News roundup, 16 April 2025

- For a time it seemed like Donald Trump's ramblings about annexing Canada were a passing phase; after Mark Carney met with him last month he seemed to tone down his talk on the subject. However, when asked about this the other day, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt stated that the president's position on Canada has not changed.

- Two ICE agents showed up to arrest a few Venezuelan refugees in New York City on suspicion of gang ties. According to Wilmer Gutiérrez, the father of one of these people, one of the agents said "No, he's not the one", but the other said "Take him anyway". The hapless 19 year old, Merwil Gutiérrez, was subsequently sent to the Trump regime's overseas penal colony in El Salvador. Meanwhile, the Salvadoran president, Nayib Bukele, has dismissed the idea of returning another wrongfully deported man, Kilmar Abrego Garcia, and the regime has said they wouldn't accept him even if Bukele sent him. This despite the fact that the Supreme Court ruled 9-0 that his deportation was illegal. Meaning that even the likes of Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas think that the regime is going too far. And the regime's response is, essentially, "Whatcha gonna do about it?"

- The Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington-based think tank, warns that the rare earth metals upon which China is imposing export restrictions could be difficult for the US to replace and that this could lead to supply chain disruptions. China has a virtual monopoly on the processing of those elements.

- The Trump regime plans to demand that the EU distance itself from China as a condition of avoiding tariffs from the US. The thing is, the more they pull this stuff on countries, the more most other countries are going to say "to heck with you then, we'll just deal with each other and leave you out of it".

- Canada's climate limits what can be grown in this country, but vertical farming may well help to make us more self-sufficient in food. And now that the US can't be relied on for this, there's an extra incentive to move in that direction.

- Unlike Columbia University, which caved to the regime's demands regarding protests and the curriculum of its Middle Eastern, South Asian and African Studies department in order to secure $400 million in funding, Harvard is standing firm. The regime is now withholding $2.3 billion in funding in response. All I can say is, fight fiercely, Harvard.

- Texas Senators Ted Cruz and John Cornyn have introduced a bill called the "Bring the Space Shuttle Home Act", which would order the removal of the space shuttle Discovery from the Smithsonian and for it to be shipped back to Texas to be displayed at the Johnson Space Center in Houston.

News roundup, 12 March 2025

- A Portuguese container ship, the Solong, collided with an anchored American tanker, the Stena Immaculate off the UK's east coast. The tanker was full of jet fuel, which ignited and caused a series of explosions, setting fire to both ships; to make matters worse, the freighter's cargo included sodium cyanide. Despite this, everyone except one crew member of the Solong has been rescued. Sadly the missing crew member was not the captain but some hapless low-level sailor; the captain is, however, facing manslaughter charges.

- The Trump regime is backing off on their plans to raise tariffs on aluminum and steel to 50% from the 25% already planned. In return, Ontario is suspending their planned 25% surcharge on electricity exports to the US. Hopefully that's not deterring the feds from keeping all options on the table, up to and including fees, restrictions, or a complete stoppage of oil exports if necessary. Although in the latter case I don't think the Americans would take it very well.

- The regime has abruptly withdrawn $400 million in federal funding from Columbia University, accusing the institution of being soft on antisemitism. They've also gotten ICE to arrest a Palestinian student at the university, Mahmoud Khalil, for his activism, but a court has blocked his deportation for the time being. They apparently arrested him claiming his student visa was cancelled, apparently not realizing that he had a green card.

- Former Filipino president Rodrigo Duterte has been arrested at the request of the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity allegedly committed in his zeal to arrest drug traffickers (or certain drug traffickers, or people accused of being drug traffickers, or...)

- BC's Liquor Distribution Branch has removed all American alcohol from its shelves (previously they had selectively removed products from red states). Premier David Eby, commenting on the situation, said "if the president so interested in Canadian water, then we're gonna help him out by letting him keep his watery beer".

- Ukraine has agreed to a 30 day ceasefire negotiated by the US; in turn, the US will resume military aid and intelligence sharing. The ceasefire is, however, subject to Russian approval.

- Amazon is actually complying with the Manitoba government's request that it follow the law on the sale of machetes in the province. 

- US Customs has seen a 36% increase in the smuggling of eggs at the Windsor-Detroit border crossing since October, and a 158% increase at the Tijuana-San Diego crossing. The customs service has made 3,768 seizures of eggs and poultry at its crossings in that time, compared to 352 fentanyl seizures.

- An automated assistant for moderators at Reddit is flagging posts containing the name "Luigi" as potentially violent content thanks to the Luigi Mangione case.

News roundup, 2 May 2024

- Pro-Palestinian demonstrators at UCLA were attacked by counter-demonstrators with planks, pepper spray, and fireworks on Tuesday night. Security guards apparently did nothing, while the police showed up but left after allegedly coming under attack while attempting to help an injured person. Some video here. Meanwhile in New York dozens were arrested; at Indiana University some professors were arrested along with students. On the other hand, Australian National University is investigating claims by some Jewish students that protesters used Nazi salutes and made death threats. Meanwhile in Montreal, a judge has denied a request by some students for an injunction against the protest encampment at McGill University. And in Vancouver, a protester was arrested and faces possible hate crime charges for allegedly being the person in this video.

- The first stage of Canada's dental care plan begins today. Coverage is available for those 70 and older; applications are being accepted for those in the 65-69 age group as well.

- A poll commissioned by NPR and PBS reveals that Democrats and Republicans are both very concerned about the future, but to nobody's surprise they are concerned for very different reasons. The poll also found that among registered voters, 50% favour Biden while 48% favour Trump; a more promising statistic, though, is the fact that among those who say they are "definitely" voting, Biden's lead is somewhat greater (52%-47%). Biden's lead is also a lot higher among older voters, but quite narrow among younger ones.

- Interestingly, an evangelical pastor in Charlotte, NC is not pulling his punches in calling Trump's Bible a "ploy" and "blasphemous". I do hope he has a bulletproof vest.

- A scientist with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, who specializes in invasive species, says that it's possible to eradicate zebra mussels from a body of water as long as they're caught early.

- A psychologist called as an expert witness by Jeremy Skibiki's defense team claims that it's impossible for a juror who's heard of the case to be impartial, and that the case should thus be tried by a judge alone. If that is true, then you might as well do away with juries entirely. This is the same team that previously commissioned a public opinion poll whose methodology has been called into question, though. They're also trying to claim that he's not criminally responsible due to mental illness.

- In Georgia, thousands are protesting against a bill before the country's parliament which requires any organization that gets more than 20% of their funding from outside the country to register as "foreign agents". Many are pointing out similarities to a similar law in Russia. There has reportedly been violence by the police against protesters, and the chair of the main opposition party was apparently among those beaten.

News roundup, 1 May 2024

- Pierre Poilievre was ejected from the House of Commons by the Speaker for unparliamentary behaviour; the Conservative caucus then walked out in protest. This is unlikely to hurt the Tories, of course; the kind of people who go for them are essentially the adult version of children who get diagnosed with oppositional defiant disorder, so they'll see their conduct as heroic.

- Donald Trump has been fined $9,000 for violating a gag order intended to protect jurors and witnesses from being outed to his jackals. Now I realize that many suspect that Trump isn't as rich as he says he is, but I'm pretty sure that $9,000 is still pretty insignificant to him. That said, the judge did warn that the next time a jail sentence is possible, so there's that.

- The protest encampment at McGill University in Montreal by pro-Palestinian activists continues. Police called to the scene by the university say that "no crime is being committed" and that it is a civil matter; however, two students are asking a judge for an injunction to prohibit the organizations involved from protesting within 100 metres of university property. They allege that the organizations are creating an "environment of hate" which makes it "uncomfortable" to attend class. The activists are calling for the university's endowment fund to divest from companies that are involved in Israel, but some say that may be difficult because many of the investments are not direct but are instead in index funds, the composition of which is constantly changing. Meanwhile in New York City, the protesters at Columbia University, making similar demands, have gone a lot further and are potentially being treated a lot more harshly, with mass arrests and possible expulsions.

- An American diplomat has resigned from the State Department in protest over the government's handling of the Israel-Palestine situation.

- Zhang Yongzhen, the Chinese scientist who sequenced the genome of the COVID-19 virus, has been barred from his own lab by the government. Officials say that the lab is being renovated and was closed for "safety reasons", however Zhang says that no alternative location for the ongoing research was provided until the eviction, and that the location that was offered afterwards is unsuitable. This appears to be just the latest in a long series of roadblocks being placed in the way of his research.

- The federal government plans to force staff to return to the office 3 days a week; this is tentatively scheduled for September. The unions say they were not consulted on the matter, and that even with the existing flexible work arrangements staff often say they're going into the office just to participate in virtual meetings anyway. Doug Ford thinks it's a great idea though.

- The Canadian Medical Association is claiming that the proposed changes to capital gains taxes in the budget may drive people out of the profession; others say that this is nonsense.

- Municipal leaders in Alberta are very concerned about proposed legislation that would give the provincial cabinet the authority to dismiss councillors and repeal bylaws. There is particular concern since cabinet discussions are subject to secrecy laws, meaning elected councillors could potentially be removed from office without the public knowing why.

- Manitoba's Minister of Education, Nello Altomare, is investigating the move by Hanover School Division to give trustees the final say in the hiring of gym and music teachers. Activists are calling for the removal of the trustees who put forward the proposal.

- A passenger on a NCN Thompson Bus Lines coach on the way from Winnipeg to Thompson had to take control of the bus after the driver apparently fell asleep at the wheel. The driver wanted to resume the journey as if nothing had happened, but the passengers weren't having any of it.

- Some stores are backing away from the push towards self-checkout. Seems that between the folks who find it annoying and alienating to use, the folks who object to it on the grounds that it will kill jobs, and the folks who see it as an opportunity to steal, it's maybe not as good a business move as all the consultants told them it would be.

News roundup, 26 April 2024

- Former premier Heather Stefanson is resigning her seat in the legislature, as many had expected. Worth noting is that Stefanson only held onto that seat by 263 votes, so the byelection is going to be interesting.

- The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives released a scathing report on the sale of Lions Place, calling it a "targeted dismantling of community for older adults" and saying that it constitutes "organizational elder neglect and abuse". For their part, Lions Club calls the report "slanderous" and claim that they had no choice but to sell the building due to the rising costs of maintaining it.

- US House Speaker Mike Johnson is calling on Joe Biden to send the National Guard to Columbia University after pro-Palestine protesters accosted him when he visited the campus and told him that he sucks. No doubt he's hoping for a repeat of the Kent State shootings of 1970. In any case, some universities aren't waiting; they're calling in the local police to disrupt the protests.

- The Speaker of the Ontario legislature has kicked independent MPP Sarah Jama out of the chamber for the rest of the day, as a result of her refusal to remove a keffiyeh.

- A Chinese exchange student at the Berklee College of Music in Boston has been sentenced to nine months in prison for stalking another Chinese student who had put up pro-democracy fliers on campus and threatening to chop her hands off.

- One of Harvey Weinstein's sex crime convictions has been overturned on appeal. He's not a free man, though, since his conviction in California still stands, and New York is going to retry their own case as well.

- The British Cactus and Succulent Society is in a state of turmoil; the organization's chair has resigned following the reaction to a new policy saying that succulents that had been removed from the wild cannot be exhibited or awarded prizes at the organization's shows.

News roundup, 24 April 2024

- The US aid package for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan has now cleared both houses of Congress. The pill was sweetened a bit by adding a possible ban on TikTok to the package unless the Chinese owner of the app divests. More details on the package may be found here. Republican leaders in both houses now face an uncertain future; House speaker Mike Johnson still faces a possible ouster, while Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell has said that he will be stepping down from his leadership role after becoming "increasingly distanced" from his colleagues on Ukraine and other issues.

- Protesters at Columbia University in New York City have been camping out on the university campus, demanding that the institution divest from corporations that benefit from the war on Gaza. The university has ordered that the encampment be cleared by 8:00 AM this morning, lest the university "consider alternative options" for clearing it. Similar conflicts are happening at other campuses across the US.

- Apparently some of the speeches made at a pro-Palestinian rally in Ottawa over the weekend were sufficiently extreme that police are investigating whether they qualify as hate speech, with slogans such as "Long live October 7th".

- The latest federal budget is disliked by half of Canadians, according to a new poll from Leger. I think that what this really reflects, though, is not the actual contents of the budget but who is putting it forward.

- In Ontario, the Ford government's cancellation of the basic income pilot that had been introduced by the previous government is leading to a class action on behalf of the recipients.

- Winnipeg is signing on to the 529 Garage system as a replacement for the existing bicycle registry. The main advantage of this is that it's continent-wide; thus a bike stolen here and shipped to Vancouver could potentially be identified and recovered.

- Conservative MP Gary Vidal, who represents the northern Saskatchewan riding of Desnethe-Missinippi-Churchill River, will no longer reside in the district under the new boundaries. He hoped to seek the nomination for the new riding that contains his hometown, but the party has already decided not to hold an open nomination race for that riding. In response, Vidal has announced that he will not be running again.

- Some military horses ran amok in central London, UK; several people as well as some of the horses suffered minor injuries before the situation was brought under control.