Today's News: It is to laugh!

The least surprising news of the day was Trump announcing he would run for president again --to the delight only of cartoonists and Maggie Haberman, I think. 

"Growing visibly" Maggie? What, is Little Donnie eating more donuts again?

Trump is growing visibly with his speech and delivering some ad libs.

— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) November 16, 2022

The grifter announces another run for the presidency #TrumpAnnouncement https://t.co/RfWCdZgaP3 pic.twitter.com/sVlrWjJmMu

— Ann Telnaes (@AnnTelnaes) November 16, 2022

The hashtags "NotAgain and #GoAway reflect exactly the way I feel, too:

#TrumpAnnouncement #goaway pic.twitter.com/6ZkYw2azq1

— Steve Breen (@sdutBreen) November 16, 2022

Not again. Cut it short people. pic.twitter.com/Y64qc7y9ed

— Leigh Christopher (@christopherhnl) November 16, 2022

And from overseas:

Osama Hajjaj, Jordan, https://t.co/mCDBfqTnQr pic.twitter.com/vy9mXjflii

— Editorial & Political Cartoons (@EandPCartoons) November 15, 2022

Other reactions:

I did not watch the racist misogynistic xenophobic narcissistic orange pile of garbage tonight, but still, I'm kinda hoping this tears the GOP apart. That'd be fun.

— Phil (I have a SubStack link in bio) Plait (@BadAstronomer) November 16, 2022

Tonight from Mar-a-Lago, Donald Trump officially launched his campaign to lose the 2024 presidential election. pic.twitter.com/ogSOHXGRh7

— Middle Age Riot (@middleageriot) November 16, 2022

🚨BREAKING NEWS: 45 Announces Future Failed Run For The Presidency 🚨

— Mark Hamill (@MarkHamill) November 16, 2022

Finally, in other news:

My favourite part of Trudeau's socks is how they live rent free in the minds of conservatives.

— Yuri Wuensch (@enigmamachine) November 14, 2022

From the bookmarks

Of course dinosaurs and humans never co-existed - dinosaurs went extinct 65 million years before humans developed, and the CBC knows it, as do all paleontologists. 

But no scientist wants to put their job on the line with our nutty right-wing government over such a stupid issue, just because the CBC is trying to play Got-ya! with Scott Moe:

"When CBC requested to speak with a paleontologist from the Royal SK Museum to clear [up whether dinosaurs lives with humans], that request was routed through to the education minister's office, which said the minister wasn't available." https://t.co/S6cx22w5U0

— Chris Selley (@cselley) November 12, 2022

Remembrance Day was Friday - here are some tweets I noticed especially:

Today on #RemembranceDay, Animal Justice is reflecting on the lives of the countless animals who have died in battle & who continue to be used in warfare today. These animals are not valiant, willing participants—they are victims.#CanadaRemembers #LestWeForget pic.twitter.com/3xZoZiapQe

— Animal Justice (@AnimalJustice) November 11, 2022

In their last NHL game before heading off to serve for Canada in the Second World War, Bruins' Milt Schmidt, Woody Dumart, and Bobby Bauer were carried off the ice by their opponents, a remarkable show of respect and camaraderie #CanadaRemembers #LestWeForget pic.twitter.com/nlGxujOgzw

— Mike Commito (@mikecommito) November 11, 2022

Lieutenant Wilf Gildersleeve served in the Second World War and fell in love with a Dutch woman following the Liberation of the Netherlands. Watch their #HeritageMinute for the story. #CanadaRemembers pic.twitter.com/mZs30qfA6j

— Historica Canada (@HistoricaCanada) November 11, 2022

Today's News: When the waves turn the minutes to hours

 

"Does any one know where the love of God goes 

When the waves turn the minutes to hours?" 

Here is a great thread about a great song:

47 years ago today the SS Edmund Fitzgerald sank in Lake Superior.
In this thread I'm going to discuss a few things:
- The actual story
- The Gordon Lightfoot song
- The different roles of an artist/storyteller and an educator
- Why it's ok to say we were wrong

— Ada McVean M.Sc. (@AdaMcVean) November 10, 2022

But Gordon had artistic license, and he used it, and we got a better ballad for it.
He once said that he agonized over inaccuracies in the song until his producer advised him to just tell a story.
Nonetheless, since its release, Gordon has altered 2 lyrics when he performs live.

— Ada McVean M.Sc. (@AdaMcVean) November 10, 2022

At some point, a parishioner from the Mariners' Church of Detroit reached out to him and reported that their hall was not "musty" as he had sung. Lightfoot changed the lyric to "In a rustic old hall".

— Ada McVean M.Sc. (@AdaMcVean) November 10, 2022

And yet he made those changes.
But he made them as a mark of respect. It's his song, yes, but it is a tale of real people, real places and real events.
Gordon Lightfoot never claimed to be a historian, and holding him to the standard of one is ludicrous.

— Ada McVean M.Sc. (@AdaMcVean) November 10, 2022

I was front row at the 2010 Lightfoot concert, where he explained that he was about to change the line "At 7 p.m. a main hatchway caved in". He said he had only recently learned that what he had understood to be the facts were not accurate, and the crew was owed an honest tale.

— Ed's Edits (@waddington_ed) November 11, 2022

Thanks for a great thread.
I want to share this cool noaa site for those on here who may be interested.https://t.co/3PdPObqSdJ

— Todd Silas (@tsilas) November 10, 2022

This is a beautiful version, too:

If you've never seen it, I'd like to share the cover of the song done by the group Cadence. Both music and video are beautifully done. https://t.co/BgylIak5gc

— Marla Kishimoto (@MarlaYuriko) November 11, 2022

In other news:

Trudeau does it again! The Canadian right may froth and scream but Trudeau doesn't care, he just keeps on reaching out and leading Canada to become a happier and more inclusive place - sunny days:

We have a PM the right calls 'divisive' but reaction to his appearing on the much watched, highly successful show demonstrates who the divisive people really are. Looking at you, Pieerson.

— Mike Morris (@1MikeMorris) November 9, 2022

At a time when right-wing populists are targeting drag queens as a front in the American culture war, it’s actually a pretty big statement that a world leader is not joining that particular pile-on, and is visiting a global drag franchise like this. https://t.co/4op5YFEGyu

— Dale Smith (@journo_dale) November 9, 2022

Finally!

Finally ... Ford blinked.

All unions who had supported @fordnation during 2022 election, came out publicly in support of education workers & against Bill 28. Ontario was on verge of general strike. @fordnation has now pledged to repeal Bill 28 (which only passed 4 days ago). 5/

— Professor Carol Campbell (@CarolCampbell4) November 7, 2022

Don't ever tell me @fordnation is "for the people" again.

Corporations are not people. The workers are people and he proved with Bill 28 that he does not see us as people.#onted #onpoli #Ontario #FireLecce #FordFailedThePeople pic.twitter.com/XY76ecOv8R

— 🄴🄶🄶🅄 (@ohayoodesu) November 8, 2022

Finally .... Canada is finding out who the FluTruxKlan organizers actually are:

I’m so tired of hearing this testimony that “their voices weren’t being heard”.They were heard. For years and years of this pandemic. They were the loudest and most obnoxious in our communities. They just wanted their way.

— mel n | she+her | 🇨🇦🇺🇦 (@cmelissa_n) November 4, 2022

Gary Clement on the Emergencies Act inquiry. pic.twitter.com/V3E0xPpUNb

— National Post (@nationalpost) November 5, 2022

Dear Tamara Lich,

I’m sorry your dad felt persecuted for refusing to follow mandates put in place to protect others during a pandemic.

My dad died of COVID last fall. Where are your tears for him? #KuKluxKonvoy #FreeDumbConvoy

— Shxwnx Risdon (@RisdonShawna) November 5, 2022

Most of the protesters weren’t truckers, and most truckers didn’t support the protest. It wasn’t organized by truckers, and wasn’t about truckers. The only reason its right-wing propagandists like to call them truckers is so they can dress up as class warriors. https://t.co/TJqaWBu54m

— Andrew Coyne 🇺🇦 (@acoyne) November 4, 2022

Who among us has not threatened to shoot our parents at one time or another? https://t.co/yam8aqiV20

— Andrew Coyne 🇺🇦 (@acoyne) November 2, 2022

Well we did wonder how they could stay out there with no income & those trucks literally idling. Now we know. They were paid & paid well.

— Barbara Byers, C.M. (@BarbByersCLC) November 2, 2022

Finally...the US midterms are almost over:

“Voting as Fire Extinguisher,” @elguante pic.twitter.com/wxQ0cjc4fa

— Alexander Chee (@alexanderchee) November 7, 2022

Researchers have identified a new and more narrowly targeted Russian misinformation effort ahead of Tuesday’s midterms. It appears intended to not only undermine the U.S. electoral system, but also the Biden administration’s military assistance to Ukraine. https://t.co/uVe4FAbu6M

— The New York Times (@nytimes) November 6, 2022

Finally...the Musk Lettuce Watch has begun:

Let the countdown begin pic.twitter.com/RQ7w3OhXcp

— Elon Musk Fondles Dogs (@chaser) November 7, 2022

Starting to suspect this is some kind of “Brewster’s Millions” situation where he secretly has only 30 days to lose all $44 billion dollars

— Joe Muto (@JoeMuto) November 8, 2022

Every Elon post is like watching Joe Pesci enter the Home Alone house

— John Frankensteiner (@JFrankensteiner) November 7, 2022

Today's News: The story behind Russia-gate and the Ukraine War

The New York Times has published a major article The Untold Story of "Russia-gate" and the Road to War in Ukraine (gift article link), and the story actually turns out to be remarkably simple -- Putin wanted to get Trump elected so Trump could support a plan that would give Putin control of Ukraine's industry and agriculture. 

Paul Manafort was the go-between - he had a plan to trade Mariupol for Russia's help in electing Trump in 2016. After Manafort's arrest, Giuliani jumped into the game in 2020.  It was a domestic and international scheme to hand Ukraine to Putin. When that failed, war became inevitable. 

This story explains everything from the inexplicable deletion of Ukraine support in the 2016 Republican platform, to the incredible July 4 2018 Congressional trip to Russia, to Trump's incredibly inept series of secret meetings with Putin.

This should be the biggest story in America. Putin put Trump in the White House to help him take out Ukraine… https://t.co/Z2bXUHz1kd

— Thom Hartmann (@Thom_Hartmann) November 5, 2022

 Here's an excerpt that summarizes the thesis of Jim Rutenberg's article:

Putin’s assault on Ukraine [in 2022] and his attack on American democracy [in 2016] have until now been treated largely as two distinct story lines. Across the intervening years, Russia’s election meddling has been viewed essentially as a closed chapter in America’s political history — a perilous moment in which a foreign leader sought to set the United States against itself by exploiting and exacerbating its political divides.

Yet those two narratives came together that summer night at the Grand Havana Room. And the lesson of that meeting is that Putin’s American adventure might be best understood as advance payment for a geopolitical grail closer to home: a vassal Ukrainian state. 

Thrumming beneath the whole election saga was another story — about Ukraine’s efforts to establish a modern democracy and, as a result, its position as a hot zone of the new Cold War between Russia and the West, autocracy and democracy. 

To a remarkable degree, the long struggle for Ukraine was a bass note to the upheavals and scandals of the Trump years, from the earliest days of the 2016 campaign and then the presidential transition, through Trump’s first impeachment and into the final days of the 2020 election. Even now, some influential voices in American politics, mostly but not entirely on the right, are suggesting that Ukraine make concessions of sovereignty similar to those contained in Kilimnik’s plan, which the nation’s leaders categorically reject.

Its a long read but worth it. 

In other Ukraine news:

In what would be a major defeat for Moscow in its war against Ukraine, the Pentagon is now saying that Ukrainian forces are capable of retaking the strategic southern city of Kherson from Russian troops https://t.co/Y7tzrnVTo1 pic.twitter.com/uFwsXXKpM8

— Reuters (@Reuters) November 4, 2022

The faster Ukraine wins this war, the safer we all are

— Paul Massaro (@apmassaro3) November 2, 2022

Here is an American pilot's message to Putin:

Flightradar24 data showed the image for several hours on Russian radar, making it impossible to ignore. @MrScarce https://t.co/0QG782xa82

— Crooks and Liars (@crooksandliars) November 5, 2022

Friday funnies

Just some of the funny stuff collected this week:

Darn right, Mercedes. 👍🇨🇦All Canadians should write letters to our president in Winnipeg asking for that very thing.

— editorsneedlovetoo (@editorsneedlov1) November 3, 2022

Elon Musk continues to demonstrate why he so richly deserves the sobriquet "Christ, what an asshole!":

mocking of users will continue until profits improve

— Adam H. Johnson (@adamjohnsonNYC) November 2, 2022

An interesting comment here, too -- and see this article at Daily Kos for more:

Great example of how weird Musk's plan to charge power users for verification is. AOC has 13.5 million followers. When she writes a tweet like this, it generates millions of impressions, creating considerable economic value for Twitter. And he wants to charge her $8 to do it! pic.twitter.com/EjviPPOAQY

— James Surowiecki (@JamesSurowiecki) November 3, 2022

Want to call yourself Citibank Password Verification? Here's your blue tick, thanks for the $8. Want to say you're the Democratic Party of Wisconsin and announce you're abolishing the police? $8. Call yourself WXBM Local News Arkansas and invent a school shooting? Yours for $8

— Arieh Kovler (@ariehkovler) November 3, 2022

Today's News: It's another edition of "Christ, what an asshole!"

Elon Musk - he will be the gift that keeps on giving, at least until he has bashed Twitter into the ground:

The funniest thing about this is that Elon Musk thinks the issue is that Stephen King is balking at the $20 per month fee. pic.twitter.com/BB5rnmaKKb

— Shannon Watts (@shannonrwatts) November 1, 2022

imagine being the richest man on the planet and begging Stephen King for 8 bucks lmao

— God (@thegoodgodabove) November 1, 2022

One thing they don’t teach you in business school is that product pricing is often determined through live negotiations with Stephen King. https://t.co/5CeDL6Iw9l

— Aaron Levie (@levie) November 1, 2022

Unless he's trying to tank this place on purpose, I've never seen somebody more out of their depth in my life. The dog has caught the car and is now demanding the car pay for gas. https://t.co/Pp5TcaAsIl

— Ben Collins (@oneunderscore__) October 31, 2022

sounds like things are going well https://t.co/pnYCGXr6yK

— The Ghost of GC 🌻 (@gtconway3dg) November 2, 2022

Elon's inner 12-year-old is emerging now:

A better term for this project would be "on-demand kiddie porn" because that's EXACTLY what's going to happen. https://t.co/ByO1Odat2j

— soonergrunt 🇺🇸 A Capybara Appreciation Account (@soonergrunt) November 2, 2022

Everyone is declaring "their stance" about whether they will quit Twitter or not:

my stance: pic.twitter.com/5lHR4lUrUq

— Emma Berquist (@eeberquist) October 29, 2022

Hey, its Halloween!

Likely the best video ever:

   

 Here are some good Halloween tweets and tweet-stories I have been collecting!

BOO, EH! pic.twitter.com/8ew5sWk0tz

— Brittlestar (@brittlestar) October 29, 2022

Happy Halloween 💪 @TheSlyStallone pic.twitter.com/cRNfdMcMEI

— Arnold (@Schwarzenegger) October 18, 2022

This is first of a Halloween cat every hour for the next 24 hours! https://t.co/bOkD7ireIE

— Cats of Yore (@CatsOfYore) October 31, 2022

It’s now OFFICIALLY that time of year! pic.twitter.com/7dgGXTgsV7

— Michael Myers (@RealMMyers78) October 2, 2022

waiting for halloween be like: pic.twitter.com/9GO4LpV2k4

— Michael Myers (@RealMMyers78) October 23, 2022

The greatest Halloween decoration you’ll ever see pic.twitter.com/joTWR7Yf9h

— Michael Myers (@RealMMyers78) October 21, 2022

Halloween 1933 pic.twitter.com/6UEH5KIQ6Q

— Brooke Lynn Curtis🌹 (@FearlessShoes) October 11, 2022

A house of horrors for parents would be walking barefoot on Lego covered floors while hearing bedroom doors slam and whisper screams of their children repeatedly asking "why" and then discovering an empty coffee pot when they finally reach the kitchen.

— KJ (@IDontSpeakWhine) October 10, 2022

Some posts about Halloween in Ukraine:

🇺🇦Good morning, its day 250 in #Ukraine
Happy Halloween! Happy Veles Night! A Ukrainian tradition where we jump over fires that goes back to the 9th century, where borders between the spirit world became thinner and we welcomed the souls of our dead family members to our homes❤️ pic.twitter.com/0HBXG5473C

— Sofia Ukraini (@SlavaUk30722777) October 31, 2022

🎃 HAPPY HALLOWEEN FELLAS - In the spirit of Halloween (pun intended) I will be discussing some Ukrainian folk-lore rather than history. Like other countries, Ukraine is full of stories, legends and tales of goblins and ghouls.

— Kobzar ✙🇺🇦🇨🇦 🍉 (@CanadianKobzar) October 31, 2022

"I love candy!"

The trick is when u are buying candy to hand out, always buy what u like so u can eat any leftovers. I buy snack stuff as kids already get a ton of "fun size" snickers. I buy stuff like mini rice krispy treats or mini bags of pretzels. Been doing it awhile. kids seem to love it.

— L.E. Henry (@Henry_LE74) October 12, 2022

Never know when there js a Tornado in ithttps://t.co/j9B683UmpU

— Erudite (@StedWoo) October 12, 2022

This one tho… pic.twitter.com/IKe3nhA9ZF

— Amy Lee (@covertbluejay) October 13, 2022

Be diligent and check your child’s candy this year. I found a union card in my daughter’s Snickers and now she’s renegotiated her allowance and wants hazard pay for taking out the trash. No words. pic.twitter.com/E1oFiB0v7U

— AFSCME (@AFSCME) October 13, 2022

Be diligent and check your child's candy this year, just found an invasive silver carp shoved inside a Milky Way. No words. pic.twitter.com/4lxTErtQsX

— Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation (@OKWildlifeDept) October 10, 2022

Parents really have to be diligent this Halloween to protect their children. I just broke open a Kit-Kat and found the Red Rocks Amphitheater with 9500 #Deadheads on acid in it. pic.twitter.com/vxfnDf5yJA

— Steve Silberman (@stevesilberman) October 12, 2022

My grandmothers dog loved candy corn… No one else, just the dog… pic.twitter.com/z61IKNN5V9

— jp (@jp92525259) October 12, 2022

“The real danger on Halloween isn’t Satan, weed or even the coronavirus. It’s car crashes. According to an analysis in the Washington Post, 54 kids were killed by cars on #Halloween between 2004-2018, making it by far the deadliest day of the year.” @Slate https://t.co/eWUDBMijAl

— Brent Toderian (@BrentToderian) October 17, 2022

I will never tire of this: pic.twitter.com/bkKLdbgK1u

— Right Wing, Shoots Left 🇨🇦🏒🥅🌈 😷💉💉 (@HILITINGHOCKEY) October 30, 2022

Twitter stories

I have collected a few more great twitter stories

First, follow this one from @ppirapokin about his Power Rangers adventure in a ramen restaurant -- the tweet below is the beginning of the thread, the photo in the second tweet is one that someone else took of the restaurant:

pic.twitter.com/otPa6CER0X

— ɹǝqɯǝɯ OƎƆԀ∀W∀ (@AMAPCEO_member) October 16, 2022

Who knew bike safety could be so interesting?

Once when I was young, around 8 or so, we had a garage sale. My siblings and I were killing time riding our bikes along the sidewalk and this guy stopped in. But he wasn't there to buy anything.

He went up to my mom, introduced himself and said he'd stopped because he saw us...

— Rachael Denhollander (@R_Denhollander) October 15, 2022

A thread that all parents and teachers should take to heart:

The use of fear to control children is so ubiquitous that most adults don’t even realise they are doing it. They’d never describe what they are doing that way. But in so many different ways, the children feel it. Here’s what it looks like. 1/

— Naomi Fisher (@naomicfisher) October 14, 2022

Here's an interesting discussion from Josh Marshall:

A few thoughts on the decline of cursive handwriting, which has come up in several threads. First, as an historian, I'm curious how this has affected currently training historians. If you go back more than a 150 yrs or so the past is hand-written. My area of speciality ...

— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) October 10, 2022

I love this story. Click the tweet to see the entire text:

Take 5 minutes to read maybe the greatest celbrity story ever. Told by Marc Haynes. pic.twitter.com/CHn4dJADte

— All The Right Movies (@ATRightMovies) October 14, 2022

What it was like to be a doctor during the time of Covid:

A quick🧵. I remember when COVID hit. My stepmom forwarded me a warning about a new virus in China. Two months later my Wilderness Medicine course wrapped up early as we feared flights would shut down. The markets had tanked. Stories were coming in from overseas…1/18

— McNadoMD (@McNado1) October 24, 2022

Finally, enjoy!

I'm back!

Just catching up on a few of the interesting tweets saved over the week while we were away.

Fascinating stuff:

If 100 people lived on Earth...
Amazing analysis. pic.twitter.com/q8j4SeEDLt

— The Figen (@TheFigen_) October 25, 2022

128 performers in wheelchairs.

French choreographer Sadek Waff leads a mesmerising hand ballet during the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics … pic.twitter.com/dl0Dai82C9

— Rex Chapman🏇🏼 (@RexChapman) October 24, 2022

Ha Ha!

Congrats @adidas on losing 163 lbs!!!

— WeightWatchers (@ww_us) October 25, 2022

For my job I do a lot with stock photography and I searched for ‘senior with cat’ and this is the first one that came up pic.twitter.com/BL1viWqtbt

— Anya Johanna DeNiro (@adeniro) October 13, 2022

Tucker Carlson is triggered pic.twitter.com/w6hXk74L5V

— chris evans (@notcapnamerica) October 19, 2022

Time for some animal crackers -- first of all, I found this posted on twitter:

who said
Donkey is dumb? 😆😆🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️😍😍😍
pic.twitter.com/pVvyN1AM4k

— LovePower (@LovePower_page) October 24, 2022

Great Horned Owls have no chill to give. pic.twitter.com/2hVoIxw8qQ

— Corina Newsome, M.Sc. (@hood_naturalist) October 19, 2022

Penguins chasing a butterfly.pic.twitter.com/niyjFLzz7B

— Fascinating (@fasc1nate) October 25, 2022

Husky getting nervous at his first swimming lesson pic.twitter.com/ooVCgRAlnK

— B&S (@____B_S____) October 26, 2022

Border Collies, often cited as the most intelligent of all domestic dogs. pic.twitter.com/G46FSICPEe

— B&S (@____B_S____) October 24, 2022

Maine Coon Alert---the whole family. And not one of them has ever peed on the bed. pic.twitter.com/KquvnXiqFm

— Lorenzo The Cat (@LorenzoTheCat) October 25, 2022

That squirrel is going to be pissed. https://t.co/jtRDhc3YP8

— The Hoarse Whisperer (@TheRealHoarse) October 24, 2022

If you’ve already seen a piglet balancing itself on a rolling ball today, just keep scrolling. 🐷 pic.twitter.com/3fDqJhFu6Q

— TG (@TG22110) October 23, 2022

Today's News: Ukraine update

I will be travelling over the next few days so I may not be able to put up more posts this week

Tonight, I am trying to figure out the latest from Ukraine. 

They likely will have a few more weeks of decent weather until winter strikes, so I hope they can liberate Kherson and more of the Donbas soon. Meantime, Russia continues to try to frighten the world into withdrawing support from Ukraine. 

I hope it won't work. Here is some discussion about Russia's overall goals:

“Russia’s aim is not to expand its borders, but to forestall the competitive threat posed by free, prosperous countries beyond them. For that reason, Ukraine as a sovereign country must be destroyed.” @edwardlucas https://t.co/i3VU3U4F21

— CEPA (@cepa) October 23, 2022

Right now, Russia is trying to scare the world with talk about "dirty bombs" -- first, it needs to be understood that there actually is no such thing, not really -- it is a "speculative" weapon, in the words of Wikipedia. It might be possible to build a bomb that combines conventional and nuclear explosives, but it isn't clear whether anyone has actually done so. 

But whenever the media mentions "dirty bomb" it sends people into a panic (it reminds me of the police fentanyl panic myth) and this is what Russia is counting on.

False flag? Russia says Ukraine plans to detonate a ‘dirty bomb’ https://t.co/3ahPffnQ72

— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) October 23, 2022

2. to leave a whole army of machinery that will enhance Ukraine’s forces in ways even NATO could not match. So Putin thinks his only leverage is to threaten nuclear war but nobody’s flinching. And Putin’s army is still stuck.

— Tim Hogan 浩勤 (@TimInHonolulu) October 24, 2022

The US, Britain and France aren't having it:

France, Britain and the U.S. issued a rare joint statement that rejected Russia’s allegation that Ukraine is preparing to use a so-called dirty bomb on its own territory, calling it a pretext Russia has concocted for escalating the war. https://t.co/QzShIESaaM

— The New York Times (@nytimes) October 24, 2022

More great stuff

What a week -- we really need some great stuff right now, don't we, and I've got some. 

But first, let's consider the nominees for this week's "Christ, what an asshole!" 

Is it Doug Ford?  First he posted a three-amigos tweet that included his fire pit, then twitter exploded because said firepit is not legal in Toronto, so then he just deleted the tweet - Christ, what an asshole!

A nifty three-image story. pic.twitter.com/HyYuESYK98

— Barney Panofsky's Best Intentions (@mynamesnotgordy) October 22, 2022

Or Danielle Smith? The National Post is calling her Canada's first "alternatively-informed" premier.  Smith now seems to think she can override public health orders, abandon Kenney's federal commitments, and basically do whatever she wants - Premier Loon indeed. 

Premier Loon vows to protect Albertans from public health measures imposed by the World Economic Forum.https://t.co/Ie1KeSREGw

— Andrew Coyne 🇺🇦 (@acoyne) October 22, 2022

When roller dung beetles want to mate, the males will form dung balls and roll them past the female, who will hop on the most appealing dung ball and go for a ride. Coincidentally, this is also how the UCP are selecting which policies to adopt at their convention this weekend.

— Aaron Hoyland (@aaronhoyland) October 23, 2022

Or maybe our very own Scott Moe? He heard that Singh was coming to Saskatchewan for the NDP convention and instead of welcoming him as a fellow politician, Moe decided he had to try to insult him instead -- Christ, what an asshole!

Scott Moe is an embarrassment to #Saskatchewan. We need a Premier that acts less like a schoolyard bully and more like a professional statesman. #skpoli https://t.co/hwjuYO112K

— Dr Nasty Woman, PhD (@left_site) October 23, 2022

I can't decide ,... so, I guess it must be ALL THREE! 

But wait, there's more -- I'm wondering if any of the Brain Trust advising Moe has considered whether they are scaring people away from Saskatchewan?

Does he also want the consequences of capital flight from the province?
Montreal used to be the financial capital of the country, until the first referendum, and everyone left and set up shop in Toronto instead. https://t.co/C6GZpU63Bh

— Dale Smith (@journo_dale) October 16, 2022

The Globe and Mail is not impressed:

When an editorial board spends an entire column shaming you.

The Sask. Party has made us a national embarrassment. #skpoli
https://t.co/FFDTULb8Oa

— Aleana Young (@AleanaYoung) October 22, 2022

The Globe and Mail writes:

...Last week, Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe presented what he claimed was a serious analysis of how federal climate rules will hurt his province. But it was in fact the opposite, a threadbare and mathematically halfwitted sketch that was brutally panned. The episode was much like, earlier this year, the widely lambasted “sovereignty act” put forth by the new and embattled premier of Alberta, Danielle Smith.

In both cases, the Prairie premiers made a basic mistake: They conflated what are ordinary provincial-federal policy debates and disagreements with accusations of Ottawa’s undue constitutional overreach. It is akin to shouting “fire” when nothing is ablaze....

Standing up for a province is one thing; doing so with misleading and disingenuous proposals is another.

If Saskatchewan wants more control over immigration or policing, that’s a reasonable idea. But it’s not reasonable to try to ignore federal climate policy. The constitutional questions are settled. And if Mr. Moe wants to make serious claims that are worthy of debate, he should start with a course in remedial math.

The reason Scott Moe is happy with the UCP selection of Danielle Smith as their leader is because it means there’s finally another Premier in Canada who is as dumb as he is. #skpoli https://t.co/Y7kmnQdqi1

— Larry Hubich (@LHubich) October 22, 2022

Today's News: Buh-bye

Today we said "buh-bye" to Liz Truss. 

The tweets were priceless:

In light of Liz Truss' resignation, I made a chart to explain UK politics for anyone confused pic.twitter.com/uBweUvQU0o

— Lapis (@DegenerateThing) October 20, 2022

Liz Truss lasted 4.1 Scaramuccis

— Anthony Scaramucci (@Scaramucci) October 20, 2022

Just been sent this… Hahahaha pic.twitter.com/4u9z5rb18t

— Anthony Hamilton 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 (@1974Hamilton) October 20, 2022

“The King has asked me to become Prime Minister because this nonsense has gone on long enough.” pic.twitter.com/eFL3fgSfVL

— Larry the Cat (@Number10cat) October 20, 2022

Can a lettuce enter the Conservative Party leadership contest?https://t.co/PyFo7ugNXP

— Daily Star (@dailystar) October 20, 2022

Gotta agree with Larry. Liz Truss and Kevin McCarthy have a lot in common. Bye bye Liz and bye bye Kevin. You don’t get wreck our economy the way Liz wrecked the Brits. https://t.co/2bVtqavavP

— Howard Dean (@GovHowardDean) October 20, 2022

If Larry Kudlow thinks Truss is OK, no wonder she crashed and burned. 

Hey, did you know that Republicans also now want to delay paying Social Security until age 75, and stop paying it at age 90? What, do they think 90-year-olds should support themselves by getting a part-time job at MacDonalds? 

Here's a strange one (Medvedev is a Putin wanna-be, and Musk is...Musk)

just two edgelords living in the moment pic.twitter.com/iouBxhGnkI

— Kevin Rothrock (@KevinRothrock) October 20, 2022

This isn’t a party. It’s a suicide cult for clowns. https://t.co/jrp63BzyGz

— Andrew Coyne 🇺🇦 (@acoyne) October 20, 2022

Today's News: Updates

Just a short one tonight. 

 First, about the POEC hearings:

A lot of people are looking really really bad in this inquiry and none of them are named Trudeau.

— Christopher Byrne 🇨🇦 (@CBinVAN) October 18, 2022

And some of what we are hearing is just BS:

You mean the OPP that was MIA during the occupation? That OPP?

— Deb Gartner (@deb_gartner) October 20, 2022

CSIS, on the other hand, says this:

CSIS worried convoy protests were being used as 'recruiting ground' for violent 'hardened elements' | National Post https://t.co/ZclNguxWZd

— Andrew Coyne 🇺🇦 (@acoyne) October 19, 2022

An interesting point here:

Example of misleading headline but then read the actual article. :p

1) GoFundMe says yes foreigners donated.
2) GFM hacked & revealed foreign national donors.
3) CSIS doesn't define "foreign actors." <<--Typically refers to states or non-state actors.https://t.co/QZeOnnz7aQ

— Mubin Shaikh (@MrMubinShaikh) October 19, 2022

I know what was happening to people in Ottawa during the FluTruxKlan occupation was terrible -- here is an excellent list of everything the FluTruxKlan put them through.

But I think it was the border blockades that really caused the most trouble for the country as a whole -- senseless, chaotic, jeopardizing the economy, shattering international relations.

This was obvious. It was also obvious when the feds began to suddenly and belatedly get engaged. The province was behind until the Windsor border blockade threatened the economy. https://t.co/Ra3Ag9LSqf

— Matt Gurney (@mattgurney) October 18, 2022

The border blockades ranged from 3 days at the Pacific Highway Crossing in Surrey BC, to 18 days at the Coutts, Alberta crossing, and included 6 days at the Ambassador Bridge in Windsor Ontario and 6 days at Emerson, Manitoba. 

It was nuts, nonsensical -- even if Canada had been willing to let unvaccinated truckers into the country, the United States was not, so Canadian truckers would still have needed to get vaccinations before they could cross the border.  This made it impossible to negotiate an end to the blockades. No level of government - municipal, provincial, federal - could meet the FluTruxKlan demands because they didn't make any sense.

But nonsense never stopped the FluTruxKlan!

And it was the border blockades that really made this into an international story.

I was getting weary near the end of Mr Morris' testimony, but I thought he did refer to the entirety of convoy blockades & protests across Cda as being national security threats.

And last March, the OPPIB did say there were threats to national security.https://t.co/3VO1TOP29Q

— Lexy Cameron (@LexyCameron) October 20, 2022

Here is the OPP report from the next day, Feb. 8, which states the situation was a potential threat to sovereignty and national security. pic.twitter.com/UuleS48lu8

— Alex Ballingall (@aballinga) October 19, 2022

For those who are calling Doug Ford a "Liberal" for backing away from the Convoy just stop.

Ford has spent the entire Pandemic switching back & forth between kicking sand at @JustinTrudeau when it's convenient & riding his coattails to exploit JT's popularity. 😒 #CdnPoli

— DerekZoolander85 (@dzoolander85) October 18, 2022

Doug's decision to skip boarding the crazy train was the key to his re-election. The CPc ought to have paid attention.

— George Armstrong (@GWA1960) October 19, 2022

I almost feel sorry for the media. They are having a very hard time trying to lay the blame on Trudeau during the Inquiry into the Emergency Act. It’s so obvious that the Conservatives- Federal and Provincial- were supporting the convoy. #CdnMediaFailed

— Canteach (@canteach) October 18, 2022

Today's News: I think we know where this is going

If there are any two politicians in Canada who always know which way the wind is blowing, it's Justin Trudeau and Doug Ford. 

So today Trudeau stood behind Ford and held a straight face -- didn't even roll his eyes once -- while Ford talked about how he had stood "shoulder to shoulder" with Trudeau during the enactment of the Emergencies Act in February.

As Tammy says, its a crock. 
 

What a crock of horse sh*t!

Ford hid at his cottage snowmobiling after he welcomed the protesters, and said
"God bless them"
while his daughter stood shoulder to shoulder with F Trudeau signs, giving
them various instructions in person, and online! https://t.co/3szRcjBEB7

— Tammy 💪🇨🇦🇺🇦💪 (@Tammyocanada) October 17, 2022

But it demonstrates that it WAS necessary for the Trudeau government to bring in the Emergencies Act and that Ford knows it.

Its only Day 4 of the POEC hearings but it is clear even now that something drastic needed to be done about the FreeDumb Convoy (AKA FluTruxKlan), not just in Ottawa but across the country, because they did not intend to leave. And -- as they had also demonstrated during the pandemic -- the provinces were not up to the job.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford says he fully supports Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's decision to invoke the Emergencies Act to deal with the "freedom convoy" protests last winter. https://t.co/iXJmw5o2Og pic.twitter.com/9ZErBCwSHN

— iPolitics (@ipoliticsca) October 17, 2022

Hmmm... quite a change in tune for Dougie:

“‘Ford and his cabinet ministers refused to take part in what were supposed to be three-way meetings between municipal, prov and fed government leaders to resolve the situation in the first two weeks of February as the occupation dragged on’” #onpoli https://t.co/SNnNsiHhqE

— Meaghan (@megsd_23) October 17, 2022

City of Ottawa - did nothing
Ottawa police - actually welcomed them to park
OPP - SFA
Doug Ford - MIA
Trudeau - gets rid of illegal knuckle dragging occupiers in less than 2 days safely.

— Pete Bear (@MadHabber) October 17, 2022

Hey, I'll take it. As far as I'm concerned, Premier Ford's on my side of the line in the sand I had to draw or lose my mind. The Freedom Convoy, donors, supporters, propagandists, apologists, sympathizers, s'plainers, fence-sitters, neutral, indifferent - are all on the other.🙂

— Kathryn McLeod (@Dumbshowsnoise) October 17, 2022

As much as the Conservatives and their media are still trying to assert that the Emergencies Act was just an "over-reaction" by Trudeau, they can't make the case.