Germany says its warships were sabotaged as concerns mount that Russia is waging a hybrid war

“Germany’s naval chief said on Tuesday that several of Berlin’s warships were sabotaged.”

“German authorities have repeatedly suggested that Russia is the prime suspect but are still investigating many of these cases.”

https://www.yahoo.com/news/germany-said-warships-were-sabotaged-043336363.html

Donald Trump signs his plan for reciprocal tariffs — but with a delay

“President Donald Trump on Thursday signed his plan for reciprocal tariffs but delayed their implementation as his administration launches negotiations on a one-by-one basis with nations that could be impacted.
“The Plan shall ensure comprehensive fairness and balance across the international trading system,” read the memorandum signed by Trump.

The studies of each country could be completed by April 1, incoming Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Thursday while standing at Trump’s side, adding that then “we’ll hand the president the opportunity” to start implementing them as soon as on April 2.”

“Nations from India to Brazil to South Korea have long charged higher average duties on various goods and will clearly be in the middle of coming talks.

Trump’s memo Thursday outlined how non-tariff barriers, such as the VAT, would also be subject to reciprocity.

“For purposes of this United States Policy, we will consider Countries that use the VAT System, which is far more punitive than a Tariff, to be similar to that of a Tariff,” Trump posted to Truth Social on Thursday.

That issue is likely to be a sizable stumbling block in relations with the European Union.”

LC: VATs are applied to domestic products and imports, so treating a VAT like an import tariff that is just applied to the import, makes no sense.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/donald-trump-signs-his-plan-for-reciprocal-tariffs–but-with-a-delay-191757993.html

Rogan Spreads Insane Conspiracy Theories About DOGE Victim USAID

Joe Rogan spreads false and misleading information about USAID.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZ5rdhXUzl4

USAID Shutdown Kicks Off Trump/Musk Plan To Privatize Government Functions

Rubio used to talk overall positively about foreign aid, now he speaks differently. Did he have a change in heart, or is he Trump’s little bitch?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QaPgQZnDg1I

Trump’s Theory of Tariffs Makes No Sense

“The high tariffs that America imposed during the late 19th century did not make America rich and did not make American manufacturing strong. It’s also absurd to claim that the country was at its wealthiest in an era when most people did not have access to indoor plumbing, electricity, or modern medical care—and when the average person was, objectively, much poorer.”

“If tariffs are as great as Trump says they are, he should be implementing them no matter what the leaders of any other silly little countries say or do. We can tax our way to prosperity, Trump claims, but we’ll just…not do that, I guess?

That’s the problem with Trump’s theory about tariffs. Either tariffs are an inherently good and prosperity-generating policy that enriches America, or they are a threat to get other countries to do as Trump says. Both things can’t be true.”

https://reason.com/2025/02/03/trumps-theory-of-tariffs-makes-no-sense/

Trump’s North American Trade War Accomplished Nothing

“Trump tore up the North American trade deal that he’d signed (and praised as the “best agreement we’ve ever made”) just five years ago. He sent the stock market tumbling, forced the American automotive industry and other manufacturers to beg for mercy, and antagonized two of America’s biggest trading partners and allies. And after all that, he got virtually nothing in return.
Indeed, Canada’s and Mexico’s governments may have gotten more. Their leaders learned that Trump sees 10,000 as a big and significant number and that they can appease his tariff fever by promising to just keep doing what they already do—as long as they make it sound like he’s convinced them to change course.”

“when Trump was asked directly by reporters on Saturday if there was anything Canada could do to avoid the tariffs, he said “nothing.” In various social media posts, Trump claimed first that the tariffs were intended to stop fentanyl from coming across the border And then, a day later, said they were meant to compel Canada to join the United States. Vice President J.D. Vance tried his hand at putting some random meats on this tangle of bones Sunday night, writing on X that Canada wasn’t keeping up with its NATO obligations.”

“The leaders of Mexico and Canada effectively called the president’s bluff that there was nothing they could do to avoid tariffs. Facing the reality that tariffs would cause serious pain for American businesses—something that he even admitted last weekend (maybe he’s learning?)—Trump retreated, leaving the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement in tatters and the relationship between America and two of its key allies strained.

We should be glad that Trump safely found an off-ramp after steering the United States recklessly into a potentially ugly situation, and we can hope that he did not cause too much long-term damage while getting there.”

https://reason.com/2025/02/04/trumps-north-american-trade-war-accomplished-nothing/

Trump’s Trade War Will Make Energy More Expensive

“the U.S. is heavily reliant on Canadian crude oil to make liquid fuels and other petroleum products. Most U.S. refineries were built in the 1970s to accommodate heavy oil from the Middle East and Canada. This was well before the American shale boom, which brought lighter-grade oil to the market. In 2023, nearly 60 percent of crude imports came from Canada and July 2024 saw a record 4.3 million barrels of oil per day imported from the country.
“Canada is by far our largest supplier, and we build refineries specifically to refine heavier Canadian crude,” explains Nick Loris, the executive vice president of policy at C3 Solutions, a free market energy think tank. “Depending on the tariff rate and how long they’re in place, gas prices could rise anywhere from 10-30 cents per gallon, with the Midwest and the Rocky Mountain Region getting hit the hardest,” Loris tells Reason.”

“tariffs could also harm American nuclear power. Despite generating the most nuclear energy in the world, the U.S. relies on other nations for uranium to fuel its fleet. Canada is the largest supplier of raw uranium (27 percent of imports in 2022), followed by Kazakhstan (25 percent) and Russia (12 percent), the latter of which the U.S. depends on for roughly a quarter of its uranium enrichment needs.

With last year’s passage of a bill to ban imports of Russian uranium signed into law, Canada is primed to play an increasingly important role in America’s uranium supply. Tariffs would threaten this and could increase fuel costs for American nuclear power producers”

https://reason.com/2025/02/04/trumps-trade-war-will-make-energy-more-expensive/

Here Is How Trump Can Falsely Claim His Tariff Threats Helped Win the Drug War

“None of this will do much to stop “dangerous narcotics” from entering the United States, which is Trump’s avowed goal. Interdiction efforts are doomed by the economics of drug prohibition, a challenge that is compounded by fentanyl’s potency, which allows traffickers to distribute large numbers of doses in small packages by land or mail. And Mexican cartels are already working on domestic production of fentanyl precursors in case shipments from China are curtailed. Despite those realities, Trump can still falsely claim he is winning the war on drugs by citing misleading metrics.
Trump said the tariffs would remain in place until the targeted countries took “adequate steps to alleviate the opioid crisis.” Since that criterion is deliberately vague, Trump can simply declare that whatever Mexico, Canada, and China agree to do is “adequate.”

In case that seems too slippery, Trump could cite drug seizure numbers as proof of his success. The beauty of this approach is that Trump can claim victory no matter which way the numbers go.

Given Trump’s promise to “seal the border,” you might expect U.S. drug seizures to go up. But he has previously argued that increased seizures are a sign of failure rather than success.”

“Unlike “adequate steps” and drug seizure numbers, overdose deaths are a clear measure of whether the “opioid crisis” is getting better or worse. The good news is that drug-related deaths fell precipitously last year after climbing nearly every year for more than two decades. According to preliminary CDC estimates, the death toll during the year ending last August was about 22 percent lower than the total for the previous year—by far the biggest such drop ever recorded.

Inconveniently for Trump, that dramatic decrease happened on Biden’s watch, and there is little reason to think interdiction had anything to do with it. So even if the apparent turnaround continues this year, attributing it to Trump’s tariff-assisted war on drugs would be highly implausible. We can nevertheless expect that Trump will do just that.”

https://reason.com/2025/02/04/here-is-how-trump-can-falsely-claim-his-tariff-threats-helped-win-the-drug-war/

Trump’s Tariff Threats Can’t Win the Unwinnable War on Drugs

“The annual number of drug-related deaths in the United States rose by 44 percent between 2016 and the last year of his first term. Now Trump blames foreign officials for his failure”

“As The New York Times reported in December, Mexican cartels already have a backup plan. They are recruiting “chemistry students studying at Mexican universities” to synthesize fentanyl precursors, “freeing them from having to import those raw materials from China.”
Trump thinks the Mexican and Canadian governments could do more to shut down fentanyl manufacturing within their countries. But to the extent they succeeded in doing that, production would simply shift elsewhere, as has happened repeatedly with drugs such as cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine.”

“Mexican drug cartels “move illicit fentanyl into the United States, primarily across the southwestern border, often in passenger vehicles,” the CRS noted. “The U.S.

Department of Homeland Security asserts that 90% of [seized] fentanyl is interdicted at ports of entry, often in vehicles driven by U.S. citizens. A primary challenge for both
Mexican and U.S. officials charged with stopping the fentanyl flow is that [the cartels] can meet U.S. demand with a relatively small amount.””

“Fentanyl also enters the United States by mail, and it is not feasible to intercept all of those shipments, especially given their small size and the enormous volume of packages.”

https://reason.com/2025/02/05/trumps-tariff-threats-cant-win-the-unwinnable-war-on-drugs/