O/T:- Trump Presidency 2.0 [hic sunt dracones]

[andy6025]

I said a while back that Donald Trump?s bullsh*tery over invading Canada and Greenland was all a ruse to get us to buy shi*t tons of weapons, and that not only would we fall for it, but we?d all cheer our Down syndrome little brains out over it.

Well, it so happens that I was right yet again.

Not only can we absolutely not afford this, but we have so many other spending priorities at the moment - our infrastructure is crumbling, the east has long beaten us hands down when it comes to high speed transportation and telecommunications, homelessness and lack of housing (not just affordable housing) means that no young or even middle aged people can dream of even buying something as simple as a home if they do not already have one. Jobless rates are increasing fast, and the cost of food is astronomical. And there so many other problems that also desperately need addressing.

And yet I bet you all cannot wait to blow our wads on useless piles of junk.

THIS is exactly what happens when our politicians are all from the uniparty, and our media choruses the same positions across all fronts without allowing any dissenting viewpoints anywhere near the airwaves. People become mind numbingly stupid and cannot fathom a better way. They lose all choice because they cannot even dream that they have one.

[andy6025]

Article to accompany the above rant.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/rea...view-1.7545303

[i961pie]

I said a while back that Donald Trump?s bullsh*tery over invading Canada and Greenland was all a ruse to get us to buy shi*t tons of weapons, and that not only would we fall for it, but we?d all cheer our Down syndrome little brains out over it.

Well, it so happens that I was right yet again.

The ego has landed.

[Jampie]

I said a while back that Donald Trump?s bullsh*tery over invading Canada and Greenland was all a ruse to get us to buy shi*t tons of weapons, and that not only would we fall for it, but we?d all cheer our Down syndrome little brains out over it.

Well, it so happens that I was right yet again.

Not only can we absolutely not afford this, but we have so many other spending priorities at the moment - our infrastructure is crumbling, the east has long beaten us hands down when it comes to high speed transportation and telecommunications, homelessness and lack of housing (not just affordable housing) means that no young or even middle aged people can dream of even buying something as simple as a home if they do not already have one. Jobless rates are increasing fast, and the cost of food is astronomical. And there so many other problems that also desperately need addressing.

And yet I bet you all cannot wait to blow our wads on useless piles of junk.

THIS is exactly what happens when our politicians are all from the uniparty, and our media choruses the same positions across all fronts without allowing any dissenting viewpoints anywhere near the airwaves. People become mind numbingly stupid and cannot fathom a better way. They lose all choice because they cannot even dream that they have one.

Canadian defence spending is up to a whopping 1.37% of GDP... Your article doesn't specify a new target but presumably the already-committed 2% will be it. While you've every right of course to claim every last dollar of that is wasted (I strongly disagree, but hey we can't always agree on everything can we), there are obviously a lot of other spending priorities that are higher and eating your budget.

I am also sceptical as ever of claims that trump's continual random mouthings-off are part of any kind of strategy whatsoever. If he was trying to get people to buy more US-made military gear he's failed miserably with his "pee off all of your allies and show the world you're an unreliable security partner" shtick. As evidenced by your article in which Carney declares buying so much US kit to be "not smart".

[andy6025]

Canadian defence spending is up to a whopping 1.37% of GDP... Your article doesn't specify a new target but presumably the already-committed 2% will be it. While you've every right of course to claim every last dollar of that is wasted (I strongly disagree, but hey we can't always agree on everything can we), there are obviously a lot of other spending priorities that are higher and eating your budget.

I am also sceptical as ever of claims that trump's continual random mouthings-off are part of any kind of strategy whatsoever. If he was trying to get people to buy more US-made military gear he's failed miserably with his "pee off all of your allies and show the world you're an unreliable security partner" shtick. As evidenced by your article in which Carney declares buying so much US kit to be "not smart".

While I will certainly agree that Trump is no grand strategist, I think there is some method to his madness. I think it is less the case that he is pimping for the US defence industry in particular, and instead pushing for a significant reduction in US military presence abroad. He has made no secret of his belief, right or wrong, that he thinks the US is footing the bill as world police and that he believes the rest of the west ought to step up in their stead. The outgoing NATO chief even recently praised Trump as having been responsible for a significant boost on NATO military spending among non-US states. And Trump has said he wants the same again.

While Carney publicly says he wants to steer new funding away from US manufacturers, a claim that is met with much fanfare, what actually happens may well be different, as indicated by our proposed plan to give Lockheed Martin $5B for missiles that we will never fire, but may well give away for some lost cause.

https://thedefensepost.com/2025/03/1...ocurement/amp/

[andy6025]

As for the spending target, what Trump and Rutte are pushing for is 5% of GDP, as opposed to Canada’s current 1.37%. That’s almost quadrupling our defense budget.

This is no small potatoes. Canada’s total government spending is around 40% of GDP. This would make military spending move to a whopping 12.5% of government expenditures instead of around the current 3.5%. That is no small potatoes. That would require a massive tax increases, massive debt or massive austerity. And as I said, I think we should have much more important priorities for things upon which to increase our spending.

[SwalePie]

US Trade Court blocks Trump Tariffs

"A US federal court has blocked President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs, in a major blow to a key part of his economic policies.

The Court of International Trade ruled that an emergency law invoked by the White House does not give the president unilateral authority to impose tariffs on nearly every country...."

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c8xgdj9kyero

[Mud Pie]

our

Notts County? Russia? England?

You generously ceded Ukraine to Moscow and Canada/Alberta to Trump before, I'm curious as to what collective you call your own, and if there are any circumstances you'd bother defending it.

From what you've articulated (at GREAT length on here for some reason), it seems you'd just have given Wimbledon the final playoff spot because they wanted it and have bigger players than Notts.

[Jampie]

Yeah the whole "the US has unfairly footed the bill for western / global security" is one thing I am in 100% agreement with Trump on. He isn't wrong all the time... stopped clock and all that.

However I think 5% of GDP is an obscene level for peacetime - that's the kind of budget you push into when you're deep in a cold war that you honestly believe will inevitably go hot. 2%, maybe up to 3% for some nations in particular situations (e.g. bordering Russia) should be more than enough for the democratic world to hold the totalitarian world at bay. Until they actually go to war. Then higher will be necessary, unfortunately.

Regarding moving away from US manufacturers, I think this will now be a medium to long term trend (next 5-15 years) for democracies. The idea that the support supply chain for your defence forces could be switched off at a moment's notice by a man like Trump is bound to give people pause. However, we all have plans and orders in place, so it will take a while for this to show up on Lockheed's bottom line.

[Jampie]

US Trade Court blocks Trump Tariffs

"A US federal court has blocked President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs, in a major blow to a key part of his economic policies.

The Court of International Trade ruled that an emergency law invoked by the White House does not give the president unilateral authority to impose tariffs on nearly every country...."

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c8xgdj9kyero

Yeah been waiting for this. He'll take it all the way to the supreme court, who, based on what the actual law says, should also ditch his tariffs, but given how they've behaved since his last presidency... who the hell knows how they'll rule. The whole country's gone insane.

So we could seriously have the situation later this year where Trump's tariffs are just gone, while all the reciprocal tariffs other countries have put up are still in place, and his "government" is in the brilliant position of having to politely ask for those to be removed, without so much as a whiff of a bargaining chip or a stick... and asking this of a whole slew of governments and countries they've just offended and p'd off.

I'm sure his supporters will say this is all part of his grand master plan. Including the recession that will be announced at the end of this quarter.