Michael Ignatieff is speaking once again about being ready to go for an election, and drawing disaffected voters from the Bloc, NDP and even Red Tories, who want to be rid of Harper, and that a vote for anyone else is a vote for Harper. I really don’t see that going over well with the other parties – but it does help set up more of the narrative of what the next election will be about.
For those of you who haven’t heard, there is a Mexican teenager being held in immigration detention in Toronto after a failed refugee claim for him and his gay sister. They’re on the run from homophobic outlaws in Mexico who killed his sister’s partner. There are concerns about whether he’s had a fair process – seeing as our immigration system is not exactly friendly to Mexican claimants, saying that Mexico City is friendly enough for queers (though ask anyone from Mexico and they’ll say it’s friendly for tourists, but not so much for the locals). Given that the minister tried to push through reforms this past year that were aimed at shutting out more Mexicans (remember the “safe country of origin” list?), there could very well be a point there.
Apparently the US used secret pressure tactics on Norway to get them to purchase the F-35 fighters. Does this mean they also used those tactics on us?
Don Cherry visited the troops in Kandahar. Because there’s nothing like wrapping oneself in the flag and using the troops to bolster one’s credentials for one’s next political endorsement.
Susan Delacourt addresses those rumours about Stephen Harper’s marriage.
And for those of you who missed, it, here is the Queen’s message from Hampton Court palace, where she talks about the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible (which sounds like it was a very political document, the way she’s described it) and the use of sport to build community.