- The Manitoba government has confirmed that they will be lifting the ban on homegrown cannabis in the province. Most other provinces (except Quebec) already allow this.
- The Israel Defense Force's head of intelligence has resigned over the failure to see the October 7 attack coming. Some are asking why the shekel stops there, though; opposition leader Yair Lapid is calling for Netanyahu to resign as well. In related news, the US is reportedly preparing sanctions against a specific battalion of the IDF, following reports of human rights violations by the battalion. The Israelis are not pleased.
- The US Supreme Court will be hearing a case on whether laws against sleeping rough are enforceable if there is no adequate shelter elsewhere. Courts in Canada have ruled against such laws in similar cases, though whether the current makeup of the American court is conducive to this is another question.
- Sections of Ontario's Security from Trespass and Protecting Food Safety Act, an "ag-gag" law, have been declared unconstitutional. The affected sections are those that allow activists or journalists who take on a job at livestock facilities to be considered trespassers if they are found to have misrepresented their backgrounds in order to get the job.
- A climate activist in the UK was charged with contempt of court for standing outside a courthouse where other activists were on trial while holding a placard advising jurors of their right to acquit based on conscience. The charges have been dismissed, however.
- Populist politicians (most of whom are rightwing these days) love the phrase "common sense". Whenever I hear it, though, I am reminded of a saying (often attributed to Einstein, though as with most "Einstein" quotes it's unclear whether he actually said it) that "Common sense is nothing more than a deposit of prejudices laid down in the mind before age eighteen". Lurking behind the phrase is anti-intellectualism, atavism, and in a lot of cases, xenophobia. John Wiens has a lot to say on the subject here.
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