Owen Lawson
@owencpl.bsky.social
Work in Tech, Progressive, Father
Toronto, ON
He/him
Toronto, ON
He/him
Reposted by Owen Lawson
centrists will tell you to your face that we all need to abandon identity issues, and focus on kitchen table issues instead and yet when a leftist candidate runs a generational campaign based on kitchen table issues, it's the centrists weaponizing identity politics to smear the leftist.
October 28, 2025 at 12:08 AM
centrists will tell you to your face that we all need to abandon identity issues, and focus on kitchen table issues instead and yet when a leftist candidate runs a generational campaign based on kitchen table issues, it's the centrists weaponizing identity politics to smear the leftist.
Reposted by Owen Lawson
This outrage is pure Zionist anti-Palestinian racism and islamophobia. A language is not inherently antisemitic. It’s disgusting that this farce was entertained.
‘We are deeply sorry’: Toronto principal apologizes after Arabic version of ‘O Canada’ played at school on Oct. 7
‘We are deeply sorry’: Toronto principal apologizes after Arabic version of ‘O Canada’ played at school on Oct. 7
A principal at a Toronto high school has apologized after an Arabic version of ‘O Canada’ was played during morning announcements on the Oct. 7 anniversary of the deadly Hamas terrorist attacks on Israeli civilians.
www.cp24.com
October 10, 2025 at 2:42 PM
This outrage is pure Zionist anti-Palestinian racism and islamophobia. A language is not inherently antisemitic. It’s disgusting that this farce was entertained.
Reposted by Owen Lawson
Serbian police have arrested eleven people for Islamophobic and antisemitic attacks in France, designed to convince French Muslims and French Jews to each blame the other and to exacerbate ethnic tensions inside France. They allegedly acted on behalf of Russia. www.timesofisrael.com/serbia-arres...
Serbia arrests 11 citizens accused of stirring Jewish-Muslim hate in France, Germany
12th Serb still on run accused of following orders of unidentified foreign intelligence service in training the group to deface Jewish sites and place pigs' heads outside a mosque
www.timesofisrael.com
September 29, 2025 at 11:41 PM
Serbian police have arrested eleven people for Islamophobic and antisemitic attacks in France, designed to convince French Muslims and French Jews to each blame the other and to exacerbate ethnic tensions inside France. They allegedly acted on behalf of Russia. www.timesofisrael.com/serbia-arres...
Reposted by Owen Lawson
Don’t you dare call us fascists, they say, as they force people off the airwaves for criticizing them while vowing to crush and criminalize their opposition.
September 18, 2025 at 10:33 AM
Don’t you dare call us fascists, they say, as they force people off the airwaves for criticizing them while vowing to crush and criminalize their opposition.
Reposted by Owen Lawson
September 17, 2025 at 8:35 AM
Reposted by Owen Lawson
The first Nazi book burnings were the biggest archive of trans research that existed at the time.
US government orders 46 states to destroy trans education materials
https://www.thepinknews.com/2025/08/27/trans-education-us-state-directive/?utm_content=1756312804&utm_medium=social&utm_source=bluesky
https://www.thepinknews.com/2025/08/27/trans-education-us-state-directive/?utm_content=1756312804&utm_medium=social&utm_source=bluesky
US government orders states to destroy trans education materials
The US government has ordered 46 states and territories to destroy education materials referencing trans people.
www.thepinknews.com
August 29, 2025 at 9:13 AM
The first Nazi book burnings were the biggest archive of trans research that existed at the time.
Reposted by Owen Lawson
Huh, when Air Canada couldn't rely on back-to-order orders from the government, they sure suddenly were able to bargain in good faith and reach an agreement pretty quickly...
www.cbc.ca/news/busines...
www.cbc.ca/news/busines...
Air Canada, flight attendants reach tentative deal to end strike | CBC News
A tentative agreement has been reached to end the contract dispute between Air Canada and its flight attendants, both the airline and the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) said early Tuesday.
www.cbc.ca
August 19, 2025 at 12:09 PM
Huh, when Air Canada couldn't rely on back-to-order orders from the government, they sure suddenly were able to bargain in good faith and reach an agreement pretty quickly...
www.cbc.ca/news/busines...
www.cbc.ca/news/busines...
I get frustrated sometimes with people writing off this new batch of 'AI' as nothing but a pointless toy as I think it's a lazy take. The technology is already being used in some really beneficial ways and we should not discount those.
Then I see someone like this...
Then I see someone like this...
"I’ll go down this thread with GPT or Grok and I’ll start to get to the edge of what’s known in quantum physics and then I’m doing the equivalent of vibe coding, except it’s vibe physics,” said Travis Kalanick, the founder of Uber.
gizmodo.com/billionaires...
gizmodo.com/billionaires...
July 17, 2025 at 12:12 AM
I get frustrated sometimes with people writing off this new batch of 'AI' as nothing but a pointless toy as I think it's a lazy take. The technology is already being used in some really beneficial ways and we should not discount those.
Then I see someone like this...
Then I see someone like this...
Back in the mid-aughts I read a screenplay for Neuromancer that was apparently being considered for development. It was... ok, but despite that it was also exciting to consider getting to see this story told on screen.
Based on the recent quality of Murderbot, this is much more exciting.
Based on the recent quality of Murderbot, this is much more exciting.
I imagined the Chatsubo in 1984. 41 years later I opened its door. Neuromancer is in production.
July 2, 2025 at 12:16 AM
Back in the mid-aughts I read a screenplay for Neuromancer that was apparently being considered for development. It was... ok, but despite that it was also exciting to consider getting to see this story told on screen.
Based on the recent quality of Murderbot, this is much more exciting.
Based on the recent quality of Murderbot, this is much more exciting.
Reposted by Owen Lawson
EXCLUSIVE: American Security Contractor Unloads On US-Israeli ‘Gaza Humanitarian Foundation’
EXCLUSIVE: American Security Contractor Unloads On US-Israeli ‘Gaza Humanitarian Foundation’
I thought I was signing up for an aid mission. But what I've witnessed in Gaza is horrific.
zeteo.com
June 12, 2025 at 5:21 PM
EXCLUSIVE: American Security Contractor Unloads On US-Israeli ‘Gaza Humanitarian Foundation’
Reposted by Owen Lawson
With the cancellation of Project Bifrost, my time at People Can Fly is at an end. It’s been an honor working with such a passionate, creative, freakishly talented team.
So now I’m officially #OpenToWork, if you know a team in need of an experienced Lead/Principal/Senior Game Designer. #GameJobs
So now I’m officially #OpenToWork, if you know a team in need of an experienced Lead/Principal/Senior Game Designer. #GameJobs
June 4, 2025 at 10:33 PM
With the cancellation of Project Bifrost, my time at People Can Fly is at an end. It’s been an honor working with such a passionate, creative, freakishly talented team.
So now I’m officially #OpenToWork, if you know a team in need of an experienced Lead/Principal/Senior Game Designer. #GameJobs
So now I’m officially #OpenToWork, if you know a team in need of an experienced Lead/Principal/Senior Game Designer. #GameJobs
Reposted by Owen Lawson
The White House doesn’t care about Garcia’s legal status because they’re not enforcing immigration law—they’re conducting ethnic cleansing.
They can’t justify their actions legally, but they don’t think they need to.
They can’t justify their actions legally, but they don’t think they need to.
April 18, 2025 at 4:14 PM
The White House doesn’t care about Garcia’s legal status because they’re not enforcing immigration law—they’re conducting ethnic cleansing.
They can’t justify their actions legally, but they don’t think they need to.
They can’t justify their actions legally, but they don’t think they need to.
Reposted by Owen Lawson
Kidnapping.
Capturing a person against their will without due process is called kidnapping.
Transporting them to another country without due process is called human trafficking.
A squalid extrajudicial prison for people found guilty of no crime is called a concentration camp.
Capturing a person against their will without due process is called kidnapping.
Transporting them to another country without due process is called human trafficking.
A squalid extrajudicial prison for people found guilty of no crime is called a concentration camp.
stop calling things deportation just because they call it deportation.
-You cannot legally deport people without due process.
-You cannot legally deport citizens.
-They are defining down deportation to break the law.
-You cannot legally deport people without due process.
-You cannot legally deport citizens.
-They are defining down deportation to break the law.
Leavitt confirmed that the WH is working on deporting US citizens to El Salvador
April 8, 2025 at 9:02 PM
Kidnapping.
Capturing a person against their will without due process is called kidnapping.
Transporting them to another country without due process is called human trafficking.
A squalid extrajudicial prison for people found guilty of no crime is called a concentration camp.
Capturing a person against their will without due process is called kidnapping.
Transporting them to another country without due process is called human trafficking.
A squalid extrajudicial prison for people found guilty of no crime is called a concentration camp.
Reposted by Owen Lawson
This is literally how the Holocaust started, and honestly I'm tired of saying so
This is the literal destruction of knowledge.
Mississippi libraries are being ordered to remove academic research on race and gender from library databases.
mississippitoday.org/2025/04/08/m...
Mississippi libraries are being ordered to remove academic research on race and gender from library databases.
mississippitoday.org/2025/04/08/m...
Mississippi libraries ordered to delete academic research in response to state laws - Mississippi Today
The two research collections state officials ordered for deletion included material from professional journals, conference papers, books, student dissertations, periodicals and newspaper articles.
mississippitoday.org
April 9, 2025 at 1:45 AM
This is literally how the Holocaust started, and honestly I'm tired of saying so
Reposted by Owen Lawson
My latest -- honest takes on strategic voting are few and far between, so here something to chew on.
Stop lying to yourself about strategic voting
The other day, I saw my first Conservative placard.
open.substack.com
April 3, 2025 at 2:16 PM
My latest -- honest takes on strategic voting are few and far between, so here something to chew on.
Reposted by Owen Lawson
BREAKING: Yuval Abraham, co-director of Oscar-winning documentary "No Other Land," says Israeli settlers beat his co-director Hamdan Ballal, injuring his head and stomach — and then Israeli soldiers invaded the ambulance he was in and seized him.
Ballal's whereabouts are now unknown.
Ballal's whereabouts are now unknown.
March 24, 2025 at 6:30 PM
BREAKING: Yuval Abraham, co-director of Oscar-winning documentary "No Other Land," says Israeli settlers beat his co-director Hamdan Ballal, injuring his head and stomach — and then Israeli soldiers invaded the ambulance he was in and seized him.
Ballal's whereabouts are now unknown.
Ballal's whereabouts are now unknown.
Reposted by Owen Lawson
Donald Trump proudly pardoned the Nazi who wore a "Camp Auschwitz" sweatshirt while storming the Capitol and beating cops to death.
Anyone who actually believes Trump's prosecuting Mahmoud Khalil because of "antisemitism and rule of law" is either lying to themselves or a closeted Nazi.
Anyone who actually believes Trump's prosecuting Mahmoud Khalil because of "antisemitism and rule of law" is either lying to themselves or a closeted Nazi.
March 11, 2025 at 2:31 AM
Donald Trump proudly pardoned the Nazi who wore a "Camp Auschwitz" sweatshirt while storming the Capitol and beating cops to death.
Anyone who actually believes Trump's prosecuting Mahmoud Khalil because of "antisemitism and rule of law" is either lying to themselves or a closeted Nazi.
Anyone who actually believes Trump's prosecuting Mahmoud Khalil because of "antisemitism and rule of law" is either lying to themselves or a closeted Nazi.
Reposted by Owen Lawson
Just imagine that after the last four weeks of campaigning, the only gain your party made was to defeat a Black woman who your party tried to destroy for supporting Palestine. Incredible stuff from the ONDP.
February 28, 2025 at 1:46 PM
Just imagine that after the last four weeks of campaigning, the only gain your party made was to defeat a Black woman who your party tried to destroy for supporting Palestine. Incredible stuff from the ONDP.
This is a great way of describing a very real phenomenon. Saw this all the time back when I worked in games.
A similar rule holds true outside of games. Qualitative customer & user feedback is incredibly valuable, just make sure you're focusing on the problems identified, not the offered solutions.
A similar rule holds true outside of games. Qualitative customer & user feedback is incredibly valuable, just make sure you're focusing on the problems identified, not the offered solutions.
Don't just listen to players. If given the option, they'll optimize the game out of their games, and the story out of their stories. It's our job to filter information and data and feedback into good work, and while we'll sometimes miss it's better than blindly following surveys.
I once worked on a visual novel game where all the surveys and focus groups said that nobody wanted romance, they only wanted mystery and sci-fi.
Then 75+% of clicks in-game went to stories with explicit romantic or sexy themes.
www.pcgamer.com/gaming-indus...
Then 75+% of clicks in-game went to stories with explicit romantic or sexy themes.
www.pcgamer.com/gaming-indus...
February 23, 2025 at 3:22 PM
This is a great way of describing a very real phenomenon. Saw this all the time back when I worked in games.
A similar rule holds true outside of games. Qualitative customer & user feedback is incredibly valuable, just make sure you're focusing on the problems identified, not the offered solutions.
A similar rule holds true outside of games. Qualitative customer & user feedback is incredibly valuable, just make sure you're focusing on the problems identified, not the offered solutions.
Reposted by Owen Lawson
Israel just killed all humanitarian services for Palestinians. Medical, food, water, everything. The genocide continues. The scale of Israel's relentless murder and terror is unspeakable - a blight on humanity like very few evils in history.
www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/1/...
www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/1/...
Israel’s ban on UNRWA comes into effect despite backlash
Israel has repeatedly accused UNRWA employees of involvement in the October 7 attack without providing proof.
www.aljazeera.com
January 30, 2025 at 11:25 AM
Israel just killed all humanitarian services for Palestinians. Medical, food, water, everything. The genocide continues. The scale of Israel's relentless murder and terror is unspeakable - a blight on humanity like very few evils in history.
www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/1/...
www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/1/...
Reposted by Owen Lawson
Ash Orr is without his passport, without his birth certificate and without his marriage license. He doesn't know if or when he'll get them back.
The State Dept. is holding his documents as it freezes all applications from Americans seeking to update their passports with a new gender marker.
The State Dept. is holding his documents as it freezes all applications from Americans seeking to update their passports with a new gender marker.
The State Department is blocking new passports for trans Americans
The ACLU has warned that transgender people risk losing access to their passport and supporting documents if they apply to update their gender marker.
19thnews.org
January 28, 2025 at 7:12 PM
Ash Orr is without his passport, without his birth certificate and without his marriage license. He doesn't know if or when he'll get them back.
The State Dept. is holding his documents as it freezes all applications from Americans seeking to update their passports with a new gender marker.
The State Dept. is holding his documents as it freezes all applications from Americans seeking to update their passports with a new gender marker.
Reposted by Owen Lawson
Everyone should be aware of the line that has been crossed in the Trump trans military EO.
No longer is this about "evidence," "science" or "protecting kids."
Now, explicitly, black and white, it's about trans people being "liars," "dishonorable," "false."
It's a big step towards very bad things.
No longer is this about "evidence," "science" or "protecting kids."
Now, explicitly, black and white, it's about trans people being "liars," "dishonorable," "false."
It's a big step towards very bad things.
January 28, 2025 at 6:01 AM
Everyone should be aware of the line that has been crossed in the Trump trans military EO.
No longer is this about "evidence," "science" or "protecting kids."
Now, explicitly, black and white, it's about trans people being "liars," "dishonorable," "false."
It's a big step towards very bad things.
No longer is this about "evidence," "science" or "protecting kids."
Now, explicitly, black and white, it's about trans people being "liars," "dishonorable," "false."
It's a big step towards very bad things.
Reposted by Owen Lawson
I know that there's this feeling out there that someday, everyone will pretend that they were always opposed to Israel's aggression. I think that there is some truth in this belief but I think that more than truth, it won't end up being true.
January 15, 2025 at 6:48 PM
I know that there's this feeling out there that someday, everyone will pretend that they were always opposed to Israel's aggression. I think that there is some truth in this belief but I think that more than truth, it won't end up being true.
Reposted by Owen Lawson
Truly heinous www.404media.co/meta-deletes...
Meta Deletes Trans and Nonbinary Messenger Themes
Amid a series of changes that allows users to target LGBTQ+ people, Meta has deleted product features it initially championed.
www.404media.co
January 10, 2025 at 7:38 PM
Truly heinous www.404media.co/meta-deletes...