For those who think the conflict is not being orchestrated by the Obama-Biden administration, consider this.  European countries and our NATO allies are not as worried about Russia entering Ukraine.

The people closest to the situation including France and Germany, are not asking for the U.S. to get involved.  Indeed, you can make the argument based on their public statements, that European NATO countries are not that concerned.  Even Chuck Todd (NBC) sees this.

It is the Obama-Biden foreign policy team that is creating anxiety over the potential for Russia to enter Ukraine, not our NATO allies. If we end up in a conflict in Ukraine, it will be because the professional political class in Washington DC want us to be in a conflict in Ukraine, not the American people.

Russian President Vladimir Putin can easily see this dynamic.

(Via ABC) – The State Department ordered diplomats’ families Sunday afternoon to depart the U.S. embassy in Kyiv, Ukraine, amid heightened fears of a Russian attack on the country.  The embassy has also authorized non-emergency employees to depart, according to an internal cable obtained by ABC News.

In an updated travel advisory issued later Sunday, the State Department confirmed the drawdown and urged U.S. citizens in Ukraine to consider departing the country now using commercial flights.

(more…)

A massive convoy of truckers is headed toward Ottawa, Canada, to protest the vaccination regulations of the Trudeau administration against Truckers and all Canadian citizens. The scale of the Freedom Convoy has now garnered the attention of the ruling class, and it looks like a predictable conflict is looming.

Supporters of the trucker protest have raised over $1.8 million using a GoFundMe Effort to cover the expenses, fuel and lost income of the drivers.  However, do not be surprised if the Canadian government does not use law enforcement to try and stop their arrival.  The regime will not want to face pressure of the scale that is being assembled through a grass-roots movement.

Recent video shows how many truckers have joined the convoy that now stretches for miles.  WATCH:

There are concerns within the industry that political ramifications might reflect badly.  The Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA), a seemingly leftist organization within the trucking industry, is now taking a position against the convoy’s intent to confront the government.

The CTA is trying to get the truckers to abandon their effort and released a public statement telling them the vaccine mandate is permanent, irreversible and the Trudeau government will not cede an inch, so stop and go home.

(more…)

It has only just begun.

Effective today, all U.S. and Canadian cross-border truckers must show their vaccination passport in order to deliver their loads.  Approximately 15% of Canadian truckers and approximately 50% of U.S. truckers are not vaccinated.   The logistics and distribution of food supplies into and out of Canada are collapsing.

Pay attention to the scale of impact in this example.  It will only take a few days for this to go from a problem to a full-blown crisis of epic proportions.

CALGARY –  “For the product to be right there and not being able to touch it, we’ve never seen it before in the 12 years that we’ve been open,” he said. “The U.S. is full of product, and we just can’t get it up here.”

The produce warehouse in Northeast Calgary routinely received two or three trucks a day to restock their shelves. Now, when they are attempting to import 80 to 90 per cent of their stock from the U.S., they are lucky to get one truck every two or three days.

(more…)

It’s easy to ignore the United Nations and World Bank pontificators as Über-leftists and global climate change fanatics.  However, of value to us ordinary peeps, is a recognition that U.N and WB outlooks permeate the World Economic Forum and Davos groups.

The multinational corporations and quasi-governmental entities in/around the World Economic Forum (WEF) are the people who call themselves “elites” and shape global policy.  As a result, when the U.N. and Word Bank start talking about widespread global famine as a result of energy policy impacts to the farming industry, specifically natural gas costs and fertilizer resulting in lower crop yields, it is worth paying attention.

We have already discussed the U.S. impact from higher fertilizer costs HERE.   As a nation we are blessed and fortunate to be living on land that is naturally healthy and fertile enough to grow food in abundance.   However, if our crop yields drop our export ability diminishes.  The world relies on the U.S. as a food basket.  You might have recently heard about foreign countries buying up U.S. farmland? Well….

In this outline from the Wall Street Journal, they note those increased costs mean less crops in all continents especially the third world regions.  That can be catastrophic for nations that already have food insecurity issues.

(Via Wall Street Journal) Christina Ribeiro do Valle, who comes from a long line of coffee growers in Brazil, is this year paying three times what she paid last year for the fertilizer she needs. Coupled with a recent drought that hit her crop hard, it means Ms. do Valle, 75, will produce a fraction of her Ribeiro do Valle brand of coffee, some of which is exported.

There is also a shortage of fertilizer. “This year, you pay, then put your name on a waiting list, and the supplier delivers it when he has it,” she said.

(more…)

What they envision (left) and where they are (right).

Right on track…

Prescient.

(more…)

The preparation window has closed.

Given the destabilized and tenuous nature of the current supply chain, many people wondered if the Biden administration would actually be stupid enough to follow through with a truck driver vaccination mandate.  The answer is yes.  Please conduct yourselves accordingly.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) updated their guidance yesterday [LINK HERE] and put a hard date of tomorrow, January 22nd, for the trucker vaccine mandate at all border crossings and ferry terminals.   Canada put the vaccine mandate into effect last week, January 15th.

[Dept. of Homeland Security] – [..]  “Starting on January 22, 2022, the Department of Homeland Security will require that non-U.S. individuals entering the United States via land ports of entry or ferry terminals along our Northern and Southern borders be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and be prepared to show related proof of vaccination,” said Secretary Alejandro N. Mayorkas. “These updated travel requirements reflect the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to protecting public health while safely facilitating the cross-border trade and travel that is critical to our economy.”

These changes – which were first announced in October 2021 and made in consultation with the White House and several federal agencies, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) – will align public health measures that govern land travel with those that govern incoming international air travel.

Non-U.S. individuals traveling to the United States via land ports of entry or ferry terminals, whether for essential or non-essential reasons, must:

(more…)

The business section of the Toronto Star has an appropriate albeit ominous headline for Canadians today:

“Brace for impact: Our supply chain is about to take a further hit, and we’ll all feel it“

The news couldn’t come at a worse time considering that Canada is feeling the biggest increase in food inflation in the past 30 years.  Yeah, for American’s it is a bad situation, but for those north of the border it’s even worse.

The truckers north of the border are planning a major protest to draw the attention of Canadian citizens who continue to keep their head buried. #TruckersForFreedom.   What they are trying to avoid, is soon to be unavoidable.

(MSM, CANADA) – In Canada, where as much as 90% of the country’s fruits and vegetables come from the US during the winter, a vaccine mandate for truckers is slowing down food shipments. Drivers who aren’t fully vaccinated against covid-19 have to quarantine for two weeks after entering Canada. Just about half of US truckers are vaccinated, according to industry estimates.

(more…)

The White House occupant created a diplomatic and geopolitical mess yesterday when he said Russia could take a little bit of Ukraine, but not too much.  Jen Psaki then tried to clean it up [LINK].

However, understandably President Zelenskyy and the Ukraine government were apoplectic: “We want to remind the great powers that there are no minor incursions and small nations. Just as there are no minor casualties and little grief from the loss of loved ones. I say this as the President of a great power.”

Into this mess comes the least qualified person on the planet to cope with it, Kamala Harris.  When questioned this morning about the consequences of such a geopolitical blunder, Harris demanded the media pay attention to her statements not her boss.  WATCH:

.

(more…)

When Joe Biden took to the microphones in October to announce, “a series of public and private commitments to move more goods faster, and strengthen the resiliency of our supply chains, by moving towards 24/7 operations at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach,” the supply chain objective was to increase the productivity of the ports.  However, data released for November [SEE HERE] and now December, show exactly the opposite.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg visited both ports recently.  Both ports, along with Oakland, also made the arriving ships remain further offshore than when the October announcement was made.  They are hiding the ships.

For some unknown reason the Port of Los Angeles (POLA) has delayed reporting of December; but the Port of Long Beach (POLB) just released their data {LINK}.  What the statistics show is that less cargo is being handled now, than it was when the 24/7 port operations announcement was made:

The purpose of telling the ships to await their port time in a queue farther offshore is transparent.  The Biden administration wants to give the illusion they eliminated the bottleneck of container ships.   Out of sight is out of mind.

Operation ‘Hide the Ships’ allows the administration to make claims about port efficiencies and increased productivity that are abjectly false.  The data from the two months after the announcement shows less container offloading and onloading happened in November and December than happened in the prior month of October when the new initiatives were announced.

(more…)

Perhaps the mainstream media is starting to wake up.  NBC is now reporting that cross-border auto parts and food shipments may start being disrupted as the trucker vaccine mandate begins.  Approximately 60 to 75% of all U.S. truckers are not vaccinated.  The cross-border vaccine mandate for American truckers begins January 22nd as part of the Dept of Homeland Security protocol.

In October DHS announced:

…”beginning in early January 2022, DHS will require that all inbound foreign national travelers crossing U.S. land or ferry POEs – whether for essential or non-essential reasons – be fully vaccinated for COVID-19 and provide related proof of vaccination. This approach will provide ample time for essential travelers such as truckers, students, and healthcare workers to get vaccinated.” (link)

The Canadian trucker vaccine mandate began January 15th, the U.S. mandate begins this weekend, January 22nd.  Given the scale of out of season fresh fruit and vegetable shipments from South and Central America, as well as Mexico, we can anticipate serious issues in the food supply chain.  The NBC article highlights trade with Canada, but that’s miniscule when compared to the trade we get from Mexico.

(Via NBC) – […] The U.S. mandate, announced in October, requires all essential foreign travelers, including truck drivers, who cross U.S. land borders to be fully vaccinated. Essential nonresident travelers had been able to enter the U.S. during the pandemic regardless of their vaccination status, in part so as not to disrupt trade and to give them more time to get vaccinated.

The forthcoming mandate follows one that went into effect in Canada last week that prohibits unvaccinated truckers from crossing into Canada from the U.S.

(more…)