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Liberals Don't Look Good

Mary Koostachin—The Liberal party received strong criticism after Belinda Stronach defected their way and was appointed to cabinet on May 17, 2005. Her critics want to know how Belinda managed to wheedle herself into the Liberal cabinet after she unsuccessfully ran for the Tory leadership last year, then abandoned the Tory party. The critics also want to find out if the Human Resources portfolio was used to bribe her. Does Paul Martin have something to hide?

There were many negative comments made about Belinda. Some of the remarks were hurtful because they were based on her private life. One MLA apologized after saying Stronach had "whored herself out for power."

Sure, I can see how corrupt the Liberal government is, by their mismanagement of funds. The Liberals will straighten out eventually. Maybe it's time the Liberal party got some women to straighten out the mess that they created because there aren't many women who actually hold positions of political power.

A good new facelift is definitely needed for the Liberals. Maybe that person will be Belinda, who will correct some of the misdeeds within the Liberal government. The Liberals should consider having a full time auditor, who will monitor day-to-day spending of government money. This way, they won't get so much blame for misspending money.

It is less than a hundred years since women were allowed to vote. They were not considered persons. Now, some progress has been made and women actually have some power and positions in government. For instance, Adrienne Clarkson is our Governor General.

Now, Belinda has a big job in her hands. Let us not criticize our female politicians too harshly. There is no reason to think that they could blunder worse than their male counterparts.

Pit Bulls: Nature Versus Nurture

Tatiana Warkentin—However, he added that pit bull owners who decide to keep their animals would likely face tough new muzzle and leash regulations."

Some people also have an entirely different view: Liz White of the animal protection group Animal Alliance of Canada is adamantly against the ban. She believes that pit bulls can make wonderful family pets and doesn't believe they are naturally dangerous. "I think that is absolutely not the case," she told Canada AM. "Look at the German shepherd. It can be made into an attack dog, a police dog, a Seeing Eye dog, a companion animal -- all in one breed. The same as for any dog. It all depends on how you train it and how you care for it. I think that Michael Bryant is going to cause the deaths of many, many animals that are absolutely wonderful," White adds.

The current revilement of the pit bull seems to bear striking parallels to the common view of St. Bernard in the early 1900s. The St. Bernard was depicted in the media as ravening, uncontrollable beasts that only a vicious owner would keep. Is banning a breed going to stop the problem of dog attacks? Research has shown that when Winnipeg issued the same ban on Pit Bulls in 1994 they had a rise in attacks by rottweilers jumped since the ban was passed. So there will be another dog that will become a concern and what are they going to do then ban them as well.

The dogs that are unlicensed or sitting in pounds will ultimately be put down. This is very sad and a violation of animal rights. The dog and the behavior of the dog are based on the way it is raised not its' breed. If the dog is raised rough, the dog will think it is okay to be rough with everyone and everything. But if the owner trains the dog with rules, the dog will listen and it will know what is and isn't okay. The government is making the pit bull attacks as the pit bull just turned on someone for no apparent reason but some of the incidents are when a pit bull has been provoked or is protecting its owner. Can the pit bull actually be blamed for this? No it cannot.

The government is wrong on this call and people should do something about it. Some have planned a protest of the ban. The National Post stated in an article about the protest, "The pit bull was celebrated by animal advocates in front of the legislature on the weekend, in reaction to a plan by Attorney-General Michael Bryant to ban the breed... Dozens carried placards and signs with slogans such as "Punish the deed not the breed" and one young girl held a handwritten sign reading, "For pit's sake, I sleep with them!" This is a good step; people need to keep protesting this ban. As the protesters stated, "Punish the deed not the breed."

Milk: Not Just Good for Your Bones Anymore

Brad Wood—A recent Swedish study has shown a correlation between eating dairy foods and a reduction in your chances of a heart attack, by up to 38 per cent. The study analyzed the diets and cholesterol profiles of 291 men, researchers found that those who consumed the most dairy products also had the largest LDL-cholesterol particles.

"Small LDL particles promote arterial thickening more than large ones do," reports study author Per Sjogren, Ph.D., who attributes the benefits, in part, to two fatty acids found in dairy foods. The acids, however, are part of the saturated fat, so choose reduced-fat rather than fat-free.


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