overthere

The essential question is deceptively simple, a yes or no proposition. Does Israel have the right to exist as a state? A lot stems from the answers to that.

Not surprisingly, my post above went over your head like a 747. Your attitude makes me puke. Unfortunately, you are far from alone in those views.

What I see when I look at what you call 'available evidence' is a redneck judgemental attitude with complete disdain for the rule of law. Sorry bud, I don't share your view that presumption of innocence is for the courts alone. I see Pacetti as a human being worthy of being given the due process of law instead of your preference for a pretrial lynching. He has the right to confront his accuser in a venue where both are obliged to speak the truth if they speak at all. Respect for the rule of law is at the very heart of the quality of our lives in Canada, and I'm sorry you feel the need to insult me because I insist on that. Because people judge with no basis in fact is not in any way compelling me to do the same, the opposite is true. But do enjoy yourself in that pastime.

Do you mean you want Ottawa to redistribute the oil wealth of Alberta for the benefit of all Canadian citizens? They do that now. Perhaps you've heard of the equalization program? About $10 billion net wealth leaves Alberta taxpayers every year, and flows to the benefit of all Canadians for social programs like health care and education. And which sector of the Alberta economy generates those high wages that generate those high taxes that flow back to Ottawa with such volume and regularity? Maybe you've heard of income taxes that oil companies and thousands of support companies pay, and of course that money goes to Ottawa to be redistributed to....you get it. And lets not forget the federal royalties paid on oil production which flows back to Ottawa to be redistributed to.... and so on. Would you like to change that? Be careful what you wish for.

Does it matter if there is any truth to the unsubstantiated allegations against Pacetti at this point? The outcome for him is the same. His career is over, and people will be whispering and calling him 'rapist' the rest of his life. The evidence or lack or evidence is not relevant now. Presumption of innocence my ass.

Yeah, it is nothing like the House of Commons, where 308 mostly white politicians are all clones of Nelson Mandela, possessed of the highest levels of personal integrity.

It is far larger than that, many billions in Canada , every year in taxes by wage earners. If you include self employed and corporate tax avoidance it would be hundreds of billions. Tax avoidance means that a taxpayer takes advantage of existing allowances and deductions. Personal exemptions, age exemptions, medical expesnes, moving expenses are taken by everybody. Expenses incurred in the creation of income are taken by everybody. Social assistance items like welfare or OAS are exempt and part of tax avoidance. And so on. Tax evasion is something else. Tax evasion is a crime.

Not possible. There is too much money involved. Oh, and there is nothing wrong or illegal about tax avoidance. Every one of us does it every year.

Nothing prevents any Canadian from buying shares in pipeline or oil companies. Oh, you want the govt to do something. Right.

The real motivation the scammers play on is not desperation or poverty or trust. It is greed. Everybody wants something for nothing, and wants to believe that the generous Nigerian prince who has my email address is a ticket to a lifetime of free lunches. That is also why these scams often go unreported. The money is gone and the victims realize they have scammed themselves into believing it could possibly be true. The money isn't coming back, and they are too embarassed to admit they were taken. A secondary motivator is fear. These guys are the worst of the scummers (pun intended). They are the ones who phone Grandma and pretend they are a grandson who has had an accident, or is in jail and needs their help right away. Send money Grandma!!

Then the research is wrong. It is estimated that 15% of all countires in the world are tax havens, and mostly corporate. That dovetails neatly into how the very rich actually operate. Of course they do not have huge personal incomes, That would be idiotic, because they already perceive that tax rates for big earners are high and it makes their money vulnerable. The very wealthy have money in corporations, shares, bonds and trusts secreted in many of those 15% of the worlds countries and that money is much harder to tax. Examples? France ran this old warhorse, tax the rich!, up the flagpole a year or two ago. The response from the rich was rapid and unequivocal: au revoir. The govt backed down, of course. Ireland has been a corporate(meaning personal when structured correctly by your clever accountant) haven for years, and was just forced by the EU to slow it down. Google 'Double Irish.' Mexico, Panama, Costa Rica and several countries in the Caribbean have been in this business for decades. They would welcome Canadian expats with open arms, and do. The Cayman islands have an entire financial sector, a very important one for their economy, based on looking after foreign wealth parked there. And you don't have to give up your passport. It is all legal here and there. And so on.

NO Clap for Wynne. The usual response from her government.... increase the tax instead of doing the right thing, which is to simply end the monopoly and privatize the sale of a commodity. It is doubly stupid because it is essentially a price control on that commdoity, since the unending fight must now commence over the retail price of beer. None of those things happened in Alberta since privatization of retail sales 20 years ago. The rules did not change for bars, they still are responsible for checking IDS and maintaining order and controlling patrons. There are infractions now, but there were infractions before too. Nobody risks their license to serve alcohol because they buy the booze somewhere else. Their license requirements are the same either way. No more minors are served at stores now than before. The reason is that private stores have a much greater incentive than public stores for not selling to minors: their license and investment and livelihood depends on it. What would happen to a public booze store for serving minors? Financially, nothing that matters. Where are the stats on privatization increasing alcoholism?

Perhaps its backlash from the recent 'Liberals are rapists' meme?

They already do. When countries impose very hefty taxes on the very rich, they leave. Its happened numerous times in the developed world, including Canada. In some cases, they don't even have to take their money with them. They can leave it a home safe and sound and earning, as long as the country they take up residence in has a tax treaty with Canada.

I did not say there was no harassment. I don't know if there was or not. It may well be that the man accused is innocent. It may well be that the woman is innocent. Either may be guilty I am operating on an assumption of inocence until facts come up that demonstrate that is incorrect. Isn't that the rule of law in Canada. You, on the other hand, have decided the allegation must be true and there is absolutely no other possibility. Well, there are other possibilities and they need to be considered no matter how unsavory that may be. It does seem odd that somebody would take their concerns to the leader of a different party, a stranger -well after the event- rather than to friends, confidants, colleagues , the police or her own leader. Well, it seems odd to me. You spend your days sniffing Harpers farts in an unrelenting attempt to find conspiracy and fault. You could at least acknowledge that the way this persons uncorroborated story has surfaced is odd, but that would require a level of intellectual honesty that rarely surfaces here.

Embellishing? I'm simply following your lead in hyperbole. I thought you'd be flattered. Is it on the extreme edge of a faraway outer realm of possibility that there is the teensiest chance that the NDP might wish to manouver Trudeau into an impossible position? You have to meet me at least that far.

It is certainly an option, unless you are blinded by partisan hatred. I invite you to set down the white cane and sunglasses and consider. But no, lets destroy two lives on an anonymous and unprovable claim instead. Did she tell a friend, her family, her boss, her colleagues- and then go to the police with their support and her story? Something just does not add up here..

The situation was that there was very little work for new teachers, low demand. That menat that high school grads were not enrolling in Education, the jobs were clearly not here. The Faculty of Education controls admissions to their faculty. The responsible action would be to cut back on admissions so those that did graduate would have a better chance at a career. That would mean cutting staff and resources in the Faculty, at least temporarily Instead, they lowered admissions standards so that school leavers with low marks could get into their faculty, and eventually graduate with four years wasted. The reason was to avoid having to actually manage their money and act as if they cared about the waste of public resources, or about the well being of their own students.. That is not self supporting, that is self serving and irresponsible. Oh, and of course every student is heavily susidized by taxpayers, the tuition paid is roughly 25-30% of the average cost per student. The faculty is not close to self-supporting. None of them are.

I can see you are only willing to consider one option. It's not surprising. You've done a thorough analysis of all the facts available and reached a conclusion based on the evidence. You're judge, jury and executioner of all men, as noted by your use of such inclusive terms as 'women' and 'any man'. I'll stick to what has been stated so far, though of course it is impossible to assess anything done anonymously. Why would anybody who has been violently raped wait months, then take that information to a stranger who is not in law enforcement?

He has recent and extensive experience on Defence. The Oilers should hire him ASAP.

Pol Pot was a Marxist. Is that still left wing or has the left redefined that on the political spectrum too?

Yes, I understand that The Church must deter any questions about their motives. The truth is not something that would further the business. The motive is control, always has been. The Reformation was a near thing for the Church, a massive challenge to their complete control of kings and countries. All of a sudden people are asking questions, not obeying priests, reading books, studying science and many other things that reduce the iron fist. But they survived and found a way to remain very profitable. The Catholic Church is undoubtedly the greatest success story in social engineering in the short and violent history of our species.

I have suspected a political setup from the beginning by the NDP, and her story does not dismiss that strong possibility.

I have an inside track, occasionally, with one their staff. There was something actually wrong with Quinn when he was with the Oilers. He did not know the names of some of the regular players halfway through the season. Maybe it was connected to the illness that he died from. But he did his best I am sure.

and here is what the Insurance Bureau of Canada has to say about insurance and Uber: http://www.edmontonjournal.com/news/edmonton/Simons+city+without+enough+taxis+Uber+attractive+option/10410371/story.html Note they are speaking of UberX ,not about mainstream Uber, which uses (insured) off duty cars driven by (properly licensed) drivers.