No content this past week, so the blogroll is on the house. But, if you haven’t already, I’d be immensely grateful if you filled out this reader survey I drafted last week.
Blogroll
Story of the Week
With a Ceasefire Struck, Gazans Ask ‘Who Will Be in Charge,’ Ethan Bronner, Fadwa Hodali, Krishna Karra and Tom Fevrier, Bloomberg (Oct. 9)
Now that Israel’s cabinet has formally approved the deal, its military is due to pull back to new lines and within the following 72 hours, Hamas should hand over the 48 remaining Israeli hostages, 20 of whom are alive. In exchange, Israel will free 1,700 Palestinians detained in Gaza since the fighting began, as well as 250 Palestinian prisoners serving life sentences. And, it will allow vast amounts of humanitarian aid waiting at the border to be delivered, months after its blockade helped spark a famine in parts of the territory, according to a UN-backed body.
“The question now becomes about a pause in hostilities, or a cessation of hostilities” said Mouin Rabbani, non-resident senior fellow at the Middle East Council on Global Affairs. “If it’s a cessation, is it then going to be used to address the underlying political issues, or are we just going back to the situation we had on Oct. 6, 2023 — in other words, all the ingredients for a crisis, for a new explosion will be there.”
The war, which began after Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, taking some 250 hostages and killing around 1,200 others, has killed at least 67,000 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. Israel says it has been so destructive in Gaza in order to root out the Islamist group, and destroy its underground tunnels and bases. In the so-called humanitarian zone, people, many of whom have been displaced multiple times, have been largely cut off from food and fresh water, as well as sanitation, electricity and medical care, aid agencies say.
Satellite analysis showing damaged buildings and refugee tents reveals the hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians who have erected shelters along Gaza’s coastline, as they’ve been forced out of largely destroyed urban areas.
Alberta
‘Shameless’: How the Alberta Next Panel Blamed Immigrants, Charles Rusnell, The Tyee (Oct. 7)
Crawling bugs and half-baked enforcement: Alberta’s restaurant inspections a recipe for foodborne illness, Steve Lillebuen, Matthew Black, Chris Allen and David Slater, Edmonton Journal (Oct. 8)
Alberta private-school funding under fresh scrutiny amid historic teachers’ strike, Matthew Scace, Globe and Mail (Oct. 8)
Inside the Right-Wing Attack on Alberta’s Public Education, Ximena Gonzalez, The Tyee (Oct. 13)
‘We’ll be moving’: Alberta transgender children, families brace for legal changes, Lisa Johnson, Canadian Press (Oct. 13)
What’s with the Alberta post-secondary funding panel’s detour into anti-DEI crusading? David Climenhaga, Alberta Politics (Oct. 13)
Canada
How Mark Carney is complicating Canada’s climate progress, Carl Meyer, The Narwhal (Oct. 7)
Mark Carney Is a Very Demanding Boss, Stephen Maher, Macleans (Oct. 7)
Canadian military will continue with U.S.-led counter-drug ops but won’t support attacks on alleged smuggling boats, David Pugliese, Ottawa Citizen (Oct. 8)
The AI data centre boom is here. What will it mean for land, water and power in Canada? Savannah Ridley, The Narwhal (Oct. 8)
B.C. Conservatives search MLAs’ phones after media leak, while leader John Rustad says he is not paranoid, Alec Lazenby, Vancouver Sun (Oct. 9)
New hate crime law is a cover for suppressing Palestine protests, Desmond Cole, The Breach (Oct. 9)
How The Israel Lobby Shaped Canada’s Definition Of Antisemitism, Alex Cosh and Emma Paling, The Maple (Oct. 9)
Major Projects Office CEO hopes to make decision on pipeline to B.C. coast 4-5 months after submission, Peter Zimonjic, CBC News (Oct. 9)
Head of Carney’s Major Projects Office thinks Trans Mountain is good for climate, John Woodside, Canada’s National Observer (Oct. 10)
‘It depends’: Carney shifts stance on maintaining emissions cap, Nick Murray, Canadian Press (Oct. 10)
U.S.
Trump’s war on the left: Inside the plan to investigate liberal groups, Nandita Bose, Jana Winter, Jeff Mason, Tim Reid and Ted Hesson, Reuters (Oct. 9)
What Zohran Mamdani Knows About Power, Eric Lach, New Yorker (Oct. 9)
WGA Urges CBS News Staffers to Not Respond to Bari Weiss Info-Seeking Memo Until Company Provides Details on Purpose of Her Email, Todd Spangler, Variety (Oct. 10)
Inside billionaire Peter Thiel’s private lectures: Warnings of ‘the Antichrist’ and U.S. destruction, Nitasha Tiku, Elizabeth Dwoskin and Gerrit De Vynck, Washington Post (Oct. 10)
US moves to cancel one of the world’s largest solar farms, Martha Muir and Jamie Smyth, Financial Times (Oct. 10)
Qatar to build fighter jet facility at US base in Idaho, Steff Chavez, Financial Times (Oct. 11)
What Is Going on Inside Marjorie Taylor Greene’s Brain?! Will Sommer, The Bulwark (Oct. 13)
Mission Impossible: The sad state of the American armed forces, Seth Harp, Harper’s (October 2025 issue)
World
Renewable energy outpaces coal for electricity generation in historic first, report says, Alana Wise, NPR (Oct. 9)
Researchers find methane leaking out of cracks in Antarctic seabed, Julia Jacobo, ABC News (Oct. 11)
Coral reefs become first environmental system on Earth to pass climate “tipping point,” report says, Emily Mae Czachor, CBS News (Oct. 12)
Two men arrested after paedophile Lostprophets singer Ian Watkins died in prison attack, Sky News (Oct. 12)
Pekka-philia: disgraced porn profiteer turned pro-Ukraine ‘disinfo expert’ could face legal action, Kit Klarenberg, The Grayzone (Oct. 13)
Middle East
David Frum, Douglas Murray Secretly Drafted Speeches for Israeli Ambassador, Ryan Grim and Murtaza Hussain, Drop Site (Oct. 7)
How a Scottish maritime museum ended up in Israel’s 3D propaganda videos, Oren Ziv, +972 (Oct. 8)
US is sending about 200 troops to Israel to help support and monitor the Gaza ceasefire deal, Konstantin Toropin and Michelle L. Price, Associated Press (Oct. 9)
Arab states expanded cooperation with Israeli military during Gaza war, files show, David Kenner, Washington Post (Oct. 11)
Boycotting Israel has gone mainstream: ‘We’ve never seen such traction before’, David Smith, The Guardian (Oct. 11)
Hamas reasserts control and settles scores in Gaza Strip, Mehul Srivastava, Financial Times (Oct. 11)
Israeli Soldiers Torched Food, Homes, and a Critical Sewage Treatment Plant in the Wake of Ceasefire Announcement, Younis Tirawi and Yaniv Cogan, Drop Site (Oct. 12)
Trump plan to invite Netanyahu to Gaza summit aborted after Erdoğan warning, Patrick Wintour, The Guardian (Oct. 13)
Tech
How Silicon Valley Lost Its Way, Cole Nowicki, The Tyee (Oct. 10)
The tech oligarchy poses a unique threat to democracy, Andrew Coyne, Globe and Mail (Oct. 10)
Culture
Drake’s defamation lawsuit against Universal Music Group dismissed, Marina Dunbar, The Guardian (Oct. 9)