-TSS-

The game starts at 2pm our time, so it's not going to be very productive two hours at the working places.

I guess that for Canadian curling-players the Olympic qualification is often a tougher competition than the Olympics itself.

The events of Ukraine today remind very much of those of Romania a quarter of a century ago. It's difficult to believe that the army and the police would be unilaterally on the side of the government, The ironic thing is that the EU supports the opposition which likes to call itself as nationalists when as within the EU nationalists are something to be loathed.

The next country to break up?

I can only imagine what TV-viewers in Canada must be going throgh now that Canada is struggling in the 3rd period against Latvia. After all, it is essential for the very sport that Canada always beats a team like Latvia, always.

Looks like both semi-finals will be between kid brother vs big brother. The nightmarish idea of the final would be USA-Sweden.

A very pleasant surprise indeed. The final scoreline was: Team Finland 3 Russian individuals 1 I bet most Canadians hope that the Czechs beat the US because the US sure know how to play against the Canadians when as the Czechs would probably be much easier opponents.

Canada and Sweden have an easy match today. The US are favourites against the Czechs but on a good day the Czechs can beat anybody. If Russia loses today against Finland Putin will send those overpaid stars to work in the Siberian mines.

Obviously in any country the vast majority of immigrants come from the nearest neighbouring countries.

Canada-USA set to be in the semi-finals. The Russians have hitherto been terribly unconvincing but the games which count only start now.

An old article but the content has not become obsolete: http://edition.cnn.com/2012/11/14/opinion/china-challenges-one-child-brooks/ China has a surplus of 30 million young men and one can only imagine the consequences when those men reach a point of realizing that they can't find themselves spouses. The rich and educated men can get wives or at least import women but for millions of Chinese men there is loneliness ahead of them. One can only be thaqnkful that they're not muslims.

Curling is nice to watch. Well, once in four years.

That's why the islamists hate the idea of girls going to school because at school the girls could even develop some kind of ability to think for themselves.

Sweden is the first team to ensure group-victory and a direct spot in the quarter-finals.

The old joke about Switzerland is that it is like the guy in the school-yard who is watching when the toughest guys in the yard are fighting and he is holding their coats while they fight and while they fight he is emptying the pockets of those coats.

The Canadian public is probably dissatisfied if Canada doesn't beat Norway or Austria 10-0 but it would be foolish to waste energy on games which you only need to win as there will be much tougher teams to face in the next round. My bet is that the semi-finalists will be Canada, USA, Russai and Sweden. No surprises there then. Canada-Russia would be a dream-final.

Africa today is more or less in the same position as Europe 200 years ago; namely, if a family has eight children there is a likelihood that 5-6 of them reach adulthood.

There is a clear correlation between a sustainable birth-rate and allowing girls to go to school.

Which would you prefer: Canada wins hockey but doesn't top the medal-table or Canada tops the medal-table but gets knocked out of hockey in the quarter-finals?

About 25% of the Swiss population are foreign-born. The highest rate in Europe.

The internet is full of examples how importing immigrants is no solution to the problem of ageing population but one of the best ones I have come across is as follows; it is meant to the UK-context but surely applies to any other country: http://www.migrationwatchuk.org/briefing-paper/1.24

They don't get older? Besides they have a habit of bringing their own parents over once they have established themselves in the new country.

You must try harder. You are posting outdated propaganda which has been debunked ages ago. The idea of solving the problem of ageing population by importing immigrants is a bit like curing hangover by having another drink.

How good would Quebec be at ice-hockey?

It has been estimated that in the year 2040 40% of the Japanese people will be 65 years or older. It goes without saying that any society is going to collapse with an age-structure like that. However, importing illiterate people from the third world, like Europe does, is not helping the problem. On the contrary. Those people who aren't illiterate are often those who would be desperately more needed in their home countries.