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Wednesday Link-Off: Executive Orders

shay-mitchell-airbnbjamaica15-04bSometimes, I’m not sure how politicians actually accomplish anything. Then again, I’m also not sure that they actually want to accomplish anything. After countless mass shootings and no Congressional action, it was up to an executive order to start to make things right with American gun laws. If the politicians were really to do what’s best for the majority of Americans, wouldn’t they be sorting this out themselves? There I go being naive again.

Anyway, it’s Wednesday which means it’s time for us to do the links. Let’s kick off with Canadian actress Shay Mitchell.

President Obama used his executive order power to introduce new gun regulations in America to combat the ongoing mass shootings. (NBC News)

The inevitable has happened. Donald Trump is becoming a Ted Cruz birther. (Washington Post)

Under the Harper Government, the goal was for Canada to become an energy superpower. Canada’s current economic reliance on oil has caused the massive drop in the value of the Canadian dollar. (Bloomberg)

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Sunday Link-Off: The Stories They Don’t Want You to Know

brooke-lawson-playboy15-13bOops! I was busy working on some writing for the week and completely missed that there was supposed to be a set of links that went up this morning. I did my annual Video Game Awards / VGX / The Game Awards write-up that will be posted this Thursday. I’m also working on the Doctor Who review for this week. There will also be a gaming column up either tomorrow or Tuesday.

For now, we have some links to do. Since I’ve been doing a lot of games writing, let’s kick off with Brooke Lawson who the internet might better know under the stage name Dodger.

The terrorists in the Paris attacks didn’t use any super-secret encryption or other under the radar means to plan the attack. They did it right under everyone’s noses. (Wall Street Journal)

It’s already time to start year-end awards. MacLean’s names Justin Trudeau their newsmaker of the year. (MacLean’s)

What do you really know about the John Furlong case? I’m guessing very little that is factually accurate. You see, the abuse allegations against John Furlong were never proved false in a court of law. In fact, the only legal proceeding regard Furlong that went before the courts has proven that people are allowed to make statements that are not necessarily accurate when defending oneself from a serious attack. So here are the sworn affidavits alleging abuse at the hands of John Furlong. (Canadaland)

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Sunday Link-Off: Politics as Usual

kate-upton-harpersbazaar15-01I keep saying that the hardest part of doing these linkdumps isn’t finding the links but coming up with the intros to the links. I’ve been busy this weekend and haven’t had much of a chance for writing. The next week on the blog could get annoyingly dull as a result.

Anyway, it’s Sunday which means that we have to do the links. Let’s kick off with Kate Upton.

Did a Conservative MP call a fellow politician an “NDP whore?” The whole of the Moose Jaw Times-Herald newsroom thought so but the story never ran. (Canadaland)

President Obama isn’t a fan of being too politically correct as it can be used to shut down whole conversations that could otherwise be held. (Daily Intelligencer)

Two men were asked not to board a flight because another passenger was afraid to fly with them because they spoke Arabic. They talk about terrorist winning by instilling fear in people. Well, here’s a perfect example. (NBC)

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Wednesday Link-Off: The Greater Good

katherine-mcphee-esquire15-02Sometimes, I’m not entirely sure if it’s better that you leave people to their own paths and plans. After all, it’s nice that someone will chip in some help but that doesn’t mean they are actually contributing to the cause even if they should drop the act. Sorry, I was really tired when I wrote this but it does make some sense.

Anyway, it’s Wednesday which means that we have to do the links. Let’s kick things off with Katherine McPhee.

Is the Ontario government opening up beer sales to some grocery stores for the greater good or part of secret legislation changes to protect the interests of big brewing? (The Globe and Mail)

The NDP went from possibly being the third-party to form the Canadian government to returning to their history also-ran status. How did they go from virtual certainties to a distant third? (Canada.com)

A lot of people thought the Duffy trial would negatively impact the Conservatives’ reelection chances. In fact, the late campaigning with the Ford brothers did them worse. (Metro)

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Sunday Link-Off: Ready

sarah-silverman-ismileback15-03I’m not going to sit here all giddy but I was quite happy with the election results from Monday. Sure, I think I would have actually preferred a minority but I won’t complain about Canadian citizens resoundingly rejecting the status quo and telling the NDP that skewing hard right to pickup Liberal and Conservative voters isn’t the way to win.

Anyway, it’s Sunday which means it’s time for us to do the links. Let’s kick things off with Sarah Silverman.

We’re so used to negative campaigns in politics. It was nothing short of amazing that Justin Trudeau’s positive campaign vaulted him from third place and somebody derided as a joke candidate to a majority and 24 Sussex Drive. (MacLean’s)

And from the opposite side, here’s how the Harper government fell in #elxn42. (The Globe and Mail)

Even the New York Times weighed in on the importance of image in the election. Nice hair was actually a factor. (New York Times)

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Election Link-Off: What You Need to Know for #elxn42

It’s Election Day in Canada. That doesn’t have as good a ring as Hockey Day in Canada but there’s probably a reason why they don’t have elections in Canada on Saturdays. Between kids playing at the local rink and families watching on TV, hockey might get in the way of democracy. Today, though, it’s all about finding the next Prime Minister in one of the most hotly contested and bitter campaigns in Canadian history.

Before you vote, we have some last minute links to help you if you need it.

If you want to see how your views stack up against the rest of the parties, try Vote Compass. It took me like ten or fifteen minutes and gave me a pretty clear top and bottom ranking (the other two tied, actually). (Vote Compass)

Or if you’d rather get a crash course in where everyone stands, MacLean’s has a summary of the major issues and policies. You may want to read that Taxes primer because one party has a middle-class tax cut and it isn’t the blue guys. (MacLean’s)

And just in case you need some info on where to go or what to bring to the polls today. Elections Canada has you covered. (Elections.ca)

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Sunday Link-Off: The Calm Before the Storm

yvonne-strahovski-rosenthal15-05bI hope you aren’t coming here today looking for election links. We’re trying something different for #elxn42. Tomorrow, we have a special Election Link-Off that will cover everything you need to know ahead of voting. So if you’re looking for election info, tomorrow is the day to come by the blog.

But before tomorrow’s E(lection)LO, it’s Sunday so it’s time for us to do the links. Let’s kick things off with Yvonne Strahovski.

A book from inside city hall in Toronto has been written about Rob Ford. Here’s an excerpt. (Politico)

Did you know that Canada is sending its waste to the Philippines and using the country as a dump? (Vice)

It’s not wrong to say that big money buys elections and political favour. Half of the money in the 2016 Presidential campaign so far have come from just 158 families. (New York Times)

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Wednesday Link-Off: The Home Stretch

brenda-song-jessicastark15-01bThe advance polls are done with a 71% increase in voter turnout compared to 2011. Now, all that’s left is to wait for Monday. The rest of us will get our chance to vote and find out who will be the returning/new Prime Minister of Canada. It kinda makes you wish they announced the winner like a prize fight. A vintage Howard Finkel “NEW” would go a long way here.

Anyway, it’s Wednesday (the last Wednesday before #elxn42) which means that we have to do the links. Let’s kick off with Brenda Song who I hadn’t heard of until now but that’s clearly an oversight.

“Stephen Harper is the last remnant of George W Bush in North America.” (The Guardian)

Stephen Harper wants to run on his economic record versus Justin Trudeau’s plan. History says that the Liberals are better for the economy. In fact, Harper is the second-worst Conservative PM in the last hundred years. (Bloomberg)

Be careful at the polls next week. Anything you might have heard about the Conservative’s voter suppression in 2011 might be under-reported. (Rabble)

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Sunday Link-Off: Countdown to 42

aubrey-plaza-emmys15-01It hit me yesterday that we’re only eight days away from the 42nd Canadian federal election. The polls feel like they’ve been all over the place with all three parties getting a turn on top. Right now, it’s the Liberals on top but you can’t help but feel like the poll numbers will bring the parties together again.

Anyway, it’s the Sunday before Thanksgiving which means that it’s time for the links. Let’s kick off with Aubrey Plaza.

It’s eight days until the Canadian federal election. In case you needed help eliminating one of the three big parties from consideration on your ballot, read this. (Don’t Be A Fucking Idiot)

I think that advance polls are open today. You won’t be the only one voting early. On Friday, 850,000 people voted at an advanced poll which is a 26% increase over 2011. (CBC)

As we approach the anniversary of last year’s Ottawa shooting, MacLean’s looks at the men and women that ran to help Cpl. Nathan Cirillo. (MacLean’s)

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Wednesday Link-Off: Two Weeks to 42

nina-dobrev-go9015-02I just realized when writing this post that we’re probably in something resembling the home stretch for the 42nd Federal election. While we’re still talking about some issues, I’ve noticed that we aren’t talking about the actual electoral system. In two weeks from today, I’m going to guess we’re going to start debating if we’ve outgrown first past the post. It works for a two-horse race but I’m not convinced that FPTP works when there are three parties. I’d say it’s almost a certainty that the result of the election in terms of seats won’t accurately reflect the popular vote. Maybe that means we need to consider a mixed electoral system that adds proportional representation seating on to the traditional FPTP seats.

Anyway, we can argue that after we get evidence the system is broken. For now, it’s time to do the links. Since we’re talking Canadian politics, let’s kick off with Canadian actress Nina Dobrev.

Harper says pot is “infinitely worse” than tobacco. Experts say there’s “simply no evidence” that’s true. Blogger says Harper is infinitely worse than the alternatives. Experts say there’s simply all sorts of evidence that’s true. (National Post)

My name is Steve and I may be a second-class Canadian citizen because my dad was born in Scotland. I’m one of nearly 900,000 second-class Canadians in Harper’s Canada. (Vancouver Sun)

An agreement has been reached in the Trans-Pacific Partnership talks. This is bad news. This may be worse than another Conservative government news. (BBC)

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