Be Pleased at America's Greed

The Canadian Shield.

Days! I have spent days wanting to write about Canada's attempts to negotiate a reduction in these coercive tariffs. But the news kept changing: an impending deal, a different impending deal, then no deal at all. So I sat on my hands.

I want to be clear about this: These were not normal trade talks. They were attempts to ratchet down a trade war Trump started, under threat of even more tariffs. Canada was being asked to hand over lasting concessions in exchange for reducing the severity of an attack that shouldn't have existed in the first place.

We'll give you all this if you shoot a little less.

When Canada walked away and the talks fell apart, I had hoped that it had always been Carney's intent to not accomplish anything.

I'm not so sure that's true. We apparently came disturbingly close to a deal, until Trump added final text that was too much for us to take. This is vintage Trump bargaining: get close to the deadline, then demand more.

But had he not done so, we would have ended our retaliatory actions in exchange for a mere reduction in tariffs. No wonder they went after more: There was blood in the water. Canadian red.

Be pleased at America's greed. It stopped us from making a mistake.

Carney now sounds like someone who understands the problem. He says America's behaviour has called “into question the reliability of any deal.” America, he says, has changed. Washington has learned to use “economic integration as a weapon,” while its signature is “written in pencil.”

Carney also objected to a late American demand that could have restricted Canada's freedom to make trade arrangements with other countries. That isn't tariff relief. That's leverage over Canadian sovereignty.

And the actual CUSMA negotiations are still ahead of us. These weren't them. Washington is trying to collect Canadian concessions before we even reach that table. Anything we surrender now is something we cannot bargain with later.

My concern is that Carney seems to understand exactly what kind of negotiating partner this is—and yet was still prepared to make a deal on those terms.

We are at war. CUSMA is in place for another 10 years. We have time to negotiate. It's going to hurt, but this is more than a trade war. It's a fight to retain sovereignty. One that will require sacrifice on our part.

We need to remember that Trump's deadlines are not our deadlines. There is no compelling reason to accept a bad deal simply because Trump drew a line in the sand with a Sharpie.

I know that some Conservatives argue they would have had a deal last year. That we have a long-standing relationship with America that matters. That Trump won't last, so make a deal now we can renegotiate later.

This is a mistake. Yes, we may see some improvements after the midterms—assuming those aren't interfered with. Maybe Trump will be gone soon. But Trump did not invent the forces behind this. He harnessed them. The people enabling him will remain long after he is gone.

Leave Coulter Alone

"Coulter event in Ottawa canceled due to security concerns" Great. She'll be on about that for years.

The best thing you can do to sensationalist trolls like Coulter is to ignore them.

She isn't worth "thousands protesting."

Harper's Buy American deal is a betrayal!

In exchange for less than two weeks access to America's stimulus money, Harper has surrendered the ability of Canadian provinces and municipalities to prefer Canadian suppliers... FOREVER.

There is such reciprocity here. American states do not have to drop their current level of preferential buying.

Why did Harper do this? There is only one explanation: to get positive headlines, and ongoing bragging rights. Harper hopes he will brag louder than those who rightly criticize him.

You only have to think about what the headlines would say had he not reached a deal. "HARPER FAILS TO BREAK BUY AMERICA BLOCKADE" and the like. With the "Harper Government" way down in the polls, battered by Harper's partisan prorogation and his utter contempt of Parliament and the rule of law, more negative news is something this government is not prepared to have.

Harper sees that it is far better to sellout his country than to see his grip on power further erode.

Harper's partisan prorogation has made this deal even more possible. With Parliament closed, Harper doesn't have to ratify the agreement before it. There's no debate, no questions, and no criticisms on the Hansard record. We only get a few canon shots via the media.

I can imagine the mess Harper would have if Parliament were open. Instead, we get a PR roll out claiming this is a great deal, followed with some contrary reporting, quotes and comments print showing us that this is a lousy deal. I wonder which headlines win?

Well, Harper's tactical moves certainly have failed before; however, with this being framed as simply a "bad deal" and not as a sellout engineered to get good press, the resulting dialogue is not beyond what the public expects, and I doubt will get much negative traction. The typical headline OPPOSITION CRITICIZES GOVERNMENT AGREEMENT is not going to capture people's attention.

Advantage: Harper.

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Links:
Jane Taber Ottawa hails Buy American deal
Thomas Walkom Sold a bill of goods on `Buy American'

The Galloping Beaver Bye bye "Buy Local' - Hello "Buy North American"

U.S. Mortgage Delinquencies Reach a Record High

Just in case you were getting comfortable listening to the sounds of banks making money again and automakers breathing sighs of relief, there's this from the NYT:

Nearly one in 10 homeowners with mortgages was at least one payment behind in the third quarter, the Mortgage Bankers Association said in its survey. That translates into about five million households.

The delinquency figure, and a corresponding rise in the number of those losing their homes to foreclosure, was expected to be bad. Nevertheless, the figures underlined the level of stress on a large segment of the country, a situation that could snuff out the modest recovery in home prices over the last few months and impede any economic rebound.

Unless foreclosure modification efforts begin succeeding on a permanent basis — which many analysts say they think is unlikely — millions more foreclosed homes will come to market.

“I’ve been pretty bearish on this big ugly pig stuck in the python and this cements my view that home prices are going back down,” said the housing consultant Ivy Zelman.

The overall third-quarter delinquency rate is the highest since the association began keeping records in 1972. It is up from about one in 14 mortgage holders in the third quarter of 2008.

We aren't in the same boat here, but the more trouble the average American consumer is in, the smaller our major market.

Buried in a trench, blinded, his legs severely injured, Khadr threw a grenade?

Keeping in mind that lawyers manipulate evidence all the time, this latest news from Omar Khadr's ongoing non-trial is nevertheless fascinating.

For those who do not know the details, Khadr has been held in Guantanamo since 2002, charged with the murder of a US medic killed during a firefight in Afghanistan. The medic was killed by a grenade, the killer not seen.

Khadr was fifteen at the time. He was injured, and nearly killed by gunshot wounds. The story has been that he was shot while in a kneeling position. Another story is that different soldiers shot him while he was standing with a gun in his hand.

The actual conflict had gone on for hours. The compound had been subjected to sustained attack from the ground and air prior to the final sweep which lead to the medic's death.

The story with photographs, until now suppressed by a military judge, is that Khadr was found (and photographed) buried under a collapsed a roof. (See the photos.)

(Photos from The Toronto Star)

Khadr was so covered in debris, that a soldier didn't realize he was standing on him. Just previous, another soldier had entered the compound and shot an adult insurgent in the head who was moving and near an AK-47. That insurgent was beside Khadr. As you can see in photo 1, that insurgent is not covered by debris.

Given the type of debris covering Khadr, which includes rocks and earth, and his serious wounds, it does not appear that Khadr could have buried himself. When uncovered, as shown in the second photo, Khadr clearly has the gunshot wounds to his chest.

With Omar still buried in debris from the bombing, there seems to be no way for his to have thrown the grenade. It also remains unclear to me how he could be buried in debris, but still get shot in the chest or back, unless fired upon from above while in a prone position.

Child soldiers should not be prosecuted, let alone tortured, as is alleged here. Indeed, one of his first interrogators was Joshua Claus, who later pleaded guilty to charges of prisoner abuse and lying to the subsequent investigation.

I hate running trials before they have started, so I won't pronounce this one over; but as the Khadr case drags on, it is clear that things are not so simple as we have been led to believe.

NDP push 'Buy Canadian' law

It's a private members bill from the NDP:

NDP MP Peter Julian today introduced a private member's bill, the Made in Canada Procurement Act, which would give Canadian companies and industries priority on all government procurements and services.

This is in response to the rising tide of protectionism in the US. Harper will not, of course, back it. It is an attempt to damage Harper as not 'standing up for Canada.' It also gives the NDP something to argue over with Harper instead of appearing to be his cabin boy.

There's also a pill in it (I won't call it poison because I like it):

...the bill calls on Ottawa to purchase goods and services from countries and companies that adhere to the International Labour Organization's core labour standards relating to the rights of workers.

Is this a dig at the coming Colombian trade deal? I think it is, given the terrible violence the government perpetuates against unionists in that country. This clause would prevent Colombian products from being purchased by the Canadian government. Harper can't have this while trying to have free trade with that country.

This also places the Liberals in an awkward position. For populist reasons, they could support the bill, but as they support the coming free trade deal with Colombia... awkward! Still, they aren't the government, so they could support it. With the Bloc stepping in to support it -- they will -- the bill would actually pass.

Tactics: The Liberals should vote to pass it through first reading, but facilitate the Conservatives in delaying it in committee until an election call wipes it away.

I don't agree, but I'm just saying it's the way around the conundrum.

More photos of the Tea Baggers protests in DC

This is a photo show making the rounds of the 'Tea Baggers' protest in Washngton DC the other day. Take a  good hard look at the demographic for Fox News and right-wing talk radio. And, once again, please try to find anyone who isn't white. Even just one person.

Meet Your Conservative Movement

The worst of white privilege on display

For your daily dose of extreme wingnutery, visit Red Tory 3.0, who is more than pleased to exploit the tea baggers' self-promotion.

Watch the video of the protesters and let me know if you actually see anyone who isn't white in them.

Too controversial for the US?

The US of A.Where even the most insane tinfoil hat theories and accusations aren't too controversial to throw around, a new movie about Charles Darwin can't be seen because no movie distributor can be found who wants to touch the 'controversial' topic of the father of evolutionary theory.

Why is this? Because "...according to a Gallup poll conducted in February, only 39 per cent of Americans believe in the theory of evolution."

 This from a country which placed human beings on the moon.