Extractive Capitalism, @lalehkhalili.bsky.social argues, is the system by which commodities (oil, ore, bauxite, coal, sand) are excavated, transported, processed and sold at markups that funnel profits to a narrow investor class while externalising costs on to workers, communities & the environment.

Opinion: The hard reality is that United States is no longer the centrepiece of global trade, and its internal volatility has exposed Canada to a precarious dance of 'trade talks' with no obvious solution. www.hilltimes.com/story/2025/1...

@csis.org @victordcha.bsky.social @andysaulim.com and Ellen Kim say China isn't the only one with trade leverage. Countries targeted by Beijing's coercion export nearly 600 critical goods China depends on—a united front could flip the script. 📖 Full Article:

When will we look at the power case over the power case? Twitter was a good deal for influence, not profit. DOGE was a cover for data access, not efficiency >> How Did DOGE Disrupt So Much While Saving So Little? ↘️ www.nytimes.com/2025/12/23/u...

In a major escalation against the EU, alongside civil society representatives the Trump Administration sanctions former Commissioner Breton for work he did in official capacity ↘️ www.state.gov/releases/off...

Closing out my year with a journal editor shocker 🧵 Checking new manuscripts today I reviewed a paper attributing 2 papers to me I did not write. A daft thing for an author to do of course. But intrigued I web searched up one of the titles and that's when it got real weird...

Another "plan" for Gaza with the same visual aesthetic as all Network State dystopias. Beware tech fascist billionaires bearing promises of AI-enhanced abundance. Gift Link: U.S Pitches Project Sunrise to Turn Gaza Into High-Tech Metropolis www.wsj.com/world/middle...

New job at Cambridge! Professorship of Public Policy www.cam.ac.uk/jobs/profess...

If we can't even identify our enemies then how can we fight them? Trump's National Security Strategy is the longest suicide note in American history www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...

How to frame the USMCA (re)negotiation: wash, rinse, repeat!

US Trade Rep. Greer's statement to Congress on USMCA renewal provides some support for the view that Mexico's recent tariff increase on non-FTA partners (including China) was carried out in response to US demands. ustr.gov/sites/defaul...

www.canada.ca/en/immigrati... #Canada Lost Canadians, welcome home.

Carleton’s Centre for European Studies welcomes applicants for the 2026 Konrad Adenauer Visiting Scholarship on Transatlantic Relations. A great opportunity for an early career researcher or established scholar on sabbatical. carleton.ca/ces/konrad-a...

I wonder if Canada will bring up Franklin-related Intellectual Property Issues during the USMCA review.

Political economy 101!

The budding Russo-American alliance aims to divide and dominate Europe and Canada. Start brainstorming how to resist. Best short-term strategy is to empower Ukraine to defeat Ru. apple.news/ANXb0ZCdSS3C...

The law isn’t a vibe. It’s what keeps Canada fair, equal, and (mostly) polite. 🇨🇦
Visit ourstoprotect.ca ... because fairness doesn’t protect itself.
#OursToProtect #RuleofLaw #Partner

So… these firms are paying EV owners to charge their cars, then reselling this as carbon credits to fossil fuels importers, all as part of Canada’s Clean Fuel Regulations 🤔 What do we think of this?

White House Begins Christmas Season With Ceremonial Lighting Of Cross

Guess what Bill C-16 includes? Don't let them tell you it can't be done. Man oh man, I'm in absolute shock right now, frankly.

I know which version I like best.

“Roman Shimonov, CEO of Roshel…questioned the media focus on armoured-vehicle sales. “Why don’t they report on companies that sell socks to the U.S. government?”” I wondered if we’d have a serious discussion about this in Canada. Not looking good. www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/art...

I'm not even mad, that's amazing.

I’m honestly speechless…

Applications for air quality permits confirm figures that Source NM previously reported: If approved, Project Jupiter could emit more than 14 million tons of greenhouse gases per year. By comparison, Albuquerque and Las Cruces emit a combined 6.7 million metric tons of greenhouse gases annually.

Venez travailler avec nous à l’École d’études de l’Université d’Ottawa/Come work with us at the School of Political studies at University of Ottawa!

Let me make a small correction to Noem’s statement: “Our forefathers built this nation on slaves’ blood and sweat and the unyielding love of freedom to hold human chattel”. If only the travel ban had been in place in 1619…

If you’re not sure why they had to issue this statement about Franklin the turtle it’s because Pete Hegseth did something horrible again: gizmodo.com/franklin-the...

Look around. The case for more, not less, liberal arts education - actual, real education in reading, writing, thinking, arguing, analyzing, & synthesizing by doing the actual hard work for which there is no substitute - is stronger than it’s ever been at any point in human history.

There's a lot riding on the 2026 midterm elections, but it probably won't make a difference for tariffs. Regardless of who's in power, either party could find that they like the tariff revenue, the income from investment commitments, and, maybe most of all, their coercive power. My latest for IOG:

#tradeXpresso: Trade Policy 3.0 - three scenarios for Tomorrowland ecipe.org/publications...

Industrial raw materials eg nickel, cobalt, rare earths are critical inputs in countless production, incl renewable energy, lithium batteries. Among 80 countries covering 97% of the world production of minerals & metals, export restrictions increased 5-fold between 2009-23 cepr.org/voxeu/column...

New at Debating Canadian Defence: open.substack.com/pub/philippe...

America, It's Not You, It's...

Does he mean the past before the climate change crisis or the past when 1.5 degrees was still possible? 🤔

For those trying to keep up with what's what in this latest MOU between the Feds and Alberta, I've got you covered: We're still light on the details, as the announcement will be formally made tomorrow. But gleaning from news reports, this is the deal:

African countries may need to prioritise electrification to boost growth • Power supply per head has dropped in Nigeria over past 15 years, in stark contrast with 21% rise globally • Nigeria’s grid usually only has 5GW of available power for 230m people - the same as Croatia for 4m citizens

Valuable exchange about broligatchs/nihilistic warlordism vs. neoroyalism and their compatibility to understand the new world order.

A short thread on why some Christians love Jews so much they want them to move elsewhere.

I wish I didn’t have to share this. But the BBC has decided to censor my first Reith Lecture. They deleted the line in which I describe Donald Trump as “the most openly corrupt president in American history.” /1

"[I]f history were to repeat itself and we were to return to the so-called "normalcy" of the 1920's—then it is certain that even though we shall have conquered our enemies on the battlefields abroad, we shall have yielded to the spirit of Fascism here at home." Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1944

US economy is going through AI boom-fuelled productivity spurt • In first half of 2025 output per hour of labour in durable goods sector grew by record-high 4.9% on annualised basis • Productivity gains are mostly concentrated in high-tech, hardware sectors that are part of broader AI push

“AidData is publishing detailed and comprehensive information about China’s secretive lending and grant-giving activities in high-income countries like the US, the UK, Western European countries, Japan, and Australia, in addition to the world’s developing countries.” www.aiddata.org/blog/chinas-...

Europe in dangerous territory. Putting democratic protections on the chopping blocks for trade concessions invites a slippery slope. Increasingly tariff negotiations cuts at the heart of European national security. www.ft.com/content/5820...

I'm so tired of people telling me to have students critique LLM outputs. I'm just going to print this on little cards and hand them out

Carney's budget claims Canada's anti-greenwashing law led to “some parties slowing or reversing efforts to protect the environment.” The government couldn't name any examples when I asked. Experts say the risks are exaggerated and the law could be working as intended thenarwhal.ca/greenwashing...

Keep quiet!!!

🇨🇦 PM Carney statement after meeting with EU and Vietnam on margins of G20 calls for "structured agreement that deepens economic CPTPP-EU cooperation and increases trade." Stronger on ties between EU and CPTPP than joint statement on dialogue a few days ago in Melbourne. www.pm.gc.ca/en/news/read...

Seems Canada is very likely to be caught in this…

A priori there is no reason that women should ever be associated with the men who talk about them. The fact that they are is plain old patriarchy.