USA

Zelenskyy calls for ‘armed forces of Europe’ as EU leaders bristle at new US policies on Ukraine

JD Vance Waves Goodbye to Europe

MUNICH (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Saturday that the time has come for the creation of an “armed forces of Europe,” because the U.S. may no longer be counted on to support the continent.

Meanwhile, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz hit back at Americans for meddling in his country’s election after U.S. Vice President JD Vance scolded European leaders over their approach to democracy and met with the leader of a German far-right party.

Forceful speeches from Zelenskyy and Scholz on Day 2 of the Munich Security Conference underlined the impact of a blizzard of decisions by U.S. President Donald Trump that show a rapidly growing chasm in trans-Atlantic ties.

We are living in interesting times.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inUSA

Is Trump right when he says the US faces unfair trade?

… America’s average tariff was lower than Mexico’s (6.8%) and Canada’s (3.8%), though trade agreements between the US and these countries mean that American exports to them are not subject to tariffs. The same is true for South Korea, with which the US has a free trade agreement

But, broadly speaking, it is legitimate for Trump to point out that some countries have a higher average tariff on imports than America’s.

And those tariffs push up the cost of many American exports to those countries, which might be said to disadvantage US exporters relative to exporters in those countries selling into the US.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inUSA

Conrad Black: Put Canada on a (trade) war footing

The controversy over American tariffs has quickly escalated from a corrective action supposedly prompted by complaints about the porosity of both the southern and northern borders of the United States, to a comprehensive attempt to reset America’s commercial relations with the world, to restore the strength of American manufacturing and to discontinue trade and foreign aid practices from the Cold War, which were effectively bribes to persuade a variety of foreign governments to remain in the western, rather than the Soviet, sphere of influence. Following the Second World War, there was a great wave of decolonization, most of it — such as in the old British Raj, which included present-day India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bhutan — voluntarily, but some of it — such as Algeria, Indochina and up to a point, Kenya and Cyprus — violently and painfully. As the Cold War developed, the foreign aid practices of the U.S. and other western countries (including Canada) had a humanitarian component topped up by the political understanding that recipient countries would remain passably co-operative with the West.

We don’t like it but it was inevitable.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inCanada, USA

JD Vance has signed the death warrant of the status quo

His intellectual waterboarding of Europe’s elites was a joy to watch.

Well, that was a delicious spectacle. America’s self-made VP gloriously roasting the wizened technocrats of Europe. A Yank from dirt-poor origins sticking it to Europe’s turbo-smug ruling class. How they squirmed as the boy from Ohio who somehow made it to the top of US politics chastised them for their indecent desertion of the ideals of liberty, democracy and security. It was like an intellectual waterboarding, and I loved every minute of it.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inEurope, USA

Allies appear to duck and cover as Trump threatens Canada and Greenland

Whenever we talk about NATO it’s usually in the context of money — or the famous all-for-one, one-for-all treaty clause known as Article 5.

The provision is the bedrock of the Western military alliance, allowing leaders from Latvia to London to Ottawa to sleep better at night knowing more than two dozen other like-minded nations have their backs.

What often doesn’t get much attention is the preceding paragraph: Article 4.

No one really likes Trudeau so I am not surprised. Possession of Greenland paints Denmark as a colonial power a major no no in Euro-Land.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inCanada, USA

Ilhan Omar Faces Deportation Efforts

A growing petition to deport Democrat Rep. Ilhan Omar (MN) is gaining significant traction. Many people are signing it, expressing frustration over her controversial statements and actions that impede law enforcement efforts. The petition calls for the Somali-born congresswoman to be removed from the United States, citing her perceived disloyalty to American values and repeated criticisms of the country. As calls for accountability mount, many are questioning how someone with her outspoken views was allowed to hold public office in the first place.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted in"Islamophobia", Islam, Islamization of the West, USA

How is Canada tackling the cross-border smuggling crisis? An analyst weighs in on concerns

The shared U.S.-Canadian border has been a growing battleground in the midst of U.S. President Donald Trump’s border demands and tariff talks.

Recent data from the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) have revealed a trend – based on weight, Canadian border agents have seized significantly more illicit drugs coming from the U.S. than those heading south.

In 2024, border agents intercepted almost 8.3 million grams of illegal drugs coming from the U.S. – a 118 per cent increase from 2022, according to the CBSA.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inCanada, USA

In D.C. Visit, Canadian Leaders Face Trump’s Tariff Hawks .

Canada’s premiers visited Washington this week to make the case for open trade, but influential figures in the president’s circle see tariffs as the path to prosperity.

Another week, and another round of tariff threats and annexation suggestions from President Trump.

It began with the announcement of a policy imposing 25 percent tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports. In Canada’s case, those tariffs would be stacked on top of the previously introduced 25 percent tariffs on most Canadian exports, which are in a 30-day holding period. If Mr. Trump follows through on both, the rate on steel and aluminum will be a staggering 50 percent.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inCanada, USA

How Husain Al Kawwaz used a refrigerated produce trailer to smuggle people into the U.S. from Canadastan

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A Canadian truck driver has been sentenced to three years in an American prison after pleading guilty to using the refrigerated trailer of his semi-truck to smuggle people into the U.S. in exchange for money.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers arrested Husain Al Kawwaz after surveillance video appeared to show he let 10 Vietnamese citizens out of his trailer in Michigan after it left Windsor, Ont., and crossed the Ambassador Bridge around midnight on Aug. 7, 2024.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inCanada, USA

JD Vance meets AfD leader after attacking Germany for excluding party

JD Vance has met Alice Weidel, the co-leader of Alternative for Germany (AfD), outside the Munich Security Conference (MSC) after criticising the organisers for excluding the party.

In a landmark address to the conference, the US vice president denounced the pariah status placed upon the AfD.

“Democracy rests on the sacred principle that the voice of the people matters. There’s no room for firewalls,” he said, referencing a pledge by mainstream German parties not to work with or form governments with the party.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inGermany, Germany - AfD party, USA

Hearing White House aide reinforce Trump’s annexation plans ‘chilling,’ premier says

WASHINGTON — Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Andrew Furey says it was “chilling” to hear a top White House adviser say U.S. President Donald Trump is serious about making Canada the 51st state.

All 13 premiers travelled to Washington this week for the first time in history for a joint mission to push back on Trump’s escalating tariff threats.

Speaking to CPAC Friday, Furey says he left the U.S. capital very aware that the president was launching an attack not just on Canada’s economy but on its sovereignty.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inCanada, USA

Stupid Shit Andrew Coyne Says …

The democratic world will have to get along without America. It may even have to defend itself from it

I wonder if we have underestimated the gravity of the situation the democratic world faces.

Even now, as the United States hurtles toward autocracy – the petty grotesqueries perhaps tell the story better than anything else: a reporter barred from the White House for not using the name “Gulf of America,” President Donald Trump naming himself chair of the Kennedy Center by a “unanimous” vote of its board – the tendency is still to describe events in relatively conventional terms. For example, the “mistakes” that Mr. Trump is said to have made in his dealings with Vladimir Putin, of the United States as an “unreliable ally” under Mr. Trump, and so forth.

Any questions?

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inCanada, Trump Derangement Syndrome, USA

Trump takes fresh shot at ‘Governor Trudeau,’ says Canada ‘serious contender’ to be 51st state

U.S. President Donald Trump says Canada is a “serious contender” to become America’s 51st state as he launched into a fresh round of digs aimed at outgoing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

… Trump then floated the possibility that the U.S. could withhold military protection for Canada.

“They don’t have any military protection,” the president told reporters. “You take a look at what’s going on out there. You have Russian ships, you have China ships, you have Chinese ships. You have lot of ships out there. People are in danger. This is a different world today. It’s a different world, but they need our protection.”

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inCanada, USA