Tai Viinikka
@eastpole.bsky.social
Science, technology, energy, and the environment.
Writer and broadcaster.
Previously known as @viinikka on the bird site!
East Pole Productions
Writer and broadcaster.
Previously known as @viinikka on the bird site!
East Pole Productions
I am strangely comforted when a *familiar* kind of madness comes to the fore.
user of the day is reporting that the moon is in the wrong place. he tried calling NASA about it, but they're not answering the phone, possibly because our user called them in the middle of the night on a major holiday. either that or NASA just doesn't understand the urgency of the matter.
November 27, 2025 at 10:55 PM
I am strangely comforted when a *familiar* kind of madness comes to the fore.
Reposted by Tai Viinikka
Remember, all of the education bills passed by Team Ford have been about the buildings and the real estate.
Of course the entire school board supervision thing is about the Ford government selling land to their friends! The new grift is afoot! ‘I feel like they’re hiding something’: Secrecy at TDSB’s real estate arm worries trustees www.torontotoday.ca/local/educat... #topoli #onpoli #onted
‘I feel like they’re hiding something’: Increased secrecy at TDSB’s real estate arm worries some trustees
During a board meeting of the Toronto Lands Corporation, the TDSB’s supervisor signalled a forthcoming change in the powerful organization’s operations
www.torontotoday.ca
November 13, 2025 at 9:24 PM
Remember, all of the education bills passed by Team Ford have been about the buildings and the real estate.
Obviously only a paranoid crank would think Russia could secretly bribe, control, influence or extort western politicians to act in Russia's interests ... part 17.
www.bbc.com/news/article...
www.bbc.com/news/article...
Former Reform in Wales leader Nathan Gill jailed for pro-Russian bribery
Nathan Gill, 52, is sentenced to 10 and a half years in prison after admitting taking bribes while an MEP.
www.bbc.com
November 23, 2025 at 8:48 PM
Obviously only a paranoid crank would think Russia could secretly bribe, control, influence or extort western politicians to act in Russia's interests ... part 17.
www.bbc.com/news/article...
www.bbc.com/news/article...
If you still get information by reading, you really need this sort-of investigative piece by Nicholas Hune-Brown.
"I was embarrassed. I had been naively operating with a pre-ChatGPT mindset, still assuming a pitch’s ideas and prose were actually connected to the person who sent it"
Stunning investigation of how slop merchants are getting work into established media outlets
thelocal.to/investigatin...
Stunning investigation of how slop merchants are getting work into established media outlets
thelocal.to/investigatin...
November 23, 2025 at 7:44 PM
If you still get information by reading, you really need this sort-of investigative piece by Nicholas Hune-Brown.
Reposted by Tai Viinikka
It means an American-style healthcare system where insurance companies + corporations benefit the most + the patient pays for it all.
@mark-carney.bsky.social ...any adaptation of this kind of model should cancel ALTAs healthcare transfer $ from the feds.
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
@mark-carney.bsky.social ...any adaptation of this kind of model should cancel ALTAs healthcare transfer $ from the feds.
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
What Alberta's public-private doctor plan could mean for insurance, physician burnout, nurses and more | CBC News
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s plan to allow physicians to dabble both in the public and private systems at the same time would be a Canadian first, and has drawn mixed reaction from critics and sup...
www.cbc.ca
November 22, 2025 at 10:03 PM
It means an American-style healthcare system where insurance companies + corporations benefit the most + the patient pays for it all.
@mark-carney.bsky.social ...any adaptation of this kind of model should cancel ALTAs healthcare transfer $ from the feds.
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
@mark-carney.bsky.social ...any adaptation of this kind of model should cancel ALTAs healthcare transfer $ from the feds.
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
Reposted by Tai Viinikka
Attention Black and/or Indigenous early-career journalists! The Local is partnering with The Philanthropist for a $10,000 fellowship. The fellow will write about issues that matter to their community and civil society, and will be offered mentorship and industry guidance. thelocal.to/early-career...
Early-Career Journalism Fellowship
The fellowship provides one Black and/or Indigenous journalist an opportunity to write about issues that matter to their community and civil society.
thelocal.to
November 13, 2025 at 2:30 PM
Attention Black and/or Indigenous early-career journalists! The Local is partnering with The Philanthropist for a $10,000 fellowship. The fellow will write about issues that matter to their community and civil society, and will be offered mentorship and industry guidance. thelocal.to/early-career...
Reposted by Tai Viinikka
"Ontario had a 96% carbon-free electrical grid in 2017; it is now only 84% clean."
Doug Ford continues to embarrass Ontarians with his regressive policies. #onpoli
www.thestar.com/news/gta/why...
Doug Ford continues to embarrass Ontarians with his regressive policies. #onpoli
www.thestar.com/news/gta/why...
Why GTA emissions are ‘moving in the wrong direction’ despite electric vehicles, transit use
The region would need to see a drop of 11 per cent in emissions annually to reach its 2030 targets, according to a new report.
www.thestar.com
November 18, 2025 at 6:06 PM
"Ontario had a 96% carbon-free electrical grid in 2017; it is now only 84% clean."
Doug Ford continues to embarrass Ontarians with his regressive policies. #onpoli
www.thestar.com/news/gta/why...
Doug Ford continues to embarrass Ontarians with his regressive policies. #onpoli
www.thestar.com/news/gta/why...
Reposted by Tai Viinikka
Today RFK Jr. both suggested that aluminum adjuvants in vaccines cause peanut allergies *and* admitted there are no data to support this hypothesis, so he wants to find some.
Like if you took the scientific method, turned it backward and inside out and made it puke, you’d get RFK Jr.’s thoughts.
Like if you took the scientific method, turned it backward and inside out and made it puke, you’d get RFK Jr.’s thoughts.
November 17, 2025 at 8:22 PM
Today RFK Jr. both suggested that aluminum adjuvants in vaccines cause peanut allergies *and* admitted there are no data to support this hypothesis, so he wants to find some.
Like if you took the scientific method, turned it backward and inside out and made it puke, you’d get RFK Jr.’s thoughts.
Like if you took the scientific method, turned it backward and inside out and made it puke, you’d get RFK Jr.’s thoughts.
Reposted by Tai Viinikka
Official data from government of British Columbia, along with satellite monitoring, backs claims that a Canadian subsidiary owned by Drax sourced 250-year-old trees to manufacture biomass pellets as recently as this year
www.theguardian.com/business/202...
www.theguardian.com/business/202...
Drax still burning 250-year-old trees sourced from forests in Canada, experts say
Exclusive: report by Stand.earth says subsidiary of power plant received truckloads of whole logs at biomass pellet sites
www.theguardian.com
November 9, 2025 at 10:15 AM
Official data from government of British Columbia, along with satellite monitoring, backs claims that a Canadian subsidiary owned by Drax sourced 250-year-old trees to manufacture biomass pellets as recently as this year
www.theguardian.com/business/202...
www.theguardian.com/business/202...
Reposted by Tai Viinikka
Canada expected to lose long-standing measles-elimination status on Monday, by @kkirkup.bsky.social www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/art... via @theglobeandmail.com
Canada expected to lose long-standing measles-elimination status
If the country loses its status, public-health researchers say the return of endemic measles would carry serious health consequences
www.theglobeandmail.com
November 10, 2025 at 3:11 AM
Canada expected to lose long-standing measles-elimination status on Monday, by @kkirkup.bsky.social www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/art... via @theglobeandmail.com
Reposted by Tai Viinikka
“People who have traditionally been able to evade law enforcement are sensitive to this issue,” Retting said. “Ultimately, one of the arguments against automated enforcement is that it doesn’t discriminate. It’s also a great argument for it.” www.cbc.ca/news/world/s...
Speed cameras are controversial in Canada. So why does Europe love them? | CBC News
Speed cameras are widely in use across Europe, where studies have shown they are highly effective at preventing accidents.
www.cbc.ca
November 8, 2025 at 7:46 PM
“People who have traditionally been able to evade law enforcement are sensitive to this issue,” Retting said. “Ultimately, one of the arguments against automated enforcement is that it doesn’t discriminate. It’s also a great argument for it.” www.cbc.ca/news/world/s...
Grey, silent friends, you asked so little and did so much. Speed enforcement cameras slowed drivers down in school zones without the whump-chunk noise of cars on speed bumps or the ineffective light pollution of blinking caution lights.
November 7, 2025 at 10:02 PM
Grey, silent friends, you asked so little and did so much. Speed enforcement cameras slowed drivers down in school zones without the whump-chunk noise of cars on speed bumps or the ineffective light pollution of blinking caution lights.
Reposted by Tai Viinikka
The blueprint for winning big on climate also came out last night. No more technocratic, policy wonk approaches. People showed they care about utility bills, free buses, affordable housing, etc. These are all climate issues. Talk about climate in terms people understand and experience.
November 5, 2025 at 2:38 PM
The blueprint for winning big on climate also came out last night. No more technocratic, policy wonk approaches. People showed they care about utility bills, free buses, affordable housing, etc. These are all climate issues. Talk about climate in terms people understand and experience.
New-to-me news from the only country taking indoor air quality seriously: www.brusselstimes.com/1622783/air-...
Air quality data network launched in Belgium
"We have been talking about smart cities for years, but without accurate real-time data on air quality, smart management remains a pipe dream."
www.brusselstimes.com
November 4, 2025 at 1:19 PM
New-to-me news from the only country taking indoor air quality seriously: www.brusselstimes.com/1622783/air-...
Toronto connections with Australian Science Prize winner for advances in air quality science, combating COVID and wildfire smoke hazards... www.abc.net.au/news/science...
Researcher who transformed COVID transmission science wins PM's prize
Lidia Morawska, an internationally renowned expert in air quality and its impact on human health, has won Australia's most coveted prize for scientific research.
www.abc.net.au
November 4, 2025 at 4:01 AM
Toronto connections with Australian Science Prize winner for advances in air quality science, combating COVID and wildfire smoke hazards... www.abc.net.au/news/science...
In Ontario, Public-Private Partnerships for the Loss. 🏴 Let's build real capacity, not the shareholder value of engineering multinationals (or similar.)
Councillor @alejandrabravo.bsky.social speaks on the P3 model and how it’s a failure, and always brings projects in late and over budget. That’s what we’ve been saying!
November 4, 2025 at 2:18 AM
In Ontario, Public-Private Partnerships for the Loss. 🏴 Let's build real capacity, not the shareholder value of engineering multinationals (or similar.)
Reposted by Tai Viinikka
It is very clear the gutting of Teen Vogue is about silencing their excellent political coverage. Corporations want you uninformed and shut off from meaningful journalism. And they’re staggeringly successful at it so far.
I was laid off from Teen Vogue today along with multiple other staffers, and today is my last day.
certainly more to come from me when the dust has settled more, but to my knowledge, after today, there will be no politics staffers at Teen Vogue.
certainly more to come from me when the dust has settled more, but to my knowledge, after today, there will be no politics staffers at Teen Vogue.
November 3, 2025 at 8:26 PM
It is very clear the gutting of Teen Vogue is about silencing their excellent political coverage. Corporations want you uninformed and shut off from meaningful journalism. And they’re staggeringly successful at it so far.
Reposted by Tai Viinikka
NEW POST: No, the Supreme Court is not an obstacle to tougher laws against child porn emmettmacfarlane.substack.com/p/no-the-sup...
No, the Supreme Court is not an obstacle to tougher laws against child porn
Yesterday the Supreme Court issued a decision striking down mandatory minimum sentences in the context of possessing or accessing child pornography.
emmettmacfarlane.substack.com
November 1, 2025 at 1:52 PM
NEW POST: No, the Supreme Court is not an obstacle to tougher laws against child porn emmettmacfarlane.substack.com/p/no-the-sup...
Reposted by Tai Viinikka
🆄🅽🆂🅰🅵🅴 🅸🅽 🆃🅷🅴 🆆🅾🆁🅺🅿🅻🅰🅲🅴
how the CBC forced me to resign over COVID
and why we’re all worse off for it—especially our kids
a 🧵
(on the occasion of my son’s [5th] and the CBC’s [89th] shared birthday, nov. 2)
👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼
[links to referenced articles in ALT text]
how the CBC forced me to resign over COVID
and why we’re all worse off for it—especially our kids
a 🧵
(on the occasion of my son’s [5th] and the CBC’s [89th] shared birthday, nov. 2)
👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼
[links to referenced articles in ALT text]
November 2, 2025 at 2:49 PM
🆄🅽🆂🅰🅵🅴 🅸🅽 🆃🅷🅴 🆆🅾🆁🅺🅿🅻🅰🅲🅴
how the CBC forced me to resign over COVID
and why we’re all worse off for it—especially our kids
a 🧵
(on the occasion of my son’s [5th] and the CBC’s [89th] shared birthday, nov. 2)
👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼
[links to referenced articles in ALT text]
how the CBC forced me to resign over COVID
and why we’re all worse off for it—especially our kids
a 🧵
(on the occasion of my son’s [5th] and the CBC’s [89th] shared birthday, nov. 2)
👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼
[links to referenced articles in ALT text]
It's district heat in Boston! WOOHOO!
One of the world’s largest industrial heat pumps is coming to Boston.
A 35MW system will use energy from the Charles River and deliver steam to heat more than 70 million square feet of buildings across Boston and Cambridge — hospitals, schools, homes, and businesses alike.
A 35MW system will use energy from the Charles River and deliver steam to heat more than 70 million square feet of buildings across Boston and Cambridge — hospitals, schools, homes, and businesses alike.
November 1, 2025 at 3:14 AM
It's district heat in Boston! WOOHOO!
Fact check says **Yes**.
October 29, 2025 at 3:56 PM
Fact check says **Yes**.
Reposted by Tai Viinikka
PSA: Ontario is opening COVID and flu shots to the general public starting tomorrow
COVID-19 pharmacy vaccine locations
Find your closest pharmacy to get a COVID-19 vaccine.
www.ontario.ca
October 27, 2025 at 12:36 AM
PSA: Ontario is opening COVID and flu shots to the general public starting tomorrow
Reposted by Tai Viinikka
“Ontario’s [actually Doug Ford’s] plan to ban bike lanes is ripped from the business lobby’s wish list. Buried in a new omnibus bill, the latest salvo in Doug Ford’s war on bikes is more than a vendetta—it’s a gift to corporate lobbyists.” Via @breachmedia.ca
Money over lives and better mobility.
Money over lives and better mobility.
Ontario’s plan to ban bike lanes is ripped from the business lobby’s wish list ⋆ The Breach
Buried in a new omnibus bill, the latest salvo in Doug Ford’s war on bikes is more than a vendetta—it’s a gift to corporate lobbyists
breachmedia.ca
October 26, 2025 at 9:07 PM
“Ontario’s [actually Doug Ford’s] plan to ban bike lanes is ripped from the business lobby’s wish list. Buried in a new omnibus bill, the latest salvo in Doug Ford’s war on bikes is more than a vendetta—it’s a gift to corporate lobbyists.” Via @breachmedia.ca
Money over lives and better mobility.
Money over lives and better mobility.
What would it take to drive ground-source heating and cooling into the mainstream in big commercial property developments? There's some hope in this Toronto Star story about a new business model that sees the geothermal company selling flat-rate heating/cooling to renters and property owners.
October 24, 2025 at 1:26 AM
What would it take to drive ground-source heating and cooling into the mainstream in big commercial property developments? There's some hope in this Toronto Star story about a new business model that sees the geothermal company selling flat-rate heating/cooling to renters and property owners.
Now we're *all* on the Shining Path.
The average American millennial man has been a neocon, a pacifist, a liberal, a libertarian, a communist, a nazi, a member of the Arrow Cross, a Royal Ulster Constabulary Member, a Provo, a Black Hand activist, a Tatenokai, where were we going with this again
October 21, 2025 at 4:43 PM
Now we're *all* on the Shining Path.