Layton and May Winners

The latest Decima Polling finds that Jack Layton and Elizabeth May are leaders Canadians approve of.

While Stephen Harper shares the dubious distinction of being as unpopular as Stephane Dion.

The conventional wisdom about the standing of
the national party leaders is somewhat at odds
with the reality. Stephen Harper’s negatives are
higher than those of other national leaders, but
his positives are about 10 points better than his
party’s vote. He’s made inroads in Quebec, and
his net popularity (positives minus negatives) is
actually better among French Canadians than
among English Canadians.

Stephane Dion’s image has been damaged in recent
months, but his numbers are very close to those
of Harper’s. His popularity is better than the prime
minister’s in Ontario, but worse in Quebec.

The NDP has its challenges, but the party has a
popular leader. Jack Layton has better ratings than
any of his national competitors, and is second only
to Gilles Duceppe in Quebec.

Elizabeth May has managed to create an impression
among the majority of the Canadian electorate,
and most of those impressions are good.

She has a truly remarkable rating among voters
under 25. May shares a distinction with Layton:
more voters say their opinion is improving rather
fading of both leaders.

And while May and the Green Party have made inroads with Canadian voters, it is at the expense of the Conservatives and Liberals, not the NDP, whose base support remains strong.

That’s because the bulk of shifting in the years gone by has been from Liberal to Conservative or vice versa. That’s less the dominant pattern now. For one thing, the Green Party is playing a spoiler role.

In Ontario, almost one in three of the voters who have left the Liberals say they are voting Green, as do one in four who have left the Conservatives.

In Quebec, voters who have left the BQ are almost twice as likely to say they will vote Green as vote Liberal.

The Liberals remain the second party of choice for the quarter of Dippers who shift in the winds. Tories marginally lead Liberals but second choice favours Grits


SEE:

Dion, May, and Jack Layton

Real Leadership

Liberals The New PC's

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PM Fails to Discuss Prisons In Afghanistan

While he played ball hockey with Canadian troops in Kandahar, and autographed PMO hockey balls (remember the PMO golf balls) Stephen Harper studiously avoided any discussion of prison conditions and prisoner rights in Afghanistan.

Karzai on prison torture: 'Probably that story is not true'

Nor did he demand the release of a Canadian taken prisoner by the Kharzai government last week.

Harper being the voice of law and order and the new security state the first victim of his authoritarian politics is justice and natural law such as 'innocent until proven guilty'.

All sides breach humanitarian law in Afghanistan: Amnesty


SEE:

No Time Lines For Afghanistan Exit

Harpers Constituency

Kandahar

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Proroguing Parliament

Greg Weston of the Sun is speculating about the Harpocrites proroguing parliament sometime in June.

The speculation around the capital is Harper and crew will pull the plug on the current session of Parliament before the middle of June, and return in October.

Sometime in that period the PM will announce that Parliament has been prorogued, an arcane way of saying Act I of "Harper and the Conservatives go to Ottawa" is formally over.

The Globe and Mail joined in the speculation "The rumours suggest the government will prorogue this session of Parliament in early June. The next session would not begin until after the Ontario election on Oct. 10."

But on Politics with Don Newman on CBC yesterday Jim Travers of the Toronto Star speculated that Harper may Prorogue Parliament as early as next week. In fact without calling parliament back the PM could do it.

And given the stalling tactics used last week over committees, the disaster which is the Afghan detainee issue, now swept away temporarily with the Harper trip to Kandahar, the failure of their Green Plan, proroguing parliament immediately after the break would be a way to start again.

Since they didn't call an election the Conservatives have nothing new to offer Canadians. They are now stale, and they can only stall.

To Prorogue or Not to Prorogue that is the question facing the dysfunctional Conservative government.

And Travers told Newman that it might happen Monday night when the PM has called a special meeting with the press corps on the hill.

Of course that is also the first night of the Stanley Cup between the Ottawa Senators and the Anaheim Ducks, and being a big hockey fan maybe the PM is inviting them to 24 Sussex drive to share beer and chips and watch the game.

But somehow I doubt it.



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No Time Lines For Afghanistan Exit

Stephen Harper tells Canadian troops that there is no time line for their mission in
Afghanistan. No early exit for Canadian forces, Harper says Where have we heard that before?

"Still you know that the work is not complete. You know that we cannot just put down our arms and hope for peace," he said, strongly hinting that Canadian troops might remain in Afghanistan beyond the current February 2009 commitment approved by Parliament last year

SEE:

Harpers Constituency

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Iraq; The War For Oil

Forget weapons of mass destruction the war in Iraq was to make the world safe for Halliburton.

Vice President Dick Cheney was chief executive of Halliburton from 1995 to 2000. Former Halliburton unit KBR Inc. is the U.S. Pentagon's largest contractor in Iraq and has drawn scrutiny from auditors for the quality and pricing of its work for the U.S. army.

Halliburton's relocated CEO outlines major shift in focus

DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES — Halliburton will shift some 70 percent of its capital investment over the next five years to the Eastern Hemisphere, which includes oil and gas zones in the Middle East, Russia, Africa, the North Sea and East Asia, the company's chief said Tuesday from his new headquarters in Dubai.

Dave Lesar, arriving for his first week in United Arab Emirates, said Halliburton would quickly expand its Mideast operations as it targets $80 billion in new business over the next five years — 75 percent of which lies in the Eastern Hemisphere.

Dennis Kucinich: Oil was the primary reason for the invasion of Iraq

There were, of course, no weapons of mass destruction, no connection between Iraq and 911, no connection between Iraq and Al Queda's role in 911. Despite that the Bush-Cheney Administration, with the approval of a Democratic-controlled Senate and the Democratic leader of the House, supported and commenced a brutal campaign of shock and awe, of bombing, invasion and then occupation of Iraq.

It's All About Oil
Summary and Notes from Congressman Kucinich’s One Hour Speech Before the United States House of Representatives
On Administration’s Efforts to Privatize Iraq Oil

The Iraqi “Hydrocarbon Law” is an issue of critical importance, but has been seriously mischaracterized and I want to provide the House of Representatives the facts and evidence to support the concerns I have expressed. As you know, the Administration set several benchmarks for the Iraqi government, including passage of the “Hydrocarbon Law” by the Iraqi Parliament. The Administration has emphasized only a small part of this law, the “fair” distribution of oil revenues. Consider the fact that the Iraqi “Hydrocarbon Law” contains a mere three sentences that generally discusses the “fair” distribution of oil. Except for three scant lines, the entire 33 page “Hydrocarbon Law,” is about creating a complex legal structure to facilitate the privatization of Iraqi oil. As such, it in imperative that all of us carefully read the Iraqi Parliament’s bill because the Congress is on the record in promoting oil privatization. This war is about oil.


Fighting overshadows Iraq's oil law

As a result, the US Embassy in Iraq is pressuring the sectarian groups to pass the oil law as soon as possible. Still, Washington does have an agenda as to what the law should look like.

US-funded consultants had a significant role in shaping the draft oil law in Iraq. Firms such as BearingPoint were brought in to advise the Iraqi government and advocated allowing for private competition in the oil sector. It is Washington's belief that Iraq's oil sector will be most efficiently exploited and managed through the competition of private oil firms, including foreign companies. As such, Washington would like to reduce the role played by INOC in the oil sector. However, at this point passing the oil law is more important to Washington than granting rights to foreign oil companies.

US hunts for oil in Persian Gulf

Al-Sharaa underlined that Arabs know very well that the United States is in need of oil and is the world's largest oil consumer, adding that the US therefore intends to dominate the oil rich Persian Gulf region.

The Syrian Vice President went on to say that, the only reason for US navy and military maneuvers or troop deployments to the region is to monitor the smooth flow of oil to the United States.


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Oil Speculation

The reason for the gas gouging at the pump. Speculation in the oil market.

Algerian Energy Minister: shortage of oil supply does not cause prices rise According to him, doubts are surrounding oil markets; which has been used by speculators to raise the prices.


Oil mergers forcing prices up: study

Oil rises ahead of US inventory data

Oil Prices Rise After Inventory Report

Oil rises as warships enter Gulf

BP leak reduces Alaskan oil flow

Oil, gasoline futures end higher; traders weigh supply risk



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David Dodge World Bank Nominee

Is David Dodge, the outgoing Governor of the Bank of Canada, bucking for Presidency of the World Bank? Seems like it....

Dodge, who retires in January and has said he wants half a year off after that, declined to say today if he's interested in the job.

- Bank of Canada Governor David Dodge said China's government can't be expected to let the market set its currency's foreign-exchange rate ``overnight.''

``They have to keep going, and they have to keep going pretty rapidly,'' Dodge told reporters today after a speech to the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. ``But let's not expect everything to be done overnight.''

In his remarks, Dodge said that the world's most developed nations need to have ``some tolerance'' as long as countries such as China are making ``substantial progress'' in shifting toward flexible exchange rates. Some economies don't have financial markets that are developed enough to withstand an immediate move to prices set in markets, he said.

Dodge's remarks are more measured than those of U.S. officials, who demanded last week that China move more quickly on loosening its management of the yuan. The People's Bank of China on May 18 increased the amount that the currency can move each day. U.S. Treasury officials and lawmakers said China must use that increased flexibility to allow its exchange rate to climb.

Chinese officials ``understand that it's not to satisfy the Americans or the Europeans and Canadians, they need to do it for their own domestic growth,'' to move on the yuan, Dodge said.

In his speech, Dodge urged the Group of Seven industrialized nations, especially the U.S., to pursue changes at the International Monetary Fund so it can more effectively combat world trade imbalances.

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Talking Taliban Blues

Canadians are backing the NDP position on Afghanistan....surprise, surprise.

Canadians still think it's a good idea to negotiate with Afghanistan's Taliban insurgents as a way to end the violence there, a poll finds.

In The Strategic Counsel poll conducted for CTV and The Globe and Mail, there was almost two-to-one support for the notion:

• Net good idea: 63 per cent
• Net bad idea: 32 per cent

The proportion of respondents saying it was a bad idea dropped by four percentage points when the same question was asked in October.

"In a way, it's a very Canadian thing to believe that nothing can't be solved by sitting across a table and talking," Peter Donolo of The Strategic Counsel told CTV.ca on Sunday.

However, Canadians might also think the mission is a morass, with no real end point in sight, he said.

Donolo said 57 per cent of Conservative Party members supported the idea of negotiations.

When NDP Leader Jack Layton called for peace talks with the Taliban last fall, Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay later called the approach "naive." Some wags started calling Layton "Taliban Jack."

A Decima poll, provided exclusively to The Canadian Press, indicates that 55 per cent of those polled believe it’s likely that detainees captured by Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan wind up being tortured by Afghan authorities. And 58 per cent believe Canada has an obligation to ensure those detainees are not abused.

On that score, only 33 per cent were satisfied with the government’s confused and contradictory handling of the issue; 42 per cent were dissatisfied. Dissatisfaction was highest in Ontario (49 per cent), the province that holds the key to Tory hopes for a majority in the next election, and British Columbia (50 per cent).

And Canadians support Peacekeeping, not war making, contrary to the Conservative government and their sycophants over at the Blogging Tories.

Canadians want action on Darfur, poll finds

The Pollara poll, which surveyed 1,642 people across the country, found that 66 per cent of respondents agree that Canada should play a lead role in stopping the "genocide" in Darfur, with 27 per cent saying they strongly agree. Quebec and the Prairies led the country at 69 per cent, with B.C. at 67, Ontario at 65 and Alberta at 63.

The push to intervene was highest among people aged 18-34, with 79 per cent of men and 71 per cent of women calling on Canada to play a lead role.

"Canadians expect their government to show leadership in creating a more secure world. Africa in general, and Darfur in particular, occupy a prominent position in the humanitarian thinking of Canadians," said Vahan Kololian, chairman of the Mosaic Institute, an organization devoted to diversity, international peace and development.

See

Jack Layton

Taliban Jack

NDP

Afghanistan

Kandahar

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Harpers Constituency

It's Constituency Week and the MP's are meeting the folks that elected them. Except for the PM who is visiting his real constituents.

Harper in Afghanistan on surprise visit

Mr. Harper's office spared no effort to keep the trip under wraps. A call went out Friday afternoon telling journalists to pack for a warm climate and to show up at a military hangar on Sunday if they wanted to join Mr. Harper on a trip to an unspecified foreign location.

They were told not to breathe a word about the trip. Journalists were later warned that they could be arrested if they divulged details of the Prime Minister's travel plans.

The gnu Canadian Government; post modern fascism by any other name.

See:

Harpers War

Leo Strauss and the Calgary School

Post Modern Conservatives

Why The Conservatives Are Not Libertarians

Heil Hillier, Maintiens le droit

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Democracy Tory Style

Or Alberta style. It comes with the territory, the Federal Conservatives are true to their Alberta Conservative roots. Comes from living in a one party state and aspiring to do the same on a national basis.

Tory party fights to preserve MP's nomination

An unprecedented move by the party's national council to deny voting rights to new members in Calgary West is curtailing any potential challenges to Anders in a court-ordered second nomination battle.

"The secret, as everyone knows, to winning a nomination is to be able to sell your supporters memberships and get them out to vote," said John Knox, one of 11 disgruntled Tories who have fought the party's unwavering loyalty to Anders from courtroom to courtroom since last August.

The rule - which gives ballots only to those who were party members in the middle of August last year - contrasts with every other Tory riding in Canada, where anyone who has held a membership for more than three weeks can vote at a party nomination.

SEE:

Conservative Corruption

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