The events in the Middle East are almost impossible to believe. Israel's government under Netanyahu has become a law unto its own, the latest outrage the killing of six medics in a clearly marked Red Crescent vehicle with a flashing red light on its roof. Israeli troops fired on it killing all and leaving a tangled wreckage. Attacking medical personnel or facilities is a war crime, and Israel's story as to what happened has changed after one dead medic's phone was found to have recorded the incident.
There is an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court out on Netanyahu, which countries fearing Trump and what he might do are afraid to enforce. So here we have Netanyahu in South Africa moving about openly and calling the ICC a kangaroo court. In fact its judges are highly respected jurists and its chief prosecutor a prominent British lawyer. Adherence to the truth is not a Trump virtue and that he himself is a convicted felon is dismissed by him as political harassment.
He has now imposed import tariffs on China, which has reciprocated. It has thrown a wrench in the intricate machinery of post WW2 world trade, heretofore supervised by the WTO, and also changed forecasts of a booming world economy into a fear of a global recession.
However, Trump's ever changing rhetoric on tariffs -- to be set one day, off the next, or temporary postponements and so on -- has the world confused.
Markets do not like uncertainty, and stocks are down 8 to 9 percent since Trump was elected. The Chairman of the Federal Reserve, Jerome Powell, says the economy is in a solid position but the costs of tariffs will eventually filter down to the consumer. Guess what happens then.
As goods become dearer the consumer will be able to buy less leading to a shrinking economy. Isn't that another word for recession? So hold onto your seats folks and tighten that belt, you are on Trump's rollercoaster. When people are questioning his sanity, he proclaims he is the sanest person on earth.
One other thing ... Trump mocks climate change. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) is a specialized agency of the UN given the task of promoting international cooperation on climate, water and atmospheric science. In contrast to Trump, its new report warns, the world is now on the threshold of irreversible climate change where we can be caught in a cycle of increasing warming.
The average annual increase in 2024, the warmest year since records were kept, was about 1.55 C. It means a change in human habits if we wish to leave a livable planet without recurring climate related disasters to our descendants. Remember warmer water and air means greater chances of hurricanes, typhoons and coastal flooding.
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