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Apr 25 2023

Airlines unhappy. Hong Kong overhaul. Parrot lessons.

Apr 25, 2023
David Akin's Roundup
Clippings of #cdnpoli, #media, and #tech content aimed at those with an interest in Canadian politics and policy. And sometimes Canadian postage stamps.
Canada
Proposed air passenger rights changes get mixed reviews from airlines, advocates
Airlines denounced the government's proposed changes that put more onus on providers, while passenger advocates doubted all loopholes will be closed as claimed. [Global]

Un gouvernement conservateur ne mettra pas un vieux sou dans le financement d’un troisième lien, si les automobilistes sont exclus du projet. [Journal du Quebec]
Kirsty Duncan, a Liberal MP who served as Minister of Science and Sport from 2015 to 2019, said more work needs to be done to make sports safer for children across the country. [Global]

The office of the federal auditor general says it will not investigate private donations received by the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation, despite a letter from the board's chair. [CP]
From the provinces
Smith declines to disavow comments urging out-of-pocket payments for health care
Premier Danielle Smith is declining to say whether she stands by or is disavowing earlier comments she made proposing Albertans pay out-of-pocket for medically insured services as a way to keep the health-care system sustainable. [CP]

It is expected that the Beaumont high school will be at 100 per cent capacity by next year. [Global]

It wound up being a clean sweep for the New Brunswick Liberals, who won all three byelections happening in the province on Monday night. [Global]

New Brunswick has a new provincial election map. An independent commission appointed to redraw the province's 49 electoral ridings has issued an amended version of its final report rejecting all but one of the objections filed by members of the legislature. [CBC]
A judge has given the green light for the libel action by Kory Teneycke to move ahead against Charles McVety. [TorStar]
Critics accuse the Progressive Conservative government of using public money to improve Tory chances in the election slated for October. [Global]
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Elsewhere
Germany airlifts dozens of Canadians as Sudan crisis deepens
At least 420 people have been killed since the fighting broke out in Sudan on April 15, four years after long-ruling autocrat Omar al-Bashir was toppled. [Global]
Hong Kong's leader says the city is planning to overhaul its last major political representative body that is mostly comprised of popularly elected seats. The move ensures the municipal-level organization will be run by Beijing loyalists, quashing any future challenges. [AP]
Countries around the world spent a combined $2.24 trillion on their militaries last year, a 3.7% increase on last year's previous record high when adjusted for inflation, according to an annual report from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). [Axios]
Media
Tucker Carlson is out at Fox News after Dominion lawsuit disclosures
Tucker Carlson had been the most-watched prime-time host on Fox News and a powerful force within the network. [WaPo]
A roundup of reaction from the likes of Glenn Beck, Laura Loomer, Steve Bannon and others on the American alt-right / far-right.-DA [Media Matters]
Russia, China and Iran are exploiting recent changes at Twitter to spread disinformation faster and farther. Under new owner Elon Musk, Twitter recently ended its policy of labeling foreign propaganda agencies like RT or Sputnik. Researchers say the site has also ended its policy of making those accounts ineligible for promotion or recommendation, which had meant that interested users had to seek out the content. Now, misleading posts about the war in Ukraine and other topics can use Twitter's algorithms to reach new users and spread further and farther than before. [AP]
Le magazine d’information succédera à l'émission L’heure du monde en semaine. [Radio-Canada]
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Tech
A Democratic texting vendor has launched a tool it is calling Script Assistant, which utilizes OpenAI's ChatGPT API to provide suggestions. [Campaigns and Elections]
General Motors and South Korea's Samsung SDI say they plan to invest more than $3 billion in building a new electric vehicle battery cell plant in the United States. The companies plan to jointly operate the factory, which is expected to make nickel-rich prismatic and cylindrical cells. The companies said in a release that the factory will have more than 30 GWh of capacity and will increase GM’s total U.S. battery cell capacity to about 160 GWh when it is at full production. [AP]
Wild parrots tend to fly in flocks, but when kept as single pets, they may become lonely and bored. [Smithsonian Mag]
Issued this day ...
Issued this day in 2000: Sc # 1848a vertical tête-bêche pair: The Calling of an Engineer. Design: Darrell L. Freeman.

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