Sir Bandelot

Yes indeed, and this breed of people are commonly known as "politicians".

Thats not what I meant at all. In fact I completely agree with your opening post. Go back and read it again... LOL

It's clear that none of these new technologies are as viable or inexpensive to run as hydrocarbon based energy sources. If they were easy, we would already be doing them. Solar power has its drawbacks too, as do electric cars. Namely, toxic metals are used to make the panels and batteries. In a world were there might be millions of panels and electric cars, the waste created by disposal of the materials becomes a serious issue. Probably just as serious as dealing with spent nuclear fuel rods. Maybe we can find a way to weaponize the waste, as is currently done with depleted uranium tipped bullets and shells. It can be argued that the problem with wind power being inconsistent, is made negligible when they are used over large areas of the country and the average power is more or less maintained. Even if wind cannot do the job alone it can act to supplement existing power sources and so reduce (but not eliminate) the amount of power obtained from hydrocarbon generators. The generators are not switched on and off depending on which way the wind blows, but the amount of fuel they use to generate power is be reduced. Despite these technological drawbacks, I think subsidies are beneficial in establishing a market base for alternate energy technologies, which will encourage further R&D. There is also still a lot to be gained in improving the efficiency of energy useage, let alone the development of completely new energy sources.

Thats what I would expect them to say, if they were criminals embezzling the public funds. It's not unlike what union thugs might do. Does that mean we should just shrug and forget it, and continue to hand over the cash? WHat exactly are you trying to say.

That sounds like a great plan, think I'll go with that one. thx!

I suspected that was the problem. Microsoft is asking all IE6 users to move on to the next version. Problem is, many large companies have IE6 browser still installed, due to the fact that they have custom written browser applications that will not work with the newer version. From what I gather there are thousands of sites where IE6 has to be maintained for this reason. "IE6 is a truly hated browser amongst web developers. It’s out of date and doesn’t support many modern web technologies properly. Yet it remains one of the most popular browsers amongst users – mainly thanks to businesses who haven’t upgraded their corporate software suite in years. So, now that Google is throwing its weight behind the movement to consign IE6 to history, will we finally see it disappearing for good? Don’t count on it." http://thenextweb.com/us/2010/01/30/google-kill-ie6/ I will upgrade my laptop soon. Too many projects would be stalled by doing it right now. Thanks for looking into it.

When a window of opportunity opened to strike the leader of al-Qaeda in East Africa last September, U.S. Special Operations forces prepared several options. They could obliterate his vehicle with an airstrike as he drove through southern Somalia. Or they could fire from helicopters that could land at the scene to confirm the kill. Or they could try to take him alive. The White House authorized the second option. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35391753/ns/world_news-washington_post/ Anyone who thinks Obama is an improvement over Bush in regards to war, or targetted killings of "suspects" will soon wake up to reality. It's only a matter of time before these details come to the forefront in the media, despite any attempts by the Obama administration to hide it. On the balance of things, I prefer Bush to obama. At least with him his intentions were more openly declared. He was more honest.

Thanks for answering for someone else.

No, I'm not giving it up. I'll explain it to you more clearly again, to help you with your comprehension issues. The IOC wants tourism, the natives and protestors do not. Simple as that. My view, they have the right to build resorts and promote tourism, where it does not break existing treaties and environmental laws. I like to believe in the law. When the law is abused y the government because its too inconvenient to obey, it undermines my faith in our society.

That's the first thing I thought when I read kimmys post, where is the accountability? If they are giving my tax dollars to the natives and it gets misappropriated, I want answers from the Mnister of Indian Affairs.

If it doesn't exist to serve the people, then what is it for? Do we live to serve it?

You didn't. So we agree on that point at least. And this is all about the opening ceremony, not your hatred for all things native, me boyo.

In a discussion at dinner my teenage daughter told me that they had a debate at school last week, and it was revealed that the natives were upset about the use of the inukshuk as the olympic logo. I hadn't heard of this before, so looked online for more info about it. Native leaders were angry about the use of their sacred symbols, and that the inukshuk had been altered into a comical form, like "pac-man" as one of the chiefs said. There were other issues as well, land claims and such, as one would expect from natives. I don't know if they had legitimate legal rights or not, but would not be surprised if environmental laws and treaties were broken. These are the claims. This conflict goes back several years as the olympic planning was underway. With the olympics coming up imminently there is no time to deal with these disputes in courts, so the show must go on. As one chief stated: "We're deeply concerned about the concerted and aggressive marketing campaign advanced by Vanoc which suggests the indigenous people of B.C. and Canada enjoy a very comfortable and high standard of living. The Disneyesque promotional materials suggests a cosy relationship between aboriginal people of the province with all levels of government and it completely ignores the horrific levels of poverty our people endure on a daily basis." - Sums up my view of what the ceremony represents for them. I believe this show was a form of payola for allowing the use of native symbolism. "The native peoples in this country of around 33 million are also likely to get center stage as their cultures have shaped everything in these Games from the logo to the medals." Link is the only link I have found that ties the two issues together. It did not help matters that native protester Harriet Nahanee, an elderly woman died after being held in prison for two weeks and contracting pneumonia. "Nahanee had been weak from the flu and asthma in January, and it was widely suspected that Nahanee's condition worsened during her incarceration at the Surrey Pre-Trial Centre. An independent public inquiry into her passing was called for in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia on March 5. Solicitor-General John Les said the provincial government expressed regret for the passing but denied any government responsibility and refused opposition requests for an inquiry." - Wikipedia No consideration was given to the least of these, but every effort was made to aid and assist the big powers in achieving their objectives. She and others like her may have been given a brief moment to hear their concerns, then simply swept aside. Also of interest, at one point the federal government attempted to take control of the content of the opening ceremony, but this was opposed by the olympic commission. "The Olympics opening ceremony will not be influenced by the politics of the Harper government as any veto powers that it might have been thought to hold have been taken away from it. When the government mentioned its intention to fund the Olympics opening ceremony in order to gain control over what content is displayed it had caused a great stir amongst certain groups who claimed it to be an attempt by the government to interfere in matters of exercise and art." http://www.makli.com/olympics-opening-ceremony-0025047/ Not saying it was because of the indians, as I can't prove it but if I know my Stephen, he would not have wanted this show to take place in the form it did. Judging by the scowl on his face during the performance, I think he did not enjoy it. The queer artists (and I don't mean homosexual) who designed this even used incomplete sound bytes of the Canadian national anthem during the festivity, one camera shot showing Prime Minister Harper attempting to sing along, only to be cut off after the first stanza as the merry melodies whipped around. He looked puzzled and annoyed.

I have learned that whenever I do that, it's usually a mistake. Better to look things up and learn than to make baseless claims. Of course, we live in the age of information and also DISINFORMATION, so that whatever we might say can be cast into doubt. That's the paradox of our current times. So despite what others may think around here, I am not perfect.

I wonder how you can be so sure about anything, without substantiation. My wife is part native. Her father has official native status. The "white" side of her family has been in Canada longer than most other families, the St. Laurents, among the first to come here some 400 years ago and the same family as Prime Minster Louis St. Laurent, the same family that the eastern region of Canada is named after. So we know a bit about Canada around here, and natives. Maybe you do know more. Are you squatting in a tent?

Reading comprehension is not a strong suit of right wingers.

I don't know if any others see this problem, but every time I click to add a reply, I get the "emoticons" window cutting off the right side of the text box where I type in my message. As I type, the cursor goes out of sight behind it so that I can't see what I'm typing. In order to make this go away, I have to click "Show All" in the emoticns pane. Then it resizes the text box properly so that I can see the right side edge. Hope that makes sense. I use Internet Explorer 6.

We can imagine things based on our personal perceptions and beliefs, and stay happy in that comfortable world, or we can read the news and learn what really happened.

On the menu on the top right, "Manage Ignored Users", when you click on it you get two options. One option says "Ignore Personal Conversations". Did you try that? I don't have anyone on my ignored list, so can't say what this actually does. Last option, click "DELETE". It is rather complicated. Let us know if you need any more help with this

No I didn't imply you are that, but you did write that you had a few drinks, in your previous post on "Afghanistan Failure or Success". THen you unleashed this precious gem. The only reason I can't add something more is that you've already said it all.

Yuk, you got "B_C'ed". Don't worry, it washes off

I never wrote this, and I don't appreciate being misquoted. Don't start this kind of crap or next time I will report it to the admins.

As I stated earlier, some (like Shady) will insist that the natives are on their own, shouldn't get any more help from Canada and have no basis to make legal claims. I personally disagree with that, but I don't care to argue that point since it would be a useless waste of time. But the more you show how much you despise them, the more you back up my claim that natives have very little to do with Canadian culture, because they are only a small minority of people, ignored and even hated by many Canadians. To use them in the show is a pathetic joke. We put them on display for the world, like dancing bears. Yeah, I like that analogy. This was done in atonement for the disputes over land and use of native symbols. Do you have any idea how anal the Olympic committee is about using their logos, or even putting up an unauthorized sign about the olympics on your private property? People went to JAIL for stuff like that. Still, they have no problem borrowing, and bastardizing the native inukshuk for themselves. Thats exactly what I'm criticizing. But if you want to make this thread into a shitfest on why you hate natives, go ahead. Thats your thing, dude

Well thats just your view. But as long as they dance for us at our huge corporate sponsored events, it's not a problem. right?

And DANCE, you mofos! Ok, I'll let it go now...