Canada is “selling” assets in the sense that we’re charging for access to resources that require large amounts of investment, research, and development. These aren’t all transactional, rather these can and should lead to deeper partnerships and long-term exchanges of technology.
The US-Israel-Iran conflict has no sign of ending. I suspect the Middle East will have to re-align behind Iran as the US seems to be experiencing institutional dementia. At this rate, the world will have to cope with the supply shocks from the closure of the Strait of Hormuz for much longer than anyone would like.
Canada has the products the world needs to keep industry going. We can make these deals to fill the gap, and these deals will continue to keep Canada as a desirable place to live. We’re also a bulwark to basically the loss of Rule of Law to the United States.
Definitely fascinating how algorithms are equated to freedom of speech. I can understand if a person makes an expression that their freedom to do so can be an issue. But an American social media company's algorithm developed over time for various designs, including addiction and maximum engagement, is probably not the kind of expression that most people would consider speech.
Even raising the issue suggests that these social media companies have engaged in a form of censorship on their own. We've all been exposed to various degrees of this censorship. For example, those of us who watch YouTube are aware of the platforms restrictions on the use of certain words like suicide or COVID. Content creators have gone so far as to either self-censor the word entirely, or use new alternatives to circumvent the system, like "sluercide", "self-delete". At some point these types of circumventions may even be heard in real life even if there is no need to self-correct in this way.
So I find it incredibly bizarre to see one of the arguments against trying to regulate social media companies at all would be "censorship" or "freedom of speech". Our global communities have already been subjected to mass censorship. We're bombarded with bot "farms" intended to observe and manipulate these algorithms.
We're not talking about freedom of speech anymore...we're talking about propaganda in small and large scale operations. We're talking about surveillance, we're talking about the need for the human right of true, real discourse vs watching people literally enchant themselves into some algorithmic LLM psychosis. We're trying to have a real discussion about a form of warfare generally referred to as psychological operations at a massive scale.
No one cares about my or your Uncle's opinion on vaccinations and his unhealthy fixation on ivermectin. We should all care about how his time on American social media turned him on these topics.
Following this line of reasoning, the US-Israel-Iran conflict has far reaching impact. The US bond market is looking poor. Japan is a huge buyer of US bonds, and due in part to the stress of the energy shortages from the conflict, the Japanese Yen is falling hard. The US intervention to prop up the Yen is a drop in the bucket, and basically exposes the limits of US tools to mitigate the rise of interest the US pays on its debt. The US Strategic Petroleum Reserve is drawn down to impractical levels, potentially permanently damaging the long-term viability of the caverns used to store the oil. When you also consider the US overexposed to AI products to no where, there's a scenario where this all topples upon the Americans in the form of extremely high costs of living.
Seventy million barrels is the strict physical minimum needed at the top of the caverns to keep the extraction pipes safely submerged in oil rather than water, said Siddharth Misra, a petroleum engineering professor at Texas A&M University.
But “the practical operational floor for the crude inventory is between 250 million and 300 million barrels,” Misra said in an email to CNBC. At current inventory levels, “cavern integrity and overall operational capability are at an elevated risk,” he said.
When the inventory drops below 300 million barrels, the SPR loses its ability to pump oil at rapid speeds to address emergencies, Misra said. The system’s pipes and pumps could also get damaged as the oil layer thins at the top and sludge rises toward the extraction intake at the cavern ceiling, he said.
After the 30-year US Treasury yield hit 5.34% on Tuesday – its highest level since 2007, before the global financial crisis – the Treasury Department staged an unusual intervention. On Wednesday, it said it would “at least double” the amount of older, long-dated debt it regularly buys back from investors.
In the years past, a trade war with the US would be disastrous. Now, Canada and the so-called Middle Powers may have the stamina to out last the US. None of this bodes well if the US collapses itself on its own weight...but perhaps that much is actually up to the Americans.
I’m sure it’s not lost on anyone that if one suddenly cuts $40 T from arguably corrupt gatekeepers, there will be immense resistance from said gatekeepers.
This isn’t just about cost savings, this kind of move shifts the balance of power built on top of who can afford just basic US medical care. When the US mixed political power with healthcare, the people were always going to be cooked souls (souls) vide.
I often wonder as well because being a news reader makes me assume others are also following the news more closely than myself. When I test this theory by talking to people around me, I learn that maybe I’m more alone than I thought.
At least with social media I get to follow the news with all of you, my fellow nerds
Is this not the basic premise for taking fees from fines and car related registration to reinforce public transit and proper city planning?
What society isn’t invited to think about is how cars are so heavily subsidized to the point where it drains communities instead of supports them. From gas, roads, lighting, these costs are downloaded to every single person without much thought about any other option.
Oh no, my expectations are good and low. I'm just wondering out loud here whether this is something Canada Post should be doing at all. With the right service, anyone with nearly zero interest in computers can set up a web "store". Should Canada Post do it? I'm not sure.
I suspect that this isn't framed very well, and may be diluting the brand. We may be seeing some kind of greasy deal where someone borrows the Canada Post brand to set out a platform very close to Shopify - and similar platforms - to sell trinkets. But Canada Post is a service that's supposed to work for all of us, bringing us and the world together: From far and wide, and through storm and danger.
I'm sure we all buy from small businesses that use Canada Post, they can certainly be boosted by Canada Post as Canadian Businesses that successfully use the Post service. I think gestures or programming like this can facilitate that spirit of service, and be compatible with the brand. I'm just not sure if e-commerce is where Canada Post should go.
I understand if they're selling stamps or coins, but this feels like flipping through those magazines during a flight with items that could be from Dollarama and definitely give the impression they're overpriced.
For purchase, I've had the Bissell branded ProHeat 2X Revolution. I've owned this one for a few years now, occasional use for pet accidents. While the unit isn't remarkable, hasn't changed much over the years, and doesn't perform much better than the rental, I typically can access the unit quickly to clean up the mess.
I think if I'm able to get to the mess early enough, it's simply easier to lift out of carpet. This unit does warm up the cleaning fluid - for whatever that is worth. But, like any carpet cleaner, it's super loud. I think the uprights definitely have the advantage for cleaning open areas, but they have a hard time getting into the crevices. There are other units out there with an extendible wand that you might want to wait out for a sale.
Hot tip though, if you do go for the purchase, these units usually come with special plastic tools to get into its own crevices to remove dirt and hair. Keep that bit of plastic! You're never going to find it again. I didn't for a few years lol.
But like I said, nothing's better than just removing the carpet entirely. I know not everyone is a fan of that.
Dog went crazy on the rental unit. I imagine everyone rents those things for the same reasons I had so the unit must have smelled like 1000 animals for all I know.
After that thought, I happily just bought a standup carpet cleaner and made plans to remove as much carpet I could to replace with vinyl.
I agree there's a distinction between social media and the surveillance technology that has formed around that social media.
Everyone needs to feel a sense of belonging, and there are some times obstacles of time and distance that keep people in remote locations from "finding their people". I believe this speaks to the issue of a basic need, and whether that leads to toxicity or "bad crowds" is a separate issue entirely.
What should be a subject of targeted discussion is the surveillance economy that has built around some social media platforms. Given the high economic value that this surveillance represents, the public will find it difficult to discuss this subject without heavy lobbying. But, given this value, there's no scenario where society will somehow toss all social media with all surveillance. Hence, there's also a strong suspicion that identifying children and banning them from social media will only contribute and improve the surveillance.
Also, to put on my tin foil hat, while the promise of "AI" has been lauded on every possible channel of communication, there's very little actual impact in the present. When talking heads encourage the public to keep the faith, and simply expand the timeline for when AI can provide real "game changing" effect, I'd offer the simple counter: We'll sooner see the world burn all the water and energy in the world before we see a proper AI product.
That's why I suspect more likely that the data centres that are constructed today are not for the AI of tomorrow, but rather the surveillance economy of today. As we've seen from Israel's occupation of Palestine, proper control of the travel of people and information requires huge collections of data. Those American Flock cameras and all those other data points have to be stored, accessed, and reviewed somewhere and by someone.
One concern is that the "data centre" is not an AI innovation. Similar to the surveillance economy itself, the data centre is not a revolution - it's an evolution of American and Israeli oppression.
Smith has gone so far as to say judges should be answerable to politicians.
“I wish I could direct the judges, honestly,” Smith said on a radio show, adding that she wanted the Alberta government “to have a joint process to choose those judges so we start choosing judges in Alberta that reflect the values of how we want them to operate here.”
Kaycee Madu was formally reprimanded for contacting the Edmonton Police Service Chief about a ticket. His wife ends up with a lifetime appointment to the bench. I think the UCP have more than enough control over who gets selected to be judges. If Smith's UCP are not happy with those judges, something else is seriously wrong.
"People need to have confidence in our processes in a society like ours," Guilbeault said this week. "And if people don't have trust in our processes, what's going to happen is exactly what happened under prime minister Harper.... Local communities, Indigenous organizations, environmental groups are going to turn to the tribunals because they won't trust the process and we will end up in the same situation where those projects … will be bogged down in litigations, in local opposition and in some instances maybe national opposition, and we won't be able to achieve the goals that we've set for ourselves."
There's a part of me that suspects this may be the end goal anyway. With the America-Israel-Iran conflict resulting in the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, and the shift to multi-polarity, there's a path forward to a future of renewables and EVs. I certainly imagine that the Americans wished they could have stayed in that race long enough to bring mass produced EVs of their own, but we all see where they're headed. With experts projecting $100+ per barrel oil into the foreseeable future, this will bring pain to the world, and Canada is not spared.
The US certainly will remain a dominant player. But even its currency has seen better days, and no longer has the same unquestioned status as a global currency. As news broke out early May 2026 that the US debt has climbed over its GDP, the world is on notice that the Americans may not be the most reliable partner any longer. Americans should be rightly concerned that their current President has racked up trillions of dollars of debt within just 1.5 years of his term.
But that only confirms from the Canadian point of view that the US has been a rusted hulk of its former self, and they're actually dragging us. Just five minutes reading headlines about Stellantis' deals with the Canadian government should tell Canadians enough about the wrangling happening behind the scenes.
By cutting away any regulatory "red tape" as it were, Canada can satisfy some of the traditional polluters in the Oil and Gas sectors while still opening the door for renewables and Chinese EVs to enter the market further. Countries around the world have Chinese EVs available for their own markets, and the push away from fossil fuels for residential use is seen as a priority. EV battery technology has advanced to the point where they're safer and long lasting. Bonus, the Japanese have figured out methods to recycle up to 90% of used batteries. Without meaningful partnerships with Chinese automakers, there's no way Canadian car manufacturing can remain competitive while not getting completely wiped out by the Americans.
By opening the door to the Chinese automakers, Canada can put some pressure on even the Japanese automakers to get their act together or else.
We've also seen Alberta trip itself on its own two feet satisfying the Oil and Gas lobby and its minority extremist separatists. Both groups probably fell on their faces for failing to properly consult with First Nations properly.
How this looks for the environment front? Guilbeault basically spells it out for anyone who cares to listen: Don't threaten him with a good time.
An amazing milestone. Kudos to the developers and the volunteers who made this all possible.
In a world experiencing such disruption and rising inflation, people reaching out to form community and share information have become more important than ever before. I hope to see these "third" spaces protected, and that these spaces prosper.
I wanted to add that while it's good to talk about LLM's, part of this discussion is to explore either alternatives to their use or ways to partner the use of LLM's with real human interaction. CEO Hawk for Discourse recently shared a blog post deep dive into Digg, and offers how Discourse has features in place to build trust in users and the community as a whole. Some of these features involve turning on email sign ups, a tiered system of membership that builds trust over time and engagement that opens up more options to the user (increased post limits, access to chat, increased edit limits, options to attach files). As I recall, this includes badges that can be visible to the community to demonstrate progress and acceptance.
I recognize that CEO Hawk takes a similar view of LLM's in the sense that there's a concern if LLM use is rampant, then a community cannot differentiate between authentic engagement vs the concern I raised of astroturfing. I agree that this is a threat to proper discussion, and the Fediverse must answer this threat. I do agree that a "trust system" does provide a lot of answers, and in some ways PieFed has already introduced some of these trust based features.
Canada is “selling” assets in the sense that we’re charging for access to resources that require large amounts of investment, research, and development. These aren’t all transactional, rather these can and should lead to deeper partnerships and long-term exchanges of technology.
The US-Israel-Iran conflict has no sign of ending. I suspect the Middle East will have to re-align behind Iran as the US seems to be experiencing institutional dementia. At this rate, the world will have to cope with the supply shocks from the closure of the Strait of Hormuz for much longer than anyone would like.
Canada has the products the world needs to keep industry going. We can make these deals to fill the gap, and these deals will continue to keep Canada as a desirable place to live. We’re also a bulwark to basically the loss of Rule of Law to the United States.
Definitely fascinating how algorithms are equated to freedom of speech. I can understand if a person makes an expression that their freedom to do so can be an issue. But an American social media company's algorithm developed over time for various designs, including addiction and maximum engagement, is probably not the kind of expression that most people would consider speech.
Even raising the issue suggests that these social media companies have engaged in a form of censorship on their own. We've all been exposed to various degrees of this censorship. For example, those of us who watch YouTube are aware of the platforms restrictions on the use of certain words like suicide or COVID. Content creators have gone so far as to either self-censor the word entirely, or use new alternatives to circumvent the system, like "sluercide", "self-delete". At some point these types of circumventions may even be heard in real life even if there is no need to self-correct in this way.
So I find it incredibly bizarre to see one of the arguments against trying to regulate social media companies at all would be "censorship" or "freedom of speech". Our global communities have already been subjected to mass censorship. We're bombarded with bot "farms" intended to observe and manipulate these algorithms.
We're not talking about freedom of speech anymore...we're talking about propaganda in small and large scale operations. We're talking about surveillance, we're talking about the need for the human right of true, real discourse vs watching people literally enchant themselves into some algorithmic LLM psychosis. We're trying to have a real discussion about a form of warfare generally referred to as psychological operations at a massive scale.
No one cares about my or your Uncle's opinion on vaccinations and his unhealthy fixation on ivermectin. We should all care about how his time on American social media turned him on these topics.
Following this line of reasoning, the US-Israel-Iran conflict has far reaching impact. The US bond market is looking poor. Japan is a huge buyer of US bonds, and due in part to the stress of the energy shortages from the conflict, the Japanese Yen is falling hard. The US intervention to prop up the Yen is a drop in the bucket, and basically exposes the limits of US tools to mitigate the rise of interest the US pays on its debt. The US Strategic Petroleum Reserve is drawn down to impractical levels, potentially permanently damaging the long-term viability of the caverns used to store the oil. When you also consider the US overexposed to AI products to no where, there's a scenario where this all topples upon the Americans in the form of extremely high costs of living.
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/08/15/strategic-petroleum-reserve-spr-oil-iran-war-caverns.html
https://www.cnn.com/2026/08/21/economy/bond-market-explainer
In the years past, a trade war with the US would be disastrous. Now, Canada and the so-called Middle Powers may have the stamina to out last the US. None of this bodes well if the US collapses itself on its own weight...but perhaps that much is actually up to the Americans.
I’m sure it’s not lost on anyone that if one suddenly cuts $40 T from arguably corrupt gatekeepers, there will be immense resistance from said gatekeepers.
This isn’t just about cost savings, this kind of move shifts the balance of power built on top of who can afford just basic US medical care. When the US mixed political power with healthcare, the people were always going to be cooked souls (souls) vide.
Can’t have you getting away without claiming any AI use or else the Jensen Wong bubble might pop even earlier.
And we have rocks.
I often wonder as well because being a news reader makes me assume others are also following the news more closely than myself. When I test this theory by talking to people around me, I learn that maybe I’m more alone than I thought.
At least with social media I get to follow the news with all of you, my fellow nerds
Some times I do wonder if we're not all trapped in a Captain Planet episode and the pollution centres are here because Heart is still on his evil arc.
Is this not the basic premise for taking fees from fines and car related registration to reinforce public transit and proper city planning?
What society isn’t invited to think about is how cars are so heavily subsidized to the point where it drains communities instead of supports them. From gas, roads, lighting, these costs are downloaded to every single person without much thought about any other option.
Oh no, my expectations are good and low. I'm just wondering out loud here whether this is something Canada Post should be doing at all. With the right service, anyone with nearly zero interest in computers can set up a web "store". Should Canada Post do it? I'm not sure.
I suspect that this isn't framed very well, and may be diluting the brand. We may be seeing some kind of greasy deal where someone borrows the Canada Post brand to set out a platform very close to Shopify - and similar platforms - to sell trinkets. But Canada Post is a service that's supposed to work for all of us, bringing us and the world together: From far and wide, and through storm and danger.
I'm sure we all buy from small businesses that use Canada Post, they can certainly be boosted by Canada Post as Canadian Businesses that successfully use the Post service. I think gestures or programming like this can facilitate that spirit of service, and be compatible with the brand. I'm just not sure if e-commerce is where Canada Post should go.
I understand if they're selling stamps or coins, but this feels like flipping through those magazines during a flight with items that could be from Dollarama and definitely give the impression they're overpriced.
For rental, I've tried the one in the grocery store, which is Rug Doctor.
https://www.rugdoctor.com/rent/machine-options/
For purchase, I've had the Bissell branded ProHeat 2X Revolution. I've owned this one for a few years now, occasional use for pet accidents. While the unit isn't remarkable, hasn't changed much over the years, and doesn't perform much better than the rental, I typically can access the unit quickly to clean up the mess.
I think if I'm able to get to the mess early enough, it's simply easier to lift out of carpet. This unit does warm up the cleaning fluid - for whatever that is worth. But, like any carpet cleaner, it's super loud. I think the uprights definitely have the advantage for cleaning open areas, but they have a hard time getting into the crevices. There are other units out there with an extendible wand that you might want to wait out for a sale.
Hot tip though, if you do go for the purchase, these units usually come with special plastic tools to get into its own crevices to remove dirt and hair. Keep that bit of plastic! You're never going to find it again. I didn't for a few years lol.
But like I said, nothing's better than just removing the carpet entirely. I know not everyone is a fan of that.
https://www.walmart.ca/en/ip/BISSELL-ProHeat-2X-Revolution/6000196048164?classType=REGULAR
I've rented and purchased a carpet cleaner.
Dog went crazy on the rental unit. I imagine everyone rents those things for the same reasons I had so the unit must have smelled like 1000 animals for all I know.
After that thought, I happily just bought a standup carpet cleaner and made plans to remove as much carpet I could to replace with vinyl.
I agree there's a distinction between social media and the surveillance technology that has formed around that social media.
Everyone needs to feel a sense of belonging, and there are some times obstacles of time and distance that keep people in remote locations from "finding their people". I believe this speaks to the issue of a basic need, and whether that leads to toxicity or "bad crowds" is a separate issue entirely.
What should be a subject of targeted discussion is the surveillance economy that has built around some social media platforms. Given the high economic value that this surveillance represents, the public will find it difficult to discuss this subject without heavy lobbying. But, given this value, there's no scenario where society will somehow toss all social media with all surveillance. Hence, there's also a strong suspicion that identifying children and banning them from social media will only contribute and improve the surveillance.
Also, to put on my tin foil hat, while the promise of "AI" has been lauded on every possible channel of communication, there's very little actual impact in the present. When talking heads encourage the public to keep the faith, and simply expand the timeline for when AI can provide real "game changing" effect, I'd offer the simple counter: We'll sooner see the world burn all the water and energy in the world before we see a proper AI product.
That's why I suspect more likely that the data centres that are constructed today are not for the AI of tomorrow, but rather the surveillance economy of today. As we've seen from Israel's occupation of Palestine, proper control of the travel of people and information requires huge collections of data. Those American Flock cameras and all those other data points have to be stored, accessed, and reviewed somewhere and by someone.
One concern is that the "data centre" is not an AI innovation. Similar to the surveillance economy itself, the data centre is not a revolution - it's an evolution of American and Israeli oppression.
Kaycee Madu was formally reprimanded for contacting the Edmonton Police Service Chief about a ticket. His wife ends up with a lifetime appointment to the bench. I think the UCP have more than enough control over who gets selected to be judges. If Smith's UCP are not happy with those judges, something else is seriously wrong.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/alberta-madu-sanction-1.7448781
https://edmontonjournal.com/news/local-news/latest-alberta-judicial-appointments-include-wife-of-former-justice-minister
Well this poor bastard (me) will be waiting for the RAM, SSDs, and hard drives to come back down in price.
There's a part of me that suspects this may be the end goal anyway. With the America-Israel-Iran conflict resulting in the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, and the shift to multi-polarity, there's a path forward to a future of renewables and EVs. I certainly imagine that the Americans wished they could have stayed in that race long enough to bring mass produced EVs of their own, but we all see where they're headed. With experts projecting $100+ per barrel oil into the foreseeable future, this will bring pain to the world, and Canada is not spared.
The US certainly will remain a dominant player. But even its currency has seen better days, and no longer has the same unquestioned status as a global currency. As news broke out early May 2026 that the US debt has climbed over its GDP, the world is on notice that the Americans may not be the most reliable partner any longer. Americans should be rightly concerned that their current President has racked up trillions of dollars of debt within just 1.5 years of his term.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/us-debt-exceeds-gdp-first-time-since-wwii/
But that only confirms from the Canadian point of view that the US has been a rusted hulk of its former self, and they're actually dragging us. Just five minutes reading headlines about Stellantis' deals with the Canadian government should tell Canadians enough about the wrangling happening behind the scenes.
By cutting away any regulatory "red tape" as it were, Canada can satisfy some of the traditional polluters in the Oil and Gas sectors while still opening the door for renewables and Chinese EVs to enter the market further. Countries around the world have Chinese EVs available for their own markets, and the push away from fossil fuels for residential use is seen as a priority. EV battery technology has advanced to the point where they're safer and long lasting. Bonus, the Japanese have figured out methods to recycle up to 90% of used batteries. Without meaningful partnerships with Chinese automakers, there's no way Canadian car manufacturing can remain competitive while not getting completely wiped out by the Americans.
https://tech.yahoo.com/science/articles/japan-achieves-90-lithium-recovery-164753425.html
By opening the door to the Chinese automakers, Canada can put some pressure on even the Japanese automakers to get their act together or else.
We've also seen Alberta trip itself on its own two feet satisfying the Oil and Gas lobby and its minority extremist separatists. Both groups probably fell on their faces for failing to properly consult with First Nations properly.
How this looks for the environment front? Guilbeault basically spells it out for anyone who cares to listen: Don't threaten him with a good time.
Congratulations, Rimu! And to PieFed!
An amazing milestone. Kudos to the developers and the volunteers who made this all possible.
In a world experiencing such disruption and rising inflation, people reaching out to form community and share information have become more important than ever before. I hope to see these "third" spaces protected, and that these spaces prosper.
I wanted to add that while it's good to talk about LLM's, part of this discussion is to explore either alternatives to their use or ways to partner the use of LLM's with real human interaction. CEO Hawk for Discourse recently shared a blog post deep dive into Digg, and offers how Discourse has features in place to build trust in users and the community as a whole. Some of these features involve turning on email sign ups, a tiered system of membership that builds trust over time and engagement that opens up more options to the user (increased post limits, access to chat, increased edit limits, options to attach files). As I recall, this includes badges that can be visible to the community to demonstrate progress and acceptance.
https://blog.discourse.org/2026/05/the-digg-lesson-why-moderation-infrastructure-matters/
I recognize that CEO Hawk takes a similar view of LLM's in the sense that there's a concern if LLM use is rampant, then a community cannot differentiate between authentic engagement vs the concern I raised of astroturfing. I agree that this is a threat to proper discussion, and the Fediverse must answer this threat. I do agree that a "trust system" does provide a lot of answers, and in some ways PieFed has already introduced some of these trust based features.