Hudson Jones

I find it interesting that Roy Romanow's name never appears when people try to use the history of provincial NDP governments to argue that the federal NDP cannot succeed. There’s no denying Bob Rae (the poster child of the Conservatives of what a federal NDP government will be like) ran up deficits. There’s also no denying he took office as the world’s economy was slumping, exacerbated in Ontario by the then-new free trade agreement’s impact on manufacturing. So he used public spending to counter the harm — just as Stephen Harper has done. When discussing economy and economic record, wouldn't it make better sense to look at the economic record of the guy in the office right now? Which has been one of the worst since WWII? Don't the Conservatives use "economic downturn" as the reason for this record? Back to Romanow - Why do you not talk about him in Saskatchewan, where he repaired the ruinous finances left behind by Grant Devine’s Conservatives.

So, socialist, are you voting for Harper? Also, why the name if you believe socialism is slavery?

I fully agree. This is why the BDS movement, a non-violent movement, is a great response to Israel's brutal, murderous, dangerous and illegal actions against the Palestinians.

Looks like the following responded to your half-truths and misinformation well:

Facts means that it has to be true. They are pretty much all feelings, based on your ignorance. In the early 70's the unemployment rate was around 6%. Same as year 2007. So that fact alone squashes your premise and therefore, your opinion. Not only that, but you're also unable to understand that majority of immigrants that come to Canada have post secondary education, have a good command of English and bring a decent amount of savings with them to put into the economy. It's understandable if they're going to find it challenging to settle and adjust the first few years, but eventually, they do well in Canada.

You can try to defame and blame Marcus or anyone else for facts and information that you don't like. The reality is that Amnesty International is not the only credible and internationally recognized organization who has found, through real investigation, that Israel targeted civilians and committed war crimes on numerous occasions. Not only in the latest attack on Gaza, but also in the previous ones. No amount denial is going to change the facts gathered by these organizations.

I was going to respond to Argus, but what's the point? His last two paragaphs in post #23 is all opinion based on Argus' feelings. There is absolutely no evidence, statistics or anything concrete to back up his feelings. The following from Statistics Canada is an important indicator of how immigrants, and more specifically, the immigrant's children do when they arrive in Canada - Note that these are immigrants who do not speak English or French at home: Among 1990s immigrants, 310,000 were children between the ages of 5 and 16. For many of these children, the first language learned and used at home was neither English nor French. The language skills of children of immigrant parents just entering the school system were weaker than those of Canadian-born parents, but the longer the children lived in Canada , the smaller the gap in performance became, until it disappeared. In fact, in later years, the academic performance of many of these students surpassed that of their Canadian-born counterparts. We need immigrants to fill the jobs that the baby boomers are leaving behind. Despite immigration, we're still coming short in filling the positions left behind by the retiring baby boomers. This is another non-emotional point, backed by Statistics Canada: Fewer young people about to enter the labour force than those about to leave it In 2011, census data showed for the first time that there were more people in the age group where people typically leave the labour force (55 to 64), than in the age group where people typically enter it (15 to 24). The Argus' and the PIK's can whine all they want about immigration, but in reality, we NEED immigration. This is according to the HARPER government - This is from 2011: Ottawa starting to tackle rapidly aging workforce with renewed urgency Finance Minister Jim Flaherty and the highest levels of the public service are immersed in a flurry of closed-door talks aimed at tackling the rising costs of health care and retirement benefits in the face of a shrinking number of working-age taxpayers available to foot the bill. Internal government documents obtained by The Globe and Mail show Canada’s aging population is no longer a problem on the horizon, but rather one that will impact the federal government this year. It's a challenge Ottawa is now discussing more openly and with added urgency.

I am curious: Are you some kind of a satirical character who comes in here with extreme and mostly false information to make fun of Harper supporters? We have one of the strictest immigration policies in the G8.

Israel's actions in the Occupied Territories has similarities with Apartheid South Africa. A lot of similarities. The Palestinians live in 12 noncontinguous cantons, while the major roads are controlled by Israel. There are walls that cut communities from each other. There are "No Go Zones", where the illegal Jewish settlements are in the Occupied Territories. The checkpoints are also another way Israel controls the movement of the Palestinians. These are all very similar to how the Apartheid South African government controlled the blacks. There are a lot more similarities that I'm not going to write about, including: Ethnic cleansing, Control of movement, Land expropriation, Criminalization, Torture, Labor, Demographic, politics, Mixed families, Citizenship, Apartheid roads, Economic and political siege, Military operations You can learn more about the similarities between Apartheid South Africa and Apartheid Israel here.

Rue makes a great point! <- exclamation mark We need to "balance" talk about the BDS movement with something else... because every situation is 50/50! I wonder when the boycott movement during the Apartheid South Africa era was starting, there were cries from the Apartheid government for more balanced discussions... Victims: "We request that the world boycott this Apartheid government for their racist policies against the blacks." Apartheid government: "We think that we should think about that for a moment and see if these racist policies and human rights violations are warranted. Oh and there are militant groups in South Africa, so yeah, our policies are warranted."

Then how would assets of hundreds of thousands of others around the world who have been victims of terror be compensated? Do we start freezing Israeli assets until they pay Palestinian victims?

The extremists are trying to cloud the debate with emotional comments and comparisons. Such as comparing Iran to Nazi Germany. Here is a sobering article from a "self-hating" Jew. One of 60% of Jewish Americans who reject the Extremist Zionists/Neo-con/AIPAC/Huckabee attempt to derail the Iran deal. Why Iran Isn’t Nazi Germany The idea that Iranian leaders seek another Holocaust is at the emotional core of opposition to the nuclear deal. Is it true?

You should question the things in your mind. Because you are often wrong. Perhaps Marcus should be more specific about what kind of Zionists are pushing for war, instead of a deal. Adelson has dropped millions to fight against the deal that the whole world (except for Israel/Far right Zionists/Neo-Cons) agree with. This is the same Adelson that has said Iran should be nuked. The same Adelson that will be bankrolling war mongers in the GOP. It's important to acknowledge that majority of American Jews support the Iran deal. The poll, which was conducted among 1,000 adults who identify as Jewish, found that 60 percent of those questioned said they supported the agreement that aims to curb Iran’s nuclear ambitions in exchange for the lifting of US and international sanctions. The number closely reflected the results of J Street’s previous poll in June, conducted before the agreement was reached, which found that 59% of American Jewish adults supported the nuclear deal.

Israel has committed war crimes and possible crimes against humanity according Amnesty International. How much longer can this rogue state continue without being punished?

I'm not twisting anything. You expect Iran to be treated differently than Israel. Despite Israel violating international law and human rights laws. Despite Israel having nuclear weapons and not signing the NPT. This makes your stance a hypocrisy. My personal stance is that they should all be treated the same. If Canada or U.S. started giving Iran special and favourable treatment, while Iran continued to violate human rights, then I would speak out. Without hesitation. So why do you write stories about Iran violating human rights, international law and harp on their nuclear program, when you don't apply the same standards and scrutiny to Israel?

U.S. has been doing it for decades with Israel. They've also been giving away U.S. taxpayer money to Israel for $3 billion a year. Oh wait. Israel should be treated differently. Who cares if they continuously violate human rights. Who cares if they continuously break international law. Who cares if they "have" nuclear weapons. Who cares if they refuse to sign NPT. Who cares if they have attacked other countries (Syria/Lebanon/Palestinian Territories) in violation of international law, repeatedly. Nothing beats the greasy hypocrisy that drips profusely from every one of Rue's posts.

The prostitutes in Congress and Senate will eventually give in to the pressure of truth. The tide has changed. Zionism is starting to lose the support of Jews living outside of Israel. They can no longer relate to the inhumane acts and policies. But yeah, I'm glad you're finally understanding what BDS is about.

Your comment still makes no sense because you still don't seem to understand what BDS is about. BDS is not about giving economic assistance to Gaza (it's not even possible since there is a blockade on Gaza by Israel). BDS is about putting cultural and economic pressure on Israel to follow international law. But you go ahead and repeat the nonsense, like it means anything.

I think the big difference is the Jewish population outside of Israel. More and more Jews are speaking out against Israel because they can no longer relate to what they do and stand for. Majority of them are younger Jews who are well-informed due to the information they're able to get outside of the mainstream media. There are some prominent Jewish groups in the U.S., like Jewish Voice for Peace, who have done so much to advance the BDS movement. This is why Zionist bank rollers like Sheldon Adelson are putting so much money in order to fight BDS. It doesn't matter how much the Rue's or the BC2004 try to tell us that the BDS movement is not a threat to Zionism, the truth says otherwise.

1 - Unless you have a quote and a link from Omar Barghouti, who is not a "BDS Chief", then your comment is just another one of the many empty accusations that you are known for making. Like the drivel about what I stand for and my thoughts on the existence of Israel. 2- The BDS movement specifically and clearly states in its 3rd demand: the right of return or compensation for Palestinian refugees. Let that digest before you comeback for another keyboard pounding session.

Just saw this and found it to be such an amazingly funny comment on many levels.

I was hoping that would understand what BDS is about but from your response, it looks like you don't. After pressure from the world, Apartheid South Africa collapsed. Same will happen to Apartheid Israel in the Occupied Territories.

No one is giving Iran money. This is money that already belongs to them. The assets are being unfrozen. This is misinformation that is not only repeated by you and a few others on here, but also in the media. The only giving by U.S. is the $3 billion+ that is given to Israel to spend on weapons that end up killing innocent Palestinian and Lebanese civilians.

In response to that and to educate those who don't know: The BDS movement was launched by 170 Palestinian civil society organizations in 2005 with three clearly articulated aims: 1) an end to Israel's military occupation of Palestinian territories, 2) full rights for Palestinian citizens of Israel, and 3) the right of return or compensation for Palestinian refugees. Each of the BDS demands respects international law: the West Bank and East Jerusalem cannot legally be annexed by Israel; the right to equality of Palestinian citizens of Israel is self-evident; and refugees do, in fact, have the right to return to their homes under international law. BDS does not hold Israel to a higher standard than the country claims for itself. There are countries that commit equal or greater human rights violations, but they do not claim a place among Western democratic nations as does Israel.

But you did share misinformation about a topic that was not part of this thread, and then when he corrected you, you unleashed the hypocrisy in regards to him going off topic. Your misinformation was this: Contrary to popular belief not even Israel occupies the West Bank The polls have spoken. More Jews living in U.S. support the Iran deal than those who do not. This is a fact that you can deal with it on your own time. Don't blame the messenger. I haven't seen any polls for Canadian Jews, but I assume they're similar to American Jews in their thoughts on the Iran deal: The Jews of Israel oppose the agreement with Iran. The Jews of America support it. The just-released LA Jewish Journal survey turns an assumption into a fact: The two largest Jewish communities cannot agree on a major world development that could significantly change the state of the Jewish state. Link: http://www.jewishjournal.com/rosnersdomain/item/jew_vs._jew_vs._jew_on_the_iran_deal