William Turman

“If you wanted to create a tool that would enable the destruction of institutions that prop up democratic life, you could not do better than AI. Authoritarian leaders & tech oligarchs are deploying AI systems to hollow out public institutions with an astonishing alacrity.”

Child at the podium: “A woo woo woo.”

Mamdani: That’s how I felt when we came up with this plan. Together, we will expand the idea of what is possible in our city—and what sounds and noises we can make at a press conference.

Congestion Pricing’s Unexpected Winners: Suburban Drivers NYC’s controversial toll program hasn’t just sped up trips inside Manhattan, a new paper finds. It’s easing traffic in outer boroughs and neighboring counties.

A strange but true finding about NYC congestion pricing:

Drivers’ time savings have overwhelmingly gone to those traveling *outside* the toll zone (i.e., driving from Brooklyn to Queens or within NJ) – not those headed into Manhattan.

Me, in Bloomberg 🧵

Getting off US tech: a guide I’m in the process of dropping US tech services. Here’s how I did it, and options you should consider.

Silicon Valley’s alliance with Donald Trump was a mask off moment and showed the world we can’t depend on US tech companies.

For the past few months, I’ve been trying to get off US tech and I put together a guide so you find alternatives too. I hope you find it helpful!

The gift that keeps on giving: How solar panels on farms can help increase crop yields A new study finds farmers can enjoy increased crop yeilds under partial shade of solar panels long after they stop working decades from now.

Agrivoltaics boost crop yields even when the solar panels aren’t generating power. New research from Canada shows that shading crops with elevated solar panels creates a cooler, wetter microclimate that can lift yields and improve performance across dozens of crops. buff.ly/6eqClf1
#ShareGoodNewsToo

Cyclists ride through downtown Guelph to protest seasonal bike lane closures Council is expected to meet Tuesday morning to discuss the motion.

After last nights protest ride with close to 100 cyclists and a herculean effort from local advocates, organizers, and sympathetic councillors, the City of Guelph has reversed course on plans to close bike lanes this winter!

CTV piece here: www.ctvnews.ca/kitchener/ar...

Most recently, the Region in which I live has put off 3 affordable housing projects so they can fund a police comms centre. Love my local government.

Did I miss that Ontario bill 68 overhauls pensions in a pretty serious way?!?! Specifically changing the governing body of OMERS.
I’m no expert on OMERS, but this seems like it should be getting more press??!!?!

I think you can tell which condos are owned by investors rather than residents by whether they have open-houses.

City Council Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the November 26, 2025 Meeting? The time has come for some budget decisions. The final countdown is underway and zero hour is this particular Wednesday morning when council sits to confirm the 2026 municipal budget! At stake is t…

It's Budget Day in #Guelph!! Follow this thread here for live coverage as changes are made... guelphpolitico.ca/2025/11/14/c...

Just ONE DAY left to submit a comment on Bill 60, which will block not only ALL new bike lanes in Ontario that take away car lanes, but also puts bus lanes, patios, and pedestrian streets at risk too. Submit your comment here before the end of November 22: ero.ontario.ca/notice/025-1...

🚨 Bill 60 would BAN new bike lanes that take a lane from cars — province-wide. This is a direct attack on road safety, climate action, and livable cities. Raise your voice. Tell the Ford government: #SafeStreets aren’t optional.
#Bill60 #BikeHamOnt #HamOnt #onpoli

And… Regional Committee supports a full ION light rail extension to Cambridge 15 to 1! Onwards to Cambridge!

(To be fully ratified at Regional Council on November 19.)

Great thread to follow along public decisions making on ion to Cambridge

Repeat this over and over. Doug Ford will kill people.

I see a surging trade union movement supported by a resurgent federal @ndp.ca.

Add a common front of social movements and we could push the Carney-Poilievre alliance off the damaging path they’ve put Canada on.

Sec 107 must go!

And it’s just the start.

#DrawTheLine

This is the way

This.
I believe there should be no political violence. And until people calling for an end to political violence also mean violence resulting from policy, systemic racism, wage theft, etc. it’s hard for me to take them seriously. They usually just mean to end politically inconvenient violence.

After Charlie Kirk's death, teachers and professors nationwide fired or disciplined over social media posts At least a dozen faculty and staff have faced fallout over insensitive comments online.

I am having a hard time reconciling "Charlie Kirk was a fierce advocate of open dialogue and free expression" with "we must identify and persecute everyone who is insufficiently mournful"

Charlie Kirk’s Legacy Deserves No Mourning The white Christian nationalist provocateur wasn’t a promoter of civil discourse. He preached hate, bigotry, and division

The Nation pulls NO punches, from @espiers.bsky.social

"There's no requirement to take part in this whitewashing campaign. Refusing to join in doesn’t make anyone a bad person. It’s a choice to write an obituary that begins “Joseph Goebbels was a gifted marketer and loving father to six children.”

I strangely find the run backs kinda cathartic. It’s a different mindset like speedrunning where you aren’t exploring, just honing your route to be as fast and efficient as possible. I thought The last judge run back was fun.

Building ION to Cambridge, Costs and Benefits Things are heating up on ION stage 2, with more voices for LRT and with Regional Council hearing next week about the preliminary results of the Initial Business Case. In November, staff will share the...

Our first IONizeWR newsletter update is on the initial business case. We want to see LRT all the way to downtown Cambridge, and then keep building. Let's think bigger:

Hot take: we should actually build shorter buildings next to loud roads and get higher towards the centre of residential blocks. Current patterns maximize the # of homes that get blasted by a jerk revving a Harley. 1 small building could block the sound for tall buildings behind.

IONize Waterloo Region Charge Up Waterloo Region With Transit

It’s time to IONize Waterloo Region!

Announcing our new campaign to build ION light rail the full length to Cambridge, and then to keep building. Check it out, and sign up for our newsletter for updates:

In case you're wondering, yes there are still "wait and see" Carney apologists in comments. Nothing is going to wake them up until after it's too late.

Anyone else get what look like fake ai generated videos from mark carney asking people to sign up for an AI service?

This is actually a very cool thing to say.

“Arrest me for striking, I dare you”

Thank the Downtown BIA too! They put in an enormous amount of work on this!

Best day of the year in 77 days. Countdown is on

The Asian night market in Kitchener is phenomenal. Probably one of the best events to close king street. Even the permanent stores have lineups onto the street.