eCitizen

Maybe seats on the Security Council should go to the biggest contributors LOL. So how much have countries in the Middle East contributed? I'd love to see a ranking for that since they suck up so much of the UN's resources.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2011/06/25/afghan-cda-soldier.html You need to raise your standards, princess.

The glove is thrown down.... Be it resolved, that Conrad Black should be reinstated as a citizen of Canada.

The Toronto Police Association has vigorously opposed psychological testing for police recruits. Not a good sign, IMHO.

Harper has changed the election funding landscape so that parties have no choice but to kowtow to their base for funding. He then tacitly backed the lockout and introduced legislation that would force the union to take less than it had already bargained out of management. What choice does the NDP have but to take radical action in defense of its traditional base?

Egregious !

Babs, Babs, Babs. Why so harsh? Senators are pensioners before they start? Well, Babs, that's because they are appointed for doing good party works. But an elected senate might look differently, dontcha think, Babs? Hey, Babs, I'm all for getting rid of vested pensions, but this is the world we all live in. Hmmmmm....kay? And Babs, how about those newly boosted MP pensions?

No wonder there is so much crap coming out of Hollywood and movie ticket prices are insanely expensive.

Hey, there are all kinds of people who would prefer kicking back with a beer and few good steaks as opposed to showing up for work. What a stupid argument. By the way. I looked at your profile. Jeebus. What a narcissist!

To further elaborate on my post... Shouldn't we be applying some sort of test to these kinds of situations? Here's my suggestion... Test 1 : are they attacking anybody else or is their message only positive to their own issue? Test 2 : are they causing more economic harm than benefit?

I thought Steven LeDrew, CityTV political talking head (and past president of the Liberal party) had an interesting idea... Ford has a long standing family tradition of going to the cottage on Canada Day. Maybe he can show his support by cutting the ribbon on the opening of Gay Pride day. I don't agree with LeDrew, but it might give Ford a way to mollify the gays who are very clearly seeing this as a human rights challenge. Watch for Rob Ford to show up at either an opening ceremony (voluntarily) or as a caricature for ridicule in the gay pride parade (involuntarily). My personal opinion : anybody who runs for mayor of one of the largest cities in North America should be ready to give up "Family Time". Many people who live and work in the Big Smoke have to do the same and for much less glory.

If the will of the people was represented in the government of the day, how do you think government policy might be expressed on issues like : abortion in foreign aid projects..., the Middle East..., asbestos..., corporate tax cuts.... ? Secondly, if they are not allowed to belong to political parties, senators will form ephemeral alliances according to the issue at hand but will not coalesce into voting blocs... which brings me to another point.... The idea of assigning equal senators to provinces is not going to work. Better to do a rep by pop thing, but put very very high majority requirements in place - for example, a majority in the senate is not 50% plus 1 but enough votes such that every province and territory would have to gang up on two of the smallest provinces in order to pass legislation.

If the will of the people was represented in the government of the day, how do you think government policy might be expressed on issues like : abortion in foreign aid projects..., the Middle East..., asbestos..., corporate tax cuts.... ? Secondly, if they are not allowed to belong to political parties, senators will form ephemeral alliances according to the issue at hand but will not coalesce into voting blocs... which brings me to another point.... The idea of assigning equal senators to provinces is not going to work. Better to do a rep by pop thing, but put very very high majority requirements in place - for example, a majority in the senate is not 50% plus 1 but enough votes such that every province and territory would have to gang up on two of the smallest provinces in order to pass legislation.

Ten years? Even the most miserly private sector employer vests a pension after 3. Ten years is completely unreasonable.

As far as I have been able to tell, the purpose of the Senate has been to reward the party faithful with life long sinecures. That's what we are trying to stop. But as to its effect... I think it could have a very important effect. It could stand for the will of the people outside of the distortions brought about by political parties. I think that the Senate could serve a critical political role. I think it could serve as an expression of the will of the people, but only if we take party politics out of it.

Get elected. Then we'll talk.

Stephen Harper has proposed an elected Senate with 9 year non-renewable terms. This seems to be getting a lot of raspberries not only from the chattering classes (that's us), but also from the pundits, the press, and even the Conservative appointed Senators. I myself believe in Senate reform, but I do not like Mr. Harper's proposal. Here's why... First of all, Senate pensions kick in after 6 years. An electorate that sends somebody to the Senate is giving the gift that keeps on giving. What incentive is there for a Senator to even show up? Isn't that one of the beefs we've had all along? Useless Senators who just collect a paycheck. Much better, IMHO, to have five year terms with re-election. A senator who does a good job for his or her constituents gets to go back for that all important 6th year. Otherwise, the senator will have little to show for 5 years of toiling in the red chamber. Oh but wait! There's more! If the senate is to serve as the "Chamber of Sober Second thought" (as we so often are told), then we need to take party politics out of the mix. I'd like to see a proposal for Senate reform in which Senators (and candidates) are not allowed to belong to political parties. This will take out the nasty political partisanship of the lower House and give the Senate an air of impartiality and credibility. Secondly, I'd like to see media advertising forbidden for Senate elections. Media advertising brings money politics to the fore. Candidates win seats because they can afford more ads. Get rid of that. Let senate campaigns be about issues debated amongst candidates in public fora. The press does a good job (more or less) of reporting on candidates and what they have to say. Get rid of advertising and take propaganda out of elections. The British have done it and so should we.

Socialist NDP frightens me? Get a grip. Try sucking your thumb. Maybe that'll help you fall asleep at night.

Can capitalism replace socialism ? http://www.gatesfoundation.org/Pages/home.aspx Are Bill Gates and Warren Buffet just a distortion in the narrative of our species? Is there an exit from Brooklyn?

For your consideration, I propose this discussion : The Fool in King Lear http://www.online-literature.com/forums/showthread.php?t=17255

It is one thing to be quoted out of context, but quite another to be debated out of context. Go back and read the post you are referencing, and the post it responds to.

Optics? Visiting our most important trading partners is optics? If you say so, but really, isn't that what Foreign Ministers do? If Harper wants to, as he so often says, make Canada a senior player, then he needs to make sure he has the ear of countries like China, India (did I leave out Russia and Brazil?) Libya is going to be another Iraq. Whether Ghaddafi survives or not, we are looking at an ongoing civil war. Putting a foreign minister on the ground is not going to do a damned thing to stop it.

Oh yeah. Hamas. Terrorism. Of course. I am going to slap my forehead as soon as the US Open is over.

No just an understanding of transpacific flight fuel logistics. Harper keeps telling us that he wants Canada to be a leader. Going to Libya is not leadership. You express leadership by connecting to leaders. Today on CNN's GPS, Fareed Zakaria cited Canada as one of the few countries enjoying growth at the moment. John Baird going to Libya is not a good example of seizing the moment(um)

Do you have any evidence of support for South Africa from the Eastern Bloc? I'd love to see it.