A roundup of news and commentary from around the interwebs.
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In The Atlantic, David Frum attempts a thankless job—defending one of Canada’s core founders, Sir John A. MacDonald. It’s about time somebody did. The arrogant assumption of the current generation that they will be seen as paragons of virtue 150 years hence is nonsense, but that doesn’t stop them from hating their ancestors.
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On that subject, Jon Kay has a good piece at the National Post explaining how American-style culture wars on race have corroded Canada’s fragile identity, turning even Canada Day into a “morbid ceremony of grim repentance.”
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In the Wall Street Journal, Barton Swaim explains “Why Shutdowns and Masks Suit the Elite.”
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Pornhub’s troubles aren’t slowing. From CTV:
A new lawsuit filed in the U.S. against MindGeek, the Montreal-based owner of online porn giant Pornhub, is asking that the case be tried before a jury over allegations the website allowed child pornography and other illegal videos to be posted to the Internet.
The suit was filed Thursday in the U.S. District Court in California on behalf of 34 women from Canada, Thailand, the U.S. and several other countries who allege videos of them were uploaded to Pornhub, the world’s largest porn site, without their consent, and in some cases, when they were minors.
Read the whole thing.
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Canada’s parliamentary committee, which grilled Pornhub executives earlier this year, have finally released their recommendations. From Politico:
Committee members made 14 recommendations. One included a call to update Canada’s rules to make companies that host online pornography “legally accountable for content moderation and removal decisions and the harm to individuals that results when efforts are inadequate.” The recommendations are not binding on the government.
It’s up to Trudeau’s Liberals to make the next move. They’ve proven eager to censor the Internet—let’s see if that includes sexual violence.
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How do societies transform into places where struggle sessions flourish and freedom of thought vanishes? This poll from Reason gives one good indication:
Probably the most concerning result was that 70 percent of students—85 percent of liberals, 41 percent of conservatives, and 65 percent of those classified as “independent/apolitical”—wanted professors reported to the administration for making offensive statements. Most students also felt this way about other students who said offensive things.
I’ve met many of these people. In the name of tolerance, they demand totalitarianism. It’s hard to enjoy the irony.
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The Gospel Coalition is featuring new porn-blocking technology. I haven’t used this myself—I use Covenant Eyes—but based on this interview, it appears to be very promising. Check it out.
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If you want to get an idea of how extreme trans activists can get, consider this statement from biological male-identifying as female Charlotte Clymer. In response to a Twitter troll telling him to “go live in Iran and see how you’re treated,” Clymer responded: “Iran literally pays for trans-affirming medical care with state funds. Soooo…not exactly a great way to make your point there, Sweetie.” What Clymer didn’t say is that gays are frequently forced into sex changes…which isn’t exactly a great way to make his point.
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More soon.