News roundup, 12 Aug 2026

- The Canadian Association of Professional Employees has confirmed what many of us have suspected for a while, saying they were told by a source in the federal government that officials were "very worried" about risks to the financial sector from remote work due to the decline in value of commercial real estate. The Bank of Canada had reported in 2024 that some pension funds and insurers had reduced their exposure to commercial real estate due to the high office vacancy rate. It sure looks like that governments were unprepared to deal with such a shift and decided to address the problem with return to office mandates.

- A working group led by former federal cabinet minister Lloyd Axworthy is examining the feasibility of relocating Winnipeg's rail yards to bypass the city. Such a move would take many years to implement, but would free up valuable land within the city and would also be beneficial to the railways in the long run, since it would remove the necessity for trains to slow to a crawl as they pass through built-up areas.

- Evacuees from the wildfires in northern Ontario have led to a severe shortage of hotel rooms in Thunder Bay, creating problems for people who have to visit the city for medical appointments.

- Spain is being bombarded with tourists in the midst of one of the worst wildfire seasons in living memory, due to a total solar eclipse that will be the first one visible from the Spanish mainland in more than a century.

- The war in Iran and the resulting spikes in fuel prices have led to a surge in sales of electric motorcycles in much of the world. Motorcycles are much more common than cars in less affluent countries, and improvements in electric vehicle technology have now made it cost-effective to make the switch. For instance, in Kenya at least 25% of new motorcycles sold are electric.

- Yolanda Olejniczak Marodi has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the death of her wife, Rebecca Marodi, in February of 2025. The victim, a decorated firefigher, was stabbed to death in her mother's home shortly after announcing her intention to file for divorce; Oleiniczak Marodi fled to Mexico but was captured after more than a month on the run. She had previously served nine years in prison for manslaughter in the death of her husband, James Olejniczak, who like Rebecca had planned to end the marriage.

News roundup, 11 Aug 2026

- Water levels in the Danube River are now so low due to drought that the wrecks of warships scuttled by the Nazis during WWII are resurfacing. More seriously, the situation is impacting irrigation as well as power generation.

- The Launchpad, a yacht owned by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, apparently failed to respond to a call for assistance as required by maritime law. A skiff that had run out of fuel had made a mayday call; its occupants were rescued by a cruise ship despite the fact that Zuckerberg's yacht was closer. A representative for Zuckerberg claims that the crew of the Launchpad initially didn't hear the call and that by the time they did, the cruise ship had already responded.

- Leftwing candidates will again be challenging the Democratic establishment in primaries this week. Francesca Hong, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, is leading in the polls for the Democratic primary for Wisconsin governor against establishment choice David Crowley, while Minnesota's left-leaning lieutenant governor Peggy Flanagan is facing the more centrist House member Angie Craig in the primary for the Senate seat vacated by Tina Smith.

- There are now a total of 11 candidates in the running for mayor of Winnipeg in this fall's municipal election. The latest person to enter the race is Brad Gross, a realtor notorious for having the buildings he's listed burn down. These include the Sutherland and Manwin hotels as well as a Main Street apartment building. Some folks on Reddit also think Winnipeg Sun owner and former Tory MLA Kevin Klein is considering a run, based on the fact that they're suddenly getting polled on his potential candidacy.

- Manitoba Hydro CEO Allan Danroth's claim before the Public Utilities Board that new gas turbines are essential to maintain a reliable supply, already disputed by critics, is being further called into question with revelations that the existing Brandon gas plant underperforms during cold weather. As I've indicated before, Danroth previously worked for private energy companies in Alberta, so there's a good chance that he has friends and investments in that province's natural gas industry. I do hope the PUB digs deeper into these matters.

News roundup, 7 Aug 2026

- The heat wave striking Europe continues to rage. Temperatures as high as 42°C have been recorded in Slovakia; in Poland two coal-fired power plants were forced to shut down due to low water levels in the Vistula River, removing 1.3 gigawatts of power from the country's grid.

- Danielle Smith is criticizing the Edmonton Police Service for a video that encourages people to report hate speech. Smith posted on X (the former Twitter) that the police should focus on crime, not "free speech".

- A judge in New Mexico has slapped Meta with a $567 million fine for failing to warn the public about the possible harm that its social media platforms, including Facebook and Instagram, can do to children. This is on top of another $375 million in fines related to the same case. The judge compared the psychological harm done to young people to pollution, calling it a "public nuisance".

- Several legislators in the US are concerned that "prediction markets" such as Polymarket and Kalshi allow people to place bets regarding wildfires, possibly providing an incentive for people to deliberately start said fires. They are calling on the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), which regulates the industry, to prohibit the practice. Similar concerns are being raised about such bets on the outcome of clinical trials, with fears that researchers could have an incentive to tamper with trials in some way.

- Toronto police have charged two people, aged 19 and 15, in connection with the recent gunfire incident at the US consulate in that city. The two are believed to have been hired for the job; police are still trying to determine who hired them.

- A 14 year old Thai boy killed his grandparents, then went on a rampage at the prestigious school he attended outside Bangkok. Five teachers were fatally shot and more than 30 teachers and students were wounded before he turned the gun on himself. The murder weapon was a 9 mm handgun owned by his grandfather.

News roundup, 6 Aug 2026

- Much of the UK, including over half of England and all of Wales, is officially in a state of drought. England received only 7% of its average July rainfall last month.

- Even if the war in Iran were to end immediately, experts think that it is unlikely that fuel prices will drop significantly before this fall's midterm elections in the US. That might be a problem for the Trump regime given that much of the public seems to actually recognize the president's role in the recent price spike. Whether this will impact the outcome of the elections remains to be seen, though; it's safe to assume that the regime will do their darnedest to suppress the Democratic vote.

- Abdul El-Sayed has won the Democratic primary for the Michigan Senate seat up for grabs this fall, defeating his AIPAC-backed opponent Haley Stevens by a narrow margin. El-Sayed is actually moderate compared to some of the people who backed him; he does not identify as a socialist, though he supports many policies favoured by those who do and was backed by Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Also in Michigan, Donavan McKinney (who does call himself a democratic socialist) won the primary for the state's 13th congressional district, defeating incumbent Shri Thanedar. While Thanedar was considered something of a progressive himself on many issues, they strongly differed on the Israel question. How they will fare in November remains to be seen, of course; McKinney probably won't have a problem, but El-Sayed will face a tough fight. Notably, polling predicted a considerably higher margin of victory than he actually got, and some think this may reflect rural voters being less willing to participate in opinion polls. And should he win, he'll probably need an extra security detail any time he leaves the Detroit/Dearborn area.

- The Republican-led Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee will vote today on whether Anthony Fauci is in contempt of Congress after he invoked his Fifth Amendment rights to avoid answering questions in a hearing last week. Fauci believes that the hearing was a setup, intended to trick him into saying something false so that he could be found guilty of lying under oath, hence his refusal/

- Manitoba's Hanover School Division, which serves the city of Steinbach and surrounding areas, attempted to introduce a policy ordering staff to ignore a longstanding provincial law that entitles "mature minors" to confidential healthcare. Education Minister Tracy Schmidt has overruled the board, and has warned that she is willing to dissolve the board and appoint a provincial trustee to oversee the division if they continue to flout the law.

News roundup, 5 Aug 2026

- Over 80% of the new vehicles registered in Denmark in July were electric. For cars purchased by individuals rather than corporations, this rises to 97%. EVs also account for nearly 25% of new vehicles purchased in Australia in the first half of this year. Doubtless the spike in fuel prices as a result of the US/Israel attack on Iran is a major factor.

- Leftwing candidate Abdul El-Sayed appears to be in the lead in the Democratic primary for a Michigan Senate seat that will be up for grabs this fall. Should he win the primary and the election he will be the first Muslim senator in the US.

- St. Catharines, Ontario was hit by severe flooding after two major storms hit the city within a few days. Thousands of homes were damaged

- A Russian soldier in Crimea reportedly opened fire on his comrades as well as on civilians, killing four people and wounding four others. 

- Both Morocco and Spain are saying that the surge of migrants into the Spanish exclave of Ceuta was not spontaneous, but rather was driven by online misinformation, possibly spread by people in the human smuggling business. This has yet to be confirmed, however.

- The Winnipeg Sea Bears have confirmed suspicions that it was nightclub security who injured star player Teddy Allen on the weekend. Allen's injuries were significant enough that he will be missing Thursday's playoff game; police are investigating the incident.

- A Florida evangelist took advantage of an Alaska Airlines plane whose takeoff was delayed in San Diego last week to stand in the aisle and preach at her captive audience. The airline was less than amused and removed her from the flight.

News roundup, 4 Aug 2026

- A test of GPS jamming techniques by the US military may have contributed to the fatal crash of a Beechcraft King Air medivac aircraft in May. The aircraft was flying to pick up a patient in Ruidoso, New Mexico, but the pilots appear to have become disoriented due to the lack of availability of GPS in the area which forced them to rely on older and less precise technology which modern pilots seldom use in their day-to-day operations, and crashed into a mountainside killing themselves and two nurses on board. While the crew will likely get some of the blame, it will be interesting to see how much the NTSB's final report talks about the reason for GPS not being available.

- Ukraine continues to hit Wildberries warehouses with drones, under the suspicion that they are being used to supply the Russian military (which Russia denies). The latest strike has killed at least five people at a warehouse near Moscow. 

- Hungary was forced to shut down a nuclear power plant after water levels in the Danube River dropped to a point that risked cutting off the plant's access to cooling water. The plant normally supplies 44% of the country's electricity; this comes at a time when temperatures in excess of 40°C are in the forecast.

- A law in California intended to limit the use of the recycling symbol to things that can actually be recycled has run into trouble after a federal judge ruled that the legislation likely violates the free speech rights of food and packaging manufacturers.

- A decorated US Army veteran who was detained by the DC National Guard in her front yard in May is suing for injuries sustained in the attack. The ostensible reason for this was that she was suspected of assaulting a member of the guard a few days previously, but she was never charged with anything, and suspects that the attack was motivated by her public criticism of the deployment of the guard in the city.

- Winnipeg Sea Bears player Teddy Allen was hospitalized after being attacked in downtown Winnipeg on Sunday night. While this fits in with a lot of stereotypes of the city, some folks on this Reddit thread say that footage previously posted on Instagram and subsequently deleted shows a belligerent Allen being ejected from the Palamino Club that night.

News roundup, 31 Aug 2026

- Wildfires continue to rage in southwestern Europe. 183 houses in the French town of Le Porge were destroyed on Wednesday; its residents felt abandoned as firefighters were focused on Lège-Cap-Ferret. The national government says the decision to focus on the latter community was based on it being on a peninsula that's harder to evacuate people from, however many residents of Le Porge suspect that the affluence of the latter community was the real reason, and are planning a class action.

- At least 19 people are dead after a surge of migrants crossed from Morocco into the Spanish exclave of Ceuta and clashed with authorities. Spain's interior ministry at one point said that over 49,000 people crossed the border. Some link this to a recent court ruling saying that people intercepted at sea while crossing into Ceuta and the nearby territory of Melilla cannot be summarily deported but rather need to be assessed for refugee status. Many, however, are skeptical that this information would have been known to these people, implying that new "push factors" may be in play. Italy's rightwing prime minister Giorgia Meloni is threatening to suspend Italy's recognition of Spain as part of the Schengen Area, and other rightwing leaders across the EU are taking similar stances.

- AI companies are buying rare books to scan and then destroying them. Used booksellers report that these companies are sending them extensive lists of specific hard-to-find works. In some cases they seem to be using front companies - one German bookseller reports getting a surge in orders of obscure books every night at around the same time from a Canadian -based company calling itself "Zoom Books", with each list containing numerous rare, and moreover unrelated, titles. Anthropic AI (which, it should be noted, is considered to be one of the less unethical companies in the business), has admitted that it has spent millions of dollars in the last couple of years on so-called "destructive scanning". This emerged during a copyright lawsuit; while Anthropic ended up settling that case, the judge made a ruling before it got settled that this practice constitutes "fair use" based on copyright laws, possibly implying that nondestructive scanning would not be protected in the same way. In other unsettling AI-related news, some systems designed by Anthropic and OpenAI have reportedly escaped from what was supposed to be an isolated test environment and hacked into other companies' systems.

- The leader of the Green Party of England and Wales, Zack Polanski, is refusing to apologize for reposting a photo of a man wearing a T-shirt with a picture of a guillotine and the caption "We're only making plans for Nigel". Of course the slogan alludes to an old XTC song, but the reference to Reform UK leader Nigel Farage is pretty obvious, and the party reported this to police saying this could constitute "incitement to murder". Polanski say he has not been contacted by police about the matter so far. He says the photo, one of several in the post of images from a party made by another person, was included by mistake, but accuses Reform of editing the image to make it appear that it had been posted by Polanski himself rather than reposted from someone else's post. He says he'll be happy to apologize if Farage apologizes "for all the times that he's put other people in danger".