Tessa Rowland

What’s the worst intersection in Metro Vancouver? (Round 1 – Vancouver) Whether they had a scary experience there themselves or know someone who did, everyone in Metro Vancouver has a least favourite intersection. They might induce fear, rage, confusion, or just plain …

ROUND 1 VOTING IS ON NOW! 🗳️

We asked you to nominate the worst intersection in Metro Vancouver, and we picked the worst 32 for a community vote. Together, we'll crown Metro Vancouver's worst intersection while learning more about the countless ways that we put safety last when designing our roads.

YouTube video by The Nerd Reich with Gil Duran Silicon Valley's Scary New Cult Religion: TESCREAL, with Rev. Otis Moss III and Dr. Emile Torres

Nice to see NYT catching up to the work of people like @xriskology.bsky.social

Here's our talk about Silicon Valley's New Religion (May 2025):

www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1tc...

Judge in Hockey Canada trial failed to understand trauma of E.M.: advocate Women's rights advocate Julie Lalonde says she's disappointed with the verdict in the sexual assault trial against five ex-world junior hockey players, saying the judge failed to understand the impact...

I was on CityNews this morning talking about the Hockey Canada decision, the chilling effect and the neurobiology of trauma.

For weeks now, us experts have been saying that this is fundamentally the crux of this trial : Does the legal system understand coercion? Today's conclusion is a loud and resounding no.

I wanna encourage allies to make donations today.

Every sexual assault centre in the country has seen an uptick in calls *just* from the trial, let alone today's verdict.

I'd also encourage you to support the most effective rape resistance program in the world (based here in Canada!)

Mark Carney’s AI agenda is a gift to Big Tech ⋆ The Breach The Liberal government is charging ahead with the technology despite mounting evidence of harm for workers, vulnerable groups, and public services

Mark Carney promised “elbows up” against the US, but he’s offering a warm embrace to US tech companies and the AI hype they’ve unleashed.

As Canada’s AI minister suggests AI regulation is off the table, there’s ample reason to be worried about Carney’s tech agenda.

My latest for @breachmedia.ca:

interesting it looks like the new darknet market, which is set to replace archetyp is now russian - no fentanyl sales allowed

like a lot of the internet's illicit activities, russia provides a great spot to host darknet markets so long as they do not sell in russia

“Since AFP was founded in 1944, we have lost journalists in conflicts, some have been injured, others taken prisoner.

But none of us remember witnessing colleagues die of hunger"

Globe and Mail reporter targeted by online campaign, photographed surreptitiously in public settings An anonymous X account posted photos of Alberta reporter Carrie Tait and described her movements as she reported on a health authority controversy

Hi, yes, g'morning. This is awkward.

But targeting a reporter - hi! - with
surreptitiously obtained photos and details of her tooling around town is an attack on the public's right to know.

www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/artic...

On the Real-Life Sci-Fi Horror of Silicon Valley A New Comic on the Worldview and and Future Visions of Our Tech Oligarchs

For my new comic, I worked to locate every recent-ish public statement by a U.S. tech billionaire where they talked about their worldview and vision for the future. I wrote about the 3 themes I found again and again in these statements:

open.substack.com/pub/johnnyda...

“I was struck by how much hurt we’re all carrying around with us. The older you get the more tragedy and sickness accumulates, like mollusks on the hull of a ship. The greatest tragedy is we’re expected to bear it.”

So much good stuff:

"Our culture makes no room for grief. We treat death like a chore, a mess to be cleaned up and then moved along from after two-to-three business days. Work awaits. Please make sure your small talk is sanitized and acceptable."

My estranged father died in hospital after years of drug use. He was more than a statistic It goes without saying that there wasn’t a large inheritance from my father. But I did get one thing: empathy

‘It was one of the smoothest public and private sector interactions I’d ever been a part of, and I thought if only this country was as good at taking care of his living body as they were with his dead body, he might still be around.’

www.theglobeandmail.com/gift/90c76fe...

TransLink drops 'Wicked'-themed parody to launch new SkyTrains | Urbanized SkyTrain gets a show-stopping debut as TransLink launches the new Mark V train with a "Wicked"-themed musical parody.

#TransLink has dropped a #Wicked themed parody music video to celebrate the launch of its new generation Mark V #SkyTrain vehicle.

They didn’t skip a beat, and these are TransLink in-house staff singing and performing. 🚆🧙‍♀️

dailyhive.com/vancouver/tr...

A Prominent OpenAI Investor Appears to Be Suffering a ChatGPT-Related Mental Health Crisis, His Peers Say Bedrock co-founder Geoff Lewis has posted increasingly troubling content on social media, drawing concern from friends in the industry.

‘"There’s zero shame in getting help," Wilhelm concurred, "and I really do hope that if this is not performance art that the people around Geoff can grab him in a big old hug and get him someplace where people can help him work this through."’

futurism.com/openai-inves...

photo of the book Empire of Ai by Karen Hao

highly recommend

It’s beyond tragic. It’s systemic. As cycling numbers increase, we cannot accept the status quo of cyclist deaths.

It is on all levels of government to build systems, regulations, and roads that reach Vision Zero.

We’re still very far from that vision.

I donated to this because it makes me furious that the RCMP is being used as a taxpayer funded security arm of the private extraction industry.

There's not much I can do about any of that, except give money to the journalists fighting for their rights to cover this story.

Some of the other important organizations in Mark Carney’s crosshairs: Via Rail, Statistics Canada, The Canadian Museum of Human Rights, the National Gallery of Canada, the National Capital Commission, the Parole Board of Canada, and the National Research Council of Canada.

A photo from the Galiano-Tsawwassen ferry by @canspice.bsky.social that illustrates just how much road space cars occupy compared to pedestrians and cyclists.

Imagine how much more we could do with existing road space if our transportation networks prioritized people over cars!

screenshot of a tweet: Michael Shellenberger @shellenberger "It was a stunning rebuke of the city's soft-on-crime status quo — and suggests that Vancouver might be following the path of San Francisco, another traditionally progressive city that has embraced policing in response to surging crime" @ZivoAdam Opinion: Vancouver joins San Francisco in embracing common-se... From dailyhive.com 1:53 PM • 2022-10-17

tbt to when he was posting steadily about a municipal election taking place in a different country

this is fantastic! an encouraging move that emphasizes an often neglected component of public safety.

people move through cities in a variety of ways, for a variety of purposes. they deserve to do so without the acute risk of traffic violence.

The banality of Palantir’s evil airport ad Why is a company that makes millions tracking down immigrants for ICE advertising at SFO?

The logo for surveillance corporation Palantir is meant to resemble "an orb on a pedestal" (as in the Lord of the Rings) or a "human being reading a book."

That's according to Garry Tan — Palantir employee #10 — who designed it. sf.gazetteer.co/the-banality...

UVic student's mother takes stand on Day 1 of her coroner's inquest Sidney McIntyre-Starko, 18, died a preventable death in a University of Victoria dorm Jan. 23, 2024. An inquest is examining what went wrong

that inquest --
vancouversun.com/news/uvic-mo...

'My girl matters' Gagnon is calling for a coroner's inquest, arguing it would help to establish what the police and coroner did or did not do to investigate the sudden death. Gagnon pointed out that the BC Coroners Service held an inquest for Sidney McIntyre-Starko, an 18-year-old University of Victoria student who died of a drug overdose in 2024. The inquest confirmed that McIntyre-Starko had died of an accidental overdose but made several recommendations to improve emergency response procedures at the university. The decision to hold an inquest followed months of McIntyre-Starko's middle-class family advocating in the media for changes. Gagnon said that even though Dusanic was a low-income woman living with an addiction in the Downtown Eastside, her death and the questions around it deserve the same care and attention.

'[Former RCMP officer Denis] Gagnon is calling for a coroner’s inquest, arguing it would help to establish what the police and coroner did or did not do to investigate the sudden death.'

from @jenstden.bsky.social and @thetyee.ca

What Really Happened to Katica? A Tyee Investigation | The Tyee Did the police and coroner dismiss a homicide as an overdose?

'Katica also struggled with alcohol addiction, and Debby said her daughter had been victimized by men multiple times. Even through her rough patches, Katica talked to Debby almost daily on the phone. [...]

“This file will be reopened,” Todorovic said. “My girl matters.”'

thetyee.ca/News/2025/07...

Great straight-up writing on this story by @lukelebrun.ca.

how lucky we are that weird little guys are a renewable resource

Dystopia Now Dystopia Now is a show where a comedian (Kate Willett) and an academic (Emile Torres) explore the philosophies and religions of Silicon Valley and tech billionaires shaping our country, our world, and...

relevant to Vancouver, good discussion on michael shellenbeger in this week’s episode ‘Ecomodernism and Nuclear Energy’ from @katewillett.bsky.social and @xriskology.bsky.social

pod.link/1794217765/e...