Harper dons a Turban?

[Argus]

Can you imagine the howls of outrage from the Cons on here if a Liberal PM done this.

Not really, not. Personally, I'd love to see Chretien in a turban. I doubt he'd wear one, though, as image was everything to him. They'd have cancelled a meeting at a mosque which required that.

[Oleg Bach]

Not really, not. Personally, I'd love to see Chretien in a turban. I doubt he'd wear one, though, as image was everything to him. They'd have cancelled a meeting at a mosque which required that.

Correction. Those who go into Mosques do not wear turbans...Muslims do not wear that type of head gear. I believe that it is something that is primarily Hindi---wait..Pakistan is a Muslim state and they wear the odd turban..or is that a half turban that is unwrapped? You must be very old school. Chretien is so old that wearing a turban would simply be to heavey for his pencil neck that is all but bone and turkey skin by now. I can't wait for the say that John Tory is mayor of Toronto..wonder if he will put on the leather shorts and high heels? He is ambitious for an old guy.

[waldo]

Not really, not. Personally, I'd love to see Chretien in a turban. I doubt he'd wear one, though, as image was everything to him.

you're welcome

[M.Dancer]

They'd have cancelled a meeting at a mosque which required that.

You don't wear a turban at a mosque (although you could)

[Gabriel]

The turban is a Sikh thing. Sikhism is a religion related to Islam. Those dudes have LONG hair underneath those turbans.

EDIT - I'm far from some expert of Sikhism, so any Sikhs in here (or other knowledgeable folks) can obviously feel free to elaborate if necessary.

Edited November 19, 2009 by Gabriel

[Keepitsimple]

Lots of people seem to have that problem with you, Mr. Dancer. Whatsamatter, ne pas parle le english language? Could it just be due to your poor writing skills?

I have no problem understanding Mr. Dancer - pretty clear and concise. You on the other hand............

[capricorn]

I have been to the Golden Temple in Amritsar, men are expected to cover their heads and go barefoot, it would be grossly insensitive to do otherwise.

Harper does look pretty silly, though not nearly as goofy as the culturally appropriate Dion wearing that undersized Stetson in Calgary......

...or eating a hot dog with a knife and fork.

[Topaz]

Let's be honest, part of the reason Harper did it was to be respectful to the Indian people and to get the one million Indians living in Canada, votes!! I was surprised that the PMO knew there were 1 million living here.Now , I wonder when they will tell us hom many Chinese are living here?

[Sir Bandelot]

Let's be honest, part of the reason Harper did it was to be respectful to the Indian people and to get the one million Indians living in Canada, votes!! I was surprised that the PMO knew there were 1 million living here.Now , I wonder when they will tell us hom many Chinese are living here?

Now here's a post from a thinking individual. Thank you for this, I agree. The photo-op was one of the first things that came to my mind when I saw the pictures. I understand there is quite a lot of support for Harper among the Indians and Pakistanis, Hindus and Muslims perhaps relating better to the "Conservative" brand.

Too bad, if only they knew...

[capricorn]

Let's be honest, part of the reason Harper did it was to be respectful to the Indian people and to get the one million Indians living in Canada, votes!!

Well what do you know. A politician acting like a politician. I am not in the least scandalized by this revelation. As I recall, Obama made a big splash when he detoured to the historic By-Ward Market located in downtown Ottawa to procure a certain pastry known as the beaver tail. India has religious landmarks, we have...dough.

I was surprised that the PMO knew there were 1 million living here.Now , I wonder when they will tell us hom many Chinese are living here?

Here, I will take the liberty of preempting the Conservatives.

The number of people citing the Chinese language (or any of its dialects) as their mother tongue last year rose to about 1,034,000, up 162,000, or 18.5 percent, over 2001.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2007-12/06/content_6301712.htm

Another interesting factoid about India and China. The former has about 1.1 billion people, the latter has about 1.3 billion souls. Both will provide fertile ground from which to secure immigrants to Canada for years to come. And in my view, both groups are equally deserving of the opportunities this fine country has to offer.

[Gabriel]

It's hilarious how Topaz states the obvious and Sir Bandelot runs in to shower him praise. Clearly Harper is, partly, attempting to appeal to the Indian voters of Canada. That being said, I believe that Harper does genuinely feel a solidarity with certain Canadians with Indian heritage. The vast majority of Indians I've met (and befriended), and I've met many, have been hard-working, highly-educated, intelligent and pleasant and warm people. They believe in self-sufficiency and freedom and family. Although I'm hardly a partisan, the Conservative party nowadays most closely reflects these values. I think Harper , being a Conservative and a somewhat capable politician, recognizes that he will have a greater likelihood of success in his message connecting with successful, educated, and intelligent groups of people rather than the underbelly of society (including many useless arts majors). The NDP can cater to the unemployed and chronically underemployed, and the Conservatives can cater to those who actually take advantage of the abundance of opportunities available in Canada. Harper's being smart - appealing to the type of demographic that will appreciate some of his message. Why waste his time on white trash who live in subsidized housing or Francophone separatists or terrorist-lovers?

That being said, Harper did play the fool when trying to buy the union vote by throwing money away at GM. And I'm pretty sure union voters are typically supportive of the NDP and Liberals. But I'm starting to really go off-topic, now...

[Melanie_]

The turban is a Sikh thing. Sikhism is a religion related to Islam. Those dudes have LONG hair underneath those turbans.

EDIT - I'm far from some expert of Sikhism, so any Sikhs in here (or other knowledgeable folks) can obviously feel free to elaborate if necessary.

Sikhism has nothing to do with Islam. Islam, along with Judaism and Christianity, sprang from the prophet Abraham. Sikhism arose in the Punjab, a province of India, about 500 or 600 years ago, and has no connection to Islam whatsoever.

[Gabriel]

Sikhism has nothing to do with Islam. Islam, along with Judaism and Christianity, sprang from the prophet Abraham. Sikhism arose in the Punjab, a province of India, about 500 or 600 years ago, and has no connection to Islam whatsoever.

My mistake, I thought it was a spin-off of Islam.

[Alex Moore]

Let's be honest, part of the reason Harper did it was to be respectful to the Indian people and to get the one million Indians living in Canada, votes!! I was surprised that the PMO knew there were 1 million living here.Now , I wonder when they will tell us hom many Chinese are living here?

wow you liberals are getting really desperate for punches to have gone that low.

You clearly don't know anything about Sikhism/India to have made that comment.

1 there aren't that many of them, not enough to be worried about to specifically make a photo opp for (something like 20 million globally mostly in India. I don't know the number in Canada but doubt it's significant)

2 there's a difference between Sikhism and Indian: most Indians are Hindus. If he was legitimately trying to appeal to the Indian population he would have not made that photo because Sikhs and Hindus hate each other.

3 Its called respect. the fabric he wore over his is a sign of respect to the culture of sikhism. Why does this HAVE to be a political move. WHY ARE YOU MAKING IT A POLITICAL MOVE? can he just travel to india visit the golden temple, eat some indian food play the piano and go home?

[Gabriel]

wow you liberals are getting really desperate for punches to have gone that low.

You clearly don't know anything about Sikhism/India to have made that comment.

1 there aren't that many of them, not enough to be worried about to specifically make a photo opp for (something like 20 million globally mostly in India. I don't know the number in Canada but doubt it's significant)

2 there's a difference between Sikhism and Indian: most Indians are Hindus. If he was legitimately trying to appeal to the Indian population he would have not made that photo because Sikhs and Hindus hate each other.

3 Its called respect. the fabric he wore over his is a sign of respect to the culture of sikhism. Why does this HAVE to be a political move. WHY ARE YOU MAKING IT A POLITICAL MOVE? can he just travel to india visit the golden temple, eat some indian food play the piano and go home?

That's a good point - one I can't believe I overlooked. He was doing the Sikh thing, and not the Hindu thing. And clearly Hindus are a much larger group in Canada. I still think it's naive to suggest there aren't any political motives. But on the other hand of course Harper is a human being taking a few moments to enjoy some of the sights while overseas. Who said being PM doesn't have to have any cool and fun moments? I hope to go to India someday and check out a bunch of cool places like that temple.