Billy
@billyidles.bsky.social
Vancouver. Local Politics. Less Local Politics. Tech stuff.
Reposted by Billy
Every few months we get someone new to the housing discourse misinterpret some statistics and get mislead into believing it's not a housing shortage.
Fortunately that idea falls apart simply by asking why some markets seem to be immune to financialization.
www.policyalternatives.ca/news-researc...
Fortunately that idea falls apart simply by asking why some markets seem to be immune to financialization.
www.policyalternatives.ca/news-researc...
February 5, 2026 at 3:21 AM
Every few months we get someone new to the housing discourse misinterpret some statistics and get mislead into believing it's not a housing shortage.
Fortunately that idea falls apart simply by asking why some markets seem to be immune to financialization.
www.policyalternatives.ca/news-researc...
Fortunately that idea falls apart simply by asking why some markets seem to be immune to financialization.
www.policyalternatives.ca/news-researc...
Reposted by Billy
It's much easier to oppose hotels when you're the sort of person who has your own guest room for friends and family to come visit.
But here in Vancouver in 2026, most of us do not have an extra bedroom.
But here in Vancouver in 2026, most of us do not have an extra bedroom.
So it’s broadly recognized that Vancouver needs more hotel rooms, that high room rates driven by high occupancy are a drag on the local economy, that the city needs to facilitate the construction of more hotels. All of this is true
I want speak to the human importance of hotels
I want speak to the human importance of hotels
February 4, 2026 at 5:14 PM
It's much easier to oppose hotels when you're the sort of person who has your own guest room for friends and family to come visit.
But here in Vancouver in 2026, most of us do not have an extra bedroom.
But here in Vancouver in 2026, most of us do not have an extra bedroom.
Reposted by Billy
Worth noting that BC Policy solutions, which split from the CCPA, are not supply denialists.
bcpolicy.ca/2025/12/16/h...
bcpolicy.ca/2025/12/16/h...
This is why BC’s housing crisis hasn’t been solved yet
The magnitude of the housing shortage is huge, the problems chronic, but the housing crisis is solvable.
Throughout the province and country, the housing crisis is marked by high rents and prices, ...
bcpolicy.ca
February 4, 2026 at 4:45 PM
Worth noting that BC Policy solutions, which split from the CCPA, are not supply denialists.
bcpolicy.ca/2025/12/16/h...
bcpolicy.ca/2025/12/16/h...
Reposted by Billy
Pieces like cause the left to lose young people. It fails to recognize:
1. Housing needs change as populations age. e.g. A society with a lot of older widowers will need more homes per capita.
2. Shoebox condos house fewer people than larger homes.
1. Housing needs change as populations age. e.g. A society with a lot of older widowers will need more homes per capita.
2. Shoebox condos house fewer people than larger homes.
The numbers don’t lie: The housing crisis is not caused by a supply shortage - CCPA
Financialization, not demographics, caused the cost of housing to explode
www.policyalternatives.ca
February 3, 2026 at 8:58 PM
Pieces like cause the left to lose young people. It fails to recognize:
1. Housing needs change as populations age. e.g. A society with a lot of older widowers will need more homes per capita.
2. Shoebox condos house fewer people than larger homes.
1. Housing needs change as populations age. e.g. A society with a lot of older widowers will need more homes per capita.
2. Shoebox condos house fewer people than larger homes.
Worth noting that BC Policy solutions, which split from the CCPA, are not supply denialists.
bcpolicy.ca/2025/12/16/h...
bcpolicy.ca/2025/12/16/h...
This is why BC’s housing crisis hasn’t been solved yet
The magnitude of the housing shortage is huge, the problems chronic, but the housing crisis is solvable.
Throughout the province and country, the housing crisis is marked by high rents and prices, ...
bcpolicy.ca
February 4, 2026 at 4:45 PM
Worth noting that BC Policy solutions, which split from the CCPA, are not supply denialists.
bcpolicy.ca/2025/12/16/h...
bcpolicy.ca/2025/12/16/h...
Reposted by Billy
"There is no visible trace left of a plot just outside the main cemetery set aside for Canadian UN peacekeepers. Inside the main graveyard two whole sections of graves have been razed, of more than 100 allied soldiers killed in the second world war..."
The Israeli army bulldozed parts of a cemetery in Gaza which houses the graves of Allied solders, including dozens of British and Australian soldiers, from World War II.
The IDF has falsely claimed that the dismantling was done out of self defense due to it being an "active combat zone".
The IDF has falsely claimed that the dismantling was done out of self defense due to it being an "active combat zone".
Revealed: Israel bulldozed part of Gaza war cemetery containing allied graves
Satellite images and witness testimony show destruction as IDF claims it was forced to take defensive measures
www.theguardian.com
February 4, 2026 at 4:33 PM
"There is no visible trace left of a plot just outside the main cemetery set aside for Canadian UN peacekeepers. Inside the main graveyard two whole sections of graves have been razed, of more than 100 allied soldiers killed in the second world war..."
The dynamic that I think everyone in Alberta understands is that the only path to victory for the NDP is the UCP splintering. The separatists are exploiting this.
(Models for Subscribers)
Alberta Provincial Polling:
UCP: 50% (-3)
NDP: 37% (-7)
ABP: 4% (+3)
ALP: 2% (+2)
RPA: 2% (New)
GPA: 1% (-)
WLC: 1% (+1)
Leger / Jan 26, 2026 / n=823 / Online
(% Change w 2023 Election)
Check out AB model details from @338canada.bsky.social here: 338canada.com/alberta
Alberta Provincial Polling:
UCP: 50% (-3)
NDP: 37% (-7)
ABP: 4% (+3)
ALP: 2% (+2)
RPA: 2% (New)
GPA: 1% (-)
WLC: 1% (+1)
Leger / Jan 26, 2026 / n=823 / Online
(% Change w 2023 Election)
Check out AB model details from @338canada.bsky.social here: 338canada.com/alberta
February 3, 2026 at 9:33 PM
The dynamic that I think everyone in Alberta understands is that the only path to victory for the NDP is the UCP splintering. The separatists are exploiting this.
Could be Ontario’s first podcaster premier.
February 3, 2026 at 8:56 PM
Could be Ontario’s first podcaster premier.
This post seems to be “I am mad at this slogan because of what it implies about the opposite of these words” and I think this is a very abstract, philosophical objection.
February 3, 2026 at 5:41 PM
This post seems to be “I am mad at this slogan because of what it implies about the opposite of these words” and I think this is a very abstract, philosophical objection.
Pointing out the hypocrisy of stealing land and then trying to dictate who can live there doesn’t say anything about what would or wouldn’t be acceptable on non stolen land.
February 3, 2026 at 5:38 PM
Pointing out the hypocrisy of stealing land and then trying to dictate who can live there doesn’t say anything about what would or wouldn’t be acceptable on non stolen land.
But I thought it was very interesting to hear him tell a roomful of edgy leftists that the radical therapy aspect of the article was in fact not a joke or just a framing device.
February 3, 2026 at 9:00 AM
But I thought it was very interesting to hear him tell a roomful of edgy leftists that the radical therapy aspect of the article was in fact not a joke or just a framing device.
Anyways I don’t really agree with the main argument in Pacifism as Pathology but it’s a piece of writing I think a lot of leftists back then used to sort of name check to show they were radical. As with so many of these it hasn’t aged super well.
February 3, 2026 at 9:00 AM
Anyways I don’t really agree with the main argument in Pacifism as Pathology but it’s a piece of writing I think a lot of leftists back then used to sort of name check to show they were radical. As with so many of these it hasn’t aged super well.
What Churchill said was pretty much that he was entirely serious that this was a form of denial, and you can’t actually argue someone out of it.
February 3, 2026 at 9:00 AM
What Churchill said was pretty much that he was entirely serious that this was a form of denial, and you can’t actually argue someone out of it.
Years ago I once saw Ward Churchill give a talk (I know, I know) and someone in the audience brought up “Pacifism as Pathology.” I don’t remember the exact question but I think it was sort of fishing for ways to win an argument against people who promote nonviolence.
February 3, 2026 at 9:00 AM
Years ago I once saw Ward Churchill give a talk (I know, I know) and someone in the audience brought up “Pacifism as Pathology.” I don’t remember the exact question but I think it was sort of fishing for ways to win an argument against people who promote nonviolence.
Feel like I shouldn’t have to do this in 2026 and yet
February 3, 2026 at 7:48 AM
Feel like I shouldn’t have to do this in 2026 and yet
Like legit this whole thing would not be taking over this site if people just blocked people when they found them annoying.
February 3, 2026 at 5:38 AM
Like legit this whole thing would not be taking over this site if people just blocked people when they found them annoying.
I think that is a great reason to block someone
February 3, 2026 at 5:37 AM
I think that is a great reason to block someone
You can literally just block him if you don’t want to see his posts. This website has a button for that.
February 3, 2026 at 5:13 AM
You can literally just block him if you don’t want to see his posts. This website has a button for that.
This is baffling to me because from my perspective that’s all they talked about. You’d have thought Jagmeet was running against Galen Weston.
February 3, 2026 at 2:58 AM
This is baffling to me because from my perspective that’s all they talked about. You’d have thought Jagmeet was running against Galen Weston.
I’m very frustrated that a lot of folks in the NDP seem to basically treat it as a completely obvious fact that the NDP lost so many seats in the last election because they didn’t talk about grocery prices enough.
February 3, 2026 at 2:58 AM
I’m very frustrated that a lot of folks in the NDP seem to basically treat it as a completely obvious fact that the NDP lost so many seats in the last election because they didn’t talk about grocery prices enough.
Reposted by Billy
I don't support Canada getting the bomb (whatever gains we get to national security by it- and IMO it would be less than we think- destroying whatever's left of non-proliferation is going to make everything else much worse) but it's pretty telling that this is where Eyre's head is at.
"We will never have true strategic independence, absent our own nuclear deterrent."
Canada should keep options open on acquiring nuclear weapons, former top soldier says
www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/art...
Canada should keep options open on acquiring nuclear weapons, former top soldier says
www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/art...
Canada should keep options open on acquiring nuclear weapons, former top soldier says
Retired general Wayne Eyre says the question of whether to develop a nuclear deterrent is not an immediate concern
www.theglobeandmail.com
February 3, 2026 at 1:02 AM
I don't support Canada getting the bomb (whatever gains we get to national security by it- and IMO it would be less than we think- destroying whatever's left of non-proliferation is going to make everything else much worse) but it's pretty telling that this is where Eyre's head is at.
Reposted by Billy
there is an incredible amount of mgp lore coming out of sw washington and portland right now
February 2, 2026 at 4:40 PM
there is an incredible amount of mgp lore coming out of sw washington and portland right now
The legislation that triggered it (The online News Act) is still in force. They withdrew a different tax on large tech platforms.
February 2, 2026 at 5:22 AM
The legislation that triggered it (The online News Act) is still in force. They withdrew a different tax on large tech platforms.
Reposted by Billy
"What's the point of majoring in English?"
February 1, 2026 at 5:40 PM
"What's the point of majoring in English?"