Davos

There has been riding.  We saw this the other day.  Here we have a pot with a saguaro skeleton in it.  The pot has a lizard attached to the outside.  It's really attractive.

This is the house next door.  I really like this paint color.  If you look at the shrubs that are up against the wall, they're almost the same color.  Those are Brittlebush.  They're very hardy, and self seed like crazy.

Other than that, we're completely and totally unexciting.  Maybe we should paint something.  Or not.

47 has been on a tear.  Monday he gave a three hour press conference in which he raised old grievances, complained about Greenland, and told lies.  Three hours is a long time to talk.   Then he got on a plane for Davos.  His first set back was a mechanical that caused the plane to have to return to base.  He ended up being three hours late upon arrival.  

This is an interesting photo of how the arrival went.  If I could embed the video you would see him walking down the red carpet with two members of his security walking behind him.  I think this may not be AI, Russia carried the video as well.  Even if it is AI, it's a nice image for him.

His speech was predictably obnoxious, he insulted NATO repeatedly saying they had given us nothing in 30 years.  I wonder how the families of the NATO soldiers who died in Afghanistan after 911 feel about that statement.  The good news is that he has backed down on invading Greenland.  There is supposed to be some sort of long term frame work put in place, which means nothing will happen.  

Other things that I have cut and pasted off twitter are here.

Prime Minister Carney received a standing ovation.  That has happened only three times, I think the other two were Mandela and Zelenskyy.  Here is a frequently quoted excerpt.

"American hegemony in particular helped provide public goods, open sea lanes, a stable financial system, collective security ... this bargain no longer works.  Let me be direct: we are in the midst of a rupture, not a transition. Over the past two decades, a series of crises in finance, health, energy, and geopolitics laid bare the risks of extreme global integration. More recently, great powers began using economic integration as weapons. Tariffs as leverage. Financial infrastructure as coercion. Supply chains as vulnerabilities to be exploited. You cannot “live within the lie” of mutual benefit through integration when integration becomes the source of your subordination."  

Full text of speech is here. 

47 covered himself in glory when he said that Canada could not exist without the US.  "Canada lives because of the United States - remember that Mark, the next time you make your statements."

The EU realized that Trump will raise tariffs for any reason, a deal with him is worthless, so they terminated the deal they made last year. The European Parliament has decided to freeze the approval of a trade agreement with the United States. The decision was reported by the news agency AFP and the French newspaper Le Monde. The trade agreement between the European Union and the United States was concluded in July. On Saturday evening, leaders of the largest political groups in the European Parliament said they would not vote in favour of the EU’s trade deal with Washington. According to Le Monde, the leader of the Socialists and Democrats group, Iratxe García Pérez, said there is now a “broad majority” among the political groups in favor of freezing the agreement. 

Bessent was asked about these two events.  He blew them off, characterizing them as insignificant.

Danish pension fund AkademikerPension announces they will sell all US Treasuries by month-end, citing "rising credit risk" under President Trump. The fund's CIO says US finances are no longer "sustainable," due to weak fiscal discipline, a softer Dollar, and Trump’s push for Greenland.

Sweden’s pension fund Alecta has divested most of its U.S. Treasury holdings, citing increased risk and unpredictability in U.S. politics. The sell-off totaled roughly 70–80 billion SEK ($7.7–8.8B) - Reuters

Anyway, 47 has given up his plans for invasion.  So now we wonder where he is sending the two battalions of the 11th Airborne division.  Perhaps martial law is back on the table.  Who knows.

 

I swear the uncertainty is sucking the life out of me.  The financial talking heads have spent the last two days forecasting everything from economic slow down to runs on the banks.  The stock market has been whip-sawed as well.

 

So, that's what I know. 

 

There is a massive geo-magnetic storm in progress, it's a big one.  I don't remember where this was taken, it's impressive.