State of emergency declared as panic-buying sweeps blackout-hit Spain and Portugal with shelves emptied, gridlock overwhelming cities and flights cancelled

Spain has declared a state of emergency after a nationwide power blackout hit most of the Iberian peninsula, leaving roads gridlocked and prompting people to clear supermarket shelves amid fears the chaos could last for days.

Spain’s Interior Ministry on Monday added the emergency status will be applied in the regions that request it.

So far, Madrid, Andalusia and Extremadura have asked for the central government to take over public order and other functions.

Could renewable energy be to blame for huge Spain blackout?

h/t DM

Share
by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inWTF?

Alberta’s grievances need to be taken seriously

Imagine for a moment what would happen if Canada’s federal government announced a production cap on Ontario’s auto sector – something like the proposed federal emissions cap on oil and gas, which industry proponents say will limit production in Alberta.

Close your eyes and picture how things would look if the feds passed a law that specifically targeted the growth of Ontario’s main industry and the high-paying jobs that are driven by that industry.

Share
by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inElection 2025

China Experience Was Once a Plus. In Canada’s Election, It’s a Liability.

Asked to name the biggest threat to Canada’s security during an election debate, Mark Carney, the country’s prime minister and Liberal Party leader running to win a full term, gave a surprising answer: “China.”

Analysts saw it as an attempt to distance himself from the country amid heightened scrutiny on his own past work there.

Mr. Carney, a former central banker and business executive, dealt with the Chinese establishment in his recent private-sector roles for companies with investments in China.

Nice of the NYTimes to whitewash Carney’s China links.

Nope no China class in this country.

Share
by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inCanada's Corrupt Liberal Government, Election 2025

Conclave to elect a new pope will start on May 7 as cardinals get to know one another

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Catholic cardinals on Monday set May 7 as the start date for the conclave to elect Pope Francis’ successor, delaying the secret voting for two days so they can get to know one another better and find consensus on a candidate before they are sequestered in the Sistine Chapel.

The cardinals set the date after arriving for the first day of informal meetings following Pope Francis’ funeral Saturday. In a chaotic scene, journalists shouted questions about the mood inside and whether there was unity. A reporter for a satirical Italian television program asked whether an Italian cardinal who has been convicted by the Vatican criminal court on finance-related charges would be allowed to vote.

Share
by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inCatholic Church

Jamie Sarkonak: Carney’s immigration plan a recipe for more overcrowding

Many of Canada’s problems in the last 10 years can be traced back to over-immigration

It’s good that Liberal Leader Mark Carney at least understands his party’s role in overpopulating Canada faster than it can grow capacity, but it’s a problem that he doesn’t have a plan to wind it up.

That’s one big reason a Carney win on Monday would prove disastrous to Canada’s youth: the immigration excesses will continue, and with it, the affordability squeeze. This is only a recent problem: population growth reached an average of 320,000 people per year from 2001 to 2015 — but doubled to an average of 612,000 from 2016 to 2023. In turn, Canada’s longtime receptive attitude towards immigration has cooled; people have lost faith in a system that was once revered for welcoming only the world’s best and brightest.

Share
by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inElection 2025

Label Obsession Grips Canada as Shoppers Shun American Products

TORONTO – Armed with four different apps, Lucy Fromowitz roams the aisles of her local supermarket looking for clues.

She scans the barcodes on food packages and studies the origin stories that pop up on her phone. When something seems potentially misleading or incomplete, she moves to phase 2, poring over the fine print.

“Sometimes it will say, ‘Prepared in Canada,’” the retired college administrator said during a recent weekend shopping trip with her husband. “But if you read the package, it’s shipped through Florida or California,” and doesn’t specify what kind of preparation took place north of the border.

Share
by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inCanada, USA

Unisex lavatories risk ‘discrimination against biological women’

The EHRC has warned shops, pubs, restaurants and cafés that after the Supreme Court ruling, failure to provide single-sex facilities may leave them open to legal challenge

Shops, pubs, restaurants and cafés which fail to provide single-sex lavatories may be committing “indirect discrimination” against women, the equality watchdog has warned.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) said that transwomen — biological males — should no longer be allowed to use women’s facilities, including lavatories and changing rooms, after a Supreme Court ruling.

The ruling could lead businesses to convert single-sex lavatories into unisex facilities to ensure provision for transgender people.

Share
by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inWTF?

Niagara Falls ‘at breaking point’ after surge in migrants

City’s hotels are filled with asylum seekers as fears grow that Trump’s immigration crackdown will send more fleeing across the border

The lobby of the Wyndham Garden Tower Hotel in Niagara Falls at 8am is busy with chatter in all manner of languages.

The chatter is not from tourists heading out to admire the mist-covered waterfalls, however, but from children who are living at the hotel after arriving from Africa with parents seeking asylum.

Minutes later they are gone, climbing into two yellow buses to take them to school.

Share
by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inCamp Of The Saints, Canada, USA

White House lawn lined with posters displaying illegal immigrants’ mugshots and crimes they committed

The White House lawn has been lined with mugshot-style posters bearing the faces of 100 “arrested” illegal migrants — and lists of the despicable crimes some have committed.

Share
by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inCamp Of The Saints, USA

Canada’s Trump Referendum: If the Liberals win, it’ll be because voters fear Tariff Man more than bad government.

Donald Trump isn’t on the ballot in Canada’s election Monday. But a lot of Canadians are expected to cast their vote with him in mind. The single biggest issue in the race is the White House’s verbal jabs at Canadian sovereignty and threats to annul the free-trade agreement between the two countries. The voter solution to the matter is shaping up to be more visceral than rational, which is unfortunate for Canada.

Share
by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inElection 2025

Russia declares a ceasefire in Ukraine on May 8-10 for WWII Victory Day

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia’s President Vladimir Putin on Monday declared a three-day ceasefire in Ukraine on May 8-10 to mark the World War II Victory Day, as U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration decides whether a deal to end the more than three-year war is within reach.

The Kremlin said that the truce will start at 0000 on May 8 (2100 GMT May 7) and last through the end of May 10, adding that Putin ordered the full cessation of hostilities on “humanitarian grounds” to mark the May 9 holiday celebrating the defeat of Nazi Germany.

Share
by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted in"Ukraine - Russia"

On election day, Trump says Canada should join the U.S.

U.S. President Donald Trump weighed in on Canada’s election Monday, though he stopped short of supporting a candidate. Instead, he endorsed Canada becoming the 51st state.

“Elect the man who has the strength and wisdom to cut your taxes in half, increase your military power, for free, to the highest level in the World, have your Car, Steel, Aluminum, Lumber, Energy, and all other businesses, QUADRUPLE in size, WITH ZERO TARIFFS OR TAXES, if Canada becomes the cherished 51st. State of the United States of America,” he wrote on Truth Social.

Sigh …

Share
by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inCanada, Election 2025, USA