For local, independent businesses I support, I was happy to give a higher tip during #COVID to help them get through it. Those higher tip levels now seem to be the norm. What's going on?

1/ I recently wrote about Frances Perkins—FDR’s Labor Secretary and first woman cabinet member. She is best known as the architect of the New Deal but she had a lesser-known achievement: She dismantled her era’s version of ICE.🧵

Stunning that this CityNews Vancouver article has no mention of climate change: vancouver.citynews.ca/2026/01/12/p.... With the Canada-Alberta #MOU to increase #fossilfuel production, those governments should pay for the damages. #cdnpoli #climatecrisis

There's still time left to take 25% select World War II history titles using code J26-W2 at checkout! 💻️: https://tinyurl.com/5n7ubxsr #militarybooks #booksale #WWIIbooks #WWIIhistory #booksky

"1945: The Reckoning" by @philmcraig.bsky.social speaks to the global context of #Force136 and the making of modern Canada. The effort to achieve respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, happened at both national & international levels. See Phil on #WW2TV at www.youtube.com/live/OIvLXg6...

Canada isn't banning X and its ministers continue to use it. Ok. What are the consequences of creating child sex abuse material and deepfake porn? www.thestar.com/news/canada/...

🇬🇱🇺🇸 Nordic diplomats rejected Trump’s claims of Russian and Chinese vessels operating near Greenland, which he has invoked to justify his desire to seize island from Denmark, - FT Two top Nordic diplomats said there were no signs of Russian and Chinese ships or submarines in around Greenland.

Masses are now marching through Tehran. Preliminary reports indicate the Iranian Tax Administration building is on fire. Across multiple cities, disturbing updates are pouring in, wounded and killed numbers are rising fast. The regime is throwing everything it has at suppressing the uprising.

"The Oreshnik is the sign of a Fearful, Worried Putin, Not a Leader Confident of Victory." My regular update on war and great power competition. This week: the Oreshnik attack, peace talks progress, ground war in #Ukraine, China's reaction to Venezuela & more. mickryan.substack.com/p/the-oreshn...

Ottawa is still under-estimating Trump's threats. Would there be a massed American troop movement against Vancouver? Probably not. But could American troops suddenly start popping up in the Canadian Arctic, to "secure American trade routes"? Absolutely. www.economist.com/the-americas...

Falsely flagged, EU and US-sanctioned Ethera (IMO 9387279) flying the flag of the fraudulent registry of Guinea is sailing through the English Channel right now laden with Russian oil. more about this @windward-ai.bsky.social Maritime Defense Weekly windward.ai/blog/maritim...

No flag No insurance No problem! Rustbucket zombie-tanker ARCUSAT/TAVIAN/TIA will enter Baltics in ~3 days. This will be her third fetch of Russian oil since October. No flag, no state, no identity and no registry -> she is basically lawless. Some would even argue states have obligations here.

At the heart of our struggles with affording day-to-day living is wealth inequality. Throughout history, this cycle repeats itself. The solution? #TaxTheRich

Take 25% select World War II history titles! Use code J26-W2 at checkout to activate your discount. 💻️: https://tinyurl.com/5n7ubxsr #militarybooks #booksale #WWIIbooks #WWIIhistory #booksky

'This is already the Putin model: authoritarian rule that enables smash-and-grab oligarchy by those in the regime’s good favor. Trump is making it unusually explicit that in this sphere of influence, Trump-approved oligarchs will be enriched" newrepublic.com/article/2049... via @newrepublic.com

ICYMI! Great piece from @glandsbergis.bsky.social from before xmas on why Europe needs a new, two-track approach to deterrence - & fast! Europe’s security situation is changing fast— pretending otherwise is becoming dangerous & GL’s piece is even more pertinent now 🧵 table.media/en/security/...

It’s astonishing that many Trump supporters who back his actions in Venezuela and Iran fail to see Russia as an enemy, despite the fact that Russia is allied with most US enemies, including Venezuela, Iran, Cuba, North Korea, and China

This is straight out of Stalin’s Soviet Union: the White House has launched a full-blown January 6 revisionist website, claiming the rioters were “peaceful patriotic protesters,” blaming Nancy Pelosi and Democrats for “security lapses,” asserting that “Democrats staged the real insurrection”

"Greenland at War" explores the vital role Greenland played in World War II. Available now: https://tinyurl.com/yuh7few #Greenland #WWII #WWIIhistory #militaryhistory

REDDIT RELEASE: "Sascha Baron Cohen's The Dictator (2012) was prophetic". AmeriKKKa as a Dictatorship: Art imitates life, and life imitates art. 🤦‍♂️

" #NATO threatens the #Kremlin only as a deadbolt threatens a criminal. " - thehill.com/opinion/inte...

"I spent 33 years and four months in active military service... I spent most of my time as a high class muscle man for Big Business... I might have given Al Capone a few hints. The best he could do was to operate his racket in three districts. I operated on three continents." - Smedley Butler

If Wall Street’s biggest banks made more money financing green projects, what about Canada's banks? Too invested in the tar sands to let it go?

“As a veteran of Iraq & Afghanistan, I have seen this slovenly strategic thinking about regime change and reconstruction before. It did not end well, and may result in a distracted America while China further builds its military, economic and diplomatic power.” www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpre...

This is a good example of why intelligence assessments matter. Early claims can spiral fast, but careful analysis cuts through noise and propaganda. Quiet verification prevents bigger misunderstandings- and bigger wars! #Intelligence #NationalSecurity #Geopolitics www.nbcnews.com/world/europe...

1846–48 Mexico 1850s Nicaragua 1866 Mexico 1885 Colombia (Panama) 1891 Chile 1894 Brazil 1894 Nicaragua 1898 Cuba 1898 Puerto Rico 1903 Panama 1903 Dominican Republic 1903 Honduras 1904 Dominican Republic 1906–09 Cuba 1907 Nicaragua 1907 Honduras 1908 Panama ...-->

Relatedly, here is a link to @moisesnaim.bsky.social’s 2012 paper on Mafia States. www.foreignaffairs.com/mafia-states

Maduro Capture Operation and the President’s Duty to Faithfully Execute U.N. Charter at www.justsecurity.org/127962/madur...

This is an AI-manipulated version of a real video of the US military operation in Venezuela. While the real clip does appear to be genuine, this specific version has been manipulated using Grok to add dramatic explosions and strikes.

This is a moment that matters. The BC’s Democratic and Electoral Reform Committee has recommended an Electoral Reform Citizens' Assembly, but the government must decide whether to act. Visit your NDP MLA and show there is real support for proportional representation.

THREAD: I'll fact-check all the viral misinformation about the US military operation in Venezuela in this thread This image, purporting to show the US military arresting Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, is AI-generated. According to Google's SynthID detector, it was created using Google AI.

Never quite sure which level of government is responsible for what? Test your knowledge and learn who’s in charge with our Distribution of Powers quiz:

"When Western #realists promise stability through concessions, they are not advancing the cause of peace, they are gifting #Moscow time to rearm and repeat — all but inviting a bigger war. " - thehill.com/opinion/inte...

It is to Canada's shame we have not spoken out or supported a Canadian judge being sanctioned by the US Her life is frozen. She cannot use credit cards, travel, move money, or access email. This is not sustainable www.irishtimes.com/world/us/202...

"Three scholars walk into a bar and watch a country being invaded on TV. The constructivist says: 'We must help.' The pragmatist says: 'We should calculate costs and benefits.' The realist says: 'Actually, this is NATO’s fault.' It’s a joke, except that it isn’t." thehill.com/opinion/inte...

This is a good example of how the fascist play-spirit (effectively akin to hunting people for sport) is being used to normalize the worst atrocities against our fellow humans as a game that reinforces community belonging while enforcing social control (in this case against women and children).

The use of both real and fabricated images as a means of violent and nonconsensual social control is not only in line with the now dominant strategy of networked harassment as a political weapon, it is indispensable to it. Are they going to unilaterally disarm themselves now, or justify continuing?

“Our investigation developed proof beyond a reasonable doubt that President Trump engaged in a criminal scheme to overturn the results of the 2020 election and to prevent the lawful transfer of power.” www.nytimes.com/2025/12/31/u...

From daytime drone flights to nighttime logistics missions: the Kyiv Independent embedded with Ukraine’s forces in Kherson Oblast, following FPV drone and night bomber teams tasked with defending river islands.

#MOU For folks who don't see the writing on the wall, expect to see it in soaring insurance costs. Given how much $$$ Alberta has given away to corporations compared to Norway, is it worth doubling down on #fossilfuel extraction? www.cbc.ca/news/science... #cdnpoli #abpoli #ClimateCrisis #COP30

“Witkoff & Kushner are not acting in the interests of the US or our global interests or those of our allies. They’re acting in the interests of their milieu, maybe themselves. This is grand scale corruption of a kind we haven’t had in the US, and it does resemble Putin’s Russia.” —Anne Applebaum

“Given that the very existence of a sovereign Ukraine is the fundamental issue, the peace plan is unlikely to find favour in the Kremlin. It was fascinating to see Zelensky going along w the charade, showing Olympic levels of restraint when Trump claimed that Putin wants to see Ukraine succeed. 1/

#MOU Is it really worth giving US #fossilfuel corps mega profits for chicken feed and this? Compared to Norway, do Albertans believe they are receiving the full value of their resources? #cdnpoli #abpoli #ClimateCrisis #COP30

If confirmed, this paper could be the best news of 2025: complete reversal of Alzheimer's. www.cell.com/cell-reports...

Russia did a false-flag attack on Putin's residence to sabotage Zelensky's visit to Trump... except the Russians are so dumb they didn't actually stage anything to falsify evidence against Ukraine.

Wanna see real-life miracles? Fund scientific research. A team of US scientists just cured Alzheimer’s in mice — and there is now hope that the disease can be reversed in humans. futurism.com/health-medic...

I spoke last month on how Chinese firms operate across borders amid tariffs and export bans. I break down what’s actually changing with China's role in tech supply chains — and how to track it — in this week’s @nuoraglobal.bsky.social newsletter. nuoraglobaladvisors.substack.com/p/tracking-c...

Okay, so now best China books read in 2025 #NonFiction #China #History #Law #Biography #Memoir I chose three - with one runner up!! 1/6 #histbookchat

My latest list of China books of the year up at @fivebooks.com —along with an interview (key to read for a sense of the books AND at the end has a note explaining some of the rules I set myself embarking on an impossible task given how many good works keep coming out) fivebooks.com/best-books/t...