Some Canadian Hospitals are Reinstating Covid Mask Mandates in ‘Politically Motivated’ Move
(LifeSiteNews) – Some Canadian hospitals are returning to COVID masking mandates in healthcare settings that one doctor is calling nothing more than a politically motivated stunt.
A regional health board north of Montreal, Centre intégré de santé et de services sociaux de Laval, recently said that due to supposed rising cases of COVID, its staff must wear masks.
The decision by the health board to reinstate masks was revealed after a memo given to CBC News was made public.
However, emergency room doctor Chris Milburn, who has extensive knowledge regarding masking, criticized the move, calling it “political.”
He said, as noted by True North, that there is “decades of evidence that masks were ineffective for reducing transmission of respiratory viruses.”
“That is why they were never used,” he added.
Milburn observed that the “science” on masks “turned on a dime,” adding, “Science does not turn on a dime, but politics does.”
In recent weeks, there has been a rise in mainstream reporting about “rising” COVID rates. Indeed, just recently in the United States, the Biden administration announced it will resume giving out free COVID-19 tests to every American.
In Canada, mask mandates, which were in place nationwide for a time, were deemed pointless from results by focus groups from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s own Privy Council, which in a May 16, 2022, report noted masks had “little impact overall with some feeling in many cases they had done more harm than good.”
EU’s New Vaccine Card Is Step Towards Mandatory Vaccinations & Restrictions On Freedoms
A pilot project for a new vaccination passport is to be launched shortly in five Europen countries. It is being claimed that the the European Vaccination Card aims to “foster informed decision-making on vaccination, and […]
The post EU’s New Vaccine Card Is Step Towards Mandatory Vaccinations & Restrictions On Freedoms appeared first on The People’s Voice.
Brazil Threatens to Block Access to X Within 24 Hours After the Platform Refused to Censor
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes has set a stringent deadline for Elon Musk, the owner of the social network X, and its CEO Linda Yaccarino, to appoint a local legal representative for the platform in Brazil. The ultimatum was clear: do so within 24 hours or see the social network suspended in the nation. This directive came to light following a court ruling on Wednesday.
Moraes ordered X to block certain accounts critical of the government and remove specific posts it accused of spreading “misinformation” related to Brazil’s electronic voting system and promoting “hate speech.” The targeted accounts were often associated with supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro and were linked to investigations into what the court described as “digital militias” accused of disseminating false information.
Additionally, some profiles were connected to the January 8, 2023 riot, where Bolsonaro supporters stormed key government buildings in protest.
The confrontation between Brazilian authorities and X has intensified this month, with the platform announcing that it would shutter its Brazilian operations and lay off local staff after Moraes threatened to arrest X staff in the country if the platform didn’t cave to its censorship demands.
Despite X shutting down its operations in the region, X said that it would continue to allow Brazilian citizens to access the website.
The Justice’s decision, ironically shared on the Supreme Court’s own X account, emphasized the potential for a national block of X should the platform continue to ignore demands.
By enforcing these strict measures, the Brazilian judiciary is accused of using the guise of combating “misinformation” and “hate speech” to suppress dissenting voices.
This censorship not only undermines the values of free expression but also raises concerns about the impartiality of legal measures taken under the pretext of law and order. It’s particularly troubling that these measures target digital platforms, crucial arenas for modern public discourse and political activism.
The ultimatum to shut down or radically alter the operation of a major social network like X if it fails to comply with these demands signals an overreach that could isolate Brazil from the global digital community. Such aggressive censorship discourages platforms from operating within the country, which could deprive Brazilian citizens of access to multiple viewpoints and the global exchange of ideas.
BREAKING: Elon Musk Battles The Dictator Of Brazil— Meet Lord Alexandre de Moraes
Products Sold by Chinese Retailers Shein, Temu and AliExpress Found to Contain Toxic Chemicals that May Threaten Public Health
Government officials in South Korea have discovered that many of the consumer products sold by Shein and Temu, two China-based retailers known for low-priced, cheap-quality junk, are loaded with toxic chemicals, many of which cause cancer.
Shein, which sells clothing and other accessories for women, was discovered to be shipping out products containing toxins at sometimes hundreds of times above acceptable levels. The same goes for Temu and AliExpress, both of which sell garbage laced with highly destructive chemical substances.
Taking full advantage of the broken American economy and all of the inflation that is pricing normal Americans out of their own country, Shein, Temu and AliExpress are notorious for undercutting the costs of consumer products by a substantial amount. Those discounts come at a major price for consumer health, though.
To manufacture and ship out cheap junk at warp speed, Shein, Temu and AliExpress are reportedly cutting corners and using the cheapest quality materials, oftentimes in violation of safety standards in the First World, including in Korea where officials are sounding the alarm to beware of all this cheap Chinese junk.
(Related: Speaking of toxic chemicals hiding in plain sight, did you know that yet another U.S. government report found that fluoridated water destroys children’s brains?)
Chinese toxins being shipped around the world
A recent inspection of 144 products from Shein, AliExpress and Temu found that numerous products from all three companies fail to meet even the most basic legal standards of the countries where they are primarily being shipped.
A batch of shoes from Shein, for instance, were found to contain exceptionally high levels of phthalates, which are chemicals added to plastics to make them more flexible. One pair of shoes tested contained phthalates at 229 times the legal limit.
“Phthalate-based plasticizers affect reproductive functions such as sperm count reduction, and can cause infertility and even premature birth,” noted an official from Seoul’s environmental health team in a statement to Agence France-Presse.
One of the phthalate chemicals identified “is classified as a human carcinogen by the International Cancer Institute, so special care should be taken to avoid long-term contact with the human body,” an official statement from that environmental body reads.
Caps sold by Shein were found to contain formaldehyde, a cancer-causing chemical often used in home building products, at levels twice the allowable limit.
Numerous bottles of nail polish from Shein also contained dioxane, a possible human carcinogen known to cause liver poisoning. The bottles contained dioxane at levels more than 3.6 times the legal limit, as well as methanol at concentrations 1.4 times the legal limit.
In a statement to AFP responding to the findings, Shein claimed that it “work[s] closely with international third-party testing agencies … to regularly carry out risk-based sampling tests to ensure that products provided by suppliers meet Shein’s product safety standards.”
“Our suppliers are required to comply with the controls and standards we have put in place as well as the product safety laws and regulations in the countries we operate in.”
A pair of samples from Temu that was tested turned up levels of led in the insoles at levels 11 times the permissible limit. Temu claims it “immediately launched an internal investigation” after learning about the test results.
“We have swiftly removed these product listings from our global marketplace and are enhancing our systems and guidance to merchants to ensure they comply with safety standards and local regulations.”
Officials in Seoul have asked the offending companies to immediately remove all products that contain toxic substances. EU regulators are also taking action to push these Chinese companies to stop exposing their customers to deadly chemicals via low-quality consumer products.
The word China has almost become synonymous with toxic poisons. Learn more at CommunistChina.news
Pope Francis says Deliberately Opposing Migration ‘Is a Grave Sin’
VATICAN CITY (LifeSiteNews) — Pope Francis condemned efforts to regulate immigration, stating that those who “systemically” work to “repel migrants” are committing a “grave sin.”
Leaving aside his series of catechetical addresses, Pope Francis today used his Wednesday audience to address the topic of immigration. “I would like to pause with you to think about the people who – even at this moment – are crossing seas and deserts to reach a land where they can live in peace and safety,” he opened.
VATICAN: #PopeFrancis spoke on immigration at audience today, didn’t distinguish betw legal & illegal:
— Michael Haynes ?? (@MLJHaynes) August 28, 2024
There are those who work systematically & with every means possible to repel migrants – to repel migrants. And this, when done with awareness & responsibility, is a grave sin. pic.twitter.com/9NELAMuh5E
‘A grave sin’
Using the themes of “seas and deserts,” Francis stated that both seas and deserts are becoming “cemeteries of migrants.” He added that “the tragedy is that many, the majority of these deaths, could have been prevented.”
Francis has often highlighted the topic of migration from the very earliest days of his pontificate.
Today’s general audience saw him amplify his already strong rhetoric as he condemned anyone who took steps to oppose migration:
It must be said clearly: There are those who work systematically and with every means possible to repel migrants – to repel migrants. And this, when done with awareness and responsibility, is a grave sin.
Elaborating on his description of opposing migration as being a “sin,” Francis drew on Sacred Scripture: “Let us not forget what the Bible tells us: ‘You shall not wrong a stranger or oppress him’ (Ex 22:21). The orphan, the widow and the stranger are the quintessential poor whom God always defends and asks to be defended.”
The Pontiff also pointed to a disparity between the wealth of different societies, commenting that “in the time of satellites and drones, there are migrant men, women and children that no one must see: they are hidden. Only God sees them and hears their cry. And this is a cruelty of our civilization.”
Turning to Scripture once again, Francis compared current immigration – a phenomena particularly focused into Europe from Africa and into the U.S. from the southern border – to the “great migration” of the Jewish people who were led by Moses out of slavery in Egypt.
“It will be good for us today: the Lord is with our migrants in the mare nostrum, the Lord is with them, not with those who repel them,” Francis commented.
The Pope did not distinguish between legal and illegal immigration during his audience address, or on the manner in which immigrants should be welcomed and acclimatize to the local culture – an aspect on which the Church has clear teaching. His words appeared to be a general invitation for increased immigration of any kind.
Open borders and Catholic social teaching
Italy has been facing a spiraling migrant crisis for many years due to the mass influx of individuals into the country, chiefly from African Muslim nations. The harbor town of Lampedusa is a popular destination for such migrant boats due to its position in the far south of Italy, and it is increasingly being overrun by Muslim immigrants. It was here that Pope Francis made his first trip outside of Rome in July 2013.
READ: Catholic priest ambushed, stabbed multiple times in ‘frenzied’ attack
With much of Europe now seeing a marked increase in violence linked to illegal immigration, often by Muslims, Francis has nevertheless continued to issue a call for more immigration rather than less.
Addressing the audience in St. Peter’s Square on Wednesday, Francis said that to prevent migrants from suffering in “those lethal deserts” there should be more open borders:
But it is not through more restrictive laws, it is not with the militarization of borders, it is not with rejection that we will obtain this result. Instead, we will obtain it by extending safe and legal access routes for migrants, providing refuge for those who flee from war, violence, persecution and various disasters; we will obtain it by promoting in every way a global governance of migration based on justice, fraternity and solidarity. And by joining forces to combat human trafficking, to stop the criminal traffickers who mercilessly exploit the misery of others.
The Catholic Church’s teaching regarding immigration is a careful mix of charity to the citizens of a nation and those seeking entrance to that nation for just reasons. The Catechism notes that “political authorities, for the sake of the common good for which they are responsible, may make the exercise of the right to immigrate subject to various juridical conditions, especially with regard to the immigrants’ duties toward their country of adoption.”
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Furthermore, the Catechism outlines that “immigrants are obliged to respect with gratitude the material and spiritual heritage of the country that receives them, to obey its laws and to assist in carrying civic burdens.”
Such a teaching was expounded upon in 2011 by Pope Benedict XVI in his message for the 97th World Day of Migrants and Refugees. While quoting from Pope John Paul II to defend the “possibility” for people “to enter another country to look for better conditions of life,” Benedict also defended the rights of the home nations to restrict such entries:
At the same time, States have the right to regulate migration flows and to defend their own frontiers, always guaranteeing the respect due to the dignity of each and every human person. Immigrants, moreover, have the duty to integrate into the host Country, respecting its laws and its national identity.
Indeed, prior to this, John Paul II wrote for the same occasion in 2001 that the exercise of the “right to emigrate … is to be regulated, because practicing it indiscriminately may do harm and be detrimental to the common good of the community that receives the migrant.”
READ: EU elections turn ‘sharp right’ as immigration woes wreak havoc in Europe
Papal praise for Mediterranean project
Concluding his Wednesday audience, Pope Francis praised the “courageous men and women” who “do their utmost to rescue and save injured and abandoned migrants on the routes of desperate hope, in the five continents.”
He included the organization Mediterranea Saving Humans (MSH) among those he described as being “on the front line” in the “fight for civilization.” In recent days, the scandal-encircled organization embarked on another trip to bring illegal immigrants to Italy, and for the first time did so in conjunction with the Italian Catholic bishops’ conference.
Pope Francis sent a handwritten note praising the endeavor.
Pope Francis’ letter. Credit: Vatican Media
READ: Italy’s bishops giving millions to papal confidant’s illegal immigration scheme: report
MSH’s ship “Mare Jonio” has previously been confiscated and fined over disputes with the local authorities regarding their bringing illegal refugees to Italian ports.
Scandal erupted last December when it was reported that controversial activist Luca Casarini – personally invited to the Synod on Synodality by Francis – has had his activity supporting illegal immigration heavily bankrolled by the Italian bishops.
Casarini works with MSH, and the group’s chaplain has been identified as a key link between Italian bishops’ conference president Cardinal Matteo Zuppi and a recent increase in funding from the Italian episcopate.
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