I am Groot

Spending two trillion on climate change that will accomplish absolutely NOTHING is moronic. I don't want to see Canada impoverished while the developing world rushes forward into wealth by using cheap coal powered energy to sell us the products we can no longer afford to make due to high energy costs. China doesn't have to be net zero for another 35 years. India and much of the rest of the developing world for another 45 years. They're going to get rich while we get poor. They'll then have the resources to cope with a warming world while we lack them. Climate change exists. It's happening. And nothing we do is going to have ANY impact on it. Spending $2 trillion on climate change will have no more impact than everyone in Canada wearing **** hats. I'd rather we all wear **** hats. It's way cheaper.

Yes, I know some of you hate Peterson. But he was willing to read Carney's book and give us quotes, and I doubt any of the rest of you will. Carney isn't just a shallow imitator like Trudeau. He's the real deal. A climate change fanatic willing to do whatever it takes to bring down CO2 emissions in Canada, regardless of how much that hurts - other people. “Our goal has been to put in place the information, tools and markets so that every financial decision takes climate change into account — to create a financial system in which a company’s contributions to climate change and climate solution are fundamental determinants of its value. So that value reflects values. At COP26 in Glasgow, we delivered twenty-four major reforms to transform the information, tools and markets at the heart of finance. These include climate stress testing, net-zero transition plans and clear, comparable and decision-useful climate disclosure so that financial markets can manage risks and seize opportunities in the climate transition.” Consider Carney’s very words, camouflaged in the moral claims that invariably accompany all such far-reaching and bone-chilling pronouncements: “Firms that align their business models with the transition to a net-zero carbon economy will be rewarded handsomely; those that fail to adapt will cease to exist.” https://nationalpost.com/opinion/jordan-peterson-mark-carney-doesnt-value-a-prosperous-canada https://archive.is/Bp8xO

You think France or the UK would use nukes on Russia to protect the Baltics or Romania? Not a chance. I was absolutely NOT perfectly fine in any way, shape or form with it. Nor with them stealing chunks of Georgia. Nor with their attack on and slaughter in Chechnya.

Unlike the West, Russia didn't waste its time doing environmental studies and bidding contests. it immediately starting building more plants to make ammunition, tanks, planes, and everything else needed. Right now it's military production is vastly greater than all of NATO including the US. And I repost this. Ukraine is fielding around 100 combat brigades, I would say about 1/3 to 1/4 of which are "heavy" brigades with tanks and IFVs. Russia fields significantly more than that. While an individual NATO heavy brigade will likely perform better than most Ukrainian brigades, NATO can field very few heavy brigades. https://www.armyupress.army.mil/Journals/Military-Review/English-Edition-Archives/July-August-2024/Who-in-NATO-Is-Ready-for-War/ Germany can field a single heavy brigade within a month. Same with France and Italy. Britain would take 2-3 months to field an armored brigade. Poland nominally has around 9-12 heavy brigades, but with unsure levels of staffing. With Erdogan in Turkey and general Turkish sentiments towards the continent and Russia, it's unsure whether the Turkish Land Forces would be part of any rapid reaction force into continental europe If the war with Ukraine ended tomorrow, Russia has in excess of 50 heavy combat brigades worth of manpower that it could shift to an attack on NATO before NATO could mobilize even half that number of brigades. With numbers and readiness like that it's not out of the realm of possibility that Russia could bite and hold part of a NATO country and let political fracturing in the alliance do the rest as the initial brigades fielded to counter it fail to dislodge Russian forces.

There is evidence of EVERYTHING I've said there.

You're welcome to go and live in Russia as you're urging Ukrainians to do.

Carlson? Who has ceaselessly praised Putin and Russia? Even saying Moscow was nicer than any city in America (Moscow is a dump aside from a few shiny oligarch towers).

KYIV, Feb 4 (Reuters) - President Volodymyr Zelenskiy visited Ukrainian troops on the southeastern front and handed out medals, his office said on Sunday, and his spokesperson said he came very close to exchanges of fire on the front line. Zelenskiy undertook the journey to Zaporizhzhia region amid speculation that his popular army chief could soon be sacked. The president, who has frequently toured areas close to the front, met soldiers in the village of Robotyne, his office said, almost on the battle line. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/zelenskiy-visits-front-line-amid-speculation-about-fate-top-general-2024-02-04/ Yeah, that's what I said at the time. But it's true.

You know, speculation is fine. But if the Biden administration was influenced by Russian money it sure didn't show in their actions. Putin would own Ukraine had it not been for Biden leading Western allies and pumping money and weapons in. On the other hand, everything Trump has done so far has been pleasing to Putin. Hell, he's even ordered the Army's cybercommand to cease all preparations for or actions to deter Russian hacking in the US. He's done nothing but praise the man like a sycophant for years, even spouting utter nonsense like accusing Ukraine of attacking Russia. Now he's cut off weapons to Ukraine after kicking him out of the White House for daring to criticize Putin. Because they didn't investigate Russian loans to Trump Enterprises. They restricted themselves to investigation direct evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russians.

Mueller did not investigate the Trump family or Trump organization's commercial dealings with Russia or who in Russia invested/loaned money to their company. He only investigated evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia during the election. He never investigated the quote from Eric Trump or the one from Donald Trump Jr. In terms of high-end product influx into the US, Russians make up a pretty disproportionate cross-section of a lot of our assets," Trump Jr. said during a conference in New York in 2008. https://archive.is/nPTQX#selection-2281.1-2281.187 You should have a look at the condition of the major militaries in Europe, particularly the Germans and UK. Though France isn't much better. Among other issues, they have almost no ammo. Their fancy airplanes would be all over Russia for a week and then would be grounded for lack of missiles. They don't have many artillery shells either given most were sent to Ukraine. America was the great storehouse of ammo for its allies and now that's far from sure to be available. They have few tanks and very small, undermanned armies. And they are rebuilding about as fast as Canada. Oh, they're at least trying, but their procurement appear to be wrapped in just as many layers of red tape and bureaucracy as ours.

I don't know why people who accept anything Trump says, even when it makes no sense, even when it's an obvious lie insist on legally sanctioned 'proof' of Trump's wrongdoing. Of course, even when that arrives and he's convicted they still don't believe he did anything wrong. Fact: Trump was broke. He even told his daughter, famously, which was in his book, that a bum on the sidewalk was richer than him because while the bum had nothing he owed nothing. Trump, on the other hand, owed massively more than he had. Fact: Nobody would loan his faltering company money after it went bankrupt. So how did it survive? "The Russians saved us." Both Trump and his son said that only Russian investors and Russian loans and sales kept his company alive. Fact: The Czechs engaged in intense surveillance on Trump after he married Ivana, both in Czechoslovakia and in New York. And Russia did heavy surveillance on wealthy foreigners who visited. Question: Why would Russian oligarchs invest money in a bankrupt New York realtor? Why would they loan him money? What was in it for them? Who loaned/invested and how much? Trump won't say. Speculation: Now, given what we know of Trump and his history of skirting if not actually breaking any law he figured he could get away with, would he have turned up his nose at taking money from oligarchs under sanction? Would he have been willing to launder money for them? I honestly can't imagine he would. Would Putin know about this and have all the evidence? I can't imagine he wouldn't. Would this evidence implicate Trump alone or his sons? Maybe even Ivana? All of them have been to Russia many times before he became a politician. Why? They have no investments in Russia and it's not exactly a tourist mecca. Plus, they were under surveillance in New York, too. What information, including videos and tapes, do the Russians have on the Trumps?

I've discussed his many, many character flaws previously. I've even asked just what positive character trait this person has because I can't think of one. But his personal flaws are not really my issue. It is his incompetence, stupidity, and gullibility on the international stage that is. You don't need to 'negotiate' to run away. Which was basically what he did. He told them to please stop shooting at Americans and promised to go away and leave Afghanistan to them. It was a surrender. And he got nothing in exchange except the right to flee in peace. You mean like he did with Zelensky? Bullies always offend me. But that, like his many character flaws, is not the point. What did it do for America? Well, it outraged all of Europe and roused anti-Americanism from Norway to Italy, not just on the part of governments but ordinary people. Came across a piece last night about some Norwegian company which had cut ties with the US navy, saying they would henceforth no longer agree to fuel American warships that came into port. It's a small thing, but you can bet that attitude has exploded across Europe. There'll be many public, but more private boycotts of American goods and companies. No European government likes the US right now. What about Asia? You think places like China, Singapore, South Korea, and Japan, where 'face' is so important, will have the slightest respect for this administration? No. In the rest of Asia, countries that were American allies will be looking elsewhere now, since Trump has made it clear America owes no loyalty to anyone and will cut them off at the knees on any pretext. Halting nuclear proliferation has been an important American policy for seventy five years. I've read rumors that a number of countries are now considering building their own nukes since there's no way they want to rely on America as a deterrent against their enemies now. Especially places like South Korea and Japan. Hell, I've heard people in Canada suggesting it. So I think we can expect nuclear proliferation over the coming few years as countries scramble to build their own nuclear deterrent. That will make it harder and harder to keep nukes out of the hands of places like Iran. I mean, how can the world even object when nuclear-armed countries pop up across Europe and Asia among America's former allies? Countries that had been keeping their distance from China will now be turning to China as a balance against America's madman, and both Chinese and Russian influence will continue to spread through Africa, where the US has now been all but shut out, while China continues to grow its influence in South America. The risk is that America is reduced to a loud, swaggering, sneering, sulking, ignorant, no-class bully raging at the world around it as Trump turns his anger against his domestic enemies.

Tell me, what's the difference between surrendering land/territory and 'withdrawing'? Was that the peace plan the Taliban 'negotiated' with Trump five years ago?

No. The war in Ukraine is because Putin does not want democracies on his border. Phony ones he can control are okay, but not real ones looking Westward. And because he believes Ukraine is a part of Russia and they should be together again as they were in the Soviet Union. Putin doesn't give a shit about NATO. He knows NATO is toothless and couldn't agree to invade him in a million years. And it's not like I'm inferring this. He's said so.

Weakness in action. Dictators know they just have to hold on a few years and the Americans will tire of the fighting and give in. What did they accomplish in Vietnam? Nothing. They surrendered and the Communists took full control. Same thing in Afghanistan. They also gave up on Iraq. And now they've given up on Ukraine. Where will Putin push next with the 100 brigades he's currently got fighting the Ukrainians? Western Europe can maybe muster three or four. Add Poland and it's maybe a dozen. Ukraine has fifty. And if Russia takes Ukraine then those fifty eventually wind up adding to Russian power while the West goes to sleep again and the Americans tear themselves apart over pronouns and gender arguments (in no small part incited by Russian and Chinese propaganda and paid bots).

I'm recalling the image of a cowed Trump in the White House meeting the Taliban in all their majesty. I assure you he didn't dare critique their choice of clothing before surrendering to them.

Trump is doing with Putin tells him to do for fear of Putin releasing all the information he has on Trump's money laundering and sanctions busting for Russian oligarchs before he became President. What a weird idea that it is the Left that wants to stop the Russians from taking over Europe.

Point of order. The US treats its enemies with respect, and even admiration. Whether that's Putin, Xi, Un, or even the Taliban, that Trump had to the white house. It's only its allies it treats like garbage.

No, he clearly is not.

The US was obligated to help Ukraine by guaranteeing its borders under the Belgrade agreement.

And how many resources did they steal? Every Republican and virtually every Democrat were in favour of invading Iraq. If Frum's words were that influential Trump would be in prison now, where he belongs.

If by 'pedo' you mean men who lust after teenagers, Trump is also a pedo. He's notorious for barging into the dressing room for Miss Teenage America when he ran the show. And let's just say the pictures of him and his daughter, and the comments he's made, suggest he had such lusts a lot closer to home than is traditional.

Under the 'guise'? Are you suggesting there is no national emergency? And their constitution calls for such a suspension. Especially when millions of their citizens are refugees and millions more live under occupation.

I don't think Frum has changed. He's still a traditional conservative. There aren't many, if any of those left in the Republican Party anymore.

Trump doesn't give a shit about America. Trump cares about Trump and ONLY Trump. America's military policy for generations has been to confront those who are certain to be their enemies far from their shores before they can get too close. In the case of the Soviets, it was to confront them wherever they sought power, to prevent them from getting more powerful. Too powerful. A secondary objective of American power is to protect America's access to raw resources it needs to power industry. They're in the process of losing most of that now. China and Russia own much of Africa now, and China is making deep inroads into South America. They will have priority for resources. A third purpose is to protect allies who can be useful in offsetting the power of powers hostile to the US, and provide markets for American goods. Trump is in the process of throwing all of that away and reducing America's power and influence to just its own borders.