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ACCORDING TO LIZ -At Davos on Tuesday, Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney bleakly and eruditely described the rupture and decay of Pax Americana, and exhorted countries other than the reigning superpowers to band together, pointing out that “Our view is the middle powers must act together because if we’re not at the table, we’re on the menu.”
And ending with:
“Canada is a pluralistic society that works. Our public square is loud, diverse and free. Canadians remain committed to sustainability. We are a stable and reliable partner in a world that is anything but, a partner that builds and values relationships for the long term.
“And we have something else: we have a recognition of what’s happening and determination to act accordingly. We understand that this rupture calls for more than adaptation. It calls for honesty about the world as it is.
“We know the old order is not coming back. We shouldn’t mourn it. Nostalgia is not a strategy, but we believe that from the fracture we can build something bigger, better, stronger, more just. This is the task of the middle powers, the countries that have the most to lose from a world of fortresses and the most to gain from genuine co-operation.
“The powerful have their power. But we have something too: the capacity to stop pretending, to name realities, to build our strength at home and to act together.
“That is Canada’s path. We choose it openly and confidently, and it is a path wide open to any country willing to take it with us.
Carney got a standing ovation from the thousand plus audience members crowding the hall at Davos.
I wonder if Trump needed a translator? It certainly wasn’t clear how much he truly understood from the Petulant Prez’s egocentric, irrational, rude and rambling whine the following day:
“Canada gets a lot of freebies from us. By the way, they should be grateful also, but they’re not. I watched your prime minister yesterday. He wasn’t so grateful — they should be grateful to us, Canada. Canada lives because of the United States.”
“Canada lives because of the United States. “Remember that, Mark [Carney], the next time you make your statements.”
Gasps at that point, but otherwise the reaction of those present for Donny-boy’s second-term inaugural speech at Davos was muted with occasional bursts of uncomfortable laughter.
At times those watching appeared shocked by the surreal disconnect of the American’s litany of lies about how his policies drove the United States’ economy to new heights during his first year back in office while lambasting ostensible allies.
Stunned by his invective, attendees started to walk out, at first individually and then in droves after Trump turned from buying Greenland to attacking the World Economic Forum’s host country of Switzerland.
Other than the full house clapping him to the stage in anticipation at the start, it was left to the regular sycophants, bootlicker corporate executives, and others trying to ingratiate themselves into his cabal to add to the tepid applause at the end of his speech.
The question is whether the leader of the land of the not-so-free-anymore will continue to get away with spouting his ever-mutating mendacities as proof of his global dominance or whether the middle powers of the world will band together in disgust – as invited by Carney – and call him out.
Before Carney spoke, shortly after midnight in the wee hours of Tuesday morning, Trump posted an A.I.-generated image to Truth Social of world leaders facing a doctored map of North America. It showed the territory of the United States more than doubled with the addition of Canada, Greenland, Venezuela and Cuba. What a way to make friends and influence people!
(Liz Amsden is a former Angeleno now living in Vermont and a regular CityWatch contributor. She writes on issues she’s passionate about, including social justice, government accountability, and community empowerment. Liz brings a sharp, activist voice to her commentary and continues to engage with Los Angeles civic affairs from afar. She can be reached at [email protected].)
