StopIggy.com revealed
The fighting in the Liberal leadership campagin is getting dirty, and Michael Ignatieff is the target. So I decide to see what the most famous Michael Ignatieff anklebiter has to say, when I see that the website mysteriously disappeared (not really). But in doing so, she has revealed herself. StopIggy is Marsha Akman, Liberal Party activist and a member of the party's women's commission.
Question: Are you seeing StopIggy.com? Have I been banned?
Update: I can access the site via Internet Explorer but not through Firefox -- still reports "disabled". Odd.
Update: Or is the truth behind StopIggy.com far more complicated?
Update: Re-considering Marsha Akman's role in this.
Irregularities in memberships have been alleged against Liberal leadership candidate Michael Ignatieff, just as Joe Volpe prepares to make a statement about allegations that his membership list has been padded with unaware and even dead members:
Mud is starting to fly fast and furiously in the Liberal leadership race with allegations of membership irregularities spreading from Joe Volpe to presumed front-runner Michael Ignatieff.
A complaint has been filed with the Liberal party about 60 members allegedly signed up improperly by Ignatieff's camp in two Toronto-area ridings, including one man in Ignatieff's constituency said to have died two years ago.
The complaint, filed Monday with the Ontario wing of the party, comes on the heels allegations that Volpe's team improperly signed up scores of members in Montreal.
It includes signed statements from three of the members who each declare that "my membership fees were kindly paid for by the Michael Ignatieff leadership campaign."
As well, the complaint lists 11 members in the riding of Brampton-Springdale who all gave the same home address, which the complainant alleges is actually an Indian restaurant. Brampton Springdale is held by MP Ruby Dhalla, a top Ignatieff supporter.
"Everybody's on a witch hunt," observed Dave Pretlove, executive director of the Ontario wing.
So who is more honest? The one who signed up fewer dead people?
The complaint was filed by George Kunz, a longtime Liberal from Burlington who said he's not affiliated with any of the leadership camps.
He said he began "doing some digging" after hearing about irregularities from several Liberal friends.
"I'd like to see the party do things according to its own rules. I don't want to see one camp be unfair to another camp," Kunz said in an interview shortly after filing his complaint.
He said he spoke to the widow of the man who died two years ago and said "she was quite shocked that he was a voting member."
I decided to see what the Stop Iggy people had to say. I was surprised to see this:
This site is temporarily unavailable.
According to the Google cache, the site was active as recently as 16-Sep-2006.
So I checked the registration, and now a new name is listed. The administrative contact is Marsha Akman:
Registrant:
n/a
5761 Honore de Balzac
Montreal, QC H4W1T3
CADomain name: STOPIGGY.COM
Administrative Contact:
Akman, Marsha marsha@stopiggy.com
5761 Honore de Balzac
Montreal, QC H4W1T3
CA
+1.5144874305
Who is Marsha Akman?
But the ''Stop Iggy'' symbols were first seen in Drummondville, Quebec in April -- when this site was registered. Here's the top of a Montreal Gazette story published April 30.
Standing in the crowded lobby of a local hotel, Marsha Akman was like a kid on a shopping spree.
"We have a meeting right now with Stephane Dion, then we're meeting Carolyn Bennett at 12, then we're going to be meeting (Ken) Dryden afterwards," said Akman, a Liberal activist in the riding of Mount Royal and a member of the party's women's commission. "We're going to start talking issues and get a feel for how they are and go from there."
Like many members of the federal party's Quebec wing, Akman does not yet know who will get her vote when Liberals meet in early December in Montreal to choose their next leader.
However, she has already scratched one candidate off her list. "It's anybody but Ignatieff," said Akman, sporting two "Stop Iggy" stickers on her shirt to protest what she sees as Michael Ignatieff's right-wing views.
Could there be a connection?
Apparently there was. More of the same sentiment at Ken Dryden's website:
For veteran Mount Royal Liberal, Marsha Akman, who came out to see Dryden, the campaign so far is not so much about who she supports but more of an active campaign to stop leading candidate Michael Ignatieff.
“I think the top three are Dryden, Stephane Dion and Gerard Kennedy. I’m not supporting any candidate at this point, but I do know that the worst thing for the party would be to have Ignatieff become leader,” she said. “This is a guy who calls himself a left-of-centre Liberal but supported the invasion of Iraq and called Israel an apartheid state. There’s no way he could win Canada for us.”
Now that's interesting, because when the Ottawa Citizen asked other leadership campaigns about what they thought of StopIggy.com, most were against it:
Representatives from other campaigns reached by the Ottawa Citizen slammed the website and the way the e-mails were sent, adding they were sure the lists were not leaked from their campaigns. Representatives from the campaigns of Scott Brison, Stephane Dion and Gerard Kennedy did not return calls.
So Dion and Kennedy have no comment about StopIggy.com, and Dion and Kennedy are two of the three top candidates named by StopIggy.com administrator Marsha Akman. Interesting.
Were any of the campaign backing Akman's efforts? Who is Akman supporting? And why was the site taken down? Especially since it would seem that Michael Ignatieff is vulnerable right now.
One more thing. How appropriate is it for a member of one the Liberal Party's women's commission (I haven't found confirmation of this yet, by the way) to be actively campaigning against one of the candidates? Should commissions be impartial, since they are providing advice to all candidates on the issues?
Question for my readers: Try to access StopIggy.com and put a comment as to your success. I keep getting a "Site Disabled" page, but one other reader is seeing the site fine. Have I been banned?
Update: A Firefox problem? I can access the site via Internet Explorer.
Skew my story on Skewz.com
Rate political news for their bias, read related stories, and leave your own skewed commentary
Search for more opinions from Canadian bloggers on these related keywords
Michael Ignatieff Joe Volpe Liberal Party Canada Stop Iggy StopIggy StopIggy.com Marsha Akman
Sphere presents related news articles and blog posts
Sphere It!
Comments
hmmmm... I can see the "stopiggy" cache being added to the liberalmemberships site...
Posted by: Richard Evans at September 25, 2006 01:08 PM
It's ok for women's commission members to be supporting candidates. It is just a branch of the party like the youth wing, or aboriginal commission. it is not to be confused with the commissions set up with the red-ribbon panel.
Posted by: at September 25, 2006 01:09 PM
This is no surprise. The stopiggy vote will go to Bob Rae(IMHO). I think it will now be a 2 way race between Pinko Bobby and Iggy. Poor Mr. Dion..
Posted by: David at September 25, 2006 01:12 PM
In other Liberal Leadership news, the sound of champagne corks were heard popping in the PMO this morning.
Posted by: neo at September 25, 2006 01:15 PM
Chamnpagne corks popping in the morning? Don't tell me our moonbat-filled LOYAL opposition has driven poor Harper to take a few swigs before Question Period
Posted by: Matt at September 25, 2006 01:45 PM
Both of your links for the website work for me...
Posted by: Bruce at September 25, 2006 03:25 PM
steve, i can access stopiggy.com just fine... if you have a static ip, maybe she's filtering you out.
****************
it's amazing how many of the moonbat bloggers lock down their comments section, so they can only post the ones they like.
i say, even a crackpot like matt (above) should be able to speak his mind. that's the real meaning of democracy.
Posted by: neo at September 25, 2006 03:27 PM
I can see StopIggy just fine.
Posted by: PlaidShirt at September 25, 2006 03:28 PM
I can see StopIggy just fine here on the left coast
Posted by: hoser joe at September 25, 2006 03:35 PM
The website comes up just fine for me. I tried it a couple of times to be sure.
Posted by: OnTory-O at September 25, 2006 03:36 PM
I can see stopiggy.com, I also tried a couple of times to be sure.
Posted by: Selma at September 25, 2006 03:39 PM
"So who is more honest...the one that signed fewer dead people?" Thanks for that one Steve.. Classic...with Libs it is always moral relativism...now it's coming back at'em!!
Posted by: Vicki at September 25, 2006 03:43 PM
Steve, I can get to the stopiggy website just fine from here in scenic, downtown Aylmer (ON), the centre of the universe (after Left Elbow, Sask). Using Amtelecom which subs to Allstream.
Posted by: Erik Sorenson at September 25, 2006 03:46 PM
I too can see the site. Perhaps the airing of the laundry should be done in private - one of these folks is going to win - why give the electorate one more reason NOT to vote Liberal?
The Conservatives and NDP should be taking image captures of all these sites and bring them up come election time. You would think the Librano$ would take heed of the most important messages from their The Godfather playbook - never show dissension within the ranks of The Family...
Posted by: at September 25, 2006 04:10 PM
I too can see the site. Perhaps the airing of the laundry should be done in private - one of these folks is going to win - why give the electorate one more reason NOT to vote Liberal?
The Conservatives and NDP should be taking image captures of all these sites and bring them up come election time. You would think the Librano$ would take heed of the most important messages from their The Godfather playbook - never show dissent within the ranks of The Family...
Posted by: at September 25, 2006 04:10 PM
oops - sorry about that last double post - thought I caught it in time...
Posted by: at September 25, 2006 04:11 PM
Yes, it would appear as though you've been banned. So much for freedom of the press.
Posted by: Twolane at September 25, 2006 04:14 PM
Yea I can still see it..
funny, all the reasons she's spouting off are exactly the kind of reasons that might give the Liberal party a fighting chance next election... now that Harper has proven to not be "scary" You'd think the more centerist votes they could get would be important.
oh well happy for conservatives if the liberals content themselves fighting with the NDP for the 1/3 extreme left votes in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver.
besides from what I can tell just choosing Bob Rae guarentees the conservatives dominance of Ontario...
Posted by: Sierra at September 25, 2006 04:18 PM
I just clicked on the link, and I can see the site, no problem.
Posted by: Werner Patels at September 25, 2006 04:20 PM
I can see the site no problem.
Posted by: Bagadonitz at September 25, 2006 04:51 PM
Haha,
I see it clear as day.
Posted by: Olaf at September 25, 2006 04:54 PM
As of 4:00 PM Mountain time on 25 Sep, I got through no problem to Stop Iggy.
Posted by: Guest at September 25, 2006 05:10 PM
just got in no problem. Maybe you have been iggied at stopiggy....
Posted by: at September 25, 2006 05:33 PM
Maybe it's Kismet...
Posted by: Selma at September 25, 2006 05:40 PM
I'm using Firefox (1.5.0.7; javascript disabled) and I got through to the site no problem. Opera (latest released version) worked fine too.
Great blog, Steve.
Holmwood
Posted by: Holmwood at September 25, 2006 05:47 PM
stopiggy displays okay for me using Firefox/1.5 ("Deer Park") on (Debian "Sid") Linux.
Banned from a protest site? Now that would be funny. Have you tried flushing your browser & DNS caches?
Posted by: Paul O at September 25, 2006 05:50 PM
Well, it looks like www.stopiggy.com does not work for me (says the site is temporarily unavailable) BUT just "stopiggy.com" works (without the "www" prefix).
That might explain the discrepancies.
Posted by: JW at September 25, 2006 06:30 PM
That is really weird, JW. I get through WITH the "www" prefix, and NOT without.
Posted by: Brian in Calgary at September 25, 2006 07:43 PM
Anonymous said...
She wasn't the only owner of that site:
"Shawn Jackson, a Toronto man in whose name the website was registered, said he was trying to take his name off the registration because he only helped get the site online. ''I didn't really make it, somebody else is responsible for the content,'' he said, though he declined to name anyone."
http://www.canada.com/topics/news/politics/story.html?id=fce6c772-c2d4-4815-9ba2-987a173f6915&k=10183
The other issue was who sent out the mailing using the new member list that was only given to the leadership campaigns.
Story isn't done. ...-
http://curiouslyliberal.blogspot.com/2006/09/is-marsha-akman-responsible-for-stop.html
Posted by: maz2 at September 25, 2006 07:50 PM
it works for me (using firefox).
Posted by: Mike F at September 25, 2006 07:56 PM
I can see the site with or without the 'www' prefix, on IE, Firefox, and Safari. Steve, since you can view it on IE, I'm guessing you haven't been banned. Seems like you've jumped the gun (yet again).
Why, by the way, did your mind go immediately to "Have I been banned?" What would be the purpose? There's no comment section on StopIggy, so it's not like the webmaster there was trying to keep out trolls. And in this day and age, trying to stop a specific person from accessing a public site through static IP blocking would be rather naive and pointless, no? I worry you're getting a bit big for your britches...
Posted by: A at September 25, 2006 10:44 PM
 
|
|
