VA: Former lieutenant governor kills wife, himself

Source: CNN

“Former Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax, whose tenure was marred by sexual assault allegations, shot and killed his wife, Cerina Fairfax, inside their home and then killed himself, police said. The couple’s two teenage children were inside the home when the shootings occurred, Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis said, noting their son had placed the 911 call. Fairfax County police responded to the home in Annandale, Virginia, shortly after midnight Thursday, where they found a man and woman dead inside, police said earlier. The same firearm appears to have been used in both shootings, Davis said. The shooting stemmed from an ongoing domestic dispute surrounding ‘what seems to be a complicated or messy divorce,’ Davis said.” (04/16/26)

https://www.cnn.com/2026/04/16/us/justin-fairfax-virginia-investigation

Thomas L. Knapp

The Price of a Canadian Education?

Source: Common Sense
by Paul Jacob

“At a convention of Canadian Liberals, tech executive Patrick Pichette proposed that youngsters eager to escape Canada be charged a half-million dollars for what he apparently regards as a privilege, not a right. We must remind ourselves that the word ‘liberal,’ here, is used in its modern, anti-liberal sense: of the ideology of ever-increasing restraints on everybody. Very illiberal. Even if Pichette means Canadian dollars, that’s still $360,000 in real USD dollars. Hardly a ten-dollar processing fee. More like extortion. He rationalizes that the kids owe that much anyway thanks to Canada’s heavily subsidized education system.” (04/26/26)

https://thisiscommonsense.org/2026/04/16/price-canadian-ed/

Thomas L. Knapp

They Always Tell You Why The Empire Uses Violence, But Never Why Its Enemies Do

Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone

“One common feature of western empire propaganda is that we are always given reasons for the empire’s violence, while the violence of those who resist the empire tends to be framed as happening for no reason at all. We’ve all been fed reasons for the US-Israeli war on Iran, and we all know what those reasons are. Even less-informed members of the western public will have heard something about the Iranians being a nuclear threat, having a tyrannical government, and maybe something about sponsoring terrorist groups. But the so-called ‘peaceful protesters’ who were killed in an uprising fomented and facilitated by the United States? They were killed for no reason, simply because the Iranian government is evil and hates dissent. … It is only by pure coincidence that this happened at the exact same time the US empire was making the decision to try to topple the Iranian government.” (04/16/26)

https://caitlinjohnstone.com.au/2026/04/16/they-always-tell-you-why-the-empire-uses-violence-but-never-why-its-enemies-do/

Steve Trinward

UK: Starmer faces calls to resign as regime admits ambassador to US failed vetting process

Source: CityNews Halifax [Canada]

“British Prime Minister Keir Starmer faced calls Thursday to resign after it emerged that Peter Mandelson was initially denied security clearance for the post of ambassador to the United States, which he was eventually fired from over his close links to the disgraced sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Following the revelation in the Guardian newspaper, the government said Starmer was not aware that the Foreign Office had overruled a security vetting process for Mandelson to become U.K. ambassador to Washington ‘until earlier this week.’ Starmer has previously insisted due process was followed in the appointment, and that Mandelson, who was fired in September 2025, had lied about the extent of his links to Epstein.” (04/16/26)

https://halifax.citynews.ca/2026/04/16/starmer-faces-calls-to-resign-as-uk-government-admits-ambassador-to-us-failed-vetting-process/

Thomas L. Knapp