US losing faith in Canada

[notyoueither]

Originally posted by Willem


That's part of the problem, the Conservatives have become so small that they would just get swallowed up by the Alliance. And they know full well that a more moderate Conservatism stands a much better chance of going over with the general public, which is something that the Alliance won't agree to. At least not at this point in time.

The Tories have withstood similar things in the past.

They survived the wipe out after Bennett, when the Progressives flourished in the West.

They will survive the wipe out of Mulroney, and the rise of Reform/CA. It is the CA who are desperate for the merger. They know that it is only a matter of time before enough people get over Mulroney, and then Tories get elected in Ontario. Actually, the longer they hold out, the greater the chance of an eventual Liberal wipe out, and a Tory government without solid roots in the West.

Interesting enough, both wipe outs led to prolonged Liberal Majority governments.

The real question is when will people learn that splitting is not the answer to being pee'd off.

[Ben Kenobi]

Frogger:

I hate to kill a thread, but I think it's

Tax-funded abortion on demand.

[Asher]

Originally posted by Tingkai
Yeah, we know how you see things. If you lived in the States you'd be saying the US military is embarrassing itself in Iraq.

Uh. What?
Why would the US military be embarrassing itself in Iraq? I think it's doing a damn fine job.

Instead of saying the Forces are embarrassing, you should be proud of what they do given the equipment they have to work with. You should be proud of CF members who spend their hard-earned money to buy equipment to do the job right. That's dedication.

Oh, shush.
I'm not talking about the individual soldiers at all, I have no problem with them. When I'm referring to The Forces, I'm referring to the beauracracy of them. If I meant the men and women who served in The Forces, I'd say that.

Salaries are not the issue. The Forces are offering a $20,000 signing bonus for helicopter mechanics and still have problems signing people up.

They're offering that for basically everything. You know why no one is signing up?

Look at the salaries compared to the private sector. Look at the increase in salaries over time in the private sector. It's COMPLETELY laughable.

They're in desperate need for computer technicians, and they're offering a $20,000 signing bonus. The downside? $35,000 starting salary, $45,000 after 10 years.

Roughly half of the private sector's going rates.

[Willem]

Originally posted by Gatekeeper
Based on the articles posted by Asher alone — and nothing else that's been added to this thread since then — I just wish *all* of our so-called political and academic leaders (regardless of nationality) would just shut up and concentrate on their jobs, rather than exchanging barbs.

Gatekeeper

Well when it comes to diplomatic blunders, our political people don't exactly have a monopoly. And no I'm not pointing my finger just at America, France could use a few lessons as well. Every nation has their idiots.

[KrazyHorse]

obi:

Doesn't answer the question. Even if you added that in we'd be far short of the US birth rate. And IIRC the abortion rate in the US is higher than here.

Look at the marriage rate...

People in Canada aren't interested in getting married and having children as young as those in the States.

[cinch]

As for Yogic Flyers:

I will not here an ill word against the Natural Law Party!

*****

I mean, I'm too right for the NDP, too left for the PC and CA, and would rather die than vote Liberal... So why not Natural Law?

Jai Sri Krishna!

[Kontiki]

Asher, I'm curious - besides the fact that your dad can make a good living in the Alberta oil industry and maybe some scenery, is there anything you actually like about Canada? You claim to dislike the Liberal government, but I can't recall you ever saying anything positive about Canada at all. I even did a quick scan of some of your past posts to see if I could find something - nothing came up.

[Six Thousand Year Old Man]

Originally posted by Frogger
obi:

Doesn't answer the question. Even if you added that in we'd be far short of the US birth rate. And IIRC the abortion rate in the US is higher than here.

Look at the marriage rate...

People in Canada aren't interested in getting married and having children as young as those in the States.

I may be wrong, but countries with a larger underclass do seem to have higher birth rates.

[Asher]

Originally posted by Kontiki
Asher, I'm curious - besides the fact that your dad can make a good living in the Alberta oil industry and maybe some scenery, is there anything you actually like about Canada? You claim to dislike the Liberal government, but I can't recall you ever saying anything positive about Canada at all. I even did a quick scan of some of your past posts to see if I could find something - nothing came up.

I love Alberta, I absolutely hate the federal government.

The federal government IS Canada, sadly.

I like that it copied the US in many ways, such as freedom of speech.

There are more things that I dislike than I like when I talk of Canada as a whole. 99% of the dislike problems are related to the federal government.

[DinoDoc]

Originally posted by Asher
buying their own radios at Future Shop since they're far better than the crap the forces gives them,

Say it isn't so.

Is JTF2 treated this badly as well?

[Tingkai]

Originally posted by Asher
Uh. What?
Why would the US military be embarrassing itself in Iraq? I think it's doing a damn fine job.

Oh I forgot that in your world view, the US can do no wrong.

Originally posted by Asher
I'm not talking about the individual soldiers at all, I hvave no problem with them. When I'm referring to The Forces, I'm referring to the beauracracy of them. If I meant the men and women who served in The Forces, I'd say that.

So you're not attacking the men and women who serve in the Forces, but you are attacking the Forces bureaucracy, which by definition are the men and women who serve in the Forces.

The lack of proper equipment is solely due to the politicians unwillingness to provide enough money to the Forces. It is not the fault of the DND bureaucracy.

On the plus side, the government seems to be finally be putting more money into the Forces.

Originally posted by Asher
They're offering that for basically everything. You know why no one is signing up?
Look at the salaries compared to the private sector. Look at the increase in salaries over time in the private sector. It's COMPLETELY laughable.
They're in desperate need for computer technicians, and they're offering a $20,000 signing bonus. The downside? $35,000 starting salary, $45,000 after 10 years.
Roughly half of the private sector's going rates.

That's the problem with Canadian society. Too many greedy people who demand the government give them everything, but are not willing to give anything back in return.

You could sign up for four years, get a $20,000 signing bonus, make a good salary, get good experience and serve your country.

But no, life for you is just about money.

Quote frankly, the Forces are better off without your type.

[Asher]

Originally posted by DinoDoc
Say it isn't so.

Is JTF2 treated this badly as well?

I'd assume they aren't, but I don't know. The government never even acknowledged JTF2 existed till a few years ago, and we still don't know how many of them there are or what they use...

[Willem]

Originally posted by Asher

Let me give you an idea of how bad it is, especially in the tech sector: Go to a computer science career fair at your local university, and take note of how many of those companies don't even operate in Canada.

It would be interesting to see the results if someone were to do a comparative study of all the countries in the world, no let's just say the industrial world, that had some of their better educated and skilled people moving to the States. I suspect the numbers for Canada wouldn't be very much different than say the UK. A little higher perhaps because of our proximity, but not by much.

And how many of them eventually move back, has anyone ever bothered to include those figures? Many of those jobs are done on a contract basis, and many of the people come back to Canada when the contract has finished.

[Six Thousand Year Old Man]

Originally posted by Tingkai

You could sign up for four years, get a $20,000 signing bonus, make a good salary, get good experience and serve your country.

But no, life for you is just about money.

Quote frankly, the Forces are better off without your type.

What do US/British soldiers earn? Is it a lot more than Canada pays?

Or do they attract people for other reasons - 'patriotism' - or perhaps that's the other benefit of a large underclass - army fodder?

[Willem]

Originally posted by Frogger
Even better, didn't he make an analogy about our brains going south like the water over Niagara does or something? Only he ****ed up on directions...

Yep, that's Stockwell for you, opens his mouth in order to change feet.