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Feb 4 2024

Winning right. Ukraine resilience. AI campaigns: The Roundup

Feb 4, 2024
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
How Canada’s centre-right legal movement has been racking up wins
The federal government has taken a beating in court, losing on the Emergencies Act, the single-use plastic ban and environmental impact laws. [National Post]
The national chief of the Assembly of First Nations is trying to make inroads with Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, hoping to forestall the tensions and angst that marked the party's last time in power. [CP]
Majid Irananesh is the first member of Iran's regime to face expulsion under sanctions adopted in 2022. [Global]

At least one Canadian police officer fires their gun at a civilian every week, on average, highlighting the need for a national database tracking police-involved shootings, according to new research. [London Free Press]
From the provinces

A committee appointed by the provincial government cited a recent study by Quebec's statistics agency that shows English dominates among Quebecers' streaming habits. [Global]
Calls for more transparency have mounted in recent years after towns in the south of the province struggled with water shortages and, in some cases, were even forced to restrict water usage. ... the data can help municipalities get a better understanding of what activities might impact water availability or water quality in their region, and factor that into planning around future risks. [CBC]
Elsewhere
He Cracked Down on Gangs and Rights. Now He’s Set to Win a Landslide.
The millennial president, Nayib Bukele, and his party are likely to win resoundingly in elections in El Salvador Sunday. His running mate says they are “replacing” democracy. [NYT]
Four months in, the Israel-Hamas war is pulling in an ever-growing number of countries and armed groups, from Houthis in Yemen to Hezbollah in Lebanon. Here’s where the factions stand so far. [Globe and Mail]

The existing digital capacity and services within the Ukrainian government allowed the adaption and creation of new capabilities and services, which have made a major contribution to the country’s resilience amid the war initiated by Russia. Further advancing its digital capability and reaching the millions of Ukrainians who are still offline can be key elements in rebuilding Ukraine. Very interesting research paper. Role of Estonia in helping Ukraine government digitize also noted. [Brookings Institution]

Passengers are on high alert after Alaska Airline’s Boeing Max 9 incident, tracking flight paths and spotting missing bolts. [WaPo]
Media
How Americans Use Social Media
YouTube and Facebook are by far the most used online platforms among U.S. adults. But TikTok’s user base has grown significantly in recent years: 33% of U.S. adults now say they use it. [Pew Research Center]
The Sunlight Project details more than 75,000 public records requests since 2014 The Investigative Journalism Bureau and University of Toronto Libraries are proud to announce the launch of the Sunlight Project — Ontario’s most comprehensive database of freedom-of-information requests made to the provincial government since 2014. [Investigative Journalism Bureau]
Joanna Smith 👇 has been the Ottawa Bureau Chief for The Canadian Press since 2021. 
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Sci/Tech
How AI Is Transforming the Way Political Campaigns Work
Interesting look at a new AI-based tool for voter ID and voter contact called Votivate. The article says it seems to be in use primarily by non-incumbent Democrats in the U.S. Could definitely see this being adapted and sold for use in a Canadian context. - DA [The Nation]
An unconfirmed changelog shared on X suggests Google is planning to introduce some changes to Bard on February 7 along with new Gemini products. Big news in that changelog: Google's AI tool Bard is coming to Canada, rebranded as Gemini. [Endgadget]
[Google] announced Bard's new text-to-image capability that's powered by Imagen 2, Google's latest diffusion model. With this release, Google also shared that any image created with Imagen 2 — on Bard or Google's other generative AI tools — will have digital watermark called SynthID. [Mashable]
Issued this day ...
.. in 1977: Scott #704: Silver Jubilee. Design: Ken Rodmell. Photography: Peter Grugeon. 

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