News roundup, 20 March 2026

- Iran's retaliatory measures seem to have escalated. A strike on natural gas facilities in Qatar has reportedly wiped out 17% of the country's export capacity for at least three years. Whether the MAGAts will be able to draw a connection between their Dear Leader's war and the inevitable increase in the cost of home heating is an open question. While a handful of those people might actually change their ways, the best possible outcome for most of them would be for them to become sufficiently disillusioned that they don't bother to vote anymore. And some will stubbornly keep voting for Trump and his associates out of sheer spite, taking consolation in the fact that it's directly hurting people that they hate - assuming that there are even meaningful elections by then.

- Generally, in a functioning democracy law enforcement is supposed to get a warrant to access private information such as cellphone location data. But what if this data is already being sold by data brokers? The FBI under Kash Patel has been buying data from said brokers in order to track people; defenders of the practice argue that this is publicly available information and thus a warrant should not be necessary. Maybe the real question we should be asking is whether this sort of data should be allowed to be sold on the open market in the first place. For instance, if the authorities can buy this data, then presumably so can a stalker.

- London mayor Sadiq Khan is calling on Labour to campaign on rejoining the EU in the next general election. Certainly some recent polling suggests that this might be a good move; the extent to which this would translate into actual votes is far from clear, though.

- The war in Iran has helped to focus the minds of European leaders on renewable energy. Trump wants to export more American natural gas to Europe, but the spike in prices instead incentivized Europeans to try to replace natural gas with renewables.

- In some parts of the world, you can buy solar panels that just plug into a regular outlet and feed power back into your house's wiring. In some US states, electric utilities are trying to keep them out, claiming that it's a safety concern for their lineworkers (suggesting that it could still lead to power being supplied to a line that a worker thinks is dead because it's not being powered by the utility). Advocates say that this hasn't been a problem in other places and suspect that what the utilities are really concerned about is the "safety" of their shareholders' investments.

- Russia has issued new guidelines for physicians, calling on doctors to ask women how many children they want and to refer them to psychologists if they give "zero" as an answer. The country has already imposed restrictions on abortion and prohibited "childfree propaganda", but evidently those measures aren't doing the job in bringing the birth rate up to a level acceptable to Putin.

- Two Texas-based scientists have found a way to make usable soil from simulated lunar surface material, by combining it with vermicompost and certain fungi which are effective at sequestering heavy metals so they aren't taken up by plants so much. They've managed to grow chickpeas to the point of producing seed, though the success of those seeds in producing new plants remains to be seen.

News roundup, 9 March 2026

- The late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei will be succeeded by his son Mojtaba. According to some diplomatic cables that turned up on Wikileaks back in the noughties, the Americans seem to have thought he was pretty much running things anyway; meanwhile one member of the country's main religious body claims that the elder Khamenei apparently did not want his son as a successor, and in any case the current Iranian state was supposed to be a republic, not a monarchy, so this could prove divisive. Also divisive was the statement by the country's president, Masoud Pezeshkian, who had apologized for the strikes on Gulf states but then withdrew the apology following criticism from hardliners who called his stance "unprofessional, weak and unacceptable".

- Oil prices have surged by more than 25% since the start of the war, due to the de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz and damage to oil infrastructure. If a Democrat were in power when oil prices surged like that, no matter the reason, you can be sure that the MAGA crowd would not shut up about it. I'm not counting on this to make them worry about their Dear Leader's role in this now, though, since in the minds of many of those people the license he gives them to be mean and hateful is worth paying more for gas. In terms of the impact on the energy market, the impact could be mixed; on the one hand it could push people and countries to switch to renewables faster, but it could also lead to the use of more coal in place of natural gas.

- The Manitoba government has refused to allow the City of Winnipeg to change the default speed limit on residential streets to 40 km/h from 50. Premier Wab Kinew rationalizes the decision by saying that "they can do it on their own". Well technically it's true that they could put signs at the entrance to each and every residential street, but realistically that's not going to happen - the cost of the signs alone would be considerable. This is disappointing, but not all that surprising; for all of Kinew's virtues (and they are considerable) he has a populist streak to him that comes out at times like this. And maybe he still clings to hopes of winning back constituencies like Interlake and doesn't want to deal with the rage from people who come into the city from out in the sticks and don't pay attention to the changes to the "unless otherwise posted" signs at the city limit.

- A 45 year old woman who worked as a personal support worker was ambushed and stabbed to death outside a client's home in the Windsor suburb of LaSalle. Nancy Grewal was also a social media influencer in the Sikh community, and had been a vocal critic of the Khalistan independence movement, leading to suspicions that this was the motivation for her killing. It's certainly possible, but I was under the impression that stabbing tends to be more common when the motive is personal, rather than a professional job. It could be that this was one enraged individual rather than an arranged hit, but I do hope police are considering other possibilities (such as a stalker or an ex-partner).

- A white supremacist dating site called WhiteDate, described by some as "Tinder for Nazis", was hacked and had its data published. Some of the data was published on a website called OK Stupid, while more sensitive data was provided only to journalists and researchers; the CBC used some of the latter data to find information implicating current members of the Canadian military. 

News roundup, 19 Nov 2025

- Both houses of Congress have now passed a bill forcing the release of the Epstein files; every member of the House except one voted in favour. However, there's a catch - the bill as passed allows the DOJ to withhold or redact any records that "would jeopardize an active federal investigation or ongoing prosecution". This is relevant because Donald Trump has ordered Attorney General Pam Bondi to open an investigation into three prominent Democrats, including former president Bill Clinton, and their connections to Epstein. This just might provide the pretext Trump needs to keep the files out of public view.

- A new poll gives the Democrats a significant advantage in next year's midterms. That's assuming, of course, that the midterms are free and fair, which may be doubtful.

- Denmark held municipal elections across the country yesterday. The governing Social Democrats have lost control of Copenhagen's council; fortunately the beneficiaries there were other leftwing parties rather than the far right.

- Germany's government, a coalition between the centre-right Christian Democrats and the centre-left Social Democrats, is deeply divided over the future of pensions in the country. The coalition agreement calls for pensions to be propped up at least until 2031; the Social Democrats are trying to extend it further. The Christian Democrats' youth wing is not keen on the additional expenditures that the Social Democrats are calling for, though, and the pension legislation is not guaranteed to pass.

- The Manitoba government has presented its throne speech for the new legislative session. Highlights include the opening of a supervised consumption site as well as an overpass for the intersection near Carberry where 17 seniors died in a bus crash and a new emergency room at Victoria General Hospital. More problematically it calls for the construction of a new natural gas power plant for Manitoba Hydro; it is hoped that it will eventually run on renewable fuels but there's no plans for that in the near future.

- The City of Winnipeg has cleared two homeless encampments on Monday, the first day when new restrictions were in effect. The restrictions prohibit encampments within 50 metres of schools, playgrounds, daycares and skating rinks, and within 30 metres of transit shelters, bridges, docks and similar public facilities.

- The cycling magazine Momentum has published its annual list of the 30 most bike-friendly cities around the world. 24 of the 30 cities listed are in the European Union; the only other countries with cities on the list are Canada (represented by Montreal, Quebec City, and Vancouver), Switzerland (Zurich and Bern), and Norway (Oslo).

- The Brazilian government is proposing that brazilwood, an endangered tree, be given the highest level of protection by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). This is a source of alarm to many musicians, due to the wood's widespread use in bows for stringed instruments - it would force musicians to register their bows in order to travel internationally.

News roundup, 24 Dec 2024

- The outgoing Biden administration is trying to push through a new regulation that will require natural gas utilities to address leakage from distribution networks. There are already requirements for them to address large leaks (big enough to cause an explosion) but the administration wants them to take into account the climate impact of leakage. Of course, it's questionable whether the incoming administration will let such a regulation survive. On a positive note, though, the gas industry does seem to be losing the war in the long term; the total installed renewal energy capacity in the US is expected to exceed that of natural gas within a few years. And the owners of a coal-fired plant in Texas have received federal funding to convert the facility to a solar farm.

- The judge who will be hearing Luigi Mangione's murder trial is married to a former Pfizer executive. This has led to skepticism among some as to whether he will receive a fair trial. Meanwhile, someone claiming to represent United Healthcare is submitting takedown requests under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act to suppress the sales of merchandise depicting Mangione's face and related materials. No explanation why United Healthcare has any copyright in such images, but they're not letting that stop them. And a poll has found that 41% of respondents between the ages of 18 and 29 consider Mangione's actions "acceptable".

- Donald Trump wants to take back the Panama Canal from Panama, saying that shippers are charged "ridiculous" fees to use the canal. Perhaps we'll soon be hearing accusations of drug trafficking against Panama's president; it's not like stuff like that hasn't happened before.

- Honda and Nissan are in merger talks in the hope of becoming the world's third largest automaker and thus increase their competitiveness against Toyota and Volkswagen, not to mention Tesla and Chinese upstart BYD.

- The gas tax will be returning to Manitoba in the new year, albeit at a lower rate than before the tax holiday brought in by the government. I still think a reduction in the PST would be a more equitable, not to mention more environmentally friendly, way of providing tax relief, but that's just me.

- A Flin Flon man has had his charges of possessing child pornography thrown out due to excessive delays in the case. This is in keeping with a 2016 decision of the Supreme Court of Canada that limits the time to prosecute to 18 months in most cases. A major factor in the delay was the RCMP's failure to hand over evidence in a timely manner.

News roundup, 2 Dec 2024

- The International Court of Justice is opening two weeks of hearings into the obligations of the international community towards countries vulnerable to climate change. The plaintiffs, including several island nations that face annihilation due to rising sea levels, are calling on the court to rule that they are being unlawfully subjected to harm and to specify what actions are required. Any ruling will be non-binding, however.

- The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled that a section of BC's Opioid Damages and Health Care Costs Recovery Act (ORA), which allows the province to sue manufacturers and distributors of opioids, is legal. The companies had argued that the section was unconstitutional due to interprovincial jurisdiction issues.

- Vancouver's city council has voted to retain a rule that prohibits natural gas heating in new construction in the city, after three councillors from the dominant ABC party broke ranks and voted with the opposition.

- Siloam Mission, a Winnipeg homeless shelter, reports an increasing number of seniors accessing their services. Other organizations, such as the seniors' advocacy group CanAge, also say that there has been a sharp rise in homelessness in that demographic.

- The Public Works Committee of Winnipeg City Council has voted to move ahead with a reduction of the speed limit on Wellington Crescent between River Avenue and Academy Road following the fatality earlier this year. If passed by council as a whole, the speed limit will be reduced from 50 to 30 km/h until protected bike lanes can be installed.

- The town of Gravenhurst in Ontario's Muskoka Region has declared a state of emergency after receiving around 140 centimetres of snow over the weekend.

- Searchers at the Prairie Green Landfill north of Winnipeg have narrowed down the part of the landfill most likely to contain the remains of two of Jeremy Skibicki's victims, and this week the debris will be sifted for the remains.

- A mall in Montreal is playing the rather grating children's song "Baby Shark" in its emergency exit stairwells in order to discourage homeless people from loitering there.

News roundup, 23 Oct 2024

- Toronto's University Health Network, which includes Toronto General Hospital, Toronto Western Hospital, Toronto Rehab, and Princess Margaret Cancer Centre among others, is reintroducing mask mandates at their facilities. Given the potential for stirring up populist rage, I have to assume that this decision was not made lightly.

- 24 Liberal MPs have signed a document calling on Justin Trudeau to step down as party leader. The document gives a deadline of October 28, but does not specify any specific consequences if he doesn't quit. Nor could it; the party has no mechanism to force him out.

- The Manitoba government is holding off on issuing new licenses for urban convenience stores and gas stations to sell cannabis. The Domo chain of gas stations is disappointed, as they were hoping to start selling the stuff; the vice-president of the Retail Cannabis Council of Manitoba is applauding the move, however. Certainly there's no shortage of places to buy dope right now. There are, however, security issues with some of the stores; while the product is generally stored in a secure location like a safe, that doesn't stop would-be thieves from doing a lot of damage to the stores before they give up. I'd have expected that actual armed robbery would be a bigger risk, especially as those stores likely do a lot more business in cash than most retailers.

- Ontario premier Doug Ford insists on pushing ahead with his plan to force cities to remove bike lanes on major streets. In actual fact bike lanes are more of a solution to congestion than a problem, but Ford doesn't know that or, more likely, doesn't care - populists like him aren't interested in actual solutions so much as being seen by their base to be doing something. And the suburban sheeple who flock to Ford don't want to be confused by the facts.

- I've often been critical of Winnipeg city councillor Brian Mayes here due to his efforts to please NIMBYs in regards to density issues, but I do have to give him credit for at least raising the issue of natural gas heating. He's introducing a motion at council's Climate Action and Resilience Committee calling for city staff to produce a report on methods of phasing out natural gas in new and existing city buildings.

- After all regular ballots were counted, the NDP had a lead of only 20 votes in Juan de Fuca-Malahat. Mail-ins have yet to be counted; if the difference is less than 100 votes after that, a recount is automatic.

- Victoria's city council is asking the provincial government to take action to support the city's small businesses. One of the things they are requesting is for the province to "consider impacts to downtown Victoria when making decisions about remote and hybrid work arrangements". Interestingly, someone in this Reddit thread alleges that the city council did not make similar directives to their own staff; presumably that's because negotiations with city workers are their problem, while negotiations with provincial workers aren't.

- A 14 year old from Orlando, Florida whose best friend was an AI chatbot shot himself with his stepfather's handgun. His mother blames the chatbot for his death (rather than, say, blaming her husband for leaving a .45 where a troubled teen could find it).

News roundup, 7 Oct 2024

- The US Supreme Court has refused to preemptively block new EPA rules concerning methane and mercury, asking for the plaintiffs to file their claims in U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia first. This is somewhat promising, though if the case does land on their desks after going through the lower court there is no guarantee that they will uphold the rules.

- While natural gas has been promoted as a somewhat cleaner alternative to coal, a recent study has concluded that the climate impact of leakage during the transportation of liquefied natural gas is actually worse, largely due to the inevitable leakage of methane (the main constituent of the fuel).

- Bubba Pollock, the man who posted a selfie with a woman's dying father in order to harass her after getting into an online debate with her, was sentenced to 60 days in jail. He has a history of other criminal activity, including bribing homeless people to steal Pride flags and to pull fire alarms in libraries where drag-related events were being held. This is on top of more mundane (but equally disturbing) convictions such as sharing intimate images without consent.

- Physicians in Manitoba are getting tired of having to waste time signing sick notes demanded by employers. The province is one of three that have no restrictions as to when an employer can demand one; Doctors Manitoba is calling for this to be changed, saying that this can open up more time for actually useful patient visits.

- The chances of averting a healthcare strike in Manitoba are quickly fading; the unions say they are nowhere near a deal as tomorrow's strike deadline approaches.

- A child in the Brantford area has died of rabies, after having apparently contracted the disease from a bat while on vacation in Timiskaming District. Disconcertingly, there was no visible sign of a bite from the animal; experts are recommending that anyone who has been in contact with bats to get immediate medical attention.

News roundup, 30 Jan 2024

- Manitoba Hydro's CEO says that new generating capacity may be needed by the end of this decade. They're looking at wind, which is a good move because wind farms can be built a lot more quickly than dams.

- Toronto mayor Olivia Chow plans to introduce a "municipal non-resident speculation tax" in the hope of preventing her city from going the way of Vancouver.

- A participant in the 2022 Coutts border protest who accelerated towards police has been sentenced to 10 months in prison as well as being prohibited from driving for a year.

- Ontario is planning to refurbish four reactors at the Pickering nuclear plant, so as to extend the life of the plant for another 30 years. This is, essentially, the path of least resistance; building a new plant would be extremely expensive and take time that we just don't have. One hopes that they'll expand renewables in a big way too, though.

- A Republican member of the Oregon legislature (and congressional candidate) suggested in an interview that non-Christians are unfit for elected office, though he partially walked back his comments following criticism.

- Israeli soldiers disguised as doctors assassinated three Palestinians in the West Bank city of Jenin. Israel's government says that the victims belonged to a Hamas cell that was planning an attack. Meanwhile, members of Netanyahu's cabinet spoke at a far-right conference and effectively endorsed ethnic cleansing of Gaza. Stuff like this is probably not helping Israel's image abroad.

- Chicago is the latest city to look at banning natural gas in new buildings, though hospitals, crematoria, and commercial kitchens will be exempt. The natural gas industry is not pleased, of course.

- Marjory Taylor Greene is calling Republican senators working with Democrats on immigration control measures "traitors", doubtless because it will make it harder to attack the Dems on immigration. In other border news, the "God's Army" truck convoy has thinned out following conspiracy theories that it's actually an FBI front.

- A man in Birmingham, England has pleaded guilty to causing grievous bodily harm following an altercation at a concert. Apparently he became enraged because the glare from the victim's bald head was getting in his eyes.