But Wait! There's More!

The day is getting interesting ....

 

Blinking! is the new PHRASING!:

Premier Doug Ford says that his government will not make vaccination mandatory for hospital workers amid concerns about staffing shortages in the sector.

Ford made the announcement in a statement issued on Wednesday afternoon, effectively going against the advice of a number of experts, including members of the province’s own science table who had touted the mandate as an “evidence-based policy that protects Ontarians.”

 

(Sidebar: yes, about those experts ...)

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Quebec is backtracking on its enforced COVID-19 vaccination mandate for health-care workers, government officials announced Wednesday.

After pushing back its deadline multiple times, Health Minister Christian Dubé said the province will abandon the measure altogether, as the health-care network can’t afford to lose the thousands of non-vaccinated employees.

The loss of unvaccinated staff would have had a “devastating effect on the system,” according to the health ministry.

** 

Canadian employers are firing or putting on unpaid leave thousands of workers who refused to get COVID-19 shots, squeezing an already tight labour market and raising prospects of potentially disruptive legal challenges.

Also:

The next morning, 25 September 2020, Jackson called the FDA to warn about unsound practices in Pfizer’s clinical trial at Ventavia. She then reported her concerns in an email to the agency. In the afternoon Ventavia fired Jackson—deemed “not a good fit,” according to her separation letter.

Jackson told The BMJ it was the first time she had been fired in her 20 year career in research.

**

A new poll from the non-profit Angus Reid Institute suggests unvaccinated Canadians’ top reasons for avoiding the vaccine are “personal freedom” and “health concerns.”

** 

Prospects who purchased a number of the a couple of million COVID-19 face masks offered by an organization related to Toronto’s unbiased MP Kevin Vuong could have paid an excessive amount of gross sales tax, and might be entitled to a refund, based on specialists contacted by CTV Information Toronto.

 

(Sidebar: this Kevin Vuong.)

** 

Oh, dear:

A fully-vaccinated passenger on a flight from Turkey to Germany was found dead in his seat, reportedly infected with the coronavirus.

**

Oh, why worry?:

Beijing shoppers stocked up on cabbage, rice and flour for the winter on Wednesday, after the government urged people to keep stores of basic goods in case of emergencies, though it assured them there were sufficient supplies after some panic buying.

 

 

Quebec can't browbeat Maine and certainly can't use Justin as a cudgel:

Mainers voted on Tuesday to reject a US$1 billion project to bring hydropower from Quebec into New England, after a years-long battle that pitted clean energy advocates against locals seeking to preserve the state’s pristine woodlands.

** 

Quebec’s premier François Legault, one of the seeming thousands of Canadian politicians attending the climate summit in Glasgow, went before the cameras this morning to reassure Quebecers that he is still confident the project will get done somehow and that “we have a Plan B.” NECEC, however, is already the Plan B devised to replace a different transmission route shut down by New Hampshire regulators. And while Quebec and Massachusetts have possible legal options left to try preventing the ballot initiative from becoming law, the pro-Yes referendum result will obviously make it more difficult for them to get help from Maine politicians who previously supported the project.

 

Bull. Sh--.

You've got nothing, Franky.

You can't send Justin to fight the Americans for you. 

How does it feel to be cut off like a certain province I won't mention?

Does it hurt not to get your way?

Also:

Besides estimating the amount of foreign funding going to environmental groups seeking to landlock Alberta’s oil and gas, a recent report from a government-commissioned inquiry highlighted a number of other issues related to funding and transparency.

The first recommendation in the report, written by commissioner Steve Allan, is to improve transparency and accountability in the financial operations of environmental non-governmental organizations (ENGOs) receiving foreign funding.

The report highlights an “exchange fund” program that was operated by the prominent U.S.-based Tides Foundation and its Canadian counterpart Tides Canada, and said that the program, used for donations from either side of the border, “had the effect of obscuring the source of funds.”

The report also emphasized the exponential increase in federal funding for ENGOs since 2015 and the disparity between foreign and government funds going to ENGOs versus “conservative/market oriented organizations.”

 

 

Be the honey badger, Lithuania:

China's treatment of Lithuania is a "wake up call" for Europe, Lithuania's deputy foreign minister said on Wednesday, calling for the European Union to be united in dealings with Beijing.

China demanded in August that Lithuania withdraw its ambassador in Beijing after Taiwan announced that its office in Vilnius would be called the Taiwanese Representative Office in Lithuania.

The country of about 3 million people this year also withdrew from a "17+1" dialogue mechanism between China and some Central and Eastern European countries, which the United States sees as a effort by Beijing to divide European diplomacy.

Trade disruptions sparked by the tensions have posed a risk to Lithuanian economic growth.

"I think it is a wake up call in many ways, especially for fellow Europeans to understand that if you want to defend democracy you have to stand up for it," Lithuanian vice minister of foreign affairs Arnoldas Pranckevičius told a security forum in Washington.

In order for Europe to be credible in the world and as a partner for the United States, it has to "get its act together vis-à-vis China," Pranckevičius said.

"China is trying to make an example out of us - a negative example, so that other countries don't necessarily follow that path, and therefore it is a matter of principle how the Western community, the United States, and European Union reacts," he said.

 

 

There is a reason why Canada is not caring about Chinese dissidents and it has to do with admiring a certain dictatorship and simply not caring about one's fellow man:

It’s now been a full year since the Trudeau government promised to come to the aid of Hong Kong’s persecuted pro-democracy movement, but thousands of Hongkongers who are already facing charges or are at risk of arrest owing to their activism still face insurmountable barriers finding asylum in Canada.

The suite of measures Ottawa unveiled in February does little more than tweak the rules to make it easier for the well-educated and the well-to-do to study, work and settle here. “Realistically, most Hong Kong people won’t qualify. It is very much a wealth migration program,” Cherie Wong, executive director of Alliance Canada Hong Kong, told me. “The government should not call this support for Hongkongers in the wake of the crackdown. Because it isn’t.”

 

 

Some people would tell the grievance industry to f--- off:

The government will raise the Maple Leaf on federal buildings in time for them to be lowered to half-mast to honour Canada’s war dead on Remembrance Day, according to a senior Liberal source.

 

Read: faced with public ire, the Liberals realise that they can't be too sh--- to others.  

**

Cobb told the council meeting he is “seriously sorry” and “never intended to offend or make light” of residential schools.

But he also said the post was on his personal Facebook page, not the one for the mayor’s office, so he considers the complaint to council a personal attack.

 

This is why you never apologise, Mr. Cobb. 

And now for something completely different:

No, this day does not commemorate the great Egyptian king’s birthday. On this day in 1922, British archeologist Howard Carter and his crew discovered the entrance to King Tut’s tomb. This monumental discovery was one of the greatest archaeological achievements of the 20th century, and remains a huge attraction well into the 21st. The least we can do is take a day to honor it. History for the win!

 

This King Tut: 

On November 4, 1922, a team of archaeologists led by Howard Carter discovered a step that marked the entrance to King Tutankhamen's tomb. When King Tut's tomb itself was discovered on November 26, 1922—after more than 3000 years of uninterrupted repose—some believed the pharaoh unleashed a powerful curse of death and destruction upon all who dared disturb his eternal slumber.

 

Funky Tut:

 

 

Haunted ships:

Since the late 18th century, people have reported seeing a ghostly three-masted schooner on fire in Canada’s Northumberland Strait, the body of water that separates Prince Edward Island from Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. Sightings seem to occur most often in the fall; some are reported as lasting just a few minutes, while others say they've seen the illusion last as long as an hour. In some cases, would-be rescuers have tried to sail out to help those on board, only to watch the ship vanish as they come close. The story gained popularity after being immortalized in local singer-songwriter Lennie Gallant’s song, "Tales of the Phantom Ship." On Friday, June 13, 2014, Canada Post even launched a postage stamp depicting the ship as part of a "haunted Canada" line.

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According to the city of Bathurst, in New Brunswick, Canada, tens of thousands of people have seen the apparition of a ship that appears to be on fire cruising Chaleur Bay, located between New Brunswick and Quebec. The apparition usually appears at night, sometimes hovering for hours in a single spot and other times skimming across the waves. Viewing it by telescope brings out no details. Scientists have explained the sight, which continues to be seen today, as being caused by St. Elmo's Fire (an electricity phenomenon), inflammable gas released beneath the sea, or phosphorescent marine life. Locals have connected the story to various shipwrecks in the region, including the story of a Portuguese captain who abused local Indians. One woman on Heron Island, a Mrs. Pettigrew, even reported being approached by the specter of a burned sailor who came to her farm house for help. When she turned to rush inside, it brushed past her and she discovered the figure was legless.