Moonlight Graham

Say what? Store layout was very similar to Walmart in the multiple Target's ive been to. Electronics in the very back, toys down etc. the side of aisles. Homeware stuff in the middle isles. clothing off to the side and circling back towards electronics. Cheap bargain stuff near the front entrance. As for merchandise, things like electronics, medicine, personal hygiene, toys etc. are pretty much exactly the same. There are some differences in merch of course & different brands, and some of the clothing is a bit better quality but they still also sell cheap clothes, ie: i bought some rock n' roll band t-shirts there for $9.99 each. I mean, the differences in merch is not very significant IMO. They aren't selling higher quality stuff like Sears or The Bay sells. Target is a Walmart clone that has some variation on some products/brands in some departments, and in a few select departments may sell slightly higher quality stuff.

That's not what the article says. At least how i read it. Its says that "A suspicious package and a rash of phone calls threatening protests shut down the planned screening of an anti-Iran documentary at Library and Archives Canada Tuesday night." The suspicious package was of letters that brought in the police/fire dept. The article did not say who the calls were from that threatened protests, but it seems like they were anonymous. It certainly doesn't say anywhere that the calls were from the Iranian Embassy, though Moore was implying that maybe the Embassy officials had something to do with all of this (aka a conspiracy). I can see why the film was shut down. There was a credible threat to security with the suspicious package. However, it still isnt right that this was shut down and they should air the film again in a few days. Anyone who wants to protest peacefully is fine to do so, but these other belligerents can go to hell. The film should be aired.

Hmm, doesn't look like they are quite on schedule. Here's the 7 phases of al-Qaeda's master plan of world domination as outlined by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and others in al-Qaeda in 2005 that some may remember: My sarcastic analysis: Ok well phase 1 & 2 went well, but they probably figured out the plan after the fact and corrected some details so only half point go to al-Qaeda on these. Phase 3, well, not sure really. We are now in Phase 4, meaning we should see the Saudi gov't fall by 2013...sure. By 2016 pan-Islamic super-state will be formed in the middle east. Hmm better hurry it up on that one. By 2020 the Muslim world will have completed destroyed or converted all non-Muslim countries. AHAHAHAAA!!!! Hmm for a group reknowned for its patience in planning/executing attacks they seem a little over-ambitious in their timeline.

Yeah true. Plus giving away tickets is a great way to make new friends lol.

LOL good point! However, the MLB season has 162 games, and i thought all teams played 81 home and 81 away. Am i wrong? Or is nicky going to miss the home opener?

Well i must state that i wasn't referring specifically to the ad you linked, as it is among the tamer end of attack ads, but it is still rude and childish. I don't define what is garbage/lies, the facts do. The scientific method is usually never found anywhere in attack ads. They start at the level of theory and hypothesis and go directly to making conclusions, skipping the whole observation/testing phase ie: looking at evidence that may support or disprove their claims. Attack ads often conveniently leave out many facts and context. Well i suppose i just respectfully disagree on the whole concept of attacks ads. Your view is of course quite valid because attack ads do work and have become an effective political tool. But in my opinion, i see attack ads as childish insults thrown by different sides who are supposed to act like responsible adults and represent our country with dignity. But of course this is often not the case. I would have thought Question Period would give them all the time they needed to act like children.

In what way?

How could Zellers have competed realistically without substantially changing what types of things they sell, and therefore not being a Walmart competitor much at all? Zellers couldn't compete because Walmart had lower prices, along with having bigger stores that therefore offered more selection. Zellers could have increased the size of some of its stores, but what about the prices? Walmart (and Target) have lower prices because they have tons of stores and buy tons of goods from manufacturers in order to get them as such cheap prices. How can Zellers do that on Walmart/Target's scale? They can't, unless they went into the US and or other massive markets. Walmart of course also pays crap wages/benefits with no widespread unions. Not sure what Zellers/Target has re: unions.

The world would be a much, much better place is there were less guns. I win, please lock this thread now.

We need criticisms based on facts, not complete garbage and lies like the vast majority of attacks are based on. Attack ads only sway the ignorant who don't follow the news and know the actual facts. Yes they work, but in an often very dishonest (not to mention rude and uncivil) kind of way. Spare me. How i decide on candidates during election time: whenever possible, ignore most of what the lying scumbags say & promise, and judge them based on their past actions. Actions speak louder than words, and this is especially true regarding politicians.

And? What i said were "could have" scenarios, and i stipulated that so your point is moot. My point was that it's impossible to point blame at any one person unless we know more details. However, it is a shame the people who heard her cries did not help her. We can blame-game on that one. for sure.

Well the idea of adding to the debt entails that instead of hiking taxes to pay for the added pressure on the healthcare system, we would instead take on debt and pay off the debt with tax hikes over the longterm, and/or possible reallocation of resources/budget. I do think it's very likely to be a combo of tax hikes (whenever they occur) and deficit spending. When it all comes down to it, the baby boomers generation has not properly prepared for their coming health needs and it will be their children and grand children who will foot the bill.

true.

Yes, both points are likely with such a deal. I'm a massive, massive baseball fan, but even i couldn't stand to attend 80 ballgames a season. The thing is that teams play virtually everyday of the season (though of course half are road games) minus the occasional thursday and/or monday off for travel days, and the all-star break. I've gone to a bunch of games during a season. Even if you obsessed with a team, the hardest part is that games usually follow a 3-in-a-row format where you'll be stuck watching the same teams play each other 3 days in a row. Given that the average baseball game is about 3 hours long, doing the baseball season ticket thing can become a chore, especially during periods of hot/humid weather in the summer. It is an AMAZING great deal (i've never heard of anything like it at the MLB level, but of course you almost certainly won't attend even half of those games. So IMO maybe you'd be better off just buying individual seats in a better section but for less games. But anyways, have fun!!

By health care crisis, i of course refer to the fact that baby boomers are getting older and soon this large age group they will be jamming up the already-stressed public health-care system. Of the top of my head, i can think of 3 ways this can be dealt with: 1) Raise taxes 2) deficit spending and racking up the debt for a few more decades. 3) introduce substantial 2-tier healthcare I'm wondering what you think is most likely to occur? Or is there another obvious solution i missed? Personally i think it may be a combination of all 3. Though i would think #2 would be most likely. 2-tier will only happen if higher taxes and/or debt can't solve the problems.

That's a decent argument. But if i heard someone in distress outside my door, i would go help. From what CBC said, only 2 people heard her (if i recall right). This woman had dementia. One has to look at the husband, and why was this woman not in a long-term care facility? However, where i live there is very often a long wait time to get into a long-term care facility, whether private or public so it's hard to say if he was at fault at all. Also, one could also blame the woman herself depending on her situation. My grandmother has dementia, and in the early stages when she suffered the symptoms but still had most of her wits she refused to leave her home or make plans to have the problem taken care of properly. Point is, it's very hard to lay blame on any particular person(s) with this case without knowing her person situation.

Ditto. Thanks Greg.

Some people with lots of money just like their 12-ply toilet paper, imported french deodorant, and gold-plated toothbrushes.

It's incredibly hard to judge how "fiscally conservative" Harper is when he has only controlled minority govts. It would be difficult, i would imagine, for Harper to implement significant conservative economic legislation when all other parties in the House of Commons are left-wing economically. Also, the article doesn't mention how the CPC reduced the GST twice, and how they haven't brought in any kind of carbon tax.

Can you tell me specifically what the Harper gov did that caused this?

About what? That there a lot of sane people living on the streets? If so, i hope you're kidding.

I'm somewhat content with the current Conservative minority. Afghanistan is the biggest thing i disagree with on their part. The CPC/Harper have done/proposed some stupid things, but thankfully the other parties have provided a good check on many of them. The Liberals or CPC ruling in a majority scares the living heck out of me.

I also applaud the youth who wrote/support this. However, one big problem. It offers no real solution or call to action. They are sick and tired of everyone and everything...but what exactly are they going to do about? Speaking out is wonderful, but not enough. Maybe they should get out from behind their computer screens and go Gandhi on everyone.

Even though Zellers/HBC has been owned by US interests recently (which is kind of sad in itself, but i suppose is the nature of the beast), this story is still a bit of a sad for me. Despite the US ownership, Zellers is still a uniquely Canadian brand that has been around for a long time. But once Walmart came into Canada, the nail was in the coffin for Zellers. I'm actually surprised Zellers lasted this long. Since the Walmart invasion, most of the time the only reason i shopped at Zellers was that they had some different brands or the occasional good sale. Zellers just couldn't compete with Walmart's super-low prices. Ahh, i can still remember the days when K-Mart and Zellers were the go-to low-price department stores. This is a significant event in Canadian retail history. Walmart and Target are retail powerhouses with dirt-cheap prices, meaning it's just impossible for any Canadian company to compete unless they offer a significantly different product. With super Walmart's also popping up in Canada, this will also put more pressure (and money losses) on large "Canadian" store chains like Loblaws and Canadian Tire. Despite my Canadian sentimentalism, Zellers was already dying and Target is a really good store that will add true competition for Walmart here. I've shopped at Target a bunch of times. It's a similar type of store to Walmart and i don't find a huge difference besides some clothing, but most people i know prefer Target over Walmart. Better cash in your "Club Z" points people. "Where the lowest price is the law!"

Lesson to op-ed writer: don't judge Canadians based on a period of hockey mania. They tend to get drunk ans go crazy.