Headlines on the Bloomberg Terminal from Air Force One: *TRUMP: TV LICENSES SHOULD BE TAKEN AWAY IF BAD PUBLICITY FOR ME *TRUMP: IF TV SHOWS 'HIT TRUMP' SHOULD BE DISCUSSED ON LICENSES *TRUMP ON TV SHOWS CRITICIZING HIM: THEY'RE NOT ALLOWED TO

This is precisely the kind of government coercion that the First Amendment was designed to prevent — and media companies need to start standing up rather than capitulating to it.

"A source with knowledge of the government's plan says the change includes symbols associated with terrorist entities on Canada's list which includes the Proud Boys, Hamas and Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps."

Motorcycles account for fewer than 3% of registered vehicles in Calgary. Motorcyclists account for 22% of the traffic fatalities in the city so far this year. (Six of 27 collision deaths in 2025 were motorcycle riders, according to police.)

"... genAI tools can be a useful tool for data analysis — but results depend heavily on the context you provide, and the likelihood of flawed calculations mean code needs checking. If you don’t understand code (and don’t want to) — don’t do data analysis with AI." via @paulbradshaw.bsky.social:

Wait for it. The chart below is actually a video. It will start to scroll, depicting how smoky each day in Calgary has been amid wildfire season, dating back to 1953. (More context & data here: www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...)

'Trump threatens ABC journalist' is a headline that could refer to the U.S. president threatening two different individuals, working for two different news organizations (the American Broadcasting Company and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation), during a single press conference today:

Canadian social media habits, by generation: "For Gen Z ... 60% say they scroll TikTok daily; 73% are on Instagram; 70% are on YouTube." Millennials ... the most likely to check Facebook daily (74%). Gen X is split, 63% use Facebook daily, 53% are on YouTube..." via @davidcoletto.bsky.social:

“Munsch is now at that unsettling, if sometimes brief, stage in the neurodegenerative process in which he is symptomatic but still self-aware… Recently, his eldest grandchild, 7, asked him if he was sick and if he would die. ‘Yes,’ he answered, because he believes in being honest with children.”

This probably isn't that new but I just learned some British tabloids are requiring payment if you don't want them to use tracking cookies on your device:

Carney says the newly created Major Projects Office will also be asked to assist in the development of a "Canadian Sovereign Cloud." The idea is to build data centres and computing capacity "in a way that ensures the country's competitiveness and digital sovereignty."

Honestly one of the most interesting survey designs and results I’ve seen in a while. So many different things to unpack here.

Alberta premiers’ comments & policies on COVID vaccines: Kenney in 2021: “For the love of God, please get vaccinated.” Offers $100 cash incentive to those who do. Smith in 2024: It “doesn't work particularly well.” If you want it, you’ll have to pay $100.

Alberta announced today the COVID-19 vaccine this fall will cost us $100 per dose. So for my family of four, that'll be $400. Alternatively, we could spend $400 on an overnight trip to Golden or Fernie, B.C., get immunized for free, and make a little mountain vacation out of it.

Anyone have advice on getting from Ottawa-Gatineau to the Ottawa airport with two young children, without a car? Public transit seems ... slow & a bit convoluted with transfers, etc. Any good taxi services that take kids / offer car seats? (I found one online but it seems somewhat sketchy.)

UCP government MLAs have submitted proposals to Alberta's independent electoral boundaries commission to redraw several urban ridings and blend them with rural areas:

"That is specifically at the request of the president, who understands that in the hot temperatures down here when something is painted black it gets even warmer," said Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

"Police said he and a group of at least six other children had arranged the meeting via Snapchat in an attempt to expose the man as a child predator. The boy voluntarily entered the suspect's vehicle 'so that the other youth could record the interaction...'"

Hey everybody! @drjuliawester.bsky.social and I have a new paper! We surveyed over 800 scientists, science communicators, and science educators who use social media. Conclusion: Scientists no longer find Twitter useful or pleasant, and many have switched to Bluesky! 🧪🌎🦑 doi.org/10.1093/icb/...

In a reversal of previous plans, the Alberta government now says it will cover the cost of COVID vaccinations for health-care workers this fall. Most Albertans who are not health-care workers will still have to pay.

Of note to Albertans, whose government has cited the current CDC recommendations to justify its own COVID vaccination policy:

Why has drinking absurd amounts of water become a trend? Like I get that you don't want to be dehydrated, but there's got to be diminishing returns past a certain point, no? This person says she was drinking so much on her "hydration quest" that she was peeing 23 times a day.

In this era of rampant grocery inflation, bananas have been a stalwart, inflation-proof staple. For now, at least 😭

The latest inflation data for car & home insurance, by province. Alberta absolutely in a league of its own here.

New consumer price index data out today and, to no one's surprise, grocery prices continue to rise in Canada. Especially coffee! Good news, though, if you like frozen fruit or bacon:

Reading Murray Sinclair’s memoir last night and was struck by this passage about his concern that Donald Trump would win the 2024 election and “begin to look at attacking democracies like ours.” Sinclair died on Nov. 4, 2024. Trump was elected the next day.

Housings starts are up in Canada, overall, but the building trends in 2025 look very different in different cities. Calgary and Edmonton are up. Montreal, way up. Vancouver pretty flat. Toronto way down.

As of today, 19,892 square kms of Manitoba has burned this wildfire season. That’s 3.6% of Manitoba’s land mass. For context, that area is equivalent to burning the entire land mass of New Jersey.

Threads has been around for years now and I have yet to have anyone I know send me a Threads post (of their own or someone else's) or even mention in conversation a post they've seen, so I've been wondering who's actually using the platform. According to this LinkedIn post, the answer is: brands.

The Winnipeg Humane Society was kicked out of a rural Manitoba fair over this display. They have been bringing the display to events across the province for decades, to raise awareness about these cages that pregnant pigs are kept in, despite a pledge from the industry in 2014 to phase them out.

"At least two Canadian toddlers have been held in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody this year, including one who was detained for 51 days, more than double the legal detention period for migrant children in the U.S., a Globe and Mail analysis of American enforcement data show."

A reader submitted this wide shot & close-up shot of a campaign sign in the Battle River–Crowfoot byelection. "I thought it was an Elections Canada sign at first glance," they wrote, given the similar colour scheme. "Upon close inspection, it appears it is not Elections Canada at all."

If I saw this exact segment in a 1990s film about a dystopian future I would immediately dismiss it as too corny and over the top in its depiction of military propaganda. Unless that film was Starship Troopers, of course. Then it would be spot on with the conceit.

"Axios has learned that 'examples of good partners' on the White House list include Uber, DoorDash, United, Delta, AT&T, Cisco, Airlines for America and the Steel Manufacturers Association."

Just saw a national newspaper article about a poll on the Kamloops residential school posted on Reddit and some commenters using it to call the entire premise of dead kids a "hoax" and just wanted to remind folks demanding to locate & dig up kids' bones that you can just look up their names here:

Facebook doesn't allow links to Canadian news sites anymore but does allow news stories to be copy/pasted verbatim. For example, in this 'Crime Watch Calgary' group where my recent story & charts about the latest crime stats were posted so that people could talk about how they don't believe them. 🙃

Alberta Parks usually issues bear warnings for specific areas after specific encounters but now they're just saying, eh, you know what? All of it. All 4,000 square kilometres of Kananaskis. You're going there? Expect bears.

"An Alberta Conservative MP is blaming the Liberal government for a pair of contentious provincial bans on outdoor activities, saying federal officials didn’t do enough to stave off tinder dry conditions in Atlantic Canada." She "wouldn’t say whether she objected to the provincial bans themselves."

Was reminded recently of this Succession scene: "Just to fend this off: Have you ever read Mein Kampf?" "Um. Yeah, a couple times, I guess." "Couple times? Were there Easter eggs in there you didn't get the first time?" "Haha, look, I'm just interested in that period of history, Tom, OK?"

I'm doing a story about auto insurance costs & availability in Alberta. Anyone have an experience they want to share, and willing to do a brief interview with me about it? Comment or DM me. Thanks!

This is Heritage Foundation Chief Economist EJ Antoni, Trump's new nominee for Bureau of Labor Statistics commissioner. And THAT is his Nazi battleship wall art/Zoom background.

Cannot get over how bonkers it is that the U.S. government is invoking "Which Way Western Man" in trying to recruit people to ICE. x.com/DHSgov/statu...

If you want a COVID-19 vaccine in Alberta this is what you now need to do: 1. "Pre-order" by Sept. 30: bookvaccine.alberta.ca/vaccine/s/pr... 2. In the fall, remember to book a public health clinic appointment. (No more pharmacy shots.) 3. Pay. (Prices not yet announced.) 4. Attend appointment.

The man who killed a police officer and fired hundreds of rounds of ammunition into the CDC headquarters before killing himself "reportedly blamed the [COVID-19] vaccine for making him depressed and suicidal."

Why are serious news organizations even participating in these briefings anymore? Like what are we even doing here?

Anyone in Edmonton use TD for their home insurance? If so, I have a question for you: Have your premiums gone up, like way up, when your policy came up for renewal recently?

"Serfdom of the Self" eesh that's bleak

His main account has 127K followers, tweets 2K times a day, has been retweeted by Trump & Musk (and has an eponymous cryptocurrency.) His alt account slags NYC mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, "a proof of concept ... he hopes to monetize by eventually selling it to Mamdani’s political opponents."

July saw the biggest declines in Canadian residents' air travel to the U.S. yet, with total returning travellers down nearly 26% compared to the same month in 2024. The gap between the Alberta & national totals has also shrunk considerably: U.S. travel via Calgary & Edmonton was down 21% in July.

The provincial government is refusing to release its Alberta Next survey results, citing a section of its new "Access to Information Act" that allows the withholding of "advice to officials," even though the Act also says: "This section does not apply to information that is a statistical survey."