What makes you believe that? Sensationalized unverified nonsense is just as bad as fake news, in fact it’s worse because people like you think “well it’s a big official news outlet what they say must be happening for real as I’m sure they’ve researched it” but their only motivation is money and being “first to report”. Explain your analysis of the quality of the fact-checking, access to legitimate sources and on-the-ground reporting of any not-directly-involved media organization that’s reporting on this and I’ll give you a pass. There’s nothing from Al-Jazeera, and not even any opposing propaganda available because as they admit, “This claim could not be independently verified by Al Jazeera. The Indian government has yet to comment.”

So far, I don’t see a single corroborating source with any sort first-hand information at all. It’s very easy to copy and paste what government propaganda says and present it as news, and when it’s sensational it can get lots of clicks and ad money. That doesn’t mean it is real and I can’t see any reason you would have to believe any of this, and if you do, maybe you’d like to buy this bridge I’ve got for sale.

That’s the American spirit that I, as a Canadian, want to see! It’s your country. Don’t let them take it!

Well, if anyone wants to marry a Canadian, I’m single.

Honestly I’ve been worrying for years that the only way the US is going to resolve this division and hostility within their country is by breaking up, possibly largely along red state/blue state lines, and hopefully not triggering a violent (or god forbid nuclear) civil war in the process.

But I can say as a Canadian, if it does come to that, and you guys can’t take back your country (which I really think you can, once you start to accept what is happening and accept that it’s gonna hurt and you dig your heels in anyway, I don’t think there’s anyone who will be able to take you down, not even Trump and crew), then we would be absolutely happy to quickly rebuild and strengthen our relationship with most of the blue states. And however you end up wanting to arrange yourselves in the end, we’ll work with that. And if you guys genuinely wanted our help, our resources, our logistical support, even our protection (what little we can provide), if things were to start looking like actual civil war, I’m sure we’d absolutely be willing to figure out what sort of arrangement is actually going to work. We’d have to at least initially discuss it as equals and as partners though, I don’t think we’d ask you or coerce you to give up your sovereignty, any more than we’d want you to take ours. But if the intention to join Canada was a popular attitude, I expect we’d be willing to consider it, probably after some cooling-off period though to make sure it’s not just a passing fad. The progressive parts of America are the parts we’ve always loved. If you guys come knocking on our door needing a couch to crash on we’re not going to ask how long you need to stay, we’re just going to go find pillows and blankets.

They’re not worse than the US, but they’re not better either. Two dictators don’t make a democracy, and they never will. Having a choice between two dictators is not a great choice to begin with, and we shouldn’t feel forced to choose the lesser of two evils.

Besides, there is already a beautiful and relatively prosperous economic union on the other side of the Atlantic that almost perfectly aligns with our values. They need us right now, and we need them, and I think we would be absolutely foolish to prioritize anything else at this time.

Part of the reason the USA has gotten to this state is because we allow unverified sensationalist slop like this to get the public’s attention and be used against them. We’ve already seen 1 bullshit study linking vaccines and autism that is STILL being widely circulated and used to this day to convince people not only that vaccines are bad but that the whole GOVERNMENT is bad. Look at the results.

Now we’re going to convince people toothpaste is bad using the same quality of “independent research”?

I mean, it depends what you’re willing to call “research”.

The testing, conducted by Lead Safe Mama, also found concerning levels of highly toxic arsenic, mercury and cadmium in many brands.

I’m not sure I would put this on the same level as a controlled, reproducible double-blind peer-reviewed study by Harvard and MIT published in a prestigious journal, but I’m sure it’s really close. /s

Edit: Ok, so people argue she’s at least a little legitimate, but why the fuck can’t we use actual scientific institutions anymore? We have a scientific method for a reason. Where’s the peer review? Where’s the people reproducing her results?

“It’s not paranoia, if they really are out to get you.”

Agreed, do Trump next! Although, we should do Russia first, as I think what will turn up during that investigation is going to be… very relevant.

There are some parts of it that aren’t great and maybe it could be streamlined, like the cookie warning which should be implemented technically in the browser and part of the cookie protocol. Transition it to making it legally the responsibility of tech giants and advertisers like Microsoft and Google to comply and be honest about what they’re tracking, rather than the sole burden falling on each individual website. Somehow I doubt that’s the only thing they’ll be interested in discussing but I’m going to wait and see what they actually do before I judge.

I appreciate your attempt to engage in good faith, but no, my question was very rhetorical. I am not really interested in discussing any answers to that question that neither you nor I would support. If you do have an argument to make, feel free to do so. I may or may not respond. But in case my own point’s not clear, I think most of the opposition to solar panels comes from disingenuous efforts by companies with a financial interest in fossil-fuel, and I think they try to cast it in as negative a light as they possibly can, and I don’t think their perspective is even worth considering as they continue their ghastly sprint to destroy the future of life on this planet so they can earn money.

Why is this always worded in such a shitty way that makes it sound like a bad thing. “swamps the grid” “overwhelming the region” “prices slumping”. Fuck all the “energy companies” and their bought politicians and journalists who think or at least talk this way.

Here let me fix it for you: “France now has abundant solar energy, providing free electricity to all homes and businesses that want it, while plenty of solar capacity remains in reserve, available for meeting increased demands or storing for later or night-time use by refilling hydroelectric reservoirs”

I have never understood why people are so unequivocal and quick to take sides in this conflict. Either people insist on “No criticism of Hamas” or “No criticism of Israel”. It has always seemed clear to me that both the Israeli people and the Palestinian people are victims of their and each other’s respective warmongering hardline governments. It is possible for both sides to be completely in the wrong, and arguing about which is “more wrong” and trying to tally up historical injustices to debate who has the biggest total is fruitless and counterproductive. Until both sides are willing to admit they’ve been wrong and done wrong to each other and accept that very justified criticism, the violence is never going to end. Criticism of both sides is not only deserved it is necessary and probably the only answer. Both sides need to be forced to take responsibility for what they’ve each done wrong instead of justifying and defending it and acting like they’re completely innocent before this is ever going to have a chance at resolution.

The only conclusion I can draw is that some people REALLY don’t want it to ever have a peaceful resolution, and I think that’s probably closest to the actual truth of the situation. Really sickening and sad, for everyone victimized by this conflict. And I’m not even going to start getting into all the various foreign governments “supporting” both these sides. These are the ones who don’t want it to ever have a peaceful resolution, I suspect.

I am hoping that maybe these protests are at least a sign that Gazans are willing to start vocally criticizing Hamas’ role in perpetuating this violence. Now for us to be getting somewhere we’d need to start to see the same from the Israeli people too. But I’m not holding my breath. These protest efforts may be too little too late. Israel is clearly the better equipped and supported regime here; globally we seem to be returning to the horrible principle of “might makes right”. As we know history is written by the victor, and genocide is an unfortunately practical and well-tested way of silencing your critics.

Of course the US would rather get its fertilizer from Russia than Canada. Sanction nasty Canada, free trade with Russia. Bring fertilizer from the other side of the world instead of across the border. Burn more oil in the process, Russian oil. This is sensible and wise!

When did I go through the portal into the Evil Alternate Universe?

The Marshall Plan was one of the most ambitious and apparently successful contributions to global peace, prosperity, and safety that has been made in modern history. Probably one of the greatest contributions of all time. Perhaps more importantly for the self-centered people out there, it cemented American hegemony for three quarters of a century.

Why would anyone want to try to repeat something like that? /s

That said, Europe will probably do an even better job, and it’s their turn anyway.

Canada has done some great steps towards indigenous truth and reconciliation, I’m not going to dox myself but I’ve been part of that on a local level and continue to be. It’s not hypocritical to admit that yes, my ancestors invaded another nation and genocided its people. The difference is, we’re all now on the same side saying “Don’t do that, we won’t let you do it”. We’ve done it. It’s wrong. We’re speaking from experience and trying to make a better world where this doesn’t happen anymore.

To be fair, so are statements like yours. Any bleeding heart running around crying “what about the Good Germans?” during WW2 was probably either an idiot or a fucking traitor. The “Good Germans” did nothing but go along with what Germany was doing and shrug. There was no resistance. There was no widespread insurgency. There were exceptions like Oskar Schindler, and the exception is why we still talk about him today. But on the whole most people made no attempt to betray the Reich, to save people from being put in concentration camps, to free the concentration camps, to even improve conditions in the concentration camps. They might’ve claimed they didn’t know what was going on, maybe some didn’t, but they could’ve known if they had paid any attention at all, they didn’t want to know, they didn’t try to know. They were afraid, that’s valid, but why is their fear more acceptable than the fear of the soldiers who were called up to defend their country against German invasion, who are getting shot at and bombed? There comes a point where the “Good German” just becomes a “Cowardly German” and doesn’t deserve the sympathy you’re trying to create for them.

The vast majority of Russians have done nothing to stop Putin, and that’s true of the ones who’ve fled to the west, the ones who signed up for a military payday, the ones who are farming to feed the army, the ones who are building the missiles and the bombs, the ones working on the rails and the ships that transport all this war materiel, the ones operating the oil refineries that pay the bills, the ones building the software that runs and controls all of this.

When they can tell me what specifically they’ve done to try to stop Putin, to sabotage this war and this regime, then I’ll be the judge of whether they’re indeed an actual “Good Russian”, or a “Typical Russian”. Because the “Typical Russian” has done, and continues to do, absolutely fucking nothing while thousands are dying, or worse they celebrate it. They’ll probably tell you they did that out of fear too, that they feared consequences if they didn’t celebrate it, but those kind of loyalty displays are the reasons other people feel fear, they are helping the regime to maintain its control. They’re being part of the problem. They’re not doing good things, and they don’t get a pass for being cowardly while other innocent people are dying. They don’t get to trade other people’s lives for their own safety and get away with it.

Wired takes a sober but meaningful look at what’s happening from the context of 20th century history. I learned some new terminology there, “electoral autocracy” which is what they’re calling most modern dictatorships that continue having mock but ineffectual elections.

Were you asleep for the last 2 weeks they’ve been doing the same to Canada, Mexico and Europe? The question isn’t that it hurts everybody, the question is who’s next and what are you going to do about it?