.

[Jan van Eck + 7,558]

Just now, Enthalpic said:

Don't areas with lower population get a disproportionate amount of Electoral Collage votes?

No.

[ronwagn + 6,290]

Just now, Jan van Eck said:

I would take issue with that, Ron.  First up, it is not in the US interest for ordinary Venezuelans to be suffering in abject poverty, with foodstuffs so rationed that the typical Venezuelan has lost 20 lbs. of body weight in the last year. It is not in the interests of anyone that Venezuelan hospitals have no money to pay the staff, have no electricity, have no supplies, cannot wash the sheets, and if you need the use of a syringe for anything, you have to bring your own, go source it from the black market.  Millions flee and become refugees, to live in tent cities on the borders.  Children go without, no food no clothing, no schools.  This is not helpful. 

Maduro has to go, he can be hung by his heels and executed, fine by me; and the US needs to go back to buying their heavy oil, both to re-establish trade and provide an income to that country, and to have a source for heavy oil for US refineries.  Personally I favor US invasion, starting at the Eastern end, to make efforts to stabilize at least some of the country, then work West to deal with the problems of Caracas.  I recognize that a good number do not agree, and that's fine; we shall see how it plays out.  Continued misery there benefits only Maduro and his gang of thieves and looters. 

We are in agreement. If I were Trump Maduro would be gone and his army would be gone, not all dead, just the ones that wanted to fight. I am for positive action. Trump is following the bigger picture. Let socialism play out in front of the world. 

[Enthalpic + 1,496]

1 minute ago, Jan van Eck said:

No.

Why are there "north and south" states?  They split to get more EC votes, no?

Edited July 25, 2019 by Enthalpic

[Jan van Eck + 7,558]

Just now, ronwagn said:

We are in agreement. If I were Trump Maduro would be gone and his army would be gone, not all dead, just the ones that wanted to fight. I am for positive action. Trump is following the bigger picture. Let socialism play out in front of the world. 

Except it is not socialism.  What happens in Venezuela has nothing to do with socialism.  The place is an autocracy, with flavors of a totalitarian State.  It is more Mussolini than Trotsky.  Shoot those miserable rotten bastards. then hang their carcasses upside-down in the public square. 

[Jan van Eck + 7,558]

2 minutes ago, Enthalpic said:

Why are there "north and south" states?  They split to get more EC votes, no?

No.

[ronwagn + 6,290]

8 minutes ago, Douglas Buckland said:

Explain to me just how the farmer's vote is worth way more than the others? 

What percentage of the population of Alberta are farmers? 10% max I would guess. The issue is that Alberta is a province. It has certain policies that should not be the same as Quebec or British Columbia. 

[Enthalpic + 1,496]

1 minute ago, Jan van Eck said:

No.

Fantastic - thanks for clarifying. 

[Enthalpic + 1,496]

1 minute ago, ronwagn said:

What percentage of the population of Alberta are farmers? 10% max I would guess. The issue is that Alberta is a province. It has certain policies that should not be the same as Quebec or British Columbia. 

Canada is far more unified (at the moment) than a collection of states; it has ups and downs.

[Douglas Buckland + 6,308]

True enough. That said, after our last election when Hillary lost although she won the popular vote, it became obvious that many Americans did not understand how the Electoral College works and the need for it.

[ronwagn + 6,290]

2 minutes ago, Jan van Eck said:

Except it is not socialism.  What happens in Venezuela has nothing to do with socialism.  The place is an autocracy, with flavors of a totalitarian State.  It is more Mussolini than Trotsky.  Shoot those miserable rotten bastards. then hang their carcasses upside-down in the public square. 

Socialism never gets to be "imaginary socialism" it gets to be violent then fascist and then it works economically but may destroys freedom and individual life. Cuba has never gotten out of the socialist economics but is still a dictatorship. China is economically successful thanks to trade but has destroyed individual liberty. It is actually just a fascist dictatorship. 

[Jan van Eck + 7,558]

23 minutes ago, Enthalpic said:

Canada is far more unified (at the moment) than a collection of states; it has ups and downs.

I think that I can safely say that Canada is not unified, other than in some legalistic sense.  One result of the disunity is the economic pressures the entire country ends up facing, and the devaluation of its currency and the destruction of its manufacturing base, particularly in Southwestern Ontario  (although that latter is to a large extent the result of the Kathleen Wynne government (Liberal Party), which quite frankly had no idea what it was doing).  The successors are not much of an improvement, so far, although I grant you that the hole the Liberals have dug is now so gigantic that it will take decades of very talented bureaucrats to repair the mess - talented bureaucrats that Canada, and Ontario, do not have.  [They have lots of bureaucrats, but those are mendacious, not talented.]

Will Canada ever right its ship?  Probably.  But that is ONLY because the country is so staggeringly rich in resources, and it has the USA as its very convenient neighbor, which is quite prepared to pay good money for those resources:  fish, crustaceans, maple syrup, windshield wipers, rolled steel sheet, pipe, structural steels and plate, water, softwood lumber, hardwood lumber, nickel, gold, diamonds, auto parts, tomatoes, cheese, aircraft and parts, aluminum, hydropower, recreational opportunities, immigrants including hockey players, and finally oil. Keep selling that stuff, and eventually you dig yourselves out.  Who knows: maybe the Albertans will again have the warm and fuzzies for the Quebeckers.  Hey, could be. Cheers.

Edited July 25, 2019 by Jan van Eck

[Jan van Eck + 7,558]

18 minutes ago, ronwagn said:

Cuba has never gotten out of the socialist economics

Nah; Cuba is a totalitarian State.  Has been since the Castro Brothers took it over and declared themselves Communists.  That was just a convenient label. Cuba is big on Gulags, torture, thought control, that sort of thing.  Nothing "socialist" about it. 

Edited July 25, 2019 by Jan van Eck

[Jan van Eck + 7,558]

12 minutes ago, Douglas Buckland said:

True enough. That said, after our last election when Hillary lost although she won the popular vote, it became obvious that many Americans did not understand how the Electoral College works and the need for it.

The elected and appointed delegates to the Electoral College don't even understand how it works. Or does not work, to be more accurate. Remember that it has been repeatedly tinkered with since the original design.  It is now nothing more than a ratification platform, it does not do any "deliberation" and it elects nothing.  

[ronwagn + 6,290]

OK, it sounds like you know more about Cuba. I just don't know how much capitalism is working for the people there. It sounds pretty bad. 

[Jan van Eck + 7,558]

Just now, ronwagn said:

OK, it sounds like you know more about Cuba. I just don't know how much capitalism is working for the people there. It sounds pretty bad. 

I spent some time inside Cuba and tussled with their Secret Police, gave me an insight into the mentality of the place  (back under Castro).  Very hard on the average folks, who were most gracious and extended every possible hospitality to me, in their abject poverty and oppression. I learned to seriously loathe the Communists while there.  (And they seriously loathed me in turn, so it works both ways.)  Nice beaches, though. 

[ronwagn + 6,290]

23 minutes ago, Jan van Eck said:

Except it is not socialism.  What happens in Venezuela has nothing to do with socialism.  The place is an autocracy, with flavors of a totalitarian State.  It is more Mussolini than Trotsky.  Shoot those miserable rotten bastards. then hang their carcasses upside-down in the public square. 

Socialism has nothing to do with socialism. It has a lot to do with failure and misery. Socialism ends up in economic and social disaster. 

Edited July 25, 2019 by ronwagn

[ronwagn + 6,290]

19 minutes ago, Jan van Eck said:

I think that I can safely say that Canada is not unified, other than in some legalistic sense.  One result of the disunity is the economic pressures the entire country ends up facing, and the devaluation of its currency and the destruction of its manufacturing base, particularly in Southwestern Ontario  (although that latter is to a large extent the result of the Kathleen Wynne government (Liberal Party), which quite frankly had no idea what it was doing).  The successors are not much of an improvement, so far, although I grant you that the hole the Liberals have dug is now so gigantic that it will take decades of very talented bureaucrats to repair the mess- bureaucrats that Canada, and Ontario, do not have. 

Will Canada ever right its ship?  Probably.  But that is ONLY because the country is so staggeringly rich in resources, and it has the USA as its very convenient neighbor, which is quite prepared to pay good money for those resources:  fish, crustaceans, maple syrup, windshield wipers, rolled steel sheet, pipe, structural steels and plate, water, softwood lumber, hardwood lumber, nickel, gold, diamonds, auto parts, tomatoes, cheese, aircraft and parts, aluminum, hydropower, recreational opportunities, immigrants including hockey players, and finally oil. Keep selling that stuff, and eventually you dig yourselves out.  Who knows: maybe the Albertans will again have the warm and fuzzies for the Quebeckers.  Hey, could be. Cheers.

My last travel goal is to see all of the Canadian provinces. Nunavit last. I have been to several already. 

[Jan van Eck + 7,558]

Just now, ronwagn said:

My last travel goal is to see all of the Canadian provinces. Nunavit last. I have been to several already. 

Rest assured it is a spectacular country. I have been all through it including the silver mines in the northern Yukon Territory, have not visited the Northwest Territories  (they changed the names since I was last there).  If you want a real treat, take along some fishing gear and try your hand at any isolated lake in Northern Ontario, up North of Lake Huron and over towards Thunder Bay.  The fishing is just spectacular. Really big fish, and lots of them!  Just don't bring a gun up there, a pistol gets you a mandatory one-year jail sentence. Very touchy about that.  If you roll up the Yukon Highway then be sure to have full glass coverage and be prepared to buy extra tires on the road.  Still a bit primitive. And bring lots of money; costs go up dramatically once you get away from civilization.  Oh, well. enjoy!

[ronwagn + 6,290]

Thanks for the warnings. I am planning a road trip to Alaska, maybe next year, or 2021. We have done the cruise. I had heard that the roads were pretty good. Not like the old Alcan Highway days. How do the Alaskans get back and forth with their guns. Maybe most of them fly and put the guns in the storage hold. I recall being viewed with great concern because i had a single shot 22 rifle with me  once long ago. The dollar to looney exchange rate should help a bit. 

[Enthalpic + 1,496]

45 minutes ago, Jan van Eck said:

 the country is so staggeringly rich in resources, and it has the USA as its very convenient neighbor, which is quite prepared to pay good money for those resources:  fish, crustaceans, maple syrup, windshield wipers, rolled steel sheet, pipe, structural steels and plate, water, softwood lumber, hardwood lumber, nickel, gold, diamonds, auto parts, tomatoes, cheese, aircraft and parts, aluminum, hydropower, recreational opportunities, immigrants including hockey players, and finally oil. Keep selling that stuff, and eventually you dig yourselves out.  Who knows: maybe the Albertans will again have the warm and fuzzies for the Quebeckers.  Hey, could be. Cheers.

Nice list.  Here in Alberta people think oil makes all of Canada's money when reality it's about 10% of GDP.

[Enthalpic + 1,496]

29 minutes ago, ronwagn said:

My last travel goal is to see all of the Canadian provinces. Nunavit last. I have been to several already. 

Vancouver island should come with a warning, you won't want to leave, definitely addictive.

[Jan van Eck + 7,558]

1 minute ago, Enthalpic said:

Vancouver island should come with a warning, you won't want to leave, definitely addictive.

Run into a bear and you will be encouraged to depart!  Bring extra underpants. 

[Enthalpic + 1,496]

18 minutes ago, ronwagn said:

Thanks for the warnings. I am planning a road trip to Alaska, maybe next year, or 2021. We have done the cruise. I had heard that the roads were pretty good. Not like the old Alcan Highway days. How do the Alaskans get back and forth with their guns. Maybe most of them fly and put the guns in the storage hold. I recall being viewed with great concern because i had a single shot 22 rifle with me  once long ago. The dollar to looney exchange rate should help a bit. 

You can bring semi-auto rifles with small clips and shotguns.  Just no handguns or full auto stuff.

[Enthalpic + 1,496]

1 minute ago, Jan van Eck said:

Run into a bear and you will be encouraged to depart!  Bring extra underpants. 

I carry spray and am far more afraid of the cougars.

[Jan van Eck + 7,558]

7 minutes ago, Enthalpic said:

Nice list.  Here in Alberta people think oil makes all of Canada's money when reality it's about 10% of GDP.

Tunnel vision is a very Canadian handicap  (and habit).  

The folks in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick still think that their gold rainbow consists of pulp and paper.  It's like they never heard of the internet.  Even with the pulp mills shutting down left and right, they still cling to that vision.  Oh, well.