dialamah

Yup. And in fact, there are a lot more rapists among men than there are terrorists among Muslims.

I disagree with you. I think everyone has the right not to be pre-judged or blamed for what other people do because they share a characteristic. Therefore, I do not blame you, a man, because I was raped by a man or because men carry out 99% of all rapes of women and children; I do not assume you are going to rape me as well. I do not think you should be subjected to additional security because you are a man. I give you the respect of not assuming you are as backward, savage and barbaric as are the rapists who live in your type of body.

Funny how you can say this, but then deny that your own rhetoric against people from Muslim countries contributes to anti-Islamic paranoia and resentment.

You refuse to see people from certain parts of the world as anything other than 'backward and barbaric'. You've said so many times - and so you do not accord them the basic right to respect. You want to subject them to intrusive methods of vetting, based on where they are from - that is racist. And if you support the right of the state to dictate what women should or should not wear (the hijab, niqab, burka, etc), that is sexist.

I would oppose anyone of any creed or color who tried to eliminate gay rights, or women's rights. I oppose you because you want to trample on the rights of certain minorities in Canada, not because of what they actually do, but because of what you think they'll do.

In case you haven't heard of them, the Soldiers of Odin are a group that started in Finland in 2015, in response to Finland's acceptance of thousands of refugees. It's stated purpose is to protect everyone, but especially women, from criminal immigrants, but also to help everyone regardless of their ethnic background. Mike Ranta, the founder, has a criminal conviction for a racially-motivated assault, is a self-proclaimed neo-nazi and a member of the far-right organization The Finnish Resistance Movement. Many of the higher ranking members also support neo-nazism and white supremacist ideologies. They claim these views are not shared by all members of the organization. Their private Facebook page has some pretty disturbing elements. Still, other than a false claim made by one of their members, they don't seem to have done anything to attract police investigation. A chapter has opened up in both Hamilton and Edmonton. The Edmonton group's mission, according to Joel Angott, is to ensure safety for everyone, observe and report problems, and he says that the group supports multiculturalism and sustainable immigration. (Edited to remove incorrect link). So, are these groups as innocuous as they claim? Do they represent and protect Canadian Values? Do we need such groups in Canada?

Here's a couple of examples of how Muslims exposed to progressive values will take them as their own, and create progress within Islam.

Yeah, I agree.

I can confirm it takes 3 to 6 months minimum in BC. My partner has one scheduled for September, ordered in June. This one was relatively quick; a few years ago it was the full six months.

Gotta agree here.

Did you read the article? Why are you trying to excuse their actions?

No. They are scientists, and this is the government answerable to it's citizens - not a corporation answering to shareholders. The government should neither influence research, nor attempt to prevent its publication. To do so is censorship. Phillip Morris may feel justified in preventing their scientists from publishing research results indicating that smoking causes lung cancer. But I sure as hell do not expect or condone my government using the same tactics to suppress information on climate change, or any other research. If you saw that happening in any other country, under any other conservative regime, you'd recognize it for exactly what it is. Give your head a shake, man. Geez.

What if the media calls them up to say "Hey, we want information about this science." Why shouldn't the media be able to *ask* for scientific information without the government saying aye or nay? Seriously, who in their right mind would support government censorship of scientists, or anyone?

Really? It's ok with you if government censors people?

Maybe we should let immigrants who share Argus' values in? "Do you believe in judging and excluding entire groups of people because of their religion or beliefs?" Yes. "Welcome to Canada."

Yes, this is true regardless of the age when one becomes a 'believer'. I wasn't even indoctrinated into a religion from a young age, I joined voluntarily as a teenager. When I left about a decade later, I had nightmares about 'the end' for a couple of years.

Yeah, generally speaking people can be assholes. I agree it's monstrous what they did. But then again, when 4 or 5 boys get together to rape a passed out high-school girl, is it less objectionable because they were born and raised in the same country as the girl they raped? I don't see how anyone can define one as less (or more) morally bankrupt than the other.

I expect the truth is somewhere in the middle of all the media hype. I don't doubt that our media is slanted, and that Altai's media is slanted. In any case, there are sexual assaults on women in Canada every single day. Whether one is assaulted in a crowd on New Years, or at a party on Campus, or in your own kitchen, it's wrong. Acting as if it's 'more' wrong because might be Syrian refugees and/or Muslims is ridiculous.

Haha, good point.

Not across the board. There are plenty of Canadian Christians who expect women to submit to men and to stay home and raise kids. There are plenty of people who think sexually active women are sluts but give sexually active men a pass. There are still people who call an assertive woman a bitch, but admire an assertive man. We are a work in progress, albeit farther along than many other cultures around the world. And in almost every country where rights are not equally accorded by law, there are groups working to change that. We already have a wide range of attitudes in Canada, from extremely conservative to extremely progressive. We also have laws that apply to people equally so that differences in belief cannot translate into action that harms someone else. That means you can't, for instance, rape your wife regardless of whether its because "God" says its ok, because it's Friday night, or because you are just a Canadian-born and bred asshole.

I'm closing in on 60 years old and there have been people of differwnt ethnicities and languages since I was a kid. How far back are we going to preserve Canada as it "once was"?

I agree that its appropriate to vette people who want to live in Canada. There is already some vetting done on refugees by the UN, checking background and associates, and Canada does more. I know police checks in country of origin are done for people who apply for Canadian Citizenship. I don't know if more can be done or if there is any way of guaranteeing violent people will never get into Canada. I would prefer to bring people who would live a lawful life in Canada. I would prefer that extremists not find a home in Canada. Unlike some of you, howver, I don't consider matters of apparel or non-violent personal beliefs an attack on our culture. Also, vetting incoming people doesn't address home-grown terrorism. If Argus' claim that second generation immigrants are more extreme is accurate, I would want to understand why that is and address it.

I'm in BC, and I'd like to see the BC Liberals ousted.

I find it interesting that any sort of insult could result in legal action in Turkey. Do you know if many people actually go to the courts if they are insulted? Are insults rarely heard between people?

I cannot say "Altai is stupid" in this forum, but I can say "What you said is stupid". Calling you stupid will get me suspended for some period of time but only if someone complains to the moderators. Outside this forum I can call anybody stupid and I will not be arrested. But I can't say I want to kill someone; that may get me arrested.