Tootfinder

#Malaysia and #Canada, are, strangely, the only two foreign countries in the world where I can (mostly) pass as a local.

#anu

Australian National University walks back plans for forced redundancies as part of major restructure
The Australian National University abandons its plans for forced redundancies as part of its efforts to cut costs.

🇺🇦 #NowPlaying on KEXP's #AstralPlane
Can:
🎵 Mushroom
#Can
https://totescity.bandcamp.com/track/can-mushroom-apache-totescity-remix
https://open.spotify.com/track/7xIG8R6WQdr1WY7e61Hknw

Listening to CBC Radio Barrie this morning and they were interviewing the manager responsible for housing starts for the Town of Innisfil. The discussion was about missed targets for housing starts and what can be done to get back on track. You could tell that he was frustrated, but the reason for less homes being built was almost solely put on the downturn in the housing market. No one is buying, so private industry isn't building.
All levels of government are throwing money at the problem, with most of it incentivizing for-profit companies to put shovels in the ground. At some point, the Federal, Provincial, and Municipal governments have to realize that public housing, government leasehold development, co-operative housing, or subsidized family apartments must be considered to solve the housing shortage. Private industry will never have the same objectives of getting families into homes - without a calculation of significant profits first.
#CanPoli #AffordableHousing

🇺🇦 Auf radioeins läuft...
Can:
🎵 Vitamin C
#NowPlaying #Can
https://kandinski1.bandcamp.com/track/can-vitamin-c-kandinski-edit
https://open.spotify.com/track/2Td5FqApG1uDhhoBvrOxOH

🇺🇦 #NowPlaying on #BBC6Music's #CraigCharles
Holger Czukay, Michael Karoli, Jaki Liebezeit, Irmin Schmidt & Can:
🎵 Vitamin C
#HolgerCzukay #MichaelKaroli #JakiLiebezeit #IrminSchmidt #Can

🇺🇦 #NowPlaying on KEXP's #VarietyMix
Can:
🎵 The Empress and the Ukraine King
#Can
https://canofficial.bandcamp.com/track/the-empress-and-the-ukraine-king
https://open.spotify.com/track/6CUWgVKE6kFlwu2y9qwEyc

Now THIS is interesting.
Christia Freeland, Minister of Transport and Internal Trade, posing for a photograph holding a Ukrainian made drone in a Ukraine factory.
Smells like a case of “we’re gonna give you this one job for internal politics, but you can still do XYZ on the side that you’re actually good at.”
#canpoli #cdnpoli #ukraine #russiaUkraineWar #carney
https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-defense/4036162-shmyhal-visits-innovative-ukrainian-defense-enterprise-with-international-partners.html

🇺🇦 #NowPlaying on BBCRadio3's #ThisClassicalLife
Franz Schubert & Can Çakmur:
🎵 Piano Sonata in A major, D 664: 2nd Movement Andante
#FranzSchubert #CanÇakmur
https://open.spotify.com/track/559yF3TsO7iYtErHPRFGcH

Good Morning #Canada
In August 1998, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that Quebec could not legally secede from Canada unilaterally. The court's decision affirmed that any secession would require a constitutional amendment negotiated with the federal government and other provinces. This ruling stemmed from a reference case initiated by the federal government following a close referendum on Quebec sovereignty in 1995. Although Quebec was represented at the Supreme Supreme Court hearing, they did not participate in presenting arguments. They essentially ignored the ruling and planned a future referendum, which never happened.
This ruling established an important precedent that Alberta separatists should pay attention to. But details such as this ruling, aboriginal rights, or common sense seem to escape their attention spans.
#CanadaIsAwesome
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/supreme-court-says-quebec-can-t-separate-unilaterally-1.159509

🇺🇦 #NowPlaying on #BBC6Music's #Grounding
Can:
🎵 Mushroom
#Can
https://totescity.bandcamp.com/track/can-mushroom-apache-totescity-remix
https://open.spotify.com/track/7xIG8R6WQdr1WY7e61Hknw

Good Morning #Canada
We've arrived at our final province on Day #12 of The Dirt on Canadian Farming. It may not be the middle of the country, but I think we can all agree that it's the centre of the universe.
Ontario leads the nation in agricultural exports and is #1 in the number of farms, poultry and egg production, sheep and goat, vegetable and melon, and greenhouse, nursery and floriculture (31.8%). The province is home to one-quarter (25.5%) of total farms in Canada while making up 7.7% of the total farm area. It also employs 870K, more than any other province. There are numerous agricultural centers in Ontario but the Holland Marsh is significant. Just 50 Km north of Toronto lies 21,500 acres of rich black soil that provides vegetables to nearby cities and exports into the USA.
#CanadaIsAwesome #Farming
https://www.canadaaction.ca/ontario-farming-facts

"Canadian cities can prepare for climate change by building with nature"
#Canada #Climate #ClimateChange #Nature

Canadian cities can prepare for climate change by building with nature
The housing affordability crisis is top of mind for many around the world, including Canadians. Between 2019 and 2024, house prices in Toronto and Montréal had an average annual increase of 6.7% and 10.2%, respectively.

Good Morning #Canada
After recently moving to Belle Ewart (Bell You-wart), I find myself making strange pronunciations of my town to see people's reactions. Life is short... take pleasure where you can. But if you're a Canadian living in one of the towns mentioned in this CBC article, do you proudly tell people where you live, or do you mumble the answer and hope no one responds. I think you embrace the fun and show pride in your community by investing in t-shirts and hats emblazoned with your town name. But that's just me - some old retired guy with no reputation worth saving.
BTW, if you're looking for a conversation starter, here's a Geographic Fact - the distance between Dildo Newfoundland and Climax Saskatchewan is 5,551 km, about 2 days and 16 hours by car.
#CanadaIsAwesome #CivicPride
https://www.cbc.ca/television/stillstanding/the-most-hilarious-town-names-in-canada-1.5440187

🇺🇦 #NowPlaying on #BBC6Music's #RileyAndCoe
Can:
🎵 Mother Sky
#Can
https://kompleks.bandcamp.com/track/can-mother-sky-kompleks-edit
https://open.spotify.com/track/5iJGuQRdog5ZUqhMgOFDVw

Given the chance, I think her words could resonate in a Provincial election against both the David Eby #BCNDP and the Rustad #BCConservatives (and whatever other parties happen to pop into existence).
It was nice to see a leader actually genuinely congratulate and lift up her rivals in the contest. A rarity these days in too many party leadership races!
Key lines from her speech:
"take on this province's billionaires, largest corporations, and big oil... who take far more than they give.
"democracy is in retreat around the globe, but I am encouraged to see young people in BC fighting back.”
"the BC Green Party has solutions”
"the BC NDP.. are making decisions based on scarcity and fear”
"David Eby... rolling out the red carpet for Donald Trump's inner circle of oligarchs to buy and control even more of our province”.
"The NDP's big idea… to double down on raw resource exports.... no manufacturing, no innovation, no vision for a future beyond more foreign billionaires ripping and shipping our resources while families wait for the wealth to trickle down.”
“while workers wait for fair wages and homes we can afford, the BC NDP doubles down on MAGA backed fossil fuel projects, ignores the need to obtain consent, and refuses to care for our community members”
”The horrors that we are witnessing now are the death rattle of the old world.”
"it is up to us force a new world through”
"We can build a plan to take back the public wealth that has been looted with real taxation on the ultra wealthy”
"Build on our massive advantage of renewable energy… create thousands of jobs”
"will reclaim BC's economy for working people… together we can build a resilient thriving province that respects indigenous sovereignty and our planetary boundaries.”
“we are worthy of better, and worthy of hope. When we learn to believe that again, we can win.”
@…
#BCPoli #BCGreens #CanPoli #CdnPoli #RenewableEnergy

Good Morning #Canada
If you haven't been living in a cave this week, you know that the #NorthernLights were putting on a show across Canada. As you know, a solar eruption sends billions of tons of superheated plasma into space and traveling at more than 45 million miles per hour it can reach Earth in less than a day. That plasma, drawn towards the magnetic pole, interacts with our atmosphere, and we get a spectacular light show. The Aurora Borealis, named by Italian astronomer Galileo di Vincenzo Bonaiuti de' Galilei, is not unique to Canada, but so much of our land is in the Northern Hemisphere that most Canadians have the opportunity to experience it. This is particularly true in the Northwest Territories, where the Northern Lights are visible for 240 days every year on average. The phenomenon has a special meaning for Indigenous Canadians, some of whom believe it shows them ancestors dancing in the sky.
#CanadaIsAwesome #GetOutside
https://www.cbc.ca/radio/unreserved/how-indigenous-traditional-knowledge-is-improving-our-understanding-of-aurora-borealis-1.7414899

The Federal NDP are on Vancouver Island strategizing for the upcoming Parliament.
Interim leader Davies:
""There's an ebb and flow to politics and I view it as an opportunity for our party to regenerate, to reimagine what a bold, progressive NDP looks like on the federal scene.””
I loved Jack Layton too, but I think it is time to leave Jack to the past. They really need to find someone who is here, in this moment, and can present a real vision for Canadians to strive for and achieve that is the opposite of what the Conservatives and Red-Tory Liberals are trying to do.
#CanPoli #CdnPoli #Tseshaht #Hupacasath #PortAlberni #Courtenay #Tofino
https://www.albernivalleynews.com/local-news/federal-new-democrats-meet-with-nuu-chah-nulth-leaders-in-port-alberni-8243469

Good Morning #Canada
It's Day #10 of The Dirt on Canadian Farming, and today, we visit the cutest little button of a province sitting out in the Atlantic Ocean.
PEI has a total land area of 1.4 million acres and about 42.5% of the total land area (594,324 acres) is farmland. The 2016 Census of Agriculture counted 1,353 farms ranging in size from a couple of acres to 3,000 acres. Bonus points if you can identify the #2 farm crop on PEI.... and it's not potato skins. Beyond the almighty potato, the province has a healthy mix of dairy, barley, oats, wheat, corn, and blueberries. PEI-grown feed-grade cereals and soybeans are primarily fed to livestock on the island and elsewhere in Atlantic Canada and are part of their rigidly controlled crop rotation process. PEI is the only province that has laws governing crop rotation and farm size (individuals 1K acres, corporations 3K acres).
#CanadaIsAwesome #DoYouWantFriesWithThat
https://www.canadaaction.ca/prince-edward-island-agriculture-aquaculture-facts

Want to help identify Nazis (“white Nationalists”) in Canada?
Of course you do! Check out the link to antihate.ca!
This summer there was a conference in Vancouver that had people come from all over Canada and elsewhere to talk about being hateful, horrible, human beings.
Help the Anti Hate Network identify and expose these people so we can keep our communities safe (especially if you go to a local gym or martial arts studio!)
#hate #Canada #Nazis #whitenationalists #antihate #antiracist #antifa
https://www.antihate.ca/white_nationalist_organizing_exiles_golden_age_identify?utm_campaign=eotga&utm_medium=email&utm_source=antihate

The Carney government's suspension of the EV mandate has nothing to do with “pragmatism” or “moderation” as I heard an interviewee say on the CBC this morning.
It's about the Ontario car industry realizing they don't make EVs or even Hybrids that can compete with Korea, Japan, or Europe (let alone China).
People want them. BC is at 20% new (the mandated level), Quebec is at 30%. Those are the #2 and #3 most populous provinces in Canada btw.
It's politics, and... specifically with Carney, cowardice, nothing else. BC’s Energy Minister Adrian Dix called it out
“I want to say this: Their target for this year, we achieved four years ago,” Dix said of the existing federal electric vehicle mandates. “The issue here in Canada -- and I think the federal government needs to engage in this a little bit -- is first and foremost with Ontario.”
#CanPoli #CdnPoli #EV #Carney #ClimateAction
https://www.ctvnews.ca/vancouver/article/ontario-drove-carneys-decision-to-suspend-ev-mandate-bc-energy-minister-dix/

Good Morning #Canada
Before #WWII, Canada could still be considered a tiny nation in terms of our influence on world affairs. But after the conflict broke out, we contributed well beyond expectations and our navy was an example. The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) started the war with only 13 vessels, but when WWII ended, we had the 4th largest navy in the world. By 1945 the RCN had 450 ships in all, plus many smaller auxiliary units. This 1945 figure breaks down as follows: 2 cruisers, 17 destroyers, 68 frigates, 112 corvettes, 67 minesweepers, 12 escort ships, 75 Fairmile motor launches. During WWII, Canadian shipyards built a total of 4,047 naval vessels and 410 merchant ships for a grand total of 4,457 ships. The naval vessels included over 300 anti-submarine warships, as well as thousands of landing craft, escort ships, minesweepers, and tugs.
#CanadaIsAwesome #RemembranceDay
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Royal-Canadian-Navy/Second-World-War

Good Morning #Canada
Canadians should reflect back on the glorious past few weeks and the excitement provided by the Toronto #BlueJays. A team not expected to contend for any title when the season began, they surprised the experts, the fans, and the teams that stood in their way. Some Canadians had flashbacks to previous World's Series Championships, some younger fans built their own memories, and millions jumped on board the bandwagon. We celebrated every pitch, every swing of the bat, every win that brought us closer to a championship, and each other. If you can't change the situation you're in - or the final score in a game 7 - you can always change your perspective. Don't be sad for our Blue Jays. Remember the joy they brought us individually and collectively.
#CanadaIsAwesome #LetsGoBlueJays
https://youtu.be/ENBX_v1Po1Y?si=lSY-cNmBiNozxOvM

Good Morning #Canada
As the sun comes up over the grain elevator, we discover we are in Saskatchewan for Day #9 of The Dirt on Canadian Farming. And it's flat.... like crazy flat.
Saskatchewan is commonly known as Canada’s breadbasket because of the volume and diversity of crops that they grow. The province had set a target of $20B in exports by 2030 - which was achieved in 2023 with export revenues of $20.2B, placing them at #2 in Canada. The 34K farms in Saskatchewan manage over 40% of Canada’s farmland, and they are likely the top producer of any grain, oilseed, or pulse crop you can think of. For example - Saskatchewan produced 87% of Canada's chickpeas and was responsible for 91% of chickpeas exports. Which tells me Canadians don't really like chickpeas. The province is also a leader in new technology with GPS guided machinery and numerous testing sites for robotic farming. And don't forget the pigs - they exported 2M in 2023.
#CanadaIsAwesome #Bread #Oink
https://www.canadaaction.ca/saskatchewan-farming-facts

Good Morning #Canada
While the excitement and disappointment of the #BlueJays season is fading a little, we can still take pride in the fact that we invented the game of baseball. You read that correctly - Canada was the birthplace of North American baseball as we know it today. From Wikipedia:
"... the first official baseball game with a documented score card took place not in the U.S., but in Canada in 1838. While Canada invented the version of baseball we know today, innovations made by New York City clubs became the basis for the modern game, far removed from its English ancestor, but extremely similar to the Canadian version".
It turns out that the earliest, detailed, reputable account of baseball being played in North America came out of a game in Beachville, Ontario on, June 4, 1838. And there are decades of records detailing Ontario teams regularly beating American competitors in league play or matches.
#CanadaIsAwesome ##SportsHistory
https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/canadians-in-baseball-the-lost-tribe-feature

Absolutely insane. Perhaps someone should show this to the US Ambassador so he can understand perhaps who is “anti” whom.
“NEVER COME TO THE US AGAIN”
Yells a US Customs Border Agent while overtaking an Ontario driver on the interstate just south of the border in NY.
#usa #canada #border #canpoli #cdnpoli https://mstdn.ca/@chad/115269544279217138

Had to detach some of the existing fencing from the posts so we can keep it without losing any of the greenery already establsihed.
Now that that is done. BASEBALL ⚾️
go Jays!!
and as I type... GRAND SLAM
#poolpond i #grandslam #mlb #bluejays #toronto #canada

When Doug Ford... DOUG FORD... comes across as the conciliatory, nice guy…?
"“What do they expect me to do? Sit back and roll over like every other person in the world?” he said, adding the video was “successful” with over 11.4 billion impressions.
“So why doesn't the president start being nice? Play nice in the sandbox to his biggest customer in the entire world and everything's hunky dory," Ford said.”
Let's face it Canadian friends, the USA is not a nice trading partner. This is a full on abusive relationship and the quicker we can extract ourselves from it, the better.
#CanPoli #CdnPoli #USA #Trade #TheAmericanFascist
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/doug-ford-us-ambassador-apology-ad-9.6958531

Good Morning #Canada
Yesterday, we upgraded our water filtration and, to ease the pain in my wallet, I thought I would share some facts on well water for those who care.
- approximately 11% of Canadians rely on non-municipal water sources.
- the vast majority of wells are drilled wells because they are safer, provide higher volume, and generally last longer.
- dug wells (like ours) are less common and are usually placed where there is a high water table. They are more susceptible to surface runoff.
- well water, although free, is not necessarily cheaper than municipal supply. There is a large upfront cost, which can vary greatly depending on soil conditions, but $25K for drilled and $10K for dug is not uncommon.
- a pump and filtration equipment can cost another $10K, depending on water treatment needed. We needed an additional Iron Filter due to high concentration. Sediment filters and UV treatment require annual maintenance, typically $400 .
#CanadaIsAwesome #Water #GlassHalfFull

Good Morning #Canada
In yesterday's post about farming and fall fairs, I ruminated about a series on Canada’s agricultural areas. OK, ruminated may be the term as it was more of a random thought, like a retriever seeing a squirrel. But over the next 2-ish weeks, I'll try to highlight the significant crop regions in each province and teach myself more about our great country.
The first post should be easy because I'm sure most Canadians don't think a lot of farming happens in the Yukon, Northwest Territories, or Nunavut. But small areas within each can sustain crops in a short season, mostly potatoes, and commercial warehouse growing operations are being funded and encouraged. With a warming climate, more land is being used to farm, and additional types of crops are being tested.
#CanadaIsAwesome #Agriculture #Farming
https://www.cbc.ca/radio/quirks/feb-15-agriculture-moving-north-arrokoth-s-secrets-the-microbiome-for-flight-and-more-1.5463847/wheat-and-potatoes-in-nunavut-climate-change-could-bring-agriculture-to-the-north-1.5463850

One of the main reasons I got into municipal politics in 2014 was because it seemed all city business in #portAlberni city council was happening “in-camera" (which means a meeting, not in public).
I'm glad the integrity commissioner has ruled against Ken Sim and his ABC Party councillors. It's not complicated. The Vancouver Charter is not different from the Community Charter used by every other municipality in BC. You can't have quorum and discuss business outside a public meeting. Period.
""If Council Members meet with quorum outside of an open meeting, discuss City business, and do so in a way that moves that business along the spectrum of decision making in a material way, there is a problem — they are depriving the public of participation in the policy development and decision-making processes that serve to build public trust and
confidence in local government," Southern wrote.
"Democracy is undermined.””
#BCPoli #BCMuni #CanPoli #Integrity #PublicMeetings #Democracy
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/ken-sim-integrity-commissioner-1.7617152

Good Morning #Canada
Many people, that includes you, are worried about #Skynet assuming control of all military systems, but what happens when it starts harvesting our crops? Canadian agricultural scientists are blindly charging ahead in their efforts to fill our farms with robots. It started with self-driving tractors pulling conventional equipment and evolved to fully autonomous vehicles that plow, plant, fertilizer, weed, and harvest. Organic farming is seeing the biggest benefits as robots can hand weed 2 hectares per day, eliminating herbicides.... and farm workers. Almost 15% of Canada’s dairy farms use robotic milking cubicles where cows enter when they need milking, with no cold human hands involved. IMO, using robots to replace hard back breaking labour or tedious driving of equipment up and down a farm field is a good use of technology. But I hope the tech is not priced out of the reach of small farms.
#CanadaIsAwesome #Robotics #Farming
https://news.uoguelph.ca/2024/08/these-self-driving-weed-cutting-robots-transform-the-future-of-farming-says-u-of-g-researcher/

“ave US Tariff rate has risen from 2% to 16% over the past year”
"Countries must now buy access to the world's largest market (USA)”
"The USA reaffirmed CUSMA will not be subject to tariffs.”
"Actual US tariff rate on Canadian goods is actually 5.6%”.
"More than 85% of Canada/US trade is tariff free”
"Canada has the best deal of any country in the world.”
"We must do everything we can to preserve this unique advantage for Canadians”
"The Canadian government will now match the USA, by removing all tariffs on goods covered by CUSMA”
... he goes into French repeating most of this.
#Live #CBC #Canada #CanPoli #CdnPoli #Trump #TradeWar