Figleaf

Unless you're a social conservative or a Likud apologist.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/sto...ialComment/home FYI, the forum moderator discourages extensive quotes of copyright material. A highlight or two with the link is prefered.

Nor am I. Your suggestion that I did is a false, inexplicable, malicious slur. Your conduct is bizarre. Is there any limit to how vicious and unfair I can expect you to become? If you knew my name would you come gunning for me?

It's a historical fact that Alberta was created by Canada. What reciprocal obligations this implies may be a matter for discussion. I'd love to hear some reason for that feeling. The resentment expressed by some Albertans defies understanding. The two reasons tendered so far on this thread (the 30-years-past NEP, and the federal equalization program) just don't explain the viciousness of the bitterness. Will that be a change from your prior approach?

Ignatieff is. He wants to bring in a carbon tax. There's a perfect example of irrational victim-thinking. A carbon tax is not an effort to single out Alberta. Whether you agree with the policy or not, it's not about wanting to deprive Alberta.

Yes I am.....but at least I don't make up exscuses for suicide bombers pretend that Hamas is no different than the conservatives. What is your motive for pursuing this outrageous set of slanders against me? You said it.

This is the second day in a row that Ibbitson has shared this highly speculative prognostication. Such urgent reassurance begins to look like wishful thinking, and compromises his already dubious objectivity.

Suicide bombings are a rationally comprehensible event. Nice What a rotten, sleazy, shitbag distortion. Go F*ck Yourself. I'm sorry if your sensibilities are..ahem...offended. You say hamas's resistance to israel is a rational comprehensible interpretation of historical events......those are your words, however naive they may be. You sleazily and dshonestly ignored the fact that this whole portion of the discussion relates to recognition of Israel. You maliciously imported the matter of suicide bomb tactics and implied (falsely and without foundation) that my comments supported that. That's dirty, unfair, and untrue.

I agree that it's impractical to an almost delusional extent to think the creation of Israel it can be undone. It would also require crimes against humanity to do it. But that doesn't sweep Hamas into the category of delusion of Mein Kampf, and it doesn't mean that Hamas' position is unintelligibly nonsensical

Suicide bombings are a rationally comprehensible event. Nice What a rotten, sleazy, shitbag distortion. Go F*ck Yourself.

A BILLION dollars? To defend us from what? Are we in Fantasyland here? This isn't the Afgan/Pakistan border is it? Are there hordes of crazed Americans assaulting our borders all of a sudden? This sounds like hysteria to me. And maybe anti-Americanism.

Depends on what you mean by "take notice". Mein Kampf is filled with histrionic rationalization and delusional motivation for the ultimate annihiliation of a people just as the current Hamas government of Palestine rationalizes why an entire country should have no right to exist. Appeasement was the wrong approach in 1938. It still is. Mein Kampf is delusional drivel. Hamas' resistance to Israel is a rationally comprehensible interpretation of historical events. They view the imposition of the state of Israel in Palestine in 1948 as a wrongful act. No sound reason has been given for them to change their view on that, and so they continue holding that position.

This broken promise is worse than most broken promises. The tories are pretending that changing conditions drove them to flip-flop, but any halfway intelligent economic observer should not have been taken by surprise that corporations were likely to adopt the trust model. That writing was clearly on the wall when the tories made their self-serving false promises. What makes this even worse than other political lying is that the liars' induced people to invest in reliance on their false promise. While other broken political promises are bad because they're lies, this one is worse because it's a lie that caused direct out-of-pocket financial damage to individuals.

Palestinians are represented by the Palestinian Authority which recognizes Israel, Hamas is a party that holds a majority in the PA legislature at this time. Are you saying that the Palestinian Authority holds more power than the democratically elected majority government and if so, is it real rather than symbolic? Hamas is a political party within the Palestinian Authority, in the way the Conservative Party is a political party within the government of Canada. They elected a party to government that does not recognized Israel. A governing party is not the government, just as the Conservative Party is not the same thing as the government of Canada. ... makes sense if you want peace with it. Before Fatah recognized Israel, how do you think it was brought around to doing so? Answer: through negotiations.

Maybe, but the primary violator is Israel. The point made was that by supporting Hamas they supported terrorism, so if they don't think of Hamas in those terms, it belies the contention that supporting terrorism is their intent. More broadly, anyone hoping to achieve a settlement of this conflict must, as a practical matter even if you don't agree with them, take notice of the motivations of the parties involved. Reciting stupid formulas won't change the facts. Hamas' 'terrorist' status is anything but "plain and simple".

Palestinians are represented by the Palestinian Authority which recognizes Israel, Hamas is a party that holds a majority in the PA legislature at this time. Confusing the two is like saying that the Labour party is the UK. If the UK elected Nazi's, Communists, or Israel-hating Hamas-ians, I'd support cutting off trade with them too. We're not discussing who you might like to trade with. We're discussing the formal question of diplomatic recognition between states. But they don't regard them as terrorists. Because they've been wrongfully deprived of their rights and freedom.

Palestinians are represented by the Palestinian Authority which recognizes Israel, Hamas is a party that holds a majority in the PA legislature at this time. Confusing the two is like saying that the Labour party is the UK. Israel didn't make peace when they had a PA partner that did recognize it, so clearly recognition is not the difference thst makes the difference. Israels lament "how can we make peace with an enemy?" is a formula for eternal war -- someone you need to make peace with is axiomatically an enemy. You don't need peace with people you're already at peace with. The mystery to me is what Israel expects. They continually portray surprise that the Palestinians act and speak like their enemies. Gosh, could it be because of the enmity between them?

Disagree with what? I think you can respond to the poll without needing me specify measures of success. Use your own measures.

Gerrymander certainly describes the goofball system they rejected in B.C. It was rigged to produce 'proportionality' even if people voted another way.

What is the big deal? You can't say anything to actually criticize the thread other than calling it 'beyind ridiculous'. Good work... And all you have to add is 'Good work...'. Now that's beyond ridiculous.

I don't know about White Doors but, No. I don't believe you. Who or What 'Israeli officials' stated any such thing about the threat of Arab invasion in 1967 being merely ---- 'rhetoric'? Your source is impeccable, of course. Dayan, perhaps? Do you think I'm mistaken, or making it up?

Israel had no choice but to pull out of Gaza. The cost of defending a handful of settlers was horrendous, and even an idiot like Sharon had to recognize that Gaza is completely unmanageable. How many people have those rockets killed? Say compared to the constant extra-judicial helicopter gunship assassinations that Israel now carries out as an almost daily routine.... How many Jews do you think must be permitted to die before Israel takes action against Palestinian terrorists? Well, they could make peace. With a government which does not even recognize your right to existance, and which claims all of your territory for its own? If that's who were there, yes. But they could make peace with the Palestinians instead.

Pre-empting is just the aggressor's propaganda term for starting it. I don't care what some media source says. I'm telling you that Israeli officials acknowledged that Arab states' rhetoric was probably empty. Don't you believe me?

There's no 'whipping boy' status now. No-one is singling out Alberta to take its money away. As this thread amply demonstrates, there is no valid complaint. You're incredible! Alberta had a recession. Boo hoo. Do you think no-one else has had recessions? Get your head out of your *ss before your sphink cuts off the blood to you brain!

I wouldn't say "upset". But see post #47, above. Why would I be motivated by Liberal electoral fortunes? Ha! You're not going anywhere.