BeaverFever

No, when people from red states are no longer able to meet basic admission requirements for post-secondary education or leadership positions in society the trash will have taken itself out. If you want to see the future of America under red state domination you only have to watch the movie “Idiocracy”

I doubt R10 is a real teacher. DeSantis passed a law saying any unqualified and uneducated lunatic can be a teacher as long as they’re ex-police or ex-military and have a few post secondary credits - not even a bachelor’s degree required. So if anything he’s probably one of those “teachers” and understandably no school actually wants to employ these folks if they don’t absolutely have to. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/amid-us-teacher-shortage-florida-turns-military-veterans-2022-09-13/

I (regrettably) have to attend a wedding in Florida next year. I just hope the MAGA lunatics haven’t started their acts of domestic terrorism well by then. We all know it’s coming

No place is perfect but no place in the developed world is as as bad as USA

Dude threatening to assassinate the president is a crime didn’t you know that ? And despite all the countless threats you right-tards make on a regular basis and get told by FBI to cut it out this id1ot was the only one who was violent enough to be killed. And he had been warned by the FBI about his violent threats before and he threatened the FBI with violence if they returned. FFS the guy showed pics of his sniper rifle and sniper ghillie suit he claimed he would use to shoot the president just days before the president was coming to town and you honestly think law enforcement had no business contacting him about that? Here are the details of this nutjob: Robertson has been on the FBI's radar since March, based on a tip from a social media platform, reportedly Truth Social, the company backed by former President Donald Trump. He allegedly posted direct language about his dream to "eradicate" Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, before Bragg's office indicted Trump. Many of Robertson's alleged posts contained specific locations, graphic descriptions of imagining watching his targets die and photographs of firearms he appeared to have access to. The word 'assasination' [sic] appears repeatedly and the guns are referred to as "Democrat eradication tools." Those kinds of details hit a trip wire for federal officials, says Seamus Hughes, a senior researcher at the National Counterterrorism Innovation, Technology and Education Center located at the University of Nebraska, Omaha. Hughes has tracked the number of federal arrests over threats to public officials over the last decade. In 2013, there were 38 such arrests — last year, there were 74. The trend began to escalate within the last five years. Most FBI interventions are "a diversion program" "So a lot of the things we saw in there, you know, they're not that unusual, unfortunately," says Hughes, of Robertson's posting history. What is unusual, says Hughes, is for an interaction with the FBI to end in violence. "You're talking about hundreds of thousands of tips they get about threats. And many times the FBI will knock on the door, say, 'What are you doing online? Knock it off.' It's basically a diversion program. And those individuals will move on with their lives. The smaller subset, you have to bring up federal charges." According to the charging documents, Robertson allegedly told FBI agents in an initial visit that his flagged post described a dream, rather than serious intent. He reportedly demanded they not return without a warrant and went on to post that the bureau had "no idea how close your agents came to 'violent eradication.'" Hughes says a significant number of individuals approached by the FBI in these cases say they're unaware their threats violate law. "They just thought it was protected by the First Amendment, which on its face, people understand, that's ridiculous," he says.

But, tell us about what YOU did in office, Peter: Peter MacKay: The urgent need to fix Canada's military — and how to do it Advice from a former defence minister to one just starting The challenges facing the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces are as daunting and as complex as they are numerous, writes former defence minister Peter MacKay, who says the federal government has a duty to ensure that defence is prioritized. Photo by Lars Hagberg / The Canadian Press With the recent federal cabinet shuffle, Canada has a new defence minister. As Bill Blair takes the reins, it is worth taking stock of where the Department of National Defence finds itself and the headwinds Blair faces in this new role. It is critically important to examine what opportunities exist to revitalize arguably the most important file of any government. Story continues below The challenges facing DND and the Canadian Armed Forces are as daunting and as complex as they are numerous. Most recently, Canada has been maligned by international partners, perhaps especially the United States, for failing to reach the NATO spending target. Adding insult to injury were reports of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau telling NATO officials behind closed doors that we “never will” reach that goal, only to contradict himself a few weeks later at a NATO meeting in Vilnius by agreeing to see two per cent of GDP spending on defence as a floor, not a ceiling. Canada’s behaviour has spread confusion and mistrust among allies and gives glee to our adversaries. It is important to look beyond that headline number and accept that even if Canada were to invest two per cent of its GDP in defence (we are currently pegged at 1.29 per cent according to most recent NATO figures), there is no guarantee that we have a system capable of managing, let alone investing, an additional $20 billion in defence funding annually. In my experience, there has been a distinct lack of co-ordination and communication between the departments responsible for military procurement. Industry Canada, Public Works and Procurement, and National Defence — all overseen by the Treasury Board — often work at cross purposes and in silos. These woes have long plagued Canada’s approach to defence spending, from boots to battleships. It would not be a stretch to call Canada’s defence procurement system among the worst in the West, having bedevilled successive governments for years. Story continues below With the failure to get new and necessary equipment to our troops in a timely and efficient fashion, Ottawa has fostered a crisis of faith in Canada as a defence partner. Our allies and adversaries alike have called us out as a laggard and free rider. Perhaps more troubling, our men and women in uniform are acutely aware that Canada has under invested in their success, which has led to serious morale and personnel deficits. Most troubling, we have put them in harm’s way at times of elevated risk due to improper equipment, uniforms and personal protection. What young pilot dreams of flying fighter aircraft that are almost older or are older than their parents? How can we tolerate asking them to deploy to a desert combat mission in forest green uniforms, or more recently, require them to buy their own helmets or feed themselves? It is truly falling well below what any G7 country’s citizens should ever tolerate when it comes to the treatment of those who put their lives on the line to protect us. Undeniably there are also other issues that we are facing as a nation, some of an urgent nature, but we are now at an inflection point. Ottawa must not allow our nation’s defence readiness to continue to decline, putting all that we have accomplished and all that we hold dear at risk. A new approach is needed. If the new minister of defence is listening, I have a few suggestions he might consider as he settles into his role. Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The first thing that must be done is to call for a détente. The government and opposition must come together to work on de-politicizing defence generally and procurement specifically. This doesn’t mean that the government should be absolved of responsibility for legitimate shortcomings, nor that the opposition stop asking questions, but rather that all parties should agree that the fundamentals of defence and procurement must have continuity between governments and must be defined by interparty co-operation rather than political competition. If defence can be de-politicized, even in part, much more progress can be made toward cutting bureaucratic processes designed to insulate politicians, allowing us to reduce costly delays and finally get our men and women in uniform the tools and resources they most need, much more quickly than is currently possible. The spectacular failures of the Sea King helicopter, Victoria class submarine and ongoing and escalating CF-18 Fighter replacement programs, costing billions and causing long delays for short-term political gain, highlight this pressing need. Partisan political games and broken promises have devastating implications for those who risk their lives in the CAF. Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. If defence and procurement can be de-politicized, we can then consider what the government ought to do with a freer hand. First things first, Canada needs certain interoperable capabilities in order to contribute to our international obligations. We must be able to perform the tasks required of us in the air, on land, at sea, and in space, and we must be able to do so in co-operation with our most important partners and allies. As a middle power with limited resources, this means that we must pursue joint builds for many of our major capabilities, such as the F-35, and must also be assertive in participating in international training exercises and supply chains for future capabilities. Refuelling capabilities across all elements as well as spare parts, ammunition and training are part of that interoperability puzzle. An aspect of defence that has been allowed to atrophy has been our manufacturing capabilities. While Canada will never be able to develop all its necessary capabilities domestically, and while we should not attempt to embrace complete autonomy, we are not helping our allies if we lack the ability to meaningfully contribute to manufacturing, to produce crucial capabilities and material necessary for collective defence. Consider the shortage of artillery munitions that Ukraine is contending with; Canada could help fill that gap, but doing so requires significant investments in domestic production. Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. And to that end, Canada must strive to seize upon its comparative advantages. What we as a nation might lack in domestic air combat platform manufacturing, we can make up for in our burgeoning tech sector. Satellite imagery and LiDAR technology, ground- and ocean-based sensors, search and rescue, artificial intelligence, drones, and more are all capabilities where Canada can not only develop value for our military, but indeed may be able to manufacture goods and services that benefit our partners and allies more generally. Surely some buys will have to come off the shelf from allied countries, but by focusing on areas where we have advantages, while not neglecting areas which we must have some self-sufficiency, the government can make smart investments that yield benefits with respect to defence and the economy. Similarly, with major purchases and economic opportunities that come from such things as navy vessels and subsea autonomous vessels, Canada has a choice to make: do we continue to pursue domestic builds — which have significant economic benefits and the ability to be tailor-made to the needs of the Royal Canadian Navy — or do we pursue off-the-shelf options, such as purchasing older U.S. vessels? My own view is that Canada is nurturing shipbuilding and marine technology expertise that we would be fools to not continue to invest in. But we should consider the broader implications and pressing needs of this for niche capabilities such as future submarines. Or explore lease-to-own options as we did with joint support supply ships. There is a place for sole source when an urgent need arises, as was the case when the RCN faced an inability to refuel at sea. Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Urgency requires innovative thinking, thinking sometimes out of the box and outside the beltway of Ottawa. There are tremendous minds with invaluable experience available to the new minister from among retired military personnel, public servants and organizations like the Conference of Defence Associations Institute and Canadian Global Affairs Institute, which regularly convene and ponder these pressing issues. Looking farther afield to countries like Australia and New Zealand as comparators for how to untie the Gordian Knot of procurement would help. Dusting off the 2013 Jenkins report, a call to action authored by Tom Jenkins and a panel of experts on federal R&D innovation, would also provide evergreen advice. This is effectively a question of what model of military we want to develop: one like that of Australia — which is sharp, powerful, domestically fit for purpose, but smaller in size — or one more similar to that which Poland is building — a robust military with significant mass of personnel and equipment prepared for a major conventional conflict. There are benefits to both approaches, and neither is inherently superior; the best approach is based on what we want our military to be able to achieve. The CAF’s current mandate of home game, North American defence and one or more missions abroad demands the latter model. Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The new minister might contemplate standing up more reserve units to build the larger regular force Army that we need. They need to consider a type of emergency management agency specifically mandated for domestic emergency response — still deployable, but more of a robust Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) with emphasis on Canada and our changing climate and extreme weather systems. An expanded Rangers and Junior Rangers program for south of 60 in some urban centres would provide enormous benefits for Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Canadians. Recommended from Editorial Therefore, if Ottawa wants to get the critically important future of our Canadian Armed Forces right and make the correct decisions, the government must start by addressing the strategic atrophy that has been allowed to fester around defence. Move forward on the recommendations already made on culture and improvement, without continually slamming the current members. The government must articulate a clear vision for Canada’s defence, must seek buy-in across party lines, and must pursue that vision honestly and forcefully with commensurate priority investment. Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. If we can fix these issues, then we can also restore the hope and pride of Canada’s military service members. This, above all else, should be our lodestar: we must inspire the next generation to defend our country and way of life. Restoring morale, recruitment and retention, and increasing the overall numbers and capabilities fundamentally depends upon the government’s ability to fix the chronic issues facing our military. The competent management of Canada’s defence is vital not only to the battlefield success of our men and women in uniform, but is indispensable to our national and international interests. Defence is our national insurance policy; in an increasingly dangerous world, our government has a sacred duty to ensure that defence is prioritized, and that democracy and freedom are preserved for our citizens and for those internationally whom we have committed to defend. From a former defence minister to one just starting, I wish Minister Blair all the best in this enormous task. I sincerely hope he can bring success to a portfolio in desperate need of reinvigorated and inspiring leadership. Special to National Post Peter MacKay served as minister of national defence, foreign affairs and justice in the cabinet of Prime Minister Stephen Harper. https://nationalpost.com/opinion/the-urgent-need-to-fix-canadas-military-and-how-to-do-it/wcm/73d158cc-ef0f-4efc-87cc-9c67d815ed4a/amp/

No paper bags, what are homeless people in the park going to drink their booze out of now? This is just what retail stores are doing now, nothing more. LCBO is following suit. It has more to do with saving a little money by not providing bags and making a little money selling reusable bags than it does with the environment. “Efficiencies!”

But only If you’re white, at least middle class and have tens of thousands to spend on lawyers OR if you can somehow politicize your case and make it a partisan issue trending on the 24hr news channels Otherwise you’re screwed. In reality American justice is the worst in the developed world. Largest prison population in the planet, worse that totalitarian regimes. Something like 97% of cases result in guilty pleas without trial because lawyers are so expensive and the penalties if convicted after pleading not guilty are so severe meanwhile decades of defunded legal aid has lawyers falling asleep in court and forgetting their clients names and details during trial without any mistrial occurring. American legal system is kafkaesque.

Just because he’s a right wing loon doesn’t mean he’s not a threat. Lots of murderers and would-be assassins are looney tunes. Sirhan Sirhan, John Hinkley, Mark David Chapman. for example You are so full of BS if this nutjob had threatened Trump instead of Biden and Trump prosecutors, you would be arguing that he got what he deserved and Trump almost died Your positions on issues never have anything to do with the facts, only the political identities of the people involved l. What evidence?

Yeah pledging absolutely. He also discussed in detail plans to murder the DA prosecuting Trump, that’s what initially caused Truth Social to report him to Secret Service. Even if he wasn’t going to fo through wit it, you can’t point loaded weapons at authorities when they show up to question you, Even a sh1t-filled mor0n like yourself should be able to do that calculation. Funny how you right-tards will justify the killing of every unarmed black person and child by police over minor crimes but yet you think pointing a loaded gun directly at authorities after threatening to assassinate the president and plotting actual murders of prosecutors isn’t over the line.

Breaking news!! This just in: - Pledging to assassinate the president with your sniper rifle that you actually own while he’s about to visit your home state is not a crime! - If you haven’t committed a crime, then it is also not a crime to point loaded guns at law enforcement and threaten to shoot them if they come to your house This breaking story is brought to you exclusively by BSN, the Bullsh1t News Network. BSN: the Idiocracy’s #1 choice for absolute know-nothing Bullsh1t. And now a word from our sponsor:

LMAO The deranged right wing conspiracy lunatic and gun nut who made death threats against the president and Trump’s prosecutor, was first reported to the Secret Service by Trump’s own Truth Social, and who then pointed a loaded gun at agents when they came to his door was not “more or less” assassinated by Biden.

Says the guy who chokes down like a hooker during Fleet Week on Trump and Putin lies.

Which makes you a conspiracy nut. Yeah because Biden has assassinated so many people, not like that nice guy Putin

AFAIK That’s all done in-country through the Canadian embassy as part of the immigration process before the immigration application is approved. The embassy is already familiar with the qualified, internationally accredited educational institutions and other professional bodies in their area of the responsibility (if any) and also has resources available through the local government, private firms, NGOs like Red Cross, Doctors Without Borders etc. “Unqualified foreign doctors “ is just not a problem that exists. The people who come here as do our have already been screened. The problem is that’s all done by citizenship and immigration Canada and once they actually arrive here there’s nothing that the provincial government and medical community treat them as strangers and have no process to deal with them. As to why we don’t train more Canadian doctors well that would cost a lot of money and most voters prefer tax cuts to actual investment in the public good so tuition has become more and more expensive. Plus being a social media influencer is way cooler than being a boring nerdy old doctor so the young folk aren’t super jazzed about it.

But this woman did not submit evidence. She conveniently only went public for the 2020 election.

Dude she has a lengthy history of scams and fake names, fake resumes, and lawsuits going back years. And now she’s defected to Russia and being paraded around by a Putin official who is an indicted spy. Did you delete those parts from your brain already? How less credible can a person get?

Nope. Actually according to the courts YOU support a rapist.

It has been the new normal for a couple of decades now, ever since the cult of austerity seized the minds of our business and political leaders. What they once called “temporary measures” have been in place for so long they have become accepted as just the way things are now It’s not just government, it’s private sector too. DB pension plans, retiree health benefits are effectively extinct in private sector workplaces. Job security is also long gone, back in the day most people could reasonably expect to work for the same employer for their entire career if they wanted to. Nowadays involuntary terminations due to arbitrary reorganizations and budget cuts are a regular workplace occurrence. I can’t tell you how many times in my career I’ve seen positions eliminated by some new incoming leader trying to show off how they can “find efficiencies” only to see those same roles quietly get recreated a short time later when the leaders change again or when a new budget comes along and the leader has turned their attention elsewhere. So the end result is no net change except for the lives and families thrown into complete chaos by the unexpected terminations and the constant state of heightened anxiety from the remaining workers who continuously wonder if they will be next. We also see it as consumers, it’s a tired but true cliche that “they just don’t make them like they used to anymore”. From houses to tools to children’s toys and everything in between the quality of consumer products - at least those affordable to the middle class- has decreased. Everything is made from sawdust and glue and comes from China and nothing last as long as it used to. Movies suck now too, mostly just dumbed-down, half-baked unoriginal stories full of explosions and product-placement advertising and whatever cultural memes are trending on social media. You cant make a movie these days unless you’re planning to screen it worldwide in places like China and Pakistan and India and the Middle East so you not only have to be mindful of not violating any cultural taboos but you need stories that are understandable and relatable across many diverse cultural and ethnic boundaries so you get the blandest pablum and mindless action movies meant to have the broadest appeal in as many worldwide markets as possible. Regarding the statement “We have a shortage of doctors so need to bring folks with unknown qualifications”: While there is not a problem of people working as doctors with “unknown qualifications,” we have a problem with many foreign-trained doctors driving taxis for bureaucratic reasons such as the internal workings and self-interest of entities such as physician colleges It should be a fairly simple matter for provinces with federal support to verify credentials, set up an assessment process to confirm medical knowledge and ability, and to establish some sort of mandatory education/ refresher training regimen for all incoming foreign trained doctors Yet in typical Canadian fashion we complain about the problem and make excuses for keeping the status quo

Its clearly a false claim. Hilarious that the only sexual assault claims you MAGAs believe are the ones against people you hate no matter how bogus they seem and how non-credible the accuser is.

It’s clearly an unsubstantiated BS claim by another right wing crackpot

Steven Segal was a right-wing defector to Putin’s Russia so was French actor Gerard Depardieu . I think there have been some other less prominent ones over the years. I remember during the Occupy Wall Street era of “tax the rich” backlash against the 1%, Segal and Depardieu, both of whom became Russian citizens, were touting Russia as a tax-friendly bastion of freedom for wealthy westerners and a “great democracy”.

Another right wing lie. More like Putin’s got another specimen for his collection of “useful idi0ts”

Historically the Republicans have been hawks but the Republican Party is schizophrenic right now and doesn’t know who it is or what it wants to be. The MAGA wing is not Ronald Regan, the MAGAs have no real core values just a few slogans and a lit of lnee-jerk reactions to whatever is in today’s news cycle amd and whatever their preferred online propaganda outlet is telling them what to think. Former Harper speechwriter recently wrote an article on the conservative website The Hub, contrasting the traditional Reagan-style “Freedom Conservative” with the new Trump-inspired “National Conservative” and its implications for Canadian Conservatives. ; Sean Speer: The conservative consensus is over. The consequences for the Canadian Right will be profound The tension between freedom and nationalism is shaping the character of conservatism in North America https://thehub.ca/2023-07-29/sean-speer-the-conservative-consensus-is-over-the-consequences-for-the-canadian-right-will-be-profound/ To the topic at hand I don’t think the one example of SLBMs carries any weight. Trump and his MAGA echo chamber fellate Putin in public and limit their criticism of anything Russian and that has only grown stronger over time.