Political Posts

[Sweet]

15 minutes ago, cubsfan said:

 

@Sweet is just expressing why few European countries have a standing and viable military. Everyone knows why but you @John Hjorth

 

TDS runs deep in Europe.

Have I not been saying this for years Cubs?  You know I have because you’ve been on the receiving end of my occasional rants.

[Sweet]

1 minute ago, Marco Van Basten said:

It's not just defense.  US has been subsidizing the entire world when it comes to pharmaceuticals.  Why are Americans paying for Europeans and others medications by paying 2-5x the price elsewhere in the world?

 

It’s a related point but different, no country in Europe has an obligation to spend X amount on drugs from America.  We do have a NATO obligation.

[Gregmal]

Yea it’s a good point actually. The people whom have non stop been “warning us” about the “Russia threat” being “imminent” basically in perpetuity, you ask them how have they’ve been preparing from a military basis; the answer? By doing nuffin lmfao 

Edited December 28, 2025 by Gregmal

[cubsfan]

1 minute ago, Sweet said:

Have I not been saying this for years Cubs? You know I have because you’ve been on the receiving end of my occasional rants.

 

Indeed you have, and I, for one, respect that.

 

Good old John is part of the Hate Trump resistance, where any criticism of Europe is met with "It's Trump's fault".

 

Trump, America, all European countries and leaders are fair game for criticism. In the end, we should all be good allies, but the relationship was badly in need of a reset.

 

We need a strong Europe in the West. 

[Sweet]

5 minutes ago, Gregmal said:

Yea it’s a good point actually. The people whom have non stop been “warning us” about the “Russia threat” being “imminent” basically in perpetuity, you ask them how have they’ve been preparing from a military basis; the answer? By doing nuffin lmfao 

We sent our thoughts and prayers.  Not exactly nothing.

[Spekulatius]

5 minutes ago, Marco Van Basten said:

It's not just defense.  US has been subsidizing the entire world when it comes to pharmaceuticals.  Why are Americans paying for Europeans and others medications by paying 2-5x the price elsewhere in the world?

 

You have to ask yourself if the US is really subsidizing the rest of the world just plain paying too much. if 200+ countries in the world are paying much less than the US and us spending on health care (not just drugs) stocks out like a sore thumb, than maybe so something is wrong with the US system, not the rest of the world.

Many drugs are actually invented elsewhere but drug companies run the trials in the US because they know that the big money can be made here, once they get approvals. I don’t think medical progress would collapse if the drugs in the US would be as cheap than they are in Europe or Japan.

Tort reform would also go among way, the cost of lawsuits US for anything related to medical is far higher than anywhere else in the world.

[Parsad]

7 hours ago, TB said:

 

USCMA was not violated by the US (tariffs were imposed on non USCMA origin goods and was probably needed), there was no US boycott of Canada by US politicians.

 

Canada politicians did the elbow up campaign and imposed tariffs on USCMA goods from the US (later repealed), boycott of US goods which is continuing in some provinces. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I think that's an inaccurate picture of what happened.  While USCMA was not violated, imposed tariffs were used to bully Canada and virtually every other country to agree to Trump's demands.  If you do not submit, the tariffs double, quadruple, etc.

 

Your description equates his actions to just not being nice...while the truth is he was making ultimatums!  Big difference!  Cheers!

[Parsad]

5 hours ago, Spooky said:

Agree. Canada has been working to integrate our economy more tightly with the US for decades. Now they want to rip up everything and dominate us. There is a new version of the Monroe doctrine with the US controlling the Western Hemisphere.

 

We are now in an existential fight for survival. We need to diversify our trading partners.

 

I hope the US finds its sanity again.

 

I hope so too!  I also hope Canada takes this opportunity to poach tons of talent from the U.S.  We can use tons of doctors, nurses, teachers, engineers, researchers...incentivize their move and get them over here!  Cheers!

[Parsad]

1 hour ago, Haryana said:

What the **** is USCMA? (Lol) 

 

There are other names by each country based on their idea of insulting the other two. 

 

Again it's USMCA Not USCMA.

Country	Acronym	Full Name
US	US M C A	United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement
CA	C US MA	Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement
M	T-M E C	Tratado entre México, Estados Unidos y Canadá

 

USCMA...uh, US-Canada-Mexico Agreement?  Duh!  

 

Actually, I suspect the US Country Music Awards might have an issue with that...although, that's just CMA.

 

Cheers!

[scorpioncapital]

On 12/27/2025 at 6:05 PM, Parsad said:

If contracts and agreements aren't enforced and guaranteed, how do you protect yourself in such an environment?  It's why I've never bought Chinese stocks.  Will a time come when I have such distrust of holding U.S. equities?

 

Ironically, this is why I don't invest in Canada. Economic freedom is significantly worse than in the US. And it isn't just about trade, there are many non-trade issues, justice (or injustice based on perspective) systems, and generally I see a lot of cognitive dissonance. Canada overspent over decades, trying to be 'humanist' by central planning when you have not enough money or a business ethic culture or well developed systems that are efficient and productive leads more to Argentinian style poverty than American prosperity. Canada is kicking and screaming that it doesn't want its benefits taken away, despite having brought it upon itself by stagnation , socialism, red tape, complexity. I find it ironic Canada says it wants certainty but if you look at its British common law heritage there is no certainty about anything in law in the country, it's all about fear and interpretation (often by very left leaning judges).  Yes, now they say they are getting their butts moving and that it was a great benefit, but only because they were pushed into action, otherwise they'd be happy to keep going as is. And they will never say that it is a huge cost and probably people will wonder why am I paying for this for decades if anything is achieved and taxes will be far higher than they need to be. What allegiance do I owe to it? Maybe I should become a non-resident and let someone else foot the bill of the restructuring? I do not think it will get that far and really all Canada needed to do was follow the lead of the US. Was what they proposed so bad? I do not think a renegotiated agreement will allow for 3rd nation trade as Canada thinks given the NSS and security issues. I also think they will have to pay for Golden Dome via higher gdp spending or an integrated trade agreement.  If the agreement is not renewed, it will be a substantial reduction in all economic figures - perhaps like Brexit, maybe worse given the geography, but I think it could be reviewed annually until a clearer picture emerges. People adjust, and they will justify their decisions either way. Does Canada want to be on down or up escalator, that is the question? The entire world rule of law is breaking apart because it is inconsistent and inefficient. I mean just look at tax codes and residency rules, they are a spaghetti code. Crypto is replacing traditional finance and globally. Nobody can live properly under both economic and physical restraint , having to plan every single move as if they're a potential criminal. Too complex, we need better and simpler systems. And I actually think this means more integration not less. 

Edited December 29, 2025 by scorpioncapital

[Sweet]

We can’t even keep people like this out of the UK, we are such a joke country:

 

 

[cubsfan]

9 minutes ago, Sweet said:

We can’t even keep people like this out of the UK, we are such a joke country:

 

Heck, you should see what's happening in Minnesota with the state/local government going hog wild to protect the thousands of Somali thieves that are stealing the state blind. It's worse!

[Sweet]

24 minutes ago, cubsfan said:

 

Heck, you should see what's happening in Minnesota with the state/local government going hog wild to protect the thousands of Somali thieves that are stealing the state blind. It's worse!

per capita there is something like 4x more in the UK than the US.  About 70% (or thereabouts) don’t work.

[Parsad]

3 hours ago, TB said:

Not sure all the details  as the politicians spin it but here are some points - many Presidents including Obama asked politely and nothing happened. 

 

NATO allies agreed to the 2% guideline in 2006, reaffirmed in 2014, but Canada consistently spent below it—around 1.2–1.45% through 2024—despite promises from multiple governments.

Prime Minister Mark Carney announced in June 2025 that Canada would hit 2% that fiscal year with C$62–63 billion in spending, marking the first time since the target's adoption

 

The trade imbalance is insane with US having > 1 trillion in deficits and another emerging power having > 1 trillion in surplus. There is an account of how Canada and some other countries politicians behaved (hint - not nicely) during trade negotiations in this book.

https://www.amazon.com/No-Trade-Free-Changing-Americas/dp/0063282135

 

Here is Mr Wonderful on Canada blockers for investment, even Canada pension plans only invest 8% of AUM in Canada.

https://m.youtube.com/shorts/R6dHRpKOFcQ

 

 

 

 

Again, you are taking pieces out of specific books or videos.  There are similar books or videos touting other arguments.

 

As I've mentioned multiple times, there was a way to reduce the trade imbalance while avoiding ultimatums/tariffs and it would have worked far better and had better long-term results...Buffett's trade certificates for importers/exporters.

 

As for the 2% guideline...I agree with that...NATO countries should be spending more.  Cheers!

[Marco Van Basten]

17 hours ago, Parsad said:

 

I hope so too!  I also hope Canada takes this opportunity to poach tons of talent from the U.S.  We can use tons of doctors, nurses, teachers, engineers, researchers...incentivize their move and get them over here!  Cheers!

You are a funny guy.  How much are doctors and nurses paid in Canada versus the US?  What doctor or nurse would go for a 50-70% pay cut?  OBGYN make more than USD million in NYC, and twice that much in rural areas.  Given the pay packets in US universities for researchers, and salary+benefits for public school teachers in the US, my guess is that people are not going to go.  

[Parsad]

12 minutes ago, Marco Van Basten said:

You are a funny guy.  How much are doctors and nurses paid in Canada versus the US?  What doctor or nurse would go for a 50-70% pay cut?  OBGYN make more than USD million in NYC, and twice that much in rural areas.  Given the pay packets in US universities for researchers, and salary+benefits for public school teachers in the US, my guess is that people are not going to go.  

 

https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2025HLTH0090-000915

 

https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/article/less-concern-us-doctor-explains-reason-for-moving-to-manitoba/

 

It's not always about money.  Cheers!

[cwericb]

1 hour ago, TB said:

Fair enough - my point is that it is best for the two countries to work with each other as opposed to against each other. 

 

 

Agreed, but rather hard to do when only one side wants to cooperate.

It is not Canada that started this tariff crap nor has Canada ever expressed a desire to take over the US. Nor has Canada threatened an economic war against another country. We could go on ...    

 

 

[cwericb]

39 minutes ago, Marco Van Basten said:

You are a funny guy.  How much are doctors and nurses paid in Canada versus the US?  What doctor or nurse would go for a 50-70% pay cut?  OBGYN make more than USD million in NYC, and twice that much in rural areas.  Given the pay packets in US universities for researchers, and salary+benefits for public school teachers in the US, my guess is that people are not going to go.  

 

There is a lot more to life than money. Just for starters, we don't carry guns. (We don't need to). 

[Spooky]

1 hour ago, TB said:

Fair enough - my point is that it is best for the two countries to work with each other as opposed to against each other. 

 

Agree with this statement. I don’t think the US administration does though.

[Spooky]

37 minutes ago, Parsad said:

 

https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2025HLTH0090-000915

 

https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/article/less-concern-us-doctor-explains-reason-for-moving-to-manitoba/

 

It's not always about money.  Cheers!

+1. There’s more to life than money or GDP.

[Spooky]

6 minutes ago, cwericb said:

 

There is a lot more to life than money. Just for starters, we don't carry guns. (We don't need to). 

+1

[Parsad]

16 minutes ago, Haryana said:

No such thing.

Mexico was placed before Canada in the original name for a reason.

 

Well that was a mistake...Trump makes a lot of them and this was one of them.  CUSMA is the most appropriate and accurate!  Let's go with that one.  Cheers!

[Marco Van Basten]

1 hour ago, cwericb said:

 

There is a lot more to life than money. Just for starters, we don't carry guns. (We don't need to). 

I agree.  However, countries were gun ownership has been banned leave normal citizens defenseless.  

[RichardGibbons]

2 hours ago, Parsad said:

It's not always about money.  Cheers!

 

Yep, our family doctor left Denver a few years ago "for political reasons".  I didn't ask for details.

 

She's been our best doctor ever--very proactive and engaged, and is now opening a clinic here with 5 other US ex-patriot doctors.

 

In this respect, MAGA has been amazingly great for Canada.

[cwericb]

1 hour ago, Marco Van Basten said:

I agree.  However, countries were gun ownership has been banned leave normal citizens defenseless.  

 

 Jeez, where do you live that you feel the necessity to carry a gun? And why would you continue to live like that? Where did you get the idea guns were banned in Canada? Most people can own a firearm if they wish. 

 

However............

 

School shootings, 2009-2018: Canada 2. USA 288. 

Homicide rates by firearm per 100,000 inhabitants (2020) . Canada: 0.736   USA 4.054

Violent crime rate per 100,000:  Canada:  30.8   USA 88  (three times more)

 

I live in a small city in Canada. When I sold my previous house I had to put new lacks on all my doors. Why, because I had never locked them in the previous 25 years and had lost all the keys. Still very rarely lock my doors. 

 

Do you know that the U.S. is the only developed country without a system of universal healthcare, and, as of 2023, 7.9% of the population does not even have health insurance?

 

And you are suggesting that people wouldn't move to Canada because they would make less money?

 

PS. Real estate in this area is and has been seeing more and more Americans buying up property here and moving here.

Edited December 30, 2025 by cwericb