SHOOTING AT GIBSON HOSPITAL LEAVES 18 DEAD
A gunman targeted a hospital in Gibson, a town north of Tofino, in the deadliest shooting so far this year.
POLITICAL CORRESPONDANT: Travis Canterbury (@TCanterburyOfficial)
GIBSON - A gunman opened fire at a hospital complex in the city of Gibson, Zian, on Sunday, killing 18 people and injuring 10 more before he was neutralized by responding law enforcement. The attack marks yet another mass shooting in a string of violent acts which has reinvigorated calls by politicians and activists to pass stricter gun control legislation, as Sunday's shooting is the deadliest of 2022 and the deadliest since the December 6th massacre at a music festival in Vernon which killed 7 and injured 30. Authorities have identified all the victims in the shooting but are not releasing names, though they did confirm the majority of those killed were employees at the hospital.
The gunman was identified as Gibson native Brian Oektell, a 54-year-old who according to authorities was a former employee working in the custodial services at the hospital where he carried out his rampage. Oektell arrived at the building and opened fire with an illegal firearm. At least two responding security personnel in the hospital were injured while trying to stop the attacker. Authorities believe the attacker's motive may have been that he was disgruntled after being fired for misconduct with fellow employees.
Gibson is a town roughly an hour's drive north of Tofino with a population of 60,000 people. The hospital, Gibson-Meyer General Hospital, is one of the largest in the north-Tofino suburban zones with a capacity for 10,000 patients.
President Moreau, speaking from a summit in Sulifa, stated that his "heart and prayers are with the victims in this senseless, barbaric, and horrific act of terrorism in Gibson. I will be returning home as swiftly as possible in order to review our government's response to this deadly act and meet with the victims and their families. Mass shootings are an unfortunate common occurance in our nation, and they must be stopped. I call on Congressional Hall to act swiftly to put into place more protections against the unlawful use and obtaining of illegal firearms."
Speaker of the Chamber Natasha Chastain, leader of the Green Liberal Party, is leading calls for gun reform, stating that "these events continue to occur, and we do nothing. It's time for us to do something, so that these events become nothing."
Anti-gun activists are calling for sweeping restrictions, specifically a nationwide ban on the sale of rifles, universal background checks, and a mandatory month-long waiting period before receiving firearms once they are purchased. Liberal politicians are supporting many of these calls, with even conservative politicians backing a select amount of these measures.
Conservative presidential candidate for 2022, Rep. Sabine Armitage of the BCP, is also calling for measures on gun control, although straying away from calling for a total ban on rifles and supporting the common conservative talking point of 'good guys with guns'. "It is clear there is an epidemic of gun violence in this country," she said, "but we can't prevent good guys who don't spread violence and seed destruction to pay for the crimes of madmen. Yes, we need gun reform, but we should work to make sure it doesn't hurt people who don't deserve to be hurt."
Meanwhile, other conservative Presidential candidates, specifically CCP candidate Jay Gaviria, continues to hold onto a platform of less restrictions on guns, even calling to overturn the constitutional ban on automatic and some semi-automatic weapons in 2019.
FLETCHER DROPS OUT OF RACE, ENDORSES DALE FOR PRESIDENT
Congresswoman Alisha Fletcher's decision to drop out of the presidential race clears the path for Senator Leanne Dale to become the presumptive nominee for the Green Liberal Party.
POLITICAL CORRESPONDANT: Ryan Cesterne(@CesterneTofino)
WINGERTON - Addressing a rally in her hometown of Wingerton, Congresswoman Alisha Fletcher (GLP, Zian-11) announced that she was concluding her campaign for President and was instead focusing on fundraising and campaigning for Senator Leanne Dale, whom she endorsed and effectively made the sole candidate within the GLP with enough coverage to be the presumptive nominee of the party. Having joined the race in January with an appeal to moderate voters, offering herself as a candidate who could win in swing districts, Fletcher's dropping out of the race and endorsement of a rival created the boost that the GLP has been sorely lacking in the past two decades - a single candidate to unilaterally rally behind.
"Today, I am ending my campaign and endorsing Leanne Dale for president,” she said at a rally with supporters, who sat in silence. She added: “She can bring our country together and build that coalition of our fired-up Liberal Party base as well as independents, progressives, and moderates. We do not in our party want to just eke by a victory. We want to win big.”
The decision came one day after former-Mayor Greg Austlend of Alberni, Jade, departed the race, and after weeks of Liberal Party hand-wringing about a crowded field of moderate candidates splitting a finite field of centrist votes, allowing Leanne Dale to march forward as the front-runner among progressives and amass delegates. Both Ms. Fletcher and Mr. Austlend appeared with Ms. Dale at events in Hope and Providence on Sunday night and officially endorsed her.
Ms. Fletcher began discussing a possible end with her campaign manager, Alex Buoen, on Saturday morning. But the candidate arrived at her final decision on Sunday morning, catching some staff members by surprise as they were still making plans for campaign events later this week, and as her ad team was still making future reservations. Her rally in her hometown carried no indication that she had any intention of dropping out of the race, as she has maintained for weeks that she would continue seeking high performances at scheduled GLP debates between herself, Dale, and Austlend.
During her rally, she urged her supporters to throw their votes towards Dale, saying “vote for decency, vote for dignity, vote for a heart for our country,” she said. “That is what he will bring to the presidency, which we absolutely need to win back after nearly two decades or right-leaning rule.”
In a call with her staff on Sunday morning, Ms. Fletcher said she was proud of her “happy, scrappy campaign.”
“I’ve been so proud that people have been willing to pitch in and help each other,” she said, according to an excerpt from the call. “And so that’s why this is a really hard thing to do today. But I really step back and think, ‘What is the best thing for us, and not just me, but our whole team?’ And I keep trying to think of what is best for our country right now. So I decided that I’m going to be endorsing Senator Dale today.”
Ms. Fletcher, despite a strong second-place polling consistently throughout the campaign, lagged her rival in every other poll and was often seen as a candidate siphoning support. Alisha Fletcher currently serves in Congressional Hall as the congresswoman representing Zian's 11th district since 2008. A member of the Green Liberal Party, she is a leading caucus member and holds several positions in committees such as the Foreign Affairs and Commerce groups. Prior to being elected to Congress, she was a lawyer in the Delta-metro area.
Born in Wingerton, Zian, Fletcher attended Kingston University in Tofino where she studied law and criminal justice. She was a partner at two Delta law firms before being elected county attorney for the city in 1998, making her responsible for all criminal prosecution. Fletcher's political positions have generally been in line with modern Zamastanian liberalism. She is pro-choice on abortion, supports LGBT rights and universal mandatory healthcare, and was critical of the 1999-2005 War in Vulkaria, as well as the 2020 Ossinia Conflict.
AIR FORCE INTERCEPTS YUANEZE PLANES FOLLOWING BREACHES OF GANGKOU AIRSPACE
The Yuaneze military, along with navies of their regional allies, conducted massive drills in the Sancheon Gulf and Jinchon Sea, which drew criticism from many nations.
FOREIGN CORRESPONDANT: Louie Hall (@Louie_Hall)
GANGKOU - The Zamastanian Air Force scrambled multiple fighter jets on Sunday in order to intercept De Yuaneze warplanes that breached the territorial airspace of Gangkou during a massive series of military exercises by the Shanghan Cooperation Alliance member states in the Sancheon Gulf and the Jinchon Sea. Zamastanian naval vessels also warded off multiple Yuaneze ships from both Gangkou and Siniapore, which reported several breaches as well. The 3rd Fleet under the flagship nuclear aircraft carrier ZMS Dubois, stationed in the region, has deployed as a deterent to continued military buildup by Yuan in recent months, as the West Ausianan powerhouse attempts to assert its domain over the region.
Gangkou's governor, Wan Yahui Croston, strongly condemned the breach of airspace and maritime boundaries by the Yuaneze People's Liberation Force, saying "such reckless activity only serves to create tension and a dangerous situation. President Xi Jingyi knows what he is doing by poking the stick at the bee's nest. Eventually, the bees will react, and at that point Xi will understand the mistake he's made. I strongly encourage the Yuaneze government and military to step back their reckless exercises and to focus on their own sovereignty rather than the non-negotiable redistinguishing of Gangkou, which is a Zamastanian territory."
Gangkou is an overseas-Administrative District (Province) and Zamastanian-dependent island and legation-city off the coast of Yuan, with an estimated population of 7,078,000 within its administrative limits. Significant in 19th-century Yuan history as one of the treaty ports established for Ausiana and Euronian trade and contact, Gangkou was one of the original special economic zones of Yuan established in the 1800s. It was given over to Zamastan as part of the 1905 Treaty of Tiaking that established legation cities. Zamastanian influence in the city can be seen in the city's economics and culture. Originally a sparsely populated area of farming and fishing villages, the past century of Zamastanian administration has let the territory become one of Ausiana's significant financial centers and commercial ports. Gangkou has a major capitalist service economy characterized by low taxation and free trade, and hosts a high concentration of ultra high-net-worth individuals.
The political and legal statuses of Gangkou are contentious issues. The People's Republic of Yuan (PRY) claims that the Zamastanian government's claim over the island is illegitimate, referring to it as the "Gangkou Authority". However, since the Treaty of Tiaking in 1905, Zamastan has held soveriengty over the island. Gangkou has its own currency alongside the Zamastanian dollar, both of which are accepted monetary trade as opposed to the Yuaneze yen. Gangkou also has a widely accepted passport, postage stamps, internet TLD, armed forces and constitution with an independently elected president, all alongside Zamastanian government functions.
Internationally, the island is generally recognized as Zamastanian sovereign territory. Only a handful of nations, most prominently Yuan, dispute it. Other regional states, most significantly the Kalea Confederation (Litchir), endorse the sovereignty of Zamastanian control of the islands, largely as a move to deter Yuaneze influence. In the 21st century, Gangkou has become one of Ausiana's most important economic zones. On August 19th, 2021, President Xi Jingyi demanded that the Treaty of Tiaking be nulified and that the Zamastanian lease on the island would end in 2025, 80 years ahead of schedule and sparking a diplomatic crisis.
Until recently, the government of Tosichi supported Zamastan's administration of Gangkou. However, they participated in this week's massive war games with Yuan and asserted a significant amount of air power in their engagement, instead standing with the Yuaneze government during the flyover. The nations of Emansi, Sanpia, and Mandrao also participated in the exercises, and Zamastanian naval vessels had to ward away their patrol boats.
The Siniaporean navy has been placed on a high alert measure for the first time in its history, warning that further breaches of its direct territorial claims by any military function of the Yuan-led Shanghan Cooperation Alliance (SCA) would be met with a "forceful and appropriate response." Some Zamastanian naval vessels docked in Singana's main port, including the Osprey-class destroyers ZMS Meriasek, ZMS Morcom, and ZMS Toll, have been authorized by the Zamastanian navy to establish their mutual defense clause in case of further breaches.
FRIENDSPOT UNDER INVESTIGATION FOR DATA SHARING
Paul Suttebane, the founder and CEO of the social media giant, has previously faced scrutiny for the way that his company handles personal data of its users.
ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDANT: Miriam Tessle (@TessleTTT)
TOFINO - The National Data Protection Commission has launched an investigation into the massive leak of FriendSpot user data online. It was recently revealed that the personal data of more than 530 million FriendSpot users had been posted in a low-level hacking forum, with users' phone numbers being offered for sale. FriendSpot's defence is that the data concerned was scraped, rather than hacked, and that users' own privacy settings were to blame (this despite the fact that 'Public' was the default setting, even where the phone number was set to ‘Only me’). The company also claimed that the data had been scraped before the introduction of GDPR, meaning that it didn't need to report the leak.
"Based on our investigation to date, we believe that the information in the data-set released this weekend was publicly available and scraped prior to changes made to the platform in 2018 and 2019," it said. However, the National Data Protection Commission (NDPC), which oversees the safety and integrity of online privacy, was sceptical, suggesting that some of the data at least might date from a later period and this be subject to privacy breach laws. And now, following pressure from Congressional Hall, it's announced its intention to launch a full inquiry.
"The NDPC, having considered the information provided by FriendSpot regarding this matter to date, is of the opinion that one or more provisions of the 2019 Personal Data Protection Act may have been, and/or are being, infringed in relation to FriendSpot Users’ personal data," it says in a statement. "Accordingly, the Commission considers it appropriate to determine whether FriendSpot has complied with its obligations, as data controller, in connection with the processing of personal data of its users by means of the FriendSpot Search and Friend Send Contact Importer features of its service, or whether any provision(s) of the Personal Data Protection Act have been, and/or are being, infringed by FriendSpot in this respect."
FriendSpot, while claiming that the contact-importing feature in question is common to many apps, has said it will cooperate with the enquiry. The NDPC's move follows calls by Congressional Hall for a full investigation. Earlier this week, Attorney General Arthur Aubert said he'd spoken with data protection commissioner Grace Fraren about the matter, and was calling on FriendSpot to 'actively and swiftly... shed light on the identified issues'.
FriendSpot is a Zamastanian online social media and social networking service. Founded in 2003 by Paul Suttebane with fellow Kelowna College students and roommates Jon Luna and Matt Hayden, membership was initially limited to students in Zamastanian universities but in 2005 expanded to anyone 13 years and older. As of January 2022, FriendSpot claimed 2.8 billion monthly active users, and ranked fourth in global internet usage. It was the second-most downloaded mobile app of the 2010s, outpaced by its competitor Owler.
After registering, users create a profile revealing information about themselves. They can post text, photos and multimedia which are shared with any other users who have agreed to be their "friend" or, with different privacy settings, publicly. Users can also communicate directly with each other with FriendSend, join common-interest groups, and receive notifications on the activities of their FriendSpot friends and the pages they follow. The subject of numerous controversies, FriendSpot has often been criticized over issues such as user privacy, political manipulation, mass surveillance, psychological effects such as addiction and low self-esteem, and content such as fake news, conspiracy theories, copyright infringement, and hate speech.
Paul Suttebane (born November 19, 1983) is a Zamastanian media magnate, internet entrepreneur, and philanthropist. He is known for co-founding the social media website FriendSpot and its parent company Suttebane Platforms, of which he is the chairman, chief executive officer, and controlling shareholder. Suttebane attended Kelowna College, where he launched FriendSpot from his dormitory room in January 2003 with his roommates Jon Luna and Matt Hayden. Originally launched to university students, the site expanded rapidly and eventually beyond colleges, reaching one billion users by 2012. Suttebane took the company public with majority shares and became the world's youngest self-made billionaire in 2006.
Comments [109,811] | 
E-mail©TOFINOTIMES 2022
109,811 comments
TOFINO TIMES HEADLINES
- Apatonia's upcoming election may decide future of CCA Peacekeeping in Southern Adula
- Beleroskov sends troops to Ossotia to put down protests
- International delegation visits Tirikan, vows to increase support for Gurriana communities
- Congressional Hall races are closer than previously polled - BCP comeback looking more and more likely
- President Moreau visits Sulifa
- Zalluabed bombings show major security lapses as government struggles to maintain Osea Accords
- TTPA fractures begin to show following Qolaysian withdrawal
Owler
FriendSpot
E-mail
