ginasilva.bsky.social
Pragmatic liberal centrist.
Some days I feel like an endangered species.
🇨🇦
98 posts
122 followers
210 following
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I understand the "no kings" slogan resonates in the US, but it's funny that there are also "no kings" protests planned in other nations, many of which, like Canada, are constitional monarchies. Oh well. We're supporting the Americans who don't want a dictator for a leader, regardless of his title.
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Consider that people who rise to top leadership are already exceptions by definition, otherwise they wouldn't get to the top. Female leaders, simply by choosing to lead, are rejecting a major norm of feminine behavor. So maybe applying social generalizations to exceptional people is a mistake.
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Creating a proper formal residence for future Canadian PMs could be a great symbol of the nation building that Carney wants to promote. Maybe a national architectural design competition? If the home is for future PMs, not for Carney himself, charges of self-interest fail. We'd end this silly game.
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One of the characteristics that distinguishes many of the never-trumpers that I admire, like Tom, is their ability to retain their sense of humor and recognize both the seriousness and absurdity of where we are as a society --an ability that some progressives I also admire seem, sadly, to lack.
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How has the logic of majority vs minority groups been applied in sex discrimination cases given that women are technically a majority group, but historically one of the most oppressed? The number of women in society makes them a majority, but sex-based discrimination endures.
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Canada doesn't have the option to say no to the US this time. The US needs access to the Cdn arctic for the golden dome. Saying yes at least gives Canada a say. Say no, and Trump takes our arctic by force. He's a thug. Canada needs to play the long game on this issue. Carney knows what he's doing.
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I've been using AI to research a complex personal health issue. What previously took me weeks now takes a few hours. I review the results the AI provides for sources and accuracy, but I no longer spend time wading thru material that ends up being irrelevant to my case. That's a huge time saver.
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Prices will fall if supply increases substantially. The govt needs to manage that in a prudent way, or risk replacing the housing crisis with a crisis of impoverished seniors. That "paper wealth" is the only retirement savings that some people have. If that asset value plummets, they're in trouble.
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I wish they'd take more care with the wording to address intent, not merely outcome. I trust the election results are accurate, yes, but with qualifications given the results may change upon verification and judicial recount. A better phrasing is "Do you believe that the results were falsified?"
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I loved drawing with my coloring pencils when I was a child. In Trump's America, children will need to limit their artwork to 5 colors cause they can't afford more. Children's drawings, like American life, will be duller and darker, with rich and vibrant expression a luxury lost to most Americans.
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Disengaged citizens are a problem, but I believe forcing them to vote is neither ethical nor wise. The choice to not exercise a voting right is part of that right. A forced vote is rarely an informed one anyway. Instead, voluntary turnout reveals the health of a democracy; ours needs building up.
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Smith seems very keen on defending direct democracy, holding up as an example the way that California allows voting on public initiatives. Perhaps Albertans should use Smith's new referendum rules to initiate a Premier recall ... just like happens (frequently) in California. That's direct democracy.
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Trump and Poilievre have the same view on foreign aid. They reject the pro-aid justifications of ethics and shared humanity, and even enlightened self interest: Foreign aid keeps problems from spreading further afield and creates future partners. Anti-aid policies are thus both immoral and stupid.
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I was hoping that between Trump's new comments on Canada and Poilievre deciding to focus on his weird apocalyptic crap that the CPC momentum would stop and it seems maybe it has. Both Trump & Poilievre need to vent their imaginary grievances and resentments, even if damages their own interests.
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Carney has the personal experience and an experienced team ready to lead. He has international contacts needed to build new trading & security partnerships. Poilievre has none of these. He hasn't even built relationships with provincial leaders from his own party. PP is an agitator, not a leader.
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Very similar to what Trump said about an "artificial" border and no reason for Canada to exist. Liberals need to cut a quick ad with Trump and Blanchet saying the same thing. Quebec separatists have been around my whole life, but I think this is the most insulting thing I have ever heard one say.
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This is such a great way to emphasize the little understood fact that AI is geared towards plausibility not accuracy. I tried "You can't suck the fur off a dead rodent" and got a very plausible explanation. No origin story though, so the imagined history of rodent fur-sucking remains a mystery.
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I'd rather whine about the growth of subscription business models in tech. I used to pay once for software, and I owned it. Now they charge a regular fee and I own nothing. They own my data & maybe my content. They force crappy "upgrades" on me that I don't want. Consumer autonomy in tech is dead.
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And it's unlikely PP will get hard questions about cuts and growth because he's limited access for real journalists and they don't get followup questions. PP is imitating Trump in so many ways. I hope Canadians know better than to fall for his manipulation, but recent polls show the CPC going up.
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Poilievre is very good at bad politics:
-Sloganeering.
-Treating media with contempt.
-Character assassination.
-Rage farming. -Weaponizing ignorance.
-Attacking democratic institutions & principles.
Poilievre is the wrong change & the wrong choice for Canada. Vote Carney.🍁
Keep Canada strong.
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We're in a global battle against illiberalism that wants to create a regressive closed social order to benefit the privileged & connected. Recognize illiberal tactics: the weaponization of ignorance, appeals to grievance, vengeance, fear of difference & disdain for the weak. It's the worst of us.
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Watching this shit show, I despair. How is it, after all this time, we still have not determined how to fact check in real time and force a reality-based debate that actually informs voters? The lies, misinformation and emotional manipulation on display here are poison to our liberal democracy.
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The emphasis should be on "the Debate Commission backed down". That's the problem. The Commission exists to manage the debate process effectively. Instead it was manipulated by activists, allowing them to harm the democratic process the Commission was created to protect. Mission critical failure.
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The decision to treat Rebel like accredited journalists instead of activists may be debatable. But allowing Rebel to hijack the scrum was unacceptable. Their massive over-represention was unfair to all journalists present. The Commission got played, and serious reform or replacement is necessary.
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The part about the dominent voter emotion switching from fear to hope resonated. After a year fearing that Canada was doomed to elect our own illiberal demagogue, I now have hope that reason will prevail. Carney is steady, wise and grounded in principles of liberal democracy. He will lead us well.
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Poilievre is a demagogue with all the weaponization of ignorance that entails. He will use a potentially illiberal tool to fix a non existent problem merely to showcase his toughness. No mass murderer has ever been paroled. Our justice system, while flawed, is built on sound principles worth saving.
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In the midst of regular doomscrolling, I value tiny rays of hope. As a Canadian I was dreading the fact we seemed about to elect Poilievre, a Trump- lite demagogue. Now I have hope that reason will prevail, and we will elect the rational and highly capable Mark Carney. Keep calm and Carney on.