BBKL Roll Call

[armandtanzarian]

Nick, since you are in a political spotlight, you should not type the words BLOW and HOOKERS, ever. It could be taken out of context and come back to haunt you....lol

[Nick]

Hey, I am all for the legalization of prostitution. Now, I do not use myself, nor do I recommend the use of, but I am not in the business of telling everyone to act the way I do, and since this is a time-tested practice which currently funds criminal organizations and puts females at risk, I believe a progressive look at this old problem is needed, and (as Ontario is playing with it) setting up legal practices of brothels could remove capital from groups doing MUCH worse then selling sex, could decrease STI's in the population, and definitely make the life of some at-risk females a little safer.

My views are similar for gambling, and marijuana - I do not believe our society considers users criminals, yet current practice yields results for the scum of our society, and can be done in a much safer manner with proper regulation (and I believe regulation should be in response to a problem, not the first option).

also... i doubt "Nick" is tied to anyones political profile. We have some unwritten codes of conduct here in the BBKL.

ps - Nose candy is a little far for me and I do believe is outside societal norms/best interest. But is common-place in some harder partying lifestyles.

[Mike]

Nick, since you are in a political spotlight, you should not type the words BLOW and HOOKERS, ever. It could be taken out of context and come back to haunt you....lol

I've thought about this before. Once Nick hits the big time we'll need to password protect this bitch

[Nick]

I am not overly concerned about any critical leaks from stuff I have said on here - would be better without, but i am a firm believer in having nothing to hide, if you have done nothing worth hiding (He who has nothing to hide, hides nothing). So although I won't be pointing people to my BBKL posts or my facebook alias, neither are secrets (and I believe my party communications director already tracks everything I say and do online). Personality and being real is not a bad thing, IMO, in politics - humour, frankness (not in the bbkl manner) and honesty are not bad traits to have, and should not be in politics either!

Not against adding safety precautions though

[Mike]

Just give me the word. Password = jessybecker

[Lee]

Becker / Facey 2013

[Robin Hood]

Just give me the word. Password = jessybecker

LOL. Frank lives on.

[bills09]

The Legend of Frank will live on forever.

[armandtanzarian]

Hey, I am all for the legalization of prostitution. Now, I do not use myself, nor do I recommend the use of, but I am not in the business of telling everyone to act the way I do, and since this is a time-tested practice which currently funds criminal organizations and puts females at risk, I believe a progressive look at this old problem is needed, and (as Ontario is playing with it) setting up legal practices of brothels could remove capital from groups doing MUCH worse then selling sex, could decrease STI's in the population, and definitely make the life of some at-risk females a little safer.

My views are similar for gambling, and marijuana - I do not believe our society considers users criminals, yet current practice yields results for the scum of our society, and can be done in a much safer manner with proper regulation (and I believe regulation should be in response to a problem, not the first option).

also... i doubt "Nick" is tied to anyones political profile. We have some unwritten codes of conduct here in the BBKL.

ps - Nose candy is a little far for me and I do believe is outside societal norms/best interest. But is common-place in some harder partying lifestyles.

Excellent reply sir. If you were running here I would stand right behind you and your beliefs. applaud.....

[Shep]

hi

[kyuss]

Hey, I am all for the legalization of prostitution. Now, I do not use myself, nor do I recommend the use of, but I am not in the business of telling everyone to act the way I do, and since this is a time-tested practice which currently funds criminal organizations and puts females at risk, I believe a progressive look at this old problem is needed, and (as Ontario is playing with it) setting up legal practices of brothels could remove capital from groups doing MUCH worse then selling sex, could decrease STI's in the population, and definitely make the life of some at-risk females a little safer.

My views are similar for gambling, and marijuana - I do not believe our society considers users criminals, yet current practice yields results for the scum of our society, and can be done in a much safer manner with proper regulation (and I believe regulation should be in response to a problem, not the first option).

also... i doubt "Nick" is tied to anyones political profile. We have some unwritten codes of conduct here in the BBKL.

ps - Nose candy is a little far for me and I do believe is outside societal norms/best interest. But is common-place in some harder partying lifestyles.

Excellent reply sir.

yep.
Then again, we all know (well, someone living in Italy probably knows it even better) that one thing is what politicians say, whereas a completely different one may be what they actually do.

[armandtanzarian]

Hey, I am all for the legalization of prostitution. Now, I do not use myself, nor do I recommend the use of, but I am not in the business of telling everyone to act the way I do, and since this is a time-tested practice which currently funds criminal organizations and puts females at risk, I believe a progressive look at this old problem is needed, and (as Ontario is playing with it) setting up legal practices of brothels could remove capital from groups doing MUCH worse then selling sex, could decrease STI's in the population, and definitely make the life of some at-risk females a little safer.

My views are similar for gambling, and marijuana - I do not believe our society considers users criminals, yet current practice yields results for the scum of our society, and can be done in a much safer manner with proper regulation (and I believe regulation should be in response to a problem, not the first option).

also... i doubt "Nick" is tied to anyones political profile. We have some unwritten codes of conduct here in the BBKL.

ps - Nose candy is a little far for me and I do believe is outside societal norms/best interest. But is common-place in some harder partying lifestyles.

Excellent reply sir.

yep.
Then again, we all know (well, someone living in Italy probably knows it even better) that one thing is what politicians say, whereas a completely different one may be what they actually do.

True sir, i know from experience as i work for the Government.

[Nick]

Italy is a nice reminder of the importance of a responsible government - controlled spending, balanced budgets and focusing on sound policy rather than just the next election. BC is so far ahead of almost anywhere else in that regard, AAA credit rating (fed only other north american gov with this), very small debt relative to revenue (est 1.47B compared to a 40B tax rev) and and increasing base - baring policy that halts growth or a sizeable increase in spending we are well positioned moving forward, a finical record that is easy to stand with. If we beat Australia to the LNG production/market this province will have a very healthy run about to begin.

I think governing and winning elections can sometimes be at odds, especially in economies that are suffering a downturn, looking past this year or this month can sometimes be impossible with the population - and doing so as a politician could be your job - but a good one would be losing to lose his/her job in order to do it right (if that makes sense, it is very early right now).

Are you in a federal ministry there Gramps?

[armandtanzarian]

Nope, Provincial. And what a mess it is for such a small province. The big issue here right now is Natural Gas. It is being billed as our only way to get out of debt. The province is spiraling down fast. budget cuts, service cuts and layoffs with increasing unemployment and an aging population. All the young people are leaving and heading West, as they should. Pretty bleak spot the current and former elected officials have put this province in. BC seems like an elected officials dream compared to this mess.

[Nick]

Ye, going into debt thankfully is against BC Legislation; the MLAs actually lose 20% of their salary for an unbalanced budget. My party (in power the last 11 years - has balanced 10 of 11 - 2008 being the exception, and admittedly gave themselves a pass). Spending beyond the provinces means is actually just burrowing from the future - it is insanely shortsighted - and makes future tax dollars go to interest rather than the services they are intended for, and this is a downhill spiral if credit rating begins to fall and interest rates increase (like all other canadian provinces, although alberta switches from AA to AAA and Ontario a bigger range). My opposition party has said they will remove the BC Balanced budget regulations.

Not going to lie, Liquid Natural gas (LNG) is a big part of the next BC balanced budget and our current plan moving forward; if Canada loses the race to market I think you will see a fair amount of provincial debt across a lot of Canada. With that said, I am with you, and dislike ever putting all my eggs in one basket - diversity is a strength, and in the case of BC we SHOULD be doing more aquaculture/fish farming, we desperately need to increase the logging industries ability to respond to market, have to eventually say yes to another power project, and - perhaps most promising for the Island - push the development of some mines.

Something I am struggling with in some regards, is 'our' (Canada's) current distaste for resource sector jobs -> that is what we are founded on, that is our physical advantage, and has to been our economic engine moving forward. Moreover we do it in a sustainable and responsible manner (especially logging/mining compared to the rest of the world) - and the wages this industry begins humbles all but high end manufacturing.

My Grandpa was a logger and to this day is damn proud of it, 100% identifies as one, my old man worked in Forestry at some level his entire working career, from Pulp & Paper to Logging/Sawmills and is not hesitant to be proud of it - yet MY generation who earn their keep in this industry do not seem to be PROUD of their careers, and I do not get it. Cliff here is damn proud to be a miner, his dad is too (and rightly so, they both have brand new houses about 2 blocks apart driving new trucks with 60"+ TVs), but they are not totally typical compared to others in the community, where granola runs supreme.

anyways, i should get back to politicking - nice to rant on here though. But I need to send out some christmas party invites!!!

[armandtanzarian]

Good rant! I whole heartily agree with your views Nick. Especially the forest related ones as i work in Forest Management. The emergence of other global markets and the downturn in the US dollar/economy is huge. On a side note, how can we compete with planting Eucalyptus Trees in South America? The return on them is nuts in such a short amount of time.

[Tony]

Ye, going into debt thankfully is against BC Legislation; the MLAs actually lose 20% of their salary for an unbalanced budget. My party (in power the last 11 years - has balanced 10 of 11 - 2008 being the exception, and admittedly gave themselves a pass). Spending beyond the provinces means is actually just burrowing from the future - it is insanely shortsighted - and makes future tax dollars go to interest rather than the services they are intended for, and this is a downhill spiral if credit rating begins to fall and interest rates increase (like all other canadian provinces, although alberta switches from AA to AAA and Ontario a bigger range). My opposition party has said they will remove the BC Balanced budget regulations.

Not going to lie, Liquid Natural gas (LNG) is a big part of the next BC balanced budget and our current plan moving forward; if Canada loses the race to market I think you will see a fair amount of provincial debt across a lot of Canada. With that said, I am with you, and dislike ever putting all my eggs in one basket - diversity is a strength, and in the case of BC we SHOULD be doing more aquaculture/fish farming, we desperately need to increase the logging industries ability to respond to market, have to eventually say yes to another power project, and - perhaps most promising for the Island - push the development of some mines.

Something I am struggling with in some regards, is 'our' (Canada's) current distaste for resource sector jobs -> that is what we are founded on, that is our physical advantage, and has to been our economic engine moving forward. Moreover we do it in a sustainable and responsible manner (especially logging/mining compared to the rest of the world) - and the wages this industry begins humbles all but high end manufacturing.

My Grandpa was a logger and to this day is damn proud of it, 100% identifies as one, my old man worked in Forestry at some level his entire working career, from Pulp & Paper to Logging/Sawmills and is not hesitant to be proud of it - yet MY generation who earn their keep in this industry do not seem to be PROUD of their careers, and I do not get it. Cliff here is damn proud to be a miner, his dad is too (and rightly so, they both have brand new houses about 2 blocks apart driving new trucks with 60"+ TVs), but they are not totally typical compared to others in the community, where granola runs supreme.

anyways, i should get back to politicking - nice to rant on here though. But I need to send out some christmas party invites!!!

[Nick]

Good rant! I whole heartily agree with your views Nick. Especially the forest related ones as i work in Forest Management. The emergence of other global markets and the downturn in the US dollar/economy is huge. On a side note, how can we compete with planting Eucalyptus Trees in South America? The return on them is nuts in such a short amount of time.

My understanding is that the only advantage was a crop-style growth period, but use limited to pulp wood or (very) poor-quality veneer. Now, that is definitely not helpful for pulp-wood prices, but I believe shipping to Canada or the USA would overwhelm any profit margin compared to what we have to offer. If they have lumber potential than that could cost us. I am unaware of eastern Canada's pulp-wood sales (do we send to europe? I know we send paper).

If our crown land practices could learn and evolve a little from what we have seen in private land logging I believe we would see a revitalized sector. Stumpage style system is antique when trying to compete in a global marketplace - and we're not closing our borders or building a great wall any time soon.

[armandtanzarian]

lol...brilliant Tony. I think you have officially knocked off Anton as the gif king.

[anton]

what in the name of fuck did this thread turn into