Don’t overthink your airplane etiquette

Mountain View teacher stripped of licence over explicit messages

A Roblin teacher has been stripped of his professional licence after an undercover police investigation found he sent explicit messages to a social media user he believed to be a 15-year-old girl.

Manitoba cancelled Josh Braaksma’s credentials — listed in the province’s online registry under his full name, Joshua William Braaksma — on July 6. His certificate was suspended on an interim basis in the fall.

The misconduct case involving Braaksma, who has taught and coached in the Mountain View School Division over the last decade, is the first to be resolved via a “written hearing.”

“Having regard to the nature, content and context of (his) communications, the panel finds that the teacher’s conduct renders him unsuitable to be a teacher,” the disciplinary decision states.

Heavily fortified statehouses around US see small protests

Small groups of right-wing protesters — some of them carrying rifles — gathered outside heavily fortified statehouses around the country Sunday, outnumbered by National Guard troops and police brought in to prevent a repeat of the violence that erupted at the U.S. Capitol. As darkness fell, there were no reports of any clashes.

Security was stepped up in recent days after the FBI warned of the potential for armed protests in Washington and at all 50 state capitol buildings ahead of President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration on Wednesday.

Crowds of only a dozen or two demonstrated at some boarded-up, cordoned-off statehouses, while the streets in many other capital cities remained empty. Some protesters said they were there to back President Donald Trump. Others said they had instead come to voice their support for gun rights or decry government overreach.

“I don’t trust the results of the election,” said Michigan protester Martin Szelag, a 67-year-old semi-retired window salesman from Dearborn Heights. He wore a sign around his neck that read, in part, “We will support Joe Biden as our President if you can convince us he won legally. Show us the proof! Then the healing can begin.”

Belarusian sprinter’s case throws spotlight on how IOC deals with authoritarian states

Krystsina Tsimanouskaya had criticized her coaches and the International Olympic Committee was forced to act when she was removed from the athletes village.

A foodborne parasite and government efficiency

Week-long explosive diarrhea.

There. Now that we’ve got your attention, here’s a cautionary tale about red-tape reduction and public health.

Government regulation is often described by those who have to adhere to it as “red tape,” and governments often set out on red-tape reduction campaigns, based on the conjoined goals of freeing business from unnecessary regulation and freeing governments from having to pay to employ public servants to implement that regulation.

Reduction campaigns often begin by finding the most ludicrous example of government regulation in sight and characterizing it as typical of government rule-making. The fact that many government regulations keep us safe and healthy isn’t usually part of the red-tape discussion.

Lawyer working on unpaid tax bill in Costa Rica, Pallister says

Three-and-a-half months after acknowledging he owed luxury taxes on his Costa Rican vacation home, Brian Pallister now admits that the bill remains unpaid.

In a year-end interview, the premier expressed frustration at being unable to make the payment, citing unspecified problems in navigating the Costa Rican bureaucracy.

While he told the Canadian Press in late August that he had paid what he owed — roughly C$8,000, including penalties — it turns out that he had, in fact, transferred the money to his Costa Rican lawyer, Paul Oporta, to carry out the transaction.

"I've been assured by the lawyer that he is endeavouring his very best to get it done," Pallister said of the tax payment.

Small business group says immigration cut makes it tough to hire workers

Canada’s immigration clampdown has put employers in remote and rural places in a bind and put fear into employees from abroad who want to stay.

Yi (Rick) Zheng and his family from China, who’ve been working in Thompson for two years and hope to gain permanent residency, said they fear their work permits will expire and they’ll have to leave the country.

Zheng, 41, says he works as a restaurant cook and his wife works at a hotel in the northern city, where their two children, ages 10 and 12, are thriving in school.

“I work very hard every day. Our kitchen doesn’t have enough staff.”