Baffled European

Tag: stock market crash

  • Life hacks

    I put some shelves up over the weekend. Years ago, I discovered the best way to do this is to not bother measuring anything. Just put a couple of marks on a spirit level and drill holes according to those. Everything is always the same distance apart, as well as level. There has to be limits to how far this method goes, but it is so easy, there’s nothing to go wrong.

    Canadians have developed a similarly idiot-proof way to boycott USA goods in shops. One conscientious person checks a product for the country of origin. If it is the USA, they put it back on the shelf, but upside down. Everybody who comes along afterwards can see the upside down product and not buy it. They all know the code.

    It is all getting a good response across the country. The backsliding and stupidity south of the border is bad enough, but somehow expected. The threats of annexation are worse. All of this is pushing Canadians together. A massive 85% of the population now describes itself as being “proud” to be Canadian. That’s even higher in Quebec, of all places.

    This wave of nationalism is notably different from that south of the border. Maga is driven by imagined resentments and a sense of exceptionalism. Canadians are under no illusions about their own power, but want to engage with like-minded others, in order to assert their independence.

    Meanwhile, the USA loses power and influence.

  • Crimes against humanity

    Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia was seized by ICE agents on 12th March and held for deportation. The government claimed he was a member of a dangerous gang, but has not provided any convincing evidence for this.

    The government has repeatedly lied and sought to circumvent the justice system. It ignored the court order and sent him to El Salvador, where he is being held in a maximum security prison. The judge has now ordered the government to bring him back. The White House responded to the judge’s order with an insolent refusal, saying the judge’s jurisdiction does not run to El Salvador.

    The government did however admit to a “mistake”. That is another lie. They did it very deliberately. This is applied racism. They imprisoned and deported this man for entirely racist reasons. “Mistakes” like this happen when the decisions are made by delusional people who think they are inherently superior.

    It’s not just that they can cause suffering to a random person. To them, it’s an advantage, but only part of it. Millions of people with an immigration background who are all legally resident in the USA are afraid. They’ve seen it happen – they might be next. This is what the racists in charge want.

    There’s no benefit in doing this, other than being able to demonstrate power over lesser humans. Shameful, absolutely disgraceful.

    When and how did people stop believing in witchcraft? Can we do the same with racism?

  • There’s only two Steve Jacksons

    It’s a strange fact that there is a Steve Jackson in the UK, who produces role-playing games, and a Steve Jackson in the USA, who produces card and board games. Although in the same business, there is rarely confusion. It’s a small market and customers know who they are dealing with. The two Steves have indeed worked together in the past.

    Steve Jackson USA is taking a real pasting from the new tariffs. Trouble is, his games have special dice, woodwork, plastics and tooling. They can’t source these from the USA. Not for lack of trying. There are simply no companies in the US that produce these parts. Even those who are interested do not have the capacity or expertise.

    The upshot of this is that a game which cost $25 will now cost $40. This is entirely because of the additional costs of the tariffs. They now have the choice of redesigning their games so that all parts can be sourced from the USA, or accepting that people can simply no longer afford to buy what is now a luxury product.

    That’s how it hits a small business in the USA. Spare a thought for Saint Pierre and Miquelon, a French collectivity near Newfoundland. They export $3.5m worth of seafood to the US each year. Because they don’t import anything, they have been hit with a 99% tariff, essentially destroying their economy. For a product that the USA evidently cannot produce themselves.