normanchateau

An estimated 104,000 U.S. and NATO troops will be in Afghanistan by the end of the year, two-thirds of whom are American, and 3,000 of whom are from Canada. http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2009/10/23/g...ato-troops.html How many troops do you think should be there in 2011? Stephen Harper says that the Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan can never be defeated. Never. What do you know that Stephen Harper doesn't know?

As I recall, Harper called the crashing market a buying opportunity.

Funding from what agency?

That's just the tip of the iceberg. Canada also makes a sport of dwarf tossing. It's perfectly legal despite the efforts of one Ontario politician to criminalize it: http://www.ontla.on.ca/house-proceedings/t...025.htm#PARA511

Are you suggesting that the Cadman family lied? http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/stor...me=&no_ads=

Do you have evidence to support this most amusing and unique hypothesis? I have many scientist-friends who are not aware that promoting alarmism is key to positive peer reviews. Your hypothesis, once I present it to them, could significantly advance their careers. It's a shame that university tenure and promotion committees are not aware of your hypothesis. Many a fine scientist was no doubt denied tenure by not being aware that the absence of alarmism in their peer-reviewed manuscripts contributed to their low publication rate.

"Rebagliati, 38, retired from competition in 1999 and has been involved in real estate and broadcasting ventures since. Day, now minister of international trade in the Conservative government, won the seat with 58 per cent of the vote in the 2008 election, taking more ballots than all other candidates combined. His closest opponent was the NDP candidate, who won less than 17 per cent. Hallford, the Liberal, finished fourth behind the Green Party with just under 12 per cent of the vote." http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/...nomination.html Rebagliati doesn't have a snowball's chance in this socially conservative BC riding which includes a high percentage of retirees from Alberta.

One would hope so. High risk professions merit unique perquisites.

Please provide evidence that promotions and funding go to scientists who promote alarmism. Promotions and funding are largely a function of the number and quality of publications in scientific journals. Take a look at the NSERC website to see how Canadian funding of scientists is adjudicated.

Hillier's book ensures mission's end: http://www.thestar.com/comment/article/714741

Harper has supported the military and so has Ignatieff. Both favoured the invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan. If you scroll through the entire thread, you'll see that I merely entered it to counter Mr. Canada's claim that Ignatieff is somehow left wing. I'm still waiting for evidence that Ignatieff is left wing. Is this the type of statement you expect from a left wing Canadian politician? "To defeat evil, we may have to traffic in evils: indefinite detention of suspects, coercive interrogations, targeted assassinations, even pre-emptive war." Michael Ignatieff, New York Times Magazine, May 2004. And how many Canadian left wingers take this view of Alberta's tar sands? http://www.vancouversun.com/Business/Ignat...8975/story.html

You're not alone. October 6, 2008: "I know economists will say well, we could run a small deficit but the problem is that once you cross that line as we see in the United States, nothing stops deficits from getting larger and larger and spiralling out of control." - Stephen Harper

"Economist" Harper: September 15, 2008: "My own belief is if we were going to have some kind of big crash or recession, we probably would have had it by now." - Stephen Harper October 7, 2008: "I think there's probably a lot of great buying opportunities emerging in the stock market as a consequence of all this panic." - Stephen Harper October 6, 2008: "I know economists will say well, we could run a small deficit but the problem is that once you cross that line as we see in the United States, nothing stops deficits from getting larger and larger and spiralling out of control." - Stephen Harper November 27, 2008: Flaherty predicts recession, offers no stimulus package December 15, 2008: "The truth is, I've never seen such uncertainty in terms of looking forward to the future. I'm very worried about the Canadian economy. Obviously, we're going to have to run a deficit." - Stephen Harper December 16, 2008: Harper says a depression is possible December 18, 2008: Harper says deficit could hit 30 billion

I assume you realize that Prime Minister Stephen Harper supports the censorship powers of the tribunals and supports the Canadian Human Rights Act and Section 13: http://westernstandard.blogs.com/shotgun/2...section-13.html

The latest Ekos poll above has the Conservatives at 38% and the Liberals at 27%. However, the difference narrows when one looks at another question asked by Ekos, "Which of the following potential outcomes of the next federal election do you think would be BEST?" Liberal minority 14% Liberal majority 21% Conservative minority 9% Conservative majority 30% Add up the numbers and it appears that 35% prefer some form of Liberal government and 39% prefer some form of Conservative government. Here's the poll: http://www.ekospolitics.com/wp-content/upl...-october-22.pdf It can't be good news to either Harper or Ignatieff that almost a quarter of those who plan to vote for them don't want their parties to form a majority government.

Let's look at Harper's ideals: "As head of the National Citizens Coalition, Harper led a Supreme Court battle against gag laws that restrict third-party speech during election campaigns, but as prime minister, he hasn't done a thing about them. As opposition leader, Harper railed against Chretien's support of the Kyoto Protocol, but in government, Conservatives have conceded the need to do something about man-made global warming. Before becoming prime minister, Harper was a critic of the gun registry, but it is still in place. For most of his time as prime minister, Harper supported Canadian military involvement in Afghanistan only to then provide his own 2011 deadline to cut-and-run. On a range of issues, Harper has flip-flopped from the right to the left. When he ran for the Canadian Alliance leadership, he showed a willingness to work with pro-life members of caucus and reach out to pro-life voters. He spoke out against euthanasia and said he opposed embryonic stem cell research. During the 2004 English leaders' debate, Harper said if the Tories were elected, "My Conservative government will not be tabling any legislation impacting in any way a woman's right to choose." In the final days of the 2006 election campaign, during a stop in Quebec, Harper more brazenly answered reporters' questions about abortion: "The Conservative government won't be initiating or supporting abortion legislation and I'll use whatever influence I have in Parliament to be sure that such a matter doesn't come to a vote." As leader of the NCC, he was a critic of human rights commissions, but last year, his government's Justice Department filed a report defending the HRCs. Federal arts funding under the Conservatives is 20 per cent higher today than it was under Liberal Paul Martin. Harper simply wants to be elected. If he thought being conservative would win him more votes, he'd move to the right. If polls consistently showed that 90 per cent of the public were solidly pro-life, Harper would be the first one to introduce a ban on abortion." http://www.theinterim.com/2008/nov/03harpers.html And then there are Harper's left wing fiscal policies long before there was a recession: http://andrewcoyne.com/columns/2007/03/fla...ig-spenders.php

In what way are Ignatieff's military policies left wing?

In 2005, Paul Martin’s Liberal government announced the largest increase in the Canadian military budget since the Second World War: an increase of 12.8 billion dollars to be spread over 5 years. This of course accounts for a large part of the increase between 2006 and 2009. But it is not unprecedented for Harper or his fellow travellers to take credit for Liberal pro-military initiatives. Do you seriously think that Ignatieff, who was entirely in favour of the invasion of Iraq while Chretien opposed it, is not pro-military?

Yes, the left did want us out immediately. What's that got to do with Ignatieff? He certainly didn't want us out of Afghanistan. Ignatieff has consistently supported the minority Conservative government's commitment to Canadian military activity in Afghanistan. When Harper called a vote in the House of Commons for May 17, 2006 on extending the Canadian Forces current deployment in Afghanistan, Ignatieff expressed his "unequivocal support for the troops in Afghanistan, for the mission, and also for the renewal of the mission." When the vote was held, there were 102 Liberal MPs in the House of Commons. Among those MPs, 66 voted against extending the mission, 12 abstained and 24, including Ignatieff, voted with the Conservatives to extend the mission. Following the vote, Harper shook Ignatieff's hand. How does Ignatieff's position with respect to extending the Canadian mission in Afghanistan make him part of the "left"? If Ignatieff's position on Afghanistan is "left" of centre, what's the position of the right on Canadian involvement in Afghanistan?

Although Harper and Ignatieff both wanted to invade Iraq and although both wanted to continue our mission in Afghanistan, it was Harper who decided that we'd only remain in Afghanistan until 2011. Harper decided Canada would cut-and-run in 2011 even though many in our military would rather remain. Harper and Ignatieff do differ in policies. Harper has less respect for our Canadian troops. Those who view Harper as pro-military might want to read Hillier's new book.

October 22nd Nanos Research has the Conservatives at 39.8 per cent support, the Liberals at 30 per cent, the NDP at 16.6 per cent, the Greens at 4.6 per cent and the Bloc at 8.9 per cent. http://www.nanosresearch.com/library/polls...T-S09-T393E.pdf

"Ekos puts the Liberals now at 25.5 percent, down slightly from last week and below the 26.3 percent they got in the 2008 election. The Conservatives are at 40.7 percent, up a point from last week and 3 points more than they won in the election." http://www.reuters.com/article/bondsNews/i...528884820091015

As much as I despise the Holocaust-denying Ahmadinejad, it does appear that most Iranians believe that he was legitimately re-elected: http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture...a30de1?lnk=raot For all we know, Holocaust denial, condemnation of Israel and anti-semitism might very well be a vote getter in Iran.

Tongue-in-cheek? The Turks and Caicos actually wanted to become our 11th province: http://cityinthetrees.blogspot.com/2009/05...and-caicos.html If the US can own American Samoa, Guam, Midway Island, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, is it too much to ask that Canada acquire its own islands in the sun? It's about time that we stopped being wimps and use our American neocolonial friends as role models by taking the Turks and Caicos...with their permission of course. After all, we're Canadian.

Apparently you've confused Stephen Harper with Brian Mulroney. Most Canadians are centrists and social moderates. The Conservatives will never win a majority as long as their leader remains an evangelical social conservative like Stephen Harper.