Summary
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced retaliatory tariffs after Donald Trump confirmed 25% tariffs on Canadian goods and 10% on energy, set to take effect at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday.
Trump justified the move by linking it to fentanyl smuggling concerns.
Trudeau called the tariffs “unjustified” and imposed 25% tariffs on $155 billion in U.S. goods, with $30 billion effective immediately and the rest in 21 days.
He warned of price hikes and job losses in the U.S., arguing the move violates Trump’s own trade agreement from his last term.
International law was already completely irrelevant when it came to the developed world imposing its will on the entire developing world, or anyone classified as an “enemy”. There are hundreds of violations across the years that were never enforced, from America carpet bombing south east asia and installing puppet regimes around the world, to Russias use of phosphorous warheads and chemical weapons in Syria, to Israel (and allies) genocide in Palestine.
International laws have only ever been, at best, gentleman’s agreements among the developed world’s oligarchs and political classes.
What’s happening now is the US political class and oligarchy are shifting allegiance to fascist authoritarianism and imperialism, because both are populated with mentally ill narcissists and psychopaths of insatiable greed and megalomania, completely detached from reality; no different to the feudalist monarchs, emperors and pharaohs of old.
I also don’t believe this is an America problem, as much as it is a capitalism problem. Americas oligarchy are no different to Russias oligarchy, who are no different to Chinas oligarchy, who are no different to every oligarchy. They are borderless, stateless, only worship wealth and power, and are a reflection of the psychology created by unchecked wealth and power; these people view themselves as the rightful rulers of humanity, by virtue of their wealth and power, and views concepts like democracy a direct threat to their existence.
Fucking phenomenal run for American upper-middle classers & up for daysssss (decades)
Staycations on every screen, DoorDash, weekends at national parks, summers full of music festivals, no air raid sirens or drafts
Little blips of economic busts and terrorism, but overall stable with a solid stock market. The climate taking its beating without much protest. The developing world manufacturing much of our own world for pennies on the dollar, their conditions out of sight and out of mind. Stagnant minimum wage, the prison industrial complex, the crimes of the healthcare industry - captivating John Oliver segments, yes, but not pressing personal problems.
waow that was a lotta work over the years from a lotta good people to get the US here, and now…
(job hunt question)
Any recommendations for organizations that might be hiring right now and looking for people who want to fix this?