SpankyMcFarland

Not true. Jones has been able to see the consequences of his malicious lies for years and has still persisted with them, knowing full well what was happening to the families. The lies themselves were also inherently damaging. There’s a middle ground to be found between America’s chaotic free speech for for all and Britain’s protection of the privileged.

Republicans were set to take the House and Senate before this decision which has thrown the Dems a lifeline. The vote in Kansas is a clear warning to politicians in other states that they prohibit abortion at their peril. Women are simply not going to stand for it, including many Republicans and those who wish to restrict the procedure. It has to be available under some circumstances and we know how rarely rape is reported to start with. Those weirdo, originalist judges that have been foisted on the country can’t wish away modernity.

OK, let’s not be too hasty and kill all the whites. Some of them can be jolly useful in the, em, personal fight for economic freedom:

OK, when you say, ‘China doesn’t innovate’, are you really trying to claim that nobody in the PRC innovates at anything? I can post recent articles all day that would beg to differ there. Here’s a wee taste of one:

That is one possible outcome, a highly unlikely one at that. It would be prudent for the West not to rely on such wishful thinking. I’ve already suggested you read the pathology literature to correct your impressions on Chinese lack of innovation. Actually, look at any scientific or technological field, or try the history of China and the numerous products invented there. Yes, China steals technology. So does Israel BTW. But they are both prodigious innovators as well. Have you worked with science grads from the PRC? They are as good as Chinese from the diaspora these days, ie very good indeed. And driven.

Taiwan’s allies are rightly trying to avoid conforming too readily to unreasonable Chinese demands. Tantrums are the default position of the CCP. We could only avoid them by agreeing to everything those spoilt children want.

Nobody knows what is going to happen but it is surely prudent to plan for what one can reasonably foresee as a possibility, especially when that possibility could affect our way of life? China is already a serious threat to stability in the Far East. Imagine a country with a similarly xenophobic and totalitarian government with 50% more global GDP share in 2052, a very conservative estimate. We’re talking about a civilization that was one of the wealthiest in the world for thousands of years, back when many of our ancestors were running around with paint on their faces in Europe, that has 1.4 billion people. A country that has declared its contempt for liberal democracy, with the talent of Japan and a population the size of India, should not be dismissed so lightly. Yes, China has many bubbles that will pop and a hideous governmental system that keeps its people down. But it also has more of the world’s best businessmen than any other country, who succeed despite that system. The story is the same in technology and science. Take a look at, say, any pathology journal and look at the names of the authors and, increasingly, where they live. Over the long-term, it is unreasonable to imagine (for unstated reasons) that its rise won’t continue. And that rise is an existential problem for freedom in the world - more North Korea than South Korea, unfortunately. Xi and Co. are well aware their citizens are becoming better informed and will be more difficult to control despite extraordinary surveillance. The surest way for the Marxists to maintain power in Beijing is continue their aggression abroad and disrupt freedom globally. Two obvious problems right now - the real estate bubble and Covid. I hope Xi comes in for a lot more flak on his zero Covid policy which he has used as a screen to ramp up oppression even more. China is facing a difficult year.

Again, we’ve seen with Ukraine how difficult it is to put together a coalition against Putin. 30 years ago, China was a developing country with incomes like Africa. What do you think it will be like in 30 years time?

Countries have interests and allies. Friends are few. America’s relationship with many nations is not as strong as it seems - China’s spectacular progress on the BRI initiative illustrates that. Much of the developing world is deeply sceptical about both Britain and the US. That’s just how it is I’m afraid. Of course, China’s opposition to US hegemony is hardly based on principle. Xi and the gang in Beijing know that the best way to secure their regime’s survival is to dominate the world.

Most of the world’s population suffers under nasty regimes of one sort or another. Why should we single out Iran in particular?

We’ve seen with the invasion of Ukraine how difficult it is to build a coalition against Russia or China. Most of Asia and Africa are either neutral or on Russia’s side. India has been highly reluctant to side with us. Read Indian newspapers and see the hostility to Britain and the US.

The other night all the candidates running were asked if they’d appoint Johnson to their cabinet. Not one said yes. This hypocrite who had the gall to criticize single mothers refused to confirm how many children he had himself. He just doesn’t know how to behave. https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/nov/29/boris-johnson-dodges-lbc-radio-hosts-questions-about-his-children

If having nukes defines it then you’d also have to include the likes of Israel, Pakistan, India, North Korea and France (as well as Iran soon) - hardly a list of superpowers. Russia was a superpower; China and the US are superpowers. That’s it. Like Canada, the UK is just a medium-sized Western country.

The UK was a superpower - all the way back in the 19’th century - which is a long, long time ago. Such a position depended heavily on European alliances. The Little Englanders behind Brexit will now face years of tedious negotiation with the great trading blocs of the world, including the EU, and may have just succeeded in destroying the UK as well.

There’s yet more trouble to be had there. The Brexiteers never considered Northern Ireland in their plans. BoJo thought that telling different stories to the DUP and EU would do the trick but that hasn’t worked out so well. Britain leaving the EU is like a wildebeest telling its friends it’s sick of the tyranny of the herd and feels it can negotiate a better deal with all these lions independently.

The 24/7 surveillance of politicians these days has its benefits. Given his serious health problems, Churchill would never have become PM again in the face of such scrutiny.

I suspect it will come down to Sunak vs Mordaunt or Truss. One of the women will make it to the final two and then hope the party is less meritocratic in its thinking than MPs are. Mordaunt’s cv is light - she looks the part and that’s about it - while Truss has a bit of the awkward Maybot energy going on. But is the party ready for someone like Sunak?

Wallace never stood a chance. He’s painful to listen to.

High office requires more than an ability to talk. Restraint, consistency, a clear political vision and a love of hard work are also necessary. Johnson was an entertaining, although highly unreliable, journalist and a passable Mayor of London but lacked the gravitas for a major post in cabinet, let alone the top job. While all politicians are obliged to mislead the public on occasion, they must hate getting caught at it. He had no such concern and it showed. In the end, his party colleagues got tired telling lies for him.

As one wag put it, third PM in a row to be ousted by Boris Johnson. BTW isn’t it great to see MPs, regardless of party affiliation, really having a go at the PM at a parliamentary committee meeting? You wouldn’t guess we had the same system in Canada. https://inews.co.uk/news/huw-merriman-m ... ee-1726986https://youtu.be/zopEUw7gUMg

Or look at Germany, Ireland, Scandinavia, New Zealand, Australia etc. We should get used to coalitions while the major parties are strong. It’s a form of government that encourages compromise and seeing the other guy’s point of view, something sorely needed these days.

Coalitions work well all over the world. It’s a matter of getting used to them.

By American criteria, Canada is a decidedly left-of-centre country. That’s how it is. One shouldn’t be surprised when some of these left-wing parties work together.

Canadians elected the MPs we now have and they are perfectly free to propose whom they like among them to lead the country.

FPTP can protect the Liberals and Conservatives only so far. As they continue to decline, other parties will start breaking through in an unpredictable way. Then coalitions will become very difficult to avoid. PR would be a far more sensible way to manage this transition but Canadians have shown little enthusiasm for it.