That is very true. We have laws in the books in such a way that everything you do , you break the laws everytime. Fortunately, the government does not harrass everyone everyday. They are making more laws every year to the point, in another 100 years, you are breaking the law if you breathe. Two things come to my mind. While, I was in Utah, the neighbor widow complained our loud noise. The police came knocking. He did not hear anything untill we opened the door and heard kids watching a movie in our basement. The policeman laughed and went away. When I checked the city ordinance, I found, I could have got a ticket if the policeman would have found it objectionable. In otherwords, the laws are written such that any government official can do whatever they want. It is no different than the old days of kings and their henchman who could do anything in the name of the King. In Utah, it is against the law to live together without a marriage certificate. It is 5 years in jail. Luckily no one enforces that. But the law is still there. In highschool, my son got a ticket for second hand smoking (he was with his friends who were cigarette smoking) There nothing out there that is any better. So we are stuck. But as long as people are united, we are OK. So, keep the people and/or the government happy.
Sheeeez! How could I forget that obvious one? What an insensitive male bastard I must be! Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! Peace.
Here is a good book on American Power and the future. The Paradox of American Power by Joseph S. Nye Jr. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
I saw some reviews on the book in Businessweek etc. Here is one from the publisher's weekly: "Unilateralism, arrogance, and parochialism" the U.S. must abandon these traits in a post-Sept. 11 world, says Nye, former assistant secretary of defense and now dean of Harvard's Kennedy School of Government. He explains eloquently the principles he believes should govern American foreign policy in the decades ahead. His starting point is the preponderance of American power in today's world. Nye distinguishes between hard power (military and economic strength) and soft power (openness, prosperity and similar values that persuade and attract rather than coerce others). Nye argues that a dominant state needs both kinds of power, and that the current information revolution and the related phenomenon of globalization call for the exercise of soft more than hard power. It is, Nye believes, dangerous for the U.S. systematically to opt out of treaties and conventions endorsed by the great majority of nations. The U.S. should participate in world debate on transnational issues such as global warming and nuclear defense, not simply declare American interests paramount to the exclusion of all other views. Nye quotes a summarizing insight from a French critic: "nothing in the world can be done without the United States, [A]nd... there is very little the United States can achieve alone." As the author points out, in the aftermath of September 11, the policy issues this book addresses are magnified rather than diminished in importance. This reasoned and timely essay on the uses of power makes a valuable contribution to American public discourse. (Mar.)Forecast: Blurbs by Madeleine Albright and Henry Kissinger highlight that this should be required reading for foreign policy wonks. Oxford is backing this with a $50,000 marketing budget and is counting on major media attention. Still, whether this finds a wider audience may depend on whether Americans' interest in the world at large survives six months after September 11. My review will follow after I read it. An excerpt from a book description: "The Paradox of American Power contains the essential roadmap for maintaining America's power and reducing its vulnerability in the years to come. Sure to be controversial, it's a must read for anyone wishing to understand the complicated world in which we suddenly find ourselves." I will be looking for that roadmap.....any of our forum members who find that roadmap, please post...
Deindustrialization Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! http://www.sciam.com/2002/0502issue/0502numbers.html
Want to hear the decline of Canada? Likely not, but I'm going to say it anyway. Hockey is our sport. End of debate on that, it is simply our sport. Everyone in this nation who was born in Canada and even a lot who weren't either follows hockey, plays hockey and follows hockey or only assosciates with those who dont like hockey. The majority of people love the game. Our great players have been great (as well as any other country's great players) because they played ALL the time. That means ball hockey in the summer. Nowadays however, it is technically illegal to play hockey in the streets. Now, this law is NEVER enforced. Cops sometimes stop on the side and watch me and my buddies play for a while just to watch the game and cheer when a goal happens. Most people passing by will say hi and be friendly. Unfortunatly, now Toronto has become inhibited by morons apparently. Disgusting human beings who feel that the extra 1/4 of a second it takes to slow their car down to ensure they dont hit a net is too much to pay for some kids getting exercise in a time when kids don't exercise nearly as much as before. A week ago I was out playing by myself just taking shots on a side road that has a car pass every 10 minutes. My net was positioned directly in the middle of the road so that cars could EASILY get by on either side without coming close to hitting hte net (a wide street). However, as this van passes without even having to slow down around my net it stops right where I am and an obviously overweight 40-something women leans out the window and says (and I quote); "Roads are for cars, not hockey asshole. Get off the fucking road." A couple was walking by as this happens and the woman turns around and goes to yell at the older woman in the car as the car starts speeding away. Now, we all know I'm something of a smartass, punk, cocky kid (as Cris put it - cheeky). So naturally I did something. As her car drives away I took a shot at the back window of her car (a perfect shot too, if I do say so myself). She stops, backs up and says; "What the fuck was that you fucking little kid. Fucking kids have no respect. Little asshole what the hell do you think you were doing you fucking moron. Don't you have any fucking respect?" Is this a perfect oppurtunity or what? "Sorry, I missed...." I said it quite calmly and stared her right in the eye. She yelled a while longer and I just looked up, held my head up high and said 'Oh, Canada. Our home and native land....' She drove away. This is the decline of Canada. I hate these people.
It will get worse, because Morons are everywhere... There is a nice essay written by A G Gardiner - "On Saying Please", as the society declines, you see more rudeness and drive by shootings. Soon to visit Canada....
