The bill itself was full of maximally authoritarian bullshit, causing all the civil society groups to oppose it as loudly as they did. It remains around in some form, last I heard, still theoretically in the legislative process somewhere, a continuing threat to us all should the Liberals feel confident enough to try and pass any of the worst parts of it into law.

It might’ve been an attempt to appease Trump, or it might’ve been pushed by some Trumpist infiltrator within the party, I don’t know. Optimistically, we can hope that Carney wasn’t really aware of what was in it, and on a topic outside his areas of expertise he was simply misled by people he mistakenly chose to trust. In any case I’m sure he will have learned from the experience.

Him I took the time to answer. You I will block.

Read a few more words there and find out. He didn’t write that legislation, but he approved of it, has had the power to stop it all along, and has not renounced it.

I guess it serves as a data point indicating what the percentage of Americans who will agree to the craziest shit available on the opinion poll answers is up to now. Seems to me it was as low as 10% not too many years ago.

It’s a good speech. He’d be a great prime minister if he weren’t so fond of fossil fuels, military spending (as opposed to actual defence,) and authoritarian bullshit in the name of security as exemplified in the infamous “border security” bill.

Oh, Doug Ford. Not the Ford Motor Company, which is the Ford I would’ve thought more likely to complain about having a competitor that’s actually capable of selling EVs at reasonable prices.

The main problem is that 49000 is much too small a number given the rate at which Canadians are buying cars.

“Sweden, Canada, and the Netherlands have confirmed deployments as part of the same multinational operation” according to Newsweek, citing “multiple outlets.” I’m pretty sure I heard about it on CBC radio news.

I don’t know, but it would be pretty strange for Canada to be left out.

I don’t trust Mark Carney much and he’s doing a shit job of managing things in Canada so far, but if there’s one thing he ought to be good at it’s negotiating a trade agreement with China.

Toronto police say … Anyone with information is asked to contact Toronto police

Apparently the CBC, normally the closest thing Canada has to good journalism, knows only what the police have told them about this event.

Meanwhile, how much is their media division spending to increase excessive screen time among teens and tweens?

Is there a word for the system of government where a country is ruled by American oil companies? … oh yeah, that’s it, “colonialism.” Well, maybe it will work out better this time, with such enlightened and competent American leadership to organize it.

So, higher oil prices then. Perhaps it will also make Mark Carney pause for a moment and try to get a little more in return before he inevitably gives in to US demands to buy their fighter jets.

Doug Ford says it will “boost the economy.” More commuting = more gasoline sales = more economy, I guess.

“It’s hard to see as an economist how taking money away from the big grocers will then also lead to lower prices.”

Is it really, though? Finding some way to re-introduce to this market what we used to know as “competition” — which was once much beloved of economists — would do exactly that. But I guess that idea is too far-fetched to even come into the discussion. I only wonder how far this code of conduct goes in the opposite direction. The ruling cartel will continue to have its way.

GNU Taler is based in Europe, I believe. But seeing as it’s free software there’s no reason not to use it in Canada.

Mr. Singh does not seem to be a megalomaniac; he comes across as a genuinely nice guy. But he was not the leader I believe we need — at least not from what we could see from media coverage and the party’s own communications. Personally I don’t give a damn about the sex, religion, or “race” of people I vote for, and I think even now among the electorate at large such factors are greatly outweighed by more relevant considerations. I want a leader who can convincingly explain in detail economics and what’s wrong with it, environmentalism and why it matters, how socialism could transform Canada, and why we should want it to. Then they might have a chance to recruit people at the grassroots level and revitalize the party. Too much to ask? Maybe, but this thread is about optimism.

That’s my kind of optimism. I hope the next leader also realizes that it’s not all about the leader. Their job will be to rebuild the party from the bottom up.

That seems pretty meaningless unless you compare it with numbers from other years.

Sure, you’ve got to consider both sides of the equation: Use your military might to plunder distant lands faster and harder than their armies are able to plunder your own land. It’s the fiscally prudent way to run things.

It’s an expensive business to be in. If the military is going to turn a profit we’ll need to start looking for better wars to get involved in, ones that really maximize the opportunities for plunder.