I think I need to start a regular feature about the comments and cartoons I see on our opposition leader Pierre Poilievre. I must admit, I seldom actually follow much of what he talks about, so I rely on these social media zingers to keep up with what he is doing. Enjoy!
Black Cloud Six on the Iran War
A great piece here from Black Cloud Six, on how the American way of war is failing again. This is how he begins:
....Generally speaking, American employment of military power is characterized by a number of traits that can trace themselves back to the Second World War: unparalleled industrial capability, incredible logistics, the use of airpower as a panacea, allies as a tool rather than a partner, cultural isolation, technological solutionism, firepower as the first solution to tactical problems, and not a little amount of hubris and exceptionalism. We see all these being applied now during Trump’s war against Iran, but their threads run through most US military actions since 1945, including during “my” war in Afghanistan. In many ways, the United States is still attempting to apply the lessons learned during World War II to conflicts that are dramatically different in nature or scale....
The whole piece is well worth reading, but I particularly appreciated this part:
...We see all of this in full display right now, with Trump’s war with Iran. The United States launched extensive airstrikes against Iranian infrastructure and decapitation strikes against its leadership. Conventional Iranian military capabilities were wiped out and Trump himself was quick to claim a resounding victory. Yet the enemy has a vote and the American way of war was ill-suited to bring Iran to heel without an extensive, risky, and potentially expensive ground operation. Hubris and exceptionalism, personified by a strutting Pete Hegseth, waded in and failed to account for the Iranian regime’s resilience and ability to conduct unconventional warfare. Consequences and second- and third-order effects were obviously disregarded as Trump watched video of airstrike after airstrike. Today, though, “victory” seems far off.
This is because US strategy cannot work. Bombing alone has rarely, if ever, produced the clean political surrender American planners seem to expect from it, and the United States seems to have developed few other options. Iran has become the master at creating unintended consequences, both with its drone and missile strikes and with small-scale operations in the Strait of Hormuz. The United States has alienated its usual allies — allies that possess minesweeping capabilities beyond those possessed by the US Navy — and is left virtually alone confronting Iran....
The Montreal Canadiens are set to start their series against the Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday. To win this series, the Habs will need Cole Caufield to step up and be an X-factor.
thesickpodcast.com/habs-round-2...
TL,DW: DRM News reports "Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney addresses the European Political Community Summit in Armenia, highlighting Canada-Europe strategic ties, support for Ukraine, and a shifting global order. He emphasizes “strategic autonomy,” critical minerals, and defense cooperation, while warning that the international system is being reshaped by geopolitical and economic disruptions."
Now that Carney has a majority, the Liberals were able to take control of Parliamentary Committees for the first time in seven years. And they immediately took away a platform for opposition grandstanding by moving the Ethics committee and the Health committee to closed-door sessions. From the reaction of opposition parties, you would think the sky had fallen:
Chantal Hébert on Liberals moving to go in camera in four committees: "Of all of the things you can think that were smart to do this week, getting a majority and using it to do this is probably one of the dumbest moves that one has seen in a long long time."
In Routine Proceedings, journalist Dale Smith writes:
....the two committees in question have been in the throes of attempted witch hunt studies that the Conservatives have been trying to orchestrate (with the gleeful assistance of the Bloc, who are happy to embarrass the government any day of the week)...
...Suffice to say, I’m not convinced that moving procedural wrangling in camera is a sign that democracy is under threat, and there was a whole lot of this very same thing when the Conservatives had a majority on committees (and they turned those committees into branch plants of ministers’ offices). They may try to cast themselves as heroes for inventing scandals, but I remain unconvinced that this is a danger to parliamentary democracy just yet.
The news today was pretty grim - Iran War blockages until summer so the world economy is toast. But there were some pretty good "zingers" today too!
Carney in the House
"a premier who picks up my phone call" Ouch!
Pierre Poilievre: This Liberal PM has been wrong about every major economic issue of the last decade
Mark Carney: Wrong on crypto, wrong on Brexit ... You know what this government is right on? Cooperative federalism. It's about working with Ontario -- a Premier that picks up my phone call
TL,DW: It was a good speech, apparently written at least partly by Charles himself. And both Democrats and Republicans enthusiastically applauded its themes of democracy, rule of law, diversity, integration, respect for all religions, service to the world, the importance of peace over war, and concern for the environment. In other words, everything Trump and all the Congressional Republicans have denied, trivialized, downgraded or trashed.
🔴 God Save the King. 👑
EPIC. 👌🏼
After spending an entire speech throwing subtle jabs at them, in that suave, diplomatic British style ... they cluelessly gave him multiple standing ovations. 😄
Carney's anniversary
Its been a year since Carney was elected, so he is doing interviews and here's a good one:
TL,DW (too long, didn't watch): Its a good interview covering a wide range of topics - the Sovereign Wealth Fund, the Iran War, the need to strengthen our military and alliances with other northern countries, and to broaden our relationships with countries around the world. Regarding CUSMA, we need a good deal in the right time, but we don't need to chase a smaller deal that would hamper our larger interests, and remembering that unless the deal is aligned with the interests of the United States, its not clear that they would respect it. Canada needs to be clear about what it stands for, and where there are opportunities; President Trump can see through obsequiousness. A lot of countries rushed into deals and aren't pleased now with their deals.
I thought this was the most interesting part:
CARNEY: A lot of countries rushed into deals with the US -- they weren't really worth the paper they were written on
ARSENAULT: You don't think there are any [countries pleased with their deal]?
CARNEY: Certainly not in private
I have said for years the secret of Trump's appeal is that his followers worship him as The Golden Calf - because he has no philosophy of his own, he can just reflect his followers' own grandiose autocracy combined with racist superiority. And they love him for it.
Now I think Poilievre has decided to model his behaviour after what worked so well for Trump - lying, boasting, promising, pandering. Poilievre doesn't have Trump's projected charm and bombastic hail-fellow-well-met insouciance, but the rest of it he can do!
First, Poilievre is now lying about Carney all the time:
Pierre Poilievre: "I think the Prime Minister should get away from all of the theatrics, the YouTube videos, and the distractions and tell us how he's going to achieve [tariff free trade]."
(Pierre's posted six YouTube videos this week to Mark Carney's one...)
