News roundup, 30 Jan 2025

- A Bombardier CRJ-700 operated on behalf of American Airlines, carrying 60 passengers and 4 crew, has collided in midair with a US military UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter with a crew of 3 over the Potomac River near Washington, DC. Numerous fatalities have already been reported, and folks on Reddit who listen to scanners are saying that a few if any survivors are expected; EMS workers were apparently heard saying things like "Going to the firehouse to make sure the big refrigerator is turned on".

- Donald Trump has ordered his administration to look into the creation of a "national digital asset stockpile". This falls short of what the hardcore crypto bros were hoping for, which was the immediate creation of a strategic bitcoin reserve; nonetheless, the price of bitcoin briefly surged following the announcement before dropping again.

- The Trump administration, who had earlier ordered a temporary pause in a lot of federal funding, has now rescinded this following a court order. They still plan to review spending, however, and it's a safe bet that they will still make a lot of cuts, while telling people whose programs didn't get cut how lucky they are.

- Friedrich Merz, leader of Germany's Christian Democrats, has managed to push a motion on immigration through the country's parliament with the support of AfD. The motion is nonbinding, but has aroused great concern about the precedent set by cooperating with the far right. Chancellor Olaf Sholz called the move "an unforgivable mistake"; in any case, Sholz's Social Democrats as well as the Greens say that implementing the policy would violate German as well as EU law on refugees.

- Americans are souring somewhat on some of Donald Trump's policies, according to a new poll. Unfortunately, it's a bit late for that now.

- Parks Canada has concluded that it's probably too late to eradicate Zebra Mussels from Clear Lake in Manitoba's Riding Mountain National Park. As a result, the watercraft ban that had been placed on the lake will be lifted, albeit with under a "one boat, one lake" policy. How this policy is to be enforced is not clear.

- Former Democratic Senator Bob Menendez has been sentenced to 11 years in prison for accepting gifts from foreign governments; said gifts included a brand new Mercedes-Benz as well as cash and gold bullion. Menendez represented New Jersey, a place that makes Quebec look like Norway in comparison.

- A brawl broke out at a meeting in Thornton Township, IL on Tuesday night. One of the combatants was the mayor's boyfriend, who had recently been hired by the municipality to run a youth program but had been put on leave as a result of a motion put through by a newly elected trustee.

News roundup, 14 May 2024

- The wildfire situation is not improving. The entire population of Cranberry Portage, a community of about 600 people, have been evacuated; the fire in the area could take weeks to put out. In BC the fire threatening Fort Nelson is getting closer to the town and adjacent reserve, forcing more evacuations, while in Alberta the entire municipality of Wood Buffalo, which includes Fort McMurray, remains on evacuation alert.

- BC's measures restricting short term rentals like Airbnb are upsetting people who hoped to make money renting out their properties. A new organization, calling itself the "West Coast Association for Property Rights", has formed to fight this; of course their executive director declares that restricting short term rentals won't solve the problem, but then he would say that, wouldn't he. The organization is seeking an injunction to stop the enforcement of the law.

- Teresa Ribera, Spain's deputy prime minister, is hoping to be appointed the EU's commissioner for the Green Deal. She is not pulling her punches in criticizing EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen for her deference to the far right and the rural dinosaurs in particular.

- In recent years many corporations have at least gone through the motions of being concerned about environmental, social, and governance (ESG) and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) matters. However, corporations aren't generally a reliable ally on such matters, especially when there's a very aggressive push in the other direction from the far right. Even companies that remain (somewhat) forward thinking on these matters are a lot quieter about it than they were a few years ago.

- David DePape, the man who showed up at Nancy Pelosi's home with a hammer in 2022 and then beat her husband with it upon finding that she wasn't there, is set to be sentenced on Friday. Prosecutors are asking for a 40 year sentence.

- Deomcratic Senator Bob Menendez goes on trial on Monday for accepting large amounts of money in bribes. Of course, he represents New Jersey, a place whose corruption makes Quebec seem like Norway in comparison; he's just one of the unlucky ones to get caught.

- An 8 month old child in the UK, who was born deaf, is now able to hear without any assistance, thanks to gene therapy. It will be interesting to see the reaction of the folks who call themselves Deaf with a capital D and who have at times characterized cochlear implants as genocide.