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Elinor Benjamin

@elinorb.bsky.social
52 followers 36 following 166 posts

Retired Librarian, avid reader, oral storyteller, "miserable" childless cat lady, happily married, amateur curmudgeon, living in Nova Scotia, Canada

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Elinor Benjamin @elinorb.bsky.social · 2h
Shameless self-promotion. I'm telling a true story on this monthly podcast made by three dedicated storytellers in Ottawa.
creators.spotify.com
Ghosts have Warm Hands by Stories from Here There and Everywhere
A true WW1 story about two brothers who always kept in touch. While listening to their story, our teller has a shocking realization.
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Elinor Benjamin @elinorb.bsky.social · 3h
This is what a modern prophet looks like.
theelders.org
The climate crisis will not wait for the world’s geopolitics to improve
In our latest newsletter, Gro Harlem Brundtland looks ahead to COP31 in Turkey and calls for world leaders to act courageously to tackle climate change.
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Elinor Benjamin @elinorb.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Ah Tim - the plastic words abound, and abound, and rebound and rebound. Blessed are the deep researchers of bullshit. I should buy you a coffee at least. I 'minds the time when we still had a somewhat respectable Chronicle who produced a Baloney Meter. Dem days is gone............
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Elinor Benjamin @elinorb.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Meta and X silenced dozens of LGBT+ groups the moment Türkiye's government asked – part of a crackdown where 110+ people now face legal action. Sign demanding they restore the accounts. a.allout.org/s/P8DJd/
a.allout.org
Meta and X: Stop blocking Turkish LGBT+ groups
Türkiye ordered Meta and X to block dozens of LGBT+ groups,Meta and X blocked dozens of Turkish LGBT+ groups the moment Türkiye asked – part of a crackdown where 110+ people now face legal action. Sign demanding they restore the accounts:
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Elinor Benjamin @elinorb.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Not to be missed 👍
halifaxexaminer.ca
Halifax theatre hosting world premiere of Walter Borden's latest solo show 'METAMORPHOSES' - Halifax Examiner
The esteemed African Nova Scotian actor received the Living Legend Award at the International Black Theatre Festival in July.
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Elinor Benjamin @elinorb.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Inspiring story from NPR
npr.org
Photos: This may be the most inspirational night school on Earth
Many thousands of boys and men in Lesotho take up the vital profession of herding but have to give up their education. A small network of schools on a shoestring budget is teaching them the ABCs.
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Elinor Benjamin @elinorb.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
It's been published and it is becoming more and more important by the day.
policyalternatives.ca
Alternative federal budget 2026-27: Bridge to independence | CCPA
A roadmap to a Canada made truly strong by its commitment to solidarity and dignity for all
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Elinor Benjamin @elinorb.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Nothing new under the sun. In 1935 a similar demagogue made a similar proposal. It was untenable then, and it still is. Take off your Emerald Oz goggles if you believe it.
cbc.ca
Social Credit Party
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Elinor Benjamin @elinorb.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
I find it appalling that this intelligent, highly educated, deservedly awarded man has been persecuted by someone who has none of those qualities. It is America's loss.
npr.org
Smithsonian chief Lonnie G. Bunch III resigns
Bunch has spent the last few months defending the Smithsonian against attacks from President Trump. In a statement, Bunch says he leaves with "mixed emotions."
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Elinor Benjamin @elinorb.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
How low can they go?
oklahomavoice.com
Oklahoma prison inmates operated political, insurance calls centers behind bars • Oklahoma Voice
Contracts obtained via an open records request confirm that a company called HBW Leads and the Oklahoma Department of Corrections have established several call centers since January.
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Elinor Benjamin @elinorb.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
Onward into the murk. I'm glad I have no children.
policyalternatives.ca
Fuel for the fires: Western Canada as an “energy superpower” | CCPA
The federal government is walking back climate action and fast-tracking fossil fuels in the West. It’s a strategy that won’t age well.
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Elinor Benjamin @elinorb.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
It would certainly seem that God helps those who help themselves to the trough - especially when the trough is more than metaphorically filled by His Self-Appointed Deputy on earth.
theguardian.com
Pete Hegseth’s Pentagon picks raise questions over Trump family business ties
Two advisers have links to a venture fund co-investing in US defense companies that benefit from federal spending
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Elinor Benjamin @elinorb.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
Ranting again. Good work from the Canadian Center for Policy Alternatives. Thank you.
selimatheshredder.blogspot.com
Is it time to renationalize the CN rail network in Canada?
Elinor Benjamin
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Elinor Benjamin @elinorb.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
Ta-Nehisi Coates asks the big questions about the American Empire throughout its 250 years. An essential read for grasping the extent of the global mess and the hypocrisy of American "democracy." I've read a lot on this topic. This summary is brilliant. Let us remove our heads from the sand.
vanityfair.com
Did Kamala Harris's Silence on Gaza Cost Her the White House?
Ta-Nehisi Coates reckons with that question, and what it means for the 2028 election.
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Elinor Benjamin @elinorb.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
One of the scariest bits in this report is: In 2025, 92% of all book challenges were initiated by pressure groups, government officials and decision makers, up from 72% in 2024. Less than 3% of challenges originated from individual parents. Something Wicked This Way Comes, something Orwellian.
ala.org
Censorship by the Numbers: Banned Books Data
The American Library Association's Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) has released new data documenting book challenges throughout the United States, finding that challenges were nearly double that...
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Elinor Benjamin @elinorb.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
I read this article with fear and trembling last week and now CBC tells is there is already a case of "alpha gal" in Nova Scotia. Given the state of science funding south of the border and in our own province, I am not going down to the woods today, not even in disguise.
newyorker.com
The Tick That Hunts Down Its Hosts—Including Us
Lone-star ticks don’t just pursue and bite people. The affliction they’re spreading, an allergy to red meat known as alpha-gal syndrome, attacks a way of life.
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Elinor Benjamin @elinorb.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
Thank you Premiers Ford and Smith, not to ignore the malefactors elsewhere on the continent
toronto.citynews.ca
Toronto's air quality ranked worst in the world, orange warning now in effect
On top of continuing yellow heat warning, Environment Canada issued an orange air quality warning for Toronto as of Wednesday, July 15.
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Elinor Benjamin @elinorb.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
If I were still on "The Rock" I might consider going to St. Pierre for this, as I have enjoyed several visits to this unique island. I once sent a postcard from St. Pierre to a friend in Alsace-Lorraine. She was furious because I didn't come to visit her while I was "In France."
cbc.ca
People in this Newfoundland town are cheering for France in the World Cup – because they’re neighbours | CBC News
Some people in the small Newfoundland and Labrador town of Fortune are cheering for France in the World Cup semi-finals Tuesday — because part of France is right next door. The French islands of St. P...
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Reposted by Elinor Benjamin
Joan Baxter @joanbaxter.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
Vancouver roadside commentators put it succinctly years ago.
A roadside newspaper box offering copies of The Epoch Times paper. Someone had penned in red ink below the name “the Epoch times” on the box the words “is shit”
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Elinor Benjamin @elinorb.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
Here is an interesting perspective on what we are up against. Maybe it sounds a bit over the top, and maybe it doesn't.
cbc.ca
© CBC/Radio-Canada 2026. All rights reserved.
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Elinor Benjamin @elinorb.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
Thanks Robert Reich, who has asked so many good questions for years.
robertreich.substack.com
Who's Gonna Buy All the AI Stuff?
As we lose jobs and the middle class contracts, where will consumer demand come from?
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Elinor Benjamin @elinorb.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
I've been intrigued by all this ever since I met Selma Barkham many years ago.
cbc.ca
Step aboard the only replica of a 16th century Spanish galleon, thanks to an 'extraordinary gift' from Canada | CBC News
The San Juan is almost ready to recreate a centuries-old journey to Canada.
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Elinor Benjamin @elinorb.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
Good grief - where is this all heading?
cbc.ca
Carney backs latest U.S. strikes on Iran as Trump slams NATO allies | CBC News
Prime Minister Mark Carney endorsed the latest U.S. strikes on Iran as a justified response to ceasefire violations, even as President Donald Trump declared the truce finished and accused NATO allies ...
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Elinor Benjamin @elinorb.bsky.social · 07/07/2026
Marina Hyde's wonderful op ed.
theguardian.com
So it’s Trump 1, Belgium 4 – and the world rejoices. Nothing like failed chicanery to bring us together, is there? | Marina Hyde
Joy is unbounded and when it dies down perhaps the guilty will be held to account for cheating and facilitation: perhaps they won’t. Still, enjoy the moment, says Guardian columnist Marina Hyde
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Elinor Benjamin @elinorb.bsky.social · 27/06/2026
Who benefited from the GP Yacht race in Halifax. An open letter to our leaders.
selimatheshredder.blogspot.com
Quid bono? GP Yacht race in Halifax
Elinor Benjamin
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Elinor Benjamin @elinorb.bsky.social · 27/06/2026
Something to ponder as Canada tightens up immigration and refugee regulations.
open.substack.com
Aftab Ahmed: What the World Cup reminds Canada about itself
A team of mostly immigrants, led by a refugee, is fittingly making history.
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Elinor Benjamin @elinorb.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
There is no end to lengths to which they will go.
politico.com
‘Using the devil's own tools against them': Abortion opponents turn to environmental laws
Several states are trying to curtail abortion medication by claiming mifepristone could contaminate drinking water.
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Elinor Benjamin @elinorb.bsky.social · 20/06/2026
Yet another petty penny-wise move by the Ford Government. Now London, ON has a rising garbage and litter problem
cbc.ca
Ontario to end funding to multiple drug consumption sites, including 2 in Toronto, forcing them to close | CBC News
The Ontario government says it will end funding to at least three provincially funded drug consumption sites in the province, including two in Toronto, in a move that is drawing concern from advocates...
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Elinor Benjamin @elinorb.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
Maybe we don't want to pay for the fancy ads, he's been running during the World Cup?? They must have cost millions.
nationalobserver.com
Ford demands federal cash for Ring of Fire
The premier is criticizing the federal government for not yet contributing to his government's controversial fast-tracked development of Ontario's Ring of Fire region.
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Elinor Benjamin @elinorb.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
Shades of the Good Old Harper days. 🙄 I 'minds them well. I was a librarian. Perhaps they are even a little redolent of what's go on south of the border.
heritageadvocacy.ca
Summary of cuts/Sommaire des coupes
Tug o’ War at a Canadian Legion Picnic, Edmonton, Alberta. Credit: Provincial Archives of Alberta. Tir à la corde lors d’un pique-nique organisé par la Légion canadienne, à Edmonton, en…
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Elinor Benjamin @elinorb.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
They are at it again - at home and abroad. Ubiquitous unethical mining companies.
halifaxexaminer.ca
‘Canada, come get your people’: Namibian communities reported abuses to the human rights watchdog Canada built. Two years later, the complaint is still unanswered and the office is gone. - Halifax Exa...
In their rush to remove any remedy for victims of abuses by Canadian mining companies overseas, the corrupt Liberal Party left at least 36 cases, including ours about ReconAfrica in Namibia, in perman...
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Elinor Benjamin @elinorb.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
An interesting article about the importance of this from The Walrus
open.substack.com
Can Alberta Still Separate? Experts Clash over the Landmark Court Decision
A cross-country panel debates one of the most consequential rulings in years
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Elinor Benjamin @elinorb.bsky.social · 20/05/2026
I sent a letter to Premier Houston asking why he keeps betting on the LNG horse? Max Fawcett at National Observer explaining why.
nationalobserver.com
We don’t need to fight about climate change any more
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Reposted by Elinor Benjamin
Marci Shore @marcishore.bsky.social · 14/05/2026
That Palestinians are victims of sexual violence by Israeli guards does not mean that Israelis were not victims of sexual violence by Palestinian terrorists. No law of physics prevents the existence of multiple bad actors. And no nation has genetic immunity to human cruelty.
nytimes.com
Israeli Report Examines Sexual Violence During and After Hamas-Led Attack
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Elinor Benjamin @elinorb.bsky.social · 14/05/2026
This is a great truth about our universe and physics.
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Elinor Benjamin @elinorb.bsky.social · 14/05/2026
The Elders!!!
theelders.org
When leaders flout the international rule of law, the poor pay the highest price
The Elders condemn escalating attacks on the rule of law and call on leaders to restore it urgently
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Elinor Benjamin @elinorb.bsky.social · 08/05/2026
You can't make this stuff up. Our Public Pension Plan - trying to do the right thing by diversifying from fossil fuels. There is no end to the viciousness of this man.
nationalobserver.com
Trump admin kills Canadian-owned wind project — and demands investment in fossil fuels instead
The administration is demanding an equivalent investment in US fossil fuel development if the company wants to recoup $120 million USD in offshore wind leases.
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Elinor Benjamin @elinorb.bsky.social · 08/05/2026
On which planet is this "independent" energy agency independent????
halifaxexaminer.ca
'Independent' energy agency wants status in court review of gas plants proposed for Pictou County - Halifax Examiner
A week ago, Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston told the Pictou Advocate there was no need for a third-party analysis of two fossil gas- and diesel-burning plants proposed for Pictou County because the pr...
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Elinor Benjamin @elinorb.bsky.social · 30/04/2026
Precarity indeed.
thetyee.ca
This Is the Dawning of the Age of Precarious | The Tyee
Was the rules-based order not just a fiction, but a bluff?
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Elinor Benjamin @elinorb.bsky.social · 30/04/2026
thetyee.ca/Analysis/202...
thetyee.ca
This Is the Dawning of the Age of Precarious | The Tyee
Was the rules-based order not just a fiction, but a bluff?
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Elinor Benjamin @elinorb.bsky.social · 15/04/2026
I hope this book will document a dreadful era in US history and the extent to which ignorance abounds in the crew that were assigned the task. One wonders what they teach in school today.
thehandbasket.co
Whistleblower says Trump officials thought USAID did 'just abortions,' asked for 'Barney-style' slides before gutting agency, per new book
Read an exclusive excerpt from Nicholas Enrich's "Into the Wood Chipper"
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Elinor Benjamin @elinorb.bsky.social · 13/04/2026
Corrections Canada planning an abhorrent cut. You can sign a copy of this letter and submit it directly to the Minister of Public Safety. It breaks Rule 64 of the United Nations Nelson Mandela Rules (UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners)
docs.google.com
Open Letter - CSC Elimination of Librarians & CEGEP Education
Book Clubs for Inmates 400-192 Spadina Avenue Toronto, Ontario M5T 2C2 OPEN LETTER The Honourable Gary Anandasangaree, Minister of Public Safety House of Commons Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0A6 By email: gary...
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Elinor Benjamin @elinorb.bsky.social · 13/04/2026
This Walrus essay is of concern in the "Manifest Destiny" era. Major contracts are being awarded for many projects, some affecting our security. Tracking is labyrinthine. I have written to the usual suspects, Prime Minister, MP and Premier. Where are our elbows?
thewalrus.ca
Ottawa Hands Billions to Firms Calling Themselves Canadian. Most Aren’t | The Walrus
Loose definitions make it easy for foreign-owned companies to qualify as domestic
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Elinor Benjamin @elinorb.bsky.social · 05/04/2026
Well done, Pope Leo.
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Elinor Benjamin @elinorb.bsky.social · 05/04/2026
Coming up soon. Storytellers Circle of Halifax (Nova Scotia) Circle's fundraiser event for Grandmothers to Grandmothers We mourn the loss and celebrate the work of a great Canadian, Stephen Lewis, as we help raise funds for his Foundation, as we have been doing for some years.
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Elinor Benjamin @elinorb.bsky.social · 01/04/2026
Premier Smith and her US loving cronies must be stopped.
policyalternatives.ca
Do trade deals put public health care up for sale? - CCPA
Alberta’s promised two-tier transition comes with unacknowledged threats from trade and investment agreements.
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Elinor Benjamin @elinorb.bsky.social · 31/03/2026
Quelle surprise, eh? Saw this coming from the get go. A Trumper Bunker?
ctvnews.ca
White House ballroom project to include ‘massive’ military complex
The U.S. military is upgrading White House facilities for the new East Wing, the administration said on Monday, after U.S. President Donald Trump said the ballroom would be built atop a “massive” fort...
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Elinor Benjamin @elinorb.bsky.social · 27/03/2026
I have always been suspicious of that guarantee of "The Pursuit of Happiness" in the US constitution. There are too many strokes for too many different folks to trust that it is for the public good. Gurdeep Pandher knows about true happiness. Thank you, Gurdeep and keep on Dancing!!!
gurdeeppandher.substack.com
Joy is the absence of inner noise when approval stops feeding you and fear stops driving you
True happiness cannot be captured through pursuit.
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Elinor Benjamin @elinorb.bsky.social · 23/03/2026
Your book is brilliant. There is a mural on a building in downtown Dartmouth, NS, where I live, the quote often made by Joseph Howe, a 19th century journalist and MP. "What is for the public good." Why do I winge when when pols talk about "stakeholders" when mean "shareholders." Thank you.
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Elinor Benjamin @elinorb.bsky.social · 19/03/2026
Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. Achtung, alles!!!
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