I’m just five new annual paid subscribers away from my fundraising goal to attend the federal NDP convention in Winnipeg. If you’ve considered giving to the Orchard but haven’t yet, or your membership has lapsed, now’s your time to contribute. Www.readtheorchard.org

“[C]hucking away the strengths of journalism to embrace the form + function of platforms [but they're corporations, which] asset-stripped the world to profit the vanity and offshore bank accounts of a few... bought off the biggest newsrooms and then [campaigned] to water down legislative responses”

Extremely funny to call the pope “holier-than-thou”

“I came away shocked and sad at how much the media traffics in fake urgency as a result of its quest for the click.” 👈

lol I just can’t believe she’s comfortable talking to people who put together “60 Minutes” like this

Best explanation of the liar's dividend that I've ever seen.

Here's Why Involuntary Care Won't Work for Most People via @thetyee.ca thetyee.ca/Opinion/2025...

2025 is coming to a close — and that means it’s time to wrap up the biggest stories and worst people in tech! This week @jathansadowski.com and @bcmerchant.bsky.social join @parismarx.com to give their insights on the past year. Full ep: techwontsave.us/episode/308_...

The Trump administration is purchasing more than $7 million in bulletproof armoured smart vehicles from a private Canadian company headquartered in Brampton, ON. rabble.ca/politics/can...

seems like an appropriate week to watch this for the first time

I see there’s a post about microplastics going around with a photo of drinking straws, so here is my semi-regular reminder that the 3 biggest sources of microplastics are tires (45%), synthetic clothing particles (35%) and paint (~10%). Lay article attached:

There is a lot to be said about this take, but let me begin with the claim that these are “activist efforts to conceal” certain histories. Why can’t they be acknowledged as efforts to address these histories, squarely and openly? www.cbc.ca/news/politic...

Driving Ontario back roads at night be like

Every year in North America hundreds of billions of dollars are spent on policing. On my @ricochetmedia.bsky.social podcast “In Bed with the Elephant”an interview with lawyer/author/activist #SandyHudson about the social costs of these “investments.” podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/i...

Trans Mountain is making big profits now, right? Actually, no. Thanks to accounting wizardry and a shell company, the pipeline has transformed Canadians' losses into gains on its balance sheets. My deep dive on this for @thetyee.ca: thetyee.ca/Analysis/202...

News: an Edmonton police officer has been acquitted of assaulting an Indigenous man who claims he stopped to help at a traffic accident and walked into the middle of stolen catalytic converter investigation. Third EPS assault acquittal this year that I know of edmontonjournal.com/news/crime/j...

Just over a year since its upload to YouTube, 13 years since emergence of #IdleNoMore, part one of the APTN News feature-length docuseries on movement has now been viewed 36,500 times! Amazing. Super proud to have co-created it with @anishinaboy.bsky.social

Something has to give for the #NHLJets, who hit the holiday break in a world of hurt. But will it? Breaking down the options — firing the coach and/or GM, making a trade, promoting from within or standing pat — and which path is most likely. My column: www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/2025/...

SERIOUSLY, WATCH THIS: If you really want to understand how huge SUVs and pick-up trucks have ended up being MOST of the vehicles out there in our cities, and the absolutely INSANE consequences of that, watch this easy-to-watch video by #NotJustBikes. Then please share it as much as you can.

Archivists have saved and uploaded copies of the 60 Minutes episode new CBS editor-in-chief Bari Weiss ordered be shelved as a torrent and multiple file sharing sites. @evystadium.bsky.social has more. Full story by @josephcox.bsky.social: www.404media.co/archivists-p...

In my latest for Alberta Native News, I take a look at the contentious proposal to create a new northern Alberta riding, Mackenzie, which would include 14 First Nations and four Metis settlements, but eliminate two other northern ridings. www.albertanativenews.com/proposed-new...

This piece has it all: corporate marketing ploys, unions, tariffs, Israel... here's a long, hard stare into why Starbucks is no longer as poppin' as it used to be. Good job @stefficao.bsky.social.

If you pay attention to any large industry long enough and follow it to its logical conclusion you eventually end up sounding like a communist even if you started off testing CPU case fans. youtu.be/cUrJVdF2me0?...

British Columbia’s housing crisis is severe, but its root causes are familiar: exclusionary zoning, under-building, and chronic neglect of nonmarket housing. Economist Alex Hemingway’s proposals show how governments could reverse course, in BC and elsewhere.

My longtime love of physical media is only increasing as algorithms & AI seep into everything online like toxic runoff in groundwater, so I love this @coyotemedia.org story about a librarian in SF starting a vinyl collection for middle schoolers: www.coyotemedia.org/a-bay-area-l...

In Winnipeg, a school's name that was a reminder of colonial connections will be renamed to reflect the land instead. The Wolseley School will be renamed Little Bluestem School for the next school year.

On the same day Canada and Ontario sign an agreement to speed up the construction of major projects, Treaty 9 First Nations hold a news conference on their lawsuit against both jurisdictions. Hear more on APTN News Brief:

Worth a watch. #ClimateJustice youtu.be/EkIpeO1r0NI?...

a gentle solstice reminder: use alt text for your images and gifs ☺️

As federal agents descend on Chicago for more immigration raids, our analysis shows what happened to ~1,600 people arrested there this fall. We report how federal agencies moved them through an expanded network of detention facilities — many rife with complaints of inhumane conditions.

The affordability crisis is an inequality crisis. When prices spike in key sectors, it's not just inflation—it's a massive redistribution shock that hits poor households hardest. In our **new working paper**, we identify the sectors that matter most. A thread 🧵 scholarworks.umass.edu/entities/pub...

If you think beef prices are high now, wait until this gets to the US

“During Montreal’s election, it often felt like a crisis was being manufactured from the solutions created to address them. The safe injection sites that prevent death and disease were blamed for degeneracy and lower property values. Homeless encampments were similarly blamed.” #polmtl

From @francescadnunz.bsky.social: In December 2020, the state police had fewer than 200 drones; now the agency’s inventory has ballooned to more than 450 drones, and nearly 400 employees are trained to remotely operate them.

"Funerals were held Saturday in northern Gaza for six people, including children, massacred the previous day by Israeli tank fire during a wedding celebration at a school." "IDF troops subsequently blocked first responders." #Gaza #Palestine #Israel #Genocide #Healthcare #Military #Marriage

This is a key goal of the Trump admin, esp. Rubio. It's working: Cuba’s economy is nearing collapse as the result of the U.S. oil blockade and military buildup against Venezuela. www.wsj.com/world/americ...

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🌀Introduction🌀 Harms Committed is a news service and research tool to help journalists, academics, and activists access independent journalism on state violence. This thread explains what to expect and how it functions. 1/12 🧵

What I learned from 2025: mattdpearce.substack.com/p/four-big-t...

Today, a 29-day-old baby died at Nasser hospital, southern #Gaza, #Palestine, just two hours after arriving at the MSF- supported paediatric ward in the early hours of the morning. Despite treatment efforts, he could not be saved. According to the MoH, he died from hypothermia.

“The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives issued a new report Thursday saying the living wage required in the Manitoba capital [now sits at] $19.77... the hourly wage a worker needs to cover basic living expenses.”

Canada Needs More Non-Market Housing to Address Housing Insecurity, Experts Say The Federal Housing Advocate’s new report reaffirms what housing advocates have been pushing for years pressprogress.ca/canada-needs...

Gotta say, hitting the year mark of when I first launched my independent news outlet is SCARY. I've had about a 10% drop in income after passing the "auto renew" dates from my initial launch, eek! If you have some extra cash and wanna spend it on some independent journalism, consider subscribing :)

Curious whether Manitoba data would be similar...

What Should You Do About H3N2 Flu? There's a lot to worry about right now on the winter virus front, but get your flu shot anyway. Seriously. Get your flu shot, by @angierasmussen.bsky.social rasmussenretorts.substack.com/p/what-you-s...

Still some bugs in the system. www.wsj.com/tech/ai/anth...

Big retailers wield their power over food manufacturers to drive up prices — while crushing competitors. minnesotareformer.com/2025/12/18/u...

"Drone Star State." Texas' "inventory has ballooned to more than 450 drones, and nearly 400 employees are trained to remotely operate them." "That puts the Texas state police in the same league as the U.S. Border Patrol." #Texas #USA #Mexico #Surveillance #Technology #Policing

Privatize the USPS? Letter carriers say that would hurt workers and the public. After winning a historic rejection of a bad contract, postal workers are fighting privatization—and laying out a better idea for the United States. @melbuer.bsky.social reports for the Working People Podcast.

🚨 THE FINAL FOUR 🚨 We’re nearly at the end! 32 candidates have been narrowed down to a nefarious final four. But who will move on to the finals? You must decide! 🗳️ Cast your ballot: twsu.forms.app/wpit25-semif...