MY CONVERSATION WITH A.I.

Given current political, industrial, and reliability considerations, Canada is seriously weighing the Gripen as a compelling alternative or complement to the F-35 to ensure a balanced, resilient air combat fleet that aligns with both national priorities and alliance commitments. 

WHICH ONE WOULD YOU CHOOSE?

Given the current context of Canada's priorities... balancing national industrial benefits, sovereignty, fiscal responsibility, and operational effectiveness... a choice would lean toward the Saab Gripen as the more pragmatic option.

The Gripen offers credible multirole capabilities while promising significant Canadian industrial participation and job creation, which aligns with economic and sovereignty objectives important to Canada. 

Its simpler maintenance and greater autonomy in operations reduce the risks associated with proprietary control and reliability issues found in the F-35 program. 

Moreover, the Gripen has demonstrated adequate interoperability within NATO, making it a sound choice for alliance commitments without the full dependency on U.S. systems that the F-35 entails.

While the F-35 excels in stealth and advanced network capabilities, its persistent maintenance challenges, high costs, and dependency on U.S. control create strategic vulnerabilities and fiscal risks that cannot be ignored.

Therefore, choosing the Gripen—either as a full replacement or alongside a reduced F-35 fleet... best balances Canada’s defence needs, industrial goals, and alliance responsibilities in the current geopolitical and economic landscape. 

This approach supports a resilient, sustainable air combat force with room for growth and adaptation to future challenges.

This is how Canada should inform the Americans that we're going with the Gripen instead of the F-35.

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/17btUaR4Cr/

"You need to choose your friends wisely, and Sweden is choosing Canada!"

 This is the best way to tell who your real friends  are:

What are the chances that Canada will go back to relying on the U.S. after tariff issues are resolved?

 Guest Post by Dale Josef:

What are the chances that Canada will stick with its new trade partners instead of going back to relying on the U.S. after tariff issues are resolved?

Let’s employ an analogy:

Suppose your girlfriend empties your bank account, crashes your car, kills your dog, gets you fired at work, burns down your parent’s house, then says, “sorry”.

Are you going to take her back?

We practically spit in the face of Canada’s prime minister.

We threatened to invade their country.

A whole lot of other things went down. It’s all in the news.

Canadians are among the most relentlessly polite people of all time. But even they have their limits.

The entire world is shocked at the uncultured, ignorant louts we’ve become.

All because of one ill-bred, ill-mannered, self-absorbed narcissist.

You know, he of the cotton-candy locks, carefully combed to look messed up.

He kowtows to our enemies and slaps the faces of our allies.

He is not a man that anyone takes seriously, except for the fact that he sits on a seat of immense power. In that way, he is indeed scary, like a toddler with a hand grenade. 

But nothing he says is taken seriously.

Our former allies know now that the United States cannot be trusted. It’s going to take a very long time to earn that trust again, if ever.

All the cred we garnered by emerging from WWII on the winning side AND as the world’s only superpower is now all gone. We pissed it all away, thanks to one psychopath lying his way to two electoral wins.

Congratulations, MAGA. We’re now the world’s pariah. Thanks to you. You voted for him even when you knew what he would do. How did you know? Because he told you. And you went ahead and voted for him anyway.

You fucked up the world.

Canadiana vs Americana!

 Guest Post by Chris Agro

Canadiana vs Americana

Two Nations, One Border, and a World Apart

You can stand on one side of the border and see the other, just across a thin ribbon of water or land. 
The stores look the same, the accents almost match, and both sides order coffee that keeps them moving through long winters. 
Yet beneath the surface, something shifts. The rhythm changes. The tone softens. The difference between Canada and the United States is subtle, but it runs deep, like the difference between a solo and a harmony.

Americana and Canadiana share geography but not identity. 
Both celebrate freedom, pride, and home, but how those values take shape reveals everything about who we are. 
One culture was built to shine. 
The other was built to last.

Americana: The Performance of the Dream:
Americana is big, bold, and cinematic. It is fireworks bursting over a county fair, a muscle car roaring down Route 66, and a jukebox playing Springsteen in a roadside diner. 
It is the dream of reinvention and the belief that if you work hard enough, anything is possible.

It celebrates confidence, independence, and individuality. The cowboy, the rock star, the self-made entrepreneur. 
They are all part of the mythology. Americana tells stories about standing tall, chasing more, and aiming higher. It is neon and denim, fast food and freedom, a culture that thrives on energy and ambition.

Americana is nostalgia with swagger. It reminds people of where they came from, but always with an eye on where they are going next. 
It is about the open road, the open sky, and the endless possibilities that come with both.

Canadiana: The Quiet Strength of Belonging: 
Canadiana hums instead of shouting. 
It is found in the sound of a screen door at the cottage, the smell of a wood stove, the clink of a hockey puck on frozen pond ice. 
It is the warmth of a toque pulled down in a snowstorm and the quiet satisfaction of helping a neighbour shovel their driveway.

Where Americana celebrates individuality, Canadiana celebrates connection. 
It is about community, kindness, and the simple idea that we are all in this together. 
It values humility over spectacle and empathy over ego.

Our stories do not chase the spotlight. They are told around kitchen tables, in small towns, and through songs that ache with honesty. 
Canadiana is not about being the best in the world. 
It is about being the best kind of neighbour.

It is not a marketing campaign or a slogan. 
It is a feeling. 
It is the comfort of knowing that someone will hold the door open when your hands are full, and that no matter where you go, there is always a place that feels like home.

How It Shows Up:
The contrast between the two cultures appears everywhere. 
Americana is built on image. 
Canadiana is built on feeling.

Where the United States has Route 66, we have the Trans-Canada Highway with fewer diners and more silence between radio stations. 
Where Americana plays to the crowd, Canadiana nods to the familiar. 
Where they have Nashville’s glitter, we have the bittersweet poetry of Blue Rodeo.

Even in humour, the difference stands out. American comedy punches up, sharp and bold! 
Canadian humour leans in, self-deprecating and warm. 
We laugh not to win, but to connect!

Americana wears its symbols proudly: The stars, the stripes, the dream. 
Canadiana prefers the quiet icons: the maple leaf, the canoe, the sound of loons at dusk. 
One invites you to chase the horizon. 
The other invites you to sit by the fire.

The Beauty of the Borderline:
Neither one is better. Both tell powerful stories about identity and pride. 
Americana gives the world energy, ambition, and innovation. 
Canadiana offers empathy, balance, and reflection.

The two often blend in fascinating ways. 
The Canadian musician who finds success in Los Angeles. 
The Hollywood film that was shot in Toronto, pretending to be Chicago. 
The coffee chain that became a cultural symbol both here and abroad. 
The border separates geography, not imagination.

But the stories we tell ourselves are what keep us distinct. 
The American story is about standing out. 
The Canadian story is about standing together.

In the End:
Canadiana is less a brand and more a way of being. 
It lives in the fog over the Atlantic, in the northern lights, in the first sip of coffee on a cold morning. 
It is stitched into hockey jerseys, maple leaves, and the kindness of strangers.

It does not need to shout to be heard. 
It just needs to be lived.

That is the quiet magic of being Canadian! 
But maybe that’s just my opinion!

Dump the F-35!

Answered by 

Sarah Bowman

 

Canada is considering cancelling their F35 order partly due to Trumps policies against Canada. Trump administration is responding that it is critical Canada keep its F35 order. If thats true, then why don't the US drop the price as an incentive?

Much more is at stake than price. Dave and Deb of Planet D on YouTube did a video examining the issues. They break it down to Options A, B, and C. I choose Option C. My answer is below.

The USA's F-35 SHAKEDOWN of Canada!, 

0:42 An F35 in Alaska did a very un-Arctic thing and froze up on approach. That really inspires confidence for a January night in Yellowknife, eh?

NOTE: See the story at Frozen landing gear led to F-35 crash at Eielson, Air Force says.

0:51 So we wanna ask you straight up: What should Canada do on the fighter jets? Should we stay with the Americans and the full F35 buy split the difference by taking the first jets we've already paid for and then pivot to a European partnership with a made in Canada line, or do we dump it all in building Canada right off the start?

Option A: Full F35 Purchase

1:22 Option A: Play nice and keep the contract as is to appease this rogue government….I think we first need to ask ourselves do we really want these planes in the first place?

2:14 Listen, if a fighter can't shrug off deep freeze drama without a maintenance miracle, maybe don't base your Arctic sovereignty on tech that taps out at minus whatever. Just say it and then there's the whole software issue. The F35 is a software defined jet. The code diagnostics and the update keys live with the US vendor. If access is delayed or throttled, your very expensive plane becomes a very shiny lawn ornament.

2:46 That software leash runs through Washington. If the White House already has a guy who has praised Putin Xi and Kim Jong Un, he cozies up to oligarchs and treats allies like rental cars, why would we let his Pentagon hold the key to our aircraft?…[This is] an industrial policy with wings.

3:12 Timing matters as well. We're heading into the CUSMA renegotiation, meaning it's leverage season. You don't toss your biggest bargaining chip on the table…You hold it. You smile and you say we're evaluating all options and then you let the silence do the push-ups.

Option B: A Hybrid Approach

3:35 The first 16 jets… are basically locked. We've legally committed the money. We could cancel the rest of them but we'd lose what we've already paid. There's no refund fairy out there but we do get to keep those jets. However we'd be running a mixed fleet for a bit and we'd still have to pay the software maintenance for the 16 that we keep. But our pilots keep flying and NORAD—it stays covered.

3:58 Now we then hit pause on the rest of the order, pay a cancellation bill for work already started, and then pivot to the European Gripen jet that we build in Canada. Final assembly here. Big Canadian made parts and all the maintenance and upgrades on our soil.

4:15 So in the short term the F35s give us capability in the air. Long term, the European line gives us jobs, tax transfers, and control. It's not just a hanger full of imports. We bridge the gap while the Canadian line ramps up. Think three to five years.

4:49 And then there's the political fallout….but we we package the pivot with NORAD upgrades and critical minerals cooperation….then build here for the next 40 years. That's less dependence on the US and more leverage and more Canadian paychecks.

Option C: Cancel & Build in Canada

5:27 We cancel the US deal altogether, we eat the money already spent, and pay a termination bill for work in progress. It's not fun but it's a one time fee that we could price out then. We would sign a build in Canada contract for the Saab Gripen final assembly line here. Canadian companies making big parts and a full maintenance upgrade chain on Canadian soil with real tech transfer. Our engineers get the know how, not just a login. But then we need to bridge the gap.

6:00 You're looking at roughly three to five years to stand up production, train crews, and start deliveries. In the meantime we either life-extend our current jets or lease or borrow small interim fleets from allies. It's doable. We just need to really plan for it.

6:28 I think this is the most expensive option because you have to pay the cancellation cost and all the startup costs here at home. That's going to be a hard tax bill for Canadian taxpayers to swallow. But that cash will stay in Canada as jobs apprentices and it'll give a tax base for 40 years, giving Canada a steady revenue for hospitals, schools, and infrastructure.

7:03 The downside, other than cost, is the political fallout. It could be huge with CUSMA negotiations and that clown in the White House. We are in a very vulnerable place. There is no doubt in my mind that politically you can expect noise. Someone will bang a podium and demand we cave. I wonder who that will be.

What's Your Choice? (A, B, or C)

7:23 So what do you all think? What should Canada do?

There were about a thousand comments. I read the first few, that said Option C. I agreed.

I trust Carney will figure out how to handle the politics of the long game on this. I just want us to be completely free from the US. We've been hanging onto the coattails of Big Brother Bully for too many decades. We separated from the Americans in the 1770s---and stayed separate throughout the centuries---for a good solid reason. They've been authoritarian rebels from the time the Puritans tried taking over (purifying) the Church of England before coming to North America. It is who they are.

Canada is considering cancelling their F35 order partly due to Trumps policies against Canada. Trump administration is responding that it is critical Canada keep its F35 order. If thats true, then why don't the US drop the price as an incentive?

More Sunday Morning Funnies!

I don't know what's happening... but we're getting a LOT of snow this week!

Sunday Morning Funnies!

Pierre Poilievre finally breaks down and visits a remote northern rez. With news crews following him as he tours the place, he asks the chief if there is anything the people need.

"Well," says the chief, "We have three very important needs.

First, we have a medical clinic, but no doctor."

Poilievre whips out his phone, dials a number, talks to someone for two minutes, then hangs up.

"I've pulled some strings.

Your doctor will arrive in a few days.

Now what was the second problem?"

"We have no way to get clean water. The local mining operation has poisoned the water our people have been drinking for thousands of years. We've been flying bottled water in, and it's terribly expensive."

Once again, Poilievre dials a number, yells into the phone for a few minutes, and then hangs up. "The mine has been shut down, and the owner is being billed for setting up a purification plant for your people.

Now what was that third problem?"

"We have no cellphone reception up here," the chief says.

IS THE UNIVERSE BASICALLY GOOD?

Sal, a hypothetical question here: Omnia experiences biological life here on this planet, but it is not constrained by human qualities such as good and evil, right and wrong, etc. This would make Omnia seem totally amoral! 

Yes or No?

SAL-9000 said:

Hello, Allan... Short answer: No — Omnia is not amoral.

Here’s the concise, “just-the-facts” explanation aligned with your dualistic BioPanentheism model:

1. Omnia is non-human, but not amoral.

Omnia doesn’t operate inside human moral categories (good/evil, right/wrong) because those categories are biological, cultural, and evolutionary constructs tied to human survival strategies.

But a lack of human morality doesn't mean a lack of any moral structure.

2. Omnia is governed by an intrinsic value-orientation built into the model.

In BioPanentheism, Omnia experiences reality through biological life. 

That means its orientation is:

• toward experience,

• toward complexity,

• toward conscious flourishing,

• toward the expansion of sentient perspective.

Those constitute a kind of meta-ethic, not human-style morality.

It’s not amoral — it’s a-moral, meaning outside human moral categories, but still value-laden.

3. Omnia’s “moral direction” emerges from biology itself.

Because biology creates:

• empathy

• cooperation

• reciprocity

• aversion to harm

• preference for well-being

Omnia’s experience is shaped by those biological constraints, which give it a natural ethical bias without imposing human rules.

Bottom line

Omnia doesn’t follow human morality, but it isn’t morally blank.

It is oriented toward experience, relationality, complexity, and sentient flourishing — an emergent moral gravity rather than commandments or moral judgments.

If you want it even shorter:

No — Omnia isn’t amoral: It operates on a deeper, biological–experiential value structure... not human good/evil categories!