scribblet

That's all we need, another 16 or 17 fat cats feeding at the next-to-highest-paying portion of the public trough. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I tend to agree actually. Under the current formula, which redistributes seats every 10 years, Quebec and Atlantic Canada are guaranteed a set proportion of seats which means that other provinces will never be properly represented whatever the motivation. It really is time to look at our whole system and democratic reform.

And you know that how? And we do know that if a conservative Christian fundamentalist had made similar comments it would be all over the front pages. We do know it was not a particular party that started it, and in fact we do know those words where said by Usman, a principal backer.

http://tinyurl.com/cu829 Toronto Star Another shooting in Toronto very close to a day care centre... Mothers used their own bodies to shield terrified children from gunfire that broke out metres from a North York daycare and resulted in the death of a young father Friday night, police said. Police are looking for two suspects in the shooting of Cordell Charles Skinner, 25, a Toronto resident and father who was gunned down at approximately 5:30 p.m. while he was visiting at Turf Grassway, a public housing property south of the intersection of Jane St. and Finch Ave

<{POST_SNAPBACK}> Ok, I got the link to work. Here's the top 50 largest donation to the Conservative party by Businesses/Commercial organizations for 2003. I've tried to get it to work for 2004 but wasn't successful for any of the parties. Link from Elections Canada Link <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Sure they get corporate donations, and the NDP got huge amounts from the unions, but the CPC and prior to that that Alliance majority of donors were individuals. 2004 must not be available yet in that format.

I agree socialist claimants are often irrational. But heck, I mean by today's standard he is mainstream Leftist and everything he did was in the name of the 'people'. "He championed the rights of workers, regarded capitalist society as brutal and unjust, and sought a third way between communism and the free market. In this regard, he and his associates greatly admired the strong steps taken by President Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal to take large-scale economic decision-making out of private hands and put it into those of government planning agencies. His aim was to institute a brand of socialism that avoided the inefficiencies that plagued the Soviet variety, and many former communists found his program highly congenial. He deplored the selfish individualism he took to be endemic to modern Western society, and wanted to replace it with an ethic of self-sacrifice: "As Christ proclaimed 'love one another'," he said, "so our call -- 'people's community,' 'public need before private greed,' 'communally-minded social consciousness' -- rings out.! This call will echo throughout the world!" & And this policy manifesto: 9. All citizens of the State shall be equal as regards rights and duties. 10. The first duty of every citizen must be to work mentally or physically. The activities of the individual may not clash with the interests of the whole, but must proceed within the frame of the community and be for the general good. Therefore we demand: 11. That all unearned income, and all income that does not arise from work, be abolished. 12. Since every war imposes on the people fearful sacrifices in life and property, all personal profit arising from the war must be regarded as a crime against the people. We therefore demand the total confiscation of all war profits whether in assets or material. 13. We demand the nationalization of businesses which have been organized into cartels. 14. We demand that all the profits from wholesale trade shall be shared out. .................

You seem to be missing the point that 'fundamentalist' churches are castigated regularly for supposedly interfering in politics, in fact there is a campaign underway to have their tax exempt status removed. My point is that the United Church doesn't get its hand slapped when it steps into the fray, and this is not the first time. BTW I consider the U.C. the NDP of prayer. Merry Christmas by the way to you all

The CBC has deleted all the posts in their comments section regarding the incident. How nice of them to respect free speech.

Good debating technique, have to remember that one, could fit it in anywhere.

The Toronto Star Article I'm not surprised at all.... It sounded fishy from the get go, and I am glad that he is pursuing a legal action. Any guesses as to what party would be interested in painting someone as an extremeist muslim? The fallout of the lie? Pro-Islamist words dubbed a `smear' - Toronto Star <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Actually we don't know what party was behind it, and we do know that it was a supporter Mr. Khalid Usman who said it, Khalid Usman is not just a supporter. He is THE supporter. He is a big time fundraiser, a riding president and past candidate. Alghabra should be distancing himself from those comments. I think maybe the smear is on by the liberals. From the CCD www.canadiancoalition.org CCD Regrets Errors in its December 19 Press Release Toronto, Canada - Thursday, December 22, 2005 - On December 19, 2005, The Canadian Coalition for Democracies (CCD) issued a press release that contained inaccuracies. We would like to correct those inaccuracies and to apologize for any misunderstanding that resulted. On December 20, the Liberal Party of Canada issued a press release suggesting, among other allegations, that CCD had launched an "ethnic smear campaign" by commenting on the purported words of Mr. Alghabra on December 1, 2005. CCD has no vested interest in any allegations that are not true and defensible, and would like to take this opportunity to set the record straight. The December 19 press release from CCD was based on reports from several independent individuals who were present at the Liberal nomination of Omar Alghabra. While those reports were consistent, the resultant release was wrong on two key points and the inferences it drew from them. Firstly, the date of the nomination meeting was December 1, not December 2 as reported. Secondly, witnesses reported that the statements attributed to Omar Alghabra were actually spoken by Khalid Usman, the individual introduced by Mr. Alghabra as his major supporter following Mr. Alghabra's nomination victory. Witnesses reported that Mr. Alghabra's celebratory actions on the podium appeared supportive of Mr. Usman's declarations, and that Mr. Alghabra did not distance himself from the comments nor offer any correction. On December 22, Carolyn Parrish, the former MP for Mississauga-Erindale, was quoted in the Mississauga News as saying that "He [Khalid Usman] made comments about Muslims eventually being [represented] in every riding in Mississauga ... He made it sound like [Muslims] were taking over. It was extremely inappropriate." Elias Hazineh, president of the Mississauga-Erindale Federal Liberal Riding Association, was also quoted as hearing the Markham councillor say, "this is a victory for Muslims." Failing to distance oneself from inappropriate statements from a supporter that mix religion and politics is not the same as uttering those statements, and CCD regrets the mistake it made. CCD is forwarding this correction to all those on its original distribution list. CCD would like to take this opportunity to respond to several damaging assertions in the Liberal Party of Canada press release of December 20 (below) distributed to media and others over the name of "Stephen Heckbert, Ontario Liberal campaign headquarters". The Liberal press release claims that the errors made by CCD were part of an "ethnic smear campaign". This assertion is clearly false and extremely damaging, as a criticism of mixing of religion and politics stands on its own, regardless of the ethnicity of the individuals involved. Furthermore, those who alerted CCD to such statements were all of Middle Eastern origin and could hardly be accused of perpetrating an "ethnic smear". It was only the Liberal press release that generalized from the alleged actions of individuals to an entire ethnic group. The Liberal press release is entirely justified in criticizing the admitted mistakes of CCD. However, the release emphasizes "strong Conservative ties" and even singled out individuals for their Conservative involvement from among CCD's 28-person board of directors. CCD's board consists of people from across the political spectrum. CCD's founder has been an active lifelong Liberal and campaign worker in most elections. The Liberal press release could just have reasonably concluded that CCD is a group with "strong Taiwanese ties" or "strong Hindu ties". To attempt to make any such connection is an unwarranted and damaging generalization. The Liberal press release chose to disclose the name, private mobile telephone number and email address of Georganne Burke, describing her as "the Conservative Party's regional organizer in Toronto". Ms Burke had never herself publicly disclosed her mobile number, although Stephen Heckbert claimed that a third party had done so. Such an irrelevant disclosure clearly violated the privacy of Ms Burke as well as possibly endangering her safety. To falsely associate a woman with an "ethnic smear campaign" directed against the Muslim community and to send such a potentially libellous statement to the media is extremely threatening to the individual involved. Prior to the Liberal release being distributed, Ms Burke received a telephone call asking if she was the regional organizer for the Conservative party of Canada. The caller then hung up without ever identifying himself. When Ms Burke called the number captured by the Caller ID, it turned out that the anonymous call has come from the Ontario Headquarters of the Liberal Party of Canada. Within hours of the Liberal disclosure of Ms Burke's private mobile number, she received a threatening phone call from an individual who had been made aware of her private number through the Liberal press release. The Liberal press release chose to identify members of CCD who happened to be associated with the Conservative Party of Canada, and who had no involvement in the press release containing the admitted errors. The author of the press release is not even mentioned, while those with Conservative connections are named. Had such a generalization been made on the basis of ethnicity, as opposed to party affiliation, the Liberal press release would itself have been an "ethnic smear campaign". It is essential to emphasize that, despite the untrue inferences in the Liberal press release, no one involved with the Conservative Party of Canada had any role in the December 19 press release, and none was aware of its existence until it was distributed by CCD. snip

I thought the churches were not supposed to be involved in politics, or is it only the churches who agree with liberals and NDP? Church urges PM to demand withdrawal of troops from Iraq Last Updated Thu, 22 Dec 2005 09:08:54 EST CBC News INDEPTH: Iraq The church issued an open letter to Martin on Wednesday saying the foreign military occupation of Iraq must end. "We implore the Government of Canada and the international community to call for the full withdrawal of coalition forces from Iraq," the letter reads. It goes on to say: "We further implore the Canadian government to use all diplomatic means to press the Iraqi government to take appropriate legal and just actions regarding detainees held in Iraqi detention facilities." The letter also expresses the church's prayers for the safe release of the four hostages, including two Canadians. James Loney, 41, and Harmeet Singh Sooden, 32, as well as Briton Norman Kember, 74, and American Tom Fox, 54, were taken hostage on Nov. 26. Loney is from Toronto and Sooden has lived in Montreal. A group calling itself the Swords of Righteousness Brigades had threatened to kill all four by Dec. 10 unless the U.S. and Britain freed all Iraqi prisoners. That deadline came and went and there's been no word on the hostages since. "Like many Christians around the world, we have offered our prayers for their safe release," the United Church letter says. "Four men came to Iraq with Christian Peacemaker Teams to work for human rights. Unfortunately, they were kidnapped." ]http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2005/12/22/United-Church-letter-051222.html

I agree it would be best to have someone who lives in their own riding or close to it, but what if they can't find a candidate? If the only candidate they have is miles away then so be it. Maybe they candidate should have to move if they win the seat ? What about when a leader doesn't have a seat and a sitting member is asked to give up their seat, should that still be allowed or should they be in the same riding?

I'd like to see some source or backup for the statement about Canadian nurses leaving the U.S. My neighbour was a nurse in the U.S. (she left Canada when nurses were being laid off big time) and enjoyed her stay there, good money and benefits. We all agree on universal healthcare, but why should government monopoly of the supply of services be the best or only way to provide it? And whats wrong with choice, choice in how I spend my hard earne dollars. Ultimately, we could spend 100% of government revenues on health care and we would still get sick and die. More tax dollars will not improve the situation.

http://www.smalldeadanimals.com/ --------------------------------------------------------------------- I'm Peter Mansbridge for The National. Liberals were reduced to bare opposition status in a Tory majority parliament under Prime Minister Stephen Harper three years ago today. Belinda Stronach, who won her seat by a single vote, folds paper airplanes daily in her seat next next to Paul Martin, who has suffered a nervous breakdown and refuses to resign. Martin, his unwashed hair now shoulder-length, has Scott Reid bring his meals into the Chamber so that nobody takes his seat during Question Period. Jack Layton still shaves his head clean and sports a gold hoop in his left earlobe. His mustache is now a fully grown handlebar. "Call me Mr. Lover." he whispers to anyone within earshot - except when Olivia is around. "Let's make a deal, baby." Layton informed us today. Harper sent Mackay on a two-year trek across the Prairies, to count all the missing grain elevators. Mackay got lost somewhere in the Palliser Triangle and hasn't been heard from again. Harper today announced the renewal of Anne Mclellan's subscription to 'Guns and Ammo', sending it along to her work cubicle in the basement of the Agriculture Building in downtown Toronto, where Annie sexes chickens for a living. Here's Keith Boag with his report...

Pretty nasty stuff, we know we are not and don't want to return to the 'dark ages'. I'd say the socialist warriers are a pretty pathetic lot, fed on their own propaganda and fearful that anyone else might have a dime more than themselves. We all want less taxation for all, while concern about the under-trodden victim, etc, etc, is not the monopoly of socialists. The best form of welfare is a job. As for facism, (and next we'll be hearing about Hitler ho hum ) talk about the big bogeyman, its not the right wing today who are fascists, they are the ones who want less government and less social engineering. Hitler was a fascist, a racist and a SOCIALIST. All the great mass-murderers of the past century were socialists, so really, its not just 'nice people' . - Faith in omnipotent government is misplaced. Monopolies are bad and government monopolies are worse which is why most conservatives want less government interference, not more.

In other words a nanny-state. Only nationalized day care is good etc. etc. According to Marxist doctrine, socialism is a stage of society between capitalism and communism and along the way, socialists eventually will want to take away your property rights. When done privately, we call it theft but when done collectively, we call it income transfers or redistribution of wealth. The workers become slaves to the collective, you know, where others are forced to work and serve the purposes of another. Course, its a mystery as to why the NDP gets called a "socialist party", but then, maybe it is because their constitution declares their adherence to "socialist principles". I could be wrong though However, I don't undertstand why an NDPer would object to being called socialist, maybe someone could explain that, and if they do, are they working towards changing the NDP constitution?

"Scriblett: I can also quote a certain CPC leader that makes him seem extreme. That's an easy game to play." I didn't think quoting the most recent constitution of a party was playing games, if I were quoting something said years ago while in another party, or not even in a party, then I might agree. CPC have a constitution, Harper seems to be sticking to the CPC's. I fail to understand why members of the NDP would fail to know that they are socialist, and by that I do not mean Marxist or communist. Like the British Labour party, I believe the NDP recognizes that socialism doesn't work and have moderated their positions. However, as others have said, there is an extreme radical element whom I would describe as Marxist, just read Rabble for a while. And yes, the CPC has a radical element, but they do not represent the whole, hopefully neither does Rabble. Obviously they are not committed to change by means of revolution, but not sure about these people. http://www.ndpsocialists.ca/

I find that really strange, as the NDP party says in its constitution that it is, and is proud to be associated with the democratic socialist parties of the world . Now if you were arguing they were not communists because only a few radicals were exremist, it would make more sense, but why would you deny that they are socialists ? http://ottawacentre.org/en/Pages/pdf/ndp-e.pdf CONSTITUTION OF THE NEW DEMOCRATIC PARTY As amended by the Federal Convention, Toronto 2003 PREAMBLE The New Democratic Party believes that the social, economic and political progress of Canada can beassured only by the application of democratic socialist principles to government and the administration of public affairs. The principles of democratic socialism can be defined briefly as: That the production and distribution of goods and services shall be directed to meeting the social and individual needs of people within a sustainable environment and economy and not to the making of profit; To modify and control the operations of the monopolistic productive and distributive organizations through economic and social planning. Towards these ends and where necessary the extension of the principle of social ownership; The New Democratic Party holds firm to the belief that the dignity and freedom of the individual isa basic right that must be maintained and extended; and The New Democratic Party is proud to be associated with the democratic socialist parties of the world and to share the struggle for peace, international co-operation and the abolition of poverty.

Actually Stephen Harper is beginning to look very Prime Ministerial, press and articles seem to be more favourable than the last election. http://www.ctv.ca//servlet/ArticleNews/sto...ion2006&no_ads= Conservative Leader Stephen Harper speaks with CTV's Mike Duffy for a year-end interview. Leaders reflect on campaign at the halfway point Updated Thu. Dec. 22 2005 3:31 PM ET Bill Doskoch, Phil Hahn, CTV.ca News Let's all sit down, have a beer, nuke some popcorn, and talk about the first half of Election 2006.

Your welcome Okay, some where, some where not, some from the NDP some from the Communist party, any ideas which ones are which - kinda hard to tell isn't it ?

Got this in an email, I'm sure the author won't mind. Twas just before Christmas 2005, In Canada, the government failed to survive. An election‘s been called that nobody wants And candidates do battle with torments and taunts. So on to the hustings..the Leaders they flew Harper and Layton ... (and that other guy too). Campaign planes they are loaded With press pundits in tow Criss crossing the country To woo voters below. And in many a yard you’ll hear quite a clatter As candidates come knocking with their signs and their chatter. In our house the election has caused great disruption As the wife’s now working to end Liberal corruption. Gone is the baking of shortbread and cake, And nobody’s home those sugar plums to make. I’m putting up signs in ice and in snow The name of our TORY on front lawns to show. Our lonely old dog keeps watch on the house, Where not a creature is stirring, not even a mouse .– Our tree it is lit…and the outside is bright With red and green beacons To light up the night. Instead of hearing those jingle bells jingling Canadians respond to the phone banks a-ringing. But in the next few days campaigning will pause As candidates and workers await Santa Claus. And as we enter 2006 May we all do our part this country to fix! Bill Settatree Toronto

Here are some quotes , guess where they are from: ...That the production and distribution of goods and services shall be directed to meeting the social and individual needs of people within a sustainable environment and economy and not to the making of profit; "We remain in the forefront of the people’s struggles : for labour rights, social justice and the environment; defending the rights of minorities, women, gays and lesbians; fighting for youth and students.” To modify and control the operations of the monopolistic productive and distributive organizations through economic and social planning. Towards these ends and where necessary the extension of the principle of social ownership; ......is proud to be associated with the democratic socialist parties of the world and to share the struggle for peace, international co-operation and the abolition of poverty. “The struggle of the Canadian people for democracy, sovereignty, peace and social advance is essentially a political struggle against big business and its control of the Canadian State. The interests of the vast majority of Canadians are in conflict with the anti-democratic, neoliberal policies of the transnationals and the banks.” “...offering a clear and consistent vision of a socialist Canada, where the priority is people’s needs, not corporate greed”

I wouldn't gloat, this is only the beginning, the liberal attack ads scheduled for the new year are only just the beginning of an ugly campaign, with the liberals allready at the gate . Stephen Harper has been providing a positive vision for Canada with daily policy announcements and a plan that looks forwards instead of backwards. This preview of the Liberal strategy to attack Stephen Harper and the Conservative party shows that the Liberals haven't got a record to run on and that they can only hope to retain power by providing fear to Canadians. I suspect that the Liberal attacks will only get uglier. December 22, 2005 Newsflash: Leak from Liberal war-room previews upcoming negative ad campaign against Harper? In an email to select officials in the Conservative Party obtained indirectly by yours truly, an apparent leak has come from the Liberal war-room in the form of some photocopied documents mailed in a brown envelope. The Liberal attack "storyboards" criticize Stephen Harper on a variety of issues while suggesting that Jack Layton is abandoning his principles and that Stephen Harper and Gilles Duceppe will form a "government". Next the Liberals attack Jack Layton, pairing him in a coalition with Stephen Harper and Gilles Duceppe. This storyboard targets soft NDP support and suggests that Jack Layton will compromise his base's principles for coalition power. "[Duceppe] wants to take Canada apart and [Harper] wants to let him". more here: http://www.stephentaylor.ca/archives/000496.html

Interesting comment here in the National Post. I'm posting most of it as subscription is required. http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/ed...a3-fd8915a8ab55 More people = more seats National Post Published: Tuesday, December 20, 2005 snip Beyond minor tinkering with seat distribution, the governing Liberals have done little to move toward fairer representation. Why? In part, because the Atlantic provinces that boast some of the most over-represented areas of the country also tend to be reliably Liberal. (Consider that tiny Prince Edward Island, whose population of under 140,000 would nearly fit into a single riding in other parts of the country, has delivered its four seats to the Liberals in each of the recent elections.) And while the same is no longer true of Quebec, the Liberals have no interest in the headache they would give themselves through reducing its share of the overall seat count by increasing the number of ridings in other provinces -- particularly since, unlike the Tories, they can count on drawing at least some seats out of that province each election. Stephen Harper's Conservatives, however, have no such concerns. Less reliant on Atlantic Canada and less prone to pandering to Quebec, they are willing to ensure that other regions get their fair shake. And so this past weekend, Mr. Harper announced that a Conservative government would move to reduce these regional imbalances. Rather than take away seats from any province -- a move that would be politically untenable, even if justified in theory -- he proposed that Ontario would receive an additional 10 seats, B.C. would get an extra four, and Alberta would receive two or three more. snip Under the current formula, which redistributes seats every 10 years, Quebec and Atlantic Canada are guaranteed a set proportion of seats, thus ensuring other provinces will never be properly represented. Whatever the motivation, it's time to stop devaluing the votes of Canadians in our fastest-growing regions.

http://www.businessweek.com/technology/con...1215_141991.htm The article referenced above, addresses the threat to the freedom of the Internet from the big carriers. As we all appreciate, this powerful freedom, sometimes called the sixth estate, is a major factor in politics and social policy today, enabling the opinions of ordinary people to be disseminated and assessed. When the CPC forms the government, I hope it will look at this area very carefully and propose appropriate safeguards.

That CBC thread is indeed interesting, also comments on another discussion forum which say that on CFRB this morning, they said they couldn't find anything on the tape. The candidate has not unequivocally denied making the comment, he has simply said he didn't make that comment in his acceptance speech. Notice there have been no updates on the CBC site since around 1:00 pm, will be interesting to see if there are any more by tomorrow. If he actually did make those comments then I would think the riding association should ask him to clarify or at least put out a press release confirming or denying. However, I'm guessing that whatever the outcome, the Liberals will now point to the CPC and accuse them of fabricating the whole thing.....