Eric S. Smith
smiteri@mstdn.ca
<p>Well, this can’t be more useless than my Google Buzz account. Or can it? Let’s find out.</p>
Posts
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“One of the sources said that some of the conspiracies he spouted were antisemitic, blaming Jews for COVID-19 — a meme spread by extremists during the pandemic.” https://globalnews.ca/news/12068908/belleville-gunman-covid-conspiracies-military/
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“…the Ministry of Transportation did not confirm if, or how much, the July crash had delayed testing and therefore the date for the line…” https://globalnews.ca/news/12063774/northlander-train-crash-testing/
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“CN and Amtrak said they will work together on a process for Amtrak to equip its trains with Onboard Shunt Enhancers (OSEs), which improve how trains are detected as they approach grade crossings.” Well, well. This has been a complaint they've had about Via Rail, too. https://www.trains.com/pro/passenger/amtrak-and-cn-reach-new-host-railroad-operating-agreement/
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The future looks like toys.
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“This country has all the elements needed for a clandestine nuclear weapons program—if it so desired.” And with our vast forests, we could build a fearsome navy of sailing ships. 🤷♂️ https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/canada-remains-antinuke-road-to-bomb-getting-shorter-9.7283194
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favicon.ico convergence: Amazon vs AliExpress
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"They've never done nothing wrong.” On a close reading, that could be true! https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c6294y87wk6o
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The AstraZeneca patient support program should be stepping in faster, here, I feel. They ought to be experts in getting coverage approved. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/quebec-mother-insurance-coverage-cancer-medication-canada-life-9.7273961
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I can’t wait for the credulous Trump-huggers to start pretending that Canada really needs to do more “debris removal” in continent-spanning woods. https://www.ctvnews.ca/world/trumps-tariffs/article/trump-again-threatens-tariffs-over-smoke-after-sitting-with-mark-carney/
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A red-sun morning in Ottawa. The air quality numbers at ground level aren’t terrible, at least. https://weather.com/en-CA/forecast/air-quality/l/3f51b181bbae03ce27f7c63553b3ced7e91c9c91321cb558377cdb4266606369
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I’m old enough to remember when they were mad at television. https://www.npr.org/2026/07/10/g-s1-132396/smartphones-taliban-afghanistan-ban
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“Canada is set to forgo more revenue than initially agreed upon.” Unbelievable, what a shakedown. Gotta give them free money to go with their free bridge. https://www.cp24.com/news/canada/2026/07/11/gordie-howe-international-bridge-set-to-open-at-end-of-month-after-weeks-of-delays/
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“So, we have a bridge that has come in significantly over budget and has come in significantly later than originally forecast. That has changed the business model.” 😐 No it hasn’t. Open the bridge. https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/canada-paying-to-construct-gordie-howe-bridge-is-big-myth-according-to-ambassador-pete-hoekstra
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Parliament Hill: the Canadian Press livestream is embedded with Canadians who refuse to be rained out. Events are cancelled, but Canada Day is not. https://www.youtube.com/live/n3SiKpY_7Ec?si=oiFdCCtXjktDxqOb
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“Switzerland has paid an advance of…$617 million…to the United States for the purchase of F‑35A fighter jets…” The full, fly-away price of about seven F-35s. Actual F-35s delivered: zero, of course. https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/swiss-politics/switzerland-has-made-an-advance-payment-of-500-million-for-the-f-35s/91663010
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“…you can feel the pull of the narrative that seduced the NYT: a scrappy founder with a rags-to-riches backstory, two brothers taking on the world, AI tools stitching it all together…almost none of it holds up to even the most basic scrutiny.” https://www.techdirt.com/2026/04/07/the-new-york-times-got-played-by-a-telehealth-scam-and-called-it-the-future-of-ai/
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“Once the email arrives and Iran completes its assessment, vessels are given a few seconds to pay in bitcoin…” It takes a lot longer than a few seconds to confirm a Bitcoin transaction, so let’s hope that’s not literal. https://futurism.com/future-society/iran-demanding-bitcoin-payments-pass-strait-of-hormuz
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Old Timey Republicans have wanted to bomb Iran for generations, going on the Sunday shows and invoking “the mad mullahs” and their “terrorist theocracy.” And now it’s finally happened, and the guys doing it are frothing at the mouth about the will of God and casually threatening to end civilization.
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“Rather than simply issuing alerts, the FBI…remotely sent commands to compromised routers in the U.S. to remove malicious settings, restore legitimate DNS resolvers, and block further access by the Russian actors.” https://www.newsweek.com/americans-reboot-internet-routers-nsa-11810909
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“Bhutan&#39;s mining operation was viable when difficulty was lower, and bitcoin traded above $90,000. At current levels near $71,000…hydropower that made Bhutan&#39;s operation novel may now generate more revenue from electricity sold to neighboring India…” https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2026/04/11/bhutan-has-sold-70-of-its-bitcoin-in-18-months-it-may-have-stopped-btc-mining-too
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“A Minnesota county is investigating the arrest of a Hmong American man by federal officers that was captured on video as a potential case of kidnapping, burglary and false imprisonment, officials announced Monday.” https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/minnesota-authorities-ice-arrest-investigation-9.7162123
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“The Trump administration is now offering Canadian and Mexican aluminum and steel companies immediate tariff relief if they commit to moving production to the United States…” …to be threatened with seizure in a future shakedown. https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/american-offer-canadian-aluminum-steel-companies-tariff-relief-9.7176321
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The ones that I don’t use remain obscure, the ones that I do use all look worse. Calendar is now just the number 31, for God’s sake. https://9to5google.com/2026/04/26/gmail-google-gradient-redesign/
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“The Liberals’ spring economic update on Tuesday referred to crypto ATMs as a ‘primary method for scammers to defraud victims and for criminals to place their cash proceeds of crime.’” https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/canada-crypto-atm-ban-scammers-9.7180642
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“Poilievre said his strategy would be to ‘build up a massive strategic reserve of our energy and our minerals and use that as leverage…’”…to get concessions from Trump, who says he doesn’t want our energy and minerals? Not clear how. https://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/article/carney-should-state-what-leverage-canada-has-in-trade-talks-poilievre-says/
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“Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth made a false claim about the military in his testimony to the House on Wednesday.” Shocking; he’ll have to step down for sure. 😶 https://www.cnn.com/2026/05/04/politics/hegseth-biden-2024-troops-voting-locations-fact-check
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“…an unconditional, non-political, personal gift.…And it will ensure I can be safe for the rest of my life.” Ah, yes, Nigel Farage carrying on Nigel Faraging in perfect safety forever, clearly a completely apolitical thing to facilitate. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c8jv8xl17l8o
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Having vacationed somewhere immediately beside GO tracks, I can confirm that trains passing at line speed are An Experience. It’s pretty reasonable to wish that they were electric (they’ll still be loud). https://www.thetrillium.ca/news/municipalities-transit-and-infrastructure/metrolinx-told-them-the-trains-on-their-doorstep-would-be-quiet-and-electric-it-didnt-say-when-12231710
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Man, is the current version of the Gmail app ever overrun with desperate attempts to make AI happen. I do not need an ✨AI Summary✨ of a two-line message. I do not want insipid suggested replies. What I actually want is Inbox.