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CORONAVIRUS IS HERE TO STAY...

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As Covid-19 Vaccines Raise Hope, Cold Reality Dawns That Illness Is Likely Here to Stay Ease of transmission, new strains, limits of vaccination programs all mean Covid-19 will be around for years—and a big business  BY THE WALL STREET JOURNAL By Daniela Hernandez and Drew Hinshaw Feb. 7, 2021  Vaccination drives hold out the promise of curbing Covid-19, but governments and businesses are increasingly accepting what epidemiologists have long warned: The pathogen will circulate for years, or even decades, leaving society to coexist with Covid-19 much as it does with other endemic diseases like flu, measles, and HIV.  The ease with which the coronavirus spreads, the emergence of new strains and poor access to vaccines in large parts of the world mean Covid-19 could shift from a pandemic disease to an endemic one, implying lasting modifications to personal and societal behavior, epidemiologists say.   “Going through the five phases of grief, we need to come to the acceptance phase that o
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Jeff Bezos Exits as CEO, but His Role at Amazon Will Likely Be Little Changed

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Jeff Bezos Exits as CEO, but His Role at Amazon Will Likely Be Little Changed  BY THE WALL STREET JOURNAL February, 3, 2021 The founder had been laying the groundwork for such a move for years, involving himself less and less in day-to-day management Jeff Bezos has focused much more on high-level strategic decisions in recent years.  Tuesday’s  (February 2, 2021) announcement that Jeff Bezos will become executive chairman of Amazon.com Inc. after more than 26 years as its chief executive was a public jolt. Behind the scenes, the founder had been laying the groundwork for such a move for years, according to people who work closely with him. So much so, that when Mr. Bezos signaled to the board around six months ago that he was ready to move to a new role, the directors weren’t surprised. He had already been involving himself less and less in day-to-day management, said one of the people. Among the most successful entrepreneurs in history, the famously driven Mr. Bezos developed a ha
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JOE BIDEN USES CANADA AS A PUNCHING BAG MORE THAN DONALD TRUMP

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By The Wall Street Journal By Peter St. Onge Feb. 1, 2021 JOE BIDEN USES CANADA AS A PUNCHING BAG MORE THAN DONALD TRUMP His ‘Buy American’ plan is worse than Donald Trump’s for suppliers.   President Biden doubled down on Donald Trump’s “Buy American” campaign, signing a Jan. 25 executive order that would not only maintain Mr. Trump’s destructive protectionism, but increase the burdens on international trade.   Mr. Biden’s new order will keep Mr. Trump’s mandate that the federal government buy goods made domestically. But it adds a new, highly disruptive mandate to raise the threshold for foreign components going into those finished goods, along with the establishment of a panel to reduce the many exemptions the Trump administration had made.  Despite its antitrade image, the Trump administration hadn’t even finalized its own “Buy American” rules until two days before leaving office, suggesting a gap between rhetoric and economic reality that the new administration seeks to close.  In
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L’AFFAIRE JULIE PAYETTE

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L’AFFAIRE JULIE PAYETTE  La journaliste Josée Blanchette dit sur son Facebook ce matin (jeudi 28 janvier 2021) que lorsque Julie Payette a été nommée comme GG il y a trois ans, elle avait écrit un mot en disant qu’elle plaignait ses futurs employés à Rideau Hall. Ses amis avaient écrit en privé à Josée pour lui dire que ce n’était pas gentil et que ci et que ça. Elle avait effacé le statut. Aujourd’hui, elle se demande jusqu’où va l’amitié.  Josée n’est pas la seule à avoir été silencieuse...  Moi aussi ( par nostalgie parce que je l’avais connue dans les années 2002) lorsque Julie Payette a été nommée Gouverneur général en 2017,  je me disais que ça ne tiendrait pas la route car je connaissais son caractère, mais je n’ai rien dit publiquement sur mes divers médias sociaux. En plus de la nostalgie, mon silence était probablement dû au fait que plusieurs disaient que c’était admirable qu’une Québécoise surdouée obtienne ce poste! Je n’aime pas me chicaner pour la chicane et je choisi
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L'AVENIR DE LA CIVILISATION EN 2021

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L'AVENIR DE LA CIVILISATION  Par Bernard Bujold - Tout le monde comprend que le déconfinement au Québec ne sera pas pour le 8 février 2021 et pire, on ne sait pas pour quand?  Si la situation de santé physique liée au coronavirus est inquiétante, la destruction du système économique est encore plus préoccupante car, sans économie, il n'y a plus de société ni de civilisation.  Des hôtels autrefois de luxe sont transformés en refuge pour les sans abris et des restaurants de qualité deviennent des soupes populaires.  On dit que la différence entre aisance et pauvreté est une simple ligne très mince. Serait-il possible que toute notre civilisation, d'ici quelques années devienne un souvenir disparu à jamais? Selon le Forum de Davos, on évalue actuellement entre 5 et 10 ans la période nécessaire pour rebâtir l'économie d'avant le corona! Chaque mois de confinement qui s'ajoute signifie des années de plus au calendrier de relance.  Pour les gens âgés, cela devient u
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JULIE PAYETTE AND HER FUTURE

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THE GLOBE AND MAIL - JANUARY 21 -2021 An independent review of Rideau Hall harassment will challenge Governor-General Julie Payette’s tenure, sources say An independent review of workplace harassment allegations made by former and current staff at Rideau Hall has been completed, with confidential sources who have been briefed on the review saying it paints a very negative picture of the work environment in the Governor-General’s office since Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tapped former astronaut Julie Payette for the vice-regal role in 2017.  Multiple sources say it may make it difficult for Ms. Payette to remain in the job amid growing signs the Prime Minister has lost patience with her after accepting the report, which outlines allegations of bullying.   The Globe and Mail is not identifying the sources because they were not authorized to speak about the matter publicly.  Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic Leblanc has been tasked with stickhandling the report.  If Ms. Payette
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DONALD TRUMP AND HIS LEGACY

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THE WALL STREET JOURNAL Monday , January 18, 2020 by Gerard Baker THERE'S AS MUCH TO LEARN FROM DONALD TRUMP PRESIDENCY "President Trump’s greatest achievement will have been the elevation of the legitimate concerns of perhaps half the U.S. population" The best argument for Donald Trump’s presidency was never about the man himself. It was about the people who voted for him. It wasn’t really about what he would do for taxes, immigration or the federal judiciary. He did many needed things on those fronts for sure, but any clever Republican politician with a good pollster could have come up with that agenda. It wasn’t about his vaunted business experience and how he might inject a little necessary private-sector sense into a stultified bureaucracy. It certainly wasn’t about his penchant for conversation-dominating social-media expostulations—polls have indicated a consistent popular distaste for them.  The best argument for Donald Trump was that he led and gave voice to mil
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