Ezra Levant calle Pierre Trudeau a slut, Justin boycotts chain It’s been a rocky relationship for quite some time. And it makes why. “Freedom for the pike is death to the minnows,” after all. It’s your call whether Sun News Network or Justin Trudeau is the pike. Only kind of, though. There is a correct answer. Trudeau has vowed to boycott the right-wing channel after Ezra Levant former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau “a slut,” then turned devil eyes to the entire Trudeau family. “The idea of the nobleman of the estate, riding through like in medieval times to deflower whatever maidens he wanted, that’s still there in Trudeau,” Levant said, during his show The source. If Trudeau’s recent wedding photobomb makes him a slut, and Levant thinks it does, we’ve all got some serious reflecting to do in our own lives. The photobomb in question had been cleared by the couple, so, again, the joke is on the minnow. [Source: National Post and, of course, Isaiah Berlin]
Russian troops retreating from Ukraine Russian troops are backing out of Ukraine, according to Nato. And the shaky ceasefire is holding, for the most part. But the details of what’s going on in Ukraine are difficult to determine. Pro-Russian separatists still control many of the border crossings, allowing troops to move freely between the two countries. Fears are that despite the ceasefire, there is still a critical mass of Russian troops stationed in Ukraine, holding down areas they have seized. And fighting was reported overnight in the areas of Donetsk, Avdiivka and Debaltseve.”Some Russian troops remain inside Ukraine,” Canadian Lt Col Janzen told the BBC. “It is difficult to determine the number, as pro-Russian separatists control several border crossings and troops are routinely moving back and forth across the border. Further, Russian special forces are operating in Ukraine, and they are difficult to detect.” UN reports a death toll of 3,245 since fighting erupted in April. [Source: BBC]
Calgary teen wins Google Science Fair Hayely Todesco, 18, from Calgary has won the Google Science Fair for her work on speeding up the detoxification of oilsands tailings ponds. The competition took in submission from 17 to 18-year-olds across the globe. Her project, largely done in a lab at the University of Calgary, involves filters that use sand and bacteria to cleanse oilsands tailings, which are a waste byproduct from extracting oil from said. The tailings are toxic, and are stored indefinitely in open –area ponds that are said to cover an are 50 per cent larger than the City of Vancouver. The oilsands produce more than 200-million litres of tailings each day. The ponds are widely known to seep, but the exact amount they do goes largely unreported. [Source: CBC and Pembina.org]
Your brain is physically different than an altruist’s. And this just in, altruist’s exist, apparently The altruist’s brain is different than yours, and mine, apparently. Researchers chose to study people they took to be on the extreme end of caring, almost entirely selfless: Healthy people who donated a kidney to a complete stranger. They showed this group and the control group images of fearful expressions. And, indeed, the altruists reacted differently, showing “a much higher sensitivity to fearful expressions, evidenced by higher activity in their amygdalas (the walnut-shaped part of the brain that processes emotions). What’s more, the right side of the amygdala was 8 percent larger in altruists than in people who hadn’t donated an organ, based on structural MRI data.” So, our moral compass may be a physical part of the brain. [Source: Discover Magazine]
Mauri Belanger fights for inclusive national anthem Liberal MP for Ottawa-Vanier Mauri Belanger is pushing to make O Canada more gender inclusive. The change, introduced as a private members bill in the House of Commons Monday, would involve changing one line: “True patriot love in all thy sons command” to “True patriot love, in all of us command.” It would be first change to our national anthem since 1908. Recently, prominent Canadian figures Kim Campbell and Margaret Atwood have championed the same edit. “You can let sleeping dogs lie, but evolution and progress and recognition of rights and equality does not come by doing nothing,” Belager told CTV News. [Source: CTV News]
*** Toban Dyck is on Twitter @tobandyck For more, follow @spectatortrib on Twitter. And find us on Instagram, too: @spectatortribune.