alanalt

I wholeheartedly agree with you, simon. I've just turned off a bunch of my 'new topic' notifications because I'm tired of getting so many daily messages (9 today) that EXPAT's started a new topic that I don't have the slightest interest in... I appreciate that Oz is trying to make this forum more active and I wish I had the time to participate in it than the occasional sporadic post, But I don't think this has been the way to do it, and by turning off my notifications I already know that I'll be visiting the forum less and participating even more infrequently than I have been to date... Alan

Sorry, but it's hard for me to get too worked up about a country with 190+ million people having an economy that's slightly larger than a country with 62 million people. Now when Brazil's per-capita GDP approaches/exceeds that of the UK, then I'll get excited. On second thought, I probably won't, since I expect to be long dead by the time that happens... Alan

Back in the 1990s, I had a friend/acquaintance who owned a pet care store and she told me she refused to carry any food/treats made in China because of poor quality control issues. She advised me to always check the labelling (or with the store owner for bulk dry food/biscuits) and stay away from Chinese products. I confess, I hadn't really thought about it in recent years, but I guess old habits die hard, because when I went and checked this am, I found everything I give my dog still comes from North America. Indeed there's a small irony in that almost everything was made in the USA and I live in Canada... Alan

I'm not a US citizen/resident - so my observations regarding the Tea Party is that while I think some (even many) of them are definitely certifiable, the Tea Party represents only one small part of the varying kinds of 'craziness' to be found in pretty much all parts of the US body-politic these days. The only other thing I'd say is that I'd be extremely suspicious and wary of placing any kind of confidence in the conclusions of a poll that sampled fewer than 350 people, especially when that poll purports to present the opinions of voters in certain districts as well as those on a national basis. I've worked in political 'backrooms' for 20 years and if I was given a poll with such limited a sample size, it would almost certainly be headed for the garbage can and not the circulation list... Alan

I don't think corked wine is bad for you and, yes, I would use it for cooking. I often use left-over wine that's been opened for a while in marinades or as a vinegar substitute in sauces, so I don't see why you couldn't use it in instances like that! Alan

Obviously much depends on the skill of the photographer and the attractiveness of the model, but all other things being equal, I tend to prefer pics of models by themselves and videos of models in 'action'! Alan

Considering that yesterday's choice as the 'birthday' of the seven billionth was an entirely arbitrary choice made by a UN agency (the seven billionth person may have actually been born months ago - or may not be born for another year), perhaps my ironic message to that person would be that I cannot possibly overstate my dislike and distrust of most UN agencies... Alan

The problem with talking in code is that while you know exactly what you're talking about, other people have no clue... I'm sorry, hitoallusa, but I'm definitely in the latter category in this case, so it's impossible for me to give you any advice, as requested in your OP. And my other point was that to request Daddy to pre-approve anything that remotely sniffs of controversy is pre-doomed to failure... Alan

Two things, hitoallusa, 1) I'm extremely confused. Are you talking about a continuation of this thread? Because I thought you had come to the conclusion (and the correct conclusion, IMO) to let it go. And If you're talking about something else, then please explain what... 2) Of Course Daddy said no. How could you expect otherwise??? He's a control freak who can't stand the thought that someone else's freedom of expression might cause his board the slightest bit of upset. That's one of the reasons I don't post there any more... Alan

Love to suggest something, but frankly I'm too tired from celebrating my passing the 50 post mark... Alan

Finally, I could vote - because the answer was 'yes' for Tintin and 'no' for Tin Tin... I read a few Tintin comics in HS, but was a much bigger fan of Asterix and Obelisk... Alan

Falling asleep after hiring an escort for the first time in the wee hours of the morning on what was likely an 'impulse hire' is still a hefty load of STUPID to me, especially if one has just spent time boasting about your government connections and/or holding public office. The guy would have been lucky not to end up robbed or dead. Yeah, I do understand that there are plenty of people who are thinking with the 'wrong head' in these situations, but the situation, as recounted, still leaves me shaking my head and thinking there's a LOT more going on here than was reported, and again that's if anything happened at all. Again, none of the client's actions takes the escort off the hook here; his behaviour was/is reprehensible. But if a client or would-be client can't be bothered to take even the most basic of precautions to protect his own safety with a first-time hire, then he should put himself up as a candidate for the Darwin Awards... Alan

First of all, it must be said that the escort has acted very poorly here. I have a tough time feeling much sympathy for any escort who chooses to 'out' a client, but the reasons given here are pretty shabby sounding, which no doubt explains why said escort's trying to preserve his anonymity while crapping all over his former client's... However, if even a quarter of this stuff is true, I have to wonder how this alleged client ever managed to fly across the US carrying so much stupid! I just can't imagine letting an escort who I only met that night take pictures of me and my ID and keep them! Let alone promise him tens of thousands of dollars in gifts and a car!!! If there's anything to this story, I've got to believe there's a LOT more than has come out so far. Alan

"Only Japanese and British spend more in USA than Brazilian" Just would like to point out that estimate from the US Dep't of Commerce is apparently calculated on a per-capita basis and also includes airfare if the trip was made on a US-owned airline... I mention this in case anyone else was wondering, as I was, how some 833,000 Brazilians (the number who travelled to the USA from January to July of this year) could possibly outspend the 12.1 million Canadians (or for that matter the 7.6 million Mexicans) who visited the US over the same period of time. Alan

Normally, I'd be the first to say that there are too many 'Hitler gets angry at..." vids on you-tube, but I really enjoyed 'Hiter gets angry about iPhone 4S': here Alan

Zip, it's not so much people in the US having anything against Canada - it's just that they often forget we exist... Alan

I can't. There's no option offered that fits where I live (and it's not Africa - though you left them out too).

I think it would be a bit presumptuous, if not arrogant, of me to presume my opinion, based on reading a couple of articles about the situation, should be somehow equivalent to someone who's been living through this trial since its inception and who has seen all the evidence and heard all the testimony, etc. But the fact that the jury seemed to be split almost right down the middle on whether it was manslaughter or murder would indicate to me that neither the prosecution nor the defence was ultimately convincing in their arguments. I can admit to feeling frustration when a 'hung jury' is the result of one or two holdouts defying a consensus, but that's not the case here. In the end, it really doesn't matter if McInerney gets convicted of manslaughter or murder and gets sentenced to 10 years or 25, it's not really going to change the tragedy of the whole situation in my book... Alan

Navy - no question. Someone has to look after all the Marine bottoms... Alan

Above quote comes from 'Cousins', directed by William Higgins for Catalina Video/Laguna Pacific... Alan

Let's face it, most Star Trek novels are pretty basic fare - of the 150 or so I've read over the years, very few remained memorable for long after I put them down. The 'Thrawn Trilogy' is certainly at the upper end of the Star Wars novels, but inclusion in a list of the top science-fiction and fantasy novels??? I don't think so! Do. I haven't met anyone who's remotely interested in the genre who hasn't raved about them... I just hope the next book in the series doesn't take 6 years to write! As for the rest of the list I found it odd that some 'picks' consisted of an entire series (12+ books in the case of Robert Jordan), while other picks were a single book lifted from a series - that certainly distorts things from my view. I loved 'Dune', some of Herbert's sequels - not so much. I'd say I agree with around half the picks, but there are some pretty inexcusable omissions in my view: HP Lovecraft and Andre Norton from among the 'classic' writers and Harry Turtledove and especially Guy Gavriel Kay among contemporary authors. Any collection that excludes those four, at least, isn't worth much IMO... Alan

I'm of the school of 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it'. I don't see what's 'broken' about having a separate forum for political discussion... Alan

Speaking generally, I don't think Congresspeople/Senators/legislators often make very good Presidents. Obviously, a lot of the same skills/attributes are required to get elected, but once in office I believe the requirements for a good elected official to act as one of several dozen (or hundred) legislators are different when you're the sole executive authority. I think Obama is an example of someone whose skills as a legislator have not translated well into his role as president (and it's small consolation for me to believe that McCain would likely have been even worse). So if I was a primary voter, I'd be less interested in someone who's public life has been spent solely in the state/federal legislature as opposed to someone with actual executive experience running a state or other large public/private body. Alan

MSGuy, your Falklands War analogy is not really applicable here. Sure the US provided some valuable diplomatic, intelligence and logistical support to the UK in 1982, but the fighting was done by British forces. In Libya, it's the US that's doing the heavy lifting. The last time I looked, the US was responsible for 2-3 times the aerial sorties and missile strikes of Britain and France combined!! I don't think that there's anyone in NATO who wants to put troops on the ground, rather they're hoping that this can all be resolved in the air as in Kosovo, something I think is highly unrealistic. But, of course, it's hard to know what's 'realistic' since I still have no idea what the actual goal in Libya is! LOL As for Canada's participation, my theory is that the government is using this as an example of why Canada needs new fighters, the purchase of F-35s being likely to be an issue in the election. But the reality is that Canada's grand participation commits half a dozen fighters and a frigate (which was already in the Med) none of which is really going to make a difference. On the other hand, US forces - which will really make-or-break the success of this whole operation, are being used (under a Canadian general, which is a hoot) in a mission where it's really hard for me to see how US (or even NATO) interests are involved... And since you brought it up, this may be about the most useless general election we've ever had, which is saying something. It's true the Conservatives are up a bit in the polls, but I'll bet that most of that increased vote will come in seats they already control and that when the dust clears on May 3, we'll see the Conservatives again as the largest party in the House of Commons, but just short of an outright majority - in other words, back to square one... Alan

Would you like to source your claim that Germany is "pulling out of NATO"? Because that's a story that not only I have missed, but hasn't shown up on any of the news sites I frequent and it's not usual for CNN or the BBC (for example) to miss a story of that magnitude... NATO is, at its heart, a defensive alliance that commits its member nations to regard the 'attack upon a single member as an attack upon all'. But, of course, Libya hasn't attacked any NATO members. So to compare the threat offered by the USSR against NATO members during the Cold War with the threat 'imposed' by Libya is ridiculous. Moreover, Germany was hardly the only country threatened during the Cold War - NATO members Norway and Turkey had actual land frontiers with the Soviet Union, for instance. And I don't see Norway or Turkey rushing to get involved in Libya - indeed, Turkey spent most of last week vetoing the assumption of NATO military control over the aerial missions against Libya! Yes, Germany has decided not to participate in the NATO operation in Libya at this time. Newsflash: it doesn't have to. Again, the sovereignty of its member nations is not at issue here, so it's up to each member of the alliance to decide whether, and how, it will participate. Not every NATO country participated in the NATO operation against Kosovo in the last decade or in the current NATO operation in Afghanistan and you can bet that Germany is not going to be the only NATO member sitting on the sidelines in Libya! Personally, I can't blame Germany for taking the position it has. The UN Security Council Resolution allows for considerable 'mission creep' beyond enforcing a no-fly zone or a blockade or arms and munitions. Nor do the NATO members seem to have any common agreement on what the ultimate goal is. Are we seeking regime change, democratic reform, or the de-facto partition of Libya? Are we trying to end or prevent what looks increasingly like a civil war, or help one side win it? No one can seem to decide, which begs the question of why fight if we really don't know what we're fighting for? Alan