Best Of

'Carney began the day in Paris with a visit to the rebuilt Notre-Dame Cathedral before sitting down for a private lunch with French President Emmanuel Macron at the Palais de l'Élysée.

"It is more important than ever for Canada to strengthen its ties with its reliable allies, such as France," Carney said in French before lunch with Macron.

Describing Canada as the "most European of non-European countries," Carney told Macron he is "determined, like you, to maintain the most positive possible relations with the United States.

"We must strengthen our diplomatic ties to address a world that is increasingly unstable and dangerous," he said. "Canada is a reliable, trustworthy and strong partner of France, which shares our values and lives them through action, during this age of economic and geopolitical crisis."

Ouch. 'Carney will meet with the King before heading to London where he will sit down with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in London. '

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/carney-arrives-in-uk-1.7485534

Why ouch

Perfectly normal response by Carney and this is a moment for France, the UK, the EU, Canada, Iceland, Norway and others to come together in a new defence and trading partnership

Opposition to abortion is more about people’s negative views of casual sex than about protecting the sanctity of life: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/19485506251320681 Abstract reads:

Pro-life individuals often emphasize sanctity-of-life concerns as driving their opposition to abortion. This implies the straightforward prediction that the more strongly people oppose abortion for such reasons (e.g., “abortion is murder”), the more they will endorse policies preventing abortions (face-value account). An alternative suggests that typically nonconscious reproductive goals (e.g., discouraging casual sex) influence policy preferences; this strategic account predicts a different pattern of policy endorsement: all else equal, abortion opponents will prioritize abortion-preventing policies discouraging casual sex. A pilot study and two preregistered U.S. experiments (N = 1,960) provide relatively greater support for the strategic account: the strongest abortion opponents more strongly endorse policies that prevent abortions by discouraging casual sex (e.g., abortion bans, abstinence-only sex education) over policies that do not (comprehensive sex education)—even controlling for conservatism and religiosity. Commonly voiced arguments against abortion may be more rhetorically effective but less reflective of genuine drivers underlying arguers’ beliefs.

I'm sure that's right: abortion activists in the US are routinely against providing access to condoms or to sex education, despite the fact that these things are shown to have a very positive impact on pregnancy and abortion rates.

Again, I will ask, if Trump was a Russian asset what would he have done differently?

Scoop: The Trump administration has discussed recognizing Crimea as Russian territory - & pushing the UN to do the same - to get a peace deal across the finish line.

(No decisions have been formally made) w/ @mchalfant16:

https://x.com/ShelbyTalcott/status/1901700671860043898

Even Farage has said Putin should get Crimea as the minimum for a peace deal

https://national.thelead.uk/p/nigel-farage-has-exposed-his-true

What do you mean 'Even Farage'? He is no friend of Ukraine at all and has sided with the Tangerine Toddler on almost everything to do with Ukraine and Russia.

'Even Farage...' in that context is like saying 'Even HYUFD says nice things about the Tories sometimes'

hahahaha

Trump invited Conor McGregor, the Reform-y Tomm-eh esque UFC dude in to the WH and the Oval Office, for St Paddy's Day, and left the Teseaichoichscshuckseoischyeiaghhrshffffqooowooo fuming half a mile down the road

I know Donald Trump is not always to everyone's taste, on PB, but he can be fucking funny

I'm calling you out on this. There is nothing funny about inviting a convicted rapist to the White House. Imagine - go on, you're a writer, you can do it - one of the women or girls close to you, someone you care about a lot and feel protective towards, that they've been raped and that they have to see their rapist admired and celebrated because he has a nice line in suits and repartee.

It's not hard to imagine. And if you can't ask one of the many women you know how they'd feel about their rapist being treated in this way. How would you feel about a Conor McGregor if it was someone you loved he hurt? I have been raped. I have seen my rapist treated as a great fellow because he could charm. They didn't see the violence and abuse of an inexperienced and naive girls that followed that charm. Nor the shame and guilt and fear that I felt afterwards. And what happened to me has happened to pretty much every woman, in some form or other. And we are absolutely fucking sick of seeing the appalling men who treat us in this way dismissed by others because, hey, they are funny and sharp.

We don't want to be victims. We wish - Christ we wish it every fucking day since we were 11 or so - that we weren't victims, that we didn't have to take steps all the time to avoid this. And we wish that when we slip up we got the benefit of the doubt. But no it's the abusers, those who turn a blind eye, those who egg them on and those who do "it's only a bit of banter/he's a nice guy really" who get the benefit of the doubt.

You are not the only man on here who gives the impression - maybe unthinkingly - that women are somehow not fully human, only really support animals for men, the people who fit in with what's left when men have got what they want first. This forum frankly has one hell of a blind spot about the woman's perspective on life. But it is precisely because of attitudes like this that people like Trump get away with behaviour which is disgusting, not decent and should have no place in any country trying to be civilised.

I like you Leon. But sometimes you really need to think about what you say.

And if I sound furious, put it down to having been ill for longer than is pleasant, if that helps. It'll have a word - hysteria. That'll be the one.

I gave this a like although in truth I didn't agree with all of it, specifically the phrase "I like you Leon."

What the Democrats primarily need is someone who can articulate a confident and cohesive vision for America, while concisely and charismatically being able to rebut Trumpism.

The problem they have at the moment, I think, is that they are too associated (rightly or wrongly) with the whiff of managed American decline and a perception that they are too far removed from the average American. They need someone with the common touch, who can energise but actually authentically sell a future. They are so vulnerable to the Trumpian claims that they are out of touch, incompetent establishment figures and they need to combat it. They could do with a few more AOCs I think - not necessarily for her politics but just a bit more of an authentic backstory and vision.

You hear about decline but the US is amongst the richest countries on Earth with a staggeringly resilient and dynamic economy. Its biggest problem is gross inequality such that large numbers of people don't share in its success. It ought to be possible for the Dems to develop a strong platform which addresses this. If they do it will stand in positive contrast to the GOP who seek to patronise and exploit the 'left behind' rather than help them.

1992 Dems - 'it's the economy, stupid'

2024 Dems - trans rights, slavery reparations, unrestricted abortion, more immigration

In 2016 Bill Clinton warned the Dems they were losing working class votes:

Bill Clinton was alarmed by the dropoff in support for his wife among white working class voters, but that his concerns went unheeded within the campaign staff.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shattered:_Inside_Hillary_Clinton's_Doomed_Campaign#Contents

In 2024 the Dems extended that loss of support to Hispanic working class voters.

There is a need for the Democrats to rebuild a successful voter coalition. I think some of the culture war stuff is a little overstated - Harris didn’t make it a large part of her platform - but it is true that the perception and indeed the reality in certain places is that the Democrats have been focussing on these kinds of issues to the detriment of the bread and butter issues that matter to most voters.

The reason why populist politics has taken off in the West is because, at the very basic level, many people do not feel their politicians are interested in their concerns and they do not feel that they have a stake in society. They feel increasingly pushed to the margins, left behind economically, priced out of a good standard of living, and told that their concerns are not legitimate.

This actually transcends the left-right spectrum but has been more deftly exploited by the populist right.

Mainstream parties are still trying to work out how to counter this.

I suspect that the Democrats might actually benefit from talking more radically about how to get the econony and society working for everyone rather than sticking to their usual pitch.

hahahaha

Trump invited Conor McGregor, the Reform-y Tomm-eh esque UFC dude in to the WH and the Oval Office, for St Paddy's Day, and left the Teseaichoichscshuckseoischyeiaghhrshffffqooowooo fuming half a mile down the road

I know Donald Trump is not always to everyone's taste, on PB, but he can be fucking funny

I'm calling you out on this. There is nothing funny about inviting a convicted rapist to the White House. Imagine - go on, you're a writer, you can do it - one of the women or girls close to you, someone you care about a lot and feel protective towards, that they've been raped and that they have to see their rapist admired and celebrated because he has a nice line in suits and repartee.

It's not hard to imagine. And if you can't ask one of the many women you know how they'd feel about their rapist being treated in this way. How would you feel about a Conor McGregor if it was someone you loved he hurt? I have been raped. I have seen my rapist treated as a great fellow because he could charm. They didn't see the violence and abuse of an inexperienced and naive girls that followed that charm. Nor the shame and guilt and fear that I felt afterwards. And what happened to me has happened to pretty much every woman, in some form or other. And we are absolutely fucking sick of seeing the appalling men who treat us in this way dismissed by others because, hey, they are funny and sharp.

We don't want to be victims. We wish - Christ we wish it every fucking day since we were 11 or so - that we weren't victims, that we didn't have to take steps all the time to avoid this. And we wish that when we slip up we got the benefit of the doubt. But no it's the abusers, those who turn a blind eye, those who egg them on and those who do "it's only a bit of banter/he's a nice guy really" who get the benefit of the doubt.

You are not the only man on here who gives the impression - maybe unthinkingly - that women are somehow not fully human, only really support animals for men, the people who fit in with what's left when men have got what they want first. This forum frankly has one hell of a blind spot about the woman's perspective on life. But it is precisely because of attitudes like this that people like Trump get away with behaviour which is disgusting, not decent and should have no place in any country trying to be civilised.

I like you Leon. But sometimes you really need to think about what you say.

And if I sound furious, put it down to having been ill for longer than is pleasant, if that helps. It'll have a word - hysteria. That'll be the one.

It's the love of the transgressor. The mad, bad, boy. The "truly free". The infantile worship of the "propaganda of the deed". The one not held back by "bourgeoise morality".

Hunter Biden?

We are getting to the point where we need to call Prevent for you.

Or should we wait for the Pizza Parlour Basement phase?

No, PB has reached the insane point when anyone who dares to mention an awkward fact that might discomfort the Dems, the American Left, the anti-Trumpers - is regarded as a Nazi, a conspiracy theorist, and a Trumpite coup-encourager, and so forth. Rather than someone pointing out that there are two sides to this story, and there is a reason so many Americans voted Trump and abhor the Democrats, they are not all Hitler-its thickos, even at the same time as Trump IS a mad buffoon who should be nowhere near the Oval


We saw the same shit vis a vis Ukraine, we see it here, it’s just a sad dumbing down of the site, as inability to do nuance, a kind of dim, morally shrill groupthink, and it is getting REALLY old

You never learn do you. You were suspended from the site for a week for your attitude and behaviour. Things don't change much. How many days is it now?

I would like to think that the moderators are running out of patience with you.

OGH has told me to permanently ban Leon if he breaks the site rules again or goes down the white babies angle.

OGH isn't going to be out of pocket because Leon cannot follow the rules.

hahahaha

Trump invited Conor McGregor, the Reform-y Tomm-eh esque UFC dude in to the WH and the Oval Office, for St Paddy's Day, and left the Teseaichoichscshuckseoischyeiaghhrshffffqooowooo fuming half a mile down the road

I know Donald Trump is not always to everyone's taste, on PB, but he can be fucking funny

I'm calling you out on this. There is nothing funny about inviting a convicted rapist to the White House. Imagine - go on, you're a writer, you can do it - one of the women or girls close to you, someone you care about a lot and feel protective towards, that they've been raped and that they have to see their rapist admired and celebrated because he has a nice line in suits and repartee.

It's not hard to imagine. And if you can't ask one of the many women you know how they'd feel about their rapist being treated in this way. How would you feel about a Conor McGregor if it was someone you loved he hurt? I have been raped. I have seen my rapist treated as a great fellow because he could charm. They didn't see the violence and abuse of an inexperienced and naive girls that followed that charm. Nor the shame and guilt and fear that I felt afterwards. And what happened to me has happened to pretty much every woman, in some form or other. And we are absolutely fucking sick of seeing the appalling men who treat us in this way dismissed by others because, hey, they are funny and sharp.

We don't want to be victims. We wish - Christ we wish it every fucking day since we were 11 or so - that we weren't victims, that we didn't have to take steps all the time to avoid this. And we wish that when we slip up we got the benefit of the doubt. But no it's the abusers, those who turn a blind eye, those who egg them on and those who do "it's only a bit of banter/he's a nice guy really" who get the benefit of the doubt.

You are not the only man on here who gives the impression - maybe unthinkingly - that women are somehow not fully human, only really support animals for men, the people who fit in with what's left when men have got what they want first. This forum frankly has one hell of a blind spot about the woman's perspective on life. But it is precisely because of attitudes like this that people like Trump get away with behaviour which is disgusting, not decent and should have no place in any country trying to be civilised.

I like you Leon. But sometimes you really need to think about what you say.

And if I sound furious, put it down to having been ill for longer than is pleasant, if that helps. It'll have a word - hysteria. That'll be the one.

Of course you make a reasonable point, BUT Joe Biden has been persuasively accused of pedophile behaviour by his own daughter. And I don’t remember you freaking out every day during his presidency as he sat there in the White House. Indeed, I don’t recall your ever mentioning it (tho I might be wrong)

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/ashley-biden-diary-claims/

Plus the other sleaze swirling around Joe and Hunter, and Bill “Epstein” Clinton before them?

The entire American political elite seems deeply dodgy to me, whether you look left or right, Trump or Biden, we might as well extract some dark humour from the grisliness

On the other hand, I am very sorry to hear of your continuing ill health, I hope you get better

Today is the first time I have heard of those accusations against Biden.

I could list the number of headers I have written on here about child abuse - and the way we do not take it seriously. I could show you stuff I've written about Staley and Epstein. (I have seen a list of people in Epstein's telephone book and I've even investigated some of them.) And all the stuff I've written about abuse of women. I have gone on about it because it matters - even in the face of yawns, the "she's off again" and on some occasions threads being diverted into discussions about the sexual prowess of PB'ers.

If you want black humour about men's sexual behaviour I can provide plenty of that. Are you sure you're ready for it?

And I also have a life, work and a family. But a look at my oeuvre on here would show you that the abuse of the vulnerable is something I really care about.

So as the Scots say "get tae fuck".