Ergonomic

I'm with you. There are many examples of America's 'commitment to democracy' just like this.

I've read a lot of posts here and there seems to be a prevailing opinion that capitalism is some sort of singular economic model. I believe that there are many versions of capitalism. Here is mine... I believe that capitalism is about finding an economic niche in a regulated trade environment. It is about finding the unique contribution that we all can make and sustaining that contribution (output) by inputs willingly (hopefully eagerly) paid. I do not believe that capitalism is about getting rich. In fact, I think that wealth is an aberration of capitalism that signals a problem in the system. Captialism is about fitting in and earning your keep.

My first reaction is to express great disappointment at Ignatieff who apparently is still worried that Al Quaida is going to blow up Boston. The Liberals will never be able to provide an alternative to Harper's Tories as long as Ignatieff is in the mix. How did this guy get in there anyways? Secondly. I too am wondering why this is happening on the eve of an American election. We have seen in the past how Harper has fawned over the Bush agenda in the Middle East, even going so fay as to pay for Op-Ed column space in the New York Times. There are more down home issues to be dealt with when parliament convenes, Mr. Harper. You've got some 'splainin' to do...

Capitalism is about the free exchange of value. We need to come to terms with the fact that we have yet to develop a universal model that defines value completely. Either the monetary system is an imperfect determinant of value or there is a better measure of value... The best thing about value is that it can be measured. Hopefully this is something we can all agree on...

I thought that Ahenakew's comment about Jews being a disease was really stupid. Aboriginals in Canada get this sort of crap all the time, and his lack of sensitivity on the issue was dumb. I read a Globe And Mail column on the week-end by Christie Blachford saying Aboriginal matters should be covered by the foreign desk. Earth to Christie: go back to the crime desk. Why not hire an Aboriginal reporter? Maybe that would be like hiring an Arab to cover the Wet Bank? Hey, Greenspan, how about giving Christie a month on the Barbados beat? Ahenakew was wrong, but everybody knows that. Maybe he was upset that pro-Israel commentators regularly compare the West Bank to the settling of the wild west... The point has been proven. B'Nai B'rith can continue to prosecute him, or they can show mercy. But they have to stop seeing themselves as the General Custer of the Middle East, and that is not gonna be easy.

Spector seems to have told the truth regarding the money. If that can be verified, then good. This guy is a very ambitious political wonk. I do not trust him any more than I do the rest of them. Look at his career.

Irgun and Stern turned into the IDF. The Arabs had their own terrosits? Name them. The Zionists were much more organised. The Arabs were completely off guard. They trusted the British and the British were not to be trusted.

I personally look fondly back to the days when the British were driven out of Palestine by Zionist terrorists.

I'm wondering why BritCits were rendered to Britain for trial years ago while our juveniles are left to the mercy (ahem) of US military policy. Just give us the goddamned minerals and shut your face?

It is remarkable that the US is treating this election as an internal matter. The US has been a global player on a level above the UN given its willingness to use its ultra-tech military ability to enforce its policies. The US should be seeking external input. Of course it will not. It has yet to declare its primary foreign policy issue. Meanwhile, China and India are stealing a march.... If Hillary Clinton gets elected, it's all for naught. She has shown no inclination to vary from Bill Clinton's screwed up foreign policy. If Obama gets elected, he might be more open to alternatives, but he has done little to declare foriegn policy an important issue beyond Iraq. If McCain gets elected it's more of the same old. McCain is delusional. Not a single one of them has shown any inclination to pay any attention to Canada's needs, in spite of the fact that we are currently the most important raw materials supplier they have. Studs Terkel put it very well on a BBC interview recently: The result of the current administration's One Billion dollar foreign policy has been to deny healthcare, deny social services, and deny the welfare of everyday ordinary Americans. Review your RRSP investments closely. The new boss should not be the same as the old boss., but they are gonna get fooled again... I love America. It has given the world so much, but the almighty buck has gotta stop right here.

The Chinese have already finessed the West with its investments in AFrica. The West had the power to support Africa for decades and ignored the opportunity. A lot of Africa will be speaking Mandarin in the future....

The problem was not with military strategy. The problem was with political acumen. The US let Vietnam down when it saw a Communist Insurgency rather than a Civil War. Read your history. The Vietnamese have never had any truck with the Chinese, nor anybody who tried to force their way across the mountains from the North.

The Patriot Act has nothing to do with the Geneva Conventions. The Patriot Act is a local matter, the Geneva Conventions are a international matter, to which almost every nation including the US, have agreed. Comparing the Patriot Act to the Geneva Conventions is like comparing apples to elephants. You want to discuss the Patriot Act, talk local. You want to discuss the Geneva Conventions, go International. If you are thinking of opting out of the Geneva Conventions, the US no longer has a choice. You are in and it's permanent. Sort of like the Nuclear (that's NOO-KLEE-ARR) Non-Proliferation Agreement. Get over it.

Israel was built by terrorists. The King David Hotel and all that....

OK. But what does M.Dancer have to say?

Harper is using extortion to pry miltary funding out of the US Presidential election.

Are you equating faith with race?

You have a piece of land that has been registered as belonging to you. You paid the mortgage. You paid the interest. You did the paperwork. You registered it under the Turks and your thanks was that you had to send your sons off to fight for them. You registered it under the British. You registered it under the Jordanians. Your family has lived there since Suleiman. One day some uniformed jackass with a gun knocks on your door and says you have 15 minutes to get out. Sure enough, 15 minutes later, a guy from Russia driving a bulldozer comes and destroys your home. Another guy from New Yawk City comes and throws a piece of paper on the rubble. How long would it take for you to stop being pissed off?

An interesting post. Didn't Golda Meir go to Amman to ask for Jordan to respect the UN declared borders on the eve of the Israeli War of Independence? Didn't Abdullah give his word? Did Abdullah's forces ever cross those borders? Forget your Bible. Read your history!

No, but I seem to recall a few Israelis planting bombs in the theatres and mailboxes of Cairo...

There is no way to tell at this point. It could be any of them and it is more contingent on the political process inside the Beltway than anything. We are driving our own bus.

So you are saying that the Palestinians should be subject to a deal worked out between Egypt and Israel? Jordan and Israel? Jordan and Egypt? Hasn't worked so far. And it's been tried.

I haven't read all of the posts in this thread, so apologies if this has already been said... Why is it that the US has more rights in the Middle East than countries in the Middle East? I have been watching the US Presidential primaries. McCain says he "knows how to handle Iran". What is he going to do, build condos on the shores of Hormuz?

A disappointing result, but it passed by a narrow margin. I am happy to see black students given an opportunity to study black history. However, this really needs to be something in the general curriculum ... the history of Africa. Canadian educational systems are far too focussed on European and American history. There should also be more focus on Asian history. Canadian history curriculi are far too parochial, IMHO.

I personally am proud to be a middle aged male who can still put together a stiff pecker. I'd like to say that it has something to do with my upbringing, my accomplishments, what have you, but it's just bloody genetics. What a weird thread.