I love the smell of Canadian Politics in the morning.

[theweaselking]

CPC announces they they want to back out of Kyoto, break the deals with the aboriginal nations, and participate in the bizarre American missile defence pipe dreams.

Also,
Jack Layton, loudest proponent of "no two-tier health system", had surgery at a private clinic in the 1990s. He says it's not as bad as it sounds, since it was still paid for by OHIP, was done at the recommendation of his doctor, and he didn't know.

Also,
CPC drops BC candidate after he's caught and charged with smuggling.

Related:
Kofi Annan will not stop emailing me asking me to help him smuggle hundreds of millions of dollars out of the UN, for which I will receive a 20% cut.
NO, Mr General Secretary Man, I will NOT help you steal from the UN! Bad Kofi! Bad! And why are all your emails coming from Nigeria, hmm? Shouldn't they be coming from NEW YORK or maybe your home of GHANA if you were really an HONEST fraudulent General Secretary Man?

Comments

[spartonian.livejournal.com]

Don't forget(unless you've already mentioned it, and I was asleep)...

the plague that might be spreading to Canada.

[theweaselking.livejournal.com]

I've mentioned a few times that Harper is insane, and, when talking to a group of American Theocrats described Canada as "the worst kind of welfare state" and the Americans as a model to follow.

[jsbowden.livejournal.com]

You know, I discount Canookia as an option due to the weather, but at the same time, it's nice to know that if it came down to it, it's there. Now, my question to you is what are you kids up north going to do when this insane idiot wins and has a group hug with our insane idiot, since it's looking like he's the favorite in current polls.

[theweaselking.livejournal.com]

Not much, actually.

A majority government is unlikely. Even if he gets that, there would be a revolt within his own party if he touched a lot of the hot-button issues, *and* the Canadian judiciary is not a whiny backwards hamstrung waste of space with no popular respect the way the majority of the US one is. He can't ignore our Consititution and expect backup the way Bush can and does.

The major things Harper can damage:

Change "gay marriage" to "gay civil unions that are identical to marriage but with a different name", until the courts call it unconstitutional, again.

Cut taxes on the highest earners in the country while leaving the lowest the same - not THAT big a deal, since trying to run a deficit will get his budget promptly pounded in the Commons and the government will fall. And we'll have ANOTHER election, Italy-style.

Wasting money, and stacks of it, joining the American "missile defence" shield and sending the navy to patrol the extreme far-north arctic.

Call in the "Notwithstanding Clause" of the Charter to overrule the Canadian Supreme Court's definition of "obscenity", dooming his own political career and meaning his party will definitely lose the next election, heavily, by pissing off Ontario and Quebec. (For those of you following from outside the country: Ontario and Quebec each individually outweigh the rest of the country, combined, in the Commons.)

He can screw up the current deals for social programs, transfer payments, etc. He can't really hurt anything that's already there, just damage the plans for the future.


Really, I'm not worried about Harper doing real damage to Canada directly. I'm worried about him *stopping progress* for 5 years with a Majority government - but at least he won't fuck the economy while he's at it. I'm worried that 5 years of going nowhere will result in serious issue competing with India and China, the world's two real economic superpowers, who we're holding our own against adequately so far on the current course.

And, of course, Harper himself is a self-enriching Mulroney-Conservative - probably the most corrupt party in Canadian history. He then betrayed his party to become a member of the region-specific white-supremacist Reform party, then stabbed the leader of the party in the back in favour of Stockwell "Doris" Day[1], then undercut him to get the leadership. It's not exactly a good record for keeping his promises and NOT fucking things up.

[1]: A nasty piece of work on his own. The Doris story is hilarious, though.

[toku666.livejournal.com]

You should try e-mailing Kofi back.

Somebody I know e-mailed Suwa Arafat (yes, the wife of Yassir Arafat) back, asking why the e-mail came from Nigeria, and got involved in a very entertaining back-and-forth.

As much as I hate spamming and phishing, it's encouraging to know that some of them are willing to engage in full-on impersonation to get your "service fee."