Pixel

This has been the playbook from day one—Trump throws out an outrageous statement, his lackeys rush to ‘clarify’, 'negotiate' or downplay it, and then, surprise, he meant exactly what he said.

The real problem is the constant gaslighting: pretending he’s just posturing when, in reality, he’s dead set on pushing his reckless, authoritarian agenda. At this point, anyone still treating him like a rational actor is either delusional or complicit. No rational actor would casually equate ethnic cleansing to a real estate transaction, or try and take over a sovereign state as though it was a ruthless corporate takeover.

There is no future in negotiating with the US - the only way out of this mess is to do what we should've been doing for the past 30 years - diversify our supply chains, build resilient trading relationships and establish the infrastructure to insulate ourselves from the whims of volatile US policymakers - even if that means cozying up to global partners with historical animosity.

Canadian tariffs are targeted in a number of ways. One of the ways is targeting American goods that have Canadian alternatives. So the goal is to make American products less attractive by making them more expensive, damaging the US economy while bolstering our own.

I feel like it's often missed that it isn't a binary Buy US/Buy Canada dilemma. Most goods have substitutes - there are other countries that can produce most consumer goods. It's only when you start getting into high-value-added goods like turbines, flash memory, missiles and planes that there's difficulties in import substitution. A 25% retaliatory tariff doesn't mean your canned tomatoes are definitely going up by 25%, but you'll likely start seeing Mexican, Peruvian, etc. canned tomatoes on Canadian shelves that weren't there before.

And while patriotism is great and all, buying goods from other countries that we don't have strong established trading ties with is a good way to make the case for closer bilateral cooperation and even future free trade agreements that exceed most-favoured nation benefits conferred by the WTO. When countries start building export-driven industries that give dignity and economic self-sufficiency for their citizens, that's a future tiger worthy of negotiating a free trade agreement with.

I'm doubtful full membership will ever happen, and even an EEA Norway-style agreement where we adopt 75% of the EU's laws without representation but keep our fishing and agricultural policies (pre-requisites for the Atlantic and Prairie Provinces to agree), would take decades to be negotiated, signed and ratified with all the dysfunctional, proportional representational governments in Europe right now.

There's been discussions about "associate membership" in the EU to bypass the European-ness requirement, but I don't think that's gotten any traction.

I would be grateful for any kind of free movement agreement that gains traction right now, even with CARICOM or MERCOSUR.

This isn’t the major issue it’s being portrayed as.

Under Canada’s free trade agreements—including those with the WTO, CPTPP, and the European Union—Canada is obligated to allow foreign companies from these partner regions to compete for large government procurement contracts (typically valued at ~$230,000 CAD or more). These agreements ensure fair access without protectionist barriers and, in return, give Canadian companies access to similar opportunities in those markets.

Given this context, it's not surprising that a significant portion of federal procurement contracts go to companies headquartered in the world's largest free market economy, the United States. The fact that nearly 25% of federal government suppliers by total contract value being U.S.-based is not unexpected under these trade arrangements.

Consider the cost of inaction. A decade of lost economic growth, fewer jobs, and diminished competitiveness – all because we lacked the leverage to counter these blatantly unfair tariffs. Can we afford that?

Either those tariffs come down quick because we fight back, we massively expand our trading relationships with countries we don't get along with (China, Russia, India) Erdogan-style, or we experience what could amount to a Great Depression once Trump escalates further again knowing we're an easy target.

China scary tho

If you're okay with older homelab-esque equipment, the ERA, also on eBay as Calgary Computer Wholesale, often has really cheap rack mount stuff. This being said, the ERA is a pretty sketchy organization overall (it's closer to a small e-waste recycling business that takes advantage of its status to reduce liable taxes (with variable employee salaries equivalent to dividends) and take advantage of free volunteer labour, than an actual non-profit organization). Sometimes, provincial government surplus auction sites have rack mount equipment as well.

Thanks for posting this—it’s a really interesting read. It reminded me of discussions I had in university about sex work, where some would argue that their work was empowering because they were “exploiting” men rather than being exploited themselves. The idea was that by commodifying their sexual attraction, they were working within the system to empower themselves, rather than trying to dismantle the bigger structural issues.

The femosphere seems to follow a similar logic: working within existing power dynamics rather than fighting to change them. But as the article points out, these spaces often end up reinforcing the same patriarchal ideas they claim to resist. Like, framing traditional or conservative practices—like relying on men for financial support—as empowering doesn’t actually challenge the system; it just works around it.

What really struck me was the part about “anti-feminist feminism.” It’s wild how these spaces can seem feminist on the surface but actually double down on inequality by focusing on individual gain over collective progress. It’s the same vibe as “girlboss feminism” but with an even more cynical edge. It’s all about “winning” against men, which feels very manosphere but flipped.

I get why women might be drawn to this, though. Liberal feminism has been all about individual empowerment and hasn’t really delivered on the bigger promises of gender equality. But, like the article says, just because something criticizes liberal feminism doesn’t automatically mean it’s good for women. It feels like a trap—appealing because it’s a rejection of the status quo but ultimately just repackaging the same old problems.

The radicalisation part is also super concerning. Even if the femosphere isn’t leading to real-world violence like the manosphere, it’s still fostering this toxic, “us vs. them” mindset. It’s a reminder of how extreme and polarised these online spaces can get.

This article really made me think about what the alternative is. Like, how do we create a version of feminism that actually addresses the frustrations drawing people to these spaces, but without the toxicity or regressive ideas? That’s the real challenge here, I think.

I really liked Miniflux and its clean design too too, but I found without an adequate categorization functionality, it quickly became overwhelming. Since I don't check my RSS reader as often as I should, it eventually got overwhelming and I had to switch to FreshRSS.

I feel deeply for him and the challenges he’s facing. His story is a powerful reminder for those still employed to take steps to secure long-term disability insurance. Circumstances like his—being thrust into hardship due to health issues and events beyond his control—highlight how fragile stability can be. While a career in politics is inherently uncertain, his experiences underscore just how quickly life can change.

My understanding is that the 2021 Corsair RM850x variant is manufactured and relabelled from a Channel Well Technology (CWT) PSU with Japanese capacitors from Nippon Chemi-Con (the RM-e variants use Taiwanese capacitors, I think from either Teapo or CapXon).

Check DeepCool and Thermalright for cooling options. I run Noctua too but they’re definitely not the best value.

Check FSP, Seasonic in case they have something for a PSU in the price range. They both actually make power supplies, rather than marketing like many of the other ones on that list. I have a Seasonic-made Corsair from 2012 still in use. Runs 24/7. Buy overspecced unit. The beefier it is, the cooler it runs, the less the fan spins / the longer capacitors last.

I ended up switching my CPU cooler to the Thermalright Phantom Spirit 120 EVO, since my PSU choice changed to the RM850x which has a top 29dB noise level. The log calculations made the Noctua D15s less appealing given the price point.

I’d install all the RAM I’d ever need on this machine because DDR5 is even more sensitive to chip differences than earlier standards. Also I have no idea who Team are. I would use Crucial since they actually make RAM chips. Keep in mind that using 4 DIMMs drops RAM speed dramatically on AM5. I think the AMD docs say 3600 or 3800 for 4 DIMMs. You could run them faster but you won’t get to the rated speed.

I also ended up buying a 64GB ram kit and will sell the 32GB kit I already purchased. You're right in noting that 2x DIMM is the best config.

Stay away from Gigabyte. Check what ASRock has if it makes more sense than MSI. I recently got their X870 Pro RS and it’s been great so far. Few PCIe slots on this one but there’s 2x USB 4 which seems to work well and it can be broken out to many USB 3 ports if needed. E.g. a 40 Gbps port can be split to 4x 10 Gbps ports or perhaps even to 7x 5 Gbps ports.

I was already hesitant about going Gigabyte since I know their brand reputation has tanked and their B650 board has horrible VRM. People on r/bapcsalescanada warned against the Gigabyte boards, even the Eagle AX option.

Thanks for all your input!