Donald Trump’s dismantling of administration, legal authority, and common decency are the logical end-game of a system of ideas, introduced in the 1940s by Hayek, Friedman and others of the early Mont-Pelerin society, that have become the common-sense baseline for most social interactions today: market-driven, property-oriented, and transactional. Trump is terrifying not because he isContinue reading “Trump is a mirror to our values”
Author Archives: Richard Shearmur
Electronic media and the malleability of facts
There can be no facts in a digital world Over the last few weeks we have witnessed a group of spineless billionnaires bending over backwards at Donald Trump’s request, jumping when he says jump, altering information at his autocratic whim. It isn’t just fake news by AI, bots and individuals that is enabled by social-mediaContinue reading “Electronic media and the malleability of facts”
McGill: mistaking its financial compass for a moral one
McGill is firmly opposed to peaceful economic resistance to Israel’s genocide and ethnic cleansing, and proudly reasserted it today. At what point will McGill admit that something smells? How would today’s McGill have reacted in the face of rising fascism and ethnic violence in European countries in the 1930s? Presumably by continuing to invest inContinue reading “McGill: mistaking its financial compass for a moral one”
Flying cars are yesterday’s future
Flying cars have been around since cars were invented. Trajan Vuia built one in 1903, though only took off in 1906 (for a few meters). Henson and Stringfellow imagined a flying steam carriage as early as 1843. And so on, up until today’s breathless headlines, telling us – for example on 13th January 2025 –Continue reading “Flying cars are yesterday’s future”
General AI – headed towards irrelevance?
Focussed AI is a powerful tool Focussed AI is a useful tool when applied to closed and verified data, information and texts: so, for instance, it is easy to imagine it usefully summarising – and extracting information from – a curated body of legal texts, archives, interview transcripts, maps or programming routines. The key isContinue reading “General AI – headed towards irrelevance?”
A cathedral under ground – St.Denis Pleyel metro station
I was lucky enough to visit the new St.Denis-Pleyel metro station a few weeks ago. It is open, so anyone in Paris who does not feel like queuing for Notre-Dame can get there in a few minutes from central Paris, on line 14. St.Denis-Pleyel is a key connecting station for the Grand Paris Express, 200kmContinue reading “A cathedral under ground – St.Denis Pleyel metro station”
Winter mobility – of ice, bikes and cars
Montreal is making an effort to accommodate winter cycling, which is much appreciated. However, as an urban planner, it is not my personal preferences and choices that matter, but whether winter cycling is a realistic mobility solution for Montreal. I have argued elsewhere that, for many people, winter cycling is not feasible. Here is oneContinue reading “Winter mobility – of ice, bikes and cars”
Why Montreal should think for itself
In a previous blog I argued that Montreal (and, by extension, other non-European cities) should cease to look with envy at European active transport and urban planning solutions. I made similar points a few years ago when I also expressed exasperation at Montreal looking to Copenhagen for ‘solutions’. There have been a few comments onContinue reading “Why Montreal should think for itself”
Bikes and the city : forget Europe-envy and invent a Montreal approach
Paris has been re-thought for bikes, pedestrians and scooters I am currently spending a few days in Paris, where I grew up (well, in its suburbs). Paris has noticeably changed changed since the 70s and 80s: bike lanes and pedestrian streets are now ubiquitous. I have just wandered from Gare Du Nord to Châtelet, andContinue reading “Bikes and the city : forget Europe-envy and invent a Montreal approach”
Air Canada: charge the poor to pay the rich
There are many good reasons to avoid flying. Air Canada is one of them. It is a corporation that operates within a tight oligopoly in Canada: in other words, there is very little competition, and it is protected by federal laws that prevent foreign operators from operating routes within Canada. It is also very profitable,Continue reading “Air Canada: charge the poor to pay the rich”
Richard Shearmur 