1,400-year-old folding chair found in Bavaria

Deutsche Welle - Yesterday 

The archaeological find is a rarity: An early medieval folding chair has been unearthed in a woman's grave in the Bavarian region of Middle Franconia.Anyone who thinks folding chairs are an invention of the modern age is far wrong. In the Bavarian region of Middle Franconia, an excavation team has discovered a folding chair that is believed to date from around 600 AD, in other words, from the early Middle Ages. This was announced by the Bavarian State Office for Monument Protection in Munich on Monday.


The 1,400-year-old folding chair discovered in Germany© BLfD/dpa/picture alliance

It is the second find of this kind on German soil. On a European scale, 29 sites of discovery of early medieval graves that include folding chairs have been revealed.

The grave included a chair, measuring about 70 by 45 centimeters (28 by 18 inches) in its folded state, that had been placed at the feet of a dead person. "This find, which at first glance seems so modern, is an absolute rarity and of the highest cultural-historical interest, because it provides insight into the grave furnishings of elevated classes of the population and into the early use of furniture," said State Office director Mathias Pfeil.

Other artifacts discovered, like beads and a belt

According to experts, people have made iron and bronze folding chairs since ancient times.

They were an important badge of office in society, symbolizing power, authority and dignity. According to the state office, as grave goods, they appear predominantly in women's graves.

In addition to the skeleton of a woman who, according to an initial estimate, was about 40 to 50 years old, the excavation team discovered in the grave a necklace made of colored glass beads and a belt with a pendant made of brooches and a large pearl, among other things.

In addition, the experts uncovered a man's grave. It included a belt with a bronze buckle and a complete set of weapons.

This article was originally written in German.

vg/ka (with dpa)

Copyright 2022 DW.COM, Deutsche Welle. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

North Vancouver Island health care is in an ‘evolving state of crisis,’ new leaked document shows


Most of the North Island region — not only Port Hardy — is facing doctor and nursing shortages as well as significant gaps in medical imaging and lab services, a document leaked to Canada’s National Observer shows.

The region has been in an “evolving state of crisis” since the pandemic began, an Aug. 5 briefing note by the North Island chapter of the Rural and Remote Division of Family Practice states. This is the second document leaked to Canada’s National Observer on the issue.

The area is expected to continue bleeding doctors, according to the document detailing medical staff levels and expected vacancies for a meeting with Island Health.

Alert Bay, a ferry-dependent community of 1,200, is expected to have no doctors staffing its emergency department and medical clinic by early December, the document shows.

All three physician positions at the Cormorant Island Health Centre are predicted to be vacant by Dec. 2.

As of April, the vacancy rate for registered nurses (RNs) — responsible for baseline emergency care at the facility — is 67 per cent. And the vacancy rate for licensed practical nurses (LPNs), who typically provide routine care to patients and assist RNs and physicians, is 50 per cent.

Laboratory and X-ray services are only provided on variable days during the week and there is no after-hours medical imaging, the document added. Patient transport is also limited by BC Ferries sailing times and there is no dedicated water taxi for medical issues.

As previously reported by Canada’s National Observer, come September, Port Hardy, which should have the equivalent of seven full-time physicians, will only have three doctors serving the town’s hospital emergency room and medical clinic.

But the anticipated doctor shortage is compounded by high nursing vacancy rates at the Port Hardy Hospital, the leaked document shows.

There is an RN vacancy rate of 46 per cent as of April and an 80 per cent vacancy rate for LPNs at the hospital that serves approximately 4,000 residents in the region.

Lab and X-ray technician staffing is also at a critical level, with lab analysis and X-rays only provided on an on-call basis at night at both the Port Hardy and Port McNeill hospitals.

The nearest centre for advanced medical imaging, such as CT scans, is 240 kilometres away, or a 2.5-hour journey by road to Campbell River, which increases the existing strain on ambulance transport, the document said.

Related video: Family doctor shortage straining healthcare system
Duration 2:53 View on Watch

The ongoing recruitment of doctors and other care providers to the region remains a key priority, said a joint written statement to Canada’s National Observer from Island Health and the Rural and Remote Division of Family Practice (RRDFP).

Two new doctors are now working in Port McNeill at the just-opened medical clinic owned and operated by Island Health and a new doctor has committed to begin practice in Port Hardy in November, the statement said.

A new task force that includes Port Hardy doctors and representatives from Island Health, the RRDFP, and Doctors of BC aims to create strategies to help health-care providers deliver quality care to patients.

The group’s immediate focus is to ensure reliable and predictable emergency care services in the region, and support access to primary care services, the joint statement from Island Health said.

“There has also been substantial effort to maintain services and provide high-quality, culturally safe patient care during this difficult time,” the email added.

“But we know additional collaborative and innovative approaches that support the doctors and health-care providers who work in the region … are necessary.”

Port McNeill, which should have five doctors to serve approximately 3,000 residents and surrounding remote communities, now has one outstanding doctor vacancy, thresholds in the leaked document show.

Nursing vacancies appear less severe, with an RN vacancy rate at the hospital of 38 per cent as of April, according to the document.

But the combined doctor and nursing shortages are resulting in an increased number of temporary emergency room closures and ambulance diversions from one emergency room to another occurring on a daily basis, ultimately putting patient care at risk, the document added.

The health-care challenges in the region are not unique to North Island but are reflective of issues across the province and Canada, the Island Health joint statement said.

A collaborative effort, which will include the First Nations Health Authority, Indigenous communities, and municipal leaders, will follow to create a sustainable health-care system to meet both patient and medical staff needs, it said.

No representatives from Island Health nor the Rural and Remote Division of Family Practice were available for interviews despite requests from Canada’s National Observer.

Health Minister Adrian Dix's office also did not respond to CNO’s questions or requests for comment or interviews.


Rochelle Baker, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Canada's National Observer

NATURAL JUSTICE

Lion rips man apart after he tries to steal rare white cub at zoo: Police
Luke Gentile - Yesterday 

A man died Sunday when he was ripped apart after climbing inside a lion enclosure in a suspected attempt to steal a rare white cub, authorities said.



The incident occurred at Ghana’s Accra Zoo around noon, according to a report.

Guards at the zoo noticed that a man had climbed a 20-foot-tall fence and entered an enclosure home to a lion, a lioness, and two cubs, the report noted.

"The intruder was attacked and injured by one of the lions," Ghana’s state Forestry Commission said in a statement.

The injuries sustained in the attack proved to be fatal.

"The police are working with the management of the zoo and the forestry commission to get to the bottom of this unfortunate incident," the Accra Police Service said.

A motive for the breach has not been determined, but officials suspect the man might have been attempting to steal one of the rare white cubs.

The unusual light coloring makes the fur very valuable for poachers, the report noted.

"The lions have cubs so if you come too close they may feel you are trying to take away their babies," Deputy Minister for Lands and Natural Resources Benito Owusu Bio said.

The corpse of the victim has been recovered.

PHILIPPINES

Cultists burn Misamis Oriental woman, 84, alive for her 'great sins'

Nicholas Yong - Yesterday.

Public uproar has ensued in a town in eastern Misamis Oriental, after an 84-year-old woman was thrown into a fire by 11 members of her own clan, as part of a cult ritual to purge her of her “great sins”.

 (Photo: Getty Images)© Provided by Yahoo News

According to Rappler, the incident took place in the village of Baliwagan in Balingasag town, more than 50 kilometers from Cagayan de Oro City, on Sunday (August 28).

Police said that neighbors rushed to the crime scene, stopped the cultists, and took the victim Teofila Camongay to the town hospital where she subsequently died of third-degree burns.

Seven cult members have since been arrested.

The suspects belong to the Camongay, Cabusas, and Ercilla families – all members of a clan - and lived together in the small and close-knit community in Baliwagan.

They include 20-year-old cult leader Crisanto Ercilla, as well as children and grandchildren of Camongay. Police are also looking for two men and two women from the same clan, who were allegedly involved in the murder.

Investigators said it was Ercilla who ordered his followers to throw his grandmother into a fire after he beat her up for her "great sins." He and the other suspects will be charged with patricide charges on Tuesday, the same day that Camongay is to be buried.
Connection to the PBCM?

According to the police, Ercilla was a self-proclaimed spiritual guru. He claimed to be possessed by the spirit of the late Philippine Benevolent Christian Missionaries (PBCM) founder and master Tomas Eugenio Sr.

The PBCM is an offshoot of the powerful Ecleo political dynasty’s Philippine Benevolent Missionaries Association (PBMA) in the Dinagat Islands and Surigao del Norte.

Eugenio, who claimed to be the embodiment of the Holy Spirit, died in 2004. It is unclear if Ercilla and his followers are affiliated with the PBCM which is now led by Eugenio’s son and successor Charlie, and based in Jasaan, Misamis Oriental.

The story, which was broken by Cagayan de Oro broadcaster Magnum Radio, sparked swift condemnation from religious leaders and local officials.

Cagayan de Oro Archbishop Jose Cabantan called the crime "unimaginable", while Tablon parish priest the Reverend Father Vic Arellano said the suspects were "influenced by an evil spirit."

Misamis Oriental - Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Misamis_Oriental

Misamis Oriental (Cebuano: Sidlakang Misamis; Tagalog: Silangang Misamis) is a province located in the region of Northern Mindanao in the Philippines. Its capital, largest city and provincial center is the city of Cagayan de Oro, which is governed independently from the province. 

 ...

See more

Analysis: Scientists look to solve ozone threat to Africa's food security

By Gloria Dickie - Yesterday


Plant ecophysiologist Felicity Hayes places a damaged leaf of a Silver Birch tree inside a LI-COR analyser at the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology research site near Bangor

© Reuters/PHIL NOBLE

ABERGWYNGREGYN, Wales (Reuters) - Plant scientist Felicity Hayes checks on her crops inside one of eight tiny domed greenhouses set against the Welsh hills. The potted pigeon pea and papaya planted in spring are leafy and green, soon to bear fruit.


A wheat sample exposed to increased levels of Ozone is seen at the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology research site near Bangor

© Reuters/PHIL NOBLE

In a neighbouring greenhouse, those same plants look sickly and stunted. The pigeon pea is an aged yellow with pockmarked leaves; the papaya trees reach only half as tall.

The only difference between the two greenhouse atmospheres - ozone pollution.

Hayes, who works at the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (UKCEH), is pumping ozone gas at various concentrations into the greenhouses where African staple crops are growing. She is studying how rising ozone pollution might impact crop yields - and food security for subsistence farmers - in the developing world.


Spatial data analyst Katrina Sharps examines a wheat crop that has been exposed to increased levels of Ozone inside a solar dome at the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology research site near Bangor

© Reuters/PHIL NOBLE

Ozone, a gas formed when sunlight and heat interact with fossil fuel emissions, can cause substantial losses for farmers, research suggests, by quickly aging crops before they reach full production potential and decreasing photosynthesis, the process by which plants turn sunlight into food.


Plant ecophysiologist Felicity Hayes monitors the level of Ozone being added to solar domes at the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology research site near Bangor

© Reuters/PHIL NOBLE

Ozone stress also reduces plants' defences against pests.

A 2018 study in the journal Global Change Biology estimated global wheat losses from ozone pollution totalled $24.2 billion annually from 2010 to 2012.

In a January paper published in Nature Food, researchers tallied some $63 billion in wheat, rice and maize losses annually within the last decade in East Asia.

Scientists are particularly worried about Africa, which will see more vehicle traffic and waste burning as the population is set to double by mid-century.

That means more ozone pollution, a major challenge for smallholder farmers who make up 60% of the population in sub-Saharan Africa.

"There is a serious concern that ozone pollution will affect yields in the long run," said senior scientist Martin Moyo at the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics in Zimbabwe.


Damage is seen on the leaf of a Silver Birch tree exposed to increased levels of Ozone at the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology research site near Bangor

© Reuters/PHIL NOBLE

He called out an "urgent need for more rural studies to determine ozone concentrations" across the continent.

Related video: World Of Africa: Growing 'neo-colonialism' in Africa?
Duration 5:25
View on Watch


Earlier this year, scientists with the UK-based non-profit Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International (CABI) set up ozone monitoring equipment around cocoa and maize fields in Ghana, Zambia and Kenya.

But most African countries do not have reliable or consistent air pollution monitors, according to a 2019 UNICEF report. Among those that do, few measure ozone.

RISING OZONE

In the stratosphere, ozone protects the Earth from the sun's ultraviolet radiation. Closer to the planet's surface, it can harm plants and animals, including humans.

While air quality regulations have helped reduce ozone levels in the United States and Europe, the trend is set to spike in the opposite direction for fast-growing Africa and parts of Asia.

Climate change could also speed things along.

In areas of Africa with high fossil fuel emissions and frequent burning of forests or grassland, new research suggests hotter temperatures could make the problem worse as they can accelerate chemical reactions that create ozone.

While research has found North American wheat is generally less impacted by ozone than European and Asian counterparts, there have been fewer studies on African versions of the same crops that over decades of cultivation have been made more suitable to those environments.

Once every two weeks in a Nairobi market, farmers from the countryside bring samples of their ailing crops to a "plant doctor" in hopes of determining what is affecting their yields.

"A lot of (ozone) symptoms can be confused with mites or fungal damage," said CABI entomologist Lena Durocher-Granger. "Farmers might keep applying fertilizer or chemicals thinking it's a disease, but it's ozone pollution."

Her organization is working with UKCEH to help people identify signs of ozone stress and recommend fixes, such as watering less on high ozone days. Watering can leave leaf pores wide open, causing plants to take in even more ozone.

RESILIENT CROPS

In her Welsh greenhouses, Hayes was exposing crops in one dome to the lowest amount - 30 parts per billion - similar to the environment of North Wales. In the dome with the highest ozone level, plants were receiving more than triple that amount, mimicking North Africa's polluted conditions.

Hayes and her colleagues have found that certain African staples are more affected than others.

In a dome filled with a mid-level amount of ozone, North African wheat plants had quickly turned from green to yellow within just a few months.

"You get tiny thin grains that don't have all the good bits in them, a lot of husk on the outside and not as much protein and nutritional value," Hayes said.

That fits with research her team published last year on sub-Saharan plant cultivars, which found that ozone pollution could be lowering sub-Saharan wheat yields by as much as 13%.

Dry beans could fare worse, with estimated yield losses of up to 21% in some areas, according to the same study, published in Environmental Science and Pollution Research.

"Beans are a useful protein source in Africa, and subsistence farmers grow a lot of it," said Katrina

Sharps, a UKCEH spatial data analyst.

Sub-Saharan millet, however, seemed more ozone tolerant. Yet Africa produced about half as much millet as wheat in 2020.

"If the soil and growing conditions are suitable," Sharps said, "subsistence farmers may consider growing more millet."

(Reporting by Gloria Dickie; Editing by Katy Daigle, Marguerita Choy and Bill Berkrot)

Jamaica’s labour minister responds to workers’ claims of abuse at Canadian farms

Jamaica’s minister of labour and social security is refuting migrant workers’ claims that Canada’s Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program (SAWP) is akin to “systemic slavery.”

Earlier this month, Jamaican farm workers in Ontario sent a letter to Minister Karl Samuda detailing abysmal living and working conditions on two farms he was set to tour days later. The letter urged Jamaica to lobby Canada to grant seasonal workers permanent resident status to address the precarity of being tied to an employer who can fire and deport workers at any time.

Nearly two weeks after visiting the farms, Samuda’s office released a statement responding to the letter that painted a different picture.

“While the conditions varied from farm to farm, the housing conditions ranged from good to excellent,” Samuda said. “We observed no evidence of mistreatment.”

He added that “it is not appropriate for the government of a democratic country to lobby another to grant its people permanent residency.”

An average of 10,000 Jamaicans participate in SAWP each year, a majority of whom are returning workers, said Samuda. He called the program “essential” to thousands of Jamaican families, rural communities and the entire country.

“I cannot see persons enthusiastically participating in a [program] for 35 years under the conditions which are now being asserted,” his statement reads.

The conditions he refers to were described in the farm workers’ letter as crowded and surveilled living quarters, insufficient food, physical intimidation and verbal threats from bosses, punishments for “not working fast enough” and exposure to dangerous pesticides.

It is important to protect the rights of farm workers and safeguard the program, said Samuda.

The anonymous workers who wrote to Samuda with their grievances say they feel “betrayed” by his response, according to a press release from Migrant Workers Alliance for Change. They said their bosses threatened to shut down the farm after their appeal to the minister garnered media attention.

The Jamaican government employs liaison officers based in Canada to safeguard the interests of workers and address any challenges they experience, Samuda’s statement noted. The liaison service collaborates with Canadian authorities to investigate reports of mistreatment and relocate workers if needed, it added.

In their letter to Samuda, Jamaican workers said liaison officers do not respond to their calls for help, or worse, side with the bosses and make it difficult for them to be rehired next season.

The minister’s message is clear: migrant workers can’t look to the authorities for help; they must protect themselves, the workers’ statement said.

Foreign workers have the same rights to workplace protections as Canadians and permanent residents under applicable federal, provincial and territorial employment standards and collective agreements, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) communications officer Jeffrey MacDonald told Canada’s National Observer in an emailed statement. Along with reporting mistreatment to provincial and territorial labour authorities — which establish labour and workplace safety standards for all workers — tips can be reported to Service Canada.

As of June 2019, foreign workers with an employer-specific work permit can apply for an open work permit if they are being mistreated by their current employer, which allows them to find work on another farm, MacDonald said.

When this happens, the worker’s former place of work is inspected and employers found breaking program rules can be fined or banned from hiring foreign workers.

“Tens of thousands of temporary workers transition to permanent status each year,” the IRCC statement said, noting: “Of the 406,000 foreign nationals who became permanent residents in 2021, nearly 169,000 of them transitioned from worker status.”

The department said it will continue to explore methods to improve the process of transitioning foreign nationals from temporary status to permanent residency.

Despite Samuda’s response, migrant workers will continue to organize and push for permanent residency “to combat these abusive bosses so they have less power to threaten us and our families,” the authors of the letter said.

“The agri-food industry in Canada exported C$82.2 billion worth of goods, which is four times the GDP of Jamaica,” Syed Hussan, executive director of the Migrant Workers Alliance for Change, said in a press release. “It is no surprise that the Jamaican government has turned to exporting people for the sake of remittances, and takes the side of exploitative bosses instead of workers.”

Natasha Bulowski, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Canada's National Observer

UAP

Video Of Mysterious Drone Swarm Over Navy's Most Advanced Destroyer Released

Adam Kehoe and Marc Cecotti - Yesterday

The U.S. Navy has released a new video from an incident that involved six unidentified drones flying over its most advanced surface combatant, the USS Zumwalt. The incident occurred in the waters off the coast of Southern California in April 2019.

\
Video Of Mysterious Drone Swarm Over Navy's Most Advanced Destroyer Released© USN via FOIA

The War Zone received the video via the Freedom of Information act as part of our ongoing investigation into reports of drone swarm incidents that occurred near Navy vessels intermittently throughout 2019 off Southern California. Our previous update in the investigation produced a number of briefing documents, including an unclassified video and photographs that provided a significant increase in detail about these strange incidents. While the bulk of the drone swarm events occurred in July of 2019, we learned of several new events that occurred earlier in the year. Among these was the incident involving the USS Zumwalt.

The incident occurred at approximately 8:30 PM Pacific Time on April 24th 2019, around 17 nautical miles from the Marine Corps base at Camp Pendleton in international waters. During the event, the USS Zumwalt reported that as many as six unknown unmanned aerial systems (UAS) were seen operating nearby at altitudes ranging from 300 to 1000 feet. At one point in the incident, the UAS reportedly crossed over the deck of the USS Zumwalt. As in similar past incidents, the drones were documented by the Ship Nautical Or Otherwise Photographic Interpretation and Exploitation team, or "SNOOPIE team." These sailors essentially act to document dangerous, uncertain, or unusual situations using a variety of commercial-grade cameras.

You can view the newly obtained footage from the incident and listen to a sailor’s accompanying narration here:



A briefing slide and photograph from the incident was previously published by The War Zone, and is shown again below


US Navy via FOIA

It should be noted that the USS Zumwalt (DDG-1000) is a unique vessel as the lead ship in its class of controversial, but technologically advanced stealthy surface combatants. The ship's stealth technology is designed to allow it to be more survivable than other destroyers, including being able to operate closer to enemy territory during certain operations.

Detailed analysis of the low-resolution video is difficult given that it was taken at night. While unclassified records released to the public tend to be underwhelming, it is likely that the USS Zumwalt had access to a range of sophisticated sensors during the incident.

The only clear feature in the video is a set of several lights in a rectangular formation. The lights appear to be white and green, with an intermittently blinking red light presumed to be in the center of the object. A sailor comments that the UASs do not appear to be armed in the narration.

For further analysis, we spoke with David Kovar, CEO of URSA Inc. Kovar’s firm specializes in drone security issues, including criminal investigations and UAV threat management. Kovar stated that “I’m unable to determine much of the configuration of the aircraft. It appears to have four regularly spaced running, or navigation lights.”

Kovar stated that given the context of the narration and the briefing slide, the object could be a “multi-rotor, likely a quad, UAV with running lights.” However, he noted that this assessment is based on a typical configuration of quadcopter lights. He stated that while the video could match other objects, as well, given the lack of detail in the video, it appears consistent with the description of a UAS in the narration and the briefing slide. Of course, other potential types exist, including smaller gasoline-powered fixed-wing types that pack long ranges or hybrid types that can takeoff and land vertically but are more efficient in forwarding flight with the help of a pusher propeller and wing-like appendages. The latter has become a favorite of the Chinese Navy.

A former drone industry analyst who declined to be named due to their current employment highlighted several other features of interest. The analyst commented that “while the video isn't of the best quality, I don't see anything on the drone that would make me think it's something that couldn't be purchased off the shelf from a current commercial drone manufacturer.” The analyst added, “the fact that the narrator said that there was a pattern of flight where there were no changes in altitude tells me that the drones were either programmed to fly a certain route or controlled from a distance while possibly on altitude hold, which to me isn't the hallmark of any advanced technology.”

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Video Of Mysterious Drone Swarm Over Navy's Most Advanced Destroyer Released© Provided by The Drive

They further commented, “what is interesting is that they reported 6 drones and they were 17 miles off the coast of Southern California. This tells me that these drones were likely launched from a boat and that this was likely a planned 'mission' because no one has 6 drones on a boat for recreational purposes.” The analyst further stated that physically capturing the drone “is really the only way a forensic assessment can be made to determine the origin and capabilities associated with an [unidentified] drone.”

The observation of bright lights on unidentified UAS has been a recurring feature in several of the other drone swarm incidents we have investigated. In a previous interview, DroneSec CEO Mike Monnik told The War Zone that his firm’s database of drone incidents has registered an uptick in swarm events, and that in some cases less capable drones are used as “canaries” that intentionally distract or probe the defense of a potential target. There is also a long Cold War history of technologies designed to intentionally stimulate air defense systems in order to capture valuable signals intelligence, which you can read more about here.

As in the other drone swarm cases from this general area and timeframe, several key questions remain unanswered. Based on the briefing slide above, we have reached out to Carrier Strike Group Nine to inquire if the operator of the drones was ever positively identified, or if any effort was made to track the drones to their ultimate destination. They have not responded at the time of writing. The Chief of Naval Operations Michael Gilday previously stated that the Navy did not get to the bottom of similar incidents that occurred in the same region later in the same year. In a congressional hearing earlier this year, representatives of the Navy and Department of Defense explained that several of the incidents were in fact related to drone swarms, but did not offer further details.



Video Of Mysterious Drone Swarm Over Navy's Most Advanced Destroyer Released© Provided by The Drive

While details about these incidents have been difficult to come by, drone swarms are becoming a general area of increasing interest for the Navy. Just in the last month, the Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane Division ran an event called “Silent Swarm 22.” Conducted at ranges with the Michigan National Guard's National All-Domain Warfighting Center, this was a “large scale experimentation event” that brought together over 150 participants to focus on “Electromagnetic Warfare (EW) employed on small multi-domain unmanned systems (UxS).”

Notably, the logo, seen below, for the event depicts a warship surrounded by a web and a swarm of various fixed-wing and rotor-wing drones. Reflections of the drones can be seen in the water, perhaps a nod to the “multi-domain” reference and the more inclusive UxS acronym in the event’s description.

Michigan National Guard

This is just one of a number of major Navy exercises focusing on unmanned systems, and those efforts are only accelerating and have been for years

While the Navy focuses on forward-looking efforts to employ drone swarms, it is not the only player in this space. The string of drone swarm incidents throughout 2019 demonstrates that surveillance of key naval assets is being conducted in the areas where they train – often within miles of the American coast. Drone swarms are not a theoretical emerging technology threat, but rather a present tense reality. U.S. adversaries are openly developing and deploying these capabilities and all indications point to the fact that networked swarms of lower-end drones will be absolutely critical to prevailing in future high-end maritime conflicts.

The inherent difficulty of reliably detecting, tracking, and countering drones has created a unique challenge for the Pentagon in recent years. In fact, it is among the department’s biggest tactical and strategic concerns. The often ambiguous footage from incidents has led to an overlap of the drone issue with longstanding cultural interest in UFOs – a dilemma that The War Zone has reported on for some time. Disambiguating drone surveillance incidents from headier claims appears to be a priority of lawmakers, though it remains to be seen how the Department of Defense will make such distinctions in practice.

Perhaps more importantly, it remains to be seen how effective the Navy and Department of Defense will be in investigating and resolving these incidents in an era when once considered highly advanced drone technology is becoming increasingly sophisticated and accessible.

7 bears euthanized in Crowsnest Pass following human interactions

As the hot weather dries out their food supply, bears in southwestern Alberta are making their way into communities within the Crowsnest Pass.


A screengrab from a video in Blairmore resident Lisa Sygutek's backyard.

© Courtesy: Crowsnest Pass Herald

Eloise Therien - Yesterday 

And people are feeding them -- either intentionally, or by accident.

"The problem with that is we take these wild animals and we turn them into habituated animals that pose a threat to public safety and security," explained Christy Pool, the president of the Crowsnest Pass BearSmart Association.

Read more:
Jasper National Park warns of grizzly bears wandering into townsite

Things like leaving garbage bins out overnight, neglecting to bring pet food inside or leaving fallen tree fruit in the open can lead to the death of a wild animal, according to Pool.

"It is so important to consider your actions and the effect that they have all the way down the line," she pleaded.

"It's just such a simple thing to keep things clean and food contained and garbage contained."

According to Pool, seven bears in Blairmore and Frank were euthanized within a two-day period this week after they became too accustomed to being fed within the community.

"Over the years, I think it's usually maybe one, maybe two (bears)," she said.

Video: Advocates say 7 bears euthanized in Crowsnest Pass is ‘unacceptable’

Lisa Sygutek is a frustrated resident of Blairmore, Alta. She said she is no stranger to wildlife, having encountered numerous bears on hikes and deer on her property. She tries to keep her area very bear safe.

However, over the last several days, a bear in her yard was a cause for concern.

"This is the first year where it's been abnormal for me," Sygutek explained.

She posted a video to Facebook showing the animal up a tree in her backyard. She said at one point it had two cubs with it.

"This is the first time a bear has looked at me and not been scared -- at all."

While Sygutek lives extremely close to a mountain, advocates believe due diligence is needed for all kinds of residents and visitors.

Residents of Radium Hot Springs rally to save bighorn sheep from death on the highway

"It's something we can avoid," said former environment and forestry worker Darryl Johnson. "Whether you're a full-time resident here, a part-time resident here (or) a visitor here, understand that this is a community embedded in the mountains."

Johnson added that he believes the loss of so many bears in such a short period is "unacceptable."

According to Pool, a local wildlife peace officer has issued fines related to people contravening municipal bylaws related to feeding wildlife and leaving attractants out.

"I do know that fines have been levied this year, it's just whether or not people take it seriously is the other part of it," Pool said.

More information on bear encounters, attractants and deterrents can be found on the BearSmart website.

Edmonton and area to mark International Overdose Awareness Day on Wednesday

Anna Junker -  Yesterday -Edmonton Journal


Rhonda Pouliot will be attending her first International Overdose Awareness Day on Wednesday.


Participants in International Overdose Awareness Day march through Edmonton on Aug. 31, 2021.

Her 34-year-old son, Chris Shea, died on April 12 of this year, six days after he experienced an overdose and was admitted to the intensive care unit at the Misericordia Hospital.

“I’m on my own healing journey right now. I’m trying to make sense of what happened in a situation where there is no sense,” Pouliot said. “I want to feel connected to other people who have experienced something similar.”

Shea had been using drugs since he was 19. He had been attending 12-step treatment programs and focused on going to the gym when the COVID-19 pandemic hit and he could no longer attend in person.

“That’s when things started to go downhill,” said Pouliot. Shea relapsed in February and wasn’t able to get a spot in treatment until April 9.

“He continuously used in that time because there were no resources and of course, his use wasn’t supervised by anybody,” Pouliot said. “There was nobody prescribing him a specific dose. He was getting the supplies from whomever.”

On April 6 he took a fatal dose. A friend administered Naloxone to Shea, who believed he was fine because he was breathing, and she ended up falling asleep because she was also using drugs.

“When she woke up later, he was unresponsive again and that was it,” Pouliot said.

Shea is one of 817 Albertans who have died between January and June of this year from a drug poisoning. Since the province began tracking records six years ago, 7,319 Albertans have died.

Moms Stop the Harm, a Canada-wide group advocating for better drug policies, is hosting its annual event marking International Overdose Awareness Day (IOAD) at Victoria Park Site 6 in Edmonton at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday. The event commemorates loved ones lost to the drug poisoning crisis that experts believe is largely due to a toxic drug supply.

Edmonton’s IOAD event will include a formal program, a raffle to raise funds for a memorial garden, and Naloxone training. Pictures of loved ones will be on display and the evening will end with a candlelight vigil at the High Level Bridge that will also be lit up in purple.

Angela Welz, a member of Moms Stop the Harm organizing Wednesday’s event, said it will be an evening of support.

“We want to build a circle of love and understanding to family members who have lost a loved one and have a hard time sometimes with this type of disenfranchised and stigmatized grief,” she said. “Society doesn’t seem to understand what’s involved when you lose a loved one to substance use harm.”

In a statement, Mike Ellis, associate minister of mental health and addictions, said IOAD is a reminder of lives lost.

“Alberta’s government is building a recovery-oriented system of care to ensure that people with addiction have access to treatment and recovery resources that save lives,” he said.

With drug poisoning numbers on a bumpy decline, Ellis noted the province is cautiously optimistic the trend will continue.

“We will carry on working tirelessly to reduce deaths even further,” he said.

Meanwhile, Wetaskiwin will also be hosting its inaugural event for IOAD. The vigil will take place at Jubilee Park at 7 p.m. Wednesday and will also highlight resources available to the community.

According to data obtained by Postmedia , 15 people died of a drug poisoning in Wetaskiwin County last year.

Rhonda Watt has been doing outreach to address drug poisonings in the community. Her son, Eric, was 19 when he died of an overdose in 2017.

Watt said about two weeks ago, a girl overdosed and was revived at a low-barrier clinic located at the Wetaskiwin Mall. That same day, four other overdoses occurred in the vicinity of the clinic.

“It’s hitting hard right now and I’m tired,” she said. “I’m tired of saying the same thing over and over again and getting the same response that they’re choosing it. No, they aren’t.”

ajunker@postmedia.com

Last surviving member of The Monkees is suing the FBI
Judy Kurtz - Yesterday

The Monkees singer Micky Dolenz is suing the FBI in an effort to “obtain any records” the agency has on the hit band and its members.

Last surviving member of The Monkees is suing the FBI© Provided by The Hill

A lawsuit filed by Dolenz, the last surviving member of the band, noted the performer had “exhausted all necessary required administrative remedies” after submitting a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to receive the files from the FBI.

Portions of an FBI file on the “I’m a Believer” singers were released in 2011 and included references to anti-Vietnam War rhetoric and “subliminal messages” depicted on a screen at a 1967 Monkees concert that an informant claimed featured “left wing innovations of a political nature.”

The FBI was known to keep tabs on several famous faces during the 1960s and 1970s under then-Director J. Edgar Hoover, including anti-war musicians such as John Lennon and John Denver, among others.

Dolenz’s attorney, Mark Zaid, told Rolling Stone that the 77-year-old entertainer and the last surviving member of the band had originally submitted a FOIA request in June to obtain the full file from the FBI. The lawsuit was brought after the FBI failed to follow through with the FOIA request within 20 working days, as is legally required, Zaid told the music publication.

Zaid wrote on Twitter on Tuesday that he has been a Monkees fan since the early 1970s, calling it a “pleasure to be representing” Dolenz.

“Why was the FBI monitoring the band back in the late 1960s? We will find out!” Zaid said.

Micky Dolenz Sues FBI to Get Full File on The Monkees

Gil Kaufman - Billboard

Yesterday 

Micky Dolenz 

© Matthew Eisman/GI

Micky Dolenz wants the full story. The last surviving member of the 1960s-era made-for-TV band The Monkees filed a lawsuit against the FBI on Tuesday (August 30) demanding that the agency turn over all unredacted documents about his band collected during their swinging heyday.

After the agency released a heavily redacted version of their file on the band (erroneously ID’d on the title page as “The Monkeys”) in 2011, the suit notes that Dolenz filed a Freedom of Information Act request on June 14 of this year in order to get the full story. After his request was not answered in a timely manner, Dolenz’s lawyer, Mark S. Said, filed the suit against the FBI on the drummer/singer’s behalf to get access to the whole file.

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“This lawsuit is designed to obtain any records the FBI created and/or possesses on the Monkees as well as its individual members,” the suit reads. “Mr. Dolenz has exhausted all necessary required administrative remedies with respect to his [Freedom Of Information Act/Privacy Act] request.” The band starred in an eponymous musical sitcom from 1966-1968 and sold more than 75 million albums thanks to such beloved hits as “Pleasant Valley Sunday,” “Daydream Believer” and “Last Train to Clarksville.”

The suit notes that Dolenz, 77, and the three deceased members of the Monkees — singer/guitarist Michael Nesmith, bassist/singer Peter Tork and singer Davy Jones — “were known to have associated with other musicians and individuals whose activities were monitored and/or investigated b the FBI, to include, but not limited to: John Winston Lennon (and the three other Beatles as well) and Jimi Hendrix.”

A portion of the document released by the FBI noted that an FBI informant attended a show on the band’s inaugural 1967 tour, describing, “subliminal messages” that were allegedly depicted on the screen, “which, in the opinion of [informant] constituted ‘left wing intervention of a political nature… These messages and pictures were flashed of riots, in Berkley, anti-U.S. messages on the war in Vietnam, racial riots in Selma, Alabama, and similar messages which had unfavorable response from the audience.”

At press time it was unclear what information might be included in the redacted portions of the band’s file what, if anything, it could reveal about the FBI’s surveillance of the group. A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Justice had not returned Billboard‘s request for comment at press time.

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