Sunshine Wanted

Yes, it is only the month of March, but seriously, when are we going to see the sun shining more and the temperature getting higher. And for more than a day or two!

I am probably thinking this way because I have not been able to go outside for nice walks through the entire winter months as I have done in winters past.  It just seems as well that we have had a lot of cloudy weather. In addition, when it has been sunny outside, I have not felt the warmth because of the wind that seems to be around so much this year.

It really doesn't matter what I am thinking because I don't have the power to make any changes. I just have to experience what is going on like it or not. It also makes me wonder whether this is the beginning of some very bad weather conditions that we are going to be experiencing in the future. Is it because we might be ruining environmentally the weather conditions around us because of how we are living or could it be just what the environment would do anyway based on past experience that took place over many years? Regretfully, I have no idea what the answer is.

I have not been keeping statistical results on the weather forecast this year. However, it seems to me that what we are hearing from the different weather bureaus as their predictions quite often does not happen at all.  I have to admit that I don't understand that happening either. How can they be so wrong, so often?

I am not going to give a big list of matters that seem strange to me. There really is no point in doing that. However, since I really like politics, I am intrigued by what is going on in the United States. I just wonder what is going to happen to President Trump. After all, he has been attacked by some of the major news media in the US even before he was sworn in as President. Every day, and it does not matter what the issue is, the media seem to write stories about what he has done wrong again and how many additional mistakes he has made.

I have to admit that I don't think that many people really care what is going on right now. It doesn't matter what the next story attacking Trump says. People just ignore it because the whole subject matter is so boring. Sure, the intention of the authors is the hope that it will force Trump out, but it does not seem to be working yet. After all, shouldn't the possibility of him being accused of acting illegally get everybody worked up? However, it does not seem to do so.

Anyway, dear reader, I still like writing stories as I did before. As I am sure that you have noticed, I do not create as many stories as I did previously, nor do I post them as often. Wait until the warmer weather comes and I am out walking around so much to enjoy the temperature. I am sure that you will notice that I create a lot fewer stories than I am doing now. However, I will still write about issues that are important so do not get too upset at me.

Here are some stories now that I trust you will like.

GOOD NEWS FOR CANADA, FOR NOW ANYWAY

Whew, we are quite fortunate now:

"President Trump defied opposition from his own party and protests from overseas on Thursday as he signed an order imposing stiff and sweeping new tariffs on imported steel and aluminum. But he sought to soften the impact on America’s closest allies with a more flexible plan than originally envisioned.

After a week of furious lobbying and a burst of last-minute internal debates and confusion, Mr. Trump agreed to exempt, for now, Canada and Mexico and held out the possibility of later excluding allies such as Australia. But the order, which would go into effect in 15 days, could hit South Korea, China, Japan, Germany, Turkey and Brazil and foreign leaders warned of a trade war that could escalate to other industries and be aimed at American goods.

“The actions we are taking today are not a matter of choice, they are a matter of necessity for our security,” Mr. Trump said." (Peter Baker and Ana Swanson, New York Times, March 8, 2018)

I must admit that I have no idea if this was planned all the way along by the Americans or not.  Alternatively, were they forced to make the changes because of what negative consequences might happen to their business network? Who knows but take this into account:

"Canada and Mexico would be exempt pending discussions with both countries about changes that would address Mr. Trump’s concerns about steel and aluminum and no time limit was imposed on the exclusion. But administration officials said they expect to deal with those two countries in short order. Mr. Trump tied the exclusions to renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement, which remains bogged down in inconclusive talks, but aides said national security concerns would be important in deciding whether to make the exclusion permanent.

Mr. Trump indicated that the tariffs would go into effect on Canada and Mexico “if we don’t make the deal on Nafta and if we terminate Nafta because they are unable to make a deal that’s fair.”

Given President Trump's background and his seeming lack of connection with a lot of politicians, I must admit that I believe he acts quite differently compared with people like former President Obama. That person was part of the political network in a way that Trump has never been as far as I can see. That is probably why they both act so differently when President.

How long will Canada be safe in its negotiations with the US and Mexico? I wish I knew the answer to that one. Let us at least hope that, no matter what happens, our economy will not be shattered.

HIGH-SPEED RAIL

I am sure that nobody ever believes that our area will ever have a high-speed rail track built between Windsor and London, Ontario as part of a future rail system.

I can still remember when this new system was introduced years ago and everything seemed to end at London. Oh, there were all kinds of complaints made about this area not being part of the high-speed rail system. Accordingly, changes were made so that the program was expected to expand all the way to Windsor, Ontario.

I hardly think that the Windsor area will see a huge amount of money spent to make as part of the new network. We are told this already:

"The proposed rapid rail system — with an estimated price tag of $20 billion — would make London to Toronto a 73-minute trip as early as 2025. The corridor could be extended to Windsor by about 2031, during a second building phase." (Megan Stacey, Postmedia News, March 7, 2018) 

Do you really think, dear reader, that any politician would spend money after 2025 for such a project to come to Windsor? I agree. I don't think so either.

POOR MATTY MOROUN

It is not fair how he is being treated. It seems that the media continuously seems to ignore what his real value is. Once again, here is what is said about him with respect to his economic position:

"Manuel Moroun, 90, is worth $1.6 billion and ranked No. 1477 [in the Forbes billionaires list]. Moroun owns Detroit's Ambassador Bridge, the largest border crossing between the U.S. and Canada." (Jeff Stacklin, Patch, March 6, 2018) 

Sure, that is not too bad. However, for some reason they have not said what he will be worth once his new bridge is constructed.  And what his ranking number ought to become.