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Feb 25 2023

Warnings ignored. Russian Disinfo. Twitter’s cracks.

Feb 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
Liberals ignored CSIS warning on 2019 candidate accused in Chinese interference probe: sources
An 8-month investigation by Global News shows CSIS is investigating a Chinese Communist Party election-interference scheme allegedly directed by the Chinese consulate in Toronto. [Global]
Internal government polls obtained by Global News show that two-thirds of Canadians say disinformation campaigns impacts their ability to tell fact from fiction about Ukraine. [My latest! Global]

The Kremlin has long spread disinformation and propaganda to achieve its objectives. It continues to disseminate lies to justify its illegal, unprovoked, unjustifiable invasion of Ukraine. Below, you will find a sample of the many lies by the Russian regime about its invasion of Ukraine, along with the truth. This information is based on Government of Canada intelligence. [Govt of Canada]
Three Conservative MPs were photographed after having dinner with a member of the Alternative for Germany party, a right-wing populist party that opposes immigration. [Global]
“The Conservative Party of Canada owes some explanations to Canadians,” Trudeau told reporters during his visit to Toronto. [TorStar]
While attending a rally in support of Ukraine Friday night, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau paused mid-speech to ask a heckler to 'settle down.' [CTV]
The deal builds on a 2019 accord that acknowledged the Métis right to self-government but stopped short of naming groups that would form those governments. [Global]
From the Provinces
Quebec Premier François Legault faces a Newfoundland and Labrador public scarred by the legacy of two hydroelectric projects considered to be failures for the Atlantic province. [Global]
Iconic Rideau Canal Skateway will not open this year in historic first
After weeks of anticipation, the National Capital Commission said its efforts to open the iconic skating rink had come to an end. First time ever the skateway has not opened. [Global]
Elsewhere
Russians mark Ukraine war anniversary with flowers, arrests
Russians in Moscow and other cities brought flowers to Ukrainian poets and held one-person pickets with antiwar slogans Friday to mark the first anniversary of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. [AP]
A rally in Berlin calling for peace talks to end the war in Ukraine is expected to draw thousands of people from across the political spectrum Saturday, including the far left and the far right. [AP]
"How many times does he have to say it for you to believe it?" the first lady said in Nairobi, the second and final stop of her five-day trip to Africa. [Global]
COVID and Vaccines
First At-Home Test for Flu and Covid Is OK’d by the FDA
But the company that created the 30-minute, over-the-counter test has filed for bankruptcy, so the product’s eventual availability to consumers remains unclear. [NYT]

While mass vaccinations were launched to protect lives, it also yielded a positive economic impact while international economies were drowning in recession. [The Logical Indian]
Media
CBC president Catherine Tait is out of her lane
Eugene Lang: By getting into a public dispute with Pierre Poilievre, she shows she does not understand the role of a head of a Crown corporation. [Policy Options]

Jira went down, Slack's gone, and site performance is degraded. What's next? [Platformer]
Tech

The UK's Safety Online Bill would require Signal to police user messages.[Ars Technica]
Issued This Day ...
in 1994: Sc 1369: Fruit Tree Definitives: Overweight Domestic Rate: Shagbark Hickory. Design: Clermont Malenfant.
In the early 1990s, the Canada Post stamp design team got all excited about — fruit trees! And so, from 1991 until 1996, it issued precisely 12 different stamps featuring different fruit trees! 

There were four different stamps denominated at the rate to send letter to the U.S; another four denominated at the ‘overweight’ domestic rate (that includes today’s specimen); and four more denominated at the international rate which was 84¢ in 1991 and 90¢ by the time we got to the final issue in 1995. 

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