Sunday Funday: Brittlestar, The Beaverton, I know you are but what am I, Amazing stuff, Comments on the passing scene, TrumpWatch, and Animal Crackers

Hey, I'm in a better mood tonight -- it was a beautiful sunny day here today, so that was great!
Anyway, here's some funny stuff and interesting stuff I found this week.

Brittlestar to start things off:

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Today's News: Fed up with awful news

Maybe I just felt grumpy because it's snowing, but today I saw so many news stories that really pissed me off. 

First, an incredibly disrespectful and dismissive remark from Natural Resources minister Tim Hodgson:

Does Tim Hodgson understand how *spectacularly* shitty he comes off with this? Treating Indigenous leaders as obstacles instead of negotiating partners is so deeply disrespectful 😡

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— scott dagostino (@scottdagostino.ca) November 28, 2025 at 12:34 PM

He later apologized, sort of:

Minister, are you aware now that a lot of Indigenous communities lack the access to high speed reliable Internet that make a Zoom call possible?

— Christina DiEdoardo (@ChristinaSFLaw) November 29, 2025

Tim Hodgson is meeting with Eby to "mend fences." There is a definite pattern emerging from the Carney government about bulldozing through and asking for forgiveness later. #PnPCBC

— Dale Smith (@journodale.bsky.social) November 28, 2025 at 4:05 PM

2 months ago Coastal First Nations asked Minister Hodgsons for a meeting. The liberals got back to them Wednesday and said they could talk on Friday- after Carney announced the pipeline. Hodgson's is a Goldman Sachs buddy. This isn't going to end well. www.thestar.com/opinion/cont...

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— Charlie Angus (@charlieangus104.bsky.social) November 28, 2025 at 8:42 AM

The Carney-Smith energy & pipeline MOU - is Carney crazy like a fox?

From Victoria Times-Colonist newspaper

Lots of opinions tonight, pro and con, about the Carney-Smith energy and pipeline MOU and the subsequent resignation from Cabinet of Carney's Quebec lieutenant and official languages minister Steven Guilbeault.

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Carney and Smith are uniters! They have been able to get environmental activists and climate denying Alberta separatists to unite in their opposition to the MOU.

— Duane Bratt (@duanebratt.bsky.social) November 27, 2025 at 1:28 PM

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Today's News: Cartoons on parade!

Today I'm seeing so many great political cartoons and comments about daily news I just want to share a few of them.

First up, Carney and Smith

I don't know enough about pipelines and oil production to say anything sensible about what Carney is trying to do with Alberta oil pipelines, but I think this cartoon has merit:

Now Smith says separatism is off the agenda at the upcoming UCP meeting. So maybe that's progress. Yes, I know it was always just BS on her part, but there are rabid right-wing people in Alberta and Saskatchewan who take it all dreadfully seriously.

Updates: "Who cares?" is trending, Mamdani v Trump shows us 'this is the way', and some good news from xkcd

Seems like a lot of the news today was really just an update of the news from the weekend. 

So here's some good commentary and update posts: 

"Who cares?" is trending

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"Who cares?" is trending on social media across the country:

Canadians don't care about Carney's "Who cares?" (to the CPC's irritation) for a simple reason. We're sick of Trump--sick of hearing him & about him, of his existence. Unlike those in Canada's tiny far-right treehouse, we're not fascinated by Trump & don't care if he likes us..,

— James Christian Parsons (@Dred_Tory) November 25, 2025

OMG and its only Tuesday! The weekend news roundup - Carney's "Who Cares?" riposte, Why a new pipeline? Why war with Venezuela? What if AI is just a house of cards? And Dutch Strong!

So its only Monday but it seems like its already been a busy week. 

Carney's "Who Cares?" riposte
and cue the Poilievre hissy fit tempest in a teapot. Here's the story that Canadian Press reported:

...While taking questions from reporters in Johannesburg on Sunday, Carney was asked when he last spoke with Trump and replied, “Who cares?”
“I look forward to speaking with the president soon, but I don’t have a burning issue to speak with the president about right now,” he said. “When America wants to come back and have conversations on the trade side, we will have those discussions
The prime minister made the remarks to reporters while he was attending the G20 leaders’ summit, which Trump boycotted.
Conservatives zeroed in on Carney’s comments during question period in the House of Commons on Monday. Leader Pierre Poilievre pointed out that Carney campaigned during the spring election on his ability to deal with the Trump administration.
“We care about the workers who have lost their jobs and don’t have paycheques to make their mortgage payments. Why doesn’t he care?” Poilievre said....

Yeah, because Poilievre always was a Friend to the Working Man! Here's the video of what Carney said:

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Sunday Funday: Good Cartoons, Canada stuff, US stumbles, Funny comments and posts; TrumpWatch, Animal Crackers

Here are some good cartoons that I enjoyed

Here's some good stuff about Canada

Elizabeth May lays it DOWN!

Elizabeth May is our old school common sense voice of reason in a world that is quicky (and wrongly) coming to believe AI knows everything and can do magic.

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— Scott in Montreal🇨🇦 (@scottinmontreal.ca) November 22, 2025 at 1:27 PM

Russia-Ukraine War update: the world is hoping that Ukraine can still fight on

Didn't we always think it would come to this?

To his everlasting shame, Trump is turning tail and getting ready to pull America out of supporting Ukraine in the war with Russia. What a gutless coward. 

Ukraine is grappling with despair:

President Zelenskyy said after a call with US Vice President JD Vance that Ukraine agreed to work with the US and Europe towards a peace plan with Russia. Earlier he told the country it faces one of its most difficult moments as it weighs a US proposal that gives major concessions to Russia.

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— Al Jazeera English (@aljazeera.com) November 21, 2025 at 2:21 PM

The stupid, it burns!

I try not to pay attention all the time to the crazy stuff happening in the US, but some days.....

Today's commentary: the F-35 v Gripen decision, and Carney's role in the world now

First up tonight, the fighter jet decision - F-35 v. Gripen - has become a Canadian loyalty test and rightfully so. The idea of spending our millions on American jets right now just sticks in Canada's craw.

Sweden's Gripen is a mostly-viable alternative. 

That Trump will be furious is a feature, not a bug, as far as Canadians are concerned -- though of course our government cannot be so cavalier about the decision when US tariffs are affecting the livelihoods of so many.
Here are some tweets about the issues, and some interesting commentary about the pros and cons of the purchase decision.

Looks like Trump's loss may become another win for #Sweden as more allies shun the F-35 for SAAB Gripens & Eurofighters. The #TrumpRegime is losing on Trade and in Military Contracts Canada "didn't get enough" out of F-35 deals with Lockheed Martin, looking at Saab's Gripen: Joly search.app/339kk

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— Prairiesunshine (@scottishox2.bsky.social) November 19, 2025 at 1:59 PM

Of course the American ambassador Pete Hoekstra has to stick his nose into it and start issuing threats:

Looks who's back? MAGA Pete Hoekstra. Working with the Swedes on building Gripen fighter jets looks better all the time. BTW Pete could you tell us if you have any knowledge of the $500 Mil slush fund offered to Alberta separatists? #foreigninterference www.cbc.ca/news/politic...

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— Charlie Angus (@charlieangus104.bsky.social) November 19, 2025 at 3:44 PM

Which is enough to make every red-blooded Canadian want to give the entire contract to Sweden immediately.
And personally, I don't think Carney would have invited such a large Swedish delegation to Canada and entertained them at a state dinner, if Canada ultimately intends to stiff them.

#Sweden and #Canada signed a major security and trade deal yesterday. Have you noticed any far-right idiots attacking Canada's Prime Minister, Carney, or the Swedish King? No? That's the difference: countries that sticks to sound values and openly turn away from the cesspool that the MAGA US is.

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— julibluesky (@julibluesky.bsky.social) November 19, 2025 at 12:48 PM

And Sweden says it doesn't threaten people into a deal.

There's Meat On Them Swedish Meatballs Dept. #Saab #Gripen

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— Scott in Montreal🇨🇦 (@scottinmontreal.ca) November 19, 2025 at 9:12 PM

Today on "Christ, what an asshole!": Danielle Smith, Poilievre, Trump, Epstein, and the ICE gestapo guys

I haven't done a "Christ what an asshole!" roundup for a while. So I thought I would do one tonight, just to keep up with all the assholes we've been seeing lately.

First up, Alberta premier Danielle Smith is using the Notwithstanding clause to discriminate against trans youth. And its Trans Awareness Week. The Toronto Star writes:

...The limits passed last fall are some of the most restrictive changes to policies for transgender youth in the country. New rules banned puberty blockers for those younger than 16, gender-reassignment surgery for those under 18 and required parental consent when a student under 16 wished to use a different name or pronoun at school.
Amateur sport organizations were also required to limit participation in women’s and girls’ sports to athletes who were born female.

This anti-trans law is opposed by: - the Canadian Medical Association - Alberta teachers - Civil rights groups - the Canadian legal system - roughly half of the polling public in Alberta It is supported by: - Danielle Smith - the "Danielle Smith can do what she wants" loophole

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— ℳatt (@matttomic.bsky.social) November 18, 2025 at 5:28 PM

Today's News: Whew!

Had our Covid and flu shots today so I'm not feeling energetic right now. 

So here's a few items I found about Monday's budget news:

Artwork by Dave Davies

#CanadaBudgetVote Thanks to these five MPs, Canada won't be having a Christmas election! In favour - Green Elizabeth May Abstaining - Tories Matt Jeneroux & Shannon Stubbs + NDPers Gord Johns & Lori Idlout www.ipolitics.ca/2025/11/17/l...

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— Cathie from Canada🍁 (@cathiecanada.bsky.social) November 17, 2025 at 11:34 PM

In The Time Before Last Summer -- like on May 1 -- I said the minority Liberals were simply NOT going to lose a vote on their budget:

And here's news: the Liberals don't actually need another party to vote with them!
The Liberals have 169 seats while the Conservatives and the Bloc have 166 seats in total. Therefore the Liberals actually do have enough seats to pass budgets and laws on their own, even if the Cons and the Bloc vote against them, provided the NDP and Elizabeth May abstain. So ha ha!!!

The seat totals are slightly different now but still, the only thing Carney needed was a few abstentions. I'm glad May voted with the Liberals, so the budget got a little more than just a bare majority.

Saskatchewan Roughriders Win!

I usually don't do a post on Sunday nights, but today was so great I just had to put this one together.

Earlier today our son said that after the year we had -- Canada didn't win the Stanley Cup nor did we win the World Series -- he was trying to prepare himself for disappointment again tonight.
I pointed out that at least this time a Canadian team would win the Grey Cup - but it wasn't actually very funny, was it.
Anyway, I think the whole province was feeling the same way -- hopeful, but a little worried too.
In the end, no need - the Riders won definitively!

Riders win! #GreyCup

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— Saskboy from Saskatchewan (@saskboy.bsky.social) November 16, 2025 at 8:51 PM

The Grey Cup is our Canadian game, and maybe never more than when Saskatchewan wins it. I’m still unsure how the rule changes will affect the league, but this was a good example of how the CFL works, and should work. www.thestar.com/sports/footb...

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— Bruce Arthur (@brucearthur.bsky.social) November 16, 2025 at 11:49 PM

Bruce Arthur / Toronto Star

The Saskatchewan Roughriders win the last Grey Cup of its kind. It couldn’t have been more Canadian
...Sunday night, the Saskatchewan Roughriders defeated the Montreal Alouettes 25-17 in the 112th Grey Cup in Winnipeg. The CFL matters so much in Saskatchewan, and the rarity of Roughriders success only makes the wins mean more. Any Riders fan could name the Grey Cup years, which shine like little towns dotting the emptiest part of the Prairies: 1966, 1989, 2007, and 2013 at home in the last Grey Cup at Taylor Field. The Riders hadn’t been back to the big game since.
Now 2025 will be added to the Saskatchewan’s sainted list....
...Saskatchewan won, with Riders legend Ron Lancaster’s grandson, Marc Mueller, as their offensive co-ordinator. Riders offensive lineman and Melville, Sask. native Logan Ferland fought back tears with TSN’s Claire Hanna and said: “We’re forever champs. We’re forever champs.” In Saskatchewan, that’s more true than anywhere else in Canada.
...This was the last CFL game before the rule changes [league commissioner] Johnston has pushed through for 2026 and 2027. Next season, the rouge will be all but eliminated and the play clock, which is the source of so many only-in-the-CFL comebacks in the final three minutes, will be changed to a 35-second play clock, rather than the discretionary 20-second clock that only starts when the officials are ready.
In 2027, the field will be reduced from 110 to 100 yards, with goalposts moved to the back of a slightly shallower end zone. The commissioner spent the week re-emphasizing that the league will remain robustly Canadian despite the changes, which tells you he has gotten some feedback.
And then came the game, and it was Canadian all right. It was the kind of game that starts with a rouge, where the final three minutes still mattered, where a lifer CFL quarterback wins his first Grey Cup, and where Saskatchewan finally wins again under a Prairie sky. It’s still our big Canadian football game. That won’t change.

I think this was the play of the game -- the Alouettes had momentum and were coming back strong, but they couldn't get the touchdown, they dropped the ball, and the Riders recovered it just inside the end zone (so we would start back down the field at the 25, not the 1) - you could almost feel the Als go pfffft!

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Finally, I thought this was hilarious:

well at least the sun will explode one day and none of this will matter

— Winnipeg Blue Bombers (@Wpg_BlueBombers) November 17, 2025

But they're not bitter, oh no....

Sunday Funday: TrumpWorld is falling apart, Canada is OK, Winter is coming, Random funny stuff, TrumpWatch, and Animal Crackers

Here is my usual Sunday collection of random pieces plus some funny stuff. Enjoy!

TrumpWorld is falling apart
Rogan and Musk decide Trump's "assassination attempt" in Butler PA in July was staged:

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America is running away from Trump and the world is running away from America:
Alaen

The Quiet Global Retreat from America
The world’s former gravitational center is discovering what happens when its influence quietly weakens.
For decades, the United States was the world’s natural hub. Influence, investment, and travelers flowed toward it without effort. America did not need to chase global interest; the interest simply arrived. Today, something different is happening. Countries that once depended on the U.S. for stability are choosing distance. They are not making loud statements or grand political speeches. They are simply changing their behavior. They are booking fewer flights, canceling business trips, redirecting students, and shifting investments. This change signals a historic reversal of influence in the modern era.
What started as political tough talk has grown into something much bigger. It looks and feels like a silent, worldwide retreat from the United States....
...The country’s once reliable travel trade surplus has flipped into a massive deficit. While America struggles with shrinking inbound traffic, countries in Europe and Asia are breaking tourism records. Travelers who once saved for a dream trip to America are choosing destinations that feel easier, safer, more affordable, and, most importantly, more welcoming. The world is starting to see the U.S. as unpredictable, expensive, politically tense, and emotionally exhausting.
No global leader announced a boycott. No anti-US pact was formed. Instead, a powerful trend of quiet separation is changing everything. This shift is a reflection of a deeper issue that every powerful nation eventually faces. When confidence turns into complacency and leadership turns into isolation, influence fades. Global trust is not something any nation can demand. It is something that must be earned, sustained, and protected every single day.
The real question is whether the United States truly understands why it lost its magnetic global pull in the first place.

Trump just posted a rant about how he no longer supports MTG and then goes on to list dozens of his so-called achievements, all lies, but the biggest lie was this: "…being RESPECTED by every country in the world (as opposed to being the laughingstock that we were just 12 months ago!)…" As an Aussie, I can 100% confirm that Donald Trump is a laughingstock here.

- Joe Thomas

Read on Substack

Today's News: Opinions about Carney's Major Projects from the At Issue panel and other Canadians, plus other projects and a good Carney interview

Prime Minister Carney announced another group of Major Projects today - here's a gift link to the Globe and Mail Project Map page. 

And here's what the CBC At Issue panel said about it:

I found it a little nit-picky for the journalists to complain that some of the projects have already been planned before Carney announced them -- well, of course they were! 

Carney isn't going to announce something that is pie-in-the-sky speculation, wish-lists that haven't been costed yet. 

But the announcement signals to Canadians and to business that the Carney government is serious about making commitments to strengthen Canada.