Hello Dante? What Level Is This?

[ti-amie]

US doesn't need Canadian energy or cars, says Trump
5 hours ago

Jessica Murphy BBC News, Toronto

President Donald Trump has said the US does not need Canadian energy, vehicles or lumber as he spoke to global business leaders at the World Economic Forum.

Trump also reiterated his threat to impose tariffs on the country, saying it can be avoided if the neighbouring nation chose to "become a state" of the US.

"You can always become a state, and if you're a state, we won't have a deficit. We won't have to tariff you," he said to gasps in the hall in Davos.

Trump has threatened to impose up to 25% tariffs on Canadian imports, possibly by 1 February.

The renewed threat of tariffs has been met with deep unease by the trade-dependent Canada.

But it has also said it will consider significant countermeasures, including a "dollar-for-dollar" response if the Trump administration follows through.

Roughly 75% of Canada's exports head south. In contrast, Canada accounts for a much smaller 17% of US exports, though it is the second largest US trading partner, behind Mexico.

Trump in his remarks on Thursday said Canada had been "very tough to deal with over the years".

"We don't need them to make our cars, we make a lot of them, we don't need their lumber because we have our own forests... we don't need their oil and gas, we have more than anybody," he told forum attendees via video link from Washington DC.

Trump reiterated the assertion that the US has a trade deficit with Canada of between $200bn and $250bn. It's not clear where he got that figure.

The trade deficit with Canada - expected to be $45bn in 2024 - is mostly driven by US energy demands.

The North American auto industry also has highly integrated supply chains.

Auto parts can cross the borders between the US and Mexico and Canada multiple time before a vehicle is finally assembled.

Trump has also tied the tariffs to border security, saying it will be imposed unless Canada increases security at the shared border.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has repeatedly said that everything is on the table in response if the tariffs are imposed.

That includes a tax or embargo on energy exports to the US, though some of Canada's provincial leaders disagree with that response.

On Thursday, Trudeau told reporters that Canada's goal is to avoid US tariffs altogether but it will step up its response "gradually" to seek the quick removal of levies if they are imposed.

Canada is also pitching itself as a reliable trading partner and a secure source to the US for energy and critical minerals as it lobbies American lawmakers in a bid to avoid the tariffs.

Economists suggest the US depends on Canadian products for energy security.

In 2024, Canadian energy exports came to almost $170bn (C$244bn), according to a recent analysis by TD Bank economists.

Trump also said on Thursday that businesses should make their products in the US if they want to avoid tariffs.

Tariffs are a central part of Trump's economic vision - he sees them as a way of growing the US economy, protecting jobs and raising tax revenue.

The new president has ordered federal officials to review US trade relationships for any unfair practices by 1 April.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5y725r90k5o

[ti-amie]

Google says it will change Gulf of Mexico to ‘Gulf of America’ in Maps app after government updates
Published Mon, Jan 27 2025 6:50 PM EST Updated 43 Min Ago

Jennifer Elias
@jenn_elias

Key Points

Google said it will change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to “Gulf of America” and change Denali to “Mount McKinley.”
President Donald Trump signed an executive order requiring the names to be changed on official maps and federal communications.
In posts on X, Google said it will follow the government’s lead by changing the names on its Maps app.

Google
said Monday it will change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to “Gulf of America” in Google Maps after the Trump administration updates its “official government sources.”

The company also said it will start using the name “Mount McKinley” for the mountain in Alaska currently called Denali.

Last week, President Donald Trump signed executive actions that included an order to make the name changes on official maps and federal communications.

“We’ve received a few questions about naming within Google Maps,” the company said in an X post. “We have a longstanding practice of applying name changes when they have been updated in official government sources.”

Google added that the name Gulf of Mexico will remain displayed for users in Mexico. Users in other countries will see both names, the company said.

Trump said he will restore former President William McKinley’s name to the mountain. He said McKinley made the country “very rich” through tariffs and talent.

The mountain was named Mount McKinley until 2015, when President Barack Obama’s administration changed it to Denali as a symbolic gesture to Alaska Natives.

https://www.cnbc.com/2025/01/27/google- ... dates.html

[dryrunguy]

I can report federal government contractors are doing careful reviews of their websites to remove any references things like diversity, equity, and inclusion; health equity; health disparities; LGBTQIA; references to race; bias; climate change; COVID, etc. For example, a major competitor of ours has extensive work in the field of DEI and had a whole section of their website dedicated to showcasing their DEI work. It's all gone.

[ponchi101]

See my post in the politics topic.

[ashkor87]

If Canada actually becomes a state (which will never happen), the right wing parties will never win again...i wonder if Trump realizes this

[ponchi101]

Electoral college rules. Canada becomes state #51. And gets three electoral college votes (or some ridiculous amount).
Tiny has never realized ANYTHING. He is that dumb.

[skatingfan]

Electoral college rules. Canada becomes state #51. And gets three electoral college votes (or some ridiculous amount).
Tiny has never realized ANYTHING. He is that dumb.

Somewhere in the mid-fifties or so, but also there's no way you could make us one state. It would be ungovernable to have a state/province that covered 6 time zones.

[dryrunguy]

My boss told us today during our staff meeting that all USAID contracts have been terminated, with a large portion of these being held by small business contractors. In addition, USAID staff were sent an email last night telling them not to come to work this morning.

[ti-amie]

Julie Bort

A16z hires acquitted former Marine Daniel Penny as an investor

Powerhouse venture firm Andreessen Horowitz has hired Daniel Penny as an investor, its webpage confirms.

Penny is the former Marine who was tried last year and found not guilty of criminally negligent homicide in the death of a homeless man on a New York City subway. After the man acted erratically, Penny held him in a chokehold and the man was later pronounced dead. The case polarized the nation.

Penny does not have a background in investing, but a16z plans to train him, according to an internal statement obtained by The Free Press, which broke the news. Penny will work in the American Dynamism practice, which invests in government and defense tech.

A16z declined further comment.

https://techcrunch.com/2025/02/04/a16z- ... -investor/

Why not? There's a convicted felon in the WH so why not a man whose only claim to fame is that he murdered a black man?

[ponchi101]

Indeed, why not?

[Owendonovan]

Ewww.

[ti-amie]

[Owendonovan]

Someone's going to kill these people, or at least try.

[ti-amie]

[ti-amie]

So they're going to manage the DoD with slogans. Cool. /s