Happy afternoon, Saskatoon! It’s plus-3 with a forecast high of five. Sun sets tonight at 6:50. Here’s some news links.
1. THE NDP WINS ONE Ryan Meili is the new MLA for Saskatoon Meewasin. If he still wants to become leader of the provincial NDP, this was an essential victory. More here.
2. OPEN SEASON ON WOMEN She was unconscious and mostly naked in a cab and somehow it wasn’t rape? This is a terrible, terrible verdict. Yes, there can be nuances around consent and a drink or two, but there should be no debate on consent and unconsciousness. The entire Canadian justice system just does not get it.
3. SMARTPHONE SNOOPS CBC has a good story on Canada’s border goons checking out visitors’ phones. Talk about pointlessly obnoxious overreach—not to mention making visitors feel unwelcome. I know I wouldn’t take my phone over a border, and the most incriminating thing on it are the eight billion photos of my pets.
4. CHINA FORCES BBC TEAM TO SIGN A CONFESSION Wow. A good reminder that China is not a free country.
5. SOVIET STATES OF AMERICA Some analysis of the Jeff “lied under oath” Sessions incident.
6. VIETNAM NO-SHOW PLAYS NAVY DRESS-UP Donald “Five Deferments” Trump takes a page from the George W. Bush “I skipped the war but I’m still cool” playbook and wears military threads for a tour of a new aircraft carrier. Also, what nincompoops name an aircraft carrier the USS Gerald R. Ford? It’s like they want it to trip over a wave and sink.
7. SECOND THOUGHTS ON OBAMACARE Trump supporters might not want one of the things they specifically voted for—the repeal of Obamacare. Shocking.
8. BATS: A BITTER FAREWELL Every once in a while it’s good to read a venomously bitter column about humanity’s contempt for threatened wildlife. Here’s a great one.
LOGAN The final Hugh Jackman Wolverine movie is now playing. Jorge says it’s great. Here’s the trailer. Looks good to me. Snikt!
