Blythe McKay
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blythemckay.bsky.social
Blythe McKay
@blythemckay.bsky.social
Work for @farmradio. Avid reader and love playing with words. Ostomate living with IBD and PSC/AIH.
Reposted by Blythe McKay
@pressprogress.ca needs your solidarity and support right now more than ever

We’re raising money to pay our legal bills – and to be blunt, we’re going to need a lot of help

If you’re able, please help us out and support our Journalism Defence Fund:

pressprogress.ca/journalism-d...
PressProgress: Defend Canadian Journalism
pressprogress.ca
November 7, 2025 at 2:44 PM
Reposted by Blythe McKay
To save the lives of infants and small kids in lower resource countries, there are a handful of tools: anti-malarial drugs, bed nets and vaccines. A massive experiment in rural Kenya suggests another.
Researchers discover a secret weapon that saves babies' lives. And it's not medical
To save the lives of infants and small kids in lower resource countries, there are a handful of tools: anti-malarial drugs, bed nets and vaccines. A massive experiment in rural Kenya suggests another.
n.pr
August 23, 2025 at 3:40 PM
Reposted by Blythe McKay
Here is my statement on the Ford government's decision to adjourn the Legislature until October 20.

#onpoli
June 5, 2025 at 7:47 PM
Reposted by Blythe McKay
THE RISE OF END TIMES FASCISM

My first major piece of the new Trump era, co-written with @astra.bsky.social.

The governing ideology of the far right has become a
monstrous, supremacist survivalism.

Our task is to build a movement strong enough to stop them. www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-i...
The rise of end times fascism
The governing ideology of the far right has become a monstrous, supremacist survivalism. Our task is to build a movement strong enough to stop them
www.theguardian.com
April 13, 2025 at 1:32 PM
Reposted by Blythe McKay
How neurosurgeon Teresa Purzner used her entrepreneurial background to revamp a hospital’s brain-tumor program, reducing delays for radiation treatment by 40% and doubling surgery volumes, by @hannay.bsky.social www.theglobeandmail.com/business/eco... via @theglobeandmail.com
How a neurosurgeon used her entrepreneurial background to revamp a hospital’s brain-tumor program
In the program’s first year, it has reduced delays for radiation treatment by 40 per cent and surgery volumes have more than doubled
www.theglobeandmail.com
April 9, 2025 at 10:21 AM
Reposted by Blythe McKay
The U.N. has identified Kabwe, a city of almost 300,000 people in Zambia, as one of the most polluted places on the planet. Who is to blame? And can justice be done?
This may be the most lead polluted place on Earth. Is there any hope?
The U.N. has identified Kabwe, a city of almost 300,000 people in Zambia, as one of the most polluted places on the planet. Who is to blame? And can justice be done?
www.npr.org
March 30, 2025 at 5:51 PM
Reposted by Blythe McKay
Beyond #LongCOVID — how reinfections could be causing silent long-term organ damage. Even if you think you're done with COVID, COVID might not be done with you, by Sonya Buyting www.cbc.ca/radio/quirks... via @cbcnews.ca
@thecovidinfoguy.bsky.social #COVID19
Beyond long COVID — how reinfections could be causing silent long-term organ damage | CBC Radio
Scientific evidence is painting an unsettling picture: COVID infections, even if mild or asymptomatic, may be causing long-term cellular and organ damage, as well as increasing your risk of developing...
www.cbc.ca
March 23, 2025 at 2:26 PM
Reposted by Blythe McKay
being an indie bookseller in the helltimes has felt both very stable and very stabilizing, and part of me wishes everyone could be on my side of the counter for a little while, because I think it would help some of you be a little less cynical and doomy right now. so here is my VERY anecdotal data:
March 22, 2025 at 3:36 AM
Reposted by Blythe McKay
Madeleine Wulfahrt considers Garth Greenwell’s Small Rain, the future of post-pandemic illness literature, and writing about hospitalization.
On Writing the Hospital
A nurse named Sylvia brought me into the operating room, where she introduced me to two more specialist nurses – I was too stressed to catch their names. They were going to thread a plastic line th…
lithub.com
March 20, 2025 at 4:30 PM
Reposted by Blythe McKay
JUST IN: Federal officials placed 1,000 employees at Voice of America on indefinite paid leave, while severing contracts with Radio Free Asia and other U.S.-funded networks.
'Bloody Saturday' at Voice of America and other U.S.-funded networks
Federal officials placed 1,000 employees at Voice of America on indefinite paid leave, while severing contracts with Radio Free Asia and other U.S.-funded networks.
www.npr.org
March 15, 2025 at 6:11 PM
Reposted by Blythe McKay
In 2019, Louisiana's fourth graders ranked 50th in the country for reading. Now, they're 16th. Here's how the state, and one rural district, pulled it off.
Five years since COVID, Louisiana's readers are thriving. This is their secret.
In 2019, Louisiana's fourth graders ranked 50th in the country for reading. Now, they're 16th. Here's how the state, and one rural district, pulled it off.
www.npr.org
March 14, 2025 at 9:05 PM
Reposted by Blythe McKay
“Just as an oak tree crowds out its own saplings from the light, making them stunted dwarf trees, so too can humans shrink their children’s spirits if they overshadow them and deny them experiences that allow them to grow.” @herdyshepherd.bsky.social
Passing On the Farm to My Daughter
A record-breaking bull showed that my eighteen-year-old is ready to start taking my place.
www.plough.com
March 4, 2025 at 4:04 PM
Reposted by Blythe McKay
Reposted by Blythe McKay
Doug Ford needs to cancel Ontario’s contract with Starlink now. Absolutely solidarity with Ukraine but also to avoid it being used as a bargaining chip by Musk and Trump against Canada. Right now, Premier Ford.
“The United States has threatened to cut off Ukraine's access to Starlink satellite internet terminals if Kyiv does not reach a deal with the U.S. regarding critical mineral resources, Reuters reported on Feb. 21, citing three sources familiar with the negotiations.”
US threatens to shut off Starlink if Ukraine won't sign minerals deal, sources tell Reuters
The U.S. first raised the prospect of shutting off Starlink service after Zelensky rejected the deal presented on Feb. 12. Starlink terminals are critical in securing Ukraine's battlefield communicati...
kyivindependent.com
February 22, 2025 at 5:29 PM
Reposted by Blythe McKay
Beneath the promises of enhanced connectivity in Africa lies a complex narrative—a 21st-century iteration of colonial dynamics cloaked in the rhetoric of "connecting the unconnected"...
At what cost are we bridging Africa’s digital divide?
Beneath the promises of enhanced connectivity in Africa lies a complex narrative—a 21st-century iteration of colonial dynamics cloaked in the rhetoric of "connecting the unconnected"...
globalvoices.org
February 18, 2025 at 6:40 PM
Reposted by Blythe McKay
"How to Write While Deeply Distracted" from @rebeccamakkai.bsky.social is the post of the year (the decade, maybe?) full of helpful, specific strategies. I'm off to lock myself in a closet now. substack.com/home/post/p-...
How to Write While Deeply Distracted
(from an ADHDer to the rest of you)
substack.com
February 17, 2025 at 12:39 PM
Reposted by Blythe McKay
A Canadian endangered owl breeding program is fundraising by charging people $5 to name a rat after their ex. The rat is then fed to the owls. The fundraiser is called No regRATS.
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/f...
Love rats: Canadians get chance to feed rodents named after old flames to owls
Program is meant to help the endangered northern spotted owl – and it’s only C$5! – but rat lovers are not amused
www.theguardian.com
February 13, 2025 at 1:01 PM
Reposted by Blythe McKay
"Stay sane, stay humane, and don't isolate... Staying connected, not isolating, and not allowing yourself to drown in fear or rage is not submitting in advance." This is a really good piece. 👇
February 13, 2025 at 2:07 PM
Reposted by Blythe McKay
This is just one of thousands of harrowing stories told about the U.S. Government abandoning Americans abroad in the USAID shutdown. This is Benghazi times a million. 1/
February 12, 2025 at 4:58 PM
Reposted by Blythe McKay
1,500 Lesotho health workers sent home after US aid suspended

Read groundup.org.za/article/abou... by Sechaba Mokheti
1,500 Lesotho health workers sent home after US aid suspended
Trump blocking aid threatens vital health services
groundup.org.za
February 10, 2025 at 3:00 PM
Reposted by Blythe McKay
SCOOP: AB Health Minister Adriana LaGrange stripped Alberta Health Services of power to negotiate after its then-CEO allegedly refused to sign pricey deals
www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/alber... #abpoli #ableg
Alberta Minister stripped health agency of power to negotiate private surgical contracts, document shows
Letter alleges government eroded ex-CEO’s authority to negotiate deals
www.theglobeandmail.com
February 11, 2025 at 2:10 PM
Reposted by Blythe McKay
“Forward obtained a document created by the Heritage Foundation called ’Wikipedia Editor Targeting‘, which set a goal to ’identify and target Wikipedia editors ... by analyzing text patterns, usernames, and technical data through data breach analysis, fingerprinting, HUMINT and technical targeting‘”
Wikipedia Prepares for 'Increase in Threats' to US Editors From Musk and His Allies
The Wikimedia Foundation says it will likely roll out features previously used to protect editors in authoritarian countries more widely.
www.404media.co
February 11, 2025 at 4:14 PM