A new PM waltzed in and took Canada last night. How about some commentary on this? So after almost ten years, there is a collective sigh of deep, deep relief that Justin Troodo is gone at last. How did we live through that Dark Age?
However...the Prime Minster of Canada is now Mark Carney. Or Mark Carnage, as the Brits call him; they un-fondly recall his tenure as Governor of the Bank of England, when they couldn't get rid of him fast enough. Carney has that effect, it seems.
He is a political neophyte. Never held political office before. Not even as an MP. He is entirely unelected. He was simply chosen by the Liberal Party and the global puppetmasters to follow Troodo. The "Liberal leadership vote" was perhaps rigged, as many suspect. Carney may have been selected even before the race began. The vote then being just for show. He had been the Liberal Party advisor for years.
He was more recently the CEO of Brookfield Management/Assets. Which he moved to New York from Toronto. Hm-m-m-m. While he now cheerleads Canada's economy. Supposedly.
What else? Carney is a senior WEF-man. He sups with the destructive globalists. He promotes all the usual narratives -- Climate Change catechism, destruction of the oil & gas industry, ground crickets for dinner, and the rest of the WOKE bible. Has anyone told him he's out of fashion these days?
Therefore, we have a totally unelected PM. Who says he will call an election....soon. If so, he will be running against Pierre Poilievre (whose French is far superior to Carney's). Both of them have rolled out the Patriotism schtick as an election tactic...when that has not been seen in Canada since the days of the Trucker Convoy. The job of Troodo and the Liberals had been to destroy Canada, and trample its identity. So who is Carney fooling? After ten years of destruction under the Liberal party, he is now going to save Canada? 🤣
Lol, your comment is really enlightening. I was seeing all this reporting in the press that "Europe" loved him. I guess it stands to reason that anytime the press is lionizing someone, the constituent populations where they were a politician hated them with a fury.
Intelligent Canadians are shivering over Mark Carney as PM. If anything, he is Troodo with brains (but at least we might get rid of the gag-inducing "Troodo embraces" when he greets other statesmen).
Mark Carnage is known for being ruthless. Human compassion is not wired into him. Only his WOKE narratives. Beware.
That is usually all I need to know. Of all the big firms I have had professional contact with, I found them to be the worst. My favorite story is of a senior Goldman guy telling an elevator operator at Madame Tussauds in NYC (2004) that the slowness of the elevator "is ruining my experience." Assholes.
I read this from a local news site here in Washington state. It boldly stated that Canada had elected Carney. There was immediate blowback in the comments that no, "Canada" had not elected him. The Labor (?) party had put him there.
Two observations:
1) I learned more about Canada's election process from the comments than from the article
2.) The press in Washington state is either as ignorant as I was about the Canadian Parliamentary system or they're completely dishonest.
Making him seem to be the popular choice by ommission of information seems likely.
The two main political parties in Canada are the Conservatives and the Liberals. Troodo was of the Liberal party.
These two parties elect their leaders internally, just as the American Democrats and Republicans elect their own leaders. Then each of those leaders goes into the federal election. Same in Canada.
If a party leader and national leader should wish to leave his position before losing an election, the party must elect a new leader internally. In Canada. that new leader automatically becomes the PM if the leader who is leaving was the PM.
An election is expected to be held very soon afterwards, so the the will of the people can confirm or deny this new leader who was not previously elected by them. But that is a nicety, for honest politicians or those who dare not avoid it. If they are dishonest, they will just coast on the placement of them in the PM position by their party.
Canada has a Westminster Parliamentary system similar to Britain. However, Troodo prorogued Parliament (shut it down) for his own convenience in early January when he announced he would resign. This stopped the parliamentary business of government. Which is what he would have intended. Parliament is supposed to proceed again in late March, but we shall see.
You are correct that Canada did not elect Mark Carney. Fewer that 150,000 liberal party members elected him, if there was an election in the party at all. Carney was already being given RCMP security long before this election, as a private citizen, which is highly unusual. There are many questions about this party election which resulted in Mark Carney as PM of Canada. He has never been elected by Canadians for anything. He does not even have a seat in a riding as MP.
Back in the 80s, Bob Hawke was elected by the ALP (Australian Labor Party) to lead it into an election from Opposition.
He was not an MP but was pre selected for a safe Labor seat which he won comfortably as did the ALP at the election, so as party leader and a new MP, he became PM.
How can Carney be PM in Canada when he isn’t an MP?
Canadians are asking the same thing. Although apparently back in the 80s, another candidate for PM following the Pierre Troodo resignation also became PM without having been an MP. John Turner.
So, Is a Prime Minister supposed to be a Member of Parliament first, according to Canada's constitution? In American politics any citizen born in the USA and at least 35 years old can run for president. President Trump was never in the House or the Senate but was able to run and later received the Republican nomination after the individual states' Republican parties determined who they wanted to support. Same for Democrat candidates. I take it the Canadian citizenry does not have that option until a general vote, later?
I apologize for my ignorance of the system of government in my neighbors to the North, (and our neighbors to the south, to be honest) but I have a sense of heartbreak for the everyday citizens of Canada that you might be getting more of what you've had to deal with with Trudeau.
In Australia you vote for the candidate of your choice who is usually from a political party but may be an independent.
In the House of Representatives (lower house) there are 150 seats, so 76 is the magic number.
Every successful candidate becomes an MP.
The leader of the party that forms government becomes PM.
All know who leads each party prior to the election so we know who will not only become PM but who the likely ministers will be. Cabinet is made up of elected MPs, not unelected appointees as they are in the US system.
Hopefully some clarity for you.
Given the similar system in Canada, I was surprised to see someone who isn’t in the parliament become PM!
He was anointed the PM by 152,000 votes. That's it. He is NOT my PM. I cannot believe our laws do not require that an election be called immediately upon the announcement of the elected PM's resignation. WTF is up with THAT?
No, it's always been like this. The same thing happened in 2003 when Jean Chretien resigned as PM. And the timing meant that Paul Martin did NOT have to call a general election soon after but waited until Jan 2006 to call a general election. He served without the mandate a federal election conveys from December 12, 2003, to February 6, 2006!! A federal election was finally held on January 23, 2006. Thankfully, under the Canada Elections Act, the current PM must call an election no later than October 2025, so Carney can't avoid a general election for as long as Martin did, nevertheless, it seems that the Global Powers that Be are working hard to establish him as the globalist option when the time comes.
Note that Trump and others are currently saying unusually nice things about Doug Ford, suggesting that he is the Populist choice on the political stage. It is looking more and more like Ford is going to oust Pollievre as the Conservative Party candidate. Doug Ford's "threat" to turn power off to the eastern US struck me as a lot of hot air and obvious theatrics to create the appearance of tension between him and Trump. The fact that Trump had nice things to say about him immediately after he withdrew this threat makes ZERO sense and is completely out of character for Trump. Something is afoot.
I agree. Difference is I left almost 20 years ago.
There used to be an actual left in Canada. Well into the 70s the NDP still had a faint whiff of actual socialism in its DNA. Before the middle class "unions" of teachers and civil servants took it over, the party represented the interests of workers. There were communists and socialists in the trade unions.
There was an independence movement of sorts. Led by Red Tories like George Grant and populated mainly by leftists, the anti-Americanism and pro-independence feeling was strong in this small but vocal subset of the population.
But from Mulroney's karaoke duet with Reagan singing Irish Eyes Are Smiling to now, the tendency for Canuckistanis of all political stripes (are there more than two?) is to get on their knees, stay on their knees and give head to the greedball fuckwits to the south.
You can't resist the Imperium if you support capitalism. Capitalism is what America is, what America exists to promote and what Americans get down on all fours with their rectums made available for. They'd rather castrate their children or die of a fentanyl overdose than stand up to their betters and most of the western world has gone down the same perverse anti-human road.
The right wing halfwits that make up the bulk of commenters here think they are on a winning streak with Trump. They have convinced themselves that by giving bjs to a real estate nepo baby they are asserting their masculinity, when in fact they are just lubing up for big tech and big pharma to ram it so far up their gaping asses they will be spitting logos like never before, like no one has seen before.
Well Ok, Michael. You have a colourful way of describing this. But no point mincing words any longer, when Canada -- and the West in general -- are in the state we are in.
My own opinion is that America is about more than capitalism. And that capitalism within boundaries is not all bad. It has pulled many out of poverty. Trouble is, given the opportunity, human nature tends to over-run boundaries. Not just in Americans, but in a great many people with goodies dangled in front of them.
I am not a halfwit by any stretch of the imagination. And I consider myself centrist rather than rightwing. I am an analytical centrist, who cares about certain values in life, and who attempts to be honest. I get insights from time to time. I share these.
I have a sense of what the better ways would be....but the question is -- how do we get there? Ideals are all well and fine but few of us can enact them. Life's tricky like that.
As Karl Marx said, capitalism has been an incredible engine for the production of wealth. However, it is only through working class resistance that many have been pulled out of poverty.
Given its druthers, American capitalism would have everyone living like a Bangladeshi garment worker.
Given the way things are going in the US and the rest of the Americanized world, we may be on our way back there. Because Elon Musk wants to save the people!
If I could art, I would draw Carney with his pants and drawers around his ankles with the W. Euro and Brussels leaders salivating and competing to give his starfish a tongue bath. In the background, you could see Justy pleasuring himself, while Klaus Schwab tightens Justin's ball gag.
It's somewhat rude, but I hear what you're saying! We are talking submission to the totalitarian WOKE gods.
I think Uncle Klaus was Justin's godfather, actually (does not rule out your suggestion though). Stepfather Pierre Troodo was a prominent member of the Club of Rome in the late 60s (and a Communist), just prior to it spinning-off the World Economic Forum (such a pompous name) as the next stage of the Psy-Op.
The extreme makes an impression, but I would argue the visual isn't far off from actual events. We're now in a timeline where conspiracy theories are simply front running actual events by 6-9 months.
I can't believe she actually thought she had a chance. That 8% is way too high in my opinion but it is the Liberal party. I don't think people will forgive her for saying you can counter inflation by canceling your Disney+ subscription or her most famous word "vibecession". Carney is likely to recycle her into his cabinet sadly.
"A new PM waltzed in and took Canada last night. How about some commentary on this? So after almost ten years, there is a collective sigh of deep, deep relief that Justin Troodo is gone at last. How did we live through that Dark Age?"
Yes, he is. Wonderful analytical skills. And he puts this into words well.
Julius and I do not agree on the cause of all of this -- I hold a Psychological/Evolutionary model to be true -- but we can see the outcome identically.
Canada went from Fidel Castro II to the Hamburglar for PM. Canadian voters.... your forthcoming election is slow pitch softball easy to figure out. More Castro or head a rational direction.
Hey, hey...if reading is your thing, take a walk over to the Julius Ruechel Substack and set aside a fair amount of time for this gem (the author asks President Trump exactly what I would ask):
I did read much of it. While he is correct that Canadian integration into the United States wouldn't necessarily increase the number of representatives in The House of Representatives, it's hard for an American to overlook that most of the representatives the reapportioned districts would elect, whether as a single state or as thirteen new ones, would be overwhelmingly far Left.
Also, he doesn't seem to grasp that a change so massive could be accomplished only with a constitutional convention, which we haven't had since the one which drafted the Constitution.
There is indeed a far-left faction in Canada now. Their minds have been indoctrinated that way since PM Pierre Troodo arrived in 1968. Canada was once comprised of mainly decent people, until the Troodo eras. Now I would say it is about 30% WOKE. Seems to be more because of the way the power plays out in the political ridings. Which were arranged by Pierre Troodo.
The US has a large contingent of WOKE still. Perhaps a greater proportion of them than us. But the political systems are different, so they may not wrangle as much power.
The US population is 347 million people. Canada's population is just under 40 million people, in a larger country but with less habitable space.
So left-wise, you would likely gain about the same proportion of WOKE-folk as the US already has. And I suspect that when minds are out of the cauldron of leftwing-dictated Canada, they may change. They turned WOKE initially because of social influences which had little competition here. Not so under Trump.
I am not familiar with the constitutional conventions that you speak of.
I think the issue is that if Communist China is gaining power in North America at the rate which seems likely, all stops must be pulled. Most Americans do not see this influence as obviously as Canadians see it here, on the ground. By the time you do....there will be a greater foothold. Best to consider options sooner rather than later.
It is not a matter, really, of whether Canadians and Americans want to get together. It is a matter of whether or not both parties wish to be ruled or hovered-over by a creeping Communist influence.
I agree with this, but the structural matters are forbidding. I presume Poilievre and his bunch are sane, and aware of this, and inasmuch as new Prime Minister Theobald is going to call an election, that's the beginning of a way to make an alliance.
An election is meant to be called by October, if they are playing by the rules. But these days, the Liberals seem to make it up as they go along. There is talk of an earlier election possibility, so we shall see. It will be Poilievre versus Carney.
The structural matters are indeed daunting. Very much so. I saw that from the start, and wondered when, exactly, Trump was going to flesh-out his offer with actual details. As far as I know, he has not said much about that. And Canadians are wondering what this means for them personally, when one system is exchanged for another. All of the various Canadian govt. services would need to be addressed in terms of what these are to be exchanged for in the US. That's IF any of this ever takes place.
Canadians cannot begin to assess a deal when they do not know what it is.
Carney is more dangerous because he has brains. Degrees from Harvard and Oxford. Although being a believer in the globalist religion wipes that out at least somewhat.
Was going to do a short version of your comment re: the Carney barker, but you handled it.
Here's the take from yesterday's Shaun Newman Podcast featuring a wide spectrum of folks from Canuckistan. Shaun is Albertan and gets some heavy hitters on his show frequently. I catch most of the shows. It is truly an eclectic adventure:
Thanks for filling in during the free agency X melt down. Your observations on Carney really helped me frame the changes in Canada. It should be an interesting election, if and when called.
Thanks for the comment. I’m always interested in that, since that’s where the maternal side of the family came from. Lots of Canadians or related Canadians in the US. I am totally baffled by what Trump is doing, unless it’s some sort of personal vendetta. He sure hadn’t explained it.
My first ancestor in the 13 Colonies arrived with the British in Massachusetts in 1650. Then his burgeoning family line was kicked out (deported) in 1776 when they remained loyal to the Brits after the War of Independence. Can't blame the Americans, I suppose.
Many of the earliest American colonists actually left for British North America after that war. Rightly or wrongly. So the earliest American family lines often continued in Canada instead. We probably have many Mayflower descendants here, in eastern Canada. I find it odd that few Americans know this part of history. That was the first mass deportation.
We developed differently. Canadians have less self-differentiation, I have to admit. The majority, anyway. We aren't as "get up and go" as many Americans. Though we do produce some excellent brains. And we were once known for our rugged bravery.
We generally love and have good will for our American cousins, and always have. You cover us with your military strength, we cover you with our land mass.
Tit for tat. Goodness...there are several million Canadian snowbirds who spend months in Florida each year. We have a lot of fondness for one another's countries and people. I certainly admire Americans (of the non-WOKE variety).
The tides are shifting across the globe. Might be time, whether we all want it or not, to make something more formal of the longstanding relationship. China will, if the US does not.
Baffled by what Trump is doing? Well, I may not like his tactics, and I may refer him to the excellently composed letter from Julius Ruechel to kickstart a few of the details-to-be-answered.
However, I do realize that the geopolitical axes are shifting across the world. This is no longer the post-WWII liberal order. Super-powers are setting themselves up in different ways. Communist China already has a very substantial foothold in Canada, and has for many years. Anyone here with a thinking cap on has noticed that.
Canada's landmass is the bulwark for North America. From the Arctic on down. We control the shipping lanes of the high north...if our governments under the Liberals could be bothered. Troodo has decimated our icebreaker shipping fleet and our military. To weaken us. To weaken the continent.
Trump is looking at the landmass from Panama up to Greenland as a newly-incorporated North America, challenging the axis of China. That is it in a nutshell,. Nice polite Canada was well and fine on its own as long as no one from some other super-power was interested. Once they noticed us, however......and took steps....the other super-power had to make a move.
"STATISTICALLY IMPOSSIBLE: The Carney vote results cannot be trusted
Ezra Levant looks at the results from the Liberal leadership contest and is left wondering if foul play was involved, given Mark Carney's nearly uniform performance across the country, including in ridings by long-time ministers like Chrystia Freeland and Karina Gould."
You think there was actually a valid vote by Liberal Party members do you? Or that the federal election is a certainty by October? You don't think the Liberals and their friends in China might find another loophole to delay that?
Yes, I hear you about Elon Musk and being an unelected power.
Pierre Poilievre will oust the Liberals if he wins, and act as a place-marker. That would be his role. I do not see him as the rebuilder of Canada. Never have He does not possess that kind of ability or vision. Sometimes he is even leftwing-lite. He is simply all we have just now.
There's talk of an internal coup against Pollievre and that Doug Ford is the heir apparent who will step in to lead the Conservatives before an election is called. This was suggested by David Wallace on Blackballed podcast hosted by James DiFiore. I have NO idea if there's any substance to this, but Ford sure seems to be making an effort to sound like a statesman lately. Wallace suggested that Trump has something to do with it...I find that hard to believe.
I don't know what is going on with Trump. If this is all entirely authentic, or whether there is a possibility of a Psy-Op. The Substack of Anthropologist Francisco Gil-White introduces that idea, and he thinks Trump could be either way. He may be absolutely authentic and the man of the hour....or playing big games. We shall see.
I have NEVER trusted Doug Ford. He is Liberal-lite. And he sold Ontario down the river during COVID-mania. He is not really Conservative. He is Uni-party. The David Wallace suggestion would fit there, wouldn't it? Ford has really been pushing himself into the limelight lately. Something is going on....
British politicians used the Uni-party tactic from Boris Johnson on down. Not new.
There was the Trump-Ford tariff game today. Going back and forth. It was almost scripted. IS it all scripted?
I was rather amazed at the coincidence of the new Liberal narrative -- saviours of Canada -- arriving just after Trump's inauguration. As if he had started the war with Canada just to supply them with this role, for them to gain back popularity. It was as if Trump and the Canadian Liberals were in cahoots. I wish someone could tell me this isn't true. I do see suspicious patterns, although maybe they are just coincidences.
But Trump appointed Blackrock to operate the Panama Canal. Not much better than the Communist Chinese. Fink and his crew are uber-globalists. So what is going on?
If possible please enlighten those following this thread with valid substantial
evidence showing the vote was not valid. Perhaps you meant to put "Do you"
at the beginning of the sentence and in that case, if so, then I think the vote was valid.
You can throw darts at Carny or most candidates in politics forever but Carny
as a dart board may only be available at the latest until Oct 20, 2025 (approx 7 mths away). Yes he could face a non confidence before that or even jump the shark and call an election before that might happen.
But for now lets see if Carny can pull a rabbit or two out of the hat and if not
kick him and the party to the curb at the Federal election call when all eligible Canadians can vote and that could even be the Liberal party with a replacement for Carny.
Poilievre comment about Carny's footwear might have missed the mark. People in high places are walking hangers for designer's high end products and if purchased in lieu of loan are offered at substantial discounted prices or perhaps gifted.. Carny may choose to correct this image down the road by showing up in the House of Commons in flip-flops or hire Zelensky as as wardrobe consultant.
Poilievre might even lend a hand across the aisle. We will see.
Finally I think Poilievre should consider a side hustle and take up the bag pipes due to his voluminous output of hot air. Make the Celtic culture proud.
And as they say about Canada it is "Six months of winter and six months of tough
That Ursula backed Romanian ban on Georgescu is particularly troubling. Im sure Thierry Breton and Ursula have rock hard boners over that abortion of freedom and will soon be gorging on each others wieners in a full 69 position by suppa time.
Romanians are watching a horde of unelected globalist scumbags tell them, "Y'all voted wrong, so we're just going to nullify your elections, arrange to have your winning candidate arrested, and then ban him from running because 'dEmOcRaCy.'"
I think it's a learning moment. What the EU is telling them is that democracy is a lie. So... move on from there knowing that. There is no benefit to the average voter from the current system. If they vote the "right way", their vote is meaningless and serves as mere certification of what the authorities desired. If they vote the wrong way, then their vote is thrown out explicitly. Either way, it doesn't matter. Reminds me of the 2000s with the whole Lisbon thing where they would just keep rerunning natural referendums until they got the answer they wanted. The EU has always seemed like a rotten system of dictatorship from an American's perspective.
Hey Matt! Can’t wait to hear your take on the latest pearl clutching and crocodile tears over Ukraine from the European Union, the forever wars Democrats, and their corrupt enablers in the media both here and across the pond.
Would it be possible to add the story of Mahmoud Khalil's detention in Louisiana to that list if it's not already in that other category to contrast developments abroad with developments in the U.S. around how freedom of speech is being policed?
Taibbi and none of his fans give one micron of a shit about Khalil, who is the victim of actual government oppression. See, Trump did this and Trump is, to Trumpers, infallible and therefore cannot have ever done anything wrong. If Khalil was arrested and deported, obviously he deserved such treatment and if Trump did it it isn’t illegal.
Nothing says democracy like disqualifying the front runner in Romania (over 800 Tik Tok accounts), jailing the front runner in Pakistan (Imran Khan), or lawfaring opposition leaders like Bolsonaro or Trump.
It's transparently the case that "Russian influence" is how the establishment has decided to do an end-run around actual democracy. If you get an outcome you don't like, you simply say they represent an evil foreign power, now you have "legal basis" (though not really) to annul the public will. Trump was an early test case, but what's happening in Europe is far more blatant, and they're saying they will do the same in Germany if the establishment loses, which is remarkable. Usually the state doesn't announce in advance that an election's results being accepted is conditional on it going your way.
This just shows the insidiousness of accepting “hate speech” as a thing so many years ago. The US still recognizes it, in many quarters, and you can bet if the CIA pulls off a coup here, that will be the reason given.
It's "accepted" in society and elite culture, not legally speaking as far as the constitution is concerned. That's one of the major differences between Europe and the US. It's true that legal technicalities don't really matter in the long term and societal attitudes override all, but it's still at least a minor perk that we have a small bulwark against it.
This fundamental difference is why European countries will just come out and say they're censoring you and you need to take it like the little serf you are, while the US government has to pretend it isn't doing it, and even when caught goes, "Well, technically it wasn't us, we swear, we just requested really nicely while holding a fist in front of their face, and this independent third party did it by their own free will."
The way you can tell the "hate speech" and "causing discomfort" clauses are bullshit though is it should apply to everyone equally. The left's version of righteous speech sure causes me offense and disgusts me, but the government doesn't care. Only when the left or migrants are offended do they step in with ironclad force. So there you can already see the principle itself is just a mask on their power doing what it wills. It has no standard of fairness, it's all arbitrary and made-up justification after the fact. And going by polling and pure demographics, the policies of most Western governments offend the majority of their own population, yet rather than seek to punish themselves as they should according to their own "hate speech" laws, they instead seek to censor the majority of the population.
I have often wondered what the outcome would be if some authority charges a person with the contrived sin of "hate speech" and then that person pipes up and says...."Well, YOUR speech, Mr. Authority, offends ME!"
Since offense being taken or not seems to be a very personal reaction, the person charged for this could just as well turn it around and say that they had been offended too. Then both would be "sinners", no?
“Other ominous civil liberties developments” — Like perhaps the detention of Mahmoud Khalil, and the leaders, influence, and legislation that seek to enforce it, which is clearly a violation of the first amendment? Why are you so resistant to cover this topic?
I figured it was something like that. I tried reverse-engineering it but couldn't come up with any reasonable candidates.
This of course provides an immediate, somewhat childish, joke.
"To come" would be "TC", yes? The (putatively somewhat childish) joke being that people memorialized a misspelling in an acronym?
Apologies. It's Monday morning and I'm knee-deep in bureaucracy and meetings and (mercifully, working from home) am desperate for...anything humorous or sane.
Not one mention in your commentary about the arrest of Mahmoud Khalil, the Columbia graduate student arrested by ICE, and taken away to God knows where, in spite of the fact he has a green card? This incident should be right at the top of your list, but as usual, you assiduously avoid anything regarding Israel, the ongoing genocide, and the crackdown at Universities and other institutions for any criticism of Israel and their actions in Gaza and the West Bank. Do they have something on you Matt?
No matter how unconstitutional and morally wrong though he be in abducting a legal resident of our country. I thought we targeted criminals. What's that, Mahmoud Khalil supports Palestine and as such is a criminal? That's your bullshit logic. Piss off.
Lol. I see you like to use big words without knowing what they mean. Secretary of State can revoke green cards to those who support terrorist groups, like our friend Mahmoud supporting Hamas. Did you know that? I bet you didn't.
And nobody is telling Mahmoud to stop supporting Hamas. Once he is deported to whatever shithole he crawled out of, he can support Hamas there.
It must really piss you off that Trump is actually serious about confronting anti-Semitism and Jew-hatred. That sucks. For you.
Hopefully you now know more about green card holders. You're welcome.
The Liberal Party of Canada elected a new leader (similar to how the DNC or RNC would in the US). Canada didn't have an election. We have no president as head of state, though, so Carney becomes Prime Minister, replacing Justin Trudeau, and has to win votes in the House of Commons to stay in power. It's the same as the British system. All that said, it's likely Carney will immediately call a general election to get a mandate from the voters rather than try to re-open Parliament.
No. Canada did not elect him. Ahem. You need to get your facts straight. Especially when you are talking about stupidity.
Mark Carney was put in place by the ruling Liberal Party as a leader-replacement when Justin Troodo resigned. Since Troodo had been PM, Carney as the new Liberal leader became PM by default. No Canadian election involved, my friend. There was a very limited Liberal party election, or so they tell us. Less than 150,000 voters. That was all.
Well, the reality of Trump is turning out to be pretty awful too. You can have two terrible choices. I always expected that Matt and Walter would be able to cover that as well, but so far, they've chickened out.
A new PM waltzed in and took Canada last night. How about some commentary on this? So after almost ten years, there is a collective sigh of deep, deep relief that Justin Troodo is gone at last. How did we live through that Dark Age?
However...the Prime Minster of Canada is now Mark Carney. Or Mark Carnage, as the Brits call him; they un-fondly recall his tenure as Governor of the Bank of England, when they couldn't get rid of him fast enough. Carney has that effect, it seems.
He is a political neophyte. Never held political office before. Not even as an MP. He is entirely unelected. He was simply chosen by the Liberal Party and the global puppetmasters to follow Troodo. The "Liberal leadership vote" was perhaps rigged, as many suspect. Carney may have been selected even before the race began. The vote then being just for show. He had been the Liberal Party advisor for years.
He was more recently the CEO of Brookfield Management/Assets. Which he moved to New York from Toronto. Hm-m-m-m. While he now cheerleads Canada's economy. Supposedly.
What else? Carney is a senior WEF-man. He sups with the destructive globalists. He promotes all the usual narratives -- Climate Change catechism, destruction of the oil & gas industry, ground crickets for dinner, and the rest of the WOKE bible. Has anyone told him he's out of fashion these days?
Therefore, we have a totally unelected PM. Who says he will call an election....soon. If so, he will be running against Pierre Poilievre (whose French is far superior to Carney's). Both of them have rolled out the Patriotism schtick as an election tactic...when that has not been seen in Canada since the days of the Trucker Convoy. The job of Troodo and the Liberals had been to destroy Canada, and trample its identity. So who is Carney fooling? After ten years of destruction under the Liberal party, he is now going to save Canada? 🤣
Lol, your comment is really enlightening. I was seeing all this reporting in the press that "Europe" loved him. I guess it stands to reason that anytime the press is lionizing someone, the constituent populations where they were a politician hated them with a fury.
Intelligent Canadians are shivering over Mark Carney as PM. If anything, he is Troodo with brains (but at least we might get rid of the gag-inducing "Troodo embraces" when he greets other statesmen).
Mark Carnage is known for being ruthless. Human compassion is not wired into him. Only his WOKE narratives. Beware.
He's a Goldman alum.
He also holds passports for Britain, Ireland and Canada. To hedge his bets. The Ireland passport is to give him legitimate links to the EU.
Yes, I know. Aren't they all? Sunak was too. Seems to be one of the WEF-man pre-requisites.
That is usually all I need to know. Of all the big firms I have had professional contact with, I found them to be the worst. My favorite story is of a senior Goldman guy telling an elevator operator at Madame Tussauds in NYC (2004) that the slowness of the elevator "is ruining my experience." Assholes.
Jfc
Global citizen.
It's not because Mark likes to travel, though. He has more sinister ideas.
And proud of it, like Obama.
Word.
I read this from a local news site here in Washington state. It boldly stated that Canada had elected Carney. There was immediate blowback in the comments that no, "Canada" had not elected him. The Labor (?) party had put him there.
Two observations:
1) I learned more about Canada's election process from the comments than from the article
2.) The press in Washington state is either as ignorant as I was about the Canadian Parliamentary system or they're completely dishonest.
Making him seem to be the popular choice by ommission of information seems likely.
The two main political parties in Canada are the Conservatives and the Liberals. Troodo was of the Liberal party.
These two parties elect their leaders internally, just as the American Democrats and Republicans elect their own leaders. Then each of those leaders goes into the federal election. Same in Canada.
If a party leader and national leader should wish to leave his position before losing an election, the party must elect a new leader internally. In Canada. that new leader automatically becomes the PM if the leader who is leaving was the PM.
An election is expected to be held very soon afterwards, so the the will of the people can confirm or deny this new leader who was not previously elected by them. But that is a nicety, for honest politicians or those who dare not avoid it. If they are dishonest, they will just coast on the placement of them in the PM position by their party.
Canada has a Westminster Parliamentary system similar to Britain. However, Troodo prorogued Parliament (shut it down) for his own convenience in early January when he announced he would resign. This stopped the parliamentary business of government. Which is what he would have intended. Parliament is supposed to proceed again in late March, but we shall see.
You are correct that Canada did not elect Mark Carney. Fewer that 150,000 liberal party members elected him, if there was an election in the party at all. Carney was already being given RCMP security long before this election, as a private citizen, which is highly unusual. There are many questions about this party election which resulted in Mark Carney as PM of Canada. He has never been elected by Canadians for anything. He does not even have a seat in a riding as MP.
Canada and Oz with the same parliamentary system.
Back in the 80s, Bob Hawke was elected by the ALP (Australian Labor Party) to lead it into an election from Opposition.
He was not an MP but was pre selected for a safe Labor seat which he won comfortably as did the ALP at the election, so as party leader and a new MP, he became PM.
How can Carney be PM in Canada when he isn’t an MP?
Constitutionally allowed?
Shenanigans?!
My understanding was that another MP 'gave' him his seat so he could nominally be an MP. That's what I heard anyway.
Canadians are asking the same thing. Although apparently back in the 80s, another candidate for PM following the Pierre Troodo resignation also became PM without having been an MP. John Turner.
https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/canada-unelected-prime-ministers
So, Is a Prime Minister supposed to be a Member of Parliament first, according to Canada's constitution? In American politics any citizen born in the USA and at least 35 years old can run for president. President Trump was never in the House or the Senate but was able to run and later received the Republican nomination after the individual states' Republican parties determined who they wanted to support. Same for Democrat candidates. I take it the Canadian citizenry does not have that option until a general vote, later?
I apologize for my ignorance of the system of government in my neighbors to the North, (and our neighbors to the south, to be honest) but I have a sense of heartbreak for the everyday citizens of Canada that you might be getting more of what you've had to deal with with Trudeau.
No need for the apology.
Different systems exist.
In Australia you vote for the candidate of your choice who is usually from a political party but may be an independent.
In the House of Representatives (lower house) there are 150 seats, so 76 is the magic number.
Every successful candidate becomes an MP.
The leader of the party that forms government becomes PM.
All know who leads each party prior to the election so we know who will not only become PM but who the likely ministers will be. Cabinet is made up of elected MPs, not unelected appointees as they are in the US system.
Hopefully some clarity for you.
Given the similar system in Canada, I was surprised to see someone who isn’t in the parliament become PM!
Thank you!
He was anointed the PM by 152,000 votes. That's it. He is NOT my PM. I cannot believe our laws do not require that an election be called immediately upon the announcement of the elected PM's resignation. WTF is up with THAT?
Is this situation due to a recent change in Canadian law, or has it always been a possibility?
No, it's always been like this. The same thing happened in 2003 when Jean Chretien resigned as PM. And the timing meant that Paul Martin did NOT have to call a general election soon after but waited until Jan 2006 to call a general election. He served without the mandate a federal election conveys from December 12, 2003, to February 6, 2006!! A federal election was finally held on January 23, 2006. Thankfully, under the Canada Elections Act, the current PM must call an election no later than October 2025, so Carney can't avoid a general election for as long as Martin did, nevertheless, it seems that the Global Powers that Be are working hard to establish him as the globalist option when the time comes.
Note that Trump and others are currently saying unusually nice things about Doug Ford, suggesting that he is the Populist choice on the political stage. It is looking more and more like Ford is going to oust Pollievre as the Conservative Party candidate. Doug Ford's "threat" to turn power off to the eastern US struck me as a lot of hot air and obvious theatrics to create the appearance of tension between him and Trump. The fact that Trump had nice things to say about him immediately after he withdrew this threat makes ZERO sense and is completely out of character for Trump. Something is afoot.
Correct. ✅ ( im cdn and A. is 🎯) . I bloody hate it here. It’s Chynada now.
The Canada I was born into, Lucy, and once loved with a high passion, is gone. Never to return.
I have faced those facts, however much I wish they were not true. Closing my eyes and pretending will get me nowhere.
So I am examining the options. Whatever they may be. What will be the best of a bad situation?
I agree. Difference is I left almost 20 years ago.
There used to be an actual left in Canada. Well into the 70s the NDP still had a faint whiff of actual socialism in its DNA. Before the middle class "unions" of teachers and civil servants took it over, the party represented the interests of workers. There were communists and socialists in the trade unions.
There was an independence movement of sorts. Led by Red Tories like George Grant and populated mainly by leftists, the anti-Americanism and pro-independence feeling was strong in this small but vocal subset of the population.
But from Mulroney's karaoke duet with Reagan singing Irish Eyes Are Smiling to now, the tendency for Canuckistanis of all political stripes (are there more than two?) is to get on their knees, stay on their knees and give head to the greedball fuckwits to the south.
You can't resist the Imperium if you support capitalism. Capitalism is what America is, what America exists to promote and what Americans get down on all fours with their rectums made available for. They'd rather castrate their children or die of a fentanyl overdose than stand up to their betters and most of the western world has gone down the same perverse anti-human road.
The right wing halfwits that make up the bulk of commenters here think they are on a winning streak with Trump. They have convinced themselves that by giving bjs to a real estate nepo baby they are asserting their masculinity, when in fact they are just lubing up for big tech and big pharma to ram it so far up their gaping asses they will be spitting logos like never before, like no one has seen before.
Well Ok, Michael. You have a colourful way of describing this. But no point mincing words any longer, when Canada -- and the West in general -- are in the state we are in.
My own opinion is that America is about more than capitalism. And that capitalism within boundaries is not all bad. It has pulled many out of poverty. Trouble is, given the opportunity, human nature tends to over-run boundaries. Not just in Americans, but in a great many people with goodies dangled in front of them.
I am not a halfwit by any stretch of the imagination. And I consider myself centrist rather than rightwing. I am an analytical centrist, who cares about certain values in life, and who attempts to be honest. I get insights from time to time. I share these.
I have a sense of what the better ways would be....but the question is -- how do we get there? Ideals are all well and fine but few of us can enact them. Life's tricky like that.
As Karl Marx said, capitalism has been an incredible engine for the production of wealth. However, it is only through working class resistance that many have been pulled out of poverty.
Given its druthers, American capitalism would have everyone living like a Bangladeshi garment worker.
Given the way things are going in the US and the rest of the Americanized world, we may be on our way back there. Because Elon Musk wants to save the people!
Move to the US, Lucy. What's stopping you? Fentanyl cheaper up there?
You should know that it isn't as simple as loading your U-Haul and driving across the border. If you intend to do it legally, that is.
I would but getting a work permit and green card are impossible if you’re not a refugee from a third world country crossing a land border.
Anyone who is “loved by Europe” is an enemy.
If I could art, I would draw Carney with his pants and drawers around his ankles with the W. Euro and Brussels leaders salivating and competing to give his starfish a tongue bath. In the background, you could see Justy pleasuring himself, while Klaus Schwab tightens Justin's ball gag.
It's somewhat rude, but I hear what you're saying! We are talking submission to the totalitarian WOKE gods.
I think Uncle Klaus was Justin's godfather, actually (does not rule out your suggestion though). Stepfather Pierre Troodo was a prominent member of the Club of Rome in the late 60s (and a Communist), just prior to it spinning-off the World Economic Forum (such a pompous name) as the next stage of the Psy-Op.
The extreme makes an impression, but I would argue the visual isn't far off from actual events. We're now in a timeline where conspiracy theories are simply front running actual events by 6-9 months.
you" painted" a clear picture
Yup. I can confirm this in Canada. At least amongst the non-sheep.
Carney aside, I lol'd that Freeland only received about 8% of the votes....and she had backstabbed Trudo to make her run at the PM position
I expected this backstabbing to arrive at some point. It is what ALWAYS happens when the totalitarian sorts begin to eat one another. Never fails.
Will dear little Chrystia -- also known as Elena Ceaușescu II -- do any subsequent whistle-blowing, one wonders.
I can't believe she actually thought she had a chance. That 8% is way too high in my opinion but it is the Liberal party. I don't think people will forgive her for saying you can counter inflation by canceling your Disney+ subscription or her most famous word "vibecession". Carney is likely to recycle her into his cabinet sadly.
She has family connections with the Nazi Ukrainian faction and with George Soros. That explains her mysterious rise to power.
One of her biggest sins was to freeze bank accounts of the Trucker Convoy...and to cackle with glee as she announced this.
Then, it was Chrystia who had journalists in Canada arrested for asking her questions that were not in her comfort zone.
These issues went a long way to building her reputation.
turn your thermostat down and put on a sweater
Where I live, you put on your best down-filled parka from October to April.
Yikes!
we hit 90 here over the weekend.
We hit -23 C here in my neck of the woods last week.
The "rugged" bit about being Canadian was always true. If you have survived a few winters in places outside of Vancouver or Toronto.
Excellent. She is also addicted to something. Besides Ukraine.
yes, she and Zelenskyy share the same body twitches
"A new PM waltzed in and took Canada last night. How about some commentary on this? So after almost ten years, there is a collective sigh of deep, deep relief that Justin Troodo is gone at last. How did we live through that Dark Age?"
"Meet The New Boss, Same As The Old Boss."
Peter Townsend
Worse than the old boss
Yes indeed, Steve.
"Other than that..."
Hold on for another wild ride north of the 49th.
I highly recommend the Substack of Julius Ruechel on the Canada issue. Especially his latest post. A few of us here have always had well-oiled brains.
He is excellent.
Yes, he is. Wonderful analytical skills. And he puts this into words well.
Julius and I do not agree on the cause of all of this -- I hold a Psychological/Evolutionary model to be true -- but we can see the outcome identically.
Canada went from Fidel Castro II to the Hamburglar for PM. Canadian voters.... your forthcoming election is slow pitch softball easy to figure out. More Castro or head a rational direction.
Hey, hey...if reading is your thing, take a walk over to the Julius Ruechel Substack and set aside a fair amount of time for this gem (the author asks President Trump exactly what I would ask):
https://substack.com/home/post/p-158071706
14 Questions about the 51st State (An Open Letter to President Trump)
Pre-conditions for a theoretical Deal.
I did read much of it. While he is correct that Canadian integration into the United States wouldn't necessarily increase the number of representatives in The House of Representatives, it's hard for an American to overlook that most of the representatives the reapportioned districts would elect, whether as a single state or as thirteen new ones, would be overwhelmingly far Left.
Also, he doesn't seem to grasp that a change so massive could be accomplished only with a constitutional convention, which we haven't had since the one which drafted the Constitution.
There is indeed a far-left faction in Canada now. Their minds have been indoctrinated that way since PM Pierre Troodo arrived in 1968. Canada was once comprised of mainly decent people, until the Troodo eras. Now I would say it is about 30% WOKE. Seems to be more because of the way the power plays out in the political ridings. Which were arranged by Pierre Troodo.
The US has a large contingent of WOKE still. Perhaps a greater proportion of them than us. But the political systems are different, so they may not wrangle as much power.
The US population is 347 million people. Canada's population is just under 40 million people, in a larger country but with less habitable space.
So left-wise, you would likely gain about the same proportion of WOKE-folk as the US already has. And I suspect that when minds are out of the cauldron of leftwing-dictated Canada, they may change. They turned WOKE initially because of social influences which had little competition here. Not so under Trump.
I am not familiar with the constitutional conventions that you speak of.
I think the issue is that if Communist China is gaining power in North America at the rate which seems likely, all stops must be pulled. Most Americans do not see this influence as obviously as Canadians see it here, on the ground. By the time you do....there will be a greater foothold. Best to consider options sooner rather than later.
It is not a matter, really, of whether Canadians and Americans want to get together. It is a matter of whether or not both parties wish to be ruled or hovered-over by a creeping Communist influence.
I agree with this, but the structural matters are forbidding. I presume Poilievre and his bunch are sane, and aware of this, and inasmuch as new Prime Minister Theobald is going to call an election, that's the beginning of a way to make an alliance.
An election is meant to be called by October, if they are playing by the rules. But these days, the Liberals seem to make it up as they go along. There is talk of an earlier election possibility, so we shall see. It will be Poilievre versus Carney.
The structural matters are indeed daunting. Very much so. I saw that from the start, and wondered when, exactly, Trump was going to flesh-out his offer with actual details. As far as I know, he has not said much about that. And Canadians are wondering what this means for them personally, when one system is exchanged for another. All of the various Canadian govt. services would need to be addressed in terms of what these are to be exchanged for in the US. That's IF any of this ever takes place.
Canadians cannot begin to assess a deal when they do not know what it is.
Sounds like Carney is the Canadian version of Kamala.
I hasten to add, only in the general sense of being thrust into a leadership role without benefit of election.
Carney is more dangerous because he has brains. Degrees from Harvard and Oxford. Although being a believer in the globalist religion wipes that out at least somewhat.
Awesome comment.
Was going to do a short version of your comment re: the Carney barker, but you handled it.
Here's the take from yesterday's Shaun Newman Podcast featuring a wide spectrum of folks from Canuckistan. Shaun is Albertan and gets some heavy hitters on his show frequently. I catch most of the shows. It is truly an eclectic adventure:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VySAzN9XPik&list=TLPQMTAwMzIwMjUDOBSh-80fBw&index=3
Thanks for filling in during the free agency X melt down. Your observations on Carney really helped me frame the changes in Canada. It should be an interesting election, if and when called.
Thanks for the comment. I’m always interested in that, since that’s where the maternal side of the family came from. Lots of Canadians or related Canadians in the US. I am totally baffled by what Trump is doing, unless it’s some sort of personal vendetta. He sure hadn’t explained it.
My first ancestor in the 13 Colonies arrived with the British in Massachusetts in 1650. Then his burgeoning family line was kicked out (deported) in 1776 when they remained loyal to the Brits after the War of Independence. Can't blame the Americans, I suppose.
Many of the earliest American colonists actually left for British North America after that war. Rightly or wrongly. So the earliest American family lines often continued in Canada instead. We probably have many Mayflower descendants here, in eastern Canada. I find it odd that few Americans know this part of history. That was the first mass deportation.
We developed differently. Canadians have less self-differentiation, I have to admit. The majority, anyway. We aren't as "get up and go" as many Americans. Though we do produce some excellent brains. And we were once known for our rugged bravery.
We generally love and have good will for our American cousins, and always have. You cover us with your military strength, we cover you with our land mass.
Tit for tat. Goodness...there are several million Canadian snowbirds who spend months in Florida each year. We have a lot of fondness for one another's countries and people. I certainly admire Americans (of the non-WOKE variety).
The tides are shifting across the globe. Might be time, whether we all want it or not, to make something more formal of the longstanding relationship. China will, if the US does not.
Baffled by what Trump is doing? Well, I may not like his tactics, and I may refer him to the excellently composed letter from Julius Ruechel to kickstart a few of the details-to-be-answered.
However, I do realize that the geopolitical axes are shifting across the world. This is no longer the post-WWII liberal order. Super-powers are setting themselves up in different ways. Communist China already has a very substantial foothold in Canada, and has for many years. Anyone here with a thinking cap on has noticed that.
Canada's landmass is the bulwark for North America. From the Arctic on down. We control the shipping lanes of the high north...if our governments under the Liberals could be bothered. Troodo has decimated our icebreaker shipping fleet and our military. To weaken us. To weaken the continent.
Trump is looking at the landmass from Panama up to Greenland as a newly-incorporated North America, challenging the axis of China. That is it in a nutshell,. Nice polite Canada was well and fine on its own as long as no one from some other super-power was interested. Once they noticed us, however......and took steps....the other super-power had to make a move.
"STATISTICALLY IMPOSSIBLE: The Carney vote results cannot be trusted
Ezra Levant looks at the results from the Liberal leadership contest and is left wondering if foul play was involved, given Mark Carney's nearly uniform performance across the country, including in ridings by long-time ministers like Chrystia Freeland and Karina Gould."
Ezra Levant Rebel News
March 10, 2025
https://www.rebelnews.com/statistically_impossible_the_carney_vote_results_cannot_be_trusted
Are you suggesting a Musk in sheep's clothing? At least there
was a Liberal party member's vote. How many did Pres Musk get?
All this is temporary anyway with an upcoming no later than Oct/25
Fed election. Then Poilievre who is a one hit wonder from a jobs held
perspective, if elected, can expedite the destruction of this country
with his deep understanding of economic policy. I can't wait.
You think there was actually a valid vote by Liberal Party members do you? Or that the federal election is a certainty by October? You don't think the Liberals and their friends in China might find another loophole to delay that?
Yes, I hear you about Elon Musk and being an unelected power.
Pierre Poilievre will oust the Liberals if he wins, and act as a place-marker. That would be his role. I do not see him as the rebuilder of Canada. Never have He does not possess that kind of ability or vision. Sometimes he is even leftwing-lite. He is simply all we have just now.
There's talk of an internal coup against Pollievre and that Doug Ford is the heir apparent who will step in to lead the Conservatives before an election is called. This was suggested by David Wallace on Blackballed podcast hosted by James DiFiore. I have NO idea if there's any substance to this, but Ford sure seems to be making an effort to sound like a statesman lately. Wallace suggested that Trump has something to do with it...I find that hard to believe.
I don't know what is going on with Trump. If this is all entirely authentic, or whether there is a possibility of a Psy-Op. The Substack of Anthropologist Francisco Gil-White introduces that idea, and he thinks Trump could be either way. He may be absolutely authentic and the man of the hour....or playing big games. We shall see.
I have NEVER trusted Doug Ford. He is Liberal-lite. And he sold Ontario down the river during COVID-mania. He is not really Conservative. He is Uni-party. The David Wallace suggestion would fit there, wouldn't it? Ford has really been pushing himself into the limelight lately. Something is going on....
British politicians used the Uni-party tactic from Boris Johnson on down. Not new.
There was the Trump-Ford tariff game today. Going back and forth. It was almost scripted. IS it all scripted?
I was rather amazed at the coincidence of the new Liberal narrative -- saviours of Canada -- arriving just after Trump's inauguration. As if he had started the war with Canada just to supply them with this role, for them to gain back popularity. It was as if Trump and the Canadian Liberals were in cahoots. I wish someone could tell me this isn't true. I do see suspicious patterns, although maybe they are just coincidences.
But Trump appointed Blackrock to operate the Panama Canal. Not much better than the Communist Chinese. Fink and his crew are uber-globalists. So what is going on?
Some background on David Wallace: https://globalnews.ca/news/8751192/political-fixer-former-alberta-justice-minister-hired-him-reporters-phone-logs/
The other thing is that there are rumours Gerald Chipeur, Conservative heavyweight lawyer, is the biological father of Pierre Poilievre.
If possible please enlighten those following this thread with valid substantial
evidence showing the vote was not valid. Perhaps you meant to put "Do you"
at the beginning of the sentence and in that case, if so, then I think the vote was valid.
You can throw darts at Carny or most candidates in politics forever but Carny
as a dart board may only be available at the latest until Oct 20, 2025 (approx 7 mths away). Yes he could face a non confidence before that or even jump the shark and call an election before that might happen.
But for now lets see if Carny can pull a rabbit or two out of the hat and if not
kick him and the party to the curb at the Federal election call when all eligible Canadians can vote and that could even be the Liberal party with a replacement for Carny.
Poilievre comment about Carny's footwear might have missed the mark. People in high places are walking hangers for designer's high end products and if purchased in lieu of loan are offered at substantial discounted prices or perhaps gifted.. Carny may choose to correct this image down the road by showing up in the House of Commons in flip-flops or hire Zelensky as as wardrobe consultant.
Poilievre might even lend a hand across the aisle. We will see.
Finally I think Poilievre should consider a side hustle and take up the bag pipes due to his voluminous output of hot air. Make the Celtic culture proud.
And as they say about Canada it is "Six months of winter and six months of tough
sledding". Onwards and downwards?
We are each entitled to our own opinion here.
That Ursula backed Romanian ban on Georgescu is particularly troubling. Im sure Thierry Breton and Ursula have rock hard boners over that abortion of freedom and will soon be gorging on each others wieners in a full 69 position by suppa time.
Why do Romanians have to tolerate this crap?
Are EU leaders even elected?
Romanians are watching a horde of unelected globalist scumbags tell them, "Y'all voted wrong, so we're just going to nullify your elections, arrange to have your winning candidate arrested, and then ban him from running because 'dEmOcRaCy.'"
You can have "democracy", as long as you only vote for approved choices.
You can have "free speech", as long as you don't skewer sacred cows or piss important people off.
Sense a pattern, here?
Oh, I sure do, Feral Finster.
I think it's a learning moment. What the EU is telling them is that democracy is a lie. So... move on from there knowing that. There is no benefit to the average voter from the current system. If they vote the "right way", their vote is meaningless and serves as mere certification of what the authorities desired. If they vote the wrong way, then their vote is thrown out explicitly. Either way, it doesn't matter. Reminds me of the 2000s with the whole Lisbon thing where they would just keep rerunning natural referendums until they got the answer they wanted. The EU has always seemed like a rotten system of dictatorship from an American's perspective.
And no, EU leaders are NOT elected by "the people" and thereby should wield ZERO power.
The question remains - what are Romanians going to do about it?
Probably a lot more now that the USAID spooks in the country no longer have funding.
Ursula's boner - now that's an image. Probably even harder than her hair.
Hey Matt! Can’t wait to hear your take on the latest pearl clutching and crocodile tears over Ukraine from the European Union, the forever wars Democrats, and their corrupt enablers in the media both here and across the pond.
The EU cancelled elections in Romania??? Big fucking surprise.
It’s been slow or unresponsive since early this morning. Annoying, but it’s given me time to get caught up on other things.
LOL so true!!
Ive been able to catch up on all my pornhub now that twitter has had a flat tire for a couple of hours.
Would it be possible to add the story of Mahmoud Khalil's detention in Louisiana to that list if it's not already in that other category to contrast developments abroad with developments in the U.S. around how freedom of speech is being policed?
Khalil would have been safer criticizing the US -- it's just that one tiny nation on the other side of the world that we're not allowed to criticize.
Taibbi and none of his fans give one micron of a shit about Khalil, who is the victim of actual government oppression. See, Trump did this and Trump is, to Trumpers, infallible and therefore cannot have ever done anything wrong. If Khalil was arrested and deported, obviously he deserved such treatment and if Trump did it it isn’t illegal.
Maybe she's a Karen, but she's *our* Karen. Love Thy Vimp.
Karen's a regular around here. I'm applying the strategy described by Alan E. Nourse in the story referenced earlier.
Looks like the Ministry of Truth doesn't want us to follow peace negotiations for that Ukraine proxy war.
Just the end of the world is all. 🙄🙄🙄
"It's the end of the world as we know it. . . "
& I feel fine…. 😬
Nothing says democracy like disqualifying the front runner in Romania (over 800 Tik Tok accounts), jailing the front runner in Pakistan (Imran Khan), or lawfaring opposition leaders like Bolsonaro or Trump.
It's transparently the case that "Russian influence" is how the establishment has decided to do an end-run around actual democracy. If you get an outcome you don't like, you simply say they represent an evil foreign power, now you have "legal basis" (though not really) to annul the public will. Trump was an early test case, but what's happening in Europe is far more blatant, and they're saying they will do the same in Germany if the establishment loses, which is remarkable. Usually the state doesn't announce in advance that an election's results being accepted is conditional on it going your way.
This just shows the insidiousness of accepting “hate speech” as a thing so many years ago. The US still recognizes it, in many quarters, and you can bet if the CIA pulls off a coup here, that will be the reason given.
It's "accepted" in society and elite culture, not legally speaking as far as the constitution is concerned. That's one of the major differences between Europe and the US. It's true that legal technicalities don't really matter in the long term and societal attitudes override all, but it's still at least a minor perk that we have a small bulwark against it.
This fundamental difference is why European countries will just come out and say they're censoring you and you need to take it like the little serf you are, while the US government has to pretend it isn't doing it, and even when caught goes, "Well, technically it wasn't us, we swear, we just requested really nicely while holding a fist in front of their face, and this independent third party did it by their own free will."
The way you can tell the "hate speech" and "causing discomfort" clauses are bullshit though is it should apply to everyone equally. The left's version of righteous speech sure causes me offense and disgusts me, but the government doesn't care. Only when the left or migrants are offended do they step in with ironclad force. So there you can already see the principle itself is just a mask on their power doing what it wills. It has no standard of fairness, it's all arbitrary and made-up justification after the fact. And going by polling and pure demographics, the policies of most Western governments offend the majority of their own population, yet rather than seek to punish themselves as they should according to their own "hate speech" laws, they instead seek to censor the majority of the population.
I have often wondered what the outcome would be if some authority charges a person with the contrived sin of "hate speech" and then that person pipes up and says...."Well, YOUR speech, Mr. Authority, offends ME!"
Since offense being taken or not seems to be a very personal reaction, the person charged for this could just as well turn it around and say that they had been offended too. Then both would be "sinners", no?
anyone think that files from Seth Rich's laptop will be revealed today in the FOIA deadline to finally squelch the lunacy of Russiagate?🙄😂
Musk needs to get his priorities straight.
“Other ominous civil liberties developments” — Like perhaps the detention of Mahmoud Khalil, and the leaders, influence, and legislation that seek to enforce it, which is clearly a violation of the first amendment? Why are you so resistant to cover this topic?
Update: Matt did cover it. Glad to eat shit on this one.
Been wonky all morning -- and I'm in *Alaska*.
Lots of rage tweeters are losing their minds right now. Careful on the roads or upsetting your neighborhood progressive.
ATW livestream tonight?
Also, what does "More TK" mean?
it’s a newspaper talk for “to come” (like what we used to say in news rooms…when there were news rooms)
I figured it was something like that. I tried reverse-engineering it but couldn't come up with any reasonable candidates.
This of course provides an immediate, somewhat childish, joke.
"To come" would be "TC", yes? The (putatively somewhat childish) joke being that people memorialized a misspelling in an acronym?
Apologies. It's Monday morning and I'm knee-deep in bureaucracy and meetings and (mercifully, working from home) am desperate for...anything humorous or sane.
i’m vibing similarly this monday 😝 it’s TK b/c that’s an uncommon combination of letters. that made it easier to understand in a hurry.
i’m so old one of my first jobs was doing Linotype in a news rooms.
I remember those days. X-Acto knives!
Not so old but so experienced. My father was a book designer and art director and I grew up around a lot of that stuff.
Ah, the revolution in the (mid? late?) 1970s when computers began being used for typesetting?
Fair enough! I rather like obscure acronym etymology!
Thx , I wondered
This Substack was even named TK for a while...Taibbi explains better than I can here: https://www.racket.news/p/tk-news-is-now-racket
That is correct -- thank you for pointing that out -- I wondered why it was called "TK News".
Wow, all these unanswered questions getting resolved simultaneously! Kismet!
Better to have a screaming blip than strung out silence! Thanks
Like the little "waiting" animations on web pages to indicate that, "Something is actually working here, it's not dead. (Yet)"
Not one mention in your commentary about the arrest of Mahmoud Khalil, the Columbia graduate student arrested by ICE, and taken away to God knows where, in spite of the fact he has a green card? This incident should be right at the top of your list, but as usual, you assiduously avoid anything regarding Israel, the ongoing genocide, and the crackdown at Universities and other institutions for any criticism of Israel and their actions in Gaza and the West Bank. Do they have something on you Matt?
Promise made, promise kept! Thank you PRESIDENT TRUMP!!!
No matter how unconstitutional and morally wrong though he be in abducting a legal resident of our country. I thought we targeted criminals. What's that, Mahmoud Khalil supports Palestine and as such is a criminal? That's your bullshit logic. Piss off.
Lol. I see you like to use big words without knowing what they mean. Secretary of State can revoke green cards to those who support terrorist groups, like our friend Mahmoud supporting Hamas. Did you know that? I bet you didn't.
And nobody is telling Mahmoud to stop supporting Hamas. Once he is deported to whatever shithole he crawled out of, he can support Hamas there.
It must really piss you off that Trump is actually serious about confronting anti-Semitism and Jew-hatred. That sucks. For you.
Hopefully you now know more about green card holders. You're welcome.
Plus Canada elected another liberal. How stupid can a country be?
The Liberal Party of Canada elected a new leader (similar to how the DNC or RNC would in the US). Canada didn't have an election. We have no president as head of state, though, so Carney becomes Prime Minister, replacing Justin Trudeau, and has to win votes in the House of Commons to stay in power. It's the same as the British system. All that said, it's likely Carney will immediately call a general election to get a mandate from the voters rather than try to re-open Parliament.
No. Canada did not elect him. Ahem. You need to get your facts straight. Especially when you are talking about stupidity.
Mark Carney was put in place by the ruling Liberal Party as a leader-replacement when Justin Troodo resigned. Since Troodo had been PM, Carney as the new Liberal leader became PM by default. No Canadian election involved, my friend. There was a very limited Liberal party election, or so they tell us. Less than 150,000 voters. That was all.
Well, we elected Trump. (…because the alternative was so awful).
Well, the reality of Trump is turning out to be pretty awful too. You can have two terrible choices. I always expected that Matt and Walter would be able to cover that as well, but so far, they've chickened out.
What has he done that is awful? Please tell me. I'd like to know.