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Wednesday’s Forum
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26 responses to “Wednesday’s Forum”
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Just back from a weekend in Quebec to do some hiking and get our camper-trailer serviced where it was made, near Quebec City. Having lived near the border for ten years and having a son that attended McGill in Montreal, I’ve been to Canada many, many times and just really like the vibe and the people. They are a tenth the size of the US and so should have no chance in this trade war, but they are a proud, scrappy nation, while the US is completely divided, and currently lead by the delusional, racist, ignorant, incompetent Republicans. I would not be surprised if they do us more damage than we do them.
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Canada had no choice. The alternative was effectively giving up their sovereignty and becoming, in effect a U.S. territory or protectorate.
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This entire conflict with Canada just sickens me. More than any other unnecessary conflict Trump has gotten us into.
Why? Because of the close ties we have with Canada.
I remember all the trips to visit our cousins we had: Georgian Bay, Lake Huron, canoeing, camping visiting, etc. I know where my great grandparents are buried. My 23 and me account showed 97 genetic relatives scattered across Canada. In every single province
They are family and we have history.
Yes, it sickens me.
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Once again, reporters and bloggers tell us about the trade war Trump started without addressing whether he has the authority to impose tariffs on ANY country. There is no national emergency for him to hang his hat on, so what we have is Article 1 sec 8 of the Constitution:
The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts and excises….To regulate commerce with foreign nations….
Tariffs, like excises, are taxes, which means Congress sets them, and it is also up to Congress to “regulate commerce with foreign nations,” so why is the media (and Congress) silent about Trump’s unconstitutional – and STUPID – imposition of tariffs?
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So much winning.
Iran, Oman Agree to Share Strait of Hormuz Revenue, IRGC Says
Iran said it reached a revenue-sharing agreement with Oman on the Strait of Hormuz, as the two sides push for a wider deal on the management of the crucial waterway.
“Agreements have been reached regarding each country’s share of the strait’s waters as well as Iran and Oman’s share of its revenues,” the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said on Wednesday, according to the state-run Sepah News agency.
“We have reached results that are acceptable to both sides,” he added.
The countries’ foreign ministries issued a joint statement on Tuesday saying that they discussed an “interim framework” aimed at resuming shipping through the waterway, but stopped short of announcing a final deal and didn’t mention fees.
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More economic bad news.
Fed seen a bit more likely to hike after inflation data
The case for a Federal Reserve interest-rate hike gained a little steam on Wednesday after a government report showed inflation in July was a touch stronger than economists had expected.
The 12-month gain in the personal consumption expenditures price index, which the Fed targets at 2%, edged up to 3.7% last month from 3.6% in the month prior, the Commerce Department said. Core PCE inflation, which strips out volatile food and energy and is seen as an indicator of underlying inflation pressures, was 3.3% from a year earlier, no better than it had been in June.
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The US bond market is also looking queasy, and the dollar is sliding a bit.
Looks like inflation and higher rates are on the menu.
And when the US sneezes, the rest of the world catches a cold.
This administrations i quite remarkably incompetent.The only bright side being it might just lead to Democrat surge in November, and Congress then acting as it should.
Question being, will Trump then go full bore for “executive action” and the Supreme Court continue to play grandmothers footsteps.-
This administrations is quite remarkably incompetent.
They are very competent at pursuing their tactical objectives, if not their stated strategic goals. I think it’s more likely that they know exactly what they are doing, what effect it will have and this is exactly what they want. They want to reshape America into something else, and a crisis helps, so… create a crisis.
Whether Trump is a true believer, a useful idiot, or just a supported chaos agent, I don’t know. I also don’t know if it matters.
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Paul Campos at LGM links to a new video by Dr. K. (I’d have linked to it directly, but Substack wasn’t cooperating.) The video is 12 minutes. It’s entertaining, but the core point is simply that, like myself, Krugman is starting to worry about the possibility of a Trumperdammerrung. Trump’s done huge damage while being indifferent to the fate of the country. He’s already blighted much of DC in a claimed desire to beautify it. What might he do out of a desire to harm the country, and the world, that didn’t properly appreciate him? Would the military follow an order to launch a nuke?
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Could be to warn Putin not to carry out planned troublemaking in the Baltic or elsewhere in Europe. Or could be to request Russia to use its influence with Iran to the benefit of the US administration. And then there’s the subject of each country providing targeting intelligence to the other’s adversary.
I don’t suppose it had anything to do with permissions to use Starlink in Russia or Ukraine, as that somehow falls under the sovereign authority of a single private citizen.
Whatever was discussed, it’s been reported that the US asked, and Ukraine agreed, to suspend strikes on the Moscow region around the time of the visit.
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Appalling footage coming out of Nepal about devastating flash floods due to massive monsoon rainfall in the Himalayas.
The death toll is going to be terrible, I suspect. -
Meta has settled a the large lawsuit alleging that they were creating a harmful product.
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/aug/26/meta-social-media-addiction-trial-settlement
Meta agreed to significant changes to its Instagram and Facebook apps in a settlement that ended a landmark lawsuit on Wednesday. Dozens of US states had accused the tech giant of addicting and harming children with dangerous products.
The agreement curtails a major trial in California and will require the social media company to pay up to $17bn. Meta agreed to establish safeguards for teenage users, including daily usage limits and blocks on nighttime use nationwide in the US.
This is the first time in the US that Meta has been forced to change key features of the experience of everyday users.
The jury trial, which took place in federal court in Oakland, California, began with opening statements just last week. California and 28 other US states sued the $1.36tn (£1tn) company over allegations that Meta deliberately designed addictive products that hooked young people, leading to mental health issues, including anxiety, depression and suicide. The states additionally claimed the social media company regularly collected data on children under the age of 13 without parental permission in violation of federal and state laws. As part of the settlement, the company denies wrongdoing.
To put $17B in perspective, the revenues for the 2026Q2 were $60B.
I may be becoming vengeful, bitter person in my old age, but $17B isn’t enough. It’s just a cost of doing business. And I want people charged with criminal negligence — even negligent homicide — for the harm that they have caused.
When the justice system does not provide meaningful justice, you end up with people like Luigi Mangione taking matters into their own hands, and a general decay of society.
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It would be great to fine them their whole income for years, or to award it as damages, but the best we can hope for is something like what took place after the lawsuits against tobacco companies: real regulation and social disapproval of using Fakebook’s products, as well as Xitter and others like it.
O don’t think we’ll get there, because social media can be a good thing, whereas tobacco cannot.
Me, I’d be satisfied if they either stopped mining data or paid fairly for it. None of that is likely to ever happen.
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