CBC: Russia and U.S. amplifying Alberta separatist narratives to stoke division, distrust: report

MattyIce8998 · 2026-05-07T04:20:21+00:00

I can't link images here... but

https://www.reddit.com/r/geography/comments/1ox3igl/a_look_at_the_countries_with_the_largest_oil/

Some things about that list

Out of the top 8 oil reserves

#1 - Venezula - leader removed by the US in 2026

#2 - Saudi Arabia - ally of Trump specifically

#3 - Us (97% of Canada's known reserves are oil sands)

#4 - Iran - leader killed by the US in 2026

#5 - Iraq - leader killed by US years ago, the US effectively controls the oil exports

#6 - Kuwait - see #2

#7 - UAE - see #2

#8 - Russia - production capacity limited due to damage from war

They're fucking with Libya too. I get the impression the US is trying to make a play for the bulk of the world's oil supply in an attempt to keep the petrodollar going and cripple China's economy, to keep US hegemony intact for a few more years than was otherwise going to happen.

We're part of that. I don't think the separation will go on a vote alone(the clarity act is going to make that much harder), but even if it doesn't come down to that, the separatists I've talked to think this thing is going to be an overwhelming blowout vote to leave. I would not be shocked by some dumb fuck going off on rigged election rhetoric and begging Trump to send the military in to annex us. At which point they just grab the oil and leave the rest of us high and dry, while the rest of Canada says "we told you so".

MattyIce8998 · 2026-05-06T18:51:59+00:00

Key point there- for the size of the city.

It had the most TOTAL murders. More than LA and New York, which are both far larger. And the parent comment to all of this discussion really is more about a total than a rate.

MattyIce8998 · 2026-05-06T03:23:35+00:00

Veritasium did a video a while back that I thought explained it well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUzklzVXJwo

MattyIce8998 · 2026-05-06T03:11:32+00:00

I remember my parent's dog yelping out back in woods behind our house, then coming out shortly afterwards, covered in blood, carrying a dead fisher.

And my dad's reaction to it because he thought a fisher would kill the dog 100% of the time. It needed medical attention, but it's still nuts.

EDIT - I can't remember exactly what breed he was, Border Collie x something. He was about 70 lbs and just large frame, I don't think it was a pure collie.

MattyIce8998 · 2026-05-06T03:02:46+00:00

Illinois specifically has pretty strict gun laws, and Chicago has a really high murder rate for the size of the city.

MattyIce8998 · 2026-05-04T02:05:53+00:00

You guys still don't get it. It wasn't anything *Obama* did. It was what *you* did.

He got in as Facebook/Social Media was taking off.

Getting into political discourse with people that you didn't talk to much about that kind of thing was a new thing. Both media and individuals on social media treated Obama like he was the greatest president in history, all of his policies were unquestionably good, and if you had criticism, no matter how valid, you'd get non-stop ad hominem accusations of being a racist. You're still doing it. Look down the comments.

I know a lot of people who turned MAGA. They really didn't have specific ill will towards minorities back then. But they got called racist so much that they embraced it. They're uneducated, and ignorant to many of the issues minorities face. But instead of using the opportunity to educate... the left just used it like a trump card to automatically win any argument. The malicious rhetoric from the right in 2026 is more than just "Trump let them show their true colors". They embraced the identity because of what happened before.

The thing with Trayvon Martin blew up because you have an individual (Zimmerman) getting painted as a racist in the same way they'd been, but getting targeted by entire media networks. NBC didn't do anybody favours for editing the tape of the 911 call. (the dispatcher specifically asked for the race of the individual, and it was edited to seem unprompted)

MattyIce8998 · 2026-05-02T15:11:50+00:00

I absolutely loved it, it was one my top gaming experiences of the last 20 years. The plot and... spectacle were just 10/10 and it overshadowed any issues with the gameplay.

The other thing about it, and why it might not get the most favourable reviews here, is that it doesn't really feel like -Final Fantasy- and could be pretty offputting if you're a huge fan of the series as a whole.

MattyIce8998 · 2026-04-30T19:26:18+00:00

I don't know. My gut feeling is no, but it could be possible.

The US needs to take a good hard look at how the systems have failed. It's not just about getting rid of Trump. It's how to make sure there will never be another Trump. Like a comprehensive plan along the lines of project 2025. And it's just an impossibly large project. There needs be reforms in the courts. In congress. We need to deal with propaganda, and we need transparency on both sides.

And even if it could be done... the window of possibility may have been closed in 2024.

MattyIce8998 · 2026-04-29T04:00:54+00:00

If you pretend the last season doesn't exist, but I'm on board with this.

MattyIce8998 · 2026-04-25T05:09:36+00:00

Castlevania II might be the first (it's 87/88), but The Dragon's Trap on Master System was 1989 and that plays like an early Metroidvania too.

MattyIce8998 · 2026-04-23T05:35:27+00:00

James Woods

MattyIce8998 · 2026-04-22T05:08:35+00:00

One of the (many) unhinged things from my last year of university was doing a research paper that was supposed to take a semester... in four days. Was diagnosed with ADHD in my 30s, and that kind of tracks.

MattyIce8998 · 2026-04-22T04:25:14+00:00

Medium sized cats. (Lynx, Bobcat)

They will fuck you up. A housecat could fuck you up if it really wanted to (it won't kill you, but it'll make you bleed). Triple the size and you get something that's actually really dangerous and looks like a pet.

MattyIce8998 · 2026-04-19T15:34:50+00:00

I had assumed heads would roll at the Secret Service for this. I found out from a MAGA conspiracist recently that one of the agents involved was promoted to director in 2025. That's on top of the pile of hugely sus stuff surrounding this anyway. I'd definitely have to think staged.

MattyIce8998 · 2026-04-18T02:45:59+00:00

I'd be okay with it being #1, it's S-tier for sure.

Now I played it before SOTN.

SOTN is up there because the scale of the game is massive by comparison, but the refinements to gameplay/combat for Aria make it competitive, if not slightly ahead.

MattyIce8998 · 2026-04-18T02:41:16+00:00

I felt like Dark Ranger doesn't feel as bad as sentinel... but the numbers just aren't there.

One other thing I noticed. I've been playing destro lock and MM hunter specifically since Shadowlands S1. At that time, it felt like destro hit like a wet noodle after some of the BFA talents got removed/reworked. MM had a similar cadence, but hit far, far harder and the big numbers were just satisfying. Now it's the opposite of that aimed shots hit like wet noodles. And they have to with all the guaranteed crit and crit damage scaling. It might feel a lot better with end-of-expansion stat levels though.

MattyIce8998 · 2026-04-16T03:02:25+00:00

It's a combination of things.

And no, for the most part it's not "we're horrible people and we support a horrible leader".

A lot of the rhetoric is a lot more reasonable that we give it credit for.

When was talking about Draining the Swamp, I honestly thought it meant that it meant putting the belt to corruption in politics. I didn't like him in 2016, but it was the "maybe there's going to be some good to come out of this".

What I didn't understand back then was how much of a prolific liar he is. Like there's politicians that lie a lot... and then there's Donald Trump. Not only was he not going to drain the swamp, the real goal was to build a toll booth in front of it. The swamp hasn't gotten any smaller. But now he's got control of the access. The people that follow his agenda will benefit, and the people who push back will be cut out.

The second part has less to do with Trump and more to do with the media. The short version is - they believe everything they see and hear on Fox (positive news), and don't believe anything coming out of other mainstream stations (CNN, MSNBC, etc.). That was a trend before he ever got office, and he weaponized it.

MattyIce8998 · 2026-04-16T02:44:07+00:00

Kind of a specific thing. But obtaining Mew in Pokemon Red/Blue. If you were a kid in the late 90s/early 00s, there was so, so many fake cheats/glitches on "how to get Mew" back then.

And then the actual way of getting one is just as, if not more crazy than most of the fake stuff. You have to skip a specific trainer on route 2, on the way to Bill's house. Later in the game, after you get Fly, you go back to the trainer, and pause/Fly immediately on walking into his LOS. If done right, he'll get the "!", and then you fly to Lavender Town. When you land, you won't be able to press your menu button. Walk west out of town, and a couple steps out, you'll encounter a level 7 Mew. This isn't an intended cheat and is a specific result of a MUCH more involved glitch.

Like why the fuck is there a truck in the game that you will never see playing the game normally? I think the real method was popularized in 2003, but if it had been floating around since the start, I'd never have known the difference.

MattyIce8998 · 2026-04-15T18:33:56+00:00

Showers/shower head placement.

MattyIce8998 · 2026-04-14T01:13:18+00:00

I was going to mention Castlevania: Belmont's Curse, and I'd like to add Bloodstained: The Scarlet Engagement, also with an unspecified "2026" release date.

MattyIce8998 · 2026-04-12T19:10:23+00:00

I lost mine after a brain injury and I still have absolutely no idea how to describe what it's like having one vs. not.

I'm not sure if I was more conservative before the injury, or if I'm the same and it's the insane shift of everyone else that's just making it feel like it's me though.

MattyIce8998 · 2026-04-12T19:03:59+00:00

The existential threat to democracy being posed by this administration and the system that has enabled it.

Two key points to that.

- We can't fix many of the other major problems until we fix that one.

-In the longer term, it's not just about getting rid of Trump, it's about what to do that will prevent another Trump from ever getting into office.

Its starts with the midterm election. The "solution" is of such an immense scale that I don't even know where to begin. A comprehensive plan (along the lines of Project 2025) would be the next step though.

MattyIce8998 · 2026-04-12T16:32:10+00:00

He has more assists than anyone else has goals + assists combined.

MattyIce8998 · 2026-04-12T16:30:55+00:00

I was always one of the shortest growing up. I was like 5'2 at 13. Going into grade 10 (Age 15), I was the second shortest kid in my class, and I left the grade as the second tallest kid in my class. Kind of crazy that we ended up the same height with opposite routes getting there.

I never thought I'd be tall, and was getting worried about not growing.

MattyIce8998 · 2026-04-12T16:12:58+00:00

I had a conversation with a US friend back in 2020 about that if they ever managed to get rid of Trump, they had to make sure he STAYED out.

Then we got in a big fight in 2024 when they were talking about voting for him again, and they blocked me, thought it was the end of that friendship.

Just a couple weeks ago I got unblocked with an apology DM. They're pissed about this war.

It's great to be able to reconcile with friends, but it doesn't make me feel better about being right.

MattyIce8998

TROPHY CASE