It’s the weekend, and that means it’s time for a world news round-up.
We’ll start things off with the China Olympics … but frankly, not much has changed since we last talked about this subject. Athletes, coaches and the media are all unhappy. The Russians have another drug cheating scandal – is anyone surprised?
At least we Americans have some new Olympic heroes to cheer on: Congrats to Gold Medalists Nathan Chen (men’s free skate, figure skating) and Chloe Kim (women’s halfpipe, snowboarding)!
Meanwhile, Russia and Ukraine are still in a tense face-off, and Vladimir Putin is playing the most dangerous game of chicken the world has ever seen – not since the cold war, anyway.
What’s new is that Germany has just been put front-and-center in this conflict – they yield a lot of power over Putin because of their position at the other end of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, a recently-completed gas line that runs beneath the Baltic Sea from Russia to Germany, bypassing Ukraine and saving Russia hundreds of millions of dollars in Ukrainian transit fees.
While construction is complete, German regulators have not yet given the go-ahead to turn it on, which gives Germany a powerful bargaining chip to use to influence Putin’s actions.
The question is, how will the new German Chancellor Olaf Scholz respond when the fate of the world is quite literally in his hands?
I really wish Angela Merkel was still in charge, we know how she would have treated the situation and what she would have told Putin: “If you move on Ukraine, the Nord Stream 2 pipeline deal will be over, and the Russian economy will be devastated. Don’t do this to your people.”
So, will Chancellor Scholz rise to the occasion if Russia does invade Ukraine?
Well, publicly, he has said Germany will stand with the U.S. and the international community and sanction Russia … but he’s been careful not to specifically mention the pipeline.
I personally – along with most NATO officials – wanted to hear him say the words louder and more forcefully, the way President Biden did: “If Russia invades Ukraine again, Nord Stream 2 is dead!”
You see, folks, President Biden doesn't mess around when national security is concerned, and the rest of the world is taking notice.
Now, let’s move a little closer to home and talk about Canada and the right-wing circus they have going on in Ottawa.
Here’s a scary tidbit: The astroturf group behind the so-called “Freedom Convoy” – an ongoing protest against COVID vaccine mandates in which a few hundred truckers have created widespread traffic gridlock and exacerbated supply-line shortages by blocking the province’s roadways with their parked rigs – raised more than CAD $10 million (USD $7.9 million) before GoFundMe suspended their account for promoting violence and harassment!
Who on Earth is donating to these clowns, and what is the money even going towards?
This selfish bunch of plague rats have completely disrupted the traffic in Ottawa, made an already bad supply-line shortage even worse, and there are numerous reports of participants behaving like the mouth-breathing lowlifes that they are.
Here are just a few examples of their despicable behavior:
- Harassing charity workers at homeless shelters and demanding free foo
- Throwing rocks at paramedics
- Screaming racial and gendered slurs at passersby
- Waving Confederate and Nazi flags (and Trump flags, but I repeat myself)
- Defecating on the lawns of homes with Pride flags
- Urinating on Canada’s Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
- Spitting on pedestrians who wear masks
… and on, and on, and on. They’re behaving like animals!
Unfortunately, rumor has it that right-wingers here in the States are inspired by this absolute zoo and planning more of the same for America.
I even hear that a push is underway to disrupt and block access to the Super Bowl, and with ticket sales for the big game fetching tens of thousands of dollars, I can only imagine what that might look like.
(Quick side note: If you are spending five figures to go to a football game and you’re reading this message, I really hope you’ll consider making a donation to No Dem Left Behind, too!)
Anyway, back to the truckers, why are they doing this? Well, they listen to radical right-wing radio all day, they get fed propaganda, get all riled up, and there you go – instant domestic terrorists.
I say it all the time: We must combat the right-wing media machine if we want any hope of taking back the rural vote. That’s why you see me recording hundreds of videos a month along with my nightly show Ojeda Live (which airs live on Facebook and YouTube at 8:00 pm Eastern nightly – CLICK HERE to subscribe!).
