News roundup, 9 Jan 2026

- Fiona Hill, a former advisor to Donald Trump, alleges that Russian officials indicated to Trump in 2019 that they would be willing to throw Venezuela under the bus so long as Trump would let them have their way with Ukraine. I guess from a realpolitik point of view, it makes perfect sense. Meanwhile Columbia's president, Gustavo Petro, fears that his country may be next to be attacked by the US. 

- Two people were shot and wounded by a Customs and Border Patrol officer in Portland on Thursday. The regime once again claims that this was self-defense after the victims allegedly tried to use a vehicle as a weapon and that they were involved in a Venezuelan gang.

- State investigators in Minnesota say that Kash Patel's FBI is denying them access to evidence in the fatal shooting of Renee Good by one of Trump's ICE stormtroopers. For his part, JD Vance says that the suspect (recently identified as Jonathan Ross, though the agency refuses to confirm this) has absolute immunity from prosecution for her death. Meanwhile some witnesses say that a doctor was denied access to the scene and ambulances were delayed because ICE had blocked the street.

- A hotel in Lakeville, Minnesota that refused to rent rooms to ICE agents has had its franchising agreement with the Hilton chain cancelled despite issuing a grovelling apology.

- Iran has shut down all internet access as protests rock the country. Trump is threatening to intervene if protesters are hurt; kind of ironic in view of his attitude towards protests against his own regime.

- A NASA mission to the International Space Station is being cut short due to a medical emergency experienced by one of the crew.

- A philosophy professor at Texas A&M University has been ordered to remove Plato's Symposium from an introductory course reading list due to it being too woke on gender and sexuality matters. 

News roundup, 8 Jan 2025

- A woman was shot and killed by ICE agents in a traffic stop in Minneapolis on Wednesday, apparently while serving as an observer keeping track of the agency's activities. The city's mayor, Jacob Frey, has condemned the killing and called for ICE to "get the fuck out of Minneapolis", but of course the Trump regime is spinning it as "domestic terrorism" on the part of the victim, claiming that she was trying to run down their officers with her vehicle (there's video here so you can judge for yourself). The Minnesota Department of Public Safety says that they will investigate the shooting "with federal authorities"; sadly that probably means that nothing will happen to the suspect, at least not through legal means. There are a couple of photos said to be of him here though. More information on the victim may be found here.

- Donald Trump mused about cancelling this year's midterm elections while speaking at a retreat for Republican members of the House. He quickly walked that back, but warned that he will be at risk of impeachment if the Republicans don't win the midterms.

- A professor at Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, Tennessee who was fired after posting a tweet with Charlie Kirk's famous quote on gun violence being a necessary evil shortly after Kirk himself fell victim to it has been reinstated and will be getting a $500,000 payout from the university.

- An antiwar protester in Grand Rapids, Michigan, was arrested immediately after being interviewed by a local TV station, as the cameras still rolled. 

- A newly enacted ministerial order by the Danielle Smith's education minister, Demetrios Nicolaides, requires schools to remove "sexually explicit" books from their libraries. School divisions are complying, but notably most of them, including those in the big cities, are not revealing what books are on the banned list. This is in stark contrast to the response to an earlier version of the order announced in July, which specifically included written descriptions as qualifying as "explicit". Back then, the Edmonton public school board publicly released a list of books that would have to be removed based on their interpretation of the order. Among the books listed were some of the usual suspects (The Handmaid's Tale, The Color Purple, A Game of Thrones, American Psycho) as well as some that you don't usually see on such lists (including The Godfather, Jaws, and, amusingly enough, two Ayn Rand novels (The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged). This put one of the activists who had been calling for the bans in the first place into a tizzy, accusing the school division of "malicious compliance" (and Smith later called it "vicious compliance").  It appears that the new version is more directed at comics/manga/graphic novels; perhaps the school divisions figure those aren't such a good hill to die on as stuff that older folks recognize as literature, so they're keeping their heads down for now.

- In the last couple of days Winnipeg has seen antisemitic graffiti at a school and Islamophobic graffiti at a mosque. While it's possible that one was done as a sort of collective revenge for the other, I think it's more likely that the people responsible don't come from either of those communities.

- Donna Cox, a councillor for a Manitoba municipality, was reinstated by a court after an attempt to remove her. The Rural Municipality of Thompson (a confusing name, since it's nowhere near the city of the same name) had rescheduled council meetings so they conflicted with her work, then removed her after she missed three consecutive meetings. The change in schedule happened shortly after Cox was elected; previously, council had alternated between morning and evening meetings, but then the entire council except Cox voted to hold all their meetings in the morning. I'd be very curious to know what kind of policy differences Cox has with her colleagues; this sounds malicious to me.

News roundup, 7 Jan 2026

- A widely circulated video that purports to show Venezuelans celebrating the ouster of Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro appears to be an AI-generated hoax. In other related news, the BBC has ordered its journalists not to use the word "kidnapped" when talking about Maduro's abduction. They can say "seized" or, when quoting US sources, "captured", but I guess they're afraid of not sounding impartial enough or something.

- The Pentagon is moving to cut the military retirement pay of former US Navy captain (and current senator) Mark Kelly. Pete Hegseth justified the move on the grounds that Kelly's reminder to active servicepeople that they have the right to refuse illegal orders constitutes "reckless misconduct".

- Federal NDP leadership candidate Avi Lewis says that he wants to implement a "Green New Deal". The plan is ambitious, to say the least - a complete ban on new fossil fuel projects (not that his opponents won't still claim he wants to forcibly shut down all existing ones) and creating large numbers of new high quality manufacturing jobs making renewable energy infrastructure, electric buses, trucks, and farm equipment, and the like.  He probably won't become prime minister, of course, but I kind of doubt any of the other candidates in the race will be either. Certainly someone has to keep banging the climate gong to the masses, and Lewis is better qualified than most to do so.

- The push to force workers back into the office continues apace. Naturally, the employers justify this partly on the grounds of productivity (despite the fact that some studies suggest the opposite); CTV didn't cite those studies, though, they just quoted a couple of civil servants who "think" that you're more productive in the office, while quoting a human resources professor claiming otherwise. To be fair, the proponents of the return to office gave other reasons as well (vague platitudes about "collaboration" and "organizational culture" as well as some hand-wringing about downtown businesses), but there was no mention of the idea that the valuation of commercial real estate could be a factor. In the case of public sector employers, there's also straight up populism - a sizeable chunk of the electorate consists of people who can't work remotely due to the nature of their jobs - and they think it's "unfair" that others are able to, and vote for rightwing populists like Doug Ford. This resentment is shortsighed, of course - if more people worked from home, the people who can't would face much less traffic on their commutes.

- European Central Bank president Christine Lagarde is concerned about the lack of progress in the development of a "digital euro" to enable Europeans to continue to conduct e-commerce while distancing themselves from the American banking industry. The big barrier to this is a Spanish MEP, Fernando Navarrete Rojas of the centre-right European People's Party, who thinks that for a government to do this is an affront to the sanctity of the private sector and has been doing everything in his power to hold up the implementation bill for the currency. Not surprisingly, the big banks don't like it either, presumably because it would also enable Europeans to cut them out of the loop along with their American counterparts.

- A ban on the use of cellphones by students in New York City schools has been getting very good reviews, but it has revealed the rather awkward fact that many students don't know how to read an analogue clock. This isn't really a new phenomenon, of course; I heard anecdotes about that some 25 years ago, but I guess the fact that everyone had a digital clock in their pocket has masked that until now.

- Police in Heber City, Utah were caught in the awkward situation of having to explain why a report written with AI-driven report-writing software stated that an officer had been polymorphed into a frog. The cops believe that the situation arose when their bodycams, which apparently fed data directly into the software, picked up part of the film The Princess and the Frog playing in the background at a location they attended.

News roundup, 6 Jan 2026

- UN Under-Secretary-General Rosemary DiCarlo has condemned the raid on Venezuela in which the country's president, Nicolás Maduro, was abducted. DiCarlo warns that it could lead to more instability, both in Latin America and elsewhere, setting a precedent that could make violent conflicts more likely. The generally accepted reason for the invasion and kidnapping is control over Venezuela's huge oil reserves; that said, American oil companies say they aren't in a hurry to set up there due to fears of more violence and instability. Undeterred, Trump is now musing about paying US oil companies to rebuild Venezuela's oil infrastructure. Notably, Vladimir Putin, who has treated Maduro as an ally in the past, has been awfully quiet on the matter; I suspect that he has quietly indicated to Trump "let us have Ukraine and you can have Venezuela".

- Trump continues to muse about taking over Greenland, by force if necessary. Danish prime minister Mette Frederiksen warns that such a move would mean the end of NATO.

- The US State Department has announced that it will be denying visas to five European citizens who it accuses of "censoring" American viewpoints. These include former French finance minister and EU commissioner Thierry Bréton, who was heavily involved in the development of the EU's Digital Service Act; the legislation requires illegal content (such as hate speech) to be flagged, which obviously is a non-starter with the Republicans. Others targeted with these sanctions have been involved in activism to counter digital hate and disinformation.

- The bar at the ski resort in Crans-Montana, Switzerland where 40 people died and 116 were injured in a New Year's fire hadn't been inspected in five years. The town's mayor had no explanation why they had gone so long without inspecting the facility, but vows that sparklers - which are thought to have been the cause of the disaster - will be banned in indoor venues. The town will also be hiring an outside contractor to inspect all venues in their jurisdiction.

- Thunder Bay had the highest homicide rate in Canada in 2025, with 6.08 homicides per 100,000 residents, followed by Chilliwack, BC at 4.75. Winnipeg came third this year, at 4.66.

News roundup, 5 Jan 2025

- The US has abducted Venezuela's president, Nicolás Maduro, and his wife after a series of intense strikes on the country early Saturday morning. He was quickly spirited out of the country and incarcerated in New York; Donald Trump says that the US will "run" Venezuela for the foreseeable future. Whatever you can say about Maduro (and most of it is not good), this is a pretty big demonstration (as if one were needed) that the Trump regime doesn't care about international law - or stability. Mark Carney seems nervous about rocking the boat, though, reminding anyone who will listen that his government does not recognize Maduro as the legitimate ruler of the country, while calling on "all parties" to respect conventions. The NDP and Greens were more direct, condemning the attack. Regardless, the consequences of the invasion may well impact Canada, as if the US is able to get a firm grip on Venezuela (a big if, mind you) it will dump a lot of oil on the market that competes directly with Alberta. The implications for the rest of Latin America, of course, are far more ominous, and in fact Trump is already making thinly veiled threats towards Columbia, Mexico, and Cuba. Oh, and he also wants to remind us that he still wants Greenland.

- Abacus Research has concluded that prospective referenda in Quebec and Alberta are unlikely to succeed due to what they call a "precarity mindset".

- One of the Alberta MLAs facing a recall has preempted the process by resigning. UCP MLA Rebecca Schulz will stay on until the spring, after which a byelection must be called within 6 months. Another 25 MLAs, 23 from the UCP and two from the NDP, are also facing possible recall in the near future.

- Vermont senator Bernie Sanders and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis have very little in common - but one thing they agree on is that maybe, just maybe, the boom in AI data centres shouldn't be allowed to proceed unchecked, due if nothing else to the impact on electricity prices.

- Following last year's highly destructive fire season, the insurance industry is warning that Manitoba is facing increases in premiums on residential and cottage insurance. 

News roundup, 2 Jan 2025

- The US job market is, by some measures, the worst it's been since 2010. While the actual unemployment rate was only 4.6% in November, a mere 50,000 net new jobs have been added per month across the entire country since May, meaning that those not currently employed find a hard time getting work. This is based on official stats, but Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell thinks this is an overestimation - and that there may in fact be a net loss in jobs. Regardless, about half the country will say it's all Biden's fault anyway...

- A Norwegian startup, Flocean, claims to have developed a desalination technology that cuts the (very considerable) energy consumption by half. According to the company, the technique takes advantage of the pressure of the ocean itself at depths of 300 to 600 metres. They plan to have a proof of concept up and running within the year.

- The BC government has conducted its first comprehensive assessment since 1997 of potentially catastrophic risks facing the province. Among other things, the report has concluded that if a 9.0 magnitude quake were to strike off the coast of Vancouver Island the province would suffer $128 billion in economic losses in addition to the deaths and injuries - and the entire property and casualty insurance industry across Canada could be threatened.

- A travel website called "The Travel" published an article that tries to claim that Canada's boycott of US travel is "backfiring" - partly because it has become more unpleasant to cross the border now that agents have more time to interrogate each person. I dunno, sounds more like the boycott will just strengthen further if that's the case. The article also claims that it's driven up the price of domestic travel in Canada, leading boycotters of the US to travel elsewhere (such as Europe). Again, though, if the demand for domestic travel is up, there's no reasonable basis to say the boycott is "backfiring" - rather, travel to the US is being replaced both by domestic and overseas travel. It reads like the author is in denial of the possibility that there's any good substitute for the US as a travel destination. However, one group who are taking a hit are snowbirds who want to sell their vacation properties in Florida.

- A police vehicle fatally hit a pedestrian in Surrey, BC on Christmas, less than a month after the last time this sort of thing happened. I daresay Surrey's police force might benefit from some driving lessons.

- Around 40 people have died in a fire at a Swiss ski resort on New Year's Eve. Officials say it could be days before all of the bodies have been identified; the cause is under identification.

- A Florida-based YouTuber is under investigation for animal abuse after posting video of the operation of a trap he had developed called the "Opossum Launcher". He had apparently lured the animal onto a makeshift catapult; it appears to have survived the incident but that's probably not the sort of thing that should be encouraged.

- In a story that sounds like it should be from Florida, a man in Brandon, Manitoba was arrested after attempting to pay a business with drugs instead of any conventional method of payment.

News roundup, 24 Dec 2025

 Just a note that I plan on this being the last blog post until the new year. That may change if something happens that seems worthy of interrupting the break, but otherwise I will resume posting in January. For now, though, here's the latest:

- A Perimeter Airlines Dash 8 preparing to take off from Winnipeg on a flight to Thompson via Manto Sipi and Shamattawa was stopped on a taxiway and evacuated on Monday after a flight attendant and ground control reported that the aircraft was on fire. There were no injuries in the evacuation, and the fire was limited to the right main landing gear assembly.

- The executive of Winnipeg's Granite Curling Club is requesting a judicial review of the city's plans to fight the ruling of the Manitoba Municipal Board regarding an affordable housing project planned for an adjacent city-owned parking lot. The city has received advice suggesting that the board's ruling can be ignored; the executive wants this reviewed by the courts. Notably, a substantial minority of the club's members are in favour of the housing project. If I had to guess, the members in support of the development probably live mostly in Wolseley, West Broadway, and Osborne Village and see homelessness every day as they walk or bike through their neighbourhoods, while those in opposition live in the suburbs and thus find homelessness less inconvenient for them than having to take the bus to the curling club.

- The waters around southwestern England are seeing a huge surge in the octopus population. The Common Octopus (Octopus vulgaris) accounts for most of the surge; this species is not unknown in British waters but has historically been more common in the Mediterranean. Since they prey on other molluscs as well as crustaceans, this may have implications for the shellfish industry if the "bloom" persists. Warmer winters due to climate change are the suspected reason, though maybe they're just the advance party for the Cthulhu as he gets ready to come out of the seabed and ravage the world. We'll have to see.

- The FBI and a New York prosecutor sought to interview the Andrew formerly known as Prince over possible connections to Peter Nygard. It's like all the rich scumbags out their know each other or something.

- A raid on a house in Winnipeg's North Point Douglas neighbourhood last Friday resulted in arrests and the seizure of two crossbows and a grenade as well as more conventional weapons including several firearms, brass knuckles, and a canister of bear spray. Two people are facing multiple charges for the weapons as well as methamphetamine, fentanyl, and lockpicks. Meanwhile in the suburban neighbourhood of Westwood, a cop apparently managed to lose their service weapon with 17 rounds of ammunition in it.

- Far right influencers Andrew Tate and Jake Paul both got soundly beaten in separate boxing matches. It's almost as if hypermasculine macho nonsense isn't enough to actually win a fight.

- A mall Santa in the Edmonton suburb of Sherwood Park was fired after allegedly slapping the hand of a child who tugged at his beard. I could certainly see the temptation, but really, all he needed to say was "No presents for you!"

- A driver in Salmon Arm, BC cut off a vehicle at high speed, flipping the bird while doing so. Unfortunately for him and his passengers, the vehicle turned out to be an unmarked police car, and when they were pulled over the police noticed some unstamped (i.e. black market) cigarettes in their car. Upon further investigation they found cannabis that was also from non-approved sources; they also found 29 grams of cocaine and a wad of cash.