Stephen Harper is trying real hard to pander to middle class voters by acting like a confident and reasonable person. Meanwhile, he is doing his utmost to keep the nutbars in his party from communicating with the media, thus preventing the public from seeing the real face of the Conservatives.

The Conservative/Reform/Alliance Party have been spreading their propaganda for over 20 years through the use of “non-partisan” organizations like the Fraser Institute, the Canadian Taxpayers Federation and the National Citizens Coalition, aided and abetted by the mainstream media. This propaganda has been insidious and many people have been conditioned into thinking that only big business can run the country efficiently, while Liberal and NDP policies are a waste of taxpayers money.

Harper needs to be exposed for the corporate lap dog that he is. I would encourage the many intelligent posters on this site to write letters to the editor, phone the call in shows, write your MP with your complaints, go to organized protests. Just do something. Remember, Plato once said, ”The price of apathy towards public affairs is to be ruled by evil men.”

Albertans have bumper stickers that say "Republic of Alberta". That says a lot. Especially with yankee lover Harper at the helm.

Read the latest issue of the Walrus magazine. It gives a very good analysis of Harper and what his true agenda is all about. It is not a pretty picture.

IAMC....Canadians love this guy? Well, the minority who voted him in I guess. Note the word minority.

Hello everyone!

Thanks Stan and Aalborg!
I totally agree with both of you!

To IAMC: Is you life so boring that you have to come to a leftist/progressive website to gloat?
Whatever happened to being humble and listening to other people's viewpoints!

Except for North America I don't see the neoconservatives controlling many countries!
Yes, I say neoconservatives because a true conservative believes in conserving nature! My grandfather was a perfect example (he voted Social Credit in BC but he gave money to WCWC)!
Yes, I know that can be described as self defeating! LOL
And at the municipal/regional level in North America there are many progressives! Witness the network of cities and states in the USA that have made a commitment to meet the Kyoto targets for carbon dioxide reductions (it was in TIME magazine this month).

Also, look at Latin America and Europe! Except for Alvaro Uribe in Colombia Mr. Bush and Mr. Harper have friends in Latin America! In Europe as always it a mix of liberal, conservative, etc. governments. Most of them are very much in the centre!

So IAMC enjoy your time in the sun!
Bush, and Harper won't last much longer!
Soon everybody will wake up with sunburn and things will change!
Of course maybe this won't happen and North America will self-destruct under the weight of Global Warming, America's debt and trade deficit and those damn fences on the borders (COMING SOON, eh?).

Kevan Hudson
Suncheon, South Korea

Harper is a Republican Libertarian with a strictly Calgary-oil based view of the world, that was clear in everything that he did prior to the most recent election. If you agree with such philosophy, fine, but I don't. Unfortunately, the liberals seem intent on shooting themselves in the foot and the NDP seem bent on their own political independence rather than operating as an effective opposition.

If you believe in getting government out of the business of governing, eviceration of public services and abdication of the "public good" then Harper's your guy. If you don't, an election is a good idea and the earlier the better.

Kyoto didnt work. Over the period of its implmentation, our greenhouse gasses increased 24%, the states, without it, 16%. Its no duh to see it axed as a positive development.

IAMC would elect Attila the Hun if it meant a tax cut and keeping his property values up.

Harper is making the same mistake that Joe "who" made, he is under the impression that he has a MAJORITY mandate.
These Cons must be defeated soonest, before they do ereversable damage to the TRUE NORTH STRONG AND FREE.

who are these canadians? i don't know any of them personally...

sweeping generalizations never work in debates or discussions when you're trying to assert your position.

my feeling is harper was mostly elected because he wasn't paul martin, and now he's unleashing his party's plan and people are now going to have to take a step back and realize that he actually has an agenda that he's going to follow through with wholeheartedly, and it's a scary one.

Ohmygawd. What have I done. After the 2004 US (s)election, I put in for immigration. I got my landing papers in January. I've been packing up and getting my house ready for market. Moving day is in ONE WEEK!

But I find that the fascist merger of corporate and state power is following me across the 49th!

I've got a T-shirt with a nice maple leaf on it and the caption "Canada, looking better every day." I'm considering crossing out "Canada" and writing in "Venezuela." But with my luck, the day after I'd move, Bush would assassinate Chavez and move in some Texas oil buddies to aid in their "transition to democracy" the way he is aiding the Iraqi people.

What will it take for the Canadian people to throw this bum out? If there were only some competent opposition, but it seems Harper is not the only one who copies the US -- the Libs and NDP seem to be importing their supplies of backbone from the US Democratic Party.

I gave Harper the benefit of the doubt, but I voted Green anyways. There is no doubt now, the man is a raving lunatic.

Oh yes, and don't forget that there will soon be troops in the streets.... I assume, Mr. Dobbin, you're not making this up, you're not ALLOWED to make any of this up? hee hee

Heres the story, of a man named harper,
who was busy with his cronies behind closed doors.
All of them had dreams of gold, like their leader,
the hottest one was cold.

So they hooked up with some dudes from corporations,
who plainly spelt out "HOW IT'S GONNA BE!!!"
Then they passed a bunch of evil legislation,
to bring us to our knees.

The harper bunch, the harper bunch,
this is how they fcuked us up, the harper bunch.

So one day harper went to meet this fellow,
a funny lil' troll from lonestar state.
Except this dude, he wasn't really funny,
just full of LIES and HATE!

So the two guys went and had their little meeting,
a fancy gig with children served on toast.
And when they finished we were fcuked up for forever,
from coast to coast to coast!!!

The harper bunch, the harper bunch,
this is how they fcuked us up the harper bunch!!

I know it's a retreat but it seemed appropriate.
I also saw the secret memo about the so-called "made-in-Alberta (oops I mean Canada)" conservative climate change program. It's called "OPERATION SHAMELESS PANDERING TO OUR OIL-SANDS OVERLORDS".

This is classic crap - one man's scare tactic.

Where is the credit he gets for these bus passes. I hear all of the socialists rant and rave about traffic and climate control. The guy implements the first pro-active control in 20 years - and he is labelled as the President of Oilberta??

There is nothing that substantiates this - classic fear mongering. President Harper - this is insulting.

No wonder this guy can't find a real job in journalism.

David, Kyoto didn't work, you say?

Get the Alberta crude out of your eyes fellow. Kyoto was never implemented. Of course it didn't work, just like all good ideas don't work if you don't do anything.

Duh, is that a difficult concept for you?

Bytesmiths, very astute of you to pick up so quickly on the giants we have with our opposition parties. They are starting to make the US Democrats look like progressives in comparison.

Leftist is right, but why progressive? I consider myself a progressive. I have very liberal views, I support immigration, human rights and peoples' freedom of choice.

I believe it is the leftists that aren't progressive. Righties like change and development - it is you lefties that are preventing the natural evolution of society!

And Canadians love this guy

Bwaaa haaa haaaa

Oh, this is good:

http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1145483415778&call_pageid=968332188492&col=968793972154&t=TS_Home

Is that (a) steven harper

(b) george w bush

(c) roger ebert

telling us 2 to go pilot...

There's nothing natural about the right's idea of progress Mabel. When we talk about progressive ideals, it is not solely based on economic indicators. I think Mabel that we fundamentally agree on the ends, but how we get there, well, hopefully you'll see the light some day...

According to economist Andrew Oswald writing in that left-wing rag the Financial Times, the "hippies" were right.

Western humanity is not getting happier with increases to the GDP.

www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/economics/staff/faculty/oswald/fthappinessjan96.pdf

Former BC Boy writes:

Again with this description of the Tyee as somehow of only one character or political persuation.

Please indicate where, on the Tyee site, specifically it says that the site is a leftist/progressive website?

bob the cat

that is not fair to the 5th C leader of Hungary, whom is still revered as a benevolent and wise king.

In some parts Atilla is still a popular boys name, like Alexander in western cultures.

Maybe you should really have said, Peirre Elliot Trudeau? Since that name might engender more response...

You're right Murdock.

In fact, I'd say the best description of Tyee is a website for leftist/progressives and assholes.

Good that you can once again take advantage of that latter, if somewhat tight little loophole and make a noise here Murdock.

The real issue here is that no longer is the GTA and Ontario directly running things for the first time in a long time, and they are crying in their cups, have you seen some of the chest thumping articles coming out of Toronto about how hard done by they are under Harper? Sheesh, GTA the spoiled brats of Canada.

Democracy is about change and swings from one side to the other, it’s a form of organized chaos or preplanned revolution. It’s not perfect, but why better than the other choices. The CPC has won, the sky has not fallen, some people will be happy, others will not. If you don’t like it, go join a political party and organize for the next election.

Maybe if you offer him a Forward position on the Vancouver Canucks, he will resign and play instead. Certainly won’t hurt the Canucks any worse than they are now.

Oh great lord moderator of the Tyee, I beseech you for a edit button in order to fix the mistakes that become glaringly obvious between the time you hit the submit button and the post is posted.

I remember Reagan as the teflon man. Stuff certainly sticks to GWB now.
Harper is a camaleon man. Although at some level I agree with some of the things that he does (apologies for my mildly neocon side), I find him really scary. Can we trust him? I think there is too much money behind him in order to be trusted. I am delighted that a media like the Tyee can keep him on his toes and bark when necessary. I hope the Harper lackeys can raise the scepticism level couple notches higher up. But then they would not be lackeys, would they?

"the natural evolution?"...now, that's funny.

this from IAMC

Is this the TYPICAL HARPER FOLLOWER or what ?

STOCKWELL DAY,LOOK OUT ! we got some one smarter than you,here,looking fer a job.

hey,IAMC,givem yer RESUME' there boy...U should be in like Flint,and get a case of chapstik,gonna need it fer all yer BOOTLICKIN AND BUTTKISSIN...

an iffin yer a real man,IAMC.you won't need that sissy chapstik stuff .

This article would be much better without the opening anti-American slam. There are enough things to criticize in Harper's behaviour without having to fan the flames of hatred and bigotry toward our neighbours. The author didn't even bother to differentiate between the current US Government and the American people in general.

Don't like Harper or Bush? -- fine. There are plenty of reasons not to. But all the blanket anti-Americanism appeals to our basest instincts and is tiresome -- especially on a so-called progressive site that arguably supports a more tolerant, thoughtful world.

Thanks for the link Verso. Wonder what Emerson will do after the PM hauls him into the woodshed.

The Tories are attempting to import viscious American style politics into Canada and I think the electorate will be repulsed by it.

this from steve P

I think most on this site are QUITE AWARE we are talking POLITICS here.

That means we are talking about AMERIKANS AMERIKANS, Amerikans, AMERICANS and of course Americans...

only the uninitiated have trouble understanding

oh boy, something new from the council of canadians, that lefty group that refuses to admit they're left. ony a matter of time before this drivel surfaced on the tyee.

Mayhap you should let Georgie know about that.

As to your attitude about the GTA, colin, if democracy is your principle you better remember how many voters there are in the golden horseshoe. Sounds like Schadenfreude to me.

The implied smugness of Mr Dobbin with his US bashing is not "progessive" at all. It is small-minded - typical of most of the pap served up on this website.

allan posted:

thank you allan, for that glowing piece of work that represents your non-ability to think and write creatively.

allan posted:

thank you allan, for that glowing piece of work that represents your non-ability to think and write creatively.

darn! that sticky post button

Reminds me of that old John Candy movie, Canadian Bacon. Great Satire

Sorry Righties, it won't work. You are attempting to create a straw man in the same way Zionists do. Equating fair criticism of the US gov't with 'America-bashing' is no different than equating criticism of Israel with anti-Semitism.

Canadians are too smart to fall for it.

Elliot: The CoC is not left wing in the same way that the Fraser Institute is not right wing. I think most Canadians have figured this out by now.

Alcibiades

The concept of democracy as a “constant or pre-planned revolution” is pretty old, so I suspect that the concept been kicked around south of the border.

I am aware of the GTA’s demographics, I just wish they were aware of the rest of Canada.

Actually, I don't support the Conservative party.

Fair criticism is fine, but take a second look at the opening paragraph of the article. How does suggesting that Harper should stand in front of the stars and stripes critique American government policy? I think Dobbin is writing for people who automatically equate America with evil, rather than trying to start his article with a real argument. I think any Canadian would be hard-pressed to avoid being labelled "similar to Americans" if someone tried hard enough to label them that way, since Canadians are, with some important exceptions, so similar to Americans, especially when viewed from outside of North America.

I think the author is indulging in a logical fallacy:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guilt_by_association

For ****'s sake, the Americans themselves are slamming Dubya left, right and centre. The whole world is in on the hate. Bush has too much power and it affects the entire globe. We have a right to criticize and let our views be known when a man who has such contempt for humanity is in power in the US. His house is in serious decline and the scandals are too many to keep up with. We have a PM who respects Bush and thinks his ideas are valid and aspires to be like him. Do we have to suffer for eight years like the vast majority of Americans have done? They are finally waking up to the fact that many in this world think Bush should be charged with crimes against humanity. Many are his own countrymen. We see the madness down south and we have to save ourselves from that. I really hate the "neighbour", "good friend" line of thinking. Bush is not neighbourly or a friend to many. Harper is not a friend or neighbour. He is a man elected by a minority to do what we the citizens want. If he wants to carry on like a nutjob neocon then I'm sure he can get a green card pretty damn fast and move down to Texas with his master. If his master doesn't end up in The Hague first.

New study in the Journal Nature http://www.physorg.com/news64767658.html
indicates the probable effects of climate change are limited. Question to the non-science left wing rabble why are you married to Kyoto? Would not the money spent on buying carbon credits, useless feel good programs and conferences be better spent on new technologies to curb climate greenhouse emissions?

Interesting, SteveP, because I did re-read the article in search of 'America-bashing' before posting and I couldn't find any. And I don't see any guilt by association either.

The author of the piece is critical of policies shared by Harper and Bush. Fair enough. The second paragraph outlines numerous similarities between Harper's style and that of US presidents. These are matters of fact, not opinion. The bit about the American flag is a rhetorical device.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhetorical_device

....more straw. I give Canadians credit for being smart enough to distinguish between "America", "Americans" and the policies and practices of the "American government".

It is interesting that the PM is doing all he can to appear 'Bush-like' at a time when the American public is turning their backs on him. I have a feeling Harper has hitched his wagon to a falling star.

Interesting how when we are all subject to the same propoganda that only the left is smart enough to see through it.....

Says a lot about you now doesn't it NLN?

The parallels between the Republican government of George Bush and the new Conservative government of Canada are growing by the day.

The utter contempt Harper shows towards Canadians should cause even the most hard-core Conservative sheep to take pause. Taking questions only from friendly reporters? Talking about ethics while undermining them every chance they get? Following lock-step with America in cutting off the Palestinians and urging the Iran 'crisis' to the Security Council? Next we will hear Harper talk about reforming social security and railing on about that evil Mr. Chavez.

When we consider that less than 25% of eligible voters actually cast a vote for this lot, they have some gumption to be going around thinking they have Bush's magnificent mandate to rule Canada. Harper is setting his party up for a huge fall, for he does seem to think Canadians level of political know-how and participation is on par with the US. The more American he makes our lives, the more he will turn off his fellow Canadians - even Albertans.
canadiandemocraticmovement.ca/displayarticle838.html
Majority Of Albertans Do Not Support Federal Child Care Plans

When his home province and power base doesn't even support his conservative plan for Canada, he is in big trouble. But just like his mentor in the US he will forge ahead anyways, even if it means plunging himself and his party or worse, Canada, over the edge of a cliff.

I don't want another election, but clearly we need one and soon to rid ourselves of this party that is systematically undoing generations of hard work by Canadians from coast to coast. We punted the Mulroney conservatives down to two seats, let's repeat that again. Maybe, just maybe, then they will understand.

There is propaganda from all sides, left and right. I see through all of it.

I am completely aware of the drawbacks of Capitalism. However, in MY OPINION, it is the system that works best.

We have to look at things from a big picture, and stop sweating the small stuff. It humours me to still see protesters out at David Emerson speeches. Sure he is a liar, but the world has much bigger problems.

I guess that's 'cause it's not propaganda if you agree with it.

What can't be denied, though, is that corporate interests, through their tax deductible 'think tanks' and assorted special interest groups, have expended a great deal of money and effort over the past twenty years or so to convince the great unwashed that government can do no right and 'free markets' can do no wrong.

Fanshaw:

Perhaps the author was using a rhetorical device. But I think that this device had the specific goal of inciting the negative feelings some people have for Americans and transferring these feelings onto Harper.

I guess I should be more clear:

1) Many people hate Bush and the American government. Simply being associated with Bush is enough for many to hate them, too. We are vulnerable to manipulation and demagoguery when somebody says that somebody is like Bush.

2) What did the author compare between Bush and Harper? His party discipline regarding communicating to the press, an allegation about how he treats cabinet ministers, greeting people in the Commons Gallery, and his position on the Kyoto Accord. Perhaps with the exception of the Kyoto Accord, Dobbins doesn't provide a lot of fact to back up his claim in this article. Yet when our colleague aalborg discusses how he feels about Bush, he discusses his alleged war crimes, not whether he greets people in the gallery.

I have no problem with critiquing policies -- my point was that Dobbin's comparisons were (excepting Kyoto) rather weak, yet they are still capable of arousing a strong, negative emotional response from many people. Thus the guilt by association.

In the end, Harper may prove worthy of this demonization. But I want to wait for the evidence before my "two minutes' hate".

somedumbguy:

harper has to be very careful, because there is a very pro-liberal media against him. the media in the gta is determined to see the liberals back in power.

now, it is this same media that has no "real" mud to sling on the guy that is filling your head with this crap.

let's judge harper on his actions and results, and not what he does or says to the media.

that is the problem with Canadians. we all vote based on soundbytes and not content - read Glen Clark.

neocon, what are you saying? That you don't come here for the articles and comment? You come here to look at the pictures?

The Toronto Globe and Mail, the National Post and the Toronto Sun are out to get Harper? They all backed him during the election.

I expect Capitalism will be changing his handle to Omniscient

It humours me to still see protesters out at David Emerson speeches. Sure he is a liar, but the world has much bigger problems.

Politicians love it when voters think like this.

The March/April edition of Mother Jones magazine has an extensively researched focus on the health of our oceans. The climate change issues are too important anymore for government and citizenry of any country to indulge in childish name-calling within ranks, between ranks, or across an ailing ocean. We're in trouble no matter who is right or wrong. We are passing the point where we can afford the self-gratifying tirades. This is a human survival issue now. Heaven help us.

Guess your reading comprehension is not up to snuff - I am judging him on his current actions. Read my post again. Everything he has done thus far is either extremely hypocritical or outright against the majority of Canadians wants, needs, wishes and desires. Everything that George has done lately has been parroted by Harper. If we extrapolate that - when Bush goes to war with Iran, guess where Harper will have Canadians? When Bush overthrows Chavez again, guess who will be second to recognize the new 'government' of Venezuela.

Harper talks this great game of accountability and ethics but does the exact opposite. Friendly reporters, a cabinet in chains, Emerson, Kyoto, and this is just the start. These conservatives represent a very small percentage of Canadians - you and they best remember your place - in the minority. You know of all the people I know that voted Conservative in this last election all but one now says that was a mistake. In their rush to punish the Liberals or uneasiness about voting NDP or Green they have cut off their own noses to spite the Liberals - and they now admit it.

Harper wants to throw down the gauntlet and have another election - to quote his best buddy - bring it on.

Oh and don't get me started on this fabled non-existent 'liberal' media in Canada. There is no such thing. Do yourself a favour and actually investigate who owns what in the media sphere, then come back here and claim that falsehood. But then you also clearly think the Liberal party is left-wing, which is also clearly demonstrated to be false by their own track record of the past decade.

verso - one word of advice - they are all crooks and liars.

like i said, politicians only care about being re-elected. this is one of the problems with democracy.

dirtmeister,

This is from the article you linked to. Now 6.2 sounds like a pretty bad increase to me.

Below is a link to an article from the Times Online

Without action to mitigate the effects of this global warming, up to 400 million people would be at risk from starvation, as between 200 million and 400 million tonnes of cereal production were lost

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-2135366,00.html

dirtmeister said

David King said,

somedumbguy:

you haven't even discussed one real policy initiative, only the way he "ducks and hides" from the media and that his is governing from Alberta - look at his cabinet - full of Albertans, all 3 or 4 of them....

give it a break - you were probably writing anti-harper speeches before he was PM and you are writing him now.

it is clear that you will find any reason you can to throw dirt on the guy.

Steve,

I DO have "a strong, negative emotional response" to both Harper and Bush but it's not "hatred" and its not personal. I believe their policies and practices in a number of areas that I care deeply about will do more harm than good.

I don't apologize for being emotional about political issues. In fact, I think Canadians aren't emotional enough about politics. Regardless of whether you agree or disagree on the issues, you can't deny that those "emotional" French folks had the balls to take to the streets to oppose a government policy and get it changed. In Canada, people protesting David Emerson's treachery are 'tut-tutted' by the ruling class for getting all worked up about nothing.

Patently and observably untrue. No doubt some are one or the other or even both but certainly not the majority. This kind of cynical nonsense only serves to undermine democracy.

Fair enough, Fanshaw. I'll leave the hatred to others =^)

I have mixed feelings about the recent rioting and demonstrations in France. On the one hand, people power is supposed to be a good thing. But where were these folks when the last elections hit France? What happened to all of the people who voted for the current government, who have been disenfranchised by a mob? Do the rights of unions and students trump the folks who obey the law and vote differently?

I guess people power seems to be a great thing as long as you feel the people are asking for something you personally support.

(Warning: Godwin's Law about to manifest!)

In the late 19th & early 20th centuries, many on the left were encouraged by the broadening of the franchise, believing that the inclusion of the masses in politics would deliver support to left-leaning political parties. But then Mussolini came along and demonstrated that mass anti-capitalist, anti-liberal political movements could also attack the state from the right ... so I have mixed feelings about the ability of militants in Paris to shut down the French state. I don't think it is necessarily progressive.

(And no, I'm not calling the unions and students fascists -- my point is that groups who shut down state power outside of the standard political process are morally neutral, rather than automatically laudable)

But hey, I like arguing with you Fanshaw -- you read posts & deliver thoughtful responses.

When you have a prime minister undermining democracy,you have nothing more than a dictatorship.

And with the Liberal party dead in the water,the NDP lame ducks,the Blok with their hands in the kookie jar,the Greens totally useless.

WHERE DO YOU SEE ANY SEMBLANCE OF THE DICTIONARY TERM OF DEMOCRACY ?

Even as a minority,Harper has the country by the short hairs...ONLY WHEN AN ELECTION IS FORCED ,WILL WE HAVE DEMOCRACY AGAIN.

Thanks Steve, I try to disagree without being disagreeable. "He who loses his temper loses the argument" as someone once said.

I'm afraid I don't have time discuss all the issues raised in your parapenultimate paragraph (yes, I have been waiting years to use the word parapenultimate) but I am not advocating mob rule. I suppose if the government of France was honest about the law in question during the last election then the mob should live with it. But I'm from BC and I have witnessed a provincial govenment that kept large parts of its agenda hidden during the 2001 election and lied outright about others so I sympathize when any government pulls the old 'bait and switch' on the electorate.

Am I happy with the party choices or their state of disarray? No.

Was the current minority government democratically elected? Yes.

Can the Conservatives rule if the other parties hold a vote of confidence? Unlikely.

Could our democratic institutions be improved? Absolutely.

Sounds democratic to me.

I think Harald is confusing the question of whether he supports the party in power with the question of whether Canada is a democracy.

Fair enough. I haven't weighed out all the pros & cons on this tough one, either =^)

Well, haraldkann, the situation is pretty bleak, as the rest of your post outlines, but I don't believe Harper is undermining democracy. Perhaps an electoral system that allows a party supported by a minority of the population to act like it has the permission of the majority is to blame.

And I don't think the PM is a crook or a liar, since technically, omission is not lying.

No, this is not one of the problems with democracy, mabellbc...the problemo is with ....? (You fill in the blanks).

Dear ‘IAMC’, re Alberta’s economy:

It does not require a great deal of business/financial acumen to stick a pipe in the ground and direct profits to provincial coffers, as evidenced by everyone from ex-jock Lougheed to gin-addled Klein.

Dear ‘Capitalism’, re “it is you lefties that are preventing the natural evolution of society!”

What in GAWD’S name are you talking about, you obsequious, non-critical tit??? Have you been reading your remainder bin copy of Tofler’s The Third Wave again? Calling your reactionary, profoundly dated, and laissez faire economics-driven take on ‘progressive’ is about as nonsensical as calling a gang of ‘born old’ neo-conservatives ‘reformers’, however effective. Get a grip: the social contract does not end at birth, you mean-spirited, myopic fossil.

David Emer$on was not elected and he does not have the consent of his constituency to sit as a liberal .THERE IS A DEMAND FOR A BY ELECTION.

Steven Harper promised an open transparent govt.

OUR COUNTRY IS A WAR...not sanctioned by the PEOPLE .

democracy
A noun
1 majority rule, democracy

the doctrine that the numerical majority of an organized group can make decisions binding on the whole group

SEEMS YOUR VERSION OF DEMOCRACY DIFFERS FROM THE DICTIONARY...because the Harper Govt. is a minority...the MAJORITY of the CITIZENS voted for some one else

dictatorship

n : a form of government in which the ruler is an absolute dictator (not restricted by a constitution or laws or opposition etc.)

SEEMS CLOSER...

Harper is just milking the cow for all it's worth while it lasts. like every conservitive who cares about tommorrow lets feast today.

n : a form of government in which the ruler is an absolute dictator (not restricted by a constitution or laws or opposition etc.)

Something we agree on Harald. Harper's disdain for the constitution and the judiciary ARE frightening.

If you support the current conservitives or republican party you are blind. Just the way they want you to be.

If there is one thing the Conservatives do get done, let it be enforcing our northern sovereignty. Other than that, their America first, and American style of doing things is obviously not Canadian, nor supported by a real majority.

As another poster said - the system is as much to blame as the Conservative party is. They rule as though they have a clear majority, and that folks is a symptom of a larger problem. If we had real democracy - that is citizen driven and only overseen by elected officials as the true meaning of a democratic state should be, then we would not see the actions of the Conservative party, or the liberal party before them happening as they have. Sadly both those parties learned that we do live a quasi-democratic state where we vote then forget - or as I say - vote then prey all works out until next election.

maybelle/capitalism

Is it your economic experience, your financial acumen or your delirium tremens talking?

Well, I certainly think Allan's assessment is bang on. Good one, Al. :-)

But that said, of course Harpers style is going to be "presidential". That's what all theses con neocons are about; the betrayal of their nation to their wannabe US Empire Loyalist love interest.

Only they have a problem. First of all, 61% of Canadians, if my memory again serves me accurately, didn't vote for them. So, they are a minority government in pursuit of a majority.

And you out and tell Canadians, point blank, that you want to take this country into the US Union, you're history at the very next election and you can kiss your dreams of a Conservative majority good-bye for at least several more decades-, if ever again.(It's only IN I Am Clueless'sdelusional wingnut mind that Canadians all love Herr Harpo. ROFLMAO! Which he says wearing that funny little white jacket with the sleeves that tie in the back and exposes his bare ass. TFM.)

So what they are mostly attempting to do is send hopeful signals to each other, from the leading to the led, these US Empire Loyalists dressed up as traditional "pro-monarchist" Conservatives of old. Which by now it should be clear they are not. They are US Republican style Conservatives.

And additionaly they are attempting to send subliminal messages to the Canadian masses, so that once that majority is presumably secured, and they are positioned to boldly make their moves, they can say they made their intentions clear, and if you missed it, you weren't paying attention.

It is an attempt to subvert Canadian democracy, or what passes for it, like the Conservatives and the Liberals pulled off together around the GST and NAFTA. Enter Michael Ignatieff if the Harpo Cons fail, one of the most overtly and obvious Americanized Canadians around, in the tradition of David Frum who wrote Bush's speeches around the invasion of Iraq, and one of the biggest US apologists to ever come out of this country and serve The Empire. (In the Brian Mulroney tradition. "The greatest Canadian Prime Minister of all time." in their stark raving minds.)

Those of us who are truly concerned about Canada, its survival, independence and continued socially progressive development have to take these "presidential style" signals seriously. For we should have no illusions. They mean what they and The Calgary School are signalling-, and the Liberals, if any of the old Paul Martin faction or the rising Ignatieff one emerge to the top of the heap in the Liberal leadership race.

We are about to enter the most threatening time this country and its independant development have ever faced, if you love Canada. And regrettably, I don't have a whole lot of confidence that either the NDP or the Greens have what it takes to lead us and the nation out of and away from this threat either, unfortunately. They are already heavily compromised, the two of them, and getting more and more so by the day, week and month.

New street level developments need to begin to occur, to challenge this course and begin to set in motion a new dynamic and democratic structural options, if the country is going to be saved and reset upon a socially and economically progressive and independant course again.

The lethargy needs to be broken, and a new popular and participatory "will" emerge-, or we really are about to lose it by neoconazi stealth.

Corporate Knights Magazine tonight honored Brian Mulroney as being the PM with the best enviro record. Everyone was there. Ms. May of the Sierra Club, PM , Charest, Rick Mercer, ex Nader person. It was exiting to watch this on CBS News world tonight.
PM Brian was apparently the driving force behind reducing acid rain, as well as many National Parks, clean air act, worked with the USA to do all kinds of good.
But what I found fascinating is that people like Sheila Coops , the environmentalists, Rick Mercer and many other luminaries seemed to pay respect to a new Govt. And reach out to it.
Brian acknowledged Global Warming and that mankind is contributing to it.
He also pointed out that our high minded idea that we are holier than thou regarding greenhouse gases vs, the record of the USA when in fact we are twice as bad.
He also used his position of power at this moment to highlight Canada's future in the North and painstakingly did the math about the energy expectations of China and India in the next decade. It's mind boggling.
He finished by pointing out, with numbers, what we got for petroleum and gas in the North.
He paid high respect for the North as a environmental safe area of prosperity.
He pointed out the Aboriginal community must be part of this prosperity.
He was also commended for his work against South African apartheid policies. And the woman head of the Sierra Club spoke she ended her speech by saying that if not for Mulroney, Nelson Mandela would have died in jail on the island.

'Something we agree on Harald. Harper's disdain for the constitution and the judiciary ARE frightening.' and do you realize why this may be so fanshaw? i can tell you as someone who is involved in the legal system that the charter has posed more questions than answers, and that many of our judges decisions leave people scratching their heads in disbelief. how about the case of joel libin, who was beaten into a coma by 3 musqueam band members in dunbar? the judge declared that the culprits were negatively influenced by their home life, and then sentenced them to 12 months house arrest. that's only one example of course, and i won't continue now b/c i don't want to be as long-winded as coyote.

IAMC SAYS

Not likely,we don't have the industry or the population to emit TWICE THE VOLUME OF THE USA

Did they talk of all the bribes/funny money he took in them dinners with Karl Heinz Schrieber.Did they talk about the PERJURY he commited and got away with.Does being a CORRUPT POLITICIAN mean anything to morons like you IAMC ?

Long ago ,my father told me there were people/sychophants like you in this world .I have met a few over the years,but no one as sychophantic as you.YOU TAKE THE CAKE...

haraldkann
Our Canadian outputs of greenhouse gas is way more above than the 1990 target that we agreed to and signed with the world community.
Our contribution of these nasty agents, proportionately higher than the USA.
It's not unnecessarily good, but it's true.
Lets get off of our high horses and get innovative.
Not schizo like your arguments.

I saw some of that Corporate Knights Magazine farce honouring Brian Mulroney as Canada's greenest PM on CBC.

It was nothing but a kiss up to the Americans.
They couldn't give Mulroney an award for his truthfulness after all - so greenness was about all they had left - and no, Karlheinz Schrieber and his $300,000 contribution to Brian's pension fund weren't mentioned. We did get an opportunity to hear a few words from Peewee and a few more from Jean Charest and of course there was a cameo by Ben Mulroney. In all, the kind of self-serving crap you expect whenever Mulroney makes a public appearance – just another attempt to burnish the tarnished image of a man with no integrity and a strong desire to revise history so he’ll end up looking like something other than the man who pimped his country out to the highest bidder.

BM the PM talked about what a tough negotiator he was and he reminisced about his old friend Ronnie; he pleaded with PeeWee to try and turn Georgie around on the environment.

He didn't say anything about the payoff he got for negotiating a settlement in the price fixing case against Archer Daniels Midland either.

There wasn’t a hell of a lot to be proud of for Canadians today, Harald. If Peewee ever gets a majority in Ottawa he’ll finish the sellout that Mulroney started. How people like Maude Barlow and Elizabeth May, who supposed give a sh*t for the independence of this country could support this kind of pandering to the US is a great shame and a mystery

Hello IAMC.

Interesting post. Much better than gloating!

I'm no fan of Brian Mulroney like most people, but you can certainly make a good case that he was better than Chretien and Martin as PM. He didn't strangle anyone! Also, the biggest cutbacks in Federal Transfer payments and Federal Government jobs were under the Liberals!
However, all three Prime Ministers (Mulroney, Chretien and Martin) supported the FTA and NAFTA. Furthermore, the Charlottetown Accord was a disaster.
Will Brian Mulroney become a Canadian Al Gore fighting for environmental issues? I like to think yes, but I have never thought of Mulroney as a strong environmentalist.
And to be honest I can't say I have liked any Prime Minister since Trudeau (though he had his faults too), but the times allowed him to be progressive!
Lastly, we shouldn't forget that Elizabeth May (Canadian environmentalist) got Bill Vander Zalm to support the Haida Gwaii Park. Not an easy feat to accomplish! LOL

PS: It is important to remember that we as citizens must save Canada! No politician will ever do it for us!

Kevan Hudson
Suncheon, South Korea

Former BC Boy
Mulroney is not starting a crusade for anything. It was nothing more than a pathetic exercise in apple polishing for a discredited liar who's concerned about his tarnished reputation in the history books - Elizabeth May and Maude Barlow were suckered into this rubber chicken fiasco. If they weren't, and they went along with it knowingly, they ought to be ashamed. It was pathetic.

This wasn't about saving Canada - it was about kissing American A$$.

Elliot,

This was to be expected, was it not? When you create a new constitution with new rights and freedoms in a country that's already 115 years old there's bound to be a lot of things to litigate and perhaps relitigate. Maybe those questions are a bit slow in being answered but certainly this is no reason to look hold the constitution in contempt as Harper surely does.

If you are refering to decisions in Charter cases, I suggest that the head scratchers actually read the Court's reasons for judgement and see if that helps. I have been following Charter cases since day one and I don't always agree with the Justices (Justici?) about what constitutes "reasonable limits prescribed by law as can be demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society." but I do take the time to find out why they came to a particular decision. Nor do I jump up and down and cry "Activist judges!!" everytime a Charter case doesn't go the way I think it should. If you are refering to the example you gave in your posting I can tell you only this: I will not comment on any particular case without knowing about it in great detail, so much detail in fact that I would have had to sit in the courtroom everyday, hear all the witnesses and arguments from both procecution and defence lawyers. Kind of like...well, a judge deciding the case. Your example sounds outrageous but based on 42 words posted on the 'net, impossible to judge with any degree of fairness.

What I coincidence! I too was involved in the legal system. First as 'the accused', later as 'the defendant' and finally as 'the guilty party'. How 'bout you?

Where are the true enviornmentalists?
The biggest joke is Brian Malroney voted the "greenest prime minister of Canada."

1 day ago IAMC said "one hell of a Canada" & it would be if people had $ signs for brains but the vast majority see the harper/oilberta mandate for what it is, an act of Treason against My Canada
Malroney is a crook who took bribes that's the only green I remember!

Mulroney greenest Prime Minister?!

Why not give him an honourary degree in Environmental Science or something!

A joke, should have been held on April fools day!

The whole economy is founded on creating and emitting green house gases *(burning things or consuming things!). And then doing (developing) more of it! If recycled material volumes rise each year is that a good thing? Perhaps it does increase the life of landfills, but does it really do anything else. Reuse, remember refillable bottles (milk; pop), would be better than recyling! Capitalism at its best; discount the environment-the foundation of life!

Do the Sierra Club really think Mulroney will influence the minority government's environmental policies or programs?

This planet, unless we all wake up, is phucdd!

I suppose that is why the rich still persue the Moon and Mars! Looking for a new spaceship, before the old one craps out!

I am still giggling over your deep involvment with the legal system.It's like every person who rides the Ferry now knows about the Ferry system.

ONLY ON SITES LIKE THIS COULD WE HAVE SO MANY EXPERTS ...I OFTEN WONDER WHERE THE DIPLOMAS ARE FROM AND IF THE INK IS DRY YET .

Now,reading this makes much more sense than what you wrote previously,but,still falls into the realm of Canadian Spin Doctoring Heritage Moments.

PROPORTIONALY ACCORDING TO THE KYOTO ACCORD...

What a crock of Bull$h!t according to the Kyoto accord CANADA COULD NEVER MEET EXPECTATIONS,BECAUSE THEY WERE ,UNATTAINABLE,THAT'S WHY MANY OPTED OUT !

IAMC,you have to be one of the dimmest bulbs i have had the misfortune to run across and your posting here only shows us there is no hope for the future with the population,if they are anything like you.

Call me a Misanthrope ,but i see no future unless people like you are culled and put to work some where deep under the earth to mine some strange metal we don't need...

"Corporate Knights" is that an offshoot of the Hells Angels or the Bandidos?

Which about summarizes this I Am Clueless braunshirt. What a dipshit.

Corporate Knights,shows you the EGOTISM and SELF SERVING ATTITUDE these CRETINS have in mind,the name say's it all.

An Old Boys Club,used to placate their own guilt in SCREWING the rest of Society over by SPIN DOKTORING PURE BULL$H!T ,so they can look good in the History books.

usually,only the VICTORS ,write History,now we see,the elitists can do it as well

and with people like IAMC,it just may be taken for GOSPEL ,down the road .

I still can't understand why anybody bought the swift makeover from dull to metrosexual, from glowering to grinning, and from control-freak to nice guy. It was done for the purposes of getting elected, and cleverly engineered by the Canadian version of Karl Rove, Patrick Muttart. He cleverly studied all the manoeuvers that had gotten doubtful people elected in the past and used them on unsuspecting (but not again) Canadians.

From Harper's first "God Bless Canada", I knew we were in deep trouble. His reversal on practices and policies has been fast enough to make your head spin.

A minority leader with views most Canadians are uncomfortable with or find simply repellent is now able to implement policy just because no one wants another election right now.

Now, that is scary.

"God bless Canada"

I have always thought how selfish, would not God want to bless all of the people on this planet?

I know when George Dubya says "God bless America" I was always respond: what about the rest of us?

Not to be taken literally freebear, he means all people who wish to be Americans, who enjoy American culture and who have American military bases on their soil :-)

{Its not just cheesemakers, its everyone who produces dairy products}

Yes Chicken Little the (Canadian) sky could/is falling & I'll just bet that Big bush bucks will be/are backing stevie's drive to be king, but the bush boys will be gone by then, I hope.
Emerson will be a disgraced lil man all alone.
We need "Joe Canadian" to kick some tory ass. lol

[B]All I know for sure is,is that we used to enjoy four seasons now there are only two .
Storms are getting more intense(Katrina et al)
Soon we will be able to by seaside property in Canmore .
Wake up ne-cons before it is too late .
Kyoto may be flawed but it was somewhat workable although green credits were a bad idea .
Ninety climatologists in Canada wrote the moron Harper a letter explaining in detail what will happen should we ignore 'climate change'
Will he listen ?
Of course not. The mask of deceit has slipped from his face and now we see the true monser lurking beneath .

Good little piece above, Former BC Boy. You show some honest depth there. Too little of it around.

Mulroney as Mr. Green. TFM. A reference to what? Like say, the for Conservative running the Green Party?

The image of him singing Danny Boy so lovingly to Ronald Reagan, the founding "father figure" of the US Neocons, like he wanted to take him to bed, is forever etched in my memory.

Who should have been feted that night was Paul Newman, for a giving us a glimpse into the real megalomanic mind of this US Empire Loyalist-, who really does think he is going to be remembered by history as this country's "greatest Prime Minister EVER"! Put him in one of those funny little jackets with the sleeves that tie in the back, like the one they keep IAmClueless in, and toss them into the same rubber room together, where they can bounce of the walls together while singing The Star Spangled banner in two part harmony.

Now there'd be a comedic kind of "spirituality" for you that I could relate to, going back to the Da Vinci code thread.

"Oh seek and you'll see, by the dawn's early light..." in slow mo as they ricochet off the walls. A kind of One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest, starring Brian Mulroney and IAmClueless.

Mulroney's award for being Canada's 'greenest' PM is proof of the oxygen depletion we are experiencing. How else to explain May's and Barlow's support of this initiative .Their brains are starved for oxygen .
Truly shameful behaviour from people I used to respect as leaders on the enviornmental issues .
For shame !

He's at it again. Hypocrisy, that is.

Emerson's floor crossing treachery was A-OK with Steve-o because it wasn't against the rules.

It IS, however, "intolerable" and "offensive" for the Senate to hold up his accountability act.

Rules are a bitch, huh, Mr. Harper?

Tell me please, that Maude, whom I have for long "grudgingly" admired and desired to bed, DID NOT ATTEND this fete for that Conservative "has been" dipshit. Please.

My God! Is there no end to it?!?!

It would but complete the circle of the degradation of "The Left" as we have known it. They will then have all gone over to the darkside of The Force, but me bleating and whining in the wilderness. The moment of my crucifixion is clearly at hand.

Et tu Judas?

Oh Father, why hast thou so forsaken me?

The other "Newman" fer chris'sake. Peter! My wifes old favourite name for my dick. :-) One too many Stolichnaya over the line.

I think Maude's playing some politics of her own, ie, embarrass the Libs. The Libs get such a free ride in this country, people automatically think they're better than the Cons on the environment. So maybe Maude is thinking, well, there's gonna be a lnew eader soon, time to make them grovel a bit.

Your wife calls it Peter Newman?????

Now that's funny. LOL.

Okay, we've got one of the grand-daughters for the night. A delightful, beautiful and extremely intelligent child. There's one, actually really good Japanese restaurant in town, so we're off to it for supper.

I love sushi! A Kirin beer. Just about anything Japanese, so long as it doesn't have sucking tentacles.

Reminds me too much of capitalism. :-)

Upon the 'morrow brothers, sisters and comrades. (Comrades are very special brothers and sisters. :-)

Don't kid youself folks,Maude Barlow and the Sierra Club are not, INTELLECTUAL GIANTS !

Rubber chicken has gotten more converts from the great unwashed,simply because they needed a meal !

MULRONEY KISSING REAGANS A$$ IS ALL WE NEED REMEMBER .

While Coyote and Peter Newman are out attending The Last Supper....here's the list of the Green PM Jury Panel and who they voted for:

Green PM Jury Panel:

Ken Ogilvie, Pollution Probe
V=Trudeau
Elizabeth May, Sierra Club
V=Mulroney
Monte Hummel, WWF
V=Mulroney
David Runnalls, IISD
V=Mulroney
David Boyd, Author: Sustainability within a Generation
V=Mulroney, Martin, Trudeau
Liz White, Environmental Voters
V=Mulroney
Maude Barlow, Council of Canadians
V= No one
Jim Fulton, David Suzuki Foundation
V= No one
Rick Smith, Environment Defence Canada
V=Laurier
Desmond Morton, McGill
V=Bennett
Sheila Copps, Former Federal Environment Minister
V= MacDonald
Beatrice Olivastri, Friends of the Earth
V=Trudeau =0

Wasn't exactly a landslide vote,hunh ?
Mulroney is still more famous for the 'Airbus' scandal than anything and that is his legacy .

Threats to delay accountability act 'intolerable,' Harper says
Last Updated Fri, 21 Apr 2006 14:42:52 EDT
CBC News

Liberal threats to delay passage of the proposed accountability act are "offensive" because the legislation is largely in response to their unethical actions while in power, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Friday.

Speaking in Toronto, Harper said Liberal members of Parliament have been "particularly vicious" in their criticisms of the bill, which the Tories say will make government more transparent.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper attacked accountability act opponents at a luncheon in Toronto on Friday. (Aaron Harris/ Canadian Press)

He said they've been all over the map in their critiques, either complaining the act does too much or doesn't do enough.

Harper also targeted the Liberal-dominated Senate, charging that "unelected political appointees" are considering blocking legislation to make Parliament more accountable.

"The Liberal party, in either house of Parliament, contemplating blocking or delaying the federal accountability act is intolerable," Harper said.

He added that it is "particularly offensive" given that that the act is in "significant measure a response to their actions."

* FROM APR. 11, 2006: Tories bring in promised accountability act

If passed into law, the act would:

* Clean up appointment and contracting processes to remove the potential for political patronage.
* Ban political donations by corporations and unions.
* Impose a five-year lobbying ban on former ministers, their aides, and senior public servants.
* Offer "ironclad protection" for whistleblowers. .
* Reward bureaucrats who reveal wrongdoing with cash bonuses of up to $1,000.

Harper gave a series of speeches this week, outlining his agenda and daring the opposition parties to block it.

* FROM APR. 18, 2006: Harper willing to go to the polls over child-care allowance

Get over yourself moron !

"Intolerable"....hmmm, that's an interesting choice of words!

I hope this is a leftist progressive website! It took weeks to find anything like the 'liberal media' the theocons were spouting about. I've yet to find a forum that isn't dominated by rightwingnuts.

My horroscope today reccommended that I frame my questions clearly and consult the most "evolved" person I could find. (I'm a Cancer)
I kinda respect what Murrey and the rest of you are saying (with a few mixed reactions to comments) so:

Question: Why do I feel depressed and anxious all the time?

Incedently: I did pan through my assosciates and try to pin down an "evolved" individual.
Most I could think of committed suicide long ago.

Is there anybody out there with some wisdom they could share? (I'm thinking: restrict it to issues related to climate change - politics is nessessary but boring)

What I'm looking for is -you know, a budha or someone with a pipeline to christ. No real restrictions if you happen to know what is really going on.

love those vote results. thanks lynn. sheila copps just proved she's even stupider than hedy fry. john a. macdonald????? trains and coal. what a bloody idiot!

Don't be so hard on Sheila Elliot, she meant Ronald, not John A.

Lynn, Any idea why Sheila Copps got a vote? I'm looking at the list and thinking of the old Sesame Street song about how one of these things don't fit together.

she was the environment minister. imagine that. i guess wonders never cease when jean chretien is your prime minister for 10 years.

There's been lots of environment ministers, why is she the only one on the list? If politicians are free to choose other politicians wouldn't the current environment minister get a vote? Or Martin's? Or one of Mulroney's?

sheila's got nothing else to do these days. she applied at tim horton's but didn't make the short list.

Man's ego regarding his superiority over all including nature causes ill informed opinions.
I get a kick when some 50 year old guy tells stories about how cold it was when he was a kid and yet it's so warm now. There must be global warming and because of my superiority over nature I must be responsible.
How stupid. How long have you lived in comparison the the time already expired ?
I cannot think of words to describe the insignificance's of this persons experience.
Although the Northern Polar Ice Cap may be temporarily shrinking, there is an equal proportion of ice build up in the southern ice cap in Antarctica.
A volcano, like the one spewing in South America today, puts more nasty particles into the atmosphere than China will ever put out in eternity.
The ego of mankind causes us to come up with illogical conclusions.

Too funny. That's a classic. ;-)

Right on... on the old Sesame Street song, too...I agree...something doesn't quite fit...maybe they were just trying to annoy Paul Martin by including her...strange days, indeed....

Here's the link I got the list above from... about the Ever-So-Corporate Knights Dinner ...not sure if it will help any...it includes such fascinating information as who was sitting at the head table with Kermit Mulroney...I know you wait with bated breath to find that out...:-)

I wonder what Rick Mercer really thinks about it all...

http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/April2006/19/c5603.html

Elliot on fire tonight. Good one.

If anyone is an expert on ill-informed opinions, it is indeed you, IAMC....

As a dead man once said, "I wasn't waving, I was drowning."

Hey, a little bit off topic, but has anyone heard that "Enbridge"Oil, centered in Calgary,Alberta, has recently announced that a pipeline is being built from the Northern Alberta Oil Sands to Kitimat B.C., AND there will be about 154 tankers a year negotiating their way through this unique and fragile habitat called the "Inside Passage". Tankers will be going right past the town of Hartley Bay. These are the people who won our hearts in their rescue efforts of passangers after the sinking or the B.C. Ferry "Queen of the North". What a thanks we are giving them for that...man.

This O&G initiative is a real threat to the central coast of B.C.

The pipeline is, from what I have heard and read, half owned by the Chinese...hmmmm.

It seems while we are we are busy putting out "fires", the Industry "Volcano" is errupting.

It is sometimes challenging to keep one eye on the whole picture...man.

RTB

Yea, typical rightest(non)thinking .
8% of the polar ice cap is disappearing yearly and our polar bears will be extinct in 25,years or less .
Personally I do not want to wait around for that to happen .
You cannot replace an eco-system.Period.
Everything in nature is a fine balancing act .
Remove one thing and the rest will fall into collapse .
I have heard all the arguments about not having enough long term data to rely on . That is a cop out of the highest order .
How many smog alerts were issued in Toronto last year ? Dozens .
The air became unbreathable for long stretches of the summer .People with lung ailments expired before their time .
Melanomas are now at the top of the cancer societies list of urgent need .
And yet we remain addicted to smog spewing automobiles .
I think every car and truck sold that is not enviornmentally friendly should have a $2,500,green tax added to the price .
And those who choose Prius or smart cars should be given a $3,500, green credit .
If average citizens do not take the lead our planet is doomed and good planets are hard to find .

Right on, Right to Bear. The best way to honour the people of Hartley Bay is to stand strong with them against the lifting of the ban on oil tanker traffic.

As Guujaw, the president of the council of Haida Nation, says, lifting the prohibition on oil tanker traffic in the area is "madness".

Exxon Valdez redux anyone ?

How about King Stephen Harper?
http://www.cbc.ca/gfx/pix/harper-cp-9870945.jpg

Too funny . Now if it were only a pointy tin foil hat .

what a great relief it is to see PRIME MINISTER STEPHEN HARPER running this great country with some common sense and purpose. in only three short months he has brought structure and discipline to a gov't that has been floundering for twelve long years under the non-leadership of a couple of wannabe buffoons and their bungling cabinet ministers. no more hrdc, gun control or sponsorship, to name just a few. here's to another term and a majority for the conservative party of canada.

You're always good for a laugh around here, Elliot. But we're laughing at you, not with you. 8-D ROFLMAO.

geez,talk about SUBLIMINAL ADVERTISING or what

i guess the truth hurts eh coyote? guys like you must be getting more frustrated daily as the conservative movement takes hold of the federal and provincial scenes. thank god for common sense and god bless canada.

Elliot
either your in denial/or you`re a moron

.

Amen to that, hannibal.

Elliot, Stephen Harper's only purpose is try to get a majority government...that's what he's been put there for.. he's just the waterboy for Team Amerika...hired to help it quench its insatiable thirst to drink Canada dry.

Yea,sure a firm grip on power.
Fact is is that 2 out 0f 3 Canadians voted for a left leaning party .NDP and Liberal .
Harper is delusional in the extreme if he imagines he can make a majority out of Quebec with their seventy five seats .
He will be lucky to hang on to the ten seats he has at the moment .
You make me laugh dude .
Even David Emerson is upset with the moron Harper.
Called him "A hardass with no social skills whatsoever"
And why do you think so many of the Reformers are talking about jumping ship to Alberta should Preston Manning win the premiereship ?
I smell another 93' coming down the road for the all idiot party .

Elliot, Stephen Harper's only purpose is try to get a majority government...that's what he's been put there for.. he's just the waterboy for Team Amerika...hired to help it quench its insatiable thirst to drink Canada dry.

Absolutely Lynn . Harper has stolen the Republican play book and is going to make sure we become the fifty first state .
Have fun in the new Amerika Elliot guys like you deserve that freaking idiot and anybody who voted for him falls into that category as well.

George Bush and Stephen Harper share the same faith. They belong to the Christian right (namely evangelicals) that have found an endless supply of money to help support their traditional causes. Most of their monetary and non-monetary support comes from the North American oil companies and powerful corporations. It’s a little odd though how they have jumped into bed with mainly atheist corporations, sharing a non-Christian pursuit of lust for money and power.

Thankfully, a few evangelicals (Jim Wallis) in the States are staring to take back their faith, hijacked by the Neo-cons and finally putting Jesus first rather than corporations and the powerful.
http://www.sojo.net/
http://www.sojo.net/index.cfm?action=special.display&item=050111_godspolitics

life is good, and getting better as we speak.

Did you notice how quickly the little sleaze Emerson back-pedaled and dissembled when he got the evil eye from the boss though?
Hard-ass is a compliment?
I'll have to add that one to the little book of Emersonian wisdom I'm compiling.
I don't think it is quite up to the Ralph Waldo level yet. All contributions gratefully accepted and acknowledged.

that was brilliant.

Only for someone with no more than a hand-shake's affinity with the truth!

The reach-around from Harper may not be panning out to be such a great deal for the little fellow - I understand his email box is 'full' in a way that it never was when he was a 'real' member of a government.

Brilliant? What an ass, and not the hard kind. It only confirms his conversation w/the Liberal aide was true -- he'd been better off denying it.

Indeed, Emerson has become Harper's worst nightmare. I hope he sticks around, he makes the opposition's job that much easier.

G.West. That will be the shortest book ever written.
Emerson's wit and wisdom . I imagine a page should do it .
Verso: Maybe Emerson is a Liberal plant sent to report back to his 'real' bosses .

C'mon Lynn! Don't make it too complicated for Elliot. He thinks being a waterboy, fetchin' and carryin'for the Amerikans, like getting killed for them in Afghanistan is a good thing.

He's just smart enough though to be safely over here with all the other Neocons, where they can watch the killing of other folks kids safely from the sidelines. They's good at the cheerleading, but not the dying, which would really be doing a good service to us all. Which we'd appreciate, have no doubt Elliot.

hannibal/verso
You're right. As I said it's a long way from anything compiled about Ralph Waldo.... I do have a few choice lines from his campaign literature and you can cover quite a bit of white space if you use a large enough font.

My problem is the guy seems to be playing his own version of 'Where's Waldo' these days - I don't see or hear enough of him so that I can take notes.

I certainly hope he stays at Stephen's side; the two do deserve each other!

Elliot...Four Canadian Kids died last night..

so now we`re First Rate?

When you fill your gas tank you fill it with blood.

btc
You have an unerring knack for cutting to the heart of the matter in the most economical and direct way - I salute you.

Really, Elliot, as Coyote suggests put your good life to the test....and enlist today...do it for Uncle Stephen... Party hard in Kandahar, Elliot.

btc...so painfully true...the real price of oil these days.

btc.No truer words were ever spoken.
When you fill your gas tank you fill it with blood.

So I guess nonbody is going to fill their tank then.
Just park your vehicle and wait until the war is over.
Stick to your principals. You ungrateful SO B's.

geez,ya think lynn might have someting here

David Emer$on is not even fit to be Ralph Waldo Emerson's TOEJAM.putting David Emer$ons name even remotely close to R.W.Emerson,makes me want to VOMIT .The man in the fastest sneakers around is an inefectuall psuedo intellectual.

so now we`re First Rate?

When you fill your gas tank you fill it with blood.

BTC , like Elliot ,gives a $H!T

the body bags are starting to waken the stunned masses,count off those young souls slowly and make sure all,are listening

kaybertoss says:

How true! Bush and Harper have wrapped themselves in the cloak of Christianity because it guarantees them a certain percentage of the popular vote. They have taken advantage of the Lefts disdain for Christians, as exemplified by some of the posters here. Many Christians are tired of having their socially conservative values mocked and their beliefs are ridiculed, so they have gone over to the side that seemingly supports some of their values. The Neocons will abandon the Christians when they are no longer politically useful.

The irony in all this is that true Christianity is a lot closer to socialism than neocon capitalism is.

Remember Ronnie(Reagan) Raygun courting the moral majority as led by Jerry Falwell .
It is frightening how much Harper reminds me of good ol' Jerry .
Extreme fundamentalist Christianity is as frightening as Muslim fundamentalism .
Perhaps more so as we are allegedly christian nations under one God .
I bet if there is a heavn ol' Ronnie had a bitch of a time convincing St. Peter to let him in .
More like he dances with the devil .
Both these clowns hide and use christianity to further their devil inspired agendas .
To hell with the pair of them I say .
A true christian would no more vote for Harper than they would support state sanctioned murder .

It was mentioned today that the flag over the House of Commons will not fly at half-mast, anymore, for dead soldiers in Afghanistan. The Minister of Defence sarcastically implied it was a Liberal tradition and his government was returning to the 80 year old tradition of honouring the dead on November 11. Like the Liberals weren't at every Nov. 11 ceremony? It's the subtle implications in everything these neocons utter that I find offensive. My belief that the flag will never stop flying at half-mast is even more offensive. But, like their US counterparts, I bet no conservative MP has a kid enrolled in the armed forces. Michael Moore's documentary was quite telling when he was asking senators and congressmen if their kid was in Iraq. None answered the question and some literally ran away!If it wasn't so serious it would be funny.

Harpers lack of response, via the media, to the dead soldiers today is also indicative of following in Bush's footsteps. I've read and seen footage of distraught parents who don't get a phone call or letter from Bush. I think it is an American 'thing' to want the Pres. to acknowledge your kid's contribution. But even knowing this, Bush doesn't do anything and the parents are deeply hurt and resentful. I can't begin to imagine how the families of our dead soldiers are feeling today, but if I was one of them, I'd be deeply hurt at the sarcastic tone of the Minister of Defence. His using this time to play politics and slam the Liberals is a pretty low blow for the families. Entirely predictable though for a conservative.

hannibal says:

In the short term, yes, but if he should achieve that goal Harper will show his true colours (Conservative blue and U.S. dollar green) and Canada will be facing the largest ideological shift in its modern history. I agree with whoever it was who earlier cited the Walrus article "Feng Shui Federalism" on Harper as providing a good description of his plan for Canada: relinquish more power to the provinces and make individuals more responsible for pulling themselves up by their bootstraps. It's a vision that is more akin to the American Dream than to the collectivist ideals on which Canada has been built.

Interestingly, the May issue of The Walrus also includes an article on how Jack Layton and the NDP failed to attack Harper's radical right platform during the recent election campaign and, in so doing, failed to stake out the left wing ground. If any good can come of a Harper majority government I believe it may be a stronger NDP. Harper is already providing those of us who don't turn red at the utterance of the word "pinko" (even when directed at us) with some real ideological targets, unlike the insipid, ephemeral and self-contradictory policies of the Liberals, the sole purpose of which really was the maintenance of power.

Power to the Pinkos!

Despicable Tory rats .The parents of these dead heros don't even rate a phone call from the PM and now the flag won't fly at half staff ?
Yea, let's play politics while our youmg men and women are dying for a country with little appreciation of democracy .
A sign of respect is a sign of respect.Period.
Who care who started the tradition .
It is a nice gesture on the part of the Government to recognize their deaths .
Harper had better pull up or he is going to be in real trouble with the electorate come the next election in six months .
These people are total and complete idiots.
Touche power to the pinko leftists in this country who actually give a damn about humanity .

aalborg
Exactly the same thing went through my mind when I heard O'Connor's hard little turd of an announcement. Imagining that Harper isn't behind this is difficult and the obvious illegitimacy of spinning it somehow as a slap at the Liberals was a further clue for me.

Just as Bush and the Pentagon don't want the body bags front and centre on the news every night, Harper needs to keep the sight of flags flying at half-mast a rarity.

I wonder if anyone will be fooled by the sophistry. It will bear watching if the mainstream media begin a careful ratcheting down of the publicity which attended the first dozen dead bodies when they returned to Canada.

Lewis Mackenzie was also being asked for comments this morning and provided further evidence that 'we should be moving ahead' and not dwelling on the Canadian blood now being spilled for - what was it again? Freedom.

These people are shameless - there are no depths to which they will not stoop – at the same time their minions post mindless drivel about ‘personal responsibility’.

To pounce on the deaths of for Canadian soldiers killed by the Taliban to advance the mindless cause of the Neo-Taliban posters on this site who wish that female children shouldn't be educated but should be hung until dead from the soccer goal posts in Kandahar, I wish I could puke in their pitiful faces.
Yes freedom , dickless head.
There are no depths indeed that these shameless people will stoop .
God bless Canada.

More mindless blather from someone who's never been off this continent. Spare me your false outrage. There are several answers to that question, among them the oil you were crowing about an hour or two ago - was it worth it?

It is four Canadian soldierss.Not for .
Christ now we know what level of education we are dealing with here.Grade 3 .

I AM Clueless:

puzzle for you, big guy, what do these nations have in common?

Hawaii
Cuba
Philippines
Puerto Rico
Nicaragua
Honduras
Iran
Guatemala
South Vietnam
Chile
Grenada
Panama
Afghanistan
Iraq

Work on it. Let me know when you've figured it out smart guy.
I'm off for the evening!

IAMClueless,

To the women in Afghanistan a warlord is a warlord is a warlord.

For almost 17 years the US poured 4 billion dollars into the pockets of these warlords, the mojahedin...the Taliban being just their latest mutation.

Women are not freer in Afghanistan now...Amerika is not liberating Afghanistan...They are liberating Amerika's pipeline dream.

Here is what RAWA, (Afghan women fighting for human rights and social justice) said just weeks ago about their current plight:

Another Eighth of March has arrived but still the Afghan women are hostage to the fundamentalists’ claws. The continuation of traitor-loving policies of Mr. Karzai and his sympathetic friends by the indication of US government is still like spears entering deeper and deeper into the injured face of our unfortunate people. Whenever the criminal “Emirs” and their commanders commit another heinous crime, instead of being sued, they are rewarded and receive higher posts.

Murder, robbery, kidnapping and the rape of women and children has become the routine. There is a high rate of women committing suicide and an ever expanding cultivation and trafficking of narcotics, all while billions of dollars of foreign aid and public resources are squandered away. Unemployment and homelessness is on the rise. Opening of Kabul Serina Hotel and other hotels of this type in a country with the lowest rate of income per capita in the world doesn’t mean development but it is indeed providing sensual environment for criminals and mocking about the miserable life condition of majority of our nation. The compromising government is unable even to solve smallest of these issues. The country is in chaos.

I was struck by the fact that after the Taliban had been tossed and women were ostensibly freed from their bondage they still chose to wear the burkha . Out of fear for reprisals I imagine .
If a woman even looks at a man not of her family she is severely beaten or killed outright .
Education is still a dream for most Afghani girls.
The billions pledged by the western world failed to materialize after the Taliban were chased out .
This situation is untenable and the west must do more to help the Afghans .

Just a guess they have all been phuqued over by Uncle Sam ,

IAMC.....you would probably be happier chatting with your own kind at the repug sites in the US or the proudtobecanadian site. I'm sure there are lots of places you'd be welcome. You are just an object of ridicule here. You don't do your party any favours posting your moronic crap at this kind of a site. I'm figuring it's a new kind of mental illness that hasn't yet been defined. You and your kindred spirits are providing good scientific data and it won't be long before there is a med. It will help you to cope with the fucked up thought processes you so eloquently display. Case in point: "To pounce on the deaths of for Canadian soldiers killed by the Taliban....". What was that all about? Provide details that are more coherant please.

hannibal, regarding your mention of the burkha, I have been reading that the women especially in rural areas feel more pressure now than even under the Taliban (and this is in utterly no way defending the Taliban in any way)... but their extreme puritanicalism punished rape and other crimes so severely that there was at least some protection for women and children to travel about more freely...which is not now the case.

I've said enough for one day but I would like to thank aalborg for making us aware of the flags no longer flying at half mast upon the loss of our soldiers.

I have never been one for flying flags but I would think this is a case when the Canadian people themselves have a certain power that should not be overlooked. There is no reason that those who have flags ( thanks in part to Ms. Copps) cannot lower them to half-mast in honour of those soldiers who have lost their lives...and that others of us could go ahead and buy a flag and do so also. Those who feel strongly against our presence in Afghanistan could keep their flag lowered... in protest... until our troops are withdrawn.

Why give all the power away to Harper in this?

The Canadian people could set a precedent... (especially in its perceived role as a peacekeeper.... about both the value of life itself and the serious consequences of war)...it could set a precedent that if one's government shamefully refuses to acknowledge the individual deaths of its soldiers...then the people themselves will make that acknowledgement for them...and fly their own flags in honour of those fallen men and women... from sea to sea to sea.

should read...and fly their own flags at half-mast

Thanks Lynn. Yes,I was aware that a woman who is raped can be put to death as their thinking goes"she asked for it,she flaunted herself"
Frightening indeed to think that women were marginally safer under the Taliban .

'They's good at the cheerleading, but not the dying, which would really be doing a good service to us all. Which we'd appreciate, have no doubt Elliot.' ah yes, hombre..er...coyote is showing his true colours again. eventually all misfit losers will do that. by the way you old drunkard, i happen to be opposed to our soldiers being in afghanistan, but i'm not surprised you and all your pinko friends are assuming otherwise. it's how you all look at the world: without any real analysis, everything painted with the same brush. so shallow. so silly. no wonder you all spend most of your time bitching and whining. enjoy your time in opposition, you'll be there for quite some time.

Elliot
What brush is that, dude? I leant you the damn brush and you've never returned it - look in the mirror my friend!

i meant to exclue you g. it's the hockey thing.

Energy
Is essential to all of us .
There is no limit on energy, only conceited humans who interfere with it.
It's a disdain of mankind that causes this.
And to the anti-feminist posters ( Lynn).
It's a big stretch to promote yours views as being anything but selfish. Go there .

Hey, I AM Clueless, have you ever read a history book? Now might not be too late to pick one up and check out the reasons that Tojo gave for entering the second world war and bombing Pearl Harbour.

Hey, I'll save you the trouble, it was about OIL and resources among other things - that Japan felt it did not have enough of and that access to which were being denied by the west. A tiny bit ironic, don't you think?

You're right about the disdain for mankind though, just reassess your opinion of who’s practicing it.

Lynn an anti-feminist poster? What kind of bizarro world so you live in?

By the way, ready with the answer to that quiz I left for you?

Elliot - how about those Habs!

You know you're the last guy who should accuse anyone of painting folks with the same brush dude.

A person who posts under the name "Capitalism" wrote this:

"No wonder this guy can't find a real job in journalism."

Which is interesting, because Murray Dobbin has been around for at least 35 years, writing for the Winnipeg Free Press, Financial Post, Globe and Mail and many other dailies; as well as working on documentaries for CBC Radio.

If you're ever going to discredit a person, at least find out if he's had a distinguished career or not. It will make your own attack more credible.

I'm also concerned by people who launch vicious attacks at opinion pieces, making out that they are examples of crackpot journalism. Have you read the editorial page for the National Post and various other right-leaning periodicals? You'll find that they are pushing their agenda the same way this website does, except they pick and choose whose comments are published for the readers to see.

hey g; i figured it out the first time. you may want to lighten up on that hammer of yours. hope you saw the flyers-sabres game. also hoped the canuckleheads watched. it was hockey as it should be. fast and fluid and tough and beautiful. almost like the best series ever: first oilers/flames in 84(?), the one where steve smith settled it by putting it into his own net.

What about that open ice check on umberger?

When you've got a hammer, all problems look like nails - I picked that up from a right-winger, don't you know.

By the way, I have a joke for you:
Dick Cheney walks into the Oval Office and sees the president whooping and hollering.

"What's the matter, Mr. President?"

"Nothing at all, boss. I just done finished a jigsaw puzzle in record time!"

"How long did it take you?"

"Well, the box said '3 to 5 years' but I did it in a month!"

And how about Huet's goaltending?

To The The
If you want to view a so called right ring magazine that is so interesting to read the Western Standard westernstandard.ca
is the one.
There are also The Bogging Tories, Small Dead Animals.... All kinds of alternatives.
But we love each other right?

The The
Don't know how often you've read the comments posted here. More than glad to have you though.
Just wanted to say that Capitalism is a bit of a joke around here - he used to post under the sobriquet mabelbc. Read back through a few threads, the We're Raising Gamblers story is a good place to start, you'll soon realize why he's not considered anything but comic relief.

AND, in case you hadn't noticed, IAMC is an even bigger joke!

Gawd, The The, this is the cornerstone of media journalism - and propagandism - which is the American way. Hopefully, less so in Canada - except for the National Post.

Come on G I'm dying to know the answer to last nights riddle.
What do they have in common .
I know it was aimed at clueless but I found it an interesting conundrum .

hannibal

What do the 14 governments have in common?

The United States overthrew each of them at one point or another, and, in almost in every case, the overthrow involved corporate
interests.

Yup, that is what I thought G .Countries that the US wanted to democratize/over throw or steal resources from .
I've always said that as a nation they have the maturity level of a two year old child .

70,000 unsolved murders in Venezuela, you won't see MSM covering the latest protest in Caracas because they tied up talking about 4 dead Canadian soldiers, and oh so thrilled about a socialost challenging the USA.
At least MSM has stopped the death watch of American soldiers in Iraq, due to a lack of numbers.
Lets not listen to G West.
Unreliable Stalinist supporter. How many people did Stalin kill ? 100 million ? I stand to be corrected. How about Mao or Pole Pot.
These people should get religion.

IAMC: You are not only clueless...you are as cold as ice in your reference about the press "being tied up talking about 4 dead Canadian soldiers." As for the death watch being stopped in Iraq "due to lack of numbers", here's a link for you:

http://www.unknownnews.net/casualties.html

I AM Clueless
So now I'm a Stalinist. One thing you certainly have learned from the totalitarians is the efficacy of labeling as a tactic in debate. Trouble is, if you don't know anything to go along with it, it falls flat after a minute or two.

As to Stalin's purges, since you still don’t have a clue, you might want to go to page 305 of Paul Johnson's "A History of the Modern World" for a little enlightenment. And no, he's no left wing writer - check him out, you'll find he's got impeccable conservative, even neo-con connections.
Anyway, since I've no affection for Stalin, Stalinism or state communism of any kind I'll give you Johnson's figures - you might want to make a note of them:

Let me know if there's anything else I can add to your education. The details, for example of American involvement in the overthrow of those 14 foreign governments, you puzzled over all last night, for example.

By the way, is this "Pole Pot" a friend of yours?

His name doesn't ring any bells for me.

Socialists consider these people whining about murder as a distraction from the wonderful things they pretend they will do for people once they have greater control over them. And they're right in a way, socialist states always take over the role of murderer.
God Bless Canada .

His name doesn't ring any bells for me

i think he was Pol Pot's Polish cousin and the reason his name does't ring a bell,is because he was a mime if memory serves me correctly

Secular, communist Pol Pot, in Cambodia between 1975 and 1979. The Khmer Rouge killed 1/3 of there population, 3 million people.
These people should have got religion.
God bless G West.

hmmmm...like the Crusades?....the Spanish Inquisition?

IAMC,THEY HAD RELIGION,THEY HAD EDUCATION,THEY HAD A WILL TO LIVE IN A FREE COUNTRY

that is why they were MURDERED you dumb putz

thomas49:

you have made my day, Thomas, I'm out the door, laughing, to enjoy the sunshine. I leave IAMC to your tender mercies my friend.

I think,IAMC,maybe on a sugar high from his favourite breakfast cereal,the perenial fave of neocons,SUGAR SMAX gets the blood going,ten times faster than coffee,i hear

the only problem is getting out of their sleepers cause their so wired,so that's why we got him here this fair morn

he's waiting for his mommy to get him dressed

thomas49.ROTFLMAO .Too funny .

Thanks for reminding us all how shallow your flaky left wing cause is.
No substance, only stupid rhetotic.
God Bless Pol Pot.

RCMP Raid Toronto Tamil Office
I hope all you terrorist supporters who are regulars on this site have 'your ducks in a row'.
Harper is coming for you too.
God Bless the Hidden Agenda.

It is extremely interesting sometimes, just to sit back and read here, and watch I Am Clueless again and again set himself up to kick the chair out from beneath his feet, and twist in the wind.

What a Clueless, self-abusive dipshit he is.

He makes for good comedy though, if you like it slapstick-, such as myself. :-)

who is the flake that typed this,IAMC

even on acid,back in the day,I NEVER SAID ANYTHING SO STUPID,NEVER HEARD,ANYTHING,SO STUPID

you must really love those SUGAR SMAX

Small wonder President Harpers popularity is where it is with people like you on the bandwagon

Hey brown pants mangy dog. You can do better than that. What happened to "capitalist dog",
'neocon lapdog blowing George Bush".
Supporters of terrorism like you are now 'under suspicion' by the "hidden agenda"
Nervous yet ? I can't wait until Canadian soldiers find Osama. Who will get credit ?
Steven Harper or Paul Martin ?

Funny stuff Coyote . Kinda reminds me of all Three Stooges rolled into one .

IAMC,you still watching cartoons? Get mommy to dresss you and get outside,it's a gorgeous day out here .

Fresh air and sunshine ought to clean out those cobwebs you keep thinking are ideas .

C'MON,GET MOMMY TA GET YOU OUTTA YER JAMMIES

"Stephen Harper's a hard-ass because he has his views, he has his principles, he has his visions and he's prepared to stand by it and not be bowed and intimidated by people," Emerson said.

"And in that sense, yeah, he's a hard ass," the embattled Emerson told reporters at a meeting of the Vancouver Board of Trade.

His former Liberal aide was quoted recently as saying Emerson told him he was frustrated over Harper's tight control on cabinet.

Emerson denied most of those claims, saying the former aide chose to spin their conversation in that direction.

A handful of protesters, upset over Emerson's defection to the governing Tories after the election, showed up outside his speech at a downtown hotel.

He was candid in his speech to the board of trade about how hard the last two months have been for him.

"This is one of the few friendly audiences I get to speak to," he said.

He called himself a "walking scar" and joked that "nothing hurts any more."

The crowd was silent.

Yea, Emerson spin it anyway you want you also said he was without social skills .
We know what you said moron .
Goo9d luck in your new career as Court Jester .

hey coyote; i suppose you'd even find my comment from last night funny if you had swilled enough grog eh?

I don't think one could get pissed enough that you'd ever be funny, Elliot. You're way too pathetic to evoke humour. :-)

Bread making day tomorrow, which I like to start bright and early. Nighty night brothers and sisters. Wingnuts, you know... I shouldn't have to say it. :-)

i thought 'misfit loser' was pretty appropriate for you though. much lucidity today?

Hello Everyone! :)

LYNN
Thanks for the post on how everyone voted for the Green PM!
Thank god Maude Barlow, Jim Fulton and some others didn't vote for Mulroney!
Five votes for Mulroney! Man..some people must have been really sh*tfaced to vote that way!
Elizabeth May - please hang your head in shame!

Well, a good olde "insultathon"!

Really, too often I'm seeing conservatives/neoconservatives/libertarians/right-wing liberals/fascists VERSUS progressives/leftists/socialists/social democrats/greens in a shouting match!

I hate to sound like your mother (or you can pick from other assorted authority figures such as cop, prinicpal, CIA rendition agent, Banana Republic President, etc.) but what happened to civil discourse!

My interest in contributing to the debates on this website is declining!

Lastly, I must respond to the following:

.

I'm sorry IAMC, but I have never heard that anywhere! Even the Bush Administration hasn't tried to peddle that!
Are you suggesting that Hugo Chavez has death squads making people disappear?
I certainly don't remember Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch or the US State Department mentioning this.

Have a lovely day everyone!
Don't worry, be happy!
Or better yet...try some prozac or weed, eh?

Kevan Hudson
Suncheon, South Korea

"...but what happened to civil discourse!"

FormerBCBoy,

What's happening I think is what was destined to happen in this "discourse." We have simply reached a stage of disgust and intolerance with each other. It was inevitable, as it has been historically, in the relationship between the right and left-, save those trying to pat each other's ass around the ambiguous, politically conflicted "muddy middle".

What needs to occur at this current stage of capitalism is for one side to decisively defeat the other. But our society is constituted largely, unlike say Iran, with an average age of 26, by us old crocks, right and left-, who can only gum each other to death for want of the energy to do otherwise. :-)

Civil discourse is impossible when dealing with the neocon mindset. They have minority power and it has gone to their heads. They've had a long time to let their venom fester and it is going to spew like an out of control volcano. Of course, the basic lack of decency and compassion that colours their lives on a daily basis, in or out of power, means civil discourse will never be an option. I believe we have to respond and question their every utterance. If we allow those thoughts to go unchecked in society then we will see an even further decline. Not many Canadians are voting, few, from any party, think outside of the box for many reasons. If a dollar is waved in front of them, they, like the donkey, follow the carrot. Just run for the money. No thoughts as to the long term consequences that dollar represents. It's money and it is the altar most people worship at. If a decent society goes down the tube in the rush for that dollar, so be it. Money rules.

As to 'rude' bantering back and forth on this site, what else can be done when one reaches a deep level of frustration? I can hear my mother's voice in the back of mind, chiding me for putting myself on the same level. But I don't think that kind of politeness exists anymore because the neocons haven't been raised that way. When presented with ideas and comments that have been long hidden in the neocon world and now set free, fills me with dread and disgust. So there ain't nothing to do but fight them in the trenches of the internet! A new kind of war but one that must be fought.

aalborg,

I concur.

In part, the reason these assholes have reached the level of influence they have is, because everyone to here has been running away from their bellicose aggressiveness-, which has to include all the other parties of current capitalism in full flight from "the right". The left no less, especially in its already tepid NDP manifestation, has likewise been more ready and willing to compromise with, than engage in combat with them. The result is what we have.

A new kind of left needs to emerge out of the times sooner or later, before there is to be a turn around in the status quo state of affairs, and these assholes get turned back to flight themselves. Nice guys do finish last very often. What is only regrettable is that they know it better than we too often.

Good piece and appropriate comments from yourself.

Thanks Coyote. I've wondered, for a long time, if my extremely negative thoughts and reactions to the neocon mindset is because I've been a member of salon.com for years. The wingnuts there, who are very much in the minority, are so outrageous, that if defies belief. I have never seen one compromise. When presented with facts, absolute truths, they still won't acknowldege that they are wrong. It took me ages to figure out these people weren't pranksters. I truly couldn't believe people could think that way. The democrats on the site have had to resort to civil discourse as there is no other way of discussion. They, like myself, believe that the neocons have to be outed and every insane thing they say, refuted by facts which present the truth. It has gotten to the point that many posters are asking salon to ban these people because it is a pay site and they shouldn't have to be subjected to blatant,racist hate talk. I thought Canadians could never be as stupid as the US neocons but since the election of Harper and reading Canadian sites, I see I was very much mistaken. The US has exported that special brand of wingnuttiness to Canada and the mental midgets here are singing from the same page. It's patently obvious these people will never be the voice of reason or even see reason. It is up to the rest of us to continually point them out as the fools and idiots they are. Considering the nature of the neocon beast there will be a lot of phuck you's from the rest of us because they simply don't understand anything else. I still maintain it is a new mental disorder yet to be defined by the shrink world! To be honest, my mother's voice aside, I like a good knock down drag 'em through the mud fight! The truth shall prevail.

Conservative Heartland Rejects Tory Child Care Plan

A recent poll conducted by Public Interest Alberta (PIA) and the Alberta Federation of Labour (AFL), indicates that most Albertans do not support the Harper government's plans to replace the Child Care program of the previous Liberal government with $100 per month payments to parents of pre-school age children.

"Our poll shows that only 35 % of Albertans agree with the Harper child care program," says AFL President Gil McGowan. "The Prime Minister should take note of this - because if barely a third of the voters in the heartland of Tory Alberta support the program, imagine the response in the rest of Canada"

"One of the most important findings of the poll was that the more people know about the Harper government's child care program, the less likely they are to support it," says McGowan. "We suggest that this means that support for the program will continue to dwindle as time goes on. It really indicates that the federal Tories should scrap it entirely."

McGowan suggests that there are many good reasons for Albertans to oppose the dismantling of the old Liberal national child care program. "First, child care is more and more a labour issue," says McGowan. "The number of children in Alberta who have both parents in the workforce continues to grow - making child care a more and more important workplace issue. In 2003, 53% of all children in Alberta under the age of five (117,000 out of 219,000) had both parents in the workforce."

"When you look strictly at the 3 to 5 year old range, however, the percentage who have both parents working climbs to 71%," says McGowan. "For Alberta parents, child care isn't a luxury - it's a necessity"

However, according to McGowan, the desperate need for high-quality, accessible and affordable child care isn't being met in Alberta. "There aren't nearly enough spaces available in quality public child care centres," notes McGowan, "and while wages for child care workers remain shockingly low, most the cost of quality child care is more than many parents can bear."

With the federal Liberal national child care program, the Alberta government received $45 million this year and was in line for $70 million each year for the following four years. The province used the new federal money to fund a five point plan that is helping to create new child care spaces in Alberta; that provides subsidies for parents and that subsidizes the wages and training of child care workers.

"If the Harper government goes ahead with its plans", warns McGowan, "the money for a national program - and the money that Alberta has been using to finance its own five point child care plan - will disappear.

"If that happens, our poll indicates that 61% of Albertans want the provincial government to step in and find the money to continue funding the five point plan that, up until now, has been funded with federal money", concludes McGowan. "Albertans recognize that the need for these programs is great. And they recognize that the interests of our children are too important to be ignored. Let's just hope that our leaders get the message."

Seems Little Stevey Blunders heaartland is suffering an anurism .

I think it is simply that kind of a period brother/sister, where it is difficult not to be negative-, like my friend Jack's-, at least I believe it is him, somewhere on one of these threads. A long life has taught, or I think it has, that in such a place one just hang on, until what goes around, comes around.

And these Neocon jackals (Sorry jackals.) really are in the process of undoing it all for themselves. They are just too stupid to know it yet. It will have to bite them on the ass.

Or we will. 8-D

A good evening, my friend. The Mrs is going to take me out to a movie tonight. I like a woman who spoils and pampers me. :-)

Hannnibal......I read the same article and posted about it on the 'Get Real About Childcare' forum here. It was an interesting read eh? Being very Canadian here! I came to the same conclusion. If Alberta has thoughts the PM is wrong on this one, then maybe there is no hope for the man. Even with proof that the Liberals funded childcare with subsidies, there are still those on that forum who say the previous govt. have done nothing and that Harper's $1200. is a great deal better. There is no way of opening closed minds when they are of the neocon persuasion. I guess that is why they can barrel through life not giving a damn about anyone but themselves.

Coyote...I would be a sister! Enjoy your evening at the movies. Especially as today is the first day of real spring, or at least on my little island it is. Finally, sunshine and warmth.

Capitalism:

If the campfire isn't stamped out, it becomes a raging forest fire;
or
Think globally, but act locally;
or
take care of the pennies, and the dollars take care of themeselves.

The prez of the US has reached his lowest number in the polls, it was announced today. I wonder what our own prez thinks of that? Of course we will never know as he continues with his code of silence and secret little smiles. Will he continue to follow the chimp? The smug arrogance of those two defies belief. I can't wait for the house of bush to fall. The decline started slowly but is building to a great finish with all the indicments of his nearest and dearest. It won't be long before bush publically asks God to bless him because I think most of the US has realized God isn't blessing them anymore with bush at the helm. Is there anyone of the face of this earth, besides Harper, who wants to be associated with bush? Blair seems to be silent as he battles to keep his leadership within his own party, let alone the PMO. Has he realized he hitched his star to the wrong wagon? Canada, under Harper, is an embarassment on the world stage.

When I read posters using Alberta statistics to bolster their own arguments. I finally realize that there are many facets to the Alberta 'Rocky Mountain High' for an odd group to actually understand that Alberta is way more sophisticated than given credit for.

I see our great leader, Steven 'I'm the decider; I decide' Harper has decided that the bodies of the 4 most-recently killed Canadian soldiers will arrive secretly in Canada. In addition, that protocol dictates that there is no official government acknowledgment of the event. You'd think he was ashamed, and to use the excuse of protocol to explain his actions - what utter crap! This man is a complete disaster. Guess he took advice from George on that one too!

I guess he doesn't want the people who actually employ him to get too upset.

We are there. Our volunteer troops are there.
They were sent there by our Government.
If we want to do a Viet Nam thing, which was a movement of anti-war activists to discredit our soldiers, effectively, then we are are no better than the Democratic Party, who are vacuous with ideas, and desperate for a direction.
Steven Harper is a decisive leader.
We are surprisingly stuck with him for at least 6 more years.
Then he can write his book on the History of Hockey in Canada.

He could author a history of hokey in Canada right now.

Harper wouldn't know decisive if it bit him in the butt. He does only what his best friend dictates. He's a puppet for the chimp to play with. Blair is jumping ship and Harper is climbing aboard. Dubya's new lap dog. The only man in the world who would entertain the notion of being near and dear to Bush and we've got him for PM. Canada hasn't been regarded as much on the world stage. What a way to make a name for ourselves. A nation of fools cuddling up to the most despised, yet laughed at, nation on earth. We ARE backwards and hokey. Alberta sophisticated? Harper is disproving that theory. A group of bible thumping backwoods boys have the right to discredit this country internationally? What goes around comes around. I can wait. Bush is in a downward spiral. I wonder if Harper sees his future in that scenario? Cuz it will happen. It's always great to see those who think they're mighty, crumble and fall.

Yea, that's right I am Clueless the Alberta hillbillies(with apologies to hillbillies)are upset that Harpo(the demented moron/idiot) is taking away the one program that the Liberal's actually managed to cobble together after years of trying .
Remember the neo-convicts voted for it .
Now people are waking up and realizing it is not a panacea .
Harpo's kids bucks amounts to two thirds of five eighths of **** all in the greater scheme of things .
Proper child care costs upwards of $750.00 per month .
This is taxable income which means each $1200.00 will net $388.00 after taxes .
And in hillbilly central(Alberta) the government will claw those payments back from those receiving welfare payments .Netting them zero .
So , yea it is a great deal .
Harpo is done like dinner . It is only a metter of time before theycome crashing down and the Liberal's are returned to power in triumph .

Thanks aalborg . My focus has been on this forum for awhile now .

'Harper wouldn't know decisive if it bit him in the butt. He does only what his best friend dictates. He's a puppet for the chimp to play with. Blair is jumping ship and Harper is climbing aboard. Dubya's new lap dog' ah yes, you can always count on the lefty lackeys to teach a lesson in cliche and blather. well done aalborg.

You're more than welcome Elliot. You and your kind are great at cliche and blather also. Don't forget that simple fact. The bottom line is, Bush and Harper despise democracy. If that isn't patently obvious, well, I have no suggestions as to how you could grab a brain and think for yourself. Their actions speak louder than words. There are only about 30% of the people left in the US who support the chimp. It's taken many of them 6+ years to realize they've been duped, big time. Are you that slow? Don't you see the big picture emerging in the US? The corruption, lying, and scandals. The public, up until now, have been asleep at the wheel. They have woken up to the sounds of the big crash. If you have any respect for this country you will guard against such actions occurring in Canada. They will occurr. When you have a man, who is elected by the people, for the people, in power and he truly believes he knows better than the rest of his society then we are headed for dangerous times. The chimp is in the WH for the personal gain of himself and his inner circle. Harper hasn't been sitting around writing policy for Canada. He's writing policy that will enrich the lives of himself and his select few. Unchecked arrogance is what we must take steps to protect ourselves against. I realize the conservatives/reformers/alliance haven't yet reached this conclusion but it is to their detriment to continue playing follow the leader. I also realize the brain dead can't be woken up. It is up to the rest of us to stand on guard.

can't you lefty freaks analyze canadian politics without calling on george bush? it's cheap, easy and dimwitted. it also means absolutely nothing. get with the program. read some books, take some courses, attend some lectures. do SOMETHING besides blather on with useless cliches. you're boring and monotonous.

I, along with the rest of the world, would like nothing better than to drop George Bush. But until we have a PM who can think for himself we will have to continue the Bush theme. When the interests of this country and its people are the priority in the PMO we can put Bush to rest. It isn't going to happen though, so get used to it. I agree Bush references are boring and monotonous but Harper hasn't reached that point yet.

after reading that pedestrian garbage i have to assume that you're either a sheep or a moron.

Neither, but I can see you've drunk the cool-aid. Some of us are destined to use our brains but others are happy using someone else's. Just what our PMO likes and wants. Keep the faith.

You know I am struck by the blind alleigance that the neo-convicts display when it comes to Harpo the cheap immitation of a PM and marionette of the monkey boy .
Neo-cons simply cannot think for themselves.Period.
I mean we know Harpo cannot think for himself even asking Brian Baloney's advice on what clothes he should wear .
Now with this latest insult levelled at our forces the puppet is sure to grab a whole bunch of votes .
Stopping the presee from reportin on the dead soldiers return is pure hubris .
Oh,yea I smell another 93' coming and will be happy when the neo-convicts are reduced to a rump in Alberta which is their destiny .

don't hold your breath guy. you may want to get used to the new status quo.

Don't me me make laugh.The new status quo .
Yea, Canadians really love this guy.
Notice how many seats the moron has now.
Next election he'll end with half of that .

Here 'ya go you and your ilk will be a lot happier hanging out here.
http://www.garth.ca/weblog/2006/04/25/respect-and-honour/#comments

I always find it amusing when discussing with friends and acquaintances, that no one actually knows anyone who put an 'x' beside a conservative candidates name. It is bewildering but we figure those that did aren't up to admitting it now they've seen wonderboy in action. Could this be a good sign for the next election? Which is another topic that comes up frequently. WHEN is the next election? The concenus is it should be sooner rather than later. I own a business and have contact with lots of people from all walks of life, none of whom voted for the cool-aid drinkers currently occupying the PMO. Go figure.

Are you kidding me aalborg. To admit voting for the Barnum and Baily crew (all clowns)is a tacit admission you want a seat on the bus as it goes over the cliff .

above = yawn. period.

Hannibal.....I, and the people I talk with are serious when they say they don't know any conservative voters. Our riding is liberal, but with a rookie MP. Better a rookie than a crook(ie)! So it could be entirely possible we don't know any traitors! I prefer to keep our little corner of the world safe from the neocon influence so hope it contines this way. It seems to me all Albertans, with the exception of my parents, are on that bus of doom. Unless they wisen up quickly, the province, a laughing matter at the best of times, will give us even more reason to chuckle. They will lose all credibility and Canada will be spared a bible thumping, wing nut who only shows Alberta to be hicksville central. Much like Texas's reputation in pretty well shot with Bush being from that state. They should give all these neocons their own state, and there are a lot of blue ones who would take them, and let them live according to their own rules. The rest of us could get back some normalcy.

Thank you, Tyee, for this site....you are doing a good job of keeping IAMC and Elliot glued to their computers and off the streets.Our society is better for it!

you're right aalborg. no one voted conservative during the last election. must be another conspiracy. thanks for doing such an excellent investigation you halfwit.

I beg to differ Elliot. The half-wit would be sitting in your chair. Of course people voted conservative. A minority, but it was enough to put Harper in the PMO. We disagree as to whether it was a good thing or not. Until such time as Harper takes away our freedom of speech I will say what I believe. I figure we have a limited amount of time left on our freedoms. So speak loud and speak proud. Neocon thoughts are so fascinating. We are all waiting with bated breath to hear more. Or you could move along to a site that is more to your liking. proudtobecanadian.com would be one. You could rail against liberals all day long and find everyone backing up your pearls of wisdom. It would be a real ego boost. Getting mentally slapped here must be a total bummer. Oh, but wait, your natural neocon arrogance/ignorance means you're immune to the mental slap downs. Greengreen makes a valid point though. Keeping you at your keyboard keeps you off the streets. Those of us here just have to take your nonsense and know we are doing it for the good of the nation.

Halfwit?Hardly Elliot Aalborg is entirely lucid and on subject unlike you .
Neo-con thoughts are an undiagnosed mental disease as someone else pointed out in an earlier post .
The sooner you seek out treatment the happier you will be .
Ironic that the families of the dead soldiers wanted the press at Trenton to record their homecoming(repatriation)
I don't give a phuque what the Legion has to say about it .They are all relics of a bygone era anyway .
This is the new millenium and we as a society have decided to do things our way .
It is just crass the way Harpo has treated these heros families .
The neo-cons hatred of things Liberal borders on the pathological .
Blaming them for the flag lowering ceremonies and saying it is an attempt to politicize the situation is beyond reality .
No,Aalborg no one will admit to voiting neo-con as they are all ashamed of the behavoiur of their saviour Harpo .
Read Turners Blog the majority ae neo-cons and they can't believe the behaviour of Stevey blunder .
Greengreen is right at least this keeps you off the streets .
Amen

Meanwhile, Conservative MP Garth Turner (Halton) said he's been "besieged" by angry phone calls from constituents about the casket ceremony and about the new flag policy.

He said callers panned the move as disrespectful to the fallen soldiers and to regular Canadians who feel they're being shut out of an event of national mourning.

"Right now (the calls are) probably running 30 to 1 (against the government)," Turner said.

"There's a great deal of concern, confusion and uncertainty about why the government has adopted the position that it has."

Work with that Elliot and I am Clueless .
Thirty to one against the Government.
Yea, you are gonna rule a long time at least 8,more months .

who's going to challenge them? the ndp with a used car salesman at the helm? or the liberals, with no one at the helm? dream on lefties. we're here to stay.

Yea, for the time being.Eight months max until the neo-cons are tossed out. Mark my words .

Text of father's letter

Canadian Press

The following letter, dated April 7, was written by Lincoln Dinning of Wingham, Ont., to Prime Minister Stephen Harper. His son was killed in service of his country two weeks later.

“As a proud dad of a Canadian soldier currently serving in Afghanistan, I was glad to see that you made your first foreign trip to that country. You have said publicly many times that you support our troops and respect the job they're doing in Afghanistan. You even invited some of them to your throne speech this week. For all of that, I applaud you.

My question is simple. For all the support and respect that you say publicly, why do you choose not to fly the flag on Parliament Hill at half mast when one of our soldiers is killed?

When I called your Heritage minister's office this week to inquire as to why it hadn't been lowered for the death of Pte. Robert Costall, I was told it's usually only done for politicians and VIPs. I would suggest to you that there is no more important VIP than a Canadian soldier who gave his life in the service of his country.

Please correct this wrong and show that actions speak louder than words and fly the flags at half mast the next time a Canadian soldier is killed.

P.S.: I hope and pray that you won't have to lower the flags, but since Afghanistan is a war zone, the likelihood exists that more soldiers could die.”

Read it and weep . Harpo has alienated the entire country with his moronic attitude .
Yea, he is sure to get a majority .
It will be 93' all over again for the neo-cons who haven't a clue what Canada is actually all about .
Wht the phuque don't you move to the states Yankee lover ?

And more:

Meanwhile, the father the father Sergeant Marcel Léger – who was killed four years ago in Afghanistan – said the public participation in his son's homecoming in 2002 was something he will cherish forever.

“It was a Canadian thing. It was something we wanted to show all Canadians – what the cost of their liberty is,” Richard Léger told CBC Newsworld.

“It's still heartwarming to (remember) the people's faces. People were lined up on the 401, in 2002, all the way from Trenton to Toronto.

“They wanted to be there. They had to be there. I was told that often ... and those are the things I carry with me all my life.”

With reports from Karen Howlett and Canadian Pres

I haven't read much about Garth Turner and his story. I've been to his site, but I find the layout poorly designed. Turner's remarks are hard to find amidst the usual bleatings from the sheep who make up his party. There seem to be more of those postings as opposed to Turner's. It is entirely possible I don't put much effort into searching because of my general lack of trust towards the conservatives. But, heh, what do I know? I'm a liberal! Just thought I would save Elliot some typing time.

you are about to see the real 'common sense revolution'. and canadians, who are actually more conservative than they keep being told they are by bullies like trudeau and chretien, are going to take to it like flies to leftist blather. enjoy your time in opposition.

Elliot
dude, most of what you post I just laugh at. I'd rather you stuck to hockey and I'd like to hear what you thought about the first two Carolina/Montreal games which I thought were pretty damn good.

as to common sense, when Harper starts making any, wake me, dude.

Yea, I agree Aalborg.Turner's site sucks .He posts he little blurbs at the end of some people's comments .
But it is extremely hard to surf and navigate and he keeps bragging about it like it was the second coming or at least the rapture .
Kinda of a joke ,really .
See Harpo bouhgt him off with a position on the finance(?) commitee,eh ?
Was interesting to read all those Con voices so mightily pissed at Harpo though that made me feel warm all over .

hannibal
The same guy who designed Turner's website is responsible for the Corporate Knights (who created that little joke of a ceremony for Mulroney last week) - it is a mess. First time I looked at it I thought it was a joke site put up as a kind of satire.

Corporate Knights 'website' I should have written.

Yea, I agree G. Figures the same guy designed both sites they are both terrible .
'Corporate Knights' what a joke!

hey g; when you mature you'll realize i was right all along.
my favourite series so far has been the colorado/dallas and the flyers/sabres series. good hard hitting aggressive hockey with plenty of skill and smarts. haven't had a chance to watch much of the montreal series yet but i must admit i'm not a big fan of the habs. too many boring teams in the late 80's and 90's. turned me off but i should get over it now and enjoy. just hope the canuckleheads are watching to see what hockey is supposed to be about. crawford should have been gone in early january so no surprise there, but they'll need to bring someone tough in here to get the casucks out of this laid back westcoast turkey dinner mode.

Take it you didn't see tonight's game then. I missed the second overtime - when the Habs lost - but what I saw was truly wonderful, should have been Montreal's game. Best sustained hockey action I've seen for years. If only we could get that kind of passion on the ice here. A 1 - 1 game that was still as much as you could ever hope for.
I keep thinking the same thing about you that you'll soon be waking up to the fact you're backing an idiot....Harper, I mean

I read and hear in the media this morning that the reactions to the efforts of Harper's acolyte Davey Emerson to find a solution to the softwood lumber situation between the US and Canada are distinctly underwhelming in their 'praise'.

What a surprise that the industry and the communities involved should not be happy about their new government's new plan to sacrifice the years and effort invested in this struggle by such a cowering surrender to the bully-boy tactics of our so-called good neighbour to the south.

you know better than to think he's an idiot g. you just need to get over the fact that he doesn't support every social engineering experiment the lefties have brought down the pipe since trudeau began the slow but steady destruction of this wonderful nation. conservatism is here to stay for quite some time now. no more ridiculous wasteful useless programs i.e.; gun control, one-tonne challenge, etc., to burn the taxpayer's hard-earned dollar on. the average joe will slowly but surely get very used to this and have no appetite for change. sorry to break the bad news.

you're right about one thing Elliot. He, Harper, is no idiot. If you've been following along - and I bet you have, you rascal (although I haven't quite figured out why yet), I think you know I'm very concerned about how dangerous Harper and his elitist ideas are for the future of a nation you must know I think is every bit as wonderful as you do.

I've never been a fan of the Liberals (certainly never voted for them and actually consider myself pretty apolitical) either and since the left has never been in power in this country I trust you'll understand that my concern about what the two parties of the right have done to Canada to this point is as sincere as yours.

I just think the right has been screwing it up for too long to permit it to continue for much longer and I hope the average joe will get that message too. Harper's actions so far leave me with mixed emotions - I hope things won't have to get a lot worse before we all wake up to what he's really all about.

and as far as the important stuff goes, i can't believe dallas is down 3-0 to colorado, and the rest of the series (except devils) are shaping up nicely. the edmonton game should be good tonight but i don't think i'll be home in time to watch much. will need a report tomorrow.

my problem too - despite all the coverage I seem to have managed to miss a lot of it - I'll see what I can do about the report - Edmonton has done a lot better against Detroit than I ever dared to hope they might and Colorado v Dallas - well, that's just weird, i agree.

President Harper is a sell out… an opportunist and completely American…

I M P E A C H!!!!

But yes… we as Canadians will continue to bend over and take it up the arse; bitch, whine and complain… but do NOTHING to stop this lunatic…

Next thing you know he’ll be posting Canada on E Bay and sell to the highest bidder.

For Shame Canada for even THINKING that this ‘All Around American’ could run our great Nation.

We have handed the keys to our Country to a man that will drive it into the ground.

Did ANYONE check to see if he even qualified for a driver’s license???????????

Hmmmmmm

I think he already did. The US got us for 80 cents on the dollar of the asking price.

[I think he already did. The US got us for 80 cents on the dollar of the asking price.]

It's shameful.... What a sell-out....

President Stephen Harper-Bush

Yup,pretty soon we'll all be singing the'Star Spangled Maple Leaf' .

but it's going to be billed and spun as a great victory; a complete vindication; a proof that David Emerson's 'torment' was some kind of selfless sacrifice for the good of 'his' country...in fact, the media have - dare one suggest - conspired to have his compromised mug front and centre on the cover of the April edition of BCBusiness magazine....what serendipity! You think these things are not carefully planned?

We are going to see and hear of a victory of biblical proportions and only the very clearheaded will not succumb to the onslaught which is now going to spew from Ottawa, Victoria and every other provincial capital with a stake in this latest surrender of our national sovereignty.

I can hear Tommy Douglas's words, echoing through those corridors of power, reminding us that ..."When a Yankee trader tells you that you are a tough negotiator, you know you have been taken to the cleaners."

shasta = a new poster with the same old cliche blather. don't you guys ever get tired of this worn out old crap?

And did you see the shameless pandering and congratulations for harper in the corporate press!!!Like that sh!tty deal is the second coming of Christ or something. What a disgrace!
The worst perpetrator of this shill political advertising was, you guessed it, the irrational post.
Front page and you'd think it was f'ing VE day but later it the editorial section they analyse the same deal and slam it!?!?
What the hell is that all about? Plausible deniability for later when people see how harper sold us down the river.
And, even supposing the deal actually had some merit, the papers give all the credit to harper
when wasn't it already mostly worked out under the liberals? Did the mighty harper himself hash out all the complex calculations in the last couple of weeks?
Oh and don't bother with political will and savvy when it was just another case of the mulroney's - selling out Canadian interests to please uncle sam.
BRING DOWN THE HARPER GOVT.
ELECTION
ELECTION
ELECTION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

p.s.- Ken Dryden vs lizard eyes coming soon to a political theatre near you!!

jj
I like that 'lizard eyes' almost as much as peewee Rambo.

ken dryden???? now i'm really laughing my ass off. some years ago i went to a convention and he was the keynote speaker. even the lefties fell asleep.

Speaking of falling asleep.....what happened to Edmonton last night?...I wish their bloody coach would stip whining though.

And why, by the way, are we automatically getting all the Calgary games and none of the concurrent Edmonton ones? Almost makes me mad enough to get a satellite dish.

[QUOTEshasta = a new poster with the same old cliche blather. don't you guys ever get tired of this worn out old crap?]

Elliot: What a dork! People can express thier opinions... even to your Right Dislike!

G West... they did that so they can win the next 2 games and take it home IN Edmonton.... :)

President Harper is a waste of skin... with Bush ideas.

Harper can you see...
You've sold Canadian's up the stream.
We're without paddle or canoe.
And you full of dog poo.

You're full of LIES and deceit.
Go to the corner and beat your meat.
You're a goof and a traitor.
And we should move you sooner than later.

Teheeee.....

Shasta
I'd still rather have had a choice about whether I wanted to watch Calgary or Edmonton.
Keep your fingers crossed - Detroit isn't going to roll over.

No previous government has put forward a more retrograde and dangerous set of proposals to change the Access to Information Act.

says freedom of information commissioner John Reid.
The CBC reported Friday April 28, 2006:

Employing unusually strong language, Reid said the legislation "will not strengthen the accountability of government through transparency, it will weaken it."

He went on to add:

Hey,G. You were sayig about the Detroit 'Dead Things'
They won't roll over.Well they did a pretty good job of imitating a team that doesn't give a crap whether they win or lose this aft .
Did 'ya hear the fans booing 'em ?
Rightfully so. They suck.
Oilers in seven .

Yea,well our so-called "Justice Minister" is a convict,convicted of election tampering .
What does that say ?

OMG..... Oilers in 6 baby!!!!!!! What a game!

Sorry G.... I HAD to watch it... just for you!

Did anyone see that Harper did more back door signing against CANADA's wishes.....

He's such a bitch!

Totally agree Shasta .Hope your right about Oil in six .

Guys, I'm as pleased as you are. Just wish McTavish wouldn't whine so much. Let's hope they can do it in 6 - why play that last game in Detroit if you don't have to.

Yea, I agree G but the officiating really sucked.
When the zebra's get involved it is no fun for the player's nor the fans .
Twenty minutes of five on three.That is ridiculous .
Most of the old time refs would only call,really,blatant stuff in the PO's .
Craig is just doing his job by putting the leauge on notice that the coaches are aware of the pathetic refing that has been going on .
Give me Fraser or Koharski(sp) any day .

hannibal
You're right. I just find his whiney manner kind of lame at times. For example his plaint the night ST Louis retired Al McInnes' number.

I preferred the way Brian Burke would just blow and then move on. Craig gets on my nerves. I'm just hoping Calgary and Edmonton don't end up playing each other in the second round.

For the moment though I'm mainly concerned about the Habs being able to prevail tomorrow.

The officiating is definitely as issue though. I saw at least 4 calls in the Calgary/Ducks game tonight that were pathetic as well.

I actually missed seeing the Oilers - sounds like they played a pretty good first 20 minutes!

Oh,yea G.The first twenty minutes was classic Oilers run and gun hockey .
Sorry you missed it .
My feeling is ,is that when the Oilers play their system they are nigh on unbeatable .
Detroit just couldn't slow their forwards down and the defence was simply awsome all game long.
They had three unanswered goals for most of the game and almost let this one get away from them by having a penalty called with 50,seconds on the clock .
Loved it .

hannibal
When played properly and with passion I think it's the absolute 'best' team sport in the world. Soccer is nearly as good, from the point of view of requiring consummate skill and intelligence, but the size of the pitch and the restriction of pace enforced by running means that games often drag for minutes at a time - even when the level of play is excellent. In hockey, when the planets line up properly, you get that heightened level of intensity and it can often be sustained for a period or more - sorry I missed it.

There's irony in the fact we are discussing a passionate game on a thread that's dedicated to Stephen Harper. I see he's shelved his plans to write a book on the game. I'm neither surprised nor sorry about that - I can't imagine him being able to contribute anything dynamic to the almost non-existent canon of good books about sport.

In fact, when you think about fictional ‘sports’ literature the list of writing I'd put in the first rank is really short: Bernard Malamud's The Natural; W P Kinsella's Shoeless Joe; Norman McLean's A River Runs Through It; Some of Hemingway's short stories about fishing and bullfighting - what else is there? Certainly nothing I'm aware of about hockey.

I'd have been a lot happier if President Steve has decided to be the first great hockey writer and stayed out of politics. Some of the Habs/Hurricanes games have risen to a high level – the Ottawa series didn’t quite make it in my opinion. I hope Gainey can get Montreal motivated – I fear for the outcome of that series if they don’t win this one today.

Totally agree G. There is a ,decided,dearth of good sports books out there .
Agree about soccer as well .
Days past I was treated to a game between West Bromwhich Albion and the defunct dRI

Ooops had a glitch.
Rest: Drillers .
It was a thrilling game to watch as West Brom at the time were league champs in Britian .
Second division I believe .
I can't see how Harper even imagines he has the expeience to write a book on Canada's game.Such arrogance .
Maybe it will be all about being a hickey dad and how he shakes his sons hand in lieu of a hug .
Or the best way to tie skates .
I mean the man has all the charisma and warmth of a dead carp.
Totally agree with your other pics.Malamud and Kinsella .
Field of dreams is still a favourite.

No doubt he'd have the lacing down pat. You're right about the carp.

There was another baseball book (fiction) I remember as being good but I can't recall its name. Somehow googling such things is unsatisfactory - I just mull away in the back of my mind and let it suddenly pop up into consciousness. Do you know what I mean? There's lots of good non fiction stuff of course, things like Roger Angell on baseball and George Bowering too for that matter. Dryden wasn't bad on hockey.

I saw a first division football game, SK Sigma Olomouc v FC Tescoma Zlin in the 90s in Olomouc, Czech Republic, that I've never been able to forget - it didn't surprise me afterward to see the Czech Republic climbing up the FIFA rankings. Never been a mystery why football stirs the passions the way it does, is it?

Totally agree G. Soccer(Football) is the most watched sport on the planet for good reason.
It is immaculate as a sport.
Ground acquisition games are awsome .
Low scoring but high energy .
Can be a little slow at times as the strikers marshall their troops but that is inevitable .
Nothing beats a penalty kick .
Yea, we'll see what kind of nonsense the neo-cons have in store for the nation tomorrow .
Bastrd put the child care in the budget because he knows it would be defeated otherwise. I smell Mulroney all over that move .