Simon Houpt

Simon Houpt

@simonhoupt.bsky.social

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447 followers125 following182 posts

Simon Houpt reposted

Ed Tubb
@edtubb.bsky.social

With more than 520,000 votes earned and a few polls still left to count, Olivia Chow will be elected with the largest raw vote total of any mayor since Toronto’s amalgamation in 1998. (Many more people in the city since Mel Lastman’s days, of course.)

Simon Houpt
@simonhoupt.bsky.social

This is how many tickets have been sold to a **Sunday 2 pm** screening in midtown Toronto of a **documentary** in its second week of release. Astonishing marketing success.

Simon Houpt
@simonhoupt.bsky.social

So, in a new NYT essay about May 13, 1986 (the day she was born), Lena Dunham suggests that, back then, nobody in Canada or the US knew or cared much about acid rain. I hate to get in the way of a good generational shaming, but she’s just…er, totally wrong?

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Simon Houpt
@simonhoupt.bsky.social

If “What exactly acid rain is and what it could do, were questions few people bothered to ask in either country,” that’s only because pretty much everybody in both countries already knew.

Simon Houpt
@simonhoupt.bsky.social

I mean, maybe she’s right about her fellow Americans back in the ‘80s being ignorant of the issue? (She’s not, but whatever.) But don’t come for Canada if you don’t have any idea what you’re talking about. There’s already enough of that going around.

Simon Houpt
@simonhoupt.bsky.social

So, in a new NYT essay about May 13, 1986 (the day she was born), Lena Dunham suggests that, back then, nobody in Canada or the US knew or cared much about acid rain. I hate to get in the way of a good generational shaming, but she’s just…er, totally wrong?

Simon Houpt
@simonhoupt.bsky.social

In Canada, it was a constant topic of discussion - in Parliament, in schools, in the streets. In The Globe and Mail alone, acid rain was mentioned in 1,815 articles or letters to the editor between 1970 and May 13, 1986. Here’s an op-ed from 1979 that referred to it as “a national emergency.”

Simon Houpt
@simonhoupt.bsky.social

A haunting dispatch from Margaret Atwood on the Steven Galloway affair, and why she insisted on standing up for due process in the face of ostracism. “If you’ve ever tut-tutted about Mao’s Red Guards and said “It can’t happen here,” take a look.” www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/arti...

theglobeandmail.comOpinion: You called me a bad feminist. I was actually Sherlock HolmesWhy was I interested in the case of Steven Galloway? Because there were so many questions that needed to be answered

Simon Houpt reposted

Andrew Kurjata
@akurjata.ca

This is a publicly funded government agency refusing to share weather warnings and their own public warnings with a journalist at Global News, one of the larger mainstream news outlets in Canada. I really want you to sit with the bare facts of that.

Simon Houpt reposted

Ed Tubb
@edtubb.bsky.social

Not the most important thing in this moment, but I sincerely feel the Canadian default crisis-response of offering little to no public information is a deeply toxic trait. We're long past the point where a summary of the known facts can be shared responsibly. Not doing so invites misinformation.

Simon Houpt reposted

Liz Renzetti
@lizrenzetti.bsky.social

I'm gathering people's thoughts about TTC service for something I'm writing. Is it worse? Better? The same? How has the experience changed over the past few years? Is it one of the issues that will decide your mayoral vote? DMs are open!

Simon Houpt
@simonhoupt.bsky.social

Do yourself a huge favour and go see the new Terry Fox documentary, Run Terry Run. (Honestly, every Canadian should see it on a big screen.) It’ll warm your heart and stop you cold in how it captures his astonishing refusal to give in to cynicism. We need that now more than ever now. Go.

Simon Houpt
@simonhoupt.bsky.social

Calling all Robert Munsch fans! This is a gorgeously produced tribute from @theglobeandmail.com - with original art by the one and only Michael Martchenko - to an extraordinary Canadian, whom we’ll remember always and love forever. www.theglobeandmail.com/culture/book...

theglobeandmail.comRobert Munsch and the art of dropping inThe larger-than-life children’s writer and storyteller makes a habit of just showing up. And generations of Guelph kids remember it well
Simon Houpt
@simonhoupt.bsky.social

Ticket sales for “Run Terry Run” so far are…underwhelming. C’mon, Canada, let’s give thanks this weekend by turning out for this celebration of a genuine Canadian hero.

Simon Houpt reposted

Barry Hertz
@hertzbarry.bsky.social

RIP to Salah Bachir, a titan of Canadian cultural philanthropy, an advocate for HIV research, and the former president of Cineplex Media. After suffering through years of medical complications, Bachir underwent MAID today, at age 71.

Simon Houpt reposted

Max Fawcett
@maxfawcett.bsky.social

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.

The Breakdown AB@thebreakdownab.bsky.social

There it is. Elon Musk now advocating for Alberta separation. That should perhaps be one of the biggest reasons to vote to stay. #abpoli #ableg #cdnpoli

Simon Houpt reposted

Isaac Callan
@isaaccallan.bsky.social

What input did Therme or Live Nation have (if any) crafting the MZO that was eventually issued to bypass approvals for Ontario Place? We’ll never know. And somehow it took the government two years to decide those communications were privileged. #OnPoli

Simon Houpt reposted

Steve Faguy
@fagstein.bsky.social

In the wake of Rogers making Sportsnet+ exclusive Monday NHL games free for Rogers TV customers subscribed to Sportsnet, Bell told customers today that Bell TV subscribers with TSN now get TSN Premium free.

Simon Houpt
@simonhoupt.bsky.social

So, I was a reporter based in NYC for The Globe and Mail on Sept. 11, and I thought some folks might appreciate a look at what now feels like a wild historical document. Three months after the attacks, McClelland & Stewart published a coffee table book about the friendship between Canada and the US.

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Simon Houpt
@simonhoupt.bsky.social

When “A Diary Between Friends” came out in December, 2001, PM Jean Chrétien asked Cellucci to give a copy to US President George W. Bush, who (as an A1 story about the book noted) had “created a minor flap…thanking countries for their support but failed to mention Canada.”

Simon Houpt
@simonhoupt.bsky.social

Cellucci is quoted as saying, at the book’s launch in Ottawa, “This journal, this diary, will be there to remind our sons and daughters and future generations that, when we were in need, Canada was there for us…And we will be eternally grateful to the people of Canada.”

Simon Houpt
@simonhoupt.bsky.social

So, I was a reporter based in NYC for The Globe and Mail on Sept. 11, and I thought some folks might appreciate a look at what now feels like a wild historical document. Three months after the attacks, McClelland & Stewart published a coffee table book about the friendship between Canada and the US.

View full thread
Simon Houpt
@simonhoupt.bsky.social

Individuals and communities turned up for Americans in a thousand different ways, from impromptu fundraisers to workers who streamed across the border and into NYC to volunteer for the recovery efforts - like firefighters from Brampton and iron workers from Kahnawake.

Simon Houpt
@simonhoupt.bsky.social

And of course the following month, our troops shipped out to join the Allies in Afghanistan, including three Canadian warships that steamed out of Halifax on Oct. 17, 2001.

Simon Houpt
@simonhoupt.bsky.social

So, I was a reporter based in NYC for The Globe and Mail on Sept. 11, and I thought some folks might appreciate a look at what now feels like a wild historical document. Three months after the attacks, McClelland & Stewart published a coffee table book about the friendship between Canada and the US.

View full thread
Simon Houpt
@simonhoupt.bsky.social

But it also notes how other cities across Canada - Vancouver, Halifax, Calgary etc - took in planes and people that may have otherwise been doomed. (You have to remember that, within minutes of the attacks, all airborne planes were deemed potential threats.)

Simon Houpt
@simonhoupt.bsky.social

And it recalls the outpouring of sympathy - and, yes, love from Canadians for Americans. Canada declared a national day of mourning on Sept. 14, 2001 that was observed in ceremonies across the country. The US Ambassador, Paul Cellucci, was effusive in his praise for Canada.

Simon Houpt
@simonhoupt.bsky.social

So, I was a reporter based in NYC for The Globe and Mail on Sept. 11, and I thought some folks might appreciate a look at what now feels like a wild historical document. Three months after the attacks, McClelland & Stewart published a coffee table book about the friendship between Canada and the US.

Simon Houpt
@simonhoupt.bsky.social

A Diary Between Friends” of course tells the story of the friendly folks of Gander (with a map of the East Coast that had been put up on the wall at Gander International Airport, with hand drawn arrows indicating NYC, Washington, and a helpful “You are here! (in Canada)” pointing to Newfoundland).

Simon Houpt
@simonhoupt.bsky.social

Er, this conflicts directly with what he told Fox News’s Trey Gowdy on Sunday night: “I was building a building in New York and I had a lot of construction workers, and I went shortly after, the following day. You couldn’t go down the same day. But, like the following day.” (Which was also a lie.)

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com

Trump on 9/11: "I just thank my people. I was building a big building in New York & I took the whole crew down there right after this happened & they had no hesitation. Everybody went down with me... we thought it was coming down on top of us... two fireman lifted me up and started running with me"

Simon Houpt reposted

Ben Collins
@bencollins.bsky.social

What Pablo Torre did was ridiculously impressive. Uncovered a conspiracy between rich guys, withstood a propaganda campaign by one of the richest guys in the world with a pretty good reputation, didn't buckle or panic, and just kept reporting. That's some Pulitzerin' right there.

Simon Houpt
@simonhoupt.bsky.social

Big (and terrible) if true.

Justin Ling@justinling.ca

We're still waiting for details about Canada's trade deal with Trump — specifically, what concessions America has extorted out of us. Sources tell me Carney may be sacrificing yet another pillar of Canada's Big Tech regulations. www.thestar.com/opinion/star...

thestar.comJustin Ling: Mark Carney will have to sacrifice to get a deal. But this concession would be too muchChatter that the Online News Act is on the table in Canada-U.S. trade talks are an ominous warning sign that Mark Carney is giving up too much.

Simon Houpt reposted

James McLeod
@jamespmcleod.ca

"If Prime Minister Carney is trading away our ability to govern the digital realm, in the name of 'alignment' with American standards, then we are locking in a permanent state of subordination." From @vassb.bsky.social. canadianshieldinstitute.ca/updates/what...

canadianshieldinstitute.caWhat "Digital Trade Alignment" Would Cost | Canadian Shield InstituteSo, we’ve got a last-minute reprieve on the 50 per cent tariffs that U.S. President Donald Trump was threatening. And Trump is boasting about some...
Simon Houpt
@simonhoupt.bsky.social

In this era of sports reporting dominated by fawning influencers, Cathal Kelly wonders whether he was denied a press pass to the WNBA’s Toronto-Indiana game last night for insufficiently positive coverage. www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/baske...

theglobeandmail.comWill uncomplimentary coverage of the WNBA cost you your seat in the Toronto Tempo’s press box?After writing a critical column on the WNBA, The Globe’s Cathal Kelly had his credential application to Tuesday’s Tempo-Fever game denied
Simon Houpt
@simonhoupt.bsky.social

Lol this corruption isn’t unprecedented - it’s got plenty of precedents in places the US president has denigrated as “shithole countries.” Which may be particularly apt, given the effects of cyclospora.

public health guy@publichealthguy1.bsky.social

it does actually sound like taylor farms and the white house teamed up to try and blame taco bell for the outbreak. unprecedented corruption