Last Saturday I took my boys to the local museum of natural science, and although we live close enough to walk, it was pouring rain, so we drove. Without thinking I parked, but my oldest pointed out that the car next to us looked like an E.V. and suggested I find another spot, so I did—I may or may not have instilled in my kids a healthy and rational skepticism of the E.V. movement, and a concern that these cars are exceptional fire hazards (but definitely did).
Author: Blazingcatfur
The Truck: A Rolling Symbol of America
Can a car, or a passenger vehicle, capture the very spirit of a country?
As a matter of fact, it can. The car has evolved differently depending on where in the world we go. Cars in India tend to be small because their cities are so crowded and the purchasing power is generally low. Japanese cars have historically been incredibly reliable, because people do not expect to have to buy that many of them throughout their lifetime.
Swedish cars—back when they built their own cars and not Chinese clones—were modest, safe, and ‘lagom’ (‘just right’)—three adjectives that define the Swedish national character.
But what about America? What vehicle captures the American spirit?
Experts reveal what caused Buddy Holly’s plane to crash 65 years ago today
So many sing about “the day that music died” on Feb. 3, 1959, when Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson were killed in a plane crash.
Don McLean coined the term in his 1971 hit “American Pie.”
The song about the decline of the 60s starts with the death of the three young musicians, “the end of the happy 50s,” he told Forbes Magazine.
As Kids, They Thought They Were Trans. They No Longer Do.
Grace Powell was 12 or 13 when she discovered she could be a boy.
Growing up in a relatively conservative community in Grand Rapids, Mich., Powell, like many teenagers, didn’t feel comfortable in her own skin. She was unpopular and frequently bullied.
Puberty made everything worse. She suffered from depression and was in and out of therapy.
“I felt so detached from my body, and the way it was developing felt hostile to me,” Powell told me. It was classic gender dysphoria, a feeling of discomfort with your sex.
Suspending financial aid to UN agency punishes Palestinians
One hundred-plus days of war. More than 26,083 people killed. More than 65,000 housing units destroyed and 1.7 million residents displaced.
Gaza is a catastrophe. And unbelievably, the situation there could get worse.
Canada and other countries have suspended funding to the UN agency that provides assistance to Palestinians in the embattled territory. The decision came after allegations by the Israeli government that a number of agency workers were involved in the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas on Israel that killed some 1,200 people and took more than 200 others hostage. More than 100 of them are still being held captive.
Minister sorry for ‘crappy piece of land’ remark that angered pro-Palestinian groups
VERNON, B.C. – B.C. Premier David Eby says Post-Secondary Education Minister Selina Robinson needs to “repair the damage” caused by her comments that Israel was founded on a “crappy piece of land,” angering pro-Palestinian groups and triggering calls for her resignation.
Eby says the remarks were “totally unacceptable,” and “increase division” in the province at a time when people of Palestinian descent are feeling alienated.
Robinson apologized in a social media post on Thursday, saying her comments were “disrespectful,” and she had been referring to the land having limited natural resources.
Does @theJagmeetSingh not know that @selinarobinson is a member of his federal Party, or is he play-acting? pic.twitter.com/YW4gWSZWr0
— Norman Spector (@nspector4) February 3, 2024
Justin Trudeau needs to stop his Donald Trump trash talk, former ambassador warns
OTTAWA — A former Canadian ambassador to Washington says Justin Trudeau should ditch the anti-Trump “MAGA Conservative” rhetoric directed at the Liberals’ Canadian political rivals.
David MacNaughton, who co-chaired the Ontario campaign for Trudeau’s 2015 election victory, says it’s neither a wise domestic political strategy nor is it smart for Canada-U.S. relations.
In an interview Friday, MacNaughton said the prime minister is taking a risk by being seen to take swipes at Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee, in a U.S. presidential election year.
WTF?
Mansplaining to a transwoman is insulting. Do better. pic.twitter.com/0EcY7sCiwr
— Dr. Jebra Faushay (@JebraFaushay) February 3, 2024
Jake Fuss: The Trudeau government’s terrible economic record can’t be brushed aside
As the federal Parliament returned this week, there’s been a renewed debate about the Trudeau government’s economic record and the state of Canada’s economy relative to its peers. A comprehensive evaluation—including key metrics such as investment, income growth, and living standards—demonstrates an overall record of economic stagnation.
WTF?
Allahu Akbar Minnesota!
A massive fight broke out at Lakeville North High School on Tuesday.
Teachers were overpowered, police had to be called, and students were threatened with suspension if they shared the video.
Get ready, America; your child's school is next!
h/t… pic.twitter.com/GJfvoIkxqI
— Amy Mek (@AmyMek) February 3, 2024
The West’s humiliating electric car climbdown has begun
France’s President Macron had a plan to make millions of electric vehicles a year. Chancellor Scholz planned to put 15 million on Germany’s roads by 2030. President Biden trumped the lot with a $174bn (£138bn) plan to make the US the world leader. Even Boris Johnson – remember him – had a £1bn plan to beef up our charging network.
Rewind only a couple of years, and almost every president or prime minister was making electric vehicles the cornerstone of an industrial strategy. And yet, this week we have learned that Renault is abandoning plans to separately list its electric vehicle (EV) and software business, while Volvo is winding down its Polestar electric sports car subsidiary.
US, Britain strike Yemen’s Houthis in a new wave, retaliating for attacks by Iran-backed militants
WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States and Britain struck 36 Houthi targets in Yemen on Saturday in a second wave of assaults meant to further disable Iran-backed groups that have relentlessly attacked American and international interests in the wake of the Israel-Hamas war.
The latest strikes against the Houthis were launched by warships and fighter jets. The strikes follow an air assault in Iraq and Syria on Friday that targeted other Iranian-backed militias and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard in retaliation for the drone strike that killed three U.S. troops in Jordan last weekend.
BREAKING:
US and British forces strike more than 30 Houthi positions in Yemen pic.twitter.com/FgMPf3DXys
— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) February 3, 2024
SNOBELEN: CBC boss demonstrates need for more accountability
Well, buckaroos, I think it’s time to rise to the defence of embattled CBC CEO Catherine Tait. Heck, somebody should.
Tait’s recent appearance before the heritage committee was a heroic attempt to inform us, the unwashed. She managed, in a brief appearance, to establish that the CBC is underfunded and that she, as the CEO of CBC, is accountable for nothing.
Iranian Regime’s Proxies: Target the Head of the Snake
The last few months unfolded with a marked escalation in the activities of Iran’s proxies, militias and terror groups. Iran’s proxy Hamas launched its attacks on Israel, unleashing a barrage of violence across the region. Simultaneously, Iran-backed militia groups in Iraq escalated their assaults on US bases and personnel. Another proxy of Iran, the Houthi rebels in Yemen, also caused turmoil in the Red Sea, which is vital to maritime traffic. Their actions not only threaten regional stability but also sent shockwaves through global trade routes and raised concerns about the broader implications of their destabilizing activities.
John Robson: The Cascading Chain of Policy Disasters Hitting Universities
Universities increasingly furnish a worrying case study in the disintegration of the Canadian public sector. Including that instead of beacons of intelligent thought on this and other problems, they’ve become bastions of dogmatic ineptitude. And that we aren’t even vaguely surprised at the muddled incompetence.
Harsh words? Well, consider the facts, starting with this Toronto Sun story: “Cap on student visas could wreak financial havoc on Ontario universities, says rep.” The gist of which is that Canada’s collapsed immigration policy, which helped cause the collapse of our housing policy, is now causing a collapse of our post-secondary education policy and the proposed solution is more inept meddling.