overthere

"Let's not get all ridiculous here and start comparing the guy to Gandhi." It is not unreasonable to compare him to Gandhi, but it is too early in the evolution of the nation he helped create. Better to wait a decade or two and see how South Africa does as a democracy. India has done amazingly well given the circumstances of a large country with extremely disparate cultural, religious and lingusitic issues. It is by far the largest democracy on the planet. 1 billion + people. 30+ official languages. Let's hope South Africa thrives in Mandelas abscence, that his spirit lives on and inspires.

OK, in no order at all: Wall-E, Apollo13, Alien, Aliens, The Day the Earth Stood Still(the old one from the 50s), 2001 A Space Odyssey, The Right Stuff, Event Horizon, the first Star Wars, Serenity, Moon, Gayniggers From Outer Space, Solaris.

They are likely to hate it on a small screen. PR is a visual and auditory assault, which is essential in this genre. Oh, and it was not bad overall.

"set in space"? The only reference to that is in post 12, where M Hardener says Chris Hadfield says Gravity is the best space movie ever. I don't assume anything other than it is the best movie Hadfield has seen on the subject. It is far from the best one I've seen, and I've seen plenty and listed several in previous posts. I mentioned seven or 8 excellent movies related to space travel, but if you want only movies set in space we'd have to eliminate Gravity(earth scenes), 2001(same), Moon(moon only), Right Stuff(mostly earthbound), Alien(extraterrestrial scenes), Apollo 13(earth scenes).

Your first sentence is very good, though you don't say why the nationalists will not vote for nationalism. It's the same reason they don't in Quebec: the money. The UK economy (and that includes Scotland) is largely driven by the economic giant cash machine of the South and especially London. It's no secret. In the end, common sense will prevail and Scotland will not vote to leave all that lovely cash behind, regardless of ancient festering grievances. It's trendy to be a nationalist, but it's soft at the core. The loss of a referendum won't change much for the SNP, particularly in these tough economic times. Scotland is a place that has had far more years that are tough economically than they've had wealth. Right now, the SNP is a lightning rod for the myriad of disaffected, and that won't change with the loss of a vote. It is similar in that sense to the PQ: support waxes and wanes, but there are always those who live the dream forever.

He is one of the great human rights activists of the last century, along with Gandhi and Martin Luther King. For me, one of his greatest moments came when he was invested as President of South Africa. He invited to the ceremony- as VIPs- the man who prosecuted his case and sent him to jail for 27 years, and a number of his white jailkeepers. Really, how many of us could be that generous? It was part of his insistence on national reconciliation, not revenge.

Quebec will be a key to the next election. The separatists are not doing so well there, the Bloc is largely a spent force. They don't like being out in the cold with only Oppostion seats in Ottawa, and Mulcair has brought them little or nothing despite a strong mandate. So in 2015.... a few rump seats for the NDP, a token few for the Bloc and the rest up for grabs. Who gets the rest? "Trudeau" is a filthy word for many in Quebec, buy palatable enough for some. I reckon the vote will be really fractured in Quebec: the Bloc gets a few, the NDP loses big, Trudeau gains a bunch and the Tories pick up perhaps 15-20 seats. It won't be enough to get the Tories out of office. Trudeau needs Quebec big to win.

1.5 billion ? Paythetic. The AB govt nets $729 million in profit with one third the population, and has none of the immense unfunded pension liability for LCBO that is not part of your piddly $1.2 billion. And far less risk too.... Lots of drops to me, $729 million and nothing to fear on the other side of the ledger. But I guess Ontario feels safer having civil servants operate tills and forklifts. Welcome to the 19th century.

"In BC, we have a mixture of BCL's and private liquor stores. The private stores generally cost more, and partial privatization has not resulted in better variety or lower prices." Thats a classic scenario for govt 'privatization' schemes. It's a doomed scenario. I bet there are many bureaucrats and 'stkeholders (menaing union members) who will make sure it won't work. An old, tired script. "If they are so profitable, and they are...maybe you can explain 'deadweight' ?" I already did a couple times, but I can see you need repetition. You have a large govt enterprise in expensive owned or leased buildings with an overpaid workforce with fat benefit packages and even fatter pension liabilities. You cannot change that without the investment of a lot of political capital and considerable spine. You will pay for those extraordinary costs forever. Alberta will not, they have eliminated that risk and certain heavy liability to taxpayers. The govt still retains the wholesale end, where the profit resides, there is little capital investment required, and risk to taxpayers is minimized. Perhaps you could read something independently since you refuse to understand any other way.

"His point of view on this is deserving of more consideration than yours. Sorry." Hadfield also plays guitar, but I wouldn't pay a nickel to watch him play guitar and would pay less for his opinion as film critic. I can also guarantee I've seen far more movies than him, and I pay attention. Event Horizon? It makes many Top Ten movies about space lists. I guess all those movie critics are wrong, and acclaimed movie critics Chrius Hadfield and Michael Hardner are wrong....here is one of many http://www.digitalspy.ca/movies/at-the-movies/a527876/9-space-movies-you-need-to-watch-before-gravity-2001-alien-more.html Another very strong contender, how could I forget the wonderful, classic The Right Stuff?

And you missed mine entirely. Movies - the best of movies, not the made-for-TV crap- have always been made for the experience of the theater. Lawrence of Arabia for example..... made 50 years ago, for the big screen and still a visual feast. The future of movies at theaters is solid. There is really nothing new about the experience or why people go to movies in droves, beyond some technical tweaks. Talkies, Technicolor, Panavision. CGI.... none of these make much difference to why people pay to go. Sandra Bullock was lucky how? She is a very well established actress with a recent Oscar who can pick her roles. They'd be courting her for the role, not the other way around She's also getting a little old, where these vanity roles get much harder to get, perhaps her last time when a toned body will help.

Having has a few minutes to think of space movies that are better than Gravity, add Moon, Apollo 13 and Solaris to an expanding list.

No, I'm saying that Hadfield is an accomplished scientist, snappy dresser and all around good guy but.... if he thinks Gravity is the best movie about space he needs to get out more. I do get out more, and gave three examples of 'space' movies that are better than Gravity. Yes, Event Horizon. One of the scariest movies ever, set in space. Interesting premise too. Well written and acted. You're an accomplished film critic, do you think Gravity is the best space movie ever?

Nope. What Alberta did was ditch thousands of unproductive, overpaid employees and (BONUD) their plump benefit packages and really large lifetime pensions. Plus they did not have to invest hundreds of millions in new stores, repair the old ones or 'modernize' any of the real property deadweight the LCBO is burdened with. I guess you did not read the stat that the products on the shelves have gone from 2200 to around 15,000 with privatization. There is absolutely no way the AB govt would have increased the number of their stores from 200 to 2000. None. Zero. Oh, and they kept the profits while flushing the risk. Neatly done. Even the NDP here never talk about going back to the dinosaur days prior to privatization. I can see you have no interest in reality or actual facts and figures that demonstrate a success story(except for the public sector unions), but do carry on......

The word "demand" has a particular meaning that is specific to the production and billing electricity. "demand" as in 'demand charges' can mean the peak usage of electricity within a given period, and it has been a signigficant component in billing of industrial power consumers for a long time. The meter will have an indicator of peak usage in amperage(not consumption in kwh, the peak amps). Your bill is reset to that peak usage for the folowing year, even if you never approach anywhere near that peak again. Now the demand meters are coming to your homes. Bend Over.

"According to Geist, there is no widespread counterfeiting in the drug industry. " He'd be wrong. There is plenty of counterfeiting outside the West, and it will inevitably move our way as boomers consume more and more pharmaceuticals as they age. I was in India not long ago. There are boxes of real drugs(like Crestor, Cipro, Lipiotor and many others) collecting dust on the shelves right next to copies of those drugs made locally. The real versions are unaffordable, and the imitations are of course dangerous. They aren't generic drugs, they are unregulated copies.

You cannot compare zero Stanley Cup final appearances in what... 47 years?.... with five Cup wins and 7 Finals appearances in the 35 years the Oilers have existed. Unless you are desperate for any kind of schadenfreude available.... Oh, and the comparison to the Cubs...maybe. One big difference is the atmosphere at games. Having seen both play live recently, I noticed that the Leafs barn/fan base is morose, bitter and generally resigned to the inevitable seasonal collapse. Games at Wrigley are a giant party inside and out, a lot of fun.

It is not fruitless at all, as service to consumers everywhere in the province is vastly better with a privatized system in Alberta. That is EVERYWHERE, not just those few thaty live nearby some centralized magastore. Far more stores and far, far more selection within stores Another major upgrade is the emergence of speciality stores. One nearby has around 600 brands of beer, another has a vast array of Scotch, several specialize in high end wines, others in high end spirits. Greatly expanded numbers of stores (by 10 times),an immensely greater number of products on the shelves are two benefits available to consumers enjoy that were simply unavailable under the old system. Try again.

"Chris Hadfield, on Conan O'Brien, called it the best space movie ever." Well, no. There are many better, off the top of my head I would rank 2001: A Space Odyssey, Alien and Event Horizon well ahead of Gravity.

You have yet to explain why theaters are still packed......with paying customers. I can offer a hint or two. Many, many movies are made specifically for the big screen and big sound. Many consumers recognize that reality. It makes me laugh to be online and listen to people bitch about how the latest CGI Blockbuster they pirated is not very good on their laptop. Gravity is basically a vanity movie for Sandra Bullock. She is in nearly every scene. The CGI is very, very good.

It will be like voting for your favorite corpse. The CBC will end up with a theme song and nowhere to play it after this season. Rogers will be making all editorial decisions after this season, including on HNIC.

That is not at all what happened with Alberta privatization. The number of govt outlets in 1993 was 208, now there are about 2000 outlets. The number of products available then was about 2200, now it is around 15,000. Selection is much greater even in smaller stores, and there are far more stores overall with hours determined by their business license, not a collective bargaining agreement.

Incorrect. If the AB govt had kept the old model, their overall profit would be dramatically reduced and hence less net revenue. Since enduser is another word for taxpayer, there is indeed a direct benefit. Of course, there is far more convenience to consumers through vastly more choice in both products and retail outlets, and more jobs. Those jobs are at market value, not at $50 to $60k per year plus fat benefits plus hefty public service pensions for cashiers and warehouse workers. I say again: absolutely the ONLY people here who would favour a return to the expensive, needless nonsense of govt run liquor retailing are Alberta Union of Public Employee members.

The first part of your sentence does not relate to the second part. And I suggested nothing of the sort nor did I condone bullying, simply pointed out the difference between the virutal world and real life. I can punch you in the face all I like here, and you'll laugh it off. Your reaction to an actual physical assault would be very different.

Internet bullying is pretty unique....in that is is somewhat voluntary. Nobody is obliged to go to sites or join forums or listen to insults/smack talk online. Live bullying at work or school is different.