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So what? 'Conservatives like you' resent paying for anything that does not directly benefit you and would happily shut down the entire gov't. The general public is perfectly happy paying for CBC with their tax dollars. It is apparent that CP people do not like having some of their agenda made public. The same with the American Governments cut back on Public Television. Having a news source that tells us everything is not the way to control people However I have to voice my opinion that the CBC is very aware of where their money comes from and as they saw that there might be a Conservative win the certainly backed off in honest reporting of the Conservative agenda. Now we are beginning to see that Harper did have a hidden agenda, and that people are going to suffer for it. So being publicly funded is not the win all it should be. Its apparant that some people have no idea what the CPC agenda is cos they've never read up on it, Oh I know...LOL that darned 'secret agenda' gotta get James Bond out of retirement.

Europe is afraid, I see this as the press taking a stand against radicalism and the expansion of Islam. They need to take their collective heads out of the sand and head this off at the pass. Islam is expanding and if there isn't a major course correction Europe could be Islamized in our kid's lifetimes. The birth rates of Western Europeans are low Muslims high. As Mark Steyn writes after … might like to ponder demographic realities." As he says, the chances of Gloria Steinem's successors being able to chant "Keep your Bush off my bush" from under burkas are slim. Clearly there is more to it than the cartoons. http://www.jewishjournal.com/home/preview.php?id=15435 A Danish employee of the European Union in Brussels confides that she is so fearful of Muslim anger over the now-infamous cartoons of the prophet Mohammed in a Danish newspaper that she is afraid to go home. Unnerved Danish members of the European Parliament refuse to comment on the violent protests in the Arab world and even normally chatty European analysts said in interviews that they are withholding speculation for fear of fanning the flames. snip Ottolenghi noted that the Muslim demonstrations were occurring nearly five months after the cartoons appeared. “So why now? There is nothing spontaneous about what is happening,” he said. “Denmark is going to be the chair of the U.N. Security Council when the decision about Iran’s nuclear activities is made and these protests are intended to make the Danes feel the heat.” Ottolenghi said he suspects the riots are also intended as a message to those E.U. leaders hoping to maintain a hard line with Hamas. “This violence is clearly intended to intimidate Denmark in particular and Europe in general and to push them to have a more accommodating attitude toward Hamas,” he said.

How did Wilson sell us out? the FTA and NAFTA are the reasons that we have a trade surplus. The GST replaced a tax that was 6% higher (the Manufacturers Tax was 13%) and we are able to get rebates from this tax where we weren't able to get anything from the previous tax. I really like this appointment because along with some of the key cabinet positions it shows that Harper is supporting former Tories instead of Reformers and should help in the next election. Good points, Wilson has the political smarts, business experience and grasp of bilateral issues that will command respect south of the border. Necessary to repair relations.

You are so right, firstly a lot of the cost overrun was created by people who diliberately freeped the site to create chaos. How do we know that this was not done in large part by the American gun lobby. Huh ! How in ell can you 'freep' the gun registry site, whatever that means. I hear rumours that say the true cost of the gun registry is up to $4 Billion, if so, this is good news, should help kill it and keep the liberal heads down for a while .

I didn't say the pet projects were scary, I was saying the amount of money they would rape us for is scary. Socialism is obsolete, the United States didn't become the most powerful and innovated nation in the world because they micro-managed the economy. One only has to read the NDP constituion to know what they are really about. Income tax is just a redistribution of wealth, a form of socialism, but I think all of us agree that there has to be a social safety net, we have to help the disabled and those who need help to get back on their feet. Most people agree with fully funded public education except for University. What some of don't agree with is the extent of that, and and how much should be taken from the rich, and what the definition of rich is (in the NDP's eyes) IMHO people who envision a total nanny state are those who are less successful in life and so are envious of the success of others. They can't stand other people having more than they do so they try to take it away. Layton is currently lobbying Harper to increase foreign aid payment, this is just a redistribution of wealth, as is Kyoto. I have no problem helping countries who put the aid to good use, but foreign aid should require more accountability.

No one is forcing you to buy products from the companies that advertise on Global TV. But someone is forcing you to fund the CBC. For an organization to succeed, it must satisfy the needs of its customers. A look at the ratings for CTV and Global indicates that they are more in tune with the general public. They have more viewers for their regular programming and for their national news programs (Lloyd Robertson-957,000 average viewers, Kevin Newman 771,000, and lastly Peter Mansbridge with 648,000). The CBC is the only station allowed to have a 24 hour news channel which is hostile to conservatives--hostile to me. That's why I resent being forced to pay for it. If their views are in tune with the general public, then they should be cut off the govt tit and see if they can make it on their own--like Global and CTV. The annual $1 billion saved could go towards lower taxation, more cops, and strenghtening our depleted military. Better priorities in my book. Good post MB, couldn't agree more.

Hmmm, don't think so. Stoning a female reporter sure doesn't do anything to dispel the notion the Islamists are intolerant, sheez anyone might think they don't like women. http://www.turks.us/article.php?story=2006...1729&mode=print

I am right of right center based on any reasonable definition of the term (i.e. one that does not equate social conservatism with right wing). Many people who are supporters of public broadcasting are not convinced that the CBC status quo is acceptable. We are just forced to defend the status quo in the face of people who see no value in public broadcasting. Guess I'm with you on that one, the status quo is not acceptable to me, I don't see why we need a state run broadcasting system, particular one that isn't always 'fair and balanced'. Some of its programming is good and probably would stand on its own, so let them get advertisers and help defray the costs. To whoever said we pay for church's infrastructure - we don't.

Its an inspired choice, and good common sense to choose Wilson, it should help to improve U.S. Canadian relations considerably.

Just like on the right, there's a whole spectrum of philosophies on the left. Being from the left doesn't make you a communist. No it doesn't for sure, like all parties, they do have a radical wing, some parties on rabble are examples of extremists. BC didn't do well under the NDP, neither did Ontario, so I don't see a Federal NDP being good for the economy. Inheritance taxes were proposed some time ago by the NDP, don't know for sure if it is still part of the platform, and they are dead against enshrining property rights in the Constitution. I do believe given the time, they would severely increase taxes for the 'rich', but I've never heard what their definition of rich is. Actually, I don't think they are as far to the left as they used to be, but they scare me more than the conservatives ever would. Indeed, I would say that if any party has the tendency to become fascist (for use of a better word) it would be the NDP.

I voted yes because there wasn't another option, I think it depends on how you define communism. I don't think the majority of NDPers are communist or would want that, some radicals would, all you have to do is read rabble/babble, the lunatic fringe. I saw a thread there a long time ago where they thought all workers should be paid equally, doctors, lawyers etc. should only make a small amount more than a janitor - because - one human being is not worth more than another. Not to mention support of Cuba and the utopian state there. IMHO if the NDP had a majority they would make some radical changes which would necessitate increasing taxes. We would see a lot more nationalized programs, inheritance taxes, much higher minimum wage and mandated benefits. They would change laws to give more power to the Unions. I also believe they would favour Palestinian terrorists over Israel. They would of course increase corporate taxes. Over time, if given another mandate they would do with University tuition fees - again more tax increases - for starters. In other words, we would all be equally poor. I fear if this should happen we would see corporations leave and unemployment rise.

Wow, another strawman. Do you ever provide anything of substance? Anyways, Black Dog provides us with a great illustration of stupidity. Black Dog's defense of Islamic extremism is to attack and mock Christianity. Does that make any sense to anyone? These are the same type of people who have no problem turning funerals into political conventions. It really is too bad that Coretta Scott King passed away. You people missed a chance to explain to her that the God she worships and the God her husband worshipped is one of the so-called "undead". Yeah, you've got so much in common with them. Well, he won't be able to do that if Canada signs on to Idi Amin's push for an international law banning defamation of religion....with no apparant definition etc. The key question here, Are Muslims going to live by the rules of the West when they live there, or by the rules of Islam? Now and then a European nation will decide to put its foot down, like banning headscarves in French schools, or expells the odd jihadist imam but on the whole Europe chooses weakness and backpedaling. For instance, a British judge agreed to bar Jews and Hindus from the jury at the trial of a Muslim who called for the murder of homosexualsamong other things. The Dutch Language Union has decreed that Christ be spelled with a small c, Muslims are demanding that crucifixes be removed from hospitals. Winnie the Pooh, piglet, piggy banks and other images of pigs have to go, and Muslim fathers want ALL Muslim teachers to wear the hijab. Small, but netherless galling that Europe is unwilling to live by its own standards. In France, more than 10,000 cars were torched by young Muslims - Ho Hum - but in the post cartoon demonstrations in Britain, police ignored signs saying "Exterminate those who mock Islam' and "Be prepared for the real holocaust,' but very quickly arrested two counter protesters carrying postcards with images of Mohammed. Go figure. If the West doesn't stop the spread of Radical Islam, the danger will be much greater than it is now. The U.N. is pushing an International law which would make it illegal to defame religion. (more on that later)

The day that Canada becomes what you've described is the day that I'll be on the streets. The Muslim community needs to give their heads a collective shake. This entire furor is about tradition and has nothing to do with the Qu'ran., just like all the other fine oppressive Muslim traditions that are exceedingly cruel towards women, for instance. This is just more attempted oppression from the morally indignant. Its about control and establishing a Caliphate, we would do well to read about what is happening in Europe and learn from their experiences. Any Muslim who cannot live by our laws should hotfoot it back to the Middle East where they can easily live under Muslim law.

Anyone whose prophet is a self-admitted child molester has got to have a few screws loose to begin with. Just saying that in a Muslim society would get you killed. I think a lot of people are missing the whole picure, Canada so far doesn't have the same problems they do in Europe. e.g. Did you know that in Austra some Muslim fathers have demanded that ALL (muslim or not) teachers in a public school wear a headscarf. By capitulating to violence and anarchy we are giving in; we should be supporting Europe in their struggle to stay democratic. http://tinyurl.com/e29o6 (google translation ) AUSTRIAN MUSLIMS DEMAND ALL TEACHERS WEAR HIJAB Muslims in the Austrian city of Linz are demanding that all schoolteachers must wear a head scarf; here is a Google translation of an article at Austrian news site kurier.at: Fathers want head cloth for teachers. Three Muslim fathers demanded a head cloth obligation for teachers in an elementary school in Linz. The indignation about it is large: Upper-Austrian national school advice president Fritz Enzenhofer spoke of “insanity” and reported that one had directly acted. FPOe Secretary-General Herbert Kickl demanded in response a “head cloth prohibition” in schools. BZOe speaker Uwe Scheuch called the demands of the Muslims “inakzeptabel”. http://service.spiegel.de/cache/internatio...,400710,00.html Crumbling Front But instead of reacting responsibly but confidently -- and without kowtowing to Mecca -- Europe went on the defensive and showed little in the way of solidarity. A boycott against Denmark, Mandelson said, is a boycott against the rest of Europe. Would that it were. In reality, the rest of Europe is ecstatic that only Denmark is affected. The Swiss company Nestlé, for example, made sure .... Stores in Europe are capitulating to violence and intolerance by

This is a showdown over freedom, tolerance, and a menace to democracy in religious clothing. Dennis Prager says it better than I can: Everyone and his mother knows why the networks and the print journals haven't shown the cartoons -- they fear Muslims blowing up their buildings and stabbing their editors to death. The only people who deny this are the news media. They all claim that they won't show the cartoons because of sensitivity to Muslim feelings. Which brings us to the other reason for the latest blow to the news media's credibility: They are lying to us. If some politicians were telling lies as blatantly as the news media are now, the media would be having a field day exposing those politicians and calling for their removal from office. But, alas, what TV news station will criticize another TV news station? And what newspaper or magazine will criticize another newspaper or magazine? So, without anyone in the media holding them accountable, the news media continue to believe they can fool nearly all the people all the time when they say they are not publishing the cartoons out of respect for Muslim sensibilities. Why is this false? snip American newspapers "insult" every group whenever they feel like it, but no one riots, burns and kills because of it. Fourth, the ban on depicting Mohammed applies to Muslims, not to non-Muslims. It is remarkable that American newspapers, so frightened of any breakdown between church and state, are suddenly guided by Muslim religious prohibitions. Fifth, the argument that publishing the images would inflame Muslims' passions is another coverup for cowardice. No American newspaper or TV news show exhibited the slightest concern with inflaming Muslim passions when they endlessly published and depicted Abu Ghraib abuse photos. http://www.townhall.com/opinion/columns/de.../14/186328.html

I'm not arguing that marriages recognized by law is not valid under the law. I'm not saying it isn't binding. What I meant by that word "validation"....is the full acceptance by society to recognize it as a "marriage." Since most religions do not accept homosexual relationships as normal....the large segment of society will never accept this marriage as one and the same with the traditional marriage that we know of. I will always see it as a union...not a marriage! Whether it's government-approved and government-endorsed. And no democratic law can make me change my belief or opinion. I'm sure I'm not the only one who will dig in my heels deeper. That is why you see these little "testing" and challenges of religious laws and beliefs slowly being challenged. Gay groups know that for them to be fully recognized, they would need to break down religion and churches that stand in their way. As a Christian, I feel I have a duty to try to protect my religion and the teachings of my God. I agree with your comments Betsy, once those barriers have been brought down there will be no boundaries or moral values left, a complete 'anything goes' hedonistic society. Is this what we really see for the future, no bottom line, any perversion is acceptable, and the last barrier - the age of consent will be breached !!!!

I'd like to see it, it swings both ways right (pun intended) whats good for the goose is good for the gander.

Well, I agree with that, the fire is being stoked by Islamic clerics who wish to incite hatred and violence . Their long term goal is a wide world Caliphate, and if the ROTW doesn't wake up soon, we may live to see it. IMHO they wish to divide the West, fuel the violence and start real cultural war.

People emmigrate from coutries under stife. People don't emmigrate if they are perfectly happy in their own country. In the early and middle parts of the 20th century we saw many immigrants from Europe because Europe was experiencing "stife" and hardship. Now the muslim countries are experiencing stife and hardship so the people's natural tendency is to want to leave. Europeans are just as fat and happy as Canadians so they have no reason to leave. I don't believe in public housing for anyone. No wonder there's "ghettos" -- when you put all the poor people in acres of run-down tenements you can surely expect they will develop a "ghetto" culture. (read: crime/drug havens) I disagree with the part of coming here because of strife, not so, except maybe legitimate refugees. I would say that the majority come here because they think they can have a better or life, or maybe a better life for their children. I tend to agree with your public housing comment, but there has to be low rent housing, or they would have no place to live, and if you try to integrate them into regular housing you would end up with a good neighbourhood looking like the tenements and owners would lose their investments. Canada has to be more circumspect with its immigration policies, we have a right to decide who is best for Canada, and to keep out a criminal element.

Right on. The word "swastika" comes from the Sanskrit svastika - "su" meaning "good," "asti" meaning "to be," and "ka" as a suffix. I believe Hitler was supposed to be a Catholic, and did so until he died. "I am now as before a Catholic and will always remain so," he told Gerhard Engel, one of his generals, in 1941. When we think of anti semitism, intolerance we think of Nazis, and today we tend to equate it with radical Islam for the same reasons. There's a good article I'll post in part, which I got in an email but no link. Muslim societies have paid a dear price for the militants in their midst. Many of the best and brightest within the Muslim world have had to flee to the West to avoid being silenced or killed. Fazlur Rahman, a brilliant and deeply religious Pakistani scholar of Islam, had to flee his native land for the University of Chicago. Similarly, the Islamic studies scholar Nasr Abu Zayd fled Egyptian Islamists for the Netherlands. Naguib Mahfouz, recipient of the Nobel Prize for Literature, was stabbed in the neck in Cairo and barely survived; the Egyptian writer Faraj Foda was not so lucky. In some Western Muslim quarters, the proposed solution is more censorship that these cartoons and similar expressions should be banned as hate speech. By that logic, shouldn't Salafist diatribes against Shiites also be banned? Shouldn't the writings of Maulana Abul Ala Maududi and his Jamaat-e-Islami, which were instrumental in persecuting the Ahmadis, a Muslim minority in Pakistan, be banned as well? Maududi's religious writings, best sellers among Muslims in the West, are suffused with an intolerant and anti-Western hue. Today's Muslim leaders, for their part, seem unable to formulate an ethical response to the challenges of the modern world. Moreover, their actions lead to the stereotyping of Islam. What else is one to conclude from this episode? The loudest and most murderous forces have chosen to forget the spirit of the Koran, which opens with an invocation of God's mercy and compassion and which repeatedly urges believers to practice patience and kindness. There is something very ugly about the power of the radicals, their recourse to violence, their anti-intellectualism and their ability to trample and blaspheme a more humanistic Islamic tradition. It is right and proper for Muslims to be offended, to be hurt, to protest. But we should be wary of the authoritarian voices that claim to speak and act in the name of Islam. The answer is not more violence and censorship, but rather peace, mercy and compassion.

She would be better off running as an MPP first, get some experience...that would rile up the extremists wouldn't it. I've seen her a few times on TVO's panel Crossfire with other Muslims, I've known about her for some time. I must say she has guts, I believe she has had threats.

Bingo. SCN and TVO are excellent stations Yes I know there are a lot of money hungry people out there who would like to shut CBC up the same as Mr Bush. But poor misguided me will work to keep the last bastion of Canadian unity we have. Money hungry people and shut up the same as Mr. Bush ? whats that supposed to mean and what does Bush have to do with the CBC, please explain? Why should my tax dollars go to support the CBC? It should run on its own merits without my money. Oh I get it, money hungry people are those who feel others should take responsibility for their own actions and not feed off the public teat. yeah....I get it now.

Well we were all to believe that Mr. Harper would end all the lies and decite. If he can't even follow ethical politices heaven help us all when Mr. Flaherty gets his hands on the money, remember the common sense revolution. Yeah, it was a good one, too bad the CPC have abandoned similar principles. Harris had it right, no more living off the public teat if you are physically and mentally able.

Probably because he (Harper) did it for the good of the country and Vancouver, which the board of trade would appreciate, plus the media isn't reporting on why its good for the country. I'm unhappy that they (Harper) did it, but now its done it should be explained better. Mind you, I do know that a lot of what the CPC does put out or say isn't alwahys reported by the media, they usually only choose to report negative stuff. It also seems there is a lot of inconsistency here, no one seemed to be too upset when Scott Brison and Belinda S. crossed the floor (and others) for a cabinet position, self serving moves at best. There was no outrage, no protests, (except for conservatives) no call for Belinda to resign and stand in a byelection - and Harper never suggested that she should -- and neither did Jack Layton. And NO ONE wrote to Bernard Shapiro.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4700414.stm Sweden has closed down a website allready, is this the beginning of the end of freedom of speech ? As Ezra Levant in the N.P. says: "Respect for cultural diversity and freedom of religion is a fundamental principle in Canada," continues the soliloquy. But freedom of Canadians to practise Islam is not the same as the power to force non-Muslims to obey Islamic rules, such as prohibiting depictions of Muhammad. "Freedom of the press and other media of communication" is in the Charter, too; "respect for cultural diversity" isn't -- no one has a constitutional right to have their own world view protected from criticism. Of course, Muslim rioters don't want diversity of cultures. They want only one -- Sharia law, whereby cartoons of Muhammad are banned.