News roundup, 26 March 2025

- So it appears that the risks associated with Trump regime's use of the Signal app are not limited to inadvertently sending sensitive information to the wrong person. Apparently the Pentagon is now warning that the app is not as secure as it's supposed to be anyway; it seems that the end to end encryption can be bypassed by clever hackers, potentially including state actors.

- Besides the entirely justified anger at the US for electing a guy who is threatening to invade his neighbours and is in the process of tanking the world economy and making climate change even worse than it was going to be already, there is another factor keeping tourists away - fear. Fear that an innocent mistake regarding the terms of your visa could get you shackled and hauled off to some hellhole prison for an indeterminate period, even if you had previously thought you were immune to that sort of thing due to being a white person from a well-off country. That suits the regime just fine, of course; I suspect that they want to reduce the amount of contact between their own citizens and the rest of the world as much as possible. After all if an impoverished little country like the DPRK can survive almost total isolation, they must figure it should be a cinch for a wealthy country like the US. Especially if they can pick up some Lebensraum (not to mention resources) in the form of Canada and Greenland. 

- The Canadian Security Intelligence Service says Pierre Poilievre's campaign for the Conservative leadership received assistance from the Indian government. While CSIS is careful to say that it hasn't been shown that Poilievre knew about said assistance, this might go some distance to explain why he refuses to get a security clearance.

- China has freed employees of an American corporate due diligence firm who had been detained two years previously, apparently as a way of attracting new investment. What's interesting, though, is the circumstances of their detention - their employer had been "conducting unauthorized statistical investigations". It seems they may have feared that this would reveal a bit too much about human rights abuses.

- Just as surely as the fossil fuel industry, the beef industry knew decades ago that their industry is a major contributor to climate change - and like the fossil fuel industry, they did their darnedest to keep this information hidden from the public. 

- Joe Rogan, who a few days ago was saying that the Trump regime's behaviour towards Canada was "ridiculous", has now fallen in line. He had been scheduled to work as a commentator at a UFC event in Montreal in May, but now says he'd "rather go to Russia". I guess the MAGA crowd made enough threats to his livelihood - and his life - to get him to reconsider his views on Canada.

- The former CAO of Gilbert Plains, Manitoba had an arrest warrant issued after failing to appear in court on charges of faking a cyberattack in order to defraud the municipality of more than half a million dollars. I guess her lucky VLT didn't come through in time to pay the money back.

News roundup, 15 Feb 2024

- Donald Trump's threat to NATO members demanding that they pay up or risk being thrown to the wolves (or perhaps bears) has raised eyebrows, but not so much among Republican politicians (with a few exceptions). One of his former advisors is predicting that Trump will pull out of NATO entirely if he wins another term. While many are naturally spooked by this, some are suggesting that this might be a good thing - because it will force the EU to take defense seriously. At least one MEP is calling for Europe to have its own military in response.

- A man was fatally shot by Winnipeg police on Tuesday. The police had attended to apprehend him under the province's Mental Health Act, so you'd hope they'd be prepared to deal with someone who might not be in his right mind. Unfortunately they reverted to type when he became combative.

- A man was stabbed and racially abused on a Winnipeg Transit bus on Tuesday; the suspect remains at large.

- Liberal MP Rob Oliphant, who serves as parliamentary secretary to Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly, admitted in a conversation with a constituent that he is extremely frustrated with his government over the handling of the Gaza issue, particularly the suspension of funds for UNRWA. The conversation was apparently recorded without his knowledge. He said that that he has considered quitting his parliamentary secretary's position, but that he'd decided to stay after a staffer told him that "there needs to be a voice on the inside". Now that this has slipped out, though, one wonders if he'll have a choice.

- The Canadian Security Intelligence Service is warning that rabid antifeminist and anti-LGBT* sentiment could lead to serious violence. In fact it already has, but the risk is not expected to abate any time soon.

- The European Court of Human Rights has ruled that Belgium's legislation prohibiting kosher and halal slaughter of animals as cruel can stand. I guess that's one issue on which the Jewish and Muslim communities can agree, anyway...

- Apparently even Putin was shocked by the softball questions lobbed at him by Tucker Carlson in the recent interview.

News roundup, 19 Jan 2024

- The Canadian Security Intelligence Service is said to be investigating the Conservative Party's nomination in Oxford County, Ontario, in which Arpan Khanna was selected as the party's candidate last year. Khanna was subsequently elected in a byelection; he has ties to Pierre Poilievre's leadership campaign.

- The US Congress has kicked the can down the road to prevent a government shutdown, but this measure only lasts till March. The Republicans' real goal seems to be to tie any long term solution to cuts to Medicare and Social Security. They're also trying to tie any aid to Ukraine to immigration reform, which does not bode well for Ukraine.

- Electoral reform advocates are appealing the decision of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice which dismissed their attempt to have single member plurality (first past the post) elections declared unconstitutional.

- The Winnipeg Police Association has filed a grievance over the city's new Community Safety Team which is set to be deployed on Winnipeg Transit buses. I guess the cops are worried that they might look bad if unarmed security people are able to deescalate or detain people as effectively as a cop with a sidearm.

- Liberal MPs from Toronto are furious that Olivia Chow is calling the federal government out on its inadequate support for the city. Chow is asking for $250 million to cover the costs associated with housing immigrants and refugees who end up in the city; I guess the Liberals are sensitive about that topic given the overheated rhetoric that we've been seeing about immigration in recent months.

- US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says that a Palestinian state is essential for Israel's long-term security. He's probably not wrong, but Benjamin Netanyahu certainly does not agree, and I doubt the US will go beyond strong words in pushing for such a state.

- The Committee to Protect Journalists has ranked Israel the sixth worst country for imprisoning journalists, after China, Myanmar, Belarus, Russia and Vietnam, and just ahead of Iran.

- A midwife from Long Island has been accused of falsifying the vaccination records of about 1,500 kids in the state to enable them to attend school. Meanwhile there are outbreaks of measles happening in various parts of the US.

- The northern parts of Western Australia are facing a severe heatwave, with forecast temperatures being as high as 50°C in some places.