SpankyMcFarland

But he’s not some Internet rando. He’s the most powerful man in the world with a legislature that complies with his wishes and a judiciary that does as much as it can for him. He’s currently talking about running again and abolishing birthright citizenship. Anybody he singles out is sure to feel the heat from social media in the way of death threats etc. So what he says matters.

Well that has saved me some energy. Thank you.

So what’s going on in Alberta at the moment? https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/alberta/article-alberta-surpasses-us-measles-cases-1300/

In a trade war my first loyalty is to Canada. Our leaders won’t be perfect but we surely have no choice but to support them?

We Canadians do not allow foreign financial institutions into Canada. I don’t want a gang of foreign cowboy banks causing mayhem up here and leaving taxpayers with the bill. Unlike many countries in the world, our sound management saved us from the worst effects of the 08 financial crisis which may make us more vulnerable to wishful thinking in these matters. I was in two other countries during that crisis and it was grim. Sovereignty was lost for a while. Banks are not like other companies - they can’t be allowed to fail. Too much gambling there is a very bad idea. I’m happy to pay a little more for peace of mind on that score. We do not allow foreign airlines into Canada. OK, I’d like to see more but lots of countries have similar restrictions. We do not allow foreign cheese into Canada. We do allow some foreign cheese. I have enjoyed lots of European cheese here. We do not allow foreign phone providers into Canada. Amen, friend. Bell is the worst company I have ever dealt with plus they made obscene profits for years. I don’t need ANY Canadian content on that score. On the issue of dairy products, doesn’t the US have a trade surplus with us already?

To get back on topic, regime change in Iran is possible, inevitable eventually. The question is when and what form it will take. The country has had thousands of years of almost uninterrupted autocratic rule and I’m sure that must create a certain inertia in the system on top of the siege mentality Iranians must have because of their geography, hemmed in by potential foes on all sides and under threat of air strikes and assassinations at any time. The ideal transformation would be to secular social democracy but a military dictatorship à la Saddam’s Iraq would probably be more likely. As China’s influence rises in the region, the mullahs will be sorely tempted to throw their lot in with Beijing to acquire advanced Chinese technology and protect themselves against Israel and the US. That would put the likelihood of Western-style democracy way back.

I’ll answer the question for you. Such concentration of roles in one person is asking for trouble. It’s often seen in autocracies.

OK, show me with references to reputable historical accounts. Why do you think that monk burned himself? And do you think he was just one person who felt that way.

I’m not sure everybody grasps the scale of the challenge we face. For example, the Chinese car and battery maker BYD has a million, with an ‘m’, employees and more than 100,000 engineers. I’m seeing elegant-looking BYD cars in Europe already and they are a huge part of the South-East Asian market. https://carnewschina.com/2024/12/30/byd-has-the-most-rd-personnel-as-an-automaker-and-nearly-110000-engineers-ceo-says/ https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/26/cars/china-byd-profile-tesla-rival-intl-hnk Ditto in AI: https://mlq.ai/news/jensen-huang-china-is-not-behind-the-us-in-ai-development/

So you’re suddenly outraged by coal plants when other people are building them. This forum is beyond hope.

This is the only place we know of where our species can survive and we humans, among whom I take the liberty to include Canadians, are dramatically altering its atmosphere.

The US and Canada are far more advanced and wealthy per capita than China. When our emissions are lower per capita then we can lecture the Chinese.

More global warming, of course, but you would have to possess a neck as tough as a jockey’s scrotum to pretend outrage at that after what we have done to the planet. At least they are charting a new course for the world in that regard.

The Chinese political system is ghastly but they do think long-term and have been setting the stage for what is happening now with battery technology for decades. They can see the world is heading for a renewable energy future. If we deny that reality in North America and take the easy route with fossil fuels we will be left behind. On this occasion Mr. Musk is correct.

China is a rapidly industrializing country with a lot of people. I presume you are taking all that into account? By the tenor of this debate, I presume I am talking to mainly older people here who won’t have to face the consequences of these decisions by the US.

The tech companies who oppose the DST and forced Trump’s hand look pretty globalist to me. They make a whole lot of money outside the US and like to keep a fair bit of it there too.

There is no longer any question which country is leading in the export of lithium-ion batteries, solar panels and electric vehicles:

The churches of Italy remain the gold standard where beauty is concerned. The Anglican ones aren’t bad but my goodness things go down from there. Any fair description of Luther has to mention his peculiar obsession with the Jewish people. In that respect he certainly didn’t do the causes of progress, tolerance and secularism any favours.

We’re in unprecedented times. Our leaders are facing an almost impossible task dealing with a neighbour that used to be a close friend. I would support anybody representing us against someone who wishes us as ill as Trump does.

Mamdani wouldn’t be my cup of tea politically. I’ll give anybody credit who exceeds expectations. Trump certainly has.

You think this guy was from North Vietnam? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thích_Quảng_Đức Or all these guys? https://www.thoughtco.com/the-viet-cong-the-vietnam-war-195432#:~:text=The Viet Cong were South Vietnamese supporters of the communist,unified%2C communist state of Vietnam.

In history, foreigners are rarely seen as liberators because they very rarely are. In Vietnam the Americans naively thought they would be seen that way, failing to understand how despised, sectarian and corrupt the South Vietnamese regime actually was. And as to my random thought…which I would regard as obvious, do you really believe countries that combine the roles of head of state and government are in general more free than those that do not?

Mamdani is a brilliant communicator. Making pitch perfect political videos on a daily basis isn’t as easy as it looks. There’s no doubt PP needs rebranding, though. More footage of him actively listening to the public and party members would do no harm at all.

When a relative unknown with no money thrashes a big beast like this it is well worth asking how it was done. Something dramatic happened here. Chris Hayes and Ezra Klein have quite a few thoughts on the matter: Hayes has just written a book on attention. He thinks the outcome is significant far beyond New York. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/28/opinion/ezra-klein-show-chris-hayes.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare Mamdani’s skill at making videos is hardly surprising given that his mother is a brilliant film-maker.

How much support the mullahs still have is completely open to debate but it’s probably significant among blue collar, traditional Iranians with limited education. I’d be surprised if it’s less than 20%. Maybe 30% are willing to actively and openly campaign against the regime. That leaves 50% who might like to see change but are more focused on getting by.