News roundup, 21 June 2024

- Chris Skidmore, who served as the UK's energy minister under Theresa May, has vowed to vote Labour for the first time in his life in protest against the current Tory government turning climate into a "culture war" issue.

- Many Liberal MPs think it's time for Justin Trudeau to move on if there's to be any chance in salvaging the party's chances for the election. One unnamed MP said that "if we saw Justin Trudeau jump into a river to save two children being chased by a crocodile, people would say it was his fault", and like it or not, that is probably the case.

- A bill recently passed by Parliament, and now awaiting royal assent, will require companies who make claims about their environmental policies in advertising to provide evidence to back up their claims. Seems reasonable to most, but the Alberta government is up in arms about this; presumably they fear that the oil industry will collapse if they aren't allowed to lie to the public about what they're doing. An oilsands alliance has already removed all content from their website in anticipation of the bill becoming law.

- A search of the Prairie Green Landfill for at least two of Jeremy Skibicki's victims will commence in the fall, once a "targeted zone" where the remains are most likely buried can be identified.

- A man is suing Loblaws and the City of Winnipeg after an incident in 2022 in which he says that two police officers serving as security at the Superstore on Gateway Road made racially offensive comments, apparently under the impression that he was indigenous (he isn't) and then roughed him up when he tried to take photos.

- A strip club in Guelph, which was built in 1891, has been granted a heritage designation.

- Longtime Winnipeg broadcaster Larry Updike has died.

News roundup, 7 May 2024

- Hamas has agreed to a ceasefire under a proposal from Egypt and Qatar. Despite some international pressure, including a warning from France that the forced removal of thousands of Palestinians from Rafah (pretty much the last refuge in Gaza for them) could constitute a war crime, the Israelis seem bent on pushing ahead. Mairav Zonszein of the International Crisis Group (who is Israeli, by the way) thinks that "Netanyahu is sensing that this deal could go through, so he’s looking to avert it". One can't help thinking that he fears that being prime minister in wartime might be the only thing standing between him and prison, so he's going to try to maintain a permanent state of war.

- Former Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis was scheduled to give a video address to a conference in Germany on the Israel-Palestine conflict last month, however the event was cancelled by German authorities who claimed that they were trying to prevent "antisemitic and violence-glorifying remarks", despite the fact that one of the organizations behind the conference was Jewish Voice for a Just Peace in the Middle East. Varoufakis says that in response he recorded the speech and posted it to his blog; he says that the following day German authorities warned pro-Palestinian activists against playing the speech on loudspeakers at any protest.

- Ukrainian men of military age (defined as between 18 and 60) who live abroad face loss of consular services if they don't return home to fight. This applies to those who left before the war as well as during it.

- Donald Trump has been held in contempt of court for the tenth time for violating the order not to speak publicly about witnesses or jurors in his trial regarding the Stormy Daniels hush money. Judge Juan Merchan is warning that he will impose a jail sentence if this keeps up, even while admitting that this is "the last thing" he wants to do. Not sure of the reason for his reluctance.

- A Republican fundraiser in Colorado was cancelled due to "safety concerns". These concerns appear to have arisen because of threats stemming from South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem's admission that she shot her dog for being unruly. As an aside, the first article indicates that the chair of the Republican Party's Jefferson County wing is named Nancy Pallozzi; I bet she has to put up with a lot of ribbing about her name from her fellow Republicans.

- Despite all the FUD about how Canada's deficits will scare off investors, Warren Buffett's company, Berkshire Hathaway, is looking north of the border. Buffett himself says "We do not feel uncomfortable in any way, shape or form, putting our money into Canada".

- The Winnipeg Housing Rehabilitation Corporation will redevelop a housing complex closed by Manitoba Housing in 2019, in cooperation with Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs and the Spence Neighbourhood Association. The province is donating the site; the existing units (which were problematic from the start) will be demolished and a new building constructed.

- Two men in Headingley were arrested for possession of a large amount of explosives as well as firearms. One of them has a significant record already. Meanwhile, police in Winkler arrested another man and seized an enormous arsenal of firearms, including a homemade cannon as well as 21 rifles (two of them were loaded; in addition one was fitted with an over-capacity magazine, and one with a suppressor), 4 shotguns, explosives, body armour, and over 6,500 rounds of ammunition.

- The suspected serial killer being tried in Winnipeg for the deaths of four women has admitted to the killings but is trying to argue that he is not criminally responsible due to mental illness. Following this development the prosecution has agreed to allow the case to be heard by a judge alone, and the jury will be discharged.

- A large species of catfish, indigenous to the American South, has turned up in the Thames River in Ontario. In other invasive species news, several large flatworm species have also been found in the province.

- A former Hamilton police officer who was convicted of sexually assaulting a woman he was mentoring has been sentenced to 12 months of house arrest followed by 12 months of probation. What stands out about this story, though, is that the judge had already told him that he wouldn't serve any jail time, two weeks before the actual sentence was issued.

- In Saskatchewan, sexual health education is pretty much banned from all classrooms; this includes such things as educating kids about consent. I guess Saskatchewan Party MLAs don't want their kids' victims to know what their rights are.

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.