Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Ashley Morton @ashleymorton.bsky.social · 4d

I am constantly struck by how much Canadian rugby is erased in public promotion.

This thing with Barbie is cool, except you wouldn't guess that Canada is the second-best team in the world, with the current literal best player on Earth. (World Rugby Player of the Year.)

www.cbc.ca/news/world/i...

Rugby star Ilona Maher is a Barbie now. She insisted the doll have broad shoulders, strong arms | CBC News

American Olympian Ilona Maher is taking the leap from the rugby pitch to toy-store shelves, as the bronze medallist was honoured with her own signature Barbie doll on Monday.

www.cbc.ca

1 3

Ashley Morton @ashleymorton.bsky.social · 8d

Online voting throws away fundamental ideas of democracy.

It simply isn't *secret*. Anyone from an abusive spouse to a mafia enforcer to a workplace bully can be in the room with you, watching how you vote.

That's before we get into just picking up PINs from recycling!

www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

How the PINs Ontario voters threw away in 2022's municipal elections opened online voting to fraud | CBC News

A new study suggests the integrity of online voting in the 2022 Ontario municipal elections could have been undercut by two fundamental security flaws that would have left 70 percent of municipal elec...

www.cbc.ca

Ashley Morton @ashleymorton.bsky.social · 13d

Sorry?

Ashley Morton @ashleymorton.bsky.social · 13d

The Tragically Hip didn't *have to* step in - they wanted to. I myself donated to the campaign. The success is actually a good news story.

This is a story - maybe - about how we choose not to directly find rugby in Canada very much, but it's not really a Carney story, nor a discrimination story.

Ashley Morton @ashleymorton.bsky.social · 13d

I know this situation very well.

The team wanted (deserved!) extra money to prepare themselves. They were going to the World Cup regardless, but this extra money would help them be more competitive.

Carney had nothing to do with it.

3

Ashley Morton @ashleymorton.bsky.social · 13d

Don't put words in my mouth. Of course that's a good thing, but acting like Carney did anything different or relevant compared to the British government just isn't the case.

1

Ashley Morton @ashleymorton.bsky.social · 13d

I mean I, too, wish the federal government funded rugby more, but that's not the same as the hundredfold difference in funding between the two actual squads.

Ashley Morton @ashleymorton.bsky.social · 13d

A) That's for all four Home unions - not just England. B) That's over several years. C) Most of that doesn't go to the women's national team - it's all for youth & developmental rugby. That would be like comparing Rugby Canada

2 1

Ashley Morton @ashleymorton.bsky.social · 13d

Nah, no bias there - she was phenomenal. I agree. Pelletier had an amazing game against New Zealand, so I don't mean to second-guess Rouet for starting Pelletier, but boy Apps was everywhere on the field, doing great stuff.

1

Ashley Morton @ashleymorton.bsky.social · 13d

The British government didn't fund the English women - they run their own professional league, have huge corporate sponsorship and the RFU, in general, are hugely rich.

If anything, blame Canadian corporations. It's not a difference in government funding.

1

Ashley Morton @ashleymorton.bsky.social · 13d

You need to find a local rugby club - every one I know of has a watch party on.

1 2

Ashley Morton @ashleymorton.bsky.social · 13d

Going to a Canadian rugby game abroad (let alone at the World Cup!) is a huge family reunion. I just met Emily Tuttosi's parents and a childhood friend of Caroline Crossley in the hotel restaurant.

My daughter is star-struck already, and we're all so excited for the whole day! :-)

Go Canada!

1 1 9

Reposted by Ashley Morton

Squidge Rugby @squidgerugby.bsky.social · 14d

Crazy that Canada will be World Champions this time tomorrow

25 7 110

Ashley Morton @ashleymorton.bsky.social · 14d

I love the attitude, and I'll be cheering for them like crazy, but the majority of them do play pro in England or France.

Ashley Morton @ashleymorton.bsky.social · 14d

Already the best tickets my family ever bought, and it hasn't even happened yet!

So great to be able to watch, together with my daughter, fun, clever media talking about *her* sport, in the run-up to the most amazing game ever!

Go Canada Go!

Squidge Rugby @squidgerugby.bsky.social · 15d

It all comes down to this. For three years, the Red Roses have dreamt of this day. Whilst for over a century, Canadian rugby has been building to this. So where is the 2025 Rugby World Cup Final going to be won and lost, and just how big could the impact of this one match be?
youtu.be/tJA-x1gAmMo

The Rugby World Cup Final Preview | England vs Canada analysis & build-up

YouTube video by Squidge Rugby

youtu.be

1 1 14

Ashley Morton @ashleymorton.bsky.social · 14d

This is so infuriating. Six volunteers with reflective vests could have solved this.

The Chronicle Herald @thechronicleherald.bsky.social · 14d

Halifax dumps transit-only corridor idea for Spring Garden Road

Pilot project from 2022 that was paused five days in is not coming back.

bit.ly

1 3

Reposted by Ashley Morton

Justin Ling @justinling.ca · 14d

Thus far, in governments' quest to protect kids from the increasingly-evident harms of social media, we've tried:
-Befriending big tech
-Sending sternly-worded letters
-Pretending it's fine
-Nothing

None of it's worked! Let's try something else. www.thestar.com/opinion/cont...

Justin Ling: Meta and TikTok say they take kids’ safety seriously. Their actions suggest otherwise

The official company line is often contradicted by the companies' own internal documents.

www.thestar.com

6 42 130

Ashley Morton @ashleymorton.bsky.social · 15d

I continue to be proud to be from Bella Coola, and proud of my family's role in this story.

I also love the two political reactions: Social Credit claiming that it showed the success of free enterprise; New Democrats claiming that it was a victory for co-operative organization...

The Tyee @thetyee.ca · 15d

Bella Coola residents had waited decades on a government promise to build a road connecting them with the Interior.

By the early 1950s, they were done waiting. If the government wasn’t going to build the road, they would build it themselves.

The Case of Bella Coola’s Heart-Pounding Home-Built Highway | The Tyee

As the province spent millions on highway upgrades, residents were left to forge a road from a mountain pass.

thetyee.ca

1

Ashley Morton @ashleymorton.bsky.social · 20d

Wow, that's amazing! I look forward to reading it!

Reposted by Ashley Morton

Squidge Rugby @squidgerugby.bsky.social · 21d

Rouet pre-match "I'm not worried about New Zealand" to Pelletier post-match "It's just fun to play rugby". Canada don't give a shit about anything but balling and it's incredible.

5 15 110

Ashley Morton @ashleymorton.bsky.social · 21d

Canada's largest newspaper's editorial board says you should take the afternoon off and watch rugby today.

www.thestar.com/opinion/edit...

Star Editorial Board: Friday could be one of the great days in Canadian sports history. Don’t miss it

Do yourself a favour tomorrow afternoon: untether from the horrors of the world for two hours and glimpse athletic excellence.

www.thestar.com

1

Ashley Morton @ashleymorton.bsky.social · Aug 30

Halifax friends, I need some computer help. I tried to restore to an earlier version of my Windows 11, and now I can't start up - stuck in Windows Recovery Environment. Can't repair. Can't restore. Can't reset. Can't reinstall.

I need a recommendation for a repair shop that you trust. Help?

2 1 1

Ashley Morton @ashleymorton.bsky.social · Aug 27

Nice that the St. John's airport is trying, by including Indigenous languages in their welcoming, but it kinda has the opposite effect unless they proofread it. Pjila'si really needs that "L".

Airport luggage retrieval belt with "welcome" in several languages printed below it. The Mi'kmaq is misspelled - a letter is missing.

3

Ashley Morton @ashleymorton.bsky.social · Aug 23

This is a great article about the sport I love.

I went to the Women's Rugby World Cup in 2010, and was fascinated to realize that the women's game was basically "new" to the vast majority of rugby-playing nations. I'm very lucky to live in Canada!

www.theguardian.com/sport/2025/a...

Growth of Women’s Rugby World Cup proves some things are getting better

Teams once had to sell raffle tickets and vodka to fund their campaigns, now women are front and centre of the sport’s global development strategy

www.theguardian.com

4

Ashley Morton @ashleymorton.bsky.social · Aug 22

Booooo... Pay a commentator, not a tech company.