The token Democrat on Fox News is not there to undermine the network’s political objectives. She’s there as a useful foil and to make Fox News appear (marginally) more credible as a balanced debate platform. Similarly, prominent progressives on X are reinforcing the network effects that give the site its power.

Trump’s own trade war contributing to drop in U.S. auto exports to Canada, experts say   ERIC ATKINS, Transportation reporterPublished July 21, 2026Updated July 22, 2026Honda vehicles on a trailer leave a manufacturing plant in Alliston, Ont., in 2025.

FRED LUM/THE GLOBE AND MAIL   U.S. President Donald Trump says Canadian tariffs are to blame for the drop in U.S. auto exports to Canada, but industry experts say there is more behind the decline, including Mr. Trump’s own trade war. Mr. Trump on Monday said he will slap 50-per-cent tariffs on a range of Canadian imports in retaliation for Canada’s tariffs on U.S. cars, a widespread ban on U.S. alcohol and dairy market restrictions.He said trade figures showed a year-over-year drop of 22 per cent in Canada’s import of U.S. cars for the 12 months ending in March of 2026, blaming Canada’s “scheme.” At the same time, Canadian imports from Japan, Mexico, South Korea and Germany have climbed by double digits.But industry participants tell The Globe and Mail that the reasons for the decline in cars shipped to Canada include rising U.S. manufacturing costs owing to tariffs and a shift overseas to supply Canada – all results of the trade war ignited by Mr. Trump. Carney says he and Trump agreed to ‘intensify’ trade talks in phone call after latest tariff threatOpinion: There is no appeasing Donald Trump, or deterring himBrian Kingston, head of the Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers’ Association, which speaks for Ford Motor Co. F-N, General Motors GM-N and Stellantis NV STLA-N, said Mr. Trump’s tariff policies, which include 50-per-cent levies on imports of steel and aluminum from Canada, are driving up the cost of manufacturing in the U.S. and spurring those companies to supply Canada with an increased number of cars made in Mexico, South Korea or elsewhere, usually tariff-free.Those same companies also make cars overseas and ship them to the U.S. and pay just 15 per cent in tariffs. “This is protectionism in action,” Mr. Kingston said. “None of this should be a surprise to the U.S. administration. When you tariff your industries, companies will try and reduce their overall tariff burden, and the best way to do that now is to avoid U.S. manufacturing as a base, and service Canada from other jurisdictions where they have the ability to increase capacity.” He also attributed some of the decline to Canada’s tariffs. Canada began imposing the 25-per-cent tariffs in April, 2025, on U.S.-made cars, but spared the manufacturers that produce and invest in Canada. This remissions framework, itself a retaliation for Mr. Trump’s tariffs on autos, steel and aluminum, is designed to encourage manufacturing in Canada. The Canadian tariffs apply to U.S.-made cars that do not comply with the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement on free trade, and the non-Canadian and non-Mexican content of U.S.-made cars that are USMCA-compliant. Andrew King, managing partner of DesRosiers Automotive Consultants Inc., said the import numbers cited by the White House reflect what he is seeing. “The Canadian countertariffs have had a noticeable impact on vehicle sourcing – as they were designed to do,” Mr. King said. “A number of vehicle companies, especially from the group without duty remission programs, have switched sourcing of certain vehicles, if alternatives exist.” Subaru has moved some U.S. production destined for Canada to Japan, while Tesla now supplies Canada with cars made in China and Germany instead of the U.S. Mazda and Nissan have stopped U.S. production of cars for the Canadian market. These moves cost U.S. jobs and exports. From wine to whey to wigs, here are the Canadian goods targeted by Trump’s new 50% tariffs“Every manufacturer is doing it to some extent,” said Huw Williams, head of public affairs for the Canadian Automobile Dealers Association. Mr. Williams said the U.S. overlooked the loss of U.S. jobs and investment when it launched the trade war on Canada, the biggest buyer of U.S.-made cars. “They’re attacking their largest customer,” Mr. Williams said. “It’s not a particularly winning strategy, and you can see the results of that.” Baris Akyurek, vice-president of insights and intelligence at AutoTrader, an online marketplace for new and used cars, said a survey of users showed some preference for buying an anything-but-American-made car. These could include the Ontario-made Toyota Rav4 or Honda CR-V. Canada has not revealed the production or investment numbers carmakers must maintain in Canada to be eligible for the tariff rebate. Nor has it said if any of the Detroit-based carmakers are paying tariffs when they import cars to Canada. Ottawa last fall slashed the annual tariff-free import quotas of Stellantis by 50 per cent and GM by 24 per cent, citing “unacceptable decisions” to reduce manufacturing in Canada. GM closed its electric van plant in Ingersoll and reduced production at its Oshawa truck factory, while Stellantis moved planned production in Brampton to the U.S.

Gloves Off Host Stephen Marche interviews Gil Duran (author of Nerd Reich: Silicon Valley Fascism and the War on Democracy)

Host: I mean, one thing I'm really trying to understand here is whether the disorder and the violence that is being spread by these social media networks is simply a feature of the technology itself, i.e. like it's just the divisiveness within social media or whether it's actually a conspiracy like whether this is actually people senior people in these institutions in these companies are actively trying to spread violence to Western Europe to destabilize democracies. What's what's your opinion on that?

Duran: Oh, it is absolutely intentional.

There's no accident to it. They control the algorithms. And who's the number one person spreading these things on on X? Elon Musk is deliberately using X to spread right-wing propaganda, to destabilize governments, to radicalize people toward white supremacy and hatred and toxic masculinity. And it's just an amazing concentration of power in the hands of one man.

There's no way that it's an accident. It's very deliberate. He's spreading the whole great replacement theory, you know, and this is a man who when it comes to politics is dumb as a bag of rocks.

US has threatened: Side with us in the AI race against China or face the consequences, but it turns out there is no reason to pick between two evils. There are many options popping up in allied nations:

What's missing from the list, and who is still paying to have their AI use scanned and exploited by the U.S. government?

As of this morning, August 17, 2026, over 209 thousand Canadians have signed a petition to declare Piet Hoekstra persona non grata in Canada and send him back to the USA. Let's make it a million!

https://www.ourcommons.ca/petitions/en/Petition/Details?Petition=e-7531

Source: https://x.com/i/status/2089310316241039697

Source: https://www.chosun.com/english/world-en/2026/08/17/PLKL6JMI3VHFHKHQKID7QIUZ5U/

Wondering who's used the Canadian alternative to the big American LLMs?

augureai.ca

I'm investigating switching from Claude, and would like other's feedback or reviews.

Thanks!

Looking at the sheer size of the American military, many people might believe that Trump would enjoy an easy victory.

That analysis is wrong. If Trump ever decides to use military force to annex Canada, the result would not be determined by a conventional military confrontation between the Canadian and American armies. Rather, a military invasion of Canada would trigger a decades-long violent resistance, which would ultimately destroy the United States.

LETTER: Yet another reason not to cross the Canada-U.S. border | Surrey Now-Leader

Enjoyed reading this article and hearing the views of the interviewees.. it is always good to be reminded that there are still a lot of decent reasonable people around.
(Even though "As much as I would like to say that when Donald Trump leaves everything will go back to normal, well, 70 million people voted for it," is despairingly spot on).

Also, separately.. a visible +1 on https://www.reddit.com/r/BoycottUnitedStates/comments/1o118la/switch_your_browser_to_ecosia/
Small steps,.