Recent posts

#1

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

Last post by Barrister - Today at 12:54:20 PM

I'm not sure what your point is. Do people lose a claim to being raised in a particular place unless they were born there, and they spend their adult life there.

Sorry, but I'm going to continue to claim that I grew up in a town that's different from where I was born and where I spent my adult life even if you think that might be pattering. In fact, I mention it on many occasions. I'm actually pretty proud of where I was raised.  I hope you're not going to be this petty the whole election.

You're quite something.

How is it "petty" when I say a politician is doing Politics 101?

Yes, you're proud to be from Prince George (or wherever it was).  You should be.  I'm proud to be a newspaper man's son from Winnipeg.

But at our ages, or Carney's age - where we were raised hardly defines us, and putting too much focus on that risks coming across as pandering.

Poilievre was born and raised in Calgary, which is something he's never shied away from acknowledging.  But he's lived in Ottawa for 20 years and represented an Ottawa-area riding.  If he were to suddenly lean in heavily to his own Calgary roots it would also risk coming across as inauthentic.

#2

Off the Record / Re: Elon Musk: Always A Douche

Last post by Josquius - Today at 12:49:42 PM

Teslas  stock collapse seems to have halted.

#3

Off the Record / Re: The EU thread

Last post by Josquius - Today at 12:47:57 PM

Josq, are you certain you have the munitions for a prolonged campaign?  Last time, during the Libya thing, you had to bum weapons off the US.  I am looking the at the RAF Wiki page, and you have about 170 fighter aircraft.  137 Typhoons and 35 F-35s.  Not all of these are going to be operational at any one time, and the ones you do have will quickly suffer attrition.

The shell supply issue has been pretty much solved. Europe can keep Ukraine supplied there. I don't see much trouble keeping it's own troops supplied.

Europe has access to the skills and parts to maintain and repair much of their equipment (and US links aren't totally gone yet)
Russia doesn't.

Smart weapons are where there's a issue. Even with a friendly America the US is prioritising it's own stocks. Clear area Europe needs to shift away from America and probably develop something simpler than the million dollar missile to shoot a 10000 dollar drone setup.

#4

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

Last post by fromtia - Today at 12:44:27 PM

Wall Street Journal - What green Card and Visa Holders need to know about recent deportations.


I've lived in the US for almost thirty years at this point and still hold a green card, I'm an LPR - a legal permanent resident. I have intended to naturalize and become a proper American for a long time, but its just sort of on the to-do list along with get some new teeth and learn French. Suddenly it's become a bit more pressing. I work with a friend who naturalized last year, two other LPR's and a Ukrainian couple who are TPS - refugees from the war.

Although I'm pretty spotless from an immigration standpoint I'd still just as soon not travel internationally for fear of being picked up by a zealot who found one of my posts on languish on my phone that reveals Teh Antisemitisms!!!111

I was in the UK 7 times last year (my brother had a stroke) and I have never previously given it any thought. Renew my Green Card every ten years faithfully, dont commit crimes, pay taxes and so on, but suddenly the goal posts seem to be moving.

#5

Off the Record / Re: Elon Musk: Always A Douche

Last post by The Minsky Moment - Today at 12:40:36 PM

Does it matter?  I mean, I guess it'll be poison to investors, but there won't be any legal consequences.

Trump can muzzle the SEC, but not the private securities plaintiffs' bar.

#6

Off the Record / Re: Quo Vadis, Democrats?

Last post by The Minsky Moment - Today at 12:37:36 PM

Jim Jordan is a honking loon, and he is Chairman of a House power committee.  The Speaker of House has publicly advocated bonkers things up to and including the US annexing Gaza.  The GOP does not give a shit whether and how letting the extreme voices out affects their electability = they use it to appeal to their base, and then get on Fox Business to wink at Wall Street and assure everyone that they don't really mean this.  And they have parlayed that strategy into control of every facet of the federal government.

I am and always have been a moderate Democrat in the Clinton-Obama mold. But that kind of wonkery works in a properly functioning constitutional Republic.  It does not play when the Republic itself is under threat. Passion and energy are needed and even misguided passion is better than holding seminars on triangulation, lobbying the Senate cloakroom to make minor changes to horrific bills, responding to core institutions under existential threat by stabbing them in the back with weaponized bothsideisms, and occasionally emerging into daylight to participate in a half-hearted demonstration and white-man rap out a few tired and trite slogans.

OSC may be too left for my personal taste, but she is one the few that seems to grasp the urgency of the situation.  If she primaried Schumer tomorrow, she'd have my virtual vote.  And if some more radical proposals get thrown out - it's about time the Democrats start pushing the Overton window back there way.  I'm not saying do it stupid like "defund the police" - which is the GOP platform now anyways. But how about send out Bernie or some younger firebrand to advocate a "Patriot Tax" - a one-time 100% tax on all personal wealth over $100 million, used to fund tax cuts for the working stiffs and expanded health care and childcare coverage?  Stir shit up.  Seize the agenda.  Flood their fucking zone.

#7

Off the Record / Re: Elon Musk: Always A Douche

Last post by HVC - Today at 12:35:36 PM

On the securities side probably nothing will happen, since as you said his buddy trump would intervene. On the stock side, though, if more confidence is lost and the stock plunges more then then musk loses his hold over American politics. No money no power.

#8

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

Last post by crazy canuck - Today at 12:27:01 PM

https://x.com/TomGazzola/status/1902760243999937006

So apparently I am now two degrees of separation from PM Mark Carney.  Dustin Schwartz is the Oilers goalie coach, I coached his kid (with his wife being an assistant coach) and met Dustin several times, and now Dustin has met Carney.

This means absolutely nothing, of course.

It's funny that it's nothing but criticism in the posts below, of course.  It'll be no surprise that Alberta sports fans skew rightward, and Dustin has long been a whipping boy in Edmonton for the faults of Oilers goaltending, real or imagined.

But for Carney this is Politics 101.  He's playing up his very real Edmonton connections.  He grew up here after being born in NWT and graduated high school.  That being said he left for university and hasn't called Edmonton home for 40 years, so it does come across as pandering.  If I were to suddenly run for Parliament in Winnipeg it would seem strange, and I only left 25 years ago.

I'm not sure what your point is. Do people lose a claim to being raised in a particular place unless they were born there, and they spend their adult life there.

Sorry, but I'm going to continue to claim that I grew up in a town that's different from where I was born and where I spent my adult life even if you think that might be pattering. In fact, I mention it on many occasions. I'm actually pretty proud of where I was raised.  I hope you're not going to be this petty the whole election.

#9

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

Last post by HVC - Today at 12:23:44 PM

What assets would affect the election though? I guess Tesla

#10

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

Last post by Barrister - Today at 12:14:13 PM

Looks like the election is going to be called within days for a April 28 election day.

So on the one hand - good.  It would have been much worse if Carney promptly prorogued again, and slightly worse if the NDP suddenly cut a deal with the Libs after saying they'd vote No Confidence.

But for the "Why won't Poilievre get a security clearance" crowd... (or for that matter, why won't Trump disclose his taxes)

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/carney-assets-questions-1.7486242

Mark Carney has put all of his assets into a blind trust, as is required.

That being said he has 60 days to disclose what those assets are (or were), and a further 60 days before that information becomes public.

By calling an immediate election, Carney's assets won't be made public until after the election date.

After his time at Goldman Sachs, early in his career, plus Brookfield and Bloomberg (without even going into his assets as Bank Governor in Canada and England), you know those assets are going to be high.

He's been asked several times a version of "OK so your assets are in a blind trust now, but please tell us what they were when you put them into a blind trust" only to receive testy non-answers.