Monthly Archives: March 2022

In a landscape where Black viewers are swearing off depictions of slavery and Black pain in their media, Keke Palmer and Common made the bold choice to turn the slave narrative on its head.

Their new film Alice, which already made waves at Sundance in January, tells the story of a woman who breaks out of bondage and discovers freedom in the most unexpected way possible,

I think its important that we actually look at history and I think its important, especially for Black people, that they feel safe, that they can explore history in a way thats not going to make them feel bogged down and victimized, Palmer said of her new film.

Palmer stars as the titular Alice, a slave living on a Georgia plantation that flees captivity after a violent encounter with her owner. Stumbling through the woods she encounters a highwaysoon to discover that it is actually 1973 and slavery has been abolished for over 100 years.

Common portrays her rescuer Frank, who acclimates Alice to the modern world, where she quickly comprehends the lies that have kept her in bondage and the promise of Black liberation.

I think that the way that Black American history as it pertains to slavery is even told, I think thats a part of making us not want to talk about it, Palmer observed.

But the film, written and directed by Krystin Ver Linden, takes the familiar territory of escaping slavery and modernizes it to examine what that truly means once the physical chains have been broken.

Its not a movie about slavery in the 1800s, Common said of the film. Its really a movie about being trapped and enslaved in any generation and how to get free from that in any time period, because there are people that are enslaved right now. There were people that were enslaved in the 70s and not physically.

Whereas so many films focus on the horrors and harsh realities of chattel slavery in the United States, Alice, Common says, focuses on the triumph of discovering and defining freedom after the fact.

I think what Krystin did was take that situation and turn it into a whole other perspective. She told a story in a joyful way.

For Palmer, the concept of freedom and what that means across generations of Black people is the films major sticking point.

Frank represents so many of us today that are living in a time and era where we dont feel free, where its so hard to remind ourselves to activate, she said. Freedom really is existing as you are, even in a space that tells you that youre not allowed to be. And thats hard when you keep getting so many subliminalmessages that you cant exist as you are, where you need to assimilate.

I mean the concept of codeswitching, the concept of not being able to rock your natural hair in the workplace, the concept of you can go to jail at any moment all of those things are what remind Black people in America that Im not allowed to exist in a happy space. Im not allowed to truly beat peace.'

The Black American experience is a whole different experience, Common added, noting the subtle differences in the way Black citizens can live and move in other parts of the world, versus the United States which was built on the subjugation of Black people.

To find freedom from that, it takes a whole lot. But thats the strength that we do have, Common continued. Alice displayed that strength as a black woman, so this is something to celebrate. This film is something to celebrate Black women and just finding your own freedom. I really am inspired by it.

TOPICS: alice Common Keke Palmer

TOPICS: Entertainment film alice Common Keke Palmer

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Keke Palmer And Common Shift The Concept of Freedom In New Movie, 'Alice' - Essence

As I watch the horrific events continue to unfold in Ukraine, I have experienced many emotions, from disbelief to horror to compassion to tears. How exactly does the free world allow this aggression from Russia to continue?

Nobody wants to risk World War III, but to stand by and watch this democratic country being taken over without assistance from NATO and the USA will allow Russia to believe that it can regain the Baltic region without interference. What is the price of freedom? The United States should understand this more than any other nation.

I pray for the Ukrainian people, but prayers will not stop Russia. To see the common men (and women) stand and fight for their freedom is in sharp contrast to attempts to overturn the results of a free and fair election in our own country. Freedom is fragile.

George Schwoyer, Southern Pines

Publishers Note: This is a letter to the editor, submitted by a reader, and reflects the opinion of the author. The Pilot welcomes letters from readers on its Opinion page, which serves as a public forum. The Pilot is not in the business of suppressing public opinion. We are a forum for community debate, and publish almost every letter we receive. For information on how to make a submission, visit this page:https://www.thepilot.com/site/forms/online_services/letter/

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Letter: Fragility of Freedom | Opinion | thepilot.com - The Pilot

Investigations are the lifeblood of PETAs work. Sometimes we conduct groundbreaking undercover investigations, and sometimes we pry the records from the tormenters institutions using freedom of information laws.

The federal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and other public records laws enable us to request information on activities such as experiments on animals funded by taxpayer dollars and put the cruel details under the spotlight. These records allow us to know what is going on behind closed lab doors and inform the public about ways to hold experimenters accountable when animals have suffered, laws have been violated, and public money has been misused. Here are some of our most influential uses of freedom of information and other public records laws:

For decades, countless cats were imprisoned, cut into, and killed in cruel and useless sound localization experiments at the University of WisconsinMadison. When PETA learned that UW experimenters took photographs to document this torment, we demanded that the school release them.

Knowing that the public would be outraged if the truth came out, UW fought to keep its cruelty a secret for more than three years. But a successful PETA lawsuit compelled the university to release the images, including heartbreaking ones of Double Trouble, an orange tabby cat. Following the expos, UW shut down the laboratory and released the remaining cats for adoption.

Experimenter Elinor Sullivan at Oregon Health & Science Universitys (OHSU) primate center has impregnated monkeys, fed them junk food, and then separated the babies from their mothers in order to frighten them. OHSU attempted to keep footage of the experiments secret, but we won our lawsuit after the university denied our open records request. As a result, OHSU had to turn over 74 videos of infants being deliberately frightened in the human intruder test. Some were so traumatized, theyd fling themselves about in the cage. No wonder OHSU fought to keep the videos secret.

Melinda Novak spent 30 years and $10 million studying why monkeys mutilate themselves in laboratories when theyre caged alone and deprived of freedom, family, and any semblance of a normal lifea question anyone with even an ounce of empathy should know the answer to. The University of MassachusettsAmherst (UMass) refused our initial request for records of Novaks experiments, but after we filed suit, the school released footage of monkeys in small, metal cages pacing endlessly; tearing out their own hair; and even poking their thumbs into their own eyes. Novak claimed that these studies would help monkeys, but decades of these experiments led to zero changes that would benefit them. She quietly retired from animal torment after our lawsuit was filed, sparing more monkeys agony, but Agns Lacreuse is carrying on that shameful tradition at the school by using gentle marmosets in experiments on menopause, something these animals dont experience.

Through a FOIA request, PETA obtained 43 hours of National Institutes of Health (NIH) staffer Elisabeth Murrays notorious monkey fright experiments in which monkeys stuffed into small cages can be seen reacting in terror to realistic-looking plastic spiders and snakes placed in front of them. These pseudo-science experiments havent resulted in a single treatment for humans. You can help stop Murrays torment of monkeys, most of whom she inflicts with brain damage via toxins, by urging the government to stop wasting tax moneyon it.

For more than three decades, government experimenter Stephen Suomi carried out maternal deprivation and depression experiments on baby monkeys. His hideous procedures involved separating baby monkeys from their mothers within hours of birth. Some were given surrogate mothers made of wire and wood. These motherless infants were more likely to suffer from severe anxiety, aggression, depression, and other physical and mental illnesses as well as to engage in self-destructive behavior, such as biting themselves and pulling out their own hair.

PETA obtained videoswhich NIH had unsuccessfully tried to charge us $100,000 forvia FOIA showing infant monkeys caged with their mothers, who were chemically sedated, had their nipples taped over, and were placed in a car seat. The terrified babies screamed and cried, climbing onto and frantically shaking their unresponsive mothers. In at least one case, experimenters can be heard laughing while a mother tries to remain awake to comfort her distraught child. In some trials, the experimenters even released an electronic snake into the cage with the baby monkeys, who innately fear the reptiles.

The videos led to public outrage. More than a quarter-million PETA supporters wrote to and called government officials to demand an end to the experiments. Following an intense campaign, NIH announced that it was ending these hideous experiments and the lab was shut down.

FOIA requires that federal agencies respond to requests within 20 working days of receiving thembut weve been waiting for close to two years for three agencies to fulfill their obligation to turn over records of experiments on animals involving food deprivation, near drowning, electric shocks, and other horrific activities that have repeatedly failed to produce treatments for humans. Read more about our lawsuit to compel them to follow the law here.

Then take action to help PETA modernize biomedical research. Check out our Research Modernization Deal and encourage your members of Congress to stop wasting your tax dollars on cruel, useless animal experiments and fund only animal-free research methods that will actually benefit humans.

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VIDEO: Freedom of Information Act Reveals Animal Suffering - PETA

Gasoline? Up. Natural gas? Up. Wheat? Up. The spending power of your bank account? Down, down, down.

The U.S. has been experiencing inflation at the highest level in more than 40 years, reaching a 7.9% annual rate in February, and Russias attack on Ukraine is making matters even worse.

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the government poured money into the economy to pull it out of recession.

As people hunkered down to avoid the virus, supply chains faltered and demand shifted from services to goods. Prices for all kinds of stuff shot up as a result.

Now comes the Russian invasion, at an especially vulnerable time for global commerce.

Even though Russias gross domestic product is smaller than South Koreas or Canadas, it is the No. 3 producer of oil and a big supplier of other raw materials. Europeans depend heavily on its exports of fossil fuels. Its industrial metals also are crucial.

Sanctions aimed at isolating Russia have disrupted world trade and sent commodity prices soaring to an extent unseen since the oil crises of the 1970s. Europe may need to ration heating fuel and gasoline. Poorer countries, sadly, could experience food shortages and even widespread hunger.

What to do? First, resist the temptation to mess with financial markets. That goes for everyone, up to and including President Joe Biden, who faces low approval ratings and a midterm election thats shaping up badly for his fellow Democrats.

The markets are doing their job of matching buyers and sellers at the prices each side is willing to accept. Weve even seen some rebounds lately. Let the markets be.

So far, the Biden administration has taken only a few, mostly ineffective, steps to blunt inflation. The White House has warned energy companies against price gouging while at the same time cheerleading for increased domestic production. It also coordinated the release of emergency petroleum reserves with U.S. allies.

Democrats in Congress have proposed waiving the federal 18.4 cents a gallon gasoline tax until after the midterms, which sounds helpful on the surface. But history teaches us that temporary tax holidays can have disappointingly little effect on retail gas prices, since the sellers often just then raise their prices. So dont look to that for much help.

On the diplomatic front, the administration has signaled support for a nuclear accord that could remove sanctions on Irans crude-oil production, potentially restoring 1 million barrels a day to the marketplace. Similarly, it may relax sanctions against Venezuela, which has enormous oil reserves.

Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have doubled down on promoting electric vehicles and green energy sources as an alternative to pricey oil and gas. Europeans are far ahead of the U.S. on that climate-friendly path, and likely to move even faster now.

For the U.S. economy, the next step is needed ASAP: higher interest rates.

The U.S. Federal Reserve has a dual mandate to promote full employment and control inflation. The job market is hot, so the central bank has room for maneuvering on that side of the ledger. The Fed has been slow to address inflation, however, and now Russian President Vladimir Putin has backed it into a corner.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell told Congress he will push for a quarter-point increase in the federal-funds rate when the Feds policymaking committee meets next week. Thats just for starters.

Chicago Federal Reserve Bank President Charles Evans recently told CNBC that the central bank should increase its base rate to as high as 2% by the end of this year, which would require a rapid series of interest-rate rises.

Jacking up rates to that extent would be strong medicine against inflation, but it also would put a damper on economic growth. No wonder the stock market has taken a hit, and analysts have cut back bullish forecasts. America and Europe are fighting an economic war and, inevitably, their citizens will pay the price.

Russias brutal assault on Ukraine has no silver lining, but lessons can be drawn from it. First, Putin has revealed himself to be a danger that must be confronted, despite the clear economic costs. Europe, especially, needs to reorient its economies to keep Russia isolated. It is heartening to see alliances strained under the Trump administration being shored up to enable a unified effort against Putins aggression.

Most heartening is the brave example of the ordinary people of Ukraine.

For generations, Ukrainians were denied the freedom that Americans have long enjoyed. Given their current life-and-death struggle against aggression, it is small-minded to moan about the price of gasoline at the local pump or groceries at the supermarket.

Lets hope our country can follow the Ukrainian example and pull together to protect democracy, even at $4-plus a gallon.

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Opinion: The price to protect freedom, paid at your local gas station - Yakima Herald-Republic

The Information and Privacy Commissioner (IPC) is now asking Laurentian University to meet its obligation to respond to Freedom of Information requests.

Laurentian hasn't had to do so for more than a year.

The IPC saidin documents filed last week that the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA) was enacted for two fundamental reasons: to grant members of the public access to information under the custody or control of public institutions, and to protect the privacy of individuals with respect to their personal information held by those institutions.

Shortly after declaring insolvency in February, 2021, the university administration asked that it not be required to answer to FIPPA requests, fearing a large number of applications and limited resources to respond during a time when it was trying to deal with its perilous financial state.

The judge in the case agreed with that argument.

Subsequently, the university asked for the measure to be extended with no objection from the IPC.

That is until Laurentian's last request for an extension to the order on Jan.27, when the IPC did speak up against the extension.

The Laurentian University Faculty Association and the Canadian Association of Teachers also objected in court but the judge didn't make a ruling because no supporting documents had been submitted.

Now they have filed documents and a judge is scheduled to hear the matter onApril 1.

In a statement of facts the IPC noted that historically, the university has never had to deal with a huge number of requests under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA).

"...the number of annual FIPPA requests for the past few years has been modest, ranging from only 10 to 26 requests. There is no reasonable basis to continue to fear that "there will be an extraordinary influx of FIPPA requests," it said.

It also saidthere are only four current FIPPA requests that have been suspended because Laurentian is undergoing restructuring under the Companies Creditor's Arrangement Act.

The IPC saidLaurentian's president, Robert Hach argued in August that the university didn't have the human resourcesto deal with any requests.

The Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT) is supporting the IPCmotion.

"CAUT's member associations, as bargaining agents for academic staff, rely on sound financial information in order to negotiate collective agreements,"it wrote in its factum.

"Often, this information can be obtained from the university or college employer by virtue of the governing labour laws. It is not uncommon, however, for academic staff associations and unions to have to resort to freedom of information requests to obtain specific information to support their bargaining and labour relations."

Sarah Godwin, general legal counsel for CAUT, said the recent release of reports on Laurentian's governance and operations means access to more information about the university will be necessary.

Now, a year after the stay was issued, CAUT and theIPC argueLaurentian is no longer financially unstable and has proven it has the resources to deal with requests for information, as seen by its response to the Auditor General's investigation.

The commissioner says the vital public interest should be considered when assessing whether FIPPA access rights should be stayed..

It says the public is entitled to know how Laurentian operates, including how it spends public funds.

In an email to CBC News, Laurentian said is has remained in discussions with the IPC since it filed for insolvency.

"Laurentian has been in discussions with the Information and Privacy Commissioner since the outset of the CCAA proceeding, including with respect to the motion that will be heard by the Court on April 1, 2022," the email said."Laurentian will be filing responding materials in due course."

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Laurentian should respond to Freedom of Information requests: Privacy Commissioner - CBC.ca