overthere

And equally, why would we want Scotland as a large and heavily dependent province? They would never accept provincuial status anyway, and me for one would never accept any sort of equality position with Ottawa. The EU is in trouble,existential trouble. The crash of 2008, which the EU handled horribly, was an illustration that monetary policy is less important than a common fiscal policy. Many countries in the EU, and that very much includes the UK, simply will not accept the further loss of sovereignty that is demanded by a stgronger common fiscal policy. Britain is not at all alone in this feeling. Thet means the EU is in limbo. They cannot move forward with further integration, and slowly but surely are moving backward.

Many if not all have heavy government support for their auto industries, directly and indriectly. USA, Spain, Japan, France, Germany , Brazil, Mexico etc

I agree with this. But i don't know if bad guy is the right term. I suspect that the IOC has looked at hockey costs and decided 'not worth it'. It is hard to imagine the Olys without meaningful hockey, but how big is that for the IOC? Many Europeans love to watch hockey, but they are also much more supportive of many other events,while not many Canadians are watching biathlon or cross country skiing. Perhaps their calculation is that it is cheaper to just drop good hockey, and save themselves both the $10 million the NHL wants and the urge from other federations to pressure them for a cut of the pie.

Last Olympics, the AB govt gave special permission for some bars to reopen at 3 or 4 AM to show hockey games live from Sochi Olympics. They all had beer and breakfast menus, though it was too late for one and too early for the other. And most were crowded.

Because the moderate rebels have no air force, or means to drop this or any type of weapon. That narrows the field of villains a lot, wouldn't you say?

Nope. It is or will be an affirmation of Brexit. May was a waffler on Brexit before the referendum, and was chosen as party leader and thus PM because she was not an avid campaigner for either side. Cameron quit because he felt, and rightly, that he could not negotiate Britains Brexit after working hard to reject Brexit. Corbyn is a waste of skin who was just barely popular enough within his party to squeal through a leadership vote post Brexit. The Labour voting system saved him, he won't do anywhere as well in a general election as he did now. I doubt that many Labour stalwarts will be willing to hold their noses and vote for him over May in the election. None of the other parties matter much. She will cruise to a majority and perhaps a larger majority than now, because I reckon Labour will lose seats. Oh, and the First Past the Post system in the UK has 11 parties represented in the current parliament.

Washington has been a playoff dud for a long time . I didn't say the Leafs are not a surprise. I know you've had 51 years since Toronto has been to a final, but they aren't close to that, have not yet beaten Washington, and you don't need to be so defensive.

Turkey: new home of fascism. Goosestepping lessons Mondays and Thursdays. Bloodshed is inevitable. Ataturk would be absolutely horrified by these events. Turkey just took a huge step backwards into the arms of oppressive elements of fundamental Islamic ideology. I expect we'll see Erdogan start bombing his own Kurds soon. Why? Because he can, now. And the Kurdish regions of Turkey, Iraq and Syria will explode into a war that will make Syria look like a minor spat.

The Oilers are not a surprise? They are to me. They finished 29th in the league last year, added 33 points to finish second in their division, and fourth in conference. Now they are leading the Sharks, who went to the Cup final last year and have essentially the same team this year. And they are not doing well in this series because of McJesus alone, this has been a total team defensive effort.

Of course it is different- the current junior worlds are mostly held during a scheduled Xmas break, taken mainly because the players are kids who go home to their families. The players in the WJC only miss a few games, not the three weeks just before league playoffs. The IOC and IIHF would not compensate the CHL for lost revenue any more than they would compensate the NHL. The NHL-CHL relationship is not a factor? You cannot be serious: The CHL is not going to jeopardize their relationship with the NHL by going to the Olympics.

No, the financial considerations are not much different for the Juniors. About 90 junior teams would shut down for the Olympic Games, and every one of those 90 teams would suffer financial loss. Some junior teams make money, many more are very small market organizations that live on a financial knife edge. Another factor is that the NHL and the CHL(which is the premier junior team league in the world) have a long and closely connected past and future. That relationship is far, far more important to them than anything between the CHL and the IIHF or the IOC.

The Jays could just barely maybe possibly squeak into a playoff spot. But to do it, they'll have to make some additions: somebody who can run the bases because this team is seriously slow, a left handed bat for the middle of the lineup, and a much better bullpen. It is beyond belief that the only lefty in the pen is Loup. Loup is not even a major league player IMO, he has sucked very hard for over 2 years. To make significant changes, they'd have to trade at least one of their starting pitchers.. And as I've said a hundred times: this falls squarely on Shapiro and Atkins. The team has gotten steadily worse since they took over.

One of the best outcome of battles like Vimy, and WWI in general, was that Canadians learned never to have foreign commands- like British and French generals/polticians- send thousands of your soldiers to utterly pointless deaths. Our generals may have done the same things in the trenches, but at least then Canadians would be somewhat accountable for decisions and outcomes.

None f the 14 bands in Yukon had treaties, 11 of them now have agreements with the government(s). The entire system- with treaties, agreements or not- likely means that major new resource development in BC is finished, kaput, for the foreseable future.

So, kill adulterers and homosexuals, etc etc etc. No possibility of applying the grace and forgiveness of Jesus to everybody, not just The Chosen??

Fortunateley or not, every person charged with a crime in Canada is entitled to due process. It is up to the judge conducting the trial-not the Somali defendants lawyer- to determine how much time is invested in considering the applicability or admissibility of such evidence. I don't think the process if broken, but we do have some shitty judges.

That was not a very effective dodge to a simple question.

The NHL? They have already said they aren't going. Junior teams are also in mid season, they won't be spending their players to both the Worlds and the Olympics. Numerous players have complained about wanting to go to the Os. How many are prepared to walk away from their teams, and potentially end their careers, to support the IOC? It s like donating to a Mafia run charity.

The greatest act of Japanese terrorism and hate crime is the international distribution of Hello Kitty paraphenalia.

It is just the usual handwringing wankery you'd expect from the Buffoons in Brussels. Everybody, and I mean everybody, involved knows that there will be no peace, no negotiations, and no settlement, as long as Assad is part of the process. That lack of settlement suits Assad, since his option are limited. If he surrenders power, it will result in the immediate yet perversely slow deaths of himself, his family and every person associated with his regime. or, he can keep Russia as a friend and remian President for life. There is no peaceful solution, or any change at all, unless Russia steps aside. Another bloodbath will follow that. The statement is pointless and ultimately very cynical.

Betsy, do you believe in the literal truth of the Bible.? Is every word true and sacred?

It all comes from a translation problem in the Old Testament. Everybody thought the scroll said that God created man, when in actual fact man created God.

Yes, I can see a nagative. My freind is a funeral director, and I once asked her if the people she meets daily are generally at their worst or best. She said that as a group they are usually are evenly split between stunned emotionally, and at their very worst. Alcohol on site wouldn't help either group. It would help the funeral home make money, but it would be offset by fights, broken things and security costs.

The NDP are the ones that should be worried. Usually the governing party takes a bit of a hit during byelections, and Opposition parties gain. The NDP slid.

Both the Olympics and the NHL are big businesses. The NHL suspends their business for 3 weeks to enable the other business to profit, with no attendant cost or risk. I cannot get too worked about about their hijinks. On the other hand, it is always enjoyable to see the IOC get a hard and well deserved kick in the sack. Bettman has been lambasted in the media, somehow they overlook the reality that Gary works for a Board of Directors, and they don't see the advantage to themselves or the league to go to Korea.