Author: Blazingcatfur

Inside a crypto heist: Hamilton youth who stole $48-million strikes again

On a summer day in 2022, a lonely, troubled youth appeared in a Hamilton courtroom to say he’s “very sorry” for stealing $48-million in cryptocurrency. “I intend to move forward only in a positive direction,” he said.

His lawyer said the 19-year-old now wanted to use his skills for good, to work in cybersecurity, “a fitting way for this case to come full circle.”

The judge sentenced the young man to a year of probation, taking into account the year he already spent in custody and the fact that he was 17 when he did the deed. The young man, who cannot be named under Canada’s Youth Criminal Justice Act, was forbidden from dealing with crypto during his probation – not a significant deprivation, admittedly, but certainly damaging to the career of a young cybercriminal.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted in"Digital Currency", Crime

The Isis threat is returning to Europe

Since the final destruction of the Islamic State’s “caliphate” more than six years ago, the group has struggled to rebuild. This is especially true of its former stronghold in Iraq, where Isis operations are notably down. While the group has perpetrated a number of successful attacks in Syria, notably against a church in June, the country’s new regime under Ahmed al-Sharaa has made efforts to crack down on terrorist activity. Meanwhile, the Americans remain on the scene and conduct occasional raids against the leadership, including one this week that killed a senior Isis member.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted in"Islamophobia", Islam, Islam and violence, Islamization of the West

Covid, thalidomide and a brief history of medical ridicule

THE philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer stated that all truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed; second, it is violently opposed; third, it is accepted as self-evident.

Some intellectual fun would be to identify such cycles in our own lives. Creative individuals who bring forward ideas for open debate and discussion enter this three-part sequence at its most difficult phase. Periods of ridicule can be protracted, and they require resilience and patience to navigate. The final transition to a social discourse of the entirely self-evident can be even more remarkable. Crowd-thought and mass narrative may execute an about-turn without so much as a by-your-leave. Accountability or apology for propaganda later dropped from mass circulation is rare. Some creative individuals who advance truth may never enjoy wider acceptance in their own lifetime.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted in"All The News That Fits"

Canada may play a role in future security guarantees for Ukraine, Carney says

Prime Minister Mark Carney said Canada may play a role in security guarantees for Ukraine in the event that an agreement is reached to end its war against Russia.

Speaking at a news conference related to trade Friday, Mr. Carney says that Canada is a core member of an alliance of about 30 countries called the “coalition of the willing” that is supporting Ukraine.

He said Canada’s Chief of Defence Staff, General Jennie Carignan, and other Canadian officials are participating in discussions with allies about what form those guarantees may take.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted in"Ukraine - Russia", Canada's Corrupt Liberal Government

FBI raid on John Bolton’s home ‘linked to him sending highly sensitive classified documents using private email server’

An FBI raid on the home of ex-National Security Advisor John Bolton was reportedly linked to allegations he used a private email server to send sensitive documents to his family.

Bolton, who has since turned against Donald Trump after being fired from the White House in his first term, was home at the time of the 7:00 a.m. raid on his D.C.-area house, according to a source familiar.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inUSA

Traditional Village Festivals: Another ‘Conspiracy by the Far Right’

A few months ago, an association was set up with the aim of supporting and certifying traditional festivals in French villages. The Left, which identified that the organisation had received support from Catholic billionaire Pierre-Edouard Stérin, launched a smear campaign against the project, claiming that it was a militant offensive by the far Right. Under pressure from the media, the festivals that had been awarded the label were asked to withdraw.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inBatshit Crazy Homicidal Progressives, France, WTF?

Conrad Black: B.C. Aboriginal title case underlines what’s wrong with reconciliation

The decision earlier this month by the Supreme Court of British Columbia that the Cowichan tribes hold title over federal, city, and private land in Richmond B.C. that enjoys a higher legal status than the fee simple ownership of the current proprietors is outrageous but may have some positive consequences. The decades and $7 billion that have been spent or pledged for what is called the “reconciliation” process, has finally hit a stone wall. The almost universal desire to be fair to Indigenous people and where appropriate to compensate them for inequitable treatment, has finally collided with the entrenched economic rights and interests of every owner of real property in Canada, including those of Indigenous ancestry.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inAboriginal Issues

Migrant protests descend into anarchy as rival groups clash

Migrant protests have descended into anarchy as a wave of demonstrations took place around the UK during a weekend of fury over asylum seeker hotels.

Today more than 30 protests were held in towns including Bristol, Exeter, Tamworth, Cannock, Nuneaton, Liverpool, Wakefield, Newcastle, Horley, Canary Wharf, Aberdeen and Perth in Scotland, and Mold in Wales.

Counter-protests, many set up by anti-fascist group Stand Up To Racism, have also turned out at many of the locations outside hotels housing asylum seekers.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inCamp Of The Saints, UK

Unfortunately, there may not be a hockey analogy for the challenge Canada faces

Inevitably, but torturously, this unique moment in the history of this country has come to be understood primarily in hockey terms.

“His elbows have mysteriously gone missing,” Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said of Prime Minister Mark Carney on Friday. “He’s not thrown one elbow since he took office.”

A few hours earlier, a reporter had warned the prime minister that his critics might say something like that in the wake of his decision to repeal some of Canada’s retaliatory tariffs against American products — that while Carney had once spoken of Canada putting its elbows “up,” now those elbows might be said to be down.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inCanada, USA

Ontario couple whose teenage son died after 8-hour wait in ER calls for law reform

An Ontario family is calling on the provincial government to introduce legislation that would set maximum emergency room wait times for children after their teenage son died following an eight-hour wait for a doctor in a hospital last year.

GJ and Hazel van der Werken, of Burlington, Ont., said their 16-year-old son, Finlay, had a few days of mild illness and was suffering from migraines before his condition began to worsen. Hazel rushed him to Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital on Feb. 7, 2024, she said.

And who received treatment in advance of this young man?

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted in"Healthcare Crisis", "Healthcare", Canada