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Finance minister discussed West Coast pipeline with Enbridge

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Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks as Alberta Premier Danielle Smith listens in Fort McMurray on Oct 1.
Before Prime Minister Mark Carney and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith announced that the Pacific Link pipeline would be designated as a project of national interest, federal Finance Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne discussed the massive infrastructure undertaking with Enbridge. (The Canadian Press/Greg Halinda)

Canada’s finance minister discussed a new pipeline to Canada’s West Coast with the CEO of Enbridge, according to a briefing note obtained by the IJF.

That note said Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne sought Enbridge CEO Greg Ebel’s views on the proposed pipeline when the two sat down in March 2026. 

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sarcozona
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Abuser Politics: Christian Male Supremacists Want Women to Shut Up

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This week, extremist Christian pastor Joel Webbon had fellow Christian nationalist Wesley Todd on his New Christian Right YouTube show. As with nearly every episode of Webbon’s show there was a significant amount of invective directed at immigrants, the LGBTQ community, and other nefarious culture-war enemies. But who is to blame for the advances of these armies of evil? Who is to blame for the rise of sexual immorality and the increase of non-white and non-Christian populations in the West? Well, in large part, they blame women. 

I have written before how the far-right has begun calling for the repeal of the 19th Amendment, predicated on the idea that feminine empathy and gentleness have led to the kind of sexually free, multi-ethnic, multicultural societies these men detest. But the call to strip women of the franchise is only the beginning. Male supremacists on the right want to pull women back from public life entirely, ensconcing them in a fantasy version of the past that is somehow even more ruthless and misogynistic than ever before. It’s a politics of abuse, sickly legitimized by a gospel that is supposed to be about mercy. 

Just take this exchange from the show. At one point, Todd exclaimed

God in his word, God in nature that he made, said ‘women need to shut up. They need to be quiet. They don’t get to call shots. They don’t get to rule.’

Webbon responded

So true, king, women need to shut up…We’re saying in the public square, in ruling civil positions of government, in the church, in ecclesiastical positions of authority, and when it comes to making decisions in the household as the federal head for the family, in that arena, absolutely Wes is right. Women, shut up! Of course! It is literally an offense to God!

Todd and Webbon also connected the supposedly deleterious effects of women’s leadership to the rise of Catholicism in the United Kingdom. Todd laid this directly at the feet of the Church of England’s ordination of women. In particular, he aimed his ire at Archbishop of Canterbury Dame Sarah Mulally, who was ordained this January and is the first woman to hold the position. As Todd put it, it is unsurprising that young men are turning away from Anglicanism and toward Catholicism when a woman is leading the Church of England because women are inherently too compassionate and permissive to lead the church. Todd insisted that women are simply not “built” for leadership by nature, a truth that he argued any young man can easily see:

So when you have young men that they look around and it’s by nature—it’s not even that they’re reading their Bible—they say “homosexuality is gross. Mass immigration is destroying the fabric of our society.” Just by the light of reason and nature alone, they’re surmising these things. They look at the Church of England and they say, “I feel like we need God in society. Again, by nature alone I know that there is a god. But I look at this, I look at an old, haggard, ugly woman that’s supposed to the Archbishop of Canterbury, ruling over the visible church? Ugh.”…Say what you will about Catholicism, you won’t find a woman priest.

It’s a virulently misogynistic, male supremacist tirade. And it also draws on a logic of natural order. As Webbon’s words make clear, the argument is not only about clerical matters but about the way all life operates. That is to say, both Webbon and Todd are asserting that female leadership in any place and at any time defies natural law. 

I think this is a crucial aspect of Christian male supremacism that must be understood. They view the feminine as an affront, a weaker strain of the human condition to be reviled and conquered. 

Joshua Haymes, a former pastor at Doug Wilson-affiliated Pilgrim Hill Reformed Fellowship that Pete Hegseth attended in Tennessee, called the ordination of Mulally “spiritual transgenderism.” What he means is that female leadership is intrinsically a perversion. There is also a sense in which I think we can say Haymes's misogyny reveals a central hatred at the heart of transphobia. It's a view in which it is impossible for women to ever obtain the privilege and authority of men, and it is pathetic for men to seek to obtain the subjugated status of women. Here’s more of Haymes:

Let’s see what God thinks about this archbishop. [Beginning with] 1 Timothy 2:12: “I do not permit a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet. For Adam was formed first, then Eve, and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor.” The word of the Lord. You know where all this transblender [sic] madness came from? I would say it came from the church. You see, the church became spiritually transgender years before all of this crazy gender-bending madness actually became mainstream in our culture. For decades, we have been pretending that women can be pastors. They can’t. They can’t by nature of the office itself. God is the one who designed the office of the pastorate, and women quite literally just don’t have the equipment. 

Haymes’s invocation of 1 Timothy here aligns with a fairly common approach to gender roles in many corners of Christianity—particularly conservative evangelical Protestantism. I grew up in a church environment where women were never permitted to lead men in any form of prayer, worship, or spiritual study. Most congregations in my denomination would have twelve year-old boys lead communion services and congregational prayer, but never a woman. This would also be true inside home Bible studies and over family meals. 

I don’t want to disparage the people I grew up going to church with, and I don’t want to sound as if I’m suggesting any and all conservative Christians are hateful sexists.  Personally, I would like to see the world’s great faith traditions move toward genuine sexual equality—and an embrace of trans and queer identities, at that. But it is important to acknowledge the unbearable normality of patriarchy in many American homes and houses of worship. I strongly disagree with these views, but I nevertheless think it would be deeply unfair to compare everyday believers to Webbon and his ilk. 

As is clear, the way Webbon, Todd, and Haymes express their extreme beliefs is shockingly vile. What is even more disturbing is the totalizing approach these men take, extending their male supremacist logic into almost every aspect of public life. 

Of course, in many ways, it’s already there. The refrain of “shut up, bitch,” echoed from Andrew Tate videos to the halls of junior high schools to daily spats on social media carries a simple message: the feminine is to be reviled and stamped out in its entirety. The atmospheric, inescapable assumptions of male supremacy can’t be cordoned off in the manosphere. In their mundane expressions, they drive so much of daily life. And they are an animating feature of the far-right politics dismantling American democracy today. 

The desire for quiet women—really for silent women—in every public forum is neither about adherence to Biblical truth nor the revelation of natural law. It is, as with white supremacy, a logic of domination, of rape. Telling women to shut up, attempting to banish them from civic life, and insisting on the right of men, by virtue of their “equipment,” to rule as they please is a politics of rape. When these men talk about what they’ll permit women to do, it’s always essentially a threat. But their inability to hear any dissent puts the lie to their claims. There is no strength here, no virtue or authority. There is only the fragile, preening ego of the abuser. 

Featured image is Shopkeeper sews up his wife's mouth, by Thomas Lord. Busby

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sarcozona
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> but I nevertheless think it would be deeply unfair to compare everyday believers to Webbon and his ilk.

No, definitely not unfair
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New Research on Muscle Loss Suggests Humans Will Really Suffer on Mars

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Keeping astronauts strong and healthy in microgravity is no easy feat. Those serving six-month missions aboard the International Space Station must exercise for two hours per day to stave off muscle loss. Pinpointing the level of microgravity at which atrophy begins would therefore be hugely helpful for establishing a sustained presence on the Moon and Mars.

That’s exactly what a study published today in Science Advances sought to do. The researchers exposed mice aboard the ISS to various levels of artificial gravity, then examined how their muscles responded. They found that 0.67 g (67% of Earth’s gravity) is a key threshold—any gravity level lower than this caused their muscles to deteriorate.

While mice are not humans, this is an “exciting study nonetheless because we are able to do experiments in rodents that are more difficult or impossible with humans,” Lori Ploutz-Snyder, dean of the University of Michigan’s school of kinesiology and former lead scientist for NASA’s Exercise Physiology and Countermeasures Project, told Gizmodo in an email. She was not involved in the study.

Muscles need gravity to stay strong

Mouse models are currently one of the best ways to study the long-term muscular impacts of microgravity, Mark Shelhamer, a professor of otolaryngology-head and neck surgery at Johns Hopkins University and former chief scientist of NASA’s Human Research Program, told Gizmodo. They provide a practical and controlled way to study the physiological effects of microgravity over time.

The 24 mice involved in this study launched to the ISS in March 2023. The crew aboard the station used the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s MARS centrifuge system to expose the rodents to 0.33 g, 0.67 g, and 1 g conditions for up to 28 days. In April 2023, 23 of the mice returned to Earth alive, and the researchers dissected them to look for changes to their grip strength and signs of atrophy.

This revealed that even a low gravity level of 0.33 g was enough to stop their muscles from deteriorating completely, although the rodents’ muscle fibers did change in composition. At 0.67 g, the mice showed no muscle deterioration, loss of strength, or fiber changes.

While these results may not directly transfer to humans, they are—at the very least—a warning sign that gravity levels on the Moon and Mars likely aren’t sufficient for preventing atrophy in astronauts over extended periods of time, as they are well below the 0.67g threshold. Specifically, gravity on the Moon is roughly 0.17 g and 0.38 g on Mars.

Defining how much gravity humans need

Interestingly, Ploutz-Snyder’s research—which exposed humans to short periods of microgravity using parabolic flights—identified a similar threshold of 0.5 g to 0.75 g. Further research will help determine whether this is just a coincidence or an indication that the 0.67 g threshold is meaningful for humans. She believes, however, that it is a solid starting point for future studies.

“You have to start somewhere, and this is an exciting development,” she said.

Shelhamer agrees. “Before I saw this study, I would [have said] we know nothing about how much gravity exposure is necessary to halt or slow down the deconditioning that goes on when you send people into space,” he said. “So this study is certainly helping to define that.”

Both experts said that understanding this threshold will help scientists understand whether gravity levels on the Moon and Mars would be sufficient enough to sustain astronaut health. This is critical, as NASA eventually hopes to establish a lunar base through the Artemis program and send humans to the Red Planet.

“We have no idea if being on the Moon in one-sixth [Earth] gravity or being on Mars in three-eighths [Earth gravity], is enough to stop the deconditioning of bones, muscles—all the other things,” Shelhamer explained. “And we really hope that that is enough. Otherwise, you’ve got to take exercise equipment when you’re planning longer missions.”

Additionally, understanding this threshold would help scientists determine what levels of artificial gravity might be most helpful and efficient for long-duration spaceflights and if NASA can scale back exercise countermeasures for astronauts exposed to some level of microgravity—whether it be natural or artificial, Ploutz-Snyder explained.

She hopes future studies will not only help validate and refine the 0.67 g threshold in humans but also investigate how this threshold differs for bone deterioration, how exercise shifts the threshold, and come up with practical implications for this information. Such work could bring us closer than ever to a sustainable human presence on the Moon, Mars, and beyond.

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EXCLUSIVE: Pfizer, BioNTech halt US COVID vaccine study after recruitment struggles | Reuters

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US measles cases exceed 4,400, far exceeding last year's totals

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National measles cases this year have now exceeded 4,400, all but guaranteeing the country will more than double the number of measles infections confirmed last year, which totaled 2,289.

The latest update from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Friday recorded 4,410 total cases in 2026 just a week after the U.S. surpassed 4,000 cases.

When pressed for answers on the worsening situation on Thursday, before the new numbers were released, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. placed blame on Dr. Anthony Fauci, a longtime National Institutes of Health scientist.

“We’ve done better than — we’re having a global measles outbreak right now,” Kennedy said when he was asked by a reporter about the six probable measles deaths that have been confirmed so far this year.

“It’s all over the world. The measles outbreak is occurring because so many people went unvaccinated during the COVID pandemic. And this is something that Anthony Fauci, in fact, predicted,” Kennedy said.

Kennedy was referring to Fauci’s private diary entries that were publicized by Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) earlier this year.

In an entry dated May 6, 2020, Fauci wrote, “Had conversation with Bob Redfield last night about the fact that >1 million children world-wide have missed their measles vaccinations because of the shutdown. This is terrible and needs to be addressed since on that basis alone, there would be far, far more excess deaths from measles among children than coronavirus deaths among children.”

U.S. measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccination rate among kindergarteners have been falling away from the ideal 95 percent coverage for several years now. This vaccination rate is considered necessary to stop widespread outbreaks.

During the 2025-26 school year, the CDC reported an MMR coverage rate of 92.4 percent. While still high, that figure represents hundreds of thousands of kindergarteners attending school while vulnerable to measles.

“We have done better and particularly my administration has done better at controlling the outbreak than any other country in the world,” Kennedy continued, arguing Canada and Mexico are experiencing worse outbreaks than the U.S.

Kennedy was commenting at an event with Rep. Jen Kiggans (R-Va.). A staffer attempted to bar the question about measles, before the reporter said Kennedy is the “highest ranking health official in the country. He can answer that question. He’s a Cabinet secretary.”

The U.S. and Mexico are scheduled to meet with the Pan American Health Organization next month to go over their respective measles elimination statuses.

Kennedy has softly endorsed the MMR vaccine, calling it the most effective way of stopping measles spread last year and in August said parents should get their children vaccinated against the virus. At the same time, however, he has continued to cast doubt on the safety of childhood vaccines.

During a September conference hosted by Children’s Health Defense, the anti-vaccine group he previously chaired, Kennedy claimed “vaccine-injured children” were “damaged” by conditions like asthma and autism and said sudden infant death syndrome and anorexia were common side effects.

The CDC vaccine advisory panel that Kennedy restaffed with ideological allies voted this year in favor of reducing the number of recommended childhood vaccines, though a federal judge disbanded the committee and blocked its votes. Earlier this month, the HHS launched a new clinic dedicated to vaccine-related injuries.

Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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General Assembly adopts pandemic declaration, but not by consensus | UN News

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The text was due to be approved by consensus at a high-level meeting on 25 September. 

Objections from the United States and a few other States blocked that, pushing the issue back to the assembly.

Read the full political declaration here.

Chile’s representative summed up one prevailing view, saying that “no country, no matter how big it might be or how prepared it might be, can alone address a threat that knows no borders.”

The declaration is political and non-binding. It calls for stronger national, regional and international cooperation, guided by science, equity and respect for human rights, and it welcomes last year’s landmark adoption of the World Health Organization (WHO) Pandemic Agreement.

“WHO welcomes this strong commitment by UN Member States to continue working together on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response,” said World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

“The world has come a long way since COVID-19. We urge countries to now fulfil the commitments they have made – especially to finalize negotiations on the Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing system (PABS) annex, so the WHO Pandemic Agreement can be opened for signature, begin the process of ratification and enter into force as international law.”

Unfinished annex

The agreement cannot be opened for signature until Member States complete the annex on pathogen access and benefit-sharing – the system by which countries would share samples and genetic data. 

Those that do so would receive a share of any resulting vaccines, treatments and diagnostics. 

Talks have stalled amid a standoff between developing countries and some high-income European nations together with the US.

The World Health Assembly – comprising the WHO’s 194 members – is due to return to the annex next May. 

The US representative had previously cited “divisive ideologies that lack definitional consensus” as well as the declaration’s references to the continuing annex negotiations.

More action in the General Assembly

In addition to adopting the pandemic declaration, the 193-member world body had a number of items on its agenda on Monday, including the consideration of draft resolutions on the UN Declaration on Sea Level Rise and a political declaration of the high-level meeting to mark the 25th anniversary of the adoption of the anti-racism Durban Declaration and Programme of Action.

Read a summary of the meeting here.

The World Health Organization (WHO) on Monday launched a five-year strategy for its Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence, with the goal of detecting emerging health threats within 24 hours.

Set up in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic, the hub wants every country to be able to identify and understand new threats quickly, so outbreaks can be contained before they become epidemics or spread internationally.

Read more about the new initiative here.

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