Musical interlude

Romy - She's On My Mind

Friday Morning Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Paul Krugman discusses how Donald Trump is eviscerating financial regulation and consumer protection just when it's most needed, while Henry Farrell points out how the undermining of government intersects with the polycrisis which Trump refuses to even acknowledge let alone address. And Bryan Mena reports on new polling showing that U.S. consumers are recognizing the dangers of Trump's regime. 

- Brian Beutler writes about the futility of trying to work with people who have resolved to engage in as much criminal behaviour as they can get away with. Ian Dunt notes that Trump's flagrant lies about Russia's invasion of Ukraine represent the most clear attack yet on epistemic reality. And Zeynep Tufecki examines how the theft of private information may be used to entrench Elon Musk's power both inside and outside of government. 

- Niall Harney and Jon Milton write that Amazon's union-busting should be a wakeup call for Canada's labour movement. Adam King reports on an attempt by Toronto's business lobby to take away paid days off for retail workers. And Marc Lee calls out the gross overstatement of the effects of supposed interprovincial barriers in an effort to undermine regulation in the public interest - while offering a reminder that there's a readily-available mechanism to deal with any barriers which are actually identified. 

- Taylor Noakes discusses how the U.S.' disruption of existing trade patterns gives us a golden opportunity to build a clean energy society. But David Moscrop writes that Mark Carney is offering nothing more than business as usual, complete with austerity, corporate handouts and illusory climate policy. 

- Finally, Ricardo Tranjan and Ryan Romand point out how Ontario's provincial election has involved little attention to the province's desperate need to collect revenue to be used for public services. And Saima Desai discusses the how Ontario's education system is falling apart after two terms of Doug Ford slashing what were already insufficient funding levels. 

Thursday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Owen Jones discusses how Donald Trump's new regime has abandoned any (however dubious) claim to U.S. moral influence around the globe with shameless thuggery. And Alaric deArment points out that the U.S. should be far less fearful of immigration, and far more concerned with emigration which is resulting in a massive brain drain among people who recognize Trump's dangers. 

- Brian Barrett writes about the damage being done by Elon Musk's DOGE due to its refusal to acknowledge it doesn't know what it doesn't know. And Crawford Kilian notes that the destruction of U.S. public health is starting the plague years to our south - making it all the more vital that Canada be prepared to contain the spread of what should be preventable diseases. 

- Gabriel Sherman reports on the violence and intimidation which are coercing politicians into complying with the worst of Trump's abuses. And Stephen Maher reports on the perspective of former Canadian intelligence officials who see little basis to continue the pre-existing relationship between us and the U.S., but most of the damage being done to the U.S.' reputation in the world. 

- Natasha Lomas reports on new research showing how TikTok and X are presenting German users with heavily-biased content in advance of its federal election, giving a glaring artificial advantage to the neo-Nazi AfD in particular. And Luke LeBrun discusses how X and Facebook have likewise served Doug Ford's interests in tamping down engagement in Ontario's ongoing election. 

- Bryan Evans and Desmond Cole discuss how Doug Ford has dismantled Ontario. And Jack Hauen points out the sheer callousness of Ford taking a condescending line against people unable to return to work even as he's deliberately dismantled the system which previously helped disabled workers to find employment. 

- Finally, Erica Ifill discusses how Pierre Poilievre's talking points remain little more than a warmed-over version of Trump's anti-social rhetoric. And Emmett MacFarlane calls out Tim Houston's plans to essentially eliminate a crucial form of accountability in Nova Scotia by making the province's auditor general subject to political removal. 

Wednesday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Cory Doctorow highlights how Thomas Piketty's work on the effects of capital concentration shows that both the "national" and "capitalism" parts of the Trump economic plan are ultimately self-defeating. John Ronquillo discusses how spin about efficiency is being used as an excuse for extreme unaccountable control over government operations (which will inevitably lead to far less effective services). And Dave Jamieson points out that the obviously-false boilerplate wording treating every new or newly-promoted employee in the U.S. civil service as having performance issues virtually ensures that the associated firings can't be defended in any functional legal system. 

- Anand Giridharadas calls out the people with power - including elected Democrats - who are choosing to collaborate with Trump's abuses. David Zirin writes that the same politicians who have chosen to be pushovers in the face of fascism still seem determined to fight against any progressive voices. And Joe Demanuelle-Hall notes that federal workers are starting to organize against the billionaire takeover of the U.S. 

- Akela Lacy reports on Trump's admission that the cruelty of prison conditions is entirely deliberate. Amanda Marcotte reports on Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s plans to eliminate access to medication for mental health conditions, and instead round people with psychological conditions up into labour camps. And Euan Thomson notes that Alberta's treatment of children being pushed into forced abstinence from substance use is little different - with the UCP going out of its way not to track outcomes which would show how harmful its ideology is. 

- Jen St. Denis reports on the American political operatives using X to advocate for the violent invasion of Canada. Steve Burgess offers his account of what happened when he dared to defend Canada on Elon Musk's toxic platform - serving only to raise the question of why anybody would want to remain there. Allison Hantschel discusses how it's entirely healthy to leave social media platforms which have been systematically turned into amplifiers for hatred and bigotry. And Luke LeBrun reports on Pierre Poilievre's plans to defund actual journalism while shoveling public money to fascist fever swamps. 

- Taylor Noakes reports on the fossil fuel funding behind "grassroots" groups pushing in tandem with the UCP and Sask Party us to keep relying on dirty energy. Jackie McKay reports on the judicial funding that the RCMP used excessive force and breached the Charter rights of Indigenous activists who dared to protest against the Coastal GasLink pipeline. 

- Finally, Carey Gillam, Margot Gibbs and Elena DeBre expose a corporate-funded database used to track environmental health advocates who dared to point out that pesticides could be harmful. And Reuters reports on the reality that Canadian farmers are largely at the mercy of corporate conglomerates which can't be trusted either to keep inputs affordable, or to pay for the food that's been produced.

Tuesday Night Cat Blogging

Wide-eyed cat.

Tuesday Morning Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Pema Levy observes that Elon Musk's use of the U.S. government to line his own pockets would be illegal under any standard in which conflicts of interest are recognized as being prohibited, while tengrain discusses how the Washington Post and other corporate media are content which dares to challenge Musk. And Brian Beutler points out what Democrats should be doing if they were interested in serving as a meaningful opposition, rather than merely taking up space and hoping for an authoritarian coup to fail on its own. 

- Don Moynihan writes about the obvious mismanagement involved in Musk's practice of purging staff first and asking whether they were needed later, while Tom Nichols discusses how the Trump regime is using weaponized ignorance to destroy government expertise which will be exceedingly difficult to rebuild. And Henry Carnell points out the costs of a war on equity and inclusion.  

- Heather Stewart interviews Joseph Stiglitz about the reality that investors have every reason to stay away from a U.S. regime marked by arbitrary and destructive decision-making. Jeet Heer discusses why the rest of NATO has every reason to set up an alternative defence structure that doesn't depend on an untrustworthy ally. 

- George Monbiot writes about the potential ways Trump may trigger a global collapse. And DeSmog reports on the collaboration between the administration, the fossil fuel sector and fascist politicians from multiple countries working toward that end. 

- Elizabeth Thompson reports on the work Canadian volunteers are doing to try to preserve U.S. public data before it's permanently disappeared. And Kristofer Harrison notes that one of Canada's strongest possible response to Trump's threats will be to fight the corruption at the heart of his regime. 

- Meanwhile, Cole Bennett calls out the conservatives who are eager to sell out Canada to the Trump administration. And Alex Cosh writes that Pierre Poilievre is absolutely unfit to respond to Trump - particularly as his obsession with cutting taxes and slashing government makes him an obvious fellow traveller/pawn rather than a foil to Trump's plans.  

- Finally, Maeva Shearlaw, Adam Sich, Ken Macfarlane and Temujin Doran discuss how the scourge of poverty is undermining the health-care system in the UK (as is the case in Canada as well). And the Australia Institute examines how the climate breakdown is creating all the more financial precarity for households.