http://www.oddbloke.ca/ Some commentators have suggested that, after the Michael Sona trial, no political party would be stupid enough to try any robocall shenanigans. Linda McQuaig
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Northern Reflections: Where’s The Outrage?
That’s what Bob Dole trumpeted almost twenty years ago, when he was running against Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinski. Try as he might, Dole couldn’t generate public outrage against Clinton. Susan Delacourt wrote last week that Conservatives can’t seem to generate any outrage over the fact that their top security
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Robothugs
Yesterday, Lawrence Martin asked a question, the answer to which has been obvious since Stephen Harper became prime minister: Does the fish rot from the head down? The story behind those recent robocalls in Saskatchewan gives the lie to the Conservative claims that robocalls in the last election were the
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: More Hypocrisy
Stephen Harper likes to claim that his party is a party of principle. But, of course, that’s all jiggery-pockery. Whether it’s huffing and puffing about China’s human rights record then pulling out all the stops to sell bitumen to the Chinese — or refusing to declare asbestos a dangerous substance,
Continue readingcenterandleft: Conservative Transparancy Now Scientifically Proven to be a Joke
51st place isn’t necessarily always a bad thing. The 51st wealthiest person in the world, or the 51st smartest are blessed to be so lucky. It’s a placement they can be proud of. When your country is ranked 51st on any list, it is unlikely to be a source of
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: The Hard Sell
Stephen Maher and Glen McGregor keep digging. This morning, in the Ottawa Citizen, they report that: A training manual used by call-centre workers soliciting donations for the Conservative Party outlines high-pressure tactics designed to overcome the objections of pensioners, widowers and the unemployed to raise money for the party. The
Continue readingCuriosityCat: Robocon: Lest we forget – The Elections Canada CEO report to Parliament
KadyO’Malley did the country a service by refusing to be sidetracked by Harper’sscheduling of the interim reportto the House by ChiefElectoral Officer Marc Mayrand for the same day as thebudget. It turns out that there were lots of journalists inattendance – so it is clear that at least some
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: So Let’s Talk About Guelph
It was almost comical yesterday to watch the Conservatives frantically insist that any election fraud was limited to the riding of Guelph — and that it was purely accidental: Conservative partisans tried on Friday to tamp down the notion that the problem was bigger than Guelph, releasing records of calls
Continue readingCuriosityCat: Robocon: Bob Rae has one week to protect Canada’s democracy by stopping the clock
Bob Rae – one week to go And a study by a Simon Fraser professor finds that the robocalls could have affected the result of the May 2 2011 election: In a new paper, a Simon Fraser University economist finds that robo-calling, if the phenomenon did occur, could have significantly
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: What’s In a Name
When Stephen Harper and Peter MacKay agreed to their marriage of convenience nine years ago, they dropped the word “Progressive” from the party brand. It was a momentous omission and a harbinger of things to come — particularly the roboscam scandal. It signalled that everyone outside the party’s narrowly defined
Continue readingCuriosityCat: Robocon: Bob Rae has only 9 days left to defend our democracy by stopping the clock
And a study by a Simon Fraser professor finds that the robocalls could have affected the result of the May 2 2011 election: In a new paper, a Simon Fraser University economist finds that robo-calling, if the phenomenon did occur, could have significantly influenced voter turnout and ballot results in
Continue readingCuriosityCat: Robocon: Can this Tory help find Pierre Poutine?
Andrew Prescott Canada’s Woodward & Bernstein journalists (the intrepid Glen McGregor and Stephen Maher), have a report this morning about some tweets in Guelph before the questionable election of May 2, 2011: On the day “Pierre Poutine” activated the burner cellphone used to launch his robocall blitz on voters in
Continue readingCuriosityCat: Robocon: Bob Rae has 12 days to protect Canada’s democracy by stopping the clock
The clock is ticking and there are less than three weeks to go (around 12 days as of today) before voters lose their right to appeal to the courts under the Canada Elections Act to upset the results of the May 2 election in at least 27 ridings. And Bob
Continue readingCuriosityCat: Robocon: Were our laws broken?
Misinformation is in the air, from the Tory front and back benches to journalists. Some is deliberate, designed to distract the public’s attention from misdeeds; others are perhaps simply mistakes. Take this opinion in the Montreal Gazette: Many of the complaints are about calls that were simply annoying and deceitful,
Continue readingCuriosityCat: Roboscam: Bob Rae has 13 days to protect Canada’s democracy by stopping the clock
The clock is ticking and there are less than three weeks to go (around 13 days as of today) before voters lose their right to appeal to the courts under the Canada Elections Act to upset the results of the May 2 election in at least 27 ridings. And Bob
Continue readingCuriosityCat: Robocon: Crushing poll results for Tories on the voter suppression in the last election
Hat tip to Kinsella for pointing the way to this March 6, Angus Reid poll. Almost two out of three Canadians believe there were many voter suppression telephone calls during the May 2011 election (despite Tory MPs desperate attempts in Parliament to limit the criminality to one riding only –
Continue readingCuriosityCat: Robocon: Bob Rae has 14 days to protect Canada’s democracy by stopping the clock
The clock is ticking and there are less than three weeks to go (around 14 days as of today) before voters lose their right to appeal to the courts under the Canada Elections Act to upset the results of the May 2 election in at least 27 ridings. And Bob
Continue readingCuriosityCat: Robocon: The Wisdom of the People
Harper’s new Tories are running for cover while throwing everything they can think of up as explanations for the voter suppression complaints, hoping to distract Canadians from the ever-increasing evidence that skullduggery on a large scale was afoot.Today, in the 2 pm newscast, the CBC revealed that a Forum poll
Continue readingCuriosityCat: Robocon: Bob Rae has 15 days to protect Canada’s democracy by stopping the clock
The clock is ticking and there are less than three weeks to go (around 15 days as of today) before voters lose their right to appeal to the courts under the Canada Elections Act to upset the results of the May 2 election in at least 27 ridings. And Bob
Continue readingCuriosityCat: Roboscam: The Cat’s Hints for Journalists
Journalists, wanna be modern day Woodward&Bernsteins? Wanna rise to the top of the pack right now and make a name for yourself and your publication? Wanna get your name in the history books of those proactive members of the Fifth Estate who changed the course of history? Yes? Then don’t
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