ironstone

Public service union leaders are mainly concerned with more money for themselves,working less,protecting lazy workers,squeezing as much as possible out of non-union taxpayers. They support democracy(but ONLY when they get their way),free speech(as long as nobody opposes their point of view),they are anti-war(sending unguided rockets into civilian areas is fine,depends on who is doing it).Unions support human rights selectively(they will say nothing about regimes that for instance,deny woman the right to an education).Whether union leaders speak out against something depends largely on the one's doing the action(s) in question.Are the offenders considered right wing or left wing?It makes all the difference in the world,as left wingers generally have a free hand to do anything without fear of protest from fellow left wingers. As you may have guessed,I have little use for public service unions.

Gosh,I'm afraid that if I were to admit that I strongly oppose stoning a person to death,in this case what may be the current practice in Iran or other similar countries,someone is going to call me a bigot.Or that I've been brainwashed by the Israeli lobbyists.Whatever.In certain circumstances,I support the death penalty,as long as it's done quicky to minimize suffering. If this is the start of a movement to abolish a truly horrific practice,then it is progress,however small.

It is a wonderful thing to be able to freely express an opinion.Can anyone in the Middle East openly express their opinion,outside of Israel?Without fear of retribution by the government?.......I wouldn't think so,but I could be wrong. No,I haven't been brainwashed by anyone,I form an opinion based on what I see and read.I don't think I'm a bigot either,any more than someone who would blames the "Israeli lobbyists" for all their troubles.Wanting to wipe a country off the face of the map,and repeatedly saying so,now that sounds racist/evil/demented etc to me. I don't hate Muslims or Jews or any other identifiable group.What I do hate is the hard core types,seeking to impose their sick views on others by way of inciting hatred.I can't understand why there is so much support for these movement from all quarters. As for Irans nuclear program,it is exceedingly naive to dismiss the comments of the Iranian leader as nothing to worry about.The free world must stand up to nutbars like this,as we naturally can't count on the dictatorships.

I'm not at all comfortable with the prospect of Iran having nuclear capability.It's clear to anyone that they are more interested in the military application than for providing energy.It's not politically correct to say so,but the thought of any Islamic country having nuclear weapons scares me given the state of Islam today.Look at Pakistan,perhaps the most two faced country on the planet.They give the appearance of wanting to co-operate with the West while at the same time they provide refuge to the Islamist terrorists. As for the West not standing for anything,I would pretty much agree with that.Reckless consumption and greed just about sum up Western society these days.But I'll take that over Islamism any day of the week thank you.I just don't understand a faith,any faith,that glorifies death and violence over everything else. I suppose whether Iran gets nuclear weapons or not depends on what the Israelis do.

Resorting to name calling.The last refuge of those that are intellectually bankrupt.Try something completely different and back up your arguments with facts.

You are way off on your assumptions.You are insinuating that Israel is "throwing" bombs indiscriminately towards Gaza.Nothing could be further from the truth and you would know this if you checked your facts first.The IDF is well equipped with precision guided munitions and they use these to avoid,as much as possible,collateral damage. As for almost half of the total casualties in Gaza being children,that responsibility must lie with Hamas.They are the one's that protect missile launch sites by surrounding them with women and children.

Israel does indeed recieve much military aid from the United States,that does not necessarily mean they are merely a lapdog of the Americans.Israel is a true democracy after all.Remember,most of the surrounding Arab nations recieved military aid from the former Soviet Union,in some cases they had it quicker than the Red Army.Israel also produces their own military equipment as well,some of the finest hardware in the world. What a sharp contrast between the opposing sides.One side fights with honor,doing everything in their power to avoid collateral damage,while the other side not only seeks out the easiest targets,but will willingly sacrifice their own women and children to win in the court of world public opinion. Truly pathetic that they do seem to be winning in that area.

It's amazing when you think about it.We are probably viewing much of the same resources on this subject,whether it's from newspapers or television,but we come out with radically different opinions.Just or unjust,right or wrong,limited military action or drastic overkill to name a few. I read viewpoints from all sides and form my own opinion,and in this case I fully support what the Israelis have done.Civilian Palestinian casualties are unfortunately unavoidable given how Hamas operates.When they launch rockets from densely populated civilian areas,like hospitals or universities,the Israelis have no other option but to destroy them as best they can.The locals are not idiots,they know,or at least the adults do,what is happening here.The children that Hamas gleefully hope to see die,have no say in the matter. Too few Palestinians are involved in trying to better their situation and instead opt for terrorism and ultimately,death. Hamas is like a rabid animal,and the only way to deal with such a beast is to destroy it. KeyStone,I posted this link elsewhere in this forum,I hope you check it out.I can't wait to see you put your own spin on it. http://www.ottawasun.com/News/Columnists/G...952431-sun.html

I hate to see any group threatening strike action at any time but part of me finds it amusing to see the Ontario Teachers Federation holding a gun to Dalton Maguinty's head.They have turned down an extremely (way more than they deserve)generous offer by the provincial Liberals and are making threats.Here we go again.It's clear the teachers union firmly believes the Maguinty Liberals owe them big time,and they fully intend to collect.During the last couple of elections Maguinty was fond of pointing out "My wife is a teacher ya know". Hey Dalton,how does it feel to be held hostage by a government union? Why do ALL public servants feel that they should be completely immune during these tough economic times?They should be thankful they have such plum jobs with almost 100% job security.I suspect most public servants could not cut it in the private sector like the rest of us.What the hell do they have to complain about?

Of course Palestinians have the right to self defense.........in the event they are attacked by outsiders.Surgical military strikes in my opinion do not constitute all out war. Barts,are you even aware of the reasons for Israel's military action in Gaza?Will you show some courage and address the issue of the rockets coming from Gaza?THIS IS WHAT PRECIPITATED THE ISRAELI RESPONSE!What part of this do you not get?

A very interesting article in today's Ottawa Sun by Lorrie Goldstein.I simply ask that you take a few minutes to read it carefully.It concerns the Hamas Charter. http://www.ottawasun.com/News/Columnists/G...952431-sun.html Somewhere I read a silly comment by BC chick that Hamas merely wants a return to the 1967 borders and there will be peace.Here's a sample of the Hamas mindset:As the Hamas Charter states: "Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it, just as it has obliterated others before it ... the land of Israel is an Islamic Waqf, consecrated for future Muslim generations until Judgment Day." Hamas is also very clear about what "Judgment Day" means. Again, from its Charter: "The day of judgment will not come until Muslims fight the Jews (and kill them), when the Jew will hide behind stones and trees. The stone and trees will say, 'O Muslims, O Abdulla, there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him'." What about the possibility more moderate forces will eventually emerge from among the Palestinian, Arab and Muslim worlds to broker peace with Israel? Again, Hamas rejects this. From its Charter: "Leaving the circle of the struggle with Zionism is high treason and cursed be he who does that ... There is no way out" except for jihad. Scary,hateful,pathetic,barbaric......these are my words to describe what Hamas stands for.

Does anyone seriously think that Saddam Hussein would not have eventually restored his nuclear and biological weapons program if the invasion didn't take place?Admittedly the invasion was launched on FAULTY intelligence reports.Namely,Iraqi Generals were lying to Saddam about the progress of their weapons programs.Lying to save their own hides,telling the truth would have meant their executions. And please,nobody can tell me the Iranian Gov't is not a major player in supporting world terrorism today!How sad to be in 2009 and have a world leader(Mahmoud Whatshisname)spouting his anti Jewish filth for all to hear.He sounds like a Hitler wannabe.

If the Israelis did indeed bomb a university,do you think perhaps rockets were being launched from that site?It's typical of Hamas,hiding behind civilians.How low can they go?I think they may still surprise us. Why won't professional parasite Sid Ryan just go away and be quiet?Every time he opens his mouth and spews his bile,he does the left no favours,he merely highlights his own ignorance.

I seriously doubt that the Israelis want to purposely starve people within Gaza.As for Hamas only wanting the 1967 borders re-established,that will not solve the problem either.Did Israel have peace and security previous to 1967?The answer is of course,no.The openly hostile Arab nations surrounding Israel tried to defeat the IDF on the battlefield,1948,1956,and 1967.Don't forget 1973 either.There is a a measure of peace with some of her Arab neighbors,paid for with many lives lost on all sides.Having learned the hard way that Israel cannot be defeated on the battlefield,the likes of Hamas and Hezbollah will always resort to cowardly attacks. What might the present situation be like if ALL financial aid coming into Gaza was used for the benefit of the population instead of being used for weapons and the promotion of hatred?

Please tell us how the nation of Israel should have responded to the rocket attacks from Gaza.Explosive laden rockets,inaccurate,fired in the general direction of Israel with a greater than even chance of hitting civilians.Repeatedly,with no advance warning given by the way.And keep in mind,many of the launching sites are within densely populated civilian areas,often among women and children. For all those opposed to a limited military response(Israel's current action),what other options are better?Perhaps a chorus of zombies chanting the Lennon "peace" song within earshot of the Hamas leadership? How the hell would you respond?And remember,there would be no Israeli military action in Gaza now if Hamas didn't START this mess by lobbing rockets!

Typically,don't newcomers to Canada overwhelmingly vote Liberal?How about Canadian-born "visible minorities"?The numbers also seem to show that they strongly support the Liberals.Presumably,this group includes deeply religious people.Hindus,Muslims,Jews ,to name just a few,that are strongly devoted to their faith tend to usually vote for the Liberals. You clearly have a problem for the so-called "religious right" supporting the Conservatives,fair enough.Why no criticism of the identifiable religious groups that support the Liberals?By the way,it doesn't necessarily mean the above mentioned parties are evil because of where their support comes from.

Actually,Toyota has long had ties to GM.Some models share the same platform,for example the Pontiac Vibe is a rebadged Toyota Matrix.How about Ford and Mazda?Chrysler and Mitsubishi?

Please enlighten us,what is the politically correct way to deal with these pirates?While I am no fan of socialism/communism I don't think the Russians and Chinese will tolerate too much of this.They may be inclined to ,wait for it......take military action! The situation in Somalia is awful,but do they not deserve at least some of the blame?Too many warlords....

I don't hold out much hope of peace in that part of the world,at least not for many years into the future.I believe the majority of Israelis would like nothing better than to achieve a lasting peace with their enemies.The sad fact is,even if 99% of Palestinians want peace as well,to date they have shown no ability at all to control those who want the complete destruction of Israel.The latest military action taken by the Israelis is a direct response to rocket attacks courtesy of the cowards of Hamas.It is most unfortunate the civilians are dying in the Gaza Strip but there can be little doubt that Hamas members deliver their attacks hidden behind innocent civilians.What a stark contrast,one side deliberately attacks civilians,while the other side tries to give ample warning before striking. As for the distribution of aid in the region,Israel certainly recieves a lot,mostly from the United States.After Yasir Arafat died,I was shocked at the amount of money flowing to the Palestinians....much of it from the hated West of all places!Arafat certainly was a wealthy man by the way,possibly worth billions.Gosh,I wonder how he got all that money? Israel has flourished under the same conditions as her neighbors,and is democratic as opposed to the Arab dictatorships.Nothing would make me happier than to see lasting peace in that troubled region,but it does not appear to have much chance.There are ominous threats on the horizon.Israel may be overwhelmed by shear weight of numbers alone.It seems the Palestinian population is rising dramatically,and sadly each and every one will be taught to hate Israelis and Jews alike.Another looming threat is the nuclear one.Is there a single Hamas supporter out there that can honestly say they wouldn't use a nuclear weapon against Israel if they had the chance? What are your thoughts?

Don't you wish public service union leaders in this country could stop being so damn greedy?Postal workers on strike,bus drivers here in Ottawa on strike.When will someone stand up and shout "ENOUGH!"?On the whole,public servants have it better than their counterparts in the private sector....by a good margin.Hgher pay,substancially more time off,better benefits and even fewer hours worked.And we can't forget the very generous pension plan too.Why can't they be content with what they have already?It's especially galling for them to keep making unreasonable demands when Canada and the rest of the world are entering a time of economic uncertainty.Will there ever be someone on the government side with enough balls to stand up to them instead of caving in time and time again? We need a Margaret Thatcher type,now there was a leader to inspire!

Yes I am aware there are differences in Canadian and American tax laws.However,does it not stand to reason that whatever happens south of the border will greatly affect the auto sector in Canada,for better or worse?Should we be asking ourselves why foreign all foreign auto companies with a presence in North America seem to be struggling to the same extent as our big three?On the Fox channel,I remember a right wing commentator(Sean Hannity)blaming government intervention for many of the problems.CAFE fuel economy standards for one.Does anyone know if these standards were only meant for the big three,or to foreign cars sold in the U.S. as well? The bailout question is a tough one.Part of me says let them sink or swim but there could be a huge ripple effect if they do sink. If taxpayers do end up footing the bill,I would hope there would be big changes and strict belt tightening by the recipients. As for tax breaks for foreign car companies to set up shop here,I'm sure those guys get very good wages too.They seem to be more efficiently run too.What is corporate welfare?Jack Layton wants money for the auto sector,so does that qualify as corporate welfare?He is opposed to tax breaks for corporations,but in the end won't that help create jobs?On another subject,I think pay packages for CEO's are beyond obscene.Why do so many have to be so greedy these days?

I'm curious what the members on this site think of the idea of bailing out GM,Ford and Chrysler.The coalition forces want immediate help for the auto sector,meaning cold,hard,CASH! I wonder if it's wise to hand over money to them before seeing what Obama does first.Even he says they must come up with a credible plan first and foremost.Remember too that these are American based companies.Did you know that it's not umcommon for assembly line workers to earn over $100,000 a year,plus a host of other generous benefits?Do you think chapter 11 is the best option?This way,they could perhaps bring the unions a bit more down to earth. Have any of you ever owned V6 GM cars with the premature head gasket problem?Ever driven an Alero or Cavalier? Tell us where you stand and please indicate if you are on the left or right,lol.

I certainly agree with you on the bit about Quebec.Harper gave away too much money and power to them,something every federal government is guilty of.

The left wingers never cease to amaze me.They are hypocrites in every sense of the word.Over the last week the core argument they make over this coalition nonsense is that Stephan Dion is the rightful Prime Minister of Canada by virtue of the fact his backroom deal with the Socialist and Bloc members represents the true wishes of a majority of Canadians.Sounds like selective democracy and cherry picking to me.I read the comments of one VMG where he dismisses the recent poll numbers outright.So that's what it boils down to?Anyone that does not favour this poorly thought out coalition idea is poorly informed?Looking at the most hard core supporters of Dion-Layton-Duceppe,government union bosses and their soldiers are front and centre.Deep down,we know full well that they are concerned about one thing and one thing only!They have an insatiable greed that cannot be fulfilled under any circumstances.Their pay and benefits easily outstrip most of their private sector counterparts in every way,higer salaries,substancially more time off,better better working conditions,fantastic job security.Sadly,all of this is not enough it appears.PSAC and all the other greedy government unions have little to fear in the future.Even if the Conservatives one day got a huge majority election victory,we will ALWAYS have a massive public service in this country.Governments of all stripes have historically caved in to union demands more often than not.By the way,can anyone tell me what party was in power the last time there were big layoffs in the public service? I wish Canadians on both sides of this argument were better informed.I am of the impression that those on the right have more common sense and reason than those on the left.You can't deny we are fighting an uphill battle here.There is unquestionably a pro left wing bias in the media,not only here but south of the border as well. It's amusing to hear the crying from the left over the GG's decision.In their view,the coalition is perfectly legal and legitimate,while what Harper has done,is not.Now I beg you,who are the uninformed one's here?

The most vocal supporters of the coalition claim that it represents the majority of Canadians.This is quite a stretch to say the least.So if I understand this line of reasoning,during the Chretien years when he won three straight elections with a majority of seats,he could have or should have been brought down by coalition of the opposition parties?As far as I can recall,his percentage of the vote was around the 40-43 % range,and using left-wing logic he did not truly represent a majority of Canadians.And what did the Conservatives get,something like 37-38%?Not a huge difference if you honestly look at it. I also seem to recall during the Chretien years lot's of protesting from ALL of the opposition parties against the Liberal record.Admittedly,Harper needs to loosen his grip on his team since the Conservatives have more than their fair share of talented MP's.He should allow them to shine,it's clear to all they can more than hold their own against the opposition.Now that I think of it,Chretien was basically a one man show as well.Why did he not face the same criticism as Harper has been facing?Spare me on the over rated Liberal record please.They benefitted enormously from policies initiated by the Mulroney government,namely free trade and the GST.Both,need I remind you,policies vehemently opposed by the Liberals when they were in opposition.