Welcome to Home & Away. We will begin with Greenland, admittedly a territory I did not anticipate starting off my newsletter. But, if nothing else, we should have learned over the past year that assumptions can be dangerous. So, Greenland it is. The
Let me suggest that cruelty or fake World order governed by Opinions and Private judgement of the US President will be marked with instability not progress. US do not have the Power to control the World in the face of BRICS! They may have the power to DISTRUCT it but people do not succumb to fear where I live. US can hardly run a military operation in Iran nowadays even with Israeli help without bumping into resistance from both the whole region and BRICS.
Trump lives in an illusion he believes in and he is not going to make any progress for US and the collective West with his approach to foreign democracies and economic claims over Greenland, Ukraine, etc. counties. On the contrary he will restructure Global order in a way that may not benefit US; i.e. US will end up worst off than the current Global Configuration!
Has certainly not failed, but has been an important step to revive 3rd world countries without raping them. Go see A Beautiful Mind and try to get the point this time.
It has also been an important factor when it comes to making technology affordable and to distributing both technology and access to knowledge.
2. America First as a new model
The whole concept of “America First” is nationalistic propaganda and an old tune used by so many dubious and mostly failed leaders before.
America’s strength has always been negotiating and compromising, which has led to getting goods cheaper and to either selling or producing efficiently. Believing that you can force producers to only buy “American” and thereby make goods cheaper is such nonsense. If it were cheaper to get raw materials and produce at home in the first place, it would have happened — but it’s not.
So there will be a price increase in everything, which only the well-off can afford, and the some 5–6 percent unemployed you hope to get those jobs will only get minimum salary and will not be able to afford the new prices.
Meanwhile, the rest of the world will retaliate to the new order and make new and more deals around the U.S. Just listen to the Canadian Prime Minister talking about this — and this is happening all around the world. The U.S. is being ignored, U.S. goods are being boycotted and taken off the shelves, and the new “order” will be American alone… very much alone and much more expensive.
3. U.S. economic optimism and growth forecasts:
Yawn… pretty much NOTHING he and the Trump administration have predicted so far has come true. It’s just words and propaganda. What does the administration do when they don’t like the statistics? They fire the statistics chief and either come up with their own numbers or don’t show anything at all.
4. Tariffs and industrial policy as strategic tools:
Tariffs have always been a way for a country to protect certain industries or products, but the way Trump — or should I say TACO — does it is just ridiculous.
Instead of targeting industries or products, he just throws out overall percentages on everything, only to take it back again or use it as punishment for not kneeling or obeying his commands. That’s not how world trade works, and the U.S. will be punished for this.
Admittedly, Europe and Asia have been taken by surprise by this, but every country is now busy doing two things: negotiating trade deals with others than the U.S. and building factories to avoid purchasing goods from the U.S.
This will take a bit of time, and meanwhile countries will pretend to bend to Trump’s wishes — but not for very long, and only until they are ready to do this without the U.S.
A good example is the arms industry. Every country in Europe is building arms factories to avoid purchasing these from the U.S. in the future, and orders already made are being stalled.
5. Confronting the status quo at Davos:
Actually, few cared what Trump and Lutnick had to say. To claim there is a new “sheriff in town” for capitalism is laughable, as the U.S. hasn’t had “capitalism” for many, many years. You think you have, but you really don’t — and you will never revert back.
It’s just word blabber, like when Trump thinks Greenland is Iceland.
6. Controversial elements:
It’s all too late for that. The U.S. and Trump have already shown they can’t be trusted in what they say or do, so few really care — and that’s why you see the ridicule.
“The West,” including Asia, is preparing a life without a trusted partner, but it’s really nothing new. Just watch Trump’s latest comments on NATO involvement in Afghanistan and how he belittled everyone. If the U.S. is aiming to create mistrust and disgust, they have certainly succeeded. We value the lesson, but it’s going to be an expensive lesson for the U.S.
All in all, it was a tour de pathetic that leaves the clear message that life goes on without the U.S., and that the U.S. — again — can’t be trusted.
Good luck with your tourist industry or all your industry. You think you can prosper by only cutting hair on each other, but you will learn that the world really doesn’t care for long what the U.S. does or doesn’t do, as they have found other partners — and you will be the reason for making countries like China much stronger.
I strongly recommend viewing Lutnick's Davos interview on Bloomberg TV. (Available on Youtube.) He reiterated Trump threats on Canada, suggested the USMCA "renegotiation" will not go well on account of Carney's Davis speech, and fluffed off Trump's continuing belligerence to Canada.
Commerce Sec Lutnick served on panels, gave a private dinner speech, and wrote an op-ed at which he drove home key message points:
1. Globalization has failed the West and the U.S.
Lutnick repeatedly declared that decades of globalization—focused on offshoring, exporting jobs, far-shoring supply chains, and chasing the cheapest labor worldwide—has been a "failed policy."
2. America First as a new model:
He emphasized that "America First" prioritizes U.S. workers, rebuilding domestic manufacturing, unleashing American energy, and demanding fair trade. It's not "America alone," but a worker-centric approach that encourages other countries to adopt similar sovereignty-focused policies.
3. U.S. economic optimism and growth forecasts:
He predicted U.S. GDP growth exceeding 5% in Q1 2026 (potentially 6% with lower interest rates), blaming high rates for holding back the economy.
4. Tariffs and industrial policy as strategic tools:
Lutnick defended tariffs as ways to protect workers and the industrial base, dismissing claims they destabilize global markets by noting rising equity markets in places like Japan, the UK, Europe, and South Korea amid U.S. policies.
5. Confronting the status quo at Davos:
In an op-ed and remarks, he framed the Trump administration's presence as a deliberate challenge to outdated global orthodoxy. "Capitalism has a new sheriff in town," and the U.S. is heralding a better way centered on national interest over unfettered globalism.
6. Controversial elements:
His dinner speech reportedly belittled European economies' competitiveness compared to the U.S., leading to boos, heckling, and Lagarde's abrupt exit. He also touched on topics like Greenland in related discussions, emphasizing Western Hemisphere security without direct escalation.
At one of the panels he did focus on Canada, but he used the practical framework of the periodic review of USMCA that takes place this summer as planned.
All in all, it was a tour de force of explaining where the US is, where it's headed, and why it's going that way.
"A post-American world is fast emerging, one brought about in large part by the United States taking the lead in dismantling the international order that this country built and underwrote and that served this country and the world well for eight decades." Did it? I guess that depends on who was served well and who ended up doing the serving. It's important not to pry the Trump phenomenon apart from the convolutions and primary benefactors of that international order... because it has been a predictable outcome for at least 40 years. The Canadian's speech was very fine, but this inability to critique capitalism's evolution to this historical tipping point and its direct relationship to climate crisis is curious and mind bending. What? For fear one will be outlandishly branded a socialist? C'mon... surely there are other choices and potential inventions that might benefit the international order that don't manage to throw out babies with their bathwater.
Thanks for speaking clearly and concisely about these issues.
We the People have waited for Congress, US Supreme Court, Court cases, Mueller investigation, laws from Congress to DOJ to release Epstein files, waited for 1/6/2021 Insurrectionists to receive justice just to see trump pardon all 15 to 1600 of those convicted of violence, trying to stop a fair election. We see DOD bomb boats, kill survivors with no tranparency or Congressional approval-NOTHING happens. trump invades Venezuela, seizes their corrupt leader, take their oil, sell it and deposit profits in Qatar, promote oil companies to go in and rebuild Venezuela's oil infrastructure with protection from US military. Trump pardons drug lord sentenced to 42 years in US prison, hell pardons all rich, connected, criminal people so they owe him something. trump is the most corrupt POTUS ever and US taxpayers are paying for his Qatar gifted jet can be reequiped and he can have it after he leaves office. Corruption is too vast to even listr here! We the People have waited long enough! It is time for the rich people who tell us to wait for this or that to come down from their privileged, safe pedestals and live like ordinary people do in this new FASCIST WAR ZONE. It it time to step up our resistance and make it know that We are ready to put ourselves all in to save our freedoms, law/order, Constitution, governments of, by and for the People. When our homes and cars and streets are invaded by masked, immune, lawless thugs with quotas for the day, it is time to make quotas for our days. General Strike, Tax Revolt, Take money out of stock marker/banks, Boycott all purchases except those for living day to day. Sabotage, false tips, flood their zones with so much info they cannot trust anything they hear either. We the People are in the millions and they cannot be everywhere at once. Cannot control all our bodies, work, purchasing YET.
We have multiple law enforcement agencies as well as courts at the local, state and federal levels to deal with people, both citizens and non-citizens, accused of committing crimes and have had those agencies and courts in place for decades, nay, centuries. To say that we somehow will be at a loss with crime rates falling with one less agency is preposterous.
I believe Trump is interested in Greenland solely for land acquisition (to associate his name with increasing our country's landmass), something that he can claim Presidents Obama and Biden did not achieve. We can detect, track, and destroy missiles (ships, and more) from outer space (and have no further need for extensive terrestrial capability when confronting China and Russia.) We have land-based "systems" in Europe for surface-to-surface missile interception from Russia. This is all about ego.
I can’t disagree with your map reading, but we built “over the horizon” radars, etc. more than 50-years ago in Canada, etc. and we can detect submarines at much lower costs (than using our own submarines and surface ships.) If it came to a shooting war underwater what was concurrently occurring above the waterline would be more impactful. At least many of us know where Nuuk is (now) and have a deeper respect for Denmark’s commitment to joining us in Afghanistan.
Your reflections on global strategy underline how ideas of order and chaos shape political reality. There is a deeper philosophical question here about whether structures of power are attempts to freeze time or direct its flow. In my own work, I examine how eternity might be the conceptual backdrop against which these temporal struggles for meaning unfold.
MAGA climate hoaxers and a warming planet creates Artic shipping lanes and opportunities to dominate commerce that unprincipled MAGA capitalists dream about. Greenland comes in play as a deep water port
Just wanted to add to your statement about weathermen. "All I can say is it must be great to be an NFL official. Public fascination is near unlimited. If you get it right, bragging rights are yours. And if not, there seems to be little penalty. Good work if you can get it."
Pres. Trump throws a fit making outrageous demands and threats. On cue the media bashes him, the Left demonstrates and the Dems order up talking points they hope will last 2 or 3 news cycles.And the circle has closed.
Until Trump backs off, renegotiates his proposals with himself and gets the other side to agree. And he wins again.We always have Minnesota , Portland or Newsome (D Getty) the spangly Ken Doll that he embodies, to break out with their Anti-Trump Complaint of the Week. It’s no longer the “We’ve got him now” failed chants of the 2019s but rather “We’ve got nothing else but Hate Trump to run on. It worked for that Canadien Davos fella”.
Richard, while defunding ICE will not go over well with many and certainly will not pass, the issue is that no one has any idea of how ICE can be reformed. So the function it might serve will have to be recreated after a serious government basically demolishes it so that its vicious parts can be excised. Bogino throwing a tear gas grenade! Give me a break.
Of course, this is not likely to happen but putting up a resistance is not only not a bad thing but absolutely necessary. Unless someone can come up with a different plan.
These times cannot be fought with anything like the usual tactics. That part of our system is, at least for now, gone.
Every historical and literary reference you offered is right on target. Yet, in today's education system (being "dismantled" by The Felon and his minions) teaches neither history nor literature (at least not those on the "banned" list). Today's young minds are offered "eddikashin-lite", filtered through the prism of Trump and his Rasputin, Heinrich Miller.
Let me suggest that cruelty or fake World order governed by Opinions and Private judgement of the US President will be marked with instability not progress. US do not have the Power to control the World in the face of BRICS! They may have the power to DISTRUCT it but people do not succumb to fear where I live. US can hardly run a military operation in Iran nowadays even with Israeli help without bumping into resistance from both the whole region and BRICS.
Trump lives in an illusion he believes in and he is not going to make any progress for US and the collective West with his approach to foreign democracies and economic claims over Greenland, Ukraine, etc. counties. On the contrary he will restructure Global order in a way that may not benefit US; i.e. US will end up worst off than the current Global Configuration!
- Viktor HADJIEV
1. Globalization has failed the West and the U.S.
Has certainly not failed, but has been an important step to revive 3rd world countries without raping them. Go see A Beautiful Mind and try to get the point this time.
It has also been an important factor when it comes to making technology affordable and to distributing both technology and access to knowledge.
2. America First as a new model
The whole concept of “America First” is nationalistic propaganda and an old tune used by so many dubious and mostly failed leaders before.
America’s strength has always been negotiating and compromising, which has led to getting goods cheaper and to either selling or producing efficiently. Believing that you can force producers to only buy “American” and thereby make goods cheaper is such nonsense. If it were cheaper to get raw materials and produce at home in the first place, it would have happened — but it’s not.
So there will be a price increase in everything, which only the well-off can afford, and the some 5–6 percent unemployed you hope to get those jobs will only get minimum salary and will not be able to afford the new prices.
Meanwhile, the rest of the world will retaliate to the new order and make new and more deals around the U.S. Just listen to the Canadian Prime Minister talking about this — and this is happening all around the world. The U.S. is being ignored, U.S. goods are being boycotted and taken off the shelves, and the new “order” will be American alone… very much alone and much more expensive.
3. U.S. economic optimism and growth forecasts:
Yawn… pretty much NOTHING he and the Trump administration have predicted so far has come true. It’s just words and propaganda. What does the administration do when they don’t like the statistics? They fire the statistics chief and either come up with their own numbers or don’t show anything at all.
4. Tariffs and industrial policy as strategic tools:
Tariffs have always been a way for a country to protect certain industries or products, but the way Trump — or should I say TACO — does it is just ridiculous.
Instead of targeting industries or products, he just throws out overall percentages on everything, only to take it back again or use it as punishment for not kneeling or obeying his commands. That’s not how world trade works, and the U.S. will be punished for this.
Admittedly, Europe and Asia have been taken by surprise by this, but every country is now busy doing two things: negotiating trade deals with others than the U.S. and building factories to avoid purchasing goods from the U.S.
This will take a bit of time, and meanwhile countries will pretend to bend to Trump’s wishes — but not for very long, and only until they are ready to do this without the U.S.
A good example is the arms industry. Every country in Europe is building arms factories to avoid purchasing these from the U.S. in the future, and orders already made are being stalled.
5. Confronting the status quo at Davos:
Actually, few cared what Trump and Lutnick had to say. To claim there is a new “sheriff in town” for capitalism is laughable, as the U.S. hasn’t had “capitalism” for many, many years. You think you have, but you really don’t — and you will never revert back.
It’s just word blabber, like when Trump thinks Greenland is Iceland.
6. Controversial elements:
It’s all too late for that. The U.S. and Trump have already shown they can’t be trusted in what they say or do, so few really care — and that’s why you see the ridicule.
“The West,” including Asia, is preparing a life without a trusted partner, but it’s really nothing new. Just watch Trump’s latest comments on NATO involvement in Afghanistan and how he belittled everyone. If the U.S. is aiming to create mistrust and disgust, they have certainly succeeded. We value the lesson, but it’s going to be an expensive lesson for the U.S.
All in all, it was a tour de pathetic that leaves the clear message that life goes on without the U.S., and that the U.S. — again — can’t be trusted.
Good luck with your tourist industry or all your industry. You think you can prosper by only cutting hair on each other, but you will learn that the world really doesn’t care for long what the U.S. does or doesn’t do, as they have found other partners — and you will be the reason for making countries like China much stronger.
I strongly recommend viewing Lutnick's Davos interview on Bloomberg TV. (Available on Youtube.) He reiterated Trump threats on Canada, suggested the USMCA "renegotiation" will not go well on account of Carney's Davis speech, and fluffed off Trump's continuing belligerence to Canada.
Your point?
Commerce Sec Lutnick served on panels, gave a private dinner speech, and wrote an op-ed at which he drove home key message points:
1. Globalization has failed the West and the U.S.
Lutnick repeatedly declared that decades of globalization—focused on offshoring, exporting jobs, far-shoring supply chains, and chasing the cheapest labor worldwide—has been a "failed policy."
2. America First as a new model:
He emphasized that "America First" prioritizes U.S. workers, rebuilding domestic manufacturing, unleashing American energy, and demanding fair trade. It's not "America alone," but a worker-centric approach that encourages other countries to adopt similar sovereignty-focused policies.
3. U.S. economic optimism and growth forecasts:
He predicted U.S. GDP growth exceeding 5% in Q1 2026 (potentially 6% with lower interest rates), blaming high rates for holding back the economy.
4. Tariffs and industrial policy as strategic tools:
Lutnick defended tariffs as ways to protect workers and the industrial base, dismissing claims they destabilize global markets by noting rising equity markets in places like Japan, the UK, Europe, and South Korea amid U.S. policies.
5. Confronting the status quo at Davos:
In an op-ed and remarks, he framed the Trump administration's presence as a deliberate challenge to outdated global orthodoxy. "Capitalism has a new sheriff in town," and the U.S. is heralding a better way centered on national interest over unfettered globalism.
6. Controversial elements:
His dinner speech reportedly belittled European economies' competitiveness compared to the U.S., leading to boos, heckling, and Lagarde's abrupt exit. He also touched on topics like Greenland in related discussions, emphasizing Western Hemisphere security without direct escalation.
At one of the panels he did focus on Canada, but he used the practical framework of the periodic review of USMCA that takes place this summer as planned.
All in all, it was a tour de force of explaining where the US is, where it's headed, and why it's going that way.
"A post-American world is fast emerging, one brought about in large part by the United States taking the lead in dismantling the international order that this country built and underwrote and that served this country and the world well for eight decades." Did it? I guess that depends on who was served well and who ended up doing the serving. It's important not to pry the Trump phenomenon apart from the convolutions and primary benefactors of that international order... because it has been a predictable outcome for at least 40 years. The Canadian's speech was very fine, but this inability to critique capitalism's evolution to this historical tipping point and its direct relationship to climate crisis is curious and mind bending. What? For fear one will be outlandishly branded a socialist? C'mon... surely there are other choices and potential inventions that might benefit the international order that don't manage to throw out babies with their bathwater.
Thanks for speaking clearly and concisely about these issues.
We the People have waited for Congress, US Supreme Court, Court cases, Mueller investigation, laws from Congress to DOJ to release Epstein files, waited for 1/6/2021 Insurrectionists to receive justice just to see trump pardon all 15 to 1600 of those convicted of violence, trying to stop a fair election. We see DOD bomb boats, kill survivors with no tranparency or Congressional approval-NOTHING happens. trump invades Venezuela, seizes their corrupt leader, take their oil, sell it and deposit profits in Qatar, promote oil companies to go in and rebuild Venezuela's oil infrastructure with protection from US military. Trump pardons drug lord sentenced to 42 years in US prison, hell pardons all rich, connected, criminal people so they owe him something. trump is the most corrupt POTUS ever and US taxpayers are paying for his Qatar gifted jet can be reequiped and he can have it after he leaves office. Corruption is too vast to even listr here! We the People have waited long enough! It is time for the rich people who tell us to wait for this or that to come down from their privileged, safe pedestals and live like ordinary people do in this new FASCIST WAR ZONE. It it time to step up our resistance and make it know that We are ready to put ourselves all in to save our freedoms, law/order, Constitution, governments of, by and for the People. When our homes and cars and streets are invaded by masked, immune, lawless thugs with quotas for the day, it is time to make quotas for our days. General Strike, Tax Revolt, Take money out of stock marker/banks, Boycott all purchases except those for living day to day. Sabotage, false tips, flood their zones with so much info they cannot trust anything they hear either. We the People are in the millions and they cannot be everywhere at once. Cannot control all our bodies, work, purchasing YET.
We have multiple law enforcement agencies as well as courts at the local, state and federal levels to deal with people, both citizens and non-citizens, accused of committing crimes and have had those agencies and courts in place for decades, nay, centuries. To say that we somehow will be at a loss with crime rates falling with one less agency is preposterous.
I believe Trump is interested in Greenland solely for land acquisition (to associate his name with increasing our country's landmass), something that he can claim Presidents Obama and Biden did not achieve. We can detect, track, and destroy missiles (ships, and more) from outer space (and have no further need for extensive terrestrial capability when confronting China and Russia.) We have land-based "systems" in Europe for surface-to-surface missile interception from Russia. This is all about ego.
I can’t disagree with your map reading, but we built “over the horizon” radars, etc. more than 50-years ago in Canada, etc. and we can detect submarines at much lower costs (than using our own submarines and surface ships.) If it came to a shooting war underwater what was concurrently occurring above the waterline would be more impactful. At least many of us know where Nuuk is (now) and have a deeper respect for Denmark’s commitment to joining us in Afghanistan.
This is all about mapreading, amigo.
Whip out a map, identify where the North Pole sits, and then locate Russia, China, and the US.
Greenland is strategically important to the US because of:
1. Its position vis a vis the Golden Dome protections for over the pole missile attacks.
2. It position alongside the path for Russian nuclear subs to reach the North Atlantic via the UK-Ireland-Iceland-Greenland corridor.
Two things can be true at the same time -- sure it could be a fop to Trump's ego, but the old boy is correct as to its strategic importance to the US.
Your reflections on global strategy underline how ideas of order and chaos shape political reality. There is a deeper philosophical question here about whether structures of power are attempts to freeze time or direct its flow. In my own work, I examine how eternity might be the conceptual backdrop against which these temporal struggles for meaning unfold.
https://theeternalnowmm.substack.com/p/the-impossibility-of-an-eternal-universe?r=71z4jh
MAGA climate hoaxers and a warming planet creates Artic shipping lanes and opportunities to dominate commerce that unprincipled MAGA capitalists dream about. Greenland comes in play as a deep water port
Just wanted to add to your statement about weathermen. "All I can say is it must be great to be an NFL official. Public fascination is near unlimited. If you get it right, bragging rights are yours. And if not, there seems to be little penalty. Good work if you can get it."
Pres. Trump throws a fit making outrageous demands and threats. On cue the media bashes him, the Left demonstrates and the Dems order up talking points they hope will last 2 or 3 news cycles.And the circle has closed.
Until Trump backs off, renegotiates his proposals with himself and gets the other side to agree. And he wins again.We always have Minnesota , Portland or Newsome (D Getty) the spangly Ken Doll that he embodies, to break out with their Anti-Trump Complaint of the Week. It’s no longer the “We’ve got him now” failed chants of the 2019s but rather “We’ve got nothing else but Hate Trump to run on. It worked for that Canadien Davos fella”.
Wish you were involved in shaping our foreign policy.
Richard, while defunding ICE will not go over well with many and certainly will not pass, the issue is that no one has any idea of how ICE can be reformed. So the function it might serve will have to be recreated after a serious government basically demolishes it so that its vicious parts can be excised. Bogino throwing a tear gas grenade! Give me a break.
Of course, this is not likely to happen but putting up a resistance is not only not a bad thing but absolutely necessary. Unless someone can come up with a different plan.
These times cannot be fought with anything like the usual tactics. That part of our system is, at least for now, gone.
Richard, I eagerly read your column. It educates and illuminates so many things for me. Thank you again.
Every historical and literary reference you offered is right on target. Yet, in today's education system (being "dismantled" by The Felon and his minions) teaches neither history nor literature (at least not those on the "banned" list). Today's young minds are offered "eddikashin-lite", filtered through the prism of Trump and his Rasputin, Heinrich Miller.
When it’s a mad mad mad world there is still football, thank god!