kimmy

To all Canadians, Happy Canada Day! To Quebecers, have an especially happy Moving Day. -k

If she says the illegal occupation began in 1948, then she's claiming Israel was an illegal occupation from its inception. That she touts two states as a solution to the dilemma that now exists does not counter that claim. So, apparently we're supposed to believe that she just got the dates wrong. But seriously, she's been writing about this since 2004 and is concerned enough to travel there to meet with Palestinians... does anybody really believe that she's been that committed to this issue for that long and somehow didn't know two of the most basic dates in the whole history of the issue? Come on, that's bullshit. -k

Nice. I notice that Mr Rock is getting PR advice from Earnscliffe, which is a name that should be familiar to people who remember Paul Martin Time. Clearly Rock recognizes the perception that their commitment to free expression is less than unqualified. -k

Had you stopped there, I would have no objection to your view at all. Where you lost me was your points #2 and #3. They're silly. When you say "he can't speak to Quebecers", are you referring to language issues? When you say "he can't speak to women", I know you're not referring to language issues. Women understand Harper when he speaks. They (in large measure, anyway) just don't like what he has to say. He can speak to women in a way that they understand. But they disagree. In federal Canada, yes. In Canada, one vote is worth no more or less than any other (subject to variances in riding populations and voter turnout, etc). Be it cast by a male, female, Quebecer, Albertan, Christian, Muslim, aboriginal, immigrant, or whatever. In Canada, one riding is as valuable as the next, be it Hinton or Baie Comeau. That Harper doesn't do well with female voters is of minor importance if he does well enough with male voters to make up for it. That Harper doesn't win many seats in Quebec doesn't matter if he wins enough seats elsewhere to make up for it. Some Quebecers seem to think that a PM is not really a PM unless he is embraced in Quebec... that to be PM one must win Quebec and carry enough seats among the "TROCs" to make up the balance. Simply not true. Who's your PM? Stephen J. Harper. Quebec or not. We have known for a long time that a Prime Minister can get by without the support of large areas of the country. For half of my life, we've had Prime Ministers who had precious little support west of Sault Ste Marie. -k

I thought insurance should be picking up the damage. Again, though, the decision to hold this event in downtown Toronto was a really, really, really questionable decision right from the start. Just the economic effect of having all of those businesses closed alone must be extraordinarily costly. -k

If they're going to call this thing "Sun News", I doubt it will succeed. The Sun brand of papers is widely viewed as a lightweight news/sports/entertainment page intended to be quick and easy to read on a bus or during breakfast. It's not aimed at people who are interested in serious journalism. People who are interested in lightweight news/sports/entertainment aren't likely to invest much of their TV time in "Sun News" when there's way more entertaining things on TV. Branding it after the Sun chain of papers is going to alienate the people who are most likely to spend their TV time watching a news program. My guess is that branding this after the Sun chain of papers is a big mistake. -k

Like Carrie Keagan, you two are quite a pair. -k

For some reason I am now picturing Oleg as Sergeant Schultz. "VEBBAH! I did not SAY ZAT!" "Sure, Sarge, but y'know, when Colonel Klink hears there were buttless lederhosen at the parade, he's going to want to see a film of it..." "Vat? Vhy?" "So he can arrest the guys wearing them! Why, if somebody gave him a film of the buttless lederhosen, there could be a commendation! Maybe a medal!" "Good sinking, Vebbah! I vill get ze camara right avay!" -k

Well, there's two great reasons to watch Red Eye. -k

If I may... I suspect that the original poster's intent was to claim that the goals that "communist agents" thought would lead to the destruction of America once upon a time are in large measure causes that are still championed today by liberals. (I personally suspect that these objectives were what arch-conservatives thought communists were doing to try to destroy America, not what the communists themselves were trying to do.) -k

I can certainly respect this one. That's a ridiculous, and I assume intentional, misrepresentation of the quote you provided. Is winning the support of any specific group of voters (women, Quebecers, Albertans, Christians, aboriginals, Philippinos, Rastafarians, Pastafarians, mooks, unionists, cheerleaders, whatever) an objective in itself? Is winning a majority an objective in itself? Should I think more highly than I do of Chretien, on the grounds that he was somewhat more successful than Harper in Quebec or with women? If you're basing your voting intentions on whether a politician "has the numbers" then I assume you're also a big fan of "Avatar" and of boy-band music. If you're basing your voting intentions on whether a politician is likely to win a majority, I assume you're planning on spoiling your ballots for the foreseeable future. Of course. You're still waiting for some leader who will offer Quebec some fictional "compromise" that would make the BQ obsolete, right? -k

For sure. What's going through their heads? I imagine something along the lines of "those poor people are oppressed... just like us! We should join forces and Fight The Man together!" -k

LA Times: France, soccer, and race When the team was winning, it was important to point out that France's non-white suburbs won the World Cup and the "rainbow team" was a symbol of the power of diversity. But now that the team is a national embarrassment... -k

It sounds as if the G20 countries are now close to an agreement on tougher regulations for banks: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN2621683620100626 ...if that is the case, the future savings will make the billion spent on this summit seem paltry. -k

How retarded is this thread? Everybody in this thread thinks the OP is trying to talk about Tasers, and he's actually trying to talk about "group homes", "education", and his bizarre fixation with "CAS". That's pretty retarded, IMO. -k

Kudos to "Homos For Hamas" for standing up for free speech. -k

With all the enthusiasm for Brick Top and Darth Vader, -k

Really? Wow! Is this available in Canada? -k

As with all of the prairie cities, native gang problems continue to be Winnipeg's biggest crime headache. -k

YEAH MAN THE PIGS ARE GOING TO BUILD BARRICADES ALL OVER MAN THE G20 SECURITY IS THE SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME IT'S GONNA BE CRAZY JUST DON'T TAZE ME BRO -k

Ok, so let's say a deranged miscreant is smashing windshields with a hockey stick in downtown Toronto, and a policeman orders him to put down the hockey stick and put his hands on the hood of the car. The man refuses, and begins pointing the hockey stick threateningly at the police officer. The officer thinks back to his training and things "yes, this would be a good time for me to use the tazer." So this guy is advancing with a hockey stick, and you want the officer to ask if he is on drugs or has any health problems. Constable Jones: "Sir, are you on drugs or do you have any health issues?" Deranged Miscreant: "YEAH MAN I'M HIGH RIGHT NOW AND I HAVE HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE" Ok, now what? The officer should now I guess not use the taser because the deranged miscreant says he is on drugs and has heart attack risks. Ok, what does Constable Jones do then? Constable Jones: "Ok, I can't tazer you because you're a heart attack risk. So I'm just going to beat your face in with my night-stick, alright, sir?" Deranged Miscreant: "YEAH OK MAN JUST DON'T TAZE ME BRO" -k

I think the question is: What the hell did you just say? I am going to write to your boss at the Ministry of Truth to ask if they can replace you with a propagandist who can actually read and write English. Hopefully they will recall you to Beijing and spare us any more of your idiocy. -k

That's awesome! I wrote the same thing about "hope and change" a year and a half ago and yet the similarity never occurred to me until now. Literary characters as avatars for the author isn't a new idea... I'm not sure about the idea of literary characters that are designed as a blank canvas where the reader can imagine herself. Some video games work on this idea... Dragon Age, Mass Effect, Knights of the Old Republic, etc... appeal to the same sort of premise, creating an epic story where the focal point is the avatar of the player. -k

To celebrate the World Cup, Youtube has added a "vuvuzela" feature to its videos! Added to the toolbar along the bottom of the video frame is a little soccer-ball icon. Click the soccer ball, and the sound of a whole stadium full of vuvuzelas will accompany your video! I find this feature provides an ideal soundtrack for when I am reading Naomi Glover's latest messages. -k

Because people keep clicking "Reply"! To get to the other side? Other forums I have seen give the user the ability to select the number of posts per page... this one does not appear to. I have had the same experience. -k