Vader... Sunday...FOOD for thought

[TOM4CWB]

Vader;


Perhaps this thought could bring back some "fond" memories?



"Father-Daughter Talk"


A young woman was about to finish her first year of University. Like so many others her age, she considered herself to be a very liberal Federal liberal, and among other liberal ideals, was very much in favor of higher taxes to support more government programs, in other words redistribution of wealth.



She was deeply ashamed that her father was a rather staunch Conservative, a feeling she openly expressed. Based on the lectures that she had participated in, and the occasional chat with a professor, she felt that her father had for years harbored an evil, selfish desire to keep what he thought should be his.



One day she was challenging her father on his opposition to higher taxes on the rich and the need for more government programs. The self-professed objectivity proclaimed by her professors had to be the truth and she indicated so to her father. He responded by asking how she was doing in school.



Taken aback, she answered rather haughtily that she had a 4.0 GPA, and let him know that it was tough to maintain, insisting that she was taking a very difficult course load and was constantly studying, which left her no time to go out and party like other people she knew. She didn't even have time for a boyfriend, and didn't really have many college friends because she spent all her time studying.



Her father listened and then asked, "How is your friend Audrey doing?"



She replied, "Audrey is barely getting by. All she takes are easy classes, she never studies, and she barely has a 2.0 GPA. She is so popular on campus; University for her is a blast. She's always invited to all the parties, and lots of times she doesn't even show up for classes because she's too hung over."



Her wise father asked his daughter, "Why don't you go to the Dean's office and ask him to deduct a 1.0 off your GPA and give it to your friend who only has a 2.0. That way you will both have a 3.0 GPA and certainly that would be a fair and equal distribution of GPA."



The daughter, visibly shocked by her father's suggestion, angrily fired back, "That's a crazy idea. How would that be fair? I've worked really hard for my grades! I've invested a lot of time, and a lot of hard work! Audrey has done next to nothing toward her degree. She played while I worked my tail off!"



The father slowly smiled, winked and said gently;

"Welcome to the Conservative Party."

Vader; Since you have not taken the time to answer CWB questions...


Perhaps this little Sunday Vignette could encourage you to ...THINK... about who you used to be?

[railway]

burn!
I have heard nothing about vad...er flaman's intentions as far as stepping down to pursue his federal political career. Anybody know what the latest is?

[Vader]

Ohhhhhh! So you would suggest that the averaging of a measure of intelligence between two people is analogous to taxation!

If that explains everything in the world you live in I can begin to see how your brain works.

This analogy is completely lacking in validity in my view.

Since I suspect that your posting is probably lacking in logic even in your own mind then your rationale for the posting is to cause embarassment and to bring reaction. In that you have suceeded as I had vowed not to post my own views here for ridicule.

[AdamSmith]

Vader,

I think Tom's vignette was about political views, not taxation in general.

It's more an analogy of Liberal indignant hypocricy than anything else.

And your response just proved Tom's analogy to be "spot on".

[parsley]

Vader,

Why would you become reticient to post/tell/explain your views?

That is a communicator's purpose, is it not? Although I do not often agree with your views during this time in your life, I have always found you open, and accessible to debate. And willing to be vulnerable, over the years.

I hope you haven't changed those qualities I know so well.

Parsley

[wilagro]

IMHO Tom's analogy misses the mark entirely. Conservatives are a diverse lot but they always come back to...too many taxes and "let us keep MOST of what we earn because we are special".

[food4u]

Not because we are special--- because IT IS OURS we earned it....

[AdamSmith]

Right on food4u,

Willy (and every other Trudeau Liberal and Tommy Douglas CCFer) wants what he didn't earn,

and when those who did earn it by working hard and taking risks, balk at Willy's demand that he should be allowed to benifit by their investment of time and money,

Willy gets all bent out of shape and spouts off with an attitude of self rightous indignation and tells them they are greedy for wanting to keep what they rightfully earned.

And never once does Willy concern himself with the fact that it is he who is the "greedy one" and it is he who thinks he is "Special" and should be entitled to that which he did not rightfully earn.

And never one does it cross Willy's mind that he can have all those things he covets, providing he too works hard, takes risks and is allowed to enjoy the rewards of those initiatives, and not have half of it taxed away from him.

Or worse yet taken from him completly and placed into a giant collective because he is either too stupid or too greedy or both to know how to manage it himself.

[TOM4CWB]

Vader,

I thought there was still a little room for logic, common sense, and reason in the respnsibility you carry to represent all growers who expect proffessional representation at the CWB Board of Directors TABLE.

If you can't understand the analogy... and how it applies to the positions you take at the CWB... perhaps that should concern everyone you represent at the CWB! I have a personal investment in your position... which means it concerns me as well!

[kryger]

Willy is too busy marketing his Canola, Peas, Flax and Lentils to worry about marketing his Wheat.

A letter to the editor of the Western Seducer last year spelled out the same thing. The writer did not have time to market 25% of his crop because he was so busy marketing his feed Barley, Canola and Flax, if memory serves me right, he felt he didn't have time to market his Wheat. If he knew, or took the time to figure out, that the CWB took $2/bushel to market his Wheat, he would probably take the time to market his own Wheat. And the kicker was that at the end of his letter he said that he was going to quit growing Wheat because it was not making any money for him.

I bet that he voted for the Board in the recent plebiscite.

[cottonpicken]

Ah the societal conunudrum of left verses right.

The little hen planted the seeds, watered them,plowed them,harvested them,baked the bread and when it came time to enjoy the bread all the other animals came to the the little hens door and asked for a slice.

The little hen said did you help me?Do you deserve this bread?

The other animals looked at eachother in disbelieve and dragged the hen out of her house,cut her throat and made chicken sandwiches.

Sometimes there is no right answer.


MEERRRRRRYYYY CCCHHHRRRIISSTTMMMASSS!!!!

[parsley]

FOOD FOR THOUGHT from the National Post:

Quote:
Track the agri sector
Barry Critchley, Financial Post
Published: Monday, December 24, 2007

Judging by the flurry of recent issues, agriculture may be the next asset class.

Last Wednesday, trading in the country's first exchange-traded fund dedicated to agriculture -- The Clay-more Global Agriculture ETF-- started on the Toronto Stock Exchange. Investors are being offered a return that corresponds to the performance of the MFC Global Agriculture Index.

That index has been developed by MFC Global, the investment management arm of Manulife, and measures the return from investing in equity and equity-related securities involved in the agricultural sector. In selecting and weighting the companies, MFC Global employs what it calls a "proprietary bottom-up selection process."

The plan is to have a portfolio of about 35 stocks with no one stock having more than a 9% weight. (The portfolio is rebalanced every quarter.)As of the end of November, the average market cap of each investment was $10-billion; with average P/E ratios of 24.3, with the average price to book value being 3.6 times. The index is dominated by U.S. companies (54%). Canada is second-largest with a 15% share, Potash Corp. having a 9% weight.

Potential stocks cover fertilizers and agricultural chemicals; construction, farm machinery and heavy trucks; and packaged foods and meats. Other companies derive a large part of their sales from the raising of livestock, fish farming, and the manufacturingofplanting, harvesting, crop protection and irrigation systems. Claymore's ETF is known as COW. (Presumably DOG was unavailable.)

Earlier, Ceres Global Ag Corp. filed a final prospectus that allows it to raise a maximum of $300-million from the sale of $12 units (each unit consisting of a share plus a share purchase warrant.) The idea is to generate long-term capital appreciation, "through global exposure to agricultural assets involved in the supply and demand chains of the agricultural sector and sector influenced industries." The manager -- Front Street Capital -- is allowed to pick companies involved in crop and animal production, agrichemicals and fertilizers, farm machinery, equipment, transportation and storage, food processing, distribution and retailing, biofuels and other agribusinesses; and agricultural commodities. The manager is also allowed to invest in non-public companies.

The word is that more than $125-million has been raised, which will rise to the extent that the warrants, which run for three years, are exercised.

Before those two deals, Navina Capital brought the Global Agribusiness Trust to market. That trust, which raised $40-million via the sale of $10 units, was formed to provide investors with exposure to the returns of an actively managed, diversified portfolio comprised primarily of 40-60 equity securities that are engaged in the demand and supply chains of the global agribusiness industry. The idea is to pay out 5% in distributions a year and generate long-term capital appreciation. Lawrence Asset Management is the portfolio manager. Assiniboia Farmland LP3, a fund that restricts its investment to farmland in Saskatchewan, closed its first public offering with $11-million in the kitty.

The Canadian experience has been mirrored in the U.K. Last month, the UK's first listed commodity derivatives fund -- the Ceres Agriculture Fund -- raised about $134-million. The group will invest in agricultural commodity contracts.UNQUOTE

bcritchley@nationalpost.com

Parsley

[ado089]

Ah college...There's nothing wrong with a well deserved 2.0, I have a few of those myself but what really stings is when your 3.0 gets knocked down to a 2.0 because there's a curve and four pre-med students ruin it for the rest of the class. What be said about that?

[TOM4CWB]

ado089,

Be glad medical students are smart/have to have it together to be health care administrators!

If they only did their work right... half the time... the result would not be good!