Happy springtime Friday everyone.
PLEASE WATCH FOR MOTORCYCLISTS ON THE ROAD, thanks.
metalman.

Wow. All we can come up with on a Friday morning is 'watch out for motorcycles.' Where are all the complainers?

Okay daisyclover, are you complaining that there are no complainers?

LOL....

Good morning everyone in Prince George. Hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

taxi

Yet another scam has surfaced. This one just hit the newspapers here in the Okanagan and is a scam involving electricity. It goes something like this...

A telemarketer from Mississauga, Ont. attempts to sell you something called “Power Save One.”

With promises to reduce power consumption in business and residential applications by up too 40 to 50 per cent the scam also provides a reduction in price (or a "sale") from $500 down to JUST to $198.

It's a scam and it's been reported (for those of you who don't know) that no such device or plan exists.

Beware.

The federal election campaign is now going into the third week, and it seems that voter apathy is rising.

I want to remind people of the importance of voting. It is the right of every citizen of a democracy to vote. It is sad to that fewer and fewer people voting in each subsequent election. There are billions of people in the world that would absolutely love to vote and cannot, as their governments are not democracies (China and most of the middle east governments) or highly corrupt democratic governments (like some African nations).

For our fathers, grand fathers, great grand fathers, and great great grand fatthers had fought and died in 2 world wars to fight tyrants and to preserve our democratic way of life. In the last world war, a democratic government fell to a tyrant, as the people of that nation did not care what kind of government was elected. This is one of the reasons and not the only reason for the rise of the tyrant.

If you do not agree with any of the platforms of the federal parties, consider voting for an independent candidate. This is a better form of protest than not voting. Not voting tells the parties that the people of Canada approves of where the elected representatives are taking our great country.

Food for thought:
In the last federal election, in Cariboo - Prince George, 54% of the eligible voters voted (~34,500 did not vote), and in Prince George North, 49% of the eligible voters voted (~36,900 did not vote). The total number of people that did not vote was about the size of the population of Prince George.

Food for thought 2:
Lets assume that the majority of the people that did not vote used the excuse that my vote just does not count. In Cariboo Prince George, if ~65% if these people decided to vote in protest and voted for an independent person, the independent representative would have won the riding.
Unfortutantly, there was no independent candidate in Prince George North. If there was it would of only needed the support of 61% of the non voters.

Food for thought 3:
In the last election, there were a few ridings that the winner had won by les than 50 votes. I am sure that anyone can easily find 50 people or more that say they don't vote because their vote does not count. If these people had voted, the results could have been different.

Please get out vote for someone, anyone. For I will get out and vote, for it is my duty to protect our democratic land and remember, there are abillions of people that would like to vote, even if it once.

If voter apathy becomes to large, we can wake one morning and find that we had lost our rights to vote and bring in change, adn them we will be saying what happened and when did this occur. This could happen next year or in 5 or 10 years. Once something is lost, it is very hard to bring it back.

Gasoline price in Castlegar this was $1.19.9. Must be all the refineries and oil well in the area that keep the prices so low.

I agree Thunderboltz!
Voting is everything!
If you know someone who doesn't normally vote,track them down and drag them to the polls!
Voter apathy got us to where we are now,and we really need to fix that.
Voter apathy only favours the politicians...they love it!
and if they like something,it ain't good for the peons!

Wow. All we can come up with on a Friday morning is 'watch out for motorcycles.' Where are all the complainers?



I think given the time of year metalman hit it right on the head . What is wrong with watching out for Motorcycles? Thanks metalman . And please do watch out for motorcyclists , we are everywhere and more are coming out everyday. " I did not see him" is no excuse .

I agree....watch out for motorcycles!
I sold my last bike in 1985 after another twit tried to kill me on the by-pass!
Only way to avoid the hit was to lay it down!
Hard on me and very hard on the bike,but I was lucky!
It was actually happening so often when riding in town,I was pretty sure somebody had a contract out on me!
I also was noticing that the old reflexes were not as sharp as they once were, as I aged!
A good reminder metalman and HarleyGuy!

The three British submarines which Canada bought 13 years ago are still not fit for service and are still being re-fitted at a cost of many tens of millions of bucks each! They were also not able to launch a torpedo! Has anyone ever heard of any country making submarines which are unable to launch a torpedo?

The only torpedo-less submarines I have ever seen were the ones at the Edmonton Mall! But these were actually usable!

Now Ottawa has purchased a supply of American made torpedos - these can not be used unless they are reworked to fit the British subs, also at a cost of tens of millions of dollars!

Ah, Ottawa!

Thunderboltz:-"In the last world war, a democratic government fell to a tyrant, as the people of that nation did not care what kind of government was elected."
-------------------------------------------

If you're talking about Nazi Germany or Fascist Italy, you should realise that both Hitler and Mussolini were originally ELECTED.

And in the case of Hitler's later assumption of dictatorial powers, there was also a vote, or votes, enabling that.

As to the rest of your analysis, when we are asked to vote for Parties or candidates whose POLICY is NOT substantially different from one another, we are only being asked to choose the METHOD of implementing that Policy.

Not whether we agree or disagree with the Policy itself.

And this, though it will never be allowed to be proven one way or the other, is likely the main reason for so-called "voter apathy".

It could very easily be proven by the simple act of putting "None of the Above" on the bottom of each ballot, with a place for your "X" beside it.

If that were ever done it would then be incumbent on the candidates and their Parties to find out what WE, the majority of the electorate, REALLY WANT from our government. And see that we get it.

The way it is, a vote cast simply for the sake of voting is simply giving a blanket approval for the POLICY that ALL those currently running universally offer.

Which, I suspect, is one that increasing numbers of the supposedly "apathetic" do NOT agree with at all, but currently have no other way to express their frustration than to boycott the whole process.

The reason I placed those small convex mirrors on my side mirrors and do shoulder checks is so I'm not missing that bike coming up beside me. But, you can't do much with a guy on a crotch rocket who's flying.
Yes, please watch out for motorcycles and you rocket riders, you're not invincible.
Hey Taxi, good morning to you too, have a safe one.

I've always wondered why in videos of UFOs, the flying objects many of the times have lights on them. Why do they need or have lights if they are so much more advanced? Are they CFLs, or the old regular incandescent light bulbs?

So why are those not on mototcycles called nitwits? Is a motorcycle rider driving a car now a nitwit? I now an ardent mototcycle rider while driving his car hit and badly injured a motocycle rider, what is he called? Now a rider weaving in and out of traffic gets hit, who is the nitwit.

If motorcycles where invented now, would they even be allowed on the road? A car driver has to watch out for joggers, motorcycalists and bicycle riders which in my experiance, most fit the dumb ass category.

Four down drivers, careful out there, its a minefield and not only potholes.

"And in the case of Hitler's later assumption of dictatorial powers, there was also a vote, or votes, enabling that."

You may check history and find out that Hitler's party (the National Socialist German Workers Party) did not receive a majority of the vote in the last free election before he became a dictator. His party got less than what was needed for a majority.

Of course, school book history touches only very lightly on the fact that it was the inner Cabinet which decided to give Hitler the sweeping powers he demanded. He insisted that he could do something about the ever worsening political and economic situation in Germany. The German people had NOT given the Nazi party a majority - his party was the one with the most votes amongst all the many other parties. A minority party it was, nevertheless!

The President appointed Hitler to become the leader of the country - the German people had NO opportunity to prevent this from happening! The German military establishment and especially most of the aristocracy openly despised Hitler as a clownish upstart and rabble rouser.

Of course, as soon as the madman had dictatorial powers he banned all other parties, called an election and received 97% of the votes. Voting was compulsory and there was only the Nazi party on the ballot.

Not only do we have an opportunity to freely vote in Canada for the party of our choice, but we must at all times subject our politicians to the closest scrutiny possible, lest our leadership becomes too dictatorial and disrespectful of our democratic parliament and traditions and subjects us to oppression of one kind or another.

The difference between those twits driving cars and those twits driving motorcycles,is that the twits in the cars have a cage around them.
When a car/truck/bus and motorcycle collide,the motorcycle is going to lose...everytime.
And it won't make a damn bit of difference who the actual twit was in the first place!
Someone will stand a very good chance of dying,and I really hate it when that happens!

A word of caution for those who vote. Make sure you know when the polls close. Do not assume they are open until 8PM like I did last election, only to find out they close at 7PM.

Up until that point, I had never missed an election for any level of government. I always felt that as an Aboriginal person voting was an honour because many of my relatives fought and died in WWII even though they could not vote until 1960. I owe it to those guys, all the other veterans and myself to make it a point to vote.

I just wish more people would vote. It is a fundamental right in a democracy.

Well said Princegeorge!

Canadian celebrities (that still live in Canada) should start a "Rock the Vote" campaign to get younger voters interested and informed on how there vote counts! It is very important that the youth take time to understand the government and get to the polls.

socredible: "If you're talking about Nazi Germany or Fascist Italy, you should realise that both Hitler and Mussolini were originally ELECTED."
--------------------------
My point was about Nazi Germany. I know that Hitler was elected and then became a dictator as explained by Princegeorge.

You also stated: "Which, I suspect, is one that increasing numbers of the supposedly "apathetic" do NOT agree with at all, but currently have no other way to express their frustration than to boycott the whole process."

I have to disagree with this. There is a better way. If none of the parties express your view, then the voters needs to vote for an independent candidate. This will send a much louder expression of frustration than not voting at all, and the parties will then start listening to the people when more independents are elected or come close to being elected. It will be this point that the parties will start looking into the reasons why more people are not voting them. If you do not vote, they will assume that you agree with them and nothing will change and the people that do not vote should not complain about the type of government that is elected, at any level of government.

Food for thought:
Your spouse or significant other wants to paint the living room, and approaches you for your input on which colour to paint the room with. You respond with a grunt and continue watching the hockey game or you go and do something else. Over the next couple of weeks you do not engage in the planning process. Then one day you come home from work and find the living room is paint a bright neon green with a border along the top of the walls of dark grey butterflies. Question: do you have the right to complain about the colour scheme when you refused to put in your 2 cents?

"independent" is also a party .... a party of one.

Whether voting for parties, individuals who attach themselves to a party, or individuals who for want of a better way have to run as "independents", I feel strongly that one should not vote for any party or any individual one does not believe in.

I am not about to vote for an independent who stands for the wrong things as far as I am concerned.

It is very simple and logical, to me at least, if there is no one who is worth voting for, do not vote! Easy enough to understand.

@ Tbltz...wives with bad taste are easier to get rid of that politicians...politicians are like poo on the bottom of your shoe..you try to wipe it off in the grass but the odor sticks around...

Question: do you have the right to complain about the colour scheme when you refused to put in your 2 cents?

False analogy.

The analogy should be that you voted for off white and you come home ande find it painted as you said.

Do you have a right to complain now? Sure. So what? The room is painted. It is over till the next time the room needs painting, the same as the election process. Your vote did not matter. Reason ? Who cares? nothing can be done about it whether her vote was worth more than yours or whether she consulted her mother or you daughter or whatever.

Saw on the news the other night that the Insurance Corporation of Manitoba is returning surplus funds to the insured. One individual claimed that they would get about 400 bucks.
Cheers

Interesting concept Retired 02...too bad ICBC doesn't do this, instead of giving bonuses to upper management and to hell with the rest of us!

I heard that another individual claimed that she would not get any back.

So that makes two individuals. How many are there and what are all their stories?

http://www.cj97radio.com/news/cjn9200_1119_DNS1_01.html

Do we have such an entity in BC that reviews public utilities?

Everyone please have a safe and wonderful weekend. Wow, this weather is something else, isn't it? Get out and enjoy it.

Even an Independent candidate has to present a platform, an agenda. He/she may be not connected to any of the established parties. Would it be smart or safe to cast a vote for a candidate without a declaration of what he/she stands for and what she/he rejects?

When there surface a sufficient number of declared independent candidates they would look at each other and say: why don't we get together and form the Independent Party of Canada.

Then, we are back to square one. Except we have one more party to choose from. What is the advantage?

There goes another 6 million out of taxpayers pockets for lawyers.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/story/2011/04/08/bc-kash-heed-cleared.html?ref=rss

An interesting read for those who recognize the names Tim Ball, Michael Mann, Andrew Weaver the father of our carbon tax, and David Suzuki.

http://wattsupwiththat.com/2011/04/08/help-asked-for-dr-tim-ball-in-legal-battle-with-dr-mann/

I'd like to thank the man in the red/maroon GMC blazer type suv that was picking up garbage all along the highway up north of town this week... did a great job and friendly wave to all the trucks driving by... great community spirit IMO.

As for voting I think it is vitally important that people look at all candidates and ask themselves if me and this person had a fundamental disagreement how would they respect my viewpoint, and how would they treat my disagreement on the issue with them in resolving it... or at minimum giving fair opportunity to express my own viewpoint.

I think if you look at any politician you will never find one that agrees 100% with everything you do... simply party politics at times, and at others its just a difference of background or upbringing.

Its when a politician disagrees with a point of view that you can see their true character and value... if they are simply dismissive and in contempt purely for ideological rigidity then how can they truly represent you.

What if you find you are on the other side of the fence after supporting them with your vote based on a single hot button issue?

I think it is wise to measure a politician on how one can expect to be treated by them when you have a fundamental disagreement with them. If they hold true to their values while trying to reason it out, then that's good, but otherwise it might be a good choice to look elsewhere with a protest vote if need be.

I do not believe one MUST vote. This particularly applies to my riding. It seems to be a granite/rock solid Conservative riding and hell will freeze over before I'll vote for them and it seems the other parties don't have a chance. I will vote this time. All this blah blah that one Must Vote is silly. As the fellow mentioned Hitler was elected. Democracies are great, but they will survive if not everyone votes. Actually, I think we should just have opinion polls and divy up the seats accordingly. Just because more people vote does not mean we have better or worse government. There are other ways to affect government than by voting.

Politicians .... how can they truly represent you?

Unless it is a personal, apolitical issue, such as being treated unfairly, getting the run around related to a government service, do not expect any politician to represent you. They represent ALL the people of their geographic region. That leads to a lot of compromises. The nature of those change depending on the politics of the politician. One cannot expect that a left leaning politician will make the same compromise as a right leaning politician.

Seamutt , I never said the car operators were nitwits, and I never said all motorcyclists were responsible , but to sum it up easily , when was the last time you saw a motorcyclist riding down the road talking or texting while riding?

Hopes that the neighbor that keeps calling the city and saying I am running a busimess out of my home is just jealous that I have friends that come to visit and he doesn't
Get a life buddy

How much do you pay them to be your friends?

http://www.opinion250.com/blog/view/19919/1/tazer+used++on+eleven+year+old+suspect

The cops are frying 11 year old kids...be afraid, be very afraid...these are the guys who get away with murder...and you have no way to stop them.

It looks like the RCMP have stooped to a new low. What a bunch of thugs. They don't have enough b**!$ to take down an 11 year old kid. I really don't want them protecting me thank you very much!

Tax, faxman the boy came out of the house with a knife in his hand and he already had stabbed someone for what ever reason. Anybody else would have been shot. What would have you done?

Saw a motorcyclist texting near Westgate last year and not all four down text.

***One of the penalties for refusing to participate in Politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors*** Plato.


**A silent majority and Government by the people is incompatible** Tom Hayden.


**Get out and Vote**

Thunderboltz:-" If none of the parties express your view, then the voters needs to vote for an independent candidate."

reply:- There are not always "independent candidates" running. And often those who are fail to offer anything any better than what the mainstream political party candidates are offering.

What you seem to be saying is that doesn't matter. That we should just vote for these people, whoever they may be, anyways. As a form of protest against the mainstream Parties, if we disagree with what they're proposing.

I don't agree with that. The problem is the same as it is when many people, many more intelligent people than could ever reasonably be expected to agree with their nutty agenda, vote Green. I think many have done that as a form of protest.

Only what came out of it was government's adopting some of the Greens' goofiest ideas. Like the Carbon Tax.

If we don't go to vote we're classed as being "apathetic". If we do go to vote, and spoil our ballot, by writing "None of Them", or "They're All Idiots" across the face of it, we're classed as "making mischief". Lets see just what WOULD happen if there was a ballot with "None of the Above" at the bottom of the list of Candidates, with a place for your "x" beside it, and fully countable as a vote.

After all, why should we be asked to give approval to one of a choice of platforms, and/or one of a list of people none of whom we want as our representative? And be made to feel we've somehow failed in our democratic duty by not demeaning ourselves in participating in choosing what might be the best of a bad lot?

Gus:-"It is very simple and logical, to me at least, if there is no one who is worth voting for, do not vote! Easy enough to understand."

reply:- I agree. It's not unlike someone asking you what are the five greatest things about Canada, and then listing five things from which you can choose. You might think there are other things that are far, far greater, but the selection that you've been given is all you get to choose from.

Lets suppose those five things were (1.) Niagara Falls, (2.) Medicare, (3.) Rex Murphy, (4.)the RCMP, or (5.) the Klondyke gold rush.

The winning choice may be interesting, even highly predictable, but it really doesn't make any more difference to the overall direction this country will go than voting for one of the selection of candidates we'll see on our ballots come Election Day.

Any one of which, following in lock-step with the dictates of Party and Leader afterwards, is going to tell us that even though they promised such and such would be done when they were seeking our votes, it can now only be done "...when we have the money."

A subtle, but very tacit admission that those who currently "have the money" (or, at least, a monopoly of the power to create it), and might let them use some of it, if terms can be made that are favourably suitable enough to themselves, are calling the shots. Only that's NOT those who 'elected' them.

Thus it was so with Hitler, (or does anyone think all those jackboots, and swastika armbands, and brownshirts, and all the other Nazi regalia, along with everything else it took to get that 'minority' Party to be the leading Party in a country riddled with so many Parties, most pre-Hitler era Germans were fed up trying to figure out who was standing for what) was all costless? All that took 'money', and you can bet your bottom deutschmark those who provided it did the real dictating to the dictator.

Don't them there RCMP members wear vests?? No need to tazer the kid really. I suspect the person operating the stun gun was a total coward hiding behind a uniform. Jeeez--walk up and slap the kid and take away the knife. Chicken shit.

I noticed there was no comments allowed in regards to the news report.

palopou wrote **Get out and Vote**

The voter goes to vote, puts an X somewhere on the ballot but not next to any candidate. Voter turnout is high. spoiled ballots are high. The message should be clear.

@harley - just for kicks!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=So2rZOeRLvU

Prince George:-"Of course, school book history touches only very lightly on the fact that it was the inner Cabinet which decided to give Hitler the sweeping powers he demanded."
------------------------------------------

The "inner Cabinet" was the Greater German General Staff, and the 'planning' for World War Two was well underway BEFORE Hitler got anywhere near the office of Chancellor, Prince George. The pre-cursor to the Luftwaffe trained in Soviet Russia in the 1920's to get around the Versailles
Treaty stipulation that Germany have no air force.

At the end of World War One, the cry from the citizens of the allied powers was "Hang the Kaiser, and make Germany pay for the war." The Kaiser died in his sleep of old age 22 years later, comfortable and undisturbed in his castle at Doorn, in Holland, as Hitler's Storm Troopers were over-running the neutral neigbour that gave him refuge. And German Stukas were reducing large parts of Rotterdam to rubble.

During the inter-war years the Kaiser occasionally emitted some stories about how what had happened concerning the capitulation of Germany had ACTUALLY happened. But no one paid him much attention.

And, as for Germany "paying for the War", that proved impossible. The only way it COULD pay for the war was to engage in the same things it was doing when the war started ~ "capturing" foreign markets for its exports.

Britain and France and Belgium didn't want German exports. Nor did the USA. (Who wanted its "pound of flesh", from Britain, who'd guaranteed the war debts of its allies, in gold.) Any more than any of those countries wanted to lose the foreign markets they'd "captured" to German goods. (While the USA was still neutral in World War Two, Harry Hopkins, one of Roosevelt's closest advisors, remarked that the US could "not allow" a German victory, because the competition from Germany could wreck American export markets.)

Britain and France receiving German exports in payment for WW I caused the spectre of 'unemployment' to rise in their own countries. And they couldn't have THAT, because, as everyone knows, it would bring the moral ruination of their whole society if their citizens received German goods, or ANY goods, "...they hadn't worked for." Ah, the things we DON'T learn from history...

Gus:-"The voter goes to vote, puts an X somewhere on the ballot but not next to any candidate. Voter turnout is high. spoiled ballots are high. The message should be clear."
------------------------------------------

I don't expect it to happen, but if it did, the message would be perfectly clear. And we would see some meaningful changes. Or, the true nature of our government would very quickly be revealed (no matter who is in office).

It was great to hear about the approval for the Duchess Park land, but looking at the preliminary costs, the all season turf is put in at $1,250,000 of the $2,693,625 total. Maybe a all weather field would be better put at Masich Place where there is a lot of seating and washrooms. And have a regular field at Duchess.

Anyhow.. The Duchess Park plan is here: http://princegeorge.ca/infocentre/communications/Lists/Recent%20News/Attachments/21/Plng_Duchess_Park_Plan.pdf