Trump 2.0: MAGAA

[UNI88]

Carney heads to Beijing as Trump’s America First agenda forces Canada into trade rethink

“There is a risk that China views Canada as weak, struggling and abused by President Donald Trump’s administration – and it sees an opportunity to present itself as the reasonable and stable adult in the room,” says Michael Kovrig, a former diplomat and senior Asia adviser for the thinktank International Crisis Group. “The Communist party has given up persuading people that they’re benevolent. Instead, they offer competence and predictability. But it also gives Mark Carney leverage to say: if you think our relationship with the United States is getting worse, what are you willing to give us?”
...
Since becoming prime minister, Carney has signalled he wants to reset the relationship between the two countries, pushing a “reliance to resilience” plan to diversify trade away from the US which, until recently, bought 76% of Canada’s exports. But the “America First” economic policy pursued by the White House has forced Carney to rethink the foundational structure of his country’s economy.

While Canada’s federal government has looked to its new Indo-Pacific strategy to forge new partnerships, Canada also wants to grow its presence in China, which makes up only 4% of exports.

Driving our allies into the arms of our opponents is Making America Great Again???

[kalm]

Carney heads to Beijing as Trump’s America First agenda forces Canada into trade rethink

“There is a risk that China views Canada as weak, struggling and abused by President Donald Trump’s administration – and it sees an opportunity to present itself as the reasonable and stable adult in the room,” says Michael Kovrig, a former diplomat and senior Asia adviser for the thinktank International Crisis Group. “The Communist party has given up persuading people that they’re benevolent. Instead, they offer competence and predictability. But it also gives Mark Carney leverage to say: if you think our relationship with the United States is getting worse, what are you willing to give us?”
...
Since becoming prime minister, Carney has signalled he wants to reset the relationship between the two countries, pushing a “reliance to resilience” plan to diversify trade away from the US which, until recently, bought 76% of Canada’s exports. But the “America First” economic policy pursued by the White House has forced Carney to rethink the foundational structure of his country’s economy.

While Canada’s federal government has looked to its new Indo-Pacific strategy to forge new partnerships, Canada also wants to grow its presence in China, which makes up only 4% of exports.

Driving our allies into the arms of our opponents is Making America Great Again???

[GannonFan]

Carney heads to Beijing as Trump’s America First agenda forces Canada into trade rethink



Driving our allies into the arms of our opponents is Making America Great Again???

Read the CBC, reactions to this are all over the place. Canola oil farmers (think Saskatchewan) are excited about it, but the deal to lower tariffs by $0.15 when the price normally fluctuates at the several dollar level, is like a drop in the bucket. And the Canadian auto industry (think Ontario) is already screaming that they got sold out by their federal government in this deal as it opened up the Canadian market to cheap Chinese EV imports. And all the while folks are lining up in Alberta to sign petitions to get an independence referendum on the ballot. Deals with China don't have a great history of success - China does what China does. Carney may say that China is predictable, but when predictable involves largely one-way trade and intellectual property theft on a massive scale, not all predictable is worthwhile. Considering that most private industry has been moving away from China as much as is possible over the past 15 years, steering the ship to go back in there again is an odd choice. I get it that Trump is despicable and untrustworthy, but that doesn't mean you just go ahead and make other bad choices just to do something. Canadians will have to assess this for sure.

[kalm]

Read the CBC, reactions to this are all over the place. Canola oil farmers (think Saskatchewan) are excited about it, but the deal to lower tariffs by $0.15 when the price normally fluctuates at the several dollar level, is like a drop in the bucket. And the Canadian auto industry (think Ontario) is already screaming that they got sold out by their federal government in this deal as it opened up the Canadian market to cheap Chinese EV imports. And all the while folks are lining up in Alberta to sign petitions to get an independence referendum on the ballot. Deals with China don't have a great history of success - China does what China does. Carney may say that China is predictable, but when predictable involves largely one-way trade and intellectual property theft on a massive scale, not all predictable is worthwhile. Considering that most private industry has been moving away from China as much as is possible over the past 15 years, steering the ship to go back in there again is an odd choice. I get it that Trump is despicable and untrustworthy, but that doesn't mean you just go ahead and make other bad choices just to do something. Canadians will have to assess this for sure.

Thank you for the critical take. You raise some interesting but fair takes.

[UNI88]

Read the CBC, reactions to this are all over the place. Canola oil farmers (think Saskatchewan) are excited about it, but the deal to lower tariffs by $0.15 when the price normally fluctuates at the several dollar level, is like a drop in the bucket. And the Canadian auto industry (think Ontario) is already screaming that they got sold out by their federal government in this deal as it opened up the Canadian market to cheap Chinese EV imports. And all the while folks are lining up in Alberta to sign petitions to get an independence referendum on the ballot. Deals with China don't have a great history of success - China does what China does. Carney may say that China is predictable, but when predictable involves largely one-way trade and intellectual property theft on a massive scale, not all predictable is worthwhile. Considering that most private industry has been moving away from China as much as is possible over the past 15 years, steering the ship to go back in there again is an odd choice. I get it that Trump is despicable and untrustworthy, but that doesn't mean you just go ahead and make other bad choices just to do something. Canadians will have to assess this for sure.

Thank you for the critical take. You raise some interesting but fair takes.

Ganny raises excellent points. I will add that Ontario has already been screaming due to the impact of trump's tariffs on the supply chain (auto parts move back and forth between Ontario and Michigan/Ohio so the impact of the tariffs is cascading).

I don't think Carney and Canada are done. trump has backed them into a corner and they're going to continue looking for alternative trading partners.

trump's policies are forcing our allies to look elsewhere and that hurts the US in the long run.

[kalm]

Thank you for the critical take. You raise some interesting but fair takes.

Ganny raises excellent points. I will add that Ontario has already been screaming due to the impact of trump's tariffs on the supply chain (auto parts move back and forth between Ontario and Michigan/Ohio so the impact of the tariffs is cascading).

I don't think Carney and Canada are done. trump has backed them into a corner and they're going to continue looking for alternative trading partners.

trump's policies are forcing our allies to look elsewhere and that hurts the US in the long run.

That seems to be part of the concern. The long game and lack of trust in the U.S. as a partner.

[UNI88]

Let's unpack this ...

1) Greenland is already protected by the US through our membership in NATO.

2) Would russia and china be interested in Greenland if they could obtain it without risk? Absolutely. It's a strategic location and contains vital resources. But the risks of either of them attempting to take it are significant and could start WW III. They're extremely unlikely to make a move to attempt to acquire Greenland. This argument by trump is FAKE NEWS.

3) The only country making threats, escalating the rhetoric and risking open conflict is trump and the US.

4) Any move by the US against Greenland could mean the end of NATO and would likely do more damage to our long run security than gaining control of Greenland would give us. We already have permanent military access in Greenland, bases(s), early-warning radar and an Arctic presence. What more do we get? Without NATO, we lose: 30+ allied militaries, shared intelligence networks, alliance leverage against Russia and China, the collective defense of Europe, etc.

This is about one man's ego and rudimentary understanding of geopolitics like he's playing Risk.

[GannonFan]

Let's unpack this ...

1) Greenland is already protected by the US through our membership in NATO.

2) Would russia and china be interested in Greenland if they could obtain it without risk? Absolutely. It's a strategic location and contains vital resources. But the risks of either of them attempting to take it are significant and could start WW III. They're extremely unlikely to make a move to attempt to acquire Greenland. This argument by trump is FAKE NEWS.

3) The only country making threats, escalating the rhetoric and risking open conflict is trump and the US.

4) Any move by the US against Greenland could mean the end of NATO and would likely do more damage to our long run security than gaining control of Greenland would give us. We already have permanent military access in Greenland, bases(s), early-warning radar and an Arctic presence. What more do we get? Without NATO, we lose: 30+ allied militaries, shared intelligence networks, alliance leverage against Russia and China, the collective defense of Europe, etc.

This is about one man's ego and rudimentary understanding of geopolitics like he's playing Risk.

Indeed. Trump's bellicose stance towards Greenland is absolutely, mind shockingly stupid, even for Trump. We have everything we want in Greenland - we have full and clear access to do whatever we want to do militarily, we have clear access to mine whatever minerals we want (we have to pay for them, but we have access to do whatever we want). Owning Greenland doesn't give us anything more than what we have, except maybe saving on future taxes when mining the materials we won't even be mining in Greenland for decades to come. We've already achieved what we needed to achieve with Greenland in terms of security and military access. Everything else is just stupidness.

[Caribbean Hen]

Winning!

Less drugs coming in = less deaths

In 2022, under the disastrous Biden administration, opioid overdose deaths peaked at a shocking 110,000. In 2025, under Trump, that number was an estimated 73,000. It is true that the decline began during Biden's final year in office, once the people actually running the country acknowledged that border security was an election-year issue. But last year's number was down 21% from Biden’s last year in office.

[UNI88]

Winning!

Less drugs coming in = less deaths

In 2022, under the disastrous Biden administration, opioid overdose deaths peaked at a shocking 110,000. In 2025, under Trump, that number was an estimated 73,000. It is true that the decline began during Biden's final year in office, once the people actually running the country acknowledged that border security was an election-year issue. But last year's number was down 21% from Biden’s last year in office.

And they fell 27% in biden's last year in office from the prior year. trump was just keeping up the trend.

US overdose deaths fell through most of 2025, federal data reveal

U.S. overdose deaths dropped 21% through August 2025 — the longest sustained decline in decades — but remain above pre-pandemic levels.
...
In a paper published last week in the journal Science, University of Maryland researchers point to the drug supply. They say regulatory changes in China a few years ago appear to have diminished the availability of precursor chemicals used to make fentanyl.

Their argument is based partly on information from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, which last year reported that the purity — and dangerous potency — of fentanyl rose early in the COVID-19 pandemic but fell after 2022. It suggests it became harder to make fentanyl and its potency was diluted.
...
The researchers tracked the three rounds of pandemic stimulus payments to U.S. households in 2020 and 2021, and saw surges in overdose deaths after each one.

That money alleviated economic hardship for many families, but some of it also helped people pay for illicit drugs, the Pittsburgh researchers say. And the end of those payments helps explain why overdoses stabilized in 2022 and began falling afterward, they say.

Both arguments seem to have merit, though they do not prove causation, said Dr. Daniel Ciccarone, a drug policy expert at the University of California, San Francisco.

[kalm]

Winning!

Less drugs coming in = less deaths

In 2022, under the disastrous Biden administration, opioid overdose deaths peaked at a shocking 110,000. In 2025, under Trump, that number was an estimated 73,000. It is true that the decline began during Biden's final year in office, once the people actually running the country acknowledged that border security was an election-year issue. But last year's number was down 21% from Biden’s last year in office.

And they fell 27% in biden's last year in office from the prior year. trump was just keeping up the trend.

US overdose deaths fell through most of 2025, federal data reveal

U.S. overdose deaths dropped 21% through August 2025 — the longest sustained decline in decades — but remain above pre-pandemic levels.
...
In a paper published last week in the journal Science, University of Maryland researchers point to the drug supply. They say regulatory changes in China a few years ago appear to have diminished the availability of precursor chemicals used to make fentanyl.

Their argument is based partly on information from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, which last year reported that the purity — and dangerous potency — of fentanyl rose early in the COVID-19 pandemic but fell after 2022. It suggests it became harder to make fentanyl and its potency was diluted.
...
The researchers tracked the three rounds of pandemic stimulus payments to U.S. households in 2020 and 2021, and saw surges in overdose deaths after each one.

That money alleviated economic hardship for many families, but some of it also helped people pay for illicit drugs, the Pittsburgh researchers say. And the end of those payments helps explain why overdoses stabilized in 2022 and began falling afterward, they say.

Both arguments seem to have merit, though they do not prove causation, said Dr. Daniel Ciccarone, a drug policy expert at the University of California, San Francisco.

Trump is a carpetbagger.

[kalm]

Anti-2nd amendment, anti-Jesus, anti-cop. My oh my has MAGA changed.

[UNI88]

And they fell 27% in biden's last year in office from the prior year. trump was just keeping up the trend.

US overdose deaths fell through most of 2025, federal data reveal

Trump is a carpetbagger.

[kalm]

Trump is a carpetbagger.

[kalm]

Congrats MAGA. You support a dummie. A dangerous one…but a dummie none the less.

Trump’s Letter to Norway Should Be the Last Straw
Will Republicans in Congress ever step in?
By Anne Applebaum


Let me begin by quoting, in full, a letter that the president of the United States of America sent yesterday to the prime minister of Norway, Jonas Gahr Støre. The text was forwarded by the White House National Security Council to ambassadors in Washington, and was clearly intended to be widely shared. Here it is:

Dear Jonas:

Considering your Country decided not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize for having stopped 8 Wars PLUS, I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of Peace, although it will always be predominant, but can now think about what is good and proper for the United States of America. Denmark cannot protect that land from Russia or China, and why do they have a “right of ownership” anyway? There are no written documents, it’s only a boat that landed there hundreds of years ago, but we had boats landing there, also. I have done more for NATO than any person since its founding, and now, NATO should do something for the United States. The World is not secure unless we have Complete and Total Control of Greenland. Thank you! President DJT

One could observe many things about this document. One is the childish grammar, including the strange capitalizations (“Complete and Total Control”). Another is the loose grasp of history. Donald Trump did not end eight wars. Greenland has been Danish territory for centuries. Its residents are Danish citizens who vote in Danish elections. There are many “written documents” establishing Danish sovereignty in Greenland, including some signed by the United States. In his second term, Trump has done nothing for NATO—an organization that the U.S. created and theoretically leads, and that has only ever been used in defense of American interests. If the European members of NATO have begun spending more on their own defense (budgets to which the U.S. never contributed), that’s because of the threat they feel from Russia.

https://x.com/theatlantic/status/201328 ... LLEdWL4H3w

[kalm]

[Caribbean Hen]

Winning!

Less drugs coming in = less deaths

In 2022, under the disastrous Biden administration, opioid overdose deaths peaked at a shocking 110,000. In 2025, under Trump, that number was an estimated 73,000. It is true that the decline began during Biden's final year in office, once the people actually running the country acknowledged that border security was an election-year issue. But last year's number was down 21% from Biden’s last year in office.

And they fell 27% in biden's last year in office from the prior year. trump was just keeping up the trend.

US overdose deaths fell through most of 2025, federal data reveal

U.S. overdose deaths dropped 21% through August 2025 — the longest sustained decline in decades — but remain above pre-pandemic levels.
...
In a paper published last week in the journal Science, University of Maryland researchers point to the drug supply. They say regulatory changes in China a few years ago appear to have diminished the availability of precursor chemicals used to make fentanyl.

Their argument is based partly on information from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, which last year reported that the purity — and dangerous potency — of fentanyl rose early in the COVID-19 pandemic but fell after 2022. It suggests it became harder to make fentanyl and its potency was diluted.
...
The researchers tracked the three rounds of pandemic stimulus payments to U.S. households in 2020 and 2021, and saw surges in overdose deaths after each one.

That money alleviated economic hardship for many families, but some of it also helped people pay for illicit drugs, the Pittsburgh researchers say. And the end of those payments helps explain why overdoses stabilized in 2022 and began falling afterward, they say.

Both arguments seem to have merit, though they do not prove causation, said Dr. Daniel Ciccarone, a drug policy expert at the University of California, San Francisco.

Now we know severe TDS causes blurry vision

One more for the list

[kalm]

And they fell 27% in biden's last year in office from the prior year. trump was just keeping up the trend.

US overdose deaths fell through most of 2025, federal data reveal

Now we know severe TDS causes blurry vision

One more for the list

Are you in denial?

[UNI88]

And they fell 27% in biden's last year in office from the prior year. trump was just keeping up the trend.

US overdose deaths fell through most of 2025, federal data reveal

Now we know severe TDS causes blurry vision

One more for the list

Are you going to see an optometrist for that?

The chart and articles are clear, drug deaths started to fall significantly under biden but it's just like trump MAGA yahoos to try and take credit for someone else's accomplishments. The Nobel Peace Price is definitive proof of that.

[kalm]

Now we know severe TDS causes blurry vision

One more for the list

Are you going to see an optometrist for that?

The chart and articles are clear, drug deaths started to fall significantly under biden but it's just like trump MAGA yahoos to try and take credit for someone else's accomplishments. The Nobel Peace Price is definitive proof of that.

[Caribbean Hen]

Now we know severe TDS causes blurry vision

One more for the list

Are you in denial?

Keep going

[Caribbean Hen]

Winning!

Less drugs coming in = less deaths

In 2022, under the disastrous Biden administration, opioid overdose deaths peaked at a shocking 110,000. In 2025, under Trump, that number was an estimated 73,000. It is true that the decline began during Biden's final year in office, once the people actually running the country acknowledged that border security was an election-year issue. But last year's number was down 21% from Biden’s last year in office.

Anyway you slice it

Chang and Eng are both sick individuals or Chang and Eng is a sick person

[kalm]

What a real leader looks like.

[kalm]

Are you in denial?

Keep going

Response, noted.

[kalm]