Back in the dark days of the Soviet Union (USSR), it was not unusual for foreign visitors, especially journalists and diplomats, to go home and tell everybody how clean everything was, how happy and well-fed the people all appeared to be and how all of them expressed undying love and devotion to the Communist Party.
This year saw some significant movement when it came to political party support in Canada, amid a series of major news-making moments and federal policy challenges.
In the second half of the year, Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives led the Liberals in polling by a two-digit margin as housing and the cost of living became top of mind concerns for Canadians.
That sliding support prompted questions over whether Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will continue to lead the Liberals into the next election, which is currently scheduled for fall of 2025.
Muslims and violence they just go together …
Another one for the blooper reel.
Would-be assailant falls flat on his face after shoving my videographer from behind.#cdnpoli #Toronto #Palestine #Israel #Gaza #ProtestMania pic.twitter.com/n8oKXvGp5X
— Caryma Sa'd – Lawyer + Political Satirist (@CarymaRules) December 23, 2023
TORONTO: Not a peaceful protest as @SalmanSima & @sadeghinoor assaulted while their Lion & Sun flag stolen near the south entrance to the Eaton Centre & Daniel Bordman’s phone grabbed.
Any comment @TorontoPolice?pic.twitter.com/cShCiH5Gc9
— Rowan Thee Stallion 🏇 (@canmericanized) December 23, 2023
It appears the protest is on the move. Headed west on Dundas and turning south on Bay.
But reporter @laurenonline managed to capture this, with police chasing and questioning a protestor.
So far, the protest appears to be peaceful. pic.twitter.com/fEe4djSecw
— 640 Toronto (@am640) December 23, 2023
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is projected to open to a disastrous $40 million over the four-day Christmas weekend. That is lower than The Marvels, which opened to $46 million over a three-day weekend and is widely considered a five-alarm catastrophe.
In the end, The Marvels only ended up grossing $84 million stateside and another $121 million overseas for a global haul of just $205 million — well, Well, WELL below its production budget.
It’s been a year full of announcements for Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault, who has introduced a range of new climate policies and regulations over the last 12 months. Having recently returned from the COP28 global climate conference in Dubai, Guilbeault caught up with iPolitics to reflect on his year and outline his priorities moving forward.
He also chats about what’s next for impact assessment in Canada, why he thinks gas-powered vehicles are the new horse and buggies, as well as what he believes is the high point of his career.
Guilbeault means he sees cars being pulled by horses because electric vehicles are not practical as a replacement for ICE vehicles which will be few and only for the rich in his Brave New World.
Israel says it has arrested 200 members of the Hamas and Islamic Jihad groups in the past week and taken them into its territory for questioning.
A statement said some of the suspects had been hiding among the civilian population and surrendered voluntarily.
Israel says 700 Palestinian militants have been arrested since it launched its military operation and invasion of Gaza with the aim of eliminating Hamas.
Commissioner rejects Conservatives’ appeal for full standing at foreign interference inquiry
Justice Marie-Josée Hogue, who heads Canada’s public inquiry into foreign interference by China and other states, on Friday rejected an appeal by the Conservative Party for full standing during the fact-finding phase of the probe.
Hearings will begin Jan. 29, the commission announced Friday.
The Conservative Party was only granted intervenor standing during the first phase looking into foreign interference in the 2019 and 2021 elections, meaning it can present evidence and suggest witnesses but will not have the power to cross-examine witnesses or gain access to evidence presented outside of the hearings.
The Liberals need to lose every seat they hold and then we kick Quebec out of Canada.
Over the last week, a flurry of coverage focused on the historic unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) transparency measures that President Biden will sign into law shortly.
But the reporting ignored or glossed over a stunning development, The most powerful member of the U.S. Senate, Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), suggested publicly that elements of the U.S. government are illegally withholding UAP information from Congress. Schumer, citing “multiple credible sources,” made his extraordinary comments on the Senate floor last week.
More … UFO caught on camera hovering over Air Force 1 at LAX during Joe Biden’s fundraising trip to Los Angeles
President Joe Biden’s December visit to Tinseltown for a campaign fundraiser caused such a hullaballoo even aliens may have wanted to see what all the fuss was about!
Planespotters caught a UFO on camera hovering above Air Force 1 in Los Angeles during Biden’s December 10 trip, DailyMail.com can reveal.
The spherical white or silver object was filmed several times over LAX airport and spotted by multiple witnesses.
SNOBELEN: Religion an easy target for misguided haters
By now, everyone has seen the social media clips of Hamas supporters “protesting” in malls across Canada. Seems they don’t like shoppers or Santa or something.
I can understand Christians getting a little testy with Santa. Christmas trees, reindeer and even Frosty the Snowman aren’t, last I checked, religious symbols.
President Vladimir V. Putin’s confidence seems to know no bounds.
Buoyed by Ukraine’s failed counteroffensive and flagging Western support, Mr. Putin says that Russia’s war goals have not changed. Addressing his generals on Tuesday, he boasted that Ukraine was so beleaguered that Russia’s invading troops were doing “what we want.”
“We won’t give up what’s ours,” he pledged, adding dismissively, “If they want to negotiate, let them negotiate.”
But in a recent push of back-channel diplomacy, Mr. Putin has been sending a different message: He is ready to make a deal.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau received the equivalent of a long-distance high five from Hamas last week, after Canada’s affirmative U.N. vote on Dec. 12 supporting an “immediate sustainable ceasefire” in Israel’s war against the Hamas terror organization.
In a five minute English-language video statement posted on Dec. 18, Ghazi Hamad, a senior leader of the terror group, praised Canada, Australia and New Zealand by name.
A food bank in Toronto is giving out bags of groceries with a Liberal MP’s branding.
Do you see something wrong with this? pic.twitter.com/dso7fL1yqY
— Canada Proud (@WeAreCanProud) December 23, 2023
h/t Mauser
Migrants staying at the Big Apple’s controversial tent shelter at Floyd Bennett Field have started going door to door in nearby neighborhoods begging residents for cash, food and clothes, furious locals told The Post Friday.
David Fitzgerald, 62, said he has noticed an influx of asylum seeker families showing up on his doorstep in Brooklyn’s Marine Park neighborhood in recent weeks asking for spare change — sparking safety fears among some of his neighbors.
A key indicator to measure living standards has dropped for the fifth consecutive quarter in Canada, with the latest reading being called “unprecedented outside a recession” by the National Bank.
The bank’s Monthly Economic Monitor for December and January says that GDP per capita recorded an annualized contraction of 4.4 percent in the third quarter.
The indicator measures the economic output per countries’ populations. Statistics Canada said in a mid-November analysis that per capita output and business productivity are “trending lower” and below pre-pandemic levels.
Video online shows behind the scenes of a banner drop on the DVP 👀 pic.twitter.com/ViXLu11fo6
— 6ixBuzzTV (@6ixbuzztv) December 22, 2023
