Online Harms Bill C-63 (Canada Proposal)
Hi Krystal and Saagar, Curious if you’ve been seeing this proposal for C-63 in Canada. I’ve read that this law will give police the power to retroactively search the Internet for ‘hate speech’ violations and arrest offenders, even if the offence occurred before the law existed. Sounds terrifying! Curious about your thoughts!
Why even refer to polls
Dear Krystal & Saagar, As a longtime viewer since the Rising days, I wanted to extend my congratulations on the show's expansion and the introduction of counterpoint debates, which I'm eagerly looking forward to. With the upcoming election season, I understand the importance of assessing where presidential candidates stand. However, I've noticed that you often reference various polls to gauge their positions. Given the consistent inaccuracy of polls in recent years, particularly regarding hot-button issues like Roe v. Wade, the conflicts in Israel and Ukraine, and the influence of figures like Trump or Biden, I'm wondering if there's a more reliable way to cover politics and the standings of presidential candidates without relying solely on polls. Is there an alternative approach that could provide a more accurate and insightful analysis?
Dave Portnoy - would you interview him about Gaza?
On last week’s episode of barstools unnamed show, Dave said a couple times that he’d be open to discussing the conflict with someone who has a different perspective on the the Israel vs Gaza war. Given Saagar’s (I think) keen insight on the rise of Barstool conservatism, would you entertain having a discussion with him about the topic? Link is here starting at 33:12 https://www.youtube.com/live/o-bRz3yZQEc?si=bhBi38FBCX3p4GYk
Demonstrations don't damage their larger cause
Missed an important point on protesters. One big purpose of protests is to create a safe political space for liberals and moderates to finally venture reforms. Without the sit-ins and marches, there would have been no Civil Rights Act. Marches and resistance very likely forestalled escalation of the Vietnam War at a key point (note FBI warnings to LBJ) even if it took years to end the war. Anti-apartheid actions had unquestionable benefits. Anti-Irag demonstrations may have failed in the sense of not preventing war, but they again created a safe space for growing liberal criticism. I think that is definitely what we're seeing with campus protests now. In the larger political context, demonstrations don't damage a cause so much as they drag the continuum of permissible political discussion in the protestors' direction -- even if the public disapproves of the demonstrators themselves, as it always does.
The current massacre didn't start on October 7 -- the numbers
You may know about this Israel-Palestine Timeline site, an excellent resource for the death toll of Israelis and Palestinians inflicted by the other side from 2000 on. The implication that some kind of peace prevailed before October 7, 2023, is a grotesque falsehood. Yet, the mammoth death toll from 2000 to October 6, 2023 (over 12,000 Palestenians killed by Israel forces, 4-5 times more than Israelis killed by Palestinians) seems never to get mentioned: https://israelpalestinetimeline.org/