It’s insane that a country which suffered so much under a fascist dictatorship would want to return fascists to power.

F16’s won’t give Ukraine much of an advantage until sufficient numbers of pilots are a trained. There are two weapons that could immediately change the battlefield landscape. GLSDB’s and ATACM’s are long range precision bombs that would allow Ukraine to target Russian supply lines and ammunition stores far behind the front lines, including into Crimea. They both have backup inertial guidance systems in order to mitigate GPS jamming… which is a big problem for their current guided munitions.

My parents were British and they used to have two washing bowls. Pile the dirty dishes into one and fill with warm water and dish soap. Clean water in the second bowl for rinsing. After a while the second bowl builds up residual soap so it needs to be emptied and refilled. I figure I use the same amount of water rinsing under a running faucet. But the soak thing is a great tip - leaving dishes in water to soak makes cleaning them so much easier.

As a Canadian I’m proud of my fellow countrymen for helping and accepting refugees. Although most arrive here with nothing, studies have shown they benefit our society in the long run. They contribute massively to our economy and enrich our culture. They overcome daunting obstacles and become productive members of society, and they make Canada a better, fairer and more inclusive place

If it were a Bible or a Torah that was burned we wouldn’t be having this conversation now because it wouldn’t have even made the news. There is only one major religion that reacts violently to incidents like this. I think that’s the point OP was making and it’s a valid one.

Turkey won’t allow military ships to pass the Bosporus in any direction while there’s a war on. This prevents Russia from reinforcing their Black Sea fleet but also prevents Western navies from entering.

“Vested interests create “checks and balances” primarily to make political systems non-responsive to demands for social reform.”.

It is thanks to checks and balances that we don’t currently have a dictator Trump running this country. Anyone who thinks checks and balances are a bad idea need only take a cursory glance at the world over the past few years to realize we would be far worse off without them. From Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil to Boris Johnson in the UK, would be autocrats were thwarted in their quest to remain in office by these same checks and balances.

No matter which side you are in the statement “The Taliban’s successful opium ban is bad for Afghans and the world.” is objectively true. The shortfall in opioid production will easily be made up from other sources, likely adulterated with synthetics that cause more harm. As for the Afghan farmers who grew the stuff they’ve not been given another alternative…they just had their crops destroyed and have no other sources of income.

So if corporate greed is responsible for things like high oil prices what happened on April 20, 2020 when oil prices touched 0.01 per barrel? Do you think the oil companies were suddenly overcome with a spirit of charity?

It’s true there may be some profiteering during times of economic instability but those are exceptions and they certainly don’t account for the high profits experienced after the pandemic…those were a result of supply chain bottlenecks and a release of pent up demand. Corporate profits are now trending back down, at least in the US. Do you think the companies there have suddenly become less greedy?

The article confuses cause and effect. Stratospheric corporate profits are the result of too much money chasing too few goods and services, the same as it’s always been. The culprits are not corporations but rather profligate spending by rich world governments.

During the pandemic central banks reacted by opening up the money spigots, injecting vast amounts of cash into economies trying to keep them afloat. It was the right thing to do. The problem was that they never turned off the taps, nor did they raise interest rates or taxes to try to balance the books.

The fact that companies raise prices in response to shortages is not only natural it’s also desirable. There is no other way to align supply and demand short of rationing.

“The” Church? Surely it should be “a” church unless we’ve time travelled back to the middle ages.

Regardless… who cares what these irrelevant throwbacks to an age of superstition think?

Hopefully the whole debacle will focus people’s minds on the real problem. The US government is spending more than it is taking in, and that’s a problem with only 2 possible solutions (continuing to raise the debt ceiling doesn’t count as a solution). We must reduce spending or increase revenue by raising taxes. There is nothing else to discuss… kicking the can down the road only hurts us more in the long run.

Spending money on worthwhile endeavors is a good thing, but you have to have the money to spend in the first place. If you don’t and you just kick the can down the road it puts a much heavier burden on future generations. We need to get serious about raising taxes on those who do not pay their fair share.

I used to run at school where track was compulsory, and I’ve been a causal runner for fitness most of my life but never entered any races. About 15 years ago a work colleague who was trying to lose weight asked my if I’d like to sign up for a 5Km. I agreed, and the day arrived. I beat him easily. Next was a 10Km - again I won. A half marathon came next and I still triumphed, but only just. Finally we decided to run a marathon and he walked all over me. I never realized how much training you need to put in to be able to run 42.2 Km. Anyway since then I’ve been hooked. Coming up on my 10th marathon this year - MCM in Washington DC and hoping to qualify for Boston.

I’m not very coordinated and my eyesight sucks so ball sports are out. Running is something that almost anyone can do - no fancy equipment or playing fields required - and the feeling at the end of a race, when you’ve trained hard and you cross the finish line, exhausted but still strong is like nothing else on earth.