Meera Nair
@meeranair.bsky.social
Formerly @FairDuty at the other place.
Places where I scribble down thoughts:
https://fairduty.wordpress.com/
https://june231985.wordpress.com/
Places where I scribble down thoughts:
https://fairduty.wordpress.com/
https://june231985.wordpress.com/
"Sometimes the first domino in the chain seems almost silly. The chicken tax of 1964 is a classic case..."
Nice work (with an irresistible lure) by @deandad.bsky.social
Nice work (with an irresistible lure) by @deandad.bsky.social
November 14, 2025 at 7:29 PM
"Sometimes the first domino in the chain seems almost silly. The chicken tax of 1964 is a classic case..."
Nice work (with an irresistible lure) by @deandad.bsky.social
Nice work (with an irresistible lure) by @deandad.bsky.social
Mark Duggan: "I’m a huge believer in the ability of research [and universities] to make a practical, positive impact in the world. What better time for two nerdy economists to come to Canada than when the Prime Minister is an economist?"
www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/educa...
www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/educa...
U of T hires three top U.S. scholars, announces $24-million recruitment plan
University plans to bring on 100 postdoctoral fellows across a range of disciplines over two years
www.theglobeandmail.com
November 12, 2025 at 6:50 PM
Mark Duggan: "I’m a huge believer in the ability of research [and universities] to make a practical, positive impact in the world. What better time for two nerdy economists to come to Canada than when the Prime Minister is an economist?"
www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/educa...
www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/educa...
Canadians are willing to sacrifice; will the provinces step up as per today's editorial from @globeandmail:
"Provincial governments must cease their bickering and work together."
www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/edit...
"Provincial governments must cease their bickering and work together."
www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/edit...
November 12, 2025 at 2:43 PM
Canadians are willing to sacrifice; will the provinces step up as per today's editorial from @globeandmail:
"Provincial governments must cease their bickering and work together."
www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/edit...
"Provincial governments must cease their bickering and work together."
www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/edit...
"Love in the time of tariffs."
Heartwarming.
A good day to appreciate one another. #RemembranceDay #Canada #UnitedStates
www.cbc.ca/radio/asitha...
Heartwarming.
A good day to appreciate one another. #RemembranceDay #Canada #UnitedStates
www.cbc.ca/radio/asitha...
Alabamian who mistakenly ordered from N.S. burger joint sends cash and apology by mail | CBC Radio
The owners of Bentley’s Burgers and Fries in West Chezzetcook, N.S., were gobsmacked this week when they received a handwritten apology letter all the way from Alabama, along with $40 US in cash to pa...
www.cbc.ca
November 11, 2025 at 2:01 PM
"Love in the time of tariffs."
Heartwarming.
A good day to appreciate one another. #RemembranceDay #Canada #UnitedStates
www.cbc.ca/radio/asitha...
Heartwarming.
A good day to appreciate one another. #RemembranceDay #Canada #UnitedStates
www.cbc.ca/radio/asitha...
Reposted by Meera Nair
Sigh. I took down my Senate Instagram account a few months ago. A mistake, perhaps, since there is now a fake Insta account pretending to be me - and well meaning but confused folks are tagging it. If you are still on Instagram, could you please do me a favour and report it as a fraud?
November 11, 2025 at 2:47 AM
Sigh. I took down my Senate Instagram account a few months ago. A mistake, perhaps, since there is now a fake Insta account pretending to be me - and well meaning but confused folks are tagging it. If you are still on Instagram, could you please do me a favour and report it as a fraud?
Reposted by Meera Nair
50 years ago today, Nov. 10, 1975, the Edmund Fitzgerald sank beneath the waves of Lake Superior during a massive storm.
The sinking took the lives of all 29 men on the ship, and became immortalized in Gordon Lightfoot's song.
This is the story of this terrible tragedy.
🧵1/20
The sinking took the lives of all 29 men on the ship, and became immortalized in Gordon Lightfoot's song.
This is the story of this terrible tragedy.
🧵1/20
November 10, 2025 at 2:03 PM
50 years ago today, Nov. 10, 1975, the Edmund Fitzgerald sank beneath the waves of Lake Superior during a massive storm.
The sinking took the lives of all 29 men on the ship, and became immortalized in Gordon Lightfoot's song.
This is the story of this terrible tragedy.
🧵1/20
The sinking took the lives of all 29 men on the ship, and became immortalized in Gordon Lightfoot's song.
This is the story of this terrible tragedy.
🧵1/20
Agreed. Writing is about more than processing information from explicit sources--our lives are in the background of every sentence. Writing is a pleasure--those brief moments of finding clarity in a small corner in the messiness of living.
Agree with this. Writing is one of my favorite things to do. It's not something I want to outsource to an LLM.
I lift the silly weights in the gym. I will mess around with my own words and sentences and thoughts out of it. See where it all takes me.
November 8, 2025 at 3:31 PM
Agreed. Writing is about more than processing information from explicit sources--our lives are in the background of every sentence. Writing is a pleasure--those brief moments of finding clarity in a small corner in the messiness of living.
Reposted by Meera Nair
While researching my current column, I had trouble finding something PM Carney said in a speech in either Factiva or Google, so I tried asking ChatGPT-5 to search for it. This was its internal response.
It hallucinates in basic searches. It can't write truth. It can't copyedit. What is it good for?
It hallucinates in basic searches. It can't write truth. It can't copyedit. What is it good for?
November 7, 2025 at 1:42 PM
While researching my current column, I had trouble finding something PM Carney said in a speech in either Factiva or Google, so I tried asking ChatGPT-5 to search for it. This was its internal response.
It hallucinates in basic searches. It can't write truth. It can't copyedit. What is it good for?
It hallucinates in basic searches. It can't write truth. It can't copyedit. What is it good for?
"The New York Times found that at critical points, as measles was gaining new footholds in Canada, provincial politicians stopped public health officials from speaking out about the value of getting vaccinated."
The province under discussion in the article by the @nytimes.com is Alberta...
The province under discussion in the article by the @nytimes.com is Alberta...
Alberta is calling!
"So far this year, Alberta has recorded nearly 2,000 cases...and the United States nearly 1,700.
Canada is set to be the first Western country since the coronavirus pandemic to lose its elimination status, according to W.H.O. data."
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/06/w...
"So far this year, Alberta has recorded nearly 2,000 cases...and the United States nearly 1,700.
Canada is set to be the first Western country since the coronavirus pandemic to lose its elimination status, according to W.H.O. data."
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/06/w...
Canada Is About to Lose Its Status as Having Eliminated Measles
www.nytimes.com
November 6, 2025 at 5:54 PM
"The New York Times found that at critical points, as measles was gaining new footholds in Canada, provincial politicians stopped public health officials from speaking out about the value of getting vaccinated."
The province under discussion in the article by the @nytimes.com is Alberta...
The province under discussion in the article by the @nytimes.com is Alberta...
"Why do we still rely on a country that has threatened our sovereignty to investigate our citizens and collect and retain their private and biometric information?"
If Canadians, travelling domestically, want to use the "good" security line at the airport, they need a NEXUS card, even if they aren't going to the US. And they need the blessing of Donald Trump's Homeland Security apparatus to get one. I'm calling on Canada to end this absurdity. #Canada #NEXUS
Why we need a Made-In-Canada Verified Traveller Program
YouTube video by Senator Paula Simons
youtu.be
November 6, 2025 at 2:30 PM
"Why do we still rely on a country that has threatened our sovereignty to investigate our citizens and collect and retain their private and biometric information?"
Reposted by Meera Nair
A simplified US take on the Canadian budget: Carney has decided to be the FDR kind of left-wing (creating economic revival and employing many people through big public-funded works) but opposed to the LBJ kind of left-wing (Carney is paring back fed offices with redistributive functions)
November 4, 2025 at 11:04 PM
A simplified US take on the Canadian budget: Carney has decided to be the FDR kind of left-wing (creating economic revival and employing many people through big public-funded works) but opposed to the LBJ kind of left-wing (Carney is paring back fed offices with redistributive functions)
Enjoyed this. Clear and compelling with a surprise ending. Read on...
Getty Images v Stability AI: A landmark High Court ruling on AI, copyright, and trade marks
The much-awaited decision in the lawsuit between stock photography giant Getty Images and AI developer Stability AI has now been released, see: Getty Images v Stability AI EWHC 2863 (Ch). I've discussed…
The much-awaited decision in the lawsuit between stock photography giant Getty Images and AI developer Stability AI has now been released, see: Getty Images v Stability AI EWHC 2863 (Ch). I've discussed…
Getty Images v Stability AI: A landmark High Court ruling on AI, copyright, and trade marks
The much-awaited decision in the lawsuit between stock photography giant Getty Images and AI developer Stability AI has now been released, see: Getty Images v Stability AI EWHC 2863 (Ch). I've discussed this case before, but these are the facts as presented by Smith J in her introduction: Getty Images, an image company that licenses high-quality photographs, videos, illustrations and related metadata through various platforms.
www.technollama.co.uk
November 6, 2025 at 2:24 PM
Enjoyed this. Clear and compelling with a surprise ending. Read on...
Reposted by Meera Nair
Australia has so much electricity from solar power that it is going to start offering free electricity to everyone for at least three hours during the day as the wholesale price of power goes negative
electrek.co/2025/11/04/a...
electrek.co/2025/11/04/a...
Australia has so much solar that it's offering everyone free electricity
Australia's extensive solar power penetration makes so much energy that the government wants to offer free electricity at peak hours.
electrek.co
November 6, 2025 at 4:58 AM
Australia has so much electricity from solar power that it is going to start offering free electricity to everyone for at least three hours during the day as the wholesale price of power goes negative
electrek.co/2025/11/04/a...
electrek.co/2025/11/04/a...
laughter on demand
Took the cats out for a walk with my brother and accidentally created a 90s Britpop album cover
November 6, 2025 at 1:30 PM
laughter on demand
Reposted by Meera Nair
Libraries matter. Access matters.
After years of legal battles, the Internet Archive is still here—and still fighting for a world where everyone can read, learn, and remember.
@arstechnica.com tells the story: arstechnica.com/tech-policy/...
After years of legal battles, the Internet Archive is still here—and still fighting for a world where everyone can read, learn, and remember.
@arstechnica.com tells the story: arstechnica.com/tech-policy/...
Internet Archive’s legal fights are over, but its founder mourns what was lost
“We survived, but it wiped out the library,” Internet Archive’s founder says.
arstechnica.com
November 3, 2025 at 4:32 PM
Libraries matter. Access matters.
After years of legal battles, the Internet Archive is still here—and still fighting for a world where everyone can read, learn, and remember.
@arstechnica.com tells the story: arstechnica.com/tech-policy/...
After years of legal battles, the Internet Archive is still here—and still fighting for a world where everyone can read, learn, and remember.
@arstechnica.com tells the story: arstechnica.com/tech-policy/...
"Grokipedia is the first [encyclopedia] to be largely created by AI and this week a question swirled: who controls the truth when AIs, steered by powerful individuals, are holding the pen?"
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
In Grok we don’t trust: academics assess Elon Musk’s AI-powered encyclopedia
From publishing falsehoods to pushing far-right ideology, Grokipedia gives chatroom comments equal status to research
www.theguardian.com
November 3, 2025 at 3:21 PM
"Grokipedia is the first [encyclopedia] to be largely created by AI and this week a question swirled: who controls the truth when AIs, steered by powerful individuals, are holding the pen?"
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
Reposted by Meera Nair
Good article.
“What we witnessed in the reactions yesterday is an effort to sow ignorant enmity towards the courts, threatening broader political polarization over the judiciary. We need only look south of the border to see where this can lead.”
“What we witnessed in the reactions yesterday is an effort to sow ignorant enmity towards the courts, threatening broader political polarization over the judiciary. We need only look south of the border to see where this can lead.”
NEW POST: No, the Supreme Court is not an obstacle to tougher laws against child porn emmettmacfarlane.substack.com/p/no-the-sup...
No, the Supreme Court is not an obstacle to tougher laws against child porn
Yesterday the Supreme Court issued a decision striking down mandatory minimum sentences in the context of possessing or accessing child pornography.
emmettmacfarlane.substack.com
November 1, 2025 at 7:19 PM
Good article.
“What we witnessed in the reactions yesterday is an effort to sow ignorant enmity towards the courts, threatening broader political polarization over the judiciary. We need only look south of the border to see where this can lead.”
“What we witnessed in the reactions yesterday is an effort to sow ignorant enmity towards the courts, threatening broader political polarization over the judiciary. We need only look south of the border to see where this can lead.”
"Despite Trump’s topsy-turvy revisionism, it is not true to say President Reagan “loved tariffs.” The opposite is true."
therealstory.substack.com/p/true-north...
therealstory.substack.com/p/true-north...
True North, Strong and Forsaken.
The American president throws another tarriff tantrum, inadvertently reminding everyone that there once was a time when America was a shining city upon a hill.
therealstory.substack.com
October 27, 2025 at 2:04 AM
"Despite Trump’s topsy-turvy revisionism, it is not true to say President Reagan “loved tariffs.” The opposite is true."
therealstory.substack.com/p/true-north...
therealstory.substack.com/p/true-north...
Reposted by Meera Nair
We are deeply saddened by the loss of Greg Newby, who led Project Gutenberg ( @gutenberg.org ) with passion and purpose. Greg’s belief in free and open access to knowledge continues to inspire us and so many others working to preserve our shared culture online. gutenberg.org/about/newby....
October 22, 2025 at 7:40 PM
We are deeply saddened by the loss of Greg Newby, who led Project Gutenberg ( @gutenberg.org ) with passion and purpose. Greg’s belief in free and open access to knowledge continues to inspire us and so many others working to preserve our shared culture online. gutenberg.org/about/newby....
Reposted by Meera Nair
At the risk of beating a dead horse: we can still trade duty-free into the US, but that would require a pivot to services, but that apparently is beyond the pale of respectable policy discourse.
CARNEY: "Our goal for Canada is to double our non-U.S. exports over the course of the next decade, generating more than $300 billion more in trade, and that's new orders for Canadian resources, technologies and expertise."
October 23, 2025 at 4:50 PM
At the risk of beating a dead horse: we can still trade duty-free into the US, but that would require a pivot to services, but that apparently is beyond the pale of respectable policy discourse.
Reposted by Meera Nair
Got off the plane and walked into a drug store in Ottawa and got my COVID vaccine in under 5 minutes. No line up. No appointment. No cost.
Was even asked if I wanted Moderna or Pfizer.
It’s unconscionable that we can’t get this same level of service in Alberta.
Was even asked if I wanted Moderna or Pfizer.
It’s unconscionable that we can’t get this same level of service in Alberta.
October 20, 2025 at 8:40 PM
Got off the plane and walked into a drug store in Ottawa and got my COVID vaccine in under 5 minutes. No line up. No appointment. No cost.
Was even asked if I wanted Moderna or Pfizer.
It’s unconscionable that we can’t get this same level of service in Alberta.
Was even asked if I wanted Moderna or Pfizer.
It’s unconscionable that we can’t get this same level of service in Alberta.
Reposted by Meera Nair
Unbelievable. Chills.
Tens of thousands of teachers converging downtown just outside where Danielle Smith is addressing an audience.
I’ve never seen anything like this.
Time to listen up, Premier.
Time for a fair deal.
We stand with teachers.
❤️✊
Tens of thousands of teachers converging downtown just outside where Danielle Smith is addressing an audience.
I’ve never seen anything like this.
Time to listen up, Premier.
Time for a fair deal.
We stand with teachers.
❤️✊
October 16, 2025 at 7:23 PM
Unbelievable. Chills.
Tens of thousands of teachers converging downtown just outside where Danielle Smith is addressing an audience.
I’ve never seen anything like this.
Time to listen up, Premier.
Time for a fair deal.
We stand with teachers.
❤️✊
Tens of thousands of teachers converging downtown just outside where Danielle Smith is addressing an audience.
I’ve never seen anything like this.
Time to listen up, Premier.
Time for a fair deal.
We stand with teachers.
❤️✊
Reposted by Meera Nair
Respectfully, I'm not sure a survey that finds voters want low taxes and high services is delivering much data other than people want everything.
October 16, 2025 at 8:36 PM
Respectfully, I'm not sure a survey that finds voters want low taxes and high services is delivering much data other than people want everything.
Reposted by Meera Nair
“Restore merit, end DEI” says man who could only get elected in Canada’s safest Conservative stronghold
“Restore merit, end DEI” says man who could only get elected in Canada’s safest Conservative stronghold
OTTAWA - Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre has launched a petition to "end DEI programs and restore merit", just months after losing his own heavily-favoured seat before running in an even more hea...
www.thebeaverton.com
October 15, 2025 at 2:32 PM
“Restore merit, end DEI” says man who could only get elected in Canada’s safest Conservative stronghold
"In a report published this summer, [Canada's] Parliamentary Budget Office, the federal government's fiscal watchdog, found that a guaranteed basic income program at the federal level could cut poverty rates in Canada by up to 40 per cent."
www.cbc.ca/radio/asitha...
www.cbc.ca/radio/asitha...
Ireland is locking down basic income for artists. Could Canada follow suit? | CBC Radio
Ireland has made permanent its three-year pilot program that gave monthly income payments to thousands of artists. Canadian artists are hoping to use that program's success to build momentum for guara...
www.cbc.ca
October 15, 2025 at 2:03 PM
"In a report published this summer, [Canada's] Parliamentary Budget Office, the federal government's fiscal watchdog, found that a guaranteed basic income program at the federal level could cut poverty rates in Canada by up to 40 per cent."
www.cbc.ca/radio/asitha...
www.cbc.ca/radio/asitha...