Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Was the new USMCA deal a result of Jared Kushner's good cop to President Trump's bad cop? Sure seems that way. Good job!

- Where do we find such men?

- Heh Heh

- You have to be frigging kidding me. This is what you get when everyone gets "participation trophies".

- New role model indeed!

- Phil Steele's College Top 25 Bettor Power Rankings

- Interesting - is social media addiction in the NBA out of control? Long read but worth it. The next generation of kids - never mind NBA players - will have a serious problem with this.

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- A 92-year old woman has been buried in Nebraska with full British military honors for a secret she held for decades - her role as a German code breaker during WWII. Such a great story.

- Heh heh - the fireworks were the climax of the evening

- How great that this exists - James Brown, Michael Jackson and Prince all on the same stage

- US-Mexico trade deal could be released Friday.

- Heh Heh

- Ha - awesome!

- And what about Canada and NAFTA?

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Steven Pressfield on Lawrence of Arabia's motorcycle (and the rules of Ins and Outs)

- Interesting poker tip

- Democrats "fire back" at Trump's new Mexican NAFTA agreement. I'm not sure that Democrats really want to be seen blocking a new NAFTA deal. How would that help them with Mexican-American voters and the optics of being obstructionists plays right into Trump's hands. "They don't want free trade, they want to raise taxes, they have no plans of their own, they just want to block any progress, etc."

- "The Right Trousers" wearable technology that can help the elderly with mobility issues. Not quite "bionic pants" but we're getting there.

- Long read interview of Paul McCartney in GQ. Worth the time.

- Price gouging in college education and hospital services.

- Good God! They're turning the movie into a documentary! Damn you Dick Cheney and your weather machine!

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Meanwhile in Iran - pulling out of the Iran Nuclear Deal may topple the government. Down with America but can we please trade our currency for US dollars?!?!

- FDA approves magic mushrooms for treating depression

- Cool Belichick story on how competitive Tom Brady is

- Heh Heh

- An effort afoot to make Quebec the 51st State. I hope Parti 51 starts to get more coverage. Love the idea of PM Trudeau scuttling NAFTA mostly to preserve protections for Quebec dairy farmers meanwhile Quebecois organizing to become part of the US so they wouldn't be subject to American tariffs.

- What was lost in Brazil's devastating museum fire

- It is a valid point

Canada and NAFTA

For the record - I believe the Trump White House is 100% responsible for the leak of these comments.

As the President says in his Tweet, "At least Canada knows where I stand!" Notice he doesn't say "PM Trudeau" or "the Canadian delegation" or anything like that. He wanted all of Canada to understand where he stands. And as another US President once said, "Mission accomplished."

President Trump has offered a 100% free trade treaty but Canada insists on some protections for some of their politically connected industries. So Trump has instituted some protective US tariffs in return. What's good for the goose, etc., etc.

My guess is Trump "caves" to the media protection aspects (what does anyone outside the media care about those) but the dairy and lumber protections from the Canadian side are eliminated. That's a "huuge" win for the President. And this will probably happen before the mid-term elections.

And if it doesn't happen - then no big deal. Win-win.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

So Floyd Money Mayweather and Conor McGregor are trading insults on Twitter. My guess are those are the first shots in a potential re-match marketing campaign... If low-calorie beers were called "skim" beers instead of "light" beers - would they be less popular? Michelob Ultra should definitely be called a skim beer... Putin soften pension reform in face of public anger. I have long speculated that the Russian economy is much weaker and fragile than most people appreciate... Proctodeal Trophollaxis is such a cool way to say "ass-licking". The MSM did a lot of proctodeal trophollaxis of the Obama Administration...  Canada's Trudeau says NAFTA deal possible as early as Friday. This is interesting to watch. Trudeau is facing a lot of pressure to make the deal but my guess is Trump will accept nothing less than a victory for the US... Metabolic Cascades of Dysfunction would be a good name for a fantasy football team. It's also the medical term for "concussions"... For the record I was not invited to the McCain funeral either. I haven't felt this snubbed since Maggie Thatcher's funeral...

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Very cool - Energy Department teams with Bill Gates to move mini-nuclear power plants to market

- This week in Musk World - Opinion piece says it's time for Tesla to replace Elon Musk as CEO. Isn't this the same logic that got Steve Jobs fired from Apple once upon a time?

- Awesome!

- US and Mexico could reach NAFTA deal as early as today

- RIP American icon Neil Simon

- Really NBC and MSNBC? Really?

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Why Saudi Arabia would want to invest in Elon Musk and Tesla

- The official announcement of the PawSox coming to Worcester. And what the new ballpark will look like.

- Trump Administration could be nearing a new NAFTA deal with Mexico

- Mysterious X-37B military space plane nears one-year in orbit. Do we already have a Space Force?

- Interesting interview with Tao of Poker founder Pauly McGuire. (Long read)

- So Colin Kaepernick turned down a chance to play for the Broncos. Anyone who feels sorry for Kaepernick is a sap.

- Things that make you say WTF!?!?

The G7 and NAFTA

Pardon me while I speculate.

I find it hard to believe that President Trump doesn't know that economically tariffs are bad and protectionist policies are worse. But I think we can all agree that Donald Trump is a man of tremendous ego and nothing probably bothers him more than the idea of someone (or some nation) getting the better of him in a deal. America has gotten itself into a series of one sided deals over the decades and Donald Trump sees himself as the man who can fix this. I believe all of the above to be true.

Donald Trump is using tariffs as his cudgel to fix our trade deal with Canada. He will divide and conquer Canada with tariffs first on steel and aluminum then next on car imports to the US from Canada. A lot of "car jobs" flowed not just south to Mexico after the passage of NAFTA but also north to Canada. Those jobs left the US (the target market) because of lower labor costs but if the saving in labor were negated by import tariffs then GM and others would all have to rethink the utility of manufacturing in Canada (or Mexico),

Justin Trudeau has an election in a year's time and I think Trump is betting Trudeau will not sacrifice the Canadian economy (and Trudeau's election possibilities) in order to protect dairy farmers in Quebec.

Most people probably thought that with the passage of NAFTA there was true free trade between the US, Canada and Mexico. But that's not the case. Canada still protects some of their industries - most notably dairy and lumber - making those markets all but closed to US producers. With NAFTA expired I think Trump will offer Trudeau a deal of true free trade between the US and Canada without any tariffs or protections on any products. If he doesn't sign the deal then Canada gets tariffs instead with the hard to argue point of what's good for the goose is good for the gander and if there's one people who get geese metaphors...

A true free trade agreement between the US and Canada is a win-win-win-win situation. Most of Canada will see the price of their dairy products drop substantially and no longer have to worry about losing their jobs in an uncertain economy. This will help Trudeau (or whoever replaces Trudeau if he waits too long to act or if Canadians are put off by eye-browgate). Dairy farmers in the Midwest will all profit from all the new customers north of the border. And this will help Trump in his 2020 re-election campaign.

That leaves Mexico who it should be pointed out is not a G7 nation. I think NAFTA is dead and that the US will end up signing a separate deal with Canada. I fear that Mexico may be the next Venezuela if they move too far left in the next elections.

And remember how Trump promised Mexico would end up paying for the wall? That's what the tariffs are for.

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- The trick is to just breathe. Ed Latimore reviews the Wim Hof method.

- Robot bees for exploring the surface of Mars (Marsbees - get it!)

- Very cool story - the mobster who bought his son a hockey team. They really should make this into a movie.

- Heh Heh

- Interesting view from Canada that says Canada should scrap NAFTA and instead rekindle what was once a special relationship with the US

- Dr Rhonda Patrick suggests this antioxidant might help old blood vessels seem younger

- 14 States hit record low unemployment. I have to wonder if this is due in part to the way unemployment is measured being changed under the Obama Administration. They tried to make the numbers not look so bad but now is that why they look so good?

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Heh heh - the Illuminati is not a frivolous subject. Hey Charlie what do you think about Taco Bell maybe bringing back the Black Taco?

- This is an interesting story on many levels. Is Trump taking a shot at US newspapers? Canada? NAFTA? All at once? What do US newspapers have against buying American paper? Maybe this is in retaliation for the US media fawning so much over Trudeau winning the handshake battle?

- Interesting look at the Celtics' one-man European scouting department

- Heh heh

- Speaking of Trump and NAFTA. Have to hand it to Trump - he's really maximizing the US's leverage heading into talks.

- Am I a bad person for laughing at this?

- Have to wonder if this is not just a reaction to the Republican Tax reform but also partly because of the upcoming NAFTA talks.

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- I know I'm surprised as well.

- Mark Sisson the pied piper of Paleo

- Here's a quote I need today

- Interesting - Why Americans pay triple the world price for sugar

- Seems about right

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Happy Leap Year Day!... It occurred to me that if William F. Buckley had an analog in the sports world it would have been Dick Schaap... Something I didn't realize - the Padres will be paying $6 million out of Jim Edmonds' $8 million contract with St. Louis picking up the rest. That $6 million is still more than what the Brewers will pay Mike Cameron this year (2008 $5 million - although Cameron's contract balloons to $10 million next year when Cameron will be eligible to play a full season). Why didn't the Padres just re-sign Mike Cameron? Given the fact that Edmonds has missed 52 and 45 games the last two seasons - that 25-game suspension Cameron is facing seems like small change. I wonder if there is more to the story here... Billy Joel puts on a great concert and I'm guessing that he's going to go out of his way to make this one extra special... Is it me or does it seem strange that both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are so against NAFTA but yet neither are willing to come out with a strong stance against illegal immigration? It's like the Democrats are bizarro Fanny Dooley's from the kid show Zoom (OK that could be an obscure reference but trust me it works pretty well)...