SpankyMcFarland

I’m glad I’m not much of a gambler because I was wrong about damn near every game in the playoffs. One correct prediction - Tom Brady’s terrible performance as a commentator. How did the handlers not see that coming?

I think he’s trying to pivot away from his standard partisan message at the moment but in my opinion he has not gone far enough. Even before our national crisis, likeability had been identified among voters as one of his key weaknesses. Unlike the US, a conservative candidate has a very hard time winning in Canada with just their base so he has to win over centrist voters of various hues, eg ‘fiscal Liberals’. The best way to do that is to go easy on the populist content and soften the style with fewer jabs at his opponents. Many of the people considering a vote for him are former Liberal voters. They won’t care to hear their choices from yesteryear trashed. A critique more in sorrow than anger is what is required. Even the cadence of his voice could be modified a bit. It should sound conversational some of the time. A self-deprecating joke every day would be a good habit for him to cultivate.

You couldn’t make this up: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/feb/17/miami-shooting-israeli-men

How one sees this depends. For us earthlings it’s not so good. We have to stay here.

Just watching Igor Novikov, a former Zelenskyy adviser, on the Trump proposal. He compared it not to Chamberlain’s 1938 Munich agreement with Hitler but to the 1939 Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact when the Soviets and Nazis carved up Poland.

Could you enlarge on that claim and show us why there is no merit to the case? It sure looked like it had some merit to me and to the prosecutors who were in charge of the case, several of whom were certainly not Democrats.

The MAGA Right is more anti-Left than pro-Right. They don’t seem to understand the difference between reforming the administrative state and seriously damaging it.

If I were employed by the Tories, I think I’d be looking for a somewhat different tone from Poilievre in these extraordinary times. The immediate threat is external whereas pipelines will take years to build and trade barriers seem to be as persistent as death and taxes in this country. Ease up on the partisan stuff for now and build your image as a leader for all Canadians. Emphasize warmth, humility, humour and an ability to work with others. He has those things as well as a good personal story to tell.

Obesity is an inherited disorder exquisitely sensitive to environmental conditions. Both nature and nurture play a role. Imagine a native tribe exposed to smallpox for the first time. Most of the tribe may die in that first epidemic but a few are naturally better able to survive the infection. The genetic variants in the survivors would not have become apparent without the virus. Likewise, the appearance of constantly available calorie-dense food occurred around the Seventies in Western societies and exposed a vulnerability in about 70% of the population, many of whom are now overweight or obese, the most important factor being an inherited inability to feel full quickly enough when exposed to the likes of donuts and hamburgers. The other 30% remain fairly thin no matter what amount of food is put in front of them. Forget about willlpower, morality and even exercise as solutions. What’s needed is an ability to feel full. However, help is on the way, as Mr. Poilievre might say. Drugs like Ozempic cut down our thoughts of food and help us to feel full much more quickly. A lot of us will be on them when the cost comes down.

Last year Europe spent billions on US equipment and Trump insists they should buy even more from the US. Given Trump’s many threats and general unreliability, that has to change. There are many excellent European companies with products often cheaper than the nearest comparable American model and a big jump in demand would make their products even better.

I’m not going to dance to some foreign sociopath’s made-up tune about us. Let’s be real here and see the world as it is. People are going to take potentially lethal drugs. We can’t ‘solve’ this problem the way that simpleton claims he thinks we can.

Trump and Rubio are entirely driven by domestic US politics here. Pushing a Netanyahu-approved plan for Gaza is good for them in Florida.

This is like telling Czechoslovakia to be ‘reasonable’ about losing the Sudetenland. We know what happened next there.

Well, I don’t think their perception of the ‘many peace deals’ is the same as yours. Also bear in mind the massive influx of European refugees since 1920. They were minding their own business back then.

Those Arabs have the rights of Israelis, by and large. The Arabs in the Occupied Territories don’t enjoy those rights, or many rights we would consider normal. Just driving to work can be a nightmare in the West Bank, for example.

Dear Reader, I watched the whole speech, around an hour, so that you don’t have to. It wasn’t bad. Obviously it wasn’t meant for me. Let’s say I’m a Habs fan here trying to offer advice to the Leafs. Tricky. I’d give it 7/10. Pros: Good joke about the wife. Self-deprecation is always a safe way to warm the crowd up esp. as he often comes across as fairly cocky. Delivery. Accomplished, as usual, fluent and with good cadence. A few flubs esp. in French. Decent start about the trade war and Canada’s history with a Kennedyesque moment about burdens and prices made for a TV clip: “We will never be the 51st state. We will bear any burden and pay any price to protect the sovereignty and independence of our country”. “Help is on the way.” Mrs. Doubtfire said something similar: help is on the way dear. Nice story about the Dubé family he stayed with as a boy in Quebec. Should have had more of that. His likeability is a vulnerability he should be working on. Restoring in-person citizenship ceremonies. I can’t imagine anybody openly opposing that. Cons: Length. The Gettysburg Address is celebrated partly because of its merciful brevity. Now I know every federal political speech is greatly lengthened by bilingualism but my butt doesn't know that. I would have preferred less on the policy front today and fewer points overall. Tone. This isn’t 2024. We’re in a sudden national crisis and people expect politicians to work together. He’s still ahead because many voters beyond the core Tory base have decided to give him a chance but there is still a question mark over whether he is too Trumpy or divisive to bring the country together at this perilous time. This exact speech would have been better last year or after the election is called. Realistically, the base voters have nowhere to go. It’s the new voters he must work to keep. Armed forces. Not exactly a mistake, just hard to believe given the enormous task ahead. I’ve been hearing big talk on the issue since I came to this country - and usually before elections, just like this. A mention of Goose Bay caught my attention there. We’ll see.

Actually, I am willing to admit errors. I was wrong about Russia. I thought it was on the road to reform and peace. Romney was right and Obama was wrong there. I don’t know where you get any of that from. I would regard myself as a centrist and a pragmatist.

A lot of Canadians? On a personal basis, beyond the National Post, I encountered very few interested in joining America in Iraq and that number dwindled to nothing pretty darn quick. Chrétien showed excellent judgement there. Blair’s decision to send troops ruined his reputation among Labour voters in Britain.

Given that the US helped so much in demolishing the place, that’s where donations should start if they are to come from anywhere.

Egypt is at bursting point, physically, economically, politically. There is a reason El-Sisi did not want to be associated with Trump’s strange musings. It’s highly unpopular in Egypt for multiple reasons. The US policy on Palestine/Israel is still a two state solution so in the first instance these people should be moved, if at all, to Palestine.

One really has to wonder about the health of some people here.

Trump has already given away Ukraine’s territorial integrity and NATO membership before negotiations start. Some negotiator! Then Vance dresses down his NATO allies. Who is America’s enemy here?

Trump has created a gulf in North America and it’s getting wider every day.

I could see settling some of them in the West Bank. That makes sense. Otherwise, what countries would you have in mind?

I think somebody else south of the border has done that already. I mean, even if you don’t like Carney, who would be primarily responsible for his victory?