SpankyMcFarland

Just so we’re clear, I have a fundamental problem with Hamas as I stated above. No reasonable person would regard my post as an endorsement of what they have done but this place is different. We don’t all have to follow a party line in Canada. Not yet, anyway.

I can criticize the policies of successive Israeli governments, in particular this one, and still recognize that Hamas is an enemy of all that I hold dear. Secular social democracy is the way to go; I can’t give unqualified support to anybody who doesn’t agree with that.

Sticky stuff is presently pouring forth from another country. In such matters going early is OK if you turn out to be correct. Looks like JT was vindicated on this particular file.

OK, I think the evidence question can be given some warm milk and put to bed: An Indian national is facing murder-for-hire charges in a case of what American law enforcement are calling an attempt “to assassinate a U.S. citizen on U.S. soil,” with an alleged connection to an employee of the Indian government. https://abcnews.go.com/amp/US/murder-hire-plot-targets-sikh-separatist-new-york/story?id=105241802

I fully understand the police have a very difficult job but there’s a line you can’t go beyond. It was clearly crossed with both Floyd and Eric Garner, another person suspected of a minor crime who posed no imminent threat to the public. You can’t compromise a suspect’s breathing unless you are in mortal danger.

The problem is that if you apply pressure on a person like that you are liable to kill them. Humans are exquisitely vulnerable to asphyxia in certain positions. We should be able to learn such basics. And do I really have to point out that resisting arrest should not be a capital offence? Maybe on this forum. Where I clearly do not belong.

Take a look at the actual evidence presented by both sides. Ask yourself why nobody was able to discredit Tobin’s testimony. The prosecution was simply more convincing.

The jury did not believe fentanyl toxicity was a significant factor in his death, ie, a person without fentanyl in their system would have died under the same circumstances.

I will let his words speak for themselves: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/08/us/george-floyd-breath-oxygen.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

Dr. Martin Tobin, a world-renowned expert in respiratory physiology, testified free of charge in this trial because after viewing the video evidence he felt so strongly that Floyd had been killed by the police. How is he a coward, exactly?

I would favour disclosure before any of that dating carry-on happens. Doubt I’ll ever be affected one way or the other.

Looks to me like a pattern is emerging… https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/nov/22/us-thwarts-plot-to-kill-sikh-separatist-and-issues-diplomatic-warning-to-india I’m more than happy to blame China when appropriate but this ain’t one of those times.

Democracy in America is proceeding rapidly in the wrong direction.

When a problem worsens for decades under PMs of various temperaments and political persuasions, one has to look beyond politics for causes. We may need a catastrophe to wake us up.

You’re not quoting me there. I have never claimed that and I don’t know why ‘panicked little loser’ applies to me. I have no idea what will happen in the future - I suspect it’s not going to end soon - but I do know that this war is already a disaster for Russia and Putin. He thought he could finish Ukraine in days and now he is stuck. Imagine his forebears being unable to defeat Ukraine. It’s a humiliating situation for any Russian leader.

One of the issues I was prepared to listen to Republicans on was spending and the debt. These days, most US Republican pols are down with high spending but would still like to cut taxes. How’s that gonna work exactly? There are fans of Putin in the party too. And then they have the gall to talk about Leftists.

Leaving doctrine aside, the Catholic Church is a hierarchical organization and I don’t know if you can diss your boss like this and be surprised if he takes action. Praising a description like ‘diabolically disoriented clown’ leaves little room for debate. https://wherepeteris.com/bishop-praises-video-calling-pope-diabolically-disoriented-clown/ https://www.ncronline.org/news/pope-francis-axes-firebrand-texas-bishop-strickland-darling-right-wing-twitter https://www.ncronline.org/opinion/guest-voices/joseph-strickland-was-my-bishop-heres-why-he-had-go And his friend Father Altman is a real live wire: https://www.ncregister.com/news/controversial-la-crosse-priest-father-altman-to-challenge-bishops-request-to-resign

I think this is a semantic problem, firstly. Does “no voter fraud” really mean not one fraudulent vote in common parlance? I don’t think it does. You’d have to look at the quotes in detail and find out what people meant by them. Is there an example where a senior Democratic politician said there was no voter fraud and said he meant it absolutely literally when asked about it? Anybody who maintains that is being unreasonable. Given Biden’s winning margin, fraud on a large and systematic scale involving many people in a conspiracy would have been required and there is no evidence of that. This seems to have become a bigger issue since Republicans gave up trying to win the national vote and decided to try and change the voters rather than their policies.

I don’t know how anybody could be sure there is no voter fraud whatsoever. However, there does not appear to be evidence of significant voter fraud in US elections.

He expected this war to last days. Instead it’s going to drag on for years. That’s a disaster in my book. And why anybody in the West would be cheering on this monster is beyond me.

Well, I have never played ice hockey. We can all agree on that.

Yes, of course. Student loans should not be in some separate category where they can’t be written off. What an absurd and grotesque system the Americans have come up with.

Our local frame of reference is being destroyed by social media. Newspapers are disappearing and an American point of view, with a little Anglo angle, is being imposed upon us. In Walmart all I see at the checkout are headlines about Biden, the Royal Family and the Kardashians.

Putin will support anything that distracts from his disastrous war in Ukraine. It may indeed end in stalemate but will never be the decisive victory he expected.

His history may make a civil suit easier. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12691371/NHL-Sean-Avery-Matt-Petgrave-absolutely-Adam-Johnson.html