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Jun 17 2023

Tank trip. Library violence. Tucker’s Twitter.

Jun 17, 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
Canada to deploy tank squadron to Latvia
The Canadian Armed Forces will deploy 15 Leopard 2 battle tanks and about 131 personnel to a NATO force in Latvia by next spring, Defence Minister Anita Anand said Friday. [Global National]

A pact with the United States to control the flow of asylum seekers across the shared border is constitutional, Canada's highest bench ruled in a unanimous decision Friday. [CP]
The final vote on government House leader Mark Holland's motion passed with support from most Liberal and NDP MPs. Most Conservatives and Bloc Québécois MPs voted against it. [Global]
Librarians once worried about shushing patrons. Now they have to deal with mental health episodes, the homelessness crisis, and random violence. [The Walrus]

The 5th report of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Science and Research.

From the provinces
Possible snap election in N.B. swirling over LGBTQ2 policy backlash
Questions over the leadership of premier Blaine Higgs have been make waves as he's faced a revolt of eight of his caucus members over changes to LGBTQ2 inclusion policy. [Global]
It was previously only available to Toronto and Ottawa. [TorStar]
On June 8, Elections Alberta confirmed its election results, with both Calgary ridings showing an increase in votes for Alberta NDP candidates. [Global]
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Elsewhere
Putin says Russia positions nuclear bombs in Belarus as warning to West
The Russian step is being watched closely by Washington and its allies as well as by China, which has repeatedly cautioned against the use of nuclear weapons in the war in Ukraine. [Reuters]
NATO has launched a new center to help protect vulnerable undersea pipelines and cables. The military organization is concerned about Russia’s mapping activities to locate vital Western infrastructure in waters around Europe used to transport energy and internet data. The 31-nation alliance was spurred into action by apparent attacks on two Baltic Sea gas pipelines last September.  [AP]
Some Republican-leaning voters in early-voting states say they are angry about President Donald Trump’s indictment on charges that he mishandled classified documents. But that doesn't mean they will support him in his quest for a third GOP presidential nomination. [AP]
Media
Reddit CEO praises Elon Musk as protests rock platform
Steve Huffman said in an interview that Elon Musk's cost-cutting at Twitter was inspiring and that the two have chatted "a handful of times." [NBC]
Michael Geist: The Bill C-11 process featured a marked divide on the implications for consumer choice. While Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez claimed it would lead to increased choice (a claim he re-iterated this week in Banff), critics of the bill argued that the opposite was true, namely that the bill would likely lead to fewer services entering the Canadian market or streamers reducing content choices. The net effect - contrary to government claims - would be to impact what Canadians could watch. [MichaelGeist.ca]
Twitter makes it difficult to know for certain how many users are watching the ex-Fox News host’s straight-to-the-camera monologues. But data shared exclusively with NBC News offers a window into his digital footprint. [NBC]
Tech
How to access, install, and use AI ChatGPT-4 plugins (and why you should)
ChatGPT-3.5 is useful. ChatGPT-4 can be very useful. But, for the most useful version of ChatGPT to date, you need to add, implement, and use ChatGPT-4 with plugins. [ZDNet]
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Issued this day ...
Issued this day in 1998: Sc 1725: Canals: St Peter’s Canal, NS. Design: Carey George and Dean Martin. Painting: Vincent McIndoe.
Canada Post issued a 10-stamp series on this day in 1998, each one featuring a notable canal. The first in the series is Cape Breton’s St. Peter’s canal, one of the more interesting canals in Canada in that it has a unique double-gate system as the water flow connecting Bras d’Or Lake to the Atlantic Ocean may flow in different directions depending on the tide. No other canal in North America has that feature. For that reason and others, St. Peter’s canal is a national historic site and is the only working canal in Atlantic Canada with that designation. 
Canal construction began in 1854 and was completed five years later. It can handle boats up to about 14m wide and 32m long with a draft of no more than 5m.

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