TUE MAY 20 2024
David Akin's Roundup
Israel warned. McGuinty's priorities. China reversal.
Canada
Canada, U.K., France warn Israel of ‘concrete action’ over military expansion
"We will not stand by while the Netanyahu government pursues these egregious actions," a joint statement by Canada, the U.K. and France said. [Global]

“By asking Israel to end a defensive war for our survival before Hamas terrorists on our border are destroyed and by demanding a Palestinian state, the leaders in London, Ottowa [sic] and Paris are offering a huge prize for the genocidal attack on Israel on October 7 while inviting more such atrocities,” Netanyahu wrote on social media. [Politico]

Workers for the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW), for both Urban and RSMC (Rural and Suburban Mail Carriers) bargaining units issued the notice on Monday. [Global]

From military pay increases to billions of dollars of new equipment, here are the issues that await David McGuinty. [Ottawa Citizen]

Canadian members of Parliament spent a record $187.8 million in 2024, including $32 million on travel. [CTV]

A new government means big changes in parliamentary staffing, and I'm going to use this space to highlight best practices that can help political offices function better. [The North Poll Project]

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The Provinces
Manitoba spending $6M this year on new plastic health cards that lack features other provinces have
Health minister says people 'overwhelmingly thrilled' by new plastic cards that cost $1.18 per person. [CBC]

Donald Trump bouleverse l’ordre établi. Les Québécois voient maintenant d’un bon œil un projet de pipeline traversant le pays d’ouest en est. [TVA]

Alberta's two major parties have nominated their candidates for the Edmonton-Ellerslie riding. [Edmonton Journal]

Aurora
Elsewhere
Russia has labelled Amnesty International an "undesirable organization," effectively outlawing the global human rights group and making it punishable under Russian law to have any association with it. [Radio Free Europe]
Note to Readers
If you're into the social media thing, here's where you'll find me:  
-DA
Media

In a memo, CBS chief George Cheeks said that CBS News president Tom Cibrowski and CBS stations chief Jennifer Mitchell would report directly to him for now. CBS, like the rest of Paramount Global, is in the midst of a sales process to Skydance Global, a deal that is still under regulatory review by the FCC. Here is McMahon’s full memo ... [Hollywood Reporter]

Our research demonstrates how disruptions to work routines during and after the COVID-19 lockdowns influence behavioural shifts in journalists. We highlight three key changes: journalism is now more reliant on online and digital resources and practitioners spend more time using them; during lockdowns, the more time journalists spent online or within digitally enhanced work conditions, the more they felt entrapped, a feeling accentuated by the restricted work and life conditions; and journalists tried to mitigate these dangers by resorting to avoidance or self-censorship, removing themselves from vital news architecture informing their reporting. [Journalism]

Science and Technology
Clean energy just put China’s CO2 emissions into reverse for first time
The analysis, based on official figures and commercial data, shows that China’s CO2 emissions have now been stable, or falling, for more than a year. However, they remain only 1% below the latest peak, implying that any short-term jump could cause China’s CO2 emissions to rise to a new record. [Carbon Brief]

According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, Apple was shocked with the launch of ChatGPT and rushed the development of Apple Intelligence features. Things started falling apart when Apple tried to integrate old Siri code with new. [PCMag]

We’re launching the new NotebookLM app, designed to help people understand anything, anywhere. [Google Blog]
The Calendar
  • 1300 ET - West Block - PM Carney convenes a cabinet planning forum.
Issued this day ...
… in 1988. Sc 1203. Masterpieces of Canadian Art - I. Design: Pierre-Yves Pelletier and Gregory Prosser.
This was the first in a magnificent 15-stamp annual series Canada Post issued from 1988 through to 2002. On each one, a significant piece of Canadian art is displayed against a bronze, silver or gold background. The first issue features The Young Reader (Le jeune élève) painted in 1894 by Ozias Leduc, whom art historian Laurier Lacroix says is one of Quebec’s most important painters. Leduc was born in 1864, three years before the British North America Act brought Canada into existence and died in 1955 as the first stirrings of The Quiet Revolution began to appear. You can see The Young Reader on the walls of the National Gallery in Ottawa.