Political Posts

[Sweet]

2 hours ago, Ghost said:

Since there was some Canadian posts earlier.

 

Canada's new PM (Mark Carney):  Graduate from Harvard and Oxford, worked at Goldman Sachs and Governor of the banks of Canada and England.

vs.

The opposition guy (Pierre Poilievre) : Career politician.

 

And supports of the right...think Pierre is the right choice?   How does that work exactly?

 

Cheers

 

 

Trump is not a career politician either, went to Penn, worked in business all his life.

 

Carney is a continuation of all the same stuff Canada has had for the last 10+ years.  Advisor to the liberal government.

 

If I was a Canadian I’d choose Poilievre all day, every day.

 

Edited March 18, 2025 by Sweet

[cwericb]

3 minutes ago, Spekulatius said:

I think his biggest business success was Truth social and selling crypto Trump coin to his fan base.

 

Well let's not forget this.

 

"Trump University (also known as the Trump Wealth Institute and Trump Entrepreneur Initiative LLC) was an American company that ran a real estate training program from 2005 to 2010. It was owned and operated by The Trump Organization. A separate organization, Trump Institute, was licensed by Trump University but not owned by The Trump Organization. In 2011, amid multiple investigations, lawsuits and student complaints, it ceased operations. It was founded in 2004 by Donald Trump and his associates Michael Sexton and Jonathan Spitalny. The company offered courses in real estate, asset management, entrepreneurship, and wealth creation.

 

Despite its name, the organization was not an accredited university or college. It conducted three- and five-day seminars (often called "retreats") and used high-pressure tactics to sell them to its customers. It did not confer college credit, grant degrees, or grade its students. In 2011, the company became the subject of an inquiry by the New York Attorney General's office for illegal business practices, which resulted in a lawsuit filed in August 2013. 

An article in the National Review called the organization a "massive scam".

 

Trump University was also the subject of two class actions in federal court. The lawsuits centered on allegations that Trump University defrauded its students by using misleading marketing practices and engaging in aggressive sales tactics. The company and the lawsuits against it received renewed interest due to Trump's candidacy in the 2016 presidential election. Despite repeatedly insisting he would not settle, Trump settled all three lawsuits in November 2016 for a total of $25 million after being elected president.

[changegonnacome]

1 hour ago, John Hjorth said:

Warning : Pretty creepy stuff, if one asks me.

 

Armchair psychology is a tough gig - but this guy I think hits on what everybody kinda knows re: Trump. 

 

Narcissism gets thrown around too much and this person is right too distinguish between the people with narcissistic traits (we all know them) and those who truly have narcissistic personality disorders (like Trump) who are much much rarer birds.

 

For those that haven't come across a true narcissist I think you might be shocked by the difference between the two - I know Trump cause I worked for a Trump type. We called him 'Captain Chaos' cause as this person pointed out he wasn't really goal oriented but rather his vacuous personality drove all action and decision making.

 

The best heuristic of a true narcissistic personality disorder person - I learned - is that he or she is the VICTIM or HERO of every story they tell. Thats it. That's how you spot them.

 

Every time Trump speaks these are the two stories he tells consistently, repeatedly and without fail.

[Xerxes]

29 minutes ago, Sweet said:

 

Trump is not a career politician either, went to Penn, worked in business all his life.

 

Carney is a continuation of all the same stuff Canada has had for the last 10+ years.  Advisor to the liberal government.

 

If I was a Canadian I’d choose Poilievre all day, every day.

 

why would you want someone who feeds on being divisive and creating divisions. 

 

Pierre is not Stephan Harper. 

Harper was at least Canadian through and through, to the core. 

[Spooky]

30 minutes ago, Sweet said:

 

Trump is not a career politician either, went to Penn, worked in business all his life.

 

Carney is a continuation of all the same stuff Canada has had for the last 10+ years.  Advisor to the liberal government.

 

If I was a Canadian I’d choose Poilievre all day, every day.

 

 

Based on what? Poilievre and the conservatives have no policy platform other than bashing Trudeau.

[cwericb]

52 minutes ago, Sweet said:

 

Trump is not a career politician either, went to Penn, worked in business all his life.

 

Carney is a continuation of all the same stuff Canada has had for the last 10+ years.  Advisor to the liberal government.

 

If I was a Canadian I’d choose Poilievre all day, every day.

 

 

As a guy who has voted PC all his life, I have to admit I am somewhat undecided. 

 

Poilievere is coming off as a bit of a one trick pony with his concentration on the carbon tax. He is a very persuasive speaker but his message is getting real old and a lot of people are waiting to see what else he has to say. I am also concerned about his heavily leaning towards Western interests as opposed to representing the whole country. 

 

A firm promise of a pipeline to the East Coast would open up large new markets for Canadian oil both in Eastern Canada and European markets. Makes no sense for E. Canada to import from Venezuela and the Middle East. It would also open up the European market for Canadian oil replacing our dependency on U.S. 

 

Trump has said they don't need our oil. So lets see how they get along with out it. For far too long we have boxed ourselves in to supplying the U.S. needs and selling the U.S. oil at discounted prices.

 

But as one who followed Carney's time as Governor of the Bank of Canada that got us through the financial crises and also Gov of The Bank of England where he got them through Brexit is impressive. And I don't believe either Goldman Sachs or Brookfield are in the habit of hiring left wing loonies.

 

Just gonna have to sit back and see how things settle out over the next few weeks.

Edited March 18, 2025 by cwericb

[KFRCanuk]

Our NATO bill will most likely not include 88 F-35's. It might include the 16 F-35's we already paid for. We would surely jailbreak the 16 F-35's if Cory Doctorow has his way!

[Sweet]

13 minutes ago, Spooky said:

 

Based on what? Poilievre and the conservatives have no policy platform other than bashing Trudeau.

I have to assume you just didn’t bother looking:

 

https://cpcassets.conservative.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/23175001/990863517f7a575.pdf

[Sweet]

53 minutes ago, cwericb said:

Poilievere is coming off as a bit of a one trick pony with his concentration on the carbon tax. He is a very persuasive speaker but his message is getting real old

I think Trump and the trade war have hurt him  a lot but I agree with you on the messaging.

 

I follow him on Twitter and it was carbon tax, carbon tax, carbon tax.

 

But he has spoken about other things, housing, immigration reform, sentencing reform, changing the laws around drugs.  He needs to find a new message now that the liberals have finally axed the carbon tax - which was his idea all along

Edited March 18, 2025 by Sweet

[cwericb]

5 minutes ago, Sweet said:

I think Trump and the trade war have hurt him  a lot but I agree with you on the messaging.

 

I follow him on Twitter and it was carbon tax, carbon tax, carbon tax.

 

But he has spoken about other things, housing, immigration reform, sentencing reform, changing the laws around drugs.  He needs to find a new message now that the liberals have finagled axed the carbon tax - which was his idea all along

 

You are probably like me in wanting to grab him and shake him while yelling ... "Listen! Smarten up. Carbon tax is essentially history, there are a million other things you can put in your platform and if you don't get on the ball you are going lose this!!"

 

It also does bother me that he is essentially a career politician. My biggest disappointment is that Carney wasn't running as a Conservative.

[John Hjorth]

From the Reuters rolling News feed :

 

Quote

11 minutes ago

18:33 CET

 

The White House released a statement on the Trump Putin call:

 

"Today, President Trump and President Putin spoke about the need for peace and a ceasefire in the Ukraine war. Both leaders agreed this conflict needs to end with a lasting peace. They also stressed the need for improved bilateral relations between the United States and Russia.

 

The blood and treasure that both Ukraine and Russia have been spending in this war would be better spent on the needs of their people.

 

This conflict should never have started and should have been ended long ago with sincere and good faith peace efforts. The leaders agreed that the movement to peace will begin with an energy and infrastructure ceasefire, as well as technical negotiations on implementation of a maritime ceasefire in the Black Sea, full ceasefire and permanent peace. These negotiations will begin immediately in the Middle East. 

 

The leaders spoke broadly about the Middle East as a region of potential cooperation to prevent future conflicts. They further discussed the need to stop proliferation of strategic weapons and will engage with others to ensure the broadest possible application. The two leaders shared the view that Iran should never be in a position to destroy Israel. 

 

The two leaders agreed that a future with an improved bilateral relationship between the United States and Russia has huge upside. This includes enormous economic deals and geopolitical stability when peace has been achieved."

 

That was not much - war continues. Likely a sign of how hard a task it is to get this conflict contained and under control. And Europe and Ukraine are still on the sidelines.

 

- - - o 0 o - - -

 

More, now :

 

Quote

Russia asks for 'complete cessation' of foreign military aid to Ukraine

2 minutes ago

18:57 CET

 

The Kremlin's statement included a "key condition" that may be tough to get Ukraine or its European neighbours to agree to:

"It was emphasized that the key condition for preventing the escalation of the conflict and working towards its resolution by political and diplomatic means should be a complete cessation of foreign military assistance and the provision of intelligence information to Kyiv."

 

So, basically, nothing.

Edited March 18, 2025 by John Hjorth

[cubsfan]

1 hour ago, cwericb said:

 

Another brilliant dodge. Dodge? What wasn't true in what I said?

 

By the way, never mind NATO, ever hear of NORAD Cubs?

 

And just to set things straight, many of us Canadians are not happy with how our previous governments have handled our defence programs, just as I strongly suspect there may be a few Obama decisions you were not happy with.

 

You should wear your stiffing of your best allies in Europe with a badge of honor.

 

NATO will protect you, but you don't have to pay for it, as long as the US has you covered.

 

Can't use trade deficit as an excuse, you got a $60B surplus and still stiff NATO.

[Spooky]

55 minutes ago, cwericb said:

It also does bother me that he is essentially a career politician. My biggest disappointment is that Carney wasn't running as a Conservative.

 

But why does the label matter if he is the right person for the job?

[Eng12345]

14 minutes ago, cubsfan said:

 

You should wear your stiffing of your best allies in Europe with a badge of honor.

 

NATO will protect you, but you don't have to pay for it, as long as the US has you covered.

 

Can't use trade deficit as an excuse, you got a $60B surplus and still stiff NATO.

Who is NATO protecting Canada from? The Americans?

 

look at a map

[cubsfan]

7 minutes ago, Eng12345 said:

Who is NATO protecting Canada from? The Americans?

 

look at a map

 

Why does Canada fake all this unity with NATO?       I haven't a clue.

 

Why did they promise since 2014 to make their NATO commitments?  Maybe you know

 

Why did Canada say - we'll be at 2% by 2032?     It certainly not money.

 

But keeps screaming about the big bad USA - you'll be protected!

 

You're screwing Europe more than anyone - and Ukraine needs you!

Edited March 18, 2025 by cubsfan

[Spekulatius]

Vlad Vexler has some very good analysis on his channel. Very humble guy too and doesn’t claim to know it all.

 

I follow his channel. 

[John Hjorth]

8 hours ago, changegonnacome said:

Armchair psychology is a tough gig - but this guy I think hits on what everybody kinda knows re: Trump. 

 

Narcissism gets thrown around too much and this person is right too distinguish between the people with narcissistic traits (we all know them) and those who truly have narcissistic personality disorders (like Trump) who are much much rarer birds.

 

For those that haven't come across a true narcissist I think you might be shocked by the difference between the two - I know Trump cause I worked for a Trump type. We called him 'Captain Chaos' cause as this person pointed out he wasn't really goal oriented but rather his vacuous personality drove all action and decision making.

 

The best heuristic of a true narcissistic personality disorder person - I learned - is that he or she is the VICTIM or HERO of every story they tell. Thats it. That's how you spot them.

 

Every time Trump speaks these are the two stories he tells consistently, repeatedly and without fail.

 

6 hours ago, Spekulatius said:

Vlad Vexler has some very good analysis on his channel. Very humble guy too and doesn’t claim to know it all.

 

I follow his channel. 

 

@changegonnacome and @Spekulatius,

 

Thanks, yes perhaps armchair psychology / pocket psychology. I just found it striking, creepy and verging to scary, how Mr. Vexlers description of the personalities of these two men and how their interactions are assumed to function. Also based on that the descriptions seem to fit all too good. 

 

Based on that, that talks now at least continue, is based on that a resounding successful outcome, based on how bad the whole thing could have evolved today between the two men.

Edited March 19, 2025 by John Hjorth
Fixed some spelling.

[Eng12345]

24 minutes ago, cubsfan said:

 

Why does Canada fake all this unity with NATO?       I haven't a clue.

 

Why did they promise since 2014 to make their NATO commitments?  Maybe you know

 

Why did Canada say - we'll be at 2% by 2032?     It certainly not money.

 

But keeps screaming about the big bad USA - you'll be protected!

 

You're screwing Europe more than anyone - and Ukraine needs you!

I’m American. I live in Missouri. I’ll ask again. What threat does Canada need protection from? 
 

This seems like a lot of fussing over .6% of gdp which is what 13 billion? To put that in perspective we spend what $820 billion a year on defense?
 

Maybe the goal is seen another way: If the admin drops the GDP of their neighbors then they will be seen as meeting the goal!

Edited March 18, 2025 by Eng12345

[rogermunibond]

Federal judge blocks dismantling of USAID, saying it "likely violated" the Constitution

From CNN's Katelyn Polantz

A federal judge has indefinitely blocked the dismantling of USAID and cut off staffers from Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency from sharing sensitive personal data kept by the agency, in a major win for groups broadly challenging Musk’s role in the federal government.

“The court finds that Defendants’ unilateral actions to shut down USAID likely violated the United States Constitution,” Judge Theodore D. Chuang of the US District Court in Maryland said today.

Correction: An earlier version of this post incorrectly described the limit placed on DOGE on sharing sensitive information.

[cubsfan]

10 minutes ago, Eng12345 said:

I’m American. I live in Missouri. I’ll ask again. What threat does Canada need protection from? 
 

This seems like a lot of fussing over .6% of gdp which is what 13 billion? To put that in perspective we spend what $820 billion a year on defense?
 

Maybe the goal is seen another way: If the admin drops the GDP of their neighbors then they will be seen as meeting the goal!

 

Why is Canada in NATO? 

[John Hjorth]

@Eng12345,

 

For the the exact same reason that the POTUS is interested in Greenland, naturally. 

 

Q : What's the geografical distance between USA and Russia?

 

A : 4 kms.

 

YouTube :  GeoGlobeTales : The Distance Between the US and Russia is Less Than You Think Diomede Islands

 

 

Edited March 18, 2025 by John Hjorth

[rogermunibond]

Heritage seems to have been awfully lazy in terms of finding ways to carry out their Project 2025 agenda that would not be reversed by Federal judges and SCOTUS.

 

There aged 20-something lawyers and analysts seem to have done a totally shit job.  Likely because while they had the zeal, they completely lacked the know-how and acumen of older mainstream conservative lawyers who refused to do this work.

 

The Federalist Society members must be embarrassed.

[Eng12345]

2 minutes ago, cubsfan said:

 

Why is Canada in NATO? 

Do I need to give you a treatise on how NATO is used by the USA to project soft and hard power across Europe? And how Canada was a founding member as a result of WW2 but Lester Pearson saw it as a way to forge economic ties between the allies? 

 

Or are you simply a black and white guy? Do you see gray at all cubs? 

 

[cubsfan]

3 minutes ago, Eng12345 said:

Do I need to give you a treatise on how NATO is used by the USA to project soft and hard power across Europe? And how Canada was a founding member as a result of WW2 but Lester Pearson saw it as a way to forge economic ties between the allies? 

 

Or are you simply a black and white guy? Do you see gray at all cubs? 

 

 

excuses, excuses, more excuses

[Eng12345]

1 minute ago, cubsfan said:

 

excuses, excuses, more excuses

I haven't seen an answer to any of the questions posed to you. 

 

Answer the questions.