News roundup, 11 Oct 2024

- The captain of a Turkish Airlines A350 flying from Seattle to Istanbul died mid-flight. The aircraft was successfully landed in New York by the first officer and a relief pilot.

- Despite the ravages of hurricanes like Milton, there is skepticism in some circles about the idea that the rich will abandon the state. Contrary to the view that the rich will take advantage of their superior mobility and leave while the poor will have no choice but to stay, the argument is that the rich are the only ones who will be able to afford to stay as insurance becomes more expensive. Of course, as some here point out, there are limits to this, not least the fact that if the poor are forced out, there'll be no one to serve the rich their iced coffees.

- The Manitoba government seems to be making substantial progress in improving access to physicians. There has been a net gain of 133 doctors between April and August of this year; there's still a long way to go, though, as nearly three times that number are still needed in order to reach the national per capita average.

- Cleanup is finally underway at the location where three businesses were destroyed by fire early last year. Some of the delay resulted when the owner of one of the buildings tried to challenge findings by the government that there was asbestos at the location, which requires additional expenditures in order to clean up safely. In related news, a report presented to the city on the policy of billing owners of vacant properties for the cost of firefighting claims the measure may have done more harm than good; the city has been paid less that $79,000 out of $1.15 million billed to property owners last year and has apparently been forced to dedicate resources to deal with appeals by the owners. Given how early it is in the game, it seems premature to declare the policy a failure, though - and as numerous folks in this Reddit thread are arguing, maybe the city should just move along with seizing properties from delinquent owners and use the properties to build affordable housing.

- BC Conservative Party leader John Rustad recently claimed that foot traffic in downtown Victoria has declined 60% in the last couple of years. Thing is, like a lot of things rightwing politicians say, it simply isn't true. There was a slight increase from 2022 to 2023; data from this year is not yet available. As regards Rustad's motives for making up such nonsense, it may be partly just an attempt to create a general impression of failure on the part of the incumbent NDP government. It may also be a way of signalling to people who are resentful of WFH that he's their guy. Or maybe, as some folks on Reddit think, as a rightwing politician he just lies by default. Who knows?

- An in-service held by the Winnipeg School Division at the Canada Life Centre on Wednesday created a stir when, during a speech by an American educator about matters related to indigenous education, the slogan "Resistance to colonialism is not terrorism" was displayed on a screen. This immediately raised the hackles of some members of the Jewish community, and the school division promptly apologized for this. You could argue that the slogan is over the top, but it's kind of telling that members of that community felt singled out by it notwithstanding that it makes no mention of Israel or Palestine and was displayed during a speech related to actual consequences of colonialism.

- A Nebraska woman is attempting to sue every gay person on the planet for breaking "religious and moral laws". She claims to be acting as the "ambassador" for the true plaintiffs, "God and His Son, Jesus Christ". That may be a bit much even for Nebraska; a statement from the court indicated that no summons will be issued to the defendants.

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.