World Affairs

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

Well, dolphins are some of the most intelligent of the other races on the earth except perhaps for whales.  They have also been relatively friendly to man.  Unless the last remarks of the previous poster indicates a desire to support PETA (People Eating Tasty Animals) sounds rather vegan to me.

 

I wonder if the Chinese and other oriental societies have stopped eating dogs?  Felis domesticus is also a tasty treat I am told.  Sometimes sold as 'roof rabbit'.  There is an ancient saying that if it grows or moves man has eaten it.

 

I do deplore fishing dolphins, the mammal.  Let us not forget about dolphin the fish.  I wouldn't knowing eat dog, cat nor dolphin the mammal.  But it is a matter of personal preference.

[north country dude 202]

After reading and posting on the various current events affecting us today and reading through this topic, I go along with this guy;

 

just something to cheer everyone after a week of tragic news.

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

Cute, and do remember the "Lions, tigers, and bears.  Oh my!" - Wizard of Oz.

[timmie 988]

Susannah Collins: From silly 'Shoot The Puck' duty to growing folk hero

 

Well, that's what I call oversensitive.

[LexusInfernus 908]

Thats going to come back and bite them in the ass. 

[timmie 988]

Link

 

The longest word in German, Rindfleischetikettierungsüberwachungsaufgabenübertragungsgesetz, is going to disappear (officially) because it does no longer appear in the law. Of course, you can always make words as long as you want in German and Dutch, since compounds are very easy to make.

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

You wouldn't care to translate that into English now, would you.  The longest English (not Welsh) word I know is antidisestablishmentarianism.  Agglutination is becoming a symptom of modern general Canadian, or at least it seems to be happening.

[timmie 988]

Agglutination does seem a bit easier to use in everyday language 

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

There are many Germanic root words (mostly from the Danish occupation of England) in English.  If you really look at English in general you find a general mix of so many languages that hybrid or bastard is putting it mildly.

[LexusInfernus 908]

Its translated as beef labeling supervision delegation act.

 

Its just that in German I think you can pretty much just glue separate words together to turn them into one word.  Which is clearly the case here. 

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

If pronounced harshly and loudly, it make a good artificial curse.  All you'd need are the appropriate gestures and you could get burned at the steak.

[Larks2242 251]

Interesting situation for Canada, Wonder how this will play out.

[LexusInfernus 908]

Thats dumb, it just makes Canada look bad, just like it made the Republicans who raged against the treaty look like ignoramuses. 

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

Getting the Harper government to give anyone a straight answer of any kind is getting more difficult.  Don't hold breath.

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

Pakistan PM asks for end to drone strikes.

 

He is completely right.  This does violate their sovereignty.  If the US wants to play this game, there are secure channels to seek authorization.

[Bdub01 201]

Interesting situation for Canada, Wonder how this will play out.

Even if Obama signed it, the chances of the Senate ratifying it is slim to none anyway. It's not up to the UN to tell countries what to do about guns anyway!!!

[JanYpe 17]

 

Interesting situation for Canada, Wonder how this will play out.

Even if Obama signed it, the chances of the Senate ratifying it is slim to none anyway. It's not up to the UN to tell countries what to do about guns anyway!!!

 

Dude, how hard is it to take five seconds and actually read the article?

[Bdub01 201]

Interesting situation for Canada, Wonder how this will play out.

Even if Obama signed it, the chances of the Senate ratifying it is slim to none anyway. It's not up to the UN to tell countries what to do about guns anyway!!!

Dude, how hard is it to take five seconds and actually read the article? Lol I did read the article but I guess I quoted the wrong person, cause I was responding to another quote...

I meant to respond to Lexus. My bad.

[LexusInfernus 908]

Even if Obama signed it, the chances of the Senate ratifying it is slim to none anyway. It's not up to the UN to tell countries what to do about guns anyway!!!

Why is it that the US has such a big problem signing international treaties that would be good for the world. Things like the Kyoto protocol, or a complete ban on the use of landmines (the US only signed after putting an opt out in it) or restrictions on where and when you can trade weapons with other countries, but has absolutely no qualms about signing treaties like ACTA that would allow the government to spy on internet users? 

 

Ah well, it doesn't really matter. All you accomplish is making yourself look bad in the eyes of everyone else, and at some point that's gonna have consequences you won't like. 

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

The Globe and Mail wants Internet users to subscribe to their rag.  Couldn't read the whole article because of that, because I don't subscribe to news organs that sit behind a pay-wall.  So I don't know what else the article laid out as reasons for the government's reluctance.  My general feeling is that they are against some of the usual weasel-worded loopholes in the treaty.  The UN is not known for doing things in the present indicative active.  The pluperfect subjunctive is more their style.

[AkemiAzula 280]

To Moose: I quoted the entire text so you can read it all.

{Canada isn’t saying whether it will join more than 60 other countries in signing a landmark treaty to regulate the multibillion-dollar global arms trade.

The federal government hasn’t decided whether it agrees with the UN’s arms trade treaty, despite having voted to move it ahead in the first place, Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird said Monday.Those who ratify the treaty will have to establish national regulations to control the transfer of conventional arms and components and to regulate arms brokers, though it won’t control the domestic use of weapons in any country.“We believe that any treaty regarding the sale of munitions that helps move the international community closer to world-leading standards is a good thing,” Baird said during question period. “We participated actively in these discussions. I think we have an obligation to listen before we act, and that is why we will be consulting with Canadians before the government takes any decision.”

The treaty also prohibits the transfer of conventional weapons if they violate arms embargoes or if they promote acts of genocide, crimes against humanity or war crimes, and if they could be used in attacks on civilians or civilian buildings such as schools and hospitals.

In defending the decision not to sign immediately, Baird suggested the government sees a potential link between signing on to the treaty and the now-abolished long gun registry.

He accused the opposition of trying to find a back door to setting up the system anew by suggesting Canada should sign on – a suggestion the New Democrats called ridiculous.

“This is about people in places like the Congo. This is actually about preventing Syria. This is about what happened in Sudan,” said NDP foreign affairs critic Paul Dewar. “It was a very poor display of our Minister of Foreign Affairs on a very serious subject, and he should not only apologize but he should get up and explain: What the hell was he thinking?”

What impact the treaty will have in curbing the global arms trade – estimated at between $60-billion and $85-billion – remains to be seen. A lot depends on which countries ratify and which ones don’t, and how aggressively it is implemented once it comes into force.

The United States has said it will sign soon, making it a point of saying they don’t see the treaty as a threat to gun laws in their country.

The treaty “will not undermine the legitimate international trade in conventional weapons, interfere with national sovereignty, or infringe on the rights of American citizens, including our Second Amendment rights” to bear arms, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said.

Baird’s spokesman later said Canada was instrumental in ensuring language in the treaty that would also recognize legitimate civilian use of firearms for sporting, hunting and collecting.

Given the fact the U.S., with its strong pro-gun lobby, will sign the treaty makes Canada’s position all the more depressing, Dewar said.

“This is an important global issue. This is about preventing more conflict. And so it shows you how far behind we are, that this government is living in the past,” Dewar said.

“They will not recognize the present circumstances nor the future of how we avoid conflict. And so it is embarrassing. It’s unfortunate.”

Word that the U.S. – the world’s largest arms dealer – would sign is critical, but the treaty’s ultimate strength rests on support by all major arms exporters and importers.

Key arms exporters including Russia and China and major importers including India and Egypt abstained and have given no indication yet that they will sign it. Britain and France, however, have signed alongside emerging exporters such as Brazil and Mexico.

The Control Arms Coalition, which includes hundreds of non-governmental organizations in over 100 countries that promoted an arms trade treaty, said many violence-racked countries including Congo and South Sudan are also expected to sign in the coming weeks and months, and the coalition said their signature – and ratification – will make it more difficult for illicit arms to cross borders.

The coalition said the treaty is designed “to protect millions living in daily fear of armed violence and at risk of rape, assault, displacement and death,” stressing that more than 500,000 people are killed by armed violence every year.

Oxfam urged Canada to sign.

“By not signing the arms trade treaty today, Canada did not listen to the millions of people that live in fear of armed violence,” Lina Holguin of Oxfam Quebec said in a statement. “For the past ten years, Canada has heard from Canadians, Members of Parliament, arms exporter countries and countries affected by armed violence about the urgency to control and open the arms trade to scrutiny.”}

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

^ Thanks.  Using the long-gun registry issue is a rather poor excuse as Mr. Dewar points out.  However, the way things are in the Conservative government right now, it is a question of whether they will be able to keep going until their term expires or whether they will be caught napping some find afternoon by a motion of no confidence.

 

Recent events are starting to indicate trouble in the backbenches of the Conservative caucus.  A stampede there vould put paid to the government before autumn.

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

Men in skirts.

 

Not allowed to wear shorts on the job.  Somebody in that company is a bit of a prude.

 

Actually, sex related dress codes are a little silly.  Women wear all sorts of men's apparel, so why not vice-versa for convenience?  What these guys are wearing appear to be a thin, non-pleated kilt without the belt or sporran.

[AkemiAzula 280]

The problem with skirts is that while it might seem logical to wear such an item in hotter weather and also for sporting or active lifestyles, it also allows thistles and brambles too much power. Ironic, given the Scottish are the bastion of male skirt-wearing...

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

A fully kilted out Scot doesn't have much, if any, skin exposed to the elements below the waist.  Don't forget the long socks or leggings complete with skean dhu.

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

Men in shorts.

 

As can be seen, in a rational country one does not need a screaming mob to get your point across.  Some the countries in the Med should take note.

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

"Islamic" vandals busily destroy their heritage.

 

It appears that these people prefer ignorance. 

 

Destruction of historic sites is a trademark of the Taliban in Afghanistan as well.  "Well, we don't understand that, so destroy it!".

[Terring 6,473]

No more democracy in Greece. The Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (E.R.T.), the Greek state-owned public radio and television broadcasting corporation, is shutting down!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hellenic_Broadcasting_Corporation

 

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

I am beginning to think that membership in the Euro Zone has not been a good thing for Greece.  Somebody in the Greek government needs to carry the can for the mess, perhaps a whole committee.  The punishment of choice in ancient Greece was exile.  Let's hear it for Pericles.

[timmie 988]

Yes, I read it too. The Huffington Post had a good article about it. It is ridiculous, you can't just 'shut down' your public broadcaster until further notice!

 

The Greek situation is a real tragedy. The IMF and the European Commission made incredible mistakes (which the EC with Olli Rehn still refuses to admit), and this situation is even worsened by a political class in Greek that seems incapable of doing anything right.