Indigenous entrepreneur using tech to help Alberta women find work

Heather Yourex-West 

3/30/2021

After finding herself struggling to find work herself, an Alberta woman launched an online platform that is now helping hundreds of other women earn a living.

© Mike Gill / Global News Bobbie Racette, founder and CEO of Virtual Gurus

Bobbie Racette built her Calgary business thinking often of her mom.

"My mom is an Indigenous woman and (she's) part of the LGBTQ2 community and raised me with my other mom," Racette said. "From a young age, I've seen prejudice against us as a family. It was a lot of heartbreak for us to deal with."

Racette first moved to Calgary to pursue job opportunities in oil and gas. For several years, she worked as a production foreman but when the price of oil crashed in 2015, Racette was laid off.

"At that time there were a lot of people in Calgary trying to find work and there were just no opportunities for me."

READ MORE: Women more likely than men to see jobs transformed by automation: Statcan

Racette began looking into freelance contract work online.

"I was bidding as low as $2 to $4 an hour on a task and I started realizing, surely there has got to be a better way for this."

It's how Racette's company, Virtual Gurus was born. The startup features an online platform that matches small businesses with contract employees who can provide administrative assistant and other support work remotely.

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"A lot of people looked at us and said, 'You know, you're crazy! This isn't going to work because essentially you're sharing an assistant with multiple other businesses." Racette said. "When the pandemic hit and everyone was in panic mode and pivoting, people realized they actually didn't need to have a full-time assistant or a marketing assistant and we just started being their back-office support."

READ MORE: Welcome to the ‘she-session.’ Why this recession is different

Virtual Gurus now has more than 400 contractors working as virtual assistants for clients across the country and beyond. Ninety-five per cent of these contractors are women and 65 per cent are people of colour.

Stacey Wells is now working as a contract virtual assistant.

"I have six clients at the moment, so every day is different," she said.

Well says she found the Virtual Gurus platform after being laid off.

"It had been challenging trying to find work. There were jobs available but in my area, everyone was looking. One posting would get hundreds of applicants."

Now, Wells says she is able to work full-time, dividing her day between clients from Canada and the U.S.

"A magazine out of Calgary is one of my clients, a client that does consulting and she's in New Mexico and then I have three clients out in Ontario."

Last week, Racette secured more than $1.7 million in the company's second-run of investment funding. Virtural Gurus has big plans for future growth but Racette says for her, each new hire is still deeply personal.

"I surprise myself, because I'll look online and I'll see all the people we're providing work for and it brings a tear to my eye."

And once again, she thinks about her mom.

Racette says her mom Lorna lives in Regina with her partner. While they normally get together frequently, COVID-19 has kept them apart.

US orders diplomats out of Myanmar as violence spirals

AFP 

3/31/2021

The United States on Wednesday ordered the departure of non-essential diplomats from Myanmar, amid growing violence following the military coup to oust civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

© Sai Aung Main The US State Department is ordering the departure of "non-emergency US government employees and their family members" from Myanmar

© STR More than 520 civilians have died as the military cracks down on anti-coup protests in Myanmar

Daily protests demanding the restoration of the elected government have been met with a military crackdown that has left more than 520 civilians dead in the weeks since the February 1 coup

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© Handout Around 3,000 people fled Myanmar through the jungle to seek safety across the border in Thailand after weekend strikes

The junta's violent response has triggered international condemnation -- and threats of retaliation from some of Myanmar's myriad ethnic armed groups.


The US State Department said it was ordering the departure of "non-emergency US government employees and their family members".

The decision was taken to protect the safety and security of staff and their families, the State Department said.

World powers have repeatedly condemned the violent crackdown on dissent and hit top junta cadres with sanctions.

But the pressure has not swayed the generals. Saturday, the annual Armed Forces Day, saw the biggest loss of life so far, with at least 107 people killed.

The spiralling bloodshed has angered some of Myanmar's 20 or so armed ethnic groups, who control large areas of territory mostly in border regions.

Three of them -- the Ta'ang National Liberation Army, the Myanmar Nationalities Democratic Alliance Army and the Arakan Army (AA) -- on Tuesday threatened to join protesters' fight unless the military reined in its crackdown.

While the trio has yet to act on their warning, two other outfits -- the Karen National Union (KNU) and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) -- have stepped up attacks on military and police in recent days.

A police station in Bago was reportedly hit with a rocket attack that injured five officers on Tuesday, though it was not clear who was responsible.

The KNU, one of the biggest rebel groups, took over an army base in eastern Kayin state at the weekend, prompting the military to respond with air strikes.

Further strikes were launched on Tuesday, but Padoh Saw Taw Nee, the KNU's head of foreign affairs, said the group would continue its position of "strongly supporting people's movement against (the) military coup".

The KNU's Fifth Brigade put out a statement on Tuesday condemning the air strikes and warning it had no option but to "confront these serious threats" posed by the military.

-- Wounded cross border --

Around 3,000 people fled through the jungle to seek safety across the border in Thailand after the weekend strikes.

The Thai foreign ministry said late Tuesday about 2,300 have returned to Myanmar, while about 550 remain in Thailand.

Karen activists have accused the Thai authorities of pushing people back and accused them of blocking UN refugee officials from the area.

Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha insisted that there was "no influx" of refugees and that the kingdom's authorities had not "scared them off with guns or sticks".

Some Karen people injured in the weekend strikes sought medical treatment Tuesday on the Thai side of the border -- the most serious case was a 15-year-old with a collapsed lung and broken rib.

Thai police said they had intercepted 10 parcels containing 112 grenades and 6,000 rounds of ammunition in northern Chiang Rai province that had been destined for Myanmar's notorious border town Tachileik.

The UN Security Council will hold an emergency session on Myanmar on Wednesday, requested by former colonial power Britain.

The 15 members will meet behind closed doors, beginning with a briefing from the UN's special envoy on Myanmar, Christine Schraner Burgener.

1%

An “elite minority” of frequent flyers cause most of the climate damage resulting from aviation’s emissions, according to an environmental charity.

© Photograph: PA

In the US, 12% of people took 66% of all flights.

The report, which collates data from the countries with the highest aviation emissions, shows a worldwide pattern of a small group taking a large proportion of flights, while many people do not fly at all.

In the US, 12% of people took 66% of all flights, while in France 2% of people took half of the flights, the report says. In China 5% of households took 40% of flights and in India just 1% of households took 45% of all the flights.

It was already known that 10% of people in England took more than half of all international flights in 2018. A global study reported by the Guardian in November found that frequent-flying “super emitters” who represent just 1% of the world’s population caused half of aviation’s carbon emissions in 2018. Almost 90% of the world’s population did not fly at all that year.

The coronavirus pandemic has slashed the number of flights taken but campaigners fear government bailouts of airlines will cause aviation to return to its pre-pandemic growth trend.

Possible, the group that produced the new report, is calling for the introduction of a frequent flyer levy, whereby the first flight in a year incurs little or no tax and it therefore does not penalise annual family holidays. But the levy then ramps up for each additional flight.

“If left unchecked, emissions from polluting industries like flying threaten to crash the climate,” said Alethea Warrington, a campaigns manager at Possible. “This report shows [that] while the poorest communities are already suffering the impacts of a warming climate, the benefits of high-carbon lifestyles are enjoyed only by the few. A progressive tax on aviation would treat frequent flying as the luxury habit it is.”

Leo Murray, a director at Possible, said there were “desperate efforts by politicians to return aviation to its former planet-burning growth trajectory by throwing public money at airlines”.

Murray added: “Air travel is a uniquely damaging behaviour, resulting in more emissions per hour than any other activity, bar starting forest fires. So targeting climate policy at the elite minority responsible for most of the environmental damage from flights could help tackle the climate problem without taking away access to the most important and valued services that air travel provides to society.”

Related: Boris Johnson’s 'jet zero' green flight goal dismissed as a gimmick

Finlay Asher, a former airline engineer turned climate activist, said: “As an engineer working on future aircraft technology, I quickly realised that technology development is moving too slowly compared with growth in air traffic. The only way to reduce emissions from the sector in time is government policy to fairly limit demand for flights. Without that, no amount of technology will help.”

Data in the report shows the US, China and the UK had the highest national emissions from aviation in 2018, while British and Australian citizens had the highest per capita emissions from flying, after people from Singapore, Finland and Iceland.

Michael Gill, executive director at the International Air Transport Association, which represents the world’s airlines, said: “Taxes have proved to be an ineffective way to tackle emissions. The focus instead should be on practical means to mitigate the CO2 impact of aviation, while still enabling people to fly for business and family reasons.”

“Airlines are investing billions in cleaner aircraft, sustainable aviation fuels and the use of carbon emissions trading or offsetting as part of a long-term strategy to cut 2005-level emissions in half by 2050.

“We would also dispute the description that frequent flying is a ‘luxury habit’. Many, if not the majority, of frequent flyers are business people who need face-to-face contact with clients and staff, particularly over the coming months as business returns to normal.”

The company behind the Suez Canal blockage spilled 28,800 plastic toys into the ocean in the 1990s

mguenot@businessinsider.com (Marianne Guenot)

© Provided by Business Insider The Ever Given, trapped in the Suez Canal as of Thursday. Suez Canal Authorit

28,800 plastic toys were mysteriously dumped into the ocean in the 1990s, prompting investigations.

They were eventually traced back to a ship operated by Evergreen Marine.

Evergreen Marine is the company behind the Ever Given, the vessel blocking the Suez Canal.

A ship operated by Evergreen Marine Corp., the company behind the vessel blocking the Suez Canal, once released 28,800 plastic toys into the Pacific Ocean by accident in the 1990s - and they were still washing up on shores around the world 15 years later.

The plastic toys included 7,200 red beavers, 7,200 green frogs, 7,200 blue turtles, and 7,200 yellow ducks, according to the journalist Donovan Hohn, who wrote a book about the incident in 2011.

The ship was eventually confirmed to be the Ever Laurel, operated by the Evergreen Marine.

But the origin of the plastic toys remained unknown for years until Hohn pieced it together. He later explained the phenomenon in his book, titled "Moby-Duck: The True Story of 28,800 Bath Toys Lost at Sea."

© NordNordWest/Wikimedia Commons The plastic toys' various routes after they were accidentally spilled in the Pacific Ocean in 1992. NordNordWest/Wikimedia Commons

After the spill, hundreds of the toys appeared on shores around the world, prompting a scientific investigation.

Two oceanographers, Jim Ingraham and Curtis Ebbesmeyer, fed the coordinates of the plastic-toy sightings into their ocean-current surface simulator and traced the drift patterns back to the North Pacific.

They had been using the simulator to reconstruct drift routes for 200 Nike sneakers that had previously been lost to sea when a shipment of 80,000 shoes went overboard.

Using these coordinates and cross-referencing them with shipping records, Hohn pieced together the history of the contamination back to the Ever Laurel, which had left Hong Kong on January 6, 1992 and arrived in Tacoma, Washington, on January 16.

The toys continued to wash ashore for years, with the most recent sighting in the UK in 2007.

Evergreen Marine was back in the news this week as the company behind the Ever Given, the container ship that has blocked the Suez Canal since Tuesday. The blockage is estimated to cost the global economy $400 million per hour.

The ship's owner, Japanese company Shoei Kisen, said Friday that it was sorry for the disruption, and said it hoped to free the vessel on Saturday, according to Nikkei Asia.

Read the original article on Business Insider

Five big reasons behind suppliers' mutiny against Canada's big grocers


An ongoing feud between Canada’s biggest supermarket chains and their suppliers erupted into public view during the pandemic, attracting the attention of legislators who are now contemplating new rules for the sector. Suppliers have been pushing for the government to intervene since Walmart Inc. and Loblaw Cos. Ltd. started charging their suppliers controversial fees last year to help cover investments in online grocery shopping during the pandemic. But suppliers have had other concerns for years. Here are their main complaints

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© Provided by Financial Post Suppliers have been pushing for the government to intervene since Walmart and Loblaw started charging suppliers controversial fees last year.

Big fees

It’s common for suppliers to pay listing or shelving fees to get products onto major retail shelves. In Canada, one SKU — industry-speak for a specific product flavour, or type, in a specific package — can cost up to $1 million for national distribution with a supermarket chain, according to Food, Health and Consumer Products of Canada (FHCP). “If you’re a potato chip guy, let’s say, and you’ve got 15 flavours … you’re paying a listing fee for all of them,” FCHP chief executive Michael Graydon said. “Some retailers on occasion will utilize listing fees as a revenue generator by transitioning people in and out of the mix. You’re in for a year, you pay a million bucks. Oh, you’re out this year, somebody else is in. And there’s this constant change and churn.”

But it’s the unpredictable nature of the charges that are the real issue. Suppliers say they can’t afford to sour a relationship with a retailer in Canada’s consolidated market, so they have no choice but to pay up. Retail Council of Canada (RCC), which represents the big grocers, said retailers often negotiate with the world’s largest multinational food manufacturers. In those situations, tough negotiation can be a good thing for consumers, RCC chief executive Diane Brisebois said, adding that fees are dependent on the manufacturer’s size.

Private-label plagiarism

Food manufacturers complain that some in-store, or private-label, brands sold by grocery chains have pilfered their ideas. Suppliers will often lay out their plans to grocers for the year, including new product innovations being launched in the coming months. “We’ve seen situations where those product innovations have actually shown up as a private-label product before the actual national brand is launched, or shortly after,” Graydon said.

But Brisebois said “to assume this is what happens may be a bit of a stretch.” She said retailers spend years developing private-label strategies and products. “I’m not sure that’s fair, because you’re assuming that a retailer, regardless of size, is able to write his or her private-label strategy within two months,” she said. “Retailers spend as much time — in fact, probably even more — in consumer research.”
Draconian fines

Grocers need shipments from suppliers to arrive on time and in full to properly manage their national supply chains. To enforce this, grocers will charge suppliers fines if, say, a truck is late to a distribution centre, or a shipment comes up short. But in the pandemic, major swings in consumer demand threw the industry’s sophisticated forecast models completely out of whack. Suppliers also had to deal with increased employee absenteeism and lost efficiency from social distancing on production lines, making it difficult to fulfil every supermarket’s orders

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© Chris Helgren/Reuters files Empty shelves in a Toronto Loblaws store in March 2020.

Retailers suspended fines for short shipments, but it was only temporary. By last fall, some retailers reinstated fines on shorts, which upset many suppliers who said the fees were unfair given the circumstances. Loblaw, one of the retailers to reinstate the fines, said it would use common sense and be flexible with hard-hit manufacturers that couldn’t fulfil orders. But independent grocers complained that big grocers’ heavy fines on shorts meant that manufacturers were prioritizing the major chains, with little left over for mom-and-pop stores. A source at one major manufacturer estimated that short shipment penalties amounted to hundreds of thousands of dollars in November 2020 alone. One major dairy processor, Lactalis Canada Inc., even refused to pay fines for short shipments during a second wave of infections late last year.

But RCC said short shipments cause real problems for grocery stores, especially early in the pandemic when empty shelves spooked customers and set off waves of panic buying. “If a specific manufacturer’s shipment is expected and is relied upon to fill the shelves, the grocer has not planned for other products to fill that space and so the problem becomes intensified,” RCC said in a statement.
Late payments

Tracking down payments, and making sure fees and fines are accurate, is one of the manufacturer’s biggest challenges, according to FHCP. “I know of one particular company that is currently sitting in a deficit of over $5 million that is owed to them by one particular retailer because of delayed payments,” Graydon said. “I’ve got some mid-sized members where 40 per cent of their HR expenses are people dedicated to chasing down getting paid on time and getting paid accurately.”

Who pays for exploded pop?

Manufacturers say they are also on the hook for products that retailers can’t sell. “If the guy in shipping drops a case of pop and it all explodes and they can’t use it, it’s put in a corner for the manufacturer to pay for the writeoff,” Graydon said. “We didn’t break it. But we’re paying for it.” FHCP has also raised concerns about retailers running a specific product on promotion, even if the manufacturer didn’t consent to taking a discounted price on that product. “Any of these practices in any other business would not be tolerated,” he said.

Brisebois said RCC is looking at the complaints in light of the recent push for legislation, though she added that it’s not clear whether these are one-off complaints or widespread issues. “It really all depends on the contract conditions and the negotiations between a buyer and a seller,” she said. “To assume that some of the issues that are brought up are universal, I think, would be wrong.”

Financial Post

Sobeys’ parent company teams up with manufacturers to draft code of conduct for embattled grocery sector

Sobeys’ parent Empire takes aim at major competitors for giving Big grocery a bad name

Walmart Canada defends controversial new supplier fees as sales soar

Loblaw follows Walmart in imposing new fees on suppliers to help pay for upgrades

Port of Montreal sees drop in shipments as labour dispute continues


MONTREAL — Shipping volumes at the Port of Montreal are dropping amid the spectre of a potential strike, Maritime Employers Association president Martin Tessier says.

© Provided by The Canadian Press

"Every day, we are receiving calls to know if we're going to close," Tessier said in an interview. "The anxiety of all the importers and exporters, it's rising like crazy."

Volume at the port has dropped 1.8 per cent since the start of 2021, Tessier added, as customers look to other ports to ship to and from.

The union representing 1,125 longshore workers and the employer concluded a seven-month truce on March 20, after a 10-day strike last August.

The longshore workers' union voted on March 21 to reject the employers' offer, but said it did not intend to submit a strike notice.

The Shipping Federation of Canada, the trade association representing the interests of ocean-going ships, said earlier this month that the situation was causing North American importers and exporters to divert cargo away from the port.

Tessier said shippers are shifting their business to ports with which the Port of Montreal competes, including New York and Baltimore.

"We are facing a slowdown in volume based on the fact that, again, the importers and exporters, they don't want to go through what they've been through last summer, and the anxiety is rising day after day," Tessier said.

The potential strike at the Montreal port threatens to put further pressure on global shipping networks, already strained due to a shortage of container space. Container shipping prices have more than doubled in the last year, data from Drewry Shipping Consultants Ltd. shows.

The days-long shutdown of Egypt's Suez Canal after a massive container ship became stuck in its side wall last week has threatened to further disrupt shipping networks, leading to potential price increases and delays.

In February, the Port of Baltimore saw volumes increase 6 per cent for general cargo and 3 per cent for shipping containers year over year, said William P. Doyle, executive director of the Maryland Port Administration.

The port attributed its increased volumes to a new contract for rolled paper and the diverting of at least 17 ships since last July from other ports to Baltimore. However, none of those ships was rerouted from Montreal, Doyle said.

Similarly, a spokesman for the Port of Halifax said that anecdotally, the facility has seen an increase in container cargo traffic, but it was unclear what portion of the additional traffic was attributable to the strike threat in Montreal.

"It’s difficult to say how much is related to situations at other ports," port spokesman Lane Farguson said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 30, 2021.

Jon Victor, The Canadian Press

Google, BMW, Volvo, and Samsung SDI sign up to WWF call for temporary ban on deep-sea mining

(Reuters) - Google, BMW, Volvo and Samsung SDI are the first global companies to have signed up to a World Wildlife Fund (WWF) call for a moratorium on deep-sea mining, the WWF said on Wednesday

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© Reuters/NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration FILE PHOTO: Black coral pictured on the seabed

In backing the call, the companies commit not to source any minerals from the seabed, to exclude such minerals from their supply chains, and not to finance deep seabed mining activities, the WWF said in a statement.

Deep-sea mining would extract cobalt, copper, nickel, and manganese - key materials commonly used to make batteries - from potato-sized nodules which pepper the sea floor at depths of 4-6 kilometres and are particularly abundant in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone in the North Pacific Ocean, a vast area spanning millions of kilometres between Hawaii and Mexico.

"With much of the deep sea ecosystem yet to be explored and understood, such activity would be recklessly short-sighted," WWF said in a statement.

The moratorium calls for a ban on deep seabed mining activities until the risks are fully understood and all alternatives are exhausted.

BMW said raw materials from deep-sea mining are "not an option" for the company at present because there are insufficient scientific findings to be able to assess the environmental risks. Google and Volvo did not immediately respond to emailed requests for comment.

South Korea's Samsung SDI said it was the first battery maker to participate in WWF's initiative.

In the meantime, deep-sea mining companies are pushing ahead with preparatory work and research on seabed licence areas.

Companies that hold exploration licences for swathes of the sea floor, including DeepGreen, GSR and UK Seabed Resources - a subsidiary of Lockheed Martin's UK-based arm - hope to eventually sell minerals from the seabed to carmakers and battery companies.

DeepGreen, which recently announced plans to go public in a merger with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), has previously said seabed mining will be more sustainable than mining on land because it creates less waste and the nodules containing minerals have higher concentrations of metals than deposits found on land.

Meanwhile Norway has said it could license companies for deep-sea mining as early as 2023, potentially placing it among the first countries to harvest seabed metals.

(Reporting by Helen Reid; Editing by Amran Abocar and Kenneth Maxwell)

WHEN IT SUCCEEDS THEN IT IS NEWS

Another SpaceX Starship explodes in test flight

William Harwood 1 hour ago

A SpaceX Starship prototype blasted off Tuesday for a planned up-and-down test flight, climbing to about 6.2 miles above the Texas Gulf Coast before flipping over on its side and plunging back toward Earth, disappearing in heavy fog as it neared the ground.

© SpaceX 033021-engines.jpg

As the rocket began reigniting its three engines to flip upright for landing, it apparently exploded, the fourth Starship test flight in a row to end with a "rapid unscheduled disassembly," jokingly referred to as a RUD.

"At least the crater is in the right place," SpaceX founder Elon Musk tweeted.

Providing a more serious explanation, he added: "Looks like engine 2 had issues on ascent & didn't reach operating chamber pressure during landing burn, but, in theory, it wasn't needed. Something significant happened shortly after landing burn start. Should know what it was once we can examine the bits later today."

The prototype, known as SN11, was a stand-in for the gargantuan Starship rocket system's second stage, a next-generation super-heavy-lift rocket. Using three methane-burning Raptor engines, the prototype blasted off from SpaceX's Boca Chica, Texas, test facility on the Gulf Coast near Brownsville at 9 a.m. EDT, climbing straight up through thick fog.

Liftoff came less than a month after another prototype, SN10, exploded a few moments after an apparently successful touchdown.

As with the earlier flights, SN11 appeared to climb smoothly away, although the fog blocked the view from ground cameras. But a camera on board the rocket provided crystal-clear shots of the engine nozzles and long jets of fiery exhaust as the vehicle gained altitude.

First one engine, then another shut down as planned as the Starship neared its planned high point, or apogee, of about 6.2 miles (10 kilometers).

© Provided by CBS News The view from an on-board

The third engine then shut down, the rocket tipped over on its side and began falling back toward the launch site in a now-familiar "belly flop" maneuver, using computer-controlled nose and tail fins to maintain the proper orientation. About a half mile above the surface, the computer began restarting the engines to flip upright for a tail-first touchdown on stubby landing legs.

But the image suddenly froze at the 5-minute, 49-second mark and the sound of an apparent explosion could be heard. After that, silence.

"Looks like we've had another exciting test of Starship number 11," SpaceX commentator John Insprucker wryly observed during a SpaceX webcast. A few moments later, he explained that a frozen image of the rocket's engines did not mean SpaceX expected to regain data.

"Starship 11 is not coming back, don't wait for the landing," Insprucker said. "We do appear to have lost all the data from the vehicle and the team, of course, is away from the landing pad. So we'll be out there seeing what we had. ... But with that, we are going to bring the webcast to a close. Interesting flight and as always with Starship, an exciting time on our webcast."

© Provided by CBS News Debris can be seen strewn across the SpaceX test facility near the Texas Gulf Coast after a Starship prototype disintegrated during a test flight. / Credit: LabPadre

The Starship system features a 230-foot-tall "Super Heavy" first stage generating 16 million pounds of thrust with 28 Raptor engines, more than twice the power of NASA's legendary Saturn 5 moon rocket. A first-stage prototype has not yet been launched.

The rocket's 160-foot second stage, also confusingly known as Starship, will use a half-dozen Raptor engines capable of boosting 100 tons of payload to low-Earth orbit. The prototypes launched to date on high-altitude test flights have featured just three Raptors.

Musk said Starship prototype 15 will be moved to the launch pad in a few days with "hundreds of design improvements across structures, avionics/software & engine."

"Hopefully, one of those improvements covers this problem. If not, then retrofit will add a few more days."

Edmonton Journal Tuesday's letters:

 Not planning for carbon tax ruling irresponsible

Jason Kenney’s belief that the Supreme Court’s carbon tax decision would go in his favour despite the many clear signals to the contrary, and his refusal to prepare for that possibility, are breathtakingly irresponsible. It reveals how out of touch he is with the world and confirms he is yesterday’s man, stubbornly bent on turning the clock back in Alberta to a time long past when social conservatives dominated and the province could count on another oil and gas industry boom to save its economic bacon.

It is not surprising, however, as it appears neither Kenney nor many of his closest advisors actually lived in Alberta during the past couple of decades and while Albertans moved on.

Cathy Clement, Edmonton

Maskless crowd spoils family outing

Go outside, follow the COVID rules and enjoy yourselves, the CMOH says and that’s what we did on Saturday afternoon.

My husband and I were set to spend an hour or so with our son, daughter-in-law and 18-month-old grandson at Kinsmen Park. We had our masks and ensured we distanced ourselves. It was a time to watch our grandson’s development. Our time with him has been hampered with the COVID restrictions.

Upon arrival, we noticed the parking lot by the playground was quite full and we noticed many cars showed “Republic of Alberta” stickers. A group of 20 or more were gathered beside the playground. As they were maskless and in close proximity, we had little choice but to leave. This may have been the decision of other families as there were no children enjoying the playground. This was 3 p.m. I will contact city officials to see if a permit for this demonstration was obtained. I also plan on reporting this to AHS.

Freedom of speech is a right but so is freedom of enjoyment of public space. The silent majority follows the rules only to be mocked by those choosing to thumb their noses at authority with no consequences. Shame on them.

Sandra Hulleman, Edmonton

Rodeo is no ‘beacon of hope’

“Proud Calgarian” MLA Muhammad Yaseen believes it would be a “beacon of hope” to name rodeo as Alberta’s provincial sport. I disagree. I understand that there is a long history of rodeos in the province, including Edmonton’s hosting of the CFR for many years, but this feels more like a way to spotlight Calgary and the Stampede than a “beacon of hope” for the entire province.

Animals are needlessly killed at rodeos such as the Stampede every year; is this what we want our province associated with? Animal cruelty and deaths in the name of our “provincial sport?” To each their own, of course, but this proud, lifelong Edmontonian feels absolutely no connection to rodeos whatsoever and I don’t think it should be up to the UCP (many of whom are based in Calgary) to decide our provincial identity for us.

A “beacon of hope” would certainly be lovely, but this is not it.

Krista Power, Edmonton

3/30/2021

FORWARD TO THE PAST

Alberta social studies plan raises questions on history, religion, First Nations

“It’s like the people who wrote this have never met a child” 

EDMONTON — Alberta’s proposed school curriculum is being criticized for blasting historical facts at kids, missing the mark on First Nations and religion, and including a reference to Premier Jason Kenney’s bandleader grandfather

.

© Provided by The Canadian Press

EDUCATION MINISTER IS A FORMER SUNDAY SCHOOL TEACHER

“Honestly, I want to point to something (positive), I really do. I want a curriculum that is solid and good for students,” Carla Peck, an associate professor in education, said Tuesday.

“I can’t find anything so far.”

The proposed kindergarten to Grade 6 curriculum was introduced Monday by Education Minister Adriana LaGrange and is to be piloted in some schools this fall.

It overhauls study in eight core subjects to stress fundamentals and real-life skills and applications.

The social studies section has kids learning a wealth of historical detail intermixed with financial literacy.

Grade 1 students are to explore the origin of writing, First Nations culture, ancient civilizations, the divine right of kings and the existential question of whether money can buy happiness.

In Grade 2, it’s Socrates, Plato, Charlemagne, the Black Death, the Magna Carta, Judaism, Islam and Christianity, along with the rise and fall of the Roman Empire.

By Grade 4 students are to learn about explorer Peter Pond, the Palliser Triangle, the Plains Cree and how business plans were devised to build the Canadian Pacific Railway in the late 1800s.

Students in Grade 5 are expected to learn about the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and dangers to consumers from modern payday loan operations.

The horrific legacy of residential schools — in the United States — comes in Grade 6.

 There's also a deep dive into at least eight world religions focusing on beliefs, holy books, parables and rituals.

Peck said it’s far too much and far too complex for youngsters and comes at the expense of critical-thinking skills.

“It’s like the people who wrote this have never met a child,” said Peck, who focuses on social studies in education at the University of Alberta.

“The whole philosophy is they don’t want kids to understand any of this. They want kids to be able to make a passing reference to it. In other words, you can do really well on (the game show) "Jeopardy." You don’t actually have any depth of understanding.”

Margie Patrick, an associate education professor at The King’s University in Edmonton, said religion is an important study topic, but the proposed curriculum lacks context and avoids larger discussions on the role and relevance of religion, including non-belief systems.

“Why are we learning it? What is the understanding that we want students to take away from this?” asked Patrick.

She suggested developing empathy and understanding of other beliefs can be done through illustrative examples and religions don't need to be taught in minute detail.

“It will feel certainly to some students, and it will be interpreted by some parents, as this is just indoctrination — which is what you don’t want."

Yvonne Poitras Pratt, a University of Calgary associate professor who specializes in Indigenous education, said the curriculum is a perfunctory nod to broader First Nations culture while focusing on its role in the European migration.

“What I see in K to 6 is very much a celebratory story about the colonial side of our history, where the Indigenous people are more of an add-on to this bigger colonial story,” she said.

“They’re not looking deep inside at the negative impacts of the colonial past on Indigenous peoples. If you think of the Metis, for instance, there’s none of the inclusion of the ways in which the scrip process was flawed (and) in which lands were taken away.”

Dwayne Donald, a University of Alberta associate professor of education focusing on Indigenous curriculum, agreed.

Donald said in the proposed curriculum, the Indigenous experience seems bolted onto a timeline, a box to be checked off. The Indigenous experience suffuses the North American experience, he said, and the curriculum needs to draw on that accumulated wisdom and worldview.

Instead, said Donald, "There is this moral success story (the curriculum designers) want to tell, and the story is based on how liberal democracy coupled with market capitalism has morphed together to create the most successful societies the world has ever seen.

"(They want) to bring students into this tradition of this moral success story and say to everybody, 'Your best option, if you want to be successful, is to accept this story, to get on board with it.'"

In the music section, Grade 6 students are to study jazz and big-band sound, focusing on Glenn Miller and Mart Kenney, the United Conservative premier's grandfather.

Opposition NDP Leader Rachel Notley questions why Black musicians aren't used as exemplars.

“(It) is a profound display of whitewashing,” said Notley. “You do not learn about jazz without learning about Duke Ellington and Count Basie.

“Any curriculum that proposes or purports to teach jazz by only talking about white musicians — even those who are related to the premier — is a failure.”

Kenney's spokeswoman Jerrica Goodwin said in an email that the premier was "not involved in the inclusion of Mart Kenney in the draft curriculum; he was not even aware that Mart Kenney was included until today."

Alberta Education spokesman Justin Marshall noted that Black jazz artists including Ellington, Billie Holiday, Louis Armstrong, Lead Belly and Ray Charles are also included in the curriculum.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 30, 3021.

Dean Bennett, The Canadian Press

SCHOOL CURRICULUM BY UCP

Alberta school curriculum out of tune with song by premier's grandfather: musicians

© Provided by The Canadian Press

EDMONTON — Alberta jazz musicians and teachers are dropping their chops at the inclusion of a tune by Premier Jason Kenney's grandfather in the province's proposed Grade 6 school curriculum.

"When I Get to Calgary," as recorded by Mart Kenney and his Western Gentlemen, is to be part of the Grade 6 program as one of two examples (along with Glenn Miller) of how big bands expanded the sound of jazz.

Calgary tenorman and Mount Royal University professor Jim Brenan once gigged with the elder Kenney.

"He was a very nice man," Brenan recalled Tuesday. "He seemed like a sweet, kindly old grandfather."

But jazz?

"It was a society gig. It was extremely polite. It was inoffensive, non-challenging. When you want to monetize jazz music, you turn it into (that)."

Mart Kenney, a saxophone player, began leading bands in 1935. He became a fixture on CBC airwaves and in hotel ballrooms from coast to coast. His band, which included up to 30 musicians, recorded 25 78-rpm discs for the Bluebird and RCA labels.

He retired in 1969 and died in 2006.

Ray Baril, a saxophonist and music professor at Edmonton's MacEwan University, is another one-time Western Gentleman. He said there's value in telling students about music of that generation, and Mart Kenney's records are good examples of myriad so-called "sweet" dance bands that people loved.


"It was a very commercially based music. It was very much connected to making people feel good at a difficult time."

But restricting the curriculum's two main references to jazz to Mart Kenney and Miller — white-led, commercial ensembles — ignores the music's roots, said Brenan.

"It's Black American music. When you make a choice and you have two mandated picks, you pick the two that are the most watered down ...?"

Baril said there are plenty of Canadian — even Albertan — examples of jazz that come closer to the heart of the music than Mart Kenney's "The West, a Nest, and You." He points to Montreal pianist Oscar Peterson or 1930s Kansas City blues singer Big Miller, who lived in Edmonton.

"If we're going to talk about jazz, then we need to talk about those bands that are based on improvisation. How can you not talk about Duke Ellington?"

Baril said Mart Kenney himself told him he'd been influenced by the Duke.

"I respect (Kenney) for what he did. I just think there are other examples of jazz."

Baril said he hopes teachers take the curriculum as a jumping-off point to explore other musicians, but he wishes the curriculum writers had done the work instead.

"It would have been nice if they had taken the opportunity to talk to us."

A spokesman for Education Minister Adriana LaGrange said Ellington and other musicians are included in the curriculum as examples.

"Music examples in the curriculum are just that: examples that teachers may use when teaching about big band ensembles and jazz music," Justin Marshall said in a statement. "They are not intended to be exhaustive or comprehensive."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 30, 2021.

— Follow @row1960 on Twitter

Bob Weber, The Canadian Press

BACKWARDS TO THE FUTURE

Proposed Alberta curriculum baffles parents, sparks protests

Janet French CBC

© Nathan Gross/CBC Beaumont parent Taylor Schroeter says she's concerned a proposed new K-6 school curriculum contains too much memorization in social studies on topics that are age inappropriate for young children.

Some parents say they're angry and bewildered by the content of a new elementary school curriculum proposed for Alberta children.

"I think this is the stuff of parents' nightmares, honestly," Beaumont parent Taylor Schroeter said on Tuesday.

She's now an administrator on a Facebook Group, Parents Against Alberta's New Curriculum Draft, which attracted more than 7,000 members in its first 24 hours.

"I, for one, don't plan on taking this lying down," she said.

Although some parts of Alberta's current school curriculum are dated, Schroeter says her seven- and nine-year-old children are engaged and interested in their classes.

That will be at risk, she says, should teachers be required to regale young children with lessons about ancient Rome, Chinese dynasties, the spice trade and Genghis Khan.

The proposed social studies outcomes are age-inappropriate, and would be nearly impossible for teachers to deliver in 20-to-30 minutes a day, she said.

Parents should be angry about this, she says, and she hopes they speak up.

© Nathan Gross/ CBC Taylor Schroeter, who lives in Beaumont, plays with her two young children on March 30, 2021. She says during the pandemic, parents have been more engaged than ever in their children's education, which will make them particularly sensitive to the substantial changes proposed to the K-6 school curriculum.

Many parents and educators have expressed outrage online and penned letters to MLAs since Education Minister Adriana LaGrange unveiled the proposed K-6 curriculum on Monday.


LaGrange said voters told her government they wanted to dispense with educational fads and return to traditional methods of teaching, including an emphasis on acquiring knowledge, numeracy and literacy, and practical skills.

After inheriting the curriculum redevelopment process from the former NDP government, the United Conservative Party government brought in hand-picked advisers to rework some of the existing material.

But curriculum experts say the latest iteration of the document is Eurocentric, dismissive of Indigenous perspectives, and not based on research about how best to teach young children.

Parents and teachers heaped on more criticism Tuesday, saying the government's latest attempt is unacceptable. Organizers have planned protests outside the legislature and LaGrange's constituency office in Red Deer.
Not enough teacher input, educator says

Edmonton parent Amanda Waters said she began composing letters to her MLA and LaGrange, saying the dense historical material proposed for second-grade social studies is irrelevant to her three young children.

"I think it sounds very unreasonable," she said. "It's far too much for them. I really feel like it's going to burn out their desire to learn."

Chelsey Wood, a teacher and the parent of a toddler, says she used to be excited for the new curriculum before teachers were cut out of the writing process. She's pleased to see an increased focus on literacy and numeracy skills, but has concerns about many of the proposals.

"There wasn't a huge input from teachers and people who were actually in the classroom, so I think we're not exactly on the right track to deliver the things we should be in the way we should be doing it," she said.

© Travis McEwan/CBC Teacher and parent Chelsey Wood, with her two-year-old daughter Katherine, says she began to grow concerned about the curriculum development process when the government cut teachers out of the writing process.

Tess Owen, an Edmonton elementary school teacher and parent of two children age 10 and eight, says the draft proposes to remove lessons about being a good citizen and community member.

World history lessons are developmentally inappropriate for seven-year-olds, who are still grasping the concepts of their city, town, and province, she said.

She said mandatory outcomes about religion in the early grades are "scary," and she doesn't like that Christian views are favoured in the curriculum.

She's concerned children will be asked to memorize and regurgitate facts instead of thinking critically and asking questions about why and how events happened.

"As a parent, that's really disturbing. Because what I want my kids to do is to be leaders, not followers," she said. "And this is not a curriculum that will deliver that."

The content neglects to consider students learning English, newcomers, students with learning disabilities and other challenges, she said.

Online town halls coming in April

The drafts also worried Tracey Kinniburgh, a St. Albert parent who became an unplanned homeschooler during the COVID-19 pandemic.

With her second grader doing school online, a kindergartener doing home education and a three-year-old running around, she has a new appreciation for the amount of work it takes to educate young kids.

She spent Monday night devouring some of the curriculum proposals for the early grades and concluded the lessons are overwhelming and inappropriate.

She questioned how a child who is just learning how to write five-word sentences could meaningfully understand lessons about the Mongolian Empire.

She said she also has concerns that the curriculum favours a Christian, Eurocentric point of view, and uses "coded language" to send messages about values.

"It does upset me," she said of the proposals. "It doesn't appear to be a bipartisan curriculum."

Kinniburgh was happy to see increased inclusion of financial literacy and computer coding and hopes schools will be provided with adequate resources to teach these topics well.

The government is asking for public feedback on the curriculum drafts in an online survey, and also plans to hold four virtual town halls in April.

They have allotted $6-million this year to begin classroom testing of the new curriculum, which will begin in about 10 per cent of schools in September.

The new K-6 curriculum is slated to be mandatory in all elementary schools starting in September 2022.

 

NIKE SUES COMPANY THAT MADE LIL NAS X’S SATAN SHOES

Aleia Woods

Published: March 29, 2021

MSCHF / Lil Nas X via YouTuTWEET

NIKE SUES DESIGNER OVER LIL NAS X ‘SATAN SHOES’

UPDATE (March 29):

On Monday afternoon, a rep for Nike confirmed the lawsuit against MSCHF to XXL.

"Nike filed a trademark infringement and dilution complaint against MSCHF today related to the Satan Shoes," the statement reads. "We don’t have any further details to share on pending legal matters. However, we can tell you we do not have a relationship with Lil Nas X or MSCHF. The Satan Shoes were produced without Nike’s approval or authorization, and Nike is in no way connected with this project."

ORIGINAL STORY:

Nike is standing their ground against Lil Nas X's recently released collaboration of a Satan-themed Nike Air Max 97 sneaker with Brooklyn, N.Y.-based art collective MSCHF, which appears in the rapper's controversial new "Montero (Call Me By Your Name)" video. The billion-dollar shoe brand is reportedly filing a lawsuit against MSCHF for misleading buyers into thinking Nike approved the shoe when it was actually a customization done by the art company and Nas X.

According to a report from TMZ on Monday (March 29), Nike claims that they didn't authorize the reworked sneaker Lil Nas X dropped in conjunction with MSCHF to accompany the release of his single "Montero (Call Me By Your Name)," which arrived last Friday (March 26). Nike reportedly says they are "in no way connected with this project." The sneakers appear in the video being worn by the Satan actor, which can be seen beginning at the 2:27-mark of the visual.

Nike is suing MSCHF for trademark infringement because their signature Swoosh logo is featured on the Satan-inspired shoe. The company is seeking damages and wants all sales from the shoe to be blocked from Lil Nas X.

The sneaker conglomerate also notes that MSCHF buys shoes from Nike, modifies them to fit their own brand and resells for much higher than Nike's initial retail price.

Read More: Nike Sues Company That Made Lil Nas X's Satan Shoes - XXL | https://www.xxlmag.com/nike-sues-lil-nas-x-satan-shoes-lawsuit/?utm_source=tsmclip&utm_medium=referral

NIKE SUES DESIGNER OVER LIL NAS X ‘SATAN SHOES’

BY ETHAN SHANFELD
March 29, 2021 

The rapper has become embroiled in a novel skirmish in the sneaker wars.

MSCHF/MEGA

Lil Nas X is dancing with the devil (both literally and figuratively) after the release of his fiery “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” music video and limited edition “Satan Shoes,” Sportico sister publication Variety reports.

The hip-hop superstar who broke records with his country-infused hit Old Town Road is stirring controversy after promoting his new sneakers, a collaboration with MSCHF, which feature Satanic imagery, a Bible verse and a drop of real human blood.

The shoes were made using Nike Air Max 97s, but the sportswear giant has said they do not endorse them, filing a lawsuit against MSCHF for trademark infringement. Nike claims that the “unauthorized” sneaker has caused confusion amongst customers, many of whom believe that the company is promoting Satanism.

“Nike files this lawsuit to maintain control of its brand, to protect its intellectual property, and to clear the confusion and dilution in the marketplace by setting the record straight—Nike has not and does not approve or authorize MSCHF’s customized Satan Shoes,” the suit reads.

The red and black kicks include a pentagram, the “Devil’s Star,” and an inscription of “Luke 10:18,” the Bible passage that reads, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.” The air bubble at the sole of the shoe contains about two fluid ounces of red ink and a drop of human blood, supplied by people who work at MSCHF. The packaging includes drawings of the Devil walking up to Jesus. All 666 pairs of the rapper’s Satan Shoes, listed at $1,018, sold out in under a minute.

“People already demonize who I am,” Lil Nas X said in a new interview with Complex. “I’m gonna make the best of it.”

Immediately after news broke of the hell-raising sneakers, several prominent politicians, religious figures and celebrities voiced concern and outrage.

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem wrote on Twitter, “We are in a fight for the soul of our nation. We need to fight hard. And we need to fight smart. We have to win.”

Rapper Joyner Lucas raised concern about Lil Nas X’s young fanbase being exposed to the controversial music video and shoes.

Pro basketball player Nick Young also took to Twitter, writing, “My kids will never play Old Town Road again,” and saying that he is “debating about wearing Nike.”

Lil Nas X has fought back, defending his music and sneaker release as art and calling people out for hypocrisy in their anger. See the artist’s tweets below:

An organic material for the next generation of HVAC technologies

Texas A&M researchers have enhanced the dehumidification efficiency of a polymer that could help develop more energy-efficient systems with a smaller carbon footprint

TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY

Research News

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IMAGE: DEHUMIDIFIERS WITH ENHANCED POLYIMIDE MEMBRANES (WHITE DISC) WILL BE ENERGY EFFICIENT WITH A SMALLER CARBON FOOTPRINT. view more 

CREDIT: DHARMESH PATEL/TEXAS A&M ENGINEERING

On sultry summer afternoons, heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems provide much-needed relief from the harsh heat and humidity. These systems, which often come with dehumidifiers, are currently not energy efficient, guzzling around 76% of the electricity in commercial and residential buildings.

In a new study, Texas A&M University researchers have described an organic material, called polyimides, that uses less energy to dry air. Furthermore, the researchers said polyimide-based dehumidifiers can bring down the price of HVAC systems, which currently cost thousands of dollars.

"In this study, we took an existing and rather robust polymer and then improved its dehumidification efficiency," said Hae-Kwon Jeong, McFerrin Professor in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering. "These polymer-based membranes, we think, will help develop the next generation of HVAC and dehumidifier technologies that are not just more efficient than current systems but also have a smaller carbon footprint."

The results of the study are described in the Journal of Membrane Science.

Dehumidifiers remove moisture from the air to a comfortable level of dryness, thereby improving air quality and eliminating dust mites, among other useful functions. The most commonly available dehumidifiers use refrigerants. These chemicals dehumidify by cooling the air and reducing its ability to carry water. However, despite their popularity, refrigerants are a source of greenhouse gases, a major culprit for global warming.

As an alternative material for dehumidification, naturally occurring materials known as zeolites have been widely considered for their drying action. Unlike refrigerants, zeolites are desiccants that can absorb moisture within their water-attractive or hydrophilic pores. Although these inorganic materials are green and have excellent dehumidification properties, zeolite-based dehumidifiers pose challenges of their own.

"Scaling up is a big problem with zeolite membranes," Jeong said. "First, zeolites are expensive to synthesize. Another issue comes from the mechanical properties of zeolites. They are weak and need really good supporting structures, which are quite expensive, driving up the overall cost."

Jeong and his team turned to a cost-effective organic material called polyimides that are well-known for their high rigidity and tolerance for heat and chemicals. At the molecular level, the basic unit of these high-performance polymers are repeating, ring-shaped imide groups connected together in long chains. Jeong said the attractive forces between the imides gives the polymer its characteristic strength and thus an advantage over mechanically weak zeolites. But the dehumidification properties of the polyimide material needed enhancement.

The researchers first created a film by carefully applying polyimide molecules on a few nanometers-wide alumina platforms. Next, they put this film in a highly concentrated sodium hydroxide solution, triggering a chemical process called hydrolysis. The reaction caused the imide molecular groups to break and become hydrophilic. When viewed under a high-powered microscope, the researchers uncovered that the hydrolysis reactions lead to the formation of water-attractive percolation channels or highways within the polyimide material.

When Jeong's team tested their enhanced material for dehumidification, they found that their polyimide membrane was very permeable to water molecules. In other words, the membrane was capable of extracting excess moisture from the air by trapping them in the percolation channels. The researchers noted that these membranes could be operated continuously without the need for regeneration since the trapped water molecules leave from the other side by a vacuum pump that is installed within a standard dehumidifier.

Jeong said his team carefully designed their experiments to partial hydrolysis wherein a controlled number of imide groups become hydrophilic.

"The strength of polyimides comes from their intermolecular forces between their chains," Jeong said. "If too many imides are hydrolyzed, then we are left with weak material. On the other hand, if the hydrolysis is too low, the material won't be effective at dehumidification."

Although polyimide membranes have shown great promise in their potential use in dehumidification, Jeong said their performance still lags behind zeolite membranes.

"This is a new approach to improve the property of a polymer for dehumidification and a lot more optimizations need to be done in order to further enhance the performance of this membrane," Jeong said. "But another key factor for engineering applications is it has to be cheap, especially if you want the technology to be reasonably affordable for homeowners. We are not there yet but are certainly taking strides in that direction."

###

Sunghwan Park in the chemical engineering department also contributed to this study.

This research is funded by the National Science Foundation and the Qatar National Research Fund.