Suspected war crimes happen almost daily as Israel continues its bombardment, which Unicef estimates is killing nearly 14 children a day. We cannot write this off as just another war in a war-torn region, writes Arwa Mahdawi

The anti-data center movement isn’t just about limiting local development—it represents a new front in the fight against tech-enabled authoritarianism. Where else can people push back on job-eating algorithms, distorting deep fakes, and autonomous drone strikes? www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

"So, actually, friendship is Humanity’s Last Exam, friendship is the best test of the outer limits of AI—if it has, or has the potential for, subjectivity, and if it will one day terminate us all." An intimate and unnerving piece by Thea Lim in @thewalrus.ca thewalrus.ca/i-spent-mont...

Some of the photos taken by Saher Alghorra, who just won a Pulitzer for his work documenting Israel’s genocide in Gaza. www.pulitzer.org/winners/sahe...

Last week, the jury committed "to the defense of human rights," vowing to "refrain from considering those countries whose leaders are currently charged with crimes against humanity by the Int'l Criminal Court." Today, acknowledging that statement, they resigned. hyperallergic.com/venice-bienn...

'Code of Misconduct,' which premiered at Hot Docs Festival on yesterday, explores how male sports culture, if left to its current form, breeds toxicity and psychopathy, writes journalist Olivia Bowden. Read the full review:

"To limit the chance of coming into contact with Israelis who might assault or harass them, girls had quit school and women had stopped working." www.theguardian.com/world/2026/a...

Toronto: What we’re seeing now is that (police) are not even distinguishing between protests, academic events or cultural events. Any time there are Palestinians speaking about Palestine, they are viewed as potentially anti-semitic or promoting violence.” www.thegrindmag.ca/cops-keep-sh...

Ahmed Shihab-Eldin was arrested after reporting on friendly fire incident during US conflict with Iran

Journalists know that losing the Wayback Machine would be a nightmare: www.wired.com/story/the-in...

The boycott of the Giller Prize is over, as all three demands have successfully been met Reporting from @rdassaly.bsky.social for @thegrindto.bsky.social here: www.thegrindmag.ca/organizers-e... Campaign statement here: www.canlitresponds.ca/boycott-succ...

Necessary reporting by @willchristou.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/world/2026/a...

I wrote about digital music marketing agency Chaotic Good Projects. Musician Eliza McLamb uncovered that they used hundreds of fake accounts to artificially generate buzz for bands like Geese, Mk.gee and Dijon. The co-founders call it "trend simulation."

“Water no get enemy,” the Fela Kuti song goes. I’m reminded of it as I read @pacinthe.bsky.social's moving piece in @cangeo.bsky.social about Bashar Alshawwa and his work to protect what belongs to all. canadiangeographic.ca/articles/wat...

Source Callout: for a story at the Guardian, I'm interviewing folks who were asked to keep working with someone after sexual assault or harassment or relationship abuse, and told to stay silent "for the good of the movement" (more info in pic with alt text). reach out on Signal @ lex_mcmenamin.68

"Human rights organisations say such attacks often occur with little accountability. The Israeli human rights group B’Tselem has accused the government of enabling settler violence 'as part of a strategy to cement the takeover of Palestinian land'." www.theguardian.com/world/2026/m...

Here's a full write-up on the judge tossing out Columbia's unprecedentedly harsh disciplinary actions against students accused of occupying Hamilton Hall in 2024: hellgatenyc.com/columbia-exp...

New: the Art Gallery of Ontario's deputy director + chief curator, Julian Cox, is leaving in April. No reasoning given, but worth noting AGO is under deep scrutiny over its governance re the Nan Goldin saga, and it hasn't begun searching for a replacement ago.ca/press-releas...

“It took months for the Bush administration’s falsehoods about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq to come to light… For the Trump administration’s warnings of an imminent threat from Iran, it took an afternoon.” www.theguardian.com/world/2026/m...

civilian deaths are up for bets and if you’re wondering how america got here, @jasonkoebler.bsky.social breaks it down. (personal note: so happy to be working with the team @404media.co that says shit like it is)

As the laid off Middle East News Editor, I concur. Management eliminated the positions of every single staff correspondent and bureau chief in the Middle East.

"Israel closed all crossings into Gaza indefinitely when it attacked Iran, imposing a siege that has already pushed up food prices and threatens to plunge 2 million people into a new hunger crisis." www.theguardian.com/world/2026/m...

Meanwhile, as it succeeded in dragging the US into a war on Iran, "Israel seeks to erase Palestinians as a society. First they are destroyed in the present. Then they are deleted from the past." www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

“If you’d like to witness human evil at its worst, come with me any day to the West Bank,” Israeli scholar and Hebrew U professor writes in @nybooks.com

The night before the United States started bombing Iran (again), Sam Altman made an agreement with the Department of War. He cannot be trusted. His company cannot be trusted. It just adds to what I wrote earlier this week.

“For both 2024 and 2025, the Israeli military was responsible for two-thirds of all press killings.” Full CPJ report here: cpj.org/special-repo...

Disappointing? Yes. Surprising? No. Kudos to the US ladies team on their polite “sod off” to the president’s invite. www.thecut.com/article/us-m...

I feel sick.

we're going to the cottage (gold medal game) baybeeee

Truer words have never been spoken

Oh man this gutpunch of a piece by @filipouris.bsky.social. "Heated Rivalry exposes, among other things, the personal yet universal experience of carrying a hidden self across borders." thewalrus.ca/heated-rival...

Gorgeous words from my friend @filipouris.bsky.social on finding meaning, catharsis, and queer joy in Heated Rivalry! 💗

a feel-good story from @sevawood.bsky.social with photos of some extremely cute lil goats

Filipa Pajevic put on Heated Rivalry to pass the time while doing laundry. Two hours later, the laundry was abandoned—and something deeper surfaced. Here, Pajevic reflects on what the hockey romance revealed about her queerness and her Slavic identity: https://thewalrus.ca/heated-rivalry-self/

www.noarmsinthearts.com/scotiabank-d... Campaign statement on the divestment here:

Over the past couple years, a common refrain among Canadian authors who didn't support the Giller Prize boycott was that the campaign had a point, but was unlikely to 'make a difference.' Scotiabank had a $368-million (US) stake in Elbit at the end of 2022. Now it's $0.

Scotiabank (finally) sells its remaining shares in Elbit Systems. www.thecanadianpressnews.ca/business/sco...

In a statement to The Wire, author Arundhati Roy announced she will no longer participate in the 2026 Berlinale film festival.

To say that Heated Rivalry—the hockey smut sensation from Canadian streamer Crave—has “broken containment” is a major understatement. Here, six writers explore why the show has captured a global imagination (and fired up a thousand think pieces): https://thewalrus.ca/heated-rivalry-series/

Not every show makes you revisit the parts of yourself you kept hidden while crossing borders, searching for love but fearing being seen. This one did. I wrote about it. My latest for @thewalrus.ca, on "Heated Rivalry" and losing my mind. thewalrus.ca/heated-rival...

Great reporting (as per usual) on Ontario's healthcare system by the team over at @thelocal.to, with some stellar pieces by @royinori.bsky.social, @rebeccaga0.bsky.social and @wencyleung.bsky.social, among others. thelocal.to/winter-2026/

"...if [public figures] have to engage in the pomp and circumstance of red carpets and awards shows while the world burns, the least they can do is acknowledge the flames." Great piece by @kathleennb.bsky.social. www.refinery29.com/en-us/2026/0...

“I think a lot of working people in Canada who are contributors to the CPP would be concerned to learn that the entity that invests their pension … is investing in this company that has been responsible for such an egregious treatment of women and minors.” www.thestar.com/business/why...

Maybe I'm biased, but this one-of-a-kind visual guide brought to life by @wencyleung.bsky.social and Michael DeForge might be the most entertaining thing you read this weekend. Don't miss it:

Wolf Parade hasn’t made much money from “I’ll Believe in Anything” streams, but that’s okay: “Being part of queering hockey feels very good.”

This kind of smart, walkable, mixed-use urbanism is illegal to build in most American cities.

“Many argue the NFL halftime show has become politicized. But in reality, it’s always been an inherently political event.” Bad Bunny for the win. theconversation.com/the-backlash...

"But students in Milan were not convinced, turning up in force on the streets with plastic whistles, which have become a symbol of anti-ICE rallies in the US, and calling for visiting US Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio to leave." www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/2/...

Hear, hear!