Sir Bandelot

You're not reading the other stuff I already said about that. And I do so hate repeating myself. Cyclical arguments bore me. What about the O Canada? How does that further their education, if we are not to waste any time in school it should be dropped. I'm pretty sure that any Jehovahs witness would want to leave the room during that part. That's kinda the same as with the lords prayer and atheists. They don't want to hear it. Personally I don't like it either. It's a dumb song, and they keep changing the words. For a while there used to be a stanza in French. I don't know how to sing it anymore. And "thy sons command", is sexist! In a perfect world, they wouldn't be allowed to play it.

It is a complex topic with no obvious simple solution. But in the immediate context of the thread, I think we're talking about an elementary school. Doubtful that there would be strong opinions among the kids anyway, as I said they probably don't care much. It's the adults who would get sensitive about it. Sensitivity is one of our big problems as a society. But in principle I reject the notion of shutting down discussion in favour of political correctness as dictated by the state. That is a form of intolerance. Some discussion about humanities should be tolerated, not silenced. But at the end of the day they need to hit the books. Since the atheist believes there is no god and people have no soul, all there is physical reality, knowledge of science and technology. The school provides that already. http://www.mapleleafweb.com/forums//index.php?showtopic=16183&view=findpost&p=529643

Agreed that it is not an illness specific to the CPC per se, but indicative of widespread disease of the rich and power hungry, or just the "me first" attitude that prevails, even amongst the not so rich. I doubt that any political party came to Jaffers assistance, but more likely he has some powerful family and friends that came to his aid, and the court system shows its own corrupt nature through stories like this. Joe average would have been quickly pressed through the meatgrinder, ironically with Jaffers own approval as an MP. If they want to live by the sword, let them also die by it. But there is no justice, only power.

You're asking the question, what if even one person didn't believe in anything, or didn't want any discussion about religion whatsoever. Should we make it so that, because of these people, no one is allowed to say anything at all. I say no. They have the rest of the day, when there is no religion being discussed, only school matters. That is their time.

My view is, rather than restricting things as though those who believe in something are now verboten, why not encourage the school to adopt some aspect of the beliefs of the visiting students. Don't take their lords prayer away, if the community agrees they still want it to continue, but include something new that the exchange students bring to the culture of the school. That way they will feel welcome and included, and the students can learn something new, without feeling ashamed or confused about what they were brought up to believe. A more inclusive approach. Whats wrong with that?

Yet taken to extremes this postion is also absurd. I hear that inn France women are not allowed to wear a cross on their necklace, on their own skin no less. Why should a person who has beliefs be forbidden from expressing them. Is a public school not for the whole public? This shows the power of the state to dictate its terms of what people can or cannot say, do, or where they can pray or what they wear has to be limited. Especially when laws are imposed without benefit to a comunity, just because.

But you don't want them to have theirs. Or does "freedom of religion" really mean, no religion is allowed at all?

Gee what a big C attitude, from someone who calls themselves smallc.

Why interfere with what a small community has decided they like? These people in your community feel they want that aspect of teaching for their kids. They probably cannot afford to run a separate school board. All this does is make them unhappy, for which no one will benefit. Just because something is legal, doesn't make it right.

He is an extreme hypocrite because while in government he took a very strong and public anti-drug reform stance. To his thinking, drug abusers are criminals who must be imprisoned for their addiction. Yet he made the plea bargain and no doubt his position of influence got him off the charge. The coke was only in his jacket, indeed. And the fact that he was in possession while in a motor vehicle normally compounds the seriousness of the offense. He should have had a blood test for drugs in his system. Any Joe Average would have received a criminal record, and done a bit of time or community service. But apparently the rules do not apply in his case, for people like him. Are these the people Stephen Harper surrounds himself with?

Thats all fine and well if you want to raise a society of thoughtless worker drones. Human beings should also learn about the arts and humanities. There should at least be courses on philosophy and ethics. Otherwise, we are only taught just enough to be slaves. Why should the "O Canada" be mandatory, why should it even be allowed. We don't teach about spirituality, only nationalist dogma.

I don't understand why people get so worked up or worried about things like this these days. If I was a visitor at another school, I would participate in their daily routine. As long as that is only a minor part of what is going on there, real schooling not religion, it does not hurt them to join in someone elses prayers. Remember, they're only kids. It's the adults who get messed up over it. Be ye as little children be...

You and any other wanna-be conservatives can pull the sheets over your heads on this one, but we real conservatives can only look upon this story, and the types such as Jaffer and people like you who make excuses for them, with great disdain.

I find it quite interesting that the party that tries to portray itself to the public as the most puritan is often the most corrupted and perverse. As we saw in another thread, comparing Democrat and Republican scandals. Likewise it seems to be the case with members of certain theological institutions, whose normal sexual urges are outwardly repressed. It's like a syndrome. This is what happens to closet pee-pee whappers.

There really is no "Taliban"

'nuff said

I agree they deserve to be heard. Maybe I sounded a little too dismissive, but that wasn't my intent. I oppose the war, not because I don't want Afghanistan to be liberated from tyranny, but because I doubt that war is the best way to bring it about. I believe that the losses in war, not just for soldiers (who are willing to die for their country) but for the civilians caught up in it. I believe psychologically, emotionally, many of them will hate us more. They are uneducated. And although we look at their lives as if it's horrible, this is what they are used to. We put them through a deeper horror during the war because of the violence and the possibility of change which will only come about many decades later. Just to clarify, as a Canadian, I don't believe I'm off the hook. And I don't like to pretend I know everything. I don't have all the information as to why, none of us does. But I know I've been lied to, plenty of times. I share your pain on that one. Once we're in the fight, it should be for all the way. The enemy does not take a vacation. Our troops deserve the credit. That won't happen if we cut and run at the end of the fight, after having done all the hard work. Then all we get is criticism, from people like Hillary Clinton.

Only if one wants to participate. These threads are never to be taken seriously, they are aimed at getting an emotional response. If Shady was a fisherman, he'd always be trolling...

These are emotional stories. I don't feel very emotional about it in fact. The families who have pretty much given everything and lost everything should be given all due respect. But that alone is not justification for continuing the war. I don't understand the governments ultimatum for Canada to stop fighting in 2011. Although I never supported the war it seems to me an arbitrary deadline, with no consideration given to the military or political strategy. It does not make sense. But none of this war really did make sense. My view is that we should continue to participate along the same lines as our allies. This is a joint effort. But then some of our allies appear quite reluctant to do their part. The only thing that would make sense at this point, especially given recent events is to prepare an exit strategy, one that would be drawn out over several years. And if we are sincere in our desire to make Afghanistan a better country than before this war started, it should include post-war planning to keep the peace and build up their infrastructure. That will be the meaningful, real fight.

It's understandable, because they want to at least know their kids death was for a good reason. But that is an opinion based on emotional attachment and we need to think clearly, for the benefit of other kids. When the game is done it's done.

Stalin attacked universities, in a similar manner. He feared them because they were intellectuals, much like Shady does. Eventually Stalin had the technocrats arrested, thrown into gulags

Not sure if they need an RPG, but you would be taking great risks to travel in that country without at least some kind of weapon to protect yourself.

Not any more, apparently. The real joke is, although they must now pay into a system, the terms of coverage are still dictated by the insurance corporation. Not "universal coverage" at all.

"The first ever Tea Party Convention has attracted a sellout crowd of a thousand activists from as far away as Hawaii (and media from as far away as Japan) to the Gaylord Opryland Convention Center. Prospective political candidates will be expected to support the Republican National Committee platform, though without any specific litmus or purity test." http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/02/05/tea-party-convention-propose-national-organizing-strategy/ It doesn't matter if the GOP wins big. Even if the vote is divided, as long as it attracts back the votes that they lost to the Democrats, and the right people are still in charge, the republican agenda can continue.

Just a few weeks since the start of the operation here, the Taliban have “reseized control and the momentum in a lot of ways” in northern Marja, Maj. James Coffman, civil affairs leader for the Third Battalion, Sixth Marines, said in an interview in late March. Since their offensive here in February, the Marines have flooded Marja with hundreds of thousands of dollars a week. The tactic aims to win over wary residents by paying them compensation for property damage or family members killed during the operations in February.. The Marines hoped that the programs would be a quick way to put to work hundreds of “military-aged males,” as they call them. But the programs have run into jeopardy. The programs are “completely dead in the water”, Major Coffman said. “We have to change tactics to get the locals back on our side. My greatest fear right now is not knowing if I have put money into the pockets of the Taliban.” Despite those reservations, the Marine strategy depends on showering this community with buckets of cash. The money is a bridge to a day when, in theory, the new Marja district government will have more credibility than the Taliban. One woman who came to the base and asked for help, saying that her husband had been killed during the February operation. First Lt. Aran Walsh offered her $1,700 worth of Afghan currency. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/04/world/asia/04marja.html?hp Current indications are that this operation is not going to work. The invasion took much longer than originally thought, and cost the locals too many lives. The belief that they would accept money in compensation for the loss of their families due to coalition attacks, and then happily embrace a change in governance is extroardinarily naive. These people seem to prefer the Taliban. And as soon as the troops leave, they will probably revert back to their old ways. Lives lost, money spent, but nothing gained. How is this going to bring meaningful victory.