Category: Economic Security

Americans are throwing their weight around the Western Hemisphere and want rivals China and Russia out

If the Trump administration continues to move in this direction, the global situation is more likely to descend into chaos or conflict than to achieve stable equilibrium.

Time:

The message is clear: Washington will throw its weight around in the Western Hemisphere and it wants rivals located elsewhere, China and Russia especially, out—or at least out of critical sectors. It’s a doctrine elaborated clearly in an otherwise muddled national security strategy. In a nod to old-school gunboat diplomacy, it rests on threats and acts of violence. At least part of the point of the smash-and-grab operation in Venezuela was to display raw military power.

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Jason Stanley: Canada is a free democracy, one that embraces diversity and tolerance. America is not your friend.

The U.S. has been veering toward fascism for some time. That is why my family and I decided to leave for Canada last March: Canada is a diverse and healthy democracy. Yet in my short time here, I have observed an alarming level of naïveté about what is happening south of the border.

It seems many Canadians have simply not adjusted to the fact that they live next to a fascist state whose president has imperial designs on Canada.

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Trump: “My own morality. My own mind. It’s the only thing that can stop me.”

Trump declared on Wednesday evening that his power as commander in chief is constrained only by his “own morality,” brushing aside international law and other checks on his ability to use military might to strike, invade or coerce nations around the world.

Asked in a wide-ranging interview with The New York Times if there were any limits on his global powers, Mr. Trump said: “Yeah, there is one thing. My own morality. My own mind. It’s the only thing that can stop me.”

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Americans seize Russian oil tanker in the North Atlantic [Upadted]

The US on Wednesday, January 7, 2026, seized an oil tanker in the North Atlantic – between Scotland and Iceland – that had evaded its effort to crack down on Venezuela’s energy exports, capping a pursuit that had lasted more than two weeks and raised tensions with Russia.

At about the same time, US forces boarded another oil tanker in international waters near the Caribbean. The raids suggest the Americans intends to keep up the pressure on Caracas. “They tried to seize the tanker and it evaded them,” says Matthew Wright of Kpler. “They did not want to set a precedent.”

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What the oil industry reset following the US assault on Venezuela means for Canada

Richard Masson, Vice-Chair of the World Petroleum Council, says Venezuela’s oil production has been in long-term decline and there has been a ‘huge overreaction’ with what this means for Canada.

Canada has to be ‘very careful’ as U.S. has become a less reliable partner

 

Trump’s wish for western dominance, will leave the Americans with nothing [Updated]

The division of the world into spheres of influence implies that smaller countries cannot influence events, and it’s a grave mistake to imagine Venezuelans won’t try. Many of them wanted an American intervention, are overjoyed that Maduro is gone, and no wonder: He and his predecessor, Hugo Chávez, together turned the richest country in South America into the poorest, fortifying their ugly security state with guns and surveillance systems purchased from autocracies around the world.

But now that Maduro is gone, the people who fought for years for justice, freedom, and self-determination aren’t going to want to live in a Trump-backed dictatorship staffed with Maduro’s cronies. One Venezuelan exile, who requested anonymity because of risks to his family, told me that on Saturday, he felt like he was on a roller coaster. First the elation of Maduro’s exit, then the shock of Trump’s press conference, then the angry realization that maybe nothing has changed and he still can’t go home.

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President Zelenskyy has appointed former Liberal cabinet minister Chrystia Freeland as an economic development adviser

“Right now, Ukraine needs to strengthen its internal resilience — both for the sake of Ukraine’s recovery if diplomacy delivers results as swiftly as possible, and to reinforce our defense if, because of delays by our partners, it takes longer to bring this war to an end,” Zelenskyy wrote on X.

Freeland, who has Ukrainian ancestry, was deputy prime minister between 2019 and 2024. She has long been one of Canada’s most vocal opponents of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Source: CBC

Without Europe, the US ceases to be a leader

Geo-politically, marginalizing Europe will also come at a cost. The small peninsula is well sited for American needs. Forward-based radar makes it easier to counteract missiles lobbed by Russia or Iran. Military bases allow the world’s mightiest armed forces to operate in the Middle East and Africa. Having Europe onside helps project power in other ways. Sanctions work best when both sides of the Atlantic join in. By accepting the global supremacy of the dollar, Europeans leave themselves little choice but to enforce America’s boycotts, even when they disagree. Push too hard and they may try to free themselves from that, too.

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