Andrew Pask

"...Every intervention makes the same promise: remove the dictator and the people will be free. Libya is what happens when the dictator is removed and the people are forgotten."

Power without a throne: how Khalifa Haftar controls Libya The long read: When Nato helped overthrow Gaddafi in 2011, there were hopes of a new beginning. More than a decade later, this former CIA asset runs the country – and Libya has become yet another less...

"In 2011, foreign powers intervened to overthrow Gaddafi. This is what they built. As bombs fall on Iran and the architects of yet another intervention promise that force will deliver freedom, Libya stands as the parable they refuse to read..."

www.theguardian.com/news/ng-inte...

Urban Truth Collective: Straight Talk About The Joy Of Cities In An Age Of Disinformation — Streetsblog USA The Three Tenors of Urbanism explain their latest effort: The Urban Truth Collective.

PLEASE HELP US SHARE THIS: “We’ve let the lies be far too successful, and that’s significantly hurt our cities. No more.”

It’s our blunt NEW @usa.streetsblog.org op-ed sharing why we’ve created @urbantruth.bsky.social. SPOILER: We need to call out the lies and tell the truth much more persuasively!

‘Our consciousness is under siege’: Michael Pollan on chatbots, social media and mental freedom In his new book, the celebrated author explains why we need ‘consciousness hygiene’ to defend ourselves from AI and dopamine-driven algorithms

"In the course of writing the book, I realized that our consciousness is under siege, and that it’s being polluted by several different things."

www.theguardian.com/wellness/202...

Berlage was a major influence on the modern architects of the time, blending pragmatic, functional designs with attention to detail, beauty, and a human scale. He was also an ardent socialist who was involved in housing reform and the lifelong belief that a more egalitarian society was possible.

Berlage also set out the structure plan for Amsterdam's southern expansion in the early 20th century. His "Plan Zuid" created an beautiful extension of the historic city, and provided a framework for architects from the #AmsterdamSchool and elsewhere to test new ideas for housing.

Today marks the 170th birthday of H.P. #Berlage - one of Amsterdam (and the Netherland's) most influential architects and urban planners. Berlage's legacy includes prominent buildings like the former stock exchange (now cultural centre), and the Town Hall in Usquert (📷uberprutser).

Beach clean-up day at Seymour Bay, Bowen Island. While there were a few curious finds (a flip-flop, a municipal sign and post, and ½ a fiberglass rowboat), the chief culprit was styrofoam. Lots! Ground down by the waves and pushed into the various nooks and crannies along the tidal line...

"...What we need now is not just better policies or better politicians. We need a moral revolution. We need to revive an ancient idea, almost laughable in today's climate, that the purpose of power is to do good..."

"We've built a meritocracy of ambition without morality, of intelligence without integrity, and now we are reaping the consequences. Declining trust, rising cynicism. And
a new generation that sees power as inherently corrupt and all virtue as performance..."

How to start a moral revolution | CBC Radio Historian and author Rutger Bregman's 2025 BBC Reith Lectures titled Moral Revolution delves into the 'age of immorality.' He explores a growing trend for un-seriousness among elites, and asks how we ...

My Saturday listen: Historian @rutgerbregman.com on moral ambition:

www.cbc.ca/radio/ideas/...

YouTube video by Heather Cox Richardson Understanding the U.S. Strike on Venezuela | Explainer

For a big picture view of the Trump administration’s actions in Venezuela, listen to Heather Cox-Richardson’s latest explainer. Her analysis of the US political scene is insightful. Maduro was not a good guy, but the approach deployed here has troubling implications.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=wu9Q...

You could get at least $50 from the bread price-fixing settlement. But the deadline is coming up | CBC News Your chance to get a piece of a $500-million class action settlement, following a years-long bread price fixing scheme will soon expire.

www.cbc.ca/news/busines...

REMINDER - Tomorrow (Fri Dec 12) is the deadline for Canadian consumers to apply for a portion of the $500m grocery price-fixing settlement. Each claimant is eligible for $50 or more.

https : // www. cbc. ca/news/business/bread-price-fixing-settlement-deadline-9.6978171

I've always been fond of this intersection, the scale of the street and its buildings. And, the new shop will complement two other local gems - Velo Star (also in an old corner store) and Ramson's pizza.

A new life for a former neighbourhood grocery store! Glad to see a new, Spanish-flavoured addition to the little commercial node at W16th and Heather.

Via Noms: get scoop - nomsmagazine.com/slice-of-spa...

Geneviève Bergeron
Hélène Colgan
Nathalie Croteau
Barbara Daigneault
Anne-Marie Edward
Maud Haviernick
Maryse Laganière
Maryse Leclair
Anne-Marie Lemay
Sonia Pelletier
Michèle Richard
Annie St-Arneault
Annie Turcotte
Barbara Klucznik-Widajewicz

A great "fireside chat" on surveillance tech and shadowy nature of the surveillance economy. @rondeibert.bsky.social in conversation with Michael Vonn and Charles Campbell. Can't wait to dig into Diebert's book on the work of @citizenlab.ca !

Sitting on a park bench, under the moonlight. #DevonianPark #Vancouver

Zohran Mamdani elected mayor of New York City in historic win Democratic nominee beats Andrew Cuomo and Republican Curtis Silwa, becoming city’s first Muslim mayor

Nice!! A brilliant campaign by Mamdani pays off.

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

A tough loss for the #BlueJays for sure... but a fantastic game and and epic World Series overall. Both teams played solidly throughout, and tonight the better team won. Well done #Dodgers. It's ours next year.

Logo by Kory Parkin

Centrist D66 party projected to win most seats in Dutch election Result would pave the way for the Netherlands’ first out gay prime minister and end far-right populist Geert Wilders’ time in power

"The liberal-progressive D66 party was forecast to become the largest in the Dutch parliament, after a snap general election in which Geert Wilders’ far-right Freedom party was predicted to lose a third of its seats"

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

One of the many lessons from the evening: the importance of advancing human rights in 'small places' - local settings, whether at a dinner table, among a your own peers, in your own public spaces and neighbourhoods. The big work isn't always about the global stage.

Listened to a fantastic conversation on human rights between @alexneve.bsky.social - who delivered this year's #CBC #MasseyLectures - and @globalreportingcentre.org ED Andrea Crossan.

Link to the dialogue here:
www.crowdcast.io/c/a310u7zofbh0

Organized by #BCLibrariesPresent

Reclaiming the City Through Care: Public Urban Cultures of Care (open access)

Practices of #care become ever more important in times of multiple societal crises in which the quality of life of individuals and communities is significantly under stress.

www.cogitatiopress.com/urbanplannin...

Walking just 4,000 daily steps once a week cuts risk of early death in older people, study suggests Researchers say the target significantly reduces risk of dying and lowers likelihood of cardiovascular disease

"Researchers found achieving 4,000 steps per day on one or two days a week was associated with a significantly lower risk of death and lower risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), compared with not reaching this level on any day."

www.theguardian.com/society/2025...

What a game!! An incredible 7th inning turnaround by the Jays with a three run homer by George Springer... and Toronto is heading back to the #WorldSeries for the first time in 3 decades! #GoJays

‘One of the oldest urban centres on the planet’: Gaza’s rich history in ruins The territory’s ancient heritage has too often been ignored. As we mourn incalculable human losses, learning about its past can help us better understand the present

"The human cost of what the UN commission of inquiry recognises as a genocide is of course incalculable, but fewer are aware of how much rich history and archaeology has also been destroyed in these horrific months."

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

Some of the faces that you meet -- on Mississaga St, #Orillia ON.