About Trump’s quip—if indeed it was that—regarding the sovereign nation of Canada becoming the 51st state of the United States

Photo: BBC

NBC News: Trump mocks the 'Great State of Canada'

Were Canada to be incorporated into the United States, either as a singular political entity or, more plausibly, as multiple federal states, the resultant nation would surpass Russia in geographical extent. Moreover, were Canada to be admitted as a unified state, it would immediately become the most populous among all American states, slightly exceeding California's total.

Canada is not Rhode Island or Delaware, and whilst considerable portions of its territory remain sparsely populated, its population substantially exceeds that of Alaska. Regardless of whether the Orange Puppet’s proposition was intended in jest, the hypothetical absorption of Canada would constitute a monumentally complex undertaking, even presuming the acquiescence of the Canadian populace—which, one might assert with considerable confidence, would not be forthcoming. Quebec, in particular, would be problematic in that regard. There is also the matter of Canada being a Commonwealth nation and recognising His Majesty as King.

Canada stands as America's sister nation, formidable in every conceivable way, and is deserving of commensurate respect, honour, and dignity. Indeed, Trump’s previous facetious (or not facetious, whichever it was) suggestions regarding the acquisition of Greenland were inappropriate enough; serious matters of sovereignty and international relations ought not to be the subject of ill-conceived attempts at humour by one whose office demands the utmost gravitas. Thou art not a comedian, Mr Trump; cease pretending to be one. 

Naturally, we have yet to address the genuine locus of power within this impending regime, nor said locus’ aspirations for global domination. For the moment, however, we shall content ourselves with the assumption that Trump, the Orange Puppet, was merely being his charming self when discussing our noble neighbours to the north.

Copyright 2024, Arthur Newhook. @Sunking278 and @FloydEtcetera on X, and at the same handles on FACEBOOK. MASTODON - @ArthurNewhook@mastodon.world, BLUESKY - @arthurnewhook.bsky.social. DONATIONS GRATEFULLY ACCEPTED at https://tinyurl.com/ArthurNewhook.

Trudeau finally shows some backbone, as police clear Ottawa of belligerent truckers protesting vaccine mandates

Reuters

Disrupting industry, blocking critical infrastructure, and threatening violence against anyone opposed to their agenda will never be legitimate forms of protest, and the police should have authorized to suppress this insurrection from the very first day the convoys began amassing. The protests against COVID mandates and the Capitol Hill insurrection of January 6, 2021 are emboldening nationalist populists (also known as Fascists) the world over to impose their anti-intellectual, anti-science, and various other deluded beliefs onto others. It is America – the nation that once brought down European Fascism and liberated millions – that is leading the world into a new totalitarian nightmare. It is the ones who shout the loudest about their ‘freedom’ that are most set on bending society to their will, by any means necessary. Via the New York Times - 

OTTAWA — Police officers on Saturday cleared out the central area of a sprawling demonstration in Ottawa, moving from truck to truck and arresting protesters as they continued to subdue the occupation that has disrupted the Canadian capital for weeks. 

Starting about 10 a.m., police advanced on trucks that had been parked on Wellington Street, the thoroughfare in front of the Parliament building, drawing guns on some vehicles and banging on doors as they searched for any people inside. They arrested several as other demonstrators shouted “Shame on you!” from nearby. In the heart of the main encampment on Saturday, the police pushed people back with batons and irritant spray and made more arrests. 

One demonstrator, David Paisley, a HVAC technician who has spent the protest broadcasting updates from a fishing shack on the back of a flatbed truck known as “the shed,” described the moment an officer entered the vehicle to arrest him. 

“He had a big military rifle, he pointed right at my chest, he yelled at me to get down, on the ground,” said Mr. Paisley, 33, who captured the moment of his arrest on a recorded livestream. “It was like a movie scene.” 

A recording played in French and English, as the police advanced. “You must leave,” it said. “Anyone found in the zone will be arrested.” 

The police operation appeared to be a final salvo in the government’s belated effort to break up the occupation. In recent weeks, the demonstrations, which began with truckers rallying against vaccine mandates, have attracted a variety of protesters airing grievances about pandemic restrictions, claims of government overreach and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s stewardship of the country. 

By midmorning, police had cleared the demonstrators from what had been the occupation’s core, Wellington Street, and set up barricades. The Ottawa Police said that as of Saturday evening, 170 people had been arrested and that 46 vehicles had been removed.  The police declined to discuss their tactics but in a tweet on Saturday, they asked the public to stop calling emergency phone lines “to express displeasure about the police action” to end the protest, noting that making unnecessary calls to 911 was a crime. 

While significantly throttled, the protest was not completely disbanded. As police pushed demonstrators away from Parliament, some congregated on side streets while police warned that there were children in the crowd. “We are seeing young children being brought to the front of the police operation,” the Ottawa police said on Twitter. “This is dangerous and it is putting the children at risk.” (Read more)

Copyright 2022, Sunking278. Stay up-to-date: Twitter – @Sunking278 and Facebook – click here. DONATIONS - click here.

Alberta: RCMP confiscate fire arms from anti-vaxxer truckers and supporters, eleven arrested; ‘large farm tractor and a semi truck attempted to ram a police vehicle’

Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press

Violent extremism is on the rise in America, and it has infected our neighbors to the north. Via the CBC - 

Alberta RCMP have arrested at least 11 people after searching three trailers and finding weapons at a protest against pandemic restrictions near the main U.S. border crossing in southern Alberta. 

Mounties said in a release Monday that they became aware of a small organized group within the larger protest at Coutts. 

They say they had information that the group had access to a cache of firearms and ammunition. Officers seized long guns, handguns, multiple sets of body armour, a machete, a large quantity of ammunition and high-capacity firearm magazines.  

"We haven't had many incidents involving violence, but unfortunately an investigation started after a period of time when the initial protesters arrived," Supt. Roberta McKale of the RCMP told media around 2 p.m. on Monday. 

McKale said that RCMP began to receive information about potential threats, which took time to investigate, and led to arrests on Sunday night. 

"We have since made another arrest involving this, the escalation of violence towards the members, including having someone break one of our checkpoints this afternoon and just about hit one of our members on the road," McKale said. 

McKale also added that the different charges and different acts has created a situation where the Mounties are investigating conspiracy to attempt to commit murder. (Read more)

Copyright 2022, Sunking278. Stay up-to-date: Twitter – @Sunking278 and Facebook – click here. DONATIONS - click here.

The White House puts the screws to weakling Justin Trudeau, demands Canada crackdown on trucker blockades at the border

Cole Burston/Getty Images

Disrupting the lives of ordinary citizens is not a legitimate form of protest. Rather, it is terrorism, and these truckers ought to be treated as terrorists. But pretty boy Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has his thumb up his ass, sitting back and doing nothing. These petulant bullies are already causing great harm to the economies of both Canada and the United States, and they are beginning to inspire copycat protests in the U.S. and around the world. It has to be stopped. -  

The Canadian government is coming under increasing pressure from the United States to resolve anti-vaccine mandate protests that are impacting the economy in both countries with border blockades, including a 5-day shutdown of the vital Ambassador Bridge. 

The “Freedom Convoy” by Canadian truckers opposing a vaccinate-or-quarantine mandate for cross-border drivers, mirrored by the U.S. government, began with the occupation of the Canadian capital, Ottawa. The truckers then blocked the Ambassador Bridge earlier this week, and shut down two other smaller border crossings. 

The closure of the bridge, North America’s busiest international land border crossing and a key supply route for Detroit’s carmakers, has halted some auto output and left officials scrambling to limit economic damage. (Read more)

Copyright 2022, Sunking278. Stay up-to-date: Twitter – @Sunking278 and Facebook – click here. DONATIONS - click here.

Memo to Canadian PM Justin Trudeau: Stop being a coward, take charge of your country, and crack down on the convoys

Reuters/Mathieu Belanger

Fascists continue to disrupt life in Ottawa and other Canadian cities with almost complete impunity, while nurses who are counter-protesting are being told they cannot wear their scrubs in public, and ordinary citizens are being physically assaulted for wearing masks. Justin Trudeau is a weakling if I ever saw one. Declare Martial Law, send in troops and clear the streets by whatever means necessary. Do you, Mr. Trudeau, want your country to be a right-wing  s**thole as America has become in the Trump era? Take it from an American, Canada should not want to emulate us. It’s time to bring a full stop to all this Covidiocy everywhere. From Reuters -  

TORONTO/OTTAWA, Feb 5 (Reuters) - Thousands of people demonstrated in Canadian cities, including the financial hub Toronto, on Saturday as mostly peaceful but noisy protests against vaccine mandates spread from Ottawa, the capital. 

The "Freedom Convoy" began as a movement against a Canadian vaccine requirement for cross-border truckers, but has turned into a rallying point against public health measures and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government. 

“We're all sick and tired of the mandates, of the intimidation, of living in one big prison,” said Robert, a Toronto protester who did not give his last name. "We just want to go back to normal without having to take into our veins the poison which they call vaccines.” 

Protesters have shut down downtown Ottawa for the past eight days, with some participants waving Confederate or Nazi flags and some saying they wanted to dissolve Canada's government. 

"The protesters in Ottawa have made their point. The entire country heard their point," said Transport Minister Omar Alghabra, who urged protesters to "go home and engage elected officials." 

Ottawa police said hate crime charges were laid against four people and they were investigating threats against public figures jointly with the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation. 

The well-organized blockade, which police say has relied partly on funding from sympathizers in the United States, saw protesters bring in portable saunas on Saturday to combat frigid temperatures. 

One man rode through the area on horseback, carrying a Trump flag, social media videos showed. Former U.S. President Donald Trump has spoken out in support of the truckers against "the harsh policies of far-left lunatic Justin Trudeau who has destroyed Canada with insane COVID mandates." (Read more) 

Copyright 2022, Sunking278. Stay up-to-date: Twitter – @Sunking278 and Facebook – click here. DONATIONS - click here.

‘The United States is coming to an end. The question is how.’ Canadian author outlines scenarios for the coming civil war

Leah Millis/Reuters

Americans damn well better start listening and paying attention, but they will not. Most people in this country today want tyranny, just so long as it is directed toward those groups and individuals one doesn’t like. The rest just demand to be entertained constantly. It appears to me that we have become a nation of pathetic, incompetent, and hateful people, and that’s the perfect recipe for collapse. Abandon all hope, for the biggest problem with America is the American people. As for Canada: When we fall to full-on Fascism, they will likely be invaded or otherwise taken over by Nazi America. Trudeau and his government are powerless, and useless. Sometimes I wonder the same about our current administration, as much as I try to support President Biden. Via Dean Obeidallah - 

(CNN) "The United States is coming to an end. The question is how." Those are the jarring opening lines of Canadian author Stephen Marche's new book, "The Next Civil War: Dispatches from the American Future." Released the same week as the anniversary of the January 6 attack on our Capitol that signaled how dangerous our political polarization has become, Marche's book shares different scenarios of how the United States could collapse. 

Marche isn't the only Canadian worried about their southern neighbor's future. Just days before Marche's book released, political scientist Thomas Homer-Dixon -- the executive director of the Cascade Institute, which focuses on ways to address threats to society -- penned a powerful op-ed in Canada's "Globe and Mail" that begins with a similar warning. "By 2025, American democracy could collapse, causing extreme domestic political instability, including widespread civil violence," Homer-Dixon writes. "By 2030, if not sooner," he adds, "the country could be governed by a right-wing dictatorship." 

As Americans, our first instinct when a person from outside of the US says something critical of our nation is often to dismiss the comment (or mock their country; be honest!). In this case, though, neither Marche nor Homer-Dixon wrote their words to belittle America or to make Canadians feel better about their country. (Read more)

Copyright 2022, Sunking278. Stay up-to-date: Twitter – @Sunking278 and Facebook – click here. DONATIONS - click here.