Wild Bill

Once again we see the failure of logic! You can logically prove anything if you don't have all the facts! Of course, it's not logic I'm slamming here. Many folks do not have enough info to hold a qualified opinion. However, they are reasonably bright and make the mistake of putting together what seems a logical argument from their perspective of ignorance. The idea of having a spare engine seems entirely logical to the uninitiated, who have no idea of how such engines or aircraft actually WORK or any direct, hands on experience! I remember how during the CB radio craze of the 70's how so many CB'ers would mount two antennae on their car. Invariably, if you asked them why they would tell you "Well, two gets out twice as good as one!" Having a fair bit of REAL technical understanding of such antennae, I knew that this was baloney! The idea of having two antennae came from big trucking rigs, who would mount their CB antenna on a side mirror. Because of the bulk of the trailer this would block the signal towards the other side. Having a second antennae on the other side would fill in the pattern. What's more, the way they were fed power would cause some phase difference, in that the pattern would no longer be circular but more of a "butterfly - figure 8", so that the antennae would work better front and back and less so to the sides. This meant better communication with other trucks up ahead, which was usually more important to a driver. Anyhow, one day a CB'er came into our local coffee shop. He pulled up in a Volkswagon beetle, with two florescent orange 9' CB whip antennae on the front bumper. It looked like a REAL beetle! He came swaggering in with a CB walkie talkie on each hip, with the whips extended! Everyone in line promptly moved away from him, for fear of getting poked in an eye. My friends at the table all hid smiles, knowing that I would not be able to resist. I waved at the gentleman and said "I see by your car you're a CB operator! I was wondering why you have 2 antennae?" The CB'er hitched up his pants, puffed out his chest and said in return "Well, of course 2 gets out twice as good as one!" I replied "Gee, then why don't you use 4? Or 8? Hey, with 16 I bet you could talk to Tierre Del Fuego!" The CB'er scowled, grabbed his coffee and stormed out the door, without a word. Looking back, I feel a bit sorry for him. He held a belief that seemed perfectly logical to one who had no actual knowledge of radio electronics. Few CB'ers actually did, since it was a service for operators, not technicians. If they actually know any electronics they tend to become ham radio operators. So, if two engines are safer why not install 4? Or 8? Or 16? Or a bigger gas tank so they don't run out and get stranded in the air!

Once again we see absurd attempts to make some kind of "moral equivalency". There is an Ultra-Orthodox segment of Israeli society. Once in a while one of them will get mouthy towards some woman for sitting at the front of a bus or at some woman on the street for the way she is dressed. Of course, these hard core types do not have Israeli law behind them and the women involved are free to tell them to piss off! The only cost is some aggravation or embarrassment to these women, which may be mitigated somewhat by telling the old buzzards to "go forth and multiply". Contrast this with the hard core Islamic fundamentalist countries or societies, where such fanatics DO have the force of Law behind them and if the woman involved was brave enough to tell them to piss off she might be stoned or even beheaded! Yessir, sure looks like Israel is just as bad as Taliban country to me!

If the price balloons like you say Topaz then Harper can simply bail out! There is no actual purchase order at this time, or for a few years to come! At present there is simply an agreement while the plane is being fully researched and developed. This agreement guarantees our place in the line. Without the agreement, we not only would go to the end of the line but we might not be allowed to buy any at all. So with no price commitment how are we at risk? Other than for the fact that there is NO other aircraft designed and available that can do what the F-35 can do? It truly is a case of the F-35 or nothing. Nothing truly useful, that is. Our politicians have a history of buying cheap biplanes when everyone else has monoplanes. Actually, I'm wrong! Chretien bought us more expensive helicopters that didn't work as well, just to avoid the Tory choice that he had cancelled!

I assume you asked them? Care to share the numbers of your poll?

That may be true officially but in practice it's just not so. I've been following politics here for 40 years. The NDP liked to present that picture of unity, distinct from the structure of the other parties. In practice, they were no different from any other party. Except of course when they wanted to distance themselves from Rae's Ontario term! They then would insist loudly to the high heavens that they were separate and different! I would think that the only communication between a Manitoba NDP government and their federal cousins would be a Christmas card.

Yes she did but no, that's a completely different story. This was a lady involved in the data management of the registry. And no, I'm not going to do all the googling. If you're interested, google yourself. Since I truly don't care if I convince anybody on this point I don't care to make the effort. I'm too old and fat to be a crusader for everything!

Perhaps you can correct my misunderstanding. I always thought that there was a fixed number of SCC judges at any given time. There would be issues arising and the SCC at that time would hear the case and deliver a ruling. At that point the issue was settled and that was the end of it. Are you telling me that ALL the judges that have sat over 25 years have ruled on the issue of oral history with natives? That every new SCC judge considers and renders his own opinion? That even the smaller number of judges who actually ruled on oral histories were unanimous? I must be missing something. This makes no sense. Surely you can enlighten me.

If you expect to "own" this forum you had better pull up your socks fast, Monty! So far you are doing a very poor job!

It just goes to show that even Supreme Court Justices can be blinded by political correctness as easily as anyone else! I doubt if it was a unanimous decision. Surely some of the judges must have recognized that by crediting oral history as equal to that of written, they had handed the natives a blank cheque. The natives could make any claim they wanted. How could anyone dispute it? Where is the opportunity for any verification? Apparently, native oral history is to be taken as gospel, with their honesty to be taken as an absolute! This to me makes no sense at all. I would no more accept oral history as I would the word of a politician! Whatever. It happened and up till now we've had to live with it. Still, if the issues ever became important enough another Supreme Court trial could be held. It's possible a new set of judges might reverse the decision. Surely these things are not cast in stone!

Oh, remember me for an old guy, AF! It was about 7-8 years ago, as I recall. I'm not firm on the date as I was more impressed with the fact that it happened. I'm just too old, fat and busy to google everything for everybody, especially when for many posters on this board (I'm sure you've already run into a few) they couldn't care if God himself was a witness and endorsed the account - they will never change their minds!

I just find that the sight of an attractive and curvy woman is both a delight and a comfort! If CC wins out it would be a bleak and cheerless world. He reminds me of some churches that don't believe in having sex while standing up, for fear it might lead to dancing.

Monty, I could accuse many on the left of exactly the same sort of thinking! They don't attribute anything to the influence of some Flying Spaghetti Monster or Sky Fairy but often they act EXACTLY the way you describe! Hell, with all the hype and hoopla over Jack Layton's death and funeral one might have thought they had better get him buried as soon as possible, since in 3 days he was going to rise again! Again, I fail to see how the religion factor is relevant. People believe in and do all sorts of cockamamie things, for cockamamie reasons. Religion is just another one on the list.

Well, there's really not much anybody can add, Monty! Are there religous intolerant wingnuts? Yes, of course there are. Do you have to be religious to be an intolerant wingnut? NO! So how is being religious even relevant to the discussion?

I think his main point is clear, CC. Being a poor speller may make his points hard to understand but it changes nothing as to their truth or falsehood. He asks what did the gun registry ever do to help stop crime? It's a valid question. It did nothing to keep the guns out of the hands of criminals. In fact, in some cases criminals gained access to the information in order to steal legal guns from homes! There was a scandal here in Ontario where one of the civil serpents involved in the data management had a Hell's Angel for a boyfriend. So it could be argued that the registry hurt more than it helped. Perhaps you have some concrete examples as to how the gun registry was effective in stopping crime you can share.

True, but the subsidiary company IS responsible for its own profit and loss! Surely no matter who owns them at higher levels they would react to a consumer boycott of THEIR products or service!

Again I disagree, CC. Katy IS a pop music "product", that's true. However, I would submit that ALL pop music is aimed at the pre-schooler market! She's not selling sex! You have to be adult to appreciate her sexual appeal! Katy Perry sells lunch boxes, and back packs for school books with her picture as an alternative to one of a Smurf! As your brain matures so do your tastes. By the time a kid's hormones kick in they no longer are an advertising target. Perhaps if you put aside your Walter Ostanek CD's you might notice these things...

I pretty much agree with everything you say. It's just that I can't get past the loss of jobs. It's hard to take advantage of a sale when you don't have any money anyway. Eventually things adjust. It's just that the rate of change has been such that many folks have not been able to adapt in time. Moreover, some traditional less expensive modes of living are now legislated away. In the 50's, many folks lived in boarding houses. Setting up such a house was much easier in those days. You just put a sign on your porch! Today you face so many local bylaws and regulations as to make it all but impossible. Watch old movies and tv shows from the early 50's and if you pay attention to the background you will see what I mean. In a Superman episode featuring "Professor SmartAss" as a character helping Superman solve a crime that particular day the good professor is shown living in a boarding house. For an older bachelor it was a common, practical and perfectly acceptable way to live. Much cheaper than even a small apartment. My point is that many of the less expensive factors of yore are no longer available to the average person today. Your income drops but achieving a compensating drop in expenses is not so easy.

Well, I DID read what you said! I read it again! Particularly these words: "And your attempt at separating the conservative right from christianity fails" What am I expected to think? You are the one implying that you CAN'T separate "the conservative right from christianity"!

You know, I've lost a few friends to mental illness and eventual suicide over the years. One common point that always struck me was how they lost their sense of humour. They could manage crude and rude sniggers but any sort of higher level humour shot right over them. What's more, they were totally incapable of taking a joke against themselves, no matter how light hearted and friendly. I've loved Blatchford's writing for about 30 years now. Those who claim she's not popular rarely can claim such a record for their own writing. Those that have such a record usually write for the CBC news hour, where popularity is irrelevant. What I find most appealing with Blatch is that she doesn't call a spade a spade, it's a f**king shovel! She has no time for politically correctness, from minds that are clouded by granola fumes!. She writes for the common man, the mainstream. Those expounders of political correctness never want to admit that their views are held by a minority. Their tactic is to pretend they have majority support and hold on long enough to start changing the minds of upcoming younger generations. The tactic seems to be rather successful, I must admit. Orwell was right, I suppose. All this male hugging is just more attempts to feminize men, to make male children more like girls so they will be easier for female teachers to handle. This is in response to the massive overuse of ADHD diagnoses and the SOP drugging of boy students. Teachers who lack the skills to properly educate young boys have found it easier to make them into young girls. In most big cities today this trend is impossible to fight. Those who disagree are entitled to at least make a few jokes about it. Anyhow, like my lost friends, those who are often the targets of her humour are incapable of even seeing the joke! To the common man, tv commercials for men's scented products ARE humorous! In the 416 area, they are a training film.

The Liberals enacted their Gun Registry Bill, which did not add a single day's sentence to any monkeyshine who actually USED a gun in a commission of a crime! Yet for an honest citizen to fail to register meant a sentence more harsh than that typically given to said monkeyshine robbing a variety store with a handgun. To me, this spoke volumes about the real aims of the gun registry and the actual character and values of those supporting it. In all these years I have heard NOTHING from the gun registry supporters about increasing the punishment for illegal use of a firearm! There must be something wrong with their heads! A justice system with no true deterrence cannot possibly work. A system that targets the innocent instead of the guilty will never command respect.

Reminds me of the mid 70's, when I was working for bands on the road, jbg. It was common knowledge to be very careful playing any gigs in Quebec. It wasn't the people. They were great! Especially if you were a progressive rock band. Play a Yes or Genesis tune in a bar and the people would catch all your mistakes! No, it was the cops! Despite the huge demand for Anglo bands from outside Quebec, the Quebec musician's union had their nose out of joint. They wanted only Quebec bands for Quebecois. What the Quebecois kids actually wanted was beside the point. They were expected to let their betters know what was good for them. Anyhow, what brought it to a head for my crowd was when they played a gig in Hull. In the early morning hours the cops broke in the doors to the band's rooms and hauled them all away, claiming there were drugs. The cops did indeed have a bag of drugs, but it didn't belong to anyone in the band. They all knew the corrupt reputation of the Quebec police and had been careful to not carry even any Tylenol! Yet this bag not only carried some marijuana and a few hits of acid but also a motley collection of relatively rare and varied drugs, some of which our crowd had never even heard! The boys were thrown in a cell. They were denied any phone calls or any contact with friends or family. They went home on bail and had to return a couple of months later for trial. Anyhow, when the trial began the cops found they had a big problem. Several of the waitresses had been still awake and had been keeping an eye on the band's bus, for fear of any thievery. They saw a man with a big dark coat break into the bus. He was carrying a paper bag with him and he was only on the bus for a moment. When he left, oddly enough he was no longer carrying the bag! About 15 minutes later the police stormed the bus and left carrying the bag! We never knew for sure if the judge was in on it but he made a big production of dressing down the cops before he dismissed the charges. We suspected it was all an act but we had no way of knowing for sure. Anyhow, the Quebec police and the Quebec musicians' union actually won, since word quickly spread and few bands from outside Quebec were willing to take any gigs there.

Agreed! If the NDP were to allow the Manitoba provincial party to control its federal cousin they might actually be able not only to win but to do a reasonable job!

Merry Christmas, Jack! Tonight I'll hoist a wee dram of The Glenlivet in you honour!

That still doesn't explain why on earth you would think Brian Mulroney was my hero! What could you have ever heard me say that would imply that? Or are you one of those who label people, so that if I haven't drank YOUR guy's KoolAid then I must support his enemy? As for Rae, I was there and I saw it all. I'm entitled to my opinion the same as you. The fact that I disagree doesn't make me evil, or you either. What do you think this is, rubble.com? Perhaps you are too young to know that saying that a Reformer loves Brian Mulroney is like claiming an NDP supporter loves Mike Harris! If you are so new perhaps you should investigate a bit more before you start making wild,baseless and insulting accusations.

I'd like to do the same with any business that openly supports the NDP or is owned by an NDP supporter. Unfortunately, there aren't any! They drove them all into bankruptcy, by not having the faintest clue how business works!