After a “no to secession” in Canada, the next step

Source: Christian Science Monitor
by staff

“Canada (thanks to just one of its 10 provinces, which holds 97.5% of national oil reserves) is among the world’s top five oil producers. But residents of that far western province, Alberta, have been increasingly frustrated by decades of environmental and green energy goals and regulations that, they say, have constrained the use of and benefits from the natural resource at their disposal. Still, on Monday, Albertans declared a clear ‘no’ to the notion of seceding from Canada in a referendum (on whether to hold a future binding referendum on separation). The 3-to-1 result bolsters Prime Minister Mark Carney’s stated goal of making Canada a ‘global energy superpower’ as well as the cause of national unity – for now.” (10/21/26)

https://www.csmonitor.com/Editorials/the-monitors-view/2026/1021/After-a-no-to-secession-in-Canada-the-next-step

Here’s Why Experts Keep Being Wrong About the Future

Source: Yascha Mounk
by Yascha Mounk

“In the wake of the Great Recession, economists faced tough questions: How could they have missed the imminent collapse of the world economy? Of what use were all their intricate models if they couldn’t predict such a huge systemic crisis? Just as economists failed to predict the Great Recession, so political scientists failed to predict a series of momentous political upsets. The most obvious is the dizzying rise of Donald Trump. But the story is bigger than that: In recent years, political scientists have overestimated the forces of stability time and again, failing to foresee Brexit, the chaos wrought in the Philippines by Rodrigo Duterte, and the serious threat posed to Polish democracy by its populist government, among other developments.” (10/22/26)

https://writing.yaschamounk.com/p/how-political-science-gets-politics

NYC: City council votes to advance bill that would ban horse-drawn carriages

Source: CBC News [Canadian state media]

“New York City council passed a bill Thursday that would ban horse-drawn carriage rides by June 2028, pulling back the reins after the death of a teenage tourist last spring. The legislation requires Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s office to develop a plan by next April to help the more than 150 remaining drivers and the rest of the industry find other jobs, though its provisions are vague and doesn’t set clear benchmarks for displaced workers. Instead, it requires city hall to come up with a program that includes job referrals, career counselling and educational opportunities. It also allows the administration to consider some form of compensation for industry workers.” (10/22/26)

https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/new-york-horse-carriage-ban-9.7391918

Despite Democratic Denials, French Police Identify Antifa as the “Ideologically Distinct Group” Behind the Riots

Source: Jonathan Turley
by Jonathan Turley

“Years ago, I called Antifa ‘the Keyser Söze of the left’ (after the character in ‘The Usual Suspects’). In the film, the character Virgil explains how Söze stayed in the shadows: he became ‘a myth, a spook story that criminals tell their kids at night.’ The strategy was too simple: ‘the greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he did not exist.’ Democratic leaders have long fostered the myth around Antifa, the largest and most violent group on the political left. For years, they have denied the existence of the group even as members were charged with crimes (including terrorism). Now, the French authorities have found that the nonexistent group is the largest of three ‘ideologically distinct groups’ responsible for the violence in France. It appears that either the entire French security system is delusional or the trick is up for the American left.” (10/22/26)

https://jonathanturley.org/2026/10/22/the-greatest-trick-the-devil-ever-pulled-french-police-identify-antifa-as-the-largest-ideologically-distinct-group-behind-the-recent-riots-despite-democratic-denials/

Palestine: Israeli regime frees suspects in two squatter attacks as West Bank pogroms intensify

Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]

“Israel has released nine of the 10 Israeli [squatter] suspects arrested over attacks on a US journalist and European diplomats in the occupied West Bank, placing them under house arrest. An Israeli court in Jerusalem ordered the release late on Wednesday, according to Honenu, a law firm that represents Israeli [squatters]. … Masked [squatters] were filmed last week assaulting Heidi Levine, a Washington Post photojournalist covering a Palestinian olive harvest who was taken to hospital and underwent surgery on a finger. In a separate attack earlier this week, masked [squatters] assaulted French, Belgian and Polish diplomats and a French mayor in another part of the West Bank.” (10/22/26)

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/10/22/israel-frees-suspects-in-two-settler-attacks-as-west-bank-pogroms-intensify