'... we should think hard before we undo all the good ...' - absolutely, must consider consequences before acting, always ... which was my point, though delivered in less diplomatic fashion, yes
At the Blaine border crossing there is a big white arch, canuck and US flags up top, says 'Children of a common mother', and while it's more like of great- great- grandmother by now it's true, we have largely similar ancestry, have followed distinct but parallel paths, are mostly indistinguishable to folk from overseas, though we can tell each other apart in a flash ... so many connections, trade yes but much more than that, family and friends on both sides of the line for many of us, for most canucks likely, and quite a few US nationals especially in border states
They're not all minnesotans down there though - ask a minnesotan ... factions that would be laughed at here gain real power at times, we need to be ready for it always, which means yes we must diversify as much as possible ... in the one industry i know well, forestry, this is hampered by the fact that only three countries build with wood as we do - Canada, Japan, and the US, and the japanese are pretty much built up already ... there may be hope with China, BCers working on it
Much easier with oil, you simply pipe it this way or that, into a tanker maybe, sell it anywhere ... having all lines go south is idiotic, reduces potential to a single customer - how many businesses do that, and survive? ... sure, oil and gas were the US reasons behind NAFTA, well now the letter of that agreement is threatened just as the spirit of it was with lumber, we absolutely must have contingency plans for all possible outcomes
It is possible that the intended target of the legislation is China, and rightly so according to some accounts ... if that's the case, time to make it plain
'most Canadians like Americans' - that's good, because all canadians are americans, as is everyone else from Point Barrow to Cabo de Hornos - get out an atlas, note our location and that of the Americas -g- ... misuse of the term can get more reaction from latinos than it does here, the feeling is it points up central issues between these nations, naturally stemming from relative size, military and economic power
Anyway, oil - within the last few days there was a post, likely on this thread[?], where it was said that 'oil has for twenty years running bottomed in the middle of february and then run into may' [paraphrased from memory] ... was this here, and does the poster have data or links to corroborate it? ... great thread btw, i've been lurking for ages, don't know much about the oilpatch but getting more interested in it now ... cheers |
