Manfred Elfstrom

Haha! :)

China’s labour movement under fire: An interview with Manfred Elfstrom Manfred Elfstrom discusses recent labour struggles in China and what they tell us about prospects for change under an authoritarian regime.

Enjoyed doing this interview with Serhii Shliapnikov for Links International Journal of Socialist Renewal links.org.au/node/7352

Rubio hails end of USAID as study says its elimination could contribute to 14 million deaths in next 5 years | CNN Politics US Secretary of State Marco Rubio hailed the end of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) Tuesday as a new analysis found that its demolition could contribute to 14 million deaths in the...

This is just staggering. In a fair world, there would be tribunals at the end of all this and some sort of accountability. www.cnn.com/2025/07/01/p...

This is great, extremely valuable research.

Yes. Exactly what I was thinking. The assumption seems to be that this will all play into Trump’s hands. But we have evidence from the past that this need not be the case—and, in fact, that images of police overreaction can backfire for the White House, at least outside of its hardcore supporters.

Fingers crossed!

Trump seems to be having his 1971 Lin Biao moment with Musk. Hopefully, with the same blow to support among core supporters to follow…

Proud to be a signatory of this letter. medium.com/@lawasia/pet...

600 election victories. I’ve been trying to let that sink in all day. Workers have chosen the union SIX HUNDRED times in the last 3.5 years. That’s about one election win every other day. Truly incredible.

Tell Carney to Sanction Israel It’s time for Canada to act. Send an urgent message demanding that Prime Minister Carney and Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand follow through with their threat of sanctions, and impose an arms emba...

I do think public pressure has made a difference here in Canada to date—under Trudeau and now under Carney. People should keep applying it. nwmd.social/s/copylink/4...

Jason Isbell performing on stage with blue lights in Kelowna.

Jason Isbell! In the Okanagan! Obligatory grainy documentation!

Hot air.

CTV map with Kelowna highlighted. The Liberal candidate is at 26,061 votes; the Conservative, at 25,891 votes.

Kelowna still being counted…

Stop hurting me.

Opinion: Land acknowledgments aren’t political. They uphold the rule of law in Canada A petition from four faculty members and a student from the University of British Columbia is based on a misunderstanding of Canada’s constitutional framework

www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/arti...

What a terrible decision.

Sidney Tarrow
Donatella della Porta
Christian Davenport
Erica Chenoweth

So many things none of us will perceive will come out of today's gatherings. That's the point. People find each other, they take some strength and remember they aren't actually isolated and alone. This is fortification for what's to come.

When Carter passed, I wasn’t sure how to respond meaningfully. This piece captures the context in which I briefly intersected with his post-presidential work: the Carter Center China program. Its director (and my boss for a year) Yawei Liu has great insights. pekinghotel.substack.com/p/jimmy-cart...

Our findings show that while some of the messages achieve their intended goal of diverting blame, all can potentially backfire, leading people to blame their government *more* for their problems.

The respondents then assigned blame to different actors and factors---themselves, their employers, the pandemic, globalization, etc. They were also requested to fill in an open-ended "other" category.

Specifically, respondents in our survey were asked to read newspaper snippets that offered rosy reports on the economy based on cherry-picked indicators, explained that the country has entered a “new normal” stage of slower but more sustainable growth, or criticized American “economic coercion.”

Propaganda and Blame Attribution during Economic Downturns: Evidence from China - Studies in Comparative International Development Amidst sluggish growth, Chinese authorities have sought to spin the narrative about their economy. But does “soft” propaganda—positive messaging, selective presentation of facts, redirection of anger—...

Xiaojun Li and I have a new article in @scidjournal.bsky.social. China's economic growth has slowed. We use a survey experiment to examine the effects of state media messaging on who and what people blame for their difficulties. #chinasky #china 🧵 link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Yes! For example: attitudes about policing during the first Trump term. The plodding, precautionary principle-based approach just doesn’t work in this environment.

The liquor store across the street from the pictured grocery store also now touts that it is “Canadian owned.” I got an email from a garage door company the other day proudly advertising that their doors are made of Canadian steel or aluminum or whatever.

Super market in Canada with banner reading “Canadian owned and operated” out front.

The trade war comes to conservative Kelowna, Canada, where I saw my first MAGA hat “in the wild” and where people flew both American and Canadian flags during the anti-vax truck convoy protests a couple years ago.

If the worry was that Democrats would “own” Trump’s chaos if they shut down the government, they will now “own” it in many people’s minds by having not put up a fight.

Hi, my name is ____. I'm a constituent, zip code _____, phone number _____. I'm calling to ask you to speak out for and fight for the release of Mahmoud Khalil, a permanent resident who was abducted from his Columbia dorm room over the weekend in what looks like a violation of his First Amendment and due process rights. This is not only a terrible injustice to him, but it affects us all. Please speak out and fight for his release now.

UPDATE: Called all my NY reps - national and state, as well as my city councilperson, to ask them to speak out for and fight for the release of Mahmoud Khalil. Here's a quick script if you need one and want to make calls yourself. You can find your reps here: reps.fyi

Excited to welcome York University's Eric Tucker to @ubcokanagan.bsky.social to discuss AI and labor law. Second annual lecture co-sponsored by the North Okanagan Labour Council. Scan the QR code to join the livestream.

Regarding the admin’s abandonment of Ukraine and longstanding U.S. double standards on Palestine: I’ve been thinking more about Martha Finnemore’s point that hypocrisy at least gives others leverage on a state. With no articulated values whatsoever, there’s no hypocrisy—but also fewer constraints.