But apparently, we don’t gotta love Wayne Gretzky. 

The well-known Trump buddy, Gretzky, turned up on Thursday night at the game as Team Canada’s honorary captain - although he didn’t wear a jersey like his US counterpart did. In fact, he didn’t have a hint of red in his attire. He also entered through the US team entrance and then gave a thumbs up to the US team. All this did not go over well on social media, where the Great One got a Great Bum’s rush:

Wayne Gretzky draws social media ire amid tense Canada-U.S. hockey showdown Read >

Moving on. 

It’s almost impossible to go through a campaign, any campaign, error-free. Candidates make mistakes; the only question becomes how damaging they are.

While he’s had a pretty good campaign for Liberal leader so far, Mark Carney, a guy who loves sports metaphors, is not throwing a perfect game. There have been hiccups.

First, there was the fentanyl mistake. While in British Columbia, he downplayed the extent of the issue compared with the United States. With six people dying a day in BC last year from fentanyl-related incidents, that was a blunder, and he was taken to task for it.

This week, he did that two-sided talk that Canadians can’t stand – saying one thing in English and the opposite in French. The issue was pipelines, and the crossed signals didn’t look good.

But does any of this seriously hurt his frontrunner status? These things can pile up, and with the leadership vote just a few weeks away and the debate a few days away, it’s a critical time. As the frontrunner, being the target comes with debate territory. You can be sure it will be gloves-off time, and Chrystia Freeland, Karina Gould and the others will be taking their best shots and how Carney responds will be the true test.

Stay tuned because you are almost certain to hear those fumbles come up in the debate. The National Post took Carney to task on the latest ones:

Carney's campaign admits to muddled messaging on pipelines, spending cuts Read >

If Carney and the Liberals have been hurt by missteps, it isn’t showing in the surveys that have come out in recent days. 

Here’s the latest from Angus Reid and the stats are fascinating in more than a few ways:

Federal vote intention tightens to near-tie as Liberals and New Democrats rally around Carney Read >

Speaking of polls, here’s one you might find interesting. 

It’s not about Canada; it’s about the United States. It shows the extent to which some people who aren’t happy with what’s happening under Donald Trump are willing to go to show that displeasure:

Americans Are Heading for the Exits Read >

This picture went around the world a week ago. It was one of the first images that people saw of that bizarre flip-over plane crash at Toronto’s Pearson Airport. Now, which airline do you think most people assumed from this picture operated the plane in the accident? The US-based carrier Delta was indeed involved, but the most prominent airline, in fact the only airline name in the picture, was not Delta; it was Air Canada. Air Canada had absolutely nothing to do with the story, except that it happened almost directly in front of one of its hangars.

Airlines hate to have their name associated with any accident for obvious reasons, but it’s even worse when their name is coupled with an accident they weren’t even involved with.

By the way, another fact that hasn’t been reported, at least I haven’t seen it reported, was just how many flights had taken off and landed from Pearson before the afternoon crash landing by Delta. I’ve asked for the actual number and am still waiting for it but I am assured by various officials it will be in three digits. Why is that important context? Some of the reporting on the accident, from US news organizations, has suggested the plane shouldn’t have been given clearance to land under the weather conditions that existed. Perhaps at that exact moment, but it wasn’t a problem for a lot of other planes before and after the accident (until the airport was closed for a few hours, not because of weather but because of the accident).

Eventually, we will know the real cause of the crash, but that will likely take months. The most common accident findings: weather, aircraft problems, or pilot error.

So, what about that age-old question: is flying safe?. Safer than walking, based on the stats. A lot safer. But let’s go deeper. The New York Times asked the question this week. Here’s what they found:

🔒 Amid Crashes, What Passengers Should Know About Airplane Safety Read >

So, is artificial intelligence making us smarter? Or conversely, is it making us less smart? 

You’ve probably heard both sides of that argument since we became aware of AI. Time for an update. Try this from the Telegraph:

🔒 Is AI making us less intelligent? Read >

When you have a dream, how often do you remember it when you wake up?

Sometimes, I enjoy the dream so much that I wake up desperate to get back into it – but it’s gone. I get mad, and then within minutes I’ve forgotten what it was all about! But not everyone has that problem.

🔒 Why some people remember their dreams (and others don’t) Read >