#ottawa voter

[golly-that-beat-is-dandy]

GO VOTE ONTARIO!!

Voter attendance for the last election was awful, less than 45% of eligible voters exercised their right to vote, and that's what Doug Ford is counting on so he can stay in office!! Even if you've never voted before or think that it's pointless, please just go anyway! It's incredibly easy to do! Just bring one piece of ID that has your address on it (like your health card or drivers licence) and if you don't have ID that has your address you can bring any official mail that does, like bank statements, T4 slips, government mail, or anything like that. You do NOT need a voter card! You do NOT need to register in advance!

If you're unsure of your electoral district, go here to find out where to vote, and if you want to help us have a better chance to vote out Doug Ford, go to smartvoting.ca and enter your electoral district to see what party has the better chance of beating the conservatives!

My partner and I both voted early, but now the only chance to cast your vote is on the 27th! This is so important, especially because only 6% of eligible voters cast their vote during the early voting period!

Remember, you have a legal right to vote, even if you're at work. Your job is REQUIRED to let you leave so you can cast your vote! Ontario can't handle another 5 years of Doug Ford's leadership, voting him out will help save the healthcare system from becoming even more privatized, help save the post secondary education system, and help alleviate the housing crisis!! VOTE SMART! VOTE OUT FORD! GO VOTE!!!

[ottawa-official]

Welcome to The Cooler City of Ottawa. We accept all* people from all walks of life here.

We do not tolerate syscourse here.

*Does not extend to the following people:

Anti-addicts, pro-israelites, anti-voters, queerphobes, ableists, sanists, misogynists, misandrists, perisex supremacists, white supremacists, racists, xenophobes, trump supporters, Pierre Poilievre supporters, anti-landback, classists

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Zack Beauchamp at Vox:

“Are we a country that looks out for each other ... or do you go down a path of amplifying anger, division and fear?”

That’s how Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau described the stakes in his country’s upcoming election in an interview with Vox’s Today, Explained this week — outlining the 2025 contest as no ordinary election but a referendum on the very soul of Canada. This existential framing is an unsubtle shot at Trudeau’s rival, Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre, a populist firebrand who is currently outpolling the prime minister by a wide margin. Poilievre rose to party leadership as a champion of the extremist trucker convoy that occupied Ottawa in January 2022, and since then has regularly pandered to far-right voters. He has proposed defunding the CBC (Canada’s widely respected public broadcaster) and repeatedly promoted a conspiracy theory in which Trudeau is in league with the World Economic Forum. There’s a reason that Trudeau and many others have directly linked Poilievre to Trump: His political style practically invites it. But how accurate is the comparison? Is Canada really poised to be the next Western country to fall to the far-right populist global wave? The answer, as best as I can tell, is mixed.

It’s true that, by Canadian standards, Poilievre is an especially hard-nosed figure, one far more willing to use extreme rhetoric and attack political opponents in harsh terms. But on policy substance, he’s actually considerably more moderate than Trump or European radicals. Mostly eschewing the demagogic focus on culture and immigration that defines the new global far right, Poilievre is primarily concerned with classic conservative themes of limited government. His biggest campaign promises at present aren’t slashing immigration rates or cracking down on crime, but building more housing and repealing Canada’s carbon tax. Poilievre is basically just a conventional Canadian conservative who wraps up his elite-friendly agenda in anti-elite language aimed at working-class voters. He’s the kind of politician that some Republicans wish Donald Trump was: a tame populist. Understanding Poilievre isn’t just of interest to Canadians. There are reasons that his brand of populism is less virulent than what’s cropped up in many other Atlantic democracies — ones that hold important lessons for safeguarding democracy around the world.

Why Pierre Poilievre doesn’t fit the far-right script

The University of Georgia’s Cas Mudde, one of the leading scholars of the European right, has developed what is (to my mind) the most useful definition of radical right politics today. In his account, this party family — factions like Hungary’s Fidesz, France’s National Rally, and the US GOP — share three essential qualities. First, they are nativist; they strongly oppose immigration and multiculturalism. Second, they are willing to use aggressive, even authoritarian measures to deal with social disorder like undocumented migration and crime. Finally, they are populist, meaning that they define politics as a struggle between a virtuous people and a corrupt elite. Poilievre is certainly a populist. A right-wing operative and politician since he was a teenager, he rocketed to the top of the Conservative Party hierarchy after emerging as the most vocal champion of the 2022 Ottawa occupation. The uprising, which began against pandemic restrictions but swiftly became a broader far-right movement, was quite unpopular nationally. But inside the Conservative Party, there was enough support for its “pro-freedom” message that Poilievre rode his pro-convoy stance to victory in the party’s subsequent leadership election.

Since then, his populism has focused relentlessly on attacking the media, “globalists,” and (above all) Trudeau. Casting the fight between his Conservatives and Trudeau’s Liberals as the “have-nots” versus the “have-yachts,” he has argued that the prime minister embodies a debased Ottawa establishment out of touch with the needs and values of ordinary Canadians. In a recent speech, Poilievre cast Trudeau as an “elitist” leader gunning for Canada’s freedoms. “If he had read Nineteen Eighty-Four, he would have thought it was an instruction manual,” Poilievre argued. Somewhat ironically, Poilievre also believes Canada’s criminal justice system should be harsher. Blaming Trudeau for a recent rise in car thefts, Poilievre has argued for a reimposition of mandatory minimum sentences and other tough-on-crime policies. This means there’s at least a case that he also fits the second prong of Mudde’s definition of radical right politics. But on the first prong, nativism, Poilievre clearly diverges from Trump and the European far right. He has publicly insisted that “the Conservative party is pro-immigration,” and he has made appealing directly to immigrants a central part of his campaign strategy.

[...] Arising primarily in Western provinces (Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Poilievre’s native Alberta), Canadian “prairie populism” historically draws strength from the notion that the federal government cares more about the population centers in Quebec and Ontario than the rest of the country. Prairie populism, which comes in left- and right-wing varieties, focuses far more on regional and economic issues than the cultural obsessions of the modern far right. “We have had a long history of populism — particularly in the prairie provinces, the Western provinces — going back to the 1920s and 30s,” says Keith Banting, a professor at Queen’s University in Ontario. “Populism draws less extensively on anti-immigrant sentiment in Canada than it does almost anywhere else.” Indeed, Poilievre’s biggest focus is cost-of-living issues — blaming ordinary people’s economic pain on high taxes and big government. His signature proposals are repealing Trudeau’s carbon tax, cutting spending to fight inflation, and removing restrictions on housing construction.

[...]

Poilievre’s “plutocratic populism”

While Poilievre is a very Canadian figure, fitting solidly into the right-wing prairie populist tradition, his politics also have a lot in common with a concept developed for the United States: political scientists Jacob Hacker and Paul Pierson’s “plutocratic populism.” In their book Let Them Eat Tweets, Hacker and Pierson argue that the Republican Party uses culture war as a vehicle to attract popular support for a party that primarily caters to the interests of the rich. This strategy of “exploiting white identity to defend wealth inequality” allowed Trump’s GOP to attract downscale, non-college-educated voters without abandoning its core commitment to tax cuts and deregulation.

But in the United States, the populists ate the plutocrats. Trump’s anti-democratic instability and economic heterodoxy on issues like trade led some GOP billionaires, like the Koch family, to try and unseat him in the 2024 primary. They failed miserably and now are slinking back. In the Republican Party, MAGA is calling the shots. Poilievre, by contrast, keeps his populism within plutocrat-acceptable bounds. His rhetorical gestures toward the working class are paired with solidly pro-rich policy views and a distinct absence of attacks on the democratic system itself. In 2013, he claimed to be “the first federal politician to make a dedicated push” toward imposing US-style right-to-work laws in Canada. He has endorsed tax cuts for the rich and cuts to social spending. His trade policy is far more free-market than Trump’s. There are no signs that he would challenge the legitimacy of Canadian elections, let alone stage a January 6-style insurrection.

Vox reports on Conservative Party of Canada leader Pierre Poilievre's brand of right-wing populism is tamer than Donald Trump, Viktor Orbán, or Marine Le Pen's.

[beardedmrbean]

OTTAWA — The capital of one of the world’s most stable democracies is gripped by growing panic about foreign agents working in elected office. A bombshell report by Canadian lawmakers has unnerved Parliament Hill, alleging that unnamed politicians have been covertly working with foreign governments.

The revelation in heavily redacted findings released this week by an all-party national security committee adds intrigue to a separate and ongoing inquiry into foreign interference in Canada’s 2019 and 2021 elections.

The new report from the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians is the first to suggest that lawmakers in Canada’s parliament may have helped foreign actors meddle in political campaigns and leadership races. Heightened anxiety in Ottawa about foreign interference comes in the middle of historic global elections where factors such as artificial intelligence and emboldened foreign powers are testing the resilience of democratic systems.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has been on the defensive since the allegations broke Monday. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is calling on the government to name names.

“The national security committee indicates there are members of this House that have knowingly worked for foreign hostile governments,” Poilievre said Wednesday. “Canadians have a right to know who and what is the information — who are they?”

The findings put pressure on Canada's national police force to investigate potential criminal charges. The report also refuels debate on the ability of the federal government’s deterrence mechanisms to curb foreign interference in a country whose political and legal system is considered one of the highest-performing in the world.

The all-party NSICOP said Monday that it has reviewed intelligence that suggests “semi-witting or witting” parliamentarians have worked with foreign missions to mobilize voters during a political campaign; have taken cash “knowingly or through willful blindness” from foreign missions or their proxies; and have shared privileged information with foreign diplomatic officials.

The committee with top-security clearance said it based its findings on more than 4,000 documents and some 1,000 pieces of evidence. Its report said China remains the largest foreign interference threat to Canada with India the second.

The intelligence included a claim that unnamed parliamentarians are taking direction from unnamed diplomats to “improperly influence” their colleagues or parliamentary business to the benefit of a foreign state.

One of the most damaging lines in Monday’s report points out Canada’s failure to address long-standing challenges in how national security information can be used in criminal proceedings. The report says this is one reason why criminal charges for the potentially illegal activities are unlikely.

Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland told reporters Tuesday that she takes the issue seriously. She deflected when asked if Canadians have the right to know the identity of the parliamentarians involved.

“We should recognize this is a new time,” she said, adding that authoritarians want to undermine democracies by sowing public distrust in government.

Freeland would not commit to releasing names, nor did she agree that “sunlight” on the issue would benefit democracy. On Wednesday, after her Liberal party’s weekly caucus meeting, she ignored questions on the topic.

The Trudeau government called an inquiry into foreign interference in September in the wake of claims that the Chinese government helped mobilize voters against a Conservative candidate in western Canada and helped elect another as a Liberal in the Toronto area.

It tasked Justice Marie-Josée Hogue with investigating foreign interference and election meddling, a topic that has also captured the interest of U.S. Congress.

Last fall, Conservative MP Michael Chong appeared before the congressional-executive commission on China to testify about being targeted by Beijing because of his defense of Uyghur issues.

Chong discovered through media reports that a Chinese diplomat had been assigned to collect information on him and his family. Canada’s spy agency has warned other Canadian parliamentarians, including NDP MP Jenny Kwan, that they were also being surveilled by China.

An initial report released by Hogue last month observed that the government’s messy handling of foreign interference has undermined the public’s faith in Canadian democracy.

Hogue’s early findings stated that foreign interference did not significantly influence the 2019 or 2021 federal elections in a way that would have changed the fact that Trudeau’s Liberals won back-to-back minority governments.

The Conservatives were initially quiet about this week’s revelations, but on Wednesday Chong pressed the government to identify the parliamentarians alleged to have colluded with foreign state actors.

“We all know that no responsible government would reveal names under these types of confidential circumstances,” Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc responded on the floor of the House of Commons.

LeBlanc remained resolute Thursday against calls to release any names based on preliminary information.

“It's important for Canadians to understand that these names are contained in intelligence reports, in some cases, it's uncorroborated or unverified intelligence information,” he told a parliamentary committee studying foreign interference. “The idea that there's a perfect list of names that is entirely reliable that should be released to the public is simply irresponsible.”

David McGuinty, chair of the NSICOP, which published the buzzy redacted report, said the decision to publicize the names of lawmakers is outside of his control.

McGuinty and the nine other NSICOP members with top-secret security clearance are bound by Canada’s Security of Information Act and risk prosecution if they inadvertently reveal classified information, he said.

He wouldn’t say if he’s bothered by sitting in the same party caucus with potential abettors of foreign interference.

“I'm more concerned about the fact that now the government has to move forward on this,” McGuinty said.

[rauthschild]

🇨🇦❌🇺🇸 The 51st State? Trump’s Delusions of Dominion

Trump’s claim that Canada should become the “51st state” reeks of desperation. On Air Force One, he declared Canada “totally reliant” on the U.S., claiming, “without our subsidy, Canada doesn’t exist.” Bold words from the leader of a nation drowning in debt, trade deficits, and geopolitical blunders. Trump’s delusion that the U.S. bankrolls Canada is as laughable as his promise to slash Canadian taxes “in half” and solve “military problems.” Reality check: it’s the U.S. that depends on Canadian resources, not the other way around.

Let’s talk numbers. Trump’s claim of a $250 billion trade deficit with Canada is pure fantasy. U.S. industries rely on Canadian aluminum, timber, and natural gas to power everything from Michigan homes to Silicon Valley factories. Shut off the spigot, and U.S. supply chains crumble faster than a Black Friday sale. If Canada slapped retaliatory tariffs? Good luck explaining to angry voters why their grocery and gas bills just doubled. In this so-called dependency game, Ottawa holds more cards than DC cares to admit.

Then there’s energy. Canada supplies nearly 10% of U.S. natural gas and a major share of crude oil imports. Cutting those flows would spark energy shortages across the Midwest and Northeast during freezing winters. Domestic prices would soar, while Europe, already reeling from Russian sanctions, would scramble to outbid for U.S. LNG. So who’s reliant on whom, Donald? Canada is America’s energy lifeline, and pulling the plug would lay bare the fragility of an empire running on borrowed time.

Economically, the U.S. can’t afford a trade war with its northern neighbor. Canada’s tightly integrated supply chains mean tariffs or restrictions would wreak havoc on U.S. industries, from auto manufacturing to agriculture. And the geopolitical fallout? A move against Canada would have China and Russia eagerly exploiting a divided North American front.

And when Trump boasts about U.S. power, what is he really talking about? A nation that can’t to do more than sanction its enemies, ironically turning those sanctions into blessings. Just look at Russia: those economic “punishments” turned it into the fourth-largest economy in the world, with full full economic sovereignty. Thank you sanctions!

And militarily? Spare us the chest-thumping. America’s track record is less “global policeman” and more “global paper tiger.” The humiliating evacuations from Saigon and Kabul are burned into the collective memory of the world. The U.S. fled the Taliban after two decades of failure, leaving billions in military hardware behind. Aside from roughing up former CIA assets turned drug lords in Panama, America’s post-WWII record is a parade of defeats, from Vietnam to Iraq to Afghanistan. A trillion-dollar defense budget, and they still can’t win against guerrilla fighters in sandals. The US can't fight itself out of a geopolitical paper bag.

Contrast that with Canada’s military legacy. With British support, Canada decisively crushed a U.S. invasion during the War of 1812 (with a fraction of the force). Not only was the American advance stopped, but Canadian forces marched into Washington and burned the White House to the ground. But hey, at least their flag was still there? 🤷‍♂️

Canada doesn’t need to be the 51st state. What it needs is for America to sober up and realize the world no longer revolves around its delusions of imperial grandeur. If anything, it’s the U.S. that risks irrelevance as the global order shifts toward multipolarity. Keep lighting the world on fire, and the blowback will come - perhaps even with a White House burning once again. But this time, the flag may not still be there.

- Gerry Nolan

[usatopnews2025]

 Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced his resignation. What comes next?

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Resigns: What’s Next for Canada?

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on Monday that he will resign as Canada’s leader and as head of the Liberal Party once a new party leader is selected.

“I intend to resign as party leader, as prime minister, after the party selects its new leader,” the 53-year-old said during a news conference in Ottawa.

To facilitate the leadership transition, Trudeau also announced that Canada’s parliament will be suspended until March 24 while the Liberal Party chooses its new leader.

Reflecting on Regrets

During his announcement, Trudeau expressed regret over his failure to reform Canada’s electoral system, a goal he had championed.

“If I have one regret, particularly as we approach this election — well, probably many regrets that I will think of,” he admitted. “But I do wish we’d been able to change the way we elect our governments in this country so that people could simply choose a second choice or a third choice on the same ballot.”

Why Is Trudeau Stepping Down?

Trudeau, who has led the Liberal Party for 11 years and served as prime minister for nine, has faced mounting challenges in recent years. From escalating economic dissatisfaction to a series of political crises and plummeting opinion polls, his leadership has come under increasing scrutiny.

His decision to resign could be seen as preempting a potential defeat in the upcoming general election, expected later this year, where he is widely projected to lose.

Trudeau initially rose to power in 2015 with a vision of “sunny ways,” focusing on progressive priorities such as combating climate change and addressing historical injustices faced by Indigenous communities. However, his later years in office were marked by economic struggles and growing public dissatisfaction.

A viral exchange with a steelworker epitomized this discontent. “You’re not really doing anything for us, Justin,” the worker told him, reflecting frustrations over the rising cost of living.

Key Political Challenges

Trudeau’s administration also faced turbulence with the unexpected resignation of Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland last year. Her departure, just hours before she was set to deliver the annual fiscal update, sent shockwaves through Canadian politics.

In her resignation letter, Freeland criticized Trudeau’s “political gimmicks,” likely referencing controversial pre-election measures such as a two-month sales tax holiday and CA$250 ($175) rebates for most workers. These policies were seen as attempts to regain voter support amid a looming election.

Compounding these domestic challenges is pressure from south of the border. U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, poised to return to office on January 20, has announced plans to impose a 25% tariff on Canadian imports. Trump has also mocked Trudeau and Canada on social media, calling him the “governor” of the “Great State of Canada.”

What Happens Next?

The Liberal Party’s national executive, responsible for leadership matters, is expected to meet this week following discussions within the caucus. The suspension of parliament allows the party time to organize and select a new leader.

Potential candidates to succeed Trudeau include prominent figures such as former Bank of England and Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney, among others.

As Canada navigates this pivotal moment, Trudeau’s departure marks the end of an era defined by both significant achievements and notable challenges. The country now waits to see who will take the helm and how they will steer Canada through its next chapter.

[aknbrofan]

Canada's Trudeau faces increasing pressure from his own MPs to quit - Geo News

December 23, 2024 OTTAWA: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, whose party looks set to lose power early next year, is under increasing pressure from his own legislators to step down and let someone else take over.The ruling Liberals face obliteration in the next election after more than nine years in office amid voter fatigue as well as anger over high prices and a housing crisis.The Canadian…

[ear-worthy]

Season Two Of The Sunshine Place Premieres; In The Room W/ Peter Bergen On Election Trust

Today, we have two podcasts that shine the light on two disparate nooks of our society. The Sunshine Place investigates atough-love teen rehab called Straight Incorporated. Then, journalist extraordinaire Peter Bergen restores our faith in election integrity with one Michigan clerk who is on a mission to restore the trust that’s been lost.

**************************************************

 Audacy Podcasts, in partnership with Team Downey and Wink Pictures, have announced the launch of the second season of the award-winning investigative documentary podcast series The Sunshine Place.

Season Two of The Sunshine Place tells the story of Straight Incorporated, unconventional and tough-love teen rehab that preyed on the fear of parents and the vulnerability of their children and spawned the troubled teen industry we know today. Synanon, the subject of Season One, is widely considered to be the original influence for Straight Inc. and for other rehab programs that employed similar tactics and behavior modification techniques. The Sunshine Place Season Two is Executive Produced by Robert Downey Jr., Susan Downey, and Emily Barclay Ford for Team Downey, together with Josh McLaughlin for Wink Pictures, and Maddy Sprung-Keyser, Jenna Weiss-Berman, and Leah Reis-Dennis for Audacy Podcasts.

The Sunshine Place Season Two launched with the first two episodes on October 30, 2024, on the Audacy app and everywhere podcasts are available. New episodes will be released weekly on Wednesdays through December 11, 2024. Listen and follow the show here.

“As we were wrapping up Season One of The Sunshine Place, we uncovered a startling connection: a link between Synanon, the origins of Straight Incorporated, and the troubled teen industry that still thrives today, said Susan Downey and Robert Downey Jr., Team Downey. “Through riveting first-person accounts, we’re once again able to understand how vulnerable families seeking solutions to complicated problems can lead to dangerous consequences.”

Launched in the 1980s against the backdrop of the war on drugs, Straight Inc. was endorsed by First Lady Nancy Reagan and spotlighted by a televised visit from Princess Diana. The program swept the nation, but survivors of Straight tell a very different story — one of abuse, torture, and brainwashing. The eight-episode series is narrated by author and teen life coach Cyndy Etler, herself a survivor of Straight Inc. Guests include other survivors, many of whom are still recovering and telling their unflinchingly candid stories for the first time.

Check out season two of The Sunshine Place.

 ****************************************************

 In the Room with Peter Bergen On One Man's Mission To Win Back Election Trust

Don't get turned off because Peter Bergen is from CNN. This guy is good. Very good. Look at his photo below. He could be the protagonist or villain in any John LeCarre or Robert Ludlum spy novel. I think Bergen even knows Jason Bourne.

The conceit of the podcast is that Listeners go “in the room” with Peter Bergen as he presses his contacts for accurate, on-the-ground information to help his listeners contextualize and understand the impact of these stories on their lives through a quality, trustworthy, and engaging lens.

 On the most recent episode of In the Room with Peter Bergen, Ottawa County, Michigan's Clerk and Register of Deeds Justin Roebuck joins Bergen to discuss election voting integrity, voter's skepticism around the country, especially in Michigan, and Roebuck's efforts to restore faith in elections.

Justin Roebuck has a license plate that says "I voted." He first began volunteering as an election worker at age 16. Now, he oversees the election process in Ottawa County. But not everyone in his county shares his faith in the voting system. Like election officials all around the United States, he’s gotten accustomed to a high degree of skepticism about his integrity — and the elections he oversees. And he’s on a mission to restore the trust that’s been lost. So how did trust break down? And what’s at stake if it can’t be restored in a place like Ottawa County? The episode “In One Michigan County, There’s a Republican Fighting to Restore Faith in Elections” is out now on Audible and the SiriusXM app. 

Listen HERE.

[grunge-mermaid]

my riding has a provincial by-election coming up so I went to update my voter registration since I voted in Ottawa in the last election but it already had my current address registered even though my census form has me at my 2021 address

then I realized that since moving, I have:

reinstated my driver's license

renewed my health card

filed taxes

all of these have a checkbox to consent to having your voter provincial & federal registration updated

[allthecanadianpolitics]

A survey of Canadians’ health care concerns reveals nearly three-quarters of Canadians think health care in their province is in a state of crisis, and the majority think governments aren't doing enough to fix workforce shortages.

The poll was commissioned by the Canadian Health Coalition ahead of the annual meeting of the 13 provincial and territorial leaders in Halifax this week.

"Voters have a message for their premiers when they meet in Halifax for the Council of the Federation,” said Canadian Health Coalition chairperson Jason MacLean. “Canadians want provinces and territories to work with the federal government to improve public health care for everyone."

About eight in 10 Albertans said they support stronger cooperation between the provinces and the federal government to develop and implement a plan to recruit and retain more health care workers, and 79 per cent said they want the province to work with Ottawa on a national pharmacare program.

While survey respondents from across Canada backed collaboration on health care, premiers have shown reluctance to get behind some federal initiatives.

In a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau sent last week, the premiers urged the federal government to "refrain from unilateral actions in areas of provincial and territorial jurisdiction, particularly in health care, education, and housing."

Continue Reading

Tagging: @newsfromstolenland, @abpoli

[newstfionline]

Wednesday, June 12, 2024

Canada Worries About a US Civil War (Politico) When Justin Trudeau meets Joe Biden at the G7 summit in Italy this week, Trudeau will probably not ask whether the United States is at risk of erupting in civil war in the next few years. A think tank housed within Trudeau’s government is already pondering that question. In a spring report titled “Disruptions on the Horizon,” a quiet office known as Policy Horizons Canada proposed American civil war as a scenario that Ottawa should consider preparing for. This hypothetical was tucked into the middle of the 37-page document, which sketched the possibility in 15 spare words: “U.S. ideological divisions, democratic erosion, and domestic unrest escalate, plunging the country into civil war.” It’s an unsettling thing to find out your immediate neighbor is getting nervous about the possibility of gruesome violence in your home. The Policy Horizons report surveyed hundreds of experts and government officials about disruptive events that Canada might do well to prepare for. American civil war ranked as an improbable but ultra-high-impact event. Other scenarios in that general category included the proliferation of homemade biological weapons; the rise of antibiotic-resistant pathogens, leading to mass death and food shortages; and the outbreak of World War 3.

Baltimore shipping channel fully reopens after bridge collapse (AP) The main shipping channel into Baltimore’s port has fully reopened to its original depth and width following the March 26 collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, which blocked most maritime traffic into the harbor. Officials announced the full reopening in a news release Monday evening. It comes after a massive cleanup effort as crews removed an estimated 50,000 tons of steel and concrete from the Patapsco River. The Port of Baltimore, which processes more cars and farm equipment than any other in the country, was effectively closed for several weeks while the wreckage was removed.

Extended power outage that hit Puerto Rico angers and worries many during heat advisories (AP) Towns in central and southern Puerto Rico are struggling to emerge from a prolonged power outage that forced authorities in the U.S. territory to activate an emergency response team on Monday and request food distribution to those in need. The outage occurred more than a week ago, leaving tens of thousands of clients without power after a transformer that twice exceeded its useful life collapsed. Officials with Luma Energy, which operates transmission and distribution for Puerto Rico’s power authority, have said repairs could take more than a month. The announcement sparked widespread anger, especially since the outage has disrupted water service and comes amid daily excessive heat warnings, with the Atlantic hurricane season just starting. More than 40% of Puerto Rico’s 3.2 million people live below the poverty level, and not everyone can afford generators or replace costly electric appliances damaged by the outages.

Macron hopes to contain far right in national elections after it surged in EU vote. It’s a risky bet (AP) The surge of the far right in France in elections for the European Parliament was widely expected. What came next was not. French President Emmanuel Macron called for a snap legislative election, saying he could not ignore the new political reality after his pro-European party was handed a chastening defeat and projected to garner less than half the support of Marine Le Pen’s National Rally. He hopes that voters will band together to contain the far right in national elections in a way they didn’t in European ones. But Sunday’s decision to dissolve parliament and send to the polls voters who just expressed their discontent with Macron’s politics was a risky move that could result in the French far right leading a government for the first time since World War II. Macron, who has three years left on his second and final presidential term, would then have to find a way to work with a prime minister from a party that deeply opposes most of his policies.

In Italy’s Puglia region, women take the lead in challenging the local mafia (AP) It was a scene straight out of “The Godfather.” On the night of Feb. 1, a bloody goat head with a butcher’s knife through it was left on the doorstep of Judge Francesca Mariano’s home in southern Italy, with note beside it reading, “like this.” Mariano had already received threats, including notes written in blood, after she issued arrest warrants for 22 members of a local mafia clan that operates in southern Puglia, the heel of Italy’s boot. A remarkable array of women like Mariano is challenging its power structures at great personal risk. They are arresting and prosecuting clan members, exposing their crimes and confiscating their businesses, all while working to change local attitudes and cultural norms that have allowed this mafia to establish roots as deep as Puglia’s famed olive trees. “I don’t believe anyone who says they’re not afraid. That’s not true,” said Marilù Mastrogiovanni, an investigative journalist and journalism professor at the University of Bari who has written in-depth stories about mafia infiltration for her blog. “Courage is moving forward despite the fear,” she said.

Russia and Belarus kick off second phase of nuclear weapon drills (Euronews) Russia and its ally Belarus have begun a new phase of joint nuclear drills, the second of three scheduled tests. The two armies rolled out fighter jets and tanks in an exercise aimed at showing the world the readiness of their military partnership. Although it's not directly participating in the invasion of Ukraine and has no nuclear weapons of its own, Belarus has been hosting some of the Russian tactical nuclear arsenals on its territory since last year. Commenting on the drills, Russia's defence ministry said Moscow is "consistently improving its defence capabilities" to protect its sovereignty. Since Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, President Vladimir Putin has frequently threatened the West to use nuclear weapons if Russia's territory is attacked.

Ukraine says deep drone strike destroys rare Russian Su-57 stealth fighter (CNN) Ukraine’s military on Sunday said it had destroyed one of Russia’s newest and most advanced fighter jets in a drone strike on a military base deep inside Russia. The Sukhoi Su-57 fighter, nicknamed the “Felon” by NATO, was struck on the tarmac of an airbase in the Astrakhan region, almost 600 kilometers (372 miles) behind the front lines of fighting in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, according to Ukraine’s defense intelligence agency (GUR). The agency posted satellite pictures in a post on its Telegram channel to support its claim, writing, “The images show that on June 7, Su-57 was still intact, but on June 8, craters from the explosion and distinctive fire spots emerged near it as a result of the fire damage.” The Su-57 is a supersonic, twin-engine, fifth-generation stealth fighter jet and was seen as Moscow’s answer to Western stealth jets like the US Air Force’s F-22 Raptor.

Eight more die as India faces 'longest' heatwave (BBC) A severe heatwave continues to wreak havoc in India as the eastern state of Odisha on Monday reported eight deaths within a 72-hour period. Official figures released in May suggested 60 people died between March and May across India due to heat-related illnesses. But the number is likely to be much higher as heat-related deaths go under-reported in rural areas. Officials say India is in the middle of the longest heatwave it has seen since records began. Temperatures have crossed 50C in some areas recently.

Blinken pushes Israel on postwar Gaza plans as pressure mounts on Hamas to accept cease-fire plan (AP) U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged top Israeli officials on Monday to accept and implement a plan for postwar Gaza as he pushed for more international pressure on Hamas to agree to a cease-fire proposal newly endorsed by the U.N. Security Council. On his latest urgent mission to the Middle East—his eighth since the Israel-Hamas war began in October—Blinken met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant after talks in Cairo with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi to push the proposal, which faces new uncertainty following Israel’s hostage rescue operation that killed many Palestinians and turmoil in Netanyahu’s government. After the U.N. Security Council passed a U.S.-sponsored resolution endorsing the cease-fire proposal, Hamas said it welcomed the move and was ready to work with mediators in indirect negotiations with Israel to implement it. The statement was among the strongest from Hamas to date but stressed the group would continue “our struggle” to end the Israeli occupation and work on setting up a “fully sovereign” Palestinian state.

Malawi VP confirmed dead in plane crash (BBC/Foreign Policy) The wreck of a plane carrying Malawi's vice-president has been found with no survivors, President Lazarus Chakwera has said. Saulos Chilima and nine others were flying within the country on Monday morning when their aircraft disappeared from airport radars. The plane, a military aircraft, was flying in bad weather, and the rescue team found the aircraft completely destroyed. Former First Lady Shanil Dzimbiri was also on the flight. Numerous senior leaders have died in aircraft crashes in recent months. In May, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian were found dead in northern Iran’s mountains, forcing Tehran to call for early elections. And in February, former Chilean President Sebastián Piñera died following a helicopter crash in the nation’s southern region.

Cameroon or Canada? Poorly paid doctors and nurses are choosing to leave. That’s common in Africa (AP) After training as a nurse, Nevielle Leinyuy spent almost a decade in Cameroon working as a front desk receptionist because he was unable to find a decent paying job in the medical field. Last year, he gave up looking. He applied for a nursing program in Canada, where he now lives with his wife and children. “They are stealing us from Cameroon,” the 39-year-old Leinyuy said. “We want to work in Cameroon but there is no pay, so we have to look for other options.” Cameroon has one of the world’s lowest ratios of health workers per capita. About a third of trained doctors who graduated from medical school last year left the country, the minister of higher education, Jacques Fame Ndongo, has said. Many doctors and nurses are leaving the West African nation for more lucrative jobs in Europe and North America. Canada, like Cameroon, has official languages of English and French.

Wild elephants may have names that other elephants use to call them (NPR) You know that old rumor that elephants have good memories? Well, it would seem that’s pretty spot on. According to a new study in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution, elephants might have names…kind of. Wild elephants make distinctive rumbling noises when addressing different fellow elephants. There was a study done in the past that found that bottlenose dolphins “will imitate a signature whistle in order to get their attention, so effectively calling them by name,” says Mickey Pardo, a biologist at Cornell University. Pardo said that he was curious to see if elephants, which are known to be vocal mimics, do something similar. Pardo and some colleagues analyzed recordings of 469 rumbling calls that wild African elephants had made to each other in Kenya between 1986 and 2022. They used machine learning to see if the rumbles contained identifying information that their model could learn to use to accurately predict which elephant was being addressed. The computer was able to identify the correct elephant recipient 27.5% of the time, which is much better than it performed during a control analysis that fed it random data, says Pardo. The real question is, do mom elephants use their child’s full rumble then they’re in trouble?

[stephanetherrien]

Consommer c'est voter !

[swldx]

Voice of America 0309 24 Apr 2024

6080Khz 0259 24 APR 2024 - VOICE OF AMERICA (UNITED STATES OF AMERICA) in ENGLISH from MOPENG HILL. SINPO = 45233. English, s/on @0259z w/Yankee Doodle int fb news anchored by Tommy McNeil @0300z. A sweeping foreign aid package easily passed the U.S. Congress late on Tuesday after months of delay, clearing the way for billions of dollars in fresh Ukraine funding amid advances from Russia's invasion force and Kyiv's shortages of military supplies. The Senate approved by 79 to 18 four bills passed by the House of Representatives on Saturday, after House Republican leaders abruptly switched course last week and allowed a vote on the $95 billion in mostly military aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan and U.S. partners in the Indo-Pacific. The United Nations called Tuesday for “a clear, transparent and credible investigation” of mass graves uncovered at two major hospitals in war-torn Gaza that were raided by Israeli troops. Credible investigators must have access to the sites, U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters, and added that more journalists need to be able to work safely in Gaza to report on the facts. Earlier Tuesday, U.N. human rights chief Volker Türk said he was “horrified” by the destruction of the Shifa medical center in Gaza City and Nasser Hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis as well as the reported discovery of mass graves in and around the facilities after the Israelis left. A Russian court on Tuesday rejected the latest in a series of appeals by Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich against his pre-trial detention on charges of espionage. Gershkovich, 32, became the first U.S. journalist arrested on spying charges in Russia since the Cold War when he was detained by the Federal Security Service (FSB) on March 29 last year. He, his newspaper and the U.S. government all deny he is a spy. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said a Russian missile strike that smashed a prominent skyline television tower in Kharkiv was part of the Kremlin’s effort to intimidate Ukraine’s second-largest city, which in recent weeks has come under increasingly frequent attack. The strike sought to “make the terror visible to the whole city and to try to limit Kharkiv’s connection and access to information,” Zelenskyy said in a Monday evening address. European Union voters are set to be bombarded with lies and disinformation from outside and within the bloc in the June election for the new European Parliament, the president of the assembly warned on Tuesday. "It is something that we have warned about for a long time. In fact, it is not just a threat," Roberta Metsola told Reuters in an interview. She spoke just as information emerged that German authorities arrested an aid to an EU lawmaker on suspicion of espionage for China. Thousands of negotiators and observers representing most of the world’s nations are gathering in the Canadian city of Ottawa this week to craft a treaty to stop the rapidly escalating problem of plastic pollution. Each day, the equivalent of 2,000 garbage trucks full of plastic are dumped into the world’s oceans, rivers and lakes, according to the United Nations Environment Programme. People are increasingly breathing, eating and drinking tiny plastic particles. @0304z “Daybreak Africa” anchored by James Butty (w/African accent). 250ft unterminated BoG antenna pointed E/W w/MFJ-1020C active antenna (used as a preamplifier/preselector), Etón e1XM. 100kW, BeamAz 350°, bearing 84°. Received at Plymouth, MN, United States, 14087KM from transmitter at Mopeng Hill. Local time: 2159.

[teenageread]

Review: The Best Laid Plans

Synopsis:

A burnt-out political aide quits just before an election — but is forced to run a hopeless campaign on the way out. He makes a deal with a crusty old Scot, Angus McLintock — an engineering professor who will do anything, anything, to avoid teaching English to engineers — to let his name stand in the election. No need to campaign, certain to lose - or is he?

Plot:

Growing up in a conservative household, Daniel Addison was nearly disowned when he started voting for the Liberals, and was kicked out when he started working for the Liberal party. For Daniel his life was on parliament hill, a place where he happily stays writing speeches for his party leader. But when caught his girlfriend of two years, Rachel, doing the nasty with the opposite house leader, Daniel left the hill right then and there. Moving to Cumberland to work as a professor for the University of Ottawa. But with dedication to his party and fellow Canadians, Daniel had to find someone who would run for the Liberals in his new riding, one in which the conservatives had a unanimous vote in the past five elections. Searching high and low he makes a deal with his landlord Angus McLintock that if he runs he would not win, will not have to do any work, would not even have to be in the country when the vote happens, and Daniel will teach English for Engineering, a class Angus hated. With only $157.23 in the campaign fund, Daniel's team consists of Mariel the old Liberal candidate who lives in the nursing home, her beautiful granddaughter Lindsey, and Pete1 and Pete2, two millennial punk heads, engineering students who want to help out. Soon Canadians of Cumberland start realizing that Angus might be their guy. As most politicians are there for themselves first, party second, and the people third, Angus is different as he does not want to be there at all, he just does not want to teach English. With a shocking scandal that sends voters into a tizzy, Angus might have a chance of winning, as Daniel fears knowing that parliament is not ready for this. 

Thoughts: 

For those who believe that Canadian politics are less exciting than their southern neighbors or across the sea, well prepare to be correct.  Background information on Canadian politics: the main party are the Liberal Party (red and currently in power with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau) the Conservative Party (blue nicknamed the Tories, last leader in power was Stephen Harper from 2006 to 2015), New Democratic Party (orange, also known as NDP and never in power), Bloc Quebecois (light blue and like their name only exist in Quebec), and the Green Party (green and a joke pretty much). The main two are the Liberals and the Tories as they have been battling it out since Canada became a country (with a few Unionist leaders in the early 19th century). For most of the country this is how voting goes: if you like those in power vote for them, if not vote for the other side, with a few switching over to Green or NDP. For Canadians this book is a riot, as it brings up the classic CBC and CTV, Parliament Hill, and how our government works. As a Canadian myself, this book makes me realize I should probably pay more attention to politics, and that Ontario people need to shut up about their taxes (I come from one of the highest tax provinces so I should be the one complaining). With a romance on the side (Lindsey is just the girl Danial needs), the Petes keeping things spunky, and Danial runs around headless, with Angus blindly going into politics, Fallis deserves a ton of credit for this Canadian masterpiece. Taking an interesting concept (Canada) and something most people do not pay attention to (politics) he creates the best laid plan(s) that Daniel, the underdog, could do, and leads all Canadians in a new direction on how they see politics. 

Read more reviews: Goodreads

Buy the book: Amazon

[eaukraine-eu]

William Connolly: will Ukraine become part of the Western Community? William Y. Connolly, American columnist, specially for EURO-ATLANTIC UKRAINE. The question of when the war in Ukraine will end worries millions of people today. And not only in Ukraine itself. This question is being asked by both politicians and ordinary people throughout the territory from Ottawa to Wellington. It seems there is no clear answer to this. A few weeks ago, during a meeting with potential voters, former President of the United States of America Donald Trump said that if elected as the owner of the White House, he would stop hostilities on Ukrainian soil in a matter of days. How? According to him, he will do this extremely simply. “I know both the Russian leader and the president of Ukraine. It won’t be difficult for me to persuade both of them to sit down at the negotiating table,” he noted. At the same time, current US leader Joseph Biden, in his characteristic manner, literally emphasized the following: “Now there is no way to quickly resolve the “Ukrainian issue.” At this stage, Washington should focus its efforts on providing military and financial assistance to Kyiv.” It is curious that both Trump and Biden, despite their divergent views on the “Ukrainian issue,” agree on one thing: Ukraine should become part of the Western Community. Sooner or later. By any means. Or rather, at any cost. Because Washington and Brussels have put too much on the altar of Kyiv’s future prosperity as part of the United Europe and in partnership with the United States. Despite certain difficulties, this process is already underway. There is no doubt that it will be successfully completed within the next ten to fifteen years. However, the West practically does not have this time. To restore the war-ravaged economy of Ukraine, it is necessary to first end this very war, but military operations in the region may drag on. In turn, neither the EU nor the United States have such significant funds to allocate money exclusively to Kyiv. It must be remembered that, in addition to Ukraine, Brussels and Washington have other geopolitical interests, which it would be extremely unwise not to take into account. In particular, the situation in the Middle East has sharply worsened, the situation around the island of Taiwan is worsening, and a number of African countries are on the brink of civil war. And Europe itself found itself hostage to its own migration and economic policies. In addition, it is worth recalling that this year in the United States is a presidential election year, and during the election campaign, each of the contenders for the highest government post needs to focus on American and Pan-American concerns. Perhaps the situation in this regard will become clearer by the end of this year. There is no doubt that in the foreseeable future Ukraine will intensify its efforts to expand cooperation with the structures of the European Union and the North Atlantic Alliance with a view to speedily joining these organizations. Not least of all, the further development of events will depend on Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, whose ratings in the West are growing with enviable consistency. However, here the leader of Ukraine should clearly take into account all the above facts and not try to speed up the process “at any cost.” No matter how blasphemous it may sound in the current Ukrainian conditions, it may be necessary to show some restraint and demonstrate to potential partners your understanding of the current international situation. And the doors to the Western world will always be open for Ukraine.