Canada
The Liberal revolt is about Trudeau, communications, and the carbon tax
I got back from Laos and spent the weekend on the phone to discover ... Many Liberal MPs unhappy with their party's performance say change can only happen with a new leader, a better communications and a plan to drop unpopular policies.
Trudeau appoints new Liberal campaign director: Who is Andrew Bevan?
Party veteran Andrew Bevan will serve as campaign director for the Liberals in the next federal election. Bevan held key roles on former Ontario premier Kathleen Wynne's staff.
Distributions of household economic accounts for income, consumption, saving and wealth of Canadian households, second quarter 2024
Income inequality increased in the second quarter of 2024 as the gap in the share of disposable income between households in the top 40% and the bottom 40% of the income distribution reached 47.0 percentage points, the largest gap ever recorded in these data. My emphasis. No sugar-coating it from Statistics Canada.
The Restoration
The crown jewel of the country's Parliament Buildings—Centre Block—is closed to the public, undergoing repairs, upgrades and modernization that will take a decade to complete. Narrated by award winning Canadian actor Colm Feore Inside Centre Block-The Restoration explores Centre Block's renewal, showcasing the progress since its doors closed in 2019. Very cool doc about a fascinating project. I hope I'm not yet retired when Centre Block re-opens and I can do one more stand-up from that beautiful Rotunda.
The Provinces
With 1 week to B.C. election, Conservatives say costed platform coming in ‘3 or 4 days’
Th BC NDP and the BC Green Party have released estimates of how much their platforms will cost if they win the Oct. 19 election. The Conservatives promise they will too, soon.
David Eby urges Green supporters to vote NDP to help keep Conservatives from office
The NDP leader asked Green voters on Sunday to consider what B.C. would be like if they woke up the day after the election and the Conservatives were going to form government.
Familiar faces and angry voters: Will B.C. elect an Independent MLA?
Forty Independent candidates will be on the ballot, attempting to follow the path that Huntington blazed, including five former BC United incumbents: Mike Bernier, Dan Davies, Tom Shypitka, Coralee Oakes and Karin Kirkpatrick, who were left on their own after the collapse of the party.
Nova Scotia premier says police investigating theft from his riding association fund
Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston says police are investigating the theft of an undisclosed amount of money from his riding association’s bank account.
Elsewhere
Ukraine's human rights envoy urges response to alleged killings of Ukrainian POWs in Kursk
DeepState, Ukrainian battlefield analysis site close to Ukraine's Defense Ministry, says Russian troops shot and killed nine Ukrainian 'drone operators and contractors' on Oct. 10 after they had surrendered
Lithuania's center-left opposition says it will try to form government
Social Democrats will attempt to form a majority coalition together with two other parties following the country's parliamentary election, the party’s leader said Sunday
Iceland PM calls new election as coalition collapses
PM Bjarni Benediktsson calls election for November, cites policy disagreements as responsible for gov’t collapse.
Trump spread conspiracies on mail-in voting for years. Now his campaign is begging people to vote early by mail
Voting rights advocates, while happy to see the Trump campaign join in a bipartisan push for expanded voting access, note that it cuts against a lengthy record of trying to restrict voting in this election and in 2020, when the pandemic upended voting across the count
Sleeper [U.S.] races to watch
These are races that will probably go in a certain direction — but, hey, either party could run the table in November, and if they do, that would probably come with some unexpected pick-ups. So while everyone focuses on the same old states, let’s look at some of the under-discussed contests of 2024 — and prepare for the possible down-ballot upsets coming down the pike.
Media
Taylor Lorenz leaves 'Washington Post' after rift with editors
Washington Post editors lost faith in former tech columnist Taylor Lorenz, who called President Biden a "war criminal" and initially misled them about it. She has launched a new digital magazine.
Science and tech
Launch tower's 'chopsticks' catch descending rocket booster as SpaceX launches Starship
The Super Heavy booster, after separating from the Starship booster some 74 kilometres in altitude, returned to the same area from which it was launched to make its landing attempt, aided by two robotic arms, dubbed chopsticks, attached to the launch tower.
Wimbledon replaces all line judges with electronic line calling from 2025, All England Club says
In a major break from tradition, next year's event will have fully automated line calling, including during qualifying at Roehampton.
