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janis.bsky.social
Vancouver librarian, writer, music and radio type (etc.), often worrying about access to information, misinformation, and disinformation. (Opinions are my own.)
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Returning to my regular (non-election) programming and the usual very small problems: hey look, another invitation to a conference that is only an acronym that I have never heard of!

Two years ago I went on TV and said exactly this: The AI panic cycle was a marketing campaign by known billionaire failures, ultimately an excuse to revenge-fire workers with no immediate replacement. I literally said "The agita around AI is deeply cultural." Me no have TV job shortly thereafter.

your child will toil valiantly in the factory. it will be masculine. it will restore our national character. it will make america great again. oh my child? my child will run a lucrative rightwing podcast

Has anyone seen highlights from the CBC At Issue panel last night? There were some moments I feel like I must have hallucinated.

Hello library friends!

"Drawing quantitative linkages between individual emitters and particularized harms is now feasible, making science no longer an obstacle to the justiciability of climate liability claims." Great news! 🎉👏🙏 www.nature.com/articles/s41...

I'm very disappointed in about 9900 people right now, but it is so good to see the PPC at the *absolute* bottom in our riding.

4 Copy Editors Killed In Ongoing AP Style, Chicago Manual Gang Violence theonion.com/4-copy-...

Let's not forget the huge number of advance votes. It will be interesting to see how that changes the numbers.

And yet omg, his speech is all "stop the crime." I can't believe a single person who lives in Vancouver, where we have not yet "stopped the crime" in spite of a "stop the crime" mayor promising to wave a magic wand, actually believes this sludge.

What the heck was that moment with Jamil Jivani on CBC just now? Although watching a whole panel roll their eyes at Jason Kenney is pretty enjoyable. (Forgive me, I don't usually watch TV and this is all surreal and fascinating.)

Why why why even put this idea out into the world

THIS is the news I was waiting for.

I somehow had not realised that there were 91 candidates in P's riding. 91!

Again, they're trying to take away our vaccines. From the head of the FDA, a gross misrepresentation of the annual process of updating a proven vaccine to target new disease strains. His plan would make it impossible to get seasonal flu and Covid shots, and of course he knows this.

Rereading this again and also sharing in case anyone else needs a reminder: Timothy Snyder's quick summary of "20 lessons": snyder.substack.com/p/on-tyranny

Didn't register to vote? You can still do so on election day Voters need to prove their identity and address, or another voter can vouch for them #Canada #FederalElection #CanadaVotes 🍁 #April28th www.cbc.ca/news/politic...

I accidentally resorted to X-posting re: the terrible mass murder in Vancouver last night. Here's my story on accused killer Adam Lo's history. His brother was murdered last year. His mom attempted to take her own life: vancouversun.com/news/driver-...

IMPORTANT: “As Canadians prepare to go to the polls on Monday, they are being bombarded with misleading rightwing content on US social media platforms that has fuelled concerns about their potentially damaging role in the general election.” The easiest, most constant & most dangerous interference.

“When people do nonsensical or 'false premise' searches, our systems will try to find the most relevant results based on the limited web content available,” a Google spokeswoman said.

Very useful interactive spreadsheet of the college/univ prez who have signed this declaration of academic independence. Up to 480 signers now, up from 180 three days ago. Thanks to @ejgoldstick.bsky.social for putting it together. For reference, his doc is here: docs.google.com/spreadsheets...

“Single stroke of brilliance” — not what I was expecting to see today, but a compelling read. (gift article from The New York Times): www.nytimes.com/2025/04/24/o...

Omg, this quote with the cardboard toilet

I've seen claims that vaccines are more dangerous than measles. From the CDC: "About 1 in 5 unvaccinated people in the U.S. who get measles is hospitalized." "Nearly 1 to 3 of every 1,000 children who become infected with measles will die." www.cdc.gov/measles/sign...

Canadian friends, remember that Harper also tried to suppress climate science.

NIH autism study will pull from private medical records www.npr.org/2025/04/23/n...

Anyone else feeling really worried about the vast quantities of disinformation coming from one side in the Canadian federal election? I just saw two old friends on FB unironically sharing some of it and it is frankly distressing.

Now it's nearly 270 university presidents who have signed onto this "unprecedented government overreach" public letter. It was less than 180 this morning. www.aacu.org/newsroom/a-c... Universities, and judges, taking the lead in standing up.

Every Canadian Election I approach different party leaders. Mark Carney &  Jagmeet Singh did interviews but I’m still waiting to hear back from Pierre Poilievre. I’ll keep trying though. I won’t give up. Cuz that’s what I do. Here’s  Elizabeth May youtu.be/Q3yyCjOFDu4

I'm sorry to say that many of us have already learned the hard way that someone who has been yelling insults for years probably can't be trusted when they say they've changed. I hope the people who haven't learned this yet from personal experience are willing to listen to those who have.

Previous to the FDA, folks would put chalk and plaster of Paris in milk to make it appear white. They could also add formaldehyde to cover the smell and taste of spoiled milk.

Researchers find 89% of people around the world want more to be done, but mistakenly assume their peers do not.