Google said Thursday it will remove Canadian news content from its search, news and discover products after a new law Online News Act, formerly known as Bill C-18, meant to compensate media outlets comes into force.
The move to pull news from the world’s most popular search engine could have a devastating impact on Canadian media outlets, which often depend on third parties like Google to get content into the hands of readers.
The decision comes after the government’s contentious C-18 legislation passed Parliament last week. The bill has been criticized by tech giants like Meta and Google who say it’s unfair to impose what amounts to a tax on links.
Some smaller media outlets and experts have blasted the regime because they claim the bulk of the financial benefits will accrue to a handful of a large media players.
Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez suggested Thursday he has no intention of backing down from this fight with the American web giants that control so much of what Canadians read and watch.
“Big tech would rather spend money to change their platforms to block Canadians from accessing good quality and local news instead of paying their fair share to news organizations,”
Rodriguez made the statement framed by a voluminous thatch of locks and beard which some anonymous wag described as a shock of white multitudinous hair coiffured to virile Quebecois perfection!
Toronto Star owner Nordstar in talks to merge with Postmedia
Posted June 27, 2023 6:37 pm
Postmedia Network Canada Corp. has confirmed that it is in talks to merge with Nordstar Capital LP, the owner of Metroland Media Group and the Toronto Star
The company says discussions are so far non-binding to consider a combination.
Court Painter and his Press Attache are perfectly aware there is nothing newsworthy going on in the world however have you seen the price of this weed whacker? Geesh!
$329.99 at Canadian Tire
Since many Court Painter followers might find this post on the price of weed whackers of limited interest, CP has decided to include a series of random images from the vast archives stored in a bunker vault somewhere on the prairies between Pincher Creek and Readymade.
Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg agree to cage match, and we’ve reached peak absurdity
If you thought the tech industry’s absurdity reached its peak when people were spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on pictures of cartoon apes, think again.
Meta (META) CEO Mark Zuckerberg, the head of the world’s largest social network, and Tesla (TSLA) CEO Elon Musk, who heads Twitter and SpaceX, will physically fight each other. Yes, two grown men, each worth billions, neither a professional fighter, say they are going to try to beat each other up, according to posts on their respective social media platforms.
Source :Yahoo Finance
Editors note: For the benefit of Court Painter’s sheltered subscribers, cage fighting is defined as a form of extreme fighting taking place in an enclosed space like you know… like in a cage!
It should be noted that should Elegant Elon or Mauler Mark’s fingers or toes go through the cage and grab hold of the fence and start to control either their body position or their opponent’s body position it now becomes an illegal action. Madcap Mark or Enraged Elon may not grab the ropes or wrap their arms over or under the ring ropes at any time.
Rumour has it that Marjorie ‘Goldie Locks’ Taylor Green and Lauren ‘Dark Maiden’ Boebert will face off in a curtain raising match!
Goldie Locks T Green & Dark Maiden Boebert pose in a promo poster.
Editor’s note: Court Painter teamed up with ghost writer and recent famed storyteller Chatterly G.P. Thunderbuns, to tell Court Painter’s storied past in the style of a detective novel.
The dimly lit studio smelled of turpentine and old memories. Court Painter stood before his easel, a cigarette dangling from his lips, the smoke curling lazily around his fedora-clad silhouette. The latest portrait he was working on captured the essence of a mysterious femme fatale, her eyes veiled in shadows, her lips painted crimson, a secret conspiracy of Facebook censorship lingering beneath the surface.
But as the brush glided across the canvas, Court Painter couldn’t shake the gnawing frustration that had plagued him for years. The truth was as elusive as the payment he sought for his artistic prowess. Each commission, a tantalizing promise of prosperity, ended in disappointment, leaving him with nothing but his art and the lingering taste of bitterness.
It wasn’t just bad luck or the whims of his aristocratic patrons. No, this was a web of intrigue, a puzzle begging to be solved. Court Painter, with his keen eye for detail and a mind as sharp as a razor, was determined to uncover the truth behind his unpaid portraits.
He leafed through his notebook, its pages filled with cryptic clues and half-formed suspicions. Names and dates intertwined, creating a maze of connections that only he could decipher. His investigation led him down shadowy alleys and into opulent mansions, where whispers of betrayal and deceit danced like spectres in the night.
But every lead he pursued ended in a dead end. The answers slipped through his fingers like sand, leaving him grasping at empty promises. The very clients who once held him in high regard now avoided his gaze, their excuses as flimsy as tissue paper.
Undeterred, Court Painter pressed on, driven by a dogged determination to expose the truth. He delved into the art world’s underbelly, where rivalries simmered and alliances shifted like brushstrokes on a canvas. The more he unearthed, the more he realized that his unpaid portraits were not a mere coincidence, but a calculated scheme to keep him under their control.
As the pieces of the puzzle fell into place, Court Painter found himself face to face with the mastermind behind the grand deception. The truth, when revealed, sent shockwaves through the corridors of power. The unpaid portraits were not a result of neglect or oversight, but a deliberate act of manipulation, a way to keep Court Painter indebted and subservient.
With the truth exposed, Court Painter stood tall, reclaiming his power and his artistry. No longer would he be a pawn in their game. His talent demanded recognition and remuneration. The portrait he had painted of the femme fatale, once veiled in shadows, now emerged as a symbol of his triumph, a testament to his unyielding spirit.
In the end, justice prevailed, and Court Painter walked away, a true detective of his craft. His brush, once denied its due, now danced with purpose and pride. The unpaid portraits would forever be a chapter in his storied past, a reminder that even in the world of art, where beauty and illusion reign, there is a battle to be fought and a truth to be revealed.
Cameras were not allowed inside the court house , so Court Painter took on the role of…wait for it….Court Painter.
Court Painter sensed the gravity of the court room’s main event and felt The Donald deserved the stark reality of vintage style renderings in the traditional hen scratch style .
Court Painter’s court sketches of The Donald are revelatory in substance ,never failing to penetrate the copious folds of flesh to reveal the inner void between the lines.
Reporters and camera crews were staked outside of Donald Trump’s appearance in a Miami federal court on Tuesday. But despite all the flashbulbs, there was one crucial, all-important image that Americans and the world were going to be denied: video/photo images of the former president sitting inside of the courtroom. Court Painter’s sketch’s have proven his art can fill that yawning void !
Court Painter remarked without being asked.”His likeness is not elusive . He has a lot of defining features, including the tan pudgy face, the fragile hair, the jowls and scowls and inner bowels he moves around within his formidable girth.His plastic surgery is well concealed and skillfully blended revealing a stud like presence to a fawning world. He is a challenge worth facing”.
Court Painter in a recent portrait sitting with China’s President Xi Jinping ; CP rattled off some quick questions to the president about recent dust ups in the Canadian parliament , stemming from his country’s interference in Canadian electoral affairs.
When asked , President Xi Jinping spontaneously responded by clapping to each query while Court Painter rapidly captured his spontaneity in glowing colour!
President Xi seemed quite pleased with the antics of the Great Dominion’s lower house of the Parliament of Canada …anticipating more…
What did you think of Prime Minister’s Trudeau’s appointment of Donald Johnston as special rapporteur
What did you think of the Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s demeaning of Mr. Johnson and his ungoing fasehoods about PM Trudeau’s allegience to the ways of Beijing
What did you think of the opposition parties unanimous call for Johnston’s removal and call for a federal inquiry
What did you think of Mr. Johnson’s rather ignominious resignation
Toronto Star article: Sat., June 10, 2023 : Trudeau’s government wants opposition parties to create their own public inquiry? Good luck with that By Susan Delacourt National Columnist
‘Thesame political forces that shredded David Johnston — forcing the former governor general’s abrupt resignation on Friday — are being challenged to find a new person to restore Canadians’ faith in their electoral system.
Well, good luck with that.
Basically, Justin Trudeau’s government is borrowing one the cardinal rules of retail to get out of the political mess that has dominated Parliament Hill for months, telling the fractious opposition parties: you broke it, you bought it.
In the coming days, Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc announced on Saturday, opposition parties will be asked to create their own public inquiry into foreign interference in Canada’s democracy, including coming up with names of people to replace Johnston.
“We’re now giving the opposition parties something they’ve asked for … a chance to have input directly into that process, and not simply stand up in question period and demand a public inquiry and not offer any constructive suggestions as to how that might operate,” LeBlanc said.
Of course, there’s another problem here too, one voiced by LeBlanc at his news conference on Saturday.
“Many eminent Canadians will understandably hesitate to step forward to undertake this kind of work when they see what the opposition parties did to the Right Honourable David Johnston,” LeBlanc said. That is probably true.
One of the least satisfactory outcomes of the break-it-you-buy-it-rule is that all the customer ends up with a lighter wallet and a broken piece of merchandise. The buyers’ only real choice is to buy the broken object, as well as another, functional intact one to replace it.
That’s a little bit how this whole foreign interference issue feels after weeks and weeks of high dudgeon, random accusations of disloyalty and a healthy dose of character assassination within the halls of our democracy.
The Johnston process got broken and the only option at this point, it seems, is to invest in another one — and to be a little more careful, a little less reckless with its replacement.
Court Painter reacts to news that The Donald has been indicted on 7 counts. Court Painter admitted to someone familiar with the situation that his images might be jumping to conclusions knowing The Donald’s record of remaining above the law. Time will tell.
“I will be on my feet at roughly 7p.m. to stand up against this budget and I will keep speaking and keep speaking and keep blocking this inflationary train wreck until the Prime Minister rises with a plan.”
Conservative Leader of the opposition Pierre Poilievre embarked on a short-lived filibuster of the Liberals’ budget bill last night, (217 minutes) using his right as leader of the Official Opposition to speak without time limits during third reading debate. His filibuster in the House lasted until just before midnight ending with the 900+ amendments not passing, and the Liberals not heeding the Official Opposition’s two demands thus pushing the vote on the bill to today, where it passed with support from the Liberals and NDP.
A Canadian parliamentary filibuster is not actually an American style filibuster since it can’t stop the clock and prevent the House from adjourning.
Pierre “Not Prime Minister Material” Poilievre neglected to point that out in his pre filbuster media bluster blasts.
A wee abridged history lesson on a filibuster worth blustering about which became the biggest filibuster in the history of Canada.
For three years pre 1911, the Canadian House of Commons had discussed the question of naval help for Britain. leading up to an imporant event which occurred on May 30, 1913.
When the Liberals were in power, Prime Minister Sir Wilfrid Laurier had proposed that Canada should build a navy. The Conservatives opposed this under Prime Minister Sir Robert Borden, who said that this was disloyal to Britain. Instead, he had said, Canada should give Britain money to build battleships.
The Quebec Nationalists under Henri Bourassa supported the Conservatives, not because they wanted to help Britain, but because they opposed the building of a Canadian navy.
The Conservatives won the election in 1911 and Sir Wilfrid Laurier(L), as leader of the Opposition, asked them what they would do about the navy or naval aid for Britain.
Sir Robert Borden (C) introduced a measure to give Britain $35 million to build British battleships.
The Liberals tried to force another election on the issue and launched the biggest filibuster in the history of the Canadian House of Commons. They kept the House in session twenty-four hours a day for two weeks, except for one Sunday when there was an armistice (truce–cease-fire). Both parties divided their members into eight-hour shifts. Liberals who hadn’t spoken for years took their turns, quoting the Bible, reading the British North America Act, or Janes Fighting Ships (the bible of shipping), or anything even remotely relevant.
Eventually, Sir Robert Borden ended the debate by invoking the “closure” for the first time in Canada.
