CDN/US Covid-related political discussion

[PuckChaser]

https://thepostmillennial.com/china-may-have-as-many-as-640000-cases

Leaked data from Chinese military commission reports initial outbreak in China as high as 640k, if not higher.

Although closer, there's no way I believe 640k is the real number either. China is 5 times the US population (with 5 times as many people per Sq KM), with massive urban centers larger than New York. Looking here at the data from some of the harder hit areas (https://www.statista.com/chart/21176/covid-19-infection-density-in-countries-most-total-cases/), there's about 4000 cases per million residents. That would put China's total COVID-19 infections at 5.5 million.

 

[MilEME09]

Although closer, there's no way I believe 640k is the real number either. China is 5 times the US population (with 5 times as many people per Sq KM), with massive urban centers larger than New York. Looking here at the data from some of the harder hit areas (https://www.statista.com/chart/21176/covid-19-infection-density-in-countries-most-total-cases/), there's about 4000 cases per million residents. That would put China's total COVID-19 infections at 5.5 million.

I agree, unless we see said leaked documents we do not know the date of the report either, 640k in January id believe, total? I agree with you.

 

[Jarnhamar]

Does anyone else find it interesting that the government insinuated they weren't above tracking Covid19 positive citizens cell phones yet we don't track the cell phones of rapists and murderers?

 

[blacktriangle]

Well they ban lawful citizens from owning weapons, but don’t focus on crime or border issues, so that should tell us something right there. It wouldn’t matter though, people would just leave their phones at home.

 

[OceanBonfire]

Ontario public schools will not reopen until September

Ontario's publicly-funded schools will not reopen in June and will remain closed until September due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The provincial government made the announcement at Queen's Park on Tuesday, saying that online learning will continue for the rest of the 2019-2020 school year and in-person classes will not resume until after the summer break.

...


https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/ontario-public-schools-will-not-reopen-until-september-1.4944536

 

[daftandbarmy]

Does anyone else find it interesting that the government insinuated they weren't above tracking Covid19 positive citizens cell phones yet we don't track the cell phones of rapists and murderers?

I recently had a look at my kid's phone, which tracks the location of all her buddies in real time, amongst other things. In Northern Ireland it took a full rifle company weeks to put together that kind of information in the 80s, and it wasn't as complete, accurate or timely. We have been conditioned to accept increasingly higher levels of surveillance over every aspect of our lives because: pleasure

How Pleasure Lulls Us into Accepting Surveillance
The domestication of surveillance technology has caused big legal and ethical implications for security on both a personal and a social scale.

Showing Ourselves, Seeing Ourselves

These legal protections are welcome, but they still fall short of comprehending and addressing the ways widespread surveillance and social media have become culturally normalized. Robert Sweeny says these shifts have occurred through trends as wide-ranging as the rise of reality TV, security-centric news reporting after 9/11, and even video games.

https://daily.jstor.org/how-pleasure-lulls-us-into-accepting-surveillance/

 

[OldSolduer]

Does anyone else find it interesting that the government insinuated they weren't above tracking Covid19 positive citizens cell phones yet we don't track the cell phones of rapists and murderers?

You've been around long enough to know that the government hasn't got the stomach to actually do something about rapists and some murderers.

 

[brihard]

Does anyone else find it interesting that the government insinuated they weren't above tracking Covid19 positive citizens cell phones yet we don't track the cell phones of rapists and murderers?

Someone may have floated that idea, but it was never a serious one. In the case of criminal suspects you need a tracking warrant to follow cell phone location data, and a much tougher warrant to intercept any communication data. The Charter is still operative even in cases of emergency.

 

[PuckChaser]

The Federal Government is ready to inch closer to the basic dictatorship of China. https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/feds-readying-to-recommend-contact-tracing-app-1.4949895

Feds readying to recommend contact tracing app
Rachel Aiello

OTTAWA -- Responding to the need to increase the capacity to trace any possible contacts of confirmed COVID-19 cases, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the federal government will soon be “strongly recommending” Canadians download a to-be-determined monitoring and exposure notification app.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/mar/07/how-global-health-crisis-turns-into-state-run-surveillance-opportunity

 

[garb811]

The Federal Government is ready to inch closer to the basic dictatorship of China. https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/feds-readying-to-recommend-contact-tracing-app-1.4949895

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/mar/07/how-global-health-crisis-turns-into-state-run-surveillance-opportunity

The noted friends of China, the Alberta provincial government, has a head start down that road then as their app has been on the streets for awhle now:

ABTraceTogether

...
ABTraceTogether is a mobile contact tracing app that helps to let you know if you've been exposed to COVID-19 – or if you've exposed others – while protecting your privacy.

Quickly identifying and isolating positive cases is an important part of our response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and preventing the spread.

The more Albertans who voluntarily download and use the app, the safer we'll be, and the faster we can reopen the economy.
...

 

[Good2Golf]

The noted friends of China, the Alberta provincial government, has a head start down that road then as their app has been on the streets for awhle now:

ABTraceTogether

Australian similar system has been critiqued as well for a number of shortfalls.

 

[garb811]

Australian similar system has been critiqued as well for a number of shortfalls.

A family member had installed the AB one. They uninstalled it a couple days later because it was a massive drain on the phone battery.

 

[MarkOttawa]

Start of a post:

“COVID-19 and the Disease of ‘Spinitis’ “

The political “spinitis” in Europe described Julian Lindley-French (tweets here) in his post below applies in spades to Canada’s current government under PM Justin Trudeau. His daily propaganda news conferences, at which he endlessly regurgitates talking points (sometimes barely relevant to the often softball questions), being a striking case in point. Excerpts from Mr Lindley-French’s post...
https://mark3ds.wordpress.com/2020/05/22/covid-19-and-the-disease-of-spinitis/

Mark
Ottawa

 

[Jarnhamar]

The Federal Government is ready to inch closer to the basic dictatorship of China. https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/feds-readying-to-recommend-contact-tracing-app-1.4949895

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/mar/07/how-global-health-crisis-turns-into-state-run-surveillance-opportunity

We better delete some games on our phones to make room for the tracking apps CAF members are ordered to install  ;D

 

[daftandbarmy]

Leadership by example!  :rofl:


Liberals, Conservatives, NDP and Greens apply for wage subsidy as donations drop with COVID-19

The federal Liberals, Conservatives, NDP and Greens have all applied for a federal wage subsidy amid a financial crunch caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The federal wage subsidy program is designed to help organizations keep employees on their payroll even if revenue has dropped during COVID-19.

The Bloc Québécois confirmed Friday that the party did not apply.

Braeden Caley, the senior director of communications for the Liberals, said his party has met the eligibility criteria for the wage subsidy in recent weeks and “received that support."

“The health and safety of Canadians is always our top priority, and all in-person fundraising events were paused as of early March,” he said Friday.

Cory Hann, the director of communications for the Conservative party, told The Globe and Mail the party has applied for and received the subsidy.

COVID-19 has had an impact on party operations, Mr. Hann added, noting it is doing its best to adjust to the “new reality.”

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-ndp-applies-for-federal-wage-subsidy-says-covid-19-caused-drop-in/?fbclid=IwAR0ZfkIXxA3bhz66nP-c-nsyXeMs8Sma0uVwxsCKVDB1a1QvahPSS40dUc8

 

[garb811]

We better delete some games on our phones to make room for the tracking apps CAF members are ordered to install  ;D

It always amuses me when people freak out about the idea of letting the big, bad, government track their movements, yet they are more than happy to give apps from Facebook, Google, MSN, Tinder, The Weather Network...whoever, access to their location data to have a "better user experience", all directly linked to them via their user profile data which they also happily provide, with zero control over what that data is subsequently used for.  Even better when they log into other apps using their Google or Facebook or MSN accounts just because it is easier, giving the companies access to even more sources of personal data at the same time.

Not saying that CAF should be forcing the installation of apps on phones. The US Army has had some experience with this:
Army intelligence soldiers were forced to download an app that could access all their personal information

...
Soldiers in the 504th Military Intelligence Brigade were told last month it was mandatory to download an app to their personal devices that would allow leaders to keep them up-to-date on training schedules and weather updates.

The app did far more, however, providing soldiers' precise locations, contact listings, and the ability to modify their calendar — raising major security concerns for soldiers that often work with top-secret intelligence.
...

 

[Jarnhamar]

Not sure my friend, why wouldn't someone freak out when their employer, especially one with control issues like the military, force them to put a tracking or questionable app on their personal phone?

2 of the next 5 court martials are for sexual assault, by a corporal and major.  If I was a female caf member I sure  wouldn't want my supervisor tracking my location, let alone accessing personal habits or information.

I bought up tracking softwear previously and charter rights were mentioned, which makes sense. I also have a feeling I know what it means when our prime minister "strongly suggests" something. Similar to "voluntary" dnd surveys  ;D

 

[Jarnhamar]

https://www.communitypress.ca/opinion/columnists/lilley-liberals-not-telling-the-truth-on-ppe-and-the-stockpile/wcm/0f2f65f3-b1ea-40d1-9d8e-0375c2349264

We sure don't want to answer any questions about how prepared we were.

100,000 masks when this started?

 

[daftandbarmy]

Not sure my friend, why wouldn't someone freak out when their employer, especially one with control issues like the military, force them to put a tracking or questionable app on their personal phone?

2 of the next 5 court martials are for sexual assault, by a corporal and major.  If I was a female caf member I sure  wouldn't want my supervisor tracking my location, let alone accessing personal habits or information.

I bought up tracking softwear previously and charter rights were mentioned, which makes sense. I also have a feeling I know what it means when our prime minister "strongly suggests" something. Similar to "voluntary" dnd surveys  ;D

In the olden days, the Army was really good at tracking all of us through an analog app known as 'Sergeant Major.'

 

[MilEME09]

In the olden days, the Army was really good at tracking all of us through an analog app known as 'Sergeant Major.'

Back in the days before technology, something about the old ways just have their appeal still.  Tracking apps are going to bring up huge privacy concerns, how is the data stored, and for how long? what data is being given? name? address? every place you go? how long you are there, if other people have the app, now you could be tracking communities, social networks, etc..... I would not be surprised if problems came up from the privacy commissioner or the courts.