overthere

Got it. In our comparison of actual political acts, not a good idea to introduce facts. I'll avoid any reference to the actual Liberal voting record in the House of Commons on same sex marriage. i feel shame.

YES WE CAN!!!!!!!!!

According to poster overthere, the NFL doesn't give a shit about social responsibility. They are in the entertainment business in a very major way though, and they have to sometimes pretend they care what their employees do off camera because it might be unprofitable to do otherwise. Hence, the woeful, warbling cry of 'social responsibility'. I think we have heard that phrase here quite often lately, in threads with topics as apparently unrelated as the LCBO and teachers strikes. Here is the name of the organization that really , really needs to study the business model of the extremely successful NFL: The Vatican.

I doubt he knew anything about Patrick Stewart. He is much more familiar with the single malt.

MY BIL posted a funny Ice Bucket Challenge. It involved an ice bucket, a chequebook, a glass and a bottle of good single malt Scotch. He did not get wet on the outside.

Just checking to see if the renowned waldo sense of humour was intact. Thanks for playing

Parks Canada completely changed their firefighting tactics in the 1980s. From the creation of the mountain parks long ago they fought every fire, as policy. That 'management' resulted in an ecosystem which was the complete opposite of their mandate. an artificial forest that had far too much deadfall and distorted the numbers of all resident animal species too. It made fires worse too, the amount of fuel available was beyond what would normally be found in a natural cycle. Their rangers started a program of sometimes oxymoronic 'controlled burns' to reduce the buildup of thatch and deadfall. Fire control these days tends to focus on the controlled burn program to restore the normal cycle, and strongly protecting physical assets like towns with traditional firefighting intervention when they must. It will take decades to see where this new management regime takes them. I recall a massive fire on the east side of Jasper NP about 10 years ago that burned for two years and started with a 'controlled burn' that ended up going for two years, mostly out of control completely. In the end, it just did what nature intended, though on a much bigger scale than what had been planned. I don't think the biggest threat to grizzlies in Banff NP has been fires or lack of fires. It used to be vehicles, but the Trans Canada highway has been fenced for many years now. The CP mainline runs through there and the grain cars spill grain on the tracks, which omnivorous bears love to eat. It results in dead bears.

Did he really say that?

Against what? I'm a strong supporter of public education, it is far better than the alternatives here. It's not nonsense, teachers can pick subs and of course they pick people they know whenever they can. Duh.. What factors are those? A teacher is ill or has an appt or whatever, they can and do make arrangements for their classroom to be covered. Of course they pick somebody they know can do the job, which eliminates strangers from a random pool unless that is all there is available. Duh. half of it is their money, the rest is public money. I do agree they are entitled to enjoy their earned pensions. The purpose of my post is to counter your implication that early retirement is some sort of involuntary gift to subs or school boards.

Most of the trees in northern Canada are not marketable and are unlikely to be logged for two reasons: they are too far from major markets (there is better wood closer) and the vast majority of trees are too small and slow growing to be economically made into dimensional lumber. Anecdotally, I have driven from Alberta to northern Yukon perhaps 25 times in the last 25 years and there has been no substantive change in the vast and endless expanse of trees that covers over about 85% of the route. I guess you've never lived anywhere that has big fires. Large mammals are quite likely to survive them as they can escape whereas smaller animals cannot. The big animals are back on the land quickly, because burns regenerate grasses and shrubs quickly, the trees take much longer. That means more food for the grazing animals than they would typically have in a mature forest. The big wheel turns..

I don't see a single number there, having trouble with that are we? My province spends about 40% of its budget on health care now. Over 90 % of that comes from the province, the balance from the feds. The Europeans blah blah blah- the majority of Yurp has a larger social contract than us and is in overall worst shape financially and the same shape with health outcomes: quality of life and life expectancy . France( a tottering giant economically) has fat health care user fees plus huge centrally managed expenditures for health care , is that what you want? Harper has enforced the Canada Health Act, sent the provinces more cash than ever before and comformed with the jurisdictions required in our constituion. If you want change, agitate for constitutional reform. In the meantime, clean up your own province: inefficiencies, services that are covered and not covered, drug plans, licensing of physicians, control of medical schools, hospitals, payment schemes. It's all your responsibility. And please, stop whining

From a consumer viewpoint the legalization of weed would have to drive prices down and quality up. The competition between private and public sector skunk would be fierce.

Racist comment? wtf are you talking about now? Well, accorsding to my wife( a teacher) teachers can request specific subs if they choose, and about 95% of the time they pick people who know the school, are experienced, know the grade level and are more likely to be effective immediately in the classrooom. Guess who that might be, who might be their very first choice? Yep, retired teachers and if at all possible retired from that very school. It makes perfect sense from the teachers point of view. There are also people who more or less make careers from subbing since they can work off and on when it suits them. Teachers retire early becauswe it is to their personal advantage. There is no other reason and early retirement is entirely voluntary. They usually get to draw full pensions early, that's the prime draw for doing it. Full pension and you can either sub or start a new career since you are young enough.

I don't give a rats ass on anything Quebec has to say on the constitution. We're stuck with this one no matter what Quebec wants or demands.

What a pack of whiners. Here is reality, kids. Take note: resources are limited . They always have been and always will be, even the Liberals could not tax their way through that little dilemma.We all live longer, much longer than previous generations. Despite all this technology keeping us alive, we are all going to die and Harper cannot change that no matter what strategy is employed. Neither can Trudeau or Mulcair. If we spend 40% of all the money on health care, it is not enough for you. What would be enough? 50%? 80%? 100%.? Give us a number that you think is adequate.

At first I thought this thread was about a new board feature that would let me ignore waldo.

I admit we have far less passion for killing brown people than you do. USA USA USA 1 Canuckistan 0

and lets not forget their strong opposition to same sex marriage in Chretiens term.

That is a pretty much nonsense. Teachers retire 'early' (like other public service gravy lickers) when and only when it is financially benefitical. Let's not pretend there is any act of charity in leaving their job 'early'. Please. Very few teachers stay to age 65 unless they started their careers late. And again, if it is such a huge hardship for subs to get into the job, why are they taking an education degree to begin with?

So Chow is considered right of center? World Class!!!

Very few do, since the 'magic number ' is 85 and unless you start late the majority have retired on full and generous pension well before that.

Yep doctors come and go regularly, but that old baloney about them leaving en masse just never happened. Never. So let's not pretend teachers are going to do that anywhere incuding BC. Take away what? We're talking about limiting RAISES, limiting INCREASES in a very excellent benefit package and NOT INCREASING the number of teachers by having strict classroom sizes. Teachers are well paid and have superb benefits now. Well, thousands of teachers who do not get jobs on graduation gamble on just what you say- getting a full time contract in the location they want to work. Tough shit for the grad who thinks all that just falls in your lap, it doesn't for many of us. Maybe they should apply some research skills to learning about their profession before bleating about not getting everyhting they want. For the love of it? How does any grad know enough about it- having zero experience at the work- to 'love it'?

Ah no. Harper funded federal funding increases in that exceeded inflation, for years. And still they whine. He's a guy who follows through on campaign promises though, big time. He'c turn moose turds into a plate of poutine on every table, a straw into a completely safe pipeline. Just that kind of guy..and he'd still only have gotten maybe four seats total for the PCs in 1993.

More than that, much more. I get a couple hundred channels and watch perhaps 15, none of them traditional networks. The job losses in traditional TV production and broadcast would be immense. The industry would undergo the wrenching dislocation seen in the music industry, on a bigger scale. Not that it would be all bad.

That old canard gets trotted out regularly in many places in Canada, beginning with the introduction of Medicare in SK in the 60s. It never happens. It certainly does not apply to teachers, who would find themselves fighting for substitute teaching jobs in Whale Nuts, NWT if they followed through. There are plenty of teachers in Canada, and the universities churn out thousands more very year no matter how bad the job prospects may be. In any normal industry, that means the price of teachers would plummet.