kimmy

The provinces have the resources for a reason. And if you recall that Sarnia was once Canada's petrochemical capital, you'll have a pretty good idea what that reason was. -k

I know that city police could certainly be capable of something like that. I recall a "sting" attempt years ago where members of the Edmonton city police set out to "get" a civic issues reporter who'd been a thorn in their sides. They waited near a bar he was known to go after work, waited for him to drive away, stopped him and demanded a breathalyzer test. They were caught red-handed planning the thing, and I don't recall what happened afterward. I suspect there was a lawsuit and an out-of-court settlement. So that's a possibility. But surely the newspapers would know the difference between a legitimate therapeutic massage clinic and the Kowloon Bay Lucky Best Wish Happy Ending Massage House. Surely something like that would have blown up badly. And if it had been the police attempting to "get" Layton, surely they wouldn't have let him bicycle away with just a "warning". Something doesn't sound right. I'd really like to know what establishment he was at, and what kind of place it really is. -k

Well, the question seems to be what kind of a place he was actually at. Ms Chow says it was a registered massage therapy clinic. so... do police really raid legit therapeutic massage clinics? -k

I haven't read all the allegations or denials here, but I disagree with the premise that this is a non-issue. Depending on the circumstances, it might be an issue. "Lots of people get massages!" -yes, but most people who get massages for therapeutic purposes don't get them at the kind of places that get raided by police. "Who cares if he did go to an actual bawdy-house? What has that got to do with anything?" -well, if-- and I emphasize IF-- he did go to an actual bawdy-house... that's directly at odds with the pro-feminist views Jack and the NDP promote. Patronizing an establishment that exploits young women is a betrayal of feminist values. It would be comparable to a "family values" politician cheating on his wife, or an anti-gay crusader "tapping his foot" in a bathroom stall. It's newsworthy, for the same reason. Not that the allegation itself is a serious issue... but it calls into question the sincerity of the beliefs he claims to stand for. If he is going to stand at a podium and tell people that he is a champion of respect and dignity for women, he better not have been patronizing an establishment where naked teenagers give hand-jobs to old dudes. That's all I can say. I really hope it's not true. I will give him the benefit of the doubt until I know more. However, I disagree with those who are protesting that this is being reported at all. If it's false, it's despicable slander, obviously. But if it is true, it's a legitimate news story. -k

Personally, I'm kind of at a loss. I have long thought the Liberals needed a beat-down to set them straight. What baffles me is the timing of it. Why now? Why not 2004, when they won a minority, even right in the midst of the sponsorship scandal? Why not 2006, when they ran what might be the most inept political campaign in Canadian history? Why not 2008, when they appointed the Absent Minded Professor to lead them, and he invented The Green Shit, the stupidest platform a major political party has ever come up with? Dion was a fruitcake. Paul Martin was tarnished by scandal. I haven't even got words to express my contempt for Chretien. And yet Canadians supported those guys to varying degrees. None of them ever received the electoral ass-kicking that polls say Ignatieff is about to receive. How come? What's different this time? Is it Ignatieff himself? I don't see why. Is it anything the Liberals have done wrong? I don't see that either, really. The "Rise up, rise up" thing was painfully awkward, maybe that was where things started to go wrong for them, I don't know. Is it just that the NDP has done such a good job that the Liberals were completely flat-footed? Really, I'm at a loss. Of all the times in my life when I've hated the Liberals and wanted to see them steamrollered, this isn't one of those times. I don't think they really deserve the ass-kicking they're about to received, and I'm kind of sad that it's happening now instead of all the times when they really did deserve what they're about to get. -k

I have little doubt that Layton envisions raising huge sums through carbon/environmental taxes in Alberta, and funneling that money into R&D in established high-tech industries in Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver. (that these are vote-rich, left-leaning areas is purely coincidental.) I was particularly surprised that the Liberals are promising that carbon money raised in Alberta would remain in Alberta. -k

By the way, I'm appalled at the idea of preventing young people from voting. Who was it who wrecked the country again? If you're old enough to have voted in an election that resulted in Mulroney or Trudeau becoming Prime Minister, *YOU* should have your right to vote removed. You had your chance, you used your right to vote, and look how that turned out. Sorry, old people you screwed up. Bigtime. And to prevent you jackasses from bollocking the country even worse the next time some politician comes along promising deluxe elder care or some useless crap like that, we need to prevent you people from voting. When I run for office, disenfranchising voters born 1970 and earlier will be a central plank in my platform (which I've tentatively dubbed "The Soylent Green Shift"). It's just the first step toward creating the utopian future portrayed in movies like "Logan's Run". I hope I can count on your support. Thanks. -k {"The Soylent Green Shift is about People!"}

Wow, how time flies. It seems like just last year you were crying to everyone who would listen about how you couldn't get a job because the immigrants took all the good jobs. Wait, that WAS just last year. And the year before, and the year before that. Now that you're a bigtime tax payer, you can start making up for all the money you mooched off the system in your layabout years. -k

I've only looked at a couple of pages... Out of curiousity, how is this different from any of the myriad of other "What Harper Said" type compilations that have sprung up over the past 7-8 years? -k

wahhh. You're already guaranteed way more representatives in parliament than your numbers warrant. Plus you have 30 senators for a region with less people than Vancouver. I think the provinces of the Maritimes are quite well represented, all things considered. -k

In 2007 the Conservatives wanted a one-time adjustment for Alberta, BC, and Ontario that would have yielded more fair numbers for all 3 provinces. Originally 10 seats were proposed for Ontario, which was much more than the formula would have provided, but still less than population warranted. And of course Gilles Duceppe and his buddies howled about it, and of course others howled too because more seats for the west was "gerrymandering" that was obviously just designed to help the CPC according to some geniuses. And now it's back only Ontario gets 19 more seats now. But a special adjustment was required because if it had been left to the existing formula the 3 provinces would continue to be screwed. You get your fair share of a pie... and then everybody except you gets special pie that you're not allowed to have. -k

Do they *really* want to be reminding people of why the opposition parties took down the last Liberal government? It *wasn't* to kill national childcare programs. -k

Ah. Hadn't realized that they'd actually plundered through peoples' mailboxes to remove their opponent's leaflets. Should serve as a reminder to those who assume that the trashing of signs and vandalism must be done by Conservatives. How surprising is it that Joe Volpe would be involved in a controversy like this? I bet the Liberals wish he would go find another career. How many times is he going to embarrass the party? -k

In short, an MP for every (population/279) people. Then every province except Alberta, BC, and Ontario get topped up to comply with various clauses, with the result that every province except Alberta, BC, and Ontario are overrepresented in the Commons. In other words, no, those extra MPs aren't coming after all, SmallC. -k

An hour is plenty of time for results to hit the internet. If the principle that results from one part of the country should not influence voters elsewhere actually matters, then "an hour isn't much" isn't good enough. If Elections Canada can keep Maritime results under their hats for a while until polls close elsewhere, that would be the ideal situation. If that's not allowed for some reason, then close the polls at the same time. -k

Since polls in BC close at 7pm local time already, that's not true. I'm suggesting that BC polls close a half hour earlier than they do right now. That's not an undue hardship, particularly given that they open early enough that voting before work is an option, and given that people who don't like either option can still use advance polls. Yeah, withholding local results until polls close in the rest of the country doesn't sound like an unreasonable solution either. -k

You know, you really are an asshole. -k

The only answer to this issue is to have all polls close simultaneously. 10:30 or 11 in Newfoundland, 6 or 6:30 in BC. I can't imagine why this would possibly be an obstacle to anyone on either coast. If some tea-granny in Newfoundland has to stay up past her bedtime to find out who won the election, tough cookies. -k

I don't get what they're upset about. Joe Volpe's handler recycled a campaign leaflet? A Green Party leaflet in a recycling bin seems kind of fitting. -k

The Jake Shields who smacked the crap out of Dan Henderson looked like a monster. The Jake Shields who squeaked out a highly dubious victory over Martin Kampmann thanks to kind-hearted judges looked like a terribly overrated guy who doesn't deserve the hype. Some people think that maybe the weight cut was the reason for Shields looking like garbage against Kampmann. Moving back to Welterweight after bulking up to fight Middleweights might have taken a lot out of him. Regardless... I think he's going to have a terrible time against Georges. If Jake Shields can't get GSP off his feet, it's going to go really badly for him. And I don't think anybody can take GSP off his feet at this point. -k

I'm guilty of not doing my homework as well. The plan that would have added seats for the 3 underrepresented provinces was in fact scrapped altogether, not "toned down". -k

No, it's not. (see this table, which I think is more current than the list earlier in the thread.) Ontario, Alberta, and BC are all underrepresented and remain underrepresented even after the adjustment of a few years ago... which was, by the way, shrilly opposed by Quebec politicians as an attempt to "reduce Quebec's influence in the House". In fact all 3 provinces were owed more seats than they actually received, as the adjustment was toned down in order to mollify complaints from "certain quarters". -k

Since the number of seats in the House of Commons is determined by the constitutional requirement that Quebec have 75 MPs, that's not exactly surprising. It's by definition. -k

There's a lot of religious persecution in the world today. I'm curious, however, that having a government office devoted to the subject would be of much use. I wonder if it would be accompanied by an "Office of having the stones to tell other governments things that aren't convenient". -k

Aside from "billionaire philanthropist", I'd suggest that "powerful corporation sensing opportunity" is a likely model for change. People complain that the oil companies will never support alternative energy research... but Intel has invested billions in it. Key word being invested. They know where the parade is heading, they want to get there first. I believe that Cisco is similarly involved in "smart grid" technologies that will be key to our energy future. Companies like Apple and Google are examples of the same kind of thinking. "Here's things that we're good at... there's an industry that looks like it's ripe for change... our expertise could change that industry. Why not give it a try? We could make a ton of money!" -k