I find it quite amazing at how many negative people live in this city and when you talk to them or read comments by them it quickly becomes evident they are extremely very unhappy living or working here.

Why is that? Why are you living or working here then?

This is the second largest city in northern Canada after Edmonton there is a ton of stuff to do in and around the city and lots of things to do within a 4 hr drive of PG there isn’t a lot of cities anywhere that can lay claim to that. We have access to any place in the world via the airport which is a great airport IMO. Sadly the naysayers that live here will find a ton of things to critique and then subsequently whine about it incessantly why?

Yes the city has its problems and yes there are limitations but that is also the reality of living in the north

So again why are you living or working here if you hate it so much?

May I suggest moving to Scamloops, Kelowna or Hongcouver if you hate it here so much those places would gladly take you at least we would be down one less nay sayer and whiner

Although the ‘rat line’ of Western arms through Ukriaine, Georgia, and Turkey is a key issue driving the refugee crisis; and the refugee crisis itself is an issue that will have global implications. But for Canadians going to the polls we should be considering first and foremost the moral dignity of our nation, and when it comes to picking allies.

The civil war in Syria has many players with many goals. Foremost among them is isis and its goal of ethnically cleansing the region of anyone that is not Sunni. By this measure isis is winning the war… as is evidenced by the vast wave of fleeing refugees, which are mostly all Kurdish, Christian, and Yazidis.

Harper claims that Canada’s goal is to stop isis. His reaction to the refugee crisis is to call for more military action, so he gives the green light to escalation.

Meanwhile Turkey, a NATO ally is not at all concerned about isis. In fact this NATO ally is the key cog to the arms rat line from the west, and the Islamic fighter pipeline from George. Turkey is all for a Sunni caliphate. The Turkish leader, Erdogan, was so close to realizing his dream of executive control of the country… if not for the surprise in the polls last year of the Kurdish party that denied him a parliamentary majority. Ever since Erdogan has his goal to crush the Kurds, force a new election, and then assume the imperial executive.

So Harper calls for more military action, and two days ago Turkey starts a major air campaign with 50 bombers… more than the entire global coalition has in the region fighting isis. Problem is Erdogan isn’t attacking isis (his regional allies), but rather used this massive air invasion to attack the Kurds in Northern Iraq decimating their forces and killing over 2000 Kurdish fighters this week alone.

These Kurds in a lot of places are all that stands between the ethnic cleansing of isis, and the ethnic minorities of the entire region.

So one really needs to ask, ‘what does NATO stand for?’ Does NATO stand for enabling dictators to build an imperial presidency, while using proxy forces to spread terror in neighboring states… all with the guarantee that NATO countries like Canada will be forced by treaty to defend it if neighboring nation states take the fight to Turkey?

This is what Erdogan is counting on. He knows the Canadian Prime Minister would rather hide in a closet, than call him out for what is happening.

Harper is pro war and must feel handcuffed that one of his biggest ally in the region is also at the genus of enabling the evil that is transpiring. Harper has no plan and is flying by the seat of his pants… Harper says we need to trust that he is the strong leader we need, but its all to clear to see that we have a problem when our NATO ally is bombing the only ally we have on the ground fighting against isis.

A strong Canadian leader would take this time to lay down an ultimatum. Either Turkey gets expelled from NATO, or Canada as a founding nation would withdraw from the organization. If staying in NATO comes with the price that we can not call out Turkey for their part in all of this, then that is a price to high for Canadian dignity.

Turkey is doing all they can to keep NATO out of this conflict, as is anyways. They have gone to great pains to ensure isis fighters don’t bring the fight across the boarder into Turkey while fighting the Kurds, so as to not invoke NATO self defense terms. Turkey (and Israel) wants lawless access to bomb their enemies at will… a successful goal for them too.

So we have Harper calling for more war, with vague commitments, lots of cheer leading, and a record of choosing allies no better than his corrupt appointments. Turkey obliges with massive attacks on the Kurds, ensuring isis goals of a Sunni pure region are achieved through mass migration of ethnic minorities out of the region… countries throughout Europe are being destabilized by the mass migrations… and one has to wonder what the hell are Harpers goals anyways, because so far… if its about protecting innocent lives, safe guarding democratic values, and standing with the rule of law… then the Harper policy is a complete failure.

I think Canada needs to dump the idea of allies in this region and become an honest broker that stands for principles and values that we hold in our image as a nation. We need a leader that can call a spade a spade, and not be tied to faux alliances where we sit in silence as faux allies commit horrendous crimes against humanity and manipulate the propaganda to claim they have rule of law on their side.

I honestly don’t have much confidence in any of our current leaders, but one thing for sure is that the Harper foreign policy is morally corrupt, inept, short sighted, and strewn with failure after failure to engender peace and stability.

I also have a grip about the so called free trade deals. Like NAFTA… is it a one sided free trade deal or what?

I tried to buy an ABS scan tool online where I can get it for $125 from American suppliers, but none will ship to Canada due to manufacture restrictions. Even Amazon has it for $125 on the American side, and over $400 for the cheapest on the Canadian side.

Is this free trade? How is it that the same scan tool can be almost 400% more expense just because it gets sent to a Canadian address.

And then we got the free trade deal Harper signed with Ukraine… a country we don’t even do a quarter billion in trade with and a country that essentially has the same types of industries Canada has. Is it all about investor state dispute resolution clauses and the rule of globalist bankers using their own courts to impose their will over that of democratic institutions? I think so.

I would really like to know the candidates opinions on the free trade issue.

don’t you hate when you are waiting to be helped at a business but they keep answering the phone and talking to customers ahead of you? You made the effort to go to that business but someone calling from home gets priority..

Have a great weekend everyone. Be safe and play nice

Hard to believe it has been 14 years since 9/11. Still fresh in my mind.

The following numbers are from the credit market summary data table for Canada which is on the Statistics Canada website:

At the end of June, 2015 the total household, government (all levels) and business debt in Canada (bottom line of the credit market summary data table – total debt outstanding) was $6.02 trillion.

In the first 6 months of this year the total debt outstanding increased by $258 billion. In the calendar year 2014 it increased by $258 billion. In 2013 it increased by $287 billion. In 2012 it increased by $272 billion.

The approximate beginning of the global financial crisis was June, 2007. At the end of June, 2007 the total debt outstanding was $3.74 trillion. In the last 8 years it has increased from $3.74 trillion to $6.02 trillion. This is an increase of 60%.

Looking at the total debt outstanding in Canada excluding domestic financial institutions (7th line up from the bottom of the credit market summary data table):

At the end of June, 2015 the total debt outstanding excluding domestic financial institutions was $5.04 trillion.

In the first 6 months of this year the total debt outstanding excluding domestic financial institutions increased by $228 billion. In the calendar year 2014 it increased by $246 billion. In 2013 it increased by $272 billion. In 2012 it increased by $259 billion.

At the end of June, 2007 the total debt outstanding excluding domestic financial institutions was $3.01 trillion. In the last 8 years it has increased from $3.01 trillion to $5.04 trillion. This is an increase of 67%.

http://www5.statcan.gc.ca/cansim/pick-choisir?lang=eng&p2=33&id=3780122

Good morning everyone! I’m a little surprised that none of the people with agendas, political or otherwise, haven’t filled this board with their comments already. It is refreshing.
I have a question this morning. Why are the richest Arab countries not helping in this refugee crisis from Syria?
They are fellow Arabs and probably mostly fellow Muslims.
You would think they would be the first to lend a helping hand.
Here’s an interesting article on it:

http: //www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3222405/How-six-wealthiest-Gulf-Nations-refused-single-Syrian-refugee.html

Have a good safe weekend everyone.

“Over the last 35 years, the economic growth necessary to increase living standards, increase wealth and manage growing inequality has been based increasingly on rising borrowings and financial rather than real engineering. There was reliance on debt-driven consumption. It resulted in global trade and investment imbalances, such as that between China and the US or Germany and the rest of Europe.”

“Citizens demanded and governments allowed the build-up of retirement and healthcare entitlements as well as public services to win or maintain office. The commitments were rarely fully funded by taxes or other provisions.”

“The official policy is “extend and pretend”, whereby everybody conspires to ignore the underlying problem, cover it up, or devise deferral strategies to kick the can down the road.”

Why we need to lie to ourselves about the state of the economy

http://www.smh.com.au/comment/satyajit-das-column-20150825-gj7bcy.html

Went by the school on Ospika between 830am and 9am on Wednesday and Thursday this week. There were **new** No Stopping, signs on both sides of the street plus a City traffic pick up truck with flashing lights to keep people from parking on either side.

Parents were parking on the side streets as far away as 3 blocks, or further down by the Salvation Army.

In any event it was interesting to note that both sides of Ospika were clear with no cars in the bike lanes, problem is, there were NO bikers.

I spotted One (1) at 5th and Ospika and that was it. So, this begs the question,. Why are we taking away parking places from taxpaying citizens to make bike lanes for bikers that for all intents and purposes do not exist. If they do exist, its about time they showed themselves.

Is this all about spending the :Provincial money of $250,000.00 along with PG tax dollars of $250,000.00. A total of $500,000.00 to upgrade bike lanes.

I cannot understand how the City can spend this amount of money, without knowing how many people in Prince George actually bike to and from work. My guess is that it is significantly less than 100 people.

So, its time to make some changes. I suggest that we allow bikers to share the sidewalks with pedestrians, that would be a solution for everyone. We can do this by simply passing a bylaw.

We don’t need perfectly clear bike lanes for bikers that don’t uses them.

Fourteen years ago today, the world changed. Terrorism struck into the heartland of our neighbors to the south. I can still remember as clear as day when the twin towers came tumbling down and the tragic loss of life. A new war broke out, a war called Terrorism. All of sudden we in North America realized our own vulnerability. In the current Federal election campaign Mr. Mulcair of the NDP and Justin Trudeau of the Liberals, have some how lost sight of this and their attitude towards such terror groups like ISIS are just plan down scary. Mulcair states that if elected he would pull out our F16 assault on ISIS, turn and run is Mulcair’s attitude, making us a laughing stock in the eyes of the world. Then there is Justin Trudeau his attitude is to knit socks and sweaters for ISIS, he just isn’t taking the treat to our freedom seriously. Thanks Steven Harper for your stand and position, your foresight and wisdom. :)

Have a great and safe weekend. Enjoy the last of summer.

wow first comment at 7:30am?

I just wrote a piece about returning to PG after 6 years and the page BLINKED and everything I wrote disappeared.

I guess everybody is sleeping in today.

I have a question. All the Serein refugees fleeing there country to others and would like to go back home when the war ends. But in the mean time want our soldiers to go and lay there lives on line for them. when I see that a lot of them are quiet capable of of doing so them self. Now don’t take me wrong I believe the woman and children and anybody that is not capable of fighting have all the rights to. Because I know if we went to war in our country we would not run but stand up for our rights.

With the federal election looming, I hope that people will take the time to understand the platforms of the different parties and how they will affect the country for the next 5 years. Regardless of the party you support, we need to ask questions of the candidates and hold them to a high standard. Gotcha lines, pandering to fears and general disregard for voter intelligence cannot take the place of reasoned debate and genuine ideas on the direction of the country.
As Canadian citizens, we have a obligation to our country to participate in and vote in the election process. There is no such thing as a “wasted” vote. The only wasted vote is the one not cast.
I urge everyone, especially the youth of this country, to let your voices be heard. Apathy has no place in a democracy.

People never cease to amaze me. They see a picture of a dead kid on a beach, and they all are now prepared to take in tens of thousands of people because of it. They won’t take care of the people in their own backyard, but social media has driven them to ‘take action’ because of a well placed photo.

I hope people research what has happened to Sweden, after their 20 year long social experiment on refugee immigration without any sort of background tools in place. Sweden will no longer by ‘Sweden’ by 2025, the Muslim and refugee population has outpaced, outbirthed the white population. The White Flight from Sweden is now in full swing, and is real. Google White Flight From Detroit if you want a very interesting read on what happens when things go wrong with a mass influx of races, religions etc.

Before you label people ‘racists’ for expressing their views on taking in mass refugees, do a little research. Look at what has happened in Paris, London, Finland..Germany… it is shocking. Go on youtube, search for ‘Muslims in Paris’ , it is fascinating.

Looks like the Liberals are gaining big leads in the polls this week. You would not know that in PG and there is so much Conservative propaganda littering our city. They say to polls are reflected by mostly Ontario voters.

The thing that is peculiar about the current refugee situation is that most of the people seeking entry into Canada, the US, and Europe are not at risk of life and limb or of persecution. That’s not to say that many people in Syria are not at risk, but almost all of the refugees at issue are people who have already escaped from Syria and are safe in neighbouring countries. The little boy whose death has become iconic, for example, was living in Turkey. He died in an attempt to get from Turkey to Greece.

Life in a refugee camp is not a bed of roses, so it is understandable that many people would like to get out and take up life in countries like Canada and and the UK, but relocating them is not urgent, and it is difficult to understand why they would take great risks to reach other countries.

slinky: I guess someone forgot to turn on this section.

Here’s another thing to think about in accepting refugees.

http: //www.liveleak.com/view?i=d01_1441973503

Dearth, I think you should become Chair of the Welcoming Committee to PG. That way you can vet who is happy about moving here, and let them know they are not wanted if they are not tap-dancing giddy about PG.

But I think people are taking your advice, and moving on, particularly the Baby Boomers. As they retire, they don’t want to deal with the cold winters any longer. They’ve saved their pennies, and are going to spend them someplace warmer.

The population 20 years ago of the Health Region of PG (#57 if you need to look it up) was 101,495. As of 2014 it’s down to 94,041. I find this number more significant than a census because it takes into account those who are serviced by PG and not a simple physical number inside the borders of the region. The physical population has tanked too in the last two decades. But to be fair it did go up by a meager 1.4% in the last census.

PG has always been an industry town, and there’s nothing wrong with that. But most people moved here for a job, not for the lifestyle. So yes, some people are going to whine.

Watching Global BC this am it was noted that the Syrian lad who drowned a few days ago it was his father who was at the helm of the boat. Apparently this guy was a human smuggler who was paid big money from other refugees to get to the promised land. Now the father blames Canada for the drowning of his son? With Putin arming Syria and offering military support for the current regime, I don’t know where this is headed. IT could get a lot uglier before it gets better.

@ Give More – I thought I was the only Liveleak addict here, it’s a great source for unedited videos. Kudos to you for enjoying that site as well.

9/11

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUS9vRCc2Xc

Wow, 14 years ago today the world was changed forever.
What were you doing on this day back then?

I was driving to Mackenzie for work when I heard the news on the radio.

Eagleone:”So we have Harper calling for more war…”

From the safety of his armchair in his office, of course! Let others come home from duty (if so lucky) with arms or legs missing and suffering from PTSD.

Those that whine about living in PG can choose to live elsewhere. Trees can not move but people can! So, how about it?

Temporary use permit no.l89 is proposed to allow a tourist accommodation use for a three year period on 715 Bateman Rd. This looks like the old Log House Restaurant site, so what is going on ? What about access to lake shore for the public?

More diversity at its finest in Germany today :

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=d01_1441973503

IS Rob Van Adrichem missing in action? I recall he was supposed to start his new job at City Hall on September 1, 2015.

Maybe I got the year wrong.

One reason why the abs code readers are cheap in the us is bc the Chinese makers do not pay license fees to the car makers and reverse engineer into the abs computer code. Ton of lawsuits from ford gm and dodge but if found guilty the companies will disappear and pop up under a different name. I paid more for my scanner but it was better than having some hacked software poking around my brake system computer. They probably don’t ship to Canada so they arent sued here too.

On the UNBC Office of External Relations web page it still lists

Robert van Adrichem
Vice President, External Relations

Have I missed a past news item that spoke about a cancellation of the decision to relocate?

@tractor I was at home getting ready for work when my mom called to tell me to turn on the news. She said at first she thought BCTV was running the movie “Independence Day”. While we both watched the second plane hit, we were stunned and scared when we realized it was purposeful.

Stevie could help canada by watching ,Nicole Arbour dear fat people , on YouTube . that should shake this Friday up .

He seems to be able to control everything except his cake hole .

Perhaps all those so eager to put Canadian troops in harms way and “take the fight to ISIS” should google “the rise of ISIS”. The information is out there. Like Jim Prentice said ” perhaps you need to look in the mirror”. Canadians don’t like being told that.

Bitter, Bateman Rd. Is farther down, closer to Sons of Norway

taxi

Good mornig to all my friends in George. It’s a lovely sunny day her in Abby. Looks like it may not last. Hope all you people in PG are in a good mood this am and kind to those not as fortunate to live in your good City. Some interesting stuff on 250 this am that I would like to comment on.

Fourteen years ago today, the world changed. Terrorism struck into the heartland of our neighbours to the south. I can still remember as clear as day when the twin towers came tumbling down and the tragic loss of life. A new war broke out, a war called Terrorism

This is not a big mystery. Our friendly Nation to the South has for many years been trying to control oil and trade around the world. Remember Kuwait? It was the start of our friends to the south for control of oil in that country.

When the planes hit the twin towers in New York Bush’s first word were, “This is the opportunity we have been waiting for”. He wasn’t even concerned about the 3500 deaths in the twin towers event. His story was, “Iraq has weapons of mass destruction ”

Then came Iraq and Afghanistan. Which were both a failures. We need to get out of the middle East with our troops. Let them fight their own battles. Human aid is a far better activity for us.

And if we are worried about refugees Germany is prepared to take in million of them so what are we waiting for? Why because the citizens are to busy making money instead of having larger families. Refugees are consumers but what we need to really be concerned about is some of the free trade agreements that we have signed in the past.

There have been many books written about the monopolies that our friends to the south are involved in .The good part is they have powerful corporations but no military on the ground to back them up.
Cheers

gopg2015

Rob might have started his new job on the 1st but is currently at the city’s Re-education and Lobotomy center(and Day Spa) completing the talking head indoctrination procedures;) Will see him as soon as the scars heal.

Good Luck to both the Spruce Kings and the Cougars for the upcoming year..

@tractor – I was on my way to work in Fort St James. It was a beautiful sunny morning, which made the news even more surreal.

KPMG tax ‘sham’ could lead to criminal investigation, experts say

=======================================================

Check this out on CBC/ca this morning.Cheers

According to the map the City put in the paper Bateman Rd. is in the middle of the property, its a large chunk of property with lots of lake access. I was wondering about the three year period and what kind of tourist accommodation ?? I think there is more to this , I hope its going to be a new resort for all people to enjoy.

Nice to see Trudeau racing up the Grouse Grind . I wonder if Stevie is fit enough to take the stairs once in a while ? Nah .

To City Council: Before you ask the Provincial Government for a divider to be installed on the Hart Highway, please revise your request to include sidewalks and bike lanes to be installed on the Hart Highway. I think these 2 items are worth more to the driving/biking/walking public than the divider you think should be installed. If you were to ask people who drive/bike/walk this highway, I am sure they would put these 2 items before the divider. Thanks!

To the PG Citizen: for the love of god, please give your sports staff enough of a budget (or at the very least, encourage them heartily) to contact all the other sporting organizations around PG so that we can have local sports reporting on all sports and not just hockey!!!!!

R2

We’ll get you a nice little blue and white UN helmet and transportation to deliver some foreign aid to the ISIL controlled territory. Those animals will likely head you off at the pass and relieve you of the aid supplies and I don’t think they have seen too many John Wayne movies as they have given the term “head you off at the pass” a whole new meaning.

Still might be better than staying in Abbotsford where the Fraser Valley gangs that can’t shoot straight are using old guys as backstops for bullets.

Interesting details coming from the leaked late-2013 Internal Audit of Petronas’ offshore Malaysian operations. A tidbit from the story…

The audit, presented to Senior Executives in late 2013, cited more than a dozen instances of “severe” corrosion, “systemic” issues relating to incompetent staff, and a handful of safety concerns so alarming that there was an “almost certain” likelihood, if remedial action wasn’t taken, of a “catastrophic” incident leading to deaths and major environmental damage.

…this the LNG company the the BC Gov’t is in bed with? Who did they turn down? (rhetorical)

“that the” damned auto-correct.

Just been searching ” are conservatives the fattest ” turns out they are . The Alberta health ministers was called morbidly obese . Btw the Albertans are the fattest Canadians . Stevie isn’t fit enough for the job . Nice hair though .

The picture in the parer a couple of days ago shows about 26 Syrian men in a dinghy with life jackets and tubes crossing from Turkey to Greece, on the T.V. its shows mostly men fleeing from Syria. What is going to be left of the Country when anybody that can is leaving it? what about the women and children that are being left being behind?

It was an error in the first place to have a bike lane on Ospika. I guess the thought was ,its a big wide street so I needs a bike lane. there are a number of other North-South streets that do not have the volume of traffic that Ospika has that can be used for bike lanes.
Cheers

Sparrow why don’t you take flight to the north pole your gibberish is a bit off the mark. In PG they don’t shoot them they run them down with their cars if they cant shoot them.
Cheers

bitter:”…on the T.V. its shows mostly men fleeing from Syria. What is going to be left of the Country when anybody that can is leaving it? what about the women and children that are being left being behind?”

The young men are fleeing because they do not wish to fight for ISIS, any other of the various rebel factions or get drafted into Assad’s army! The whole country is a dangerous mess, with the Sunni vs Shiite conflict and so forth. Apparently the Russians are coming to help Assad.

Refugee camps in Turkey, Lebanon, Greece and elsewhere show tens of thousands of women and children who have fled at the same time! The new arrivals in Austria, Sweden, Norway and Germany also show huge numbers of women and children!

Referring to the father of the young Syrian boy who drowned, Ice said, “Apparently this guy was a human smuggler”. According to the family, it turns out that this is bald faced nonsense. The latest reports are that four people have been charged in the deaths of the refugees, but the father is not among them. Even if he were, the boy is still dead. His wife is still dead. Others in the boat are still dead.

After the second war, tremendous efforts were made to relocate hundreds of thousands of refugees from all over Europe. Canada admitted loads of people from Germany, but there was no screening to assumption that they were all fifth columnists. They were simply accepted as refugees. Similar efforts have been made to relocate refugees from many other countries. It is appalling that a country which is so proud of its commitment to individual freedom, as Canada is, would presume that because someone who is Muslim must, by definition, be undesirable and a terrorist or a people smuggler.

Evidence, not biased posturing and partisan claptrap are required in situations such as this.

“screening to assumption”

Should be, “screening based on an assumption”.

Damned editing!

11:53 AM by sparrow … excellent post!!! love it.

Ammonra wrote: “It is appalling that a country which is so proud of its commitment to individual freedom, as Canada is, would presume that because someone who is Muslim must, by definition, be undesirable and a terrorist or a people smuggler.”

We must not forget the pre war situation with the MS St. Louis which was a German ocean liner noted for the voyage in May 1939, in which her captain, Gustav Schröder, tried to find homes for 908 Jewish refugees from Germany, after they were denied entry to Cuba, the United States and Canada, until finally accepted in various European countries, which were later engulfed in World War II. Historians have estimated that, after their return to Europe, approximately a quarter of the ship’s passengers died in concentration camps.

Wait a while and history will inevitably repeat itself.

I expect Rob will surface any time now and take his rightful place at City Hall. Lets keep the good times rolling.

“Worries are growing that B.C. liquefied natural gas projects will face delays and cancellations as high construction costs and low LNG prices erode the confidence of international energy players.”

Price weakness, construction costs cast B.C. LNG projects into doubt: report

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/industry-news/energy-and-resources/price-weakness-construction-costs-cast-bc-lng-projects-into-doubt/article26318603/

Global LNG-Prices extend losses as supply builds up

http://af.reuters.com/article/egyptNews/idAFL5N11H30W20150911

Petronas. A major LNG company wanting to be in BC has been found to have done an internal survey which they failed miserably with potential of loss of life… Nice work Clark. Shouldn’t you know who you are getting in bed with.. After all your gambling our financial future on LNG..

I was at Save On Foods this afternoon where the Firefighters were holding their annual event to raise funds for MS. They always make it fun to contribute to the cause (throwing coins into boot) but today I noticed they had set up a “toll” in the middle of road along the store fronts. I have to say this made me quite uncomfortable.

Geez Charles, where have you been? This is news to you?

ataloss, didn’t you admit to being a butterball trucker? I’d like to see you waddle up grouse mountain ya tool. Maybe you should shut your cake hole. Your posts are juvenile and tiresome. Take your meds and stop annoying the adults.

Retired 02

Why is it you always try to pull off being pleasant & positive? You always have something nasty to say to someone or something someone has to comment on. Why? Maybe you should look at attending another church a church with a positive outlook rather than the thuggish attitude you always seem to portray.
Or are you need of an exorcism?

Cheers!!!

Ammonra, try to keep up with the news. Zainab Abbas was on the same boat and lost two of her children when the boat capsized and she says the smugglers told her the driver was going to bring his two children and wife so not to worry. The story gets a little greasy from here on

Glad to see the city keeping the bike lanes in front of Lac Des Bois school on Ospika cleared of cars this week. Usually when I bike past there on my way to work, I have several close calls with parents darting in and out of the lane and opening their doors without looking. The only vehicle I had to swing out into traffic to avoid this week was the city vehicle with the flashing light :)

Dow. Dow. Dow. I did motor rigs in my youth kid . Now I’m a senior with a bit better memory than you kid . Yes I was once obese when I didn’t know the food industry was feeding me sugar . BUT . I am not asking to run the country . Mister all pudge and hair is .

@ 7:42 AM handycap wrote:”… I know if we went to war in our country we would not run but stand up for our rights.”

When was the last time someone invaded Canada? WWII was a time when some thought someone might. That resulted in the building of the Alaska HWY by the USA because they felt the need to defend Alaska.

Both Canada and the USA gathered up all the people of Japanese heritage and interred them. They did not do that with people of German, Italian, Austrian, Norwegian and other heritage.

We might not think that such a thing would happen today, but in times of war on one’s own soil, one has no control of what will happen. Protest and you will end up in a camp or, if you engage the wrong person in uniform they will shoot you if they feel security is at risk, or if they don’t like you.

The Canadians of Japanese heritage thought they had rights. But they were mistaken. In a time of war, especially a war on one’s own soil, one never know what those in charge deem to be necessary. That can include removal of rights just because you look like the enemy, have the same religion as the enemy, grew up in the same region as the enemy, and are friendly with an enemy family … whatever it takes.

If it were not so serious, I would have to laugh at the naïveté of some when they speak of refugees and the countries they come from.

Just so that we have an idea of the level of the current crisis here are some facts about refugees in the world from the UNHCR (UN High Commissioner for Refugees.)

• Around the world today there are 43.3 million forcibly displaced people. Of these, 27.1 million are internally displaced (IDP) and 15.6 million are refugees.
• Afghanistan is the leading country of origin for refugees. 2.9 million Afghans live in 71 countries as refugees. Most of them live in Pakistan or Iran.
• Four out of five refugees are settled in developing countries. 16 % of the refugees are settled in Europe.
• Pakistan, Iran and Syria have the largest refugee populations in the world at 1.9 million, 1.1 million and 1 million respectively.
• Colombia is the county in the word with the most internally displaced people: 3.3 million people.
• African countries account for 40 % of all IDPs. Conflicts in the Democratic republic of Congo, Sudan and Somalia are crucial factors.

The Syrian situation changes by the day. Syria itself has over a million refugees. If one comes from Syria, it is likely not clear where their actual country of origin is.

cnn.com/2015/09/09/world/welcome-syrian-refugees-countries

That is a link to the most recent update of the Syrian situation. Canada and the USA are just a blip. We are not “next door” to the situation.

Reminder : the war in Syria has been raging since 2011 but the uneducated public just realized it now , because a picture of a dead kid was published

As you say Slinky, keep up to date. The CBC story is here:

http: //www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/abdullah-kurdi-not-people-smuggler-family-says-1.3224794

ataloss, being a senior, surly you,ve heard ,people in glass houses should not throw stones. You were abese, but feel entitled to mock others. shows what kind of a person you are. I’d like to meet you, maybe we could meet for coffee.

So just for a quick recap.

Israel and Obama wanted to get rid of Assad in Syria, so they worked with Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar to build up an insurgency against the Assad regime. This led to the birth of isis.

Canada joined the fight against isis, but still supports the goal of deposing of the Assad regime as well. Canada has aligned itself with the Kurds to fight isis on the ground.

Turkey is our NATO ally, and they too claim to fight isis, but in fact are the facilitators for the isis supply line. Turkey under the guise of fighting isis actually attacks their arch nemesis the Kurds, using the fight against isis as their cover.

So if the Kurds respond to the Turkey attacks, and this is construed as an attack on a NATO ally… then this leads to Canada being obligated by treaty to respond by fighting the Kurds, who in turn are our only ally on the ground in the fight against isis.

What a mess.

And whats up with Cliff Dezell deciding to move from PG? Another community leader that held high office in PG with no intention of ever living out his retirement here.

It seems wither one is our sitting MP, an executive for a public office, or anyone else of importance in our community leadership… they never want to live here for the long run, making short term political decisions that much easier I guess.

I think that reflects in PG’s own population trends when we have leadership with no intention of making PG a long term home… it sends the signal that we are a moving out kind of town.