the watcher

It's a legit question. Every side in a war will at least twist figures to their benefit. Some blatantly make **** up  (weapons of mass destruction as an example ). It doesn't mean a person  doesn't recognise a particular side as the aggressor or as responsible for 1,000s of deaths.

(This Doesn't quite fit here, but interesting nonetheless)
More than half of all American waterways are 'impaired by pollution': study
   
A recent study commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Clean Water Act’s passage shows exactly how the U.S. is failing its commitment to eliminating pollution in the country’s navigable waterways, defined by the EPA as “the waters of the United States, including the territorial seas.” The report by the nonprofit Environmental Integrity Project, titled “The Clean Water Act: Promises Half Kept at the Half-Century Mark,” delves into the millions of miles of rivers, streams, and creeks; millions of acres of lakes, ponds, and reservoirs; and thousands of square miles of bays, estuaries, and harbors that have been assessed based on the most recent Integrated Waters Report submitted to the EPA. Much of these waters are considered “impaired with pollution,” which means they fail “to meet standards for swimming and recreation, aquatic life, fish consumption, or as drinking water sources.”
Of the 1,426,619 miles of rivers, streams, and creeks that have been assessed, 725,856 miles are considered impaired with pollution, accounting for 51%. More than half of the 20,432,238 acres of lakes, ponds, and reservoirs assessed similarly are considered impaired with pollution. Bays, estuaries, and harbors fared better, with about a quarter of the 76,555 square miles assessed considered impaired with pollution.
 

If your 'both sides' comment was directed at me, I was merely asking an honest question about how reliable the numbers are. Nothing to do with a value judgment, just that I don't think you can legitimately take data from either side of any conflict without confirmation from elsewhere. My dad's side is Ukrainian btw.

22 thousand plus deaths which doesn’t include the Ukraine side?!?!
MF. We just get so desensitized to this number when you’re not directly impacted. What a waste of human life due to lunatic and his ardent supporters.

Send the criminal back to the US. We don't want their garbage

I think these are reasonable changes to the rules. Nothing that can't be undone if they don't work out. 

I don't hunt either, but I think it's good that some people do.  The white tails and the honkers no longer have enough predators, and have really adapted to farmland
If no one hunts, then those populations will be controlled by disease epidemics or climate factors - which to an extent already happens
Just one example:
We saw mange run through our local coyote population the past couple winters - I saw one with almost no hair left and literally crying - at our cattle shed
Being harvested by a humane hunter or trapper - would have been a much kinder fate

So just a bit if background. I was a big time gun guy for decades. I owned my own 22 at age 12. I was on a championship Jr. Rifle club team. Our meat diet was 99% wild game for decades. I use to work crazy hours spring to fall then hunt non stop everyday for 3 or 4 months before heading west for work.   I've owned 100s of guns over the years including hand guns at times. I lived to hunt and shoot back in the day. I still have guns but I'm just not into it like I was anymore.
Yes , almost any gun can be turned into a concealed weapon with a bit of work. As far as turning a semi into full auto it was easy with particular gun makes and models but not most.Its tough and makes them pretty much useless. The majority of centerfire hunting rifles are bolt actions. Not to be insulting but most really serious hunters and shooters won't bother with semi auto center fire rifles. We mostly saw them used by casual hunters.  .22s are a different story. Tons of .22 semis are used are used for plinking, gophers .....  As far as shotguns it would be pumps, double barrel, semi, single break then the rarely seen bolt action.
I am in favour of gun laws that make a REAL difference. Laws that actually do something not just make uninformed  non gun owners happy. I'm a big fan of the PAL licence.  Having your background checked by the RCMP before you can own, posses , borrow,  use a gun makes a whole lot of sense.
As far as hand guns. My understanding is about %80 - %90 of handguns that are confiscated have come across the border. So an outright ban isn't going to do alot. I'm not sure what has changed I  the last 20 years but when I owned them I could only leave my property with a handgun to go to a sanctioned gun range at a particular time. I was required to drive directly there and back with no stops in between. I can't remember the last time I heard of a legal handgun owner shooting someone. I'm sure it must happen but not very often in Canada. I really doubt an outright ban would have any real effect. I suppose it would effect the %10 to %20 of gun crimes that are committed with stolen handguns .I really  don't have a dog in that race so it's not all that big of a deal for me.
I see no reason for any Canadian to own military style weapons. Guns designed and made to kill only people belong in the hands of the military only.
I think alot of the American gun  idiocy makes non gun owners in this country assume it's the same here. It jades their  opinion. 

What really bothers me about this is very, very few politicians, etc.. believe all the BS. Almost all of them understand how vaccinations and the vaccination of the vast majority against not only Covid but all contagious diseases are the key to the health and well being of people, countries and the world. But they sell their soul for power, money and popularity.

What really bothers me about this is very, very few politicians, etc.. believe all the BS. Almost all of them understand how vaccinations and the vaccination of the vast majority against not only Covid but all contagious diseases are the key to the health and well being of people, countries and the world. But they sell their soul for power, money and popularity.

So just a bit if background. I was a big time gun guy for decades. I owned my own 22 at age 12. I was on a championship Jr. Rifle club team. Our meat diet was 99% wild game for decades. I use to work crazy hours spring to fall then hunt non stop everyday for 3 or 4 months before heading west for work.   I've owned 100s of guns over the years including hand guns at times. I lived to hunt and shoot back in the day. I still have guns but I'm just not into it like I was anymore.
Yes , almost any gun can be turned into a concealed weapon with a bit of work. As far as turning a semi into full auto it was easy with particular gun makes and models but not most.Its tough and makes them pretty much useless. The majority of centerfire hunting rifles are bolt actions. Not to be insulting but most really serious hunters and shooters won't bother with semi auto center fire rifles. We mostly saw them used by casual hunters.  .22s are a different story. Tons of .22 semis are used are used for plinking, gophers .....  As far as shotguns it would be pumps, double barrel, semi, single break then the rarely seen bolt action.
I am in favour of gun laws that make a REAL difference. Laws that actually do something not just make uninformed  non gun owners happy. I'm a big fan of the PAL licence.  Having your background checked by the RCMP before you can own, posses , borrow,  use a gun makes a whole lot of sense.
As far as hand guns. My understanding is about %80 - %90 of handguns that are confiscated have come across the border. So an outright ban isn't going to do alot. I'm not sure what has changed I  the last 20 years but when I owned them I could only leave my property with a handgun to go to a sanctioned gun range at a particular time. I was required to drive directly there and back with no stops in between. I can't remember the last time I heard of a legal handgun owner shooting someone. I'm sure it must happen but not very often in Canada. I really doubt an outright ban would have any real effect. I suppose it would effect the %10 to %20 of gun crimes that are committed with stolen handguns .I really  don't have a dog in that race so it's not all that big of a deal for me.
I see no reason for any Canadian to own military style weapons. Guns designed and made to kill only people belong in the hands of the military only.
I think alot of the American gun  idiocy makes non gun owners in this country assume it's the same here. It jades their  opinion. 

If memory serves, he was a compulsive chain smoker and fought lung cancer for a long time. There is a lesson here.

GCN20 said " disagree that most serious hunters use bolt action, many favor it due to long range accuracy, but many hunters are taught that semi auto is a more ethical choice by many hunter safety instructors. Serious shooters for target practice won't, but many hunters do favor semi auto. I used to guide for goose, bear and deer and the mix was at least 50/50 of what people used.  I can tell you with certainty that semi auto shotguns are heavily favored by serious 
We will have to agree to disagree. Perhaps it's the group I used to hang with. We were serious hunters/ shooters. Not a semi auto center fire in anyones gun cabinet. Several of them were guides ( big game in northern BC ) several were rifle club instructors and some taught Hunters Safety.  Several have now moved into the super long range shooting now. ( 50 cal stuff )  Never have I heard of a hunter Saftey instructor say use a semi- auto centerfire. It's in no way more ethical. Less accurate equals more wounded and more ruined meat.  If you cant hit what you shoot at , you need to shoot more targets and not take shots that you know wont kill. Over a year I would fire thousands of rounds ( not an exaggeration) so like I said maybe it was the group I hung with.  As far as semi auto shotguns , yes perhaps more are used than I believe but I've seen way, way to many have issues when used in adverse conditions. Almost everyone I shot birds with used pumps.
As far as modifying guns , my only personal experience was glass bedding , filing trigger mechanisms to reduce trigger pull, and a few other minor things for better accuracy.  I did have friends of made full autos out of semis but they were rediculously inaccurate and unmanageable. They scraped them fairly quickly. Many built wildcat calibers but I never got into it.
I will add this bit to end my discussion. The last 15 years I hunted deer were my best. I decided to hunt alone. That is when in my opinion I became an elite deer hunter. I watched them. I studied them. Most evenings I  just watched. I learned more about deer then than in all my previous years. I'd kill 3 a year for food. Most were  standing shots. All but one were one shot kills. My biggest problem those last 15 years were the Yahoo's driving around shooting off the roads at deer on my property and towards me or our buildings.

GCN20 said " disagree that most serious hunters use bolt action, many favor it due to long range accuracy, but many hunters are taught that semi auto is a more ethical choice by many hunter safety instructors. Serious shooters for target practice won't, but many hunters do favor semi auto. I used to guide for goose, bear and deer and the mix was at least 50/50 of what people used.  I can tell you with certainty that semi auto shotguns are heavily favored by serious 
We will have to agree to disagree. Perhaps it's the group I used to hang with. We were serious hunters/ shooters. Not a semi auto center fire in anyones gun cabinet. Several of them were guides ( big game in northern BC ) several were rifle club instructors and some taught Hunters Safety.  Several have now moved into the super long range shooting now. ( 50 cal stuff )  Never have I heard of a hunter Saftey instructor say use a semi- auto centerfire. It's in no way more ethical. Less accurate equals more wounded and more ruined meat.  If you cant hit what you shoot at , you need to shoot more targets and not take shots that you know wont kill. Over a year I would fire thousands of rounds ( not an exaggeration) so like I said maybe it was the group I hung with.  As far as semi auto shotguns , yes perhaps more are used than I believe but I've seen way, way to many have issues when used in adverse conditions. Almost everyone I shot birds with used pumps.
As far as modifying guns , my only personal experience was glass bedding , filing trigger mechanisms to reduce trigger pull, and a few other minor things for better accuracy.  I did have friends of made full autos out of semis but they were rediculously inaccurate and unmanageable. They scraped them fairly quickly. Many built wildcat calibers but I never got into it.
I will add this bit to end my discussion. The last 15 years I hunted deer were my best. I decided to hunt alone. That is when in my opinion I became an elite deer hunter. I watched them. I studied them. Most evenings I  just watched. I learned more about deer then than in all my previous years. I'd kill 3 a year for food. Most were  standing shots. All but one were one shot kills. My biggest problem those last 15 years were the Yahoo's driving around shooting off the roads at deer on my property and towards me or our buildings.

GCN20 said " disagree that most serious hunters use bolt action, many favor it due to long range accuracy, but many hunters are taught that semi auto is a more ethical choice by many hunter safety instructors. Serious shooters for target practice won't, but many hunters do favor semi auto. I used to guide for goose, bear and deer and the mix was at least 50/50 of what people used.  I can tell you with certainty that semi auto shotguns are heavily favored by serious 
We will have to agree to disagree. Perhaps it's the group I used to hang with. We were serious hunters/ shooters. Not a semi auto center fire in anyones gun cabinet. Several of them were guides ( big game in northern BC ) several were rifle club instructors and some taught Hunters Safety.  Several have now moved into the super long range shooting now. ( 50 cal stuff )  Never have I heard of a hunter Saftey instructor say use a semi- auto centerfire. It's in no way more ethical. Less accurate equals more wounded and more ruined meat.  If you cant hit what you shoot at , you need to shoot more targets and not take shots that you know wont kill. Over a year I would fire thousands of rounds ( not an exaggeration) so like I said maybe it was the group I hung with.  As far as semi auto shotguns , yes perhaps more are used than I believe but I've seen way, way to many have issues when used in adverse conditions. Almost everyone I shot birds with used pumps.
As far as modifying guns , my only personal experience was glass bedding , filing trigger mechanisms to reduce trigger pull, and a few other minor things for better accuracy.  I did have friends of made full autos out of semis but they were rediculously inaccurate and unmanageable. They scraped them fairly quickly. Many built wildcat calibers but I never got into it.
I will add this bit to end my discussion. The last 15 years I hunted deer were my best. I decided to hunt alone. That is when in my opinion I became an elite deer hunter. I watched them. I studied them. Most evenings I  just watched. I learned more about deer then than in all my previous years. I'd kill 3 a year for food. Most were  standing shots. All but one were one shot kills. My biggest problem those last 15 years were the Yahoo's driving around shooting off the roads at deer on my property and towards me or our buildings.

But but but...those are 5 seconds gone form your life that you will never get back. Besides, its not manly to wear cleats. Showing up at Emergency is much more manly.

We moved to just south of Calgary to see our grandkids grow up and for the better (theoretically) weather. We found that it was more expensive to live there, and the warmer weather produced a lot of icy sidewalks where the wife slipped and fell, breaking her wrist. But most of all, we missed the blue-collar attitude of Winnipeg, the friends we had and the easy familiarity of living in a well-known community. Hell I missed all the trees and seeing clouds- the view of the mountains was nice but seeing the grass turning brown by the end of July was weird.
The moves cost us a lot, but the relief we felt when we spent the first night and woke up in the morning in our Manitoba home was palpable. We found out that the imagining of a better place can be more a fantasy than a reality. We are home now.

So just a bit if background. I was a big time gun guy for decades. I owned my own 22 at age 12. I was on a championship Jr. Rifle club team. Our meat diet was 99% wild game for decades. I use to work crazy hours spring to fall then hunt non stop everyday for 3 or 4 months before heading west for work.   I've owned 100s of guns over the years including hand guns at times. I lived to hunt and shoot back in the day. I still have guns but I'm just not into it like I was anymore.
Yes , almost any gun can be turned into a concealed weapon with a bit of work. As far as turning a semi into full auto it was easy with particular gun makes and models but not most.Its tough and makes them pretty much useless. The majority of centerfire hunting rifles are bolt actions. Not to be insulting but most really serious hunters and shooters won't bother with semi auto center fire rifles. We mostly saw them used by casual hunters.  .22s are a different story. Tons of .22 semis are used are used for plinking, gophers .....  As far as shotguns it would be pumps, double barrel, semi, single break then the rarely seen bolt action.
I am in favour of gun laws that make a REAL difference. Laws that actually do something not just make uninformed  non gun owners happy. I'm a big fan of the PAL licence.  Having your background checked by the RCMP before you can own, posses , borrow,  use a gun makes a whole lot of sense.
As far as hand guns. My understanding is about %80 - %90 of handguns that are confiscated have come across the border. So an outright ban isn't going to do alot. I'm not sure what has changed I  the last 20 years but when I owned them I could only leave my property with a handgun to go to a sanctioned gun range at a particular time. I was required to drive directly there and back with no stops in between. I can't remember the last time I heard of a legal handgun owner shooting someone. I'm sure it must happen but not very often in Canada. I really doubt an outright ban would have any real effect. I suppose it would effect the %10 to %20 of gun crimes that are committed with stolen handguns .I really  don't have a dog in that race so it's not all that big of a deal for me.
I see no reason for any Canadian to own military style weapons. Guns designed and made to kill only people belong in the hands of the military only.
I think alot of the American gun  idiocy makes non gun owners in this country assume it's the same here. It jades their  opinion. 

So just a bit if background. I was a big time gun guy for decades. I owned my own 22 at age 12. I was on a championship Jr. Rifle club team. Our meat diet was 99% wild game for decades. I use to work crazy hours spring to fall then hunt non stop everyday for 3 or 4 months before heading west for work.   I've owned 100s of guns over the years including hand guns at times. I lived to hunt and shoot back in the day. I still have guns but I'm just not into it like I was anymore.
Yes , almost any gun can be turned into a concealed weapon with a bit of work. As far as turning a semi into full auto it was easy with particular gun makes and models but not most.Its tough and makes them pretty much useless. The majority of centerfire hunting rifles are bolt actions. Not to be insulting but most really serious hunters and shooters won't bother with semi auto center fire rifles. We mostly saw them used by casual hunters.  .22s are a different story. Tons of .22 semis are used are used for plinking, gophers .....  As far as shotguns it would be pumps, double barrel, semi, single break then the rarely seen bolt action.
I am in favour of gun laws that make a REAL difference. Laws that actually do something not just make uninformed  non gun owners happy. I'm a big fan of the PAL licence.  Having your background checked by the RCMP before you can own, posses , borrow,  use a gun makes a whole lot of sense.
As far as hand guns. My understanding is about %80 - %90 of handguns that are confiscated have come across the border. So an outright ban isn't going to do alot. I'm not sure what has changed I  the last 20 years but when I owned them I could only leave my property with a handgun to go to a sanctioned gun range at a particular time. I was required to drive directly there and back with no stops in between. I can't remember the last time I heard of a legal handgun owner shooting someone. I'm sure it must happen but not very often in Canada. I really doubt an outright ban would have any real effect. I suppose it would effect the %10 to %20 of gun crimes that are committed with stolen handguns .I really  don't have a dog in that race so it's not all that big of a deal for me.
I see no reason for any Canadian to own military style weapons. Guns designed and made to kill only people belong in the hands of the military only.
I think alot of the American gun  idiocy makes non gun owners in this country assume it's the same here. It jades their  opinion. 

So just a bit if background. I was a big time gun guy for decades. I owned my own 22 at age 12. I was on a championship Jr. Rifle club team. Our meat diet was 99% wild game for decades. I use to work crazy hours spring to fall then hunt non stop everyday for 3 or 4 months before heading west for work.   I've owned 100s of guns over the years including hand guns at times. I lived to hunt and shoot back in the day. I still have guns but I'm just not into it like I was anymore.
Yes , almost any gun can be turned into a concealed weapon with a bit of work. As far as turning a semi into full auto it was easy with particular gun makes and models but not most.Its tough and makes them pretty much useless. The majority of centerfire hunting rifles are bolt actions. Not to be insulting but most really serious hunters and shooters won't bother with semi auto center fire rifles. We mostly saw them used by casual hunters.  .22s are a different story. Tons of .22 semis are used are used for plinking, gophers .....  As far as shotguns it would be pumps, double barrel, semi, single break then the rarely seen bolt action.
I am in favour of gun laws that make a REAL difference. Laws that actually do something not just make uninformed  non gun owners happy. I'm a big fan of the PAL licence.  Having your background checked by the RCMP before you can own, posses , borrow,  use a gun makes a whole lot of sense.
As far as hand guns. My understanding is about %80 - %90 of handguns that are confiscated have come across the border. So an outright ban isn't going to do alot. I'm not sure what has changed I  the last 20 years but when I owned them I could only leave my property with a handgun to go to a sanctioned gun range at a particular time. I was required to drive directly there and back with no stops in between. I can't remember the last time I heard of a legal handgun owner shooting someone. I'm sure it must happen but not very often in Canada. I really doubt an outright ban would have any real effect. I suppose it would effect the %10 to %20 of gun crimes that are committed with stolen handguns .I really  don't have a dog in that race so it's not all that big of a deal for me.
I see no reason for any Canadian to own military style weapons. Guns designed and made to kill only people belong in the hands of the military only.
I think alot of the American gun  idiocy makes non gun owners in this country assume it's the same here. It jades their  opinion. 

So just a bit if background. I was a big time gun guy for decades. I owned my own 22 at age 12. I was on a championship Jr. Rifle club team. Our meat diet was 99% wild game for decades. I use to work crazy hours spring to fall then hunt non stop everyday for 3 or 4 months before heading west for work.   I've owned 100s of guns over the years including hand guns at times. I lived to hunt and shoot back in the day. I still have guns but I'm just not into it like I was anymore.
Yes , almost any gun can be turned into a concealed weapon with a bit of work. As far as turning a semi into full auto it was easy with particular gun makes and models but not most.Its tough and makes them pretty much useless. The majority of centerfire hunting rifles are bolt actions. Not to be insulting but most really serious hunters and shooters won't bother with semi auto center fire rifles. We mostly saw them used by casual hunters.  .22s are a different story. Tons of .22 semis are used are used for plinking, gophers .....  As far as shotguns it would be pumps, double barrel, semi, single break then the rarely seen bolt action.
I am in favour of gun laws that make a REAL difference. Laws that actually do something not just make uninformed  non gun owners happy. I'm a big fan of the PAL licence.  Having your background checked by the RCMP before you can own, posses , borrow,  use a gun makes a whole lot of sense.
As far as hand guns. My understanding is about %80 - %90 of handguns that are confiscated have come across the border. So an outright ban isn't going to do alot. I'm not sure what has changed I  the last 20 years but when I owned them I could only leave my property with a handgun to go to a sanctioned gun range at a particular time. I was required to drive directly there and back with no stops in between. I can't remember the last time I heard of a legal handgun owner shooting someone. I'm sure it must happen but not very often in Canada. I really doubt an outright ban would have any real effect. I suppose it would effect the %10 to %20 of gun crimes that are committed with stolen handguns .I really  don't have a dog in that race so it's not all that big of a deal for me.
I see no reason for any Canadian to own military style weapons. Guns designed and made to kill only people belong in the hands of the military only.
I think alot of the American gun  idiocy makes non gun owners in this country assume it's the same here. It jades their  opinion. 

So just a bit if background. I was a big time gun guy for decades. I owned my own 22 at age 12. I was on a championship Jr. Rifle club team. Our meat diet was 99% wild game for decades. I use to work crazy hours spring to fall then hunt non stop everyday for 3 or 4 months before heading west for work.   I've owned 100s of guns over the years including hand guns at times. I lived to hunt and shoot back in the day. I still have guns but I'm just not into it like I was anymore.
Yes , almost any gun can be turned into a concealed weapon with a bit of work. As far as turning a semi into full auto it was easy with particular gun makes and models but not most.Its tough and makes them pretty much useless. The majority of centerfire hunting rifles are bolt actions. Not to be insulting but most really serious hunters and shooters won't bother with semi auto center fire rifles. We mostly saw them used by casual hunters.  .22s are a different story. Tons of .22 semis are used are used for plinking, gophers .....  As far as shotguns it would be pumps, double barrel, semi, single break then the rarely seen bolt action.
I am in favour of gun laws that make a REAL difference. Laws that actually do something not just make uninformed  non gun owners happy. I'm a big fan of the PAL licence.  Having your background checked by the RCMP before you can own, posses , borrow,  use a gun makes a whole lot of sense.
As far as hand guns. My understanding is about %80 - %90 of handguns that are confiscated have come across the border. So an outright ban isn't going to do alot. I'm not sure what has changed I  the last 20 years but when I owned them I could only leave my property with a handgun to go to a sanctioned gun range at a particular time. I was required to drive directly there and back with no stops in between. I can't remember the last time I heard of a legal handgun owner shooting someone. I'm sure it must happen but not very often in Canada. I really doubt an outright ban would have any real effect. I suppose it would effect the %10 to %20 of gun crimes that are committed with stolen handguns .I really  don't have a dog in that race so it's not all that big of a deal for me.
I see no reason for any Canadian to own military style weapons. Guns designed and made to kill only people belong in the hands of the military only.
I think alot of the American gun  idiocy makes non gun owners in this country assume it's the same here. It jades their  opinion. 

And therein lies the problem. 

Yeah banning guns makes sense on the surface. No guns. no gun crimes. Until you realize that most gun crimes are committed with illegally obtained guns. People don't go to Cabela's to get a gun they're gonna use to hold up a store or shoot a rival gang member with. Criminals using guns will find guns. And there just isn't a way to get all the guns out of our country now...which is mostly due to us being neighbors with the...youknowwho...(points down south). So it's a fair conversation to have...but not one I'd ever want to take up considerable time in our politics. We need to go after the root of the problem.
When I was a younger man, I knew multiple illegal ways to get a gun if needed. I'm assuming this has only gotten easier.

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