Sometimes, I want to comment on topics without doing a full piece.
According to Trump tariffs on Canada and Mexico, at 25 percent, except on energy, which will be 10 percent, start tomorrow. Along with the 20 percent tariff on China, the cost to the US is likely to about 1 percent of GDP. Canada could lose as much as six percent.
Expect retaliation from both countries. Some of it will be sub-Federal; the Ontario Prime Minister has said he’ll raise prices for electricity sent to New York state, for example. Sorry folks, I know most of you didn’t vote for Trump, but…
As I’ve written before, I think tariffs are good for Canada. We’ll take a substantial hit, but moving manufacturing to Canada, buying Canadian, and diversifying our export partners are all things we should have done years ago. Hopefully, we’ll cancel NAFTA/USMCA: There’s no point in having treaties with the US, because they never obey them.
Israel’s stopped aid to Gaza again. Israel never met its obligations, lied that Hamas has refused to continue the truce, and is preparing for war again. Not entirely a surprise, but still a disappointment. Meanwhile, they’ve occupied a big chunk of Syria. At least Hamas hasn’t embarrassed themselves the way Hezbollah has; they still have some hostages, and they’ve called Israel out regarding their violations, even if the Western press lies about the facts repeatedly.
Trump, Vance, and Zelensky’s Press conference blew up. Commenters are apportioning blame in various ways; I don’t much care. The bottom line is that the US caused that war because everything came from the Maidan coup, which was engineered by the US. Absent that, the sequence of events never happens. Victoria Nuland ran Ukraine as a personal fiefdom for almost a decade. The US and UK convinced Ukraine to keep fighting when they had a generous peace offer on the table, and the result, we have probably a million and a half dead, and Ukraine effectively shattered. To then turn around and act as if Ukraine owes America, rather than the other way around is to act in complete defiance of actual history, and without the least shred of honor.
Here we have Victoria Nuland in 2016, openly testifying before Congress about just how deep the US was in running Ukraine’s government after the 2014 coup.
She laid it all out: US advisors embedded in 12 Ukrainian ministries, American-trained police in 18 cities, the US Treasury… pic.twitter.com/BPQ66UO0Lp— Richard (@ricwe123) February 28, 2025
For what it’s worth, not that Zelensky will do it, but the best course of action, in my mind, would be to ask China to mediate. China is the only country in the world which has actual, significant leverage over Russia, and Xi has repeatedly said he’d be willing to send peacekeepers. Plus, if China makes any deals with Ukraine, they’ll at least get actual rebuilding, roads, ports, hospitals, and so on, out of it.
In the larger picture, the US is in irreversible decline. Cut out the noise and the smaller events. The US can’t afford NATO any more. Just as the collapse of the Warsaw Pact was a sign of Russia’s decline, so is the ending of NATO. US carrier groups no longer have a full set of supporting ships — America can’t make them run any more. America’s flagship aircraft builder can’t make reliable planes any more. Trump is starting a crypto reserve. Social benefits are being slashed, yet again, in massive ways. America is behind in 80 percent of techs, and at the same time, launching a concerted attack on research universities. It couldn’t build enough weapons and ammunition to fully support Ukraine, and in a real war against China or Russia, they would run out of munitions in about two weeks, then get the shit kicked out of them. They’re also destroying the WTO and other agreements created by it. They’re dismantling their Empire because, simply, they can’t afford it any more.
America’s done. It’s still dangerous, but the decline is terminal. Everyone else needs to negotiate this decline, seek new alliances and trade partners, and take advantage of the end of enforced neoliberalism, and “free” trade to re-industrialize, and make their countries better able to grow the food they need and manufacture the goods they need.
Why are there no beggars in China? There used to be, now visitors report there aren’t. I can’t speak to the accuracy of the below, but if it’s correct, it seems the government decided to send them to their native towns and gave the towns enough money to give them jobs and homes.
🇨🇳 Many foreigners are curious about why there are no homeless people in China. Tbh, even as a Chinese, I find it somewhat unbelievable. It feels as if, overnight, the beggars and homeless people who used to wander the streets and ask passersby for money have all disappeared.… pic.twitter.com/dI5GhCQwD8
— 𝘊𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘦 (@OopsGuess) February 26, 2025
In more “Trump officials are malevolent children” news:
Boston Globe reports antics of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem at Vermont/Quebec library that sits on Canada-U.S. border. She repeatedly stepped over taped boundary marker in middle of the library, referring to Canada as the “51st State” every time she stood in Canada. pic.twitter.com/vFBOFzHhmA
— Steven Chase (@stevenchase) March 3, 2025
Ordinary Americans visiting Canada are advised to pretend not to be American or to constantly say, “I didn’t vote for him.” Pull this sort of stunt in the wrong place, on the other hand, and you’ll be lucky not to wind up in the hospital. The idea that most Canadians aren’t proud of Canada is an American/Trumpian delusion.
Finally, I remind you that amidst all the noise there are only three big issues: The end of the American era, the rise of China, and environmental issues (which is about more than just climate).
Au revoir from Canada.