kar0ling

The election is over so I guess the FreeP won't be publishing my letter. I always hang on to them for a week after submitting just in case.  Dear Winnipeg Free Press All the big cities have fallen to Post Media, but Winnipeg proudly continues to have an independent daily newspaper.  So it’s all the more disappointing that our scrappy Winnipeg independent is bowing to power instead of honouring our democratic ideals. The CBC managed to find a rubric to exclude most of the mayoral slate from the televised debate, including only the three front-runners incapable of producing a single progressive policy proposal between them. The FreeP has been giving disproportionate ink to the same three, despite a field 12 candidates wide and a largely undecided electorate.   This purportedly unengaged and uninspired electorate rose up 1300 strong to appeal for another candidate – a fresh face, a young voice, a progressive thinker – to be included in CBC’s one-hour (with c...

Shift Action is helpfully equipping Canadians to petition the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board not to destroy our future with its investments in fossil fuels. Of course, they are completely ignoring us, but one tries anyway.  They've just completed their biennial cross country tour where they fly 4 or 5 executives to almost a dozen different cities to hold a public meeting of exactly one hour in duration. A good half of the meeting is spent on them self congratulating on what a good job they are doing. Then they turn it over to open mic where they do their best to avoid giving straight answers to any questions. They cut off the meeting precisely on the hour regardless of how many people are still standing in line for the mic.  Given how much expense and effort goes into setting up these meetings (they pay for downtown parking for attendees with a generous hour or more margin on either side of the meeting!), one would think they could maybe be available for a larger window ...

(A little spice added to a form letter from Just Peace Advocates) I am disgusted by what I have learned through CPPIB’s 2026 Annual Report.  An analysis of CPPIB’s holdings shows more than $54 billion invested in companies that are actively participating in illegal activities in occupied Palestinian territory. As of 31 March 2026 (fiscal year end 2025/2026), CPPIB had over $54 billion invested in 120 companies complicit in Israel’s genocide, war crimes, and apartheid. This represents 6.9% of CPPIB’s total holdings in 25/26. This includes 8 companies listed on the UN Database — 3 US companies (Airbnb, Booking Holdings, and Motorola Soutions) and 5 Israeli companies (Bank Hapoalim, Bank Leumi, Delek Group, Israel Discount Bank, and Mizrahi Tefahot Bank).  Further, as of the 25/26 fiscal year, CPPIB drastically increased its investments in complicit Israeli companies. CPPIB reported investments in 21 complicit companies that did not appear in either the 23/24 or 24/25 annual repo...

A message to a mayoral candidate Just a few thoughts arising from the BW ride with the ED.  1) That bridge connecting Edmonton and Scott across the Assiniboine would be nice, of course. But we don't have the money to even build it, much less to build all the other bridges that would be desired.  The reason that a downtown AT bridge is so greatly desired is because the city *somehow* failed to put a bike lane on the Osborne Bridge when they rehabbed it in 2010ish, despite the fact that is was in *all the plans*.  Meanwhile there *are* three bridges downtown. Yes, they all have their challenges for cyclists, but there *are* three bridges.  Whereas Maryland to Omand's Creek is a *very* long stretch with *no bridges whatsoever* (except that sewage bridge at Aubrey taunting every pedestrian or cyclist who has to bike kms out of their way to connect from Cambridge to Sherburn. Poop can cross here but humans cannot.).  Since we do not have all the money in the world to...

11 seniors.  11 white haired grandparents of young people were arrested today for the crime of telling the Prime Minister truths he didn't want to hear.  We are supposed to be different than the USA.  The fact that the arresting officers were "polite" is not good enough.  The fact the 11 seniors were released within the hour is not good enough.  These people should never have been arrested.  These people have never had to make their epic trek across the country to go to Ottawa to express their feelings of utter betrayal that the calm, competent man so many believed would be the saviour of Canada has instead jammed his foot on the accelerator toward both fascism and climate catastrophe.  You have no mandate for this, sir, and these people were here to tell you that. The fact you arrested them says you know but don't care.  This is completely unacceptable.  This is not the Canada anyone voted for. Sent to PM, leader of CPC, leader of Greens, l...

It may not concern others quite as much as it does me that ad revenue dried up for newspapers because with all the traffic Facebook was soaking up from the traffic it got from sharing news articles on their platform (especially when they add in algorithmic creepiness targeting). Not everyone is journalism adjacent and likes getting paid for their work.  It may not concern others quite as much as it does me that they added insult to injury by making it so we can't post news on Facebook here in Canada. Not everyone makes a good half of their posts around news articles.  But it should bother all of us that the tech giants raking in billions of revenue are able to squirrel out of an obligation to pay reparations to Canadian media. And you can blame our dear Mr Carney who made it one of his first acts as Prime Minister to just let the tech bastards off scot-free seconds away from them finally paying up. Nothing changed but there was no money.  So, when Tax Fairness offered a l...