Canadian courts complicit in failed lockdowns that violated rights

Did the Canadian lockdowns violate the rights of citizens? A recent decision by an Alberta judge in the case of Ingram v. Alberta (Chief Medical Officer of Health) answered “yes” to this question.

Justice Barbara Romaine of the Court of King’s Bench ruled that Alberta’s COVID orders violated civil rights because it was the government, led by former premier Jason Kenney, that ordered the lockdowns — rather than the unelected chief medical officer of health, Dr. Deena Hinshaw. The draconian lockdown measures therefore violated the Public Health Act.

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Ulez: More than 300 cameras damaged or stolen in four months

More than 300 cameras installed for London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone (Ulez) were vandalised or stolen between April and mid-August, the BBC can reveal.

Over four months, the Met received 339 reports of camera cables being damaged, or cameras being stolen or obscured.

The actual number of cameras affected is likely to be even higher as one report can represent multiple cameras.

h/t Mauser

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Steven Guilbeault’s trip to China raises questions about divided loyalties

How come Justin Trudeau’s environment minister, Steven Guilbeault, gives China a pass on its emissions but won’t even bother to negotiate new clean electricity regulations or fossil fuel subsidies with his fellow Canadians in Alberta?

Is it because the Communist Chinese government’s politics are closer to his own than those of the conservative Alberta government? Does Guilbeault have more in common with Beijing than Alberta?

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How is Meta’s news ban affecting communications amid Canada wildfires?

Meta began blocking news from appearing across its platforms in Canada this month after prolonged negotiations with the government over Canada’s new Online News Act.

As Canada grapples with its worst ever wildfire season, thousands of Canadians are could now be affected by a shortage of news content across Meta’s platforms.

Update – Canada demands Meta lift news ban to allow wildfire info sharing

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Prosecutorial Bolshevism

The victims this time are Trump and his friends. But it could be you next time, and it will be.

In the United States of America, there are roughly 3,150 counties. Most of them have prosecutors or district attorneys. Each one of these can usually empanel a grand jury. These grand juries can, with rare exceptions, meet in secret to consider indicting anyone at all. There need be no publicity at all, but there usually is. These grand juries can call witnesses and even require Americans to testify for days or even weeks on end on matters that took place years before.

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The shoplifters Co-op

Petty crime is now being run by organised gangs

The Co-op is one of the UK’s oldest convenience stores and one of the largest, with around 70,000 employees. Since opening its first store in the working-class town of Rochdale, Lancashire, in 1884, it has operated democratically as a consumer-owned co-operative, aiming to meet the needs of its members and the wider community.

But now, when you walk into any of its 3,000 outlets, you’ll quickly find that all signs of trust and solidarity with members are gone.

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US approves Dutch, Danish F-16 deliveries

Denmark and the Netherlands have said the US has cleared the way to allow F-16 fighters to be re-exported to Ukraine after some of its pilots are trained to fly them, helping restore momentum to a process that appeared to be stalling.

Ministers from both countries, the leaders of an international coalition to help Ukraine obtain the jets, thanked Washington for the green light, although it remains unclear when any F-16 transfers could take place.

Kajsa Ollongren, the Dutch defence minister, said she welcomed the US decision “to clear the way for delivery of F-16 jets to Ukraine”, which would allow the coalition “to follow through on the training of Ukrainian pilots”.

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Will China, Russia, and North Korea Launch Their Nukes?

This week, the U.S. Navy’s Carrier Strike Group 5, centered around the USS Ronald Reagan, has been steaming off the east coast of Taiwan.

Be glad it is there. China has been throwing a diplomatic tantrum — fiercer than usual — because the Biden administration allowed William Lai Ching-te, Taiwan’s vice president, to make “transit” stops in New York and San Francisco on his way to and from Paraguay.

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