The Catch-All: ICYMI January 6-12

The news I've been consuming this week

The Catch-All: ICYMI January 6-12

Hello all. This week's edition of The Catch-all is the first published on Ghost! I'll be introducing paid options for the newsletter in the coming weeks, but that option will purely be there if you want to monetarily support the newsletter. Exclusive articles and member content will come later. As always, the round-ups and weekly analysis will remain free to all.

Lots to read this week, especially on COVID and Tech updates. Please take time to read through the coverage of South Africa's charge of genocide against Israel at the International Court of Justice. We're approaching 100 days of this genocide, so please check to see if there are demonstrations in your area this weekend. Free Palestine.


News Round-up:

Ontario

Olivia Chow's skating party cut short by protesters calling for Gaza ceasefire, Andy Takagi, The Toronto Star (Jan. 7)

Military police threaten to charge sex worker who offers discounts to Canadian soldiers, David Pugliese, Ottawa Citizen (Jan. 9)

Canadian ER doctor says wait times are the ‘worst it’s ever been’, Richard Southern and Meredith Bond, CityNews (Jan. 9)

Ford government to close some ServiceOntario locations, Richard Southern and John Marchesan, CityNews (Jan. 10)

Avenue Road bridge protests no longer allowed, Toronto police chief says, Joshua Freeman, CP24 (Jan. 11)

Ford government to pay for Staples retrofit as retailer looks to ‘monetize’ ServiceOntario, Richard Southern and John Marchesan, CityNews (Jan. 12)

Canada

Canada issues warning as Florida plan to import drugs raises fears, Katie Dangerfield, Global News (Jan. 8)

Decision to proceed with expansion of medically assisted dying law looms, Stephanie Taylor, The Canadian Press (Jan. 8)

Conservative MP Helped Draft Text of Conspiratorial United Nations Petition, Author of Petition Says, Luke LeBrun, PressProgress (Jan. 8)

Trudeau says government looking at ways to designate Iran's IRGC a terrorist organization, Darren Major, CBC News (Jan. 8)

Canada’s prison system is still vastly transphobic, Charlotte Dalwood, Xtra Magazine (Jan. 9)

Ricochet journalist Brandi Morin arrested by Edmonton Police during encampment raid, Ricochet (Jan. 10)

Health Canada ignored warning signs before Ottawa spent billions on BTNX rapid tests, Patti Sonntag, Global News (Jan. 11)

Ed Broadbent, former NDP leader, dead at 87, Catharine tunney, CBC News (Jan. 11)

Canada not getting behind 'premise' of South Africa's genocide case against Israel, Mickey Djuric, The Canadian Press (Jan. 12)

US

215 Bodies Found in Unmarked Graves Behind Mississippi Jail, Ben Crump Calls For Investigation, Brad Callas, Complex (Jan. 6)

2023 saw record killings by US police. Who is most affected?, Sam Levin, The Guardian (Jan. 8)

Trump warns of ‘bedlam,’ declines to rule out violence after court hearing, Isaac Arnsdorf, The Washington Post (Jan. 9)

Without laundry service, Rikers detainees wash clothes in toilets and showers, lawyers say, Jessy Edwards, Gothamist (Jan. 10)

It’s been 22 years since the Guantánamo prison opened. Men are still held there, Pardiss Kebriaei, The Guardian (Jan. 11)

World

Mouse secretly filmed tidying man’s shed every night, Charlie Moloney, The Guardian (Jan. 7)

(Vietnam) 20 years in jail sought for ex health minister in Covid test scandal, Pham Du and Thanh Lam, vnExpress (Jan. 7)

Global heating will pass 1.5C threshold this year, top ex-Nasa scientist says, Oliver Milman, The Guardian (Jan. 8)

Bottled Water Contains More Plastic Particles Than Previously Thought, Coco Liu, Bloomberg (Jan. 8)

Tourist bus crashes in Brazil, killing 25, Reuters (Jan. 8)

Somaliland’s defense minister resigns over deal to give Ethiopia access to the region’s coastline, Omar Faruk, The Associated Press (Jan. 8)

Brazil warns dengue cases could hit 5mn as extreme weather takes toll, Bryan Harris, Financial Times (Jan. 8)

Fuel in Cuba to become five times more expensive, Emily Atkinson, BBC News (Jan.9). Noticeably no mention of the illegal US embargo against Cuba in this one.

Ecuador declares war on armed gangs after TV station attacked on air, Marita Moloney and Patrick Jackson, BBC News (Jan. 9)

Hundreds protest at First Quantum's Panama copper mine, Elida Moreno, Reuters (Jan. 9)

2023 smashes record for world’s hottest year by huge margin, Damian Carrington, The Guardian (Jan. 9)

Renewable energy surge of 50% driven by China, IEA says, Lukanyo Mnyanda, Financial Times (Jan. 11)

Israel-Palestine

Senior Hezbollah commander killed in Israeli airstrike in Lebanon, The Associated Press via CBC News (Jan. 8)

The US Is Dealing With an Israeli Leader Who’s Losing Control, Nahal Toosi, Politico (Jan. 8)

Israel Is Not Promising to “Scale Back” Its War, Spencer Ackerman, The Nation (Jan. 8)

How Israel's war is creating a man-made famine in Gaza, Hanna Davis, The New Arab (Jan. 8)

Don’t believe Haaretz and the NYT. Israeli society fully supports the Gaza genocide., Jonathan Ofir, Mondoweiss (Jan. 9)

ICJ hears South Africa’s genocide case against Israel over Gaza war, Al Jazeera (Jan. 11)

Israel accuses South Africa of being ‘legal arm of Hamas’, Pierre Emmanuel Ngendakumana, Politico (Jan. 11)

US, allies attack Houthi targets in Yemen in response to missile barrages in the Red Sea, Lara Seligman, Politico (Jan. 11)

Tech

Substack is going to remove five Nazi newsletters, Richard Lawler, The Verge (Jan. 8)

The Perfect Webpage | How the internet reshaped itself around Google’s search algorithms — and into a world where websites look the same., Mia Sato, The Verge (Jan. 8)

Unity is laying off 25 percent of its staff, Emma Roth, The Verge (Jan. 8)

Rumble Is Part of an ‘Active and Ongoing’ SEC Investigation, William Turton, WIRED (Jan. 8)

Meta will hide suicide and eating disorder content from teens as government pressure mounts, Mia Sato, The Verge (Jan. 9)

Amazon’s Twitch to Cut 500 Employees, About 35% of Staff, Cecilia D'Anastasio, Bloomberg (Jan. 9)

X's fresh temporary ban of several prominent journalists raises alarm, Kat Tenbarge, NBC News (Jan. 9)

Big Tech not done with layoffs as Google, Amazon announce cuts in 2024, Gerrit De Vynch, Washington Post (Jan. 11)

OpenAI Quietly Deletes Ban on Using ChatGPT for “Military and Warfare”, Sam Biddle, The Intercept (Jan. 12)

COVID

Was your family sick and miserable this holiday season? You weren't alone, Katie Daubs, The Toronto Star (Jan. 7)

New, highly mutated COVID variants ‘Pirola’ BA.2.86 and JN.1 may cause more severe disease, new studies suggest, Erin Prater, Fortune (Jan. 8)

New CDC data identify more than 5,000 Long Covid deaths, but tally is likely a significant undercount, Betsy Ladyzhets, The Sick Times (Jan. 9)

Democrats Can’t Keep Ignoring Covid in 2024, Laura Weiss, The New Republic (Jan. 9)

Interior Health drops all COVID-19 rapid tests at facilities, Global News (Jan. 9)

[Translated from French] No, COVID-19 vaccines did not kill 17 million people, Melanie Meloche-Holubowski, Radio Canada (Jan. 10)

COVID levels are up to 19 times higher than reported, WHO says as it warns of the potential dangers of repeat reinfection: ‘We don’t know everything about this virus’, Erin Prater, Fortune (Jan. 12)

AV Corner

Podcast: Deepfake Celeb Scam Ads Are Running Rampant on YouTube- 404 Media Podcast

Video:  About That Idris Elba Gold Documentary- Folding Ideas

Music: (Single) Moving On- Pissed Jeans

Moving On, by Pissed Jeans
from the album Half Divorced