Craig Read

Rome was not destroyed by war elephants. Hannibal and Hasdrubal were both defeated. Cannae was the largest destruction of Roman arms ever, and Hannibal still lost the war. It decayed due to a number of factors: -Over taxation -Excessive agricultural development and associated depletion -Changing weather patterns -Lack of freedom, slavery and high bondage rates which bred dissatisfaction and a huge % of the population unable to contribute anything meaningful to the empire -A large inactive rich class which did not work but fed off the slave system -Internal rot, corruption, decay, and poor leadership -Empire fatigue -Lack of capital mobility and investment -Nomadic peoples due to population pressures and attracted by the wealth of the empire over-ran an increasingly foreign serviced Roman army -Poor administrative systems and rudimentary transport -Lack of scientific, ideological and artistic development -Nationalism of conquered peoples -Lack over time of a well trained Italian army and a lack of innovation in military thought and technique None of these applies to America. Rome was a despotic and increasingly orientalised empire. It was doomed to collapse. BTW the collapse of Rome is a positive not a negative. I don't share one ounce of sympathy with those who pine for the Roman Empire. It was corrupt, bloodthirsty and becoming increasingly over time an anachronism that militated against progress. Not enough is made of the failings of Rome. Too much of its progress. Kennedy's thesis is premised on some valid observations but much of what he states has been repudiated by others and by world events. It is wrong to compare the US to Rome.

Genetics has not changed that much in 100.000 years [DNA makeup]. Obviously everything else has. Change is constant, the human animal with its genetics is a physical and hard wired constant. This is a great paradox - more power, more technology, more intelligence, more opportunity - with the same DNA structure. Think of the sermon on the mount - the highest form of ethical teaching - yet it contradicts the human DNA makeup.

Thanks for quoting what I quoted. Very good. Did your post add value ? NO. Did it disagree with the source I quoted ? No. So i assume you agree with my argument that I made. Thanks for that. I really don't understand why you post the things you do - you make no contributions. Here is the only thing you said above Brilliant. Well done. Now cite reasons, sources and the rationale for this.

Well then i suggest you know your topics before posting. You are not adding value just slander with arm waving and shouts that I and others are stupid. This is childish.

The UN and France, both of whom raped Iraq during the 1990's while thousands perished, are now kissing and fondling again. Both want an immediate return to Iraqi control all functions of gov't, and security. To say this is crass, childish and unnecessary is obvious. Why then do they state it and what is behind this policy ? After all, neither the UN nor France gave a whittler's damn about the Iraqi people during the 1990s while they were tortured and murdered. Why the sudden sentiment and concern ??

Well he should state that the job is interim. The party needs to regroup and get back to basics. Here are some #'s that prove that the Conservatives - even under Harris - were lukewarm about reform: -Tax revenue in Ontario as a % of GDP now: 13 % Under Bob Rae: 12.3 % -Per capita Revenue from Ontario taxation now: $5,100 Under Bob Rae: $3,900 [constant 2003 dollars] -Spending per capita in Ontario now: $5063 Under Bob Rae: $5563 [constant 2003 dollars] The Liberal media's view of this ? "Tax cuts gutting Ontario" "Destruction of the Welfare State" "Heartless Tories!" What a bunch of piffle. The Tories cut taxes to lower and middle income groups. Howdy Doody will raise Corp taxes and stall any other tax cuts which were planned for 2004. There is NO difference between the Libs and Tories and NDP in this province when it comes to tax and spend. What saved Harris were the tax cuts, welfare reform and a growing economy. But on balance given the numbers I would hardly call what we have today a new regime of low tax, low spend. The opposite is true !!

No he is not kidding. According the Economist world of numbers, Canada has the following higher crime rates than the US: Serious assaults per 100.000 people is at 140.2 in Canada double that of the USA. Theft per 100.000 people is 4000 in Canada more than double that of the USA. The murder rate in Paris and London is higher per capita than in New York. The corruption in socialist economies as measured by black market activity, mafia activity, and illegal business far exceeds anything in an open economy. Don't believe me, take a trip to Moscow, Havanna, Lagos, Tangiers, Teheran and open your eyes and look around. Any asset worth taking is stolen by gov't or criminal interests. Your bank transfers are traced. Your bank account balances are known to criminals. Your business dealings are known to criminals. You pay security fees so they don't beat the crap out of you, when they feel like it. And, as happened in Russia with a guy working for me, they will kill you [in this case stabbed 34 times] for a few grand in cash after you withdraw it from the bank. Socialism is a moral rot. Community service ? No that is the State's job. Private charity ? Me thinketh not, all my money goes to taxes, State's job. Clean up my community ? No thanks, too busy, State's job. Care about my neighbours ? Hell no, don't even know their names, State's job. Get involved in Civic life ? No thanks, State's job. Defend what built up my country in the first place ? No, why bother, the West is evil and white people are stupid. State's job to do that anyways. Understand freedom ? No thanks, have to watch Survivor. State's job to do that. Responsibility ? Individualism ? Commitment to building a society ? Yawn say the socialists, what is important is conformity, brain washing, selective history, manipulation of facts, state power, mercantilism, limiting freedom and regulating thought. Other than that a great system.

Do you have any facts to back up your nonsense ? Your silly shrill exhortations against capital formation are 150 years out of date. You live in a society built with capital. If you don't like it, go live in Africa, Cuba, China or Mexico. As for charity look up these names; Morgan, Rockefeller, Gates, Malone, Buffet, Allen, Spieberg, Bezos, Weill, Soros, Turner, Welch just to name a few off the top of my head. Add up what they put back into society. Gates alone contributes $2 billion per year towards a myriad of programs. How much do Socialist governors put back into society ?

RS, the liberals view the US as the ENEMY. In their world view, any dominant power is bad, nefarious, corrupt and greedy. Any society that is wealthy is perforce morally crippled. Any nation that supports the freedom of 35 countries directly through its money, defence systems and markets is ergo an evil empire. These apologists praised the Soviet Union as it murdered 35 million people, defended Mao as an agrarian reformer even as 30 million went under the knife, believe that Cuba is a bold experiment, and support dictators the world over as liberators of their national state. They don't understand the basic premises of US power, its constitution, the morality that the US displays in its dealings with lesser powers, and the fact that the US is the most active contributor to UN and other international agencies that give relief to millions of poor the world over. Criticism of the US can be done on concrete grounds. I criticise their mangement of international economics and i disagree with domestic spending, but these are specific, not generalisations, colored in racism so fondly posited by Canadian and European op ed writers. These general depictions are wrong, meaningless, and filled with hate and spite. They say more about the authors than the intended target. Something as significant as 9-11 totally escapes their capacity of comprehension.

I just skimmed the 68 page report compiled on ID cards in Canada. 130 experts contributed. Summary; Nyet to the Card Idea. It would cost $5 billion to implement and the technology for biometrics is not fool proof. A small % of people would have the technology fail and thereby be placed under suspicion or worse. Coderre disagrees with the report citing a Poll that most Cdns want the card. But the report chastised this view, stating that the questions in the Poll were not accurate or valid ones, and that Cdns don't understand the complications surrounding biometric technology. The report stated that ID cards would cause more trouble than solve and would cost at least $5 billion. In that light, no thanks. Better ways to reform our borders than wasting money on biometrics. So I stand corrected and agree with you guys after I initially supported the idea.

Tiny is dead btw. Yes apparently i knew he fought Russia, actually what i know is that he was the quartermaster for the resistance against the Russians. Did YOU know that ? No. Do you know what Al Qaeda means ? No i thought not. It means the 'Base'. Do you know how Tiny collected all his contacts for his war against the US ? No i thought not. As quartermaster in PAKISTAN he created a database of all the men there fighting the Russians who received supplies from the 'Base'. Presto! Instance d.base of the world's most fanatical muslims. Tiny did not fight in Afghanistan. I know this upsets the avid watcher of the Clinton News Network who believe the pictures of Tiny with AK47 strutting the hills, rubbing his beard and soberly assessing the Russian lines. These pictures came long after the war ended when Tiny was training his madmen. No Tiny was in Pakistan during the resistance collecting names. Did YOU know that ? I thought not. You would rather live in a world of apologia and CNN news bites. Whatever action the US takes is bad.....fund bad regimes, ignore bad regimes, kill bad regimes...it matters not. In your little world it is all bad.... Nice outlook on life you have.

Hugo good points - let me carry on from your post. Socialism and its variants - economic Marxism, fascism, communism, Islamo-Fascism and Divine Right Rule - are nothing more than philosophies of centralisation. There is no difference in objectives and goals between fascism and communism. The media has it wrong. They are not right and left wing, they are both left wing and both committed to limiting freedom. The history of man is the struggle of the individual against the centre. All socialist systems have been poorer than orthodox liberal systems. Those who rave against the rich are pathetic with penis envy. The bottom 50 % of wage earners in the US pay 4 % of the income tax. In Canada 10 %. The top 20 % in both countries pay most of the bills. The rich in Canada are classified at >$100 k per annum income. In the US it is $295 K US. The rich create jobs, capital investments and donate to charity, the arts, the sciences, schools and allow the formation of capital markets so the rest of us benefit. They are not evil, not corrupt for the most part, nor socially irresponsible. They are good at certain things and have been successful. You can hate Shania Twain's music [i do for instance] but I certainly don't begrudge her money or even care what she does with it. Demand side economics, 5 yr plans, massive redistribution, high spend philosophies all fail. The only system that generates wealth, growth and jobs has been empirically proven to be supply side economic policy coupled with liberal institutions and clear unambiguous and well targeted regulations. These plus codified liberal laws, separation of powers, a deep capital market, fluid banking sector and fluid labor markets will allow one to prosper. On some other posts i rail against what i call the new Al Capone's. Capone had a business card it said 'furniture dealer'. Bernie Ebber's said 'World Com President'. Criminals like Ebbers, and I think Grasso at the NYSE MUST be prosecuted and flailed, tortured and their money taken away. Capitalism does not support these type of men. It supports honest effort, toil. A whole moral philosophy no one discusses is built into Capitalism. The best book on this is M. Novak's book 'The Spirit of Capitalism.' Awesome work. Socialism i believe is immoral for a number of reasons and the effects of that immorality are shown in lower living standards and economic stagnation. [see the FSU]. Currently the EU has negative growth. There are very good reasons for this. Not only are they lazy on average but the fiscal/monetary/regulatory/tax regimes are not logically built nor is a EU wide state with 4 levels of gov't a logical construction. Canada suffers from the same illness as the EU. Socialism and over governance. And I did not even touch on the political and moral issues with socialism - both of which are as profound as the economic problem and which Hugo alluded to above.

Well Ernie did not step down. This really annoys me. He loses by one of the biggest margins in Ont. history and decides to hang on to power. What an ass.

What is rank is your thinking pattern. You equate cold war alliances and expedient relationships premised on defeating a common enemy as odious to the idea of freedom and Western liberty. The exact opposite is true. Balance of power in regions necessitated funding various parties. The Cold War is over. News Flash. We repeat. The Cold War is over. Now new policies emerge from this base fact. Illiberal regimes are now being told to change. From Egypt to Indonesia the message is pretty clear - clean up your act. As I posted on another thread, Syria and Jordan are suddenly behaving better - why ? Because they see that Iraq will be a western oriented democracy within 5 years. They are terrified it will happen to them. What kills me about people like yourself is your snivelling. If the US went to Saudi Arabia and said "You have 1 yr to clean up your gov't, have a liberal press, stop the harassment of women, construct a liberal education system, reform your economy and open your markets", you would be the first one howling in pain on this web site about US Imperialism ! Now you decide that the US is not doing enough to stop the funding, through the UNO, NGOs and other international groups of regimes that are illiberal!! You are rank and hypocritical.

Good posts guys, and I would extend it to include regional subsidies. Why is PEI a province if 1/2 its revenues are handouts from other provinces ? Why do cotton farmers get paid by the taxpayer to overproduce in the States ? Rigidities in labor, supply and capital only lead to sectionalism, inertia, poverty and cycles of dependency. Even Clinton signed significant welfare reforms and took millions off the dole. A 1999 study concluded that the vast majority were making more money working. This says nothing of the increased self esteem and pride they must experience.

Yes that is the price we pay in a free and open society. We have to listen to shrills like Tim Robbins and Sean Penn-cil Head. Having to stomach their nonsense is proof enough that people don't accept nor acknowledge the rarity in history of the freedoms and wealth we today enjoy and take for granted. For these anti-patriots, life has no meaning, history no evidence, the world no dangers, and America no goodness. They state their mindless tripe without admitting that they have achieved more money and fame in their lives, then they deserve - due to the system they hate.

Exactly, I love the liberals - do nothing - get attacked and then apologise to those who try to kill you for inciting them. Logical. Nuclear is right - pre-emption is valid, when national security is at stake. It is indeed about 9-11.

This is a source ? Clark did not ask nor state the need for troops. Remember a guy called Clinton ? He stated publicly that no troops were needed. Clark by the way was fired as NATO commander. Yes fired, replaced by Ralston 3 months before his term was over. Why ? Because no one likes working with him, and his ideas on military campaiging are basically wrong. You don't win wars bombing civilians from 30.000 feet. His military credentials are a sham. But Chevy Nova, don't let reality get in the way or your pre-determined viewpoints. Facts are inconvenient things.

North, South America, WE, EE, Russia and the ME. Many of my contacts, friends are from the ME. In fact my neighbours are from Iran. So i asked them about my thesis that Islam has failed. My neighbours wife just smiled and said, why do you think we are here ? Which is exactly the same answer i received friends from Karachi, Iraq and Dubai.

read my post again, i have no idea what you just said.

Following on - i knew there was some fraud in play. WSJ today Pay offs to buddies, $ under the table, a little pressure here and there, some slime over there etc. Monopoly capitalism and excess. No wonder people are skeptical of capitalism in this guise.

Neal, good post, you are right on. I supported Flaherty during the leadership convention and was aghast and amazed that all the Tory big wigs and heavyweights were so ardently for Eves. The signs were clear that he was a waffling Pink Tory. He deserved to get hammered last night.

Socialism is a failure on many levels. What Canada has is welfare capitalism - a melange slanted towards socialist interference and redistribution and very very very selective liberalism including NAFTA which is not Free Trade but sectoral trade. Canada by imposing higher burdens - like all socialist nations - enjoys a lower standard of living, less freedoms and less income and I would argue, a lower morality, participation rate in politics, and less concern for community, than less socialist nations. History supports this view. I work in Russia from time to time, and have seen first hand the human and economic devastation of such a perverted system of centralised science and management. It is disgusting.

Certainly he would of. He did a few times. He was waiting for the UNO to leave Iraq, and resume his oil production and revenue enhancement. With such monies he would have resumed building the WMD. The costs of containment over time make no economic sense. At some point for humanitarian, security and geo-political reasons he had to go. A summary from Kay's report:

I agree, I voted NDP as a protest against both McGuinty's tax raises, which he will now implement, and Eve's pasty face socialism of buying votes, ignoring reforms and breaking provincial tax law. I can't believe that John Baird the phantom Min. of Energy won his seat. Both he and Eves deserved to lose their ridings. 55.3% of voters turned out - the worst since 1923. Says something about the moribund state of affairs in this leftist province.