kimmy

An addendum on the subject of showing your face when you vote. This video shows what happens when Sunny the Sonic Bunny, a radio station mascot, attempts to vote. http://radiosonic.fm/index.php?entry=entry071015-161610 Feel his heartbreak. The elections officer is clearly racist... against lagomorphs. -k

As has been mentioned several dozen times already, she was violating the local curfew. That gives the officer legitimate reason to place her in custody and investigate. While he could have attempted to force her other arm behind her back, and likely could have succeeded, he was clearly trying to avoid doing so up until the point where she bit him. He was extremely patient, and after she bit him he restrained her with a minimal use of force. I still don't understand why she couldn't have, you know, put her other hand behind her back. -k

Indeed. (click here for shocking video!) Not Jesus Torres. Raffi Torres. "Raffi" is about as threatening as a name can get, in my opinion. -k

Zero basis? Did the price of oil drop overnight without my noticing? So, clearly we're now suffering the less desirable consequences of the higher dollar... challenges for tourism, exports and manufacturing, higher cost of inputs (ie, labor paid in Canadian dollars) relative to outputs (on Canadian goods purchased in America). And the theoretical benefits of the higher dollar have so far not translated into fact, except for in the case of Canadians traveling to the US. So I am having a hard time seeing this as a "good news" story for Canadians. I am quite interested in the class action lawsuit filed last week against several automakers. Automakers have, so far, been almost completely silent on the high price differences between the two countries (one spokesman for one of the defendants mentioned something to the effect that Canadian regulations, regarding things like daytime lights, drive up the price of Canadian vehicles. (It costs thousands of dollars to make the lights come on during the day?)) I find it interesting that of all the automakers, Porsche seems to be the only one that has so far cut prices in response to the dollar's upsurge. (Pick one: It doesn't make much sense: Porsche is somewhat of a niche which doesn't really have a direct competitor in Canada. It makes perfect sense: Porsche's target customer is more financially savvy than the average Canadian and probably more perceptive of their buying power. It doesn't make much sense: Porsche builds cars in Germany, not the US. Shouldn't the Loony's price relative to the Euro should be the issue? It makes perfect sense: Porsche is a premium brand with a high margin built into their pricing, so they're more able to adjust than other automakers who have less margin.) Sadly, most Canadians are not in a position where the price of Porsches is a big day to day concern to them. I would have thought that with certain automakers (notably "the big 3") struggling for market share, this would have been a big opportunity for them to win some customers. It appears they have instead waded into some bad publicity that they certainly didn't need. -k

Gee, this won't add to the impression that these "ancient laws" change from minute to minute depending on what's most convenient at the time. It seems like only yesterday that the native boosters on the forum here were touting the HDI as a brilliant and innovative mechanism for reconciling the needs of developers with the claims of the natives. (any resemblance to Mafia "protection" plans is purely coincidental.) But now apparently the Mohawks themselves are not happy with this brilliant and innovative mechanism. One can only assume that this means that developers who wrote cheques to HDI will now be asked to write more cheques to Mohawk warrior societies. -k

That's how I feel too. But it's cosmetic surgery to improve someone's self-esteem, and there seems to be some amount of resistance to the idea. And deciding which cases deserve funding and which are just for vanity is not cut and dried either. Well, no. Suppose that these two Australian navy members did get implants for reasons that are purely frivolous. That doesn't mean that the next woman who applies for assistance doesn't have a more legitimate need. Big Bird. -k

I don't think anybody disagreed. I think I agreed with it several times; I even used big words like "body dismorphia disorder". I simply contend that there are situations where at least part of the problem really *is* the breasts. Sometimes it's not just "small" breasts, sometimes they really are mis-shapen. What then? Is the problem still all in their heads? To misquote me, actually. What I really said: And yes, you've told us what you think, at least when it comes to augmentation for small breasts and for children without noses. I can't recall anywhere that you've actually given a straight answer to the question Wilbur addressed just now: what about correcting physical abnormalities? While I'm sure it would be nice to live in a black and white world where the only situations people might conceivably want cosmetic surgery are small breasts or missing noses, the real world has situations that are a lot less clear cut. -k

Maybe he can write a book while he's in prison. Like that "Tookie" fellow. -k

This thread has not caused me to want to surrender my equity to the crown, but it has caused me to briefly ponder driving my car into oncoming traffic... -k

Yay! That's exactly how I feel! Sometimes yes... probably a lot of times no. Adversity can build character, but if someday my little Kimlet is born with some sort of deformity that could be corrected... I think I would opt to do so. I think it would give her the better chance in life. Hopefully some other way of building character can be found. -k

Far too simple, as I already said. I am anticipating Ernie and Bert come out to explain "large" and "small" using watermelons and apricots, followed by Grover and Elmo singing "I love me just the way I am!" Charming, heartwarming, but not actually very informative. Welcome to page 2 of the thread. If you'd actually read any of this, your mind might have been opened to the possibility that breast implants might be used in correcting issues such as abnormal asymmetry, abnormal placement, or abnormal shape. Yes, I realize that everybody scoffs at the idea that a woman with small breasts "needs" them to be enlarged. I get that. What I want to know is whether you guys have any sympathy for a woman whose breasts develop in a really abnormal way. If you (or the other latecomer, Wilbur) would like to discuss that question, then I'm interested in hearing what you have to say. If not, if you're only interested in discussing the easy situation of "too small", then you and Wilbur and American Woman and Grover and Elmo can all just continue patting each others' backs. -k

Why do people assume that the fact that Canada is not demanding Khadr's repatriation means that nobody is even looking at how to handle this? -k

Most of those 21,000 applications were probably for frivolous reasons. That's terribly unfortunate, and the people who administer this program should obviously look into it. None of that dissuades me from the opinion that under some circumstances it would be completely legitimate to pay for cosmetic surgery. Including boob-jobs. Thank you for the Sesame-Street level analysis, buffycat. The part that's difficult to agree upon, what we've been discussing for about 70 messages, is at what point a cosmetic issue has legitimate medical consequences. Drawing the line between medical reasons and self indulgent reasons isn't as black and white as some people make it sound. -k

What new devilry is this?! -k

Good. He deserves neither sympathy nor largesse. -k

Of course. It has nothing at all with being a member of a terrorist group. It has nothing at all to do with fighting against NATO troops. It's all just because he's an Arab. It's like how people only hate the Khmer Rouge because they're racist against Asians. -k

Britney might sell plenty of copies of "Us" and "People", but she hasn't sold any records in years. You do realize that you're responding to messages that are months old, Jeffy? -k

Well, I don't know the answer to that, but OHIP apparently has guidelines for determining which cases qualify to receive financial assistance. (I keep mentioning OHIP because it's easier to research due to the larger number of Ontario plastic surgery clinics. I suspect they're not much different from other provinces.) -k

You know, maybe you're right. Maybe most Canadians actually do want Khadr back home. Maybe Dion should force an election and make this his campaign issue. I really hope he does, in fact. -k

The legal definition of mental illness, and who can be committed and forced to receive treatment, is rather restrictive. I don't know the specifics, but I am quite sure that having the wrong believe system is not something we can simply lock someone up for, no matter how expedient it might be. Such a proposition would be a far more frightening civil rights issue than Khadr's continuing detention. As I just mentioned, whether Khadr could be deprogrammed and reprogrammed is not an issue (I am sure that he could be turned into "Carlton" from the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air with sufficient psychological conditioning). Just that we don't actually have any legal means of doing so. I don't see how we could force Omar to be "deprogrammed" any more than we could grab his sister off the street and deprogram her either. Sure. I'm just in no hurry to see the little weasel back here until a means of actually dealing with him has been determined. Well, at least you agree that just letting him back into Canada as a free man isn't a very appealing option; something Jennie apparently doesn't agree with. -k

It's simply false to suggest that Muslim food practices are as simple as just not eating pork. From what I've read on the subject, there's actually considerable similarity between "halal" and "kosher" practices. Arguments relating to the "kosher" lawsuit can be equally applied to "halal". -k

Bacon is not very healthy, and it's quite expensive. Why are we feeding it to inmates at all? -k

I suspect that Ms Mock would prefer to not discuss racial gangs in Toronto or immigration issues at all. It might cause people to feel uncomfortable. Let's hide our heads in the sand and pretend it's not there. I am also curious as to what makes someone a "white supremacist". It doesn't actually appear to involve any claim of superiority anymore. Apparently being concerned about race-related issues, if you're white, puts you dangerously close to some peoples' definition of a white supremacist. -k

You keep ducking the question of what is going to compel Khadr to be treated by any of these specialists with decades of experience. Also, allow me to present Argus's point in a less colorful manner so as to not sidetrack this discussion with sniping and so on: The problem with Khadr is not some treatable mental illness. The problem with Khadr is that he was raised from infancy in a family that indoctrinated him with beliefs that are incompatible with our society. He might need a psychiatrist to help him recover from his experience in Gitmo. But more than that, he needs to be deprogrammed from terrorist jihadi propaganda. The excuse for not bringing him home is that he's a hazard to public safety. -k

As I said in my previous message: "we have no means to actually make him undergo any sort of rehabilitation." -k