Opinion
Standing Ovation for a Nazi – Federal government creates international outrage by honouring WWII Nazi SS soldier
The Speaker of the House of Commons has already resigned. General apologies have been made. Canada’s Liberal government is hoping to move on from this monumental gaff as soon as possible. But it might not be that easy.
It could be some time before we realize the implications of what might be this government’s biggest international mishap, ever. For a quick description of what exactly happened in the House of Commons and to show how other countries are seeing this brutal mistake, we share this video from The Telegraph.
From The Telegraph
The speaker of Canada’s House of Commons has apologised to Jewish communities after honouring a veteran who fought for a military unit under Nazi command during World War Two. Anthony Rota had invited his fellow MPs to give a standing ovation to Yaroslav Hunka, 98, following Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s address to Parliament on Friday. Mr Rota introduced Mr Hunka as a war hero who fought for “Ukrainian independence against the Russians”. Read the full story here: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-new…
The average Canadian (maybe not out west) has gone from at least mildly admiring the youthful vigour of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, to cringing every time he boards an airplane. Somehow Trudeau always seems to find a way to make himself look silly on the road, and now at home too. With each passing month the rest of the world takes Canada a little less seriously. This may have reached an inflection point.
Sure, Speaker Anthony Rota jumped on his sword but the buck definitely does not stop at the Speaker’s chair. With Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky present, the PMO would be fully aware the eyes of the world would ever so briefly be pointed towards Ottawa. Either they had every moment planned, or they should have.
The PMO can’t win here. If they knew about Mr Hunka’s invitation, my oh my this is definitely beyond an ‘egg in the face’ situation. After years of equating political opponents and truckers with Nazi’s, they actually invite a real Nazi into the House of Commons and give him a standing ovation, WITH THE ENTIRE WORLD WATCHING! On the other hand, IF and that’s a capital I and a capital F, the PMO truly was actually surprised by the Speaker’s choice for honoured guest, they have only themselves to blame for not vetting absolutely everyone and everything that happened during President Zelensky’s short visit. Either way… WOW this is bad.
It will be interesting to see how the regular ‘legacy’ media follows up with coverage over the next few days and perhaps even weeks. The independent media coverage is absolutely scathing. Those who wish to dismiss independent media are ignoring a large and growing segment of the population who don’t necessarily agree with Canada’s ongoing and very expensive support of Ukraine’s military effort.
In this video a discussion about what happened in Ottawa and what the response might be around the world.
Business
EU Tightens Social Media Censorship Screw With Upcoming Mandatory “Disinformation” Rules
From Reclaim The Net
This refers not only to spreading “fact-checking” across the EU member-countries but also to making VLOPs finance these groups. This, is despite the fact many of the most prominent “fact-checkers” have been consistently accused of fostering censorship instead of checking content for accuracy in an unbiased manner.
What started out as the EU’s “voluntary code of practice” concerning “disinformation” – affecting tech/social media companies – is now set to turn into a mandatory code of conduct for the most influential and widely-used ones.
The news was revealed by the Irish media regulator, specifically an official of its digital services, Paul Gordon, who spoke to journalists in Brussels. The EU Commission has yet to confirm that January will be the date when the current code will be “formalized” in this way.
The legislation that would enable the “transition” is the controversial Digital Services Act (DSA), which critics often refer to as the “EU online censorship law,” the enforcement of which started in February of this year.
The “voluntary” code is at this time signed by 44 tech companies, and should it become mandatory in January 2025, it will apply to those the EU defines as Very Large Online Platforms (VLOPs) (with at least 45 million monthly active users in the 27-nation bloc).
Currently, the number of such platforms is said to be 25.
In its present form, the DSA’s provisions obligate online platforms to carry out “disinformation”-related risk assessments and reveal what measures they are taking to mitigate any risks revealed by these assessments.
But when the code switches from “voluntary” to mandatory, these obligations will also include other requirements: demonetizing the dissemination of “disinformation”; platforms, civil society groups, and fact-checkers “effectively cooperating” during elections, once again to address “disinformation” – and, “empowering” fact-checkers.
This refers not only to spreading “fact-checking” across the EU member-countries but also to making VLOPs finance these groups. This, is despite the fact many of the most prominent “fact-checkers” have been consistently accused of fostering censorship instead of checking content for accuracy in an unbiased manner.
The code was first introduced (in its “voluntary” form) in 2022, with Google, Meta, and TikTok among the prominent signatories – while these rules originate from a “strengthened” EU Code of Practice on Disinformation based on the Commission’s Guidance issued in May 2021.
“It is for the signatories to decide which commitments they sign up to and it is their responsibility to ensure the effectiveness of their commitments’ implementation,” the EU said at the time – that would have been the “voluntary” element, while the Commission said the time it had not “endorsed” the code.
It appears the EC is now about to “endorse” the code, and then some – there are active preparations to make it mandatory.
National
Canada’s Digital ID Drama Heats Up as Regulators Sidestep Parliament
From Reclaim The Net
These dangers range from data security, and cost of implementation, to various ways centralized databases containing people’s most sensitive personal information can be abused.
And those, again, range from security – to the risk of digital IDs getting turned into effective tools for government mass surveillance and control of the entire population’s behavior.
Canadian regulators plan to move ahead with introducing national digital ID without the parliament’s involvement.
Leaving the process out of the parliament in terms of approval and oversight is sure to add to the existing controversy around the issue of digital ID, which was in the past criticized and even rejected precisely by a number of Canadian MPs and parliamentary committees. On the other hand, this might explain why the regulators might rather take a route bypassing the lawmakers, despite the risky – in terms of proper democratic process – nature of such maneuvering. Critics are now calling this (another) example of Canada’s Liberal government’s overreach. Reports about these goings-on are based on Shared Services Canada (SSC), a government IT agency, recently announcing how the work on setting up a digital ID system for the whole country was progressing, while presenting this as essentially no different than current forms of obligatory ID (for instance, Canada’s equivalent to the social security number in the US). But opponents in the parliament, and beyond, have been consistently for years reiterating that the scheme is fraught with dangers that are not comparable to those affecting traditional ID systems, neither in depth nor breadth. These dangers range from data security, and cost of implementation, to various ways centralized databases containing people’s most sensitive personal information can be abused. And those, again, range from security – to the risk of digital IDs getting turned into effective tools for government mass surveillance and control of the entire population’s behavior. But SSC and other digital ID backers address these issues almost in passing while selling the benefits to the public as more convenience via unified access to government services, and even as something “empowering” citizens. However, what the most prominent individuals and organizations that push for global digital ID adoption (like Bill Gates, Tony Blair, the EU, and the WEF…) present as a way to usher in more equity and equality is seen as creating exactly the opposite effect. “Segregation and discrimination” is how one report out of Canada put it, the context being recent: Covid vaccine “passports” and the treatment received by citizens who decided against taking the jab. |
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