Sir Bandelot

This argument does not apply to health care. For one it doesn't matter where the funding is coming from, people will form their unions and that will be a problem... especially in health care from what I've personally seen. But auto workers form unions as well, so that is beside the point of where funding comes from. Ultimately these people simply want to get paid. Second, the argument that unions remove quality of work because there is no incentive, does not apply well to health care workers. Thats like saying scientists become less effective once they are unionized. At the front lines we are talking about professionals here, some of these people have taken oaths... how many of us have done that to do our job?

The US is approaching a point where, no matter which way they turn, the wedge keeps getting hammered in. They are becoming increasingly divided as a people. As a lot of folks seem to be saying in the news bites, "It's scary to be living in my country right now." And I keep reading that and thinking, why, What is it they're afraid of? Well maybe this is what they're afraid of! US is a cultural powder keg waiting to go off. Because of this growing outright hatred on the one side and almost fanatical love for Obama on the other side. It's the ones who hate him who are the problem. He was democratically elected... and they even show their disdain and lack of respect for the office of the president, by shouting out insults on national television... What more do you expect? It would never happen to Bush, thats for sure. These things may not be because he is a black man, but they are inflammatory and the fact that he IS a black man, only makes this a bigger problem for inciting the radical elements. So I think that the one somehow worsens the other, by seeming to justify it. Such as when a politician says "You Lie!"

Right genius, but that should not be how we run health care. And in generalm thats how we do it in Canada and the UK. I'm saying, the profit motive is in conflict with that. It's not at all the same thing. You missed the point again... in a public system the money stays in the system, its not paid out as a profit at the year end. Canada and the UK use that model now, although its eroded in Canada by capitalist influence, which is part of its problem now. What country do you live in?

The problem with the business model is that they need to make more money each year, in order to be successful. So in other words, making a billion in profit this year is simply not good enough, they must make more than that next year, and so on. Otherwise there is no "growth". This is not about sustainability, but continued growth. Second thing is that, if it turns a profit under the public system, the money is returned to the people, who are effectively 'shareholders". We need a system where the profit is returned to the people. Competition for control of these industries is between the government and private ownership, in other words, the wealthy elite.

I'm all for an election... when I see a leader I would vote for. Who knows, I might even vote liberal again some day.

Oh I dunno, he might surprise us. He might decide to go south if he doesn't get his christmas present soon- too much hard work for him...

They need someone who comes across as genuine. Ignatieff is not genuine. He was already stabbing Dion in the back, right there on television he's laughing with the cons as they ridicule his leader. I thought I even heard him slip a jab or two at Dion himself during rousing moments in the house. Canadians will not vote for him because of this. He appears in every way to come across as a political opportunist, not someone genuinely commited to the public service. And appearance, is all that matters in a representative democracy. Specfic issues do not matter. Not even policy, matters to the general public... just charisma. For further info see "Barack Obama" and the cult of personality.

Its time for them to do what I said they should do before, go after LeBlanc. The liberal party needs a massive overhaul to clean out the dead wood and bring on a new, more youthful leadership. New wine for new skins

Sure, only now he will have to get in line... after banks

Its very hard for people to accept this fact, after years f being brainwashed by capitalist slogans that socialism -any kind of socialism- is outright evil. Only to have to wake up one day to the news, guess what, its unrestricted capitalism thats the problem, and we need a little socialism now, to help get us out of this! "Gawd, the end times must be a comin..! They want us to worship their evil godless socialism, to make us into their money-slaves!" Wake up you fool, you already are one Only the bank is your master...

I can't believe the right wingers want Obama's economic recovery to fail. Hasn't what you propose already been tried, for the past fifty years? In more or less general terms, it has. And in some ways that is what evolved into the unrestricted greed and plunder which required the masive bailout. That idea has already been exhausted and proven itself not sustainable.

Oh really? I don't believe I've ever said that before, I am generally non-liberal.

I prefer a liberal majority (with a decent leader) as opposed to a conservative minority with the liberals on their knees. Genuflecting before Harper, no less

Gilles Duceppe is probably the best leader out of all the parties right now. Too bad most of us cannot vote for him

I doubt it Dancer because, Mr. Karzai has been quite clear that he wants a government that would include representatives from the Taliban in it, mission or no. "Moderate" Taliban, apparently. Little slices of extremism...

It is up here. Welcome to our forum

Well of course, a non-confidence vote from the opposition will do it, in minority. As for distancing themselves from the cons, thats one thing alright but forcing an election over almost nothing, will distance the liberals right out of parliament. As in, eventual loss of party status... something which in the long run might even be a good thing. This party needs to reinvent itself. The road they're on since Martin is a dead end... no hope on the horizon with any of the current dunsosaurs.

Of course it does. I don't think it comes from this... how about some better gear instead. Now there's a way to spend the money, and give them a better chance to make it back home. let alone actually WIN That's like telling someone who's terminally ill that everything is going to be alright. The question is, are we dying for them, or are they dying for us... We have something like 130 dead, or so? The Afghani body count must be easily ten times that amount. Or make it a hundred... or a thousand. I know the Taliban are harsh and cruel. How many would they have killed in the last 7 years, if we had not invaded? I can accept it, if the end justifies the means. So far there is not one thing that makes me think that this is progress. Come on Dancer, stop getting so misty-eyed. She's not actual royalty

Right, and where goose-stepping little fascists strut around like peacocks. Oh for the good old days, when men were mussolini

I would expect her to stay home and not waste taxpayers money, on a feel-good mission that contributes absolutely nothing of value.

From what the polls are showing now, Mr. Ignatieff would probably like to just be quiet and not have an election. I doubt that he has the guts to do it. And if he does, he will only show himself to be an ambitious jack-ass = Lose, lose situation.

What else do you really expect her to say... she is a mouthpiece and a figurehead for the current leadership. There is no way she would ever criticize the lovely war. But hey, if it gives you a warm fuzzy feeling, enjoy

We heard some fancy talk, now lets see some fancy walk.

I don't know what he means by a lack of support. I don't see any significant protesting or calling for a troop withdrawals yet. I think most Canadians definitely support the troops, many support the mission Not sure how many support the war ideology (the idea that war is the solution). Fact is, there's a lot of effort and money going into this mission from nations all around the world. Yet the Taliban are somehow able to withstand the onslaught of a coordinated effort by the allied forces and the worlds greatest super power. They also withstood it from the soviets, as we all know. I suggest the problem has little to do with insufficient enthusiasm at home. But hey, I am not a military expert. Let the generals and commanders speak the truth. Winning is open to many interpretations... August was the worst month ever in the war, in a continually escalating body count over 8 years. And in that time the Taliban have maintained their hold on the southern regions, gained ground in other provinces in the east and west, and encircled Kabul. http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington...n-troubles.html And seems to me, Canada has no real exit strategy or benchmarks for success for 2011... beyond the phrase "time's up, time to cut and run."

"These losses, in particular of a senior officer, will have a devastating impact upon the morale not only of the soldiers serving in Afghanistan but the military families all across Canada," Drapeau said Tuesday on CTV's Canada AM. "It brings the point home that at the moment we are certainly not winning and at the moment we need to do something to regain the initiative." "The Americans are now shifting strategy, but we have yet to know in Canada what is the strategy," Drapeau says. "What is the objective? What is it that will surface that will allow us to declare victory and come home in 2011?" The downside to the boost in American military might in Afghanistan is the increased risk of civilian casualties, which threatens to erode support among Afghans for the NATO battle against the Taliban. But while heavy-handed tactics may send civilians into the arms of the Taliban, the alternative puts soldiers, including Canadians, at risk. "If we up the ante and if we increase the tempo and increase the lethality of what we do, then likely we're going to be causing civilian casualties and they in turn will be more adept at supporting the Taliban. And if we stay as sitting ducks and try to reconstruct and try to be in the nation-building type of mission...then the Taliban are going to take advantage of that as they have done over the past seven or eight years." "So it's almost a no-win situation," Drapeau says. NATO troops 'not winning' in Afghanistan --- Month after month, the evidence (and bodies) continues to pile up, indicating that the current strategy in Afghanistan is not effective. When will someone in the leadership take responsibility, and have the courage to say "Its enough waiting, enough have died. It's time to shift our direction on this." We have been patient long enough... certainly more patient with the war than with the peace.