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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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Wednesday Link-Off: Election Blues

lights-junos15-01I’m a little disappointed I don’t have enough time in the morning to prep the links at the last minute. I’d love to have some links about the Israeli election included in the post but that was still a dead heat last I heard. I suppose that’s what I have the Sunday links for.

Anyway, if it’s Wednesday, it’s time for the links. Let’s kick things off with Lights.

I don’t know (or care) what this Hilary Clinton email scandal is but it’s gotten her presidential aspirations off to a rocky start with two years of campaigning still to go. (Rolling Stone)

Political parties often put a lot of time and effort into finding the right candidate. For the Democrats, if they put that much effort in getting people out to vote, they’d never lose. (Al Jazeera America)

This time of year brings up plenty of questions about why college “student-athletes” don’t get paid but they aren’t the only cogs in a multi-million dollar machine going unpaid. Canada is going through the same thing in junior hockey. (Vice Sports)

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Sunday Link-Off: Not Safe for Work

rosie-huntington-whiteley-esquireuk15-03After taking last Wednesday off to spend my time writing the Formula One season previews, it’s time for my editions of the link-off to resume normal service. While the title might say NSFW, there aren’t any NSFW links. There are some people with some NSFW professions being talked about but wouldn’t reading about that be the fun part of your day.

Anyway, let’s end the preamble and start the links. Let’s kick things off with Rosie Huntington-Whiteley.

If there’s a Ponzi scheme that shakes Canada and no one in Canada was shaken, did it really shake the country? (New York Times Magazine)

The 47 Republican Senators sent a letter to the leadership of Iran that effectively tried to threaten Iran out of signing the long-awaited nuclear agreement with America. Many pundits suggest this is close to treason. (Bloomberg)

And the “Iranian hardliners” sent a letter back. (Slate)

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Wednesday Link-Off: In Like a Lion

alison-brie-gqmexico15-04So the old saying goes that if March comes in like a lion, it goes out like a lamb. Well, last evening, I snowblowed about eight inches of snow. I don’t know how much fell overnight or how much I shoveled out of the end of the driveway this morning because I’m writing this Tuesday night. So I’m hoping the old adage holds true because I’ve had enough of winter at this point.

Anyway, it’s Wednesday which means that it’s time for us to do the links. Let’s kick things off with Alison Brie from her GQ Mexico shoot.

For the second time, Fox News has apologized for Bill O’Reilly has apologized for lying about what he witnessed as a reporter. He’s still on air though. (The Guardian)

The daughter of the BTK serial killer is the focus of a long article about her coming to terms with finding out her father was a murderer. (The Wichita Eagle)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made a speech to a joint session of the US Congress yesterday. Israel is likely to be a hot topic in the upcoming Presidential election. So that’s why Rand Paul is backtracking on wanting to cut foreign aid to Israel. (BuzzFeed)

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Sunday Link-Off: It’s the Law

candice-swanepoel-maxim15-03I kind of wanted to title today’s linkdump with a bit of a Judge Dredd reference but this title fit best. I’ve finally caught up on my back issues of Judge Dredd. Now it’s to catch up on Justice League and Superman. I don’t even have that big a file at my local comic book shop and I’m always behind. Some people order in like five times the number of comics I do. How can they pull that off?

Anyway, it’s Sunday which means that it’s time for the links. Something like nine months after being named Maxim’s hottest woman of 2014, we finally have Candice Swanepoel’s Hot 100 shoot. It’s too bad that there’s only one photo that’s remotely SFW.

When the chief economist for America’s biggest conservative think tank can’t come up with an actual fact to back up his claims that the Affordable Care Act has been a failure, isn’t it time to give up that fight? Then again, lying to electorate seems to work so why the hell not. (Daily Intelligencer)

A former CSIS officer says that the Harper government’s new anti-terror bill will completely backfire. (National Post)

Omar Abdel Hamid El-Hussein went from petty criminal to shooter in a short period of time. What happened to him to cause that change? (Time)

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Wednesday Link-Off: (Not) Snowed In

sarah-stephens-agentprovocateur15-01I don’t know how but my hometown managed to avoid this seemingly apocalyptic snowstorm that hit most of the Eastern US. I’m not complaining since the snowbanks are way too high as it is but we’ve gotten all the rest of the snow this year so why not this too?

So now it’s time to kick off the links. Let’s heat things up from the start with Sarah Stephens.

What is middle-class per the Conservative government? That would be families who earn over $120,000. (Yahoo News)

Speaking of big money and politics, the Republican National Committee could spend nearly one billion dollars to win the White House in 2016. (Politico)

The man who will lead the Greek economy is the same man Valve had leading the Steam Market. (International Business Time)

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Wednesday Link-Off: The State of Every Other Union

shay-mitchell-maxim15-05I know on Sunday that I said that the hardest part of doing a linkdump is coming up with a title but doing these intros isn’t much better. That’s especially true when you have to think of a bunch of links that really have nothing to do with each other. So I just killed a little bit of time by rambling on about that.

So that means we can get to the links. Here’s Canadian actress Shay Mitchell.

Justin Trudeau is ramping up for his first campaign as Liberal leader. Here’s a look at the economic advisory team he’s assembled that will likely prove the key to any success. (MacLean’s)

Fox News is being taken to task. The City of Paris is planning to sue Fox News over statements it made about the city. (CNN)

Printed pornography is dying. The likes of Playboy are being replaced by magazines that push art over just straight titillation. (New York Times)

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Sunday Link-Off: Christmas Shopping Scramble

alyssa-barbara-14-01I know that malls and such are open for the next three days but this is the last real chance that most people will get to go shopping for Christmas presents. I lucked out because I only had four or so shops to run to yesterday so my day wasn’t too bad. Funnily enough, there were more people at the liquor store yesterday than at the mall. I can understand. I need booze to deal with my relatives too.

So a couple of hours late, it’s time for the Sunday links. To kick things off, here’s Canadian model Alyssa Barbara. You know, I’m thinking of bringing back the old Hottest Canadian bracket in 2015. I think she’d fit right into the top 32.

We’re nearly two years from the start of another Presidential campaign and already we’re having fact checking issues at big publications. The NYT, for example, already attempted a derail of the Clinton campaign with a poorly fact-checked story. (Media Matters)

Jeb Bush is thinking about making a run for the White House. After Bush 43, would America even consider a Bush 45? (Vice)

Great news! Science says that moderate alcohol consumption helps boost your immune system. (Mother Jones)

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Wednesday Link-Off: The Report

elizabeth-henstridge-gqmoty14-01The Newsroom catches a lot of flak, mostly from TV critics and Republicans, but it does illustrate an important point. Where would society be without news media doing actual reporting? Social media and crowdsourced reporting will only get you so far. Today’s link show the importance of a healthy fourth estate.

Anyway, it’s Wednesday so it’s time for the links. Since Agents of SHIELD wrapped up its first half last night, here’s Elizabeth Henstridge.

Have you wondered why beer prices are so terrible in Ontario? The Brewers’ Retail, AKA The Beer Store, has an amazing sweetheart deal with the Government of Ontario that gives them a ridiculously powerful legislated monopoly over beer sales. (Toronto Star)

The US Senate Intelligence Committee released its report on the CIA’s torture practices. Here are seven key takeaways from it. (New York Times)

Fifty-four other countries, including Canada, were involved in a CIA program that ran alongside the torture program. They may not have been involved with the actual torture but it seems a bit close for comfort. (Vox)

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Wednesday Link-Off: The Story Behind the Story

anna-kendrick-britishfashionawards14-02We’re getting to that point in the year where posts are a little harder to come by. I try to plan posts a week or two ahead but that doesn’t mean that I’m always able to figure out all that I want to put on the blog ahead of time. For example, I know that there will be a video game review this week and one early next week. However, I’m missing a Thursday post in the mean time. I have to pull something together quickly.

Anyway, it’s time for the links. Let’s bring back old blog favourite Anna Kendrick.

Kathryn Borel talks about when the CBC ignored her when she told them about Jian Ghomeshi harassing her on the job. (The Guardian)

A little while back, we ran a link to a story about a rape and the rape culture at the University of Virginia. Here’s the story behind the story. (Washington Post)

A program in Tampa claims to help homeless people find jobs and get back into society, it looks like it’s all a front to make the program money. (Tampa Bay Times)

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