News roundup, 25 Feb 2026

- The Starmer government in the UK is refusing to allow the US to make use of bases at Fairford, Gloucestershire as well as at Diego Garcia in the British Indian Ocean Territory in any impending attack on Iran. In response, Donald Trump is withdrawing his support for a prospective handover of the BIOT to Mauritius, not that it's supposed to be up to him of course. This could actually lead to something resembling justice for the Chagos Islanders, though only for a few decades at best because the islands only rise a few metres above sea level.

- The US Department of Justice removed several documents from the Epstein files that draw connections between Epstein and their Fuhrer. Others, some of which suggest that Trump may have abused a child, were withheld entirely despite legal direction from Congress, but NPR got their hands on them anyway. Not that Trump loyalists will listen to NPR anyway...

- A man has been charged with assault following a confrontation with striking municipal employees in the Rural Municipality of Tache, Manitoba. The man allegedly aggressively drove through a picket line at the municipal office, then shoved a union leader and took his phone after the union leader took video of his actions. The suspect is a 68 year old man from the neighbouring RM of Ste Anne.

- Conservationists as well as hunters are concerned about a federal proposal to amend migratory bird regulations to allow the hunting of Tundra Swans and Mourning Doves in the Canadian prairie provinces. In the case of the swans, there are fears that misidentified Trumpeter Swans, which are not allowed to be hunted anywhere in North America. In the case of the doves, there are concerns about the impact on the public perception of hunters, as they're the sort of birds that join songbirds at feeders.

- US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is threatening to blacklist Anthropic AI from working with the Pentagon because the company has ethical standards such as not allowing their products to be used to control weapons or for mass surveillance.

News roundup, 24 Feb 2026

- Most folks associated with the Republicans will vehemently deny any Nazi sympathies. Maybe some of them are even telling the truth and are just extremely ignorant, but it's getting harder and harder to give them the benefit of the doubt. The Trump regime seems to be very clearly copying Nazi aesthetics and phrasing, for instance. It's getting to the point where thoughtful, reasonable conservatives like the author of this article - of whom there seem to be fewer and fewer these days - are leaving the Republican Party in disgust.

- The Conservatives have introduced several proposed amendments to the Carney government's budget implementation bill, which would impose limits on the government's proposed power to exempt corporations from some regulations. Perhaps the only thing more surprising than the Conservatives proposing something half-decent is the fact that the Liberals have accepted the amendments. Maybe politics in this country isn't quite as far gone as it is in the US.

- The would-be assassin who was killed by security at the Mar-a-Lago compound appears to have come from a family of Trump supporters in North Carolina, but left behind a bunch of writings expressing rage over the Epstein files. 

- The Macron government issued a summons to US ambassador Charlie Kushner (father of Jared) following comments regarding the killing of far-right activist Quentin Deranque in Lyon. Kushner, however, refused to attend and has had his access to French officials blocked in response.

- An 11 year old boy in Perry County, Pennsylvania apparently was displeased when his parents took away his Nintendo Switch. Police believe he was so displeased, in fact, that he shot his father to death. Interestingly, in Pennsylvania minors charged with murder are tried as an adult by default, though the case can be moved to juvenile court under some circumstances. In Canada he couldn't even be charged criminally, though one would hope other measures would be taken.

News roundup, 23 Feb 2026

- Iran's air defense systems have shot down three Israeli F-35s in Iranian airspace since last summer. Setting aside the question of what those fighters were even doing in Iranian airspace, it ought to be another nail in the coffin for Canadian plans to purchase more of the darned things. Whether it will be remains to be seen of course.

- New polling from Politico shows the severity of Canadians' alienation from the US. Among the findings, 48% of Canadians consider the US to be the biggest threat to peace, with Russia a distant second at 29%, and 57% consider China to be a more reliable partner than America under Donald Trump. Perhaps even more telling are the results by political inclination - a plurality, though not a majority, of Conservative supporters doubt their ability to depend on the US.

- An outbreak of violence in the Mexican state of Jalisco has led to the closure of schools and public transit. The violence follows the death of drug lord Oseguera Cervantes at the hands of Mexican authorities. The decapitation of his organization seems to have sparked a power vacuum in the world of organized crime; Global Affairs Canada has issued a travel advisory and airlines are cancelling flights to and from the state.

-  Manitoba's Southern Health Region, which includes the cities of Winkler and Morden, has seen over 50 measles cases so far this year, but a reporter sent there found that people aren't expressing much concern - when they are willing to talk to reporters about the matter at all. Winkler's deputy mayor Andrew Froese claims to have heard little about the matter from his citizens, and also claims that the townspeople "follow public health guidelines" (except the ones that recommend vaccination, presumably). Morden's mayor Nancy Penner declined to comment on the matter at all.

- The city of Powell River, BC is named after the province's first superintendent of Indian Affairs, Israel Powell. Given that Powell was a big supporter of the residential school system, the neighbouring Tla’amin First Nation has urged that the city's name be changed. The proposal was defeated in a vote last fall, and the council has deferred any discussion on the matter until after the next election. What's interesting, though, is that a lot of the pressure to keep the old name seems to come from outside the area; the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (a major player in the anti-public health movement, among other things) has been involved, and this organization appears to get a lot of money from the Atlas Network, an American organization of rightwing think tanks. It's almost as if these foreign influencers are trying to stir up rage against anything that can be called "woke". Most likely they want to tip the balance in favour of the Conservative Party.

- An armed intruder was shot to death after breaching the security perimeter around Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago compound in Palm Beach, Florida.

News roundup, 20 Feb 2026

- The Andrew formerly known as Prince was arrested Thursday on suspicion of misconduct in public office. He was released from custody and has not been formally charged but remains under investigation as police continue to search the Royal Lodge in Windsor. Unsurprisingly, this is related to his connection to Jeffrey Epstein, but surprisingly it's not related (directly at least) to sexual abuse allegations but rather to reports that he shared confidential material with Epstein while serving as the UK's trade envoy. Of course, assuming the allegations are true he was probably compensated for the material in some way, probably in a way that one doesn't want to think about.

- China has reportedly transformed its largest desert into a carbon sink by planting trees and shrubs in a belt along the desert's edges. They've been working on this "Great Green Wall" since 1978; its primary purpose was to keep the desert from expanding into farmland, but new research out of the US indicates that it is having a beneficial impact on the carbon cycle. Stuff like this isn't enough, of course (emissions cuts are still essential), but it's a big step in the right direction. Of course, the fact that this is in Xinjiang puts a bit of a pall on it; I suspect the consultations on this matter wouldn't meet with democratic standards.

- Brazil is having some success in protecting the Amazon rainforest. Satellite evidence shows that the deforestation rate is the lowest since 2014.

- The City of Winnipeg has released a development plan for Point Douglas that calls for more low- and mid-rise residential properties, with mixed use development along the planned route of a future rapid transit corridor. The plan also restricts heavy industrial development in the area. This is welcome news, though it will require some significant infrastructure upgrades (especially replacement of combined sewers with separated sanitary and storm sewers). Of course such upgrades would be welcome anyway.

- Manitoba Public Insurance is suing Ford to recover the costs of payouts for fires caused by faulty block heaters, most recently one in Pilot Mound that destroyed two vehicles insured by the corporation. These heaters are now the subject of a recall issued by Transport Canada earlier this year.

- Alberta will be putting several referendum questions on the ballot this coming fall; these questions relate to immigration as well as to constitutional matters. One of the questions would be to "require proof of citizenship" in order to cast a ballot; this would seem to be pointless given that under current rules any non-citizen who manages to vote should be identifiable and could be prosecuted easily. It also will likely not affect all citizens equally; the more affluent will be more likely to have passports and thus be easily able to prove their citizenship than the poor. I guess the real purpose of this question is to serve as a dog whistle for the folks outside Calgary and Edmonton (and a substantial minority of those in those cities as well). 

News roundup, 18 Feb 2026

- Mark Carney is trying to broker a deal between the EU and various middle powers in Asia, to form a united front against the US.

- Eleven people have been arrested in France following the death of a far-right activist in Lyon. One of those arrested was an assistant to leftwing MP Raphaël Arnault; the assistant has apparently been fired.

- The US is accusing China of conducting a covert underground nuclear test after a seismic station in Kazakhstan detected a tremor. This is disputed, as that sensor was the only one to pick anything up, and independent observers are skeptical. I wouldn't be surprised if the Americans want to conduct new tests of their own and need an excuse to do so.

- CBS has refused to air an interview conducted by Stephen Colbert with James Talarico, a Democratic member of the Texas legislature. Colbert says that the network's lawyers feared a response from the FCC.

- Russia is threatening to deploy naval vessels to protect its so-called "shadow fleet" that helps it evade sanctions.

- China has apparently developed robots that can dance and perform martial arts. 

- Songwriter Billy Steinberg, who wrote or co-wrote numerous songs for such iconic artists as Madonna, Roy Orbison, the Bangles, Whitney Houston, and Cyndi Lauper, has died at the age of 75. 

News roundup, 17 Feb 2025

- The US Federal Trade Commission chair Andrew Ferguson is accusing Apple News of "suppressing" rightwing news outlets, including the New York Post, the Daily Mail, Fox News, Breitbart, and Gateway Pundit. Ferguson claims that Apple may be violating part of its terms of service agreement with its customers, though he did not specify any specific provisions that the company might be violating.

- A French far-right activist who was providing "security" for protesters against a speech by leftwing MEP Rima Hassan in Lyon was beaten to death after getting separated from his fellow fascists. A manslaughter investigation has been opened; President Emmanuel Macron has appealed for calm.

- Two Latvian fans who waved a Greenland flag during the warmups for the US-Denmark hockey game at the Olympics were told to stop after organizers feared that it could provoke violence from American fans.

- Longtime American civil rights leader Jesse Jackson has died at the age of 84. 

- The Winnipeg city councillor behind the proposed anti-protest bylaw has withdrawn his support for the move following a public outcry. Coun. Evan Duncan also says that a bill before Parliament covers much of what the bylaw was intended to address anyway.

- Winnipeg's police headquarters suffered substantial water damage after a valve was opened in a standpipe on an upper floor of the building. Two people have been arrested on mischief charges.

News roundup, 13 Feb 2026

- While the American labour movement had what was considered a breakthrough year in 2024, with over 1,600 workplaces holding unionization votes, this is far short of the movement's successes even two decades previously, much less the mid 20th century. Worse, overall union density in the private sector remains at an abysmal 5.9% of the workforce, compared to around a third in the 1950s. There are fears that this could lead to a "death spiral" where weakening unions are less able to score wins, making them less relevant to the needs of workers, and so forth. Unless a great deal changes the left in the US - and perhaps a lot of other countries - is going to face the unthinkable prospect of having to move ahead without the labour movement.

- Gallup will no longer track the approval ratings of the president, something they've tracked for nearly a century. When asked if pressure from the White House had anything to do with it, a company representative simply said "this is a strategic shift solely based on Gallup’s research goals and priorities". Of course, this is probably not false; their research goals and priorities probably include still being allowed to conduct research, albeit maybe not on the president's popularity.

- To the surprise of few, there has been a torrent of disinformation about trans people following the Tumbler Ridge massacre. Far-right pundits, and even supposed news outlets, have been claiming that there's an "epidemic" of violence by trans folks - and once those stories are out there, debunking them can be hard. In the words of Jonathan Swift, "falsehood flies, and the truth comes limping after it".

- A proposed bylaw in Winnipeg would prohibit protests within 100 metres of schools, hospitals, and cultural centres in the city. There would be an exemption for "legal labour activities related to a dispute or collective bargaining", however activists are naturally wary. Councillor Evan Duncan, who introduced the proposal, says it's to protect "potentially vulnerable populations" served by those locations; it's widely suspected that this comes in response to pro-Palestinian protests that were held near synagogues. On the one hand, conflating Jewish worship with the policies of Israel is problematic; on the other hand, I've seen allegations that at least one such protest was in response to a synagogue hosting someone who was promoting the sale of seized Palestinian land in the West Bank, which if true sounds like fair game for protesters (I'd like to see confirmation of that claim, though, since while it sounds believable it could also be disinformation).

- Jeffrey Epstein apparently purchased 330 gallons of sulfuric acid in 2018, about a year before his last arrest.