James Andrew Smith
@drsmith.bsky.social
Engineering professor at York University
Reposted by James Andrew Smith
This is absolutely true.
I don't know about other countries, but public health experts here minimized this the same way they did COVID.
It is as if they think their job is to keep the public calm rather than to inform them.
I don't know about other countries, but public health experts here minimized this the same way they did COVID.
It is as if they think their job is to keep the public calm rather than to inform them.
This was clearly the trajectory we were on in the Spring.
We could see this coming.
Rather than ring the alarm bells, too many PH officials jumped on every opportunity to minimize this, even last month here in Ontario.
It’s shameful.
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
We could see this coming.
Rather than ring the alarm bells, too many PH officials jumped on every opportunity to minimize this, even last month here in Ontario.
It’s shameful.
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
November 10, 2025 at 8:48 PM
This is absolutely true.
I don't know about other countries, but public health experts here minimized this the same way they did COVID.
It is as if they think their job is to keep the public calm rather than to inform them.
I don't know about other countries, but public health experts here minimized this the same way they did COVID.
It is as if they think their job is to keep the public calm rather than to inform them.
Reposted by James Andrew Smith
When we finally get rid of the dead weight and bring in competent leadership and structures that are fit for purpose, public health and infection control of the 2020s will be chiefly remembered for never having missed an opportunity to miss an opportunity.
A reminder to reporters: be thoughtful about the voices you trust, and the conflicts of interest they hold.
You can't rely on the judgment or motives of someone who participated in a very big mistake that killed a lot of people to tell you how bad the consequences are later.
Journalism 101.
🤨
You can't rely on the judgment or motives of someone who participated in a very big mistake that killed a lot of people to tell you how bad the consequences are later.
Journalism 101.
🤨
November 11, 2025 at 8:57 AM
When we finally get rid of the dead weight and bring in competent leadership and structures that are fit for purpose, public health and infection control of the 2020s will be chiefly remembered for never having missed an opportunity to miss an opportunity.
@antibioticdoc.bsky.social was on CBC As It Happens to talk about her disappointment regarding the loss of #measles elimination status.
Canada loses measles elimination status — as does the entire Americas region
STAT
November 10, 2025
By Helen Branswell
stillcoviding.ca/en/news/cana...
#Canada #health #measles #antivaxxers #ScienceDenial #CdnPoli
STAT
November 10, 2025
By Helen Branswell
stillcoviding.ca/en/news/cana...
#Canada #health #measles #antivaxxers #ScienceDenial #CdnPoli
Canada loses measles elimination status — as does the entire Americas region
stillcoviding.ca
November 11, 2025 at 10:14 AM
@antibioticdoc.bsky.social was on CBC As It Happens to talk about her disappointment regarding the loss of #measles elimination status.
Reposted by James Andrew Smith
Peeps, I'll be live on CTV's "Your Morning" in Ottawa tomorrow morning at 7:10AM, talking about..... Canada losing our measles elimination status.
Fun times. No Ross Perot mentions this time.
Fun times. No Ross Perot mentions this time.
November 10, 2025 at 7:30 PM
Peeps, I'll be live on CTV's "Your Morning" in Ottawa tomorrow morning at 7:10AM, talking about..... Canada losing our measles elimination status.
Fun times. No Ross Perot mentions this time.
Fun times. No Ross Perot mentions this time.
This was clearly the trajectory we were on in the Spring.
We could see this coming.
Rather than ring the alarm bells, too many PH officials jumped on every opportunity to minimize this, even last month here in Ontario.
It’s shameful.
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
We could see this coming.
Rather than ring the alarm bells, too many PH officials jumped on every opportunity to minimize this, even last month here in Ontario.
It’s shameful.
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
November 10, 2025 at 8:13 PM
This was clearly the trajectory we were on in the Spring.
We could see this coming.
Rather than ring the alarm bells, too many PH officials jumped on every opportunity to minimize this, even last month here in Ontario.
It’s shameful.
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
We could see this coming.
Rather than ring the alarm bells, too many PH officials jumped on every opportunity to minimize this, even last month here in Ontario.
It’s shameful.
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
Reposted by James Andrew Smith
UPDATE: Canada has announced that it has lost its measles elimination status.
This is a direct result of the increase in anti-vax disinformation, which has caused large, sustained outbreaks in the country over the last year.
This is a direct result of the increase in anti-vax disinformation, which has caused large, sustained outbreaks in the country over the last year.
November 10, 2025 at 6:19 PM
UPDATE: Canada has announced that it has lost its measles elimination status.
This is a direct result of the increase in anti-vax disinformation, which has caused large, sustained outbreaks in the country over the last year.
This is a direct result of the increase in anti-vax disinformation, which has caused large, sustained outbreaks in the country over the last year.
Reposted by James Andrew Smith
La Victoire jouera un match à Québec le 11 janvier
La Victoire jouera un match à Québec le 11 janvier
ici.radio-canada.ca
November 10, 2025 at 7:33 PM
La Victoire jouera un match à Québec le 11 janvier
Public Health officials and infectious disease experts in Canada:
Take a bow.
You did it.
You've let #measles come back. Andrew Wakefield must be so proud.
You refused to accept #CleanAir recommendations from experts (and non-experts) from outside your insular little community.
Take a bow.
You did it.
You've let #measles come back. Andrew Wakefield must be so proud.
You refused to accept #CleanAir recommendations from experts (and non-experts) from outside your insular little community.
It's official: Canada has lost its measles elimination status because of an outbreak that has persisted for more than 12 months. Country can regain status only if on-going spread is of measles interrupted for more than a year. www.cbc.ca/news/health/... via @cbcnews.ca
November 10, 2025 at 5:55 PM
November 10, 2025 at 5:18 PM
Told you.
More collisions this morning.
Why? Because people don’t drive slow enough, they aren’t using the right tires and all the silly driving they get away with in summer just isn’t going to work in snow and ice.
More collisions this morning.
Why? Because people don’t drive slow enough, they aren’t using the right tires and all the silly driving they get away with in summer just isn’t going to work in snow and ice.
November 10, 2025 at 12:44 PM
Told you.
More collisions this morning.
Why? Because people don’t drive slow enough, they aren’t using the right tires and all the silly driving they get away with in summer just isn’t going to work in snow and ice.
More collisions this morning.
Why? Because people don’t drive slow enough, they aren’t using the right tires and all the silly driving they get away with in summer just isn’t going to work in snow and ice.
Reposted by James Andrew Smith
There are many reasons to have all-gender bathrooms, but the main ones are biological, and we never get the balance right. Also, as men age, they take longer, skewing the balance again. lloydalter.substack.com/p/should-all...
Should all public washrooms be all-gender?
This is a biological, not a political problem: women have different needs than men, and everyone's needs are changing as we age.
lloydalter.substack.com
November 10, 2025 at 12:03 PM
There are many reasons to have all-gender bathrooms, but the main ones are biological, and we never get the balance right. Also, as men age, they take longer, skewing the balance again. lloydalter.substack.com/p/should-all...
On CBC they’re talking about AI browsers scraping the internet in a way that resembles human browsing so that they can bypass paywalls into media company archives.
So media companies are struggling to distinguish between the bots and humans. Turing achieved.
So media companies are struggling to distinguish between the bots and humans. Turing achieved.
November 10, 2025 at 10:43 AM
On CBC they’re talking about AI browsers scraping the internet in a way that resembles human browsing so that they can bypass paywalls into media company archives.
So media companies are struggling to distinguish between the bots and humans. Turing achieved.
So media companies are struggling to distinguish between the bots and humans. Turing achieved.
On CBC there were “140 collisions” on the highways in the GTA yesterday … and another one right now.
We haven’t had this much snow this early in over 50 years, apparently.
We haven’t had this much snow this early in over 50 years, apparently.
a cartoon of snoopy laying on top of a red house in the snow .
Alt: a cartoon of snoopy laying on top of a red house in the snow .
media.tenor.com
November 10, 2025 at 10:38 AM
On CBC there were “140 collisions” on the highways in the GTA yesterday … and another one right now.
We haven’t had this much snow this early in over 50 years, apparently.
We haven’t had this much snow this early in over 50 years, apparently.
Dear hockey arena boss in your windowed office:
don't leave your wifi router with the password facing the window.
don't leave your wifi router with the password facing the window.
November 10, 2025 at 1:40 AM
Dear hockey arena boss in your windowed office:
don't leave your wifi router with the password facing the window.
don't leave your wifi router with the password facing the window.
Reposted by James Andrew Smith
“authors & publishers who filed a lawsuit against the Sam Altman-led firm have secured access to internal Slack messages… discussing the mass deletion of a pirated books dataset… A NY district court ordered OpenAI to hand over the communications regarding data deletion”
futurism.com/artificial-i...
futurism.com/artificial-i...
OpenAI in Danger After Authors Suing It Gain Access to Its Internal Slack Messages
Authors and publishers, who are suing OpenAI, secured access to internal Slack messages and emails discussing the deletion of pirated books.
futurism.com
November 6, 2025 at 7:57 AM
“authors & publishers who filed a lawsuit against the Sam Altman-led firm have secured access to internal Slack messages… discussing the mass deletion of a pirated books dataset… A NY district court ordered OpenAI to hand over the communications regarding data deletion”
futurism.com/artificial-i...
futurism.com/artificial-i...
Reposted by James Andrew Smith
The fact that universities continue to do business with the likes of OpenAI says a lot about how they value human contribution to knowledge via human labour. The chant: "AI is the future" from Big Tech and govt, when the present is pure exploitation, should be the cue for revolt, not embrace.
“authors & publishers who filed a lawsuit against the Sam Altman-led firm have secured access to internal Slack messages… discussing the mass deletion of a pirated books dataset… A NY district court ordered OpenAI to hand over the communications regarding data deletion”
futurism.com/artificial-i...
futurism.com/artificial-i...
OpenAI in Danger After Authors Suing It Gain Access to Its Internal Slack Messages
Authors and publishers, who are suing OpenAI, secured access to internal Slack messages and emails discussing the deletion of pirated books.
futurism.com
November 9, 2025 at 5:07 PM
The fact that universities continue to do business with the likes of OpenAI says a lot about how they value human contribution to knowledge via human labour. The chant: "AI is the future" from Big Tech and govt, when the present is pure exploitation, should be the cue for revolt, not embrace.
Conditions are getting worse on the 401. Snow is sticking more, initially on overpasses.
Saw the change before and after hockey practice in north york.
Saw the change before and after hockey practice in north york.
November 9, 2025 at 9:05 PM
Conditions are getting worse on the 401. Snow is sticking more, initially on overpasses.
Saw the change before and after hockey practice in north york.
Saw the change before and after hockey practice in north york.
First snow in Toronto. Expect problems.
November 9, 2025 at 12:53 PM
First snow in Toronto. Expect problems.
Reposted by James Andrew Smith
Sometimes when people ask me why I’m wearing a mask I say I’m traveling or have some important thing soon and can’t afford to get sick and miss it and that’s pretty much always true but I think it would be nice if it were more normalized to just say “I don’t want to get sick” and leave it at that
November 8, 2025 at 4:49 PM
Sometimes when people ask me why I’m wearing a mask I say I’m traveling or have some important thing soon and can’t afford to get sick and miss it and that’s pretty much always true but I think it would be nice if it were more normalized to just say “I don’t want to get sick” and leave it at that
Making a sandwhich makes you an artist, so sandwiches are art and throwing them is now performance art. What a world we live in.
November 8, 2025 at 5:29 PM
Making a sandwhich makes you an artist, so sandwiches are art and throwing them is now performance art. What a world we live in.
Reposted by James Andrew Smith
Just a friendly reminder not to admit to crimes on social media
November 8, 2025 at 4:48 PM
Just a friendly reminder not to admit to crimes on social media
The lesson learned here?
If enough people behave badly, then politicians give up.
Same lesson learned with COVID.
If enough people behave badly, then politicians give up.
Same lesson learned with COVID.
November 8, 2025 at 12:52 PM
The lesson learned here?
If enough people behave badly, then politicians give up.
Same lesson learned with COVID.
If enough people behave badly, then politicians give up.
Same lesson learned with COVID.
Toronto's Hockey Factory is shutting down. I don't think anyone is going to miss the weird basement rink with hookah lounge seats and humidity so bad that water drips from the ceiling.
I'll miss the little details, like the hockey stick hacks on the boards.
I'll miss the little details, like the hockey stick hacks on the boards.
November 8, 2025 at 12:50 PM
Toronto's Hockey Factory is shutting down. I don't think anyone is going to miss the weird basement rink with hookah lounge seats and humidity so bad that water drips from the ceiling.
I'll miss the little details, like the hockey stick hacks on the boards.
I'll miss the little details, like the hockey stick hacks on the boards.