Dion Out, Mr Unpronouncable In

If Canada's current political situation isn't confusing enough with peroggies and coalitioning of the losers now the Liberals have a new leader. How will this effect the coalition? Only time will tell...

Ignatieff takes the prize

Michael Ignatieff has seized his long-sought prize – the Liberal leadership – raising fresh questions about the future of the opposition coalition that has vowed to defeat the minority Conservatives next month.

The fate of the coalition will be among the pressing issues facing Ignatieff as he prepares to take over the leadership of a party battered by cash woes, two lost elections and dismal poll numbers.

Heading into the caucus meeting expected to officially name Ignatieff as leader Wednesday morning, Liberal MP Ruby Dhalla said she feels relieved the "bitter" leadership contest is finally over.

As with her new leader, she left room for backing down on the coalition if the Tories propose a budget they could accept.

"I think Mr. Ignatieff said it best: a coalition if necessary but not necessarily a coalition," she said.

Liberal MP Scott Brison delivered a similar message when he used the past tense in saying "the coalition was effective" at forcing Harper "back to the drawing table."

Brison said it is clear Canadians want an alternative to Harper, but that alternative could be something other than a coalition."It’s up to Canadians to tell us what they want," he said.

He said the alternative could be "a strong Liberal party with a permanent leader in place."

LeBlanc said the Liberals should accept Harper’s invitation to give their input on the budget but also said Harper would be difficult to trust.

Late yesterday, Ignatieff paid tribute to the two candidates who had pulled out of the race and hailed the party for responding "quickly to changing circumstances to offer stability and leadership to Canadians."

The 61-year-old Liberal MP for Etobicoke—Lakeshore was assured of the leadership yesterday after Bob Rae – the last rival candidate in the race – dropped out, conceding he didn't have enough support to win in the party's stripped-down contest that left little time to sign up new backers.

Ignatieff, a runner-up in the 2006 contest that saw Stéphane Dion elected party leader, could take over as interim leader as early as today. That's when Liberal MPs and senators meet behind closed doors and are expected to make their own recommendation that Ignatieff serve as interim leader.

At the same time, the party executive were planning to conduct a hurried "consultation" with riding association presidents and various ex-officio members to solicit their confirmation of Ignatieff. He won't be ratified as full-time leader until the party's convention in May in Vancouver.

Last night, the party announced that consultations would be completed by 1 p.m. today, clearing the way for the national executive to announce Ignatieff as the interim leader by 2 p.m.

The Liberals are in a rush to have a new leader in place by the end of January, when a key budget vote could see the minority Conservatives defeated, sparking a new election or paving the way for a Liberal-led coalition to take power.

Need We Say More?

Robo-Girl Does All The Maths

Okay. This I would expect from some one in Toyko not Brampton Ontario... Then again... Have you been to Brampton? Have you been to Ontario? Robot lover? Not a bad idea perhaps.

Fem-bot's my love machine

A BOFFIN too busy to find real love has INVENTED his idea of the perfect woman – a female ROBOT. Inventor Le Trung, 33, created Aiko, said to be “in her 20s” with a stunning 32, 23, 33 figure, shiny hair and delicate features.

She even remembers his favourite drink and does simple cleaning and household tasks.

"Fem-bot" Aiko, who has cost £14,000 to build so far, is a whizz at maths and even does Le’s accounts.

Le, a scientific genius from Brampton in Ontario, Canada, said he never had time to find a real partner so he designed one using the latest technology.

He said he did not build Aiko as a sexual partner, but said she could be tweaked to become one.

but Aiko never eats anything.

Le said: “So far she can understand and speak 13,000 different sentences in English and Japanese, so she’s already fairly intelligent.

“When I need to do my accounts, Aiko does all the maths. She is very patient and never complains.”

She does all the maths?

Yeah, but what good is that if she doesn't swallow?

Taliban Bobi Dead

Generally when Canadians are killed the international press uses the term "NATO Soldiers" to describe them. I hope that this also applies below in the use of the term "NATO".

NATO kills Taliban commander in targeted operation

KABUL, Afghanistan – NATO and Afghan forces killed a Taliban commander during a targeted operation just south of Kabul in a province militant fighters have poured into this year, the NATO-led force said Tuesday.

The commander, Mohammad Bobi, had facilitated suicide bombings and had a history of torturing and kidnapping Afghan civilians in the province of Logar, NATO said.

Bobi was given the option of surrendering, but he instead attacked the combined force and was killed during an overnight raid, NATO said. His death was confirmed Tuesday.

Logar province, which is directly south of Kabul province, has seen an influx of Taliban militants this year. Residents there say the government has little or no control in the province outside the provincial capital.

Between 3,000 and 3,500 additional U.S. troops scheduled to arrive in Afghanistan in January will be sent to Logar and Wardak provinces, two regions adjoining Kabul that have seen an influx of militant fighters over the last year.

U.S. commanders say the troops will aggressively attack militants in those regions and that they expect violence there to spike over the coming months as the number of clashes increases.

The main highways that run through Wardak and Logar are extremely dangerous. Convoys of supply trucks are regularly attacked and militants set up temporary checkpoints in search of government employees and foreigners to kidnap or kill.

Martin Regg Cohn makes a good point in The Toronto Star. Something the pea-brains in Parliament need to think about.

Afghan attention deficit disorder

Anyone who doubts the importance of Canada's mission in Afghanistan should consider the eight schoolgirls who were sprayed with acid in Kandahar last month, a reminder of the old Taliban ban on female education. Their injuries put the lie to the fantasy that education and reconstruction are possible without security.

Afghans are looking to the West for a signal that we won't abandon them again. Staying the course in Afghanistan doesn't mean sticking to outdated tactics or a discredited strategy. There is every reason for Canada and its allies to reassess where we have gone wrong, where the Taliban have succeeded, and what the Afghans themselves must to do set things right.

Hippy Report Says "Taliban Everywhere, Man"

I have my doubts about this "thinktank".

Taliban Expanding Foothold in Afghanistan, Report Finds

The Taliban have expanded their footprint in Afghanistan and now have a permanent presence in nearly three-quarters of the country, according to a new report.

The Paris-based International Council on Security and Development, a think tank that maintains full-time offices in Afghanistan, said the Taliban have spread across much of the country and are beginning to encircle the capital, Kabul.

The group said Taliban fighters have advanced out of southern Afghanistan, a region where they often hold de facto governing power, and carry out regular attacks in western and northwestern Afghanistan as well as in and around Kabul. Taliban forces can be found in 72% of Afghanistan, up from 54% a year earlier.

"While the international community's prospects in Afghanistan have never been bleaker, the Taliban has been experiencing a renaissance that has gained momentum since 2005," the report said. "The West is in genuine danger of losing Afghanistan."

Afghanistan has seen a sharp spike in violence this year, with U.S. fatalities and civilian casualties hitting records. Some American commanders fear the Taliban will start an offensive this winter. President-elect Barack Obama has said he will deploy tens of thousands of new troops to Afghanistan, shifting resources from Iraq.

There are currently about 34,000 American troops in Afghanistan, and the Pentagon has announced plans to send at least 20,000 reinforcements in 2009. Obama aides have said the new administration also will work to strengthen Afghanistan's central government, judiciary and national police force.

The think tank mapped recent attacks in Afghanistan and said provinces with at least one strike per month had a "permanent Taliban presence."

Norine MacDonald, the think tank's president and lead researcher, said the Taliban, following the strategy of earlier Afghan insurgents, are slowly encircling Kabul by establishing bases close to the city and regularly attacking three of the four major roads leading out of the capital.

Ms. MacDonald said the number of attacks inside the city, including assassinations and kidnappings of Westerners and Afghans, has also increased sharply.

The group recommends that U.S. and NATO commanders minimize their use of military power, recruit troops from Muslim nations into the current American- and European-dominated multinational force and expand economic assistance.

So the Taliban are expanding and NATO should not use military power? Huh? If you had any doubt this "Thinktank" was in Paris...

There is one central problem with this report. Even if the Taliban were every where and ready to pounce... They can't fight our troops beyond the road-side bomb method.

For every "attack" they try they lose 10 men to NATO's one. In some cases NATO hasn't lost any men while killing dozens of these idiots. So if the Taliban is indeed in 72 percent of the country all that really means they're just that much closer to being killed.

Three Canadians Killed Return Home

Bodies of Canadian soldiers killed in Afghanistan due to arrive home today

TORONTO — Canadians will salute and wage flags from overpasses above the "Highway of Heroes" again Monday in honour of three young soldiers.

Cpl. Mark McLaren, Pvt. Demetrios Diplaros, and Warrant Officer Robert Wilson died Friday by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan. The military flight carrying their caskets home is scheduled to arrive CFB Trenton in eastern Ontario at about 2 p.m. ET.

The bodies will then be taken to the coroner's building in Toronto along a 172-kilometre stretch of Highway 401 called the "Highway of Heroes."

The public outpouring of respect and affection along the highway has become familiar, yet the poignancy of the ritual seems to grow each time.

The deaths of McLaren, Diplaros and Wilson brought the military toll on the Afghan mission to 100.

Tens of thousands are expected to line Canada's Highway of Heroes today to pay tribute to the three soldiers killed in Afghanistan, marking both their sacrifice and the grim milestone of 100 Canadian soldiers killed on active duty there.

The bodies of Warrant Officer Robert John Wilson, Pte. Demetrios Diplaros and Cpl. Mark Robert McLaren – victims Friday of an explosive device near Kandahar – will make the now-familiar journey from CFB Trenton to a coroner's morgue in downtown Toronto.

Expected at the repatriation ceremony at Trenton are Governor General Michaëlle Jean, Defence Minister Peter MacKay and Chief of Defence Staff Gen. W.J. Natynczk.

The military plane carrying the bodies is to land at Trenton at 2 p.m. The motorcade is expected to leave the base at around 3 p.m. and depending on traffic variables, reach Oshawa at 4:15 p.m., Scarborough at about 4:45 p.m. and the coroner's building in Toronto at about 5:15 p.m.

A Toronto traffic officer cautioned that the motorcades from Trenton usually travel 30 minutes to an hour behind schedule.

The public tributes for Canada's fallen along the 172-kilometre route have caused commentators in other countries, including Britain, to take note and wonder why its own military victims aren't similarly honoured.

Greek Anarchists On A Rampage

How is it that Greece went from being the cradle of democracy and reason to being... well... Greece?

More rioting breaks out in Greek cities

THESSALONIKI, Greece (AP) — Riot police fired tear gas at youths smashing storefronts and throwing rocks at a police station in this Greek port city on Monday, one of scattered confrontations around the country on a third day of rioting sparked by the fatal police shooting of a teenager in Athens.

Gangs of youths overturned trash cans and set them on fire in Thessaloniki, one of several cities where rioting began Saturday.

Running battles between riot police firing tear gas and about 400 high school students throwing rocks also broke out Monday morning in Veria, a town about 40 miles (60 kilometers) west of Thessaloniki.

Violence was reported in the central city of Trikala, where one police officer was reportedly injured, while authorities braced for more possible riots during demonstrations planned across the country, including in Athens, in the central city of Larissa and on the island of Corfu.

In the capital, high school students blocked streets across the city to protest the 15-year-old's death, while dozens of youths were still barricaded at two university campuses in Athens. Under Greek law, the police are barred from entering university campuses.

Rioting, much of it by self-styled anarchists, broke out across the country within hours of the fatal shooting of 15-year-old Alexandros Grigoropoulos on Saturday night in the often volatile central Athens district of Exarchia.

The circumstances surrounding the death are still unclear. Two policemen claimed they had come under attack by a group of about 30 youths, and that three warning shots and a stun grenade were fired when they sought out the group a few minutes later.

But witnesses have disputed the officers' accounts, telling Greek media that the policeman intended to shoot the youths. The two policemen have been arrested and charged, one with murder and the other as an accomplice.

About 30 civilians were reported injured on Sunday. Authorities have said 37 policemen were hurt in Athens over the weekend by objects thrown at them by protesters.

"Under the circumstances, I think we achieved the best possible result. Human life was protected, both that of the demonstrators and the police, that's the most important thing," police spokesman Panayiotis Stathis said.

In Berlin, 15 Greek youths occupied their country's consulate to protest the Athens shooting, the mission said without elaborating. Berlin police say there have been no violence or disturbances. The last time a teenager was killed in a police shooting — during a demonstration in 1985 — it triggered weeks of rioting.

Schools across Athens and the neighboring port city of Piraeus will remain closed in mourning for the dead teenager.

The Police Officers' Association has apologized to the boy's family, and President Karolos Papoulias sent a telegram to his parents expressing his condolences.

"This death was a blow to the country," Papoulias said. "I am certain that those responsible will be held to account."

Violence often breaks out between riot police and anarchists during demonstrations in Greece. Anarchist groups are also blamed for late-night firebombings of targets such as banks and diplomatic vehicles. The attacks rarely cause injuries.

The self-styled anarchist movement partly traces its roots in the resistance to Greece's 1967-74 military dictatorship. The youths tend to espouse general anti-capitalist and anti-Establishment principles, and have long-running animosity toward the police.

The country has experienced frequent and sometimes violent demonstrations recently against the increasingly unpopular conservative government of Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis, which has been rocked by a land swap scandal and has struggled to push through economic reforms. The opposition Socialists are now consistently ahead in opinion polls for the first time in eight years.

How Could Anyone Refuse?

Boy George cuffed escort

SHAMED pop legend Boy George has today been convicted of falsely imprisoning a male escort.

Norwegian Audun Carlsen, 29, said the baldy musician beat him with a metal chain as he tried to escape from his flat after a naked photo shoot.

A jury at Snaresbrook Crown Court found the 46-year-old ex Culture Club star – tried under his real name George O’Dowd – guilty.

The star did not give evidence but the court heard he told cops he handcuffed Mr Carlsen to his bed at his flat in Shoreditch, east London.

It happened on April 28 last year while O'Dowd investigated alleged tampering with his computer.

The singer had accused Mr Carlsen of obtaining photos of himself from his laptop, taken by the singer when the pair met three months earlier.

He told cops he did not punch or assault Mr Carlsen or swung a chain at him as the escort fled the flat.

Instead he suggested the bruises Mr Carlsen got could have been because he was HIV positive.

The defence claimed the dispute was over whether Mr Carlsen had stolen photos and, in doing that, “messed up” O’Dowd’s computer.

The suggestion it was because Mr Carlsen refused to have sex with O’Dowd on the previous occasion was “entire fantasy or a lie”, the defence said.

Mr Carlsen told the court O’Dowd concocted the story about computer tampering so he could punish him for not having sex during the first meeting.

He said: “I think he couldn’t handle the refusal - me not having sex with him.”

A shamed pop star. Is there any other kind?

Dion's Speech Didn't Help His Cause

Stephane Dion as Mayor Tommy Shanks

Imagine... Canadians don't like the idea of the three losing parties taking over the Government. Colour me shocked. I think really the Canadian word for what the Libs, NDP and Bloc-heads are doing is pronouced "CHEATING" and the collective revulsion to it is akin to having someone score a goal while being offside and not getting called on it.

Harper has crushing poll lead on crisis

Prime Minister Harper has mounted a crushing polling lead as the result of a political crisis in which an opposition coalition sought to take power, a new survey showed on Friday.

If an election were held now, Harper's Conservatives would take a whopping 46 percent of the vote, more than enough to transform his minority in Parliament into a strong majority. In the October 14 election they received 37.6 percent of the vote.

The main opposition Liberals, the leftist New Democrats and the Bloc Quebecois, which wants to take Quebec out of Canada, signed a deal on Monday to try to replace Harper with a Liberal-NDP coalition supported by the Bloc.

They were upset with Harper's attempt, since withdrawn, to cut off direct subsidies of political parties and they also said he was not doing enough to boost the economy. During the election campaign, they had ruled out forming coalitions.

Harper mounted an attack on what he called a coalition driven by separatists and socialists, and public opinion swung his way.

Liberal support dropped to 23 percent from the 26.2 percent they won in the election and the New Democrats saw their backing fall to 13 percent from 18.2 percent.

An Ekos poll released the night before showed a lead of a similar magnitude, of 20 points, for the Conservatives.

Fifty-six percent of those polled by Ipsos Reid said they would rather go to another election, even though one was just held, rather than let the coalition govern.

Harper won seven weeks of breathing space on Thursday with the suspension of Parliament until late January, when he can present a budget with economic stimulus.

The coalition could try to bring him down then, though some Liberals are saying they should think hard before doing that.

Ipsos sampled 1,001 people, a sample which should carry a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points 19 times out of 20.

Happy Birthday to His Majesty The King

Today marks His Majesty's 81st Birthday. With Thailand's many political troubles and challenges I really hope that his reign continues for many years to come. If you've ever lived in Thailand you'll understand that sentiment. He is without question the most stabilizing factor in the turbulent world of Thai politics.

Harper Hangs In

The Press is spinning this as a bid to keep power. Imagine the nerve! After being elected an everything too.

What no one seems to be mentioning is that a large part of why the losers of the last Federal Election have ganged up is because the Conservatives were going to cut all public funding (about 28 million tax dollars) to political parties.

Harper hangs on as PM, shuts Parliament

Prime Minister Stephen Harper has won a stay of political execution - at least until January.

Harper convinced Gov. Gen. Michaelle Jean to suspend Parliament on Thursday, delaying a non-confidence vote scheduled for Monday that would have brought down his beleaguered minority Conservative government.

The House of Commons has gone dark until Jan. 26, when Harper will return and present a federal budget the next day - followed by a confidence vote.

"Today's decision will give us an opportunity - I'm talking about all the parties - to focus on the economy and work together," the prime minister said outside the front door of Rideau Hall.

The decision also sets up the prospect of a fierce battle with the opposition coalition for public support over the coming weeks.

Jean agreed to Harper's unprecedented request after a face-to-face meeting at the vice-regal residence that lasted more than two hours.

Rather than parliamentary tradition, Harper pointed to public opinion polls as the source of government's ongoing legitimacy in the face of a stated absence of confidence in the House of Commons.

"This government was recently elected with a stronger mandate and, according to the polls that I've seen, the people of Canada believe that we should be able to work to fulfil our mandate," he said.

The decision pulls the teetering minority Conservative government back from the brink, at least for the moment.

"We must realize the enormity of what has happened here today," said Liberal Leader Stephane Dion, standing in the foyer of the Commons.

"For the first time in the history of Canada, the prime minister of Canada is running away from the Parliament of Canada."

All opposition leaders insisted they still intend to bring down the government. Dion said only a "monumental change" by Harper would have any hope of altering that.

NDP Leader Jack Layton said the coalition will not be abandoning its accord over the next seven weeks while the Commons sits in silence.

"I do not see that changing," Layton said.

"I cannot have confidence in a prime minister who would throw the locks on the door of this place, knowing that he's about to lose a vote in the House of Commons. That's denying about as fundamental a right as one has in a democracy."

The Bloc's Gilles Duceppe had a similar reaction. "We don't believe him and we don't have confidence in him."

But buying time may well work in the prime minister's favour, with cracks in the unwieldy alternative governing alliance are already evident.

At least two Liberal MPs suggested it's time to step back and reconsider the coalition.
Dion said Harper is putting partisan politics ahead of the best interests of Canadians, and accused him of "paying lip service to co-operation and consensus."

After the Oct. 14 election, Harper spoke of the need for all parties to work together for the common good.

But he then precipitated the crisis with the provocative economic update Nov. 27 that contained no stimulus package, killed public financing for federal political parties, and banned public sector unions from striking for two years.

The opposition coalition had asked Jean to refuse to prorogue, arguing that Harper no longer enjoys the confidence of the House of Commons.

A petition signed by 161 MPs went to the Governor General on Thursday morning stating that "a majority of Members of Parliament . . . believe that a viable alternative government can be formed."

The Conservatives hold just 143 of the 308 seats in the Commons.

Harper and Dion TV

I managed to catch a bit of Dion's sales pitch on the Coalition of the Losers last night. I have to say that it was challenging to listen to. What exactly was he saying? The coalition is good... It works in other countries... Such as? Italy? Mexico? Togo? And on and on in broken English that was actually more annoying to try to listen to than old Jean Chretien was. At least Jean was amusing. Dion was just unintelligible. I missed Harper's speech altogether so I have no commentary on how he sounded.

Once again this comes back to the same old Canadian issue; East (the coalition - Liberal, NDP, The Bloc) verses West (The Conservatives).

Here are the transcripts of Harper and Dion's TV presentations.

Harper visits Governor General to ask for suspension of Parliament

Prime Minister Stephen Harper has arrived at Rideau Hall to ask the Governor General to suspend Parliament until January.

It's a bid to avoid Monday's non-confidence vote that would bring down his minority Conservative government.

Harper set up the meeting with Michaelle Jean by telling Canadians in a televised appeal that the opposition coalition represents a threat to the economy - and democracy.

But he admitted no errors in political judgment.

Nor did he offer any new measures - such as moving up the date of the budget to deal with the economic crisis - to placate the opposition.

About 40 chanting supporters, including Conservative staffers, greeted Harper as he arrived at Rideau Hall.

A single anti-Harper demonstrator stood waving a sign reading: "Harper Must Go."

Prorogue This

With the Liberals, NDP, and Bloc all lined up to form a coalition the Tories may shut things down until the new year.

What Does Proroguing Parliament Mean?

For many Canadians, it's a term they're not familiar with but have come to know all too well in the last week: proroguing Parliament.

It appears to be the option Prime Minister Stephen Harper is heading towards, as he rushes to save his fragile minority government in the face of the coalition agreement with the Opposition.

But just what does it mean?

Proroguing Parliament is a lot like rebooting your computer after you've finished working. You're essentially starting with a clean slate uncomplicated by all the programs you may have been into before you hit that restart command.

It's the period between two sessions of a legislative body, although it rarely happens just weeks after an election has been held.

If the PM gets permission from the Governer General to prorogue the current session, it means all the MPs who were elected last October 14th will remain in place, but any unpassed bills or motions - like the controversial economic statement that started this mess - will be non-existent.

In effect, when the session starts again, in this case in early January, it would be as though the Conservatives never brought in the document and they get a second chance at presenting a new one.

Finance Minister Jim Flaherty is expected to do just that, bringing down an early budget if the P.M takes the prorogue position and Michaelle Jean agrees to it.

She's cut short her mission to Europe to be here, and it's expected Harper will ask her to end the session. But Jean has to agree, and the fate of what happens next falls squarely on her shoulders.

She can deny the P.M's request, force a new election or approve the controversial coalition forged by the Liberals, NDP and the Bloc, depending on what she believes is best for the country.

Many Canadians are openly questioning the wisdom of letting a de facto bureaucrat no one voted for decide such a vital issue, but under our system, it inevitably falls to her. It's not yet clear when her ruling might be issued, but stay tuned. As Lewis Carroll noted in "Alice's Adventures In Wonderland," things are getting 'curioser and curioser' in Ottawa.

PAD Wins (For now)

The political crisis in Thailand is over for the time being. This doesn't mean things can't go pear shaped again in a few months. For now though the Thai Government has been dissolved and the protesting PADs have left the two main airports.

First plane out

A Thai International Airways flight to Australia on Wednesday was the first international flight in a week to leave Bangkok's main airport after protesters ended their crippling siege to bring relief to tourists.

The end of the blockade came a day after the anti-government People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) claimed victory against premier Somchai Wongsawat, when a court barred him from politics and disbanded the ruling party.

Officials said 388 passengers were on the Thai Airways flight to Sydney that departed from Suvarnabhumi Airport, most of them Australian tourists who were among the 350,000 travellers stranded in Thailand for the past eight days.

"It's really good to go back home," Australian Brad Wheeler told AFP as he waited for the Sydney flight, which left nearly 90 minutes late due to problems getting passengers from a makeshift check-in desk in central Bangkok.

A handful of domestic flights and a plane from Jordan also trickled in to the airport, while international departures to New Delhi, Narita, Frankfurt, Seoul and Copenhagen were due during the night.

Hundreds of yellow-clad demonstrators had earlier streamed out of Suvarnabhumi and the Don Mueang domestic airports in cars, taxis and buses after the PAD handed over control to authorities.

"We will come back when the nation needs us," warned Somkiat Pongpaibul, a key leader of the PAD.

Thai authorities concentrated Wednesday on getting the airport up and running following a week in which governments around the world have operated emergency flights to evacuate desperate tourists.

Until Wednesday they were being ferried slowly out of a naval base southeast of Bangkok and a handful of regional airports.

"We will try and get everything back to normal as soon as possible," said Airports of Thailand chief Vudhibhandhu Vichairatana.

Damage from the occupation had not yet been estimated, Vudhibhandhu said. But Thai Airways said it alone had lost about $560 million.

Acting Prime Minister Chavarat Charnvirakul said parliament would likely vote on a new prime minister on Monday or Tuesday.

"In the next two weeks I think we will come again," said protester Pas Apinantpreeda.

Tories Face Coalition

The problem with Canada's electoral system is about to be clearly demonstrated. Even though the Tories won a "minority" their rule may end as of December 8th if the NDP (aka commies), Liberals (aka thieves) and Bloc (aka traitors) form a coalition to replace them.

Liberals, NDP one step closer to coalition deal

Liberal MPs are expected to receive on Monday the outline of a Liberal-NDP coalition agreement that would see the two parties replace the minority Conservative government.
Details of the agreement were being fleshed out Sunday night.

Under the proposed deal, the NDP would hold 25 per cent of cabinet positions while the positions of finance minister, treasury board president and deputy prime minister would be held by Liberals.

The deal would reportedly last 30 months.

The Bloc Québécois would not officially be a part of the coalition, but the new government's survival would depend on its support.

Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion has shown the outline of an agreement between his party and the New Democratic Party to Liberal leadership candidates Michael Ignatieff, Dominic LeBlanc and Bob Rae.

The Liberal caucus is meeting Monday and will discuss the proposed agreement.
What remains unclear is who would lead the coalition.

"The real obstacle to this deal going through is still within the Liberal party," CBC's Keith Boag reported, adding the deal is being negotiated by Dion, who believes he has the right to be prime minister.

But it's unclear whether the party wants him to continue, and the leadership candidates met Sunday evening to discuss the matter, Boag said.

The National Post reported that a deal has been worked out that would make Ignatieff, who has the support of a majority of Liberal MPs, the prime minister in a Liberal-led coalition, with Rae being named to a senior post.

But in an interview with CTV's Canada AM, Rae said there was no discussion at the meeting among the leadership candidates that someone other than Dion would lead the coalition.

However, Prime Minister Stephen Harper could still block coalition efforts by proroguing Parliament, that is, suspending it without dissolving it. That would mean his government could not be defeated in the current session of the House of Commons.