The Bull Ring

Economies Grow By Adapting. Not Sticking To Old Ideas. 𝘍𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨'𝘴 '𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘣𝘰𝘯𝘦' 𝘮𝘺𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘴 𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯: 𝘛𝘳𝘶𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘵𝘩 𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘢𝘥𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘴, 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘭𝘰𝘸-𝘺𝘪𝘦𝘭𝘥 𝘧𝘪𝘦𝘭𝘥𝘴. 𝗢𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗼𝗻: Bruce Alpine . T he old idea that farming is the main support of any economy is like a heavy chain holding a boat back. It comes from times when most people grew food to survive. But today, in the 21st Century, with cities full and computers everywhere, this myth stops countries from moving forward. Real growth happens when we shift workers and money to new areas like tech and services, where they make much more. Hanging on to farming as the "big boss" wastes chances and keeps people poor. The facts show it's not true anymore. Farming makes up just 4% of the world's total economy in 2024, maybe 5% in 2...

Trump Threatens ➟ Europe Unites ➟ Trump Backs Down 𝘛𝘳𝘶𝘮𝘱 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 10% 𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘦𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘌𝘶𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘤𝘦 𝘎𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘯𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥'𝘴 𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯. 𝘌𝘶𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘊𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘥𝘢 𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘧𝘪𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘊𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘨𝘭𝘰𝘣𝘢𝘭 "𝘳𝘶𝘱𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦" 𝘢𝘵 𝘋𝘢𝘷𝘰𝘴. 𝘍𝘢𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘮𝘰𝘪𝘭, 𝘛𝘳𝘶𝘮𝘱 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯. 𝐀𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐬: Bruce Alpine . A fter threatening military force to seize Greenland and imposing tariff hikes on opposing European nations, President Trump faced unified EU resistance to his imperial ambitions.  He backed down, canceling the tariffs and ruling out force. Trump intensified his pursuit of Greenland, Denmark's autonomous territory, framing it as vital for Arctic strategy against Russia and China, resource access, and U.S. security.  On January 17, he threa...

Canada's Gripen Gambit: Reshaping Global Air Power? 𝘊𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘥𝘢 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘎𝘳𝘪𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘫𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘍-35𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴, 𝘈𝘳𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘤 𝘦𝘥𝘨𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘫𝘰𝘣𝘴—𝘱𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘪𝘧𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘕𝘈𝘛𝘖, 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘜.𝘚. 𝘥𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘥 𝘛𝘳𝘶𝘮𝘱 𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴. 𝗢𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗼𝗻: Bruce Alpine . I n the frosty corridors of Ottawa, a seismic shift brews in the world of fighter jet procurement.  Canada's long-committed $19-billion deal for 88 Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II stealth fighters—signed in 2023 to replace its creaky CF-18 Hornets—is under fierce scrutiny.  With only 16 jets delivered amid ballooning costs and U.S. geopolitical saber-rattling under President Trump, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has greenlit a high-stakes review.  Enter Sweden's Saab JAS 39 Gripen: a nimble, affordable multirole marvel that's suddenly the darling of Canadian sovereignty advocates. From a n...

Trump's 2026 Circus: Maduro Snatch, Gutted Agencies, and Global Punchlines 𝘛𝘳𝘶𝘮𝘱'𝘴 2026 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘰𝘴: 𝘔𝘢𝘥𝘶𝘳𝘰 𝘬𝘪𝘥𝘯𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘥, 𝘐𝘊𝘌 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘱𝘰𝘦𝘵 𝘙𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘦 𝘎𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘔𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘢𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘴, 𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘨𝘶𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘥, 𝘎𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘯𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘕𝘈𝘛𝘖—𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘴 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘴, 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘴 𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘦, 𝘨𝘭𝘰𝘣𝘢𝘭 𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘳𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘴. 𝗢𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗼𝗻 By Bruce Alpine . A s 2025 dawned with Donald Trump's January 20 inauguration, the globe braced for "America First" redux.  Instead, executive overreach, institutional sabotage, and geopolitical whiplash spiraled into anarchy by year's end.  Late-2024 predictions, like CNN's " chaos around the world ," rang true.  Trump's tariffs, mass deportations, and alliance ruptures fueled domestic rage and global isolation.  Mid-year, NPR flagged a "chaotic" foreign policy: sky-high tariffs paired wit...

Has Trump landed a dud with his Venezuelan oil play? 𝘛𝘳𝘶𝘮𝘱'𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘔𝘢𝘥𝘶𝘳𝘰 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘜𝘚 𝘴𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘵𝘺 𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘴, 𝘦𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘪𝘭-𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘎𝘶𝘭𝘧 𝘞𝘢𝘳. 𝘏𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘝𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘻𝘶𝘦𝘭𝘢'𝘴 30-50𝘔 𝘣𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘨𝘭𝘰𝘣𝘢𝘭 𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘺 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘜𝘚 𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯. Analysis: Ian Verrender, ABC . T here's been uproar and condemnation aplenty over America's sudden assault on the once enshrined concept of national sovereignty, overthrowing eight decades of rigidly enforced global order.  Almost 35 years ago, George Bush Senior ordered US troops to lead a 42-nation strong United Nations force into Kuwait to defend the gulf state against an invasion by Saddam Hussein's Iraq.  Ostensibly, the first Gulf War was all about protecting the concept of national sovereignty.  In reality, it was all about oil. Last weekend, Donald Trump jettison...

The Great American Rift: Trump's Rhetoric and the Deadly Divide. 𝘛𝘳𝘶𝘮𝘱'𝘴 𝘴𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥-𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘳𝘩𝘦𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘤—𝘧𝘶𝘦𝘭𝘴 𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦, 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘥 𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘰𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘤𝘩𝘰 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘢𝘯 𝘳𝘪𝘧𝘵𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘭𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘺'𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘦. 𝗔𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘆𝘀𝗶𝘀 By Bruce Alpine. . A merica's partisan abyss has deepened into a vortex of venom, where Donald Trump's scorched-earth rhetoric—fueled by geographic bunkers and algorithmic silos—doesn't just widen the schism but ignites lethal hatred, catapulting political assassinations from fringe fear to frontline reality. the split between Democrats and Republicans in America has grown into a storm of anger and hate. Donald Trump's harsh words—boosted by people living in separate neighborhoods and online bubbles—don't just make the divide bigge...