Your Comments: Privacy vs protection: Will new rules go too far?

By Amil Niazi, Your Best Stuff

How far do you think the government should go when it comes to monitoring online behaviour? That issue was raised earlier this week, when it was announced that legislation would be introduced requiring internet service providers (ISPs) to track sites for child pornography.

On Nov. 23 we wanted to know whether you were concerned rules like this could infringe on your privacy.

34 of you weighed in and your responses were nearly unanimous: This type of monitoring could set a dangerous precedent.

"This bill is just the foot in the door to allowing them unlimited monitoring without warrants or judges. It's absolutely disgusting they would abuse our hatred of child porn to erode our rights," said user VerbTheAdjectiveNoun.

"I would be very leery of this. I can see this as being open for all sorts of abuses. I could see something like this being used to allow the police to monitor dissident groups and other anti-establishment outfits," stated BobbieBees.

One lone commenter came in on the other side, noting that some issues are worth the extra surveillance.

According to fedupinBC, "...there are some crimes that are more serious than our individual rights to privacy. Child pornography is a heinous crime."

Read more.

Battling bullies

While bullying has become a key issue for public school administrators, Canada has yet to develop a national strategy to combat the behaviour. While most of us can agree bullying should not be tolerated, we wanted you to share some specific tips on tackling abuse on the school yard. One school teacher shared her own personal strategy for success.

"As a retired school teacher, I have seen many bullies in my time. It has always been up to the classroom teacher to deal with them ... The bully wants power and he/she is willing to hurt either physically or verbally to get it. The only way to confront a bully is to take the power away. Sometimes it's best done by a group who tells the bully they are "not going to put up with it anymore." The adult authority figure must be there to prevent chaos ... The adult must take over and provide counselling on a daily basis and tells the bully a journal must be kept of their relationships with other people ... Once students see the bully has been stripped of his/her power, they will no longer emulate the behaviour and the classroom/school calms down and discipline improves," says IHrabak.

According to another user , the real cure for bullying starts in the household.

"Anti-bullying strategies should begin at home.Most bullies I encountered (during my school and college years) had unmistakably come from broken homes and especially from dysfunctional families. Some became bullies due to peer pressure," writes shariati.

Read more.

Making ends meet

When it comes to staying on top of bills and keeping afloat in tough economic times, making ends meet is crucial. On Nov. 24, we asked you to share your tips on getting by financially and stretching your dollar. The subject hit close to home for nine of you, as you weighed in with some great advice on tightening the money belt.

From cold water washes to ditching cable, there were a lot of handy suggestions. And it would seem a lot of you frequent the library for movies — thanks for the heads up — I know where I'll be this weekend!

Check out some more of your great tips.

"Cut out the fat ... Cancel your Cable TV. Instead get rabbit ears, and borrow movies from your library," suggests mrtrite.

"... take public transportation to work, cancel gym membership and go running instead, rent movies at the public library," says JellyBeans.

"I try hard not to get sucked in to our consumer culture. I choose happiness and being with people I care
about and doing things I love for people I love," offers Lie Detector 2.

Read more.

Top movie picks of the decade

And finally, on a lighter note, on Nov. 23 the Toronto International Film Festival shared their picks for top films of the last decade. We asked you to weigh in and compare your favourite movies of the last ten years.

I agree with user Calhoon with his vote of No Country For Old Men, I was also blown away by the quiet yet intense drama.

Have a look at some of the other user picks. What do you think about the list? What would you add?

"Come on. The Lord of the Rings trilogy has to be on this list," says ScottishCanadian.

"Best film I have seen in 2000 so far: I Loved You For So Long. Amazing," claims maylily.

For Winner it had to be, "Sideways - Best Film of the 00s."

See more picks.