Brandon Blue&Gold

The group that does those videos is called Midnight Edge, they do it for the clicks.  They do summarize some of the news and rumors but always with a super negative slant.  
According to the, Discovery sucks, CBS is mad and the Picard series is meant to replace it.  But when we apply common sense to this, we see that networks never have a show they hate and keep funding it while also funding a second expensive show just in case they want to replace the original.
Viacom (Paramount's parent company) does have issues with CBS insofar as they are suing each other.  Its complicated but the simple version is a company called National Amusements, owned by the Redstone's (Patriarch Sumner Redstone, but now controlled by his daughter Shari Redstone) owns controlling interest in both Viacom and CBS but they are two separate companies.
It was Sumner Redstone that split the two up years ago.  Now, Shari wants to merge the two back together feeling that it provides leverage in an eventual sale to another tech giant (like Disney buying Fox).  Viacom is weak, especially Paramount and Shari wants to combine Viacom and CBS to create more value.  
How this impacts Star Trek is that when CBS and Viacom were split, Paramount maintained ownership over the film libraries while CBS maintained ownership over the core trademarks and TV rights.  It was an awful decision which has hamstrung Star Trek ever since.
Redstone gave Paramount a drop dead date to produce a new Trek film or lose the rights.  Thats why Paramount hired JJ Abrams and Bad Robot to produce a new Trek movie.  But Paramount had to license the underlying trademarks to Star Trek from CBS.  Part of that deal was CBS would not develop any new Trek on TV for a given time, which was fine with CBS because they saw Star Trek on TV as a dead issue.
The reason Bad Robot created the Kelvin time line is because they wanted to own their own version of Star Trek.  Whereas all merchandise etc that flows from CBS' original Star Trek license is controlled by CBS, merchandise flowing from new original content created under the new limited license flowing from Bad Robot/Paramount's "new" Star Trek universe is theirs.
Bad Robot desperately wanted to create all new merch, comics, animated TV etc and create a Star Trek Universe that they would control.  But CBS refused to play ball and kept Bad Robot operating within the narrow allowances they had.  One famous squabble was that Bad Robot wanted CBS to stop selling toys featuring the TOS likenesses.  Those TOS toys out-sold the Kelvin toys and Bad Robot claimed market confuses and wanted CBS to stop so they could have complete control of the toy market.  CBS refused, of course, as merchandise sales for their Star Trek brand still generated millions of dollars in profits even though it was completely unsupported by new Trek tv.
Bad Robot got annoyed and JJ began losing interest which is partially why he went to Star Wars.
When CBS decided to bring Star Trek back it was because they were approached by other networks, most notably Netflix, who wanted to license Star Trek and create new programming.  Netflix has all the Trek shows on their service and has intricate data on what fans want to see.  This made CBS realize that there was stronger interest in Star Trek than they thought.  And they realized they could leverage Star Trek to support All Access.
But due to their agreement with Paramount, they had to wait until X amount of time (I think it was six months) after Beyond was released, before they could do Discovery.  Now it's full steam ahead.
Discovery had a bit of a troubled history but not lack of support from CBS.  They hired Bryan Fuller and he began developing the series.  He was a former Star Trek writer so people thought he'd be good.  His original pitch was to start the series ten years before TOS and every season would feature a time jump, working its way through every era up to and beyond TNG.  CBS liked the concept but would only agree to one season to test it out (doing an anthology would be very expensive).
Most of the things fans disliked were Fuller ideas (re-designed Klingons, design of the USS Discovery, era it takes place in, uniforms, look of the environment and tech etc).  Reportedly Les Moonves, head of CBS became disenchanted with Fuller because he kept missing deadlines, the budget was ballooning and Les hated the quality of the SFX.  Fuller was fired, a new SFX and creative team was brought in.
But they had to work mostly with what Fuller had created because there wasnt time to go back to the drawing board.  If you notice, in later episodes of Discovery, legacy aliens (such as Tellerites and Andorians) look much more like they did traditionally than the radical departure of the look of the Klingons under Fuller.  
One change that might not have been good, was Nick Meyer being moved away from Discovery.  Fuller had brought him in but when Fuller was canned, Meyer was seemingly moved down as well.  But it came out that Meyer was moved to a new project, supposedly based on Khan and focused on Khan and his people stranded on Ceti Alpha (before being accidentally discovered in Wrath of Khan).
That project was most directly impacted by the Viacom/CBS lawsuit because even though CBS owns the rights to Khan (from the TOS episode Space Seed), they can't feature anything related to the films without licensing that from Paramount.  In a world where CBS and Paramount gladly made licensing deals that was no problem.  But with a lawsuit, not as easy.
Another area it could be a problem is the Picard series.  CBS owns the rights to Picard and the TNG universe, but everything that happened in Star Trek 2009 with Spock trying to save Romulus unsuccessfully etc, they cant use or reference without licensing from Paramount.
Midnight Edge takes this truth and adds a conspiracy slant to it.  They say Discovery is actually being run under Paramount's Limited License and thats why Discovery looks more like the films than the TV shows.  But this makes no sense because why would CBS, who completely owns the license to make Trek on TV, choose to develop programming that requires paying Paramount and then not even creatively expressing on the show that its the Paramount Universe (Kelvin)?
They make this connection due to the updated SFX and the fact Alex Kurtzman worked for Bad Robot and wrote the first two JJ films and is the head of Star Trek for CBS.  They further push the idea that Discovery is a disappointment to CBS and Netflix and they are developing Picard series to replace it.  They said the same thing about Meyer's Khan series.
The big take away is, Star Trek would benefit from Viacom being owned by CBS because they could then have complete creative synergy across the brand.

A few Jim Neidhart stories for those that dont mind reading my longass posts (and maybe a fun non-related tidbit at the end):
Its gonna be a long one.  Read at your own risk! 😉
- We first booked Jim Neidhart in summer 2002.  We had debuted in March 2002 at the UofM with a show that still holds the Manitoba indy wrestling attendance record (1750+ fans), featuring Eddie Guerrero, Honkytonk Man & Brutus Beefcake, and subsequently ran shows weekly at our "home" venue The Stratosphere (Palladium) and other places.  By Summer we were gearing up for our next big show.
Ill try to give some background without taking too long.  We wanted to go back to UofM (IGAC) but our office manager claimed to be close friends with Sam Katz and through a series of meetings, he offered us the Ball Park for "free".  That turned into "a small sum".  Which turned into "no more than IGAC costs" and then when we had no time to seek other arrangements, turned into more than twice what IGAC costs (Im not a Sammy fan).
So a bunch of other crazy crap happened that made that show a cursed one.  Ballpark held over 7500 people so we needed something big to at least try and fill a third of it.  We booked Roddy Piper and Bret Hart with Piper getting the Key to the City.  My concern was neither guy wrestled so I suggested booking Jim because it was a cheap flight from Calgary and he was relatively inexpensive.  And then in essence, we're doing the Hart Foundation reunion and gives more booking logic for Bret to interject himself in the action (and he'd likely be willing to do more in the ring).
Piper ended up backing out due to a schedule conflict and was replaced by the Road Warriors (in a funny twist, I think we had booked them first, then when we could get Piper, we cancelled the Warriors and when my partner called Animal back to re-book him, Animal gave him an earful lol).  
Then Bret had his stroke, about three weeks before the show.  We had tickets on sale, we had tons of print and radio advertising out.  And worse yet, Bret's condition was being kept secretive.  His agent told us he was not that bad and intended to make all bookings.  We had a contract and could not cancel.  Meanwhile, the local wrestling radio show (Joe Aiello & Don Callis) reported Bret was in dire condition.  
Callis hated my partner (and generally didnt support local wrestling) so when we'd buy advertising on the radio show, he'd not-so-subtly make heavy sighs and other noises to indicate he did not endorse or condone or otherwise think very highly of our events (he more or less did that for any local that bought advertising).  He made a point every week of saying "If anyone thinks Bret Hart is making his advertised appearances, they are crazy.  Do not buy a ticket expecting to see Bret Hart."  (We eventually had a blow up with the station sales person over it).
To his credit, Joe had me on the show and I truthfully said Don could be absolutely correct but I can only tell people what the agent tells us.  We even had a deal with the Blue Bombers to provide shows at the tail gate parties and then could distribute advertising and I remember people taking our very expensive flyers and saying "come on, Bret is dead" or "Bret's not coming, what are you trying to pull" etc.  Of course, Don WAS correct. 
So we start getting a bad feeling and our ticket sales have stalled completely.  I decide to push Jim to our regular weekly show and use the big show to promote it because the weekly show was, in a way, more important to our survival than what was shaping up to be a disaster of a big show.  About ten days or so before the big show, we get word Bret is out.  
My partner and I then get into a fierce battle over who should replace him.  He wanted King Kong Bundy (He might have suggested Bam Bam Bigelow too).  And I wanted Jeff Jarrett.  I remember being in our board room arguing and we decided to let one of our top guys be the tie breaker.  He said absolutely Jeff Jarrett.  I left the boardroom and we ended up booking Buff Bagwell (go figure lol).
So now we're really facing a disaster, so we decide we have to cancel Jim (no Bret, whats the point).  I call him and give him the bad news and he reads me the riot act and then calmly says to keep in touch and he'd love to come in lol
Long story short, we did draw well (over 1200) but it was a disaster.  And almost ended up in litigation with the Goldeyes (and had one tense meeting with Sammy).
And by the way, our financial investor who had stopped investing for anything non-office related, wanted to pull the plug before the big show and when we protested, he pulled out two dice and said "over or under", rolled them, my partner said "over", the roll was a seven and thats how we stayed in business.
We limped along for awhile and a year later (Aug 2003), my partner quit (a power play which I wont detail here).  I spent the next year solidifying things and fighting off competitors etc and decided I wanted to begin bringing "names" (import talent) back.  And I targeted Jim Neidhart.
It was low risk.  He was a short flight from Calgary, no hassles with Customs, paid in Canadian and since it was a Thursday, I assumed he'd actually show up.  The deal was simple.  He asked for, I believe $600.  I countered with $400.  We agreed on $500 (he later asked for an extra $50).  He'd work the main event against our Champion and put him over (lose via pinfall/submission).
In the weeks leading up to the show, he'd call my apartment from time to time to just chat.  If I was out, he'd chat with my gf.  Nice guy, but seemed lonely.
I had arranged for him to fly in the night before (a Wednesday) because I was slightly nervous about him showing.  He blew off the Wednesday flight saying he'd just come in on the Thursday.  I was nervous.  I go to the airport and wait...and wait...and wait.  A fact of life is, any wrestler travelling via plane will always be the last one through the door (especially true when clearing customs, especially in Winnipeg where they enjoy hassling wrestlers).  So, everyone enters...but no Jim.  I go to the Payphone and call my gf and ask if Jim called...she says no.  And I begin loudly cursing his name....only to see the guy on the phone beside me look over.  It's Jim!!
Crises averted.  We went to the hotel and had dinner and he was very jittery, like ADD sort of but very cool.  When he asked about his opponent, I said he had a WWE try out a few months earlier but they hadnt signed him and he got all nervous saying "there's something wrong with him, there's something wrong with him."  I put him at ease and he goes to his room to relax.
He declined to come down to the locker room so I sent his opponent up to his room to go over the match.  At Intermission, I go up to check on them and as soon as I walk in, our champion gives me a sort of "ugh" expression.  I say "How are things going Jim?"  He looks a bit confused and asks "what did you want for a finish?"  I say "our guy over via pinfall."
Jim strokes his beard for a moment "How about I go over?"
"Well, Jim, that doesnt really work because he's our champion so we need him to go over."
He continues stroking.  "What if we do a DQ?"
"Well, Jim, we really wanted you here because you're a huge star and its helping our guy get over and helping us look like a big time promotion to have you.  So you putting him over would really help us out." (laying it on thick).
He continues stroking.  "Can it be a ****** finish?" 
"Absolutely Jim, he's a heel, he can screw you."
Our guy interjects "Ill hit you in the head with the belt", to which Jim snaps "you wont hit me in the head with anything!"
Jim agrees to the finished (belt shot to the back).  Another crises averted.
Match happens (it was basic but fine, crowd enjoyed it).  I was ring announcing and the pop for Jim when I intro'd him was awesome.
After the match, Jim gears down and bee-lines to me, "where's my money?" he demands.
I say "Jim, no problem, I was waiting for you to get dressed."  I pull out the cash and he strokes his beard while leaning over me as if he needs to intimidate me into paying him. Hilarious.  He then politely thanks me and we go back to enjoying some cold ones at the bar.
Jim would order a beer, drink half of it (which is about two gulps) and order a fresh one.  He kept doing this (his tab was comped) until the bartender, getting annoyed finally says "what about the one in front of you, arent you going to finish it?"
Jim looks at the half full bottle of beer and says "nah, its old.  Give me a new one."
Then things get really interesting.  A young woman, early 20's, is there.  I know her from the bar and the fact she dated a couple of local wrestlers.  And, in fact, was then dating a local wrestler (but not one that worked for me and he was not there this night).  She's hanging out with Jim, flirting, drinking etc.  She comes to me and says her bf is getting mad she's out so late and wants her to come home.  But she wants to hang out with Jim.
"Im a huge Hart Foundation fan and this is awesome," she says.  I tell her she should do what she wants and if she enjoys hanging out with Jim, stay and enjoy."
Awhile later, she comes back to me and says "my bf wants me to come home but Jim wants me go to his room and keep drinking with him.  I dont know what I should do."
So I say "well, you can go home with your bf any night.  How many nights can you go home with Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart?"
She smiles "thats a good point.  Thank you."
So Jim grabs two beers in one hand and this girl in the other and goes off to his room for a nightcap.  Now, I dont want to disparage the memory of the recently departed, but the young lady was happy to report that she was "Anvil Approved" (she even had a shirt made).
The next day, we get a minor snow storm.  I have to pick Jim up at the hotel and take him to the Airport.  Im running late and he's getting anxious and calls my gf to express his anxiety.  She talks him down, tells him he has plenty of time etc.
I arrive and he's pretty nervous about missing his flight.  I assume Calgary airport is farther out then Winnipeg's and he was just not familiar.  He even saw a building in the distance and thought it was the control tower and got excited.
So we arrive at the airport and I get out of the car and go around to his side to grab his bag and thank him etc.  He suddenly leans on me like he's been shot in the leg.  I ask him what happened and he whispers, play along.  
I practically carry him into the airport where he is grimacing and moaning.  A WestJet employee runs over, "Oh my, sir, are you okay??"
"Im a professional wrestler," Jim replies through his gritted teeth.  "I blew out my knew.  I cant walk."
She tells him not to worry as she grabs a wheel chair.
Jim says "This knee made us late, Im afraid Ill miss my plane."
"No, sir," she replies.  "Ill take care of everything and hold the plane if we have to."
Jim winks at me and as the woman is getting the ticket info, he whispers that it "never fails" and its an old trick to avoid walking through large airports.  yeesh
I thank him for the match and the fun stories and off I go as he is wheeled towards his gate.
You could definitely tell he was of the old school WWE variety but he really enjoyed doing shows and being around the boys and the fans and was really funny.  Loved telling stories.  He was a good guy.
 
Bonus tidbit: Ill be sitting down in front of cameras this weekend as will several others including Don Callis, for a project.  What could it be?  Stay tuned!

Anyway, this Ingraham stuff is pretty ******* scary.
I am a legal immigrant to the USA.  I don't feel personally targeted by the current administration because I'm the whitest goddamn person on the planet (I'm mostly English + Danish) and my record is squeaky-clean here ... but every time I see a headline about targeting legal immigrants I get a little nervous. I need to get my ass naturalized soon, because this is my home, and I need to feel secure in it, and also being able to vote will be good.
Just in case anyone is curious -- I don't resent "illegal" immigrants because I got to emigrate to the USA by choice, I was at the end of a bad relationship and needed a change, and hey, why not Seattle? But I could have moved anywhere in Canada, or a lot of other countries, and I would've been fine. I didn't come to the USA under duress, because my home country is a bomb-paved hellscape, or because there's no other way I can support my family, or because my government is killing people of my religion. A lot of those folks have faced enormous hardship that I simply can't imagine, and once they're here, they are paying taxes and working hard  -- much, much harder than I do, with my super cushy office rocket programming job.  And so I'm not going to condemn those folks on the basis of them being on the wrong side of a border as a survival strategy.

Only complaint I have with LaPolice lately is I really don't like his wacky calls on 2nd and anything around 4 or less. You're dominant. Play that way.

Nichols...Streveler...Harris.  Damn fine players who wouldn't be nearly as effective without a monster O-line leading the way.  Not taking away from the QBs or Harris of course but our O-line has been dominant so far this season.  Fun to watch those boys work every game. 

Nichols...Streveler...Harris.  Damn fine players who wouldn't be nearly as effective without a monster O-line leading the way.  Not taking away from the QBs or Harris of course but our O-line has been dominant so far this season.  Fun to watch those boys work every game. 

The worst part about the Gunn firing is that an absolute @#$%sack like Cernovich and his Alt-Right ilk came out winners in this.  Disgusting that Disney caved to scum like that.  Impressive how in the span of about two years things you posted on social media years ago went from being ignored to becoming a fireable offence.  There's no way Disney/Marvel didn't see this stuff 6 years ago when they hired Gunn and they certainly couldn't have missed his apology for it back then too.  It just didn't matter in 2012 I suppose.
 

Nichols...Streveler...Harris.  Damn fine players who wouldn't be nearly as effective without a monster O-line leading the way.  Not taking away from the QBs or Harris of course but our O-line has been dominant so far this season.  Fun to watch those boys work every game. 

Nichols...Streveler...Harris.  Damn fine players who wouldn't be nearly as effective without a monster O-line leading the way.  Not taking away from the QBs or Harris of course but our O-line has been dominant so far this season.  Fun to watch those boys work every game. 

Nichols...Streveler...Harris.  Damn fine players who wouldn't be nearly as effective without a monster O-line leading the way.  Not taking away from the QBs or Harris of course but our O-line has been dominant so far this season.  Fun to watch those boys work every game. 

It would be crazy to have Harris, Flanders and Demski all on the field at the same time.  All can run, catch and block.  You could run some crazy misdirection there, toss in Streveler in a package too.  Real hard to defend.

I'd assume Washington gets first crack at it...He looked good in the slot and coming across the middle and up through the flats.
I bet in Bowmans first game he gets between 6-8 catches for 100+ yards too
If they insert Lankford...I will puke and if I was one of Tompkins and Washington I would actually ask for my release cause of that...we know what Lankford is as a receiver and it's bottom teir

Just a minor question in this debate...for those pointing out the crowds from Jets games that have converged at P & M from time to time, won't those crowds go to True North Square when it's up and running instead of going to P & M?

Do we have an issue here, Sonny?

Bomber first possession.....Nichols hits Bowman!
....who drops it.
Harris running well, again.....
Nichols finds Adams wide open 22 yds in end zone, for TD
Blue 2nd possession...Adams takes short dump 25 yds...
Harris keeps pounding.....NIchols hits Adams down to the 5
Harris waltzes into the endzone untouched from the 1....TD
Franklin completes 3 passes, setting up 25 yd FG attempt,,
....that is missed.  All omens looking good for Bombers, so far...
Still looking for Loffler.....
But on O, Bombers have 9 FD and 120 yds for the quarter...
Wilder getting stuffed by Blue D...DT's playing well....
Harris screen pass...then Dressler makes nice catch on sideline.....
Nichols finds Adams down to the 5, Harris untouched (again)...
....on swing pass for the TD....22-1.....with 11,000 unhappy fans....
Bomber O making last weeks 2nd half....just an unhappy memory...
Argos finally mount a "drive" featuring 3 interference penalties on Blue..
After 16 plays.....at least the Argos can chip away with 32 yd FG....
Argo kicker misses that one as well....Fogg runs it out, TO gets nothing...
After another Argo 2 and out....Fogg tries running catch on punt return..
....he misses....Noel gets the Argo bounce....and runs it all the way.  TD
Bombers running out the clock, last minute....until Harris fumbles....
Argo kicker finally pops a field goal.  25-12 at the half
Bombers literally give away 11 points in the final minute....
Another laugher no longer that funny....more gin incoming.....
Blue D line doing a nice job of keeping Franklin in the pocket...
Bomber patchwork secondary, not looking that patchwork.....
Harris turns the corner for big gain, Nichols rolls out..hits Dressler...
Harris rumbles to the 5, then the 1.  Nichols sneaks in....TD
Good response from the Bomber O....Nichols back into groove.
Better pursuit and tacking from Bomber D, in this one
Fogg rolls back in with 55 yd punt return.  Demski takes pass to 15
Medlock puts Bombers up 35-12....gin consumption down.....
Wilder stripped by Jeffcoat....Nevis recovers....
Demski catches ball out wide, but fumbles it.....
...some Argo picks it up....cruses 85 yds for another Argo D TD.
18 points now given up on turnovers....
Nasty habit of no killer instinct at times...
But at least, we do have the Argo O...Franklin dreadful INT to Sayles
Lot of talk about the "Franklin era" this week....pump the brakes...
Nichols to Dressler down to the 20, Medlock makes it 38-20..
...as MOS decides that a 3 score game is better, that getting cute...
Wilder running wide... is not his thing....complete non-factor, today..
Bowman catches one!  Well, on the bounce.....too bad...
...as that one would of been worth about 45 K......
Argos down to their 3rd down....ball stripped by Thomas....
...Nevis recovers, to cap off his strong game.....
Harris rips off 20...still pounding away....must be over 150 now....
Is this guy, the best player in the league?....one could argue....
Argos take time out with 46 seconds left....what for?
To find the airhorn?  To dress Pinball?
Clock runs out....38 to 20, and a much needed win...
Score makes it look competitive....actual game was not....
No reason not to sweep these guys....or keep drinking....



 
 

As requested, a perspective from a Calgarian on what we're doing but also a former Winnipeger who grew up there.  I remember when the intersection being discussed was closed.
In the early 1970's Winnipeg could have had a light rail transit system. Mayor Stephen Juba proposed a monorail system similar to what Vancouver has now in & around 1970.  He was laughed at & ridiculed for the idea & it never went forward. Then Vancouver went ahead with their above ground light rail system in 1976 while Edmonton & Calgary went ahead with their own surface light rail systems in the late 70's. 
It didn't help that before Uni City ( the name that was given to the merger of all the different cities with the City of Winnipeg) was called there were 2 local governments running against & competing with one another before the merger. The Metro Corporation was established in 1961 & was funded by the province to oversee all the small cities like Transcona, St, Vital, St. Boniface, Ft. Garry, St. James etc. The Chairman was Jack Willis.  Then there was the  City of Winnipeg with Mayor Juba.  Both governments seldom got along & clashed over a number of things like what projects should  be built, who would pay what & how much, who should oversee & maintain infrastructure  such as roads, bridges, sewer & water, street cleaning & snow clearing, etc. Juba's idea of a monorail system was opposed by the Metro Corporation & by extension the Province. Winnipeg City Councillors didn't like the idea of a monorail system either & Juba's idea died. 
The Metro Corporation was dissolved on January 1, 1972 when the suburban cities merged with the City of Winnipeg. Judging by what Edmonton, Calgary & Vancouver did with light rapid transit it turned out to be an opportunity lost. Now, it's probably too expensive for Winnipeg to even think of starting even a small LRT system. What a difference an LRT would have made to traffic congestion in Winnipeg & moving people to & from the suburbs to downtown & back. 
Calgary's first LRT line was completed in 1981 & went NW from the downtown to McMahon Stadium & the U of C. Of course, this was a boon for the 1988 Winter Olympics. A second line was built to go south from downtown as well & construction started a month after the NW line was opened for service in 1981.  I believe that the NW line wasn't more than 10 kms in length.  Since then, the LRT has expanded to all 4 quadrants of the City from north to south.  Currently there are 59 kms of  C Train service on the Red & Blue lines that carry over 306,000 people during the work week from Monday to Friday. That's a lot of cars taken off the roads during rush hour mornings & evenings.
When I say expensive just chew on these numbers. Calgary is building another LRT line from  downtown  to the deep SE of Calgary. The first leg will be approximately 25 kms in length. Eventually the entire Green Line as it is called will be 39 kms long with eventual completion of the second leg to be finished within the next 15-20 years .The cost of the first leg is $4.5 billion dollars. Cost of the first leg of the new Green Line will be shared three ways by the City of Calgary, the Province of AB & Ottawa.  As an aside, there are federal dollars for projects like this but cities & provinces have to sign on first before the feds will pay their one third. 
 
 

Why is everything you disagree with often labelled as silly.  Present your argument and let people decide what is silly and not  
Are you suggesting a corporation who wants to build a 40 story tower is going to support what is in the best interest of Winnipeg traffic or the best interest of their investment?
As for the solution, I gave you one I’d support that wouldn’t affect traffic and still have the ability to open it up.  
Also, from over 25 years of driving experience in this city, I have no confidence the city planners can “fix” traffic as simply as you imply it to be. 
It is great to say fixing traffic isn’t like curing cancer or going to Mars, but you still didn’t offer a solution. 
Also, the last time it was opened up was in the 70s.   How much has population density increased in 40 years and how many more cars per home do we have now as compared to then?

My issue with opening up Portage & Main is that it really can't be compared to other intersections in most major downtown cities.   
Most intersections are true 4 way intersections where the majority of traffic flows straight in all directions and you have some cars turning left and right that can be handled with turning lanes on busy streets to minimize the impact on the majority of the car flow as those turning cars wait for pedestrians to cross.
When Portage hits Main Street the majority of the traffic flow is turning either left or right onto Main with a smaller percent of traffic going straight on Portage Avenue East.   It is the opposite.  So having the majority of your car flow having to wait for pedestrians to cross will absolutely have a huge impact up Portage and probably Main if they make the green light longer to compensate for pedestrians.     
Does anyone really think opening up Portage & Main will revitalize the downtown?  I worked downtown for years and even if they made patios and whatever to try to make it compelling, I'm there to work most of the time during the day, so I'm not going to get a lot of use out of it.  
Seems to me, the motivation to open up Portage & Main is to revitalize it as a "meeting place" downtown for significant and special  events.  It is Winnipeg's most iconic intersection and people want it to be open to gather for special events.    Take down the permanent barricades, replace them with something that can be easily removed.   Keep the barricades up for rush hour and most days.  Take them down when you want to use the intersection as a "meeting place" for whatever event you want people to gather for.  
I don't work downtown anymore, nor do I need to go through it for my daily commute, so this doesn't really affect me one way or the other.   But I don't think the benefits of this outweigh what is already a horrible rush hour bottle neck.

There are two sides to this argument.  The people that understand why CITI took this action and people who should think before they post on social media.  Im surprised by how many I am acquainted with who simply dont get it (either from a business perspective or a humanity one).
Its a good reminder that freedom of expression is not freedom from consequence.

We have completely morphed from having a bunch of softies, who yelled "look out" a lot....and were good at helping the QB up, after he got buried......to a bunch of nasties, who simply take no guff or prisoners out there.
....and I enjoy this immensely .
 

Guys guys guys  I think we can all agree at least that we are happy that Greaves isn't playing guard for us anymore.

It's actually a play on a popular meme.
Speaking of memes...

This is why call ins after games are stupid. Too many unhinged morons calling in thinking that their raging is what everyone wants to hear. 

Dunno if anyone posted this already but thought it was an interesting bit to read. 
 
https://bomberbuzz.ca/2018/07/04/bombers-defensive-coaching-hits-rock-bottom-in-steel-town/