we need to turf that fixed elections law.

www.cbc.ca/news/politics/canada-election-2015-harper-economy-markets-1.3201727

farmers,

i wouldn't expect the conservatives to move on this. they benefit from maintaining their print media bias, and restricting the spectrum of opinions. and you, our necessary producers of the only thing we all absolutely need, are their rock solid core of support. they'd rather you just keep your subscription to the national post.

this is something you could move on yourselves by laying cables. it's actually very easy and relatively inexpensive to set up a broadband internet connection - it's really just a question of laying cables. with a bit of starting capital, your kids could relatively easily set up isp businesses.

www.techvibes.com/blog/rural-canadians-internet-election-2015-08-24

this is a specific discussion forum. the logic underlying his decision to pull out of general debates without harper is strategically understandable, if questionable - there's a cost-benefit analysis, there. but, there's really only three reasons he could be seen to pull out of something like this:

1) elizabeth may. i think that's the big issue. he'd have been more likely to participate if it were an all male debate, or if there were at least two women. but, he's concerned that putting himself in a women's debate with a single female candidate is something that cannot end well. and, i think everybody can agree that he's probably right. that's something that trudeau's team probably should have thought through a bit better. there is only one possible winner of the debate.

2) the ndp is currently leading in the female vote. he doesn't want to risk that by contrasting himself with the other candidates.

3) how can i say this? his personal hygiene and general appearance is not his utmost priority. even with harper on the stage, he's clearly the least attractive of the candidates. this is a kind of an intangible, but mulcair is running a very psychologically-driven campaign and i have no doubt that this is a big part of the calculus.

to be honest with you, i'm not sure it's a great idea to have three or four guys and a sixty year-old pro-life female minister get together and talk women's rights, anyways. i don't see where that's going...

http://ipolitics.ca/2015/08/24/womens-issues-debate-called-off-after-mulcair-drops-out-organizers/

dtgraham
Personal hygiene? You can smell him through the TV? This is getting stupid at this point.

deathtokoalas
the beard is flat out gross. deal with it.

(deleted coment)

deathtokoalas
that wasn't intended as an insult. nor am i suggesting that women are going to just pick the cute one. but, there are complex psychological concerns at play here that the mulcair campaign was no doubt aware of.

running for prime minister is not a beauty contest, and this shouldn't be an issue in the campaign. but, that doesn't mean that there aren't certain optics that the mulcair campaign is going to seek to avoid, regarding the context of him standing next to trudeau.

(deleted comment)

deathtokoalas
if you would like to interpret my accurate observations as insults, that's your prerogative. but, a true statement does not have a moral value judgement attached to it. and, if you wish to cry over neutral and valid observations, i would suggest you find yourself a nice, isolated basement to do it in. once there, you won't have to deal with the oppression of the real world anymore. and, there's a bonus for the rest of us adults - we can discuss things openly, honestly and bluntly without having to worry about hurting your feelings.

i don't care if you're insulted or not. his appearance is unhygienic. that's a problem his campaign is aware of and will need to manage.

and, i will continue to speak over your obfuscating, politically correct howls.

Diggersin
Not shaving is not unhygienic. You sound OCD.

deathtokoalas
see, calling me ocd out of the blue is shitty form - that's the kind of thing you don't do, unless you're an asshole and have it branded on your t-shirt.

i live on disability for psychological reasons. i do have symptoms that align with ocd, but they are not very strong. your suspicion is mildly accurate.

but, it doesn't change the reality the facial hair is, in fact, both unhygienic on a practical level and unclean looking on an impressions level.

unlike most of the people that post on these sites, i am neither paid to support a party nor am i partisan hack. i'm interested in breaking through the noise and providing an objective, fact-based analysis. and i'm not concerned about tip-toeing around people's feelings as i do so.

fwiw, my education is more broad than it is specialized. like many young people, i was not able to determine what i wanted to study. in the process, i ended up completing multiple partial degrees. i only have one piece of paper, but you will find few people that have completed as many credits as i have. and i'm very confident that i'm speaking from an informed perspective.

if you are an expert in psychology, i would behoove you to expand upon my point rather than deflect from it.

dtgraham
Yes, you are suggesting that women are going to just pick the cute one. Otherwise why on earth would Mulcair have a problem with appearing on stage with Trudeau at a women's issues debate when he has no problem being on stage with him at any other debate that Harper attends? You have a very shallow opinion of women voters. If what you're saying were actually true, then Elizabeth May might as well skip it too.

deathtokoalas
i'm sorry that you were not able to understand the subtlety of my observations. it's a subconscious, psychological thing. and, it's not an obscure point, either. it's well understood that we form opinions based on first impressions, and that appearances are paramount in that process. if you set up a debate about women's issues with a bunch of dudes talking, you exacerbate that process. then, you end up with unconscious biases.

again: mulcair is running a very psychological campaign. this is first year stuff that his campaign is no doubt aware of. you can bet it was a part of the calculus.

every candidate has pros and cons. mulcair's a policy wonk, but he's kind of creepy looking and that's a liability in certain contexts. you can expect his campaign to continue to strategize around that.

i believe that the technical term for what i'm describing is "beardo".

this is definitely the set up to a stephen king novel, where the marionette takes control of the person that finds it and slowly drives them insane.

like, i'm sorry - but this is pornography. it's even porn music. i don't want to get all moral on your ass or something; i don't care if you enjoy porn. whatever. but, let's stop pretending that this is a music video. it's porn.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWnXB2tDvog

is this a plea to restore nasa funding?

"baby, you were there when we took our first step,
but now you've sold me out to investors on the free MAR-KET!"

baby, take me back..