old_bold&cold

The USD has many thing going against it right now and yes it has very little control over what its value is seen in others eyes. If China and Japan wanted they could convert their USD holdings to euros, and decimate the USD in doing so. But that would not be in their best interests now. While they are doing just that behind the scenes, it is only hedging their best for the time being. The world still uses the USD as a bench mark, but that does not mean it has to be the highest valued of all currencies. Most Canadians can see that the USD has taken a hit and CDN is up just by looking at the price of oil in USD. it has gone up by about 20% and yet our gas prices have remain stable for now. That is because we now have a higher dollar so while that oil is USD is up it really is about the same in CDN. That will change soon though. I think the USD will be going down about .10 more on its own and the CDN will go up approx .05 on its own, which means that by this time next year, we will see about $1.20cdn. Now before all you accountant type start saying no way, I remind you that with USA election and it obviuos factors the USD will hit its worst case example around that time. All things will change after the elections next year.

If Chrysler wants to stop having to lay off people they can do it themselves simply by being the first North American manufacturer to make Canadian prices comparable to the USA prices. It would give them much good will and increase demand for their products. Instead they want hand outs? Hargrove is not the sharpest knife in the drawer and has not earned his pay for quite some time. There is an opportunity for any of the car manufacturers to do this and be the one who the Canadian public will look at as being fair in their trades etc.. This will be better then any amount of money the government can give them. So Buzz if you want to stop the lay offs, give the manufacturers the best possible deal on workers and the car companies, be the first to give parity on pricing to the public and you will have then the demend to keep the workers working. It is all up to you, and quit looking for hand outs.

I have visited the leap site and read many of the facts that they say about the war on drugs. The one thing that I find that they do not address is what I say is the most telling of them all is the question: out of all those that have been put in jail and therefore increased our incarceration numbers, how many are there because they had 30 grams or less in their possession at the time of arrest? I suspect that the number would be very small to be almost minuscule in the whole picture of things. Now that being said, then begs the question of how many of the people incarcerated are in for crimes just about pot? This means growing and selling and all that entails, but just for pot and no other drug. Again I would think that this would be a much larger number then those for simple possession of 30 grams or less, but not so large that it would be a large part of the total prison population. Now following that line of thought, how many of these other are in jail for crimes with harder drugs, but without any violence involved in there crime? This would be those who were caught making or selling drugs like ecstasy, speed etc but did not use violence in the act of doing so. To make it easier to picture call them non-violent drug offenders. How many were addicts who committed violent crimes to get money to pay for drugs? This will be a very large number, and one which I think most people would not want released under any circumstances. I think from this point onward most people would agree that there should be little or no consideration of them for crimes they committed. I think that the small number of non-violent drug offenders that society might consider taking a risk on, will not change the numbers of those incarcerated by very much, and what the Leap site does not say is that to legalize all drugs and offences will put the worst of the worst back on the streets, to do much nastier crimes. While I can see in part what they are saying, I also have to say that there is no way that society will allow that to happen. If they start first with an effort to decriminalize small amounts for possession only, it may stand a chance. But to seek more then that today with attitudes being what they are, there is no way that legalization of small quantities, would go over well, but decriminalization first, and much later legalization may stand a chance. This is a time where society will tolerate small nibbles at its standards and laws, but bites and others will just get a resounding slap right back to the idea. If going ahead with legalization and taxation were to be presented in a way where it then was strong against anything beyond, may be a trade off for the two things. But that would be pushing the envelope, and it would be quite some time later before anything further could be ask for. Now to address the issue of whether addiction is a mental health issue or a criminal issue, I will have to say that the cure for it is mental health issue, of course. But to say it in and of its self is a mental health issue, I say no it is not. If we allow this thinking then all murders are mental health issues as well, as no sane mind would think in any way to take a life. Child molesters would be the same as no sane person would ever would to have sex with a child. It is a very slippery slope when it comes to forgive acts because they are mental health issues. I guess it comes down to does the person who commits the crime know what he is doing is a crime? Even the most driven addict knows he is about to break the law to get the money for his fix. That does not then give him a pass on his crime. What of the father, who robs a bank to get money to feed his family, is he also to be forgiven? I should think not. It may at best be a mitigating factor, but never should it be an issue for breaking the laws. Pot users know that as it stands today they are breaking the law and if caught there will be punishment. If it was for simple possession (under 30 grams ) even today, they would receive a fine and a criminal record. The only thing that most dislike is the criminal record. That does infringe on many things in life and yes it can be pardoned after some years have passed. For those where they say it will affest their employment goes, if you do not have the record, but your employer asks you if you use pot, and you say no, then you are again falsifying documents. That is one thing where it does hinge on the right of your employer to know who he is hiring. If these people claim that most do not care, then his employer might be more understanding of it, but his insurance may not be so. That is why I say nibbles may be allowed now, but we are not ready for a whole bite. I will say this for the Leap site, they do make a compelling case for alternatives in some laws, but I feel they are going too far too fast for any of it to happen at this time. But in time yes I feel much of what they want will come, just over a very long period.

I have not visited the Leap site that I can remember, but I will take a look. I am pointing out though that many of the so called pot is harmless people, that pot is in no way harmless. It may well have a use for some in the medicinal world as a masking agent, for some ill effects of some other disease. It is and never will be a cure for anything. I also pointed out about the real nature of why we see the cannibnoid recpetors and how it is just a short way to say a group of receptors that process cannibis, but they are not only processing that only and that is why they can not be simply blocked. I guess what I am really trying to say is that most of everything you have seen from both sides is propaganda, and the truth is in finding the real facts in the small print. I do not care if pot was decriminalized for possession under 30 grams, and fines for that. If they go to legalize then tax at 50% and government licensed growing only allowed. Your pole does not have those options. If you truly wanted to do a poll that is valid you would have all option and circumstnces listed. That way people would have things closer to which they feel and vote for. I have said before pot only make me sleepy, no matter what I never got the muchies. Others had much different reactions. I guess I might be still reacting to the shavluk type personalities, in my posting, only because I think him a terrible poster boy for anything. So yes I will take a look at this leap site and get back to you as to how I feel about it.

I am going to post a link here just to show to those who say that Pot is not a problem and is not addictive in any way. Be patient because my arguement is with in this link, but not just what many will think about So here is the link: http://www.nida.nih.gov/Infofacts/marijuana.html Once you have downloaded that link and read it, I want you to scroll down to the end of it where the list of contributing authors is listed and numbered etc. In this list you will see many things eg. 1 Results from the 2004 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: National Findings (Office of Applied Studies, NSDUH Series H–27, DHHS Publication No. SMA 05–4061). Rockville, MD, 2004. NSDUH is an annual survey conducted by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Copies of the latest survey are available from the National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information at 800-729-6686. 2 These data are from the annual Drug Abuse Warning Network, funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, DHHS. The survey provides information about emergency department visits that are induced by or related to the use of an illicit drug or the nonmedical use of a legal drug. The latest data are available at 800-729-6686 or online at www.samhsa.gov. 3 These data are from the 2005 Monitoring the Future Survey, funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health, DHHS, and conducted annually by the University of Michigan’s Institute for Social Research. The survey has tracked 12th-graders’ illicit drug use and related attitudes since 1975; in 1991, 8th- and 10th-graders were added to the study. The latest data are online at www.drugabuse.gov. 4 Herkenham M, Lynn A, Little MD, Johnson MR, et al. Cannabinoid receptor localization in the brain. Proc Natl Acad Sci, USA 87(5):1932–1936, 1990. 5 Rodriguez de Fonseca F, et al. Activation of cortocotropin-releasing factor in the limbic system during cannabinoid withdrawal. Science 276(5321):2050–2054, 1997. 6 Diana M, Melis M, Muntoni AL, et al. Mesolimbic dopaminergic decline after cannabinoid withdrawal. Proc Natl Acad Sci 95(17):10269–10273, 1998. 7 Mittleman MA, Lewis RA, Maclure M, et al. Triggering myocardial infarction by marijuana. Circulation 103(23):2805–2809, 2001. 8 Polen MR, Sidney S, Tekawa IS, et al. Health care use by frequent marijuana smokers who do not smoke tobacco. West J Med 158(6):596–601, 1993. 9 Tashkin DP. Pulmonary complications of smoked substance abuse. West J Med 152(5):525–530, 1990. 10 Zhang ZF, Morgenstern H, Spitz MR, et al. Marijuana use and increased risk of squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck. Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention 8(12):1071–1078, 1999. 11 Sridhar KS, Raub WA, Weatherby, NL Jr., et al. Possible role of marijuana smoking as a carcinogen in the development of lung cancer at a young age. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs 26(3):285–288, 1994. 12 Hoffman D, Brunnemann KD, Gori GB, et al. On the carcinogenicity of marijuana smoke. In: VC Runeckles, ed, Recent Advances in Phytochemistry. New York. Plenum, 1975. 13 Cohen S. Adverse effects of marijuana: Selected issues. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 362:119–124, 1981. 14 Adams IB, Martin BR: Cannabis: pharmacology and toxicology in animals and humans. Addiction 91(11):1585–1614, 1996. 15 Friedman H, Newton C, Klein TW. Microbial infections, immunomodulation, and drugs of abuse. Clin Microbiol Rev 16(2):209–219, 2003. 16 Zhu LX, Sharma M, Stolina S, et al. Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol inhibits antitumor immunity by a CB2 receptor-mediated, cytokine-dependent pathway. J Immunology 165(1):373–380, 2000. 17 Brook JS, Rosen Z, Brook DW. The effect of early marijuana use on later anxiety and depressive symptoms. NYS Psychologist 35–39, January 2001. 18 Brook JS, Cohen P, Brook DW. Longitudinal study of co-occurring psychiatric disorders and substance use. J Acad Child and Adolescent Psych 37(3):322–330, 1998. 19 Pope HG, Yurgelun-Todd D. The residual cognitive effects of heavy marijuana use in college students. JAMA 275(7):521–527, 1996. 20 Block RI, Ghoneim MM. Effects of chronic marijuana use on human cognition. Psychopharmacology 100(1–2):219–228, 1993. 21 Lynskey M, Hall W. The effects of adolescent cannabis use on educational attainment: A review. Addiction 95(11):1621–1630, 2000. 22 Kandel DB, Davies M. High school students who use crack and other drugs. Arch Gen Psychiatry 53(1):71–80, 1996. 23 Rob M, Reynolds I, Finlayson PF. Adolescent marijuana use: Risk factors and implications. Aust NZ J Psychiatry 24(1):45–56, 1990. 24 Brook JS, Balka EB, Whiteman M. The risks for late adolescence of early adolescent marijuana use. Am J Public Health 89(10):1549–1554, 1999. 25 Pope HG, Gruber AJ, Hudson JI, et al. Neuropsychological performance in long-term cannabis users. Arch Gen Psychiatry 58(10):909–915, 2001. 26 Zwerling C, Ryan J, Orav EJ. The efficacy of pre-employment drug screening for marijuana and cocaine in predicting employment outcome. JAMA 264(20):2639–2643, 1990. 27 Gruber AJ, Pope HG, Hudson JI, et al. Attributes of long-term heavy cannabis users: A case control study. Psychological Medicine 33(8):1415–1422, 2003. 28 Fried PA, Makin JE. Neonatal behavioural correlates of prenatal exposure to marihuana, cigarettes and alcohol in a low risk population. Neurotoxicology and Teratology 9(1):1–7, 1987. 29 Lester BM, Dreher M. Effects of marijuana use during pregnancy on newborn crying. Child Development 60(23/24):764–771, 1989. 30 Fried PA. The Ottawa prenatal prospective study (OPPS): Methodological issues and findings. It’s easy to throw the baby out with the bath water. Life Sciences 56(23–24):2159–2168, 1995. 31 Fried PA, Smith AM. A literature review of the consequences of prenatal marihuana exposure: An emerging theme of a deficiency in aspects of executive function. Neurotoxicology and Teratology 23(1):1–11, 2001. 32 Kouri EM, Pope HG, Lukas SE. Changes in aggressive behavior during withdrawal from long-term marijuana use. Psychopharmacology 143(3):302–308, 1999. 33 Haney M, Ward AS, Comer SD, et al. Abstinence symptoms following smoked marijuana in humans. Psychopharmacology 141(4):395–404, 1999. 34 Lyons MJ, Toomey R, Meyer JM, et al. How do genes influence marijuana use? The role of subjective effects. Addiction 92(4):409–417, 1997. 35 These data from the Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS) 2003: Substance Abuse Treatment Admissions by Primary Substance of Abuse, According to Sex, Age Group, Race, and Ethnicity, funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, DHHS. The latest data are available at 800-729-6686 or online at www.samhsa.gov. 36 Stephens RS, Roffman RA, Curtin L. Comparison of extended versus brief treatments for marijuana use. J Consult Clin Psychol 68(5):898–908, 2000. 37 Budney AJ, Higgins ST, Radonovich KJ, et al. Adding voucher-based incentives to coping skills and motivational enhancement improves outcomes during treatment for marijuana dependence. J Consult Clin Psychol 68(6):1051–1061, 2000. If you look at #7 it is about Maijuana triggering myocardial infaction in a person. This will show you that yes there have been deaths attributed to pot. In fact if you follow thru the lkisted credit you will find reports that do directly list cases where pot has caused heart problems and deaths. But of course to those who do not wish have this known never bother to do indepth research in to these. #37 is all about treating mrijuana dependence, and how it is that poeple do get hooked. It is not the same as heroine or crack, but it does show that 1,000's are seeking treatment every day in rehab environments. So while there may be a vast number of smokers who can walk away at any time, there also are a large number who can't. I will not go through all of these, as it would really take a long long time. But what I am saying is is all the info that you see posted for and against pot, you will find that most of the pot side forget to lists all the contributing authors, and when done, they cherry pick who to list, and sometimes do list all of them. if you take the time to research all of these you will find that there are no noteworthy studies to support pot use as harmless. In fact as you see in the list here are studies by rehab facilities and hospitals that see the end products of long abuse. So to those who can smoke on the weekends and have fun and not harm anyone, that is great for you. But even you have seen the pothead burnouts around, and just because you are not like them, that is no reason to deny their existence. In fact I think you should at least acknowledge that these are possible results even if they are not the results for your own usage. It is funny that I read some where that 45% of all drug rehab in the USA are due to pot. I find that hard to believe, and I was surprised when I saw this was reorted by several sources. I was not all that interested in it at that time, but it does make one think, that maybe there is more to that then meets the eye, but since I am not in the rehab business, I will have to say I give it credit with some reservations. But to make a short story longer, I feel that is people did more then just read the quick slanted fact sheets put out, and researched more, then you would have better understanding of what all this really means, and less misinformation will come about.

you have got to be kidding now right? Dion can in no way convince anyone of anything. He is and always was a behind the scenes yes man. He is capable of doing a job, if that job is laid out for him. He is not capable of seeing a job needs to formed and then delegated and then done, all on his own. To have Dion post things on a blog without full supervision, would be suicide for the Liberal party. Dion does not think well on his feet, or sitting or lying down either. There is no way tat the voters will see him as capable, especially after these last weeks. He sold all his credibility, to save the liberals the embarassment of an election, and all at his own expense. He is done politically and I do not even think he will get his own seat back in the next election let alone win seats for the party. For now he is just resevoir for all the crap that the liberals have to take until they can rasie money and get the party going again. It is plain to see this and even Dion knows this is his only role right now.

You are just jealous because people know you are really an idiot, and have the mental ability of a tomatoe. You are tolerated here, just so we can all show we do not discriminate against the insane. Have you ever tried to follow your posts, when you are sober. You rant and rave about how you are 6' 2' etc., when you really are just a flabby useless tool. No one would be afriad of you, and because of the way you act insane all the time, some one shooting you, is a real possibility. You can have the green party for your area, but even you know that you will not fget much when a vote happens, and that no one here would ever vote for you, unless they wanted to pull a joke about it. Those reading here will see your posts and just not vote green anywhere. So that must be something that the Green Party is aware of. You have made yourself to be all the things people hate, in politics and the green will loose more vote by their association with you, then you could ever bring to them. Maybe if you learned even a small amount of diplomacy, then you would not be as much of a weight for the Greens to bear. Until then you are nothing but a waste of bandwidth.

Ypu are completely wrong and you quote things that you know nothing about. The studies that the pot heads seem to always to quoting are ones where scientists were searching for Medicinal use of the drug. They never have looked at the long term affects of abuse. They will also state that there are obvious problems with the build up over time with daily use, that cause mental and co-ordination problems. But they never did their studies for the purpose that you and others quote them, and you only quote them in part, because the whole studies which have hundreds of pages and conclusions, do not sit well with your arguments. If you have never seen a pot head burn out before then you are just kidding yourself. See what pot does to people even with mild use, it makes them think they are not affected by it, and anyone who is must have some other mental deffect. Well you only need to look around and see what can happen after these people go to rehab and after years get some life back. They may even drink some, but in moderation. That just blows the shit out of your addictive personality now does it not. When I was young I smoked pot and all it ever did was put me to sleep. It was not very great and I never saw the need for. The same can be said for my drinking as I pretty much gave that up after university. I now have a drink maybe 5-6 times a year, and maybe more when travelling in the carribean. But that is it. I used to smoke but also gave that up. So am I an unaddicting personality? As I said earlier that this pole does not ask any of the questions other then what a pot head wants to hear, and is geared that way. Legalise for 30 grams to be bought from goverment grown pot, and taxed 50%. Anyone caugght with black market pot, should be charged and fined $500 for first offence and go up from there. If above 30 grams then criminal record and all the law will allow should be taken into play as the judge sees fit. Why is that type of option not in the header for the vote?

I think you are probably correct in thinking that Chretien is spiteful with his book and also that he did torpedo the party before he left. The man Chretien was grooming decided to sit out the last leadership race, and it was probably Chretiens Ide that he do so. This was of course John Manley. While most of the Liberal party would have had some reservations about Manley as Chretiens yes man, they will now see hime as a very strong and significant leader. This will of course allow Chretien to keep a tight leash on him from behin d the scenes. I do feel that it was not by chance that the liberal party is having all these problems and yes I do think that Chretien was the main force behind them. The Martin camp are the ones who are getting the worst of this beating and they will not have the ability to field a candidate to leadership, that would stand a chance of rebuilding the party. Dion was right from day one expendible and with what is happening now, it may even be that he will be the first party leader to never face an election. I think that all the things happening are really much faster then was predicted, and this has done more harm then expected. Not sure if there is any way to stop it though, now that is has gone this far. But wait and watch for Manley at the next leadership race, and I bet you it will be more of a corranation then a race, and that will suit Chretien just nicely.

Why not add an option of Decriminalize 30 grams or less for personal possesion. But from government grown product only, and taxed at 50%. If you add this I will then vote, as that is more in keeping with what the public would see being reasonable. I would also then like to see that the corts have direction that anyone on a third offence for selling or growing, must have the maximum sentence allowed by law.

If people who have such practices as homosexuality, go to countries like Iran, and get caught being what they are, then they should not be the responsibility of the Canada, to get them off. When I travel, I make sure I know the local laws and those places I have issues with, I do not travel to. Both my wife and I have travelled extensively thru Europe and Carribean as well as Central America. Countries like Panama where if they think you are American, they will shoot you dead. I stay away from and we always make sure we wear our Maple Leaf insignias when we travel. We are always well received as Canadians, and much better then most Americans are with their flag on their packs etc.. If I went to China, I would not seek out people to tell them freedom awaits us all, and would always try not to engage in that type of talk with the peope there. I also would never even think about breaking any laws there as I know that crime there is swift and complete. But I still want to see the country and its many places where great works of art and buildings have survived to this day. One day I will afford that trip and I will go. I only expect my country to support me if there is some problem, but I do not think they should be there to allow me to break their laws, even if it is not against the law where I am from. For those abraod who have broken laws, especially murder, well they get what they deserve and if that is the death penalty, then so be it. If I am in Saudi Arbia and I steal things, then I gues sI will lose an arm. It is that simple. The only time we should be concerned is the time before they have past sentence, at trial, that s where all efforts should be made and once found guilty by a court of law then so be it. As long as the trial is fair. For those who keep bringing up homosexuals etc., must remember that it was not that long ago where here in Canada we locked up homosexuals, and because of that many of them were beaten and killed. Just because w have changed, does not mean everyone has. If you are of that persausion, do not go to places where this is a problem, or you may die because of it .

I have made a point of saying that I do not like Mulroney or what he did in his last years as PM. I do believe that he proabably was involved in many underhanded deals, that probably paid him much money and position in his retirement. So yes, I think Canada was wrong not to have taken further steps and find out all it could, so charges could be brought against him. For want of a better method, we have not only given him a pass on this, but we even paid him for his trouble during the investigation. For that reason alone I am not happy that Harper would use this man as an advisor, but that is not my decision to make. I would feel no loss about Mulroney being found guilty of any of this and jailed accordingly. In fact that would make me happier then I am today. I do however support Harper and the CPC, and in no way would anything to do with Mulroney would have any repercussions back to the CPC, even in a small way. But what would make me happy, would be exactly what Harper hinted about, and that is, if the opposition wants to make much about this, and demand Harper to investigate a former PM and his party, he would also have to investigate Chretien, Martin, and the Liberal party for all the wrong doings they have done as well. I think this is a great idea, and it is something that I believe most CPC supporters would get behind, as well as the general public as well. To me this would make Harper a sure King of all. He would sweep clean and bring all dirt to the front and in public. That is what the people would be willing to spend their tax dollars on this type of inquirey. As for Mulroney being a crook, I say by my own view that yes he was, and therefore still is a crook, and he should not be allowed to get away with flouting the laws of Canada. I also say the same thing for Chretien and Martin, and most of the grassroots liberla party. Their is more then enough cause and reason to have this type of inquirey on all of these people and organizations, so lets appoint someone to head this and go forward. I do know thought that the biggest losers will be Liberals, and that does make me want to do this more then ever. I am sure that most people here would also support this. That is why the Liberals right now are doing all they can to support Harper no matter what, because soon if the Liberal party keeps teraing itself apart, it will come out to the light of day and then there will be no stopping it.

You say jobs are the problem, but the economy has created 5 times more jobs then expected. So if the losses are Harpers fault, then the gains must be to his credit right? Or are you like the rest of the snseless Liberals trying to make their party look like it stands for something, when it really is only looking out to save their own butts. Sure Harper is delighted by what is taking place and yes the attack adds will shine a light on Dion. You can place ads in response but then you would not be able to pay for other things now would you. Be thankful that Harper does not just call an election tomorrow, as if he did the Liberals would not be able to do much of anything but flap their mouths, as they do not stand for anything. They have no platform, and the party hates their leader,more then they hate Harper. I think Harper is showing real class by not just opening all this to the light of an election, which is what I would do and then watch it all happen in the light of day. Which is something the Liberal definitely can not let happen. Harper also said that since the opposition seems to be so willing to give him the power to open cases on past rivals, the Liberals should be aware that he would also do the same with Chretien and Martin, as well as Mulroney. So be careful what you ask for. As for me I would open and do them all, and let the chips fall where they may. So yes Harper is actually holding back, and it is about time the opposition realised this, and started to correct problems instead of making bigger ones. Because lets face reality, Harper does have a majority government for the forseeable future now does he not?

While the Liberals ask how many job losses does all this take, and today we have seen that job gains have been 5 times what was expected. So yes the liberals always seem to be pulling some thing out of their butts, but it is not the answer to their problems. If I were Harper I would pull the plug on all of this come January, but I think he will wait till spring as by then the leberals will be melted down to rabbling mess of incoherrent thoughts. Which is not far from what they stand for today.

Face it, when it comes to Dion anyone who would think he is a leader needs to be tested for mental illness. The fact that the Liberals can not find public funding as a party, speaks more then any poll does. This means that even those who in the past supported the Liberals, are not doing so now. This is losses of grassroots support and will have large implications if an election is ever called. That is why the liberal right now will do anything to have the writ dropped. Their party will implode. This has now gone far past Dion and his lack of leadership. The internal party mechanisms are falling apart, and there is no money to find replacements, or the will for others to step up to the task. Even in this article it has said about the party's lack of ability to raise money. That is just the tip of the iceberg, and yet it has so much meaning. Even if Dion resigned today, the party would have large problems running a leadership convention, with all the costs associated with it, and then have an election campaigne right after that. I would not be hard to see that the liberals would not be able to gain any power and they would bankrupt the party in the process of these two things happening in quick concession. The ads that the CPC will run will try to shine the light on these facts and it will definitely not be a good thing for the Liberal party. Either way though Harper is going to get his majority and the liberals are going to take a big fall. The polls will soon show all this once an election is called.

Here is the front page story. The link to the Ottawa Citizen is working but is real slow for me as I only have dial up where I am located. Article rank Liberals don’t have money for an election, MPs say Tories have raised almost five times as much as Grits BY TIM NAUMETZ A summer of crushingly low financial contributions has been behind the Liberal party’s lack of appetite for a snap election battle against the flush Conservatives this fall, MPs from the other parties say The latest party financial returns published by Elections Canada show the Liberals raised just $793,835 from June to October, less than the party’s third-quarter donations last year. The Conservatives, on the other hand, raked in $3.1 million during the same period, bringing their total contributions to $12 million by the end of September, a mountain of cash compared with the $2.6 million raised by the Liberals during the same nine months. The legendary “natural governing party†almost fell behind the NDP, which raised only $38,000 less than the Liberals during the same nine-month period. The figures were released by Elections Canada this week, but the Liberals were aware of their precarious financial state well before Gov. Gen. Michaëlle Jean opened the new session of Parliament with a speech from the throne in midOctober. See page 2

I have to agree with Hydraboss. What all these guys just do not seem to get is the fact that what they are doing is against the law. That is just plain and simple. They do not have a right to break the law and so if they are caught they should be sentenced accordingly, and if necessary sent to jail, for breaking the law. Until they can have the law changed, it is just all utter nonsense by them as to "what it this or what if that", when the her and now say you are breaking the law, and should be arrested. If I had neighbour kids smoking pot near my small children, not only would I report them to police, I would make sure the police followed thru and took action. If I saw a repeat I would do so again and again, until they either smarten up and quit or go to jail and let the jailed crooks straigthen then out. That is what justice calls for. If we let these people just flout the law, then we are not being good citizens, and that is where problems begin. Myself I have a terrible time controlling my true wishes when I see these things going on. I am glad that my own nehew that I raised is now grown up and realatively leading a normal life. Back when he was 13, I made it known to the group of people around our area, that if ever I caught any of them selling or even trying to led him in to drugs, they will not have to worry about police, but they also would never be seen again, and they all knew I meant what I said. My nephew at first hated all this, but later when he got more inot the athletics and sports instead of the pot crowd, he knew he was far more happier then he would have been other wise. When the time came that he could no longer live by my rules, he left to live on his own and his rules. he now has two daughters and is protective of them. I am sure he has done some pot and maybe even tried other drugs, but he is not by any means abusing anything, and believe me when I say he came to me from a very bad abusive father who drank and did drugs his whole life. He hardly ever sees his father now, and when he does it is always to ask for money for his booze and drugs. I think both my nephew and I will be happy when he just finally overdoses and dies. It will end a ver bad chapter in out lives. Never should people look the other way when you see things like smoking pot by children happen. It really is just a small window on what will become a major problem. Let the law do its job and yes that means criminal records if matter are found to support it. There can not be any community without the community helping to enforce the laws. Just look at the likes of Shavluk and his ranting posts, calling people names, and his drug induced ideas, that alone should show you just how screwed up some people are. Also to think that he is actually a Green Party Candidate, it really is scarey.

It seems that the Liberal party has found it very hard to find people willing to donate to their party and that being the reason they will not call for an election. According to an article in todays Ottawa Citizen, they have been very slow in getting finacial help, and they only just past the NDP for the amount of donation made in the last 4 months. Forgot link :http://digital.ottawacitizen.com/epaper/viewer.aspx Now with that in mind I find this to be very telling about the support they will find in the voters when push comes to shove. If money was the only thing stopping them, I would have to guess that they then are saying their support is up for sale. But I do not think it is just that. They do not have any platform on which they can run, that will appeal to the voters. While the left have been busy trying to show how bad the right is, they forgot to show the reasons why the left is better. Right now people like the way things are going and most think it is right on the mark. Thay may well alos back that up by giving Harper his majority, as they see nothing wrong with the way he is headed and the oppositoon can say it is wrong all they want, but without showing the better way, people will just leave them screaming and go with the present party in power. I guess when a party is so far out of favour with the people, it is hard to get money from those who normally would have done so. Just one more nail in the Liberal coffin.

Drea, the $450.00 / month child support is a figure that most lawyers will tell you is the average child support for a single child. If you get less then that from your child's father, it would have to be a very low and barely able to support himself let alone a child, to be $110.00 per month. But if that is where you sought to have have a child from, then so be it. Many people have tied their kite strings to rocks in the past, and will again in the future. I live in a rural area where there are some really low wages and I have a friend that works on a farm and clears about $1,000.oo per month, but he has free room and board on the farm. He has been ordered to pay $450.00 / month for his child, by the courts. As for getting government help goes, I suppose that many can get some help, but yes it would be, easier to get help from Churches and other social groups. They have many places where Daycare can be provided free of charge. Also I am sure they can arrange to meet yout work schedule if need be. The government is just one place to get help, there are many others that will give a hand without a second thought. As for your grocery bills go, you seem to spend more per month then both my wife and I do on groceries. We spend about $600.00 per month and we eat steak and chicken and all sorts of treats and stuff. Even when we had our 13 yr old nephew with us we did not spend as much as you said, and he did eat like a horse. But food to me is never where one should cut costs, but rather should only be a last resort. As I said though, if people can not make ends meet, they should consider the move to places like Alberta where the money is way more and you can make a better then living wage for doing the smallest of jobs. If you had any skills, then Alberta is still by far the best paying place. It would seem that it would not be brainer, if you feel you can not make a living where you are, to move to where you can make a good life for yourself and child. In todays lifestyles there really is no reason to think that a person is so badly in need that they can not make it even with normal assitance from the government.

But you forget that most of todays families have two working people and lets use the $10/hr for the second and now you have over $2300/ month and that will pay for all that need to be done and still have a decent apt. For those with one child and no partner we will have to add the $450.00 /month child support that the courts will impose so that again would brign the single mother to near $1800.00 per month, and yes that can cover things. If people want they can find jobs that pay well over $10 per hr and try to make careers out of them. Just because some one starts off at low wages does not mean they stay at those same wages. If they do not have the education to get better or learn a trade then they will need to seek out night schooling to help them. I just do not think it is so bad the times we have, are way better then when I grew up, and they are getting even better every day. If people can not find jobs where they are, Calgary and Edmonton are paying $17.00 per hour to stock store shelves. Or the service industry are paying $14.00 /hr plus tips for resturant wokers. They will even pay you to come there and work. That should be a big cure for many people who say they can not find a job.

No need to sober up on my part anyways. You are a fool who thinks that he has some sort of mission to make drugs legal. Your posts are unstable ramblings of completely unconnected rable, that only a twisted mind could ever understand. You are tolerated here, because we in the arms of openess, do allow even the strange and those who have reality issues, to have their say from time to time. You know that most people here think you are insane, but that will not stop you from trying to talk people into agreeing with you. As I said before no one takes you seriously and if they were anyone, even a drunk from skid row that wanted to run for the Green party in your area, they would gladly boot you to the curb. As anything is better then you. I think you will find that they still may just go that root away, as you actually are now costing green candidates votes because people have heard your nonsense and will now never vote Green no matter what happen. That is why I was amazed when I found out you were a candidate, but no one wanted to admit you were part of anything when they saw your posts here. I guess that should make it clear even to you now doesn't it. The Greens do not want you and we do not want you, but tolerate you. Any cause with any hope of getting people to take action on things, would never want you as part of their cause, because you are the perfect example of what not to be like in public life. Go back to your strip club, and maybe the girls there will let you tell them all about your great worth for causes, as long as you pay them for it. You said that if you did not get an apology from the mods, you would see the light and go away. Well I hope you go soon as nobody here will miss you for anything other then comic relief.

You need to look at the picture first yourself. What this say is because they were convicted in countries with fair and imparital courts, that we then should not fell the need to intervene in the sentences given. Just because your Canadian does not give you the right to break other countries laws and have Canada come to bat for you. Before you break any countries laws you should be ver aware of what the punishments are, and then it is on you to make sure that you do not do anything to get you into trouble. So if they want to fry your butt for something you did in their country, then so be it. One less crook here to syphone off the good will of Canada. The CPC have done nothing to change anything when it comes to the laws as they stand. They just will not automatically go to bat to have death sentences commuted to life sentences for those who do crimes abroad. I also think we should not be so willing to have prisoners brought home to Canada for their sentences to be served here. People need to be made more responsible for what they do in foreign lands.

Shavluk, in what way does that have anything to do with you and your cause? The green Party barely will acknowledge you as a member, as most after having been shown your postings here, say Your are kidding right? This guy is not a candidate for any party is he?. So why would the meandering of May, even be a thought for you at all. None of them will admit to ver having any of your posted views and then quickly dismiss thisa a prank. I will say this, when you atleast paste the reports about May and the winning of dinner with Layton, at least it is clear and resonable to all who read it. Once we get to your version of things well..... that odd drumming noise starts all over again. I can only hope that you have been certified insane, as to thing that you could exists as you are in a world like today, and still be labelled normal, is an a front to good taste. Yeah I know to you that means you taste good .....

Harper has always had the ability to call an election, whether it be due to a block in the senate, or two just not being able to get the HOC to pass things. He only needed to call the GG and let the Election start. That fact has always been his perogative. But he would of course lose some of the vote for having done so, I do not think anyone will lose a lot if they called an election, for having done so. What really would matter would be their performance over the things that they have done during the time the HOC was sitting. That does not look good for most everyone etc Harper. I think though that Harper is happy to just let things go on for now and wait till spring to finish off the Liberals. Even if Dion were to resign today, it would still be the new year before a replacement could be sworn in, and then at least 6 months to get him prepared to fight an election call. So no, Harper can wait till spring and still gain his majority and mostly kill the Liberals in all of this at the same time. Lets face it Dion is just over whelmed by the CPC and the rest of the party was looking to him for strength and leadership. We all know what they got when they went looking Even the Liberal party MP's have to hide their faces when Dion speaks in the HOC, as they can not be seen laughing at him publicly. So how do they run an election with him as leader? The best answer is they do not. He must resign himself and do so very soon. If he waits for the party to have to vote him out then it will only be worse for him from that point onwards. But then again maybe he plans to leave politics completely after this, so he does not care what the party thinks and he will have his election when he wants to. or at least in his own mind that is. If the light of an election was shined on Dion and the Liberal party at this moment, it would be disasterous to the nth degree. it could even match the meltdown of the PC party but there would be no other vote splitting party that could help in those numbers. As much as Harper would like that light to be shining in on the Liberals, he is not doing it, but rather Dion himself is making it very hard for the liberal supportting media not to have to shine it within the party annd see the rot and deadwood that is there. That will not bode well during election campaignes either.

Myata I am very proud of our soldiers and also the Afghan troops who fight the Taliban daily and are winning the war. Anad yes there are troop engagements that do come with the onslot of different seasons. Only a fool would not see that. I am though ashamed of you and your constant "we are better then this" posts, when you know full well, that the only reason the likes of you can speak as you do, is because others have died in the effort to be give you those rights. All war is bad, and senseless hype, does not show wisdom, but by the very fact that you think it is something we should achieve, shows just how you are not in any way worldly in any of your reasons. Funny how you are here and talking all this, when if you were a man with the convictions you say you have, you would put your maony where your mouth is and go over the Afghanistan, and offer to be a peace negoiator for the Taliban. Just go onto any mountainous area, and say what you want publicly, and see what happens. As you seem to knwo so much about the right and wrong, to expalin it to those who need to be taught. Let me know when you do this and I will pay for your return ticket home first class, but only as a living person, not as a casket. You make the most of the fact that Kabul is less safe. But you forget that it is in a war zone and less safe is by any means still quite a feat. Less safe means what exactly? If I take a gun to a shooting match in Quebec City, is that less safe now because I have a gun in the city, or more safe because I store and transport all my weapons in the safe manner according to law? If I hand a kid in the middle of a high school fight over a girl a knife, is that less safe or would it make the guy stop and say this is not worth dying for or even fighting for. Would that be more safe or less safe. You see it all depends on what the exact issues and how they will be taken and used that make it more or less safe. So I do not think you have been to Afghanistan, so you probably have to rely on others for your input. But I will ask you this question, are we seeing any large scale desertions from our forces over there? Are those who have to face this each and everyday, complaining about being there? So with out these kinds of thing that would be the forst signs of a bad mission, are not present, then what gives you the reason for comdemning them for their fight and goals. You do not believe in this fight, and that is why you are here in Canada, at your computer safe and sound, telling all who will listen how enlightened you are and that all wars are bad, and killing should all be stopped. In eutopia maybe this would fly, and you may even feel that life in Canada is eutopia, but it is not. We have real life issues with guns and crime and murders that happen each and everyday. That is why we have police and even soldiers so we can live safer in our own homes. only in eutopia is where all these things do not matter. So since that is your goal. then maybe you should go find this eutopia, as it is not here by any stretch of the imagination.