gc1765

Even an empty lot in Vancouver will cost you about a million bucks.

Kimmy, I don't think you understand what I am trying to say here. I have always said that immigrants should obey the law. I don't think anyone would argue against that. My point is there are many people here who think that immigrants should go beyond simply obeying the law, but don't give concrete examples of what they mean by adapting. I know you are probably not one of those people, but I was hoping that someone...anyone could explain to me what they mean when they say that immigrants should assimilate into our culture, or why multiculturalism is a bad thing. Should we outlaw sushi? Should we force everyone to wear a maple leafs jersey (or flames, canucks etc.) while watching Hockey Night in Canada while drinking Molson Canadian and eating poutine?? Seriously, someone give me an example. The best I've heard so far is not to lobby for Sharia law, so I'll change my requirements: Immigrants should obey the law, speak one official language and not lobby for sharia law (which would be illegal anyways). Anything else? What I think you don't understand is that I'm not here to argue that every immigrant is adapting to our culture and obeying the law. I am asking, what, above and beyond obeying the law, some people here expect of immigrants with respect to assimilation. I wish I could, but I honestly can't without understanding what people expect from immigrants other than speaking an official language and obeying the law.

So, then Pat Robertson is trying to "talibanize" schools? He seems to fit that description.

The problem is that the world "Taliban" is associated with support for terrorism, taking away women's rights, and strict Sharia law. Trying to compare that with the building of a few sinks is ridiculous, IMO.

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jbg, you are one of the smartest posters here, don't make yourself look less intelligent by comments like this. note: if you want to edit your post, I'll edit mine as well and we can pretend the whole thing never happened.

I think Christians should be free to display "Merry Christmas", just as Jews should be free to display "Happy Hanukkah", Muslims be free to display "Happy Ramadan" and Satanists be allowed to display "Satan loves you", etc... In other words, this has nothing to do with other cultures adapting?

I agree to all of that, as I have said before. How so? I said everyone should obey the law. The examples you provide are examples of people breaking the law (or at the very least, things that should be against the law). The only exception is the story about Muslims suing over the cartoons. However, frivolous lawsuits are hardly exclusive to Muslims. Still waiting to hear an example that does not involve breaking the law... edit: they don't even have to be real examples, hypotheticals would work too.

Sure, as soon as you can give me some examples of the type of adapting other cultures should do (aside from following the law and speaking one official language - something that I have said many times). I have wondered for quite some time what people meant when they said that other cultures should "adapt" (I even considered starting a thread on it), so I'd like to open this question up to anyone who thinks they have an answer.

I wonder if some of those same people are upset that they have to pay more for wheelchair accessible washrooms as well?

I agree with you...however, I'm sure those cultures feel the same way about our culture as we do about theirs.

I'm sure other cultures are saying the exact same thing.

Fair enough, but some people can have a puff or two without being too high. Just as some people can have a beer without feeling too drunk, while other people I know get pretty drunk off of one drink. Maybe next time try half a puff and see what happens?

Not true at all. Back when I used to smoke, I would often only have a puff or two to relax, which is similar to the feeling I get after 1 beer.

You make some good points, and it's hard for me to disagree with them. In fact, interestingly enough, I think you made the best argument against yourself:

I assume you are both Native Americans (aboriginals)?

Why should they adapt to your culture, why shouldn't you adapt to theirs?

I don't know about U. of Michigan, but at my University, anyone who wants to start a "club" can do so and get money from the University for it. There are several Christian/Jewish clubs. Not to mention that students have to pay for athletes, scholarships and a variety of other programs. I'm not saying it's right, but I suppose if it's a big deal then people could always choose another school?

If they (the criminals) have the money, they should pay the victim...they should also pay the taxpayer for the cost of their trial etc...

Probably the same person who is the victim of me smoking pot ....way back when I actually used to smoke the stuff

A temporary solution might be that before you go to post a long reply, highlight your post and right-click on copy. Even if you get logged out, you should be able to paste your reply again. You could also copy and paste it into another program such as Word.

There is another good article Here . I applaud his efforts, especially considering that he is retiring from politics and thus is not doing this for "political reasons". I'm sure he could make a lot more money if he went back into business.

I realize that, I was just pointing out how ridiculous it sounds.

The advantages would be that we wouldn't be arresting people who are not really doing any harm to anyone else, as well as the decrease in cost of enforcing the ban on marijuana. The only disadvantage would be increased usage, but consenting adults should be able to make that decision for themselves. If they want to use it, that's their choice. It's not as if we will see a huge increase either. People who are going to smoke pot on a daily basis do so already. The increase in usage will likely be for social reasons (i.e. on weekends), and may quite possibly lead to less alcohol use, which would be a good thing. ------------------------------------------------------------- Anyways, if the U.S. doesn't want marijuana to be legal in Canada because of smuggling, how about they make guns illegal so that they don't get smuggled into Canada? If I had the choice between marijuana being smuggled into my country, or guns being smuggled, I'd choose marijuana any day.

Some good points...but there is no doubt that many people do die in Africa from lack of money, either from starvation or from malaria (link)