Musical interlude

BANKS - Stay

Friday Morning Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Susan Glaser writes about the dictator cosplay arising from Donald Trump's military parade, while Jeet Heer is rightly more concerned about Trump's actual claim to be able to use the military like a warlord. Liz Dye points out that Trump has reached the point of prosecuting political opposition with remarkably little pushback. Geoffrey Johnston discusses how freedom is eroding under the Trump regime. And Outspoken highlights how ICE is the new Gestapo. 

- Meanwhile, Jack Wilson offers a reminder that Canada's continuing pretense that the U.S. is a safe third country is resulting in refugees being condemned to ICE's abuses. And Erica Ifill rightly questions why Mark Carney is pushing a surveillance state no less dangerous and intrusive than the one being established under Trump's fascist administration.

- Paul Waldman writes that the Republicans' latest attempt to shovel wealth upward depends on what can only be described as fictitious economic theory. And David Sirota discusses how the right's culture war provides cover for the looting of the general public by oligarchs. 

- Erica Chenoweth, Soha Hammam, Jeremy Pressman, and Christopher Wiley Shay do point out that contrary to most media portrayals, there's significantly more protest activity than at this time in the first Trump administration - as the public hasn't followed the political and media classes in acquiescing to Trump. And Bill McKibben writes that this weekend offers a unique confluence of events with the potential to crystallize resistance. 

- Michael Ross and Erik Voeten note that the decline of democracy and social justice in the U.S. can be traced in no small part to its become a petrostate (with the encouragement of both major parties). And Linda McQuaig highlights the absurdity of pitching still more publicly-subsidized fossil fuel pipelines as a matter of "national unity" rather than climate destruction even as much of Canada burns. 

- Finally, Taylor Noakes writes that a Canadian federal government actually interested in helping people would be acting to rein in corporate control, including by breaking up grocery monopolies. 

Thursday Morning Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Robert Reich warns that the Trump regime's use of extreme military force to suppress peaceful protest is just the first step toward a police state. And Zoe Williams writes about the importance of people nonetheless standing up against the dehumanization of immigrants, rather than acquiescing in both nativist policy and the authoritarian state being used to impose it. 

- Yessenia Funes reports on the fossil fuel industry's bankrolling of anti-trans and other discriminatory causes with the expectation that recruits eager to hurt people based on gender discrimination will be equally callous when it comes to climate harms. And Chris Mooney reports that Canada is looking at wildfire greenhouse gas emissions which far surpass those from any other year on record other than 2023, while Ian Livingston reports that before summer even starts we've already surpassed a normal yearly amount of burned land.  

- Lana Payne writes about the dangers of treating expansion of internal and international trade as an excuse to attack protections for workers. Bushra Asghar, Erin Blondeau, Juan Vargas Alba and Lea Mary Movelle make the case for a Youth Climate Corps as a means of building a sustainable and prosperous future. And John Harris notes that the Starmer government is undermining itself by prioritizing austerity after being elected on promises to ensure people have access to affordable housing. 

- Finally, Curtis Fric reports on Canada's strong public appetite to develop closer ties to the EU. But Katie Simpson, Louis Blouin and Fannie Olivier report that Mark Carney is instead swapping terms for a trade deal with the U.S., with no apparent recognition that any agreement on paper is absolutely worthless as long as Donald Trump is in power. 

Wednesday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Anne Appelbaum discusses how the rise of authoritarian politics making elections around the world into existential crises - though it's worth highlighting the role Stephen Harper and his Con/IDU connections have played in fighting against solidarity and democracy. Carole Cadwalladr writes about Peter Thiel's role in fusing extreme wealth and conscience-free political power. And Rebecca Solnit points out that it's a militarized state which bears responsibility for violence arising out of a draconian response to peaceful protests. 

- Michael Sainato reports on the International Trade Union Confederation's warning that the Trump regime is attacking workers' rights around the globe. And Sidney Blumenthal notes that at least some of the corporate forces typically aligned with Republicans are also recognizing they stand to suffer from Trump's corruption. 

- Garce Blakely's Ellen Meiksins Wood lecture points out how corporatism seeks to undermine democracy in order to prevent public action against corporate plans. Simon Enoch writes that neoliberal policy has served to weaken our democratic system, laying the groundwork for an authoritarian takeover. And Dale Smith warns that Mark Carney's first steps in office have continued down that same path, particular in undermining personal privacy and security in favour of further corporate control. 

- Meanwhile, Nick Pearce rightly argues that any plan to build Canada needs to involve both a clear budget and a focus on workers. And Charlie Angus notes that we're not going to save the country by allowing fossil fuel tycoons to torch our natural living environment. 

- Finally, Rebecca Burns reports on the success of a Kansas City tenants' union in stabilizing rents and securing repairs - signaling another area in which collective action can produce tangible benefits. 

Tuesday Night Cat Blogging

Braced cat.

Tuesday Morning Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- David Lurie discusses how Donald Trump is making flagrant corruption and theft legal for himself and his cronies, while inventing specious excuses to treat anybody who dares to register any opposition as a criminal. Jon Queally points out the predictability of a fascist government rounding up and demonizing labour leaders as a key attack on collective action. And Michelle Goldberg writes about the emergence of autocracy under the Trump regime. 

- Meanwhile, Jeet Heer highlights many of the obvious reasons why the Democrats need to have higher standards than to agree with Elon Musk when he starts disagreeing with Trump's division of the spoils - though even if one wasn't inclined to act on principle, it's hard to see any upside in aligning a party with one of the few public figures more broadly loathed than Trump in any event. 

- Natasha Bulowski reports on the needed pushback against Mark Carney's plans to gut federal regulatory processes for the benefit of corporations pursuing pipelines and other megaprojects. And Morgan Grenfell points out how Doug Ford's cronies will profit from similar legislation designed to squelch public participation and environmental oversight. 

- Ed Zitron reminisces about a time when the tech industry spent at least some time developing products that actually served users, rather than being designed to bleed people dry. And Luke Goldstein and Freddy Brewster report that the government capture by U.S. cryptobros includes pushing to allow banks to raid people's savings and checking accounts to bail out crypto speculators. 

- Finally, Katherine Scott discusses how low-income families in Canada have less disposable income than ever. 

Monday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material to start your week.

- David Moscrop writes about the difficulty in trying to respond to a news stream constantly filled with horrors without breaking down. George Monbiot discusses how Britain is seeing increasing swaths of land turned into desert dead zones. And Paula Simons writes about the grim reality of regular wildfire smoke - including far more severe health effects than are generally known. 

- Meanwhile, Chris Hatch points out the absurdity of trumpeting "decarbonized" fossil fuels when the primary intention of oil and gas production remains to have it burned and turned into carbon pollution. And Gaby Clark examines research showing that methane leaks from dormant oil and gas wells are significantly worse than previously assumed. 

- Jessica Wildfire discusses how Donald Trump has been looking for (and working to fabricate) an excuse to impose martial law, while Jonathan Last writes that this week is the most dangerous one in the U.S.' history in terms of the imposition of authoritarianism. 

- Paul Krugman notes that Trump's plans to politicize tax rates on foreign capital is just one more step in ensuring that no rational actors risk a cent of their holdings in the U.S. And Greg Sargent writes that the  difference giving rise to a feud between Trump and Elon Musk is limited to their disagreement as to how best to harm the working class (which should serve as reason for any opposition or resistance voices to refuse to try to make common cause with either of them). 

- Finally, Isaac Phan Nay writes about CUPW's fight to preserve a viable, publicly-operated Canada Post in contrast to management's determination to impose the precarious model used by private delivery services. And in case we needed a reminder as to how businesses are allowed to abuse workers, Nicole Brockbank reports on a single operator's accumulation of almost a million dollars in unpaid wages and fines through multiple employers.