Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Blayne Haggart @bhaggart.bsky.social · 5h

Same! Still bummed I missed Lush when they came thru New York a while back.

Reposted by Blayne Haggart

Michèle Champagne @michhham.bsky.social · 7h

Canadians, fill out this survey on the federal government’s push to accelerate “AI”.

Its technological solutionism reminds me less of DOGE and more of Sidewalk Toronto’s pitch for a “smart city” where power faded into the background while trumpets promised wealth, ethics, and inclusivity.

Help define the next chapter of Canada's AI leadership

Current status: Open from October 1 to October 31, 2025 Canada helped invent modern AI. To stay a leader—and protect our digital sovereignty—we're running a 30-day national sprint to shape a renew...

ised-isde.canada.ca

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Reposted by Blayne Haggart

Alex Hanna-ween @alexhanna.bsky.social · 9h

We need to stop using Scholar yesterday.

Jacqueline Antonovich @jackiantonovich.bsky.social · 9h

I weep.

Google Scholar Homepage with an AI assistant

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Blayne Haggart @bhaggart.bsky.social · 15h

Generative AI as Lynchian evil.

youtu.be/9ShRdYm2ogE?...

This is the water. And this is the well. | Twin Peaks | Season 3

YouTube video by Vlad Tretjakof

youtu.be

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Blayne Haggart @bhaggart.bsky.social · 16h

Your regular reminder that Australian Rules football commentary is the best commentary:
AFL Women Swans v Blues. Swan player Montana Ham, who's been an inaccurate shot all year, misses her second easy shot on goal in about two minutes:
"The little man's on her shoulder."

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Reposted by Blayne Haggart

My IRL friends call me Chris @christyceeck.bsky.social · 17h

I have some questions after reading this story...

“Our pilots are off to the U.S. in the next few months to start training,” she added. “The infrastructure is going up. We have airfields being extended to get ready, so we are definitely not in a position where we are waiting.”

‘We are moving forward’: top soldier says F-35 preparations continue despite government review

Chief of the Defence Staff Gen. Jennie Carignan says the Canadian military is moving ahead with its preparations for F-35 fighter jets despite an ongoing government review of the purchase.

www.ctvnews.ca

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Reposted by Blayne Haggart

Jörg Broschek 🇨🇦 @jbroschek.bsky.social · 1d

... We would recognize the need for a countrywide dialogue about the generational challenges facing Canada. We would provide Canadians with the information they need to make thoughtful choices... And we would recognize that serious conversation takes time."

www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/arti...

Opinion: We’re missing a vision for Canada

We are living in a different world, and we need to talk about what that means for all of us

www.theglobeandmail.com

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Reposted by Blayne Haggart

Jörg Broschek 🇨🇦 @jbroschek.bsky.social · 1d

"And even if the Carney government has a plan, when did the rest of us agree to it? If Canada is really at a crossroads, you would expect a serious national conversation about which road we should follow. (...)"

And:

"Here’s what a better response to a “hinge moment” would look like....

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Reposted by Blayne Haggart

Jörg Broschek 🇨🇦 @jbroschek.bsky.social · 1d

If there is really no alternative to closer defence integration - no capacity for choice, in other words - as all quoted experts seem to suggest, then this begs a more fundamental question that calls for an honest, broad public discourse:

To what extent is Canada still a "sovereign" state?

Blayne Haggart @bhaggart.bsky.social · 1d

My naive wish is that even one Canadian journalist, one politician, one security analyst, would address the implications of Canada choosing military integration with an authoritarian power that no longer respects the rule of law or international law.
Looks like that’s not going to happen today.

Golden Dome signals change to Canada’s long-time opposition to joining U.S. missile defence

Canada opted to stay on the sidelines in 2005 as the U.S. developed defences against ballistic missiles

www.theglobeandmail.com

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Reposted by Blayne Haggart

Jeff Doctor @jeff.doctor · 1d

You want a nuanced analysis of "digital sovereignty?" Ask Indigenous people who have been thinking about this long before settlers have who take the notion of "sovereignty" for granted. That's why Canadians are flailing about panicking now. They didn't barely considered this a "thing" until Trump

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Reposted by Blayne Haggart

Jeff Doctor @jeff.doctor · 1d

I am once again asking Canadian journalists to ask the most basic-ass question of "on whose land will these be built?" How is it that every other major industry must consider Indigenous rights but with tech it's like "meh".
www.cbc.ca/news/busines...

ANALYSIS | Why OpenAI wants to help Canada build homegrown artificial intelligence | CBC News

OpenAI wants to help Canada build a sovereign digital infrastructure for artificial intelligence, putting the country in a tough spot as it tries to distance itself from overreliance on U.S. tech comp...

www.cbc.ca

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Blayne Haggart @bhaggart.bsky.social · 1d

Happy to see @gbeaumier.bsky.social quoted in this story, talking sense about OpenAI's bananas idea.

FuzzyWuzzy in Toronto🇨🇦 @fuzzywuzzyto.bsky.social · 1d

I want to cry. ---- One of the world's biggest AI ...
www.cbc.ca/news/busines...

ANALYSIS | Why OpenAI wants to help Canada build homegrown artificial intelligence | CBC News

OpenAI wants to help Canada build a sovereign digital infrastructure for artificial intelligence, putting the country in a tough spot as it tries to distance itself from overreliance on U.S. tech comp...

www.cbc.ca

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Blayne Haggart @bhaggart.bsky.social · 1d

Song for Saturday.

youtu.be/mMVOtmOR7qk?...

Reagan Youth

YouTube video by Superchunk - Topic

youtu.be

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Blayne Haggart @bhaggart.bsky.social · 1d

I think I saw that, but I've yet to see it mentioned outside of social media, like in an oped or news article.

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Blayne Haggart @bhaggart.bsky.social · 1d

Carney’s strategy is the exact opposite of what Canadians voted for. It’s clear that he’s making many unacknowledged/unexplained assumptions, while ignoring many obvious risks.
Mark Carney is not the CEO of Canada. He’s an elected leader. He needs to explain himself to Canadians.

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Blayne Haggart @bhaggart.bsky.social · 1d

“Carney’s decision to work with Donald Trump on an advanced missile shield ... will set the stage for deepening military co-operation between the two countries.”

How much more directly can it be said? This is deeper integration. Where you buy your guns doesn’t matter if you’re still on Team USA.

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Blayne Haggart @bhaggart.bsky.social · 1d

Trump is not Bush. The US of 2025 is not the US of 2005. The problem posed by this plan is more complex now than it was. But if, like Mark Carney and the Canadian Forces, you see only an economic threat, you’re not going to take appropriate steps to limit our exposure to US authoritarianism.

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Blayne Haggart @bhaggart.bsky.social · 1d

My naive wish is that even one Canadian journalist, one politician, one security analyst, would address the implications of Canada choosing military integration with an authoritarian power that no longer respects the rule of law or international law.
Looks like that’s not going to happen today.

Golden Dome signals change to Canada’s long-time opposition to joining U.S. missile defence

Canada opted to stay on the sidelines in 2005 as the U.S. developed defences against ballistic missiles

www.theglobeandmail.com

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Reposted by Blayne Haggart

Michael Nabert @sustainablesong.bsky.social · 2d

Harper made Canada the worst climate performer among industrial nations, ranked 58th best by the international Climate Change Performance Index.

Trudeau made Canada an even worse climate arsonist than under Harper, dropping us to an even more dismal 62nd place.

Carney: "Hold my beer."

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Reposted by Blayne Haggart

Emmett Macfarlane 🇨🇦 @emmettmacfarlane.com · 2d

I will forever find the idea that you can't find equally qualified (maybe even more qualified) people for half the price in pretty much any of these positions, such as CEOs for state agencies, university presidents, etc. etc. etc., to be total bullshit. Overpaid and unjustifiably so.

National Newswatch @nationalnewswatch.com · 2d

Carney defends paying 2 CEO appointees upwards of $577,000 a year nationalnewswatch.com/2025/10/10/c...

Carney defends paying 2 CEO appointees upwards of $577,000 a year

National Newswatch: Canada's most comprehensive site for political news and views.

nationalnewswatch.com

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Blayne Haggart @bhaggart.bsky.social · 2d

Absolutely!

Blayne Haggart @bhaggart.bsky.social · 2d

Mark Carney sold himself as a pro-sovereignty, transformational leader, but he has acted like a defender of a status quo based on confined dependence on a Trumpist United States.
In any case, that’s not what Canadians voted for. But I’m not sure that Carney cares about that small point.

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Blayne Haggart @bhaggart.bsky.social · 2d

The tell is that Carney has paid ZERO attention to the governance structures that underpin and reinforce US integration. These include military interoperability, regulatory dependence, and network and digital dependence, including US domination of digital comms, email and other digital services.

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Blayne Haggart @bhaggart.bsky.social · 2d

And before any Carney stans “well actually” me with his feints at trade diversification, Mitchell Sharp pointed out *IN 1972* that such actions can be fully consistent with an attempt to maintain the deeper, inertia-driven status quo. In any case, they’re not close to being up to the challenge.

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Blayne Haggart @bhaggart.bsky.social · 2d

If Canada wishes to remain a sovereign country, our leaders need to stop thinking that “North America” exists. Now, there is only the US, Canada, and Mexico. We need to reject Carney’s appeasement strategy — there’s no other word for it—and fully reckon with the cost of independence.

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