A story of cause and effect: Last November, Ontario banned cities from using speed safety cameras to issue tickets. Reckless speeding immediately surged in Toronto, Ottawa, Guelph, and cities throughout the province. A 🧵 about my latest in Bloomberg (gift link)

What Happens When Speed Cameras Get Shut Off

In 2025, Ontario banned automated traffic enforcement. Now the number of drivers exceeding the speed limit has surged, according to traffic data.

bloomberg.com

more than 8 percent of all American newspaper journalists work in Manhattan, up from 2 percent in 2005 www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...

oh yeah the broader newspaper industry is turbo fucked. down ~80 percent since 1990

@rst.bsky.social · 2d ago

This is one where it might also be useful to see absolutely numbers. It is sadly likely that a lot of this is due to a drop in newspaper staffing elsewhere.

In the very near future, no one will believe we had a policy this good. www.theglobeandmail.com/investing/pe...

End of carbon tax rebates a financial hit for Canada’s poorest, research shows

Rebates were tax-free payments that compensated consumers for the cost of carbon taxes

theglobeandmail.com

Question: Tell me what happened at Tiananmen Square in 1989. Here are the answers from two popular open-source Chinese AI models.

Social Media Lab@socialmedialab.ca · 3d ago

"Most tech analysts are aware that Chinese models have Chinese Communist Party controls built into them, but the problem is often understood too narrowly. Many assume that these models simply refuse to answer politically sensitive questions..." www.worldpoliticsreview.com/china-ai-mod...

wapo.st/3S6rTuo 🎁 article

How rogue officers turned a nationwide camera network into a tool for stalking

Flock’s array of license-plate cameras was built to fight crime. But at least 50 law enforcement officers were charged with or accused of misusing it and other systems.

wapo.st

Do you know about soccer tennis? Saturday nights are tournament night for the sport on the Granville Street Pedestrian Zone, & these teams are no joke! Nice way to cap off a great day on the people-street. Overheard one family talking about how they “can’t believe how great Granville Street is now.”

Brent Toderian@brenttoderian.bsky.social · 6d ago

The Big Apple bench is going in. The ball chairs that were all soccer balls during the World Cup, now reflect all sorts of summer sports you can watch on Granville Street patios. Tonight’s Dominican Street Dance drew a crowd. And simple games help make the street magnetic. Week Two looking good.

This is an amazing thread. The emperor has no clothes.

By Cory Doctorow (GPG 0xBF3D9110957E5F4C)@doctorow.pluralistic.net · 4d ago

Neoclassical econ assumes rationality. The corollary of, "If you're so smart, why aren't you rich?" is "you're rich, so you must be very smart!" Thus, people assume that if powerful, well-compensated CEOs insist that "AI is changing everything," well then, *AI must be changing everything*. 1/

Road tripping with an EV and having ideas.

I quotepost this because it made me think about Canadia robber barons and return of this personalized and moralize critique of a particular kind of wealth. Do you know Rockefeller was? If course. Do you who Herbert Holt was? Read on bsky.app/profile/dunc...

Duncan Weldon@duncanweldon.bsky.social · 5d ago

Super interesting. www.ft.com/content/6a35... We’ve moved from income world to wealth world

This is honestly one of the most shocking images coming out of this administration and that’s saying something

Murshed Zaheed@murshedz.bsky.social · 7d ago

“Trump has rejected disaster aid for Democratic-run states at the highest rate in the 47-year history of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.” Right now people in blue states are basically paying federal taxes as if they’re colonized territories of red states. www.politico.com/news/2026/03...

Surprised Costco hasn’t done this, like they did with gasoline

David Roberts@volts.wtf · 7d ago

The unsung hero of public EV-charger buildout is [checks notes] Wal-Mart?

Alberta needs more EV chargers.

Part of our Canadian heritage.

Aaron Wherry@aaronwherry.bsky.social · 2w ago

The premiers have met and they have decided that the federal government should do a bunch of things.

ottawacitizen.com/public-servi...

Carney government cut nearly half the jobs at nerve centre for managing wildfires: union

The Carney government cut about 50 positions from the federal nerve centre responsible for managing forest fires, the union says.

ottawacitizen.com

Here's today's feature-length episode of This is Vancouver in which @jmcelroy.bsky.social and I question the three "Progressive" candidates hoping to run for Mayor of Vancouver. William Azaroff, Stephanie Allen and Pete Fry. It's good stuff! Tell a friend! podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/t...

Mayoral candidate mini-forum: the progressive candidate edition

Podcast Episode · This is Vancouver · July 21 · 46m

podcasts.apple.com

I wrote about what's happening to the web now that everything is A.I. www.nytimes.com/2026/07/20/t...

How Google’s A.I. Search Is Imperiling the Open Web (Gift Article)

As Google incorporates more artificial intelligence into search, people are spending more time on Google. Some website operators are crying foul.

nytimes.com

World Cup halftime show was a remarkable blend of fun and propaganda.

Centre BC, founded by former BC United MLA Karin Kirkpatrick, has picked Mike Bernier as it's leader Bernier, who represented Peace River South, was a BC Liberal cabinet minister. He's also been a vocal critic of the BC Conservatives #bcpoli

Elbows waaaaay down on this one. www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/art...

Side deal to share Gordie Howe toll profits with U.S. doesn’t include provision for debt repayment

Prime Minister previously said debt servicing would factor into new profit-sharing agreement with U.S.

theglobeandmail.com

“Trump may have miscalculated somewhat” is, famously, the same measured tone & framing with which Joe Biden’s not-100%-surgically-clean end to the last forever war was covered by the press: bsky.app/profile/mcop... Happy week, everyone!

Carl Quintanilla@carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 3w ago

“.. since Vietnam, American presidents have repeatedly gotten into conflicts that seem like they could last forever .. “.. Trump may have fallen into the same trap.” @nytimes.com www.nytimes.com/2026/07/16/w...

Is British Columbia an Environmental Hypocrite? Yes, Premier @Dave_Eby and Energy Minister @adriandix are hypocrites. They talk a good game, then undermine their own claims over and over and over again. @stewartprest.ca explains why. youtu.be/p_4dM7wVulc

Is British Columbia an Environmental Hypocrite?

YouTube video by Energi Media

youtu.be

Congratulations to the 2026 American Political Science Association (APSA) Award Winners The American Political Science Association (APSA) is delighted to announce the winners of the 2026 APSA Awards…... https://politicalsciencenow.com/congratulations-to-the-2026-apsa-award-winners/

Congratulations to the 2026 American Political Science Association (APSA) Award Winners

The American Political Science Association (APSA) is delighted to announce the winners of the 2026 APSA Awards! APSA recognizes and honors the work of various scholars who have made outstanding contributions to political science research, teaching and service. Recipients will be honored at the APSA Awards Reception during the 122nd APSA Annual Meeting & Exhibition in Boston, Massachusetts. DISSERTATION AWARDS…

politicalsciencenow.com

Per my story on Vancouver council having a crammed schedule before the summer and election break (www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...), ABC has proposed cancelling the final council meeting in late July Opposition councillors, who likely wanted one last chance at putting forward motions, aren't pleased

isabella zavarise@isabellazavarise.bsky.social · 3w ago

recess after recess after recess today at city council.

I wrote about what looks very much like a formal US plan to institutionalize a global network of concentration camps.

Little Gitmos everywhere

The White House explores entrenching U.S. concentration camps worldwide.

degenerateart.beehiiv.com

Vancouver council faces a bunch of high-profile votes the next two weeks — but they could decide to effectively punt some of the decisions until after the election. Here's a little piece @simonplittle.ca and I put together on the big topics up for debate. www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

Village plan? New tallest towers? Vancouver council faces summer sprint | CBC News

With local elections looming, Vancouver councilors will have a jam packed schedule in the weeks ahead where they will vote on a number of high-profile issues — or decide to delay the vote until after ...

cbc.ca

Researchers found that for every 200 EV's added to a California neighborhood, NO₂ air pollution fell by 1.1%. Cleaner air isn't just a goal anymore - it's achievable. #CleanAir #ElectricVehicles #ESG @sciencex.bsky.social @momscleanairforce.org phys.org/news/2026-01...

Adoption of electric vehicles tied to real-world reductions in air pollution

When California neighborhoods increased their number of zero-emissions vehicles (ZEV) between 2019 and 2023, they also experienced a reduction in air pollution. For every 200 vehicles added, nitrogen ...

phys.org

Elite law schools catching up with my decades-old policy www.insidehighered.com/news/tech-in...

To AI-Proof Lawyers, Some Law Schools Restrict Technology

Last week, the University of Chicago Law School announced a ban on laptops, tablets and phones in the classroom. The goal is to help students develop critical oral argument skills, which AI likely won...

insidehighered.com

I’m always reluctant to directly attribute any one weather event to climate change. But Canada’s current fossil-fuel boosterism does hit a bit harder while considering whether we have to keep our 6-year-old home from the baseball camp he’s been excited about, because of potential record heat.