Wilber

No, I think you sit on your ass in Canada listening to people who are sitting on their asses in North America. And no.

Unless they're Liberal. No. Anyone. Including themselves evidently.

One thing about using the RCMP as a municipal force is that you don't get people with local knowledge in your police force until they have been there for some time and there is no guarantee that they will be there for a long time. This isn't a knock on the officers, it's just the way it is. Around 15 years ago the municipalities of Matsqui and Abbotsford amalgamated. Even though Matsqui was quite a bit larger and had its own police force, the new city was named Abbotsford. Abbotsford used the RCMP but the decision was made to keep an independent force called the Abbotsford Police. Quite a few of the old Abbotsford RCMP detachment who were eligible for retirement took it and joined the Abbotsford Force.

Yikes, what an assumption. We're talking polititians here remember.

What an incredibly idiotic thing to say. He is only there getting shot at, just like Frisk, Layton and you, right. What an incredibly moronic thing to say. Being shot at in Afghanistan does not automaticallygive you complete insight into the best social and political policies there. But sitting on your ass in Canada listening to people who are sitting on their asses in North America does.

First I heard. The difference was Manning made sense.

What an incredibly idiotic thing to say. He is only there getting shot at, just like Frisk, Layton and you, right. Talk about friendly fire, man you come out with some ____ ass stuff. Love the way you support the troops.

I defend them against politicians who use them as political fodder. Unfortunately using the military as political fodder is part of the make up most people with political agendas, regardless of their political leanings.

Frist is certainly entitled to an opinion and he should say what he thinks but what makes him an expert on Afghanistan or the Taliban?

I will if you will.

Never knew the Israelis were in Afghanistan, when was that? We don't have any helicopters, at least not of the gunship variety. We do have tanks and they can do things that helicopters cannot.

Yeah.....okay....if you say so. I certainly won't ask who brought up the BMG to Toronto.....you must know I'm sure..... I don't who owns the Panasonic theater but Panasonic is a Japanese company I believe. Not Canadian but certainly not American. I can't speak for Toronto but most productions that come to Vancouver are brought here by Canadian and often local promoters. Many are American productions, some are successful and some are not. I didn't start this thread and title it: And finish it with:

Bull, there was a pointed comparison between Toronto "tastes" and the US. That was the whole point of the thread. If banal crap is being foisted on Canadians it is being done by Canadians, brought to Canadian theaters by Canadians. Where it originated is immaterial. If you had said, I went to see BMG last night and thought it sucked, I might be interested in knowing why but I see no indication that you have actually seen it or any of the other shows you refer to. If so, what is your opinion of them worth? My kids always used to say to me about the latest pop hit, isn't that a great song dad? I'd often tell them that if they are still playing it 30 years from now it is a great song, because I remember that for every tune that is still played from the 50's, 60's and 70's, there were a hundred "hits" that were crap and have never been heard of since. The present generation is no different.

You hear some or all of this on a daily basis. Many Canadians cannot seem to define themselves in a way that is to a large degree "not American". Why else would someone start a thread like this which has no other purpose than to crow about Toronto's supposed cultural superiority over those Americans? Among other things Americans have also brought us jazz, the blues and rock and roll. Is this not also pop culture?

Just wondered why they were being used as an opportunity to take a shot at the US. Like the US is the only country that ever produces and markets junk.

London and Berlin are well north of Toronto. They were liked in London? How far the Empire has fallen.... I've never seen them except for some of the TV commercials they have done. Pehaps it is because London is large enough and cosmopolitan enough to cater to many tastes and Toronto is not.

Nothing justifies it morally, its a matter of what an individual's conscience can justify to themselves. Don't expect others to agree or sympathize.

They keep telling us they believe in what they are doing over there. You don't. How is that support?

They are involved in local policing because some municipalities think it is easier to rent police than have departments of their own. BC had a provincial police many years ago and there are rumours that they may go that way again. There is far more integration between municipal departments than there used to be and if there are any roadblocks to co-operation, they usually come from RCMP brass, not the rank and file. Hence the talk of returning to a provincial force.

I don't think it's necessarily "a great deal" unless the money is actually used for something useful. Borrowing money just because the interest rate is low doesn't seem to make a lot of sense... -k Your right Kimmy, money shouldn't be spent until it's useful. I'm not advocating deficit budgets. But Canadians are holding larger and larger amounts of debt and not investing. Bit of a crisis. Cut taxes, and let Canadians pay off their debt at anywhere from 6-20% then have them pay of 4% debt through their taxes. Would you pay your 18.5% Mastercard or your 4% government debt first? Obvious answer, let's give that money to people that need it... everyone. Cut them taxes. View public debt as a personal debt of your own, which it is (you pay it through your taxes)... then the concept that I'm (and August, though his view is different) suggesting makes alot more sense. Anyone who is carrying a credit card balance when they could pay it off with a line of credit isn't smart enough to pay it off. While I think this surplus should be used on the debt, I also think governments need to be more honest and accurate when it comes to budget forcasts. Large surpluses are just a form of over taxation but I am never upset when I see a modest surplus.

There is a difference between loosing the support of the government and not knowing whether you have it. I think this Government is doing fine for the most part. My problem is with part of this Parliament. They are given a chance to vote on something yet can do nothing but whine about it and complain they are being bullied.

Using your example, you only refer to the possible monetary and career costs to you personally. You alone can balance that against going through the rest of your life knowing you allowed someone to die because of them. No one can do that for you. We have a similar moral dilemma when it comes to what society is willing to spend but the burden must be shared by us all. People who haul out the old canard " if it only saves one life it will be worth it" are dangerous to all of us because they are not really interested in saving lives but justifying their own prejudices or advancing their own agendas. The gun registry is a good example because the phrase was and is, often used by those promoting it. One billion to save one life is worth it. Does that make sense to anyone? If the entire national debt had been put into health care and the net result was to save 500 lives, would the majority of us think that represented good value for the amount of money spent? I think not.

Who would enforce this law and what force would they use to do it? You would have to go to war in order to enforce it. Something like the system we have already.

Free trade with some exceptions. Some of those exceptions were at Canada's insistence. Softwood lumber was one of the things excluded but I don't know who's idea it was.

What's your point? If it were only people like you he was refering to, his statement was 100% correct. The troops now know that they have this government's (at least) backing till 2009. That is what I call support.