Wednesday News: Stelco update, some thoughts about likeable politicians, and "Shove that ballroom up your fat ass!"

Stelco Update
The news of the day was when Cleveland-Cliffs CEO Lourenco Goncalves told CBC's David Cochrane that he had actually bought Hamilton's Stelco Steel two years ago to stop it from competing with his US steel businesses.
Oops!

He's basically daring governments to expropriate at this point.

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— John Michael McGrath (@jm-mcgrath.bsky.social) October 27, 2026 at 4:32 PM

In Cochrane's next interview, with industry minister Mélanie Joly, it was evident that Joly was surprised but not unhappy that Goncalves had made such an admission of bad faith.

Mélanie Joly: "What was interesting in his interview is that [Cleveland-Cliffs CEO] mentioned that Stelco was a competitor that he wanted to get rid of... he's proving our case."

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— Scott Robertson (@sarobertson.bsky.social) October 27, 2026 at 4:32 PM

Cleveland-Cliffs CEO Goncalves came on #PnPCBC to out himself as a real asshole on top of a corporate fraud.

— Scrappy McBuckyball (@scrappymcbuckyball.bsky.social) October 27, 2026 at 3:14 PM

The Cleveland-Cliffs CEO speaks so boldly because he has a big bully behind him named Trump. If Canada acts against Stelco, Cleveland-Cliffs will cry to Trump.

— e𝕏ed out (@exedout.bsky.social) October 27, 2026 at 7:28 PM

And Canada's reaction to that threat is, bring it on!


Thoughts about likeable politicians and leadership in the 2020s
I've been thinking about leadership tonight and pondering the disconnect between politics-watchers like me, and actual voters writ large.

What I mean is this: the old definitions and epithets that political people and the media use to define politicians -socialist, progressive, right-winger, even Nazi - don't seem to be particularly meaningful to the electorate any more.
For example, Canada loves banker Mark Carney and NDPer Wab Kinew, BC rejects NDPer David Eby and votes for right-winger "nice guy" Lorne Doerkson. And Green mayor Pete Fry in Vancouver. 

Torontonians vote for scandal-ridden right-winger Doug Ford and for NDP mayor Olivia Chow. America's business city New York elects socialist Zoltan Mamdani, and "democratic socialists" Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Bernie Sanders are beloved by New York and Vermont respectively. 

It looks like Michigan will elect Muslim democratic candidate Abdul El-Sayed.

And of course millions of Americans voted for Trump, an absolute Nazi and psychopath but also charming and charismatic, or at least he used to be.

So maybe it's a collective Covid hangover, but it seems to me that many people are now just voting for a person who is likeable, without necessarily endorsing that person's politics or expecting they will implement their ideological running points. 

I know the flaws in that way of voting are pretty obvious, but even now Trump is only losing America not because of what he has done but more because he's showing himself to be not a good guy, both  incompetent and crazy.
The point I want to get to is this: political parties, and anyone who wants to get elected, need to focus their energies less on white papers and policy statements, and more on just being more damn likeable - personable, empathetic, focused on the voters, and able to laugh at themselves.
For example, this is just nice, isn't it

Don't let the nice weather fool you, winter is coming! Gotta make sure the kids have what they need. That's the doctor and the dad in me speaking!

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— Abdul El-Sayed (@abdulelsayed.bsky.social) October 27, 2026 at 12:43 PM

Nobody cares that Mamdani is a "socialist!" because he's fixing problems all over his city.

Mayor Mamdani and Councilmember Kayla Santosuosso visited the New York Aquarium to meet some seals and celebrate the impact of the administration’s $2 million investment in the aquarium.

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— Acyn (@acyn.bsky.social) October 26, 2026 at 4:59 PM

AOC calls out the name-calling

AOC: "They call people communists, they call them this or that. But really what it is is they're afraid of a waitress in the House and a logger in the Senate"

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— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) October 22, 2026 at 1:13 PM

Wab Kinew can explain why he wants to get rid of the Indian Act while making a joke about cheap cigarettes

Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew told Prime Minister Mark Carney, premiers and First Nations leaders that it's time to abolish the Indian Act. Here's what Kinew said to reporters afterward.

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— APTN News (@aptnnews.bsky.social) October 26, 2026 at 2:22 PM

This is so typical of Carney, isn't it.

Meanwhile, in Canada… 😂❤️ Gotta love our PM. So many crazy things happening in the world, but we can always look up to him for a good laugh. What a gem 💎 🇨🇦

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— 🍁🇨🇦Team Canada Forever🇨🇦🍁 (@teamcanadaforever.bsky.social) January 22, 2026 at 5:01 PM

And his connection to Canadians

Mark Carney goes off script in a very moving moment🇨🇦❤️.

- #Francesk🇨🇦

Read on Substack

On a side note, the basic mistake Poilievre makes is that he comes across as rigid, insulting, stiff, convoluted, carping, always whining about something. I have never heard him make a self-depreciating joke, while Carney makes them all the time.


"Shove that ballroom up your fat ass!"
Finally, this shout to Trump at a Mississippi rally has gone viral and will be carved on Trump's tombstone:

Excellent. youtube.com/shorts/No4Z-...

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— Baker🇺🇦🌻 (@bakerblue.bsky.social) October 28, 2026 at 12:00 AM

The singer for Jimmy Kimmel’s cover band was singing ‘Shove that ballroom up your fat ass’ during a break….tonight..!

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— charles-198.bsky.social (@charles-198.bsky.social) October 27, 2026 at 10:22 PM