A couple of years ago, union-busting retail monster Target expanded into Canada in what they thought would be a bold new phase of international domination. It was not.

Today, the company announced that it is shutting down all 133 of its Canadian stores, laying off more than 17,000 employees, and writing off the whole god damn project as an enormous, outlandish, multibillion-dollar failure.

What went wrong? Target's CEO said only that "After a thorough review of our Canadian performance and careful consideration of the implications of all options, we were unable to find a realistic scenario that would get Target Canada to profitability until at least 2021." For a more illuminating perspective, please re-read this email sent to us by a Target Canada insider last year, detailing the company's botched effort to graft its American business plan onto a new country.

We extend our sympathies to Target's Canadian employees. If it makes you feel any better, Target has problems in America, too.

[Photo: Flickr]