Martin Rayner
@martinrayner.bsky.social
“Si fractus illabatur orbis impavidum ferient ruinae” — Horace
The kooky tradition of US presidents “pardoning” turkeys wasn’t always the case. In 1914, two turkeys gifted to Woodrow Wilson were forced to fight on the White House South Lawn with the, um, “winner” being served as Thanksgiving dinner. 🤨
November 25, 2025 at 9:40 PM
The kooky tradition of US presidents “pardoning” turkeys wasn’t always the case. In 1914, two turkeys gifted to Woodrow Wilson were forced to fight on the White House South Lawn with the, um, “winner” being served as Thanksgiving dinner. 🤨
Sure was a great deal of unfunny axe-grinding at the White House this morning, despite of the ostensible purpose of this remarkably silly annual event.
tinyurl.com/4n3dbfse
tinyurl.com/4n3dbfse
Trump gives Thanksgiving turkeys scathing nicknames in fiery speech
Donald Trump has pardoned two Thanksgiving turkeys, Gobble and Waddle, in the 160-year tradition of presidents.
tinyurl.com
November 25, 2025 at 8:43 PM
Sure was a great deal of unfunny axe-grinding at the White House this morning, despite of the ostensible purpose of this remarkably silly annual event.
tinyurl.com/4n3dbfse
tinyurl.com/4n3dbfse
Sad to say, but the current crisis in the BC forestry industry is just the inevitable culmination of many decades of willful mismanagement by successive provincial governments acceding to the expedient interests of greedy and rapacious lumber corporations. 😠
#CdnPoli
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysqU...
#CdnPoli
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysqU...
Leaked report confirms BC’s forest crisis: BC counted trees that aren’t there
YouTube video by Boundary Forest Watershed Stewardship Society
www.youtube.com
November 25, 2025 at 6:55 PM
Sad to say, but the current crisis in the BC forestry industry is just the inevitable culmination of many decades of willful mismanagement by successive provincial governments acceding to the expedient interests of greedy and rapacious lumber corporations. 😠
#CdnPoli
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysqU...
#CdnPoli
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysqU...
ICYMI: Trump has yet to impose the additional 10% tariff that he threatened to last October after throwing a hissy fit over Doug Ford’s Reagan-themed anti-tariff TV ad campaign.
Perhaps Carney’s “apology” (much-derided as it was) defused the situation... 🤷♂️
#CdnPoli
tinyurl.com/mpmsh6sp
Perhaps Carney’s “apology” (much-derided as it was) defused the situation... 🤷♂️
#CdnPoli
tinyurl.com/mpmsh6sp
Trump quietly holds off on Canada tariff increase
The president announced in late October he was increasing duties on Canadian goods in response to Ontario's anti-tariff TV ad.
www.politico.com
November 25, 2025 at 10:54 AM
ICYMI: Trump has yet to impose the additional 10% tariff that he threatened to last October after throwing a hissy fit over Doug Ford’s Reagan-themed anti-tariff TV ad campaign.
Perhaps Carney’s “apology” (much-derided as it was) defused the situation... 🤷♂️
#CdnPoli
tinyurl.com/mpmsh6sp
Perhaps Carney’s “apology” (much-derided as it was) defused the situation... 🤷♂️
#CdnPoli
tinyurl.com/mpmsh6sp
The car that’s going to kick Tesla’s Model Y’s ass. 😆
The new 2026 Nissan LEAF has been getting enthusiastic reviews from the automotive press, is a finalist for Vehicle of the Year and w/ a starting MSRP of around $30,000, it undercuts Tesla’s most “affordable” EV by a good $10,000!
#EVs, #Tesla
The new 2026 Nissan LEAF has been getting enthusiastic reviews from the automotive press, is a finalist for Vehicle of the Year and w/ a starting MSRP of around $30,000, it undercuts Tesla’s most “affordable” EV by a good $10,000!
#EVs, #Tesla
November 25, 2025 at 12:36 AM
Museum quacks under Canadian boycott... (sorry).
The result of an 1846 cartography blunder, Point Roberts already depends on Canada for everything from groceries and electricity to emergency services. Makes little sense for the isolated exclave to remain part of America. 🤷♂️
tinyurl.com/5h46kr39
The result of an 1846 cartography blunder, Point Roberts already depends on Canada for everything from groceries and electricity to emergency services. Makes little sense for the isolated exclave to remain part of America. 🤷♂️
tinyurl.com/5h46kr39
This American rubber duck museum is moving to B.C. due to tariffs, drop in tourism | CBC News
Quirky Point Roberts-based Rubber Duck Museum is coming to Tsawwassen Mills mall in B.C. after increasing tariffs and decreasing tourism have made business in the U.S. exclave unsustainable.
tinyurl.com
November 24, 2025 at 6:36 PM
Museum quacks under Canadian boycott... (sorry).
The result of an 1846 cartography blunder, Point Roberts already depends on Canada for everything from groceries and electricity to emergency services. Makes little sense for the isolated exclave to remain part of America. 🤷♂️
tinyurl.com/5h46kr39
The result of an 1846 cartography blunder, Point Roberts already depends on Canada for everything from groceries and electricity to emergency services. Makes little sense for the isolated exclave to remain part of America. 🤷♂️
tinyurl.com/5h46kr39
When it comes to international brand image in terms of public opinion regarding government competence; perceived commitment to global issues; culture; character of the people; and appeal as a place live or travel to… Seems America’s loss is Canada’s gain. 🍁👍
#CdnPoli
www.youtube.com/shorts/XV7Gp...
#CdnPoli
www.youtube.com/shorts/XV7Gp...
Owning the Podium
YouTube video by Tod Maffin
www.youtube.com
November 24, 2025 at 6:54 AM
When it comes to international brand image in terms of public opinion regarding government competence; perceived commitment to global issues; culture; character of the people; and appeal as a place live or travel to… Seems America’s loss is Canada’s gain. 🍁👍
#CdnPoli
www.youtube.com/shorts/XV7Gp...
#CdnPoli
www.youtube.com/shorts/XV7Gp...
The Renaissance chess set made by the New York toy company E.S. Lowe from models carved by the Italian wooden figurine maker House of Anri.
Had one when I was a kid and wanted to get it for the memories. Though reasonably priced, the Ebay shipping costs involved were heinously expensive! Oh well.
Had one when I was a kid and wanted to get it for the memories. Though reasonably priced, the Ebay shipping costs involved were heinously expensive! Oh well.
November 24, 2025 at 4:31 AM
The Renaissance chess set made by the New York toy company E.S. Lowe from models carved by the Italian wooden figurine maker House of Anri.
Had one when I was a kid and wanted to get it for the memories. Though reasonably priced, the Ebay shipping costs involved were heinously expensive! Oh well.
Had one when I was a kid and wanted to get it for the memories. Though reasonably priced, the Ebay shipping costs involved were heinously expensive! Oh well.
“A Christmas Joke With A Point To It” by Carl Hassmann, published in “Puck” magazine in 1906, alluding to the tense relationship between the Pilgrims and local indigenous tribes, or the concept of land rights and the appropriation of resources (i.e., the “turkey”) by the settlers.
#Thanksgiving
#Thanksgiving
November 24, 2025 at 3:31 AM
“A Christmas Joke With A Point To It” by Carl Hassmann, published in “Puck” magazine in 1906, alluding to the tense relationship between the Pilgrims and local indigenous tribes, or the concept of land rights and the appropriation of resources (i.e., the “turkey”) by the settlers.
#Thanksgiving
#Thanksgiving
Not sure if the One BC Party having official party status is a bad or good thing. The downside: it allows its two MLAs to take part in question period every day, voicing their absurd, odious and racist views in the process. The upside… well, the same, actually. 😉
#CdnPoli
tinyurl.com/52dw5mxc
#CdnPoli
tinyurl.com/52dw5mxc
Les Leyne: Fringe views getting free rein in legislature under new OneBC party
Leader Dallas Brodie has said, among other things, that Indigenous rights are a bigger problem than Trump tariffs, and that “DEI must d-i-e.”
tinyurl.com
November 24, 2025 at 1:54 AM
Not sure if the One BC Party having official party status is a bad or good thing. The downside: it allows its two MLAs to take part in question period every day, voicing their absurd, odious and racist views in the process. The upside… well, the same, actually. 😉
#CdnPoli
tinyurl.com/52dw5mxc
#CdnPoli
tinyurl.com/52dw5mxc
An actual good use for AI...
Sortera “uses an AI model that identifies different grades of aluminum based on data from lasers, X-ray fluorescence, and high-speed cameras. The system has to classify each chip... in a fraction of a second.”
tinyurl.com/4hksyheh
Sortera “uses an AI model that identifies different grades of aluminum based on data from lasers, X-ray fluorescence, and high-speed cameras. The system has to classify each chip... in a fraction of a second.”
tinyurl.com/4hksyheh
November 24, 2025 at 12:12 AM
An actual good use for AI...
Sortera “uses an AI model that identifies different grades of aluminum based on data from lasers, X-ray fluorescence, and high-speed cameras. The system has to classify each chip... in a fraction of a second.”
tinyurl.com/4hksyheh
Sortera “uses an AI model that identifies different grades of aluminum based on data from lasers, X-ray fluorescence, and high-speed cameras. The system has to classify each chip... in a fraction of a second.”
tinyurl.com/4hksyheh
A quarter of the province’s population identifying as “Evangelical Christians” helps explain why the political climate in Alberta is significantly different from much of the rest of Canada.
More here about Authoritarian Libertarianism: tinyurl.com/5d68et9j
#CdnPoli
www.youtube.com/watch?v=5iV9...
More here about Authoritarian Libertarianism: tinyurl.com/5d68et9j
#CdnPoli
www.youtube.com/watch?v=5iV9...
Evangelical Christianity a Big Driver of Alberta's Authoritarian Libertarianism?
YouTube video by Energi Media
www.youtube.com
November 23, 2025 at 11:44 PM
A quarter of the province’s population identifying as “Evangelical Christians” helps explain why the political climate in Alberta is significantly different from much of the rest of Canada.
More here about Authoritarian Libertarianism: tinyurl.com/5d68et9j
#CdnPoli
www.youtube.com/watch?v=5iV9...
More here about Authoritarian Libertarianism: tinyurl.com/5d68et9j
#CdnPoli
www.youtube.com/watch?v=5iV9...
If you can’t afford real maple syrup (which is most of us these days!), this is a truly excellent substitute. It tastes virtually the same (same consistency too) at a fraction of the cost. 🍁
More about the 156-year-old New Brunswick company that makes it: canadianmaplesyrup.com
More about the 156-year-old New Brunswick company that makes it: canadianmaplesyrup.com
November 23, 2025 at 10:33 PM
If you can’t afford real maple syrup (which is most of us these days!), this is a truly excellent substitute. It tastes virtually the same (same consistency too) at a fraction of the cost. 🍁
More about the 156-year-old New Brunswick company that makes it: canadianmaplesyrup.com
More about the 156-year-old New Brunswick company that makes it: canadianmaplesyrup.com
ICYMI: The Israeli government recently hired a PR firm led by former Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale to spend millions flooding Gen Z platforms w/ pro-Israel content, while also building new websites to influence how AI LLMs like ChatGPT frame Israel.
responsiblestatecraft.org/israel-chatg...
responsiblestatecraft.org/israel-chatg...
Israel wants to train ChatGPT to be more pro-Israel
In a new $6M contract, US firm ‘Clock Tower X’ will generate and deploy content across platforms, help game algorithms, plus manage AI ‘frameworks’ to make them more friendly to the cause
responsiblestatecraft.org
November 23, 2025 at 9:47 PM
ICYMI: The Israeli government recently hired a PR firm led by former Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale to spend millions flooding Gen Z platforms w/ pro-Israel content, while also building new websites to influence how AI LLMs like ChatGPT frame Israel.
responsiblestatecraft.org/israel-chatg...
responsiblestatecraft.org/israel-chatg...
“Dream Image Rotor” (1927) by the German painter Carl Grossberg, a practitioner of the New Objectivist movement that flourished briefly during the turbulent Weimar period, but was condemned by the Nazis as “degenerate art” and considered an affront to their preferred aesthetic.
#Art
#Art
November 23, 2025 at 9:02 PM
“Dream Image Rotor” (1927) by the German painter Carl Grossberg, a practitioner of the New Objectivist movement that flourished briefly during the turbulent Weimar period, but was condemned by the Nazis as “degenerate art” and considered an affront to their preferred aesthetic.
#Art
#Art
Hard to imagine…
Vintage posters encouraging British farmers to come to Canada during the early decades of the last century.
Vintage posters encouraging British farmers to come to Canada during the early decades of the last century.
November 23, 2025 at 6:52 PM
Hard to imagine…
Vintage posters encouraging British farmers to come to Canada during the early decades of the last century.
Vintage posters encouraging British farmers to come to Canada during the early decades of the last century.
An historian claps back at right-wing whiners complaining that the new Ken Burns documentary series on the American Revolution is overly “woke” because of it giving much-needed focus to the thirteen colonies’ ongoing conflict with the indigenous population.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKoM...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKoM...
We Need to Talk - Has Ken Burns gone WOKE with the American Revolution?
YouTube video by Vlogging Through History
www.youtube.com
November 23, 2025 at 3:12 AM
An historian claps back at right-wing whiners complaining that the new Ken Burns documentary series on the American Revolution is overly “woke” because of it giving much-needed focus to the thirteen colonies’ ongoing conflict with the indigenous population.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKoM...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKoM...
Excellent doc exploring the fraudulent schemes (foremost being the “Mefo bills” promissory system) that underwrote Hitler’s “economic miracle” but also required conquest, plunder, systematic theft, and slave labour to avoid collapse.
Pretty much this in a nutshell.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tj0i...
Pretty much this in a nutshell.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tj0i...
November 23, 2025 at 2:55 AM
Excellent doc exploring the fraudulent schemes (foremost being the “Mefo bills” promissory system) that underwrote Hitler’s “economic miracle” but also required conquest, plunder, systematic theft, and slave labour to avoid collapse.
Pretty much this in a nutshell.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tj0i...
Pretty much this in a nutshell.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tj0i...
The latest “Have I Got News For You”...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nOm...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nOm...
Have I Got News for You S70E7 | Gabby Logan Hosts a Sharp, Hilarious News Roundup
YouTube video by Have I Got News for You
www.youtube.com
November 22, 2025 at 5:35 AM
The latest “Have I Got News For You”...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nOm...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nOm...
My next-door neighbour was showing off the new t-shirt she got from Etsy the other day. She’s a really eccentric character with many axes to grind...
November 22, 2025 at 3:07 AM
My next-door neighbour was showing off the new t-shirt she got from Etsy the other day. She’s a really eccentric character with many axes to grind...
Was thinking about the various places I’ve lived over the years. Curious to know whether that’s a typical number, was surprised to learn that according to data from an American moving company, 75% of men and 64% of women said they still live in the same city where they grew up!
November 21, 2025 at 8:35 PM
Was thinking about the various places I’ve lived over the years. Curious to know whether that’s a typical number, was surprised to learn that according to data from an American moving company, 75% of men and 64% of women said they still live in the same city where they grew up!
Whitby, England… Was born here 66 years ago today! 🎂
November 21, 2025 at 7:55 PM
Whitby, England… Was born here 66 years ago today! 🎂
