AngusThermopyle

It sure is. Thats why I'm going to add another layer of tinfoil to my hat right away.

Actually war has been with us since the first Hominid ancestor of man picked up a rock or tree branch and beat his enemy, Billy Hominid, to death with it. Not much to do with Cain and Abel I'm afraid, other than the fact that the legend says they did something similar much much later.

Yeah. Okay. Food and water are only valuable if you wish to keep breathing. Go ahead, scorn worthless food and water, good luck with your new diet.

Seriously? You must be joking, right? What kind of mental gymnastics does someone have to indulge in to come to that erroneous conclusion?

In this case BC is correct. I always thought it an embarrassment when they made him an honourary citizen. He sure solved the problem of giving the land back to the blacks though. Cut the police force by more than half its strength and turn South Africa into the murder capital of the world.

Me too.

Canada is a great country, one of the best and undoubtedly something to be proud of. Those who dislike or even despise their country, well in all honesty, I feel pity for them. It must be terrible to be so self absorbed in bitterness that you cant even see the good in front of your own eyes. As many here know I spent 20 years in the Armed Forces, during that time I traveled to so many places that I forget a lot of them now. One thing I consistently found and do remember is just how good it is to live on this continent, both Canada and the U.S. When someone whines about how terrible this country is it just tells me that they have no idea at all of what other countries are like. The result of a spoiled and pampered existence during which one has never experienced true hardship or witnessed true oppression. Thats okay though, one of the great things about this country is that we tolerate the spoiled whiners as well. In my opinion that doesn't have much to do with pride in ones country. I perceive pride in ones country as a seperate entity from pride in ones government.

You never cease to amaze me, just when I think you've told as big a whopper as possible you manage to trump your last tripe. What I really enjoy is your presumptions. You know nothing about anyone yet you propound and toss about your pearls of wisdom. Debate with you consists of reading the same tired unproven opinions and having any point of merit ignored. I'll be frank with you, I believe 99% of what emanates from you to be pure bullshit. Also interesting to note is the way you resort to the same old childish feeble attempts to insult based on hair style. Pathetic really, but no less than I've come to expect from you. So, how bout you answer WB's question, asking again, third time it's been asked.

Lets see. When we look at the above what we see is quite evident. Spoken like a true loser. In effect what you are saying is that you are a drain on society and merely want to hold out your hands for perpetuity saying gimme more. What a fool I was to believe that you might find pro active solutions more desirable than hand outs. Of course hand outs would be far more to your taste than actually...dare I say it...working for a living. Thanks for confirming what I already knew. By the way, my "token" friends said you can go, well I'll leave the rest up to you to figure out. Being Blackfoot they have quite a bit of personal pride, unlike the ones you associate with or are part of.

Lets see. When we look at the above what we see is quite evident. In effect what you are saying is that you are a useless drain on society and merely want to hold out your hands for perpetuity saying gimme more. What a fool I was to believe that you might find pro active solutions more desirable than hand outs. Of course hand outs would be far more to your taste than actually...dare I say it...working for a living. Thanks for confirming what I already knew. By the way, my "token" friends said you can go, I'll leave the rest up to you to figure out.

This is wrong. Our traditional position has never been peacekeeping and has always until recently been combat. Peacekeeping was no more than a flirtation with a flawed and failed recent concept.

You could not be more wrong. Name something more valuable than food. About the only thing I can think of is water, and I wouldn't say it was more valuable, rather I would place it on par with food. Simply put there is no possible way for you or anyone else to survive without either of them. You may have a $20,000 camping trailer, or 60" Plasma but they mean nothing if you don't have food, though I do admit that I'd enjoy watching you trying to eat that sort of thing.

Wrong again. What is happening is that Canadians are dealing with these issues in a fair and equitable manner. The Government isn't just giving away the farm, much as you would like to be the case. I find it interesting that you and your fans always revert to thinly veiled threats when your smoke arguments are revealed for what they are. WB asked you a question you refuse to answer, so I'll ask it again for him. Just how do you think Natives would "take" the land if Canadians said no? I also notice that when I post information relating to initiatives being enacted to better the condition of Natives you remain strangely silent. You know, things like the monies allocated to water treatment and training, or the Truth and Reconciliation commission starting this summer, or granting basic protections under law for Native women. There are many others under way even as we speak. Personally I would have thought these topics would have been of great interest to you. Could it be that the truth disarms your propaganda so you want no part of it? As for the point you raise about honour. All I can suggest is that before you throw that word around too loosely perhaps you and the lackeys who follow the example you personify try showing a little honour yourselves. I'll admit, I am curious about one thing. Why is it that you think Natives showing personal responsibility is a bad thing? Could it be that the reason is rooted in the fact that it would blow your constant mantra of gimme gimme gimme and not my fault its theirs right out of the water?

Thats an idea I've proposed myself, seems like a pretty good idea. Its just too bad it wouldn't work. The goal here is not equality, it never has been. The goal is to be equal with privileges, special rights that apply to a few, not all. The good news is that some groups realize the self defeating nature of this goal and have undertaken to change things. On the news this morning was a story about a band up north (I think somewhere around Hudson Bay, wasn't listening at first). This band made international news years ago when they showed footage of youths sniffing gas and running wild. The present band leader enacted prohibition and according to the news piece it has caused a radical change in the community. Of course there are those who whine about their rights being violated but overwhelmingly the response has been positive. They interviewed young people and you could tell they were happier than previously. The community looked better and as the band leader said, there are far less children going to school hungry now. This band is an example of what can be accomplished when individuals accept personal responsibility for their situation and work to change it. This is a band who should be congratulated and applauded for the initiatives they've enacted. A positive example for all others.

Previous post equals a big pile of meaningless meanderings. What would you suggest he do? Stand there and command the waters to turn back?

LMFAO Arrgh! that just made me spray beer out my nose. Messy and it burns. Before I get roasted let me apologise to any who may be offended by my laughter.

Your second point is one that I've thought of myself. It would appear to be the most likely. Even if he sent her to her mothers she'd still have to know what he was doing. Those kinds of projects require lots of work and noise and debris, he simply could not have done it with her in the house and not knowing. If he sent her away it would have to be for quite a long time. According to what I've seen he actually dug out rooms. No way she could have missed cubic yards of material being removed. That doesn't even touch on the subject of the fittings, it's not like he could sneak past her with a shower stall stuffed down his pants. Then there's the electrical and plumbing issues. As well, he would have to constantly provide food, clothes, toiletries, that kind of thing. She had to know. As mentioned in your second point, she probably does suffer beaten woman syndrome. Self preservation and fear most likely compelled her to turn a blind eye and pretend it wasn't happening. They published a shot of this guy and perhaps I'm biased but I have to say that he looks like a real bastard to me. From whats been printed it looks like he was a totall authoritarian and ruled a harsh rule over the household. The thing I still cant get my head around is the sheer calculating malice of this man. His daughter was what, 20 years old when he imprissoned her. He raised her then decided to enslave her, calculating how best to do it, right down to the letter asking them not to look for her. Its hard for me to picture this guy as human. People do vile things to each other, true, but for a father to do this is beyond the pale.

Standard operating procedure.

And I can see that you're under reacting to it. This guy kept her captive for twenty years, fathered many children by her and then deprived the children of a life. Fifteen years doesn't cut it. More appropriate would be to lock him in a windowless basement for at the very least twenty years.

I can understand that, sometimes I start to think that as well. When that happens I think about my friends (you know, the ones CR claims are trophy friends), these guys are the same as any average Joe. They work, take care of their homes and families, perhaps thats why some on this board regard them with scorn. Incidentally, sometimes we do discuss Caledonia and blockades. These guys are Blackfoot, when you talk to them about Six Nations, well, lets just say they have nothing nice to say about Six Nations and Mohawks. Why would they though, these guys all work and are respected within our little community. They don't even talk about blocking roads and destroying property. What I find particularly telling is the response to suggestions that personal responsibility be employed to help affect change. The reaction is always the same, condemnation and accusations of racism, never any acknowledgment of the concept. So, in effect responsibility is a taboo subject and continued demands and hand outs are the order of the day. This actually speaks loud and clear to me. Well, you also get the meaningless spew type of answers, we've seen plenty of examples here lately. No solutions offered though, just demands for more and more and the mantra of "its not my fault, its all whiteys fault. Hardly productive, rational or helpfull in any way.

This is true, neither were they sold into slavery by their own French brothers as the blacks were by their black brothers. Slavery was a relatively short lived practise in the enlightened European world. Compare that to the fact that Africans have always made a habit of enslaving each other and do so to this very day. Perhaps we should just start blaming them instead.

You make a good point in some regards, but I cant agree with it whole heartedly. Natives knew all about lying and stealing long before the white man ever showed up. In some tribes being a skillfull liar or thief was considered a mark of honour. This was before the white man ever set foot on this continent. On the other hand it is probable that they have learned to refine these techniques and add a missing degree of sophistication to them due to contact with whites. This is actually the last thing this process needs. An open dialogue and realistic expectations are what are required instead.

Yeah well don't hold your breath waiting for one. With all the pressing issues facing not just Natives, but society as a whole DM has consistently proven that they have absolutely nothing of value to say. Ironically CR supports this vacuous display, I find that quite telling.

Well if I recall correctly I've said the same thing many times now. Its my belief that you are correct in your assessment. If you move beyond the rhetoric emanating from both sides what you'll find is that progress is being made. If one ignores the activists fabricated facts one finds that many initiatives are now under way. The residential schools program is in full swing with the truth commission scheduled to start this year. More funds allocated for Native communities and water treatment. Changes in the status of Aboriginal women to prevent abuses and dispossession in the event of death or marital breakup, also to protect them from spousal abuse (ironically the Aboriginal women are opposing these initiatives, go figure). However Jack Asses like Shawn Brant figure its not enough and keep stirring the pot (he was arrested again on a bevy of charges, good thing). Then theres bone head moves like blocking a highway that has nothing to do with land claims, just a show of support for some other group. With this kind of brain dead tactic they actually turn public opinion against them and move further away from an equitable settlement on many issues. For myself I'm glad to see that progress is being made at an increasingly quickening pace on these issues despite the best efforts of some on both sides of the fence to derail them.

God did not provide the bible. Men provided the bible, a whole bunch of men in a whole bunch of places over a whole bunch of time. They also lifted parts of far more ancient religions to include in this book.