Then why can you ship all the raw materials to China and your finished I beam still costs less shipped back from China than the stuff through the US - now that they have almost all of our steel production?
NAFTA is sinking
- Thread starter B00Mer
- Start date
Here is an illustration of why LIE-berals cannot manage a chip truck at a profit- not even if you give them the potatoes for free! Consider:
Here is an article guaranteed to annoy tax payers. With some comments of my own in brackets):
Bureaucrats well trained in the art of wasting money
Rita Smith, Guest Columnist. First posted: Saturday, December 10, 2016 06:14 PM EST | Updated: Saturday, December 10, 2016 07:10 PM EST
Bizarre things happen when government bureaucrats spend our cash.
(This article was originally written to cover how money from road tolls would be wasted but it also covers things like those costly steps built in the Etobicoke Park- for a mere $86 grand! AFTER some retired guy built a decent set for $500.00 in materials in one day and shamed city hall dorks!)
As a taxpayer who has worked with and inside various levels of government, I have some insight into the way bureaucrats think about spending our tax dollars.
It’s disturbing.
I recall on one occasion I was working for a Business Improvement Area, which had voted to apply for a grant through Toronto’s mural program.
We had a great location available, a paint store donating the paint and the support of the surrounding community.
I solicited three bids for the work and dutifully completed the forms, including the lowest bid, for $2,000.
That covered the painting fee, materials and installation.
Soon after, I was surprised to receive a phone call from a city program worker.
“Rita, there is a problem with your application,” he told me. “You have asked for $2,000.”
“That was the amount of the lowest bid,” I replied. “It’s a solid bid.”
“The problem is the grant is for $5,000,” he explained. “We can only approve giving you $5,000, or not giving you $5,000. There is no $2,000 grant.”
“But we won’t be spending $5,000,” I replied. “We’ll only be paying $2,000.”
“I would have to go back through the process and get approval to give a different amount,” he said with a sigh, clearly despondent. “Don’t you have any other expenses? Lumber? Materials?”
“THREE THOUSAND dollars’ worth of lumber for a $2,000 mural?” I asked, incredulously.
I laughed out loud. “No. That’s silly,” I said. “We won’t be doing that.”
To be fair, I don’t know how my city contact pulled it off, but in the end we did secure the $2,000 grant, without getting one for $5,000.
The mural was beautiful, by the way.
That incident came to mind when I read recently that Health Canada is conducting “stakeholder consultations” on multicultural versions of Canada’s Food Guide.
Bureaucrats tried to pull that one on me when I was communications director for the health minister in 2007, when the Harper government requested the Food Guide be translated into 10 languages.
Staff came back with a quote for $1.2 million.
“That’s ridiculous,” I said. “It’s four pages, mostly graphics, with 1,000 words of text — $1.2 million is insane.”
“But we have to consult,” the flustered official insisted. “We have to talk to all these groups!”
“No, you don’t,” I said. “Come with me.”
Together, we walked to the office kitchen, where the Food Guide was taped to the fridge.
“Look,” I said while pointing to the guide.
“An onion is an onion. An apple is an apple. Rice is rice. Fish is fish. It does not matter where you are from, or how you season your recipes. The Food Guide offers GUIDELINES. Any ethnic group can use them.”
“Oh, I see …” the bureaucrat mused, as the light appeared to dawn on her.
I was so irked when staff continued to push for the $1.2-million consultation budget, I called a private sector translation firm and got a quote on translating Canada’s Food Guide into 10 languages.
Total amount: $12,000 for all 10, and as a bonus, they would throw in the graphic layouts for free.
Fast forward to today and it appears government bureaucrats may have finally secured their “stakeholder consultation budget”.
Which brings us back full circle to the point that Torontonians are right to be skeptical of road tolls.
(And skeptical of building steps on slippery park slopes etc!)
There is no guarantee they will actually be spent on roads, public transit or even anything helpful to the city.
My money is on the bureaucrats to win, every time.
So why give them more money to waste?
--Smith is a communications professional who has worked with the private and public sectors for 31 years
Canada threatens to scrap US fighter jet deal as Nafta talks get off to rough start | South China Morning Post
I can think of a few other things to scrap, like the Ontario residents subsidizing their electricity
Oil & gas shipments and fly over right of their military
I can think of a few other things to scrap, like the Ontario residents subsidizing their electricity
Oil & gas shipments and fly over right of their military
As wages increase in China over time, China will find it increasingly challenging to compete on trans-Pacific trade. Its wage advantage will last only one or two more generations at most.
Our idiot Boy Justin is BEGGING for any excuse to further diminish Cdn military! It is Trudope family tradition to make Canada defenseless!
PIerre Trudope told us that the war against Nazi Germany was "British Imperialism"! And Our idio Boy is following papa Pierre!
Here is an article illustrating just why there will be a disaster if Our idiot Boy Justin tries to send Cdn “peace keepers” to Mali. With some comments of my own in brackets:
UN Peacekeeping in Mali: A Pre-history
Governance, Human Security. Article 2013•07•29. Peter Nadin
On Sunday, 28 July 2013, under the watchful eye of UN peacekeepers, the West African nation of Mali held a peaceful presidential election. The vote followed some 16 months of political and social chaos that included a rebellion in the north, a military coup and an Islamist uprising that provoked a French military response.
(IN other words- without the presence of French Foreign Legion mercenary special forces and French paratroopers- with heavy weapons and ready to engage in combat at the drop of a hat- there can be NO peace to keep in Mali! And Our idiot Boy plans to send Cdns there for PHOTO OPS! And maybe to hand out some Cdn foreign aid! All in hope of regain the respect of our allies who think- with powerful justification- that LIE-berals are DANGEROUS SLACKERS when it comes to national security issues!)
This article surveys recent events in Mali as a background for examining the pre-history and overall prospects of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali, which began its peacekeeping mission on 1 July 2013.
♦ ♦ ♦
In April 2013, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 2100 authorizing the establishment of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (known by its French acronym — MINUSMA).
With a troop strength ceiling of 12,600, MINUSMA will be UN peacekeeping’s third-largest force, behind UNAMID in Darfur, Sudan (20,071), and MONUSCO in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (18,884). On 1 July, MINUSMA officially began its mission, making this an opportune moment to examine the mission’s pre-history and overall prospects.
(And of course virtually ALL those 12.600 troops who stabilized Mali at gun point are now going home- hence the need for new troops- such as Cdns- with Our idiot Boy thinking Cdns can just slide in and take over without opposition- in spite of all those assorted rebel groups simply biding their time and waiting till the French Paras and Legion go home!
The Mali situation lies in a busy intersection between:
the United Nations (MINUSMA)
the French (Opération Serval)
the European Union (EU)
Islamist insurgents
the Tuareg
the Malian state
the Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS).
Mali is a land-locked country in West Africa, hemmed in by seven countries (Niger, Algeria, Burkina Faso, Mauritania, Senegal, Guinea, and Cote d’Ivoire). It is a land of contrasts: the mountainous Kidal region resembles the “planet Mars”; the iconic sands of the Sahara grip the northern portion of the country; while the southern regions (including the capital, Bamako) are situated in the fertile delta of the Niger and Senegal rivers.
Colonized by the French in the late 19th century, Mali gained independence in 1960. Since then, the country has been ruled by four leaders: Modibo Keïta and Moussa Traoré (both under one-party rule), and Alpha Oumar Konaré and Amadou Toumani Touré (under a pluralist system). Over the past two decades, Mali has been recognized as one of the most stable countries in the region.
However, this so-called stability finds its contradiction in the north of the country.
Over many years, the Tuareg, a nomadic people of northern Mali (and Niger), have found themselves at the fringe of Malian political and economic life. During the Libyan Civil War, many Tuareg fighters fought on behalf of Muammar Gaddafi, against the Libyan National Transitional Council (NTC). Following the fall of Gaddafi, many of these fighters returned to Mali to provide the backbone of the re-energized Azawad National Liberation Movement (MNLA). That group, in alliance with a range of Islamist armed groups, launched a campaign against the Malian military, capturing the towns of Timbuktu, Gao and Kidal in the process.
(So the major enemy is Muslim! Yes- LETS send Cdn troops to Mali- along with a bunch of social workers and immigration officers as we do not have enough newly arrived Muslim security risks in Canada and there will be lots to select from in Mali once the peace breaks down!)
The pressure applied to the Malian military reached a boiling point — resulting in a coup in March 2012. As for the insurgents, their groups have splintered (as outlined in below
.The Armed Group Puzzle: National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) — The main nationalist Tuareg armed group. Declared an Independent Azawad Region based in north Mali on 5 April 2012. The group’s strength quickly diminished after a host of Islamists groups moved against it. Tuareg residents of the North subscribe to the Sufi branch of Islam. Ansar Dine — Islamist leaning and comprising Tuareg fighters, this group joined the MNLA in the initial rebellion. However, it quickly switched its allegiance and joined with MUJAO against its former ally, the MNLA.
(So Cdns will have the fine job of sorting between Sunni and Shi-ite militias- who hate each other and both will consider Cdns to be intruders and Infidel Crusaders who can make handy targets for Muslim snipers honing their skills- UNLESS Cdns shoot first and with bigger guns- which LIE-berals FORBID! LIE-berals expect Cdn troops to KEEP the peace- NOT make it! Cdns will either FIGHT- or stand aside as helpless observers and as collateral damage!)
Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) — Al-Qaeda’s North African affiliate, originally based in Algeria, undertakes kidnapping, ransom and trafficking activities across the region. The group subscribes to Wahhabi (Salafi) Islam. Islamic Movement for Azawad — Splintered from Ansar Dine and positioned itself as a more moderate element. The group is purportedly open to dialogue.
Signed-in-Blood Battalion — A splinter group of AQIM; responsible for the In Amenas hostage crisis at the Algerian Gas Plant.
(OH! That`s a CLASSY TITLE- Signed in Blood! And two Cdn jihadists were killed at that Algerian gas plant mess last year! Just what we want- MORE connections to these LOONS!)
Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO) — An AQIM splinter group; performed a “tag team” with Ansar Dine to evict MNLA across the Independent Azawad Region.
After a renewed offensive launched by Islamist elements in early 2013, the French intervened. French forces pursued the military intervention route (Opération Serval, authorized by UN Resolution 2085) and — using a combination of air power, special forces and a lightly armoured spearhead force — successfully evicted the insurgents from the major northern cities. After this initial phase, the French withdrew the majority of its forces (around 4,000); just 1,000 French troops remain, providing a robust parallel force alongside MINUSMA. This, however, might prove problematic.
(IN other words- the French MADE PEACE with heavy weapons, air strikes, helicopter gunships and ARMOUR! NONE of which LIE-berals will permit Cdn troops to actually USE- even if they are allowed to ship the stuff out there! Such weapons are USELESS if locked up in a warehouse waiting-for ever- for LIE-beral permission to actually USE the weapons!)
Originally, Opération Serval was to fade into the background, allowing for a 7,000 strong ECOWAS force to step forward. However, that ECOWAS force, known as the African-led Support Mission in Mali (AFISMA), was quickly usurped by the creation of the UN mission, MINUSMA.
Although initially the insurgents did not operate in complex physical terrain (mostly desert/arid areas), it appears likely that many fighters will flee into the mountains close to the Algerian border. It is from here that they may seek to engage in an asymmetrical campaign against MINUSMA and French forces.
There are two central challenges for the Malian state: (i) the creation of polity, which is inclusive of the long marginalized Tuareg and (ii) the military.
First, the issue of Tuareg reconciliation is necessary for the future of the Malian state. A ceasefire was signed between the government and the MNLA on 18 June, paving the way for presidential elections on 28 July 2013. A few additional mechanisms seek to foster further reconciliation efforts — namely the Transitional Roadmap and Dialogue and Reconciliation Commission. It is hoped that the ceasefire coupled with theses mechanisms will mark the start of more amicable set of relations between the parties.
(Do LIE-berals REALLY think some desert nomad- whose focus is on his camels, his collection of wives and his reputation as a bold fighter- really cares about “the creation of polity”? Could an illiterate salt trader even EXPLAIN “polity” For a fairly in dept look at life in Mali- one might read the book: “Men of Salt” written by a Yankee who rode through the country with one of the caravans trading salt in the centuries old fashion. The author and the Muslim salt traders find themselves bemused by the number of Russian made trucks littering the countryside- about 20-odd years back- Russians had made efforts to ingratiate themselves to the locals by helping “modernize” the country and it did not go well! Hence the presence of so much wrecked Russian foreign aid in Mali- left behind after the Russians gave up and departed!)
Second, as it currently stands, the Malian army is neither capable nor equipped to project state authority into the northern recesses of the country. The state will need to satisfy the resource needs of the army before it can hope to secure the north on its own. The European Union (EU) has provided a EU Training Team (EUTM) of 200 trainers to undertake a range of activities aimed at improving the Malian military. The end goal of this project is the creation of four new battalions — or approximately 3,000 troops.
(Gearing up the Malian military means pushing them forward into an eventual pitched battle with Tuareg and various Muslim insurgents- who are likely to want to strike first and destroy Malian forces before they are fully equipped and trained- which means MORE shooting and less peace to keep! With experienced Cdn troops expected to act as body guards for the Malian greenhorns! Will Our idiot Boy allow them to do the job properly?)
MINUSMA faces an up-hill battle. Richard Gowan of the Center for International Cooperation at New York University stated in a recent op-ed piece that MINUSMA is “a potentially flawed peace operation”. He is right to be pessimistic about the operation; the machinery of the operation is delicate and is deployed to a hostile region where no real peace agreement exists as a template to manage the various actors.
(IN other words Mali is a replay of the ongoing Syrian civil war with elements of the fight against Isis thrown in! Every piece of information about Mali screams NO PEACE TO KEEP! Our idiot Boy has fatuously stated that he never reads news paper and he counts on others to tell him about important events that occur- do you suppose ANYBODY will tell him much about Mali?)
There are a number of key factors that will play in to the mission’s prospects.
When it comes to the division of labour, MINUSMA and Opération Serval will operate in parallel. These types of parallel missions have proven problematic in the past. The division of labour must be clear, and communication between the missions must be continuous. While on paper the division of labour is clear — Opération Serval will undertake peace-enforcement activities, while MINUSMA will stablize “key population centres, especially in the north of Mali and, in this context, … deter threats and take active steps to prevent the return of armed elements to those areas” — in practice such lines quickly fade and problems arise.
(The Mali “mission” for Cdn troops will be to “deter threats in key population centres”- do you suppose that means gunfire? Oh poor LIE-berals seeking wisdom in such a spot! How can they engage in dialogue if they cannot be heard over the crash of mortars and machine guns- though I suppose they will have a captive audience in local hospitals every time an improvised explosive device detonates!)
(On a related theme- infamous bomb maker Omar Khadr has sought to have his baiol conditions lifted- and one of the conditions is restricted access to the internet! If he gets his way- will he then beliving comfortably in Canada on OUR ten million dollars- while happily e-mailing bomb making instructions to Malian rebels?)
(Infamous Omar ALSO wants to be allowed to meet wih his sister Zaynab- she is the 4 times married jihadist with an outspoken HATRED of all things western! Zaynab has a preference for Muslim radicals as hubbies and of course they keep getting shot by western security forces and making her into a widow!)
(Zaynab recently came back to Canada after her latest marriage and was detained by Cdn customs as a pair of computers she was carrying contained data that CSIS found damaging to Canadian security in various ways- not specified by our news media! Zaynab told Border Security that the computer with the most damaging information was not hers- she was just carrying it for a friend- yes well- Osama Bin Lauden was a guest at her first wedding- so ALL her pals are potential national security snakes in the grass! Maybe Omar does not need access to the internet- he can just load all sorts of instructions onto a computer for Zaynab and she can waltz out of Canada and hand deliver all that bomb making expertise to Malian rebels seeking to make a mockery of Cdn “peace keeping”?)
(Omar is the inheritor of a rich bomb making tradition- his father was a convicted bomb maker languishing in an Italian jail when LIE-beral Jean Chretien suffered a brain cramp and actually INVITED the Italians to ship the terrorist HERE as an immigrant!)
The Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG), Albert Gerard Koenders was also appointed SRSG for Côte d’Ivoire not long after crisis of 2011 (Choi Young-jin was SRSG at the time). This crisis was resolved when French and UN forces acted to forcibly remove President Laurent Gbagbo, after Gbagbo refused to recognize the results of the presidential election. Koenders’ experience with the French in Côte d’Ivoire (known as Operation Licorne) is likely to prove invaluable in Mali, and this is arguably the primary reason for his appointment.
Force enablers like helicopters (both attack and utility) will be vital to the mobility of the mission. MINUSMA will be asked to traverse a huge expanse of desert, which stretches across the northern width of the country. If they are unable to move, they will be ineffective.
As for force generation, at this stage the force (see Adam Smith’s article for a more detailed analysis) is likely to be made up of mostly ECOWAS and Chadian troops. These troops will be “re-hatted” (meaning they will exchange their green AFISMA berets for a blue MINUSMA ones). China and Sweden have also signaled their intention to provide personnel and materiel (600 and 170 troops, respectively).
Finally, a regional approach is advisable, as many contemporary conflicts are interlinked. That is, they do not constitute separate conflicts — limited by borders — but rather constitute regional conflict complexes.
(No wonder its all linked- by desert nomads wandering through a dozen countries at will and by Islam! Sunnis and Shi-ites hate each other but they all hate western Infidel intruders more!)
The Security Council, without denying completely the regional dimensions of various conflicts, has frequently compartmentalized its responses. Mali is no different. What happens to the militias when they are chased out of Mali into neighbouring countries? They do not cease to exist once they cross the border. The problem is simply transported to another place, to be dealt with at another time.
There is a fair degree of pessimism surrounding MINUSMA as it begins its mission. Conditions are tough and the journey that lies ahead is an arduous one. The mission does indeed have a veritable “wish list” of mandated tasks.
Yet, on the other hand, MINUSMA faces a more amenable set of conditions than those that continue to confound the UN missions in the DRC and Darfur. The recipe for success may well exist. It is up to the Malian government, the Tuareg, civil society and the local population to find it, with the support of the African Union, ECOWAS, EU and UN.
(Clearly, Mali is no place for the weak- and Cdn troops WILL BE WEAK unless LIE-berals arm them heavily- which aint likely to happen! And Mali is no place for the foolish either- and Cdn troops operating with limited weapons and handicapped by LIE-beral orders will be compelled to act very foolishly indeed! LIE-berals are simply mentally and philosophically un-equipped to deal with matters of national security- in Canada or anyplace else! The thousands of Muslim murdered in the Medac Pocket while Cdn troops stood helpless without orders from LIE-beral Chretien are mute proof of this!)
I wonder of this is true.
While China is producing more rich people and there is a rising middle class the tradition of poverty in China is ancient. This has always been a stratified society with a very large and very poor base.
Apparently Highball is not clued in o NAFTA in any sensible way! And he does not realize that NAFTA has been in place for decades!
And consider this response to an old post musing on the "death of Detroit":
The writer posting about the `death of Detroit` must be an unemployed auto worker who does not realize Detroit died because they made shitty cars! Consider the 1965 Ford Falcon……now it DID have good qualities-nice front seat leg room, a solid frame that gave (for those days when seat belts were not available as an option and crash tests were rudimentary) good protection in a crash, had a solid reliable straight 6 cylinder engine and a good sized trunk……BUT…..it was DESIGNED as Fords version of an economy car! As such it was about 40% HEAVIER than a Honda civic or Toyota Corolla and that straight 6 engine was hooked to a two speed automatic transmission (no standard transmission available) so its gas consumption was easily twice that of the competition! Add in a considerably higher purchase price……and Ford eventually moved on to other economy cars like the Pinto (great car but if it got hit from behind the gas tank would rupture and FRY you) and the Maverick-another great car but MUCH higher price and gas consumption than foreign built economy cars…..and Ford sold the Falcon molds and dies etc to their Australian division and the Falcon was produced down under for some years.
Now….to get the FULL PICTURE of how unsuitable the Falcon was as an economy car (in spite of various other virtues it DID have) it was reported in the Toronto Star Wheels section that the car driven by MAD MAX in the movie Road Warrior was a somewhat modified Australian Ford Falcon…….good car…..but….to have that last of the “road ripping V-8 interceptors” as they callec it in the movie- compete in economy against a Civic or Corolla? HAHAHAHAHAHA!
Or consider American Motors Corporation-3 companies blended together after Second World War-Hudson Motors, Willies Overland(the Jeep designers) and Studebaker was (I think) the third company. The straight 6 cylinder engines they made were bullet proof…..but the wiring for their Jeeps, Hornets and Gremlins was a nightmare-pieces snatched from whatever was leftover from any other source-if it was built on Tuesday it will have MOPAR solenoid and Ford alternator, Wednesday had GM solenoid and mystery alternator-if it has three prongs then hook it here, if four prongs then hook it there, unless it was built on Friday in which case start all over with all new wire contacts…..and the wiring had so many dis-similar metals (with galvanic action EATING connections) and such corrosion problems that it was common to REWIRE the entire car after a few years on the road as my father in law did with his AMC Hornet! The Hornet went over 200,000 miles at a time when a car with 100,000 miles on it was toast- those old AMC 6 cy;linders did NOT QUIT……but the wiring was madness…..so AMC closed its factory on the south side of Danforth Ave west of Victoria Park (it’s a mall and Cdn Tire now…….and sold the Jeep design to Chrysler-the death of Detroit was nothing to do with taxes and EVERYTHING to do with weak designs and HIGH costs…..