Jerry J. Fortin

Dial forward a decade and tell me that you understand what double digit growth really means in China. Tell me that they will not be seeking more resources and where better to get them?

We are not in the same league BC, Canada has no business with nukes, none at all.

Why have nukes at all? If you have them you might have to use them.

I think WW III will be about Siberia and China, that is my guess.

We are all to blame, its just greed and the quest for money. The banking crisis was there own fault. The auto industry, their problem as was every other industry that got into trouble. The only innocent was the tax paying citizen. They got stuck with the tab.

Big deal, neither can the UN ! I think it does a crappy job!

Okay, so how do you describe a minority government in Canada? How stable is that?

No but isn't that question just about the perfect thing to have as an initial referendum in this country working its way towards its democratic evolution.

There is no limit to what the government will spend our money on.

Very seriously. The system did it to itself, its a business effort. Those efforts have risks, that is where the concept of limited liability and incorporation came from. So how is it that now the tables have been turned once again against the interests of citizens, to the point that we now are responsible for subsidizing for profit private ventures with public tax dollars? All of those systems I mentioned are based on a financial model designed long ago with long term goals and agendas. Its all about money, period. What happened in 2008 is a long ways from over for us in the western world. In the east there is a thriving economic expansion going on using western technologies and financial systems that is blowing the doors off our economies. Much of that development and expansion was done by western companies seeking market access. That is where our jobs have gone, we cannot compete with their labour force and their standards of living. However here in the west things are a little different. In the long term Canada will be okay, because we are a lot bigger on resource exports than most nations and we can become prime suppliers for the economic expansion over there. But the US and Mexico are screwed. That is a reality we need to get our heads around.

Politics is news because it effects us all. Whether or not Fred, Barney or Joe think that Harper is doing well or not is just another opinion. They are real questions to ask and get answers to, like what is going on with government programs and services? What is going on with our debt repayment situation? What are we doing with public health care and public education? I tire of the crying over the economy. Business got themselves into this crap and have dragged the governments of the world kicking and screaming into a hand holding session based on citizens tax dollars and that is just wrong. Wake up to the new world order folks, it aint what you thought is it? Yet this is the way that it is, suck it up. This is where NAFTA, the WTO, the IMF and the World Bank all come to sit on our porch, and eyeball us.

I would have bet against it myself. On the other hand it tells you how much money is in that ethnic community in the land of the "red neck".................this is only the beginning folks. Those folks ALWAYS vote when they get the chance.

In your opinion that is. We are already following some one elses example, which is part of my point. The fact that our system works like much of the rest of the world doesn't mean much to me, considering I think that most countries are like this one, out to lunch and governed by an elitist group of well advantages citizens. Their agendas and the rest of ours are two different things. Most citizens want less government, less taxes and less debt. Most politicians are smart enough to know that with dollars in their hands they can share our wealth support their friends and buy enough air time to get elected. This is the system that needs to be changed.

I think the "first" referendum should be whether or not we try and use referendums to solve some of our problems! Float the question and let citizens decide. After that, they choose the questions, its their referendum not the governments.

I think its obvious that we would need to develop an agenda first. That will determine how things play out. For example, one single question to be resolved with the next election and binding referendum. Its not an all or nothing package that I suggest but instead a careful process to actually get something done. How many or how often do these things take place you ask? I will suggest they be started with attaching them to the general election process. I will suggest that the issues are determined by the public, sufficient consent to start the process.

We have the longest coastline in the world. We have the longest undefended border in the world. We have one of the worlds smallest population densities on one of the worlds largest national landmasses. For that we are seeking a grand total of 65 aircraft, that are designed to serve both NATO and NORAD and provide national security for all citizens. Can we admit that our designs are not sufficient for our requirements? Can we admit that we cannot even defend our nation, let alone do so while helping a friend? The entire debate is a joke, we should know this. 65 aircraft! A lousy 65 aircraft to serve us? Come on folks wake up and smell the coffee, military toys are not cheap, and you only get what you pay for. We should focus on an achievable goal, not pie in the sky. We need to spend far more then we have or simply give up. Since we cant give up on national security I suggest we suck it up and settle down to the reality of the situation. Lets do this right. Lets develop a plan to defend out borders first. Thats where the money belongs.

Its called referendum. Happens all the time in the States, with damned near every election, works fine for them. Happens with very nearly all legislation in Switzerland and they love it. WE had one referendum here in my life, about Quebec.

No system is perfect, but there are probably a billion people who utilize such systems everyday, for their own personal affairs. Surely you would find some collective trust in it.

Perhaps we step back and think about it for a moment. We have numerous already proven secure systems from which to choose from. The financial sector comes to mind as the prime source of existing system we could utilize. You can now access your bank account from your cell phone so now it seems to me that its already in the works. Look at it as a paradigm and you will see what can really be done about it.

It doesn't need to get too complicated in order for the system to work. What is truly desired is a system where the citizens are afforded the opportunity to participate, not legislated to do so. Folks that take the time to inform themselves of the issues, study them, and finally vote on them deserve the right to legislate as much as the next person or politician. This system is not for kids to mess around with, it is not for the faint of heart either. No more powerful democratic system exists, another of the reasons of its demise was indeed mob rule.

Interesting article, now factor in recent hints about budgets in the UK and I think the author was spot on.

It makes the problem real. The UN creates its own unique set of problems doesn't it? Being forced into that international forum simply can't be a good thing because it is a class based system! The high cast is the security council, the low cast is everybody else. Understand that first, know that some pigs are more equal than others and you are on the right path in my opinion. The UN is as functional as the League of Nations, not at all. Its time to rethink folks.

Nonsense! It was abandoned because it was found unworkable on a scale much larger than that of a village. They had no functional means of communication beyond word of mouth, at the time. That has changed, as well as we have.

The lady is hot, of that there is no doubt. Yet in more ways than one, and she needs to get some people around her that can advise her to take full advantage of that little attribute. Wildrose could become a "catch phrase" if handled with the right means. On the down side the party may be very interesting, but it sort of falls short of what I would like to see. Another alternative is the Alberta Party, they at least take a different approach which is something I really appreciate. Ar any rate the old standby PC group is coming unglued at the seams.