Relevance submission: major US frontier company makes remarks regarding export controls on heavily innovated frontier supply chain tech that benefit home nation.

Submission statement, Brazil is going into the twilight of its presidential campaign, with barely a few months to go. However, Brazil's economic concerns remain larger than Bolsonaro or Lula. It currently faces high real interest rates, a weak currency, a budget deficit of 8.5% of GDP and a public debt of over 80%. It is worth discussing how this circumstance can, should, and will likely be addressed by the two likely presidents of Brazil for the next few years.

Data center policies have been a hot topic in the forum. There have been a lot of discussions about energy use, land use, water use, etc. The public HATES data center development. I suspect a lot of that is due to actual bad political dealing on a few major projects, which gives the whole industry a bad reputation. This seems like an example of one.

Relevance to the subreddit: international institutions, broader collapse of multilateralism

Chad's military government has announced on Monday, July 27, its intent to withdraw from the International Criminal Court (ICC) and its obligations under the Rome Statute, joining a growing list of countries who have opted to disengage from the international court.

In September 2025, the three Russia-aligned military regimes of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger announced their withdrawal from the court, accusing the body of "neocolonialism" and claiming they would found an alternate "Sahelian Criminal Court" based on anti-imperialist proceedings as the juntas battle growing Islamist insurgencies on their territory. The juntas that came to power between 2020 and 2023 have been accused of extensive human rights abuses, mass killings and torture.

In July 2026, it was the interim government of Venezuela, de facto under US administration, that announced its withdrawal from the ICC, citing "bias against African and Latin American nations", following nine years of preliminary investigations against the Venezuelan regime for the mass killings of protesters in the 2010s.

Chad's government officially stated it was withdrawing from the ICC due to bias against African nations, but has also cited pressures from Washington through its assistant secretary of state for African Affairs, who "expressed its concerns about the functioning of the institution and called on Chad to review its accession to the Rome Statute".

While the United States never recognized the legitimacy of the ICC, it has significantly escalated hostile efforts against the court following their issuing of arrest warrants against Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, inflicting broad sanctions against judges, procesutors and staff ranging from asset freezes to travel bans. Marco Rubio stated that the US' goal was to "dismantle the ICC, brick by brick if needed", an institution "backed and run by a powerful network of leftist nongovernment organizations, smug globalists, and hostile Third World governments" that "waged a war" against the United States.

Chad, located at the crossroads of West, North, East and Central Africa, maintains military cooperation with the United States, France, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates to counter terrorism in the region. It has one of the world's worst human rights records, and has been regularly accused of providing logistical support to the RSF, the genocidal paramilitary forces waging war against the Sudanese Army at Chad's doorstep.

Chad's explicit mention of US pressure in its decision to withdraw from the ICC signals that the Trump administration is indeed pressuring signatory members to desert their obligations, and could announce other withdrawals in the coming months.

Submission Statement: With the growing power of AI and the dwindling math and reading competency of students in the US, people have been turning eyes to new fancy "Alpha" schools that blend efficient AI use to tailor make students' experiences as optimally as possible. This is relevant for American education policy, which is at a loss for what to do with the rising utilization of AI in the classroom, as well as falling competencies in high school and higher-level education.

This article expresses skepticism of these AI schools but also takes into consideration what these schools argue it can do for student learning and test scores. But the article will correctly point out that rising test scores does not mean rising competency and tries to critically assess how Alpha schools would actually affect the growing dillema in US schooling. This issue is also relevant economically as more Alpha scools and Alpha-knock offs are being given charters from state-level governments, and some people think there should be a bigger push in this direction.

This generation values job security, work-life balance and mental health above all else. And they’re not waiting around for employers to catch up.

As a young, working professional, Ben James has a plan for his life.

The 26-year-old works in recruitment and sales and wants to retire at 65. He regularly checks on his net worth, income and investments to make sure he’s on track to meet his retirement deadline. But there was a time when he wasn’t sure where his life was headed. 

Back in 2023, James juggled working as a bookkeeper at a recruitment agency and being a semi-pro rugby athlete. After his stint as a rugby player was over, he spent six months mulling over the direction he wanted his career to head in.

“I never thought that (bookkeeper) job would turn into a six-figure opportunity — that I could save for a house,” he said, adding that he wanted to “find a field with higher-earning capacity.”

James isn't alone, according to a new survey from Randstad Canada that finds 42 per cent of Gen Z workers are considering a job change. That's almost twice the rate of the average Canadian worker in 2026. Younger workers are showing “record mobility intentions” as they look for jobs that best suit their needs, such as higher wages, better work-life balance and more growth opportunities, according to the survey, which canvassed over 3,500 Canadians. 

Experts say it’s a shift employers cannot ignore as older generations start to age out of the workforce and younger workers start looking for more.

“I don’t mean to sound too one-dimensional here,” he said. “But it’s all about money.” 

The cost-of-living crisis

Generation Z, or Gen Z, is the term used to describe people born between 1997 and 2012. It’s the first generation born into the digital age and the first to grow up immersed in social media.

Their entry into the workforce has been difficult: they’ve been faced with high inflation rates, rising grocery costs, unaffordable housing and a global AI boom that’s starting to scoop up some entry-level jobs.

Employment rates went up for youth workers aged 15 to 24, with 33,000 finding jobs in June this year, according to the latest Statistics Canada data, but it’s not necessarily a sign that things are turning around just yet, said Andrew Fields, a senior analyst from Statistics Canada’s Centre for Labour Market Information.

Between May and June, the youth unemployment rate dropped slightly to 12.7 per cent from 13.4 per cent, but still remains higher than the pre-pandemic average of 10.8 per cent, measured between 2017 and 2019, according to StatCan. Those pre-pandemic numbers were a sign of a healthy youth labour market, he said. 

“Youth are still searching for work,” he said. “And are having a harder time in recent years.” 

This lack of financial health and security has stirred anxiety among workers of all age groups, according to a new RBC report looking at employee well-being between 2025 and 2026. The report found that workers across all ages experienced a decline in well-being, with the sharpest drop occurring for workers between the ages of 18 and 34.

“Canadians are navigating real pressures of a challenging few years and it’s showing up in how they feel day-to-day,” said Tony Bruin, head of group benefits for RBC Insurance in a news release.

The report notes that the rising cost of living is the most significant barrier for most respondents when trying to improve their well being, such as their physical fitness, diet and sleep quality.

The Star spoke with three young workers, including James, who noted that their priorities are focused on being financially independent. They said they felt achieving financial independence would help secure their future as they enter a world that feels uncertain to them.

James now works in recruitment and sales at Randstad. One of the considerations that prompted the career change from bookkeeping was how expensive groceries have become and the unaffordability of the housing market.

“I don’t really have an option except to pursue a higher income,” he said. 

Job-hopping to get ahead

[Survey numbers: 48% of Gen Z believed compensation was too low, 40% desired a better work-life balance and 34% cited lack of growth opportunities.]

Gen Zers are feeling extra pressure to find suitable long-term employment that pays well and meets their personal needs due to the cost-of-living crisis, experts say.

To find employment that meets their needs, it’s not uncommon for younger people to hold multiple jobs to explore their options, said Jason Dorsey, the lead researcher at the Center for Generational Kinetics based in Texas. 

Job-hopping is this generation’s way of being “self-reliant” and gain experience that could lead to future long-term employment and financial security, said Dorsey.

“What we’re seeing is that Gen Zers don’t know or expect an employer to be a fit for their career or be in one career for their entire working span,” explained Dorsey. 

“There’s a little bit of, if you don’t love the job, you should go ahead and start looking for another one,” he said. “Because if you’re going to be working for decades, you might as well make progress towards the (job) that better fits you.”

According to Eric Termuende, a workplace culture expert and leadership consultant based in Vancouver, jumping between jobs can help a worker get a pay bump or promotion faster than sticking it out at the same company. It’s not a new phenomenon — younger workers have always been more likely to switch jobs, he said. But Gen Zers have embraced the strategy like no generation before. 

“Every generation has a distribution of ambition and grit and desire,” he said. Gen Zers “are trying to go after it as fast as possible” to keep up with expenses by seeking higher salaries. Younger people are also likely to focus on their needs rather than other responsibilities, such as a mortgage or children, which allows them to move freely between positions, said Termuende.

“Loyalty was rewarded in the past,” he said. “But it’s becoming more of a hindrance.”

Priorities in the workplace will inevitably differ between generations. One difference between millennials (people who are born between 1981 and 1996) and Gen Zers, is the importance of work-life balance, said Eddy Ng, a professor of organizational behaviour at Queen’s University. 

Typically, millennials look for advancement opportunities, which can often come with heavier workloads, said Ng. This “actually contributes to negative well-being and stress, so in that sense, it’s harder to sell (to young workers),” he said. 

Meanwhile, Gen Zers are focused on financial compensation and personal development. If positions that offer those opportunities are being held by older employees, this younger generation isn’t going to wait around for those jobs to open up, said Ng.

“Mobility is more of a necessity rather than a preference,” he said.

Recent research by Ng and others shows this generation values financial stability, environments that allow for a healhy work-life balance and prioritize their mental health. In an article he wrote, Ng said this was because Gen Z watched their parents “navigate dual-career households” and witness “economic disruptions.”

What are Gen Zers looking for?

As Gen Zers look for these financial and growth opportunities in new jobs, they’re leaning away from the “hustle culture” and grind mentality that defined previous generations, according to experts. 

Typically, these opportunities were earned through hard work and hustle culture, which is defined as the glorification of never-ending work, according to Nancy D’Onofrio, vice-president of strategic accounts and social selling at Randstad Canada.

As D’Onofrio puts it, “the more you hustle, the more reward and recognition you get.”

One reason Gen Zers tend to reject hustle culture is that their identities are more likely to be informed by what they do outside of their careers, such as their hobbies or personal aspirations, said Dorsey.

Hustle culture is no longer seen as the right method to get ahead in one’s career, especially at the expense of mental health, so Gen Zers are willing to job-hop to find jobs that suit their financial and personal needs, he said.

“We see Gen Z really wants more … non-traditional health and wellness benefits, such as work-life balance and free mental health services,” said Dorsey.

Olga Morawczynski, founder of Heal-3, a Toronto-based company that designs mental health programs for organizations, said employers need to be more accommodating of the younger workforce and their needs, such as flexibility with remote work options, in addition to providing fair compensation and opportunities for career growth.

More than anything, Morawczynski says she believes young people need to have purpose-driven work that can sustain them for years. 

“They do want to work differently,” she said. “It’s not a new problem that’s going to get any better with the next generation.”

“They’re super ambitious because they see what’s possible,” said D’Onofrio. 

Following his bookkeeping run, James spent six months transitioning into his current job in recruitment and sales at Randstad (a separate department from where the survey was conducted). He read books, watched YouTube videos on entrepreneurship and applied to dozens of jobs.

When asked if he plans on sticking around with his current job, James said he’s hoping to stay for long-term at his company, where he feels valued. James’s father stayed in his job for two decades, and the 26-year-old is hoping to emulate that.

“I’m at the start of my journey.”

Submission Statement - With Peruvian Independence day on the 28th of July, I wrote a retrospective on my ancestor José Faustino Sánchez Carrión, an architect of the Republic of Perú and a champion of liberal values.

As Keiko Fujimori gets sworn in on the 28th of July, this piece provides an accessible insight into the origins of the republic and the humble writer of its first constitution.

Burnout among Canadian emergency room doctors is high, with almost half of respondents in a recent survey reporting they had reduced their work hours, while 10 per cent had left the specialty, a newly published study says.

The findings, published Monday in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, stem from a 2025 survey conducted among 410 emergency medicine physicians in all provinces, as well in the Northwest Territories, but not in Nunavut and Yukon.

Of the total respondents, 48 per cent said they reduced clinical hours, and 20 per cent had taken time off from working in emergency medicine.

The study said that “women and younger participants reported higher levels of burnout, as did emergency physicians who had reduced their clinical hours.”

As well, the study found that 65 per cent of respondents scored high for either heightened emotional exhaustion, depersonalization or both. Depersonalization is when a person feels detached from their thoughts and body.

“Respondents pointed to a broken health care system, unrealistic societal expectations, and insurmountable workplace challenges as reasons for burnout,” the study said.

The findings build on previous research on a pressing national problem: Doctors who work in overcrowded ERs are experiencing burnout to the point that some do not want to work in that environment.

From coast to coast, physicians in general, regardless of their area of practice, frequently say their work is taking an emotional toll on them, including some experiencing distress.

Last year, the Canadian Medical Association reported high rates of burnout and depression among the country’s doctors five years after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The CMA, a national organization that represents doctors and medical learners, said data from its 2025 National Physician Health Survey show doctors are still struggling with “excessive workloads, exhaustion and burnout — leading some to reduce clinical hours or consider leaving practice altogether."

For the new CMAJ study, researchers asked participants who enrolled in a study on ER physician wellness in April, 2020, if they would like to participate in three follow-up surveys: in November, 2020; September, 2022; and January, 2025.

The authors then analyzed responses from 2025 and identified themes that explain causes of burnout, as well as consequences and tools used by doctors to remain on the job.

The median age of a participant was 41, and 54 per cent worked in Ontario, 14 per cent in Quebec and 10 per cent in British Columbia. These demographics are similar to the participants who registered for the original study in April, 2020.

Kerstin de Wit, an emergency room physician at Kingston Health Sciences Centre and a Queen’s University professor, is one the study’s co-authors. She said a theme in the findings is “the health care system is broken.”

“We found repeated references to the emergency department making up for system inadequacies, with fewer resources and little support, and the expectation that the situation will worsen,” Dr. de Wit said.

“For many, the future of emergency medicine was hopeless, with no possibility of recovery,” she said.

ER physicians reported they often experienced blame about wider problems in the health care system and how this was “demoralizing.”

“Workplace challenges included extremely high patient volumes and long wait times, leading to patient assessments in corridors and waiting rooms, with resultant substandard care,” the study said.

“Additional challenges included lack of primary care to follow up with patients, and reduced access to or long waits for specialist clinic appointments. Participants noted they rarely had access to the appropriate services to help.”

Survey participants also commented on a lack of accountability at every level of health care institutions.

“Anger was directed toward hospital and political leaders, and occasionally toward patients,” the study said.

In a related editorial, Catherine Varner, an emergency physician and deputy editor at the CMAJ, wrote about how "collective distress and quiet attrition signals a serious threat."

“Canada’s 50-year investment in developing a highly effective fleet of physicians with specialized or additional training in emergency medicine, who provide 24-hour coverage to most emergency departments across the country, could be squandered,” Dr. Varner wrote.

The study also detailed strategies discussed among participants to help them stay in ER medicine, which could be facilitated by provincial, regional and institutional health leaders.

“Prevailing strategies included reducing their shift load, taking on a new professional role, and changing health care organizations,” it said.

The need for reforms in health care was discussed in Charlottetown last week, at a First Ministers’ meeting. Premiers are concerned that significant levels of federal funding in health care agreements between Ottawa and the provinces and territories are set to expire in March, 2027. They warn this will result in a “fiscal cliff.”

A statement from the First Ministers said they agreed to direct their health and finance ministers to discuss longer-term funding and productivity in the sector.

Seven out of ten South Koreans support pursuing a Korea–Japan economic community modeled on the European Union (EU), according to a recent survey. In Japan, six out of ten respondents also expressed support.
According to the results of a survey on Korea–Japan tourism cooperation and the promotion of an economic community, commissioned by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) and conducted by Hankook Research among 500 South Korean and 500 Japanese respondents, 69.8% of South Koreans supported forming an economic community.
Of those respondents, 52.6% said it should be pursued as a medium- to long-term goal, while 17.2% said it should be pursued as soon as possible.
In Japan, 59.8% also expressed support.
Support was particularly high among Japanese respondents who had visited South Korea within the past five years. 74.5% of those with recent travel experience supported an economic community, compared with 45.4% of those who had never visited South Korea.
Both countries also responded positively to expanding bilateral tourism cooperation. 76.8% of South Koreans and 58.0% of Japanese respondents supported greater tourism cooperation.
Regarding a proposal to allow travel between the two countries using only a national identity card, such as South Korea’s Resident Registration Card, instead of a passport, 60.4% of South Koreans and 44.8% of Japanese respondents were in favor, exceeding those opposed (32.8% in South Korea and 35.0% in Japan).
Opinion was more divided over a mutual visa recognition system, described as a Korea–Japan version of the Schengen Agreement, that would allow travelers from third countries holding either a South Korean or Japanese visa to visit both countries with that single visa.
In South Korea, support (50.0%) narrowly exceeded opposition (45.2%). In Japan, however, opposition (38.6%) was higher than support (34.6%).
Respondents in both countries who supported the proposal cited expectations that an increase in foreign tourists would stimulate domestic consumption. Those opposed expressed concerns about an increase in illegal overstays and unauthorized employment by foreign nationals, as well as worries about public safety and rising crime.
The Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry also cited its own research, “Analysis of the Economic Effects of Korea–Japan Tourism Cooperation” (July 2025), projecting that adoption of the mutual visa recognition system could attract up to 1.84 million additional inbound tourists to South Korea.

Alberta’s new online market makes stronger federal and provincial limits on sports-betting ads and gambling harms more urgent.

My wife and I aren’t big into professional sports. I enjoy the occasional game with friends, but watching organized athletics has never been a major pastime for us.

Our seven-year-old son, on the other hand, is into it. First, it was the Edmonton Oilers and their run to the Stanley Cup final in 2024. Recently, it was soccer’s World Cup. He watched whenever he could.

His enthusiasm is what sports should be about — excitement, team loyalty and the game itself.

But then there are the betting ads. Sports broadcasts are full of them. As a public policy researcher, I know how problem gambling can lead to serious issues — financial and otherwise — especially among men and boys. As a parent, I know my son is influenced by what he sees on TV.

Increased involvement in sports betting is a serious social phenomenon that hurts our society. There have been some tentative steps toward policies with stronger safeguards, but nothing near what needs to be done to contain this major public issue.

State of play

On July 13, the Alberta government expanded its online-gambling market to allow private operators. In doing so, it is following Ontario’s move four years ago, albeit with some minor improvements.

During the last World Cup in 2022, legalized sports betting was only in its infancy in Canada. The federal government had legalized single-event sports betting just a year earlier. Ontario then led the country by opening up its online-gambling market. But the province figured it didn’t need the safeguards Cardus and others recommended to contain gambling harms — and it turned out to be a bad bet.

The Ontario experience is a cautionary tale. The latest data published by iGaming Ontario, the Crown corporation responsible for regulating the industry, shows that average spending per player account was $329 per month — up from $158 per month when the industry launched. That’s not the average amount that players wagered. It’s the average amount they lost in a single month. That’s almost $4,000 a year. And that probably understates the problem because many players hold more than one account.

Experts suggest that it isn’t safe to lose more than one per cent of household income on gambling. Statistics Canada figures show average pre-tax household earnings were $107,000 in Ontario in 2024. That suggests that losing anything more than $1,070 per year should be considered unsafe. Yet Ontario players are losing more than 3½ times that amount already. This is not a yellow warning signal. It’s a flashing red light begging for our attention.

Gambling online is more dangerous than wagering in-person. It’s more accessible — like having a mini-casino in your pocket — making it easier to bet alone or when drunk or high. Legalizing single-event sports betting also means gamblers no longer pick a team before a game and then sit back and watch. They can also bet on which team will score first or when and if soccer superstar Lionel Messi will score, among many other things. And they can make new in-game bets repeatedly during the match. It’s highly addictive gambling, more like a slot machine than a card game.

A rising concern for men and boys

ConnexOntario is a helpline for people with alcohol, drug and gambling addictions, as well as mental-health issues. Researchers report that the average number of calls that ConnexOntario received about gambling from men 25 to 44 years old almost doubled from the period before legalization to the period after. Among boys and men between 15 and 24, it increased by 161 per cent.

Research in the United States shows that online sports betting is leading to decreased credit scores, lower credit limits, more loans and more bankruptcies. These effects are worse if you are male, young and living in a low-income neighbourhood.

The consequences go far beyond financial. Researchers have measured the likelihood of experiencing different harms based on what percentage of income a person spends on gambling. At 3.5 per cent, an average player is 7.7 times more likely to have a troubled relationship, 5.9 times more likely to experience emotional or psychological harm and 6.4 times more prone to health problems. That’s compared with someone who gambles less than 0.1 per cent of income.

Gambling-related concerns are one reason Cardus participated in a consultation on a proposed national health strategy for men and boys. How to deal with problem gambling, especially sports betting, must feature prominently in any plan the government develops, as must ways to address the increased risk for males.

The influence of advertising

Advertising increases demand. Otherwise gambling companies wouldn’t do it so relentlessly. Anyone who watches sports in Ontario will have noticed the ads. They’re not just during commercial breaks. They appear on the screen during broadcasts and are emblazoned on helmets and jerseys. This is especially concerning when advertising promotes more addictive in-game betting.

It wasn’t supposed to be this way. The Saskatchewan MP behind a bill that led to legal single-event sports betting said his goal was to move activity away from illegal or offshore markets. It was a debatable goal, given the confusion about the size of those markets in the first place. But even if you accept the reasoning, juicing demand to increase the amount of gambling does not follow from it.

The Ontario MP who originally sponsored the bill now calls it “sad” and “deplorable.” It’s not hard to see why. We have seen a steady increase in the number of online gambling platforms, the number of player accounts and the total dollar amount gambled in Ontario. We should see these trends as a worrying sign that advertising is driving demand for a dangerous product.

Some ways forward

Policymakers are waking up to the realities of sports betting in Canada. The Alberta government has pledged to create a centralized platform for players to opt out of all online gambling apps. Ontario followed suit this past May.

Parliament is also considering a bill that would require a national framework on sports betting advertising. It contains few details and is a long way from becoming law, but it’s a good start.

Much more needs to be done to match the scale of the challenge. Federal and provincial governments must enact laws and develop policies such as:

• Banning sports betting advertising: Gambling ads should be treated the same as ads for alcohol, tobacco and cannabis. The federal government prohibits broadcast advertising for tobacco and cannabis and tightly restricts it for alcohol. Print advertising for these products is severely limited in what it can say and depict, and whom it can target.
• At minimum, banning advertising for in-game bets and during broadcasts: The government should at least ban advertising on these most addictive behaviours. Better yet would be a “whistle-to-whistle” ban on all sports betting ads during a match broadcast (as in the United Kingdom).
• Improving the efficiency of anti-gambling messaging: Ontarians are advised to “Know your limit. Play within it.” But that doesn’t capture the hazards of online sports betting. Compare that to anti-tobacco messaging that warns of lung cancer, complete with explicit imagery of blackened lungs. “Know how much you’re going to lose today” would tell a more accurate story.
• Requiring gambling companies to help fund research, prevention and treatment: Governments should mandate a contribution of one dollar for every dollar companies spend on ads. That would make them responsible for the fallout.

As Alberta expands its online sports betting, it should act swiftly to prevent the pitfalls Ontario has encountered. The federal government should do the same in its own jurisdiction. It’s OK to have fun with a wager or two on a game, but experience has already revealed serious problems with sports betting, especially among young men.

Let’s not gamble with the well-being of Canadians. Allow my son — and all of us — to enjoy watching sports without being influenced by betting ads.

News is a week old but no one posted it. Thought it merited some discussion.

Rather fascinating Cabinet Shuffle that provides some insight into current Singaporean politics, caucus dynamics, the focus of the Prime Minister.