The Canadian government is defending its decision to spend a reported US$6.6-million on a luxury residence for its consul-general in New York, saying relocating to this condominium near Central Park will end up saving taxpayers money.
The New York Post reported that the three bedroom apartment, 11A at 111 W.57th Street in Manhattan, is located in an area referred to as Billionaires’ Row.
Party House is more like it.
I was born and raised in Toronto; it will perhaps always seem like home. But I’ve left, and I don’t expect to live there again. Like the Torontonians Edward Keenan discussed, I found myself unable to see a future in my hometown.
Barely being able to afford rent and groceries on two middle-class paycheques was a big part of the problem, but it was seeing child care in Canada through the eyes of my Swedish husband that ultimately sent us packing.
It wasn’t just the cost and absurd wait times — to get a quasi-afforable daycare spot in Toronto you need to put your “child” on the wait-list as soon as the egg meets the sperm — but the overall state of the thing.
This is not a loss.
TikToker says that all kids should be put on puberty blockers because we don’t know if they will identify as trans later. pic.twitter.com/zqOZ3Vz4IK
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) July 12, 2024
The three countries that have made the greatest historical contributions to the concepts of democracy and human rights are all in an election year, and two of them, the United Kingdom and France, recently produced unusual results. In the British election, the public did what was necessary in severely punishing the Conservative party (which is not in the slightest conservative), for its unprecedented accomplishment of producing five consecutive thoroughly failed prime ministers in eight years. David Cameron completely bungled Britain’s relations with the European Union; Theresa May interpreted the Brexit vote to leave Europe as an authorization to remain while calling it a departure. Boris Johnson got Brexit done but engaged in such hypocrisy during the COVID shutdown and strained the parliamentary requirement for truthful answers so severely that his own MPs, who largely owed their election to him, deserted him. His initial replacement, Liz Truss, produced an admirable budget but failed to support it with adequately persuasive funding projections and was dispatched as if in an ejector seat after a record-breaking 45 days. Rishi Sunak followed and raised taxes, which British Conservatives don’t do if they have any wish to be re-elected. Naturally, the electorate had to punish such a horrifyingly, if at times comically, inept performance.
Do you know what’s going to happen?
Women and POC will be fired from their jobs and white men will be paid restitutions. pic.twitter.com/17duxKEGtK
— Dr. Jebra Faushay (@JebraFaushay) July 13, 2024
Dark times indeed, friends. Melania has come out of hiding because Barron is going to be announced as VP.
This will begin the reign of a family dynasty who will rule over us for centuries. Life as we know it is over. pic.twitter.com/zRZOqiQwAY
— Dr. Jebra Faushay (@JebraFaushay) July 13, 2024
France’s recent election shows a nation in turmoil. Many French citizens are afraid that “Liberty, Equality, Fraternity” will give way to “Allahu akbar.”
The U.S. media report the election as a surprise victory for the left and a defeat for Marine Le Pen’s “far-right” National Rally party.
It’s a bit more complicated than that.
The Justice Department may be trying to prevent the release of sensitive information about misconduct in youth gender medicine.
Things are going poorly for the World Professional Association for Transgender Health. Documents unsealed in Boe v. Marshall, a lawsuit challenging Alabama’s ban on hormonal and surgical transgender procedures for minors, reveal that WPATH manipulated the evidence review process when drafting its recommendations for treating youth and adults. It then misled the public and colleagues in the medical profession, claiming that its eighth version of “standards of care” (SOC-8) was “developed using an evidence-based approach.” Eli Coleman, SOC-8’s committee chair and lead author, claimed that the SOC-8’s developers employed “the most rigorous protocol in the world to ensure these standards reflect scientific evidence and meet the needs of transgender patients.”
Youth firearm arrests in Toronto have skyrocketed by 161 per cent over the past two years, new data shows, and police say the uptick is happening as gangs increasingly look to recruit young people.
From January 1 to July 7, 2022, there were 41 youth firearm arrests, while the same period this year saw 107, according to police data updated this week.
Meanwhile, the number of adult firearm arrests in the city has risen two cent over the last two years. In 2022, from Jan. 1 to July 7, there were 410 adult firearm arrests, while the same period this year saw 418.
The mainstream Western media outlets are overflowing with headlines praising Masoud Pezeshkian, the new, supposedly “reformist” president of Iran. The word “reformist” appears invariably alongside his name, thereby spotlighting an enormous lack of understanding regarding Iran’s ruling mullahs and their theocratic establishment.
A mile wide and an inch deep is one way to describe Canada’s current foreign-policy strategy. Since 2015, Canada has been balancing a range of priorities and initiatives. It has been working to build trade relationships and deliver on security commitments while also advancing progressive politics around the world.
New assembly would lead bloc’s de-dollarization efforts and bolster its global influence.
The BRICS group of nations is continuing its development into a geopolitical world power. On Thursday, the bloc announced its plans to create its own parliament to oversee the alliance and its initiatives.
BRICS, originally founded in 2006 as a group for investment strategies for emerging nations by Brazil, Russia, India, and China, has since expanded and now includes South Africa and—since January 2024—Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia, and the United Arab Emirates. An additional 40 nations have expressed interest in becoming members, including Serbia and Turkey. Over 20 countries have formally applied for membership.
It should be the Green Party’s moment.
Abnormal extreme heat waves are affecting large parts of the country, sparking wildfire and health and safety concerns.
Globally, the past 12 months have been the hottest on record since, well, ever, according to the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service. Over the past year, global surface temperature increased 1.5 C above average pre-industrial levels.
As Joe Biden attempted to calm the storm engulfing his presidential re-election campaign, he hit an early snag: referring to “Vice-President Trump” during a Thursday press conference when he meant Kamala Harris.
Within minutes, Donald Trump mocked the gaffe on his social media platform, Truth Social, with an accompanying clip. “Great job, Joe!” he wrote.
It was the kind of reaction voters have come to expect from Trump, who has spent years insulting the president, 81.
Great Job, Joe 😂 pic.twitter.com/FSUanVc1pq
— SquawK (@Squawk55) July 11, 2024
London doctor’s ‘death to Israel’ post triggers backlash
A London doctor has sparked outrage over a social media post calling for “death to Israel,” with some pro-Israel supporters calling for her medical licence to be revoked.
Dr. Nahla Al Sarraj, now in post-graduate psychiatry studies at Western University’s Schulich School of Medicine, in a video post on X spoke about the months-long conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza and called for “death to Israel and death to Zionism.”
Let me meet my grandpa: Joe Biden’s secret grandchild makes heartfelt plea
Five-year-old Navy Joan Roberts grins as she charges out of her bedroom while proudly cradling a postcard of Joe Biden.
When she visited Washington DC last week, her mother told her she could choose anything she wanted from the White House gift shop.
But rather than picking out a board game, puzzle or soft toy of the president’s dog, Navy chose a headshot of the smiling US president to keep in a birdhouse in her bedroom.
