As we enter the fall, there's no use pretending that things are normal any longer. The rest of the world needs to stop placating Trump and start challenging his rogue government. www.thestar.com/opinion/cont...
Former cinema & video store manager, meat monkey & question-asker. Screenwriter, cultural anarchist & archivist. Make. Life. Art.
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As we enter the fall, there's no use pretending that things are normal any longer. The rest of the world needs to stop placating Trump and start challenging his rogue government. www.thestar.com/opinion/cont...
I think this will be less of a “I’m not dead yet”, and more of a “The U.S. is invading Venezuela (or Chicago. It’s a coin toss, really.) ‘in two weeks if they don’t - ‘ type of authoritarian announcement. Also, why aren’t the Trump-Epstein files America’s biggest front page story every single day?
And that AI position just happens to be the foundation of Carney's economic development and government reform plans. Swell. Under Carney, the Canadian digital-policy debate has regressed into mindless cheerleading (see: Solomon, Evan). It's as if the last 30 years never happened.
Graham Greene has died. A Canadian acting icon, he earned an Oscar nomination for his role as Kicking Bird in Dances With Wolves. He also won a Grammy, Gemini and Canadian Screen Award, along with the Governor General's Performing Arts Award. He also earned a star on Canada's Walk of Fame.
The largest professional organization of scholars studying genocide said Monday that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.
Remember, kids: A real big goal of "AI" is to entirely sever capital from labor, and no, there will be no universal basic income, you can all just starve and die, thanks www.axios.com/2025/08/26/a...
42 years ago today Mick Jones, lead guitarist for The Clash, was fired by the other three members who claimed he had "deviated" from the group's original idea The beginning of the end of The Clash was decided 📸 Steve Rapport #punk #theclash #mickjones #punkrockhistory #otd
Genocide as a real estate deal.
The tl;dr: Greater military spending without acknowledging that the US is the main threat to Canada, and without transforming governance in this country, will be for naught. We need actually ambitious plans, not recycled conservative ideology.
It’s the convergence of the quackery into one great stream of quack that is the thing that is going to kill us all
In a press release Jack Daniels was whining that their profits and Canadian consumers are being hurt by our own boycott. They still don't get. They say sales dropped 62%. C'mon people we can do better than that. www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
Me, a month ago:
Remembering something I posted a month ago now for no particular reason . . .
I think Trump will be just as dangerous to America (maybe less so other countries) after he’s gone, as a figurehead, in whose name MAGA GOP will continue to plow ahead with Project 2025 (and beyond). He will just be way less random, insane, and incoherent than he had been up until that time came.
I think Trump will be just as dangerous to America (maybe less so other countries) after he’s gone, as a figurehead, in whose name MAGA GOP will continue to plow ahead with Project 2025 (and beyond). He will just be way less random, insane, and incoherent than he had been up until that time came.
Report: Entire world refreshing newsfeed for no particular reason
Your 1,623,647th reminder that appeasing Trump not only doesn't work, it makes things worse.
BLOCKED
Wild how every single day under Trump 2 is a confirmation of the worst fears of what his return to power would mean & yet everyone in a position of power to stop it from 2021 on, or leading nominal formal democratic opposition now, seems to mostly not act like this is a singular unmaking of America
If every vote counts why all the gerrymandering? The entire electoral system of the United States is based on a lie. The Electoral College was designed to keep slave owners in power, and it will do the same for fascist regimes in the 21st Century. Too late to abolish it now. America’s fucked.
Edmonton’s public school board is yanking over 200 books from its libraries, including literary classics like Margaret Atwood’s “The Handmaid’s Tale,” to comply with the UCP's directive banning books containing "inappropriate sexual content." globalnews.ca/news/1135609...
Neil Young takes Trump’s signature slogan, “Make America Great Again,” and repeats throughout the song, “No more great again.” globalnews.ca/news/1135588...
. . . and then ordered another round.
Poor air quality from wildfires projected to reduce life expectancy in Canada “Pollution from wildfires remains the greatest external threat to human life expectancy, period.”
Edmonton Public Schools has decided that Margaret Atwood is too dangerous for youth to read. As is Brave New World. 1984 is banned by Grade 9s and younger. This is the MAGA machine of Danielle Smith in action. Perhaps a public book burning will reassure the base. www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
Have governments instead considered the revolutionary idea of employing a large number of subject matter experts who never hallucinate fake facts and are trained to brief Ministers whenever needed? They could be politically neutral and permanent. We could call it a civil service or something
Or… hear me out … instead of dramatically cutting carbon emissions in order not to bequeath countless future generations a misery that will cause them to curse our names, the Liberal government of noted environmentalist Mark Carney could build a pipeline. Tough call.
Yes: “Carney has hit a defiant chord, sometimes stridently, since he entered politics: Trump “wants to break us so American can own us,” etc. That has perceptibly diminished over time. He doesn’t seem to know how to combine defiance and political realism. It’s not an easy task, but that’s the job.”
Political realism + defiance = politics. Carney’s problem (and ours) is that he’s a lifelong bureaucrat facing a political problem with no technocratic solution. As Salutin notes, to take on Trump you need Canadian workers behind you. Carney doesn’t seem to understand that basic political reality.
If Canadians and our leaders see this as a political battle for Canada’s existence, our threshold for resistance will remain high, and likely go higher. But if pundits and leaders keep treating this as an economic exercise, the pressure to accept US subjugation will become a real problem.
That’s why Carney’s pre-emptive and foolish cave on the DST was so disturbing. It suggested that he still thinks he’s just negotiating a trade deal, and not setting the long-term parameters for how independent (or not) the US will allow Canada to be.
Canada’s location and deep, deep integration with the US economy (thanks, Mulroney!) mean that the cost of Canada caving to US demands, as even Europe has done, are exponentially higher for us than anyone else, except maybe Mexico. Europe faces inconvenient tradeoffs. Canada, subjugation.
Trump’s tariffs, especially in the unique Canadian context, are designed not just to restore US manufacturing, but to eliminate Canadian political autonomy. The goal is to make Canada pliant to all US economic, social and security demands.
This column on whether Canadians have the stomach to keep resisting the US if we’re hit with the full force of US tariffs makes the common mistake of treating the crisis as an economic-only problem. In reality, it’s primarily political. That changes everything.
Then we’re in Red Storm Rising time . . .
That result is achievable if the current campaign is sustained.
Ukraine has currently disrupted 17% of Russia’s oil refining production. If they can get the level to 30%, domestic demand would far exceed supply. That’s when things start to fall apart. (Data by Rochan Consulting)
49 years ago today An original little poster of the famous Screen on the Green punk concert, August 29, 1976, featuring the Sex Pistols, TheClash (performing in London for the first time) and the Buzzcocks, all for £1. #punk #punks #punkrock #screenonthegreen #punkrockhistory #history #otd
“This goes far beyond, and is far worse, than bad monetary policy or harmful vaccine policy. It is the beginning of the transformation of the United States into something unrecognizable.” Oh, it’s very recognizable. Reporters, editors and pundits just have to develop the courage to name it: fascism.
Congress opens an investigation into Wikipedia. They really want to control all sources of information and discredit anything they don't own. www.usatoday.com/story/news/p...
Our country has descended into fascism. Some critics think that that’s unfortunate.
[The Blade; Ohio - 8/23/1980]
[The Expositor; Canada - 5/31/1979]
They're now saying it out loud: The Administration's goal is to undo the political independence that Congress granted the Fed, so that the President can directly set rates.
Amazing that a prick like Hegseth gets in power on an aggrieved vetbro stabbed in the back narrative and immediately recreates Baghdad 2005.
Welp, the lying about economic numbers — which everyone predicted would happen — has commenced. And the press is dutifully gobbling it up.
Fuck all of these people. "We're absolutely not going to help you, so pray to sky daddy for some candy."
No more Crown Royal for me. They would rather sell to Americans than keep jobs in Canada. I put them on the same list as Wayne Gretzky wines. Thanks but no thanks. Btw... there are so many great Canadian whiskies to choose.
#ComingUpOnTCM SINGIN' IN THE RAIN (1952) Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor, Debbie Reynolds Dirs.: Gene Kelly, Stanley Donen 5:00 PM PT A silent-screen swashbuckler finds love while trying to adjust to the coming of sound. 1h 43m | Musical | TV-G #TCM #TCMParty
Hmmmmm. Now you’ve got me thinking if I’ve seen this. It would have been back in the day. I can’t remember anything about it if I did so probably a good time for a (re?)watch. Maybe I read the Forsyth novel . . . But I still draw a blank on any plot details either way.
Better that chucklefuck than Johnson, who I guarantee you, the GOP would hustle into the Oval ASAP. Vance is a cosplaying fraud but Johnson is a legit Christian Nationalist motherfucker.
Atwood, Laurence, Munro and Angelou are all on this list.
Ruin a book by adding “Tom Clancy’s” to the title. Tom Clancy’s The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
Me: Siri, what if Ian Fleming’s James Bond novella ‘The Spy Who Loved Me’ was nine-hundred pages long? Siri: See above.
Practically the same show so no biggie, I guess . . .
The right has collectively mourned Ashli Babbitt more than every kid that’s ever died in a mass shooting combined.
Alberta is banning The Handmaid’s Tale in schools.
and contrary to @zachbeauchamp.bsky.social's claims the mainstream media has NOT been "harshly critical" of Trump, they won't even name his lies as lies, his fascist acts as fascist acts, or even point out blatantly unconstitutional claims when he makes them. 4/n
Scream Factory is celebrating 13 years of fear with an instant horror collection giveaway! Enter for a chance to win more than 150 films spread across 130 4K UHD Collector's Editions, Blu-rays, SteelBooks, and box sets: gleam.io/gmyJG/win-a-...
he has outright blackmailed (successfully, in many cases!) universities, law firms, while defunding other critical civil society organizations; 3/n
he has illegally deported - in fact, engaged in extraordinary rendition - thousands while sending militarized police units of masked thugs to illegally kidnap people from the streets to take them to literal concentration camps; 2/n
What a wildly incorrect conclusion. On almost every point Trump has in fact proved enormously successful: he's already outright fired tens of thousands in the bureaucracy and replaced its upper echelons with incompetents and corrupt bagmen, he has sent the military into cities,... 1/n
What if they pray in French? Also, fuck all the way off.
White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt on people living in Democrat-run cities: “Your leaders are lying to you and they have been failing you for decades.”
Spokesperson for a president and a party that perpetuated “The Big Lie” as part of a conspiracy to overturn the 2020 election and stay in power . . .
”One can’t blame a nation for being small or geographically vulnerable — only for being cheap and shortsighted.” @michaeldweiss.bsky.social spot on in this excellent piece on the Nordic-Baltic countries’ outsized contribution to Ukraine. They have demonstrated what small state power looks like.
”While other NATO allies bean-count about what they can and cannot provide Ukraine, citing their own need for military readiness, front-line states have rightly assessed that maintenance for a war being fought now has a greater return on investment than stockpiling for a war that might come later.”
The rot is within. Canada is not immune to the disease of right-wing authoritarianism and extremism.
"In all, officials said, Russia launched 598 drones and 31 missiles in the overnight assault on Kyiv and other cities. Ukraine’s defenses shot down 563 drones and 26 missiles, according to the Ukrainian authorities."
What did Putin think of the Alaska summit? Well, he just sent drones and missiles to hit an apartment building, a shopping mall and the headquarters of the European Union in Kyiv. www.nytimes.com/2025/08/28/w...
Now, Washington, DC is occupied and armed members of the military are patrolling our nation's capitol. By design, this occupation has changed the capacity for citizens from DC and beyond to move freely and engage in free speech. So what happens the next time 100K+ Americans mobilize to protest?
St. Lawrence River at lowest August water level in more than a decade
Now 14 dead in Kyiv. Russia will continue to do this until it faces crippling, well enforced sanctions, and more military pressure from Ukraine, aided by the West. Putin sees only weakness from Trump and the West, which encourages more attacks. Action - not "resolve to stand with" - is needed.
Too much voice-over whispering. Petty complaint but it makes it an unpleasant viewing experience for me. Own it and still need to re-watch it again (I’ve seen it a few times.) Infinitely better than the recent efforts however, IMHO. Want to re-watch the two TV mini-series’ also for completeness.
Morning Bluesky. The war of words between the US and Denmark over Greenland continues after Trump used Putin’s tactic in Crimea before the Russian invasion - sending in “private individuals” to launch an influence campaign. The US badly wants to take Greenland.
Absolutely bonkers personalist regime stuff www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...
Every day, another piece of nauseating news hits my gut in a way I thought I’d become immune to, reminding me that the decline towards fascism takes place through the actions, not just of the fascists themselves, but of weak humans who choose short term self-preservation over courage and conviction.
She didn't even mean to tell the future ... she was just calculating the most plausible outcomes of racism in America
The normalization of fascism continues apace.
Before he was elected in 2016 I said that a Trump presidency would be an extinction-level event. So glad to see that Americans gave him a second try to accomplish it instead of sending him to prison forever. BUT does the rest of the U.S. & the planet just have to let him do it unchallenged? Fuck
I do get sick posting about Trump, but he’s a global threat of a kind we haven’t seen before. Every single thing he does, every policy, is damaging and they all reach out far beyond America’s borders.
IF YOUR ENTIRE INDUSTRY IS BUILT ON THEFT IT DESERVES TO BE DESTROYED
Vast majority of Canadians want deeper economic ties with the EU, reduced dependence on the U.S.
TOMORROW: The Ramen Ramen Street festival begins, celebrating the iconic Japanese dish in Montreal through Aug. 31
US accused of conducting hostile campaign designed to destabilize Denmark, a close democratic ally amp.dw.com/en/denmark-s...
Tom Barrack’s remarks to journalists trigger calls for an apology and media boycott.
Great. Now do this in the United States, cowards.
note how Trump on a daily basis is trying to normalize the idea that he's a dictator
I guess if you think 14 year-olds are “sick” & “evil” it doesn’t really matter how you treat them . . .
.@vermontgmg.bsky.social is exactly right. America is now a fascist state. Just as we all warned it would be if Trump were reelected. www.doomsdayscenario.co/p/america-ti...
Adam Raine, 16, died from suicide in April after months on ChatGPT discussing plans to end his life. His parents have filed the first known case against OpenAI for wrongful death. Overwhelming at times to work on this story, but here it is. My latest on AI chatbots: www.nytimes.com/2025/08/26/t...
In any other year, on any other issue, Solomon's dismissive, ignorant comments about the very subject of his portfolio would be a firing offence. He's not fit for government. If he remains, it will demonstrate the Carney government's lack of seriousness about or understanding of digital policy.
On this day in 1957, Hammer’s gripping and often overlooked The Abominable Snowman was released 🖤
Absolutely one of Hammer’s best and (it’s hard to pick one) probably my fave Hammer based solely on the sheer number of times I’ve watched it compared to the others.
Um, RACIST feeling, obviously. It’s hard to drink tea and rage at the same time!
Dan Drezner’s Trump toddler analogy has done more to prevent people from recognizing Trump’s authoritarian nature than almost anything else. If it was misguided during his first term, it’s downright absurd to use today.
At some point, pundits’ll recognize that Trump isn’t a toddler to be coddled, but a wannabe dictator who *wants* & will take what he can. And that advice like “you can try to manage him, which means giving him small wins in some areas & standing firm in others” is utterly misguided. But not today.
Actively resent the fact we’re expected to listen to a press conference on “mass deportations” as if this is a perfectly normal, mainstream thing and not the unhinged rantings of a racist who is somehow on my television.