All things newsworthy about the 'peg. The good and the bad. Okay mostly bad.

Edited August 2, 20241 yr by FrostyWinnipeg

3 hours ago, iHeart said:

Pallister's leaving on Wednesday, leadership vote on October 30th

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/brian-pallister-manitoba-premier-resigns-1.6157735?fbclid=IwAR2Eq6QT7pIN3kD2wWhf0KRZYpyI_cNIKM20Ol8GUbqQ0sKeyioF0oIko0E

12 hours ago, FrostyWinnipeg said:

whoopee 

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/winnipeg-lab-book-dewar-1.6154226

Quote

A new book concludes co-operation between Canada's National Microbiology Lab in Winnipeg and China's Wuhan Institute of Virology played no part in the origin of the coronavirus pandemic but raises questions about links between one of the researchers fired from the lab and a prominent Chinese virologist affiliated with the military.  

Toronto-based freelance journalist Elaine Dewar says she set out to investigate the hypothesis that the coronavirus was leaked from the Wuhan lab by looking at the science and financial and geopolitical interests related to the theory.

As part of that, she looked into whether an approved shipment of Ebola and henipah viruses in March 2019 from the Winnipeg lab to Wuhan had anything to do with the pandemic after conspiracy theories suggesting it did surfaced online. 

Months after that shipment, in July 2019, NML scientists Xiangguo Qiu and husband Keding Cheng were escorted from the Winnipeg lab and had their security clearances revoked. They were fired last January, and to date, the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), which runs Canada's only Level 4 biosafety lab, has not explained why.

Dewar did not find any connections between the 2019 shipment and the pandemic. CBC News has also debunked conspiracy theories making those connections. 

"That particular conspiracy theory is nonsense, and there is absolutely no evidence to support it," said Dewar, whose book On the Origin of the Deadliest Pandemic in 100 Years: An Investigation comes out Tuesday.

 

While I'm glad Pallister isn't staying on as leader of the PCs. Am I the only one who thinks he's being a coward in stepping aside well before his term actually ends? Maybe I'm missing something but it feels like he's just quitting during a time when leadership (though he provided barely any) is actually very much needed. I donno..as far as I'm concerned this is another black mark on his record book. I don't applaud him on stepping down at all.

32 minutes ago, Bigblue204 said:

While I'm glad Pallister isn't staying on as leader of the PCs. Am I the only one who thinks he's being a coward in stepping aside well before his term actually ends? Maybe I'm missing something but it feels like he's just quitting during a time when leadership (though he provided barely any) is actually very much needed. I donno..as far as I'm concerned this is another black mark on his record book. I don't applaud him on stepping down at all.

Wouldn't you be retiring 2 the islands if you were his age with his money at this point in his life?

2 minutes ago, FrostyWinnipeg said:

Wouldn't you be retiring 2 the islands if you were his age with his money at this point in his life?

If I'm voted in to lead a thing (in this case a province) and there is a very real emergency going on I would have a hard time abandoning ship during said emergency. Like I said he's a coward.

3 minutes ago, Bigblue204 said:

If I'm voted in to lead a thing (in this case a province) and there is a very real emergency going on I would have a hard time abandoning ship during said emergency. Like I said he's a coward.

And he has stated on multiple occasions that he would remain on at least until the end of the pandemic. Part of me thinks he's itching to get back to the Costa Rica mansion after all the stress he's accumulated, but part of me also wonders if the PC party has forced his hand a little bit behind the scenes. He is very unpopular and extremely unlikable. I'm sure some MLA's are fearing they will be out after the next election. Maybe they feel they can put some lipstick on the pig, rebrand the party and do much better after Manitoban's have had 2 years to forget his reign.

Either way I feel that the PC MLAs are cowards as well. They start coming out now with complaints, but they were fully on board without a peep when they had a chance to object. Whatever happens next elections, I really hope that it is not a majority government. We've seen the 'New Leader, New Party' thing too many times. They need to keep some of the stain of the last few years on them instead of saying "behind the scenes" after the fact.

5 minutes ago, Bigblue204 said:

If I'm voted in to lead a thing (in this case a province) and there is a very real emergency going on I would have a hard time abandoning ship during said emergency. Like I said he's a coward.

Gonna be real with you as Brian is a family acquaintance.  I don't think Coward is the word... I think being forced out because of covid would be more fair. Listen, BP definitely didn't always listen to the doctors advice and wanted to keep things going forward.. he ****** up.. he knows it.. we know it.. his party knows it. 

It's no coincidence that he leaves and 2 women, let's be honest it's gonna be Stefanson winning the PC vote throw their names in. Politics 101... sacrifice the leader and throw him under the bus. 

 

This is what's happened. Coward? Nah.. he's a down to earth guy really.. pressure? Damn rights. Due to his handling of covid and political. PCs want to win in 2023 or whenever our provincial election is... they wouldn't with pallister.  Likely will with Stefanson

The ship is sinking and certain animals react to that by leaving.

18 hours ago, Goalie said:

Gonna be real with you as Brian is a family acquaintance.  I don't think Coward is the word... I think being forced out because of covid would be more fair. Listen, BP definitely didn't always listen to the doctors advice and wanted to keep things going forward.. he ****** up.. he knows it.. we know it.. his party knows it. 

It's no coincidence that he leaves and 2 women, let's be honest it's gonna be Stefanson winning the PC vote throw their names in. Politics 101... sacrifice the leader and throw him under the bus. 

 

This is what's happened. Coward? Nah.. he's a down to earth guy really.. pressure? Damn rights. Due to his handling of covid and political. PCs want to win in 2023 or whenever our provincial election is... they wouldn't with pallister.  Likely will with Stefanson

Paint it however you want. He was leader. He said he'd finish a job. He didn't....whether others put pressure on him or not doesn't change anything else. If anything he showed he didn't have what it takes to stand firm against his peers and finish what he said he would. In my books. That's a coward.

The Cons got 2 years to reclaim the throw which Wab(how he escape #metoo?) is currently sitting on. Better to switch leader now then Kim Campbell it later.

 

3 hours ago, FrostyWinnipeg said:

 

Looks like half of the Village People.

On 2021-09-01 at 11:11 AM, Bigblue204 said:

Paint it however you want. He was leader. He said he'd finish a job. He didn't....whether others put pressure on him or not doesn't change anything else. If anything he showed he didn't have what it takes to stand firm against his peers and finish what he said he would. In my books. That's a coward.

I mean if we are being honest... you can blame unvaxxed manitobans now not pallister

Um Stefanson um has to um overcome her um tenure as Health Minister where she was MIA while um we were um shipping patients out of province. Oh wait, she was working behind the scenes or um running a leadership campaign instead of doing her job. Let's not forget her taking no responsibility for any decision made during a terrible third wave. PCs are going to be wishing they shoulda, coulda, woulda picked somebody else.

Just now, rebusrankin said:

Um Stefanson um has to um overcome her um tenure as Health Minister where she was MIA while um we were um shipping patients out of province. Oh wait, she was working behind the scenes or um running a leadership campaign instead of doing her job. Let's not forget her taking no responsibility for any decision made during a terrible third wave. PCs are going to be wishing they shoulda, coulda, woulda picked somebody else.

I agree but feel that the other 2 local parties are a joke here 

13 minutes ago, Goalie said:

I agree but feel that the other 2 local parties are a joke here 

Not over the murderous PCs. 

3 minutes ago, JCon said:

Not over the murderous PCs. 

Liberals don't exist. NDP? Kind of but... not sure Kinew would do better 

4 minutes ago, Goalie said:

Liberals don't exist. NDP? Kind of but... not sure Kinew would do better 

Kinew would have done better. He would have chosen science over sky fairies. He would have bungled other things but would not have chosen money or lives. Brian cashed his cheque. 

I don't know what the Liberals would have done because they're not capable of actually leading govt. They're not a real party. 

Edited September 4, 20214 yr by JCon

Right now the PCs are in serious trouble in Winnipeg. I don't see Stefanson changing that. Poor speaker, comes across as arrogant, doesn't admit mistakes, comes across as same old same old. Take unhappiness over how Covid has been handled, the closure of ERs, no contracts for most healthcare groups, Bill 64 and their approach to Education and I think they're in serious trouble.

I've said it before, multiple times, but the Liberals have the best party leader and they are really progressive. We'd be in a much better situation with them leading us through Covid. While they don't have any chance to form the next government, it would be best for Manitoba if they were at least a more serious third party and could hold a balance of power which would keep both PC and NDP in their places and preventing majority victories.

1 minute ago, WildPath said:

I've said it before, multiple times, but the Liberals have the best party leader and they are really progressive. We'd be in a much better situation with them leading us through Covid. While they don't have any chance to form the next government, it would be best for Manitoba if they were at least a more serious third party and could hold a balance of power which would keep both PC and NDP in their places and preventing majority victories.

It would be good if the Liberals were more centrist and actually tried to earn the right's vote. But, they operate in the fringes and simply act as an alternative to the NDP.  They're not deep and could never functionally form govt. 

1 hour ago, JCon said:

It would be good if the Liberals were more centrist and actually tried to earn the right's vote. But, they operate in the fringes and simply act as an alternative to the NDP.  They're not deep and could never functionally form govt. 

I agree that they are more of an option for the left than the right. The only way I can imagine some hardcore right voters switching is because voting for the NDP is the same as worshiping Satan and they want to stick it to the PCs for introducing restrictions and vaccine passports. Though Christian Heritage or something would likely swipe the "PCs are too communist" votes.

Not sure what you mean by them not being deep, but I agree that its hard to make any headway when voters only see vote for the Liberals as a vote for the party they really don't want (be that PC or NDP) I'm hoping they make some progress as they were last significantly relevant in the late 80s when they were the official opposition. Doubt much progree will happen next election as NDP and PC are so radically opposite at the moment.

13 hours ago, JCon said:

It would be good if the Liberals were more centrist and actually tried to earn the right's vote. But, they operate in the fringes and simply act as an alternative to the NDP.  They're not deep and could never functionally form govt. 

There is every indication that most of the right-wing adherents have no interest in anything except complete compliance with their agendas. Wooing them is a waste of time, money and energy.

17 minutes ago, Tracker said:

There is every indication that most of the right-wing adherents have no interest in anything except complete compliance with their agendas. Wooing them is a waste of time, money and energy.

There are moderate PC voters. They swing when they think the NPD are capable of governing from the middle.  But, they jump as soon as the PCs are competitive. 

It's not my wish to split the middle-right, middle and middle-left vote but I think you could build a competitive, middle party alternative. The NDP operated in the middle under Doer. 

Edited September 4, 20214 yr by JCon