jenny (phire)
@phirephoenix.com
I write code for a living and words for my sins. occasional blog posts at https://phirephoenix.com, weekly newsletter for organizing/activism in Toronto at @showuptoronto.ca.
Pinned
jenny (phire)
@phirephoenix.com
· Aug 1
Show Up TO
Show Up Toronto is a hub and weekly newsletter of community organizing, mutual aid, and advocacy events from around the city.
showuptoronto.ca
It's been almost three months since I launched Show Up Toronto and in that time I've posted 426 events from over 200 groups, which is pretty dang cool. The fact that there are consistently 100+ events a month representing the labour of thousands validates my optimism about the city. showuptoronto.ca
Reposted by jenny (phire)
This is the correct take. Stewing in white supremacist propaganda is bad for your thinking. And if think you are so savvy that it won’t impact you, you are the exact kind of mark they are slowly converting (I’m looking at you, centrist pundits).
It’s really funny how a generation will roll its eyes at parents who watch Fox News but doesn’t see why being immersed in Twitter is having the same effect. Lots of serious people show up on Fox News too but that shouldn’t be your primary source on the news.
November 27, 2025 at 10:05 AM
This is the correct take. Stewing in white supremacist propaganda is bad for your thinking. And if think you are so savvy that it won’t impact you, you are the exact kind of mark they are slowly converting (I’m looking at you, centrist pundits).
Reposted by jenny (phire)
if I had to choose between "being able to comfortably support myself and my family through my writing" and "actually making a difference with my writing" I would be deeply conflicted. thankfully, neither of those things is actually on the table so this is more of a goku vs superman kind of situation
July 26, 2025 at 2:55 AM
if I had to choose between "being able to comfortably support myself and my family through my writing" and "actually making a difference with my writing" I would be deeply conflicted. thankfully, neither of those things is actually on the table so this is more of a goku vs superman kind of situation
Reposted by jenny (phire)
Troublemaker’s Handbook: Labor Notes workplace organizing guide, as a pdf labornotes.org/2024/04/free...
Free Download of Shawn Fain's 'Other Bible,' A Troublemaker's Handbook
“As a young union activist I had another bible," United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain said on Sunday in the final main session of the 2024 Labor Notes Conference. "It was this book right here,
labornotes.org
April 26, 2024 at 3:41 PM
Troublemaker’s Handbook: Labor Notes workplace organizing guide, as a pdf labornotes.org/2024/04/free...
Reposted by jenny (phire)
2025 has been an eventful year for Canada's identity. To commemorate the year, The Society for Canadian English is choosing a 2025 word of the year (CWOTY), based on the Dictionary of Canadianisms on Historical Principles.
Have your say: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
Have your say: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
November 27, 2025 at 12:17 AM
2025 has been an eventful year for Canada's identity. To commemorate the year, The Society for Canadian English is choosing a 2025 word of the year (CWOTY), based on the Dictionary of Canadianisms on Historical Principles.
Have your say: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
Have your say: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
wonder how long it'll take for the PR-poisoned to adopt "you're absolutely right" like the LLMs they interact with all day
jon, that's a good statement
gives me a lot to think about, and saying so allows me to flatter the audience (you) without saying anything of substance while i delay, until i think of a way to link this to one of the five approved talking points that i've been instructed to repeat
gives me a lot to think about, and saying so allows me to flatter the audience (you) without saying anything of substance while i delay, until i think of a way to link this to one of the five approved talking points that i've been instructed to repeat
Justin, as someone who routinely interviews people, i'd love you to do a story/video/snippet or something about how PR education has taught EVERYONE to begin absolutely any response with, "That's a good question." Even five years ago we didn't hear that.
November 27, 2025 at 12:47 AM
wonder how long it'll take for the PR-poisoned to adopt "you're absolutely right" like the LLMs they interact with all day
Reposted by jenny (phire)
jon, that's a good statement
gives me a lot to think about, and saying so allows me to flatter the audience (you) without saying anything of substance while i delay, until i think of a way to link this to one of the five approved talking points that i've been instructed to repeat
gives me a lot to think about, and saying so allows me to flatter the audience (you) without saying anything of substance while i delay, until i think of a way to link this to one of the five approved talking points that i've been instructed to repeat
Justin, as someone who routinely interviews people, i'd love you to do a story/video/snippet or something about how PR education has taught EVERYONE to begin absolutely any response with, "That's a good question." Even five years ago we didn't hear that.
November 27, 2025 at 12:29 AM
jon, that's a good statement
gives me a lot to think about, and saying so allows me to flatter the audience (you) without saying anything of substance while i delay, until i think of a way to link this to one of the five approved talking points that i've been instructed to repeat
gives me a lot to think about, and saying so allows me to flatter the audience (you) without saying anything of substance while i delay, until i think of a way to link this to one of the five approved talking points that i've been instructed to repeat
Reposted by jenny (phire)
Lots of people sharing this clip because it's funny and cathartic but I also genuinely believe it's important.
We have to win the narrative battle between "I live in a corrupt society and that's just how it is" and "I live in a corrupt society and we are going to defeat and humiliate these ghouls."
We have to win the narrative battle between "I live in a corrupt society and that's just how it is" and "I live in a corrupt society and we are going to defeat and humiliate these ghouls."
Good morning to Brazilian reporter Manuela Borges, who’s been waiting eleven years for this petty moment. ❤️ 🇧🇷
November 26, 2025 at 4:07 PM
Lots of people sharing this clip because it's funny and cathartic but I also genuinely believe it's important.
We have to win the narrative battle between "I live in a corrupt society and that's just how it is" and "I live in a corrupt society and we are going to defeat and humiliate these ghouls."
We have to win the narrative battle between "I live in a corrupt society and that's just how it is" and "I live in a corrupt society and we are going to defeat and humiliate these ghouls."
Reposted by jenny (phire)
I think if Canada wants to have a strong cultural identity we need to go back to doing what we're best at, making the weirdest fucking TV shows you've ever seen
November 26, 2025 at 7:33 PM
I think if Canada wants to have a strong cultural identity we need to go back to doing what we're best at, making the weirdest fucking TV shows you've ever seen
Reposted by jenny (phire)
This is an insightful but deeply upsetting article about why everyone in the US feels poor, and why the current political situation emerges as a direct result.
www.yesigiveafig.com/p/part-1-my-...
www.yesigiveafig.com/p/part-1-my-...
Part 1: My Life Is a Lie
How a Broken Benchmark Quietly Broke America
www.yesigiveafig.com
November 26, 2025 at 1:42 AM
This is an insightful but deeply upsetting article about why everyone in the US feels poor, and why the current political situation emerges as a direct result.
www.yesigiveafig.com/p/part-1-my-...
www.yesigiveafig.com/p/part-1-my-...
Reposted by jenny (phire)
NEW: Ontario’s transparency watchdog has been forced to “intervene” after the solicitor general’s office repeatedly ignored orders to release information.
It’s part of a trend which has also raised questions about political interference. #OnPoli
globalnews.ca/news/1154356...
It’s part of a trend which has also raised questions about political interference. #OnPoli
globalnews.ca/news/1154356...
Ontario watchdog ‘intervening’ after solicitor general ignores transparency orders | Globalnews.ca
There have been several instances in recent years where the IPC has told the solicitor general's office to release information, only for the government to ignore the decree.
globalnews.ca
November 26, 2025 at 1:43 PM
NEW: Ontario’s transparency watchdog has been forced to “intervene” after the solicitor general’s office repeatedly ignored orders to release information.
It’s part of a trend which has also raised questions about political interference. #OnPoli
globalnews.ca/news/1154356...
It’s part of a trend which has also raised questions about political interference. #OnPoli
globalnews.ca/news/1154356...
Reposted by jenny (phire)
i got tired of "how to read more" advice from people who are book critics and don't own tvs and live in monasteries with no wifi, so here is some advice from someone with a terminal case of internet brain www.shesabeast.co/how-to-read-...
how to read more
from someone who actually struggles
www.shesabeast.co
November 26, 2025 at 4:25 PM
i got tired of "how to read more" advice from people who are book critics and don't own tvs and live in monasteries with no wifi, so here is some advice from someone with a terminal case of internet brain www.shesabeast.co/how-to-read-...
Reposted by jenny (phire)
The first photo is what Doug Ford has made illegal in all of Ontario with Bill 60. #OnPoli
Cities like Paris are showing that urban greening thru street & place transformation is just COMMON SENSE, for cooling cities that are getting hotter due to the #ClimateCrisis, and for reducing emissions, cleaning the air, and improving quality-of-life!
#ActionStartsHere @mayors4climate.bsky.social
#ActionStartsHere @mayors4climate.bsky.social
November 26, 2025 at 4:02 PM
The first photo is what Doug Ford has made illegal in all of Ontario with Bill 60. #OnPoli
Reposted by jenny (phire)
Being among the first interrogated and ultimately fired by DOGE, I certainly felt we were facing the business end of a right-wing conspiracy theory 🧵
DOGE was not a money-saving effort. It was an effort to chase down and prove right-wing conspiracy theories. They went after USAID to prove conspiracy theories about foreign aid. Then they went after SSA to, again, pursue conspiracy theories about Dems paying "illegals" to vote. 1/2
All DOGE accomplished was purging critical government staff, handing private data to outsiders, and sentencing thousands in developing countries to death by gutting USAID.
I don’t say this lightly: if there were any justice in this world, the people responsible for this devastation would be in jail
I don’t say this lightly: if there were any justice in this world, the people responsible for this devastation would be in jail
November 26, 2025 at 2:31 AM
Being among the first interrogated and ultimately fired by DOGE, I certainly felt we were facing the business end of a right-wing conspiracy theory 🧵
Reposted by jenny (phire)
From this week's: "It is easy to lament our defeats... It is harder to remember, though no less true, that the world would be a much worse place today if not for the efforts of organizers across the ages who all faced more defeats than victories." 💙
November 25, 2025 at 8:33 PM
From this week's: "It is easy to lament our defeats... It is harder to remember, though no less true, that the world would be a much worse place today if not for the efforts of organizers across the ages who all faced more defeats than victories." 💙
and they say the city never never gets anything done
Also on the chopping block from Toronto's parks bylaw: the longstanding rule against using “profane language” in parks. Also you will now be allowed to be boisterous, but not riotous.
November 25, 2025 at 9:08 PM
and they say the city never never gets anything done
Reposted by jenny (phire)
'banking apps reshuffle funds to prevent overdrafts before they happen.'
I think a lot about payments For Work and because for most of my life having multiple accounts didn't mean I had money in any/all of them.
So: who's doing the most interesting research on payments for 'underbanked' people?
I think a lot about payments For Work and because for most of my life having multiple accounts didn't mean I had money in any/all of them.
So: who's doing the most interesting research on payments for 'underbanked' people?
November 25, 2025 at 6:20 PM
'banking apps reshuffle funds to prevent overdrafts before they happen.'
I think a lot about payments For Work and because for most of my life having multiple accounts didn't mean I had money in any/all of them.
So: who's doing the most interesting research on payments for 'underbanked' people?
I think a lot about payments For Work and because for most of my life having multiple accounts didn't mean I had money in any/all of them.
So: who's doing the most interesting research on payments for 'underbanked' people?
Today's @showuptoronto.ca newsletter includes some thoughts on Bill 60 and not losing heart in the face of defeat, as well as another incredible 60+ events for this upcoming week. Subscribe and tell your friends buttondown.com/showup/archi... #toronto
Show Up Toronto - November 25, 2025
Hi friends and neighbours, Yesterday protestors packed the public gallery at Queen's Park and created an organized disruption of the Bill 60 vote (including...
buttondown.com
November 25, 2025 at 8:10 PM
Today's @showuptoronto.ca newsletter includes some thoughts on Bill 60 and not losing heart in the face of defeat, as well as another incredible 60+ events for this upcoming week. Subscribe and tell your friends buttondown.com/showup/archi... #toronto
Reposted by jenny (phire)
Fun legal case for the NIMBY haters.
In Northcrest Neighbours v. City of Peterborough a group of neighbours tried to stop a 52 unit supportive housing project.
1/6
In Northcrest Neighbours v. City of Peterborough a group of neighbours tried to stop a 52 unit supportive housing project.
1/6
November 25, 2025 at 6:01 PM
Fun legal case for the NIMBY haters.
In Northcrest Neighbours v. City of Peterborough a group of neighbours tried to stop a 52 unit supportive housing project.
1/6
In Northcrest Neighbours v. City of Peterborough a group of neighbours tried to stop a 52 unit supportive housing project.
1/6
I read a lot of newsletters and whatever about the tech industry and finance and labour and it consistently annoys me that the majority of people writing about this loudly are dudes. recommend me your favourite tech/finance/work blogs and newsletters written by not dudes please!!
November 25, 2025 at 5:56 PM
I read a lot of newsletters and whatever about the tech industry and finance and labour and it consistently annoys me that the majority of people writing about this loudly are dudes. recommend me your favourite tech/finance/work blogs and newsletters written by not dudes please!!
Reposted by jenny (phire)
ICE deported a woman who owned a home in the US for 30 years. A judge banned ICE from deporting her to Sierra Leone where she had been tortured, so it deported her to Ghana, which kidnapped her and sent her back Sierra Leone anyway. ICE is part of this illegal conspiracy.
November 25, 2025 at 4:40 PM
ICE deported a woman who owned a home in the US for 30 years. A judge banned ICE from deporting her to Sierra Leone where she had been tortured, so it deported her to Ghana, which kidnapped her and sent her back Sierra Leone anyway. ICE is part of this illegal conspiracy.
Reposted by jenny (phire)
Protesters chanted "people over profits" at Queen's Park Monday after Premier Doug Ford's government passed a bill critics say will favour landlords over tenants.
Ford shouted back: "Go find a job."
Ford shouted back: "Go find a job."
Protesters disrupt Ontario legislature over controversial landlord legislation
Protesters chanted "people over profits" in the Ontario legislature's public galleries Monday after Premier Doug Ford's government passed a bill critics say will favour landlords over tenants.
www.thestar.com
November 24, 2025 at 10:14 PM
Protesters chanted "people over profits" at Queen's Park Monday after Premier Doug Ford's government passed a bill critics say will favour landlords over tenants.
Ford shouted back: "Go find a job."
Ford shouted back: "Go find a job."
Reposted by jenny (phire)
The open secret that Thomas King is not Indigenous at all is finally verified, and honestly it's a relief. Having him just confess this instead of going out kicking and screaming like so many before him causes a LOT less harm to Indigenous communities.
It still sucks though.
It still sucks though.
November 24, 2025 at 11:15 PM
The open secret that Thomas King is not Indigenous at all is finally verified, and honestly it's a relief. Having him just confess this instead of going out kicking and screaming like so many before him causes a LOT less harm to Indigenous communities.
It still sucks though.
It still sucks though.
Reposted by jenny (phire)
Every week living in Ontario is like
- BREAKING: Doug Ford's government introduces bill that will let landlords evict you with no notice if you sneeze too loud
- 10 protests about bill
- Daily social media posts raising awareness
- News interviews scared allergy sufferers
- BREAKING: Bill passes
- BREAKING: Doug Ford's government introduces bill that will let landlords evict you with no notice if you sneeze too loud
- 10 protests about bill
- Daily social media posts raising awareness
- News interviews scared allergy sufferers
- BREAKING: Bill passes
November 24, 2025 at 11:37 PM
Every week living in Ontario is like
- BREAKING: Doug Ford's government introduces bill that will let landlords evict you with no notice if you sneeze too loud
- 10 protests about bill
- Daily social media posts raising awareness
- News interviews scared allergy sufferers
- BREAKING: Bill passes
- BREAKING: Doug Ford's government introduces bill that will let landlords evict you with no notice if you sneeze too loud
- 10 protests about bill
- Daily social media posts raising awareness
- News interviews scared allergy sufferers
- BREAKING: Bill passes
Reposted by jenny (phire)
Mark Carney's new housing agency Build Canada Homes is designed to create the appearance of action on housing affordability while carefully ensuring its output is aligned with the landlords and developers its CEO, Ana Bailão, so ably represents.
Mark Carney’s new housing agency is built to protect the bubble
Rather than propose a vision for a Canadian economy built on something other than housing speculation, Mark Carney has opted to prop up real estate interests. Build Canada Homes is designed to create ...
canadiandimension.com
November 23, 2025 at 6:26 PM
Mark Carney's new housing agency Build Canada Homes is designed to create the appearance of action on housing affordability while carefully ensuring its output is aligned with the landlords and developers its CEO, Ana Bailão, so ably represents.
Reposted by jenny (phire)
Brexit was a huge win for #IDUPlaybook
The "architect of Brexit" is one of Harper's vice chairs at IDU.
The other vice chair, Mike Roman, has been indicted for fixing elections for Trump.
The "architect of Brexit" is one of Harper's vice chairs at IDU.
The other vice chair, Mike Roman, has been indicted for fixing elections for Trump.
Between Brexit and his Covid response, Boris Johnson truly fucked the UK
November 23, 2025 at 9:39 PM
Brexit was a huge win for #IDUPlaybook
The "architect of Brexit" is one of Harper's vice chairs at IDU.
The other vice chair, Mike Roman, has been indicted for fixing elections for Trump.
The "architect of Brexit" is one of Harper's vice chairs at IDU.
The other vice chair, Mike Roman, has been indicted for fixing elections for Trump.