The Catch-all: ICYMI March 23-29
The news I've been consuming this week
Hello readers. I want to start off with an apology for not releasing a media analysis piece this week. It's been busy on my end with both personal and professional matters. I won't go into the former, but school has been difficult and eating up a lot of my time as of late. That's no excuse, as I should have announced that there wouldn't be one earlier. But I had intended a piece that kept getting pushed to the backburner. So... sorry about that.
On the plus side, I'm happy to report that I spent Sunday and Monday working on my first piece for The Grind. After days of public denouncements by pro-Israel politicians and organizations, a rally to demand an end to the arms trade, associated with Purim, took place in Toronto on Sunday Mar. 24. I reported on the circumstances and heightened police presence at the rally. You can check it out below.
Scott Martin
News Round-up
Ontario
Ontario gas tax cut extension to cost half-a-billion over 6 months, Colin D'Mello and Isaac Callan, Global News (Mar. 26)
Ford government's budget shortfall soars to $9.8 billion as tax revenues plunge, Robert Benzie, Toronto Star (Mar. 26)
Ontario minimum wage to increase Oct. 1 to $17.20 an hour, The Canadian Press (Mar. 28)
Staffers who quit amid Ontario Greenbelt scandal earned full year’s salary — despite resigning last summer, Charlie Pinkerton and Emmac McIntosh, The Narwhal (Mar. 28)
Canada
Anti-authority narratives could tear 'fabric of society,' intelligence report warns, Jim Bronskill, The Canadian Press (Mar. 24)
Elon Musk's X to pay legal bills for Canadian doctor chastised over COVID-19 tweets, The Canadian Press (Mar. 24)
N.B. woman finds Apple AirTag in purse after night out: ‘I was so shocked’, Alex Cooke and Anna Mandin, Global News (Mar. 25)
'It's not free': P.E.I. dentists frustrated with federal dental plan, Kevin Yarr, CBC News (Mar. 27)
Half of Canadians support TikTok ban, with U.S. concerns 'trickling' north: poll, Anja Karadeglija, The Canadian Press (Mar. 29)
US
‘Worst' NYC landlord attacked upon arrival at Rikers, may have broken bones in face: source, Lynda Baquero and Melissa Russo, NBC New York (Mar. 23)
Trump’s Truth Social valued at nearly $8bn as it goes public in New York, Callum Jones, The Guardian (Mar. 26)
Wife of Baltimore bridge collapse survivor says workers were on break in their cars when bridge came down, George Solis and Marlene Lenthang, NBC News (Mar. 28)
World
Lawmakers in Thailand overwhelmingly approve a bill to legalize same-sex marriage, Associated Press (Mar. 27)
‘Staggering’ rise in women with reproductive health issues near DRC cobalt mines – study, Rosie Swash, The Guardian (Mar. 28)
Memory Must Be Preserved in Brazil, Dictatorship Victims Say, Telesur (Mar. 29)
Israel-Palestine
At least 19 reported killed as Israeli forces fire on Gaza aid seekers, Al Jazeera (Mar. 23)
As Gaza is destroyed, Israel is killing dozens of children in the West Bank, Arwa Mahdawi, The Guardian (Mar. 23)
Israeli soldiers rape, assault Palestinian women at Shifa hospital, Osama Ali, Al Bawaba (Mar. 23)
“Man-Made Hell On Earth”: A Canadian Doctor on His Medical Mission to Gaza, Jeremy Scahill, The Intercept (Mar. 23)
‘Women in Gaza are being raped and this is not being investigated or reported’, Anjuman Rahman, Middle East Monitor (Mar. 24)
UN Security Council votes to demand immediate ceasefire in Gaza, as U.S. abstains, The Associated Press via CBC News (Mar. 25)
Israeli soldiers shoot and kill two unarmed Palestinian men in Gaza: Video, Al Jazeera (Mar. 28)
Famine is now probably present in Gaza, US says, Peter Beaumont, The Guardian (Mar. 29)
COVID
(New Zealand) Long Covid: Teachers, healthcare workers most vulnerable occupations, report finds, RNZ (Mar. 26)
Over 1,000 Americans have died of COVID-19 each week since August 26, Benjamin Mateus, World Socialist Web Site (Mar. 26)
Kids missing more school since pandemic, CBC analysis finds, Tara Carman and Andreas Wesley, CBC News (Mar. 27)
More Canadians see measles as dangerous compared to COVID, flu: poll, Katie Dangerfield, Global News (Mar. 27)
Tech
Elon Musk Fought Government Surveillance — While Profiting Off Government Surveillance, Sam Biddle, The Intercept (Mar. 25)
Meta oversight board finds censoring of word 'shaheed' discriminatory, Nader Durgham, Middle East Eye (Mar. 26)
Project Ghostbusters: Facebook Accused of Using Your Phone to Wiretap Snapchat, Maxwell Zeff, Gizmodo (Mar. 26)
X confirms plans for NSFW Communities, Sarah Perez, Tech Crunch (Mar. 29)
AV Corner
Podcast: How AI takes workplace surveillance to another level - The Big Story
Video: Libya: How To Kill a Nation - Hakim
Music: Survived- Lost Dog Street Band
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