A Chinese hacking operation that tapped into the US phone network was far more extensive than first reported and could have listened into virtually any mobile phone conversation in the country, according to accounts.
The Salt Typhoon hackers group, named by the Microsoft engineers who first encountered it in the summer, was initially reported to have targeted the phones of the presidential and vice-presidential candidates Donald Trump and JD Vance, as well as Kamala Harris’s campaign workers.
Canadian leaders are signaling that they are willing to throw Mexico aside in a bid to curry favor with the incoming Trump administration as they prepare for tough trade talks.
With a scheduled review of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement beginning next year, Canadian leaders, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his finance minister, have said they are ready to make a new deal with President-elect Donald Trump alone, cutting Mexico out.
Canadian leaders say they are worried that Mexico has become a backdoor to the North American free-trade zone for Chinese products, much of which would otherwise face steep tariffs in both Canada and the U.S. Trudeau said he raised these concerns with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Brazil.
America and the United Kingdom have long had a special relationship, working closely as allies to protect the West from oppressive dictatorships that suppress their own people, arbitrarily jailing them and persecuting them for exercising their God-given right of free speech. Here’s the problem. The UK has become one of those oppressive dictatorships that suppress their own people, arbitrarily jailing them and persecuting them for exercising their God-given right of free speech. And I’m not particularly interested in having a special relationship with a country like that. Nor are many other Americans.
Luckily they’re stuck with us and vice versa. h/t DS
Hassan Daqqou is known as the King of Captagon, an amphetamine-like drug produced mostly in Syria that has become the stimulant of choice across the Middle East. At his recent trial for drug smuggling, held behind closed doors in Lebanon, Daqqou said that he had collaborated with the Syrian Army and flashed an ID card from its Fourth Division, which is commanded by President Bashar al-Assad’s brother Maher, according to leaked court transcripts published by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, a network of investigative journalists. He also admitted to working with Hezbollah, the Lebanese group that is at war with Israel and has a history of overseas terrorist attacks.
We’re going to be fine, just fine. That’s the message coming from the Trudeau government in the wake of Donald Trump’s decisive comeback.
Just so there’s no doubt, Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland put it like this last week: “I want to say with utter sincerity and conviction to Canadians that Canada will be absolutely fine.”
Maybe it’s just me, but when people tell me they’re speaking with utter sincerity and conviction it leaves me with the nagging feeling that maybe there’s a bit of a question mark over both their sincerity and their conviction. As in: aren’t you trying a bit too hard here?
U.S. President Joe Biden did Canada a solid back in 2023, when his government agreed to new terms on the Safe Third Country Agreement (STCA) with Canada. A loophole in the previous agreement meant that migrants who crossed into Canada at irregular crossings, such as Roxham Road in Quebec, could still claim asylum in Canada. The U.S. could thus wash its hands of, for example, the nearly 40,000 people who entered Canada at unofficial points of entry in 2022 alone. “Sorry, Canada: they’re your problem now.”
U.S. President-Elect Donald Trump is not just revving his engines — he is ready to go. There have been a flurry of proclamations and appointments, including that of former ICE director Tom Homan as his “border czar.” What will Homan do in the role? At the 2024 National Conservatism Conference in Washington, he promised, “Trump comes back in January…. I will run the biggest deportation operation this country’s ever seen.” With 11 million migrants illegally in the country, he is not kidding.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is calling on Mexico to match trade tariffs on Chinese imports and says Canada and the United States should consider striking their own bilateral free trade deal if that doesn’t happen.
The Premier’s missive at Mexico comes after Donald Trump won the U.S. presidency with a promise to reopen the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement when it is up for review in 2026. The USMCA replaced the North America free-trade agreement and came into effect in 2020.
Top Trump White House pick has strong view on Canada’s government. It’s not flattering
The man reportedly tapped for the top international role inside the Trump White House isn’t just predicting the defeat of Canada’s Trudeau government: He’s celebrating it.
Mike Waltz has a vast digital footprint on international issues in his six years as a congressman, following careers in business, defence policy, and as a decorated special-forces veteran.
If the CBC were a person …
Good morning pic.twitter.com/IPeYSgWiy0
— shellshock (@shellshockkk) November 12, 2024
Contrary to widely expressed fears in Canada, there is plenty of room for the Canadian government of either major party to work cooperatively with the new American administration on most fronts. A couple of months ago, I had occasion to ask then-candidate Donald Trump whether Canada had anything to fear if he were elected. He said: “Your trade negotiators are better than ours, but all I’m asking is fair trade which is not a big problem with Canada.” He added that he knows the country well, has done lots of business here, and has nothing but liking and goodwill for Canada.
They’re like Zombies!
Threat to democracy + cringe pic.twitter.com/TZYS4hm99v
— shellshock (@shellshockkk) November 11, 2024
Donald Trump reportedly described Justin Trudeau as a “behind-your-back guy,” after the two fell out over tariffs during the president-elect’s first term in office.
As Trudeau continues to languish in domestic opinion polls, he may be tempted to reprise his role as the “behind your back guy” by attempting to appease the president on trade and security to his face, while sub rosa, using him as a warning about what Canadians can expect if they elect the Conservatives.
As you’ve likely heard several times by now, Donald Trump’s decisive victory on Tuesday was “the greatest political comeback in American history.” It’s not an exaggeration, and while some media commentators (like those on Fox News, which I was watching on election night) made the observation in positive wonderment, most admitted it through gritted teeth.
Canada may need to let Trump be ‘senior partner’ in U.S. relations: GOP critic
Ottawa may have to let U.S. president-elect Donald Trump act as the “senior partner” in the Canada-U.S. relationship, even if that makes Canadians “bristle,” a prominent Republican critic of the incoming president says.
Jeff Timmer, a longtime Republican official and strategist in Michigan who helped lead efforts aimed at defeating Trump in the past two U.S. elections, says the Canadian government will need to treat Trump as “the guy in charge” to ensure Canada’s interests are safeguarded during what’s expected to be a protectionist U.S. administration.
Like the US is gonna let Justin dictate terms.
More than three weeks after the FBI first offered a reward of up to $50,000 US for information leading to the arrest of Ryan Wedding, investigators say tips have been coming in. But the manhunt continues for the former Team Canada Olympic snowboarder, accused of leading a murderous, transnational drug trafficking operation.
“The FBI has, and continues to receive, information related to the whereabouts of Ryan Wedding,” FBI spokesperson Rukelt Dalberis told CBC News in an email. “Tips received at this point have yet to lead to an arrest.”
President-Elect Donald Trump had made peace in Europe a key campaign pledge, but several NATO member states are dedicated to total Ukrainian victory and will discuss how to “thwart” him and keep Kyiv in the war even if Washington withdraws support.
My Spidey sense says FAFO imminent.
