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Elizabeth Whitten

@elwhitten.bsky.social
670 followers 112 following 123 posts

Reporter and author of Off Panel: A History of NL Comix plus I'm writing a book about WWI gas masks. Loves dogs. (she/her)

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Reposted by Elizabeth Whitten
Bodleian Libraries @bodleian.ox.ac.uk · 01/10/2026
October is the time to make wine - and work on your scorpion drawings. 📖 A man treads grapes. Scorpio. Calendar from a Psalter. 13th century digital.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/objects/5…
Medieval manuscript page showing two illustrations. A man treading grapes in brass-bound tub; drinking from bowl; an assistant tips grapes into tub. Vine on right. A scorpion representing Scorpio is below. The page has handwritten Latin text in red and black ink.
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Grenfell Library @librarygrenfell.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Libraries are the original data centres anyway — why ask AI when you can ask a librarian (and get a real answer)? #WaterForLibrarians Find reliable resources on your first try at the library. #GrenfellCampus #library #MUNLibraries #AILiteracy
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Elle Cordova @ellecordova.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
I am the very model of a modern day typographer A font take on the tune “Modern Major General” by Gilbert & Sullivan #typography #fonts #graphicdesign
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Elle Cordova @ellecordova.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Rough Draft vs Final Draft
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Cuyler Keating SPX W78B @cuylerkeating.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
More screenprinting! This is one of those prints where it kind of looks like nothing until the final layer, which is always fun. It's like putting a puzzle together.
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Simon Jones @simonjones.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
'A group of gassed horses. 302nd Mobile Hospital, Sergy, France.' #OTD 27 August 1918. Photo: Pvt. R Antrim. Source: catalog.archives.gov/id/55205255
Black and white photo soldier with horses.
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Karen K. Ho @karenho.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
Reports like this really illustrate the extent the US representatives did not really negotiate with Canada; it was more about taking away a lot of Canada's sovereignty: www.politico.com/news/2026/08...
politico.com
Inside the 72 hours that cratered the US-Canada trade deal
Trump announced a “DEAL” on Tuesday night. Then things went south. Now the $1 trillion trade relationship is unraveling.
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Reposted by Elizabeth Whitten
Sarah Smellie @sarahsmellie.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
"The new Churchill River power agreement does not give Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro the ability to directly sell more power to customers in the northeast United States or Ontario, running electricity over Hydro-Québec lines." By @ashleyfitznl.bsky.social www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
cbc.ca
N.L. Hydro not 'wheeling' more power through Quebec under new Churchill MOU | CBC News
One of the details drawing attention in the new Churchill River power MOU is that it does not give Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro the ability to directly sell more power to customers in the northeast...
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Elizabeth Whitten @elwhitten.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
Want to know more about NL comics on #ReadLocalComicsDayNL - then pick up my book Off Panel: A History of NL Comix (Engen Books)
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Elizabeth Whitten @elwhitten.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
This #ReadLocalComicsDayNL I'm revisiting lot of excellent books made right here, like Heavy Sweater Comics' Kevin Woolridge, Jennifer Barrett, Andrew Hawthorn and @moosekleenex.bsky.social
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Cheryl in Nova Scotia 🇨🇦🍁🍁 @minibubbly.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
A small, used bookstore in Lunenburg #NovaScotia is getting more attention for one unique reason. It opens in the evening and doesn't close until customers stop coming, even if that means keeping the lights on into the early morning. www.cbc.ca/player/play/...
cbc.ca
Why this Lunenburg bookstore stays open late into the night
A small, used bookstore in Lunenburg, N.S., is getting more attention for one unique reason. It opens in the evening and doesn't close until customers stop coming, even if that means keeping the light...
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Elizabeth Whitten @elwhitten.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
Found this pic on my phone, taken a few months ago, when Timbit the baby goat dropped by the St. John's studio We look like we're part of a very serious conversation
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Bits @bitshammer.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
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Dave Levitan @davelevitan.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
Delightful interview from @girinathan.bsky.social [🎁] defector.com/abandoned-fi...
I would 100 percent taste the forbidden fish sauce. I would do it for science. My wife would kill me if I'm not already dead. I will. If there was a way, if I would be able to fly out there, I would do it, and write a whole report about it because I think that would be a pinnacle achievement for me.
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Reposted by Elizabeth Whitten
Karen K. Ho @karenho.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
This is an absolutely incredible interview with a food scientist about 900,000 liters of smelly, rotting fish sauce that made me laugh several times.
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Simon Jones @simonjones.bsky.social · 12/07/2026
At Ypres #OTD 12 July 1917 the Germans fired the first shells in warfare containing sulphur mustard, commonly known as mustard gas. Like many chemical warfare agents used in #WW1, it did not behave as predicted. Mustard killed fewer, but caused far more horrific injuries than expected. An old blog:
simonjoneshistorian.com
Yellow Cross: the advent of Mustard Gas in 1917
In July 1917, on the eve of the Third Battle of Ypres, the Germans introduced two new chemical weapons to the battlefield. One was a failure, the other a spectacular success. The story of their use…
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Tom Gauld @tomgauld.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
I will be signing at The ARC festival this Sunday from 1-2pm at the @goshcomics.bsky.social table. @arcfestivallondon.bsky.social is an exciting, new, free comics festival in London on the 11th and 12th of July. Come along! www.arc-london.uk
We see a stick figure running through a ravaged desert pursued by a mechanical claw. The text begins "2050ad: Society has collapsed and the book festivals have gone rogue. Their terrifying motorized venues patrol the wastelands, hunting for audience members" We can now see that the claw is on the front of an enormous, mad-max-style battle-rig, adorned with spikes, skulls and armour. The text continues "Programmer-Warlords brutally preside over a relentless series of interviews, discussions and poetry readings.” In the trailer of the truck, a poetry reading is taking place, in a tower above it, the huge, muscular, horned programmer raises his fists and yells orders to his minions. The monstrous vehicle thunders on leaving one lone stick figure behind The text concludes "Occasionally, dazed survivors are found wandering with a signed hardback book in a cotton tote bag."
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Paris Marx @parismarx.com · 03/06/2026
Canadian provinces are jumping on the bandwagon of youth social media bans. I spoke to CBC NL about why NL should consider whether that’s the best policy and why social media regs should be left to the feds. I still think more comprehensive rules on platform design are better than an age limit.
cbc.ca
N.L. is eyeing a social media ban for youths and experts have questions | CBC News
For Grade 12 student Kalista Barrett, life would be different without access to social media platforms like Snapchat and Instagram. Limiting youth’s access to those apps is exactly what the Government...
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Elizabeth Whitten @elwhitten.bsky.social · 10/05/2026
The true story of Macpherson's involvement with the gas mask project will one day be a book, I swear! because the full story is so fascinating
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Matthew Hodson @matthewhodson.bsky.social · 06/05/2026
On this day in 1933, Nazis raided the Magnus Hirschfeld library in Berlin. The world’s greatest collection of LGBTQ books and scientific papers were looted and later burned, erasing decades of research into sexuality and gender identity. ‘Where they burn books, in the end they will burn humans too’.
Photo showing the burning of the books looted from the Magnus Hirschfeld library.
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Elizabeth Whitten @elwhitten.bsky.social · 02/05/2026
Dropped by MUN's QEII library yesterday to check out the Danger Tree replica - ahead of its journey to Beaumont-Hamel Newfoundland Memorial in France
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Canadian History Ehx @cdnhistoryehx.bsky.social · 15/04/2026
Thomas Ricketts was a Newfoundland teenager who lied about his age to fight in the First World War. For two years he served in the trenches, and before the age of 18 he had earned the Victoria Cross for his bravery in battle. This is his story. 🧵 1/10
Black-and-white portrait of Thomas Ricketts wearing a military uniform and cap, facing the camera. Medals are pinned to his chest, including a cross-shaped decoration, and chevrons are visible on his sleeve. The background is plain, with soft lighting highlighting his face and uniform.
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Saw this on a map @stuartackland.bsky.social · 14/04/2026
Late in the evening OTD 1912 RMS Titanic hits one of the icebergs shown on this June 1912 chart of the North Atlantic. The Bodleian holds the Marconi archive and before the ship sank telegrams were sent both from the ship and to others in the area like this one, calling for help. @bodleian.ox.ac.uk
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Paris Marx @parismarx.com · 09/04/2026
Altman made this declaration at an infrastructure summit hosted by BlackRock. It’s the latest in a long line of outrageous statements he’s made to try to justify the rollout of generative AI and the massive cost to power it. disconnect.blog/make-em-dumb...
“We see a future where intelligence is a utility, like electricity or water, and people buy it from us on a meter,” said Altman, laying out an intensely dystopian future as just another business development. “One of the most important things in the future is that we make intelligence, to borrow an old phrase from the energy industry that didn’t quite work, ‘Too cheap to meter.’”

When I first heard what Altman had said, I was shocked and bewildered. How does someone even conceive of metering (and monetizing) intelligence if they’re not a tech billionaire with an intense antipathy toward humanity? It was clearly not something that would ever be achieved in practice. But it did hint at a much deeper issue with these AI tools, what they’re doing to our cognitive capacities, and the broader ideology underpinning the industry’s effort to force AI into every facet of our lives.
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Jerad Walker @jeradwalker.bsky.social · 09/04/2026
They did the tweet!
Tweet:

Every lifelong Catholic I've ever met is like "I think we're supposed to give this food to poor people" and every adult convert is like "the Archon of Constantinople's epistle on the Pentacostine rites of the eucharist clearly states women shouldn't have driver's licenses."
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Canadian History Ehx @cdnhistoryehx.bsky.social · 05/04/2026
On this day in 1932, 3,500 St. John's residents stormed the Colonial Building to protest government corruption. Prime Minister Richard Squires fled the building and soon resigned. Damages were estimated to be $10,000. The riot was recreated in a recent episode of Son of a Critch.
A large crowd gathered in front of the Colonial Building during the Colonial Building Riot, with hundreds of people packed tightly together facing the entrance. The building features a classical façade with tall columns and a triangular pediment above the doorway. Individuals are visible standing on the steps and near the entrance, while the crowd fills the foreground. The image is in black and white and appears slightly hazy, capturing the scale and density of the gathering.
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Elizabeth Whitten @elwhitten.bsky.social · 02/04/2026
Snuggling a lil' baby goat named Timbit at work this morning 🐐
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Justin McElroy 🇨🇦 @jmcelroy.bsky.social · 30/03/2026
next air canada ceo
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Diana Moskovitz @dianamoskovitz.bsky.social · 26/03/2026
Did a quick writeup of the new Olympic policy, which essentially bans trans women from Olympic competition. It also bans any women who test positive for the SRY gene, which has happened in the past. That's why the practice was abandoned more than two decades ago. Now, it's back. Gift link:
defector.com
IOC Reinstates Chromosome Testing, Banning Trans Women From Competition | Defector
The International Olympic Committee announced today that any athletes who do not pass a specific chromosome test will be banned from competition. This means that trans women will no longer be able to ...
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Paris Marx @parismarx.com · 26/03/2026
Funny and sad to see this story in my province when I was literally in Norway a couple weeks ago and they were telling me what a shit show the Epic health records system had been over there. Can we please stop buying bad tech instead of just making collective investments to build what we need?
cbc.ca
Physicians want N.L. to hit pause on a mandatory, province-wide electronic health information system | CBC News
Doctors in Newfoundland and Labrador says quick implementation of a province-wide electronic health information system threatens to harm patients and push some physicians to retire or leave the provin...
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Elizabeth Whitten @elwhitten.bsky.social · 26/03/2026
Two years ago today, this little guy came into our lives Happy Gotcha Day Toby ♥️
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Hugo Gordon @hugogordon.bsky.social · 22/03/2026
One of my favourite facts is that the spiky tail of a stegosaurus didn't used to have a specific name, until Gary Larson published this Far Side cartoon, at which point "thagomizer" was adopted by paleontologists.
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Elizabeth Whitten @elwhitten.bsky.social · 22/03/2026
You know what, I was just thinking it's been like a week since I've had to shovel out my home - so we were due this I guess
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Elizabeth Whitten @elwhitten.bsky.social · 19/03/2026
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Elizabeth Whitten @elwhitten.bsky.social · 18/03/2026
#OTD 147 years ago Dr. Cluny Macpherson of St. John's was born. He went on to become a prominent local doctor, social advocate and inventor of an early WWI gas mask known as the hypo helmet. And I have a whole manuscript written about his adventures! #amwriting www.cbc.ca/player/play/...
cbc.ca
This doctor’s invention helped save thousands of lives during the First World War
In Newfoundland and Labrador, people might have heard about how a doctor invented an early gas mask, but don’t know the unlikely story of how it happened. The CBC’s Elizabeth Whitten and video produce...
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Canadian History Ehx @cdnhistoryehx.bsky.social · 15/03/2026
On March 15, 1931, the SS Viking exploded off the coast of Newfoundland. The ship was being used to film shots for the movie The Viking. The blast killed 28 people and most of the film crew, making it one of the deadliest day in Hollywood history. This is the story. 🧵 1/10
Vintage illustrated movie poster for the film The Viking. At the top, red text reads The picture that cost the lives of Varick Frissell and 25 others in the Sealer Viking Disaster. Below, a yellow and orange sky with a large sailing ship labeled Viking on icy water. Large dark blue title text reads The Viking. A portrait of a red-haired woman labeled Mary Joe appears above the ship. At the bottom, two men in heavy work clothes and caps stand together. Additional text notes The First All-Talker made in the Arctic, Directed by George Melford, and Produced by Varick Frissell during the Great Newfoundland Seal Hunt.
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Tom Gauld @tomgauld.bsky.social · 14/03/2026
My books cartoon for this week’s @theguardian.com
Five cut-out-and-keep bookplates 

 Each reads ‘ex-libris’ then has a space for the owners name. The design reflects the genre:
 
 Sci-fi:
 Nanotechnology tracks the book, monitors its condition and summons a retrieval drone if necessary. 
 
 Horror:
 An ancient curse creates feelings of unease, rising to apalling, abject horror unless the book is returned. 
 
 Romance :
 Acts as an invite to the county's grandest ball, but revoked if not returned in a polite and timely manner. 
 
 Crime:
 Tailed by a dishevelled Gumshoe who Seems cynical, but loves books more than dames and bourbon. 
 
 Fantasy:
 A fellowship of heroes lead the borrower on an epic quest to return the tome to its Rightful shelf.
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André Picard @picardonhealth @picardonhealth.bsky.social · 06/03/2026
Woman who spent six days on overflow stretcher in a small windowless room of Newfoundland hospital says experience was ‘degrading’ www.cbc.ca/news/canada/... via @cbcnews.ca
cbc.ca
'A terrible experience': Patients spent days on overflow stretchers in Corner Brook hospital | CBC News
After spending six days on a hospital stretcher, Jaymee Miller said she hopes she never has to be admitted to the Western Memorial Regional Hospital in Corner Brook ever again.
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Dean Jobb - True Crime Writer @deanjobb.bsky.social · 04/03/2026
Thousands take to streets to protest cuts to Nova Scotia arts funding Premier Tim Houston defends cuts in budget, says 'something has to give' www.cbc.ca/news/canada/... #defendnsbooks
cbc.ca
Thousands take to streets to protest cuts to N.S. arts grants | CBC News
About 2,000 people gathered outside Province House in Halifax to let the Houston government know cuts to arts, tourism, culture and heritage sectors would cause irreparable harm to their industries.
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Dean Jobb - True Crime Writer @deanjobb.bsky.social · 04/03/2026
'The proposed cuts would be devastating, and would drive even more talent out of the province....Please don’t do this” Heated Rivalry author Rachel Reid speaks out against arts cuts: ‘The arts are why I live in Nova Scotia’ @theglobeandmail.com www.theglobeandmail.com/culture/book... #defendnsbooks
theglobeandmail.com
Heated Rivalry author Rachel Reid speaks out against N.S. arts cuts: ‘The arts are why I live in Nova Scotia’
Artists and arts-industry workers have issued warnings after the province axed $130-million in provincial grants
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Dean Jobb - True Crime Writer @deanjobb.bsky.social · 02/03/2026
Tim Houston, why are you attacking one of the province's most valuable natural resources - Nova Scotia's artists, writers, culture and heritage? Reverse the cuts, NOW! #defendnsbooks @writersfedofns.bsky.social @nimbuspub.bsky.social @pottersfieldpress.bsky.social @afterwordsliterary.bsky.social
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Elizabeth Whitten @elwhitten.bsky.social · 02/03/2026
This is very true
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Sarah Smellie @sarahsmellie.bsky.social · 27/02/2026
Lloyd Leaman and his arsenal of rulers are keeping people informed during a record-breaking winter. www.thecanadianpressnews.ca/environment/...
thecanadianpressnews.ca
'Old guy with a ruler' keeping Newfoundland informed through record-breaking snowfall
ST. JOHN'S - A 62-year-old retiree with an arsenal of rulers has been keeping people informed about snowfall in eastern Newfoundland during a record-breaking winter.
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Dean Jobb - True Crime Writer @deanjobb.bsky.social · 27/02/2026
Nova Scotia book publishers slammed by government's 'soul-crushing' cuts to arts sector Budget eliminates $700,000 publishers assistance program www.cbc.ca/news/canada/... #DefendNSBooks @writersfedofns.bsky.social @afterwordsliterary.bsky.social @nimbuspub.bsky.social @pottersfieldpress.bsky.social
cbc.ca
N.S. book publishers slammed by provincial government's cuts to creative sector | CBC News
A Nova Scotian book publisher says the provincial government's cuts to the arts and culture sector are "soul-crushing" when sales have already been decimated by uncertainty in the U.S. market.
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Elizabeth Whitten @elwhitten.bsky.social · 26/02/2026
Every year, thousands of people flock to Newfoundland’s shores to gaze at icebergs as they glide past. A McGill scientist made a similar journey a century ago, but instead of watching the bergs, he was hunting them www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
cbc.ca
From blowing up icebergs, to simply towing them. Tactics changed to keep ships safe | CBC News
Every year, thousands of people flock to Newfoundland’s shores to gaze at icebergs as they glide past. A McGill scientist made a similar journey a century ago, but instead of watching the bergs, he wa...
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Ashley Fitzpatrick @ashleyfitznl.bsky.social · 25/02/2026
Fascinating. www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
cbc.ca
Birder calls foul over a lethal gull control program at Robin Hood Bay | CBC News
The City of St. John's has killed more than 11,600 gulls at the Robin Hood Bay landfill due to Transport Canada concerns over safety of aircraft landing at the airport.
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Benjamin Woo @geekworlds.bsky.social · 09/02/2026
Spoke with @elwhitten.bsky.social for a story on how the Diamond Comics Distributors bankruptcy has affected comic shops and publishers in Newfoundland and Labrador.
cbc.ca
A year after a major comic book distributor went bankrupt, N.L. shops are still reeling | CBC News
Comic book shops and a publisher in St. John's are still grappling with the repercussions more than a year after a major distributor declared bankruptcy.
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Paris Marx @parismarx.com · 30/01/2026
I think this is what you call foreign interference, and it goes well beyond running an ad featuring a Ronald Reagan speech.
ft.com
Trump officials met group pushing Alberta independence from Canada
Separatists from oil-rich province try to capitalise on friction between White House and Mark Carney
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Elizabeth Whitten @elwhitten.bsky.social · 26/01/2026
Great to see Joseph Hewitt's comics in the Newfoundland and Labrador Public Library system! I encourage people to pick up The Voles of the Dusk (which I interviewed Joseph about in my book Off Panel: A History of NL Comix)
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Rachel Gilmore @rachelgilmore.bsky.social · 24/01/2026
Drop the names of any Canadian companies you’ve seen working with ICE in the comments. I’m aware of Gardaworld, Roshel, Hootsuite. Would love to gather any and all other names.
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