Hanaguma

As someone who taught online during the lockdown, I will have to respectfully disagree. Not saying that online is as good as in-class, but it does provide a window into what the teachers are teaching, and how they teach it, as well as the materials they choose.

Never said they won a majority, but their taking more votes than any of the other parties was as irrelevant as the Democrats getting more votes than the GOP in 2016. There is no such thing as "combining the vote" either. Trudeau won. So did Trump. End of.

At risk of derailing the thread, both 2016 candidates knew going in how the Electoral College system worked. It was no surprise to either. There is no such thing as "winning the popular vote" because it doesn't matter. It would be akin to losing a chess match due to checkmate, but claiming victory because you took more pawns than your opponent. Or a baseball team claiming victory because it got more hits (but fewer runs) than the winning team. Hillary lost because her campaign was <deleted>. She was arrogant and overconfident. And Trump won.

...and that would make a difference in what way? The victims would deserve killing more?

Trump lost? Surely you mean in 2020. Because the 2016 results were clear. One might also call the parliamentary system archaic, since in Canada for the past two elections the winner of the popular vote did not become Prime Minister.

The Harry Potter books are getting attacked from a new source now, thanks to the widespread criticism of JK Rowlings as a transphobic TERF...

Scott; I gotta tell ya, some Japanese comics are pretty........... risque, to say the least! I think a big part of the problem for schools is that, during the Covid lockdowns, parents got a long look into what was happening in classrooms across the country. And were less than impressed. There has been a grassroots movement to get local schoolboards to have more parental involvement, and also to have a bit more balanced representation on the boards themselves.

The F-150 Lightning is great, as long as you don't want to use it as a pick up truck. As soon as you carry something, tow something, it becomes an expensive paperweight. Towing a relatively light trailer dropped the range to 100 miles (with the big battery). In cold climates, the battery's performance is even worse. If you use it as a penile extension to go to the golf club or to Walmart, it's a great vehicle. If you want a truck, look elsewhere.

I don't disagree with you, but the choice should also be "better trained and better led cops". The standards to join the police in the US are too low, frankly. In Canada there are very few police officers who did not at least attend college- one of my uni roommates became a cop after finishing an undergraduate degree in law. In Ontario the basic training is 20 weeks, followed by a year of practicum at a department, under constant supervision by an experienced officer. Sure being a cop is a dangerous job, but that is known going in. It requires a commitment to stay calm and keep a cool head under trying circumstances. A higher standard than should be expected from the public at large. Getting angry, using profanity, making threats of unwarranted violence, all should be unacceptable. It is, after all, a public service job. If you want fun with guns, join the military. Body cameras are great...but in this encounter two of the officers switched their cameras off, and one had the camera knocked off during the struggle. Only 2 cameras were recording. There are also many cases where police switch off their cameras or turn the sound off so they can discuss things with other officers on scene. This is unacceptable.

Let's imagine this is true. So then, the Jews and the Arabs fought it out for control. The Arabs lost. Couldn't deal with it so they tried again and again, and kept losing. By this point, they should be grateful that Israel is so forgiving and peaceful.

Did it in Chiang Mai on a visa waiver. Bangkok Bank, Siam TV branch. We did get our TM30 forms done by the condo we rented (AirBnB) and also Residency Certificates with the assist of an agency. After that we tried a couple of branches. One just said no, one wanted us to buy some BS insurance policy for nearly 6,000 baht, the one we finally went to was absolutely fabulous. Bank books, ATM cards, all in about 45 minutes.

"Just comply" . With whom? When you have 4 or 5 angry cops screaming contradictory and impossible directions, there is no right answer for the person being detained. Particularly in a case like this, where the initial contact was for a very minor traffic infraction. Seems obvious that this is an extreme case of revenge for Tyre's "contempt of cop" actions. When two officers hold him up so the others can kick/punch/beat him with a baton, they have crossed so far over the line that there can be no justification. And I say this as a "politically to the right of Attila the Hun" guy who supports law enforcement most of the time. But in cases like this, simple human decency has to take over.

Very true. There are places in the US where hairdressers have longer training programmes than police officers. Plus the contents of the training lean heavily towards paranoia and personal safety. "As long as the officer goes home at night" should not the objective, but it has become so. Treating every encounter with the public as a potential life-or-death struggle does nothing but sow the seeds of incidents like this one. A great place to start would be to ban the use of hardcore military/black uniforms. These are signals that the cops are ready to go to war, not to uphold the peace. Certain special occasions/units (SWAT etc) sure, but not regular patrol officers. Ditto the reflective shades. OK when you are driving, not when you are interacting with the public.

...and the Arab League chose the latter. And lost. They should be grateful that ANY Palestinians were allowed to stay in Israel after that atrocity. And hang their heads in shame at how they treated the Palestinians within their own countries afterwards.

...you forgot the most important bit... ...by the United Nations, and the subsequent invasion of Israel by the Arab League in an attempt to exterminate the Jewish population of the area.

Yes, a "province" of the Roman empire. In any case, this argument can be used by anyone to justify anything. All land was at one time occupied by someone who got kicked out by someone else, who then got kicked out..... The situation today was created by the Arab League invading Israel in 1948. They refused to abide by the partition of land into Jewish and Arab sections and basically got greedy. Much easier to just kill all the Jews and take ALL the land, they thought. Didn't work out too well and now we are dealing with the aftermath. Ask yourself, why are Palestinians so mistreated by their fellow Arab/Muslim brothers? Why do 2 MILLION Palestinians live in Israel with full citizenship, and virtually no Jews can do the same in the surrounding Arab/Muslim countries? I am not fully on board with everything Israel does, but I understand the roots of their paranoia.

You are joking I assume. The Jewish exodus was preceded by violence, rioting, and thuggery. There are literally no Jews left in any Arab/Muslim country. A grand total of 17 in Syria, for example, perhaps 40 in Lebanon, 50 in Yemen, perhaps the same in Egypt. As for the Palestinians who left in the 1948 invasion, it is true that some were coerced/threatened/ expelled. A lot however were told to leave by fellow Arab leaders to clear the way for a victorious Arab League conquest. After which they could all go back and claim the booty of victory- namely the property and land of the soon-to-be murdered Jews. The biggest difference is how the exiled were treated. Jews who migrated to Israel were welcomed and made citizens. Palestinians who migrated to most Arab lands were treated like dogs. Palestinians are not allowed to naturalize and become citizens in countries like Egypt or Syria or Saudi Arabia, they are kept in a perpetual state of rootlessness and grievance.

Really? There are about 2 million Israeli citizens of Palestinian heritage, not sure what you mean.

"Give me your arm" is one of the things cops say when they know they are being recorded. It is a pre-defense strategy to excuse their behavior. Same way they continuously shout "stop resisting" when arresting people who are being compliant or say "he made a furtive move to his waistband" to justify shooting an unarmed person. When there are too many cops shouting conflicting and confusing orders it is a recipe for disaster. Nothing the arrestee can do will prevent some form of retaliation. Like getting told "dont move" and "put your hands up" by different officers at the same time. They need to be trained that, in situations where multiple officers respond, ONE officer is designated at the "caller" and the others enforce the call. But instead all too often every cop at the scene feels the need to chime in and start shouting.

Nah, within hours of the attack Democrats were playing it up as a partisan political event so they could use it in the mid term elections.

I thought the purpose of arming Ukraine was to stop the Russians, bleed them white, then force them to the bargaining table or to retreat. Not to mount offensive operatrions.

For the cost of one Abrams tank, you can buy 50 Javelin anti-tank missiles. Plus training on the Abrams is a 22 week course. So when will these machines actually arrive and will they do much good? From my time in the military, tanks were not considered defensive weapons anyway. They are best used on offence. So why does Ukrain suddenly want offensive weapons?

As I recall, it was the Democrats who first tried to politicize this crime, trying to paint the perp as some kind of right wing MAGA loving loser. When in fact the last of those words was the only accurate one.

IF the Israelis actually are committing genocide against the Palestinians, they are doing a pretty poor job of it. The population in places like Gaza is exploding (maybe I should use a better adjective)... When I hear people fighting about "ancestral lands" it makes me yawn. Same everywhere. Native people want their "ancestal lands" back, Russia wants their "ancestral lands" in Ukraine, China wants their "ancestral lands" in Taiwan, all the same. Back in 1948 the Arab League tried to get back the "ancestral lands" by killing all the Jews that lived there. They failed. Now they need to learn to accept the consequences. If you want to be Palestinian anywhere in the Middle East, Israel is probably the best place to be. Palestinians are citizens, vote, are in government, and have protection. It is a messy region, Israel is the least messy of the countries there.

Good plan. Because of course if Putin is 'retired' in a very final way, the next guy to take over Russia is sure to be more reasonable and sane...