1/ Though I'm not especially active these days, I'm still sometimes gobsmacked by some of the ridiculous (though sadly effective) rage farming by some on the right. Harrison Faulkner of "True North" is just a recent example of that. 2/ So a bit of background. Musical artist Karan Aujla won the 2024 TikTok Juno Fan Choice Award at the award ceremony this past weekend.

I think it was this weekend. Truth be told I don't pay a lot of attention to awards shows.

https://twitter.com/VancouverSun/status/1772444704497438953

1/ A couple of days ago self-proclaimed leaders of the "freedom movement" held a press conference in Ottawa which was about as unhinged as you might have expected.

https://x.com/_llebrun/status/1758648280303403198?s=20

2/ Apparently the person who set this up was Derek Noonan who was also one of the speakers.

That would be this guy and I shall get back to him shortly.

1. Misinformation has always been a feature on Twitter but prior to Musk's ownership there appeared to be a minimal effort (very minimal) to counter it. Those days are clearly over.

Case in point, Theo Fleury shared this with his 285.8K followers today: 2. Before I go any further, no. This is not in fact true at all and a fact check would indicate that it isn't true.

Pictured here with Chrystia Freeland is her mother and sister.

1. Tyson "Freedom George" Billings did a few live streams today that I think are rather telling.

Also, I realize that some of the clips may not appear, so at the end I'll be sure to link to a way that y'all can see the thread in it's entirety. 2. First, Billings is upset by the grifters using his name and creating fake profiles to sell "merch".

I will remind you that Billings buddy Pat King tried to set up what folks in the know suggest was a crypto scam.

1. When Mathieu Venne was booted from the camp outside of Ottawa for giving an interview with the media, he did a live stream to air grievances.

While it was a painful hour to listen to, there was a small part that I found especially interesting.

https://twitter.com/ARCCollective/status/1714483610831729116

2. I am NOT going to post a clip covering every part of the video, but I do think there are a couple that are important.

First, Venne claims that he wasn't able to be himself and had to be careful how he spoke.

1. I figure a quick thread on the antics of the FREEEEEDOOMMMMM Ottawa Occupation 2.0 is in order as today they decided to protest in front of... checking my notes...

A Shoppers Drug Mart? 2. It seems they have moved on to relitigating the Covid vaccine and are claiming it is killing people and crimes against humanity and wash rinse repeat.

To illustrate this point they brought with them pictures of people they claim were injured or killed by the vaccine.

1. I decided to take a peak at Ottawa Occupation 2.0 (such that it is) and watch a stream posted by Gordon Berry.

It was, in fact, one of the more enlightening videos I've watched in a bit. Here is a preview. 2. Today it was the CBC's turn to deal with the chants of "fake news" and claims that the media was complicit in murders as a result of the vaccine that the conspiracy proponents believe have killed 10s of thousands in this country alone.

Spoiler. Not actually a true.

1. I'm going to do this as a blog post as well, but I think it's time to look at the "Save the Children East Meets West" convoy again.





2. First a quick update. It appears that there what have been described as convoys from Quebec today that began today. Norman Blanchfield, who began his drive in Alberta, is currently broken down on the roadside 17 hours away.

1. As I was at work I didn't have time to keep up on the events of the day as much as I would have liked. During my lunch and prep, as well my prep, I was able to check in on the news to see what was happening.

Some of my observations: 2. First, the rage farming and fear it causes has borne fruit. We had been discussing what the new outrage was going to be since covid and vaccinations fell off the radar. Clearly the thing is targeting the LGBTQ+ community.

1. So there is another convoy in the works for the end of August (though the organizers are very secretive about any firm dates).

Not because of Covid, but because the believe in a vast cabal of the elite abusing children, harvesting adrenochrome, and hunting them for sport.



2. None of this is especially new as these claims have been the stock-in-trade for QAnon adherents. However right now it is also being combined with attacks on the LGBTQ+ community and drag performers. And we are reaching potentially explosive and dangerous levels of paranoia.

1. I'm not a Liberal and am generally ambivalent regarding the PM, but I remember the day after the election the people I watch started to demand Trudeau step down and that they would never accept him as the PM.

https://twitter.com/gtlem/status/1682785162726109184

2. They would be enraged by even small issues such as, on Canada's 150th birthday, when he briefly forgot Alberta in a speech about the provinces.

And I mean briefly. Probably no more than 5 seconds.

The far right were apoplectic.

1. By this point it has become pretty common knowledge who the dude in the "Hold Fast" hat is berating the Prime Minister.

https://twitter.com/MickeyDjuric/status/1682198408163995649?s=20

2. The man goes by the name ED KC and not surprisingly is among the long term regulars at events such as these stretching back to the beginning of the pandemic.

1. A council meeting in Leduc went south yesterday when a group of anti-LGBTQ+ conspiracy promoters, led by Phil "Reddog" McDavid turned it into a bigoted farce.

If the name "McDavid" is familiar, it is because it is this guy.

https://twitter.com/ARCCollective/status/1563700943946158081?s=20

2. But we will get back to this in a moment.

Phil McDavid, a QAnon flat earther who believes vaccines are killing people, the fires in Canada are a government conspiracy, and a host of other beliefs, was involved in the Coutts blockade.

He is also a "Chris Sky" supporter.

1. We are only a few short days away from the Alberta Election. As such, here is one last reminder of who Take Back Alberta, a group that Danielle Smith may be beholden to is she and the UCP win:

"... we are no longer asking for the policies we want, we are telling them". 2. In reference to Danielle Smith's ridiculous claim that the unvaccinated the most discriminated against segment of society, David Parker, founder of Take Back Alberta, is totally on board.

1. In this thread I happily take up Artur Pawlowski's challenge (starting on tweet 4).

So Pawlowski's "press conference" today...

I'm going to call bullshit on most of what he said which was, in large part, just an excuse to be a misogynistic asshat towards Smith and Notley. 2. Smith has a LOT of real baggage that should disqualify her for any office (including her communication with Pawlowski in the first place), but the Pawlowski rally masked as a "press conference" strained credulity past the limits of believability.

1. Currently at the forum in Drumheller. The Solidarity candidate spent the first half of the event praising Artur Pawlowski.

Also, 15 minute cities conspiracy because of course. 2. She really doesn’t like 15 minutes cities.

Also, she is pulling out Pawlowski “lion” rhetoric.

Lying about the NDP and claiming the party was going to drag people out of their homes.

“I rest my case”

This isn’t a four madame.

1. As I see that Artur Pawlowski is trending due to his wish for "Florida politics" in Alberta and his wish to "hunt down" members and supporters of the LGBTQ+ community, here's another reminder of who he is. 2. Today a number of friends caught this clip from a Pawlowski sermon (I believe today).

https://twitter.com/LukaszukAB/status/1660792794146050055?s=20

1. During the election people have been looking at the relationship between Take Back Alberta and the UCP government and Premier Danielle Smith.

We should also be looking at the relationship between Take Back Alberta and the Alberta Prosperity Project. #ableg #abelxn23 #Abpoli 2. Probably the first time most people caught wind of the Alberta Prosperity Project is when their then VP of Economics, Christian Nationalist Tanner Hnidey posted, posted this particular "anti-woke" rant and warning of a vengeful God.

https://twitter.com/TheBreakdownAB/status/1558298684676116481?s=20

1. So I am very late to this, but it seems that Elliot Mcdavid on May 10th endorsed Danielle Smith, whom he describes as a "good girl" in the upcoming election. 2. But let's not get ahead of ourselves.

For those that would like the backstory, Mcdavid was the person who, last August, accosted Chrystia Freeland (@cafreeland) while she was visiting Grande Prairie.

https://twitter.com/ARCCollective/status/1563700943946158081

48. 49.

1. (Blog article) "Diagolon and Trolling: How To Minimize Platforming the Far-Right and Instead Provide Context"

This is a long one. Bear with me please. :)

tinyurl.com/4w9dfhws 2. The hazards of platforming the far right is a tricky. On the one hand I've always believed that it was important to share information about could amount to a significant danger to the community; the best disinfectant is sunlight after all.