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Joined 1 year ago
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Cake day: July 9th, 2023

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  • The one thing I kinda thought the boomers who predominantly run shit would be good at was to remember what level of economic commitment is required to win a real, serious military conflict (and Afghanistan and Iraq don’t count - they were fully asymmetric conflicts). But it seems they can’t even do that.

    Well Afghanistan and Iraq are really the only two wars which the boomers can be said to have “fought” in the sense of being the largest voting bloc, well represented in the administration - basically running things.

    They were post-WW2 children so they weren’t really running things during Korea and Vietnam, or the Cold War generally. The two conflicts you mentioned are just about the two best examples of “Boomers’ Wars” you can find, so to say “they don’t count” is funny because it should at least illustrate why the current situation is not so surprising. They don’t know how to fight a war - they were born when their parents just won a fucking big one.






  • I understand, it sounds like you are concerned for India’s international reputation in light of these allegations, and rightfully so. It’s unfair from the perspective of a common citizen that your country gets flamed like this without proof, and insulting that people just say “well it’s Canada, they aren’t lying”.

    It’s just that I trust my government and institutions and I believe them. Biden and Trudeau both spoke to Modi before this was released. Journalists in Canada were going to release this if the government didn’t. I truly believe that handling it this way was bad for Canada too, so I don’t see an incentive for Canada to lie which I do see for the Indian govt. Don’t forget that other countries have their own relationships with India and will make their own decisions about supporting the allegations, not necessarily in light of the quality of proof but rather for pragmatic reasons. I think this whole affair will be painful for normal people in both countries, so in that sense you’re absolutely right that diplomacy failed.

    Still I’m curious: what do you think would be the reaction if the allegations turn out to be true?


  • Fair enough, I see where you’re coming from and fully expect some proof. I do however have doubts that any proof will ever be conclusive enough to convince people and certainly not enough to get Modi to admit the truth if his govt is truly behind it. So what will providing proof accomplish anyway? Not providing proof might be a tactic to elicit lies that can be demonstrated as such through a trickle release of proof, enough to prove that the deniers are liars.

    At the end of the day, Canada is a sovereign country and they are free to level a number of consequences against a foreign government if they so desire, including sanctions, visa restrictions, and so on. The only proof they need is for themselves, and to take action that will protect Canadians from foreign assassinations in the future. Canada really does not have to prove anything to India, especially if they do not believe the Indian govt is acting in good faith.







  • A healthy city needs socioeconomic diversity. Not that long ago Montreal was known for cheap CoL allowing people of all walks of life to thrive. Putting aside the artists, students, and general eccentrics that contribute to the vibrant life of the city, we have to consider where the hell are our minimum wage workers going to live. I seriously don’t understand how places like Vancouver do it. Does every coffee shop, fast food, retail etc worker commute 3hrs each way? What about the teachers, nurses, garbage collectors? Or do they all get paid way more and everything just costs a lot more?

    There’s a compromise possible and despite being a major city without lots of undeveloped land, there is still plenty of space reasonably close to the city where high density affordable housing could be. Doesn’t have to be prime real estate right downtown. There just needs to be social will and courage to stand by the conviction that this is something good for the city. The truth is that like someone else said, the fine is too low and developers just see it as the cost of doing business.


  • Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre and Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet had both rejected Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s offer to see the documents, arguing it was an attempt to trap them into agreeing not to speak about allegations in public.

    Am I right to feel like absolutely nothing of consequence will come of this? The two biggest critics of the ruling party won’t know the true extent or evidence. The two sidekicks can see the whole story but will be gagged. So we ultimately won’t know the truth and it’ll all just devolve to posturing.




  • Meanwhile cannabis beverages are required to have:

    -Nutrition facts including calories, sugar, etc.

    -Gigantic yellow warning with random health warning (e.g., don’t use if pregnant)

    -Huge red stop sign cannabis leaf logo

    -KEEP OUT OF REACH OF CHILDREN

    -Big pain in the ass plastic childproof thing

    None of these required on a can of beer.

    From a harm reduction perspective, it’s a massive failure. Many cannabis beverages have very low nearly zero calories, sugar-free. For your physical health they are almost certainly less harmful than alcohol and I know many people would enjoy them as an alternative to alcohol.

    We have faced a similar failure in harm reduction strategy regarding vaping versus tobacco. I think in both cases it’s a result of vested interests (tax revenue, lobbying, don’t know) trumping what is best for people.