Author: Blazingcatfur
WTF?
Earlier today, the B1 Bridge on the Karaj Northern Bypass in western Tehran, Iran was targeted in a U.S. and/or Israeli strike, amidst an uptempo in joint U.S.-Israeli strike operations, announced by U.S. President Donald J. Trump last night. pic.twitter.com/Gm0NA2RZOC
— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) April 2, 2026
h/t Mauser
Canadians could face tax hikes as Ottawa scrambles to fund defence target: report
The federal government should consider a one-to-two-point increase in the GST and slower growth in non-defence spending to finance a massive jump Canada’s military budget, according to a new report from the C.D. Howe Institute.
“Some combination of tax increases, spending cuts, or taking on more debt is required,” wrote authors Colin Busby and Nicholas Dahir.
The analysis warns that meeting Canada’s commitment to raise defence spending to five per cent of GDP by 2035 will require “hard fiscal choices,” including potential GST hikes and tighter limits on non-defence programs.
Trump doesn’t need to leave Nato. The threat itself boosts Russia
Before invading all of Ukraine in 2022, President Putin demanded the withdrawal of Nato forces from member states that were once part of the Kremlin’s sphere of influence.
Such a move would have left countries such as Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland more vulnerable to a Russian attack. Nato itself would also have been weakened, perhaps fatally. Unsurprisingly, the military alliance rejected Putin’s ultimatum.
Four years on, President Trump has given Putin hope that his demands might, at least partially, be met. Furious that Nato members in Europe will not assist the US attack on Iran, Trump said on Wednesday that he was “absolutely” considering withdrawing from the alliance.
Michael Higgins: Leftist media says moon mission is a colonial attack on Indigenous beliefs
Before beginning this article, let us all acknowledge that NASA’s Artemis II space mission is going to be travelling around unceded territory that may well be the traditional home of microbial lifeforms who have lived there peacefully for generations and have no wish to be disturbed, plundered or colonized by aggressive, invasive Western culture.
Such is the state of the “colonial outrage industry” these days that it can be tough when reading some articles — especially on April 1 — to decide whether or not they are a joke.
The madness is everywhere …
🚨'The BBC are insane!'
According to a show on BBC Radio 4, the Artemis 2 Moon mission raises "troubling moral questions" such as whether humanity risks repeating the mistakes of "colonial expansion".@JuliaHB1 pic.twitter.com/ksCVY4EQNi
— Talk (@TalkTV) April 1, 2026
Anti-Trump catastrophism is the real menace to the West
The cultural elite’s dream of an American defeat in Iran scares me far more than Trump’s premature claims of victory.
Snark really is all that President Trump’s critics have left. They greet his every utterance, whether made in the flesh or on Truth Social, with instant sarcastic derision. Their cliquish cynicism was on full display during Trump’s address to the nation on the Iran War last night. No sooner had Trump said the US was nearing victory than his opposing army of nay-sayers was gleefully crowing: ‘Nah, it’s a disaster, we’re screwed.’
LILLEY: PM Carney should heed Poilievre’s call for gas tax cuts
Cut taxes and cut waste to bring down the cost of gas. That’s the message from Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre and it’s really too bad his proposal will fall on Mark Carney’s deaf ears.
As gas prices reach for the stars, this is one of Poilievre’s policies that the prime minister should be stealing.
‘Protected Status’ for Muslims — UK’s Lesson U.S. Can’t Ignore
In a development raising red flags across the Atlantic, Britain’s Labour government has appointed the UK’s first “anti-Muslim hostility tsar” and adopted a new definition of anti-Muslim hostility — reframed from “Islamophobia” — as part of its £4 million social cohesion strategy.
The definition describes such hostility as “a type of racism” targeting “expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness,” including prejudicial stereotyping that could incite hatred.
‘I was lynched’: Why astronaut Julie Payette flamed out as governor general
Once a friend of the former astronaut-turned-viceregal, John Fraser describes how Julie Payette crumbled into “perpetual petulance,” in this excerpt from his new book, The Governors General: An Intimate History of Canada’s Highest Office.
It should not have ended this way. It should have ended with a national celebration of an amazing, vibrant, and still young woman who managed to surmount all the challenges in a mostly male world; who managed to storm through a mostly male engineering school right up to the day she graduated summa cum laude; who managed to get through mostly male selection and training at the Canadian Space Agency; and ultimately, who managed two trips to outer space with mostly American male crews at NASA. As if all that were not enough, she also managed to crown this extraordinary record by being appointed governor general, the highest and noblest position Canada has to offer its most outstanding citizens.
Deadline issued for UFO videos as Congress warns of ‘very real threat’ to US
Lawmakers have set a strict deadline for federal agencies to hand over secret UFO videos as officials warn the unidentified objects could threaten US forces.
Republican Rep Anna Paulina Luna penned a letter to the US Secretary of War requesting 46 specific Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP) videos, telling Pete Hegseth to deliver them no later than April 14, 2026.
The requested footage includes dozens of military-recorded encounters showing spherical, cigar-shaped and Tic Tac-like objects spotted over war zones, oceans and sensitive airspace around the world.
MCTEAGUE: Green delusions of new NDP leader Avi Lewis
If you were trying to develop a detailed policy program to get Canada back on track, you could do worse than looking at the proposals of the new NDP leader, and self-described ‘Eco-Socialist,’ Avi Lewis and doing the exact opposite.
Lewis advocates for a rapid shift away from hydrocarbon energy by means of a Canadian “Green New Deal,” which he says is both a moral imperative and an economic opportunity.
AfD Launches ‘Knife App’ as Berlin Violence Surges
The Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) has launched an interactive online tool tracking knife attacks across Berlin, as the party seeks to make rising violent crime a central issue in the city’s election campaign.
The so-called “knife app” provides a detailed overview of incidents reported by police over the past 30 days, including an interactive map showing where attacks occurred, the number of injuries, and comparisons with official police crime statistics (PKS).
Doug Ford and Mark Carney have bought Ontario some time. But the hard choices lie ahead
Mark Carney and Doug Ford’s deal to cut development charges by up to 50 per cent for three years won’t, by itself, solve the province’s housing crisis. But it will provide much-needed temporary relief to homebuyers and renters.
Housing news has not been all bad in recent years, as the drop in rents and resale home prices has been welcome news for Ontario renters and buyers. However, even as prices fell, housing starts declined, and pre-construction sales dried up in the GTA because construction costs have not kept pace with prices. This has created a paradox: homes remain too expensive for most middle-class buyers, yet not expensive enough to build profitably.
US jibes at Royal Navy are uncomfortable because they have substance
While Pete Hegseth has mocked the ‘big, bad Royal Navy’, the First Sea Lord has sounded the alarm about its readiness
The US defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, had his tongue firmly in his cheek when he singled out the “big, bad Royal Navy” in a recent press update on the US-Israeli war against Iran.
Hegseth’s sarcastic comment was the latest in a long line of jibes against the capabilities and readiness of the British Royal Navy.
However, less political figures have also warned of the perilous state of the UK’s naval warfare force, including the First Sea Lord, the highest-ranking naval officer on active duty.
James Moore: The next election is about one big thing
James Moore is a former federal cabinet minister under prime minister Stephen Harper, and is a contributing columnist for CTVNews.ca.
Now that the federal New Democrats have selected Avi Lewis as their leader, Canadians know the leadership offering that they will be presented by the major parties in the next campaign.
Now the race is on between the parties to try to frame the ‘ballot question’ of the next campaign – whenever that may be. But at this moment, given the climate and context in which we live, the ballot question for the next campaign seems quite cemented.