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Benjamin Boles

@benjaminboles.bsky.social
1.3K followers 1.6K following 3.7K posts

I cut hair and sometimes make music. Retired music journalist. He/they Toronto on.soundcloud.com/z1Wx4

PostsRepliesMedia
Reposted by Benjamin Boles
Joel S. @joelhs.bsky.social · 4h
Maybe the most culturally connected I feel to Mayor Mamdani is that every single progressive Jew has also been called both a Zionist stooge and a Hamas stooge by people on opposite sides.
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Gerald Butts @gmbutts.bsky.social · 8h
Elon Musk is South African because Saskatchewan wasn’t white enough for his grandfather in 1950.
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Mae Nick Phra Khanong @nickjbrumfield.bsky.social · 3h
I am deeply sympathetic to people organizing tirelessly against genocide for years, and think a degree of grace should be given in light of that context But damn does this show the limitations of a political strategy based around organizing protests against whoever happens to be in power
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Charlie Warzel @cwarzel.bsky.social · 3h
I am trying to think of AI from a standard corporate accountability perspective and I found this line from the safety policy employee who quit to be the most succinct explanation of the concern. it doesn't need you to buy into any sci-fi narratives. it's all about scale/scope:
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making-friendos @making-friendos.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
OH HELL YEAH IT'S THE PANTS BIRD
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foaming pipe snake @guntoucher.bsky.social · 13h
"snowpiercer is trying to say that class societ-" WRONG, snowpiercer is saying that it even in the worst circumstances that it kicks ass to be on a train
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Sharon 🪳🌹 @sharonk.bsky.social · 6h
look at Priyanka Gandhi holding the constitution of India while she's being taken away by the cops
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra holds up a copy of the Constitution while being removed from the protest site in New Delhi.(Express Photo by Anil Sharma)
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Benjamin Boles @benjaminboles.bsky.social · 5h
I started taking screenshots of paragraphs that made me laugh, and oh my god there is so much juice in this story it’s ridiculous
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Max Fawcett @maxfawcett.bsky.social · 10h
Once again, for the politicians, business leaders, and journalists still actively posting on X/Twitter: why? You're using a platform that's owned by someone who's trying to break up your country. The juice isn't worth the squeeze.
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Jess McLaughlin, PhD (they/them) @jfmclaughlin92.bsky.social · 10h
"Cheese, gender, what the fuck's next?" is *poetry*
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mindflakes @mindflakes.bsky.social · 10h
My wretched henchmen have failed me once again. And that's ok - It's what henchmen do! The last thing you want is a competent henchman. That's how you end up with a scheming vizier
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Tyler @electriceden92.bsky.social · 13h
I want to speak a little more about the last bit, since it's the heart of what 'rock' (very broadly defined) IS and did, in the context of American popular music, because I don't believe that a lot of people really get it
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Jordyn Marcellus @jordynmarcellus.ca · 10h
"BC needs far more homes of all kinds, from market housing to non-profit, social and cooperative housing." would love my comrades in the federal NDP to start singing this tune
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Oregon 🕎🎲 @oregonthedm.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
So I've caught up on what Zohran Mamdani proposed to fight Antisemitism and some of y'all I follow I am seriously side eyeing because you practically revealed that anything Jewish must mean Israel or Zionism , which his plan has nothing to do with. His plan is -checks notes--
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Kevin Beaumont @doublepulsar.com · 11h
Well done to the person in charge of Surface for doing a presentation where Surface wasn’t spelled correctly.
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Fair Vote Canada 🗳️🍁 @fairvote.ca · 10h
Poll modeling shows Doug Ford's PCs could win another majority government on just 34% of the vote. First-past-the-post bails out unpopular governments while the rest of us suffer. We need proportional representation so governments always represent a broad majority.
A screenshot of a post by Polling Canada (@CanadianPolling) with the text "PC Majority on these numbers" above a table displaying political party polling projections. The table lists party percentages, projected seats, and seat ranges: Green Party (GRN) at 5%, 2 seats (range 2-2); New Democratic Party (NDP) at 27%, 33 seats (range 27-41); Liberal Party (LIB) at 26%, 20 seats (range 13-29); Progressive Conservative Party (PC) at 34%, 66 seats (range 52-78); and Others (OTH) at 8%, 3 seats (range 2-4).   Below the table is a quoted post from Polling Canada detailing Ontario Provincial Polling results and percentage changes from the 2025 election: PCPO at 34% (-9), ONDP at 27% (+8), OLP at 26% (-4), GPO at 5% (-), and Others at 8%. The polling metadata notes Mainstreet, Sept 29, 2026, a sample size of n=1062, a margin of error of 2.8%, and IVR methodology, ending with a link to check out more details on @338Canada.
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Benjamin Boles @benjaminboles.bsky.social · 10h
Anyway, I have serious doubts about the accuracy of this poll, so none of this really matters. But I am still bewildered why you would connect support for Trump to any of the issues you list.
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Benjamin Boles @benjaminboles.bsky.social · 10h
I don’t think any of the 44% who would vote for Trump want democrats to “shut down ICE, hire back all the DOGE dismissals, refund nat’l parks, Obamacare, the education dept (etc), stop the war on Iran, defund Netanyahu, stop the sanctions against Cuba and de-extradite Maduro”
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Colleen @cbailey6.bsky.social · 10h
What's fun about Toronto is that we don't think of stories like this as *our* sprawl. We fail to legalize sixplexes or Avenues policy drags on for years and we just complain about GTA commuters not contributing and ask the province for new revenue tools like sales tax to cover the road costs.
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Museum of Twitter @museum-of-twitter.bsky.social · 13h
@hudlion

sometimes, I think it would be worse to be an insect and wake up one morning and find you had been transformed into a guy with a job
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Judah Grunstein @judah-grunstein.bsky.social · 11h
"[A]s political realities in Washington and Europe catch up to public opinion in the years to come, the limits of Israel’s militarized approach to its long-term security will become increasingly clear." Gift link.
worldpoliticsreview.com
Israel’s Response to Oct. 7 Has Made It Less Secure
Israel has internalized one lesson from the attacks of Oct. 7: that no one within striking distance must ever be able to do it harm.
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Benjamin Boles @benjaminboles.bsky.social · 10h
Ok, but what does non-voters or lack of enthusiasm for democrats have to do with the 44% who would still vote for Trump? Those don’t seem like disillusioned Democrats to me, and definitely don’t seem like the kinds of people who care about anything you listed. Can you understand why I’m confused?
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Shawn Micallef @shawnmicallef.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
In @thestar.com I write about agitslop seeping into Toronto’s election & politics. AstroTurf campaigns to AI-driven apps, we need a Blade Runner to help us understand what’s real & what’s fake, but it may inspire a renaissance of showing up in public space for protest or just conversation.
thestar.com
Shawn Micallef: AI slop is turning Toronto politics into a sci-fi dystopia, but it’s not too late to change course
The line between real and fake is blurring and it should be a cautionary tale for voters and candidates
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Benjamin Boles @benjaminboles.bsky.social · 11h
How does that relate to those polling numbers? Are you trying to say that Trump’s high number in that poll is due to people not having faith in Democrats’ willingness to fix Trump’s mistakes?
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Wagatwe Wanjuki @wagatwe.bsky.social · 12h
this story is extremely (and unnecessarily) graphic, so please take care of yourselves as I see this making the rounds.
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Benjamin Boles @benjaminboles.bsky.social · 12h
Hey Toronto politics people! Anyone know much about school trustee races? Trying to figure out who’s the good choice in Parkdale this time around, as I believe my usual is now running for councillor
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gamera obscura october edition @ohrobin.bsky.social · 15h
Because my mom is not a piece of shit (don't worry, my father is), I had very little understanding of this whole issue until I read this now legendary deep dive on estranged parents' forums and the kind of delusion they encourage.
issendai.com
Down the Rabbit Hole: The World of Estranged Parents’ Forums – Issendai
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Ben K. @benjaminkabak.com · 15h
Did her kid's therapist tell her kid to cut off mom?
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David_j_roth @davidjroth.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
Now That's What I Call Cops Vol. XVII
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The Globe and Mail @theglobeandmail.com · 06/10/2026
theglobeandmail.com
Ontario emerges as preferred site to build Saab GlobalEye military surveillance plane, sources say
Plane maker prefers factory near Toronto’s Pearson over Dorval, Que., but possible provincial subsidies could ultimately sway decision, sources said
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My IRL friends call me Chris @christyceeck.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
What a mess. “I have spent an entire career either in or around politics. I understood what this demand from the Premier's office meant...," Paul Godfrey said in the statement. The premier's office says the claims are "categorically untrue." #OnPoli
“On the morning of January 22, 2025 my son, Rob Godfrey, President and CEO of Keel Digital Solutions, approached me with a problem,” Paul Godfrey’s sworn declaration said.

The problem was that Patrick Sackville, the premier’s then-chief of staff, had communicated to Rob Godfrey that he would approve Keel Digital’s proposal for a new three-year agreement with the Ministry of Colleges and Universities, but “in the meantime, the Premier needed a favour from Postmedia,” it said.

“The Premier wanted to make his case to voters for calling an early election … (and) to publish a letter to voters in all Ontario Postmedia newspapers before he officially called the election,” continued Paul Godfrey in his declaration.

“It was understood that… if Postmedia did not print the letter to voters that Mr. Sackville would not be motivated to take the steps to ensure the three-year proposal was approved,” he alleged.

Sackville did not respond to a request for comment about the allegations on Tuesday.
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Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
God everything is so DUMB.
United States
Attorney's Office
Southern District of New York

PRESS RELEASE
North Carolina Man Sentenced To 18 Months In Prison For Super Intelligence-Assisted
Music Streaming Fraud
Tuesday, October 6, 2026
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Museum of Twitter @museum-of-twitter.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
@CethanLeahy

Me: oh wow, this shop has everything my heart desires!

Spooky shopkeeper: yes, I will warn you... every item comes with a price.

Me: yes, I know how shops work

kittydesade

Spooky Shopkeeper: The price may be more than you expect to pay.

Me: Yes, I know how US taxes work, too.

del3141

Shopkeeper, increasingly exasperated: I'm trying to tell you that I'm evil and offering these wares with no regard for the harm they will do!

Me, also increasingly exasperated: I know what capitalism is too goddammit
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Berny Belvedere @bernybelvedere.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
It’s all starting to make sense
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Cathy Crowe, C.M. 🍁 @cathycrowe.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
@torontoarchives.cityof.toronto.ca today. In the lobby. This is fantastic.
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John Michael McGrath @jm-mcgrath.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
In not unrelated news: Toronto has prevailed at Divisional Court to thwart a lot severance to build 2 duplexes a few hundred meters away from a subway station, thanks to the city's definition of "neighbourhoods" in the official plan. www.canlii.org/en/on/onscdc...
canlii.org
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Ryan Stauffer @ryanswx.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Haha, this fucking sucks.
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Sanho Tree @sanho.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
“Researchers at Virginia Tech are developing technology they hope could one day save someone, even when no one is there to help. It's a wearable patch designed to detect dangerously high levels of fentanyl in the body and then automatically releases naloxone.”
nbcwashington.com
Fentanyl overdose patch: How Virginia Tech researchers are working to save lives
“In a lot of the cases, overdose happens when people are alone. There’s no one there to help, so that’s the idea behind our patch,” a researcher said.
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Aaron Wherry @aaronwherry.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
History www.thewrit.ca/p/caq-collap...
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Max Fawcett @maxfawcett.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
"Invasion." "Remigration." They're terms you'd more commonly associate with America's toxic debate around immigration policy than Canada's. But they're starting to pop up here. You can thank Danielle Smith and the UCP for that. #cdnpoli #abpoli www.nationalobserver.com/2026/10/06/o...
nationalobserver.com
America’s anti-immigration politics are coming to Canada — and Alberta invited them in
The separation question has consumed most of the attention around the province's October 19th referendum. The immigration-related questions also on the ballot might be just as dangerous and divisive.
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Small Robots @smolrobots.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
The problem is, you can't really say "we condemn this thing" and then only explain in the small print that you are using one particular definition of "this thing" and very specifically not any other definitions, even though a lot of other people use those definitions and will react accordingly.
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The Local Magazine @thelocal.to · 06/10/2026
Last year, Scarborough North became the first suburban ward to legalize the construction of sixplexes. Matt Braga writes about how it’s defining the election. thelocal.to/scarborough-...
thelocal.to
The Battle Over Sixplexes in Scarborough North | The Local
Last year, the ward became the first suburban ward to legalize the construction of sixplexes as-of-right. Now, in a race between incumbent Jamaal Myers and former Liberal MPs Shaun Chen and Han Dong, ...
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A.Ghost Pasquella 👻🎃 @agpasquella.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Aw yeah, Early Voting in the Toronto Municipal Election starts TODAY! Olivia Chow isn't perfect, but she's MUCH, MUCH better than Brad "No Actual Beliefs or Values" Bradford! www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
cbc.ca
Early voting starts across Toronto today. Here's what you need to know | CBC News
Torontonians can cast their votes for the city’s next mayor and their local councillor starting Tuesday morning as advanced voting opens.
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Kath Barbadoro @kathbarbadoro.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
i feel like ween and they might be giants are two paths diverging from "teenager in the 1990s with what would ten years later be recognized as autism spectrum disorder". the ween path is if you start smoking weed every day and the tmbg path is if you're too scared to ever try weed
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Clean Energy Canada @cleanenergycanada.org · 05/10/2026
"Gasoline-only vehicles made up 49% of global new-vehicle sales in the first half of 2026, down from 73% in 2021."
electrek.co
Gas cars fall below 50% of global new car sales for the first time
Gas cars made up 49% of global new car sales in the first half of 2026, down from 73% in 2021. But hybrids are taking as much share as EVs.
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Polling Canada @canadianpolling.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
In case you're wondering where support for a separatist referendum it at
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Christopher Mathias @letsgomathias.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
The Atlantic gave Hanania a sympathetic profile like 2 months ago
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Jesse Hawken @jessehawken.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
You had to be there when all the televangelists all got busted and tried to steal each other’s thrones in the mid 1980s. Extremely satisfying stuff
Jim Bakker being arrested in 1987
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Alex Ip 葉清霖 @alexip718.com · 06/10/2026
BREAKING: For the first time in 10 months, the U.S. admitted a refugee who is not a white South African. In September, the U.S. admitted 3,386 white South Africans and two Afghans (in D.C.) In FY 2026, the U.S. has admitted a total of 16,287 white South Africans, five Afghans, and nobody else.
rpc.state.gov
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aaron boothby @ellipticalnight.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
still early but can already say for sure that the governing party in quebec will have very few seats in the montreal metro area and this has been the case for a while half the population of the province, cultural and economic engine, hoping for a minority government to maybe at least have a say
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