SpankyMcFarland

Tried to listen to the whole thing, a dreary litany of heckling and half sentences, Horwath being a particularly annoying offender. Microphones should be turned off when persistent interruptions happen. Ford probably impressed the hardcore loyalists but failed to extend his appeal to right-wing Libs. I thought Wynne came across better than the other two, not that it matters for her now.

Opening statements: Ford - plan, plan, pla...cut off Horwath - change, change, change Wynne - I’m not sorry, look at my record, no really, look at it. Isn’t it wonderful?

The weird thing is that the UK NHS can afford pharmacare.

The candidate shared a Hitler quote: https://globalnews.ca/news/4230225/ontario-pc-party-ndp-announcement/ which was foolish even though the quote itself would have been innocuous from anybody else. With social media, though, people are going to get caught with this kind of thing all the time from now on. If anti-Semitism is considered to include support for BDS or any criticism of Israel whatsoever, there are probably more NDP candidates who could be in for a tough time.

Which illustrates the problem of FPTP. Ford can win by splitting the vote. In a straight run-off against the NDP he would lose at this point.

You guys need to get out more and visit other small (by population) countries beside larger ones with the same language e.g. Ireland. There’s the same anxiety of influence as here, and the same mixing of national debates. It’s about numbers.

That's why polls matter so much in our FPTP system. If they want their vote to count, Liberals have to dump their party and move left just as NDP voters moved right in the general.

I’m a geezer myself so I can mock my own kind.

A decent PC candidate could have reached far beyond the goonophile vote. Ford does appeal to geezers who do tend to turn up on voting day which may save him. The critical thing may be how much the anti-Ford vote coalesces behind the NDP. It is a majority of the electorate already.

The PCs went with the only candidate who could lose this election. Ford is just repulsive to many voters, an arrogant goon who doesn’t even pretend to have studied for the job in question.

I presume you have never bought anything made in China, then?

How much US business was affected in that move? Are we talking Airbus-type businesses in Libya? This is Cuba II. The Americans simply don’t respect the sovereignty of their allies. Letting them away with this madcap move will only embolden them. Trump has chosen ME allies over European ones.

One big problem is the US imposing its sanctions policy on European nations and forcing them to give up business in Iran. Theresa May should take a long, hard look at this sort of behaviour before she negotiates a trade deal with the US.

The force used appears to have been disproportionate. One does not need to be a supporter of Hamas to observe that. Of course, in this hysterical, screaming right-wing echo chamber any reasonable debate is hopeless.

Iran has no other major ally but Russia's aid is neither unconditional nor even reliable.

Russia has complex relationships with Iran and Israel, being a serious menace to both Persia and the Ottomans for centuries. It is no way near as reliable a supporter of Iran as the US is of Israel.

That's an underwhelming list of world leaders: two former heads of government who did not sign the agreement. BTW David Trimble was First Minister of NI, not PM, more like a premier of a small Canadian province. It's get ropier as it goes along. Why was Andrew Roberts included?

Translation: those people over there aren't there.

How bad is this medical brain drain to the US? Canada remains an excellent place for physicians to work.

And look who expanded that program in the UK:

To oppress them? That is actually true of NI, Sri Lanka and many other countries. In tribally divided societies there is a constant tension between majority rule and the rule of law. Democracy doesn't do away with such problems.

And the EU will survive without Britain too.

What about democracies that oppress minorities or regions? When is resistance justified?

I meant him talking French in France.

Why would this bother anybody?