Politics

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Wednesday Link-Off: Not E3

shay-mitchell-esquirephilippines14-04With this week being E3, I have been extra busy over on et geekera with all the news and trailer roundups from the press conferences as well as with the other bits of news that devs are giving out to the press. There’ll be scads of E3 coverage here starting tomorrow but you can get it early on etg.

Today on The Lowdown, though, it’s time for the links. Let’s start with Canadian actress Shay Mitchell. What does she have to do with gaming? Nothing but neither does this post.

In Venezuela, prostitutes make better money as a currency exchange than they do as prostitutes. (Bloomberg)

Google did an internal examination of its hiring practices and found that impressive transcripts and degrees don’t translate to on-the-job results. Hell, anyone that works could’ve told you that. (Business Insider)

In Utah, you can’t have bare arms if you’re a woman. Such a wonderfully equal state. (Standard Examiner)

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Sunday Link-Off: The Political Machine

jinna-cabrera-fredericks14-01We’re just a few days away from a provincial election in Ontario. Most of the major newspapers are endorsing the Conservatives because they 1) forget the last Ontario PC government; 2) they seem to hate unions, public sector employees, education, social spending and anybody who makes less than $100,000; and 3) they figure that all politicians suck so why not get a new crew in there.

While I agree with #3, I can’t shake the fact that the Conservative job plan’s math is all made up and is based on job-years created rather than jobs. There’s also the commitment to cripple the education system. That’ll do us a lot of good. So I say vote Liberal. People will cry scandal and all that but do you really trust a Conservative team who can’t do basic math and still want to cut education spending. Economic growth starts with good education if you ask me.

Anyway, enough pontificating. It’s time for the links. Let’s start with new model to the blog Jinna Cabrera.

The big news in Canada this week was a shooting in Moncton. Here’s a look at how it came to an end. (The Globe and Mail)

Fixing the American electoral system can be accomplished in one easy stroke: Stop letting the politicians gerrymander the districts. (Washington Post)

The US National Research Council says that a manned mission to Mars will be ungodly expensive but important for the future of the space program. (USA Today)

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Sunday Link-Off: #ONPoli

chloe-bennet-esquire14-01And so marks the first time that a linkdump has been titled a hashtag. I somehow doubt that this will end up being a trend but it’s fitting considering we have two links about the Ontario provincial election and the Toronto mayoral election. That’s all the Ontario politics that most people would care about. Granted, I don’t expect anyone to really worry too much about Ontario’s politics. I think we’re screwed regardless of who ends up in power.

Anyway, it’s time for us to do the Sunday links. For fun, let’s kick it off with Chloe Bennet of Agents of SHIELD fame.

In something that shouldn’t be news to anyone, there are Russians among the pro-separatist militants causing unrest in Ukraine. Still wouldn’t be shocked if the Russian government was involved in this somehow. (New York Times)

Tim Hudak’s Million Jobs Plan sounds all well and good. The only problem is that the math is so completely broken that they may have overestimated jobs created by a factor of eight, didn’t factor in their own 100,000 public sector job eliminations and failed to mention half of their million jobs are expected to be added to the Ontario economy without their intervention required. (MacLean’s)

And Tim Hudak wants to make a better tomorrow for Ontario by cutting education spending. That’ll help tomorrow’s Ontario. (Toronto Star)

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Wednesday Link-Off: Memorial Day Hangover

kate-bock-gq14-01The one problem with doing linkdumps around holiday weekends is that the internet seems to shut down and it gets harder to find quality links. I’ve got a few links this week but not as many as usual. Hopefully, normal service will resume next time out.

For now, it’s time for the links. Since an American holiday caused these problems, let’s kick things off with Canadian model Kate Bock.

Good news, Toronto! Doug Ford says that Rob Ford is doing much better in rehab and is going to be a brand new man when he returns in a few weeks. (Globe & Mail)

A writer goes through his reasons for changing his mind about reparations to victims of slavery in America. (The Atlantic)

A recent study on the effectiveness of airport security showed that all those TSA scans decease terrorism on airplanes but diverts terrorist attention elsewhere. (Vox)

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Sunday Link-Off: Stars and Stripes

jessica-alba-ew14-04Last weekend was a Victoria Day set of links. Today, it’s a Memorial Day set of links. If you’re a Tea Partier, you’re probably not reading a Canadian blog so you won’t care that today’s links are a reality check.

But since this is an American holiday, let’s start with the one and only Jessica Alba.

India was well on its way to becoming a world power but the election of Narendra Modi could supercharge the country’s growth. (The Economist)

On this Memorial Day, remember that not everyone thinks America is the greatest country in the world. In fact, some people think that life in America is getting worse, not better. (The Nation)

There’s a fallacy that unemployment benefits discourage people from finding jobs and taking them away gets them to search faster. That assertion would be wrong. (Think Progress)

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Wednesday Link-Off: ‘Murica

nina-agdal-bebe14-01You would think that our Memorial Day edition of the links would be the one with all the America links but I just happen to have a whole pile of them for today’s linkdump. At least they’re sort of interesting.

But just because there are a whole pile of ‘Murica links doesn’t mean that we’re going to lead with an American woman. No, here’s Nina Agdal.

The US Attorney General’s department has charged the Chinese government officials with cyber espionage. Unfortunately, the US Attorney General’s department immediately charged itself with criminal irony. (Time)

The US Department of Defense has a zombie defense plan. Well, I guess it’s better to be prepared than get caught off-guard by the apocalypse. (Foreign Policy)

Gay marriage may not be legal in most of America but most Americans support it. It’s gone from no support to majority support in less than fifty years. (Al Jazeera)

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Wednesday Link-Off: Shady Dealings

yara-khmidan-beachbunny14-01So, I was so out of it while drafting today’s Wednesday links that the original draft title Sunday Link-Off. Though maybe that wasn’t so much a case of being out of it as it was a case of wishful thinking.

Regardless of whether it’s Wednesday or Sunday, it still means that it’s time for me to bring you my semi-weekly set of links. Let’s kick things off with Yara Khmidan.

In news that I probably shouldn’t be surprised by the report that Silvio Berlusconi has ties to the Sicilian Mafia. (The Independent)

The next victim of the ongoing sanction war between Russia and the West? Space-based cooperation seems to be coming to an end after 2020. (Vice)

Just to remind voters that they hate voting, the Conservatives have passed the so-called Fair Elections Act. (Toronto Star)

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Wednesday Link-Off: The Whole World in His Hands

lake-bell-esquire14-01Another week, another set of links. Normally, this is the day I would remind Canadians to file their taxes but they until May 5th to file their taxes because Revenue Canada fell victim to the Heartbleed Bug. And even with that extra five days, I still have relatives who aren’t going to file on time. Figures.

Anyway, it’s Wednesday which means that it’s time for the links. Let’s kick things off with Lake Bell.

The so-called Fair Elections Act might have gone through some revisions but it could still use some work. (The Globe and Mail)

You’d think that the death of Net Neutrality would be a big deal. Naturally, it was ignored by the big US news shows. (Media Matters)

Donald Sterling’s lifetime ban from the NBA is surprising because it’s a much more stern move from new Commissioner Adam Silver than his predecessor would ever make. (Yahoo Sports)

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Sunday Link-Off: I Thought This Was Spring

tsanna-latouche-nordstrom14-05With it being the end of April, I thought that the weather would be warming up and I could start to wear short-sleeved shirts. However, I woke up yesterday and had to grab my winter coat and boots and brush snow off my car. So much for having a late spring. Any spring would be lovely. I think that we’re gearing up for two seasons this year: Winter and July.

Anyway, to celebrate a lovely Canadian winter, let’s lead off with a lovely Canadian model. Here’s Tsanna LaTouche.

Even with the changes proposed to the so-called “Fair” Elections Act, a number of serious concerns remain. Well, I suppose it could make elections fair for a certain party trying to get it into law… (The Globe and Mail)

The story of the Keystone XL pipeline is really a tale of two countries. Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper has championed it but Barack Obama has been working against him which I certainly won’t complain about. (Bloomberg)

While his international environmental record isn’t too bad, domestically, things aren’t too good for Barack Obama. A radioactive oil waste site was found in North Dakota. Isn’t that lovely? (Al Jazeera America)

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Sunday Link-Off: Wonderful Easter Time

christina-hendricks-rhapsody14-01It’s Easter Sunday but that doesn’t mean that we’re taking the day off. Granted, because the rest of the internet has been on holiday since Thursday, the links are a bit thin but I’ve still found the best posts from around the interweb over the last half-week.

Since there’s another new episode of Mad Men today, I thought that I’d start this post with Christina Hendricks. Not only does United Airlines have poor customer service but their magazine did an unforgivable crime of photoshopping Christina almost beyond recognition.

The pro-Russian forces in eastern Ukraine are getting very worrying. They’re forcing Jewish residents to register with them. This won’t end well. (USA Today)

Canadians who know nothing about it think that the Fair Elections Act lives up to its name. Maybe it’s best that most of the electorate doesn’t vote when they’re so ill informed. (The Globe and Mail)

Liam Neeson still wants horsedrawn carriages in Central Park. I wouldn’t argue with him. He will find you and he will kill you. (New York Times)

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