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-- So the Tory speech plagiarism is legit

So the Tory speech plagiarism is legit

Look, the liberals got something right.

Hope that speech writer has a second job.

quote:

Tories admit plagiarism in Harper speech Speech writer resigns from campaign after Liberals reveal much of a 2003 speech on Iraq by Harper was cribbed from then Australian prime minister John Howard CARLY WEEKS and BRODIE FENLON AND JANE TABER Globe and Mail Update September 30, 2008 at 5:44 PM EDT OTTAWA � A senior Conservative campaign official has resigned after the Liberals revealed Tuesday that nearly half of Stephen Harper's 2003 speech urging Canada to send troops into Iraq was copied word-for-word from then Australian prime minister John Howard. In a statement, Owen Lippert says he was working in Mr. Harper's office in 2003 when he was asked to write a speech for the-then leader of the opposition. "Pressed for time, I was overzealous in copying segments of another world leader's speech ... I apologize to all involved and have resigned my position from the Conservative campaign." Liberal MP Bob Rae said the copied speech is damning evidence of the fact Canada is losing its own voice in foreign policy under a Conservative government. The country has become a parrot of right-wing interests from the U.S. and other foreign countries under Harper's Conservatives, Mr. Rae said. "How can Canadians trust anything that Mr. Harper says now?" Mr. Rae said during a speech in Toronto. "Stephen Harper's government has taken Canada down a foreign and defence policy path unworthy of our great country." Mr. Harper made his address to the House of Commons two days after Mr. Howard, and a side-by-side comparison of the speeches show significant portions were identical, Mr. Rae said. "How does a leader in Canada's Parliament, on such a crucial issue, end up giving almost the exact same speech as any other country's leader, let alone a leader who was a key member of George W. Bush's coalition of the willing?" Mr. Rae said. Liberal Leader St�phane Dion said Mr. Harper should be expelled from the party and said his actions raise serious doubts about his ability to lead Canada's foreign policy without having to follow the direction of countries with right wing policies. The Liberal campaign released videos of Mr. Howard and Mr. Harper's speeches, which were delivered March 18, 2003 and March 20, 2003, respectively. "We should all remember the intense international pressure that Canada was under to send our troops to Iraq," Mr. Rae said. Many of the lines of Mr. Howard's speech were also used in editorials Mr. Harper submitted to newspapers such as the Toronto Star, National Post and Ottawa Citizen. Mr. Lippert was a senior fellow with the Fraser Institute and holds a Ph.D in modern European history. He worked as press secretary to Kim Campbell when she was attorney general and justice minister, and taught at Carleton University and University of British Columbia. More recently, he worked as a senior policy adviser to Bev Oda, the International Co-operation minister. For a period of time in 1996, he served on the editorial board of The Globe and Mail. Earlier, Conservative spokesman Yaroslav Baran told The Globe and Mail that Mr. Rae's "attack" was evidence of Liberal desperation. "This is exactly why the Liberals are in the trouble they're in, as a party and as a campaign," Mr. Baran said Tuesday. "They want to focus on a speech from five years, two elections, three Parliaments ago, from a party that no longer exists. Mr. Baran said the major issue on the minds of Canadians is the economy, and the Liberals should be focusing on that. The fact the Liberals are making this accusation is evidence of their weak campaign and leadership, Mr. Baran said. "We're not going to get drawn into which staffer wrote which speech five years ago," he said. "This is nothing but desperation from the Liberal campaign, and it's completely irrelevant to the real concerns of voters in this election." A senior Conservative strategist repeatedly refused this morning to address the allegations of plagiarism by the Liberals. The strategist was on an off-the-record conference call with about 40 journalists. Although the call was scheduled to discuss Mr. Harper's role in the upcoming leaders' debates and the request by the Tories to extend the economy portion of the debate because of the recent crisis, the strategist was inundated with questions from journalists about the Iraq speech. The strategist dismissed the allegations as not being relevant and characterized the Liberal allegations as �gotcha� journalism and why Liberals are now at �an all-time low in the polls.� At times, he was testy with reporters, dismissing a question as to whether the Bush White House asked Mr. Harper to make the remarks as �one of the most ridiculous speculative assertions I have heard.� However, the strategist would not say whether the speech was plagiarized or who wrote it. "He's unable to choose his own words," Mr. Dion said at a campaign event at a soup kitchen in Gatineau, Que. "Canadians want their country [to] speak with its own voice on the world stage." While plagiarism is a major offence, the fact that Mr. Harper lifted words from another leader on such a critical issue as the war in Iraq is even worse, Mr. Dion said. "He chose the words of the coalition of the willing," Mr. Dion said. "We have two problems. [He] plagiarized, but at the same time, plagiarized George W. Bush about the war in Iraq." Not to be outdone, the New Democrats reminded voters Tuesday of several Liberals who advocated Canadian participation in the Iraq war, most notably deputy Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff. With a report from The Canadian Press

Said speech writer has already resigned, and as such is likely unemployed and looking for new, exciting employment opportunities.

However, his/her resume likely includes such gems as "Stealing fucking speeches from some Australian asshole: 2003 - Present," and prospective employers usually frown on such language.

So, speech 5 yrs ago when Cons weren't the govt, and Bob Rae jumps on it like it's fresh news. LOL

Trying to relate Harper to Bush yet again. Didn't work last time, doubt it'll work this time either.

they still have my vote

I guess Harper was right this week when he said "Remember, Canada is not the United States".

Indeed...apparently Canada is Australia! LOL


this isn't *that* big of a deal. It's not like this suggests Harper and the CPC is unfit to lead ...but to say that this is irrelevant is pure CPC ball-licking. if the Liberals pulled a stunt like this, their critics would pounce too.

It's clearly a major political embarassment...but I don't know what real consequence this otherwise has.

Sure, the topic is/was a serious issue...but just because the speech was copied doesn't mean that it wasn't the CPC's position too. maybe it provides some more ammunition for critics who say the CPC can't/won't put forth a Canadian position on some matters, but...meh.

I can't believe I'm downplaying a CPC fuckup (though I do take great joy in Harper looking like a douchebag, even if they can pawn this off on some party staffer).

I wouldn't be surprised if that person had nothing to do with writting the speech and was just "taking one for the team"

I wonder what he was thinking at the time... "I copied a from a speech televised to millions, and used it for a speech in front of even more millions.... do you think anyone will notice?"

quote:

Originally posted by activate I wouldn't be surprised if that person had nothing to do with writting the speech and was just "taking one for the team"

i was thinking the same thing..

This will hopfuly hurt the conservative image for the election.

I just love watching Harper making himslef look like a fuckin idiot that he is.

quote:

Originally posted by Abercrombie I wonder what he was thinking at the time... "I copied a from a speech televised to millions, and used it for a speech in front of even more millions.... do you think anyone will notice?"

Wouldn't surprise me if the whole speech was Google copypasta, and the Howard bit was just the most recognizable.

I'd be more than a little embarrassed about it, but I put very little stock into campaign speeches anyway, and I'll bet that plagiarism in general is a lot more rampant than anybody realizes. He just picked a really stupid source to plagiarize.

and to top it off... it took someone 5 years to find this out and make a point out of it. Who's dumber?

won't do much for the election, might do a bit to conservative credibility

ouch, lol.

quote:

Originally posted by Yohan So, speech 5 yrs ago when Cons weren't the govt, and Bob Rae jumps on it like it's fresh news. LOL Trying to relate Harper to Bush yet again. Didn't work last time, doubt it'll work this time either.

The Libs pulling this out has nothing to do with plagiarism and everything to do with trying to frighten people away from the Cons. The real goal here is to get the media to play that clip over and over, write articles about it, get people downloading it, and talking about it. The end game is that it will remind Canadians that had Harper been the PM and in a majority position in March 2003 we'd be involved in the Iraq war right now.

I wouldn't say this didn't work last time... prior to the final two weeks of the last campaign the Cons looked to have a very strong minority, then the Libs pulled out the scare ads painting Harper as a radical nut-case that would put troops and tanks in Canadian streets, after-which the Cons took a bit of a nose-dive (despite the fact that everyone was mocking the commercials).

quote:

Mr. Lippert was a senior fellow with the Fraser Institute and holds a Ph.D in modern European history. He worked as press secretary to Kim Campbell when she was attorney general and justice minister, and taught at Carleton University and University of British Columbia. More recently, he worked as a senior policy adviser to Bev Oda, the International Co-operation minister.

Fuck, with that pedigree, he should know plagiarism is bad mkayyyy

For all you widescreen lovers.. !

harper is a tool.

who really listens to speeches anyway, really?

bunch of windbags.

quote:

Originally posted by devnull Fuck, with that pedigree, he should know plagiarism is bad mkayyyy

+ 1

Harper needs to go back to Mars. Fucking alien Con.

quote:

Originally posted by Abercrombie and to top it off... it took someone 5 years to find this out and make a point out of it. Who's dumber?

I'd say that someone's been sitting on this, waiting for just the right moment...

Yawn.

quote:

Originally posted by rabbitjoker Yawn.

Leave

And the Aussie even reads it better.

Conservatism is the never changing face of politics.

Silence I guess from the Tory peanut gallery - not suprised. I personally do listen to speeches and I am forced to believe that Dion in inept because of his lack of presence when he presents similar; although unique speeches.

Harper is the most uninspiring individual leading any first world nation.

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