bannork

Trump's frequent outrageous demands that Canada become a U.S. state is recognition that the two economies are deeply integrated. Indeed, approx 66% of US primary aluminium and 60 %of scrap aluminium comes from Canada. US steel producers have a hard enough time as it is competing against lower-cost producers in China and Turkey, God knows how they'll compete with these tariffs added. To quote the board of the WSJ, ''We said from the beginning that this North American trade war is the dumbest in history, and we were being kind." 'Makes no sense': Conservative WSJ slams Trump's 'splendid little tariff war' with Canada

Trump (can he drive?) 'stars' in a Tesla ad at the White House whilst thanking Musk for a $100 million donation. Corruption at the top. Pass the sick bag, Alice.

''The EU has its Trojan horses and Nato’s cornerstone has crumbled. But European allies, including the UK, are bound by an urgent shared purpose. Putin and Trump appear to share a plan: a Vichy-like regime in Ukraine and a European continent split into spheres of influence, which Russia, the US (and perhaps China) can colonise and prey upon. Most European publics sense this. A critical mass of European leaders gets it too. They are beginning to act.'' Out of Putin’s war and Trump’s treachery, a new Europe is being born | Nathalie Tocci | The Guardian A new Europe is emerging. It is not the traditional EU, for that 27-country union is too unwieldly to act to rapid geopolitical and security changes. However, the European Commission is deeply involved in the construction of the new Europe as seen by recent financial moves: 1. The loosening of eurozone fiscal rules agreed last week to permit a massive increase in spending to rearm Europe 2. The setting up of new financial tools to bolster European defence. 3. The completion of the EU single market, and the push for a much bigger common EU budget. Nato members outside the EU are playing a key role too. The UK, Norway, Canada and Turkey will help to provide security assurances for Ukraine. Long live Europe.

November 30, 2018, Trump signs the very FTA he now criticises. You couldn't make this stuff up. Why Trump Blames Himself for Current “Unfair” U.S.-Canada-Mexico Trade Agreement - LA Progressive

The US turning into a banana republic under Trump. A justice official fired for refusing to return Mel Gibson's gun rights due to his conviction for domestic violence. Gibson is a personal friend of Trump.

It's competition from around the world that pushes down prices. If the US was self sufficient internally, there would be little incentive for US companies to lower prices. In Trump's first tenure he imposed a 25% tariff on steel imports but since then steel productivity in the US, output per hour, has really dropped because protected industries have little reason to innovate, not being challenged from outside. In addition there's less international collaboration on new technologies as there's no lengthy supply chain. Tariffs in a globalised economy lead to higher prices and less productivity.

The trade deficit the US has with Canada is largely tied to the price of crude oil, and Canada exports millions of barrels of crude oil daily to the US. Indeed, more than half of US crude oil comes from Canada. Last summer Canadian crude oil exports to the U.S. peaked at 4.3 million barrels per day. In fact, when those oil exports are removed from the equation, the U.S. actually has a trade surplus with Canada, according to economic data. In 2023, that surplus was more than US$30 billion, the TD analysis showed. U.S.-Canada trade deficit is highest in 20 years. Does it justify tariffs? - National | Globalnews.ca

US farmers hit by Chinese retaliation for Trump's tariffs. Nothing like hurting your own base. "China's retaliatory tariffs are a direct hit to U.S. farmers - CBS News" https://www.cbsnews.com/news/china-tariffs-us-farmers/

Donald's handling of the economy gets short shrift from the markets.

Good to see that Vance's cousin has a low opinion of him and Trump. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cm2yl5kevrpo

At last a Republican with guts. 'Why are we showing favouritism to the thug, the dictator, the murderer?'

Should have known Dr Evil would return. when will the Alan Parsons Project re-emerge?

A victim of political correctness. A photo of the plane that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima deleted from the Pentagon files because it contains the word gay, the name of the pilot's mother, Enola Gay Tibbets. Duh!

JD Vance talking about Donald Trump

Italy's Meloni suggests taking Ukraine under NATO's security umbrella without providing membership Italian PM supports Ukraine's NATO membership - Euromaidan Press Meloni Backs Giving Ukraine NATO Security Without Membership - Bloomberg

An example of Maga stupidity Trump claimed in his speech the other day that the government supposedly spent millions in research to make mice transgender. But it isn't transgender, it's transgenic. By inserting a new gene, (transgene) into a mouse embryo, transgenic mice can be manipulated to carry specific genetic mutations that imitate human diseases like cancer, diabetes, etc, allowing for the study of disease mechanisms and testing of potential therapies. “

Elon Musk disrupted 240 flights with his latest SpaceX rocket explosion. The rocket sent debris flying from Texas where it launched, to as far as the Turks and Caicos Islands in the Caribbean, and interrupted around 240 flights, according to the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Friday, causing 171 delays in departure averaging 28 minutes, 28 diversions, and 40 planes to hold in the air for 22 minutes on average with the FAA’s Debris Responsive Area active. Elon Musk disrupts 240 flights with SpaceX rocket explosion after spate of air disasters

Khrushchev saw the transfer of Crimea to Ukraine as a way of fortifying and perpetuating Soviet control over Ukraine. Some 860,000 ethnic Russians would be joining the already large Russian minority in Ukraine. No gift there. The Ukrainians voted for Zelensky with 73 percent of the vote, the largest tally in the country's history, with a pro-Western and pro-European foreign policy. Even now his popularity is high, higher after Trump and Vance's despicable behaviour last Friday.