Latest news with #Kinsman
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
King's big moment in Canada after Trump row
"This is a big deal for the King to do this," says Jeremy Kinsman, former Canadian high commissioner to the UK, as King Charles prepares for a historic visit showing support for Canada, which is facing pressure from US President Donald Trump. "I hope that Trump understands," says Mr Kinsman, ahead of the King becoming the first monarch to open Canada's Parliament in almost 70 years. So what can we expect from his speech as Canada's head of state, to be delivered in French and English in Ottawa on Tuesday? It will be written on the advice of Canada's government. But along with the workaday lines on policy plans, Mr Kinsman expects a message, loud and clear, that Canada will not be the US 51st state. "It's going to be very affirmative of Canadian sovereignty. And I can say personally that it's something that King Charles will celebrate saying. I have no doubt," says Mr Kinsman, who worked as a diplomat with the King when he was Prince of Wales. "It will say the government will protect, pursue and preserve the sovereignty of Canada as an independent state," he predicts about the speech, which follows an election won by Mark Carney on a wave of anti-Trump sentiment. The King's mother, the late Queen Elizabeth II, was the last monarch to open Canada's Parliament in 1957 and was also the most recent to deliver the "speech from the throne" in 1977, in a ceremony that marks the start of a parliamentary session. She began that speech with a few of her own personal comments - so there is scope for the King to add his own thoughts. "I don't know what pronoun they'll use. He'll be talking about the 'government proposes'. But I don't know if they'll throw in an "I". Either way he'll be identified with it," says Mr Kinsman about the personal nature of this speech from the King in Canada - a Commonwealth country and Nato partner. It's going to be a more dressed-down event than the pomp of the Westminster state opening of Parliament. The King will be in a suit rather than a gown and crown, reading a speech that could last about 25 minutes, much of which will be about the government's legislative plans. There are also likely to be nods to the importance of Canada's First Nations communities, in a speech that comes on the first visit to Canada from King Charles and Queen Camilla since the start of their reign. The King, invited by Mr Carney, will have to balance a message of solidarity with Canada, without jeopardising the UK's relationship with the US. "The King has long experience and great skill in walking that diplomatic tightrope," says a royal source. "He's held in high regard around the globe and across the political spectrum, with good relations with world leaders who understand his unique position." Mel Cappe, a former Canadian minister and senior civil servant, has been involved in preparing such speeches from the throne, usually delivered by a governor general. He expects the King to add a "few paragraphs of his own at the beginning" to "give his own personal view", but the overall text of the speech will be approved by Canada's prime minister and his officials. "He's not going to poke President Trump in the eye. That would cause a problem for Canada. On the other hand he isn't going to suck up to Donald Trump," says Prof Cappe, who was also a high commissioner to the UK. He believes this intervention could have a big impact: "Symbolically this is huge. President Trump has a lot of admiration for the monarchy. He is impressed by the royals." This royal moment will be a platform for Canada's government to talk about tariffs and to mention the visit to the White House where PM Carney said Canada would "never" be for sale, says Prof Cappe. "So somewhere in that speech, look for the word "never"," he says. President Trump, as shown in his recent controversial White House meetings with South Africa's President Ramaphosa and Ukraine's President Zelensky, can be an unpredictable diplomatic partner. "The old alliances are breaking down," says Mr Kinsman. And against a background of such uncertainty, King Charles has been part of an unexpected international balancing act. He became a key part of the charm offensive to maintain the UK's good relations with President Trump, with an invite for a second state visit. Now he's going with a message of reassurance to the Canadians. Sir Keir Starmer has been using the King to get closer to Trump, while Mark Carney is using him to keep Trump further away. "He isn't anybody's tool or fool. This is something that he believes… It genuinely is something that he wants," says Mr Kinsman about the King's support for Canada. The former diplomat remembers how much the then Prince Charles showed a personal affection for Canada and a sense of duty towards its people. A planned trip last year had to be cancelled because of his cancer diagnosis. There are many strong links. The throne on which the King will sit to make his speech includes wood from Windsor Great Park - part of the Crown Estate. Mr Kinsman says that many Canadians have been traumatised and upset by what he calls the "appalling" language of President Trump over wanting to take over Canada. It's shaken their view of the world and the new prime minister will be expected to stand up to the US. Mr Carney has said that Canadians were not "impressed" by the UK's invitation to President Trump for a state visit. But Mr Kinsman says that's Canadian understatement for being "disgusted" by the invitation. It really rankled. Nonetheless he says that many Canadians are pragmatic enough to see the UK needs to keep good relations with the US and that the King - who is head of state of both the UK and Canada - has to play both roles in this "strange duality". That's rejected by Peter Donolo, a director of the Canadian International Council think tank, who believes there is an impossible contradiction in the King being different things for different countries. "On the one hand they're using Charles in the UK to curry favour with the Americans and then it seems our government wants to use him to stand up for Canada. You can't have it both ways," says Mr Donolo. He sees the monarchy as "irrelevant" to this dispute with the US. "It won't have any impact on how Trump views Canada," says Mr Donolo. In theory the King acts in two separate and distinct roles, taking advice from the UK government on UK matters and advice from the Canadian government in Canada. There are differences too. In Canada, the reference to the King as "defender of the faith" was scrapped from his title. Elizabeth McCallion, who teaches political science at the University of Toronto, thinks many Canadians don't really have much interest in the constitutional complications around the role of the King. But she says people in Canada were profoundly offended by Trump's aim to annexe their country - and were "disappointed" that they had relatively little backing from the UK, which seemed to be "buddying up to Donald Trump". They're now watching to see what the King might say to support them. "People are recognising that this is momentous," she says. What do Canadians make of the monarchy in the Trump era? Sign up here to get the latest royal stories and analysis every week with our Royal Watch newsletter. Those outside the UK can sign up here.
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Yahoo
New cameras help tackle illegal dumping at local recycling site
KINSMAN, Ohio (WKBN) — A grant is helping Kinsman Township tackle illegal dumping at its recycling bins. The township has added a few new surveillance cameras to the recycling area near the township garage off State Route 87. It already had a few cameras, but the new ones have the technology to capture license plates. The township was able to purchase the equipment thanks to grant funding from the Geauga-Trumbull Solid Waste Management District. Trustee Greg Leonhard says illegal dumping in the recycling area has been an ongoing problem since the recycling bins were installed. 'We really didn't want to take 'em out, so having the additional cameras will – we want to send a message up front too that don't do it because you're gonna be on camera,' said Leonhard. Leonhard says the new cameras will help prosecute people caught dumping illegally. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
11-03-2025
- Yahoo
New Hampshire sees spike in online predators targeting children: 'Flooded with cases'
Law enforcement officials say prosecutions of internet crimes against children are ramping up in response to an increase in online predators. Just last week, Seabrook police officer John Giarrusso III, 48, was charged by the Haverhill, Massachusetts Police Department with possession of child sex abuse images. Police allege uploaded graphic videos on the social media chat app Kik and had explicit conversations with underage girls. Last month, the Rockingham County Attorney's office indicted 25-year-old Shaun Beckwith of Higganum, Connecticut, on 12 charges alleging he used Snapchat to communicate with a 16-year-old girl in Seabrook. They said he coerced the girl into sharing sexual images and committing sex acts. The charges allege he sent a picture of his genitals to the girl, as well as asked her to send photos of her breasts. Police allege he asked the girl to 'engage in sexual activity for the purpose of creating a visual representation,' according to indictments. That included performing 'oral sex' and engaging in 'sexual penetration,' they state. Rockingham County Attorney Patricia Conway said technology has long been available to predators looking to meet and abuse children online. Still, she and others in law enforcement say there has been an uptick in those crimes recently. Just last year, 57-year-old Todd Burnim, a former Kensington EMT, was jailed for 50 years for possession of child sexual abuse images. Prosecutors heard testimony from one alleged victim he met them on a Chatroulette-style website and led her to a chat on the app Kik. 'Unfortunately, we are seeing this type of criminal behavior more and more,' Conway said. More: Seabrook police officer allegedly shared child sex abuse images on Kik, solicted minors New Hampshire law enforcement officials from around the state say they are seeing an increase in internet crimes against children. Portsmouth police Lt. Eric Kinsman, who leads New Hampshire's Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, said ICAC received just above 1,900 cyber tips reporting those crimes in 2023. Last year, the task force received more than 2,400. The tips come from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which collects tips from around the country and forwards them to ICACs in each of the 50 states, depending on the location where they occur, according to Kinsman. He said the center for works with close to 2,000 electronic service providers, including popular social media networks like Facebook and Instagram. Service providers are bound by law to report any traffic related to child sexual abuse images, Kinsman said. That includes monitoring keywords in chats, which allows authorities to determine if a predator is trying to set up an in-person meeting with a child. Kinsman said the uptick in cyber crimes against children is in part due to the increased ability to report such crimes through what he called a 'massive collaborative effort' to identify them. He also said that technology in recent years has also improved to allow for increased anonymity online that did not exist in past years. 'You can have many different levels of anonymity online than you ever could before,' Kinsman said. Kinsman also said authorities observed a rise in cyber tips after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic when more people stayed inside and spent more time online. Last year, he said in an interview with Seacoastonline that ICAC received an average of 35 to 50 cyber tips a month reporting acts of child exploitation. That rose to 150 to 200 per month after the pandemic began. 'We're so flooded with cases that as soon as we finish one, we have to immediately move on to the next,' Kinsman said. 'There are hundreds more.' 'They're just that good': Cryptocurrency scams on the rise in NH Authorities recommend parents talk to their children about the dangers of the internet and the threat of predators. Kinsman said parents sometimes underestimate the dangers of social media. He said he is sympathetic to parents who may not know what age to allow access to social media or use of a cellphone. 'I think parents just simply aren't aware of all the dangers that are out there for our kids,' Kinsman said. In York, police Lt. Luke Ernenwein said internet crimes are up involving not only children but also scams against elderly people. While he did not want to comment on how parents should raise their children, he suggested that parents monitor their children's social media activity. 'I think you would find, because of the knowledge and seeing it, most police officers' children probably get social media accounts at a later date,' Ernenwein said. New Hampshire State Police Lt. Tamara Hester said parents should be aware that most apps contain a messenger feature that lets users communicate across the platform. She said they should check the privacy settings on apps that their children use and limit the information available to people viewing their profile. 'They definitely don't want to advertise where their location is,' Hester said. 'Predator in every child's pocket': What NH parents must know about child exploitation Hampton Police Chief Alex Reno said parents need to realize strangers are not the only people who could be using the internet to communicate with their children. 'Sometimes these sorts of events can occur with known people,' Reno said. 'It's making sure you know what's going on with your children and having regular conversations about safety, not only with computers.' This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: NH sees spike in online predators targeting children
Yahoo
11-03-2025
- Yahoo
New Hampshire sees spike in online predators targeting children: 'Flooded with cases'
Law enforcement officials say prosecutions of internet crimes against children are ramping up in response to an increase in online predators. Just last week, Seabrook police officer John Giarrusso III, 48, was charged by the Haverhill, Massachusetts Police Department with possession of child sex abuse images. Police allege uploaded graphic videos on the social media chat app Kik and had explicit conversations with underage girls. Last month, the Rockingham County Attorney's office indicted 25-year-old Shaun Beckwith of Higganum, Connecticut, on 12 charges alleging he used Snapchat to communicate with a 16-year-old girl in Seabrook. They said he coerced the girl into sharing sexual images and committing sex acts. The charges allege he sent a picture of his genitals to the girl, as well as asked her to send photos of her breasts. Police allege he asked the girl to 'engage in sexual activity for the purpose of creating a visual representation,' according to indictments. That included performing 'oral sex' and engaging in 'sexual penetration,' they state. Rockingham County Attorney Patricia Conway said technology has long been available to predators looking to meet and abuse children online. Still, she and others in law enforcement say there has been an uptick in those crimes recently. Just last year, 57-year-old Todd Burnim, a former Kensington EMT, was jailed for 50 years for possession of child sexual abuse images. Prosecutors heard testimony from one alleged victim he met them on a Chatroulette-style website and led her to a chat on the app Kik. 'Unfortunately, we are seeing this type of criminal behavior more and more,' Conway said. More: Seabrook police officer allegedly shared child sex abuse images on Kik, solicted minors New Hampshire law enforcement officials from around the state say they are seeing an increase in internet crimes against children. Portsmouth Police Lt. Eric Kinsman, who leads New Hampshire's Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, said ICAC received just above 1,900 cyber tips reporting those crimes in 2023. Last year, the task force received more than 2,400. The tips come from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which collects tips from around the country and forwards them to ICACs in each of the 50 states, depending on the location where they occur, according to Kinsman. He said the center for works with close to 2,000 electronic service providers, including popular social media networks like Facebook and Instagram. Service providers are bound by law to report any traffic related to child sexual abuse images, Kinsman said. That includes monitoring keywords in chats, which allows authorities to determine if a predator is trying to set up an in-person meeting with a child. Kinsman said the uptick in cyber crimes against children is in part due to the increased ability to report such crimes through what he called a 'massive collaborative effort' to identify them. He also said that technology in recent years has also improved to allow for increased anonymity online that did not exist in past years. 'You can have many different levels of anonymity online than you ever could before,' Kinsman said. Kinsman also said authorities observed a rise in cyber tips after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic when more people stayed inside and spent more time online. Last year, he said in an interview with Seacoastonline that ICAC received an average of 35 to 50 cyber tips a month reporting acts of child exploitation. That rose to 150 to 200 per month after the pandemic began. 'We're so flooded with cases that as soon as we finish one, we have to immediately move on to the next,' Kinsman said. 'There are hundreds more.' 'They're just that good': Cryptocurrency scams on the rise in NH Authorities recommend parents talk to their children about the dangers of the internet and the threat of predators. Kinsman said parents sometimes underestimate the dangers of social media. He said he is sympathetic to parents who may not know what age to allow access to social media or use of a cellphone. 'I think parents just simply aren't aware of all the dangers that are out there for our kids,' Kinsman said. In York, Police Lt. Luke Ernenwein said internet crimes are up involving not only children but also scams against elderly people. While he did not want to comment on how parents should raise their children, he suggested that parents monitor their children's social media activity. 'I think you would find, because of the knowledge and seeing it, most police officers' children probably get social media accounts at a later date,' Ernenwein said. NH State Police Lt. Tamara Hester said parents should be aware that most apps contain a messenger feature that lets users communicate across the platform. She said they should check the privacy settings on apps that their children use and limit the information available to people viewing their profile. 'They definitely don't want to advertise where their location is,' Hester said. Hampton Police Chief Alex Reno said parents need to realize strangers are not the only people who could be using the internet to communicate with their children. 'Sometimes these sorts of events can occur with known people,' Reno said. 'It's making sure you know what's going on with your children and having regular conversations about safety, not only with computers.' This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: NH sees spike in online predators targeting children
CBC
10-02-2025
- Health
- CBC
Can 'snake tag' keep kids from getting lost in Calgary's full schools? These educators think so
At an after-school program in a Calgary elementary school, it isn't obvious young children are being taught to stay safe and out of trouble. For two hours on a Monday afternoon, these grade 4 to 6 kids do deep breathing exercises. They play games in the gym, pick out books to give to younger kids and write nice messages in them. There's a deeper purpose to this work: the students are being taught tools to resist negative influences later in life. It's an issue former teacher and principal Lorraine Kinsman says is critical to tackle now, as a huge wave of new students enrol in Calgary's public school system. "It's not just a sit-and-listen kind of program. As you can see, it has to be actively involved," said Kinsman, director of programs at the Calgary Bridge Foundation for Youth, which runs the Bridges to Community program. "If you want to teach conflict resolution, put 15 kids together playing soccer. I promise you, in 15 minutes, you'll have four opportunities to teach conflict resolution. That's what we're trying to do, just give them the opportunity to engage." Since 2021, the Calgary Board of Education has been facing record enrolment with new students from across Canada and beyond. Schools are so full, many are now closed to new students, and others have converted hallways and staff rooms into classrooms. Kinsman is worried. Research shows that without forming positive relationships and a sense of belonging, children can be vulnerable to a range of negative peer influence down the road — from skipping school to criminal activity. As concerned parents and educators wonder if schools will be able to keep up and provide all these new students with the personal attention they need, this new outreach program for any child who needs it is the foundation's attempt to help. Hieu Ngo, an associate professor of social work at the University of Calgary, said from his experience working with kids, early prevention programs like this go a long way and can save a lot of money long-term. "When we don't invest in programs like this, we end up paying much more later on — especially when young people get lost in the community, not feeling a sense of connection, not having resilience and confidence about who they are," said Ngo. Bridges to Community launched last fall across four elementary schools. Over a six-week period, Kinsman and other facilitators try to teach kids resiliency and self-worth. It's funded by a $100,000 grant from the United Way that will allow the foundation to run the program across 12 schools, working with up to 600 kids in Calgary. Making good choices … during snake tag It's four o'clock and a dozen kids are slithering like snakes across the polished gym floor. Others giggle and scream as they run away. The rules of the game say if you're tagged by a snake, you turn into one. The last one standing wins. Each child faces choices constantly: stay inside the lines or jump out, admit to a tag or start an argument. On the surface, it's a good outlet for the kids' energy after a long day. But deeper down, the children are learning how to regulate their emotions and make good decisions — critical skills needed to be part of a team and feel like they belong. The program's main focus is helping newcomer youth, since the foundation's mandate is to support immigrant and refugee students. But unlike most of the organization's other programs, all kids are welcome to join. In this particular class that CBC Calgary was invited to, roughly 60 per cent of the students arrived in Canada in the past two years. Many others are Canadian born. Each of the students signed up for different reasons. Some had teachers suggest they join; others signed up on their own. One of the girls in the group told CBC she decided to join because she knows sometimes she acts really silly at the wrong times and places. Another student, a boy, said he was interested in building teamwork skills because some of the kids on his soccer teams don't work together and that's how fights start. Back in the classroom, project co-ordinator Stephanie Pastro leads an activity that relates to this week's theme: altruism. She encourages each student to pick out one book to give to a younger student and write a nice note in it. "I hope you like this book because I know I did. Even though I don't know who you are, I have a feeling that you are very nice and have a kind heart," wrote one of the boys in the program. Pastro said she's impressed by how self-aware the children are, even as young as eight years old. So she integrated mindfulness into the curriculum. Mindfulness is the practice of being present in the moment and has been found to increase optimism, reduce stress and even improve math skills in elementary-aged children. At the start and end of each session, Pastro tells the students to sit comfortably and close their eyes if they'd like to. Using a handheld brass sound bowl, she rings a bell and tells them to breathe in for five seconds, then breathe out for five seconds. They do that three times in a row. Some kids giggle through the breaths; others stay focused on the task. The room is quieter when the exercise is over. "What happens in that room for just those two hours is meaningful and it does make an impact. And although that's kind of daunting, it's also such an opportunity. When you see the progress, the growth, that makes it completely worth it," said Pastro. Of course, the real measure of success is if these children continue to strengthen their relationships and thrive long after this program gives them the step up. And that will be difficult to measure. Pastro said they're working with school principals to see if the skills the kids picked up will stick, and they're using the feedback to adjust future programs. Kinsman said they're hoping the program can eventually be longer than six weeks. Other organizations have also flagged concerns about the support available, especially for youth facing the challenge of adapting to life in a new country. Many community non-profits connected to specific ethnocultural groups also run programs aimed at helping children feel like they belong. They run programs outside of the school system, playing basketball, soccer and dancing in community halls and gyms across the city. But it's always difficult to prove the success of preventative programs like these, said Noel Bahliby, director of youth services at the Centre for Newcomers, which runs a program specifically for older youth at risk of being recruited into gangs. It's called Real ME. The inability to measure success makes it challenging for these programs to get funding, and right now the need is outstripping supply, he said. He's worried that means some kids won't get the help they need and drift into trouble. "What exists at this moment wasn't designed for the amount of people arriving right now. I think that's really the sticking point. No matter who you talk to, no matter what strategies we run, what programming we run, it's just a numbers game at this point." But Kinsman said they'll stick with it and keep trying to find the programs that will make a difference for these kids in school.
