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SpankyMcFarland

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Everything posted by SpankyMcFarland

  1. SpankyMcFarland
    Until 2014, the British Labour Party used an electoral college to choose the leader with one third of the votes allocated to the MPs and MEPs. In terms of stability/inertia, Canada seems to be at the other end of spectrum from Australia, with Ireland closer to Oz. In Ireland, the parliamentary party decides the leader. Attempts to remove the leader are called 'heaves'. A concern in the recent election of Jeremy Corbyn in the UK was the role of new members in the vote. He is not popular with MPs.
  2. SpankyMcFarland
    If the current trends hold, a clear majority of voters won't want any more Harper but that is what they may get.
  3. SpankyMcFarland
    I see Tony Abbott got dumped in Australia. Imagine the Cons doing that to Harper - utterly conceivable except after a crushing electoral defeat. Remember Chretien's long goodbye? We are way too deferential to our PMs in Canada. They work for us and should never be allowed to forget it.
  4. SpankyMcFarland
    What I am talking about is the recent debate in the US about rejecting the deal which was completely unrealistic. There really was no alternative to the deal at that stage. If Congress had succeeded in foiling the President, US prestige would have suffered enormously and sanctions were dead anyway outside the US, so effectively dead. Judge countries by what they have done and what they can do. Iran will be in no position to threaten North America for decades to come. Israel has hundreds of nukes it has already rehearsed hitting Iran with. We have far bigger worries than Iran in Russia, East Asia. And South Asia. And BTW most countries in the world have an opinion on the ME.
  5. SpankyMcFarland
    They all did well enough with the gentle questions. Mulcair seemed as flummoxed as Harper on what personal qualities he had for the job which was hardly a surprising query. The 'I'm not perfect' angle is OK but Cameron went one better when asked about regrets and pointed to his ignorance of other languages - something specific that actually sounded true. I could vote Conservative with a different leader. I have voted PC in the past.
  6. SpankyMcFarland
    We still live in a democracy and this is one of the few occasions where all the candidates can be asked follow-up questions outside a debate format. Yes, the interviews should be tough, of course. We hear a lot about the British tradition from our monarchist friends. I suggest they watch some British TV and see how PMs and wannabe PMs are handled over there.
  7. SpankyMcFarland
    Harper has changed Canada's image abroad. For good or ill will depend on your team but there is no question that it has happened. Now we should bear in mind that the attention we garner is microscopic so, overall, foreigners still have a benign view of that big country at the top, but anybody who looks at things a little more carefully will see a definite change on environmental and ME policy.
  8. SpankyMcFarland
    My current ranking is as follows: 1. Ottawa. 2. Burlington or somewhere else near Toronto. 3. Windsor. 4. Kingston. I intend to spend a month or two in each place and see what they are like. It none of them suit, I will stay in Atlantic Canada and winter in the Southern US or Portugal/Spain. All suggestions welcome.
  9. SpankyMcFarland
    The PMO staff chose to make Duffy's problems their own. That's the scandal. That's why a trivial matter has become big news. They had gotten away with so much already that this minor expenses thing seemed easy to sort out. Harper loyalists focus on the small amount of money involved which is missing the point.
  10. SpankyMcFarland
    FPTP gives rise to highly distorted results when more than two parties are involved and one of them is regionally based. We saw that with the BQ and again in the recent UK election where the SNP reaped huge numbers of seats compared to UKIP. In my constituency, any vote for the Greens or NDP is effectively a vote for Harper. The great thing about coalitions is that they often represent a true majority of voters, something we no longer see in Canada with one party rule. It's messier but it is more representative, which is kind of the whole idea of elections.
  11. SpankyMcFarland
    Are you saying Harper hasn't changed his position on the refugee issue in response to public opinion?
  12. SpankyMcFarland
    The topic here is muzzling of Tory MPs. Have you forgotten that? You seem to have descended into some sort of ends justify the means argument that concedes the point.
  13. SpankyMcFarland
    I won't be working regularly, if at all, so I don't need to be near a large city but I'm not a real outdoorsman either. Somewhere abutting on a national park with bike trails and decent restaurants would be perfect. That's what attracted me to Ottawa - seeing all the wild stuff across the river and the bike trails and hills too.
  14. SpankyMcFarland
    The Iranians negotiated well and left the US with no good options. The rest of the world abandoned sanctions, leaving the US to pursue a Cuba type policy or come to the table. The hope will be that the religious authorities will gradually retreat from the public sphere and take on a benevolent role similar to Sistani's in Iraq, leaving society to develop on a more secular and peaceful path. This will not happen with the current CEO.
  15. SpankyMcFarland
    Unfortunately, with FPTP a vote for the Greens is usually a vote for Harper.
  16. SpankyMcFarland
    Heroes is a bit strong. They are just an example of business people taking genuine risks and working tough hours.
  17. SpankyMcFarland
    True for restaurateurs, who are heroes in my book. Not true for radiologists.
  18. SpankyMcFarland
    You could imagine a man of that age having an incontinence problem and being unable to get to the toilet in time. Peeing in a cup might be justified then - but not washing it afterwards and concealing the act. He didn't look like he was in any great distress before the event.
  19. SpankyMcFarland
    I don't mind genuine entrepreneurs getting tax breaks but the professional corporation often does not contain anybody like that.
  20. SpankyMcFarland
    Sorry, Cooper. Marshall sounds like a surname. Yes, the probability that young Mr. Cooper was entirely ignorant of the family trust and tax arrangements is kinda small. Given that this case involves KPMG, Canada and rich people, we may have to wait a while for any justice to trickle down. And I can't blame Steve alone. The Libs are at least as much to blame for guys like this.
  21. SpankyMcFarland
    Interesting document in the Marshall case from CBC: https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/2303934-2015-03-09-xx-peter-marshall-cooper-notice-of.html Mr. Marshall senior seems to have moved first to the US for a brief period and then to Canada.
  22. SpankyMcFarland
    For many years, South Africa has had strict controls on moving assets abroad and yet this family have 25 million to throw around. This story has legs, I think. It's an old tale, of course, that should embarrass both Liberals and Conservatives but the delay of years in getting something done here should become an issue in the current campaign. These days, CRA seems to be tougher on bird watchers than the big fish. http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/revenue-canada-targets-birdwatchers-for-political-activity-1.2799546
  23. SpankyMcFarland
    The professional corporations can be a bit of a scam in Canada. For example, many hospital specialists do not have large overheads and can employ their families in their enterprises. These people are not entrepreneurs in any sense - there is virtually no risk of their customers going elsewhere. In my experience, the only docs with such corporations who went bust were guys who decided to stop paying CRA entirely for years.
  24. SpankyMcFarland
    Go ahead. Not as easy as it seems.
  25. SpankyMcFarland
    Thanks very much for that suggestion, Big Guy. I looked up a few links and it is intriguing although I would probably prefer bigger places - ideally, indoor tennis would be close by. I am considering options along the Windsor/Ottawa axis. Ontario tends to flat or, at best, bumpy. Scenically, the Eastern Townships are more my kind of place but French would be a problem. BC would be even better in that mountainy regard but it is too remote from family and friends. I have relatives in Detroit which might make the southern end of that shore a good place to be.
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