maplesyrup

This is exactly what I am talking about. With all due respect to the tragedy of the Lattimer family, it is absurd to compare taking someone's ring to killing someone. Svend has paid dearly for his breakdown or whatever happened to him. Strange though, the Burnaby Douglas constituents still voted NDP, and elected Svend's long time constituency assistant. Was this their way of showing their support for Svend?

Maybe, just maybe, Canada has lost its moral compass, and we are way more corrupt than we are willing to admit, eh!

'Import' more youngsters, Ottawa urged Kind of refreshing to hear someone speak out on Canadian issues who actually knows how to use his brain. Kent seems like an interesting fellow. If you remember he's the same fellow who wrote: Repair of Taxation" Mr Kent is raising a valid point about Canada's immigration policies. Sometimes I wonder if many people think outside the box in Ottawa. Like what is Canada's immigration game plan? At the moment it seems we are importing nude dancers who have to show their portfolio (resume) to Canada's immigration officers to prove they are legit.

It is amazin' what loyalty brings someone in politics. All the Martin supporters who were loyal to him, no matter how badly they screw up, retain their power and influence. That guy from Quebec, what's his name, Jean Lapierre, I think, one of the BQ founders, is a good example.

I heard some statistics recently, and I cannot vouch for its veracity, however it said 10% of people in Canada steal. One in ten. That seems like theft is a very serious problem in our society, as I had no idea it was that high. If we seriously address the issues of poverty, such as finding a way to get more motivated teachers who will spend the time with those in difficulty in high school, rebuiding an A-1 apprentice program, and making education tuition free etc., we could probably make large inroads into solving the problem of theft in Canada. It won't solve all the problems but it would make a good dent. It is pointless to stream all high school students towards university. Most don't complete it. We need to raise the profile of skilled labour in our country, so that blue collar workers are provided with more respect. I think it would be kind of neat to have a welder as our next prime minister. Part of it is that people need to be convinced they live in a fair system. Now how do we define fair? I am intrigued by this new approach of having the perpetrator face the people he abused, and having the two parties work out a retribution process. When you put real people up as the victims, and not some faceless person, it must have more of an impact on the person who did the dirty deed. It seems nuts that we have such high rates of unemployment and yet we had to import skilled workers recently in BC. Sounds like our current BC government, which has contributed to the decimation of the apprentice program, have no sense of direction except greed for their financial supporters. A big total screwup.

Canada has the expertise to build anything. The one thing we can't do apparently is supply enough women to dance in the nude bars so we have to import them as well, just like our ferries. Do you think ferries and dancers both need to be imported?

Having your car or your tools stolen is not the same as being physically threatened, hurt or killed. And like the police were able to find the stolen items right. What's the big deal - you have insurance, don't you? Let the insurance company worry about things like that. Let them earn their premiums. Police should not be tied up with such mundane work. They are too highly paid to be wasted doing that. And you guys are into low minimum wages, aren't you? So hire a security guard to protect your precious THINGS. And although you may find this hard to believe, it is not the police's role to protect the rich from the poor in our society. Perhaps you guys are putting too much value on material things, eh?

And 70% Canadawide voted AGAINST what Harper represented. What's your point? Maybe the Conservatives will get even less support in the next election, as the Greens and the Christian Heritage Parties gather strength.

Earnscliffe earnings spike All the news that's fit to print - courtesy of Frank Magazine!

Health Canada honours fired whistleblower What the ---- is going on here? Why are at least the ethical cattle ranchers not rallying behind these whistleblowers? Or maybe they are, but our media is not sharing that part of the story with us. Where is Canada's private media on this ? One would have thought they would be jumping up and down all over this. Or are they in cahoots with the bovine drug industry and the government? I guess the Paul Martin Liberals are absolutely terrified to bring in effective whistleblower legislation because it will open the floodgates, eh? Is there any government in Canada that has some good whistleblower legislation on the books?

August1991.....actually 38% of Quebeckers voted Liberal in the last federal election. Or am I mistaken?

How Did Premier Lose Public on Strike? Not a verry good sign going into the pre-election period. Has any premier ever been more unpopular that the current BC premier? I wonder. :angry:

So does this mean I can steal a new Corvette without any real consequences? Do you equate stealing a car with stabbing someone? I don't.

Maybe if we focused on addressing the reasons for poverty rather than sweeping them under the rug, we wouldn't be addressing problems of theft in our society. Gotta to love this holier than thou mentality when someone gets caught. Most people, if honest, would probably say, there but for the grace of God, goes I. How many people can honestly say for example they have never tried to chisel on their taxes, or whatever? Not very many I would fathom. There is a fundamental difference between stealing something and physically injuring someone, and this needs to be reflected in our judicial system. We need to decriminalize stealing just as we are about to do with marijuana. It should become a civil matter. Time for some new ideas in this country instead of the same old, same old.

Finally Vancouver has a Council with the guts that is willing to explore solutions rather that this "FAILED WAR ON DRUGS" mentality permeating from South of the border. How refreshing! It does sounds like the BC Liberals could use the room in the Lege for their CRACK team members.

People earn respect. DUI does not generate respect, only derision. Let's cut out the bullshit here!

Our public auto insurance in BC puts a lie to the myth that private is better. ICBC is fantastic. From personal experience, I was real ended a few years ago on a Thursday, brought my vehicle in for a damage assessment , the next day on Friday, and received a check for the damages on the following Monday - I would like to see any private insurance operate so appropriately. I just went to renew my automobile insurance this week and was offered the option of farming out some of my insurance like collision, etc to a private company. Even though it was a few bucks cheaper, I said no, as who knows what this private company is going to do when I need them. ICBC has a great track record but Gordo recently removed the Chair because he did not privatize it. What a smuck Gordo is. I will be surprised to see the Liberals keep him on as leader for the next election It sounds like private is a disaster in the Atlantic region - I mean let's face it, someone has to make the big bucks if it's private. I understand the rates have gone through the roof as the private companies gouge the poor consumers. Where is Ralph Nader when you need him?

Do you think the increased U.S. terror alerts are politically motivated? Not politically motivated you say. What a crock!

What's the big deal here anyways, apart from the fact that Svend is the left wing politician that most right wingers love to hate. It's not like some violence took place or someone was threatened with physical violence. So some rich guys piece of jewellery went missing for a couple of days, but then it was returned. It's not like Svend didn't know he was being watched or that they didn't know who he was. Do you know the procedures at these auctions? Time to give it up. You had your pound of flesh when he was charged during the last week on the federal election campaign. Coincidence of timing, eh!

The lies that led to war This headache for Stephen Harper shows no signs of abating. He must rue the day he sent that letter to the Wall Street Journal which just adds to the documentation on file reflecting Harper's complicity. How very sad for Canada that this "SUPPORT CANADIAN TROOPS INVADING IRAQ"was/is the position of the Leader of our Opposition in Ottawa! :angry:

Canada is a social democratic society and it seems to be working reasonably well. We have an abundance of resources, so as a result we have the ability to be competitive, without reducing things like minimum wage, or abandoning our health care system. There is lots of opportunity for those who aspire to be rich to do so - look at what is taking place in Vancouver, for example. The one overriding problem is that some folks just get too greedy, and they need to be curtailed through a progressive taxation system, closing out all the tax loopholes, and a strict environmental control policy, etc. These fish farms on the West coast are a good example of where our collective governments have seriously let us down. To jeopardize the West coast salmon, so a few greedy folks can get rich with this stupid idea, is just short-sighted. Governements that support this kind activity need to be turfed. Canada needs to move forward in a few areas such as a guaranteed annual income, eliminating tuition fees for education, ensuring that we have a top notch universal health care system, and perhaps some kind of mandatory environmental/conservation training program for our youth. Canadians would be wise to adopt the elimination of poverty as our collective goal for the 21st century.

What's wrong maplesyrup, can't find a job. I never seem to have a problem finding work. Need work, make work. It is individuals who build companies and compete. Individuals trade goods and services. Governments just get in the way. This is the fundamental difference between the left and the right. I am responsible for myself and the left thinks big brother knows best. Willy's personal slurs are so typical of the right wing bullshit that flies around here at Mapleleafweb. The reality is the wealthy makes their money on the backs of the poor. Whether it is within a country or internationally. The people who negotiated these trade agreements for Canada have sold out out the poor people in our society. That's what I don't get about being rich and Christianity. Accumulating wealth is so opposed to what Jesus was all about. Well they say politics makes for strange bedfellows. It was quite apparent from analysing the latest election results Canadians are waking up to the reality of these disasterous trade agreements and are shifting to the left politically. Maybe Canadians will finally come to their senses next election. A Bloc Quebecois - New Democratic partnership seems to be in the works, and Canadian voters are starting to like what they see in that kind of arrangement! One area that is going to be very valuable for Canadians in the future is our fresh water. Maybe we should start considering to sell our water, what we don't require for ourselves, for the same price as the gasoline prices at the pump. In time water will be more valuable than oil, it is just a matter of time.

Get real! Svend has already paid a huge price for his behaviour. Fortunately, it sounded like Svend had an enlightened judge who had an accurate appreciation of his situation. Who cares about a piece of jewellery, anyways? It is acts of violence and guns that need to be seriously addressed in Canada.

A Look at Albany, N.Y., Mosque So what is going to happen here? Apparently there was an attempt to purchase a surface-to-air missle. The purpose however was to get a Pakistani diplomat. Gee, I wonder why no refugee claimants for sanctuary here!

Another tragic situation is the farming out to Germany, or wherever, the construction of three ferries for BC. All these good paying jobs going out of the country. Where are Canadians going to find decent employment? With braindead policies like these, Canadians will be flipping burgers for the rest of their lives. :angry: