Recent posts

#41

Off the Record / Re: What does a TRUMP presiden...

Last post by Sheilbh - April 06, 2025, 12:45:11 PM

The benefits of a Parliamentary system are many. Some of you have missed the point about the UK PM being replaced before the lettuce spoiled.  There are no four year terms for a leader of a party.  The can be replaced at anytime within a governments mandate, have a new leader appointed, and remain in power until the next election.

That encourages ambitious people who see a weak leader to go for the brass ring.


The dynamics are very different from the American system.

Or, for that matter, Canada. As I say I think in a way the more interesting question is Biden.

With Trump it is more difficult because he has a very high ceiling of very committed fans. The ultimate reason the Tory party have got rid of leaders over the years (Thatcher, Iain Duncan Smith, May, Johnson, Truss) is because they're performing badly and likely to lose the next election. Trump's support really doesn't seem to move.

I mentioned it at the time when Johnson was forced out that there was still such a thing as "public opinion" in Britain - we share a common reality. So the views of Tory and Labour voters on, say, Boris Johnson are polarised but they move in the same direction to the same events. That doesn't seem to exist in the US with Trump - his support flatlines. There's a high floor and a low ceiling but events don't really (so far) seem to have an impact.

I think that may be shifting and I think Republicans are over-interpreting their victory. It was a narrow victory, there has been a profound (and perhaps lasting) vibe shift at a cultural/corporate level - but they're behaving and crowing like this is FDR and the first hundred days. That is not the mandate they have and, frankly, that's reflected in so much of the action being through executive orders of questionable legitimacy and effectiveness v legislation from Congress.

#42

Off the Record / Re: The China Thread

Last post by DGuller - April 06, 2025, 12:34:37 PM

On the efficacy of Chinese autocracy: the Chinese system definitely has some serious inefficiencies, primarily around corruption and the risk of group think / the impulse to preserve face (for the state/ party/ officials). It is my belief that liberal democracy will produce better results over the long term. That said, liberal democracy is under attack. I have no reason to believe that Trumpist autocracy in the US or Orbanesque autocracy in Europe has any competitive advantages against Chinese autocracy. In fact, I expect that Chinese autocracy for all its faults still has an underpinning of "serving the people" and mechanisms for removing incompetent officials (beyond at the very top); something which I don't believe are features of the Trumpist oligarchs nor Orban's regime.

To be honest, I think it depends on what kind of liberal democracy you're talking about.  I think that when it comes to leaps in infrastructure that we discussed, it's not China looking good so much as certain flavors of liberal democracy looking very bad.  In NYC city, it cost billions to build a few miles of new subway line.  Ezra Klein recently put in writing what has been on my mind for a while:  big city liberal governance is a great advertisement for other systems of governance, any system of governance that's not that.

#43

Off the Record / Re: What does a TRUMP presiden...

Last post by Iormlund - April 06, 2025, 12:17:17 PM

Once the gamer wars starts, there's no turning back.

Just bought a new computer just in case. 

#44

Off the Record / Re: Refractory Gauls, or the F...

Last post by viper37 - April 06, 2025, 12:16:11 PM

Feels like the kiss of death.

#45

Off the Record / Re: What does a TRUMP presiden...

Last post by viper37 - April 06, 2025, 12:12:25 PM

Probably combined with a dash of concern about China restricting access to rare earths.

That is going to piss off Nvidia seriously.

No rare earths = no GPU.


Once the gamer wars starts, there's no turning back.

#46

Off the Record / Re: [Canada] Canadian Politics...

Last post by viper37 - April 06, 2025, 12:10:19 PM

You really went through all that trouble just for a couple city councillors?  I don't think I've ever even voted for a councillor before

I've never voted for a city councillor either.
Neither have I voted for a mayor.

I could have voted while I was living in an apartment in the city, but didn't feel too concerned by this for the few years I was there in my 20s.

Once I moved back here, there has been no election for the city councillor, it's still the same councillor as when I was a kid (my neighbour - well, now, my 3rd neighbour), and there has never been a mayoral election since I before I had the right the vote, there's never been a challenger to any of the candidates.

#47

Off the Record / Re: What does a TRUMP presiden...

Last post by Gups - April 06, 2025, 12:05:14 PM

It's not comparable because Brits are much less partisan than Americans and we have a multi-party system. No British PM has had a 40% base they can rely on. 20% at best

And yet Brexit happened.

I think that proves my point rather than otherwise. The leaders of the three main parties campaigned against Brexit.

#48

Off the Record / Re: [Canada] Canadian Politics...

Last post by viper37 - April 06, 2025, 12:03:59 PM

Can't AI do translation now a days?

About as well as it figures out how to impose tariffs.

#49

Off the Record / Re: [Canada] Canadian Politics...

Last post by viper37 - April 06, 2025, 12:03:36 PM

*edit* I think I also took exception to hospital stuff mentioned here a while back about anglos not getting service, but I can't recall if I misunderstood or not.


*edit 2* on further reflection I'm way against the monetary penalties against the Anglo universities which we discussed a while back, which I guess falls under language laws?

1) Anglos are getting services in their language.  No one is denied service for not speaking English.  Although there are bitchy people in call centers (811) when you call, and English is one of the reason why they can be bitchy.  It happens when you speak French too.  You have to waste your time and try to call back a few days later to get someone nicer.  That's why I prefer to use the internet service and wait for someone to call me back when they are better disposed.

2) This applies to out of Quebec students.  It's not a penalty for university, it's higher tuition fees.  As always, English universities were supposed to be devastated, but they weren't.  Foreign and Canadian students still come to study in these universities, and often go back to their province and/or country of origin.  We just don't subsidize their education anymore.

#50

Off the Record / Re: What does a TRUMP presiden...

Last post by Syt - April 06, 2025, 11:59:04 AM

Probably combined with a dash of concern about China restricting access to rare earths.