Drea

Oh no! I wasn't saying that at all. I was simply pointing out that "rapture" is part of the belief system of Christians. I was in no way shape or form comparing it to other religions. Just pointing out what it says in Revelations...that Jesus is coming -- are you ready? My post has nothing to do with the beliefs or deeds of Islam, Buddism, Scientology or whatever. Only the information contained in King James version of the Bible (which is what the JWs use). ALL topics on Christianity DO NOT contain reference to Islam nor a comparison to it. this was about ONLY rapture from the point of view of a JW. .... and that sign I drive by every day "Jesus is coming.. are you ready?" sits in front of a Christian Mennonite church.

Why doesn't he just get a pardon? My issue is with what constitues a criminal record... buying and selling joints (sigh) are criminal offenses (bigger sigh) which result in criminal records (shouldn't tho, biggest sigh). My question... Is protesting a criminal offense? Should the result of being arrested for protesting a criminal record? I think not. Not in a free country at least... "If you stand against the government, you will be arrested and charged with a crime". That smacks of fascism IMO.

I also believe global warming has be exaggerated -- turned into hyperbole. But this must be done to bring attention to it. An ad in the paper the other day (by a Christian group) "50% of abortions end in death!" Either half of the fetuses aborted don't die or half of the women that abort their fetuses die. Which is it? Neither are true. The goal of the ad is to scare people out of aborting "You could die!". The fact that it is a flat out lie (half of all women who get abortions DO NOT die nor do half of all abortions end up in live births). Nonetheless folks believe the hyberbole. on global climate change... our earth is still "moving away" from the last ice age. We are seeing the last ice age finally come to an end. While humans do contribute to it we are nothing compared to violent volcanic eruptions...

I agree... what I disagree with is what will "get" one a criminal record. Committing a crime -- robbery, assault, murder, dui, forgery, selling drugs.... all are crimes. But are we (or the US in this case) to label protestors as criminals? Should chaining onself to a tree or fence (for example) really be enough to get one a criminal record for life? While it may be against the law to do so, doing so should not result in a criminal record -- just as speeding is against the law but does not result in a criminal record.

For those who do not think the "rapture cult" is alive and well and growing.... have you NOT ever seen a sign that says "Jesus is coming, are you ready?" That is what that means. Jesus is apparently going to come back and fix everything. Firstly the good Christians will be taken up into heaven then there will be seven years of "tribulation" (whatever THAT means). Then Jesus will come back again to get all those who have converted during the seven years. THEN... armageddon will happen (the whole planet makeover) and Jesus will rule for 1000 years. It is in Revelations. It is used to scare people into submission. "Get sucked out (believe!) or live through the tribulation... then get sucked out (how nice of Jesus to give that second chance!) and then all will come back to live on earth in peace after the makeover. AND no one will ever die or be sick again. Hmmm, can you say o-v-e-r-p-o-p-u-l-a-t-i-o-n... And lions will no longer eat meat. LOL

Ha ha Topaz! Bush's slogan should be "Making Things Worse Since 2000" and his award would be the "No-Bell Warmonger's trophy". It would have a button that when pressed would say "God told me to!" LOL Heck he probably uses the "magic eight ball" to make his deci.... hey wait a minute! he HAS used eight balls...

American Woman wrote: So the figure comes from a poster you are in agreement with... not from me. I do not believe there are that many homeless in Canada. Of course, very few would be homeless by choice in Winterpeg, brrrrr... but in Vancouver, where it's liveably warm all year we have lots. One case comes to mind... a year or so ago a community newspaper did a story on a 17 year old living on the streets. She said she had no parents, no where to go, no where to live. Well, her grandmother wrote a letter to the editor... she had a warm nice home with grandma. The kid just didn't want to follow grandma's rules. A runaway. Homeless by choice. Why should we taxpayers pay for her shelter/food/etc. when she has a perfectly good home to go to? I suspect there are many such as this case (amoung the young homeless). I apologize for calling you a bleeding heart AW. In Canada people are always whining about not getting handouts. When really what they need is a hand UP. Which would be forced rehab for addicts and care and housing for mentally handicapped and seniors. Welfare is not meant to be forever. It is meant to help out during a lean period. This is certainly not a "lean" period -- there are plenty of unskilled labour/service type jobs available. There is no excuse for a person not to working. Like I said, the addict should get treatment, the handicapped should get help; but if a person refuses the help we should not have to twist ourselves in knots trying to figure out what they "need".

I suppose people think we ought to simply feed, clothe, educate, employ and house anyone who has a drug problem. People are addicted to cigs, why is the gov't paying their way? Why are they any different than any other person who CHOOSES to use drugs? Yes, AM, your comment was nasty. "You a DOCTOR or sumpthin!?" was meant as an insult. I am not a doctor, I am just a person who is tired of paying to support the drug habits/shelter/food/etc. of people who are too lazy/addicted/too whatever to help themselves. Once again, help is free. Utterly free. All one must be willing to do is be willing to quit the drugs. 200,000 homeless. How many are drug addicted? How many are seniors? How many are mentally handicapped? We should protect our seniors and our mentally handicapped but the drug addicted don't. They deserve (and should get) treatment, not sympathy.

Because 80% of the "homeless" are there by choice. Certainly not ALL of them are mentally handicapped. I am not a Doctor. No sense getting nasty about it AW. geez. I believe people need to take responsibility for themselves. In Canada all the help is free. There are no excuses. The US has less homelessness because your country doesn't cater to them. I beleive your cities have anti loitering laws do they not? Scotty... I guess there is a first time for everyting.

Gordon Campbell (BC's Premier) saw to it that the mentally handicapped were shoved out into the streets. So no, I do not include them as "homeless by choice" and they should be taken care of, they should have support including health support and financial support. The addicted should not recieve the same. They should recieve treatment. Mandatory treatment. In the middle of nowhere. And once they get "clean" they should not be allowed to move back to their meth/crack/alcohol friends are.

So disagreeing with the government makes one a criminal? So being a NON violent protester gets one a criminal record these days? So wanting the soldiers home is cause for the government to put people on "watch lists". Frig. Good thing there are lots of sane Americans going to be voting in 08.

Jesus is comin' for a whole planet make-over dontcha know! Our family were JW's when I was a kid and I remember thinking "What will those lions eat? If the lion is going to "lie down with the lamb" what will he eat? Will his teeth change from canines to teeth like horses so he can chew grass?" ....this is the kind of thing that goes through a seven year old's head when discussing "God's Kingdom on Earth". LOL

Drug/alcohol addiction are not mental illnesses, as much as the bleeding hearts want to believe it is so.

rant/ We need to bring back anti-loitering laws. No one (IMO) has the right to “live” in an alley or on a sidewalk. Went to the city (Vancouver) over the summer to the Orpheum Theatre. I was utterly disgusted with the amount of drugged out freaks on the streets. Not to mention the mentally handicapped… way to go Gordo In BC all one need do is go to the welfare office and pick up a cheque. Can’t afford to live in downtown Vancouver? Me neither….MOVE to a small town where you will get the same amount in welfare, but it will go a lot further for shelter. Get a roommate, get a place, get a job. It is not up to the rest of the people to “put up with” vagrants who refuse to work. In my small city there are no less than 4 different organizations offering employment services. They help those who have trouble finding employment for whatever reason. There is absolutely no excuse to be unemployed in BC in 2007, much less “living” on the streets. /rant

Freedom of/from religion *as long as it does not interfere with the rights of another person* is the key. If an "act" is a human rights violation without a religious context (ie, sodomizing a child) then it should remain so (a violation) under a religious context.

Who said anything about bigotry... What part of those tv evangelists turn you on? The fact that they dupe people out of their money? The fact that they purport that "god" speaks to them directly? Or do you just love it when people take advantage of others? Come on Scotty, you can tell us!

Back to the topic... evangelists. Made me so angry watching this idiot on TV. "God" spoke to him? Give me a break! How gulible are people anyway? Who are these people that go to these televangelists? IMO Roberts and his ilk are true evil people. Preying on people who only want to get to heaven. (Poor duped souls) Folks... if there is a heaven, there is no money there so it's no use giving your life savings to some idiot preaching on a stage.

for the record... Average income Canada Average income USA

Where can I get my hands on that cheap tobacco? I have never heard of it. I want some. But I would rather not risk it, so I will go to the store and buy my cigs. Just like I would rather buy pot from a liquor store than take a chance on unregulated pot. (hypothetically...if it were legal) Sigh, once again, if it were sold in liquor stores it would be regulated. How many folks are killed in the production of vodka these days? If the neighbour sets up a still I would be very concerned. Those things are darn right dangerous. But we don't worry that will happen because the vodka consumer simply goes to the liquor store and gets his product. A product safely produced at a distillery. There is probably a grow op in your neighbourhood right now. Would it not be better to have them grow it in safe, regulated environments? I Mind if I feed your kid some bleach? Totally legal. Come on now. How many people have that much hash on hand at one time? Geez. Who said anything about smoking AT work? If friend and I go partying and he gets drunk and I get high, which one of us will be more "on the ball" at 7am the next day? Where do these kids get the money to buy beer or vodka?

Men have historically been reluctant to go to the doctor or get medical tests. This is changing as men are becoming more aware of their health in general. This comment: "why is it that women always seem to resort to using breasts whenever they want to achieve something?" is pathetic and utterly uncalled for. My mother had breast cancer. It certainly wasn't about her breasts as sex toys. It was about her life. Perhaps men don't get their prostrates checked because they are afraid they will "enjoy" the doctor prodding around up there. (I don't mean that, but tit for tat, keng333) Have you been checked? Are you man enough to let the doctor prod around without losing your masculinity? Doubtful, you'd probably rather die first.

Ack! You've never farmed. It is work work work work work. There are no "two weeks off" to go to the cabin every summer. There is no extended group medical/dental. There is just work work work with little or no thanks from the rest of the country. (I'm talking about the family run farm, not the conglomerate owned by shareholders). You go out there in the middle of the night in the pouring rain, sleet, hail, snowstorm and help those heifers birth their calves so you can eat prime rib. You go out there the day after a rain storm and see how many acres of alphalpha are saleable. Sure there is insurance, but once you lose a buyer they don't come back. Farming is a ton of work and family farms deserve our thanks. Thank you farmers for the turkey I am about to put in the oven. Thank you for the potatoes I will peel later, thank you for the yams and the carrots and the big old pumpkin. THANK YOU! Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Hey Kengs333, why not type out your "thanks". No one is stopping you. I thought it was beautiful (thanks Posit) and saved it. Makes more sense to thank our "mother" than an absent "father"....

if there is a curfew for kids... and kids are just as responsible for their actions as adults... shouldn't the curfew be extended to adults as well? There is a reason that there is a difference between adult and juvenile court. Kids are not 100% responsible for their actions and can be "forgiven" (hence the anomoly of the sealed juvenile record). Is she an adult or a child? The officer was patient in the beginning but eventually lost his cool. Are police officers not trained in how NOT to lose their cool in difficult situations?

no it's not if it's truuuue /sarcasm. Here are some more wonderful generalizations. Any of you fit in these categories?... no? ...but you MUST fit into at least ONE category! Or else all these are false! LOL All jews are money grubbers. All blacks are criminals Blondes are dumb white women are easy lays Men can't raise children Oriental kids are smarter than others all tall people are good at basketball Christians are frothing at the mouth for "Ameggedon" women can't drive very well oriental women are subservient my friend in Iran (gasp a muslim!) is not a "sneaky bugger", and Betsy is not frothing over Armageddon... but all tall people ARE good at basketball aren't they??

Therefore if it were legal the person would not be a victim... If pot were regulated and grown legally there would be no pot grow op rivalries and ergo no criminals, no people killed. No one has ever overdosed on marijuana. Ever. When I was a kid my friend and I got into my parents' vodka. Drank the whole damn 26'er. I puked for hours and am damn lucky I didn't die. Her and I, couple years later found my mom's stash of weed. Not only did I not get near death, but I didn't puke or anything! Just got a serious case of the giggles... LOL again, if pot were regulated and grown legally there would be no pot grow op rivalries and ergo no criminals, no people killed. again, if the substance were legal no one would be fighting over it, fronting it, or whatever. You ever go to the liquor store and get a pack of beer fronted to you? Pot "induced" crime does not occur from smoking it, but from the fact that it is illegal to grow or sell it. The harm does not come from the substance itself. This is just an insult levelled so you will feel justified in your position against pot. If you do not like how pot affects you when you smoke it, don't partake of it. Why would you deny others the opportunity to legally partake in a substance they enjoy? A substance, I might add, that is no more harmful than the butter you spread on your bagel in the morning. The only reason criminals are involved in the marijuana business is because the government isn't. Legalize it, regulate it, tax it. Anything less is pandering to folks who still believe the propaganda from the 1950's that pot is an "evil" weed. Old bold.... people who smoke pot are not unintelligent or unemployed or "addled". Most are just regular folk who would rather have a little spliff after work than a glass of wine. We are not all sitting in basements listening to Black Sabbath. LOL

I know exactly what it's like to have an abortion. I had two. One when I was 14 years old. One when I was 32. I am in no way ashamed or sad because of it. It was the right thing to do in both cases. I also know exactly what it's like to have a child. I have a son, born when I was 28. Spontaneous abortions (miscarriages) happen all the time. Yet no one is condeming nature for doing the right thing. And you men, no matter how many children you have seen your wives birth, you cannot possibly know what it is like. For all your input... LOL... your "input" could have ended up in the toilet that day... I shake my head when I see it's the same people who condemn single mothers for being single mothers yet would deny them the option of NOT being single mothers.