Politics on this side of the pond

I've been blogging about what's going on in the middle-east a lot but I haven't said much about the up coming Canadian Federal elections, beyond the fact I really don't like Harper. On that note check this site out. Makes it clear to me that I can't stand him.

Besides it was pointed out to me a couple of days ago, that Harper's Government has consistently disrespected women. Would you vote for a party that treats half the of countries people like 2nd class citizens eroding their rights? 

There's groups like Catch22 which suggests that we can defeat Harper by strategic voting. This means not specifically voting for the person who you feel is best, but voting for the candidate that is most likely going to defeat a Conservative representative.

There's also another group called  project Democracy which has similar aspirations as catch22. That is to help vote to keep Harper's Conservatives out!

This is probably the first time in my life that I'm going to vote for a major party in a Federal election. Usually I'm so turned off by each and every party and their leader that I vote for a small candidate that has no way of getting in but doesn't give my vote to someone I can't stand. 

I've always been somewhere between the Liberals and the NDP in the spectrum. I remember debating with my dad years ago about the NDP. He was fundamentally against them because of their stand on NATO.  I'm not sure how they stand on NATO these days, but I still think they are a good alternative and for the first time in years they have an actual chance of being the official opposition. 

Many articles have said that there is not much different between where the Liberals and NDP stand these days in terms of major issues, so I can't help but wonder if I'm just going to toss a coin on election day.