Matt Kavanagh
@mattkavanagh.bsky.social
college professor / contemporary American novel / film noir / financial fiction / writer and reviewer / 🇨🇦 / personal account
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Matt Kavanagh
@mattkavanagh.bsky.social
· Nov 14
Since I’m new here, I thought I’d repost myTwitter thread from 2018 on #HannahArendt and #Trumphasia: a topic that is unfortunately still relevant today. 1/
Reposted by Matt Kavanagh
as always, transphobia consumes your entire personality until there is nothing left but deeply offputting garbage
November 27, 2025 at 9:28 PM
as always, transphobia consumes your entire personality until there is nothing left but deeply offputting garbage
Reposted by Matt Kavanagh
This is why OpenAI is selling so aggressively to education at all levels—they want to create entire generations of users incapable of reading, writing and thinking without ChatGPT to hold their hands
And teachers and professors should call this out for what it actually is
And teachers and professors should call this out for what it actually is
To bear out this rosy projection, HSBC assumes that OpenAI will become "as ubiquitous [...] as Microsoft 365" (345mm users worldwide) while bringing in 10x the number of users (3bn).
November 25, 2025 at 11:11 PM
This is why OpenAI is selling so aggressively to education at all levels—they want to create entire generations of users incapable of reading, writing and thinking without ChatGPT to hold their hands
And teachers and professors should call this out for what it actually is
And teachers and professors should call this out for what it actually is
Reposted by Matt Kavanagh
This statement is way outside of CIA’s lane and erosive of the ethical norm that intelligence should be non-partisan. If that norm vanishes, intelligence loses a very large portion of its value.
CIA statement about the Afghan man identified as the gunman who shot two National Guardsmen in Washington
November 27, 2025 at 6:48 PM
This statement is way outside of CIA’s lane and erosive of the ethical norm that intelligence should be non-partisan. If that norm vanishes, intelligence loses a very large portion of its value.
Why do we have diplomatic relations with a country that does this?
A clearer video show Israeli soldiers shooting two young Palestinian men at point-blank range after they surrendered near the Jenin refugee camp, following a military raid in the northern occupied West Bank.
No official information issued so far about their condition.
No official information issued so far about their condition.
November 27, 2025 at 8:29 PM
Why do we have diplomatic relations with a country that does this?
Here’s the thing: if these energy projects are in the national interest and the federal government can override provincial jurisdiction, then it cuts both ways.
I don’t think the way Alberta has managed its resource sector is in the national interest. Where has that resource wealth gone?
I don’t think the way Alberta has managed its resource sector is in the national interest. Where has that resource wealth gone?
I'm not interested in "I told you so."
A lot of people voted Liberal because they were terrified of Poilievre and his gang. I get that.
But Carney's who we got, he's being a weak leader, pushing policies that are harming the vast majority of us and it's time to just admit he sucks and push back.
A lot of people voted Liberal because they were terrified of Poilievre and his gang. I get that.
But Carney's who we got, he's being a weak leader, pushing policies that are harming the vast majority of us and it's time to just admit he sucks and push back.
Mark Carney drops Trudeau-era climate measures in energy deal with Alberta
November 27, 2025 at 8:01 PM
Here’s the thing: if these energy projects are in the national interest and the federal government can override provincial jurisdiction, then it cuts both ways.
I don’t think the way Alberta has managed its resource sector is in the national interest. Where has that resource wealth gone?
I don’t think the way Alberta has managed its resource sector is in the national interest. Where has that resource wealth gone?
Reposted by Matt Kavanagh
I'm not interested in "I told you so."
A lot of people voted Liberal because they were terrified of Poilievre and his gang. I get that.
But Carney's who we got, he's being a weak leader, pushing policies that are harming the vast majority of us and it's time to just admit he sucks and push back.
A lot of people voted Liberal because they were terrified of Poilievre and his gang. I get that.
But Carney's who we got, he's being a weak leader, pushing policies that are harming the vast majority of us and it's time to just admit he sucks and push back.
Mark Carney drops Trudeau-era climate measures in energy deal with Alberta
Mark Carney drops Trudeau-era climate measures in energy deal with Alberta
rime Minister Mark Carney's Liberal government is scrapping plans for a major national climate policy and immediately suspending another in Alberta alone, as part of a wide-ranging accord that softens
www.thestar.com
November 27, 2025 at 6:48 PM
I'm not interested in "I told you so."
A lot of people voted Liberal because they were terrified of Poilievre and his gang. I get that.
But Carney's who we got, he's being a weak leader, pushing policies that are harming the vast majority of us and it's time to just admit he sucks and push back.
A lot of people voted Liberal because they were terrified of Poilievre and his gang. I get that.
But Carney's who we got, he's being a weak leader, pushing policies that are harming the vast majority of us and it's time to just admit he sucks and push back.
Reposted by Matt Kavanagh
Man Getting High And Eating Taco Bell Thousands Of Miles Away From Family Having Best Thanksgiving Of Life https://theonion.com/man-getting-high-and-eating-taco-bell-thousands-of-mile-1845721340/
November 27, 2025 at 4:01 PM
Man Getting High And Eating Taco Bell Thousands Of Miles Away From Family Having Best Thanksgiving Of Life https://theonion.com/man-getting-high-and-eating-taco-bell-thousands-of-mile-1845721340/
Reposted by Matt Kavanagh
Sooo many folks I’m excited to work with on Mamdani’s technology transition committee. All hands on deck to bring the Affordability Agenda to life: childcare, housing, transportation.
While its easy to get swept up in personality, this is a group focused on peoples real needs. LETS KEEP THE FOCUS.
While its easy to get swept up in personality, this is a group focused on peoples real needs. LETS KEEP THE FOCUS.
November 25, 2025 at 9:15 PM
Sooo many folks I’m excited to work with on Mamdani’s technology transition committee. All hands on deck to bring the Affordability Agenda to life: childcare, housing, transportation.
While its easy to get swept up in personality, this is a group focused on peoples real needs. LETS KEEP THE FOCUS.
While its easy to get swept up in personality, this is a group focused on peoples real needs. LETS KEEP THE FOCUS.
Reposted by Matt Kavanagh
If Alberta gave a shit about their economy they wouldn't have wasted the opportunity that their oil would have provided.
Now they come crying and want to destroy BC now? Fuck that bullshit completely.
www.cbc.ca/news/busines...
Now they come crying and want to destroy BC now? Fuck that bullshit completely.
www.cbc.ca/news/busines...
Alberta squandered its oil wealth: report | CBC News
In the next week, Alberta will release its third-quarter fiscal update, and it's not going to be pretty. A report from the Fraser Institute says it didn't have to be this way.
www.cbc.ca
November 27, 2025 at 4:55 PM
If Alberta gave a shit about their economy they wouldn't have wasted the opportunity that their oil would have provided.
Now they come crying and want to destroy BC now? Fuck that bullshit completely.
www.cbc.ca/news/busines...
Now they come crying and want to destroy BC now? Fuck that bullshit completely.
www.cbc.ca/news/busines...
Reposted by Matt Kavanagh
I did my best to not yell about how ridiculous everything is right now and how hard it is to take anything seriously when we're all supposed to bet our future on magic beans
rabble.ca/podcast/the-...
rabble.ca/podcast/the-...
The AI hype-machine: Canada’s ill-advised ‘national sprint’ on artificial intelligence
Cynthia Khoo, Jeff Doctor and Hadrian Mertons-Kirkwood discuss the dangers of Canada’s accelerated approach to artificial intelligence.
rabble.ca
November 27, 2025 at 3:29 PM
I did my best to not yell about how ridiculous everything is right now and how hard it is to take anything seriously when we're all supposed to bet our future on magic beans
rabble.ca/podcast/the-...
rabble.ca/podcast/the-...
It would be helpful to see a Canadian version of this graphic.
On this day, Indigenous people and allies confront the settler-colonial narratives of “Thanksgiving,” observing it instead as a National Day of Mourning.
November 27, 2025 at 6:32 PM
It would be helpful to see a Canadian version of this graphic.
Reposted by Matt Kavanagh
Cue the "but you can't measure the new economy by traditional metrics" argument.
HSBC forecasts that OpenAI is going to have nearly a half trillion in operating losses until 2030
November 27, 2025 at 5:52 PM
Cue the "but you can't measure the new economy by traditional metrics" argument.
Reposted by Matt Kavanagh
As a new pipeline to the coast rears its head, towns in the path of the last one — Trans Mountain — are facing a major loss of tax revenue from the pipeline.
BC towns fight pipeline tax break that would gut municipal budgets
After years of lobbying the provincial government, major pipeline companies, including Enbridge, Trans Mountain and FortisBC, convinced BC Assessment to change how it determines the value of pipelines...
www.nationalobserver.com
November 27, 2025 at 5:52 PM
As a new pipeline to the coast rears its head, towns in the path of the last one — Trans Mountain — are facing a major loss of tax revenue from the pipeline.
Reposted by Matt Kavanagh
This is craven and beyond contempt. There's no justification. Carney is using the perceived threats from the US to justify slashing commitments, checks, and balances as they pertain to environment, labour, and basically everything else.
This is a corporate power grab and an attack on everyone.
This is a corporate power grab and an attack on everyone.
Mark Carney drops Trudeau-era climate measures in energy deal with Alberta
Mark Carney drops Trudeau-era climate measures in energy deal with Alberta
rime Minister Mark Carney's Liberal government is scrapping plans for a major national climate policy and immediately suspending another in Alberta alone, as part of a wide-ranging accord that softens
www.thestar.com
November 27, 2025 at 5:28 PM
This is craven and beyond contempt. There's no justification. Carney is using the perceived threats from the US to justify slashing commitments, checks, and balances as they pertain to environment, labour, and basically everything else.
This is a corporate power grab and an attack on everyone.
This is a corporate power grab and an attack on everyone.
Reposted by Matt Kavanagh
Yes. I’m applying for a fellowship on why need to indegrate media and cultural studies into any post Trum accountability trials so yes
AI slop demonstrates not just the technological flexibility of Trump’s fascist aesthetics — it is the ultimate example of it, the culmination of the hateful dream of eliminating the human entirely.
The Algorithmic Presidency
Just as 20th-century fascists deployed radio and film, today’s ideological descendants use memes, social media, and above all, artificial intelligence.
hyperallergic.com
November 27, 2025 at 5:52 PM
Yes. I’m applying for a fellowship on why need to indegrate media and cultural studies into any post Trum accountability trials so yes
Reposted by Matt Kavanagh
Why did you say that? CIA Director? I’m so sad.
November 27, 2025 at 5:00 PM
Why did you say that? CIA Director? I’m so sad.
Reposted by Matt Kavanagh
Nearly every mechanism that made my career possible—Ford, NSF, Harvard BiGS—is gone or on the way to the chopping block.
This means NSF dissertation improvement grants in the social sciences are simply...not happening.
NEW from me - NSF cancels grant scheme for social science research.
Seems the NSF quietly archived ALL calls for DDRIG grants in the SBE directorate. This is a massive blow for PhD students wanting to do cutting-edge social science research. 🏺🧪
Seems the NSF quietly archived ALL calls for DDRIG grants in the SBE directorate. This is a massive blow for PhD students wanting to do cutting-edge social science research. 🏺🧪
November 27, 2025 at 1:33 PM
Nearly every mechanism that made my career possible—Ford, NSF, Harvard BiGS—is gone or on the way to the chopping block.
Reposted by Matt Kavanagh
I think whats interesting about the use of the word “Americans” is a sense that, out of respect, a lot of the world let citizens of the United States get away with calling themselves Americans even tho it never made sense geographically. The use of the word is disappearing as the respect disappears.
How is it denigrating to recognise that the United States of America is only one country of the vast landmass that is the Americas, sometimes just known as America?
The United States of America is often called "the United States" so shortening it to "the US" doesn't seem like a stretch, as you did.
The United States of America is often called "the United States" so shortening it to "the US" doesn't seem like a stretch, as you did.
November 27, 2025 at 5:53 PM
I think whats interesting about the use of the word “Americans” is a sense that, out of respect, a lot of the world let citizens of the United States get away with calling themselves Americans even tho it never made sense geographically. The use of the word is disappearing as the respect disappears.
Reposted by Matt Kavanagh
9/ I had launch with Paulina Borsook last month in Oakland. Her life is hard, but she still has a lot to say! She's trying to raise funds to get a new version of the book reissued on the Internet Archive.
Some of her friends have a running GoFundMe to support her:
www.gofundme.com/f/support-fo...
Some of her friends have a running GoFundMe to support her:
www.gofundme.com/f/support-fo...
Donate to Help Paulina Borsook: disabled writer, artist, activist, organized by paul Carter
Paulina's long time friend Steve Rappaport writes,
"Support P… paul Carter needs your support for Help Paulina Borsook: disabled writer, artist, activist
www.gofundme.com
September 24, 2025 at 6:36 PM
9/ I had launch with Paulina Borsook last month in Oakland. Her life is hard, but she still has a lot to say! She's trying to raise funds to get a new version of the book reissued on the Internet Archive.
Some of her friends have a running GoFundMe to support her:
www.gofundme.com/f/support-fo...
Some of her friends have a running GoFundMe to support her:
www.gofundme.com/f/support-fo...
Reposted by Matt Kavanagh
I’ve got an article out in the Star today about the Thomas King issue:
Thomas King’s admission he isn’t Indigenous is just the first step. This is what has to happen next
#Opinion from Robert Jago
#Opinion from Robert Jago
Thomas King’s admission he isn’t Indigenous is just the first step. This is what has to happen next
Though not a shock to some, it's time to reckon with the harm done.
www.thestar.com
November 27, 2025 at 12:56 AM
I’ve got an article out in the Star today about the Thomas King issue:
Reposted by Matt Kavanagh
A ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon took effect a year ago today.
Since then, Israel has violated the ceasefire nearly 10,000 times: 7,500 violations of Lebanese airspace and almost 2,500 ground violations, according to the UN.
Since then, Israel has violated the ceasefire nearly 10,000 times: 7,500 violations of Lebanese airspace and almost 2,500 ground violations, according to the UN.
Lebanon: Israel’s attacks continue one year into "ceasefire"
www.nrc.no
November 27, 2025 at 5:55 PM
A ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon took effect a year ago today.
Since then, Israel has violated the ceasefire nearly 10,000 times: 7,500 violations of Lebanese airspace and almost 2,500 ground violations, according to the UN.
Since then, Israel has violated the ceasefire nearly 10,000 times: 7,500 violations of Lebanese airspace and almost 2,500 ground violations, according to the UN.
Reposted by Matt Kavanagh
The absolute fucking irony.
NEW: A Harvard study found that the children of women who contracted COVID-19 while pregnant may be at an increased risk for autism and other neurodevelopmental diagnoses, raising new concerns about the CDC’s decision to stop recommending the vaccine to pregnant women.
Amid Confusing CDC Guidance About Vaccines, Study Highlights New Risk of COVID-19 During Pregnancy
A Harvard study found that the children of women who contracted COVID-19 while pregnant may be at an increased risk for autism and other diagnoses, raising new concerns about the CDC’s decision to stop recommending the vaccine to pregnant women.
www.propublica.org
November 27, 2025 at 5:55 PM
The absolute fucking irony.
Reposted by Matt Kavanagh
The more I'm hearing about the Carney/Smith MOU, the better I'm feeling about it. Still waiting to see the text of the agreement, but it appears that it will include mandatory jurisdictional approval and FN support, which in effect means no new pipelines.
The PM is selling Alberta some magic beans.
The PM is selling Alberta some magic beans.
I'll reserve judgement, but if the deal struck between the PM and Alberta is that a pipeline can only get built if there's a business case (which there isn't and likely won't be) and a buy-in from First Nations and BC (which there isn't and likely wouldn't be), then yeah this seems pretty much fine.
Once again, folks: any deal between Alberta and Ottawa that requires a) BC's approval, and b) significant support from coastal First Nations is a deal for a pipeline that will never happen.
If Carney can get Smith to agree to ratchet up industrial carbon pricing in exchange? That feels like a win.
If Carney can get Smith to agree to ratchet up industrial carbon pricing in exchange? That feels like a win.
November 27, 2025 at 1:44 PM
The more I'm hearing about the Carney/Smith MOU, the better I'm feeling about it. Still waiting to see the text of the agreement, but it appears that it will include mandatory jurisdictional approval and FN support, which in effect means no new pipelines.
The PM is selling Alberta some magic beans.
The PM is selling Alberta some magic beans.
Reposted by Matt Kavanagh
Also? #Indigenous “co-ownership” sounds good—until you realize it’s tied to projects that increase #extraction, threaten lands, and shift liability onto communities. True #reconciliation isn’t forcing Nations to choose between their rights and economic survival. #cdnpoli #bcpoli #MOU #carney
November 27, 2025 at 5:55 PM
Also? #Indigenous “co-ownership” sounds good—until you realize it’s tied to projects that increase #extraction, threaten lands, and shift liability onto communities. True #reconciliation isn’t forcing Nations to choose between their rights and economic survival. #cdnpoli #bcpoli #MOU #carney
Reposted by Matt Kavanagh