A Town and Its Factory, Fates Entwined

Few buildings exemplify a town’s ups and downs as much the sprawling brown-brick factory in Smiths Falls, Ontario, that began life in the 1960s as the home of Hershey Canada.

Twice the town has risen with the fortunes of the building’s successive owners: Hershey, and then a prominent cannabis grower. And twice it has been let down by them. This week, the town received a third shot at economic redemption when Hershey, in a surprising move, said it was returning.

The building’s continuing drama has also meant that Smiths Falls has lured me out repeatedly for various reasons, personal and journalistic, over the years.

Being a parent prompted my first visit; few families in Eastern Ontario escaped at least one trip to the chocolate factory. Our now-adult sons had scant interest in what was its main attraction for me: the self-guided tour that allowed visitors to peer down from elevated windows at pristine white conveyor belts moving battalions of peanut butter cups and chocolate bars.

Maybe Hershey will make Pot infused chocolates!

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inCanada, Marijuana

Amazon Cancels Woke ‘A League of Their Own‘ After One Season, Latest ‘Queer‘ Series to Flop

Amazon Studios has canceled A League of Their Own after just one season, making it the latest “queer” series to flop with audiences.

A League of Their Own had received an abbreviated second series order of four episodes but Amazon has scrapped those plans, according to multiple reports. Deadline claimed without citing sources that the cancellation is due to the ongoing actors and writers strikes that have brought Hollywood production to a standstill.

Why do they do this?

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inHollywood

Feds need to turbocharge construction innovation to get homes built faster: experts

OTTAWA – Canada’s national housing agency has warned that millions of homes must be built within less than a decade to balance the housing market, but even it seems doubtful that its own target is achievable.

The current pace of housing starts is not just lagging.

It’s headed in the wrong direction.

Last year, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. said 5.8 million homes would need to be built by 2030 to restore housing affordability for Canadians. The current pace of building only puts the country on track to construct 2.3 millions homes by then.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted in"Homelessness & Affordability Crisis"

On the Front Lines, Ukrainians Are Buoyed to Be on the Offensive

In 18 months of war, Ukrainian land has mostly changed hands in sudden bursts, with Russia snatching a mass of territory at the start and Ukraine recapturing chunks in dramatic counterattacks. Now 10 weeks into its most ambitious counteroffensive, with heavy casualties and equipment losses, questions have been growing about whether Ukraine can punch through Russian lines.

Despite grueling fighting, Ukrainian forces along much of the 600-mile front are moving forward, and commanders and veteran soldiers say they are in better shape now than six or 12 months ago.

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

Three former Toronto mayors move to halt renaming of Dundas Street over alleged slavery ties

In a letter addressed to Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow and city councillors, three former Toronto mayors are asking that the decision to rename Dundas Street over Henry Dundas’ alleged support for the transatlantic slave trade be reconsidered.

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

The ‘dark fleet’ of tankers shipping Russian oil in the shadows

It has been called Russia’s “ghost”, “shadow”, or “dark” fleet. Nearly 500 ships, many of them old tankers with murky ownership and obscure insurers, could be playing an integral role in moving Russian crude to China and other ports in Asia, because of a G7 price cap meant to keep foreign-currency oil revenues out of the Kremlin’s hands.

Often the ships use tactics designed to hide their location or the origin of the crude carried from Russian ports, which may later be refined in India and other countries and even re-exported to the western countries sanctioning the Kremlin.

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

Energy Experts Question Guilbeault’s Visit to China

When Vijay Jayaraj was growing up in India, power blackouts were frequent. He said the blackouts affected everything from schooling to employment—because when there was no power, it was difficult to get much done.

He pointed to the cotton industry of South India, a major employer.

“But all the industries were disrupted whenever there were phases … of continuous blackouts, eventually translating into thousands of lost jobs,” he told The Epoch Times

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted in"Canada's China Class", "China - Communist Slave State", Canada, Canada's Corporate Welfare Class, Canada's Corrupt Liberal Government, Canada's Corrupt Political Class, Green-Scam, WTF?

NYT: Weiss wanted to let Hunter off scot-free — until IRS whistleblowers fought back

Alternate headline: Special Counsel Even Toadier Than First Thought.

Until now, it appeared that Hunter Biden and his attorneys blew up a sweetheart plea deal that would have kept the president’s son from any felony convictions. That didn’t make much sense, considering the array of felonies that potentially could result. However, the New York Times reveals that US Attorney David Weiss had planned to let Hunter off with no charges at all for tax evasion.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted in"Biden Family Sleaze"

Trudeau to meet with new cabinet as Liberal support wanes both in and out of the party

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his newly reshuffled cabinet will tackle housing affordability when they meet next week to try and craft a plan that will deliver for voters and reverse the Liberals’ flagging fortunes.

Mr. Trudeau will join his 38 ministers in Charlottetown for a three-day retreat beginning on Monday as they prepare for the return of Parliament in September and refresh their policy agenda to focus on the housing crisis – an issue that a growing chorus of people inside and outside the government say the Liberals have been slow to respond to.

During Wynne’s final run for office I was left with the distinct impression she was only going through the motions, even press coverage seemed at best a polite but distant nod as the province decided it was time to move on after years of Ontario Liberal mismanagement.

I get the same sense with Junior of late as both his domestic and foreign image have tanked. No one likes a woke scold and he is not the type able to withstand ridicule.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inCanada, Canada's Corrupt Liberal Government

Sadiq Khan plunged into race row after his official website publishes picture of white family and says they don’t ‘represent real Londoners’

Sadiq Khan was plunged into a bitter row last night after his official website published a photograph of a young white family with the words: ‘Doesn’t represent real Londoners’.

The Labour London Mayor faced calls to apologise after the extraordinary message appeared in an official guide on how to portray the ‘brand’ of the Mayor and the Greater London Authority.

This was despite the fact that the guide opened with the words: ‘A City For All Londoners’ and a promise to appeal to ‘everyone no matter, their age, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, religion, disability or family make up’.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inBatshit Crazy Racists

B.C. prisoners seek extension of jail time to stay housed, avoid overdose

In the space of one week in June, Vancouver criminal defence lawyer Melanie Begalka heard something from three of her clients that bothered her enough to go public.

In this case, “public” was posting a comment on Twitter, the social media platform now known as X.

“I’ve had three clients this week asking to extend their time in custody,” Begalka wrote. “The extreme housing crisis, fear of dangerous drugs on the street and general lack of resources, it’s all real. And a terrible indictment of society when the best people can do is jail.”

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inCanada, WTF?

Beer and schnitzels with the AfD in Germany’s right-wing heartlands

The far-right party is now the country’s second most popular. There have been rumours it might be banned, but its politicians say Berlin just won’t listen to them on migration and eco issues

Over beer and schnitzels, members of the local branch of the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) party gathered one evening last week in the back room of a rustic inn in Waltershausen, on the edge of the Thuringian forest.

As they discussed their politics, considered radically right-wing by many in Germany, the walls behind were decorated with oil paintings of rural scenes and glass cases containing the dolls for which the picturesque little town was once famous.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inGermany, Germany - AfD party

Star Poll Finds No One Who Matters Likes Poilievre And He’s Mean & Probably Growing A Hitler Moustache

Is Pierre Poilievre a pit bull or a golden retriever? We asked Canadians what they think of the Conservative leader — and here’s what they said

The results suggest he’s well-liked by those who think they know him well — but more Canadians feel they don’t, and the impressions they have of him at this point signal challenges ahead.

The research comes at what the Conservatives hope will be a turning point in that respect: the launch of a multimillion-dollar advertising campaign to better position him as an alternative to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

 

 

Frankly the article is a confused mess. Almost as if they’re hoping you won’t dig too deep or make comparisons with Junior.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inConservative Party, The F$CKING Toronto Star, WTF?

Cruise agrees to cut fleet of San Francisco robotaxis in half after crashes

… The development comes just over a week after California regulators allowed Cruise and the Google spinoff Waymo to operate autonomous robotaxis throughout San Francisco at all hours, despite safety worries spurred by recurring problems with unexpected stops and other erratic behavior.

“The DMV is investigating recent concerning incidents involving Cruise vehicles in San Francisco,” the DMV said on Saturday in a statement to the Associated Press. “Cruise has agreed to a 50% reduction and will have no more than 50 driverless vehicles in operation during the day and 150 driverless vehicles in operation at night.”

Robotaxi breakdowns cause mayhem in San Francisco days after expansion vote

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

Trudeaumania unravels as Canada grows disillusioned with liberals

Canadians have finally fallen out of love with Trudeau. The shine has come off a career that at times seemed to defy political gravity. Instead of Trudeaumania, the nation is suffering from Trudeau fatigue.

The Liberal prime minister’s approval ratings have slumped below 30pc among voters aged 18 to 34, according to national polling group the Angus Reid Institute. This is the group whose enthusiasm helped get Trudeau elected in 2015, re-elected in 2019 and again – just about – in 2021.

Voting intentions tell the same story, with a widening gap between the ruling Liberals and the Conservative opposition. Disillusionment has been fuelled by economic factors, including soaring interest rates and a housing crisis.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inCanada's Corrupt Liberal Government