SpankyMcFarland

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:

A previous example of Nobel Prize medal re-gifting: Knut Hamsun (Literature Prize 1920): In 1943, the Norwegian author Knut Hamsun travelled to Germany and met with Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels. After returning to Norway, he sent his Nobel medal to Goebbels as a gesture of thanks for the meeting. Goebbels was honoured by the gift.

The threat Russia poses in Greenland at the moment is exaggerated. The island is in no way ‘covered’ by Russian ships as Trump has claimed. If Trump fears Russian expansionism so much he should support Ukraine more strongly and defeat Putin’s attempts to expand the Russian empire in Europe. https://apnews.com/article/fact-check-greenland-denmark-trump-arctic-security-russia-china-6346aa8e86be594e467e8cc18f98357b Your sudden concern about colonialism in Greenland might be taken more seriously if you weren’t an apologist for a disgusting imperialist land grab. Greenlanders have freely chosen to stay part of the Kingdom of Denmark. They don’t want to be an American colony, thank you very much.

Who is suggesting that the US can’t expand its bases in Greenland? Very basic point for you: one does not have to invade another country to help protect it. The idea is so grossly outrageous, and dangerous to Canada, I’m genuinely mystified that any Canadian would support it. Miller got the population of Greenland wrong which wasn’t a great start in his colonial rant on CNN. Would he like to talk about the current price tags he would sell American states for? Alaska, Nebraska, maybe Rhode Island?

Those Israelis know the right answers they are supposed to give here. Suffice to say there is distrust on both sides even within Israel itself: https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2025-12-22/ty-article/democracy-index-over-70-percent-of-israeli-jews-oppose-arab-parties-in-govt/0000019b-45a0-d0fc-a7ff-f7e95f620000 https://www.timesofisrael.com/poll-overwhelming-majority-of-jewish-israelis-dont-trust-arab-compatriots/

Because that’s used all the time to justify attacks on Palestinians. Do you seriously believe Palestinians have the same access to building permits that Israelis have?

This is what Palestinians are facing constantly. https://news.sky.com/story/no-one-is-here-to-help-us-palestinians-watch-on-as-israeli-diggers-tear-down-their-homes-in-east-jerusalem-13486867 And please don’t tell me this guy is a terrorist: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/west-bank-taybeh-brewery-uk-beer-export-israel-b2872799.html

Can you spell out what you think that ‘getting along’ is all about more explicitly? I suspect the people involved will not want to do that.

Here is the paragraph in the document that the article is about: Note the sentence after the one regarding sole-source contracts. It makes the new US attitude to the sovereignty of other countries crystal clear.

Another daft idea from a confused elderly man trapped in his own adolescence.

America is going down a very dark path under Trump, destroying the global rules-based order it so painstakingly created after WWII and retreating into gringo imperialism. The new US National Security Strategy document wants sole-source contracts for US companies in ‘dependent’ countries. As things stand, we rely way too much on US digital services companies - their dominance is worrying enough already. We also need to be free to choose our own military equipment. CUSMA negotiators should take careful note of any attempt to insert this stuff into the agreement: https://financialpost.com/news/economy/new-us-nss-clause-roughshod-canadian-sovereignity

Did Canada never have an identity? Think of any country in the Western hemisphere. The point is the same. Are none of them authentic because they don’t go back as states for thousands of years? Irish people are well used to such arguments. Here is a British columnist still questioning Ireland’s legitimacy in 2017!

If the election was rigged…where is the serious evidence of that?

Let the robots make the trip to Mars a routine thing, eg a hundred consecutive uneventful flights and help within a week for any human expedition, before we consider sending anybody but Elon Musk there.

I wish Charest had made it to the top job. He was the sort of guy you could send anywhere and you know he’d do well. Great temperament too. Mr. Canada.

Nobody but an academic or some similarly obsessed soul masters all the dialects of a widely spoken language. Newfoundland English is like the Irish variety - most outsiders go for a blend of the more commonly spoken variants and end up with a crude caricature that nobody speaks. I’ve heard very few decent imitations of Newfoundlandlers.

I can’t really follow your train of thought there and I’m in no position to judge how good a writer Davies was, although I can say he thought he was very good himself.

Nations define themselves and their identity. A short while ago in human history there was no such thing as Canada. It’s pretty obvious why so many of Israel’s supporters insist a Palestinian identity does not exist. They don’t want to deal with it.

Western Europe has better neighbours. They have learned to truly respect each other. By contrast, the US is barely able to cope with a trade area of three countries.

Some of the right-wing supporters here are way to the right of average Canadians. I think this is why they can’t see or acknowledge Poilievre’s essential problem that has caused him so many difficulties of late. Like them he comes across as an angry populist rather than a leader for the entire country in a time of grave national crisis.

With a bit of luck, Trump’s many other problems will prevent him focusing on us.