I can never quite decide if #DanielleSmith is too dumb to understand the problems with most of her policy ideas, or if she's playing 5D chess. #abpoli

Either way, it's bad for Alberta and ultimately bad for #Canada too. #cdnpoli

https://albertapolitics.ca/2022/12/danielle-smith-runs-the-idea-of-an-alberta-pension-plan-referendum-in-may-up-the-flagpole-then-yanks-it-halfway-down-again/

Well - like this was hard to predict. The pandemic showed that working from home was more than just possible.

Now employers are panicking because “they don’t have a bum in a chair”. Time for management to learn how to manage effectively in a new world.

#labour #postpandemic

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-63944632

@TheresaVermont In the large I agree with you - just pointing out that not everyone has the resources at hand to do so.

@TheresaVermont Family, circumstances, there are many reasons that can make it more difficult to move.

Well, this looks horrifyingly close to making a registry of #trans people residing in #Texas, doesn’t it?

Anyone else finding this just a little too intrusive, especially in light of Abbott’s actions towards trans people in the last 2 years?

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/12/14/texas-transgender-data-paxton/

Another problem with populists - they can seldom be bothered to understand the concerns of those whose rights their legislation abrogates.

https://albertapolitics.ca/2022/12/premier-smith-does-not-understand-our-treaty-or-our-inherent-rights-nor-does-she-respect-them-treaty-6-chiefs/

#abpoli

A thought or two on recent #fusion experiments:

I think the results are amazing, and yes they are cause for celebration.

BUT - they are still from a relatively brief experiment that only ran for seconds. We are a long ways from a fusion reactor that keeps running once started.

This means that we will still need a fair bit of fission for the foreseeable future as the #energytransition away from fossil fuels continues to progress.

I don't normally post much about #uspoli, but Brynne Tannehill does a very good job of drawing out the goals of what I will broadly call Christofascist politics in the US.

It's well worth a read, and we should also recognize that the same forces are gathering in #cdnpoli at various levels.

https://twitter.com/BrynnTannehill/status/1601565161885532160

@CarmenShea as of yesterday, #DanielleSmith is walking back what appear to be the most destructive clauses.

That said, I do not think those were in there “accidentally”, and I do expect them to get reasserted later - probably buried in an omnibus bill like the budget implementation act. #abpoli

Authoritarians don’t back down.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/proposed-amendment-to-alberta-sovereignty-act-removes-unilateral-lawmaking-power-of-cabinet-1.6675001

@LaurelGreen not proven, perhaps, but it seems more than just passing strange that several people decided to go sabotage power stations at the same time.

A few thoughts on #abpoli, and in particular Premier Smith's "Sovereignty Act" legislation.

We live in dangerous times when politicians start asserting unchecked powers to amend legislation without oversight.

https://crystalgaze2.blogspot.com/2022/12/more-on-alberta-sovereignty-act.html

Just watched the first episode of #Wednesday on #Netflix - I must say I was impressed.

Unlike a lot of so-called “reboot” shows, this one kept key elements consistent from earlier Addams Famly works, and still managed to grow the character in some interesting ways.

@kel This both true and not true at the same time.

Where I live, the conservatives have governed for so long that there are voters who vote for them reflexively, quite unaware of what they have become.

When one belongs to one of the target communities that are being attacked by these people, it's not unreasonable to say "It's the party of fascism" - because it is, and for some, it really is a matter of existential threat.

There has to be room in the discourse for those under threat.

Over at Bird app, there are rumours of more firings - this time over “code reviews”.

That’s an excuse, if you ask me. Far more likely, what this is showing us is that the new owner cannot, and will not, lead something that wasn’t built around him and his ego.

It’s a rare code review that should be grounds for termination - e.g. inserting malicious code or gross incompetence being the only justifications I can think of.

We knew that foreign propaganda played a role in whipping the so-called “Freedom Convoy” into a lather, but this thread really spells out the role of Russia Today (widely seen as a propaganda site) in the process, and then a pivot to Fox News.

The pivot is most interesting to me, as it suggests a level of coordination that we should be concerned about. #propaganda #cdnpoli

https://twitter.com/rvawonk/status/1595766016436736001

@TheRuralProgressive That’s awesome - I haven’t seen one of those for years - and yes they were actually really useful.