The new A.I. breakthrough.
Morgan Brown- Finally had a chance to dig into DeepSeek’s r1…
Political Happenings in Ontario
Dang!
Retail Insider- Peavey Mart to Shut Down All Canadian Stores
Digging deep on royalties
It’s not often we have meaningful discussions on royalties in this province, so I’m giving it a major effort. Some think we should never touch royalties, ever. And the 2009 Stelmach experience in Alberta was telling. So is there ever a time to do it? What about for a new product, like lithium?
I FINALLY completed my vey detailed book review of Eric Cline’s book on potash royalties. Bronwyn Eyre and I discussed it with Eric last Monday for our inaugural Pipeline Online Podcast. The YouTube version is embedded in the story.
Eric Cline’s Squandered: Canada’s Potash Legacy, takes a hard look at royalties. Part 1 #saskatchewan
Jim Warren: How to govern while fiscally handcuffed: don’t follow the example of the Romanow NDP
You don’t see that very often – Saskatchewan’s wind power averaged 89% output on Jan. 24. And it hit 88% the next day.
The Libranos: All Your Data Are Belong To Us
‘The concentration of power by Thomas Pitfield and others over the database of individual Canadians’ private information is profoundly troubling’: Elbert Paul, former LPC agency auditor
Firstly, a major benefit of a liberal democracy as a safeguard against autocracy includes government transparency and accountability. This means that liberal democracies hold elected officials and government institutions accountable to the people. This helps ensure that government policies are transparent and respond to the needs of the people, and that corruption and abuse of power are eliminated. The issue of lack of transparency in the Liberal Party of Canada was reported by CTV News in March 2017:
“One of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s closest friends is benefiting from an exclusive agreement between his data analytics company and the Liberal Party of Canada.”
In responding to an inquiry from CTV News, the LPC representative refused to disclose the value of the contract with Data Sciences Ltd., owned by Thomas Pitfield, husband of Anna Gainey, then President of the Liberal Party of Canada. Data Sciences Inc. performs baseline research, polling, gathering information on target audiences, making strategic campaign decisions and evaluating potential political success.It was reported that Ms. Gainey recused herself from the decision to award the contract. CTV stated that Canadians may never know the value of the 2016 contract entered into with Data Sciences Ltd. by the Liberal Party of Canada. […]
[W]hile government departments and private companies are governed by federal privacy laws (The Personal Information Protection and Electronic Document Act) which dictate how they must handle the private information of Canadians, federal political parties are exempt from these rules. This has allowed political parties to build valuable databases with private information about Canadians and their political inclinations. Because they are exempt from the law, political parties have no obligation to tell Canadians what information their databases contain about them.
Could Have Spent It On Shovels
Money for graves spent on publicists and consultants. (Paywall)
Monday On Turtle Island
Blackie’s Canada: Diversity is our strength. I wonder why? The Liberals in charge forever. (CBC)
Woke America: The secular left. A California healing circle. From a flat in Pyongyang. Trump’s Frenemies.
Odds And Ends: Those fun loving Muslims. Don’t say “black sheep” in Britain. A funeral in Germany. Australia Day.
Your morning meme. Another meme.
Our Betters Issue Threats
A boast of impending vandalism, a struggle with logic.
January 27, 2025: Reader Tips
Here’s a 1953 documentary entitled The Transistor.
Your best tips are appreciated!
I, For One, Welcome 我们的自动驾驶新霸主
Morning update, to add this excellent summary.
This is a classic disruption story: Incumbents optimize existing processes, while disruptors rethink the fundamental approach. DeepSeek asked “what if we just did this smarter instead of throwing more hardware at it?”
The decline is accelerating:
Nasdaq 100 futures are now down -330 POINTS since the market opened just hours ago as DeepSeek takes #1 on the App Store.
This is how you know DeepSeek has become a major threat to US large cap tech.
The stock market does not lie.
(a thread) pic.twitter.com/NLwK1oytaz
— The Kobeissi Letter (@KobeissiLetter) January 27, 2025
A DeepSeek explainer, but it’s worth surfing X searches too.
Things I took:
1. Cheap AI on lower tier gear (nvda gets repriced tomorrow)
2. It appears these new models are less power intensive. (Next gen nuke tech gets repriced tomorrow)
3. Trump admin deregulates AI (need more open source domestic competition)
4. Copper demand takes a…— Cpt. R Dubya (@Cpt_RDubya) January 26, 2025
Follow Brian Roemmele too, as he’s been working on personal AI.
Vote Early, Vote Often
Register as a Liberal-To be eligible to vote in the Leadership race!
Great Success!
Safe and Effective®
Winnipeg Sun- Alberta’s ‘contrarian’ COVID-19 review task force releases final report, including recommendation to halt vaccines
The 268-page report, posted online Friday afternoon, recommends “halting the use of COVID-19 vaccines without full disclosure of their potential risks” and for the province to allow physicians to prescribe alternative treatment options for the virus, such as ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine.
It also encourages the province to end the use of COVID vaccinations among healthy children and teenagers; conduct further research into the vaccines’ effectiveness; establish support for “vaccine-injured” individuals, and provide an opt-out mechanism from federal public health policy.
Globe and Mail- Alberta task force recommends halt of COVID-19 vaccines in new report
The panel also suggested that the media is politically or financially compensated by public health or pharmaceutical contracts and said the government should require the press to publicly disclosure any affiliations.
Free Trade Between Provinces? That’s Crazy Talk
The Food Professor- Trump’s 51st State Taunt Underscores Canada’s Internal Trade Mess
Canada’s fragmented trade policies often make it easier to do business with the United States than with other provinces. Interprovincial trade barriers have been a longstanding issue, and provinces frequently prioritize the U.S. market, drawn by its ease of access and substantial economic returns.
47: Return To Sender
Update.
Breaking: “The Government of Colombia, under the direction of President Gustavo Petro, has arranged the presidential plane to facilitate the dignified return of the compatriots who were going to arrive in the country today in the morning, coming from deportation flights,” the translated statement read.
“I think that the US Conference of Catholic Bishops needs to actually look in the mirror a little bit and recognize that when they receive over $100 million to help resettle illegal immigrants. Are they worried about humanitarian concerns? Or are they actually worried about their bottom line?”
“A Robust Process”
A Nation Of Ostriches
If given the choice, most Canadians would happily leave their heads stuck in the sand rather than meet the challenges of living and prospering in an industrial economy. Why does it take the musings of a foreign head of state to get us to wake up and think critically?
I may only be a cancelled bitumen pipeline, but after a cursory look at the modern state of the Canadian economy, it does strike me that your economic productivity sucks right now.
Per-capita GDP is in freefall. Each passing year, the average Canadian worker works the same number of hours as before, but they produce less. The problem is a lack of investment in per-worker productivity. If you hand a construction worker a shovel instead of a front-end loader, they’re simply not going to get as much done — and both your GDP and your people’s living standards will suffer in the long run.
Sunday On Turtle Island
Woke America: Victor Davis Hanson – MAGA agonistes. The Women’s March.
Blackie’s Canada: Jihad University. Politicians think we are stupid. Redistribution Carney.
Odds And Ends: Don’t be beastly. A Daily Mail journalist. Incredible developments. Week in review.
I, For One, Welcome 我们的自动驾驶新霸主
It’s probably nothing.
Seconded.
Meta is reportedly in “chaos” to respond.
Llama 4 is allegedly polling below R1.
Don’t know where grok 3 comes in.
There is a national security implication as R1 appears to be built, like many Chinese products, from stolen IP. However, they have advanced that IP…
— Michael Guimarin (@MichaelGuimarin) January 26, 2025
Developing, read more responses here.
Come Back, Pizzagate!
The treasurer of the Orange County, Florida Democratic Party has been arrested on federal child sex crime charges. Matthew A. Inman, 39, from Orlando, was apprehended after allegedly distributing child sexual abuse material to an undercover officer, according to authorities. The Department of Justice (DOJ) states that he showed interest in boys as young as nine years old and could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted.