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Vancouver Election 2008 is right around the corner — fun times for political junkies like myself. As Raul would say, it’s time to put the public back in public policy.
Our city is in worse shape than it was before the last election. To its credit, the city is developing more social housing and devoting more resources to quelling the public disorder that shocks and awes tourists as well as longtime residents who remember happier times. But on the whole, it’s clear that a lot more work needs to be done to tackle poverty, homelessness, the drug trade, crime and related social ills to make this city livable for all citizens.
Vancouver doesn’t have the resources to take on all these problems on its own, but the city does need to provide direction. What’s the next step? You decide. Take a PollDaddy poll or comment below.
How can Vancouver’s politicians help create a civil city?
( surveys)
Plenty, according to the Guardian’s Nick Cohen. His thesis is that the American liberal media are solely responsible for turning a Barack Obama coronation into an Obama-McCain horse race — solely because of their negative reporting on Governor Sarah Palin’s family.
It’s important to note that, as a British pundit, Cohen takes the existence of liberal media bias for granted. And the Guardian isn’t exactly known for having right-wing sympathies. So his analysis is definitely worth paying some attention to.
I think you’ll find that this particular passage will have some resonance for the just-started Canadian campaign:
American liberals are no different from the politically committed the world over. David Cameron knew that he would never be Prime Minister until he had killed the urgent hatred of the Conservative party in liberal England. A measure of his success is that hardly anyone now is caught up by the once ubiquitous feeling that no compromise is too great if it stops the Tories regaining power. Hate can sell better than hope.
When a hate campaign goes wrong, however, disaster follows. And everything that could go wrong with the campaign against Palin did. American liberals forgot that the public did not know her. By the time she spoke at the Republican convention, journalists had so lowered expectations that a run-of-the-mill speech would have been enough to win the evening.
Presumably there are some Liberal Party strategists who read the Guardian. And if they do, I hope and trust that they read Nick Cohen’s place, and realize that “Harper is scary / Hidden Agenda” as a political strategy is more likely to backfire on them than not.


I just couldn't resit not sharing this one with you.
They are literally comparing Obama to Christ Himself, and Palin to the man who condemned Him to the Cross.
They are literally comparing Obama to Christ Himself, and Palin to the man who condemned Him to the Cross.



Unacceptable. You need to have your plane on the tarmac, and jet off somewhere on the first day of a campaign. Why?Daniel Lauzon, a spokesman for the Liberal Party, confirmed that its jet, rented from Montreal-based Air Inuit, won’t be ready until Wednesday. Mr. Dion will meanwhile travel with journalists by bus to campaign events in central Ontario and Quebec.
It never hurts to get an outsider’s perspective, and so I figured it might be a good idea to see if the PM’s election announcement made some waves in the international press. As it turns out, there’s coverage in the New York Times, CNN, and the BBC. Not surprisingly, however, there’s no mention of the election call in the online versions of the Times of London, the Daily Telegraph, or the Guardian (at least, none that I can find). Such is the prominence of Canada on the world scene, I’m afraid.
For the most part, the three news stories I’ve linked to have been pretty fair about the three party leaders, although the BBC still gets the bit about the fixed-date election law wrong. (They can be forgiven for this, since if you had to put something together in a hurry, you’d have gotten the same impression from the way the election law was covered.) The Times piece is especially a fair job. Let me quote:
Mr. Harper is not charismatic and often appears irritated, particularly when he is challenged. But his personal approval ratings in pre-election polls are significantly higher than those of Stéphane Dion, the Liberal leader. Mr. Harper was named potentially “the best prime minister” by 50 percent, compared with 20 percent for Mr. Dion.
Mr. Dion, a former academic, is entering his first election as party leader. He speaks English awkwardly, and even in French, his first language, Mr. Dion at a podium can sound as if he were still lecturing dryly on public administration and political science at the Université de Montréal.
Well, let’s face it: if the New York Times (one of the largest circulation newspapers in the world) describes you as either “not charismatic” or “irritated” or “speaking English awkwardly,” you can’t exactly say that your career as a statesman has set the world on fire, now can you?
The Times says he might be dead. Who knows?
Damian P.
From: "Docter Frinkster"
To: rphl_lxndr@yahoo.ca
Subject: You can run but you won't be able to hide
Unfortunately the Wordpress will not be allowing my last reply to you in that thread at Red Tory's.
Shame, because it thoroughly demolishes your faux sense of 'reasonableness', 'propriety' and 'civility'. Not to mention exposes your utter hypocrisy. It's actually much milder than my previous two replies.
As I did save it in anticipation that it would not be posted, I'll reproduce it here for you.
Be aware of two things (if you actually do read this and don't summarily delete upon receipt)
1) That reply has already been circulated among many blogging on the left side of the aisle. Not that they really needed any reminder that you are an utter, contemptible fraud.
and
2) I'll reproduce this comment where I see you posting your usual passive-aggresive 'who me?' comments on left-leaning blogs. I don't bluff, by the way.
Here it is...
Raph, clue phone is still ringing.
I'm not 'debating' you. There's never any 'debate' with you.
I'm mocking you.
If you care to attack my grasp on reality, try doing this.
Now, since you currently live in North Vancouver you have three Squamish
Band reserves within spitting distance. Pick one, any one. Then walk
into the community centre or council office and recite this,
in as loud a voice as you can muster, for them. Then also recite this.
Then come back here and tell us all about how those particular brown
people praised you for your deep, abiding, overly precious love for, and
understanding them. Not to mention how they appreciate, deeply and
profoundly, you make no notice of skin colour.
That pain you feel afterward? That's reality thoroughly kicking you in
your fraudulent, hypocritical, '5th generation Canadian' nutsack.
Heh. Fuck you three times, bay-by.
So, keep this in mind... don't tempt me.
Dr. Frink
I missed the first few rounds of my fantasy football draft, and the auto-draft gave me Tom Brady and Peyton Manning. One of them had to go if I wanted a top running back, so I traded Brady. Looks like I dodged a bullet:
Reigning NFL MVP Tom Brady left Sunday's game against Kansas City after being hit on the left leg, depriving the New England Patriots of the quarterback who last season led them to a 16-0 regular season and their fourth Super Bowl appearance in eight years.
The fear now is that Brady suffered damage to his ACL and MCL in his left knee, which would mean the Patriots quarterback would be sidelined eight months, reports NFL Network's Adam Schefter. More medical tests are pending Monday.
"It's not good," said a Patriots team source.
The NFL Network was reporting he was out for the season, but that apparently hasn't been confirmed. Patriot fans must be crying in their beer - looks good on 'em, doesn't it? - but don't forget what happened the last time the Pats' longtime starter went down:
A former fourth-stringer who was the 199th overall selection in the 2000 draft, Brady himself took over at quarterback when longtime starter Drew Bledsoe sustained a life-threatening chest injury in a 2001 game against the New York Jets. Brady led the Patriots to their first NFL title that year, another in 2003 and another in 2004.
Damian P.
I will let my letter to the station speak for itself.
He went on to talk about how this person was fighting in court to be able to continue to display this.
All this was fine and I agree with the DJ that the hanging doll was clearly a racist and disgusting display.
What I found very distasteful and upsetting was his remarks that this racist American was a frontrunner for the Republican vice presidential nomination but wasn’t good looking enough.
I know it was a joke, and the comments about him not being good looking enough may be considered male chauvinistic and I would not be writing if that was the joke. But it wasn’t. His comment about Republicans (and subtly by extension conservative minded people) as being racist or as considering a racist to be in a top position in their political hierarchy was extremely offensive.
I think this DJ owes all conservative minded people an apology.
Regards,
Harper and Layton survive, but Harper is on shakier ground with his party than before.
He was in majority territory in the final public polls taken, but undecideds and Tory leaners broke heavily for the Liberals once again. Some Tory insiders begin to anonymously raise the question of whether Harper is what stands between the party and a majority government.
*****
Harper and Layton survive, but Harper is on shakier ground with his party than before.
He was in majority territory in the final public polls taken, but undecideds and Tory leaners broke heavily for the Liberals once again. Some Tory insiders begin to anonymously raise the question of whether Harper is what stands between the party and a majority government.
*****
A new website has popped up recently whose sole mission is to literally stop the carbon tax. Read the content. Send the ecards to your friends. Email every Liberal MP in the country to tell them this is bad policy. Sign the petition. You can even become a fan on Facebook.
But whatever you do, above all else, tell your friends.
The mission was a brilliant success against substantial odds. The British press was justifiably proud of what has been called their largest logistics operation since World War II. These are precisely the sort of large-scale civil affairs/information operations, backed up with military strength and tactical ingenuity, that are required to turn this war around. Digging wells is nice, but pushing electricity to over a million people is even more effective. Yet as impressive as Operation Eagle Summit was, it will take more than just one civil affairs project, however dramatic, to defeat the Taliban, as The Economist notes in this editorial. I found the editorial a bit downbeat considering the unchallenged success of the mission, but we must be realistic that we are in for a long war.
The mission was a brilliant success against substantial odds. The British press was justifiably proud of what has been called their largest logistics operation since World War II. These are precisely the sort of large-scale civil affairs/information operations, backed up with military strength and tactical ingenuity, that are required to turn this war around. Digging wells is nice, but pushing electricity to over a million people is even more effective. Yet as impressive as Operation Eagle Summit was, it will take more than just one civil affairs project, however dramatic, to defeat the Taliban, as The Economist notes in this editorial. I found the editorial a bit downbeat considering the unchallenged success of the mission, but we must be realistic that we are in for a long war.


Back in Canada, Darryl Wolk, runs the headline: Sarah Palin was awesome! He adds:
After all the unfair media attacks, witch hunts in Alaska and criticism about her experience, Sarah Palin came out strong and confident yesterday, delivering the best speech at the Republican convention last night. I have to say she is impressive. Solid speaker (perhaps the female Obama on the teleprompter), ultra-Conservative and clearly a mom who puts family first. I think she has become a star and is a role model for females looking to enter politics. As a Conservative in Canada, I would love to see her hit the campaign trail with Harper for a couple days! Convention organizers for November should be trying to recruit her as the keynote speaker. I am still supporting Obama, but for the first time in this campaign, I think there is reason to get excited about the Republican ticket. Congratulations to Palin for delivering such a powerful and well executed speech under the circumstances she faced going into it. Awesome is all I have to say.

Back in Canada, Darryl Wolk, runs the headline: Sarah Palin was awesome! He adds:
After all the unfair media attacks, witch hunts in Alaska and criticism about her experience, Sarah Palin came out strong and confident yesterday, delivering the best speech at the Republican convention last night. I have to say she is impressive. Solid speaker (perhaps the female Obama on the teleprompter), ultra-Conservative and clearly a mom who puts family first. I think she has become a star and is a role model for females looking to enter politics. As a Conservative in Canada, I would love to see her hit the campaign trail with Harper for a couple days! Convention organizers for November should be trying to recruit her as the keynote speaker. I am still supporting Obama, but for the first time in this campaign, I think there is reason to get excited about the Republican ticket. Congratulations to Palin for delivering such a powerful and well executed speech under the circumstances she faced going into it. Awesome is all I have to say.

2 hours ago
OTTAWA — Stephen Harper has let the world in on a little secret - he thinks Democrat Barack Obama has the edge in the race for the White House.
"I've been following it very closely," the prime minister observed Sunday as he bantered with reporters just before his own campaign plane took off for Quebec City.
Pressed for a personal prediction on the outcome of the U.S. presidential race, Harper at first demurred, suggesting anything he said would be misinterpreted.
After a pause, however, he went on to admit: "I've always said it's the Democrats' to lose."
He was even less reticent about control of the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate, which are also up for grabs in the campaign south of the border.
"I still say it's the Democrats in a walk in Congress," he said.
Harper and his Conservative government were embarrassed last spring when a leaked Canadian diplomatic memo raised questions about Obama's stand on North American free trade.
The memo, purportedly based on a confidential conversation with an Obama aide, informed Ottawa that the Democratic candidate's past criticism of NAFTA was merely for U.S. political consumption and shouldn't be taken too literally.
The leak was widely seen as costing Obama the Ohio presidential primary then under way and sparked allegations that the Harper government was deliberately trying to undermine his candidacy.
The prime minister, who denied those assertions and later apologized to Obama over the affair, was more circumspect when Republican John McCain visited Ottawa in June.
Harper took care to be out of town at the time, as McCain painted himself as a free-trading ally of Canada in a speech to the Economic Club of Canada.
The prime minister said then that he'd held "good discussions" with both Obama and McCain in the past and considered them both friends of Canada.
He also said that although he was watching U.S. electoral developments with "great interest" he was also watching them with "great neutrality."
It now appears there are limits to his interest.
Asked Sunday whether he'd seen the Republican convention speech of vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin, Harper replied in the negative.
"I went to bed," he said. "I had a campaign to prepare."
OTTAWA - Canada's federal leaders have fanned out across the country after the nation was plunged into its third general election in little more than four years Sunday.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper pulled the plug on his minority government to ask voters for a fresh mandate as Canadians face growing global economic turbulence, a move that opened the political floodgates for an Oct. 14 vote. Harper's political opponents say the campaign will be a referendum on his leadership and the direction he has taken the country since the Conservatives won power in 2006.
And here we go. Let the games begin.
UPDATE: For the record, my initial prediction.
CONSERVATIVE: 131
LIBERAL: 96
BLOC QUEBECOIS: 50
NDP: 30
INDEPENDENT: 1
This is a basic prediction, though. I'll have a more detailed one in a few weeks, once we really see the direction of this campaign.
Either way, I agree with Jarrett on this one. Harper may have angered those who voted for him on a single issue (in my case, for example, Bill C-61), but it's not enough to make them park their vote elsewhere for the most part. At the same time, those who have shown the outrage of Harper being some secretive ideologue are people who wouldn't even vote Conservative if hell froze over, so their input has no real effect.
In the end, though, it will be a minority, not a majority, because, while Harper has been a competent PM, he hasn't dazzled. That will keep him from the magic number of 155 seats.
That said, if a Conservative majority happens- and I don't think it will- I predict that would be the product of Layton and/or May running strong campaigns moreso than Harper, effectively splitting the left into three different camps that are much, much closer in numbers, and much more fractured than they've ever been. In other words, for it to happen, Harper would need what Chretien had in the 1990s.