All hail Stewart Lewis for delivering this gem today, about scientists who have the courage to "dance their Ph.D." No, this isn't for university dance majors, and it's not like this is how science students get their doctorates these days. It's a contest, and it looks like fun, and we could all use some of that. That said, if we start dancing our Posted entries instead of writing them, you'll know we've finally lost it.
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Ron Wadden, Posted compiler-in-chief
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Justin Trudeau, governor of Canada? That was part of a joke by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump during a meeting with the prime minister on Friday, a response to complaints by Trudeau that the threatened 25-per-cent tariff on Canadian exports would devastate the country. According to Fox News, that prompted Trump to muse about Canada becoming the 51st U.S. state. In less hilarious news related to the tariff threat, a briefing note prepared by Global Affairs Canada earlier this year on Canada's booming fentanyl super-labs suggests Trump might have cause for concern about how well the drug and its export are being policed in this country.
Trump doesn't officially take office for another 48 days, but he's using this time to issue his fair share of warnings. The latest is directed at Hamas, who will have "hell to pay" from the U.S. if the remaining Israeli hostages aren't released by the time Trump moves back into the White House.
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Here's a scenario that makes one pause: A border guard can see illegal aliens, in the distance, not at the official crossing point, sneaking into Canada but has no authority to stop them, because that's the job of the RCMP. The head of the union representing border services officers believes they should be able to patrol the whole border, not just official checkpoints, a move the cabinet minister in charge says is not a top priority.
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Auditor General Karen Hogan found more than a few bones to pick with the federal government's handling of emergency COVID-19 loan program for small businesses. Racking up $3.5 billion in loans to ineligible companies will do that. John Ivison speculates that the bureaucrats were no match for the consultants who were involved and kept finding ways to benefit themselves.
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This will come as a surprise to those who rarely pay attention to South Korean politics: The country's president, Yoon Suk Yeol, today declared "emergency martial law", not because of an imminent missile attacks from the north, but because he believes political opponents are paralyzing the work of his government. This did not go over well, and parliament overwhelmingly voted to block the declaration. Last we saw, everyone was waiting for the president to rescind the order, while the military stood ominously nearby. This story will no doubt evolve as the day progresses.
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57: The percentage of Canadian respondents who disagree with the notion that equity should be a part of hiring, according to a poll by Leger for the Association of Canadian Studies. The dislike for equity hiring is even stronger in Canada than in the United States, Tyler Dawson reports.
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It must have seemed like a great idea at the time in the prime minister's office: Give the people a two-month break on the Goods and Services Tax on useful and timely items for families, and the people will love us! If only it were that simple. Tristin Hopper catalogues some of the non-sensical distinctions that make it all very complicated. For example, one Lego set depicting a Star Wars ship is eligible for the tax break, and another is not. Buyer beware.
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A violent video game available to buyers in Canada is catching some critical attention today. Fursan al-Aqsa: The Knights of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, was originally released in April 2022 but has since been updated to include tactics used in the October 7 attacks by Hamas on Israeli civilians, including motorized paragliders, which were used at the site of the Nova music festival, where 364 died. Ari David Blaff has more on this, including where it has been banned.
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Cash cow: That's the description of Alberta's photo radar program by the province's transportation minister, who has a beef with it. Devin Dreeshen announced yesterday that 70 per cent of the photo radar sites would be removed by spring. Calgary's police chief, for one, is not happy with what he describes as Dreeshen's glib comments on the issue.
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"All 10 of us had a total of 11 children. On average, 1.1 each. I always said a psychiatrist would have great fun with that, when we came from a family of 10." — Jennie, the soon-to-be 88-year-old, second-oldest of nine daughters of George and Gaye Stolte. The eight surviving daughters, ranging from 72 to 90, got together on Saturday to celebrate Jennie's birthday, share some laughs, and look back on their time growing up in Aberta and B.C. But, as far as we can tell, they did not reveal where they're hiding the fountain of youth.
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Jason Payne / Postmedia News |
Real estate agents are often masters at self promotion. Time will tell if the sign above works for Ian Watt, since plenty of Vancouverites are furious at him for boasting of his impact on house prices in the city. Watt insists he was being "ironical." |
Str / Yonhap / AFP via Getty Images |
The scene in Seoul today: This is what it looks like when your president declares martial law, elected parliamentarians say no you don't, and soldiers in the National Assembly are like ... what do we do now?
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