Michael Hardner

The nature of this story also leads me to think that the school board new that a political point was being made [by the girl] . They're hyper-aware of controversy, these people, and probably hoped to quell it before it started.

Don't confuse GTA, City of Toronto and Metro Toronto. Metro Toronto doesn't exist anymore - it was amalgamated into the City of Toronto comprising the old cities of Toronto, York, North York, Etobicoke, and the borough of East York. I may have left something out there but I don't think so. GTA is 'Greater Toronto Area' which means exactly what it says. I would say that "cities" such as Mississuga would be included as they're essentially suburbs, but not cities such as Hamilton, Barrie and Oshawa as they were/are large centres on their own. Any survey that puts Toronto so high on the list of biggest cities in NA must be counting some of the large suburbs in there...

She should be allowed to mention God, of course. If the school was anticipating that this speech was going to spoil the ceremony (ie. too heavy-handed, too controversial etc.) then they should have taken the opportunity to discuss it with the girl beforehand. They had a chance to do that, but it appears that they didn't do it.

Of course decentralization, and more provincial powers play well in Quebec, but what about the question of money ? At some point, Harper is going to reduce the amount of transfer payments, isn't he ? Doesn't everybody think this has to happen at some point ? Will Quebec still 'like' him then ?

I would say it would include Burlington, Mississauga, Toronto, Brampton, Richmond Hill, Vaughn, Pickering, Ajax, Whitby... maybe even Oshawa.

Auguste: Just a note here - I believe that publicity isn't usually counted in the film's "budget". The budget usually includes the costs to make the film - production, and post production costs - only.

Is this some kind of international law or are you speaking of a particular nation here ? It sounds like you're talking about Canada, so perhaps you could reference the specific law and what exactly they're not allowed to discuss. Government officials meet with individuals and groups all the time to discuss policy, so I don't know what you refer to here.

He was jailed indefinitely for terrorism in S. Africa, when he was commander-in-chief of a group known as Umkhonto we Sizwe. While he was in prison, the group committed acts of violence and sabotage including the car-bombing of a bar called Magoo's in Durban, and an attack on a nuclear plant. After he was released, he became president of the reconciled South Africa. His release is commonly associated with the end of Apartheid in SA, one of the most reviled and racist social programs in history. Terrorist or Freedom Fighter ? For those of you who want to put everything down in a government policy, now be aware that there's no way to codify morality. And if you appoint someone to make moral judgements on your behalf, be aware that you won't agree with them all the time.

Then make it happen. You can do your community a great service. Get a copy of the video, post it on the 'net, then phone City TV and give them the link. My opinion is that there's more laziness out there than bias. The media is only as bad/good as we allow it to be.

The discussion is drifting, but I agree with the earlier posts that pointed out that Harper's statement is non-denominational, and would be welcomed by practicing people of most faiths. The idea that Harper is GWB's idealogical twin is such a lazy argument. The CPC is to the left of the Democrats on many issues, social-wise. I think that it's a shame that such an innocuous and positive statement would be the subject of so much debate. We seem to spend more time arguing symbols and signifiers than actual policy.

Well, I understand your angle on this argument, but I'm used to hearing it from liberals not conservatives like you. When does the 'protect the people from themselves' argument 'kick in' for you ? I've always been leery of this argument when leftists use it, as it has a built-in elitism. In the past I've heard it used to argue for censorship, banning cigarettes, banning gambling. Now you seem to be using to protect people from an addictive fundamentalist religion.

Enskat: Are you saying this is happening and not being reported ? I urge you to record these incidents and take them to the press. If this is true, you'll get your story. I was in the local area, and my take is that the main bias from the Toronto press is they don't want to hear about this.

It would be nice if political discussions could move forward without all these tertiary characters that pop up. Ms. Sheehan has every right to mourn and to be upset, and her son had a right to disagree with the war, but he had already signed his life away by enlisting. America has a volunteer army. I'm glad that the peace movement was successful in stopping the draft, but can we really expect a military to function by allowing soldiers to de-conscript ? I don't think so. I'm a pacifist, so I wouldn't enlist. What kind of pacifist enlists anyway ? I'm sorry the lad is dead, but we can redesign the way all of society works around sad stories. The military machine will be dismantled eventually, just not this way.

Thanks for the clarity, Auguste. Now, every here is aware that Nelson Mandela wouldn't have been allowed into Canada under the immigration act, right ? He was jailed for an act of terrorism against South Africa. So if every terrorist is evil, then there are no freedom fighters.

If they promise that they will be better, then they should be held to a higher standard. It seems to me that there has been criticism from conservative quarters in the past about the Liberals' poor behavior in the house. But there doesn't seem to be the same level of concern for CPC members in the house. Perhaps my memory fails me.

Actually, they sort of are if my first year law course is to be lieved. You don't seem to understand the Sharia law initiative that was made - it was a programme to offer religious mediation if all parties consented only, and not for criminal cases obviously.

Very good points, Kimmy. I think that many people get their ideas about Canada's justice system from US television. Killjoy made some good points, but unfortunately he wrapped them in a veil of insult and derision.

You get commercials on CBC radio ??? I think you might be mistaken. Except that no one is showing intercourse, gay or straight, on public airwaves. As Riverwind (I think it was) posted, we don't get a veto on where our tax money is spent. It's fine to voice your views on this, but you have to accept that your views are marginal so you probably won't get your way. As I have posted, the Harper government has indicated it will continue to support the CBC.

McQueen - again, you pepper your arguments with insults. It's not helpful. Ms. Oda, the Minister of Culture, recently reaffirmed the government's commitment to the CBC, so it appears it's not going anywhere for a long time.

Drea - The insults don't help the debate at all. McQueen - The Sharia law change was made in Ontario to accomodate a general movement towards adding more culture-based mediation towards all religions. ( There was a Jewish process in place first. ) What you seem to be advocating is unconstitutional, and quite unsupportable politically.

All of this is trolling, doesn't kick off any kind of discussion and was probably copied from somewhere.

Hear, hear. This is not a democracy, but a benevolant dictatorship. MapleLeaf has thrived and is the only board with such open dialogue and a left/right balance.

The present government has given many indications that they will continue as the last one did, so we might consider using the term 'the government' instead of 'the previous government'.

You'd get the same fight as if you tried to ban them outright. I don't think running it is as much of a problem as building it was. Politicians are good at talking, bad at building.

To follow your analogy, Argus, you're beginning with an assumption that the brand of fridge is to blame. Perhaps there are only three companies that supply refrigerator motors to all brands and one company is causing all of the problems, or perhaps its the wiring. You've started with the assumption that the brand (ie. religion) is the problem, and that's incorrect. As far as I know, there's no causitive link between someone's religion and their tendency towards violence.