Tuesday, August 11, 2026

Look up! Look Waaaaay Up! Plus catching up with the news, and a wildfires update

Set your alarm clocks for Wednesday, August 12 and look up. 
Look waaaaaay up.


In the morning, a planet alignment:


View on Threads

In the afternoon, a solar eclipse -- with totality in Greenland, Iceland and Spain, and a partial eclipse in eastern Canada:

 

Friday, August 07, 2026

Today's News: Carney working, Trump flailing, Covid stories, Wildfires update

So Trump called Canadians "nasty" but Carney didn't rise to the bait.
View on Threads

In fact, it sounds like Carney has decided the time is right to push Trump harder:
View on Threads

Thursday, August 06, 2026

Wednesday, August 05, 2026

Wednesday Updates: Nobody wants Poilievre's job. Plus Carney success stories, Trump fantasy stories, wildfires update, and its Venn Day.



Looks like Poilievre has a job that no one else wants. 
CTV News reports on a new Nanos poll:
There is “no obvious challenger” among Conservative politicians in Canada to Prime Minister Mark Carney, according to a new Nanos Research poll commissioned by CTV News.
The poll, which surveyed Canadians randomly by phone and online between July 28 to 30, provided a list of Conservative politicians and asked which would have a chance to defeat Carney if they were leader of the Conservative Party of Canada.
According to the poll, 16 per cent said former prime minister Stephen Harper, while current Official Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre received 15 per cent of the vote. Ontario Premier Doug Ford, meanwhile, sits at 11 per cent.
But 33 per cent of Canadians surveyed said “none can defeat” Carney.
Other notable Conservatives, including Peter MacKay, Rona Ambrose, Danielle Smith, Jean Charest and Lisa Raitt, each received less than 10 of the votes respectively, while Jason Kenney, Mark Mulroney, Erin O’Toole, Andrew Scheer, Leslyn Lewis, Tim Houston, Jamil Jivani and Caroline Elliott each received five per cent or less.
Speaking to CTV News, Nanos Research founder and chief data scientist Nik Nanos says there is both “good news and bad news” in the polling for Poilievre.
“Only 15 per cent of Canadians think that he (does) have a chance to defeat Mark Carney, so he’s not seen as a prime minister or a close challenger. That’s the bad news,” Nanos said. “The good news is (there) doesn’t seem to be anyone in the bushes, the shadows, in the wings that people identify as a real alternative to Pierre Poilievre.”...

Sunday, August 02, 2026

Sunday Funday: Some good posts and some funny posts, plus Carney Hat Trick, TrumpWatch, Animal Crackers, and Commonwealth Games Update


First, some good posts

Clearest image ever taken of Venus. (Infrared) By Japan's Akatsuki spacecraft 🔥

- Curiosity

Read on Substack

Which way do you read this image? People whose native language runs from left to right on the page - English, eg - tend to see, in Hokusai’s iconic image, an enormous rolling wave. The dominant feeling is the relentlessness of nature. But if your language runs from right to left - like Japanese - you might focus on the human drama: a handful of people afloat in narrow, flimsy boats, at imminent risk of being overwhelmed.

- Christopher Harding

Read on Substack

Saturday, August 01, 2026

Catching up with the American Fantasia. Plus today's Commonwealth Games update

Here are a few cartoons I found about Trump's crazy fantasies:










Trump's fantasy world is getting worse every day. 
It's harder to keep up with all the fantasy stories that Trump seems to believe sincerely - everything from how he won the 2020 election, to how Dr. Fauci killed millions of Americans with the Covid virus he developed in a Chinese lab, how evil democrats are all communists who destroyed his fabulous Reflecting Pool, and so on and so one.
I know all politicians have their blind spots. But this is way beyond that, isn't it.
Here are some good comments:

Friday, July 31, 2026

Today's News: Ragging the Canadian economy puck. Plus updates on wildfires and Commonwealth Games


So Prime Minister Carney kiboshed the suggestion Canada should retaliate with our oil and gas sales to America because we're mad at Trump over his tariff threats.
View on Threads

I'm seeing some carping about this from our media. 

Thursday, July 30, 2026

Outrage of the day: destroying old books. Plus updates on wildfires and the Commonwealth Games



View on Threads

All over social media, I'm seeing people furiously angry about this.

"“Project Panama is our effort to destructively scan all the books in the world,” an internal planning document said. “We don’t want it to be known that we are working on this.”" novaramedia.com/2026/07/29/a...

[image or embed]

— Greg Jericho (@grogsgamut.bsky.social) July 29, 2026 at 10:22 PM

Wednesday, July 29, 2026

Today's News: Poilievre evaporates while Trump circles the drain. Plus updates on wildfires and the Commonwealth Games

Am I wrong or has Poilievre evaporated?
I have seen little or nothing about him ever since his Lethbridge Liberace cos-play at the Stampede.

Maybe because he knows how is popularity is plummeting.

Sunday, July 26, 2026

Wildfires, the Commonwealth Games, and this week's Sunday Funday


Today's Wildfire Update

Lots of posts tonight about the fires in Spain and France
View on Threads

View on Threads
The Tour de France Stage 21 in Paris has been shortened to 89 kilometers due to wildfires.

Saturday, July 25, 2026

Today's News about bridges and airports and Trump blathering again, plus updates on wildfires and on the Commonwealth Games


To finish off the week, here's a collection of posts about the news.
I must admit, I'm tired, so very very tired, of writing about Trump and about Canada's problems dealing with him.
Can't imagine how tired Carney must be!

I am really tired of the infantile diatribes from bullies outraged that their victims are putting up a fight. It is never-ending. We just want to get on with our lives, but no. Sneering, entitled drama-queen bullies from the south keep trying to break things and steal our stuff.

- Joanne Pettis 🇨🇦

Read on Substack

Canada’s Carney to Trump: “Go ahead and tariff us. We’ll just sign deals with everyone else”

- Steve Heise

Read on Substack