Jul 31, 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
A late-night breakthrough could herald an end to British Columbia's long-running port dispute, with the longshore workers' union and the employers' association announcing a new tentative agreement. [CP]
Lock-out à l’usine PFR d’Alma: « on est solidaire avec vous », lance Yves-François Blanchet
Accolades et poignées de mains amicales ont marqué l’arrivée des deux représentants du Bloc québécois, qui étaient fort attendus. [le Quotidien]
From the provinces
Health care is sure to be a top issue with many Manitoba voters in the upcoming provincial election, and it's got the attention of the two opposition parties. [CBC]
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Elsewhere
Zelensky after Moscow drone attack: War coming back to Russia
Ukraine's president speaks of an inevitable process, hours after buildings were hit in the Russian capital. [BBC]
This is the demand of World Heritage Watch. With the targeted destruction of historic buildings in the Ukrainian city of Odesa, Russia has crossed a line. [Deutsche Welle]
Economic Community of West African States regional bloc demands President Mohamed Bazoum be reinstated within a week. [Al Jazeera]
The situation signals a potential money crisis as the former president runs a campaign while under indictment in two jurisdictions and, soon, potentially a third. [NYT]
Several of Trump's former Cabinet members are coy about whether they support his bid to return to the White House. Others outright oppose it. [NBC]
In a wide-ranging interview, the Italian prime minister also discussed how Europe should respond to a changing global environment. [National Review]
Single mother Law Oi-wah pled guilty to sedition in an almost inaudible voice, as her 12-year-old son watched from a few feet away in a Hong Kong court. Arrested in March, the 48-year-old was accused under a colonial-era law for sharing dozens of pro-democracy social media posts authored by others. [HK Free Press]
Media
Can Good Journalism Change the World?
In which Lydia Polgreen argues that in the age of the smartphone, where everyone can capture all the video, journalists -- particularly in conflict zones -- are needed more than ever. [NYT]

We find that all outlets increased the volume and diversity of content while none engaged in interactive, two-way communication with audiences, and none appeared to artificially inflate their follower count. One outlet, China Global Television Network, made outsized gains in followership, and it differs from the other Chinese outlets in that it was rebranded, it disseminated a relatively lower share of government-mandated narratives pertaining to China, and the tone of its reporting was more negative. These results show that during a period when Chinese state-controlled broadcasters gained followers on Twitter, outlets made limited use of features unique to social media and instead primarily used social media as a broadcast channel. [Political Communication]

Tech
Every time someone talks to ChatGPT for 20 exchanges or so, Microsoft's servers use a half-liter of freshwater to cool down. Incredible stats on water use at server farms. [Clive Thompson via Medium]

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Issued this day ...
Issued this day in 1995: Sc # 1360: Domestic First-Class Rate: Queen Elizabeth II. Design: Tom Yakobina. Photograph: Yousuf Karsh