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Harper Politics: Opposition Mustache, Iggy-popped
Robman
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I kid because I love. Good luck being smarter than us, Canada.
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Also I'm more than a little appalled by that picture of Layton.
There's a joke here about elections, away-missions and who never comes back [strike]alive[/strike]as PM.
The honourable leader of the opposition is depicted the same number of times as Uhura.
8/10. Needs more pictures of Jack Layton, though.
Crosby for PM, Toews as second in command. Joe Sakic and Mario Lemieux as advisers. Can't go wrong with that.
You ask what scandal, what abuse, what horrible dishonourable act Harper committed that cost him the support of the last, ultra-conservative member of my family?
Still, don't look a gift horse in the mouth, I guess.
Just don't look while you are doing it.
Either that survey is busted or I've got some serious issues come voting time.
Throw another 10% at the NDP for that Ensign Layton photo at the top.
PSN - sumowot
Care to share that link with us? I'd be curious to see what my results are.
Silly question, but why would his income not be taxable? What justification for that could there be, since we poor grad students have taxable incomes too? (They just become exempt due to the low value, plus tuition deductions.) There was a lovely editorial in the Toronto Star recently that basically exemplified my "small government" beliefs... let me see...
Ah, here. Fiscal favours are eroding our tax system:
And the increasing complexity of the tax code, firstly drives up our societal expenditures on collection and administration, and secondly opens up loopholes:
Goar: Creative use of tax loophole blunts injustice
I fucking hate my riding. Our MP is stepping down and the polls are still fixed for the Conservative candidate.
[looks at story re: conservative candidate]
Oh FUCK ME.
He went to Trinity Western University.
This guy is gonna be a total fucking train wreck if he wins the seat.
Yeah no big surprise there. Cummins fancied himself a maverick so he's being replaced with a docile backbencher who will do as he's told without complaint. They took all of one week to pick the new candidate so they obviously want a stooge to represent us, not a real politician. Also this place is full of senile old people, petit-bourgeois baby boomers and stupid unengaged teenagers who don't vote. I you want to help the NDP or the Liberals federally your best bet is to volunteer for a campaign in Vancouver Centre or Surrey where the races are closer.
http://federal.votecompass.ca
edit - you won't get the percentage points unless you take it without flash, like I did on my phone
PSN - sumowot
Wait. Are you from his riding? I grew up in Richmond and Ladner, Cummins has always struck me as pretty uninspired. He gets the votes from the farmhouse geriatrics in Delta, much the same way that Lois Jackson repeatedly wins as Mayor of Delta because North Delta overpowers Ladner and Tsawwassen.
I've always been leery of anyone who was deeply involved with the Alliance Party. Chiefly because it was the Stockwell Day Show when I was in elementary and middle school and we got to see all sorts of ridiculous zealotry and xenophobia.
edit: I should point out that Cummins is pretty well qualified. He has a diverse background. But it's clear where and why he gets his votes and how he keeps getting re-elected.
Heh. Wrong riding.
I'm actually in Prince George-Peace River. Pat Bell was our MP for what seemed like aeons until he finally stepped down.
The main positive of him leaving is that we've stopped getting leaflets about how everything is going to go to hell in a handbasket unless we get tough on crime.
EDIT: Is there a site anywhere that could tell me voter turnout? I'm going to be a broken record on Facebook trying to get everyone I know out to vote, even if it is for the Cons.
EDIT2: Found a map. Turns out only 48% of the assholes in my riding bothered to vote in 2008.
This show regularly gets over 1 million watchers so if he does well it could really help him.
Oh, sorry. My mistake. I just assumed you were talking about Kerry-Lynne Findlay, the new new candidate for Delta-Richmond. She has a BA in history from UBC.
The previous replacement candidate, Dale Saip, was fired over his troubled financial history. He filed for creditor protection in 1993, and in 2005 he had to cut a deal with Canada Revenue over $90,000 in unpaid taxes. When this became public the Tories fired him. Well it turns out that Findlay, his replacement, has also had to file for bankruptcy in the past. It doesn't look like they're going to fire her over it though. What the fuck. The worst part is she'll probably win because this place is a fucking suburban shithole that is named after the type of geographical feature it sits on.
Eligible means that you:
have lived in Canada before applying for registration
have been living outside Canada for less than five consecutive years immediately before applying, and
intend to return to live in Canada.
Do it right now because it could take a while for them to process it.
Well, his income here is not a salary, it's a research grant. Those are paid out by the Federal government to support research (in this case by supporting a researcher directly, but also more generally by purchasing equipment, paying for conferences, etc.). Having the Federal government tax it means they're taking back part of the money they gave us. In essence, it's a disguised research funding cut.
Mmm. I guess. I suppose if I got an NSERC grant, that would be untaxable... except the department would claw back almost all of it anyways.
But it's not quite a funding cut, because he can deduct from it. Depending on his situation, it might not even affect him at all, since, as the link I posted above noted, a third of Canadians don't even pay any income tax post-deductions.
It's a tough one to call, but a couple of things gives me hope.
Let's lay down a couple of things, just to get you more familiar with the lay of the land. I would say that realistically, the Conservatives only have a shot at picking up two seats in NL... Avalon and St. John's South/Mount Pearl. Some might argue that Random/Burin/St. George's might be in play as well, but I don't really think so.
Looking at the safe seats, Gerry Byrne in Humber/St. Barbe/Baie Verte is a beast, and will only not get elected unless he has some massive scandal or suddenly decides he couldn't be arsed. He's running against Trevor Taylor, who is a former provincial cabinet minister, but who is also a giant douche and useless (I know first hand, having dealt with him and his office while working for an MHA). Jack Harris in St. John's East, my riding, is also equally insurmountable. Scott Simms is slightly less of a lock, but again, I can't see him losing his seat in Bonavista/Gander/Grand Falls/Windsor.
I feel Judy Foote in Random/Burin/St. George's is safe as well, though she is going up against what I would consider a heavy hitter in John Ottenheimer. He's a former provincial cabinet minister, with a far better reputation for competence than Trevor Taylor, so he'll likely give Foote a run for her money. She'll still win, but it will be closer than the previous election.
Some Conservatives are thinking that they can pick up Labrador, but they must be smoking some powerful drugs. Todd Russell is not going to lose that seat, which has been dominated by the Liberals since 1988 when it was created. He's especially not going to lose it to Peter Penashue, who has needed to flip-flop on pretty much all of his positions in order to gain the Conservative nomination, and who probably can no longer guarantee the Innu vote. Add to that a broken promise regarding increasing the military presence at 5 Wing Goose Bay, a stupid promise that nobody could have fulfilled, and even a guaranteed loan for the Lower Churchill project will not be enough to gain any traction.
Where it could gain traction is in the two ridings that could conceivably be under threat. A promise of money for a big project can certainly help, especially in the most urban areas of the province that have no direct exposure to the negative impacts of said project. You add in that the provincial Tories are now getting behind their federal counterparts, and you'll have two very competitive races in St. John's South/Mount Pearl and Avalon.
I personally think that Avalon is the least under threat. Fabian Manning resigned his Senate seat in order to run for the Conservatives, and is a very strong candidate. Scott Andrews, the Liberal MP, isn't as strong as the other Liberal members in the province, but he has a few good things going for him. He's the incumbent, which counts for more than a few percent, and he hasn't really rocked the boat. Manning had a chance at the seat last time around, and they didn't want him then. Avalon being a half rural riding, the fisheries are important as well, and DFO just made a pretty awful announcement today regarding the shrimp quotas. They are trying to keep it quiet, and will not comment on it, but they are reducing the inshore quota by 40% and the offshore quota by 10%... meaning the biggest reduction will come in areas that have to process the shrimp in province. If Andrews is smart, he'll hammer this as another decision by the 'Harper government' that doesn't look out for the interests of Newfoundland.
The fisheries stuff could also hurt Loyola Sullivan's chances in St. John's South/Mount Pearl, but not to the same extent because it is an urban riding. He was the Ambassador for Fisheries Conservation, which makes him vulnerable on the subject, but there are not enough fisheries tied votes in the riding. What makes the riding a tossup is that there are three very strong candidates. Siobhan Coady is the Liberal incumbent, and has all the advantages that entails. However, she only won by 3.3% against the NDP candidate, Ryan Cleary, in the last election, and he's running again this time. Which creates a situation where the non-Conservative vote can be diluted between the two parties, and Loyola Sullivan could pull it out as a result. It's going to be a hell of an interesting race, and will be one of the first close one to have results in.
Anyway, long winded I know, but that's my take. I'm thinking the Conservatives will still get shut out, but won't be surprised if they pick up a seat in St. John's. Just don't underestimate the residual animosity towards the Harper government.
Anyway, Chantal Hébert's latest column argues against including Elizabeth May in the debates.
http://www.thestar.com/article/966062--hebert-why-elizabeth-may-doesn-t-belong-in-election-debates
Rockin, thanks for the link. It indicated I would be most aligned with NDP / Green, which is kinda weird since I trashed them in the compare the parties section.
MWO: Adamski
Japanese nuclear plant ignored tsunami threat:
And this was my complaint with nuclear power. We're always promised that it's safe and that it'll be cheap and whatever, and on paper, it seems like it will. It looks fucking great on paper. But in implementation? Somebody inevitably cuts a corner and if we're unlucky, all hell breaks loose. Hubris, I say. Hubris.
I mean, I think the Green Party's election platform is rather impractical. That doesn't mean I want to vote Conservative. Facts are facts, regardless of whether one fact is more or less unpleasant than another.
I don't think this is an indictment of Nuclear Power but rather poor regulation and even worse enforcement.
Unless somehow people believe companies cutting corners on safety is unique to the Nuclear industry.
Hubris is a human fault, and the only reason we see it in nuclear power plants is because they are run by humans.
I have 549 Rock Band Drum and 305 Pro Drum FC's
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