Tradicat

 + JMJ What is interesting about President's Trump dissing Canada and Canadians has scratched the veneer of civility that Canadian's normally present to the world. Nice to see some patriotism amongst Canadians! P^3 The Original: I AM CANADIAN (2000) The Present: WE ARE CANADIAN (2025) I was the 'I Am Canadian' guy. That commercial changed me (2025) Reference (Links to other commercials and Canadian Videos - Caution - they are beer commercials) Molson I AM CANADIAN Molson Commercial - I Am Canadian - YouTube Molson Canadian - I Am Canadian - Beaver Attack! -Commercial - YouTube Molson Canadian, Anthem 90 - YouTube I Am Canadian Commercial - YouTube Classic Molson Canadian Ad - 500 Miles - YouTube Molson Canadian I AM - EVIL BEAVER (1997) 🍺🦦🍺 - YouTube Molson Canadian - Made From Canada - YouTube Jim Carrey - Canada - YouTube Canadian Commercial - I Am Canadian - 1994 - YouTube Molson Canadian - I Am Canadian - Tree (2003) - YouTube Molson Canadian commerc...

 + JMJ I have to admit that President Trump's actions over the past few days have been more than annoying.  Trump as a Soviet Negotiator As I've mentioned, Trump appears to Negotiate like the Russian or Soviets like Herb Cohen described in his book "You can negotiate anything".   All "Soviets" whether for Moscow or from Memphis [Tradicat: ... or New York], use the same six steps in their negotiation dance: Extreme initial positions: They always start with tough demands or ridiculous offers that affect the other side's expectation level. Limited authority. The negotiators themselves have little or no authority to make any concessions. Emotional tactics: They get red faced, raise their voices and act exasperated - horrified that they are being take advantage of. Occasionally they will stalk out of a meeting in a huff. Adversary concessions viewed as weakness. Should you give in and concede them something, they are unlikely to reciprocate. Stingy in their c...

 + JMJ There are five numbers to consider amongst the Canada / US  and World / US trade war. US Revenue: $4.9 Trillion US Deficit: $840 Billion US Debt: $36.22 Trillion US Debt Payment: $392 Billion (16% of US Gov spending) US Debt vs US GDP: 123% So ... what does this mean? Here's a quote from a 2023 paper posted by the Penn Wharton University of Pennsylvania: Summary: PWBM estimates that---even under myopic expectations---financial markets cannot sustain more than the next 20 years of accumulated deficits projected under current U.S. fiscal policy. Forward-looking financial markets are, therefore, effectively betting that future fiscal policy will provide substantial corrective measures ahead of time. If financial markets started to believe otherwise, debt dynamics would “unravel” and become unsustainable much sooner. Key Points The U.S. “public debt outstanding” of $33.2 trillion often cited by media is largely misleading, as it includes $6.8 trillion that the federal gover...

 + JMJ I personally take umbrage at Trumps claiming that all of Canada should be one state.  Either it is a negotiation strategy to insult Canadians by lumping the second largest country as one mere 'state' of the United States South of the 49th parallel. A Bank of Nova Scotia VP has fact-checked five of Trump's claims. P^3 Financial Post: Canada would not be better off as the 51st State United States President Donald Trump, while signing another executive order, this time imposing tariffs on steel and aluminum, repeated the idea that Canada would be better off as the 51st state.His statements have many Canadians up in arms, but it’s also given them a new gear to express their national pride.Besides negating tariffs, higher average incomes in the U.S. have been touted as another selling point for erasing the border between the two countries.  But there’s lots more to consider when comparing the neighbour nations, according to Derek Holt, vice-president and head of capital...

 + JMJ As a Canadian, I wonder about what is behind Trump's actions, what are his goals and objectives? First, there is what appears to be the lashing out at Canadian's and Mexicans with the threats of Tariffs. As a student of negotiation this set off alarm bells. Especially, as this goes against the successor to NAFTA that he signed, it reminds me of Herb Cohen's comment about "Russian" negotiators.  As an aside, Mr. Cohen's book was the first negotiation book that I bought at a book sale for a couple dollars.  That book alone has saved me thousands of dollars. If you are interested, I recommend reading Never Split that Difference by Chris Voss.  It is an excellent modern perspective on negotiation and human relations.   I don't really agree with Bernie Sanders because ... well ... his accusations against Trump could just as easily be levied against the Democrats ( YouTube Link: Bernie Sanders Accuses Trump, Billionaire 'Oligarchs' Of Leading US T...

 + JMJ    Something that Americans (i.e. US Citizens) don't realize is that a part of Canadian identity is that we are not Americans. I know that it is strange that something like that should be a key defining point of our identity ... and perhaps that is not all. President Donald Trump has been provoking the Canadian people a lot lately. First Tariffs, then the 51st state claim. Not mention his claims to Panama, Green Land etc. My spidey sense, you know the muscles trying to make the hair stand up on the back of your neck, tells me that this is just a tactic, an extreme position to make a negotiated position seem like a 'win' for the opponents. I do wonder if this is also just smoke and mirrors to hide the really bad financial state of the USA.  You can't spend your way to the top and expect to stay there. My biggest (not only) concern about ever becoming part of the USA is inheriting a portion of their deficit and debt. I have stacked up a couple articles on this t...