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‘Listen to us’: LGBTQ activists seek help, prudence in raising human rights abroad

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:54 GMT

OTTAWA — LGBTQ activists say Canada should ramp up its help in the fight against an organized movement to clamp down on sexual and gender minorities in Africa, while being cautious about when to raise issues in public.“We are being bullied into silence,” said Alex Kofi Donkor, the founder of LGBT+ Rights Ghana, on a visit to Ottawa.“We always have a strategy and I hope you always listen to us.”Ghana has outlawed homosexual acts since British rule, including under an existing criminal offence of “unnatural carnal knowledge.” Human Rights Watch says LGBTQ people in the country face a climate of fear and violence.Donkor, 33, has tried to change that reality by starting a blog years ago to document human rights issues.Eventually, the medical researcher launched an organization to inform media, preachers and politicians about LGBTQ issues. The group opened a physical office in January 2021, which police raided a month later and ordered closed.By August...

Soucheray: A state bias registry? Who goes on that list? And then what?

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:54 GMT

The DFL trifecta has had quite a whirlwind legislative session. It might not be over as this is written, but how much more damage they can bring about at this point is probably minimal. They blew through an almost $18 billion surplus — you’ll be getting back some crumbs — raised taxes and fees, are considering a gas tax increase, pushed billions more good money after bad at education and will create another new government bureaucracy of 400 people or so to administer the family leave and medical act.Other than that, there is a ban on wearing checkered shirts on Tuesdays, a fine if you don’t own a bicycle and a requirement that all bread past its sell-by date must be delivered in a recyclable bag to the site of a new bird sanctuary at Theodore Wirth Park.Curiously, or maybe not, given the excitement of socialist proclivity, tucked into a 500-page-plus public safety bill is the very real calling for a bias registry, so I best be careful. As near as can be determined, the r...

Nathan, Rogers: Pressing for opportunity — a new report and a book reflect what it takes

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:54 GMT

Education administrators’ lawbreaking and stifling opportunity, along with Minnesota Department of Education acquiescence, are discussed in two recent publications. Both raise questions and offer solutions that we hope legislators and educators will consider adopting.‘Information Gap’The first is a report by a student-led group, People for PSEO. It shows that the vast majority of Minnesota’s public-school districts are not following Minnesota’s Post-Secondary Enrollment Options (PSEO) law. This law requires that school districts and charters provide specific information to students and families on their websites as well as via direct distribution. An “Information Gap” report issued last month reviewed and rated all 390 district/charter websites.Researchers found that 62% of district and 38% of charter public school websites did NOT provide all the information that the Minnesota Department of Education says state law requires. Critical information was missing from many we...

In her debut play, ‘Muyehpen,’ the state’s only Karen theater artist explores one of her culture’s most important folktales

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:54 GMT

Ehkhudah Zar is the only professional theater artist in the state from the Karen ethnic group — perhaps even the world — and her debut play based on a cultural folktale is premiering this month in St. Paul.The Karen people are a minority in their native Myanmar and have long faced persecution and violence from Burmese authorities, so many — Zar included — became refugees. With a Karen population in the ballpark of 10,000, St. Paul is one of the most important cities in the U.S. Karen diaspora.Zar’s play tells the legend of Muyehpen, an ethereally beautiful Karen woman who, long ago, was captured by a Thai king and sacrificed. In Karen history, Muyehpen (pronounced “mou-yeh-peh”) is a powerful symbol of resilience.Exposed Brick Theater is presenting Zar’s adaptation of “Muyehpen” from May 19 to 27 at the Historic Mounds Theater (1029 Hudson Rd.).  Tickets are pay-what-you-can, from $7 to $22, and a select number of free tickets are available for each show as well. Some showtimes are ...

Ask Amy: A guest waffles on potlucks and raffles

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:54 GMT

Dear Amy: My girlfriend hosts birthday parties for her grandchildren every year, and on the invitation she asks that we bring a dish in exchange for a raffle ticket.She has a raffle at the end of the party for something that is not of great value.So, along with bringing a birthday present for her grandchild, I also bring a dish.One time I did not bring food. She asked me where it was, and I said that I didn’t have time to prepare something. She told me I wouldn’t get a raffle ticket.When she was pulling the raffle ticket for the winner of her door prize … she looked at me and said in front of everyone that I was not to be included in the raffle because I did not bring food.I feel that if you are having a party, the guest should not have to bring a dish. She is now having a graduation party for her oldest grandchild and once again on the invitation she is telling guests to “bring a dish.”Am I wrong to assume that when you host a party you should also provide the foo...

Bridge: May 20, 2023

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:54 GMT

“Simple Saturday” columns focus on basic technique and logical thinking.Beginners are taught to “return partner’s lead.” Indeed, not doing so is a near-felony. A shift is perilous: If you return partner’s lead and it doesn’t work well, unlucky; but if you switch and that’s wrong, he may want to stake you to an anthill.Today’s West led the queen of spades against 3NT, and East correctly overtook with the king to get out of his partner’s way. South played low. Since East wanted to avoid recriminations, he returned his last spade.NINE TRICKSSouth won, lost a club finesse to East’s king, won a diamond shift and lost a heart finesse. He won the next diamond and had nine tricks.East should see that returning West’s lead is futile. West can’t have an entry to his spades; the deck doesn’t have enough points. But if East shifts to a diamond at Trick Two (hoping West has the jack), careful defense beats the co...

Word Game: May 20, 2023

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:54 GMT

TODAY’S WORD — DEPARTS (DEPARTS: dih-PARTS: Goes away, dies or deviates.)Average mark 37 wordsTime limit 45 minutesCan you find 45 or more words in DEPARTS? The list will be published Monday.YESTERDAY’S WORD — RAPACIOUS rasp acai aria aspic aura auric pair pica pious pour prosaic carp casa ciao coir copra corps corpus coup craps crisp crop croup curio cusp opus orca ours uric sari scar scarp scour scrap scup sirup soap soar sora soup sour spar spur supraTo purchase the Word Game book, visit WordGameBooks.com. Order it now for just $5 while supplies last!RULES OF THE GAME:1. Words must be of four or more letters.2. Words that acquire four letters by the addition of “s,” such as “bats” or “dies,” are not allowed.3. Additional words made by adding a “d” or an “s” may not be used. For example, if “bake” is used, “baked” or “bakes” are not allowed, but “bake” and “baking” are admissible.4. Proper nouns, slang words, or vulgar or sexually explicit words are not all...

Get to know Travis Bell: Q&A with the new Chicago Bears defensive tackle’s college coach

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:54 GMT

Even after selecting two defensive tackles on Day 2 of the NFL draft, Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles could not resist the opportunity to scoop up a third.There was too much about Travis Bell’s makeup and hustle that drew Poles to the player, so the Bears selected him in the seventh round with the No. 218 pick, adding a developmental player from the FCS level to the position group.“This is probably one of my favorite human beings,” Poles said of the Kennesaw State product. “He is a special person. I didn’t want him to leave after his 30 visit and he didn’t want to leave either. There’s something different about this guy. He is passionate about the game.”Kennesaw State coach Brian Bohannon described a similar affinity for Bell and what he meant to the school’s program. Bohannon spoke to the Tribune about the defensive tackle’s development and prospects for a professional career. Here’s that interview, edited f...

Experts urge caution as forest fire season ramps up in Ontario, flames spread in the west

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:54 GMT

As flames continue to fan across parts of Alberta and British Columbia, experts urge caution in Ontario while forest fire season ramps up in the province.“We’ve been lucky we haven’t had a terrible season yet and while there is the potential that we’ll see more fire activity later on this season, we’re already being impacted by forest fires because of the smoke from B.C. and Alberta,” Dr. Eric Kennedy, an associate professor of disaster and emergency management at York University, told CityNews during an interview about fires.“Folks need to remember that that smoke can be really bad for your health, not just for those with preexisting conditions, although they can be affected worse by it, for everyone including even our pets.”The haze seen occasionally in southern Ontario in recent days serves as a reminder of what’s coming to the province and reinforces the need to be prepared.“Agencies across Canada have been attuned to t...

How the Kyle Dubas, Brendan Shanahan negotiation fell to pieces

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:54 GMT

An emotional and honest press conference.A request for more money than anticipated.An email expressing a desire that arrived too late.These are the levers that, as President Brendan Shanahan presented in a measured press conference Friday, pulled Kyle Dubas away from the Toronto Maple Leafs after nine years of heart-on-sleeve service, the final five as general manager.“This was ultimately my decision,” Shanahan asserted.Here, according to Shanahan, is how he arrived at the decision to not renew Dubas’s contract Friday and begin an urgent search to hire the next general manager of the Maple Leafs as soon as possible.Flash back to the summer of 2022, Dubas having guided the group to its sixth consecutive opening-round exit, the fourth under the young executive’s tenure.Shanahan walked into Dubas’s office at Ford Performance Centre and informed him that he would not be receiving a contract extension. Dubas would be judged on the full five years of his orig...