blueblood

yup the whole appointed arm of government is a double standard in democracy, I believe it should either be elected or abolished. But if this were to happen i'd have to suggest removing partisan politics in the House of Commons as I feel it undermines democracy, sure we get to pick which "tyranny" we want for an election cycle, but what about true democracy where it's a representative going to Ottawa to represent his ridings views in making laws. I believe that this would be best as not everyone in the Tory and Grit parties agrees 100% with party policy.

Hah WRONG!!! I only need to point out the diamond industry. De Beers started mining in South Africa 100 plus years ago, diamonds as you know are hard and good for cutting, plus they disperse/refract light very well. Anyhoo with the large surplus of diamonds in South Africa there was a need to market them, and some genius at De Beers said why not make diamonds the symbol of love, of course women as they are caught onto this like wild fire and the rest they say is history. This is straight out of a university course to boot. I wouldn't say All of them are frauds, i'd say 95%. For example there is a 22 year old driller from town. He has a jacked up 06 F-150 with 33" Mickey Thompsons with Rims, that's a 60 grand truck and from what i've seen from his bank statements he's in no financial trouble. Every time I buy some machinery it's a 5 year loan for around 100 large. Paid off every time, mind you my truck is 10 years old. Go to a night club and you will see women that compete with women in ads, that I can assure you of.

You're wacked man. Lots of chicks dig the rugged "who gives a shit" look - as long as you don't smell like crap and take care of your body. In fact I read somewhere that women who are ovulating tend to be more attracted to men with "manly" features like facial hair or broad shoulders....nothing at all to do with clothing. Being able to clean-up nice never hurts - but personally I think women like the "cleaned up" look alot more when they know there's a "man" (ie. not a priss) underneath - I've had a lot of women tell me exactly that. Books are one thing, experiences are another. You go to a night club dressed like I said and tell me if you pick up what you want or you have to settle or you get flat out burned. I'm sorry but I'm going to assume that those women who talked to you are taking you for a ride. It's a shame as far as both male and female go to have to spend all sorts of money on appearances, females who wear a hoores uniform just to get guys to notice them and guys having to look like an abercrombie & fitch model so they won't get burned, this is BS and everyone knows it.

Now from a straight guys perspective, I think all of society is obsessed with beauty. I can assure you 100% that if a straight guy went into the bar wearing a white T-shirt from a beer case, faded blue jeans, a John Deere hat, steel toe boots, no cologne, and hasn't shaved in a day or two isn't going to pick up in the bar no matter how naturally good looking he is, trust me. I could care less if the girl dressed the same way too. The guy has to dress nice too, and I think its BS a person shouldn't have to spend piles of money on their appearance. From what I've seen and this is pure speculation, a woman is more driven by a guy who flaunts himself (starting with spending all sorts of money on appearance) and who patronizes them. I only go to country dances now because the night clubs just make me sick.

CTV Any thoughts?

The percentage of "losers" was even higher following the January, 2006 election. So-con Harper won the right to govern with a mere 36% of the vote. The losers were the 64% of Canadians who voted for parties to the left of CPC, i.e., the Liberals, NDP, BQ and Greens. Not really.. Harper only won a minority government with his 36% of the vote. He doesn't have the power to pass any legislation he sees fit, like a dictator. Chretien...3 majorities...only received 38% to 42% of the vote. Good, let's make sure that Harper doesn't get another 2% or he'll pass legislation like a dictator. Just like Chretien? Remember a dictator from both sides is equally as scary...

Too bad it'll be snowing in August before a western canadian farmer votes for the liberal party, what Steve and Chuckie did is a mere pittance to what the Liberals have done

Why are you barbaric? If I saw you assaulting someone in that manner, I might intervene to stop you from continuing. It is non-sensical to be barbaric. Let's make the situation a little more pointed -- bb doesn't beat the man once he's down, but during the fight he has a choice: punch the assailant in the jaw, or crack his kneecap with a kick. If bb choses the kick, can the now crippled assailant reasonably complain the he should have punched him in the jaw instead? I was saying that if i was mugged at say knife point and I feel my life is in danger, if i just punch him out and he gets knocked over and I walk away, he can knife me in the back, so I feel it is in my interest of self defence to incapacitate him whether it be knocking him unconcious or knee capping him, threat neutralized. If it was just a bar fight, well I just punch the guy out and thats the end of it.

grain farming

The Liberals probably have far more anti SSM supporters than any party. I refer you to the voting demographic of their last election. I don't know if I agree statistically, but I see where your coming from. I think we'll see the most vocal naysaying of these issues coming from the Muslims in no time. hah, then they will probly repeal it because we'd be offending them

Because it's expensive and we don't live in Calgary? I don't think a basketball is expensive, i don't think playing tag costs money too, sorry that's society/culture...

It's a big problem. I still think university is worth something, if you do something with it. Most kids in school think that a degree is a ticket to money, which it's obviously not. It's a competitive advantage. Now I work (while going to school) in a fair strong job market, especially in Calgary, in a very strong field. As a professional in this, I make half of what some of my friends on the rigs make without an education. And I'm making pretty damned good cash for a young student, considerably above the national average for a university educated person twice my age. This is a problem. Why bother even finishing high school? And about needing high school... it's not a requirement in some places, especially with the small operators where strong arms and the ability to be pushed around is all you need. The H2S alive course is a joke and could be passed by a ten year old. I had to take it when doing some field work with a previous employer. I guess it's a bigger issue in Alberta... what are these people to do when oil and gas slows? We're going to have a social welfare situation like none other. In Ontario, my question is what the hell are these drop outs doing anyways? Living at home doing nothing? Very likely. I can hear you on that when oil and gas slows, a lot of the young people back home would be ruined if that happened. this is an urban vs. rural issue again, in the sticks a kid could work on a farm and learn the ropes from it without grade 12, a kid could go work in the bush and do all right, a kid could go work in the tire shop and be fine, can go work in a mine and be fine, they don't pay well but the cost of living in small town Canada offsets that. I believe the rural economy needs a significant boost which would help out the cities by taking the pressure off of them, give value back to getting a degree and grade 12 by providing employment for those who don't "need" it.

No one eats right, I bet you'd be hard pressed to find anyone that eats a 'perfect' diet. Video games are a major part of the problem. What are kids doing instead of playing outside? Playing video games. It's a problem. I can't blame them, theres nothing else to do. Mom and dad both have to work to pay off the house and live, so don't teach kids about being active, PE programs in school are a joke. I've lived in the city for a bit and almost lost my mind. I think it's more of a culture thing of today. I can remember the stories of back in the day farmers shutting her down every week to play baseball where EVERYONE played, um everyone going to dances/socials (bars/clubs didn't exist) basically nobody sat around and did nothing, now I look at high school kids even in small town Canada there is a weight problem. I don't think the government itself can solve a dilemna like this or environmental problems, it is our fault as a society and we need to clean it up. I think going back to a small town mentallity will help out the country as a whole.

I'm pretty sure you need your grade 12 to work on the rigs plus you need to pass an H2S test. Prior to this year a person could shoot up the ranks pretty quick, this one guy I know went straight out of high school and was a driller by the time he's 22, but he admits he's sick of the lifestyle out there and plans to attend post secondary education. Imagine going to school and your buddy shows up with a jacked up 60 grand truck and spends hundreds of dollars in the bar that night... I seriously don't think school is the be all and end all, that's just society blabbing to us, I'd like to go to the days when getting your grade 12 gave you a decent job, a university degree was worth something, and if you dropped out of school it wasn't the end of the world.

Take the example of telephones. I have a landline with Bell but I make no long distance calls through Bell. I don't know what monopoly or duopoly you are referring to. In Montreal, I have four or five potential wires coming into my house, several wireless telephone alternatives and any number of satellite TV possibilities. The city of Toronto (yes! a municipal government!) is setting up a wireless Internet network for the downtown.This is an industry where federal government regulators have no place. Face it, governments may have a role to play in an economy but broadly regulating private telecommunications firms is not one of them. Nowadays, people who want governments to nationalize or direct major industries exist only on university campuses, on Internet forums or in Cuba. There is a monopoly in small town Canada, for example i only get MTS for landlines, as do everyone else in town. We don't get Telus or Bell or Rogers or whatever, if this goes through MTS has me hooped. Just like the star choice/bell duopoly, a person has to pay a pile of money for crap.

What else is new

Well I guess we will ahev to wait for Spring to see how poorly educated you are on the subject. I'm afraid you'll have to wait a couple of years. I don't think that the big companies will be able to deal with the little guys by the spring. Put this in your 2009 calendar and when you get there note that there are just 2 (3 max) suppliers of local phone service and that their prices are higher than today (in real $). What about in rural Canada where there is only 1 provider... I'm screwed

I think a person has every right to defend themselves by any means they see fit. the problem I believe lies in on the definition of the line where you have defended yourself to the point where you are commiting assault yourself. For me and I do things harshly, if I was in the city and some guy tried mugging me, I would pound him to a pulp and my definition of incapacitating him would be him not being able to walk, I believe that even though I'd punch him out he's still a threat, and if he can't walk he's not much of a threat, that's my definition and it is I can assure you not the definition of most other people which can make one hell of a mess in court. As for the guy in the dirty W with the shotgun. He does in fact have a right to defend himself, and he has somewhat of a defence, a person can impersonate an officer. The hole in his defence would be the large amount of police cruisers, and the sirens/cherries turning his living room into a night club. He knew the cops were there. I think the cops did the wrong thing. If that house was dangerous like that, it should have been gassed and the dogs should have been let in first. CA makes the good point about some guy impersonating a cop, it is entirely possible. Whats worse is proper procedure when an officer comes to a house is that he/she is supposed to stand to the side of a door when they knock and until it opens when coming to the house to make sure that they don't get shot through the door. This makes IDing the cop that much harder. I guess look at it this way, if a cop is standing to the side of a door in case they could get shot, the homeowner should take a similar precaution in case it is someone who might commit a home invasion.

Clearly if you can ensure that women stay out of politics in the current system, you can also ensure that there are more women in politics under the current system. I don't see how the number of female MPs relates to proportional representation - or that the 4:1 men:women ratio can be explained by it. Maybe women see Belinda Stronach and think that they don't want the media to describe their clothing as the most important thing about them and they don't want to be blamed for everything that men can get away with without any notice. Shouldn't men look at male politicians and the corruption and scandal men are involved in and decide to leave politics to women? What did Bernier do to be in parliament? He didn't even run. There doesn't need to be proportional representation, just good old fashioned competition. If a woman is better than the guy, she should get party nomination and if she's a better choice of a candidate then get elected. If the guy is better, then he should win, it's all about choice, it's simple. Maybe women aren't in politics because they might just not want to for whatever reason, so what. Look at it this way, should a male MP/candidate whose doing a good job lose his spot for someone just because she's a woman? This affirmative action BS is crippling our country and this culture of being penalized because you work hard to better yourself from others has got to stop. Getting elected in politics is a bitter competition and if you don't stack up your not in. So women just don't want to get ahead - they are stupid and lack ambition. Or they do want to get ahead - but they are stupid and therefore unelectable. Come out and say it outloud. Hahahahahahaha!!!! try reading my post, I did not once say anybody was stupid. There are women MPs in Ottawa because they were better than their opponents. A woman might not want to get into politics for the same reason I don't want to work in an office building, ITS NOT FOR ME!! Like I say the best person for the best job, and you saying that the male/female ratio in parliament is skewed because of sexism is laughable, maybe it's due to simple competition and the more qualified person won, live with it.

Clearly if you can ensure that women stay out of politics in the current system, you can also ensure that there are more women in politics under the current system. I don't see how the number of female MPs relates to proportional representation - or that the 4:1 men:women ratio can be explained by it. Maybe women see Belinda Stronach and think that they don't want the media to describe their clothing as the most important thing about them and they don't want to be blamed for everything that men can get away with without any notice. Shouldn't men look at male politicians and the corruption and scandal men are involved in and decide to leave politics to women? What did Bernier do to be in parliament? He didn't even run. There doesn't need to be proportional representation, just good old fashioned competition. If a woman is better than the guy, she should get party nomination and if she's a better choice of a candidate then get elected. If the guy is better, then he should win, it's all about choice, it's simple. Maybe women aren't in politics because they might just not want to for whatever reason, so what. Look at it this way, should a male MP/candidate whose doing a good job lose his spot for someone just because she's a woman? This affirmative action BS is crippling our country and this culture of being penalized because you work hard to better yourself from others has got to stop. Getting elected in politics is a bitter competition and if you don't stack up your not in.

Theres more to western canada than farms, In western Canada especially in the non-city ridings the tories won be huge landslides, they can write off the farmer vote and still win (smells like Liberal tactics to me) so it looks like the wheat board might be history...

The CWB is not a crown corporation but is a farmer's organizations that is controlled by farmers. So why does Steve and Chuckie think they can destroy the selling desk of the western canadian grain farmer where the farmer gets the benefits and not the big companies? Uh big companies get big enough benefits as it is, they could care less if the wheat board stayed or not, those big companies got me and other ag producers hooped proof

Just like that rig manufacturing plant back home where the NDP wouldn't cough up the cash to help build it, our town could have almost doubled in size, sigh.

I am in 100% agreement Just make sure that those going through puberty working on the farm should be watched like a hawk, they'd be too dangerous!!! Yah they should go out in the world and work and figure out what they want to do instead of being thrust immediately into school, get the partying and bar life out of them before settling down and going to school

This mob actually handed out fair justice in this case, they handled it correctly and efficiently. Sometimes when the local police fail to provide protection we must protect ourselves, nothing wrong with being self reliant. Don't get me wrong, if a mob burns down a guys house cause he's a minority then the mob should go to jail for sure. This wasn't decided in religious vigor, that town probably had very little to no crime before those crack dealers became a scourge on their community, are you a scourge on your community, im thinking not. If you are I feel sorry for you and the mob can burn if it wants to. Just because he swore to uphold the law doesn't mean squat. The townspeople knew that running a crack house and dealing drugs was wrong, why do we need a judge to determine that. Im sorry my respect for judges opinions went out the window when the judge from Kwebeck let the pedophile/child porn guy off with a slap on the wrist saying it was "too harsh" had he lived in a small town, he might not have engaged in that in the first place and if he was caught by the townspeople then who knows... That everyone is equal but some are more equal than others liberal BS just doesn't fly.