Today's News: Habs Rule (almost)! Plus a round-up of comments on the Alberta separatist referendum, and a smattering of Trump/China

Habs Rule (almost)!

Montreal wins 6-3 over Buffalo, and will be going home with hopes to take it all on Saturday night's game 6
 

Montreal will be rocking!
They stick together don't they

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Some additional detail about that crucial decision to leave Dobeš in after the Sabres scored three on him, and about the goal coach who made it, is in this NHL article here.

Some good Venn diagrams, plus some good news updates

Starting with a few Venn diagrams:

Today's News: We just need the next 2 out of 3. Plus Trump leaves for China, and some "Strait of Hormuz Blues"

Next two out of three
A crazy game and unfortunate loss, Sabres 3 to Canadiens 2:

At Sportsnet, Eric Engels writes:

In a game the Montreal Canadiens lost by one goal, it would be easy to suggest the puck bouncing off the stanchion by the Bell Centre’s Zamboni door before caroming off Jakub Dobes’ pad was the difference.
But there was more to why the Canadiens finished Tuesday night down 3-2 in the game and tied 2-2 in their series with the Buffalo Sabres, and they’ll have to properly evaluate that before the action resumes at KeyBank Center on Thursday.
For a team that prides itself on honest self-assessment, a reality check awaits in the video room.
The Canadiens had seven power plays but scored on only one. And even if Cole Caufield, who scored that goal and said afterward that he and his teammates broke down the Sabres “a bunch” and were only thwarted by great saves Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, they mismanaged the puck enough to squander those other six opportunities....

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times - from Habs Rule to America Chaos

For some reason I am seeing a lot of just two kinds of posts. 

Positive ones about the Habs victory on Sunday, and negative ones about Trump's America causing chaos in the world. 

So they seem to fall into a sort of oddball "two cities" theme, really. Here they are

Habs Rule!
The playoff standings as of Monday night are here
Canadiens-Sabres Game 3 recap

Some good posts about this game:
Classic sports photo here

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Sunday Funday: Funny posts about Canada, ETTD, sports, academics, and more, plus Carney hat-trick TrumpWatch, Animal Crackers

First, good items about Canada 

Todd Maffin does a "heritage minute" about Heritage Minutes


All of the Minutes are saved here: https://www.historicacanada.ca/productions/minutes 

This is my favourite:

Good for the Habs! Plus today's Canada news - from Obama to a pink Barbie Jeep

Habs win!

So the series is tied as they head to Montreal for the next two games.


When it got to 4-1, that was really the end for Buffalo

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Today's News: Poilievre Put-downs, Responding to Wexit, China gives Trump the finger, and a Hantavirus Cruise Ship Update

Poilievre Put-downs

I think I need to start a regular feature about the comments and cartoons I see on our opposition leader Pierre Poilievre. I must admit, I seldom actually follow much of what he talks about, so I rely on these social media zingers to keep up with what he is doing. Enjoy!

From MP Peter Schiefke:

@globalnews.ca

Liberal MP turns to poetry to poke at Pierre Poilievre in House of Commons

♬ original sound - Globalnews.ca

Today's News: Some comments worth sharing on Iran, Alberta, ICE and rich bros, plus some updates on Canada good news, that hantavirus cruise ship and Epstein-gate. Finally, DAMN!

Some comments worth sharing

Black Cloud Six on the Iran War
A great piece here from Black Cloud Six, on how the American way of war is failing again. This is how he begins:

....Generally speaking, American employment of military power is characterized by a number of traits that can trace themselves back to the Second World War: unparalleled industrial capability, incredible logistics, the use of airpower as a panacea, allies as a tool rather than a partner, cultural isolation, technological solutionism, firepower as the first solution to tactical problems, and not a little amount of hubris and exceptionalism. We see all these being applied now during Trump’s war against Iran, but their threads run through most US military actions since 1945, including during “my” war in Afghanistan. In many ways, the United States is still attempting to apply the lessons learned during World War II to conflicts that are dramatically different in nature or scale....

The whole piece is well worth reading, but I particularly appreciated this part:

...We see all of this in full display right now, with Trump’s war with Iran. The United States launched extensive airstrikes against Iranian infrastructure and decapitation strikes against its leadership. Conventional Iranian military capabilities were wiped out and Trump himself was quick to claim a resounding victory. Yet the enemy has a vote and the American way of war was ill-suited to bring Iran to heel without an extensive, risky, and potentially expensive ground operation. Hubris and exceptionalism, personified by a strutting Pete Hegseth, waded in and failed to account for the Iranian regime’s resilience and ability to conduct unconventional warfare. Consequences and second- and third-order effects were obviously disregarded as Trump watched video of airstrike after airstrike. Today, though, “victory” seems far off.
This is because US strategy cannot work. Bombing alone has rarely, if ever, produced the clean political surrender American planners seem to expect from it, and the United States seems to have developed few other options. Iran has become the master at creating unintended consequences, both with its drone and missile strikes and with small-scale operations in the Strait of Hormuz. The United States has alienated its usual allies — allies that possess minesweeping capabilities beyond those possessed by the US Navy — and is left virtually alone confronting Iran....

Today's News: Go Habs Go! Welcoming our new Governor General. And marking Red Dress Day

Go Habs Go!

We're all getting set for Wednesday night!

The Montreal Canadiens are set to start their series against the Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday. To win this series, the Habs will need Cole Caufield to step up and be an X-factor. thesickpodcast.com/habs-round-2...

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— Nick (@nicklariviere25.bsky.social) May 5, 2026 at 6:27 PM

"May the Force be with you" and all the other stuff happening around Star Wars Day: Carney in Armenia, the PBO assessment, ICE on Canadians, Iran War, Met Gala, Star Wars, Kent State, Gordon Lightfoot, Habs Rule!

I hadn't realized so much was happening in the first few days of May: 

Carney is in Armenia

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Carney's speech:


TL,DW: DRM News reports "Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney addresses the European Political Community Summit in Armenia, highlighting Canada-Europe strategic ties, support for Ukraine, and a shifting global order. He emphasizes “strategic autonomy,” critical minerals, and defense cooperation, while warning that the international system is being reshaped by geopolitical and economic disruptions."

 

Sunday Funday: Sports Update, Wrapping up the Royal Visit, a bunch of good and funny posts. Plus NSFW, Getting Old(er), Carney Hat-Trick, TrumpWatch and Animal Crackers

Go Habs!  Go Raptors!

But win or lose, you both do Canada proud.

Sports Update

Outstanding!

RJ BARRETT "CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?"

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— CJ Fogler (@cjzero.bsky.social) May 1, 2026 at 8:29 PM

Canadians were really touched on Tuesday night when the Buffalo crowd sang our national anthem.

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Good reads: Dale Smith, John Ivison, Maggie Helwig, Tod Maffin, Paul Krugman, IFLOZ, James, Katharine Wilkinson, Sherman Alexie, Cole Haddon

Norman Rockwell's tribute to Carl Spitzweg's The Bookworm

Good reads about politics

Now that Carney has a majority, the Liberals were able to take control of Parliamentary Committees for the first time in seven years. And they immediately took away a platform for opposition grandstanding by moving the Ethics committee and the Health committee to closed-door sessions. From the reaction of opposition parties, you would think the sky had fallen:

Chantal Hébert on Liberals moving to go in camera in four committees: "Of all of the things you can think that were smart to do this week, getting a majority and using it to do this is probably one of the dumbest moves that one has seen in a long long time."

- Scott Robertson

Read on Substack

In Routine Proceedings, journalist Dale Smith writes:

....the two committees in question have been in the throes of attempted witch hunt studies that the Conservatives have been trying to orchestrate (with the gleeful assistance of the Bloc, who are happy to embarrass the government any day of the week)...
...Suffice to say, I’m not convinced that moving procedural wrangling in camera is a sign that democracy is under threat, and there was a whole lot of this very same thing when the Conservatives had a majority on committees (and they turned those committees into branch plants of ministers’ offices). They may try to cast themselves as heroes for inventing scandals, but I remain unconvinced that this is a danger to parliamentary democracy just yet.

Just a series of events - both unfortunate and fortunate: Alberta separatism, Jamel Jivani, Avi Lewis, Trump, Charles and Camilla, the DSRB, and Mr. Rogers

Today I found news all from all over.

To begin, here are some pretty unfortunate events.

First, Alberta separatists have just shown us all that their basic nature is deceit and underhandedness.

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The response from the Alberta Separatists was...well, unfortunate.

Zingers - from Carney, from Jeremy Hansen, from Calgarians, from Charlotte Clymer, from King Charles, from Gavin Newsom, and the 8647 meme

The news today was pretty grim - Iran War blockages until summer so the world economy is toast. But there were some pretty good "zingers" today too!

Carney in the House
"a premier who picks up my phone call" Ouch!

Pierre Poilievre: This Liberal PM has been wrong about every major economic issue of the last decade Mark Carney: Wrong on crypto, wrong on Brexit ... You know what this government is right on? Cooperative federalism. It's about working with Ontario -- a Premier that picks up my phone call

- Scott Robertson

Read on Substack

Today's News: King Charles' US Visit, Carney's Spring Economic Update. And hooray for the Buffalo Sabres!

King Charles' US Visit

Irony dies as King Charles speaks to Congress:

TL,DW: It was a good speech, apparently written at least partly by Charles himself. And both Democrats and Republicans enthusiastically applauded its themes of democracy, rule of law, diversity, integration, respect for all religions, service to the world, the importance of peace over war, and concern for the environment. In other words, everything Trump and all the Congressional Republicans have denied, trivialized, downgraded or trashed.

🔴 God Save the King. 👑 EPIC. 👌🏼 After spending an entire speech throwing subtle jabs at them, in that suave, diplomatic British style ... they cluelessly gave him multiple standing ovations. 😄

- Fun Tom

Read on Substack

Today's News: Carney's anniversary, Canada Strong Fund, Iran War update, Funny responses to the WHCA dinner, and some Canada Good News. Plus a quip

Carney's anniversary
Its been a year since Carney was elected, so he is doing interviews and here's a good one:


TL,DW (too long, didn't watch): Its a good interview covering a wide range of topics - the Sovereign Wealth Fund, the Iran War, the need to strengthen our military and alliances with other northern countries, and to broaden our relationships with countries around the world. Regarding CUSMA, we need a good deal in the right time, but we don't need to chase a smaller deal that would hamper our larger interests, and remembering that unless the deal is aligned with the interests of the United States, its not clear that they would respect it. Canada needs to be clear about what it stands for, and where there are opportunities; President Trump can see through obsequiousness. A lot of countries rushed into deals and aren't pleased now with their deals.
I thought this was the most interesting part:

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And this was said right at the end:

CARNEY: A lot of countries rushed into deals with the US -- they weren't really worth the paper they were written on ARSENAULT: You don't think there are any [countries pleased with their deal]? CARNEY: Certainly not in private

- Scott Robertson

Read on Substack

Sunday Funday: Catching up with the news about Iran and Ukraine, plus lots of fun posts, Getting Old(er), NSFW, Carney Hat Trick, TrumpWatch, and Animal Crackers

We had quite a year this week.  

Sunny and warm, then windy, then a foot of snow!  

Anyway, it looks like its all over now - we might actually get some Spring around here soon -- so here are my Sunday Funday posts.

Noted in passing: Maritimer and Arlene Dickinson on Poilievre; Andrew Coyne and IFLOZ on America; Black Cloud Six, Philippe Lagassé, and Shankar Narayan on Canadian defense

I have said for years the secret of Trump's appeal is that his followers worship him as The Golden Calf - because he has no philosophy of his own, he can just reflect his followers' own grandiose autocracy combined with racist superiority. And they love him for it.

Now I think Poilievre has decided to model his behaviour after what worked so well for Trump - lying, boasting, promising, pandering.
Poilievre doesn't have Trump's projected charm and bombastic hail-fellow-well-met insouciance, but the rest of it he can do!
First, Poilievre is now lying about Carney all the time:

Pierre Poilievre: "I think the Prime Minister should get away from all of the theatrics, the YouTube videos, and the distractions and tell us how he's going to achieve [tariff free trade]." (Pierre's posted six YouTube videos this week to Mark Carney's one...)

- Scott Robertson

Read on Substack

Today's News: Watching the Dunning-Kruger Effect in real time. Plus an Epstein-gate Update

The Dunning-Kruger effect is when incompetent people do not have enough knowledge to know that they are incompetent, nor do they recognize competency in others. They don’t know what they don’t know.

Right now, we're seeing the Dunning-Kruger Effect in real time.
Now basically, it usually doesn't matter what someone like this believes.
But because they can talk a good game, and aren't tethered to inconvenient realities, people like this can get themselves elected to public office.
And then, its a problem for all of us.
Here is Poilievre taking a leaf from Trump's book and just blatantly lying about how he can easily give Canadians what we want - a good deal with the US and no tarrifs on anything:

“Poilievre claims he can get a trade deal with the US with no tariffs” One had to wonder just what kind of hallucinogens he’s been taking.

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— Dale Smith (@journodale.bsky.social) April 23, 2026 at 10:32 AM

Yeah, sure, PP -- its the Dunning-Kruger Effect.

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Today's News: Thinking about Canada beyond CUSMA. Plus some Canada Good News

I think Canada needs to understand that the CUSMA negotiations are likely doomed.

Trump no longer has the mental capacity to handle "the art of the deal" - as Iran and the rest of the world are now finding out. 

And Trump will always blame his victims, as his erratic meltdowns tank any agreements or understandings that anyone might have thought he might agree to.
So I think we're stuck with the existing CUSMA agreement, plus those additional tariffs not turfed by SCOTUS (35% on steel and aluminum, 25% on autos and furniture, plus 10% more on energy/potash, lumber and steel.)
As I said in a comment on my previous post, I fully expect Trump will announce he is "ending" CUSMA, even though it will actually stay in effect until 2036.

But such an announcement will threaten to destabilize long-term corporate investment in Canadian business, and that's going to be a problem -- I think Carney's Advisory Committee is actually intended to help the government maintain investor confidence in Canada.

On Wednesday, Radio-Canada broke a major story about the upcoming CUSMA negotiations. Reporters Laurence Martin, Fannie Olivier and Daniel Thibeault reported that the US wants an "entry fee" bribe to start talks:

..."[U.S. President Donald] Trump wants us to make a lot of concessions before we sit down at the table," Charest told Radio-Canada. "Meanwhile, he wouldn’t make any."
On the U.S. side, there are suggestions that Canada should try to get Trump’s attention by making an immediate concession, especially since the president is juggling several major issues right now.
However, Canadian sources said they have twice offered concessions to the U.S. administration without receiving anything in return.
...Last spring, Ottawa dropped a significant portion of the reciprocal counter-tariffs it had put forward as a retaliatory measure against the tariffs on steel and aluminum imposed by Washington.
At the end of June, Canada also scrapped the digital services tax, which would have imposed a three per cent levy on the Canadian revenues of digital giants such as Amazon, Apple and Meta.
"The repeal of the digital services tax will significantly advance negotiations on a new economic and security partnership with the United States," Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne said at the time.
More than nine months later however, negotiations do not appear to have made any progress...

But nine months ago was way back in 2025 -- in the good old days when Trump was talking all the time about all the trade deals he wanted to make, and when the world still believed that maybe Trump could "be reasonable".
Now, we all understand that just ain't gonna happen.