Humanity has no strong protection against AI, experts warn

The world currently has no “strong” protections against the dangers of AI, a landmark scientific report has warned.

A panel of 75 experts from 30 countries has also concluded that developers building AI systems “understand little about how their systems operate” and scientific knowledge is “very limited”.

They are critical of AI companies for failing to provide enough access to safety inspectors.

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Canadian Renters Now Required To Collect Foreign Landlord’s Taxes, Withhold Rent

Canadian renters are getting a rough introduction to the country’s foreign investor problem. The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) just informed tenants they’re on the hook for any unpaid taxes their non-resident landlord may owe. In a bizarre decision, the nation’s tax authority is telling tenants who pay rent to non-resident landlords to withhold a portion and remit it on their behalf, or they may be liable for the amount with penalties. To complicate things further, one Ontario policymaker warns tenants that have inquired about withholding have been threatened with eviction.

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Diddy done

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A 60% interest rate wasn’t enuff???

Harold the Mortgage Closer accused of charging ‘vulnerable’ people interest rates up to 76 per cent

Ontario is moving — again — to shut down Harold the Mortgage Closer, alleging he has for years carried out a scheme that charged “vulnerable” people up to 76 per cent interest on mortgages.

Enforcement action by the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario comes on the heels of a Toronto Star investigation into a mortgage deal that Harold Gerstel and his companies had with the late Judy Allen, a senior who eventually lost her North York bungalow to Gerstel.

The regulator says it has now looked more deeply into Gerstel’s activities and found five other cases. Among them, situations in which, the regulator alleges, Gerstel’s effective interest rate was as high as 76 per cent. Canada’s Criminal Code has set 60 per cent as the highest legal interest rate allowed.

60% interest wasn’t enuff???

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WTF?

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Oxford students who raised concerns about anti-Semitism ‘told to leave’

Students who have raised concerns over anti-Semitism at Oxford University have been told they should leave, a letter from staff and students claims.

The letter, sent to Prof Irene Tracey, the university’s vice-chancellor, as well as deans and proctors, claims that there has been a lack of aid and sympathy for Jews, who face harassment and a hostile environment on campus.

The letter, whose signatories wish to remain anonymous, also accused the university of promoting “conspiratorial narratives”, as well as failure in reporting procedures in the past seven months.

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Canada sanctions ‘extremist’ Israeli settlers

Canada is imposing sanctions on “extremist” Israeli settlers in the West Bank, Global Affairs Canada announced Thursday.

“The sanctions are a response to the grave breach of international peace and security posed by their violent and destabilizing actions against Palestinian civilians and their property in the West Bank,” Global Affairs said in a news release.

Canada is sanctioning four people, the department said: David Chai Chasdai, Yinon Levi, Zvi Bar Yosef and Moshe Sharvit. Global Affairs Canada said the four have engaged in violence against Palestinian civilians and their property.

I bet Netanyahu is beside himself.

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Former NIH Head Francis Collins Admits Covid Origins Not Settled, No Science to Back Social-Distance Guidance

The nation’s top public health official during the Covid-19 pandemic admitted that the origins of the coronavirus remain up for debate, the lab-leak theory is not a conspiracy, and that there was no scientific evidence to support the government’s social-distancing guidance.

Former National Institutes of Health director Dr. Francis Collins testified behind closed-doors earlier this year and made those admissions to the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, according to a transcript and accompanying subcommittee memo provided to National Review.

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Air Force Celebrates ‘Pride Month’ Amidst ‘Worst’ Recruiting Crisis In Modern History

As Joe Biden’s reckless foreign policy puts the world on the edge of catastrophe with conflicts already raging in Ukraine and the Middle East, the Air Force is directing its focus toward the biggest issue implicating U.S. national security: LGBT “pride.”

In an under-the-radar maneuver, Marianne Malizia, the Air Force’s chief diversity officer, issued a memo Monday informing service members that the Department of the Air Force recognizes June as “LGBTQ+ Pride Month 2024.” In doing so, she claimed the month represents “a time to celebrate the diversity and inclusivity of our force, and to honor the contributions of our LGBTQ+ Airmen, Guardians, and dependents.”

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