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"Ceremonies of Light and Dark" - s3e11

Can America come get Grandpa? He's pooping in the flowerbed again.

Summary

Ontario Premier Doug Ford says the province will permanently cancel its $100 million contract with Elon Musk’s Starlink, even if U.S. tariffs are lifted.

The decision follows Trump’s 25% tariffs on Canadian imports, which prompted Ontario to ban U.S. firms from contracts.

Ford cited Musk’s ties to Trump as a factor and said he is willing to fight potential legal fallout.

Musk previously responded to cancellation threats with a dismissive “Oh well.”

Fired federal workers who are worried about losing their homes ask not to be quoted by name. University presidents fearing that millions of dollars in federal funding could disappear are holding their fire. Chief executives alarmed by tariffs that could hurt their businesses are on mute.

Even longtime Republican hawks on Capitol Hill, stunned by President Trump’s revisionist history that Ukraine is to blame for its invasion by Russia, and his Oval Office blowup at President Volodymyr Zelensky, have either muzzled themselves, tiptoed up to criticism without naming Mr. Trump or completely reversed their positions.

More than six weeks into the second Trump administration, there is a chill spreading over political debate in Washington and beyond.

People on both sides of the aisle who would normally be part of the public dialogue about the big issues of the day say they are intimidated by the prospect of online attacks from Mr. Trump and Elon Musk, concerned about harm to their companies and frightened for the safety of their families. Politicians fear banishment by a party remade in Mr. Trump’s image and the prospect of primary opponents financed by Mr. Musk, the president’s all-powerful partner and the world’s richest man.

MBFC
Archive

Summary

The Intercept has uncovered Elon Musk’s government email address, erm71@who.eop.gov, and filed FOIA requests to access his correspondence as head of DOGE.

DOGE has rapidly cut federal staffing and spending but tries to claim exemption from FOIA due to its White House affiliation.

Watchdog groups argue DOGE wields agency-level power and are suing for transparency. Government responses on Musk’s role have been contradictory, fueling legal battles.

Pending lawsuits aim to classify DOGE as a FOIA-subject agency and force document disclosures.

Summary

Senator Sheldon Whitehouse warns that the fossil fuel industry has spent over $339 million influencing U.S. politics: $96 million in donations to Trump-aligned groups and $243 million lobbying Congress.

A congressional probe found ExxonMobil, Chevron, Shell, and BP knowingly misled the public on climate risks while opposing regulations.

With Republicans now controlling both chambers, the investigation has ended, reducing oversight.

Whitehouse urges state-led investigations and lawsuits to continue exposing industry deception, as Trump’s administration advances pro-fossil fuel policies.

Github: https://github.com/Xyphyn/photon

I'm thinking of my friends and family who aren't on an alternative social media that loves Linux and Star Trek memes. I've been recommending stuff (I'll put in the comments) they can do that I think is easy and helpful but curious to see what your thoughts/recommendations are!

President Donald Trump on Thursday signed executive actions that delay for nearly one month tariffs on all products from Mexico and Canada that are covered by the USMCA free trade treaty, a significant walkback of the administration’s signature economic plan that has rattled markets, businesses and consumers.

The executive actions follow a discussion Trump held Thursday with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and negotiations between Canadian and Trump administration officials.

Her name is Anouk. She is an oc for a book series im reading. The name is stolen from a discord server for said book series :3

Cross-posted from https://rss.ponder.cat/post/126536

Archived link

Watching president Donald Trump berate the leader of Ukraine in the Oval Office last Friday, many Western officials were appalled. But they weren’t surprised. They have long understood what is now obvious to anyone who watched the ostensible photo op that careened into a diplomatic fiasco: Trump’s visceral disdain for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is inversely proportional to his abiding admiration for Russia’s dictator, Vladimir Putin.

Most U.S. allies I spoke with after the White House confrontation thought that Trump and Vice President J. D. Vance had planned to attack Zelensky, like bullies cornering the new kid on the school playground. One former U.S. official called it a “setup” (the White House denies this), intended to give Trump a pretext to withdraw American military support from an ungrateful ally, which, three days later, he did.

Watching Trump browbeat a country the United States had steadfastly backed until just six weeks ago, one bewildered Western diplomat who served in Russia asked me, “What the hell is happening to your country?” Now some of Ukraine’s staunchest supporters in the West wonder where their countries stand with the new leadership in Washington. The question has been on their mind for months.

My conversations with more than a dozen career diplomats and intelligence officers throughout the Western alliance, several of whom have served long tours in Washington, continued through the 2024 campaign, after the election, and into this week. Eventually the discussion came around to one basic question: Is Trump a reliable ally?