Wooster

Being from New-Brunswick, a province where we don't have a lot of money to throw around, I do believe that helping smokers quit is a good initiative. If there could be a method of tracking their actual commitment and success- Let's say, we reimburse the cost of smoking aids to those who have gone a full year without smoking- I would be more lenient towards giving out the money. I've seen A LOT of smokers quit and then pick it up again after a couple of months. I , myself, have quit after 10 years, and although I do think it is more an issue of personnal commitment and wanting to quit, I guess anti-smoking products can be beneficial to those lacking the willpower. And so to those who lack both the willpower and the cash- I say, go ahead help 'em out, but they have to show results in return

First off- Great Video, spot on ( although I'm uncertain if I should laugh or bawl) I've noticed this trend of sensationalism on the news getting worse and worse. It is to the point where it is almost difficult to tell the difference between a real newscast and an entertainment show. In an era where every story seems to require a catchy tagline and flashy graphics, I miss the sort of news I used to deem ''boring'' as a child. I find it vulgar, in an almost Orwellian sense, to see how they push the stories they want to feed us, using the same keywords and atticisms even when you switch from station to station. I'm only too happy that this isn't quite as widespread in Canada as it is in the USA (as Michael Hardner pointed out, it IS scary how much fox looks like a real news show) But I do believe that the days of true journalism are dead and gone. Goodbye thought, Hello ADD Oh well...

Well...That was short Your PERSONAL issues Score is 100% Your ECONOMIC issues Score is 60% According to your answers, the political group that agrees with you most is... Libertarians support maximum liberty in both personal and economic matters. They advocate a much smaller government; one that is limited to protecting individuals from coercion and violence. Libertarians tend to embrace individual responsibility, oppose government bureaucracy and taxes, promote private charity, tolerate diverse lifestyles, support the free market, and defend civil liberties.

Dropping back in after months of being web-less for lack of a better term, this thread seems as good a place to start as any other- My results: Economic Left/Right: -5.25 Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -5.18 I remember taking this test a while ago and now noticed that, whilst beeing nothing close to switching sides, I've moved ever so slightly to the right.

Desktops in danger of extinction ?? Now that would strike me where it hurts. I've never owned a laptop - and have never considered owning one. I understand the benefits, but still I , personally would have no use for one. My ''computer time'' is very much me at home, and the comfty chair, the ambiance in the room etc is to me a big part of the experience. I've never understood why I would need to carry my computer around with me - obviously when I'm out of the house, I'm doing something other than ''computer time'' . I don't need it for work , I don't need it for leisure- I'm very much keen on sticking with desktops. I guess I need to ''upgrade'' my views on technology quite a bit- I am still quite offended by people who are constantly texting, tweeting and blogging during social interractions. I also miss the days of DOS, playing Commander Keen and such. Hopefully desktops will be here to accomodate for at least another 20 years, or else I need to seriously consider stocking up on them

Thanks for referring me to the thread. I actually agree in theory with a lot of the points you make, unfortunately, I don't think it would be possible to enforce this through regulations without some major plotholes and inequalities. In anything ''ethical'' it's quite difficult to establish a rule that will encompass all the subtle variants at play. I'll read the whole thread more carefully later on when I have a bit more time and will try and add my two cents

Yes. You are of course, completely right. It's more a pie-in-the-sky fantasy on my part than anything else. Of course it would be almost impossible to implement such a policy in the foreseable future. I guess my resentment is solely brought on by the weak parenting I've witnessed by a lot of people of my generation. It's a pity to see Canadian children beeing brought up by computers and television. Still, it's not really my call what people do with their offspring.

I still have a lot of trouble figuring out what people's big hang-up over homosexuality is. I understand that a lot of it comes from abstract concepts such as ''defying the sanctity of marriage'' , but still, it seems most gay-bashers are simply bestowing upon us their knee-jerk reaction to their visual interpretation of anal penetration. Everytime I hear a hateful comment about homosexuality, it always seems to include some form of description of the physical act itself, as if THAT is really what is upsetting people. I just can't bring myself to care about other people's relashionships , whatever they might be. Dendro,scato pelado - as long as the preffix ain't pedo, I couldn't care less what people do in their spare time

I second that. The rate at which the world population is expanding is absurd. There will come a day when we need drastic measures and regulations. I also agree, from experience, that poor people seem to have more children. I am 23 years old, and know quite a lot of people from high school who are now proudly walking around with unplanned infants in both arms, people who I know are somewhat unfit for parenthood. I have a rather controversial theory that parenthood should be perhaps a privilege, something which requires certain qualifications. Unfortunately, I cannot claim I would be an adequate judge of ''where to draw the line'' , and am also aware of the extremist overtones of suggesting something like this.

I have to concede that point to you; I am myself a Canadian who sometimes does not wish to bother with too many social niceties. Perhaps I am not expressing my point adequately, or rather, maybe I don't have one - Maybe we should just try and make the transition as smooth as possible. As for racism in Canada, as I've mentionned, I live in a very rural part of the country, and I'm sometimes appaled at the comments which can be heard from the ''old-timers'' , words that would be unnacceptable in most civilized discourse. Another issue in my province is the bilingual aspect; I actually come from a strictly-french neighborhood, and my knowledge of english is therefore entirely based on mediums such as books etc.. If you drive about 45 minutes from my place, then it's 90% english, and I'm often quite amazed at the prejudice that still exists between the french and english communities, and also some of the friction between french quebequers and french newbies. I still here a lot of ''oh I could tell he was ''english'' ... just by his face'' and such, which never cease to amaze me. I embrace both languages,albeit my french beeing a bit tainted - and try to use the same tolerance when it comes to race. Still sometimes I wish the surrounding villages would get with the times- although I'm guessing similar behavior also exists in the larger cities, it's probably just a little less public

I still think that, due to all the things they supposedly stand for, it's SO much funnier when it's republicans Mark Foley. Ted Haggard,Larry Craig, Bob allen, and surely I'm forgetting a lot more... A cornucopia of hypocrisy if you ask me.

Don't want to drag this off topic too much but to tie it back to politics, any fans of ''the thick of it'' ?

Britcoms eh? I feel quite at home now - Hugh Laurie amongst my favorites far before the ''House'' series (which I also love)

Tinkerty-tonk (and I don't mean it to sting in the least)

First- Thanks for the welcome, both to you and DOgOnPorch - Glad to be aboard. As for your statement, I can only hope they're not coming here solely out of spite, which I don't think they are.Hopefully the fact that we're welcoming them with open arms attenuates the blow. QUOTE(sorry,I can't seem to get the hang this multiquote thing) ''this is absolutely normal, immigrants will always stay close with what is familiar in their own community, go to any country and you will find foreign expats grouping together, Canadians as well... 2nd generation immigrants becomes as Canadian as anyone else...'' I understand the transition can take some time, and as long as the desire to at least interract in the same language is present, I'll happily wait whatever time it takes them to adjust. I've come across some who vehemently advocate their own culture and have no desire to at least give ours a try. Of course I'm talking about the exceptions, not the rule . They might have had some extenuating circumstances to justify their position, but again, were not in the least eager to integrate themselves. Again, these are exceptions: most of those I've worked with did the same work I did, with as much enthusiasm, and therefore deserved nothing but equality in my opinion.

First of all, hello everyone, this is my first post,I've been perusing this outstanding forum since late last night, and couldn't help but join.I regretfully doubt that the quality of my posts will be up to par with what I've witnessed so far, but I hope that this can be a learning experience for me. If the aforementioned numbers are true,and if it does come to the point where the melting pot has more foreign spice than original ingredients,I'd say let's just enjoy whatever flavour comes through. My ancestors on my father's side are native Canadians, whereas my mother's side arrived from Ireland, over a hundred years ago. I consider myself no less Canadian than if both my parents were of native ancestry. I assume these numbers can be seen in any of the bigger , industrialized occidental countries, and I expect it is a force of globalization which would be hard to restrain now. I live in the north of New-Brunswick (please don't point and stare ) and, around these parts, it's VERY hard to come across anything other than white people. There has been recent discussion in the media about bringing in a large number of Mexican immigrants in my local area,in the next 3 to 5 years.Full time employment is extremely rare around here, and from what I gather, the intention is to build a recycling facility for scrap metal, and then bring in Mexican workers to fill the positions. I find this deplorable, quite simply because WE need those jobs.There is a palpable resentment from the public when the subject is brought up ,before the project has any chance to concretize.However, despite these obvious objections, I do feel that a cultural injection of ''something different'' could be a beneficial addition to my local community, I just wish it would spawn from different circumstances. I lived in Alberta for a while, and enjoyed interacting with people who came from a different culture than my own. The only true objection I have is with the people who immigrate without any intention to learn the language or mingle amidst our Canadian culture; That I find truely reprehensible. But as for those who come to this country and embrace our way of life whilst injecting a little extra something of their own, I think it's bound to create a healthy mix. Perhaps it is a very naive position to take,not encompassing all the inequalities that arise from immigration, and undoubtedly some of you will correct me on it.As I've said before; I have a lot to learn, so my postion on certain issues may come to vary in the long run. Cheers