overthere

Basketball has many pro leagues in Europe. Hockey has many pro leagues in North America and Europe. Baseball has many teams and levels of pro ball in North America, others in Mexico, Caribbean and Japan. Football...... not much.

The buntoss in Mali was and is a pretty small scale affair. The West Moose Jaw Fire Department could rout the Mali army. I have traveled in the areas they were fighting in Mali and there ain't much there. There is also a documented pipeline of jihadis from Canada, the UK and many other countries to Syria and beyond. No, the ability of Libya as a state to export terror or money to support terror is severely limited with the abrupt absence of Qaddafi. That may change, but they don't look too organized just yet. They're pretty busy fighting each other.

If a kid isn't playing college football and getting noticed, three years out of high school means he has a good start on a career at KMart because there isn't much in developmental leagues other than college/uni.

I'm cheering for The Big Guy to win again. This country needs entertainment.

That is a direct shot at NATO allies like Germany, France, Spain, Italy and others who were physically present in Afghanistan but refused any significant combat roles the entire time, choosing instead to cower in their bases. Canada had a combat role.

I'm not sure when it will appear, but I really want to see the second season of The Fall. Wonderful stuff. Also True Detective, which apparently has no storyline connection or shared characters from the terrific first season.

On the other hand, they are unable to export that terrorism at the moment, and cannot fund others for same. It's small victory but you take them where you can.

Your opinion on validity or lack of validity of abortions is the problem- your problem. Your opinion is without value, as is mine. The only one that matters is the person carrying the fetus. You seem to have trouble viewing this subject with any rationality or objectivity. Try this: it is not about you.

Manitoba is a highly advanced society

I don't understand your post.

I love your optimism and wish you well, but..... I reckon the worm has turned. You'll be exporting energy to a country(China) to fuel their Industrial revolution. 35 years ago was the heart of the Cold War, when you thought your enemy(Russia) was far stronger than they actually were. That is not the case with China.

There are a whole whack of recent local graduates right in BC.....

One thing ISIS has accomplished: they have pretty much ensured the partition of Iraq. No way the Kurds can stick around now, they have to split.

Ummm, 'massage' is interchangeable with 'massage therapy'. Nobody is talking about the other massage, the one with 'happy ending'. By way of comparison, my wifes very large teachers local in Alberta also gets money for massage as a benefit. $1000 annual limit, receipts from a licensed therapist required.

It's not an assumption. Every BC MLA govt has a sworn duty to represent taxpayers. For once they are doing their jobs. I applaud them and hope they don't buckle as usual.

Ahem, you just got on a watch list. Oh crap so did I.

That is simply not true. The AFN has melted down over this issue, and everybody was involved. If not this issue for a meltdown, it would have been something else and soon. Even with a new leader coming soon, no organization can operate with 650 votes required for any decision, and no doubt many opting out after votes they perceive as not going their way. So, it looks like a start over. The shame is not so much that the AFN itself is in deep trouble. It's that First Nations need a new form of governance at the national level to effectively negotiate at any level, much less nationally. I don't see that on the horizon, is there any individual or group that has general trust or credibility within the FN, a means to unite for common cause?

You are overstating the reach of the EU, which has taken a step back/timeout after the financial adventures of the last several years left a lot of people wondering where it is all going.. The 'open borders' are not universal in the EU, neither is use of the Euro. Several countries have strong grassroots opposition to continued EU membership, and the EU has taken a step back. The recession was not handled well, neither was the near meltdown of PIGS(Portugal, Italy, Greece, Spain). Although they sort of have a monetary policy, it is obvious that they need a much more integrated fiscal policy to react effectively. And they don't, because that would require a much stronger loss of sovereignty than at present, a willingness to allow Brussels to run it all. And that just won't wash right now, Yurp is filled with old fights and mistrust at that level of loss of national control. It's one thing to have Brussels dictate the Yurpeen standards for condoms, quite another to have your economy controlled by Belgium. You are right on the mega alliances though, doesn't this all look a whole bunch Orwellian? North Aerican Free trade, now spreading to South America. Europe united. Asia united. He just had the wrong year....

There is never, ever any need to wonder at the reason or nature of the foreign policy of France. They are wholly selfish bastards and always have been. End of. Rainbow Warrior anybody?

The sustained applause of most of the Russian population. There is a general earning for the good old days of the USSR. It will be interesting to see how former subordinate territories, like the 'Stans, react to Russian aggression on Europes back porch. The Stans should be worried, very worried..

Legislating is not the ultimate ultimatum? The end of a process. Yes I guess that would be the easy way out. Why do you want to end the lawful collective bargaining process underway now? No, I think the govt is determined to reach an agreement within the restrictions of the budget of the Province of British Columbia. They feel the responsibility of representing all taxpayers, not caving in to the demands of a single union. Another phrase for this is 'doing their jobs'.

The real reason they aren't eligible until after three years is that it saves the NFL money that way, no bidding wars for very young high school age kids who are very very uncertain to make it as pros. The NFL is unique among major pro sports in that they have serious control over their players and this is an example. Hockey, baseball and basketball all have many other leagues where you can make a living at the game, football has pretty much two and one of them is a financial monster. No guaranteed contracts is another example of their complete control.

What is valid is this statement: A womans choice to abort or not abort is none of my business. Here is another: It's none of your business either.

I do not support the decision of some arbitrator in billion dollar+ spending decisions. He or she has no skin in the game, and this is far too important for that. I have elected officials and a whole buildings full of supposed financial, labour and education specialists to provide guidance to Cabinet. They can earn their money and make sure taxpayers get full value. Somebody has to do it. The governments priority is to balance priorities and make sure reasonable services are provided. I guess the money they don't spend on education will mean it is spent on health care or something they deem more important. Yes, it is about spending too much. The value of any employee, including teachers, is not unlimited. I don't buy into the kindergarten math bullshit spun constantly by the BCTF and others that 'we are paid less than the national average".

I think it is about $100 for school fees at my spouses school. Of course, there are also school supplies as usual. Kids are also asked to cough up a few bucks for outings to help pay for the bus and entrance fees. It is a working class neighbourhood public school with many immigrants and some that have little to no cash. Nobody gets turned away, the school manages its own money and they kick in small amounts for all these things. There is also a strong Parent Council that does fundraisers and they are very good at making sure nobody gets left behind for anything unless they want to be left behind(ie Jehovahs witnesses at Halloween or Muslims at Xmas). My wife is also good at scrounging and hoarding free stuff and making sure everybody in her class has what they need. If all else fails, she buys stuff herself for certain kids, especially if they are hungry.