Visionseeker

As things stand, I think the CPC will lose seats (some to the Libs, some to the BQ). But I agree with your assessment on overall Liberal gains. Yup. I call it the Kumbaya vote: Ontario voters that reward a Liberal leader who is palatable to Quebeckers. As many as 35 ridings come into play though as much of this support draws from the NDP. A minority most assuredly. Quite possibly a majority. The kind of guy voters would like to have a beer with? Not yet. But I suspect he's about to get there.

I would wager that the Court will ultimately rule against polygamy. First, there is the question of encroachment on prior covenant (the marriage of first instance) and the coercive implications that undermine the notion of informed consent (the first spouse could be agreeing to the arrangement simply because refusing might precipitate a divorce). Fundamentally, the notion of extending the marriage to include multiple actors erodes the notion of equality within the constructed union. Does the first spouse have an equal right to bring their own "recruit" into the arrangement? Theoretically yes, but substantively: no. The wider implications of family law with respect to divorce must also be considered. If one has equal right to join into a union, it stands to reason that they also have an equal right to initiate its termination. But a polygamist arrangement blurs the fulfilment of this notion of equality by obliging the participants to divorce all parties and exit the commune, for they cannot selectively exercise a legal expulsion of the member they can no longer live with. This abrogates the rights of the individual and places them beneath the rights of the commune. Such an arrangement is simply not in keeping with the tenets of the Charter.

I watched most of the episode and was feeling rather sorry for Moore. I have the utmost respect for anyone who strives to acquire fluency in any language. But I squirmed with every demonstration of just how culturally out of touch Moore is. The Egoyan moment actually made me "Gah". I think his performance furthered harmed the Conservative brand in la belle province and in francophone communities outside Quebec.

Our position in Afghanistan is an important arm of our foreign policy, but it is also the source of some ambiguity to the world at large. Our stated aim to reduce our military commitment there raises a number of question among global players. And these questions compound other uncertainties about our position on other areas of dispute/contension.

In fairness, that list seems to emphasize regional powers outside of the European actors mentioned. From a regional standpoint, the US will always dwarf Canada in terms of influence. Canada's strength on the world stage has always been our reputation as a stalwart and fair minded middle power, but there are troubling signs that that too is ebbing. Successive years of minority governments are beginning to weigh on our ability to project a cogent foreign policy.

You're on to something here. BTW - Do you know why they dropped Olds?

Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Unfortunately, the market tumble has reduced my prize budget and all I'm offering is a ball of lint.

116 of our bravest are now dead and about 300 wounded in action. And these trollops all laugh it off. "nap", "pedicures" and mentions of "capri pants" by a bunch of ignorant, coddled and immature faux Americans who hide behind and laugh at the sacrifices of those at the sharp end. To a person, that panal isn't worth the oxygen they consume.

Transfer payments to the provinces were the problem. The 50/50 cost shared arrangement negotiated under Pearson had the provinces giddy to spend as many federal dollars as they could. Repudiating the 50/50 formula and cutting transfer payments was the deficit elixer. Trudeau is not "the genesis of our National debt". But he didn't solve the problem either. Nor did Mulroney.

Well, GM doesn't think so or else they'd just merge the product lines. Why won't they?

That's like saying that combining the performance of all Canadian NHL franchises make them better than the best American franchise. Face it, the F-150 is the best brand in its class. They aren't necessarily cheaper and in many instances they aren't better built either. But the thing that Japanese and German automakers have going for them is that people aspire to own one of their models. When was the last time you heard someone pine about owning a Buick?

We're talking about 2 different things. The F-150 is the biggest seller in it's class (i.e. trucks). That GM has been the biggest seller of all vehicle types combined doesn't diminish Ford's success with the F-150. The minimal differences between the Chev and GMC doesn't change the fact that neither "brand" is more popular than the F-150. But all of this merely takes us away from my point: in a declining market, automakers need to focus on what works and drop those lines that can't compete. For US automakers that bought heavily into the "Canyonaro" craze, this means a lot of redesign, retooling and capacity contraction in order to come-up with models that can sell. The big three's problem isn't price, it's product appeal. They keep designing vehicles for the wrong demographic. For years they survived on trucks, vans and SUVs - largely ignoring or misfiring in the smaller vehicle and sedan market - leaving them utterly exposed if the market were to shift (as it has).

Right. Trudeau created regionalism in this country. Man, you are one dumb, reality avoident fu*k aren't you. Alta4ever, or if I can call you by your given name - Fecalmatterforbrains - the Reform Party and the Bloc Québécois were Mulroney's legacy, not Trudeau's. Sh!t, You might as well argue that John A. MacDonald is behind it all. In July 1982, polls showed overwehliming nationwide approval for the repatriation of the Constitution and the attached Charter of Rights and Freedoms (Quebec scored the second highest approval rating). Then in 1984, Mulroney makes a deal with the Devil and lends credence to the myth of "the night of the long knives" and the rest is history (a history worth writing, but I'd rather go to bed than waste my time educating someone as unreceptive and therefore unworthy as you). Mulroney recreated and magnified the regionalism this country currently suffers.

Sure. His first acts as PM: Pull a guy from across the floor to join his cabinet (he railed about special elections for this kiond of thing when in opposition) Names a campaign strategist to the Senate in order to bring him into the cabinet Now that's honesty! But it doesn't end there. So lets make a game of it. TO THE GROUP: Can anyone else provide examples of our PMs dishonesty?

Uh, no. The deficits under Trudeau were born from the 50/50 formula for social programs that had the federal government matching provincial expenditures on health, welfare and education (a deal negotiated under Pearson). Basically, the provinces raced to overspend in these politically popular areas and the federal government spent years trying to balance the equation. Mulroney avoided the political football in order to placate Quebec and Alberta to promote and/or avoid opposition to his amateurish constitutional exploits. Mulroney cut federal expenditures, not the real problem - transfer payments to the provinces. Chretien never campaigned on resolving the deficit in 92 (he was going to kill the GST if you remember), but public opinion had moved so far in the column of debt reduction that it became the fiscal priority in his first two terms. The results were stunning. If nothing else, the Chretien-Martin stewardship of the treasury (and prevention of bank mergers) is what gives our economy the capacity to absorb much of the current global recession.

Hats off to you ToadBrother! For you pretty much nailed it. Except that you forgot to mention that the economic decline in Islam inspired a religious movement that spurned economic development and demanded adherence to an increasingly restrictive interpretation of scripture. Sound familiar?

Actually, the violence stems from the DECREASING profitability of illegal drugs due to an aging population and looming recession. But I agree with your assessment of the platitudinal slogan. As with anything, scarcity influences the price. While law enforcement intel and techniques have succesfully intercepted supplies of imported narcotics, their success has given us domestically produced meth and an explosion of grow-ops to replace declining imports. It doesn't. But you know that already.

LOL!

Chretien won 3 majorities. Harper has a loss and 2 minorities to his credit. Guess that makes him a poor forgery.

I believe in getting tough on crime: - decriminalize drugs - establish state control over distribution - tax, tax, and tax Deny criminals their income source and prevent a good chuck of all the secondary crime the illicit drug trade produces. That's pretty tough I'll say.

Uh, no. http://www.autoguide.com/auto-news/2009/01...f-the-year.html "For the 32nd year in a row, Ford’s award-winning F-Series is America’s best-selling truck with 2008 sales of 515,513." Considering your allergy to facts as noted above, I'll give this editorial the credit it is due.

Hey, he might be on to something!

Yet the Islamic world once gave us many innovations - particularly in the areas of mathematics and navigation - only to become insular and anti-scientific. What might explain this transformation?

LOL!

God is fiction. Nature is the present and science provides us with the ability to understand how the presnet come about as well as some indication as to where it is going. No science supports the existence of god and law is simply a product of nature.