SpankyMcFarland

India is never going to be a close friend of the US and doesn’t want to be either. It sees China and America as two adversaries it must balance. On Ukraine, India is neutral, really pro-Russian, and has done very well from the cheap Russian oil resulting. The only country America seems anxious to please these days is Israel which doesn’t have a choice in allies and whose policies divide the West.

I would question whether Trump actually knows that.

Ukraine wins by surviving and continuing the struggle to regain lost territory. The disparity in motivation between the two sides is stark. The Russians will have to go home in the end.

Less than 1% of US fentanyl seizures occur at the Canadian border. Our criminals simply can’t compete with their Mexican colleagues on price. Trump and Lutnick don’t seem to be aware of this.

Kim Campbell’s record won’t be broken. The rest depends mainly on Trump.

From the Daily Mail, no friend of Sanders:

Get ready for the future, folks: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/jan/28/chinese-ai-chatbot-deepseek-censors-itself-in-realtime-users-report

Trump is trying to make it into a simple choice like that but we shouldn’t. I don’t think we should just surrender unconditionally to the demands of a foreign government without examining carefully whether they are reasonable first. Let’s have some respect for our country and our sovereignty here.

I don’t like the way he debates with other people and the confidence with which he makes predictions. I’ve never seen him go back over all those predictions and assess how accurate he has been. Some years ago he was in a panel with a female economist on CBC and he just talked over her constantly. There is a great deal political about him from my point of view.

But why bring a bank in whose parent could go bust in another country? Our banking system is fraying at the edges but it’s one of the better run sectors in this country. It’s an area where the free market needs to be strictly controlled if disaster is to be avoided. Again with the milk, why can’t Americans be honest for once and admit that a very large proportion of it is produced by undocumented workers? They just can’t bear to confront the truth. I believe American milk does not meet current Canadian standards on leukocyte count or the presence of recombinant bovine somatotropin? https://albertamilk.com/ask-dairy-farmer/difference-canadian-american-milk/ That’s not a big deal either way. We could change our standards and not harm people IMO. I’m more exercised by US hypocrisy on its dairy workforce.

Lee is very fond of the sound of his own voice. The US dairy industry depends on illegal workers and subsidies to keep its milk absurdly cheap and there are issues about additives like rBST as well. Essentially, Trump is demanding we accept the proceeds of crime. Nobody should want US banks here. We saw the chaos that broke out in 2007-2009 down there and with the ‘light touch’ (ie absent) regulation Trump wants, that scenario could easily recur. I don’t think our banks should be allowed to dabble in the US either, eg TD. We need to tighten up regulation, not loosen it. Digital taxes are entirely reasonable and will probably appear in many countries outside the US and China in due course. These US media giants have destroyed local media, bringing discord, disinformation and Lord knows what damage to kids while paying bugger all taxes in their main markets. Telecom - be my guest, America. The local oligarchies have made fortunes but provide dreadful service. This industry cries out for disruption. We don’t need any Canadian content there as long as any foreign firms pay a fair rate for using existing infrastructure. Airlines - let’s see what you can do. This is a tough market to serve completely. I’d like to see foreign airlines phased in.

Things got ugly on Monday. Is it such a surprise that the Chinese could make a cheaper AI gizmo? Apparently. https://www.marketwatch.com/story/deepseek-could-represent-nvidia-ceo-jensen-huangs-worst-nightmare-573b6d7e

It’s hard to compare a multi-party system with America’s bleak contests between just two parties but I think it’s fair to say that Harris did better than Campbell. However, FPTP and a split on the right made Campbell’s performance look worse than it was.

Trump doesn’t seem to care about the effect his wild statements have on partners abroad. Musing to ‘clean out’ Gaza only makes the rulers of Egypt, Jordan and KSA look foolish and less legitimate for supporting the US. In Canada, his inability to control his threats against our country is becoming the last hope of the Liberal Party in the next election.

Tariffs can be effective as a threat but they’re a serious problem for the economy if other countries refuse to cooperate and they have to be implemented.

Tech bros are worried: https://fortune.com/2025/01/27/marc-andreessen-deepseek-sputnik-ai-markets/

It matters to every MP that the party makes the best possible pitch it can to save their seat. I expect the newly elected leader to stay in place - the loss is on Trudeau, not them - which is why I’m a little concerned with Carney. He’s hardly a meat and potatoes type who will relish endlessly touring the country to rebuild the party. And there’s the issue of age which is a preoccupation of mine. As an older person myself, I am decidedly ageist about politicians because I can see the effects close up. Carney will be well into his sixties before he gets another chance to be PM. That’s too old in my book.

The DeepSeek story isn’t going away. China’s recent advances in AI are dramatic and were made with relatively primitive hardware: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/27/business/us-stock-market-deepseek-ai-sp500-nvidia.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

After graduation, an electrician’s skills are lot more in demand than those of a film school major. Perhaps we need to give more status to this path in life? Beyond the sciences and professions the utility of a university education needs to be examined much more stringently than before. It’s very costly at the moment. How much value does it add compared to self-directed learning online?

Trump wants us to take more US milk. Is he aware how many illegal workers help produce it? Essentially, he’s insisting we accept the proceeds of crime. What is reasonably well? I had assumed it was low.

The Green Revolution isn’t going to stop because Trump doesn’t like it. If he withdraws government support he only harms American manufacturers. He helps China if he does that.

OK Don Junior and others, let’s at least get the guy’s name right. It’s Brennan.

We are going to see a series of abrupt and unsettling advances from China in science and technology over the coming decade. Here is an example: https://www.cnbc.com/2025/01/24/how-chinas-new-ai-model-deepseek-is-threatening-us-dominance.html

So America gives up on global institutions and lets China take over? No prizes for guessing how that will work out.

Forget about amelioration - we’ll never sort that out here. Let’s concentrate on adaptation which we will all have to do sooner or later. From homeowners to neighbourhoods to municipalities and up, we have to start fireproofing our homes and making them less liable to wind and flooding. This process begins with each of us.