Sunday, September 11, 2022

A Community of Healing

It has been just a week since the James Smith Cree Nation was shattered. 
After the death of Myles Sanderson and his brother Damien, it seems like the world has moved on to other news stories. 
But of course the story will not really be over so quickly. This is the meaning of community: From Wednesday - And today - In Edmonton today - And in Hamilton today - Reporter Zac Vescera wrote in Saturday's Star Phoenix:
... a killer’s capture does not mean closure. The search is ended, but the Burns family and others are beginning the wakes, the funerals, the sweat lodges and the hard work of grieving.
There was a mother of two, a veteran, and Herbert Burn’s sister Gloria Burns, an addictions counsellor who spent her life lifting others up.
Her brothers say they are following Gloria’s example by urging forgiveness for the accused perpetrators and their families, hoping an unthinkable tragedy can knit their community together instead of pushing it apart.
“How are we going to face each other, living on a piece of land that is six miles by 12 miles square?” said Ivor Burns, a community elder and one of Gloria’s brothers. “How are we going to do that unless we heal? And in order to heal, we have to forgive the people.”
...Myles Sanderson’s death means the community may never know exactly why he did what he did. But many on the First Nation are focused on the bigger picture.
Chief Wally Burns called for more access to substance use treatment on the reserve as well as local control over police. Others have proposed reforms to the justice system entirely.
“The problem is not those two boys,” Ivor Burns said.
Even in tragedy, the Burns family has gone out of its way to welcome journalists. On Thursday, Ivor Burns refused to let this reporter leave his house without a cup of coffee and some cookies. Darryl Burns has been fielding phone calls from reporters across the country, which he admits is not easy.
“After the press conference, there were so many of the reporters who wanted to speak with me. It was hard for me to sort out my own feelings,” he said. “It was hard for me to look after my partner and do the things I needed to do.”
Now, he says, it is time to mourn. Gloria’s body will soon be returned to their home and finally laid to rest. Then, he hopes the healing can start.
“We’re not going to be remembered as a community of tragedy,” Darryl Burns said. “We’re going to be remembered as a community of healing and forgiveness, and strength and courage.”

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Today's News: Slava Ukraini

Such wonderful news today from Ukraine - coming so fast now its hard to keep up:
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Saturday, September 10, 2022

Today's News: Ukraine, and CNN

Just a couple of highlights tonight -- Ukraine's success, and CNN's failure. First, Ukraine is kicking Russia out, town by town!
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Friday, September 09, 2022

A Long Covid Compendium

Long Covid is now pretty close to the top of my List Of Diseases I Never Want To Get. For the past several weeks I have been collecting Long Covid news so I thought I should post this today.
Even Queen Elizabeth II may have had it.



This is why masks matter:
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Today's News: The Queen is dead. Long live the King.

What an amazing number of places she went and people she met! This thread shows many of them:
 [*full disclosure: I met the Queen once, like 35+ years ago, at a reception for journalists on the Royal Yacht Britannia. Somewhere tucked away I still have the nametag and the security clearance from that day.] Of all the photos ever taken of the Queen, I found this one to be the most moving -- when she had to mourn Phillip alone: I know Diana was called The People's Princess, but Elizabeth was no slouch in that department either: Irish Twitter was something today:
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Thursday, September 08, 2022

Today's News: Grieving together

Myles Sanderson was caught today. And tonight he is dead. There was an incredible sense of relief across the province when the arrest was announced: But now he is dead: Here is the police press conference:
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Wednesday, September 07, 2022

Today's News: Still at large

We are now in Day 3 following the Saskatchewan massacre and Myles Sanderson is still at large: And the keyboard warriors have reached the "who can we blame?" stage. 
Mainly right now, we're pointing fingers at the Parole Board for deciding in February to let him stay of jail -- in spite of how for the last several years the Canadian justice system has been rightfully questioned for over-policing, over-charging and over-jailing Indigenous people, particularly on the Prairies. 
We're also hearing people try to blame Trudeau and Saskatchewan Justice -neither having anything to do with Sanderson -- and the Saskatoon police are also coming in for some blame because they had issued a warrant for Sanderson in May. 
Some are using the tragedy to try to score points for their own particular hobbyhorses -- anti-Liberal, pro-death penalty, anti-gun control, etc.  The Cons couldn't resist the temptation. I'm glad to see that Scott Moe and Karla Beck are not indulging themselves with petty political fights: APTN National News reports on what the Parole Board said about Sanderson in February and I think it provides a more nuanced picture of why they reinstated the release: 
... Myles Sanderson told the board that regular use of drugs and hard alcohol would make him “lose (his) mind” and get angry. 
 “Your criminal history is very concerning, including the use of violence and weapons related to your index offences, and your history of domestic violence,” said the document obtained by The Canadian Press. 
 .....Sanderson received a statutory release from prison in August 2021, but it was revoked about four months later because the board said he failed to communicate with his parole supervisor. 
In the document, the board said it decided to reinstate his statutory release with a reprimand. “It is the Board’s opinion that you will not present an undue risk to society if released on statutory release and that your release will contribute to the protection of society by facilitating your reintegration into society as a law-abiding citizen.” 
Sanderson was serving his first federal sentence of more than four years, four months and 19 days for a slew of offences including assault, assault with a weapon, assaulting a peace officer and robbery. 
In total, the document says, he has 59 criminal convictions. 
Sanderson’s childhood was marked by violence, neglect and substance abuse and led to a “cycle of substance abuse, seeking out negative peers and violent behavior,” the document said. 
He lived between his father’s home in an urban centre and his grandparents’ house on a First Nation.
There was violence and abuse in both households, it said. Sanderson started drinking and smoking marijuana at around age 12 to cope with problems, the document said. Cocaine followed soon after. 
 “You can be easily angered when drunk, but are a different person when sober,” the decision said. 
The board said many of his crimes happened when he was in a state of intoxication. 
In 2017, Sanderson went to a home where his ex-girlfriend and two children lived. The children were rushed upstairs into a bathroom and put into a tub for protection, the document said. 
“You went upstairs and acted in a threatening manner, talked about the gang, and punched a hole in the bathroom door, frightening the children,” the decision said.  Sanderson fled before police arrived but a few days later he tried to fight a First Nation band store employee and threatened to kill him and burn down his parent’s house, the document said. 
 A few months later, Sanderson threatened an accomplice and forced him to rob a fast-food restaurant by hitting him in the head with a firearm and stomping on him, the decision said. Sanderson watched the robbery from outside. 
 In 2018, the board said Sanderson was drinking at a home and got angry with people he was with. It said he stabbed two of them with a fork, then attacked a man who was walking nearby and beat him until the man lost consciousness in a ditch. 
Sanderson was located at his partner’s home two months later. During the arrest, he kicked an officer in the face and on the top of the head repeatedly, the decision said. 
The board said Sanderson seemed to have maintained sobriety and obtained employment. He was taking part in cultural ceremonies and had found a home for his family. The board said it appeared he was making good progress on reintegrating with society. 
The board said if he stayed sober his risk would be manageable. He was released with conditions to not contact his partner or children, except when necessary for parenting responsibilities. 
In May, a Crime Stoppers bulletin was issued for Sanderson, warning he was unlawfully at large. 
A monster now, but still I could find it in my heart to weep for that little boy.
Finally, this:
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Tuesday, September 06, 2022

Today's News: Continuing the story

The news is fast and furious today as the story about the mass stabbings at James Smith Cree Nation and the town of Weldon continues to be the most important news story in Saskatchewan. The Globe and Mail provides a summary of the victims identified so far: 
A mother of two, a 77-year-old widower and a crisis worker were the initial victims identified in the stabbing rampage that left 10 people dead and wounded at least 18. 
None of the deceased are children or infants, and the youngest victim was believed to be born in 1999, said Rhonda Blackmore, the commanding officer of the Saskatchewan RCMP. 
 At least nine of the 10 deceased are from the James Smith Cree Nation, and one is from the nearby town of Weldon. 
At least 15 of the 18 who were injured are also from the First Nation. 
RCMP said the attacks happened at 13 separate locations. 
Regarding the killers, Damien Sanderson was found murdered today at James Smith Cree Nation, but his brother Myles is still at large. It seems unlikely now that both men were actually in Regina on Sunday, but the hunt will continue.
Some beautiful memorials today on twitter:
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Monday, September 05, 2022

A terrible day in Saskatchewan

This morning we woke up to the alerts on our cell phones: Ten dead, at least 15 hospitalized -- the news about this horrific tragedy has now gone around the world - I saw tweets tonight from many countries, and reports of many people overseas calling loved ones here to make sure they were OK. 
The James Smith Cree Nation and the town of Weldon are north of Saskatoon -- here is an Associated Press map.

 5:40 a.m. – RCMP receives multiple calls from James Smith Cree Nation about stabbings at different locations. 
 7:12 a.m. – Saskatchewan RCMP issues dangerous persons alert, says police trying to locate two suspects. Area residents of James Smith Cree Nation and surrounding communities of Candle Lake, Prince Albert, Melfort, Humboldt and Rosthern told to seek immediate shelter, use caution. 
 7:57 a.m. – RCMP releases names and photos of suspects: Damien Sanderson and Myles Sanderson. Damien Sanderson is described as five-feet-seven inches, 155 pounds with black hair, brown eyes. Myles Sanderson was described as six-feet-one inch, 200 pounds with black hair and brown eyes. 
 8:20 a.m. – RCMP extends dangerous persons alert to province of Saskatchewan, saying the suspects are believed to be travelling in a vehicle. 
 9:45 a.m. – RCMP issues fourth dangerous persons alert saying there have been multiple victims in multiple locations, at least one at James Smith Cree Nation and another victim at Weldon. Some of the attacks appear to be random. 
 11:25 a.m. – RCMP sends request to Mounties in Manitoba and Alberta to extend dangerous persons alert to their provinces. 
 12:07p.m. – RCMP issues fifth update saying witnesses report seeing suspect vehicle in Regina on Arcola Ave. Residents asked to shelter in place. The vehicle is described as a black Nissan Rogue with Saskatchewan license plate 119 MPI. 
 3:45 p.m. – RCMP announces 10 people have been killed and 15 others injured in the attacks, which they say took place across 13 locations. 
Regina police released this update earlier this evening: Some information is now being posted online in memory and tribute to the people we have lost and the Associated Press is also reporting on some of the victims tonight. I had thought I might copy some of these tweets and excerpts but then I reconsidered - I think its more respectful to wait a bit until official announcements are made.
But here is an incredible series of tweets I saw tonight. First, these: And then these:
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Sunday, September 04, 2022

Weekend funnies

Gordon Lightfoot - 83 years old! - performed at the CNE tonight in Toronto and people loved it, lots of tweets about it.  

His voice isn't as strong as it once was, but it would have been a great concert, a truly Canadian experience too.  

I don't expect he did The Canadian Railway Trilogy, but its my own favorite:  

Here's another Canadian moment: Speaking of music...
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Saturday, September 03, 2022

Just following up ....

Tonight, just some follow-ups on some of the stuff I talked about earlier this week: 

More on conspiracy theories and rage farming:
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Friday, September 02, 2022

Today's News: Dark Brandon rises


At first I wasn't sure whether Biden's speech tonight was a good idea. But seeing the speech and now the reaction to it, I am feeling a very positive vibe. 
Since the chaos of Jan 6, 2021, I think Americans have worried about what is happening to America. With Biden's recent successes and rising popularity, he finally had the platform and credibility to identify the MAGA Republicans, to shame them as fascists, and to challenge Democrats to rise up in defense of their country. I don't think the MAGA Republicans really knew much about Dark Brandon until tonight's speech. I am not sure whether America, and particularly the US media, are up to the challenge: Biden's speech is also timely because in general I think people have now had enough of the fascists and MAGA Republicans, and want to push back on the crazy: There are the same worries here in Saskatchewan:
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Thursday, September 01, 2022

Happy happy joy joy

Just some happy things today: Serena wins! 
I found out today that Serena turned pro in 1995, which was several months before Anett Kontaveit was even born - that's the Number 2 seed who Serena beat tonight. And that's how incredible it was to see her win. I thought these were insightful comments:
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Wednesday, August 31, 2022

Today's News: Rage-farming

The term "rage farming" was a new term to me when I started to see people talking about it on twitter - here is the Slang Dictionary definition: 
Rage-farming is a slang term for the political tactic of intentionally provoking political opponents in order to create or increase exposure for one’s group or cause. The tactic is especially associated with conservative and far-right political groups. 
The term rage farming is always used in a critical way. It is typically applied to the act of posting intentionally inflammatory content or otherwise trolling political opponents online with the goal of eliciting a large number of angry responses, thus leading to widespread exposure for the original poster. However, the term may be applied to practices other than online posts, such as making inflammatory comments in interviews or speeches that will be widely covered by the media. 
Similar, I guess, to the practice of sending a bunch of flying monkeys after a blogger or twitter-poster. Except in this case creating more rage itself is the point. 
A recent Tyee article by Edmonton reporter Charles Russnell discusses the Freeland attack as part of the larger rage-farming phenomenon by conservative politicians: 
A political scientist told The Tyee he expects aggressive attacks on politicians to increase in Canada as right-wing politicians continue to engage in “rage farming” by advancing false and misleading conspiracy narratives. 
“They know how to feed those narratives,” said University of Alberta political scientist Jared Wesley. 
“It is little half-truths, sometimes more blatant lies, that kind of plant the seeds for this rage farming,” he said. 
...[Wesley said] politicians in Canada were stoking resentment of so-called elites. 
“This time around, it’s not just anti-elitism, it’s what we call anti-pluralism,” Wesley said, explaining that United Conservative Party politicians in Alberta in particular advance the narrative that there are “pure people out there, pure Albertans.” 
And so when people like Freeland come to their town, they are targets for abuse because they are not viewed as real Albertans or real Canadians, he said. Freeland is from Peace River, Alberta, north of Grande Prairie. 
All three politicians [Kenney, Poilievre, Smith] have, for example, been pushing the narrative that Trudeau is somehow attempting to punish farmers by searching for ways to lower emissions from fertilizer. 
Smith in particular, has made numerous statements about how vaccine mandates were an unnecessary intrusion on people’s freedoms and she has threatened to fire the board of Alberta Health Services and the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta. 
She has advanced the idea of an Alberta Sovereignty Act that she says would allow Alberta to opt out of federal laws, including those governing guns. 
“What these narratives do for conspiracy theorists, is that it helps them make sense of, first of all, complex things that don’t otherwise make sense; it’s boiled down into something really simple,” Wesley said. “And secondly, it gives [conspiracy theorists] an out of sorts, where it allows them to see other people as being either the source of their problems or as being less moral or less worthy.” 
Ironically, he said, this extreme behaviour by people like McDavid will make it less likely that politicians will come to hear them out in their communities because they don’t wish to be abused and they legitimately fear for their safety. 
When an incident like the attack on Freeland happens, it takes a politician away from the message they were there to deliver. 
“So this creates a spiral; a populist spiral where people say they are not listening to us.” Wesley said.
“Well, of course, they are not listening to you. Look at what is happening when they try to listen. It is just a self-perpetuating cycle.”...
There appear to be three sections on the Canadian rage-farm right now: 
1. World Economic Forum
2. Covid vaccines (plus related mandate-hate, mask-hate etc)
3. Climate change (plus related fertilizer panic, insect panic etc.)
Here's some stuff on all of these, with a certain amount of cross-over raging, too

This explains the "eating insects" hysteria. It is stunning how anyone would believe something this stupid:
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