theloniusfleabag

Dear Argus, I fully and whole-heartedly agree with your statement (although I liked Trudeau, just not the NEP). it seems, though, that having 'charisma and new ideas' are a threat to the status-quo, and Canadians seem to be firm believers in the old adage "Better to vote for the devil you know...."

Dear Argus, Might I remind you of the Bali bombing....besides, Canada is right next door, not 10,000 miles away. the 'Americanization' of Canada would be much easier than Australia. Nonsense, it is an issue of US protectionism. kimmy, Election promises get you laughed out of the bank if you try to take them there....

Dear Hugo, Not sure what your point is here, apart from a political leader being hypocritical. Does the Queen of England earn her fortune? Is Queen Beatrix a tyrant because she has personal wealth attributed to her by virtue of being head of state? Why was the Pope not on this list? (Perhaps he is not the head of state for Vatican City, but the wealth of the church is astronomical) How about the Bush family? Not sure what their fortune stands at, but if the PM of Thailand can have his wealth held by the family, GW Bush must be worth a few hundred million. As to the mercedes benz convoys, I would expect that it is for security reasons. Even the pope got shot....

Harper as PM would be disatrous for Canada. He would have had Canada jump into bed with the US over Iraq, and is trying to take the same religious stance over same-sex marriage. Indeed, Harper would have Canada enter a "Same-Sex Marriage" with the US, uniting their 'neo-conservative values', but Harper and Canada would end up being the ones 'biting the pillow'every time.

Dear RB, You seem to want to fight fire with fire, trying to beat aggressive dominance with even greater aggressive dominance. That will never work, escalation's logical conclusion is annihilation.

The US seems to be putting it's chess pieces in place with this appointment. Putting a pro-war, 'America and Israel first' 'Likudnik' in charge of the World Bank responsible for the development of the poorer nations, is like having Saddam Hussein (or Hitler) in charge of the Salvation Army. Something tells me it might end up being a little biased. The reception throughout the world to the news has been lukewarm at best. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/4356745.stm

Dear caesar, You are correct. The US imports oil from: As consumers, they lead the way big time: However, they do produce some of their own, and recently source:http://www.gravmag.com/oil.htmlHowever, China's economy, consumption etc is exploding. They will soon and easily surpass the US for consumption, and are becoming a major player in the oil world. China is probably the biggest threat to the US in this regard, for if push comes to shove, the US dollar is almost worthless, and oil producing countries might opt to take hard currency vs. the new clothes off of the emperor's back.

Well, judging from some of the responses, I know I won't be lonely in Hell...If I get there first, I'll try to save us all some seats by the stage... I should have guessed I would get nothing but a secular response...lol. However, Israel is acting according to 'biblical statutes' regarding the annexation of territory (such as taking Jerusalem from Jordan in the '67 war and procaliming it 'Israel's eternal capitol') and, laying 'biblical claim' to parts of Syria, Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon (as part of Eretz Yisrael). It was interesting to read some Jewish responses to this issue, as some said "Either the Bible promised us all of this land, or we have no claim to any of it.." So, are we reading the sh*t someone else wiped on blank paper, or is the bible 'the truth' and the 'heathen secularists' are currently wiping their ass with the word of God? BTW, the worst TP has to be that hi-gloss catalog paper. Second to that was the little squares of recycled newsprint at the U of C.

IMR, You and Mr. Hardner are entirely correct, the market decides prices for these things, and so should it. Now, if a woman walked into a barber shop and said "Give me a US Marine 'Jarhead Special", and the barber charged an extra $10 because the client was a woman, that would be discrimination.

Dear kimmy, What is 'culture'? Is it defined by where and how you work the 9-5? or is it how you spend your leisure time? Or is it what you spend your disposable income on? Or what you fight to have your tax dollars directed towards?

Dear Argus, One thing I noticed about 'troll posters' is that they are always full of sh*t. Someone who has worked in the civil service since Trudeau's era(25-35 years) doesn't speak like this. I suggest no response is the best response.

Dear all, This title may give the impression that is 'inflammatory in nature', I assure you it is not meant to be. Let me explain... I was reading an article on an Israeli website (Arutz Sheva) about passports being recalled in Canada, to have the word 'Israel' deleted from the passport if the person's birthplace was listed as 'Jerusalem'. Now, one of the reader's comments, 'Howie from Toronto', said the following... I have heard it said before, amongst Israelis, that the Bible is 'our deed and title to the land', including Judea, Samaria, and Gush Katif (Gaza).Now the toilet paper bit... A few years ago, I was talking with some friends that owned a business together, about starting my own business. At the time, the company I was working for was 'secretly up for sale', though the owner wad very honest with me about why, and he had offered me a 'retention bonus (of $5,000)' if I agreed to stay until the company was sold. (The reason for this was that I was the longest running employee and was an intergral part of the 'goodwill' that was added to the asking price). When I told my friends about this, they asked if this document (the owner had put the bonus offer on paper and signed it) had been notarized. I replied "No, I trust this man", and they told me, "That document is only worth it's weight as toilet paper". Now, if people like Howie from Toronto, and indeed many Israelis believe that The Bible is a legal document giving the deed of ownership to 'the chosen people', is it a legal claim, or worth so much toilet paper?

Dear Tawasakm, My apologies, you are absolutely correct. My post was poorly constructed, and I should have clarified why I used your post as a reference. In no way did I mean to imply that you had suggested MS was a troll, but I can see how my post might allude to that. I should have started the post 'Dear all, to quote Tawasakm,'... and after your quote, I should have said, "On another note,..." Perhaps I'll do that... Again, my apologies.

Dear all, As Tawasakm points out, On another note, while no one believes that maplesyrup was a 'troll', I fully support Greg in his decision to uphold the guidelines that are set forth for every user. In fact, it is only that Greg is polite, and has made us aware of his name, that we can call him such. He certainly had the choice to be just the nameless 'moderator' or could sign everything with 'Admin' if he so chose.Speaking of trolls... source:http://curezone.com/forums/troll.aspNow, with paulpaul, Herman Whatsisname, maryann, etc. I have no doubt that it is the same troll, with a dial-up connection that changes the IP address evry time, so it is virtually impossible for Greg to ban him/her. (Most likely a him, though)

Dear Argus, You are right, but this is a tough issue. Should the reporter have been allowed to be killed to prove a point? Does the gov't risk public scorn at home for appearing to not care about the fate of a countryman? What about the 52 American hostages in Iran that were released when the US agreed to provide Iran with weapons (and using the cash to fund the Contras in S. America)? These are not really comparable, I'll admit, but it still amounted to the USA paying a ransom. I think that if someone is aware of the dangers inherent in an action, they are solely responsible for the consequences. Contractors, etc in Iraq chose to go there for the money, and some paid for it with their lives.

Dear Argus, Well said. Deterring crime is a multi-faceted enterprise, with no one magic solution.Dear kimmy, When I first heard that the registry had balloned from an estimated 2 million to over one billion, I thought "Someone should be dancing on the end of a rope for this one..." I spoke with the former owner of the company I worked for, who had previously worked for Revenue Canada for over 19 years. She said that the gov't had taken the cheapest proven way to operate the registry, that being a mail-in system. She told me that the 2 million would probably be over-run, as most gov't projects are wont to do, but the result has been more than ridiculous. The only way to explain such a gigantic cost over-run is graft and largesse, and as with the sponsorship scandal, there should be a criminal investigation. I would start with our PM, PM, who was directly involved in, and ultimately responsible for, both programs.

Dear Army Guy, Indeed, the Afghanis did grow weary of the increasingly oppressive rule of the Taliban. The Saud family is crooked...almost as bad as the US...Bin Laden hates then for being an 'apostate gov't', oppressing Muslims in 'the land of the two holy places', and the Sauds are probably the most dangerous to, and most hateful of, the USA. 9/11 had nothing to do with Iraq. Neither does it have anything to do with the continued occupations. I bet if you were to ask any of those insurgents why they were fighting it would be just because the US is in Iraq ...other than that they could not tell you why...

Dear Black Dog, Let's not forget opium. Contrary to the opinion of the 'right', the Taliban was not funded by drug money, in fact they almost eradicated opium production from Afghanistan. It has been known for 'intelligence agencies', such as the CIA and the Mossad, to pad their clandestine budgets with illicit money. After all, you wouldn't want the 'terrorists' to control that money, would you?

Dear Black Dog, Interesting that it took the US almost a week to cook up that story. If the troops manning the roadblock on a special assignment knew who they were 'protecting', then why didn't they say so right away? If they didn't know, then it is just as likely they could have shot Negroponte....

Dear Army guy, While this would be a good idea, NATO would not be able to acomplish this anymore than the UN can. Canada claims it doesn't have the money or materiel to commit, the USA says it doesn't want to, (nor did it pay it's UN bills), people get twitchy when Germany or Japan sends troops outside their borders, etc. There would be a required spirit of benevolence that, sadly, just doesn't exist yet.

Dear kimmy, What about calling the police (UN)? Taking the moral high road, for example, and reporting, or fighting them both? Especially if...the Hell's Angel's come up to you and say "Look kimmy, were are about to go and knock off a rival gang leader. He's a bad guy, so the neighborhood should be glad to be rid of him...we'd like you to come along, though. Everyone in the neighborhood thinks you are a good person, but everyone is suspicious of us. If they see that you are involved, they might think that we are really only out to eliminate a bad guy, with nothing to gain for ourselves. Look, you don't have to pull the trigger, just be seen with us, and everyone in the neighbourhood with think 'it's ok'." If you asked my advice, I'd say 'don't get involved with that crowd, go to the police'. That shouldn't matter. If someone thought (mistakenly, or otherwise) that you were a thief, should you begin stealing from them because 'they're going to think that of me anyway'?

Dear Hugo, I mean this in an a priori way, following logic, but if I had the means (and some human guinea pigs) I could give you empirical proof as well.

Dear eureka, This is what happens now. I would be much happier if the gov't were to monitor this forum, and take your and my views into account, than to have closed-door policy discussions that leave us wondering where their input comes from.

Dear Army Guy, Canada, Belgium and a couple of other countries sent troops to Rwanda, the US refused. They did a 'cost analysis', and figured a ratio of 85,000 Rwandan deaths were worth the approximate value of 1 US soldier. I will certainly agree the UN needs reform, but not abolition. As to third world wannabes, the nations that have veto power in the UN are;The United States, China, Russia, the United Kingdom and France. Hardly a collection of 'tin-pot dictators'. By what standards, and by whom shall 'the right thing to do', be judged? It must be the international community, not one member.

Dear RB, You are right, the bible was written with the retention of power in mind. Having power means you must subjugate. The bible does this mostly through fear, but it is almost exclusively the male wielding that power. Hence, no women priests or rabbis. As to the penis, it has been called 'the tower of power' by some, and though mine can actually hold up a towel after a nice warm shower, I try never to use it for evil purposes. I even give it a massage now and then, when its feeling a bit stiff.