[thechat] Fighter plane's laser may blind civilians

[aardvark]

> From: "rudy" <rudy937 at rogers.com>
>
> > some people would rather see funds diverted from
> > self-perpetuating money pits
>
> troll

yeah... it's easy to do when i take my own perspective and drag it
a few degrees further to the right... makes for great commentary....

> although i happen to be on your side on this one
>
> here in canada, redistribution of wealth is explicit government policy
>
> the arts, the lazy, the favoured industries, the social services, the
> lawyers...
>
> not to mention paying farmers not to farm and similar idiocies

we do the same... any government will succumb to the same
faults... the US is no better... but when citizens *trust* the
government with their money (both right and left wingers do it, but
want different things), that's when things go all pear-shaped...

instead, falling back to the original model of the federal government
as a foreign policy body that helps coordinate states (and plays
second fiddle to states' rights) and sometimes goes and fights a
war, is a much better approach, IMO, than a fed that tries to fix all
the ills of its nation with one single giant band-aid at a time, all the
while sucking money like a hoover attached to a jet engine...

> > we keep our place in the world by holding everyone else to second-
> > and third-world status until they figure out who's boss, who's
> > language we'll use, who's currency, and who not to blow up as a
> > hobby...
>
> sure, like that's gonna work

worth a shot, though...

> language?  isn't spanish semi-official over there?  french is fully
> equal in canada, and in toronto the really important messages are in
> half a dozen languages

spanish is only considered semi-official because policy makers are
too sissy to make a stand... apparently the monies needed to
support a dual-language system of government couldn't be better
used elsewhere (like in my pocket -- where it came from)...

i tend to think that if you move to another country, it's your
responsibility to learn its language, not the other way around...
sure, keep your own language and your culture intact, but don't
force that language on your new host nation...

> currency? it'll be a while yet before the dollar is the last one
> standing

shhh, still working on that one...

> good luck getting the rest of the world to drop the metric system, too

i like the metric system... i'd like to see the US switch over, just as
long as we can still use terms like 'quarter-pounder' when referring
to meat measurements...

meat should always be weighed in pounds and ounces...

> but when it comes to blowing things up, you may have a point
>
> your enemies are really stupid if they keep doing that
>
> what they'll do next, therefore, will be something even more insidious

talk shows?  otherwise use network television to brainwash the
masses?  oh, wait... turn on the tv, it's been done...

> but i cannot tell you what it is, or i'd have to kill you

hmmm...


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