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Just curious but who did you have in mind exactly, could you be more specific and maybe cite some sources? As far as I'm concerned the current conservative gov't is far more honest and ethicsl then anything we've seen in the last 13 years. It was the liberal gov't who wanted to dominate and IMO actually thought they had the 'divine right of kings' to rule. Harper has not 'fought against health care' all his career, what he has wanted is some change and accountability within the act. Continuing to whine and bleat about not getting enough in handouts is typical of socialist gimme more, mentality, let others pay the piper.

Agreed, although Harper is not in absolute lockstep with Bush as the press and leftwing would have us believe. That is mostly left wing propaganda, and the liberals playing on the hatred for Bush as leverage. The Conservative government is now well into its term and is benefitting as much from the ineffectiveness of the Liberal opposition as from its own merits. It is also refreshing to have a leader and a (deputy leader) with some honesty and a firm stance. In fact, until the Liberals were elected in 1993, Canada usually took "a moderately pro-Israel stance," according to David Bercuson, a military historian at the University of Calgary. It is basically the last Liberal gov't which shifted Canada's position to a 'sitting on the fence' lets wait and see what the polls say. "

I don't see a separate thread on media bias, I will repost some links later to confirm this. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3286880,00.html Israeli war deaths go largely unnoticed Hours after mother and two daughters are killed in Hizbullah rocket attack, media outlets around world fail to report deaths; meanwhile, British press continues anti-Israel tirade Yaakov Lappin Media bias? Hours after 60-year-old Fadia Jumaa and her two daughters, Samira, 31, and Sultana, 33, were killed by a Hizbullah rocket attack on their home in the Israeli-Bedouin village of Arab al-Aramshe, the international media has so far largely ignored their deaths. Reuters was alone among non-Israeli media outlets to report the deaths, according to a Google news search, a number of hours after the first reports of the attack surfaced. The lack of coverage of the Israeli civilian war casualties stands in marked contrast to the swift response by many sections of the international media to reported Lebanese casualties. Meanwhile, the British press, which has produced some of the most venomous anti-Israel coverage during the war, has continued its tirade against Israel. Inaccuracies An article in the London-based Guardian, entitled "Militants merge with mainstream ," argues that Hizbullah has gained widespread, cross-religious support in the Arab world, and uses terms such as "the Qana massacre" to explain the apparent newfound unity. The article argues that Sunnis and Shiites have come together in their backing of Hizbullah: "Whatever qualms Arabs once had about Hizbullah

I posted some urls to back this up yesterday, York University is another U with problems. While I don't think that disagreeing with Israel's policies are anti semitic, antisemitism seems to be on the rise. There is an article here on Canadian anti semitism. http://www.jcpa.org/phas/phas-prutschi-f04.htm This article was written in 2003 but I'll wager that those figures are up now. http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/stor...me=&no_ads= Audit finds anti-Semitism rising across Canada Updated Thu. Mar. 6 2003 11:31 PM ET CTV.ca News Staff Violence, harassment and vandalism against Jews was up more than 60 per cent in 2002 compared to the previous year, B'nai Brith said Thursday in its annual audit of anti-Semitic incidents. "The findings of the 2002 audit are alarming," Rochelle Wilner, president of B'nai Brith Canada, said in a news release.

Agreed, although Harper is not in absolute lockstep with Bush as the press and leftwing would have us believe. That is mostly left wing propaganda, and the liberals playing on the hatred for Bush as leverage. The Conservative government is now well into its term and is benefitting as much from the ineffectiveness of the Liberal opposition as from its own merits. It is also refreshing to have a leader and a (deputy leader) with some honesty and a firm stance. In fact, until the Liberals were elected in 1993, Canada usually took "a moderately pro-Israel stance," according to David Bercuson, a military historian at the University of Calgary. It is basically the last Liberal gov't which shifted Canada's position to a 'sitting on the fence' lets wait and see what the polls say. "

I personally feel we can and should (we as in Canada and myself) take sides in this issue and say absolutely that one side is morally superior. Why - Well lets see who could possibly be the AGGRESSOR and the DEFENDER as we hould support the defender against the aggressor, true? Does Isreal create huge rallies of tens of thousands and chant "Death to Lebanon?" (or in other cases 'death to America or the Infidel' Does Israel create mass riots rampaging, destroying property and killing people over a perceived slight? Does Isreal deliberately TARGET innocent civilians? Will Isreal not stop until every Muslim is dead in the world? Does Isreal do these things? Or is it the rest of the Middle Eastern Neighbourhoods that do these things? The oppressed one is Israel. They have a right to own their home and they have the right to defend it.

There is more than a small disparity in the reporting of this war. http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/is...15-06360ba5f412 But why, they asked, were these same reporters not broadcasting and writing about the hundreds of thousands of Israeli refugees from the north of the country who were fleeing to Tel Aviv and Jerusalem? Around half-a-million Israeli Jews and Arabs have left Haifa, Tiberias and neighbouring towns and thousands more are living each day in underground shelters. Particularly bitter is the experience of a number of Lebanese who fled their home country six years ago when Hezbollah took over their villages and towns, torturing and raping and killing. They were given residence and often citizenship in Israel and usually live in those areas now being hit so hard by the plague of Katyusha rockets. Lebanese people fleeing to Syria, on the other hand, receive endless media attention. This is particularly ironic as there are still Lebanese activists in Syrian prisons; and the former prime minister of Lebanon, a man who was helping to transform the nation and was courageously critical of Syrian behaviour, was murdered by a Syrian army of occupation last year. When it comes to the game of numbers and perception, there is another screaming fallacy in the coverage of the issues. Until just a day or two ago, the foreign media announced every Lebanese fatality as a civilian death. This would mean that the Israeli military is so incompetent and so evil that it had failed to kill a single Hezbollah fighter. The truth, of course, is that heavily armed Jihadists were being eliminated from the first day of combat. Unlike Israeli soldiers, however, they often wear no uniform and normally have no rank, papers or official status. In one attack on a bunker in Tyre, more than 30 people were killed by an Israeli aircraft. The official line, weakly replicated by the Western press, was that all of the dead were civilian. It was later revealed that half of them were Hezbollah militia and were found with their weapons.......... and.. the media has said that they are stage managed by Hezbollah, in fact they are pretty well working for the enemy This is from the Jerusalem Post. Following are two paragraphs from the article: CNN "senior international correspondent" Nic Robertson admitted that his anti-Israel report from Beirut on July 18 about civilian casualties in Lebanon, was stage-managed from start to finish by Hizbullah. He revealed that his story was heavily influenced by Hizbullah's "press officer" and that Hizbullah has "very, very sophisticated and slick media operations." When pressed a few days later about his reporting on the CNN program "Reliable Sources," Robertson acknowledged that Hizbullah militants had instructed the CNN camera team where and what to film. Hizbullah "had control of the situation," Robertson said. "They designated the places that we went to, and we certainly didn't have time to go into the houses or lift up the rubble to see what was underneath."

Agreed, the silence is deafening when it comes to speaking out about terrorist atrocities and martydom operations etc. Betsy is right about the anti semitism and attempts by students to shut down Israeli or pro Israeli speakers, including Ariel Sharon's visit to Toronto,. What they are doing is shutting down freedom of speech and association, no democracy on campus for these groups. There is an article on how universities and campuses are becoming increasingly hostile towards any pro Israeli movements. http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/stor...412/?hub=Canada Universities, particularly their Middle Eastern studies departments, are becoming increasingly hostile to pro-Israeli points of view, he said. "The intolerance that we find on campuses must be fought by greater attention to what is taking place," Pipes told about 180 students amid airport-style security. "It is time to take these institutions back." http://www.campus-watch.org/article/id/2096 On Campus, the Line Between Anti-Israel Sentiments and Anti-Semitism is Blurring by Noah Cohen-Cline http://www.yufa.org/archive/2005/YFS.html YFS Condemns Racism at Toronto Universities 10 Nov 05 - York Federation of Students has asked YUFA to inform its members concerning the distribution of hate materials on Toronto campuses last week.

This piece says it landed near Jenin, and the Pals. are overjoyed Hmmm http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3285259,00.html Long-range rocket lands near Jenin Some of long-range rockets fired at Israel Wednesday land across Green Line, in West Bank area – most southern point Hizbullah has managed to hit so far. Police sappers believe rockets made in Syria Ali waked Some of the long range rockets that were fired at Israel Wednesday noon landed across the Green Line, in the West Bank. The rockets fell near the Palestinian village of Pqua, in the Jenin area. Ynet has learned that parts of the rockets fell off while they were in transit, but caused no injuries or damage. Attack Fajr-5 missiles fired at Israel / Sharon Roffe-Ofir Escalation: Police report that Hizbullah fired five Fajr-5 missiles, 'never before seen in Israel,' at Afula Friday afternoon. Sources say missiles may have been aimed at Hadera, Netanya. Massive rocket barrages fired by Hizbullah at Israel's north Friday afternoon Full Story The rockets' landing site in the Palestinian territories is the most southern point Hizbullah has managed to hit so far. A week and a half ago, an improved Fajr-5 rocket landed in Afula. An examination by security forces revealed that the rockets were fired from over a 100-kilometer range, apparently from the Lebanese town of Tyre. Police sappers are currently inspecting the rockets' parts and have been able to determine that they are probably old Syrian 302 rockets. Palestinians 'overjoyed' by rocket attacks Palestinian witnesses in the Jenin area, who noticed the rocket parts which fell between Beit Shean and Afula, said the rocket appeared to have fallen in the Gilboa area. A Fatah activist from Jenin added that the rocket hit was heard clearly around the city, and a spark and a flame were also clearly seen. The Fatah member related that local residents cheered when they heard the rocket fall and saw the resulting flames. “Even if it were to fall on our heads, it wouldn’t have spoiled our joy. All of us here are praying for Hizbullah’s success and victory," he said. He noted that in Jenin, Palestinians were convinced that the Israeli army was being squarely defeated in Lebanon, with proof implicit in Wednesday’s massive rocket barrages and the extension of Hizbullah attacks to the valley area, plus the IDF’s difficulty in entering deeper into Lebanese territory.

I think this article addresses Canada (and the Liberals') supposed neutrality. Personally I am heartened that we finally have a gov't who speak up for what is right in this world. http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/ed...d2-25753405e102 As several eminent military historians told the National Post this week, it is a myth that Canada has always taken a "neutral" stance during conflicts in the region. Until the Liberals were elected in 1993, Canada had usually taken "a moderately pro-Israel stance," according to David Bercuson, a military historian at the University of Calgary. We have not, mind you, always sided with the Jewish state: During the 1956 Suez Crisis, for instance, Canada opposed the occupation of the Anglo-Egyptian canal favoured by Israel. But throughout the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, as Israel battled for its existence against neighbours and a plethora of terror groups, Ottawa offered mild to enthusiastic support. As Prof. Bercuson put it: "It's basically the last [Liberal] government that shifted Canada's position ... to a sort of 'We don't want to take sides' stance." Under the Liberals, Canada failed to oppose annual UN resolutions that condemned Israel as racist and war-mongering, while being silent on the atrocities perpetrated by Arab dictators and terrorists. We permitted the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) to fund hate-mongering textbooks and school lessons in the West Bank and Gaza. We knowingly looked the other way when Palestinian leaders took our development money and either secreted it to their personal Swiss bank accounts or used it to buy rockets and guns to kill Israeli civilians rather than building roads and schools or feeding their own people. While the Liberals might want to fool themselves into believing that this amounted to neutrality, it was in effect wilful blindness. And far from earning us the "honest broker" position the Liberals claim, it cost us our credibility and thus our ability to influence events in the region. The Liberals are still at it, too. While complaining for nearly a month about the pro-Israel stance taken by Stephen Harper's government, they voted Tuesday with the other opposition parties not to hear witnesses from the region after Mr. MacKay finished his 90 minutes of testimony before the Commons foreign affairs committee. Many of the witnesses were expected to be critical of Hezbollah and complimentary of Conservative efforts to extract Canadian citizens from the war zone. But rather than risk having their "neutral" stance revealed as a naive or biased one, the Liberals worked with the NDP and Bloc to silence witnesses who had seen what is truly going on in this war.

Thats a pretty broad comment and actually way off base. Many people get angry at the criticizm of Israel but are not necessarily religious or anti gay. I get angry at people who are quick to demonize Israel but What I notice is the selective outrage about this; where is the outrage when Hezbollah and other terrorist groups attack and kill innocent Israelis. No hand wringing for them, no condemnation of suicide operattions and rocket attacks deliberately targeting Israeli civilians.

Have to post this, luv it http://powerlineblog.com/archives/014887.php Yalla Ya Nasrallah Periodically, as a form of psychological warfare, the Israelis hack into Lebanese television and play this video, which expresses disdain--to put it mildly--for Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah: How effective is it, I have no idea, but it's highly entertaining, and the tune is catchy.

Are you serious? This has nothing to do with the gov't or supporting Harper and the gov't, but after being away for a while am disappointed at how this board seems to have been taken over by trolls, although Greg is dealing with them now. This forum has both sides posting and doesn't represent one group or other, that is plain for anyone to see. The notion that Harper has a hidden agenda has long since been dispelled, he is proving to be an able leader and has surely disappointed the chicken littles who expected the sky to fall. Gee, last time I looked Canada was still functioning very well, sorry to disappoint though. Yes, I assume it is a Harper board, judging by the way other opinions are silenced by insults and party propoganda. Trolls ... meaning anyone else with views different than His Harpiness allows you to have... Harpers agenda is no longer hidden ... he wants to be a dictator... will not let anyone speak but himself, (so who does my MP really represent ... Harper ... not me...), and if he cannot win, he pouts and takes his toys (or legislation) home. Absolute nonsense.

To me it means preserving stability, freedom of thought and speech, less government intervention, or "a disposition to preserve, and an ability to improve". In other words, helping people to help themselves rather than depend on the nanny state. The best form of welfare, is a job.

Actually, after reading some more on here it appears that there has been an influx of native activists, and left wing posters. Maybe they are party 'activists' too -

I havn't had time to read the whole thread so hope this isn't too far off topic. This is excerpted from the NP, (subscription required) Race based fisheries and rights are and never will be right for this country and ALL Canadians. Native politicians are pretty disingenuous when it comes to the the constitution and treaty rightsas West coast fishing is a case in point. Canadian courts have repeatedly ruled there is no constitutional right to a commercial salmon fishery on B.C.'s Fraser River. They have said there are rights to fish for social, ceremonial and sustenance purposes. (The courts have not expanded "social" to include separate commercial fisheries.) The British Columbia Court of Appeal ruled in June that the federal policy which keeps commercial fishermen (non-native and native) on the docks while some selected natives fish is constitutional. In other words, the federal government may, if it desires, continue to separate native fisheries as a matter of discretionary policy. Past court judgments do not support the chief's false assertion that the government "will actively work to strip away a right that been proven and upheld in Canadians courts." This is complete rhetoric and avoids court decisions etc. As the Library of Parliament notes: "The trial judge held that the Sto:los' aboriginal right to fish for food and ceremonial purposes did not include the right to sell the fish; consequently, he convicted the appellant." Fontaine and others are attempting to equate actual treaty and constitutional rights with a non-existent "right" to a native-only, separate commercial salmon fishery on the Fraser river. It is pure political spin. NO preferential race based treatments are legal or right in this country.

Are you serious? This has nothing to do with the gov't or supporting Harper and the gov't, but after being away for a while am disappointed at how this board seems to have been taken over by trolls, although Greg is dealing with them now. This forum has both sides posting and doesn't represent one group or other, that is plain for anyone to see. The notion that Harper has a hidden agenda has long since been dispelled, he is proving to be an able leader and has surely disappointed the chicken littles who expected the sky to fall. Gee, last time I looked Canada was still functioning very well, sorry to disappoint though.

I am hearted to see that we finally have a gov't with some moxy and the gonads to stand up to terrorists (well somewhat) and speak out for what is morally right. If we have the troops I believe we should contribute them, its time we stood up to the Canadian shills for terrorists.

The Jewish state is fighting not one enemy, but two: Hezbollah, and those who peddle its propaganda http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/is...53-4041944114ee The media war against Israel LONDON - Large sections of the international media are not only misreporting the current conflict in Lebanon. They are actively fanning the flames. The BBC world service has a strong claim to be the number-one villain. It has come to sound like a virtual propaganda tool for Hezbollah. As it attempts to prove that Israel is guilty of committing "war crimes" and "crimes against humanity," it has introduced a new charge -- one which I have heard several times on-air in recent days. The newscaster reads out carefully selected "audience comments." Among these are invariably contained some version of the claim that "Israel's attack on Lebanon" will serve as a "recruitment" drive for al-Qaeda. But if anything is going to win new recruits for Osama bin Laden and his like, it will not be Israel's defensive actions, which are far less damaging than Western TV stations would have us believe, but the inflammatory and one-sided way in which they are being reported by those very same news organizations. While the slanted comments and interviews are bad enough, the degree of pictorial distortion is even worse. From the way many TV stations worldwide are portraying it, you would think Beirut has begun to resemble Dresden and Hamburg in the aftermath of Second World War air raids. International television channels have used the same footage of Beirut over and over, showing the destruction of a few individual buildings in a manner which suggests half the city has been razed. A careful look at aerial satellite photos of the areas targeted by Israel in Beirut shows that certain specific buildings housing Hezbollah command centres in the city's southern suburbs have been singled out. Most of the rest of Beirut, apart from strategic sites such as airport runways used to ferry Hezbollah weapons in and out of Lebanon, has been left pretty much untouched. From the distorted imagery, selective witness accounts, and almost round-the-clock emphasis on casualties, you would be forgiven for thinking that the level of death and destruction in Lebanon is on par with that in Darfur, where Arab militias are slaughtering hundreds of thousands of non-Arabs, or with the 2004 tsunami that killed half a million in Southeast Asia. In fact, Israel has taken great care to avoid killing civilians -- even though this has proven extremely difficult and often tragically impossible, since members of Hezbollah, the self-styled "Party of God," have deliberately ensconced themselves in civilian homes. Nevertheless the civilian death toll has been mercifully low compared to other international conflicts in recent years. Last week, a senior journalist let slip how the news media allows its Mideast coverage to be distorted. CNN "senior international correspondent" Nic Robertson admitted that his anti-Israel report from Beirut on July 18 about civilian casualties in Lebanon was stage-managed from start to finish by Hezbollah. In particular, he revealed that his story was heavily influenced by the group's "press officer," and that Hezbollah have "very, very sophisticated and slick media operations When pressed a few days later about his reporting on the CNN program Reliable Sources, Robertson acknowledged that Hezbollah militants had instructed the CNN camera team where and what to film. Hezbollah "had control of the situation," Robertson said. "They designated the places that we went to, and we certainly didn't have time to go into the houses or lift up the rubble to see what was underneath." ."

More like Hezbollah is using the UN people as shields - typical tactics. http://littlegreenfootballs.com/weblog/?en...itions#comments Interview on CBC radio with Canadian retired major general Lewis Mackenzie, discussing the death of a Canadian peacekeeper, one of four killed at the UN outpost on Tuesday, whom he knew: "We received emails from him a few days ago, and he was describing the fact that he was taking fire within, in one case, three meters of his position for tactical necessity, not being targeted. Now that's veiled speech in the military. What he was telling us was Hezbollah soldiers were all over his position and the IDF were targeting them. And that's a favorite trick by people who don't have representation in the UN. They use the UN as shields knowing that they can't be punished for it."

I didn't read all the threads I usually don't read the abortion or religious type threads, there are so many of them, so I don't know what the 'cabal' is. I have contributed more than once, but unless there is a change and they focus more on conservative issues and less on abortion etc. I won't be giving anymore. That Bill Whatcott is something else, people like him will only ensure the conservative will never get a majority. at least IMO. cheers

She jumped the shark a long time ago, I wonder though if the left has abandoned her, who is fuding her?

I don't have much time for forums these days, but check in now and then. I used to like FD but it's over the top now with anti abortion, anti gay and religious threads, there's even one now on the morality of contraception - I find it hard to believe it would even be up for discussion these days. The Canadawebpages has jumped the shark, one forum is 90% or more Israel bashing, not much balance. They did ban cagerattler though LOL he's back as proudpegger they think. MLW is still one of the better forums around, but I'm way behind on the news and the weekends gonna be too nice to be sitting at a computer. Have a great weekend

Whoda thunk it from the Red Star - which just shows to go you how far left Harper and the CPC have swung. http://tinyurl.com/jlbcz Toronto Star Deft Harper confounds critics Jun. 28, 2006. 01:00 AM CAROL GOAR Any seasoned political observer could have predicted that Stephen Harper would be a shrewd, disciplined, highly focused Prime Minister. What has surprised both his fans and his foes is his sure-footedness. He had no experience in government when he won the country's highest office. He had never managed a large organization. He had no cabinet veterans to turn to. And his party didn't command a parliamentary majority. Yet the 47-year-old economist has sidestepped most of the potholes that trip political leaders. He hasn't tried to change too much, too fast. He hasn't been blindly partisan. He hasn't fallen victim to events. And none of his cabinet ministers has gotten into serious trouble. When Harper has made mistakes, he has corrected them quickly enough to avoid lasting damage. When he has taken risks, they've been calculated. What's been most fascinating is the way he has pre-empted criticism: Right-wing ideologue? It's hard to say that about a Prime Minister who hasn't slashed taxes, hasn't axed social programs, hasn't gutted the public service and hasn't given Alberta Premier Ralph Klein any more latitude to bring in private health insurance than his Liberal predecessors did.

I sure hope this passes., I would have to wonder about anyone who opposes it now.