Hello everyone, hope you’re taking care of your mental health in this distressing time. This will be the last regular piece of the year. I’m on vacation from Dec. 10-20, and then we get into the final week of holidays for us culturally Christian atheists. The next article, and the final one of 2023, will be the the inaugural Weasel Awards, where The Catch hands out awards to those in journalism who reached new heights of weaseling. Check out the chat to place your choice for People’s Choice, or any truly vile journalism thing you’ve seen this year.

Other than that, I’ve promised my partner I will disconnect from news as much as possible, for my own mental health. But please, don’t stop talking about the Palestinian genocide.

News Round-up

Ontario

Escaped kangaroo punches police officer before Oshawa capture, CBC News (Dec. 4)

Ontario passes motion to bypass committee hearings on new Ontario Place legislation, The Canadian Press (Dec. 5)

Ontario hospital ERs have closed 867 times so far this year, health coalition says, Elizabeth Payne, Ottawa Citizen (Dec. 5)

Staff shortages crippled some emergency departments in Ontario: auditor general, Isaac Callan and Colin D’Mello, Global News (Dec. 6)

Canada

Most Governments Learned Nothing From The Pandemic On Sick Leave, Adam D.K King, The Maple (Dec. 4)

CBC and Radio-Canada to cut 600 jobs, Andy Takagi, Toronto Star (Dec. 4)

Military sees ‘significant’ spike in sexual assaults despite reform vows: StatCan, Aaron D’Andrea, Global News (Dec. 5)

As the world’s ‘polar bear capital’ waits for ice, bears are increasingly drawn into the streets, Trina Moyles, The Narwhal (Dec. 5)

Licence to break the law: More Canadian spies get permission to commit crimes, memo shows, Chris Arsenault, CBC News (Dec. 6)

Canada’s ‘haves-and-have-nots’ health system lags behind Europe, study finds, Tracey Lindeman, The Guardian (Dec. 6)

Most Canadians want more federal spending on health care, housing: poll, Anja Karadeglija and The Canadian Press, CP24 (Dec. 6)

Stephen Harper’s firm pours $350M into developing military tech for Israel, Tim Groves, The Breach (Dec. 6)

Bank of Canada security staff prep for strike vote amid ‘stagnant’ wages, Craig Lord, Global News (Dec. 7)

Two Canadians Arrested, Charged With Terrorism For Participating in Neo-Nazi Groups, Mack Lamoureux, Vice News (Dec. 8)

In ‘covert op,’ Israeli consulate backed poll inflating support for Gaza war, Emma Paling and Markin Lukacs, The Breach (Dec. 8)

Postmedia Called Out For Publishing Israeli Propaganda As ‘News’, Jeremy Appel, The Maple (Dec. 8)

World

Beyond guilt: How pro-Palestine Jews are resisting Germany's 'McCarthyist' crackdown, Alexander Durie, The New Arab (Dec. 4)

Venezuela claims large support for annexing oil-rich Guyana territory, Al Jazeera (Dec. 4)

Iran and Cuba Propose a Coalition to Defend Palestinians, Telesur (Dec. 4)

(Vietnam) Appeal trial for Covid repatriation bribery scandal to begin Dec 20, Thanh Lam, VNExpress (Dec. 4)

Guinea-Bissau: Parliament dissolved after “coup attempt”, Africanews (Dec. 4)

Danish union joins strike action against Tesla by Swedish workers, Miranda Bryant, The Guardian (Dec. 5)

Trump says he won't be a dictator if elected, 'except for Day One', Megan Lebowitz, Jake Traylor and Isabelle Schmeler, NBC News (Dec. 6)

Tech

UK porn watchers could have faces scanned, Chris Vallance, BBC News (Dec. 5)

Bungie Devs Say Atmosphere Is ‘Soul-Crushing’ Amid Layoffs, Cuts, and Fear of Total Sony Takeover, Rebekah Valentine, IGN (Dec. 6)

The Casualties of the Podcasting Bloodbath, Scott Nover, Slate (Dec. 6)

Spotify’s CFO is out days after mass layoffs, Ariel Shapiro, The Verge (Dec. 7)

Israel-Palestine

‘Operation Al-Aqsa Flood’ Day 59: Palestinian civilians have nowhere to run as Israel expands ground operations south, Leila Warah, Mondoweiss (Dec. 4)

Global journalist group says Israel-Hamas conflict is a war beyond compare for media deaths, Raf Casert, Associated Press (Dec. 4)

Nova festival: Israel ‘withheld warnings’ about Hamas massacre, George Grylls, The Times (Dec. 6)

Israel: Strikes on Journalists in Lebanon Apparently Deliberate, Human Rights Watch (Dec. 7)

Despite lack of evidence, allegations of Hamas ‘mass rape’ are fueling Israeli genocide in Gaza, Kareena Pannu, Mondoweiss (Dec. 8)

COVID

COVID-19 and flu set to peak over holiday season in Ontario; Moore urges vaccinations, Allison Jones, The Canadian Press (Dec. 4)

Growing toll of COVID-19 on hospitals & population health should concern us, Andrew Longhurst, Policy Note (Dec. 5)

Two N95 Companies Shut Down, as an Era Ends, Victor Mather, New York Times (Dec. 5)

COVID is still killing 1,000 Americans per week while hospitalizations rise, CDC reports, Matthew Rozsa, Salon (Dec. 6)

Self-copying RNA vaccine wins first full approval: what’s next?, Elie Dolgin, Nature (Dec. 6)

This is a pandemic of attrition, Joe Vipond, Julia M. Wright and Dan Furst, Calgary Herald (Dec. 7)

'We're clearly in a wave:' Ontario's COVID-19 wastewater signal is more than double what it was at this time last year, Joshua Freeman, CP24 (Dec. 7)

AV Corner

Podcast: Unrigged with Eric Wickham and Andre Goulet- Pullback

Video: The Dirtbag Left- hoots

(Old) Music: Real Gone- Tom Waits