Maria DiDanieli

@shawn_whatley (2/2) ...Air Canada messages to be bilingual, why not bring a PR person to repeat your message in French? A little thoughtfulness would have produced a message that didn't seem to dismiss Quebec culture and, importantly,that showed more empathy for the family. It's not that hard.

@shawn_whatley (1/2) The gentleman/CEO under fire this week this week later noted that he'd tried to learn French without success. Fair enough - not everyone is linguistically flexible. But knowing that; one of the pilots who were killed was from QC; and it's important for...

Bilingualism = "Laurentian folklore"

@AmandaAchtman @cpso_ca (2/2) So, I don't interpret an obligation to discuss it. There is enough talk of MAiD/PAS that its existence is gen knowledge. If a pt mentions wanting to end to life b/c of their illness, I see justification to discuss MAiD...otherwise, imo, only discuss if asked for by the pt.

@AmandaAchtman @cpso_ca (1/2) The standard of disclosure for physicians in Canada includes the obligation to discuss "...alternative means of treatment and their risks." (CMPA guide, 4th ed.) Though many sources refer to MAiD as a 'practice', I can't find an authoritative source that considers it a tx.

According to the @cpso_ca, doctors and nurses are advised to bring up euthanasia with their patients "keeping in mind that not all patients will be aware that MAID is a legally available option for them." But medical professionals raising MAID is tantamount to a suggestion.

@ztisdale You shouldn't have come back, then.

I had culture shock returning to Canada from Florida. The Liberals have destroyed this country.

@DrNeilStone Vaccines are part of a complex, relational, multilayered evolving network of human innovation for improving human health and disease resistance/outcomes. It is neither accurate, nor safe, to frame them as near-messianic and I wish h/care providers would stop doing so.

Name a human invention that has saved more lives than vaccines

@doritmi "weasel words" (Justice Mah) is my new favourite. Q, though: why DID the court go out of its way to allow this guy to avoid prison? Yes, it's a 'drastic sanction' - but I don't think this guy's actions are undeserving of drastic measures-and it would send an unequivocal message.

See: skepticalraptor.com/skepticalrapto… for background.

Reminding: telling a delicensed doctor he cannot practice medicine without a license isn’t murdering anyone. Even if he sincerely believes in the treatments he’s selling (which do not have good scientific data) behind them, licensing laws are there to protect people. 1/2

@kristatee I find this very disturbing for all the reasons you mention. But also, who else can we 'resurrect' and what can we make them do/say?

Why bother having any actors? Why pay any talent? Just have AI do it. Ignore the artistry that goes into acting and other performance based arts. Get a computer. It’s cheaper and worsens the environment at the same time. Sounds like a win.

@CanadianKayMD I did that as a kid, and I still do it whenever I can.

It’s March break so my kids are getting to sleep in. Maisie, having woken up about 20 minutes ago, just told me her goal today is to take a nap. I can get behind this plan.

@mssinenomine One interesting element is when Dying with Dignity and its proponents counter calls for foregrounding living with dignity first on the basis that there is no evidence of a unified concept of dignity and, hence, it's too broad a notion to bring into the discussion.

I hate that I have to say this but experience on here tells me I do: You are not swearing a loyalty oath to any party or politician by supporting this bill. Saying that it is a good bill does not mean you are saying that other bills or policies aren't bad.

Today is a historic and hopeful day. I will not be reading or responding to anyone raising anything that is not directly related to this bill. This matters. Regardless of whatever else Alberta govt does or doesn't do, this bill will save lives. docs.assembly.ab.ca/LADDAR_files/d…

"MAiD is shifting the focus of medicine from the treatment of suffering to the elimination of the suffering patient. This shift...reflects structural pressures that are increasingly shaping practice." healthydebate.ca/2026/03/topic/…

@Sally_Sharif1 Mature student & TA here: I suspect that learning to balance working with AI while also optimizing reading & reasoning skills should be a goal but I repeatedly see what you're describing, here -especially the part about struggling to connect arguments. I work on this in seminars.

I just gave a closed-book, pen-and-paper midterm exam in my 300-level course at UBC with 100 students. All exams were graded by an experienced graduate-level TA according to a rubric. *** The average was 64/100.*** My class averages at UBC are usually 80-85. Context: • This was the first midterm, covering ONLY 4 weeks of material. • Students had a list of possible questions in advance: no surprise questions. • Questions included (a) 3 concept definitions, (b) 3 paragraph-long questions, and (c) a 1.5-page essay. • I have taught this class multiple times. Nothing in my teaching style changed this semester. • We read entire paragraphs of text in class, so students don't have to do something on their own that wasn't covered during the lecture. • Students take a 10-question multiple-choice quiz at the end of every class (30% of the final grade). • Attendance is 95-99% every class. Attention during lectures and participation in pair-work activities are very high → anticipating the end-of-class quiz. *** But unfortunately, I suspect many students are not reading the material on the syllabus. They are asking LLMs to summarize it instead.*** After the midterm, students reported: • They thought they knew concept definitions but couldn't produce them on paper. • They thought they understood the arguments but struggled to connect them or identify points of agreement and disagreement. My view: It might be “cool” or “innovative” to teach students to summarize readings with ChatGPT or write essays with Claude. But we may be doing them a disservice: reducing their ability to retain material, think creatively, and reason from what they know. If you only read what AI has summarized for you, you don’t truly "know" the material. Moving forward: We have a second midterm coming up. I don't know how to convey to students that the best way to do better on the exam is to rely on and improve their own reading skills.

@JillCo Depends on where, in Canada, you are. What you describe used to be my experience in another city I lived in. Where I live now, you don't pass anyone without an exchange of some type.

@tristan_sudbury @KeithCanivet @mfullilove Higher per capita GDP may look good but may be pulled up by the wealthy few - we know this is a factor in the US - it says nothing about how wealth is distributed. The Gini coefficient is useful, here - find US vs Can on this graphic: #explaining-the-gini-coefficient" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankin…

@KeithCanivet @mfullilove FAIL. URE.

“A rock star: that’s how the Lowy Institute’s executive director Michael Fullilove described Canadian PM Mark Carney when the pair sat down for a chat on global affairs on Wednesday evening.” I enjoy the PM’s back catalogue as much as his latest hits! smh.com.au/politics/feder…

@CanadianKayMD ouch!! I hope your eyes are ok!

I always think I washed my hands well enough after cutting chili peppers until it comes time to remove my contacts.

@AlanLevinovitz Happy Birthday! Learning what hermeneutic means.

It's my birthday! If you feel like giving me a gift, please tell me the most memorable positive thing you associate with my posts.

@gothburz @Mpls_Ghetto_Guy @ArmchairW Send them to the members of the Nobel committee that will deliberate over the next peace prize - as a reminder. Thank you for writing this piece. I am moved - my water glass is stationary out of respect.

@Mpls_Ghetto_Guy @ArmchairW The Montblanc pens arrive Tuesday. Nobody will need them.

I am a diplomatic aide in the Sultanate of Oman's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. My job is logistics. When two countries that cannot speak to each other need to speak to each other, I book the rooms. I prepare the briefing materials. I make sure the water glasses are the right distance apart. You would be surprised how much of diplomacy is water glasses. Too close and it feels informal. Too far and it feels like a tribunal. I have a chart. We had a very good month. Since January, Oman has been mediating indirect talks between the United States and Iran on Iran's nuclear program. The talks were held in Muscat and in Geneva. The Americans would sit in one room. The Iranians would sit in another room. I would walk between them. My Fitbit says I averaged fourteen thousand steps on negotiation days. The hallway between the two rooms at the Royal Opera House conference center is forty-seven meters. I walked it two hundred and twelve times in February. This is good for my cardiovascular health. It was less good for my knees. Both are in the service of peace. By mid-February, we had something. Iran agreed to zero stockpiling of enriched uranium. Not reduced stockpiling. Zero. They agreed to down-blend existing stockpiles to the lowest possible level. They agreed to convert them into irreversible fuel. They agreed to full IAEA verification with potential US inspector access. They agreed, in the Foreign Minister's phrase, to "never, ever" possess nuclear material for a bomb. I have worked in diplomacy for seven years. I have never seen a country agree to this many things this quickly. I made a spreadsheet of the concessions. It had fourteen rows. I color-coded it. Green for confirmed. Yellow for pending. By February 21 the spreadsheet was entirely green. I printed it. It is on my desk in Muscat. It is still green. That phrase took eleven days. "Never, ever." The Iranians initially offered "not seek to." The Americans wanted "will not under any circumstances." We landed on "never, ever" at 2:14 AM on a Tuesday in Muscat. I typed the final version myself. I used Times New Roman because Geneva prefers it. The document was fourteen pages. I was proud of every comma. Here is what they said, in the order they said it. February 24: "We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity." — The Foreign Minister, private briefing to Gulf Cooperation Council ambassadors. I prepared the slide deck. Slide 14 was the implementation timeline. Slide 15 was the signing ceremony logistics. I had reserved the Palais des Nations in Geneva, Room XX. It seats four hundred. We discussed pen brands for the signing. The Iranians preferred Montblanc. The Americans had no preference. I ordered twelve Montblanc Meisterstucks at six hundred and thirty dollars each. They arrive on Tuesday. February 27, 8:30 AM EST: "The deal is within our reach." — The Foreign Minister, CBS Face the Nation. He sat across from Margaret Brennan. He said broad political terms could be agreed "tomorrow" with ninety days for technical implementation in Vienna. He said, and I wrote this line for the briefing card he carried in his breast pocket: "If we just allow diplomacy the space it needs." He praised the American envoys by name. Steve Witkoff. Jared Kushner. He said both had been constructive. I watched from the Four Seasons Georgetown. The minibar had cashews. I ate the cashews. They were nineteen dollars. The most expensive cashew I have ever eaten. But it was a good morning and we were within our reach. February 27, 2:00 PM EST: Meeting with Vice President Vance, Washington. The Foreign Minister presented our progress. Zero stockpiling. Full verification. Irreversible conversion. "Never, ever." The Vice President used the word "encouraging." His aide took notes on an iPad. The aide did not make eye contact for the last nine minutes of the meeting. I noticed this. Noticing things is the only part of my job that is not water glasses. February 27, 4:00 PM EST: "Not happy with the pace." — President Trump, to reporters. Not happy with the pace. We had achieved zero stockpiling. Full IAEA verification. Irreversible fuel conversion. Inspector access. And the phrase "never, ever," which took eleven days and cost me two hundred and twelve trips down a forty-seven-meter hallway. Every American president since Carter has failed to get Iran to agree to this. Forty-five years. Not happy with the pace. February 27, 9:47 PM EST: The Foreign Minister's flight departs Dulles for Muscat. I am in the seat behind him. He is reviewing Slide 14 on his laptop. The implementation timeline. Vienna technical sessions. The signing ceremony. The pens. I fall asleep over the Atlantic. I dream about water glasses. February 28, 6:00 AM GST: I wake up to push notifications. February 28: "The United States has begun major combat operations in Iran." — President Trump. Operation Epic Fury. Coordinated airstrikes. The United States and Israel. Tehran. Isfahan. Qom. Karaj. Kermanshah. Nuclear facilities. IRGC bases. Sites near the Supreme Leader's office. Israel called their half Operation Roaring Lion. Someone in both governments spent time choosing these names. Epic Fury. Roaring Lion. I spent eleven days on "never, ever." They spent it on branding. The President said Iran had "rejected American calls to halt its nuclear weapons production." Rejected. Iran had agreed to zero stockpiling. Iran had agreed to full verification. Iran had agreed to "never, ever." Iran had agreed to everything in a fourteen-page document that I typed in Times New Roman. The President said they rejected it. I do not know which document the President was reading. I know which one I typed. February 28, 18:45 UTC: Iran internet connectivity: four percent. — NetBlocks, confirmed by Cloudflare. Ninety-six percent of a country went dark. You cannot negotiate with a country at four percent connectivity. You cannot negotiate with a country that is being struck. You cannot negotiate. This is not a political opinion. This is a logistics assessment. February 28: The governor of Minab reported forty girls killed at an elementary school. I do not have logistics for that. There is no slide for that. The water glass chart does not cover that. February 28: Lockheed Martin: up. Northrop Grumman: up. RTX: up. Dow futures: down six hundred and twenty-two points. Gold: five thousand two hundred and ninety-six dollars. An analyst at AInvest published a note titled "Iran Strikes: Tactical Plays." The note recommended positions in oil, defense stocks, and gold. The most expensive cashew I have ever eaten was nineteen dollars. The most expensive pen I have ever ordered was six hundred and thirty dollars. The math suggests I have been working in the wrong industry. Defense stocks do not require water glasses. Defense stocks do not require eleven days. Defense stocks require one morning. February 28: Israel closed its airspace and its schools. Iran launched retaliatory missiles toward US bases in the Gulf. The Supreme Leader promised a "crushing response." Israel's defense minister declared a permanent state of emergency. Everyone is using words I recognize in an order I do not. I recognize "permanent." I recognize "emergency." I do not recognize them next to each other. In diplomacy, nothing is permanent and everything is an emergency. In war it is the reverse. February 28: The Foreign Minister has not made a public statement. The briefing card is still in his breast pocket. It still says "within our reach."

@mario4thenorth Many civilian, police and military deaths in Venezuela. Lives were lost today, including about 40 civilian kids in a girls school in Iran. China won't suffer, as it has other suppliers & large reserves. The ? now is how will Iran react & what effect will that have on world oil?

We have to recognize the fact that Trump's administration, took Maduro hostage, lost no lives. Took out the Supreme Leader of Iran, lost no lives. And did both, in under 24 hours. It's worth noting, both countries, are top suppliers of cheap oil to China.

@nicksortor The guy is dangerous...Hegseth, that is.

🚨 BREAKING: Secretary Pete Hegseth just announced the Department of War is CUTTING TIES with woke leftist Ivy League universities DoW will NO LONGER be subsidizing Yale, Columbia, Brown, MIT, Princeton, and others. “We’re DONE paying for the privilege of our enemies' wicked ideologies to be taught to our future leaders. WE’VE HAD ENOUGH!”