Politics

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Sunday Link-Off: Dollars and Sense

eugenie-bouchard-flare15-01Another week has come and gone. It seems as though I don’t know where the time goes but I still don’t think that time goes quickly enough either. Maybe it’s more like everything I am obligated to do in my life seems to take forever while I don’t have enough time for other things in my life like reading and blogging and friends and hobbies.

Anyway, if it’s Sunday, that must mean that we’re here to do the links. Let’s kick things off with Canadian tennis star Eugenie Bouchard.

The Globe’s Elizabeth Renzetti wins the day with her column about why Ontario parents fighting against sex ed are doing more harm than good. (The Globe and Mail)

It didn’t take conservative attack ads to derail Justin Trudeau’s momentum. All he had to do was back the government’s so-called “anti-terrorism” legistlation. (ThinkPol)

On that note, the former Bradley Manning says that the US government needs to be more open and transparent about it’s doing. (The Guardian)

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Wednesday Link-Off: The Political Divide

lais-ribeiro-victoriassecret15-01I’ve come down quite quickly with some sort of flu but that didn’t stop me from watching the first 45 minutes of Alberta election results. When I left it, the NDP were poised to score a majority government. With 40 years of Conservative rule to end with the NDP taking over, Stephen Harper must be shitting himself at the possibility of such a revolution topping his Conservative’s Western power base.

Anyway, I need to wrap this up quickly because I feel like death warmed over. Kind of like the Alberta Conservatives. It’s time for us to do the links. Let’s kick things off with Lais Ribeiro. I’ll get through the weird and random pictures from the Met Gala for the next linkdump.

The Baltimore sun got a fascinating behind the scenes look at the Baltimore PD’s Freddie Gray investigation. (Baltimore Sun)

A new poll suggests that the US is experiencing a massive racial divide after the events of the last few years in Florida, Ferguson and Baltimore, among other lower profile incidents. (Wall Street Journal)

The Governor of Texas has deployed the Texas State Guard to watch over a US Special Forces training exercise in case they try to take over the state. I’m not kidding. (NPR)

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Wednesday Link-Off: Power and Politics

taylor-swift-glamouruk15-01Politics isn’t an easy arena to be in. Unless you’re exceptionally popular or just happen to luck into it, chances are that more than half of your constituents will disagree with whatever you do or say. I can’t say that I can understand how someone could hate themselves so much to put up with it unless they legitimately think they can help people more than the next man. Of course, if you aren’t in it for public service, I won’t vote for you. I can think of plenty of politicians who I wouldn’t vote for.

Anyway, it’s Wednesday which means that it’s time for us to do the links. Considering the controversial nature of politics, it’s only fitting that the controversial Taylor Swift opens up this post.

Amid the coverage of the Baltimore riots on Fox News, Shep Smith once again proves that he is the station’s only voice of reason. (Salon)

The US Supreme Court is hearing arguments to decide if gay marriage should be legalized in America. Support for it has increased by 50% since 1988. (Washington Post)

Watch out, Hilary! Bernie Sanders is coming for you! (VPR)

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Sunday Link-Off: Bodyslam

charlie-xcx-maxim15-06I hope that you’ve been paying attention to the calendar because the deadline for filing taxes in Canada is on Thursday. I still have to file mine. They’re done. I just have to actually file them. Hopefully you’re not leaving the actual preparation of your taxes to the last second. That’s the hard part of doing your taxes.

Anyway, it’s Sunday which means that it’s time for the links. To keep you on your toes, let’s kick things off with Charlie XCX. I don’t know who she is but she looks like what an acquaintance of mine would look like as a brunette.

Is/was the Harper government closely tied with oil giants? Redacted entries from Mike Duffy’s diary seem to indicate such. (National Observer)

The Republican Party’s Presidential nomination race might be a battle for the future identity of the party. There’s a massive difference between the ideals of the GOP establishment and the GOP’s youth. (Rolling Stone)

Ben Affleck has courted controversy by trying to cover up that one of his ancestors owned slaves. That almost begs the question of who wouldn’t. (Boston Globe)

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Sunday Link-Off: Meanwhile, in Canada

danielle-knudson-nelly15-07You know, I’m getting worse and worse at time management. I’m trying to write stuff for The Lowdown and et geekera while holding down a job and trying to have other hobbies. That’s why today’s SLO comes in three hours later than normal. I didn’t get this done until an hour before it went live. And now, it’s immediately on to the next post(s). There ain’t no rest for the wicked.

Anyway, it’s time for us to do the links. Let’s kick things off with Canadian model (though not the democratically voted Hottest Canadian) Danielle Knudson.

The Jian Ghomeshi scandal might be finally coming to an end. The CBC has issued its internal report and cut ties with their now former head of radio and HR director. (Toronto Star)

The Harper Government’s so-called anti-terrorism legislation will undergo its final vote in the Commons this week. People aren’t happy. (Sun Media)

Political discourse is dead in America. The problem is that it’s not much better in Canada. Yes, I realize that right-wingers will find this link following the previous to be ironic. (National Post)

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Wednesday Link-Off: Not the Onion

kristen-bell-naturalhealth15-01I know that there are some people and even major news agencies who get tricked by satirical news agencies like The Onion but with some of the news stories that come out are so out there that you can understand how these satirical stories can be mistaken for real. Some of the stories in today’s linkdump fall along those lines but we do have some serious stories in here too.

Anyway, it’s time for us to do the links. Let’s kick off with Kristen Bell.

Remember the Secret Service’s prostitution scandal of 2012? Well, the DEA had them beat. They’ve been having sex parties with prostitutes since 2001. (Associated Press)

Former Ontario deputy minister of education Ben Levin plead guilty to child pornography charges. The problem is that he’s admitted to more than just simple child porn and not been charged. (National Post)

After a 15-month pilot project, Hamilton Police have launched a program that will see mental health workers join police on the frontlines when they receive calls that may involve a mental health issue. (CTV News)

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Sunday Link-Off: You Link or You Die

emilia-clarke-hollywoodreporter15-05Okay, today’s linkdump is a little late because I had a busy day yesterday. I had no idea that curling once a year was that hard on your quads. I do DDP Yoga and do a lot of squats and leg exercises with that but it doesn’t help me much today. So I’m not sure if we’re lucky that the post is late or if it’s up at all since movement is exceptionally difficult.

Anyway, it’s Sunday so it’s time for the links. Since Game of Thrones is back tonight (YES!), here’s Emilia Clarke.

Darren Sharper was an NFL star. Now, he’s a convicted serial rapist. (At least that’s what I think you call someone who pleas out.) The problem is that he could have been stopped years before he was. How did the investigation fail so badly? (Pro Publica)

Ron Paul might be the internet’s favourite Paul but Rand is trying to catch up. He has a pretty smart stance on the War on Drugs. (The Hill)

While this story about a female teacher having sex with a student and getting a sweetheart plea deal is interesting and all, the real important part is talking about the double-standards with regards to sex with minors. (IJ Review)

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Wednesday Link-Off: The Media of Failure

olivia-wilde-shape15-01It’s not just the politics of failure that have failed. It’s the news media of failure that has failed as well. Try as everyone might to make it work again, they have a long way to go to get there. If only they could fail at being failures but it seems as though politicians and the news media can only get failure right.

Anyway, it’s Wednesday which means that it’s time for us to do the links. To change things up, let’s kick this off with Olivia Wilde.

There’s always more on the Brian Williams situation but he was just the biggest face of the ongoing self-destruction of NBC News under Comcast’s ownership. (Vanity Fair)

A report on Rolling Stone’s University of Virginia rape story had shown a systematic failure of their reporting and editorial processes. (NPR)

Inside the strange money-making world of Twitter parody accounts. I can’t believe that’s a thing. (Vice)

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Sunday Link-Off: Wonderful Easter Time

camille-rowe-expressswim15-05So the prank I mentioned in the last linkdump was a glitter bomb I had mailed to a coworker. The office admin forgot that I tipped her off and told the victim that the envelope was suspicious. So he didn’t fall for it, cut a slit in the side of the envelope and left it on my desk. I fully intended to get him back but allegedly accidentally dumped it on someone else for his participation in a prank some 16 months ago. It’s the slowest of slow burns.

Anyway, it’s Sunday which means that it’s time for me to watch some Formula E. I guess we can do some links too. Here’s Camille Rowe.

Former Prime Minister Paul Martin has taken a look at the Canadian economy and the Harper government’s budget plans and only sees disaster in the near future. (CBC News)

Nuclear talks between Iran and the west has resulted in a tentative agreement that is being lauded as a breakthrough. Naturally, the Republicans aren’t happy with it. The question may now become whether they can be trusted with keeping the world’s peace or if they are just going to oppose anything the Democrats would do with no regards for the consequences. (The Guardian)

Happy Easter, Christians. Your religion is being used as a cover for homophobia. (Think Progress)

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Sunday Link-Off: Press Play

paige-wwe15-01It’s the big day! WrestleMania: Play Button (because numbers make WrestleMania sound old) is today in Santa Clara with the pre-show starting at 5:00 PM EDT, matches starting at a rumoured 6:00 PM EDT and the show proper starting at 7:00 PM EDT. That’s some five hours of wrestling. Holy crap, that’s way too much.

Anyway, it’s time for the links. Since WrestleMania is today, I think it’s appropriate to lead this one off (or maybe we should say start the card) with Paige.

The Harper Government tried promoting Canadian energy in the US. It cost them $24 million in advertising. (CBC News)

The state of Indiana has passed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. Basically, it allows people to use freedom of religion as a defense in legal matters. Yes, this includes invoking your religion to discriminate against people you don’t like. (BuzzFeed)

You’ve heard of Alcoholics Anonymous but you haven’t heard the scientific criticisms. Many doctors question the efficacy of the faith-based program. (The Atlantic)

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