SpankyMcFarland

The thing is that the German Chancellor does not appoint the President. In our Canadian system, the GG, our head of state’s representative, is less independent of the head of government. This isn’t a huge deal but it doesn’t look good when the GG is considering a request by the PM to abruptly prorogue Parliament, a bit like bringing your own referee to a game.

He’s a well-educated, talented sociopath who has spent a lifetime spotting vulnerabilities in the business system where he could weasel his way through an endless litany of fraud, tax evasion and bankruptcies without getting thrown in jail. The presidency is the ultimate prize and has myriad opportunities for a man without honour to break conventions nobody thought needed to be protected by laws and make a bundle.

Further evidence that the people running Iran are idiots who can’t see the right fights to pick: The whole country was proud of the first ever female winner of the Fields Medal in mathematics:

I've no idea what the wider significance of this is, if any. His was one of many executions carried out for demonstrating against the regime. The other victims were less newsworthy. As often happens, a ridiculous confession was televised after torture; the message to the Iranian public seems to be, we know you think this is false but we decide what is real in this country. I suspect the mullahs are safe for now. Like China, Iran has been ruled by authoritarians for thousands of years with very few interruptions. One hope is that the next Supreme Leader will confine himself largely to matters spiritual and give civil society some chance to grow. The corresponding Shia cleric in Iraq, Sistani, has done just that.

I’d have no objection to Trump commenting after the execution. Commenting before was a cynical exercise that did nothing to help the guy. BTW this was news before Trump stuck his nose in.

Trump did NOT bring to this case to ‘the world’s attention’. He was merely looking for more attention for himself as usual. As any half-sensible person can see, his involvement could not have been helpful and wasn’t intended to be either.

Typo there: Afkari.

I’m not absolving the Iranian regime but Trump should have known that any contribution from him would be counter-productive. The two countries are at war. Imagine if Iran killed Pence and the mullahs later demanded the reprieve of somebody on death row. He did this purely for electoral and egotistical reasons.

Iran has just executed champion wrestler Navid Askari: Now I can understand Dana White making a public plea for clemency but what on earth did Trump think he was doing getting involved here? There is no way he helped the man’s cause by supporting it.

Hey, slick new format! I like O’Toole’s story, e.g. military service, ordinary background, calm temperament, and appointing the two stars who didn’t run, Rempel and Polievre, to key portfolios makes sense too. I do not like the video above. Conservatives should not be railing about ‘elites’ (although, thankfully, Erin isn’t a great railer) and getting NAFTA signed again was a great relief to any sensible person in the country. Even without China, manufacturing jobs were going to be lost to automation and the oil sector’s problems are not confined to Canada. Yes, there are serious challenges ahead but let’s have some confidence, from a Tory leader of all people, that Canadians will continue to succeed as our economy evolves.

What should the decade be called? It seems odd to leave it with a number when all the rest have a name.

Why would anyone expect wisdom from Navarro? His comments on the Canadian mission in Afghanistan are, as usual, outlandish.

Basically, it’s watching traffic. Sports other people enjoy often look silly.

Apart from NZ, they have their own monarchs. By contrast, we have a foreigner who gave up visiting us some time ago. It's time we grew up and at least made the GG a more serious position à la the presidencies of Israel or Germany.

Yes.

A lot of governments took a dim view of deficits a hundred years ago and we know how that turned out. The trick is to save during the good years so one can spend during the downturns.

O’Toole is a calming figure. In his appearances on the CBC’s Power and Politics, I never saw him lose his cool with his opposite numbers. He’s also got an average guy vibe. After Trudeau, I suspect we’ll be shopping for something less flashy.

Those jobs can’t come back. If China didn’t have them Vietnam at al. would, and automation is gobbling them up too.

Personally, I prefer the VAT approach where the tax is built into the price; something costs me what the price says it costs. I find the price without GST added particularly irritating with big ticket items. Just tell me the price I have to pay. I’ve no interest in the other figure.

Any party that forces a federal election this year deserves to be punished at the polls. I suspect most voters would think, hold on, we’ve just had one of those and we’ve far more important things to deal with.

How many internationally recognized, academic economists with serious cvs have we had in that job over the years? It’s a political appointment, the second most important one, involving constant negotiation with other politicians and the country at large. She has already demonstrated such skills. There’ll be lots of advisers to help her with the sums.

O’Toole starts with some pluses. His bio is much closer to that of ordinary Canadians than Trudeau’s and even features military service. He’s certainly no right-wing firebrand and his calm style should not spook the floating voters the party needs. In addition, he’s got the Ontario connections where the battle may be lost and won. One challenge will be keeping the social conservatives happy and quiet.

In recent times, Conservative leaders have been tended to be chubbier than their Liberal counterparts. O’Toole should watch his weight. He also has to keep a short leash on the social conservatives who helped him win.

More evidence on the morbidity associated with COVID, the so-called ‘long-haulers’: