[Whatup]

There is a huge difference between Trudeau and Trump. Trudeau, I have come to believe, is no longer interested in the job. He is not dumb, just numb. Trump on the other hand is lacking gray matter -- he is way out of his league. The RNC has a history of propping up failures (Nixon and G. W. Bush are outstanding examples) -- mostly borne out of a fear of losing power -- and Trump is the latest cause. Amazingly this guy has a knack for failing upwards. I keep thinking that his safety net is going to fail but he has the support of the madding crowd who in large part think that he is the second coming. Their rigid thinking, even though it is to their own detriment, will, I suspect, ultimately lead to the "house of cards" crashing down -- unfortunately not before it has done irreparable harm to the U.S. and to the rest of the world. Trump's lack of critical thinking prowess is evident in all of his failures -- bankrupt casinos, etc. He is so focused on greed that he doesn't mind trampling any who get in his way, including women who he treats like sexual objects made specifically for his undersized weewee.

So W was a failure but Obama wasn't? Abe Lincoln, Eisenhower, Reagan and Theo Roosevelt are considered among the greatest presidents - they are all Republicans. And did Democrat legends Kennedy and Clinton treat women well? Also, grammar check - "weewee" means "an act of urinating" and not what you are suggesting. Just thought I let you know because you seem really concerned with people using perfect grammar on this forum.

 

[Oilguy]

So W was a failure but Obama wasn't? Abe Lincoln, Eisenhower, Reagan and Theo Roosevelt are considered among the greatest presidents - they are all Republicans. And did Democrat legends Kennedy and Clinton treat women well? Also, grammar check - "weewee" means "an act of urinating" and not what you are suggesting. Just thought I let you know because you seem really concerned with people using perfect grammar on this forum.

Well for one W led a government that fabricated evidence as a pretext for war and Obama did not do that. So that’s a win.

Although sadly I’d give just about anything to have W and his cronies back over this mess.

 

[archited]

grammar check - "weewee" means "an act of urinating" and not what you are suggesting

Actually, and once again, you are wrong!
AI Overview
Yes, "wee wee" can be considered slang for "penis," particularly when used in a child-like or informal context, as it's a playful way to refer to urination and can be associated with the male genitalia responsible for it; essentially, "wee wee" is similar to saying "pee pee" in this sense.
Key points about "wee wee":
Childish term: Primarily used when talking about young children or in a playful manner.
Meaning "urine": "Wee" itself can simply mean urine, so "wee wee" can also just refer to the act of urinating.
Regional variation: The use of "wee wee" may vary depending on location and cultural context.

So W was a failure but Obama wasn't?

Absolutely! The end of W's uneventful (in a positive fashion) term had the country on the brink of a major depression (oh how soon the Republican faithful forget). Obama and the Fed employed emergency measures to change the economic direction of the country and not only avoided the impending depression (borne from W's idiotic policies -- which by the way are now about to be re-introduced by Trump) but also over 2 terms led to one of the strongest U.S. economies ever. He also captained the capture and elimination of Osama Bin Laden -- something that W tried to do by starting 2 failed wars (Iraq and Afghanistan). And most importantly Obama managed to get a substantial Healthcare package passed (ACA) that to date has benefitted some 52 million Americans.
Since Reagan -- the guy who spiked the National Debt to record levels -- Democrats have captained 52 months of positive economic growth while Republican terms account for only 1 -- 52 to 1 is a pretty dramatic difference.
And yet the uninformed continue their "by gosh and by golly" search for some nebulous good old days. The Republican Party has completely lost itself.

 

[kcantor]

The USA has pumped over 100 billion USD into supporting Ukraine, which has a high level of systemic government corruption that goes back to when it split from USSR and became an independent state. Billions of unaccounted money..
…

Nonsense.

The US didn’t send $100 billion USD to Ukraine. It sent armaments - which were primarily defensive in nature and which somewhat restrained Ukraine’s war efforts - and ammunition. What’s worth noting in that is that the $100 billion USD was spent in the US by the US bolstering the US economy.

 

[erudyk_29]

^ Mostly decomissioned armaments as well, which are extremely expensive to dispose of. Better they get used than end up in a military surplus store or a landfill.

Thought it was important to update the global alliance map following recent developments:

2024:

Blue: Western Powers
Light Blue: Western Aligned but less strongly
Red: Eastern Powers
Pink: Eastern Aligned but less strongly
Grey: Irrelevant (Neutral and/or Weak/Failed States)

Pretty solid West vs. China alliances formed. Most of China's alliances more out convenience than any actual shared common ideology or interest. Can be thought of as US and allies vs. China and allies.

Today:

Blue: Western Powers
Red: Eastern Powers
Orange: Washington-Moscow Understanding
Grey: Irrelevant (Neutral and/or Weak/Failed States)

It's pretty clear that there is some kind of under the table alliance between Trump and Putin. The US as a nation remains western aligned, however, their current administration pretty clearly has some kind of "understanding" with the Russians. Kazakhstan, Belarus and Serbia follow wherever Russia goes, so they go in that "understanding" as well. Ukraine and Turkiye get pushed from lightly western aligned, to full blown Western Allies as a result of Russian aggression. Milei's Argentina and El Salvador are Trump-Musk puppet states and so can be put on team US/Russia.

Not a prediction here, but for years Japan and China have been increasing their relations and they're looking more and more positive. This has obviously kicked up to another degree with Trump's election. Could signal a shift for some nations in Asia-Pacific to see cooperation with China as more favorable. Not ideologically, but more from a practicality perspective as the US becomes a more unreliable ally with a floundering economy and corrupt leadership, and China's power and influence only grows greater. If Trump pulls support for Taiwan, which seems not just possible but likely, expect an imminent Chinese invasion. What this leads to? Who knows?

What a wild world we live in.

Edit: A couple mistakes,

1. Several gulf states including Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar should probably be orange as well
2. Orban's Hungary and Slovakia's government are famously pro-Russian, but they're a part of the EU and surrounded by non-sympathetic parties, thus they should probably be light blue.

 

[Whattagame]

The USA has pumped over 100 billion USD into supporting Ukraine, which has a high level of systemic government corruption that goes back to when it split from USSR and became an independent state. Billions of unaccounted money. The ongoing Ukraine - Russia conflict has effectively become a WW1 style stalemate - with Russia resorting to a war of attrition that Ukraine cannot win without billions and billions of more money from the US and European allies. It's easy for Carney and western politicians to say they will support democracy but are they paying for it? Is it their children dieing? Canada is a pipsqueak nation militarily and has relied on the USA for protection for decades - while not even attempting to pay its agreed 2% of GDP for NATO - but many Canadians expect USA taxpayers to fund the American military to "protect democracy" and act as world police force - and at the same time showing ridiculous amount of anti-Americanism and contempt for the USA. Trump is offering a way to end this horrible war - its not perfect and no one like's Putin but the USA and Europe cannot afford to keep pouring money into this war. Ukraine is not going to get the Donbas region back and the USA and Europe are not going to keep funding a war that sees no end. Zelenskyy dropped the ball at this media avail - if he had concerns about the deal he should have discussed them in private. Netenyahu wasn't happy with Biden but he didn't voice his concerns in public in the oval office with Biden in front of the cameras (and he wore a suit). The USA has helped Ukraine and is helping Ukraine but also wants this war to end. What do people expect Trump to do - keep fighting an trench war with the Russians until Putin is gone? Not going to happen.

I found Neville Chamberlain's burner account.

 

[erudyk_29]

I found Neville Chamberlain's burner account.

Guys I promise if we let him take Crimea and the Donbas he'll stop I swear. Putin would never have any irredentist ambitions whatsoever. That would never happen!

(As if Putin hasn't repeatedly expressed his desire to restore the borders of the Russian Empire).

 

[David A]

So it seems like the solution for Trump and his acolytes is to pressure Ukraine into accepting a peace deal without any security guarantees, so his friend Putin can pause, regroup and finish of later what he couldn't so far.

I suspect Trump was convinced by Putin that he could get a Nobel price for ending this war that has gone on "so long", but three years since the official Russian invasion is really not that long, certainly not very long compared to many of the drawn out conflicts elsewhere in the past or currently. Some of which the US still fully support. Maybe the Ukrainian leader needs to change his name to Netanyahu.

The problem however, is Ukraine or others supporting it isn't ready to capitulate or be forced into it. So they will go on, there will be no peace prize for Trump, the US will look foolish and to top it off his friend Putin has been insulted in the White House by Ukrainian leader. It seems the attack on Putin was the moment when Trump seemed to lose it, although the Vance attack sort of seemed like a pre planned set up, so maybe the whole thing was.

 

[Whatup]

Mark Carney’s top donors:
Oliver Desmarais: Chair of the Canada China Business Council
Scott Brison: Vice-chair of the Canada China Business Council

 

[Whatup]

From Conrad Black:
We should pull our military weight, adopt policies that encourage investment and economic growth that raises per capita income, emancipate ourselves from climate change idiocy, which Carney wants to make more onerous, and develop the thick skins of a more confident people. The American flag is burned by hooligans and riffraff all the time all over the world and Americans don’t notice. It is time for Canadian leadership that is self-confident and not sulky, under-achieving, hyper-sensitive and not thunder-struck with paranoia about the weather.

 

[TAS]

Mark Carney’s top donors:
Oliver Desmarais: Chair of the Canada China Business Council
Scott Brison: Vice-chair of the Canada China Business Council

The max donation according to the National Post story is $1,750 and it includes several different donors.

What the fundraising numbers mean for the Liberal leadership contestants

Mark Carney may have the backing of donors with deep pockets, but the average donation to his campaign happens to be the lowest.

nationalpost.com

More than two-thirds of Carney's donations have been $100 or less, an indication of a strong grassroots campaign for a leadership, especially an abbreviated one like this.

 

[David A]

The max donation according to the National Post story is $1,750 and it includes several different donors.

What the fundraising numbers mean for the Liberal leadership contestants

Mark Carney may have the backing of donors with deep pockets, but the average donation to his campaign happens to be the lowest.

nationalpost.com

More than two-thirds of Carney's donations have been $100 or less, an indication of a strong grassroots campaign.

Mr. Brison is a former Member of Parliament and if that is Olivier Desmarais, he is a Canadian businessman with Montreal based Power Corporation of Canada. I suspect in both cases their connections to Canada are much more significant than those to any other country.

Given the maximum donation is only $1,750, not surprising if several others who have also donated the same amount and Carney's campaign does seem to have more donations of smaller amounts.

 

[policyenthusiast]

Mark Carney’s top donors:
Oliver Desmarais: Chair of the Canada China Business Council
Scott Brison: Vice-chair of the Canada China Business Council

I bet this rhetoric works gangbusters if you have no idea how to fact-check what you read in your biased news.

Politicians don't have two "top donors". There is a legal contributable maximum from each donor, and you can view all of the donors on the Elections Canada website.

https://www.elections.ca/WPAPPS/WPF/EN/Home/Index

I'll save you the time - he has 3289 donors and the actual "top donor" is...

 

[archited]

I bet this rhetoric works gangbusters if you have no idea how to fact-check what you read in your biased news.

You are up against a mental brick wall @policyenthusiast. This guy's thinking is so rigid that his brain is probably solid granite.

 

[David A]

For some reason, it seems to be the MAGA thing, China bad, Russia good. Given that of the two Russia is the one that has invaded its neighbours, it doesn't seem like such a great idea to me.