tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20358187.post5806455179021267841..comments2023-10-22T09:18:16.885-04:00Comments on Far and Wide: Dion's "Star" In Trouble?Steve Vhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04871113039374739208noreply@blogger.comBlogger48125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20358187.post-74408930687984937692007-07-25T12:30:00.000-04:002007-07-25T12:30:00.000-04:00I can't see most of the by-elections being too int...I can't see most of the by-elections being too interesting to watch. There are some where if 'x' party gets a 'star' candidate and prays really hard they 'might' stand a chance to win it.Erichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14556765364730568391noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20358187.post-26221066124585712892007-07-25T10:10:00.000-04:002007-07-25T10:10:00.000-04:00steve:The NDP is not a force in Quebec so their op...steve:<BR/><BR/>The NDP is not a force in Quebec so their opinions of any controversy is irrelevant.<BR/><BR/>It should be noted that we have seen at least two polls released following the announcement of Mr. Mulclair's candidacy. The NDP has not increased its support in that province.<BR/><BR/>Currently, the NDP is sitting at around 10-12%, +/- an MOE of around 6%, in Quebec, and conventional wisdom states that their support is mainly in Montreal.<BR/><BR/>The Liberals are sitting around 22-24% (again with a large MOE) and the same conventional wisdom states that most of it is in Montreal. So the Dippers would have a problem winning this seat even if all of their support turned out to be in Outrement, which of course it is not.<BR/><BR/>The Conservatives have never done well in Outrement, even during the Mulroney landslide of 1984 and the Bloc is a non-entity in that riding.<BR/><BR/>I have said it once and I will say it again. If the Liberals can comfortably win that seat running a reformed separatist during the worst political scandal to hit the Liberals in its history, they should not have too many problems this time.<BR/><BR/>That is not to say it will be a cake walk and that the Liberals will not have to put together a good campaign. However, if they can put together a reasonably competent campaign they will not have any problems.ottlibhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12695135535019042279noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20358187.post-57775730399134405312007-07-25T05:54:00.000-04:002007-07-25T05:54:00.000-04:00B'Nai Brith should be publicly chastised for inter...B'Nai Brith should be publicly chastised for interfering in the democratic process. If they wish they can campaign for another candidate but to see them publicly try to have a candidate removed fromt the ballot makes me wonder what kinds of inappropriate influence they try to exert behind the scenes. Perhaps we should all have to take a test before we vote to ensure that our views make us acceptable voters.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20358187.post-86415830720319860792007-07-24T18:33:00.000-04:002007-07-24T18:33:00.000-04:00Dan, Huh?Whaaa?Dan, <BR/><BR/><I>Huh?</I><BR/><BR/>Whaaa?Olafhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12434267803807108634noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20358187.post-51536980669511928892007-07-24T16:40:00.000-04:002007-07-24T16:40:00.000-04:00What do you expect from Bnai Brith?Their National ...What do you expect from Bnai Brith?<BR/><BR/>Their National Director is Frank Dimant. Dimant's son, Ari Dimant,has been on the payroll of Stockwell Day.<BR/><BR/>Is it any wonder that Bnai Brith is constantly issuing anti-Liberal and pro-Tory comuniques??<BR/><BR/>Perhaps its time for Bnai Brith members to call for an internal invetigation into the Dimant's family fiancial ties to Stockwell Day.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20358187.post-19898214574685297922007-07-24T16:21:00.000-04:002007-07-24T16:21:00.000-04:00"That's the spirit!!!"Huh?"That's the spirit!!!"<BR/><BR/>Huh?Dan McKenziehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16070628161551970252noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20358187.post-56453535049166424102007-07-24T16:05:00.000-04:002007-07-24T16:05:00.000-04:00Congrats! Your family must be proud.Congrats! Your family must be proud.Steve Vhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04871113039374739208noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20358187.post-62237955159802234742007-07-24T15:52:00.000-04:002007-07-24T15:52:00.000-04:00Steve,How is that LSAT going?Fantastic! After much...Steve,<BR/><BR/><I>How is that LSAT going?</I><BR/><BR/>Fantastic! After much pleading and a rather sizable financial donation, I have been accepted to study at the prestegious North West Nunavut College for the Blind Law School! Or, the NWNCBLS, as you might know it.Olafhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12434267803807108634noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20358187.post-44521396085995312062007-07-24T15:46:00.000-04:002007-07-24T15:46:00.000-04:00Dan,Dion's going to reach 33% with or without fema...Dan,<BR/><BR/><I>Dion's going to reach 33% with or without female appointments. </I><BR/><BR/>That's the spirit!!!Olafhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12434267803807108634noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20358187.post-27778713401683756482007-07-24T15:30:00.000-04:002007-07-24T15:30:00.000-04:00"Also, as a side note, how does Dion hope to achie..."Also, as a side note, how does Dion hope to achieve his 1/3 female quota if he keeps on spending his legitimacy getting male candidates into (relatively) safe ridings? Rae, Kennedy,Coulon. <BR/><BR/>Sorry, I know this is off topic (feel free to ignore), but it seems to me that there's only a certain amount of democratic capital that a party leader can spend before the troops get antsy, and if Dion doesn't start using whatever he has left on female candidates, I'm not sure how he hopes to fulfil that promise. Perhaps he has no intention to do so."<BR/><BR/>Dion's going to reach 33% with or without female appointments. And a couple weeks ago Linda Julien said they would be making female appointments in addition to Martha Hall Findlay.<BR/><BR/>Oh and Dennis might not technically be a Tory, but he's certainly a right-wing hack.Dan McKenziehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16070628161551970252noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20358187.post-59847017434214962492007-07-24T14:35:00.000-04:002007-07-24T14:35:00.000-04:00Additonal note to ottlib's comment about Jewish Mo...Additonal note to ottlib's comment about Jewish Montreal and Israel. Montreal also has the second largest Hasidic community in North America, a community that is largely anti-Zionist. That community also largely resides within Outremont (and Mile-End).<BR/><BR/>Just something else to consider.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20358187.post-42962526144560285942007-07-24T14:29:00.000-04:002007-07-24T14:29:00.000-04:00"Hold on... I think I... almost there.... YES! I D..."Hold on... I think I... almost there.... YES! I DO get it!!!"<BR/><BR/>How is that LSAT going? :)Steve Vhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04871113039374739208noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20358187.post-60943090296859685802007-07-24T14:22:00.000-04:002007-07-24T14:22:00.000-04:00Steve,Isn't this a "handpicked" candidate? GET IT ...Steve,<BR/><BR/><I>Isn't this a "handpicked" candidate? GET IT :)</I><BR/><BR/>Hold on... I think I... almost there.... YES! I DO get it!!!<BR/><BR/>And yes, it seems to be a handpicked candidate - now, all you need is to find someone who said the Liberals should never have "handpicked" candidates, or that Coulon was illegitimate due to undemocratic nature of his handpickedness, while also suggesting that the Conservatives should be able to, cheering Duguay's handpicking as perfectly legitimate and in keeping with the principles of democracy, and you'd have a pretty clear cut case for a double standard prosecution. <BR/><BR/>But, I warn you, don't fall into the Canadian Cynic logical fallacy, which works out as follows: find one "conservative" who said something, then another unrelated "conservative" who said something else, and then combine the two identities as if they were one in order to claim hypocrisy.Olafhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12434267803807108634noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20358187.post-29055189051010080442007-07-24T14:15:00.000-04:002007-07-24T14:15:00.000-04:00"Perhaps you had to hold back your partisanship fo..."Perhaps you had to hold back your partisanship for so long in writing this post that it had to be released at the very next opportunity. :)"<BR/><BR/>LOL. I assumed dennis is a Tory, given his comments.Steve Vhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04871113039374739208noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20358187.post-49494975822295023502007-07-24T14:13:00.000-04:002007-07-24T14:13:00.000-04:00Isn't this a "handpicked" candidate? GET IT :)Isn't this a "handpicked" candidate? GET IT :)Steve Vhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04871113039374739208noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20358187.post-87661301683588025032007-07-24T14:08:00.000-04:002007-07-24T14:08:00.000-04:00Steve,I don't get your point about Duguay. Please...Steve,<BR/><BR/>I don't get your point about Duguay. Please spell it out for me as if I were a small child.Olafhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12434267803807108634noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20358187.post-20656247467708501132007-07-24T14:04:00.000-04:002007-07-24T14:04:00.000-04:00Steve,Oh bull. Why isn't Fortier running in this b...Steve,<BR/><BR/><I>Oh bull. Why isn't Fortier running in this by-election? You can't make a "undemocratically handpicked" comment about the Liberals, when you have a "undemocratically handpicked" minister in your government, who now has a opportunity for legitimacy, but takes a pass. The co-relation is STRONG :)<BR/></I><BR/><BR/>In "your government"? Whose government? Mine? Dennis'? I think he's non-partisan, and even if he weren't, he wouldn't have much sway over Harper, nor does that excludes him from criticizing the Liberals on a post about the Liberals, does it? At least no more than it excludes Liberals from criticizing Harper on the environment, ne pas?<BR/><BR/>It's the "the other guy is worse" line that you've consistently chided the Tories for. Just saying is all. <BR/><BR/><I>It is also ironic that I'm accused of a double standard, in a post that your blogging Tory friends have linked too, as evidence of my lack of "partisanship". You can't win apparently.</I><BR/><BR/>No, you can't. And I'm not criticizing your post, just your response to Dennis' rather reasonable comment. Perhaps you had to hold back your partisanship for so long in writing this post that it had to be released at the very next opportunity. :)Olafhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12434267803807108634noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20358187.post-28181580379214035242007-07-24T13:57:00.000-04:002007-07-24T13:57:00.000-04:00ottlibI'm not assuming anything of the sort. My c...ottlib<BR/><BR/>I'm not assuming anything of the sort. My commentary is merely the idea of controversy surrounding our candidate. I am of the view that the Liberals win if the campaign is uneventful. If there is turmoil and controversy, it could be damaging. All you have to do is ask yourself one question today- are NDP strategists in Quebec happy or unhappy about these developments? The answer is my only point, not the substance of the narrow views of a interest group.Steve Vhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04871113039374739208noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20358187.post-30658690428591667822007-07-24T13:54:00.001-04:002007-07-24T13:54:00.001-04:00Isn't this timely to the double-standard discussio...Isn't this timely to the double-standard <A HREF="http://www.macleans.ca/canada/wire/article.jsp?content=n072426A" REL="nofollow">discussion</A>:<BR/><BR/>The Conservative Party of Canada is putting its faith in a former diplomat to run in a federal byelection in the Montreal riding of Outremont.<BR/>A Conservative party official says the party is set to <B>announce</B> Gilles Duguay, a former ambassador such countries as Morocco and Cameroon, as its candidate during a news conference on Wednesday.<BR/><BR/>Too perfect.Steve Vhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04871113039374739208noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20358187.post-2288184154886831372007-07-24T13:54:00.000-04:002007-07-24T13:54:00.000-04:00Steve:Your question assumes that Jews are monolith...Steve:<BR/><BR/>Your question assumes that Jews are monolithic in their thinking towards the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.<BR/><BR/>Or specifically, you assume that a majority of Jews think like B'nai Brith.<BR/><BR/>If that were the case then the Liberals would have lost the Jewish vote many years ago because of the balanced approach that they have taken since Trudeau.<BR/><BR/>There are some Jews that will not vote Liberal but for the most part they probably did not anyway.<BR/><BR/>By and large however, the Jewish folks of Montreal are an enlightened people who temper their support for Israel with other concerns, unlike the single issue lobby organization that is B'nai Brith.ottlibhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12695135535019042279noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20358187.post-54370993090008770722007-07-24T13:51:00.000-04:002007-07-24T13:51:00.000-04:00"Weak. You constantly (and rightly, I think) censu..."Weak. You constantly (and rightly, I think) censure the Tories for their feeble "yea, but the Liberal's are worse" talking point, and yet you have no qualms using it yourself."<BR/><BR/>Oh bull. Why isn't Fortier running in this by-election? You can't make a "undemocratically handpicked" comment about the Liberals, when you have a "undemocratically handpicked" minister in your government, who now has a opportunity for legitimacy, but takes a pass. The co-relation is STRONG :)<BR/><BR/>It is also ironic that I'm accused of a double standard, in a post that your blogging tory friends have linked too, as evidence of my lack of "partisanship". You can't win apparently.Steve Vhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04871113039374739208noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20358187.post-69221731062364435792007-07-24T13:16:00.000-04:002007-07-24T13:16:00.000-04:00Steve,BTW, I wouldn't get too uppity about "forego...Steve,<BR/><BR/><I>BTW, I wouldn't get too uppity about "forego democracy" given our current PM's behavior. Why isn't Fortier running? </I><BR/><BR/>Weak. You constantly (and rightly, I think) censure the Tories for their feeble "yea, but the Liberal's are worse" talking point, and yet you have no qualms using it yourself. I think Dennis' comments are legitimate regardless of Harper's behaviour, which is at best incidental to Dion's.<BR/><BR/>Also, as a side note, how does Dion hope to achieve his 1/3 female quota if he keeps on spending his legitimacy getting male candidates into (relatively) safe ridings? Rae, Kennedy,Coulon. <BR/><BR/>Sorry, I know this is off topic (feel free to ignore), but it seems to me that there's only a certain amount of democratic capital that a party leader can spend before the troops get antsy, and if Dion doesn't start using whatever he has left on female candidates, I'm not sure how he hopes to fulfil that promise. Perhaps he has no intention to do so.Olafhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12434267803807108634noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20358187.post-57163102539810820612007-07-24T11:18:00.000-04:002007-07-24T11:18:00.000-04:00I have to agree with anon at 8:13 AM, July 24, 200...I have to agree with anon at 8:13 AM, July 24, 2007. I have real problems with those that clearly are primarily concerned with the issues in a foreign country in how they vote for domestic politicians in this country. Israel is not Canada, this man is running for a Canadian federal political seat and not an Israeli one, and this is the same sort of approach of making any criticism of Israeli government actions verboten/proof of anti-Semitism by any political candidate that led to the dominance of American foreign policy in favour of all things Israel. I judge whether a Canadian politician is fit by how they deal with Canadian issues, not those of other nations. B'Nai Brith is acting as a political actor in our domestic politics as a lobbyist for a foreign nation with this sort of behaviour, and I find that at least as offensive as their claims of being offended by this candidate.Scotianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06284856315992405261noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20358187.post-72143238631506701892007-07-24T08:13:00.000-04:002007-07-24T08:13:00.000-04:00I really have no interest in hearing the complaint...I really have no interest in hearing the complaints or for that matter the endorsments of ANY group which is more concerned about a foreign nation than they are about the country they live in. <BR/><BR/>I hear a lot of the "you're either with us or against us" mentality in many statements coming out of groups like B'nai Brith and that annoys me in its Bushness.<BR/><BR/> There is also the ever present threat of declaring someone an Anti Semite if they should dare to question the actions of Isreal. People can choose the side of reason and peace and quite easily disagree with both Isreal and Hamas.<BR/><BR/>Free thought/speach and hate mongering are two distinctly different things and Canadian law not a lobby group should be deciding which is which.<BR/><BR/>B'nai Brith should be watched closely and sued if they cross the line to slander/liable.<BR/><BR/>Isreali news is much more questioning, reflective and cutting than anything you would hear in North America about Isreal all because of the threat of being labeled. <BR/><BR/>It's so prevalent that I'm surprised that anyone would even post about Isreal using their real id.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20358187.post-56204975992968720792007-07-24T07:49:00.000-04:002007-07-24T07:49:00.000-04:00"Steve, do you seriously believe that the entire b..."Steve, do you seriously believe that the entire black and white, 'with Israel or against them' only began with Stephen Harper?"<BR/><BR/>No, but Harper seems to have an affinity for simplistic logic, that doesn't recognize shades of gray.Steve Vhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04871113039374739208noreply@blogger.com