sᴀᴍᴛᴜʀᴄʜᴀɴ

ex-journalist. no longer in corporate media.

[Lauren Southern @Lauren_Southern]

Intelligence agents showed up at my door late last year. I told them to leave.

They proceeded to call me from anonymous numbers repeatedly. Contacted my gym. Told me they wouldn’t go away unless I “built a relationship with them” as an asset.

“Your audience will never know”

Returned to speak with me multiple times claiming they were giving me “last chances” before they threw me to the wolves.

They told me that the courts wouldn’t care if I was actually guilty or not. That essentially someone had to take the fall and I could ensure it wasn’t me.

It was repeatedly implied to me that:

“You’re smart you know it’s not what’s true that matters it’s the perception”

I was made to believe there was a potential arrest coming.

Made to believe I could never travel to the US again without being arrested by the FBI.

Made to believe I might not be around to see my child grow up.

None of these things were true. I can enter the US without issue. I was never arrested. I did nothing wrong.

I was psychologically manipulated for months in an attempt to turn me into a government asset.

We have one party consent in Canada, and I believe it is in the public interest for people to understand how this works, as I know I’m not the only one.

I have nothing against the agent. He was just given instructions and a job.

But I have no doubt if his job were to destroy my life and try to jail me based on “perception” not “truth” he would do it.

I’m just doing my job as well by publishing this.

These are just a few excerpts cut from hours of conversations to give people an idea of our conversations:

[The Food Professor @FoodProfessor]

Cloned meat is quietly getting closer to being sold in Canada — but people may not know they're buying it https://t.co/O27vcYML3v

[Josh Morgerman @iCyclone]

@AnnA49723615 Shut up, azzhole.

[Minister Of Enjoyment @mikey_esquire]

Bamboo is one of the hardiest plants on this earth. Once it gets into soil and sets root systems you damn near cannot get rid of it ever. They'll grow back. Sometimes bigger than before. Almost poetic when u think about it

(Don't plant bamboo near your homes btw guys)

[Élie Cantin-Nantel @elie_mcn]

UPDATE: After national backlash and a shocking allegation that a non-left wing academic was excluded, CTV Edmonton has CAVED and CHANGED the title of its hit piece against @ABDanielleSmith from "experts say" to "critics."

A small win for journalistic integrity.

[Josh Morgerman @iCyclone]

I listened to so many inspiring tales of survival in Crawford #Jamaica today. The common threat: everyday people doing their best in an insane situation: the core of Cat-5 #Hurricane #MELISSA.

* Keith ("Benji") Carey survived the storm surge in a tiny cement building on the waterfront, basically at sea level (!!!) in Gallon Beach. He did it by floating on a piece of Styrofoam and clutching the doorframe as waves crashed into the room. At the height of the storm, he could touch the ceiling. (He will evacuate as advised next time.)

* Desrine Dellop, who survived the storm surge with Benji, gave me a tour of her devastated Gallon Beach neighborhood. Here she is in front of her now roofless house. I was inspired by her calm vibe, despite what she's just been through.

* When Trishanna Givens' apartment blew apart from the force of the wind, she rushed around the building to seek shelter in the lounge in the front. As she put the key in the lock, the wind threw her with such force that the key broke off and she was scraped and bruised all over her body. She rode out the height of the storm curled in a ball against the downwind wide of the building, under a piece of construction material.

* Sylvester & Victolyn Atherton own the High Way Restaurant across the street from my hotel. When the roof tore off, they sought shelter under a concrete table. Fortunately, they got through it uninjured.

Thank you all for these tales of strength and survival! 👊

[sᴀᴍᴛᴜʀᴄʜᴀɴ @samturchan]

@Bwalker9313 @govt_corrupt 7 million people is the cost of a downtown Toronto house. 40 BILLION has been sent to Ukraine for some "war," go cry about that.

[sᴀᴍᴛᴜʀᴄʜᴀɴ @samturchan]

@Bwalker9313 @govt_corrupt They just had a Category 5 hurricane and many are homeless? It's literally a humanitarian crisis. And they certainly are classified as a third world country.

[NoOne @cawlz_k]

@iRealPedro @originalkoffee need to release supm like Lockdown again, to help lift spirits

[Josh Morgerman @iCyclone]

Man. #Hurricane #MELISSA. Incredible power. Perhaps the mightiest hurricane of the 83 I've witnessed.

My location (Crawford, a tiny beach town in St. Elizabeth Parish #Jamaica) took the full force of the inner right eyewall and may have seen the peak winds in this historic, record-smashing hurricane.

First pic: as it started to get scary. Bone-rattling gusts were making roofs explode into clouds of lethal confetti. The grand palm tree out front was starting to bend obscenely—in a way I found unnatural.

Second pic: after we bolted the door shut because it was getting too dangerous even to watch the storm. (I'd randomly ended up in the hotel's kitchen with a local family.)

The hurricane's inner eyewall was a screaming white void. All I could see through the cracks in the shutters was the color white—accompanied by a constant, ear-splitting scream that actually caused pain. (Notice the woman in the pic holding her ears.) The scream occasionally got higher and angrier, and those extra-screechy screams made my eardrums pulse. Meanwhile, water was forcing in through every crack—under the floor and between the window slats.

I remember shuddering at the thought of what was happening to the town—what this screaming white void was doing to people, homes, communities.

My fears were well-founded. The impact in this part of coastal St. Elizabeth Parish is catastrophic. Wooden structures were completely mowed down and in some cases swept from their foundations. Some concrete structures collapsed. The well-built ones—like my hotel—survived, but even they had major roof, window, and door damage. The landscape has been stripped bare—the trees just sticks. The roads are blocked with rubble and utility poles.

Nearby Black River—a unique old historical town right on the water—was smashed beyond recognition: historical sites destroyed, main streets filled with rubble, the town market twisted like a pretzel, even the regional hospital destroyed.

It's a good thing I wasn't in my hotel room during the storm because one of the windows blew out, showering the bed with glass and wood. The hotel lost most of its roof, and several third-story rooms were smashed open. But in the lower flooors, those grand old concrete walls protected us. And so far I'm aware of only two deaths in Crawford—a fellow who had a heart attack at the school next door (his body was still in his car and unclaimed the next morning, a sad and disturbing sight), and a woman who drowned in the storm surge in Gallon Beach. While walking down the devastated streets of Black River, I ran into the Jamaican Member of Parliament for this region, @floydgreenja. He's a great dude and I appreciate that he already has a gameplan for turning this catastrophe into an opportunity—to build this region back better. And I vowed on the spot that I'm going to make it my mission to spread awareness of this catastrophe and get that aid flowing in. I'll be talking about MELISSA a lot over the coming months—because it is both a fascinating meteorological event and a human disaster that demands an international response. (And I swear an epic video is coming out of this.)

[Sue @suebellaC]

"Jamaica has been wiped off the map"

Here I am tweeting from heaven. The WiFi nuh too bad.

[Korra Katara 🇬🇩 @Nutmeg_Princess]

So now, I’d issue them a refund & ask them to leave immediately. Let them figure it out. I’m so serious.

[ineffable 🔴🇫🇷 @davidj___]

I need you guys to know Mobay is destroyed.

[Kehinde Andrews @kehinde_andrews]

Why on earth is @BBCNewsnight interviewing tourists in Jamaica about the hurricane???? People in the resorts have lost a holiday, the locals are losing their homes, livelihoods and lives. I guess Black lives don't matter any more 😡 Do better @BBCNews

[ineffable 🔴🇫🇷 @davidj___]

In and around Montego Bay 🧵

[Cocobuttah🫶🏾🇯🇲🫶🏾 @cocobuttah_]

After watching US media reports on Jamaica during this hurricane, I fully understand how they use the media to spread fear, hate, and misinformation so easily.

[sᴀᴍᴛᴜʀᴄʜᴀɴ @samturchan]

@Imnotquiet @usainbolt 3 million people can't just evacuate an island. Where would they go? How would they get there?

[BiggestBlackestBarry @BiggestBarry]

Wow, based on the pics and videos I can conclude that you dont underrate a decent Jamaican mason when him a werk with him concrete and steel.
Non concrete roofs may have gone, and properties flooded out.
But all bout di wall dem stan up inna di 200mph like Gibraltar

[Alexia James @alexiajames_]

Feels like we’ve been living the same day over and over since Friday

[sᴀᴍᴛᴜʀᴄʜᴀɴ @samturchan]

Ask for compensation. Do it give away your footage for free.

[Brad Arnold @BradArnoldWX]

Last thing before I log off for a bit...It makes me sick to see national/international media outlets asking to use video taken by Jamaicans for credit. “Hey is this your whole livelihood being washed away in flood waters? Do you mind giving us all the rights to your content with credit to you?” Pretty scummy in my opinion.

These people are losing everything right now, and all media outlets care about is getting views and making a significant profit from your content.

Your content is worth thousands of dollars with a storm of this magnitude. Don’t give it away for free to media outlets who will profit off your loss.