These three byelections could give Mark Carney a majority government

These three byelections could give Mark Carney a majority government

OTTAWA — Three upcoming byelections could determine not just three local contests but whether Prime Minister Mark Carney gets a majority mandate to govern until 2029.

Byelections don’t usually come with such high stakes, but the contests in University—Rosedale, Scarborough Southwest and Terrebonne will decide if Carney finally gets the majority government he didn’t win in last year’s general election.

Well lookie here …talk about a built in advantage.

h/t Auntie Polly

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted in"Canadian Politics"

Guardian explains violent mass looting spree in Clapham as just young people wanting to come together in meet ups

Guardian explains violent mass looting spree in Clapham as just young people wanting to come together in meet ups

It started with a flyer sent around on Snapchat. Teenagers were invited to gather at a south London basketball court to celebrate the start of the Easter holidays. They were told to bring their own weed and laughing gas because it was going to be a late one.

What followed in the hours after was chaos. Hundreds of young people came to the “link-up” last Saturday, and then gathered on Clapham High Street.

Shops in the area were overwhelmed, including a Marks & Spencer where videos appear to show teenagers fighting in the aisles. Some shopkeepers reportedly locked their doors, and fireworks were let off on Clapham Common.

Kids just wanting to met up … and loot

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted in"Experts", WTF?

Trump’s respect for King Charles possibly quashed desire to annex Canada, says royal commentator

Trump’s respect for King Charles possibly quashed desire to annex Canada, says royal commentator

An upcoming book authored by a prominent royal commentator says U.S. President Donald Trump was primarily interested in annexing Canadian territory just above the U.S.-Canada border — and his respect for King Charles may have quashed that goal.

The book, titled Elizabeth II: In Private. In Public. The Inside Story, is written by British journalist Robert Hardman and is being serialized in the Daily Mail. It’s a profile of the late former Queen, who Trump speaks glowingly about, and touches upon King Charles’s reign.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inCanada, UK, USA

Iran refuses to open Strait of Hormuz for ceasefire

Iran refuses to open Strait of Hormuz for ceasefire

Iran has rejected a call to reopen the Strait of Hormuz in return for a 45-day ceasefire.

Pakistan presented Tehran and Washington with a peace proposal that would have seen an immediate pause in the conflict and a reopening of the key shipping lane.

While Iran said it was reviewing the framework of the broader agreement, an official insisted that the Strait would not be reopened.

The two-stage proposal came from Egyptian, Pakistani and Turkish mediators, who were hoping the 45-day window would provide enough time for talks to reach a permanent ceasefire.

Field Marshal Asim Munir, Pakistan’s army chief, was in contact “all night long” with JD Vance, the US vice-president, Steve Witkoff, the US special envoy to the Middle East and Abbas Araghchi, the Iranian foreign minister, sources told Reuters.

(more…)

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted in"US Israel Iran War"

Federal EV rebate rules leave Dodge Charger as only Canadian model eligible without price cap

Federal EV rebate rules leave Dodge Charger as only Canadian model eligible without price cap

A federal electric vehicle rebate program is drawing scrutiny after records show the Dodge Charger will soon be the only Canadian-made vehicle eligible for incentives without a price cap.

Blacklock’s Reporter says documents tabled in the House of Commons by the Department of Transport indicate that, by year’s end, the Charger — built in Windsor, Ont. — will stand alone in qualifying for rebates on vehicles priced above $50,000.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted in"EV's - Electric Vehicles", WTF?

Shattered Iran could still turn to a nuclear weapon

Shattered Iran could still turn to a nuclear weapon

At the start of the attack on Iran in February, President Trump spoke of the “imminent threat” of an Iranian nuclear weapon.

Yet on Wednesday, as he prepared to address America about his rationale for the war, he told interviewers “I don’t care” about the stockpile of highly enriched uranium Iran is known to hold, saying it was too far underground to be a concern and could easily be monitored by satellite.

“If we see them make a move, even a move for it, we will hit them with missiles very hard again,” he said later on television.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted in"US Israel Iran War"

Federal government saying little about Toronto’s call to block ICE from World Cup

Federal government saying little about Toronto’s call to block ICE from World Cup

The federal government is not responding directly to a Toronto city council motion opposing the presence of any U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents at upcoming FIFA World Cup games.

The motion, brought forward by Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow and adopted last week, calls on the federal public safety and foreign affairs ministers to reject any ICE deployment.

Maybe the Feds are hoping she’ll be deported.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted in"Toronto - Canada's version of a Democrat run city", Canada, USA

What happened to the Batley blasphemy row teacher fanatics threatened to kill for showing cartoon of Mohammed in free speech lesson?

What happened to the Batley blasphemy row teacher fanatics threatened to kill for showing cartoon of Mohammed in free speech lesson?

On the official GoFundMe page where his supporters have raised more than £116,000, the young father is known simply as ‘The Teacher’. Perhaps a better title might be ‘The Forgotten Teacher’.

Last week marked the fifth anniversary of an extraordinary – and shameful – episode in modern British history that saw this man, then a respected member of staff at Batley Grammar School in West Yorkshire, forced into hiding, fearing for his own life and for those of his children.

There, shockingly, he remains. Today he is living under a new identity, having fled not just the classroom, but his home, his town, his rugby club, his entire previous life.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted in"Islamophobia", Islam, Islam and violence, Islamization of the West, UK

When you weren’t looking, Canada’s top leaders forged a working relationship

When you weren’t looking, Canada’s top leaders forged a working relationship

OTTAWA — Speaking at the National Prayer Breakfast in Ottawa last week, Prime Minister Mark Carney ended his remarks by making a tongue-in-cheek comment to Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, who was sitting at the head table with him.

“I know there are some stoics in the room,” said Carney, glancing at Poilievre. “So, I will close by channeling Marcus Aurelius,” added the prime minister in reference to the Roman emperor and Stoic philosopher that Poilievre cited in a recent Economic Club of Canada address.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted in"Canadian Politics"

Britain’s top private schools in Middle East teaching pupils to beat their wives

Britain’s top private schools in Middle East teaching pupils to beat their wives

Harrow School has many centuries-old traditions that make it a jewel in the crown of British education: straw hats, black tailcoats and its own form of archaic slang, where “beaks” means teachers and “the ducker” is the swimming pool.

Soon it will need to grapple with some new customs. Sir Winston Churchill’s alma mater is opening two schools in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) this summer, where Muslim pupils recite the Koran and learn about beating their wives.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted in"Islamophobia", Islam, Islam and violence, Islamization of the West, UK, WTF?

Race-Based Sentencing Gains Ground in Canada’s Courts

Race-Based Sentencing Gains Ground in Canada’s Courts

Lady Justice has been depicted as blindfolded for centuries—an implicit promise not to judge a person by immutable factors such as skin colour. In Canada, that may be changing, as courts increasingly consider a defendant’s race when determining punishment.

Rulings of recent years highlight the trend: A B.C. judge earlier this year ruled that a black man who stabbed his girlfriend to death will become eligible for parole in 12 years in part because of “systemic anti-Black racism.” A man of Filipino heritage convicted of a hit-and-run in Ontario received a conditional sentence in 2024 in part because of reports of racism, including classmates making “slanted-eye” gestures at him as a child. And a hashish trafficker in Quebec had his sentence cut by a third last year, at least partly because he descended from slaves.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted in"Two Tiered Justice"

‘Worse than flipping a coin’: Psychiatrist warns MAiD mental illness assessments have a high chance of inaccuracy

‘Worse than flipping a coin’: Psychiatrist warns MAiD mental illness assessments have a high chance of inaccuracy

‘Worse than flipping a coin’: Psychiatrist warns MAiD mental illness assessments have a high chance of inaccuracy

At a MAiD committee hearing in Ottawa, a psychiatrist, Dr. Sonu Gaind, testified that it’s impossible to tell the difference between suicidality and a MAiD request.

Last week, Gaind testified at the feds’ Special Joint Committee on Medical Assistance in Dying, sharing concerns regarding mental health and MAiD, which will become a sole qualification for euthanasia on March 17, 2027.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inMAiD Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide

Analysis: Trump declares victory in Iran war after rescue, but threats to US operation still loom

Analysis: Trump declares victory in Iran war after rescue, but threats to US operation still loom

US President Donald Trump was swift to declare victory after the second crew member of an F-15 downed over Iran was recovered, claiming on Sunday that the dramatic and successful rescue in Iranian territory “proves, once again, that we have achieved overwhelming air dominance and superiority”.

Observers, however, paint a more complicated picture of what this means for the US in Iran.

While the mission was a success, the events of the last few days – in which two aircraft were downed and at least one helicopter hit by gunfire – highlight that threats to US aircraft and personnel remain even after weeks of heavy US and Israeli strikes against Iran’s military infrastructure and boasts from the president that Tehran had “no anti-aircraft equipment” left.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted in"US Israel Iran War"