I'll believe it when I see it.
Justin Trudeau hints at boosting Canada’s military spending
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OldSolduer
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And we all know how effective the UN is.......
QV
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True - but doesn't mean it couldn't happen.
STAR a mission task lol
MilEME09
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Robyn Urback, writing in the Globe and Mail, sums up the situation for Canada:
" ... it was a different type of alarm watching from up here in Canada; almost like a kid watching his incapacitated parents brawling over who ate the last piece of pizza. Here we are, peering down from the second floor, where we can see that Dad is drunk, Mom is depressed and hallucinating, and the landlord’s coming around soon to collect the rent. Who’s going to take care of us?
The answer is that a 157-year-old shouldn’t be relying on Mom and Dad to make sure our bills are paid, or to protect us if someone breaks into our home. Mr. Trump reminded Canada of that when he became president in 2017 and brought with him an outright adversarial attitude toward even the closest U.S. allies ...
Mr. Trump is not just signalling any more; he has now outright said that he wouldn’t defend “delinquent” NATO allies that do not adequately spend on their own defence. People close to Mr. Trump have also described how his second term would try to fundamentally shift America’s role away from being an international security steward, foisting responsibility for logistics, artillery, military deployment and so on onto European nations. A second-term Mr. Trump, who would be vindicated by the electorate, surrounded by sycophants and emboldened by a stacked Supreme Court, would surely make the guy from 2017 seem like a tepid field mouse.
...
The first Trump term should have been a wake-up call for Canada. We cannot lean on our geography and friendship with the U.S. to protect us from hostile powers. Indeed, our three ocean borders can’t shield us from foreign meddling, and our military can’t perform its duties with aging equipment and severe personnel shortages. We cannot take for granted that the next occupant of the Oval Office will respect the reciprocal economic relationship Canada and the U.S. have long enjoyed. We need to shore up our own economic strength: attract more highly skilled workers, retain top talent, increase productivity, create conditions for more competition and so on. Canada has done none of these things.
That’s why we’re left as a 157-year-old child, looking on helplessly as those on whom we rely argue about their golf game. Canada needs America’s trade, intelligence, military support and border reinforcements; we’ve even come to rely on the U.S. to treat some of our cancer patients. Yet one prospective leader might threaten to tear it all up, while the other could get lost finding his way back from the bathroom. It’s an abysmal choice for Americans, and pretty scary for us in Canada, too."
" ... it was a different type of alarm watching from up here in Canada; almost like a kid watching his incapacitated parents brawling over who ate the last piece of pizza. Here we are, peering down from the second floor, where we can see that Dad is drunk, Mom is depressed and hallucinating, and the landlord’s coming around soon to collect the rent. Who’s going to take care of us?
The answer is that a 157-year-old shouldn’t be relying on Mom and Dad to make sure our bills are paid, or to protect us if someone breaks into our home. Mr. Trump reminded Canada of that when he became president in 2017 and brought with him an outright adversarial attitude toward even the closest U.S. allies ...
Mr. Trump is not just signalling any more; he has now outright said that he wouldn’t defend “delinquent” NATO allies that do not adequately spend on their own defence. People close to Mr. Trump have also described how his second term would try to fundamentally shift America’s role away from being an international security steward, foisting responsibility for logistics, artillery, military deployment and so on onto European nations. A second-term Mr. Trump, who would be vindicated by the electorate, surrounded by sycophants and emboldened by a stacked Supreme Court, would surely make the guy from 2017 seem like a tepid field mouse.
...
The first Trump term should have been a wake-up call for Canada. We cannot lean on our geography and friendship with the U.S. to protect us from hostile powers. Indeed, our three ocean borders can’t shield us from foreign meddling, and our military can’t perform its duties with aging equipment and severe personnel shortages. We cannot take for granted that the next occupant of the Oval Office will respect the reciprocal economic relationship Canada and the U.S. have long enjoyed. We need to shore up our own economic strength: attract more highly skilled workers, retain top talent, increase productivity, create conditions for more competition and so on. Canada has done none of these things.
That’s why we’re left as a 157-year-old child, looking on helplessly as those on whom we rely argue about their golf game. Canada needs America’s trade, intelligence, military support and border reinforcements; we’ve even come to rely on the U.S. to treat some of our cancer patients. Yet one prospective leader might threaten to tear it all up, while the other could get lost finding his way back from the bathroom. It’s an abysmal choice for Americans, and pretty scary for us in Canada, too."
IKnowNothing
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I think people talk past each other on this front because of the context. Acknowledging Putin and Trump as friends is often rebutted on the grounds that it's insinuating a sense of geo-political allegiance, rather than a personal relationship built on like-minded self interest and disregard for principles/morality.
Trump says Putin ‘was a friend of mine’ in bizarre phone conversation
‘I got along great with him,’ the former US president addedwww.independent.co.uk
Meh. Trump has stated and bragged they have been friends. So not exactly speculation. May be hyperbolic on his part though.
Small town analogy- they're owners of the biggest developer from two neighbouring towns. They're both playing the same game- but not against each other and don't see each other as enemies- just as peers bonded by their personal similarity and similarity of situation.
This isn't going to happen unless we quit pursuing zero carbon by taxing the hell out of industry and people. Many of the more talented individuals that we attracted through immigration are leaving or at least are seriously looking at greener pastures outside of Canada. Those who will remain will quite possibly be a net drain on the system rather than contributing to our growth. I can't picture a solution that won't cost us pain.
Brad Sallows
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"Trump has stated and bragged..." that "X" is true. And the foundation for believing Trump, for any value of "X", is...?
All nations' relationships with the US while Trump is in office have a question mark hanging there due to his volatility. But for Canada, the real action is and always will be in Congress, and Congress is driven by the political pressure of constituents in districts and states.
If the working classes in, say, forestry and automotives in the US are dissatisfied with the way the Democratic and Republican establishments have been treating their interests and that spills over into pressure against Canada's interests, it's certain that favouring the Democratic and Republican establishments isn't the solution. To expect that is to be one of the insane people doing the same thing and expecting a different result. Between the two party establishments and Trump there is a middle ground - mostly of conservatives to whom it is easy and convenient to attach throwaway labels like "populist" and "MAGA" and "right-leaning" - and we'd be better off cultivating it than trying to attach it to Trump.
All nations' relationships with the US while Trump is in office have a question mark hanging there due to his volatility. But for Canada, the real action is and always will be in Congress, and Congress is driven by the political pressure of constituents in districts and states.
If the working classes in, say, forestry and automotives in the US are dissatisfied with the way the Democratic and Republican establishments have been treating their interests and that spills over into pressure against Canada's interests, it's certain that favouring the Democratic and Republican establishments isn't the solution. To expect that is to be one of the insane people doing the same thing and expecting a different result. Between the two party establishments and Trump there is a middle ground - mostly of conservatives to whom it is easy and convenient to attach throwaway labels like "populist" and "MAGA" and "right-leaning" - and we'd be better off cultivating it than trying to attach it to Trump.
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If a deal that would leave both sides equally dissatisfied was easy to do, it would have been done by now.
Depends on the deal he may nor may not broker. What people worry about is depending on how "chummy" or not POTUS45-47 is with Putin, it could leave the Ukrainians high and dry.
It's been a while that more small-c conservatives on both sides of the CAN-USA border are getting a bit ... impatient with the funding going to UKR, in spite of public statements about how if we let an international bully get his way now, they'll be encouraged to keep getting their way.
We'll see how it all goes ...
As for the weasel wording, this from the horse's mouth/mouths ...
This too, we'll see, especially since if I had to bet a loonie right now, barring monumentally moronic stuff done by Team Blue, Team Red may still going to be in the political wilderness by 2032.
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QV
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This is right out of Trump's "art of negotiation". Putin knows he will need to negotiate with Trump next and he's preparing for that.
Oldgateboatdriver
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You mean like the US National administration imposing duties on Canadian softwood lumber for the Nth time, even though every single time without exception international trade arbitration tribunals (and even US ones) have determined that Canada was not unduly dumping or favouring its industry, thus rejecting the duty in the end . . . the whole just because the US softwood industry has a bigger and better lobby (read gives more generously to political parties) than the US house construction industry.
Oldgateboatdriver
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Well, I was just looking for a house in the Yukon. Want to trade it for my steel bridge in Montreal slated for demolition?
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For my 2 cents the author completely misses the boat by ONLY listing these items - what has been sorely missing over the last 2+ decades and 100% certainly since 2015, is the awareness of the need to foster, improve and entrench the outright NEED for a solidly Canadian identify to be nurtured among ALL those who have a CDN passport. There is truly a 'them' vs 'us' mentality among a significant part of the 2+ generation CDN's who identify themselves as CDN's. Again, for my 2 cents, the lack of a national identity (and I can live with a bi-national identity when talking about Quebec), leads to a massive under-appreciating of our current situation - and where the trend line continues to plot towards.
In the US, the 'browning' or 'Latinoing' of America will inevitably continue, this will have impacts on the future of America, but it won't alter the 'belief' in America or lessen chants of 'USA, USA, USA' both inside and outside America whenever Americans gather. In Canada, the 'non-Europeaning' of Canada will 100% continue and will even accelerate over the coming decade or two. I would even add, the 'non-Christian background' of Canada will potentially play an even bigger role on influencing of what Canada does or does not do in the decades to come.
These 2 events/processes will play a huge part of the success or failure of the relationship that Canada has with the US and the US has with Canada. If these 2 events/processes are coupled with the continued collapse of a solid 'Canadian' identify, then all the increase in productivity, economic strength, retaining top talent, etc will be meaningless. The 'Latinoing' of America differs from the 'non-Europeaning' of Canada in one major way - Christians vs non-Christians - Latinos in America (and those coming to America daily/monthly/yearly), are overwhelmingly Christians, while the vast, vast, vast majority of new Canadians coming in are non-Christians. To the US, this matters and it matters ALOT in some areas of Government/Geographical area/Business in the US. It further frays the previous tapestry of social/familial/cultural/linguist fabric that have been woven between the 2 countries since 1763, the end of the French-Indian War, where for the first and only time, 'Canada' and 'America' were woven together under 1 single flag.
As someone with both Citizenships, Canadian and American, who has lived/worked, gone to school in both countries, has family throughout both countries, parents from both countries, a spouse from America, children with both Citizenships - I have seen the tapestry fraying for a significant time now and I feel that it will only fray even more in the future. Sooner or later, myself and my wife and 100% certainly my children, will have to make a final decision as to what side we will end up on, straddling the fence won't be an option anymore.
Poilievre says he won't commit to 2%. Hope allies are happy with going from woke to warrior in lieu of actual kit.
You believe ghost written books are sincere?
Unfortunately, political biases make people really susceptible to propaganda. Even if demonstrably bat shit crazy.
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Thucydides c.The strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must. Of the gods we believe, and of men we know, that by a necessary law of their nature they rule wherever they can.
Oldgateboatdriver
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On you go quoting history ... the Italians certainly ain't what the Romans used to be.
FJAG
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That's puzzling. The country is ready for a bit of tough talk on defence. The CPC has 2% as one of its policy objectives. It's time to signal to other countries that he's a dependable leader and will meet Canada's international obligations.
I know that he's trying to run on the mess that Trudeau has made but Canadians get nervous when a Conservative government tells them that they're going to have to "fix" things. That tells the voting public that services are going down and taxes up. You don't want to say that out loud.
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