Reply #12: I like Azania, but I will be mighty surprised if he wins

[daleo]

When Jaffer had his riding manager impersonate him on the radio, that was just too much. I hope the people of Edmonton Strathcona send him packing just for that.

And speaking of lying Reform/Alliance/Conservatives, did anyone notice the Jan Wong story about Stephen Harper in the Globe and Mail today? It contained some interesting stuff, that contradicts other published accounts of Harper's background. Mainly:

1 - Jan Wong's story says that Harper graduated from high school in 1979 (she mentions him being in the 1978-79 edition of a high school yearbook), while every other account of his background I found on the web said he graduated in 1978.

2 - Also, her account mentions that he dropped out of U of Toronto in his first year, at Christmas. No other accounts I have found even mention the U of T interlude.

3 - She says he had a brief position as a computer programmer in Edmonton, with Imperial Oil, although she doesn't mention the exact duration or time of the job. Still, the wording seems suggestive of a fairly short time in the job. I would put it at about 1980 if her other information is correct. All the references on the web I have found just make general claims, along the lines "he went to Calgary to work in the oil fields during 1978-81".

I don't want to knock anyone for a few false starts in their late teens and early twenties, but it definitely seems clear to me that his past has had a little cleaning up for the press. Nothing big, but along the lines of resume padding.

Also, when the economy tanked in Alberta, about 1982 things got very difficult. I wonder if he collected UIC around that time, then decided to return to university? That is about how it went for me.

At any rate, there seem to be some contradictions in these accounts.

The Conservative Party homepage does not shed any light on these facts in their little biographical sketch of the leader.