Lewis’ UN conspiracy theories no aberration for Conservative Party

Far-right Conservative MP Leslyn Lewis amplified a petition on social media that is calling for Canada to withdraw from the UN.

“Over 60,000 Canadians have now signed a petition calling on Canada to protect our national sovereignty by withdrawing from the UN and its subsidiary organizations,” Lewis stated in a tweet on X.

Sweeping, unsupported statements included in this petition on Lewis’ official government page include things like “Canada’s membership in the United Nations (UN) and its subsidiary organizations, (e.g. World Health Organization (WHO)), imposes negative consequences on the people of Canada, far outweighing any benefits,” and that “the UN/WHO comprehensive ‘Agenda 2030’ undermines national sovereignty and personal autonomy.”

The petition makes further conspiratorial claims that UN programs are damaging children through the “normalization of sexual values and activities,” and claims these programs are being imposed on Canada in secret without the knowledge of Canadians or elected officials.

None of the claims made in the petition are accompanied by any explanation or evidence.

NDP MP Charlie Angus slammed Lewis and her leader Pierre Poilievre for the growing extremism in their party.

In September of 2023 Lewis was quoted as saying that the WHO could impose travel restrictions on Canadians within Canada and that the pandemic was a step toward “global government.”

She has also amplified the conspiracy theory that the World Economic Forum (WEF) is planning to subjugate humanity through a world government and has implied that the Liberal Party is controlled by the WEF. |Read more https://rabble.ca/politics/canadian-politics/lewis-un-conspiracy-theories-no-aberration-for-conservative-party/| rabble.ca/politics/canadian-po…

#X #cdnpoli #extremism #UN #WHO #Poilievre #LeslynLewis #Conservatives
#politics #conspiracy

How Verified Accounts on X Thrive While Spreading Misinformation About the Israel-Hamas Conflict

With the gutting of content moderation initiatives at X, accounts with blue checks, once a sign of authenticity, are disseminating debunked claims and gaining more followers. Community Notes, X’s fact-checking system, hasn’t scaled sufficiently.

“My sisters have died,” the young boy sobbed, chest heaving, as he wailed into the sky. “Oh, my sisters.” As Israel began airstrikes on Gaza following the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attack, posts by verified accounts on X, the social media platform formerly called Twitter, were being transmitted around the world.

Days later, a video posted by an account calling itself “ISRAEL MOSSAD,” another “verified” account, this time bearing the logo of Israel’s national intelligence agency, claimed to show Israel’s advanced air defense technology.

And following an explosion on Oct. 14 outside the Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza where civilians were killed, the verified account of the Hamas-affiliated news organization Quds News Network posted a screenshot from Facebook claiming to show the Israel Defense Forces declaring their intent to strike the hospital before the explosion. It was seen more than half a million times.

None of these posts depicted real events from the conflict. The video of the grieving boy was from at least nine years ago and was taken in Syria, not Gaza. The clip of rockets exploding was from a military simulation video game. And the Facebook screenshot was from a now-deleted Facebook page not affiliated with Israel or the IDF. |Read more https://www.propublica.org/article/x-verified-accounts-misinformation-israel-hamas-conflict| propublica.org/article/x-verif…

#X #twitter #verified #lies #deceit #misinformation #ElonMusk #garbage #technology #SocialMedia

BREAKING: U.S. Judge Sends Landmark Youth Climate Case to Trial

A landmark youth climate lawsuit, Juliana v. United States, is finally going to trial, after a December 29 ruling by District Court Judge Aiken that rejects the U.S. government’s latest bid to have the case dismissed.

“This catastrophe is the great emergency of our time and compels urgent action,” Aiken wrote (pdf) in her 49-page judgement. “As this lawsuit demonstrates, young people—too young to vote and effect change through the political process—are exercising the institutional procedure available to plead with their government to change course.” |Read more https://www.theenergymix.com/breaking-u-s-judge-sends-landmark-youth-climate-case-juliana-v-u-s-to-trial/| theenergymix.com/breaking-u-s-…

#usa #ClimateChange #lawsuit #youth #health #environment

Ho! Ho! Ho! Christmas comes a little early for the Trans Mountain Pipeline as Ottawa guarantees another couple o’ billion

It appears Christmas came a little early for that unending and expensive Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion project, with word of another couple of billion dollars in loan guarantees arriving from Ottawa on Tibb’s Eve, the celebration on the day before Christmas Eve that’s marked in Newfoundland – and, by logical extension, in parts of Alberta.

According to the Wikipedia, Tibb’s Eve is celebrated with merriment, and you’d think there would have been some merriment last night in those Alberta quarters that keep insisting more and better pipelines to Pacific Ocean “tidewater” must be built for Alberta’s oilsands to live long and prosper.

Then again, maybe not, because it would appear that all the pipeline-adjacent Conservative politicians and oil executives in Alberta were too busy trying to get the federal Conservatives elected and complaining about what a lousy deal Alberta gets from Confederation even to say thank you to the Trudeau Government for continuing to bankroll the project with tax contributions from citizens in all parts of the Dominion.

The federal government bought the project in 2018 and has been pouring money into it ever since. As a result, a majority of Albertans think Ottawa is trying to stop all pipelines to B.C. So they put bumper stickers on their pickup trucks explaining how much they despise Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. |[albertapolitics.ca/2023/12/ho-…) | albertapolitics.ca/2023/12/ho-…

#cdnpoli #TransMountainPipeline #TMS #billions #trudeau #politics

Canada joins multinational operation to counter Red Sea commercial ship attacks

BP tanker

The United Kingdom, Bahrain, France, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Seychelles and Spain will join the U.S. and Canada in the new mission, Austin announced. Some of the countries will conduct joint patrols while others provide intelligence support in the southern Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced the operation early Tuesday while traveling to through the Middle East. He noted during a press conference with Israel’s defence minister in Tel Aviv on Monday that the U.S. was creating an “international coalition to address this threat.”

“These attacks are reckless, dangerous and they violate international law,” he told reporters.

The seriousness of the attacks, several of which have damaged vessels, has led multiple shipping companies to order their ships to reroute or hold in place and not enter the Bab el-Mandab Strait until the security situation can be addressed.

About 10 per cent of the world’s good flows through the Red Sea, which spans the Bab el-Mandab Strait in the south to the Suez Canal in the north. It’s one of the most valuable trade routes connecting Asia to Europe and North America.

The attacks have led companies to pause entry into the waterway or reroute entirely to avoid the area. Marsek, the world’s largest shipping firm, said it was ordering its ships not to enter the Bab el-Mandab Strait indefinitely. MSC and CMA CGM have made similar moves.

Experts say any long-standing disruption in the Red Sea will have similar impacts on the flow of goods coming in and out of Canada and around the world, and it may take several months to recover, pointing to the Ever Given blockage as an example. |[globalnews.ca/news/10178169/re…) | globalnews.ca/news/10178169/re…

#cdnpoli #us #LNG #coalition #RedSea #warships #trade #reckless