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Tony Abbott says he doesn't support banning the burqa, but admits he finds it "confronting" and wishes people wouldn't wear it.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott has expressed support for a push to ban the burqa from Parliament House on security grounds, prompting senior Liberal figures to distance themselves from him.

And with parliamentary officials expected to rule on a possible ban as soon as next week after receiving advice from security agencies, Mr Abbott's comments prompted a backlash from sections of the Muslim community.

The PM's chief of staff Peta Credlin has spoken of her support for a burqa ban at Parliament. Photo: Alex Ellinghausen

Fairfax Media revealed on Wednesday Mr Abbott's most senior adviser, Peta Credlin, had told backbench MP and burqa critic George Christensen she also supported a ban in Parliament. Mr Christensen and South Australian senator Cory Bernardi have led the push to ban the garment in Parliament House.

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Rather than hauling the duo into line, Mr Abbott said he found the burqa a "fairly confronting form of attire and frankly I wish it weren't worn".

"We are free country, we are a free society and it's not the business of government to tell people what they should and shouldn't wear," he said, before adding he was unaware of any record of anyone attempting to enter Parliament wearing the garment.

Photo: Fairfax Media

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PM's burqa ban call divides Liberals

CTV Montreal Published Wednesday, October 1, 2014 9:20PM EDT Last Updated Wednesday, October 1, 2014 9:21PM EDT

A bitter political debate is stirring among Quebec's two main political parties over western Canadian oil being exported to the world through the province.

Oil shipments on the Saint Lawrence River are increasing this fall and could more than double in four years.

The opposition Parti Quebecois is slamming the Liberal government for allowing the oil into Quebec, saying the Liberals don't have guarantees on either jobs or environmental safety.

The PQ hit back, saying that when the PQ was in power last term, it encouraged an Enbridge pipeline reversal to bring Alberta oil to Quebec.

That was different, said PQ energy critic Bernard Drainville.

Let's not mix up two things. We have one project, it's for Quebec's consumption needs and it's going to be maintaining, creating jobs in Quebec, he said.

This new project by Transcanada would bring supertankers through the Levis terminal and up the coast to a new terminal to be built in Cacouna. Up to 150,000 tonnes of oil per day would be shipped in, much of it for export to foreign markets.

The PQ said that is too risky and since marine transport is a federal domain, it's out of Quebec's control.

Hey, look, the Saint Lawrence River is the main reservoir of drinking water for the population of Quebec, said Drainville.

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PQ, Liberals row over Transcanada supertanker oil shipments

Here's another thing: The attack ad on Larry Hogan that claims Anthony Brown's Republican challenger for governor wants to give a $300 million tax break to corporations at the expense of kindergartners that's another stretch into the shady side by the Democrats, and for a couple of reasons.

First of all, Hogan hasn't said any such thing yet, although, being a mainstream Republican businessman, he says he would cut Maryland's corporate tax rate, and we all know the story there: You can't be a Republican without saying you want to cut taxes. It's a thing with them. It gets into the DNA after a couple of generations.

Of course, it might make no sense. There might be no guarantee that cutting corporate taxes will grow the Maryland economy and create badly needed jobs. But it sounds good. It's like a bird call to companies thinking about building a nest in the Hardly Free State: Hey-you-guys, lookie-here lookie-here lookie-here!

It's not a Rick Perry-style Come-to-Texas-and-Exploit-Our-Workers kind of message, but it sets the tone that Maryland is open for business.

Now, Hogan has said he wants to reduce spending first, then see about cutting taxes. But Brown supporters, lead by the Democratic Governors Association, apparently took a legislative analysis of cutting the corporate tax rate by 2.25 percent, and they pinned the $300 million cost of doing that on Hogan.

And since he isn't as hot about expanding pre-K education as Brown is (because Hogan doesn't think we have the money to pay for it), then ole Larry must be a shill for millionaires. After all, the Supreme Court says corporations are people, and such people are likely to be millionaires who live where the air is rare (and I don't mean Back River).

So, you get the picture: Hogan wants to make the rich richer while depriving little bitty children of a head start on education; the children most likely to be deprived would be those from families that cannot afford pre-K otherwise.

In other words, Hogan wants to take $300 million that could go to poor children and give it to rich guys in suits.

I got all that from a 30-second television ad.

(By the way, here's the only downside to the Orioles now being on national television instead of MASN: No ridiculous Barry Glazer commercials.)

Continued here:
Democrats knock Hogan, but they like tax breaks, too

TOPEKA, Kan. A Kansas court ruled Wednesday that Democrats can go without a U.S. Senate candidate on the ballot after their nominee dropped out of the race against three-term Republican Sen. Pat Roberts, a blow to the GOP in the national battle over control of the Senate.

A panel of three Shawnee County District Court judges said a state election law does not require Democrats to fill the candidate vacancy. The judges also said the disgruntled voter who sued the state Democratic Party and three of its top officials failed to provide evidence to sustain it by refusing to participate in the only hearing in the case Monday.

Some Democrats pushed former nominee Chad Taylor out of the race because they saw independent candidate Greg Orman as the stronger rival for Roberts and didnt want to split the anti-Roberts vote.

The Kansas Supreme Court allowed Taylor to remove his name from the Nov. 4 ballot last month, but the voter immediately sued the Democratic Party.

Many Democrats didnt want to have a candidate to avoid a split in the anti-Roberts vote, while many Republicans hoped Democrats would be forced to replace Taylor, to siphon votes away from Orman.

The GOP needs a net gain of six seats to recapture a Senate majority and has always counted on Roberts winning re-election in a state that has elected only Republicans to the chamber since 1932. But Roberts looked vulnerable after a difficult primary against a tea party challenger and still faces questions about his residency after a long career in Washington.

Secretary of State Kris Kobach a Republican and a strong Roberts supporter who unsuccessfully sought to block Taylors removal from the ballot said counties need to begin printing tens of thousands of ballots Thursday so that people could start voting in advance on Oct. 15.

The lawsuit was filed by David Orel, 57, a longtime registered Democrat from Kansas City, Kansas. His 22-year-old son, Alex, works on the re-election campaign of GOP Gov. Sam Brownback, a Roberts supporter.

Orels attorney, Tom Haney, of Topeka, said Orel simply wants to vote for a Democrat in the Nov. 4 election. He refused to show up Monday for the only hearing in the case because, Haney said, he faced intense news media scrutiny.

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Democrats dont need Kansas Senate nominee, court rules

Immigration Reform - Advice for illegals

By: Marijan Cvjeticanin

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Immigration Reform - Advice for illegals - Video