Moonlight Graham

I disagree. The spill may affect many Canadians if the oil leaks into municipal water supplies. It has also stopped trade with ships being unable to go through the Seaway locks.

Are you kidding me? Your article won't load for me for some reason. But are you saying because of Bangladesh and Iran, this is proof that the global pop won't continue to grow? From the book i'm looking at right now (printed in 2008 by Oxford University Press, using stats from the UN), it says that the data says the global population has quintupled since the early 1800's, and is expected to grow from 6 billion in 1999 to 10 billion in 2050. It also says over 50 percent of this increase is expected to occur in only 7 countries: Bangladesh, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Nigeria, and Pakistan. Hey, maybe the situation in Bangladesh has changed. But does that mean its changed in the other countries? You ask to explain Bangladesh? Well since i cant access the article, what is its explanation for the pop growth change given in the article? It also seems weird to me the pop situation would change that drastically there in only a handful of years.

This is correct. The world produces much more food than humanity actually needs right now, yet many people still starve. The problem of starvation is not overpopulation, it is the distribution of available food and those who can and cannot afford it. The UN Food and Argriculture Organization (FAO) estimates that although there is enough grain alone to provide everyone in the world with 3600 calories a day, which is 1200 calories more than the UN`s recommended minimum daily intake. Despite this, there are still over 800 million significantly hungry people in the world. The third world is where the majority of the world`s hungry live and where overpopulation is exploding, yet it is also where most of the world`s food is produced, while those who consume the most live in the Western/developed world.

No, the retard voters are the ones who value the politicians they'd prefer to "have a beer with" above how competent a politician they would be and their views on policies etc.

Like Bill Gates? Steve Jobs? I'll agree with people about high IQ's doesn't = good politician. I suppose in the OP i should have said "great leaders" like CEO's etc., not just "great minds". Though i think a great political leader needs to be well educated and informed, not necessarily brilliant.

This issue has been back in the news lately...or at least on CNN. One thing that has popped in my mind is: wouldn't preventing this mosque going up be unconstitutional according to the 1st ammendment? Freedom of religion, & freedom of speech. Certainly it would be if the state prevented the mosque from being built.

How is the U.S. system "profoundly broken", beyond the things i mentioned? How is Canada's system much better? IMO the Canadian system is profoundly broken, and nearly impossible to fix without bringing about even more problems. I don't like having an unelected monarchy as our head of state, but turning Canada into a republic would have repercussions and cause possible deadlock between the PM and an elected president if they are from different parties. Our PM has way too much power for a large variety of reasons, ie: tight control over his party MP's & lawmaking ability since PM is a member of the legislature, PM appoints all federal judges, PM appoints all senators etc. Responsible gov't is nice, but that paired with having the PM as a member of the legislature means power and independence is taken away from individual MP's and turning them into trained clapping seals. I much prefer the separation of powers of the US. Our Senate is also virtually useless, and reforming it is a monumental task which would likely cause more problems that it solved. It's actually amazing our system has works as well as it has given its flaws.

Ya, in the video map i originally linked you can see a lot of British tests in the outback, especially early in its testing. The rest seemed to be tested mostly in the Pacific and a few in the U.S. deserts. You can also see France test a bunch of bombs in northern Africa early in its testing as well. It's crazy in the video when the testing increases big-time between the USSR and USA during the early 60's, then drop to nothing after 1991. Also funny watching the map video when India tested like 1 or 2 bombs in the 70's, then didn't test any for a few decades until Pakistan tested their bomb in the 90's then India reacts by testing a few more of their own just to show that they still have the bomb.

Very true. It's one of the reasons why having elected representatives is a good idea, as they can devote their day jobs to keeping up with this stuff. Working 8+ hours a day at an everyday job, spending an hour in rushhour traffic...then coming home and having to take care of a couple kids, making dinner, spend time with the wife, and take a few minutes to just relax doesn't leave a lot of time for hardworking adults with families to stay on top of the news as well as they should. MP's etc. do this for us, and vote for us in Parliament. I would agree. However, a huge amount of the electorate chooses not to vote anyways. About 60% of voters turned out last election, so near 40% of the most apathetic and to a large degree the most uninformed voters didn't vote (though i realize some informed people don't vote, and some uniformed do vote also). What form of gov't would i like? Something that fused the best of the presidential-congressional system of the U.S. with the Westminster system we have. The U.S. system is fundamentally very well conceived, better than the Westminster system for sure IMO, but i would change it by making it easier to get rid of the executive (as our system of responsible gov't does with a minority gov't). I'd also make much stricter campaign finance laws, since big business & interests have severely corrupted that system. Maybe i'd add a few more judges to the Supreme Court also, and of course get rid of the 2nd Amendment.

See my response above. Because of responsible government in the Canadian system, our government simply could not function with any stability without political parties. How does a government keep the confidence of the House with 308 independently voting MP's? Minority governments mean frequent enough elections in Canada as it is!

Sure the voters could elect more independents, but no matter how many they voted in the system would still be controlled by the parties. "Responsible government" is one of the major reasons for the rigid party discipline in Canada's system. It's unrealistic to think an independent would be chosen by a PM to sit in cabinet and be a part of the ruling government, or even be PM (HA!) unless they swore their soul and all their votes to that party (effectively not making them an independent). And what if a lot of independents were elected, enough to form a government? That government wouldn't last very long because during a confidence vote such as the budget or throne speech, the government filled with independents would be at great risk to lose the confidence of the House if the independent MP's voted on their own and not as a group, leading to frequent elections and a feeble grasp on power vs more organized/disciplined parties. Only a government made up of a group of MP's that votes together with tight discipline can maintain the confidence of the House during repeated confidence votes, thus the importance of parties in our system. If people did vote more independents in, they would have to be ok with the fact that they likely would never be a part of a ruling government, and more often than not have little effect on the balance of power in the House.

I think you hit the nail on the head Borg. This is true, Canadians vote in politicians who lie to them with promises, and they don't vote for guys who tell it straight and tell the truth. They'll re-elect people like Chretien (i'll get rid of the GST!) and McGuinty even though they are lying sacks of crap. Seems Canadian voters have a short-term memory.

Ya, if the intl community won't bother going into the Sudan to actually stop the genocide, there's no way they're going to bother going in there to arrest this guy. But at least the ICC actually admits its freaking genocide. Geez louise.

The Britain tests, if you look at the video, occur from the 60's into the 80's. Maybe before that, i don't remember. Letting another country test nukes on your land? Now that's a pal! The amount of nukes dropped in Nevada/New Mexico is crazy. Makes me never want to step foot near there! Must be AT LEAST 600 tests in that area.

Yup, RIP George. My long fav fact pointed out again in your article is that George & partners bought the Yanks for only 10 million bucks back in 1973. Talk about a great investment!! I bet if the recession ended today the Yanks could be sold for darn near a billion.

Very cool video of all confirmed (according to the artist's source) nuke explosions from 1945-1998. Interesting are all the purple dots (Britain tests) that were done in the south-west U.S., which i never knew happened. http://www.geekosystem.com/every-nuclear-explosion-time-lapse/

Like any Canadian on these boards, it's glanced my mind a few times what it would be like to run for political office (especially at the federal level). But these dreams are quickly forgotten when i remember the kind of political system we have, and how individual MP's must check much of their independence and regard for their constituents at the door when elected and must tow the party line, are not allowed to speak publicly against their party's policies and often must "pretend" (aka lie) to the press in support their leader's/party's policies (whether they agree or not), and the great majority of the time must vote with their party despite what an MP or his/her constituents think on matters. This is no secret about the way the Canadian political system functions. I would imagine this strict party discipline frustrates many potential political candidates (many much more qualified than myself lol), and i sometimes wonder how much our system turns off some of the best and brightest minds of our country from pursuing public office. The pathetic group currently occupying the House of Commons (in all parties) makes me feel that this country must have much better leaders employed in other fields (yes i realize most of them are happy in the private sector making lots more $$$). So do you think our system that encourages strict party discipline keeps many great minds out of politics in Canada? Also, if you ran or were elected as an MP, do you think it would it frustrate you?

Your PERSONAL issues Score is 70% Your ECONOMIC issues Score is 30% Liberal: Pretty much bang-on i guess.

I went to Wal-Mart about a month ago and bought a DVD player. They pointed out to me that they had to charge an extra 2-3 bucks or so for an "environmental disposal" fee or some crap they told me. I had no idea if this was a Wal-Mart thing or a gov't thing. Now i'm hearing stories about this eco-tax crap, which is likely what it was for.

What about natives?

No, i think it can proven through science that they don't exist. We have explored virtually the entire earth, and never found leprechauns or any evidence they may exist. With God, we have yet to explore the edges of the universe or beyond our universe. Something may have created this universe, whether it be a God or some other powerful being in a labcoat. We do not have the technological means to prove or disprove it.

Probably the biggest thing for me against the CPC & Harper has been the ramp up in Afghanistan and their overall policy there. With the Liberals (Iggy and also Rae i believe) saying they wish to have troops stay in the area after 2011 to train Afghan forces, i'm now less keen on the Liberals. Way to differentiate yourselves Libs.

Check again in 20 years.

Interesting info, thanks. From what it sounds the area you were in was pretty crazy. We don't really hear much of the day-to-day goings-on of whats going on over there, as it really isn't "news" until there is a big offensive, a bombing, or a soldier dies etc. I think any informed person on the war over there knows we aren't winning. Seems like we've been treading water for the majority of the time we've been there, and politically the situation there seems to be deteriorating. Canada's longest war hurray!

You're an American?