It is a staggeringly ambitious plan. Given the situation, it had to be.
When the economy started slumping in 2015, office vacancies in downtown Calgary began to climb. By 2020, the vacancy rate was sitting at over 30 per cent — about 14 million square feet of office space sat empty.
The value of office buildings in the city’s core had plummeted by more than two-thirds over that period, gutting the city’s property tax base and creating a revenue crisis at city hall.
You no doubt saw the news that the Colorado Supreme Court ruled that Trump cannot be on the ballot because he attempted insurrection on January 6.
You might have paid little attention to it because you heard that the US Supreme Court would overrule the decision, and the holidays were coming up.
But we should all pay attention, no matter your feelings about Trump, because what is at stake is nothing less than our democracy itself.
Humanity has only a few years to act before the world may irreversibly plunge into an environmental catastrophe of global proportions, climate experts warned in a recent report. Their calls are muffled, however, by dozens of past dramatic predictions that have failed to pan out.
Environmental experts have been predicting doom for many decades. Most, though not all, of the prognostications involve climatic cataclysm that appears to be just around the corner, only to fizzle out as the deadline approaches.
The governor of this state thinks he's going to be president. #GreasyGavin pic.twitter.com/XPTARu4ZZ9
— James Woods (@RealJamesWoods) December 26, 2023
Tampons and sanitary napkins are now available in men’s bathrooms at the Canadian Parliament under a new policy from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that requires all federally regulated employers — including airports and military bases — to offer free menstrual products in all washrooms, regardless of gender noted on the door.
News of the policy change spread last week after former Canadian Conservative Sen. Linda Frum posted a photo of a basket offering free pads and tampons inside a men’s bathroom for transgender members of Parliament — setting off a firestorm online.
If you need to get a “period” to give you gender euphoria and prove to others that you’re a woman, you’re not really a woman and that’s not really a period… pic.twitter.com/oSG7PbxNp0
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) December 26, 2023
Deep down, everyone who has not been driven mad by religious obscurantism or some other ideology understands the value of peace. Ordinary people want to meet partners, secure fulfilling jobs, live in comfort and find good schools for their children. In their spare time, they like to meet with friends, play sports, go to the cinema or practice obscure hobbies. They want — like Candide — to cultivate their gardens, and they recognize that this modest wish would be imperilled by war.
Trans activist tried bullying an airline employee for “misgendering.” The employee wasn’t having it! 😂
This is the correct way to deal with these narcissists who demand we give in to their delusions.
It’s all just a power trip for them! pic.twitter.com/vMYgLuUpdC
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) December 26, 2023
Measures to improve security at the US border are stuck in Congress as Republicans demand tighter restrictions but a combination of left-wing and Hispanic Democrats oppose moves to make claiming asylum harder.
President Biden included $13.6 billion for additional border agents, asylum officers and retention facilities in his $106 billion funding bill for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan.
The number of potential terrorists entering the United States illegally keeps increasing, and is likely to reach record levels this year.
Before I dive into this disturbing story, take note: border “encounters” only take place when the Border Patrol actually apprehends an illegal migrant. Given how many “gotaways” there are, and how little effort there is these days to catch them, the fact that anybody on the terror watchlist is caught entering the country is something of a miracle.
Happy Boxing Day!
I hope you’re all enjoying creative leftover culinary concoctions.
This will be the last entry for 2023 in our annual Reader Fave Carols collection.
Thank you for making this one of the best we’ve had. It was a delight being introduced to so much new music.
Enjoy!
From Lord Dilligaf – A Baroque Christmas
From Norman in New York – Hallelujah Chorus, from Messiah | The Tabernacle Choir
And also – ROYAL CHORAL SOCIETY: Worthy is the Lamb & Amen Chorus from Handel’s Messiah
From Kiki9 – Kenny Rogers – Christmas Everyday
From Osumashi – The Band “Christmas Must Be Tonight”
And also – Monty Python – Christmas In Heaven
From Me – What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve? (Morgan James Cover)
Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu has said his troops have seized the key town of Mariinka in eastern Ukraine.
Mr Shoigu told President Vladimir Putin assault units had taken the “powerfully fortified” area just outside Donetsk, a Russian-held regional capital.
The commander of Ukrainian Armed Forces, Valerii Zaluzhnyi said Ukrainian forces had moved to the outskirts of Mariinka.
Mariinka – seen as a gateway to Donetsk – has been almost completely destroyed.
Mariinka
🐘 T-64BV bursts into the northwestern outskirts of the city and destroys the positions of the Russians at close range. pic.twitter.com/TKBDmUpxkl
— GWAR69 🇩🇰🇺🇦 (@GwarWorin) December 26, 2023
Today, Russian media is rejoicing, boasting that the Russian army has, after 22 months, finally taken the town of Mariinka.
Here's what's left of Mariinka after Russians spent billions in artillery and 15,000 Russian lives there to "take" it. pic.twitter.com/vkB9v9FxPA
— Jay in Kyiv (@JayinKyiv) December 25, 2023
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) was originally a small agency mandated to provide basic humanitarian relief for Palestinians, including a vote for renewal every three years. Seventy-three years and four generations later, and with more than 30,000 employees and an annual budget of more than $1 billion, it has astonishingly become one of the largest UN agencies.
The third request for Secret Service protection from the presidential campaign of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. was turned down. Kennedy said, “It’s another example of weaponization of government against Biden’s political opponents.”
Quebec’s new rule banning cellphones in classrooms will be in effect when students return from the holiday break, making the province the second to implement such a measure, after Ontario.
The directive, which aims to reduce distractions in class, enters into force Dec. 31 and applies to public elementary and secondary schools, but it offers teachers flexibility to let students use phones for specific pedagogical purposes.
