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Hugs_and_Tugs

@hugsandtugs.bsky.social
1.2K followers 1.5K following 214 posts
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👻madeline bOoOoOoOodent👻 @oldenoughtosay.com · 1h
oh they dead dead
All the waffle houses in Pensacola are closed with the hurricane about to hit
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Jared Wesley @jaredwesley.ca · 8h
The UCP wants you to get bogged down on the policy debates around infill. Don't be fooled. Their intrusion into local democracy reveals something far more troubling to folks across the political spectrum. drjaredwesley.substack.com/p/this-isnt-...
drjaredwesley.substack.com
This isn’t about infill
The UCP government’s intrusion into municipal authority raises much deeper concerns
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PacoOnPause @pacoonpause.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
A lot of people are wondering why they keep getting sick and I'm hoping this can connect some dots.
thebmj 

Feature

Covid-19

Why scientists are rethinking the immune effects of SARS-CoV-2

BMJ 2025;390 doi:
https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.r1733(Published 19 August 2025)

With two grey model humans directly underneath and they are spraying respiratory secretions all over each other and one is red and the other is blue.
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Jen the Feisty Librarian @feistywaters.com · 9h
Local woman wakes up, changes the Edmonton zoning bylaws so that conservatives are not allowed to live in Alberta, makes oatmeal.
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Petzie (AMW) 🇨🇦🍁🇨🇦 @amwpetzie.bsky.social · 8h
drjaredwesley.substack.com/p/this-isnt-...
drjaredwesley.substack.com
This isn’t about infill
The UCP government’s intrusion into municipal authority raises much deeper concerns
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Madisyn Parisi (they/them) @madisyn-writes.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
It’s time to call The Boston Globe’s viral lesbian bar story what it is: a thinly-veiled far-right smear campaign. Read my commentary for free, only on The Backbone News.
backbone.ghost.io
The Mass. Lesbian Bar Story is an Anti-Woke Smear Campaign. You Fell For It.
On dyke drama, victim-blaming, and knowing thy enemy.
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The Vertlartnic @thev.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
Is Covid Why Everyone Is Sick With Covid Right Now?
Someone sick
Headline:
Is Covid Why Everyone Is Sick With Covid Right Now?
Story by Millicent Barbequeue and Troy Agin

Photo by Adobe
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Mike Hoerger, PhD, MSCR, MBA @michael-hoerger.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
There is exactly 1 US public health agency still doing the work.
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Durham County Department of Public Health (DCoDPH) @durhamhealthnc.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
It's that time of year: lots of people will be sick, and many won't know what sickness it is. It's a good idea to get tested, but even if you don't know what it is, *please* stay home as much as possible, get plenty of rest to help yourself recover, and wear masks if you have to go out while sick!
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Emmett Macfarlane 🇨🇦 @emmettmacfarlane.com · 08/10/2026
Endless clownery.
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babs ✨ @itsbabs.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
i’be been to ~16 states since i left LA on 9/15, n i’ve seen, met, anticovid/clean air activists in as many as i’ve been able to; since that damn globe article came out, the rising despondence in all our voices has been difficult to ignore. we just don’t want to get sick, & want better for you too.
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Duane Bratt🇨🇦 @duanebratt.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
I will need to change the definitions that I use in Political Science 1101. I had forgotten the focus that Marx had on transgender sports.
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Nicolas Hénin @nicolashenin.net · 07/10/2026
Two panels at the #Disinfo2026 conference seem to have particularly upset the MAGA people. It would be a shame if people weren’t aware of them.
Day 1, October 7, 11:45 - 12:30
Under attack: How the counter-disinformation community is dealing with US government pressure
#solutions
room: Zeta
Panel
On 23 December 2025, the US government (USG) imposed travel bans and deportation orders on five European figures - former EU Commissioner Thierry Breton, Imran Ahmed, Clare Melford, Anna-Lena von
Hodenberg, and Josephine Ballon - accusing them of censoring US social media platforms.
The use of legal intimidation to wage personal attacks raises its own free-speech concerns as well as questions about the appropriate use of legal punishment in a policy debate. The United States Government's attacks to intimidate individuals and organisations are an unprecedented escalation in defense of US corporations seeking to avoid regulation and criticism. This panel will examine the chilling effect these tactics can potentially have on the community of researchers, journalists, and former government officials who fight disinformation, propaganda and hate speech online. The panel will also discuss how some are fighting back against these tactics.
Speakers:
Claire Pershan, Coalition for Independent Technology Research
Josephine Ballon, HateAid
Chair:
Gregory Rohde, EU DisinfoLabDay 1, October 7, 10:45 - 11:45
USA as a FIMI threat: acknowledge, adapt, push back #infospaces
room: Alfa
Presentations
This session addresses one of the most uncomfortable questions in the counter-disinformation field today: how did the United States become a FIMI threat for Europe? The session will explore how the counters disinformation community rebuilds resilience without Washington, what solidarity looks like in a fractured transatlantic environment, and how to push back against on these operations.
Speakers:
Adam Fivenson, Center for Security, Innovation & New Technology at American University Alex Finley, Former officer of CIA's Directorate of Operations, Centre for Strategic Advantage Emerson Brooking, Nonresident Senior Fellow, DFRLab
Chair:
Carlos Hernández-Echevarría, Fundación Maldita.es
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Senator Paula Simons 🇨🇦 @senatorpaulasimons.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
I didn't mince my words. Alberta's anti-immigration referendum questions are racist. They are also a potential disaster for Alberta's economy. Last night, I rose in the Senate to denounce them - and to thank all the thousands of Albertans fighting against them. Please share. #notothenine #cdnpoli
youtu.be
Watch: Senator Paula Simons denounces Alberta's anti-immigrant referendum questions
YouTube video by Senator Paula Simons
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Chantzy @chantzy.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
Dear journalists, If you're looking to interview a doctor on Covid in 2026, a good probing question is whether they wear a respirator mask in their practice. If not, maybe time to source a new expert
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Parksy @pfparks.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Let me be clear: we know from evidence in countries around the world that physician dual practice drains resources away from the public system and, in many cases, increases wait times for public patients. This goes directly against the spirit of the Canada Health Act. 1/3
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Bean & Sprout's Mom @beansproutsmom.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Oh, sweet jeebuz, CLEAN THE AIR already. 🤬 It's not rocket science. Ventilation (even open windows). Air filtration at building scale (e.g., higher MERV in HVAC), room scale (portable air cleaners), and even personal scale (masks). Maybe also stop withholding pediatric virus testing 🤬
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Naheed Nenshi @naheednenshi.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Have you received Danielle Smith and the UCP’s $4 million propaganda brochure? It’s full of lies, and taxpayers shouldn’t be on the hook for it, never mind the $200 million referendum.
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lizziec.bsky.social @lizziec.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
I’d just point out that people with Long Covid cannot give blood in the UK Along with diseases like: Cancer Syphilis Hepatitis B and C These are serious diseases so logically Long Covid must be too 🤷‍♀️ So it’s perfectly logical to avoid it
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PacoOnPause @pacoonpause.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
I think it's weird how fixated a lot of you are on people who are covid conscious..
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The Breakdown AB @thebreakdownab.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Today, Alberta NDP leader Nenshi called out the flyer sent by the UCP telling Albertans how to vote on the upcoming referendum (except the separatist question) as "propaganda" and "garbage". #abpoli #ableg #cdnpoli
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Jess Fink🍉🌈 @jessfink.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
🎃
A 7 panel comic by the artist. First panel: The artist is running from a distance towards a group of people playing basketball in the park. The artist is holding a pumpkin above their head and screaming "AAAAAAAAA". Second panel: The artist has leapt up and is in position to slam dunk the pumpkin into the basketball hoop. Panel three: the pumpkin splatters violently against the backboard of the basketball hoop, sending orange pumpkin goop everywhere. Panel four: the players stand staring, covered in pumpkin goop and shocked. Panel five: the artist stares at them wide-eyed, also covered in the goop and says "it's October FIRST". Their hand reaches towards their face. Panel six: the artist rips off their own face like a rubber mask to reveal a skeleton beneath. Panel 7: the group of players stand shocked and horrified, watching as the skeleton falls to the ground in a pile of bones, the sound effects says "CLATTER".
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Hypervisible @hypervisible.blacksky.app · 30/09/2026
Eugenics 🤝 ai www.nytimes.com/2026/09/29/h...
One of the things that is going to change is that we’re never ever again going to be able to be dominated by public officials who tell us, ‘Trust the experts,’” Mr. Kennedy said during the Tuesday session.

“If somebody tells you, ‘Masks work, trust the experts,’ A.I. may tell you otherwise,” he added. “If somebody tells you, ‘Social distancing works, trust the experts,’ A.I. may correct that. And if somebody tells you that a vaccine will prevent transmission and infection, or you need to take it to protect your grandmother, A.I. may say it actually doesn’t do that.”
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The Breakdown AB @thebreakdownab.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
This is fantastic news for Ben and his family! But it's also another example of how badly the UCP have screwed up AISH. Ben was forced onto ADAP, a social media outcry caused a re-evaluation and then Ben was approved AISH after they found out about a press conference. /1
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Kim Siever @kimsiever.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
The next time someone tells you that business owners take on all the risk, send them this link: www.hrreporter.com/focus-areas/...
hrreporter.com
'Catastrophic failure': Report finds Alberta regulators failed Cargill workers
Six years after more than 950 workers at High River meat plant tested positive, and 2 died, investigation says OHS regulator 'all but abdicated its mandate'
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DoNoHarm BC @donoharmbc.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
ACTION ALERT📣 It’s past time for BC to protect patients and healthcare workers by reinstating a mask mandate in healthcare settings. Join us to tell policymakers that we would rather have masks than:
Dark blue, purple, yellow and black graphic with an illustration of a person in an N95 mask, fist raised, holding a sign that reads: Restore (and improve) masks in healthcare. Next to the DoNoHarm BC logo and a QR code, smaller text reads, Add your voice: www.DoNoHarmBC.ca
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Mark Ungrin @mark-ungrin.bsky.social · 20/03/2026
This 2014 talk highlights the ingrained corruption in medical guidance circles promoting these widespread failures. In particular the character assassination and manipulation campaign Dr. MacIntyre was subjected to when her work showed N95s are more effective than medical masks. #medsky #scisky
youtube.com
'The fuss about face masks' - Professor Raina MacIntyre
YouTube video by UNSW Community
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Chantzy @chantzy.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
I just saw a story about the lesbian bar in Bon Appetit magazine, also spreading the same exaggerated details to make the maskers seem unreasonable. Imagine if American media cared this much about educating people on why masks & clean air are important instead of punching down?
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Kristin Meekes @kmeekes.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
The pandemic should have led to clean indoor air, treatments for long covid and related illnesses, next gen vaccines, normalization of masking, mandatory respiratory protection in healthcare, sick leave, and a paradigm shift around what infections do to people
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Hugs_and_Tugs @hugsandtugs.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
The head-scratching life of a Calgary public school parent: Email notification of a single case of head lice. While at the same time: Illness outbreaks only need reporting if 10% of the student population are sick enough to stay home. And the school board forbids HEPA filters. 🤬 #abed #abpoli
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The Vertlartnic @thev.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Covid Infections Can’t Be Causing Long Term Health Problems, Because Look Over There At The Squirrel
A squirrel

Headline:
Covid Infections Can’t Be Causing Long Term Health Problems, Because Look Over There At The Squirrel
Story by Burt Gusset and Hamilton Pork

Photo from Unsplash
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🔬🔭🧭👨‍💻🏞️👾🤖🌡️ @dcrinyyc.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Must read. albertapolitics.ca/2026/09/poli...
albertapolitics.ca
Political pressure, negligence, incompetence all contributed to pandemic tragedy at High River plant, new report says - Alberta Politics
One of the most disgraceful episodes of the COVID-19 pandemic in Alberta took place on April 18, 2020, when Devin Dreeshen, Jason Copping and Deena Hinshaw assured employees of Cargill Inc.’s meat pac...
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Jeremy Appel 🍉 @readtheorchard.org · 28/09/2026
NEW: Today the Parkland Institute released a 200-page report that provides the most comprehensive overview to date of the fatal Covid outbreak at the Cargill meatpacking plant in High River. www.readtheorchard.org/p/how-corpor...
readtheorchard.org
How Corporate Regulatory Capture Led to Death at Cargill
The Parkland Institute’s 200-page study provides the most comprehensive overview of the April 2020 Covid-19 outbreak at the High River meatpacking plant to date.
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Charles Rusnell @charlesrusnell.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Read this in the context of the UCP's current scapegoating of immigrants. Alberta's Deadly Betrayal of Meat Plant Workers During COVID via @thetyee.ca thetyee.ca/News/2026/09...
thetyee.ca
Alberta’s Deadly Betrayal of Meat Plant Workers During COVID | The Tyee
A shocking report finds the UCP ignored evidence of high risk.
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cm 🍁 @cmcalgary.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Ben denied AISH because they claim he is employable. Go see some videos of Ben: www.instagram.com/beingbenjamin_ #Alberta #AISH #abpoli
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Bean & Sprout's Mom @beansproutsmom.bsky.social · 08/08/2026
Here's another related thought. Baseline 1: 2019 or earlier Baseline 2: COVID infections but 'revovered' Study Group: Long COVID Almost every study assumes Baseline 2 = Baseline 1. I'd bet Baseline 2 is worse than Baseline 1 for an awful lot of metrics.
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Mark Ungrin @mark-ungrin.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
This is the clearest illustration I have ever seen of the way infection control and public health refuse to act responsibly on aerosol disease transmission. Doing the right thing today would mean admitting they could have yesterday, but chose not to. Repeat, forever. #medsky #polisky #scisky
A drawing of the "trolley problem" only there is a single track and the caption reads "You can stop the trolley at anytime, but then there will be survivors who might tell authorities you tied everyone up"
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vermivorax @vermivorax.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
People will freak out that a trans kid going on puberty blockers or hormones is "irreversibly altering their body!!!1!" and then make their kid join the football team.
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Plague Poems @plaguepoems.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
I heard someone say that “Extremely covid-cautious people are probably objectively correct,” and while I will admit that I do not consider my caution extreme, I will also admit that more than anything I hope that I’m wrong.
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Sara Hastings-Simon 🇨🇦 @shastingssimon.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
"I was pushed to be self-sufficient" = my father let me live with him Why are people so allergic to recognizing support they were given? I am proud of the ways I have worked hard but at the same time I can also acknowledge that I got a whole lot of family support that turned that hard work into more
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🍁🇨🇦Team Canada Forever🇨🇦🍁 @teamcanadaforever.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
🚨ATTENTION BRITISH COLUMBIA🚨 Please take the time to listen to this video British Columbians 🇨🇦
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Clinically Vulnerable Families 💙💜💗 @cvcev.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
Six months on, why hasn't there been action on clean air in healthcare? The Inquiry said air filtration should be prioritised across the UK. But it has slipped through the cracks of the government’s response. What happened - and what can YOU do? 👇
clinicallyvulnerable.org
The Inquiry called for clean air in healthcare. Six months on, where is it?
Opinion | 20th September 2026By Lara Wong, Founder and CEO, Clinically Vulnerable FamiliesChapter one of the Module 3 report, paragraph 1.105. Baroness Hallett writes that new hospitals should be desi...
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Clinically Vulnerable Families 💙💜💗 @cvcev.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Credit to @barrygardiner.bsky.social MP for raising air quality in schools at the UN today. @london.gov.uk 's work is a welcome first step. But *all* children deserve clean air. 1/2
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Clinically Vulnerable Families 💙💜💗 @cvcev.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Why should we clean the air in schools? - Reduces pollutants which cause asthma, multiple cancers, and dementia. - More resilient to airborne disease and pandemics We need health-based standards for air quality in schools. Fund ventilation filtration and maintenance. #HIAS2026
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George Monbiot @georgemonbiot.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Here's today's column on the astonishing, ongoing mistreatment of people with #ME/CFS. Please spread it far and wide: the only thing which can break the media's wall of indifference is seeing an article about the issue go viral. Thank you. 1/2 www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
theguardian.com
Abandoned, dismissed and gaslighted: there is no excuse for the way ME sufferers have been betrayed | George Monbiot
Changes in guidance and science seem to have little impact on millions of devastated lives. It’s a social crisis playing out behind closed doors, says Guardian columnist George Monbiot
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Michael Olesen @molesen.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
I was looking at some data today and saw further evidence of the immune damage from COVID. Look at how much bigger influenza seasons are from the area where I pulled the data.
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Hugs_and_Tugs @hugsandtugs.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
I'm surprised this isn't getting more attention - I can clearly see the upward trend where I live in 🇨🇦. We are collectively SICKER since repeat Covid infections became the norm. [Total 2025-2026 death toll was 282]. Info from: www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
A chart of Alberta influenza deaths, by season.
2019-2020: 16
2010-2011: 46
2011-2012: 63
2012-2013: 42
2013-2014: 32
2014-2015: 96
2015-2016: 55
2016-2017: 56
2017-2018: 87
2018-2019: 49
2019-2020: 37
2020-2021: 0
2021-2022: 20
2022-2023: 121
2023-2024: 171
2024-2025:236
2025-2026 (to date): 250
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babs ✨ @itsbabs.bsky.social · 26/04/2026
hey just because you take issue with the actions of someone wearing a respirator in indoor public spaces does not mean the action of wearing a respirator to a public indoor event Bad Or Wrong! and, in fact, you doing so only adds to stigma that keeps disabled people isolated! do better please!
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Mark Ungrin @mark-ungrin.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
This looks useful - a global database of indoor air quality policies: airclub.org/database
Global Indoor Air Quality
Policy Database

The Global Indoor Air Quality Policy Database is the first comprehensive repository of country-level indoor air quality policies, along with an assessment of each country's indoor air governance system. The database captures 253 IAQ policies across 53 countries.

We encourage policymakers, government agencies, researchers, and advocates to use this open-source database to advance healthy indoor air action in their own jurisdictions. We welcome and encourage input from the community on version 1 of this database as we expand coverage to include more countries with indoor air quality policies.

Developed by the Brown University Pandemic Center and Air Club, with support from the Montenegrin Institute for Advanced Innovation and Balvi.
53 Countries
253 Policies
6 Policy Domains
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Erin Biba @erinbiba.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Hey so uhhhhh that Boston Globe story about the lesbian bar relaxing its covid rules is an *absolute fucking hit piece* targeting the disabled, chronically ill, and covid-conscious and it would be great if folks sharing and joking about it could recognize that framing.
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