SpankyMcFarland

Do you really believe such ideas threaten our very existence? I find that hard to understand. Like many countries, America has a history with tragic aspects. To prevent students fully understanding their common heritage is a poor sign in any aspiring leader. Teenagers want to know the truth and they deserve to hear it. Lord knows how long such precious liberties will endure in a world so threatened by authoritarianism.

Modern megafires are becoming a strategic problem for North America. I’d say our neighbours to the south would be grateful if we could a better job of addressing them first.

It’s not an existential problem. Let’s get a grip here.

We’re never going to agree on mitigation here - what to do about reducing greenhouse gas emissions - but I would hope we can develop some level of consensus on adapting our country to this new, hotter reality. As wiser heads than myself have already pointed out, we need to plant a different mix of trees that is more fire-resistant, i.e. more deciduous trees esp. aspen, and stop weeding out these less commercially valuable species from the stands as they grow. We may also have to accept that a large part of our current boreal forest should be allowed to become savannah with a greatly reduced tree density. Paradoxically, more fires are also needed, small controlled burns of the forest favoured by indigenous peoples in many parts of the world, to reduce the risk of catastrophic holocausts. I saw an angry New Yorker threatening to sue Canada over the smoke in his city. That funny moment is part of a larger reality. Americans will demand a much more effective response to our wildfires. I must disclose an ulterior motive here. Despite many years of trying, I cannot love black spruce. The bogs of my province boast half-dead zombie armies whose ragged upper branches are encrusted in old man’s beard. If there’s an uglier tree I have yet to see it.

I would like to think our two countries are on starkly different tracks at the moment.

Mistakes were made, I’ll admit, but we’re getting there.

It’s still a great country with genuine wilderness, unlike Western Europe. I’m constantly thankful I chose here rather than the US. When I was driving to the ferry in North Sydney with a few hours to spare, I took a detour to see some more of the province and a guy flagged me down to tell me I was going the wrong way. That kind of thing is what I would miss.

Comparing an expensive European city with Toronto, we cost more on groceries and cell phones. https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/compare_cities.jsp?country1=Ireland&city1=Dublin&country2=Canada&city2=Toronto

People are going to start fires no matter what we do. However, once a forest fire starts, its progress depends on many factors including how dry the forest is, how warm the air is and wind speeds. All of these can be increased by climate change. In addition, megafires now create their own weather and these fire clouds can produce multiple lightning strikes that start new fires. https://thehill.com/changing-america/sustainability/environment/564216-wildfires-can-actually-create-their-own-weather/ We are facing a dimmed future in Canada.

I suppose one objection to two votes is sustaining voter participation. However, something has to be done. That number of candidates to consider for an important political post is ridiculous. People are signing up for a laugh. Failing other possibilities, I’d make it much more difficult to run, e.g. five hundred signed endorsements (who then can’t endorse anyone else) and a 10,000 dollar fee. You’ll run out of friends and family members a long way before that.

A basic point. Over recent decades the number of fires hasn’t increased but their extent and severity certainly has. A national firefighting service is one reform needed. A few other suggestions https://www.cbc.ca/news/climate/canada-wildfire-data-change-1.6854186

What a weird vote to hold with so many candidates. Time for ranked ballot or a run-off.

More on that Surovikin story. Time will tell: https://nypost.com/2023/06/28/russian-general-who-knew-about-mutiny-is-missing-report/

Whatever about climate change itself, we are going to have to make a much bigger effort to limit these wildfires and the horrible smoke they produce. I’d say the Americans would quieten down on our NATO contribution if we were seen to be doing everything we could on this issue. It has the potential to affect quality of life in the continent.

You’d think Prigozhin must have had some promise of support from within the Russian army as he was never going to succeed on his own. We’ll have to wait and see if the story below is true or if the US is merely adding to Putin’s paranoia: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/27/us/politics/russian-general-prigozhin-rebellion.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

Can you provide documentation on that?

The bad climate news never stops these days: https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/canadian-wildfire-emissions-reach-record-high-2023-2023-06-27/ That’s an area greater than New Brunswick! What’s Canada going to be like to live in? The strategy we should adopt to combat AGW is a political matter immune to consensus but I marvel at how there are people out there, some of them Canadians covered in soot, who still dispute its reality. https://globalnews.ca/news/9792167/air-quality-warning-quebec-fires/

No, that’s not a common problem, of course, and I certainly didn’t mean to give you that impression. Puberty starts subtly with hormonal pulses from the brain long before we need to worry about pregnancy. At least consider what I have put to you already. How many 12 year olds are masturbating? Do you really believe that masturbation is not sexual? When you talk about bland ancient pamphlets, bear in mind the information many of these kids have already about sex and sexuality. It’s not the same pre-Internet world.

Likening Nixon to Trump is a stretch. Leaving aside his many faults, Nixon gave his life to politics and there’s no doubting the intellectual heft he and Kissinger brought to any file. However, were they right to go to China? Will we regret their efforts, effective as usual, to awake that sleeping giant?

But the country was being overrun in a potential coup. Every able-bodied man should have been fighting that and certainly any member of the armed forces no matter what the consequences. Putin’s cynicism has demoralized Russia. It’s simply a matter of save yourself now.

Parental controls on phones and tablets are rarely foolproof in a mixed android/Apple household and few families have the best ones. Kids are on their phones from a very early age and can end up learning about sexuality in a way that should alarm their parents. The reality is that Big Tech has shown it doesn’t care that much about ‘age-appropriate discussions’ despite what it says to the contrary. I am for immigration but would prefer something closer to the Dutch approach. Canada has a particular set of values. If you don’t like them, perhaps this country isn’t for you. In general, I’ve seen immigrants from conservative backgrounds gradually accepting Canadian values rather than rejecting them, e.g. on gay children and love matches.

That doesn’t define what is sexual. That could occur at any age of childhood and is a different matter. Masturbation and orgasm aren’t really sexual per se? I think a lot of people would disagree there. Why not explain what’s happening to them?

Not to sound like Bill Clinton here but it depends on what you mean by ‘sex’. At 14 quite a few have already had sexual experiences with other people of one sort or another, e.g. masturbation, oral sex, and, of course with themselves. Nearly all will have had sexual fantasies and many questions about sex. Advice at 14 would have arrived a little too late in that case. Surely the goal should be to talk to them before any of this happens so they can make informed decisions? We live in a world steeped in sexual imagery. One or two dull talks at school aren’t going to turn these kids into sex maniacs. And that’s it for me. Strange topic.

For girls, puberty usually starts between the ages of 9 and 13. The median age of menarche in Canada is approximately 12.7 years, so half of girls have their first period before that. I would argue that sexual education of some sort should start ahead of menarche. More generally, children of any age can be taught about appropriate relationships, e.g. the unacceptability of violence, and at some point a sexual element could be introduced.

I’ve no argument there. What exactly should be taught is a whole other matter. Because in middle school you’re right into these issues. I think kids should have advance warning of what’s about to happen so they are prepared for it. Do many people change their gender identities because of what they are told in school? I don’t believe so but it’s an issue that has been raised.