Defence spending boost can only go so far to lessen U.S. reliance: experts
After joining Canada's elite special operations unit Joint Task Force 2 in 2003, he spent the next 13 years collaborating with American soldiers on raids, rescues and reconnaissance missions.
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Winnipeg Free Press
2 days ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Another gold rush could bring open pit mines to South Dakota's Black Hills
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — A gold rush brought settlers to South Dakota's Black Hills roughly 150 years ago, chasing the dream of wealth and displacing Native Americans in the process. Now, a new crop of miners driven by gold prices at more than $3,000 an ounce are seeking to return to the treasured landscape, promising an economic boost while raising fears of how modern gold extraction could forever change the region. 'These impacts can be long term and make it so that tourism and outdoor recreation is negatively impacted,' said Lilias Jarding, executive director of the Black Hills Clean Water Alliance. 'Our enjoyment of the Black Hills as a peaceful place, a sacred place, is disturbed.' The Black Hills encompass over 1.2 million acres (485,622 hectares), rising up from the Great Plains in southwest South Dakota and extending into Wyoming. The jagged peaks are smaller than those of the Rocky Mountains, but the lush pine-covered hills are sacred to the Lakota Sioux people and serve as a destination for millions of tourists who visit Mount Rushmore and state parks. Dramatic landscape changes come with modern mining One gold mine now operates in the Black Hills, but companies have proposals before state and federal agencies for another one, plus exploratory drilling sites that they hope will lead to full-fledged mines. That has prompted opposition by Native American tribes and environmentalists who argue the projects are close to sacred sites, will contaminate waterways and permanently scar the landscape. Gold extraction has changed dramatically in the decades since prospectors first began panning for gold in the Black Hills. The industry now typically relies on massive trucks and diggers that create deep, multitiered pits and use chemicals like cyanide to extract the gold. The land can never return to its original state. The Homestake mine, once the largest and deepest gold mine in the Western Hemisphere, now sits barren in Lead, South Dakota, and is used for scientific research. Interest in Black Hills gold mining has soared along with the price of the metal. When the Homestake mine closed in 2002, gold sold for about $300 an ounce. Now it goes for about 10 times as much. Joseph Cavatoni, senior market strategist at the World Gold Council, attributes the price spike to global economic uncertainty. 'Gold tends to be a stable asset,' he said. 'That actually performs well in inflationary times, and holds its value in recessionary times. That's why gold as an asset in investment.' President Donald Trump also boosted the industry by issuing an executive order in March to increase American mineral production, calling for expedited permitting and reviews. Colin Paterson, professor emeritus of geological engineering at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, notes that Black Hills gold is encased in rock. To extract it, the rock is crushed and then a chemical like cyanide is used to dissolve the mineral and remove it. Mining brings revenue, but renews Black Hills fight Coeur Mining runs the single active mine in the Black Hills, but the company Dakota Gold has plans for an open pit mine to begin operating in 2029. The company is also targeting the area near the old Homestake site to build an underground mine where workers would descend hundreds or even thousands of feet into shafts. Jack Henris, president and chief operating officer of Dakota Gold, estimated the open pit mine would create up to 250 jobs and result in the company paying the state up to $400 million in taxes over the life of the mine. Dakota Gold will conduct an environmental study and surveys of soil and vegetation to ensure safe operation, Henris said. 'Most of the people that work here are from this area and just love to live here,' he said. 'So we're a big part of the Hills and we love them just as much as other folks.' To a great extent, gold mining helped create the modern Black Hills region. The U.S. government signed a treaty in 1868 that recognized the Sioux Nation's right to the Black Hills, but the government seized the land after the discovery of gold and allowed settlers into the region. The U.S. Supreme Court later ruled the Sioux were entitled to compensation, but they have not accepted any and maintain their claim to the land. Tribes have largely opposed mining in the Black Hills. 'There's a central truth about mining in the Black Hills in that it was never the most mineral rich place there ever was,' said Taylor Gunhammer, local organizer with the Indigenous advocacy group NDN Collective and an Oglala Sioux, one of the Lakota people. 'It's not even the actual mineral content of the Black Hills that is so attractive to mining companies. It's the permissive nature of the officials who oversee mining.' Wednesdays What's next in arts, life and pop culture. Some proposed projects, such as Dakota Gold's mine, are on private land and only subject to state rules, not the U.S. Forest Service regulations required for projects on public acreage. Environmentalists have focused their opposition on the possibility of chemicals leaks. They note that Coeur's Wharf mine has had nearly 200 spills and that the former Homestake mine was closed because it contaminated a nearby creek. Coeur's environmental manager, Jasmine McCauley, said in a statement that each spill was 'thoroughly investigated, mitigated, and corrective actions are put in place to prevent reoccurrence.' The company is always improving its processes, she added. Jarding, of the Black Hills Clean Water Alliance, said she remains concerned about the number of projects in the works. 'It's really important that people understand the exponential growth in mining activity that's been happening in the Black Hills over the last five years or so,' Jarding said. 'There are currently active mining claims on 271,000 acres in the Black Hills. That's 20% of the whole Black Hills that is potentially going to be subject to mining.'
Calgary Herald
6 days ago
- Calgary Herald
Orphaned badger rescued from roadside returned to wild: Calgary Wildlife
Article content An orphaned badger found in a roadside ditch in southern Alberta has returned to the wild after months of rehabilitation, the Calgary Wildlife Rehabilitation Society. Article content On May 11, a passerby discovered the young badger in a ditch near Vulcan, Alta and notified Calgary Wildlife. It's mother was found dead nearby, likely struck by a vehicle, the organization said. Article content Article content Article content Over the next three months, veterinary and wildlife rehabilitation staff provided species-specific care designed to mimic natural badger behaviour and environment, the organization said. That included a proper diet, minimal human interaction and enrichment activities to encourage digging and burrowing – essential skills for survival in the wild. Article content Article content The American badger, also known as taxidea taxus, plays a key role in maintaining the health of Alberta's prairie ecosystems. Article content Calgary Wildlife says the species helps regulate populations of ground squirrels and other burrowing mammals, while their digging aerates soil, promotes native plant growth and creates essential shelter for other wildlife. Article content Article content 'Keystone species like badgers are small but mighty. Their presence supports an entire web of biodiversity across Alberta's grasslands,' said Melanie Whalen, director of wildlife care and services at Calgary Wildlife, in a statement. 'Releasing this animal back to the wild is a win not only for this individual, but for the entire ecosystem it supports.' Article content The subspecies of the American badger typically found in Alberta, Taxidea taxus, is listed as a 'special concern' by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. This means it's not currently at risk but requires intervention to maintain healthy populations to prevent it from becoming endangered. Article content Once common in southern Alberta, badger numbers saw a sharp decline in the 20th century due to trapping and land cultivation, according to a 2002 report on the status of the American badger.
Japan Forward
12-08-2025
- Japan Forward
Enduring Trauma: The Forgotten Struggles of Japanese American Veterans
The trauma or psychological scars soldiers carry from the battlefield can haunt them long after the fighting ends. Some Japanese soldiers who fought in the last war also suffered from mental illness. However, their struggles were largely overlooked, and their wounds have since been buried in history. Eighty years on, we continue to examine the enduring impact of war. In the dense jungle, enemy forces advanced through underground tunnels. "The first two months were the scariest. I knew nothing about war or the battlefield, and I was constantly on edge, never knowing when I might run into the enemy," recalled Takeshi Furumoto, a third-generation Japanese American living in New Jersey. He is now 80 years old. Fifty years after the end of the Vietnam War (1955–1975), he looked back and revisited his memories from that time. Takeshi Furumoto in New Jersey, US. Furumoto graduated from university in 1968 and enlisted in the United States Army. In February 1970, he was deployed to the front lines near the Cambodian border as an intelligence officer. His mission was to gather information about enemy movements from local residents. When he arrived in the villages, however, he often found them deserted, the enemy having already fled. Haunted by unseen foes and gripped by suspicion toward the villagers, he lived in a state of constant tension. Takashi Furumoto serving in the Vietnam War, June 1970. The guerrilla enemy skillfully lured American soldiers into minefields. Furumoto saw a superior officer ambushed, his leg blown off by a grenade, and comrades gunned down before his eyes. "I was always on edge, but over time my senses grew numb, and I stopped caring. I just felt empty," he recalled. To strip the jungle of cover, the US military sprayed defoliants from the air, the chemicals falling indiscriminately on both friends and foes. Furumoto returned home in February 1971, but found it difficult to get along with those around him. Eventually, he left Los Angeles and moved to New Jersey on the East Coast. Unaware of the changes within himself, he had become constantly dissatisfied and quick to anger. "Before the war, he was an optimistic and compassionate person…" said his wife, Carolyn (77). She also sensed that something had changed in her husband after the war. Takashi Furumoto, appointed a second lieutenant in the US Army Intelligence Division, February 1969. The siren of the fire truck leaving the station across the street reminded Furumoto of the alarm that blared when rockets were launched at the enemy on the battlefield. Each time it sounded, he would dive under the bed. It took a long time before it was discovered that the cause of these changes was post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a condition stemming from the trauma he experienced on the battlefield. "There still are homeless Vietnam War veterans in Manhattan, New York," Furumoto said. "Without my wife's support, I could have ended up in the same situation." Furumoto was born in a Japanese American internment camp established by the US government after the outbreak of the war between Japan and the US. In December 1945, shortly after the atomic bombing, his family relocated to Hiroshima. They returned to the US in 1956, when discrimination against Japanese Americans remained deeply entrenched. Takeshi Furumoto with his wife, Carolyn, on their wedding day in Los Angeles, USA, January 30, 1972. While many Americans resisted military service, Furumoto chose to enlist, driven by a desire to be recognized as an American. At the time, the Vietnam War became the first conflict to be televised, and the anti-war movement was in full swing. Like many returning soldiers, Furmoto was deeply wounded by insults hurled at him by those opposed to the war. He was accosted with words like "murderer" and "Why did you come back alive?" Eventually, with his wife's support, he founded a successful real estate company in 1974. Yet he kept his memories of Vietnam locked away, remaining silent about his experiences. It wasn't until about 2019, when the New Jersey state government formally recognized his service, that he finally began to open up and share his story from the war. A medal that Furumoto once felt uneasy displaying hangs in his office. Having been exposed to defoliants, he underwent two heart surgeries and now takes ten different medications. "For the first time, I felt appreciated and proud to have fought on the battlefield. Fifty years after the war ended, I finally felt like my old self again," Furumoto said. After losing the Vietnam War, his homeland, the United States, sought to forget that difficult era. Meanwhile, in postwar Japan, values shifted dramatically, and the topic of war became taboo. Reflecting on his own experiences, Furumoto also contemplated his connection to his other homeland, Japan. "What hurt the most was that even though we fought for our country, society criticized us. I believe Japanese soldiers felt that pain, too," he said. Author: Shoko Ikeda, Eriko Ogawa, The Sankei Shimbun (Read this in Japanese )
