ironstone

Hey Tango,were you one of those three guys on "The Lone Gunmen"?

You have clearly never watched anything on the FOX news channel.As for shouting everybody down being the Republican way,you have no idea what you are talking about.Politics is probably the dirtiest game around and there are nasty things done by all sides.The worst offenses come from the left,witness the dirty campaign against Sarah Palin and her FAMILY.Compare the treatment given to Sarah Palin's daughter to the recent non-coverage of Joe Biden's daughter.There is a reason for that,the media has an overwhelming left wing bias.Merely reporting the facts just won't do,they have to put their own spin into the story.It's the same old story from the left.They overreact when their ideology is challenged in any way.It reaches all the way from censorship on campuses to almost complete domination of the mass media.This does not come from the "right" but from the left.

And let's not forget the Somali warlords shall we?You can't lay all of the blame on the US and Europe.

I think Albertans have a more legitimate beef than say,Quebec.Quebecers complain a lot more than Albertans,typically about not getting their "fair share" of revenue or not having enough power.

Wow!Are you saying that you have no idea that Canada has been divided along "have"and "have-not" provinces?Let me explain it to you.Some provinces ,mainly Alberta,Ontario and sometimes British Columbia have typically had stronger economies than the rest of the country.By a system of this thing called "transfer payments" money goes from the "haves" to the "have-nots".And how is my previous post in any way,shape or form racist?How would you feel if most of your hard earned money went to someone that will likely never carry their own weight?Quebec got something like 7-8 billion dollars in transfer payments last year. Typical.You don't like my opinion so you start with the names.The left has such a difficult time with honest debate. [edit] Equalization payments in Canada – 2007-08 ($ millions) NL PE NS NB QC MB SK BC Total Equalization 477 294 1,465 1,477 7,160 1,826 226 - 12,925 Per capita $938 $2,118 $1,564 $1,968 $931 $1,543 $230 $0 - [edit] Criticisms Equalization payments have mostly been criticized by leaders and residents of the wealthy provinces. The premiers of oil-rich Alberta and of Ontario, with its large manufacturing and service sectors, have criticized a perceived drain on local finances. However, money is collected for equalization payments by federal taxation and is collected regardless of whether or not the province is a 'have' or 'have not' province. The difference is whether the provincial government receives money from the federal treasury. Residents of Alberta and Ontario are not necessarily taxed more by the federal government. However, since those provincial governments receive less total dollars per capita from the federal government than 'have not' provinces, they are required to collect more taxes from their residents than otherwise would be required if the equalization program did not exist. Normally, under the equalization scheme, equalization payments go down a dollar for every dollar increase in a province's treasury. Under the current formula, a have-not province loses a dollar in equalization for every dollar it makes from royalties off the sale of its natural resources, therefore creating a disincentive for developing those resources. An exception is the deal struck by Danny Williams, the premier of Newfoundland and Labrador, for their natural resource exploration and revenues. Typically a 'have-not' province, they are exempt for a period of time from the traditional calculations. A March 2007 paper published by the Fraser Institute questioned the constitutionality of the equalization payment system.[3]

And the CNN reporter didn't show enormous bias?

I agree with you about MSNBC but FOX is the best.I used to watch CNN all the time.Then for a while,my satellite provider offered FOX free for a while.I found they were much better than CNN and the rest.And they are pretty balanced too.

Just so you know,proportionally,the rich pay far more taxes than those who are not rich.And Obama is greatly adding to the Uniteds States debt load.

Okay,Robin Hood should have met the same fate as the pirates that got theirs from the snipers.

No one should gloat about Alberta's problems.Try and remember how all of those billions upon billions of right-wing petro dollars have been flowing out of Alberta and propping up much of the rest of the country.Think of socialist Quebec for one.How about the Atlantic provinces?Modern Canada has always had an enormous,bloated federal public service.A lot of the funds to keep this juggernaut going come from.......Alberta.How about all the money wasted on politically correct initiatives like bilingualism and multiculturalism?Yup,Alberta again.

This has been a long time in the making,spanning decades.They never took the imports seriously in the beginning.Quality control has been an issue,a big problem for them over many years.I don't think the management has been making the best decisions,and they seemed to be afraid to make tough decisions.The CAW and UAW have been milking the car companies for all they are worth and then some.True,the unions have made some concessions,but not nearly enough to alleviate the situation. It seems to me there is too much capacity for the size of the market as well.And if governments(we the taxpayers) bail out the North American car companies,surely we must bail out EVERYONE.I say bite the bullet and let them fail if they can't get their act together.We'll survive.

Mentioning the pirates and Robin Hood in the same sentence is a stretch.Robin Hood stole from the rich and gave to the poor according to the story.These pirates rake in millions of dollars in ransom and keep some of it while investing the rest in more weapons to expand their operations. I don't know if there is a perfect solution,but right now the best one looks like military force,preferably by all nations affected by the piracy.The reaction of the Somalians after the Americans did the right thing shows just how dangerous this situation has become.Apparenly a sense of entitlement is a big part of Somali culture(especially males,according to a Somali man in Ottawa that ran some kind of drop-in centre for Somalis)and their threats seem to prove this.It is sad that the ship owners are refusing to arm ships sailing in this dangerous region.Some heavy machine guns mounted strategically on the ships would no doubt deter at least some of the pirates.

Which of the following is most important: -The rights of the person or persons that have committed the crime? -Public safety? -The victims? Too bad that there are no easy answers.

You're absolutely right,my mistake.

I just heard that the American captain being held hostage has been rescued.Navy SEALS were apparently involved in the operation under cover of darkness.Three of the pirates were shot dead and one captured. This does not in any way mean the end of the piracy problem but it makes me feel good that three of these cowardly bastards are dead.Nice news to end my day

I remember reading a column by Eric Margolis a few years ago in which he claimed that by the year 2050 or so,France's population will have a majority that is....Muslim!I'm guessing this is mostly because of unrestricted immigration from the Middle East and the skyrocketing birthrate of those that make it to France.I apologize for my french,but you can eventually say "au revoir "to France as the world knows it.

These chickensh*t pirates do this because....they can.There has been no concerted effort by the major powers to put an end to this piracy.So far,it looks like most nations that have been victims are more often than not,reluctant to use real military force.And by that I mean actually sending these pricks to the bottom.I agree that at the very least,these ships should be armed with heavy machine guns or something more lethal.The consequences for the pirates?So far,what consequences?In a perfect world they would be blasted into oblivion.

This case of the 14 yr old contrasts sharply with a recent case here in Ottawa.A few years ago,a young man sitting near the back of the bus was approached by some "youths".One of them demanded that the victim,one Michael Oatway,hand over his ipod.When he refused to do this,the "youth" who was armed with a butterfly knife,stabbed Oatway.The stab wound would prove to be fatal.This happened a few years ago and the trial just finished recently.The "youth",who was 17 at the time and physically bigger than the victim recieved a ten year sentence.Not once has he expressed an ounce of remorse for his horrible crime.His own mother isn't much better,referring to the victim as "that boy".The killers friends and family are screaming racism but that's another topic.The family and friends are also quite adamant that the accused is really a wonderful person(society going downhill... anyone?).The killer apparently has a history of dominating and bullying those around him.I think the sentence is too lenient but the kicker is that the only reason he got ten years is that there was a lot of publicity surrounding this case.Otherwise he would have recieved a slap on the wrist,as most juvenile offenders get in Canada.Don't always be fooled by youth,as some of these kids are stone cold killers and will always remain so. I frequently watch a program called "The First 48" on A&E.It's a true life crime show set in the U.S. in certain cities.Often,the killers they catch are youths and it's shocking that how cold hearted these so called kids are.There are countless cased where they have killed without a seconds hesitation.These one's deserve to be locked away for life.

Hmmmm,could be my mistake on that one.I guess I'm not up to speed on Ontario area codes.I meant to say the GTA seems to be strongly Liberal.It seems to me that of the two main political parties in this country,the Liberals are given an enormous amount of leeway compared to the Conservatives.For them,it's almost a zero tolerance policy from the voters.

Poverty,violence and drugs are in large part the result of today's lack of values.Are you suggesting that growing up in poverty is a justifiable excuse to turn to a life of crime?There is too much of the "hand-out" mentality instead of "hand-up" which would help people better their lives.Why must the state take ALL of the responsibility for people's lives?Of course single parents have a tougher time of it,but single parenthood is also not discouraged in our society.The sad part is,it will only get worse.

Society is surely going down the toilet these days.It doesn't help matters that things like family values and personal responsibility are discouraged by our fast paced,trashy society.Who needs both a mom and a dad right? A life sentence without parole is indeed a harsh sentence for someone under 18.If there is no evidence that tougher sentencing is a deterrent to crime,does that mean that more leniency helps reduce crime?No consequences for criminal behavior?And where do the career criminals fit into the picture?

This man would be alive today if these nutbar protesters didn't resort to their usual violent tactics.The usual suspects, meaning the anarchists,the communists/socialists,union thugs etc must accept some responsibility for this death.

Whether or not harmonizing the PST and GST will be beneficial to Ontario remains to be seen.Even if the extra taxes are wildly unpopular it makes no difference.Dalton McGuinty can do whatever he wants since he has a strong majority.I have absolutely no use for this man who can look straight into the eye of the camera and lie through his teeth.He'll get another easy majority next time from the 905 region who blindly vote Liberal no matter what.

I say let them declare bankruptcy.For so many years the greedy unions kept demanding more and more,and inept managers kept giving them everything they demanded.Clearly these costs were unsustainable in the long term and now they have the audacity to demand public money keep them afloat.I have read that CAW members have not contributed a dime to their own pension plan and they now expect the public to pay.According to an article last week in the Ottawa Sun,in Canada there are twice as many retired GM employees as those currently working! They have to come back to earth sometime.

A 13 year old Israeli boy was killed and a 7 year old was seriously injured in an attack by a Palestinian with a pickax last week.The attacker got away unfortunately. This is how the story was carried by the Palestinians:BETHLEHEM, (PIC)-- The Israeli radio has reported that an Israeli settler was killed and another one was seriously wounded after a Palestinian resistance activist succeeded in making his way through the settlement of Bat Ayin, south of Bethlehem city, and attacked them. According to the radio, big numbers of IOF troops rushed to the scene of the attack and combed the area but failed to arrest the attacker who managed to escape after the incident. No Palestinian faction has claimed responsibility for the attack yet. However, the Israeli occupation forces imposed a curfew on the Palestinian village of Kherbet Safa, near the settlement, after the incident in a bid to apprehend the activist. According to local Palestinian sources, big numbers of the IOF troops were dispatched and cordoned the village before they started house-to-house search operations. Israeli settlers, who built their settlement units on Palestinian lands they forcibly usurped from the Palestinian villagers with the help of the IOF troops, frequently assault Palestinian farmers who cultivate their farms, which is the only source of income of their families. Sad how they place a cowardly cold blooded murderer onto a pedestal.They are proud what this man did and he is a hero in their eyes. I don't for one minute pretend to understand the Muslim mindset.The more radical one's seem to be living in another time and are strongly opposed to change.Consider the "Rape Law" in Afghanistan this week.I can't effectively put into words how atrocious and barbaric this is,especially in 2009.Why aren't more Muslims speaking out against this?