Tony Abbott: Trump is ending Pax Americana. We must not make it worse

There is no point adding to the chorus of dismay currently being directed at U.S. president Donald Trump because it won’t do any good and will almost certainly make a bad situation worse. Instead America’s erstwhile allies just need to accept that there is now no country whose freedom America will readily protect other than its own and do their best to ensure that the Pax Americana does not turn into a new world disorder where only might is right.

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Trudeau will stay as prime minister for transition, but the timeline is up to his successor

OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says his last day in office will depend on how long of a transition his successor needs.

Trudeau announced on Jan. 6 he would resign once the Liberal leadership race concludes, which will happen on Sunday.

I bet.

h/t Patti Jo

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23 percent of Canadians are unable to buy sufficient food

As the upcoming Canadian federal election looms large, two key issues—health care and affordability—are competing for attention amid the Trump tariffs controversy. While the tariffs are both urgent and significant, their dominance in the discourse has overshadowed other critical concerns, particularly the worsening affordability crisis. But for everyday Canadians, these fundamental underlying issues are not so easily ignored.

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Europe is bankrolling the Kremlin War machine: talk of unity is nonsense

Sir Keir Starmer and our European allies have issued a lot of brave words and fighting talk on protecting Ukraine and taking on Putin. “We are at a crossroads in history today,” Starmer said after the London summit, announcing a “coalition of the willing” to support Zelensky. “European unity is at an extremely high level not seen for a long time.” Is it, though?

The truth is that Europe last year paid far more money to Putin’s coffers in the form of oil and gas payments than it has given to the Ukrainians – and continues to do so. Europe today imports far more Russian liquefied natural gas, or LNG, from Russia than at the beginning of the war.

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Want Higher Birthrates? Promote Marriage

Declining fertility isn’t about career-focused women delaying motherhood—it’s about fewer young people getting married.

Despite family-friendly social and economic policies, birthrates are falling in many rich countries. A recent article in the Financial Times notes that past declines were driven by families having fewer children, but now people are skipping having children altogether. “Nobody really knows what’s going on,” writes FT. “It’s not primarily driven by economics or family policies. It’s something cultural, psychological.”

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What went wrong with free trade?

Canadians have been stirred to anger and even patriotism by President Donald Trump’s trolling, but it’s a recent tweet from Texas Governor Greg Abbott that should leave us shaken, because it’s actually accurate.

In response to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s retaliation plans, he wrote: “Careful Trudeau. The Texas economy is larger than Canada’s. And we’re not afraid to use it.”


Mississippi Look Out!  Ontario Would Be Fifth-Poorest, Quebec Second-Poorest, U.S. State

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South Africa and Its Disastrous Battle for the Congo

“Nearly 3,000 people have been killed in Goma in recent days” reported Vivian van de Perre, Deputy Head of the UN mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), in central Africa. Goma is the capital and largest city of the DRC’s North Kivu Province.

In the final week of January, 17 South African National Defence Force (SANDF) soldiers in the Congo were killed, and many more wounded, in battle with the rebel group M23 (which is backed by Rwanda), when the M23 captured Goma from DRC government’s forces. It is believed that “M23 seeks to set up an administration to govern Goma as it has in other areas under its control in the eastern DRC.”

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Forget the ‘popularity contest’ of the Liberal leadership race — this former Liberal MP says he’s the one who can fix his broken party

OTTAWA—He’s campaigning as an “outsider” far from the unpopular Justin Trudeau brand. He believes he’s the candidate with the economic savviness necessary for Canada to prosper.

And he’s in the race because he wants to overhaul the way Canadian politics work. No, it’s not Mark Carney.

His name is Frank Baylis.

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Iraqi cocaine dealer ‘too westernised to be deported’

An Iraqi man is the latest drug dealer to escape deportation from the UK after a judge ruled that he was too “westernised” to be returned to his home country.

The man, who was jailed for more than five years after a conviction for dealing cocaine, has lived in Britain for 24 years and has a British-born daughter.

Home Office officials attempted to have him deported but a specialist judge in the asylum tribunal ruled that returning the man to Iraq would violate his human rights as he would be “viewed with suspicion”.

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NPR’s ‘Public Editor’ Lamely Dismisses Bias Claims, Pushes for Endless NPR Subsidies

NPR’s Public Editor is supposed to represent the audience. They proclaim, “The Public Editor stands as a source of independent accountability. Created by NPR’s board of directors, the Public Editor serves as a bridge between the newsroom and the audience.” But more often — especially now with the threat of defunding — there’s not independence or accountability. There’s just pro-NPR lobbying!

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Quebec Man Accused of Killing Three Men in 2023 Truck Attack to Stand Trial in May

The trial for a Quebec man charged with killing three pedestrians with his truck will begin mid-May and is expected to last eight weeks.

The Crown prosecutor’s office says a judge confirmed today that Steeve Gagnon’s trial will begin May 15 in Rimouski, Que.

Gagnon faces 14 counts in the alleged attack in Amqui, Que., on March 13, 2023, including three counts of first-degree murder.

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