News roundup, 15 Nov 2024

- Canada Post has been shut down by a strike as 55,000 CUPW workers walked off the job this morning.

- As expected, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been selected by Donald Trump for the key cabinet position of Secretary of Health and Human Services. Critics are calling Kennedy a "clear and present danger" to public health; I don't disagree, though it's a safe bet that anyone appointed by Trump is a clear and present danger to something important.

- As with several recent elections, polls in the 2024 US election underestimated Donald Trump's support by about 3%. This was the case across all the swing states. One possible explanation, of course, is that the kind of people who vote for Trump are also the kind of people who think pollsters are part of the Deep State or similar nonsense. Based on exit polls, it is also apparent that Trump did especially well among the "late deciders". Exit polling has also revealed that white voters to represent a larger share of the vote than in recent elections. This might mean that Trump was uniquely successful in bringing out low-propensity voters, or else that nonwhite voters are becoming disillusioned and not turning out for the Democrats the way they have in the past.

- The Manitoba government has announced that the crackdown on retail theft will be made permanent by providing funding for 12 new police officers. Probably a necessary move; hopefully other equally necessary but less visible measures to address the underlying social conditions will not be forgotten, though.

- The Alberta government has purged the leadership of the Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMCo). Finance minister Nate Horner attempts to justify this based on efficiency, but this is disputed by others, and the fact that the corporation had been exploring the possibility of creating a fund focused on the transition to a carbon-neutral economy probably had something to do with the matter.

- The RCMP are investigating after hateful letters were sent to staff at an elementary school in Vanderhoof, BC. Authorities are keeping tight-lipped about the content of the letters, but I'd wager that it had something to do with sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) lessons in classes.

News roundup, 13 Aug 2024

- The Canadian Air Transport Security Authority (CATSA) has received numerous complaints about unprofessional actions by their staff at Ottawa International Airport. This includes overly invasive searches, sometimes conducted in front of other passengers, as well as damage to items carried and general power-tripping behaviour.

- Tim Walz has a history of relatively progressive economic policies (for the US). Interestingly, unusual for American politicians he's not a big investor; he owns no individual stocks or bonds, or really anything except his pensions from his careers in politics, the National Guard and as a teacher. To those want to avoid politicians who can take part in insider trading without consequence, this is a good thing, and in keeping with legislation he co-sponsored as a member of Congress in 2011 that would prohibits legislators and staffers from trading on non-public information. Interestingly, some in the r/austrian_economics subreddit think it's a sign of "financial illiteracy". Because of course it couldn't be integrity...

- The Manitoba government has reduced the number of moose hunting licenses to be issued to hunters from out of the province by 75% until 2030. Actual biologists think that this is a necessary (and in fact overdue) move, but outfitters really have their knickers in a knot.

- The Manitoba government has extended the funding for the retail theft initiative in Winnipeg, following positive results. The hard part, of course, will be changing social conditions so that the crime doesn't just surge back once suppression efforts are reduced.

- A woman was run over by a car and killed while lying on the road at 1:45 AM on Winnipeg's Harry Lazarenko Bridge. There have been a lot of accidents involving pedestrians and cyclists in the city lately, some of them fatal, but this one sounds more like a suicide than an accident.

- A 15 year old boy suffered life-altering injuries after being attacked with a machete by another 15 year old over the weekend, in an apparent robbery.

- A man in Cairns, Queensland was celebrating a recent promotion to a ground crew position with a helicopter tour company when made the rather curious decision to steal a helicopter from his employer. He subsequently crashed it into a hotel, killing himself and injuring two hotel guests.

News roundup, 10 July 2024

- Senator Michael Bennet of Colorado has said publicly what many people have been thinking for some time - that Joe Biden cannot beat Donald Trump. And even Nancy Pelosi, who is no spring chicken herself, is hinting that Biden should reconsider his decision to stay in the race. Even longtime supporter George Clooney is calling for him to withdraw.

- Some jurisdictions in the US are looking at introducing mask bans, blaming masks for "emboldening" protesters to commit acts of vandalism or violence. Notably, this includes some relatively progressive cities such as New York and Los Angeles, which seems strange until you consider that it's largely a measure against pro-Palestinian demonstrators. The fact that COVID-19 infections seem to be on the rise ought to make them reconsider, but since no politician seems to want to admit that...

- The Israelis bombed a crowd of people watching a soccer game at a school playground, killing at least 31 people. No doubt they'll claim to have prevented a terrorist attack or something.

- The Manitoba government is extending funding for the remainder of the summer for the crackdown on retail crime. Justice Minister Matt Wiebe acknowledges, however, that simple crackdowns aren't enough; you also need to address the root causes.

- The City of Winnipeg is looking to tighten boarding standards for vacant buildings to prevent break-ins and resulting fires, as well increasing the related fees. They are also looking at speeding up the process to seize such buildings so that they (or at least the land they're on) can be put to good use actually housing people.

- A pastor whose wife had her seat upgraded when he didn't reportedly lost his temper and hit her in the head. He has been charged with assault.

- Chinese authorities have arrested a man who allegedly tried to smuggle 100 live snakes in his pants.

News roundup, 18 May 2024

- Niigaan Sinclair has some thoughts on the recent incidents at the Food Fare on Portage Avenue, suggesting that the common factor in these and other incidents may be a lucrative black market in meat. He has some interesting things to say:

The motivation for the incident is unknown and the investigation is ongoing, but what is more likely: a teenager stealing food for himself or selling it?

Poverty is driving individuals who don’t want to enter the highly profitable but highly illegal and dangerous drug trade and instead sell something easily shoplifted and sold for a high margin.

It may also be that the stakes of thefts in smaller shops like Food Fare are much higher, leading to the spate of violent incidents.

Ask any of the big-box grocery stores on the outskirts of the city and they will tell you theft of meat is their primary problem. Stealing from a big corporation isn’t often noticeable or cause for the business to fold.

I do take issue with one of the things he says though:

Meat thieves may also be providing an essential service.

As one source who works for a front-line, North End social justice agency told me, it’s a way “poor families” can get cheap access to decent meat.

It's better described as something that's seen as an essential service. Food is definitely essential, but meat is not.

- One of the people the mainstream Canadian media love to consult as an expert when they're doing a story about the food distribution and retail industry in this country is one Sylvain Charlebois, a professor of food distribution and policy at Dalhousie University. He's one of this country's most quoted academics on any subject, and is almost a minor celebrity (complete with a nickname, "The Food Professor"). Notably, he has been quite vocal in the media lately dismissing any suggestion that grocery chains are overcharging, and especially the current Loblaws boycott campaign. Which is kind of unsavoury given his rather interesting relationship with Loblaws. Oh, and it's worth mentioning that he used to be a dean in the university's Faculty of Management until he suddenly resigned his post a couple of years ago after an investigation was conducted into allegations of bullying and harassment. In other Loblaws-related news, a Shoppers Drug Mart in Toronto apparently posted an ad for a volunteer position in their store. That's right - they tried to get a volunteer to "provide support to the staff". After it went viral the ad apparently was removed. I wonder why?

- Last June, Britt Leroux of Windsor, Ontario had a clash with a chap who goes by the name of Bubba Pollock (really!) on social media over her support of 2SLGBTQ+ rights. His response? He gathered a whole bunch more information about her, drove two and a half hours from his home in London, and paid a visit to the hospital where her dying father was in palliative care during visiting hours. He then took a selfie with her unconscious father, and then posted the photo to the comment thread. He has now pleaded guilty to harassment, and is awaiting sentencing. He already has a criminal rap sheet that includes sexual assault and distributing intimate images without consent, and is apparently a supporter of the White Lives Matter movement.

- The US is expected to impose a 100% tariff on electric vehicles imported from China. It's widely suspected that the main reason is fears that American automakers can't compete with them.

- A child under the age of 5 has died of measles in Hamilton, the first fatality in Ontario in 35 years. And no, the child was not vaccinated.

- The ban on single-use plastics has become the latest front in the culture war, complete with a Conservative MP railing against attempts to replace plastic with more benign materials as "woke".

- Alberta RCMP have concluded, using "investigative genetic genealogy" (which involves the comparison of DNA samples with a database obtained from those services like 23andMe and Ancestry.com) that a serial sex offender who died in an Idaho prison in 2011 was responsible for the murders of four young women in Calgary in the 1970s.

- Scottie Scheffler, the world's top ranked golfer has been charged with assaulting a police officer with his car after the cop tried to stop him from driving around a roadblock on the way to the PGA Championship in Louisville, Kentucky. The roadblock was in place because the police were investigating a fatal accident. Rather strange behaviour for someone who professes to be a devout Christian.

News roundup, 16 March 2024

- While cities like to tout how many trees they plant, many are not very good at maintaining them. The small city of Morden, Manitoba is an exception. 

- Municipalities in Minnesota are apparently able to set their own minimum wage. Minneapolis' city council passed a bylaw last fall that applies this to rideshare companies like Uber and Lyft. Mayors there have the power to veto a bill, and did so, whereupon a supermajority of council exercised their power to override the veto. Now, Uber and Lyft are threatening to pull out of the city entirely.

- Mike Pence is not endorsing Donald Trump this time round. Funny that.

- Cape Tribulation, a hamlet in far north Queensland, is dependent on tourism for its very existence. The destruction of the only road to the community by a cyclone is therefore a serious problem.

- Quebec premier François Legault claims that his province is "full" and has asked the federal government for full power over immigration. The feds have refused.

- A Winnipeg doctor who suffered significant injuries when an elevator in the parkade across from HSC suddenly fell while she was using it is suing the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority, Shared Health, and the elevator manufacturer.

- A man in Richmond, BC has been arrested after police executed a search warrant and found over $150,000 worth of stolen Lego, other toys, and clothing in his home.

- Police have arrested a man for several instances of damage to gas lines serving businesses at several locations near Winnipeg's downtown, causing an extremely hazardous situation. Whether this was motivated by some sort of animus against those businesses, or just the act of a methhead who realized that a gas meter or regulator is several kilograms of scrap metal is not clear.

- American pop singer Olivia Rodrigo allowed reproductive rights activists to set up at her concerts, and at one concert in Missouri they were handing out condoms and morning after pills (particularly bold in that state given that abortion is banned in nearly all cases in that state). However, her management subsequently decided that actually handing these things out went too far, although the groups will still be allowed to distribute information and collect donations.

News roundup, 13 March 2024

- This past winter (the meteorological winter ends on the 1st of March, not the equinox), was the warmest winter in the US in over a century of records. The Lower 48 had an average temperature of +3.1°C (37.6°F); that's 3°C above average. Those numbers don't fully convey the story, though. Leaves are budding on trees weeks earlier than normal, Lake Erie and Lake Ontario have been essentially ice-free all winter, and mosquitoes were biting in Michigan as early as February.

- Since Paris moved to triple parking costs for SUVs, other cities are looking to follow their example. It's almost as if everybody knew it was a good idea, but nobody had the nerve to go first until Anne Hidalgo did.

- Manitoba's minimum wage will be going up to $15.80 an hour this fall. It did not go up this past fall because the deadline to make a decision on the matter came too soon after the election, and the new government, rightly or wrongly, was reluctant to make a snap decision on the matter. In the long run they want to bring it up to a "living wage", currently pegged at $19/h by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.

- The interim leader of the Manitoba Progressive Conservatives, Wayne Ewasko, is following the standard rightwing playbook, calling for parents to be notified when their kids request to be addressed by different pronouns at school. I'm sure that the life of a trans kid in, say, the RM of Hanover would not be made any easier by this (not that it's easy in any case, of course) but it seems the PCs don't care and are doubling down on the far-right messaging that contributed to their defeat last fall.

- Manitoba Public Insurance has suspended the sale of "special risk extension" coverage for truckers that operate outside the province. The Tories are trying to make political hay with this by accusing the NDP of "abandoning" truckers; funny thing is, though, MPI says that they made this move in August, while the Tories were still in power.

- The City of Winnipeg's Executive Policy Committee has voted 5-1 in favour of moving ahead with reopening Portage and Main to pedestrians. It will not be surprising to anyone that North Kildonan councillor Jeff Browaty was the holdout.

- Loblaws, like many grocery companies, has been pushing hard on self-checkout, but they're having to take measures to combat theft, like setting up gates with receipt scanners at the exits. Many customers find this to be an alienating experience, of course. Interestingly, Loblaws claims that this is largely driven by "organized crime", even as many studies find that self-checkout makes thieves of previously honest people (and that's not even counting the number of people who accidentally fail to scan an item). In other places, many chains are abandoning it entirely, finding that it's not even cutting down on their labour costs.

- Many people think of opioid addiction as a big city problem. In fact, in Canada at least, when municipalities are sorted by population, the ones with the highest incidence of hospitalization from overdoses are small cities between 50,000 and 100,000 people, and the next worst are municipalities with less than 10,000. Hospitalizations were actually least common in large cities over half a million.