Wednesday, January 31, 2024

News roundup, 31 Jan 2024

- Much of western Canada is seeing record high temperatures for this time of year, a far cry from the polar vortex of a couple of weeks ago. This is especially true in BC; West Vancouver recorded a high of 18.2°C yesterday.

- With drought conditions in much of Alberta, several municipalities are prohibiting the fossil fuel industry from using municipal water, at least until the province decides to intervene.

- The Conservative Party of Canada is reporting that 2023 was one of their best fundraising years ever. They collected over $35 million, a record for a non-election year. This is unfortunately not surprising; people want the Liberals gone (for a mix of good and bad reasons) and think the Conservatives will be an improvement (almost entirely for bad reasons). Interestingly, though, the use of the Emergencies Act to take down the "Freedom Convoy" is not one of them; even after the recent court decision, more Canadians approve of the use of the Act than not.

- The Manitoba government plans to roll out Canada's most comprehensive school meal program in the fall. Everybody seems to approve except the Conservatives (surprise surprise).

- The City of Greater Sudbury has been scammed out of over $1.5 million by imposters posing as a project manager for a construction company that had a contract with the city. Stuff like that has happened before, but usually to smaller municipalities, rather than a medium-sized city.

- Boris Nadezhdin, a fierce critic of the war in Ukraine, is running in Russia's presidential election. I do hope he carries a Geiger counter with him at all times and stays away from windows.

- Following the allegations of UNRWA staff being involved on the attack on Israel in October, many donor countries have cut off funds for the organization, leaving ordinary Palestinians high and dry.

- Liberal MP Ben Carr says that it would be desirable for Benjamin Netanyahu to leave office. No doubt it would, but you know what they say about wishes and horses.

- Arij Al Khafagi, the nursing student suspended by the University of Manitoba over social media posts that some people claimed to be antisemitic, has been reinstated after the panel investigating her case concluded that her posts did not constitute discrimination.

- A man in Pennsylvania apparently beheaded his father, who he considered a "traitor" because he'd worked for the federal government, then waved the head around on his YouTube channel during an unhinged rightwing rant.

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