Lake Ontario Name Change -- Return To Sender

Donald Trump points to a a map reading ‘Gulf of America’ after signing an executive order at the Oval Office on 25 February 2025. Photograph: Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images

 

"We're fully committed to or users right now, and the users are showing what they believe in by downloading our app."

"[MapQuest's recent actions were not intended as a political statement, but to offer people the names of lakes they're familiar with]. It's fun that we're talking about geography."

"The poster may be gone, but Lake Ontario remains Lake Ontario on MapQuest and the route is still there whenever you need it."

"The routes are real, the locations are real and Lake Ontario is the name users will find when they open MapQuest."

"People rely on maps to make the world feel navigable and familiar. While keeping the names that people know and trust, this campaign brings our commitment to life while tapping into 30 years of nostalgia, and puts it all right back on the map." 

Doug Berger, general manager, MapQuest 

Canada's billboard is located in Toronto, at 43 Lower Jarvis Street. Photo by MapQuest

California-based MapQuest has installed billboards across the U.S. and Canada with detailed directions to Lake Ontario, responding to U.S. President Donald Trump's executive order renaming the lake 'Lake America'. Six-foot-height posts were erected in Toronto, Chicago, New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. Launched in 1996, MapQuest was one of the first mapping services on the web. It used old highway icons, a banner advertisement and an URL that runs across the bottom of each page. 

 

Toronto's billboard, owing to its proximity to Lake Ontario had one page of directions, whereas the other cities had three pages in the new campaign, following the company's confirmation that it has no intention of changing Lake Ontario to 'Lake America' on the spiteful whim of the president to overturn a name whose history is centuries old, derived from an Indigenous Iroquoian word. The company was not impressed by Mr. Trump's August 27 directive to the Department of the Interior.

 

MapQuest general manager Doug Berger poses next to the billboard in Chicago, which is located at State and Hubbard Street in the River North neighbourhood. Photo by MapQuest

 

Google Maps and Apple Maps, on the other hand, have gone halfway, adopting 'Lake America' for American users while retaining the authentic original name for all other international users. The reaction to MapQuest's decision to honour the original name of Lake Ontario even surprised them, when an unexpected surge of downloads of the apps occurred, indicating support by many of its users, to the extent that MapQuest has reached No.1 in the U.S. App Store, both for the navigation and overall categories.  

 

The app's usage, in fact, rose some 50 times what is considered normal, surpassing two million downloads. A thoroughly playful feature that allows users to rename Lake Ontario within the app on their own, builds on a tool launched by the company in the wake of the president's renaming of the Gulf of Mexico. 

 

Donald Trump signs an executive order renaming Lake Ontario during an event in the Oval Office.  Photograph: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

Giving Haven in the U.S. to Hate-Persecuted Canadian Jews

Columbia University students maintained a protest encampment on their campus following arrest of more than 100 protesters. (Stephanie Keith/Getty Images)

 

"[We appeal to you to expedite a method of entry into the United States for Jewish Canadians] who are experiencing persecution or who credibly fear for their safety because they are Jewish."

"[There exists] an alarming climate of harassment intimidation, vandalism, threats and violence [faced by Canadian families since the Hamas terrorist attacks of 7 October 2023]."

"Advocates working directly with these families report that more than 2,000 Jewish Canadians have expressed interest in relocating because of growing concerns for their safety."

"Accordingly, we respectfully ask that you direct the Department of State and the Department of Homeland Security to identify and implement lawful, secure, and appropriately expedited pathways for eligible Jewish Canadian nationals and their immediate family members who face persecution."

National Association of Christian Lawmakers (NACL)

The NACL letter urged the administration to coordinate with state and local governments, Jewish organizations, churches, nonprofits and employers willing to help families establish new lives in the United States.

 

This Christian group forwarded a proposal to the White House, attention of the President of the United States, appealing for a legal pathway to welcome Jewish Canadians fearing for their safety during a renascent flood of antisemitism whose effects have impacted the sense of security of Canadian Jews for the past three years and more. Led by Palestinian student groups, fuelled by hatred of Israel, incited and paid for from abroad through the Muslim Brotherhood and its sponsor Qatar, manifestations of that in-your-face antisemitism have taken place in the streets through mass protests, on university campuses and has seeped into public medical institutions where Jews now fear being treated in hospitals that employ Muslim medical staff where they are met with hostility.

 

There have been far too many instances of vandalism perpetrated against Jewish-owned businesses and institutions, in Canada, with Jewish parochial schools and community centers and synagogues being targeted with the violence of being shot at, vandalized, and fire-bombed. Crowds of Jew-hating Muslims and leftist allies have marched through Jewish neighbourhoods in Toronto and Montreal, shouting invective, chorusing 'Globalize the Intifada', 'Final Solution', and 'From the River to the Sea', terrorizing the residents, with insufficient response from municipal authorities and related police services.

 

Christian organizations like that of the NACL have expressed their sympathy at the plight of Jews in North America and Europe being verbally attacked and facing violent threats. Their empathetic responses, fellowship and offers of assistance have been heart-warming and serve as a balm to the wounded sentiments of Jews everywhere. However, the solution sought here, to encourage and formalize a system whereby Jews can leave Canada for haven in the United States, while a kindly gesture, would only move Jews from one threatened place to another, since American Jews are also facing very similar circumstances of exposure to racist hatred from the very same sources.

 

Trump shared a link to the report on Truth Social on Sunday evening, but did not comment on the contents.

 

The letter, sent to the attention of President Donald Trump, signed by Jason Rapert, founder and president of NACL, along with state representatives and religious leaders, with copies to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other U.S. senators and representatives, expresses a heartfelt concern with the hope of ameliorating the pain and vulnerability being felt by some Jews in Canada who have expressed a wish to leave the country for another that they believe promises them greater safety, respect and dignity. Yet, there too the harassment and hatred will assail them. Just as fundamentalist Muslims in Canada preach hatred of Jews, so too do those in the United States.

 

People set up a makeshift memorial for the hostages taken in the Oct. 7 Hamas-led militant attacks on Israel near an ongoing pro-Palestinian protest encampment on the Columbia University campus. (Stephanie Keith/Getty Images)

 

As good-hearted as the move by the Christian group is, in the expression of its concern for a beleaguered community with which they feel a brotherhood, it is but a band-aid solution to a serious disease immune to band-aid responses. Calling for the Trump administration to cooperate with states, local governments, Jewish organizations, churches, non-profits and employers willing to assist arriving families does nothing to solve the larger issue. That issue is the presence of antagonistic, hostile religious exponents of fundamentalist Islam for whom obligatory jihad for the faithful begins with expunging the presence of Jews.

 

Statistics Canada's latest data reflect that 71 percent of religious hate crimes in the country targeted its Jewish population. In the United States, the Anti-Defamation League's August report highlighted that 63 percent of all reported religion-based hate crimes in 2025 targeted American Jews, according to data from the FBI, making 2025 the third-highest year on record of anti-Jewish hate crimes in America. "We believe this moment presents another opportunity for America to demonstrate those principles" of "America's historic commitment to stand against religious persecution", the letter states.

 

CHRISTIAN LEADERS HOLD EMERGENCY SUMMIT IN JERUSALEM TO CONFRONT GLOBAL RISE IN ANTISEMITISM   Fox News

 

"For generations, America has served as a refuge for people fleeing religious persecution."

"We urge you to ensure that, consistent with federal law and the security interests of the United States, that door remains open to our Jewish brothers and sisters in Canada who need it today."

National Association of Christian Lawmakers (NACL) 

Students demonstrate on the campus of Atlanta's Emory University on Thursday as campus protests across the U.S. lead to confrontational standoffs with police, mass arrests and accusations of antisemitism. (Elijah Nouvelage/AFP/Getty Images)

 

 

China's Great Wall of Steel

"It is necessary to speak to invaders in the language they know."

"That is, a war must be fought to deter invasion, and a victory is needed to win peace and respect." 

Chinese President Xi Jinping 

 

"The strategic takeaway for China is pretty simple."

"Don't assume your adversaries will pay by the rules. They may strike without warning, and they may do whatever it takes, ignoring both the results of the game and the rules of war."

Song Zonping, former Chinese military officer 

Smoke plumes rise following missile strikes in Tehran on 1 March 2026. (Atta Kenare/AFP)

 

"On 28 February, China’s permanent representative to the United Nations (UN) Fu Cong pointed out at a UN meeting that the US and Israel had brazenly launched military strikes against targets inside Iran, causing a sudden escalation of regional tensions. He added that China is deeply concerned about this development, and that China consistently advocates that all parties should abide by the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, and opposes and condemns the use or threat of force in international relations." 

"Though Fu said that the US and Israeli strikes on Iran had led to a sudden escalation in the regional situation, he too avoided using the word “condemn”. In contrast, Russia’s foreign ministry issued a statement condemning the US and Israel for launching “a preplanned and unprovoked act of armed aggression” against Iran, which violated “fundamental principles and norms of international law”."

Yu Zeyuan, Think China   

While China may be a trifle more circumspect in its reaction to the U.S.-Israel joint attack on the Islamic Republic of Iran,than Russia, both allies of the Islamic Republic, condemnation in whatever form it takes is rather absurd in light of China's constant harassment and threats against Taiwan, with its intention of 

'unification', clearly against the breakaway republic's best interests and in view of China having flouted international law in Tibet, Mongolia and Xinjiang. As for Russia's characterization of the U.S.-Israel's 'preplanned and unprovoked act of armed aggression', that fairly well describes Russia's annexation of Crimea and full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

 

Xi Jinping's strategy of warning his population against America's aspirations of world dominance by armed force has been nicely validated, in his view, by recent events. Previous U.S. interventions in conflict areas around the world motivated Mr. Xi to direct his military elite of the necessity to construct a world-class military for China to perform the function of a "Great wall of Steel" as a deterrent to any potential invasion plans by the United States of America. This, while Beijing continues to threaten its near neighbours in its drive toward control of strategic water, air and ground; contested areas where it seeks dominance.

 

President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping react after posing for photos ahead of a bilateral meeting at Gimhae Air Base on October 30, 2025, in Busan, South Korea. | Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

 

There can be no doubt that the spectre of raw-brute American military forces reaching out to challenge the Iranian regime and in the process summarily decapitating its executive head, the Grand Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, may have caused a certain amount of heartburn in Beijing. Despite practical assurances that the U.S. would never assume that a similar type of attack might succeed in China, a global powerhouse rivalling that of the U.S. According to political scientist Zheng Yongnian of Hong Kong's Chinese University, the U.S. manipulated Israel to serve as a conduit for war with Iran.

 

"Beijing now sees more clearly the extent of American capabilities", leading it to take a "sober look at the balance of power", offered Shen Dingli, international relations expert in Shanghai. The People's Liberation Army posted a graphic on social media listing lessons from the U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran; stressing the importance of 'superior firepower'. China must guard against 'the enemy within' topped the military's list, in reference to the concerns over foreign spying ... of which just incidentally, China itself has become extraordinarily skilled at, in other countries worldwide. 

 

According to Chinese analysts, the United States has emerged as a more unpredictable and dangerous challenger to China's own aspirations, making it imperative that China become increasingly vigilant. "The decision to strike while talks were underway conveys a disturbing precedent: Diplomacy is not a forum for sovereign equals but an instrument subject to the whims of the dominant power", an editorial in Chinese state media pointed out. Perhaps somewhat akin to China's own use of its very own special 'hostage diplomacy'.

 

The EuroAsian Times

 

"From Beijing's perspective, the United States may frame its actions as a pursuit of peace, but what it really offers is peace through domination or containment."

"Xi doesn't want that for China. He wants peace through Chinese victory."

Kirsten Asdal, Asdal Advisory Group 

"An Era of Barbarism"

"Humanity is experiencing something very complex, and [the U.S.] is governed by a president who considers himself an emperor."

"We must show him that ideas are worth more than weapons."

"This march is a message of our unity. Independence is sacred, and we will defend it tooth and nail, if necessary."

Rene Gonzalez, 64, Cuban protester, Havana demonstration

 

"The current U.S. administration has opened the door to an era of barbarism, plunder and neo-fascism."

"No one here surrenders."

"The current emperor of the White House and his infamous secretary of state haven't stopped threatening me."

"Cuba does not have to make any political concessions, and that will never be on the table for negotiations aimed at reaching an understanding between Cuba and the United States."

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel 

Members of the Cuban military honour guard carry urns containing the remains of soldiers killed in the U.S. strike and the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, in Caracas on January 3, during the funeral for Cuban soldiers at Colon Cemetery in Havana, Cuba, January 16, 2026. Adalberto Roque/Pool via REUTERS 

 

On Friday, tens of thousands of Cuban citizens demonstrated outside the U.S. Embassy in Havana, furious over the death of 32 Cuban officers, killed during the U.S. military raid that captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro two weeks before. The open-air Jose Marti Anti-Imperialist plaza across from the embassy was crowded in the rally the Cuban government organized during high tensions between Cuba and the United States, following the attack on Venezuela of January 3.

 

Cuban officers, part of President Maduro's security detail, were killed when the raid on his Caracas residence took place. The show of popular strength was Cuba's answer to U.S. President Trump's demand that Cuba 'make a deal' with him before it is "too late". Cuba, Trump crowed, could no longer depend on Venezuela's oil and money to buoy its fractured economy.  The 1960s-forward U.S. sanctions imposed on Cuba as punishment for its communist government has strained the island mercilessly.

 

The crowd of protesters transitioned their demonstration into a "combatant march" parade, a custom hearking back to the late Fidel Castro, where a line of people led the crowd, holding up photographs of the 32 officers that were killed in Venezuela. "Down with imperialism! Cuba with prevail!", shouted the crowd. 

 

A glimpse of a coffee being made by candlelight during a power outage in Havana in March. The disruptions are often blamed on Cuba's aging power generation system, which has been stressed by fuel shortages, natural disasters and economic crisis. (Norlys Perez/Reuters)

 

Cubans have faced shortages of the basic needs of daily life. The economy is now in worse shape than it has ever been. Up to the present the government had supplied the population with a monthly allotment of rice, beans and other staples through distributed ration cards. Although the rations lasted a mere ten days, now, because of food scarcity, government ration stores can barely stock the essentials, rendering the ration cards fairly worthless.

 

There is an app available where people must sign up for an appointment to buy gas, three weeks in advance of prospective purchase. Latterly the waiting queue has been three months. With scant fuel available for municipal purposes, trucks have been unable to collect trash. Pickups of domestic garbage have been faulted, and the result is outbreaks of mosquito-borne diseases like dengue fever and chikungunya. Treatment drugs are no longer locally available.

 

Venezuela once provided 90,000 barrels of oil daily to Cuba although the last quarter of  2025 saw oil deliveries dwindle to 35,000 barrels. Now, with the U.S. in control, there will be none. Private enterprises were legalized in 2021 where private stores stock consumer goods comparable to those of U.S. supermarkets, but demand exorbitant prices. In Cuba a typical monthly pension is less than $7; a carton of 30 eggs is priced at $8.

 

"The domestic economy is in a free fall", said Ricardo Torres, a Cuban economist, now a fellow at American University in Washington. People now do their cooking over firewood. Cuba now produces 25 percent less power than in 2018.  

 

Cuban military personnel carry portraits of soldiers killed in the U.S. strike on Venezuela and the U.S. capture of President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, during a march outside the U.S. Embassy to protest against what they denounce as U.S. aggression in the region, in Havana, Cuba, January 16, 2026. REUTERS/Norlys Perez (Norlys Perez)

 

 

"I, who was born there, I, who lives there, and I'll tell you."

"It's never been as bad as it is now, because many factors have come together."

"It's dark [severe lack of energy], people are sick and they don't have medicine [adequate food and medical drugs in acutely short supply]."

"There is food, and plenty of it [at MiPyMEs private enterprises] but the prices are incredible."

"Nobody with a salary, not even a doctor can hardly buy in those stores."

Omar Everleny Perez, economist, Havana resident 

When Allies Fall Out

"Sections of the Indian foreign policy community feel 'betrayed' by the Donald Trump administration, which has found unexpected affection for Rawalpindi, raised a host of tough demands on trade, and threatened additional tariffs on India because of its BRICS membership and continued purchase of Russian oil."

"It is, perhaps, a small consolation that India is not alone. America’s neighbours and largest trading partners [Mexico and Canada] and its longstanding allies in Europe and Asia have even more reasons to feel betrayed."

C. Raja Mohan, Indian Express

 

"[There will be] very pragmatic strategic recalibrations [by New Delhi to protect its interests]."

"[India's growing economy allows its leaders breathing room, bit it is still a moment of] deep introspection [for the country]."

"We have to draw our lessons from that and really focus on the national priorities and what we need to do to become strong and more influential."

Nirupama Rao, former Indian ambassador to Beijing and Washington 

 

"In the dim-lit antechambers of global power, India stands as both witness and architect to a world on the edge of multipolar chaos."

"The tectonic plates of international order are shifting, and New Delhi – long a master of strategic ambiguity – now finds itself the subject of a more perilous experiment in global pressure with Washington brandishing the threat of sweeping tariffs and secondary sanctions."

"Republican Senator Lindsey Graham’s bill – stipulating 500% tariffs on countries buying Russian oil to curb Moscow’s aggression against Ukraine – puts India’s time-honoured doctrine of ‘strategic autonomy’ to its severest test."

"NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte’s subsequent warning to India of being hit ‘very hard’ by secondary sanctions if it continues to trade with Russia only underlines the gravity of the challenge."

Vinay Kaura, Royal United Services Institute  

Sunday Guardian

India, the world's most populous democracy, knows what it feels like to be caught between a rock and a hard place. And right now, the walls of that hard place are steadily albeit slowly moving inward to trap India, giving it due cause for concern and certainly cause to look about carefully in considering its options. Options which in and of themselves complicate an already complex situation, making it extremely difficult to make critical decisions. For any decisions made will come with ready-made headaches at a time when India would prefer to focus on its strengthening economic situation as a potential to nudge China aside as the world's premier producer of hard goods on the world stage.

On the one hand, New Delhi's growing power as a world-class producer capable of overturning China's current status as the globe's producing colossus, has seen Beijing's attention also swivelled to that likelihood so there is a certain level of tension to add to the belligerent territorial claims of the two giants over border issues and the high plateau Himalaya in particular. Rivalry of this calibre makes for uneasy neighbours.

But it is not only China and its penchant for territorial aggression that makes its neighours nervous; in India's case there is another neighbour with whom relations are fraught with tension; the ill will that emanates from Pakistan toward India is best seen in their fractious relations over Kashmir, a tinderbox of unresolved claims leading to occasional vociferous accusations and culminating in indecisive, violent clashes.

 

India's sterling relations with the United States, arguably still the world's dominant superpower, have recently taken a turn for the worse. Although in President Donald Trump's first administration no issues erupted that would rock a congenial relationship between the two countries had surfaced, the second Trump administration has roiled all of America's trade partners to a significant degree, threatening to upend world trade, causing no end of turmoil in stock markets and the suddenly wobbling global economy. 

 

When that calm and friendly relationship between India and the U.S. erupted suddenly into an antagonistic trade issue, it was not only India, but all of the U.S.'s normally reliable Western-democratic allies finding themselves staring down the barrel of a targeted trade tariff of staggering proportions. The Trump administration levying a whopping 50 percent tariff on Indian goods as punishment for Russian oil contracts by New Deli and Moscow stunned Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

 

Baisaran Valley, near Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, India. Photo Credit: Hellohappy, Wikipedia Commons

 

And when Donald Trump recognized Pakistan on an equal footing during a standoff between India and Pakistan over a conflict that began when Hindu tourists in Kashmir were attacked and killed by Pakistani terrorists whom New Deli identified as linked to the Pakistani military, India was taken aback, insulted and incredulous that this could occur, when even Trump himself has acknowledged that Pakistan harboured and sponsored terrorists in their midst -- with India in mind.

 

Donald Trump took credit for smoothing over the rankled hostility between the two neighbours, even as India took credit for its superior military having gained the advantage over Pakistan that led to a ceasefire. That Narendra Modi took exception to Trump's declaration as a premier peacemaker whose overtures had succeeded in arranging the ceasefire and his subsequent declaration of India having been responsible in view of its military success over Pakistan did not endear him to his erstwhile ally.

 

The diplomatic distance that ensued, made the imposition of steep tariffs inevitable as Mr. Modi has opened up to Vladimir Putin of Russia, both vowing to deepen "the India-Russia Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership" -- a red flag to a raging bull. With India facing a situation where rivals like China and the United States hemming in India's ambitions on the economic and diplomatic front, uncertainty reigns, forcing India to recommit to its doctrine of "strategic autonomy"; a situation similar to what Israel, an ally of India, is facing for entirely different reasons.

 

Royal United Services Institute, U.K.

Friday's Russia/U.S. "Feel-Out Meeting" in Alaska

"[Putin] is  trying to apply pressure ... on all sectors of the Ukrainian front [attempting to demonstrate that Russia is] capable of occupying all of Ukraine. [He] is bluffing [ahead of the meeting planned with Trump]."

"[He is also bluffing on sanctions] as if they do not matter to him and are ineffective. In reality, sanctions are very helpful and are hitting Russia's war economy hard. "

"[There is] currently no sign that the Russians are preparing to end the war. Pressure must be applied on Russia for an honest peace."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy

 

"[The virtual meeting with Trump was] constructive [and] important decisions [could be made in Anchorage, but] fundamental European and Ukrainian security interests must be protected [at the summit]."

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz 

 

"[The Trump administration is making] quite energetic and sincere efforts to stop the fighting, stop the crisis and reach agreements that are of interest to all parties involved in this conflict."

"[Those efforts are intended] to create long-term conditions of peace between our countries and in Europe, and in the world as a whole."

Russian President Vladimir Putin

 

"We’re going to see what happens with our meeting. We have a big meeting. It’s going to be, I think, very important for Russia, and it’s going to be very important for us."

"[The earth minerals are] very unimportant [compared to] trying to save lives."

U.S. President Donald Trump

 

"For the second month in a row, the number of civilian casualties in Ukraine hits a new three-year high."

"Only the first three months after the Russian Federation launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine saw more killed and injured than in this past month."

Danielle Bell, head, U.N. Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU) 

 

Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump have not met in person for six years (file picture)   Getty Images

 

 During the virtual meeting held Wednesday with European leaders convened by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, U.S. President Donald Trump was "very clear" that the U.S. plans to achieve a ceasefire at the Friday scheduled U.S.-Russia Summit scheduled for Alaska. Ukrainian President Zelenskyy at that same meeting informed the group that Russian President Putin "is bluffing" ahead of the meeting with Trump.

He may be bluffing with Trump to reassure the American president that what he really wants is just what Trump wants; a ceasefire and a peace agreement with a cessation of conflict. That bluff includes Putin's determined plans to carry on the conflict despite his assurances to Trump, to advantage Russia with more victories on the battlefield, creeping closer to taking military possession of more Ukrainian land.

Kremlin officials slated to accompany Putin to the Friday summit in Alaska have not been shy in reiterating Putin's intractability on his conflict goals. The war, they reiterate, will end only once Russia has gained full sovereignty over those regions in Ukraine it now partially occupies -- Donetsk and Luhansk -- known more familiarly as the Donbas, along with Kherson and Zaporizhzhia -- along with a pledge by Kyiv for demilitarization, and that Ukraine not join the NATO military alliance of Western nations.

"We will not withdraw from the Donbas. We cannot do that."

"Everyone forgets the first part: our territories are illegally occupied."

"For the Russians, the Donbas is a bridgehead for a future new offensive [that would] pave the way [for further conflict on Ukrainian soil if he surrendered the region]."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy  

As a follow-up to the video conference between Trump, Zelenskyy and the other European leaders, French President Emmanuel Macron observed that Trump was prioritizing a ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia; Trump had been clear that "territorial issues relating to Ukraine" ... will only be negotiated by the Ukrainian president.

 

Once the Friday meeting concludes, President Trump  plans to "seek a future trilateral meeting" with Putin and Zelenskyy -- "I think that's a very important point in this regard, and we hope that it can be held in Europe, in a neutral country that is acceptable to all parties", Macron concluded. Countries involved in the "coalition of the willing", who are prepared to help police a subsequent future peace agreement between Moscow and Kyiv, were expected to join a call for further discussion.

 

Zelenskyy  revealed that his government has conducted numerous conversations with partners prior to the Alaska summit, revealing his doubt that Putin would negotiate in good faith. Trump spoke of his intention to determine whether Putin is serious about ending the conflict now approaching its fourth year; that Friday's summit is a "feel-out meeting" to enable him to assess Mr. Putin's intentions. Allies in Europe are dismayed with Trump's conclusion that Ukraine must concede some of the territory held by Russia. 

 

Trump and Zelensky at the White House in February. Photo: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

 

When repeatedly asked directly about Ukrainian concessions and their potential to encourage President Putin to the belief there will be no consequences to his invasion of Ukraine, President Trump leaves no room to hope that Russia will not  be rewarded for its aggression that has impacted both Russia and Ukraine with a horrendous death and injury toll among the combatants. Mr. Trump avoided saying he would have Zelenskyy participate in discussions with Putin. 

 

Putin, the European leaders are concerned, may attempt to use Russia's energy resources to intimidate the European Union for favourable concessions while setting peace agreement outlines without their participation, fearing that the Russian president will not hesitate to set his sights on one or more of their countries, should there be no punitive consequences linked to his invasion of Ukraine. 

 

According to President Zelenskyy, his territorial adversary wants Ukraine to withdraw from the 30 percent of the Donetsk region still controlled by Ukraine, as part of a ceasefire agreement -- a proposal the Ukrainian president has long since categorically turned down as voluntarily unfeasible as a reward for the unbridled aggression that Russian forces have displayed in constantly targeting civilian infrastructure in Ukraine.

 

 

So Easily Bought? How Dangerous and Grubby Is That?!!

"I would never be one to turn down that kind of an offer. I could be a stupid person and say, 'no, we don't want a free, very expensive airplane'."

"If we can get a 747 as a contribution to our Defence Department to use during a couple of years while they're building the other ones, I think that was a very nice gesture." 

"They're giving us a free jet. I could say 'No, no, no, don't give us, I want to pay you a billion or 400 million'… or I could say 'thank you very much'."

"The Boeing 747 is being given to the United States Air Force/Department of Defense, NOT TO ME!"

"Only a FOOL would not accept this gift on behalf of our Country."

U.S. President Donald Trump

US President Donald Trump and Qatar’s Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani attend a signing ceremony in Doha, Qatar, May 14, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Brian Snyder

"The Middle East Forum’s (MEF) latest report, “America for Sale: Qatar’s $40 Billion Spending Spree Buys Influence and Control of Elite Institutions,” exposes Qatari government investments across U.S. financial sectors, from businesses and lobby firms, to think tanks, universities, and K-12 education. The New York Sun calls MEF’s study “a highly detailed look at Qatar’s enormous influence campaign, in which the tiny kingdom has deployed its enormous natural gas and oil wealth to win America’s approbation.”"

"Doha’s investments include billions in critical infrastructure, including crude oil and liquified natural gas (LNG) exports, even though Qatar is America’s chief competitor in global LNG sales. As the U.S. seeks energy independence from the Middle East, American companies are outsourcing control of the U.S. power grid and green energy products to Qatar."

"Strategic moves include investments in artificial intelligence and advanced technologies, which represent a threat to U.S. national security interests and Americans’ privacy data. In real estate, the Gulf emirate’s ventures include more than $6 billion in Manhattan trophy properties, even as New York legislators seek to impose foreign ownership restrictions."

The Qatari government has invested across U.S. financial sectors, from businesses and lobby firms, to think tanks, universities, and K-12 education. Shutterstock

"It is a government-to-government transaction. It has nothing to do with personal relationships -- neither on the US side, nor the Qatari side. It's between the two defence ministries." 

"Why would we buy influence in the United States? [Qatar has] always been a reliable and trusted partner. This is not a one-way relationship."

Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani

The United States -- for that matter the entire Western world of democratic nations -- has been infiltrated deeply by political/religious forces that constitute a veritable invasion of foot soldiers led by the Muslim Brotherhood and Qatar. The Brotherhood tends to the strictly political side, presenting itself as a rational, non-threatening, America-friendly influential well-wishing ally, courtesy of Islam, gaining the confidence of American politicians, business leaders and drowsily-woke academics. Qatar with its vast oil-derived wealth looks after the diplomatic/philanthropic side, playing nice and buying confidence.

 

Universities in the United States are always well-endowed by former graduates, alumni who have attended Ivy League schools of higher learning to become corporate leaders, scientists, leading-edge technicians, politicians of note, and others. Among the 'others', the generosity of Qatar stands out for the sheer size of its investments, endowing these institutions with grants and study chairs, and earning their trust and appreciation in the process. If an Islamic nation could be so genuinely supportive of the West, how can it be conceivable that the influx of foreign students bringing with them religious, cultural antipathies toward Israel (and the West) can be maliciously suspicious?

 

And how could it be conceived of that a president of the United States -- arguably the most powerful man in the world, the leader of the nation most influential in world affairs -- could be bought? Which is to say, his trust and influence and goodwill in exchange for sumptuous gifts? Like a luxury Boeing aircraft. To be refurbished as the president's coach-in-four flightcraft. Could such a gift be construed as a personal emolument, forbidden under presidential rules through constitutional safeguards against cupidity and profit for a high office holder?

President Donald Trump boards Air Force One on Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2020, at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., for a campaign event in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf)

The U.S. Constitution is fairly clear on emoluments permissible through the office of the president of the United States in the interests of preserving presidential independence from outside influence. This is a president, of course, accustomed to flouting rules of any kind, in his presumed entitlement to act always as he sees fit. Anyone holding public office is barred by Article 1, from accepting any gift emolument, office or title from any "King, Prince, or foreign State", absent Congressional consent.

 

President Trump's hunger for acknowledgement in his peerless position, his vanity and sense of accomplished entitlement responds to gestures of any kind of those who stand in awe of the position he holds. But above all, those who behave as though they regard him as hugely intelligent, masterfully competent in any field of endeavour, but above all, anxious to please the man's outsize ego to pave their way into his inner circle of confidants at home and abroad.

 

Gifts denoting allegiance to an overlord were common enough in the Medieval era, their continuation to the present sounds an alarm of intended influence where none should be expected. And while Mr. Trump in an effort to assure his critics, states that the plane, to be used as an Air Force 1 presidential aircraft during his tenure, would revert to a decommissioned display piece for a future presidential library. Of course, Mr. Trump and his family business enterprise are known to have profited from his position.

 

A Saudi Arabian company will be engaged to build a luxury golf resort in Qatar. The Trump Organization family business has been forging full steam ahead in foreign deal-making during the Trump administration. His business group is no stranger to lawsuits launched against it accusing the president of illegally profiting off the presidency in his real estate enterprises. In his first term in office, lawsuits alleging his violation of the Constitution's emoluments clause in accepting payments from foreign and domestic officials staying at the Trump International Hotel, patronizing his businesses, failed to staunch his enterprise second time around.

 

Trump World Tower, New York    Trump Organization

 

 

Canada/U.S. Relations Out of Kilter

Then: "Reliance on a US defence umbrella, a critical factor since the end of WW2 for so many countries is no longer guaranteed."

"No affected country can afford to close its eyes and hope that 2026 or 2028 elections in the US will bring everything back to 'normal' ... and not happen again."

"The toothpaste cannot go back in the tube." March 25 LinkedIn post 

Now: "The reality is that, without U.S. consent, no country can hope to operate the F-35 for long. [Building Canada's future fighter force solely on the F-35 would be] irresponsible."

"We may find for example that 36 F-35 and 150 other fighter aircraft such as Rafale or Gripen could be a better strategic, economic, and military posture while investing heavily in 6th gen developments." 

Retired Lt.-Gen. Yvan Blondin

The F-35 program has had a controversial history in Canada. Photo by Errol McGihon /Postmedia

Once the man who was chief of the Royal Canadian Air Force from 2012 to 2015, retired Lt.-Gen. Blondin had insisted the U.S.-built F-35 represented the best fighter jet for Canadian operations given that its allies in democracy gravitated around American leadership, technology and military operations. That is, until the election and ascension of Donald Trump to the American presidency. Much has since then changed.

 

Canada's economy is now under threat by the Trump administration amidst aggressive statements on annexing the country under American hegemony as the 51st U.S. state. And nor is Canada the only nation that finds itself under threat, since seizing Greenland and the Panama Canal have also come under discussion in the U.S. ostensibly to secure American concerns over security issues. 

 

Yet, confoundingly, one of the countries that stands to pose the greatest risk to American security has somehow secured President Trump's confidence.

 

A former fighter pilot, the retired general had years back recommended that Canada take on the F-35 from Lockheed Martin, persuading then-Prime Minister Stephen Harper it would be in Canada's best military operational interests. Which resulted in then-PM Harper's Conservative government locking into the acquisition in 2010, despite delays when increasing costs and technical problems associated with the F-35 began to surface. 

In 2023 the Liberal government under Justin Trudeau, after having for years denied that the F-35 would answer to Canada's needs and skirting the issue of acquisition, changed tack to announce it was prepared to buy 88 F-35s at a cost of $19 billion, although Canada was financially committed only to the purchase of the first 15 jets hearking back to the Conservative government decision.

 

Lt.-Gen. Blondin elaborated, explaining that the problem with the F-35 is the issue of complete control that the United States maintains over all aspects of the plane, not merely the aircraft itself. Time remains before a decision must be made for the purchase of the remaining 72 F-35s, said Lt.-Gen. Blondin after Liberal Leader Mark Carney ordered a F-35 purchase review, taking into account an increasingly hostile America under President Trump. 

 

Saab's Gripen E fighter jet is an alternative being considered to the American-made F-35. Photo by Saab /PST

 

There are options in suggestions the Swedish built Gripen -- second in the Canadian fighter jet competition -- would be considered a solution. There had been a promise by its Swedish manufacturer that the Gripens could be built in Canada. Former defence procurement chief at the Canadian Armed Forces Alan Williams, and other defence analysts have given warning the F-35 represents a strategic vulnerability for Canada, with American total control over software upgrades and aircraft spare parts.

 

Canada, pointed out Lt.-Gen. Blondin, must now look to developing a defence strategy taking into account the new realities of changes in its relationship with the United States. Those who are in support of Canada's F-35 purchase point out the hundreds of millions worth of contracts that companies in Canada have been involved in, supplying parts for the U.S. aircraft, creating Canadian aerospace employment.

 

That too changed,  however, when in late February, President Trump informed Lockheed Martin, manufacturer of the F-35. that a change was in order; specifically that he wanted those jobs returned to the U.S. when Canadian contracts come up for renewal.

 

Yvan Blondin said building Canada’s future fighter force solely on the F-35 would be “irresponsible.” Photo by Jack Boland /Jack Boland/Toronto Sun

 

President Trump, Peacemaker

"He [President Volodymyr Zelenskyy] disrespected the United States of America in its cherished Oval Office. He can come back when he's ready for Peace."

"Don't tell us what we're going to feel. You're in no position to dictate that. You're right now not in a very good position. You've allowed yourself to be in a very bad position. You don't have the cards right now. With us, you start having cards."

"You're gambling with lives of millions of people. You're gambling with World War III. And what you're doing is very disrespectful to the country -- this country, that's backed you!"

"Far more than a lot of people said they should have."

U.S. President Donald J. Trump 

"Mr. President, with respect, I think it's disrespectful for you to come into the Oval Office to try to litigate this in front of the American media."

"You should be thanking the president for trying to bring an end to this conflict."

"You bring people, you bring them on a propaganda tour, Mr. President."

"Have you said thank you once? In this entire meeting, have you said thank you? … Offer some words of appreciation for the U.S.A. and the president who's trying to save your country?" 

U.S. Vice-President J.D. Vance

 

"Have you ever been to Ukraine? Come once?"

"First of all, during the war, everybody has problems, even you." 

"But you have nice ocean and don't feel now, but  you will feel it in the future."

"I'm not playing cards. I'm very serious, Mr. President. I'm very serious."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, left, is shown with U.S. President Donald Trump and U.S. Vice-President JD Vance at the White House in Washington, D.C., on Friday. (Brian Snyder/Reuters)

"This is going to be great television", President Trump said, after cancelling a scheduled news conference following the Oval Office meeting with President Zelenskyy. "I hope I'll be known and recognized as a peacemaker", he said while still in the Oval Office. Prior to the meeting Mr. Trump reaffirmed that military assistance for Ukraine would be continued; the United States, he repeated, was still committed to NATO and the protection of Poland.

 

Earlier, the discussions that took place between Messrs. Trump, Vance and Zelenskyy graduated from a calm atmosphere that soon degenerated into a shouting match between the two American leaders joining their loud voices assailing the Ukrainian president. This was clearly an unusual display of Oval Office diplomacy. Both Mr. Trump and Mr. Vance emphasizing in no uncertain terms to Mr. Zelenskyy that he was in no position to demand, or even politely request anything of the United States. 

 

Zelenskyy's caution over signing away Ukraine's mineral rights, insisting a security guarantee accompany such an agreement, raised his interlocutors' hackles.

They charged him with derailing a rare opportunity for peace. A cordial meeting turned into an exchange of bitter accusations. Of course, such an exchange might have been  anticipated to some degree, given President Trump's previous characterizations of President Zelenskyy as a 'dictator' and casting Ukraine as the aggressor, not Russia, in the three-year-old conflict. The unprovoked Kremlin drive into Ukraine suddenly became a reversed situation; somehow Ukraine had provoked Moscow into its military incursion across the border.

This, despite President Zelenskyy outlining Vladimir Putin's aggressively violent behaviour from 2014 forward. To Vice-President Vance's admonition "Have you said thank you once, in this entire meeting?", President Zelenskyy responded that he has often given thanks to the American people for their support in Ukraine's war effort. "Your country is in big trouble", said Vance. "You're not winning this. Then you tell us, 'I don't want a ceasefire. I don't want a ceasefire', mocked Trump. 

When a reporter present in the chamber enquired what might occur should Russia break a ceasefire, President Trump returned: "What if a bomb drops on your head right now?" Turning back to Zelenskyy, Trump repeated: "You don't have the cards. But once we sign that deal, you're in a much better position. But you're not acting at all thankful. And that's not a nice thing." Whereupon he ordered reporters to leave the room. 

World leaders have reacted to the combative Oval Office meeting witnessed by a room full of media that saw U.S. President Donald Trump and Vice-President JD Vance berating Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and calling him ‘disrespectful’ during the meeting in Washington that was meant to negotiate an agreement between the two nations.

As far as President Trump is concerned he has faith that Vladimir Putin has a wish to  end the war and would be prepared to respect any peace agreement that could be agreed upon. He utters no criticism of Russia's President and has made it abundantly clear that he supports Moscow and Pyongyang against Ukraine, adequately proven by a vote at the United Nations marking the war's third anniversary.

"Thank you America, thank you for your support, thank you for this visit. Thank you @POTUS, Congress, and the American people. Ukraine needs just and lasting peace, and we are working exactly for that," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy later wrote on X.

Zelenskyy leaves after a news conference with Trump was canceled following their Oval Office meeting on Friday. (Nathan Howard/Reuters)

"Many Americans will be appalled by this. Most Americans do not want to see this kind of public bullying and humiliation of some ally, which is fighting for its life."

"I think this has very long historical implications, I think this is most unfortunate, and it is not over."

"Trump can change his mind in a New York minute, but what has happened today has been something that will darken whatever legacy [Trump] has forever."

Aurel Braun, professor of international relations and political science, University of Toronto, associate, Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies, Harvard University

"[The shouting] was the most appalling display of the most appalling behaviour I have ever witnessed from a Western leader."

"I think this was deliberately set up to humiliate President Zelenskyy. I think they attempted to humiliate him, but I think that President Zelenskyy stood up proud and stood his ground with Trump and with Vance."

"I think they were trying to provoke him because they are becoming accustomed to Western leaders coming to the white House and kissing the ring." 

Alexandra Chyczij, head, Ukrainian Canadian Congress