SpankyMcFarland

Zionists themselves had organizations that described what they were doing as colonization: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palestine_Jewish_Colonization_Association The European Jews who started arriving in Palestine in modest numbers under the Ottomans and as a great flood under the British after 1917 were of mixed ancestry: part European and part Middle Eastern. Both Jews and Arab speakers in that part of the world have deep connections ethnically to pre-existing populations in the region.

Likud did a lot more than say that in 1977. They made it happen: https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/original-party-platform-of-the-likud-party

Where have I ever defended Israel’s conduct in Gaza?

So this document is hundreds of pages long. Has anybody read it and can they say why our relative position has declined and whether it matters at all?

Whatever one thinks of climate change in general, Alberta is facing some serious challenges on the environmental front. Firstly, not enough water, especially in the southern part of the province: https://thetyee.ca/Analysis/2024/02/19/Alberta-Brutal-Water-Reckoning/ And the fire season has started early:

Are you knocking Russia‘s friend China there? Russia and China are allies in this war. Indeed, Russia is well on its way to becoming a Chinese satellite like North Korea. All three regimes hate liberty.

Dictatorships are all too stable. I just want to see a free Ukraine survive a bit longer.

It’s more a hope than anything else. Guys who aren’t running again like Mike Gallagher don’t have to fear primaries any more.

Given the siloed way people consume news these days, I’m afraid fake news will only get stronger.

Kathy Hochul, Governor of New York State, struck a rather strange note recently. While trying to show her support for Israel in Gaza she got a little carried away and offered this scenario about her northern neighbour: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/16/nyregion/kathy-hochul-israel-gaza-canada-comments.html And she’s a Democrat. Lord help us.

This is a 17’th century debate, the sort of thing deranged dinosaurs like Ian Paisley used to go in for.

One silver lining in Navalny’s death. Trump and Co. will have a harder time blocking military aid for Ukraine now. Some Republicans will break ranks.

I wouldn’t consider myself particularly left wing. Chrétien and Mulroney were PMs close to my way of thinking. Government will bring its own problems we can’t foresee and Canadian voters are becoming more fractious. All parties are unstable coalitions and we’ve seen the right struggle in Canada with this on several occasions. Most people beyond the National Post crowd will forget about Trudeau in five seconds and want to know what PP has done for them lately.

The challenge will be managing his voters: centrist newbies, often former Liberals, who want lower rents and economic change generally and will have very little patience; traditional Tories; libertarians; the Christian crowd; and the obstreperous MAGA crew screaming about vaccines, convoys, QAnon etc. who’ll have to be kept as quiet as possible after the election so as not to frighten the rest.

There is very rarely one simple answer to a complex problem. If there was it would be solved. Gun control is one factor if it can be effectively implemented. I can see no reason for civilians to carry assault rifles. I also can’t see why any reasonable person would oppose rigorous background checks. The debate on what works in what country is an endless one. Don’t expect Western Europe to loosen its rules any time soon. Some believe Australia has made itself safer with stricter gun laws. https://www.vox.com/2015/8/27/9212725/australia-buyback I wouldn’t want to see laxer laws in Canada.

There’s a great deal of energy devoted to differences in policy that can seem quite minor, like the fights between Christians on theology. Both sides are becoming more tribal. America is a deeply weird democracy in having only two ancient parties to choose from which is a lot better than a one party state but forces too many voters who have nothing to do with each other into unwieldy coalitions. Like companies, political parties should come and go. They have a shelf life. Some creative destruction is good for the system. On the subject of age, Biden and Trump are both too old. 75 should be the cut-off for presidents, congressmen, judges etc. There are lots of things old people can do very well, eg fighting on the Internet, but this kind of thing ain’t for them. For starters, they have no real stake in the future. They won’t live to see their decisions really take effect and have long-term consequences. Time to move aside, guys.

I wouldn’t say there is one answer - rather, cut the risk factors all along the causal chain of events which would include psychiatric treatment and gun control. Any person with a history of violence and psychosis should not have access to guns. The vast majority of Americans support background checks. On the mental health side, North America got rid of way too many of its psychiatric beds when anti-psychotic drugs appeared. At the very least we should have a more pro-active, and if necessary paternalistic, approach to young, paranoid schizophrenic men who are becoming violent. They are definitely at high risk. Which wouldn’t have helped here. Women commit these crimes much less frequently.

I’m not sure ‘answering the call’ in WWI did us any good and the Anglo-Boer War was simply an imperialist adventure. None of the six empires in WWI respected the rights of small nations.

It was a lot fewer than it could have been.

Large-scale military procurements offer all the hazards of civilian megaprojects with added political complications too. The unfolding warship disaster shows that the military top brass can’t be let change requirements again and again as new gadgets appear on the market. In addition, we shouldn’t have bought local because such people can always bring pressure to bear in Ottawa that foreigners can’t. I’ve never seen a country agonise so long over helicopters, submarines, fighter aircraft and boats. https://nationalpost.com/opinion/ivison-canadas-uncontrolled-military-program-plundering The trick is to ringfence enough funds to pay for the equipment required and protect it from political interference but have remorselessly strict oversight of cost overruns. Not an easy problem to solve.

Mental illness seems to have played a large role here: https://abc7.com/genesse-ivonne-moreno-mental-illness-lakewood-megachurch-shooter/14419218/

You need help.

One small step for Mann… https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-00396-y

You’d think they’d be aware of the optics, though, and award the contract to a larger outfit that might do some of the work itself. They seem to have been in talks with these guys already. Could they not have hired them merely to find a larger company or companies that wasn’t theirs which could do the work?

It’s not really. Not any more. We’re not a little colony at this stage. Charles found time to visit multiple countries around the world in Europe, Asia and Africa before he got sick. But not us. Which should tell you something: this relationship is on the DNR list.