Just before 11 am Tuesday I stood in my office to gaze at the horizon, as I have done the last few Remembrance Days. From the 53rd floor I can see forever, across an urban forest to the green and blue beyond. Almost at eye level I could also see the fly past of the WW2 trainers, duck yellow. They thundered ungracefully, powerfully by to remind of wars before drones, when men routinely did the extreme.
As I remembered, I gazed down.
Across the street a new office tower rises. That’s it, above. Forty-five stories over the traffic, workers laid down their tools. A few gazed up at the fat, tough little planes. Others removed their hardhats and bowed their heads. One man clasped his hands and stood silent, on the end of a steel beam.
We did not forget.
154 comments ↓
12 years in Afghanistan and counting…and now Iraq?Syria? We forgot.
God bless us all!
My favourite blog post that you’ve ever written.
Tip my Indiana Jones hat to those who served. Especially Dad.
I am self-employed, and I stopped work and watched the ceremony in Ottawa and almost teared up.
I am a generation Xer and I have seen some war clips of real men dying and I only imagine what it was like for those men and their famalies.
I will never forget and be frateful for their sacrifice.
To quote the Govenor General this morning, “Freedom without peace is agony….Peace without freedom is slavery..”
The view from our office window is directly towards the War Memorial. Biggest turnout ever downtown today to pay respect to those who served and are currently serving our country. It was quite a sight to behold.
The danger is we will forget, especially in this new era of drones & unmanned strikes, where the lives of our forces may not be put at direct risk. Yet every drone that strikes, every bomb dropped, will result in death for someone….. How sad it is that in the 22 century, mankind still wastes so much time & resources on war, when we have so much more pressing issues we should be directing our time & energy to. How sad it is that we still have those who glory in destruction & death to the detriment of all.
Respect to the solders.
Shame on politicians.
In which war was Canada attached and by whom? Why were there Canadian solders in Europe in World War 1? Bringing democracy to the cradle of civilization?
Let’s bring the troops home and send Harper to Afghanistan.
For a real, honest to goodness, heartfelt tribute to the men and women who served and are serving, please go to youtube and enter in the search window:
Hometown Battlefield. You won’t be sorry!
I remember both my grandparents. 1 who took a piece of shrapnel from a nazi grenade in the arm, he lived with that piece of steel in his arm until his passing. The other who escaped from a nazi work camp and certain death.
Lest we forget…what exactly? That is key to putting the puzzle pieces together.
Obviously, it is a tragedy that men and women of ALL nations have had to die in wars. Very sad that men and women have had families ripped apart while simply wishing to live their lives in peace.
The biggest tragedy, and something that can’t be forgotten because not many know of it in the first place, is that they aren’t dying for democracy: they’re dying for banking establishments and war profiteers.
So, if it were up to me, our popular slogan would be:
“Lest we forget to keep our politicians in check”
I blame the politicians, not the soldiers. War is a bunch of old rich men sending young poor men to die. It has been like this for all time. Shame.
I’m reading Gwynne Dyers’ Canada in the Great Power Game: 1914-2014
“This is a well written refreshing account concerning the very real perceptions of the average Canadians about war, how easily some of them were manipulated into a patriotic fervor for the powers that be – especially with the British settlers wanting to support the British Empire – but also how others were or became fully aware of the jargon and false ideology of the government of the day. As cited by one war writer, “There’s only one reason any of us enlisted, and that’s pure, low down, unmitigated ignorance.” Quote from the book review:
http://www.foreignpolicyjournal.com/2014/08/21/book-review-canada-in-the-great-power-game-1914-2014/
We are still being manipulated and suffer from “unmitigated ignorance”
This is a good day to imagine Canada becoming a truly secular state where any religion is allowed to be practiced but not endorsed or subsidized by the state; where any idea can be challenged without the fear of violence and the gagging of free speech.
This is a good day to imagine Canada becoming a peace making country that exports engineers, teachers and scientists, not militarists for hire.
Unfortunately our government insists on militarism with very little public discussion or criticism.
As reported last year in a review of the Canadian budget:
“… the government must ensure future purchases of military equipment be used to “create economic opportunities for Canadians by developing key domestic industrial capabilities” on future procurement.”
“A key opportunity for doing so is by targeting… the $49 billion in Industrial and Regional Benefits obligations that foreign prime contractors are expected to accumulate by 2027 to support high-skill and high-value opportunities and jobs in Canadian industries.”
http://www.chpc.biz/history-readings/canadian-budget
I’m going to step out a bit and make some comments I never would because (some) people here are rational and would perhaps understand my point. I don’t mean any disrespect; I wear my poppy with pride and a big Canadian flag and small Union Jack currently fly at my place.
But I caught some of the CTV coverage live and they had the old ‘for our freedom’ rhetoric going on. IMO this is lifted straight from the States, and it’s nothing less than propaganda. Canada wasn’t at risk. There were some incredibly brave men and women who participated in WWII, Korea, and other missions for different reasons, and the ceremony is for them. But don’t turn it into a democracy/freedom history re-write wankathon. I’m also not sure what God had to do with anything when a rabbi took the stage. In addition, we in the western world tend to forget the GIGANTIC role the Russians played to stop Nazi Germany. We could acknowledge our other allies on the one day.
Neither did I, but that’s probably because I am rather closely related to someone who trained (& later instructed for 4 years) on those “Yellow Perils”.
Actually, would’ve remembered anyway like I do every year, tho it’s such a deep freeze in AB that I watched the ceremonies from Ottawa this am rather than venture outside.
That being said, I’m certain my Grandfather, his brother, several uncles, & my Dad are wondering about the state of the world today…along with many of us…
Freedom isn’t free. We remember.
We didn’t forget but unfortunately we haven’t learned either.
critical thinking Canadians? Wow! I mean Wow!
When our leaders sent their sons in front of the troops for just cause I am in.
Otherwise…. shove it up.
Hitler was very patriotic as well.
Fantastic picture and gesture.
War, what is it good for…
The iron worker photo is awesome.
Whatever people have to say about wars, thank the generations before that fought for that right. We complain a lot, I’m thankful I have the right to complain, and came home from the desert with all my limbs, 18 of our men made it back along the the 401. I remember everyday.
Lest we forget
“Older men declare war. But it is youth that must fight and die.”
― Herbert Hoover
[…] Source: http://www.greaterfool.ca/2014/11/11/lest-we/ […]
I add my voice to those who are not fooled, and who remember wisely rather than blindly.
I wish that no one had to die, be maimed, kill innocents, or have their mind/spirit broken for the sake of international chess and finance. No one *does* have to… but we keep telling our soldiers that they are heros and they are brave and we line up to push them into the very positions that we claim we ‘remember.’
We are complicit in their injury and yet most of us roll over when our own freedom at home is curtailed.
Honouring our fallen means more than a plastic flower to me.
#24 gut check:
I have to agree with you. Canadians complain every day about the state of our country yet do absolutely nothing about it..
We just roll over and take it…yet we will go and fight somewhere ekse
People, smarten up. First question when “we” go to war:
1. Why are we going to war ?
Second question:
2. Who benefits ?
Stop watching the damn CNN, CBC ..and all the other flatulent propaganda.
All wars are bankers’ wars.
http://www.ratical.org/ratville/CAH/warisaracket.html
Said the most decorated general
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smedley_Butler
Was Korean War any sort of achievement ?
…but here…heroically the brave canadian forces are using the entire might of its airfoce (Yess, BOTH planes) . Last time it happened (and 6 BILLION pesso) Libya was left in shambles. Once a colony always a colony it seems. At least brits had more style.
Remembrance Day is the mourning day for all those that were deceived with nice words to pay the ultimate sacrifice in a cause not of their own.
A national day of shame really.
Having said that. ..The next election is a washout in my opinion. Justin Trudeau will ruin us, mulclair likewise… what to do???
‘In Flanders Fields’ John McCrae
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
“all we are saying is give peace a chance” – John Lennon
#11 Cato The Elder
You got the REAL understanding of this holiday.
By the way, ever notice hope each new ‘war’ is less of a threat, less of merit, and less worth the cost? Funny, the Kingston Trio song “Where have all the flowers gone” sums it up quite nicely…’When will they ever learn…’
Love those who are left, and never forget those who were lost, but resolve – NEVER AGAIN
#29
Heard those at my kids schools many times. Kids sing them beautifully.
She balked at the sticker of a poppy today. Took my pin.
The day is not just for remembering but for teaching.
Just as you suggest.
We honour those who felt they had to step up and protect others. They had (have) compassion, empathy and courage.
Every war has been, first and foremost, a resource war. Those who want to control all resources are greedy cowards. They send good people to do their dirty work all in the name of “freedom”.
This we will not forget.
Re: #29 Retired Boomer
Yep – there are no real enemies left to fight. Once you begin trading with other nations it becomes difficult to justify an attack.
All the coming conflicts will be to protect the Petrodollar. More conflicts in the Middle East and Africa will be coming.
The great fear I have is how the US will handle the passing of the baton to China. Most empires have had to be destroyed militarily to unseat them from their privileged status as money issuer. This time is different because they both have nuclear weapons and hawkish politicians.
Whatever happens, he average person is in the crossfire and is going to be much poorer in the decades ahead (unless you’re Chinese, in which case your golden).
#16 not 1st: “We didn’t forget but unfortunately we haven’t learned either.”
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This is true.
#22 Opinated: “Older men declare war. But it is youth that must fight and die.” ― Herbert Hoover
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This is true.
#27 Chickenlittle: “Having said that. ..The next election is a washout in my opinion. Justin Trudeau will ruin us, mulclair likewise… what to do???”
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There IS no one worthy of our vote, so your question is valid — “what to do?” We are far from ‘apathetic’. We’re disgusted and angry.
The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.
#7 Linda: “How sad it is that in the 22 century, mankind still wastes so much time & resources on war, when we have so much more pressing issues we should be directing our time & energy…”
*****************
This is the 21st century. World conflicts could be negotiated at a ’round table’. But man craves the excitement of war. And so, we’ll always have wars.
Good thing that we do not remember that no war has ever lived up to its propaganda billing.
– Rudyard Kipling, “Common Form” (and epitaph for his fallen son.)
watching cnn coverage of the APEC economic summit today it was hard not to see the irony of Obama and putin addressing each other and obviously avoiding confrontation as their armys square off and position in the Ukraine.People are dieing on a daily basis/familys destroyed for our strategic interests,but these heads of state go on like nothing happening between them.
Outrageous what these chicken sh_t politions get away with..
As someone old enough to remember seeing scar’s of war on my grandfathers back from fighting in ww1 and as home guard in England in ww2 I truly hope theres no ww3 but with head of state like we have today It entirely possible …shame
RIP to those brave souls who gave their lives.
However, the strange thing about these remembrance type activities is the historical cutoff date of WW1. Why does no-one remember all of the victims of wars before then. Europe was basically in a perpetual state of war from 1500-1900, so why not remember these other victims as well, or from even before then back to the beginning of humanity? It will be interesting in 200 years time to see which wars will be remembered….maybe only those that get the most tweets!
A very proper post.
#TheyAin’tHeavy… #They’reMyBrothers&Sisters…
#MacLean&McLean’s,”NorthAtlanticSquadron”… #
SomewhatExtremelyInappropriateLanguage… #That’sHogTownForYa…http://youtu.be/z2fJ6zmKFeY
#StadaCona’sHeartsOfOak… #TheRecruitersVersion…
http://youtu.be/pcAxOa8A5uc
#NorthAtlanticRealities… #Circa1939… #ItReallyIsACruelSea… #ThereAreNoGoodWars…
http://youtu.be/XKQAflZrXpU
[NoteToGT: Today’s offical NavalToast is, “To Our Men”… since redacted in these politically correct times to, “Our Sailors”… but, that said – as toasts go, “Ever been to sea, Billy?” will garner a bigger smile, by far, when next you find yourself enjoying WardRoom privileges. When you cross the brow don’t forget to face aft and salute if you’re wearing your Tricorn… protocol also dictates that Dorothy precede you… OneLastThing, and strictly between the two of us… That whole GirliesAtSea thang goes back a lot farther than you’d have imagined: http://youtu.be/b4duf_vzV4E ]
The sad thing is I think we have forgotten, or come as close to it as possible.
Look at the massive, corrupted wealth disparity we have tolerated and encouraged since the 1980s.
I think a big reason for the massive boom of the 1950s was the recognition in a postwar society that we were all equal, we had (almost) all taken the same types of risks with the lives of our families, and there was no way we had done that for ridiculous notions of privilege, class entitlement or the near-aristocratic 1% that so defines North American life today. Common sense in the name of social good dominated issues like taxation, and the economy roared its approval. Remember?
Imagine that – fairness and decency towards fellow humans for the greater good. The sobering and rejuvenating fruits of war. Eisenhower would be called a socialist today. He was really a very faithful, conservative pragmatist and a moral man.
It is hard to believe how out of step he would be with today’s conservatives.
http://forward.com/articles/164472/real-tax-debate-eisenhower-vs-reagan/?p=all
Could you imagine an armed conflict today where the children of the wealthy might be conscripted? Impossible. They would bend Harper’s ear, make a few donations and derivatives available for the right people, and send their nannies and temporary foreign workers into battle instead. Our 1% are special that way.
Because of the unlikelihood of world war now without terrible annihilation, the sad thing is there will be no such corrective mechanism, however awful it was, as in the past for the excesses of such social imbalance.
We appear to be heading for a much worse social meltdown in many ways because of the impossibility of such a cathartic overhaul happening again. The upcoming real estate melt here will likely be just one part of a failure to do with real economic issues, a kind of protracted depression that could last fifty years given the complete lack of political will and leadership we currently suffer from.
For those, especially the young in their twenties now, could you really imagine putting your life on the line in battle to defend this particular civilization?
Exactly. Hear the crickets.
We have forgotten already some of the most powerful lessons of those past wars. We should feel shame for that.
Cato the Elder is right – the average person is in the crossfire now, and that will last for decades, generations, the way we are going.
We are not worthy of those who fought and died for us.
Linda you’re almost right, except on two points: first, we’re in the 21 century, and second, it’s not excitement that the warmongers crave, it’s reaping the spoils of war.
To the men and women of today and times past:
I honour and salute you and your families. It is you who go, serve, defend, keep peace and sacrifice without questioning but believing your leaders are doing what is best.
WE SHALL NEEEEEVVVVVEEER FORGET!!!!
Nous nous souvenons!
#24 Gut Check
I’m with you 100% today.
And although I honour and respect and appreciate those who have fallen in the name of our security and freedom, not all wars are alike, and glorification is a dangerous game.
To #13 raisemyrent
Don’t forget that those Russians collaborated with Germans and split Poland in half in 1939.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Barbarossa#1939.E2.80.931940_German-Soviet_relationship
They end up fighting each other because Germans attacked them in 1941.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Barbarossa
And we all know about sins of USA and Britain – past and present.
Better watch those politicians – I agree with #11 Cato the Elder
From my point of view in present time only justifiable war is to defend your country on your ground, win and then go over there and pound them to dust ….
Attack of single or small group of fanatics doesn’t validate to open a war in other country.
Only attack by elected representative/government of the other state justify that.
We are so lucky that we didn’t have experience the tragedy that is a war ….
At the same time we forgot what is important due to our luxury of never defending our country.
Present politicians are getting elected by people that didn’t have to really fight for anything in their lives.
We find it incredibly hard to get up in the morning and go to work or stay away from latest cell phone bought by more debt.
Citizenry can’t make good decision about the debt and
we want them to value something way more complex like war.
My grandfather was in WW1 and WW2.
He was shot down twice in WW1 flying his Sopwith Camel, I remember him telling me how the German pilot circled and came down low by him in the farmers field… and waved.
He had shrapnel in his leg for 20 years until they needed him for WW2 and then they cleaned him up so he could train younger pilots.
We should remember the brave soldiers who gave their lives in the name of Canadian defence. But we should also remember all the innocent people that have died at the hands of our forces in the name of war on terror.
Let be peace in world. War is never needed.
So glad (please note sarcasm) that we spent so much money doing so much harm in Irak:
Airstrikes over Iraq cost Canadian taxpayers $90 million: Report
https://ca.news.yahoo.com/blogs/canada-politics/airstrikes-over-iraq-cost-canadian-taxpayers-90-174955953.html
not much said about gold except the buying is huge, and it is evident in the premium , go ahead and buy silver and gold from your bank, it is not $15 silver , with the premium $24.59 and only if you can get, the US ran out of eagles, and $1116.2 gold is really $1362.1 OOps something up, the Indians are buying huge amount, as usual, and now China has surpassed so the old adage : put 10% of your wealth into gold and hope you never use it, maybe has some truth to it. The paper to real is 250 paper to one physical . wow
Maybe Garth doesn’t like gold or want to encourage it, and will down play all that get into it as stupid, but you need to follow the crowd and more than 2 billion people is a huge market, soon the Comex and forex will run out, check out the december call on gold 600 million oz and there is only 60 million available, yeeeks
http://wolfstreet.com/2014/11/10/the-major-threat-to-some-of-the-worlds-largest-oil-producers/
Here’s an interesting post for you oil patch folks who think this time is different….
Never forget what goes up always comes down.
Mr. R.
#26 M on 11.11.14 at 8:02 pm
”Was Korean War any sort of achievement ?”
ask a South Korean -see what they have to say about it….
The great fear I have is how the US will handle the passing of the baton to China. Most empires have had to be destroyed militarily to unseat them from their privileged status as money issuer.
—–
interesting question, Cato… in my opinion, the US dominance is and will continue to fade, but it is unlikely China will fill the void.. I am optimistic that the spread of information through technology (think Arab Spring) will foster a period of democratization and decentralization… China, in addition, is a basket case on many levels, and has neither the economic stability nor the moral leadership to ever become a true hegemonic power, let alone issue the world’s reserve currency.. jmho
Remembrance day began as a day to remember all those fallen soldiers of the Great War, than along came the Second World War and lest we forget the fallen soldiers of WWII. Now it is a day to pay respect to the men and women who serve in any conflict and rightfully so, let’s show our respect. Now let us also not to forget just where we are now with conflict in the world. WWI lasted about 5 years, WWII lasted about 6 years, the new conflict “The War on Terror” has been going on longer than both these wars combined.
Let us not forget that the new war, “The War on Terror” is a perpetual war with no clear enemy, and no chance of victory, and this is not by chance. We are now engaged in a perpetual war, terror is not an enemy, terror is a product of war. While I am a patriotic citizen of this great nation, I do not agree with where we are going here.
Let us pay respect, let us show our gratitude to those who have served and are still serving, but let us not puff out our chest and bang the war drum. The banksters are the only ones who win in their game of war, now is not the time to march blindly off without looking at the big picture and asking even bigger questions?
The world needs love now more than ever, and a population to wake up and lift the vale that has been cast over them in a devilish way for years
Support each other and not a broken system
Peace not War
#39 Daisy Mae
I’ve read your previous posts and (think I) know you are a rational, intelligent person but, in light of the increasing regularity of off-topic, male-slandering, self-agrandizing Feminist rants, I’d like to call you out on “man craves the excitement of war….we’ll always have war” comment. Yes, history is chock-a-block full of war-mongering males – do you suggest that women (especially their partners) had no influence over their thoughts and actions? How often have we heard, “behind the successes of a man is a strong woman” – in essence, taking some credit for his great contribution. Doesn’t it work the other way?
Maybe you meant it as general “mankind” assertion, but therein lies another problem. Do we only use that general term when the comment is negative? The push for equitable language in everything (“thy son’s command” et al) surrounds us – you know, so we All are viewed in a positive light, for equality. I suggest you watch a few commercials produced over the last decade plus and see how many portray men as the buffoon – some actually show women hitting men…..no one says anything. No backlash, no hand-wringing…there is no organization of any national stature that vociferously defends the rights of men.
My point is to demonstrate that we all have feelings, desire that our personal rights be honoured and protected and hope to be valued for our contributions to the greater good. Let’s remember that doing it together, we will be much more successful…..and have a lot more fun.
Yes I stopped wearing a poppy once I learned that war was nothing but a racket for BANKERS to make money. I swore to myself that once this is a world wide belief, I will start to wear it again. Otherwise I am promoting this BS about “freedom” and “liberties” that other bloggers are saying is a total farce. I agree.
Oh…and I’m ex military 87 – 92 CFB Edmonton.
Thank you, Garth.
The picture of the steelworker was absolutely perfect.
I give thanks every day that I had the good fortune to have been born in the best place on earth possible.
#11 Cato the Elder
The biggest tragedy, and something that can’t be forgotten because not many know of it in the first place, is that they aren’t dying for democracy: they’re dying for banking establishments and war profiteers.
**********
The biggest fallacy is thinking our whole way of life just happened because of sheer luck and good will and that if we adopted a pure neutral policy that all other countries will just automatically respect our borders, respect our technology and treat us fairly in global trade.
Unfortunately the real world is made up of tribes that roam around this world consuming resources to feed our way of life.
If you can’t admit that you are benefiting from being part of the “western civilization tribe” then maybe you are a good candidate to join up with the “middle east tribe” or “mainland china tribe”.
You are doing business with these banking establishments and war profiteers right?
You enjoy cheap energy? Air travel? Computer technology? A bank, cop, doctor and coffee shop on every corner?
We are all benefactors of this ugly truth and nothing will change until we as society decide to STOP consuming beyond our needs.
Canadians belly aching about USA and War and the Banking Elite while sipping lattes enjoying the best possible way of life ever presented to humans is shameful. We are all living off the spoils of wars and don’t even know it.
Let the Christmas Shopping Season Frenzy begin!
Bill’s view on selective equal rights…punctuated with profanity…but humorous nonetheless.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XlR6CdJtRWM
#60 TnT
You got it wrong.
We live ‘better’ not because of the crimes you mention but despite them.
If not for cheap oil (which has nothing to do with bankers) the world would have been a far less developed place. Did the bankers produce the oil? No, they benefited from it.
#32 Son Of Ponzi
I will check out Marlene Deitrich’s version. Thanks,
Never realized such a star whose career spanned so far may have sung this? In German, that fits.
May God bless all of those brave souls who have served. Especially the ones who have served and passed on! My great grandfather, my grandfather, my great uncles, my uncles, my father, myself and two of my sons served! It’s funny but those of us who served often reflect much differently and knows that didn’t! As the saying goes war is hell.
#58 RealistvsExtremist on 11.11.14 at 10:37 pm…
While I agree that the motives behind wars are often suspect, we are remembering those who serve or are veterans.
Don’t lessen that respect by dishonouring those brave folks.
However, I do believe we wouldn’t have many wars if our leaders had to fight on the front-lines – as it should be!
I’m only ex-military reserve Calgary KOCR and RCMP – but have the utmost respect for those who fought any battle for Canada, regardless of motives behind those wars.
Is it me or has Cato replaced Smokey as top dawg and devil’s advocate? Call it a bonus that he presents logical arguments that actually relate to the topics of discussion.
I was surprised to see the stock markets open on Remembrance Day. The stocks were trading as the Remembrance Day Services were taking place. Seems a bit off.
#57: That comment was simply… absurd.
I’m with you Sheane @ #8 and Cato @ #11
WAR IS A RACKET!!!
http://www.ratical.org/ratville/CAH/warisaracket.html
I salute you gen. Smedley Butler, we will remember you.
I salute Terence Yeakey and all the other “soldiers of truth” that fight in real wars.
The truth is most soldiers in most wars are just greater fools, victims of propaganda or unwilling gladiators.
It’s hard to encompass what these people did for us!
Garth is the view from the global headquarters of the Greater Fool?
Is that where you compose your daily blog posts?
I always imagined you writing these with a joint, in your bathtub, on an i-pad …. like a latter day Lebowski.
The picture means a lot to our military families. My father would stand for a minute silence in the living room. I could feel that moment like it is today.
My father was a pilot for the military in the WWII; he didn’t talk about it much. Apparently, after asking more questions, he said sometimes he had to leave some behind because of so much time/raids. Too gruesome for words, silence to cope with living.
We remember them everyday; poppies should be sold everyday.
#63 Sheane Wallace
We live “better” because of the spin off technology created by the Industrial Military Complex and the banking establishments.
Our way of life comes at a cost that we too often ignore.
Bankers financed oil technology, military security for the oil fields and we all benefitted from it.
Everything in front of us can be measured in barrels of oil. I.e. 1 barrel for a computer, 10 for a car etc…
Think of all the energy used to open a factory, all the energy used to run the factory, all the energy used to supply the factory with raw material, all the energy used to get the employees to the factory, all the energy used to make the roads for the employees to get to the factory etc… Cheap energy made it all possible.
To-day we pay respect to all who sacrificed their lives in the name of freedom.
But to-day the biggest threat to our freedom comes from our own government mostly because of the scary bugaboo of terrorism.
Privacy is freedom,and every day we are loosing ground.
East German police collected data on about four million of their citizens or about a quarter of their population but because they focused on data collection and not on data interpretation they didn’t see the over throw of the Communist government.
Wanna deal with terrorists maybe put more intel squatting on the ground in the Middle East arguing about the Koran rather than tracking what I just bought at Costco!!
#69
Thanks for demonstrating another time tested argument strategy – diminishing someone’s viewpoint that differs from your own. That’s just what early Feminists dealt with from the patriarchy……you’ve come a long way gyrrlie!
On the wall behind me is a picture of my grandfather, two war medals and a silver cross. I know the price of freedom. So does that steel worker. God bless our troops.
yeah we won’t forget. but let’s start re-membering stuff! in my opinion the book to read is by William Engdahl. google it. read it. be edified.
love
-will
Cato the Elder: The biggest tragedy, and something that can’t be forgotten because not many know of it in the first place, is that they aren’t dying for democracy: they’re dying for banking establishments and war profiteers.
“Haldane returned convinced that Germany’s drive for hegemony in Europe would have to be resisted sooner or later: I thought, from my study of the German General Staff, that once the German war party had got into the saddle, it would be war not merely for the overthrow of France or Russia but for the domination of the world”
Barbara Tuchman, Guns of August, chapter 4
what bankers? I mean there is a lot of history that talks about the German military, the political parties of England, the French military, the Russian nobility but where are the bankers? History shows the people who gave the orders, who had influence and power but where are the bankers?
Oh, the bankers who nobody writes about, who have no names, who secretly command and influence the destiny of the world.
A while ago on this blog, a man wrote about his mother who worked for a bank. He was complaining that she wasn’t being treated very well. Obviously she wasn’t one of these secret bankers.
Seems a theory that’s kind of hard to disprove. secret, invisible bankers
National boundaries – the worst slavery imposed on man.
Patriotism – religion for the masses.
The second photo was great Garth, and so was the sentiment.
You know, a lot of commenters took time today to criticize the government for their war decisions and maybe some of the wars themselves. And I am not without sympathy for those discussions, we must not commit to war lightly and we should reflect on those decisions.
But to me that is not what Nov 11 is about. It’s about the men and women who served our country honorably with the best intentions and everything at stake. That’s what I pay tribute to on Nov 11.
Was World War I & II a great mistake by politicians? Probably. But that does not diminish the sacrifices made by our fighting men and women to rectify the situation. So let’s keep that in mind on Remembrance Day. We are remembering the sacrifices our best young people made on our behalf, not the politics that led to it. We can argue politics tomorrow.
I’ve know several people who’ve served Canada over the years (as I am sure we all do) and every one of them had the best intent. And they don’t all fair well when they return. One fellow I know served in the navy during the Falkland’s war (apparently Canada sent ships to potentially assist the British, but never engaged). When he got back it took a long time before he got back on his feet. That’s another sacrifice our men and women in arms make that we don’t often think about. The return to civilian life isn’t always easy.
I remember.
Garth, glad you remember too. And the steelworkers.
In my life, I have had the pleasure of visiting the Menin Gate
in Ypres, in Belgium.
Every evening they play the Last Post under the gate,
to honour all the soldiers who passed through the gate,
on their way to defend something they believed in.
No Harper.
No banksters.
No CNN.
No white poppies or other assorted BS.
Only Remembrance.
That was a good day.
Reading some of the other comments here, a lot of people should go and visit the Menin Gate, and learn what Remembrance Day is really all about.
# 13 “Canada wasn’t at risk.”
That is incorrect:
Canada was at risk. Our navy tracked Japanese subs in the Pacific waters. Thank God for our navy and good strong ships.
War sucks.
Also, Vancouver Housing prices are directly tied to Immigration. A ground breaking study by The University of British Columbia confirms it. The Professor found a 0.94 correlation. In layman terms “a slam dunk”!
Even the largest English newspaper in China picked up and laughs at people who cry racism. Read on
http://m.scmp.com/comment/blogs/article/1637996/relax-vancouver-voters-linking-affordability-and-immigration-doesnt
I served my father served and was wounded.
My brother served as well as two Brothers-in-laws and four Uncles.
I grew up with a mother living on a war veterans widows pension.
Before my father died I remember as a small boy hearing him say ” You can’t eat medals”.
Want to stop war? A rhetorical question of course.
Set aside all male politicians in every country and replace them with mothers.
#13raisemyrent
It is amazing how ignorant some people are basic history. Must not have needed higher education to enter the workforce when they were younger lol.
Just because you wear a poppy for a week a year and fly our flag does not make you “patriotic”. Wankathon? Get real.
In the Second World War, here in Canada, may not have been in any immediate risk, but Britain sure was…and we were very much a British colony at the time. If Britain were to have fallen, 100% Germany would have set it’s sights towards North America.
Those who served sacrificed everything for what Britain stood for, and by extension, Canada….which is freedom and democracy. Whether you or anyone else believes that system is what we have now is irrelevant.
As for the Rabbi, he was there because of the Holocaust. The Jewish people should be grateful to the Western powers that sacrificed so much to defeat the Nazis. He was there to reinforce that point, and it was poignant.
MF
“The ones who call the shots won’t be among the dead and lame and on each end of the rifle we’re the same.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kbp0WjipYzo
Wars. Rich man’s games played with poor man’s boys.
Somethings brewing, spent the weekend in the USA. The Airline, the College football game, the pro football game, Network broadcasts even the back of the Ketchup bottle in the restaurant “Support our Troops”. “Thank you for your service”,on and on and the populace soaks it in, being cynical one might say they are onside and conditioned for the next event. Question is what will it be?
“Old soldiers never die; they just fade away.”
A heartfelt salute to all the brave souls who have selflessly sacrificed their lives for their countries, the world over.
There is no dignity in whatever our troops are doing in the Middle East today. To condone and glorify it now only encourages our politicians to blindly follow the US into their politically motivated conflicts du jour. Who profits from the Canadian “bombs on bassinets” programme, do we have a Haliburton up here?
“Military Men Are Just Dumb, Stupid Animals To Be Used As Cannon Fodder” -Henry Kissinger
Carney delivered the UK inflation report today. Overall, UK inflation has dropped as economic stagnation in the Euro area takes hold. This has led to imported disinflation. The output gap continues to shrink as employment grows and is accompanied by the first signs of wage inflation. Carney reiterated that any changes to monetary policy will be broad based. Interest rate rises, when they come, will be gradual and limited. I.e. rate rises are not forecast in the near term and will not be relentless.
Still think the US Fed will follow a different path?
Link to quarterly UK inflation report (if anyone is interested):
http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/publications/Pages/inflationreport/2014/ir1404.aspx
“Old men lie and young men die”
The glorification of war this year has sickened me.
If you don’t wish to stand behind our soldiers. Your welcome to go stand in front of them!
Freedom is Not free.
I will not forget.
Re: #80 45North
Bankers exert a massive amount of influence into politics. Have you ever looked at who the major donors are for ALL political parties? It’s all banks! Both sides. They don’t have any particular political ideology. They’re a business, just like any other. And ALL businesses are motivated to make a profit. The difference is, they aren’t providing a tangible service for the most part that HELPS people – they are in the business of DEBT. They want countries, citizens, and business to owe debt+interest for the rest of time.
If you are unfamiliar with the notion that banks finance both sides of wars, you are NAIVE. It is well known that companies like IBM, and Coca-cola sold product/services in Nazi Germany. You don’t think bankers were working behind the scenes? When the Germans lost, they filled a humungous void. They got to enslave that entire country for decades as they worked off the war debt incurred by a small select few mad men. This is the exact same thing the Treaty of Versailles did to the German people after WW1. The unfortunate part of that is it led to WW2 as the German people were financial ruined by it to such a degree that they were willing to follow a lunatic (Hitler) into war.
Read this book: Confessions of an Economic Hitman
I don’t think you have the courage to read it, because your entire world view will be shattered. It’s a book written by a guy that used to be a ‘consultant’ for these banks and would go around the world trying to saddle countries with debt. See, the goal isn’t necessarily to get them to pay it off. They make that next to impossible – the goal is to force them to give up key assets as collateral when they can’t pay it off. That’s how the bankers end up owning the world.
Step 1: Convince a small group of idiotic politicians in power to incur massive debts
Step 2: Exert influence over them as you now have them ‘by the balls’
Step 3: If they don’t listen, have them ‘replaced’.
Step 4: When the debt is no longer sustainable, begin to confiscate assets that were used as collateral (such as hydroelectric plants, huge swathes of public buildings, mineral rights, etc)
****************
Re: #60 TnT
Our way of life is not the result of war or force. It’s the result of FREEDOM. A free people are a productive people.
Even though I don’t think we have much freedom left, it is still that small segment that is able to provide us with any of the wealth we have.
The basic formula is property rights, impartial judiciary to mediate conflicts, capitalism, and civil liberties.
There really isn’t much too it. Property rights are probably the most important in creating wealth because people have to be motivated out of self-interest. No one will work as hard knowing all their efforts will benefit another – they have to get to keep some of the fruits of their labour.
But your assertion is erroneous for another reason. Switzerland has had a neutral foreign policy for almost 200 years. Yet, the average Swiss citizen is over twice as rich as any Canadian. All while 2 massive wars took place on their doorsteps. There is a reason for that.
Trade, be friends with, and don’t have any entangling alliances. Quit interfering in other nations. Ours is far from perfect – we shouldn’t be meddling. It’s expensive to meddle in both lives AND money. Keep all that here. Quit sanctioning nations that we could establish great trade with like Russia and Iran.
The wonderful thing about trading with all nations is that’s the best way to LIBERALIZE these countries. They get exposure to western ways, and want to emulate us. It also lessens the chance of conflict – you are less likely to fight someone that you are making money with.
If Canada and Canadians want to be a REAL ‘peacekeeping’ nation, we should adopt a neutral foreign policy. Everything else is just asking for trouble, both domestically and abroad.
***************
Re: #55 Sean
I think you’re underestimating China. There’s a huge amount of propaganda going on in major publications about China’s ‘debt problem’. This is obviously a way to make them look worse off in comparison to the west’s terrible financial condition.
While China has a lot of debt, they also have a massive trade surplus. That debt is SUSTAINABLE. The US does not have a sustainable level of debt without the privilege the reserve currency provides.
China’s population also have a 20% savings rate. China is acquiring all the world’s gold, and may already have the largest gold holdings in the world already. China manufactures almost everything the world uses. China has a population of 1.3 BILLION. Think about that for a second. The US has been able to control the world with only a population of 0.3 billion. Imagine what a nation with FOUR TIMES the population will be able to do.
Here’s what I KNOW is going to happen:
Some day in the near future, China, along with a bloc of other countries like Russia, will announce their TRUE gold holdings. Their currencies will appreciate sizably, and their domestic populations will be able to start buying their own products. The US will experience a devaluation and massive inflation. Their citizens are going to experience severe strife as the world order rearranges. The US will be faced with the prospect, as they are today, of a military retaliation. They are already engaging in that in various places like Syria, and Ukraine. All these conflicts the US is and will engage in are a futile attempt to preserve the petrodollar. When it comes to China/Russia though, it is DANGEROUS. These are nuclear powers and not third world, rag-tag armies.
This is exactly why I don’t want Canada aligned with this nonsense. I want us independent of the US. We sold off all our gold reserves like idiots. We are going to be in big trouble when all this takes place because we are so integrated with the US.
Re: #84 Anne
Your thinking Canada was at risk is a huge stretch of the imagination.
At the time, there were 100 million private gun owners (this does NOT include military) in North America. No one, not even if every military power at the time had ganged up, could have conquered North America.
Regarding the Japanese, and their attack on Pearl Harbor: This is another instance of a FAILED foreign policy.
While preaching ‘neutrality’, FDR and the US were really siding with the British and Chinese. They were sending massive shipments of arms and goods to them. They also sanctioned Japan, which cut Japan off from it’s much needed oil supplies. This led to Japan assuming the US was preparing for war, and they engaged in a pre-emptive strike on Pearl Harbor.
Sanctions are an act of war. It’s the first thing you do when you go to war with someone – you stop trading with them. Why are we sanctioning Russia/Iran?
If the US, and Canada, had maintained a TRUE neutral foreign policy in WW2, I have NO DOUBT whatsoever we would not have been attacked. How do I know this? Switzerland was surrounded, and they didn’t get attacked. And Switzerland was a MUCH easier target to take out than North America, halfway across the world. It’s difficult to attack someone that you’re doing business with – I suspect the Japanese would have felt that way as well.
Why did good Canadian kids have to go over and kill good German kids. (They are memorializing over there too. Same platitudes of thanks.)
Song “War Pigs” kind of has the answer.
There are more articles coming out about how the middle class economy is going to be undermined.
These authors say 47% of USA jobs will be gone within about a decade. They also say there is a negative correlation (think about that one) between wages and educational attainment where the work can be computerized. Something to think about when your kids decide on postsecondary classes.
http://www.oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk/downloads/academic/The_Future_of_Employment.pdf
Here’s an article today in which one of the Google founders predicts we’ll lose 90% of all jobs we have today. (No replacement jobs indicated)
http://www.thestar.com/opinion/commentary/2014/11/10/are_we_heading_toward_a_world_without_jobs_gwyn.html
So exactly how do we have jobs to support this bubble of $1,000,000 semi-detached shacks and unaffordable housing for the majority?
Oh, wait, I know, we all become realtors.
Problem solved.
Never mind.
Carry on.
#101 Dom.
We could demand a ‘living wage’ to meet the obligations of the ‘new normal’.
#57 Vicpaul: “#39 Daisy Mae I’ve read your previous posts and (think I) know you are a rational, intelligent person but, in light of the increasing regularity of off-topic, male-slandering, self-agrandizing Feminist rants, I’d like to call you out on “man craves the excitement of war….we’ll always have war” comment.”
******************
I stand by my statement. As kids we played ‘Cops and robbers’ and we played ‘Cowboy and Indians’ and as we grew up we played ‘Paintball’. If we’re not participating in a war, we’re watching war movies. We crave the excitement and so, we’ll always have wars.
Dad started the Remembrance Day Church Service in Halifax almost 50 years ago. It’s multi-denomination and veterans of all the wars are remembered. All his brothers went to war, not all came back. He grew up 18-22 at war in France, Italy, Holland and Germany. As a field officer and medical assistant in the first mobile head surgery operating unit he saw an incredible amount of suffering and death first hand. When his vehicle was blown up he was boiled alive by the upturned sterilizing vat and was riddled with shrapnel. He had to spend months in Basingstoke and his commanding officer surgeons got the hospital to downplay his injuries so he could get back on the front. He didn’t really talk about the experience but it was always with him, especially at night. Only when he started to slow and illness caught up with him in his 80’s did he inquire if he had any Veteran services available. They supplied him with assisted devices, some care-giving to free up my mom as well as help doing lawn work and shoveling. He and his fellow vets got into a row and some publicity at the 50th Normandy Invasion ceremony in France. During the ceremony they got in line to lay a wreath on the memorial and were strong armed out of the procession as they were not politicians and had no right to show their respect. Garnet Rogers (Stan Rogers) brother wrote a moving song about that event. Lest we never forget.
“Silent generation wins life lottery as richest US age group”.
Millennials need to pay attention.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-11-12/silent-generation-wins-life-lottery-as-richest-u-s-age-group.html
#72 Steve French: “Garth is the view from the global headquarters of the Greater Fool?
Is that where you compose your daily blog posts?
I always imagined you writing these with a joint, in your bathtub, on an i-pad …. like a latter day Lebowski.”
******************
Nah. He’s in his library — surrounding by heavy leather furniture, mahogany bookcases full of real intelligent reading material…..sipping a scotch. Just one or two, mind you.
what a beautiful day it was yesterday at the Centre of the Universe! Had the new Floyd on and went for a walk…boy I missed them so much..even a good Floyd album is better than anything out there right now!
Smokey, judging by the new video “Louder than Words” PF are treehugging pinkos!
@#86 Nothing Surprises
‘Want to stop war? A rhetorical question of course.
Set aside all male politicians in every country and replace them with mothers.”
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Margret Thatcher was a mother. Perhaps you forgot about the Falklands “War”. Her popularity in the polls was abysmal, until the Argentinian generals invaded the remote Falkland islands(ostensively for the potential oil rights around the islands). She then whipped the British public into a frenzy of patriotic fervour. The British military kicked “Argie” butt causeing the deaths of over 1000 men from both sides.
The result?
Margret got re-elected.
The Falkland islands are still a windswept, remote chain of islands under British rule. Sprinkled with land mines that still kill and maim. The Argentinian public still consider them a stolen part of their heritage and wish for the day when Los Malvinas will once again be theirs.
Never let a “convenient” war get in the way of a politicians chances at the polls.
As the daughter of a Jewish man who was in the airforce in WWII and who came back, as his brother said, a different person who didn’t come out of his room for three years, who never spoke about his experiences, who never glorified war, and who eventually drank himself to death, I have very mixed feelings about the way November 11 is celebrated.
I must say I was heartened to read many of the comments here today. Sometimes I cringe when I read the comments on this and other blogs and often have to stop reading for the sake of my own mental health, but today I felt proud to be part of this blog community.
Great comments folks!
Anyone watch ‘The Sullivans’ last night? Five brothers…all eager to enlist — ‘champing at the bit’. Very excited.
None of them came home…
Garnet Roger’s song about the Normandy Vets being denied the right to lay their wreath at Juno Beach Memorial is “More Hallowed”.
Jakarta’s giant wall to keep water out…
Unbelievable. That sucks…
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-11-11/sinking-jakarta-starts-building-giant-wall-as-sea-rises-cities.html
#52 Not a gold bug –
”go ahead and buy silver and gold from your bank, it is not $15 silver , with the premium $24.59 and only if you can get,”
At current silver price of $15.75 u.s., $17.95 cdn you can purchase Silver Maples for 21.47 cdn or 100 oz bar for $1900 cdn. If you are paying $24.59 at the bank you need to look for another source.
War is a racket,we all know it that’s why don’t wear a poppy.The rich and elitist gain while the rest suffer huge.I’m sorry but look at all the innocent people who died in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Cato the Elder: Bankers exert a massive amount of influence into politics.
or rather politics exerts a massive influence into banking.
let’s take a present day example: FATCA
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_Account_Tax_Compliance_Act
Congress enacted FATCA the primary actors are political
Canada’s former Finance Minister Jim Flaherty raised an issue Jim Flaherty was a politician not a banker
the Republican National Party opposes FATCA. The Republican National Party is political.
reading the wikipedia article, the news media such as Time Magazine, The New American, the BBC and the CBC have influence.
of course, people working in the banking industry have an opinion but that opinion would mostly fall under the political categories.
what evidence do you have that bankers influence the FATCA issue?
#98 Cato the Elder
You slag Bankers and War Profiteers yet still wear your clothes made from some child slaves, use your phone assembled by some other child slaves, do business with Banks for your loans and use the Internet invented by War Profiteers to spew your ignorance.
Imagine a teenage coffee bean picker reading your posts. Slagging USA for wars while drinking your coffee.
Read up on the Monroe doctrine and see why a lot of the South American flags have Stars and Stripes.
I am not ignorant to the aggression imposed on smaller, weaker countries from the West desires to conform and feed our way of life however you refuse to admit that you benefit from these wars and aggression.
You are the “Customer” buying and feeding the “Capitalist” process of consuming this earth spreading misery to those less fortunate while slagging the very same Bankers and War Profiteers to which you are benefiting from.
#115 Rexx Rock
When the oil fields of Iraq and the mining fields of Afghanistan are operational will you commit to boycotting these spoils of war?
Will you commit to boycotting all the benefits you gain from the ugly truth of world dominance?
I can only imagine how we are viewed by those being oppressed to support our way of life.
#8 Sheane Wallace: “Respect to the solders. Shame on politicians.”
******************
Yes.
Shame on the politicians — every conflict can be negotiated. There is no reason for all the death and destruction.
Respect to the very young soldiers — pawns in the ‘game’.
Thinking about yesterday brought back many sombre memories. The stories my grandfather told me about him and his brothers whom all volunteered to go on the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) during WW1. Only my grandfather made it home to live his life and have a family. My great uncles are buried in Ypres and Passchendaele. My grandfather opened up to me only small snippets of the hell they had to endure overseas. My father on the other hand was a bomber pilot in WW2 and never opened up about what went on when he was there. It was only after talking to my uncle that I found out why he was so terrified to talk. On a bombing mission they were strafed by the Luftwaffe, however they were successful and shot down many fighters. As they were starting to turn one of the enemy pilots had bailed out and my fathers plane hit him on the prop. The poor guy never had a chance, it took out one of their engines and they limped home. Apparently my father said he had locked eyes with the other pilot just before the guy died. They both knew what was about to happen. As bomber pilots they where always shot at or blown up but they never really saw the enemy up close. This terrible image never left him. When we moved the USA in the late sixties I finished university and joined the USAF as I figured I had a good chance to fly and as a university grad you where a shoe in for a captain. I wanted to fly fighters but ended up flying a bomber. My father gave me so much hell when he found out I joined the military and was flying a bomber. He said if you get shot down don’t let them take you alive. This is a different war than WW2. He was right, bad war, confusing for all parties, no homecoming welcome, we were just so hated. So we all shut up, shut down and some just curled up and died. War is hell, been there done that, heaven doesn’t sound so bad! I’m sure no wars there.
#76 VicPaul: Exactly! See how that works? Annoying to have your voice shut down just like that; you referred to Daisy Mae as ‘a feminist on a rant/slanderer’ when her comment was nothing of the sort and she was actually making a very good point.
You seem very sensitive and in touch with your feminine (it’s not a bad word!) side. Cheers to that!
#119 Daisy Mae on 11.12.14 at 11:00 am
#8 Sheane Wallace: “Respect to the solders. Shame on politicians.”
******************
Yes.
Shame on the politicians — every conflict can be negotiated. There is no reason for all the death and destruction.
Respect to the very young soldiers — pawns in the ‘game’.
====================================
Maybe we should send Daisy Mae and Sheane over to “negotiate” a peaceful resolution with ISIS. What a bunch of morons.
#122 I Remember
Before you go overboard, remember the dead tell no tales.
ISIS is a fantastically well funded machine. How?
They have sympathizers in many countries, including yours, and mine. How and Why?
Maybe we need to think through HOW this comes to be, HOW it is funded, HOW recruitment is done, and WHY.
I would follow the money (oil money I would bet), but no proof here. Prevent the next BIG ONE rather than keep remembering the dead of the “war to end all wars.”
Even the survivors now lie in Flanders…it’s ALL DONE
Simply beautiful.
Re: #122 I Remember
Unfortunately, the ignorance espoused by you in your statement show that you are the moron.
Why do you think ISIS was formed to begin with? DING DING DING it was because of WESTERN intervention in Afghanistan and Iraq!
Middle eastern dictators may be bad people, but at least they hold those countries together. A massive power vacuum was created when those countries were overthrown, and now the same thing is happening in Libya.
And you know what? You CAN negotiate with ISIS. What do you think their political power is based on? They appeal to the populations in that region by claiming that westerners want to take over their resources. AND WE PROVE THEM RIGHT EVERYTIME WE BOMB THEM.
The best way to undermine their power structures is to TRADE and TALK with them. No one wants to live under a repressive regime – not even middle easterners. That’s why many emigrate over here – to escape. If we trade and talk with the people there, they will want to emulate us. The regular citizenry will be exposed to new ideas and want to develop their societies in a similar fashion – they will turn against the radicals FROM THE INSIDE.
Diplomacy works. Only ignorant fools want war. Switzerland has had the right policy for 200 years. Time the rest of the world learned from it.
********
Re: #116 45North
I haven’t done much research on that particular issue. Let me assure you though, that EVERY piece of legislation is written beforehand by lobbyists.
You think politicians get together and bang out 1000+ pages of boring, legal speak? Quit being so naive.
Compliance with massive regulatory burdens like FATCA keeps competition OUT. Small businesses and startups can’t comply because they can’t afford the group of lawyers and compliance officers needed.
Do you think it’s a coincidence that Canada only has a few big companies at the top of EVERY industry? It isn’t. It’s because once they’ve secured a dominant market position, they use the money they earn to lobby for political protections. That’s all regulations are. Look no further than what Wind Mobile had to go through with the CTRC to get into the Canadian marketplace.
***********
Re: #117 TnT
I feel like you’re not even making an effort to understand basic economics.
You don’t need to bully nations around the world in order to benefit your country’s wealth.
You engage in TRADE. Mutually beneficial trade increases the wealth of everyone involved.
Switzerland doesn’t engage militarily with the world – they are richer than us.
Even CHINA doesn’t engage militarily, and their country’s wealth has increased 100 fold in a few decades.
All this, while our country has gotten poorer. I don’t care about the phony statistics our government puts out, we are POORER. Increased asset prices like housing ARE NOT A GOOD SIGN. Very few Canadians have any assets and virtually no savings. We don’t really produce anything anymore except extracting raw materials from the earth, which doesn’t create much value.
And just to address your concerns about child labour – what’s wrong with it? You do realize that if those children weren’t working, they’d be starving? They work not because they want to, they work because they HAVE TO. Their economies are not productive enough that children can be taken care of without earning it. As tragic as that sounds, the VERY SAME THING happened in this country. When we were a young nation, children worked in factories. No, not because of a lack of ‘benevolent’ government legislation – it was because our productivity wasn’t good enough. Parents COULD NOT AFFORD to raise children without the children contributing in some manner. Now, we no longer have that problem.
But, the funny thing is, with all these harsh government regulations and interventions in the economy, we are regressing back into that state. Now, kids can’t get jobs anymore. The minimum wage has priced out the lowest rung of the employment ladder. Many kids are being forced to work FOR FREE in ‘internships’ or ‘volunteer’ positions. We are regressing back into slavery and people don’t even realize it. And it’s all because of government policy that has destroyed industry, productivity, savings, and inhibited entrepreneurial ambition.
Socialism is evil. There is nothing kind about stealing from one man to give to another. There is only one kind thing in this world, and it is an economic system that REWARDS YOU for helping others. That system is free markets.
Cato, you are seriously delusional cause all the US has to do is nothing to keep its top spot in the world economically and militarily.
Russia is a problem that will take care of its self. They have pinned their entire hopes on oil and its on its way out or at least at low prices for a number of years. They haven’t experienced a commodity recession since they have been a democracy. They will and their gold will be meaningless when bread lines form and unrest takes hold.
China is exactly the same position. The US owns them with their foreign currency reserves. The US can technical default on them, stick them with trillions in useless treasury note and win the economic war without firing a shot. China knows this and their gold won’t save them. They trillions in outstanding treasury notes along with trillions in their own black market debt. A few hundred billion in gold reserves isn’t going to amount to squat.
And the US may not have to do anything at all there either. China will obsolete itself because its inflated its economy faster than its standard of living. Hence why you see condos sitting empty and nobody can afford them. Peasant labour class will go back to the hills. On top of that technology is about to render their cheap labour redundant.
“Confessions of an Economic Hitman” has been authoritatively debunked by numerous diverse sources for several years now. I’m amused that Cato appears to count it as one of the cornerstones of his personal philosophies.
An entertaining book, but mainly fiction.
Maybe we should send Daisy Mae and Sheane over to “negotiate” a peaceful resolution with ISIS. What a bunch of morons.
+++++++++++++++++++++++
ISIS was created by the Americans who invaded Iraq for no other reason than to make loads of money for General Dynamics, gun companies and Haliburton.
ISIS was formed in a prison created by the Americans. Maybe the politicians that created them should go to Iraq with briefcases in hand to fix the situation.
#109 crowdedelevatorfatz,
1982 I was a postgrad student in war studies working on a thesis that caused me to read the British Cabinet minutes leading up to the Second World War. Following the UK lead up to the Falklands War in 1982, it struck me that I could have written the British Cabinet minutes for 1982 from what I had read in those for 1939. We, not just the Brits, had not learned a thing!
For every war there is a reason, but there also is a propaganda rationale. The reason, the war aim proper, remains secret lest it be considered inadequate in view of the effort involved. So the rationale is trumpeted as the war aim and must remain so ever after.
Definitely remember the victims of war every Remembrance Day, especially soldiers. But do those of past and future wars the favour of questioning “the reason why”. Don’t just eat the propaganda – make sure that the sacrifice they may be asked to make is justified. Terms like “aggression” and “terror” cover many realities and may have many causes.
#122 I Remember on 11.12.14 at 12:01 pm
—
Over reaction is the cause for just about every war in the last 100 years.
I mean some obscure archduke is assassinated and it turns into WWI and which then sets the stage for WW2.
Paranoia starts the cold war and its proxys in Vietnam and North Korea.
Some desert terrorist pulls off a lucky attack and we invade 3 countries to kill him, while at the same time we forget to guard the back door and let something like ISIS take hold.
#122 I Remember on 11.12.14 at 12:01 pm
#119 Daisy Mae on 11.12.14 at 11:00 am
#8 Sheane Wallace: “Respect to the solders. Shame on politicians.”
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Yes.
Shame on the politicians — every conflict can be negotiated. There is no reason for all the death and destruction.
Respect to the very young soldiers — pawns in the ‘game’.
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Maybe we should send Daisy Mae and Sheane over to “negotiate” a peaceful resolution with ISIS. What a bunch of morons.
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While I agree that in a perfect world negotiation is the best option remember Chamberlain met Hitler in Bad Godesberg on 22 September, only to hear him demand that the Sudetenland be annexed by Germany and the Czechoslovaks evacuated soon afterwards. Chamberlain expressed the desire for ‘peace… in our time’. It was an expression he infamously used on his return from Munich after obtaining the agreement that would supposedly avoid the need for war. Hitler marched into Poland and well the rest is history! Sometimes the best way to negotiate with the likes of Hitler and ISIS is with an iron fist!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3oKwg6W05MU
#111 Daisy Mae on 11.12.14 at 10:16 am
Anyone watch ‘The Sullivans’ last night? Five brothers…all eager to enlist — ‘champing at the bit’. Very excited.
None of them came home…
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I know of the story but did not know there was a movie made. This tragedy created the Sole Survivor Policy of which the Steven Spielburg Movie “Saving Private Ryan” was based on. His movie was taken from the true strory of the Niland brothers. They were actually local boys from Tonawanda New York a suburb of Buffalo.
#4 Smoking Man on 11.11.14 at 5:45 pm
Tip my Indiana Jones hat to those who served. Especially Dad.
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Smoking Man Just returned from a trip in Indonesia I was out for extended months! Read some of the old posts sorry to hear about your mother. My sincere condolences.
I hope your father is doing well? If I remember correctly you once posted he served in the underground in Yugoslavia during World War II. I think you said he was captured by the Germans at one point, it must have been terrible. Hope he is doing fine.
I tip my hat as well.
#87 Millennial_Falcon_theFirst on 11.12.14 at 1:48 am
I don’t disagree. I understand why Canada went in. My point maybe should’ve been elaborated. This for our freedom thing has taken on new light IMO in the last few years south of the border. I’d invite you to watch some History Channel and see the spin on their WW2 coverage. It’s not only applied to that conflict but to basically every one thereafter regardless of the circumstances. The history re-write thing where WE here were at risk and extrapolating is what bugs me. It almost diminishes or forgets the people that really did go through it in their backyard left, right and centre, and the reasons behind it. On that note, do we even mention the War of 1812? They were indeed fighting to avoid annexation. Harper had a thing going on a couple years ago but it seems as though it simply happened too long ago for people to remember.
You had a go at my higher education lol, but I’d invite you to quiz a random sampling of people young and old on something as ubiquitous as WW2 and I bet you that you would get a few versions and not all the facts. Hopefully, no one would say ‘for our freedom’.
I was in Texas recently and saw a t-shirt with a US flag, it read “AMERICA – WORLD WAR CHAMPIONS BACK TO BACK”. Yikes
“The glorification of the manufacturing sector”
http://worthwhile.typepad.com/worthwhile_canadian_initi/2014/11/the-manufacturing-trap.html
traders /traitors @ the fixing window
http://www.cftc.gov/ucm/groups/public/@newsroom/documents/file/hsbcmisconduct111114.pdf
http://www.theguardian.com/business/2014/nov/12/fca-transcripts-traders-forex-traders-chat-rooms-foreign-exchangeprosecuted.html#ixzz3Is5qYILv
The very first comment on this thread was spot on. I’m proud to be Canadian when I read comments like #4; #7; #8; #12; #13 (in particular); #16; #17; #18; #22; #24; #29; #33; #39; #40; #50; #56; #58; #75; #86; #89; #92; #96; #100; #115; #119;…what I mean is, there is sometimes (not always) a surprising amount of critical thinking on this blog, usually (not always) put in a respectful way. I particularly enjoyed reading the comment thread today.
“Maybe we should send Daisy Mae and Sheane over to “negotiate” a peaceful resolution with ISIS. What a bunch of morons.”
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You may as well be suggesting they “negotiate” a peaceful resolution with, the bogeyman.
Come on folks, ICEASS is a fiction created to instil fear in the ignorant and in this case, it seems to be working.
Great post.
It made me think about my Father, who spent 6 years on a Corvette, on the North Atlantic – between 1939-45.
He told me, just before he died – he was haunted.
“I still see their faces”.
LEST WE FORGET.
I concluded a long time ago that life was not fair and I am convinced neither is war. My mother’s family was British Metis and the 3 oldest sons and the father enlisted in 1939. A parade was held as they were sent off to war. The boys were thrilled as they were finally getting a good steady paycheque and would get a chance to see the world on someone else’s dime. My uncle Fred told me his war stories – not pretty plus he and his men were put into segregated Metis battalions and given the tough assignments. Fred didn’t get back to Canada until 1946. These men deserve far more credit than they are given.
#125 Cato the Elder
Before you get all fired up and head off to negotiate with ISIS, I would like to remind you that they have a tendency for chopping off the heads of infidels. Just sayin’
#139 Bill Gable,
your father fought the hardest war there was to fight in WWII, “for the duration” too! And his haunting shows that he preserved his humanity to boot. You have every reason to be proud!
#127 BillyBob on 11.12.14 at 1:21 pm
“Confessions of an Economic Hitman” has been authoritatively debunked by numerous diverse sources for several years now. I’m amused that Cato appears to count it as one of the cornerstones of his personal philosophies.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Debunked. You mean like most of the BS that comes out of Govt’s mouth? The word “debunked” is almost as bad as the words “conspiracy theory” which was invented by the media so they could spin……conspiracy theories.
Re: #117 TnT
I feel like you’re not even making an effort to understand basic economics.
** You are skirting the point you keep making about Bankers and War Profiteers. Own up to your theory on neutrality yet benefiting from the same Bankers and War Profiteers.
You don’t need to bully nations around the world in order to benefit your country’s wealth.
** Yes you do in 1 form or another it’s called negotiating.
You engage in TRADE. Mutually beneficial trade increases the wealth of everyone involved.
** Sounds nice only
Switzerland doesn’t engage militarily with the world – they are richer than us.
** They profited very well acting as a money laundering bank for all sides of every war and you ignore this fact.
Even CHINA doesn’t engage militarily, and their country’s wealth has increased 100 fold in a few decades.
** Really? Ask Tibet, Ask India and well you’re at it ask its own citizens.
All this, while our country has gotten poorer. I don’t care about the phony statistics our government puts out, we are POORER. Increased asset prices like housing ARE NOT A GOOD SIGN. Very few Canadians have any assets and virtually no savings. We don’t really produce anything anymore except extracting raw materials from the earth, which doesn’t create much value.
** You are richer by benefiting from the spoils of these wars by way of life and investments.
And just to address your concerns about child labour – what’s wrong with it? You do realize that if those children weren’t working, they’d be starving? They work not because they want to, they work because they HAVE TO. Their economies are not productive enough that children can be taken care of without earning it. As tragic as that sounds, the VERY SAME THING happened in this country. When we were a young nation, children worked in factories. No, not because of a lack of ‘benevolent’ government legislation – it was because our productivity wasn’t good enough. Parents COULD NOT AFFORD to raise children without the children contributing in some manner. Now, we no longer have that problem.
** Glad to to see your comments on slave labor while slagging the very Bankers and war profiteers who make this work for you way of life.
But, the funny thing is, with all these harsh government regulations and interventions in the economy, we are regressing back into that state. Now, kids can’t get jobs anymore. The minimum wage has priced out the lowest rung of the employment ladder. Many kids are being forced to work FOR FREE in ‘internships’ or ‘volunteer’ positions. We are regressing back into slavery and people don’t even realize it. And it’s all because of government policy that has destroyed industry, productivity, savings, and inhibited entrepreneurial ambition.
** You are a wind bag forever changing and manipulating your points into oblivion
Socialism is evil. There is nothing kind about stealing from one man to give to another. There is only one kind thing in this world, and it is an economic system that REWARDS YOU for helping others. That system is free markets.
** But it’s OK to steal from the less fortunate as long as your way of life is good?
Let’s hear your comments on the original points you keep skirting.
You slag Bankers and War Profiteers yet you are benefiting from these same Bankers and War Profiteers.
Waiting to see how much air you blow answering Bankers and War Profiteers.
#139 Bill Gable on 11.12.14 at 3:57 pm
Great post.
It made me think about my Father, who spent 6 years on a Corvette, on the North Atlantic – between 1939-45.
He told me, just before he died – he was haunted.
“I still see their faces”.
LEST WE FORGET.
____________________________________________
One of my dads best friends a guy named “Roy” was on a corvette for the entire war unscathed. He did the Murmansk run. He showed us photos of ships that were hit and burning or sinking. He said they were given orders to never stop. They had to sail right past survivors sometimes. At best they could try to hook some guys out of the water. He said it was terrible to look right at these guys as you kept on going. He said if you stopped your ship to help others you were as good as dead. The German subs would blow you out of the water in a heartbeat.
Re: #131 Holy Crap Where’s The Tylenol
You misunderstand history. It isn’t your fault – our education system is severely biased and promotes the ‘we are good no matter what’ bent that every nation does.
Poland was invaded concurrently by Nazi Germany AND the Soviet Union. And yet, we fought the Germans, and allied with the Soviets. Can you explain that? Oh, and the Soviets were much worse to civilian populations, killing over 20 000 000 of their own citizens just a few years earlier – so that angle doesn’t work either.
There is only ONE thing that differentiates those two evil states: banking. British and French banking elites were angry that they were no longer getting their reparation payments as the Treaty of Versailles stipulated. The Soviets, on the other hand, were very content to incur huge debts to western bankers. So, bankers lobbied the government, and with their symbiotic relationship, ensured ‘a line was drawn in the sand’. This line, of course, they knew Hitler would cross.
Your advocating for military action against ISIS only allows the situation to continue in perpetuity. Once ISIS is wiped out, another organization will rise up, and someone as short-sighted as you will advocate fighting them as well. The West has been intervening in that region for CENTURIES, losing countless lives and money. Enough is enough. STAY OUT. MIND OUR OWN BUSINESS. Take care of people HERE.
Amazing what a shoddily filmed piece of propaganda can do when it’s blasted allover television for weeks. A couple of journalists get killed, and everyone forgets the 500 000+ innocent civilians killed by USA, Canada, UK, and other participants in Afghanistan/Iraq. Have you ever stopped to think that could be the reason they are upset?
Of course, a loss of innocent life is always wrong. Two wrongs don’t make a right. At some point, one side has to stop, or it never ends.
Our officials have no business intervening abroad or spending our money abroad. We empower them through our votes to manage things HERE.
If you want to ‘stick to to ISIS’, feel free to go over there yourself. No one is stopping you from spending your own money and risking your own life. I think it’s incredibly vile that you would want to send someone else though, given that we have no justification being there or any hope of resolving the matter.
It’s all a ploy. A ruse. Bankers and war profiteers want our nation to put our money in their pockets. The US has been completely overtaken by their military industrial complex. I certainly don’t want that happening here.
And they were going on about Global Warming on the radio today.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2828721/Wet-frigid-weather-hits-Upper-Midwest.html
I mean….how cold does it have to keep getting to finally admit it was all a hoax?
I believe science is fairly united in the belief that climate change brings weather change. You sound like a dogmatic sycophant. With respect. — Garth
#131 Holy Crap Wheres The Tylenol
Your chronology is incorrect, and order of events is a critical aspect of learning from history. Many people took away NOTHING from this economic crisis, because they can’t even get the chronology right: what fell first, housing, interest rates, or the economy? If you can’t get the basics right, how can you learn anything.
Germany invaded Poland Sept 1, 1939, a day etched forever in the collective consciousness of my fellow countrymen. By Sept 22-24, Hitler’s proclivities and ambitions were already well known. The window for negotiations and diplomacy was already missed through years of political appeasement and inaction.
Re: #141 I Remember
I’m not saying we should sit down with them and have a cup of tea.
I’m saying we should stay the hell out.
They’re angry, and rightfully so, that the west has destroy their countries for centuries.
The best thing we could do to get rid of the radicals is to trade with them because it indirectly teaches them about western ways. They will want to emulate us over time. Think about what trading them computers so they could go on the internet, or movies could do.
Every time you drop a bomb, the crazy leaders point to that as justification for their policies. They point and say ‘look, the west is trying to kill us! give me all this power so I can rule and protect you’. Unfortunately, there is no REASONING in that kind of environment. People are SCARED.
This is difficult for a lot of people, especially those that lack critical thinking skills, but try thinking of the situation if it were reversed.
A nation is bombing us without end. We can’t get any imports of food or anything else because we have been sanction. All the critical infrastructure has been lost. You have no car, plumbing is non existent. Who do you listen to? I think you would be angry. I mean, just look at how you’re reacting and all you saw was an image on a television screen! I can’t imagine how livid you would be if terrible events were ACTUALLY impacting your daily life – if you were hearing bombs go off, friends were killed, you were hungry, you couldn’t get medicine for sick family members. I bet you would listen to a radical who was promising to ‘fight’ them. Well, that’s exactly what’s happening over there.
See, in spite of how our media likes to depict them, they’re acting RATIONALLY. They’re acting like ANYONE would act if they had no political or military recourse for another nations attacks.
Now, I’m not justifying killing innocent people – that is always wrong. But the policies western governments have used over there are wrong as well.
We need to be more like Switzerland. At least if we want to keep calling ourselves ‘peacekeepers’, because if not, we’re really just a nation of hypocrites.
Sorry, don’t mean the give the wrong idea here in my rush to press Submit. History didn’t begin with the invasion of Poland, or even Sudetenland. It stretches back to Austria and even earlier before 1938. European politicians practiced appeasement, not negotiation or diplomacy, or at least did not recognize or act on its failure.
#150 RealistvsExtremist on 11.12.14 at 5:06 pm
And they were going on about Global Warming on the radio today.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2828721/Wet-frigid-weather-hits-Upper-Midwest.html
I mean….how cold does it have to keep getting to finally admit it was all a hoax?
I believe science is fairly united in the belief that climate change brings weather change. You sound like a dogmatic sycophant. With respect. — Garth
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I would partially agree in that the advantage to admitting that “humans” are not responsible for “normal earth climate change” would mean less taxes and money being spent and extorted from my wallet. Is this not a good thing?
Re: #153 Devore
Well, if you want to examine history, then WW2 could have been largely averted.
The Treaty of Versailles led to the rise of radicals within Germany like Hitler. If the victors had been more equitable and not imposed such harsh reparations, Germany may have developed into a succsessful democracy.
Also, there’s no reason WW2 had to turn out the way it did. ‘Appeasement’ is a silly way that war mongers try to make diplomatic attempts at a peace look bad. Chamberlain did the best he could at the time.
What should have happened is a Soviet-German conflict. There was no reason for France and Britain to get involved. They could have just sat on the sidelines as the two hashed it out, trying to settle age old territorial disputes.
France was foolish to attack Germany. Britain almost lost as well, and they got lucky. Both events were unnecessary, given Hitlers well documented lack of desire to fight with Britain or France. If it weren’t for Hitler’s hubris and second guessing his generals constantly, he may have won. We are very lucky he didn’t.
My point is, involving yourself in a conflict, instead of maintaining neutrality, is foolish. You put a LOT to chance and stand to lose many lives, dollars, and possibly your country!
And, quite obviously to anyone that finds flaw in this argument, is you DO NEED a strong military. You need to deter anyone from engaging with you OR bullying you in order for neutrality to work. In the case of France or Britain in WW2, it would have worked just fine. Switzerland was much less prepared than either of them, and they did just fine.
General Smedley Butler was as correct today as he was then, War is a Racket. It’s always amused me that the US Business Plot that tried to turn the US into a Mussolini-style fascist state attempted to use Butler to do it. And that Prescott Bush’s son and grandson got to become president of a democracy that Prescott tried to destroy.
Not all wars are created equal. Ending fascism and Japanese imperialism were extremely noble goals. Since then, war profiteers have made the justifications for wars cloudy. If we go back to the old, “no millionaires made in wartime” way of thinking, I suspect our wars will be returned to only the justifiable kind.
Respect for those brave boys and girls sent to fight and die. Let’s hope we learned something along the way so that their sacrifices were not for naught.
#133 Ying Yang on 11.12.14 at 2:22 pm
He’s doing great, good thing hard case of dementia, he’s already forgot about mom. The man escaped nazi 3 times,
Got got twice. Theird time was a charm. Made it to Canada.
What where you doing in Indonesia?
#153 Cato the Elder
We need to be more like Switzerland.
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Are you referring to the part where they kept all of the gold from the Jews which were killed during the Holocaust? Or maybe the part where they turned a blind eye to the atrocities committed by the Nazis because taking a stand would be bad for business? Apparently the Swiss like gold more than justice.
On the other hand, Canada took Juno Beach, liberated Holland and generally kicked some Nazi ass. I think we took the right path.
#27 Chickenlittle on 11.11.14 at 8:03 pm
Having said that. ..The next election is a washout in my opinion. Justin Trudeau will ruin us, mulclair likewise… what to do???
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All this talk about going to war to defend democracy. I’d like more to stand up for our democracy. http://www.nationalnewswatch.com/2014/11/12/absolute-power-in-the-hands-of-just-one-man/#.VGQ8MzTF91x
Re: #159 I Remember
I’m referring to the part where they were in the middle of two world wars and not a single one of their own citizens had to die or have their wealth destroyed or have their country destroyed by being a crusader and picking sides. And to top it all off, they took in more jewish refugees than any other nation. So learn your history – there is nothing noble about RASH political decisions based on emotion. I’m not even Swiss and I am incredibly proud of the decisions they made – it allowed them to save numerous war refugees as well as keep their own populations safe (which is something that can’t be said about the following nations: Britain, France, Belgium, Russia, Hungary, etc.). Of course, neutrality is only possible with a strong military, and it has to be TRULY neutral – you can’t do what FDR did and put sanctions on Japan and not except a retaliation (a la Pearl Harbour).
We were on the side of the Soviets – not sure what was moral about that.
I’m not calling soldiers bad – many vets served honourably. But wars are almost always pointless for the common man, benefiting on a select few financial elite.
Wars are never based in morality – that’s just how they pitch it to you so you’re comfortable with your kids being sent overseas to die. There are plenty of much worse regimes on the planet than the one in Ukraine and yet we do nothing (how about Saudi Arabia? Oh yeah, they’re an ‘ally’).