Can We Show Some Spine?

The images emanating from the U.S. are something most of us never thought we would see. Masked government gunmen in the streets, tearing people out of their vehicles, demanding to see their papers, using battering rams to enter homes, and murdering people protesting their fascist ways. Such scenes must challenge even the most experienced denialist.

As a nation, we do not fall into that latter category, and yet there is a conspicuous absence of condemnation, even 'diplomatic' censure, from our government. While I realize it is always a fraught experience to deal with a fascist madman, surely it is time for our political representatives to show some spine.

That is indeed the opinion of Manitoba's premiere, Wab Kinew, one he expressed during the first ministers meeting last week.

Kinew says when he talks to his fellow Manitobans, they tell him how disturbed they are to watch the scenes from Trump’s immigration crackdown in Minneapolis, which has resulted in two deaths and rolling, often violent confrontations between citizens and agents for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE.)

“I felt compelled at the table, just given how much I’ve heard about this from Manitobans,” Kinew told reporters after the meeting ended.

Kinew said he has called Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and asked what he can do to help. Walz and other people in the midst of the turmoil have told Kinew they want people — yes, Canadians — to speak out against what they’re witnessing.

The premier is on side with that request and is hoping other political leaders are too.

Unfortunately, silence seems to be the strategy of most of the political class. 

... neither Mark Carney nor the other premiers made any statements about Minnesota. Kinew, who understands that they have to present a careful, united front in the face of Trump, especially with regard to trade, nonetheless hinted at some regret for the silence.

Kinew realizes what is at stake, especially with the CUSMA review pending, but he seems to have a moral clarity others are lacking. 

... we also have to call a spade a spade. We also have to look clearly into some things that are happening right next to us that are very unjust, and be able to say that we are going to continue being a voice of moral clarity that’s important for us as Canadians, so that we can hold our head high no matter what happens in our trade relationships with other countries.”

Heather McPherson, currently running for the leadership of the federal NDP, is also very concerned.

She wrote a letter to Carney this week, calling for sanctions on any Canadian connections to ICE, whether that is business or government, and the closure of ICE offices in this country. The ICE website lists five of them here: in Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Calgary and Vancouver.

“What Canadians are seeing south of the border, in Minnesota and beyond, is terrifying. The Trump administration’s abuses have no limits,” McPherson wrote in her letter. 

Now the pragmatist will say, "Keep your head down and carry on." Indeed, Trump has instilled deep fear in much of the world owing to his unhinged and brutal assault on what we once considered collective values. But perhaps the timid should keep in mind one basic fact: our traditional behaviour of creeping quietly around the elephant is no longer a viable strategy. With the mad king, one thing or another will always arouse his baleful, idish impulses. Confronting those impulses in a united way, as Europe did in his mad quest for Greenland, may be the only way to ultimately survive him.  

 

Amerika's Terrible Trajectory

We are away right now, having escaped the terrible weather currently pummeling Ontario. The internet is not working well here, so I don't think my graphic will appear, but you can see all of the relevant images here, part of a disturbing story about ICE.

y now, you will have heard of ICE's latest killing this one 37-year-old Alex Pretti. That it was murder there can be little doubt. A CBC article sheds light on why this lawlessness of law enforcement is taking place. In a word, it is who ICE is recruiting. It is all in the language and imagery being used, all of which appeal to the far-right supremacists that infect Amerika.

"I would describe it as oddly very familiar as someone who has been looking at the white nationalist and neo-Nazi movement for nearly a decade now," said Hannah Gais, a senior research analyst with the Southern Poverty Law Centre, a non-profit that monitors right-wing extremism. 

"It's disturbing to see that coming from a government agency."

On Aug 11, 2025, ICE posted an image on its socials of Uncle Sam at a crossroads. It included the tag line "Which way, American man?" [Please see above link]

...  the phrase itself is taken from the title of a 700-page antisemitic nonfiction book written by William Gayley Simpson and published by a neo-Nazi press in the late 1970s. 

The book has long been a favourite among white supremacists.

It all follows part of a troubling pattern that caters to the racist president and his acolytes, and ecnhoes Amerika's essential racism.

In October, the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, posted an image of George Washington on horseback with the URL to the ICE recruitment page. This time the tag line read "America for Americans."

It’s a slogan that was used in a xenophobic speech by President Theodore Rosevelt in 1916, before being picked up by the Ku Klux Klan, according to America for Americans: A History of Xenophobia in the United States by Harvard history professor Erika Lee.

 Not long after, DHS borrowed imagery from the popular video game Halo, writing "destroy the flood" atop an armed vehicle. 

In the world of the video game, the flood refers to a parasitic alien lifeform. It’s also reminiscent of the language far-right groups use to describe non-white immigrants, according to Gais.

Most recently, in the aftermath of the killing of Renee Good in Minneapolis, ICE put out a recruitment post emblazoned with the line "We’ll have our home again."

Apparently, ICE's recruitment strategy is 'paying off'.

ICE says it received around 220,000 applications during its recruitment drive last year, and hired 12,000 new officers, more than doubling the size of its force.

 A Proud Boys chapter reposted the "We’ll have our home again" ad next to a picture of a literal dog whistle, adding the line "message received."

Another chapter also reposted the ad, commenting "Hahah. If you know, you know."

While the Department of Homeland Security denies such allegations, it is clear that the Gestapo-like tactics currently afflicting Minnesota and other states are indicative of a mindset that respects only brute force, intimidation tactics, and terror. To challenge those 'values' enrages the agents.

Only Americans themselves can change this terrible trajectory.

Please note that if you make a comment and it doesn't appear here, it is du to a cranky internet, not a cranky blog writer.

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Carney's Words Reverberate

I only have time for a short post, so I offer this point. While one hopes Mark Carney's words lead to lasting changes in international relations, one thing is certain. Many people are talking about it and even offering ways in which the Americans can be brought to heel. Two letter-writers demonstrate this:

Well, well, Prime Minister Mark Carney broke the internet. It’s not exactly on the scale of Taylor Swift but it’s so satisfying to see many political commentators, journalists and ordinary Canadians shower him with praise. Carney’s speech is well-structured and direct. It’s smart that he takes complex ideas and renders them in language that the ordinary person can understand and be convinced of. I think it is particularly smart of him to admit that Canada is a “middle power.” We are for sure not a superpower like the U.S., but if this middle power forms a strong alliance with the other middle powers of the world, our impact may exceed that of a superpower. I am extremely doubtful that Pierre Poilievre will be able to write or deliver a speech similarly powerful and substantial. Thank you prime minister, we are so proud of you.

 Gloria Fung, Unionville, ON 

How middle powers could impact the U.S. economy

As of November 2025, the top five holders of U.S. Treasury Securities were, in billions of U.S. dollars: Japan, $1,203; U.K. $889; China, $683; Belgium, $481; and Canada, $472. All others held $4,920.

NATO countries, including France; $378, Norway; $219, and Germany; $110, hold a total of at least $2,549 which is more than one quarter of all foreign held U.S. Treasury Securities.

There is already a trend for foreigners to reduce their already large U.S. Treasury holdings due to low-yield and increasing risk. If NATO countries, along with some non-NATO others, sold off their U.S. Treasury Securities in a co-ordinated response to aggressive action against Greenland, the risk of financing the increasing U.S. budget deficit would decrease incentive for foreigners to finance additional U.S. government borrowing.

The resulting higher U.S. interest rates and reduced government spending would have a major disruptive impact on the U.S. economy.

Mike Priaro, Calgary, AB 

One can only hope that the momentum continues.

And since Trump is so fond of A.I., here is a video posted by a social media wag:

A Masterful Speech

 One cannot help but be impressed and inspired by Mark Carney's speech at Davos. I encourage you, if you have the time, to listen to it in its entirety. No matter what critics may say, in my view Carney is the right man to be

representing Canada at this perilous time.

The Face Of Pragmatism

The trade deal that Mark Carney just made with China has elicited a wide range of reactions. There are those who are exultant, such as Scott Moe for what it does for canola exports, and there are others who are predicting doom. The auto industry fears it is the death knell for the Canadian car industry (although it is hard to fathom why the importation of 49,000 Chinese EVs would have such an effect). Captain Canada (a.k.a, Ontario Premier Doug Ford) is thundering against it. And PP is doing his usual posturing about Chinese security threats and how the government has betrayed Canada. However, from where I sit, the deal makes eminent sense.

Carney, embracing pragmatic politics, said this: 

We take the world as it is – not as we wish it to be.”

Which, of course, means recognizing that the United States is no longer a reliable trading partner, a view bolstered this week by Trump's proclamation that the U.S. doesn't need anything from Canada, and that he isn't even thinking about the CUSMA deal. Those who still hold out strong hopes for a renewal of that agreement are, in my view, indulging in magical thinking, and it is an abandonment of that thinking which, I believe, informed Carney's bold move with China. 

The world of realpolitik is not a pretty one. It involves a recognition that ideology can take a country only so far, and in the face of external factors far beyond one's control, it is better to put one's head down and move forward, in this case making deals with countries that don't share our values. Indeed, it can be argued that is exactly what we are doing in our efforts to maintain our trading relationship with the U.S., but given its volatile, insane leadership, the Americans represent diminishing returns.

I am glad Carney has finally understood that appeasing the mad king is pointless. However, the road ahead is still fraught with possible pitfalls. Even though Trump has given his initial 'approval' of Canada making a deal with China, one wonders whether that reaction will change in the coming days. Already, U.S. trade Jamieson Greer sounded an ominous note:

“I think it’s problematic for Canada,” U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told CNBC Friday morning. “There’s a reason why we don’t sell a lot of Chinese cars in the United States. It’s because we have tariffs to protect American auto workers and Americans from those vehicles.”

One is reminded of Trump's initial dismissal of Doug Ford's anti-tariff ad in the U.S., only to replace it with anger and the termination of sectoral talks with our country. Similarly, it seems likely that whoever is the current Trump "whisperer" will tell him that his initial response was wrong; after all, the deal might encourage other 'vassal states' to go their own way in trade. The Empire cannot encourage such independent thinking.

Nonetheless, the risk is well-worth taking, in my view, and this is the first time I have felt some pride in our prime minister. The scales have fallen from his eyes, and he is conducting himself in a way I suspect the majority of Canadians will applaud.

Opening Your Eyes Can Be Painful

I would like to think that Canadians far and wide harbour few illusions about the United States. Seeing them as a trusted ally harkens back to an earlier era, and most understand that harsh truth. Indeed, statistics support that many, many of us are shunning visits to that benighted land, supporting provincial bans on U.S alcohol, and working fervently to buy Canadian and non-American products as much as possible. 

However, the hope that a new and more productive relationship with the Empire is possible still stubbornly resides in the upper echelons of government. Yes, Mark Carney is doing the right thing in trying to diversify our trade, a process that will take many years to bear real fruit. But he is seeking these new relationships with one hand tied behind his back where, his fingers crossed, hoping he can do so without enraging the beast. 

Carney is now visiting China with hopes of reseting relationships there; however, as has been widely reported, many say he has to tread a fine line, lest he do something (like reducing the tariffs on Chinese EVs in exchange for canola tariff relief) that will provoke Trump. And that's where I think many government mandarins prefer a sweet lie to a bitter truth.

The bitter truth? That there will always be something the Americans don't like, and with that displeasure will come more punishing sanctions. Consider, for example, that U.S. trade representative Jameison Greer recently said:

Dropping provincial boycotts is part of a longer list of conditions ... 

that Canada must meet in order to extend the Canada-U.S.-Mexico agreement (CUSMA).

Fortunately, all provinces except Alberta and Saskatchewan are holding firm on that ban. 

Another demand is that we dismantle our supply-management approach to farming, a sacred cow for provinces like Quebec, and one that Carney said he will protect. 

As well, consider this:

U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) on trade is “irrelevant” to him and Americans don’t need Canadian products.

“It expires very shortly and we could have it or not,” Trump said while touring a Ford plant in Michigan. “It wouldn’t matter to me. I think they want it. I don’t really care about it.”

Trump statements have rattled Canada and Mexico ahead of a mandatory review this year of the future of the continental trade pact. The president told reporters that “Canada wants it” but the United States doesn’t need anything from its northern neighbour.

Perhaps it's a negotiating ploy or perhaps he really means it. To me there is little difference, inasmuch as it amply illustrates the volatility and irrationality of the American leader who, emboldened by his coup in Venezuela, feels every right to rule the world, or at the very least dictate all policy, both domestic and foreign, to his vassal states, i.e., the rest of the world.

I could adduce a lot more evidence of the unrestrained imperialism that now grips the mad king and his enablers. However, in the final analysis, the quicker we realize that we are in a rigged game we cannot win, the faster we can break free and chart, as much as possible, our own course. 

Unless, of course, we are content to live as a mere extension of "the American Dream."

Well-Said!

I came across this on Facebook, and the Australian who offered this hard-hitting post sets into stark relief what we are contending with today. It is also prescriptive for Americans,, as you will see.

Alright, I’m saying this as an Australian who is absolutely sick to death of watching the world hold its breath every time this blabbering blubbering blithering blustering baffoon opens his grotesque mouth.

You see folks, as far as I can tell, from the outside, this is what it looks like: America has elected a man who talks and behaves like a megalomaniac, and the rest of the planet is supposed to just trust that he won’t completely lose his grip on reality and drag us all into catastrophe.

You want to steal Greenland.

You want Cuba to “make a deal before it’s too late”.

You talk about bombing or invading Mexico.

You kidnap a President and knock off the peoples oil in Venezuela.

You joke about annexing Canada like it should be a shopping centre car park you can just claim because you feel like it.

Do you have any idea how insane that sounds to the rest of us?

This isn’t tough talk. This isn’t strategy. This is a deeply unstable old man threatening sovereign nations like he’s flipping over a Monopoly board because he’s losing. This is not normal behaviour. This is not leadership. This is not strength. This is a walking, talking international crisis.

And Americans, this is where it comes back to you. Not just MAGA, not just the people who voted for him, all of you. Because when the President of the United States starts talking about kidnapping leaders, annexing countries, and issuing ultimatums like a mob boss, the rest of the world doesn’t get a vote. We just get the consequences.

You don’t get to shrug and say, “Well I didn’t vote for him.” That might fly at a dinner party, but it doesn’t fly when nuclear powers are watching this circus and recalculating their own red lines. This is your system. Your presidency. Your responsibility.

From the outside, it looks like America lit the fuse and then wandered off while everyone else stands around the bomb wondering who’s going to cut the wire.

And let’s be brutally honest. This man is nearly 80. He’s frail. He’s clearly deteriorating. He is not some long term visionary playing chess. He’s at the end of his lifespan and acting like nothing matters after him. That is the most dangerous type of leader there is. A man with nothing to lose and an ego that demands constant feeding. [Emphasis added.]

Why should the rest of the world pay for that?

Why should families in Europe, Asia, Australia, South America, anywhere, have to worry about war, trade collapse, energy shocks, or global instability because America couldn’t get its own house in order?

This is not about left or right anymore. This is about basic sanity. This is about stopping a psychopath before he does something irreversible. Because once a war starts, once a country gets invaded, once alliances fracture beyond repair, you don’t get a reset button.

So yes, this falls on Americans. You got the world into this mess, and you damn well better roll your sleeves up and get us out of it. Impeach him. Remove him. Contain him. Do whatever your system allows, but do it fast.

Because the rest of us just want to live our lives, raise our families, pay our bills, and not wake up one morning to find out World War Three started because an unhinged old man wanted to feel powerful one last time.

This isn’t funny anymore.

It isn’t theatrical.

It isn’t tolerable.

Get this lunatic under wraps before he ruins it for everyone.