Author: AllanHardingM

Electrification is a crucial driver in the global energy transition, aiming to lower greenhouse gas emissions and improve energy efficiency by powering transportation, heating, and industrial processes with clean electricity

–

https://www.nationalobserver.com/2026/06/16/opinion/international-energy-geopolitics-iran-war

Excerpted from June 18th 2026 National Observer Max Fawcett article

In the last Cold War, it was easy for Canada to decide which side it backed. This time, it will be far more difficult. Yes, our economy still relies heavily on oil and gas development and it drives a lot of our capital formation and attraction. But China and its allies in Asia are actively re-wiring the global economy

Will the future be forward-looking, green and bravely planetary — or will it be backward-looking, carbon-intensive and stridently sovereigntist?

 Countries that import oil and gas — which is to say, almost all of them, especially in the parts of the world where demand is supposed to grow — are re-assessing their reliance on an increasingly unreliable product. And while Canada may look like a comparative source of calm and reliability compared to Iran or even the United States right now, we’re still in the same fundamental business of trying to sell more fossil fuels — one that faces the same existential threat. 

China, after all, isn’t building solar panels, batteries, electric vehicles and other demand-destroying technologies because it cares about the environment. It’s capitalizing on a growing source of economic and especially geopolitical power.

THE MATH IS THE MATH

–

• Meanwhile at the G7 :Political Fossil Fuel Theatre perhaps?
• Canada is poised to become a key and reliable supplier of energy to the G7 after leaders meeting in France embraced this country’s potential to deliver “significant additional capacity” to global markets to reduce dependence on oil and gas coming through the Strait of Hormuz.
• “We commit to accelerate the diversification of energy supply routes in order to reduce global vulnerability to the Strait of Hormuz and to increase our energy stocks,” said a joint statement by G7 leaders in Évian-les-Bains, France, on Wednesday.
• “We welcome the potential for Canada to deliver significant additional capacity to global markets in the coming years.”

Source CBC News

Markham Hislop sits down with National Observer columnist Max Fawcett to examine Mark Carney’s emerging energy and climate strategy, the global shift from molecules to electrons, and why Canada’s assumptions about future oil and LNG demand may be increasingly out of step with reality.

Click link for article

Iran Enlisted “Senior Psychologists” to Help Craft Messages to Trump Ahead of Agreement

An Iranian official told Drop Site that Trump’s “reactions improved noticeably” after the psychiatric professionals joined the negotiating effort.

JEREMY SCAHILL JUN 15/26

A few of the psychologists insights

1. Not the brightest light in the harbor.

2. The light’s on but no one’s home.

3. Not the brightest bulb in the box.

4. A few screws short of a hardware store.

5. Not the sharpest knife in the drawer.

–

6. A few cards short of a deck.

7. A few fries short of a Happy Meal.

8. About as sharp as a marble.

9. Only has one oar in the water.

10. Smart as a bag of rocks.

11. A burger short of a combo meal.

–

12. The elevator doesn’t go all the way to the top floor.

13. A few peas short of a casserole.

14. A few keys short of a keyboard.

15. Not the brightest bulb on the Christmas tree.

16. The gates are down and the lights are flashing, but the train isn’t coming.

–

17. As smart as a stick.

18. Fell out of the stupid tree and hit every branch on the way down.

19. An intellect rivaled only by garden tools.

20. Has an IQ of room temperature.

21. Couldn’t pour water out of a boot with instructions on the heel.

22. Not the brightest crayon in the box.

23. One twist short of a slinky.

24. Sharp as a sack of wet mice.

25. More numb than a frozen mukluk.

26. Not the sharpest crayon in the box

27. Not the sharpest tool in the shed

–

28. They are depriving some village of its idiot.

29. A few threads short of a sweater.

30. A few sandwiches short of a picnic.

31. Driveway doesn’t quite reach the road.

32. The battery is not fully charged.

33. About as sharp as a bowling ball.

34. Dumber than a bag of hammers.

35. Two bricks short of a load.

–

SpaceX made the biggest stock market debut in history on Friday after nearly two and a half decades as a private company. Public trading began around midday with a starting share price of $150, which quickly jumped by a double digit percentage and sent the company’s valuation above $2tn. The company’s initial public offering made the company’s CEO, Elon Musk, the world’s first trillionaire.

“It is certainly hard to believe that a little company that started in a warehouse in El Segundo is now going public with the largest IPO ever,” Musk said in an address at SpaceX’s headquarters. He reiterated the company’s mission to “make humanity multiplanetary” and “take the fiction out of science fiction”.

Executives rang the bell to open trading as Elton John’s Rocket Man played on the floor of the Nasdaq exchange.

–

–

Meanwhile :Musk’s approach to humanity on planet earth: June 12/2026

=

–

Elon Musk accused of amplifying anti-migrant content to more than 60 million on X amid Belfast disorder

–

“As the owner of X and its most-followed user, Elon Musk has unparalleled power to shape what people see online. With that power comes responsibility for the content and conduct his platform promotes,” he said. 

“Yet our research shows that he used the Belfast tragedy to amplify anti-migrant narratives to millions of users, prompting endless calls for violence. While communities dealt with the consequences of brutality and disorder, no individual played a bigger role in spreading this content on X than Musk himself.”

Imran Ahmed, Founder & CEO of CCDH

Source: Independent

Court Painter & Trillionaire

Chrystia Freeland is returning to her writing roots with a new book named after a quip she made about the United States on an American talk show.

“Unreliable Boyfriend: An Insider’s View of Dealing with a Chaotic Superpower, Plutocrats, and Other Complicated People” will be published in October.

Its title is a reference to a comment she made on “Real Time With Bill Maher” in February, saying that the U.S. is “not a very reliable boyfriend right now.”

–

–

U.S. President Donald ‘Unreliable Boyfriend’ Trump is again saying the American economy does not need anything from Canada or Mexico and he is “not looking to renew” the continental trade pact.

Source Canadian Press  June 10/26

–

–

Court Painter putting finishing touches on “Unreliable”

Bombastic is the title and description of Court Painter’s recent exhibition.It also could describe his irascible temperament and celebrity brand.

As an aside :(Stockholm, 27 April 2026) World military expenditure reached $2887 billion in 2025, an increase of 2.9 per cent in real terms over 2024. Military spending declined in the United States but rose by 14 per cent in Europe and by 8.1 per cent in Asia and Oceania. The top three military spenders—the USA, China and Russia—spent a combined total of $1480 billion, or 51 per cent of the global total, according to new data published today by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). 

-Court Painter seen holding a sparkler.

-Installation

-Installation

-Installation

-The Press Attaché to Court Painter is seen holding a purchase from the gallery gift shop.

-Court Painter in his studio

-Court Painter in his studio

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer & Flag Hugger

The Trump administration plans to impose new tariffs on dozens of trading partners, including Canada, over allegations the countries are allowing goods produced by forced labour into their supply chains.

The proposed new tariffs were announced by U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer late Tuesday night, not long after he wrapped up an afternoon meeting with Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc in Washington. 

“The failure of our most important trading partners to address the importation of goods made with forced labour is unacceptable,” Greer said in a news release.

For a stinging analysis of the latest in American hypocrisy this is a must view with Tod Maffin.”Lectured by the Guilty”

–

Court Painter & Double Trouble Portrait

St. Petersburg International Economic Forum

–

Donald Trump has sent an official US delegation to the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum led by Rodney Mims Cook Jr.

–

–

Cook is overseeing the president’s controversial White House ballroom extension and is chair of the US Commission of Fine Arts.

Another guest is the former Hollywood actor and Putin supporter Steven Seagal.

Ukrainian officials shared video footage on Wednesday that showed drones buzzing noisily above St Petersburg’s skyline. “The Petersburg forum is opening with a nice plume of black smoke in the background after Ukrainian strikes,” posted Serhii Sternenko, an adviser to the country’s defence minister.

–

–

Ukrainian drones hit energy and military sites in St Petersburg early on Wednesday, hours before international guests gathered for the city’s flagship economic forum, in a blow to Vladimir Putin.

–

–

Several long-range drones crashed into oil storage facilities after Russian air defences failed to shoot them down. There were loud explosions and black smoke rose high above the city from the blazing oil terminal. Drones also struck the nearby Kronstadt naval base and shipyard in Leningrad oblast, which is home to Russia’s Baltic fleet. The corvette, the Boikiy, caught fire. It was in dry dock undergoing repairs.

–

–

In the past, Russia has used the St Petersburg forum to court western investors. Since Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, most have stayed away. The Kremlin has instead invited close regional and other allies, including this year the presidents of Uzbekistan and Tanzania, alongside ministers from Cuba, Belarus , Saudi Arabia and Donald Trump’s official US delegation led by Rodney Mims Cook Jr.

Source: Edited from The Guardian,June 3/26

–

–

Court Painter with landscape “The Straight of Hormuz”

The biggest risk may no longer be escalation.

The biggest risk may be normalization — of instability itself.

For three months, most analysis has focused on military operations, ceasefires, negotiations, and whether a deal is finally within reach.

But what if the more important story is what happens as negotiations continue?

Instability itself may be becoming a source of geopolitical power — that could keep pressure on oil prices, shipping, inflation, and global politics long after any agreement is signed.

Prof Robert Pape from Escalation Trap

Link to article added on June 1

https://open.substack.com/pub/escalationtrap/p/the-trap-gets-worse?r=1sx7vz&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email

The central issue is no longer whether escalation occurs.

The central issue is whether instability becomes self-sustaining.

If instability continues generating leverage, shaping negotiations, fracturing alliances, influencing energy markets, and creating recurring opportunities for military action, then the future of the Iran war will not be defined primarily by whether negotiations succeed or fail.

It will be defined by whether instability itself becomes durable.

If that happens, the most important legacy of this war will not be the bombing campaign, the negotiations, or even the confrontation over Iran’s nuclear program.

It will be the emergence of a new strategic reality.

A world in which instability itself becomes the new normal — because it is increasingly a source of geopolitical power.

And if that world emerges, the Age of Instability will outlast the war that created it.

Excerpted from Prof Pape’s article.

Court Painter demonstrating normalization of instability in the studio.

Headlines gathered on May 27 regarding the Alberta separation madness.

• Alberta separatism has Mark Carney saying what’s on his mind
• –
• Carney needs to stay out of the separatism debate
• –
• Danielle Smith’s referendum gamble brings Alberta to the brink — is Canada ready?
• –
• Prime Minister Carney waves the Clarity Act over Smith’s ‘dangerous bluff’
• –
• Danielle Smith plays both sides of the separatist coin
• –
• Carney knows from experience separatism can get very real if Alberta is mishandled
• –
• Kenney paints a horrifying doomsday picture of an independent Alberta
• –
• Smith backs federalism. Her party won’t. Sure path to big trouble in UCP
• –
• Danielle Smith is brewing Canada’s own Brexit problem
• –
• With her “maybe” option, Danielle Smith could deliver an endless tax on Alberta’s economy

Court Painter engaged the studio resident scribe, Chastise Horatio Alas Thoughtbubble (Chat GPT), to fluff and flourish the headline sentiments with a dash of Bardic bravado for thine ear, eye and mind.

When Carney spake, his thoughts did sharply sting,
Of Alberta’s restless and divided ring.

“Hold fast thy sparks!” the wary voices cried,
“Lest separatist flames spread far and wide.”

Fair Smith now gambles at the nation’s brink,
Whilst Canada stands poised, pausing to think.

The Clarity Act, like a threat of enough enough,
Did Carney brandish ore the dangerous bluff.

Danielle doth dance with faces twain in hand,
One for the throne, one for secession’s band.

Carney well knows how swiftly tempests swell,
When wounded provinces rebel and yell.

Kenney paints visions dark as judgment’s day,
Where Alberta lone hath lost her golden way.

Smith backs the realm, yet her own court rebels,
And trouble deep within the UCP dwells.

A northern Brexit now begins to brew,
As anxious patriots fear the peace adieu.

Smith’s maybe hangs like pox upon the land,
A costly fever that none can rightly stand.

Danielle with Pandora’s box

Premier Danielle Smith presents her government’s version of a release valve for the separation sentiment roiling Alberta.

Release the hounds!