“Law enforcement can’t cope with the overwhelming amount of illicit activity in the space,” said Julia Hardy, a co-founder of zeroShadow, a crypto investigations firm. “It can’t go on like this.” The grift that keeps on grifting. #crypto www.nytimes.com/2025/11/17/t...

Matt Levine: Will crypto collapses bring down banks or traditional financial institutions, leading to restrictions in real-world credit? So far the answer has been absolutely not. The ties between crypto and traditional finance have been too small and too carefully managed to cause much contagion.

Paul Krugman: It’s possible that Bitcoin will bounce back, because it’s more than an asset, it’s a cult. When I spoke with Hasan Minhaj and Bitcoin came up, his immediate reaction to my criticism was “I don’t want to get memed, the Bitcoin boys have already come after me.” #crypto

“As if it wasn’t clear already, fundamental changes must now be made in the UNFCCC rules. A small number of rogue nations cannot be allowed to block progress for the rest of the world”

"Bad COP" | My new commentary on #COP30: michaelmann.net/bad-cop/

G&M: Stablecoin used to launder drug money: “I’m a big fan of it because I think that’s done incredible things in terms of financial inclusion, in terms of providing a hedge for people in economies where there’s been a collapse of currency or a lack of faith in banks or financial institutions,”

The slow grind continues. Thankfully most of the world is committed to keep working on clinate change solutions: www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Socialism is what they called public power. Socialism is what they called social security. Socialism is what they called the growth of free and independent labor organizations. Socialism is their name for almost anything that helps all the people. —Harry Truman, 1952

Eby said lifting [the tanker ban] would threaten projects already in development in the region and consensus among coastal First Nations #BCPoli. stocks.apple.com/A7kLa1P54S5e...

So it is not clear whether the SEC has actually gotten rid of shareholder proposals with this new approach; it’s possible that shareholders will keep submitting them and companies will be afraid to exclude them. But it does seem clear that the SEC wants to get rid of shareholder proposals:

Picture says it all. Small group of house owners fight density and affordability.

Senakw-off, Victoria, BC.

Germany starts testing men for potential conscription. “The decision to test all 18-year-old males for their fighting abilities underlines how rapidly European countries, including those with a post-World War II tradition of pacifism, are getting war-ready in an effort to deter Russia.” WSJ

If only there were...some sort of..... coalition...of progressive electors... with a long-standing commitment to Vancouver's working class.

The spectacle outside Universal Ostrich Farms was a pathetic stepchild of the so-called “freedom convoy,” complete with virtually non-stop livestreaming on over-the-top Facebook accounts and constant coverage by radical-right Rebel News. www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/arti...

Bloomberg round-up: Financial analysts say Trump’s effort to cut off food aid under the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program threatens to damage major grocers and their suppliers going into the holiday season. #shutdowncrisis

More free man on the land pseudo lawyering unravels in court cases. Tax evasion scam promoted as educational seminars: www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

This is one of the best articles I’ve read regarding the false argument about land claims and private property. It’s clear that municipal officials and elected councillors are promoting hysteria as political cover for their own failings. They should have negotiated a solution for the Cowichan.

Electoral-vote.com: Cheney was a Reagan-style Republican who—in the name of "winning"—unleashed political forces he ultimately could not control. McConnell laid the groundwork for modern MAGA by personally stacking the Supreme Court; Cheney did it by turning elections into culture-wars referenda.

From Jewish Currents: “It is anybody’s guess whether the leadership of today’s Democratic Party will be able to recognize, in Mamdani’s vision of an egalitarian, culturally rich, diverse, and affordable New York City, ….

Stunning @desmog.com story from @geoffdembicki.bsky.social - showing how oil major ExxonMobil bankrolled climate science denial in the global south prior to crucial global summits... www.desmog.com/2025/11/03/a...

Bloomberg: “Even before AI can improve productivity profitability, it’s beginning to have an effect on jobs. Amazon.com Inc. and Meta have announced almost 15,000 AI-related job cuts.” #artificialintelligence

Food price inflation is largely driven by climate change. Over the last 25 years agricultural productivity has fallen due to environmental factors caused by climate change. The House with Catherine Cullen - Oct. 25, 2025: What’s spiking food prices? www.cbc.ca/listen/live-...

Trade war! What trade war?From Bloomberg - As one Chinese expert recently put it, when asked by the geopolitical analyst Tina Fordham about the risk of losing access to US consumers: “We don’t care. China has been here for 5,000 years. Most of the time, there was no United States, and we survived.”

“It will take time for scientists to determine exactly how much #ClimateChange supercharged #Melissa, but they can already say the storm has been feeding on warm ocean temps made up to 800 times more likely by global heating…The hotter the ocean gets, the more energy that can transfer into a storm.”

Despite growing pressure on the Cop system of global environmental governance, Guterres said it played a crucial role. “The alternative is a free-for-all,” he said. “And we know what free for all means. #climate

In his only interview before next month’s Cop30 climate summit, António Guterres acknowledged it is now “inevitable” that humanity will overshoot the target in the Paris climate agreement, with “devastating consequences” for the world. www.theguardian.com/environment/...

www.theguardian.com/world/2025/o... Yes!

“The B.C. Conservatives are again dealing with controversial comments perpetuating residential school denialism, this time from a high-profile staffer who had a key role in shaping the party.” #BCPoli thetyee.ca/News/2025/09...

China is using existing technology for a new Great Leap Forward “China is making and installing factory robots at a far greater pace than any other country, with the United States a distant third, further strengthening China’s already dominant global role in manufacturing.

Karl Marx once wrote that the bourgeoisie created its own gravedigger in the immiserated proletariat. Today’s tech elite seems intent on realizing that prophecy www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

“To allow universities to be bossed by political operatives in this way undermines the basic ideals of the university as well as [its] important links to the future of critical thought, dissent, and democracy.” www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Back to the 1950’s when academics, scholars, artists and administrators were hounded out of the country by an alcoholic, paranoid congressman. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Another landlord exposed for disingenuous evictions: www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

Vancouver has dangerous levels of smoke right now. #vancouver

The famous Mr. Mittens at English Bay, Vancouver. #Vancouver #EnglishBay

George Monbiot: Why does capital love fossil fuels? It's not hard to explain. They exist in a small number of discrete locations, where the right to exploit them can be owned and monopolised. Most can be extracted commercially only at scale, excluding small competitors. #clinatechange

Here’s what happens to a public amenity after a change of corporate owners.

Great piece from the Tyee: Please Advise! Heat Swimming Pools with Crypto? via @thetyee.ca thetyee.ca/Opinion/2025...

Excellent explanation of the contrarian argument against density open.substack.com/pub/morehous...

Some sci-fi perspective : A king will take the ships and even make war. Arbitrary rulers throughout history have bartered their subjects’ welfare for what they consider honor, and glory, and conquest.

www.cbc.ca/news/canada/... A piece of local history from my hometown. We were champions!

Been getting acquainted with my mom’s new living situation in seniors assisted living. After 58 years in her own house it’s a bit of an adjustment. Aging in place is good up to a point, but there’s a lot to be said for steady meals and dedicated staff for personal care.

Robert Paxton’s definition written in 2004: Fascism may be defined as a form of political behavior marked by obsessive preoccupation with community decline, humiliation, or victimhood…

Going into the summer, Canada was already experiencing a severe, early wildfire season,” research scientist Bill Merryfield told reporters, noting that the area that has burned so far in 2025 is triple the 10-year average for this point in the year.

thetyee.ca/Analysis/202... From Andrew Nikiforuk of the Tyee: The comforting dream that energy conservation would improve while fossil fuels would be replaced by renewables, thereby averting climate catastrophe, has evaporated and been replaced with a technological horror show.

Great piece on the problems with Trumps agenda. Taxing the interest delivered to foreign bond investors will also accelerate the shift out of US markets and drive up domestic interest rates. www.theglobeandmail.com/gift/67593ea...

No mention of climate change in local news coverage of Canada’s wildfires. According to Bloomberg news: Extreme heatwaves are getting longer and hitting the tropics hardest.

From Bloomberg today: Canadian exports to the US plunged 6.6%, the biggest drop since the pandemic, while imports fell 2.9%. Canada’s exports to countries other than the US jumped 24.8%, however, almost entirely offsetting the decline in shipments to the south.