A new petro state

A new petro state has emerged in global affairs and its extreme political behavior has unsettled both Americans and Europeans alike.

For starters, the year-old regime has muzzled government scientists who are now accompanied by Soviet-like “minders” at public events.

It has branded environmentalists as “foreign radicals.”

It has abandoned its commitments under the Kyoto Protocol to reduce atmospheric pollution and effectively has no national plan to deal with climate change.

The state’s Auditor General has accused the government of lying to elected officials and concealing the real price tag for military aircraft: An astounding $25 billion.

Given that Canada’s prime minister and his cabinet ministers now receive a portion of their paychecks from bitumen taxes (not one petroleum cent is being saved federally), just about everyone expects the level of tension, intimidation and conflict to rise steadily in the country. And yes, you read that correctly: We’re talking about Canada.

Read More Here: Canada's Hard Turn Right | Adbusters Culturejammer Headquarters

Mom is not pleased--life with boys

Thanks to Tracy for this Mother is NOT Pleased 


a) For those with no children - this is totally hysterical!
b) For those who already have children past this age, this is hilarious.
c) For those who have children this age, this is not funny.
d) For those who have children nearing this age, this is a warning.
e) For those who have not yet had children, this is birth control.

The following came from an anonymous Mother in Austin, Texas...

Things I've learned from my Boys (honest and not kidding):

A king size waterbed holds enough water to fill a 2000 sq. ft. house 4 inches deep.

A 3-year old Boy's voice is louder than 200 adults in a crowded restaurant.

If you hook a dog leash over a ceiling fan, the motor is not strong enough to rotate a 42-pound Boy wearing Batman underwear and a Superman cape. It is strong enough, however, if tied to a paint can, to spread paint on all four walls of a 20x20 ft. room.

You should not throw baseballs up when the ceiling fan is on. When using a ceiling fan as a bat, you have to throw the ball up a few times before you get a hit. A ceiling fan can hit a baseball a long way

The glass in windows (even double-pane) doesn't stop a baseball hit by a ceiling fan.

Brake fluid mixed with Clorox makes smoke, and lots of it.

A six-year old Boy can start a fire with a flint rock even though a 36-year old Man says they can only do it in the movies.

Play dough and microwave should not be used in the same sentence.

Super glue is forever.  But Super glue is NOT forever if it's a hand stuck to the face 

VCR's do not eject "PB &J" sandwiches even though TV commercials show they do.

Garbage bags do not make good parachutes.

Marbles in gas tanks make lots of noise when driving.

Always look in the oven before you turn it on; plastic toys do not like ovens.

The spin cycle on the washing machine does not make earthworms dizzy. It will, however, make cats dizzy. Cats throw up twice their body weight when dizzy.


Plastic action figures do not flush


Blankets don't work either as parachutes, well at least when jumping off the roof. 


Fan hitting marbles makes much more noise but harder to hit.  


Melting crayons in glass test tubes shoot pea green hot molten wax onto the ceiling


Throwing Silly putty into a ceiling fan is a great and easy way to forever paint graffiti on the ceiling that does not come off


 80% of Men who read this will try mixing the Clorox and brake fluid.


Women will pass this on to almost all of their friends, with or without kids.

The impact of the new mortgage rules in Canada

Garth Turner at his blog the Greaterfool.ca spends some time looking at the impact of the recent decision by the harper government to change the mortgage rules in Canada. The impact of this is going to impact all of us who own property or want to own property. The full post is here but the excerpt below should give us all pause to think, emphasis mine.


...The US media has been peppered with stories about an inevitable dump in Canuckistan real estate values now for a couple of months (this apparently seems obvious to everyone but Canadians). But with Ottawa’s deliberate deflation of housing just days ago, fear’s in the air.


No wonder. As the F-and-OSFI tag-team hits are better understood, consequences become clearer.


There are more than a quarter million first-time home buyers a year in Canada (new and resale), and at least half of them will be affected by killing off the 30-year amortization, eliminating the cash-back mortgage or jacking up borrower qualifications. A big reason house prices have advanced and unsustainable markets held has been all the virgins pouring in with their hormones and 100% financing. Underestimating the impact of these changes on them, or the market, would be a big mistake.


As the mortgage broker bible (Canadian Mortgage Trends) pointed out, dropping the amortization alone means a buyer with no debt and a $75,000 income will qualify for almost $50,000 less in financing. So he doesn’t buy, or prices go down $50,000. Either way, big outcome.


Ditto for the new debt-ratio rules. Last week some people thought they were being made more generous, but the opposite is true. The gross debt service ratio (GDS) is falling from 44% to 39%, which means a buyer earning $75,000 not only can afford less mortgage, but might also qualify for a significantly lower amount – 12%, or $57,000, less. More downward pressure on house prices.


The new million-dollar rule for CHMC insurance might be politically sexy, but it’s also a game-changer in places like Vancouver, Richmond, Unionville and hunks of 416. In the GTA and the Lower Mainland million-plus listings now amount to almost 20% of the entire market. As I mentioned last week, over 2,500 houses in Van and 5,000 across the region are priced here. Soon buyers will need at least $250,000 in cash to close these deals, which means more $999,900 homes.


And those HELOC changes are a big deal. Today you can borrow 85% of your home equity, but soon it will be just 65% (or 80% if you layer an amortized mortgage on top of a line of credit). The inevitable result will be crickets in Home Depot. But how can civilized life go on without upgrades to 14-burner gas ranges and squirting toilets?


By the way, the mortgage industry is freaking. The professional association issued a statement saying, “these changes, together with new OSFI underwriting guidelines…may precipitate the housing market downturn the government so desperately wants to avoid.”


But the fact is, F and Mark Carney now want real estate to deflate. They desire lower prices, even knowing thousands of recent buyers will be thrust under water, economic growth will be impacted, employment whacked and downtown condo towers turned into monuments to speculator stupidity and losses. As houses lose value, families will shed equity – everywhere. The wealth effect will be gone, and consumer spending impacted. Lower retail sales, fewer Best Buys and more Wal-Marts.


It underscores the seriousness of the choice: wait for a US-style, bank-kicking housing wreck, or create a Canadian-style controlled melt.

Saying Goodbye

Bob Perks is a motivational speaker, writer and one very special positive person. Take a moment to visit his web site @ http://www.bobperks.com I know you'll be glad you did...I was! Here is one of his stories that was shared. I hope you enjoy

I have great difficulties with saying goodbye. Even as I write this I am experiencing that pounding sensation in my heart. If I am watching such a scene in a movie I am affected so much that I need to sit up and take a few deep breaths.

 

So when faced with a challenge in my life I have been known to go to our local airport and watch people say goodbye. I figure nothing that is happening to me at the time could be as bad as having to say goodbye.

 

Watching people cling to each other, crying, and holding each other in that last embrace makes me appreciate what I have even more. Seeing them finally pull apart, extending their arms until the tips of their fingers are the last to let go, is an image that stays forefront in my mind throughout the day.

 

On one of my recent business trips, when I arrived at the counter to check in, the woman said, "How are you today?" I replied, "I am missing my wife already and I haven't even said goodbye."

She then looked at my ticket and began to ask, "How long will you...Oh, my God. You will only be gone three days!" We all laughed. My problem was I still had to say goodbye.

 

But I learn from goodbye moments, too.

 

Recently I overheard a father and daughter in their last moments together. They had announced her departure and standing near the security gate, they hugged and he said, "I love you. I wish you enough."

 

She in turn said, "Daddy, our life together has been more than enough. Your love is all I ever needed.  I wish you enough, too, Daddy."  They kissed and she left. He walked over toward the window where I was seated. Standing there I could see he wanted and needed to cry.

 

I tried not to intrude on his privacy, but he welcomed me in by asking, "Did you ever say goodbye to someone knowing it would be forever?"

 

"Yes, I have," I replied. Saying that brought back memories I had of expressing my love and appreciation for all my Dad had done for me. Recognizing that his days were limited, I took the time to tell him face to face how much he meant to me.

 

So I knew what this man experiencing.

 

"Forgive me for asking, but why is this a forever goodbye?" I asked.

 

"I am old and she lives much too far away. I have challenges ahead and the reality is, the next trip back would be for my funeral," he said.

 

"When you were saying goodbye I heard you say, "I wish you enough." May I ask what that means?" He began to smile.

 

"That's a wish that has been handed down from other generations. My parents used to say it to everyone."

 

He paused for a moment and looking up as if trying to remember it in detail, he smiled even more.

 

"When we said 'I wish you enough,' we were wanting the other person to have a life filled with just enough good things to sustain them," he continued and then turning toward me he shared the following as if he were reciting it from memory.

 

I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright.

 

I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun more.

 

I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive.

 

I wish you enough pain so that the smallest joys in life appear much bigger.

 

I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting.

I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess.

 

I wish enough "Hello's" to get you through the final "Goodbye."

 

He then began to sob and walked away.

 

My friends, I wish you enough! by Bob Perks