47 Replies to “Reader Tips”

  1. Former CBC broooaadcaster Don Newman has offered to host a one-on-one debate between Stephen Harper and Michael Ignatieff.
    In related news, Don Hatfield has offered to referee a fight between Michael Hatfield and Stephen McCoy.

  2. http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/CanadaVotes/News/2011/03/31/17829881.html
    Prof behind CBC’s voter quiz worked for Iggy
    OTTAWA – The CBC keeps things in the family.
    The state broadcaster built an online voting tool that’s under fire for having a Liberal bias.
    And it turns out one of the key people behind CBC’s Vote Compass worked as a policy advisor on Michael Ignatieff’s Liberal leadership campaign in 2006.
    Peter Loewen, assistant professor of political science at the University of Toronto, is also the director of analytics for the CBC’s online vote selection tool. Vote Compass, a 30 question online tool, is supposed to give voters an idea of what party they are most closely aligned. Critics say it’s biased towards the Liberals.
    “I volunteered in 2006,” Loewen says of his work for Ignatieff’s first failed bid for the Liberal leadership. “The nature of that work was that I wrote a couple of policy papers on equalization.”
    Loewen denies that his work then has any bearing on the outcome of the Vote Compass now or that the vote picking tool leans to the party he once worked with. Critics from the left and the right have claimed the Vote Compass is flawed.
    Professor Kathy Brock of Queen’s University told QMI Agency on Tuesday that the CBC’s web program gives users a default position of Liberal. NDP critics have said it points their voters to the Liberals or Greens.
    Loewen dismisses Brock’s criticism but refused to say whether those using the tool were showing up Liberal in greater numbers.
    “We don’t have a representative sample,” Loewen said, “They come to us through the CBC website.”
    CBC has been pushing the voter selection guide on its main network and its all-news channel. In one video promotion, show host George Stroumboulopoulous tells viewers to take the test, “In about five minutes you will know who represents you the best. You might actually be surprised.”
    Some participants are very surprised, mostly to find out they are Liberal.
    On Wednesday, CBC responded to the criticism by airing a report that showed students filling out the questionnaire. One student who said she thought of herself as more Conservative came up as a Liberal, another who thought he was more of an NDP supporter also came out Liberal.
    Loewen told QMI Agency he had no role in the placement of the parties in the standings or that he is politically biased, noting that he once bought a $100 ticket to a Stephen Harper fundraiser.
    “I’m a political scientist, I study elections, I study how people vote,” Loewen said.
    CBC has defended the Vote Compass. A spokesperson for the CBC said they had nothing to do with the methodology.

  3. These debates are over-rated anyway, what we need in Canada is a real debate about policy that actually deals with the irrational nature of most accepted “consensus” politics, and none of these people are up for that.
    There might be room to speculate as to what any given person thinks about global warming, multiculturalism or spending two billion dollars to keep a few hippies away from a building, but we won’t really be hearing anything about that, instead it will be twee about day care that everyone knows won’t actually happen, plans for the environment that are neither necessary nor feasible, and welcoming millions of people to our shores whether we really want them or not, just to get a few people elected.
    And media pundits will spend endless hours analyzing in detail every facial expression, every forceful jab of the finger, every ten second sound bite, as if any of it actually matters, which in almost every case, it does not.
    Still, approached as comedy, these debates are sometimes passable entertainment.

  4. Also, the cover of the latest Macleans Magazine states that Libya is in the middle east. Doesn’t anyone at Macleans have a globe to look at to tell them it’s in North Africa?

  6. A number of months ago, I read an article (not sure if it was here) along the lines of “the last time Ignatieff was in Canada, the ATM hadn’t been invented” or some much. Anyone remember that, and where it was posted?

  8. From (SF) Baghdad of the West Coast,
    Jeff Adachi writes:

    “I’m seen as a liberal progressive,
    a rage against the machine person,”
    he said this past week from his office downtown.
    “If you care about social programs or the network of social support services,
    you have to understand that local and state union pensions and benefit costs are crowding out all these other services.”

    no comment..

  9. Hhhmmmm, just did the CBC Voter Compass survey for the second time. The first time I came out Conservative, which is correct; tonight’s response said that I’m LIBERAL. That device is *crooked.*
    Why is it still up on the CBC site?

  10. off topic i know but that video of dee dee…and those dancers behind her?…the one in the middle?….you know i’m fairly confident in fact i’m positive i planked her somewhere sometime back then…sometimes it’s NOT a blur you see.
    anyhow mashed potatoes butter and sour cream ain’t even close to it babies.

  12. Healthcare, education, daycare… Has anyone told Iggy that the provincial election in Ontario is not until this Fall?

  13. Temperature tonight @ 10:00 PM CST, Eureka Station, Nunavut. -31C°
    Do icebergs melt at that temp????

  16. Yes, MSMcDQai (12:13), potatoes. The plural of potato is potatoes. Potatos isn’t a word, albeit it might be the name of some tiny island in the Aegean Sea.
    As for Quayle, he famously told a kid to add an “e” to the end of “potato.”

  17. It’s Time for the Jews to Stand Up for Themselves
    I was not looking forward to my speech at Brooklyn College last night during “Israel Apartheid Week.” The campus atmosphere was so hostile to Jews that no student organization was willing to host my appearance, not even the Jewish organizations – and with 3,500 Jewish students on campus,
    http://tinyurl.com/3rskqwk

  18. In other news, Brian Burke has offered to referee the rest of the Leafs games.
    Willie Pickton’s mom has offered to sit as the Judge in Willie’s appeal.
    A Liberal dominated committee has offered to judge made up contempt charges against their opponent. (oh wait, this one is true. Never mind)

  19. Former CBC broooaadcaster Don Newman offering to host a one-on-one debate between Stephen Harper and Michael Ignatieff?
    LOL!
    That’s two against one, Don. But, nice try.

  20. Neo-AGW Progress Report.
    Bat remains: Guano footprint for Lizard Red-Green May.
    …-
    “Wind turbine threat to bat populations costing farmers billions each year”
    “Thousands of bats have been killed by wind turbines causing a population decline that could cost the farming industry billions each year, experts claim.
    The nocturnal creatures are welcomed by farmers across the world as they eat large numbers of insects that usually damage crops.
    This reduces the amount that farmers have to spend on pesticides and saves millions of new plants that could be obliterated by the creepy crawlies.”
    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1372235/Wind-turbine-threat-bat-populations-costing-farmers-billions-year.html
    http://www.bluelikeyou.com/2011/03/31/canadians-tired-of-minority-governments/#comment-68690

  21. (For some reason, many of my comments get caught in the filters. Anyway, not sure if this made it through or not so reposting today.)

    JUXTAPOSE:

    President Bush Announcing Invasion of Iraq
    March 19, 2003 (runtime 4:22)

    President Obama’s Speech on Libya
    March 28, 2011 (runtime 26:33)

  22. Excerpt from Ezra’s column in the Ottawa Sun:
    “Try it out yourself. If you answer neutrally or ‘no opinion’ to every question, it tells you you’re for Michael Ignatieff.
    “Not surprisingly, the CBC has stonewalled requests to release their formula.
    “Why the secrecy? CBC spokesman Jeff Keay said there is no bias, ‘as far as we know.’ What does that mean? Has Keay even seen the formula? Whose word is he taking that it’s fair?
    “Perhaps he’s taking the word of Peter Loewen, the ‘director of analytics’ for the Vote Compass. Loewen just happens to have been a policy adviser for Michael Ignatieff’s 2006 Liberal leadership campaign.
    “No bias?
    “Or maybe Keay is taking the word of Richard Johnston, on Vote Compass’s advisory board. Last month Johnston savaged Stephen Harper in the press, claiming he was destroying the ‘integrity’ of government.
    “No bias?”
    Read the whole thing here.

  23. Last night at Scotiabank place Ontario Land Owners Association’s Jack McLaren ( in an overwhelming vote) upset affable 34 year political veteran Norm Sterling for the Conservative Provincial nomination.
    Long live the Ontario Land Owners association and it’s radicals! :O)

  24. “Mashed potatoes” – The recipe used by early European Manitoban imigrants for making “moonshine”, “Vodka” or “moosemilk”, eh?

  25. PET Cemetery Report.
    Today’s Feature:
    Citoyen/Citizen of the World Liberal Count Ignatieff.
    …-
    “Ignatieff: Harper blew Canada’s chance with the UN security council
    Toronto Star”
    …-
    “UN takes the blame for condom shortage
    Daily Nation – Gatonye Gathura – ‎10 hours ago‎
    At a press conference in Nairobi yesterday called by UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon, it also emerged that the specialised agency was facing what UNAids executive director Michel Sidibé called systemic planning and procurement problems.”

  26. I read the news today, oh boy (apologies to John Lennon). Is it just me or is it harder every year to discern which article is the real April Fools joke in the paper?

  27. PET Cemetery Trust Survey.
    Our topic: Trust.
    Questions:
    1. Which provincial Premier does not trust Liberal Count Ignatieff’s word?
    2. Which provincial Premier does not trust Taliban Jack LaytoNDP’s word?
    3. Which provincial Premier trusts PM Harper’s word?
    …-
    “Dunderdale said she has sent letters to the Liberal and NDP leaders, asking if they’ll make the same promise.
    “I have a letter going to Mr. Ignatieff early in the week, as well as to Mr. Layton asking for their endorsement and the promise of a loan guarantee as well,” she said Thursday.
    Dunderdale told reporters she’s confident Harper will be re-elected and she said it’s a promise she doesn’t need in writing.”
    “Swift N.L., Que. reaction to Harper’s hydro endorsement”
    http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/story/2011/04/01/nl-harper-reax-401.html
    http://www.bluelikeyou.com/2011/04/01/whos-lying-now/#comment-68723

  28. @maz2
    Why must you do that? (post links to your own identical comments on other blogs)

  30. Amnesty blasts Tories’ record on human rights
    Notes unflinching support for Israel
    This was the headline on an absolutely putrid article this morning. (http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/canada/amnesty-blasts-tories-record-on-human-rights-119048124.html)
    While dictators around the world turn their armies against their own people, Amnesty has time to find fault with the PM’s “grammatically awkward” answer to a question about whether he personally favored the death penalty.
    Why does anyone give any money to this wretched organization?

  31. Re: Paul’s comment (10:10 pm) on Vote Compass / Peter Loewen (a policy advisor for Ig’s 2006 leadership campaign).
    “We don’t have a representative sample,” Loewen said, “They come to us through the CBC website.”
    Even Loewen says the CBC crowd does not represent Canada.

  32. Am I the only person who remembers the liberals writing cheques for hundreds of millions of dollars for r&d and to secure order slots for the same jets they’re slagging Harper for ordering?

  33. *From Our CBC:
    >>> “*Ignatieff: ‘Polls don’t matter’”.
    Why won’t the talk ’bout My Separatist Coalition go away?
    Why is Moi O’Harvard buddy dropping in the polls?**
    …-
    CFRA On-Line Poll.
    “Is a vote for the Liberals a vote for a Liberal/NDP government supported by the Bloc?”
    Yes, and I see nothing wrong with that
    3.64%
    Yes, and the fact Ignatieff is telling voters he will make no such arrangement means the Governor General should turn him down if he does make an attempt
    82.3%
    No. I believe Ignatieff when he says he has no intention of forming a coalition
    11.1%
    Other
    2.87%”
    http://www.cfra.com/
    …-
    “**A clueless presidency adrift in a sea of confusion: Barack Obama sinks again at the polls”
    “This week’s Quinnipiac University national poll should be devastating reading for the White House, against a background of mounting confusion over Libya, paralysis in the face of a massive national debt and deep-seated economic problems, and a possible shutdown of Congress. Liberal hopes of an Obama recovery in the first half of 2012 following disastrous midterm elections in November are proving short-lived. According to the Quinnipiac survey, Obama is now at the lowest approval level of his presidency, with his weakest reelect score ever:
    American voters disapprove 48 – 42 percent of the job President Barack Obama is doing and say 50 – 41 percent he does not deserve to be re-elected in 2012, both all-time lows, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today. This compares to a 46 – 46 percent job approval rating and a 45 – 47 percent split on the President’s re-election in a March 3 survey by the independent Quinnipiac University. In a hypothetical 2012 matchup, President Obama gets 36 percent of the vote to 37 percent for an unnamed Republican challenger.”
    http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/nilegardiner/100082108/a-clueless-presidency-adrift-in-a-sea-of-confusion-barack-obama-sinks-again-at-the-polls/
    …-
    Add To Keeper Quote: “*Ignatieff: ‘Polls don’t matter’”.
    http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2011/02/22/pol-polls-ignatieff.html

  34. Of Liberal Count Ignatieff’s O’Harvard buddy.
    …-
    “A clueless presidency adrift in a sea of confusion: Barack Obama sinks again at the polls”
    “This week’s Quinnipiac University national poll should be devastating reading for the White House, against a background of mounting confusion over Libya, paralysis in the face of a massive national debt and deep-seated economic problems, and a possible shutdown of Congress. Liberal hopes of an Obama recovery in the first half of 2012 following disastrous midterm elections in November are proving short-lived. According to the Quinnipiac survey, Obama is now at the lowest approval level of his presidency, with his weakest reelect score ever:
    American voters disapprove 48 – 42 percent of the job President Barack Obama is doing and say 50 – 41 percent he does not deserve to be re-elected in 2012, both all-time lows, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today. This compares to a 46 – 46 percent job approval rating and a 45 – 47 percent split on the President’s re-election in a March 3 survey by the independent Quinnipiac University. In a hypothetical 2012 matchup, President Obama gets 36 percent of the vote to 37 percent for an unnamed Republican challenger.
    President Obama receives strong negativity ratings for his handling of virtually all key issues, including the economy, budget deficit, health care, foreign policy and energy policy.”
    http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/nilegardiner/100082108/a-clueless-presidency-adrift-in-a-sea-of-confusion-barack-obama-sinks-again-at-the-polls/

  35. @maz2
    Do you even read what you post?
    (Sorry Kate, but Geez! Those massive drive-by link dumps are becoming ridiculous. Someone needs to start his own blog…)
    /rant off

  37. Will the Opposition Rebuttal this one from PM Harper? Chirp Chirp.
    PM Harper says he’ll srap the per vote subsidy.
    http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/tired-of-constant-campaigns-harper-says-hell-scrap-per-vote-subsidy/article1966951/
    Tired of constant campaigns, Harper says he’ll scrap per-vote subsidy
    STEVEN CHASE, GLORIA GALLOWAY and LES PERREAUX
    DIEPPE, N.B., and SUDBURY— Globe and Mail Update
    Published Friday, Apr. 01, 2011 11:19AM EDT
    Stephen Harper is blaming per-vote taxpayer subsidies for causing frequent elections and is promising to cut this assistance if he wins a majority government.
    Political parties have in a short number of years become dependent on this public allowance that was introduced at the same time corporate and union donations were banned.
    “It is partly in my view this per-vote subsidy – this enormous cheque that keeps piling into political parties every month, whether they raise any money or not – that means we’re constantly having campaigns,” the Conservative Leader told a campaign stop near Moncton.
    **IMO: I hope that is repeated Loud & Clear, Lets hear what the Other Leaders have to say Afterall that was a the crux of the issue when Dion tried his Coup de tant
    NO MORE POLITICAL PARTY WELFARE CHEQUES, they want more for their social programs! Well its available, NO MORE POLITICAL PARTY WELFARE CHEQUES go out & raise it on your own.

  42. I wonder what ‘online boycott of Godaddy’ actually means. Is that like, DDOS attack, which is a felony offense?
    Verdict: Guilty of providing protein rich food for African population.
    PETA against African children. That’s rich.

  43. Neo-AGW Progress Report: ‘Nother dump.
    The bestest part is:
    “A number of Democrats refused to attend due to other legislation voted the same day to declare state employees to be employed at-will rather than having collective bargaining rights.”
    “New Hampshire House Votes to Quit Cap-and-Trade”
    “The New Hampshire House of Representatives, the third largest legislative body in the world, voted yesterday to end the state’s participation in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative cap-and-trade program. The House voted 251-108 after less than 5 minutes of debate to repeal the law under which the state joined RGGI.”
    http://wattsupwiththat.com/2011/03/31/new-hampshire-house-votes-to-quit-cap-and-trade/
    …-
    “Another Big Snowstorm Next Week… Seriously?”
    “The prospect for more snow is the last thing most people want to hear right now… we apologize.”
    http://www.accuweather.com/blogs/news/story/47787/another-big-snowstorm-next-wee.asp

  45. Dumping Liberal Count Ignatieff.
    Iggyots “stunned”.
    …-
    “Longtime Liberal jumping to Conservatives”
    “Winnipeg School Trustee and longtime Liberal Joyce Bateman is expected to announce on Friday that she will run as the Conservative candidate in Winnipeg South Centre — against another longtime Liberal, MP Anita Neville.
    Dougald Lamont, who volunteers for the party and always considered Bateman a staunch Liberal, says many in the party feel betrayed.”
    http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/story/2011/04/01/mb-bateman-swtich-parties-election-winnipeg.html

  47. We’ve put up an interactive map of the leaders tours at http://ipolitics.ca/2011/03/31/ipolitics-interactive-map-reveals-strategy-behind-leaders-tours/
    When you click on the full map you can zoom in on various areas. When you click on a pinpoint it gives you info about the event and the stats for that riding.
    It’s already giving a surprising glimpse into the tour strategies – who is going after Conservative ridings, who is going after ridings they almost lost, who’s going after ridings where they placed second.

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