The 2012 Olympics in London, opening ceremony. Image Source: Daily Mail.
This week, the Canadian government is considering criminalizing unofficial discussions about the coronavirus, i.e. anything that the government labels as nCov or COVID19 misinformation or disinformation, potentially including any discussion that the virus is lab-made. CBC:
In light of the Canadian agreement with British calls to censor the idea that the virus came from a lab, i.e. the Wuhan Institute of Virology, I would like to point out that the Canadian government is currently funding individuals who are working at the Wuhan Institute of Virology. Some people would consider this to be a conflict of interest."The federal government is considering introducing legislation to make it an offence to knowingly spread misinformation that could harm people, says Privy Council President Dominic LeBlanc.LeBlanc told CBC News he is interested in British MP Damian Collins's call for laws to punish those responsible for spreading dangerous misinformation online about the COVID-19 pandemic.LeBlanc said he has discussed the matter already with other cabinet ministers, including Justice Minister David Lametti. If the government decides to follow through, he said, it could take a while to draft legislation.'Legislatures and Parliaments are meeting scarcely because of the current context of the pandemic, so it's not a quick solution, but it's certainly something that we would be open [to] as a government,' said LeBlanc. ...'Extraordinary times require extraordinary measures and it is about protecting the public,' he said.'This is not a question of freedom of speech. This is a question of people who are actually actively working to spread disinformation, whether it's through troll bot farms, whether [it's] state operators or whether it's really conspiracy theorist cranks who seem to get their kicks out of creating havoc.' ...More recently, said Collins, the misinformation has shifted to conspiracy theories about what triggered the pandemic — claims that it was cooked up in a lab, for example. A conspiracy theory claiming the disease is caused by 5G wireless signals prompted attacks on wireless towers in the U.K.The British government has set up a rapid response team to correct false information circulating online. ...Collins is calling for legislation to combat online disinformation, perhaps modelled on Germany's laws governing online hate speech or France's legislation countering disinformation during election campaigns.'It's such a serious public emergency that I think for someone to knowingly, willingly and at scale and maliciously spread this content should be an offence,' he said.'And equally for the tech companies, if it is highlighted to [them] that someone is doing this and they don't act against them doing it, then it should be an offence for them to have failed to act — they would have failed in their duty of care.' ...'I think it would be reasonable to enact with the RCMP, with our security officials and some public officials, a team to monitor disinformation and have the power to shut it down so it does not interfere with the efforts of our frontline medical workers,' said Angus.'We need to be taking all measures right now because we don't know how long we're going to be in this crisis.'"
Click to enlarge. Image Source: Government of Canada.
The Canadian federal government has just dedicated CAD $27 million to nCov research. See the document archived here. Under the auspices of the University of Alberta, nearly CAD $1 million ($828,046) is being devoted to diagnostic testing in China. Wuhan-related funding was brought to light by Canadian vlogger, Frank Vaughan. If discussion of 'disinformation' like this is criminalized, it will become impossible to hold governments accountable, and any attempt to do so will potentially become a criminal act. As a writer based in Canada, I am following this development. I will address this issue in an upcoming post.
Disclaimer: everything I list below is not necessarily reflective of 'my opinion' or 'my personal belief' simply because I post it. Repostings and summaries do not constitute my endorsements of that information.
My approach on this blog is not to take a side, but to collect information, images and videos as artefacts of 21st century history. As I have stated on this page, this blog is a unique, self-conceived project in writing what I call 'real time history,' or historical research and writing as affected by the accelerated timelines of 21st century technology. This project is the basis for a future book on this topic.
From a historian's point of view, this pandemic has been horrific. I have personally witnessed important historical testimonies, evidence, documents, and videos disappear off the Internet from one moment to another. I have seen officials stating what I know to be outright lies. I have also noted that in China, real discussion among citizens and the collection of eye witness accounts migrated to closed chatrooms. These forums became private newsrooms, accessible only to members. In December 2019, Chinese doctors began talking in code on social media to evade censorship.
For those who’re already applauding China’s COVID-19 responses, CN is still heavily censoring info. A magazine’s feature on a whistleblower is being taken down from the entire CN internet. Ppl have to turn article into EMOJI to avoid censorship. Chinese readers can u decode it? pic.twitter.com/4p4vgXJ3I5— Tony Lin (social distancing aka introverting) (@tony_zy) March 10, 2020
I have also seen the authoritarian imposition of a top-down monolithic narrative (which is arbitrary and changeable, chained to policy, but divorced from realistic discovery and scientific discussion), and the maltreatment of online critics through censorship, deplatforming, shadow-banning, demonetization, and erasure of information. I will comment on the silencing and disappearances of Chinese medics in a separate post. I have previously written about human rights and historical and literary accounts of disappeared persons, here and here.
There were similar scenes in China at the same point in the pandemic. PHILADELPHIA MAN DRAGGED OFF BUS BY THE POLICE FOR NOT WEARING A FACE MASK (13 April 2020). Video Source: Bitchute.
- To all tech leaders and workers, bureaucrats, politicians, military, police, medical workers, bank employees, and other essential workers: an illegal order that is labeled 'legal' it is still illegal. If you are told on the fly under new pandemic ordinances to silence, erase the personal information or the work of, intimidate, invade the homes of, abduct, injure, imprison, torture, medicate, vaccinate, tag, trace, tattoo, euthanize, or kill your fellow citizens in any way which you know violates your professional oaths, citizens' rights, the constitutions of your countries, the Common Law, the Civil Law, the International Declaration of Human Rights, or the Laws of War, do not do it. Once again: do not do it. No matter who is giving you the order, no matter how legitimate they seem in the moment, you will later be held accountable under true legality.
As God is my witness, I cannot imagine being a Brit and going with this headline pic.twitter.com/Hi9zahyGaZ— Aelfred The Great (@aelfred_D) April 21, 2020
If you think this is extreme, look up Rex 84. Wiki:
There are many debates about COVID19 symptoms and treatment. Perhaps the most notable of these is New York doctor, Cameron Kyle-Sidell, who is speaking online from clinical experience."Rex 84, short for Readiness Exercise 1984, was a classified scenario and drill developed by the United States federal government to detain large numbers of United States citizens deemed to be 'national security threats', in the event that the president declared a National Emergency. The plan was first revealed in detail in a major daily newspaper by reporter Alfonso Chardy in the July 5, 1987 edition of the Miami Herald. Possible reasons for such a roundup were reported to be widespread opposition to a U.S. military invasion abroad, such as if the United States were to directly invade Central America. To combat what the government perceived as 'subversive activities', the plan also authorized the military to direct ordered movements of civilian populations at state and regional levels."
For the medical community!!! Could COVID-19 be causing DIFFUSION hypoxemia?? (17 April 2020). Video Source: Youtube.
Perspectives on the Pandemic | Dr John Ioannidis of Stanford University | Episode 1 (26 March 2020). Video Source: Youtube.
Perspectives on the Pandemic | Professor Knut Wittkowski | Episode 2 (3 April 2020). Video Source: Youtube.
Dr. Rashid Buttar has taken aim at Bill Gates in the media and provoked controversy with his ideas. Part 1 of 4 - Time to WAKE UP! | Dr Rashid A Buttar| (16 April 2020). Video Source: Youtube.