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Sunday Link-Off: Wonderful Eastertime

alison-brie-alexa16-07bHappy / a solemn and dignified Easter Sunday to you all. I’m sure it will be spent in church and with family and not at all watching March Madness, miscellaneous pro sports and various eSports. I know that’s what I’m doing… The latter, not the former. I might mix some alcohol in there for good measure too.

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

It’s okay to believe the Ghomeshi victims, hate the verdict and still think it’s alright. However, there is a reason why the victims behaved that way to Ghomeshi that wasn’t explored in court. Here’s an examination here. (The Globe and Mail)

The National Enquirer, as reputable an organization as you’re going to get in the supermarket tabloids, is breaking another affair scandal. This one involves Ted Cruz. (Gawker)

Candidate Trump insists that he didn’t have anything to do with that story just days after threatening to spill the beans about Cruz’s wife. I’m sure he’d be quite understanding how the timing doesn’t look good. (Politico)

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Sunday Link-Off: Don’t Sweat the Lawsuit

taylor-swift-instagram16-01Well, this has been an interesting week for the press. Over in the gaming world, you have Jim Sterling facing a $10 million lawsuit for being a games critics. Gawker just lost a $100 million lawsuit over its interpretation of the First Amendment. It makes you wonder why little outlets like this exist. All you have to do is say the wrong thing and someone could try to ruin your life with a multimillion lawsuit. Of course, when you’re a small site, you should probably get a nice letter first because the Streisand Effect is real.

Anyway, it’s Sunday which means it’s time for the links. Let’s kick off with the picture that took Reddit by storm and start with Taylor Swift.

Hulk Hogan won $115 million in his sex tape lawsuit against Gawker. Interestingly, the matter of the First Amendment as it relates to Hogan’s privacy wasn’t really considered by the trial judge. (Reuters)

Gawker is planning to appeal because a number of matters that were a part of an FBI investigation related to the sextape were sealed and not permitted to be shown in evidence to the jury. Now that they have been unsealed, Gawker has a stronger case. (New York Magazine)

Whether he takes the Oath of Office or not, Donald Trump has already had a major impact on American politics. (The Atlantic)

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Sunday Link-Off: Spring Forward

kari-byron-fhm06-1bIt’s Daylight Savings Day (unless you’re in Saskatchewan). That means you’ve lost an hour of your life but you were probably going to waste it anyway. After all, that extra hour of sleep we get in the fall is just used for sleep. What good ever came of being asleep anyway?

Anyway, it’s Sunday which means that we have to do some links. Since Mythbusters just wrapped up its run, let’s kick things off with Kari Bryon. Well, Kari Byron from ten years ago.

It’s been five years since the Japanese tsunami and the Fukushima power plant is just as dangerous now as it was then. (Newsweek)

The FBI’s claims that they can’t unlock an iPhone is “bullshit” according to Edward Snowden. (The Guardian)

It didn’t work in the election but the Conservatives are still pushing the Justin Trudeau is too young narrative. That’s why they’re polling stronger now than during the election. (Canada.com)

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Wednesday Link-Off: On the Sidelines

kate-bock-si16-04bIt’s been a while since we’ve done a sports-heavy set of the links but that’s what we have today. Don’t worry. They aren’t very fluffy stories about sports. From a look at how sports stories grew TMZ to sports media stories and more, it’s our usual sorts of stories but related to sports rather than politics.

Anyway, it’s Sunday which means it’s time for us to do the links. Let’s kick off with Canadian model Kate Bock.

Apple and the FBI are fighting over what seems to be something as simple as decrypting an iPhone. The FBI really wants a backdoor built into the iPhone. (Krebs on Security)

Another week, another article about whether the Republican Party can survive a Trump candidacy. (The New Republic)

Here’s a lengthy look inside the might that is TMZ. (The New Yorker)

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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: Welcome to the New Year, Same as the Old Year

jenna-coleman-interview15-06I was so busy working on the next episode of The Lowdown podcast that I nearly forgot to do the links. My target is getting the podcast up on Tuesday but I have nearly three hours of audio to comb through in putting this together so I think I’ll be cutting it close. It’ll come out this week for sure, though. The one thing I can tell from early edits is Jackie is louder than me so I’m going to have to turn up my mic for future podcasts.

Anyway, it’s the last Sunday of my Christmas break so I suppose that we should do some links. Since there was a Doctor Who Christmas special over the last couple of weeks, let’s kick things off with Jenna Coleman (who was not in said Christmas special nor even mentioned).

Nearly 1,000 Americans were fatally shot by police last year. One in ten were unarmed. (Washington Post)

Fact checkers are very busy with the current crop of political candidates but it doesn’t seem to be doing any good. (Politico)

You’ve heard the tale of Donald Trump but do you know about the tragic tale of Donald’s oldest brother, Freddy, who was largely cut out of the family? (New York Times)

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Wednesday Link-Off: Eve Eve

You know, I really think that this Christmas Eve Eve and yesterday’s Christmas Eve Eve Eve shit is just dumb. Today is December 23rd. If you need help remembering that it’s the day before the day before Christmas, I’m not sure that calling it Christmas Eve Eve will be that much of a benefit to you in the long run. I probably sound like a surly old bastard but kids these days just don’t make any sense. I wonder if they think they’re being funny. That’s not how humour works.

Anyway, it’s Wednesday so it’s time for us to do the links. Normally, I’d kick off with someone but I didn’t find anyone before I dozed off watching StarCraft last night. More on that at the bottom of the post.

Donald Trump could win the Republican primary but could he beat anyone in an election. A new poll has Bernie Sanders 13 points ahead of Trump. (The Hill)

Many Canadians can’t afford homes and blame foreign buyers. Will banning them help at all? (Quartz)

PostMedia is disintegrating from the inside. Maybe if they focused a bit on journalism and being a news organization, things would be different right now. (iPolitics)

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Sunday Link-Off: Gone in 13 Seconds

heidi-klum-galore15-06Did anyone tune into UFC 194 expecting an absolute war between Conor McGregor and Jose Aldo? We got an epic but I don’t think you could call a one-punch, thirteen-second fight a war. I figured that Aldo would keep Conor out of reach with leg kicks until they went to the ground. Maybe that was the plan but I don’t think that you can enact it in 13 seconds.

Anyway, it’s Sunday which means it’s time for us to do the links. Let’s change things up for today and kick off the post with Heidi Klum. She may be in her 40s but there’s still an easy 13 seconds joke to be made here.

Following the Trump plan to ban Muslims from America, President Obama used his weekly address to warn that such public discrimination against Muslims only serves to help ISIS. (The Hill)

Interestingly, a recent poll suggests that nearly two-thirds of Americans are scared about Trump in the White House. I’m thinking of moving if he’s elected and I don’t even live in America. Tierra del Fuego seems like a sufficiently isolated part of the world. (New York Post)

“America does have a cybersecurity problem – but the NSA is part of it.” (The Guardian)

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Wednesday Link-Off: Trump Card

nina-dobrev-interview15-02At what point does the laughing stop and the worrying begin? The world has had a laugh at a reality TV star running for President but his rhetoric has gone from generally false to quite possibly dangerous. At what point do people wonder if he can actually lead America and the world or if he’s just spouting policy rather than a plan?

Anyway, it’s time for us to do the links. Let’s get started with Nina Dobrev.

After Donald Trump announced his plans to ban Muslims from entering America, Arianna Huffington changed her publication’s stance on Trump coverage. Instead of treating him as a sideshow, the full might of the politics team would be devoted to unbiased coverage of the Republican frontrunner. The truth won’t set the GOP free, though. (Huffington Post)

For all the fear-mongering that Trump does when it comes to Muslims, he sure likes to do business with them. (Washington Post)

Also convenient omitted from stories following the San Bernardino shooting is that Saudi Arabia has once again managed to not be mentioned in the narrative about terrorism. (CBC News)

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Sunday Link-Off: The Song Remains the Same

jessica-alba-edit15-05bAnother week, another mass shooting in America. I remember seeing a statistic to the effect there being more than one mass shooting per week since President Obama took office in 2009. You can make statistics say a lot of thing but it’s scary that this one seems so believable. It’s even more frightening that nothing will be done to prevent another mass shooting from happening in future.

Anyway, let’s get this post started. Let’s kick things off with Jessica Alba.

America is big on fighting terrorism. Domestic terrorists, on the other hand, they’re willing to give them a pass. (New York Times)

It’s scary to think that the San Bernardino shooting has already made people forget about the Colorado Springs shooting at a Planned Parenthood clinic. That shooting may not be down to terrorism but people incited by anti-PP rhetoric. (Washington Post)

For some reason, the press invaded the apartment of the two San Bernardino shooters. It wasn’t a pretty scene. It was just sensationalist bullshit for the sake of ratings. (Mashable)

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