Vance and Hegseth Make a Good Debut for the Trump Administration in Europe

The comments of Vice President Vance and Defense Secretary Hegseth in Europe last week were a refreshing elaboration on President Trump’s well-known view that Europe, in both security and economic matters, has been standing over-complacently on the coattails of America.

The vice president had been preemptively disparaged by the bien pensants of Western Europe, like practically every American statesman since President Franklin D. Roosevelt, (whom they had the decency to recognize as a savior), with the exceptions of Presidents Kennedy and Obama, who seduced Europe — JFK by charm and elegance and Mr. Obama for essentially reasons of ancestry.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inTrump World

Michel Maisonneuve: Only an election can save Canada from the old, tired Liberals

With apologies to my friends in polling, I do not like polls. I am a bit surprised that, according to recent polls, the federal Conservative lead over the Liberals is shrinking, though I believe that a 27-point lead was never sustainable. What I don’t understand is what some Canadians do not get: it does not matter who becomes the new Liberal leader. They still will be Liberals with the same extremist progressive ideology, the same mismanagement of Canada’s resources and the same prioritization of the wrong things.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inCanada's Corrupt Liberal Government

Europe’s Leaders, Dazed by an Ally Acting Like an Adversary, Recalculate

Faced with undisguised hostility from the Trump administration, Europeans are preparing for what is shaping up to be a go-it-alone era.

For years, European leaders have fretted about reducing their dependence on a wayward United States. On Monday, at a hastily arranged meeting in Paris, the hand-wringing gave way to harried acceptance of a new world in which Europe’s most powerful ally has begun acting more like an adversary.

President Trump’s plan to negotiate a peace settlement in Ukraine with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, with neither the Ukrainians nor Europeans invited to take part, has forced dazed leaders in capitals like Berlin, London and Paris to confront a series of hard choices, painful trade-offs and costly new burdens.

So the emerging consensus narrative is to smear President Trump’s administration as “adversarial” for asking fellow NATO members to pony up their fair share if they want a seat at the table.

No pay no play was inevitable and they’ve known it for years.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inEurope, NATO, President Trump, USA

Poilievre sticks with ‘axe the tax,’ adds policy details to slogans as election nears

OTTAWA – The Conservatives’ favourite slogan — “axe the tax” — has been a rallying cry for the better part of three years as frustrated Canadians looked for relief from the rising cost of living.
But now, with key Liberal leadership candidates backing away from the federal consumer carbon price, some have been asking whether the Tories need to axe their slogan as well.

On Saturday, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre put the speculation to rest.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inConservative Party

Royal Winnipeg Ballet Fends Off Injun Attack!

Chief Sitting Tutu

‘We’ve been tokenized’: Royal Winnipeg Ballet’s entire Indigenous advisory circle resigns

Members of an Indigenous advisory committee at the Royal Winnipeg Ballet say they’re cutting ties with the organization after seven years.

The Indigenous advisory circle — comprising lawyer Danielle Morrison, two-spirit elder Albert McLeod and University of Winnipeg professor Kevin Lamoureaux — resigned en masse along with a board member via letter on Friday afternoon.

The advisory circle, formed in 2018, was intended to make Canada’s oldest ballet company “a more equitable, diverse and inclusive organization,” the ballet’s website says.

What the Hell? Why is cultural appropriation always a one-way street?

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted in"Cultural Appropriation"

Major retailers say Ontario families could pay hundreds more for groceries as new recycling costs balloon

The Retail Council of Canada says Ontario’s blue-box recycling program will cost companies $740 million in 2026 to run, nearly four times as much as when they shared the cost of curbside collection with municipalities before the program was privatized beginning in 2023.

The retail council is asking the provincial government to revamp the program to offset these costs for companies, which include any business or manufacturer whose materials end up in the blue box.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted in"Environmentalists"

Head of Social Security abruptly resigns after clash with Elon Musk over DOGE’s access to sensitive data

The acting commissioner of the Social Security Administration has quit after a disagreement with Elon Musk over the ‘First Buddy’ and DOGE attempting to access government records.

Musk, a ubiquitous presence beside President Trump early in his second term, has used DOGE in his quest to slash unnecessary waste, fraud and abuse from government.

Social security is no different, as Musk today shared staggering data claiming there are millions of dead Americans still eligible for social security payments.

WTF??? Elon Musk’s DOGE finds $4.7 trillion in Treasury payments on untraceable budget line – and no one knows where the money went

h/t Mauser

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted in"Deep State", WTF?

Canada as the 51st State? In Electoral Terms, Trump’s Idea Favors Democrats.

As President Trump looks north and repeatedly presses his case to absorb Canada as the “51st state,” politically minded Democrats who are otherwise outraged by almost everything else about his agenda find themselves contemplating a potential electoral boon should it ever happen.

Few in Washington take the prospect all that seriously, of course. Canada has made clear that it has no interest in joining the United States, and Mr. Trump seems unlikely to send in the 82nd Airborne Division to force the matter. But if the idea appeals to Mr. Trump’s grandiose sense of himself as an empire-building historic figure, it could also undercut his own party’s prospects.

We are a stereotype in the NYT’s world view.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inCanada, USA

Assisted Suicide Bill in the UK: From ‘Right to Die’ to ‘Duty to Die?’

Few recent pieces of British legislation have proved as controversial as the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, introduced by Labour MP Kim Leadbeater. Despite assisted suicide being decisively rejected by parliament multiple times in past years (including by 330-118 votes in 2015), Leadbeater has pushed on with her bill in the face of mounting opposition.

The bill was published only days before its second reading and one of its supposedly “robust” safeguards was a requirement for sign-off from a High Court judge for each individual case. For many MPs, who were denied the chance to take more time over this life-and-death issue, this so-called ‘safeguard’ was central to its appeal, and they saw judicial oversight as a vital check.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inMAiD Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide

All 5 Liberal leadership candidates clear final financial hurdle, turn to policies ahead of debate

All five Liberal leadership candidates say they’ve paid the final $125,000 due Monday evening that’s required to stay in the race. Now, ahead of English and French debates in Montreal next week, the contenders are rolling out more policy proposals to sway Canadians to join their side.

On Monday morning, the Liberal Party announced former TVA-Québec anchor Pierre Jobin would moderate the French leadership debate in Montreal on Feb. 24. The party also announced former CBC News host Hannah Thibedeau would moderate the English debate that will take on Feb. 25.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inCanada's Corrupt Liberal Government