FROLITICKS

Satirical commentary on Canadian and American current political issues

Mar 28

Donald Trump’s Name Increasingly Appears On Government Sites And Initiatives: But Why?

by bcurry

Since coming into his second term, Trump has, without any sense of modesty or rationale, placed his name on a number of government buildings and initiatives.  Why am I not surprised!  In my blog entitled Donald Trump and Extreme Narcissism in February 2016, I highlighted the fact that Trump has been described by numerous analysts as being an “extreme narcissist”.  I noted at the time that: “Basically, narcissism is recognized in psychologists/psychiatrists circles as a mental illness, often referred to as “narcissistic personality disorder”.  People with narcissistic personality disorder are characterized by exaggerated feelings of self-importance.  They have a sense of entitlement and demonstrate grandiosity in their beliefs and behaviour.  They also have a strong need for admiration, are manipulative, but lack feelings of empathy.”

Well, Trump has certainly lived up to this description given his current mental state of mind and behaviour.  Moreover, it is of no surprise that he has a quest to name things after himself and to accept awards of nebulous merit, some often invented such as the FIFA Peace Prize and the just announced inaugural ‘America First Award’ from the Republican Party.  The list of renaming of federal buildings in Trump’s name continues to go on.  One can start with the performing arts complex, the Kennedy Center, to which Trump’s name was added in December of last year.  Next, the Trump administration renamed the U.S. Institute of Peace after himself and, following a protracted struggle for control of the institute, put his name on its headquarters.  This organisation, almost gotten rid of by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), was renamed the Donald J Trump Institute of Peace apparently to “reflect the greatest dealmaker in our nation’s history”.  Around the same time, Trump announced the navy’s plans to develop the “Trump-class battleships” which are designed to meet the realities of modern maritime conflict.  In January, Trump rolled-out ​the government-supported investment “Trump Accounts” for American babies, calling on American businesses to contribute to employees’ family accounts.  Just today, the U.S. Treasury announced plans to put the president’s signature on all new dollar bills.  The move would be a first for a sitting president given that U.S. paper currency traditionally carries the signatures of the treasury secretary and the treasurer.

What does Trump’s obsession mean for the workings of the presidency, governance, the republic and the fundamental values ingrained in the American democracy?  Historically, self-aggrandizement has been in the domain of monarchs, dictators and autocrats for obvious reasons, having a lot to do with control of the populace and unrestrained power.  The American constitution was designed to prevent a president from pursuing the enhancement of the office’s power and image at the expense of the people’s house: “Congress”.  This past January, a CNN poll asked about Trump making changes to cultural institutions such as the Kennedy Center and the Smithsonian.  Fully 62% of Americans said he had “gone too far” on this count.  Even 3 in 10 Republicans reportedly said the president was going too far with those cultural changes.  Politically, this self-glorification has not gone well with the American electorate.  Trump’s continuous pursuit for more personal tributes and praise has only added to the public’s growing discontent with his administration.

Through blatant narcissistic tendencies, the above noted poll also showed that nearly two-thirds of Americans now belief that Trump is mostly out for himself.  However, even though the emperor wears no closes as depicted in a fable, there have been few in Congress and elsewhere, including Republicans, that have courageously come forward to speak out in the republic’s defence.  Also, Trump’s quest to name things after himself seems especially ill-timed and inappropriate given the current state of the U.S. economy.  One can only speculate as to which institutions and government initiatives the president will want to proceed needlessly with name association.  Given that he is an extreme narcissist, I doubt that the buck stops in the Oval Office.

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Mar 17

Once Again, Concerns Are Being Raised Over Newsprint Media In The U.S.

by bcurry

In several previous blogs (search under “media”) I wrote about various current serious issues surrounding mainstream media in the U.S. Today, as in the recent past, another example of the potential demise of a newspaper has surfaced in the case of the Washington Post.  As reported by people with knowledge of the company’s finances, in 2022 the organization was on track to lose money after years of profitability.  At the time, The Post had fewer than the three million paying digital subscribers.  Moreover, despite the losses, The Post’s newsroom remained one of the most formidable in the country.  In 2013, Jeff Bezos, the billionaire founder of Amazon, had become The Post’s owner.  Bezos said repeatedly since then that he wanted the company to break even, not to rely on his largess.  He initially invested heavily, and the company thrived for several years, with the newsroom doubling in size.  However, by this past year, The Post was running over $100 million in annual losses.  Consequently over the past two years, the newsroom shrank by nearly half to about the size it was when he bought it. 

Next came Donald Trump’s running for a second term as president.  Normally, Bezos stayed out of the paper’s day-to-day operations.  Apparently, he had not shown up in the newsroom since 2023.  However, in the past two years he has dipped in more forcefully.  His more direct involvement has resulted in a series of jarring upheavals in strategy and leadership at one of the country’s most decorated news organizations.  Problems at The Post started actually several years ago, when its audience diminished after expanding during the first Trump administration and the Covid-19 pandemic.  During the last presidential campaign, Bezos ended presidential endorsements, effectively killing a draft editorial that encouraged readers to vote for Vice President Kamala Harris, Trump’s Democratic opponent.  As a result, there was reader uproar, as reflected in thousands of cancelled subscriptions. 

Bezos insisted an independent newsroom should be self-sustaining.  However, for example, foreign reporting is expensive.  As a key beat for The Post, foreign reporting is essential to keeping The Post competitive on national security.  Wanting to reduce the number of staff reporters in order to cut costs, Bezos further insisted that the newsroom perform today at the same level as before but with fewer staff.  However, there is no way to hit their target without affecting the scope of the newsroom’s coverage.  This resulted in most international correspondents and editors being laid off, including those in the Middle East, just weeks before the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran.

At recent meetings with a group of top Post journalists and business executives, Bezos reportedly remarked that the company had gotten off track years ago because of inattentive oversight, including from himself, and a sluggish response to changes in the media business.  Nevertheless, he reassured the group that he was committed to its future, and said he had spurned several offers to sell The Post.  The Washington Post represents one of the premier news outlets, along with such papers as The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal.  The lost of The Post would be a great blow to mainstream media.  Increasingly Bezos, in light of his closer relationship with the Trump administration, has more frequently outlined his political and economic beliefs, which boil down to a mix of libertarian and pro-business policies.  Indeed, in January of last year, he traveled to Washington and was assigned a seat onstage near Trump at his inauguration.  Weeks later, Bezos’ reorientation of the paper’s opinion pages became official.  The fallout from the change was immediate.  Subscribers once again cancelled in droves.  Several Post Opinion employees resigned, including the opinion editor David Shipley.  Interestingly, Shipley now works as an editor at The Times.

As a result of the newsroom coverage of the Iranian war, Secretary of War (alias Peace), Pete Hegseth, has gone to war with the American press over Iran coverage.  He alluded to the administration’s belief that major news media are overly critical of the war’s objectives and daily operations.  Instead, he stated that American news media should reflect the war’s outcomes in more “patriotic” terms. This highly defensive reaction feels tone-deaf at a moment when the nation is at war — especially as polls show Americans largely disapproving of the conflict and are unclear about its rationale. 

One can only hope that news outlets such as the Washington Post, by invoking journalistic integrity, will continue to report the sequence of wartime events in unbiased and factual terms without undue interference from the White House.  Perhaps Bezos should adopt this principled stance and better support the independent work of his newsroom staff, rather than insisting that it reflect his own personal values and bias.


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Mar 6

Interaction Between the U.S. and Canada Summed Up in One Word: Confusion

by bcurry

When the Trump administration first introduced tariffs against specific industries in Canada (ex. aluminum, steel and lumber), it created a good deal of confusion and uncertainty because of the integrated market existing between the two countries.  The initial excuse was that Canada had failed to secure the border from the smuggling of fentanyl from Canada into the U.S., which only accounted for less than 1 percent of the total entering the States.  Secondly, Trump argues that Canada has long benefited from a trade surplus with the U.S., not accounting for the import to Canada of American services. Then, suddenly Trump was openly promoting the annexation of Canada, making it the 51st state: something neither the vast majority of Canadians or Americans have supported at any time in the past.

As a result of Trump’s tariff imposition, Canadians decided to elect Mark Carney, a Liberal, as the 24th prime minister of Canada in 2025.  Carney, a former head of Canada’s central bank, has had to take a careful and sensitive route in dealing with Trump on both economic and foreign policy issues.  Take for example, the current war initiated by the U.S.with Iran, which the Canadian government was not apprised of before American pre-emptive strikes.  Canadian support for the U.S. is a touchy and complicated matter, remembering that Canada is part of the North American Aerospace Defence Command (NORAD) which conducts aerospace warning, aerospace control and maritime warning in the defence of North America.  As is the U.S., Canada is also a member of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and supports its allies in the defence of their sovereignty.  On the one hand, while Carney believes it is appropriate to support the U.S.; on the other hand, there are questions surrounding the legality of the attacks on Iran under international law and NATO’s non-involvement at the outset.  Also, the Trump administration’s primary motive for the attacks on Iran has been anything but clear from the outset, setting off confusion among NATO and other allies.  While NATO will defend itself against the resulting Iranian attacks on their bases in the region, there has been no indication to date that either Israel or the U.S. have sought the support of NATO military forces.  Once again, confusion reigns among the parties.

If any word can also express the current trade and foreign policy environment created by the Trump administration, it is “uncertainty”.  For Carney and other world leaders, this uncertainty has forced them to look at alternative economic, defence and trade arrangements, given the lack of American support for maintaining the normal global processes.  As a result, Carney has to seek alternative trade relations with other countries and has recently entered into formatting new arrangements with middle-power countries such as India, Japan and Australia — not to forget previous trips to several E.U. counties.  Indeed, just this week, Prime Minister Mark Carney and Japan’s Sanae Takaichi inked a new “strategic partnership” that signaled the next step in a recent drive to deepen military and trade co-operation between the two countries.  Just prior to that, Carney and his Indian counterpart announced what they’re calling a “new partnership,” a series of multimillion-dollar deals and a commitment to sign a free trade agreement by year’s end.  On March 4th, Australia and Canada signed new agreements on critical minerals as Carney made a landmark address to the Australian parliament, a sign of the developing bond between the “middle powers”.  The two countries will also deepen cooperation in areas including defence and maritime security, trade and artificial intelligence.

All if this is happening because of the political and economic policies under the Trump administration, which are confusing given that over 70 percent of Canada’s trade has always been with the U.S.  This close relationship with the U.S. has even been highlighted by the current Canada-U.S.-Mexico free trade agreement which Trump had negotiated and endorsed during his first term in office.  Now, it appears that he wants to replace this agreement with separate agreements with Canada and Mexico, which apparently would include new tariffs on their imports to the U.S.on selected products and services.  This has created a good deal of “uncertainty” and “confusion” within North American markets.

Moreover, when it comes to the U.S. policies, once can only foresee more confusion and uncertainty in the near future.  As Trump would no doubt brag, the ball now lies in the American court.

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Feb 11

Canada’s Major Concern is Less to do with Fentanyl Importation than with Guns

by bcurry

Ontario being Canada’s most populous province, according to its provincial government, 91 percent of handguns recovered from crimes in 2024 came in illegally from the United States.  It should be noted that the actual figures are almost certainly higher because many recovered guns have been tampered with to make them untraceable.  According to the Canada Border Services Agency, Canadian authorities have also been confiscating more firearms at the border with the U.S.: 827 in 2024, up from 459 in 2020. The same situation can be said for Mexico where since October 2024, the Mexican authorities had seized 18,000 firearms, of which nearly 80 percent came from the U.S.

In addition, there is the accompanying illegal importation of ammunition to both countries, much again originating in the U.S.  Just recently, it was reported by Mexico’s Defense Secretary, Gen. Ricardo Trevilla Trejo, that about 137,000 .50-caliber rounds had been seized since 2012.  Of those, 47 percent came from the Lake City Army Ammunition Plant, which is the largest manufacturer of rifle rounds used by the American military — some which were sold commercially in gun shops in the southern states.  According to documents obtained by reporters, many of these rounds ended up in the hands of Mexican cartel members, who have used them to terrorize civilians and security forces alike.  Armed with .50-caliber firearms, cartel gunmen have downed helicopters, assassinated government officials, shot at police and military forces, and killed civilians.

Demand for illegal firearms in Canada is driving the smuggling from the U.S., especially for handguns used in most violent crimes.  In 2023, Canada further tightened control over handguns, making them virtually impossible to buy or transfer legally.  Despite the stricter gun control measures in Canada, the easy legal access to guns in the U.S. remains an issue.  Once obtained by gun smugglers, the profits to be made are high given that a handgun for example can be obtained illegally in Canada for three to four times the original purchase.  Gun violence has also gone up significantly across Canada.  According to government data, the homicide rate increased 33 percent from 2013 to 2023, largely because of firearm killings which jumped 89 percent.  While firearms and stabbings alternated as the leading cause of homicides in the past, firearms have been the primary method of killing in Canada every year since 2016.

When compared to use by Canadians of fentanyl, the difference is the fact that the vast majority of fentanyl is manufactured within Canada for sale in the Canadian market.  As a result, although still serious, the export or import of the illicit drug is less of an issue for Canadian authorities.  However, fentanyl and other illegal drugs are being provided by drug gangs within the country, many of whom obtain firearms for protection and threats vis-à-vis other rival gangs.  Quite often, when Canadian authorities arrest members of such gangs, the firearms seized are guns smuggled in from the U.S, with some altered to fire automatically.

In conclusion, when it comes to U.S.-Canada-Mexico security discussions, the continuing concern over related gun and ammunition smuggling out of the U.S. has to be on the table.  One recognizes that the American authorities have attempted to coordinate initiatives to deal with this issue, but much more needs to be done.  Perhaps, President Trump could give some real thought to this serious matter, as Canadian and Mexican lives are at stake.


 

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Jan 11

Trump’s Foreign Policy Is Obvious Distraction From America’s Domestic Issues

by bcurry

For weeks now, the Trump administration has caught world media attention with its incursion into Venezuela and capture of Venezuela’s leader, Nicolás Maduro, and his wife.  However, attempting to avoid the appearance of seeking regime change, Trump has instead now focused on the oil reserves in that country.  What is not clear is whether the CEOs of major oil companies were consulted before hand, especially as they are apparently not ready to invest billions of dollars toward the restoration of Venezuela’s oil infrastructure.  Economically and from a business perspective, the addition of that country’s crude oil would not make much difference to gas and oil prices in the U.S., certainly in the short term.  In addition, continuing the naval blockade against oil tankers in the region has become a costly endeavour and has stretched the operational capabilities of U.S. forces.

More recently, Trump has turned his attention to directing his overall foreign policy strategy to Greenland, Cuba and even Iran.  For example, he has repeatedly said that the U.S. must take control of the strategically located and mineral-rich island, which is a semi-autonomous region of NATO ally Denmark.  From a military standpoint, the U.S. already has a defense agreement with Denmark
dating back to 1951.  Its installation at the remote Pituffik Space Base in the northwest of Greenland
currently supports missile warning, missile defense and space surveillance operations for the U.S. and NATO.  There is nothing to stop the Americans from increasing their military presence on the island under the current agreement.  Instead, it became evident, as in the case of Venezuela, that his administration is more interested in exploring business and mining deals by controlling Greenland’s governance.

Next, we have statements by Trump about the economic impact of the loss of Venezuelan crude oil to Cuba.  The control of Cuba and removal of its current regime is a big personal issue for Secretary of State Marco Rubio who has family ties to Cuba.  A day after the U.S. captured Maduro, Rubio issued a warning to Cuba, telling NBC News’ “Meet the Press” that he thinks the country is “in a lot of trouble.”  As in the case of Venezuela, Trump has suggested that the U.S. could run Cuba.

Finally, Trump’s attention has also turned to Iran and the current large-scale protests against the current regime under Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, mostly as a result the deteriorating economic situation in Iran and the regime’s heavy handed approach to any opposition.  Iranian protests rage and civilian deaths mount. Trump has renewed his warning of possible U.S. intervention, without being very specific about what a U.S. intervention might involve.  Khamenei has accused the U.S. and Israel of having hands “stained with the blood of Iranians”, arguing that they are behind the protests.  Trump has simply asserted that any possible American strike wouldn’t “mean boots on the ground but that means hitting them very, very hard where it hurts.” 

As many historians and political scientists have asserted in the past, the focus on foreign policy initiatives, especially those involving military actions, are often a form of distraction from economic and political problems at home.  One only needs to remember the former unpopular U.K. Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, and her administration’s military actions in 1982 against Argentina over the Falkland Islands.  Even some Republicans in Congress are beginning to question the foreign policy goals of the Trump administration.  Far-right activists such as Laura Loomer, Tucker Carlson and others opposed the operation in Venezuela, maintaining that Americans will ultimately pay the price.  They have also questioned how the administration’s vague plans are squared with a commitment to refrain from military intervention and regime change, something certainly not in line with Trump’s “America First” base.

Moreover, on America’s domestic front, things are not going well politically and economically.  Unemployment is up and inflation continues to rise, especially for food, housing and other staples.  The operation of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) in numerous cities has resulted in harm to American citizens and legal immigrants, including recent ICE-related deaths and injuries.  As a result, country-wide protests against ICE initiatives have emerged, leading to administration officials having to justify the use of force against protesters.

Recent polling has shown that Trump’s popularity has fallen to an all time low, including with respect to his once-popular immigration policies.  In addition, hundreds of cases involving the administration’s policies are before the courts.  Americans’ trust in the judicial system and governance has taken a massive beating.  For this reason, a strong argument can be made that the Trump administration has decided to assert U.S. foreign policy and power in order to distract from continuing domestic problems.


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Dec 29

Trump Administration’s Biggest Blunders of the Past Year

by bcurry

Remember what prevented George H.W. Bush from getting a second term was his failure to adequately address the economy at that time.  Thus the phrase: “It’s the economy stupid”.  What we now see under Trump’s second term is his downplaying of what is happening to the economy, including the continuing high inflation and increasing unemployment across the country.  One has to remember that the real impact on inflation of the tariffs will only be felt next year.  In addition, the discontinuance of subsidies for Obama care will also result in insurance premium increases for millions of Americans.  It’s becoming increasingly evident that a major split among Republicans is beginning to show as a result of the resulting anger among their constituents. 

Instead, the Trump administration seems to be concentrating on foreign policy initiatives.  Here again, there are obvious problems with a number of issues.  Trump cozied up to Putin from the outset, even meeting with the Russian dictator in Alaska which resulted in no change in the aggression against Ukraine.  Now, Trump is attempting to play the peacemaker by holding numerous meetings with Putin and Ukraine’s Zelensky.  Unfortunately, Putin is playing Trump like a fiddle and will not stop until his occupation of Ukraine is complete and is recognized by the U.S. as being legitimate, something Ukrainians may not be able to abide.

When it comes to Gaza and the Israeli administration under Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump continues to obscure the real issues in Palestine because of his close relationship with Netanyahu.  Once again, the Trump administration is attempting to broker a more permanent ceasefire agreement, while failing to provide any strategic plan for Palestinian self-rule in Gaza.  With the horrendous economic situation, lack of food and few medical services in Gaza, the U.S. appears to simply ignore what the war has done to the Palestinian people, its infrastructure and its governance.  The administration has failed to see Netanyahu’s drive to formally and militarily occupy Gaza and the West Bank, much to the opposition of America’s allies and Arab states.  Netanyahu rejects the concept of a two-state solution regarding Palestine and to date Trump has not taken a clear position on the matter.

On the other major foreign policy initiative, the Trump administration has launched an all out war on Venezuela and notably the country’s president, Nicolás Maduro.  Not only have they attacked boats in international waters off the coast of Venezuela, but Trump declared the air space around the country as being closed and has implemented a naval blockade against tankers containing Venezuelan oil.  In addition, Trump recently disclosed that a facility had apparently been destroyed within the country, without providing more details.  Moreover, his administration has not ruled out the use of the American military’s involvement in land incursions.  Given the adversarial approach by Trump towards Maduro, one cannot rule out the real objective as being regime change.

At home, Trump has backed policies that allow the Big Tech industry to grow unfettered, especially when it comes to artificial intelligence (A.I.).  The mutually beneficial alliance is even causing concern among some conservatives.  The biggest tech companies have gotten almost everything they wanted from Trump, whose administration has cleared the way for the fast-tracked building of data centers that power A.I. development.  As far as issues such as A.I. safety for children and A.I.’s effect on jobs, the Trump administration has opposed any regulation governing the industry’s actions and has actually taken federal measures to block state laws on A.I.  The implications of fast-growing technologies like A.I. have already raised new issues that are likely to play into next year’s midterm elections, much to the chagrin of many Republicans.

These are but a few of what I would consider as being major blunders under the Trump administration.  As a result, 2026 will be a tough year both domestically and abroad.  In addition, there are still a number of important cases before the Supreme Court, including the use of tariffs by his administration and whether the president has the authority to impose such trade measures.  We can only wait and see.

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Dec 1

Trump’s Attempt to Interfere by Force in Venezuela Politics is Once Again a U.S. Blunder in Latin America

by bcurry

Using the Trump administration’s excuse of targeting suspected drug shipments off Venezuela’s coast by military means is not defensible and possibly dangerous for U.S. foreign policy.  After all, Venezuela is a sovereign state, and any future incursion into its coastal waters or its territory would be considered by international law to be an act of war.  Past history has shown that American interference in Central and South American countries has not fared well. 

Long before the U.S. military’s involvement in the region became so contentious, the U.S. under President James Monroe asserted that it could use its military to intervene in Latin America, often referred to as the “Monroe Doctrine”.  At that time there were concerns over European meddling in the western hemisphere.  Today, the issue is primarily with the growth of China’s influence in the region.  In the 1840s, President James K. Polk invoked the doctrine to justify the Mexican-American War, which produced the U.S. conquest of Mexican lands now comprising states such as California, Arizona, Colorado and New Mexico.  That humiliating outcome and other U.S. military interventions in Mexico in the 1910s, profoundly shaped Mexico’s political identity, fostering a strong sense of nationalism in opposition to the U.S. which often continues to be seen today.

The first notable modern times example was the failed Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961, an abortive and disastrous invasion of Fidel Castro’s Cuba by some 1,500 Cuban exiles opposed to Castro’s regime. The invasion was financed and directed by the U.S. government under President Kennedy’s administration and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), resulting in the deaths and imprisonment of the invaders.  Cuba’s relations with the U.S. went down hill from thereon, leading to greater reliance on aid, including military aid, from the Soviet Union.

The next worst example was in early September 1973, when the Chilean military, aided by the U.S. and the CIA, staged a coup against and killed President Salvador Allende, who was at the head of the first democratically elected Marxist government in Latin America.  Under General Pinochet, who replaced Allende, a series of human rights abuses in Chile occurred as part of his brutal and long-lasting campaign of political suppression through torture, murder, and exile.  Despite Chileans’ subsequent opposition, Pinochet ruled the country with American support until 1990.  In exile, Pinochet died in 2011.  A Chilean court opened a criminal investigation into the circumstances of Allende’s death, long suspected to have been orchestrated by the CIA. 

Most recently, Trump threatened to take over the Panama Canal and to bomb Mexican drug labs.  His administration has thrown itself into Brazilian domestic politics on behalf of former President Jair Bolsonaro.  Earlier in the year, a Trump executive order placed heavy tariffs on Brazilian exports in a move against Brazilian authorities involved in the prosecution and conviction of Bolsonaro for plotting a coup to remain in power after losing the 2022 election. This was despite the fact that the conviction was subsequently upheld by that country’s Supreme Court.  Earlier this year, the administration also offered a $20 billion loan to prop up the political fortunes of President Javier Milei of Argentina and to purchase Argentina’s beef to offset rising beef costs in the U.S.   In 2023, as a member of the Libertarian Party, Milei ran for president as part of La Libertad Avanza, an extreme right-wing political coalition. 

President Trump announced on November 28th that he would grant a full and complete pardon to a former president of Honduras, Juan Orlando Hernández.  Associated with drug cartels, Hernández was at the center of a sweeping drug case.  Last year, he was found guilty beyond a shadow of a doubt by an American jury of conspiring to import cocaine into the U.S.  Certainly, this represents a very strange move given the administration’s formal declaration of war against the drug cartels.

In the past, Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said that efforts by U.S. drug enforcement officials to cut off narcotics trafficking by intercepting boats, trucks and horses laden with drugs and arresting the smugglers were not bold enough.  He has since helped steer the Trump administration toward a much more aggressive and often deadly tactic: the use of military force to destroy suspected drug boats and kill all the people on board, without any legal process.  Rubio has also long sought the ouster of leftist strongmen in the region, particularly the leaders of Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua, whose governments he has called “illegitimate”.  Last August, Rubio ordered the State Department to increase a reward to $50 million for any information leading to the arrest and conviction on U.S. drug charges of Venezuela’s current president, Nicolás Maduro.  During the first Trump administration, Rubio apparently played a leading role in pushing the president to try to oust Maduro from power.  Thus, the saga continues.

In a part of the world where the U.S. has a long history of military intervention and support for dictatorships in Latin America, in more recent years there has been a visceral rejection of the idea of American-imposed regime change.  The real possibility of American military incursion in Venezuela
would once again raise the specter of past U.S. foreign policy blunders in Latin America.  Also, it is noteworthy that no senior aide close to Trump reportedly has a long history of working on Latin America
policy. 

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Nov 21

Economic Impact of Current Decline of Canadian Tourists to U.S.

by bcurry

Few people really understand the importance of tourism on their economy, in particular with respect to employment, revenue and taxes.  The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) contribution of tourism to the U.S. economy went from $2.36 trillion in 2023 to $2.5 trillion in 2024.  In 2024, this represented about 9% of the U.S. economy.  By 2034, the industry estimates that tourism will continue to grow to represent almost a 10th of the country’s total GDP.  Total direct and indirect U.S. employment related to tourism is estimated at more than 20 million people, close to 10% of the labour force.  Many work in the accommodation, food services and travel sectors.  This compares with the manufacturing proportion of the labour force at 7.5% in 2024, representing about 13 million workers.

However, 2025 has so far seen a serious decline in the number of Canadian tourists visiting the U.S., largely due to the political and economic policies of the Trump administration which placed tariffs on a number of Canadian exports.  Let’s also not forget Trump’s assertions that Canada should become the 51RST state which angered a large number of Canadians.  In addition, tourism to the U.S. is already stressed by the continuing high exchange rate versus other currencies, including the Canadian dollar.  This decline is particularly pronounced in specific segments, with Canadian overnight land trips falling by 26%, indicating regional tensions affecting traditional travel corridors.  As a result of bordering with the U.S., there has always been a significant amount of travel between the two countries, most notably within the northern U.S. states which rely most heavily on Canadian tourists.

The World Travel & Tourism Council’s projection of a $12.5 billion loss in international visitor spending represents the most significant challenge facing the sector.  This decline affects not only major metropolitan areas but also rural communities that depend on tourism revenue for economic sustainability.  The most significant drop has been in Canadian visitation which has seen a 20.2 % decline so far this year.  In 2024, Canada had maintained its position as the leading source market with over 20 million visitors.  However, Canadian visitors returning from the U.S. by land plunged 31.9% year-over-year in March 2025, while air arrivals fell 13.5%.  In general, the tourism landscape in America during 2025 presents a complex narrative of recovery and decline. The projected annual loss of $12.5 billion in overall international visitor spending represents more than just statistical data — it reflects a fundamental shift in global travel patterns that directly impacts communities, businesses, and employment across the nation.

In both the U.S. and Canada, tourism is an important expanding sector, representing more employment potential than even in the manufacturing sector.  This fact appears to be something loss on members of the Trump administration, who fail to see the negative impact of their trade relations on this sector.  It’s difficult to say when a turnaround might occur with respect to Canadian tourists, particularly since governments and businesses in Canada are greatly promoting the idea that Canadians should travel and vacation in Canada.  In addition, Canada is currently promoting international visits by persons from other countries to Canada in lieu of visiting the U.S.  Since Canadians were number one in terms of visitors to the U.S. in the past, unfortunately there is little doubt that American tourism businesses are now feeling the direct impact of this decline.  Again and again, our southern neighbours, particularly in border states, have expressed their disappointment.  They have also expressed their understanding as to why more Canadians are holding off on visiting their country, given the current policies of the Trump administration.  All in all, the whole situation is truly regretful given the traditional, friendly and close relationship between the two countries and its peoples.

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Nov 11

When Will We Stop Young Men From Going To War?

by bcurry

Years ago, I read somewhere that old men begin wars and send young men to fight them.  This was certainly true of the multitude of wars fought during the Twentieth Century.  Today, it would appear that nothing has really changed.  Look around the world, and you cannot help to witness the continuing atrocities caused by wars and the loss of not only young soldiers, but also, and most importantly, the loss of civilian lives.  There is no need to once again recount the statistical losses of war, for what matters most is the real human suffering that one sees among the individuals and families affected by war.

I had family members who fought in both World Wars, and gratefully had survived to return.  Born shortly after WWII, I lived through the Cold War period and the West’s battles with the then Soviet Union.  I lived through the break up of the Soviet Union in 1991 and the subsequent struggles of East European countries for independence.  I lived through the Vietnam conflict, which one must remember like the earlier Korean conflict, was never officially declared a war by Congress. Then came the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 toppling the long time dictator Saddam Hussein and leading to the subsequent decade occupation of Iraq.  Fortunately, the then Prime Minister Jean Chrétien refused to send Canadian troops to fight in Iraq.  However, Canada did join the NATO mission in Afghanistan where in over ten years of fighting, Canadian combatants loss their lives and several were seriously injured.  With the war in Afghanistan going poorly and in light of the gains being made by the Taliban, the U.S. couldn’t wait to get out of that country, much in the same way the Vietnam conflict ended.  And for what?

Now, we have the Ukrainian-Russian war being initiated by 73 year old Vladimir Putin, a former KGB foreign intelligence officer for 16 years and de facto dictator of Russia since 2000.  To date, while supplying Ukraine with weapons and financial support, no NATO country has boots on the ground in Ukraine.  However, there is little doubt that NATO’s European countries are deeply concerned about Russia’s incursion into Ukraine and potential future threat.  The result is that they have begun to build up their military forces and to expend a larger proportion of their budgets on defence.  Canada, as a NATO member, has also agreed to significantly increase its military spending to meet its continuing commitments to the alliance.

In the Middle East, Israel’s conflicts with Hamas in Gaza, its attacks on Iranian nuclear weapons facilities, and its most recent attack on Hamas negotiators in Qatar, represents a long period of wars and deaths and destruction on both sides.  Indeed, there have been multiple wars with Israel, including those in 2008-09, 2012, 2014, 2021 and an ongoing one since 2023, which began with the infamous October 7 attacks.  According to the Costs of War Project at Brown University, the U.S. spent almost $18 billion on military aid to Israel from October 2023 to October 2024.  While the U.S. continues to provide this massive support, do date President Trump has not indicated that American troops could become directly involved in Gaza.  Time will tell!

People in the Trump administration like to describe the president as a president for peace — this despite the recent change whereby his Secretary of Defense is now the Secretary of War.  In addition, the Trump administration is building up its military presence in the Caribbean, especially off the coast of Venezuela.  Drone attacks have been carried out on boats in international waters, with the administration declaring that these are drug smugglers originating out of Venezuela and supported by the country’s president Nicolás Maduro.  However, some current and former U.S. officials contend that the unspoken goal is the goal is to force Maduro from power.  In other words, regime change.  As of November 6th, the U.S. Senate has twice failed to pass resolutions that would limit Trump’s authority to continue military action against Venezuela or airstrikes against alleged drug vessels.  After long-running wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the combination of the words America and regime change raises alarm bells, both inside and outside the U.S.  Let’s hope that this aging American president isn’t once again ready to sacrifice American young lives in another worthless war.

Afghanistan Canada Defence Defence Donald Trump Foreign Policy Foreign Policy Iran Iraq Today Russia Trump Ukraine US

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Oct 31

When Will the High Tech Stock Market Surge Slow Down?

by bcurry

Here are a couple of interesting stats about American high tech companies.  Market concentration has never been greater than in past decades, as the one created by Artificial Intelligence (A.I.).  According to senior index analysts for S&P Dow Jones Indices, Nvidia alone, which makes A.I. chips, makes up more than 8 percent of the S&P 500.  Nvidia is now worth $5 trillion as it continues to consolidate power in A.I. boom.  Apple and Microsoft now top $4 trillion. Those companies combined with Meta, Amazon, Alphabet and Tesla make up more than a third of the entire index.  According to Harvard’s economic faculty, spending on data centers, which are filled with the Nvidia chips, accounted for 92 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (G.D.P.) growth in the first half of 2025.  Chip technology is a powerful technology that can be used to develop advanced weaponry and drive economic opportunity.  Companies like Microsoft and the software company Oracle are pouring hundreds of billions of dollars into building data centers for A.I.

Now the question becomes: “What is the high tech impact on main street versus wall street?”  Most analysts are concerned particularly about the impact of current and future A.I. investments on the labour market for example.  While the current situation continues to produce more millionaires and billionaires, there is already evidence that companies are looking at ways of reducing labour costs through A.I. and A.I. assisted robotics.  For example, it concerns me that Amazon has been aggressively looking to do more with less.  It also concerns me that Amazon recently announced that it was laying off 14,000 corporate employees partly due to its use of A.I.  It is further reported that Amazon spent more than $34 billion on capital expenditures in the third quarter of this year, in large part to set up data centers that power cloud computing and A.I.  It should be noted that the company’s sales totalled $180.2 billion from July through September of 2025, up 13 percent from the same time in 2024.  Profit was $21.2 billion, up a whopping 38 percent.  Furthermore, as an obvious future cost cutting initiative, the New York Times reported that Amazon’s automation team has ambitious goals to use robotics to avoid hiring more than half a million workers by 2033.

Apple’s iPhones are fuelling record sales and profit so far this year, despite raising prices on its latest iPhone and having largely avoided the A.I. arms race.  However, the company still accounts for about 6 percent of the S&P 500 index.  While Apple is not pouring billions of dollars into data centers, developing expensive A.I. systems or building its own chatbot, the company continues to collect payments from Google.  Apple also charges A.I. companies to reach iPhone customers.  Most importantly, instead of bringing its manufacturing home to the U.S., Apple shifted some production from China to India, Vietnam and Thailand.  Almost nothing is made in America, and an estimated 80 percent of iPhones are still made in China.

All said and done, some investors have questioned whether A.I. will actually increase productivity and sales.  This is the trillion dollar question given that the short-term returns have not been all that great in light of the billions of dollars of current investment capital.  Nevertheless, it’s clear that the stock markets are apparently very optimistic.  Only time will tell. 

In addition, there is still the expected negative impact on the labour market as evidenced by recently announced employee cutbacks by several high tech firms using A.I.  A.I., complemented by enhanced robotics, is seen as a tool that could replace people in many jobs, including those in white collar occupations. The jury is still out on this one.  Today, youth unemployment in North American is at its highest rate and recent college graduates in several fields, including in the computer sciences, are experiencing a great deal of difficulty in obtaining employment in their field of study.  Higher unemployment may be one of those areas on main street that would be the result of the potential direct impact of what’s happening on wall street.  Of course, the billionaires would argue otherwise.

Artificial Intelligence Artificial Intelligence Economy Labour Force US

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