Canada's open banking plan stokes unfounded 'social credit' claimsSocial media posts say Ottawa's planned open banking framework paves the way for a "social credit" system where citizens would be monitored and penalized for certain behaviors. This is false; Canada's plan mirrors those in other countries giving consumers a more secure way to link bank accounts and third-party apps and would be limited to financial data, policy and privacy experts said.

"The wholly captured and penetrated technocommunist nation of Canada is leading the way in implementing the dystopian social credit score system," says the text of a March 19, 2024 Substack post. 

Screenshots and links to the blog were shared on X, where similar claims about an imminent social score system in Canada proliferatedwhile also being shared on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok in Englishand French.

Armstrong Economics -- which has previously shared misinformation fact-checked by AFP -- appears to be one of the earliest publishers of the claim, purporting in a March 14 blog post that Canada's anticipated framework for an open banking system would provide information to determine "if a person is fit to participate in the global economy based on their personal views."

These claims were the latest to warn that social credit scores are on the cusp of being adopted in their jurisdiction, often referencing periodic stories from China about systems that enforce standards by deterring or rewarding certain behaviors.

China's system has raised concerns around the world about governments deploying technology to step up surveillance, including through the monitoring of financial transactions.

Federal Canadian intelligence, immigration and trade departments have penned reports on social credit scores in China (archived here, here and here), but the Department of Finance Canada told AFP there are no plans to adopt such a system.

"Any allegation that the Government of Canada is trying to introduce social credit scores is categorically false," the department said in a March 20 email.

Marc-André Pigeon, an assistant professor at the Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy at the University of Saskatchewan (archived here), said open banking has nothing to do with tracking personal views as claimed in the posts. Rather, the system refers to a framework that governments adopt to securely facilitate the flow of financial information between banking institutions and third-party applications, such as budgeting and wealth management tools.

How open banking works

Open banking, or consumer-driven banking (archived here), is not yet available in Canada. According to the Department of Finance Canada website (archived here), the federal government will submit framework legislation for open banking to be introduced in 2025 with the next budget (archived here). It is aimed at making it easier for consumers to link their accounts with apps for financial management without having to input passwords, which can pose security risks.

An estimated 9 million Canadians currently share their financial data by providing confidential banking credentials to service providers," the Department of Finance says. "This process, known as screen-scraping, is unsecure and raises security, liability, and privacy risks to consumers and the financial system."

Countries including Australia and the United Kingdom (archived hereand here) have already adopted open banking frameworks.

Pigeon said open banking "is meant to make the sharing of data and ultimately the automation of transactions, safe and secure with clear attributions of liability, clear notions of consent, and clear protection from kind of cybersecurity threats and hacking that we don't have absent of that policy framework."

He also noted that the system in Canada would be opt-in and users would have to consent to share information.

 

https://factcheck.afp.com/doc.afp.com.34LT96A

 

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A Singapore-flagged container ship, the Dali, hit a pylon of the 2.57km-long Key Bridge in Baltimore just before 1.30am local time (4.30pm AEDT) on Tuesday, causing the bridge to collapse.

Here’s what we know so far about the tragedy:

• The ship was at the beginning of a 27-day journey to Colombo, Sri Lanka when it collided with the bridge.
• Baltimore city fire chief James Wallace said there were people on the bridge at the time of the collapse. Two people, including one who was taken to hospital in a serious condition, were pulled from the Patapsco River in the aftermath.
• Six people were still missing at 10.30am local time on Tuesday (1.30am Wednesday AEDT) – all six were part of a maintenance crew that was working on the bridge.
• Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott described the incident as “an unthinkable tragedy”.
• There is no indication the collision was intentional. The FBI said there was “no specific or credible information” to suggest there were ties to terrorism
• The bridge is named after Francis Scott Key, author of the Star Spangled Banner. It opened in 1977.

https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/live-updates-baltimore-s-francis-scott-key-bridge-collapses-major-rescue-under-way-20240326-p5ffhh.html

 

GUSNOTE: ALTHOUGH I HAVE NO INFORMATION, IN SUCH WATERS, THE SHIP WOULD HAVE BEEN UNDER THE COMMAND OF AN AMERICAN PILOT... AS IS CUSTOMARY IN PORTS AROUND THE WORLD TO HAVE A LOCAL PILOT DIRECT THE AMERISSAGE (LANDING BY SEA)...

 

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Jesse Watters Primetime 3/27/24 | BREAKING NEWS TODAY March 27, 2024

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtUFxBUTsdw

 

SO FAR, THERE IS NO INFORMATION AS TO WHY THE SHIP VEERED OFF COURSE... EVEN WITHOUT POWER, IT SHOULD HAVE CARRIED ON MORE OR LESS STRAIGHT AHEAD... THUS SOMETHING MADE THE SHIP TURN SHARPLY, EVEN WITHOUT ANY POWER... SOME PEOPLE ARE SUGGESTING A CYBER ATTACK ON THE SHIPS CONTROLS... OR SABOTAGE FROM WITHIN THE SHIP... ACCORDING TO REPORTS THE SHIP HAD AROUND 70 CONTAINERS LOADED WITH TOXIC CHEMICALS... WHICH ACCORDING TO SOME PEOPLE WAS QUITE UNUSUAL...

MEANWHILE THIS EVENT HAS PARALYSED A LOT OF AMERICAN BUSINESSES. 

GUSNOTE: THERE IS 85 PER CENT CHANCES THAT THIS WAS NOT AN ACCIDENT...

 

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Cargo Giant in Baltimore Crash Silenced Whistleblowers

BY

DAVID SIROTA 

HELEN SANTORO 

FREDDY BREWSTER 

LUCY DEAN STOCKTON 

KATYA SCHWENK

 

 

The company that chartered the cargo ship that destroyed the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore was recently sanctioned by regulators for blocking its employees from directly reporting safety concerns to the US Coast Guard — in violation of a seaman whistleblower protection law, according to regulatory filings reviewed by the Lever.

Eight months before a Maersk Line Limited–chartered cargo ship crashed into the Baltimore bridge, likely killing six people and injuring others, the Labor Department sanctioned the shipping conglomerate for retaliating against an employee who reported unsafe working conditions aboard a Maersk-operated boat. In its order, the department found that Maersk had “a policy that requires employees to first report their concerns to [Maersk] . . . prior to reporting it to the [Coast Guard] or other authorities.”

Federal regulators at the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which operates under the Labor Department, called the policy “repugnant” and a “reprehensible and an egregious violation of the rights of employees,” which “chills them from contacting the [Coast Guard] or other authorities without contacting the company first.”

Maersk’s reporting policy was approved by company executives, federal regulators found in their investigation into the incident.

“[Maersk’s] Vice President of Labor Relations, admits that this Reporting Policy requires seamen to report safety concerns to the company and allow it time to abate the conditions before reporting to the [Coast Guard] or other regulatory agencies,” Labor Department investigators said in their report.

During their investigation into Maersk, federal officials said there was “reasonable cause to believe” that the company’s policy violated the Seaman’s Protection Act, which protects maritime workers who speak out about unsafe working conditions. Officials ordered the company to reinstate the employee and pay over $700,000 in damages and back wages. They also demanded that Maersk revise its policy to allow seamen to contact the Coast Guard about safety concerns before notifying the company.

The fired employee was a chief mate on the Safmarine Mafadi, a Maersk-operated vessel, who also served as a relief captain when needed. The seaman reported unrepaired leaks, unpermitted alcohol consumption onboard, inoperable lifeboats, faulty emergency fire suppression equipment, and other issues.

Before he was fired, the employee was disciplined for not properly maintaining the logbook and failing to properly follow orders. The fired employee told federal regulators that he believed these disciplinary actions were “retaliation for reporting alcohol consumption on board the vessel.”

Maersk did not respond to Lever questions about the Labor Department’s findings and its previous policy on workplace safety reporting ahead of publication.

In a comment to other news outlets, Maersk stated: “We are horrified by what has happened in Baltimore, and our thoughts are with all of those affected. We can confirm that the container vessel ‘DALI’, operated by charter vessel company Synergy Group, is time chartered by Maersk and is carrying Maersk customers’ cargo. No Maersk crew and personnel were onboard the vessel. We are closely following the investigations conducted by authorities and Synergy, and we will do our utmost to keep our customers informed.”

Whistleblower Protection

The Seaman’s Protection Act was enacted in 1984 to protect maritime workers who reported statutory violations to the Coast Guard from company retaliation. These employees had been left out of other whistleblower laws at the time. In 2010, the legislation was amended to also safeguard employees who refused to perform certain duties due to fears of personal injury.

Enforced by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, companies that violate the Seaman’s Protection Act can be subject to hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines. The Coast Guard also encourages employees to “report any hazardous condition before it results in a costly mishap.”

Despite the law explicitly protecting maritime employees from workplace abuses including whistleblower retaliation, experts say there have been relatively few whistleblower complaints. In 2017, a case involving the Seaman’s Protection Act made it to the Supreme Court seeking to protect a New York harbor worker, a “persistent safety advocate,” who had been fired after reporting dangerous conditions, though the court declined to hear the case.

Many maritime employers have a similar policy that prevents employees from directly contacting the Coast Guard or other regulatory agencies, according to Eric Rhine, a lawyer specializing in maritime injuries, aviation accident claims, and other issues at the Spagnoletti Law Firm.

In a blog post, Rhine highlighted a previous whistleblower retaliation case that found it was “‘standard business practice’ for employers to prohibit any direct contact by employees with government regulatory bodies.”

Rhine also highlighted that maritime employees, who face many work hazards, have a right to report unsafe conditions aboard their vessels to federal regulators.

“Sometimes accidents occur when they could have been avoided if proper and reasonable care was taken by those responsible for safe working conditions,” Rhine wrote. “These accidents can leave employees with lasting impairment that prevents them from ever working again. Of course, even worse, they can be deadly.”

Total Collapse

The vessel that crashed into the Baltimore bridge, Dali, was chartered by Maersk and operated by Synergy Marine Group, a ship management company based in Singapore. The ship had a crew of twenty-two foreign workers from India. The boat is owned by Grace Ocean Private and was headed to Sri Lanka.

Maersk, which is headquartered in Copenhagen, is one of the world’s largest shipping companies, reporting more than $51 billion in revenue in 2023. The company operates in 130 countries and employs one hundred thousand workers, according to its annual report. As of December 2023, Maersk owned 310 ships and was chartering 362, which they say is one of the world’s largest container shipping fleets.

Since 2021, Maersk has spent $2.7 million lobbying Congress and federal regulators on workers compensation, as well as port congestion and infrastructure issues, among other concerns, regulatory filings show.

Since last summer, Maersk has been battling the International Longshoremen’s Association — a labor union that represents sixty-five thousand maritime workers, including Maersk employees — over labor unrest at a port in Alabama.

In August 2023, APM Terminals, a division of Maersk, sued the union, claiming that workers at its Mobile, Alabama port were on strike illegally during an active contract. The court case is ongoing, and documents filed by the union in March allege that the company illegally suspended six workers for “raising a concern about a safety issue at the job site.”

As of publication time, rescuers have suspended the search for six missing construction workers who were working on the Baltimore bridge at the time of the collapse. The workers are presumed dead, officials said. One body was reportedly recovered from the river on Tuesday.

https://jacobin.com/2024/03/baltimore-bridge-crash-maersk-whistleblowers

 

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by top-war

The collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore could significantly affect not only civilian shipping on the East Coast of the United States, but also the military component of the United States.

Recall that the collapse of the central spans of the bridge over the Patapsco River occurred due to the fact that a container ship crashed into one of its supports, which, according to the official version, lost the control after leaving the port of Baltimore. The captain of the ship, as already noted, was (at least listed as) a Ukrainian citizen.

Maryland's governor said earlier that 5 ships carrying various cargoes were stuck in the Port of Baltimore. The total amount of damage, according to preliminary data, could amount to more than 80 billion dollars.

However, in the United States they try not to mention that the collapse of the bridge also affects the activities of the military installations in Baltimore. There are many such objects in this great American city.

For example, the city is home to the United States Army Military Reserve Center. Baltimore is also home to the US Navy's Criminal Investigation Center (the American equivalent of the military prosecutor's office). Hamlet Avenue is home to a U.S. Marine Corps base. In the area of ​​Nimitz Drive and Hellsey Road there is an entire naval complex, including the Fort McHenry US Sea Cadet Corps with flotilla training ships (shown in the main material image).

But that's not all. In addition to the Marine Corps' fleet of training ships and naval equipment in Baltimore, the collapsed bridge effectively blocked access to the sea and operations of the U.S. Coast Guard Surface Forces Logistics Center in Hawkins Point.

In Baltimore, in close proximity to the Sea Cadet Corps, there is also a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers base.

It is difficult to say to what extent the collision of a container ship with a bridge will affect the activities of military installations that have a largely "land" vocation, but military installations (more precisely personnel) associated with the US Navy and the Marine Corps were actually “locked in” at the mouth of the Patapsko River, without access to the sea.

source: top-war

 

https://en.reseauinternational.net/leffondrement-du-pont-de-baltimore-a-effectivement-empeche-la-flottille-dentrainement-de-lus-navy-les-navires-du-corps-des-marines-et-le-centre-logistique-de-la-garde-cotiere-de-prendre-la-mer/

 

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"The TRUTH is coming out in the Baltimore bridge collapse" General Mike Flynn | Redacted News

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKp04zqZeHk

 

 

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AS A FORMER SKIPPER OF BOATS, GUS LEONISKY CAN ASSESS A COUPLE OF THINGS ON THE "DALI"... SOME PEOPLE HAVE SUGGESTED THAT THE WIND COULD HAVE PUSHED THE BOAT THAT HAD LOST POWER INTO THE PYLON... I WOULD SAY THIS IS WRONG. YOU WOULD NEED ABOUT 50 KNOTS OF BREEZE TO DO THIS AND THE SHIP WOULD NOT HAVE TURNED RIGHT BUT DRIFTED PARALLEL A BIT MORE TO THE RIGHT BUT NOT HIT THE BRIDGE FRONT ON... SO WHAT MADE IT TURN TO THE RIGHT?

A) NO IDEA ABOUT THE INQUIRY FINDINGS, BUT I SUGGEST A RUDDER/REVERSE GEAR COMBO: AS THE SHIP HAD LOST POWER, WHICH IN ITSELF IS HIGHLY UNUSUAL IN SUCH DELICATE "EXIT", AND THE EMERGENCY GENERATOR WAS STARTED, MY GUESS IS THAT THE CREW (PILOT/CAPTAIN COMBO) WOULD HAVE DONE A HARD PORT (LEFT) ON THE RUDDER... AS THE SHIP WAS STILL MOVING FORWARD, THE ENGINE MIGHT HAVE BEEN "RESTARTED" (I DO NOT KNOW)...AT THIS POINT, THE PROPS WOULD HAVE BEEN SET TO FULL REVERSE...

WHILE THE SHIP MOMENTUM STILL MAKES IT GO FORWARD, THE REVERSE GEAR AND THE HARD PORT RUDDER (LEFT) WOULD HAVE MADE THE SHIP TURN TO STARBOARD (RIGHT)... THIS SEEMS COUNTER-INTUITIVE BUT I'VE BEEN THERE... THE PROP(S)WOULD BE SUCKING WATER FROM THE OTHER SIDE OF THE RUDDER WHICH IN TURN WOULD BE PUSHING THE BOAT STERN TOWARDS THE LEFT, MAKING THE BOAT TURN TO THE RIGHT — BECAUSE OF THE SPEED MOMENTUM. 

B) THE WHOLE THING WAS A TERRORISM ATTACK, A CYBER-SYSTEM SHUT-DOWN.

C) THE CAPTAIN OR MEMBERS OF THE CREW SET IT UP.... SOMETHING MADE THE SHIP TURN RIGHT....

 

SEE WHAT COMES NEXT....

 

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Another US bridge hit by ship (VIDEO)
A cargo ship impacted the supports of a bridge over the Arkansas River less than a week after a deadly incident in Baltimore...

The Oklahoma State Patrol has completely closed off traffic from a highway south of Sallisaw after a barge struck a bridge over the Arkansas River on Saturday.

Law enforcement is diverting traffic away from the area until inspections of the bridge can be made, the Oklahoma State Patrol wrote on X (formerly Twitter). There were no reports of injuries on the highway or the barge, AP news quoted state patrol spokesperson Sarah Stewart.

It was not immediately known what led to the collision. Video circulating on X shows the moment the barge impacted the bridge supports.

The incident comes less than a week after the cargo hauler MV Dali struck and completely collapsed the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Maryland, killing 6 people. The enormous freighter ship struck the supports of the 1.6-mile (2.6 km) long bridge in the early hours of Tuesday morning, causing the whole structure to topple into the river, taking vehicles and people with it.

https://www.rt.com/news/595176-ship-hits-arkansas-river-bridge/

 

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The Russian military has successfully destroyed a vital railway bridge close to the settlement of Kurakhovo in the Donetsk region. 

Video footage of the strike on the bridge surfaced online on March 29. The footage shows a very blast right in the middle of the bridge. Kiev forces were reportedly using the bridge to move troops, military equipment and supplies to the front in Donetsk.

Some Russian news sources said that the bridge was destroyed by the 238th Artillery Brigade using BM-27 Uragan heavy multiple rocket launchers and drones to current the fire of the unguided projectiles. The Urgan’s 220 mm rockets have a range of 35 kilometers.

However, other sources alleged that the bridge was attacked by warplanes of the Russian Aerospace Forces using bombs equipped with UMPK gliding and guidance kits. A FAB-500 bomb equipped with the kit has a range of around 70 kilometers.

https://southfront.press/russian-army-takes-down-vital-ukrainian-bridge-in-donetsk-video/

 

MAKE A DEAL PRONTO BEFORE THE SHIT HITS THE FAN:

 

 

NO NATO IN "UKRAINE" (WHAT'S LEFT OF IT)

THE DONBASS REPUBLICS ARE NOW BACK IN THE RUSSIAN FOLD — AS THEY USED TO BE PRIOR 1922. THE RUSSIANS WON'T ABANDON THESE AGAIN.

THESE WILL ALSO INCLUDE ODESSA, KHERSON AND KHARKIV.....

CRIMEA IS RUSSIAN — AS IT USED TO BE PRIOR 1954

A MEMORANDUM OF NON-AGGRESSION BETWEEN RUSSIA AND THE USA.

 

EASY.

 

THE WEST KNOWS IT.

 

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Multiple intel sources: Baltimore bridge collapse was an “absolutely brilliant strategic attack” on US critical infrastructure - most likely cyber - & our intel agencies know it. In information warfare terms, they just divided the US along the Mason Dixon line exactly like the Civil War.

Second busiest strategic roadway in the nation for hazardous material now down for 4-5 years - which is how long they say it will take to recover. Bridge was built specifically to move hazardous material - fuel, diesel, propane gas, nitrogen, highly flammable materials, chemicals and oversized cargo that cannot fit in the tunnels - that supply chain now crippled.

 

Make no mistake: this was an extraordinary attack in terms of planning, timing & execution.

The two critical components on that bridge are the two load-bearing pylons on each end, closest to the shore. They are bigger, thicker and deeper than anything else. These are the anchor points and they knew that hitting either one one of them would be a fatal wound to the integrity of the bridge.

Half a mile of bridge went in the river - likely you will have to build a new one. Also caused so much damage to the structural integrity of the bottom concrete part that you cannot see & won’t know until they take the wreckage apart. Structural destruction likely absolute. Attack perfectly targeted. “They have figured out how to bring us down.

As long as you stay away from the teeth of the US military, you can pick the US apart. We are arrogant and ignorant - lethal combination. Obama said they would fundamentally change America and they did. We are in a free-fall ride on a roller coaster right now - no brakes - just picking up speed.”

The footage shows the cargo ship never got in the approach lane in the channel. You have to be in the channel before you get into that turn. Location was precise/deliberate: chose a bend in the river where you have to slow down and commit yourself - once you are committed in that area there is not enough room to maneuver. Should have had a harbor pilot to pilot the boat. You are not supposed to traverse any obstacles without the harbor pilot.

They chose a full moon so they would have maximum tidal shift - rise and fall. Brisk flow in that river on a normal day & have had a lot of rain recently so water was already moving along at a good pace. Hit it with enough kinetic energy to knock the load-bearing pylon out from under the highway - which fatally weakens the span and then 50 percent of the bridge fell into the water. All these factors when you look at it - this is how you teach people how to do this type of attack and there are so few people left in the system who know this.

We have a Junior varsity team on the field. Tremendous navigational obstruction. Huge logistical nightmare to clean this up. Number of dead is tragic but not the whole measure of the attack. That kind-of bridge constantly under repair - always at night because there is so much traffic and they cannot obstruct that during the day. So concern is for repair guys who were on foot (out of their vehicles) working who may now be in the water - 48 degrees at most at this time of year.

When you choke off Baltimore you have cut the main north-south hazardous corridor (I95) in half. Now has to go around the city - or go somewhere else. To move some of that cargo through the tunnel you may be able to get a permit but those are slow to get and require an escort system that is expensive and has to be done at night. For every $100 dollars that goes into the city, $12 comes from shipping.

Believe this will cripple the city of Baltimore at a time when they do not have the resources to recover.

https://twitter.com/laralogan/status/1772675651599770093

 

 

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BY LARRY JOHNSON

I want to give you folks a heads up. I am working with my technical guru to see if there is a plugin that will require folks to register if they want to comment. The reason for this is troll control. There are some who post who are abusive and disruptive. At present I have to search out each comment and deal with it myself. Requiring registration will give me a better ability to deal with the troublemakers. 

First up is a video channel I highly recommend if you are looking for someone to explain what happened with the ship Dali, which is owned by Grace Ocean Private Ltd, flies a Singapore flag — What’s Going On With Shipping. Notwithstanding speculation by folks like Lara Logan that the ship’s steering mechanism was hacked, this guy destroys that theory. If you watch the videos at his channel you’ll quickly appreciate he is not some political hack spinning. He is a knowledgeable professional and makes the complicated pretty simple.

https://sonar21.com/update-on-the-baltimore-bridge-crash-catastrophe-and-my-chat-with-nima/

 

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it's time for being earnest.....

IN THE MID 60s, I HAVE WATCHED MANY MOTORBIKE RACES ON TRACK IN ENGLAND... AS THE POWER IS ON, THE DRIVER TRUNS THE HANDLEBAR TOWARDS THE RIGHT IN ORDER TO TURN LEFT... THIS IS CUNNING... BELOW IS A DIAGRAM ABOUT THE SAME PRINCIPLE WITH BOATS, THIS TIME WHEN THE ENGINE IS IN FORWARD OR IN REVERSE, THE OPPOSITE OF THE RUDDER DORECTION CAN HAPPEN DEPENDING ON THE AMOUNT OF MOMENTUM, AND OF ENGINE POWER:

 

 

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it's time for being earnest.....