Valerie Sing Turner

Creatures buried in soil for over a century burst back to life in Toronto waterfront A project to restore coastal wetland leads to astonishing discoveries of a host of life: seeds and plant scraps, as well as water fleas, worms, larvae and plankton

Fascinating! And hopeful...

"For Shelley Charles, an Anishinaabe elder...the findings vindicate a more holistic Indigenous world view of ecosystems.

“Traditional knowledge really has a story of today and the future, but it also connects us to the past.”

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

Canada Runs on Serf Labour - Macleans.ca My grandfather arrived with the right to stay. Today’s foreign workers are handcuffed to bad jobs they can’t leave.

Canada's temporary foreign workers program is racist. Closed permits are licenses to exploit and abuse, and should be eliminated. All workers, no matter what their status, should be paid a living wage, and treated with dignity and respect.

macleans.ca/society/cana...

Love this idea!

#CDNpoli #AttentionMarkCarney

September 20, Vancouver: 2:00pm - Gather at VPL Central for kick-off Welcome by Shane Pointe, Musqueam knowledge keeper Speech by Mark Hancock, president of CUPE national 2:30pm - March begins from VPL 4:00pm - Program at Science World Park Begins Welcome by Audrey Siegl, Musqueam Speakers: Véronique Soufi, BC Society for Policy Solutions Rayanna Seymour, West Coast Environmental Law Byron Cruz, Sanctuary Health Tamer Aburamadan, Al-Awda Anjali Appadurai, Climate Emergency Unit Special performances by: Butterflies in Spirit (Indigenous dance group) Desirée Dawson (Singer-songwriter)

2 days until DRAW THE LINE! ✊🌎☮️

~70 actions across Canada.

The Vancouver line-up is stellar 👇

Vancouver council pushing for more vertical farms City council voted on a motion to establish vertical farms in under-utilized spaces such as office buildings and apartments.

I was so pleased to have unanimous support for my & Cllr Orr’s motion to streamline approvals processes for vertical farming businesses in Vancouver. @seanorr.bsky.social @onecityvan.bsky.social @copevancouver.bsky.social www.ctvnews.ca/vancouver/vi...

Canadians are taking a big step back from the U.S. — and here's the data to prove it | CBC News In the weeks after U.S. President Donald Trump sparked a trade war with his punishing tariffs, Prime Minister Mark Carney said Canada’s "old relationship" with the U.S. would be "over" soon — and now ...

GO Canadians - yes!!

www.cbc.ca/news/politic...

How thousands of ‘overworked, underpaid’ humans train Google’s AI to seem smart Contracted AI raters describe grueling deadlines, poor pay and opacity around work to make chatbots intelligent

“AI isn’t magic; it’s a pyramid scheme of human labor,” said Adio Dinika, a researcher at Distributed AI Research Institute in Bremen, Germany.

"AI is being sold as this tech magic..."said Sawyer..."It’s built on the backs of overworked, underpaid human beings.”

www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

"The ICJ’s opinion is more than a legal milestone...it reminds us that climate inaction is not only unjust — it is unlawful. There are no more excuses. We can no longer hide behind complexity or delay. Governments...must act now to fulfill their obligations to people and the planet."

Graphic titled “2025 Global Social Progress Index.” Text explains the index measures 57 drivers of social and environmental progress across 170 countries. A ranked list shows the top 10: Norway, Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Switzerland, Iceland, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Ireland, and Germany. Next to each country it says “proportional” under the column “Voting system.” At the bottom, text notes “Canada ranks 18.”

The top 10 countries in the 2025 Global Social Progress Index all use proportional representation.

When every vote counts, societies thrive.

Vancouver’s Integrity Commissioner has found Mayor Ken Sim and ABC councillors broke the code of conduct on multiple occasions for coordinating amendments to controversial motions in separate private online conversations ahead of public council meetings

Protests in Tel Aviv, army reservists refusing to serve: in Israel, more of us are saying no to this endless war | Ofer Cassif Opposition to the starvation campaign and the new assault on Gaza City is growing – and so is support for military ‘refusers’, says Knesset member Ofer Cassif

Glad to see more Israelis making their voices heard in support of ending the war, freeing the hostages, and stopping the genocide of Palestinians in Gaza.

#stopthegenocide

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Don’t like joining in? Why it could be your superpower Some people spend their lives feeling out of place in groups – but this tendency comes with unique opportunities

For years, I thought I was an introvert, but now I realize I might be an otrovert...

www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...

‘If these words reach you … Israel has succeeded in killing me’: the last words of a journalist killed in Gaza Anas al-Sharif, an Al Jazeera reporter, was killed by an Israeli airstrike on Sunday night. This is the message he had prepared for his family, and his call for the world not to forget Gaza

I suppose this is one reason Israel bars international reporters from Gaza: with only Palestinian journalists left to tell us what's happening, IDF can bomb them with impunity - 238 so far, more than all the conflicts since WWI combined.

RIP Anas al-Sharif.

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

South Asian woman with green shirt and brown shoulder length hair leans against a tree and smiles at the camera.

✨CBA Artist Testimonial ✨

". . . I deeply appreciate how this platform allows me to share my work . . . It has significantly expanded my reach . . . giving my artistic abilities true national exposure across Canada."

Thushara Premarajan - Dancer, Visual Artist, Storyteller

Cool - and fun, too!

"...agentic AI grifters insist that the entire internet has to adopt and faithfully use standard APIs so their bots can accurately analyze the internet's contents..."

IOW, they want the entire world to pay $$$ to accommodate their crap technology so they can extract more $$$$$$$ from us.

The problem is far bigger than Jeffrey Epstein | Rebecca Solnit Treating the scandal as an aberration misunderstands the global epidemic of violence against women

"...the cause is misogyny and the violence is intended to perpetrate the inequality, exploitation and subordination of women...This violence is an engine of inequality that benefits all men, insofar as being “more equal than others” in this respect is a benefit."

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

In renewables storage, an old technology finds a new home Flow battery advocates say their water-based technology needs a fraction of the metals used in lithium batteries and can store energy longer and without fire risk. But high costs could limit its role ...

"Big lithium-ion battery plants get the most attention & investment. But flow advocates argue their technology needs a fraction of the rare earth metals used in lithium batteries and stores energy for longer periods—without the risk of fire."
#CDNcleanenergy

www.nationalobserver.com/2025/07/16/n...

Canada’s hidden heat: why regulatory harmonization is key to a geothermal breakthrough The world is experiencing a geothermal breakthrough — new technologies are emerging, costs are falling and the International Energy Agency estimates US$1 trillion worth of investments by 2035.

"In New Zealand, Indigenous rights are integrated into geothermal governance, offering a model for Canada’s own reconciliation efforts...Geothermal energy offers...energy security, economic development and a path to decarbonization.

#CDNcleanenergy

www.nationalobserver.com/2025/06/24/o...

US thermal networks are heating entire communities. Ontario should be next Thermal energy is in the soil and rock beneath our streets and buildings and in the wastewater that flows through our sewer lines. It’s abundant, local and emission-free.

"...overlooking thermal energy networks (TENs) would be a missed opportunity. These systems can cleanly and efficiently heat and cool buildings, using energy that’s already around us...It’s abundant, local and emission-free."

#CDNcleanenergy

www.nationalobserver.com/2025/08/01/o...

Federal reforms for migrant farmworkers draw sharp criticisms The plans appear to ditch proposed indoor temperature standards designed to protect workers from extreme heat while also allowing farmers and food processors to deduct thousands of dollars in worker w...

"Canada has come under sustained criticism for its migrant worker program...But instead of fully reforming the system, the proposed changes amount to a...'capitulation to the worst kind of bosses' demands. These are not reforms — this is robbery.'"

www.nationalobserver.com/2025/07/30/n...

Solar and wind are conservative punching bags. They're also winning the fight Conservative politicians in North America love pretending that wind and solar can't possibly compete with fossil fuels. They might want to pay closer attention to what's happening in the rest of the w...

"...the combination of solar and storage is well on its way to competing with new gas-powered electricity — and soon, given the trajectory of cost declines, even existing gas."

#CDNcleanenergy

www.nationalobserver.com/2025/07/31/o...

Israeli author David Grossman says his country is committing genocide in Gaza Writer says for many years he has refused to use word but now must ‘with immense pain and with a broken heart’

"'The occupation has corrupted us,' [Grossman] said. 'I am absolutely convinced that Israel’s curse began with the occupation of the Palestinian territories in 1967.'"

www.theguardian.com/world/2025/a...

This.

Amen.

TikTok Canada Halts Sponsorships of TIFF, Juno Awards, ADISQ and More The shutdown is 'sad and disheartening,' says the coordinator of the National Screen Institute's TikTok Accelerator for Indigenous Creators program.

"[TikTok] is planning to withdraw as a sponsor of several Canadian arts institutions, including [TIFF] and Juno Awards, as it prepares to comply with a federal order to shut down operations nationwide."

Canadian govt position on Tiktok is bizarre, to say the least.

ca.billboard.com/business/str...

Your Country Didn’t Change Overnight. You Just Weren’t Paying Attention | The Walrus Authoritarianism doesn’t begin with a dictator. It starts when the idea of justice quietly disappears

"...the process only really starts after severe damage has been wreaked to the fundamental concept of justice—and once the minimal morality you didn’t know you depended on has been destroyed. It is this...immorality that forces you to look for a somewhere else."

thewalrus.ca/this-is-not-...

If You Think We Have Press Freedom, Try Sharing This Story on Instagram | The Walrus Growing up in Egypt, I knew access to news could be fragile. I didn’t expect to lose it again in Canada

"When I [an Egyptian journalist] moved to Canada in 2024, I was shocked to discover that I couldn’t access news pages on Facebook and Instagram."

Yeah, us Canadians were shocked (and pissed off), too!

#fuckMeta

thewalrus.ca/if-you-think...

"The case for offshore wind development in the Maritimes stands on one main pillar: the region’s uniquely strong winds. As in, off-the-charts powerful."

#CDNcleanenergy

www.corporateknights.com/energy/offsh...

Resisting Hustle Culture Has Ancient Roots | The Tyee Ming Dynasty scholars embraced quiet quitting and inspired others to prioritize leisure as the antidote to toxic workplaces.

"Xiaopin proposes resistance as an existential shift beyond (self-)optimization. Its most radical gesture is not to demand change, but to live as if the system’s demands are irrelevant...To pause in an age of weaponized ambition is in fact revolt."

thetyee.ca/Culture/2025...