BeaverFever

This is Canada why would we buy something that is essential and low cost? We prefer to but things that are useless and high cost. The drone makers need to jack up the price by a multiple of 3 or 4, reduce the capability by a similar degree and have a Canadian company with zero experience who will blow past the delivery date by 10-15 years. Then we will be interested in buying them!

No plans to buy first-person drones for Canadian Armed Forces The systems are being widely used in the Russia-Ukraine war as well as in fighting in Gaza and Lebanon. Get the latest from David Pugliese, Ottawa Citizen straight to your inbox Published Nov 22, 2024 • Last updated 5 days ago • 3 minute read First-person-view drones have transformed the modern battlefield, but the Canadian military has confirmed it has no plans to buy the low-cost aerial vehicles. The first person view (FPV) drones allow the pilot to see from the drone’s perspective in real-time, usually through a headset. The systems, which can cost less than $500, are currently being widely used in the Russia-Ukraine war as well as in fighting in Gaza and Lebanon. The U.S. Army has been conducting experiments with FPVs with a plan to have a program in place next year and the first units equipped with the systems by 2026. But the Canadian Armed Forces says it won’t be embracing FPV technology at this point. “At this time, the Department of National Defence/Canadian Armed Forces does not have any current or planned procurements for First Person View drones for operational use,” department spokesperson Alex Tétreault said in an email. “However, in Our North Strong and Free (strategy) we committed to exploring options for acquiring a suite of surveillance and strike drones as well as counter-drone capabilities, sometime in the future.” Intelligence analyst Wesley Wark noted in an Oct. 3 article for the Centre for International Governance Innovation that such drone technology was “transforming warfare in real time.” Ukraine uses FPV drones to drop munitions down Russian tank hatches and chase individual soldiers and small units on the battlefield, he wrote. Hezbollah, on Israel’s northern flank, has utilized Iranian technology to challenge Israeli air defence systems on a daily basis, Wark added. Future drone systems will increasingly rely on artificial intelligence to become truly autonomous weapons and will be used in swarm attacks to overwhelm defences, Wark has argued. In the meantime, the Canadian Forces has received an order of smaller drones which are controlled by a handheld system equipped with a screen. The federal government bought 50 of the U.S.-built Teal 2 drones at a cost of $4 million, according to a DND briefing document obtained by the Ottawa Citizen. The small aerial vehicles arrived in March and have been distributed to the Canadian Army and Royal Canadian Navy. The Teal 2 drones can be used for limited surveillance and acquiring targets among other duties, according to the briefing. The Teal 2, equipped with a high-resolution camera, weighs 1.25 kilograms and has a range of five kilometres. It can operate for 30 minutes. The Canadian Forces noted in the briefing that it wants to put in place a standing offer to buy additional smaller drones that have been approved for use by the U.S. military. The larger strike drones that Tétreault referred to in his email are General Atomics MQ-9B Reapers built in the U.S. The federal government announced on Dec. 19, 2023, that Canada would buy 11 of the remotely piloted aircraft for $2.5 billion. The new drones will be stationed at 14 Wing Greenwood, N.S., and 19 Wing Comox, B.C. The drones were originally expected to be delivered in 2025, but that will be delayed until 2028 as modifications are made to the aircraft to deal with Arctic conditions. “The need to operate at high northern latitudes, including in the Arctic, requires the use of satellites and aircraft antennas and communication components not previously integrated on the MQ-9,” DND spokesperson Andrée-Anne Poulin explained in a previous email. “Similarly, additional testing and qualification work will be required to ensure the (drones) can be operated and maintained in Canadian climatic conditions.” Poulin said extra time was also needed so Canadian-made systems could be integrated into the aircraft. Uplands will also be the site for a new $65-million military facility to control the drone fleet. The Ottawa installation, to be ready by 2028, will be around 6,000 square metres in size. It will be home to almost 200 military personnel whose job will be to operate and control the drones flying from the bases in British Columbia and Nova Scotia as well as Arctic locations. https://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/defence-watch/no-first-person-drones-for-canadian-forces

I was surprised to learn that the Spike LR2 is underperforming, given all the positive hype about it. I guess that’s the defence industry for you, lots of exaggerated claims and propaganda.

John Ivison: Canadian troops sit in Putin’s crosshairs without the defensive weapons they were promised Among the 1,600 Canadians supporting Operation Reassurance, morale is flat, with many feeling exposed, under-equipped and forgotten Get the latest from John Ivison straight to your inbox Published Nov 26, 2024 • 4 minute read Vladimir Putin made it clear that NATO’s bases in Eastern Europe are on his radar, when he said last week that Russia reserves the right to strike the alliance’s military installations. The words must have chilled the 1,600 or so Canadians based in Latvia supporting Operation Reassurance, the biggest reinforcement of NATO’s collective defence in a generation. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. According to people familiar with the mission, morale is flat, with many of the troops feeling exposed, under-equipped and forgotten by the Canadian public. The black humour in Camp Adazi has it that the Canadians would be a “speedbump” if the Russians attacked. Comparisons have been made to Hong Kong in 1941, when 2,000 under-equipped Canadian troops were sent on a hopeless mission to defend the territory from Japanese attack and suffered a 50-per-cent casualty rate. The Department of National Defence (DND) has been attempting to rectify a situation where the initial force was sent to Latvia without air or anti-tank defences. DND has since deployed helicopters and 15 Leopard 2 tanks. In March 2023, then defence minister Anita Anand said that Canada would be acquiring a portable anti-tank missile system; anti-drone capability and a short-range, shoulder-wielded air defence system. She categorized them as “urgent operational requirements,” which invokes national security exemptions from competitive tendering and which, in theory, speeds up the procurement process. Platformed This newsletter tackles hot topics with boldness, verve and wit. (Subscriber-exclusive edition on Fridays) By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The $227-million MANPADS system (man portable air defence system) — rebranded as SPADS (soldier portable air defence system) in the inclusive Canadian military — was ordered from Saab Canada and is slowly being deployed. The first phase of the anti-drone capability has also been completed. DND awarded a $25-million contract to the U.K.’s Leonardo for its Falcon Shield fixed-site system and a $19-million contract for CACI Inc.’s portable BEAM drone-detection system. But sources suggest the progress of acquiring the Portable Anti-X missile system (PAXM), with its capacity to destroy main battle tanks, has proven more fraught — and, that due diligence has been sacrificed by the need for speed. DND awarded a $44-million contract to Israel’s Rafael for its SPIKE LR2 system, but is now said to be having doubts about its capability and is considering cancelling the contract. At a defence committee meeting in November 2023, Conservative defence critic James Bezan questioned the department’s then assistant deputy minister Troy Crosby about the PAXM contract, which had not yet been awarded. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Bezan asked whether the contract was sole-sourced and how the department planned to test the systems to ensure they were the best on offer. Crosby said all three urgent operational requests were subject to competitive processes. But he sidestepped the question about testing. “What we’re aiming to do is bring the service proven capabilities that our allies have in service,” he said. Crosby added that when the Canadian Armed Forces identifies an urgent need, the department applies itself to that requirement. “I think we can demonstrate that we are able to deliver that need quite quickly,” he said. Yet 18 months after publicly announcing the intention to expedite its introduction, there is still no anti-tank system in Latvia. The curse of DND — that it can offer either diligence or dispatch, but not both — appears to have struck again. Defence watchers familiar with the file and process say that it would be normal practice to hold a “shoot off” to test the top two or three contenders before awarding the contract. Sources say that did not happen and that the SPIKE LR2 was only tested for promised capabilities after the successful bid was made public. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The Forces are said to have been underwhelmed by the results, prompting speculation that DND may restart the competition. I asked the department whether a “shoot off’ was held with all qualified bidders; whether the SPIKE LR2 system met all accuracy requirements; and whether there are plans to cancel the contract. That should be information that is immediately accessible. But DND replied that it would not be able to supply it before my deadline — 72 hours from the time the question was posed. Rafael was also asked to provide comment but also did not respond before the deadline. It may well be that the process is proceeding smoothly and that Canadian soldiers will be in receipt of the promised anti-tank missile system in short order. But DND could easily have clarified that. It seems more likely that Canadian troops holding the line in Latvia won’t have one of the most basic weapons they need to defend themselves for many months to come — just as the situation in Eastern Europe grows more and more precarious. https://nationalpost.com/opinion/john-ivison-canadian-troops-sit-in-putins-crosshairs-without-the-defensive-weapons-they-were-promised?_gl=1*3o6cow*_ga*MTg1Njg0NTE5NC4xNzMyMDY3NjA5*_ga_72QH41ZTMR*MTczMjg5NTc3OC42LjEuMTczMjg5NjI1Mi41OC4wLjA.*_gcl_au*MTUxNjgxNDI0NS4xNzMyMDY3NjA5*_ga_GNYBFF106Q*MTczMjg5NTc3OC42LjEuMTczMjg5NjI1OC4wLjAuMA..*_ga_9H6VPHFHKG*MTczMjg5NTc3OC42LjEuMTczMjg5NjI1Mi41Ni4wLjA.

Canadian military trying to fast-track delivery of air defence systems to troops in Latvia DND has not said when the short range air defence battery would be acquired or delivered to Latvia. Get the latest from David Pugliese, Ottawa Citizen straight to your inbox Published Nov 28, 2024 • Last updated 19 hours ago • 3 minute read The Canadian military is revamping its purchase of ground-based air defence systems to focus on trying to get such equipment to troops in Latvia as quickly as possible. Originally, the Canadian Forces had a project office to back the purchase of a future air defence system, estimated to cost at least $1 billion. But the procurement team will now concentrate its efforts on the more urgent purchase of a short-range air defence battery that can be sent to support Canadian troops in Latvia as soon as possible, according to an Oct. 10 update to defence companies. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Canadian soldiers are in Latvia as part of the Canadian-led NATO enhanced Forward Presence Battle Group. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced in July 2023 that, as part of a major commitment to NATO, Canada would spend an additional $2.6 billion to double the number of troops it stationed in Latvia. The government’s plan would see up to 2,200 troops deployed for what is being called Operation Reassurance. In the face of continued Russian aggression in Ukraine, Canada intends to address Operation Reassurance’s urgent need for a short-range air defence system that will be able to deal with incoming rockets, artillery and mortar rounds, according to the Oct. 10 notice to defence firms. It will continue to work with companies on the technical details for the new equipment. “The intention is to procure a nearly Military Off The Shelf system with very little Canada specific modifications and changes,” added the government message to companies. Canada has already acquired man-portable surface-to-air missiles for the Latvia mission. Once the purchase of the short-range air defence battery for Latvia is completed, the procurement team will then turn its attention to the purchase of more extensive ground-based air defence systems for the rest of the military. Evening Update The Ottawa Citizen’s best journalism, delivered directly to your inbox by 7 p.m. on weekdays. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. DND spokesperson Nick Drescher Brown said in an email to the Ottawa Citizen that dividing the projects into different phases was necessary. “Breaking the project into phases and accelerating the (Latvian mission) procurement will result in a better alignment with the army’s immediate priorities,” he added. DND did not provide information on when the short range air defence battery would be acquired or delivered to Latvia. Drescher Brown said that the budget of the air defence system for the Latvian mission can’t be disclosed at this time. In February 2023, the Ottawa Citizen reportedthat the Canadian Army was fast-tracking its purchase of anti-tank weapons as well as air defence systems for troops stationed in Latvia, fueled by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The equipment was being classified as an Urgent Operational Requirement, the same process used during the Afghanistan war to speedily obtain gear without going through the slower traditional procurement procedures. Lt.-Col. Eric Hardy, of the army’s equipment procurement team, briefed industry officials Feb. 3, 2023 about the initiatives to fast-track the purchases. Hardy noted in his briefing that the army’s new air defence system would “counter the assessed air threat from within the Baltic region.” This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The new anti-tank weapons for the Latvia mission have already been ordered. But the National Post reported on Nov. 26 that there are problems with those missiles and concerns they are not performing as required. The National Post noted that DND is considering cancelling the contract. DND did not provide comment to the National Post by deadline. The Canadian Army has been without an air defence capability since 2012 and has tried over the last decade to convince governments to purchase such equipment. The army was outfitted in 1989 with a then state-of-the art air defence anti-tank system known as ADATS. It was purchased to protect bases in Germany against attack by the Russians, but, shortly after ADATS was delivered, the Cold War ended and the systems were shipped back to Canada. Faced with budget cuts ordered by the Conservative government of the time, the army announced it was removing ADATS from service in 2012. https://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/defence-watch/canadian-military-air-defence-system-latvia

I just read that it’s 21,000 year to date. And it’s often American criminal organizations who are involved. And the criminal ratio if accurate is only because there are few other reasons a person would ever want to sneak into USA from Canada other than crime. Whereas many coming from Mexico are simply looking for opportunities (contrary to Republican claims that they are all rapists). And at any rate considering the the flood of guns and drugs that comes to Canada from USA it’s hilarious that we’re the ones who have to go grovelling to them while Republicans DELIBERATELY do nothing about guns in particular and actively try to block measures to stem gun smuggling. Trump specifically referenced Fentanyl entering the USA as part of his justification so it’s not a different issue. A lot of the people smuggling humans and contraband into the US are Americans. In fact given the size of the US population and the larger, far more established criminal organizations I would wager there are more Americans involved in illicit border crossings than Canadians. Certainly the gun traffickers acquiring the guns from Red state free-fire zones are Americans aided and abetted by Republicans in the state and federal level. I mean the exact same long haul truck driver goes to the exact same gun store every month and buys the exact same order of a dozen 9mm pistols and Republicans are like “second amendment, nothing to see here asking questions is communist!” Even when ATF started tracing crime guns to the same repeat offender gun stores, Republicans responded by shutting down the ATF investigation not the gun stores. I could go on about all the games the GOP and NRA play to keep the guns flowing. Yes it is, the author is saying there’s no need to rush to concessions when he’s a guaranteed one-term president, likely to face significant internal opposition to this proposal. Trump has a very limited window of time to make his controversial radical reforms. Once he’s past the 2 year mark he loses significant influence, nobody’s going to let him burn down the house once his term limit is right around the corner. Don’t be silly people and governments collaborate and cooperate all the time. The entire world order is based on it. Also what you described is the OPPOSITE of collaboration 10 people doing their own thing from 10 different points of view is what happens if you DONT work together and organize. You make it sound as if you think this means the US congressmen and governors who oppose the tariffs would be with the Canadians at the negotiating table, which is silly, nobody is saying that. Standing tall is not about ego and pride and it is very statesmen-like. It doesn’t mean being stubborn or overbearing or uncompromising or unfriendly. It means being confident, charismatic and firm where necessary, dealing with the other party as a peer. The opposite of standing tall is being meek and timid, dealing with the other as if you are inherently inferior and subordinate

At least Trudeau having been a wannabe actor has the EQ to act more or less dignified in public and can pass himself off as intelligent as long as he doesn’t stray too far from the script. Plus he’s bilingual. Trump is just an amoral lunatic with a chainsaw who lacks the ability to even PRETEND otherwise. And a “despicable human being” on top of everything else. Trudeau isn’t any of those things he’s just a vapid spokesmodel.

Meanwhile back in reality, the real reason for Putin’s empty nuclear threats is that his failing shithole dictatorship is suffering from 8.5% inflation and interest rates that are at 21% and climbing Russian Ruble Collapses As Putin's Economy in Trouble Published Nov 27, 2024 at 8:25 AM EST The Russian currency, the ruble, has plunged to its lowest rate against the U.S. dollar since the start of Vladimir Putin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine as sanctions continue to hurt his country's economy. After two months of depreciation, the ruble dropped on Tuesday to 107 against the dollar for the first time since March 2022, just after the start of the war that prompted Western-led sanctions, an exodus of companies from Russia and financial turbulence. The ruble is expected to weaken further with the beginning of the winter holiday season as companies import more goods to meet consumer demand. "The Russian ruble is weakening significantly as a result of the escalating conflict in Ukraine," Grzegorz Dróżdż, market analyst at Invest.Conotoxia.com, told Newsweek on Tuesday. "The currency's bad condition weakens the country's purchasing power." Newsweek has contacted Russia's Ministry of Finance for comment. The freefall follows the U.S. Treasury Department's announcement on November 21 of sanctions on dozens of Russian banks, which had been widely used for international payments. …. Last month, inflation was 8.5 percent, more than twice the Russian Central Bank's (CBR) target. "The CBR is trying to combat inflation and defend the ruble by raising interest rates," he said. "Nevertheless, high interest rates on ruble loans have still failed to attract a wide range of investors." As part of continuing efforts to dampen down inflation, which is fueled by a labor shortage and high government spending on the military, Russia's Central Bank raised its key interest ratein October to 21 percent—higher than the emergency level at the start of the war. Analysts have predicted that the interest rate could go even higher when the Central Bank meets in December. https://www.newsweek.com/russia-ruble-dollar-currency-economy-1992332?utm_source=Flipboard&utm_medium=App&utm_campaign=Partnerships

Yep It’s not a coincidence that Trump had such affinity for Bolsonaro. Just like the right’s endless affection for Orban, another authoritarian Putin acolyte who has effectively become dictator of Hungary and the model which the right continues to praise.

So you were saying Trump and Trudeau couldn’t work at McDonalds? That’s more acceptable

Do we? Canada probably has an even bigger problem with bad actors entering Canada from the US. All those guns and drugs don’t smuggle themselves The President is not king. The author is suggesting to stall to let pressure from within the US such as states, congress and lobbyists etc take its toll. And after a couple of years if not sooner he will be a lame duck president anyway Not dumb at all. Strength in numbers. Being on the sam page as like-minded allies in congress and state capitals and provinces, coordinating message and activities is an obvious no-brainer. What would be dumb would be if they WEREN’T cooperating and coordinating with each other even though they all have same goal. Not at all. Although it’s not really helpful advice in terms of how to prevent his disastrous policy it’s just advice how not to damage your own image and reputation while doing it.

In other words as usual Republicans propagandists have ZERO evidence to support their made-up claims. I could just as easily say Trump himself is smuggling drugs into Canada and just hasn’t been caught LMAO Trump is objectively not intellectually gifted. In fact as numerous people from his first administration have attested, and as clearly evident from hearing him speak for 2 minutes, his intellect is well below anyone operating at his level of leadership and is more at the level of someone with a high school education at best. The Mexican President was a career scientist by profession (as were both of her parentsa biologist and a chemical engineer). She has degrees in physics and engineering including a Masters and PhD. Talk about a REAL self-made success story. She is orders of magnitude more intellectually gifted than dumbass Trump whose only talent was being born rich. But I suspect that like most right wing bullshitters you didn’t know a single fact about her before deciding to make up false accusations about her.

This is how Canada should deal with Donald Trump, irrational actor ANDREW COYNE PUBLISHED 29 MINUTES Good to see no one is panicking. The president-elect of the United States, in a late-night social-media outburst, has declared he would impose a 25-per-cent tariff on all imports from Canada and Mexico – on his first day in office, yet. He does not necessarily have that authority – constitutionally, tariffs are Congress’s responsibility – but would have to rely on untested emergency powers, exposing him to legal challenges. If implemented, the tariffs would cause immense havoc, not least for Americans, raising prices for consumers and blowing up integrated continental supply chains, exposing him to political blowback. They are also, needless to say, explicitly prohibited under the trilateral free trade agreement to which he is a signatory. The whole idea is so insane that everyone assumes it must be a negotiating tactic – that when Donald Trump ties the tariffs to the two countries’ alleged failure to stem the flow of fentanyl and illegal aliens into the United States, he means he would lift the tariffs if they somehow achieved this. Or if they did something else, or something in addition. But no one knows. He also likes tariffs for their own sake. For that matter, he likes issuing threats for their own sake. And he’s not even president yet. Nevertheless, hardly had the post left his fingertips when prominent voices in this country were heard demanding – well, demanding all sorts of things, none of them sensible. Even in advance of Mr. Trump’s latest threat, the Premier of Ontario, Doug Ford, had called for Mexico to be thrown out of NAFTA. Now he wants to blow up bilateral trade, demanding that Canada retaliate against Mr. Trump’s insane and self-destructive tariffs with insane and self-destructive tariffs of its own. Other voices urged a more – what shall we call it? – conciliatory line. Or perhaps “servile” would be better: what the historian and political theorist Timothy Snyder has called “anticipatory obedience.” The Premier of Alberta, Danielle Smith, not content with urging the Canadian government to negotiate at the point of a metaphoric gun, actively took Mr. Trump’s side, noting his “valid concerns” about “illegal activities at our shared border.” The Premier of Saskatchewan, Scott Moe, agreed, noting “we can all benefit from additional border security stopping the flow of illegal drugs and migrants across our borders.” The Premier of Quebec, François Legault, took to social media to fret about the “enormous risk” to Quebec’s economy from Mr. Trump’s tariff threat and demand that “everything possible” be done to avoid it. He offered Justin Trudeau “the full co-operation of the Quebec government” in this regard, by which he meant, as he later clarified, that Quebec must have a place at the negotiating table. As for the federal opposition leaders, they ranged from belligerent (Jagmeet Singh wants a “war room” to “fight like hell”) to irrelevant (Pierre Poilievre says the tariffs are an occasion to axe the carbon tax, as if this had anything to do with anything). Various others could be heard insisting that the Trump tariff threat was proof that it was now time to do whatever they had always advocated doing. All of which is not to endorse the Trudeau government’s approach, so far as it has one. But if the government seems uncertain about how to proceed, it is at least not taking out a billboard to advertise how panicked and compliant it is. It has at least not seized the opportunity, in the early days of what looks to be a lengthy crisis, to say something provably stupid, or appallingly self-serving. It has at least not turned its guns inward, or deserted the country in the face of the enemy. Let’s all take a deep breath, shall we? And after we have, let us agree that there is no practical benefit in attempting to meet Mr. Trump’s demands: because it is wrong to appease a bully, for starters; because to do so can only invite further demands, and further threats; because his “concerns” are not, in fact, “valid” – the amount of fentanyl entering the U.S. from Canada is trivial (U.S. customs agents seized a grand total of 43 pounds of it in the last fiscal year), the number of illegal migrants scarcely less so (U.S. border patrol officers stopped fewer than 24,000 people last year, compared to more than 1.5 million crossing from Mexico); because it is each country’s responsibility to control its own borders, that is, to police the entry of people and goods, not to demand that others police their exit; because if it were such an “easily solvable” matter as Mr. Trump, in his endless devotion to easy solutions, pretends, it would have been done long ago. There is not, in short, a great deal we can do to satisfy Mr. Trump, and if there were, we would have no assurance that he would remain satisfied for long. There is no point in negotiating with terrorists. As Trump threatens tariffs, here are five things we know so far (It’s not even a negotiation. A negotiation is when each side comes to the table, not only with demands, but with something to offer in return. Just threatening to do something horrible if your demands are not met is not negotiating. It’s blackmail. It’s the difference between offering to write a story in exchange for money and threatening to.) More than that, it represents a fundamental misunderstanding of Mr. Trump – a trap that those of us in the reality-based world continue to fall into, which is to attribute to him a rationality he does not possess. It is irrational enough to threaten to impose 25-per-cent tariffs on your nearest neighbours and major trading partners, for problems they did not cause. It is doubly irrational as a response to problems that are, in fact, subsiding: The number of unauthorized crossings on the Mexican border is falling, not rising (monthly encounters in September, at 54,000, were down 75 per cent from the year previous; for the entire fiscal year, they were down 14 per cent), as are the number of fentanyl deaths (off 10 per cent this year). Nevertheless, there is at least in this a notional rationality, a potential for rationality, a theoretical connection between putative cause and putative effect, if not in this world then in some world it is possible to imagine. The idea, often expressed, that Mr. Trump is essentially “transactional” – that he may not be guided by the usual principles of statecraft, let alone any of the higher ideals, but is at least intelligible in purely “what’s in it for me” terms – is based on attributing to him a kind of grubby rationality, as if he were merely a debased version of ourselves. Except there’s no evidence that that’s how he actually thinks. He is not rational, and does not think far enough ahead to connect cause and effect in the usual ways. He is a narcissistic psychopath – a Neroist, as I have called him. His primary motive is not self-interest, as we might understand it, but self-aggrandizement, the constant nourishing and enlargement of his vision of himself, which in his case can only be achieved by destroying everything else. In every situation, then, he will do, not merely the wrong thing, but the worst possible thing; the worse it is, and the more damage it causes, the more the people he despises object, and the greater his feeling of triumph. How else to explain, for example, his choices for cabinet: an apparent Russian asset for Director of National Intelligence, a prophet of civil war for Defence Secretary, a vaccine-denier for Health Secretary, an alleged statutory rapist for Attorney-General and so on. I think we have to look at the current crisis, then, not through the lens of trade or diplomacy or even extortion, but through the psychology of a deeply disturbed man. Grovelling before him, for example, as some of our Premiers seem inclined to do, is unlikely to assuage him: It’s the sort of thing he lives for. Caving to his demands, likewise, is futile: not because he will rationally conclude that our willingness to accept a first demand suggests we might concede to others, but because the dopamine high he experiences from dominating others will take control of him, demanding to be supplied with further hits. What should we do instead? 1. Play for time. Whatever he might imagine, Mr. Trump was elected with the thinnest of mandates. He is, what is more, a lame duck: The clock began ticking on his presidency from the day he was elected, as it is ticking on his mental and physical health. His thirst for dictatorship is real, but is in competition with his emotional instability and sheer incompetence. The longer time goes on, the more mistakes he is likely to make, and the weaker he is likely to become, politically and otherwise. 2. Prey upon his weaknesses. Probe his psyche. Figure out his break points. Do not be afraid to annoy him. Most people do stupid things when they’re angry; multiply by 100 in the case of Mr. Trump. Tempt him to give into his demons; lead him onto the rocks of his own intemperance. His mistakes are your opportunities. 3. Stand together. Work with allies, in Canada – yes, that means getting the Premiers onside, if only to shut them up – in Washington and state capitals, around the world. We are dealing with a dangerous lunatic. That is inescapable, at least for the foreseeable future. As with the Soviet Union, we cannot defeat him. But we can contain him. 4. Stand up straight. Ultimately we can’t control what Mr. Trump does. We can, however, control what we do. Maybe we can’t prevent him from wrecking the North American economy, or whatever else he decides to do to us. But we can at least maintain our dignity, our composure and our self-respect. That’s not the only thing that matters, but it’s something. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-this-is-how-canada-should-deal-with-donald-trump-irrational-actor/?login=true

The “Brazilian Trump” and one-time darling of the right, former President Jair Bolsonaro plotted a coup when he lost re-election. Shocker. Birds of a feather Bolsonaro allies nearly launched military coup in 2022, police report says Senior Brazil military figures backed plot to seize power after Bolsonaro’s election defeat, federal documents allege Brazil came within a whisker of a far-right military coup and the assassination of a supreme court judge just days before President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva took power in January 2023, a federal police report has claimed. The report about the alleged plot to help the rightwing populist Jair Bolsonaro cling to power was made public on Tuesday, and paints a chilling portrait of how close one of the world’s largest democracies came to being plunged back into authoritarian rule. The 884-page document describes a complex, three-year conspiracy that investigators believe was designed to pave the way for a military power grab by using social media to disseminate false claims of electoral fraud that plotters hoped would justify such an intervention in the public eye. … The federal police report – which the Guardian has reviewed – claims the only reason Bolsonaro did not sign that decree blocking the transfer of power was because the plotters had failed to secure sufficient support from Brazil’s military top brass. “The evidence [gathered] … shows that the commander of the navy, Adm Almir Garnier [Santos], and the defence minister, [Gen] Paulo Sérgio [Nogueira de Oliveira], adhered to the coup attempt. However, the [army] commander [Marco Antônio] Freire Gomes and [Carlos de Almeida] Baptista Júnior of the air force positioned themselves against any kind of measure that would cause an institutional rupture in the country,” the report alleges. Federal police said the only thing that prevented the coup attempt taking place was “the unequivocal stance” of Freire Gomes, Baptista Junior and the majority of the army high command. It claimed those people “remained faithful to the values that govern the democratic rule of law state and did not cave in to coup-mongering pressure”. Bolsonaro was last week formally accused of being one of 37 people involved in criminal conspiracy designed to obliterate Brazil’s democratic system through a rightwing coup d’état. … https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/nov/26/brazil-almost-suffered-far-right-military-coup-police-report-claims

Of course Trump doesn’t respond to facts or logic and has limited ability to process them so unfortunately Senora Sheinbaum hasn’t done much except waste some paper. She would have been effective if she instead told him what a handsome and stable genius he is, that she can tell he’s the best in bed of any man in the world, offer to put $2Bn in Jared’s zero-return investment scam, have all Mexican state officials stay at Trump resorts, and offer her intelligence agencies to help him steal the 2028 election. Oh and also make a lot of cheap ugly made-in-Mexico Trump sneakers, watches, bibles and other crap that Trump can sell to his gullible supporters for dozens of times more than they are worth.

Remember who PAYS the tariff money: American consumers, not foreigners. So you’re celebrating Trump increasing taxes on Americans. And even if hypothetically Trump somehow returned the exact same amount in tax cuts (remember conservative doubts about carbon rebates returning carbon taxes to citizens) there is no way for to ensure that every person who spends money and paid tariffs is going to get the exact same amount back in tax cuts. Especially not with republicans preference for giving tax cut primarily to the rich and corporations. I agree he is is definitely posturing for concessions and there is no way American business industry which is import dependent is going to go along with this crazy scheme, which is based on random numbers Trump completely pulled out of his ass.

Its not a silly thing to say. When a highly decorated female with 4-decades as combat arms officer is told that no women can properly serve in the combat arms he is effectively calling her a fraud and belittling her career of service and her contributions. If a person can meet the standards their gender shouldn’t matter. And it doesn’t matter to anyone except these ass-backward conservatives. Since the 90s in Canada and since 2015 in USA. That’s long enough to judge the results for themselves. Which “left leaning ones”? NOBODY said the AVERAGE woman. Notice there’s no conservatives trying to ban 150 lb men. There are plenty of small men in the military. If a person can meet the standards their gender shouldn’t matter. They don’t fight with swords and axes. Im sure the infantry corps around the world are full of men who wouldn’t last 20 seconds if they had to fight hand to hand and survive on upper body strength alone. Im not saying strength is irrelevant but strength requirements are well within the range of what the females body can achieve. If a person can meet the standards their gender shouldn’t matter. The thing is when you go to war you’re not doing pushups and deadlifts on the battlefield so saying to be an effective soldier you need to x number of reps of certain exercises is totally arbitrary. Is a soldier who can do more sit-ups than you necessarily going to be more effective in combat? I don’t think so. I guarantee you that in the middle of a firefight you will do zero sit-ups. The standard should be being able to do the tasks required for the job. If they can’t complete a field march or carry their weapon and normal load, or the other regular everyday tasks expected of them, that’s what matters If a person can meet the standards their gender shouldn’t matter.

Nothing so-called about it. Otherwise this is the only statement in your post I agree with. Most of us couldn’t care less about the crown.

Canada, Australia jointly pledge $474M to research hypersonic missile defense tech The announcement was made at the start of the annual Halifax International Security Forum, Canada's premiere defense event. HALIFAX, CANADA — Australia and Canada have inked a new agreement to jointly work on technology to counter the ever-growing threat of missiles, especially hypersonic weapons, Canada’s Minister of National Defence Bill Blair announced today. “I’m very pleased to announce that Canada and Australia have today signed an agreement to work together on researching emerging missile threats,” Blair told an audience during the kickoff of the Halifax International Security Forum. “We’re going to focus on countering hypersonic weapon systems and under this new agreement… [we will be] very closely tied in all of our efforts collectively together.” In total, the duo plan to spend up to $474 million over the next five years developing a “range of solutions,” he added. While Blair didn’t drill down into the specific capabilities on the development table, a subsequent press release noted that the Defence Research and Development Canada and the Australian Defence Science and Technology Group will work together researching the emerging missile threats, to develop detection, monitoring, targeting and counter-measure technologies. Defense and political leaders from around the globe are gathered in Nova Scotia this weekend for the annual Halifax International Security Forum, Canada’s premiere defense event. Among the main themes: Discussing the wars in Ukraine and in the Middle East, along with potential changes to NATO as president-elect Donald Trump prepares for his return to the White House. During Trump’s first turn in office, he publicly bashed NATO countries not meeting the 2 percent GDP defense spending goal — a mark Canada does not currently hit. RELATED: America needs to keep pushing Canada on defense spending Blair used his opening speech today to praise Canada’s close relationship with its neighbor to the south and vowed to eventually meet that threshold. “We have always depended upon that relationship [with the US] with an unparalleled alliance, especially illustrated through NORAD [North American Aerospace Defense Command], which is our binational military command that keeps a vigilant eye on North American airspace,” Blair said. “NORAD defends our countries against threats in the air domain, that’s why we are working in partnership with the United States to invest quite significantly in order modernization, we’re making a generational investment,” he later added. Taking the stage just after Blair, two US Senators — James Risch, R-Idaho and Jeanne Shaheen, D-New Hampshire — called on Canada to get to that 2 percent spending target as quickly as possible. https://breakingdefense.com/2024/11/canada-australia-jointly-pledge-474m-to-research-hypersonic-missile-defense-tech/

I don’t see that being a lie, she is saying excluding them from combat arms limits and ignores their contribution And it’s not a legit concern anywhere except in the regressive conservative mind. Even in the USA women have been in combat arms for a decade now. And at any rate size and strength don’t matter as much in modern war as they once did especially artillery or armour which is where republicans troglodytes also want to ban women. Small size can actually be an advantage in many situations including armour where space is limited. Plus Women often meet or exceed men in physical endurance and pain tolerance. BTW if size and strength matter then you would just exclude any male or female who doesn’t meet the size and strength requirements rather than banning 50% of the population based on gender even if they meet the size and strength requirements. Western armies already have recruiting challenges and shortfalls it would be moronic to ban women from the most important trades and purge the thousands already there.

Canada isn’t a failed state or without national interests. However we still do dumb shit like have official songs that are about how great some other country is.

Canada's top general takes on U.S. senator in defending womens' role in combat units Canada's top general firmly rejected the notion of dropping women from combat roles — a position promoted by president-elect Donald Trump's nominee for defense secretary — at a security forum underway in Halifax on Saturday. Gen. Jennie Carignan, chief of defence staff, was responding to Republican Senator James Risch's comments on Friday at the Halifax International Security Forum about Peter Hegseth's opposition to women in fighting units. Asked about Hegseth's views, the Idaho senator told the roughly 300 delegates the "jury is still out" on how to deal with the "unique situations" that having women in combat creates. He added it was ultimately up to the U.S. military to decide on the issue. Carignan took a few minutes to address the comments at the beginning of a panel on how western militaries are reacting to the challenge from China, Russia, Iran and North Korea. Her audience included a number of women in uniform. "I wouldn't want anyone to leave this forum with this idea that women are a distraction to defence and national security," the general said. "After 39 years of career as a combat arms officer and risking my life in many operations around the world I can't believe that in 2024 we still have to justify the contribution of women ... in the service of their country," she said to a standing ovation. … https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/canada-s-top-general-takes-on-u-s-senator-in-defending-womens-role-in-combat-units-1.7121091

Canada’s donation of new air defence system arrives in Ukraine The Honourable Bill Blair, Minister of National Defence, has announced that Canada’s donation of a National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System (NASAMS) has arrived in Ukraine. This donation will help Ukraine strengthen its air defence systems against destructive air attacks on military sites, civilian critical infrastructure, and population centres. Canada has also donated more than 300 air defence missiles from Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) inventory since February 2022. In addition to Operation UNIFIER, Canada’s current training mission to Ukraine, this donation builds on previous deliveries of armoured vehicles, artillery, drone cameras, winter clothing, and ongoing efforts by the Royal Canadian Air Force to transport Ukraine-bound military aid donated by Canada, Allies, and partners. Canada remains committed to providing Ukraine with the military aid that it needs to defend itself from Russia’s illegal and unjustifiable attacks, including intensifying Russian air raids. ADDITIONAL INFO A NASAMS is a short to medium range ground-based air defence system that protects against drone, missile, and aircraft attack, with a high success rate. This high-priority donation was purchased by Canada from the United States and is a new build from Raytheon in partnership with Kongsberg. This donation, valued at approximately $406 million, comes from the $500 million in military aid to Ukraine that Prime Minister Trudeau announced on November 14, 2022. Since February 2022, Canada has committed $4.5 billion in total military assistance to Ukraine. The Prime Minister announced an additional $500 million at the NATO Summit in July 2024. Since late March 2022, the RCAF has been transporting Ukraine-bound military aid donated by Canada, Allies, and partners. To date, the RCAF has transported over 22 million pounds of military donations. Currently, over 350 CAF members are supporting ongoing training missions in the United Kingdom, Poland and Latvia while facilitating the delivery of military donations to Ukraine. Since the launch of Operation UNIFIER, the CAF has trained more than 43,000 members of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Canada extended this mission until March 2026. https://canadiandefencereview.com/canadas-donation-of-new-air-defence-system-arrives-in-ukraine/

Ah well it’s not great lyrics anyway. Woke ideology aside I am tired of all the British ass-kissing infused into everything and would have sounded the gong just for that. Canada is its own country now we’re not a British colony anymore The Canadian version was already politically altered from the original British version anyways There were several superficial grammatical changes in the Canadian version but the most substantive is this: Original: We never see the French but we wish them to stay, Canadian: We ne'er see our foes, but we wish them to stay

Is deplorable worse than “leftard” or “snowflake” which is what you call 50% of the voting population? And what else do Republicans say about democrats? Communists. Marxists. Secretly plotting to enslave society by making them dependent upon government. Secretly control government through the “deep state”. Secretly controlling the mainstream media…somehow. Deliberately emptying third world insane asylums and prisons to smuggle them into the country to cause havoc. Secretly wanting to destroy first world countries. You say People who vote for them are “Sheeple”. You say black people are too gullible and stupid to understand their own interests and as an entire race they have been tricked by democrats. Can you point to the last time any prominent republican respectfully disagreed with a Democrat or simply said he thought democrats were well-intentioned but foolisj misguided? It’s been a generation now since the. Demonization has always been a conservative hallmark: the left isn’t just wrongheaded, they’re actually EVIL. They’re wrong and they know they’re wrong but they’re doing it anyways for sinister motives. The rhetoric of mainstream republican politicians and pundits FAR exceeds that of mainstream democrat politicians and pundits both in terms of how extreme the language and accusations are and in the frequency in which these things are said. “Deplorable” is not even close to being the worst thing you can call someone and Hillary only said it one time. Trump has made hateful personal attacks, name-calling, and viscous lies his trademark which he repeats at every rally and his acolytes in the republican party and propaganda outlets imitate him.