Monday, October 30, 2023

News roundup, 30 Oct 2023

- Israel and the US have attacked military sites in Syria; Israel has hit sites in Lebanon as well. They say this is in response to rocket launches on Israel from Lebanese and Syrian territory. Ordinary Israelis are arming themselves; meanwhile there's been little progress on the hostage situation. Israel is also accusing Hamas of using civilians as human shields, something prohibited under international law; there are some independent reports supporting this contention.

- In Makhachkala, the capital of the semi-autonomous Russian republic of Dagestan, a large mob surged into the city's airport looking for passengers from a flight that had just arrived from Tel Aviv. Over 20 people were injured and around 60 arrested. The Russians, for their part, are blaming Ukraine.

- In the US, civil rights groups say that they have received "hundreds of requests" for assistance from people who say they have lost their jobs, or been threatened with such, as a result of their stances on the conflict. Parallels are being drawn to the McCarthy era.

- Here at home, Winnipeg police are urging people not to stage dueling protests regarding the situation in the Middle East, saying that this is too much of a draw on police resources. Others are concerned that such pronouncements could put a chill on protests, and contrast the cops' response to these protests compared to their response to things like the trucker convoy.

- It is expected that unless things change by 2029, a long-term increase of above 1.5 C will be pretty much inevitable. That won't be fatal for everyone, but it will be for a lot of people.

- MPI workers have voted to reject the latest contract offer. The strike, which has just passed the two month mark, will continue for the time being.

- Manitoba is currently the second worst province in the country for number of doctors per capita, worse than Saskatchewan and New Brunswick. Only PEI has fewer.

- A student bought a car that had just passed a safety a week previously, only to find that the inspectors hadn't done their job; the frame was so badly corroded as to make the vehicle unsafe to drive. The inspection was done at a Canadian Tire location; make of that what you will.

- The debate over Buffy Sainte-Marie's identity continues. Some consider the evidence presented in the CBC investigation to be pretty clear, while others still have their doubts due to a history of incomplete or falsified records of this sort of thing. The Indigenous Women's Collective, however, believes that the case is solid enough that they are calling for the Juno she received in 2018 to be revoked.

- The newly elected AfD politician who was being sought by German police has now been arrested and charged with racist abuse and displaying Nazi symbols.

- Efforts are being made in the US to use the 14th amendment to disqualify Trump from office. Not everybody thinks this is achievable, or even desirable, however.

- Yet another mass shooting in the US, this one in Chicago. Nobody has died so far, but 15 people were wounded, two seriously.

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