News roundup, 14 Aug 2026

- Count Binface came a distant second to Nigel Farage in the byelection held yesterday in the constituency of Clacton. The byelection was necessitated by Farage resigning as a political stunt; due to the boycott by serious parties there were some hopes that the satirical candidate could get enough protest votes to put him over the top, but in the end Farage secured just over 63% of the vote. Binface did get over 22,000 votes, or just under 27%, which is far more than he has received in any other campaign in which he's run. It seems, though, that the people of Clacton are too far gone to understand what they're voting for.

- Several Conservative MPs are apparently privately expressing concerns about holding onto their seats if Pierre Poilievre remains leader. And Larry Brock, the MP for Brantford-Brant South, is resigning, triggering a byelection that will be an interesting test for the party in a riding they've held since 2008.

- The Ford government in Ontario is resisting calls for a moratorium on large data centres. Ford does say that the centres will need to cover the full cost of their electricity usage, but Green Party leader Mike Schreiner is calling for a ban on all AI data centres until more is known about their impact. In contrast, New York State enacted a ban last month on data centres requiring over 50 megawatts of electricity, and will be reviewing tax incentives previously given for such facilities. Maine's legislature also passed such a ban earlier this year but it was vetoed by the governor.

- The Ontario Progressive Conservative Party spent nearly $3,000 to send someone to a resort in Jamaica to keep an eye on Bonnie Crombie, who was the leader of the Ontario Liberal Party at the time. Doug Ford claims to have had no knowledge of the spying when it was occurring.

- Three bouncers have been charged with assault after Winnipeg Sea Bears player Teddy Allen was severely beaten at a nightclub. The police statement doesn't identify the club, saying merely that it was "on Main Street between Portage and William Avenues" but it's generally known to be the Palamino Club. The folks on Reddit say that bouncers there have long had a reputation for excessive force, but it seems beating up a local sports star was going too far.

News roundup, 5 Nov 2025

- Zohran Mamdani has won the New York City mayoral election, despite Trump's threats to cut funding to the city (evidently New Yorkers are less easily cowed than Argentinians). He will be the city's first south Asian and Muslim mayor as well as its youngest in over a century. The turnout was the highest in decades as well. He's got a big job ahead of him, in any case. This may also set up a confrontation between Trump and state governor Kathy Hochul, who has so far managed to deal more effectively with the orange monster than most blue state governors.

- California voters have voted "yes" in a referendum on gerrymandering House seats in order to fight similar gerrymandering by Republicans in other states. The referendum was necessary because the state has an independent electoral commission; the commission will resume its redistricting duties in 2030.

- The Carney government has presented its budget. It appears to be a pretty small-c conservative budget, with cuts to the size of the public service expected in the next few years and more spending shifted towards defense, as well as significant cuts to immigration. Most ominously, there are hints of doing away with the emissions cap for oil and gas (though it is being spun as something that "would create the circumstances whereby the oil and gas emissions cap would no longer be required"). And stupidly, it also includes the elimination of a tax on underused housing and luxury taxes on private aircraft and yachts. Evidently some moderate conservatives like it; a longtime Conservative MP, Chris d'Entremont, who represents the Nova Scotia riding of Acadie—Annapolis, has resigned from his party's caucus and is considering crossing the floor to join the Liberals.

- A McDonnell Douglas MD-11 freighter, operated by UPS, crashed into an industrial area moments after takeoff from Louisville, Kentucky. At least 7 deaths have been reported so far; this number is expected to rise, however, as the aircraft was carrying enough fuel to get it to Honolulu.

- The Ford government is taking away Toronto's power to require green roofs on new construction. The move was made by order in council; they seem to be justifying it in terms of the costs of building new housing.

- Some pro-Israel organizations are calling for the head of Toronto mayor Olivia Chow after she dared to use the G-word to describe what the Israelis are doing to the Palestinians. The B’nai Brith’s director of research and advocacy says Chow has "chosen to instigate those who engage against the Jewish community". 

- A Toronto woman whose "pitbull-like dog" attacked a child in a playground, causing life-altering injuries, may be facing prison time following her conviction for criminal negligence causing bodily harm. Prosecutors are calling for a three year sentence due to the egregiousness of the situation; the dog had been previously deemed dangerous after it attacked another dog and its owner in the elevator of her building, but nonetheless she let it off leash in a playground where dogs of any sort, much less dangerous ones, are prohibited. Oh, and the dog's name was Capo, which leads one to believe that its viciousness was not a bug but a feature. The fact that she has 15 previous criminal convictions doesn't help her case either.

- Former US vice-president Dick Cheney has died at the age of 84.

News roundup, 24 Sept 2024

- Ukraine is challenging Russia's claim to exclusive rights over the Kerch Strait, which connects the Sea of Azov to the main body of the Black Sea, at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague. They are also calling for the demolition of the 19 km long bridge linking Crimea to Russia, saying that the bridge was deliberately built too low for large ships to enter the Sea of Azov. The Russians, of course, are trying to claim that the court has no jurisdiction over the issue.

- Israel bombed large areas of Lebanon on Monday, ostensibly targeting Hezbollah operatives. At least 356 people (including 24 children) were killed and over 1,200 wounded. They also shut down Al Jazeera's bureau in the West Bank.

- The election in the German state of Brandenburg has given the Social Democrats a slim plurality over AfD; a new party called the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (named after its leader) might have a key role in forming a government. The party's position is a bit unusual for these times; they appear to be leftwing and interventionist on economic issues but socially and culturally conservative, populist, Euroskeptic, Russophile, and opposed to green politics.

- There are finally hints of the start of an exodus from the Sunbelt, as uncomfortably hot weather and unaffordable home insurance makes living there look less than attractive. Once it gets under way, of course, a lot of people will be left holding worthless properties.

- A proposal to introduce congestion pricing (as seen in many of the world's great cities such as London, Milan, and Singapore) to New York City has run afoul of the state government. The governor, Kathy Hochul, was initially on board with the idea, but has indefinitely paused the idea, apparently fearing the wrath of suburban voters. The reversal seems not to have helped Hochul politically, though.

- The chair of the Winnipeg School Division is urging schools not to fundraise to get things faster than they would from school division funding, fearing (not without some justification) that this will essentially allow parents in more affluent areas to essentially cut in line and get infrastructure upgrades faster than those in less well off parts. The response on Reddit to this, however, has been largely negative.

- The US is considering going further than the 100% tariffs that they have imposed on Chinese EVs, with the administration considering a complete ban on imports of all Chinese vehicles as well as vehicles that use certain Chinese-made parts. The supposed justification is national security, though I wouldn't be surprised if the real reason has something to do with winning over Michigan voters.