May 9, 2022 - "Michelle Lashbrook, Nipissing candidate for the Libertarian Party, was joined by candidates representing the New Blue Party and the Ontario Party Saturday afternoon at the 406 Squadron RCAF Alliance. All three candidates spoke about their party's positions and goals, however they expressed frustration and disappointment in the fact they haven't been invited to election debates being held throughout Nipissing.
"Ontario Libertarian Party leader Mark Snow asked Nipissing candidates from the three parties how many local debates they’ve been invited to.... Lashbrook .. was only invited to the candidates’ debate hosted by North Bay Pride. Other candidates weren’t invited to any.
"'They are using community organizations to set the rules which are private venues to say who and what person is allowed on stage,' Snow told about 75 people Saturday at the 406 Squadron RCAF Alliance. 'This is the suppression that is happening.' Lashbrook agreed....
"'I decided to run for the Libertarian Party. As much reach as we’ve had with Northern Freedom Alliance, our voices need to reach further out,” Lashbrook said. 'I encourage everyone to look at municipal elections, run for council, board, committees, use our tactics to get involved. I don’t want this to be our world. We need to reduce government.'
"Action4Canada hosted the session, giving each candidate a chance to speak to the crowd to outline their party’s position and goals.
"Joe Jobin, Nipissing candidate for the Ontario Party, thanked the other parties – the New Blue Party and the Libertarian Party – for standing up for Canada. He said he hopes all three will come together as one party.... 'Don’t be discouraged, we will have victory. It may not happen overnight. Good things take time and it’s going to take time, step-by-step, brick-by-brick and legislation-by-legislation we will restore what we lost.'
"The businessman and ordained minister said he sat back in hopes the leaders of the province would 'straighten things out'.... 'I kept thinking maybe things will [get] straightened out and let someone else take care of it, but then when they weren’t getting straightened out I couldn’t remain silent any longer,' Jobin said Saturday. 'For a number of years I’ve started to realize something is wrong and the rules aren’t making any sense. We’re in a changing world and it’s not changing for the better. We can’t vote for self-serving politicians.'"
May 10, 2022 - "The head of the World Health Organization [WHO] said on Tuesday China's zero-tolerance COVID-19 policy is not sustainable given what is known of the disease, in rare public comments by the United Nations agency on a government's handling of the virus. 'We don't think that it is sustainable considering the behaviour of the virus,' WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a media briefing.
"Speaking after Tedros, WHO emergencies director Mike Ryan said the impact of a 'zero-COVID' policy on human rights also needs to be taken into consideration alongside the effect on a country's economy. He also noted that China has registered 15,000 deaths since the virus first emerged in the city of Wuhan in late 2019 — a relatively low number compared with 999,475 in the United States and more than 500,000 in India. With that in mind, it is understandable that one of the world's most populous countries would want to take tough measures to curb coronavirus contagion, Ryan said.
"WHO guidelines have never recommended mass screening of asymptomatic individuals — as is currently happening in China — because of the costs involved and the lack of data on its effectiveness. China's zero-COVID-19 policy has drawn criticism ranging from scientists to its own citizens, leading to a cycle of lockdowns of many millions of people. Under the policy, authorities lock down large population areas to stamp out viral spread in response to any coronavirus outbreak, even if just a small number of people test positive.
"Shanghai, with a population of 25 million, was enduring its sixth week of a city-wide lockdown. Shanghai's measures have been particularly strict, with residents allowed out of compounds only for exceptional reasons, such as a medical emergency. Many are not even allowed out of their front doors to mingle with neighbours. Its quarantine policy has also been criticized for separating children from parents and putting asymptomatic cases among those with symptoms....
"China has been hampered by the fact its strict pandemic-long approach left the population with little acquired immunity through infection, with the highly transmissible Omicron variants spurring infections. In a contrast to what has been seen in most developed nations, the working age population has had higher rates of vaccination than the generally more vulnerable cohorts of seniors. The approach its taking a heavy toll on the world's second largest economy, with significant knock-on impacts on global trade and supply chains. China's export growth slowed to its weakest in almost two years, data showed on Monday. Unemployment was also near two-year highs."
May 11, 2022 - "The criticism from Tedros, who was accused of being too close to China earlier in the pandemic, came just days after Chinese leader Xi Jinping vowed to double down on the policy and 'resolutely struggle' against all critics. The United Nation’s official press account on China’s Twitter-like Weibo posted Tedro’s comments early on Wednesday morning, drawing a wave of sarcastic comments from Chinese users.
“'Resolutely fight against any words and acts that distort, doubt or deny our country’s epidemic prevention and control policies! Down with the World Health Organization!' a top reply said. 'Should the UN’s verified account be blocked this time?' another said. By mid-morning, the post was no longer viewable on Weibo 'due to the author’s privacy setting'.... A Weibo hashtag of Tedros’ name has also been censored, with images featuring his face being scrubbed from the platform, though posts containing his name are still visible.
"On WeChat, an article from the UN’s official account that included Tedros’ comments has been 'banned from sharing due to a violation of relevant laws and regulations' as of Wednesday morning. Video clips of Tedros’ speech have also been removed from the platform.
"Tedros’ comments, though in line with the assessment of most scientists, have also drawn the ire of Beijing.... 'We hope relevant people can view China’s epidemic prevention and control policy in an objective and rational way, learn more about the facts and refrain from making irresponsible remarks,' Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian said at a news briefing Wednesday."
May 5, 2022 - "A federal judge on Friday gave the green light for an independent journalist’s lawsuit against Twitter to proceed — a blow to the social media giant, which had tried to get the case dismissed. But U.S. District Judge William Alsup dismissed the free speech claims made by independent journalist Alex Berenson.... The case won’t challenge Big Tech’s Section 230 shields, but it could still test Twitter’s power to banish users from the site as Elon Musk moves to take over the company following his $44 billion purchase.
"Berenson, a vocal critic of the government’s pandemic response, sued Twitter after the company kicked him off the site for describing Covid vaccines as an advance therapeutic with risky side effects. The complaint got its first preliminary hearing in a San Francisco federal court on Thursday.... Alsup focused his ruling on Berenson’s allegations that the company changed the ground rules on the content Twitter would allow on its platform, despite assurances from an executive that his posts weren’t up for censorship.
"'Collectively, these actions plausibly qualify as a clear and unambiguous promise that Twitter would correctly apply its COVID-19 misinformation policy and try to give advance notice if it suspended plaintiff’s account,' Alsup wrote in his decision. He also noted that “[a]ny ambiguities in a contract like Twitter’s terms of service are interpreted against the drafter, Twitter.'
"However, he deemed that Section 230’s powerful protections are broad enough to shield twitter from Berenson’s other claims — including the complaint that the company violated his First Amendment free speech rights. 'For an internet platform like Twitter, Section 230 precludes liability for removing content and preventing content from being posted that the platform finds would cause its users harm, such as misinformation regarding COVID-19,' Alsup wrote."
May 11, 2022 - "Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government gained fame this winter when protestors opposed to COVID-19 restrictions took over the streets of the nation’s capital.... In response, the Trudeau government used the Emergencies Act — giving it powers designed for wartime — to disperse the protestors. Assertions of a seditious white-supremacist-led insurrection have to date proven unfounded, no weapons were found, and the government is still struggling to explain why it had to take such drastic action. Unrepentant and undeterred, Trudeau and his Heritage Minister, Pablo Rodriguez, are moving forward with a buffet of speech and media legislation.
"The Online Streaming Act[Bill C-11] places the internet under the authority of the Broadcasting Act and Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), which is best known for enforcing mandated levels of Canadian content (Cancon) and ensuring that which it governs is 'of good standard.' Rodriguez says the aim is to make streaming companies such as Netflix, Disney Plus, Pornhub, and Amazon Prime pay into funds used to make Canadian films and television programs. But the ... regulator will not only get money for the funds, but it will also be expected to force YouTube et al. to give priority to approved content as well as governing TikTok, podcasts, and social media posts. The impact on consumer freedom, preferred speech, online creators, and what has been a flourishing film and television sector fuelled by foreign investment is expected to be significant.
"Next up is the Online News Act [Bill C-18], which forces American companies such as Facebook, Google, LinkedIn, etc to make payments to Canada’s struggling news industry, which insists it should be compensated for the value its posts add to social media. Facebook and the others believe the value they provide to news organizations (free access to billions of eyeballs) is much greater than any they receive but, regardless, Trudeau’s government is anxious to send revenue the publishers’ way....
"The overreach doesn’t end there: the money comes with catches. Newsrooms wishing to benefit must be approved by a government-appointed panel that assesses applicants’ bona fides and also approves which media may (or in the case of Rebel News who may not) qualify for a tax credit which is not to be confused with another panel that doles out funds to pay reporters on panel-approved beats. (This year, one of those beats involves enhanced coverage of the Trudeau government’s presence in British Columbia)....
"The Online News Act also makes the CRTC responsible for appointing arbitrators when needed and approving agreements that must detail how newsrooms spend the dollars they obtain.... The chill created by government involvement in newsroom decisions (Canada is going far beyond legislation elsewhere in the world, including Australia) has already been pointed to by experts such as Michael Geist who say op-eds critical of C-18 have been spiked by nervous editors. And, when last checked, only one columnist from media standing to benefit from what critics are calling a shakedown — Andrew Coyne — has published an objection to his industry’s pending subservience. Editorial boards have been unanimous in their approval.
"Meanwhile, a bill amending the definition of hate speech [Bill C-36], an offense within the Criminal Code since 1970, is also underway. The original law set a very high bar, targeting only speech likely to incite a breach of the peace against members of an identifiable group and/or that willfully promotes hatred against the same. Going forward, hate will be further defined as an 'emotion that involves detestation or vilification and that is stronger than dislike or disdain.' More significantly, the new Act will allow for pro-active censorship, albeit with court approval.... It remains unclear precisely what problem the government is addressing with this change, although that may become more obvious within its next piece of legislation.
"Waiting in the wings is the Online Harms bill which is, we are told, needed to deal with terrorism recruitment, unauthorized sharing of intimate images, child pornography, hate speech, and perhaps also the spread of misinformation and disinformation, about which the Prime Minister and cabinet members complain frequently. All of those are already illegal. Nevertheless, Rodriguez’s department initially envisioned creating a new online regulator with powers so extreme they were denounced across the board by civil rights organizations and many others. Twitter, for instance, referred to the government’s desired control over internet speech in the name of public safety as similar to authoritarian regimes such as Iran, North Korea, and China....
"It remains unclear whether these measures will be broadly debated, let alone opposed in the public square. At the moment, the only venue available for Canadians wishing to do either is via the free and open internet where, if Trudeau and Rodriguez have their way, they will soon be communicating only in manners of which their government approves."
May 9, 2022 - "Newly elected President Rodrigo Chaves, eliminated the mandatory use of masks for the population, as well as the obligation to be vaccinated against covid-19. In addition, not being vaccinated will no longer be a cause for dismissal in the public sector. The Decree is yet to be published in La Gaceta, but will become effective as soon as it is.
"The strict use of masks and vaccination is only enforced for front-line public health care workers. For the rest of the population, the use is voluntary, explained President Chaves. 'To the rest of the people, I recommend that they wear a mask on the bus if they feel like it, especially those who have not been vaccinated three or four times.,,,
Ticos are intelligent people and Ticas even more so. I respect the population, and if a new covid wave comes, we will reevaluate,' Chaves further elaborated.
"The Association of Physicians and Surgeons of Costa Rica, the Association of Pharmacists of Costa Rica and the National Medical Union of Costa Rica, publicly spoke against lifting the mask mandate.
"''Eliminating the obligatory use of masks in enclosed places, as well as vaccination against covid-19, is inopportune,” read the statement issued. 'Costa Rica is on the verge of a fifth wave, so it would have been ideal to wait for its behavior before taking a decision such as the one that has just been communicated', affirmed the president of the Association of Physicians and Surgeons....
"'We express our concern regarding the non-mandatory vaccination, as it was a reasonable and proportional measure, with a valuable which has represented a very valuable contribution in terms of public health, due to the coverage achieved,' said Lidiette Fonseca, president of the Association of Pharmacists.
"The Association of Physicians and Surgeons of Costa Rica, clarified it is respectful of the decisions made by the authorities; however, it urged citizens to voluntarily maintain the use of masks and asked the population to get vaccinated."
May 6, 2022 - "With the provincial election just under a month away and [Ontar]ians set to head to the polls on June 2, Zachary Tisdale is hopeful to offer those in the area a candidate they feel more aligned with politically. Representing the Ontario Libertarian Party, Tisdale believes the key to prosperity in Ontario is through reducing the size and cost of the provincial government.
"Formed in 1975, the party is running on a platform that focus[ses] on the freedom of choice behind party leader Mark Snow. 'It promotes the ideas and the political philosophy of libertarianism, which upholds freedom and liberty as core values that are ideals we should strive for,' said Tisdale. 'That means having individual rights and autonomy over the state, protecting individual rights, standing up for freedoms like speech, freedom of association, and bodily autonomy.'
"It wasn’t always Tisdale’s plan to run in a provincial election, but after seeing what happened throughout the pandemic, he felt it was his obligation to get involved.... 'I’ve always been interested in politics, but throughout the pandemic I saw time and time again, instance after instance of government overreach. They stepped over the line and violated people’s civil liberties, violated property rights, violated bodily autonomy and medical rights. I grew concerned over the increase in censorship through the mainstream media and government by vilifying and silencing any dissenting voices'....
"Tisdale’s platform focuses on both economic and social freedom. 'To me the only way to achieve that is with less government,' he said. 'That means deregulation, striking down unnecessary laws and laws that restrict mobility rights and zoning laws that prevent development. We have a housing supply crisis in the region with housing becoming more and more unaffordable for young people and new arrivals to Canada. The price of housing has gone way up, and I believe it’s fundamentally a lack of supply to meet the demand. A key part of my platform is encouraging development of new housing and reducing red tape to build the infrastructure needed to support the high population growth we’re expected in the region.'
"With economic recovery at the forefront as Ontario works to rebound from the impact of the pandemic, Tisdale says it starts with the issue of inflation.... 'We have an inflationary crisis going on across the country, and particularly in Ontario. We’re looking at generational level highs with inflation, especially the prices of the day-to-day items that we need—food and gas.' To help balance the issue of inflation, Tisdale suggests cutting taxes would do wonders for the wallets of Ontarians.... 'I believe cutting taxes like the provincial sales tax portion of the HST from eight per cent down to five (bring the HST down to 10 per cent), would allow us to give more money back to people and eas[e] the burden. I’d also look at cutting additional punitive taxes that are embedded in various products. I’d fight back against the carbon tax—I see it as a program that will have little impact on reducing climate change — I believe fighting back on some of the consumption taxes on beer and wine, and fighting back on the gas and fuel taxes permanently to give more purchasing power back to the people.'
"Having spent part of his childhood in Bradford, Tisdale wanted to come back to represent the like-minded people of York-Simcoe. 'I grew up in Bradford, it was my hometown and some of my oldest memories are of growing up there going to school and playing hockey,' he said. 'That’s why I felt compelled to run in the area, to stand up for the rights of the residents in the region. I wanted to come back and make a statement to say that there are other ways to approach some of the problems we face....
“'The big establishment parties all kind of have the same idea and approaches to problems,' he said. 'One of the reasons I wanted to represent the Libertarian Party ... to say that there is a different way we can be looking at our issues and different types of solutions that we can bring to the table while promoting that sometimes the government is the problem and creates some of the issues. That’s why it’s important to push the idea of the party and get it out there to inform others of the political philosophy.'
May 5, 2022 - "While the bulk of China’s new Covid cases are in Shanghai and Beijing, data show the impact of business restrictions is more widespread. For one, nearly 60% of European businesses in the country said they were cutting 2022 revenue projections as a result of Covid controls, according to a survey late last month by the EU Chamber of Commerce in China.... Among Chinese businesses, monthly surveys released in the last week showed sentiment among manufacturing and service businesses fell in April to the lowest since the initial shock of the pandemic in February 2020. Official and third-party versions of the survey, known as the purchasing managers’ index, pointed to further contraction in business activity from March....
"Power generation rose in the first two months of the year, but slowed to zero growth in March, according to figures cited by Larry Hu, chief China economist at Macquarie. He expects a drop in power generation in April. In the massive real estate sector, Hu noted that lockdowns also make it 'physically impossible to buy property,' sending sales in the top 30 cities down 54% in April from a year ago.
"On the consumer front, companies like Starbucks are reporting a widespread impact from Covid. In the quarter ended April 3, the coffee giant said 72% of the 225 Chinese cities it operates in experienced omicron outbreaks.... Starbucks’ China chairperson Belinda Wong ... noted that most of the stores still able to operate do so under 'strict safety protocols that interfere with our traffic and operations.' Starbucks said as of Tuesday, a third of its stores remain temporarily closed, or only offer delivery or takeout....
"Since March, mainland China has faced its worst Covid outbreak since early 2020 — using the same zero-Covid strategy.... Manufacturing areas from the northern province of Jilin to the southern city of Shenzhen were among those initially forced to lock down.... Shanghai, China’s largest city, essentially remained locked down for all of April. The capital city of Beijing began tightening travel and business restrictions toward the end the month to control a spike in Covid cases. With China’s two largest cities by GDP under Covid controls for the five-day holiday that ended Wednesday, national tourism revenue for the period only recovered to 64.68 billion yuan ($9.95 billion) — 44% of pre-pandemic levels, official figures showed.
“'During lockdowns, residents only consume daily necessities, so consumption will inevitably slump, not to mention that price could easily triple during city-level lockdowns,' said Yue Su, principal economist at The Economist Intelligence Unit. 'Lack of confidence in the private sector will drag investment and employment, which will take a much longer period of time to restore even if China introduces more stimulus,' she said. China reported better-than-expected first quarter GDP growth of 4.8% from a year ago. But retail sales fell in March, while unemployment in the country’s biggest cities set a new high for the pandemic so far.
"Lockdowns are affecting 'consumers’ ability to reach stores, grocery stores, department stores,” American household products giant Procter & Gamble said in an earnings call last month. 'Even online shopping is significantly constrained due to the inability to deliver.' The company said the market for its products in China didn’t grow in value in the first three months of the year, and that 'with the continued lockdown and difficulties in the market, we would expect April to be flat to negative.'
"While Shanghai’s prolonged lockdown experience could help other cities better organize food and medical services, the EIU’s Su said that local governments with poor finances would find it difficult to maintain the zero-Covid policy without transfers from the central government. This week, among smaller cities tightening Covid controls, the city of Zhengzhou ordered residents to work from home and for schools to move online through the end of Tuesday.... Other than Shanghai, large cities such as Fuzhou, Suzhou, Tianjin, Shenzhen and Xi’an were partially locked down in April....
"Nationwide, about 327.9 million people in more than 40 cities are affected by the latest lockdowns, Nomura’s chief China economist Ting Lu estimated Wednesday. That’s about 31% of China’s GDP, down slightly from last week’s 35.1% share, he said."
