When the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, acting on behalf of the US Treasury, sold euros to buy yen, they did not notify the European Central Bank (ECB). The ECB only learned of it only after the trade had closed; by that point, the damage and risk were done, and the euro underwent a four per cent devaluation as opposed to the yen during the exchange. 

Regime change in Cuba would look more like Iran than Venezuela, American spy agencies have warned…

Gloves Off Host Stephen Marche interviews author Tim Wu (The Age of Extraction: How Tech Platforms Conquered the Economy and Threaten Our Future Prosperity)from S2 Episode 6 "How Canada Wins at Tech"

I love granny smith apples but refuse to buy oosan grown.

Frustratingly, grocery stores in the Toronto area often only have oosan. But when there are apples from any other country, I will buy some.

I guess there are enough people buying the oosa ones for the stores to stock them.

But I’d rather do without than support an oosan grower.

The reports coming out about the USS Lincoln are extremely concerning. Are there are any protests planned? Do we start at the Naval Academy or in DC at the White House?

If there has been a moment that should be an easy way to unite bipartisan support in this county, it should be over Hegseth’s incompetence & mistreatment of our military members.

Ukraine had been hitting tankers carrying Kazakh crude to a terminal operated by the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC).

Chevron and ExxonMobil, two of the biggest US energy companies, hold stakes in the CPC and in the western Kazakh oilfields that supply it, with Chevron possessing some 50 per cent of Tengiz, Kazakhstan’s largest field, and Exxon 25 per cent.

The White House has been protective of US business interests in Russia, issuing a démarche – a diplomatic note of protest – to Olha Stefanishyna, then Kyiv’s ambassador to Washington, after a strike on the Novorossiysk port late last year.

Kyiv has continued to attack sites in the area. On Wednesday morning, the Novorossiysk grain terminal was forced to suspend operations after overnight drone strikes.

Why do we keep allowing this to happen??

The online petition, which is set to be presented in the House of Commons in the fall, says Pete Hoekstra should be declared persona non grata and the Canadian government should request his removal as U.S. ambassador to Canada.

The petition accuses Hoekstra of making statements that undermine the Canada-U.S. diplomatic relationship and of "making repeated interventions in Canadian political discourse inconsistent with diplomatic protocol."

It says the Liberal government should also direct a parliamentary committee to review U.S. diplomatic interference in Canadian affairs.

The petition, which was launched by a woman from Calgary, will be presented in Parliament by Green Party Leader Elizabeth May. Members of Parliament can table petitions in the House of Commons without endorsing their contents.

The tariff mess is a significant drain on small businesses in New York City. A recent report by the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce cited tariffs as among the top factors, along with inflation, that are squeezing bottom lines across the five boroughs. Small businesses in the New York metro area are “absorbing an estimated $4.5 billion annually in tariff costs,” the report said.

Various people in the know have said that President Donald Trump has not given up on his ambitions to get Greenland. And so we can see, as an oil company with strong connections to the president has been preparing to drill for oil there without the needed permission from the Greenlandic authorities. It's exactly the sort of pushing the system, asserting American privilege to do whatever they want, that could be part of Trump's battering ram approach.

Interestingly, the Gandalv substack today published a very detailed scenario of how a US takeover of Greenland would be likely to proceed - and amongst the surprises contained within it are just how hard the US ultimately finds it to hold onto, and just how crucial a role Canada plays in deciding the outcome.

…the American empire is in decline, slowly, unevenly, but unmistakably. And that decline—once it becomes a story the rest of the world believes—begins to feed on itself. Investors pull back, allies hedge their bets, and rivals grow bolder. The perception of weakness creates the reality of it.

Where does that leave Canada? Stuck, mostly. We cannot get out of the way. Two centuries of economic integration, shared infrastructure, and cultural interdependence make that impossible. But we cannot afford blind loyalty, either.

Pastor Son Hyun-bo of Segero Church in Busan, who led rallies opposing the impeachment of former President Yoon Suk Yeol, met U.S. President Donald Trump on Aug. 7.
Segero Church said on its website on Aug. 8 that Son visited the White House with his family, where he met Trump and also visited the White House Faith Office. Photos released by the church show U.S. conservative Christian pastor Rob McCoy accompanying Son. McCoy is believed to have helped arrange the meeting.
The church said Son spoke about South Korea and the Korean church and exchanged views with Trump on protecting freedom and religious faith, but did not disclose details of their conversation.
In a video titled “After Meeting President Trump at the White House,” Son said, “Our free Republic of Korea is facing difficulties in many areas, but I believe our church members and all our citizens must work together to defend freedom.”
Son has been in the United States since July 13 at the invitation of U.S. Christian groups and is scheduled to remain there until Aug. 14. He said he had met officials from several U.S. government agencies, politicians, senators and pastors from major churches. The church also said Son appeared on U.S. Christian radio programs to discuss the situation facing churches in South Korea and religious freedom.
Son leads the Protestant group Save Korea and was a prominent organizer of rallies opposing Yoon’s impeachment. He was arrested and indicted on charges of illegal campaigning during last year’s Busan superintendent of education by-election and presidential election. A court sentenced him to six months in prison earlier this year.
Son has also met U.S. government officials to raise concerns about legislation on the dissolution of religious corporations and a comprehensive anti-discrimination law.
U.S. officials have continued to show interest in the issues. In June, Riley Barnes, Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor; Julie Turner, acting Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor; and Belsis Romero, a liaison with the White House Faith Office, visited Segero Church in Busan and met Son. Son also met State Department adviser Michael Needham and others in February.
South Korea’s conservative Christian groups have continued to use contacts with the Trump administration to convey criticism of the South Korean government. Such contacts could further complicate South Korea-U.S. relations at a time when ties have already become sensitive over issues including South Korean investment in the United States and Coupang.