The Polls Are All Over The Place: Who Knows What To Think.

Angus Reid: Conservatives +3;

Liaison: Liberals +6;

Nanos: Liberals +5;

Abacus: Tie.

Kirk Memorial: There Goes Trump's "Third" Term.

Can you say, Erika for President?

Why Is Poilièvre LYING About A Palestinian State?

Over 150 nations have recognized an independent Palestinian state. France, the UK, Canada and Australia are only the latest to do so. 

PP is lying about what Canada is doing: we're recognizing the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah as an independent state. We're not saying that the Gaza Strip under Hamas' control is part of that territory. Some view this as a distinction without a difference, but I disagree with that conclusion.

Pierre should be ashamed of himself for deliberately trying to twist what Canada and so many countries are doing or have already done.

For my part, I view this move as premature. It should not have taken place until all the Israeli and other Jewish hostages were returned to Israel. But given Netanyahu's intransigence on most issues, I can understand why these three nations have chosen to move now. Peace requires an independent Palestinian state, and Bibi will fight that to his last breath, so the end justifies the means.

BOC: Macklem Cuts Rates Again.

With Canada's economy weakening partly as a result of Trump's trade policy and tariffs, the Bank of Canada cut its overnight rate by 25 basis points to 2.5 percent. That rate was also put in place, given that inflation is low and considered weak.

To no one's surprise, interest rate cuts are largely stimulative in nature. An acceleration in the money supply occurs as consumers increasingly take out loans, and banks are more than willing to accommodate them. Interest rate cuts also tend to boost consumer spending and personal indebtedness. 

However, if inflation begins to tick up, the BOC will then find itself at a crossroads: it will likely move to increase QE again, which more often than not has spurred increased inflation. In addition, any increase in the digitization of money (money printing) will reduce the purchasing power of the dollar, which inevitably pushes up the prices of goods and services. Again, price increases will also fuel further inflation, which, if it accelerates too quickly, will require the BOC to reverse course and hike the overnight rate to slow inflation.

All of this to say that the BOC is clueless as to what is required to create sound money. It should follow the lead of most other major central banks and increase gold purchases. Gold acts as a hedge against inflation and further currency depreciation. Gold also tends to, at a minimum, hold its own during inflationary periods and to spike during periods when inflation rises significantly and the currency's purchasing power is falling. 

The other problem, of course, is a political one, with economists largely wedded to discredited Keynesian economic policy. If Canada backed its currency with gold, ours would become one of the strongest and likely most stable currencies in the world in relatively short order. It would also counter the possibility of reckless fiscal policy, but the know-it-alls in Ottawa think they have all the answers, which time and time again they've proven to our collective detriment that they don't. However, it's true that given Canada's lack of economic might, a gold-backed dollar could only go so far in enhancing the credibility of the Canadian dollar as a major exchange instrument, something that Canada has never enjoyed to this point in its history. 

We're About To See If Ford Really Wants To Be Prime Minister.

In short, Ford has a tough balancing act to follow going forward. On the one hand, the relationship between Canada's first ministers has probably never been better, thanks to Carney's approach to federal-provincial-territorial relations. However, with elbows-up largely dissipated, the premiers are probably sensing that it has been replaced by a vacuum, a place reminiscent of the lack of progress achieved during WWI trench warfare. At best, it's a stalemate with Trump, at worst, a total freeze-out with Trump calling the tune and dictating the negotiating terms during ongoing negotiations. 

So far, any disagreement between Ford and Carney on how to approach the Trump Administration has been kept private. Publicly, Ford remains onside with the rest of Team Canada, but given his previous public comments, he can't be happy with the way negotiations are going with the OrangeMenaceTM.

By now, the obvious way to deal with Trump is crystal clear: you have to go at him as hard as possible without giving quarter unless something tangible or valuable is conceded in return. So far, Carney has received nothing but a goose egg in his negotiations with Trump. Ford and the other premiers know that only too well. So, Ford has a choice: he can continue to go along to get along, or he can break publicly with Carney and push for a hard line just like I have. If he does, it will be the mother of all signals that he's running it around in his head to take Carney on after the next Conservative leadership race, which will quickly follow an almost certain CPC election loss.

Ford has gone from publicly praising Carney to complete radio silence. Now he gets to either put up or stay shut up. His choice will tell us a lot more about him and his future political plans than most people realize. Do I think he wants to be PM sooner rather than later? You bet I do.

Carney Sidelines Freeland: Now He Will Pay The Ultimate Political Price.

Like I said, Dom is considered a joke in DC. Not someone who can out-negotiate the Trump minions. Only Freeland is capable of that, and now she has been quite deliberately sidelined with the Ukrainian pablum posting. This only serves to confirm how Carney is a thoroughly unsophisticated novice who knows even less than Trudeau about rational government operations and building for political trade success. 

So remember that you read this here first: as a result, expect stalemate to continue for the rest of the year and Trump to cancel USMCA once the review period commences in the new year. Carney needed a big win, and without Freeland, that became impossible as Carney is about to painfully find out. 

غزة: الانزلاق إلى الجنون.

لدينا اختلافات كبيرة حول هذه القضية، على الرغم من أننا نعارض كلاهما قيام دولة فلسطينية، على الأقل حتى يتم إطلاق سراح جميع الرهائن المتبقين، وهو أمر لن يحدث على الأرجح أبدًا. ولكن إذا حدث ذلك، فإن إنشاء دولة فلسطينية يصبح ضروريًا وحتميًا لمواجهة التأثيرات الشيطانية لحكومة نتنياهو بشكل فعال. نتنياهو لا يهتم بإسرائيل أو شعبها. بالنسبة له، مثل ترامب، الأمر يتعلق بالسلطة فقط. سيتعين على رئيس الوزراء الإسرائيلي المستقبلي أن يفعل ما فعله شارون مع كاديما. بدون هاتين الخطوتين، سيكون السلام مستحيلاً إلى الأبد. لذا، فإن الشعب الإسرائيلي أمامه قرار صعب.

حتى الآن، اعتمد كلانا على التعريف النظري للإبادة الجماعية. لكن الهجوم الحالي على مدينة غزة يعني أننا ندخل مرحلة جديدة، تتطلب أن نقوم بتحديد حجم الإبادة الجماعية المستقبلية للحفاظ على حجتنا. لا أستطيع ذلك ولن أفعله. ترامب هو الوحيد القادر على إيقاف نتنياهو، وإذا لم يفعل ذلك، فسيكون كلاهما متواطئين بشكل مباشر في الإبادة الجماعية ضد الفلسطينيين بشكل عام وضد المدنيين في حماس. الله يراقب. ومن غير المرجح أن يغفر أو ينسى.