metalslug

Oh, it gets 'whackier' than that...

I empathise with your anger and would also prefer to see Putin face significant military resistance. However, I'm also surprised that you believe military action by the US would be (or would have been) in the best interests of the US. Putin has already indicated 'consequences greater than any faced in history' and whatever that is, nukes or not, the US doesn't have the stomach for that level of sacrifice fighting someone else's war, and understandably so. Even if, by some miracle, a western coalition were to deal significant military damage, I'd bet dollars to donuts that China would then aid Russia as a contingency, and once that happens there's no contest.

Agreed in part. My own politics may lean to the right, and I'm not even a US citizen, but Trump's statement on this is disgraceful. A bipartisan position is needed against foreign power aggression, it's no time to criticise your own. I do not however believe there was a 'Russian collusion' (that's been a post thread on it's own) , I'm more likely to believe that Trump would have ordered US military action in Ukraine against Russia, which would have been an equally unwise action.

Agreed to a large extent, but 'people in power' cover the full spectrum of political diversity. Every job interview I've ever attended consisted of at least two interviewers and one of them was always a HR department representative. Typically their role is to ensure an impartial and unbiased interview process and also to evaluate if the candidate fits the 'company culture' and 'team player' suitability and, in doing so, may actually apply a bias. Consider a candidate employee transitioning from Fox News to Washington Post. Consider candidates for employ in your own team; someone having the rim of a MAGA hat peeking out of their laptop bag, a strong alpha (possibly abrasive) personality and a stellar technical and academic record. Would you truly discount every quality except the last one (technical merit) and pick that guy to work in your office, on your team ?

If real incidents of this type were happening with any regularity in the respective locations where staged incidents occur, then one could play the victim without a need to stage them. In a broader world real racism exists, for sure, but these kinds of staged incidents (possibly several more that weren't caught on camera) do not advance a constructive agenda.

It seems the demand for racism sometimes outstrips the supply; https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10531443/Black-female-student-racist-graffiti-Sacramento-high-schools-water-fountains.html Also not the first time something like this has happened.

Agreed; in regard to anyone making a fuss over the (lack of) diversity of the performers. Equally true though; if the halftime had been an 'all-white' show the lefties would be 'having a field day' over it. It's silly no matter which side does it. Eminem's actions, to me, are artistic licence. He may have meant it sincerely but it cannot be automatically assumed as such in the context of an entertainment performance. #brownloavesmatter

An off-topic tangent; In urban legend a tourist asked an African safari ranger what to do when charged by a lion. The ranger suggested to throw excrement at it. The tourist then asked where to get some if none is close by. "Reach around for some. It'll be there."

To be fair; I believe that has been covered in previous posts. They now believe the mandates don't work, the masks work just fine. People will either wear the masks or not, depending on their preference and beliefs. Mandates that were not being effectively enforced were pointless, and these governors have presumably now accepted that.

That's positive news then, if assuming you're correct. If Canada immediately and sufficiently 'relaxes' various restrictions then the convoy problem goes away, correct? ..and yet that's not obvious to Trudeau himself ? Is the convoy unpopular because of their methods or because of their 'cause' ?

By that statement you're inferring that the majority within Canada and within this forum believe that the majority party in Canada have got it wrong? ...that this forum and most Canadians support the 'freedom truckers' cause, but not necessarily their methods? ..or was the 'false assumption' referring to your own ?

It's unconventional, sure, but if you're asserting that photo infers that Sam Brinton is unfit for the job, then I can't agree with you on this one. I would refer to this person as either 'Sam' or 'Mister Brinton' or 'he' and I would judge them on their job performance alone as time progresses. Beyond that; that photo should be irrelevant.

Big thread drift here, nothing to do with Biden, but since you opened the door; I believe you've just made that up as a presumption of what 'people would have no problem with'. I'd be fine.... actually, let me rephrase this your way.; People would be fine with calling the dog 'Dolly' if it had no other name, but if people knew with certainty that the dog was male then people would not be calling it 'good girl'. People don't indulge other's fantasies even when it comes to their pets.

No worries, winsor. I'm here to bump this a little more; Oh crikey, I'm quoting myself now. Well, it's time to cover off another food group . I reckon we'll see something on vegetables too by year's end (white onions are evil maybe? or potatoes?). At this point I would consider using the thumb-up emoji, but the DZ.com site doesn't have sufficient diversity in the available colour shades. (Yeah, that's apparently a social media issue lately.)

Statements recently made by Candice Bergen (Leader of the Opposition, CPC) as to; "...countries like Ireland, Sweden, Norway, Israel, the Czech Republic, the U.K., Spain and Denmark are all removing restrictions and mandates, and they are all countries that have a lower vaccine rate than Canada..." I'm fairly sure the majority in this forum and apparently within Canada itself would not agree with removing restrictions and mandates there. I will further tentatively assume that either; Ms Bergen's comments are factually incorrect ..or.. Circumstances within Canada (such as healthcare limitations, geography, social factors) make it incomparable to those listed countries ...or... All those listed countries have made a grave error. Which is it ?

And.. what was the sanction for anyone who refused to follow those exact instructions? Decades ago at my own school I would routinely decline to join in prayer or sing along to hymns (unless they had a catchy tune) and no authority ever breathed a word about it to me. I'm fairly sure it's legal for a school to herd students into a venue or hall for a gathering, but if they are not specifically compelled to perform religious acts then I don't quite see how 'is this legal' comes into it. Telling students that non-compliance "would go to hell when they died" is certainly shitty, but if these students were 16 years as reported then that's a bit like being told that the Balrog from LOTR will get you, a bit of a yawn. By contrast; It's recently been alleged (well, there is video too) that a school in DC (USA) 'forced' kindergarteners to march around with BLM signs. Anyone find that more acceptable than this incident?

Are you saying it's 'just like Hitler', or are they? Do you have a reliable source/quote for that? I thought they were protesting vaccine mandates.

I've not watched Rogan's 'work' and I don't endorse all his guests. With that being said; Neil Young (singer of "Union Man" no less) has now urged Spotify employees to quit their jobs, to advance his own personal agenda against the platform. Other than 'cancel culture' itself, there's something curiously bizarre about his latest position.

In other 'woke' news this week; bread is now a flag for woke identity; Fair dinkum

Agreed. That's nuts.

Agreed on all of that except the first word.. 'Ours'. As others have pointed out; none of that makes the US a 'socialist government' per the correct definition. Therefore, if yourself or others are arguing that 'republicans think all of the above are bad because they incorporate socialist concepts' then that's sounding like a strawman. I suspect the original point of the OP is perhaps that this 'blend' (as a reference to your 'blending them') may be changing, specifically in a negative direction.

Certainly both words have specific, and different, definitions. In a broader context both have a rather negative track record of success. As you're generally critical of republicans; Would I be fair to assume that you don't regard both as 'bad'? From your previous posts I expect you're comfortable with a measure of socialism, perhaps even 100% socialist government? Is there a 'line in the sand' that you have in mind? A balance whereby you won't seem hypocritical of supporting some socialist ideas but not others? What is the defining characteristic of a socialist idea that makes it 'good' or 'bad', in your view?

What are you implying by this ? ..that migrants from other countries should not be welcome if that country is alleged to be either socialist or communist ? Is it inconceivable to you that Trump (or the 'right' for that matter) would be aware that all migrants are not necessarily responsible for the type of government in their country of origin? I'm not quite following why you would find it strange for Trump to welcome migrants from Norway.

Certainly, although the 'fire' law is rather unambiguous; one does need to actually yell 'fire!' rather than 'hot air!' to be charged. Trump was subsequently acquitted by the Senate (on incitement specifically), was he not ? Didn't change the status of his Twitter account. I have indicated before; I am actually *not* a Trump fan. Many of his comments are asinine and I don't have a Twitter account myself to follow anyone, although I do think that suspension over anything less than really extreme content (some very radical groups still have Twitter accounts) is bad for democracy. With regard to the OP; book banning is also wrong unless content was found to be unequivocally inciteful, libellous or other breaches of publishing law.

In your opinion; are both actions 'right' or are both 'wrong' ? As you have correctly pointed out the double standard, you would surely not want to be guilty of the same ?