Ben Atkinson, PhD

YouTube video by Dejan Andrić Chroma Key - America The Video

Reading about Dean Cain becoming an ICE agent made me think of Chroma Key (former Dream Theater keyboardist, Kevin Moore) due to this lyric: “And it makes no sense to me unless I see it on TV”.

That pretty much sums up how Trump thinks when making hiring decisions. www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUB2...

Former Superman to become ICE agent for Donald Trump Dean Cain, who formerly played Superman in a 1990s television series, is set to join the Donald Trump administration as an ICE agent - he confirmed.

Former Superman actor Dean Cain to become ICE agent for Trump administration faroutmagazine.co.uk/former-super...

Key sections of the US Constitution deleted from government's website | TechCrunch Internet sleuths say the U.S. Constitution's website is now missing key sections from its website, including a key legal provision relating to habeas corpus, which protects citizens from unlawful dete...

Key sections of the US Constitution deleted from government’s website techcrunch.com/2025/08/06/k...

Opinion: The final obstacle to Trump’s dictatorship may be the people he needs to borrow from The financial markets are a significant check on Trump’s power

Andrew Coyne: "This may seem a thin reed on which to hang democracy’s hopes. But a dictator’s control must be absolute or he is lost. Imperfect, amoral, anything but democratic, the markets may nevertheless prove to be Mr. Trump’s most implacable opponents." www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/arti...

“All of a sudden we’re satanic and controversial. People wanna buy our records and burn them? Go ahead!” Why heavy metal fell in love with the Devil For as long as it’s existed, heavy metal has been obsessed with the Devil. We investigate why.

“All of a sudden we’re satanic and controversial. People wanna buy our records and burn them? Go ahead!” Why heavy metal fell in love with the Devil www.loudersound.com/features/how...

Greg Mankiw: Keep Politics Out of Data gregmankiw.blogspot.com/2025/08/keep...

The EU’s deal with Trump could blow up at any time The U.S. President can always find a way to accuse the bloc of breaching the deal and impose punitive tariffs

Even when congressionally approved, it is worthless. Look at how much he abides by CUSMA.

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Eric Reguly: ”There is a lesson for Canada: Nothing short of a congressionally approved trade deal is worth the paper it is written on.” www.theglobeandmail.com/world/us-pol...

‘Banana republic stuff’: Top economists react to Trump firing BLS statistics chief | CNN Nobel prize-winning economist Paul Krugman and former economic adviser to President George W. Bush Greg Mankiw talk to Bianna Golodryga about Trump falsely claiming the most recent jobs numbers were r...

'Banana republic stuff': Top economists react to Trump firing BLS statistics chief edition.cnn.com/2025/08/04/T...

Kelly McParland: Bowing to Trump would betray Canada Trump's unpredictability means nothing he agrees to can be treated with certainty

“What must be done is to defend the country’s integrity, its sovereignty, its independence and its standing as a place where fairness, trust, honesty and dignity are still treated seriously as core values, even if other entities are willing to bargain theirs away.“ nationalpost.com/news/canada/...

"You Have to Get People's Attention in the First Two Seconds" And other updates on previous articles

“A new study shows...bots will...collude and engage in price fixing without...human intervention.

“...AI will give humans plausible deniability in all sorts of unethical and illegal activities. ...who can...police arrest when a bot commits...crime on its own?“ www.honest-broker.com/p/you-have-t...

Tim Sargent: There’s no Canada-U.S. trade deal—and that’s a good thing

”Would it have been better if we had swallowed our pride and followed Japan and the EU by conceding permanently higher across-the-board tariffs (along with promises to invest in the U.S. and to buy more U.S. products) in exchange for somewhat lower tariffs...?

”No...” thehub.ca/2025/08/01/t...

'WKRP in Cincinnati' star Loni Anderson dead Loni Anderson, best known for her Emmy-nominated role in 'WKRP in Cincinnati' has died aged 79 following an illness days before her 80th birthday.

RIP Loni Anderson faroutmagazine.co.uk/wkrp-in-cinc...

Why the tariffs are bad - Marginal REVOLUTION I am delighted to see this excellent analysis in the NYT: Mr. Tedeschi said that future leaders in Washington, whether Republican or Democrat, may be hesitant to roll back the tariffs if that would me...

“As it is, Democrats have been divided over tariffs. Maintaining the status quo may be an easier political option than changing trade policy.“ marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevo...

STATEMENT FROM THE AMERICAN ECONOMIC ASSOCIATION ON THE DISMISSAL OF THE BLS COMMISSIONER -- August 1, 2025 | Martha Starr STATEMENT FROM THE AMERICAN ECONOMIC ASSOCIATION ON THE DISMISSAL OF THE BLS COMMISSIONER -- August 1, 2025 Leaders of the American Economic Association express their grave concern over the dismissal...

STATEMENT FROM THE AMERICAN ECONOMIC ASSOCIATION ON THE DISMISSAL OF THE BLS COMMISSIONER -- August 1, 2025 www.linkedin.com/feed/update/...

A Music Magazine Has Partnered With An AI Company That 'Produces' Music – And People Are Not Happy About It, Including WOLFGANG VAN HALEN - Metal Injection SPIN Magazine posted a photo to Instagram yesterday announcing they were now partners with an AI production company.

“Yesterday, a historical publication may have just lost their credibility amongst a portion of their readers when they posted a photo to their Instagram page, tagging that they were a '#partner' with...a company that provides AI software to produce music.“ metalinjection.net/news/music-m...

ANALYSIS | Alberta minister threatens to axe bike lanes. Can he make his case? | CBC News Province claims urban bike lanes worsen congestion. Ontario said the same thing — then a judge found they lacked evidence to back up their point.

Jason Markusoff: "The provincial government that routinely demands Ottawa stay in its jurisdictional lane is keen to swerve into another jurisdiction's lanes.

"Bicycle lanes." www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

Watch: OZZY OSBOURNE Honored By KING CHARLES's Guards With Rendition Of BLACK SABBATH's 'Paranoid' Ozzy Osbourne was honored with a musical tribute by King Charles's soldiers following the legendary heavy metal singer's death. On July 30, the Band Of The Coldstream Guards, which is comprised of mus...

Watch: OZZY OSBOURNE Honored By KING CHARLES's Guards With Rendition Of BLACK SABBATH's 'Paranoid' blabbermouth.net/news/watch-o...

Is Light-Rail Transit (LRT) the New Streetcar? LRT systems can provide many of the same benefits as streetcars while reflecting a more efficient mode of travel

The latest from me and @michaellemagnum.bsky.social on whether LRT is the new streetcar. rideon.substack.com/p/is-light-r...

Elections Alberta approves Thomas Lukaszuk’s ‘Alberta Forever Canada’ citizen initiative petition Former PC deputy premier wants referendum to ask: “Do you agree that Alberta should remain in Canada?”

Elections Alberta approves Thomas Lukaszuk’s ‘Alberta Forever Canada’ citizen initiative petition albertapolitics.substack.com/p/elections-...

Theo Moudakis: Trade retaliation Click here to view this article from www.thestar.com.

Theo Moudakis: Trade retaliation www.thestar.com/opinion/edit...

How We at Deciduous Corp. Want to Help Homeless Youths Create Their Own Careers Using the Social Enterprise Intervention (SEI) Model Along with our teammates in Deciduous Corp.. we want to "support young adults in their journey from dependence to independence."

It is the goal of Deciduous Corp. to apply the SEI model in Canada, starting with Calgary, and the purpose of this specific article is to explain some of the research that we have done into the program. wallsandbridges.substack.com/p/how-we-at-...

GREMLINS 3 Gets A Promising Update From Original Star Zach Galligan GREMLINS star Zach Galligan has given a promising update on the progress of GREMLINS 3, confirming a script for the horror-comedy sequel is awaiting approval from executive producer Steven Spielberg.

"Gremlins and Gremlins 2: The New Batch star Zach Galligan has given a promising update on Gremlins 3, saying that a third entry in the kooky comedy horror series is still very much en route from Warner Bros." www.fangoria.com/gremlins-3-u...

Court strikes down Ford plan to remove Toronto bike lanes Transportation advocates are celebrating after an Ontario judge has ruled that the Ford government’s plan to remove bike lanes from three major Toronto roads is unconstitutional, citing risks to publi...

"Transportation advocates are celebrating after an Ontario judge has ruled...Ford government’s plan to remove bike lanes from three major Toronto roads is unconstitutional, citing risks to public safety and a lack of evidence to support the province’s claims" www.nationalobserver.com/2025/07/30/n...

Forever Canadian Official Campaign Website Forever Canadian campaign is a grassroots coalition of Canadians aimed at reinforcing Canadian unity. It is a proactive vehicle to secure Alberta's continued place in Canada.

Do you agree that Alberta should remain in Canada? www.forever-canadian.ca

On Junaid B. Jahangir's “How Disney classics help me teach real-world economics” and "Economath" It is important for economists to always think about how to make what we teach more "accessible and interesting to students representing diverse abilities and identities."

Junaid’s article is something I will be reading repeatedly to keep in mind that as much as I admire traditional approaches to teaching Economics, the alternatives he explains are also important as both substitutes and complements to those approaches. wallsandbridges.substack.com/p/on-junaid-...

How Disney classics help me teach real-world economics Was Cinderella’s happy ending with Prince Charming really largely the result of personal ambition? This is the kind of question I address in the course Economics for Everyone.

Junaid B. Jahangir: “The focus in my course ‘Economics for Everyone’ aims to critique traditional tenets of economic theory to discuss issues with inequality and also to teach economics in a way that is accessible and interesting to students...” theconversation.com/how-disney-c...

Breakenridge: Government needs to end the charade of Alberta Next If the government is determined to change policing, pensions and revenue agency, it should say so. But spare us the pretending otherwise.

Rob Breakenridge: “We’ve already seen early indications that the Alberta Next surveys and videos are geared more toward producing a particular outcome. In some cases, it’s been almost impossible not to notice.” calgaryherald.com/opinion/colu...

Nick Cave - The Red Hand Files - Issue #332- Is changing your mind about things a sign of weakness? Sometimes, it feels that way. The reason I have such regard for the song ‘Tupelo’, and why we've performed it at nearly every Bad Seeds concert since it was first writt...

Nick Cave: "...the ability to change one’s mind is the very definition of strength. We pursue the truth wherever it may lead, remaining flexible and humble enough to adjust our views as new evidence emerges, regardless of how uncomfortable that may feel." www.theredhandfiles.com/tupelo-film-...

A Tale of Two Prime Ministers Liberal Jean Chrétien and Conservative Stephen Harper come out fighting with Team Canada. Danielle Smith... not so much.

In an article I quoted earlier, even Harper changed his mind regarding how close Canada should be to U.S.! Here is something I wrote awhile back where he showed similar signs of discontent with Trump, making him more aligned with Canadians like Chrétien. wallsandbridges.substack.com/p/a-tale-of-...

Import Tariffs vs. Export Taxes: Is One Better Than the Other When Choosing How to Retaliate Against Donald Trump? In part, it depends on if you are a consumer or a producer

In the article I shared a few minutes ago from the National Observer, I quoted arguments regarding energy export taxes. Here is an article I wrote several months ago where I compared and contrasted export taxes with import tariffs. wallsandbridges.substack.com/p/import-tar...