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Showing content with the highest reputation on 01/22/2026 in all areas

  1. I found this Op-Ed, by Cosmin Dzsurdzsa of Juno News, quite enlightening. He discusses the Canadian "cartels" dominated by old, moneyed family dynasties that are running things - Rogers & Shaw in telecommunications (The Digital Services Act), the Irvings (oil & shipbuilding), the Westons (retail). He points out how every sticking point in our current CUSMA trade disputes with the US can be understood through this lens. See what you think: Dear Americans, Canada is run by powerful Cartels Canada as a nation is not particularly difficult to understand if you spend even a small amount of time thinking about how the system actually operates and I think the Americans are starting to catch on. It goes like this: Canadian governments exist, to varying degrees, largely as protectionist rackets with the sole purpose of preserving a series of entrenched industry monopolies and cartels. These cartels are largely dominated by a small number of old, moneyed family dynasties (the Rogers and Shaws in telecommunications, the Irvings in oil and shipbuilding, the Westons in food retail, and many others). For simplicity’s sake, I’ll refer to these powerful, dynamic industry groups as “The Cartels” going forward. This is the basic operating theory of Canadian politics. Once you understand it, almost everything else begins to make sense. Nearly every sticking point in Canada’s ongoing USMCA trade disputes with the United States can be understood through this lens (more on that shortly). First, it’s worth exploring the broader implications of this operating theory. The implication is that virtually every piece of legislation, every policy choice made by the government-of-the-day, and every trade relationship is viewed internally as a zero-sum game: net gains or net losses for The Cartels. The public interest is often secondary and incidental. Canadian governments win or lose elections and sometimes tear themselves apart based on how well they balance the sometimes competing interests of The Cartels. Some of The Cartels are more closely aligned with Conservative governments, others with Liberal ones. But the most powerful and deeply entrenched of The Cartels almost always emerge unscathed, regardless of which party is in power. By far, the Liberal party, often self-indulgently described by Canada’s Laurentian elites as the country’s “natural governing party” has proven the most adept at protecting cartel interests. The Liberals excel at this game because they understand how to obscure the underlying reality: that laws and decisions are made primarily to protect monopolies, by wrapping those decisions in branding that appeals to Canadian identity, culture, sentimentality, or phoney nationalism. Take dairy as a clear example. For those unaware, dairy and other agricultural goods in Canada are determined by a supply management system, essentially a central planning system where bureaucrats determine quotas, supply and dictate pricing. Supply management has been a persistent flashpoint in USMCA negotiations. U.S. President Donald Trump has personally called out Canada’s "250% tax" on dairy products, and American negotiators have repeatedly pushed to put dairy access on the table, much to Ottawa’s chagrin. Why won’t Ottawa budge? The answer is simple: the dairy cartel. Within Canada, and especially within Conservative circles, much has already been said about the outsized political influence of the dairy cartel across both major federal parties. Anyone who witnessed the 2017 Conservative Party of Canada leadership race will quickly see how radioactive this issue became (but that is a separate can of worms best left unopened here). What matters is that the dairy cartel is not merely influential; it is legally entrenched. Entire statutory frameworks and government bodies exist, namely the Farm Products Agencies Act and the Canadian Dairy Commission, solely to serve their interests. This is cartel behaviour, formalized by law. Now consider the Digital Services Act. As recently as yesterday, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick explicitly raised this issue while speaking at the World Economic Forum, calling out Canada’s insistence on taxing U.S. digital products. What’s notable is that opposition to Canada’s digital taxes has been bipartisan in the United States. Even the former U.S. trade representative under Democratic President Joe Biden, Katherine Tai, expressed frustration with Ottawa’s approach and requested dispute settlement over this issue. On this particular tax, Canada has retreated and recently rescinded the tax. But the question remains: why did Canada fight tooth and nail under threat of tariffs and consequences to preserve this tax? Because of the media and telecommunications cartel. The Digital Services Act is only one iteration of an entire web of legislation and trade policy designed to preserve the media/telecoms cartel. The Digital Services Act, the Online Streaming Act, and the Online News Act are all part of the same architecture. These laws are the reason Canadians can no longer access news on Facebook to this day. The media/telecom cartel, organized through lobbying groups such as News Media Canada, successfully pushed these measures through under the guise of fairness and cultural protection. But the underlying reason is far less flattering: Canada’s legacy media sector cannot compete with American firms due to chronic deficiencies in talent, innovation, scale, and human capital. Without protection, subsidization, and forced revenue transfers, the system collapses. The reason I highlight dairy and media/telecom specifically is not only because they are central to Canada’s trade disputes with the United States, but because they illustrate how effectively the Canadian government has sold these protectionist regimes to voters. Supply management is framed as a patriotic necessity. Canadians are told that dairy farmers must dump millions of litres of milk down the drain each year to meet quota targets because Canadian dairy is inherently superior to American dairy. Media subsidies and telecom monopolies are justified as essential to preserving culture, heritage, and a disingenuous "Canadian nationalism." Any appeal to preserving Canadian sovereignty should at this point be considered an appeal to preserving the system of The Cartel I have just laid out for you. These narratives work. They ensured compliance. And it certainly helps that Canada’s media ecosystem itself is thoroughly monopolized (a point I have addressed at length elsewhere). So you see, the system is actually quite simple. The same logic applies to many of Canada’s most questionable laws and trade practices. And to return to my original point: I think Americans are beginning to understand this faster than Ottawa likes to think. For years, Canada’s Laurentian elite appeared to believe they had successfully hoodwinked their American “partners”, that the U.S. was asleep at the wheel while Canada quietly enriched The Cartels and hardened their monopolies, all with a sense of duper's delight. Unfortunately for them, the giant is awake and it’s not falling for the tricks anymore.
    4 points
  2. This has been Canada's historical reality for several generations, long before Trump. I am old enough to remember a far more independent Canada (going back to PM Lester Pearson), distinct foreign policy, cultural divergence, and closer Commonwealth ties. Canada's U.S. dependencies have increased over time because of choices Canada has made. This can be reversed of course, but not just as knee-jerk reactions to American administrations that will come and go. Trump will have done Canada a huge favour if his policies spur a true Canada First mentality and actions.
    3 points
  3. I was just watching a clip where Don Lemon claims that people oppose him because hes black and likes it in the pooper. Why do left wingers hide behind this nonsense to excuse poor behavior on their part I.e invading a church service and yelling at women and kids?
    2 points
  4. the only ones who belong in jail is the far right nuts on this forum and that's a mental health jail mind you 30 days would do alot of you some good
    2 points
  5. Well Mr. Bumblefodder... The difference is, we idi*ts (capless) don't just read those scientific journals, we unlike you and your fellow non-entities, actually understand what we read.
    2 points
  6. Don't know enough about the subject but there are people who are exploring the viability of Earth based resources. Pulsar Helium Inc. (AIM/TSXV: PLSR, OTCQB: PSRHF) is advancing what could prove to be the world’s first viable terrestrial source of helium-3. At its Topaz Project in Minnesota, USA, laboratory analysis has confirmed the presence of helium-3 at concentrations that are broadly equivalent to those on the moon. The helium-3 at Topaz is hosted within gas and would be produced via surface gas processing, distinguishing it fundamentally from solid-material mining concepts being considered for the moon. Crucially, this discovery is being advanced within a stable jurisdiction, an increasingly important consideration as governments recognize helium-3 as a strategically significant resource. https://www.share-talk.com/helium-3-scarcity-strategy-and-the-case-for-a-terrestrial-first/
    2 points
  7. How do the protesters know exactly who ICE is looking for on any given operation and whether they've committed serious crimes or not?
    2 points
  8. "In 2024, India remained Canada's top source country for immigrants, followed by the Philippines, China, Nigeria, and Cameroon" And a large proportion of Indians are Sikh or Hindu, and Filipinos are Christian.
    2 points
  9. Dear Americans, Canada is run by powerful Cartels Gosh, you're so woke...finally. Why I even bet you think going into Iraq was dumb. In any case, if they really are running things they don't seem to be any better at making busses run on time. Lobby the CRA to help create deductible financial instruments or some such thing? Sure...betchya they couldn't get rid of DST if their lives depended on it though. LMAO!
    2 points
  10. This isn’t true. I don’t like a lot of things. It doesn’t justify or make OK me taking the law into my own hands. You know this, which is why you are all talk on a forum and not out doing it. You talk shit and cheer on others and take no responsibility for your actions
    1 point
  11. Oh? That spike protein stays in the arm, does it? Doesn't spread to other organs of the body? 95% effective? Doesn't affect the human genome at all? Was thoroughly tested? Doesn't cause any myo/pericarditis? No blood clotting issues? I could go on, but you get the picture.
    1 point
  12. Again our forefathers had execution in place for tyranny to safeguard Canadians, our rights, our freedoms, having justice and to guard our economy which was uprooted when capital punishment was abolished in Canada and the punishment for tyranny was never replaced. Canada needs a harsh punishment for tyranny to be reinstated and Canadians need to apply it immediately. Canada it's time to demand a punishment for tyranny.  Do you really want to reward liberals for stealing from us all (more than every other Canadian government combined) these past eleven years (precisely) by letting them get away with confusing their own deliberate ignorance for validity as they even force their hand upon so called Canadian main stream media to reiterate liberal deliberate ignorance as any sort of validity because they do not have even so much as a shred of validity most of the time so they continue to attempt to treat Canadian citizens as dummies as they really rob us and generations to come blind while stating such things as "who cares". Pay attention to liberals and let it be noticed by you thus known that they treat their own deliberate ignorance as validity! They evade answering anything as if their lives depend upon it while they instead attempt to make irrelevant rhetoric the issue to try to evade being held into account. Deliberate ignorance does not contest what fact reveals on especially the foundation of any primary issue that I have addressed over the decades!  They even deliberately bring in millions of people into the country and many illegally and as many of the people they bring in wrong Canadian citizens, liberals then try to label Canadian citizens speaking out about how they got screwed by a newcomer as a racist or a hater to assist the newcomers with getting away with such sick behaviour because again the Liberals quite obviously value the WEF divide and conquer agenda much more than they value the well being, sanity and safety of Canadian citizens having justice as they continue to drive wedges between the citizens of Canada and justice while fueling criminal activity to negatively effect as many Canadian citizens as possible with their sick excuse as policy etc. Oh it's ok for the USA to run ships along BC, as well fund a so called First Nations non profit to prevent Canada from exporting oil to assist the WEF etc. with turning Canadians into slaves as Carney assists them with having any kind of say over Canada's potential for prosperity so the oil companies in the USA make all the money as they too work towards dividing and conquering Canada! Facts are not argued, facts are not believed, when it comes to facts, facts are either recognized or ignored. Why do you think that the liberal platform is to lie and ignore, it’s because they treat their own ignorance as validity for their free ticket to become wealthy as they assist the WEF with their divide and conquer plans and not only here in Canada. Can any one of you name one Canadian (besides Justin Trudeau) that lies more than Crash and Burn Carney (Mark Carney) who infiltrates our PM chair after what I highly suspect was a severely rigged election?!! Do you really think that Liberals deserve to continue to reward themselves for stabbing the citizens of Canada in the back with a slew of lies and deceptions while depleting Canada's revenue, making Canadian citizens homeless, taking away our jobs while replacing us with foreigners at alarming rates?! Being against your country being overloaded with people and standing up for the citizens of your country doesn't make you a racist or a hater, it makes you a hero! Notice how those who support criminal activity try to slander Canada's heroes! Doesn't it bother you that the most redundant mentalities in the country infiltrate our government currently and label Canadians as racists or haters so these extremely mentally redundant individuals can continue to stab you in the back while robbing generations of us blind while acting like their deliberate ignorance equates any kind of validity?! It's time to stand up to such rubbish Canada, you have every right to be furious with these individuals but that doesn't make you a hater or a racist! I don't hate anyone or anything but that doesn't mean that your actions do not disgust me and nor does it mean that your ignorance doesn't infuriate me! Pierre Poilievre's platform looks good compared to many others, unfortunately I think he's quite possibly being kept around to bait Canadian's into thinking we have a chance (thus quell rebellion) while liberals continue to degrade the country! Hey they all pledge allegiance to the King who is head of State here and the King appears very much on board with the sick WEF agenda! It's my pleasure to continue to stand up for the well being and safety of Canadian citizens even while scraping by in a three man tent out in the cold after my radicalized leftist head case sick excuse for a family stabbed me in the back yet again for fighting the good fight by primarily sharing facts that expose lies and deceptions over the decades. Radicalized and infiltrated by a slew of lies and deceptions is sickening and this needs to stop. Supporting lies is not an opinion, it just makes you a liar! love Primary Factual Fundamentalist World Class Activist David Jeffrey Spetch Ps. Be good, be strong! Ontario Canada
    1 point
  13. Oh noes, two people fighting for who gets to wear the left sock.
    1 point
  14. You offered no proof of your assertion. That which can be asserted without evidence can be rejected just the same.
    1 point
  15. One day you will be sitting alone, lying about your Trump-supporting past, and pleading, "We just didn't know!"
    1 point
  16. We all know it's about normalizing Trump's ICE Army to disrupt the 2026 elections. Trump is deathly afraid of being impeached and convicted when the Democrats take control of Congress.
    1 point
  17. ICE is removing illegal aliens and that's all that matters. The rest of your bullshit is just fluff.
    1 point
  18. You are the most fundamentally dishonest, pathological liar on this forum.
    1 point
  19. Prove it. No Facebook videos. Hard proof. You are a broken little man.
    1 point
  20. A f*cking five-year-old was detained by ICE. Wake the f*ck up! https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/ice-detains-boy-school-9.7055812 America is broken
    1 point
  21. They are trying to peacefully appease a psychopath who has the power of the United States government behind him. Donalds all threats and blackmail, no diplomacy. And the red hats, being the mindless halfwits they are, are all cheering him on through their missing teeth. "The red hats bont know much about anything, and they live to remind us of it, over and over." -------CrakHoBarbie
    1 point
  22. another wokester off the streets. Yes!!! This is the fella who was yelling at the five year old and the teenage girl drinking a coffee. Sad
    1 point
  23. 8 You forgot to mention the pastor at that church is an I.C.E. field director. What's good for the goose, is good for the gander. I.C.E. agents have no qualms terrifying children nor spreading fear through entire cities. None whatsoever. Its tit for tat. Whine some more.
    1 point
  24. Yes because he knows that line of thinking is what can lead to full blown abortion which is what all the degenerates want in the first place.
    1 point
  25. No I wasnt. Must you lie in every post? I simply posted that the potential is there for terrestrial Helium 3 mining for green energy and you farts denied that. I wanna know why you greenies are so opposed to this?
    1 point
  26. never believe robowoke's bullshit, period. Fox beats the hell out of every source you've got, even WITH that bullshit judgment.
    1 point
  27. No-one wants to protect them, except Trump How else to explain why he is so desperate the change the subject from the Epstein files? Look at the timeline - November 18 - Congress passes the Epstein Files Transparency Act November 19 - Trump declares his "War on Narcoterrorism" December 19 - Legal deadline for document release - 1% released, heavily redacted January 3 - deadline for DOJ to justify legal basis for redactions - deadline ignored January 3 - Trump invades Venezuela, abducts Maduro January 4 - threats to Columbia and Cuba January 6 - threats to Greenland and Denmark January 8 - threats to Mexico January 11 - criminal investigation into Fed Chair Powell launched
    1 point
  28. Monopolistic behaviour is not confined to Canada. Look at the way Facebook and Google are allowed by heavily lobbied US politicians to buy up potential competition. The only country that has resisted this trend is China, hardly a model of open markets itself.
    1 point
  29. Read the rest: “Although the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has not historically relied on administrative warrants alone to arrest aliens subject to final orders of removal in their place of residence, the DHS Office of General Counsel has recently determined that the U.S. Constitution, the Immigration and Nationality Act, and the immigration regulations do not prohibit relying on administrative warrants for this purpose,” the memo reads. The memo says agents may “arrest and detain aliens” in their places of residence who are subject to final orders of removal issued by immigration judges, the Board of Immigration Appeals, or U.S. district or magistrate judges. The memo says under general guidelines that officers and agents using a method called Form I-205 must “knock and announce” and that “in announcing, officers and agents must state their identity and purpose.” It says that officers and agents must give the people inside time to comply with the order. It also says that they generally should not enter a residence before 6 a.m. or after 10 p.m., and that they "should only use a necessary and reasonable amount of force” to enter a home.
    1 point
  30. https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/juno-news-bias-and-credibility/ Overall, we rate Juno News as Right Biased due to its consistently critical coverage of the Liberal Party, frequent emphasis on immigration and national security issues, and editorial framing that aligns with conservative viewpoints. Surprise, surprise...
    1 point
  31. That's been the reality all along. Meanwhile: T.A.C.O. Yeah, you guys did that all by yourselves. Read some Phuckin' history!
    1 point
  32. No. Anyone who isn't a white Christian. Voter suppression, redistricting, ICE intimidation, Presidential lies and insults... Anyone who's gay, or doesn't fit with Right-Wing so-called morality (which is actually immorality).
    1 point
  33. At least a rabid dog won't lie to you and tell you he's NOT a rabid dog. LMAO
    1 point
  34. Sorta how Trump silences media critics by threatening lawsuits and revoking broadcasting licences you mean? Or more like a double tap to the head? Okay, doctors and pharmacists are busy people and as such I'm quite certain the professional associations they belong to have an ear to the ground on developments their members need to know about. They often have periodicals on different issues and things amongst the National Geographics in their waiting areas. And the cost of doing so was prohibitive until this great need to develop a vaccine came along. Then they had the sort of funding that could resolve enough issues quickly enough it allowed for the production of a safe effective vaccine that prevented millions of deaths around the world. Like I said, without it we'd still be under pandemic measures and with who knows how many more millions of deaths. Yes you have this magical supernatural ability to know everything about everything and everyone. Why, it's almost like you're a real live Goddess or something - all knowing, all seeing... infallible. Right...it was all a perpetrated hoax... LMAO! I have zero reason to think you have a clue what you're talking
    1 point
  35. Any country that shares a language with a much larger one right beside it faces the same concerns about foreign influence as we do. Go to Ireland or Pakistan and you’ll hear similar conversations. In addition, social media poses multiple novel threats to our privacy, local news media, childhood development and social cohesion that we are just beginning to understand. We are still in the Marlboro Man stage on this industry and its dangers. On agriculture, the reality is very different from what some Americans allege. In 2024, Canada was the second-highest importer of U.S. dairy products, buying about $1.14 billion US, and was the top market for eggs and related products. The total agricultural exports to Canada amounted to about $28.2 billion US in 2023! Does that sound like we are shutting the US out? In addition, America still turns a blind eye to the thousands of illegal workers in its dairy and agricultural industries and then indignantly insists we must import even more of these illegally produced items. Let’s reform sensibly. For example, I have no need of Canadian content or local oligopolies when it comes to the companies providing cellphone and Internet services. By comparison with Europe, our cellphones contracts still cost too much here IMO.
    1 point
  36. The government may or may not know what guns Canadians have, depending on the before and after on certain dates that some legislation came into effect. Regardless, it's a huge waste of time and money.
    1 point
  37. 1 point
  38. People who are attracted to tyrants like Negan are attracted to strongmen and wannabe pseudo-strongmen like Trump. They think people who can commit abuse with impunity are powerful and that bu supporting those people they can bathe in the reflected glow, or at least be safe from being on the receiving end.
    1 point
  39. Is Trump threatening Canada in this bit from his Davos speech? Does he really expect the world to bow to him? Trump said, "Canada should be grateful to us but they're not. Canada lives because of the United States. Remember that, Mark." https://www.instagram.com/reel/DTxy1pJkVqs/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ== What a complete and total embarrassment. Trump kept referring to “Iceland” when he meant “Greenland” and said they love him, and they call him “Daddy.” https://www.instagram.com/reel/DTxxnM6DgQm/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA== Lol, he's inviting all the dictators of the world. You really need to read more! I am clear-eyed. You are deluded.
    1 point
  40. Zhao must have given him $1.4B in some obscure crypto and told him he will reduce his trading fees by 5,000%
    1 point
  41. They're walking out on America - it's an endless circle of hate for these vermin.
    1 point
  42. He's ANTI brain. Of course he does. His 'big wheel' has over 300 thousand k on it. He's just got the collecors plates for it.
    1 point
  43. If that is what you think he is doing, then you are here watching him do it. Ewwww
    1 point
  44. I get that.......But that was not your point , the US has some success in insurgency warfare... Like i said, once American soldiers start coming home in bags ,let alone Canadian terrorist killing soft American targets , don't expect your American support to last, don't expect to much sympathy from across the border....once you lose that support that's when you've lost the fight... My first tour in Afghanistan i was full of pi$$ in vinegar, want to help regular Afghans....volunteered for everything....by the end of that first tour, i had a severe hate on for the Taliban and all the other terrorist organization in Afghanistan and would not think twice about ending one of them....by my third tour i was not there to help afghanis, but to bring back as many Canadians as i possible could...i kept volunteering to go back because my comrades where going....My wife gave me an ultimatum...I could go on my forth tour....but she would not be there when i got back home....i checked myself into the hospital and was diagnosed with sever PTSD...And i was a trained soldier, with previous combat experience.... Everyone i knew quickly pointed out how much my character changed...i was not the same person as i once was...I'd turned into an A$$hat....a drunken a$$hat .... And i'm not saying i'm better than any other man or women out there....but you are talking about regular Canadians with no training or experience. I can't even fathom them being able to cope just the survival mode, let alone combat or it's conditions... Trump has already said he prefers liberal governments...Not even sure what he thinks any more....and your right realistically he would not have to invade...he could use Economical pressure...or like you said put someone he could trust in power...and what real sovereignty do we really have right now....hard to have sovereignty when you don't have the means to protect it...
    1 point
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