Friday Morning Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- The Guardian weighs in the folly of the U.S.' self-removal from the global trade system, while Paul Krugman writes that there's no method to Donald Trump's madness. Jeffrey Sonnenfeld and Steven Tian warn that the effects of arbitrary action and perpetual uncertainty will be even worse in the long run than the short term, while Brian Barrett sees the tariff debacle as indicative of the Trump regime's general decision-making. And Jonathan Last writes the obituary for the American age of hegemony. 

- Iglika Ivanova discusses the need for Canadian leaders to offer vision in response to the U.S.' trade war, while Danyaal Raza implores us not to leave anyone behind in terms of health and income. Bruce Arthur discusses the opportunity to respond to the Trump regime's stupidity with smart planning. Armine Yalnizyan writes that we likely won't be able to avoid a short-term recession as our largest trading partner implodes, while noting that we should pay close attention to how our political parties plan to deal with it. And David Macdonald laments that all of the major federal parties are still focusing far too much on tax cuts and cash transfers which reduce the fiscal capacity available to build for the future. 

- Alex Hemingway offers a reminder that the concentration of wealth and power among a lucky few is driving the inequality which makes life more precarious for everybody else. And Sondos Kataite notes that an oligarchic U.S. regime is ripe for targeted sanctions. 

- Luke LeBrun reports on Con candidate Andrew Lawton's involvement in planning the Flu Trux Klan insurgency, while Stephen Maher notes that Pierre Poilievre's insistence on catering to the occupying convoy is making him radioactive to most voters. And Greg Locke reports on the extreme insularity and message control behind Poilievre's "public" campaign appearances, while noting that it sends an alarming signal as to the Cons' refusal to hear from the public if they take power. 

- Jared Wesley discusses how the Western Canadian petrostate isn't interested in anything but pitiful grievance politics, while Carl Meyer notes that Poilievre's plans include giving fossil fuel tycoons whatever they want with no regard for anybody else. And Lisa Young highlights the dangers involved in Danielle Smith's refusal to accept an election loss. 

- Finally, Nora Loreto offers a needed warning about the corrosive effects of constant "strategic voting" appeals as a tool of constraining our imagination as to what democracy can accomplish. And Jaigris Hodson provides some tips in talking to people who have succumbed to disinformation. 

Thursday Morning Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Daniel Drezner examines how the Trump regime's (nearly) worldwide tariff announcement confirm the complete ignorance and incompetence of everybody involved. Paul Krugman notes that the policy process underlying the tariffs is if anything even less rationally explicable than the tariffs themselves. And Jonathan Chait writes that the best one can say about the deliberate crashing of the U.S. economy is that it will limit Trump's ability to consolidate power, while Ian Dunt theorizes that Trump's paranoia and rage will ultimately be his undoing.  

- Robert Reich suggests that Canada and other countries can strengthen their position in the face of the U.S.' destruction by joining together to develop new trade blocs. Angella MacEwan rightly notes that nobody can treat Trump's latest whims as the last word on anything - making it all the more important to build more reliable economic structures without relying on the U.S. And Seth Klein discusses the importance of recognizing and bolstering public institutions which aren't subject to foreign takeovers or domination. 

- Rebecca Solnit discusses how the Trump regime represents a true test for Americans as to whether they're prepared to work for a democracy or drift toward authoritarianism. And Robert Reich offers some rules in dealing with Trump's demands, while noting how some of the organizations best positioned to resist have chosen to cave or even comply in advance. 

- Andy Rowell and Nina Lakhani examine how Trump is planning to enrich fossil fuel donors while encouraging them to cook our planet even more. Damian Carrington reports on the growing recognition among insurers that our economic system can't survive the damage we're inflicting on our living environment. 

- Finally, Mehdi Hasan writes that it's both wrong and destructive to treat people (regardless of their immigration status) as being illegal. 

Wednesday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Julia Steinberg writes about Donald Trump's attempt to impose cataclysm capitalism on the U.S. - and the need for strategic organizing to stop it. And David Dayen discusses how Trump's new precedent of pardons for corporate criminals will only foster more (and more extractive) monopolies. 

- Charles Pierce writes about the numerous and deep ties between Pierre Poilievre and the radical corporatists at the centre of the Trump regime. Martin Lukacs reports on Poilievre's plans to eviscerate public services, while Desmond Cole takes note of his obsession with cruelty in punishment as a substitute for public safety. And Max Fawcett observes that there's a massive gender gap among Canadian voters - with women rightly having little interest in what Poilievre is peddling. 

- Michael Le Page reports on new modeling showing a real danger that global warming could reach 7 degrees Celsius by 2200 even if carbon pollution is merely "moderate". Saidrasul Ashrafkhanov discusses how fossil fuel executives are incentivized to do as much damage to our living environment as possible for as long as possible in order to goose short-term profits. And Umair Irfan discusses how the effects of the climate crisis include worse allergy seasons. 

- Finally, the Missing Middle Initiative examines how southern Ontario's housing affordability crisis is worse than ever. And Verity Stevenson discusses the possibility of a wartime-style investment in affordable housing - while recognizing that tax breaks on expensive new homes and subsidies to developers will do little to solve any problem compared to investing in the homes needed by the working class. 

Tuesday Night Cat Blogging

Observant cat.

Tuesday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Seth Abramson previews the foreseeable paths toward the breakdown of U.S. civil society in light of Donald Trump's intention to ignore both judicial and constitutional limitations on absolute power. David Roth comments on Trump's culture of sadism, while noting that there's still every need to imagine and build toward something better. And Lisa Needham and Stephen Robinson note that no amount of money (nor willingness to grovel) will ever make anyone safe from the MAGA protection racket, while Robert Reich warns that Trump is bullying far too many people into fearing dissent. 

- Meanwhile, Melanie McFarland discusses how the U.S. needs libraries and other "third places" which encourage learning and the development of community.

- Graham Redfearn reports on new modeling finding that global warming of 4 degrees Celsius will slash standards of living by 40%, while Corbin Hlar surveys reports from multiple big banks which both predict and signal an intention to contribute to carbon pollution which would drive us toward that catastrophic outcome. Austyn Gaffney reports on new data showing global sea ice at record low levels. And Thor Benson reports on Trump's attempts to spin the climate breakdown as a plus - in tandem with both his own patron in Vladimir Putin, as well as petropoliticians like Danielle Smith and Scott Moe. 

- Finally, Andrew MacLeod argues that Canada's political parties should be focusing on building our country for the long term, rather than limiting their vision to tax baubles. Alexandra Mae Jones notes that Canada can be a magnet for researchers and academics fleeing the U.S. Karen Foster et al. point out that a self-sufficient domestic food system is a must from the standpoint of national security. And Cherise Burda discusses how investment in non-profit housing can provide an immense economic boost. 

Monday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material to start your week.

- Paul Krugman examines the reality that the Trump regime is bad for business (as it is for people as well). But that doesn't mean it's not bent on allowing the wealthy few to take a larger proportion of a shriking economic pie - as Elizabeth Dwoskin et al. report on DOGE's plans to turn government operations into profit centres, while Jake Pearson reports on the dismantling of any work by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to ensure scammers and rent-seekers can exploit people without any pushback.

- Meanwhile, Mather Iantorno points out some of the options available to ensure the Canadian public doesn't bear the brunt of Trump's tariffs - with the NDP's proposals for price caps and antitrust enforcement both ranking as key tools. 

- Ethan Phillips highlights why we can't count on markets alone to diversify our trade flows. And Fred Wilson and Robert Chernomas discuss the need to make use of public investment options to fund economic development, rather than trying to prod corporations who would rather use their already-massive cash reserves on buybacks and bonuses to pursue capital spending in the public interest. 

- Finally, Charlie Angus writes about Danielle Smith's choice to take Trump's side over Canada's (and Pierre Poilievre's willingness to let her). Eric Wickham reports on the MAGA fanatics who have thrown their support behind Poilievre because they see him as willing to impose Trump's agenda in Canada. And Simon Enoch weighs in on the tech companies looking to impose a DOGE north of the border under a Con government. 

Saturday Afternoon Links

Assorted content for your weekend reading.

- Jim Stanford points out that tariff threats shouldn't be an especially daunting prospect for a Canadian economy which already consists primarily of the production of goods for domestic use. But Melissa Gismondi argues that we need a far more substantive response to Donald Trump's obsession with annexation, rather than assuming everything will go back to normal if the business class is assuaged. And Mike Brock writes that Danielle Smith's constant sucking up to Trump and concurrent normalization of the prospect of a U.S. takeover can't be considered anything less than traitorous.

- Alex Himelfarb discusses how to build a Canada which is more resilient against both the Trump regime, and the concentration of wealth and power which has enabled his like to emerge. Silas Xuereb offers a reminder as to how the affordability crisis for more and more Canadians tracks the rise of extreme top-end wealth. And George Monbiot warns that UK Labour is following the same path as other neoliberal governments whose disregard for both people's well-being and the prospect of democratic change for the better has laid the groundwork for fascists to emerge.

- Jason McBride discusses the widespread use of plastics in medical supplies - and how both patients and the environment would benefit from a transition to less toxic alternatives. Inigo Alexander reports on waste management company Veolia's dumping of toxic waste in protected areas in Colombia. And Alix Breeden discusses how the Trump administration is making it easy for polluters to poison the people around them through gutted regulatory processes, while Stuart Thomson and Antoine Trepanier report on Pierre Poilievre's plans to similarly eliminate any environmental protection in Canada in favour of blanket approvals. 

- Finally, Fiona Harvey reports on a new OECD study finding that action to deal with the climate crisis will lead to better economic results than trying to operate in denial of the threat.

Musical interlude

Lonely Computer feat. Montgomery - Blindfold