overthere

I have thought for many years that the turning point in the situation with First Nations would come when a charismatic leader emerged and united enough Nations to form a critical mass that could effect change. It has not happened yet. . I still hope to see that person emerge soon.

Good post. What is happening with ISIS and other groups is the opposite of Arab nationalism. Arab nationalism has a long and regretfully unsuccessful history, many worthy causes derailed for various reasons. Arab Spring was a recent example of efforts in many places to effect change. The jury is still out on how well it worked.

I'm prochoice and you would probably think I am right wing. Please create a separate pigeon hole. Thanks.

Your thread would be greatly improved if you took out the Downs Syndrome sucker card. I'm sure you thought that was clever, when really you wanted to vent again about your prolife views. I take issue with " they're Ok with it". Don't presume that I have any desire to press my beliefs on you and force you to do anything. Don't pretend that I wish to force my opinion on any woman for any reason in this difficult choice. If you wish to raise a child with Downs Syndrome, go ahead. The prolife campaign suffers greatly because they refuse to acknowledge that having the right to choose means that women automatically choose abortion. It ain't so.

Sure, but they are exceptions. There are roughly 180 American players in the NFL and every one of them wishes he was in the NFL. So do the roughly 180 Canadian players who mostly only have jobs because teams are obliged to have non-imports on the roster. Not many of them go to The Show.

Oh, I think both sides are already pretty serious. What is different here is that the government side is also prepared to play chicken if they must. And they must. This has many people stupified, public sector unions are very used to getting what they want when they want it. When you pay too much for anything, including education, you are going to get either less of it or the same quantity of lower quality. Why do you want that? How is that in your interest?

Nonsense, and not even a good try.

Point of order: teachers have pretty much nothing to do with curriculum development. CD at the policy level is done by provincial/state depts of education, and often refined by the larger school boards. Luckily, many good teachers routinely ignore the latest fad and teach basics in a variety of methods depending on what works for different kids. The shortfall in literacy and numeracy skills at the university level may have a couple of sources other than Mrs. Dombroski failing her students in Grade 2. First, many more people go to university now than a generation or two ago. This can be accomplished by lowering admission standards or qualifications by the universities, which has certainly happened recently in my part of Canada. There is also a strong likelihood that high school matriculation standards are lower. Students are rarely held back at any age when they fail academically, and this is in spite of a majority of teachers who don't approve of this policy, which has no input from them. Finally, if standards are lower at every level including high school graduation and university qualification, dumber people end up in uni classrooms than previously.

Mediators with the power of binding arbitration typically gather the positions of both sides and meet in the middle. It is not often seen in the private sector, because the middle may be entirely unpalatable to one side- usually the employer who has to maintain a profitable position. Not so in the public sector, where it is a rarity for negotiators to care more about the actual market value of the work than they do about votes in the next election. Perhaps the middle is too expensive, and the govt is simply protecting your interests as a taxpayer. It's a novel concept, but you'd have to consider it.

Revenue is income to the government, like a tax. There is no revenue lost or gained in this dustup. The BC govt has not increased or decreased taxes or fees. Hope that helps. No, you don't necessarily need 5 years. My wife is a teacher and can transfer to a teaching job in BC with a four year B Ed degree with no further classwork. Pensions are also transferable from some provinces, as of several years ago.

I have proof that Lockerbie Scotland never existed, it was a sound stage in Burbank California.

Incorrect. I recognize that unions exist for one purpose: to advance the interests of their members. Some of them, like the BCTF, are not very good at recognizing reality, even when it sits on their faces. It has nothing to do with ideology, simply a recognition of relaity. Try it, you might like it. I am a taxpayer and unlike you, recognize that the days of public sector unions bullying limp govt 'negotiators' into anything that doesn't cause a fuss are over. I am delighted that somebody is finally working to see that any deal is fair to those who have to pay for it, and not unduly weighted to suck up to organized labour at the cost of all of us.. I don't extend this delight to private sector unions. If they try to hose business, the business either folds or moves. Seems fair to both sides, wouldn't you agree?

Here is a fact, something pretty much absent here: there are about 650 First Nations in Canada. Another one: it is absolutely fucking impossible for anybody to negotiate with 650 parties on the other side. Once Atleo quit when he recognized his organization was no longer united behind this deal, or behind him, the government had no choice but to withdraw and wait for the other side to decide what they want to do. If the govt tried to form a consensus without the involvement of the AFN it would get truly ridiculous.

It happens often. But players are often reluctant to give up on their NFL dream, going to the CFL is pretty much an acknowledgement that you aren't very good.

So you'd be in favour of the government recruiting a new crew of teachers willing to actually work? Me too! Since most or all of the faculties of education routinely crank out more graduates than jobs, it will be easy.

Is that a trick question, or just a lack of familiarity with basic economic concepts? There is no significant revenue associated with the strike. The government expenses will drop, but there is no extra money coming in. hth

Your link does not work. Casual labourers do not make $44/hr anywhere in the West. Native Canadians do dumb things too. On the other hand my nephew(a recent immigrant himself) hires and fires at a large landscaping company. He was just telling me - with respect and dismay- how useless native Canadians are in general in jobs that require manual labour. . It is quite well paid and has endless overtime from April to late October.. The business owners have done recruiting across Canada and will pay expenses including flights for workers. Results suck. Their best employees are from Mexico. Everybody is paid the same wage for the same work.

Abbas just signed his own death warrant, Hamas will not tolerate that kind of rational speech.

Exactly how will they do that? Names please. And do not say Dickey, Happ, Morrow, Hutchison or Buerhle. Please. You can say Stroman, Sanchez, Cecil, and maybe, just maybe Janssen. Only one of those is a starter. And the Jays don't have much to trade that won't gut their team of what little young talent they actually have. They will probably get a starter for Bautista if they trade him early in the off season. When he signed four years ago, it was on the premise that AA would build a winner around his bat. Fail. He's gone.

In other words, don't expect to see a detailed 'Liberal government' road map anytime soon.

I'm equally sure you are looking forward to it, I'd expect nothing less or nothing else.

If you'd like an interesting take on the cancer fundraising industry check out the NFB documentary Pink Ribbons Inc. It is not gentle on the industry executives. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pink_Ribbons,_Inc.

And now he undertakes a project to protect us from resource revenues in our own country. I'll send his foundation a bill for future medical procedures.

Yes, I am sure the emphasis will be on the truth, the whole truth and Professor Leo will provide balanced commentary.

My wife is also a teacher on the prairies and she also works very hard, hard enough to win several awards for excellence from her school board and parents wrangling to get her as a teacher for their lil darlings. But she also recognizes that her work is clean , dry, warm, meaningful, rewarding and well paid with enviable benefits. You don't 'endure' anything at university, teacher certification requires a 4 year BEd degree, which requires the same effort as any arts degree. If you take 5 years you must be getting a Masters, which means you are paid more. Oh, and if a person is certain they'll onl;y get part time work, why would they invest all that time and money to enter the profession to begin with? Duh. More likely they find that jobs in the cities are harder to get than jobs in remote locations, a fact which has existed for decades. Go into debt not collecting a cheque in the summer?? Now you're just making shit up. Teachers on contract are paid for all 12 months, not 10. If your family is unable to afford a middle class lifestyle on generous middle class pay, perhaps you should get some financial management counselling. If your spouse teaches high school, there will be somebody teaching life management skills on staff. Cameron wants to restrict public sector staff costs to reasonable levels. I understand that chokes the unions, it is something from the real world they have rarely encountered before.