News roundup, 3 Sept 2025

- Berlin police are investigating after a pro-Palestine demonstrator was beaten up by an officer last Thursday. Another activist was quoted as saying that German police are particularly brutal in dealing with such activists. Germany is also apparently standing in the way of the EU imposing sanctions on Israel. It seems that the Germans are trying to atone for the Holocaust by giving the Israeli leadership whatever they want.

- Russian opposition activists are urging Canada to give asylum to several hundred dissidents who applied for asylum in the US but now are at risk of being sent back to Russia 

- The City of Winnipeg is running out of deltamethrin, the insecticide that it has used to fog for mosquitoes approval for malathion fogging was withdrawn some years back. As a result, they're looking at expanding their larviciding program; this would require an expansion of the city's helicopter base in Elmwood (or an entirely new facility). In truth, larviciding (much of which is done with a bacterial agent) is not only safer from a health and environmental point of view, it's much more effective; fogging is what they do to show the public that they're doing something to control mosquitoes more than anything.

- Winnipeg police took out a search warrant to investigate a suspected bicycle chop shop at a homeless encampment by the Red River along Waterfront Drive. Legal experts are calling this a smart move to maximize the chance that charges stick; on the other hand the local residents' association is worried about the precedent that this could set by treating the encampments as legitimate housing.

- The fourth floor of Winnipeg's Millennium Library has been reopened to the public following the installation of construction fences as a temporary measure to stop people from jumping. Many are saying that what's really needed is the restoration of the Community Connections services on the main floor; as one witness to last month's suicide pointed out, if the service had been available at the time, the unfortunate chap might have gotten help before it was too late.

- Online clothing retailer Shein is investigating after an image used by one of the vendors listing on their platform showed Luigi Mangione, the suspect in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, wearing one of their shirts. The image, thought to have been AI generated, has been removed.

News roundup, 22 Aug 2025

- Following another apparent suicide attempt at Winnipeg's Millennium Library on Wednesday, the top floor of the facility has been temporarily closed to the public while the city looks at possible safety upgrades. Reportedly a person was trying to climb over the railing on the top floor but was stopped by security.

- Lindsey Halligan, the Trump regime's official leading a review of exhibits at the Smithsonian Institution, is concerned that said exhibits portray slavery in an overly negative light. Halligan told the far-right news channel Newsmax that you "can't really talk about slavery honestly unless you talk about hope and progress". 

- Donald Trump says that his administration will not approve any new solar or wind power projects, despite the fact that the AI industry desperately needs more generating capacity and new new fossil fuel, hydroelectric, or nuclear plants can take many years to get online. They are, however, vetoing the closure of a coal plant in Michigan against the wishes of the plant's owner.

- Police in Kawartha Lakes, Ontario say that the man charged with aggravated assault on a home invader had stabbed the invader. Police do say that violently attacking someone who's already been subdued, for instance, would be an example of the use of excessive force. I don't disagree in theory, but part of me thinks it might be unrealistic to expect someone who's half awake and facing a situation they've never faced before to be capable of making a clear-headed decision about something like that. I hate to agree with the likes of Doug Ford, but maybe, just maybe something like the "castle doctrine" might be legitimate to enshrine in law for that reason. To be clear, though, I would very much oppose extending this to "stand your ground" laws, which end up being essentially legalized vigilantism (see for instance the notorious case of George Zimmerman).

- Job cuts at the Canada Revenue Agency have made it almost impossible to get through to the agency by phone. Over 3,000 call centre staff have been laid off since May of 2024, and now fewer than 5% of calls to the agency get through to someone. To make matters worse, the Carney government's austerity plans call for even more layoffs at the agency. Perhaps the government thinks that layoffs at the CRA will score them some populist points, but it's very short-sighted.

- Young adults in the US are dying at rates that far exceed those of comparable countries. Notably, this is true for many different causes of death (car accidents, overdoes, suicides, and death from disease are all higher in young Americans than in peer countries). This has been in the works for more than a decade. 

News roundup, 12 Aug 2025

- Anthropic AI is trying to appeal the class certification of up to 7 million potential claimants in a class action against the company for massive copyright infringement. AI industry people are weighing in heavily on the side of the company, calling for the appeals court to reject the certification lest it destroy not just Anthropic but the entire AI industry. They accuse the district court judge, William Alsup, of failing to apply "rigourous analysis"; unanswered is the question of whether the "rigourous analysis" they're referring to is with regards to whether the actions of Anthropic are illegal, or with regards to the consequences for Anthropic and the rest of the industry. If the latter, I'd assume the reason he didn't apply rigourous analysis is that it would be irrelevant to the case - presumably he operates on the principle that if an industry can't exist without massive theft then perhaps it shouldn't exist. The techbros, on the other hand, operate on the principle that only little people pay royalties.

- The Trump regime is deploying about 800 National Guard troops to the District of Columbia, ostensibly to deal with rampant crime. In actual fact the crime rate in DC is already on the decline, but don't expect the truth to get in the way of Trump's narrative.

- Two more candidates have entered the race to replace the late Jason Schreyer as city councillor for Elmwood-East Kildonan. One is Kyle Roche, who currently works as a city planner for the city's Planning, Property, and Development department, while the other is Braydon Mazurkiewich, who most recently worked on Colin Reynolds' successful campaign to become the Conservative MP for Elmwood-Transcona. Mazurkiewich also has a bit of a history, having once served as the head of the youth wing of the Manitoba Progressive Conservative Party until he was forced to resign in 2012 over racist comments made on social media.

- Two Chinese warships collided while pursuing a Philippine patrol boat near the contested Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea. 

- CUPE Local 500, which represents most City of Winnipeg workers, is considering legal action on behalf of library staff in the hope of bringing security improvements in the wake of an incident last week in which a man jumped to his death from the fourth floor of the downtown Millennium Library. The union wants a redesign of the building's lobby to minimize the risk of another such incident, as well as the return of restoring funding for Community Connections. The recent death was not the first suicide to occur there, and library staff have been asking for years for the railings to be improved to make such an act more difficult.

- A longtime Hamilton police constable has been suspended (with pay of course; he's a cop after all) while the force investigates extremist online activity. He had apparently reposted a large amount of far-right content, including one post calling for a coup against the Canadian government. A coup would of course be a criminal act, and last time I checked cops generally weren't supposed to be promoting illegal activity, but what do I know?

- The remains of a British man who fell into a crevasse in a glacier in Antarctica in 1959 were recovered as the glacier continues to melt. 

News roundup, 8 Aug 2025

- JD Vance had the US Army Corps of Engineers change the outflow of a lake so as to create better kayaking conditions on the river downstream so he could enjoy his vacation.

- Mike Flood, a Republican member of Congress from Nebraska, faced a lot of public outrage at a town hall session over his support of Donald Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill" and fears for what it will mean for programs that people depend on. He's not backing down, however, and he'll probably weather the storm just fine given how willing Republicans are to vote against their own interests as long as it's also against the interests of people they don't like.

- Two senior Winnipeg police officers were arrested on Wednesday on several charges, which included drug trafficking as well as distributing a photo of a dead woman. One of them was already awaiting trial on theft and other charges dating back to November, along with two other officers.

- A man has died after being found with severe injuries at Winnipeg's Millennium Library on Wednesday. Police would provide no information other than saying that the death was "non-suspicious" (the folks on Reddit are naturally drawing their own conclusions about what that means, of course); the library will remain closed until Saturday.

- The RV that Sunshine House used as a mobile safe consumption site was destroyed in a hit and run crash last month. They are in the process of obtaining a decommissioned ambulance as a replacement. This requires them to reapply for the federal exemption that allows them to operate; predictably, Tory leader Obby Khan is calling for the federal government to deny them the exemption.

- Environment and Climate Change Canada is investigating reports of a "likely tornado" near Belleview in the Rural Municipality of Sifton, Manitoba. No reports of damage or injuries so far. More ominously, there were also reports of tornadoes in East St. Paul and Springfield, just outside Winnipeg.

- The New South Wales state parliament voted to expel one of their members, Gareth Ward, following his conviction for several sexual offenses. Ward has been sitting as an independent since getting turfed from the Liberal caucus following his arrest; he attempted to appeal his expulsion in court but lost. Assuming he has no other appeals he will be the first member expelled from the NSW parliament in 66 years.

News roundup, 13 Nov 2024

- Donald Trump has selected his cabinet-in-waiting, as well as other key advisors. More alarming, though, is the fact that he appears to have an executive order ready to go that would establish a "warrior board" (appointed by the president of course) with the power to dismiss three- and four-star generals.

- Winnipeg has not had any snow since April and relatively little since January. This is expected to change by the end of the month, however. Meanwhile in Fergus, Ontario they just had a tornado, and the northeastern US is extremely dry - so much so that a small fire (such as seen at homeless encampments) can easily turn into an inferno.

- A teenager in BC is in critical condition in hospital with a suspected case of avian influenza; the source of infection is unknown.

- Former BC premier John Horgan has died at the age of 65, following his third bout with cancer. A detailed account of his life and career may be found here.

-The City of Winnipeg has announced that security guards at the Millennium Library will be paid a living wage, currently $19.21 per hour. An earlier proposal to require a living wage for all city employees and contractors was rejected by council last month, however.

- Winnipeg councillor Sherri Rollins is calling for a 30 km/h speed limit for the section of Wellington Crescent where cyclist Rob Jenner was killed earlier this year. Rollins notes that in addition to the aforementioned fatality, there have been a number of other accidents on that stretch, and says that the fence at St. Mary's Academy has been damaged numerous times over the years by vehicles that left the road.

- Due to an unfortunate bit of confusion, surgeons at Winnipeg's Grace Hospital amputated the wrong leg from a patient. Admittedly there was a good chance that both legs would have had to come off eventually anyhow, but still...

- North Korean soldiers fighting for the Russians in Ukraine have gotten relatively unrestricted internet access for the first time in their lives; predictably some of them have gotten obsessed with porn.

News roundup, 6 May 2024

- Three men, all Indian citizens, have been arrested in connection with the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Surrey last year. Police are investigating links with three other homicides as well, including the death of an 11 year old boy in Edmonton.

- The Israeli government has shut down all of Al Jazeera's operations in the country and raided its offices. They accuse the broadcaster of "incitement" and "working with Hamas", which the broadcaster denies. Notably, the BBC was not allowed to film the raid. The UN's Human Rights office as well as the Committee to Protect Journalists are condemning the decision. In other Israel news, many Bedouin citizens of that country are unable to build bomb shelters to protect themselves from Hamas-launched missiles - because even though they live in villages that predate the founding of Israel, the communities have never been officially recognized, and thus do not have the ability to issue building permits. So the Israeli state considers any shelters they build to be unauthorized structures, and demolishes them. Then they cry a few crocodile tears at best, or smile smugly at worst, when Bedouin citizens die in the attacks. Meanwhile the Globe and Mail's Marsha Lederman warns supporters of both sides of the confllict against reducing the matter to simple slogans.

- It's increasingly apparent that one of the biggest barriers to effective climate action is the agricultural sector. In the European Union, rioting farmers have been doing their damnedest to undermine efforts to make Europe a leader in sustainable agriculture. No wonder farmers have been downgraded, in the minds of a lot of people, from "salt of the Earth" to "necessary evil". On a related note, Florida governor Ron DeSantis has just signed a bill outlawing the sale of cultured meat in the state. He also  spouted conspiracy nonsense about the supposed global elite's plans to force everyone to eat it, even as he signed legislation taking away his own citizens' freedom to eat it if they so choose.

- A federal appeals court in the US has ruled that a lawsuit by an organization called Our Children’s Trust on behalf of 21 young Americans lacks standing and must be dismissed by the US district judge hearing the case. The judges who made the ruling are Trump appointees, but this was an "emergency" petition filed by the Biden administration's Justice Department, who claimed that the government could be "irreparably harmed" if it were forced to waste resources litigating the case.

- The Manitoba government will be using funds from an out-of-court settlement with the tobacco companies to pay for the building of a new headquarters for CancerCare.

- Following the report of a woman being punched in a Winnipeg grocery store by an employee who suspected her of shoplifting, other members of the community say that this is not the first time something like this has happened at that store - nor even the second.

- Use of the "Community Connections" service in the lobby of Winnipeg's Millennium library are on the increase, even as the city prepares to shut it down so that Evan Duncan's constituents don't have to look at poor people when they use the library.

- In something worthy of the Piranha Brothers, a man in Co. Antrim, Northern Ireland suffered potentially life-altering injuries after having his hands nailed to a fence. This has apparently happened before; there have been no official statements regarding responsibilty but many locals suspect Loyalist paramilitaries.

News roundup, 14 March 2024

- A large number of staff at the Republican National Committee are being pushed out as Donald Trump seemingly tries to remake the committee in his image. How that will turn out remains to be seen; some speculate that this will turn out badly for a lot of down-ballot candidates, as increasingly limited RNC money is diverted to Trump's own campaign at the expense of the party at large. Then again, you can't count on billionaires not to pony up for them.

- Transport for London, and indeed pretty much every public facility in the UK, has long had huge numbers of CCTV cameras installed; the biggest limitation is not how many cameras you can install but how frequently you can monitor them. Never fear; they're now experimenting with AI to monitor the cameras. Some of the things they've done have actually been useful (e.g. preventing suicides and helping people in difficulties) but it's hard not to wonder what else this could be used for. That said, the biggest problem with AI may not be this, but rather the stupendous amounts of energy that are required to run it and the water needed to keep the hardware cool. And all the minerals needed to make that hardware could be put to better use in greening up the grid.

- A bill working its way through the New York State legislature would force companies to reduce single-use plastic packaging by 50%, as well as prohibiting certain toxic materials entirely from use in packaging. Lobbyists from the petrochemical industry are, of course, pulling out all the stops to try to prevent its passage.

- The organization providing services to troubled folks in the lobby of Winnipeg's Millennium Library is not having its funding renewed. Councillor Evan Duncan, who chairs council's Community Services Committee, says this is because he thinks it should be funded by the province, and that the lobby of the library is "not the best place" for these services. I'm guessing his suburban constituents have been telling him they don't want to have to look at those poors as they go to check out their books.

- In response to the Main Street Project's lawsuit against the neighbouring Manwin Hotel, which alleges that runoff from the hotel roof is causing damage to their building, the hotel's owners, in their statement of defense, not only denied wrongdoing but claim that the MSP's services harm the hotel's bottom line. They are seeking $10 million in punitive damages, and an injunction stopping MSP from operating their shelter at that location. I guess if your business model depends on a steady stream of broken people, having an agency that helps to fix said people is bad for business, but it takes a fair amount of chutzpah to actually admit that.

News roundup, 1 Feb 2024

- The Manitoba government is increasing annual operating funding for school divisions, roughly on par with inflation, as well as lifting the freeze on education property taxes imposed by the previous government.

- Since the reinstatement of security measures at Winnipeg's Millennium Library following a homicide in 2022, there has been a decrease in serious incidents, but also a decrease in overall library attendance. While some of this may be due to things like remote work, I don't doubt that in some cases it probably is a deterrent for people from communities with a history of overpolicing to go to the library. On the other hand, one could argue that attendance, per se, is not the best measure - I'd be interested to know if the actual borrowing of books from the branch (i.e. people using the library as a library) has decreased or increased. And one thing is clear - the staff at the branch feel safer with the security measures than without, and if it becomes hard to staff the branch because of safety concerns it will lead to reduced hours, which isn't going to be good for anyone. "Millennium for all" is a nice slogan but not if it actually leads to "Millennium for none".

- Republicans in the US Senate had long insisted that Joe Biden's funding for Ukraine's war effort be tied to changes to secure the US-Mexico border. But when a bipartisan plan to address both issues came up, many Republicans got cold feet - because Trump doesn't want anything that might make Biden look good (for certain values of "good", of course).

- Apparently some MAGA types are claiming that Alina Habba, a lawyer representing Donald Trump in the E. Jean Carroll defamation case, is a deep state plant rather than simply, you know, incompetent. But really, if you were a good, competent lawyer, would you want to take on a Trump case?

- SpaceX and Trader Joe's are arguing in court that the National Labor Relations Board is unconstitutional; meanwhile Meta is making the same argument about the Federal Trade Commission. Because protecting workers and consumers is un-American, dammit!

- The possibility of a "contingent election" for the US president and VP exists. According to the US constitution, this happens if no candidate gets more than 50% of the vote in the electoral college. This is a rarity (it hasn't happened since 1837) but it could happen if either Trump or Biden were to die or be incapacitated between the general election and the Electoral College meeting, or if a third party candidate such as the "No Labels" group is trying to put forward were to win a state or two. In such a case, each state delegation in the House of Representatives gets one vote for president; this would tend to heavily favour the Republicans and create an even bigger crisis of legitimacy for the winner.

- Catalonia's regional government has declared a drought emergency and imposed strict water conservation measures.

- A pigeon captured in India was found with bands on its legs with Chinese writing; authorities feared that the pigeon might be connected to espionage but it was eventually determined to be an ordinary racing pigeon from Taiwan and was released.