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timbousquet.bsky.social
Tim Bousquet
@timbousquet.bsky.social
12K followers 1.5K following 3.6K posts
Hated by Reddit. Founder of HalifaxExaminer.ca. Opinions are my own, and not necessarily shared by my colleagues.
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timbousquet.bsky.social
Head-on collision on the Circ:
Police Investigate Vehicle Collision - Dartmouth At 6:13 a.m., Halifax Regional Police responded to multiple reports of vehicle travelling Northbound on the wrong side of the Highway 111 near exit 5 (Micmac Blvd) in Dartmouth. A few minutes later callers reported a head-on collision near the on ramp 4 (Woodland Ave). The occupants of both vehicles sustained serious injuries and were transported to the hospital. Investigators from Patrol are conducting the investigation, which is ongoing. Traffic Blocked: All South bound traffic between Woodland Ave and Micmac Blvd on the on the 111 Highway is reduced to one lane. The lanes will remain closed for an extended period.
November 17, 2025 at 11:28 AM
timbousquet.bsky.social
Elisa knew
On Sun, Nov 25, 2018 at 10:52 AM Lisa New < > wrote: Dear Jeffrey, Here is an invitation you can forward. Fingers crossed. I'm going upstairs to hunt for my copy of Lolita, or will get on my kindle and reread on our way to Australia. I may have lent it to one of my kids. I would recommend reading My Antonia by Cather next time you're on a long plane trip. The prose is gorgeous, and the book has-- come to think of it-- similar themes to Lolita in that it's about a man whose whole life is stamped forever by his impression of a young girl. Thank you for this help with Serena. I'm so sorry about what happened with WA. I will keep the "bootleg" episode and hope to release someday. It's so good, and he was so kind to read the poem with me and you were so kind to make it happen. Lisa Elisa New Powell M. Cabot Professor of American Literature Director, Poetry in America Harvard University
November 13, 2025 at 4:52 PM
timbousquet.bsky.social
er, what?

www.thestar.com/business/opi...
After all, Canada invented modern AI.
November 2, 2025 at 1:23 PM
timbousquet.bsky.social
I'm starting to fill out the AI survey. I don't think this is going to go well.
This question is framed with the assumption that an "AI research edge" is both a meaningful statement and a worthwhile goal. I don't know how you can start a survey about "AI" without first defining the term. Without defining the term, you are allowing "AI research" to mean anything the government of Canada wants it to mean. It's a non-starter for critical thinking or meaningful assessment of policy.
October 31, 2025 at 4:11 PM
timbousquet.bsky.social
I’m still flabbergasted at how filthy Argyle Street is and how nobody will clean it up
October 30, 2025 at 6:33 PM
timbousquet.bsky.social
Ladies and germs, the Bezo Press:
October 25, 2025 at 10:54 PM
timbousquet.bsky.social
Concludes Berkowitz:

/14
The danger in the manipulation of facts is that it blurs the clear boundary separating fact from lie. As Arendt writes, “the result of a consistent and total substitution of lies for factual truth is not that lies will now be accepted as truth, and the truth be defamed as lies, but that the sense by which we take our bearings in the real world — and the category of truth vs. falsehood is among the mental means to this end — is being destroyed.” The danger, in other words, is that all truth claims become contested and the result is cynicism, a refusal to believe that there is in truth a stable factual world. And it is cynicism that, by undermining all claims to stable and factual truths, makes possible the coherent fantasies that undergird totalitarian government.
October 21, 2025 at 11:12 AM
timbousquet.bsky.social
I was thinking about the use of AI to blur truth to serve the interest of authoritarianism, and recalled the work of Hannah Arendt.

There is an Arendt "quote" going around social media to this point. You've likely seen it:

/11
"...constant lying is not aimed at making the people believe a lie, but at ensuring that no one believes anything anymore. A people that can no longer distinguish between truth and lies cannot distinguish between right and wrong... With such a people, you can do whatever you want."
October 21, 2025 at 11:12 AM
timbousquet.bsky.social
It's not a transition fuel.
It’s true that burning methane produces about half the greenhouse gas emissions than does burning coal, and about a third less than burning oil. And burning methane results in much lower levels of other, non-carbon pollutants. Still, the “transition fuel” logic doesn’t hold up on its own terms. Let’s use an analogy. Say I’m going to punch you continuously, once every three seconds. It hurts. You don’t like that. So I say, well, I’m going to let my little sister punch you. She doesn’t punch as hard as I do. ‘Oh, great,’ you say, ‘so that will hurt less.’ Yes, but I’m not going to stop punching you; I’m going to keep punching you, and additionally my little sister will start punching you. That’s the argument they’re putting forward with methane: We’re still going to burn all the oil and coal. We’re not going to close down any oil wells or coal mines, not stop using that, so you’ll get all those emissions, but you’ll additionally get the methane emissions. It would be one thing if the Houston government said, ‘in exchange for opening up the offshore for methane exploration, we’re going to close down enough coal mines around the world to counteract the the carbon emissions that will come from methane.’ But of course the Houston government doesn’t have the power to shut down coal mines around the world. In fact, the Houston government has done the exact opposite — it reopened a coal mine right here in Nova Scotia — the Donkin mine. You can’t have it both ways. You can’t both say you have a pathway to reaching the province’s greenhouse gas emission reduction goals and increase the mining of fossil fuels. The math doesn’t math. I confronted Premier Tim Houston about this back in February, when he announced the end of Nova Scotia’s fracking ban: “The world is demanding critical minerals and other natural resources in the transition to net zero by 2050,” Minister of Natural Resources Tory Rushton said in a press release that announced the end of the fracking ban, which raises the question of how burning methane (the “natural gas” mined through fracking) helps the transition to net zero. So we asked Premier Tim Houston exactly that: Halifax Examiner: Is it your belief that the province can maintain the track to meet its greenhouse gas emission reduction goals with fracking? Premier Tim Houston: Yeah. Examiner: And is it your belief that the planet can meet those targets with the addition of Nova Scotia natural gas to it? Houston: Yeah. Houston did not further explain himself. The Examiner asked department staff if leakage from fracking operations will be added to the province’s greenhouse gas emission inventory. They did not know. They did, however, brag that there is an estimated seven trillion cubic feet of recoverable methane in Nova Scotia, “enough to serve Maritimes Canada for about 80 years. So it’s a lot of gas.” It is not possible to burn methane for 80 years and achieve net zero by 2050. Those are incompatible visions of Nova Scotia’s future, and for the Earth’s future.
October 20, 2025 at 3:28 PM
timbousquet.bsky.social
AGAIN and AGAIN and FUCKING AGAIN I have to explain this, but it's right there in the article. When coal falls off the coal train, it just sits there on the ground, doing nothing to the climate. When methane leaks from the well or the pipeline or the appliance, it goes directly to the atmosphere.
But is natural gas — aka fossil gas — really “clean”? Natural gas is primarily methane, a greenhouse gas 84 times more potent than carbon dioxide. It may emit fewer conventional pollutants and less carbon dioxide per energy unit when it is burned, but that doesn’t mean it is “clean.” Methane leaks from gas production and storage facilities could mean that natural gas is no better for the climate than coal, but these leaks are not being sufficiently monitored and tracked.
October 20, 2025 at 3:10 PM
timbousquet.bsky.social
I blame Woody Allen.

www.halifaxexaminer.ca/morning-file...
We can also do away with right turn on red. You know who I blame for the broad acceptance of right turn on red? Woody Allen. I mean, if you need another reason to dislike him. While car-dependant California was the first to adopt right turn on red, it was Woody Allen’s quip in the 1977 film Annie Hall that “the only cultural advantage [of Los Angeles] is you can make a right turn on a red light” that made right turn on red go international. I was in high school in Virginia, when I went to see Annie Hall at the art cinema with a girl I was pining over (hard to believe now, but back then, Woody Allen was considered artsy and cool), and took away from the experience that right turn on red was smart policy. The pined-for girl didn’t last to a second date, but the very next year Virginia adopted right turn on red. Allen was tapping into a bigger cultural moment, in that just as he was writing Annie Hall, the U.S. Congress passed the Energy Policy and Conservation Act, which said that states could not receive federal transportation funding unless they adopted right-on-red laws, supposedly as a way to reduce fuel consumption. Every U.S. state adopted right turn on red by 1980. I don’t know when right turn on red came to Nova Scotia, but Ontario adopted its right-on-red law in 1984.
October 17, 2025 at 11:22 AM
timbousquet.bsky.social
Retired RCMP cop Darrell Johnson charged with sexual assault
SiRT Charges Retired RCMP Officer with Sexual Assault --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Director of the Serious Incident Response Team (SiRT) has reasonable grounds to believe that a now retired RCMP officer committed criminal offences. This investigation involved conduct that was alleged to have occurred when the officer was a member of the RCMP as well as after his retirement. As a result, a parallel investigation was conducted by SiRT and the RCMP, including their Street Crime Enforcement Unit and the Interview Assistance Team. Following the investigation the SiRT Director has determined that there are reasonable and probable grounds to believe that retired Sgt. Darrell W. Johnson committed criminal offences against a female known to him. On October 15, 2025, Darrell W. Johnson was charged with three counts of sexual assault contrary to s. 271 of the Criminal Code. Darrell W. Johnson will appear before the Nova Scotia Provincial Court at 15 Kennedy Street, Port Hawkesbury, Nova Scotia on November 13, 2025, at 9:30 a.m. As the matter is before the courts, and in consideration of the fair trial interests of the accused, SiRT will not provide further comment on the investigation.
October 15, 2025 at 5:42 PM
timbousquet.bsky.social
A cop shot someone in Eastern Passage. It's been referred to the Serious Incident Response Team.
At approximately 1:48 p.m., RCMP Halifax Regional Detachment responded to a report of a physical assault at a residence on Cedar Ln. in Eastern Passage. During the RCMP response, a member discharged their firearm; a person sustained life-threatening injuries consistent with a gun shot wound and was transported to hospital. No one else was injured. The matter has been referred to the Serious Incident Response Team (SiRT) as per the Nova Scotia Police Act, which will conduct an in-depth investigation into this incident. Officers are still at the location, continuing with the investigation.
October 14, 2025 at 6:23 PM
timbousquet.bsky.social
The Boston Christmas tree isn’t about gratitude

As I wrote in 2016: www.halifaxexaminer.ca/morning-file...
What I do have a problem with, however, is the mischaracterization of the exercise as a “thank you” to Boston for the help Bostonians gave Halifax after the Explosion. It’s nothing of the sort. Of course, in 1917 and 1918 Bostonians (and others) provided medical and material relief that saved many lives. There was a terrible disaster relatively nearby, and people rose to the occasion. And so in 1918, as the city of Halifax was getting back on its feet, the province sent a Christmas tree to Boston as a token of appreciation for the help. All very good. But from 1919 through 1970, the people of Nova Scotia were completely ungrateful for that help, at least not so grateful as to send another Christmas tree. The “give a tree to Boston” thing was revised in 1971, not out of gratitude — most of the people who survived the Explosion were long dead from less spectacular causes — but to promote the provincial tourism and Christmas tree industry industries. Like all good advertising campaigns, the promotion was wrapped around mawkish feel-good sentimentality, and everyone in Nova Scotia and in Boston got to pretend that they were somehow basking in the reflected kindness and gratitude of people who lived two generations before — “Hey, your grandma was a nurse who came to Halifax to help my grandfather… maybe we can make a buck on this thing, eh?” Immediately after the Explosion, relief trains came from Moncton and Saint John, but we don’t thank those communities with trees because, let’s face it, we don’t need a bunch of New Brunswickians wandering around aimlessly downtown; rather, we need Americans spending their high-valued greenbacks. So: tree for Boston, continued ridicule for Saint John.
October 8, 2025 at 7:30 PM
timbousquet.bsky.social
Sure, let's get a white supremacist to sane wash the drunk.
A NewYork Times headline reads "That Hegseth Speech Was Actually Pretty Good." The author is Christopher Caldwell.
October 7, 2025 at 11:43 AM
timbousquet.bsky.social
And:
Ben Hodges tweets out: July 1935 German generals were called to a surprise assembly in Berlin and informed that their previous oath the toe Weimar constitution was void and that they would be required to swear a personal oath to the Führer. Most generals took the new oath to keep their positions. Pete Hegseth tweet-quoted it with: Cool story, General
September 26, 2025 at 7:37 PM
timbousquet.bsky.social
Just putting this out there/

encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/a...
While many generals later claimed the oath was Hitler's idea, in fact, the highest ranking military leaders created it. A surprised Hitler himself acknowledged this by writing to Defense Minister von Blomberg: “I wish to express my thanks to you…for the oath of loyalty which has been sworn to me.
September 26, 2025 at 7:30 PM
timbousquet.bsky.social
Nova Scotia is making changes to hunting regulations:
Amendments to the General Wildlife Regulations, Bear Harvesting Regulations and Deer Hunting Regulations will: - reduce the minimum age from 16 to 12 for hunting deer and bear, consistent with hunting small game - adding 11 more Sundays per year when hunting is permitted - adding one week to the end of general deer hunting season annually. The new regulations come into effect October 1.
September 26, 2025 at 12:24 PM
timbousquet.bsky.social
er...

www.wsj.com/politics/pol...
Trump, who had socialized with Epstein in New York and Florida and has said he fell out with him before his first arrest in 2006, told aides he couldn’t understand why people were so obsessed with the deceased financier and sex offender, according to people familiar with his comments. People don’t understand that Palm Beach in the 90s was a different time, he groused.
September 25, 2025 at 1:55 PM
timbousquet.bsky.social
ATLANTIC JEWISH COUNCIL: DO THE RIGHT THING! DO THE HONOURABLE THING! APOLOGIZE!
Independent Jewish Voices - Halifax condemns hateful opportunistic smears
We finally have information on the person allegedly responsible for the shameful antisemitic slogans on Halifax synagogues and other Jewish-related buildings. Accordingly, Independent Jewish Voices calls upon the Atlantic Jewish Council (AJC) to do the right thing, the honourable thing, and apologize for using the incident to continue smearing people who have protested against the genocide in Gaza. As we approach the Jewish High Holidays, we urge the AJC to practise the traditional heshbon nefesh ("accounting of the soul" or "soul searching") and seek forgiveness for the biblical sin of bearing false witness. Police have indicated that a suspect has been arrested and charged with seven counts of mischief related to religious property, property damage, and public incitement of hatred. The person in question is a man in his early 30s, an apparently troubled person who operated independently and had absolutely no connection to the protesters who had taken to the streets on the weekend to carry on their campaign against Halifax’s “sportswashing” activity in hosting Team Israel in Davis Cup tennis matches. Leaders of Jewish institutional organizations were quick (obviously too quick) off the mark to link the defacement of the synagogues with the protests. This was an attempt to switch the channel away from Gaza where the “official” death toll is over 65,000. Unofficial estimates have it as twice that many. A United Nations appointed independent commission has ruled this a genocide. Noah Shack of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) and Yoram Abisror, of the AJC issued a statement saying: On the same weekend that extremists silenced fans from cheering on Team Canada, with protestors even publicly displaying the severed head of the Halifax mayor, a Halifax synagogue was defaced with hateful graffiti. Whether intimidating sports fans, threatening elected officials, or targeting people at their places of worship, this is absolutely unacceptable in Canada — an as…
September 18, 2025 at 4:18 PM
timbousquet.bsky.social
The deal between Dal and the DFA. Does it bother anyone else that the percentages are merely added together and not cumulative? The actual increase over the life of the contract is 10.34%
Highlights of the three-year deal include : salary increases of 3.25%, 3.25% and 3.5% for a total of 10% over the life of the contract; a total of 16 positions that have been limited-term for 6 years or longer will be converted to tenure stream/career stream positions; salary adjustments of between $1,500 and $5,000 for early career faculty who join Dalhousie at a rank other than full Professor; each Faculty will develop workload policies to ensure a more fair and equitable distribution of workload; parental leave top-up increased from 14 to 35 weeks (total combined pregnancy leave top-up and parental leave top-up will be 52 weeks); 5 days of paid leave for Indigenous faculty to observe cultural or traditional days of importance Almost 1000 faculty members who had been locked out since August 20 return to work on Thursday, September 18. Classes will begin on Tuesday, September 23.
September 17, 2025 at 8:33 PM
timbousquet.bsky.social
A cop lost his weaponry
Police warn public regarding missing magazine and ammunition Halifax Regional Police are reporting a lost police-issued firearm magazine containing ammunition. The magazine was lost last night after it fell from an officer’s pistol during the course of their duties. HRP officers have been conducting a search for the missing magazine. Police remind members of the public that possession of police-issued equipment by the public is prohibited by law. Additionally, Nova Scotia’s Police Identity Management Act carries penalties for unlawful possession of police articles.
September 15, 2025 at 2:58 PM
timbousquet.bsky.social
Why is it the automatic assumption that Kirk was killed by "the left"?

It seems much more likely he was caught up in an internecine battle among the right.

This is relevant.
Fuentes's followers began to be known as Groypers beginning in 2019. They are also sometimes called "Nickers".[4][29] In September 2019, Ashley St. Clair, a "brand ambassador" for the conservative student group Turning Point USA, was photographed at an event featuring several allegedly white nationalist and alt-right figures, including Fuentes, Jacob Wohl, and Anthime Gionet, better known as "Baked Alaska". After Right Wing Watch brought the photographs to Turning Point USA's attention, the organization issued a statement that it had severed ties with St. Clair and condemning white nationalism as "abhorrent and un-American".[30][31] At the 2019 Politicon convention, Fuentes tried to access several Turning Point events featuring its founder Charlie Kirk, including a line to take photos with Kirk and Kirk's debate with Kyle Kulinski of The Young Turks. Security repeatedly barred him from being allowed near Kirk, and Fuentes accused Kirk of suppressing him to avoid a confrontation, as Fuentes had grown critical of Kirk's positions, which he believes are too weak.[25] Kirk and Rob Smith were then questioned by Patrick Casey and other plants in the audience about free speech and homosexuality. Groypers believe that mainstream conservative groups are moving the country leftward and ceding ground on cultural issues by banning members for associating with white nationalists or neo-Nazis and not caring what consenting adults do. Groyper War In the fall of 2019, Kirk launched a college speaking tour with Turning Point USA titled "Culture War", featuring himself and guests such as Rand Paul, Donald Trump Jr., Kimberly Guilfoyle, Lara Trump, and Dan Crenshaw.[3] In retaliation for the firing of St. Clair and the Politicon incident, Fuentes began organizing a social media campaign asking his followers to go to Kirk's events and ask provocative and controversial leading questions about his stances on immigration, Israel, and LGBT rights to expose Kirk as a "fake conservative". At a Culture War event hosted by Ohio State University on October 29, 11 out of 14 questions were asked by Groypers.[29] Their questions included "Can you prove that our white European ideals will be maintained if the country is no longer made up of white European descendants?" They asked Kirk's co-host Rob Smith, a gay, black Iraq War veteran, "How does anal sex help us win the culture war?"[32] Fuentes's social media campaign against Kirk became known as the "Groyper Wars".[8][24] Kirk, Smith, and others at Turning Point USA, including Benny Johnson, began calling the questioners white supremacists and antisemites.[25][33]
September 11, 2025 at 1:10 PM
timbousquet.bsky.social
via @suzannerent.bsky.social ...

HRM will NOT be giving the money to the Davis Cup
Hi Suzanne — Thanks for reaching out. Following Tennis Canada's decision to prohibit spectators from attending the Davis Cup, the municipality is not providing its funding, as the event no longer delivers the tourism, economic and other benefits that would have been expected had it proceeded as originally planned. Let me know if you need anything else, Ryan RYAN NEARING HE / HIM PUBLIC AFFAIRS ADVISOR CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS CHEIF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE
September 9, 2025 at 5:50 PM
timbousquet.bsky.social
COWARDS
The Davis Cup World Group I tie between Team Canada and Israel in Halifax, NS will be played in a closed venue format, without fans in attendance, it was confirmed on Tuesday. This decision was not taken lightly and was made in consultation with the International Tennis Federation (ITF). Tennis Canada acted in light of escalating safety concerns. Intelligence received from local authorities and national security agencies, combined with disruptions witnessed at other recent events both in Canada and internationally, indicated a risk of significant disruption to this event. Ensuring the safety of everyone involved, including athletes, fans, staff, volunteers, and minors, such as ball kids, remains our top priority. “At the heart of this difficult decision is our responsibility to protect people while ensuring that this Davis Cup tie can still take place,” said Gavin Ziv, Chief Executive Officer, Tennis Canada. “We were forced to conclude that playing behind closed doors was the only way to both safeguard those involved and preserve the event itself. While this outcome is very disappointing, it allows the tie to proceed in Halifax and ensures that our athletes can continue to compete at the highest international level. We are looking forward to returning to Halifax with Team Canada in the coming years to ensure we can fulfill our mission of promoting tennis and creating opportunities for fans and players to engage with the sport in Nova Scotia and across the country.” 
September 9, 2025 at 3:34 PM