Sunday, February 27, 2022

A Tale of Two Countries

They are extremists who don’t believe in science, they’re often misogynists, also often racists. It’s a small group that muscles in, and we have to make a choice in terms of leaders, in terms of the country. Do we tolerate these people? ..."

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As the Truckers for Freedom Convoy closes in on Ottawa, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has called the movement and its supporters a “small fringe minority” with “unacceptable views.” 

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It’s a weird thing to do at this stage of the pandemic, given that many health authorities are now explicitly telling Canadians not to bother isolating if they’re asymptomatic. With Omicron spreading so widely, epidemiologists are generally working from the premise that almost everyone has been exposed to COVID-19 at some point, and to take precautions only in special circumstances. Ontario’s official public health guidelines advise people in Trudeau’s situation to continue living their lives, but to avoid “high-risk settings” such as senior’s homes. Trudeau claims he is following the guidelines of Ottawa Health, but the health authority’s public guidelines only advise a five day isolation period in the case that someone is unvaccinated. Not only is Trudeau thrice-vaccinated, but a rapid test that he took after the alleged exposure turned up negative.

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With the pandemic in full swing, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau urged Canadians to show support for those helping to keep food on their tables. “While many of us are working from home, there are others who aren’t able to do that — like the truck drivers who are working day and night to make sure our shelves are stocked. So when you can, please #ThankATrucker for everything they’re doing and help them however you can,” he tweeted March 31, 2020.

Trudeau had a chance to thank thousands of them personally over the weekend, as the truckers who’ve assembled what they call the Freedom Convoy to protest COVID vaccine mandates and restrictions cruised into the capital. Instead, he fled — breaking isolation to do it.

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Despite the risk, the 44-year-old president has taken his last stand and has been on the streets of Kyiv in defiance of the Russian troops that are invading his country. On Friday morning, in a video addressed to Ukrainians, Zelenskyy said that he has been identified by the enemy as the number one target and his family as the number two.

This came after a conference call the night before on which he reportedly told European Union leaders, “This might be the last time you see me alive.”

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky rejected an evacuation offer from the United States and is remaining in his country as Russian forces capture more ground, Ukrainian officials said on Feb. 26.

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As the disruptive protest in Ottawa drags into its second week, some residents of the downtown core say they've been living a nightmare, under siege and terrified to leave their homes — except to seek refuge away from the epicentre.

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A Ukrainian soldier reportedly blew himself up on a bridge to prevent a line of Russian tanks from crossing.

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine announced the act of bravery by Vitaly Skakun, who was part of a marine infantry battalion aiming to block the Henichesk bridge in the southern Kherson region.

As the tanks approached, Mr Skakun jumped in to carry out a mission to blow up the bridge.

“The bridge was mined, but he didn’t manage to get away from there,” the military said in a statement.

“According to his brothers in arms, Vitaly got in touch [with them] and said he was going to blow up the bridge. Immediately after an explosion rang out.”

“His heroic act significantly slowed down the push of the enemy, allowing the unit to relocate and organize defense.”

Officials said they were working on awarding Mr Skakun with posthumous honors.

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