old_bold&cold

I am fully willing to give as much leaway as possible for electric cars, but these have a speed limite of 60 kph and limited distances travelled. For all intent and purposes they are a glorified golf cart. Which would be fine, if they can pass bumper laws and crash tests. The problem is that to put what is an easy crushing vehicle on the road with others that are way faster and crash worthy, is the same as putting bike riders out in traffic. While everyone is very cautious of each other thing go OK. But when there is a crash, the bike rider is almost always hurt badly. If these were only used in the inner city as like in Europe etc., there maybe a market. But here in Canada and due to the vast spaces travelled these are not really viable. To put them on the road with the ok with transport Canada, is just waiting for huge law suits. But if they can get this factor worked out and meet those requirements, then I would say go for it. But retsrict them to roadways that are less then 60kph speed limit.

I look at the whole issu of the income trusts and then at the ramifications that his promise made to the people of Canada. The fact that he made this promise and many then were poised to set upon it and screw the general tax payers enmass. Harpers flip flop in this case was an astute move and it benefited everyone, but those few who were ready to capitalise on this. He did give a very extended time frame for those to reposition themslves in it and any losses were mostly significant to those large groups that were drooling for the tax break. He did what needed to be done and suffered by his own standing of character. But he then went on to live up to most of the rest of his promises. So to be force to break one is not as big an issue as say breaking every one of his promises, now is it? If there is an election in the next while, the people will be able to decide about who it is that will actually do what they say they will. I am willing to bet Harper is by far the one way ahead in that. He will say exactly what his platform is and his agenda for implementing that platform. He will be trusted on that by the people, because he has proven himself already, as being a man of his word. Dion can not say that, and he can not point to past liberal practice of keeping promises. He already compromised himself by voting for the throne speech, when he also said he never wanted to do that, but the party made him. That tell you he is not a leader but a party yes man. We all know all too much about the liberal party and its backroom politics and cash payoffs. Just how does such a weak leader never hope to unify the party when he is the sickly runt of the litter, and no one even in his own party shows him any respect. Hell his own party members were laughing at him trying to say how he could do this support and still not be giving into the fear of an election. Face it, when an election does finally come Dion will get slaughtered in the debates and the campaigne trail. Anything but a massive seat loss would be a success for Dion. Hell I bet you that plans for a leadership convention will have started before the election is even over.

I do not think that increasing the GST rebate a good idea, and I still think the GST lowered is much better. I have probably already bought most of my large ticket things and now only buy to replace these if and when worn out. I do though live in rural Canada and have a 70km drive into the city. So yes I go through a lot of gas in a week. with gas around $1.00 per liter, the gst cut would make that about .99 per liter, and then saves me roughly a buck a week, times 52 weeks for $52.00. The rest of my disposible income is spent and some invested, but for the most part lets say $50,000.00/year, is spent between my wife and I, on things that are taxed by the GST. That again saves me $500.00/year. If I take the total GST rebate and it gives me $1000.00 /year. So yest this is a cut that I see each and every day when I am going about what I usually do go about. Now any kind of income tax cut, I will also like to enjoy. But as for which one is better goes, I think in my case it is the GST that I will see the most. Now if you were to say lets increase the GST to 12% and then do away with income tax all together, then yes I may think that will be good. It was talked about when the GST was first brought in and I do think it should have been looked at deeper back then. But the one thing I like about Harper above all else, is he did what he said he would do. That right away says more for him then anyone else in the mix. If I am going to cast a vote for someone or party, that party has got to have a record of being truthful with me the voter. The trouble with the liberals, that everyone knows, is that it does not matter what they say and promise because they never live up to that in the first place. So the voters know they will be let down by them. As for NDP and Green go..... well lets just say fringe is a word and also a reason they exist. I like the fact that Harper has really positioned himself into this, with out having to do much. Of all those I would like to be on my side if things were tough, is Harper for his ability to get things done even when it seems he is out gunned.

The GST is a very regressive tax and yes while it was supposed to be a possible replacement for income tax at one time. It never did go thta route. The oppositions all promised to do away with it, untill they got into power and then wanted it to stay. Harper is the only one to actually reduce the GST and he has lived up to that promise. I have been here for wel over a year by this same username, and I am not what one would call a shinking violet type. But yes I heve been here enough to have seen your past posts. Only to you who want the best tax cut for you, not for the average person. Income tax cuts only help those who pay income taxes, and nothing for those who do not pay these. So the GST does help those others who the other tax cuts will not. A combination of both will then be able to touch each and everyone in some way. That seems pretty fair to me.

The fact that the Liberal party has taken to only saying things where they can not be sued for it, speaks loads as to just how strongly they feel about this issue. If they were sure they would not hesitate as the truth is the best defense against lible charges. As usual the Liberal party is down to its same old tricks and things. I guess it mostly comes from the party backroom. They never have anything positive to input, and Liberal platform is CPC bashing and that is it? My my, they still do not get it, that after all this time they had to change leaders and clean up the party, they have even more corrupted the members and the party is fighting each other, almost as much as nit picking Harper for things. Even this so called update to a post a month ago, does nothing more then try to refloat the old news. But I am sure the members here can see that. It just semms so desperate.

I repeat big deal. It is not as if this was clearly a broken law as it was common practice used by all the parties before. You the same person who takes receiving a holiday greeting as an act of invasion of privacy, carry no weight about right and wrong, when it comes to nit picking. So what if the courts find in the CPC favour, should we fine those lieing loud mouth Liberals for lible? You know that the Liberals are going to take a dirt nap in the next trip to the poles, and the party is trying to get all its paid people to post what ever dirt they can think of no matter what, as they desperately need the voters to turn away for a while so they can possibly hide, what is really going on and get the old backroom guys maybe back in action. That is the only reason for this, and you know it. It has no value as a news story and that is why the media is slowly getting sick of the Liberals. You make everyone look bad with this small minded narrow thinking. So until the courts rule, you are just spreading half truths and speculations. I guess when your a liberal even a straw is a good thing to grab as you sink to new depths. Better go ask Dion what farce they will use next

The retailers are going to have to act fast as we are already into the Christmas shopping season and if things do not change by then, retailers will find that they lose 75% of their sales, in just that time frame alone. Yes, it would be nice if the wholesalers also thought about this as well.

Myata I come to your neighbourhood with a group of armed men. Your neighbour speaks up and is shot dead right there infront of everyone. His daughter is then tied to a tree and whipped until her back is just a mess of blood and flesh, all his other daughters are dome the same way for not dressing in the old religious ways. These guys say they will be back in two days and if everyone is not obeying their rules and dress codes they will be punished, and it you seek outside help they will burn the whole neighbouhood down. If you even blink the wrong way you will die. That is how the Taliban take over power. They do not ask but take over and you either follow or die. Those are the only two choices whn they come. So just how do you think the people can fight such a thing?

This is being taken to the courts and then it will be decided by the courts and not the ever lieing cheating opposition flap traps. But lets say that it does go against them. That would mean something of a hair splitting issue where 1.2 million is involved, would have to be reapid etc and so on. Just how does thatin any way compare to 250 million sponsorship scandel, where there is no hair splitting but envelopes of cash being exchanged in resturants. Or the Billion dollar Boondogal, where the government just lost a billion or two. Just in what world is this even comparable. As I said, it is an issue where the CPC has taken elections Canada to court over this, and we will have to wait and see who the courts say is wrong before you can assign blame. I highly doubt that the courst will rule with elections Canada on this.

Of course you would, anything that would make Harper not keep a promise is your goal. Face it your are not a CPC supporter and you would rather see harm done then anyone benefit from a promise. You show this in most postings. So be honest you can not stand the fact that Harper will do both the Income tax cuts and the GST cut, and nothing anyone could ever say will change that. Harper is very concious of his image, especially on the fact that he keeps his promises when evr possible. So he has this possibility and he will use it to fill that promise. You and the rest of the opposition would cry bloody murder if he did not keep that promise. So really it is your own narrow minded views that will make sure that the GST is done. How many times did we hear promises to dump the GST in elections and then when a majority government was had, they forgot all of this. Harper has reduced the GST by 2% just as he said. That makes him an honest and honourable man. Much unlike the oppositions who lie and promise anything because they know they never will form a government. Instead of critizing Harper for his tax cuts, you should be thanking him for taking such good care of the government so he can now afford these tax cuts. Remember back when the Liberals said Harper could never afford all the things he promised because there just was not enough money? Why would anyone ever believe a Liberal again.

When Canada trains troops it gives 6 months of basic training, and them they are supposed to be able to perform certain tasks in certain ways. That seems to be your line of thought. But to train soldiers to be combat trained it will take a year or so more. Even them it will take approx another year on the ground in the field before they are truly considered capable to take over and defend. It has already been shown that to properly defend Afghanistan as a country they would need a minimum of 80,000 strong army. Not 5,000 but 16 times that number. This all takes time and of course money. These guys are paid about 25% of what you make in a week, for a months service. They are prepared to be brave and die in the efforts, but while thta is fine from one perspective, it is bad from the stand point, that for every afghan solier killed before his training is complete, they have to start one again from scratch. So yes while we train these eager recruits, we need to see to it that they live long enough to maybe some day be able to train others of their own, to see things be self sufficient. When you are a terrorist, you do not have alot of training and you do not have to be all that special. You hide in a crowd and set off explosives to harm as many innocent lives as possible. Even a failed targetted mission is still a success for the terrorist. They can train a recruit in days to perform suicide missions, because there is no concern for the life of the person about to go into a crowd, dressed like those in the crowd and set off body explosives. Even the fire fights, where taliban are using the peope in villages as a screen from which to fire, makes it next to impossible to kill those responsible. To fight this type of engagement, takes a lot of specialized training, to be able to do this. This is not the 6 month basic training stuff, but rather a year or more of special training and even more training in the field. That is why this takes so long to accomplish. To fight guerrilla style wars, it only takes a brave man, with a mission he thinks is good. Mix that with easily had explosives and you have a Taliban warrior. The problem is that in the fight for those who are moderate Islamists, there are huge civillian casualties, and most of the blame for this is aimed at the soldiers of NATO. That means that young people are easier targets for taliban recruitment. That is changing slowly but yes it is changing in our favour. That is why we need to still be there and finish what we have started.

You have said that you are from immigrants that came to Canada, and you spout off about your country not wanting people like Arar here? I has already been shown that the Canadian people like having Arar here as a Canadian citizen. But now begss the question, would we also be so wanting of you, after reading your posts and rants. How would we feel about you being a Canadian citizen. I would think that we would wish if we could, that you learn much more tolerance, and balance. But as you are already a Canadian citizen I can only hope that in time you assimilate to a more Canadian point of view.

It does not matter what polls say. Harper is going to do both a GST cut and personal income tax cut. He will aslo probably address Corporate tax cuts as well. He has the surplus to do all of this and of course the political will from all parties to pass this without much chance of anyone taking a viable stand against any of it. Of course there will be cries that it is too little and wrong headed and such, but in the end it all will be passed and things will all be attributed to Harper as being the one who cut taxes and the GST, just as he promised he would do. The liberals always promised things and never delivered and that is the baggage they themselves will have to bear. It is funny to see them thinking about trying to say they would offer deeper cuts etc. when it is obvious that they will not have to worry about keeping that promise as they will not be forming a government any time soon, and also with the fact taht they never seem to deliver on promises any way even when they were in power. So who would even give them the time of day, let alone listen to them now. As most who really take an balanced view of all of this, they will find that Harper not only has governed as he said he would, but he also did all he could in a minority government to make sure his promises were kept. That in itself should show him to be an honourable man, and party leader. He has had a very productive run with his minority goverment, and he could only do this by governing in a way the people of Canada wanted. If he did not do this, his government would have fallen. Sure it is only as of late that he has been given a carde blanche by the Liberals, as they fear an election more then they fear passing things that they do not agree with. But that Diabolical Harper does what with this? Give the people Tax breaks, ooohh the horror of it all.

Must be a slow news day again. There is absolutely nothing new in any of this and is just another person trying to stir the pot and see what boils up. Harper has said he will have a vote in Parliament on the Afghan mission and he also is waiting a report due in Jan -feb, that will then be used to draft ideas and possible approaches to the issue. That does not sell and news papers so they try this. Maybe they should go look for stories at the liberal cacus, as that is where the back stabbing and underhanded politics will be found. As usual I might add.

JD you have taken the tiniest sliver of an issue with this and have made way too much of it. You say it is against the privacy act, and the rest say no. Since there never was or is going to be any complaint to the privacy commission, then we will never know. But we get your point after you saying for 21 pages of mindless tripe. You think it against the privacy act. Well get this person to make a complaint or you make one on her behalf, or just admit you will never agree and let this whole absolutely stupid, assine debate, come to an end. Befor anyone else responds I think we should all just walk away and show JD just how wrong this whole thing is.

Boy! nobody could ever see that one coming now could they?

You really are naive about what the world really is and how it is run. Our low standard of living here at home, that you talk about, would be most afghan citizens dream life style. The crime you talk about is just so much less viloent then they have there. As for homelessness, most of these people build their homes from old shipping crates and mud huts with thick walls to stop the bullets. What we have here in Canada, is just so much above what these people could hope for. For a very large part of their population 3 meals a day are out of the question. If they got one meal they would be considered lucky. You need to go to a third world country, not just afghanistan but one at peace like Belize city in Belize the country. Where the average income is less then $500.00 US per year. Just tkae a good look at what they wear and what they do to survive. Then come back here to Canada, and tell us about our poor and low standard of living. If we could raise the people of Afghanistans livestyle to that of our lowest, they would be so greatful, that they would name children after you. Maybe you need to o do some living and travel before you say things that will be laughed at.

What most Canadians want is pricing to be fair between the USA and Canada on most large ticket items, considering the new found buying power of the dollar. We already know thta it is not. Cars are a very big part of this and yes, cars built here in Canada by factories here using parts from here are selling in the USA 20% cheaper then here, and that is plain wrong. The same can be said for most of the whole new car market. With the exceptions of some european models they are no extra duties and only 6% on the european ones, so whay the other 14% and in the luxury end 30% mark ups. We all know that car dealers are not to be trusted at their word, but we are now learning that the manufacturers can not b e trusted either. So it is no wonder that people can and do buy their new cars south of the border. The manufacturers that try to stop this should be put out of business by the buying public. Bombardier, sells atv's and skidoos 30-40% cheaper in the USA and they are subsidized by the government here in Canada, and yet screw us the Canadian public. That is just wrong, and yes it needs to be stopped. All the big 3 auto manufacturers are way out of line in this and since they do get many government perks, I would suggest that they be givena date about a month from now to have even pricing, or all government perks will stop. Yes it would be like staring down someone who could cause us harm and high unemployment, but yes it still needs that kick in the butt to make them comply. They will do it, but will grumble all the way. Things like stoves and fridges are also way higher here and for no good reason. Since we have pretty much all turned to just in time shipping and warehousing, there is no large inventories that take months to dispose of. The dollar has been near par and over par for over 9 months now and that should have been more then enough time to make things even. Hell the new car model years have been done at close to par and it should not be even a factor on any 2008 model period. It si just a rippoff by the greedy manufacturers and they need to be taught a lesson. I would suggest that people only do their christmas shopping in stores that have aligned themselves to fair pricing, and avoid all those who do not do so. Maybe that way the message will get thru that we as consumers are tired of the stupid farce being used to fleece us of our hard earned money.

It does not matter the exactness of the stories but rather that they are fables with oth meanings. I have seen complete lack of understanding by both American and Canadians in many things over my years. Both sides do have their own moments to recall. But it really is silly to take any part of the story , as anythingother then making a point. The issue of the spelling of honour, is stupid as the english spell it our, and our American friends or. It does not mean that we can not understand what was said, only that the Americans do not follow what is called the Kings english standards. The same can be said for the stories, we know that many Canadians did have some problems with Harper at first, being he was really a new entity. But now they have seen him as a man who does what he says and is also not afraid to bend when he has to and yake the hard course if events dictate it. That is what many people want in a government. Others take a total opposition to anything Harper, and will twist and turn everything he does as something bad. The recent polls show this has now not been successful. But I am sure that these same people who are paid to be here and do much of this, will not stop the mission, even when they are really shown to be wrong headed. That is what makes some of this interesting to some.

I would not let any of this even bother me for a minute. We all know that there will not be an election for quite some time to come and so there will be lots of time to correct any problems with voter registration. I guess the Libs will just have to wait till there leader grows a back bone, but actually for now and some time to come even the bloc and NDP will also support the government measures as they are coming forward. Even a mini budget, that has been hinted at. This may well have another yera or two before the government is brought to an election.

The auto industry and other big ticket items are still way out of wack. Their excuse about sellingoff stock is not even close as most have sai they only keep 30-45 days of stock in the warehouses. So the dollar has been oer par for more then a month and near par for two months, so that should have removed all that higher priced stock. The cars that are still 15-25% higher will just have to rust away. Base price corvette in US $48,000.00 here in Canada $65,000.00. Some other luxury cars are even more then this. The average compact car is still 15% more here in Canada the the USA, and that is just wrong. We as consumers need to just walk away and not buy until things go our way and then some as punishment to those who tried to screw us.

Actually shavluk, you are one of the best arguements against smoking pot and doing drugs. You and you own logic predispose any one reading here that you are completely out of your mind. Your posts are incomprehensible to many and you do not seem to know anything other then drugged out metaphors for answers. As for your question has pot ever killed anybody and the real answer is not in its self but is a contributing factor. The same can be said of many things in life. Alcohol is not illegal only because the majority of people do not abuse it and when not abused it is mostly harmless. Pot though can not be used to the same ends, it is an all or nothing type thing, you are high or not high. That is why it can be and does contribute to deaths on the road every day. All things in moderation, is what the old saying goes, and with pot and other drugs it more often then not is abused until the user gets high. But I keep forgetting that you do not care for sensible talk and do not care for anyone who does not agree with you. It is a good thing that we out number you in every way, and that is why pot will always be illegal.

First off you do not lower the flag for deaths in a war zone, as it would never be seen at full mast.As for the Income trust goes, it was seen easily by any and all people who followed it, that it was going to have to be taxed, as Canada's largest corporations and many smaller ones were going to tax shelter themselves at the cost to the tax payers. So Harper did this for the common folk, who out number all the rest when push comes to shove. He did the fiscally responsible thing for the time he was in. The voters will remember this I hope. Harpers supposed lie to Newfoundland is not a lie, it was a choice and they could either have the old formula or the new formual. It was the greed of the provinces that wanted the best of both without the rest. Harper did as what the common voters would have asked for, and stood his ground with the provinces. There comes a time to draw the line, and the voters yes will remember that. So much so they relected NFL PC's to a vast majority. Federally they could not do much worse then last time so only can go up now can it. The paying off a guy so someone could run in his place? I think you are mixed up there. Unless you are talking about the mayor of Ottawa, and no payoff and nothing was ever done or promised by the government or its ministers. I think the Harper government handle themselves with more dignity then the other parties in the HOC. It is the rabid screaming of the Liberals who is more in keeping with a bullying attitude, They still can not adjust to not having power. As for Harper hurting the oil Industry goes, why do you want to hurt them? They are very good tax paying corporations and employ a vast section of out population. Without them we would be a much poorer nation. You also have directed this with the province in Alberta, and since the oil industry is mostly in the north, whose air is it that we are doing so much harm to there. Yes, the oil industry has played a big part in global emmissions, but they are also the first ones to have spent money on cleaner systems and cleaner air voluntarily. You seen bent on it having to be forced until it hurts them. May I suggest some councilling in this area. How many cancers are we going to see 10 years from now? Well that is a hard one as we will successfully treat many cancers and we will probaly see a rise in others, but it can be due to many things not just air pollution. Hell dishsoap caused many birth deffects and cacers then air pollution did, and we banned phosphates in detergents after that, and stil more defects came from other chemicals etc. I will say that yes there are cancers and deaths from air pollutions. But we had these for many years before this and the cancers are just showing greater numbers now. So is it that we are weaker then the people of the mid fiffties and sixties, or are we breathing more polluted air. We have banned leaded gas and cleaned up most coal burning facilities and we even have made the water in our lakes better then it was during the fifties and sixties. So why are we not seeing the numbers drop? Could it be that these areas thay we are cleaning up so studiously, might not be the areas that are causing all these new cancers. It make one think . If the Boc was not there then the CPC would have had a majority government. remember that the bloc was born out of the betrayal of Bouchard who was a PC and its members were mostly PC. So if they never did exist you would have not had this minority government. Harper does what he feels the people support, and if you doubt that, then you have to believe that every party in the goverment has for the last 20 months, all voted to pass things that the people did not want. Harper can only pass things which he has majority support for. It is just too bad that the LIberals only want things that the people do not want. May be you should go back and show me the things Harper has done that people will not support, as this last buch is liberal mudslinging at it lowest.

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First off the CPC are in the 40's not 36's. Also the fact that Harper now enjoys 60% of the people would be comfortable with a CPC majority, is a really a positive for Harper. The fact that Harper did engineer part of the problems the Liberals are melting down with, is just icing on the cake. The crys that Harper is not governing like he has a minority, from the Liberals, are just stupid. He could never pass anything with out majority support, and he has past pretty much everything he tried. And due to senate blocking, he is passing it again. Amazing how he can do that while being a minority goverment. He is governing like he hasa majority, only if he has that, and by the way things get past, I guess he was right now wasn't he? Harper is very good at looking at an objective and then setting up the methods and levers to attain that objective, which is why this minority government has worked. The people do not care that the Liberal are melting down, and for many they see it as just desserts. That will show up soon with even higher polling numbers for Harper, and a steep decline in Liberal numbers, as righfully so. As Dion is incoherrent to the vast majority of Canadians, and has little to no leadership qualities. His backing off calling an election this fall, means he has credibilty on any issue, not even his beloved Kyoto, that he never did anything to achieve all the time he was environment minster. Face it Harper has 3 opponents and the Bloc his main opponent is try hard to find a crack to work up the french voters again, but they are pretty happy with the present government, and will be supportting them enmass if an election were called. Then there is Jack Layton who has taken his party so far left, that only the staunchest lefty's will vote for him. Then there is May, who really is much like Dion but better optics. She would be happy to see one seat, and if two came she would probably faint. And yes last palce and still going down is Dion. The great Liberal hope for the party. He can not do much of anything because of all the knives that are sticking out his back. Asc for any platform he may have, it will be way too little and way too late. He is toast and is well done, to almost black. Time to see if throwing it out is not the best way to go. Harpers problem? I do not see any for now, as it all seems to be laid out for what is coming in the months ahead.