This time next year, President Trump moves back into the Whitehouse...

[mangocrazy]

The UK should (re)align with Europe. Geographically, historically and logically we are part of Europe. It's only faded dreams of Empire that make the feeble-minded think otherwise.

I do not agree that the UK should align with the EU, neither do I agree that "It's only faded dreams of Empire that make the feeble-minded think otherwise.", the latter phrase being much beloved by the French Left.

You're making that bit up. I plugged 'rêves fanés d'empire' (faded dreams of empire) into google.fr and got absolutely no matches. So not that beloved of the French Left, then.

IMO the UK's long term interests will be better served by engaging with the wider world rather than being locked into the grip of the dysfunctional Brussels bureaucracy.

You do know that you can engage with the wider world and still be part of the EU single market and customs union, don't you? It just means that trade with your biggest partner (the EU) is frictionless, and the EU negotiates better trading relationships with third parties than little old UK could ever do on its own

If the EU was as dysfunctional as you try to make out, DT wouldn't have singled them out for tariffs.

[irie]

@mangocrazy We're not going to agree, neither do I care to restate all the old arguments about the EU being an undemocratic organisation which you, sitting in your house in "Southern France", will argue with. At least cohabitation should be amusing for you to watch. Be happy.

[Hoonercat]

And 10,000 Canadian troops will be well spaced out on a 5500 mile border.

Huge parts of the border are so inhospitable they find dead immigrants who froze to death, sometimes entire families

Surely their US passports would be acceptable?

Sits back and waits the 'whoosh' moment....

[Hoonercat]

However, in principle as a democracy the UK should align with other Democracies rather than Autocracies.

Isn't the USA an Autocracy under the present ruler?

More stinky bait.

How many independent govt watchdogs did Trump fire one week ago? Some sources say 12, others 17 - no one seems to know, which is odd for a supposed democratic nation. I'll just leave this here, from a republican

"I don't understand why one would fire individuals whose mission it is to root out waste, fraud and abuse," Collins said at the Capitol on Saturday. "I don't understand it."

[mangocrazy]

@mangocrazy We're not going to agree, neither do I care to restate all the old arguments about the EU being an undemocratic organisation which you, sitting in your house in "Southern France", will argue with. At least cohabitation should be amusing for you to watch. Be happy.

You're right, we're not going to agree. When I next visit the French ancestral pile (in April), I'll raise a glass to the 'undemocratic' EU.

I always endeavour to be happy. I trust you do, too.

[irie]

https://news.sky.com/story/trump-launch ... l-13209921

Donald Trump has [today] signed an executive order withdrawing from the United Nations' Human Rights Council. Shortly afterward, he issued a memorandum on Iran, saying Tehran was "too close" to a nuclear weapon.

Seems that Iran's sabre rattling has fallen on deaf ears.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/1/3 ... srael-gaza

Iran warns any attack on its nuclear sites would trigger ‘all-out war’

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi tells Al Jazeera that Iran would ‘immediately and decisively’ to an US or Israeli attack.

[Cousin Jack]

And 10,000 Canadian troops will be well spaced out on a 5500 mile border.

Huge parts of the border are so inhospitable they find dead immigrants who froze to death, sometimes entire families. The Southern border has the opposite, heat stroke kills them. We even get people found dead where I live who didn't even make it a mile from their broken down car. It gets a bit toasty.

The northern border is a bit inaccessible by road, but by no means inhospitable in summer. I reckon I could walk into the US from Canada in some places with no issues. Young fit people would do it with ease.

In practice I have visited the US from Canada without passing through a border post. I went back to Canada, but a long walk would have seen me as an undocumented immigrant. I also know of a place where you can cross the border in a car and if you abandon the car and walk for a bit you are in free. Then there is the town where the library spans the border' in one door and out the other.

[ZRX61]

The northern border is a bit inaccessible by road, but by no means inhospitable in summer. I reckon I could walk into the US from Canada in some places with no issues. Young fit people would do it with ease.

In practice I have visited the US from Canada without passing through a border post. I went back to Canada, but a long walk would have seen me as an undocumented immigrant. I also know of a place where you can cross the border in a car and if you abandon the car and walk for a bit you are in free. Then there is the town where the library spans the border' in one door and out the other.

Tbh, I couldn't give any less of a fuck about Canada. I can't go there as I got a DUI back in the '70's.

[ZRX61]

So much for the tariffs mullaring the stock market. My Vanguard RoI was 16% as of last week, now it's 17.6%...

[ZRX61]

USAID EXPOSED: The Single Largest Criminal Fraud Operation in Human History
The public’s outrage over USAID corruption is now at scale and mainstream. USAID has been fully exposed as a left-wing money laundering criminal organization. Here’s what our researchers were able to find when looking into their expenditures and why President Trump and Elon Musk must shut it down:
- Haiti: Post-2010 earthquake, $1.14 billion was spent on a port and power plant project promoted by President Bill Clinton. The project never built anything.
- Cuba: A 2006 audit showed $74 million in “democracy promotion” funds vanished without oversight.
- Afghanistan: Millions squandered on health scams; hospitals never built.
- Nigeria: Chemonics, a major USAID contractor, was linked to a subcontractor's overbilling scandal. Hundreds of millions lost.
- COVID 19 Funding: USAID sent over $40MILLION in taxpayer money to a scientist located in Wuhan to do gain of function mutations. This directly led to the creation and release of COVID-19
- $2.5 MILLION to DEI in Serbia
- $70,000 on an Irish DEI musical
- $47,000 on transgender operas in Colombia
- $32,000 on a trans comic book in Peru
- Iraq: $20M for an Iraqi version of Sesame Street to promote LGBTQ Agenda
- Egypt & Tunisia: $56M for “tourism”
- Jordan: $40M for “schools”
- Vietnam: $11M to fight “trash burning”
- Central America: $27M for deportee gift bags.
- Trump Lawfare: $27M to fund left wing prosecutions of populist political opponents around the globe, including Donald Trump. Patently illegal.
And countless billions more.
Here’s the thing: The majority of this money never went to the “projects” they claim to be promoting. It’s just pure money laundering from your tax dollars into deep state left wing activists. USAID is likely the largest fraud operation in human history.

[Saga Lout]

USAID EXPOSED: The Single Largest Criminal Fraud Operation in Human History
The public’s outrage over USAID corruption is now at scale and mainstream. USAID has been fully exposed as a left-wing money laundering criminal organization. Here’s what our researchers were able to find when looking into their expenditures and why President Trump and Elon Musk must shut it down:
- Haiti: Post-2010 earthquake, $1.14 billion was spent on a port and power plant project promoted by President Bill Clinton. The project never built anything.
- Cuba: A 2006 audit showed $74 million in “democracy promotion” funds vanished without oversight.
- Afghanistan: Millions squandered on health scams; hospitals never built.
- Nigeria: Chemonics, a major USAID contractor, was linked to a subcontractor's overbilling scandal. Hundreds of millions lost.
- COVID 19 Funding: USAID sent over $40MILLION in taxpayer money to a scientist located in Wuhan to do gain of function mutations. This directly led to the creation and release of COVID-19
- $2.5 MILLION to DEI in Serbia
- $70,000 on an Irish DEI musical
- $47,000 on transgender operas in Colombia
- $32,000 on a trans comic book in Peru
- Iraq: $20M for an Iraqi version of Sesame Street to promote LGBTQ Agenda
- Egypt & Tunisia: $56M for “tourism”
- Jordan: $40M for “schools”
- Vietnam: $11M to fight “trash burning”
- Central America: $27M for deportee gift bags.
- Trump Lawfare: $27M to fund left wing prosecutions of populist political opponents around the globe, including Donald Trump. Patently illegal.
And countless billions more.
Here’s the thing: The majority of this money never went to the “projects” they claim to be promoting. It’s just pure money laundering from your tax dollars into deep state left wing activists. USAID is likely the largest fraud operation in human history.

You really should provide a source for these sorts of allegations. They might all be true, but we should be able to see who's doing the accusing.

[ZRX61]

DOGE.

[Count Steer]

And 10,000 Canadian troops will be well spaced out on a 5500 mile border.

Huge parts of the border are so inhospitable they find dead immigrants who froze to death, sometimes entire families. The Southern border has the opposite, heat stroke kills them. We even get people found dead where I live who didn't even make it a mile from their broken down car. It gets a bit toasty.

The northern border is a bit inaccessible by road, but by no means inhospitable in summer. I reckon I could walk into the US from Canada in some places with no issues. Young fit people would do it with ease.

In practice I have visited the US from Canada without passing through a border post. I went back to Canada, but a long walk would have seen me as an undocumented immigrant. I also know of a place where you can cross the border in a car and if you abandon the car and walk for a bit you are in free. Then there is the town where the library spans the border' in one door and out the other.

Which probably explains why Canada has a problem with guns and drugs coming across the border - into Canada.

A far higher proportion of drugs coming into Canada come from the USA (70%+ AIUI) than vv (1%) and, I'm guessing here, I don't suppose the USA has much of a problem with guns being smuggled in from Canada.

The deployment of the Canadian military on the border is as much/more about stopping stuff coming north!

[Mr Moofo]

It would be embarrassing to point out the proportion of the popular vote that Trump got compared to the proportion of the popular vote our Labour government got. Doh.

No, it wouldn’t
And that doesn’t make either electorate more intelligent.
And they could only vote for the candidates put forward.
Trump got in - what’s your point. The issue is how he tries to usurp democracy from now on, which has nothing to do with how many people voted for him

Is that ^^^ any different to what our Labour government is doing? You only have to look at the latest polling intention surveys to see the numbers of traditional Tory and Labour party supporters voting with their feet and defecting to Reform, and then ask yourself why this is happening?

You were obviously have difficulty with reading yesterday , as I had already said that is exactly the case. However useless Starmer hasn’t suggested invading Greenland, Canada or doing a land grab for Trump hotels in the Gaza Strip.
Trump is not about politics any more, it is about how much money he can make for him. He is now as dangerous as Xi or Putin

[Mr Moofo]

USAID EXPOSED: The Single Largest Criminal Fraud Operation in Human History
The public’s outrage over USAID corruption is now at scale and mainstream. USAID has been fully exposed as a left-wing money laundering criminal organization. Here’s what our researchers were able to find when looking into their expenditures and why President Trump and Elon Musk must shut it down:
- Haiti: Post-2010 earthquake, $1.14 billion was spent on a port and power plant project promoted by President Bill Clinton. The project never built anything.
- Cuba: A 2006 audit showed $74 million in “democracy promotion” funds vanished without oversight.
- Afghanistan: Millions squandered on health scams; hospitals never built.
- Nigeria: Chemonics, a major USAID contractor, was linked to a subcontractor's overbilling scandal. Hundreds of millions lost.
- COVID 19 Funding: USAID sent over $40MILLION in taxpayer money to a scientist located in Wuhan to do gain of function mutations. This directly led to the creation and release of COVID-19
- $2.5 MILLION to DEI in Serbia
- $70,000 on an Irish DEI musical
- $47,000 on transgender operas in Colombia
- $32,000 on a trans comic book in Peru
- Iraq: $20M for an Iraqi version of Sesame Street to promote LGBTQ Agenda
- Egypt & Tunisia: $56M for “tourism”
- Jordan: $40M for “schools”
- Vietnam: $11M to fight “trash burning”
- Central America: $27M for deportee gift bags.
- Trump Lawfare: $27M to fund left wing prosecutions of populist political opponents around the globe, including Donald Trump. Patently illegal.
And countless billions more.
Here’s the thing: The majority of this money never went to the “projects” they claim to be promoting. It’s just pure money laundering from your tax dollars into deep state left wing activists. USAID is likely the largest fraud operation in human history.

You are really worried about 32k!
How much do Trump’s golfing trips, to his resorts, with his cronies, cost the American tax-payer. And what’s the bill for his sycophantic team of idiots with no experience?

[JamJar]

DOGE.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

[Wossname]

DOGE.

Your credibility is waning.

[JackyJoll]

.
You are really worried about 32k!
How much do Trump’s golfing trips, to his resorts, with his cronies cost the American tax-payer. And what’s the bill for his sycophantic team of idiots with no experience?

Is $32,000 on a trans comic book in Peru a bargain?

[Rockburner]

.
You are really worried about 32k!
How much do Trump’s golfing trips, to his resorts, with his cronies cost the American tax-payer. And what’s the bill for his sycophantic team of idiots with no experience?

Is $32,000 on a trans comic book in Peru a bargain?

When you take into account artist/ author / pen-man salaries; bureaucracy fees and salaries; paper costs; printing costs; distribution and advertising costs, etc ... $32k is probably pretty reasonable for producing a nationally distributed comic-book, regardless of it's contents.

[KungFooBob]

It's a bargain if USAID got to keep the movie rights