For the past two weeks, the Snow Mexicans have been booing the USA national anthem when played in Canada during sporting events. While we hold no animosity toward Canadians, last night the Team USA hockey team beat them 3-1 on the Snow Mexicans home turf.
After Canada again booed the USA national anthem again last night, the game began with three fights in the first nine seconds: Matthew Tkachuk and Brandon Hagel, then Brady Tkachuk and Sam Bennett and finally J.T. Miller and Colton Parayko.
USA Today – […] The negative reactions to “The Star-Spangled Banner” came even after the Bell Centre public address announcer asked fans to show respect for the anthems.
Canadian sports fans have been booing the U.S. national anthem since U.S. President Donald Trump made threats regarding import tariffs earlier in February. The Trump administration paused the threat for 30 days for Canada, as well as Mexico, to be hit with 25% tariffs, but the concern over the economic impact remains. (link)
With the win last night, team USA clinched a spot in the 4 Nations Face-Off championship game on Thursday in Boston. Canada could fill the other spot if it beats Finland in regulation on Monday or with an overtime win if Sweden doesn’t beat the U.S. in regulation.
As expected, initial direct talks between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are being planned to take place in Saudi Arabia. Saudi King Mohammed bin Salman (MbS) will be the key emissary to coordinate the agenda.
WASHINGTON DC – U.S. State Secretary Marco Rubio held a phone conversation with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Feb. 15, just days after U.S. President Donald Trump spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“Building on the Feb. 12 phone conversation between the presidents of Russia and the United States, the foreign ministers agreed to maintain a communication channel to address accumulated issues in Russian-American relations,” a readout from the Russian Foreign Ministry read.
“This is aimed at removing the unilateral barriers inherited from the previous administration that hinder mutually beneficial trade, economic, and investment cooperation.”
You might want to watch this brief video a few times, once with the sound low or off and pay attention to the body language of the participants as the remarks to the media are delivered. Vice-President Vance opens the remarks followed by President Zelenskyy, then back to JD Vance.
Marco Rubio is stone cold focused (perf). JD Vance is personable and pragmatic. Zelenskyy is deferring and at the very end the Ukrainian officials exhibit the attitude they are known for within Eastern Europe. Perhaps Americans don’t know because Western media hide it, but the scope of corruption within the Ukrainian government is so well known, most Eastern Europeans view current Ukranian govt officials as mere financial beneficiaries to the indulgences of war. WATCH:
All over Europe Ukranian govt officials are seen driving exotic cars, arriving in multi-million-dollar yachts, staying at the most expensive hotels, shopping at exclusive stores, buying jewelry and watches. They Ukraine military and govt officials are generally living a life of stunning opulence and overwhelming indulgence. When you travel there, people simply nod toward the visibility of it and say, “Ukraine.” It’s an open joke, and they are hated.
Generally speaking, the government officials from Ukraine are considered vile, vulgar, rude and cruel by the ‘simple people’ who see them. And trust me, it is impossible to miss their arrogance. I never had an opinion about them until I witnessed it myself. The vibe they give off is foul.
If you read the Zelenskyy statement yesterday following the phone call with President Trump, you would notice the seemingly detached nature of his comments. Almost as if Zelenskyy was a bystander awaiting further instructions.
Apparently, the European Union, various NATO members and likely some DoS/CIA operatives bent his ear. 24 hours later, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy now says it is critical for Ukraine to participate in any discussion on the future of Ukraine.
(Via AP) – […] In his first comments to journalists since Trump held individual calls first with Putin and then Zelenskyy, the Ukrainian leader conceded that it was “not very pleasant” that the American president spoke first to Putin. But he said the main issue was to “not allow everything to go according to Putin’s plan.”
“We cannot accept it, as an independent country, any agreements (made) without us,” Zelenskyy said as he visited a nuclear power plant in western Ukraine.
While Trump was noncommittal on Wednesday, he offered some reassurances on Thursday when asked by reporters whether Ukrainians would have a seat at the table in U.S. negotiations with Russia. “Of course they would,” Trump said. “I mean, they’re part of it. We would have Ukraine, we have Russia, and we’ll have other people involved too.”
During the conversation with Trump on Wednesday, Zelenskyy said, the U.S. president told him he wanted to speak to both the Russian and Ukrainian leaders at the same time.
“He never mentioned in a conversation that Putin and Russia was a priority. We, today, trust these words. For us it is very important to preserve the support of the United States of America,” Zelenskyy said. (read more)
NATO, the U.K and the European Commission are not happy that President Trump and Russian President Putin may end up framing the terms of a peace deal that ends the war in Ukraine. The EU, the U.K, Blackrock and JP Morgan are expecting financial gains; President Trump dismissing their claims and efforts while simultaneously demanding surety for any further U.S. funding has left the EU very angry.
Today, President Donald J Trump signed an executive order triggering the first ever system of “reciprocal trade tariffs,” a seismic change in U.S. trade policy that will also consider the respective nation’s VAT (Value Added Tax) tariff.
Within the executive order [as outlined], the Secretary of Commerce and the United States Trade Representative will consider foreign industry subsidies, and non-monetary tariff barriers as part of the determination of the tariff levied. This is a stunning shift in U.S trade agreements that will cut through all the angles being deployed to avoid U.S. tariffs and block U.S exports into their country.
The policy will pressure foreign nations to lower their trade barriers to U.S. goods and eliminate disparity in foreign trade agreements. One big example will be the impact on the EU through the continuing Marshall Plan. The EU will now face reciprocal tariffs and no longer benefit from one-way tariff acceptance. There are obviously no tariffs on products made inside the USA.
With “reciprocal tariffs” the Commerce Dept and USTR will now determine the trade imbalances with each individual country and will evaluate each FTA (Free Trade Agreement), one-by-one to deconflict the trade imbalance. Direct tariffs, subsidies, regulatory hurdles, non-monetary trade barriers and hidden export subsidies will be addressed as part of the reciprocity evaluation. This is a completely new dynamic in the era of modern global trade and economics.
During the executive order signing event, President Trump took questions from the media. WATCH:
Between now and April 1st, each individual trade agreement will be evaluated with consideration for all facets of the cost for American companies to export to the evaluated nation. Direct tariffs, Value Added Taxes (VAT), state subsidies and non-monetary regulatory tariff barriers, will be determined for each nation. That nation will then be made aware of the tariff against each sector within their export system to the United States.
Effective April 2, 2025, President Trump will then have the tariff data provided by the USTR and Secretary of Commerce. President Trump will determine when the reciprocal tariff will be triggered and will likely engage in discussions with the leaders of the foreign nations.
These fireside chat-style impromptu pressers during executive order signings are awesome. The revolutionary change in government transparency and communication is, well, quite literally historic and stunning. The media can ask questions in real-time as the specific policy is implemented and explained, while simultaneously the ability of the media to shape an anti-Trump policy narrative is removed.
Earlier today the U.S. Senate voted to confirm Robert F Kennedy Jr 52-48, with Senator Mitch McConnell (U-DC) the lone Republican joining all 47 Democrats to vote against him. Kennedy made pledges to protect existing vaccination programs in a bid to secure votes of hesitant lawmakers.
Completing the journey to align Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) with Making America Great Again (MAGA), Secretary RFK Jr will now run a Health and Human Services agency that coordinates more than $3 trillion in healthcare spending. Also under Secretary Kennedy are the Medicare and Medicaid programs that provide health insurance for over 140 million Americans, along with the National Institutes of Health.
During his swearing in ceremony RFK Jr pledged to work to end chronic disease. Previously Kennedy said he wants to break any ties between employees at the U.S. drugs regulator and Big Pharma industry. Secretary Kennedy had high praise for President Donald Trump; saying, “God sent me President Trump” to fulfill his mission to turn the American system of health around. Swearing in ceremony below:
President Trump delivered some rather remarkable filler information today surrounding the phone calls between himself, President Putin and President Zelenskyy. The remarks, which should not be missed, come at the conclusion of the Tulsi Gabbard swearing in ceremony. [09:45 video, prompted]
The first question received was about the Russia v Ukraine conflict and the conversations with Zelenskyy and Putin. President Trump outlined that the first meeting to end the conflict will likely take place between himself and Vladimir Putin in Saudi Arabia as organized through the intermediary, Mohammed Bin Salman (MbS). [11:45]
President Trump noted there was unlikely to be any NATO discussion for Ukraine, and the concession of territory to Russia was generally accepted foregone conclusion. [15:10] Due to the curiously missing Zelenskyy in the response, the media asked if President Trump “sees Ukraine as an equal member in the process.” President Trump responded that it was an interesting question, but ultimately “they have to make peace.” President Trump then noted that eventually, during this ceasefire, Ukraine is going to need to conduct elections. [More than implying that Zelenskyy is irrelevant].
The general response in combination with the previously released statement from Zelenskyy seems to frame a strange dynamic. Zelenskyy never asked Trump to visit Ukraine, and the way President Trump frames the Zelenskyy perspective is as if the Ukranian President is willingly an outside observer without a genuine ability to engage without having to ask another “entity” for permission. WATCH:
The way President Trump outlines the discussion(s) further evidences the suspicions we highlighted before. [SEE HERE] The response to the Ukraine questions extends to around 22:17 of the video, where the subject changes to DOGE. There again, some really interesting remarks from President Trump.
President Trump notes the corruption being outlined is of such a massive number, “billion and billions”, that there is no way these payments do not include kickbacks, likely to politicians. Trump then turns to AG Bondi and remarks that this is something the AG will likely have to look at. “There’s a lot of things to look at Pam.”
President Donald Trump posts a brief outline of a conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin to his Truth Social Account.
President Trump: “I just had a lengthy and highly productive phone call with President Vladimir Putin of Russia. We discussed Ukraine, the Middle East, Energy, Artificial Intelligence, the power of the Dollar, and various other subjects. We both reflected on the Great History of our Nations, and the fact that we fought so successfully together in World War II, remembering, that Russia lost tens of millions of people, and we, likewise, lost so many!
We each talked about the strengths of our respective Nations, and the great benefit that we will someday have in working together. But first, as we both agreed, we want to stop the millions of deaths taking place in the War with Russia/Ukraine. President Putin even used my very strong Campaign motto of, “COMMON SENSE.” We both believe very strongly in it. We agreed to work together, very closely, including visiting each other’s Nations.”
Earlier today President Trump and Elon Musk, head of the Dept of Government Efficiency, held a press conference in the oval office to answer questions about the ongoing DOGE review of government.
Elon Musk outlines examples of how the various government agencies spend money without any standard accounting principles that facilitate audits and reviews. In material fact the system of government that Elon Musk and President Trump outline, appears fully designed to generate fraud.
In essence, “waste, fraud and abuse” within government, is a feature of how the government systems are organized, not a flaw. WATCH:
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It is amazing how the media reporters present the structure of their questions to support the waste, fraud and abusive systems within the administration of government as it is outlined. We do not dislike the media enough.
President Donald Trump and King Abdullah II of Jordan are having bilateral meetings today on the Israel v Hamas war and the subsequent issue with displaced Palestinians.
During the first press availability in the oval office, both President Trump and King Abdullah delivered remarks about the regional challenges, approaches and overall perspectives on the issues. As expected, both President Trump and King Abdullah noted they await the plan from Egyptian President Fattah al-Sisi who has been tasked with taking the lead on developing a peaceful solution and broader long-term plan for regional stability.
Jordan doesn’t want to take more Palestinian refugees, though King Abdullah did say he was going to take 2,000 sick children for care in the kingdom of Jordan.
President Trump has given Hamas a deadline of Saturday at noon to release all the remaining hostages or, “there will be hell to pay.” President Trump is willing to take part in rebuilding Gaza in the aftermath of the chaos and rubble as soon as Hamas is removed from the issue.
After Canada again booed the USA national anthem again last night, the game began with three fights in the first nine seconds: Matthew Tkachuk and Brandon Hagel, then Brady Tkachuk and Sam Bennett and finally J.T. Miller and Colton Parayko.
