News roundup, 28 June 2024

- Many who watched the first Biden-Trump debate say that it was a disaster for Biden, notwithstanding the torrent of lies and deflection that poured from Trump's mouth. Biden apparently froze up for 14 seconds early on in the debate; some Democrats think he should be pressured into withdrawing from the race, although his performance apparently improved later in the debate. As to who could replace him on the ballot, several names have been proposed.

- The US House of Representatives has passed an amendment to prohibit the State Department from citing statistics from the Gaza Health Ministry in discussing the conflict there. 62 Democrats voted with the Republicans to pass the amendment.

- Catherine McKenna, who served as environment minister in Trudeau's cabinet until 2021, has joined the ranks of those calling for him to step down before the next election.

- The head of the National Microbiology Lab in Winnipeg, Dr. Guillaume Poliquin, is stepping down. He says this is to take on a position at the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Manitoba. His tenure was marked by the espionage scandal at the lab, though he did not mention that in citing his reason for resigning.

- The shutdown of the Ontario Science Centre is being justified by the Ford government on safety grounds, but the architecture firm that built the facility says that the issues with the centre were identified years ago and not corrected. In any case, they say, even now the facility could be saved if the political will was there - but it's a safe bet that educating the public about science is not one of Ford's priorities.

- A looming strike by WestJet mechanics has been averted, as the federal government has imposed binding arbitration.

- A proposed bylaw in Kitchener, Ontario would require Airbnb hosts to be licensed and insured. Of course, they're up in arms, saying it will ruin their business - but any legitimate business should be licensed and insured. And if you can't afford it, you shouldn't be in business. Moreover, if some of these people are put out of business they might have to make their houses or apartments available for people to actually live in rather than play in.

- A former neurology resident in Ottawa who presented himself as a fully licensed doctor and provided medical services to convoy protesters in 2022 has been suspended by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario.

- The residents of the house that exploded in Transcona are safe; they were apparently not home at the time. The cause of the explosion is still under investigation.

News roundup, 29 Feb 2024

- The US Supreme Court has agreed to decide on whether Donald Trump can claim presidential immunity on the election interference case, which means that the actual trial will be, at best, delayed until April. This virtually guarantees that the trial, if allowed to continue at all, will not be decided until after the election in November - and if he wins, he'll likely be able to stop the trial himself. Naturally this means Trump will have a very strong incentive to win (though it's not like he'd roll over if this didn't happen). Oh, and then there's the Clarence Thomas factor.

- On the positive side, it appears that Trump doesn't have enough liquid assets to cover the bond in the New York civil fraud trial. He is, of course, now asking the court to allow him to appeal the decision without putting up the bond, and the Attorney General of the state now suspects that he's moving his assets to Florida to limit what gets seized. It seems he may not be as rich as he says he is (surprise surprise); what effect that has on his sheeple remains to be seen.

- Former Canadian prime minister Brian Mulroney, one of the most influential (and disliked) leaders this country has seen in living memory, has died at the age of 84.

- Premier Wab Kinew is looking to meet another of his campaign commitments, namely bail reform. New policies are being drafted to give prosecutors more leeway in considering the potential impact on victims and the community when a suspect is released.

- A report from CSIS states that Dr. Xiangguo Qiu, the scientist fired from the National Microbiology Lab in Winnipeg along with her husband, may have shared sensitive scientific data with China. Besides the theft of intellectual property, there are fears that some of this data might be militarily useful.

- Joe Biden has called Chinese electric cars a "security threat" on the grounds that the tracking software on those cars might be sending information to different places than that on all other modern cars, and is looking at ways to stop the importation of such vehicles. Of course, the bigger threat they pose is probably to the economic security of Michigan.

- The crime spree in which Lauren Boebert's son and several others are alleged to have participated in included the robbery of a woman with a brain tumour. Apparently he was seen on surveillance video wearing a sweatshirt featuring the logo of his mum's former business, which made identification a lot easier. He's also alleged to have made a sex tape with an underage female co-conspirator.

- When the school board in Kingsville, Ontario wanted a name for a new school which will replace three existing facilities, they settled on "Erie Migration Academy", as a nod to the town's proximity to Point Pelee, an important migration route for birds and butterflies. Some locals are absolutely apoplectic at the fact that it does not include the name of the town; the school board says that the school will serve a large area, not just Kingsville, and thus they don't want to be seen as excluding anyone. Students in the current schools have staged walkouts in protest; more alarmingly, one trustee says that she has received threats serious enough that she's reported them to the police.

- A Canadian tourist in Hawaii took a wrong turn and drove off a 20 metre high cliff, then upon escaping from the vehicle he fell into the water and was swept out to sea. Amazingly he was rescued after 90 minutes in the water and survived with no more than minor injuries and mild hypothermia.