the watcher
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Posts posted by the watcher
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17 hours ago, Bigblue204 said:
You honestly think this is true? People really think Democrats are "good guys"? There isn't a politician in this country or that country that I would trust with my 2004 ford focus. They're either corrupt, or too stupid to know they're about to be corrupt. **** the dems just as much as the Repubs.
Biden will join trump in hell (assuming there is one) when all is said and done.Agreed. Both parties in the US . are lapdogs for the rich and powerful. Look what happened when Bernie ran on a platform of modest reforms that would bring the country into lockstep with most other nations. Millions poured into Hillary's campaign and she became the candidate. And promptly lost to Trump. There is no left and and right in the US .It's a morally, democraticly, bankrupt system. And GCN20 is correct it is creeping into Canada and I would add many countries.
- WildPath and Bigblue204
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24 minutes ago, GCn20 said:
Whatever works in the cesspool that is American politics. It's a gong show, and it isn't just a gong show on the right. The left has culpability in it as well and you will never convince me otherwise. It is gross and it is trickling into Canadian politics as well. Sad state of affairs. Extreme partisanship has taken over.
On this I agree. If the Democrats had fielded any kind of a candidate that connected with people then a narcissistic ,lieing , womanizing, failed businessman would never have been elected in the 1st place
- Tracker, Rich and Fred C Dobbs
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52 minutes ago, WildPath said:
The thinking goes - if we had fires and floods in the past, there's no way they could be caused by humans in any way. We see this logic in "the earth has always gone through periods of warming and cooling - this isn't caused by humans" Unfortunately people in power use this to prevent efforts to help with climate change.
Really low-level thinking that I'm pretty sure is intentionally blinding at times (people cling to beliefs when reality means they have personal responsibility and their way of life needs to change) and is definitely used as propaganda.
The earth certainly does and has gone through warming and cooling periods, many greater than what we are seeing or expecting. The thing that is ignored is that those fluctuations often wipe out species, civilizations, populations....... On top of that is most previous fluctuations have caused more local carnage. Because we are so dependent on other parts of the world , local damage in one part will have an effect thousands of miles away.The fact that humans are causing not only climate change but damage to fragile systems that will have domino effects is science. We are also vacuuming up resources at an insane pace. I don't agree with all of Jared Diamond 's writings but he is correct in his belief that civilization collapses are often triggered by issues in their environment. What the world has never seen is when that is world wide.
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When Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans I had an " ah ha " moment and came to believe the US was a failing state. Members of the press were rescuing people while rows of buses sat out side the area of damage while politicians argued durisdiction. No coordination, no leadership and emergency measures for the country being handled by a racetrack owner (or manager??) . If a country can't deal with a disaster in a limited area it's an ugly sign in my opinion.( think BC last year, Red river floods )
Everything that has followed since, the 2008 economic crisis, the election of Trump, the riots and counter riots , the utter idiocy of government officials and politicians ...... just reinforce my belief. How long the fall is is the question. Empires have risen and completely disappeared in a person's life time. Rome waxed and waned for hundreds of years. They could rise again to prominence again quickly or never again.
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It's a pivotal moment for the Conservatives. Do you continue with the right of center party they have always been or do you leap feet 1st into the idiocy that plagues the US. I still have faith in Canadians. I believe if they go down the far right path they will be soundly rejected in the net General election. A strong, competent leader for the Liberals would ensure that.
- Tracker, WildPath and rebusrankin
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Yes, let's bank the countries future on something that really doesn't exist, create anything material, or contribute to the welfare of humanity. There has been alot of articles on the cost of " mining " bitcoin lately. Apparently it uses more energy than the entire country of Sweden . Being an old fart I had a " mining ????? " moment and had to read up on that.
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14 minutes ago, TrueBlue4ever said:
This actual quote from Kevin McCarthy, who seems to apply a different standard when it is about supposed election fraud, Democrats, or anything that might taint him personally:
”It's just frustrating. There's no evidence behind his statements. And when I sit down with him ... I told him you can't make statements like that, as a member of Congress, that affects everybody else and the country as a whole."
Their entire political system is a nonfunctional gong show.Its got nothing to do with trying to govern a country just self promotion, power, lining your pockets, and attacking the opposition ( who ever you see as opposition ) with what ever you can make up. It would be comical if it was a tiny unimportant country that had little real military or financial importance in the world.
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On 2022-03-29 at 11:51 AM, FrostyWinnipeg said:
You had it right?
No I haven't. At least not that I know .
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1 hour ago, MOBomberFan said:
Domestic assault charges that were placed against Wab in 2003 were stayed by the crown. That doesn't make him innocent necessarily, but let's be clear that these are unproven allegations that GCn20 is referring to. To this day Wab denies hitting or throwing the woman at the center of these allegations (her name is out there publicly in the papers but I'll not put it here out of respect).
As for his other charges stemming from fights with cabbies and impaired driving, he has unequivocally apologized for pain he's caused directly or collaterally and has even been pardoned for both convictions. He straight up acknowledges he wasn't a great guy in his teens and twenties and his struggles with alcohol certainly exacerbated it. Since his parents helped him enter into rehabilitation he has reportedly stayed clean and sober and has not had any incidents with the law. He's attended AA as well as embracing more 'traditional methods' involving sweat lodges and fasting. He committed to making himself a better person and so far it seems to be working, in my opinion.
A quote:
"These are not episodes in my life I'm proud of," Kinew said. "I struggled with alcohol, and that caused me to behave in ways that weren't healthy for me, or those around me. When the alcohol stopped, so did the fights. Violence, racism, and sexism are unacceptable. I've apologized unequivocally, and I do so again: to anyone I harmed, I am sorry.
"Because of my past, I understand the challenges of young people in our society who are struggling with the same things I was — alcohol, addictions, anger. I know that they can do better, because I learned how to do better," Kinew said.Above, a CBC interview very pointedly asking him about the charges when they resurfaced thanks to some anonymous tips during the leadership racevs COVID jet-setter Nikki AshtonThanks for that.
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"The thing is Wab hasn't owned it at all despite the fact the woman he abused has come forward and even has proof of the injuries she sustained. This is why he is not well liked in the native community. His ex is a pretty respected member of the native community and our people believe her."
Then he should own up to it. Maybe I'm wrong and it would hurt him. But personally if it was a heart felt admition I would admire it more than the weepy apologies we have seen from other leaders when their past is revealed.
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I wonder what the real numbers are now? I know SO many people who have it now and my circle isn't as large as many.Just in the last few weeks I know at least 8 people that tested positive.
- WildPath and blue_gold_84
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On 2022-03-27 at 10:13 AM, GCn20 said:
Wab is not well liked at all except by those who already vote NDP. Many swing voters will not support him and when the inevitable smear campaign that will come against him starts, many people will swing back to the PCs or place their vote elsewhere. I have no doubt that this is likely to be a majority NDP victory next election, my prediction is simply that Wab does not have the personal appeal to make it a huge majority. I, also, hate to say it but there will be a fair amount of racism against him due to his ethnicity. That saddens me as an indigenous person myself, but if you guys only knew what we hear and overhear on a daily basis from people who pretend not to be racist you would understand. I quite frankly think that there is a fair number of people who do not like this government but will not vote for an indigenous premier. When given the option there is certain amount of the NDP support that likely just doesn't show up to vote. Probably not enough to swing an election but surely enough to keep the NDP seat count down despite what the polls say.
I hope that Manitoba is better than that, but based on my life experiences I am skeptical, and the very worst of it is in the CIty of Winnipeg.
It will be interesting if nothing else. I'm not overly familiar with his past but I know bits and pieces. Personally I don't mind if someone has " dirty laundry ". As long as they live up to it. As long as they have changed their life. I actually believe that it can make you a better person and leader to have touched the dark side so to speak. My darkest moments, my mistakes in my life, have done alot to make me a better human. I don't deny them . I hope I have learned from them.
There have been a few times when I haven't liked Kinews responses during the pandemic but I've noticed he has shifted or adjusted later to sound pretty damn reasonable. Thats an admirable ability. As a swing voter I am leaning heavily towards him right now.
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On 2022-03-26 at 12:34 PM, HardCoreBlue said:
Yup this is exactly what the knuckle draggers are trying to do. Rewrite history, look away it never happened unless of course there’s any part of it I’m okay with.
Agreed. Although history has always been written by the victors the twisting of facts and events is epidemic now.
Americans have always been the world champions at it. They seem to have exported it around the world now. No other country to my knowledge has ever taken other counties war stories and called them theirs. ( The Great escape and U571 )
I always thought the book " Bury my heart at wounded knee " should be required reading in US schools.( It wouldn't hurt Canadians either. ) It might change alot of minds about their romanticized wild west days.
- Fatty Liver, WildPath and JCon
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3 minutes ago, JCon said:
I don't know about that. Trump clearly wants to be a dictator. He's said it repeatedly. All his moves have been to secure himself as some sort of despot. He wants to be able to disregard the elections, he wants to be able to fire anyone he chooses and he attacks anyone, viciously, who disagrees. He's a racist POS, misogynist, and a criminal.
I agree with all of that. But it's all things that feed his ego and narcissism. Being God of the USA would be the ultimate in that. He has supported the Democrats in the past. I don't think he has any ideals other than Mr. Donald ( all kneel before me) Trump. None, Zippo. Now DeSantis in Florida runs every decision on a far, far right agenda. His decisions in Florida have killed many. He believes in the program where as Trump embraces it as a means to an end. That end being a deification of himself. I truly think he is still trying to prove to his long dead Daddy that he is not only worthy but the greatest American ever. DeSantis in nothing but a Nazi wearing a thin veil.
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There are people slipping into Trumps wake that are pretty scary. People that are smarter and more idealisticly bent than him .Trump in my opinion followed no idealistic path other than ones that stoked his ego and fed his narcissistic personality. The ones that are now moving in to replace him are the ones that truly believe the alt right crap.
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13 hours ago, Noeller said:
And along with Naylor's tweet, here's an accompanying pissy article talking about how people that resist 4 downs are hurting the league:
https://www.tsn.ca/don-t-expect-radical-changes-to-the-cfl-this-off-season-1.1774952It’s never been easy to promote the idea of change in the Canadian Football League.
Tradition, for better or for worse, has always been its guiding principle, which is what you might expect from a league that has the same number of teams as it did 70 years ago.
Significant change or innovation is usually met with fierce opposition from loyalists, be it fans or members of the media. That’s exactly what’s happening with the debate raging over whether the league should consider adopting four downs instead of three.
To be clear, the CFL is not engaged in a debate about switching its game to four downs and American rules, although you might think so, given the tone of the debate.
It is, however, in the midst of a review process where nothing is off the table. That process is stoking fear some elements of the Canadian game could be endangered, including the number of downs.
Time for a little history and context on how we got here.
For most of the CFL’s existence, three downs versus four has never been a serious debate. Sure, you’d hear the odd coach or general manager from the U.S. bemoan some of the rules from time to time. But never did the league seriously consider adopting four downs. Not even when it expanded to the U.S. from 1993 to 1995.
Three downs were considered by most an asset, not a problem. As a result, it was rarely discussed.
That changed about a year ago when the CFL announced it was in talks with the new owners of the XFL about collaboration. While the league never officially confirmed the talks were about a merger, everyone understood they might ultimately go in that direction.
That instantly put four downs into the discussion. Privately, there were people at senior levels of the CFL who were willing to make that sacrifice if the business case with the XFL made sense.
Ultimately, it was the business case (or lack thereof) that killed the XFL merger. It was not a valiant stand for three downs.
Then, during the 2021 season, something happened.
The CFL had a subpar year entertainment-wise on the field. Scoring was down, big plays disappeared, and punting ruled. With quarterbacks getting mangled week after week, the game at times degenerated to what in some eyes was an unacceptable standard.
Some of that was undoubtedly due to the players missing the 2020 season and being hampered in their preparation for the 2021 season by COVID-19 restrictions. But the league wasn’t willing to chalk it all up to the pandemic, especially since many of the defensive trends predate the lost season.
So, the decision was made to look under the hood at the game and perhaps consider changes or innovations previously dismissed. A process called a “product review” was hatched.
That process has included the league reaching out to its teams for ideas on how to improve the game, with the primary objectives being to create better game flow and more offence.
It’s a process that continues this week as coaches, GMs and other officials meet in Toronto in advance of this weekend’s CFL Combine.
But most of it is shrouded in secrecy, as per usual in the CFL.
So, all it took to set the downs debate ablaze was a reporter suggesting last week that Genius Sports, the league’s new data and marketing partner, was pushing for a switch to four downs.
That suggestion ignited on Twitter, with retired and current players debating fans on the subject. Even those as revered three-time Grey Cup champion head coach Marc Trestman entered the conversation in defence of three downs, to great fanfare.
For the record, the league says Genius Sports has nothing to do with whether it looks at three downs versus four. But this horse has left the barn, so expect it to be the theme of a lot of CFL conversations until this matter is put to bed.
Standing up for three downs seems to be as much about preserving Canadiana as it is about the preservation of a unique brand of football, which maybe shouldn’t surprise us, and does raise the emotional stakes.
In general, radical changes in a sport rarely happen over the course of one off-season. They are usually debated and discussed and shelved for more research. Then they are either resurrected or die a slow death on a shelf under a blanket of dust.
The destiny of four downs in Canadian football is probably going to depend on what the game looks like in 2022, 2023 and beyond, after the anticipated application of several smaller, less dramatic tweaks expected to try and tune-up the game.
For in a league based upon and bound by tradition, it’s going to take a lot more to push such radical change across the finish line.
I swear most of this talk, the XFL and 4 downs comes from the fact that the media in Toronto , and Toronto in general feel like they are to big for the CFL. It's a " we are a world class city and the CFLis a secondary minor league " thing. The leauge had one down year ( in the middle of the pandemic ) so let's blow up a 100 + year league ??? It's just a convient excuse. Maybe those people in power in Toronto would be far better to spend their time figuring out how to properly promote the game. Anyone seriously suggesting that someone in Toronto will suddenly say " Oh! The CFL switched to 4 downs ! Let's go support a team we never have before ! " is off their rocker. What a joke.
Edit : The NFL was happy because scoring was up to 22.8 points per game post pandemic.
The CFL is down to 43.1 points per game last year.. Yes let's panic and change the basics of the game.
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1 hour ago, 17to85 said:
People truly believe that "I'm allowed to have my opinion" means they get to pretend facts don't matter.
Used to be that dumbest ideas were shunned by communities so it was kept quiet. Now the internet has allowed them to find like minded fools and pretend they are actually informed.
The greatest damage done by Trump and Trumpism in my opinion has been the 1st degree murder of Truth. The truth is now whatever you want to make up. The Truth is whatever you want it to be regardless of facts. I say 1st degree because it wasn't accidental. Truth and it's supporting facts have always been under assault but it has sadly met it's demise
Just now, the watcher said:The greatest damage done by Trump and Trumpism in my opinion has been the 1st degree murder of Truth. The truth is now whatever you want to make up. The Truth is whatever you want it to be regardless of facts. I say 1st degree because it wasn't accidental. Truth and it's supporting facts have always been under assault but it has sadly met it's demise
Edit : And social media is the murder weapon.
- JCon and HardCoreBlue
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Just now, JCon said:
NDP can pull out at any time. Think about this as a map for co-operation. If they can't co-operate, it breaks down.
At least they can try to move dental care forward. I don't see pharmacare working out.
Like I said, I'm not sure yet. I mean cooperation is usually a good thing. But it makes me nervous. I also need to see more details about it. As they say, the devils in the details
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11 hours ago, blue_gold_84 said:
As someone who supported the NDP in the last 2 elections and has a dislike for our current PM, I don't know what to think of this. It's not a true coalition. The NDP will have no members in positions of control and power. They will also be giving up their biggest stick, the threat or ability to bring down the current government in non- confidence votes. A government that has been prone to scandals and ethics issues. On the plus side possibly they get some programs that have been long time NDP goals. But those programs will be held up as Liberal trophys which may affect hopes for more gains for the NDP next election. For those who think this is wonderful think about the future if you get a Conservative gov doing the same. It might benefit the Libs and NDP right now but there are alot of unseen ,possible ramifications for the future. One of the reasons I 've always liked minority governments is that threat of non confidence puts a leash on them. Like I said, I'm not sure what to make of this.
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Barron can still develop into a good player. One of the 2nd s could easily become a 1st. The other 2nd we can choose to take it in another year. Plus we exchanged picks , gaining a round. That's a pretty good return. I loved watching Copp play but he is a 3 line center ( a good one) , that can move up in a pinch. A good solid player but not at all flashy. If you were expecting much more you were deluding yourself.
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Im wondering if they want to leave the Moose loaded up for a run.
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Replacements for Copp and Stastny ?
World Politics
in General Discussion
Posted
Just as in Germany in the 1930s when people are desperate, lost, disenfranchised they seek answers. They will clasp on to anything that promises a solution. And they like to find a scapegoat because no one likes to say it's their own fault . It could be Jews, immigrants, blacks, indigenous, socialists, .....whoever is handy. Thats why Trump was elected as well as what you mentioned. There are deep seated reasons this is happening.