I say annex Blue States. I am defining Blue by this map. Thanks to the latest election we have 2 more Blue State governors and that makes 25-25 so a 50-50 divide, but not economically. Would Canada add on 25 US states. We see by the examples of Alaska and Hawaii that the states do not really need to be contiguous. Who would fund the US military then? Texas and Florida and some other much smaller GDPs.
I’m not offended if Canada takes the blue states, purple states, all states and makes us one territory. I just want Canada to take us. I miss civility.
In a recent Gallup Poll, 40% of American women 15-44 said they would leave the US for good if they could. However, that would be around 26 million women, and Canada could probably not absorb them all. There are other nice countries too, that people could also relocate to if the US is getting too onerous for anyone.
The biggest insult about Trump's talk of annexing Canada as the 51st State is that he is talking about turning a country with 13 provinces and territories into JUST ONE STATE! I don't think I need to point out why that is SO OFFENSIVE! The guy is just the biggest TERRORIST TOOL! TOOL aka DEVIL or DER TEUFEL in German.
This sounds great but I am zeroing in on Lockheed Martin Canada selling systems to Germany. It is still an American company, right? So could a petulant leader not just put on the pressure to have them close shop in Canada and move everything to the US?
As for our partnership with Sweden...fantastic! I hope it happens in full. Not because I am a military procurement expert but because we need allies we can trust.
This is the risk with every US company now and why we need to be contracting for business with reliable suppliers and partners not vulnerable to the US Regime. We live in the upside down. Why Canada made the deal with Germany. If they leave Canada, North American production for Lockhead is screwed. US military industrial complex is highly dependent on Canada’s reliance and sustained purchases.
But yes, this is exactly why PM Carney and the Liberal leaders have been making bilateral agreements and multilateral trade agreements and focus on investment by investment in production IN Canada by trusted allies so that if US pulls a stunt or a temper tantrum, we will not be dependent on them.
What we may lose in a company, others will be competing to replace. The amount of jobs and careers that will be created will far exceed anything that can be taken away.
To get an up close view from the European side, Fabian Hoffman, of Missile Matters, who is a PhD student studying weapons systems, and not sure what his dissertational focus is, is discussing the missile systems under consideration in Europe, and sometime makes comparisons. Here is a link to his Substack. https://missilematters.substack.com/
Economic efficacy is an important consideration as well as how useful the weapons are. A lot of what the US builds is not always holding up to comparisons and others cannot yet be replaced. While we hear things will take so much time to build, I look at the speed with which a Covid vaccine was developed, and also the speed with which Ukraine and Russia ramped up their weapons production industries.
Canada should set her sights not just on national control of weapons systems but on supplying those systems to NATO and other foreign allies. The threat posed by Trump's Axis of Evil (Putin, Saudi, name-your-dictator) needs to be met with threat of advanced force.
Make Lockheed feel the pain asap. They will convey their concern to the Pentagon.
Thanks Dean. I've been studying up on the two fighter jets in question. The F-35 is YEARS LATE in development because it is far too complex and fragile. I was a young woman the first time I heard about it. It's a 'California' aircraft - doesn't work properly in cold temperatures, it can't land or take off on anything less than a perfect, commercial airport quality, long-heavy runway and even at that, it breaks. What the heck would happen if that aircraft froze up over Iqualuit or even Tuktoyaktuk? It would be raining jet parts on the polar bears and seals and cause an international wildlife crisis at the very least! Those qualities alone should have eliminated it from competition years ago - no matter how much money Canada has dumped into the development effort. Yes! Canada has already piled money into the F-35 program and still has nothing to show for it. As an experienced business professional, one of the earliest lessons I was taught by people a lot smarter than me, was 'know when to fold 'em' - in oil industry jargon - stop pouring money down a dry hole. I also keep up on the Ukrainian situation (because I have friends from Ukraine and their concerns are mine) and ask myself "If I divide the cost of a single F-35 by Flamingos - how many deadly long-range drones would I get?" My mind just works that way. It's the cost-benefit analysis. The Gripen, on the other hand, costs one-tenth of the purchase price of the Miramar Marvel and likewise about 10% of the hourly operating cost (miles per gallon in auto shorthand). It is ruggedly built to operate in conditions common to both Sweden and Canada, i.e., Arctic conditions. It can literally take off and land on any one mile stretch of paved two-lane road and be refueled, serviced and re-armed by a team of about six people with portable tools (say any squad-sized military unit). We need to put all those new recruits to work at something useful - let's train them to service fighter jets. I'm an Albertan - we have a LOT of long, straight, level, paved two-lane roads in my part of the world (can you say Prairies?) - so check that box. So, the choice appears to be between a diva with the vapours and a fit-for-purpose war machine. My only question is: What's the hold-up (with all due respect to the retired RCAF generals) Sir?
I live under a constant stream of F-35s several hours a day. They are coming in to land (I can almost see the pilots), and they fly directly over my house. I understand that Israel routinely flies them over Gaza to traumatize the people. They wrack the nervous system. In Vicenza, Italy, they fly directly over the concert hall.
They are being sold to multiple countries around the world, disturbing the well-being of everyone sentient. Folks here excuse the body-trembling noise by calling it “the sound of freedom.” The sound of death (to others) and decay is more like it. They literally fly in the face of OUR freedom to live peacefully with the sounds of nature.
The last I read, they cost $36,000 an hour to fly. How many struggling adults could that one-hour cost provide with a basic universal income for a year? There are thousands of them in the United States alone. I think they train ten hours at a time. That’s $360,000 a day for one jet.
All of this makes me so glad that Carney won the election and that there will not be another election for Christmas. We have no idea what PP would be doing and the PM's office right now but I can't imagine him standing up to Trump in any way.
If Poilievre would have won, our govt. would be sitting on their keesters doing absolutely nothing about this huge Trump threat. I thank my lucky stars & the Canadian people every day since the election that we voted in PM Mark Carney. We are so fortunate.
Best news ever for canada. Glad to see you not getting caught up in the rinse and repeat cycle drumpf keeps putting countries and the US thru. It's this one day then something else the next and then something else the fourth day,,then back to square one. Always lies...
Trump is putting an end to America’s position as a world leader in so many ways. The vacuum he’s created is being filled by China. Trump is a very fragile person, overreacting to perceived slights. He needs to be 25th out of office along with Vance & Johnson.
We had a fabulous Ambassador here in Stockholm who was focused on increasing trade between Canada and Sweden. He got called back to Ottawa 2 months ago. Wonder how much he was involved. We Canadians here in Sweden miss him.
Here’s an idea. Since the jets were for a NATO project, NATO can cancel the order, Teflon will take them to court, and then NATO come up with all kinds of excuses to drag out the court costs (a la Trump).
Or
NATO can stipulate that the planes have to be delivered by a certain time or the deal is void.
Or
NATO could stipulate that the US has to participate in NATO defense. However, this one is more fraught with Teflon’s rhetoric problem. I’m sure NATO is done with the US by now.
Thanks for giving us your usual detailed analysis Dean. When you write: "If Trump had just shut up, respected allies, and not weaponized tariffs and annexation threats, none of this would be happening this fast." you are correct, and could also end it at "none of this would be happening at all".
But it is. PM Carney is leading us through this debacle inflicted upon us by a psychopathic president and Canada, and the rest of the free world will be better off for it! ❤️🇨🇦
Since Diaper Don has never honored a contract in his life, Canada needs to just say fuck you to the piece of shit F-35 and go with Sweden and a better plane and Canadian jobs. And I'm an American unfortunately. Elbows Up!
Good for Canada. Ultimately, it will be good for the US as well. At least those states that can hold onto their democracy will have someone to look to for support.
Try as I may, I simply CANNOT picture PP Poilievre even coming close to Carney. Can you imagine him in this scenario with the King and Queen of Sweden? …. Uh, nope! He’d probably never stop bitching about Trudeau!!!!…. Ughhhh….
As an American, I say, "You go, Canada!" Lots of us here in the US have your backs.
P.S.: Would you think about annexing us? We could be your 11th province.
We may have to start out as a territory but I’m okay with that too.
Me, too.
I say annex Blue States. I am defining Blue by this map. Thanks to the latest election we have 2 more Blue State governors and that makes 25-25 so a 50-50 divide, but not economically. Would Canada add on 25 US states. We see by the examples of Alaska and Hawaii that the states do not really need to be contiguous. Who would fund the US military then? Texas and Florida and some other much smaller GDPs.
I’m not offended if Canada takes the blue states, purple states, all states and makes us one territory. I just want Canada to take us. I miss civility.
Why I mostly moved to an EU country. I wrote this last November, and it still seems relevant. It is called "A 'Plan B' for Catastrophe."
https://lindaweide.substack.com/p/a-plan-b-for-catastrophe?r=f0qfn
In a recent Gallup Poll, 40% of American women 15-44 said they would leave the US for good if they could. However, that would be around 26 million women, and Canada could probably not absorb them all. There are other nice countries too, that people could also relocate to if the US is getting too onerous for anyone.
https://news.gallup.com/poll/697382/record-numbers-younger-women-leave.aspx
LW, thank you for the link to your Plan B post. I am very seriously thinking about it.
Mary, please reach out if you want to discuss your plans. In Solidarity!✌🏾
The biggest insult about Trump's talk of annexing Canada as the 51st State is that he is talking about turning a country with 13 provinces and territories into JUST ONE STATE! I don't think I need to point out why that is SO OFFENSIVE! The guy is just the biggest TERRORIST TOOL! TOOL aka DEVIL or DER TEUFEL in German.
It’s outil terroriste in French.
This sounds great but I am zeroing in on Lockheed Martin Canada selling systems to Germany. It is still an American company, right? So could a petulant leader not just put on the pressure to have them close shop in Canada and move everything to the US?
As for our partnership with Sweden...fantastic! I hope it happens in full. Not because I am a military procurement expert but because we need allies we can trust.
This is the risk with every US company now and why we need to be contracting for business with reliable suppliers and partners not vulnerable to the US Regime. We live in the upside down. Why Canada made the deal with Germany. If they leave Canada, North American production for Lockhead is screwed. US military industrial complex is highly dependent on Canada’s reliance and sustained purchases.
But yes, this is exactly why PM Carney and the Liberal leaders have been making bilateral agreements and multilateral trade agreements and focus on investment by investment in production IN Canada by trusted allies so that if US pulls a stunt or a temper tantrum, we will not be dependent on them.
What we may lose in a company, others will be competing to replace. The amount of jobs and careers that will be created will far exceed anything that can be taken away.
To get an up close view from the European side, Fabian Hoffman, of Missile Matters, who is a PhD student studying weapons systems, and not sure what his dissertational focus is, is discussing the missile systems under consideration in Europe, and sometime makes comparisons. Here is a link to his Substack. https://missilematters.substack.com/
Economic efficacy is an important consideration as well as how useful the weapons are. A lot of what the US builds is not always holding up to comparisons and others cannot yet be replaced. While we hear things will take so much time to build, I look at the speed with which a Covid vaccine was developed, and also the speed with which Ukraine and Russia ramped up their weapons production industries.
Canada should set her sights not just on national control of weapons systems but on supplying those systems to NATO and other foreign allies. The threat posed by Trump's Axis of Evil (Putin, Saudi, name-your-dictator) needs to be met with threat of advanced force.
Make Lockheed feel the pain asap. They will convey their concern to the Pentagon.
Thanks Dean. I've been studying up on the two fighter jets in question. The F-35 is YEARS LATE in development because it is far too complex and fragile. I was a young woman the first time I heard about it. It's a 'California' aircraft - doesn't work properly in cold temperatures, it can't land or take off on anything less than a perfect, commercial airport quality, long-heavy runway and even at that, it breaks. What the heck would happen if that aircraft froze up over Iqualuit or even Tuktoyaktuk? It would be raining jet parts on the polar bears and seals and cause an international wildlife crisis at the very least! Those qualities alone should have eliminated it from competition years ago - no matter how much money Canada has dumped into the development effort. Yes! Canada has already piled money into the F-35 program and still has nothing to show for it. As an experienced business professional, one of the earliest lessons I was taught by people a lot smarter than me, was 'know when to fold 'em' - in oil industry jargon - stop pouring money down a dry hole. I also keep up on the Ukrainian situation (because I have friends from Ukraine and their concerns are mine) and ask myself "If I divide the cost of a single F-35 by Flamingos - how many deadly long-range drones would I get?" My mind just works that way. It's the cost-benefit analysis. The Gripen, on the other hand, costs one-tenth of the purchase price of the Miramar Marvel and likewise about 10% of the hourly operating cost (miles per gallon in auto shorthand). It is ruggedly built to operate in conditions common to both Sweden and Canada, i.e., Arctic conditions. It can literally take off and land on any one mile stretch of paved two-lane road and be refueled, serviced and re-armed by a team of about six people with portable tools (say any squad-sized military unit). We need to put all those new recruits to work at something useful - let's train them to service fighter jets. I'm an Albertan - we have a LOT of long, straight, level, paved two-lane roads in my part of the world (can you say Prairies?) - so check that box. So, the choice appears to be between a diva with the vapours and a fit-for-purpose war machine. My only question is: What's the hold-up (with all due respect to the retired RCAF generals) Sir?
I live under a constant stream of F-35s several hours a day. They are coming in to land (I can almost see the pilots), and they fly directly over my house. I understand that Israel routinely flies them over Gaza to traumatize the people. They wrack the nervous system. In Vicenza, Italy, they fly directly over the concert hall.
They are being sold to multiple countries around the world, disturbing the well-being of everyone sentient. Folks here excuse the body-trembling noise by calling it “the sound of freedom.” The sound of death (to others) and decay is more like it. They literally fly in the face of OUR freedom to live peacefully with the sounds of nature.
The last I read, they cost $36,000 an hour to fly. How many struggling adults could that one-hour cost provide with a basic universal income for a year? There are thousands of them in the United States alone. I think they train ten hours at a time. That’s $360,000 a day for one jet.
Humans’ priorities are so skewed.
All of this makes me so glad that Carney won the election and that there will not be another election for Christmas. We have no idea what PP would be doing and the PM's office right now but I can't imagine him standing up to Trump in any way.
If Poilievre would have won, our govt. would be sitting on their keesters doing absolutely nothing about this huge Trump threat. I thank my lucky stars & the Canadian people every day since the election that we voted in PM Mark Carney. We are so fortunate.
Best news ever for canada. Glad to see you not getting caught up in the rinse and repeat cycle drumpf keeps putting countries and the US thru. It's this one day then something else the next and then something else the fourth day,,then back to square one. Always lies...
Trump is putting an end to America’s position as a world leader in so many ways. The vacuum he’s created is being filled by China. Trump is a very fragile person, overreacting to perceived slights. He needs to be 25th out of office along with Vance & Johnson.
We had a fabulous Ambassador here in Stockholm who was focused on increasing trade between Canada and Sweden. He got called back to Ottawa 2 months ago. Wonder how much he was involved. We Canadians here in Sweden miss him.
Here’s an idea. Since the jets were for a NATO project, NATO can cancel the order, Teflon will take them to court, and then NATO come up with all kinds of excuses to drag out the court costs (a la Trump).
Or
NATO can stipulate that the planes have to be delivered by a certain time or the deal is void.
Or
NATO could stipulate that the US has to participate in NATO defense. However, this one is more fraught with Teflon’s rhetoric problem. I’m sure NATO is done with the US by now.
Just musing…
Clear, sensible and inevitable! Congratulations Canada!!!
Thanks for giving us your usual detailed analysis Dean. When you write: "If Trump had just shut up, respected allies, and not weaponized tariffs and annexation threats, none of this would be happening this fast." you are correct, and could also end it at "none of this would be happening at all".
But it is. PM Carney is leading us through this debacle inflicted upon us by a psychopathic president and Canada, and the rest of the free world will be better off for it! ❤️🇨🇦
Clear thinking and looking forward to being a stable player, the good guys!
So jealous. You have a real country!! Congratulations Canada!! Fuck you Trump!!
Since Diaper Don has never honored a contract in his life, Canada needs to just say fuck you to the piece of shit F-35 and go with Sweden and a better plane and Canadian jobs. And I'm an American unfortunately. Elbows Up!
Good for Canada. Ultimately, it will be good for the US as well. At least those states that can hold onto their democracy will have someone to look to for support.
Try as I may, I simply CANNOT picture PP Poilievre even coming close to Carney. Can you imagine him in this scenario with the King and Queen of Sweden? …. Uh, nope! He’d probably never stop bitching about Trudeau!!!!…. Ughhhh….