Wild Bill

You're probably right about that, too! Again, my friend, so what? Things are what they are! Deal with it! You sound like Rush Limbaugh - all wound up because things aren't "the way they OUGHT to be!". If you want to succeed, never be a rock against the waves. You only get gradually worn down. Be a surfboard!

That's one POV, Doc! I'm not so sure it's entirely accurate. I believe that countries like Greece couldn't wait to join the EU! It gave them access to a great deal of credit! The politicians driving the EU never gave much thought to the disparate economic attitudes. They simply thought that the bigger their union the better! So Greece and others join up and instantly are handed a giant VISA card, which they promptly maxed out as fast as they could! Perhaps that VISA was indeed backed by "loan sharks", as you repeatedly have implied but still, that doesn't change the fact that they went crazy with it! I don't think countries like Greece, Portugal and a few others should ever have been ALLOWED to join the EU! I also think Margaret Thatcher saw this clearly and was right to try to keep Britain out of as much of the mess as possible.

August, times have changed! Harper has proven that a party can win a majority without Quebec! Quebec IS a very different culture with very different values. Unfortunately, those values seem to be unique and not shared by most of TROC. Quebecers may have made themselves irrelevant.

Jack, even if you're right, what the hell does that have to do with the price of beer? Do you seriously think all those rural folks are gonna blame Samuels and Stronach? Do they even know who those guys are? Come into the real world, my friend! They will be mad at Dalton - and you know it!

The talking heads have been painting the Greeks choices as vote for the austerity measures in order to get all the financial help or vote against them and try to go their own way, accepting the hardships involved. I don't believe in either of these choices! They sound too rational, too contrary to human nature. I believe that the Greek people will reject the austerity measures and go their own way, only they don't believe they will face any hardships of consequence! I think they mostly think they can tell the bankers to screw off and things will still be fine! When things DO get painful they will likely throw a few riots and blame their political leaders for doing what they demanded they do! THAT'S human nature! Some may call be cynical, but I will keep a list of all who do and remind them if I am proven right!

Perhaps you are more right than you know, Cap! I just spent over 6 weeks at a part-time job for a call centre, calling up businesses all over Ontario to try to get them to sponsor various charity events, like the Shriners' Circus and the like. It was an education indeed. I am convinced that Ontario is already in a recession that is going to get very ugly very quickly! Each week I talked to hundreds of companies, mostly smaller ones like auto garages, body shops, barbers and machine shops. Pickings were extremely poor! Virtually all these companies have pulled in their horns, with business so poor they are hanging on by their fingernails. Many were closing the doors or moving out of the province. A couple in Niagara were moving across the border into upper NY because they could not afford all the increases in the price of electricity since McGuinty came to power. Sometimes the stories would tear your heart out, as a man who had ran a family business for maybe 30 years was being forced to close it, leaving no legacy for his family. Also, no equity to fund any retirement, since who would buy up a business that could no longer be profitable? In the time I spent at the job I don't think I talked to ANY business in Ontario that was doing well! Anything to do with manufacturing, either directly or support, is particularly hard hit. So I would not be surprised if Dalton and his party would like to get out while the gettin's good! They squeaked out their win last time and are well aware that hard times will become obvious in the media very soon. Better to go for an election now! Even if they don't win they will be in better shape for the next one. It will be Hudak who inherits all the pain and woe. Most people don't have the insight to understand that it will have taken some years of mistakes under Liberal rule to cause such a recession. They will simply note that the hardships occurred under Hudak's watch and blame HIM for all of it! The Toronto Star and like-minded talking heads will all lead the charge, of course. After all, he IS a Tory! I really think that Dalton doesn't want to face what's coming. The strategy will be to step out and let Tim take all the heat, then wage their next campaign blaming the Tories for the recession. The sad thing is, it very well might work!

I find it interesting Peeves but I cannot watch the event! I could not bear to see someone get hurt. I don't even slow down to gawk at traffic accidents. I just move past as quickly as I can. I have lost friends and family over the years. I know the pain. I can't but help thinking that those who have a fascination for such things must be a bit sick, if the truth be told. I wish him luck! I'm glad Niagara Falls will get a nice shot in the economy arm. Still, I'll wait till afterwards to be sure the guy is ok!

Panicky? Please, Bubber! Let's stay in the real world here! The NDP have as much chance of displacing the Tories next election as Mulroney making a comeback! I can understand hope for your team but that's like thinking the Leafs are going to win the cup! Those hopes have been dashed every year since 1967 yet every year we hear the same cries of hope with no evidence or reason to back it up. The Tories support is far more committed than that of any other party. Do you really think they are going to wake up some morning and say "Gee! I've been wrong all my life! I'm gonna vote socialist!"

PIK, you are absolutely right but so are the Lefties! It IS a trivial matter! Still, every time Harper or some other Tory-type makes a similar gaffe many Leftie posters DO try to paint it as a crime against the Universe! Mike Harris ordered the OPP to shoot all the natives at Ipperwash, don't you know? Just for the fun of it! There's no point in arguing. The type of thinker who does this is incapable of seeing the world as it is. They paint their enemies like a cartoon caricature that they think is reality. You can't expect a man with no legs to dance for you. Likewise, those who think this way are incapable of seeing their own fault. Just move on, my friend! Just move on!

Our problem is that we are entering a world where the status quo for fighter aircraft technology includes many new things, especially stealth technology. From now on, any fighter aircraft without stealth technology in a fighter zone might as well fly with big bullseyes on its wings! So far, nobody seems to have found ANY alternate planes that feature these new technologies. To make it even more difficult, Canada has old planes at the moment and wishes to buy on the leading edge of what is available, so that they can get at least 30 years of service out of them. Actually, if we do what we have always done before it will be at least 50 years before we replace the planes we buy now! So we have limitations on our choices. We also have to have NATO compatibility, so that our planes can be serviced on any NATO airfield. If we buy Swiss or worse yet Soviet or Chinese, we are totally on our own, which is not just very inconvenient but very, very expensive in a combat theatre. I fully expect that by the time we get through all the procrastination and debate it will be over 30 year from now. We will have to scrap everything we have looked at and start fresh with the technology existing at that time. Also, I have no doubt we will still be flying those SeaKings!

Why should he be the first?

So since you don't approve of America's motives, what DO you suggest? A lot of people, including women and children are dying. Are you suggesting they should just continue to be killed until someone you approve of comes along to save them? You realize that in order for you to take your moral high ground innocents must die?

Not entirely! I have been following Ezra for years and while he is undeniably a showman and a gadfly his philosophies are clearly expressed. He has never been a true Libertarian by my light. He has always seemed a Conservative! Again, what high profile Libertarian examples do we have in Canada? I can't think of any. Libertarianism is really just Classic Liberalism. I don't know if we've EVER had examples of that in Canada! Certainly, our Liberal Party has never exhibited that persuasion. So far, no one has yet to answer my question about other Libertarian examples. Most of us inclined to Classic Liberalism have always been forced to support the Conservatives, as they have some slight agreement with that philosophy. Not very much, but still it's something! The NDP are of course socialists and the Liberals have never seemed to be clearly and definitely much of anything! They have always been a brokerage party, having few or no firm principles and willing to appear to be whatever they think will win them an election.

Well, that is answered by my philosophy of "Utilitarianism", or believing and supporting what WORKS! We all have justifications for our actions. Sometimes we must compete against others, even unto violence if the stakes are high enough. My principles tell me to care bout my own family and society first. Those of allied countries follow. Those of rival countries are far down the line and those of enemies are lost in the distance! If some countries commit violence against my country I feel no obligation to care for their people. It is THEIR responsibility to care for their OWN people! My charity extends to what we can afford and to those we consider allies. It is impossible at present to save the whole world! Especially those in countries ruled by guns. I support avoiding violent conflicts but if they must occur, then I only care about my own country's interests! I couldn't care less who is "morally" right or if the enemy has a valid motivation. I want MY country to win and MY people to survive! No matter what academic opinion is expressed about the motivations of who are defined as our "enemy" I still feel that it is important to stand up for and protect our own! If someone has to die I want it to be the enemy, not us! I support any and all attempts at peace but never sacrificing Canadian lives or livelihood for abstract principles, particularly when dealing with others who would not reciprocate!

You are rather vague! Who are you citing as official enemies? Lists may differ. I could assume you meant countries like China. If you had read my posts over the past months and years you would have known that I try to avoid Chinese products as much as I can. It's a real world and sometimes I have no other choices but simply avoiding WalMart goes a long way. I have also called many times for "green" tariffs against countries like China, Russian and India which have virtually no anti-pollution costs to their manufacturing. In my own city of Hamilton I have seen the local steel companies spend millions upon millions to clean up their manufacturing processes. This of course adds to the cost of every ton of steel. Meanwhile, countries like those I mentioned freely compete against our domestic steel plants without such costs, making them MUCH more competitive. If just as an example those "Green" costs for our plants amount to an extra $10 or whatever per ton, I would champion charging a $10 per ton tariff on steel from China, Russia or any other such country. I also read the can labels when I buy groceries. I avoid many foreign products but especially any food that comes from China. There have been too many poisoning incidents. While we're at it, we should get serious about all the Chinese industrial spies who come here as students. I don't mean to single out China but I have never been able to get that picture of the brave young man standing in front of the tank in Tiananmen Square out of my head! Does that answer your question? If not, please be a bit more specific.

No, I think that not wanting someone like Ezra to be allowed to be an MP is "banning all contrary opinions". My own life experience has shown me that group think is seen with people of all persuasions but politically, it seems to be stronger on the left. That is NOT to say it is unknown on the right! Perhaps it is simply part of human nature. A very unfortunate part of human nature. I've caught myself doing it a few times in my life. I considered it a fault with myself to be corrected. Sadly, there are many people who see nothing wrong with having their entire group all think the same! I believe they are not really rational, but rather "religious". They do not have considered opinions but just "faith".

Hey, who else have we got? If we chewed it over long enough we MIGHT come up with ONE in our politics but I don't think we could ever name 3!

Maybe! That might not be entirely a bad thing. One of the worst things that can happen to any organization is too much "group think". When everyone all thinks the same way they are no better at coming up with solutions than just one of them as an individual. The idea of a governing or managing group is that many viewpoints working together will knock the rough edges off an idea, stripping away negatives that won't work and accentuating positives that will. After all, anyone with hair in their ears can spit out an idea but that doesn't mean it will actually work! Let a group of people of varied experience and viewpoints gnaw on it and you are far more likely to come up with something useful in the real world. Ezra has ideas and opinions quiet different than someone like Mulcair. However, unlike many Lefties who seem to think that anyone who disagrees with them is not only dead wrong but likely evil, I believe that we need BOTH in any Parliament! It's amazing how many criticize the Tories for having a majority and being a tyranny yet see nothing wrong with banning all contrary opinions to their own.

You're right in principle Waldo but I think it goes a bit deeper. What choices does the US have? What alternatives? They have an insatiable thirst for oil and its byproducts in order for their people to have a job, eat, keep themselves warm and so on. It's all very well to call for "green alternatives" but politically this is almost an impossible sell, since so far no one has found any that are painless and can be implemented in a few weekends. Polls may show that people think they want their country to go green but if it costs their job or hurts them financially they immediately refuse the sacrifice. This is not really hypocrisy. It's tough to stand on principles when your kids are hungry. So if a politician tries to go down this path he will be turfed out next election! As Machiavelli wrote long ago, the first duty of the Prince is to stay in power, for otherwise he has no influence at all. I would agree that politicians should at least try to take some slower but positive steps to get their country(s) out of this paradigm but brainpower and vision is not really part of their skillsets to get their jobs! Look at McGuinty! I'm willing to believe that he genuinely thought he was speaking truth when a year or two ago he stood up and told us we were going to replace all those lost manufacturing jobs with those making wind turbines. He just didn't have the background to properly understand all the factors. At the same time, he had Samsung salesmen crawling all over him, telling him things would be just marvelous! You may have read in another post of mine that I took a part time job at a call centre, phoning up Ontario businesses to ask for support for various charity events. The job just ended. The provincial economy appears to be so bad that the pickings are just too poor to maintain staff levels. Anyhow, I spoke to two businesses in the Niagara Region that were based around bending thick metal into other shapes, using big machines that needed a great deal of electricity to do the job. Over the past few years their electrical costs have nearly tripled! When I talked to them they were in the process of moving across the border to the other side of the Niagara River. They simply could no longer be profitable with the cost of electricity here in Ontario. I really don't have much faith in any political solution to energy costs and pollution reduction measures. That is because they are inherently driven by politicians. IMHO, virtually all politicians have only an academic's perspective on technical issues. They are like a teacher who has never actually done something himself but thinks he grasps all the nuances because he has read some textbooks! So most of what is happening now is just "busy work". Voters want to see their political leaders supporting "green" ventures. Unfortunately, most voters have no idea if any such venture is practical or cost-effective. They also never go back in a couple of years and audit any progress, or lack of it. It is mere symbolism for votes, not actual solutions. However, I do have confidence that these problems WILL be solved! Just not the way things are happening right now. Look at how some of those European countries have had to shut down wind turbines because they could not make them self-sustaining without heavy subsidies that those countries can no longer afford. No, the solutions are going to come from technical breakthroughs! The market desire for green solutions is quite real. People DO want a cleaner planet! They just don't want to be impoverished if they move in that direction. So technically based industries are well aware that if they can come up with cost-effective and competitive products they will be guaranteed sales and profits. I've no doubt that they have been investing large sums of money into R & D. As the fruits of their efforts come on stream we will move faster and faster in a positive, "green" direction. Sooner or later some techie sporting a pocket protector is going to make a GIANT breakthrough! We will get clean, safe fusion power or perhaps a solar cell that IS efficient enough to be competitive. Or better yet, superconductor electrical transmission lines or best of all, a large scale electrical storage medium! Such breakthroughs will solve huge percentages of green issues almost overnight. It is impossible to predict the actual timing of inspiration with a technical breakthrough but "steam engine time" will ensure that when the necessary base of information and research is working on something, somebody somewhere will achieve a breakthrough. (Unless it is genuinely impossible, of course!) When these breakthroughs happen they will make all the "busy work" that went on before a total waste of time and money! Having all the men in a village put out fires by pissing on them becomes a drop in the ocean when someone invents a hydraulic pump!

You do understand that Islam is NOT like Catholicism or most other religions? There is no overall "Pope" or ruling council. Instead they have autonomous communities, that may have very different attitudes or opinions. What's more, some extremist sects hold that it is not a sin to lie to an infidel, particularly in the furtherance of Islam. I do agree with you that the mullahs are afraid of the younger, western-oriented younger demographic in their society. Still, they control the military and that's effective control indeed.

There are two possible explanations for this. The first is that there is something wrong with my capability to understand your argument. The second is that perhaps there are flaws in YOUR argument! Or maybe the real explanation is a combination of both! I am perfectly willing to admit that I can (and sometimes am) wrong about something. As a Lefty, are you ALLOWED to do the same? :P

So you are saying that it is in our own interest to give them money so that they can enjoy a lot more stat holidays than we do? BTW, Harper was seeking more trade with Europe because up till now we do very little. If Europe goes under perhaps our low volume of trade with them would mean the effect on our economy would not be as large as you suggest. I still don't understand all the ramifications of your argument. It seems to me that you are suggesting that simply keeping a lot of trade activity happening is all that is important. If that were all that was necessary for a successful economy couldn't we just draft everyone into the Post Office and grow rich sending letters to each other? Someone needs to sell. That someone needs to get paid. If he has to give a debtor the money to pay him back I don't see how that can work. If the debtor can pay his debts with devalued dollars I don't see how that can work either. And I still think that we all have an obligation not to take on more debt than we can afford. Did those European bankers put guns to the head of Greek politicians and FORCE them to borrow their money?

How in hell did you take my post to involve morals? If you give money to someone who will simply use it to extend or repeat his negative behaviour, you will never accomplish anything positive. Bailing out Greece without forcing them to become fiscally responsible will only mean that in a few years they will need another bailout, then another. You are talking about being an enabler, as with an alcoholic. He has run out of money. You want everyone to give him some. If they do, he will only get drunk again. That all seems simple logic to me. How the hell do you make that into a morality argument? I would think that championing being an enabler would not be a good moral position for you to take.

Are those the real choices? How about don't give the kid any more money so he can't afford to keep buying matches?

Say what you like, but what I hear is real. Ontario business is hurting badly. You suggested raising corporate taxes, which would kill them even faster. I am not giving an academic opinion. I am talking to literally hundreds of them every week! Perhaps you are in a better position to know what is happening. Or do you merely read a few labour pamphlets? This is as simple and as obvious as the sun rising in the east. I cannot help but wonder if there is more to why you propose such a thing...