Some big losers in the US mid-terms (and just generally)

Elon Musk donated to Republican Party midterm candidates an estimated $474 billion - about the GDP of South Africa or Demmark, and more than the GDP of all but 40 counties in the world. 

Given what transpired yesterday, you have to feel a bit sorry for him. Hold on, scratch that. You don't have to feel at all sorry. He deserves everything he got, and everything he might still get in the future as a result of the Blue Tsumani that hit Trump-weary USA. And especially the Blue Wave in Texas, where Musk moved most of his operations because he didn't like paying taxes.

Someone else we shouldn't feel sorry for? Haley Stevens, who lost the Michigan Democratic Party primary to Abdul El-Sayed, and promptly endorsed the Republican candidate, Mike Rogers. It seems she is more pro-Israel than she is pro-Michigan, certainly more than she is pro-Democrat. Mr. El-Sayed won Michigan for the Democrats anyway, and Ms. Stevens' reputation and career is in tatters (unless she moves to Israel). God, these people!

The case for an apology and reparations for slavery

It's a tricky one. King Charles III of Britain has been trying to thread the needle at the Commonwealth meeting in the Caribbean over the issue of historical slavery. In his usual, and I think perfectly genuine, heartfelt manner, the king acknowledged "the great suffering and injustices in the past in these islands and beyond". He was careful to qualify it with, "We cannot change the actions of those who came before us", and certainly fell short of an official apology or any talk of financial reparations.

Many of the Commonwealth Caribbean nations feel this was a missed opportunity, and see it as a slight to them. They have long called for an apology and reparations. As one member put it: "Acknowledgement is like when somebody hits your car and says, 'Oh, I'm sorry!' But the apology when they hit your car and say, 'I'm sorry and here is my insurance'. It's the difference between recognizing that something bad has happened, and holding yourself accountable for it".

Fair enough, I guess. But should today's nations be held accountable for the sins of the past? Do a few words of official apology outweigh years of acknowledgements of past transgressions? Are they really more interested in the filthy lucre of reparations than the moral imperative of an apology? Lots of open questions. 

Britain was not alone in its pursuit of the lucrative slave trade. France, Portugal, Spain, Netherlands, Denmark and the United states. For what it's worth, Britain was actually the first of those countries to outlaw the slave trade, in 1807, and its early changes galvanized the other counrties into action. Thus far, the Netherlands is the only country to have apologized and no country has agreent to pay reparations.

Recently, new British Prime Minister Andy Burnham - not a man you could accuse of having a weak moral compass, I'd argue - came out publicly on the issue. He says he may be open to making an apology, but definitively ruled out reparations, arguing that they were not the right answer". In his words, "I do not think that British people today can be held liable for historical wrongs, however heinous, that happened in a different age under different laws and in which they played no personal part".

This seems to be the view across the political spectrum in Britain and abroad, and other is a compelling, almost irrefutable, argument. Making a formal apology, on the other hand, costs nothing and can be done with conviction and sensitivity. So, it should definitely be done, in my view.

Why attack a freezer?

 There has been a new rash of cyberattacks on Europe's supermarket fridges and freezers. After attacks on French refrigeration systems last month, the latest attacks ranged from Sweden to Netherlands to Belgium to Ireland. The perpetrators are unknown and the motives are equally obscure. There have been no extortion or political demands.

Why would anyone want to spoil thousands of euros worth of food? What would be the point? And why just a few supermarkets out of the hundreds that most of the supermarket chains that could.have ben targeted? The randomness of it all maybe points to the antics of nerdy kids with too much time on their hands. Most (all?) of the attacks targeted Danish temperature-control system manufacturer Danfoss, so a disgruntled employee or ex-employee? Why no statement of complaint, then? I suppose a maverick state like Russia, North Korea, Iran or China could be behind it, but it's a very strange choice of targets in that case.

The other things that strikes me is: why do fridges and freezers need to be internet-enabled anyway? The Internet of Things is expanding apace these days, but sometimes it seems to be doing it for no good reason, technology for its own sake. It's easy to change the temperature on supermarket fridges - even twenty or thirty supermarket fridges - manually. And how of often would it ever need changing anyway? Is there really a compelling need to have a fridge AI-controlled?

I see this as just another example of technology leading and humans scrambling to keep up. Other examples are the whole AI thing, 5G cellphone systems, cloning, and probably many more. I'm not anti-technology, it just seems like some technological changes are introduced for no particular reason, solutions in search of a problem, just because we can. Blame it.on capitalism if you like (and you may be right), but it seems to me that more oversight andnregulation is needed. However, that's not how 21st century capitalism rolls.

A 106-storey supertall skyscraper approaches completion in Toronto

It's kind of hard to believe, but at the foot of Yonge Street, in downtown Toronto, a 106-storey building is gradually coming to completion. For context, that's just four storeys shy of New York's ill-fated World Trade Centre twin towers, and we know how that ended.

At over 350 metres, the Pinnacle Skytower is Canada's tallest building, and an example of a "supertall skyscraper". The top of the building is at about the same height as the observation deck of the CN Tower, clearly visible just across downtown. It doesn't compare to some of the skyscrapers rising up in China and elsewhere in Asia, but it's pretty damned high. The first 12 stories will be house a fancy hotel, and the 13th to the 105th floors will contain 958 apartments. (It doesn't bear thinking about how much they will cost.)

I guess it's not a bad thing to be ambitious. But I can't help worry about hubris. You certainly wouldn't catch me living there, even if I could afford it.

Russia to be allowed back into international hockey competitions

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has suddenly made the inexplicable and unwelcome decision to allow Russia back into international ice hockey championships. The Court says there is a "lack of sufficient evidence" to support the security concerns of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), although surely that is not the only issue at play here.

Russia has been banned from international sports since it illegally invaded Ukraine back in 2022. As the war approaches its five year mark, and Russia continues to pound Ukraine daily wih missiles and drones attacks, it's not clear what has changed that would merit such a decision. My guess is that pressure has been applied behind the scenes (by Putin? Trump?), although it wouldn't surprise me if money had also changed hands.

The IIHF has objected to the CAS decision, which it has to abide by. The IIHF has already excluded Russia from events for 2026-7, like the men and women's World Championships, and the World Juniors which are to be held in Alberta later this year. The high profile men's World Champuonsip next year is a particular concern because Ukraine has already qualified to play (for the first time in 20 years). Does Ukraine get excluded to allow in Russia? The draw has already been made, so how is Russia to fit into it? Might Ukraine and Russia end up actuallyblaying each other (it's anybody's guess how that might go).

Several other national associations, including Finland, Sweden, Germany, Czechia and of course Ukraine (but not Canada so far), have come our strongly against the decision. It's quite possible that boycotts may occur if the decision is allowed to stand. The Canadian government has also registered its objections, which is heartening, albeit in diplomatic terms like "very unwelcome" and "disappointing".

This seems to be part of an unfortunate broader movement towards reintegrating Russia into international sports competitions, including the Olympics, swimming, volleyball, and possibly even football. Again, what is driving this change is not clear, but you have to assume that money and Trump are involved somewhere along the line.

UPDATE

Into this political morass strides Mark Carney, who has just unequivocally barred Russia from playing hockey anywhere in Canada, including in this year's World Juniors.

Carney: "While Russia and Belarus are supporting this illegal, unjustified and horrific war in Ukraine, as long as that's going on, there will be nine of those athletes competing for their countries in this country. So, if you're specifically asking about the World Juniors, the Russians will not be there."

Seems pretty clear. Up yours CAS!

Ford government walks back yet another environmental policy

It looks like the Ford government is reneging on yet another environmental commitment. 

Back in 2021, it took the rather unexpected and enlightened step of introducing the concept of "extended producer responsibility" into OntarioXs waste management and recycling system. Now, it seems they have thought better of that and decided to do away with it completely, and let food packagers off the hook for the estimated 80,000 tonnes of flexible packaging - bags, wraps, films and pouches - they force on us every year.

It us proposing to amend the Blue Box (recycling) regulations again to remove any responsibility from packagers and food producers for managing the excess wasteful packaging it uses, thereby also removing any impetus to reduce packaging, some of which goes into recycling, but much of which ends up in our landfills.

It was never quite clear to me how it would all work, but the idea of making the polluter pay seemed like a good one in principle. But Ontario's Conservative government is not big on principles, or on the environment in general, at least where it cones into conflict with the serious business of making money.

Canadians illegally voting in US elections may be enabling a much bigger fraud

 The number of Canadians who have been either charged or indicted of US election fraud or similar offences over the last few weeks has risen to 20, with five more charged in the last week. Citizens of a few other countries, including Australia, UK, Colombia, Cuba and Jamaica have also been caught up in this sweep by the dreaded Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Thing is, though, none of these people (most of whom are listed as legal permanent residents of the USA) are guilty of illegally voting in these current elections. The charges all relate to various previous elections. I have no idea why these people felt they needed to vote in these past US elections, or even whether it was deliberate or not, but they may inadvertently be contributing to an even bigger election fraud to come.

The reason these illegal voters are being rounded up now, just days before the November 3rd mid-term elections, is pretty obvious. The numbers involved are tiny, but the Trump administration and the Republican Party, which is staring down a strong probability that they will face some humiliating defeats in the mid-terms, will doubtless use them as "evidence" of widespread voter fraud in these elections, and generally sow doubt about the integrity of the election, possibly with a view to declaring it  null and void if need be.

Ford gives casinos a tax break in midst of gambling addiction crisis

Speaking of Doug Ford, here's just another example of how out-of-touch and how callous the man is.

Yesterday, Ford announced he is slashing the tax rate for casinos, specifically in the Niagara region, as part of his Destination Niagara push to develop the already highly-developed area. He is setting the gambling tax rate at 9.75% for the Niagara region (can he actually do that, set different tax rates for different areas?) The current rate is not publicly known (which is also pretty sketchy) but is thought to be upward of 40%. So this is a big deal, and designed to attract other "world class gaming operators" to the area, which already has distinct low-class circus vibes.

Think of that what you will, but this announcement comes at a time when problem gambling, addiction and associated suicides are spiking in Ontario, particularly after the recent expansion of online casinos. Problem gambling and addiction have tripled in the last 8 years, with some 130,000 Ontarians now showing signs of gaming problems. This July, Ontario (along with Alberta) legalized online gambling run by private companies, and that led to a noticeable spike in cases, following another spike in 2022 when Ontario legalized private physical casinos.

And this is the point at which Ford decides to introduce policies to make gambling and casinos even more ubiquitous! Compare this with the UK, which just increased its gambling tax from 20% to 25%, especially on those machines and stakes "more associated with gambling harm".