Bob Schwartz

From The Guardian:

‘Nowhere on Earth is safe’: Trump imposes tariffs on uninhabited islands near Antarctica
Australian prime minister surprised after external territories – including tiny Norfolk Island and remote islands home to penguins – targeted by US president

A group of barren, uninhabited volcanic islands near Antarctica, covered in glaciers and home to penguins, have been swept up in Donald Trump’s trade war, as the US president hit them with a 10% tariff on goods.

Heard Island and McDonald Islands, which form an external territory of Australia, are among the remotest places on Earth, accessible only via a two-week boat voyage from Perth on Australia’s west coast. They are completely uninhabited, with the last visit from people believed to be nearly 10 years ago.

Nevertheless, Heard and McDonald islands featured in a list released by the White House of “countries” that would have new trade tariffs imposed.

We don’t think the penguins have heard about the tariffs. It will not affect them anyway, since they have nothing but fish, and they don’t trade that. They might be able to bribe Trump though, since it is reported that he is a fan of McDonald’s Filet-O-Fish sandwich. Like the penguins, he loves to eat.

While researching this, I came across the Penguin Foundation in Australia, which focuses on the Little Penguins on similar islands.

An oil spill led the Penguin Foundation to promote knitting sweaters (jumpers) for the Little Penguins of Phillip Island, to keep them from preening their feathers coated in toxic oil. (The knitting pattern is available on their site.)

Knitters have knitted enough sweaters for the current penguins and those that may be harmed in the future. Now the Penguin Foundation is asking knitters to knit sweaters for plush penguin toys to wear, which toys are being sold to raise money for the foundation.

Two reasons to mention all this here. One is that placing tariffs on “countries” inhabited by penguins is idiotic. Two is that thinking about penguins and particularly thinking about penguins wearing hand-knitted sweaters, even if meant to protect them from toxic oil spills, makes us smile. You do want a reason to smile right now—any reason—don’t you?