Hudson Jones

I should say that my comment was made as an observation and without all the numbers in front of me. From what I remember seeing during election night, the Liberals lost votes to both NDP and Conservatives. NDP's gains outside Quebec were pretty much all Liberal losses. In a few ridings in Ontario, for example, where the Liberals had won consistently in the past, the Conservatives ended up taking the seats because of the strong showing by NDP. Here is a specific example: In the Ontario riding, Bramalea, it was 45% Libs, 37% Cons and 12% NDP in 2008. In 2011, the Cons won with 34%, NDP was second with 33% and Libs at 15%. Here is a poll conducted by Angus Reid: Across the country, 35 per cent of decided voters and leaners (unchanged since early January) would support the Conservative candidate in their riding if a federal election were held tomorrow. The New Democrats are in second place with 29 per cent (-4), followed by the Liberal Party with 22 per cent (+3), the Green Party with six per cent (=) and the Bloc Québécois also with six per cent (= ). The Tories remain dominant in their strongholds of Alberta (62%) and Manitoba and Saskatchewan (53%), and hold the upper hand in Ontario (38%). The NDP is first in Quebec (32%), but with the Bloc (25%) and the Liberals (21%) gaining ground. The New Democrats are tied with the Conservatives in British Columbia (35% each).

Here is a graphic showing Israel's policy when it comes to water allocation in the occupied territory.

My Italian barber (female) doesn't like him. She even called his mom a slut. I think he will do well, but the vote splitting between the NDP and Liberals will mean another Harper government.

The press is censored in many Western countries, such as England and Israel. In fact, in Israel, reports on the military must first go through the IDF before they are allowed to be aired. The Israeli Military Censor has the power to prevent publication of certain news items. The censorship rules largely concern military issues such as not reporting if a missile hit or missed its target, troop movements, etc. but it is also empowered to control information about the oil industry and water supply. Journalists who bypass the military censor or publish items that were censored may be subject to criminal prosecution and jail time; the censor also has the authority to close newspapers. Link

This is interesting. Canada's Conservative government has issued new regulations to librarians and archvists governing their free speech in public forums and online media: Federal librarians and archivists who set foot in classrooms, attend conferences or speak up at public meetings on their own time are engaging in “high risk” activities, according to the new code of conduct at Library and Archives Canada. Given the dangers, the code says the department’s staff must clear such “personal” activities with their managers in advance to ensure there are no conflicts or “other risks to LAC.” The code, which stresses federal employees’ “duty of loyalty” to the “duly elected government,” also spells out how offenders can be reported. “It includes both a muzzle and a snitch line,” says James Turk, executive director of the Canadian Association of University Teachers, which represents more than 68,000 teachers, librarians, researchers and academics across the country. He and others say the code is evidence the Harper government is silencing and undermining its professional staff. http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/03/15/library-and-archives-canada/

Did you just miss the comment made above? You seem to miss a lot of information that is freely given on this site. Because you continue to spread misinformation even after facts are given right here on the forum. Also, Arab citizens of Israel do not have the same rights as Jewish citizens. You best look this up. Here is a start.

A Palestinian Arab, who is an Israeli citizens, with an Israeli passport, cannot visit the West Bank. Link A side note: A Palestinian citizen of Israel, cannot bring his or her spouse to Israel.

Thomas Friedman's moustache nails it:

You are typing nonsense. This road is another example of Israel's apartheid policy in the occupied territories as it's for Jewish settlers only. I'm not sure why you're trying to make excuses for it.

What? Even though I did by giving data? Try reading the data from the second sentence. You can't expect an overnight miracle in any country that has taken decades to ruin, which in this case were done by U.S. backed governments. By increasing enrolment at schools and reducing poverty by half, there will be improvements. You also failed in looking at the GDP growth, which doubled under Chavez. You can't expect others to fall into the same black and white, with us or against us talking points, while totally ignoring the data which I shared in the post. You don't like Chavez' socialism, that's fine, but please don't make things up and try not to ignore the facts present.

Hebron is the largest Palestinian city, still partially occupied by Israel. It has around 500 Jewish settlers. Arabs are not permitted to use the paved road shown in the video. The settlers and the IDF soldiers are. Here is a sample of what these settlers are like:

Precisely why I said many Jews and not "all" Jews. There is a small percentage of Jews who not only speak out against Israel's human rights abuses towards the Palestinians but they're also leaders in the movement. You just demonstrated how my comment about how many Jews are unable to see criticism of Israel by going on another rant and not only falsely accusing my stance, but also try to smear me by calling me "an agent". Yet, the Israeli governments that are continuously elected are pro-settlement governments. With the housing and industry ministry and the defense minister in their hands, the settlers are more than ever driving the policy in the occupied territories. What are you talking about? The paved road is a Jew only road, closed off to the Palestinians. Why are you having such a hard time condemning an obvious segregating/apartheid/racist policy? You are proving my point again that many Jews have a tough time seeing Israel being criticized. Really now? Israelis are living in enclaves and are segregated. How nice of you to draw a parallel to the struggles of the Palestinians to that of the Israelis. Is there really a need to continue a discussion with someone who tries to portray the situation like you are? I haven't seen this. If you get a chance, link me to your criticism. Also, if Tzipi Levni is the face of moderation in Israel, then therein lies the problem. Whenever you gather the courage, tell me how the policy of having Jewish only roads, on Palestinian land, should not be criticized.

Oh and as usual, the anti-semite label against anyone who doesn't follow the agenda of the corporatists who deny being corporatists, but simply fight their battles by feeding on jargons that makes them feel emotional and like that they're fighting for a special belief. Using anti-semite has become meaningless due to the improper use of it. It's just a way to battle resistance and shut down criticism on a number of issues, including issues that have nothing to do with racism. About Chavez being anti-semite; Here is the head rabbi of Venezuela telling everyone about how much of a Jew hater and anti-semite Chavez was: The Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Venezuela, Isaac Cohen, on Wednesday night sent condolences to the family and friends of President Hugo Chavez, who died on Tuesday, saying, “This is pain for the family and for all the people of Venezuela.” Cohen had visited Chavez several times at the Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas. On Wednesday night he said, “We were always received with great respect, and our requests and statements were positively received by him.”

According to data compiled by the UK Guardian, Chavez’s first decade in office saw Venezuelan GDP more than double and both infant mortality and unemployment almost halved. Then there is a remarkable graph from the World Bank that shows that under Chavez’s brand of socialism, poverty in Venezuela plummeted (the Guardian reports that its “extreme poverty” rate fell from 23.4 percent in 1999 to 8.5 percent just a decade later). In all, that left the country with the third lowest poverty rate in Latin America. Additionally, “college enrollment has more than doubled, millions of people have access to health care for the first time and the number of people eligible for public pensions has quadrupled.” Not bad as far as accomplishments. He has empowered the people to build a better nation. Investment in people is investment in the nation. I especially like that college enrollment has doubled. It takes time for a country that was broken for so many years due to the control of multinationals and puppet governments, to heal. Increase in education which is directly connected to people coming out of poverty, is a sign of a succeeding nation. It's an investment into the future of the country. An example of the process is the increase in education and how it makes more Venezuelan doctors becoming available, so that doctors from other countries would not be needed to be imported anymore.

I agree with some of what you've stated above, even though I don't agree with your description of how the blame is 50/50. Again, why are you against criticizing Israel for the apartheid style law demonstrated in the video, in the original post? Israeli politics has been hijacked by the settlers and those who make money off of them. The land developers who make millions from government subsidized settlement buildings on Palestinian lands, which are ironically, built by mostly Palestinian labourers, are the ones who have their hands in politics and who drive Israeli politics. Abbas has no real power. He's just a puppet of Israel and U.S. On one hand, he's propped up by Israel to battle the other parties, and on the other, he is humiliated by actions such as withholding taxes that belong to the Palestinians. All because Abbas, in order to survive politically, went ahead in the UN to be recognized. Is being recognized so bad? Why should the Palestinians be punished for wanting self-determination? Something Israel already has. Why is there always an instant knee-jerk reaction by many Jews and some people in North America, whenever there is criticism of Israel? I try not to make this to be personal or respond to personal attacks but I should say that despite believing how and the circumstances in which Israel was formed were wrong, I am in support of the existence of the State of Israel. Of course, I am also for the right of Palestinians of wanting their own true and just state. Something Israel is against and has prevented from happening. Back to the original video in this thread; Restricting Palestinians and making a road accessible to only Jews, on Palestinian land, while designating only a small dirt path along side of it is wrong and should be criticized. Especially by those who claim to be a moderate. So where is your criticism? Where is Canada's criticism?

What is your explanation of having a policy, closing off the paved road to the Palestinians and leaving the dirt path along side of it for them to use? Don't forget that this is happening on Occupied Territories. Give me one scenario where this act could be seen as something that shouldn't be criticized.

Watch the video, Peanut. That's a start.

Israel is practising apartheid in the occupied territories. Case in point; the above video.

No he doesn't.

Inflammatory is the silence or the excuses some people try to use towards Israel's obvious violations of people's rights. Look at what is happening in this situation: You have a nice, wide, paved road built for Jews only, on Palestinian land. The Palestinians are forced to use a narrow, dirt path, along side the road they're not allowed to go on.

There is of course, human rights violations in many Arab countries. However, every Arab country is different. So stop with these low-browed generalizations and sweeping remarks. You need to be held accountable for what you say on here. To throw a blanket statement that Arabs abuse child prisoners, to try to somehow discredit comments about Israel usually only go unchallenged in youtube comment replies. Let's look at the links where you're trying to prove that Arabs abuse child prisoners: It's some blog that talks about bad prison conditions and rights abuse of prisoners. There is only a small mention of him seeing a child in prison. This link would not pass as proof or validate what you're trying to say. Nothing about children. It's a good time to realize that Turkey is not an Arab country. Regardless, the link has some validity about human rights abuses and child prisoners in specific. It's interesting to note that there is no mention of "held indefinitely, in detention, without access to legal consultation and parents", which has happened systematically in Israel.. This link has nothing to do with the treatment of child prisoners. No one should have any doubt about the situation in Syria. What's happening in Syria is unique to Syria and there is no one who is supporting them or giving them a pass. Iran is also not an Arab country. Child executions, or any type of execution is terrible. That said, providing this link does not correspond with or validate your sweeping statement that Arab countries abuse their child prisoners. So tell me when you will be able to validate your comment or stop making immature, superficial comments. The reality is that Israel is supposed to be an ally of the West, and they are supposed to be "the only democracy in the middle east". Many of their actions against the Palestinians shows the failure in matching the image that Israel and its passionate supporters try to sell with reality.

Thanks for that. You found something from 2007, Iraq. More of these cases need to be shown in order to validate Argus' comment about how this is an every day occurrence in the Arab world. I am serious. Show me how child prisoner rights in the Arab countries are being abused since you were the one who is insinuating that it is a regular occurrence in the Arab world. Validate your point or stop making things up.

How do you know? Show something to back up your claim about child prisoners in Arab countries.

Now he is ready for Harper to make him a senator.

a·part·heid n. 2. A policy or practice of separating or segregating groups. Now you know. And knowing is half the battle.