Open Sources Guelph - February 25, 2016

This week's edition of Open Sources Guelph will touch on several different aspects of news and current affairs: politics, the economy, technology and diplomacy. In Canada, we'll consider the epic series finale to the Duffy trial, nearly one year long in the making, and we'll consider Bombardier asking "Please sir, may I have so more?" of the Federal government. In the States, a rich and powerful corporation is sticking up for individual privacy, and Great Britain is trying to decide if it will be greater without being ankled by the European Union.

This Thursday, February 25, at 5 pm, Scotty Hertz  and Adam A. Donaldson will discuss:

1) A Duff for All Seasons. More than 10 months after it started, the trial of Senator Mike Duffy wrapped up earlier this week with closing arguments from the Crown and the Defense. At stake is Duffy's guilt or innocence on 31 charges involving fraud, bribery and breach of trust, and whether or not Duffy can hold on to his six figure job in the Red Chamber. But when the judge renders his verdict in just a couple of months, will anyone care? Interest in the case has died down since the Tories lost the election in October, so is the public missing a big story?

2) Bombardier on Board? Adding to an already precarious job situation in Canada last week, Bombardier announced that it was cutting 7,000 jobs, 2,800 in Quebec, while patting itself on the back for getting an new order for aircraft from Air Canada. Within minutes of that news, the company wanted another loan from the Federal government, despite $1.5 in outstanding loans to the Feds not to mention another billion already borrowed this year from the Quebec provincial government. Everyone wants to save good paying Canadian jobs, but how much is too much?

3) Apple Bites FBI. Investigators looking into the December attack by two terrorists in San Bernadino have hit a snag, unable to break into the iPhone held by one of the attackers, and they'd like Apple to hack it open. A reasonable request, they've got a court order and everything, but Apple is refusing on the grounds that to do so would create a skeleton key that could conceivable hack all older generations of iPhones. Is this really a battle over privacy, or is Apple being purposefully obstinate? Listener warning: The hosts of this show are not tech savvy, and at least one of us, we're not saying who, still has a Blackberry.

4) The Brexit Club. Last year tested the Greeks' commitment to stay in the European Union; in 2016, it's the United Kingdom's turn. As promised in the last election, David Cameron announced that the U.K. will be holding a referendum on June 23 to determine if it will stay in the E.U. or go, and the battle lines have already been fiercely drawn. London Mayor Boris Johnson took a bold stand to leave and called out Cameron for fear-mongering; Cameron hit back saying that Johnson was using the issue as way to promote his own political ambitions. But with most of the establishment backing "stay" is there really a danger of a "Brexit"?

Open Sources is live on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca at 5 pm on Thursday.