Cory Doctorow has some thoughts on this matter. pluralistic.net/2026/01/01/3...

AI companies will fail. We can salvage something from the wreckage | Cory Doctorow

Carney: "American hegemony in particular helped provide public goods, a stable financial system... this bargain no longer works. Let me be direct. We are in the midst of a rupture, not a transition... recently, great powers have begun using economic integration as a weapon. Tariffs as leverage ... "

Thread of the day.

Globe & Mail reporting on Canadian military's modelling of how an extended insurgency against a US invasion would play out: In short, we'd take cues from the mujahideen. "The aim of such tactics would be to impose mass casualties on U.S. occupying forces..."

I’m pretty proud of this piece. It’s the story of how the province fails to fund inclusive education adequately and the lengths school boards like #SD40 go to to make sure every student gets the education they deserve. @davidebybc.bsky.social @lisabeare.bsky.social #newwest #bcpoli

The info bubble that we all share at this site blinds us to the fact that he holds a steady 40 to 42% approval rating. You can’t elicit a broad electoral change when two in five support leadership. And that number is much higher in quite a few states.

A routine regime change isn’t going to restore any global trust in the USA. Our weaknesses and faults have been laid out for all to see. Only a Nuremberg will move us toward a re-entrance to global leadership.

This is amazing and there could be no better place to host this. www.vancouverisawesome.com/events-and-e...

“The old order is not coming back…” —Mark Carney in #Davos > www.cbc.ca/news/politic... #cdnpoli #eupoli

0.98 in 2025. Fewest Chinese children born in 250 years. At this rate China’s population stabilizes below 500m. And gets hella old before that.

More children are born in Nigeria each year than all other countries except India & China. That's because their total fertility rate is around 4.5 vs just over 2.0 in India and around in 1.0 in China. Compared to Europe: brilliantmaps.com/europe-vs...

Wildfires in Chile rage for third day, entire towns wiped out u.afp.com/SB5w

can we just 3D print him a Nobel Peace Prize so he’ll shut the fuck up

I genuinely think one thing that trips up folks on the left is that they can't imagine not sharing certain core values. Lemme explain. Here's an intuition pump: Say you're in negotiations with counterparty X. And there are two possible deals on the table ...

Unusual for mid-January, it's a sunny & bright day in #NewWest (above the fog), but this season is still a blue one for many folks. Shake off those blues at the Anvil Centre! Bring a neighbour, meet new neighbours! Make a connection in the "Downtown living room" that will brighten your season!

A high school student was left with life-altering injuries crossing the street outside her school. Is the city doing enough to keep kids safe around schools? (Spoiler, no.) But it's fantastic seeing these high schoolers taking advocacy into their own hands! A great story, please read:

How about, no.

Stephen Hawking parade in Spain https://www.reddit.com/r/Weird/comments/1qfuj9p/stephen_hawking_parade_in_spain/

Sam Szafran (French, 1934–2019) "Escalier, 54 Rue de Seine", 1990 Watercolor on Silk, 205 × 107 cm. William Louis-Dreyfus Foundation, Museum Mount Kisco, New York, US. #art #painting #artist #BlueSkyArt

Loving the fog

Big idea late in the show: data center developers buy goodwill by making cities into renewable micro grids. “Hello please can we install all the kit to give you cheap power and EVs, which will also get us what we need.” More finicky but definitely cheaper and quicker than a nuke.

Ceiling of mosque in Erbil, Iraq

January spring skiing on Mount Seymour, above the Vancouver fog

In Dubai today the Canadian mens rugby 7s team won the SVNS3 tournament by beating Belgium. They now move into SVNS2 for a shot to get back to play against the big boys

I like Alabama’s state constitution amendment 8 (2012) which passed with 70% voter support. “the basic compensation of the Legislature [set at] the median household income in the state” ballotpedia.org/Alabama_Legi... I don’t like absolute numbers in legislation. I like ratios (1:1 here).

I wonder whether the White House would be interested in a swap for a signed first edition Handmaid’s Tale. #newwest

Deutsche Bank here with the good stuff. Game on.

“There is a path in which the USA face off against England in Philadelphia at the Lincoln Financial Field on Independence Day, only a few miles from Liberty Bell itself, with the sun setting as the match ends – just in time for all the fireworks.” blondemoney.co.uk/insights/the...

Paris apartment collapses during party, one badly injured

🔴 Le 5e étage d’un immeuble s’effondre lors d’une fête à Paris, au moins 20 blessés dont un grave Le plancher d’un appartement privé s'est effondré après minuit alors qu'une cinquantaine de personnes étaient présentes ➡️ https://l.leparisien.fr/vMpT

And the giant inflatable groundhog is BACK! #KeepGroundhogInGroundhogDay

If you’re going to build a country of anywheres-and-nowheres you could do worse than make it ‘generic French’.

New tariff just dropped. Americans set to pay an additional 10% tax on all goods from Germany, the UK, France, the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Finland. It starts in two weeks, rising to 25% by June. (Aside: A trade war with one EU country is a trade war with the entire EU).

"Give us Greenland or we will increase taxes on American citizens for things that they buy" is such a masterpiece of foreign policy

Unlike other complex issues (climate change, wealth inequality, fascism, pandemics), the road safety issue is genuinely solvable. We already have all the tools and most aren't hard, we just need them implemented. E.g. 5 easy things the Province can do: (6/8)

We don't talk about this isn't to stoke fear. Unlike some actual public safety alarmism, (e.g. riling people up about crime = more police budget!) there's no ulterior motive. The reason we talk about it is that these deaths and injuries are so preventable! (5/8)

Excellent thread. Talking about the concerning trend of vulnerable road users facing more danger and discomfort isn’t alarmism, it’s about calling for the policies we know will save lives.

That’s pretty cool #godzilla #pbr

Long piece on Purpose Built Rental #pbr in the UK archive.ph/VfprX

“When it’s done, the building will barely register as new. The three-storey apartment complex will settle onto a leafy street as if it had always been there – faced in brick, its twin balconies nudging toward the sidewalk.” www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/artic...

Our piece on single stair: a crucial change that is slowly coming to Canadian cities By me and @johnlorinc.bsky.social

Foggy morning #NewWest

Another foggy, sunny morning in Brow of the Hill #NewWest

Edgar Degas, Drapery Study , n.d. Anne-Louis Girodet de Roussy-Trioson, Drapery Study, 1806