Mac Ross
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punchingprof.bsky.social
Mac Ross
@punchingprof.bsky.social
No longer a lost Nova Scotian. Teaching Fellow, Saint Mary's University.
Yikes.

"The parent company of Winnipeg spa Thermea has pulled a guest experience survey that asked what one customer says were 'highly inappropriate' questions, including one asking if immigration is a threat to 'the purity of the country.'"

www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
Survey from Winnipeg spa asked 'blatantly disrespectful' question about 'purity of the country': customer | CBC News
The parent company of Winnipeg spa Thermea is pulling a guest experience survey that asked what one customer says were "highly inappropriate" questions, including one asking if immigration is a threat...
www.cbc.ca
January 19, 2026 at 2:26 PM
George Paris of Truro, Nova Scotia, as he appeared before facing Joe Grim in 1908. Paris was working as an instructor at the Vancouver Athletic Club at the time of the bout. They fought 15 rounds to a draw at Recreation Park in North Vancouver, where a grandstand was erected for the occasion.
January 19, 2026 at 1:48 PM
1976 Olympian Bryan Gibson of Kentville, Nova Scotia 🥊
January 18, 2026 at 11:24 PM
Reposted by Mac Ross
Doing some prep for this week’s #HiddenHistory of #swont. Here’s a great line about #LakeErie: “Erie is a dull lake, like a person one meets in life, neither beautiful nor ugly, neither strong nor weak, neither good nor bad.” (Harper’s Magazine, June 1873) #onhist #cdnhist
January 18, 2026 at 11:10 PM
Phew.
January 18, 2026 at 9:50 PM
When Canada makes trade deals with extreme human rights abusers, we should probably question the government's commitment to upholding those same rights domestically. Are all human rights negotiable based on economic expediency?
January 18, 2026 at 9:45 PM
Sounds like we might finally get a bit of snow tomorrow
January 18, 2026 at 9:30 PM
"As thousands marched Saturday in Greenland to protest U.S. President Donald Trump’s renewed threats to take control of the island, about 825 kilometres away, dozens did the same in Nunavut’s capital." www.ctvnews.ca/canada/artic...
‘We are very much one people’: Dozens rally in Iqaluit to protest against Trump’s threats to control island
Dozens of people rallied in Nunavut’s capital today in solidarity with Inuit people in Greenland who are concerned about U.S. President Donald Trump’s renewed threats to take control of the island
www.ctvnews.ca
January 18, 2026 at 2:50 AM
Human rights are being increasingly ignored by nations, including Canada, that are flailing about to shore up new trade agreements in the shadow of Trump's destablizing regime. Not even a flimsy pretense of human rights commitment to be found.
January 17, 2026 at 7:25 PM
Reposted by Mac Ross
Call for abstracts by Feb. 15: "Constructing & Resisting Erasure" is the theme of the 8th Critical Indigenous, Race and Feminist Studies Student Conference, hosted April 25 by the Racialized Students Academic Network (RSAN). Learn more at linktr.ee/cirfsconfere... or email [email protected].
January 16, 2026 at 9:58 PM
Raymond Downey of Halifax greets local fans after winning 🥉 at the 1988 Seoul Olympics. He lost to Park Si-hun in the semis by dubious decision. Park won by worse decision over Roy Jones Jr. for 🥇. These Olympics were grim, marked by corruption, child abuse, internment camps, and mass displacement.
January 17, 2026 at 2:39 PM
Reposted by Mac Ross
Breaking news: The Justice Department has issued subpoenas for Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey as part of an investigation alleging that they are impeding federal law enforcement officers’ abilities to do their jobs in the state.
Justice Dept. launches criminal investigation of Minnesota governor
The Justice Department has issued subpoenas for Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey as part of an investigation into impeding law enforcement.
www.washingtonpost.com
January 16, 2026 at 11:14 PM
40% of Americans approve of Trump's leadership to date 😬

apnews.com/article/poll...
What Americans think about Trump's first year back in office, according to AP-NORC polling
President Donald Trump’s second term has been eventful, but you wouldn’t know it from his approval numbers.
apnews.com
January 17, 2026 at 12:08 AM
"One thousand RCMP employees, past and present, allege that as new recruits applying for jobs they were subjected to "improper and invasive" breast, genital and rectal exams during mandatory medical screening" www.cbc.ca/news/investi...
RCMP applicants endured 'improper and invasive' medical exams for years, lawsuit alleges | CBC News
One thousand RCMP employees, past and present, allege as part of a class-action lawsuit headed to Federal Court this month, that they were subjected to "improper and invasive" breast, genital and rect...
www.cbc.ca
January 16, 2026 at 4:38 PM
In 1959, Yvon Durelle (dark trunks) of Baie-Sainte-Anne, New Brunswick, took on George Chuvalo for the Canadian heavyweight title. Durelle was 105 fights into his career and gave up 8 years and 24 lbs to Chuvalo. The bigger, younger Chuvalo knocked Durelle down four times and won by stoppage.
January 16, 2026 at 2:09 PM
"ICE is doing nothing but making our communities less safe. They need to get out of Minnesota and leave us alone. To Indian Country – take care of each other, protect each other, and continue to have each other’s backs." - Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, White Earth Ojibwe ictnews.org/news/five-na...
Five Native Americans detained by ICE during ongoing raids in Minneapolis - ICT
Native American community members report increased ICE presence, fears of racial profiling
ictnews.org
January 16, 2026 at 3:06 AM
January 15, 2026 at 10:25 PM
Reposted by Mac Ross
"The ultimate tragedy is not the oppression and cruelty by the bad people but the silence over that by the good people."..(Martin Luther King, Jr.) .. (cartoon Dave Granlund) #quote
January 15, 2026 at 7:16 PM
The NS government also claimed it was cracking down on Indigenous-run dispensaries due to links with human trafficking. The RCMP have since stated there is no basis for that claim. That the Houston government's numbers here are also inexplicable isn't surprising. www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
Province won't explain how it determined there are 118 illegal cannabis dispensaries in N.S. | CBC News
Amid backlash against increased enforcement on illegal cannabis dispensaries, the provincial government has struggled to explain how it assessed the number of those dispensaries. While the province st...
www.cbc.ca
January 15, 2026 at 10:17 PM
Reposted by Mac Ross
Canada at war with Russia? Why the debate has shifted from ‘if’ to ‘when’
Canada at war with Russia? Why the debate has shifted from ‘if’ to ‘when’
Baltic countries offer Canada a clear blueprint for countering Russian coercion, preparing for crisis and building resilience without surrendering democratic values.
theconversation.com
January 15, 2026 at 4:19 PM
Reposted by Mac Ross
Indigenous policy group releases AI and climate change reports
By @mmughees.bsky.social
Indigenous policy group releases AI and climate change reports - Halifax Examiner
Atlantic Policy Congress of First Nations Chiefs Secretariat (APC) released the two reports at event in Millbrook, N.S. on Wednesday.
www.halifaxexaminer.ca
January 15, 2026 at 1:46 PM
So many politicians say, "We follow the data." It serves to legitimize whatever stance they've taken up that day. But, data in the absence of theory and analysis, tells us very little. If we just "follow the data," we get lost.
January 15, 2026 at 3:16 PM
There are very obvious similarities between the purpose and actions of ICE in America and the police/military units raised by authoritarian regimes all over the world.
January 15, 2026 at 1:38 PM
"British Columbia’s human rights commissioner plans to tell the provincial government it should rewrite its laws and rules to more clearly protect the right of journalists to report on police enforcement activities" thetyee.ca/News/2026/01...
Stop Blocking Media, BC Human Rights Report Will Tell Police | The Tyee
Exclusive: The Tyee has obtained leaked, pending recommendations on press freedom.
thetyee.ca
January 14, 2026 at 10:38 PM
A piece of broccoli? One other thing? 🤦🏻
Brooke Rollins: "We've run over 1,000 simulations. It can cost around $3 a meal for a piece of chicken, a piece of broccoli, corn tortilla, and one other thing. So there is a way to do this that actually will save the average American consumer money."
January 14, 2026 at 10:19 PM