This seems to come up with some regularity.

The U.S. says the measures are necessary to protect its lumber industry, because Canadian forests are mostly on public land, where buyers pay “stumpage fees” to provincial governments for the right to log.

Could someone explain the situation in the States? Was there some big land grab by private interests, or is there still plenty of public land but it’s all either logged out or protected at this point? Or some other complication?

ainudude has entered the chat.

She grew up in Japan. All her friends are Japanese. Her life experience is of Japanese society and culture. She’s been through it all. What is she if not Japanese? Get over it.

I am part Japanese myself and the language is literally my mother tongue, but when I go to Japan to visit family, I always feel alienated because I don’t look the part. Don’t get me wrong. People are very polite to foreigners, but you will always be a foreigner. Even when I spent a year at a Japanese elementary school, I felt this persistent sense of not belonging.

But maybe things are starting to change? I admittedly have not been back in a couple of decades. I hope so.

Was reading an article about the CPTPP that left me wondering if/when the US might have another crack at it? It’s sort of an Everyone-But-China economic club as it stands, and the US was heavily involved in it early on until Trump came along.

So… Chinese Watergate?

There’s also the one the Russians shot down themselves.

wtaf