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Actually the government allowing foreigners to buy up real estate in Canada demonstrates they are globalists. They don't put Canadians first or protect Canadians. That's why they bring in vast numbers of people from the third world and allowed migrants to walk across the border and get on all the benefits. I don't know why you would say my comments are not worthy of being on the discussion forum if you believe in freedom of expression. Who on here has a monopoly on the truth?

Government intervention in every aspect of life is part of Liberal ideology. We see the results of that in every area of government policy. The energy industry for example. Trudeau killed two major proposed pipeline projects and caused great harm to the energy industry in Canada because of his radical climate change agenda and interventionist spirit. Now the liberal government is trying to bring in through bill C10 control of what people post on the internet. They want to use the government bureaucracy, the CRTC, to control private internet companies, which in turn would censor private citizen's comments on the internet. A prime example of Marxist or Communist government control and a violation of freedom of expression.

Primarily and ultimately, it is the result and in my view, quite inevitable one, of the indifference and complacency of the public. A democracy cannot prosper where it is not in demand, where people don't care, don't clean it, maintain it, don't discuss and seek necessary improvements and gave up the will and hope to implement them. Basically, where few care, and those who do mostly to talk it away.

Senior ranks shouldn't become involved with those junior to them, consensual or not.

Your casual comment proves nothing of the sort. It may be true, of course, but you'd have to provide some pretty thorough analysis to convince anyone. Most people on here wouldn't be convinced of the truth of something by an offhand sentence from a complete stranger.

You’re right that Canadians pretend that Canada is more independent than it is. Canadians have continually refused to make the financial and other sacrifices that would make the country more independent, for example in vaccine and military equipment production or in diversifying trade. However, Canada is a relatively small country that can’t and shouldn’t try to do everything independently. Canada has built a more harmonious, safer society (in terms of social safety net and violence) than the US with much economic opportunity, though not as much individual economic opportunity, research and development, and national independence as the US The Loyalist roots in Canada served us well in the pandemic in terms of being more compliant with public health measures, but they also make it harder for us to make transformative demands of our government to acquire vaccines and end restrictions. Being so careful is a double-edged sword. Having a separate country called Canada seems like a lot of extra work and expense sometimes. Are we really charting our own course? Is it better than the American or British one? Our death rates from Covid are half those of these larger countries, but could we have done better? Not producing our own vaccines was a serious setback. We have tried to diversify trade with CETA and with South American and Asian trade deals. We talk about energy independence with our vast oil reserves, yet we can’t break through regulations and interprovincial barriers to build national pipelines. As a small country we rely heavily on foreign investment. Also, it’s too cold for too long. We need freedom of movement so we can get a break from the cold if we want it. In that regard our border keeps us hemmed in as much as it protects us. Nevertheless, people want to come here. 400,000 immigrants will be coming each year. Canada may have tried to shirk her post WW2 middle power status, but the excuses to not act independently are disappearing as Canada’s population and economy expand.

You’re right. We are shifting from a policy focused on protecting the vulnerable from death and keeping the hospitalization and death rates to a level in keeping with other major illnesses to an absolutist policy of no freedom without eradicating Covid and Covid illness, which of course is impossible. Destroying businesses, mental health, socialization, education, and freedom of movement to meet an extreme standard of safety is unjustifiable. The lockdown in Ontario will reach the two month mark by early June. We will see 70% of the population vaccinated before the end of June. Case counts are diminishing. We must remove mandatory restrictions and shift to a policy of individual responsibility by summer. People aren’t sheep and should be trusted to make decisions about their own safety or we are no longer a free society. The vaccines will be universally available to all aged 12 and up who want them soon and they’re already available to them in the hotspots. If you haven’t had a vaccine yet or you don’t want a vaccine and are worried about getting Covid, stay home and mask up when you must go out. No one is making you socialize or travel. The vaccines have been available to vulnerable populations for some time. End the mass hysteria and the tyranny of the public health technocrats.

Another interesting parallel with authoritarian states is the need to create a narrative in the collective psyche, as opposed to creating own, distinct path and reality. Inclusiveness, egalitarianism, advancement and modern society, economic excellence all are self-created stories that are either in less than complete agreement, or in a stark disagreement with the reality. And the reality, what is it? Endless exploitation of resources, from beavers to oil sands making the country dependent on outside interests, exceptions and loopholes, outdated and self-absorbed bureaucracy, and inability, in three centuries or close to create own distinct story in the tapestry of the world. What we want to look is not necessarily how we're seen. Are we sure this is the right collection of tools and skills to prosper in this century?

Liz Cheney voted for Trump in 2020. Bwaahaaaaahaaa! ??

Difference is that Canada knows all about collapsing empires, and is now dependent on the angry, aggressive, and dangerous U.S. economy and military instead of the British.

In the part I quoted, Obamas calling for violence and for people to stay angry. Stay angry means don't forgive. The message coming from the left has too much hate in it for my liking. They've gone too far. People are starting to reject leftism. So, short answer is "yes"...

Not communist, but totalitarian. This is the federal government’s guidelines for the summer. Um, small outdoor gatherings without masks was last summer. They expect that with 75% of Canadians at one dose and 20% at two? Are they insane? They can go fuck themselves, especially that idiot Tam.

"Experts" call on Canada to use COVAX doses of AstraZeneca or give them back to those who will.

Thanks for your post, it contained a lot that I was unaware of. Was not familiar with Gloria Steinem, just wiki'd her. Gotta say, it's a bad look for a person who spent decades involved in federal politics to have been having secret involvement with the CIA. Makes her look bad, her causes look bad, American politics look bad, and the CIA... well, looking bad is sort of what they do best. That and assassinations, drug smuggling, election interference, etc etc etc. I also hadn't heard of George Meaney. Super weird to me that someone that virulently anticommunist ended up becoming the biggest figure in unions for decades in the US. Guess that's America for you. Read his wikipedia article, sounds like he played an important role in stamping out communism and, in the long run, weakening unions. Ironic because it sounds like weakening unions was not his intent. I know that America was hip-deep in "regime change" in Latin America for decades. I'm not an expert, but to the best of my knowledge, the general pattern was that a democratically elected left wing government would be removed and a hard right junta installed in its place, which committed enough atrocities against their own people that the people were unable to resist having their natural resources pillaged for pennies on the dollar by american corporations. For anybody who is unfamiliar - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_involvement_in_regime_change_in_Latin_America. Truly a shameful story. Regarding Chomsky, I see the world as made up of good people who sometimes do bad things and bad people who sometimes do good things. I see the difference between the two as being mostly a matter of time, circumstance, perspective and, of course, choice. I can appreciate some of the good Chomsky has done without needing to make him out to be a saint. In particular, the work he has done creating academic "proof" of many of America's misdeeds has IMO been very important. On a personal level, I am indebted to him for Manufacturing Consent (which was in collaboration with Edward Herman). It forever changed the way I view and consume information. I don't always agree with him, and I also don't always understand him (I haven't yet put the work in to figure out whatever he means by "anarcho-syndicalism" for instance). I think one important difference between America and the Soviet Union is that America did not find it necessary to murder Chomsky. I have no doubt that he would have been executed, sent to the Gulag, or simply "disappeared" had he lived in China or Russia. I've listened to interviews where people ask him why he was a fiercer critic of America than of the Soviet Union (I think the question has come up several times but can't remember which interviews). His response was that as an American, he is more responsible for America's crimes, and as an American, he is more able to do something about America's crimes. As much as I can criticize the Soviets and/or Chinese "Communist" governments for their authoritarianism, abuse of their citizenry and needless brutality, it is definitely worth bearing in mind that America is as, or even more, violent. The biggest difference I see is the scope and justification - the American war machine spread death and destruction on a much vaster scale, and the American propaganda machine is far more effective than the Soviets ever were. I guess America has committed fewer large scale atrocities against their own citizenry, so yay?

Anyways, back to the actual topic. Black Republican scores historic win in Virginia.

Right. Now tell that to the mainstream media. Their double standard is beyond ridiculous.

I think for the most part, everyone on this forum is a nice guy or girl, there are a few on the fringes that live in the twilight zone" and both sides have them, "left and right" and to be honest your one of my favorite lefties, at least one that i can exchange ideas or debate with. As for my partisanship misleading me, your not the first to call me that, Michael said something similar, As for JT he is one of the worse PM ever, maybe that is my extreme dislike for the guy, but he is being judged by his deeds and actions, and no one even comes close to Justin, not even Doug ford...or Kenny... And while like most Canadians we do not have much faith or trust in any of our politicians, because we have been let down way to many times. O tool maybe an idiot, but he is an untested idiot, he could not possibly do any worse than Justin did. Justin has had his time at bat and really has not accomplished all that much.... I pray to the politician gods everyday that they let someone with leadership skills, solid moral values, will guide us into the future... At this point i don't care if he or she is liberal, conservative, just that they can make a decision based on facts and figures and what is best for the nation and not the polls, or what the crazy public comes up with.... I get it accusing someone of not having any moral compass is a serious accusation... but when i take a look at everyone of Justins, lies, his deceitfulness, and not just his actions but a lot of his cabinet ministers are no better, Remember " if you yell it often and loud enough the people will believe it... after she had a few drinks, for me this was a slap in the face, this is what she thought of the people that put her in office, this is what she thought of her fellow Canadians, not smart enough to see through all the crap coming out of her mouth... I'm sorry i come from a military back ground, where honor, integrity, trust, where more than just words, but a way of life...So when someone can not see what the liberal party has done, or has not done i begin to question where their moral values lie... by not calling it out it some how makes you an accomplice to it or you don't think it is worthy of discussion, either way how could someone make excuses for it or for not seeing it... I see that as being sad... and what scares the shit out of me, is that liberal voters are Ok with all of it, and would keep this guy in office for 4 more years with most likely a majority...

It's worth remembering that humans invented Capitalism before we invented government regulation of Capitalists. England used to have an industrialized, Capitalist society that was wholly deregulated. The results were awful and can be read about in most Charles Dickens novels. Herbert Spencer Visits Pittsburgh - Existential Comics The problems alluded to in this strip were solved by government regulation. The 8 hour work day and 40 hour work week, minimum wage, safety regulations, laws against child labour and union breaking, taxation, environmental protections, and so much more, were all brought about by government regulation, and they were brought about to solve real problems that were plaguing society at the time. I agree that government is imperfect and that politics is inherently frustrating, but if we weaken our government it creates a power vacuum that will be filled by corporations and oligarchs. Respectfully, it seems to me that you are using "we the people" as though the views you are expressing are representative of all Canadians. I don't think Canadians as a whole agree on very many things. I also wonder if you've thought of who will be the guarantor of our rights and freedoms if we neuter the government. As things are now, if a person believes their rights have been violated, they go to the government for redress. If we defund and disempower our government, who will enforce our rights? That said, I totally agree with your points about how our democracy has become subverted. Politicians make promises, some of us believe them enough to vote, nearly half of the ballots we cast don't elect anyone, then our politicians go and do whatever they please with very little accountability to us, until the next election rolls around. The reason that this doesn't serve as adequate accountability is because the next election isn't a choice between what we want and what we have, it's a choice between several different, imperfect politicians. We make our choice and the whole cycle starts again with the same result. Being able to vote out the last liar doesn't help us if all the electable candidates will continue to lie. For me, the solution is for Canadians, as a whole, to come together and have a lot of respectful dialogue so that we can figure out what we stand for and why we stand for it. Then we can make effective plans for how we will hold our politicians to account. As long as it is only one group of Canadians out of many who are upset about any given problem, the ruling elite can play us off against each other instead of addressing our problems.