Politics

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Wednesday Link-Off: The New Economy

hayden-panettiere-criticschoice16-05There are a lot of funny and terrifying economic stories in today’s links. The price of oil has tanked. The TPP is probably bad for you. Basically, unless you’re in oil, it looks like the economy is only going to benefit the rich. Those income inequality charts are just going to keep getting worse.

Anyway, it’s Wednesday so you know what that means. Let’s kick off with Hayden Panettiere who certainly doesn’t look like she did on Heroes.

Bernie Sanders might be onto something when he says that big pharma should be to blame for the opioid problem in America. (Vox)

With the falling price of oil, a barrel costs more than the oil that goes in it. (The Independent)

NYT has a look at how El Chapo was captured by Mexican authorities. (New York Times)

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Sunday Link-Off: Follow the Money

katy-perry-goldenglobes16-06I really need to read more into Canadian election financing. With all of the Super PACs in America that sound like they give carte blanche to donors and money in politics, I wonder how Canada has avoided being controlled by political interests. Maybe our politicians are and we just don’t know it. It’s funny how such a massive story in American politics gets no equivalent local interest here.

Anyway, it’s Sunday so it’s time for us to do the links. Since there is a lot of politics in this post, here is the politically active Katy Perry.

Ted Cruz is making a charge for the Republican Presidential nomination based on nothing that makes sense. He’s lied about how he financed his Senate campaign and his positions are in contradiction to his history. (Washington Post)

President Obama has declared a national emergency in Flint over the water crisis while Michael Moore asks the President to visit the city when he goes to Detroit this week. (New York Times)

Contrary to what the GOP thought, the Iran nuclear deal seems to have worked. They’re officially deemed compliant with the agreement and have had sanctions lifted so they can re-enter the economy. (Washington Post)

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Wednesday Link-Off: Golden

kirsten-dunst-goldenglobes16-03I know in last week’s podcast, if you listened to the spoilers anyway, I mentioned that we would have the top games of 2015 and most anticipated games of 2016 lists posted last week. They’re coming tomorrow and Friday. The StarCraft II review that went up yesterday was the last piece I needed to cover everything for tomorrow’s best of 2015 list. Normal et geekera cross-posting service with then continue quickly scads of reviews.

Before we get there, we have to do the links. Let’s kick off with Kirsten Dunst who was at the Golden Globes even though I thought she wasn’t making movies any more.

One of the strangest stories from the El Chapo arrest is that he was interviewed by Sean Penn for Rolling Stone while on the run. (New York Times)

The Conservatives are concerned about the Canadian Government changing election laws without a referendum. What is the saying about people who live in glass houses? That Harper Government is pretty glass housey right now. (Press Progress)

We know income inequality is a huge problem in America. What you might not know is that it’s also a big problem in Canada. (Huffington Post)

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Sunday Link-Off: Making America Great

minka-kelly-artofelysium16-01It’s not often that I have a set of links that give you some semblance of hope but here we are. Today’s links might just be enough to make you think that all is not lost for the United States of America. Granted, that could all change in November.

Anyway, it’s Sunday so it’s time for us to do the links. Let’s kick things off with Minka Kelly.

Very quietly, the death penalty is slowly dying in America. What is behind this change? (Economist)

Americans are mad as hell and they’re probably going to keep taking it. (Esquire)

Michael Moore has an actual plan to make America great again. (The Nation)

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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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Sunday Link-Off: When the Wallet Breaks

pia-wurtzbach-01The timing of holidays can really mess you up if you aren’t keeping on top of your calendar. For example, it wasn’t until late last night that I realized that yesterday was Saturday. All I knew about yesterday was that I had some shopping that needed to be done since the best deals of the year were on Boxing Day. I bought more than I wanted to, saved more than I care to admit and still didn’t buy much in the way of impulse buy items (I really want one of those colour changing party speakers but can’t justify the price). I don’t think anyone is looking forward to their credit card bills in January.

Anyway, since it’s apparently Sunday, we have to do the links and hopefully make me a penny or two towards my Christmas bills. Let’s kick things off with Miss Universe Pia Wurtzbach.

Ted Cruz was right about something. The more ex-felons are Democrats than Republicans. The problem is that’s not what he said. To say that most violent criminals are Democrats isn’t exactly true nor does it deviate from the general population. (Washington Post)

Anonymous’ cyberwar on ISIS has now turned the focus to its allies. They recently took down the internet in Turkey for their support of ISIS. (The Hill)

Internet freedom in America is dying. This isn’t just about CISA being included in the recently passed omnibus budget. (Motherboard)

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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: Have You Felt It

erin-heatherton-yutsaiyume15-03I know Jackie gave his quick thoughts on Star Wars: The Force Awakens yesterday but I don’t think I’m capable of doing it quickly. Our review podcast could either be 30 minutes or 3 hours depending on how much we argue about. I think we’ll both agree that we loved it and will be going multiple times. We’ll let you know when to expect the review.

Anyway, that’s a problem for a future date. For now, we’ve got to focus on some links. Let’s kick things off with Erin Heatherton.

America’s Omnibus budget bill also included the dreaded CISA, Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act. I hope you don’t value your privacy. (Engadget)

Fox News’ “fair and balanced” slogan might get mocked but it’s not off the mark when it comes to the Republican primary. They’re giving a good grilling to the frontrunners. (The Fix)

Carly Fiorina was near the head of the GOP polls for a little bit. Now, she might be talking her way out of any chance. She has a pretty poor relationship with the facts. (Salon)

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Wednesday Link-Off: Use the Force

daisy-ridley-starwars15-01I’m not sure whether I should start this post by saying after a ten-year wait or a thirty-two-year wait. It’s been ten years since the prequel trilogy ended but we’re 32 years past the conclusion of the original trilogy that The Force Awakens picks up from. I’ve basically sequestered myself from all things Star Wars since the trailer in October so I’m going in nearly blind. As I mentioned earlier this week, we’re planning a movie review podcast at some point soon to talk Star Wars.

There are no Star Wars links in today’s set of links. However, that doesn’t mean that we can’t start with Daisy Ridley who stars in the new movie.

A former Romney staffer got into a Donald Trump focus group and found his party completely broken. (The Daily Beast)

Ted Cruz is vaulting up the Republican primary polls but is he any better than either Trump or Carson? (Rolling Stone)

For the next few weeks, the battle will be between Trump and Cruz. I’m still hoping that Rubio surges up the polls. He seems like one of the more sensible candidates now that Christie skewed hard right to make up for getting along with Obama post Hurricane Sandy. (Vox)

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