The Imperial Presidency

[robkelk]

It's worth a try. And other government departments are running job posters, too. This one might be of interest to somebody let go from USAID.

(And here's the complete list of Canadian federal government job competitions that are open to the public.)

[MilkmanConspiracy]

Canada to partner with Australia on early warning detection system in the Arctic (CBC)


Putting this here because the article notes that, while not necessarily a new plan (2022), recent changes in relations with the United States seemingly made this a higher priority than before.

Of particular interest is infrastructure and housing investments in the north - While both Trudeau and Harper have made investments in the north in the past (Which were seemingly appreciated but insufficient based on what I’ve read [1] [2]), this feels different somehow, perhaps due to being so early in the term of Prime Minister Mark Carney.

If this is successful, it will probably be a good thing for the broader Canadian economy, as well as some relief for areas specifically impacted by housing shortages in the far north.

That said, as an outsider looking in, I may be reading this completely wrong.

[robkelk]

U.S. officials cracking down on people trying to bring valuable eggs across the border

Egg interceptions up 116% so far this year, while seizures of fentanyl down 32%

   

(Eggs in Canada – not "Omega-3 eggs", not jumbo double-yolk eggs, just plain ordinary eggs – cost roughly half what they cost in the USA, as of this posting.)

Now we know why Governor Trump insisted that Canada crack down on drug smuggling – US border agents are too busy making sure that US farmers don't have to compete in a free market to worry about drugs.

[robkelk]

Is the USA still a democracy?

No tl;dr - this one needs to be read in full, with the reader's full attention.

[classicdrogn]

"Vote for me and we'll fix it so you never have to vote again." Trump was pretty clear about his intentions for that.

[robkelk]

U.S. blocks Canadian access to public library in Canada

[robkelk]

Canada's Head of State has presented a new ceremonial sword to the Usher of the Black Rod of the Senate. (Second story here.)

In the royal tradition, a sword like this is seen as a symbol of sovereignty.

Statement made without a single word being said.

[Nathan] Tidridge [vice-president of the Institute for the Study of the Crown in Canada] said it's easy to dismiss the sword ceremony as a meaningless symbol — but symbols and ceremony are "so tied to national identity" and Canada needs to cherish them now more than ever.

"We're in an existential crisis and Canadians are looking for things to really rally around right now — the Crown should be one of them."

[robkelk]

One for Labster's bingo card

Linking to a site outside of the USA for obvious reasons, of course.

What Trump's push to shut U.S. Dept. of Education means for students and schools

[robkelk]

A U.S. brain drain could be Canada's brain gain

Already, some researchers, academics and scientists are making the journey — and some provinces and organizations in Canada are looking to reap the benefits.

[Labster]

This one hit home for me, since it's at my old university, and specifically about what I was doing there:  UC Davis Law School suspends Law Student Association over Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions legislation  This is kind of the moral equivalent of a city passing a bill declaring themselves a sanctuary city, and then the state government dissolving the city, seizing all of their land, and dismissing all of the elected leaders -- not because they disagree (they actually secretly agree), but because the President doesn't like it.

The last line says no sanctions have been taken against the undergraduate student council, and that's because they won't.  ASUCD owns the city's bus service, and is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit in its own right -- any sanctions attempted there would drag in the city and county government, and probably be ineffective.  They'd have better luck trying to get the IRS to revoke their tax status, honestly.  The whole thing makes my blood boil, despite my longstanding policy to not comment at all about the Israel-Palestine conflict, because the response was disproportionate to an organization that was going to have zero effect on said war anyway.

It's reminding me of a story that a friend of mine told me last month.  She used to go to school, and every morning everyone would have to say "Heil Hitler!" as they came in to greet the teacher.  One morning she decided to find out what happened if you didn't say it, and came in and told the teacher "Guten Morgen!".  The teacher immediately slapped her twice, knocking her head from side to side, and back again, and demanded she greet him the right way.  If it annoys the leader, it doesn't matter how small the infraction, I guess.

Anyway, more stuff:

US orders French companies to comply with Trump's diversity ban -- in France
Trump is 'not joking' about third term -- where there's a will to power, there's a way
Musk said 'The fundamental weakness of Western civilization is empathy.'
RFK Jr. Says Maybe We Should Just Let The Bird Flu Run Rampant
Apparently I missed it but our country's Defense Secretary has a tattoo of Deus Vult on his arm in Gothic font.  Deus vult sounds like a good enough casus belli against Canada for me!

Rob's article already mentioned the professors moving to Canada.  One of them, Dr Synder has his entire course on the history of Ukraine on Youtube, which is well worth watching -- you don't have to do the reading since you don't need to take the midterm exams.  He also has a pretty good Substack; there's an essay on antisemitism where he relayed this quote of Trump, "Schumer is a Palestinian as far as I'm concerned. He's become a Palestinian. He used to be Jewish. He's not Jewish anymore. He’s a Palestinian."  And how that's basically the same as how Putin does it.

[robkelk]

Trump threats open 'floodgate' of inquiries from U.S. physicians about moving north

Some Canadian doctors are also turning down opportunities in the U.S.

Including Dr. Marc Ruel. He was going to lead a division in the surgery department of UCSF's school of medicine. Now, solely and only because of what His Orangeness has been doing, he's staying at uOttawa's Heart Institute.

Considering we have a shortage of physicians at the moment, we'll happily take your best and brightest... and keep our own.

[robkelk]

Sometimes it's the little things that matter...

The best donut shop in Ottawa no longer sells "Boston Cream" donuts. But you can get a "Brampton Cream" donut. (Brampton, Ontario is not particularly known for its baked goods.) They wouldn't have changed the name if it didn't make financial sense to do so.

[MilkmanConspiracy]

Sometimes it's the little things that matter...

The best donut shop in Ottawa no longer sells "Boston Cream" donuts. But you can get a "Brampton Cream" donut. (Brampton, Ontario is not particularly known for its baked goods.) They wouldn't  have changed the name if it didn't make financial sense to do so.

When I hear Brampton my mind immediately goes to the British folding bikes. Biking and baked goods are good combos in my experience.

Reminds me a few years back when the local deli changed the name of their bread to "Black Ukrainian".

Any chance Boston Pizza will change their name? Ain’t there a lot of Italians in Thunder Bay? Could be Thunder Bay Pizza instead which is a more kickass name anyway. Of course that’s a ways away from their origins in Edmonton.

[robkelk]

Oh, isn't this interesting... Bing insists on replacing a search for "make America grate again" with "make America great again". I think I might have to look up my Microsoft stock certificate number and make a complaint about censorship... especially if this is being done at the behest of the White House

[Dartz]

I expect it's a comment on the average American's ability to spell more than anything.

[robkelk]

Right. I had forgotten how Hanlon's Razor applies to this sort of thing.

[classicdrogn]

Eh, MAGA is old hat anyway, the new catchphrase is Trust In Trump apparently. At least the new hats will give fair warning?

[hazard]

You mean to tell me his supporters are TITs?

[Bob Schroeck]

Yeah, that's not going to last.

[robkelk]

U.S. dollar slides, Wall Street losses expected as global markets react to tariffs

U.S. Treasury yields slid, China's yuan dropped to a seven-week low, and the dollar came under heavy selling pressure.

The dollar index, which measures the U.S. currency against six others, fell 1.6 per cent to 102.03, its lowest since early October. The dollar index is down more than 5.7 per cent this year.

The euro, the largest component in the index, gained 1.5 per cent to a six-month high of $1.1021 US.

The yen strengthened to a three-week high against the dollar and was last up 1.7 per cent at 146.76 per dollar, while the Swiss franc touched its strongest level in five months at 0.86555 per dollar.

"It's very difficult actually to see how other countries make concessions that would encourage the U.S. to lift these tariffs. And I think that's a big underpriced risk," said Nicholas Rees, head of macro research at Monex Europe.

Apple sank 6.5 per cent, hit by an aggregate 54 per cent tariff on China — the base for much of Apple's manufacturing. Microsoft dropped 1.8 per cent, Nvidia slipped 3.5 per cent and Amazon.com fell 5.1 per cent.

"Eye-watering tariffs on a country-by-country basis scream 'negotiation tactic,' which will keep markets on edge for the foreseeable future," said Adam Hetts, global head of multi-asset and a portfolio manager at Janus Henderson Investors.

Retailers were hit hard on Thursday, with Lulemon falling 10.3 per cent, Nike dropping 8.3 per cent and Walmart 6.2 per cent after Trump imposed some of the most punitive tariff rates on major production hubs including Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia and China.

Auto industry heavyweights were also also down — General Motors by two per cent and Tesla falling about five per cent.

It looks like Liberation Day has liberated the US Dollar from its spending power. And the US stock markets haven't opened yet.

Enjoy being poorer, folks.

[robkelk]

It looks like Liberation Day has liberated the US Dollar from its spending power. And the US stock markets haven't opened yet.

Enjoy being poorer, folks.

They've opened... and they've tanking like it's 1929.

[Bob Schroeck]

Trump accuses Trump-haters running the stock market of doing this deliberately to undermine him in 3, 2, 1...

[robkelk]

Meh. we were due for a depression anyway; the market needs a catastrophic correction every so often. It would have been nice if it hadn't hit my retirement fund exactly when I needed it, though.

[hazard]

Boom and bust cycles are not necessarily inherent, nor is the amplitude of such an event necessarily large.

Government mismanagement of the economy can do much to make recessions worse.