Keeping it Real…

Most Canadians really dislike (too mild a word?) Donald Trump; regard him as quite a disgusting person; a liar; a racist; and, many even believe he’s mentally unstable.

But that doesn’t mean Trump is always wrong.

For 40 years, the Iranian government has been the most brutal, repressive, intolerant, terrorist-supporting regime … in not just the Middle East, but the world. And that takes some doing!

The Iranian administration admits to have killed, just weeks ago, more than 3,000 of its own citizens (injuring many thousands more) who were protesting economic conditions/lack of freedoms.

Just think: what kind of government ADMITS killing thousands of its own citizens … protesting students, women, shopkeepers, workers!

Some sources place the death toll at between 7,000 and 32,000, but it’s hard to reach Iranians to get first-hand figures/accounts because Internet access in Iran has been cut off for weeks.

Then, there was Mahsa Amini. The 22-year-old woman was detained, tortured and murdered in 2022 by Iran’s morality police after allegedly violating strict hijab laws. Incredible!!!

And Amini was not an isolated case.

“Iran executed at least 901 people in 2024, a significant increase from 834 in 2023, with the country accounting for 64% of all recorded executions worldwide,” according to Wikipedia.

The Shiite Iranian regime has also targeted, carried out attempted kidnappings, assassinations, and murdered critics/opponents throughout the world … and has been widely accused of being the largest financial sponsor and arms supplier of Islamic terrorist groups, including Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis.

And over the past two years, the Iranian mullahs have supplied Russia with thousands of incendiary/killer drones used to decimate military, infrastructure and civilians in Ukraine.

Truly a horrific regime … without even taking into account their 2024 attack on Israel (300 rockets, drones, ballistic missiles) or their sustained secret attempts over decades to develop a nuclear weapon and long-range ballistic missiles capable of reaching the U.S.

Iran has been and would have continued to be the single biggest obstacle to stemming terrorism and finally achieving widespread stability and even peace in the Mid East.

Saturday, the timing was right, the forces were aligned and the circumstances provided a unique opportunity … so the US and Israel struck, taking out 40 of Iran’s top leadership, levelling a thousand Iranian military targets/infrastructure/missile launchers.

As I write this, the mission is continuing … and will hopefully lead to regime change.

And that’s where my own “Maybe” in considering the wisdom of the whole operation comes in.

Trump’s “go ahead’ for the US attack was the right decision … IF a better regime/government emerges for the people of Iran, the Middle East and world peace in general.

But without troops on the ground to install a new administration, unless there’s an as-yet-unknown secret plan/arrangement for an Opposition force or a group of moderate Iranian military generals to wrest power from the Revolutionary Guards (or the even more vicious Basij internal security force) the whole US adventure could collapse and lead to just another Supreme Leader and even more repression.

The next few weeks will tell: either proving Trump’s move was brilliant; or a disaster for the US, the Mid East … and the Iranian people.

Harv Oberfeld

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A week ago a Norwegian friend of mine asked if i had noticed the total medal count at the 2026 Winter Olympics?

“No,” I replied. “No one will remember any of it a few days after the Games end … except the hockey.”

That’s what hurts, will hurt for some time … and not be forgotten for decades … from coast to coast to coast, in Canada.

The Gold Medal hockey games … both the Men’s and Women’s … between Canada and the United States, during the Milan Olympics, were much more than just sports competitions: many, many Canadians REALLY wanted to beat the AMERICANS!

With enmity! With vengeance in mind! Even humiliate them if we could!

Not something I detected similarly from American sports fans, who, of course, wanted the US to win, but to whom the issues involved didn’t go much beyond normal national pride. Like at any Olympics, any World Cup, any World Series, any FIFA, or any Rider Cup.

For Canadians, this was different: much different.

It shows, in no uncertain terms, how far Canadians have now distanced ourselves from our southern neighbours … repulsed by not only Donald Trump’s insults, threats, lies, tariffs, thickening border controls directed against our country, but also widespread Canadian disgust and revulsion for Trump himself as a person.

Figures have shown for some time now that huge numbers of Canadians have avoided visiting/vacationing/wintering/shopping in the US.

USA Today reports in 2025 “4 million fewer visits from Canadian travelers, a 22% drop from the previous year.”

Air Transat and WestJet have announced cuts on routes to several U.S. cities, while Las Vegas visits by Canadians are reportedly down 20 to 50%, depending on the month.

“Canadian air travel to the U.S. drops for the 11th straight month,” read the headline earlier this month in the Financial Post. (Read the full article here: https://financialpost.com/transportation/airlines/canadian-air-travel-us-drops-11-straight-month.)

Most Canadian provinces have removed American booze from our shelves … costing the US industry hundreds of millions, while boosting Canadian and other foreign suppliers’ sales.

And now, there’s a new indicator of how serious Canadians have become in sending a message to Americans.

“Canadian consumers are quietly pulling U.S. products off their grocery lists, and the impact is measurable,” says Sylvain Charlebois, a Canadian professor and food researcher.

“Multiple industry sources relying on scanner data from major grocers suggest that volumes of U.S.-sourced products have declined by double digits since last March. That represents a material shift within specific categories, including packaged foods and produce where U.S. imports traditionally hold significant shelf space,” Charlebois reported in a column in the Asia Pacific Post. (Read the full article here: https://asianpacificpost.com/article/10531-us-consumer-boycott-exposes-local-problem.html.)

“For many households, the grocery store has become one of the few places where they feel they can register disapproval of the Trump administration’s posture toward Canada,” Charlebois noted.

Amen!

Beating the US hockey team(s) would have soothed the soul, but for long-term satisfaction, the power of the pocketbook can also feel good … and do more for Canada.

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Harv Oberfeld

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