Thursday Morning Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Scott Stinson writes that there's no reasonable explanation for Donald Trump's constantly-shifting position on tariffs, while Greg Sargent discusses the growing body of evidence that the tariffs are primarily an attempt to shake down Canada for its sovereignty. And Michael Byers argues that the U.S.' hostility to Canada represents a decisive reason to cancel the outstanding order for F-35 fighter jets which would further their control over our national defence - particularly since the U.S. is making clear that longstanding alliances and promises can't be counted on. 

- Lawrence Douglas discusses how the Trump regime is turning the corporate media into a propaganda machine for his government. And Anthony Nadler and Reece Peck set out how to build a reality-based ecosystem to amplify the voice of the working class. 

- Nora Loreto rightly argues that we shouldn't allow Canadian-branded corporate raiders to profiteer off of the U.S.' threats, while Justina Ray notes that a long-term perspective needs to include recognition of the importance of a healthy environment. And Matthew Mendelsohn and Jon Shell discuss some of the options to keep our own economy in Canadian hands, while Craig Lord reports on the first step in that process as the federal government makes a long-needed move to include economic security as a basis for reviewing takeovers.  

- Jared Wesley points out how the shift in public priorities from individualism to collective action is anathema to the plans of the Cons and their right-wing cousins. 

- Finally, Tanya Lewis talks to public health experts about some of the lessons learned after five years of COVID-19. And Lore Kelley interviews Katherine Wu about how a growing measles outbreak precipitated by vaccine rejection is starting to cause its own cataclysmic effects for American children. 

Wednesday Nnight Cat Blogging

Furniture testing cat.

Wednesday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- George Monbiot discusses the nihilism behind the new Trump regime which seems positively eager to see the world burn, while Jessica Wildfire writes that the super-rich aren't under any illusion that our current path of planetary destruction is remotely sustainable. And Andy Kroll chimes in on the reality that Elon Musk's main focus is on allowing himself and other tycoons to enrich themselves without paying taxes (or following regulations to protect the public), while Adam Bonica notes that there too the effect is ultimately harmful even for the wealth hoarders whose interest is supposedly being served. 

- Benjamin Hart interviews Steven Levitsky about the reality that Trump's attacks on democracy have been even more severe than even his strongest critics predicted. And Mike Masnick discusses how it's impossible to comment on technology issues (among other topics) without a close examination of the politics of Trump's authoritarianism. 

- Ian Welsh discusses how Trump has ended the era of American hegemony. Paris Marx points out the need for the rest of the world to both channel its activity around the U.S., and ensure appropriate consequences for Trump's bad-faith dealings. Andrew Coyne comments on the inescapable conclusion that Trump's aims include trying to destroy Canada, while Allan Woods writes that we have no choice but to work on reducing our vulnerability to capricious U.S. action. And Cam Holmstrom argues against any "middle ground" concessions which would sacrifice our ability to protect our own interests while leaving Trump tariffs in place. 

- Meanwhile, Max Fawcett points out how right-wing politicians are glaringly failing to meet the moment by recognizing any need for solidarity. And Eric Ham notes that the business lobby also remains conspicuously absent in speaking up for Canada. 

- Xiaodan Pan, Benny Mantin and Martin Dresner discuss what to expect - and what people can do to prepare - in the face of what looks to be an indefinite trade war. Ed Silverman talks to Richard Gold about the potential to suspend patents and other intellectual property monopolies as part of Canada's response to tariffs. Nathaniel Denaro points to Mexico's plan for industrialization and modernization as a far more viable course of action than limiting our own "country-building" to corporate giveaways, while both Chris Severson-Baker and John Woodside highlight how a transition to clean energy can both reduce our dependence on the U.S. and set up a more resilient economy. And Peter MacLeod makes the case for a civil defence force to provide security against both foreign threats and other foreseeable emergencies.

- Finally, Kate Ravilious reports on new research showing that the effects of the climate breakdown include reducing the absorption of carbon dioxide by plants. Alex Fitzpatrick notes that climate change is also leading to a longer allergy season. And Damian Carrington reports on a new study showing that half of all carbon dioxide pollution can be traced to 36 major fossil fuel companies.

Tuesday Morning Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Grace Blakely discusses the prospect of democratizing finance as the needed antidote to the concentration of wealth and power. And Stephen Eisenman writes about the deadly effects of greed - though too late to avert the imposition of a Trump regime whose sole principles are that and vindictiveness. 

- On that front, Spencer Woodman reports on the expectation that the IRS will stop auditing wealthy people due to purely ideological cuts. Stephanie Kelton notes that any risk to the long-term health of Social Security is the result of the rich refusing to pay their fair share - even as recipients face an immediate risk of benefit disruptions due to the wanton destruction of the civil service. Don Moynihan writes that DOGE's latest casualties include the 18F government tech unit which was the public's defence against being exploited by outside contractors. And Ryan Cooper discusses how Elon Musk's chocie to put USAID through the wood chipper represents a death sentence for millions of people and a victory for communicable diseases generally.

- Paul Krugman writes that part of Trump's loathing of Canada arises from his disdain for decency. Bethany Lindsay and Zak Vescera analyze how much Canadian public money is being lavished on Elon Musk as his regime attacks our sovereignty. David Climenhaga chimes in on the value of reversing intellectual property concessions as part of our response to the Trump tariffs. And David Moscrop looks more generally at the opportunities available to us as we face the need to decouple from a dying empire.  

- Finally, Warren Mabee and Balie Walker point out that we've been going backwards in any clean energy transition. Justin Mikulka discusses how the fossil fuel sector had little left but a bluff to squeeze out short-term profit through a pump-and-dump scheme. And Brett Christophers notes that BP's backtracking on renewable energy only shows that we can't trust corporations to be anything but intractable obstacles to needed progress. 

The choice of fights

Needless to say, Canada's federal polling has taken a substantial turn over the past couple of months. And it shouldn't come as much surprise that the Lib griping that Jagmeet Singh should sacrifice his own party to save Justin Trudeau has given way to demands that he step down as the NDP's leader now that Trudeau's departure has given the Libs an adrenaline boost. 

So let's take a look at what the NDP's path forward looks to be in advance of what could be an imminent election - and where the Libs have left some room to maneuver.

To start with, it's well and good to brand Singh as a "fighter" at a moment when public sentiment is strongly in favour of standing up for Canada against foreign threats:

And I'll echo Tom Parkin's view that there's an opening to engage in that fight from the left in comparison to Mark Carney. But it's worth noting what opportunities there are to do that - particularly when it comes to U.S. relations which stand to be a dominant component of our political scene for the foreseeable future.

So far, Singh has distinguished himself from the Libs on at least one point worth making, pointing out that we don't need to be willing hosts to a president bent on attacking our sovereignty (while Trudeau claims that pretending Trump is a good-faith actor is somehow the "responsible" course of action). But that's just one of numerous examples where the Libs have defaulted to a position heavy on normalcy bias which is ripe for a challenge. 

No, Canada shouldn't be pushing plans for tariffs against other countries in the hope that selling out the rest of the world will get us on the inside of a U.S. tariff wall. 

No, we shouldn't be playing along with the idea of still more fossil fuel pipelines which only exacerbate the system of petropolitics that helped build the right-wing political machine on both sides of the border.

And no, we shouldn't let ourselves be bullied into throwing money at U.S. military contractors to meet arbitrary targets within a defence structure which doesn't appear to be protecting us anymore in any event. 

These are just a few of the areas where the Libs have been entirely willing to play along with some of Trump's most dangerous plans (and where the Cons will only demand even worse). And the only sure thing under Trump's rule is that there will be a never-ending supply of similar headlines and provocations.

That in turn means that a party committed to opposing U.S. overreach and anti-social action will have no lack of opportunities to present that theme to the public. But what's been missing so far is a concerted plan to take up the fight - and the greatest risk for the NDP at this point is the wrongful sense that Carney's minimal resistance is enough.

Monday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material to start your week.

- Alberto Toscano and Brenna Bhandar discuss how the new Trump regime is governing based on the business model of a slumlord. Joshua Zeitz writes about the rise of another gilded age, while Robert Reich points out how that's reflected in the ownership of the media. Joey Roulette and Valerie Volcovici report on the firing of employees working on managing satellite traffic in space, while Andrew Perez and Asawin Suebsaeng expose the direct order to steal FAA money for Elon Musk's Starlink.  And Rebecca Solnit notes that there's reason to think the arrogance and selfishness of the Trump regime will ultimately backfire. 

- Taylor Noakes writes that Canada needs to be reorienting its foreign relations away from reliance on the U.S., including by disinviting Trump from the upcoming G7 summit to work on an alternative. And Andrew Phillips questions why the federal government isn't working on a plan to buy Canadian even as the public unites behind the principle. 

- Alexandra Tempus offers a reminder that there's no escape from the threat of a climate breakdown, even as John Woodside notes that the firehose of fossil fuel propaganda is putting a dent in public recognition of climate change. 

- David Wallace-Wells discusses how the most cautious people have been right about COVID-19 all along. And Kathryn Bromwich reports on the long COVID patients who are facing severely shortened lifespans and compromised standards of living due to a disease which has largely been excised from any policy discussion, while the Radiological Society of America highlights new research showing hidden lung abnormalities in children with long COVID. 

- Finally, Stephanie Soucheray discusses new CDC data showing severe brain damage appearing in chidlren who died of the flu. And Suzanne O'Sullivan writes about the rise of mental health and behavioural conditions - albeit while going out of her way to argue to ignore them rather than recognizing that they require assessment and support.

Musical interlude

Florrie - Pieces

Friday Morning Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Greg Sargent writes about the utter villainy of Elon Musk's using the largest concentration of wealth on the planet as a tool to condemn children to starvation, while Margaret Sullivan highlights how Jeff Bezos is trashing the Washington Post by turning it into a corporate propagand mill. Gabriel Zucman discusses how the Trump regime's capture by oligarchs makes it vulnerable to a response which emphasizes requiring the richest few to pay their fair share. Jen St. Denis reports on the tech lobbyists seeking to impose DOGE-style chaos in Canada. And Jagmeet Singh talks to Bernie Sanders about the cross-border cooperation which can ensure a better standard of living on both sides of the border:

- Jenna Benchetrit reports on a new study showing that consumer debt and delinquency have been soaring in Canada even before Trump started throwing the economy into chaos. And Muneeb Javaid writes that there's no excuse for Canada not to apply a wealth tax - even as Christo Aivalis notes that Mark Carney is only looking to make matters worse by treating capital as more important than labour and people's well-being. 

- The Requital examines how increased reliance on food banks signals a worsening hunger crisis in Canada. And Vandna Sinha et al. warn of the exacerbated food crisis facing many in Nunavut as a food couver program is due to expire at the end of March. 

- Lloyd Alter notes that any plan to build independence from the U.S. should include a shift to clean energy and transportation - including the bike lanes and walkable areas which petropoliticans are determined to destroy. And Andrew MacLeod reports on David Eby's proposal to target coal shipments as both an effective challenge to any tariffs and a boost to a clean energy transition.

- Finally, Chandelis Duster reports on the grassroots movement for an "economic blackout" today as a first step to challenge the abuses of Amazon and other exploitative retailers and brands. 

On strategic considerations

Ontario's snap election is reaching its final day of voting following abysmal early turnout. And the campaign has seen a familiar range of attempts to get various configurations of parties, candidates and voters to engage in strategic voting schemes. 

Having written about more than a few of those in the past, I'll thus take the opportunity to provide a quick refresher.

At the level of parties and candidates, I've discussed the principles we should look for in a pre-election pact worth pursuing. And nothing of the sort is in place in the current campaign on a province-wide level - though the few candidates who have elected to step aside have done so in ridings where there's some reasonable hope of making a difference.

And at the level of individual voters, I've also written about how strategic voting plans can range from futile to downright counterproductive depending on the assumptions being used to determine which ridings to target and which candidates to support. And I don't see much reason for confidence that sites whose methodology ranges from "apply a province-wide swing to 2022 results with no regard for local or current conditions" to "back the Libs with virtually exceptions" will provide better guidance than the past failures.

None of the above is to take away from the importance of electing a far better government than the one Doug Ford wants to impose in perpetuity. But the message with the best chance of achieving that end is to mobilize as many voters seeking change as possible - not telling already-disaffected citizens that their votes are wasted if they're not funnelled into a strategic voting scheme. 

Thursday Morning Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Max Stier discusses how Elon Musk's all-out assault on the U.S.' public service is contrary to every principle of competent management, while Pamela Herd and Don Moynihan point out the idiocy of treating every program and contract that doesn't meet with a single uninformed individual's approval as "fraud". Sarah Kendzior points out that the new Donald Trump regime is only a highly-compromised piece of a transnational organized crime network, rather than operating as a power centre of its own. And Dasha Burns and Myah Ward report on the plans of longtime war crime enthusiasts to operate a private military and concentration camp system with Trump's blessing. 

- George Monbiot's questions about how the UK needs to think about defending itself from a hostile U.S. are obviously equally applicable to Canada. And Phillippe Lagasse examines a few of the scenarios we should be preparing for. 

- Meanwhile, Renee Sylvestre-Williams warns that we shouldn't let a justified boycott against U.S. products fizzle out. And John Clarke discusses how the Bank of Canada is positioning the working class to bear the brunt of any U.S. action, while Deena Ladd argues that we should instead focus our efforts on true solidarity where nobody is left behind. 

- Finally, Desmond Cole discusses how Ontario's rent allowance is a poverty trap rather than a meaningful support, while John Michael McGrath notes that Doug Ford's choice to make housing even less affordable is shutting out the very workers the province supposedly wants to recruit. Nick Tsergas observes that paid sick leave would be another key benefit for businesses and the health care system alike - but that it's not on the radar due to Ford's determination that workers are on their own. And Catherine MacNeil writes that the corporate-friendly plan to address the crisis in the availability of primary care represents pure politics rather than a viable solution 

Wednesday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Alejandra Gomez and Greisa Martinez Rosas offer a reminder that Donald Trump's attempt to pit immigrants against other workers serves only to distract from the reality that the capitalist class is callously exploiting both. And Amanda Taub reports on the protection racket diplomacy which has been tested first in the U.S.' threats to abandon Ukraine. 

- Jill Filipovic writes about the adolescent masculinity that represents the common thread of Trump's various factions and plans. David Dayen offers some hope that Trump's initial plan for a coup against U.S. democracy has failed as most institutions have survived the first wave of attacks, while Brian Beutler discusses how his unabashed villainy has helped to avoid a takeover without resistance. Adam Serwer points out how one of Trump's core goals is to reverse the gains of the civil rights movement. And Beatrice Peterson reports on the mass firings of intelligence community employees who dared to participate in LGBTQ+-oriented private chat conversations, while Madison Pauly reports on the McCarthyist demand that workers out their LGBTQ+ colleagues to enable their being purged from the civil service as a whole. 

- Alice Southey and Tabatha Southey write about the need to stop treating Trump's constant threats to take Canada by force as a joke or a thought experiment. David Moscrop points out how the external menace makes it easier to unite around what makes Canada worth defending. And Nora Loreto discusses how much of our sovereignty has already been sold off by our ruling class, while Taylor Noakes rightly notes that Trump's consequence-free negation of free trade agreements (including the one he himself negotiated) shows how little they were worth in the first place. 

- Crawford Kilian offers some lessons for both the U.S.' democracy and our own. Geoff Bickerton argues that the CBC provides us with an important trusted news source at an extremely low cost - which is particularly vital as the U.S.' media and information ecosystem is dominated more and more by the world's wealthiest and most narcissistic few. And Carine Abousief discusses the need to make our health care system more resilient against U.S. threats (rather than instead making it even more dependent on foreign actors).  

- Finally, Danyaal Raza points out how public health care in Ontario is under threat as Doug Ford seeks another term in which to neglect and/or privatize services. And Shellene Drakes-Tull calls out Ford for his own determination to sell out as much of the provinces as he can for the benefit of his cronies both north and south of the border.