CalgaryBlade

"most stupid"

Anyway, we get the point. I'll pass the message on.

dbd33

Deracinated was a good word though. Canada is a nation of immigrants and we are mostly rootless cosmopolitans.

MarkG

Personally, as America declines over the next few decades I think it's pretty likely that Canada will split. If the East is reliant on America and the West on Asia, there won't be much left to hold them together.

That said, if things go that far then America will probably split for the same reasons... Western Canada might well end up merged with a few of the Western US states: for example, I can't help but feel that a lot of people in Vancouver have far more in common with people in Seattle than Ottawa.

Rich_007

Ah yes, the mythical future concept of a nation-state of "Olympia" ?

Cool, dude, with a centralised socialist government located atop Mount Olympus, built from sustainably harvested logs, recycled tires, housing a concoction of influential yet streetwise ex-homeless, recovered addict, Vancouverites and Seattlers sipping decaf latte, doing shoeless yoga, wearing hemp clothing, all ruminating on the future for their fellow Olympians.

A true utopian paradise possibility or haggled-up crock from naive day dreamers ?

Vote for the Lotus Eaters, dude. You know it makes sense.

Rich.

Rich_007

Flipper,

If the country is so completely pants, why does it have one of the highest return on capital ratio's in G8 ? Surely, that's THE most important business ratio.

Sure there are issues, foreign investment levels, productivity, threats to social equality, etc.

Seeing that 80% of Albertans would not wish to join the USA what's the given alternative ?

And, assuming you are a Brit-in-Canada, why are you so blatantly anti-Canada ?

Rich.

AnyaT

While it is true the majority of immigrants vote Liberal, the non-immigrant population of the GTA also shares a large portion of the blame for this. In my year and a half here I have been constantly amazed at the naiveté of Torontonians and their willingness to swallow whatever half-baked loony left line they are fed. While there may be some who vote Liberal out of political conviction, it seems to me most do because they actually believe the fear-mongering spouted by the increasingly desperate Liberal party about the Conservatives.

dbd33

I do believe we have reason to fear the Conservatives. Yes.

MarkG

That I don't know about, but nothing's going to change the fact that most large states today are held together by the redistribution of wealth... if the tax money stops flowing, many of them will fall apart just as fast as the USSR did.

And again, it still seems to me that many Canadians have more in common with those on the other side of the US border than those on the other side of Canada.

Rich_007

That may be your impression but how do you explain that 80% of Albertans polled wouldn't want to join the US ?

It just doesn't stack up. The social values either side of the border are different.

Rich

Steve_P

As one Albertan who has been here for 42 years.

I have to agree with Rich I just don't see us joining the U.S.

There are some obviously who would like to but on the whole I don't think the idea would fly.

flashman

Quite a rant from Flipper,

Must have got a bad batch of BC Bud.

Rich_007

Generally speaking and varying with different polls, anything 65 to 75% of the general population are against joining with the US in any way....however (and not surprisingly) almost the same % of executives of Canadian corporations (i.e. Canadian owned and managed and those companies bought out and run/controlled through Canadian subsidiaries of US companies) are for
further integration in any way with the US. However on the numbers front the latter group consists only a small amount, I think less than 3% IIRC, of the Canadian electorate.

So as much as some people on the outside think that Albertans are US wannabees, they seem happy to flog their goodies to the US, align their politics and religious worldview closer to a Republican axis, bask in the wealth of tax surpluses and build their taxation policy closer to a US structure, welcome US investment and job creation, but draw a distinct line against anything further relating to relations with the US.

Rich.

Gezza

You make it sound like all will be well as long as we allow to kill the unborn and promote men to marry men. If any of you went to any primary school classroom and asked the 10 year olds: "What future is there for a Country where parents kill their own unborn babies and encourage "families" which may not, naturally bear offsprings " ...You would hear the truth! The truth
we - adults have weaned ourseleves not to heed!

Gezza

dbd33

I'll try that at Church St Primary one day next week. I anticipate two problems :

- I expect few ten year olds have a good grasp of the mechanics of how people "naturally bear offsprings "

- those children who have two daddies or two mommies are not likely to give the answers you want.

In the event that a ten year old does offer a lucid argument as to the likely outcome for such a country should I ask him or her to manage my RRSP ?

Gezza

Mother Teresa said: "Nothing threatens the World Peace more then Abortion."
I admit this is a suprising statemenet. Do you think she was simply ill-read and talking rubbish? I hope not.
It reminds me of the Orwellian pigs from the "Animal Farm" rewriting the law: "Thou Shalt Not Kill without a reason" Meaning: Unless your victim can not defnd themselves i.e. too old and frail(Euthanasia) or not yet born.

Noticably proabortionists have one thing in common: They have all been born!