News roundup, 28 Aug 2025

- Someone opened fire on parishioners at a Catholic church attached to a school in Minneapolis Wednesday morning; the attacker died of a self-inflicted gunshot. The incident is being investigated by the FBI as an anti-Catholic hate crime; the shooter appears to have been a transwoman. Given the church's hardline stance on LGBT* issues, being angry is quite understandable, though I have to say that shooting kids is not a good way of expressing one's grievance with the institution. This, by the way, is apparently unrelated to another incident in the same city the previous day when a man opened fire on a group people on a sidewalk in front of a school, killing one.

- The legality of Donald Trump's sacking of Federal Reserve board member Lisa Cook is almost certain to be decided by the Supreme Court sooner or later. I don't think I'd bet money on Cook winning her case. So far markets seem surprisingly unperturbed by the matter; presumably no investor wants to sell off too soon, for fear of sparking a downturn that causes securities to devalue faster than they can sell them off.

- At least 12 people have died in Kiev in the latest barrage launched by Russia against Ukraine. Despite this, Ukraine is understandably not willing to reward the Russians with land in order to end the war; unfortunately by the time this is all over there probably won't be much left of the country.

- Canadian Union of Postal Workers Local 856, which represents letter carriers in Winnipeg, is calling for Canada Post to provide self-defense training for its employees after a drastic spike in attacks on carriers. In the last 12 months there have been an average of one attack per month on carriers; most recently an unprovoked one in Waverley Heights. This is compared to one or two per year before now. 

-  East St. Paul mayor Carla Devlin had a "hot mic" incident in a council meeting in which people were raising objections to a proposal to allow multi-family housing in a neighbourhood just outside the Perimeter. She suggested that people "don't want to hear the truth"; my first reaction to this was "she's not wrong, even if it was a bad idea to say that where the public can hear you". After all, more dense housing is exactly what is needed. Reading the associated Reddit thread forces me to reconsider; folks there pointed out that sewer infrastructure in the municipality might not be up to snuff. Conceivably, such a development might need to be served by Winnipeg's sewer system, adding to infrastructure costs while not paying city taxes; in any case it's not served by transit, so pretty near everyone commuting into the city from this development would be driving. Throw in the fact that Devlin is the founder and president of a company that builds exactly that kind of housing, and things do start to look a bit dubious. 

- The Lunenburg Marine Museum Society, owners of the famous Bluenose II schooner, have withdrawn the vessel from the upcoming Gloucester Schooner Festival in Massachusetts, saying that "plans involving cross-border travel come with more uncertainties this year". Yeah, you don't want your volunteers getting hauled off to El Salvador over something they posted about Trump on social media. Heck, I wouldn't put it past Trump to find some pretext to seize the ship itself, to be redecorated in his distinctive style much like he's doing with the White House.

News roundup, 27 Aug 2025

- The Manitoba Progressive Conservatives have won the Spruce Woods byelection, but by a surprisingly narrow margin. Colleen Robbins defeated the NDP's Ray Berthelette by only 70 votes.

- Danish authorities have found evidence of Americans conducting covert operations in Greenland, apparently in an attempt to sway public opinion in the territory in favour of US annexation.

- A man who sent letter bombs to his ex-wife and two lawyers, one of whom lost a hand in the explosion, has been denied parole. Guido Amsel had been sentenced to life in prison with no eligibility for parole for 10 years, something usually reserved for those convicted of second-degree murder; then again, the fact that nobody died is not for want of trying on Amsel's part. The parole board concluded that while he hadn't caused any problems while incarcerated, he showed no sign of remorse and in fact tried to argue in his parole hearing that the police had planted his DNA during the investigation; he was deemed a high risk to reoffend.

- A law firm that represents several anti-wind power organizations is trying to pressure Brown University to retract a report published by the university's Climate and Development Lab. The report pointed out the similarities between statements from the organizations and from fossil fuel organizations, and uses Marzulla Law LLC in a case study to map connections between different organizations. The firm is threatening to go to the university's funders to pressure them; so far the university is standing firm.

- The Carney government is considering major upgrades to the Port of Churchill. Wab Kinew called this an exciting moment for the province; he's not wrong, though it's unfortunate that much of the incentive for the upgrades is LNG exports.

- Ireland's Central Statistics Office reports that while the total number of people emigrating to the country has decreased by 16% compared with the same time last year, the number emigrating specifically from the US has almost doubled. I'm pretty sure that weather isn't the reason.

- An autopsy has concluded that Norwegian hiker Steffen Skjottelvik died from drowning. It's thought he may have been swept away while trying to cross the Hayes River. 

- Police in the Australian state of Victoria are seeking a man suspected of shooting three cops, two of them fatally, following an attempt to execute a search warrant related to historical sex crimes on his rural property. The suspect is thought to be associated with the so-called "sovereign citizen" movement.

News roundup, 26 Aug 2025

- At least 20 people, including 5 journalists, were killed when the Israelis bombed one of Gaza's main hospitals. Two separate strikes occurred, the second as staff were preparing to evacuate from the first.

- The Trump regime is trying to fire a member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors. One of Trump's appointees, Bill Pulte, who is involved in regulating mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, alleges that Lisa Cook committed mortgage fraud; Cook has not been charged with a crime, though. Investors are concerned about the implications for the central bank's independence; stock futures and the US dollar have declined since the story broke.

- A Norwegian hiker who had gone missing in the wilderness of northern Manitoba has been found dead. Steffen Skjottelvik had been trying to reach York Factory from Fort Severn First Nation in northern Ontario and almost made it, but his body was found along the Hayes River, only a short distance from his destination. 

- Steinbach city council has rejected a bid to hold a referendum on allowing cannabis stores in Manitoba's third largest city. Activists are now gathering signatures in the hope of getting 20% of registered voters in the city to approve, which would force a referendum whether council wants it or not.

- A parking enforcement officer in Ottawa was attacked after ticketing a vehicle parked outside City Hall. Another city employee intervened, and police captured a suspect. The same thing happened in Toronto last month; it appears that being a parking officer (and most likely also an animal services officer or other bylaw officer) is not a risk-free job.

- British musician Paul Weller is suing his former accounting firm, after the firm dropped him as a client over his use of the G word to describe what Israel is doing to Palestine.

- Dylan Desclos, a French Justin Bieber impersonator, managed to convince the staff at a Las Vegas nightclub that he was the real deal; he not only performed a number of Bieber's hits but racked up a $10,000 tab before the ruse was discovered.

News roundup, 25 Aug 2025

- The Trump regime is deploying National Guard troops to New York City and Chicago, ostensibly in order to crack down on the rampant crime that their sheeple believe to be found in those cities. Chicago mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois governor JB Pritzker are condemning this as an abuse of power, but of course Trump isn't letting that stop him and reportedly plans to declare a national emergency so as to be able to extend the 30 day time limit for the deployment.

- A judge has ordered the closure of the Trump regime's "Alligator Alcatraz" in the Everglades for environmental reasons. Naturally, the state of Florida, which has partnered with the regime on the facility, is appealing the decision.

- The Carney government is removing retaliatory tariffs on all American goods covered by the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA), ostensibly for the benefit of Canadian industry. Manitoba premier Wab Kinew doesn't think this is going to be helpful; for his part he thinks a better move would be to remove tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles in the hope of reversing China's tariffs on Canadian canola. From Manitoba's point of view, as well as from an environmental point of view, that makes perfect sense. From a human rights point of view, trading with China doesn't look too good, but neither does trading with the US, so it's pretty much a wash. Unfortunately, Carney doubtless has bigger fish to fry; he has to be seen to be doing his utmost to save the Canadian auto industry, and removing tariffs on Chinese EVs would probably be a bridge too far in that regard.

- The Trump regime's firing of Bureau of Labor Statistics commissioner Erika McEntarfer is raising alarm bells among investors. Trump had accused McEntarfer of manipulating statistics to make him look bad; his appointment of a partisan as her replacement has led to fears that future statistics actually will be manipulated. Of course it's harder for investors to bet against the US than it was for them to bet against Greece and Argentina after it came out that those countries were manipulating data, but there will presumably come a point when they can't pretend that the US is a good investment anymore.

- Connie Hedegaard, who served as the EU's first climate commissioner, is very concerned about the federation's backsliding on environmental issues in recent years. The Green Deal promoted by European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen is under heavy attack from rightwing populists; Hedegaard warns that the harms of climate change will ultimately fuel populism in the long run, so better to face it now than later. She's right, of course, but whether Europe's leaders have the courage to listen and stand up to the populists now is another question.

- Companies of all sorts are jumping on the AI bandwagon, but only 5% of those doing so are seeing any significant increase in their revenue according to a new report from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Nonetheless they keep investing in the technology, presumably because their investors expect them to and will fear that they won't be sufficiently innovative if they don't keep doing so.

- An engineer in Brighton, England was arrested for expressing support for a terrorist organization by wearing a T-shirt that the police initially thought said "Palestine Action". He was released when they looked closer at the shirt and saw that it actually said "Plasticine Action"; he admits that the design was deliberately meant to confuse the cops and is selling the shirts to raise money for a charity called Medical Aid for Palestinians (which hasn't been labelled a terrorist organization, at least not so far).

News roundup, 22 Aug 2025

- Following another apparent suicide attempt at Winnipeg's Millennium Library on Wednesday, the top floor of the facility has been temporarily closed to the public while the city looks at possible safety upgrades. Reportedly a person was trying to climb over the railing on the top floor but was stopped by security.

- Lindsey Halligan, the Trump regime's official leading a review of exhibits at the Smithsonian Institution, is concerned that said exhibits portray slavery in an overly negative light. Halligan told the far-right news channel Newsmax that you "can't really talk about slavery honestly unless you talk about hope and progress". 

- Donald Trump says that his administration will not approve any new solar or wind power projects, despite the fact that the AI industry desperately needs more generating capacity and new new fossil fuel, hydroelectric, or nuclear plants can take many years to get online. They are, however, vetoing the closure of a coal plant in Michigan against the wishes of the plant's owner.

- Police in Kawartha Lakes, Ontario say that the man charged with aggravated assault on a home invader had stabbed the invader. Police do say that violently attacking someone who's already been subdued, for instance, would be an example of the use of excessive force. I don't disagree in theory, but part of me thinks it might be unrealistic to expect someone who's half awake and facing a situation they've never faced before to be capable of making a clear-headed decision about something like that. I hate to agree with the likes of Doug Ford, but maybe, just maybe something like the "castle doctrine" might be legitimate to enshrine in law for that reason. To be clear, though, I would very much oppose extending this to "stand your ground" laws, which end up being essentially legalized vigilantism (see for instance the notorious case of George Zimmerman).

- Job cuts at the Canada Revenue Agency have made it almost impossible to get through to the agency by phone. Over 3,000 call centre staff have been laid off since May of 2024, and now fewer than 5% of calls to the agency get through to someone. To make matters worse, the Carney government's austerity plans call for even more layoffs at the agency. Perhaps the government thinks that layoffs at the CRA will score them some populist points, but it's very short-sighted.

- Young adults in the US are dying at rates that far exceed those of comparable countries. Notably, this is true for many different causes of death (car accidents, overdoes, suicides, and death from disease are all higher in young Americans than in peer countries). This has been in the works for more than a decade. 

News roundup, 21 Aug 2025

- Winnipeg's Granite Curling Club is appealing the City of Winnipeg's decision to develop a city-owned surface parking lot into affordable housing to the Manitoba Municipal Board. The building, if built, will be a mixed income facility, with 55 market rent units and 56 at various reduced rates. The club's management fear that reducing the amount of available parking will devastate them; perhaps they think that curlers aren't proper athletes and would thus balk at having to walk a couple of hundred metres. 

- The CEO of Target, Brian Cornell, is stepping down after several bad years for the company. This year has been especially bad; one factor seems to be that the company had jumped on the anti-DEI bandwagon despite previously having taken DEI policies more seriously than most chains. As a result, the chain's customers, who have tended to be politically more progressive on average than those of other retailers due to those former policies, found themselves with a lot less reason to choose them over another company.

- China's carbon emissions in the first half of this year have declined compared to the year before. US emissions, however, have increased in the same time period.

- A Chinese company claims to have developed a robot with an artificial womb. The product, billed as "a pregnancy alternative for those who wish to avoid the burdens of human gestation", is supposed to come out next year at a cost of only 100,000 yuan (around $US 13,900).

- A daycare in Brantford, Ontario was closed for several days after a dead bat found on the premises tested positive for rabies. A case was also detected in a bat in Centre Wellington; one person is undergoing precautionary treatment due to the possibility of exposure to the deadly disease. 

- A man in Kawartha Lakes, Ontario has been charged with aggravated assault and assault with a weapon after attacking a home invader. Given that the intruder has also been charged with possession of a weapon for dangerous purposes, I do have to wonder why the police didn't think the resident's response was "proportionate to the threat faced" as required by law, though the details definitely matter in a case like this (if, for instance, the intruder was attacked from behind while fleeing, or beaten after he was no longer a threat, charging the resident might be legitimate). Rightwing populists aren't waiting for the facts to come in before shooting their mouths off, of course.

- The family of a man who died after a suicidal jumper landed on the car in which he was riding are suing the City of Toronto for failing to install suicide barriers on the Leaside Bridge, from which the other man jumped.

News roundup, 20 Aug 2025

- US Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra called Canada's second thoughts about whether to go all in on Lockheed-Martin's F-35 fighter are "an irritant that makes it harder to get to a [trade] agreement". More ominously, there are suggestions that Saab, say, might not be able to sell aircraft to Canada if the US doesn't want them to - many of the components in the Gripen fighter are American in origin, so in theory all they'd have to say is "Nice export permits you've got. It would be a shame if something happened to them". If I were in Mark Carney's position I'd be calling their bluff on that. If the Yanks were forced to show their true colours, they'd quickly find that their defense contractors are getting fewer and fewer new foreign orders for components.

- Some AI experts fear that the US power grid, in contrast to China's, is not robust enough to handle the massive energy demands of artificial intelligence. Fortunately, most of the massive amount of new generating capacity in China is solar; unfortunately, there's still a great deal of existing fossil fuel infrastructure in the country. Even more unfortunately, the current American regime will probably try to make up the difference by building new coal and natural gas plants (or nuclear, if we're lucky).

- A 40 year old man in Vernon, Connecticut had to be rescued from a tubular slide in a playground after becoming stuck inside. Authorities had to cut through the slide in order to get him out.

- The commissioner of Greater London's Metropolitan Police has made a specific order that beat cops assigned to the Notting Hill Carnival are not allowed to dance while on duty at the event. The official reason is a fear that dancing officers won't be sufficiently alert to signs of trouble, but Guardian columnist Hugh Muir suspects that the real reason is that someone might take a picture of an officer dancing, and if the police look too friendly and human, the rightwing press would see them as woke. 

- A Florida man has been convicted of second-degree murder after fatally stabbing his friend in a dispute over Donald Trump's financial acumen. The victim and the attacker were at a gathering at a residence in the small city of Arcadia. The victim had apparently made a remark about Trump having gone bankrupt (which, spoiler alert, he's done a few times) and in the ensuing dispute the other chap stabbed him with a kitchen knife.

- In other Florida news, a 71 year old woman in Wakulla County has been charged with several crimes after holding a family at gunpoint because she didn't believe the kids belonged to the father. The article doesn't say anything about the victims other than saying it was a father with two daughters under 13, but I'd wager donuts to dollars that the father is black and the daughters are sufficiently light-skinned to pass as white.