Hanaguma

So yeah, a sidetrack issue. Glad we agree.

According to Statista, abortion is the 8th rank on the list of 'most important issues' to Americans. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1362236/most-important-voter-issues-us/ So yeah, a side issue relative to others.

You are probably right. I can't see Trump and Biden getting into it at the debate next week over foreign policy. IMHO the big topics are the economy and immigration, with crime and safety dropping by as well. Biden will point to various statistics touted by economists, Trump will go 'kitchen table' on the economy. Immigration can be Biden's biggest nemesis. Biden will need to side track into abortion and 'convicted felon' if he wants to succeed.

Not exactly unbiased, but.... definitely Japanese. Ladies here have the advantage of looking good for a long time. It is easy to find very fit, attractive, elegant ladies well into their 40s or 50s. The general standard is very high. I teach in a girls' university, and the number of girls who would be considered obese by western standards is miniscule- less than 2% for sure.

I think my point went sailing way over your head. Farage was just an example. My assertion is that you are supportive of Sir Rod flapping his gums because you agree with what he is saying. Would you support him if he said something you disagreed with? Maybe something like "and a big congratulations to the ASD on their big win last week!"

Would you be as supportive if he was touting for Nigel Farage in the upcoming election?

We have a PM. Seems to hang out a lot with the American President at various meetings and so on. So pretty similar IMHO.

Isn't he a jazz musician?

I guess you didn't spend a lot of time reading or understanding my previous reply. I'm not American, but thank you for the compliment just the same. The US system is similar to many countries, especially in the G7. In Canada, the party that got the most votes in the last 2 federal elections also did not form the government. Parliamentary system in action. As for the rest of your tedious screed, I will just leave it hanging for others to peruse and contemplate.

Very true. I dont care what idiot entertainers think about politics, and I have no interest in hearing what politicians think about music or movies. They each need to stay in their lane. Just because a person is famous doesnt mean that their opinion is valuable. In Sir Rods case, he is a high school dropout with little to add to the conversation. Why should anyone have to listen to him?

Yes, and those numbers mean about as much as a bucket of warm hamster vomit. Most informed people know that voting numbers would change in a popular vote election. And congratulations on being completely incorrect on both of your assumptions about me. Why am I not surprised...

You keep talking about the American Indians as if they are a single monolithic group. They are not. Please stop showing such a shallow grasp of the issues.

Then, sadly, they find out that their promised "72 Virgins" are named Ahmed, Ishtar, Mohamed, Isak, Ishmael, Mohamar...

Yeah, that is the common line, but not true. When the Israelis left Gaza, they left behind the means to make the desert bloom. There were greenhouses, the basics for an economy, etc. Yet the Gazans chose to destroy everything. Gaza has also received billions in aid, which was stolen, given to, or expropriated by Hamas. Also used to.......... buy and make rockets to fire into Israel! Why should Israel help Gaza when thousands of unguided rockets are fired FROM Gaza? They made their bed, now they have to lie in it. And even if ALL the propaganda you spewed was true, it was still NO justification for the slaughter of innocents that happened on October 7. The kibbutzim on the border of Gaza and Israel were all good people, simple farmers, and peace loving Israelis. They had (they thought) good relations with their Gazan neighbours. Helped them. Treated their children in clinics in the kibbutzim. Ad their kindness was repaid with blood, rape, murder, and pillage. I dont blame them if they want to see Gaza turned into a parking lot now.

How is it possibly fair? How about this for fair.... if an illegal immigrant marries an American citizen, they can go back to their home country. Then, apply for a spouse visa. Their sponsor (the American citizen) can provide evidence that they have the means to support the illegal immigrant spouse without using social services. Then process the application. THAT sounds fair, doesn't it?

I could never understand, why does "Pride" get a month, but soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice to protect our freedoms only get a day?

Absolutely untrue. The "smallpox blanket" story has been around for a while, even your links do not provide any evidence that it was anything more than one idiot British officer's malignancy. Not a national policy. Plus, the vast majority of Native Americans who succumbed to European based diseases did so in the 16th century. By the time of large scale colonization, the population had already been cut to perhaps 10% of the pre-contact number. This was simply terrible luck, not a deliberate policy on the part of the colonizers. There was no intention to inflict disease on the indigenous people. By the 18th and 19th centuries, the damage had already been done.

It is unbelievable that this can be seen as a controversial statement.

You need to read the entire thread before commenting. That was discussed waaaaaay back. Of course the sicknesses came from the various Europeans who came. But that was medical ignorance, not genocide. On First Contact, the natives suffered terribly due to diseases that the Europeans had developed immunity for. But it was not deliberate.

Agree 100%. Traditionally, service in government was not to be a career. It was to be a sacrifice to the public good. Then, you go back to your 'real' life. The idea of professional politicians was anathema to the Founding Fathers.

Check the actual statistics before spouting off such inaccurate and ahistorical talking points. The vast majority died from diseases that they tragically had no immunity to.

I am sure they did, when they weren't killing each other. The only reason they didn't do more environmental damage was that their numbers were so small. The land could easily recover. But in areas where the population was denser and agriculture was more present, there was an impact. According to research from Baylor University; "The findings conclusively demonstrate that Native Americans in eastern North America impacted their environment well before the arrival of Europeans. Through their agricultural practices, Native Americans increased soil erosion and sediment yields to the Delaware River basin." https://news.web.baylor.edu/news/story/2011/baylor-study-shows-native-americans-significantly-modified-american-landscape-years#:~:text="The findings conclusively demonstrate that,to the Delaware River basin." In Canada, "Buffalo jumps" were used to kill buffalo in the thousands- buffalo were herded over high cliffs, to plunge to their painful deaths. There was no way for all the meat and hide to be used economically- tons were lost to rot and waste. So much for stewardship and respect of the land. And please show me where I said that the "superior white race" was even a thing.

Possibly true. But...the West Indians, as well as the "real" Indians all were at least members of the Commonwealth and shared a great many cultural/social traits with the host society. Later groups are more distant in both language and religion, and assimilation, if it can ever occur, will take a great deal longer. Not to mention that the numbers are vastly different- immigration in the 50s and 70s was not in the same quantity as the 21st century. West Indian immigration was about a half million people over a period of more than 30 years. That means less than 20,000 people a year on average. Hardly comparable to today.

Cool. So if "Natives" did not consider that they owned the land, then they don't need compensation for it's theft, right? You seem to have a very romanticized and pollyanna view of the various Native tribes, assuming that they all think and act and philosophize in lockstep. Reality was rather different. They did not respect and care for the earth when they were burning each others' crops or destroying settlements, nor enslaving members of defeated enemy tribes. There is no need to infantilize "Natives". They matched any other group in their greed, venality, and violence. They only lacked the technology to do it as well as the Europeans.

Is that the standard of proof needed to demand compensation? "You can't prove my group DIDN'T steal this land from someone else, so pay up!". And yes, given what archaeologists have discovered, most native groups fought and killed and died. Or do you have proof that they simply settled on a patch of earth and stayed there for 15,000 years, living in natural harmony until the evil white folks came along?