Tories To Waste Billons On New Fighter Jets

[MapleOne]

What I find extremely convieniant is the timing of this news report.
What is not said was this happens several times a year and we don't hear a peep about it.
Wonder who's pulling the strings behind the release of this one?

Actually.... the Tories have reported these in the past and Harper has often spoken about the importance of Canada asserting itself in the North.

---- I agree with him, we cannot let other countries lay claims into our sovereign territory. The borders have always been drawn based on what was covered with ice. We now have to fight a assert ourselves over new water and land. The water passages alone can shave weeks off traveling times and are worth a fortune. This does not even begin to address the mineral rights.

 

[EagleSmack]

The water passages alone can shave weeks off traveling times and are worth a fortune.

Are you going to set up a toll? I can see the minerals rights and all but putting restrictions on ocean passage? It is not a canal.

 

[petros]

Are you going to set up a toll? I can see the minerals rights and all but putting restrictions on ocean passage? It is not a canal.

That's the Fed Govt plan Stan. There is big bucks to be made in allowing passage through our waters. Check the UCC on that for confirmation.

 

[EagleSmack]

That's the Fed Govt plan Stan. there is big bucks to be made in allowing passage through our waters. Check the UCC on that for confirmation.

I am sure there is but wouldn't that interfere with the Freedom of the Seas Act? If the passage has to wind through your islands then sure but if not, how can you charge?

 

[MapleOne]

That's the Fed Govt plan Stan. There is big bucks to be made in allowing passage through our waters. Check the UCC on that for confirmation.

petros is absolutely correct, plus we can restrict unfriendly countries passage through our channels.

 

[lone wolf]

I am sure there is but wouldn't that interfere with the Freedom of the Seas Act? If the passage has to wind through your islands then sure but if not, how can you charge?

 

[EagleSmack]

Yup...when you put it that way you sure can charge.

 

[MapleOne]

Don't forget, you can refuse access as well. This has a huge impact on foreign trade and can be a great bargaining chip.

 

[Omicron]

Seems that besides replacing an antiquated aircraft, the gov't has helped feed the Canadian aeronautics industry...

I'm still not seeing the down side to this.

You are too selfishly squiged to imagine how to make anything great out of your nation.]
http://tunes.digitalock.com/48crash.mp3

 

[petros]

All the other short cuts through sovereign territories charge a fee. Both Canada nd US split fees through the locks into the Great Lakes.

It's in the UCC

 

[Bar Sinister]

So far as I know a natural waterway connecting two areas that are both part of international waters is considered open to all. Canada might be able to charge a toll if it provides services such as pilots or icebreakers, but that would be all.

 

[Omicron]

So far as I know a natural waterway connecting two areas that are both part of international waters is considered open to all. Canada might be able to charge a toll if it provides services such as pilots or icebreakers, but that would be all.

Uhm... I apologize in advance if this is a bit off-thread, but... two points:

1) Navy never talks about it, but in all NATO war-games, the side with the most subs wins. Doesn't matter how many ships the other side has, so if you need surface ships, they might as well be the pontooned type for most smooth sailing.

2) Who wants to tell me that money spent on defense could not be built by the citizens being defended. For Christs sake, Sweden, with a population of 8 million, builds its own submarines in order to defend its neutrality.

Who wants to tell me that Canadians couldn't build the only jet to make it into space to freefall back as the Avro Arrow?

So... if the ice-cap is melting, then we do not do what Martin did, which was buy some stupid subs that the English had mothballed...

If the right person was in charge, can anyone tell me why Canadians could not build their own subs?

That's the key to maintaining order in the seas. Subs.

As for those jets... that's so obviously a puke arrangement. Here... give me a trillion dollars and I'll build you a Christmas tree with a light that shines to Uranus.

Ever notice how the very same people who want to milk money from tax-payed works will be the sames ones to stand up and demand that taxes not be impinged upon them?

Ever notice how if you spend taxes back on yourself if doesn't matter the tax rate... it only matters how smart the spend-back?

 

[dumpthemonarchy]

So far as I know a natural waterway connecting two areas that are both part of international waters is considered open to all. Canada might be able to charge a toll if it provides services such as pilots or icebreakers, but that would be all.

Canada could charge an "environmental" fee for passage through the NWP as ships dump bilge, crap and pollute when they sail. There will be spills and a user pay system is the best way to make sure taxpayers don't have to foot the bill for when incidents occur.

 

[Johnnny]

Its good we are getting these fighter jets, the russians are getting antsy they are even getting the japs angry because they also run drills on the disputed islands north of the japanese mainland. We dont got robots like the japs so we need these fighters

 

[Bar Sinister]

Canada could charge an "environmental" fee for passage through the NWP as ships dump bilge, crap and pollute when they sail. There will be spills and a user pay system is the best way to make sure taxpayers don't have to foot the bill for when incidents occur.

Possibly. Do you know if there is a precedent for that anywhere else in the world.? For example do the countries bordering the English Channel and the North Sea change similar fees?

 

[dumpthemonarchy]

Possibly. Do you know if there is a precedent for that anywhere else in the world.? For example do the countries bordering the English Channel and the North Sea change similar fees?

Ships are dirty, that's fact, they emit pollution.

(1) We can set a precedent because the Arctic is a fragile ecosystem and shipping traffic requires management. If there is a spill there, it will be on Canadian land, so we have spend money to have officials to take charge of the situation.

(2) We have to keep control of our borders too.

 

[Avro]

McQuaig: F-35 jets are useless without war

August 10, 2010
Linda McQuaig


Of all the things Canadians want from their government, my guess is that new military fighter jets would probably rank close to last.
But new fighter jets are what we’re getting. Despite the enduring popularity of peacekeeping among Canadians, the Harper government continues to ramp up war-oriented military spending, most recently with its announcement of plans to buy 65 F-35 fighter jets from Lockheed Martin.
At $16 billion — and that’s a conservative estimate; cost overruns are rampant with military contracts — the jets promise to be the most expensive military acquisition in Canadian history.
What makes this purchase bizarre is how little use the jets will be, unless we’re waging all-out war.
“It’s hard to see any useful military role for the F-35,” wrote Leonard Johnson, a retired major-general in the Canadian air force and former commandant of the National Defence College in Kingston. “The age of major inter-state war between developed nations has vanished, so why prepare for one?”
Now, some might consider Johnson’s argument suspect; despite his impressive military credentials, he has a soft spot for peace.
Perhaps we should consult someone more resolutely committed to war — like Defence Minister Peter MacKay. Yet even MacKay struggles to explain the utility of the jets.
Asked at a news conference last month for “specific examples of the uses of these aircraft,” MacKay mostly focused on what a great recruiting device they make.
“t helps a great deal, I can assure you, in recruiting, to have new gear, new equipment, that is state of the art,” MacKay said. “That is a very important part of our regeneration of personnel and pilots in particular. So having that platform capacity is something that is of great importance to the continued growth of the Canadian Forces and the development of our pilots.”
So we’re spending $16 billion — about $470 for every Canadian — so we can have planes that are really attractive to pilots? Wouldn’t it be a lot cheaper just to offer every prospective pilot a Porsche?
MacKay’s answer is also striking in that he indicates that the ultimate purpose is to ensure “the continued growth of the Canadian Forces.”
Why should the continued growth of the military be a goal in itself? Why would we even want an ever-bigger military?
As former U.S. president Dwight Eisenhower famously warned, a massive military combined with a large arms industry forms a “military-industrial complex” that is likely to exert “unwarranted influence” over the country.
The F-35 purchase is being touted for its job creation benefits. Although the planes will be built in the U.S., with no buy-Canadian requirements, Canadian military contractors are expected to win lucrative contracts for parts.
But if job creation is the goal, why not invest directly in Canadian jobs building things we actually need — like public transit, clean energy and improved health-care and education systems?
Investing in the F-35 is at best a roundabout way to create jobs, and one that transforms Canada into a more war-oriented economy, where prosperity becomes tied to fighting wars.
With Canada’s role in Afghanistan scheduled to end next year, our military expenditures should be dropping — and not a moment too soon, as the country struggles with recession and deficits.
But anyone who thinks that our Afghanistan exit might free up money for other Canadian priorities has obviously forgotten about our pressing need to lure pilots with shiny new equipment.

 

[Nuggler]

The aircraft was going into a nose high attitude and losing speed. I think he jammed the throttles forward. It looks like there was compressor stall. He was getting, according to witnesses, popping and banging noises and flame from the tailpipes. The aircraft was in a classic stall and side-slipped into the ground. The pilot had only just enough time to eject and survive

Sounds like our old Ford. No ejection seat thank gawd, or it mighta got used quite a few times. They sure help get rid of unruly passengers.:fart:

 

[CDNBear]

McQuaig: F-35 jets are useless without war

Kinda like a vagina, without dick. But Tanks, C7's, grenades, and rocket launchers, like vagina's, sure are fun to play with.

 

[Omicron]

Maybe Harper's under pressure to chip in on some sort of western chest-puffing against China, which he would go along with because his core constituents think everything's all about Armageddon.