murraysovereign

Nope, it was Newt Gingrich's House of Representatives. True, Clinton was President at the time, but it was a Republican-controlled House that cancelled the project.

I think you should add another layer of tin foil

I'm with DH on this one - whatever his motives might be, there's little to be gained by crapping all over someone who finally did something you agree with, no matter how much you despise the person. Protecting this area is a good thing for GW to do, and that should be acknowledged gracefully. As for the fishing, it's possible they decided to allow existing fishing licences in the area to expire, rather than pay compensation for revoking them. Just speculating, but I think it's a plausible explanation.

I think that was the Turks and Caicos Islands. It bubbles up again from time to time, last was just a couple of years ago. That's my nit-pick for today. Carry on.

Walk? Yeah, right. That'd be, like, 4 blocks. Get real. I think I'll just stay here and wait for Carolyn to show up.

Left my headlights on while I had dinner. Anyone with jumper cables within driving distance of the Howe Sound Brew Pub? I can't even roll-start it because the only thing on a slope around here is the damned boat ramp, and that's mostly below sea level.

And let's not forget baseball - America's gift to insomniacs the world over. At least in soccer the players move about on the pitch, instead of just standing around scratching their balls and spitting tobacco juice.

And you know this is factually accurate how? I'm pretty sure there have been no accidental civilian casualties resulting from combat operations, but there have been one or two fatalities from traffic accidents involving Canadian armoured vehicles. So we have killed civilians, we just haven't done it by shooting them or blowing them up. Not yet. But in that environment, the day will inevitably come.

No.

But back to Jay's original question, or observation, or half rant, or whatever that was at the start of this thread - it seems clear from details emerging from the arrests and ongoing investigation that this group wanted Canadian troops withdrawn from Afghanistan, where they have been doing their part in implementing Canada's foreign policy. So is Jay suggesting we should, in fact, withdraw our troops from Afghanistan?

I tried to post this under "access issues" because it's an issue regarding access, but of course, you can't post anything about access issues in the "access issues" forum because, well, because you just can't - that's why. So there. From the Penticton Herald website (www.pentictonherald.ca) Skaha Bluffs Access in Jeopardy John Moorhouse 2 June 2006 Farm owner Hugh Dunlop has withdrawn an application to have the Skaha Bluffs parking lot portion of his south Penticton property removed from the Agricultural Land Reserve. However, that has done nothing to remove the uncertainty surrounding future parking and access to the popular rock climbing area. Dunlop said Thursday he now plans to sell his entire 45-hectare (115-acre) farm overlooking Skaha Lake. Any decision on continuing to provide parking for rock climbers would be up to the new owners. Dunlop outlined his decision in a hand-written note to city planner Donna Butler. “Although I strongly believe this is the right thing to do, I am unwilling to fight this out with Valleyview Road residents,” he stated in the letter. “I regret to inform you I will no longer be able to provide access through my property to the Skaha Bluffs. The Valleyview Road access will close permanently on Nov. 1, 2006.” Dunlop said he hopes this gives the city enough time to find alternative access to the bluffs, suggesting the new property owners might reconsider the parking closure. Commenting while sitting next to the bluffs’ parking area at the north end of his property, Dunlop said his decision to sell is not meant to be a bargaining ploy. “It’s not a gun to the head, it really isn’t,” he said. “It’s just not worth fighting it out with the people in the neighbourhood, as far as I’m concerned.” Dunlop had wanted to remove a six-hectare section of the farm from the ALR, while adding other portions to the land reserve. The proposal was scheduled to be reviewed by the city’s agricultural advisory committee later this month before being forwarded to city council. If supported by the city, it would have been forwarded to the provincial Agricultural Land Commission. The proposal generated early criticism from some neighbouring residents along Valleyview Road who oppose the loss of agricultural land and fear the possibility of future housing development in the area. However, Dunlop noted only about one-third of the parcel involved could be considered farmable land. The eastern portion of the property stretches into the bluffs themselves, even though they are within the ALR. He planned to build a new home on the property for his family, but had no plans for further development. The remainder of the farm would be developed into vineyards. Dunlop had earlier suggested if he could not get the land out of the ALR, he would consider closing down the parking area anyway. Now, he said he’s willing to extend access into 2007 on a limited basis if the property is not sold by then. He said the ALR application was not financially driven, but aimed at getting a final resolution to the bluffsí access issue. He has operated the parking area for 14 years and charges $3 per person for climbers to park on his property and access the bluffs. He built a shelter and a series of steps along a portion of the trail leading up to the climbing area. Ideally, Dunlop said, he’d like to see most of the north end of the farm retained as a natural area and recreational/park purposes. A small pond sits at the base of the bluffs and wildlife frequent the area, despite the presence of vehicles parked nearby. Valleyview Road narrows down to a single lane at its south end, just before the entrance to Dunlop’s property. Although rainy weather over the May long weekend kept many rock climbers away, there was still 500 people who turned out on the Sunday. Mayor Jake Kimberley is in Montreal this week for the annual meeting of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities and could not be reached for comment Thursday. © Friday, June 2, 2006Copyright PentictonHerald.ca

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From the Penticton Herald website (www.pentictonherald.ca) "Skaha Bluffs Access in Jeopardy" John Moorhouse Friday 2 June 2006 Farm owner Hugh Dunlop has withdrawn an application to have the Skaha Bluffs parking lot portion of his south Penticton property removed from the Agricultural Land Reserve. However, that has done nothing to remove the uncertainty surrounding future parking and access to the popular rock climbing area. Dunlop said Thursday he now plans to sell his entire 45-hectare (115-acre) farm overlooking Skaha Lake. Any decision on continuing to provide parking for rock climbers would be up to the new owners. Dunlop outlined his decision in a hand-written note to city planner Donna Butler. “Although I strongly believe this is the right thing to do, I am unwilling to fight this out with Valleyview Road residents,” he stated in the letter. “I regret to inform you I will no longer be able to provide access through my property to the Skaha Bluffs. The Valleyview Road access will close permanently on Nov. 1, 2006.” Dunlop said he hopes this gives the city enough time to find alternative access to the bluffs, suggesting the new property owners might reconsider the parking closure. Commenting while sitting next to the bluffs’ parking area at the north end of his property, Dunlop said his decision to sell is not meant to be a bargaining ploy. “It’s not a gun to the head, it really isn’t,” he said. “It’s just not worth fighting it out with the people in the neighbourhood, as far as I’m concerned.” Dunlop had wanted to remove a six-hectare section of the farm from the ALR, while adding other portions to the land reserve. The proposal was scheduled to be reviewed by the city’s agricultural advisory committee later this month before being forwarded to city council. If supported by the city, it would have been forwarded to the provincial Agricultural Land Commission. The proposal generated early criticism from some neighbouring residents along Valleyview Road who oppose the loss of agricultural land and fear the possibility of future housing development in the area. However, Dunlop noted only about one-third of the parcel involved could be considered farmable land. The eastern portion of the property stretches into the bluffs themselves, even though they are within the ALR. He planned to build a new home on the property for his family, but had no plans for further development. The remainder of the farm would be developed into vineyards. Dunlop had earlier suggested if he could not get the land out of the ALR, he would consider closing down the parking area anyway. Now, he said he’s willing to extend access into 2007 on a limited basis if the property is not sold by then. He said the ALR application was not financially driven, but aimed at getting a final resolution to the bluffsí access issue. He has operated the parking area for 14 years and charges $3 per person for climbers to park on his property and access the bluffs. He built a shelter and a series of steps along a portion of the trail leading up to the climbing area. Ideally, Dunlop said, he’d like to see most of the north end of the farm retained as a natural area and recreational/park purposes. A small pond sits at the base of the bluffs and wildlife frequent the area, despite the presence of vehicles parked nearby. Valleyview Road narrows down to a single lane at its south end, just before the entrance to Dunlop’s property. Although rainy weather over the May long weekend kept many rock climbers away, there was still 500 people who turned out on the Sunday. Mayor Jake Kimberley is in Montreal this week for the annual meeting of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities and could not be reached for comment Thursday. © Friday, June 2, 2006Copyright PentictonHerald.ca

~Valhalla Pure~ Outfitters in Squamish just picked up a pile of Mountain Hardwear rep's samples, so we're going to have a Sidewalk Sale on the Victoria Day weekend (May 20th and 21st). We'll also have some Arc'Teryx discontinued product, Marmot and Moonstone sleeping bags, Sierra Designs and Marmot tents, and a mixture of sandals, rock shoes, day packs and other stuff. The sale is only for the two days, after which everything gets boxed up and put away again until Labour Day, when we'll do it all over again. See you there!

You might want to check the "Best Before" date on your link, there.

Exactly - it's a perfectly balanced cycle. Isn't Nature wonderful?

Naahh, relax. The more natural gas they burn to boil water to extract oil from the tar sands, and the more of the resulting oil that gets burned, the faster the atmosphere will warm up. That will increase the rate of melt in the icefields of the Rockies, producing more water. Perfect symbiotic relationship. And once the water runs out everyone will die, which will drastically reduce our oil consumption. So then the astmosphere will return to cooler temperatures, and the icefields will come back, and everything will be fine again, just like it was before we screwed it all up.

But much of the U.S.A. has been in exactly the same geographic location for 230 years. How long does your attention span have to be?

I think the Black Helicopter guys have been working overtime - every link I've tried has been a dead end.

Unlike when the free market changed the fundamental basis of our entire economy in the 19th century - I think the guys in the marketing department called that one the "industrial revolution"? And also unlike when the free market changed the fundamental basis of our entire economy in the 20th century with the adoption of petroleum-based fuels as the most efficient, plentiful, adaptable and inexpensive way of transforming our entire way of life? The free market has changed the fundamental basis of our entire economy a number of times now, and will continue to do so in the future. As oil price shocks such as the present instance become more frequent and protracted, the free market will move away from its reliance on oil, just as it has in the past moved away from horse-drawn buggies, sail-powered shipping, guild-controlled small scale production of consumer goods, and whale oil lamps. Has any of us even seen a whale oil lamp, much less actually used one? But it wasn't all that long ago that whaling was as important an industry as drilling for oil is now. Don't get me wrong, I'm no Ayn-Rand-worshipping ethical objectivist, but I wouldn't be too quick to dismiss the free market's ability to adapt to changing circumstances and conditions. It doesn't happen overnight, but it happens - again and again. But the key driver in the process is the great mass of consumers. As long as they (we) just sit there doing nothing, the market will be quite happy to sit there with us. But if enough of us get up off our asses and start heading in a new direction, eventually the market will have no choice but to get up off its ass, too, and follow us. So if we really want to start changing the way things work, then let's get started - because we're not getting anywhere just sitting here.

Damn, I'm in that same 7 - 10% profit range. Admittedly, I'm at the (very) low end of that range, but still high enough that I'm going to have to worry about being investigated by some federal government commission. Like I don't already have enough to lose sleep over. And as for gas prices, there's a very simple way to reduce the amount of money you spend on gas. Don't use so much . That's it - no fancy government rebates, no tax adjustments, no subsidies. Just leave your car parked in the driveway once in a while. If you leave the car parked one day of the week, that will reduce your gas consumption by 1/7. And that will save you 14.5% on your fuel bill. Are any of these band-aid government initiatives proposing to reduce the price at the pump by 14.5%? I doubt it. And if everyone left their cars parked for one day of the week, overall demand for gas would go down by 14.5%. And then you'd see gas prices come down. Simple. And if you're "unable" to leave your car parked for one lousy day a week, then quit your bitching and suck it up.

And again this morning - Sheila Rogers was interviewing David Suzuki, and he referred to himself as a "shit disturber". But then, Suzuki and the CBC are all part of the pinko-commie bleeding-heart liberal campaign to destroy everything that's right and pure and good in the world, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised. But Sheila Rogers? I would have expected her to at least pretend to blush or something, maybe make a weak joke to try to divert attention from such grossly offensive language, but she didn't say a word. And a few weeks ago, she was talking to someone - Leonard Cohen, I think? - and she said "fuck". Right out loud, on a national radio program in broad daylight. Well, I nearly choked on my granola. "Fuck"? Sheila Rogers? What's this world coming to? We need something like the FCC up here, telling us what words we can and cannot hear. I don't think all those men died in the Battle of Britain, and in the shipping lanes of the Atlantic, and on the beaches of Normandy, and in the Scheldt Estuary, just so Sheila Rogers can say "fuck" any time she damn well feels like it. Honestly!

Immerse it in cold water - I thought everyone knew that. C'mon, these are way too easy.

Turn your TV on its side. Cheap. Easy. Any other questions?