legal challenge

To resolve this, Steven Croft, the Bishop of Oxford, has tabled an amendment to “consider whether some standalone services for same-sex couples could be made available for use, possibly on a trial basis”, which would introduce separate ceremonies solely for gay couples on a temporary basis.

Backing the amendment, Archbishop Cottrell told Synod: “I am concerned that clergy using the commended prayers might find themselves vulnerable to a legal challenge if their use of the prayers looks to someone else to be a standalone service.

“Something that allows standalone services for an experimental period seems to me to be a sensible and pastoral way forward. It gives clergy and parishes who want to use the Prayers of Love and Faith the legal protection they need.”

Clergy and parishes would also “be under no compunction or compulsion to do so”, he said, growing threats of a major split within the Anglican Communion on the issue.

Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, said he “stand[s] in complete agreement”.

If Synod passes the proposal, the dedicated services could be introduced in certain churches by Easter, but if it were to be rejected the Archbishops could still bring it in. The House of Bishops, one of three houses of Synod, is understood to broadly support it.
Debate has raged

While same-sex blessings were approved earlier this year, debate has raged within the Church over how it aligns with doctrine which still forbids gay marriage, and the ban on clergy entering same-sex civil marriages.

The long-awaited Prayers of Love and Faith for same-sex couples are due to be commended by bishops later this month, allowing them to be used in churches in services such as the Holy Communion, Thanksgiving and in private prayer.

But aside from possible temporary ceremonies which would be in place by Easter if approved at this and the next Synod, same-sex blessings services are not expected to be rolled out more widely across the whole Church until at least 2025 because of technical aspects of Canon law.

Jayne Ozanne, a prominent gay evangelical Christian and member of Synod who previously served on the Government’s LGBT+ Advisory Panel, told The Telegraph: “Whilst I welcome the potential provision of standalone services, I know that what most LGBT+ people want is equal marriage.

‘Typical Church of England fudge’

“This proposal is therefore a typical Church of England fudge, where no one is well served and where LGBT+ people as usual are asked to pay the price.

“I think that many in the Church, indeed in the nation, will be deeply frustrated by the inability of the Church of England to treat LGBT people as equals and to properly celebrate and mark our love.”

It came as Mr Welby called for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war and demanded that Christians “rebuke” hatred of Jews and Muslims on British streets.

“This bloodshed must cease, hostages must be released, and aid must reach those in Gaza in dire need,” he told Synod.

He said that “the call for a ceasefire is a moral cry that we are hearing from people of many faiths,” adding: “In Christ’s name, we cry out from our hearts: ‘No More. This killing must stop’”.

UK
RMT members to receive £1,750 Christmas boost under new rail deal

Jack Simpson
Mon, 13 November 2023 

Mick Lynch, secretary-general of the RMT, has welcomed the pay offer

 - NEIL HALL/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock/Shutterstock

RMT rail union members are in line for a Christmas pay boost of £1,750 as part of a new deal.

Last week, the RMT and train operating companies broke the deadlock in the 18-month dispute, with a deal that could pause strike action until at least the end of April.

The deal, which is being voted on by RMT members, will see the union suspend industrial action in exchange for a backdated pay offer which could see all members receive a lump sum of at least £1,750 before the Christmas break.

In a video to members last week, Mick Lynch, the RMT secretary-general, said: “The pay offer remains below inflation, and was not we wanted but does provide a considerable period of time where there will be no need for industrial action, as there will be no changes imposed on you.”

Surprise breakthrough

The unexpected announcement marks the biggest development in talks between the RMT and the Rail Delivery Group (RDG), which represents the 14 rail operating firms, since the dispute started.

It will also be the first time RMT members have been able to vote on a pay deal during this period.

The union, which has 20,000 members covered by the current dispute, including ticket office staff and train guards, has carried out more than 20 days of industrial action since its first national strike in June 2022.

The deal will see members receive an unconditional pay rise covering the 2022-23 financial year, which gives all members a pay increase of at least five per cent, or a pay offer of £1,750 if this is higher.

For those earning more than £35,000 the increases will be five per cent. Those on lower salaries will receive a higher percentage, with workers on £30,000 receiving a 5.8 per cent increase, those on £25,000 receiving 7 per cent, and those on £20,000 receiving an 8.75 per cent rise. These all work out at £1,750.

Mr Lynch said the offer was a “welcome development” and a “fresh approach” from rail firms to members.

A spokesman for the RDG said: “Following further negotiations between RDG and RMT, a memorandum of understanding on the current dispute has been developed which sets out a process for a mutually agreed way forward, including a backdated 2022 pay rise for staff and job security guarantees.”

Strike mandate suspended

In exchange for the pay deal and a promise to halt compulsory redundancies until the end of 2024, the RMT has agreed to suspend its mandate until the end of spring.

Instead, the union will enter a negotiation phase with each of the 14 rail operating companies over future pay and working conditions. This could result in some individual rail firms facing strike action after that period.

RMT members will vote on the deal throughout November. If they vote in favour it will avert the travel chaos seen last Christmas, when members took industrial action between Dec 24 and Dec 27

Last week, the Government laid the Minimum Service Bill before Parliament which would legislate that 40 per cent of rail services must run when unions carry out national strike action. Currently 20 per cent of services run during a walkout.

The new law, which ministers hope will be passed before Christmas, will allow employers to issue notices to staff required to work. Those who have been issued an order and still strike will have no protection from dismissal.

The RMT called the move an “authoritarian attack on the fundamental freedoms of working people”.

However, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said: “We’re taking the right long-term decision to bring in minimum service levels, in line with other countries, to keep people safe and continue delivering the vital public services that hard-working people rely on.”

Aslef yet to agree deal

A deal has yet to be agreed with Aslef, the union which represents train drivers, meaning it could still call Christmas strikes and cause widespread disruption.

Commenting on the deal last week, the Department for Transport said: “The Rail Delivery Group’s offer guarantees no compulsory redundancies and a fair pay rise, while ensuring we can take forward much-needed reform to secure the future of our railways.

“We hope RMT members will recognise the benefits, accept this offer and put an end to the RMT’s industrial action.”

IRELAND

RTE to reduce staff by 400 and cut some services, reports suggest

Rebecca Black, PA
Mon, 13 November 2023 

RTE will shed some 400 jobs and cut a number of services as part of their plan to handle financial losses.

Under the strategic reform plan handed to Government, details of which leaked on Monday, the voluntary redundancies are to be made by 2028.

The plan, reported by RTE News, will also prioritise upgraded technology, live and online content, while some services will be reduced and there will be more production in Cork and in other regions in the years ahead.

More content will be produced by the independent sector, RTE reported, and it will continue to reduce the pay of top presenters as well as retain a 2023 pay cap.

RTE said in a statement that it will publish its strategic vision document on Tuesday, after a meeting with unions and staff representative groups and a briefing of staff by director general Kevin Bakhurst.

The Trade Union Group (TUG) called on RTE to release the full document to staff immediately.

A spokesman said: “It is not acceptable that staff should find out about the plan in this way and now be worried about the security of their jobs.”

The NUJ’s Irish Secretary Seamus Dooley condemned the leaking of the strategy as a “further blow to trust of staff”.

“The National Union of Journalists supports the call by the RTE Trade Union Group for immediate circulation of the strategy document. I acknowledge that the director general wants to put his proposals in context but that ship has now sailed and the only way to allay the fears of staff is immediate release of the document,” he said.

“We are gravely concerned at the scale of the proposed redundancies and will require detailed information on how it is proposed to maintain core services and the impact on staff of such drastic proposals.

“Staff will want an assurance that there is a genuine, sustainable long plan based on clearly defined objectives rather than a set of announcements aimed at securing government support for short term funding.”

Last month Mr Bakhurst warned the broadcaster would become insolvent by early spring next year without additional funding from the Government,

Ministers are withholding 40 million euro, to plug a gap created by plummeting licence fee revenue, pending the delivery of the strategic reform plan from RTE.

The Oireachtas Public Accounts Committee was told RTE is facing a loss of between 10-12 million euro this year.

Speaking at a press conference in Dublin earlier, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said the government would not allow RTE to fail.

“I believe RTE is an essential service, it’s a public service broadcaster and we’re not going to allow it to fail, we’re not going to allow it to cease to operate,” he said.

Sustainable development on the menu as APEC finance chiefs meet

AFP
Mon, 13 November 2023 

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen says APEC needs to look at sustainable economic development that takes account of environmental demands (Loren Elliott)

Economic development and environmental action need to march hand in hand if the world is to successfully combat global warming, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Monday at the start of major global meeting.

The transition to sustainable energy needed to prevent catastrophic temperature rises must form part of the effort to secure jobs and growth, she told fellow finance ministers of the 21-member Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum.

"We need to further improve our long-term economic outlook by boosting labor supply, innovation, and infrastructure investment, in ways that are also sustainable and reduce inequality," Yellen said at the start of a global gathering in San Francisco.

"We need to put ourselves on a sustainable growth path, one where we safeguard our planet while providing our economies with the clean energy they need to grow."

After several years focused on post-pandemic recovery, 2023 was a "pivotal year" for APEC, said Yellen, a time in which governments could refocus on "advancing fiscal reforms to build our economies over the long run."

But economic development cannot be separated from the immediate need to wean humanity off planet-warming energy sources, she said, noting that less wealthy countries needed help to make the leap.

"We've discussed how to finance efficient and effective energy transitions while supporting the individuals and communities who are most vulnerable," she said, referencing as an example the Just Energy Transition Partnerships (JETP) in Vietnam and Indonesia.

These agreements define conditions for rich countries to commit to financially assisting the energy transition of developing countries.

The JETP for Indonesia, the largest economy in Southeast Asia, was unveiled last year. It provides public and private funding of up to $20 billion in exchange for capping emissions from the electricity sector by 2030 and reaching zero emissions in 2050.

Not all financing systems are equal, Yellen said, noting that the markets for carbon credits need to be examined for ways to improve their integrity.

Carbon credits, which allow companies to offset their CO2 emissions, effectively permitting them to claim a heavily-polluting product is "carbon neutral", are increasingly coming under the microscope, amid claims by critics that they amount to greenwashing.

Finance ministers are meeting in San Francisco until Tuesday, with heads of government of the bloc gathering later in the week.

juj/hg/st

Breakthrough offers a new way to stop AI 'hallucinating' and making up facts

CAN IT DO THAT FOR MAGA TOO

Rob Waugh
·Contributor
Mon, 13 November 2023

Could this breakthrough deal with the problem of AI 'hallucination'? 

A technological breakthrough could help to deal with the problem of artificial intelligence 'hallucination', wherein AI models, including chat bots, sometimes make things up or present false answers.

AI is beginning to be used widely in scientific projects – but models sometimes present misleading or downright false results.

A new technique called prediction-powered inference (PPI) uses a small amount of real-world data to correct the output of large, general models.

The technique can 'check facts' in AI models such as AlphaFold, which predicts protein structures, in the context of specific scientific questions.

Michael Jordan, the Pehong Chen distinguished professor of electrical engineering and computer science and of statistics at University of California Berkeley, said: "These models are meant to be general – they can answer many questions, but we don't know which questions they answer well and which questions they answer badly. And if you use them naively, without knowing which case you're in, you can get bad answer.

"With PPI, you're able to use the model, but correct for possible errors, even when you don't know the nature of those errors at the outset."

Recommended reading

• AI researcher calls for 'immediate worldwide ban' (Business Insider)

• AI researcher says '10-20%' chance AI will take over (Fortune)

• AI to reach $1,345 billion by 2030 (MarketsandMarkets)

What is AI hallucination?

'Hallucination' is when an AI model, such as ChatGPT, outputs false information based on perceiving patterns that are not there.

Famously, Google's Bard chatbot claimed falsely that the James Webb Space Telescope was the first to capture an image of a planet outside the solar system.

Meta withdrew its science-focused AI Galactica due to its habit of making up false information, within days after its 2022 launch.

What can AI do in science?

Over the past decade, AI has permeated nearly every corner of science.

Machine-learning models have been used to predict protein structures, estimate the fraction of the Amazon rain forest that has been lost to deforestation and even classify faraway galaxies that might be home to exoplanets.

How does this breakthrough help?

The problem is that machine-learning systems have many hidden biases that can skew the results.

These biases arise from the data on which they are trained, which are generally existing scientific research that may not have had the same focus as the current study.

Jordan said: "In scientific problems, we're often interested in phenomena which are at the edge between the known and the unknown.

"Very often, there isn't much data from the past that are at that edge, and that makes generative AI models even more likely to 'hallucinate', producing output that is unrealistic.

"There's really no limit on the type of questions that this approach could be applied to. We think that PPI is a much-needed component of modern data-intensive, model-intensive and collaborative science."

Stunned beachgoers watch ‘world’s most dangerous bird’ emerge from ocean

Aspen Pflughoeft
Mon, November 13, 2023 

Photos from Queensland Department of Environment and Science

Beachgoers at a campground in Australia were shocked when a large and “unpredictable” bird emerged from a swim, according to a video and wildlife officials.

Onlookers spotted a creature swimming toward the Bingil Bay Campground on Oct. 31, the Queensland Department of Environment and Science said in a Nov. 13 news release. At first, they thought it was a turtle or a shark.

As the animal reached the shore, its identity became clear. It was a juvenile cassowary, wildlife officials said.

Cassowaries are a large species of flightless bird found in rainforests of Queensland and Papua New Guinea, according to the Queensland Department of Environment and Science. They can reach about 6.5 feet tall and about 167 pounds. The bird has a long colorful neck, a “helmet” on its head and a “large dagger-shaped claw” on its toes.

Due to their size, strength and claws, cassowaries are considered “the world’s most dangerous bird,” according to an article from the Library of Congress.

The bird’s behavior is also “unpredictable,” the release said.

“Cassowaries can swim and will take to the water to cross from one side of a river to the other, or if they feel threatened by domestic dogs or another cassowary through a territorial dispute,” Stephen Clough, a wildlife officer with the Queensland Department of Environment and Science, said in the release.

“We’re not sure how long this animal was in the water or why it went for a swim but the footage is astonishing,” Clough said.

The campground’s host, Nikita McDowell, filmed the cassowary’s “unexpected ocean swim,” officials said.

Video footage shared on Facebook by 9 News shows the large bird bobbing along the waves. From afar, only its head and neck are visible, giving the impression of a periscope. As the bird reached the shore, the rest of its brown-black body became visible.

The cassowary appears to look at the camera several times, video footage shows. Its head has a mohawk-like helmet structure on top. Some pink and blue coloring is visible on its neck.

“It just floated to shore until it reached the level where its feet could touch the ground,” McDowell told the Australian Broadcasting Corp.

“It must’ve been exhausted as it stood in the shade beneath a tree with its legs shaking for about half an hour,” McDowell said in the release. “I went to make a coffee and when I returned, it was gone.”

“I knew it wasn’t going to have the energy to attack me or anything,” she told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. “I am just so happy it’s moved on and safe and healthy,”

“This rare sighting and lucky escape by the cassowary is a reminder that we all need to do what we can to protect and conserve the species,” Clough said in the release.

“There’s an estimated 4,000 cassowaries remaining in Queensland, and they face numerous threats to their survival including habitat loss, vehicle strikes and domestic dog attacks,” he said.

Bingil Bay is in the northeastern state of Queensland and about 1,400 miles northwest of Sydney.

COLOMBIA

Father of Luis Diaz reveals details of kidnapping ordeal: ‘It was a lot of horseback riding’

Jamie Braidwood

Sun, Nov 12, 2023,

The father of Liverpool star Luis Diaz said he went “almost 12 days without sleep” and endured long horseback treks through mountain passes as he revealed the details of his kidnapping ordeal for the first time.

Luis Manuel Diaz, 58, was released by the guerrilla group Colombia’s National Liberation Army (ELN) on Thursday, nearly two weeks after he was captured at gunpoint along with his wife near their hometown of Barrancas in northern Colombia.

While Cilenis Marulanda was rescued by police within hours, Diaz Sr remained in the hands of his kidnappers and said he was told to remain calm. At a press conference in Barrancas, Diaz Sr said that although “the treatment was good, I didn’t feel very comfortable”.

“It was a lot of horseback riding, really hard, a lot of mountains, a lot of rain, too many insects,” said an emotional and weary Diaz Sr, speaking alongside his family near the Colombia-Venezuela border. “I couldn’t sleep peacefully, it was very difficult, almost 12 days without sleep.”

Despite the ordeal, Diaz Sr said he had no plans to move away from Barrancas and felt safe in Colombia. The father of the Liverpool forward said he did not understand why the ELN kidnapped him as he was not held to ransom.

"My aspirations are to continue in my town because I have my entire family in my town," Diaz Sr said.

"The government has given me impressively strong and great support. I trust and have faith that it will provide me security to be in Barrancas."

Luis Manuel Diaz, father of Liverpool's forward Luis Diaz, is consoled by his wife Cilenis Marulanda during a press conference at his house in Barrancas (AFP via Getty Images)

Liverpool winger and Colombia international Diaz had made an emotional appeal for his father’s release after scoring a late equaliser for Liverpool in their 1-1 draw against Luton last weekend

The 26-year-old marked the goal by revealing a T-shirt bearing a message in Spanish reading “Freedom for Dad’’ and then made a statement calling for his “prompt release”.

Diaz Sr said he spoke to his son after he was safely released by the kidnappers on Thursday and Diaz told him he was “happy” to play in Liverpool’s Europa League match against Toulouse that afternoon.

The Colombian police said it had arrested four suspects after investigating Diaz Sr’s kidnapping, while the head of the ELN has admitted it was a “mistake” to capture the Liverpool star’s father.

Canada investigates alleged ‘threats’ against Air India after Sikh boycott call

Leyland Cecco in Toronto

THE GUARDIAN UK
Mon, November 13, 2023 

Photograph: Régis Duvignau/Reuters

Canadian officials and the Royal Canadian Mounted police are investigating alleged “threats” against Air India after a separatist leader warned Sikhs against flying with the airline on 19 November.

The US-based activist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun posted a video last week in which he called for a boycott of India’s flagship carrier.

Related: ‘Whether it costs our lives or not’: killing of Canadian Sikh leader reignites historic fight

“We are asking the Sikh people not to fly via Air India on November 19. There will be a global blockade. On November 19, don’t travel by Air India or your life will be in danger,” he said in the video, a mix of Punjabi and English.

The controversial video marks latest threat to diplomatic relations between India and Canada, which have been strained since September when the prime minister, Justin Trudeau, alleged there was credible evidence linking India to the assassination of a Canadian Sikh leader in British Columbia.

The Canadian transport minister, Pablo Rodriguez, wrote in a social media post that his government took threats to aviation “extremely seriously”, adding that officials were “investigating recent threats circulating online”.

The RCMP said it was working with its domestic and international partners as part of an investigation into “the threat against Air India flights”.

Pannun denied his comments amounted to a threat against India’s national airline.

“The video clearly states I’m asking the global Sikh community to boycott Air India and instead Sikhs should fly Air Canada and British Airways,” he said. “Where is the threat? There is none.”

But the call to boycott Air India flights from Canada has revived memories of the 1985 Air India bombing, which was orchestrated by Sikh extremists. Three hundred and twenty-nine people died when Air India flight 182 from Montreal exploded off the coast of Ireland. It was due to stop over at Heathrow before going on to Delhi and eventually Mumbai.

The victims included 280 Canadians and 86 children, and the attackis still the worst act of mass murder in Canadian history. A second bomb targeting another plane killed two baggage handlers after it detonated at Tokyo’s Narita airport before it was loaded on to an Air India plane.

In the years that followed, Canadian officials received significant criticism for ignoring or downplaying threats.

Related: ‘Whether it costs our lives or not’: killing of Canadian Sikh leader reignites historic fight

Pannun serves as the chief legal counsel for the US-based group Sikhs for Justice, which organizes unofficial referendums on creating an independent Sikh state. India banned the group in 2019, calling it an unlawful association. Indian officials have also labeled Pannun a terrorist and he faces 22 criminal charges in India, including three counts of sedition. But Interpol has twice rejected India’s efforts to have a Red Notice issued for Pannun.

“RCMP has every right to investigate a terror threat. And if they consider calls for boycott an act of civil disobedience, if that is terror, then so be it, let them investigate,” he said.

“But Sikhs today are facing genocide and econocide of the Punjab. We are simply asking Sikhs not to make the decision to direct their money towards countries like India.”

Pannun suggests the row over his comments was part of a disinformation campaign by Indian officials in Canada.

“I would ask: who would peddle this as a threat? Who benefits by accusing me?” he said. “We have never invited or provoked violence. We are fighting Indian bullets with the ballot.”

This is not the first time Pannun’s comments have elicited controversy. After Trudeau told Canada’s parliament that there were “credible allegations” that India was involved in the killing of a Sikh leader in Canada, Pannun posted a video warning Indian Canadian Hindus “to leave Canada” and “go to India”. He suggested they were disloyal to Canada – comments denounced by the leaders of all political parties. That video has since been deleted.

U$A

Yuba City’s Sikh parade is more than a cultural celebration as concerns of repression rise

Joe Rubin
Mon, November 13, 2023

Once a year, miles of streets in Yuba City are closed. Thousands of people of Sikh descent and a smattering of fans of the annual Nagar Kirtan Sikh parade walk from the outskirts of town to the Sikh place of worship, the Yuba City Gurdwara.

Sikhs make up 2% of the overall population in India, but they represent about 40% of Californians who have emigrated from India, or an estimated 250,000. The majority live in the Central Valley and Bay Area.

A remarkable number — at least 100,000 — attend the Yuba City Sikh parade, the largest Sikh gathering in the United States.

This year, as in years past, Punjabi music, dress, language and food — abundant and always free — was on full display.

Members of the California Gatka Dal perform martial arts of Punjab during the Yuba City Nagar Kirtan Sikh parade on Nov. 5.

The five men, known as the Panj Pyare, stand in front of the float with the Holy Scripture at the Yuba City Nagar Kirtan Sikh parade on Sunday, Nov. 5, 2023.

Volunteers at organized tables offered savory snacks such as saag and mucki di roti (spicy ginger and garlic flavored spinach, paired with corn flatbread) along with sweet treats such as sticky jalebi. Steaming pots of tea float through the crowd.

“We are here to spread the word of love and community,” said Raj Bajwa, one of the leaders of a group of motorcycle riders called the Sikh Riders of America, a band of leather-jacketed Sikhs who escort the parade. “Everyone is welcome.”

But amid the festivities of this largely spiritual and cultural event there is also an underlying political tension.

That, too, is on full display.

Many of the celebrants waved the yellow flag of Khalistan — a proud the symbol of the independent state to which many of the 35 million Sikhs around the world aspire.

Bakersfield resident Nirmal Singh stands in front of a Khalistan flag at the Yuba City Nagar Kirtan Sikh parade. The flag is a symbol of the separatist movement that calls for the creation of Sikh country in the Punjab region of India.

Some in the crowd shouted in Punjabi “Long live Khalistan.” Others promoted a non-binding referendum among Sikhs living abroad that calls for Sikh independence. Voting in California on the referendum will be held in January in San Francisco.

Such displays that signify a political movement or national identity might seem benign in America. But the largely non-violent Sikh independence movement has been outlawed in India by the increasingly Hindu nationalist government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Activists in the movement are often considered by the Modi government as terrorists.

“Freedoms we take for granted in America are non-existent in India at the moment,” said Dr. Pritpal Singh, founder of the American Sikh Caucus Committee. “Just the act of displaying a Sikh flag could land a person in hot water.”

Dr. Singh, who spoke to The Bee while attending this year’s parade on Nov. 5, was a physician and Sikh rights activist in Punjab in the 1980s, a risky endeavor following attacks on Sikhs by the Indian military and mobs that killed at least 3,000 in 1984.

Pritpal Singh, director of the American Sikh Caucus Committee, attends the Yuba City Nagar Kirtan Sikh parade on Nov. 5.

In 1988, he was imprisoned for a year by Indian authorities on what he says were trumped-up charges. Ultimately, he was acquitted. He and his family fled to California.

Tensions between Sikhs and the majority Hindus have simmered for years, but they crossed a critical threshold in June when one of the leaders of the Sikh referendum, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, was assassinated by masked gunmen in Canada.

In September, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, speaking in Parliament, leveled the shocking allegation that Canadian intelligence had found “credible evidence” that “agents of the government of India” had carried out the assassination.

If true, it raises the troubling question as to whether India is carrying out transnational repression operations in California where the majority of Sikhs in the United States live. On its website, the FBI describes transnational repression as “when foreign governments stalk, intimidate, or assault people in the United States…”

Two days following the assassination of Nijjar in June, security footage captured a suspicious-looking SUV outside of Dr. Singh’s home with a passenger taking cell phone photos. The Bee also reported on alleged threats made to a priest at a Stockton Gurdwara and death threats made to activists and political leaders.

Three days after Nijar’s death — and just a day after he received a call from the FBI concerned for his safety — Bobby Singh, a Sacramento Sikh activist, received an ominous text: “Just a head up for you. You’re next in the USA. We have all the tools ready to fix the problems.”

The press office of the Indian embassy in Washington D.C. did not respond to a request for comment about allegations of Indian harassment of Sikhs in California or the assassination of Nijjar.

Dr. Singh said the killing of Nijjar will be remembered as “one of India’s great blunders. What Modi doesn’t understand about Sikhs, is the more they oppress us, the more we will rise up.”

Sikh activists in California say that following The Bee’s story, FBI agents appear to have stepped up their efforts around perceived transnational repression in California, meeting with several Sikh Americans quoted in the story, including Dr. Singh, Bakersfield Assemblywoman Jasmeet Bains, and Bobby Singh, who maintained close contact with Nijjar in the days before he was killed.

Bains, who authored a resolution in the California assembly earlier this year declaring the violence against Sikhs in 1984 a genocide, described her meeting with the FBI as “productive” and that she “definitely got a sense that the FBI is concerned with transnational repression and foreign interference. They’re investigating, figuring out what is real.”

An FBI spokesperson told The Bee that “we cannot confirm or deny any particular contact or the potential existence of an investigation. As a general matter, though, allegations of criminal conduct are reviewed by the FBI for their merit, with consideration of any applicable federal laws.”

A spokesperson for Gov. Gavin Newsom said that the governor is concerned about any instance of hate-motivated violence or transnational repression. He pointed to a recent $20 million one-time grant to provide security assistance to nonprofit organizations at risk of hate-motivated violence and the doubling of funding to bolster safety and security at places of worship.

In an email, spokesperson Alex Stack said, “It’s been a priority for the Governor — he’s conducted a series of meetings with folks of all backgrounds who are facing discrimination or hate, and he’s allocated unprecedented resources to protect communities.”

Sikh women march next to the float carrying the holy scripture at the Yuba City Nagar Kirtan parade on Sunday, Nov. 5, 2023.

Members of the Sikh Motorcycle Club stop along the route at the Yuba City Nagar Kirtan parade on Sunday, Nov. 5, 2023.

Jagdeep Mann, left, of Seattle, ties a turban on Gurpreet Singh, of New York, at the Yuba City Nagar Kirtan parade on Sunday, Nov. 5, 2023. The event draws Sikhs from all over the United States.

CONSPIRACY THEORY REDUX

JFK’s Parkland Doctors Come Forward: Oswald Didn’t Act Alone

Marlow Stern
Mon, November 13, 2023 

JFK_What the Doctors Saw_0003_RT-1 - Credit: Paramount+

Since this year marks the 60th anniversary of John F. Kennedy’s assassination, a number of docu-specials are rolling out to revisit (and, in some cases, reexamine) that tragic day in Dallas, Texas. None of them seem more compelling than JFK: What the Doctors Saw, a documentary featuring previously unreleased footage — and the testimony of seven doctors who were there in the emergency room of Parkland Hospital trying to save the then-president’s life after he was shot as his motorcade passed through Dealey Plaza on Nov. 22, 1963.

Premiering Nov. 14 on Paramount+, the film raises serious doubts about whether Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone in killing JFK (Oswald was shot to death two days later by local nightclub owner Jack Ruby as he was escorted through the Dallas Police building).

If the Warren Commission is to be believed, two shots fired by Oswald from the Texas School Book Depository entered Kennedy from behind. The first bullet came through his upper back and out near his larynx, and the second entered the right side of his head and exited through his forehead. JFK likely could have survived the first shot, but the second proved fatal, and, though he was still breathing when he entered Parkland Hospital, a cardiac massage and tracheotomy did not take, and he was pronounced dead thirty minutes after the shooting. JFK: What the Doctors Saw throws cold water on that version of events.

Based upon my interviews with the doctors, Jim Jenkins and Robert Tanenbaum, and my own research, there’s no question in my mind there was a government cover-up.

“I became involved with the story because one of my personal physicians told me he was in the emergency room at Parkland Hospital when JFK was brought in,” Jacque Lueth, the film’s executive producer who interviewed the seven Parkland doctors, tells Rolling Stone. “He introduced me to six of the other doctors who were there that day and when I interviewed them, I began to realize their observations from Trauma Room 1 didn’t match the government story.”

She adds, “Based upon my interviews with the doctors, Jim Jenkins and Robert Tanenbaum, and my own research, there’s no question in my mind there was a government cover-up.”

The doctors in the film contend one of the bullets that hit JFK entered through his throat, meaning it was an entrance wound from the front — and that there were potentially two gunmen, with Oswald firing from the rear.

In this exclusive clip from JFK: What the Doctors Saw, two of the Parkland doctors remember the initial testimony of Dr. Malcolm Perry, the surgeon who attended to JFK (and later Oswald).

“So, at the press conference, Dr. Perry, in describing the [throat] wound here, said that he thought it looked like an entrance wound,” offers Dr. Robert McClelland in the doc clip.

“So, we were thinking there were two wounds. Had to be an entrance wound and an exit wound. That was the only way we could put it together. And so, I thought it was an entrance wound,” adds Dr. Ronald Jones, another Parkland doctor.

And then, Dr. McClelland recalls something chilling that he witnessed after the presser: “When [Dr. Perry] left the room, someone came up to him who Dr. Perry thought maybe was a Secret Service man, and he told Dr. Perry, ‘You must never, ever say that was an entrance wound again if you know what’s good for you.’”

Barbara Shearer, the director and executive producer of JFK: What the Doctors Saw, explains the documentary’s revelations to Rolling Stone thusly:

“An entry wound to the neck — or to the front of JFK’s body — indicates a shot from the front. The idea being, there had to be a gunman in front of JFK if the bullet entered through his neck. That perspective runs contrary to the common narrative of JFK being shot from behind, by a lone gunman.”

 Rolling Stone