Minster goes all Trump on reporter for questioning Chinese data

[bush_cheney2004]

1 minute ago, Right To Left said:

NO, flight to the (for now) global reserve currency that is creating trillions of new dollars out of thin air and using them to buy bonds and other crap to artificially inflate stock market values today!  Even if it's just a dead-cat bounce, how else does two days of 5 and 7% stock index averages make any sense?

 

Great...let me know when the Canadian dollar rules the world.

 

Quote

But, the more America forces the world to invest in their inflationary devaluing currency, the more serious they are getting about applying workaround strategies to bypass the Dollar.

 

It is called U.S. dollar hegemony for a reason.

The world doesn't need any strategies to work around the Canadian peso.  

[G-MAN]

19 hours ago, Argus said:

Our health minister - not a doctor, but appointed because it's 2020 and we have to have women in 50% of roles - flipped out on a reporter the other day for having the gall to question Chinese data on the virus. In something reminiscent of Donald Trump she accused the reporter of feeding into conspiracy theories, despite the CIA coming out with a report saying China was fabricating data, and despite China admitting it hadn't been including asymptomatic cases. I think it's an indication of just how desperate the Trudeau Liberals remain to tow the party line - the Communist party line from China. Not that at no time have the Liberals criticized China for ANYTHING. Not for the nasty things they've said about us. Not for violating treaties. Not for cutting our imports or arresting Canadians on trumped up charges, not for putting people in concentration camps, and not for causing yet another world epidemic and then lying about it.

Maybe a global pandemic will eventually shake Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of the philosophy that Canada can afford to be the “first post-nationalist state,” as he expressed to the New York Times a few years ago. But so far it appears his government still prefers to imagine there are no countries, which seems as out of touch as celebrities singing John Lennon lyrics to us on Instagram. On Thursday, Health Minister Patty Hajdu channelled the worst excesses of Lennon and Yoko Ono as she scolded a CTV reporter for “feeding into conspiracy theories” for questioning whether Ottawa should trust China’s data in its efforts to beat COVID-19 now that U.S. intelligence officials have reportedly concluded that Beijing has been issuing fake infection statistics.

https://nationalpost.com/opinion/kevin-libin-ottawa-wont-admit-canadas-plan-is-based-on-counterfeit-chinese-data?video_autoplay=true

Great topic, and you are right in every word!

[Tdot]

7 hours ago, Right To Left said:

... according to scientists ...    In the midst of the global COVID-19 public-health emergency, it is reasonable to wonder why the origins of the pandemic matter...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 7, 2020 by Tdot

[Right To Left]

6 hours ago, Tdot said:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Since you couldn't be bothered to try to read the research paper I posted yesterday, and instead posted two more evidence-free blameshifting videos in response, I'm going back to the evidence provided by real scientists, rather than American and their Chinese lackies in Hong Kong who've been trying to goad a US invasion since Trump took over, and are just looking for an excuse...any excuse! Ultimately, it doesn't matter a crap whether or not the Chinese Government tried to put a lid on it and hide early evidence of a developing pandemic from its own citizens as well as enemies bent on damaging and even destroying them! 

The US Government knew what was coming by means of CIA informants first, and then watching how the epidemic spread in the Far East and across Central Asia. Yet, the CDC, hospitals, DHS wasn't ready for some reason, and bastards who follow Trump and think and talk like him, immediately started looking for scapegoats for their failure!

So, instead of trying to pretend that the US and the west haven't failed spectacularly to gain control of the virus, and instead say it's all the fault of a foreign government that will be our biggest regime change project yet! 

 

Quote

 

However, the genetic data irrefutably show that SARSCoV-2 is not derived from any previously used virus backbone20. Instead, we propose two scenarios that can plausibly explain the origin of SARS-CoV-2: (i) natural selection in an animal host before zoonotic transfer; and (ii) natural selection in humans following zoonotic transfer. We also discuss whether selection during passage could have given rise to SARS-CoV-2.

1. Natural selection in an animal host before zoonotic transfer. As many early cases of COVID-19 were linked to the Huanan market in Wuhan1,2 , it is possible that an animal source was present at this location. Given the similarity of SARSCoV-2 to bat SARS-CoV-like coronaviruses2 , it is likely that bats serve as reservoir hosts for its progenitor. Although RaTG13, sampled from a Rhinolophus affinis bat1 , is ~96% identical overall to SARS-CoV-2, its spike diverges in the RBD, which suggests that it may not bind efficiently to human ACE27 (Fig. 1a). Malayan pangolins (Manis javanica) illegally imported into Guangdong province contain coronaviruses similar to SARSCoV-221. Although the RaTG13 bat virus remains the closest to SARS-CoV-2 across the genome1 , some pangolin coronaviruses exhibit strong similarity to SARS-CoV-2 in the RBD, including all six key RBD residues21 (Fig. 1). This clearly shows that the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein optimized for binding to human-like ACE2 is the result of natural selection. Neither the bat betacoronaviruses nor the pangolin betacoronaviruses sampled thus far have polybasic cleavage sites. Although no animal coronavirus has been identified that is sufficiently similar to have served as the direct progenitor of SARS-CoV-2, the diversity of coronaviruses in bats and other species is massively undersampled. Mutations, insertions and deletions can occur near the S1–S2 junction of coronaviruses22, which shows that the polybasic cleavage site can arise by a natural evolutionary process. For a precursor virus to acquire both the polybasic cleavage site and mutations in the spike protein suitable for binding to human ACE2, an animal host would probably have to have a high population density (to allow natural selection to proceed efficiently) and an ACE2-encoding gene that is similar to the human ortholog.

2. Natural selection in humans following zoonotic transfer. It is possible that a progenitor of SARS-CoV-2 jumped into humans, acquiring the genomic features described above through adaptation during undetected human-to-human transmission. Once acquired, these adaptations would enable the pandemic to take off and produce a sufficiently large cluster of cases to trigger the surveillance system that detected it1,2 .

All SARS-CoV-2 genomes sequenced so far have the genomic features described above and are thus derived from a common ancestor that had them too. The presence in pangolins of an RBD very similar to that of SARS-CoV-2 means that we can infer this was also probably in the virus that jumped to humans. This leaves the insertion of polybasic cleavage site to occur during human-to-human transmission. Estimates of the timing of the most recent common ancestor of SARS-CoV-2 made with current sequence data point to emergence of the virus in late November 2019 to early December 201923, compatible with the earliest retrospectively confirmed cases24. Hence, this scenario presumes a period of unrecognized transmission in humans between the initial zoonotic event and the acquisition of the polybasic cleavage site. Sufficient opportunity could have arisen if there had been many prior zoonotic events that produced short chains of human-tohuman transmission over an extended period. This is essentially the situation for MERS-CoV, for which all human cases are the result of repeated jumps of the virus from dromedary camels, producing single infections or short transmission chains that eventually resolve, with no adaptation to sustained transmission25. Studies of banked human samples could provide information on whether such cryptic spread has occurred. Retrospective serological studies could also be informative, and a few such studies have been conducted showing low-level exposures to SARSCoV-like coronaviruses in certain areas of China26. Critically, however, these studies could not have distinguished whether exposures were due to prior infections with SARS-CoV, SARS-CoV-2 or other SARSCoV-like coronaviruses. Further serological studies should be conducted to determine the extent of prior human exposure to SARS-CoV-2.

3. Selection during passage. Basic research involving passage of bat SARS-CoV-like coronaviruses in cell culture and/or animal models has been ongoing for many years in biosafety level 2 laboratories across the world27, and there are documented instances of laboratory escapes of SARS-CoV28. We must therefore examine the possibility of an inadvertent laboratory release of SARS-CoV-2. In theory, it is possible that SARS-CoV-2 acquired RBD mutations (Fig. 1a) during adaptation to passage in cell culture, as has been observed in studies of SARS-CoV11. The finding of SARS-CoVlike coronaviruses from pangolins with nearly identical RBDs, however, provides a much stronger and more parsimonious explanation of how SARS-CoV-2 acquired these via recombination or mutation19. The acquisition of both the polybasic cleavage site and predicted O-linked glycans also argues against culture-based scenarios. New polybasic cleavage sites have been observed only after prolonged passage of low-pathogenicity avian influenza virus in vitro or in vivo17. Furthermore, a hypothetical generation of SARS-CoV-2 by cell culture or animal passage would have required prior isolation of a progenitor virus with very high genetic similarity, which has not been described. Subsequent generation of a polybasic cleavage site would have then required repeated passage in cell culture or animals with ACE2 receptors similar to those of humans, but such work has also not previously been described. Finally, the generation of the predicted O-linked glycans is also unlikely to have occurred due to cell-culture passage, as such features suggest the involvement of an immune system18

Conclusions In the midst of the global COVID-19 public-health emergency, it is reasonable to wonder why the origins of the pandemic matter. Detailed understanding of how an animal virus jumped species boundaries to infect humans so productively will help in the prevention of future zoonotic events. For example, if SARS-CoV-2 pre-adapted in another animal species, then there is the risk of future re-emergence events. In contrast, if the adaptive process occurred in humans, then even if repeated zoonotic transfers occur, they are unlikely to take off without the same series of mutations. In addition, identifying the closest viral relatives of SARS-CoV-2 circulating in animals will greatly assist studies of viral function. Indeed, the availability of the RaTG13 bat sequence helped reveal key RBD mutations and the polybasic cleavage site. The genomic features described here may explain in part the infectiousness and transmissibility of SARS-CoV-2 in humans. Although the evidence shows that SARSCoV-2 is not a purposefully manipulated virus, it is currently impossible to prove or disprove the other theories of its origin described here. However, since we observed all notable SARS-CoV-2 features, including the optimized RBD and polybasic cleavage site, in related coronaviruses in nature, we do not believe that any type of laboratorybased scenario is plausible. More scientific data could swing the balance of evidence to favor one hypothesis over another. Obtaining related viral sequences from animal sources would be the most definitive way of revealing viral origins. For example, a future observation of an intermediate or fully formed polybasic cleavage site in a SARS-CoV-2-like virus from animals would lend even further support to the natural-selection hypotheses. It would also be helpful to obtain more genetic and functional data about SARSCoV-2, including animal studies. The identification of a potential intermediate host of SARS-CoV-2, as well as sequencing of the virus from very early cases, would similarly be highly informative. Irrespective of the exact mechanisms by which SARSCoV-2 originated via natural selection, the ongoing surveillance of pneumonia in humans and other animals is clearly of utmost importance.

 

So, in conclusion, the real experts, who are not politically motivated and understand the subject material determine that what is known of the development and progression of this virus indicates that IT WAS NOT LIKELY to have been created in a lab! Unless Mother Nature is the genetic engineer....seeking ways to eliminate a troublesome species that over-extends and over-consumes its share of resources!

 

[Tdot]

56 minutes ago, Right To Left said:

Since you couldn't be bothered to try to read the research paper I posted yesterday, and instead posted two more evidence-free blameshifting videos in response, I'm going back to the evidence provided by real scientists, rather than American and their Chinese lackies in Hong Kong who've been trying to goad a US invasion since Trump took over, and are just looking for an excuse...any excuse! Ultimately, it doesn't matter a crap whether or not the Chinese Government tried to put a lid on it and hide early evidence of a developing pandemic from its own citizens as well as enemies bent on damaging and even destroying them! 

The US Government knew what was coming by means of CIA informants first, and then watching how the epidemic spread in the Far East and across Central Asia. Yet, the CDC, hospitals, DHS wasn't ready for some reason, and bastards who follow Trump and think and talk like him, immediately started looking for scapegoats for their failure!

So, instead of trying to pretend that the US and the west haven't failed spectacularly to gain control of the virus, and instead say it's all the fault of a foreign government that will be our biggest regime change project yet! 

 

So, in conclusion, the real experts, who are not politically motivated and understand the subject material determine that what is known of the development and progression of this virus indicates that IT WAS NOT LIKELY to have been created in a lab! Unless Mother Nature is the genetic engineer....seeking ways to eliminate a troublesome species that over-extends and over-consumes its share of resources!

 

Since you couldn't be bothered to try to realize that those are not pro-Trump politicians in the videos, and they are unbiased Chinese citizens, then I'm choosing the vid's info over your research paper here. Especially since the vids do not claim, even once, that COVID 19 was created in a lab ---as the vids detailed how there were bats with the virus, housed within a GOVT lab located VERY close to the Wuhan wet market.

 

HEAR more carefully.

Edited April 7, 2020 by Tdot

[Right To Left]

8 minutes ago, Tdot said:

Since you couldn't be bothered to try to realize that those are not pro-Trump politicians in the videos, and they are unbiased Chinese citizens, then I'm choosing the vid's info over your research paper here. Especially since the vids do not claim, even once, that COVID 19 was created in a lab ---as the vids detailed how there were bats with the virus, housed within a GOVT lab located VERY close to the Wuhan wet market.

 

HEAR more carefully.

I prefer stuff I can read over stuff I have to listen through. 

Your first 2 minute video clip, the female presenter states in English: "rising SPECULATION that it (the virus) MAY HAVE originated at a research facility NOT FAR from the Wuhan fish market."  And that's what you call EVIDENCE?

Second video is a 13 minute clip from a 60 Minutes Australia report ....I didn't know such a thing existed. The woman scientist...I presume, claims that local Chinese authorities knew for six weeks that the virus was spreading, but assumed it would not get out of control....and whistleblowers were suppressed. And this was different than Trump 3 months later denying that Covid was a problem and until 2 weeks ago was only concerned about falling stock market prices. And to hide his incompetence he and Pompeo start making noises about demanding billions from China in compensation. Nothing mentioned about information provided internationally from February on.

Nor is it mentioned in this CBS report blaming China for not stopping 5 million Wuhan residents from leaving to other Chinese provinces and foreign nations in January that the US Government waited weeks to place travel restrictions on travel in and out of the US. No mention on the US Government taking weeks to stop people on flights in and out of the US either. 

She also loses cred whatever her credentials are for the claim that Australians will be at risk in July and August....the winter months of the southern hemisphere, because the progression of this disease so far does not track the typical spread of flu epidemics, since Covid-19 spread faster at first in southern Europe and is only now rapidly growing in England. In South America, he virus has spread much faster on the west coast of the continent, rather than the east - Brazil and Argentina. No one has an answer why at the moment. But shit that would be disregarded as fake news if it wasn't MSM are going to find an angle to work on!

 

[Tdot]

2 hours ago, Right To Left said:

I prefer stuff I can read over stuff I have to listen through. 

Your first 2 minute video clip, the female presenter states in English: "rising SPECULATION that it (the virus) MAY HAVE originated at a research facility NOT FAR from the Wuhan fish market."  And that's what you call EVIDENCE?

Second video is a 13 minute clip from a 60 Minutes Australia report ....I didn't know such a thing existed. The woman scientist...I presume, claims that local Chinese authorities knew for six weeks that the virus was spreading, but assumed it would not get out of control....and whistleblowers were suppressed. And this was different than Trump 3 months later denying that Covid was a problem and until 2 weeks ago was only concerned about falling stock market prices. And to hide his incompetence he and Pompeo start making noises about demanding billions from China in compensation. Nothing mentioned about information provided internationally from February on.

Nor is it mentioned in this CBS report blaming China for not stopping 5 million Wuhan residents from leaving to other Chinese provinces and foreign nations in January that the US Government waited weeks to place travel restrictions on travel in and out of the US. No mention on the US Government taking weeks to stop people on flights in and out of the US either. 

She also loses cred whatever her credentials are for the claim that Australians will be at risk in July and August....the winter months of the southern hemisphere, because the progression of this disease so far does not track the typical spread of flu epidemics, since Covid-19 spread faster at first in southern Europe and is only now rapidly growing in England. In South America, he virus has spread much faster on the west coast of the continent, rather than the east - Brazil and Argentina. No one has an answer why at the moment. But shit that would be disregarded as fake news if it wasn't MSM are going to find an angle to work on!

 

Now you are using only your emotions to contest and to trivialize the facts within the vids. So I'm done here.  

 

Have a nice day.

[WestCanMan]

On 4/6/2020 at 11:02 AM, bush_cheney2004 said:

Trump flippantly calls it the Wuhan Flu....Trudeau is afraid to even think that let alone say it.

Our boy leader is still afraid to come out of his house.

 

[WestCanMan]

On 4/6/2020 at 9:03 AM, Argus said:

Our health minister - not a doctor, but appointed because it's 2020 and we have to have women in 50% of roles - flipped out on a reporter the other day for having the gall to question Chinese data on the virus. In something reminiscent of Donald Trump she accused the reporter of feeding into conspiracy theories, despite the CIA coming out with a report saying China was fabricating data, and despite China admitting it hadn't been including asymptomatic cases. I think it's an indication of just how desperate the Trudeau Liberals remain to tow the party line - the Communist party line from China. Not that at no time have the Liberals criticized China for ANYTHING. Not for the nasty things they've said about us. Not for violating treaties. Not for cutting our imports or arresting Canadians on trumped up charges, not for putting people in concentration camps, and not for causing yet another world epidemic and then lying about it.

Our health minister can't afford to have the China/WHO "facts" questioned because our own government followed in lock step with the WHO policies of leaving travel from China open, and not wearing masks. 

I wonder if they follow up on that story or if it's died a quicker death than a 127 yr old with diabetes, covid, aids and a hungry anaconda on his chest.

[eyeball]

1 hour ago, WestCanMan said:

Our boy leader is still afraid to come out of his house.

If your mom had it would it you leave her basement?

[Shady]

 

1 hour ago, WestCanMan said:

Our boy leader is still afraid to come out of his house.

 

He’s the peek-a-boo prime minister.

[WestCanMan]

1 hour ago, eyeball said:

If your mom had it would it you leave her basement?

Grow up.

[eyeball]

29 minutes ago, WestCanMan said:

Grow up.

Hey stupid. Pay attention because it's a serious question you need to consider because lives could depend on it.  Why do you think leaving an infected house and just negligently going out in public is a good idea?  What would your mother say if you did that?

Stay the **** in the basement is my guess.

[WestCanMan]

13 hours ago, eyeball said:

Hey stupid. Pay attention because it's a serious question you need to consider because lives could depend on it.  Why do you think leaving an infected house and just negligently going out in public is a good idea?  What would your mother say if you did that?

Stay the **** in the basement is my guess.

Sorry to burst your bubble, but your dream of finding a person whom you could look down on intellectually is almost certainly never going to come true. 

As a last ditch effort, you could join the Liberal Party and go to meetings, but there's a chance that you end up being even dumber than you already are.

Let me know how it goes. I'm kinda curious to see if an IQ can be in the negative numbers. 

[eyeball]

1 hour ago, WestCanMan said:

Blah blah blah 

Just answer the fucking question, why do you think leaving an infected house and going out in public is a good idea?

[WestCanMan]

3 hours ago, eyeball said:

Just answer the fucking question, why do you think leaving an infected house and going out in public is a good idea?

Just to be a man. To be a leader, like every other country on earth has right now,  instead of a useless wimp. 

[cannuck]

1 hour ago, WestCanMan said:

Just to be a man. To be a leader, like every other country on earth has right now,  instead of a useless wimp. 

Tried to argue with that, thought of every country I could (knee jerk reaction to being conditioned to think mr Dressup is the second coming by the media)...comes back to the same place.   Have to agree.

Edited April 9, 2020 by cannuck

[Right To Left]

On 4/7/2020 at 3:16 AM, bush_cheney2004 said:

 

Great...let me know when the Canadian dollar rules the world.

We're tied at the waist to your Dollar, and if the USD sinks under the waves as Trump and future presidents run up $Trillions more in debt, our Dollar sinks also!  The ones you got to worry about is China mostly, but your allies - Eurozone are also interested in the "basket of currencies" model for the trade. Those are the ones your finance geniuses should worry about.

[bush_cheney2004]

2 minutes ago, Right To Left said:

We're tied at the waist to your Dollar, and if the USD sinks under the waves as Trump and future presidents run up $Trillions more in debt, our Dollar sinks also!  The ones you got to worry about is China mostly, but your allies - Eurozone are also interested in the "basket of currencies" model for the trade. Those are the ones your finance geniuses should worry about.

 

Canada's dollar valuation is mostly determined by world commodity prices, and has been higher than the USD at times in the past.

China really doesn't want to displace the USD until it has reached other goals that a higher yuan would undermine.   China's trade advantage comes in part from a carefully managed and undervalued yuan.

[Moonbox]

On 4/8/2020 at 7:44 PM, WestCanMan said:

Just to be a man. To be a leader, like every other country on earth has right now,  instead of a useless wimp. 

Sure.  Risk infecting other people, the very opposite of what he's suggesting everyone else should do.  That would be leading by example, wouldn't it? 

Your suggesting basically the stupidest possible thing he could do, all for the banal idea that he "he be a man".  

[Moonbox]

10 hours ago, Right To Left said:

We're tied at the waist to your Dollar, and if the USD sinks under the waves as Trump and future presidents run up $Trillions more in debt, our Dollar sinks also!  The ones you got to worry about is China mostly, but your allies - Eurozone are also interested in the "basket of currencies" model for the trade. Those are the ones your finance geniuses should worry about.

We're not at all tied to the USD, and our currency floats freely against it.  You could argue monetary policy has been designed to keep the CDN lower than the USD to make exports cheap. 

Listen to bcheney on this.  He actually knows what's he talking about.  You don't have a clue.  Our dollar is a petro dollar, and our currency will rise and fall mostly on oil prices and resources...because that's all our economy does.  We dig stuff out of the ground and sell it.  

 

Edited April 13, 2020 by Moonbox

[WestCanMan]

34 minutes ago, Moonbox said:

Sure.  Risk infecting other people, the very opposite of what he's suggesting everyone else should do.  That would be leading by example, wouldn't it? 

Your suggesting basically the stupidest possible thing he could do, all for the banal idea that he "he be a man".  

There's no risk of infecting other people if you get tested and you're negative. One of the biggest defences against covid is testing people who may have the virus. Trudeau refused to take one of the most basic covid precautions there is, and that's why he chose to stay in his basement.

It's not just important for isolating the virus, it's also important for tracking the virus statistically. 

[Right To Left]

1 hour ago, Moonbox said:

We're not at all tied to the USD, and our currency floats freely against it.  You could argue monetary policy has been designed to keep the CDN lower than the USD to make exports cheap. 

Listen to bcheney on this.  He actually knows what's he talking about.  You don't have a clue.  Our dollar is a petro dollar, and our currency will rise and fall mostly on oil prices and resources...because that's all our economy does.  We dig stuff out of the ground and sell it.  

 

When I first was here many years ago, I never could take anyone seriously about anything who considers Bush and Cheney heroes to idolize and use as examples to follow on everything, including financial advice! 

Now George is dancing with Ellen and has become a welcomed part of the fold of woke democrats...at least Cheney doesn't bother to put on an act to hide his malevolence. 

As far as currencies go, I don't claim any expertise, aside having a basic understanding that since we all abandoned the gold standard back in the early 70's, ALL paper currencies are fiat, and are only worth whatever everyone agrees they are worth! 

Now, what exactly is the Canadian Dollar worth if we run afoul of US demands? Trudeau wouldn't even condemn the Trump Admin theft of PPE shipments that were en route to Canada or the order given to 3M to cancel sales of N-95 masks to Canada! Fact is Canada hasn't had economic independence since the full rules of NAFTA were applied after 2000. And since our economy depends on so many exports to the US, how far is our Dollar going to carry us if the US economy collapses because of its debtload and the added extended period of economic inactivity?

Internationally, it's because the US economy has been the 800 lb gorilla since the collapse of the Soviet Union, that it has used the opportunity as the global superpower to tighten the screws on the entire global economy and make sure the costs of trying to circumvent US rules of "soft power" i.e. sanctions, aren't circumvented, except under extreme cases when US forces have to be sent in to bomb and occupy incalcitrant colonies overseas!

The rest of the world (including putative allies) have tried to pretend they are independent. But as we have seen most recently with the Trump scheme of destroying Obama's Iran nuclear deal just out of spite and little else, the Euros' may whine and jump up and down, but end up forced to end their deals with Iran. Only nations that are rich in natural resources like Russia OR have significant economic power like China, have been able to endure US sanctions easily and carry on. Now, Covid panic and shutdowns have got US policy planners scared that this game is over and a receding US economy that was already facing a debt crisis when the pandemic started, never fully recovers the power it once had over so many nations that have been waiting for their chance to break free of the Dollar. 

When the end comes.....which I expect within the next five years, the US may find itself with no actual allies in the world aside from lackies like us....because we tied our economy firmly with the US instead of taking the more risky and possibly less rewarding route of real independence!

[Right To Left]

13 hours ago, bush_cheney2004 said:

 

Canada's dollar valuation is mostly determined by world commodity prices, and has been higher than the USD at times in the past.

China really doesn't want to displace the USD until it has reached other goals that a higher yuan would undermine.   China's trade advantage comes in part from a carefully managed and undervalued yuan.

Our dollar was higher when oil prices were higher, and now that we're down to dirty tarsands that are less viable and nobody surrounding the oilpatch wants pipelines running Dil-bit through their territory, I don't see it happening again! Other Canadian resources are running low also; that's why our gold and copper mining companies have gone international...giving our nation a bad name in poor countries where they set up operations that poison the land and water supplies of locals. Other than that, it's been ridiculously overinflated real estate values that have kept our economy running over the past 20 years.

[Regina]

I wish more research could be done about using CBD, herbal supplements, homeopathic remedies, and Medical Marijuana as options for treatment of all current and future illnesses.  I wish there would be a still larger budget to improve healthcare and medical research. Regardless of who said what or comparing politicians to each other...