Wild Bill

Well, it probably would be good for our health. We'd all fall asleep by 9:30 pm. If I had nothing but "Little Mosque On the Prairie" I'd probably hang myself, like the passenger in "Airplane" who hangs himself to keep from hearing the lead character, Ted Striker, spill out his life's story. New specialty channel for Canadian cable -"Watching Paint Dry!"

But that's NOT what you did! Your points were NOT facts! They were points of disagreement or argument! YOU used them in your "mocking" as if they WERE facts! It totally took the sting out of your mockery and reflected it back on yourself! It made you appear dogmatic. I thought I was the only one on this board old and self-centred enough to be dogmatice!

Sometimes! I've been learning from Oleg! Actually, I was implying how some of my fellow citizens appear to think and also what part of the social and political spectrum they often appear to come from. In my youth I worked on a lot of construction sites and later with engineers and other technical persons. I can't recall even ONE who would have had a disparaging thought about our soldiers or would have begrudged them decent pay and equipment! However, when I went to McMaster I heard such talk on campus so often it was considered mainstream thought, like the sun rising in the morning! Granted, those were the Viet Nam war times and there was a lot of spillover from American culture but still, I've been back to that campus and that of other universities over the years, along with what I catch in the media and it seems that school of thought is still alive in many places today.

Probably not! It seems like countries break trade agreements all the time. Look at the European agriculture subsidies, especially with France, where farmers will bring Molotov cocktails into the city at the drop of a hat! Of course, Canada doesn't like to have it LOOK like we're breaking agreements so something may give. The issue seems to be about the associated electronic equipment, like inverters to bring the solar panel voltage from low level DC to higher level AC. This are rather simple devices that even a hobbyist could make. To restrict them to only "Made in Canada" is like passing a law saying light dimmers must only be made in Canada. However, this is very important to the Liberals! Dalton has pinned his reputation on bootstrapping FIT and MicroFit programs into a brand new, "lots or great paying jobs" industry. If he wins the next election he will keep the artificial subsidies rolling. If he loses it will be easy for Hudak to can them as having no real-world benefit and in reality stealing money from taxpayers for no true benefit, which actually is the way it really is! If Dalton wins but loses the lawsuits, he can blame "evil globalistic corporations" and make accusations of other countries being unfair, without of course naming any specifically so as not to make the squabbles with those countries escalate any higher. It's rather a con game dependent on the overall economy. If Dalton can stall long enough for the economy to recover people will stop asking him embarrassing questions. Nobody cares when we're flush and not hurting!

That's it in a nutshell, I guess. Some folks are just totally incapable of understanding the military and the people in it. They'd never be so impolitic to say it but secretly they believe that soldiers are rather on the dumb side and just like to fight! So they signed up for the great pay! I mean , if they were really intelligent they would have gone to university and taken Arts courses, right?

You are making an assumption. In who's view were his comments over the edge? Perhaps they were not, in the view of any reasonable person. However, the lesbians in question may not be reasonable. They could have had chips on their shoulders. Or perhaps, they had heard through the grapevine of how HRCs work and saw a chance for some free money! After all, they didn't have to contribute anything to have their case prosecuted. To them, it was a freebie! "does anyone here know, not likely they just spout off making assumptions..."

I've never understood how all these "drama queens" got the idea that rich people and corporations are deliberately "keeping them down". In reality, rich people and corporations never think of people as individuals! They think of them as markets. If you are not in their market demographic then you are irrelevant to them. So what's really going on is that some poor folks are buying into the idea of 'entitlement', where they think they are poor because someeone is stealing their share. Now, there are some pretty huge assumptions here. First off, where is it written that there is some big bag of goodies and a system that doles it out to each individual? Far as I know, there is no such bag! We fill our OWN bag with the products of our own work! If we don't work, the bag stays empty. If there is no job for someone with our skill sets, it is up to us to upgrade our skill sets. We can't expect a company to stay in business building buggy whips forever. If everyone who complains about China having stolen so many jobs took the trouble to read the label on that can of beans they buy at the supermarket and stop buying Chinese products then a lot of those jobs would come back! Sure, it's not always easy to avoid Chinese stuff but it's not a case of a perfect boycott or nothing! A sincere effort will change things dramatically! Second, it seems to be human nature to favour a conspiracy as an explanation for not having something. We don't have free power because "someone" is hiding Tesla's notes. "Someone" is hiding the secret of a 200 mpg carburetor. "Someone" is keeping me poor. A conspiracy means someone is in control of the situation and therefore could possibly be induced, by force or if necessary coercion, to change their mind. As opposed to no one being in control except yourself. That would mean you can't argue or force someone. You have to do it all yourself. Lastly, if a conspiracy is aimed at you then you must be important in some way. If no one cares the blow to one's self-worth seems more than most of us can stand! There must be a stage where we can feel important! No stage, no drama, no sense of self-worth. As I said, it's just human nature.

Shame on you, Oleg! It's common knowledge that the biggest boosters of gay rights are the Arab states in that region! If Israel decides to go down that road we all know that the Palestinians and other Arab radicals will lay down their weapons and offer Israel a big hug!

Tell it to the citizens of Caledonia! There's always the official line and then there's the real world...

This doesn't make sense! China had NO carriers and not much of a navy. NOW she has a carrier, albeit a modest one and a respectable number of naval vessels. She is in the process of building more. Doesn't this indicate, er...um....eh....what's the word? Oh yeah, a TREND? Now why would they want to do such a thing? As for defending ourselves by boycotting them with our resources so they can't build anything to attack us, I didn't realize that our country had an exclusive monopoly on such resources! Other countries must cry in their beer every night that they are unable to compete with us. Canada is enjoying a HUGE balance of trade difference with every other country in the world! My God, are we rich or what? If a kid in your neighbourhood starts to walk around with a baseball bat, is it paranoia to worry a might? Especially when he has not always been the nicest kid? Is it not only prudent to take at least a few small steps to defend yourself? You know what they call the kids who don't, who simply assume the kid is always going to be nice? "Whacked in the head!" That's what they call them!

Guyser, You throw these last points out as if it's a given they're just silly stereotypes that your opponent must be an idiot to believe. Sez who??!! There are a LOT of people who believe those points, are intelligent and well-informed and there have certainly been enough threads on MLW to show that! Do you think that if you keep dropping such assumptions that sooner or later the world will just accept and believe them?

"silly emotional attachment"? That's your opinion and you're entitled to it. So was Hellyer, for that matter. However, that doesn't change the fact that virtually the entire Canadian Armed Forces who served at the time despises Hellyer to this day. I have this mental picture of the two of you, you and Paul Hellyer, standing in front of a gathering of our armed forces. They're all carrying torches and getting ready to storm your castle. Meanwhile, the two of you are on the ramparts, yelling "Take off, eh! You and your silly emotional attachments! Get over it, eh!

I know we have newer frigates and perhaps a destroyer, Morris. Still, knowing the previous governments they probably didn't spend any more than they had to in frills. Is it possible that these older decommissioned ships would be more powerful and/or versatile than what we have now? Even if they are, what's the point when right now at least half of our fleet is always docked, for lack of manpower and budget for fuel?

That's your story. Judging by your posts, to you anything about the Tories MUST be bad! Anything about the Opposition MUST be good! As I said, I support the Tories ONLY because I think the others are worse! There are many things about the CPC I don't like. After all, I was a Reformer and now it appears the tiny rump of the PCs has taken control of the merged party. There is NOTHING left of Reform party planks and principles in the new CPC! You should remember that MILLIONS of us bailed on the old PC Party! I seriously wonder why Manning ever bothered! Harper and his minions have driven a stake through his dream. Whatever, we have to work with what we've got, which is parties made up of imperfect human beings. The Tories at least want to rebuild our military and (hopefully) reduce our tax load. The Liberals have never met a bribe they didn't like. The NDP have noble goals yet never, ever have a clue of a PRACTICAL idea of how to accomplish them! If the Libs and Tories are debating about a nuclear threat from a third world country the NDP would want to change the venue to discuss bike lanes! Anyhow, I guess we don't even have to read your threads! If it's a Tory involved you're gonna say he's evil. If it's an Opposition guy you're gonna say he's a saint. It will save time, I guess!

Could be worse, BD! Harper seems stuck on "Happy Days" and "Sha Na Na". Pretty sappy but those times did generate rock and roll. There was also an incredible amount of great black blues playing going on, although I'd be surprised to hear that Harper was a fan. Still, you never know much about the personal details of our politicians. What if it was the late 70's he was trying to re-invent? Disco? Abba? Dare I say it, Donna Summer? "The horror! The horror!"

http://io9.com/5829725/functioning-anal-sphincter-grown-in-a-petri-dish Functioning anal sphincter grown in a petri dish There is no denying that growing an anal sphincter in a petri dish is hilarious. There is also no denying that nobody reading this would enjoy being without an anal sphincter, so it's good that there are back-ups being developed. I know this is one of those incredible medical breakthroughs that will help who knows how many people, illustrating once again the marvel of stem cell technology. I just can't help but relate to it politically!

I would agree with you, Michael! There's no way a negative culture that has been set up over a couple of generations will be fixed in a few weekends! Fixes will indeed have to be slow because it's guaranteed that the British Left will NOT quietly allow any government to change things! They believe firmly in their agenda and will fight to the last loony to resist any attempts to change the "welfare nanny state". Did you know that the model engineering hobby has almost disappeared in Britain? It has always amazed me some of the projects that these guys produce! Working steam powered replicas of locomotives, big enough for children to ride on tracks in the back yard. Working scale models of classic aircraft engines, including jets! There are now so many "safety" laws in running a lathe in your garage or basement that a hobbyist has virtually no change of getting approvals, even after spending a LOT of money! There are even paid inspectors that peek into people's basement windows looking for an undeclared engineering shop. I kid you not! The nanny state regulations are being made in the name of safety but in that hobby's community accidents have always been extremely rare. It's obviously just a "control-trip" thing. The same flakey kids that no one wanted to play with in high school are now inspectors and MAN! Do they love to wield their power! It's a pity though. Such hobbies helped develop a pool of self-educated engineers, who might find jobs in the "real world" that could be to the nation's benefit. Such hobbyists wound up building Spitfires in WWII, just as ham radio operators were pressed into service as radio signalmen. The loony left is doing their best to stamp this out. Sometimes I think they actually have it in for smart and practical people!

Of course they said that! Saying it wasn't a deliberate action sounds better! From your cite: We send out a letter any time someone uses our logo without permission," party spokesman Fred DeLorey said in an email Monday. "It is a step we are required to take whenever we discover there is an unauthorized use of our logo. "We have nothing further to add to this." This is damage control, nothing more. They are trying to make it look like it had nothing to do with the asbestos issue or the lady herself. It was just an "automatic" action that they have are "required to do" for legal reasons. So they minimize the issue and do the same for their reaction. Now, if the other parties will leave it alone for fear of offending Quebecers over possibly losing some jobs the CPC will be off the hook! You just have to read between the lines and remember who we are dealing with. It still stinks, of course but remember we are dealing with politicians here. NONE of them would have told the truth and said that they never should have sent a legal letter! Yet surely no experienced politician would have been THAT stupid! Well, maybe Dion might have been. Anyhow, obviously the Tories are trying to fluff it off. Might work, might not. Being politicians, this is the only way they know how to try!

What's your definition of a Harper Con? Anyone who disagrees with you? Shove it where the sun don't shine! You're wrong about me and have no right to be so insulting! I simply pointed out a likely explanation as to how this event occurred. Similar things can and have happened with other parties. It's just human nature. If you don't like Harper that's one thing. If you think your dislike for Harper changes reality then you've got a screw loose! For the billionth time, I'm not a Conservative. For just as often, I only vote for Harper because I find the other choices stink more! You seem to have a digital nose. It's either/or! Your choice is good so any others must be evil. The other guys do only wrong all the time and your choice is perfect! I can see ANY politician's failings and I have many times defended the NDP and the Liberals on issues. I will admit that I've done that more with the NDP but that's only because since Chretien the Liberals have been so flippin' inept as to make them hard to defend! You seem to be just another guy who might make a great defense attorney but could NEVER be a judge!

I don't really understand why you feel this way, August. Even Levesque and Bouchard liked the monarchy! They just wanted to be an INDEPENDENT Royal Dominion! Queen Elizabeth and the Royal Family have always expressed love and respect for Quebec. The poem where Quebec's licence plate quote says "I remember" goes on to say that "while I was born under the lily I flourished under the rose..." So I really wonder why the antipathy towards re-instating the word "Royal". Quebec has as much right to the monarch as the rest of Canada. If Quebec were to ever separate if they so chose as to KEEP the Queen no one would have any right to prevent it!

My Dad was navy. His last service was on HMCS Bonneventure, our last carrier. He saw what was coming and got out in 1960. When he saw what Hellyer did it broke his heart! Shows what can happen when you put a civilian in charge of a military who has absolutely no clue about the traditions and values of military servicemen and women.

Topaz, any party that closed down the asbestos industry would lose a ton of votes, because it's a QUEBEC industry! Period and end of story! You appear to be saying Harper should do it anyway! We all know you hate Harper but if you think he will voluntarily commit political suicide just to make you happy you are dreaming in technicolour! What's more, do you seriously think any other party would do such a thing? You're just being silly!

Who says Harper even knows about it? Any party leader is so busy that there's no way he takes personal care of every single thing that is going on, even a control freak like Harper. A PM experiences this even more so! No, the fault likely lies with the "minions". Odds are they are young University students long on party "rah-rah" and short on perspective. Technically, it may be an illegal breach of copyright. So What? A "wet behind the ears" university intern might be so literal minded but this is a political incident. What's legal is irrelevant. What counts is the optics to the voters. An experienced politician would never be so dumb as to have let things go this far. No, it's far more likely that the "minions" acted on their own and now the situation has escalated to the point where a more senior party member is going to have to step in and do some damage control. I don't 100% blame the "minion" or "minions". When you have inexperienced help you are supposed to keep an eye on them to make sure things like this DON'T happen! Most likely, we can chalk this up to "summer". The "managers" are out kissing hands and shaking babies on the barbeque circuit and they all forget to check in with the "kids" minding the store once in a while. It happens to everybody once in a while. It's part of being human. Watch for the opposition parties to let this one die fairly quickly. You see, the real reason we keep exporting asbestos is because it is a big industry providing a lot of jobs in Quebec! Only a political idiot would do anything to challenge that! So the Libs and the NDP will try to score some quick points off the Tories but they won't demand any real action, for fear of losing some Quebec votes.

You can't win this one, Morris. To you (and anyone else who speaks the Queen's English) a minority is a smaller percentage of a whole or group. Of course, we use dictionaries. To CC, a minority is a slang term, meaning disadvantaged or oppressed. I guess that means if you said that a minority of eggs are brown then it would also mean that those eggss are discriminated against. I've always understood how slang becomes popular but until I read CC's post I never realized it had displaced the dictionary.

Don't forget, the farther north you go the more your growing season shortens up and also the number of strong sunlight hours for photosynthesis. This is why different plants grow better in different latitudes. You don't have to go too far north before you're living on pine cones and cabbages.