Against the Flow is a new blog that will deal with serious and difficult topics, and occasionally with softer subjects too. It will side with politics that strives to do the right thing, as opposed to favouring quick and easy answers. Rather than practising mere public relations, it will encourage journalism that seeks the truth and explores what is really going on in the community. It will praise political leaders who take responsibility for their words, actions and mistakes. It will show respect for First Nations peoples for their great strengths and for the many injustices they are overcoming. It will salute those who recognize that our planet is both burning up and drowning due to climate change and undertake to fight on behalf of Planet Earth. 

This beautiful cable-suspended bridge links two automobile towns, Windsor, Ontario, Canada and Detroit, Michigan, U.S.A.

Prime Minister Mark Carney has been under fire for not immediately disclosing any cost sharing of revenues from the bridge for which Canada paid the entire construction cost.

U.S. President Donald Trump this week announced new 50 per cent tariffs on everything from softwood lumber to hockey sticks, but not on things like potash and aluminium which the U.S. desperately needs from Canada.

Bob Rae, Canada’s former ambassador to the United Nations, commented that “we don’t have as much leverage…There are so many examples when they (the Trump administration) are just flexing their muscles.”

Fittingly, the Carney government pulled out of the planned joint ceremony for the opening of the Howe bridge, scheduled for Monday July 27th. Instead, it will hold its own all-Canadian ceremony this Friday.

The deal — posted online late Tuesday night and reported by the CBC, is  described as a "proposed agreement in principle" — and says that for the first 15 years, Canada will split half of the bridge's net revenue with an economic development fund "established and solely controlled" by the U.S. government.
 
That net revenue would include "all revenues collected with respect to the bridge" minus operating costs, according to the posting on line.
 
Prime Minister Carney has long resisted press attempts to learn the nature of any revenue-sharing agreement. By not releasing the details from the beginning, he has come under fire from both the federal Conservatives and the New Democrats.

Carney could learn much from the much loved—and feared—hockey player Gordie Howe. The durable right winger was a blend of elite scoring, terrifying physical toughness, and incredible longevity.

He was a prairie boy and put Floral, Saskatchewan on the map.

He played for an unheard of 26 seasons, won the Hart Trophy for the NHL’s most valuable player six times and won four Stanley Cups for the Detroit Red Wings.

He was a right winger on a line with Centre Sid Abel and left winger Ted Lindsay. Their unit became known as the Production Line not only for the players’ muscle and might, but also with an allusion to Detroit’s auto factories.

Howe was reputed to, on occasion, cut out the palms of his hockey gauntlets, the better to hold on to an opponent without the referee seeing him. Bobby Hull, the player with the big slap shot who played his NHL hockey in another tough town, Chicago, described Howe as “strong as a bull and tougher than a night in jail.”

Carney, who knows the game of hockey and was a hockey goalie himself, is a  strong prime minister but at the same time he could learn a few things  from Gordie Howe and how he played the game. Straying on the side of keeping the public informed, even if the details are complicated, allows people to give him the benefit of the doubt when things get tough.

​Prime Minister Carney still has lessons to learn from these players, despite his “elbows up” rhetoric in response to Trump dismissing Canada as the 51st State.
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The observers of politics, i.e. the voters, are always watching what is going on. It’s important to be tough going into the corners, but it is also vital to tell the voters what is really going on and not treat them as subjects who can be kept in the dark. All the details of the bridge deal will eventually come out, and sometimes the truth hurts.

Prime Minister Carney still has lessons to learn from these players, despite his “elbows up” rhetoric in response to Trump dismissing Canada as the 51st State.
​
The observers of politics, i.e. the voters, are always watching what is going on. It’s important to be tough going into the corners, but it is also vital to tell the voters what is really going on and not treat them as subjects who can be kept in the dark. All the details of the bridge deal will eventually come out, and sometimes the truth hurts.

Ferren Torres scored the critical goal for Spain in the 1-0 win in the 106th minute in the final game of the 2026 FIFA World Cup played at the New York New Jersey stadium.

“It was a goal scored by 47 million people,” Torres said after the victory.

This was true because U.S. President Donald Trump had earlier derided the entire Spanish nation, and openly supported Argentina in the contest.

Trump had previously made it clear that he is no fan of Spain, notably for its lack of support for the U.S. war with Iran.

The New York Times reports that at the NATO summit in Turkey this month Trump said: “I don’t want anything to do with Spain,” arguing that all trade with that country should be cut off.
He continued: “They’re hopeless. Bad people.”
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It is plain to see that Trump believes that all those who disagree with him or the USA are “bad people”

At the final World Cup game Trump sat beside his friend, FIFA President Gianni Infantino, who Trump had previously persuaded to overturn a red card suspension against the American football star Flo Balogun.

The Times reported that Trump had little choice but to show diplomacy at the end of the final FIFA game, helping to hand the golden trophy to players on the field at the New Jersey stadium.

Graham Platner, with allegations of rape swirling around him, the gritty oyster farmer and former marine, who built grassroots following of 15,000 Maine supporters (72 percent) in his party’s primary election, has until 5pm July 13 to officially withdraw from the race. In an eleven-minute video he did not apologize for alleged sexual assault incidents and appeared only to be biding his time.                                                                                                             

After holding Morocco to a tie for the first half, the team fell to defeat to Morocco in their Round of 12 match in the FIFA World Cup.
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After the loss, Marsch assured his players they had had given such “joy to the country.” An American soccer/football player and coach who brought new dynamism to his Canadian role.
 
“I’m really proud of my boys,” said Marsch.
 
Marsch embraced the importance of the men’s performance for Canadians after U.S. President Donald Trump’s 51st state rhetoric and the country’s “elbows up” spirit in the face of Trump’s degrading messages. 

​Marsch’s players followed down the path of this country’s women footballers like Olympic Gold Medalist Christine Sinclair, who wrote in a message to the men’s team after their defeat: “I’ve been in that huddle…I know how heavy a loss like that feels, and I know that right now it’s probably impossible to see anything beyond the disappointment. But with time, I hope this group will realize what they’ve truly accomplished…Be proud. Canada certainly is.”
 
Well said, Christine.