PocketRocket

Actually, this article documents some later incidents, including some as recent as Sept/05. It also alleges newer detainment centers "shrouded in secrecy". Ah yes. More of the typical Monty sarcasm in lieu of presenting a real argument. And still more. More again, as though two wrongs make a right. BTW, still waiting for a reply to this...... http://www.mapleleafweb.com/forums/index.p...ndpost&p=104408 .......which is self explanatory.

If you ask me, you WERE kind of lukewarm to Tucker Carlson's friendly comedy schtiks in that thread, Pocket Rocket, and that alone got me a bit outraged too, becaause I always think of you as someone with a terrific sense of humor. Well, spank you very much, BB. You're no slouch yourself.

MontyBurns G'day. It's been a while since we've butted heads, but I could not let this blatant falsehood stand... This off the cuff remark of yours caused me to waste about 10 minutes poring over the old "Tucker Carlson/Anne Coulture" thread in great detail to find the "outrage" with which I supposedly reacted. My reasons for asking the question which began this thread were simply to stop this all-to-common tactic of shouting "America hater" at anyone who dared to question the USA's current policies. If truth be told, you are one of those who is largely responsible for my asking the question for which this thread was set up. You seem to have a habit of putting words in other people's mouths, or twisting their statements into something they were not originally intended to be. If someone condemns GWB's actions, you often "translate" that into a "hatred" of America and all things American. That's too bad, really. You're a very smart guy, perfectly capable of debating an issue on its own merits. But instead, you seem to enjoy antagonizing people. So, I'm calling you on this one. Please show the "outrage" I displayed over Tucker's remarks. AMERICA 1 (a conservative-type) and I seem to have gotten along quite well in that thread, and came to a consensus on many points. In fact, I agreed with many of his statements in that thread, including those regarding the USA's military and economic superiority over Canada. If I said nothing in that thread to offend a conservative American, then what comment stands out in your mind as a display of "outrage" ??? C'mon MONTY, time to put up or shut up. Show me the "outrage" in my comments. If you find that you're incapable of producing such "outrage" from any of my posts on the topic, then I will expect a retraction of your accusatory comment here.

I think there's a big difference between anti-Americanism as we see it in some of the Islaamic countries, and the anti-Bush-ism we see in Canada. As I stated previously, I am no fan of GWB, but I have no ill feelings whatsoever towards America or her people. I think too many people look at anti-Bush folks, and simply paint them with the anti-America brush.

LEAFLESS: Thanks for the thoughtful reply. The purpose behind a poll was to simply have a look at the alleged "hatred" of Canadians toward the USA. Far too many threads have been either started or sidetracked by accusations of Canadians "hating" the USA. These invariably come from a select few posters who are using it as a sweeping blanket accusation of all so called "Lefties". It does little to advance logical debate, and I am hoping to set that particular issue to rest, or at the very least, minimize its recurrence on this board. If I speak out against policies of a current American administration, it certainly does not mean I hate the USA, but that seems to be the interpetation given to many such posts by those who disagree with the poster.

Take a look at Ireland. More than 20-30 there in the requisite period. These include bombings aimed at civilian populations. These aren't even Christian vs some other religion, it's Catholics vs Protestants. Let's all kill each other over how we choose to worship the same God!!! I agree, Muslim originated killings are higher in recent times, but this does not let ANY religious extremist off the hook.

Okay. I tried to set up a Poll, with the voting options being "Hate the USA", "Love the USA", "Like the USA, but sometimes get annoyed with them". and "Indifferent". Obviously, I don't know how to post a poll. Could someone oblige me and set one up please???

I keep seeing posts accusing Canadians of "hating" the USA. These are largely, but not exclusively, posted by right-leaning members, accusing "the Left" of such hatred. We have on this board a fairly large sample population, so why don't we just see where MLW members stand as a community??? BTW, this is the first time I've tried setting up a poll, so I beg forgiveness if it doesn't come out right.

Disregard this please. Double post, and a bad one at that.

Neither would I. Nor would I use the flag of ANY country for such a purpose. I have far too much respect for any nation's flag, and for what the flag symbolizes. This thread is based on the premise that Canadians "hate" the USA. I firmly believe that those Canadians who actually "hate" the USA are part of an extremely small minority. I strongly dislike the Bush administration, and have made no bones about saying so. But America itself is a country, with people just like all of us. And so, those right-leaning types who repeatedly raise the largely non-existent spectre of Canadian "hatred" of the USA are, I believe, somewhat off the mark. With our two nations being so close, there is, admittedly, some friction. But then again, even in the most close knit family, there will be some friction between family members.

Well, seeing as how this seems to be little more than a Muslim-bashing thread, with KIMMY making the only near-dissenting opinion, I thought I'd poke around a bit. I Googled the phrase "canadian muslim leader stop protests" as I seemed to remember hearing something on CBC Radio (yes MONTY, the state-run yadda yadda) about a Muslim leader calling for a stop to the protests. The first several returns found these little tidbits..... http://www.ahmadiyya.ca/ http://www.cbc.ca/news/viewpoint/vp_fatah/20060210.html http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/islam/mu...s_timeline.html http://www.muslimcanadiancongress.org/20060219.pdf It seems that more than a few Muslim leaders are calling for a stop to the violence, and the protests, and the intolerance, and just about all the things that everyone is complaining about. In fact, many of these same leaders are pointing to the fact that Muslim extremists are simply using the cartoons to further their own agendas, as are many high-profile Muslim leaders who stand to benefit from violence which they are hoping will lead to an increase in their own power. The outrage is there. It is simply being spoken in a more quiet voice than that of the protesters. Not unusual that. The voice of reason is seldom as strident as that of anger or intolerance.

Hey, I remember that book. An insightful look at our health care system, IMHO Additionally, a fine piece of political allegory, ie; don't swallow what the government tells you until you've heard the whole story. Taking in only little pieces can lead to indigestion.

I have all but stopped posting here, largely for the reasons given in this thread. And even in a thread that calls for people to cut down on personal barbs we see the same sort of behaviour, albeit toned down somewhat. It's getting to be like a bloody schoolyard around here. What is it about the simple phrase "Don't get personal, and don't cast insults" that some people cannot understand??? Bottom line; if you cannot debate the issue without resorting to that kind of behaviour, then you're simply proving that you haven't a leg to stand on.

Hey....was it a boy or a girl???

With friends like this, who needs enemas???

Well, I think I'd make an excellent Martian

"A sad little lizard once told me that he was half brontosaurus on his mother's side. I did not laugh. People who boast about their ancestry often have little else to sustain them, and allowing them this morale boost costs nothing, and adds a little happiness in a world where that commodity is already in short supply" (Paraphrased from a Robert A Heinlein novel) I feel the same way about people who boast about their cultural background. Obviously they need some sort of crutch to help them prop up their dignity. It costs nothing to just smile and nod while they ramble. However, when people start talking about racial superiority, history shows us that it can lead to terrible consequences, especially when they are talking in context of what is best for society. We don't need to look back very far to see such consequences. Racial cleansing is still going on in several countries. There are several nazi websites which carry long, well-though-out dissertations "proving" that the holocaust never occured, that it was simply a fictional event cooked up to make the nazis look worse after WWII. Many people subscribe to these thoughts. Spend an evening checking out some nazi forum sites. It's actually pretty scary that people still think this way. Whenever one group starts claiming that they are "superior" based on nothing but their race, it's time to start worrying. If their thoughts begin to become widespread, it's time to head for higher ground.

O'Reilly's link included the quote "there are so many nuts in the country -- so many crazies -- that we can't control them". "Control them" Isn't democracy all about giving them the opportunity to control themselves??? I think O'Reilly's choice of words was a bit of a Freudian slip betraying his belief in a larger agenda than simply delivering democracy.

Seein that this thread is suppose to view "The Lighter Side", I think this will fit in here quite nicely. I found it good for a few chuckles. A Cultural Comparison: Aussies: Dislike being mistaken for Pommies (Brits) when abroad. Canadians: Are rather indignant about being mistaken for Americans when abroad. Americans: Encourage being mistaken for Canadians when abroad. Brits: Can't possibly be mistaken for anyone else when abroad. Aussies: Believe you should look out for your mates. Brits: Believe that you should look out for those people who belong to your club. Americans: Believe that people should look out for & take care of themselves. Canadians: Believe that that's the government's job. Aussies: Are extremely patriotic to their beer. Americans: Are flag-waving, anthem-singing, and obsessively patriotic to the point of blindness. Canadians: Can't agree on the words to their anthem, when they can be bothered to sing them. Brits: Do not sing at all but prefer a large brass band to perform the anthem. Americans: Spend most of their lives glued to the idiot box. Canadians: Don't, but only because they can't get more American channels. Brits: Pay a tax just so they can watch four channels. Aussies: Export all their crappy programs, which no-one there watches, to Britain, where everybody loves them. Americans: Will jabber on incessantly about football, baseball, and basketball. Brits: Will jabber on incessantly about cricket, soccer, and rugby. Canadians: Will jabber on incessantly about hockey, hockey, hockey, hockey, and how they beat the Americans twice, playing baseball. Aussies: Will jabber on incessantly about how they beat the Poms in every sport they play them in. Americans: Spell words differently, but still call it "English". Brits: Pronounce their words differently, but still call it "English". Canadians: Spell like the Brits, pronounce like Americans. Aussies: Add "G'day", "mate" and a heavy accent to everything they say in an attempt to be cool. Brits: Shop at home and have goods imported because they live on an island. Aussies: Shop at home and have goods imported because they live on an island. Americans: Cross the southern border for cheap shopping, gas, & liquor in a backwards country. Canadians: Cross the southern border for cheap shopping, gas, & liquor in a backwards country. Americans: Drink weak, bad-tasting beer. Canadians: Drink strong, bad-tasting beer. Brits: Drink warm, bad-tasting beer. Aussies: Drink anything with alcohol in it. Americans: Seem to think that poverty & failure are morally suspect. Canadians: Seem to believe that wealth and success are morally suspect. Brits: Seem to believe that wealth, poverty, success and failure are inherited things. Aussies: Seem to think that none of this matters after several beers.

Well, I'm glad you asked. Never heard of it, but when I Googled "Combermere Canada" I got a number of entried, the first of which is for a resort located "on the Banks of the Beautiful Madawaska River at Kamaniskeg Lake". Does that answer your question??? Edited to add: SCRIBLETT beat me to the punch.

Did someone change the forum when I wasn't looking??? Is this now the Lonely Hearts Club page???

I gotta go with T-BAG on this one. The Olympics are not perfect, but they bring together nearly all nations on Earth for 2 weeks in peaceful, friendly competition. It's one of the few institutions which all people can be proud of, despite its flaws, simply because all people have a chance to take part.

I can shed a bit more light on this matter. During this time frame I was working as a customer support rep for an American long distance company. Here's the story on those two sites. Apparently the sites were adult internet sites. You could only get to them by clicking a link on any of a number of other sites. It looked like any ordinary link. But when you clicked on it, it somehow disconnected you from your present server, and automatically re-connected you to a server in Nauro or Sao Tome, and of course subjected you to charges for a call to said server. If you use Internet Explorer, go into the "History" and check the dates for which you were charged for calls to these countries. If you see any "naughty" sites in the "History" section, then you know that someone in your house has been looking at some porn. Either way, you still have a legitimate beef over this issue.

Sensible and sensitive words from the CJC, followed by good, simple common sense from AUGUST. Well said.

There may be gay unions...but never heard of any gay marriages in history. Can you give an example as to when or where in history? Just curious. A couple years ago I researched this at length for another forum. Don't have time to do that today, but for a brief indication, go here..... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Same-sex_marriage