Ford Is About To Have An Epiphany.

Ford says if there's no agreement soon, then we have to hit back hard. Of course, that's what we have to do, but it won't move Trump. He doesn't care about the American economy, private corporations or workers. All he cares about is getting his way. He has decided to endlessly threaten and browbeat each domestic automobile company until all North American production is returned to the United States. He won't settle for anything less. That's the epiphany that Ford is about to have -- our auto jobs are already lost. It's only a matter of when all Canadian production comes to an end. 

Additionally, Trump doesn't want a renegotiation of the USMCA. He wants it dead. The only thing he will offer Carney going forward will be a bilateral deal where the United States wins and Canada caves. In his eyes, Carney is a wimp now that he cancelled the reciprocal tariffs. Our naive and foolish Prime Minister played right into Trump's hands. If he had listened to Freeland, well...

So, Doug, rethink Chinese EV tariffs and push for unionized Chinese auto plants tied to market access. Our workers need jobs in this sector. The Chinese future production has to be our Plan B because there is no other realistic plan for Canadian autoworkers. 

Tell our PM tomorrow not to give in on Chinese EVs unless unionized plants are part of the bargain. As long as Trump is breathing, Canada will be fucked and that means three and a half more years. Time to cut our losses and bring in other automobile production. 

China: The Silent Struggle for Power.

Power struggles seldom resolve through political compromise or sudden concessions. The history of China's communist era is littered with figures purged or meeting even more tragic fates. Authority has remained firmly in the hands of the princelings—descendants of the nation's political elite who have weathered multiple leadership transitions almost unscathed.

Consider Xi Jinping's triple role: head of state, party chairman, and commander-in-chief of the armed forces. By consolidating these positions, he appears to have secured lifelong control. This move has stirred discontent among various factions: the princelings, the Hu Jintao camp, and the remnants of the Jiang Zemin faction.

During a recent plenary session of the Central Committee, Xi Jinping suddenly collapsed. Some attributed it to overwork, others to a stroke. Subsequently embroiled in a struggle for military control, he desperately sought to maintain the armed forces' loyalty. After losing this contest, his subsequent attempts to seize power failed, culminating in Zhang Youxia assuming command of the military. Ironically, fresh stroke rumours surfaced on the eve of the Fourth Plenum – unconfirmed both domestically and internationally.

It is alleged that senior figures led by Hu Jintao and Wen Jiabao abruptly launched a power struggle: planning to remove Xi Jinping at the forthcoming plenary session, elevate Wang Yang as interim successor, and position Hu Chunhua as future Premier. The latter would assume state leadership at the Fifth Plenary Session. Concurrently, Premier Li Qiang—reportedly appointed by Xi—is said to have defected, negotiating power transfer arrangements with US officials. His primary objective is to maintain stability in Sino-American relations.

Regardless of his health, Xi Jinping remains an extraordinary figure: this radical hardliner is determined to confront America, exhibiting isolationism, suspicion and paranoia. The elite regard him as a fool, yet are acutely aware of his latent threat. This evokes the proverb about a cornered rat striking back. Xi remains a formidable adversary; it is premature to count him out.

Reports indicate that before the Fourth Plenum, 155 of the 370 plenum members faced personal pressure to choose sides in political struggles, while another 48 were detained.

Historical lessons are starkly evident: Li Keqiang's drowning death and Xu Qiliang's sudden collapse during morning jogging foreshadow China's latent crises. Two major warnings have become clear: closely watch Zhang Youxia and his deputies Liu Yuan and He Hongsheng; and be especially wary of ‘teapots’ during the Fourth Plenum – particularly bottled water.

中国：无声的权力角逐

权力斗争鲜少通过政治妥协或突然让步解决。中国共产主义时期的历史充斥着被清洗或遭遇更悲惨命运的人物。权力始终牢牢掌握在太子党手中——这些国家政治精英的后代历经多次领导层更迭仍安然无恙。

试看习近平身兼三职：国家元首、党主席、武装部队总司令。通过整合这些职位，他似乎已确保终身掌控权力。此举激起了各派系的不满：太子党、胡锦涛派系以及江泽民派系的残余势力。

在最近一次中央全会期间，习近平突然晕倒，有人归因于过度劳累，有人认为是中风。随后卷入军事控制权争夺战的他，拼命试图维持武装部队的忠诚。在这场较量中落败后，他后续的权力争夺尝试均告失败，最终张又侠接管了军队指挥权。讽刺的是，四中全会前夕再度传出中风传闻——国内外均未证实。

据称以胡锦涛、温家宝为首的高层突然发动权力争夺：计划在即将召开的全会罢免习近平，推举汪洋为临时接班人，并安排胡春华担任未来总理。后者将在五中全会接掌国家领导权。与此同时，据称由习近平任命的李强总理已倒戈，正与美方官员协商权力交接事宜。其首要目标是维持中美关系稳定。

无论健康状况如何，习近平仍是位非凡人物：这位激进强硬派决心对抗美国，表现出孤立主义、猜疑和偏执。精英阶层视其为愚者，却深知其潜在威胁。这令人想起“穷鼠反噬”的谚语。习近平仍是强大对手，将其排除在局外为时尚早。

据报道，在四中全会前，370名全会成员中有155人面临个人压力被迫在政治斗争中选边站队，另有48人遭拘留。

历史教训昭然若揭：李克强溺水身亡、许其亮晨跑猝倒，预示着中国潜藏的危机。两大警示已然明晰：严密监控张友夏及其副手刘源、何鸿生；更要警惕四中全会期间的“茶壶”——尤其是瓶装水。

Remove The Chinese EV Tariffs But ONLY If We Get A Deal On New Auto Plants.

I opposed the Trudeau government's imposition of tariffs against Chinese EVs. I like the idea of a free market for consumers. Those who don't support removing the tariffs point out that China unfairly subsidizes their EV industry, which leads to price cutting on vehicles. 

Ford, who normally sizes things up correctly, is wrong on this one: he knows perfectly well that Trump will never budge an inch on automobile tariffs. He wants all American-made cars to be manufactured in the United States going forward, and he won't deviate from that in the future. Ford may not want to admit it publicly, but that's a reflection of reality. The only reason automobile parts aren't on the list is that without Canadian-made parts, automobiles could not be assembled in domestic plants on a timely basis.

So, in the end, Kinew is on the right track, but the Chinese think they've got us over a barrel. They believe they were clever in imposing canola and pork tariffs. We need to outclass them in the negotiations, and that means getting a future commitment on auto plants. Once that pledge is in place, maybe just maybe, tough guy Trump will get so much shit from the American auto industry that he'll have no choice but to pull his precious automobile tariffs. Hardball is the only language that dipshit Trump understands. Canada needs to make the most of it.

CPC: Ford, MacKay and Moore Have That Keen Look.

Just saying.

I expect they'll all be keeping their calendars open after next spring. The trashing is coming! 

Discours et constitution.

Il est amusant de voir le tollé suscité par le discours du premier ministre Legault à Québec, prononcé presque exclusivement en anglais, la langue de l'Amérique du Nord. Les partis d'opposition ont critiqué Legault pour avoir prononcé ce discours.

Disons simplement que je préfère analyser cela sous plusieurs angles : premièrement, il me semble qu'au Québec, la forme est importante et qu'il est essentiel que tout discours soit prononcé dans la langue de la majorité au Québec, ou du moins à 80 % dans cette langue.

Quant à la réaction politique, il y a plusieurs façons de la considérer : on peut se sentir fier d'être Québécois et à l'aise dans sa peau, sans aucun complexe vis-à-vis du monde anglophone extérieur. En bref, on peut se considérer comme parfaitement égal aux anglophones de notre province et d'autres juridictions. Quelqu'un qui voit la situation sous cet optique ne sera pas personnellement blessé par les actions de notre premier ministre, même s'il n'est pas d'accord avec la conduite de Legault. L'autre façon d'envisager les choses consiste à voir cette controverse à travers les yeux de quelqu'un qui se considère comme inférieur ou de seconde classe dans son propre pays. Cette personne sera inévitablement profondément perturbée par la conduite de Legault. Dans ce contexte, le discours de Legault équivaut à un péché mortel, une tragédie inacceptable et sans fin. Pour ma part, je m'identifie au premier groupe. C'est regrettable et cela sert d'avertissement à ceux qui nous dirigent, mais le débat s'arrête là. Chacun a sa propre position sur ce débat linguistique.

J'aimerais maintenant aborder le débat sur une constitution québécoise. Tous les partis y sont favorables, et l'ensemble de la classe politique déplore l'approche du gouvernement Legault. Pour l'opposition, une constitution est un projet qui nécessite un consensus et une étude par les élus et la population en général. C'est un projet pour les États généraux, si vous voulez, et non pour un projet de loi devant l'Assemblée nationale. Jolin-Barrette est brillamment fustigé !

Je suis généralement d'accord avec les positions des partis d'opposition et leur vision de la situation politique. Le monde idéal est le reflet parfait de la vision de ces partis. Mais nous devons composer avec le gouvernement en place. Dorénavant, nous devons nous concentrer sur la modification du projet de loi de la CAQ. C'est mieux que rien. C'est un début.

Cependant, l'ironie qui prévaut est que la nation québécoise n'a toujours pas signé la Constitution canadienne de Trudeau, quarante-cinq ans après son adoption. Pendant cette période, aucun gouvernement fédéral ni aucun parlement souverain au Québec n'a été en mesure de remédier à cette situation plutôt déplorable, mais personne sur la scène politique québécoise n'en parle aujourd'hui, ni même avant. Depuis l'ère Mulroney, comme le disent les anglophones, le silence radio règne sur les priorités du gouvernement québécois. De plus, il est clair qu'il n'est pas dans l'intérêt du PLQ de parler du manque de progrès réalisés dans ce dossier. Bien au contraire, surtout avec le chef actuel. 

Dans l'ensemble, les politiciens à Québec seront confrontés à un défi de taille : transformer le projet de loi de Legault en une solution qui reflète le consensus politique de notre société et de notre nation. Je leur souhaite bonne chance. L'heure de la citronnade ou de la limonade !

His "Guy" Preparing For The Presidency And The Nomination.

This has been in the works for years. Fund and finance him politically from Day One. When Trump dies, will Vance have a lock on the nomination, or will it suddenly become open and contentious? His "Guy" wants it done and dusted as soon as possible. But how will MAGA feel about that? Will MAGA break in two, or will they tow that "Guy's" line? Money means unlimited influence and power, not to mention privileged access for your corporate or personal agenda. Yes, sir, bought and paid for and set to wag the dog's tail.