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Chris Selley: Doug Ford is in casino-building mode. Hang on to your wallets

Doug Ford has a plan. Yes, another one. The Ontario premier wants Niagara Falls to be the “Vegas of the north.” And he doesn’t mean a wasteland of cheap-and-dirty hotel rooms, all-you-can-eat buffets that used to be a great bargain but aren’t anymore, increasingly house-friendly blackjack odds and redlining customer dissatisfaction across the board, which is pretty much the story of modern Las Vegas. No, Ford wants some old-school razzle-dazzle. Read More
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John Robson: Antisemitism is stubborn, vicious and demonic. It shows which side you’re on

“And everybody hates the Jews.” In his satirical 1965 song “National Brotherhood Week,” after listing a host of specific ethnic, economic and religious hostilities, Tom Lehrer hit on a vital truth. Most bigotry is petty, localized and transient, though the human capacity for cruelty endures. But antisemitism is different and it matters. Including that when Islamists massacred Jews on Bondi Beach in Australia on Hanukkah, there was rage against … Jews. Read More
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Adventures in Streaming: Ghostly viewing just in time for Christmas

The notion of ghosts at Christmas time inevitably compels us to think of Charles Dicken’s A Christmas Carol but the Yuletime ghost story has a rich past that goes well beyond Dickens, certainly in Britain. The tradition of telling “scary ghost stories” — to quote the perennial song It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year — was revived with the BBC series A Ghost Story for Christmas, which had an annual run between 1971-78, and a sporadic revival beginning in 2005. The films are mostly based on the works of English scholar M.R. James and run between 30 to 50 minutes. Read More
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Tasha Kheiriddin: The Conservatives who could replace Pierre Poilievre

Is Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre a dead man walking? Perhaps not yet, but after MP Michael Ma’s shock floor crossing last week, he is certainly limping. The defection reignited the conversation about Poilievre’s leadership that started at budget time, when Conservative MP Chris d’Entremont defected to the Liberals and fellow MP Matt Jeneroux announced his intention to resign next year, bringing the Liberals within sight of a majority government. Read More
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Chris Selley: Toronto’s latest transit triumph is $3.7B for a train slower than a bus

There is no joy in Hogtown. Public transit has struck out. Again. After many years of construction and $3.7 billion spent, there is a new light-rail line on Finch Avenue West, in the city’s north end. It is 10.3 kilometres long, and almost entirely at grade. (For $360 million per kilometre, many places in the world can build fully underground heavy-rail subways. But the mystery of the North American infrastructure surcharge is a subject for another day.) Read More
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