SpankyMcFarland

The problem is long-term. We need to lessen our dependence on resource-based industries and save more when the price is high.

With the benefit of hindsight, was it wise to build these ships in Canada?

Most of us agree on what should be done. The question is how to get there. Anyone who wants an antibiotic badly enough can get it one way or the other, on the Net if all else fails. Many patients still expect antibiotics for what are probably viral illnesses and that expectation has to be changed. Doctors are getting better advice from labs these days about which drugs to use, partly to keep drugs effective. Such advice is by no means always followed. The biggest problem is that capitalism and human nature are fighting against what needs to be done. The current market model encourages maximum volume of drug use, which will increase resistance. What may benefit an individual may not be in the interests of the community.

The challenge is how to change prescribing, which is a complex business. Patients expect antibiotics and will go to doctors who will give them out. There needs to be a cultural shift in expectations as well as various sticks and carrots to move doctors in the necessary direction. Doctors also need to be protected from lawsuits if a patient presents with signs of a viral illness, is refused antibiotics, and turns out to have a serious bacterial infection.I'm not sure how we can best move to a completely different way of behaving with antibiotics. Perhaps a country could negotiate a licence to use particularly important antibiotic for, say, three years and then try to restrict its use only to appropriate cases. One problem would be the black market. The debate about antibiotic usage in animals is something I have seen waged elsewhere. There are proponents for both sides. I would certainly prefer to see it minimized. Washing hands - certainly, a good idea.

The market on its own cannot deal with this challenge. What should governments do? 1. Pay companies to develop and stockpile new antibiotics. 2. Change the profit model from sales volume to utility of the product. 3. Incentivise doctors to use antibiotics as judiciously as possible. Some serious infections will thereby go untreated but this is a necessary cost. 4. Monitor antibiotic resistance more closely at provincial, federal and international level. 5. Subsidize new technologies to make hospitals safer e.g. cleaning agents, robotic cleaners, paints, room design.

A person can take a subject seriously without taking himself so seriously. That is where so many people fall down here. Posts could be considerably politer, in my view.

The intrusiveness of the LFC is clear; by contrast, what CSIS gets up to is anybody's guess. Unless you are a senior person in that organization, your reassurances on that score don't count for very much. We'll have to wait for the next big leak, probably from the UK or US, to find out more of what is really going on.

I hope he changes his mind too but I know the thanks he'll get from the Conservative attack machine.

British prime minister, Harold Macmillan, was once asked what was the most difficult thing about his job. ‘Events, dear boy, events’ was his reply. (Guardian article) I think Harold Wilson is supposed to have said that 'a week is a long time in politics'. Sunni ways, my friends.

The thing is, you are going to denounce him whether he changes policy or not. I am not a spokesperson for the Liberal Party BTW so please don't assume I agree with JT on everything he does.

You need to calm down. What we say here matters not one jot. The Canadian air strikes are a trivial matter in time and place. Let's remember the old conservative idea that it is quite easy to do more harm than good, as Dubya showed us all too clearly. Supporting the Kurds sounds a lot more sensible to me. They are going to be in that part of the world long after we have given up and gone home.

It is truly extraordinary that nobody has sought my wisdom on such matters. Yet here I sit, more than willing to dispense such pearls.

But they are best avoided.

I feel I can answer how I like here - I am not on trial. We have been making this kind of mistake in this country for years and that larger point should be made. As you can see, many people don't agree we have been making any such error.

Most people are apolitical. But even a tiny percentage of extremists could be disastrous.

I think most Canadians would understand if the promise on Syrian refugees was modified in light of recent events. Even if it was moved back a year, how much would that change our lives? We don't want more ISIS fighters here. Regarding the air strikes, our contribution is negligible, anyway, a few per cent. We would be far more useful beefing up our support for the Kurds who seem to be one of the few groups who can be trusted in that neck of the woods to get things done. And they will be staying there, unlike our planes.

I'm afraid I have some difficult news - you are not going to jail. At least not for the census. That is not going to happen. For some reason, conservatives have fewer worries about unrestricted mass surveillance than a paper form but there's nowt as strange as folk.

The Star is a left of centre paper. Who would have expected it to support Harper? That was the Sun's job. I don't know what the Globe is - never took it seriously as a national paper.

Compared to political websites in the British Isles, the tone is different here - much less banter and self-mockery. People seem to think what they say matters in some way.

And while we are building a new place, we should probably make it more secure, given recent developments.

Governments must adapt.

It's a problem for every Western government. They will all be under pressure to make movement between countries more difficult.

As the evidence changes, his policies should change in response to that - which is what one should want from any leader.

I don't support her appointment. Is that simple enough for you?

Well, we do have a large number of MPs who are lawyers, too many, which may explain why the Justice Ministry is different from the others. Suddenly, prior expertise is vital.