Showing posts with label Canada. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Canada. Show all posts

Monday, November 13

Far Worse Than Imagined

Hamed Esmaeilion with wife Parisa and 
daughter Reera on her ninth birthday. 
Courtesy Hamed Esmaeilion

Hamed Esmaeilion has to watch his back wherever he goes — unable to escape the oppressive and violent regime that rules his homeland of Iran, even when he’s in Canada.  When he first arrived in 2010 with his wife Parisa and daughter Reera, Esmaeilion thought he had come to the safest country in the world.  “But it’s not,” he says.

His wife and daughter were among 176 people killed, including 55 Canadian citizens, when the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) shot down Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 on Jan. 8, 2020. That shattered any illusions the Ontario man had that his family would live happily ever after in Canada.  READ MORE...

Tuesday, November 7

On Strike in Canada



Quebec public sector workers holding a one-day strike today over lagging contract negotiations with the provincial government say they will be off the job for another three days later this month if a new deal isn’t reached.

Workers represented by four unions say their members will strike again from Nov. 21-23.

Schools, health-care facilities and social services are disrupted today as four unions representing a “common front” of some 420,000 workers protest the province’s latest contract offer.

The unions are promising a historic fight to preserve their purchasing power during a time of high inflation.  READ MORE...

Sunday, March 5

Tik Tok Facing Global Bans


The backlash against China-owned TikTok in the U.S. and other Western countries escalated in recent days, as some U.S lawmakers pushed to give President Joe Biden the authority to impose a ban on the app for all users.


Canada banned TikTok on government-issued mobile devices on Monday, following a similar ban from the European Union last week.


TikTok, which has more than 100 million monthly active users in the U.S., has faced growing scrutiny from government officials over fears that user data could fall into the possession of the Chinese government and the app could ultimately be weaponized by China to spread misinformation.


However, the fight to ban TikTok risks imposing undue limits on free speech and private business, mimicking the type of censorship for which some Western countries have faulted China, according to some experts and civil liberties advocates.  READ MORE...

Tuesday, February 14

Tons of Cocaine Floating Around in Pacific Ocean


New Zealand authorities have recovered 3.2 tonnes of cocaine, worth more than $300 million, found floating in the Pacific Ocean and believed to be bound for Australia.  Police said the haul of 81 bales, which was drifting hundreds of kilometres northwest of New Zealand, was recovered in a joint operation with the New Zealand Customs Service and Defence Force acting on intelligence from the Five Eyes alliance, which also includes Australia, the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.

“This is the largest find of illicit drugs by New Zealand’s agencies by some margin,” said Commissioner of New Zealand Police Andrew Coster.  Officials believe the drugs were dropped at a “floating transit point” in the Pacific Ocean where they would have been picked up and taken to Australia.  “We believe it was destined for Australia, where it would have been enough to service the market for one year,” Coster said.  “It is more than New Zealand would use in 30 years.”

A police photo showed the massive haul was bound by netting and covered in yellow floats. Some of the bales had a Batman symbol on them, with the packages of cocaine inside labelled with what appeared to be a print of a four-leaf clover.  Coster described the bust as a “huge result” for police in both New Zealand and Australia.  “There is no doubt this discovery lands a major financial blow right from the South American producers through to the distributors of this product,” he added.  Officials said it was too early to say where the drugs came from.

Monday, December 5

Canada: More Nurses Needed


Quebec Health Minister Christian Dubé tells reporters the province could use thousands more nurses to answer its tele-health line, which is supposed to free up emergency rooms. (Jacques Boissinot/The Canadian Press)





The province's health minister is pleading with qualified nurses, asking them to sign up and lend a hand to the 811 service, saying the province's telehealth staff are overwhelmed with an increase in calls.

On Thursday, Christian Dubé said the province is looking for retired nurses, those working in the private sector and nursing students. He said they can sign up on the province's recruitment website called Je contribue — French for "I pitch in" — that was launched at the start of the pandemic.

Dubé said the province needs 3,000 qualified people to step up but added Quebec "could take up to 5,000 nurses to answer the phones."

"If there are nurses that want to help us over the coming weeks, there are good schedules. It's work that can be done part time."

When Quebecers call 811, the first option on the menu is for Info-Santé, where nurses assess a caller's symptoms and offer medical advice. The second option is for parents of sick children, under the age of 18.

Those two services received 5,000 calls each on Wednesday, according to the health minister, and it's a volume of calls that's too high for current staff levels.

The service now lets callers know how long the waiting times are, Dubé said. He said the province wants to create a virtual waiting room, allowing callers to leave their number and have 811 staff call them back instead of waiting on the line.

"But to do that, I have to be certain that a nurse will be able to call back the patient," Dubé said, implying that without more staff, it would be difficult for nurses to take care of callbacks.

The health minister, who formed a crisis task force in late October to tackle the issue of overcrowded emergency rooms, said the issue is far from resolved, but there has been progress.  READ MORE...

Canada: Soldiers and the Freedom Convoy

  Members of the Canadian Armed Forces march at a parade in Calgary on July 8, 2016. An email from the Minister of Defence's press secretary suggests the military knew of seven to eight CAF members' involvement in the self-styled 'Freedom Convoy' protest.(Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press)


Emails released through a public inquiry suggest federal Liberal political aides were scrambling earlier this year to figure out the extent to which members of the Canadian Armed Forces were supporting the self-described "Freedom Convoy" protests that had gridlocked downtown Ottawa.

The internal communications are among thousands of documents submitted to the Public Order Emergency Commission, which is looking at the Liberal government's decision to invoke the Emergencies Act to end the demonstrations in February.

On Feb. 15, one day after the Emergencies Act was invoked, Defence Minister Anita Anand's press secretary, Daniel Minden, emailed fellow political staff in the offices of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino.

"Please see this internal list of CAF members allegedly involved in the convoy so far," Minden wrote.

The email goes on to provide a "list of known members connected to protests," including five who are specifically named and two who are not. Those not named include a special forces soldier based in Ottawa and a civilian Defence Department employee.

All names are redacted in copies of the emails provided to the commission as "Personal Info."

The list also includes the individuals' location, the action the military was taking at the moment and the results of any actions that had already been taken.

The list appears to have sparked a strong reaction from Mendicino's director of communications, Alexander Cohen, who used an expletive in his response to Minden, saying: "How the f--- many soldiers are in the convoy?"  

"7-8 that we know of," Minden replied.

Minden and Cohen did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Wednesday.

The email does not provide specifics about what those on the list were accused of doing or what rules they are alleged to have broken.  READ MORE...

Canada: Hard to Catch Diary Cows


Montreal, Canada – Marie-Andree Cadorette was getting desperate.

After being punted between government, police and animal welfare agencies, each saying they couldn’t do anything to help, the general manager of the tiny Canadian village of Saint-Severe, Quebec – population 320 – needed reinforcements.

Eight cowboys on horseback answered her call, equipped with a drone and fencing. Their target? A group of young runaway cows that has been on the lam since the summer, wreaking havoc and causing tens of thousands of dollars in damages in the largely rural area.

“They succeeded in encircling them,” Cadorette said in an interview with Radio-Canada’s widely watched Sunday evening programme, Tout le monde en parle. “But unfortunately, the heifers passed by a field of corn that hadn’t been harvested yet, and they fled into the cornfield.

“And then there was nothing left to do.”

The tale of the approximately two dozen missing farm animals has captured media and public attention across the French-speaking province of Quebec, with the agricultural ministry calling the situation “complex and unprecedented”.

It even reached Canada’s Senate last week, as Senator Julie Miville-Dechene expressed her “amused admiration” for the young bovines, which she said had “recovered their freedom”.  READ MORE...

Top 15 Places to Visit in Canada


Canada is a country chock-full of natural sites and urban delights, where visitors are equally as wowed by the wildlife and wilderness, as they are by the cultural and culinary offerings found in the cities that speckle the sprawling nation.

Peruse for polar bears on the open arctic tundra of Churchill or cruise Vancouver’s curvy coastline in a canoe while gawking at the city skyline. Feast on five-star fusion cuisine in Toronto, or take in a street-side jazz jam session in Montreal.

Whether you’re a first-time visitor or returning to experience something new, these are the 15 best places to see in Canada. But be sure to plan ahead, because as the world’s second-largest country, you just won’t be able to do it all in one trip.
Explore the planet's most surprising adventures with our weekly newsletter delivered to your inbox.

Get your thrills with outdoor adventures in the mountains © iStock / Getty Images


1. The Canadian Rockies
Best for mountain views

The sawtooth, white-topped mountains straddling the British ColumbiaAlberta border inspire both awe and action. Five national parks – Banff, Yoho, Kootenay, Waterton Lakes and Jasper – offer countless opportunities to delve into the lush wilderness, with ribbons of hiking trails, rushing white water and powdery ski slopes to satisfy travelers looking for mountain thrills.

This is one of the best places to visit in Canada in the winter, but outdoor adventures are aplenty during the summer months too.


2. Vancouver
Best for combining city and nature

3. Niagara Falls
Best for an iconic travel experience

4. Whistler
Best place to ski in Canada

5. Montréal Jazz Festival
Best place for music lovers

6. Old Québec City
Best place to visit in Canada for couples

7. Toronto
Best for multicultural experiences

8. Vancouver Island
Best for nature lovers

9. Rideau Canal
Best for ice skating

10. Manitoulin Island
Best place in Canada to celebrate First Nations culture

11. The Prairies
Best place for road trips

12. Bay of Fundy
Best place to spot whales

13. Drumheller
Best for dinosaur lovers

14. Churchill
The best place for polar bear encounters

15. Baffin
Best for Inuit art and incredible landscapes

All About Canada


Canada, the second largest country in the world in area (after Russia), occupying roughly the northern two-fifths of the continent of North America.

Despite Canada’s great size, it is one of the world’s most sparsely populated countries. This fact, coupled with the grandeur of the landscape, has been central to the sense of Canadian national identity, as expressed by the Dublin-born writer Anna Brownell Jameson, who explored central Ontario in 1837 and remarked exultantly on “the seemingly interminable line of trees before you; the boundless wilderness around you; the mysterious depths amid the multitudinous foliage, where foot of man hath never penetrated…the solitude in which we proceeded mile after mile, no human being, no human dwelling within sight.” 

Although Canadians are comparatively few in number, they have crafted what many observers consider to be a model multicultural society, welcoming immigrant populations from every other continent. In addition, Canada harbours and exports a wealth of natural resources and intellectual capital equaled by few other countries.

Canada

Château Frontenac, Quebec city

Canada is officially bilingual in English and French, reflecting the country’s history as ground once contested by two of Europe’s great powers. The word Canada is derived from the Huron-Iroquois kanata, meaning a village or settlement. In the 16th century, French explorer Jacques Cartier used the name Canada to refer to the area around the settlement that is now Quebec city. Later, Canada was used as a synonym for New France, which, from 1534 to 1763, included all the French possessions along the St. Lawrence River and the Great Lakes. After the British conquest of New France, the name Quebec was sometimes used instead of Canada. 

The name Canada was fully restored after 1791, when Britain divided old Quebec into the provinces of Upper and Lower Canada (renamed in 1841 Canada West and Canada East, respectively, and collectively called Canada). In 1867 the British North America Act created a confederation from three colonies (Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Canada) called the Dominion of Canada. The act also divided the old colony of Canada into the separate provinces of Ontario and Quebec. 

Dominion status allowed Canada a large measure of self-rule, but matters pertaining to international diplomacy and military alliances were reserved to the British crown. Canada became entirely self-governing within the British Empire in 1931, though full legislative independence was not achieved until 1982, when Canada obtained the right to amend its own constitution.  SOURCE:  Britannica

Monday, November 28

THANK YOU

The following countries have visited this blog more than once and are continuing to visit.  That support and loyalty is greatly appreciated.  

These countries are listed below:

  1. USA
  2. Germany
  3. Phillippines
  4. Italy
  5. India
  6. Canada
  7. Ireland
  8. United Kingdom
  9. Russia
  10. Australia
  11. France
  12. Nigeria
  13. Venezuela
  14. South Africa

I will devote a day, posting several articles about your country as way of drawing attention to where you live.  This is my way of showing appreciation for your support.  I will continue to focus on all of your countries throughout the year.  It will be my pleasure to help us draw attention to who we are and what we are all about.

ITS JUST ABOUT PEOPLE... like you and I...

Monday, July 25

Decarbonizing Fossil Fuels


FROM CANADA

Philip Cross: De-carbonize production not consumption of fossil fuels

Philip Cross - Friday



On Monday the federal government initiated a consultation on whether to use a cap-and-trade or a carbon tax to reduce emissions from Canada’s oil and gas sector by 40 per cent by 2030 — eight years from now. The industry is being asked to slash emissions more than the 30 per cent national target by either paying more than the existing tax on carbon or by lowering its production, which hardly seems what the world needs as it faces a growing energy shortage.

The federal government’s singling-out the oil and gas sector for outsized emissions reductions may have a silver lining, however. There is growing recognition in the business sector, if not yet in government, that decarbonizing our fossil-fuel supplies is a cheaper and more efficient way to lower emissions than decarbonizing their consumption. The latter involves overhauling the trillions of dollars of capital stock invested in our existing “mines, oil and gas fields, thermal power stations, hydroelectric dams, pipeline networks, ports, refineries, iron and steel mills, aluminum smelters, fertilizer plants, railroads, multilane highways, airports, skyscraper-dominated downtowns, and extensive suburbia” in the words of environmental scientist Vaclav Smil.

Moreover, decarbonizing oil and gas will be necessary even in a net-zero future since some uses of fossil fuels cannot reasonably be expected to disappear (notably their widespread use as a raw material in manufacturing everything from clothing to plastics). This is why the International Energy Agency expects fossil fuel production to still be a substantial 24 million barrels a day in its net-zero scenario for 2050.

Lowering emissions from oil and gas production will be costly. Some reductions, such as eliminating methane, are relatively easy, which is why the government expects them to fall 75 per cent by 2030. Other reductions involving carbon capture and sequestration will require billions of dollars of investment to capture emissions and ship them by pipeline to be buried underground. More investment will also be needed if small modular nuclear reactors replace the natural gas currently being used to melt the bitumen of in situ oilsands operations.

The fact that decarbonizing fossil fuels rather than re-tooling our whole society to shift away from using fossil fuels would save trillions of dollars makes it attractive for governments to subsidize these efforts, either through direct grants or tax credits, as both the Alberta and federal governments proposed in their spring budgets.  READ MORE...

Thursday, July 21

A Rogue Star & Our Solar System


In 1687, Sir Isaac Newton published his magnum opus, Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica, which effectively synthesized his theories on motion, velocity, and universal gravitation.

In terms of the latter, Newton offered a means for calculating the force of gravity and predicting the orbits of the planets. Since then, astronomers have discovered that the Solar System is merely one small point of light that orbits the center of the Milky Way Galaxy. On occasion, other stars will pass close to the Solar System, which can cause a dramatic shakeup that can kick objects out of their orbits

These “stellar flybys” are common and play an important role in the long-term evolution of planetary systems. As a result, the long-term stability of the Solar System has been the subject of scientific investigation for centuries. 

According to a new study by a team of Canadian astrophysicists, residents of the Solar System may rest easy. After conducting a series of simulations, they determined that a star will not pass by and perturb our Solar System for another 100 billion years. Beyond that, the possibilities are somewhat frightening!

The research was led by Garett Brown, a graduate student of computational physics from the Department of Physical and Environmental Sciences (PES) at the University of Toronto at Scarborough. He was joined by Hanno Rein, an associate professor of astrophysics (and Brown’s mentor) also from the PES at UT Scarborough. 

The paper that describes their findings was recently published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Journal. As they indicated in their paper, the study of stellar flybys could reveal much about the history and evolution of planetary systems.  READ MORE...

Sunday, May 15

Secret Hidden Images



Windows and mirrors embedded with liquid crystals can hide images that appear only when the right kind of light is shined on them. The technique, inspired by a 4000-year-old trick for building “magic mirrors”, may be a step towards developing better displays for 3D images.

A magic mirror or window looks transparent until a light is shined onto it to reveal a secret image. Craftspeople in ancient China and Japan made magic mirrors out of bronze that similarly hid images, but physicists only began to understand how they work around 15 years ago.


Felix Hufnagel at the University of Ottawa in Canada and his colleagues used those insights to build a new type of magic mirror and window. Their versions contain a state of matter known as a liquid crystal. While liquids flow freely and crystal atoms are organised in stiff grids, liquid crystals split the difference: their molecules are both fluid and arranged in patterns.  READ MORE...


Friday, May 6

Hobbits Among Us

Do relic hominins exist on Earth today? This is an artist’s concept of one that might. It is Homo floresiensis, aka hobbits. Image via paleo-artist Katrina Kenny of Echunga, Australia.


Anthropologist
Gregory Forth at the University of Alberta in Canada authored a controversial opinion piece in The Scientist on April 18, 2022. In it, he claims that a relic population of elf-like ancient hominins might still roam the jungles of a remote Indonesian island.

The discovery of the remains of Homo floresiensis in 2003 – a tiny hominin standing just 3.5 feet (106 cm) tall and weighing only 66 pounds (30 kg) – caught the scientific world completely by surprise. Scientists announced the initial find in 2004. 

Subsequent work on the Pacific island of Flores unearthed fossils of an entirely new species, now known colloquially as “the hobbit” or Flores man. H. floresiensis dates to between 100,000 and 60,000 years ago. 

Tools of the diminutive people appear in the fossil record from 190,000 to 50,000 years ago, meaning the so-called hobbits shared their world with modern humans.

According to Forth, the hobbits may still hide today in the lush rain forests of Flores, alongside the ravenous Komodo dragonREAD MORE...

Friday, April 22

Personality Traits & Cognitive Impairment

Having specific personality traits might be connected to our risk of developing cognitive problems later on in life, new research suggests – and that in turn might point to better ways of treating issues like dementia.

A total of 1,954 volunteers without a formal diagnosis of dementia took part in the study, filling out personality questionnaires that were cross-checked against their health records and any cognitive problems as they got older. Curiously enough, organized and self-disciplined people appeared less likely to develop mild cognitive impairment, whereas neurotic people were more prone to it.

As this was a correlational study, it's not clear if there are fundamental aspects of biology underpinning the link, but the researchers have their suspicions.

"Personality traits reflect relatively enduring patterns of thinking and behaving, which may cumulatively affect engagement in healthy and unhealthy behaviors and thought patterns across the lifespan," says psychologist Tomiko Yoneda, from the University of Victoria in Canada.

"The accumulation of lifelong experiences may then contribute to susceptibility of particular diseases or disorders, such as mild cognitive impairment, or contribute to individual differences in the ability to withstand age-related neurological changes."

Personality traits are usually divided into the so-called 'Big Five', which are agreeableness, openness to experience, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and extraversion. This particular study examined the last three.

Conscientiousness covers traits including being responsible, being well organized, working hard, and being goal-oriented. Those who scored highly for conscientiousness on a scale of 0–48 were less likely to develop impairments – a 6 point increase on the scale was associated with a 22 percent lower risk.  READ MORE...

Sunday, March 27

A Global Reopening


Two years after the US went into its first lockdown, the country is getting nearer to a pre-pandemic existence. But what about the rest of the world?


When California issued a statewide stay-at-home order on 19 March 2020, most people thought that life would return to normal relatively quickly.

A full 24 months later, people are finally starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel, with restrictions being eased in the US and several other countries.

But with some places experiencing record numbers of cases yet again, it's clear that the pandemic isn't ready to let go its grip just yet.

We asked our correspondents in the UK, Hong Kong, South Africa, New Zealand, Canada, Peru and the US to give us a snapshot.


A very light touch - England
Nick Triggle, London


England's last remaining Covid restriction - the legal requirement to isolate after a positive test - was lifted at the end of February.

It came a month after the government lifted the requirement to wear masks in places such as shops and on public transport and the advice to work from home where possible.

But the truth is England has had a pretty light-touch approach to regulations compared to many places since the summer.

The masks mandate and working from home advice was only reintroduced in late 2021 as the Omicron variant took off.

The approach is based on the fact that vaccines are providing great protection and England has seen very good uptake among those groups most at risk - 95% of over-60s have had a booster jab.

It has meant that despite the surge in infections caused by the Omicron variant, the number of people dying has been similar to what would normally be seen during a normal winter.

There are signs infections may be starting to climb again, but it is causing little concern at the moment.  

TO READ MORE ABOUT COUNTRIES AROUND THE WORLD, CLICK HERE...

Wednesday, March 9

Stopping Constant Complaints


You think you’re doing your best to get everything done to your partner’s satisfaction, whether it’s managing the finances or preparing a 5-star dinner. Much to your dismay, though, your partner continues to find reasons to complain. Maybe you forgot to run the dryer and now have nothing but drenched towels when it’s time for your partner’s shower. 

Perhaps you forgot to get cat food during your weekly shopping run, leading to still more complaints. Your partner also has their share of household duties, but it doesn’t bother you all that much when something gets messed up or forgotten.

As you think about these situations, it might strike you that some complaints can be reasonable and others can be totally out of line. Everyone forgets things from time to time, and most people get over their annoyance at these minor missteps. Your partner, though, isn’t particularly accepting and, if anything, seems to find something to complain about even when everything is going fine.

Based on new research in the workplace on abusive supervision by Wilfred Laurier University’s Lindie Liang and colleagues (2022), it may be possible to view the constant litany of complaints that your partner engages in as comparable to an overly demanding boss. Although workplace dynamics aren’t exactly the same as those that take place in a romantic relationship, there are still lessons from this research that you can apply to your relationship.

What Effects Can Constant Complaints Have on You
?

The Canadian research team’s focus on abusive supervision provides some guidance into understanding the reactions that people have to being the target of someone else’s constant criticism. Fundamental to their analysis is the idea of “interpersonal justice,” a term defined in the literature as your “need to believe that we live in a ‘just world’ where one gets what one deserves and, in turn, deserves what one gets.” Adding to your sense of justice is the idea of “equity,” meaning that you believe what you put into a relationship is equal to the other person’s contributions.

Viewed from this perspective, if you believe that you’re doing your level best to give as much to your relationship as does your partner, your partner’s complaints will feel not only hurtful, but unfair. Unstated, but also expected as part of equity, is the idea that you will be treated with “politeness, dignity, and respect.” 

Maybe early in your relationship, when both of you were on your best behavior, your partner showed these tendencies and then some. Unlike a workplace, where these behaviors are both expected and rewarded, in your home life your partner may have let familiarity degrade some of these standards.  READ MORE...

Wednesday, February 23

Truckers to Capital Beltway

A trucker convoy heading to Washington, D.C., later this week plans to shut down the Capital Beltway in protest of wide-ranging issues such as fuel prices, vaccine requirements and immigration, the organizer said. (WTTG)


A trucker convoy heading to Washington, D.C., plans to shut down the Capital Beltway later this week in protest of wide-ranging issues such as fuel prices, vaccine requirements and immigration, the organizer said.

Bob Bolus, who owns a truck parts and towing business in Scranton, Pennsylvania, told FOX5 DC that he heard hundreds of people were interested in taking part in shutting down the roadway in protest.

CANADA FREEDOM CONVOY: NEARLY 100 VEHICLES TOWED AMID OTTAWA POLICE CRACKDOWN

"I'll give you an analogy of that of a giant boa constrictor," Bolus said. "That basically squeezes you, chokes you and it swallows you, and that's what we're going to do the D.C."

Bolus, who the station reported is a longtime supporter of former President Trump, said that the protest will leave a lane open for emergency vehicles for safety, but he couldn’t promise that commuters would make it to work on time.

"We will not compromise anybody's safety or health, one way or the other," Bolus said. "As far as if they can't get to work, geez that's too bad."

The caravan comes as a similar demonstration involving truckers, dubbed the Freedom Convoy, shut down Ottawa, Canada, in protest of the country’s COVID-19 mandates. Authorities there had arrested 191 people and filed 389 charges, police announced mid-afternoon Sunday. They had also towed 99 vehicles.

In response to the impending protests in the capital, D.C. police have already limited time off for officers and put nearly 500 officers on civil disturbance units daily beginning Wednesday, the station reported.

Law enforcement in the D.C. area told the station that police are aware of the situation and are communicating with local, state, and federal partners.

Thursday, February 10

Chinese Student in Canada


There’s a reason why Americans are tuning out of the Beijing Olympics in record numbers—with a poll last month showing 40 percent of adults oppose holding the games in China

Just as there are reasons why some Republicans are calling for a full boycott—athletes and all—of the iconic games. There are reasons why some athletes are decrying being silenced from speaking their hearts and minds in Beijing.

Often cited are the horrific human rights abuses taking place in a country with zero freedom. Cited are the Uyghurs enduring slave labor, torture, and sometimes murder. Cited is the poverty pervading the majority of Chinese people. 

Cited is the disappearance of a woman tennis player who dared to speak out about a CCP (Chinese Communist Party) official who sexually assaulted her.

And cited was the CCP virus that infected the world.

But one visa student from China, now living in freedom-loving Canada, who fled the CCP’s tyrannical regime in fear of being persecuted for her spiritual belief, Falun Gong, has done more than tuning out of the Olympics.

Digital animation prodigy at world-renowned Sheridan College, 25-year-old Lucy Liu shared her plight in an open letter to the Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in collaboration with her student union, who are supporting her.  READ MORE...