Canada Folds

Sanity prevailed, as someone appears to have explained the tariff math to the Premier of Ontario:

Canada folded to President Donald Trump after he vowed the nation would pay a historically big ‘financial price’ for the electricity tariff it imposed on the United States. Hours later, Ontario Premier Doug Ford said he would cancel the 25% tariff on Canadian electricity to Michigan, New York and Minnesota that he put in place on Monday.

That move was an escalation in response to earlier tariffs from Trump as the trade war between the two countries has intensified.

The Premier said he spoke with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick about the situation and they agreed to meet on Thursday to discuss reciprocal tariffs that Trump wants to put in place on April 2. ‘In response, Ontario agreed to suspend its 25 per cent surcharge on exports of electricity to Michigan, New York and Minnesota,’ Ford said. Trump, in response, agreed not to double tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminium to 50%. They will stay at 25%.

In the meantime, the God-Emperor 2.0 has moved on to the EU and the UK. The UK is being smart about it.

Keir Starmer is resisting pressure to retaliate today after failing in his bid to persuade Donald Trump to spare Britain from brutal tariffs on steel. The US president has pushed ahead with the 25 per cent levy on steel and aluminium imports despite desperate pleas for an exemption. Britain exported 166,433 tonnes of steel to the US in 2023, the last full year for which figures are available.

The EU, not so much:

Brussels said counter-measures to the tariffs, which would affect around 26 billion euros (around £22 billion) of EU exports, will be introduced in April ‘to defend European interests’.

I am beginning to conclude that these particular tariffs aren’t about economics at all. This is about the US President attempting to rebuild the US industrial capacity that presently renders the USA unable to fight a war with either China or Russia. Which the USA simply cannot do when its steel industry is so susceptible to foreign competition and steel suppliers that will be inaccessible and useless in times of war.

The various foreign countries should accept these tariffs on industrial materials without demur, because the USA really doesn’t have any choice in the matter if it is going to remain one of the top three global military powers.

CORRECTION: Canada has not learned.

Canada announced $21 billion in new tariffs on Wednesday targeting imports of U.S. computers and sports gear. It is the latest escalation of the increasingly bitter and costly trade war engulfing Washington and Ottawa. The latest move comes hours after President Donald Trump’s 25 percent tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum went into effect.

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It’s Not Paranoia

When they’re actually out to get you. InfoWars reporter Jamie White was murdered on Sunday night:

A reporter for conspiracy theorist Alex Jones’ InfoWars was brutally murdered outside his south Austin apartment late on Sunday night. Jamie White was found mortally wounded outside his home on Douglas Street around midnight in a slaying that Jones blamed on Travis County District Attorney Jose Garza.

Officers from Austin Police Department responded to 911 calls reporting a man with ‘obvious signs of trauma.’ White was rushed to a nearby hospital where he later died from his injuries.

Police have called the incident a homicide but have not identified any suspects. The slaying had been investigated as a shooting/stabbing but authorities have not released additional information.

He wasn’t reporting on Hilary Clinton, but Victoria Nuland, primarily known for being the architect of the coup in Ukraine that brought the current regime to power and eventually led to the current war. It does tend to look suspiciously targeted; it’s probably a good sign to make sure your carry permit is up-to-date.

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They’re Not Stopping

RUMOR: Russian forces are reportedly attempting to cross the Dnipro river, aiming to establish footholds on the west (right) bank at four locations to allow them a clear run at the strategically important port city of Kherson.

RUMOR: The Russian Army is entering the Dnipro Region of Ukraine, in force, in multiple points of entry. This was unexpected by Ukraine (and its Western Cohorts). This is the first indication that Russia may be planning to take all portions of Ukraine that are East of the Dnipier River; basically the entire eastern half of Ukraine; but that is just speculation at this point.

My expectation is that the Russians will simply keep going until a) the Kiev regime surrenders unconditionally or b) they control the entire territory of Ukraine. Once the Dnieper is crossed, I expect the UFA will quickly collapse since there aren’t much in the way of fortifications in the western plains. It’s now evident that there is no one with whom the Russians can reasonably negotiate a surrender given the fact that Zelensky is not a legitimate head of state, the USA refuses to unilaterally end all support prior to any ceasefire, and the European leaders actually prefer the war to continue.

UPDATE: This, combined with being driven out of Kursk, may be why the Ukrainians have theoretically agreed to US proposals for a ceasefire. I see no reason why the Russians would accept it, though.

Ukraine has agreed to a U.S. proposal for a 30-day ceasefire with Russia as President Donald Trump lifts a pause on military aid and intelligence sharing to the country. The agreement, under intense pressure from the U.S. side, now puts the ball in Moscow’s court, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said at the conclusion of a day of talks with Ukrainian officials in Saudi Arabia.

UPDATE: The Russians will not accept the ceasefire.

In a significant setback to peace efforts, Russia has rejected the proposed 30-day ceasefire deal with Ukraine. The ceasefire agreement, which was contingent on Russia’s acceptance, aimed to provide a temporary halt to hostilities and create a foundation for a long-term peace deal. However, Russian officials have deemed the proposal unacceptable, citing concerns that it would allow Ukraine to strengthen its armed forces.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova stated that firm agreements on a final settlement are needed, and a temporary ceasefire is unacceptable. She emphasized that Ukraine would use the pause to strengthen its military potential with the help of its allies. Russian officials have also ruled out ceding captured Ukrainian territory and have reiterated their desire to roll back NATO’s presence across Europe.

As others have pointed out, Ukraine has repeatedly offered ceasefires after losing a significant battle, then going right back on the offensive.

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Appreciate Immigrants

They’re committing the anti-semitisms that Americans won’t commit:

Sean Samitt, 26, is accused of making up a story about being attacked and stabbed outside a West Bloomfield synagogue, the Detroit Free Press reports. Samitt claimed the attacker was ranting anti-Semitic rhetoric when he stabbed and punched him in the parking lot of Temple Kol Ami on Dec. 15, police said.

The assault never happened, police said after an investigation that included detectives, K9 units and a search for the suspect that turned up no evidence of an attack outside the synagogue where Samitt worked, the report said. Police did find blood bloody tissues in Samitt’s office, the men’s bathroom and on a knife in the kitchen. Samitt eventually admitted to intentionally stabbing himself, police said.

I suspect that’s a clue to the deep, dark secret of the Rabbi Small series by Harry Kemelman. Barnard’s Crossing was playing host to a serial killer all along.

Tuesday, The Rabbi Saw Red… On His Hands.

Wednesday, The Rabbi Got Wet… With Blood

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Who Advises These Morons?

Americans have always tended to look down on Canadians as being nice, but ineffectual people, on average. It appears, however, that their political class is even more self-destructive than their European counterparts:

Donald Trump continued his budding trade war with Canada by pledging to ‘just get it all back’ with stiffer reciprocal tariffs next month – as Ontario Premier Doug Ford threatened to knock his lights out. Ford has already followed through on a promise to put a 25% tariff on Canadian electricity to Michigan, New York and Minnesota on Monday.

The Ontario premier, who runs Canada’s most populous province, now says he’s ready to ‘shut the electricity off completely’ if America continues to ‘escalate.’

Trump has shot back, mocking Ford’s plan and saying that his promise of reciprocal tariffs will render anything Ontario does useless.

‘Despite the fact that Canada is charging the USA from 250% to 390% Tariffs on many of our farm products, Ontario just announced a 25% surcharge on ‘electricity,’ of all things, and you’re not even allowed to do that,’ he said in a Truth Social.

However, Trump said that the US will ‘just get it all back on April 2,’ when the administration’s reciprocal tariff plan goes into effect. Trump continued to take shots at his neighbors to the north before declaring he was on the way to making America great again.

‘Canada is a Tariff abuser, and always has been, but the United States is not going to be subsidizing Canada any longer. We don’t need your Cars, we don’t need your Lumber, we don’t your Energy, and very soon, you will find that out,’ he promised.

This is the danger of believing the rhetoric of your corrupt Clown World advisors and taking it literally. All of these political figures threatening to respond in kind to US tariffs quite clearly don’t understand the basic economic math involved.

While Canada can hurt a few specific economic sectors, the overall benefit to the USA of complete autarky is significant. Therefore, any escalation of a tariff war between the USA and Canada only makes it more profitable to the USA and more costly to Canada. The same is true of Mexico, China, Japan, and every other country that runs a trade surplus with the USA.

Japan, at least, understands this, and is seeking to avoid making things worse for itself.

Japan’s trade minister said Tuesday that he has failed to win assurances from U.S. officials that the key U.S. ally will be exempt from tariffs, some of which go onto effect on Wednesday. Yoji Muto was in Washington for last ditch negotiations over the tariffs on a range of Japanese exports including cars, steel and aluminum. Muto said Tuesday that Japan, which contributes to the U.S. economy by heavily investing and creating jobs in the United States, “should not be subject to” 25% tariffs on steel, aluminum and auto exports to America.

You’ll notice Japan hasn’t been doing anything stupid like threatening to add to its already significant list of obstacles to US imports.

UPDATE: The God-Emperor 2.0 didn’t waste any time before dropping the hammer.

President Donald Trump declared a national emergency on electricity in the United States and doubled the tariffs on aluminum and steel from Canada after retaliatory tariffs from America’s neighbor to the north. Trump also warned more auto tariffs are coming on April 2nd. He wants Canada to drop its retaliatory tariffs on U.S. dairy and agricultural products.

‘If other egregious, long time Tariffs are not likewise dropped by Canada, I will substantially increase, on April 2nd, the Tariffs on Cars coming into the U.S. which will, essentially, permanently shut down the automobile manufacturing business in Canada,’ he said.

It’s mildly amusing to observe the media trying to cry about how US tariffs are bad while simultaneously refusing to acknowledge the fact that they are a response to Canadian tariffs on US products that have long been in place.

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Webtoons in Decline

As Fandom Pulse reports, it’s not just Marvel, DC Comics, and Diamond that are in an obvious death spiral. Webtoons, their obvious digital successor, has been in decline ever since going public in 2022:

The company lost approximately $153 million in Q4 2024, which is up from $33 million in Q4 2023, posting a full year loss of $214 million up from $135 million in 2023. The company blames a lot of the assets on one-time IPO-related costs and aggressive marketing to get more creators on the platform.

Users note in recent years, Webtoon seems to have gotten more desperate to try to monetize their site, which has created a worse user experience. There are ads above every Webtoon stack which promote “treasure hunts,” where users get coins to spend on the site by signing up for brand email lists and watching more ads.

While they had a “Fastpass” situation where users could read ahead on monetized webtoons to pay creators in advance of the rest of the public, now users don’t have to have coins but can watch ads to get it, and some now have discounted coin prices where readers watch 30 seconds of ads to increase ad revenue. On top of this, they’ve introduced tipping to the website, encouraging creators to get their readers to do so by having an incentive-based leaderboard to do so.

None of this has brought the site to profitability, though Reddit users have noticed the changes to the site not being positive and have posited that Webtoon is on its way down.

Meanwhile, competitor Arkhaven Comics has reached over 16 million views on its website, running without ads and quietly being built entirely on user support. With Webtoon’s functionality getting more difficult to use, the environment seems ripe for a competitor to take over as the leader in web comics

Arkhaven has been very quiet in the last year. That’s not a coincidence. When the environment is not ripe for advancement, it’s always best to harbor one’s resources and await the right moment to aggressively move forward. The time is not yet right, but there are some signs that before long, it will be.

In the meantime, we’re making sure that when everyone else is going down in flames, Arkhaven will be the one left standing. The recently-approved proof of the HYPERGAMOUSE VOL. 1 hardcover for the backers will make it clear how, while the market leaders are spiraling downward, we’re raising our game.

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The Return of the OG Trucker

I’m pleased to confirm that I’ve still got the skillz. Not just with regards to soccer, where I managed to score three goals in our first practice of the spring season last week, but as concerns my alternate career as a long-distance truck driver.

Spacebunny somehow managed to conjure up this huge 4-meter-long oak table that seats 16 people, the caveat being that we had to pick it up right away. As in today. Which, of course, required the use of a proper truck to transport the massive beast. Fortunately, being a truck driver, I have copious contacts in the field and was able to quickly arrange for one. We managed to assemble sufficient people in the appropriate locations at the appropriate times for loading and unloading, and the entire operation was completed in just over four hours despite the fact that it was necessary to triple my anticipated mileage allotment in the process.

But that wasn’t a problem. Because driving as far as is necessary to get the job done is just what we OG truckers do when the situation requires it. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I feel as if I should go and crack open a cold one.

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The Actual Autocratic Antidemocracy

The absurd hypocrisy of the unelected European Commissioners decrying “autocratic” elected leaders like Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, and Xi Xinping when they are actively overturning elections and openly denying the will of the people is highlighted by their subversion of democracy in Romania:

Romanian presidential hopeful Calin Georgescu has branded the EU a “dictatorship” and stated that his country is “under tyranny” in response to the Central Electoral Bureau (BEC) in Bucharest shooting down his candidacy for the upcoming election re-run.

The BEC dismissed Georgescu’s bid late on Sunday, having received more than 1,000 challenges against him, largely revolving around his allegedly “anti-democratic” and “extremist” stance. According to the ruling published on Sunday evening, Georgescu had “failed to comply with the rules of the electoral procedure, violating the very obligation… to defend democracy.”

The presidential hopeful, who was a clear favorite in the upcoming election and was polling between 40% and 45%, strongly condemned the decision.

“A direct blow to the heart of democracy worldwide! I have one message left! If democracy in Romania falls, the entire democratic world will fall! This is just the beginning. It’s that simple! Europe is now a dictatorship; Romania is under tyranny!” Georgescu wrote on X.

This is more of that satanic inversion that permeates Clown World with its sulfuric stench. Orwell certainly had their number, as they define war as peace, black as white, and autocracy as democracy. The EU is the last current redoubt of The Empire That Never Ended, and the European nations will not be free until the European Union is shattered and its wicked “leaders” are driven from power and influence.

Fortunately, the Russians are waging open war on it, with the support of China and the new pro-American government in Washington.

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The Collapse Begins

In the aftermath of the daring strike through a 12-km tunnel march that reads more like military science fiction than military history, the Russians have precipitated the collapse of the Kursk incursion into Russia by the Ukrainian Armed Forces, as Simplicius reports:

The AFU lost about 33% of their Kursk holdings in a day:

Ukrainian forces now “control” less than 230km² of Kursk Oblast, down from 360km² just 24 hours ago.

Everything was getting in on the action, including Ka-52s and, as claimed, even Russian UCAV drones. This video is purported to show the Forpost dropping laser-guided Kab-20 bombs on retreating AFU vehicles and infantry. This makes sense as Kursk is the one region where Russian UCAVs can operate without fearing a Ukrainian AD presence.

Rada MP Goncharenko showed panic:

We now have three options:

  1. Peace
  2. Losing
  3. Defeat and surrender

Unfortunately, the government is leading us to the second and third options.

As he mentions, Ukraine is now trying to make up with Trump, with the two set for a conciliatory Saudi Arabia meeting this week. The purpose of it, from the Trump side, is to “gauge” how amenable Zelensky now is to peace—i.e. whether he’s changed his tune after being given a slap on the wrist. And a slap it was, because word has it Trump has now implied that the intelligence pause may soon be overturned:

Trump says US has ‘almost’ ended pause in sharing intelligence on Ukraine — Bloomberg

▪️The publication reports that when asked by media representatives whether Trump intends to lift the suspension, he replied: “We almost did it.”

▪️The lifting of the ban on intelligence sharing comes as talks in Saudi Arabia are underway to determine, in part, whether Ukraine is willing to make significant concessions to Russia to end the war.

▪️In addition to peace talks, the fate of the mineral deal between Washington and Kiev also hangs in Jeddah.

▪️The US President also expressed optimism about the talks. “I believe we will make great progress this week,” he said.

This makes an important point: how can Russia possibly trust its most dire and existential security guarantees to such a flip-flopping administration, which can promise one thing and deliver another moments later? It only goes to show that Russia should ignore all overtures and flourishes from Trump and his team, and continue prosecuting the campaign to its finish. There is simply no fool-proof deals to be had with an exceptionalist, schizophrenic US at the terminal stage of its Imperial arc. And perhaps that is precisely what Russia is doing, as we continue to see evidence Russia may be preparing for further expansions of its military objectives. 

As I have repeatedly stated since February 2022, Ukraine must surrender unconditionally or the tragedy will proceed to its inevitable end with the unnecessary loss of far more lives. The Russians have proven their limited demands will be considerably more reasonable than both the Europeans and the neocons, and everything they demand used to be theirs anyhow. Ukraine doesn’t need Odessa to survive and thrive as the eastern border of continental Europe, but it does need to exist if it wishes to do so.

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US Troops in Europe

ITEM: The United States has told its allies that it does not plan to participate in military exercises in Europe, according to reports. The move, the latest in Donald Trump’s pivot away from the bloc, would see America pull out of exercises beyond those already scheduled for this year. The withdrawal concerns exercises that are on the “drawing board”, according to Swedish newspaper Expressen. It means that Nato countries will be forced to plan exercises without the participation of the US military, the largest in the alliance.

ITEM: US President Donald Trump is considering withdrawing American troops from Germany and redeploying them to Hungary, The Telegraph reported on Friday, citing a person close to the White House. Trump reportedly could remove the troops or move them elsewhere, as his administration has split with many of its allies in Europe over how to deal with Russia and resolve the Ukraine conflict.

I think the most likely outcome is that the God-Emperor gradually eliminates the US military presence in Europe. But I don’t think we can entirely count out those troops eventually being used to prevent the EU governments from using its puppet militaries against the European nations, possibly in alliance with the Russian army.

It’s fairly apparent that since Clown World has been driven out of Beijing, Moscow, and Washington DC, its remaining strongholds are New York City, Brussels, and Jerusalem.

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