Jump to content

WildPath

Members
  • Posts

    880
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Posts posted by WildPath

  1. 28 minutes ago, JCon said:

    I don't see how splitting the centre and centre-left vote helps hold the PCs accountable. 

    When's the last time the Liberals were relevant outside of Winnipeg? They have a few winnable seats in the city but not many. 

    Even NDP is hardly relevant outside of Winnipeg and the north. A legit third party holds any government accountable. They can't push through policies without having consensus. We are seeing what that means on the federal level right now.

    If the provincial PCs needed to play nice with another party we would have seen a much different government the past few years.

    On the other hand, I agree, vote splitting could majorly suck with a third party that is left of centre and potentially rolls out the red carpet for an incredibly unpopular PC party. That would mean they could cozy up even closer to their rural right wing base than they already have. I would argue that on many platforms the provincial liberals are even more left-leaning/progressive than the NDP. It seems like a lot of provincial voting goes by voting against a party that horrifies you and that really sucks.

  2. 5 minutes ago, JCon said:

    Exactly. And, Liberals get official party status, which means mo' money, mo' problems for the NDP. 

    The NDP don't need to win the PC vote to win, they need to convince Liberal voters that it's in their best interest to vote for them.

    Yeah, the vote splitting would suck, but having a legit third party and less majority governments would be so much better for Manitobans. The way the PCs have behaved the last few years with no way to reign them in is disgusting. The way they tabled the hidden bills and just tried to push through extremely unpopular legislation was undemocratic.

    NDP have also had issues with majority governments.

  3. 10 hours ago, Mark H. said:

    What I don't understand about Dr. Horton's response is - where in the world are they doing anything differently? Canadian provinces have had some of the toughest covid restrictions, in the entire world. 

    I think Dr. Horton was also referring to national and global leadership when she was talking about failure of leadership at all levels of government. From what I've read, the CDC set a really low bar when Covid first came out. My memory on this is a bit fuzzy, so feel free to correct me, but when they first brought Americans back from the Covid cruise ship in Japan, they refused actively refused testing and mitigation measures in hopes that it would just go away. From what I have read, many health agencies and governments followed their lead and this led to it getting out of hand really quickly. The information I got is from experts interviewed in Michael Lewis' book on the pandemic response. The outright suppression of knowledge of Covid in China would also be an example of horrible leadership that may have saved us from a worldwide pandemic.

    In respect to Manitoba, we consistently had a buffer in Covid waves. For some reason we were behind other areas of the country while local doctors and experts warned it would come to Manitoba and we needed to be proactive with restrictions. We never were. Coming to mind is Pallister's cancelling Christmas speech that was lauded in other places in the world, but was criticized in Manitoba because we were asking for proactive restrictions that may have prevented "Cancelling Christmas."

    I understand your point that in many respects we weren't all that different from the rest of the world. Compared to some of the Republican-run states, we had extreme restrictions. Unfortunately I think we've seen a bit of a race to the bottom, especially lately, in terms of who will open up the economy first. Manitoba also has a population that has been a lot more in favour of restrictions than our prairie neighbours to the west or places in the US. One of the reasons Stefanson and Pallister have/had such low approval ratings is because the people of Manitoba have wanted more restrictive measures or at least more proactive measures to prevent harsher restrictions when it is too late. (There are definitely other reasons for low approval ratings as well - see defending residential schools and the response to the death of Krystal Mousseau for example)

    We've seen how our leaders optimism/indifference played out for other Covid waves we have had - we'll see if the optimism of our leaders will finally work out in our favour in the next months.

  4. 7 hours ago, Tracker said:

    Trouble In Kremlin Gulag: Spy Boss Reportedly Arrested As Putin Fumes Over Ukraine Invasion
     

    A top commander of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) intelligence agency has been placed under house arrest amid upheaval and infighting among officials as President Vladimir Putin fumes over the botched Ukraine invasion, The Wall Street Journal reported Saturday.

    Russian commander Col. Gen. Sergei Beseda was in charge of the FSB’s Ukraine operation, according to the Journal, citing a U.S. official.

    The unidentified American official also told the newspaper that “bickering had broken out” between the FSB and the Russian Ministry of Defense, which were the key government agencies planning the invasion.

    Citing Russian news sources, The New York Times reported that a second FSB official was also under house arrest.

    https://www.huffpost.com/entry/spy-arrested-putin-anger-ukraine-invasion-trouble_n_623691cde4b046c938dca2e9

    I recently read Gulag Archipelago and a book about the siege of Leningrad. I'm noticing a ton of similarities between Stalin and Putin. That's not good. I can't imagine Stalin with nuclear weapons and social media.

  5. 1 hour ago, SpeedFlex27 said:

    That was just terrible. Did you see that Conservative MLA beside her grinning the entire time? 

    That's Cameron Friesen, our former health minister. The one that questioned Doctors Manitoba and accused them of trying to cause chaos in the system when they asked for emergency funding to deal with one of our big Covid waves. "Manitobans need most to understand that the people in charge have got this."

    Manitoba health minister accuses doctors of 'causing chaos' for criticizing pandemic response | CBC News

  6. 20 minutes ago, JCon said:

    Deflecting the question is one thing that all politicians do but to completely ignore the question and go off about your child tells you what type of person Stefanson is. Privileged, out of touch and completely inappropriate for the job as premier.  

    Not to mention the sh**-eating grins on the faces of those around her like Cameron Friesen while she's deflecting a question about a tragic death with news of her son's private school hockey team... And then the big applause given to her by the PC MLA's after. Who are these people? Any normal person would have the understanding not to answer a question about someone's death by bragging about your privileged family, especially when her party's mismanagement had a large part to play in the incident.

  7. 56 minutes ago, Mark H. said:

    I honestly don't quite understand where you guys are coming from

    The best protection is vaccination - anyone who is not yet vaccinated is probably not going to get the jab - continuing the mandates is not going to change that

    The vast majority of vaccinated people - are quite frankly not going to die

     

    1) Not just about death

    2) Not all people can get vaccinated

    3) Some vaccinated people are still at risk of severe outcomes

  8. 2 hours ago, JCon said:

    I guarantee within a few months, our elected officials are going to be up there failing to explain why we're back under lockdowns and the hospitals are being overwhelmed. 

    "Woulda, coulda, shoulda" is their answer. 

    Let's hope the MLAs that have felt they have gotten comfy in easy-win seats will be saying that to themselves after the next election. Maybe starting with a shock in your riding....

  9. China is completely complicit in this and could shut Russia down if they wanted to. We are extremely hesitant as a nation/alliance to put pressure on China to do the right thing because of how intertwined our economies are. One action that individuals can do - stop/reduce buying Chinese goods. We've funded that regime with our desire for cheap goods for years, while casting aside human rights issues.

  10. 2 hours ago, Mark F said:

    In general the Manitoba wilderness,  is kind of unappreciated,  or at least underappreciated.

    go up the Bird river..... waterfall after waterfall.  Peaceful, wildlife.  Just amazing. 90 minutes from wpg.

    This is what concerns me about the "open season" on mining that has been declared in Manitoba, including with Snow Lake Lithium. I haven't looked into that project specifically, but it is easy to greenwash projects to get approval, while eventually causing environmental disasters.

    I have been paying attention to the CanWhite Sands project they will likely be building near Vivian. They brand themselves as an ESG mining company, but there is quite a bit of dirt when you look under the hood. Approvals being given without environmental reviews, inaccurate science being presented, all with the danger of contamination to the huge Sandilands aquifer that services a large portion of Manitoba.

    I'm not against mining per se, nor the Snow Lake project necessarily. I would just like strong regulations, transparent information and real consequences when companies mess with the environment. We've seen many lakes/rivers and even communities being destroyed by mining/logging/hydro development.

    Mining destruction discovered in Nopiming Provincial Park | Wilderness Committee

  11. 19 minutes ago, HardCoreBlue said:

    determinants of health like their genetics

    Off topic and not what you are getting at, but this out of context bit caught my attention. Fun fact (and anyone who is more educated in science/medicine can correct me if I'm wrong) - our immune systems vary widely and have different strengths/weaknesses even if we do have "healthy" immune systems. I believe a key factor is MHC molecules (class 1 & 2) that vary in ability to recognize/spotlight various intruders. Some people have immune systems that are better at facing bacterial foes, while others are better with viruses. Even more interesting, is that we can sense the immune systems of others (through smell) and we are attracted to mates who have different immune strengths/weaknesses than ourselves, in this way our children get some hybrid advantages.

    Again, if anyone has a better medical/science background to either compliment/contradict this, I would love to know, but this is my reading and I have found it incredibly interesting and would point towards why some individuals are hit hard by Covid despite being otherwise completely healthy and some who are elderly and have significant risk factors can find it to be a mild cold. I will again recommend the book Immune by Phillip Dettmer for anyone interested in how the immune system functions, but does not have a thorough medical/scientific background. I probably try to slip in information from that book into conversations way more than I should. Like now.

  12. 34 minutes ago, HardCoreBlue said:

    Bingo, bango, bongo.

    Due to this pandemic that has killed scores of human beings and people's livelihoods, I, with many others, have severely overestimated a segment of the world's population's ability to grasp/accept/understand etc etc etc what is involved (which really isn't much in developed countries like Canada) in being a socially responsible citizen under the guidance of well respected infectious disease/health experts while still keeping our individual rights and freedoms intact.  

    We can see this in the signs people like to display - "I have an immune system" "Quarantine the sick, not the healthy"

    I can never be sure if it is because of a huge gap in scientific understanding or just plain selfishness. Regardless, I'm not sure why they are so eager and proud to self-identify in either category.

  13. 3 minutes ago, Goalie said:

    Good for you making this not about covid and about something else. 

    Some of you are scared... that's cool. I'm all vaxxed up 

    My point is to criticize what you are saying for only worrying about yourself and how the situation works out for you. Fortunately most people have some empathy to others and realize that some people are more vulnerable and do not live under the same reality. Portraying it as scared/not scared is completely missing the point.

  14. 18 minutes ago, GCn20 said:

    My argument is that the deficit is far too high and a good portion of it is due to wasteful spending and social program mismanagement. I do not care for that much.

    I will not argue that Alberta's government is very guilty in regard to wasted oil revenues as well.

    I believe conservatives stand for fiscal responsibility, small government, and efficient program delivery.

    Nope...don't like the Alberta conservatives one bit. They personify everything that is wrong with the right currently. Personally, I wish this faction of the CPC would go back to Reform and slowly die away like the political dinosaurs they are. There seems to be a misconception here that I am flag waving for the CPC, I am not. I am currently a displaced voter who is hoping that a small C conservative party will emerge and at the same time feels that our current government is trash. Why does criticism of the Liberals equate to support of the CPC. I have stated numerous times my vote in the federal election was a protest vote.

    There's a little bit of projection going on here. Whenever someone criticizes what you say on the basis of fact or philosophy they get branded with Liberal or leftist or worse yet.... Trudeau supporter, the horror!

  15. 30 minutes ago, Goalie said:

    We all die eventually and you shouldn't live in fear. Covid at this point gets a who cares from me. I'm over it.  

    As a Canadian with a good job and financial security, I care little for the suffering going on in 3rd world countries. I have clean running water and access to abundant food and health care. I'm not sure why developing countries need any financial support. I'm over it.

  16. 32 minutes ago, GCn20 said:

    You lefties are great at deflecting.

    You were asked in another conversation what conservatives stand for these days. You deflected by asking what liberals stand for. Multiple people responded what they think liberals stand for. I'd still be curious what your answer would be.

  17. 1 hour ago, Wideleft said:

    Don't know if anyone is aware, but vaccine supersites are starting to shut down.  Brandon Keystone Centre, Morden, Main St. Winnipeg (Autopac location) are all done already with more to come.

    Denmark was first to "Freedom UP"  

     

     

    Do not worry, our Health Minister is an optimist:

    Manitoba Health Minister Audrey Gordon said she did not envision more cases at all.

    "I tend to have a very positive outlook. I wake up every day that way and I walk through the day that way," she told reporters. 

    "I'm going to continue with that optimism, not just for myself, but for all Manitobans, that we will continue to see the trend decreasing once the mask mandate is removed on the 15th."

  18. Again, Canada has done much better economically throughout the pandemic than most nations in the developed world. Our inflation numbers are some of the best and the unemployment numbers released today, less than pre-pandemic levels, suggest good things on the horizon.

    Canada adds 337K jobs in February, unemployment drops below pre-pandemic levels - National | Globalnews.ca

    Many of the provinces, especially prairie provinces, are decreasing spending and calling in the feds to help, which they have done throughout the pandemic. A recent example of this is Manitoba going "post-Covid" while still requiring federal emergency help to deal with high Covid counts. If you want to talk mismanagement, the prairie provinces passing the buck is a good place to start.

  19. 6 minutes ago, GCn20 said:

    Dauphin or The Pas would make my trip a couple hundred kilometers longer. I need one in Grand Rapids ideally. I would hope we get one there by then. We just got our very first stage 2 charger in Thompson a couple weeks ago so there is a lot of work to be done here too. I know that those living in the big cities can have quite a myopic view on EV infrastructure because they have it, but rural Canada is absolutely devoid of EV infrastructure currently with the exception of maybe BC and the gas stations in rural are all pretty small mom and pop operations that will need seed money to implement it. 

    It would make a ton of sense for Grand Rapids or Pinaymootang to get a charging station. Pair it with a place to eat and you could get a lot of extra business for the restaurant while waiting for charging. There would probably be a lot of grant money for that as well.

  20. 5 minutes ago, 17to85 said:

    A population of sufficient size to reproduce.... or do you think survival means 9 billion people or something? Life has come and gone on this planet for billions of years. Pretending it's static is just silly. It is an incredibly dynamic system. Is pollution and all sorts of things making it harder? Sure but there's always something. Just adapt and keep on going in the new world. Won't be the same but nothing ever is.

    Except that we actually have the knowledge and ability to make a better future and avoid mass suffering.

×
×
  • Create New...