{"id":54820,"date":"2020-08-25T13:08:49","date_gmt":"2020-08-25T18:08:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/olduvai.ca\/?p=54820"},"modified":"2020-08-25T13:08:49","modified_gmt":"2020-08-25T18:08:49","slug":"while-fighting-the-virus-we-must-fight-for-our-rights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/olduvai.ca\/?p=54820","title":{"rendered":"While Fighting the Virus, We Must Fight for Our Rights"},"content":{"rendered":"
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While Fighting the Virus, We Must Fight for Our Rights<\/a><\/h3>\n

These governments around the world are trying to use the pandemic to smother freedoms.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n

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Don\u2019t let democracy sicken and die. \u2018The pandemic is killing more than people and economies. It has also come for our freedom.\u2019\u00a0Photo via Shutterstock.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n
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Twenty-two million human beings have had COVID-19 as I type this, and 788,000 have already perished. Those numbers will be higher by the time you read these words. So wear a mask, wash your hands, and mind your social distance from others. Listen to the scientists and give the COVID deniers what they deserve \u2014 your scorn.<\/p>\n

One other thing. Keep a sharp eye on your freedoms. Democracy may soon be added to that gruesome list of the pandemic\u2019s victims.<\/p>\n

Several countries have already had key institutions undermined by the COVID-19 pandemic, or its political manipulation. As a result, civil and constitutional rights, like the freedoms of assembly and expression, have been diluted if not cancelled outright \u2014 all in the name of fighting the deadly virus. Those rights may or may not be restored.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s run through a list of governments eroding democracy under cover of pandemic \u2014 and don\u2019t be surprised to find Canada in there, edging towards membership.<\/p>\n

HUNGARY<\/b>. There, it is beginning to look like a state of permanent emergency. Prime Minister Viktor Orb\u00e1n has completely neutered parliament, after his majority party\u00a0used the pandemic<\/a> to grant him the power to suspend existing laws, and all elections and referendums. Under the Anti-Coronavirus Act, journalists may now get up to five years in jail for disseminating false information during a pandemic \u2014 i.e., criticizing the government. The conclusion is inescapable. Orb\u00e1n is no longer a PM, he is a dictator.<\/p>\n

\u2026click on the above link to read the rest of the article\u2026<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

While Fighting the Virus, We Must Fight for Our Rights These governments around the world are trying to use the pandemic to smother freedoms. Don\u2019t let democracy sicken and die. \u2018The pandemic is killing more than people and economies. It has also come for our freedom.\u2019\u00a0Photo via Shutterstock. Twenty-two million human beings have had COVID-19 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[338,26522,765,23884,1197,855],"class_list":["post-54820","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-liberty","tag-freedom","tag-michael-harris","tag-surveillance","tag-thetyee-ca","tag-tracking","tag-viral-pandemic"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/olduvai.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54820","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/olduvai.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/olduvai.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/olduvai.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/olduvai.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=54820"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/olduvai.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54820\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":54821,"href":"https:\/\/olduvai.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54820\/revisions\/54821"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/olduvai.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=54820"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/olduvai.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=54820"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/olduvai.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=54820"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}