Cartman

I find most of the media is just trash anyways. I really don't care what letters go beside their crap. Investigative journalism died long ago in favour of pretty graphics, shiny lights and sensationalism. Just one more crappy channel that I am gonna have to delete but probably pay for through my provider. I wish that they would let me pick individual channels for a reasonable price rather than these bundles. Pathetic cartel.

I attended a lecture on health care earlier this year and an economist compared Alberta's spending over the last 2 decades to other provinces. In reality, Alberta spends a little more on health care than most other provinces. It was the first province to initiate significant cuts but also the first to start spending again. In reality, Quebec is " the health care boogeyman" as they privatize the most. As I know this economist to be pretty politically neutral, I tend to suspect that she is correct.

Here is another weird one for ya NC. Last I heard (couple of years ago), they exported more fish than any other province in the country because of fish farming (and fishery closures of course). Now I never associated fish with Saskatchewan. Land in Sask is really, really cheap and the economy is starting to generate more steam. It is nice to see because a lot of these folks suffered from poor economic conditions for decades.

I would agree with much of the above. In fact, I was thinking that science has given us the enhanced ability to kill and even destroy the earth with ease. My intent though was less to state the perfection and virtue of science, as it was to suggest that religion cannot really be questioned or changed by followers unless they threaten to leave and form a new service provider. I felt stifled when I went to church and could not question the interpretations given by the church leader. Something is wrong with religion though because people are not very dedicated it seems. They want leaders to marry and bury them, but do not feel obligated to attend regularly. I was really shocked to hear of the United Church asking for help from the CAW because of the way they are treated. On the other hand, at least they did not see fit to go to the Teamsters!

I think you have the right idea. MP's should be treated like hockey players. Trade them at will.

People keep saying that Parrish should join the NDP, but I am not so sure that they would want her or that she would want to join them just because of a common stand on the Iraq war. She could go as an independent. She gets attention by being part of the governing Liberals, but if she joined the NDP she would just be another whining opposition member. I suspect that she really enjoys the fact that she can get the attention by pushing the envelope because of the possible threat to leave.

I test drove one of those Smart cars (really awesome) and it was very cheap. The dealer told me I would have to pre-order and wait several months before I could get my hands on one though because demand has been much better than expected. My point is that most Canadians are willing to make sacrifices for the environment. Under our Kyoto plan, the government could give individuals incentives (tax cuts) for buying a vehicle with such high mileage. That would give other companies incentives to make smaller, more efficient cars. Government has to catch up with people.

I guess I should have said that she was a Martin supporter.

Or because he left a party that implemented the GST (a more honest and open sales tax compared to the MST) only to go to a party that denounced it but ended up sustaining it. So, the answer is yes (both). Parrish is openly anti-Chretien/pro-Martin.

Actually, I was surprised that the US was not hit years before 911. There was always news about Israel and other nations being hit, but never the US. Really, what can stop them? But then again, I am VERY surprised that the US has not been hit hard since 911.

Yup! Canadian NHL players are paid in US $$. Why do they not settle for pesos or Cdn $'s?

I think that we should do more in this regard. The feds match $$ personal contributions. If every person in industrialized nations contributed a bit, we could solve a lot of problems.

Actually August, I agree with you, but there are some who would like to see the government(s) intervene. I am not sure about your last point though and I would like you to explain. Are you referring to absolute dollars? I always believed that every time the CDN $ lost a cent, I lost 1% on my investments relative to the US. My broker disagreed and thought I was making money.

At this point, I am starting to wonder if she is the only politician doing anything.

Rhetoric http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=rhetoric

Everyone pays taxes in this country if they buy anything from a pack of smokes to a chocolate bar. Everyone has a right to argue how those dollars are spent regardless of whether they are in school, on welfare or working as a mechanic.

The reason why Sask. is doing so well is because the NDP put a lot of money into the oil industry when it was not very popular. Suspecting that you have oil and looking for it, getting it and selling it are very different things. Sask is doing quite well and it DOES have a lot to do with the Provincial NDP. Alberta had a booming oil industry before the PC's ever formed government, Sask did not have a booming oil industry before the NDP. They are not the same thing at all. Give them SOME credit for a change.

The Alliance is the only news maker in this election because they are going nowhere fast. This is really interesting (for all Canadians) even though this is a boring election because it is like the Canadian Progressive Conservatives against the screwball Republican wannabees. Kinda weird when Klein is the commie left-winger in a contest! It is also an interesting if confusing thought test for some posters on this forum. Are you in favour of the Progressive Conservatives or the Alberta Alliance? And please do not say they are the same because even King Ralph does not think so. Truth is, Albertans are right-wing and small "c" conservative, but they are most definitely not Republican. This will be demonstrated when the NDP does better than the Alliance and likely the Liberals (I would not be surprised if the Social Credit does better than the Alliance). So, the "Republican wannabee Bush lovers" will soon realize that they are truly the minority after this election.

BBM Posted on Nov 17 2004, 02:37 PM Stoker Posted on Nov 17 2004, 10:17 PM Maple Posted on Nov 17 2004, 10:46 PM Stoker Posted on Nov 18 2004, 12:06 AM There is a difference between asking a sincere question and making a statement in question form. I suspect that you would be upset if I innocently asked if you were a child rapist. Hey, it is just a question. Everyone here knows what you meant. BBM made a good point and you just tried to bully. Shame.

Only in Canada do we complain when we do too well.

Maybe there is something to this, but on the other hand, the police completely screwed Clark and the NDP and later found nothing, so I don't know. I lost a lot of respect for the RCMP over that and still think heads should roll (fired and convincted). We would not accept anything else from any other party.

BBM, are you aware that Saskatchewan has a lot of oil? They have invested heavily in this industry for some time and are starting to show the payoffs. My brother from Ontario recently moved there and says the economy is very strong and cost of living is quite reasonable.

As a left-wing proponent, let me play right-winger (devil's advocate) for a change. Uh uhmm...the free market should decide dollar values and governments should not intervene because anything government does is inefficient, wasteful and probably oppressive. At this time of job losses, we should cut taxes which support the unmotivated because taxes support laziness. If the dollar drops or rises, you should be happy to take advantage of it! Anything detrimental like job losses are simply "market corrections" and are inevitable. You should ensure that you are in a competitive industry or have competitive skills. People in such industries will not suffer job losses, but if they do, they should be able to easily find work in countries looking for them. If you do not have a competitive education, one can always be obtained from student loans at low interest rates. Did you know how many times most people will change careers? Constant learning is the lesson. People are treated too well by the welfare state in Canada. If you or your family have not realized the potential of investing conservatively in the marketplace, then you really have only yourself to blame. Remember, people in third world countries are poorer than are you.

Long, but I would truly enjoy some critical, thoughtful and honest feedback. Religion is an epistemology based primarily upon faith. One cannot prove that God exists, what God’s designs actually are or whether anyone interprets or promotes them properly. This is problematic, but I can accept that we all place a measure of faith in science too. Few of us have actually looked at molecules or know the precise physics involved in flight etc. There is, however, one tremendous difference between the two. Science does not pretend to “prove” anything per se, truth is rarely declared or accepted. This is because scientific reasoning is subject to scrutiny; better explanations accepted and insufficient explanations refuted as knowledge continues to accumulate. Self-criticism is built/forced into this form of knowing and if ever demonstrated to be inadequate relative to another way of thinking, it will perish. Alternatively, religion seems to have a “take it or leave it” faith approach that even many of the devout find problematic and decide to “leave it”. For example, only 13% of Canadians claim to have no religious preference, 80% do believe in God and many desire rites of passage (marriage, burial etc), yet only 49% of self-identified religious people pray once a week or more, and only 21% of Canadians claim that religion is “very important to them”. As well, attendance at religious services has been down markedly since the 1960's for most religions in Canada. Thus, it seems to me that even the religiously inspired find something wrong with the “product” as offered by various churches. The ideas sell, but few people are buying the end product which costs relatively little. For me, this is analogous to many wanting phone services, but being very unhappy with any phone service provider even if the prices are quite low. Perhaps the providers have formed an unwanted cartel! Nevertheless, many North American “provider(s)” demand a right to force their product on everyone (consumers); even those who do not want it, especially from the current provider or cartel member. Some church leaders proclaim a right to expand their beliefs of faith onto others in a democratic, civil society. For example, the Catholic church claims a measure of authority (protection and control) over people regardless of national boundary. After all, we are God’s children wherever we live. But, some people do not believe in God (do not want the product) and it seems fewer (even the religious) believe in church leadership (the service providers in the cartel). Yet, many church leaders believe that they should be able to dictate the terms of CIVIL marriage. This is illogical, hypocritical and oppressive in my opinion. Lastly, it seems strange to me that some of the same folks on this forum who proclaim that government intervention into their lives is essentially oppressive (right-wingers against taxes for services), also maintain that the church has every right to dictate the terms of civil marriage (i.e. only men, women and God) for every Canadian, even those who may not want this particular service or interpretation. If you are against the government dictating terms of service to you and against taxes being levied or not based upon your marital status, then how can you accept religion influencing something to which you are opposed? Have you not made a pact with the evil you denounce? How can you reconcile this obvious and glaring contradiction? At least with government, one has some influence in decision-making even if it is only in the form of voting, lobbying etc. You do not have the same rights under most religion unless you decide to split the congregation and form your own religion. Is this not how the Church of England was formed?

http://archives.cbc.ca/IDD-1-70-692/disast...ential_schools/ Many of these rituals and beliefs were extinguished with the "help" of other religions.