RACIST HEALTHCARE U$A
Progress in childhood cancer has stalled for Blacks and Hispanics, report says

CARLA K. JOHNSON
November 15, 2023 

Advances in childhood cancer are a success story in modern medicine. But in the past decade, those strides have stalled for Black and Hispanic youth, opening a gap in death rates, according to a new report published Thursday.

Childhood cancers are rare and treatments have improved drastically in recent decades, saving lives.

Death rates were about the same for Black, Hispanic and white children in 2001, and all went lower during the next decade. But over the next 10 years, only the rate for white children dipped a little lower.

“You can have the most sophisticated scientific advances, but if we can’t deliver them into every community in the same way, then we have not met our goal as a nation,” said Dr. Sharon Castellino, a pediatric cancer specialist at Emory University’s Winship Cancer Institute in Atlanta, who had no role in the new report.

She said the complexity of new cancers treatments such as gene therapy, which can cure some children with leukemia, can burden families and be an impediment to getting care.

“You need at least one parent to quit their job and be there 24/7, and then figure out the situation for the rest of their children," Castellino said. "It’s not that families don’t want to do that. It's difficult.”

More social workers are needed to help families file paperwork to get job-protected leave and make sure the child's health insurance is current and doesn't lapse.

The overall cancer death rate for children and teenagers in the U.S. declined 24% over the two decades, from 2.75 to 2.10 per 100,000, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report.

The 2021 rate per 10,000 was 2.38 for Black youth, 2.36 for Hispanics and 1.99 for whites.

Nearly incurable 50 years ago, childhood cancer now is survivable for most patients, especially those with leukemia. The leading cause of cancer deaths in kids is now brain cancer, replacing leukemia.

Each year in the U.S. about 15,000 children and teens are diagnosed with cancer. More than 85% live for at least five years.

The improved survival stems from research collaboration among more than 200 hospitals, said Dr. Paula Aristizabal of the University of California, San Diego. At Rady Children’s Hospital, She is trying to include more Hispanic children, who are underrepresented in research.

“Equity means that we provide support that is tailored to each family,” Aristizabal said.

The National Cancer Institute is working to gather data from every childhood cancer patient with the goal of linking each child to state-of-the-art care. The effort could improve equity, said Dr. Emily Tonorezos, who leads the institute's work on cancer survivorship.

The CDC's report is “upsetting and discouraging,” she said. “It gives us a roadmap for where we need to go next.”

___

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

AMERIKA
Justin Torres wins National Book Award for queer novel 'Blackouts'

EMI TUYETNHI TRAN
November 16, 2023

Justin Torres’ queer novel “Blackouts” won the National Book Award for fiction Wednesday night.

“Blackouts” — his second novel after his award-winning “We the Animals” — combines fictional storytelling with hidden queer history. The book follows a dying older man, Juan Gay, as he discusses the erasure and distortion of LGBTQ history with his young friend, whom he affectionately refers to as “Nene.”

Central to the deathbed conversation between the two men is the real-life 1940s publication “Sex Variants: A Study of Homosexual Patterns” and the research’s “devastating history.” According to the description of “Blackouts” provided by the book’s publisher, the Macmillan imprint Farrar, Straus and Giroux, “Sex Deviants” was based on the work of queer researcher Jan Gay, but her groundbreaking research was “co-opted” and “her name buried.”

This year’s other National Book Award fiction finalists were “Chain-Gang All-Stars” by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, “Temple Folk” by Aaliyah Bilal, “This Other Eden” by Paul Harding and “The End of Drum-Time” by Hanna Pylväinen.

In addition to “Blackouts,” the evening’s other winners were Ned Blackhawk’s “The Rediscovery of America: Native Peoples and the Unmaking of U.S. History" for nonfiction, Craig Santos Perez’s “from unincorporated territory [åmot]“ for poetry, Stênio Gardel’s “The Words That Remain” for translated literature and Dan Santat’s “A First Time for Everything” for young people’s literature

During his brief acceptance speech at the 74th National Book Awards ceremony, Torres thanked his partner, literary scholar David Russell, for “putting up with my excessive lamentations about this book” and also his “queer family.”

He then invited fellow authors and nominees to the stage to share a joint statement regarding the Israel-Hamas war.

The statement, read by Bilal, condemned the “ongoing bombardment of Gaza” and called for a humanitarian cease-fire to provide aid to Palestinian civilians, particularly children.

“We oppose antisemitism and anti-Palestinian sentiments and Islamophobia equally, accepting the human dignity of all parties, knowing that further bloodshed does nothing to secure lasting peace in the region,” Bilal said as 19 other authors and nominees stood behind her on the stage.

A standing ovation followed her remarks.

The joint statement did, however, result in one of the event’s sponsors, Zibby Media, withdrawing its support ahead of the event because of concerns that the statement could be antisemitic and anti-Israel, The Associated Press reported.

Police on B.C. island respond to reports of mysterious screaming — and find a 'sad goat'

CBC
Thu, November 16, 2023 

Mysterious screams on Quadra Island were traced back to a mama goat — not pictured here — who was separated from her young, according to RCMP. (jctabb/Shutterstock - image credit)

No ghouls, just goats.

That's the final verdict from Quadra Island RCMP after officers responded last month to reports of someone screaming near a ravine.

As it turns out, what sounded like someone yelling in distress on Oct. 30 was actually a mama goat calling for her babies that had just been removed from her care — and not, in fact, someone who had fallen off a cliff.

"Further investigation revealed that the 'help' heard was actually a sad goat from neighbouring goat farm," reads a statement from the local RCMP detachment.

Quadra is located in the Discovery Islands, a group of small islands on the Inside Passage between Vancouver Island and mainland British Columbia.

This week, the Mounties published a report detailing island incidents between Oct. 23 and Nov. 12 and debunked any worry that phantoms were to blame for the hijinks happening around Halloween.

When it came to goat-gate, officers noted while on the scene, according to the report, that the cries did sound similar to someone yelling for help. However, no one but mama goat were in any kind of distress.

The very next night, which was Halloween, officers were alerted to more mysterious screaming, and were told this time by a concerned complainant that it was coming from Quadra Island Cemetery.

RCMP say the complainant was hearing "unsettling" screams from bushes in the cemetery and didn't know if someone was in pain. When officers arrived they found two people who said they were screaming because "one of them lost a scarf?" (The question mark was included in the police report.)

Despite it being Halloween, police said "there were no signs of ghosts or ghouls."

The island has four RCMP officers and, according to Const. Rebekah Draht, the community requested that police put out weekly reports.

Draht, who wrote the comedic copy published this week, said in an email she tries to be sensitive and cognizant of the files included and those involved. She said if it is a more serious file, she tends to put out a release solely about that case.

Tribe in Oklahoma sues city of Tulsa for continuing to ticket Native American drivers

SEAN MURPHY
November 15, 2023 

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The Muscogee (Creek) Nation filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday against the city of Tulsa, arguing Tulsa police are continuing to ticket Native American drivers within the tribe's reservation boundaries despite a recent federal appeals court ruling that they lacked jurisdiction to do so.

The tribe filed the lawsuit in federal court in Tulsa against the city, Mayor G.T. Bynum, Chief of Police Wendell Franklin and City Attorney Jack Blair.

The litigation is just the latest clash in Oklahoma over tribal sovereignty since the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark 2020 ruling, dubbed McGirt, that the Muscogee (Creek) Nation's sprawling reservation, which includes much of Tulsa, remains intact. That ruling has since been expanded by lower courts to include several other Native American reservations covering essentially the eastern half of the state.

Since that ruling, Tulsa began referring felony and criminal misdemeanor offenses by Native Americans within Muscogee (Creek) Nation’s boundaries to the tribe for prosecution, but has declined to refer traffic offenses, according to the lawsuit.

“Tulsa’s prosecution of Indians for conduct occurring within the Creek Reservation constitutes an ongoing violation of federal law and irreparably harms the Nation’s sovereignty by subjecting Indians within the Creek Reservation to laws and a criminal justice system other than the laws and system maintained by the Nation,” the suit states.

A spokesperson for Mayor Bynum said he is eager to work with tribal partners to resolve the issues and that the litigation is unnecessary.

“This latest lawsuit is a duplication of several lawsuits that are already pending in state and federal courts to decide these issues,” Bynum spokesperson Michelle Brooke said in a statement. She declined to comment further.

The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in June that the city lacks the jurisdiction to prosecute Native Americans within tribal jurisdiction, siding with a Choctaw Nation citizen who was cited for speeding in 2018.

"We will not stand by and watch the City disregard our sovereignty and our own laws by requiring Muscogee and other tribal citizens to respond to citations in Tulsa city court because of the City’s make-believe legal theories,” Principal Chief David Hill said in a statement.

Experts on tribal law say there is an easy solution — for Tulsa to enter into prosecution agreements with various tribal nations like many cities and towns in eastern Oklahoma already have.

Under the agreements with municipalities, the portion of the revenue from tickets that is typically remitted to the state of Oklahoma is instead sent to the tribal nation whose reservation the city or town is located in. The rest of the money can be retained by the city or town.

Other municipalities within the Muscogee (Creek) Nation’s boundaries have referred 1,083 traffic citations to the tribe for prosecution, but not Tulsa, according to the tribe's lawsuit.

RAKED IN RECORD PROFITS FROM BARBIE
Mattel walked back children's hospital donation, lawsuit claims

EMILY MAE CZACHOR
Updated November 15, 2023 

Mattel, the toy company that owns huge franchises like Hot Wheels and Barbie, is facing a new lawsuit brought by UCLA and its health system, claiming the company failed to make good on a pledge to donate $50 million to the university's children's hospital.

The company had pledged and completed large donations to the UCLA children's hospital before. Mattel formed a partnership with the university in 1998 and, in exchange for the hospital bearing Mattel's name per the terms of an agreement, donated $25 million to the hospital over a period of time, according to the complaint filed Nov. 19 in Los Angeles and obtained Wednesday by CBS News.

Mattel and UCLA entered into another, similar agreement in 2017, the lawsuit says. The toy company pledged to donate $49 million to the children's hospital in installments over a 12-year period, while the hospital rebranded to add Mattel's name into its own, which since then has been called the UCLA Mattel Children's Hospital.

Along with the update to its name, UCLA also began to incorporate Mattel's corporate logo into its signage. Both changes came in the wake of, and hinged on, the company's agreement "to give $50 million to The Regents, on behalf of UCLA Health, and the UCLA Foundation for the UCLA Mattel Children's Hospital to expand pediatric care and improve care for, and the health of, children across the globe," according to the suit.

But the complaint alleges that Mattel, citing financial issues, later walked back its pledge. Although UCLA Health at first agreed to suspend the company's payments temporarily in 2018, the suit also says Mattel never ended up giving the donations agreed upon in 2017 to the children's hospital — even after it reported a net income of more than $900 million in 2021, according to UCLA Health, and profits skyrocketed with the "Barbie" movie's record-breaking box office numbers earlier this year.

A digital advertisement board displaying a Barbie movie poster is seen in New York City on July 24, 2023. / Credit: Selcuk Acar/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

"Despite months of entreaties and alternative proposals, Mattel has refused to honor its promise, offering instead to make an in-kind contribution (e.g., Barbie dolls and Hot Wheels) and small (by Mattel's standards and in comparison to its 2017 contractual pledge) monetary donations rather than the contracted-for funds necessary to provide care and advanced medical research," the lawsuit says.

The suit is seeking the full donation amount from Mattel that the company initially pledged, accusing it of breaching their contract, plus additional damages determined during a trial.

"As a last resort, UCLA Health has taken legal action to compel Mattel, Inc. to honor its $49 million pledge under a 2017 contractual agreement," said a UCLA Health spokesperson in a statement to CBS News about the lawsuit. "Litigation is not the University's preferred path. UCLA Health made multiple good-faith attempts to resolve this matter through meaningful dialogue, and those efforts were unsuccessful."

A spokesperson for Mattel said in a statement to CBS News on Wednesday that the company "deeply values its longstanding relationship with UCLA Health" and references a clause in the 2017 agreement that apparently directed all of the multi-million dollar pledge toward the construction of a new tower at the children's hospital and limited its use otherwise.

"Our agreement expressly allocates funds for the new tower and provides that funding cannot be allocated for any other purpose by either party alone," the spokesperson said in the statement. "UCLA Health has unilaterally abandoned its plans for the construction of its new hospital tower. As a result, the conditions for the pledge under the 2017 Agreement have not been met."

"Mattel has continued to enthusiastically support UMCH's ongoing activities including fundraising, toy, cash and in-kind donations, and community activations," the statement continued, adding that supporting "current pediatric activities" at the hospital is important to the company.

FDA authorizes first home test for chlamydia and gonorrhea

WITHOUT HAVING TO REPORT SEXUAL PARTNERS

JEN CHRISTENSEN, CNN
November 15, 2023 


LetsGetChecked

The US Food and Drug Administration has greenlit the first test for chlamydia and gonorrhea that will allow users to collect samples at home. After HIV, this is the first FDA-authorized test that will allow more accessible home collection for a sexually transmitted infection.

The Simple 2 Test, made by New York- and Dublin-based LetsGetChecked, got FDA market authorization Wednesday.

Up until now, people concerned that they might have chlamydia or gonorrhea would have to get tested at a doctor’s office.

Users of the new test won’t need a prescription and can activate it online. They fill out a health questionnaire for a clinician to go over, collect a vaginal swab or urine sample using the Simple 2 collection kit and then send it in to be evaluated. Test results are delivered online. If the test is positive or if the results are invalid, a health care provider follows up.

“This authorization marks an important public health milestone, giving patients more information about their health from the privacy of their own home,” said Dr. Jeff Shuren, director of the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health, in a statement.

Home diagnostic tests have become a more widely used option during the Covid-19 pandemic, and Shuren said the FDA is eager to support more opportunities for people to get access to diagnostic tests at home.

Peter Foley, founder and CEO of LetsGetChecked, told CNN in an email that the test “will empower individuals to proactively manage their health from home. We greatly appreciate FDA’s collaboration throughout this process.

Gonorrhea and chlamydia are very common infectious diseases that can be passed from one partner to another through oral, anal and vaginal sex without a condom. Both infections can be treated with antibiotics.

Increased sexual activity during the pandemic, coupled with fewer routine screenings for sexually transmitted infections, supercharged the spread of these diseases around the world.

There were more than 700,000 cases of gonorrhea reported to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2021. Rates have increased 118% since their record low in 2009, the agency says.

Symptoms of gonorrhea can include stomach or pelvic pain, increased vaginal discharge, painful urination and bleeding between periods. Many people don’t notice any symptoms, making routine screenings important to catch infections.

Without treatment, the infection can cause serious and permanent health problems. If it spreads to the blood, it can cause disseminated gonococcal infection, which can lead to arthritis, skin problems and tenosynovitis, which can cause pain and swelling. The condition may even become life-threatening.

Cases of chlamydia have also been on the rise, the CDC says. In 2021, there were more than 1.6 million cases reported to the agency, making it the most common notifiable sexually transmitted infection in the US that year. Symptoms include pain or burning while urinating, pain during sex, belly pain, abnormal vaginal discharge, swollen or tender testicles, and bleeding around the anus.

Chlamydia can also cause permanent damage to a woman’s reproductive system and make it difficult to get pregnant later. It can also cause an ectopic pregnancy, where the pregnancy happens outside of the womb.

Former patients file complaints against U.S. Army amid sexual assault probe

CLARE HYMES
November 16, 2023

Getty Images

Lawyers representing former patients of a military doctor at the center of a widening sexual assault case say they have filed five new federal civil complaints against the Army and the Defense Department Monday for failing to protect them from abuse.

The claims follow a decision by the doctor's defense attorneys to bypass a preliminary hearing in the criminal matter, claiming the case is a "witch hunt" and accusing military prosecutors of plotting to "ambush the defense" with information related to three additional accusers.

The physician, Maj. Michael Stockin, is facing allegations of improper touching from at least 39 alleged victims.  Attorneys for the doctor's alleged victims say they believe more patients could step forward, and the prosecution could grow to become one of the largest military sexual assault cases in history. Stockin says he has been wrongly accused and is innocent.

Stockin, an anesthesiologist at Madigan Army Medical Center on Joint Base Lewis McChord, in Washington, has been suspended from patient care.

Five of Stockin's former patients who are among the accusers spoke with CBS News on the condition they not be identified because of the nature of the ongoing case. They each described a similar pattern. During appointments at the center's pain management clinic, Stockin, when left alone with patients, would instruct them to undress, and proceed to examine their lower body and touch them inappropriately, according to the alleged victims.

Article 32 preliminary hearing

The Article 32 preliminary hearing, which an accused party is allowed to waive, provides a chance for prosecutors to showcase evidence that supports the charges. If the hearing officer agrees there is probable cause, the case is referred to the commander who determines whether the case will go to court martial.

Robert Capovilla, an attorney for Stockin, said his client opted out of the preliminary hearing because "each alleged victim refused to testify about the facts of this case and answer the Defense team's questions."

He added, "The government initially refused to produce as witnesses the law enforcement agents who conducted this witch hunt against Major Stockin, claiming that those witnesses were not relevant." And Capovilla said he believes the government intended to "ambush" his client with information about more accusers at the hearing.

The Army declined to respond to the defense's claims, citing the ongoing investigation. Alleged victims have a statutory right not to testify at preliminary hearings, and given changes to the process in the last decade, it has become rare for them to do so. Typically, they testify during the court martial.

The Article 32 hearing had been scheduled to take place on Joint Base Lewis McChord, in Washington state, last Thursday. The hearing is akin to a grand jury process in civilian courts in which prosecutors are required to show probable cause, however the process differs procedurally. In military procedure, the accused party is charged before a preliminary hearing is held to determine probable cause.

Ryan Guilds, an attorney representing several of Stockin's accusers in the criminal matter, disputed the defense's claim that the alleged victims had "refused" to testify at the hearing, noting that they were not contacted to do so, and that having accusers take the witness stand at this stage is atypical.

"The time for discovery and cross examination will come," Guilds said in a statement. "It's called trial. And my clients are very much looking forward to that day."

Former Army special victim prosecutor Meghan Tokash explained that there are several reasons why it has become uncommon for law enforcement or victims to testify at these preliminary hearings, including that testimony at an Article 32 is taken under oath.

"Inconsistencies in that testimony may be fodder for cross examination at trial," says Tokash, a member of the defense secretary's 2021 Independent Review Commission on Sexual Assault in the Military. "In lieu of testimony from victims and other witnesses, a prosecutor might submit alternative forms of evidence, such as recorded or written statements to law enforcement, for the preliminary hearing officer's consideration."

Others, however, argue that it should not be as uncommon for victims to testify at the hearings, pointing out the merit of establishing the evidence on the record.

"I think it's a missed opportunity," said retired Col. Don Christenson, a former chief prosecutor for the Air Force and Air Force judge. "There can be a benefit to having the accused sitting there hearing victim after victim after victim say 'this guy did this to me.'"

The Article 32 process has been scrutinized in recent years for functioning as a "rubber stamp."  In a June 2023 report, the Defense Advisory Committee on Sexual Assault in the Military found that the military had even been sending sexual assault cases to court martial after a hearing officer found no probable cause. Many of those cases ended in acquittal.

The report concluded that Article 32 hearings have not provided "a meaningful screening mechanism for preferred charges and are failing to effectively inform the referral decision," and it called for congressional intervention to fix "systemic problems" in the criminal pretrial process.

The Army has not made the charging sheet publicly available, but Army officials have confirmed to CBS News that Stockin faces charges of abusive sexual contact and indecent viewing in violation of military law. Seventeen more accusers were included in additional charges brought by the government last month. Experts and advocates who work with survivors, tell CBS News they anticipate more alleged victims could still come forward. Since the investigation remains ongoing, if more charges are added, another Article 32 hearing will be convened on the new specifications.

Lt. Col. Jennifer J. Bocanegra, an Army spokesperson, emphasized that "Maj. Stockin is presumed innocent until proven guilty at trial."

The Army says the charges are now in the hands of Stockin's brigade commander. It's unclear when the case will be set for trial.

Over the summer President Biden signed an executive order that changes the Uniform Code of Military Justice and transfers the decision to prosecute from commanders to specialized independent military prosecutors in cases of sexual assault, domestic violence, child abuse, murder and other serious crimes. This change comes after years of pressure on the military from Congress and victims' advocates to take commanders — who may have a bias in whether a case goes forward — out of prosecutorial decisions for major crimes, especially in cases of sexual assault. That change goes into effect in December.

"We look forward to receiving all of the discovery in the government's possession, and we will not settle for anything less than a fair trial," Capovilla said.

The civil complaints against the Army

Attorney Christine Dunn represents seven of Stockin's former patients who allege he abused them while in his care. She and her colleagues at the law firm Sanford Heisler Shard, have filed the civil complaints under the Federal Torts Claims Act, which allows individuals to bring claims against federal agencies for wrongs committed by personnel of that agency. The additional administrative complaints filed Monday are the first step toward filing a lawsuit for monetary damages.

CBS has reviewed six of the seven claims filed, and in each the alleged victims claim to have been "severely and irreparably harmed."

"Had the Army better screened Dr. Stockin when hiring him, or better supervised his patient interaction, Dr. Stockin would not have been in a position to sexually abuse me and other patients," some of the complaints say. "The fact that Dr. Stockin was able to sexually abuse so many patients is evidence that the Army was negligent in its supervision of Dr. Stockin."

Dunn has previously filed two other civil claims on behalf of Stockin's former patients that she says are now being investigated by the Army.

"These soldiers thought they could trust a U.S. Army doctor but he abused that trust in the most egregious way," Dunn said in a statement. "The massive scope of the sexual abuse indicates that the Army was negligent in supervising Dr. Stockin."

Under current law, servicemembers injured while on active duty are unable to sue the military. However, a 2022 ruling in the 9th circuit opened the door for survivors after the court found that sexual assault was not a "incident to military service."

"The recent filing of [civil] claims on behalf of five additional survivors emphasizes the ongoing bravery of those who share their stories and pursue justice," said Protect Our Defenders Senior Vice President, Josh Connolly. "It is imperative that the Army prioritizes transparency and treats all survivors with the dignity and respect they deserve."

The Army has six months to review the claims. An Army spokesperson declined to comment on the civil complaints, citing the ongoing investigation.

MONARCHIST MAOIST STATE 

Nepal bans TikTok for 'disrupting social harmony,' demands regulation of social media app

SAMAN SHAFIQ, USA TODAY
November 15, 2023 

TikTok is now banned in Nepal.

The Government of Nepal on Monday announced an immediate ban on the popular social media app, saying it was disrupting “social harmony," the Associated Press reported. The announcement comes just days after authorities issued a 19-point directive tightening content regulation on all social media sites.

Foreign Minister Narayan Prakash Saud said the app would be banned immediately.

“The government has decided to ban TikTok as it was necessary to regulate the use of the social media platform that was disrupting social harmony, goodwill and flow of indecent materials,” Saud said, according to AP.

The foreign minister said that to improve the accountability of social media platforms, the government has asked the companies to register and open a liaison office in Nepal, pay taxes and abide by the country’s laws and regulations.

This photograph taken in Mulhouse, eastern France on October 19, 2023, shows the logo of the social media video sharing app Tik Tok reflected in mirrors.

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'Encourages hate speech'

Rekha Sharma, the country’s minister for communications and information technology, who announced the ban said that TikTok was disrupting “our social harmony, family structure and family relations,” reported the New York Times.

More than 2.2 million users are active on TikTok in Nepal, according to the NYT.

The Nepali government said that the ban is being introduced after a large number of people complained that TikTok encourages hate speech, reported The Kathmandu Times. Approximately 1,647 cases of cybercrime were reported on the video sharing app, said the Nepal-based media outlet.

Government officials said that the ban was only introduced after TikTok paid no heed to concerns about troubling content, even after the government reached out multiple times, according to the NYT.

The government said that the decision to regulate social media was made after people complained that the absence of companies' representatives in Nepal made it challenging for authorities to address user concerns and remove objectionable content from the platforms, according to The Kathmandu Times.

Concerns about app

Chinese-owned TikTok has faced scrutiny in a number of countries, including the United States and Canada, because of concerns that Beijing could use the app to extract sensitive user data to advance its interests. It was also among dozens of Chinese apps neighboring India banned in 2020, following a military standoff between the two Himalayan countries that remains unresolved.

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Saman Shafiq is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at sshafiq@gannett.com and follow her on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter @saman_shafiq7.

Judge says Ottawa listing plastic items as toxic was 'unreasonable and unconstitutional'

CBC
Thu, November 16, 2023 

Federal regulations are supposed to prohibit the sale of single-use plastic checkout bags, cutlery, food service ware, stir sticks and straws in Canada after December 20. (AFP via Getty Images - image credit)

A Federal Court judge has ruled that a federal government decision to list plastic items as toxic was "unreasonable and unconstitutional."

In a ruling released Thursday, Justice Angela Furlanetto wrote that the category of plastic manufactured items was too broad to be given a blanket toxicity label under federal law.

"There is no reasonable apprehension that all listed [plastic manufactured items] are harmful," Furlanetto wrote.

The case was brought forward by a group of major industrial players in plastics, including Dow Chemical, Imperial Oil and Nova Chemicals. They argued that Ottawa failed to demonstrate it had enough scientific evidence to justify the regulations.

Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault said the federal government is reviewing Thursday's decision and is "strongly considering an appeal."

"Canadians have been loud and clear that they want action to keep plastic out of our environment," he said in a statement posted on X, formerly Twitter. "That's what we'll keep fighting for."

The move to list plastic items as toxic was a key step that allowed Ottawa to proceed with a ban on some single-use plastic items. Those regulations will prohibit the sale of plastic checkout bags, cutlery, food service ware, stir sticks and straws in Canada after December 20.

Minister of Environment and Climate Change Steven Guilbeault reacts to the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development’s report while speaking to reporters in the foyer of the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2023.

Minister of Environment and Climate Change Steven Guilbeault says the government is considering appealing the decision. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)

Lindsay Beck, a lawyer who acted on behalf of environmental groups that intervened in the case, called Thursday's decision "disappointing."

"We know that plastic pollution is one of the major environmental crises of our time and this [ruling] really hampers the federal government's ability to come to grips with this crisis," Beck told CBC News.

Regulating waste management is generally a provincial responsibility. The government is only able to regulate substances for environmental protection if they are listed as toxic under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act.

But Furlanetto wrote that adding a broad category of plastics to the list went beyond the rules of the Act.

"Not every item within [the plastic manufactured items category] has the potential to create a reasonable apprehension of harm," Furlanetto wrote.

The judge also wrote that Ottawa's decision "poses a threat to the balance of federalism" because it didn't restrict its regulations to those plastics that have "potential to cause harm to the environment."

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is urging Ottawa not to appeal the decision. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press)

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and her Environment Minister Rebecca Schulz said Ottawa's initial decision to add plastics to the toxic substance list was an example of "federal overreach."

"It's time for the federal government to listen to the courts and to Canadians. We urge them to not appeal this decision, and to immediately delete 'plastic manufactured items' from [the toxic substance list]," they said in a joint statement.

ALBERTA IS A PRODUCER OF PLASTICS 

The case dealt specifically with an order-in-council that originally added plastic manufactured items to the toxic substance list. Those items were then listed as toxic by law after Bill S-5 received royal assent in June.

Ottawa tried to argue that the judge's ruling will not affect its single-use plastics ban due to S-5's passage. While Furlanetto quashed the original order-in-council, she didn't rule on the constitutional validity of S-5.

But Beck said that by quashing the order-in-council, the judge effectively struck down the government's reasoning for adding plastics to the toxic substance list under S-5.

Beware the 'witches of November' howling over the Great Lakes


Dennis Mersereau
Thu, November 16, 2023 

Heartaches are buried in the sands beneath the Great Lakes.

Countless vessels have sailed into the steely embrace of a long November night only to never return. Records of these ill-fated journeys stretch as long as the lakes are deep.

Many of the voyages slipped beneath the dark waters and dragged every soul with them, leaving behind hardly a trace for survivors to find comfort or seek closure.

And the majority of those sunken vessels met their fate in the heart of autumn, felled at the hands of the “witches of November.”

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Great Lakes host a perfect storm for ill-fated voyages

Superior, Huron, Michigan, Erie, and Ontario all rank among the world’s largest lakes, and combined they hold nearly one-quarter of Earth’s total supply of freshwater.

Sailing through the middle of any of these lakes allows the surrounding land to slip below the horizon, making it feel as if you’re in the middle of the ocean—and, for all anyone knows, you pretty much are. The centre of each lake is dozens of kilometres from the nearest shore, essentially stranding anyone who needs help until help can slowly come to them.

These lakes are the picture of serenity during the warm months, and they’re quiet fields of ice in the heart of winter. But during the peak of autumn, as winter’s chill violently sweeps away summer’s heat, the Great Lakes are ground zero for some of the continent’s roughest conditions.

Explainer: Witch of November typical weather pattern (The Weather Network)

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Powerful fall storms trekking across the U.S. and Canada often find their way over the Great Lakes. These low-pressure systems are fuelled by a jet stream that thrives on the changing seasons. Frigid air from the Arctic rushes south behind the storm, colliding with stout winds blowing in warm air from the south.

For as rough as conditions are on land when these storms take hold, the atmospheric blender roaring over the open water is magnitudes worse.

Gale-force winds frequently blow during these rollicking fall storms as air rushes over the Great Lakes without the friction of trees or soil to slow them down. Wind gusts of 100+ km/h are common over the open waters, whipping up waves that can tower above the deck of a cargo ship.

WATCH: The SS Edmund Fitzgerald was the largest freighter to sink in the Great Lakes

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Centuries of shipwrecks lie beneath the Great Lakes

Relentless winds, billowing waves, and near-zero visibility are a recipe for disaster when a ship is lurching about and hours away from safe harbour.

Mariners have long called these ferocious storms the witches of November. Plenty of theories swirl around the etymology of the phrase itself. It could be a leftover from the recently departed Halloween season, or a reference to the “witch’s brew” of rough weather these awful storms bring.

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The phrase could also find its roots in superstitious sailors who feared setting out into the November horizon.

It’s a fear with merit.

Legendary Canadian musician Gordon Lightfoot immortalized one particular witch of November in The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald. His ballad recounts the loss of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald and its crew in a terrible storm on Lake Superior on November 10, 1975.

A surface analysis of the Armistice Day Blizzard on November 11, 1940. (NOAA)

While it’s the region’s most well-known shipwreck, it was one in a long list of vessels lost beneath the waves.

A fierce storm that swept the Great Lakes in November 1905 claimed nearly 30 vessels throughout the region, including the SS Mataafa, killing dozens of sailors. Another powerful November gale hit in 1913, reportedly killing hundreds of mariners.

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Before the storm that claimed the SS Edmund Fitzgerald, the Armistice Day Blizzard of 1940 served as a prime example—and historical warning—of the witches of November. This classic Colorado low erupted over the central United States, hitting the Great Lakes on November 11 with record-low air pressure readings across the U.S. Upper Midwest.

The historic blizzard in 1940 swept the Lakes with 100+ km/h winds and whiteout conditions, leading to snow drifts towering more than 6 metres high in spots. The storm reportedly claimed dozens of mariners after the wind and waves proved too much for their vessels to stand.

Hundreds of sunken ships lie at the bottom of those treasured lakes. The peaceful sands of their frigid depths give rest to crews who tried to battle the witches of November until their last moments.

WATCH: Film crew discover 128-year-old shipwreck in Lake Huron during shoot

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Header image: Dale Matthies/Submitted Header image courtesy of NOAA.