Canada election watch

[Canadian_watcher]

THIS WOULD destroy his base if it got out...all those 905 ers like my sister and her neighbours: they keep saying how 'we have to keep a good Christian in power in Ottawa...one that has a real family like us".

ohhhhh.. man. I've been trying really hard for years to block out the fact that these types live in Canada. Why must you burst my little bubble?

I didn't know that about the female Mountie. That is juicy. But yeah, overall I agree with Jeff on the private lives issue.

[DrVolin]

Also, we Greeks are grateful for such erudite historical references.

We Greeks did indeed cost them the 3 weeks in April that cost them Moscow in October. But it could have turned out quite differently. Balck, after his campaign in the Balkans (for synchronicity fans), urgently recommended that all transport echelons be outfitted with tracked vehicles, even at the cost of reducing the number of panzer divisions being deployed in the east. On the basis of the fighting in Greece, he argued that the spearheads would hopelessly outstrip their supplies. After leaving most of his equipment by the road (or trail) side on the Greek peninsula, he ended up getting two tanks (2) across a river on pontoons in Southern Greece, which prompted some British outposts to report the presence of a German panzer division where it wasn't expected. This secured the British retreat that ended with the airborne assault in Crete. It had already been a close run thing in France, but the tight and relatively high quality road net there had allowed the Germans to avoid disaster. Greece should have urgently clarified the lesson. No one listened to Balck. Had OKW learned from his experience, instead of costing the Germans the war, the Greeks might have taught them how to win it.

Go NDP.

[Jeff]

Frank Graves of EKOS Research is teasing about current data being polled, to be released tomorrow:

For the curious here are some hints from our results from yesterday. The race is very tight , Liberal bleeding has stopped,

another tidbit from the last 3 day roll . it would take less movement to produce an outright NDP win than a CPC majority

final tidbit .If the poll numbers remain the same we are going to have some intense and unprecedented negotiations commencing immediately

https://twitter.com/#!/VoiceOfFranky

[stoneonstone]

Jeff,

I don't know how I missed the Jan Wong reference to Laureen Harper in her profile of Ford...but I did.

Just found this posted; might help keep the weekend sunny:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CNtcvgkHDE

[Jeff]

It has, thanks!

[stoneonstone]

Twitterverse now reporting that a wave of CPC robocalls are going out with script read by Laureen Harper.

Time to take them down. Unleash the hounds!

"Just got a #CPC robocall voiced by Laureen Harper #elxn41" etc...

[JackRiddler]

Also, we Greeks are grateful for such erudite historical references.

We Greeks did indeed cost them the 3 weeks in April that cost them Moscow in October. But it could have turned out quite differently. Balck, after his campaign in the Balkans (for synchronicity fans), urgently recommended that all transport echelons be outfitted with tracked vehicles, even at the cost of reducing the number of panzer divisions being deployed in the east. On the basis of the fighting in Greece, he argued that the spearheads would hopelessly outstrip their supplies. After leaving most of his equipment by the road (or trail) side on the Greek peninsula, he ended up getting two tanks (2) across a river on pontoons in Southern Greece, which prompted some British outposts to report the presence of a German panzer division where it wasn't expected. This secured the British retreat that ended with the airborne assault in Crete. It had already been a close run thing in France, but the tight and relatively high quality road net there had allowed the Germans to avoid disaster. Greece should have urgently clarified the lesson. No one listened to Balck. Had OKW learned from his experience, instead of costing the Germans the war, the Greeks might have taught them how to win it.

Go NDP.

Volin is Greek? Patrida! I always thought you must be the second-smartest bastard here.

Excellent account. The legendary airborne assault on Crete was also a disaster, whatever the German victory, with casualties at one-third, costing them the best of that unit for the rest of the war.

This is sort of how the story of my life began, 25 years before I was born: modernization of a sort arrived to the Peloponesian middle-finger peninsula of the Mani (the one piece of the mainland that had never been fully subdued by the Ottomans) -- which at the time did not have roads or phones although the men had been sailing their 90-footers to everything from Beirut to Casablanca for centuries -- in the form, first, of British troops escaping through our seaside village to subs and boats that took them to Crete, with a Luftwaffe plane arriving to strafe at the rearguard. And then the Germans came soon after.

.

Uh, right: Go NDP.

I have to hope this last-minute totally transparent massage parlor bullshit should actually help mobilize a belated happy ending for Jack.

(Who among you could resist that joke? I'll lay odds someone will do that as a headline on Tuesday, if it goes well.)

,

[Jeff]

(Who among you could resist that joke? I'll lay odds someone will do that as a headline on Tuesday, if it goes well.)

It's already been coined Masturgate. (Yet to see eJackuLayton.)

[Jeff]

Imagining myself three weeks ago, imagining this headline.

Harper pleads with Liberal supporters to vote Tory to stop NDP

Stephen Harper is pleading with traditional Liberal voters to support his Conservatives to stave off a “disastrous” leftist government headed by NDP Leader Jack Layton.

In an exclusive interview with the Star, Harper appealed to Liberals abandoning Leader Michael Ignatieff’s party to pick the Tories in Monday’s election.

“I believe that as the choice becomes clear … a lot of traditional, Liberal, moderate voters, are going to look and going to say that the Conservative platform -- and where the Conservative Party is taking the economy -- is a hell of a lot closer to what I think than what the NDP has in its platform,” the Conservative leader said.

...

http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/poli ... o-stop-ndp


NDP poised for breakthrough, wary of last-minute heartbreak

Been there.

[hava1]

Just realized that your elections are tomorrow, somehow I thought it was going to be around July...well, headlines in Israel are something like "one friend against many", namely, supporting Harper as "sole friend" about to be lost...(so, indirectly assessment here is against the prospects of the conservatives...).
Funny though, your elections are falling exactly on our Hococaust memorial day so I dont think the subject will be widely covered here in "real time".

Was wondering if in general there is a regular "lag" after the USA in Canada, namely, that the surge in leftist power is a direct "after shock" of Obama elections, and has it always been this way, because of the proximity ?

In Israel, normally you'd see a reverse reaction, namely, when the democrats are in power, Israel elections would slightly swing right-way. and I think the same is vice versae to an extent.

well, good luck there, and I hope the NDP has a sweeping victory.

[Jeff]

Was wondering if in general there is a regular "lag" after the USA in Canada, namely, that the surge in leftist power is a direct "after shock" of Obama elections, and has it always been this way, because of the proximity ?

No, not at all. (And Obama is as reviled here by the left as elsewhere.) Canadian strategists do pick up some tricks (Layton has been saying "change" a lot this week), but our politics is pretty much our own.

headlines in Israel are something like "one friend against many", namely, supporting Harper as "sole friend" about to be lost...

Harper panders exclusively to the Likudnik wing of Canadian Jewish voters, and he's been successful at calving off much of it from the Liberals. (The old Tory party was long considered somewhat anti-Semitic, in the grand tradition of old Tory parties everywhere.) That will probably be enough for the Conservatives to win some seats in Toronto tomorrow. The Jewish Canadian left, the likes of Naomi Klein and Stephen Lewis, is NDP.

[hava1]

AS long as he didnt use the "hope" as well, that's ok...I guess.

after all going somewhat socialist after harper is a change.

The jewish vote is pretty much similar worldwide, now its the season of Tories/Evangelics and hardcore antisemites to be friends. I think that's ok, slightly better than the old elders of Mapai guard, with the double face politics and mafia. The likkud is breaking the glass ceiling for the Jews in the bastions of blue blood.

Likkud (herut) was after all dating the Nazis and Fascists before the holocaust and ww2 overtly, while Labor played coy, but behind the scene struck the more sinister deals.

Anyway, it will be very good and important news worldwide if your NDP strikes. Because people are already losing hope in face of the eternal oligarchy that replaced politics. We are sick of reading translations from Sweden, to pep up, at least you write English, its gonna be much easier to copy paste here in the few remaining leftie outlets.

Was wondering if in general there is a regular "lag" after the USA in Canada, namely, that the surge in leftist power is a direct "after shock" of Obama elections, and has it always been this way, because of the proximity ?

No, not at all. (And Obama is as reviled here by the left as elsewhere.) Canadian strategists do pick up some tricks (Layton has been saying "change" a lot this week), but our politics is pretty much our own.

headlines in Israel are something like "one friend against many", namely, supporting Harper as "sole friend" about to be lost...

Harper panders exclusively to the Likudnik wing of Canadian Jewish voters, and he's been successful at calving off much of it from the Liberals. (The old Tory party was long considered somewhat anti-Semitic, in the grand tradition of old Tory parties everywhere.) That will probably be enough for the Conservatives to win some seats in Toronto tomorrow. The Jewish Canadian left, the likes of Naomi Klein and Stephen Lewis, is NDP.

[Jeff]

Anyway, it will be very good and important news worldwide if your NDP strikes. Because people are already losing hope in face of the eternal oligarchy that replaced politics.

I have mixed feelings at the prospect of the NDP forming government. There's the anticipation of disappointment, particularly if it needs to water its wine in coalition with the Liberals. On the other hand, woo-hoo!

Most excited right now looking at the individual races. Even if we lose, there are likely still to be some unimaginable victories. For instance, a former communist candidate and karate instructor is leading Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon.

[hava1]

yes, its never as good as it promises, because eventually, the global system of the present leaves the control in the hands of big money no matter who holds the official power in gov.

We had a bit of pooper with the sudden phoenix rise of the "new labour" (amir Peretz) in 2005, which led to a huge let down, and in fact to the total annihilation of the left. The leader, Peretz who was a kind of union worker leader, was easily eaten by the sharks. He was stupid to take Olmert's bait-offer to serve as Minister of Defense and made a fool of himself in the Lebanon 2 war. the most famous memoir is his photo, looking at the troops with a binoculars with blinders on them.

But, perhaps your people looked around and processed mistakes elsewhere in the post bush world. Otherwise, you will have the "hope" part,without the change (this is what happened here).

Anyway, it will be very good and important news worldwide if your NDP strikes. Because people are already losing hope in face of the eternal oligarchy that replaced politics.

I have mixed feelings at the prospect of the NDP forming government. There's the anticipation of disappointment, particularly if it needs to water its wine in coalition with the Liberals. On the other hand, woo-hoo!

Most excited right now looking at the individual races. Even if we lose, there are likely still to be some unimaginable victories. For instance, a former communist candidate and karate instructor is leading Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon.

[Canadian_watcher]

NDP, Tories in virtual dead heat, either party could form minority government, says Forum Research poll

The race is so close, with much depending on splits between the Liberals and NDP support in some ridings, and regional voter preferences, Forum Research president Lorne Bozinoff told The Hill Times. 'Voting realignment like this comes only once in a generation,' he said.