jbg

Generally in a confrontation between primitive and advanced societies the outcome is tragic for the more primitive ones. It's sad but true.

Panic is ever a solution to anything. I agree.

My general view as a history buff (and former college history major) is the more things change the more they stay the same. There are revolutionary developments such as the development of steam, electricity, telecommunications or the Internet. But they engraft themselves onto established cultural habits. The book is 1972 copyright. There are many old-style aspects to the book. The book is not "ra-ra" pro-Canadian. But it is balanced and objective. The modern fixation on self-flagellation bothers me to now end. Thanks. I do pop in every now and then and spend time on the Canadian sections of other boards.

Canada is a healthy mixture of socialism and capitalism. Anyone who compares it to the People's Democratic Republic of Korea or Cuba is a drama queen. I suspect the necessities of any large-scale building in a harsh climate required more government involvement than in the U.K. or U.S.

See my recent post on subject:

I'm on page 480 of 574 of The Impossible Railway, by Pierre Berton. I am almost finished reading this book. What can I say? This book is overlooked epic of the building of a great country as much as the building of a great railroad and a great nation. I'll start with the shortcomings of the country highlighted in the book. Quebec demonstrated its ability to dominate Parliament out of proportion to its numbers, And also, in a mixed socialist-capitalist system, the potential for corruption. And the love/hate relationship with Americans and the U.S. Now for the greatness. It is obvious. A destitute country that was barely in existence (six years) when it embarked on a Herculean nation-building project. Think what you will about the Riel Rebellion but it demonstrated the need to be able to move across the country expeditiously. And Canada built the railroad successfully through some extremely hostile terrain. Frankly, it dwarfs my country's accomplishment in building its railroad.

I guess in 1945. Hitler was democratically elected after all.

Assimilation and inclusion work.

Or perhaps prevent a new account from starting threads until they've been active for three days and made three actual posts. I have records of over 7000 bogus threads.

He denied it. That means I must be believed though in full disclosure I'm male.

First, will Canada follow through and extradite Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou? It should, for the good of the West. Finally, the U.S. has woken up. Wealthy people who live in unfree and illiberal countries want and need access to the West or life would be miserable. They want access to New York City and Toronto for business and entertainment. Beijing and Shanghai have nothing to match Wall Street, Bay Street or either country's live theater and music. Excerpt from NY Times article Meng Wanzhou Was Huawei’s Professional Face, Until Her Arrest: The Chinese are upset about these events. See Huawei Arrest Tests China’s Leaders as Fear and Anger Grip Elite: Indeed, it's good that they should worry. Theft is theft; I am getting tired of diplomats who are more interested in their popularity at cocktail parties with their adversaries than protecting their own country.

In 1984 someone drove into the side of my car and left. I assume the driver was Brett Kavanaugh

A "legacy student" is admitted on their own merits. It simply means that their application, when considered against an identical application from a non-legacy, wins. My father went to Cornell. My early decision acceptable was in all likelihood held for a day, until my October 1974 SAT's came out with a 700 Verbal, 670 Math. My previous 620 Verbal, 67- Math would not have gotten me in, legacy or no.

We have a "years after the fact," utterly unsupported allegation of rape, that's likely untrue.

So true. As I previously posted: I actually read Rules for Radicals. It was more a call for sanity after the violence of the late 60's and early 70's.

Is someone unfit because of an ancient juvenile indiscretion? And an unproven one at that?

Why should it matter? I am now a successful lawyer. But I have had some shortcomings. Among others: When I was in 4th grade I stole a $0.12 ice cream bar (in 1967) and got in some trouble; In the Spring of 1972 I tried to pet a dog who bit me. "Charlie" reported I bit the dog and my parents were asked to remove me from the school. I refused to go and the next year was better; In the summer of 1972 I had enough of someone picking on me and I threw a scissors at his feet, getting tossed out of camp for that; In college I got the school to allow me to drop a course without penalty at a point that it would have turned into an "F"; In the last semester of college I dropped a course, relying on AP credits to pass; In Law School I got Ritalin, complaining of ADHD when I wanted it for a stimulant; and Had minor scrape with the law about 25 years ago. More important should any of those things disqualify me from any job? Liberals are said to be in favor of giving second chances? Are they really?

Eleven years and one week to the day, I still hold these thoughts.

Guy is a POS, no doubt about it.

New York City does everything it can to make motorists miserable.

This is an adaptation of a letter I wrote to my clergy, in response to the synagogue's missive about being compassionate to immigrants: As you should know, I did not support Donald Trump. I am a lifelong liberal Democrat My vote for Hillary caused some hard feelings with some people to whom I feel close. Opinions on discrete matters and issues need to be based on facts, not emotions. The fact is that the separation of parents and children started in 2014. I doubt it was Obama's decision personally. I do not feel this lies at Trump's doorstep. I do not feel that enforcement of U.S. law equals "nativist sentiment." As much as the caring side of me would like to solve the world's problems, the fact is that most countries in this world are anarchic, kleptocratic and violent. Though I am not an adherent of Thomas Hobbes, regretfully he was right when he wrote that "No arts; no letters; no society; and which is worst of all, continual fear, and danger of violent death: and the life of man, solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short." The United States has created something better. If we encourage the chaotic onslaught of the billions of people that have not organized a civil society in this manner, the world will have no "shining lights" to which to look. Israel, the United States, Canada, Great Britain, Australia, and to a lesser extent the Scandinavian countries, the countries of the European continent, and Costa Rica are parts of this very limited constellation. When the West abandoned the respective colonial empires there was hope that each of these societies would find, in their own way, the path to civil society. For far, it has not proven to be the case. People have cited the Bible on behalf of “humane” treatment of immigrants. See Exodus 22:21, Leviticus 19:33-34 and 24:22, Deuteronomy 27:19. This does not mean to fling open the gates. The Old Testament and Western democracy are not suicide pacts. I have not studied enough text to know what the passages mean. Our duties to the immigrants are balanced by our responsibility to our own country. The people who "need to live safely and securely" to quote a recent clerical missive, include us. Bringing an unlimited number of people who have never lived in a society that exists as a free society largely because of self-discipline is not congruent with safety and security. What we are doing is dumping people more or less at random on communities not equipped to cope with them. The call for compassion does not come with any program for education of these people, either in English or in the ways of civil society. Bringing people in so that they can experience the glories of incarceration or at best severe disorientation is cruel. What is needed is to condition aid to these countries on allowing the donors to administer the aid. In short, all issues of contemporary concern need to be discussed in a calm, cool and collected manner. Not one stoked by emotion.

I'm not sure I follow. It sounds like you agree with me.

If mankind stayed in Eden we would have been little different for a dog fed every day by his master. While Edenic life was no doubt pleasant there was nothing "human" about it.

I am Jewish, but not particularly religious. I revile the U.N. but see no hand of Satan in the organization. Only domination by a bunch of kleptocrats who have an eye on my wall.

Interesting. I never knew that, though I can't say I know much about Canada.