Dargus, my sincere apologies. No, Canadians are not leeches and parasites and Canada is certainly not yet a socialist country. I have many Canadian friends around Toronto, I live only forty miles from the border, and I get Channel 9 here from Windsor. I love Coronation Streets on Sunday morning.
I mentioned nothing about communism in my post, but unfortunately, yes, I do equate socialism with communism. Both have a blatant disregard for private property, and without private property rights, we are all slaves, dependent on our big government masters for more and more of the necessities of life.
My message to "take heed" is my concern with the direction Canada is heading. And for what it's worth, my own country is heading in a similar direction. Two things contribute to my concern. One, I know from talking to Canadian friends and watching Canadian news, that even your "conservatives" are liberal. They are very much for a bigger government. And two, socialized medicine. Here in Michigan I here many stories about Canadians coming to the U.S. for medical treatment that their own system can no longer provide for them. That's why I believe that Canada is leaning toward socialism.
I am very happy that you take issue with my post. I pray, there are many people in Canada that dislike being called socialist. I got the term "leeches and parasites" from a previous (Canadian) poster. I don't really think the term is fair for the types of individuals he was describing. Rather, the people that flee from socialist countries because their government cannot rob enough producers in their country to pay for the necessities of life for the nonproducers, are so dependent on their former government, that the importance of providing for themselves by being a producer is lost. Therefore, they turn to crime upon reaching a wealthier country, such as Spain and Canada.
Again, I apologize for the generality of my post. It was more aimed at the previous poster than at your great country. Long live hockey.

Please, let's stick to the topic: Madrid pickpockets again. Thanks!

Sorry for asking but... do really americans in general think that socialism and communism in capitalist countries are the same as the communism in communist countries?????????

I can't see our socialist party (PSOE) or the communist party (IU-PCE) breaking the laws to take every private property... And I'm sure that they don't defend the same ideas.

Fernando

Interesting question...in my opinion, many Americans don't fully understand what Socialism is and unfortunately mistake it with Communism. Although the two ideologies share a few similarities, they are clearly different. Also, because we're very proud of our democratic roots, and many Americans felt triumphant with the fall of the Soviet Union, "Communism" is still used as a derogatory epitaph.

Hope this helps, without violating MadridMan's request to stay on topic.

Fernando, no, they don't.

Gazpacho, you're WAY out of line! Your comment has nothing to do with the pickpocket problem of Spain. It has always existed, as does in the majority of big cities, and the problem with this and other similiar crimes in Spain are elevated because of the illegal immigration as well as the soft laws that don't yet provide enough protection or deterrant to this crime. The immigrants of many of the countries that are flocking to Spain, I'd hardly call socialist... the governments of many of these places is a joke, and that's even if they HAVE a government! Mostly its just dictatorships, chaos and poverty. Problem is people leaving their country and going to another one expecting things to just be given to them, because they say so, not because they've earned it. mmmm, seems like a popular american mentality... that's an entirely different thread.

Take the political comments to another thread, oh! and make sure you know what you're talking about! By the way, there are many 'socialist' (I put it in quotes, because they are socialist/democratic)countries that work very well, have a good handle on their crime and have low tolerance for criminals... which is more than I can say for the US in many cases!

let's try to get this back on topic...
why are there pickpockets in tourist areas?
because that's where the money is!
it doesn't have anything to do with illegal immigration...or socialism or communism...
pickpockets are opportunistic feeders...period!
and all the "enforcement" in the world, short of execution, will not rid you of the problem...
i enforce my own anti-pickpockting "laws" if i catch you with your hand in my stuff i break it!
scumbags are scumbags...they come in all colors, races and ethnicities...

Thanks Big Jamon for sterring us back in the right direction. That's why I made the last comment that I did. We all know that thieves, criminals live everywhere, NOT JUST IN SPAIN.

Have a great day,

Shawn

Bien dicho Big Jamon, Well said. Pickpockets come in all sizes and colors and sexes. These folks,sinverguenzas, are shameless and fast on their feet!

Unfortunately I have no skills like you do for breaking any body parts, but I take my precautions.

booklady...you have no idea how easily fingers snap...
but violence isn't for everyone...if you sense someone has their hand in your pocket just step to the side...that usually leaves them with a pretty puzzled look on their face...and it generally makes it hard to take what they were aiming for...
but the best protection, by far, is BE AWARE!
distraction is the pickpocket's ally...and if you're already gawking their job is half done...

one other thing...my mother has used the term "sinverguenzas" for as long as i can remember but i've never seen it spelled out...

Big Jamon,
Your Mom and I are probably contemporaries! The proper word is desvergonzado, but I got carried away and used the slang term, by the way there is an umlat over the u, but I don't know how to make it! The slang term makes a better impact than the proper word, don't you think!

Sinverguenza is a very descriptive term!