Canada
LeBlanc, Joly to meet incoming Trump officials in Florida
A government spokesperson said the ministers will also emphasize the negative impacts of a potential 25 per cent tariff on Canadian goods, both in Canada and the U.S.
The Conservatives are using every trick to bring down the government
The Conservatives are going to reconvene the public accounts committee on Jan. 7 and use it to ship a motion of non-confidence to the House of Commons when the holiday break ends on Jan. 27.
Bibeau reflects on political challenges, priorities, and border concerns
Amid reports of internal challenges within the Liberal Party, Bibeau likened the situation to a family going through a period of reflection. “As the prime minister said, we are a family, and just like any family, we sometimes face moments of tension. The holiday season will allow us to pause, reflect, and regroup for the new year.”
Fanny Boulanger veut représenter le Parti conservateur dans Jonquière
Elle a été à l’emploi du bureau du député conservateur de Chicoutimi, Richard Martel, pendant quelques années. Elle est désormais responsable des affaires parlementaires dans l’équipe du chef Pierre Poilievre. Polling averages show the BQ a bit stronger now than they were at the last election and while the CPC is also much stronger in Québec I think that, right now, I'd put this down as BQ hold.
The Problems of Public Procurement in Canada: Rule Layering, Strategic Purchasing, and Risk Aversion as a Toxic Stew
Canadian Public Administration: This article analyzes persistent challenges in Canadian public procurement, examining in particular the federal government's complex, multi-layered purchasing processes which have contributed to high-profile failures, such as most recently the ArriveCan app and, over the past century, the majority of major military procurement projects. The primary issues found to contribute to these problems include excessive rule layering, unnecessary strategic purchasing complexities, bureaucratic risk aversion and political interference which together form a “toxic stew” leading to poorly designed processes hampering procurement efficiency and effectiveness.
The Provinces
BC court rebuffs David Eby's war on NIMBY opposition to social housing
Vaughn Palmer: The project at issue was a 12-storey, 129-unit building in Kits intended to house homeless, mentally ill and low-income residents.
Elsewhere
South Korea’s Acting President Han Duck-soo impeached in deepening political crisis
Prime Minister Han has been acting president since President Yoon Suk Yeol was impeached on Dec 14. Read more at straitstimes.com.
MAGA civil war pits Ramaswamy and Musk vs Cernovich and Loomer in immigration fight
The fight exposes one of the MAGA movement's deepest contradictions: It came to prominence chiefly via the white, less-educated, working class but is now under the full control of billionaire technologists and industrialists, many of them immigrants.
Syria's new leaders call for cordial ties with a resistant Israel
"Our problem is not with Israel. We don't want to meddle in anything that will threaten Israel's security," Damascus Governor Maher Marwan tells NPR. Syria and Israel have never had diplomatic ties.
Chad opposition, civil society vow to disrupt Sunday elections
Chadians in the country’s capital, N'djamena, say uncertainty looms in the central African state ahead of elections slated to take place Sunday
Media
Phil Williams: 'While the attacks are personal, so is the cause'
Phil Williams: Rarely in my nearly 40-year career as a journalist have I felt the target on my back as continuously and intensely as I have in the last 15 months. I can tell you that the types of threats this Nashville journalist relates are precisely the same kind I and many of my colleagues continue to to get from the Freedom Convoy crowd.
Newsguard launched to save us from disinformation. The right says it’s choking free speech
But conservatives now question the company’s premise. Brendan Carr, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Federal Communications Commission, accused the company of facilitating a “censorship cartel,” in a November letter to leading tech platforms. Noting that key legal protections depend on tech executives operating “in good faith,” Carr continued: “It is in this context that I am writing to obtain information about your work with one specific organization — the Orwellian named NewsGuard.” (🎁 link)
Reader Notes
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The headlines, excerpts, and photos here are generated by the publishers of the clipping. The publisher is at the bottom left of the clipping. If I've got a comment, you''ll see that in italics. But if I've generated the headline and the excerpt, you'll see me taking attribution by finishing with -DA in bold. -DA
Science and tech
NASA’s Parker Solar Probe has survived the closest-ever Sun flyby
The Parker Solar Probe signaled to operators that it was still operating normally after traveling within 3.8 million miles of the Sun’s surface on Christmas Eve.
5 Free Audio Editing Tools You’ll Want to Try
The top tool listed here, Audacity, is one I use multiple times a week. It's terrific. Yes, it's interface is a bit, er, 1996 or so. But it's a fantastic and flexible tool I've used to for everything from stripping audio from video files to digitizing my vinyl record collection. -DA
