News roundup, 30 July 2026

- A tornado watch was issued for the city of Thompson yesterday, meaning that conditions created the potential for tornadoes to develop. While tornadoes are not uncommon in southern Manitoba, it's quite unusual that far north.

- The US has launched a new wave of attacks on Iran following Iranian strikes on American bases in Jordan and ships in the Strait of Hormuz. This likely reduces the chance of Trump being able to get fuel prices down in time for the midterms; how that will impact the elections remains to be seen.

- The union representing WestJet flight attendants has issued a 72 hour strike notice, meaning a walkout could occur as soon as Sunday if a deal isn't reached. The airline responded by issuing a 72 hour lockout notice.

- A number of "centrist" Democrats (who would be considered moderate rightwingers in most functioning democracies) are questioning their commitment to the party as leftwing candidates keep winning primaries. Longtime Democratic consultant James Carville even brought up the possibility of a split in the party.

- A man who tried to help a woman suffering from an apparent drug overdose in a Winnipeg park was stabbed by her companion for his trouble. The woman and her would-be rescuer were taken to hospital; a suspect is in custody.

- A man charged in a spree of theft and vandalism in Winnipeg's Crescentwood neighbourhood has been denied bail. The judge issuing the decision says this is because of his lengthy criminal history; while I think it's reasonable to deny bail under the circumstances, one can't help but wonder if the affluence of the neighbourhood where he ran amok had something to do with the decision.

- Research at McGill University has found that large stands of aspen can make a forest more resistant to wildfires. They tend to have higher moisture content, and their leaves tend to be higher off the ground, reducing the risk of a crown fire. Unfortunately the forestry industry hates aspen due to it competing with more commercially valuable species, and sprays forests with herbicides to control it.

News roundup, 22 July 2026

- Donald Trump is lambasting the National Academies of Sciences over its role in the publication of a reference manual on science aimed at judges. It will surprise few that the reason for his outrage is a chapter about climate change.

- Clownvoy leader Pat King, already convicted on five criminal charges related to the protest/occupation, will be re-sentenced after the Ontario Court of Appeal overturned his acquittal on a charge of intimidation and obstructing police. The court found "overwhelming evidence" that King intended, even before the so-called "Freedom Convoy" arrived in Ottawa, to occupy the downtown core and cause distress to residents. This makes sense to everyone except supporters of the protest; it was pretty apparent to anyone who was paying attention that the clownvoy were practicing what Hunter S. Thompson so aptly called "an ethic of total retaliation".

- Gord Delbridge, the president of CUPE Local 500 representing the majority of City of Winnipeg staff, has died suddenly at the age of 55 following a medical emergency. Besides the obvious shock and sadness for his family and friends, this comes at a time when the union is trying to negotiate a new contract.

- The NDP's Jennifer Flett has won an overwhelming victory in yesterday's byelection in The Pas-Kameesak, winning nearly 75% of the vote. The byelection was necessitated by the death of Amanda Lathlin in March.

- Toronto mayor Olivia Chow has introduced a motion to investigate the city's ability to ban personalized algorithmic pricing for essentials such as groceries, including those delivered by companies like Save-On Foods or services like Instacart. The practice, also known as "surveillance pricing" or "predatory pricing", uses demographic information about you (harvested from your browser and smartphone history) to determine what you're going to be willing to pay for something so that the price can be adjusted accordingly. For his part, Doug Ford says he's opposed to such a ban; in contrast, the NDP government in Manitoba introduced a bill to outlaw the practice in March. Critics question how often this is happening (Loblaws, for instance, denies using it) but it seems to me that the best way to limit such a practice is to stop it before it becomes established.

- A physician at Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children has been charged with what is described as "child abuse and exploitation material". Police say that they have "found no evidence that the child sexual abuse and exploitation material is connected to his practice as a physician", which presumably means that no photos of his actual patients have been found so far on the devices seized from him, but this is not particularly confidence-inspiring. Meanwhile a Winnipeg dermatologist has been ordered to stop most of his practice after admitting to misconduct including trying to start a relationship with a patient and continuing to message her after she turned him away.

News roundup, 8 Sept 2025

- The agriculture sector in both Canada and the US is taking a beating due to the ongoing trade dispute with China. In the US, corn and soybean prices have collapsed; in Canada there's a similar situation with canola. In both countries, governments are trying to pick up the slack by incentivizing more biofuel production. Saskatchewan premier Scott Moe is calling for the removal of tariffs on Chinese EVs as these tariffs are widely seen as being part of the reason China has sanctioned our canola in the first place. I hate to agree with Moe on anything, but he's right about this. Unfortunately there's no way in hell that the federal government will throw auto workers under the bus.

- Suicide is now the number one cause of death in the EU for people between the ages of 15 and 29, accounting for nearly 19% of all deaths in that age group. This represents a reversal of a previous downward trend for suicide.

- Air Canada's flight attendants have rejected the latest wage offer from their employer. The union argues that even with the increase offered, flight attendants would still effectively be making less than the minimum wage for federally regulated industries.

- A consumer advocacy group in Australia has found that 16 out of 20 brands of sunscreen don't provide the level of protection claimed on the label. This in the country with the highest incidence of skin cancer in the world.

- Former Winnipeg Blue Bombers running back Willard Reaves is running for the leadership of the Manitoba Liberal Party. I guess he figures that if Obby Khan can lead a party, so can he.

- In France, the government led by prime minister François Bayrou is expected to lose a non-confidence vote. Bayrou had called the vote himself, hoping to "shock" politicians into getting their act together, but it doesn't seem to be working. Meanwhile the bleating masses are lining up behind Jordan Bardella, leader of the far-right National Rally, because he seems like "someone you could get a drink with". You'd hope that a democracy could choose its leaders based on something more substantial than that, but I guess not.

- Erin Patterson, who poisoned several of her husband's relatives with death cap mushrooms, killing three, has been sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 33 years.

News roundup, 19 Aug 2025

- To the surprise of few, Pierre Poilievre appears to have won the byelection in Battle River-Crowfoot. The full count is not in yet, but Poilievre has over 80% of the votes counted so far.

- In other byelection news, the Conservative candidate in the provincial byelection in Spruce Woods is apologizing for past comments about residential schools. Colleen Robbins had expressed the opinion a few years back that the schools had been created with good intentions, but characterizing "killing the Indian inside the child" as well-meaning is not a good look.

- Hamas has accepted a proposal for a ceasefire and prisoner exchange following negotiations in Cairo.

- The CUPE local that represents Air Canada's flight attendants has reached a tentative deal with the airline, which could bring an end to the strike if ratified.

- An eight year old Toronto boy has died after being hit in his bed by a stray bullet from outside his building. Bullets also entered two other units, but nobody else was hit.

- The removal of Toronto's bike lanes, which Doug Ford is still trying to bring about as he appeals a lower court decision, could force organizations to suspend food deliveries to the needy. Bikes get through traffic faster and don't need to worry about parking, and volunteers are less willing to use cars (and spend their own money on fuel and parking) to make the deliveries.

- MAGA musician Sean Feucht has found a new venue for his Manitoba show after the City of Winnipeg denied him a permit to perform in Central Park. Feucht will instead perform at a farm in the Rural Municipality of La Broquerie. Of course that's really more where his kind of people will be found anyway.

News roundup, 8 Oct 2024

- Hurricane Milton is bearing down on the Tampa area, expected to hit late Wednesday or early Thursday. It is currently a Category 5 hurricane, with winds reaching 180 mph (290 km/h or 156 kt). The barometric pressure in the hurricane's eye has been measured at 897 millibars (standard pressure is 1,000). Some people think this could wake people up to the seriousness of climate change, but given that the MAGA crowd are claiming that the Feds are somehow controlling the path of the hurricane, presumably in order to influence votes this fall, this might be a bit much to hope for.

- With less than a month to go before the US election, polling numbers are remarkably close. Key swing states, including Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Arizona, Georgia, and North Carolina are all too close to call. You'd think that the choice between a competent (albeit centrist) candidate and a raving fascist lunatic would be a pretty straightforward one, but this is America we're talking about...

- BC Conservative leader John Rustad indicated that he would be open to "Nuremberg 2.0" trials for those responsible for public health measures during the height of the pandemic. He subsequently backed away from this, presumably after advisors warned him that suggesting that making things inconvenient for the unvaccinated is just like stuffing them into gas chambers is not a good look. In other Rustad news, he called the Eby government's housing policy "Soviet-style housing", falsely suggesting that premier David Eby "thinks that the private sector has no role in providing housing" when in fact one of the biggest things the government has done is removed restrictions on the kind of housing that can be built by the private sector. Unfortunately, all this nonsense doesn't seem to be significantly hurting Rustad in the polls. For their part, the NDP is trying to get Elections BC to put the party's name on the ballot as "BC Conservative Party" rather than just "Conservative Party"; they are presumably resigned to the popularity of the federal Conservatives but want to draw a distinction between the federal and provincial parties. It's hard to see positives in the way this is going.

- The "Victims of Communism" memorial commissioned by the Harper government was scheduled to be unveiled last November, but has been beset by controversy following revelations that more than half of the 553 names that were supposed to go on the memorial belonged to people associated with the Nazis or other fascist organizations.

- The looming strike by healthcare support staff in Manitoba seems to have been averted, as a tentative agreement was reached at 4:25 this morning, with only 95 minutes to go before the strike deadline. CUPE and MGEU leaders are urging their membership to approve the deal.

- The newly elected mayor of the Mexican city of Chilpancingo, Alejandro Arcos, was beheaded just days after taking office, possibly having run afoul of local drug cartels.

News roundup, 7 Oct 2024

- The US Supreme Court has refused to preemptively block new EPA rules concerning methane and mercury, asking for the plaintiffs to file their claims in U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia first. This is somewhat promising, though if the case does land on their desks after going through the lower court there is no guarantee that they will uphold the rules.

- While natural gas has been promoted as a somewhat cleaner alternative to coal, a recent study has concluded that the climate impact of leakage during the transportation of liquefied natural gas is actually worse, largely due to the inevitable leakage of methane (the main constituent of the fuel).

- Bubba Pollock, the man who posted a selfie with a woman's dying father in order to harass her after getting into an online debate with her, was sentenced to 60 days in jail. He has a history of other criminal activity, including bribing homeless people to steal Pride flags and to pull fire alarms in libraries where drag-related events were being held. This is on top of more mundane (but equally disturbing) convictions such as sharing intimate images without consent.

- Physicians in Manitoba are getting tired of having to waste time signing sick notes demanded by employers. The province is one of three that have no restrictions as to when an employer can demand one; Doctors Manitoba is calling for this to be changed, saying that this can open up more time for actually useful patient visits.

- The chances of averting a healthcare strike in Manitoba are quickly fading; the unions say they are nowhere near a deal as tomorrow's strike deadline approaches.

- A child in the Brantford area has died of rabies, after having apparently contracted the disease from a bat while on vacation in Timiskaming District. Disconcertingly, there was no visible sign of a bite from the animal; experts are recommending that anyone who has been in contact with bats to get immediate medical attention.

News roundup, 3 Oct 2024

- The House of Commons has passed a motion from the Bloc Quebecois that calls on the government to "take the necessary steps" to pass Bill C-319 and ensure it is signed into law. The Conservatives, NDP, and Greens all voted in favour of the motion, as did five Liberal MPs. The actual bill, a private member's bill introduced by the Bloc, would boost benefits for seniors aged 65 to 74; since it involves expenditures it cannot actually be passed without the support of the government. The bill is controversial, with some warning that it is a fiscal disaster waiting to happen.

- Manitoba premier Wab Kinew has apologized to the legal community for his comments related to the expulsion of Mark Wasyliw from the NDP caucus. The affair doesn't seem to have harmed the premier's popularity, though.

- Community health services in much of Manitoba could face significant disruptions as CUPE and MGEU threaten to go on strike effective October 8. MGEU head Kyle Ross believes a strike is likely based on the offers from Shared Health.

- As more disasters like Hurricane Helene take their toll, we can expect to see a lot of migration as people leave the most vulnerable areas. And once it starts, it will tend to feed on itself. Not everyone is equally mobile, though, and it's likely that those who don't leave early will be unable to sell their properties. Meanwhile the tax base in the affected areas will collapse, making it harder to cover costs associated with climate change even as those costs keep increasing.

- The US military is testing robot dogs with rifles. They say the robots will only be used against drones. And of course the US military would never lie about something like that, right?

- A Pickering man seems not to have realized that modern cars keep a record of when you overrev them and that manufacturers may not honour the warranty when you do that. You'd think he'd know better, being a student of auto mechanics...

News roundup, 25 Sept 2024

- An American Airlines flight from Dallas to Seoul earlier this month turned around over the Pacific and went all the way back to Dallas. Passengers say they were not given a clear explanation for the turnaround, nor for why the plane didn't just land somewhere on the west coast so that the next flight wouldn't be so long, though they surmised (probably accurately) that the airline would rather they just went home rather than stay in a hotel at the airline's expense.

- BC Conservative leader John Rustad apparently expressed regret for having taken COVID-19 vaccines. Not because of any side effects (you can be sure that if he experienced any we'd never hear the end of it) but because he thinks it's somehow about "shaping opinion and control on the population". When asked about this by the media at an announcement he was evasive.

- The possibility of a strike by 25,000 healthcare workers in Manitoba is looming; CUPE and MGEU say they will walk out on Oct 8 unless they get a satisfactory contract.

- Montana's electronic absentee ballot system was shut down for troubleshooting after it was discovered that Kamala Harris was not on the ballot. Of course Montana is about as red a state as they come, so it wouldn't affect the outcome of the presidential race even if it weren't fixed (they say it has been), but it might affect some downballot races in relatively sane places like Missoula. Some might wonder if that was the intent.

- The Pacific island nation of Tuvalu, with a mean elevation of only 2 metres above sea level and a maximum of 4.6 m, faces oblivion within decades. They are hoping, however, to retain their status as a sovereign state, and in particular the marine boundaries with associated resource rights.

- Despite fears of unintended consequences, more and more scientists are saying that it's necessary to take geoengineering seriously, not least because it's a virtual certainty that some will try it anyway and it's important to do some research on the possible consequences as well as efficacy of such measures.

The scourge of fair taxes

Here's a clever little video put out by the good folks at CUPE on how to understand corporate tax cuts:



Via audrawilliams in the ndp LiveJournal community. Please pass this one on.