SpankyMcFarland

Are you human or a badly written bot? I condemn those deaths. Do you understand what I just wrote? I’ve got to go much simpler here. The Iranian regime is a murderous one, not just now but ever since 1979. Is anybody debating that? No. There is no debate. What about North Korea or many, many other regimes in the world? We all know they are nasty. By contrast, Israel has an army of willing little helpers denying it committed war crimes in Gaza or constantly steals land in the West Bank.

I have been criticizing the mullahs ever since I worked with a member of the Iranian resistance many decades ago and saw hundreds of photographs of people murdered by Khomeini. They’re not a passing fad for me, something to attack the ‘left’ (whatever that is) for.

At the current rate most of the files will not see the light of day this year. Let a judge take control of this process.

He and his supporters are authoritarians pure and simple. They don’t believe in the rules-based order.

Don’t dress this ignorant vandal up. He’s a natural-born criminal who wants to steal.

How much for Wyoming or Delaware, Alaska, California? Put a price tag on them and then we’ll talk. Even Nige begs to differ on this:

I can only see major change coming from two forces - within the regime itself or regional separatists, eg, Kurdish, Azeri, Arab, Balochi. Iran is almost as bad as India in its regional mutinies. They have the capacity to arm themselves, especially the Azeris who would receive support from Aliyev. The second possibility would mean the break-up of the country. Of course, Turkey would not want to see yet more pressure for an independent Kurdistan in the region. I think the failure of the regime to enforce some ‘morality’ rules on, for example, the hijab is one small sign of progress. Women are fighting back in a small way and I’m sure such debates are occurring within the families of the political elite too. It’s a lost cause and a preposterous one in a city like Tehran that is full of drug addicts and prostitutes.

Succession? Is there a new season coming?

What person here wants China to have Greenland? Hands up, please. I’m not seeing any hands, folks.

Trump is a seething bag of vanity, resentment and greed. To try and find strategic policy in his reflexive actions is a fool’s errand. Suffice to say, he is helping rather than countering China’s influence around the world. The crisis in Greenland is entirely of his making, a serious problem for America and Europe where none previously existed. Europe should respond with both stick and carrot. A big tax on the tech bros will bring them to the White House pronto. He can’t ignore them. They deserve it too. Couple that with a fleshed out alternative to Trump’s proposed piracy that gives America everything it can reasonably need.

Here’s Bessent parroting his master’s lines, fascism pure and simple. Another shameless thug.

A quote attributed to Keynes: “When the facts change, I change my mind - what do you do, sir?” ― John Maynard Keynes The facts in Canada have most certainly changed over the last year.

The EV concession in the deal is small for now. Managing this trade is what we have to do. There’s no point pretending BYD don’t exist and aren’t innovating like crazy out there. Our car companies will have to be competitive at some point if we don’t want to turn our auto workers into expensive civil servants. Thus we need to be deeply familiar with the Chinese product. And anybody who accuses Carney of inconsistency can’t be serious. Yes, China remains a dangerous partner to do business with but what the heck do you think has happened to our former friend south of the border? I know the poor old National Post has to pretend that things are finer and dandier than they are but we can take an honest look at what’s happening and should do so.

This is an odd admission from the Supreme Leader: If I’d been out defending the regime and getting in my quota of kills I’d be a bit confused by that. There’s an element of regret in there. The intelligent members of the regime must know what a horrible cul-de-sac they’ve driven their country into. Some of them are surely looking for a way out for themselves and their country. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jan/17/senior-iranian-cleric-calls-for-protester-executions-in-defiance-of-trump-claims A lot will depend on Khamenei‘s successor. Let’s hope that is soon. If a person with genuinely religious ambitions is chosen, like Iraq’s Sistani, the country could begin to heal.

The notion that America won’t need allies against a rising China is preposterous. Every scintilla of military, technological, economic and scientific support will be precious in that struggle. I fear the West will lose eventually but let’s not make the PRC’s task a whole lot easier by fighting among ourselves.

Normal people do not accept Nobel prize medals from other people. It’s unseemly and grotesque. Do you really have to be told that? Do you really have to defend every disgraceful thing this excuse for a human being does?

I’m in support of Iran but not in the way you think because you don’t bother to read what I write. Go look at the Iran threads some time and see what I just posted on the children of the regime. As a secular social democrat I support the Iranian people in their struggle against a theocratic tyranny. Four very basic points. 1. The numbers have to be compared as rates. Deaths in Iran would have to be at least 2.8 MILLION, with an ‘m’, to be comparable to Gaza. Do you understand that? 2. The US govt is Israel’s closest ally and hands over bombs whenever asked without any questions. Last time I looked it does not do that for Iran. Do you think the Iranian govt cares what I think? 3. That money you are talking about was Iran’s money, mate. Big difference. Most countries don’t want to be labelled as thieves. 4. The MSM networks have all been in Israel’s corner for decades. After Oct 7 even MSNBC suspended some of its Muslim presenters in case they noted what was happening. Any critics of Israel on visas risked deportation for telling the truth after that. What’s changing is that younger people can see the truth on social media.

There’s a time for partisan debate and a time to put aside those differences and work for the country. This is such a time. We’ve not been under such an existential threat in living memory, certainly not from an ally. Poilievre would be better off at least pretending he’s working with Carney at the moment against Trump, if only to improve his personal numbers.

I’ll take this seriously if America prices all of its states and territories for sale first.

A deal with China was always going to be painful. Overall, Carney probably hurt himself politically by hurting Ontario and helping farmers but that’s what he’s supposed to do - govern in the national interest for everybody including those who didn’t vote for him. Of course, Ford was always going to complain. Canada would a lot easier to run if we didn’t have 13 guys and gals who think they’re as important as the PM. BYD is already the biggest EV car maker in the world. We need to stay familiar with what they are producing and toughen our guys up because the competition is only going to get hotter. In a sane world we’d be working with the US, Europe, Japan etc to force China to revalue its currency and produce these goods at a fair rate but Trump has upended all that. He seems to have it in for us and Greenland far more than for China.

Here’s a question for you: why on earth did he accept it? He wasn’t forced to and no normal person would do that. How humiliating for a country to see your head of government do that.

Here is a familiar story that has been driving Iranians crackers for years - the lifestyle of some of the regime’s children, the aghazadeh. While their fathers demand austerity and puritanism at home they live the high life in the West. Or even at home. Catch a gawk at the cleavage on display here. https://apple.news/ArXlgsov4Tt2ndCoDcepsUg

As we know from North Korea, Belarus, Syria and Africa, zombie regimes can continue for many years with modest popular support. The mullahs depend on MAGA types - fundamentalist, ethnonationalist and fearful of change - to back up the IRGC. After five decades of failure that base must be fraying. There have been reports of regime members refusing to fire on people and being threatened with death themselves. That needs to become more widespread to provoke a split like we saw in 1979. Once that happens the regime will collapse. The goons know full well how much they are hated by ordinary people at this stage and will throw off their uniforms if faced with guns. When this will happen is anybody’s guess.

Some differences. I think most of us would agree that Iran is run by a despotic tyranny but we are told that Israel is a model democracy. American politicians, presidents and media constantly sing its praises while critical voices are marginalized or even put off the air. America did not supply Iran with vast amounts of bombs to slaughter the people there either. The unrest in Iran is mainly its own business. As in Syria, Belarus, Tanzania, Uganda and North Korea, for example, the rest of the world has only a small part to play there. Let’s remember the scale here as well - Gaza has just over two million people while Iran has over 90 million. A similar rate of death will result in 45x as many total deaths in Iran.

Here’s something similar - Knut Hamsun sending his Nobel medal to Joe Goebbels himself as a gesture of thanks for this meeting: