SpankyMcFarland

Putin isn’t going to last forever. His successor won’t have the same need to hold onto stolen territory.

Carney looks the part, less connected to Trudeau than Freeland and a bigger contrast with Trump than Poilievre.

My spellcheck does that. One typo produces a correctly spelled but nonsensical word.

It certainly isn’t my intention to sound like that. IMO Russia could occupy all of Ukraine and still lose in the end. In foreign wars the invader has a significant motivational deficit. At some point continuing the war will not be possible for them.

Jews started moving to Palestine when it was still part of the Ottoman Empire. The persecution of Jews in Russia after the assassination of Tsar Alexander II in 1881 created a steady flow of such refugees to many parts of the world, including North America. Balfour blocked their immigration to Britain with the Aliens Act in 1905 and then found a place for them in part of the Ottoman Empire seized by Britain. Under British rule, the numbers immigrating ballooned in the Twenties and Thirties despite vociferous protests from the Arab population.

The reluctance from Jordan and Egypt won’t be cured by money. In both countries leaders who did deals with Israel have been assassinated so there’s a lot at stake. People who think all Arabs are the same should take a look at Jordan. Any more Palestinians there could easily start another civil war. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_September And then there’s the issue of physical capacity. The Nile Delta with Cairo has sixty million people in an area a quarter the size of the island of Newfoundland. They’re fairly full already.

Trudeau should have immediately convened the premiers to make us less vulnerable to America when he took office. As many have commented on this forum over the years long before I realized it was a problem, we have to sort out barriers to interprovincial trade as an urgent matter. I would favour a free trade group of provinces that keep the old barriers on provinces that don’t join if that can be legally done. On medical portability, we should be able to manage one College licencing doctors for the country instead of thirteen. The Brits do it with a much bigger population and four non-sovereign countries. One downside of doctors grandfathered into the new system - a mad rush by IMGs for Mississauga. And a second problem - I’d much rather somebody from the UK running the new institution than anybody from the Ontario College. That Dickensian body has zero sense of urgency.

One good feature of PR: the national popular vote mirrors the number of seats fairly accurately. Thus regional parties like the BQ have little chance of becoming the Official Opposition which would be an embarrassment we are now less likely to face given the Trump-driven rise in Liberal fortunes. One bad feature (a corollary of the above): wins are not overwhelming. 40% of the vote means 40% of the seats. Canada would need to get over its strange phobia of coalitions to manage this situation.

One distinctive aspect of Alberta health care for me was that they seemed to be constantly changing both the system and key personnel with all the hiring, firing, relocation and general confusion that comes with that. Even when they were fabulously wealthy you never what their plans would mean for particular jobs down the road. The core challenges of health care are obstinate beasts that don’t go away because you start renaming things. Anyway, I was looking at recent upheavals and this caught my eye. It seems to be more significant than the usual deck chair shuffling. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/alberta/article-alberta-ousted-health-services-ceo-amid-probe-into-medical-contracts/

If Trump doesn’t hit us with tariffs next month we’ll still have to wait and see what the long-term damage is. The possibility that this could happen at any time in the future draws attention to how flimsy the protections of USMCA are for us compared to what’s provided to smaller states within the EU and may discourage investment.

In Walmart I see a lot more stuff from China than from all those other countries combined and I look for it. I’ve noticed some diversity in the origin of the clothing, including Vietnam, Bangladesh and Nicaragua, but that’s about it.

I doubt whether Trump understands how cars are built in North America these days. Attacking Canada means hurting Michigan immediately.

Let’s see how the US does with its side of the bargain, stemming the flow of illegal weapons, including rocket launchers, to Mexico. Don’t hold your breath, folks.

There are a lot of clever people here, there and everywhere trying to make sense out of a senile sociopath’s ramblings.

Yes but victory for whom? We were recently told by Trump himself that the Mexican government is in cahoots with the cartels - he called it an ‘intolerable alliance’ to be exact. If so, why would the cartels seriously damage their core business?

The leader of our closest ally has just deeply insulted our country and called its very existence into question. Trump isn’t holding forth on a website like this to an audience that might fill a small van. He’s speaking for America.

Larger countries focus more on internal politics. It’s difficult for a foreign policy issue to gain traction in America, China or India. They just don’t hear it as much.

An election was a bad decision by Ford, both unnecessary and reckless. A crisis after Trump’s inauguration was foreseeable. The country is facing economic war and we’ll have politicians shooting their mouths off about what an eejit Trump is which is true, of course, but not necessarily helpful in negotiations with our adversary.

Guys, why did you lose? I know nothing about BC politics but I would say this to the supporters of any losing party - don’t blame voters. The political market has spoken. Secondly, Eby looked like a guy waiting to be knocked out. What a sourpuss, not a natural politician at all. It’s time for a real post mortem that identifies who screwed up if you want win in the future.

Nobody can deny he’s been very successful in his career and banking at that level isn’t so far from politics.

If I were advising Poilievre, I would suggest less visibility with alternate policies and more of a consensual tone supporting the government. Don’t fight the falling poll numbers. The public is in no mood for division in our political ranks at this moment of peril - there will be ample time for normal politicking to resume down the road. Clement Attlee loyally served in Churchill’s government right through WWII and still gave him an absolute hiding in 1945. In terms of style, the crisis is a good opportunity for Poilievre to soften his image and sound less partisan. Bring us more of the guy we heard at Mulroney’s funeral.

In fairness to him, Carney knows a lot more about money than Ignatieff did with serious jobs at the heart of two economies and his chances of being more than a Campbellesque footnote in Canadian political history grow by the day, thanks to Mr. Trump. I can’t argue he lacks real world experience outside the strange world of politics. My concerns with his candidacy are focused more on age and lack of parliamentary experience.

Yes, Xi and his gang look like more reasonable chaps to do business with than they did last month. Ultimately, Trump’s actions are symptoms of retreat and decline. America’s transition from global champion of free trade and democracy to authoritarian regional power content with bullying its neighbours has begun.

‘At one point, according to the source, Mr. Lutnick suggested that U.S. tariffs might eventually be removed when U.S. overdose deaths go down – which probably won’t be soon and certainly won’t be closely related to anything Canada does.’ https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/opinion/article-the-trump-shock-a-trade-war-that-will-reshape-north-america/#comments So now fentanyl users will determine policy down there which makes sense.

Is Trump a homegrown Manchurian Candidate? For years I’ve been going on about the danger of China to the West. Turns out Xi and his successors won’t even have to fight us. We’ll destroy ourselves.