Donald Trump Shows Middle Finger

US President Donald Trump has been filmed raising his middle finger and appearing to mouth “f**k you” at a Ford autoworker who heckled him during a factory visit near Detroit, USA. 🖕🖕🖕🖕

The insult was linked to the controversy over the Epstein files, which Trump has sought to play down after previously promising transparency. 

The confrontation happened on Tuesday at Ford’s F-150 assembly plant in Dearborn, Michigan, after a worker shouted “pedophile protector”. According to a video circulating on the social media, Trump turned toward the worker, uttered several expletives, and briefly flipped off the heckler. 

White House communications director Steven Cheung did not comment on whether Trump had actually raised his middle finger, but confirmed the authenticity of the video. “A lunatic was wildly screaming expletives in a complete fit of rage, and the president gave an appropriate and unambiguous response”, Cheung said in a statement to the Washington Post. 

The worker, TJ Sabula, a 40-year-old United Auto Workers Local 600 line worker who described himself to the WaPo as an independent and occasional Republican supporter, said he has been suspended pending an investigation, adding that he felt no remorse. 

The taunt appeared to be tied to the ongoing political storm over the files of disgraced financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, who is said to have died by suicide in a New York jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. His death spawned widespread conspiracy theories claiming he had been killed to prevent testimony about alleged crimes involving powerful figures. 

On the campaign trail, Trump promised to release the Epstein files, but as president he has bristled at the issue, dismissing calls to make the documents public as a politically motivated “hoax”. 

The controversy intensified after the US president’s name appeared in Epstein-related material, with no allegations of wrongdoing. Later, amid sustained public pressure, the Justice Department released a batch of Epstein-related documents that were heavily redacted, prompting criticism over the scope and pace of disclosure.

US Companies Still Doing Business in Russia

In spite of multiple rounds of sanctions imposed on Moscow by Washington, Kirill Dmitriev, President Vladimir Putin’s special representative for investment and economic cooperation with foreign countries, disclosed that some 150 US companies continue to operate in Russia. 

Apple, Coca-Cola, Ford, Microsoft, IBM, McDonald’s, and many other American brands decided to withdraw from the country after the escalation of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine in February 2022 and the ramping up of sanctions against Moscow by the administration of then-US President Joe Biden. However, still many other enterprises opted to stay, with some doing so by re-branding their Russian enterprises. 

😂😂😂

Speaking on the sidelines of the meeting of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs in Moscow on Tuesday, Dmitriev insisted that these American firms “absolutely want to continue doing business in Russia”.

At the same meeting, Russian President Vladimir Putin had expressed bewilderment why the G7 are called the "big" seven, although they are hardly "visible on the map"! As reported by TASS on March 18. 

😕😕😕

The GDP growth in the G7 countries for 2024 was just 1.9%, while the BRICS countries saw a growth rate of 4.9%. In Russia, the growth was 4.1% for two consecutive years, as highlighted by Putin. 

[Note: Russia was a member of the G8 (which existed in the G7 format, comprising the UK, Germany, Italy, Canada, the US, France, and Japan since 1976) from 1997 until its suspension].

Donald Trump Cries Wolf

US President Donald Trump paused tariffs on certain Canadian and Mexican goods. That makes it, two climbdowns in two days! [Note: China, however, received no such favor]. 

On Wednesday he said he would temporarily spare carmakers from 25% import taxes just a day after they came into effect – after pleas from Ford, General Motors and Stellantis, which have supply chains that stretch across North America. And on Thursday, he gave a one-month respite from 25-percent tariffs for goods covered under North America's free trade agreement, the US-Mexico-Canada agreement (USMCA), which Trump signed during his first term. 

A White House official admitted about 50% of US imports from Mexico and 62% from Canada could still face tariffs. Those proportions could change as firms change their practices in response to the order. 

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum thanked Trump for the move, while Dominic LeBlanc, Canada's finance minister said the country would in turn hold off on its threatened second round of retaliatory tariffs on US products.

This month-to-month threat of tariffs followed by last-minute reprieves is beginning to show Trump as the boy who cries wolf! 

Sure, the levy threat may compel some affected companies to make investments in the US in order to avoid the tariffs – but it remains to be seen if both the US and these firms will benefit in the long-term. I'm not so sure!

Malaysia's Pearly Tan-Thinaah Muralitharan struggled yesterday to cope with China's newly formed duo, Jia Yi Fan-Zhang Shu Xian's intensity and were eliminated in the quarter-finals of the Orleans Masters Badminton 2025, going down 21-15, 21-19. 

The Malaysian pair had previously faced the same twosome in the second round of the India Open, but the match was cut short when the latter was forced to retire due to injury.

Meta and Amazon Axe DEI Initiatives, Joining US Corporate Rollback

Now, even Meta and Amazon are axing DEI initiatives and joining the US corporate rollback.

 

Walmart, McDonalds, Ford, John Deere, Harley-Davidson, JPMorgan Chase and BlackRock are among the other companies to have made similar DEI abandonment decisions, a sign of the acceleration of a retreat that started two years ago, as Republicans ramped up attacks and accusing them of "woke" progressive activism and threatening political punishment. More so, since Donald Trump won re-election.

 

Many of the diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives were put in place after the Black Lives Matter protests that erupted in 2020 following George Floyd's murder at the hands of police. 

 

However, recent court decisions have bolstered critics of the programs, who said that they were discriminatory. The Supreme Court in 2023 struck down the right for private universities to consider race in admissions decisions. Another court of appeals ruling invalidated a Nasdaq policy that would have required companies listed on that stock exchange to have at least one woman, racial minority or LGBTQ person on their board or explain why not.

 

Celtic overcame sub-zero temperatures in the Highlands and a Ross County team in good form to secure a 4-1 victory and move 18 points clear in the Scottish Premiership yesterday. 

 

Kyogo Furuhashi put the table toppers in front when he poked in a lovely cross from right-back Alistair Johnston in the fortieth minute. But the Dingwall side leveled just twenty minutes later.

 

Celtic restored their advantage when Arne Engels crossed from the left and Furuhashi headed into the top corner in the 81st minute despite the Staggies keeper getting his hands to the effort.

 

As if that was not enough, the Celts scored two more in stoppage time. Within 6 minutes, a spot-kick for a challenge on Reo Hatate with Engels converting at the second attempt. And then, Luke McCowan completed the scoring when he slotted home in the 98th minute after managing three touches in the box.

 

 

Ford to Axe 14% of Workforce in Europe

US car manufacturer Ford have said they plan to lay off 4,000 of their workforce in Europe, becoming the latest automaker to try to slash costs. 

 

The job cuts represent about 14% of Ford’s 28,000 workforce in Europe and around 2.3% of their total workforce of 174,000, and will be completed by the end of 2027, the company said on Wednesday. The bulk of the layoffs will take place in Germany, where 2,900 positions are under threat, and in UK, with an expected 800 jobs to be deleted. 

 

The US carmaker will be the latest after Nissan, Stellantis, and GM to resort to the drastic cost-cutting step as the automotive sector faces challenges, including weak EV sales.

 

For sure, the measure will exact a heavy blow to the EU’s top economy, Germany, where the bloc’s biggest carmaker – Volkswagen – earlier announced that they would consider plant closures or layoffs for the first time in their 87-year history.

 

In September, thousands of demonstrators stormed Brussels to protest Volkswagen’s plans to shut down the Audi facility in the Belgian capital. 

 

The development comes as EU automakers are facing their worst months since the Covid-19 pandemic. Car sales within the bloc have fallen by 200,000 vehicles in the first eight months of 2024 compared to the same period last year, according to the Center for Automotive Research.

 

Malaysia's Sivasangari Subramaniam was stopped in the semi-finals of the Singapore Squash Open today when she lost to world No. 10 Amina Orfi 3-1: 5-11, 6-11, 12-10, 8-11 in 64 minutes. 

 

It was the Egyptian's third win over Sivasangari in four encounters.

 

I'm disappointed but it is what it is.

Ford CEO Loves His Xiaomi SU7

In a story for the Wall Street Journal last month profiling Ford CEO Jim Farley, the Blue Oval figurehead recounted a story that motivated his current aggressive electric vehicle game plan* involving a team of California-based engineers he dubs the company's "Skunk Works".

 

[*Ford have decided to dial back their bigger plans for their electric line-up. Initial plans to develop three-row electric crossovers have been scrapped, and in their place is a focus on vehicles they feel will sell better – three-row hybrid SUVs in the same flavor as their popular Explorer family haulers].  

 

During a trip to China in 2023, he and Ford CFO John Lawler got a taste of their Chinese contemporaries when they visited Ford's partner in China, Changan Automotive.

 

According to WSJ, the duo test-drove an electric SUV made by Changan, the conclusion of which prompted the executives to sit "silently, stunned at the progress Changan had made". 

 

“Jim, this is nothing like before”, Lawler reportedly told Farley after the test drive. “These guys are ahead of us”. 

 

Despite his characterization of Chinese electric OEMs as an "existential threat" to their Western contemporaries, Jim Farley (right) admitted something that sounds as a betrayal to loyal, patriotic American car enthusiasts. 

 

During a recent appearance on the Fully Charged Show podcast, the Ford CEO admitted that he has not only been driving the competition but also enjoying every minute of it. 

 

Around 21 minutes into the podcast, Farley began talking about Xiaomi, the consumer electronics brand that recently had a hit with its foray into EVs with the best-selling SU7 sedan. To the surprise of the host, Robert Llewellyn, Farley noted that it isn't unusual for electronics companies to make cars. 

 

"In the West, our cell phone companies are not into cars; they don't have car companies", Farley explained, as the host listened in surprise. "But in China, both Huawei and Xiaomi, the two biggest cell phone companies, are inside of every vehicle that is made".

 

The Ford CEO then described Xiaomi as "an industry juggernaut", noting that the company are able to sell tens of thousands of SU7s per month and have accumulated a six-month waiting list. However, one of these "satisfied customers" is Jim Farley himself! 

 

Although the car isn't officially for sale in the United States, Ford shipped one stateside for research and development. As far as Farley's testimony goes, he seems to be getting anecdotal experiences that go beyond traditional benchmark testing. 

 

“I don’t like talking about the competition so much, but I drive the Xiaomi”, Farley confessed. “We flew one from Shanghai to Chicago, and I’ve been driving it for six months now, and I don’t want to give it up”.