This is unconscionable and won't stand.

NeedlesslyCanadian: This is what we get for letting Conservatives get a majority government.

For farking shame, Canada.

Uh, we didn't 'let' the Conservatives get a majority. The preceding corrupt & contemptible government drove their supporters away in spades and this version of the right filled the void.

No YOU'RE a Towel: Guess its NDP next election for me.

That's how I went the last time, reluctantly. I was voting more for a neighbour and honourable community leader than the party.

The left is as fractured as the right once was, and the same dynamic that led to so many Liberal governments will pretty much guarantee Tory rule in majority/minority governments until the left is finally forced to find its own common ground.

/f*ck Peter MacKay *spits*

NeedlesslyCanadian: Yes we did. Perhaps you've forgotten PM Sweatervest's two minority Parliaments, and the Martin Liberal one prior to that.

That progression of the power shift illustrates my point - the right unified as the Liberals progressed towards their current state of essential irrelevance. The parallel between the fractured right of the 90s and the left's contemporary status stands.

BTW - Martin never had a chance; he was bent over a table like a paltry page by his own party. I actually liked him.

Ignatieff was an asshat to be sure, but that's no excuse for having allowed the Little Republicans a majority in last year's election.

You're right in that "Iggy is an asshole" is no excuse, simply because he's not the reason so many Liberals found something else to do on election day other than vote for their party. They lost confidence among their base and the election numbers bore that out.

The Conservatives will continue to get at least a minority government until such time A) the masses become just as disgusted with the Tories as they became with the Liberals, or B) the left presents a unified option (or Layton becomes reanimated - whichever comes first).

NeedlesslyCanadian: Yeah, that's what worries me.

Don't worry, brother - at this rate, the Tories will reach that level of disgust soon enough.

I_C_Weener: Forcing anyone to watch hockey curling for more than a few minutes at a time should be considered torture.

Fixed that for you pal.

As someone forced to endure this (new window) as a child on long road trips, I am fully convinced that this is actually an Anne Murray joke.

brigid_fitch: Wow, Canada--you were supposed to be the nice neighbor. What the hell happened?

The live in a loft apartment above a really great party. What did you expect to happen?

Let's just see what the Supreme Court says first. The love slapping the naughty little hands of Parliament when they do something stupid. I, as a Canadian have little faith in our politicians, but enormous faith in the Supreme Court Justices.

Well duh...we know their people kick children in the face!!!!

Why would the 51st State be any different from the other 50?

"The latest directive says in "exceptional circumstances" where there is a threat to human life or public safety, urgency may require CSIS to "share the most complete information available at the time with relevant authorities, including information based on intelligence provided by foreign agencies that may have been derived from the use of torture or mistreatment.""

If they need info fast and in the moment, we have not time to pick and choose. I have no problem with this.

So its a Rush joke?

So Rush is releasing a new album?

Canada Harper and the PC's now officially endorses torture. This is neither a Celine Dion nor Nickelback joke.

FTFY.

Please, don't lump us all in with those douche bags. It's like saying everyone in America endorsed Bush and Haliburton.

..
F*ck Harper.
F*ck the PC party of Canada.

"Page Eight: Les Canadiens"

Oldiron_79: So its a Rush joke?

2 seconds, Oldiron, 2 seconds!
Triumph > Rush
*runs*

This isn't an endorsement for torture, the CSIS will not perform torture because of this. It just enables us to act on credible information without wondering how it was obtained.

Doing otherwise is akin to those stupid situations where a drug runner goes free because he wasn't breaking any traffic laws when a cop pulled him over.

If we have good information, use it. Even if we don't agree with the methods by which it was obtained.

What the hell happened, seriously, it's as though we woke up one day and decided that being Albertan is the way to go. That or there was mass lobotomization performed on the populace on May 1, 2011.

"Celine Dion and Nickelback."

*thatsthejoke.jpg*

/DRTFA
//Because it said Celine Dion and Nickelback
///*shudder*

Waterboarding is NOT torture.

At the risk of being unpopular here, the PCs under Harper are one of the few reasons our economy hasn't tanked like the US and Europe. We have an economist with some brains at the helm.

babtras: Doing otherwise is akin to those stupid situations where a drug runner goes free because he wasn't breaking any traffic laws when a cop pulled him over.

It's a lot worse than that. It's like pulling someone over who wasn't breaking any laws and discovering that they're on their way to murder someone, but then letting them go and refusing to warn their intended victim.

Ryker's Peninsula: Oldiron_79: So its a Rush joke?

2 seconds, Oldiron, 2 seconds!
Triumph > Rush
*runs*

Well, great minds think alike

Phew! That ought to put an end to all that smug condescension from up North!

...seriously though, WTF Canada?

Teen Wolf Blitzer: Waterboarding is NOT torture.

A lot of people disagree with you.

Yes, it's Wikipedia. Click on the citing links at the bottom of the page as I'm too busy downloading busty brunette lesbian porn to do that myself.

Bob_Laublaw:

The Conservatives will continue to get at least a minority government until such time A) the masses become just as disgusted with the Tories as they became with the Liberals, or B) the left presents a unified option (or Layton becomes reanimated - whichever comes first).

It is more then that , The Liberals and the left for that matter are frustratingly , nice and are as dumb as a bag of hammers they have had ample ammunition to sink the conservatives but the Conservatives have Karl Rove on speed dial and out maneuver the left every time .

I wish the left stopped liking "smart " people and get some political animal in there

Even when embracing torture at the governmental level, it's still hard to see Canada as anything but cute.

babtras: This isn't an endorsement for torture, the CSIS will not perform torture because of this. It just enables us to act on credible information without wondering how it was obtained.

Doing otherwise is akin to those stupid situations where a drug runner goes free because he wasn't breaking any traffic laws when a cop pulled him over.

If we have good information, use it. Even if we don't agree with the methods by which it was obtained.

How do you know its good information? By its very nature, information extracted from torture is going to be dubious at best. That's no secret. Google it. I don't want that information dictating our actions.

babtras: At the risk of being unpopular here, the PCs under Harper are one of the few reasons our economy hasn't tanked like the US and Europe. We have an economist with some brains at the helm.

I wouldn't say it will make you unpopular, it will just make you wrong. There is a difference.

Ghastly: God dammit Harper. You're building Super Prisons despite the fact that crime in Canada is steadily declining. You're okaying torture despite the fact that all the credible science on the subject says torture is not only ineffective, but counter-productive. What's with the War on Facts?

He's okaying torture? Citation please.

Ghastly: What's with the War on Facts?

It's apparently spread from the US, because it's been going on strong since Dubya took office here, and I'm sure before then too.

This is sad. I was ashamed for the US for torturing, feel just as bad for Canada. Why is it so bad for 'democracies' to take the high road? To say we are going to live by our creed, not debase ourselves.

Teen Wolf Blitzer: Waterboarding is NOT torture.

It's foreplay.

gremzo: babtras: At the risk of being unpopular here, the PCs under Harper are one of the few reasons our economy hasn't tanked like the US and Europe. We have an economist with some brains at the helm.

I wouldn't say it will make you unpopular, it will just make you wrong. There is a difference.

I'm keen to hear the basis of your opinion. "You're wrong" doesn't help me correct a misinformed position.

SLAYYYYYYERRRRRRRRRRRRR!

babtras: At the risk of being unpopular here, the PCs under Harper are one of the few reasons our economy hasn't tanked like the US and Europe. We have an economist with some brains at the helm.

First off, they aren't the PC's. The PC's got taken over by far far far right wing reformers who, prior to the name change, no one in their right(no pun intended) mind would allow to govern this country. That's why they couldn't get elected.

Second, Harper had nothing to do with our economy not tanking. That was thanks to policies put in place by governments before him, policies he's increasingly trying to reverse.

In short, what Gremzo said.

So its a Bare Naked Ladies joke?

The_Fuzz: babtras: This isn't an endorsement for torture, the CSIS will not perform torture because of this. It just enables us to act on credible information without wondering how it was obtained.

Doing otherwise is akin to those stupid situations where a drug runner goes free because he wasn't breaking any traffic laws when a cop pulled him over.

If we have good information, use it. Even if we don't agree with the methods by which it was obtained.

How do you know its good information? By its very nature, information extracted from torture is going to be dubious at best. That's no secret. Google it. I don't want that information dictating our actions.

Information gathered by any other means might be bad too. It will still go through a process to validate its credibility. We evacuate entire buildings and ground planes because of phoned-in bomb threats, which are *almost* never real. Should we just hang up the phone when we get those calls?

I volunteer to be maple syrup boarded.