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Yang linked to Chinese intel ops – Hontiveros

Scientists have raised concerns about hospitality staff coming into contact with second-hand smoke at work after the Government rowed back on plans to make it illegal to smoke in pub beer gardens. Concerns have also been raised about the “renormalisation” of smoking. Dr Rachel O’Donnell, senior research fellow at the University of Stirling’s Institute for Social Marketing and Health, said restrictions on smoking in outdoor places can “reinforce” a message that smoking “isn’t a socially acceptable thing to do” and could also help smokers to kick the habit. In November, it emerged that the UK Government is to scrap plans to ban smoking in the gardens of pubs and restaurants in England. Health Secretary Wes Streeting said the hospitality industry has “taken a real battering in recent years” and it is not “the right time” to ban smoking outside pubs. But smoking and vaping could be banned in other public places in England – such as in playgrounds or outside of schools – under the Tobacco and Vapes Bill. According to the World Health Organisation, there is no safe level of second-hand smoke exposure. In a briefing for journalists, Dr O’Donnell said decision-making “should be on the basis of all the evidence that’s available”. She added: “Any debate about legislation on smoking in outdoor settings shouldn’t only focus on air quality and second-hand smoke exposure levels, because the impacts of restrictions in outdoor settings are also evident on our social norms.” Smoke-free outdoor environments “reinforce smoke-free as the acceptable norm”, she said. “This, I think, is a critically important point at a time where in the media, over the last year, we’ve seen various reports and questions as to whether we might be on the cusp of renormalisation of smoking for various reasons, and so smoke-free public environments still have a critically important role to play. “If you reduce opportunities to smoke, it can also help individuals who smoke themselves to reduce the amount they smoke or to make a quit attempt.” Dr O’Donnell said visibility of tobacco products and smoking is a “form of marketing for tobacco companies” as she pointed to studies highlighting the increasing number of tobacco depictions on screen. She went on: “The more often young adults observe smoking around them, the more likely they are to believe that smoking is socially acceptable, which feeds back into this idea of renormalisation of smoking. “So, restrictions on smoking in outdoor public places have other positive knock-on effects, potentially for young people as well, just sending out that clear message that this isn’t a socially acceptable thing to do and see, and this could help to discourage smoking initiation among young people at quite a critical time.” On being exposed to second-hand smoke at work, she added: “I think sometimes when we think about exposure to second-hand smoke in outdoor settings, in pubs, in restaurants, we think about that sort of occasional customer exposure, the nuisance element of it when people are out enjoying a meal with friends, but we also need to be reminded that this is a repeated occupational exposure for those who are working in hospitality and serving drinks and food. “Now, as we’ve already seen, concentrations of second-hand smoke in these settings are generally low, and they’re likely to present a low risk to health for most healthy people. “But ... there’s no safe level of exposure to second-hand smoke, and so any individual with pre-existing heart, lung or respiratory conditions may be particularly vulnerable even to low levels of exposure. “We know that second-hand smoke is its known carcinogen, and on that basis those exposed in the hospitality sector have a right to be protected. “On that basis, there’s a need to protect them, as there is anybody in any workplace setting from second-hand smoke exposure in all areas of workplaces and spaces.” Sean Semple, professor of exposure science at the University of Stirling’s Institute for Social Marketing and Health, said: “I think that if I were a policy-maker, which I am not, then I would be looking at those occupational exposures as well. “I have asthma, if I was being occupationally exposed to SHS (second-hand smoke), and knowing that I was one of a very small number of workers now being legally exposed to SHS in the workplace, then I might not be very happy about that.” A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “As part of our 10 Year Health Plan we are shifting focus from sickness to prevention, including tackling the harms of smoking and passive smoking. “The landmark Tobacco and Vapes Bill is the biggest public health intervention in a generation and will put us on track towards a smoke-free UK.”Trump team signs agreement to allow Justice to conduct background checks on nominees, staff

Trump brings back government by social media

The Ontario government is proposing to push through a bill that would close 10 supervised consumption sites without holding any public hearings, a move advocates and opposition critics say is anti-democratic. The legislation seeks to prohibit and close any drug consumption sites that are within 200 metres of a school or daycare, and effectively prohibit any new sites from opening. In their place, the government is launching 19 new "homelessness and addiction recovery treatment hubs" plus 375 highly supportive housing units at a planned cost of $378 million. Government house leader Steve Clark has put forward a motion that would see the bill go straight from second reading to third reading, bypassing the committee stage that normally includes public hearings and consideration of amendments. Health Minister Sylvia Jones made the consumption site announcement back in August, and now the government needs to get the bill through, Clark said. "I sat here a couple of weeks ago and told you that I'd be using time allocation on some of the government's bills," Clark said after question period. "This is a government bill we need to get passed." The bill is one of a number of pieces of legislation the government is fast-tracking, which is fuelling speculation of a provincial election earlier than the set June 2026 date. In addition to limiting debate time in the legislature on the bills, the government has for some of them either curtailed or entirely skipped the committee stage, in which organizations and members of the public speak about how a bill will affect them. A divisive bill that would prohibit and remove certain bike lanes had one day of public hearings. Lorraine Lam, an outreach worker in downtown Toronto, says: 'I think it says a lot that he's not willing to hear the public opinions about what this decision is going to mean for so many people. I think if he did open this up for public hearings ... the pushback would be huge.' (Ethan Lang/CBC) 'Pushback would be huge' if hearings held, advocate says Lorraine Lam, an outreach worker in downtown Toronto, said Premier Doug Ford appears to be basing his government's consumption-site legislation purely on the opinions of the sites' opponents. "I think it says a lot that he's not willing to hear the public opinions about what this decision is going to mean for so many people," she said. "I think if he did open this up for public hearings ... the pushback would be huge." Ford has often talked about hearing from people who are concerned about needles and drug use in communities near supervised consumption sites, particularly those near schools or daycares. Lam said Ford's framing of the issue as moving from supervised consumption to a rehabilitation focus is a "false binary," saying those services can exist alongside consumption sites that save drug users' lives. "If anything, now he's going to displace drug users into places that are public spaces like bus shelters, libraries and parks," she said. Bill could have deadly consequences, Liberal MPP says Liberal health critic Adil Shamji said it is incumbent upon legislators to consider all aspects of such an important policy. "This, if executed poorly, will lead to very dangerous and deadly consequences," he said. "We owe it to the democratic process, to the people of Ontario, to the families who have been impacted by people suffering from mental health and addictions challenges, to look at this legislation carefully, weigh it on its own merits and get as much feedback as we can so that we make the right decision, not the politically expedient one." Supporters and harm reduction workers stage a die-in outside of the Ontario legislature in Toronto on Monday, Oct. 21, 2024, as groups gather to protest against the Ontario government's proposal to close supervised consumption sites. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press) NDP Leader Marit Stiles said the government seems focused on finishing the legislative session as quickly as possible. "They want to get out of here as fast as they can — they don't want to hear from the experts, they don't want to hear from the people who actually are on the front line, and they don't want to hear from the people who are most impacted," she said. "We're not talking about weeks and months. We're talking about a few days of consultations, and they're not even providing that." Posters highlight opposition to proposed closures of sites Meanwhile, posters have appeared around Toronto, on bus shelters, near parking pads and the sides of boarded up buildings, to protest the proposed closures of supervised consumption sites in Ontario. The posters, which contain an Ontario Health logo on the bottom right, are billed as an "Ontario Health Public Notice" and they say "Injection Site Relocation" adding "these locations will become an injection site." A QR code on the bottom right leads to a site advocating to save consumption sites. The posters say the "zoning change" will take effect on April 1, 2025, after the province shuts down 10 supervised consumption sites in Ontario, including five in Toronto. Posters appear on bus shelters in Toronto, Monday Nov. 25, 2024, to highlight opposition to the Ontario Government's proposed closure of supervised consumption sites. Advocates say that the closure of consumption sites will lead to unsupervised consumption in open public spaces. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press) Lam said she thinks the messaging is accurate and she applauds whoever is behind the marketing campaign. If the province closes the sites, people will continue to use substances and will do so in public spaces and all over the community, she said. "I think some of the spots actually match up to what I know in terms of paramedic responses. And so, I think it's just telling, without the supervised sites, people are going to be using in whatever spaces they find." Ontario Health told CBC Toronto on Monday that it did not consent to the use of its logo on the posters and do not condone the improper use of it. "Ontario Health has no involvement in these posters," the agency said.

He is not yet in power but President-elect Donald Trump rattled much of the world with an off-hours warning of stiff tariffs on close allies and China — a loud hint that Trump-style government by social media post is coming back. With word of these levies against goods imported from Mexico, Canada and China, Trump sent auto industry stocks plummeting, raised fears for global supply chains and unnerved the world’s major economies. For Washington-watchers with memories of the Republican’s first term, the impromptu policy volley on Monday evening foreshadowed a second term of startling announcements of all manner, fired off at all hours of the day from his smartphone. “Donald Trump is never going to change much of anything,” said Larry Sabato, a leading US political scientist and director of the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics. “You can expect in the second term pretty much what he showed us about himself and his methods in the first term. Social media announcements of policy, hirings and firings will continue.” The first of Trump’s tariff announcements — a 25 percent levy on everything coming in from Mexico and Canada — came amid an angry rebuke of lax border security at 6:45 pm on Truth Social, Trump’s own platform. The United States is bound by agreements on the movement of goods and services brokered by Trump in a free trade treaty with both nations during his first term. But Trump warned that the new levy would “remain in effect until such time as Drugs, in particular Fentanyl, and all Illegal Aliens stop this Invasion of our Country” — sowing panic from Ottawa to Mexico City. Seconds later, another message from the incoming commander-in-chief turned the focus on Chinese imports, which he said would be hit with “an additional 10% Tariff, above any additional Tariffs.” The consequences were immediate. Almost every major US automaker operates plants in Mexico, and shares in General Motors and Stellantis — which produce pickup trucks in America’s southern neighbor — plummeted. Canada, China and Mexico protested, while Germany called on its European partners to prepare for Trump to impose hefty tariffs on their exports and stick together to combat such measures. – Framing the debate – The tumult recalls Trump’s first term, when journalists, business leaders and politicians at home and abroad would scan their phones for the latest pronouncements, often long after they had left the office or over breakfast. During his first four years in the Oval Office, the tweet — in those days his newsy posts were almost exclusively limited to Twitter, now known as X — became the quasi-official gazette for administration policy. The public learned of the president-elect’s 2020 Covid-19 diagnosis via an early-hours post, and when Iranian Revolutionary Guards commander Qasem Soleimani was assassinated on Trump’s order, the Republican confirmed the kill by tweeting a US flag. The public and media learned of numerous other decisions big and small by the same source, from the introduction of customs duties to the dismissal of cabinet secretaries. It is not a communication method that has been favored by any previous US administration and runs counter to the policies and practices of most governments around the world. Throughout his third White House campaign, and with every twist and turn in his various entanglements with the justice system, Trump has poured his heart out on Truth Social, an app he turned to during his 20-month ban from Twitter. In recent days, the mercurial Republican has even named his attorney general secretaries of justice and health via announcements on the network. “He sees social media as a tool to shape and direct the national conversation and will do so again,” said political scientist Julian Zelizer, a Princeton University professor. AFP

8 Thanksgiving mistakes: Frozen or overcooked turkey, too many sides and other common holiday miscuesHe is not yet in power but President-elect Donald Trump rattled much of the world with an off-hours warning of stiff tariffs on close allies and China — a loud hint that Trump-style government by social media post is coming back. With word of these levies against goods imported from Mexico, Canada and China, Trump sent auto industry stocks plummeting, raised fears for global supply chains and unnerved the world’s major economies. For Washington-watchers with memories of the Republican’s first term, the impromptu policy volley on Monday evening foreshadowed a second term of startling announcements of all manner, fired off at all hours of the day from his smartphone. “Donald Trump is never going to change much of anything,” said Larry Sabato, a leading US political scientist and director of the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics. “You can expect in the second term pretty much what he showed us about himself and his methods in the first term. Social media announcements of policy, hirings and firings will continue.” The first of Trump’s tariff announcements — a 25 percent levy on everything coming in from Mexico and Canada — came amid an angry rebuke of lax border security at 6:45 pm on Truth Social, Trump’s own platform. The United States is bound by agreements on the movement of goods and services brokered by Trump in a free trade treaty with both nations during his first term. But Trump warned that the new levy would “remain in effect until such time as Drugs, in particular Fentanyl, and all Illegal Aliens stop this Invasion of our Country” — sowing panic from Ottawa to Mexico City. Seconds later, another message from the incoming commander-in-chief turned the focus on Chinese imports, which he said would be hit with “an additional 10% Tariff, above any additional Tariffs.” The consequences were immediate. Almost every major US automaker operates plants in Mexico, and shares in General Motors and Stellantis — which produce pickup trucks in America’s southern neighbor — plummeted. Canada, China and Mexico protested, while Germany called on its European partners to prepare for Trump to impose hefty tariffs on their exports and stick together to combat such measures. – Framing the debate – The tumult recalls Trump’s first term, when journalists, business leaders and politicians at home and abroad would scan their phones for the latest pronouncements, often long after they had left the office or over breakfast. During his first four years in the Oval Office, the tweet — in those days his newsy posts were almost exclusively limited to Twitter, now known as X — became the quasi-official gazette for administration policy. The public learned of the president-elect’s 2020 Covid-19 diagnosis via an early-hours post, and when Iranian Revolutionary Guards commander Qasem Soleimani was assassinated on Trump’s order, the Republican confirmed the kill by tweeting a US flag. The public and media learned of numerous other decisions big and small by the same source, from the introduction of customs duties to the dismissal of cabinet secretaries. It is not a communication method that has been favored by any previous US administration and runs counter to the policies and practices of most governments around the world. Throughout his third White House campaign, and with every twist and turn in his various entanglements with the justice system, Trump has poured his heart out on Truth Social, an app he turned to during his 20-month ban from Twitter. In recent days, the mercurial Republican has even named his attorney general secretaries of justice and health via announcements on the network. “He sees social media as a tool to shape and direct the national conversation and will do so again,” said political scientist Julian Zelizer, a Princeton University professor. AFPMailbag: Why are the Jets looking like Cup contenders?

The Broncos have lost both Baron Browning and Alex Singleton , trading the former and seeing the latter land on IR early. A hybrid player ahead of a third-round NFL entrance, Drew Sanders is on track to help a strong defense soon. Denver is activating Sanders from the reserve/PUP list, 9News’ Mike Klis notes . Sanders has been down since April, having suffered an Achilles tear during the early days of the team’s offseason program. The Broncos waived Greg Dulcich to make room on their roster and have since seen the former third-rounder land with the Giants via waiver claim. With Sanders coming back, the Broncos needed to clear a spot. As Josh Reynolds moves toward coming off IR, the 7-5 team will need to make another move if it wishes to activate the free-agency pickup. The Broncos only have three activations remaining. Fortunately for the team, the Sanders transaction will not count against that total due to the LB being on the PUP list. Sanders delivered an interesting final college season, displaying versatility by pairing 9.5 sacks with 103 tackles. The Broncos, who had previously moved Browning from an off-ball linebacker role to the edge years ago, have an interesting option in Sanders. They used Sanders as a spot starter last season; the ex-Arkansas and Alabama cog made four starts and played in all 17 games, making 24 tackles and recovering a fumble. Sanders’ experience both on and off the ball stands to give Vance Joseph options. The team’s latest third-round pick, Jonah Elliss , has settled in as the team’s top rusher off the bench. Elliss has four sacks this season, working behind Jonathon Cooper and Nik Bonitto . Sanders’ blitzing experience stands to help there, while Joseph could also opt to use him at ILB due to Singleton’s injury. Justin Strnad has worked as the primary fill-in alongside Cody Barton , though veterans Kwon Alexander and Zach Cunningham remain in the mix at that position as well. This marks a fairly quick recovery from an Achilles tear, with Sanders following the likes of Cam Akers , Michael Crabtree and Terrell Suggs in coming back after an offseason tear. The Broncos certainly could look to keep Sanders’ workload light due to barely seven months passing since his injury. This article first appeared on Pro Football Rumors and was syndicated with permission.Singh won't support Conservative non-confidence motion that uses his own words

President-elect Donald Trump’s lawyers urge judge to toss his hush money conviction

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