BruceR. at Flit, well-worth the read:
'I've called Slate's Fred Kaplan "hysterical" before this. So this doesn't come as much of a surprise. Discussing the worst case in Afghanistan:
As with confronting most messes in life, the initial impulse is to flee. But if we simply pulled out, it's a near-certain bet that the Taliban would march into Kabul, and most other Afghan towns they'd care to, in a matter of weeks.
I don't know anyone who really believes that. A lot of people think the place would return to a state of civil war in a matter of weeks or not days. I've previously said the army would rapidly revert to its Northern Alliance roots and the ANP in places it was unpopular would likely dissolve. But it'd take a while until the Taliban were back in Kabul in any scenario...'
http://www.snappingturtle.net/
fl..._01.html#006592
Mark
Ottawa
A column at Speigel Online thinks the president laid an egg:
"Searching in Vain for the Obama Magic
Never before has a speech by President Barack Obama felt as false as his Tuesday address announcing America's new strategy for Afghanistan. It seemed like a campaign speech combined with Bush rhetoric -- and left both dreamers and realists feeling distraught.
One can hardly blame the West Point leadership. The academy commanders did their best to ensure that Commander-in-Chief Barack Obama's speech would be well-received.
Just minutes before the president took the stage inside Eisenhower Hall, the gathered cadets were asked to respond "enthusiastically" to the speech. But it didn't help: The soldiers' reception was cool.
One didn't have to be a cadet on Tuesday to feel a bit of nausea upon hearing Obama's speech. It was the least truthful address that he has ever held. He spoke of responsibility, but almost every sentence smelled of party tactics. He demanded sacrifice, but he was unable to say what it was for exactly.
An additional 30,000 US soldiers are to march into Afghanistan -- and then they will march right back out again. America is going to war -- and from there it will continue ahead to peace. It was the speech of a Nobel War Prize laureate..."
http://www.spiegel.de/
internatio...,664753,00.html
Ouch! And I tend to agree.
Mark
Ottawa
"Afstan: After a short absence, the CF return to Arghandab/Canadian Army general pulled out"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...-return-
to.html
"What's the exit strategy for this rather sizeable NATO force...
...in a relatively small, overwhelmingly Muslim, country?.."
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...his-
rather.html
Mark
Ottawa
A lovely post by Publius:
"The Stupid Party"
http://dustmybroom.com/index.php...rticle&
id=12978
Mark
Ottawa
Here is an interesting piece on India's ever flexible Copenhagen position.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.c...how/
5279771.cms
Yet this is the same country that signed on to the Commonwealth decleration that all countries should have binding targets. Gotta love it when countries take contradictory positions. Just puts a premium on having a proper negotiating startegy versus just negotiating to make yourself feel good.
If this is the problem many indicate, then shouldnt the carbonistas be protesting in front of the Indian embassy as we speak?
Paul at "Celestial Junk" is on the rampage (his son just returned from a tour in Afstan with Army):
"Utter Disgust with Liberals and Conservatives
...At this point my fellow conservatives will come rushing in with excuse making ... something to do with that oh so nasty media. To which I say ... if you can't show strong vision and communicate it in the face of a hostile media, you might as well kiss your country goodbye. While men and women die for us in Afghanistan, my fellow conservatives worry about those meanies in the media ... how utterly weak.
The day that Harper vastly increases the military budget so we can at least match most of our NATO allies in budgetary commitment, I may change my tune..."
http://cjunk.blogspot.com/2009/1...berals-
and.html
That's a mild bit.
Mark
Ottawa
Norman, looks like Rudd has REALLY big trouble . . . can you imagine Iggy doing something parallel here and the fighting an election on Climate Change ?
Put the nutter on Rudd . . . he's toast.
ClimateGate gets its first scalp.
That big smile off stage is Mr. Dion
"Abbott's first move: Vote down ETS
01 Dec, 2009 09:57 AM
IT is now almost certain that the Liberal Party will vote against the emissions trading scheme in the Senate this week, raising the probability of an early double dissolution election.
Immediately after being elected as Liberal Party Leader by a margin of just one vote over incumbent Malcolm Turnbull, Tony Abbott held a secret ballot in the party room on whether or not the party should vote for or against the Government's amended ETS legislation.
The motion proposed that the legislation should be delayed for three months, and if this could not be secured, then the legislation should be defeated.
The motion was carried by 54 votes to 29, guaranteeing the death of the Rudd Government’s ETS.
If the Liberal Party is unsuccessful in the Senate in deferring the legislation until next year - highly unlikely given that the Greens and Labor want the legislation dealt with this week - then it would vote against the ETS legislation.
This would give Labor the trigger it needs to hold a double dissolution election, which would be conducted almost entirely on the issue of climate change."
http://www.smh.com.au/
Raphael Alexander rather nails it in terms of Consservatives and Liberals:
'Who Really “Supports The Troops”?'
http://unambig.wordpress.com/200...rts-the-troops/
Mark
Ottawa
"Afstan: 500 more British troops confirmed/Update: PM Harper holds fast
Total to be 9,500..."
With some background.
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...ish-
troops.html
Mark
Ottawa
Fascinating piece from Brian Popp (Coalition Redux). I am sure he is not the only delusional apparatchik who sees the December Debacle as an heroic tragedy, instead of a brush with epic ineptitude. This speaks to something more deeply ingrained than blind partisanship; it looks and smells like a privileged class blissfully ignorant of anything outside their own milieu, dogmatically clutching a self-image of moral superiority. If I may recite T.S. Elliot, "Our dried voices, when We whisper together Are quiet and meaningless As wind in dry grass Or rats' feet over broken glass."
the story is in the papers for the first time today. on your second question, I would think that mr colvin will have a problem in the intelligence community.
Norman,
And yet no play anywhere.
I must admit I find all of this to be perplexing. I am missing the catalyst, why is this an issue at this moment in time. What are all the motivations in this.
There are the standard explainations of a fight between Foreign Affairs and the military...but there is something else at work here and I cant seem to puzzle it out, with evidence at least.
One final thought. If the Red Cross is upset that Mr Colvin is spilling secrets....given his current position in charge of intelligence at the embassy in washington, ulm, why in the world would the US apparatus feel in anyway comfortable sharing anything with this guy or the department he is charge of. In this case, who makes the decision, the PCO or the Amabassador?
Stephen
a very significant piece.
Norman,
I know you have suggested the inquiry, but wondering what your thoughts are on this piece.
http://www.canada.com/news/Cross...2914/
story.html
Red Cross rebukes Colvin???
Further to "what caught my eye", "--What the W Post is reporting on the good one", some more details on what may be involved in the next Obama surge, note esp. the "Update thoughts":
"Afstan: Big Marine component of second Obama surge"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...-of-
second.html
Mark
Ottawa
Fred: Apparently I've been a bad boy and our host has chosen to censor me. I suppose one shouldn't ask questions.
Alas, alack.
BCer
"An awful truth, AGW, and some things you may not know"
http://dustmybroom.com/index.php...rticle&
id=12969
Mark
Ottawa
The official opposition is in max turmoil - ironically it is the "Liberal Party" (although they are more like our CPC), their leader is toast and the very independent streak in the Aussie nature seems to be awake. Having 12 members of the Caucus bolt over Climatgate/Cap&Tax is serious stuff and if Rudd doesn't handle himself as well as Harper is doing here his minority government cold be is serious peril.
Of course their Senators are elected and have great moral suasion as well as legal power.
If it blows up Rudd wouldn't get to go to Copenhagen to hop nob with teh rest of the greenie saviours and his pouting as a result would be enough to hope his government falls.
This is getting a lot of attention in Australia
http://tinyurl.com/ygbjjec
the same would be true here . . . except about 30% greater for all the numbers.
I am still curious about the "what would you cut challenge". What would you do ? We'll grant your roadster a special exemption if you can exceed the 150,000Mt.
I'm not giving up my Acura or hot showers
Fred
I haven't been following the situation that closely; what's your take?
Norman,
On a very related note . . . what is your take on the Australian parliamentary situation ?
I think the count is 12 now, most from the front benches.
Good, balanced, post by Colby Cosh at his Maclean's blog:
"Norwich, we have a problem"
http://www2.macleans.ca/2009/11/...have-a-problem/
Mark
Ottawa
'A thumping good read (as the Brits say): Bullets, Bureaucrats...
It is...stunningly clear that Gen. Hillier was much more impressed by former Prime Minister Paul Martin and Minister of National Defence Bill Graham than he was by their successors' government:
"-Martin, Graham and I got along superbly, right from the start...[p. 325]
-My relationship with Paul Martin was, I thought, exceptional. [p. 346]..."
I'm amazed the media have not highlighted that aspect. Maybe most of them didn't read the book very closely...'
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...ay-
bullets.html
Mark
Ottawa
Really caught my eye:
'One case of socialized health care in action...
...in England (note the second piece and our own "death traps"):
"Hundreds of patients died needlessly at NHS hospital due to appalling care
..."'
http://dustmybroom.com/index.php...rticle&
id=12961
Mark
Ottawa
'"Highly Secret": Abandon Ottawa to the Yanks!'
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...a-to-
yanks.html
Mark
Ottawa
Dear Peter Pansbridge,
A summary even the CBC can understand. After all, it is just the global economy and $Trillions of dollars that are at stake.
'A number of computer scientists and engineers are analysing computer code contained in the files leaked anonymously to the Internet last week, and it will more than likely produce more controversy than the emails that have been the subject of intense discussion so far.
In fact, if the documentation (notes written by authors and fixers of the computer code) is any indication, what we have seen so far is only prelude.
But before the storm breaks, I think we should summarise what's important in the emails.
First, prominent climate scientists, including a lead author of IPCC report sections, were willing to discuss withholding or deleting information to frustrate legitimate requests made under the Freedom of Information Act in the UK. They apparently chose who could not receive information based on the requester's identity, which may have been unlawful. They threatened to delete data--data which in fact has since disappeared. They advised each other to delete emails.
Second, these same scientists worked closely together to control channels of communication regarding climate science and global warming. They banded together to minimise or eliminate skeptical discussion. While telling the world that only peer-reviewed science should be considered legitimate, they fiercely fought to prevent skeptic writings from being peer-reviewed at all. They wrote openly about replacing an uncooperative journal editor (who was later replaced), and boycotting journals that published skeptical papers. They organised peer review so that they reviewed each others' papers.
Third, they were willing to change data so that their presentations of the state of climate looked worse. At the end of the day, this is most damning--most of the rest, even apparently illegal FOI actions, is just politics and a playground media strategy. But while world governments were imposing taxes, changing energy policies, preparing energy-based conflict policies, planning to deal with warming-based immigration, these people were content to display figures that were wrongly exaggerated to show the warming they had previously predicted but could not find in actual measurements."
http://tinyurl.com/yhacznb
"Those government auto billions still look pretty dicey to me"
http://dustmybroom.com/index.php...rticle&
id=12929
Mark
Ottawa
So the CBC/CTV/Global have company in Obamaland.
At least I now can get Fox News to watch what is going on.
ClimateGate - Totally Ignored By TV
By Noel Sheppard
November 24, 2009 - 11:03 ET
The Obama administration has another reason to hate Fox: it appears to be the only national television news outlet in America interested in the growing ClimateGate scandal.
Despite last Friday morning's bombshell that hacked e-mail messages from a British university suggested a conspiracy by some of the world's leading global warming alarmists -- many with direct ties to the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change -- to manipulate temperature data, ABC, CBS, CNN, MSNBC, and NBC through Monday evening have completely ignored the subject.
LexisNexis searches indicate that NPR appears to also be part of this news boycott.
By contrast, here are some of the stories news organizations apparently favored by the Obama adminstration have covered since ClimateGate broke:
Story Continues Below Ad
* ABC's "World News with Charles Gibson" Friday did a very lengthy piece about Oprah Winfrey ending her syndicated daytime talk show
* ABC's "World News with Charles Gibson" Monday did a lengthy piece on new revelations involving the marital affair of Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.)
* CBS "Evening News" Saturday reported a ten-year-old pianist playing at Carnegie Hall
* CBS "Evening News" Sunday did lengthy pieces on the website FreeCreditReport.com not being free and the movie "New Moon"
* CBS "Evening News" Monday did lengthy pieces about defective drywall and a man who makes money wearing t-shirts
* NBC "Nightly News" Friday reported on Switzerland's supercollider being turned back on
* NBC "Nightly News" Saturday did a somewhat lengthy report on food carts
* NBC "Nightly News" Sunday reported the release of British singer Susan Boyle's CD, and then followed it up with another report Monday on her promoting it.
It's not that these aren't valid news stories, but should they ALL be of greater importance than a scandal involving scientists from around the world including some employed by NASA and American colleges?
Also consider that the news divisions of ABC, CBS, and NBC broadcast many hours during the day besides their evening programs, and LexisNexis identified no ClimateGate reports in those either (through Monday).
As for CNN, it has been broadcasting for almost 100 straight hours since this story broke, and it appears the so-called "Most Respected Name In News" has yet to devote one second to this scandal.
By contrast, Fox News did at least four reports on this subject on Monday alone.
maybe now CBC, CTV, Global, The Star, The G&M might be forced to report something about ClimateGate. The story is only 5 days old
NASA is being sued !
"Today, on behalf of the Competitive Enterprise Institute, I filed three Notices of Intent to File Suit against NASA and its Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS), for those bodies’ refusal – for nearly three years – to provide documents requested under the Freedom of Information Act.
The information sought is directly relevant to the exploding “ClimateGate” scandal revealing document destruction, coordinated efforts in the U.S. and UK to avoid complying with both countries’ freedom of information laws, and apparent and widespread intent to defraud at the highest levels of international climate science bodies. Numerous informed commenters had alleged such behavior for years, all of which appears to be affirmed by leaked emails, computer codes and other data from the Climatic Research Unit of the UK’s East Anglia University."
One last thing about detained Afghanis. I'm surprised Mark Collins hasn't linked to this post by Bruce Rolston. I think "what were we going to do otherwise, take detainees home to Canada with us?" summarizes the pertinent issues rather well.
Mr. Spector, I will be most surprised if we get the public inquiry into Afghan detainee transfers that you recommended. We haven't seen or heard anything this time that couldn't be determined by connecting dots two years ago, and this time the Harper government has a much stronger hand. They simply have to tie down some loose tent flaps until this squall blows over (which they have had lots of time to accomplish), then shred the credibility of a mid-level DFAIT traveller(which will happen when Ambassador Mulroney comes to Ottawa).
In the end the public sees a great deal of aimless huffing and puffing, DFAIT lifers will learn how to work more closely with elected officials, and those who are wedded to the National Entitlement Parties will have plenty of time to write epistles on how their country no longer respects their "values."
I know I sound cynical, but Canadian voters aren't idiots. They know that Canadian soldiers aren't dying to protect and serve lily-white Afghani officials. As long as it isn't Canadian soldiers who are abusing prisoners, and as long as Canadian officials can demonstrate that efforts are being made to constrain Afghani jailers, Canadian governments aren't going to rise or fall because of this issue.
UPDATE 1.
Terence Corcoran is on the NP Splash page now.
The CBC, CTV, Global, The Star, the G&M can try and bury the story and prevent Canadians from learning the truth but they will fail. They don't control the dam anymore - the blogosphere just makes them look like dinosaurs . . you know "waiting for the Asteroid".
They have all been drinking the Gore/Suzuki Global Warming Hysteria Kool-Aide for so long they are suffering a terminal case of journalistic embarrassment.
Global Warming Science = 20th Century Alchemy.
A lot of professors should be fired for fraud, for unethical actions, for corruption . . .
Fred:
Another excellent entry from you on AGW that the MSM will try to ignore.
Other than Lorne Gunter and Lorrie Goldstein in print and Roy Green and Chas Adler on radio I can't think of any MSM members who have consistently and honestly questioned AGW. I'm sure there or others but none come to mind. How sad! Locally, I used to listen to Bill Good's talk show until he swallowed the cool-aide and hopped on the warm-wagon. Prior to that his syrup was tolerable but not anymore. Our host, Spector, is little better. He is well aware of what is transpiring but is uncharacteristically mute on the topic and rails on and on about one Afghan torturing another Afghan. Like we should care what they do to each other after they have killed over 130 of our troops. One must ask if he is part of the warm cabal or, perhaps, look for another reason for his silence.
My wife tuned in Good yesterday to listen to the "Monday Morning Quarterbacks" (Good, Spector and Tillman)and told me later that nothing was said about this huge scandal and Good and guests just carried on with their normal ant-conservative and anti-military rants. I suppose they considered the fact that we, as Canadians, are too stupid to know what's going on outside our borders.
Perhaps it takes something like this event to bring to the attention of the general public any journalsts who might have integrity and courage to tilt at the windmills as well as the charlatans among us who pretend to be experts but all the while are being conned by AGW fraudsters.
Keep up the good work.
The Canadian MSM profound silence on the biggest story ever continues, while elsewhere . . .
Viscount Monckton on Climategate: ‘They Are Criminals’
This is what they did - these climate “scientists” on whose unsupported word the world’s classe politique proposes to set up an unelected global government this December in Copenhagen, with vast and unprecedented powers to control all formerly free markets, to tax wealthy nations and all of their financial transactions, to regulate the economic and environmental affairs of all nations, and to confiscate and extinguish all patent and intellectual property rights.
The tiny, close-knit clique of climate scientists who invented and now drive the “global warming” fraud - for fraud is what we now know it to be - tampered with temperature data so assiduously that, on the recent admission of one of them, land temperatures since 1980 have risen twice as fast as ocean temperatures. One of the thousands of emails recently circulated by a whistleblower at the University of East Anglia, where one of the world's four global-temperature datasets is compiled, reveals that data were altered so as to prevent a recent decline in temperature from showing in the record. In fact, there has been no statistically significant “global warming” for 15 years - and there has been rapid and significant cooling for nine years.
Worse, these arrogant fraudsters - for fraudsters are what we now know them to be - have refused, for years and years and years, to reveal their data and their computer program listings. Now we know why: As a revealing 15,000-line document from the computer division at the Climate Research Unit shows, the programs and data are a hopeless, tangled mess. In effect, the global temperature trends have simply been made up. Unfortunately, the British researchers have been acting closely in league with their U.S. counterparts who compile the other terrestrial temperature dataset - the GISS/NCDC dataset. That dataset too contains numerous biases intended artificially to inflate the natural warming of the 20th century.
Finally, these huckstering snake-oil salesmen and “global warming” profiteers - for that is what they are - have written to each other encouraging the destruction of data that had been lawfully requested under the Freedom of Information Act in the UK by scientists who wanted to check whether their global temperature record had been properly compiled. And that procurement of data destruction, as they are about to find out to their cost, is a criminal offense. They are not merely bad scientists - they are crooks. And crooks who have perpetrated their crimes at the expense of British and U.S. taxpayers
Well The Wall Street Journal gets it.
It is just $trillions of dollars and a new global governance ponzi scheme that is at stake here. Not that much really . . .
'However, we do now have hundreds of emails that give every appearance of testifying to concerted and coordinated efforts by leading climatologists to fit the data to their conclusions while attempting to silence and discredit their critics. In the department of inconvenient truths, this one surely deserves a closer look by the media, the U.S. Congress and other investigative bodies."
Here's what the people of San Francisco can read . . . written by an admitted Global Warming believer at Ground Zero of Liberal America.
"The fanatic determination of some scientists, called The Team, to keep a catastrophic scenario of global warming before the public eye and on the political agenda involved a lot of chicanery. They cut their data series to obscure the fact that global warming slowed after 1998. They tried to cheat the peer review process, perhaps even to the extent of having an unsympathetic journal editor replaced. They deleted emails, told others to delete emails and threatened to delete data files--data files which have since disappeared.
And they trashed other scientists, trampling them underfoot if they showed any sign of independence or disagreement with their party line--anything to do with the environment had to be CO2, all CO2, twenty four hours a day. In yesterday's article we wrote on the effect this might have had on the career of a climate scientist who dared to disagree with them."
Meanhwile, up here in the Great White North, the CBC, CTV, Global, the Star The Globe & Mail etc continue to kill the biggest story ever.
The massive science fraud underpinning the whole Al Gore/David Suzuki we're all gonna die let's change the entire planetary economy has just gone POOF!.
Not a peep from our progressive liberal masters.
Beyond disgraceful. People should be fired in our MSM for journalistic fraud.
'Recent AGW, er, events: "Front page news in Germany"
Why not here?..'
http://dustmybroom.com/index.php...rticle&
id=12923
Mark
Ottawa
So in The Times of London, Lord Lawson writes:
"There may be a perfectly innocent explanation. But what is clear is that the integrity of the scientific evidence on which not merely the British Government, but other countries, too, through the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, claim to base far-reaching and hugely expensive policy decisions, has been called into question. And the reputation of British science has been seriously tarnished. A high-level independent inquiry must be set up without delay.
And even George Monbiot, a gifted Believer and Warmist of the first order (and the basis of the "Moonbat" insult) is calling for the resignation of the scientists involved.
And here at home, the Great White North Silence from our MSM continues.
Kiddies, reporters, editors . . . it is still a story, even if you don't agree with it, like it or if it causes you embarrassment for your years of shilling for the Great Global Warming Hysteria.
C'mon you can do it if you try.
Repeat after me:
I think I can
I think I can
I think I can
I think I can
I think . . . . .
So now we have this as lead stories around the world and nothing yet form CBC, G&M, the Star, Global.
Amazing lack of journalistic integrity - they see their global warming hysteria story - on which they have been feasting on for years, going teh way of the DoDo bird and they can't buck up the courage to tell Canadians.
Truly and utterly a 100% pathetic performance of our media.
Norman - I didn't get to hear you on Good's MMQB today. Break this news gently to Bill . . . he's been a goner for Global Warming for so long it may be too much for his system to take.
Wait until he finds out his much loved guru Dr. Andrew Weaver is involved up to his armpits in all this IPCC stuff.
So the scientific underpinnings of the entire Global Warming hysteria are being revealed to be based on crap, the actual scientists pushing the hysteria in public reveal in private their science is deeply flawed and they actually accept the "skeptics" position, the basis for spending $trillions of dollars to ween us of carbon is a political agenda based on scientific egos and the CBC, G&M CTV et al are not covering the story for yet another day.
Their collective little progressive pinheads in their padded Executive Office and Editorial rooms must be either imploding or exploding.
Here's a great summary from someone who believes in AGW !!
These are just some emails . . . we now have their data and computer models and they are a treasure trove of incompetence.
http://tinyurl.com/ydb2zxv
" * Members of The Team openly discussed a strategy of deleting emails in advance of Freedom of Information Requests, and one scientist vowed to destroy data before releasing it
* One of The Team emailed a strategy for destroying a journal that had the temerity to occasionally publish scientific papers from journalists (a strategy which may have worked, as an inconvenient editor was later dismissed, and one of The Team may have claimed credit in one of the emails)
* The Team discussed a strategy of suppressing scientific data that showed an inconvenient pause in global warming by cutting off the end points of data used in presentations
* The Team actively discussed how to avoid the requirements of Freedom of Information requests and decided just not to respond to requests that came from those they considered skeptics
* The Team actively discussed strategies for preventing skeptic publications from being peer-reviewed, which sounds petty and mean (and it is) but more importantly meant that the papers could not be included in IPCC evaluations for their reports--which only consider peer-reviewed papers
"
Well Lorne Gunter gets in the game for Canada . . . still no showing from CBC, G&M, The Star, CTV.
The story is making news in Euro land . .
Bad science on climate change?
By Daily Mail Comment
Last updated at 11:47 PM on 22nd November 2009
Could the extent of climate change be exaggerated?
Could it be that the pernicious culture of spin and deception which ruined our belief in politicians has now infected the world of science?
Researchers at one of the world's leading climate change centres stand accused of manipulating data to exaggerate the extent of global warming - a deception which would represent a scandalous betrayal of trust.
We rely on scientists to give us the truth about these complex and crucial issues.
If they are now twisting the facts to support their own doomsday theories, they are no better than Tony Blair and Alastair Campbell, who fabricated the 'dodgy dossier' of lies on which we were dragged into the disastrous Iraq war."
BC'er . . if it wasn't so important, it would be sadly pathetic.
This story - that the key scientists who run the IPCC, who decide what gets in the Reviews and the content of the Summary of Policy Makers, collude to destroy data that doesn't support their claims, to corrupt the peer review process, to threaten editors of Science Journals that they feel don't comply with their wishes, is massive. That is just a list of the low hanging fruit . . . the rest of their activities are even worse.
Everything that the IPCC has done is now suspect. Every scientific paper published by these guys and every other paper that references these papers must be pulled from the literature. All IPCC reports need to be assessed for the amount of corruption they contain. These guys must be immediately fired from their IPCC roles and truly independent scientists put in charge.
These guys have provided the ammunition to generate the massive global warming hysteria that is costing $Trillions.
The Great Global Warming Scam is the Bre-X science. They salted their data, they have blown their integrity and our major media is quiet to the point of being dead.
It is a shame they haven't reported this story. In the end, their credibility will be in as big a shambles as Global Warming Science hysteria and fear mongering.
And the MSM wonder why they are losing market share and money.
Good on you, Fred, for hanging in there and demanding and explaination for the silence of the MSM. I suppose when it comes right down to the basic truth they may just be so embarrassed at the exposure of their journalistic ineptitude or, perhaps, complicity that they just don't know how to go about reporting the truth after being duped for so long.
Even the most limp-wristed answers to legitimate questions to those in the employ of the Canadian MSM regarding the CRU hacking scream out with amateurism if not outright deceit. Example?
Question: "Why is the Canadian MSM silent in this matter"?
Answer: "They aren't. I just read something about it in the NY Times".
Good lord!
Calling Peter Pansbridge !! Time to wake up and tell Canadians what is going on.
Day 4 and CBC/G&M et al still are filtering our news and not reporting on the massive scientific fraud, collusion, deception and criminal activities of the lead "scientists" who have and are foisting Global Warming Hysteria on the world.
At least the could make a local phone call and talk to Dr. Tim Ball . . .
"Dominant names involved are ones I have followed throughout my career including, Phil Jones, Benjamin Santer, Michael Mann, Kevin Trenberth, Jonathan Overpeck, Ken Briffa and Tom Wigley. I have watched climate science hijacked and corrupted by this small group of scientists. This small, elite, community was named by Professor Wegman in his report to the National Academy of Science (NAS)…
These people controlled the global weather data used by the IPCC through the joint Hadley and CRU and produced the HadCRUT data. They controlled the IPCC, especially crucial chapters and especially preparation of the Summary for PolicyMakers (SPM). Stephen Schneider was a prime mover there from the earliest reports to the most influential in 2001.
They also had a left wing conduit to the New York Times. The emails between Andy Revkin and the community are very revealing and must place his journalistic integrity in serious jeopardy. Of course the IPCC Reports and especially the SPM Reports are the basis for Kyoto and the Copenhagen Accord, but now we know they are based on completely falsified and manipulated data and science. It is no longer a suspicion."
Still no real coverage . . . the CBC is stuck so far up Suzuki's wazzoo they are a hopeless waste of a $Billion+ tax payers dollars.
"James Delingpole is still on the case, recording the very slight coverage in the MSM of the CRU hacking.
http://tinyurl.com/yh327ew
This has become very much another example of the blogosphere/MSM divide, with bloggers immediately realising the significance of the material, and the MSM running for cover. Given the intensity of interest though, this story is not going to go away, even if the MSM wants to bury its head in the sand.
James, incidentally, has picked up a useful site where all the e-mails are listed in searchable form, making it a lot easier to dip into the contents without having to trawl through each individual message.
He adds his view of the MSM (lack of) response, noting that it has been caught with its trousers down. The reason it has been so ill-equipped to report on this scandal – which is now being called "climategate" is because almost all of its Environmental Correspondents and Environmental Editors are parti pris members of the Climate-Fear Promotion lobby.
Most of their contacts (and information sources), says Delingpole, work for biased lobby groups like Greenpeace and the WWF, or conspicuously pro-AGW government departments and Quangos such as the Carbon Trust.
How can they bring themselves to report on skullduggery at Hadley Centre when the scientists involved are the very ones whose work they have done most to champion and whose pro-AGW views they share?
And this, of course, is the problem with the MSM. They have bought into the myth, and are now hopelessly compromised."
When will the CBC, the G&M et al, the Canadian Lame Street Media, get their collective heads out from up their collective buttocks ?
C'mon Norman . . . referencing the NYT ? What, no available reporters in Canada or are they all too busy salivating over second and third hand reports of maybe torture that maybe happened. Too busy trying to create a domestic scandal they can ignore an international scandal that is off the scale I guess. Just pathetic.
Now that's what we can proudly call Canadian Journalism.
The story broke on late Wednesday ans viral by Thursday pm and Mega viral all Firday . . . and what did the G&M have on its Web Splash page yesterday afternoon ?
A Trumpets Blaring Headline supporting a skank research study done by the Head Propagandist for David Suzuki's AGW Hysteria Campaign.
Canada is being very poorly served in this story. At least with the internet we can bypass our Oh So Progressive Overlords at the CBC, G&M et al.
They get it in Australia.
http://blogs.news.com.au/heralds...sun/andrewbolt/
Fred
Both the Globe and the Post carried the NY Times story on this matter.
The greatest scandal in scientific history is blown wide open and not a peep out of the Lame Street Media in Canada. We'd expect CBC, The Star and the G&M to defend their entrenched position of belief in AGW, but to totally ignore the revelations of conspiracy to commit fraud, to distort the peer review process, to lie to media, to destroy evidence . . . the list goes on and on.
Discussions between the top IPCC scientists of how to "trick" the data to "hide" temperature declines, concern over one of their own caught cherry-picking data so he could produce one of their signature "Hockey Sticks" . . .
And not a peep of news for Canadians from our major Media House Organs.
Start here . . .
http://tinyurl.com/ylgnz8l
"Henry the K now knows whom to call"
http://dustmybroom.com/index.php...rticle&
id=12903
Mark
Ottawa
Start of a "Torch" post:
"Afstan: Shooting the messenger
I think Damian deals well the difficult substantive issues that have been involved in dealing with Afghan detainees. I'm going to look at how the matter is now being dealt with in Canada. I find the government's approach reprehensible..."
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...-
messenger.html
Mark
Ottawa
Oops, the link:
http://dustmybroom.com/index.php...rticle&
id=12899
Mark
Ottawa
"Bien-pensant Canadian hypocrisy, or, lusting after Mammon
The party line is clear. Canada must abandon Afstan because the Afghan government is both corrupt and tolerant of human rights abuses.
OK. But this aspect of the party line is also unshakable. Canada must engage in maximum up-suck, regardless of our constantly-touted values and principles, to China and India. Both countries in which corruption--on a far more lucrative scale than in Afstan--and human rights abuses are hardly, er, infrequent (more here)..."
Mark
Ottawa
'Obamajustice:"when he's convicted and when the death penalty is applied to him"
...
Imagine the furor if a Canadian prime minister and minister of justice, especially Conservative ones, said similar things about an alleged, er, criminal...'
http://www.dustmybroom.com/index...rticle&
id=12887
Mark
Ottawa
Some of the 'watchdogs' were very comfortable in Jean Chretien's one-party state.
norman,
Well's blog post speaks of one of the new leaders being a friend of his. So I wouldnt expect there to be any criticism from that quarter. Nonetheless it should imporve Wells' access to the OLO, which he admitted he didn't have before.
Getting the watchdog's to bark at this one is one of those unfixable problems, or it just isnt perceived as a problem in the first place. You are a voice in the wilderness on this one it seems.
"Afstan: Slovakia first in hoped-for NATO troop increase
...
I'll be very suprised if 5,000 troops are pledged, and will bet that most of those who are will not be for combat, maybe some for training but certainly not mentoring in the field. And I'm very doubtful the biggies (Germany, France, Italy, Spain) will contribute much more. As for the Germans:
'Germany to extend Afghanistan mission another year'"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...d-for-
nato.html
Mark
Ottawa
Gee, the media is onside, all we need is for the Judges to declare it's a desirable practice.... that "paranoid" Mr. Harper!?!
Interestingly, the Ottawa 'watchdogs' don't think this is an issue, judging from the coverage.
Norman;
Re your Spector Vision entry: Our politicized bureaucracy.
Some things don't change much.
In the mid 90s coffee time at the IMB could find the wife of a P.C. communications expert waxing eloquent about how Stephen Harper would make a good leader for a rejoined conservative party. Her idea seemed ridiculous to me at the time as the other PM who did not become PM had done an amazing job building the Reform party.
Aren't corners of most departments Politicized? They do seem mostly infested with Liberal hacks. Is this because the Liberals have had so many more years to proselytize the federal bureaucracy or because some people, mostly conservatives, don't have the stomach for the federal bureaucracy.
Look forward to your insights. You'll be accused of Conservative loving today.
Sincerely,
Write for the Country
R Politicized Bureacracy,
Norman,
You forget mention Kevin Chan in your article, ex PCO that joined Iggy's staff "all onhis own" and the public rumours that Alex Himmelfarb, ex Chief of the PCO was set to be Either Chief of Staff or back as head of the PCO.
They called Harper paranoid when he said the civil service was staffed with Liberals....maybe he was right, and as Andy Grove, ex CEO of ntel said, "only the paranoid survive"
Neither Libs and Dippers, nor most of our pundits, will be placing the blame where this German does:
"Obama Has Failed the World on Climate Change"
http://www.spiegel.de/
internatio....html#ref=nlint
Instead, they'll still...
"Blame Harper"
http://dustmybroom.com/index.php...rticle&
id=12877
Mark
Ottawa
Why is it that Professor Bliss (LETTER OF THE DAY), with the heavy load of credentials and credence that he bears, finds it necessary to waste the 138 words of his printed in the G&M on petty, personal vituperation, instead of providing the "unwashed, ignorant and unchurched" with some reasoned arguments to support an elected head of state? Surely we deserve better.
"What If We Fail in Afghanistan?"
http://
toyoufromfailinghands.blo...fghanistan.html
Mark
Ottawa
War poetry, as it were:
"Our children will not know it's a different country...
...All we can hope to leave them now is money."...
http://dustmybroom.com/index.php...rticle&
id=12873
Mark
Ottawa
Plus from Terry Glavin:
"An Encounter With The Latest Poster Girl For Dizzy, Bourgeois Vanity...
It is only in "the west" that she serves any purpose. She can be summoned as a sort of celebrity spokesmodel for that caste of the west's rich liberals who have a weird need to believe the lie that there is something "feminist" or "progressive" in the narcissistic, reactionary isolationism they have adopted as the defining mark of their own political virtue. It's the reason why so much effort is expended in building up a cult of celebrity around Joya. That's all that's going on here. It has absolutely nothing to do with what Afghan women want or need..."
http://transmontanus.blogspot.co...r-girl-
for.html
Mark
Ottawa
From Brian Platt at "The Canada-Afghanistan Blog", with an interesting personal encounter:
"Brave Women
Malalai Joya is now touring the Vancouver area with her new book, "A Woman Among Warlords". (I'm not going to link to it.) In general, she receives fawning press coverage. You'll often see her quoted as the "bravest woman in Afghanistan", which is apparently what the BBC dubbed her.
I went to a presentation of hers on Friday afternoon.."
http://canada-afghanistan.blogsp...rave-
women.html
Read on.
Mark
Ottawa
Stories you will never see on CBC or hear from the Enviro whackos and David Suzuki . . . the real Copenhagen/COP15 consequences.
For the most part, ordinary people haven't a clue what the real impacts will be on their daily lives.
Regardless if we go with a 6% cut from our 1990 GhG emission levels (the Kyoto target) or the 20/20 target . . 20 % reduction of our 2007 GhG emission levels by 2020, Canada needs to reduce our carbon GhG emissions by about 150,000 megatonnes (Mt).
So what does this mean? Look at the list below – it is a subset of a list I downloaded from Environment Canada.
Start cutting all or some of the categories back until you have a total cut of 150,000 Mt. My favorite way would be to stop using every car, truck, bus, boat, plane and train in Canada. That would total 147+ Mt and be close enough to our 150,000 Mt target that could claim victory.
Electric/heat generation 126 000
Fossil Fuel Industries 70,000
Mining & Gas 23,000
Residential 40,000
Automobile 41, 000
Light Gas trucks 45, 000
Heavy Gas Trucks 6,640
Heavy Diesel Trucks 40, 100
Railways 7,000
Off Road Diesel 25,000
Off Road Gas 6,7000
Domestic Aviation 7, 804
Metal Production 13, 800
Chemical Industry 8,900
Mineral Production 9, 400
Agriculture 60,000
And then, for Reality Check 2 . . . para 41 in the Treaty requires Canada to pay a "Climate Debt" fee of "a minimum of" 0.07% of our GDP annually to 3rd world countries.
That's about $9.5 Billion annually based on our current GDP . . . where do we find $9.5 Billion?
I'd suggest we defund the Environment Ministry as a start.
Further to today's "Spector Vision" with a nod:
'The horror, the horror
What are poor Obamabesotted Liberals and Dippers to think?
"Khadr to face US military tribunal"
...'
http://dustmybroom.com/index.php...d=43:drama-
city
Mark
Ottawa
"How deal with Afstan, AfPak, Indo/Pak, and al Qaeda/Update on strong horses"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...ndopak-
and.html
Mark
Ottawa
Two at "The Torch":
"CDS serves a hard Afghan ball to the government"
http://
toyoufromfailinghands.blo...government.html
"Afghan ball still in Obama's court..."
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...amas-
court.html
Mark
Ottawa
'"Incomprehensible"? I hae me douts' (note the, er, Christian content):
http://dustmybroom.com/index.php...-am-my-own-
imam
Mark
Ottawa
"Well he would, wouldn't he?
Another one for the file..."
http://dustmybroom.com/index.php...mes-the-
science
Mark
Ottawa
"What might an Afghan think?"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...ghan-
think.html
Mark
Ottawa
"ABDUL ABULBUL AMIR"--listen to the Update:
http://dustmybroom.com/index.php...-am-my-own-
imam
Mark
Ottawa
"Canada's Post-2011 Mission: Guesses, Not Statements"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...uesses-
not.html
Mark
Ottawa
'Fiysler: No "wow" for now'
http://dustmybroom.com/index.php...mes-the-
science
Mark
Ottawa
I'm nowhere close to understanding what independents or any other grouping of American voters want, but I think I have Canadians figured out.
60% of eligible Canadian voters have no passion for politics at all, the only way to motivate them is with fear (and jealousy and envy to a much smaller degree). The 40% that have a firm political bent are all over the place, getting passionate in a hundred different directions. Canadians who are passionately opposed to the National Gun Registry outnumber those passionately in favour of it about 2 to 1, but neither group has the pull to singlehandedly get a single MP elected or unelected. The passionless majority isn't scared of crazy farmers and high school dropouts any more, so the Registry is history, in spite of the best efforts of the PQ and Premier Rae.
Further to "What caught my eye this morning":
"I'm stll very much from Missouri about Fiysler's future, especially at Brampton"
http://dustmybroom.com/index.php...d=43:drama-
city
Mark
Ottawa
"The Big Cod speaks:
Video: former Chief of the Defence Staff Gen. (ret'd) Hillier on TVO's The Agenda, interviewed by Steve Paikin extensively (35 minutes), Nov. 2, about his memoirs, lots on Afstan (actually just four stars)..."
http://dustmybroom.com/index.php...id=54:gun-
stuff
Mark
Ottawa
"Opel, or, the end of another (pie in the sky) Canadian dream"
http://dustmybroom.com/index.php...id=47:
canadiana
Mark
Ottawa
"What's killing the Mackenzie Valley Pipeline?"
http://dustmybroom.com/index.php...mes-the-
science
Mark
Ottawa
What to do about Afstan? BruceR. responds to Shane Schreiber:
"Today's... I don't know what this is, frankly"
http://www.snappingturtle.net/
fl..._03.html#006575
Mark
Ottawa
Economic chaos . . . being delivered to you by Al Gore, David Suzuki and the rest of the civilization hating Warmongers
Economic suicide is a self-inflicted wound.
"On October 31, 2009, the once largest aluminum plant in the world will shut down. With it goes another American industry and more American jobs. The Columbia Falls Aluminum Company in Montana will shut down its aluminum production because it cannot purchase the necessary electrical power to continue its operations.
http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig1...rry-
e1.1.1.html
Further to "--What the NY Times is reporting on Canada
Ford’s Canadian Union Agrees on Concessions", from "Dust my Broom":
"Ford stares down CAW...
.....and will soon be down to one auto assembly plant in Ontario (and things don't look good for at least two of the four plants Government Motors and Fiysler have remaining here, see below)..."
http://dustmybroom.com/index.php...mes-the-
science
Mark
Ottawa
Further to "Canadians blind to terror threat: top spy", somehow I don't think the RCMP Security Service, nor its successor CSIS, will ever get an official history like this about a mother service:
"The Defence of the Realm: The Authorised History of MI5" by Christopher Andrew
http://
entertainment.timesonline...icle6866457.ece
Mark
Ottawa
This is also rather "Eyeing the Media":
"Copenhagen: Germany cooling"
http://dustmybroom.com/index.php...-of-the-
weather
Mark
Ottawa
"The Third Way: Ending the Illusions in Afghanistan - Part 1"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...lusions-
in.html
Start of a "Torch" post by Damian Brooks:
"I have recently had the honour and pleasure of corresponding with Shane Schreiber, a decorated Army officer currently serving in the CF. He has written an article outlining some of the problems and potential solutions in Afghanistan, as he sees them, and we are publishing it here at The Torch.
Personally, I believe his perspective is well worth your consideration: Schreiber has numerous overseas operational deployments, including two tours in Afghanistan - one as a Company Commander in Kandahar in 2002, and another as Chief of Joint Operations for ISAF Regional Command South Headquarters, Kandahar in 2006. He holds three post-secondary degrees, and is an award-winning author on military affairs.
Obviously, the views he expresses here are his own, and are not reflective of Government of Canada, Department of National Defence, or Canadian Forces policy or opinion..."
Mark
Ottawa
I find it somewhat disturbing to read in the LETTER OF THE DAY that two of the flash mob House of Commons hecklers can write "Don't ignore us any longer. It's time to listen" without any sign of shame or ironic self-awareness.
The real problem is the impossibility of tuning them out. Any damn fool (myself included, presumably) can grab a media megaphone and add our screeching and wailing to that cacophony from which there is no escape. The mob of publicized opinion resides under such a large tent, that there will always be two or three that hear your voice over the din, and invariably they mistake singularity for profundity.
I'll stretch my metaphor out of shape and suggest that it explains why there are eager cadres ready to elevate Honourable Members such as Dryden and Pearson (and Gerard Kennedy) to Oracle status.
Stephen
I don't know how Mr. Pearson acquired Moses-like status for some in the media, but, then again, nor do I understand why the Liberals think that Ken Dryden's periodic moralizing in the House of Commons resonates with Canadians.
Norman,
But Glenn Pearson MP, and one of his media groupies, thinks Stephen Harper is a horrible "incrementalist", and only Michael can think big enough to save us.
I think you just laid out the case why this is the default position, most of the time, for Canadian PM's.
"Afstan post 2011: Why should MND MacKay care very much?"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...mnd-
mackay.html
Mark
Ottawa
'Letter of the day: "The Norsewest Passage"'
http://dustmybroom.com/index.php...mes-the-
science
Mark
Ottawa
"No shot troofing, plus the risk of dying: Schweinerei"
http://dustmybroom.com/index.php...mes-the-
science
Mark
Ottawa
Further to "--What the Guardian is reporting
Europe offers to cut emissions 95% by 2050 if deal reached at Copenhagen", a post at "Dust by Broom":
"And the cheque is in the mail/Needing more Canada?"
http://dustmybroom.com/index.php...-of-the-
weather
Mark
Ottawa
'"Tommy Douglas: Not Dead Enough", UK version'
http://dustmybroom.com/index.php...mes-the-
science
Mark
Ottawa
"The Mother of Parliaments...
..suffers from many of the same ills as her Canadian Commons daughter--though I think ours is worse, frankly a joke most of the time..."
http://dustmybroom.com/index.php...d=43:drama-
city
Mark
Ottawa
From Bruce R. at "Flit" about Afstan, certainly worth the read (Bruce has been dere and done dat):
"You want to know what I think? I'll tell you what I think"
http://www.snappingturtle.net/
fl..._19.html#006565
Mark
Ottawa
Start of a "Torch" post:
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...y-but-
what.html
"The Taliban are indeed our enemy--but, what, me worry?
Quite a few people are now saying that al Qaeda are the real AfPak threat, and the Taliban are just nasties with a local focus (see below). Those people should read this,
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/
1...ref=todayspaper
by a NY Times reporter held captive for seven months. And that "local threat" includes nuclear-armed Pakistan (again, see below). What, me worry?
'...
Over those months, I came to a simple realization. After seven years of reporting in the region, I did not fully understand how extreme many of the Taliban had become. Before the kidnapping, I viewed the organization as a form of “Al Qaeda lite,” a religiously motivated movement primarily focused on controlling Afghanistan.
Living side by side with the Haqqanis’ followers [more here and here],
http://www.afghanconflictmonitor...aqqani_network/
http://www.longwarjournal.org/
ar...ani_network.php
I learned that the goal of the hard-line Taliban was far more ambitious. Contact with foreign militants in the tribal areas appeared to have deeply affected many young Taliban fighters. They wanted to create a fundamentalist Islamic emirate with Al Qaeda that spanned the Muslim world...'"
Mark
Ottawa
From Paul at "Celestial Junk":
http://cjunk.blogspot.com/2009/1...d-for-
thee.html
"Canada: We Don't Stand on Guard for Thee
...
I can’t help but believe that the only way that Canada gets away with her woeful military effort is because she lives next door to the greatest military power of all time, and that she can rely on American power in times of need. America, in fact, makes it possible for Canada to spend little on her military...
In a very direct way, that’d make Canada a parasite, and America the host. How fitting, that our national bird is the Canada Goose ... which flies South each year to poop on the US of A."
Mark
Ottawa
"Rumours of the death of capitalism...
......have been greatly exaggerated (though Canada has been trying, see link at end)..."
http://dustmybroom.com/index.php...-nanny-
bastards
Mark
Ottawa
"The Afghan elections and counterinsurgency"
http://
toyoufromfailinghands.blo...insurgency.html
Mark
Ottawa
"Obamanobel and peacekeepers"
http://dustmybroom.com/index.php...mental-
disorder
Good on Tom Friedman. The usual Canadian view:
"I guess deaths on UN-run missions are more noble...
...than those on the Security Council-mandated NATO mission in Afstan..."
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...ssions-
are.html
Mark
Ottawa
Post at "Dust my Broom":
http://dustmybroom.com/index.php...id=54:gun-
stuff
"I guess it all depends on what the meaning of "military" is
Or something. The goverment's disingenuous and dizzying tergiversations over what the Canadian Forces may or may not do in Afstan post-2011 are becoming ridiculous and embarrassing; what must our allies think? In chronological order..."
Mark
Ottawa
Harper was right . . . the whole Kyoto Global Warming Hysteria Thing is just a socialist plot to suck money out of western economies to help the 3rd world.
"Kevin Libin: Copenhagen plan could wreck global economy"
For a global gathering ostensibly designed to harness international ingenuity to arrest global warming, the United Nations Copenhagen Climate Conference at least has a fitting name. The website advertising UNCC seems to fit the bill, too, with the requisite photos of spewing smokestacks, parched landscapes and natural disasters juxtaposed with wind turbines and adorable penguins.
All the more odd, then, that the draft treaty being proposed for the December meeting devotes roughly as much of its text to new foreign aid programs as it does to a plan to reduce greenhouse gases."
Kevin Libin NAILS it.
http://tinyurl.com/yjec3q5
Norman;
Thanks for the vocabulary builder.
To the NPPC, I say why would Obama pay for the milk if they are going to give it to him for free.
If they want to use exhortation I'm open to that sort of advise.
Maybe they really wanted to give the prize to the American people for electing him but that is not practical.
Further to "What caught my eye", start of a "Torch" post:
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...n-round-
up.html
"Brit Afstan round-up
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...n-round-
up.html
New troops, more troops (?), and more controversty between a brass hat (retired) and frock coats..." http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...anuk-
brass.html
Mark
Ottawa
Mark
Ottawa
So a change that on its own makes little sense but would if included in the larger reform?
It's an Americanism that would make sense if MPs were empowered, committees were staffed and there was less party discipline in the Commons.
Be curious about you thoughts on the PBO. Before it gets too political it stikes me that this is a reform that is a bit of a third arm....it could be useful but without agreement within the civil service about its role it strikes me as priblematic....a potentially good idea badly implemented.
As well, how do you resolve the ovbvious overlap in function, at least perceived, between the PBO and Finance (THE department in the ministry).
Any suggestions on background reading on the a good role for the PBO.
"Torch" post (with video of National Security Adviser Jones):
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...an-
retired.html
"More US troops for Afstan? Retired general rebukes serving one/Canadian general speaks"
Mark
Ottawa
Plato describes the Ouroboros in Timaeus
"The living being had no need of eyes when there was nothing remaining outside him to be seen; nor of ears when there was nothing to be heard; and there was no surrounding atmosphere to be breathed; nor would there have been any use of organs by the help of which he might receive his food or get rid of what he had already digested, since there was nothing which went from him or came into him: for there was nothing beside him. Of design he was created thus, his own waste providing his own food, and all that he did or suffered taking place in and by himself"
-Plato, Timaeus 33-
Thanks for highlighting Hebert's column. I was unaware of the tears at the Vancouver speech.
I thought their strategy was all about activating the Liberal base, hence the weird startegy of referencing the past, 10 % with pearsons face on it..outside of pol junkies who the heck knows who pearson is? The rage at Harper isnt shared outside the Lib party, so they cant explain it, and get viewed as odd by "normal" canadians.
After Chantal's column I have changed my mind. I thought it was a deliberate strategy to recapture 800,000 lost Liberal votes. Now I think it is a strategy born of insularity and self indulgence. They believe this startegy will grow their appeal.
The Liberals are becoming what the NDP used to be, except they wont be satisfied with "moral victories". This will only descend into more infighting. The centripital forces thy are playing with should drive an implosion. Which in stellar terms leads to throwing off material (to the NDP Tories and Bloc) Whats left is either a Black Hole or a cold dead sphere.
Two at the "Broom":
"Another reason for Québec to separate
They've got the best cheese in the world..."
http://dustmybroom.com/index.php...=44:on-the-
menu
"Now Is The Time At The Broom When We Juxtapose!
Steven Harper's scary hidden agenda finally revealed..."
http://dustmybroom.com/index.php...&catid=57:
music
Mark
Ottawa
And some good thinking on the US, er, debate and the ANA from BruceR at "Flit":
http://www.snappingturtle.net/
fl..._02.html#006551
"Deciding or dithering"
Mark
Ottawa
Terry Glavin at his "National Post" blog:
http://network.nationalpost.com/...ants-
death.aspx
"The Taliban doesn't want to talk to you, it wants to kill you"
Mark
Ottawa
At "The Torch":
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...e-going-
in.html
"Afstan: Dutch really seem like going in 2010/Effect on our government"
Mark
Ottawa
Mr. Spector, you may be right that the LPC will soon lose the right to be flag-bearers for national unity, but I don't think it logically follows that our national unity is imperilled by such an occurrence.
As partners in Confederation, Quebeckers have a legitimate collective right to negotiate their way out of Canada and into a freestanding nation of their own. However, only idiots and M. Parizeau would presume that a unified Quebec clamouring for independence (however you define such a thing) could dictate the terms of such a negotiation. Providing sustenance to the separatist movement has been an effective tactic in advocating for the interests of a truly distinct society within a larger Canadian nation, but the vast majority of Quebeckers are not idiots. I am sure it is painfully obvious to Quebeckers that the current political landscape is eroding rapidly, and it is not obvious that Quebeckers will be able to produce a new collective response that will be as effective as the old ones, or even if such a response is still worthwhile, given the changing nature of Quebec society. The francophones who grew up in Quebec in the '40's and '50's will have to give up the fight one day, and that day may be coming sooner than I thought. I look forward to the results of the 2014 federal election.
Alternatively,
Liberal supported press may be wanting to tarnish Coderre because of the accuracy of the rumours over at Angry's Blog yesterday. Angry floated the outlandish idea that St. Denis may lead a defection to the Cons. More likely to the Bloc I'd say.
Norman;
Regarding St. Denis. They should name a street after him: Rude St. Denis? lol.
The folks at National Newswatch (Did you ever out the author?) seem to see it as all Coderre's fault. They, NNW, seem to have a strong affinity for the liberal leader of the day. Perhaps the same owners as La Press run NNW.
I'm afraid a lot of readers west of the Ottawa River will not be too impressed if this becomes a national unity issue. If Canada's Natural Governing party relies on bellicose types like Coderre to keep our country together and the Conservatives are unable to fill the breech then many may say: Hey hey, ho ho, it's time to let them go, they can join Barry O.
One should have more faith in the ability of the Conservatives to take up the slack. ROCanadians might ask: If the current obscene amounts of transfers aren't enough to keep Qc in the tent then our cohabitation should end? We just don't feel the love anymore.
Oops! Wrong URL for preceding "Torch" post:
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...tions-
says.html
Mark
Ottawa
Further to "Recommended reading--Swiss Model for Health Care Is Gaining Admirers" a post at "Dust my Broom":
http://www.dustmybroom.com/index...mental-
disorder
"Universal health care that works"
Mark
Ottawa
"Torch" post:
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...i-
district.html
"Afstan: What the Commons' resolution says and what the government says"
Mark
Ottawa
Further to the Obama/Afstan stories in "What caught my eye", conclusion of a post at "The Torch":
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...n-and-
what.html
"What's Obama to do about Afstan? And what about the Afghans?
...this is just a wee bit encouraging:
'CAN Troops to Stay Post-2011?'
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...-post-
2011.html
But, of course, if President Obama effectively downgrades the American commitment it will, to my mind, be politically impossible for any Canadian military mission to continue after 2011."
Mark
Ottawa
Two excellent posts by BruceR at "Flit" (first has great graphics, note "security sponges" in second):
"Afghanistats, 2009 version"
http://www.snappingturtle.net/
fl..._29.html#006545
"Associated strategery musings"
http://www.snappingturtle.net/
fl..._29.html#006546
Mark
Ottawa
Re: #2 from Stephen.
It's a waste of time and effort, unless you happen to know who has the task of notifying people of planning meetings, processing paperwork, etc. In cases where a party doesn't enjoy a taxpayer funded constituency office, that control often rests with a single volunteer, who is probably a little frustrated with demands from provincial and national party offices.
You are right, nomination meetings can have unpredictable results, and without MP allowances or patronage levers to keep the local machinery lubricated, so-called professional politicians sometimes do get their comeuppance.
It seems to me that there are actually three Quebec Liberal camps, the Obligated to Chretien camp, the Slighted by Chretien camp, and the erratic Young Liberals of Quebec camp (who I assume had something to do with the election of Justin Trudeau). Personally, I think it would do all three camps good to experience the sport of politics from the perspective of losers.
Stephen
I can't imagine supporters of other parties doing something so underhanded!
Norman,
Nice find on the Grits eating Grits in La Presse.
So two questions
1) What does happen if Cauchon fails to obtain the nomination? It cannot be good for Ignatieff
2) If I am an NDP, Bloc or Con supporter, don't I join the riding association to ensure the result in 1)?
As you said, Iggy better watch his back, and running Quebec from the OLO...not likely to lead to success imho.
Party leaders have to intimately understand PArty Machinery (Harper, Layton, Mulroney, Chretien) or have unquestioned subordinates who do (Truedeau, Diefenbaker (in Quebec)) MI has neither....and that takes time to learn or build. Once again, he better watch his back since I dont think the party elders will let the party sleepwalk for the third time into a disaster (the Dion Greenshift election, the Dion coalition attempt)
RE: Connecting the Codere Dots
If Cretien is back in control in Quebec will his popularity carry the Liberals to significant gains in Quebec? Or is this just good news for the Bloc?
WFC
Hello Norman;
It's good to see you as a regular in one of the 'self proclaimed' national newspapers. Do you write your own headlines, or, do the editors retain that domain for themselves?
WFC
Quebec Liberal Fratricide.
I liked Allan Gregg's comment the most, a fight to be King of the Pygmies (all apologies to any pygmies in the audience)
I was wondering whether the English elders would have been the ones to committ regicide, since I think they have the most to lose. Maybe it will be Quebec based, as they have the most to gain or it may be a fully billingual affair. They cannot be "dionized" again.
Now all Harper has to do is appoint Paul martin as his ambassador to the G20 set the cat amongst the pidgeons.
Post at "Dust my Broom":
http://dustmybroom.com/index.php...mes-the-
science
"Mickey I.'s Liberals to replace NDP on Socialist International?"
Mark
Ottawa
Further to "Harper's misfiring Cannon", a post at "Dust my Broom":
http://dustmybroom.com/index.php...mental-
disorder
"Paul Martin and Keefdafi"
Mark
Ottawa
Start of a post at The Torch (with video):
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...d-
admirals.html
'Gates and the generals, and admirals
Further to this post,
"Obama and the generals, and admirals" http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...d-
admirals.html
I'd have to say the defense secretary seems to be leaning towards supporting Gen. McChrystal's request for considerably more US forces for Afstan. First, CNN's "State of the Union"... http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn...010/#more-
70698 '
Mark
Ottawa
Start and conclusion of a "Torch" post:
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...d-
admirals.html
"Obama and the Generals, and Admirals
Further to these posts,
'Afstan: The McCrystal watch continues' http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...-
continues.html
'Afstan: British general resigns http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...al-
resigns.html
...
Coming to a real showdown? I do wish we had reporting like the above in this country.
Mark
Ottawa
Start of post at "The Canada-Afghanistan Blog":
http://canada-afghanistan.blogsp...r-
terrible.html
"CKNW, Afghanistan, And Our Terrible Politicians
I attended a CKNW radio show today at the Afghan Horsemen restaurant, where they were doing a live town hall discussion on Canada and Afghanistan. Their interviews included a Canadian soldier, an Afghan-Canadian, and a poli-sci prof at SFU--but also Terry Glavin,
http://transmontanus.blogspot.com/
who closed the show with a magnificent spiel that cut through all the bullshit and left us in speechless awe. The fact that Terry only got three minutes to speak out of a 2-hour show is criminal.
You can hear hour 1 of the show here.
http://emedia.cknw.com/Podcasts/...23_-
_Hour_1.mp3
Hour 2 here.
http://emedia.cknw.com/Podcasts/...23_-
_Hour_2.mp3
Yours truly has a short time at the mike at the 32:40 mark of the first hour. But if nothing else, make sure you hear the last five minutes of hour 2.
The bulk of the show was taken up by a panel discussion with three MPs: Andrew Saxton from the Tories, Ujjal Dosanjh from the Liberals, and Peter Julian from the NDP. The segment was mostly useless, with the MPs spouting their talking points and trying to score points off each other. Why on earth would CKNW think that was the best use of the show's time? Beats the hell out of me..."
Mark
Ottawa
Obamassiah . . . going from dumb to crazy.
This will play well in middle America in the mid term elections.
Barry is just showing us narcissism isn't just for little people.
"The Obama administration has notified Congress of the State Department's intention to contribute $400,000 to foundations run by Muammar Qaddafi's two children — $200,000 each for daughter Aisha and son Saif. Saif, you may recall, is the son who escorted the Lockerbie terrorist Abdel Baset al-Megrahi home to a hero's welcome in Libya after President Obama sternly "warned" Qaddafi that there was to be no hero's welcome."
Excerpts from a Torch post:
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...-
continues.html
"Afstan: The McCrystal watch continues
...
So Gen. Petraeus and Adm. Mullen are on Gen. McChystal's side. Moving towards a real showdown between the brass hats and frock coats?
http://books.google.ca/books?id=...20coats&
f=false
Things might get pretty serious...
Note that "warning" [by Gen. McChrystal] and compare it with what the frocks are saying. Hmmm. Policy positioning like that by the senior Canadian military (even former CDS Gen. Hillier, and even the British, though they are being fairly vocal--see here, here and here)
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/
ne...id=arRO44l5vNKE
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_ne...ews/
8261350.stm
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top...15875-21632551/
is simply inconceivable. And I'm a bit wary about the extent it is developing in the US. A real public showdown with serving officers can, it seems to me, only hurt the war effort overall."
Mark
Ottawa
More "Broom"
http://www.dustmybroom.com/index...-am-my-own-
imam
"If one, why not the other?"
Mark
Ottawa
And two at "Dust my Broom":
"I mean, what's the big deal about murdering some 3,000 people in one morning?"
http://dustmybroom.com/index.php...mental-
disorder
"Pity poor Naomi Kleinmind "
http://dustmybroom.com/index.php...tid=99:
moonbats
Mark
Ottawa
A post at "The Torch" and its end:
http://
toyoufromfailinghands.blo...fstanguess.html
'ObamaClinton wobbling on Afstan/Guess who got there first?
...The opinion of a perspicacious reader on Gen. McChrystal's position:
"F...... right he should resign if he doesn’t get the resources: would you ask soldiers serving under you to risk their lives in a fight the politicians aren’t committed to?"'
Mark
Ottawa
You may be right.
Norman;
The TS Editorial, see your 'Column I Wished I'd Written', would not have appeared if it were the Liberals leading a minority government and not the Conservatives. The TS would be leading the 'let's vote now' and 'Liberals deserve a majority' and 'It's the right time for an election' cheer. The TS 'make the minority work' mantra will disappear when the Liberal's are doing better in the polls.
It is a little odd seeing them trying to be the voice of balanced reason.
Technically you are correct and not just from your perspective of facing the Gulf (you are on the sunny side of the Island, right?). The dominant minority in Calgary are Saskatchewanians, although the ranks of displaced BC'ers have been growing for some time. Seriously though, it surprises me that Calgary's very real diversity doesn't seem to affect its outlook.
Mr Glasel
As far as I'm concerned, Calgarians are a bunch of easterners.
Mr. Lament
I believe I saw a report that he's volunteering his services.
Your old pal Kinsella was against Iggy before he was for him and signed up to take LPC money to run the War Room . . . really, really against him.
Warren Kinsella, 2006 - "I objected to the manner in which his supporters trampled on democracy in a Toronto riding – literally locking out opponents. I objected to his support of George W. Bush’s illegal war in Iraq. I objected to the fact that he mocked Canada (Link dead) during the three decades he was abroad, and that he likened Israeli policy to the fascism of apartheid. I objected to what I perceived to be breathtaking arrogance – calling Canada a "herbivorian boy scout" one day, then jetting up here to run it the next."
Regarding todays Spector Vision: A Majority Conservative Government is best for the Country. Harper should let Iggy and Jack fall on their words. Allowing Jack to prop up the government until his numbers come back is not the right thing and well Iggy is not going to get the majority so Harper has to take the leap now.
Glad you're back.
WFTC
Norman,
Please ensure a copy of your column today gets to the PMO.
The cons have the right Parliamenary Strategy, no backroom deals, offer legialstion that they want that they think one of the opposition parties finds acceptable and push the opposition for concrete proposals or ammendments. But no "Trash Talk".
Maybe the PM needs to see Don Cherry's advice to Ovechkin from last year. No need to hold a yard sale, a la Paul Martin. Just do what he has been doing, without the "nose rubbing"
Too funny . . .
"OTTAWA -- The likelihood of deaths in federal prisons remains "unacceptably high" because of the government's failure to make improvements, says Canada's prison ombudsman Howard Sapers."
And he actually thinks anyone will care about his report ?
Poor man is delusional.
As long as our weather stays like this you should enjoy the Fiat and the opportunity.
The monsoons will start soon enough.
In "Error of omission," (COLUMN I WISH I'D WRITTEN)virtually everything we need to know about Schreiber's commissions is in the article, yet the writer still claims "Canadians needed more than that. We needed someone to reveal what Mr. Mulroney's cash was for, not what it wasn't for. And we needed to find out what happened to all $20-million."
It should be obvious that Schreiber kept the lion's share of $20 million for himself. The German government is after him for tax evasion, not to judge his morals. I find it deeply disappointing that a Canadian PM would besmirch his integrity for less than what Bill Clinton collects for a speaking engagement, but there is no reason to believe that Airbus wouldn't have won the contract if PM Mulroney had refused to let his palms be greased. Airbus employed Schreiber as a kind of insurance, to make sure that no stone was left unturned, no potential deal breaker left unattended, but no one should naively believe that Airbus was incapable of winning the contract without Schreiber's help.
In my mind, the Airbus "scandal" is indeed well-tilled ground, but obviously a number of people in the media are still having trouble connecting dots. And I am afraid that no amount of wasted tax revenue is going to resolve that problem. So we have the Oliphant inquiry, the lasting effect of which is to diminish everyone to the point that no one cares anymore about the larger issues.
NIce highlight of Hebert's column on the politics of EI.
It is clear that you cannot get a single national standard without
1) Bringing back bad and expensive ideas from the 71 reforms or
2) Generating losers somewhere in the country who see their qualifying rates raised.
My prediction, you will see two reports. There will be no agreement. Project forward whatever scenario you want from that point.
Norman,
1) Is it time for someone to call up claude Forget and have him walk them through his 195/86 report?
2) Can you clear up how estimates and supply work. My understanding is once the estimates are voted on then the money can be spent. What is the issue around these final estimates in June, is there money in there that needs to be authorized.
Iggy's campaign slogan:
"The 45 day work year is the Liberal gift to all Canadians, especially those who will have to pay for it"
Go iggy go, listen to kinsella and go to the polls.
Please.
Re Chretien Advice on Election:
He would know, the voters of Manitoba didnt punish him at all for an election called during the flood.
Nonetheless, it would have the problem of feeding the image, deserved or not, that Iggy is here for one reason, MI.
The danger of Chretiens formula though is the landscape is significantly different. The right is not split and Harper is not Day.
BTW, I still havent seen the stock Liberal campaign tactic of getting their leader in some kind of outdoorsy physical activity. Trudeau was canoeing, Chretien was waterskiiing, I am sure Martin had something. It is usually done early and before an election. What is Iggy's outdoor activity....must be camping since he misses Algonquin.
Furthe to "Tories to revamp military buying procedures (Cit)" (CAUGHT MY EYE/ON MY MIND):
"Oink! Oink!"
http://dustmybroom.com/index.php...id=54:gun-
stuff
Mark
Ottawa
And remember, even though Obamassiah gave his Union backers the lion's share of Government Motors, over the objections of the legal bond holders, Canadian taxpayers own part of this dog & pony show too.
http://tinyurl.com/n467py
Agree with your article re Raitt. Although the conversation is probably not uncommon within political circles it reveals a little too much ambition.
The irony the dice she is rolling is to get the money to fix the reactor so it can still produce isotopes. Nonethless, too political.
Leona the Tortoise vs Lisa the Hare.
A parable to be read to all future young tories.
"Barack Obama is no Ronald Reagan (and a mention of Mickey I.)"
http://dustmybroom.com/index.php...tid=52:
religion
Mark
Ottawa
Great Lakes Czar: Guess what? The ace reporters of our major media completely ignored the appointment. Pathetic.
http://www.google.com/search?q=G...n&ned=ca&
tab=nw
Mark
Ottawa
One wonders if the Canadian government was advised in advance:
"Obama appoints Cameron Davis as Great Lakes czar"
http://www.businessweek.com/ap/f...s/
D98K25V00.htm
A future job for Dizzy Lizzy May? Is there any indication she ever renounced her American citizenship?
Mark
Ottawa
Meanwhile, auto realities:
http://www.reuters.com/article/
r...lBrandChannel=0
"...
Ford's Car sales fell 10.3 percent to 6,458 units while truck sales slid 5.9 percent to 15,442..."
More:
http://www.reuters.com/article/
G...E5507LH20090601
"...
Ford said it planned to build 460,000 vehicles in North America in the third quarter, up about 10 percent from a year earlier, when it built 418,000 vehicles.
The Ford third-quarter production plan cuts back car production by 34,000 units and raises truck production by 76,000 vehicles from a year earlier..."
Mark
Ottawa
Frenzied Frankie Stronach:
"Charge it"
http://dustmybroom.com/index.php...mes-the-
science
Mark
Ottawa
Further to CAUGHT MY EYE/ON MY MIND--"What the W Post is reporting on Afstan
Gen. McChrystal Signals a New Approach in Afghanistan",
a "Torch" post:
"America's war/ISAF command structure changes?"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...-
structure.html
Plus:
"The US and training Afghan police in Regional Command South"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...-police-
in.html
Mark
Ottawa
More:
"Government Motors in action--and Opel"
http://dustmybroom.com/index.php...atid=80:
polling
Mark
Ottawa
A post at "Dust my Broom":
"Magnum opus, or, Magna Opels in Canada"
http://dustmybroom.com/index.php...atid=80:
polling
Mark
Ottawa
And to TODAY'S COLUMNS/EDITORIALS--"$1.4-million for every job saved (Yakabuski)"
Mark
Ottawa
Further to CAUGHT MY EYE/ON MY MIND--"Canada set to take large stake in GM":
"What's a million and half (or, the 10 per cent plus solution)?"
http://dustmybroom.com/index.php...atid=80:
polling
Mark
Ottawa
I was trying to point out the source of "the miss". I found it hard to believe that Finance would have a forecasting error of 8% (16 mill on 200 mill in revenue) after only 4 months. Something else had to contribute.
The merits of this are a seperate discussion. But I believe the government has rolled everything into an expense, the right way to do it imho (Norman touched on the fiscal framework issues in his Oliphant testimony, and the issues it can cause)
If the government is providing Debtor in Possession financing, then imho there is an argument (not a slam dunk one) in favour of it. DIP is not available privately because of the credit crisis. But as I said it isnt a slam dunk argument.
Most of it has to do with industrial policy and ensuring that the US government doesnt repatriate everything with its financing.
In more normal times none of this would be justifiable because the private sector DIP market would have been functioning. It doesnt appear to be yet. My issue is that the solution to GM and Chrysler was identified as bankruptcy months ago...to much debt, too many obligations. Whether playing for time for 4 months was worthwhile or not is one of those interesting what if questions that make political science and economic departments go round.
The way I understand it, the Government of Canada operates on a cash basis, meaning that expenses are recorded when cash is spent. The government doesn't show the value of its assets, either. So there aren't any depreciation expenses, but on the other hand, all asset purchases are expensed 100% in the fiscal year they are obtained. There are capital reserves that allow the Finance Department to move cash on and off the balance sheet, Crown corporations have their own balance sheets, and Auditor Generals generally dislike the way our governments have accounted for loans handed out; but if taxpayers buy equity in GM, it ends up coming out of general revenue. If the government gives out loans, and receives shares as consideration for holding GM's debt, the picture becomes muddier, but unless the government has a cash reserve to make the loan out of, it should show up as an expense as soon as money is handed over.
Usually the legal profession and organized labour are the only parties to really benefit from nationalization, although the Saskatchewan government obtained a reasonable ROI by selling its shares in PCS, Wascana Energy and the Husky Upgrader in Lloydminister. What happened with Skeena Cellulose (in 3 different iterations?) and the coal and steel business in Cape Breton is more typical, no matter how the accounting is done, in the end taxpayers lose 100% of their investment.
What is different about GM is the size of sinkhole, not the mechanics of wasting taxpayers' money.
Obama just announced an additional 50 billion, so canada's 20% ante is 10 billion. If the federal government booked its portion entirely as an expense (all in one year), then this would explain a good chunk of the 16 Billion, say 5 billion.
The next 10 billion, well a 2.5% increase in expenditures over expected and a 2.5% drop in tax revenue over expected makes up the next 10 billion.
"Why bail out GM and Chrysler in Canada?"
http://dustmybroom.com/index.php...tid=42:
politics
"Holy Tories!
Actually proposing something, er, conservative..."
http://dustmybroom.com/index.php...id=47:
canadiana
Mark
Ottawa
"GM, or Government Motors (II)"
http://dustmybroom.com/index.php...atid=80:
polling
Mark
Ottawa
RG,
Fun analysis. I think we have to wait to see the info behind the changed projection. I am not sure which I want to be true, a real change in the economy down or a Fin Min and gov that are playing fast and loose with these important numbers.
It is early in the Fiscal so relatively small changes in assumptions, from Unemployment rate, to level of consumer spendng to infrastructure projects being accelerated from Q1 of FY 10 to Q4 of FY09 can make the difference.
Re the PBO....he would revise based on the new numbers as well. So the Kevin Page mosquito wont go away that easy.
Info from finance will help. But the other targets of stopping the EI changes and removing the idea that there is room for more spending are hit with this announcement.
Stephen, I'm sure the Finance department prepares several estimates based on various assumptions, and presents a wide range of predictions along with some kind of probability value for each one. Then the Finance Minister picks the one he likes the best (or is willing to put his name to). It is still too early to tell how much of the money pledged for stimulus will actually get spent, and how much of a deficit EI will produce.
All indications are that the current PM keeps his eye trained on Finance at all times, and he is quick to defend this particular minister. So, what did going from $34 to $50 billion in 4 months accomplish?
1. It took PBO Kevin Page out of the picture. If he says Flaherty is too high now, his earlier prediction of $40 billion has no credibility. If he raises his own estimate to $60 billion, he will look like a fool.
2. It utterly deflates the Liberal stand on EI. Notice how the new estimate is blamed on rising EI costs, and watch how everyone suddenly wants the government to be more prudent. If the Liberals want to force an election because the Conservatives still aren't spending enough money, they've got rocks in their head. This doesn't do a thing to improve Ignatieff's credibility on fiscal matters.
If you think this is still an example of Flaherty's incompetence, look at the sequence of events. On the first news cycle (weeks before he is supposed to deliver his fiscal update), Flaherty plays coy, and says his last estimate is going to be low. The chattering classes immediately start speculating that Flaherty is being coy because a)Page's estimate is going to be proven correct or b) Flaherty wants to soften the blow by hinting at a big change and then delivering a smaller than expected increase to a round of applause. The Opposition steps up their call for looser EI and more spending. On the second news cycle, Flaherty makes everyone's jaw drop. Now the chattering classes start talking about structural deficits and how spending is out of control. The Opposition is dumbfounded, so they make a lot of noise and ask for the Finance Minister's resignation, presumably because he is spending too much money. Now tell me this isn't carefully orchestrated.
RGlasel,
Economy may have dropped out of site, hard to believe that Flaherty or finance had any reason to not state a number that wasnt thought true.
But....
The Finance Minister will have to live his prediction....one way or another Jim flaherty likely will not be Fin Min in September.
Norman, perhaps you can provide some insight as to what would be happening within Finance with a miss this big....there are very smart people in that place...thats a big miss.
Kudos to Chantal Hébert for "EI threatens to backfire on Liberals" COLUMN I WISH I'D WRITTEN. Now that the ante in the Predict the 2009-2010 Deficit Game has been raised to $50Billion, all of the other flaws in Ignatieff's grand strategy are likely to be forgotten. Nonetheless, those weaknesses remain and it appears likely that the LPC will continue to try catching the wind for many more months.
BTW, the misleading/dishonest banner headline in the Star-Phoenix this morning is "Deficit swells to $50B." The only thing that is swelling is the Finance Minister's public prediction. Once again, the people who are supposed to put the news in perspective for us rubes and plebeians, screw up the easy stuff, like separating forecasts from facts.
What is happening in the world of facts is that since the Great Decline of 2008 the loonie has climbed 15%, the TSX has climbed over 25%, the 2008-2009 federal deficit is coming in well below what the Prophets of Doom pegged it at, and unemployment has plateaued at 8%. Heck, even the price of oil hasn't threatened to dip below $60CDN/barrel in a long time. Sure it sucks to be in automobile manufacturing (or mass media for that matter), but for the rest of us, the "worst economic crisis since the Great Depression" doesn't look so fearsome anymore.
Further to "CAUGHT MY EYE/ON MY MIND--More Fed follies
Both languages should be law for top judges: Commissioner (Ott Sun)":
Consequences:
http://dustmybroom.com/index.php...tid=39:
advocacy
"Supreme Court: How to really reduce number of possible candidates...
...and the quality of those, er, qualified..."
Mark
Ottawa
Sen. Colin Kenny weighs in:
"CF's procurement problems"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...t-
problems.html
Mark
Ottawa
"What Joint Support Ship anyway? And when?"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...y-and-
when.html
Mark
Ottawa
"The government's position on our Afghan mission's future
Read the tea leaves..."
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...our-
afghan.html
Mark
Ottawa
"None of them is Canadian"
http://dustmybroom.com/index.php...id=41:fur-
trade
Mark
Ottawa
"Canada's current strategy at Kandahar"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...t-
kandahar.html
"The strategy for Afstan"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...for-
afstan.html
Mark
Ottawa
"New Chinooks: The Foxtrot goes on...and on..."
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...s-onand-
on.html
Mark
Ottawa
Norman: CP piece on you and the project that would not die:
http://www.thestar.com/news/cana.../article/
635929
Letter of mine sent to the Star May 16 and not published:
"The former prime minister's account of his "concept" for promoting the Thyssen Henschel TH 495 light armoured vehicle, for use by U.N. peacekeeping forces, to the permanent five members of the Security Council (P5: U.S., Russia, China, U.K., France) is a nonsense full of holes. Here are some matters that the lead counsel of the Oliphant enquiry, Richard Wolson, should raise with Mr. Mulroney:
In his testimony Friday, May 15, Mr Mulroney conceded that any TH 495s he helped sell would actually be made in Germany--not Canada, as the project to build them here was going nowhere. What was a recently retired Canadian prime minister doing promoting foreign-manufactured military vehicles to third countries? A very strange role indeed one would think. What must the people Mr. Mulroney says the talked to have thought about it?
His role is especially odd when one considers that General Motors Canada was also making light armoured vehicles at its plant in London, Ontario--vehicles which the Canadian government itself had bought in 1989 and 1992 rather than the TH 495. One would imagine that a former Canadian prime minister would at least pitch vehicles actually made in Canada and which his own government had purchased.
Mr. Mulroney has claimed that the peacekeeping vehicles would be owned by the U.N. and stationed in some fashion at depots in, for example, Europe and Africa, for use by peacekeeping operations as required. A number of questions arise:
Who would pay for the vehicles? Presumably member of the P5, especially the U.S., would have had to put up quite a bit of money since the U.N. has no budget of its own for weapons acquisition. But since the U.S., and all the other P5 members, made light armoured vehicles themselves, why would they agree to the U.N.'s buying German-made vehicles?
Who would maintain the vehicles and keep them in running order at their depots? The U.N. had no specialized technical staff able to do that. It had (and has) no armed forces of its own. Would private contractors be involved?
How would contributors to U.N. peacekeeping missions manage to train their armies in the use, upkeep, and repair of the vehicles, and to keep up proficiency in that regard? Most countries that contribute to peacekeeping missions have their own vehicles on which their troops are trained and constantly exercised. Would likely contributors to future U.N. missions have to dispatch significant numbers of soldiers, at considerable cost and for a lengthy time, also to train on the U.N. vehicles that Mr Mulroney's concept called for? Where would such training take place? If at the depots, these would also require extensive training areas and troop accommodation. How would soldiers of possible contributing countries keep up proficiency on the vehicles? Who would pay for the training facilities and all the toing and froing?
I think questions such as the above demonstrate the Mr. Mulroney's concept was a Rube Goldberg fantasy that could never have been taken seriously by any member of the P5--or anyone even now who thinks seriously about the fantastically complicated military arrangements that it would have entailed. In fact I do not believe such a ridiculous concept existed at the time Mr. Mulroney claims it did; it must have been cooked up later as a cover for whatever the former prime minister may have been engaged by Mr. Schreiber to do in 1993--if indeed he was engaged to do anything at all at that time.
If the Oliphant commission does not examine Mr. Mulroney about the exceedingly problematic military arrangements that his concept would have involved in practice, and about how he saw those arrangements being dealt with, then the the commission will have failed signally in its effort to get to the bottom of what was going on between him and Mr. Schreiber regarding the light armoured vehicle project. But, for some strange reason, detailed military realities are almost never of concern to Canadians when dealing with political issues. Even when those realities are of the greatest relevance...
References:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/s...//TPStory/
Front
http://www.janes.com/articles/Ja...x-8-
Canada.html
http://www.army-guide.com/eng/
pr...product933.html
http://www.journal.forces.gc.ca/...c/59-66-
eng.pdf
http://centreforforeignpolicystu...June%
201995.PDF
(pp. 34-35)
http://www.karlheinzschreiber.ca...&
doc=2008_09_24 (see middle about 1992)"
Mark
Ottawa
It occurs to me that Brian Mulroney is the most socialist - no, let's go Marxist - Prime Minister Canada has ever had, which makes the Marxist media's prosecutorial lather all the more amusing.
It's hard to say though because in the 15+ years since he left office there have been ZERO books comprehensively analyzing his time as Prime Minister, which tells me everything I need to know about the matter, really, because if it were written and at the quality of Sawatsky's book my theory would be proven in spades. Far from being the monster he is and was portrayed as, the left never had a better PM.
What say Norman?
This post by BruceR (Canadian Army reservist just back from Afstan, look at his blog generally) at "Flit" will tell you more about on-the-ground realities at Kandahar province than anything I've seen:
"May 11, 2009
Let's go to the map"
http://www.snappingturtle.net/
fl..._11.html#006414
Mark
Ottawa
Transcript of interviews here:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30658135/
Mark
Ottawa
AfPak: video of interviews with Pakistani president Zardari and Afghan president Karzai (latter at "Length 31:41"), NBC, Meet the Press, May 10
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/
2113...668913#30668913
Mark
Ottawa
Rather lengthy "Torch" post(note US Army brigade combat team coming to Kandahar and Herat as trainers):
"Afstan: New US Marines, Army aviation, start arriving; US command structure changes?"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...y-
aviation.html
End of post:
'...
Lt.-Gen. McKiernan is now double-hatted as ISAF commander (reporting to NATO HQ) and commander, United States Forces-Afghanistan (reporting to Centcom commander, Gen. Petraeus). http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...-forces-
in.html
That provides a bit of command unity, though hardly ideal. http://
toyoufromfailinghands.blo...fghanistan.html
Heaven knows how two American three-stars would affect the situation. If the second Lt.-Gen. is "day-to-day, committed to the fight -- an operational commander", would he be de facto in charge of both ISAF and USFOR-A? Would McKiernan keep ISAF with Rodriguez taking USFOR-A? In which case what about unity of command?
Moreover, would "a second commanding general with a large staff of officers", presumably as part of USFOR-A, in effect supplant ISAF as the real HQ for forces formally under NATO? All a bit confusin', must be a lot of buzzing going on at Brussels.'
Mark
Ottawa
"Afstan: PM Harper's warm and fuzzy sell"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...fuzzy-
sell.html
Mark
Ottawa
Letter of mine in the Globe and Mail, May 2:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/s...mark+collins%
22
'Piracy policy polemic
MARK COLLINS
May 2, 2009
Ottawa -- So, the University of British Columbia's Michael Byers thinks the Conservative government is soft on pirates (Ottawa's Piracy Policy Flouts Law, Experts Say - May 1):
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/s...ernational/
home
"It's ludicrous for the Harper government to claim that it can't arrest and prosecute pirates." Prof. Byers, an unsuccessful candidate for the NDP in the last federal election, is being rather disingenuous.
A strong human-rights advocate, he'd be one of the first to raise hell at the slightest hint of any possible "abuse" of a captured pirate by Canadian sailors, or, if Canada turned the pirates over to Kenya for trial (as some countries do), at the slightest hint that the Kenyan justice system is less than perfect. I rather imagine that concern over such hell being raised by our progressive "experts" is one reason the government is dealing with pirates so gingerly.'
More from Byers the Enforcer, scourge of the high seas:
"Naval gazing"
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/
s...ry=byers+piracy
But here's a sample of the fellow's more, er, usual viewpoint:
"Afstan: Poop from professor"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...bilge-
from.html
Mark
Ottawa
'Australian defence white paper vs. "Canada First Defence Strategy"'
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...e-paper-
vs.html
Mark
Ottawa
"UK policy in Afghanistan and Pakistan: the way forward"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...d-
pakistan.html
Mark
Ottawa
"Afstan: Aussies to increase troop strength some 40% (some only temporary)"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...ease-
troop.html
"AfPak: US in RC South/US and Paks/Paks vs. Talibs"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...akspaks-
vs.html
Mark
Ottawa
Abbas wont recognize Isarael as a "jewish" state. Hmmm, do other countries do that, or do they just recognize the territorial integrity of a country and the legitimate government that has control of that territory?
Is Canada asked to recognize the Pakistan or Saudi as "Islamic" states. Does Canada explicity recognize Vatican City and a "Roman Catholic" state?
While I understand the point that Abbas is trying to make, formally recognizing Israel wouldnt mean having to make formal statements about its "official jewishness". You can still have issue with the internal policies of government without rejecting the nation.
For example, Canada still recognized South Africa as a nation under apartheid but we took extreme issue with how it was governed and how its "legitimate" government was chosen. We do the same with Iran today, to a much lesser extent.
Strikes me as either a message for domestic consumption by Abbas or alternatively an excuse fabriacation exercise. I can only hope it is the former.
Re polls
If the best MI (or I) can do is be dead even with the cons during what is arguably his unquestioned honeymoon then it is fair to ask to ask the quetsion, is this as good as it gets for them?
The CPC hasn't pushed back in anyway, the Canadian media have been adoring and the economy is in the crapper. He (MI or I) should be ahead by 5 points at least.
I am sure at some point someone will begin to ask that question, why isnt MI walking away with it?
'WTF? "Bear Head, Schreiber and Mulroney--and the TH 495"'
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...d-
mulroney.html
Mark
Ottawa
Re Fowler,
That is very good news. One hopes he is relatively unscathed.
On a less serious note...clearly Al Queada is following the Mulroney Schreiber hearings on CPAC and wanted to see him to testify.
Again, glad he has been released.
"Afghan cricket: Good news and bad (sort of) news"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...d-bad-
sort.html
Mark
Ottawa
Afstan--two views:
Bruce Rolston:
http://www.magazine.utoronto.ca/?p=3759
'“This Is a Generational Struggle”
Captain Bruce Rolston wonders how long Afghanistan’s calm facade will remain after peacekeepers leave'
Terry Glavin:
http://transmontanus.blogspot.co...a-in-
kabul.html
"In Vancouver Review: Taqunya In Kabul - The People, Coming From The Shadows."
Mark
Ottawa
A letter of mine in "The Economist", April 16 (somewhat edited by them):
http://www.economist.com/
opinion...ory_id=13482682
"Witness for the prosecution
SIR – There was an important factor missing in your explanation of why prosecuting white-collar crime is more difficult in Canada than in the United States (“Too trusting”, April 4th).
http://www.economist.com/
opinion...ory_id=13415555
In the United States public lawyers start an investigation before charges are laid in white-collar cases. A good example is Patrick Fitzgerald, the United States’ attorney who investigated Conrad Black. Lawyers are able to gather and assess evidence in these matters much better than the police. In Canada the police are responsible for gathering evidence in an investigation, and are often ill-equipped and unskilled in such cases. Crown attorneys only become closely involved once the prosecution begins.
Mark Collins
Ottawa"
When are you up in front of the Oliphant inquiry?
Given todays testimony at the end and checking your bio on your time at ACOA I am looking forward to seeing it. I just want to make sure I book the time to watch.
Interesting post about how much G& industrial production has fallen.
Interesting how Canadian and UK production hasn't really grown, UK especially. But look at the export economies, Japan and Germany, they really benefitted during the good times. Now they are dealing with the collapse of demand in their markets, as are we.
One can only imagine what the Chinese are going through, even as the Globe indicates yesterday that production continues. You may see times where they are burying steel and cars or dumping them into the ocean to create reefs.
This isnt over yet.
http://jessescrossroadscafe.blog...n-
crashing.html
A post at "The Torch" by Damian Brooks, with video:
"Waging Peace: Canada In Afghanistan"
http://
toyoufromfailinghands.blo...fghanistan.html
Mark
Ottawa
Re Iggy Bringing Brian to the Dance.
Could it be that Iggy's target is really Charest and that part of of the Liberal Party of Quebec's machine?
or is he just trying to stir up poo?
Letter in the Toronto Star:
"Obama, the Taliban and Thomas Walkom--and the prime minister"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...walkom-
and.html
Mark
Ottawa
"Taliban Sharia law in action: where's the Canadian outrage?"
http://www.damianpenny.com/archi...ved/
012950.html
Mark
Ottawa
Re SpectorVision....I am not sure you even maintain your popularity by giving in that much.
Jimmy Carter was unpopular with his Euro allies by the end of his term for not setting a consistent path. I would say "Steve" hasnt necessarily maintained popularity even though he has been arguably quite accomomodating.
Obama will be burned in effigy at a European protest rally soon enough, he is an American president, it happens to them all, including Clinton.
Bipartisan "Special ops":
http://www.damianpenny.com/archi...ved/
012941.html
Mark
Ottawa
Further to "THE COLUMN I WISH I’D WRITTEN
War aims and misogyny (Globe)".see the "Update thought" on China here:
"Afghan women and religious law hysteria"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...w-
hysteria.html
Mark
Ottawa
"I'm betting on a bankrupt General..."
http://www.damianpenny.com/archi...ved/
012933.html
Mark
Ottawa
Norman,
Assuming you must testify at the Schreiber Inquiry, do you gave a scheduled date/time ?
More on the PM's misleading Afghan spin at the Update here:
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...-on-
afstan.html
Mark
Ottawa
Prime Minister Harper on Afstan--video of interview on CTV's Question Period, March 29 (recorded March 2
.
http://watch.ctv.ca/news/ctvs-qu...009/
#clip155217
The PM says that President Obama's announced strategy...
"...I think mirrors the Canadian government's position, frankly mirrors the great work done by John Manley and his counterparts [sic], I think it mirrors it just about as closely as it possibly could and we were a couple of years ahead of the curve."
What self-serving tripe. Moreover, since the Manley report was issued just some fourteen months ago, and since the House of Commons' resolution extending our mission until 2011 only passed just over one year ago, we certainly have not been "a couple of years ahead of the curve."
As for 2011, the prime minister was very clear indeed:
"...we are planning for the end of the military mission at the end of 2011."
So far as I can see from everything he's been saying there is no inclination to change that planning.
Mark
Ottawa
Steve and Chuck can discuss organic gardening, I guess. However he is the apparent future "King of Canada".
Changing topic, Steve and Angie M are apparently quite sympatico. Curious about Steve's thoughts about the spanner she threw into Gordo's "new deal" spending. I suspect Steve is pleased and supportive.
German Conservatives are a pretty sensible bunch. Old things are new again, and Germany is the lynch pin of Europe. The only way to wrestle it with them will be the British teaming up with two or three other continental powers. However, I think the Germans have this one nailed down.
Given the weakened state of the US even a smiling Barack can't break down the Germans. I think the story of the conference will be Merkel's willingness to exert Germany's power and influence, in contrast to Brown's empty rhetoric and Sarkozy's inability to find allies.
I suspect the German's have good relationships with the Indians and the Chinese as well. Steve has chosen his friends well.
He will, indeed, and will also have an audience with the Prince of Wales.
Norman,
Do you know if Steve will be meeting the Queen when he is London for the G20. You would think she would want 20 minutes or so to catch up on goings on and if there are any more constitutional crises coming up...she is after all the Queen of Canada.
You can say a lot about her, but she takes her job and responsibilities seriously. Just curious because it hasn't come up.
"Obama's war: Petraeus and Holbrooke on the public job"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...lbrooke-
on.html
Mark
Ottawa
I am already eyeing trophies for Larry.
Most Idiocies of the Year
Most Columns I am Glad I Didn't Write
There will be three of each trophy, one sent to Lary, one to his editor and one to the publisher.
I was going to send him signed photo of Stephane Dion but he already had one. But I think Larry's new budding bromance with Iggy is more problematic. But it is driven by his blind hatred of Harper so it should flower.
Is there a more transparent writer who tries to pretend he is non-partisan?
Lounge Lizard Larry Martin is at it again:
"Time to get real"
http://www.damianpenny.com/archi...ved/
012894.html
Mark
Ottawa
"Obama's war indeed"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...-
indeed_27.html
Mark
Ottawa
It seems to be duelling models and one upsmanship. I thought, that being under the Library that would mean the PBO would provide research, some independent and some answering questions.
I admit I am a little confused as to what the PBO is supposed to be doing, other than challenging everything the dept of finance produces.
Then layer on personalities, Kevin Page seems to feel he has a higher calling. But that should be neither here nor there. It seems to be an agency in search of a client, and right now its most favourable client is ouraged opposition members or media looking to question government credibility.
I guess I have more research to do.
The PBO could make a valuable contribution if MPs and the media were genuinely interested in finding the best way out of the current economic mess. Which is another way of saying that the odds are stacked heavily against, at this point.
The real George Galloway, the description you won't get on CBC/CTV/Global.
And remember, we have troops in the field right now, bleeding and dying fighting against what Galloway supports, funds and promotes.
Damn straight we have a right to keep this fascist out of Canada. We have an obligation to our troops.
Good work Mr. Kenney.
http://tinyurl.com/dh5ghz
This is from an avowed & proud Socialist !
The biggest problem with the Parliamentary Budget Office is Kevin Page. Somehow this supposedly brilliant economist doesn't understand the difference between facts and forecasts. Page's FORECAST that the 2009-2010 deficit will be $38 billion, not the $33 billion the Finance Department forecasts, is NOT A FACT. The only fact we have to work with is that Page (along with everyone else, regardless of their credentials) did not accurately forecast current conditions in March of 2008, so why should we pay any attention to their forecasts for March 2010? I could on and on, but suffice it to say that Page and all the other Oracles of Gloom and Despair do not actually KNOW any more than you or I. Therefore, whether you predict another depression or a rebounding boom for 2010, as of today, we are all equally correct. Personally, I think there is a place for a PBO with some independence, but the person in charge today is probably going to be last person to hold that position, because of his performance.
Norman,
I would love to see you write something, more than Spector Vision and less than a full paper, on the Parliamentary Budget Office.
I liek the idea of an independent research org. But I will admit to feeling confused as to its purpose now. All we end up with is lots of different numbers. Isnt the finance department supposed to deliver "real" numbers.
It just seems like just another layer of fighting that will ultimately lead to the "tyranny of small differences".
Wouldnt it be political suicide for the PBO to agree with the government, undercutting its raison d'etre? Meaning we will just have perpetual conflict.
I am sypathetic to its existence but I am finding it is having an awkward birth? Does the mother country do this, do the Aussies or Kiwi's? If they don't isnt this just another congressional graft on to a parliamentary system, yielding a camel when a horse was requested?
Further to NEWS UPDATE--"Ottawa expands Afghan website in bid to sell mission"--a "Torch" post with all the links:
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...e-
canadian.html
"Afstan: More interactive Canadian government website
The updated website ("Canada's Engagement in Afghanistan") is well worth exploring; the map is quite something..."
Mark
Ottawa
Norman,
Any further comments on what is happening in one of our mother countries? Quite the fued beginning to brew between the Central bank and the PMO.
As well, the audience between the head of the Bof E and the Queen was the first time she had felt the need to get the news directly.
UK default on debt is one of the iceberges that is out there. The US, for all its debt still reatins enormous tax capacity to payback. Brown and Blair spent while keeping taxes high and are now at the end of the branch, so to speak.
The UK at this stage could very well be a parable written into textbooks about what tax and spend ultimately leads to. The UK is going to have to go through a Thatcher like cleansing again....an end to the New Labour dream.
"The US, NATO and AfPak":
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...-and-
afpak.html
Mark
Ottawa
"Afstan: Will anyone supply 4,000 troops, even temporarily?/Troop strengths (note Poles and Danes)"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...000-
troops.html
Mark
Ottawa
"Afstan: Interview video with Gen. McKiernan/Americanization of the south"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...o-with-
gen.html
Mark
Ottawa
Thanks, Mark. I've now linked Glavin's take-down.
AfPak and Obama Jack--further to TODAY'S DISHONESTY,
'Jack Layton must be hoping readers will forget that the NDP opposed Canada’s participation in this war from its beginning in 2001. And then agreed to continue our combat role as part of the coalition agreement. As to his current policy on their presence in Afghanistan between now and 2011, your guess is as good as mine.
"Canada's next steps in Afghanistan"
http://www.nationalpost.com/toda...html?
id=1396155 '
Terry Glavin assesses the NDP leader's new, improved policy for the region:
http://transmontanus.blogspot.co...ortions-
ii.html
"A Misjudgment Of Historic Proportions II: "We've Come A Long Way...
I will go easy here on New Democratic Party leader Jack Layton..."
I'm not sure I ever want Mr Glavin to "go easy" on me.
Mark
Ottawa
Things one learns from US Army Brig.-Gen. John Nicholson--and not the Canadian government or media:
"Afstan: More on US plans for ISAF Regional Command South"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...s-for-
isaf.html
Mark
Ottawa
The Canadian Navy running dog-like with the American imperialist madmen:
"Breaking the morning calm"
http://www.damianpenny.com/archi...ved/
012844.html
Mark
Ottawa
From Terry Glavin, a post on what some people in Pakistan think of the Taliban et al.:
"All those who want a dialogue with the Taliban should go to hell."
http://transmontanus.blogspot.co...logue-
with.html
Mark
Ottawa
Further to "ON MY MIND/CAUGHT MY EYE--What the Yanks are reporting on Afstan (and Canada)
Troops Face New Tests in Afghanistan"
http://www.washingtonpost.com/
wp...9031402178.html
A post at "The Torch" with lots of background links and a video of US Brig.-Gen. John Nicholson:
"US really starting to shape things in ISAF Regional Command South"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...-things-
in.html
Mark
Ottawa
Last week a group of AGW WARMongers met in Copenhagen and invented the latest and now the greatest lies, distortions and inventions about the threat of climate change (ex Global Warming). Their desperation to keep the $$$Billions in research funds flowing into their labs is so great now that the planet has entered a long term cooling pattern that they feel they must now use extreme fear stories to secure long term funding to cover their butts when the great scam is revealed to be a very, very, very naked emperor.
Year ten of the current cooling era, and counting. Despite carbon in the atmosphere increasing.
Fisking the WARMongers gets easier and easier.
"Scientists at the Copenhagen conference said that modest IPCC estimates of likely sea level rise this century need to be increased. Extra melting in Greenland could drive sea levels to more than a metre higher than today by 2100"
This is typical eco-bloat. Taking into account that the Earth's surface is 70% ocean and that it takes 1.1 cubic mile of ice to make a cubic mile of water, to raise the oceans one inch would take 2400 (2398+) cubic miles of ice. To raise the oceans one meter would take 94,488 cubic miles of ice melting. Greenland is melting at 55 cubic miles a year, their dream is to make us believe that the melting would become not two or four times faster than today but 18.67 times faster, from 55 cubic miles a year to 1027 cubic miles a year for 92 years."
"Another reason not to allow Commons' committee members access to classified material"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...t-to-
allow.html
Mark
Ottawa
"Wealth, and the health of nations"
http://www.damianpenny.com/archi...ved/
012818.html
Mark
Ottawa
"But federalism today?"
http://www.damianpenny.com/archi...ved/
012819.html
Mark
Ottawa
GM: "20% in Canada: I don't get it"
http://www.damianpenny.com/archi...ved/
012807.html
Mark
Ottawa
Re NL Seperation Senator:
I don't know if I would even take an order from George Baker at the Tim's drive thru seriously.
Proof again that the Newfoundland politicians, with the exception of Crosbie, are all wind and spray. Not much substance there.
Re: Farms must not be forgotten (Ignatieff)
He forgot to include the Maple Leaf plant.
On the radio, netwise that is--US National Public Radio,Tuesday, March 3 at 7:30 p.m. EST):
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/Worldfocus
http://worldfocus.org/blog/2009/...ghanistan/4230/
Ron Hoffmann, Canada’s Ambassador to Afghanistan; Nipa Banerjee, with Canadian International Development Agency for 33 years and headed aid efforts in Afghanistan from 2003 to 2006; and Terry Glavin, freelance journalist who recently spent a month reporting in Afghanistan, and an adjunct professor of creative writing at the University of British Columbia.
Mark
Ottawa
An excellent post by Brian Platt at his "The Canada-Afghanistan Blog":
"A Short Rant On Harper, Afghanistan, And Pathetic Progressives"
http://canada-afghanistan.blogsp...nistan-
and.html
Mark
Ottawa
"A real looking glass war"
http://www.damianpenny.com/archi...ved/
012756.html
Mark
Ottawa
Harper says Afghan mission major NATO test: report
Surely this can't be breaking news. The story has been on the WSJ website for more than 36hrs. It was the #3 story (popularity I think) in the opinion section this morning.
"No reason for Canadian GM (or Chrysler) bailout"
http://www.damianpenny.com/archi...ved/
012736.html
Mark
Ottawa
re: Fox Business News
Where were you expecting him to go to discuss the necessity of open markets: Lou Dobbs on CNN?
Two posts at "The Torch" about the Minister of National Defence:
"Poor Peter"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...poor-
peter.html
"Poor Peter II: Boy is he confused"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...e-
confused.html
Mark
Ottawa
Any comments on this emerging idiocy.
http://blog.macleans.ca/2009/02/.../#comment-
96211
If true then I think an emergency tour of the base in Alert is in order.
"Afstan: US surge for real"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...e-for-
real.html
Mark C.
The prime minister's simulator stimulator:
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...efor-
jercs.html
Mark
Ottawa
Re GM
It would make sense for this to be part of the meeting. Ironic that the solution originally proposed, bankruptcy, is going to happen.
This isn a bad thing and the government has a roll to play in providing the financing for a proposal. Debtor in Possession financing, DIP, has dried up due to the cricumstances. This is s alegitimate role of government to provide soemthing that is available in any other time, would have been 3 years ago and will be 3 years from now.
The bankruptcy process is normal, and it is enforceable in a way a government bailout isnt. Union contracts are rewritten, bondholders gt crammed down. All of the things that should happen havent been allowed to happen. Bankruptcy is a process, insolvency is an end point. GM and Chrysler need to go through bankruptcy so the viable parts of their businesses can be releived of the debloads and ill advised obligations.
It may also teach some stakeholders, mgt, captial suppliers and unions, that extroidinary promises are just that, promises and may well not be kept, and shoudnt be asked for.
It will ultimately be good for everyone. Our role in helping that process and trying to ensure, from Harper to Obama, that politics is kept as far away as possible (remember i said as possible, which may not be far)
“Peacekeeping has been pushed to the wall...”
http://www.damianpenny.com/archi...ved/
012670.html
Mark
Ottawa
Remember the Joint Support Ship?
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...ssels-
cant.html
A post by Damian Brooks:
"Time to pay for our lack of leadership"
http://
toyoufromfailinghands.blo...leadership.html
Mark
Ottawa
"President Obama and Afstan"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...and-
afstan.html
Mark
Ottawa
Liberals call for more spending...already!
this should be interesting, one moment they are criticizing the deficit and claiming fiscal rectitude, the next they are saying there isnt enough being spent, one week later?
Goodness they truely are all ove the map and they will drive the conservative base comfortably back to the cons. I guess Iggy is more worried the NDP are making inroads.
Kind of reinforces the governments argument that things are moving quickly. Harper did a nice innoculation today by saying the unemployment numbers are likely to get worse.
I also find the Obama message reinforces the government message, happened fast, nobody predicted the extent. It will be interesting.
Norman,
I read somewhere that Condi rice said meetings with the canadians was like a meeting with a condo board, lots of little stuff and no big picture items.
I have also read that the Brits refere to a posting here as the "Great White Waste of Time".
Is this Canada's fate, for good or ill?
"Examining health care"
http://www.damianpenny.com/archi...ved/
012627.html
Mark
Ottawa
ON MY MIND "--Another thing your paper is not reporting
Obama preserves renditions as counter-terrorism tool":
http://www.latimes.com/news/la-n...?
track=ntothtml
Althought the story cites two "notorious instances" of rendition it makes no mention of Maher Arar. Maybe LA is too far from the (increasingly defended) border.
Mark
Ottawa
Loraine,
Good question, but honestly I don't. Lowell Murray was loyal to Joe Clark, who appointed him to the senate, and is loyal to Brian Mulroney, whom he served as a minister. However, having worked for Murray, I can say that he is a man of principle, and, while he does not like Harper, he likes the idea of fixed election dates even less.
Re: The new games of politics played in Ottawa (Legault) - if Karlheinz Schreiber is Pontius Pilate does that mean that Mulroney is Jesus Christ?
Do you think that there is any link between these new games between the Mulroney and Harper gangs and Lowell Murray' moving on the second reading of Bill S-202, An Act to amend the Canada Elections Act (repeal of fixed election dates)?
As Senator Murray explained to the Senate Thursday the 29th of January:
'Honourable senators, we have had our eyes opened by experience with this law. The Prime Minister has demonstrated beyond any possibility of doubt that the law is a nullity; that it is meaningless. Therefore, let us redeem ourselves and him by removing this embarrassment from the statute books of our country.'
Can you imagine the debate in the House? Would Harper try to defend his Fixed Elections Date legislation?
Too funny, these games...
"Now it's NATO and the Arctic"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...and-
arctic.html
Mark
Ottawa
"The Great White Threat to the upperbelly"
http://www.damianpenny.com/archi...ved/
012602.html
Mark
Ottawa
Press release from the Chinese Canadian Conservative Association:
Senior Ignatieff Liberal's "cat meat" comment offends the Chinese community
Chinese Canadian Conservative Association calls on Liberal leader to fire Senior Liberal strategist Warren Kinsella
Toronto – Alex Yuan, chair of the Chinese Canadian Conservative Association called on Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff to distance himself from the comments made by senior Liberal strategist Warren Kinsella. In a recent blog posting Kinsella likened the meat found in Chinese cuisine to cat meat.
“Back in the Big Owe for a couple weeks, so what better way to kick things off than with some BBQ cat and rice at the Yang Sheng, hangout of our youth? Yay!”
Kinsella repeated the offensive comment in a video posting on his website.
“Our community is deeply concerned with Mr. Kinsella's comments. Kinsella repeats the most vulgar and offensive stereotypes by associating the meat served by Chinese restaurants to cat meat. He has hurt the feelings of the Chinese people and disrespected the Chinese culture," continued Yuan.
“This is not the first instance of such intolerant remarks by Mr. Kinsella therefore we call upon Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff to fire Mr. Kinsella as his senior strategist and apologize to the community.”
Mr. Kinsella was forced to apologize for another intolerant blog posting in 2007. In the 2007, he wrote a post suggesting that Progressive Conservative MPP Lisa MacLeod would rather bake cookies than run for office.
For more information please contact:
Tom Pang, CCCA Director
416-447-0446
Obviously Iggy has never played poker. With all of the apocalyptic hysteria in the air right now, the safest bet is that the Canadian economy will not fall as far as the wild-eyed prophets of punditry have predicted. The longer PM Harper can wait before going into an election, the more likely it will be obvious to everyone just how overblown the current panic is. Not only is Iggy telling us that he has been bluffing up to now, and has folded after proposing the lamest budget amendment you can think of, but he also announces plans to huff and bluff every six months. I can't predict economic news any better than anyone else, but I would rather put my money on things turning out better than expected, as opposed to even worse than the calamity being predicted right now. If the political landscape can change in a big way in six months, just imagine what can happen if this minority government survives for another two or three years.
Sorry, typo. I meant to write "starting on April 1, 2009" not 2010.
Hello Norman;
Can anyone explain why Count Ignatief expects a report card in March? Isn’t this budget for the 2009-2010 fiscal year starting on April 1, 2010? What could one report in March?
Thanks for the summary of the Crop poll it should be a good baseline. 31% should be a good number for The Count. I still can’t believe he didn’t go for power – it just doesn’t add up. My guess is the next poll will have him down in Quebec. Clearly some Quebecers are looking for an alternative to the BQ but they jump back to them very quickly.
The problem for Canada, of course, is that it is too easy to be a provincialist – take Danny Williams, Please. Really, Gilles and Danny sing the same tune of grievance and woe and their constituency will buy it every time. Gilles has it a lot easier because he doesn’t have to be responsible for anything. What a gig!
Norman;
Thanks for this morning’s SpectorVision. Perhaps The Count smuggled in a sawed off shotgun in from Harvard. How else could he get both feet at once? Or maybe he found one left in the closet at Stornaway?
I’m sure the budget changes he will seek will are changes to the Election Finance act providing for full taxpayer funding of the Liberal’s next election run. The only thing that could hold him back from bringing the government down is the risk that his party will have to pay its own way in an election. He may have the confidence of Jack and Gilles but the GG may say he has to get the confidence of the people now. To finance an election well he needs the confidence of Liberal donors – something the Liberal Party hasn’t seemed to figure out. An old political hand once said the true measure of a Socialist is his willingness to spend other people’s money. Is this what explains the Liberal’s inability to raise funds? Money must be the only thing holding him back; everything else seems to have fallen into place for him.
Iggy's choice:
I agree I dont think the GG really has much of an option should the government be defeated. At this stage the government has done all it can, consulted widely, listened and brought forth something. The PM can say that the circumstances are such that it doesnt matter what he does, despite the election results the opposition parties are intransigent and there is now a player involved that wasnt around the last time the people were asked.
The GG really would be in the divination business if the advice from the PM was overturned.
As for Iggy wanting an election. Hmm do you think that the Liberal protestations that they really are ready is not just smokescreen. How in the world can you have grabbed control of your party, have policy ready and be ready to govern within 60 days? Iggy is a smart guy, and he has some smart advisors, but they arent ready and he knows it.
We will see his messaging later today. I think if he pushed it to an election then Canadians would find it irresponsible...not that I am arguing Canadians dont want elections (the worst argument there is)....the government, for the moment has demonstrated it compromise and put forward a plan. The Bloc is back to looking like the oppositionalists that they are and Layton is likely beginning to plan his retirement party once the budget passes, whether he likes it or not.
So after all the comments last time about elections not changing anything, two main opposition leaders will have changed by the next election. Elections always change something, that is why they are worth having.
"--What the Globe is reporting on Afstan
The return of the Taliban (Globe" (ON MY MIND):
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/s...y/
International
A very interesting nugget is buried near the end of this story--I've seen no mention of it elsewhere:
"But the landscape is about to change, as is Canada's role in the Kandahar countryside, with the imminent arrival of U.S. troops. The Americans will be dispatched to the countryside, while Canadian forces will be deployed closer to Kandahar city. Eventually, the provincial capital will become the main focus of Canadian efforts in southern Afghanistan.
Senior military officials say they're confident the new strategy will work..."
Mark
Ottawa
Re Don Boudria as advisor on parliamentary strategy.
Ick....how long before people start noticing th hyper partisan tone that the Libs will take on if they follow this former "honorable" members advice.
Always amazes me that you can be an MP and somehow become a multi-millionaire after that.
A thoughtful post from an American soldier blogging from Afstan:
"Dear President Obama"
http://afghanistanshrugged.com/2...dent-
obama.aspx
And, for the south:
"A whole lot of US Marines to Afstan?"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...-to-
afstan.html
Mark
Ottawa
Regarding Iggy in VBC. He's definitely channeling more David Smith these days.
Regardng Charest -- is he betting on the coalition? Perhaps he is cozing up to Gilles? Maybe he is trying to demolish PMSH in the hopes that he'll be the heir apparent to lead the Conservative party. Or, like all good Premiers he's blaming the Feds for all provincial evils.
It seems most of the English media in Quebec is moving farther away from Harper since he called out the Seperatists. If Charest continues to spit at the Cons this isn't going to go well for Canadian unity. How does Charest benefit from this?
Iggy in Vancouver last night:
"The people of Vancouver need to know their Federal Government is behind them in their Olympics and we are."
Last time I checked our Federal Government was not a LPC activity.
So I guess Iggy figures that if he can become leader of the LPC without citizens voting for him, he can simply likewise just appoint himself to be our Prime Minister, because that what intellectuals do - they tell us what is good for us.
Stephen
Thanks for pointing out this idiocy, which has been added to today's review.
Norman,
Do you find this quote from this article as odd as I do.
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/Articl...15?
hub=Politics
Re Mr Chan, Iggy said
"Were I the prime minister I would not prevent or obstruct someone going to work for another political party."
Ulm, I never knew that working in the PCO meant you were working for a Political Party. Did he misspeak, or is it his view, that like Americans senior bureaucrats are political appointements only...maybe they didnt teach that at Harvard.
Further to "Ice Retreat Prompts Bush Shift in Arctic Policy" (IF YOU'VE MORE TIME ON YOUR HANDS...),
http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.co...es/?
ref=science
a post by Alaskan Ben Muse at "Arctic Economics":
"The New U.S. Arctic Policy Directive"
http://benmuse.typepad.com/
arcti...olicy.html#more
Note:
"...
The directive does recommend that Congress pass the Law of the Sea Treaty.
'Joining will serve the national security interests of the United States, including the maritime mobility of our Armed Forces worldwide. It will secure U.S. sovereign rights over extensive marine areas, including the valuable natural resources they contain. Accession will promote U.S. interests in the environmental health of the oceans. And it will give the United States a seat at the table when the rights that are vital to our interests are debated and interpreted.'
The Secretary of State is directed to continue to seek the Senate's advice and consent to the Treaty."..
Mark
Ottawa
Stephen;
Didn't Chantal Hebert claim that the Clarity Act could be traced directly to SH. If my memory serves me well she wrote a column with this claim during the new Conservative party leadership race in 2003(?). As you say, he would have been working for PM (who did not become PM) at the time.
Interestingly, I have not seen PMSH ever take credit?
Happy New Year!
Re the Clarity Act.
I actually thought it was largely Preston manning's idea, SH might have had some input on it as well.
But it is interesting to see that perceptions matched reality, I seem to remmeber the Martin, Charest, Dion and Joe Clark all had some form of heartburn over the idea....Mulroney may have as well.
Interesting reading
Re Farm Team
Confirms he Conservative meme doesn't it. Don't know if there is anything you can do about it, or should.
Any thoughts.
"National Security Presidential Directive and Homeland Security Presidential Directive--Arctic Region Policy"
http://
toyoufromfailinghands.blo...esidential.html
Mark
Ottawa
Further to "New vehicles for army could boost economy, top soldier says (Globe)" in FED FOLLIES, the headline misses ther real story:
"2011 the limit for Army's current Afghan mission/Generals lobbying publicly"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...ent-
afghan.html
Mark
Ottawa
"Buzz Hargrove (gasp!) gets one important thing right"
http://www.damianpenny.com/archi...ved/
012410.html
Mark
Ottawa
I just love your cartoon of the day. I am sending it to all my acquaintances, here and abroad. Northern Dancer on the list for Senate appointees? I wouldn't cough in the presence of the prime minister...
A candidate for cartoon of the day, American version
http://tinyurl.com/a3laso
Hmmm... Senator Spector. Nice ring to it.*
Just as nice as Clerk of the Privy Council Norman Spector, as per Lawrence Martin's column this morning.
*Almost as nice as Senator Bourrie.
"Fixed-wing SAR: The C-27J after all?"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...-after-
all.html
Mark
Ottawa
Re Jack and his spending habit. I suspect that Iggy will need to bury the coalition soon. Every utterence from Layton becomes a question for Iggy and an implication for Canadians that this is what they would have gotten.
I am sure Iggy is hoping that his signature on that letter was in disappearing ink.
I look forward to the wake.
"Rendition redux?/Mickey I. on torture"
http://www.damianpenny.com/archi...ved/
012369.html
Mark
Ottawa
"The Arctic and the Northwest Passage: The Euro threat "
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...ssage-
euro.html
Mark
Ottawa
"Speeding up new fixed-wing SAR aircraft acquisition--why?"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...r-
aircraft.html
Mark
Ottawa
A real country?
"Afstan and Canadian public discourse"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...-
discourse.html
Mark
Ottawa
Norman,
It will take awhile for the cognitive dissonance of who Iggy is and what he believes fights through the mindset of the Toronto Liberal Party's mindset and comes to the realization that Iggy likes guns & interventions and backed the evil Bush war on Saddam.
The realization will be most painful in Peggy Wente's crowd of uber Liberal loving Torrana "we're so smart" liberal womens crew that will struggle to resolve what they want to be and who Iggy really is.
Dissonance is worse than a cheating husband.
At least you can screw the husband in divorce court. Dissonance screws the dissonant.
Fred
He lost me somewhere between the smell in the barn and the big sky. First journalist to say he's a prig gets a bouquet.
yesterday's best howler, coming from Iggy as he channels Trudeau . . .
"I hope that Western Canadians forgive and forget, to be very blunt, some of the errors that the party has made in the past," he said."
Seems he has already trying to pull an Obama and "forget" he signed the Coalition Support letter that was sent to the GG.
Today is...
"Independence Day"
http://www.damianpenny.com/archi...ved/
012350.html
Plus everything you need to know about US reinforcement plans for Afstan:
"Afstan: US defense secretary Gates nudges Canada"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...tary-
gates.html
Mark
Ottawa
"New Don on the (Centre) Block"
http://www.damianpenny.com/archi...ved/
012348.html
Mark
Ottawa
"Kandahar: The Yanks are coming--big time"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...g-big-
time.html
"Afstan: Many US Marines to the South?"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...s-to-
south.html
"Maybe US Marines can relieve the pressure for all the construction at Kandahar Air Field (see end of this post for possible numbers..."
Mark
Ottawa
"Budgets and military capabilities"
http://
toyoufromfailinghands.blo...pabilities.html
Mark
Ottawa
Coup du jour: Dion is Dead, Long Live Iggy
The Liberal brain trust must have decided their coup conducting skills needed honing before they go for the larger prize -- 24 Sussex.
Now that they have successfully pushed Iggy to the top we can assume this team has the Liberal backrooms in their control. Next step: convince the public those sitting in the Liberal front rooms across the country see this as an acceptable adaptation of Liberal minded democracy. It doesn't really matter if Liberals themselves believe it as long as the Liberal voting public accepts it. The formerly MSM will surely help with this step.
This will all make for good practice to finish the coup that Stephane started.
Why such desperate measures now? Well, first because they could. Iggy must see that chaos has provided great opportunity. Second, fear that an election may come with Stephane still at the helm? Third, they may have saved some money to fight an election if the coalition coup fails. Finally, well perhaps because nothing interesting happened in Ottawa last week?
Why has Bob capitulated? I suppose the title Deputy Prime Minister does give him a business card with "Prime Minister" on it. He could just hold his finger over the Deputy part when he shows his mother.
So, all they need now is me and millions like me to nod our heads in agreement with their collective wisdom. Sorry Iggy, I injured my neck trying to keep an eye on these magnificent machinations. With my neck brace on I don't foresee nodding anytime soon.
Stéphane Dion's future--Parliamentary leader of the Green Party? (Thought via Galea Hortus.)
Mark
Ottawa
Stephen
I believe Lynch would have been there as Clerk of the Privy Council, since constitutionally it is that body, not the PM (who does not appear in the Constitution) that is advising the Crown.
When Mulroney became leader of the Conservatives, he immediately sought a seat in the Commons. And when a party replaces their leader who is prime minister, the convention is that the person seek an early election to legitimize the arrangement.
Norman: thanks for your insight into
the thinking of Central Canada's punditocracy.
With no formal data to support my position, I nevertheless think the long-term risk of 'de-confederation' comes more from the West than Quebec.
More precisely, a couple more NEP and F-18 contract type blunders would, I believe, cause a tremendous blow-up in the West. Were that to happen and were a government in power as foolish as this coalition promises (ed?) to be, it could get pretty damned exciting.
Further to the Compas poll; relative to other polls, Compas may have come up with an outlier and the 32% support for the Conservatives in QUebec an error. That said, Conservative support doesn't appear to have diminished much either.
Norman,
One more trivia question. When Mulroney became leader of the PC's but before he won the seat in Central Nova would he have been granted the honorific, Honorable Leader Of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition?
I know there are two elements there, Honorable and Leader Of Her Majesty's Loyal Oppsition.
The point of the question is tease out how embedded parties are in choosing leaders in Canada versus the caucus alone. In the UK, per Thatcher, the PM can be deposed by losing support of the cuacus. I believe in Canada that the parties have embedded themselves in this process, hence the issues with the Liberal party now.
This also puts the lie to the claims of "da coalition" that it is simply about MP's when choosing who the leaders are. I think MP's and Senators gave up that privilege a long time ago.
Once again I look forward to your reply.
Norman,
Can you shed some insight as to the why Kevin Lynch, Chief of the Privy COuncil, was present at the GG meeting? Is this standard practice for every PM/GG meeting? (A surprise if it is)
Or would Lynch have been there to bolster Harpers argument that a budget was under way, that it isnt a trivial task, that a change in political masters would mean significant delays.
I just found it odd but maybe it is standard operating procedure. I look forward to your response.
'The enemy: "militant, violent, terrorist extremists"'
http://www.damianpenny.com/archi...ved/
012330.html
Paging Mr Harper.
Mark
Ottawa
Always remember that it is only the Unionized Auto sector that is in trouble & begging for bailouts to keep the over paid workers and realy over paid Management going for a few more months.
" Other Side of the Bailout: VW, Nissan, Kia, Honda
1. VW Ramping Up Plant Construction in Tennessee (link): Amid a sluggish national economy and angst in the American auto industry, Volkswagen is ramping up construction of its $1 billion assembly plant in Chattanooga. Despite a slowing American auto market, Mr. Fischer said VW’s board is dedicated to the Chattanooga project, which is to start vehicle production by 2011 and employ 2,000 people.
2. Nissan's Mississippi Plant Retools For the Future (link): Nissan released its first image of a concept trade van as contractors prepared for an $118 million expansion and retooling at the company's Mississippi plant that will make way for a line of three light commercial vehicle models.
3. Kia Comes to Georgia (link): The US auto industry is throwing bolts, but here in Georgia's Chattahoochee Valley a South Korean car company is building a massive new manufacturing plant along the new Kia Parkway, replacing abandoned textile mills. The massive Kia manufacturing plant will turn out its first model in about a year, and some 43,000 people applied for 2,600 positions.
4. Honda plant brings hope to Indiana town (link): With the domestic automotive industry teetering on the edge of bankruptcy, the recent grand opening of Honda Motor Co.'s Civic assembly plant in Greensburg was a dream come true for this town of 12,000 and for a state that has been hit hard by manufacturing job losses similar to those faced by Michigan"
http://tinyurl.com/6rptjd
Mr. Spector, these days any locked-in-the-DNA voting blocks are too fragmented and too widely dispersed to keep a grip on more than a half dozen seats for any one political party. I think if you scratch PQ/BQ voters deep enough, even there you will find the pragmatics outnumbering the dogmatics. A good test for my hypothesis will be the election results on Monday. Will Quebeckers decide their interests are better served by betting on that pathetic coalition in Ottawa, or by giving the pragmatic Charest a majority?
The problem with some Central Canadian pundits is also a problem with some Western Canadian pundits; Don Martin comes to my mind. They are ocularly challenged because their prejudices are obscuring their vision. In particular, they just can't see how PM Harper could be smarter than they are. A few drops of humility would clear up their eyesight.
If you want to know why Scott "Blow me, Beer & Popcorn" Reid won't be allowed out of his LPC kennel for awhile, this might explain why.
TV viewers in need of a laugh will sorely miss him.
"Their imperative could not be more clear: kill him. Kill him dead. Do not, whatever you do, provide him with an opportunity to extend his hold on power.
So don't get fancy. Don't get confused. And don't get weak in the knees. If you don't put Mr. Harper in his grave, he'll put you in yours."
"Afstan: Who cares?"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...-who-
cares.html
Mark
Ottawa
ABBC/Fred:
That's a very good point about Quebec. The Conservatives have an opportunity to replace the Liberals as the federalist/anglo/ethnic alternative. I wouldn't count on it though, since--having grown up in Montreal--I can testify that voting Liberal is in the DNA of many of these people.
As to your question about central Canadian pundits, some don't give a shit about the west, others think that westerners are full of hot air but in the end haven't the balls to do anything about their discontent--whereas Quebec...(need I say more?).
Thanks for highlighting M. Pratte's editorial. Best line that sums up both sides, and should be "emblazoned in gold" on the bridges crossing from Ontario to Quebec and on wall facing the PM's desk in his office.
"Refusing to bow to all our paradoxes is not to reject Québec."
A wonderfully "Quebec" line since it still says they proudly have their paradoxes and demands acceptance that they have them, but that they are theirs, definace and acceptance at the same time.
"What annihilation might look like
For the record, this is what you get when you plug the Compas numbers in to the Hill and Knowlton seat projector:"
http://tinyurl.com/68jz4w
Norman: re:CPC not finding majority in Quebec.
Compas today ( a +/- 4.5% poll) has
has the CPC at 32 %, the Bloc at 35%.
The Liberals are at 19, the NDP at 7.
It would seem that the Quebec federalist vote may have just gone to the Harper Tories.
For a guy whom the Punditocracy are screeching 'has inflamed Quebecers', Harper looks he might have done that alright, just not in the way the Usual Suspects mean.
By the way, if you have time to answer this, why is that none of the big name pundits - Simpson, et al - have brought up just how inflamed the West would be (will be ?) if the coalition had pulled this stunt off ?
Hell, you don't even have to get very far West to have really po'ed Westerners, just into Western Ontario will do.
But here they are again today, trotting out the "Oooo, Quebec might get huffy, we must tremble, we must tremble !" Are these guys really that far out of touch with how the bulk of the country thinks ?
Looking elsewhere.....I suspect there are a a number of Western NDP seats that are newly vulnerable and Ontario is now looking almost monolithic.
We will see if the numbers hold up or would hold up in an election.
I havent seen a national poll like that, especially given the low numbers in Quebec, I havent seen those since 1984, and that was a week before Mulroney won. I also saw Ontario numbers like this just before Harris won his first majority I believe...if he wasnt over 50 it was really close.
I dont think it will affect the NDP though, they are intent on their strategy and that is completely built around a non election handover from the GG.
More time and eggnog required I suspect, even then Layton and Mulcair have the look of the zealot about them.
Mr Ting,
Yes, that would have been Jeff's book with Marc Jaccard on climate change. Given the quality of the production, not the best advertisement. As to the Conservatives in Quebec, they'll have to look for their majority elsewhere.
Norman,
Regarding the column you wished you had written today.
For what it is worth, a CBC Ekos poll put the CPC at 20% in Quebec and the Bloc at 37% with polling done on December 3rd and 4th.
Do we know that the Conservatives are finished in Quebec, or, are we seeing a similar pattern in Quebec as elsewhere in Canada? The pattern being that this is a New Conservative party that uses a more local approach to build it's support giving it more durable support. This pattern allowed it to hold it's base in the Ocotber election despite the scorn of Quebec's MSM and "Arts" community. One can only be hopeful that Jeffrey Simpson is wrong -- I know it may be a first.
I noticed Jeffrey Simpson is coauthor of a book called HOT AIR. A book with the same name appeared behind Stephane Dion in his video to the Nation. Any connection?
Thanks for the link to the LA Times were you called on partly because of your Stanford connection?
I met GG Schreyer at Rideau Hall when I was fortunate enough to be on a "Forum For Young Canadians" meeting in Spring of 81 I believe.
I also met PM PET at the top of the stairs in the Commons and shook his hand, I think he wanted run when he found out I was from Otto Jelinek's riding. I also rode an elevator with a young and gregarious Bob Rae.
In an interesting turn of events in our mock Parliament in 1981 the young Quebecers were sporting Quebec pins and Out pins. They formed their own party but found they had more in common with the PC party, which I was a part of, than they expected...they had a distorted expectation of what conservatives were.
It was odd to see it played out a few years later.
Schreyer though was a bit of puffbag when he presented to us. But Rideau Hall is very impressive building. I also remember Schreyer got in trouble when he mused about it later. Causing the suspicion that continues to this day about appointment that isnt a conservative doesnt give conservatives a fair shake.
Handing the government over without an election at that time would have set off a firestorm as well. The election, even though it was a lIberal majority allowed the cons to settle in to accepting the loss. the Liberals should be happy because it gave them the legitimacy to do what the subsequently did, whether you agree with it or not.
Schreyer was either afraid of a tory majority or wanted his compadres in the NDP to get a shot at government, either way he wasnt perceoved as neutral, if I remember the times correctly. Him offering advice today without the neagtive backlash he got then is irresponsible...
Sorry, that was supposed to read;
Oh Oh, now you have offended the province and/or party that includes feckless, spineless, panderers....I'll let you choose which one fits the bill on any given day....
Stephen
Quebeckers want to emphasize their new country as opposed to splitting from Canada, and they have a right to call themselves in French whatever they want (though it's worth noting that the word sovereigntist is designed to fudge the fact that they're really talking about setting up a separate country, which gets less support in polls). But we should have the right to call them whatever we want: from our point of view, they would be breaking up Canada. Those who are afraid to use the word separatist are feckless, spineless panderers.
Norman,
What part of calling the Bloc a Seperatist Party is incorrect or offensive? And why is it so difficult for the Punditocracy to understand that anything beyond an issue by issue deal with the Bloc causes heartburn for Canadians outside to Ot-To-Mon bubble?
When is there going to be a coolumnist brave enought to try to explain to Quebecers why this causes such heartburn.
The signing of the deal including the Bloc was an incredible error. The reaction in the rest of Canada is hardly unpredictable, I am sure Gilles knew it would happen, just Jack and Stephane (and Bob) missed the reaction in their clever analysis.
Why is a criticism of the Bloc, as not being fundamentally legitimate to Canadians outside Quebec, so hard for Quebec commentators to understand?
Mr. Spector, I pledge to enroll in French language classes (date to be determined), but can you assist me with Professeur Trembley's article in Le Devoir?
I think I can figure out the first two reasons why the GG should accept the advice of her PM. However, when the professor says "Ce droit de réplique du gouvernement assure un bon équilibre des forces et permet la stabilité gouvernementale en même temps que l'efficacité étatique. Même lorsqu'un gouvernement est minoritaire, l'opposition hésite à le faire tomber parce qu'elle sait qu'elle pourrait elle-même tomber en retour," how is he suggesting that this equilibrium is maintained?
If I am correctly reading the professor's first reason, part of which seems to point out that the Speech from the Throne survived a potential non-confidence vote, therefore the government should be given the opportunity to introduce legislation and a budget to implement the Throne Speech; that alone indicates we should pay attention to what the professor is telling us. In regards to the slippery slope argument that he ends his article with, my only commment would be to quote Luke 23:34.
With respect to Today's Idiocy:
"Moreover, a fair number, if not all, of the policies of Stephen Harper have been crafted to meet the interests of his Alberta constituents.
Long before the Bloc, Alberta was on the road to the exclusive promotion of its interests. It has yet to be overt about its separatist inclinations, but its actions have the singular goal of advancing the interests of Alberta, and not of Canada." (Nicole Ferguson, Dartmouth)
For all of his many failings, one of Stephen Harper's many virtues has been, in my opinion, a genuine desire for the Canadian confederation to work to the benefit of all Canadians.
Underlying Harper's involvement in federal politics is, I believe, the understanding that the greatest danger of Canada coming apart comes not from Quebec, which will not leave unless forcibly pushed, but from Western Canada.
His desire for the Tories to replace the Liberals as the "Natural Governing Party' is grounded, I think, (Norman might know for sure) in the desire, a wistful one it now
appears, for Canada to be governed genuinely in the national interest and reflecting the aspirations and desires of all the regions of Canada.
While nobody, including themselves, seems to know exactly what the 'BDL' (Bloc/Dipper/Lib)coalition policies will be if they form a government, blurt-outs from Dion suggest they will center strongly on the Green Shift plan, or, to Westerners, NEP II.
If the BDL comes to power and NEP does go ahead, Alberta, BC and
Saskatchewan will be badly hurt.
That it would come about just like NEP I, largely through the machinations of Quebecers, and the situation could get a hell of a lot more interesting for Canada than it is right now.
A letter sent to the Governor General (some inspiration from Norman):
"Your Excellency,
Under the British parliamentary tradition a government must have the confidence of the House of Commons. But should a coalition Liberal/NDP government--dependent upon support by the Bloc Québécois--be proposed for Your Excellency's consent, I argue most vehemently that the existing convention is no longer relevant. Unwritten conventions necessarily evolve to fit changing circumstances; otherwise they would not be "conventions".
It would be a logical, political, and moral nonsense that a government enjoy the confidence of the House only with the support of a party that itself has no confidence in a country, the government of which it has only temporarily and tactically agreed to support. In order to be better placed to destroy that country, Canada.
Please do think about the necessity of adapting a Constitutional convention to meet the circumstances of the times. I think your duty in this unprecedented (the separatist aspect) situation is clear. Accept the advice of the current prime minister--in this case the convention that should be followed, taking into account the result of the recent election and the positions that the parties then took and on which the electorate voted."
Mark
Ottawa
Where are the Rats? It's time for Iggy, Rae and Dominic to stand up and defend their support for a Canada lead by the three Stooges. It's clear Stephane can't defend it. These guy's are the godfathers, they gave it their benediction, now lets hear how Iggy defends it. Where is the media? Who is asking them how this is going to help our country?
Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
The sound of Pierre Trudeau spinning in his grave over the insanity of his son supporting the Bloc's role in the Separatist Coalition.
Re Spectorvision, Seperatists are dancing
Yup, all events in this were foreseeable implications of "the pact" and all totally avoidable. Like letting Children light the Barbeque.
I said when this was rumoured that this had the smell of Charlottetown to it, and would provoke a similar reaction from a public that didnt request it. One assumes that the Liberal party being in a Montreal, toronto, Ottaw bubble lacked the feedback and feel to forsee this....but the NDP with its significant Western presence should have known a formal deal with the Bloc was a like waving a flag in front of a bull. You may or may not agree with it but the reaction was guaranteed.
Layton and Dion lack the credibility and stature to contain the chain reaction they have begin. The GG might have been able to slip this through if the reaction was more muted but only an election enables an airing, or she grants prorogue and lets the Cons present budget to give the oppsosition 1 more chance to rethink and find a way to save face.
As for the last option, Dion and Layton have driven this too far to enable that I fear, an election is required to reorder the table.
Dion and Layton, the "Tommy's" (as in The Who) of Canadian Politics.
Another good sane column Norman. Good to see Ted McWhinney chime in, pleasantly surprised by his opinion. All I keep hearing from the chosen experts is either, laying out what she can do without attatching any caveats.
Just makes me weep for the low level of understanding of her role. When its appropriate and when it isnt. The last time I thought it might have been appropriate would have been if Chretien had lost the referendum, then it would have been appropriate to let the commons find its way rather than an election.
Other than an extreme emergency why would the GG want to say IN MY JUDGEMENT versus "based on the advice from the Prime Minister". She may be a nice lady, she may be smart but her qualifications for this are she was a telegenic known perosnality, no slight intended.
Norman, also looking for a confirmation....I believe the GG and the Queen don't officially speak to the opposition leaders to maintain the "One government at a time" line. Am I correct? and is a loose or firm convention?
"The Bloc's strategy"
http://www.damianpenny.com/archi...ved/
012287.html
"Hell no, we won't fight!"
http://www.damianpenny.com/archi...ved/
012288.html
Mark
Ottawa
Clock is ticking now. Only the GG can end this current battle, as the Opposition has put the potato in her lap.
Sorry, one other option, Harper's recommendation is to let them try. Liklihood of that is next to nil.
So process now is Harper engineers the date of his defeat and then makes his recommendation the the GG, which will either be he has lost confidence and recommends election or he has lost confidence and he has no recommendation.
One makes the GG make a significant choice, not easy for her to override. I look forward to seeing polling data soon. But somehow I think Harper doesnt have a lot of options, unless there are MP's about the cross the floor or who dont show up for the vote.
Unthinkable, a Liberal government supported formally by the Seperatists, and I wonder just what this will do.....wonder what the price is. BQ and tories will work together on other bills, but I think you can count on the Tories voting no for the next little while.
Norman, we await your thoughts with interest....any avant gout?
So now we have three politicians, born and raised in Quebec, colluding to usurp the legitimate government of Canada and replace it with one governing at the behest of a Party, The Bloc, that has as its core policy the destruction of the Dominion of Canada.
Way cool. Quebec rules. Again.
Norman, Regarding your Sunday Spector Vision with today’s update. Is it possible the Liberals et al already know Ms. Jean’s response? If Jack and Jill were talking so long ago wouldn’t they have had their third partner run this scenario by her – after all she was appointed by the Liberals.
Norman,
Re Latest Spectorvision. THANK YOU!
Finally some sanity. I could hardly believe my eyes and hears to see and hear that elections are such a burden. And given the fact "da coalition" is saying we should "stimulate" but never clearly how much, is it 2% of GDP which is about 30 Billion in new money or is it 10% of the Americans which is 100 Billion +, doesnt this represent significant change that should have the stamp of voter approval?
There is no plan for power, there is no plan for the money.
Her safest bet is to call an election that the PM advises....anything else is..lunacy.
Most importantly, I dont think the Cons want an election either, so her signalling election will make everyone smarten up. Steve has taken his lumps, and it might be a fatal wound. But not if they push it to an election.
Putting the country on a track to spend money on Lord knows what by using reserve powers? When did the tanks roll into Poland?
"Backroom politics: Canadian angles"
http://www.damianpenny.com/archi...ved/
012273.html
"They are Islamic terrorists"
http://www.damianpenny.com/archi...ved/
012268.html
Watch the interview with escaped Canadian Jonathan Ehrlich.
Mark
Ottawa
On second thought, maybe PM Harper is channeling Mackenzie King. Seriously, where can I get a piece of the action in a card game where one player is within a few cards of knowing that it is mathematically impossible for any of the other players to have a winning hand, where that player can force the other players into going "all in", and then pull back his own hand, and where in the extremely unlikely event he doesn't have the winning hand, he has the ability to play another hand with the same odds as before, and his opponents won't have any chips left?
I am astonished that the opposition parties are so desperate for their $1.95/vote that they got suckered into playing this game. For someone trained to be an economist, who chose a career as a professional policy advisor, our duly elected Prime Minister is one hell of a card shark.
"Fear and loathing--and the Canadian Forces"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...ian-
forces.html
"Why bother trying to get C-130Js soonest..."
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...et-c-
130js.html
Mark
Ottawa
(Ottawa) The NDP has put conditions on the table to form a coalition government with the Liberal Party.
The NDP wants a third of the seats at the cabinet table from a coalition government, Reuters was told . The NDP currently holds 37 seats in the Commons against 77 for the Liberal Party.
In addition, the NDP requires the important ministries like the Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of Finance, according to information filtering discussions between the NDP and the LPC.
Finally, the NDP would also require a coalition government cancels the anticipated decrease next year taxes on corporations.
Wow . . all this huff & fluff, sturm & drang just so they can keep their liplock on the public teat, to keep their entitlement to entitlements alive and the gravy train rolling.
Surly not an issue to fight a campaign on.
Fed Follies indeed.
The GG can constitutionally do a lot of things, including giving Parliament a major time out till things settle down...not recommending that but it is up to her. Problem is I cannot say I am all that convinced that she is a "fair dealer".
It makes no sense, 6 weeks after the governing party gets MORE seats than last time and there is no functioning opposition coalition in Parliament the GG would hand it over??? What planet are we on?
Even if the NDP and Libs form one party they still have fewer seats than the Cons. And why oh why would she even consider the BQ as a trustworthy factor in all of this.
The legitimacy of the next government would be severely questioned, unelected PM, what bloddy authority would they have.
It is reasonable for her to say, the government deserves to put a budget and a plan before the house. Unemployment is 6% or so and inflation is low, interest rates are low, we might slip into deficit, so other than demand fall off and a sick car industry what justifies an effective coup? Are the Liberals really ready to govern, they said themselves in numerous places that they need renewal and new ideas etc...
Is someone going to speak some hard facts here. Absolute fantasyland!
"Afstan: MND MacKay's miserable failure to communicate"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...failure-
to.html
Mark
Ottawa
Fred
Calm down, fella. Their work would be based on the census of 2011.
"The Electoral Boundaries Commission won't be able to start working until 2012 and realistically,"
I'd suggest that the EBC get their civil service asses in gear and move with alacrity. It is exactly this kind of long drawn out government operation style activity that galls Canadian taxpayers. This should a six month operation max, not a three of four year exercise in racking up their pension points.
Defecate, flatulate or get off the throne. Canadians are tired of slow, ineffective government. The fiscal crisis is a perfect time to put a rocket up the butt of the civil service.
Start with the senior management - mandate a 50% cut in travel and conventions and ban business class.
To answer Fred's question, the Commission has to find geographically contiguous boundaries that equalize the population per riding as much as possible, within each province. The last round involved a great deal of fanning out urban ridings into rural areas, with the result that farmers have no political weight anymore. Even the aboriginal vote is getting mixed in with other groups.
The problem with the cities of Toronto and Montreal is that population growth is in the suburbs (the 905 and 450 belts), which currently aren't Liberal or NDP hotbeds. So SW Ontario in general will gain seats, Toronto proper won't. The 75 Quebec seats will also be realigned to dilute somewhat the representation from the island of Montreal. Seats in the Lower Mainland will be rejigged to add representation east of Burnaby and New Westminister, and probably another seat will be added for the Okanagan. The bottom line is that left-wing voters and their sympathizers will be less concentrated after redistribution, and all political parties will have to adjust.
The Electoral Boundaries Commission won't be able to start working until 2012 and realistically, any seat redistribution will have to wait for a 2014 election or later. If PM Harper has any desire to run in another election, he still won't benefit from this legislation, regardless of how long the current government lasts. He just doesn't seem like the Mackenzie King type to me.
Norman . . ref your Rep by Pop article - no doubt Ontario deserves the extra seats but where would they go in Ontario ?
Would downtown Toronto - the home of all things Liberal get the new seats or would they go to the more suburban and rural areas - more Tory friendly regions ?
What "The Torch" is reporting on Afstan"
"US Marines, National Guard in Afstan/Future US strength increases"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...-in-
afstan.html
Mark
Ottawa
"Defence equipment: The shoe drops"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...shoe-
drops.html
Mark
Ottawa
The US sub Prime fiasco explained - ten years ago. Yes, that's Obama's ACORN.
"The Trillion-Dollar Bank Shakedown That Bodes Ill for Cities
The Clinton administration has turned the Community Reinvestment Act, a once-obscure and lightly enforced banking regulation law, into one of the most powerful mandates shaping American cities—and, as Senate Banking Committee chairman Phil Gramm memorably put it, a vast extortion scheme against the nation's banks"
“To avoid the possibility of a denied or delayed application,” advises the NCRC in its deadpan tone, “lending institutions have an incentive to make formal agreements with community organizations.” By intervening—even just threatening to intervene—in the CRA review process, left-wing nonprofit groups have been able to gain control over eye-popping pools of bank capital, which they in turn parcel out to individual low-income mortgage seekers. A radical group called ACORN Housing has a $760 million commitment from the Bank of New York; the Boston-based Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America has a $3-billion agreement with the Bank of America; a coalition of groups headed by New Jersey Citizen Action has a five-year, $13-billion agreement with First Union Corporation.
http://www.city-journal.org/
html...ion_dollar.html
Mr Glasel,
It's been said that Winnipeg is a great place to come from.
A Bronx cheer for the stiff necked clerks in Heritage Canada who fed "Canada's cultural travellers won't warm to Winnipeg, survey finds" to the G&M.
How many of NCC's attractions have $100 million in private funding behind them? Winnipeg's airport gets as much traffic as Ottawa, and everyone pays to fly to Winnipeg. On top of which, dining in Winnipeg is vastly superior to Ottawa in every price range, and hotel rooms are more affordable. Winnipeg is also the most francophone friendly place west of Sudbury. I wouldn't recommend visiting either Ottawa or Winnipeg in the winter, but once the ice melts, Lake of the Woods, the Whiteshell and Grand Beach are all within a two hour drive of Winnipeg.
"Mickey I. shocker"
http://www.damianpenny.com/archi...ved/
012193.html
Mark
Ottawa
More from Terry Glavin today:
http://www.canada.com/vancouvers...e4-
233466268f16
"Young Afghan democracy facing its first major test
Country nervously prepares for '09 elections"
Mark
Ottawa
To all the good folks in small town Ontario, thank you from those of us who can't be there but would be with you we could.
You truly are "Canadian Values" in practice.
http://tinyurl.com/55yovh
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=d...feature=related
Re the securities regulator.
I believe a strict interpretation of things would be that securities are regulated provincially....but would that be for things sold only within province?
Secondly, trusts are provincially regulated, as is retail, but banks are federally regulated.
'Steve' wants a compartmentalized federalism, where each level deals with its own areas, reducing friction by getting out of each others faces, or, "thats your closet this is mine I wont comment on how messy yours is if you wont borrow my shoes"
Problem is it may not be so easy to interpret which power, economic union and interprovincial trade vs provincial power, has the upper hand. If we follow the constituional history of the US then the central government may get a strengthened hand from the "interstate commerce" piece.
In my opinion a clarification along those lines would be nice...problem is when the Liberals get back in power Health Care, Education and Welfare will all be subject to attempts to be defined as interprovincial commerce, I can see it now. Perhaps 'Steve' can ultimately seek to ensure that the power is pre-emptively proscribed to prevent future federale (read Liberal) power grabs.
Am I off base here Norman?
My "Letter of the Day":
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/s...Opinion/
letters
'Stages of Obama
CHRIS STOLZ
November 6, 2008
Vancouver -- Your editorial board expresses guarded admiration for Barack Obama and his promises for "change."
Now, imagine a political candidate who voted to renew the Patriot Act and fund the Iraq war, backed the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Reform Act, courted the Israeli lobby, supported the death penalty, refused to champion universal, single-payer not-for-profit health care for all Americans, called to increase troop levels and expand the war in Afghanistan, failed to call for a reduction in defence spending, and lobbied (and voted for) the taxpayer swindle known as the Wall Street bailout.
This candidate sabre-rattled at Iran, promised to roll back "Russian aggression" and to extend treaty protection to a Georgian regime that cluster-bombed its own people, advocated for military strikes in Pakistan, opposed same-sex marriage, and favoured extending the death penalty.
The candidate's name and party? Not John McCain, not Republican, but Barack Obama and Democrat. So, what exactly does Mr. Obama mean when he talks of "change"?'
Mark
Ottawa
"Afghanistan: Who cares?"
http://www.damianpenny.com/archi...ved/
012149.html
Mark
Ottawa
I suspect that this is the first stage of a cabinet remake, isnt it always a work in progress?
Ritz keeps his job this time, but depending his performance this time he is either out of cabinet or will be moved to a less critical portfolio.
I think the only thing that 'Steve' hates more than being embarressed by one of his ministers is being embarressed by the civil service.
My interest is in Peter Kent, in as Parl Sec for foreign affairs....being groomed for the Foreign affairs posting overall in the next shuffle?
Mr. (Ms? Dr?) Ting
You raise some valid political points. The fact is, however, that a heck of a lot of people died, and the file was badly mishandled.
Norman,
Thanks for your Spector Vision blog entry on PMSH's Cabinet repairs (accountability).
Regarding the PM's decision to keep the Cracker (see Collins dictionary) at Agriculture, how, if the PM truly wants to reform the Agriculture portfolio, is that not the right decision? Reform of the Agriculture portfolio, particularly the CWB, is a near symbolic battle against what may be widely seen as a conglomeration of Liberally-entitled public servants. Some see evidence of this entitlement as having been played out in the 2008 election campaign where the details of a work meeting were revealed in the most unflattering way and then union resources were used to fan and spread the story in places like the CBC. These “important” unflattering details weren’t raised by a principled public servant talking straight to his/her boss when the issue was new or fresh; it was saved until the Minister was at his most vulnerable and delivered in a vindictive manner that seemed like intent to fatally wound him. For the PM to replace Ritz after that apparently concerted demonstration would encourage more of the same – wouldn’t it?
You have been blessed with a fascinating view of the federal public service. I have enjoyed learning from reading your view on many public service issues. How do you reason your query: “Has he (Ritz) something on Mr. Harper?”.
If I may have a redo, a la CTV Atlantic, on Hervieux-Payette: Her public musings, as laid out online in the Cyberpresse.ca article by De Grandpre, speak to her judgment. Dion’s silence juxtaposed with her public venting should be making his choice easy. Dion could point out that the Liberals did better in Quebec than elsewhere in the Country -- not much, but something.
Liberal Leadership -- two questions:
1. Was Hervieux Payette really an appointment by the "great" Senator Smith and not Dion? It looks bad on Dion that he is keeping his distance now.
2. What does Dominic Leblanc bring to the race? Initial impressions of him from an outsider who has never met him are that he is young, smart, serious, telegenic, well connected and well spoken in both official languages. Tactically, entering the race before McKenna announced shows smart instincts and gives the impression that Mckenna is happy to leave the job to him. At 40 years old he has the time. Does he have the managerial temperament to resuscitate the CNGP (Canada’s Natural Governing Party)? Can he do nationwide retail politics?
He’s seems be a strong contender and a much more acceptable alternative to the Iggy-Rae choices?
"The unfathomable lightness of UN-run peacekeeping"
http://www.damianpenny.com/archi...ved/
012117.html
Mark
Ottawa
for all those who think governments spend "their" money . . . the quote of the day.
"To alleviate the obvious hardships to both homeowners and banks, the government commits to buy mortgages and inject capital into banks, which on the face of it seems like a very nice thing to do. But unfortunately in this world there is no tooth fairy. And the government doesn't create anything; it just redistributes. Whenever the government bails someone out of trouble, they always put someone into trouble, plus of course a toll for the troll. Every $100 billion in bailout requires at least $130 billion in taxes, where the $30 billion extra is the cost of getting government involved."
Re: "The Deal"
100% agree with you. Doesn't apply due to age.
They each have about 10 to 12 years left of effective time...if that....less when you factor in an election and then stepping down time. There is no time for both of them, only one....and that fact alone may prevent either from winning.
I still say 'Steve' should offer Iggy the UN ambassadorship like Mulroney did with Lewis. Better fit for Iggy anyway.
R the senior public servant who couldnt run in Liz Frulla's riding....I am sure there is steam coming from Kevin Lynch's ears. But Sweet FA that he can do about it, assuming he knows who it is.
Part of life I guess. Just odd for it to be so brazen. Or that un-named civil servant is horrified by the quote.
My Oct. 18 "Letter of the day":
http://www.damianpenny.com/archi...ved/
012073.html
"Le Parti Torontois
A letter in the Globe and Mail, Oct. 18:
'The better way
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/s...Opinion/
letters
ROGER LUCY
October 18, 2008
Ottawa -- As a party whose strength is so concentrated in Toronto, perhaps it is time for the Liberals to take their cue from the Bloc Québécois and recast themselves as a regional party - ignoring the rest of Canada, which has largely turned its back on them.
As the GTA Party, the former Liberals could dedicate themselves to advancing issues unique to Toronto, such as entrenching its status as the "Centre of the Universe" in the Constitution, or getting funding for safe latte-drinking sites.'"
Mark
Ottawa
I truly wish I had a better command of the French language but even the Babelfish translation of "L'ingérence et l'indifférence" http://babelfish.yahoo.com/
trans...TrUrl=Translate
doesn't mask the bitterness behind the keyboard of Michel David. It makes David Warren sound like a progressive moderate.
"A thumping good Conservative majority/Incredible shrinking Liberals"
http://www.damianpenny.com/archi...ved/
012056.html
"The ToMo metro party"
http://www.damianpenny.com/archi...ved/
012060.html
Mark
Ottawa
The Big losers in last night’s election
Mr. Dion - ‘nuff said
Lizzie May – Proves she has the political instincts of a Mastodon - she sold out her own party trying to “Stop Harper”.
The Green Party - A fringe Party that has, unfortunately, hitched its wagon to the Global Warming horse – too bad because Global Warming isn’t what the media and invested scientists keep telling us. It is over, it is just too embarrassing for all the Believers to admit they were wrong.
Just for fun, take the quiz http://tinyurl.com/46ed3d
The NDP – blew the entire $electoral $wad and still can’t get over the 20% voter support mark.
Danny Williams & NFLD - effectively have eliminated themselves from Government and Cabinet participation, which means they won’t be sharing the lolly when the Navy and the Coast Guard build new ships etc. Just proves Danny is a loud mouthed fool who cares not for his province, just his own petty vendettas.
The Liberal Party of Canada - the party is leaderless, effectively bankrupt, running without a rudder or a compass and on the verge of collapse.
"He did not keep us out of war
Jean Chrétien, that is. Russia and France did. A letter in the Ottawa Citizen..."
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...out-of-
war.html
"Decision by default
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Re: Liberal ad links Harper, Bush, Oct. 6.
The Liberal ad says: "Remember how proud you felt when the Liberals told Bush 'no way' on Iraq." That was not what happened at all.
Prime Minister Jean Chrétien made no independent decision not to take part in the Iraq war. He simply said Canada would go along with whatever the UN Security Council authorized. The council did not authorize an attack and no vote was even held because of certain French and Russian vetoes. The Canadian government then said "no" definitively because there was no UN resolution -- the decision was made by default.
In other words, a vital decision of Canadian foreign policy was put into the hands of France and Russia. Some brave, independent, policy. Yet somehow the myth has taken hold that Mr. Chrétien courageously stood up to George W. Bush and on his own kept us out of war. A myth the Liberals are now relying on to help save their election campaign.
Mark Collins, Ottawa"
Mark
Ottawa
So if the markets continue to heal, and the worst is over, dont know if it is, then at what point would the opposition be overinvested in doom and gloom?
"Afstan: New US command structure"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...-
structure.html
Mark
Ottawa
"Conservative defence platform: Pathetic boilerplate"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...m-
pathetic.html
Mark
Ottawa
"My election rant: What about citizenship?"
http://www.damianpenny.com/archi...ved/
012004.html
Mark
Ottawa
Ms King:
Missed it?
Hardly.
The article is linked in fed follies, and the Star front page is dead centre on the home page of this site.
The Toronto Star headlines today that election vandals cut brake lines "on at least 10 cars parked at homes with Liberal signs on their front lawns". I can't imagime you would have missed the headline - so why is this type of activity, a repeat what had happened in Guelph a few weeks ago, not noteworthy?
"C-17 Advances as A400M Slips"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...400m-
slips.html
Mark
Ottawa
A post at "The Torch":
"NDP defence platform: Sergeant Smokey the Bear"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...ant-
smokey.html
Mark
Ottawa
why do we appoint people to the GG who have no respect for the traditions of the office while outside of it but become enamoured with it when they are in?
Paul Martin's final legacy might eventually come back to haunt Stephen Harper. If its a minority, I expect a coalition to petition the GG who will only be glad to hand the keys to someone else.
As for her partner, just like Ms Clarkson's partner, they can learn their place, a few steps behind the GG. He means nothing constiutionally and should be treated as such.
When is her contract done? I would welcome a constitutional ammendent that says no journalists can ever be appointed to the position of GG. The only one that seems to get his job is Michael Onley in Ontario, the exception that proves the rule.
Stuff like this makes me long for a republic. Perhaps the Queen needs to call Ms jean to remind her of her duties.
So madame Jean wants Khadr home.....perhaps the entire family can move into the governor generals residence.
Honestly, what is she doing?
Omar can come home the day after he is convicted and he can serve his time out in Canada. Thats what other countries have done.
After comments like "global catastrophe" and "the contribution Canadians can make to a global solution is to get rid of Stephen Harper", it's beginning to look like Ms. May will be snared in a honeypot when the leaders' debates commence. The trap was sprung when Harper and Layton raised public expectations of her, by initially barring her from the debate. Now we all expect a serious politician, not a bombastic woman consumed with her own ridiculous hyperbole, and Ms. May's mouth is going to cost her votes (and dollars).
So given Lizzie's quote "that she and Stephane were willing to go further"
Does this mean we can call her All The Way May?
The "money" quote from Jack Mintz, Steffi's economic guru who birthed the Green Shift Shaft thingy.
“ It is like introducing a large, new tax like a value-added tax that has never existed. Carbon pricing is tax policy 101 and will be very intrusive.”
Re Lizzie and her daughter.
1) Confirms Lizzie plans to be a bombthrower
2) This shouldn't be a surprise to the Con Debate team. But if it was it isn't now.
I'm still laughing over yesterday's Howler, "Greens plan rallies in middle of night." Well, maybe I should quit laughing because taxpayers pay the Green Party for every vote they get, once they break the 5% barrier.
For serious campaigning, VIA is a bad idea. It is perpetually behind schedule, even if there aren't politicians on board who want to extend the 20 minute station stops. I've dropped my family off at the Saskatoon station at 2:30AM only to find out the train was 6 hours late because of freight traffic in Northern Ontario. I pity the poor souls who ended up on the same train as Ms. May
Of course if you want cheap publicity, and don't care about making the evening newscasts more than once, this is brilliant. The 6 media organizations on board will pay for a chunk of the $40,000 it cost to book a car for 5 (probably 6) days and you don't have to pay for ballrooms at hotels for media events. The less Ms. May says, the more likely people will treat "Green Party" as "None of the above" on their ballots, which translates into more dollars for the Greens. Maybe Dion should have booked a train for the entire campaign?
"Liberal platform on defence
This is it. Three pathetically thin paragraphs. Note the lie in the third paragraph..."
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...on-
defence.html
What a country. At war.
Mark
Ottawa
The real money line from the Liberals Election platform's financial plank:
"The Liberals will help pay for their plan by cutting about $12-billion over four years from the federal government's $200-billion annual budget and shifting the funds to new priorities."
Talk about a secret agenda . . . maybe Steffi plans to cut money for the Arts, or Healthcare, or handouts to poorer regions and aboriginals, or ???
Whtat is Steffi's Secret Agenda ?
Which programs will get whacked ??
Will the cuts be fairly distributed across Canada ?
Lots of fodder for the debate.
"Another A400M update"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...00m-
update.html
There's a lovely artist's depiction.
Mark
Ottawa
Too funny . . last week we had to have a moral compass to make Canada, richer, fairer & greener.
Now Liberal Green morality is being replaced by Spend ! Spend ! Spend !
Who woulda thunk it ?
Stephen,
A bureaucrat's # 1 interest is survival; if the Conservatives pull off a majority, there will be less of a need to clean out the public service. The parliamentary press gallery, too, will be re-balanced. That's what happens when a party appears to be on its way to becoming Canada's natural governing party.
Norman,
Should the Cons actually pull a majority out of the hat, a distinct possibility based Quebec (IMHO) then is there and should there be significant sphincter tightening in the civil service
http://www.ottawasun.com/News/Co...809116-
sun.html
Previous reports I have read about Mr Lynch, Chief of the Privy Council, are that he is no fan of the brown envelope thing and he is trying to rebuild the professional civil service. Professional means neutral.
That would tell me that there would be a confluence of interests in cleaning the civil service out, Lynches desire that matches the governments. The battle then becomes about how to rebuild, not whether to fumigate.
"Flash! Clear the lines! A message from Mickey I. to his campaign workers"
http://www.damianpenny.com/archi...ved/
011913.html
Mark
Ottawa
"DND seeks armed drones by 2012 (Cit)". Not quite the whole story:
"UAVS: A story in search of fuss"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...ch-of-
fuss.html
Mark
Ottawa
Welcome to the Big Leagues, Lizzie.
Play Ball !
http://tinyurl.com/5utb9t
Dance Garth, dance.
It becomes you.
http://tinyurl.com/5cawuo
Fisking Garth Turner.
http://stevejanke.com/archives/2...ives/
273468.php
Could it be that Garth was being less than totally honest ?
What will Dion do with his #1 "Communications Consultant" ?
Danny Williams has totally lost it. Personal vendettas are not cool
ALERT . . . must watch . .
http://watch.ctv.ca/news/electio...r-nl/
#clip92376
Danny Williams channels Tony Soprano
An unprincipled cynic vs an honest fool....we have seen this before and we have seen the result.
The the trudeau resurrection win versus Joe Clark.
I remember the polls at the time showing how much Clark was ahead in the trust numbers, but clearly being honest isnt the number one issue Canadians vote on.
Honest Fool....thats the worst thing you can call a politican, people expect you to run short on principles and high on cynicism. At least they expect you to make virtues of necessity.
That being said I dont think Harper is anywhere near as cynical as Trudeau.
Dion will go down, the question is how far he will drag his party, and how far down his party will let him go.
Liberal logic.
"September 13, 2008 - 3:25
THE CANADIAN PRESS
TORONTO - For the second time in 24 hours, gasoline prices are up in some parts of Canada.
Liberal MP Dan McTeague, who keeps an eye on the oil industry, says Canada's four major oil companies don't compete against each other, enabling them to "dictate any price they want using any excuse they want."
So if they have such amazing powers, why haven't we been paying European level prices, above $4.00/liter for a our gas ?
Dan ?? Your repsonse ??
Or are ya just blowing stuff out yer butt for some cheap political gains in as part of an election ?
Dan ??
I think John Manley has it wrong--"NATO troop shortfall persists: Manley" ("On my mind"). The US Army battalion now at Kandahar (some 800 troops) for fifteen/fifteen months certainly is good enough for me to satisfy the Manley panel's demand for 1,000 troops:
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...ndahar-
has.html
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...ks-like-
it.html
The pity is that the 2,300 strong Marine Expeditionary Unit (that has operated mainly in Helmand in the south) is not being replaced when it leaves at the end of November:
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...-indeed-
by.html
Mark
Ottawa
"The CF in Afstan: A modest, middle ground, proposal"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...dle-
ground.html
Mark
Ottawa
"From away":
http://in.reuters.com/article/
so...lBrandChannel=0
'Britain and NATO struggle for Afghanistan numbers
Two-and-a-half years into an operation to secure vast desert reaches of Afghanistan from the Taliban, British commanders quietly admit they are seriously undermanned.
While the official line is that Prime Minister Gordon Brown must decide if more troops are needed, officers on the ground in the southern Afghan province of Helmand concede privately that they do not have enough men or helicopters to seize and hold the territory they oversee.
With nearly 60,000 square kilometres of desert, mountains, a dense river valley and lush poppy fields to patrol, Britain has a little over 8,000 troops and just eight Chinook transport helicopters at its disposal...
When asked if additional troops are needed, Brown and his defence minister Des Browne tend to say that they listen to their commanders on the ground, and if they do not ask for more, then no more will be sent.
When asked on the record, commanders, of course, defer to the government, creating a classic Catch-22...
Last month was the deadliest for foreign troops since the conflict began, according to independent website icasualties.org. Forty-three troops were killed, including 10 French soldiers hit in a single Taliban ambush.
There will be a special vote in the French parliament this month to decide if the deployment should continue. While no pull-out is expected, the debate is a sign of the times.
Canada and the Netherlands, which have a combined 4,000 troops in Afghanistan and have both suffered sustained casualties, are both considering ending their deployments when their mandates expire over the next two years...
Britain is expected to send more forces next year, but it is still some months off and may not be substantial. What concerns commanders more is whether the long-term commitment is there.
"We must expect to invest military capability in Afghanistan certainly for the next three to five years," Brigadier Mark Carleton-Smith, the commander of British forces in Helmand, said last week as he skirted the issue of more troops.
"The most important thing is that the international community demonstrate both strategic discipline and patience to endure. Maybe the greatest threat is that the durability is occasionally questioned."'
Mark
Ottawa
"Out of Afghanistan"
http://
toyoufromfailinghands.blo...fghanistan.html
Mark
Ottawa
another reason the NDP are like leftovers you find in the fridge a few months after Christmas.
"OSHAWA, Ont. — NDP Leader Jack Layton unveiled a proposed $8-billion spending program Wednesday which he says will create 40,000 new jobs to replace those that have been lost across Canada's weakened industrial economy."
That's $200,000 per "job". $200,000 tax payer dollars per "job".
That's a flushing sound you hear.
Have you noticed the little man holding a machine gun at the bottom righthand corner of the poopin' puffin composition? That will be food for thought for me today : I live in a society where drawing poop on a political adversary is scandalous while drawing a pointed gun on his image goes unnoticed.
Further to UPDATE--"Taliban urges Canada's next PM to pull troops":
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...-on-
target.html
Mark
Ottawa
Just to flog an unborn foal:
"A400M update"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...00m-
update.html
Mark
Ottawa
Post at "Daimnation!":
"Our Name Has Been HIJACKED"
http://www.damianpenny.com/archi...ved/
011848.html
Mark
Ottawa
The great news about Lizzie being banned from the leaders debate is that we can now have a reasonable policy discussion without her screaming "CLIMATE CRISIS, CLIMATE CRISIS, CLIMATE CRISIS as nauseum.
One trick poonies and national leaders debates don't mix well
Something the Canadian media almost completely ignore:
"Dam turbine victory"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...ne-
victory.html
Mark
Ottawa
"Torch" post:
"Afstan: Considerably fewer additional US troops now coming in near future?"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...itional-
us.html
Mark
Ottawa
See the end of this post at "The Torch" for a comparison of how the British and Canadian media cover Afstan:
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...ugh-
combat.html
"Development through combat"
Mark
Ottawa
Poor Mr. Dion, his conversion on the road to Kyoto is a few years late and a megatonne short. He has invested himself in and is indentured to the AGW theory just in time to have the real world impose reality. It has been getting colder for ten years and the pattern will continue.
"As the Earth Cools: What Does it Mean for the Energy Industry?
June18, 2008
Vinod K. Dar
Right Side News
The earth warmed strongly between 1915 and 1940, cooled between 1940 and 1975 and then warmed strongly again between 1975 and 1998. The earth has been cooling in the opening years of this century even as carbon dioxide levels have risen appreciably since 1998. Many influential people in the industrialized world believe that global warming is a transcendent issue and human activity, especially the activity of the energy complex, is to blame and carbon management, at any cost, is imperative.
A growing number of influential people in the developing world (this includes China, India, Indonesia, Vietnam, as well as Russia) are openly rejecting the idea that human activity has any measurable influence on the planetary climate or even that there is anything unusual or abnormal about the climate at present. Some of these people, joined by hundreds of scientists in the U.S. and Western Europe advance the idea that sunspot activity (which is cyclical) and the recently discovered (as recent as 1996) PDO (Pacific Decadal Oscillation: 20 to 30 year warming and cooling of the north-central Pacific Ocean) explain the cyclicality of global temperatures. According to those who hold this view, the planet has entered into a 30 year or so cooling period and carbon dioxide emissions even if they keep growing, cannot prevent this cooling."
http://tinyurl.com/4rohlf
Also for EYEING THE MEDIA--a post at The Torch (check out the link to Prof. Attaran on CTV's "Question Period"):
"Prison break"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...ison-
break.html
Mark
Ottawa
"Maxime Bernier's briefing book - in perspective"
http://www.damianpenny.com/archi...ved/
011405.html
Mark
Ottawa
"Afstan: Mea culpa on government report"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...ent-
report.html
Mark
Ottawa
"Deserters, Iraq, and the UN--and our ignorant politicians"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...r-
ignorant.html
Mark
Ottawa
Well since Steffi has avoided the IggyRae Palace Revolt, that means we won't be entertained by a Federal election, so we'll have to turn to the USA for our fun.
Despite the New Redeemer elevation the media has granted Sen. Obama, the real election will not revolve around his exceptional oratorical skills, his ability to speak so well and say so little.
Here's the RNC election platform, to be repeated over and over and to be bill boarded beside very American gas station.
The American energy policy:
ANWR Exploration
House Republicans:91%Supported
House Democrats: 86% Opposed
Coal-to-Liquid
House Republicans: 97% Supported
House Democrats: 78% Opposed
Oil Shale Exploration
House Republicans: 90% Supported
House Democrats: 86% Opposed
Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Exploration
House Republicans: 81% Supported
House Democrats: 83% Opposed
Refinery Increased Capacity
House Republicans: 97% Supported
House Democrats: 96% Opposed
SUMMARY
91% of House Republicans have historically voted to increase the production of American-made oil and gas.
86% of House Democrats have historically voted against increasing the production of American-made oil and gas.
As much as Americans are fed up with Bush et al, they are more fed up with gas at $4++ a gallon.
Further to LETTERS OF THE DAY--
"Canadians seek to avoid civilian casualties (Cit)":
"Quagmire in the brain"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...e-in-
brain.html
Mark
Ottawa
'The Coalition “Spring Offensive” Across Afghanistan'
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...ive-
across.html
Mark
Ottawa
"Fed Follies": "Canada spurns UN plea on Congo (Star)"
http://www.thestar.com/News/Cana.../article/
435224
'Just say "No" to Congo'
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...o-to-
congo.html
Mark
Ottawa
"Joint Support Ship problems: No surprise"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...o-
surprise.html
Mark
Ottawa
Warm and fuzzy R2P. From the Conference of Defence Associations:
http://www.cdaforumcad.ca/cgi-bi...num=1210867001/
'Clifford Orwin in the Globe and Mail (see link below) writes that the Responsibility to Protect doctrine is being paid mere lip service: “Pile on international covenants as you will, there can be no (enforceable) responsibility to shoulder the responsibility to protect. Unless some powerful nation takes it upon itself to spearhead the costly, risky, pot-stirring intervention in question, the responsibility will go unshouldered. If everyone accepts it nominally while seeking to fob it off on others, the ultimate result will be nominal as well.”
http://www.cdaforumcad.ca/cgi-bi...num=1210860282/
The CDA reminds it readers that the original report on the Responsibility to Protect from the International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty (see link below), which included the participation of Michael Ignatieff, called for interventions to be undertaken even if the UN Security Council failed to act, by other groupings of states. However, the UN report that embraced the doctrine (see link below) called for the UN Security Council to be the final decision-maker as to whether to intervene.
http://www.iciss-ciise.gc.ca/ '
Mark
Ottawa
"NATO considering change of command structure in S Afghanistan
http://news.xinhuanet.com/
englis...ent_8173550.htm
BRUSSELS, May 14 (Xinhua) -- NATO is considering changing its command in southern Afghanistan from current rotation between countries to a permanent commander, alliance officials said Wednesday.
Recommendations from ISAF Commander Gen. Dan McNeill are being provided to NATO's Military Committee, which will discuss the issue, Military Committee Chairman Gen. Raymond Henault told reporters.
"I don't know what the outcome of those recommendations will be. We'll have to wait until the chain of command has made formal recommendations to the Military Committee," he said.
Gen. Henault said the 26 NATO allies will take "due consideration" of the recommendations.
"We'll have to come to an agreement ultimately on those recommendations, look at the pros and cons as we always do, takingin to very strong and due consideration of SACEUR's recommendations."
"Changes will not occur until that whole series of discussions has occurred and the decision making has been completed in that context," he said.
Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) Gen. John Craddock said Thursday in Washington that options are open. He added that "from a military perspective, unity of command does make a lot of sense."
But he stressed that a decision has to be made in the political sector.
The SACEUR raised this issue at a chiefs of staff meeting on Wednesday at NATO headquarters, said Military Committee spokesman Colonel Brett Boudreau.
He said the Military Committee is aware that there is a view to have an American as permanent commander of NATO troops fighting in southern Afghanistan.
Command in the region has been alternating between Britain, Canada and the Netherlands, the three countries which, together with the United States, have combat troops in the south.
The three countries may have a point of view although the SACEUR is in charge of NATO operations, said Boudreau."
Mark
Ottawa
Priceless (ON MY MIND):
"--A cyclone of hot air on the responsibility of someone else to do something
'It's time to intervene' (L Axworthy)"
http://www.canada.com/ottawaciti...ca-
28a039e1f99a
Then there's covert air drop expert Prof. Michael Byers (FED FOLLIES):
"'Drop food, water covertly, Canadian expert suggests' (Globe)
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/s...y/
International
And I thought he was just Canada research chair in international law and politics at the University of British Columbia
At least Anne Applebaum tries to make sense:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/
wp...8051202329.html
Mark
Ottawa
Two posts at "The Torch", done independently:
'Much ado about...? *flipping pages madly, looking for the "strategy"*'
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...ages-
madly.html
'"Canada First Defence Policy": Drowned squib'
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...cy-
drowned.html
Mark
Ottawa
Further to "--They play hockey, don’t they?
Afghan cricket team aims for world cup glory" (ON MY MIND),
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/
tol...icle3904526.ece
from the Asian Cricket Council:
http://www.asiancricket.org/c_afghan.cfm
"Afghanistan are the rising stars of Asian cricket. Already with a global following, they play with dash and panache, care only for winning and consider every match played to be a matter of national honour. Since becoming ACC members their progress has been rapid and had it not been for tactical naïveté and an ability to countenance anything else but big hits against spinners, it would be they and not Hong Kong who would be in the next Asia Cup..."
Now if only the Taliban can be hit for six...as Monty did to Rommel:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/
ww2peoplesw...ticleId=1057394
Mark
Ottawa
"ISAF: US getting really serious about stronger command role in south"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...ious-
about.html
Mark
Ottawa
Two guest-posts at "Daimnation!"
"Afghanistan and intelligent, moral minds"
http://www.damianpenny.com/archi...ved/
011276.html
"Meanwhile, back at those in higher education"
http://www.damianpenny.com/archi...ved/
011277.html
Mark
Ottawa
Let me be the first to commend today's "COLUMN I WISH I HAD WRITTEN", "The value of residential schools", written by Richard Wagamese. I sense a growing recognition among aboriginal Canadians of what has been accomplished, in spite of being victims of a system that worked against them for so many years; but very little recognition of that among the rest of us. Mr. Wagamese has provided a perspective that should give all of us hope for the future of this country.
This FED FOLLY,
"Corruption eats away at Afghan government (Globe)"
Corruption eats away at Afghan government (Globe)
should have been "Today's dishonesty". See the second link at comment immediately below.
Mark
Ottawa
Further to ON MY MIND:
"Expanding the US's role in Afstan"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...-in-
afstan.html
"Afstan: Canadians mentoring, Marines fighting...plus corruption"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...ng-
marines.html
Mark
Ottawa
"CIA director warns of Eurabia"
http://www.damianpenny.com/archi...ved/
011243.html
Mark
Ottawa
"In essence, all Canadian filmmaking is independent filmmaking and we are very dependent on government money to have a film industry...."
These words from David Cronenberg, quoted in the online Globe and Mail article by Bill Curry struck me as strong nominee for the Spector Award of Idiocy of the Day.
wow ! One story that is anti-climate warming hysteria and anti-We Are Failing in Afghanistan, all in one article. 21 of 28 provinces . . . pretty good progress.
"A bitterly cold winter will lower crop yields significantly. The number of drug-free provinces, which rose from six to 13 in 2007, is expected to rise again, some say to as many as 21 of Afghanistan's 28 provinces. The most dramatic triumph occurred in south-eastern Nangarhar, last year's No 2 poppy-growing province. This year the Nangarhar crop has collapsed to virtually nothing thanks to a muscular campaign led by the strongman governor, Gul Agha Sherzai."
http://tinyurl.com/5zdpzy
IF YOU'VE MORE TIME ON YOUR HANDS...
"The honest anti-war position: Support"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...s.blogspot.com/
Mark
Ottawa
"US wanting effectively to take command of combat areas in Afstan?"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...ke-
command.html
Mark
Ottawa
where or where are our Human Rights Tribunals, where are the Mr. Warman's when they are really needed when there are proud Canadians spreading hatred and encouraging murder in our fair land.
"Naeem Muhammad Khan wants everyone to "Support Our Troops," but he's not talking about the Canadian Forces in Kandahar.
From his apartment in Toronto, Mr. Khan has been posting messages on the Internet calling Osama bin Laden a "hero" and "champion of Islam."
The 23-year-old fundamentalist's online logo combines the black Taliban flag and the outline of an AK-47 above the "Support Our Troops" slogan.
Between sips of iced coffee at Tim Hortons, Mr. Khan explained that he is a supporter of the Taliban, as well as other armed Islamic groups.
" 'Support our Troops' means supporting the mujahideen [Muslim soldiers of God] who are fighting for their freedom and rights against illegal occupation in many, many places over the world like Afghanistan, Iraq, Chechnya, Kashmir, Palestine and Somalia," he said later in an e-mail.
Views like these are becoming increasingly common in Western countries, Canada included, and they are worrying to governments concerned about radicalism and violence.
Mr. Khan is an Islamist, not a terrorist, but what most disturbs moderate Muslims are his harsh comments about those who do not subscribe to fundamentalist beliefs.
In his online postings, Mr. Khan calls Tarek Fatah, Irshad Manji and other moderates "apostates," and says that under Islamic law, the punishment for apostasy is death. The same goes for those who insult Islam.
"Behead her!!! And make a nice video and post it on YouTube," he writes about one "Islam basher." As for "Jews who support Zionism and Israel … since they are killing Palestinians … killing them is not bad … they deserve to die."
http://www.nationalpost.com/toda....html?
id=469477
"UK troops in new Afghan push"
BBC News video, April 21
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world...rld/
7358831.stm
Canadians in combat in support of Brits, 02:26. Nice to learn about it from the Beeb. Cf. this article by Matthew Fisher:
http://www.nationalpost.com/news....html?
id=443463
Mark
Ottawa
Best smack down so far this year in the HoC.
Couldn't happen to "nicer" people than our own stuck-on-stupid "Peace at any Price" champagne & latte socialist wannbe NDP.
"Ms. Black had asked a question about media reports that the air force is facing a $500-million funding shortfall because of spending on the Afghan mission.
Mr. MacKay retorted by pointing out that the NDP voted against the Afghan mission.
"Being a defence critic for the NDP is a bit like being a tailor in a nudist colony," he said. "There is lots to see, lots to talk about, but at the end of the day, they do not do anything. That is the naked truth about the NDP."
Regarding the "column no one in Ottawa has had the guts to write." General Hillier would never have become a "celebrity general" if a significant number of Canadians were uncomfortable with him. Media pundits and politicians would have had free rein to ignore or denigrate Gen. Hillier and the rest of the CF if there hadn't been fervent grassroots support for our men and women in uniform.
This is just one aspect of a growing divide between a self-styled elite in media, politics and the public service, and the rest of us. The Rest Of Us are savvy enough to hold nuanced and differing opinions on war, economics and social programs; while keeping in check the BS artists who couldn't hold a real job. I would have been more concerned if General Hillier had let himself be led around by politicians and the other overblown opinion shapers in Ottawa.
"Breaking: CDS Gen. Hillier to step down"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...-step-
down.html
Some speculation on a successor (by Damian Brooks) and a quick effort at assessment.
Mark
Ottawa
For the second post, see "Haiti's government falls after food riots", UPDATE, April 13:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080.../ts_nm/
haiti_dc
Mark
Ottawa
Two post at "The Torch":
"What federal emergency preparedness?"
http://
toyoufromfailinghands.blo...eparedness.html
(see "The state of emergency", IF YOU'VE MORE TIME ON YOUR HANDS..., April 12)
http://www.canada.com/ottawaciti...d8-
9c31b1d1f849
"What's the exit strategy for the UN?"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...egy-for-
un.html
Mark
Ottawa
I've been wondering about this:
"Marines in Afstan and command problems"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...d-
problems.html
Mark
Ottawa
Not surprised: the writing has been on the wall ever since Johnston was appointed. I would, however, be (pleasantly) surprised if the Prime Minister rejects his advice.
Are you surprised, Mr. Spector, that Johnston has recommended that a 'limited' public inquiry, look into the Schreiber and Mulroney dealings, with testimonies given behind closed doors? I am not surprised at all personally... (La Presse, just now)
Mr. Spector,
In my opinion the "stock answer" shouldn't be provided when a public official is being investigated. Personally, I like to decide for myself if my government is trying to obfuscate in order to protect their private interests, and having someone in the RCMP insert Goodale's name in the fax to Wasylycia-Leis was the right thing to do, even if the motivation was suspect.
Everyone has prejudices and preconceptions, the smothering use of "no comment" only serves to paint good people in the same amoral shades of grey as the bad actors among us. I think I'm smart enough to discount the hypocritical bleating of those who try to convict on allegation alone; but if I don't get enough information, I'll be forming opinions based on my prejudices and preconceptions. In the case of Regina-Wascana, voters decided that being investigated wasn't going to prevent them from re-electing Goodale, in spite of being targeted by the Conservatives, so it seems to me that more disclosure is a good thing.
Mr. Glasel
The RCMP should have provided the stock answer: "We never comment on an investigation until such time as a decision is taken whether or not to lay charges."
The crux of the matter is that an NDP MP asked the RCMP for an update to her request that they investigate something that definitely needed investigating. Like it or not, the RCMP is the only body available for doing these investigations. Surely, that investigation doesn't have to be put on hold so the Liberals don't have to answer awkward questions during an election campaign. Frankly, I would have been more upset if this investigation didn't have any impact on the election results. I would also expect to see Goodale named in regards to this investigation, since if he had been doing his job, news of the sudden reversal on income trusts would have been securely locked up in his and the PM's head, and there wouldn't have been enough "lucky" investors to get anyone's attention.
When Travers trots out the Chretien/Martin war and a post-election visit of the new PM to RCMP headquarters, he is scattering red herrings to make the RCMP and the current government look bad. By setting up a scenario of "hypotheses untested" and "Two threads bind those theories", he is trying to make his reader forget the issues of right and wrong behaviors, and trigger antagonisms against Zaccardelli and Harper. That's what I got out of his column, and I read it again to see if I missed something.
Mr. Glasel,
I don't see anything in Travers's column that contests the RCMP's investigation of the matter. He's simply objecting to the announcement of the investigation in the middle of an election campaign.
I think the Travers column that was picked yesterday for "THE COLUMN I WISH I HAD WRITTEN", regarding the RCMP's income trust investigation, is a good illustration of what ails Canadian politics. I'm sure Mr. Travers isn't the only person eager to overlook the reasons why the RCMP was asked to investigate. We have one civil servant from Goodale's department charged and another that avoided charges because of an unrelated court decision. At that time, there were also questions about Scott Brison's communications, and how come no one seems alarmed by the Finance Department's cavalier approach to maintaining secrecy, when policy decisions had a huge potential to affect financial markets?
Too many people (in many walks of life, but especially in Canadian politics) have no sense of right and wrong in regards to themselves. They can't resist the temptation to bend the rules or sneak some crumbs out of the cookie jar, every time they might have to endure a bit of hardship in order to do the right thing. And it's all excused by repeating these mantras: "Jimmy has ulterior motives for tattling on me," or "What Joey did is worse than what I did."
a real Prime Minister in action
http://www.cpac.ca/forms/index.a...g=e& clipID=1153
Watch the whole thing.
And then imagine Chretien or Martin or god forbid Dion in the same circumstances. It would be more like an Air Farce skit than Mr. Harper's skilled international diplomacy.
Brilliant.
Well...a fair enough point.
But, as scandals go, Bertie was a bit of a piker when compared to Charlie Haughey, which I don't think the Canadian papers covered much either.
"RADARSAT-2: Sound and fury..."
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...nd-
fury_02.html
Mark
Ottawa
Mr Choker,
The question is: why hasn't this story, which has resulted in the resignation of a prime minister, been reported by our papers over the past year?
Re: Last October, Ahern acknowledged receiving cash payments from businessmen...
All very interesting Norman, but not quite apropos to the Mulroney situation. At the time Bertie was living on the largess of friends he was Ireland's Minister of Finance and soon to become Taoiseach (a position that comes with its own house, I'm told, so he no longer needed to borrow a flat from his generous friend). MBM, by comparison, was in the sunset of his political life and in much less of a position to influence public policy. I think MBM's situation is closer to that of Jean Chretien, who managed to make out very well, financially speaking, during his hiatus from politics between 1986-1990. Turn away a paying client? Not very likely.
A guest-post at "Daimnation!":
http://www.damianpenny.com/archi...ved/
011103.html
"One way to confirm you're in Alberta
The local suburban Mac's Milk carries the National Post but not the Globe and Mail. And yes, Stéphane, there sure are a lot of pickups, especially 4X4 Fords."
Mark
Ottawa
Danes vs. Canadians:
"Comparative fatalities in Afstan"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...-in-
afstan.html
Mark
Ottawa
"Helping this country is futile"
http://www.damianpenny.com/archi...ved/
011068.html
Mark
Ottawa
The world needs more Canada?
"U.S. Pushed Allies on Iraq, Diplomat Writes" (BOUQUET(S) OF THE DAY):
http://www.washingtonpost.com/
wp...8032201020.html
Mark
Ottawa
From the latest (March 20) UN Security Council resolution on Afstan--why don't our media ask Jack Layton for his reaction (and Elizabeth May)?
http://www.un.org/News/Press/doc.../
sc9281.doc.htm
'“11. Calls upon the Afghan Government, with the assistance of the international community, including the International Security Assistance Force and Operation Enduring Freedom coalition, in accordance with their respective designated responsibilities as they evolve, to continue to address the threat to the security and stability of Afghanistan posed by the Taliban, Al-Qaida, illegally armed groups, criminals and those involved in the narcotics trade;
“12. Condemns in the strongest terms all attacks, including Improvised Explosive Device (IED) attacks, suicide attacks and abductions, targeting civilians and Afghan and international forces and their deleterious effect on the stabilization, reconstruction and development efforts in Afghanistan, and condemns further the use by the Taliban and other extremist groups of civilians as human shields;..
“14. Expresses its strong concern about the recruitment and use of children by Taliban forces in Afghanistan...'
More here:
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...an-
mission.html
Mark
Ottawa
Could something like this be part of Lizzy May's election platform . . . only time will tell.
"Britain's finest scientific minds have turned their attention to a problem that they claim is threatening the future of the entire planet - farm animal flatulence.
...
The New Zealand government briefly considered taxing farmers on their herds' methane output but the proposal had to be dropped following opposition.
The Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs considered introducing a system of tradable methane permits but the system was considered too complex."
The endgame for Warmongers. Nobody will believe the Scientists for a long time after this fiasco erupts.
Can you say "wolf" one more time Lizzy ?
" ”Many advocates for action on climate change, including the IPCC assessments and recent documentaries have promoted a view that global warming will continue through the 21st century, with global warming defined as a steady increase in global average temperatures. This prediction of warming is based on the output of multi-decadal general circulation models and is primarily due to the radiative forcing effect of anthropogenic emissions of CO2. In such models only relatively minor year-to-year variations in global average temperatures are forecast in the upward trend, except when major volcanic eruptions cause short-term (up to a few years) of global cooling. For example, see these projections of the most recent IPCC — none of the models has an obvious multi-year (i.e., >2) decrease in global average temperatures over the next century.
Such predictions represent a huge gamble with public and policymaker opinion. If more-or-less steady global warming does not occur as forecast by these models, not only will professional reputations be at risk, but the need to reduce threats to the wide spectrum of serious and legitimate environmental concerns (including the human release of greenhouse gases) will be questioned by some as having been oversold. For better or worse, a failure to accurately predict the changes in the global average surface temperature, global average tropospheric temperature, ocean average heat content change, or Arctic sea ice coverage would raise questions on the reliance of global climate models for accurate prediction on multi-decadal time scales. Surprises or experience that evolve outside the bounds of model output would likely raise questions even among some of those who have so far accepted the IPCC reports as a balanced presentation of climate science."
rtr @ http://tinyurl.com/ywxnrs
Oops! Sorry for repeating myself.
Mark
Ottawa
Lorne Gunter and I seem to be thinking along similar lines ("Tories seeking balance on immigration (Gunter)", OTHER COLUMNS WORTH READING)--
http://www.canada.com/edmontonjo...6c-
71030d433c97
a guest-post at "Daimnation!" (should have called it "Family ties"):
"Our immigration mess"
http://www.damianpenny.com/archi...ved/
011028.html
Mark
Ottawa
Further to "Good policy, risky politics (Ivison)" (OTHER COLUMNS WORTH READING, Friday),
http://www.nationalpost.com/toda....html?
id=373334
a guest-post at "Daimnation!":
"Our immigration mess"
http://www.damianpenny.com/archi...ved/
011028.html
Mark
Ottawa
"Hillier and the new generation of generals: the CDS, the policy and the troops" by Douglas Bland
http://irpp.org/po/archive/mar08...mar08/
bland.pdf
Mark
Ottawa
A post by Terry Glavin:
'Forget the Silly "Anti-War" Parades. Put The Afghan People First.'
http://transmontanus.blogspot.co...arades-
put.html
As for Cuba:
"Cubans free at last!"
http://www.damianpenny.com/archi...ved/
011019.html
Mark
Ottawa
Could this be Lizzy May's Election Platform ? It could have been Steffi's but he's neutered him self so Lizzy will have to pick up the torch.
"the model for Canada's low-emission future is—Cuba! Under Castro, especially since the Soviets stopped gifting the Cubans with free oil and fertilizer, Cuba has developed the closest thing on the planet to a “modern low-energy society.”
Instead of making new cars in emission-prone factories, Cuba’s workers spend their time machining new parts for the island’s few 1950s relics on elderly lathes left over from its sugar-exporting days. Castro originally sold clothing through the food rationing system, but now most of the clothing comes from antique sewing machines run by Cuba’s women.
The women also produce much of their families’ food in urban gardens, since the ration system doesn’t deliver much. Cuba’s ration cards are good for 6 pounds of rice per capita per month, 20 ounces of beans, six pounds of sugar, and 15 pounds of potatoes or bananas. Cubans get less than one quart of milk for each kid under 7 per month, but cool, rainy Europe may offer its consumers a bit more milk and cheese and a lot fewer bananas.
Cubans get a pound of beef per month, and two pounds of chicken—though often the “meat” is hamburger mixed with soy flour, or “chicken tenders” made partly with chicken and mostly with “other.” Europe’s per capita food supply will plummet to similar levels when fertilizer plants consume too many “energy points.”
The official Cuban transport system is energy-efficient hitch-hiking. With so few vehicles, and little gasoline, cars and trucks that refuse to pick up hitch-hikers on the highway are fined for a “crime against society.”
Tourism is Cuba’s biggest industry now, but that won’t work for a Kyoto-driven Europe. The EU won’t have any fuel for airplanes, and precious little for buses. Nor is Cuba building big rental houses on the beaches any more to attract their tourists. In fact, one of Cuba’s big problems is that Hurricane Michelle in 2001 destroyed or damaged 100,000 homes, which the Castro economy has been largely unable to rebuild. There isn’t much heavy equipment for such projects.
As a Kyoto bonus, Michelle’s damage to Cuba’s electric grid was severe.
Best of all, 90 percent of the jobs are with the Cuban government. No complaints allowed, even if your wife has to sew your shirts and hoe the garden in the hot sun. Kids over 11 owe 45 days per summer working on the farms, which teaches them how to control weeds and bugs without any nasty pesticides.
What a perfect post-fossil Green society! "
MArk,
Couldn't agree more.
Global's Mockumentary would do Michael Moore proud. A one sided, distorted, revisionist piece of doo-doo.
The Liberals should realize that whenever Scott Reid represents them on camera, all Canadians just think "Beer & Popcorn".
Global should be ashamed of themselves for putting such propaganda on TV.
A post by Damian Brooks at "The Torch":
"On the promotional video for 'Unexpected War Canada In Kandahar'"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...pected-
war.html
Mark
Ottawa
The article I wished I'd written.
http://www.financialpost.com/sto....html?
id=368481
Not to worry, as Global Atmospheric temps continue their 25 year downward trend - while the Alarmist Warmonger Climate models predict the exact opposite, the insanity of our Co2 Public Policy Piousness is being slowly exposed. It is only a matter of time before actual, real science overtakes the Al Gore's computer models & pop science.
It is just a matter of how much will it cost us to recover from damage the current greeny decisions are inflicting on our global economy.
Enjoy the eco war while you can, the reality of economic is going to be a bummer.
Another moral question: Which is more of a disservice to Canadians; an MP voting against his political grain to avoid financial hardship for his family, or an offer by a political party to pay the MP's life insurance premiums, along with a little extra to top up his net worth, and thereby allowing the MP to vote according to his politics and not his personal circumstances. I don't know much, but I'm pretty sure of the following; No authorized agent of the Conservative Party of Canada specifically offered a million dollar life insurance policy to Chuck Cadman, and the string of feeble scandals making the headlines in Ottawa over the past several months isn't going to change voter intentions one bit.
"Naftagate?"
http://www.damianpenny.com/archi...ved/
010986.html
Mark
Ottawa
At the end of the day it depends who your boss is. the politician is an elected official responsible to the people. Now if "the people" are ok with it being spent on personal as opposed to public business then thats the electorates choice. However we have codfied some laws to prevent that choice from being made.
Thysssen, they are answerable to the baord and their shareholders. It is well understood that some wells a re dry wells and some yield oil. Paying someone to be a door opener and then have it be a dry well isnt bad in and of itself. from a shareholder perspective it would be did mgt have a reasonable expectation this would "yield oil" or was it just wasted....as well, id there a history of this person delivering contracts, or continually yielding "dry wells".
However, it is illegal both to offer a bribe and accept a bribe. So I think the morality is equivalent, regardless of whether it was legal to write off the bribes in Germany at the time.
I look forward to Swiss bank records and the continued unfolding of the Lichtenstein Bank Account kerfuffle. I a convinced that some answers to some longstanding questions will clear up.
The lobbying is troublesome, on that I agree with the esteemed Mr Spector. But aggressive lobbying isnt a crime, it just creates an environment where a crime is more likely to take place, let alone bad policy decisions.
Having had some business to government dealings myself I can say that there is an appropriate role for Government relations experts. In the end both the government and my company benefited from ensuring the right information made it to the right people. We had neither the time nor the connections to make our case.
Not all lobbying is bad and evil.
It strikes me as strange how moral culpability increases as the amount of money involved decreases. A corporation justifies spending millions to remove barriers to getting a contract, because of the expected return on investment, and this is a legitimate cost of doing business. Nothing illegal at all. The lobbyist keeps the lion's share for himself because he can open doors that others can't; money that the corporation is happy to pay, and only gets into legal trouble because he tries to cheat the taxman. The politician who gets chummy with the lobbyist, convinces himself that no one will notice if he only takes a small piece for himself, and in the end is the biggest villain. I remember a Conservative MLA in Saskatchewan being charged with a criminal offense because he used his communications budget to buy a $1000 saddle.
Fair enough, but shouldnt that mean Thyssen goes after these Canadians for non performance, or a claw back on the commissions.
Except for KHS's say so, no money goes to a Canadian official. And that is a recent admission. If true both KHS and the official, in this case KHS is accussing MBM of socking his bribe away for later.
All money goes to lobbyists and agents. As you said maybe a bad investment but hardly illegal. In fact not even unethical (in a narrow sense), brazen and over the top, defintiely. But the difference between that and some CEO's salaries is not too much of a difference. I am thinking of some bankers whose stock declines yet still receive an annual bonus that exceeds what the average Canadian earns in a lifetime, esepcially on exit.
Lots of smoke, no fire. No link between political influence, as of yet, and the signing of the MOU.
One way or another KHS looks like he should be in jail, either a Canadian one for bribery or a German one for tax evasion. Right now the best evidence exists in Germany.
I have said in the past, he might be able to reduce his German sentence if he could actually prove that the money he claimed as bribe expense for Canadians was proveable. It hasnt been to date. So that means we can trace the money to KHS but then much of it disappears and is untraceable.
Hmm last person to have the money cant demonstrate where it went. A reasonable supposition would be it never left his possession. Just a theory like any other.
It may have been a poor investment for Thyssen, but the understanding in principle turned out to be quite lucrative for a number of Canadians.
Re: Thyssen paying $2million for not very much
Poor investment in this instance, but getting military equipment contracts is a long, expensive process, no matter where you do business. Even more so during the "peace dividend" years. I see that KHS received a stay of extradition, let's hope he stays healthy long enough to be able to defend his income tax returns in Germany.
Re What KHS is saying.
New allegation. What was the source, i assume it was his testimony. As well, I would love to see his "corroberating document" that indicates Brian knew the money would be for him. Without seeing it you cant really judge whether or KHS is saying anything of value or not.
If what he says is true he just admitted to bribing a public official.
So quite honestly he should be sitting in a jail cell right now if what he said is true. His cooperation can lead to a deal that subtracts time served.
As for how CP reports it....well I think Pat Martin, yes even Pat Martin, is tired of this guy and doubts the story is the truth.
Was there extroidinary lobbying on Bearhead, sure looks like it. Were there bribes paid to public officials? To date there is no credible evidence, lots of allegations.
Are you saying you believe KHS's testimony? Given his history is there much reason to believe the biggest implication?
If this is all he has to say, then all the corroberating evidence should be able to be found in GoC archives (cabinet minutes, testimony from Deputy Ministers that had to deal with the file, or by those who signed the MOU) or from the Banking records that can be supoenaed.
In other words there is no need to keep KHS around. I used to support a deal but there doesnt seem to be any reason to do so anymore. In fact he may sing louder trying to extricate himself from a German jail.
One troubling aspect about KHS's allegation, before looing at his corroberating documents, is why would Thyssen agree to pay out such a signifcant amount fo commission based on a NON BINDING Memorandum of Understanding. Not a normal milestone for a company to pay out so much money, did Thyssen take KHS's word for it that the document was something other than it was?
FInally, so what if KHS says he withdrew money. All that shows is that he was in final known possesion of the money. After that there is no record other than his word, which quite frankly doesnt seem to be worth very much.
I have tried to find fire in the smoke but I am sorry I am missing it. All I see for the moment is hyper aggressive lobbying and commission payments to KHS and maybe some side payments to KHS agents in GCI (BTW who cares that they were setup after the election win, they wouldnt have been in business unless there was a Tory governemnt. Had the Liberals one you would have seen similar companies set up)
There doesnt seem to be much here. You can have an inquiry that has some limited scope and focus but arent there warmer bodies with greater implications to look at, grand mere perhaps?
"Dead man running"
http://www.damianpenny.com/archi...ved/
010960.html
Mark
Ottawa
My editing is abysmal, it should have been "some of the provincial politicians in Newfoundland and Saskatchewan WHO were caught stealing..."
Two things that struck me about the Bill Clinton fundraiser: 1. The $131 million that Frank Guistra has or is going to donate to Clinton's foundation could have built the Asper Human Rights Museum in Winnipeg (or at least covered the original projected cost). 2. A few years ago, Clinton was making about $250,000 per speech when he did a Canadian tour, about the same amount that Brian Mulroney earned from 3 meetings with Karl-Heinz Schreiber.
Also consider that some of the provincial politicians in Newfoundland and Saskatchewan that were caught stealing from expense funds, made less than $10,000. Let's face it, Canadian politicians are cheap. There's no way Herr Schreiber spent a significant portion of his commissions on Canadian politicians. I don't think there's much point in delaying his appointment with the German taxman.
"What was the LAV Mulroney said he was flogging?"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...aid-he-
was.html
Mark
Ottawa
Wow, just did a google search on the German Tax Probe.
This thing is metastasizing very fast, and there havent been names mentioned yet.
They are saying something on the order of 200 BILLION Euro's in capital has been sheltered illegally....thats a lot of coin.
Hitting country by country. This is going to be a BIG STORY
Glad to see the tax information that the German Authorities is On Your Mind.
It is on my mind as well, although I suspect we have different suspicions abut why its important. One way or another I am hoping it can provide us with some insight.
I dont think a deal with Schrieber is necessary, in fact I think no deal is necessary to call his bluff on what he does and doesnt really know.
The difference between the 300,000 and the 225,000 along with other bits of "missing money" will may very well be found there.
Given the history, likely in an account called Karlton, or Heinz57
Further to "Liberals likely to support Afghan extension: Dion" (UPDATE):
'The "C" word'
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo.../02/c-
word.html
More cutting and jogging, I guess.
Norman: Comment welcome:
"What was the LAV Mulroney said he was flogging?"
http://forums.milnet.ca/forums/
i....html#msg679992
Mark
Ottawa
"CDS General Hillier, Afghanistan and Parliament"
http://
toyoufromfailinghands.blo...parliament.html
Mark
Ottawa
Mark,
Mr. Harper has decided to cut and jog.
I saw Prime Minister Harper speak at the Conference of Defence Associations meeting today. Besides the 2011 Kandahar (and Kandahar only) mission end date, which a subsequent Parliament can easily change under the apparent new derogation of the authority to deploy military forces from the Crown (Governor-in-Council, i.e. Cabinet, maybe these days PM) to Parliament (quite a constitutional innovation), the prime minister also said the government would
"...leave operational decisions to commanders on the ground."
This appears an attempt to find common ground with the Liberal position, as I have put it--but still leave room for "combat":
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...ronto-
star.html
"M. Dion also said it would be up to the Canadian military actually to devise the detailed rules of engagement to implement the operational constraints [no "pro-active" combat] the Liberals would place on the mission."
But the government's new position would put an impossible burden on commanders on the ground. It is up to the government to define what type of operations the CF should conduct in the broad sense that is meant by both the PM and M. Dion. It is not up to the CF to make those types of "operational decisions"; hell, a commander might think it a good military ("operational") move to strike into Pakistan.
Mr Harper is trying, in order to win a political victory, to muddy the fundamental responsibilities for the conduct of military operations between the civil and military authorities. I do not like, nor respect, that approach.
Mark
Ottawa
So Carole Taylor has brought BC'ers a carbon tax. . . not a moment too soon to save us from all that Global warming.
Not.
=================================
Global Cooling: Amazing pictures of countries joining Britain in the big freeze
By CHRISTOPHER BOOKER - More by this author » Last updated at 08:30am on 21st February 2008
Yesterday's picture in the Mail of a cascade of icicles in the Yorkshire Dales was a reminder of how cold Britain can be - something many of us have forgotten in this unusually mild winter.
But it really is remarkable how little attention has been paid to the extraordinary weather events which in recent weeks have been affecting other parts of the world.
Across much of the northern hemisphere, from Greece and Iran to China and Japan, they have been suffering their worst snowfalls for decades.
Similarly freakish amounts of snow have been falling over much of the northern United States, from Ohio to the Pacific coast, where in parts of the state of Washington up to 200in of snow have fallen in the past fortnight.
In country after country, these abnormal snowfalls have provoked a crisis.
In China - the only example to have attracted major coverage in Britain - the worst snow for 50years triggered an unprecedented state of emergency.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/
pages...in_page_id=1811
Hi Norman,
Not to make too much about this but that last tidbit really speaks volumes about the efficacy of the whole committee.
If the only people who can ask penetrating questions are ringers like the other MBM (Moncton's Brian Murphy), Joe Comartin and Serge Menard, what purpose does it seve to have pikers like Paul Szabo, Sukh Dhaliwal and Charlie Hubbard sitting around the table making up the rules? Their selection of witnesses (yourself excluded 'natch) pretty much demonstrates that few of them had done any serious reading (unless you count the informant) on the subject prior to the start of the hearings. For all intents and purposes, the committee has behaved like a blind man being led around by its seeing-eye Schrieber; which pretty much describes why most of the country has tuned out.
Ask Peter Desbarats if he believes Allan Rock's testimony that he wouldn't have agreed to the settlement had he known more. How much would a judge have awarded when it was revealed that an RCMP officer was leaking sensitive information about MBM to a (sometime) journalist? Lots of interesting questions that informed committee members might have asked. Sadly they don't, they just sit around with Robert's Rules, ignoring the mandate they were given by the House of Commons.
There...that feels better...
herringchoker,
Brian Murphy is not a member of the committee, and, thus, has no vote on the matter.
What the CP reports that Norman doesn't...
Szabo said he'd personally favour compelling Mulroney to return to the committee if he won't come back voluntarily to clear things up.
"He is one of the principals (in the affair) and the committee is trying to get the truth,'' said the chairman.
But other panel members, including some fellow Liberals, think it might be better to simply drop the mater if Mulroney balks at showing up.
"I wouldn't vote to summons a former prime minister,'' said Liberal MP Brian Murphy. "We're not a criminal court.''
Another Grit, Robert Thibault, said it may be preferable for the committee to wrap up its work and make way for the full-scale public inquiry promised by Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
"That's the way we're going to get to the bottom of this thing,'' said Thibault. "We can't do it as a committee.''
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/Articl...0218?
hub=Canada
This UPDATE headline, "US, EU Powers Recognize Kosovo" is rather misleading for the average reader since the EU as a whole is quite divided over Kosovo:
"Kosovo(a?): Putting our government in a pickle"
http://www.damianpenny.com/archi...ved/
010873.html
Mark
Ottawa
Stephen,
On Monday mornng, a day after MBM declared the project "dead" upon hearing from me that it would cost $100 million, I advised Paul Tellier, who was Clerk of the Privy Council. I also returned the files they had given me to PCO.
Because he had been personally targeted by Schreiber, I also as a courtesy phoned the DM of National Defense to tell him he could breathe easier. And that was the last I heard of this file until years later.
PCO would have had the responsibility to advise the several departments involved in the file of the PM's decision. And, had the decision been communicated to these departments, it would not have taken long for Schreiber or his lobbyist, Fred Doucet to hear of it.
I don't know whom MBM "instructed" or even told that he had cancelled the project. In fact, it looks now like he told no one. Perhaps he forgot to tell me that he had been kidding when he proclaimed the project dead.
Can you clarify some of the mechanics?
When MBM asked you to cancel Bearhead what is the chain of activities that happened next in the PMO and/or PCO?
For example, do you fire off a memo to the appropriate DM's to say no further discussion is to happen on this file as it is dead, or perhaps to the Clerk of the PCO. Is there a formal letter sent by the bureaucracy to those who are involved, or is there supposed to be? Who would have had the responsibility of telling Mr Schrieber that it was over?
As far as I can tell right now nobody held that responsibility, but that is likely my ignorance of the the arcane nature of government communication.
"China bans Aliens
One never knew the Chinese were so faint of heart..."
http://www.damianpenny.com/archi...ved/
010861.html
Mark
Ottawa
Mark:
It seems that "one of the few bits of decent questioning"--as you put it--was all that it took for MPs to throw in the towel.
Norman: My thanks too for the Murphy/Doucet stuff. One of the few bits of decent questioning in the whole semi-farce so far. Secret agent Stevie should be fun today.
Mark
Ottawa
Thanks Loraine.
It should he interesting to watch the ingenious ways journalists find to report 2-day old news--if they report it at all. I haven't seen anything this bad since the Commons debate on the Kandahar deployment in 2005, which produced exactly one newspaper article. And we talk about the failure of US media on Iraq.
Thank you so very much, Mr. Spector, for the bits of the Doucet testimony. I would indeed have missed this. Interesting that this affair in Canada is going on concurrently to the Roger Clemens testimony. I can't read about Mulroney without thinking of Roger Clemens, and vice-versa. They have this in common: somebody is lying, and it's not a good thing to lie to judges or to perjure yourself. Bonne Saint-Valentin!
William Arkin, "Washington Post":
http://blog.washingtonpost.com/e...ml?
nav=rss_blog
'Pause in Iraq Doesn't Harm Afghanistan War
...But here is the dirty little secret about the war in Afghanistan: the best minds in the Pentagon looking at the problem don't think we need more troops there.
If indeed the war against terrorism is "the long war" that many in the military assert it is, than there is growing recognition that the best way to fight that war is through an "indirect approach."..'
Mark
Ottawa
East Timor: "A great moment in UN peackeeping?"
http://www.damianpenny.com/archi...ved/
010842.html
Mark
Ottawa
Steffi & the Liberal Foreign Policy, put into historical perspective.
http://www.canada.com/montrealga...te=2%2f7%
2f2008
thank you Aislin.
"Liberal policy on Afstan: No logic"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...n-no-
logic.html
Check the last bit.
Mark
Ottawa
With all the discussion about Child Soldiers I decided to go looking for a definition. Guess what there are lots of definitions! Depending on which protocol you look at.
They range as low as 15, according to Geneva, to as high as 18 or age of majority in a country. Amazing!
So if Khadr is a child soldier, he isnt under Geneva apparently. Then where are the charges in the hague against Taliban leaders, Mullah Omar and others? Where is our national treasure, Louise arbour on this issue.
Khadr either is or isnt a child soldier, if he is then there are a lot of indictments that the World Court better start issuing against lots of orgs, Hamas, Hezbollah, Al Queda, Taliban etc etc etc.
Here is a summary from Human Rights Watch
http://www.hrw.org/campaigns/crp...crp/int-
law.htm
Will we see any action from our friendly U of Ottawa law professor to ensure that there is consistency? I doubt it.
For all those Believers in The Goreacle's Church of AGWology, for all those follower's of David "Throw them in jail" Suzuki, aka Dr. Fruit Fly . . read 'em & weep.
“It is straight out of the book of climate. The pattern is so much like the 1949-1950 La Nina, which was signaling the start of the reversal of the warming of the earth’s climate in the 1930s, ‘40s and early 50s. Only someone choosing to ignore it, or not wanting to see it, would not be cognizant of it. But because such a pattern leads to warmer than normal conditions in areas where the greatest centers of human induced global warming information comes out of, western Europe and the eastern part of North America, no attention is being called to the fact that the winter this year does have outstandingly large areas of colder than normal temperatures and in areas, the vast expanses of the tropical Pacific, and the vast expanse of the air above us.”
http://wattsupwiththat.wordpress...-with-rss-data/
It's the Sun, stupid.
Terry Glavin recruits Yeats to the fight--Afstan and...
"The Second Coming"
http://transmontanus.blogspot.co...ond-
coming.html
Mark
Ottawa
Louise Arbor . . can we nominate her for being the Most Stupid Canadian of all time ?? She qualifies
She needs a good whup up side the head to try and knock some common sense through her thick skull.
Wednesday, February 06, 2008
The Islamists' Best Friend at the UN
By Joseph Klein, FrontPageMagazine.com:
Louise Arbour, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, will be presiding over Durban II - the UN's 2009 follow-up to its controversial 2001 ‘anti-racism’ hatefest in Durban, South Africa.
While Canada, her home country, announced that it will not attend the Durban II Conference "circus of intolerance," as Canada’s Secretary of State for Multiculturalism so aptly described it, Ms. Arbour will be the Secretary-General of this circus"
I'd say Mr. Spector came off very poorly yesterday. You have to try very hard to look less consequential and well meaning than politicians. Unfortunately he succeeded. Having nothing to say, and being very anxious to say it, is never a good thing.
Mr. Spector, I watched almost all of your testimony yesterday on CPAC. I thought you did a pretty good job of instructing the Committee, and providing some badly needed perspective on the proceedings. My question is, how many of the MPs on the committee are as stupid as they appear and how many are good at acting dumb? In particular, is Russ Hiebert the next Hedy Fry? Another vastly under qualified junior cabinet minister from B.C.?
'"Will Citoyen Dion pay heed..."
...to what his Président may do to help Canada in Afghanistan?...'
http://www.damianpenny.com/archi...ved/
010802.html
Mark
Ottawa
Interesting preview of Tuesday.
I must admit I am surprised by the opening line and the final line.
The middle part?....if you can get the committee off of their obsession with MBM and tory battles stretching back to 1983 that would be a good thing. The question is about the $10 million. IF that leads back to MBM think you know it may lead in other directions.
Right now the opposition members of the committee are obsessed with tarring MBM on no evidence and trying to tie the government to an unpopular former PM. The opposition is undermining their own position with ex parte meetings with Schrieber and conspiring with certain reporters on specious issues
Regarding your final line, you have more faith in the committee than I do. They have to date proven themselves to be a bunch of partisan hack, demagouges and preening peacocks. You have criticized them on those issues.
As I have said before, the time is now to say what you know beyond what you have said in the past, if there is any more to say. This is the last kick at this issue as it is quite old. As well, if you can get the committee to focus on the commissions and where they went, rather than the distraction of the $300,000 then that would work.
Tuesday will be interesting. Thanks for the preview.
"Jack Layton: Simply ignorant or just plain lazy? Or mendacious?"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...nt-or-
just.html
Mark
Ottawa
Actually Afrocentric "Provincialist Poop" (so far):
"I have a nightmare..."
http://www.damianpenny.com/archi...ved/
010785.html
Mark
Ottawa
"Affirmative action, bilingualism and the civil service"
http://www.damianpenny.com/archi...ved/
010753.html
Mark
Ottawa
Mais, non!
I linked Dubuc's column in the second cut on Sunday. But it's good that you have provided a precis for those who haven't read it.
Dear Mr. Spector, It would appear that you have missed Alain Dubuc’s column, Un terroriste près de chez-vous, published in La Presse on Sunday, the 27th of January. Dubuc writes about his indignation at reading the first column written by former FLQ member Jacques Lanctôt for Le Journal de Montréal, dealing with the nomination of pâté chinois as the national dish of Quebec. Lanctôt delights in revealing his feelings as he prepared this dish for his hostage, James Cross, and how Cross reacted to eating the mush. Lanctôt also recently gave a radio interview to promote himself on Radio Canada’s Christiane Charette’s show, available online. Everyone on the air had a good laugh over all this, Nathalie Petrowski suggesting that it was too bad that the Pied de Cochon was not yet opened in 1970, for they could have fed Cross with poutine, but what really struck me was that Lanctôt openly admits that he feels no regret for what he has done. Worse, Lanctôt now promotes the idea that he was a victim of the October Crisis while Cross was the criminal, insinuating that Cross was involved in the murder of some 90 people in Jerusalem in 1948, and I quote: "C’était pas un innocent, James Cross. James Cross était dans l’hôtel à Jérusalem en 1948 quand le mouvement de Madame Golda Meir a fait sauter l’hôtel King George. Il était dans la partie qui n’a pas sautée. Il y a eu 90 morts…”.
I found no mention of this disturbing affair in the English-speaking media.
Anyway, if there is one positive note in all this sordid story it is that I now know that I can still become completely shocked by the media. I’d thought I was too old for it.
http://www.cyberpresse.ca/articl...53/
CPOPINIONS05
My point about the helicopters and UAVs:
FED FOLLIES--"AIRCRAFT 'ON ORDER' (Globe)"
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/s...PStory/
National
Ms Buckler's clarification in the final para doesn't quite cut it:
"Mr. Harper's spokeswoman, Sandra Buckler, added: "Everyone is aware the procurement process is well under way for Chinooks and UAVs."
This is what the PM said:
'"First of all, let's be clear both in terms of the helicopters requested in the reports as well as the UAVs [unmanned aerial vehicles]. The government has these on order, has had them on order for some time," Mr. Harper said...'
THE COLUMN I WISH I’D WRITTEN--"Greg Weston - PM in spin cycle"
http://ottawasun.com/News/Column...799385-
sun.html
Mark
Ottawa
Further to my comment below on PM Harper on helicopters and UAVs "on order" from a Globe and Mail story:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/s...y/National/
home
"The government has already placed its order for helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles and is working with allies to secure them quickly, said Mr. Harper."
Mark
Ottawa
hmmm Canada should enact a quid pro quo law with India as a way of dealing with the Laibar Singh's of this world.
"Canadian imprisoned for entering India without visa
Updated Sun. Jan. 27 2008 10:28 PM ET
CTV.ca News Staff
A Montreal man, sentenced to three years in an Indian jail for entering the country without a proper visa, is heartbroken and wants to come home, he told CTV News"
Manley panel and equipment--Prime Minister Harper misspeaks. He has just given a statement supporting the recommendations of the Manley panel (video second link).
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/Articl...?
hub=TopStories
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/
HTMLTe...archive=CTVNews
Then, near the end of answering questions from the media (around 1241 Eastern Time), he either lied or demonstrated he does not know what his government is doing.
Mr Harper was asked about the Manley panel's demand that new medium-lift helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) be acquired by next February to support the Afghan mission. He replied that these are "on order" and mentioned difficulties in securing delivery places on already-committed production lines. But neither the helicopters nor the UAVs are "on order".
The government itself recently officially stated that, while the helicopter procurement process for the helicopters is well underway, the award of an actual contract is only "expected by the end of 2008." (See "3. Medium- to Heavy-Lift Helicopters" at link.)
http://news.gc.ca/web/view/en/
in...rticleid=372519
As for UAVs, the air force officer in charge of the project said in October 2007 that "...officials hope to get the first aircraft into Afghanistan "within months" of the contract being signed next year."
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/War_...pf-
4553523.html
No contract has yet been signed. Nothing is "on order". Pitiful.
The prime minister went on to say that the government would look to NATO to provide the required capabilities by February 2009.
Mark
Ottawa
Given Mark's expertise, that's a typo or an editing error at most--and definitely not a great moment in journalism.
ooops
Stephen,
Those are precisely the reports I was referring to, that MPs on the committee have been referring to and that several reports of my remarks last week referred to.
(And remember: a preposition is a part of speech you should not end a sentence with!)
Norman,
Thanks. Looks to be an "interesting" week....so every allegation is being brought forward.
Does this place your comments in Le Devoir in some context? Dont want to steal your thunder, or light shedding whatever the case may be....but are we falling down the rabbitt hole here?
Note final para of quote:
"Spy vs. Spy
They had Robert Hanssen. We had Sergei Tretyakov.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/
wp...8012402750.html
Reviewed by David Wise
Sunday, January 27, 2008; Page BW03
COMRADE J
The Untold Secrets of Russia's Master Spy In America After the End of the Cold War
http://www.amazon.ca/Comrade-J-P...01464910&sr=1-
1
By Pete Earley
...
...Enter Col. Sergei Tretyakov, a Russian spy who defected in New York in 2000 as the deputy rezide nt (station chief) there of the SVR, the successor to the KGB's foreign intelligence directorate...
Tretyakov, who had been assigned to the Russian mission at the United Nations since 1995 and to Ottawa before that, gave the FBI 5,000 secret SVR cables and more than 100 Russian intelligence reports, according to one U.S. intelligence official cited by Earley. Tretyakov apparently first tried to defect around 1997 but agreed to remain as an "agent in place," passing secrets to the FBI until October 2000, when he vanished from a Russian residential compound in the Bronx with his wife, daughter and cat. Four months later, the United States acknowledged his defection, but Comrade J (the title is drawn from the KGB's code name for Tretyakov, Comrade Jean) is the first account of his espionage career. "It is one of our biggest success stories," puffed the unnamed U.S. intelligence official...
The defector describes five Canadians he says he recruited while stationed in Ottawa and gives their code designations but not their real names. He says he also recruited Alex Kindy, a former member of the Canadian parliament..."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alex_Kindy
But, from the reviewer's assessment of other recruitment claims by Tretyakov, a lot of salt may be warranted.
Mark
Ottawa
Stephen,
The chef was the secret agent's source for reports of large amounts of cash at 24 Sussex.
Just looking over the witness list
1) Apparently Secret Agenet Stevie Cameron has been removed for fears over compromising her journalistic integrity
2) Mulroney's cook is on the list
The first one speaks for itself but why is the cook on the list? Any insights?
Indeed, in journalism and other usages of the term, the French 'rapporter' means to report, to relate information, or to give an account of an incident. For a classic example, Stephen, of the laziness of Canadian editors and journalists, think of the French word 'chiffon' - as in chiffon dress, a rather fancy fabric - could ever have been translated as 'rag'. Les petits bouts de chiffons rouges should have been translated as small bits of red cloth - but would that have made the headlines?
In Google translator you put in the website of the article and then it translates.
Another great moment in journalism if these wonderful organizations just use google translator and dont run through an editor or question the technology.
Why one would ever take it at face value as opposed to just giving you the gist of the article I cannot understand.
Canadian editors and journalists....lazy????? nah....
Stephen
Perhaps Google translation explains the error in the CP and Star reports too. It's actually one additional letter that makes all the difference!
Norman,
Thanks. Not being bilingual I ran it through the google translator and got the carried to. Sounds like the original quotation was a mistranslation.
Amazing how much happens over a word
Missed your link to the Matthias column....my apologies.
Still will be watching when you are in front of the committee, looking forward to the insight
"The Greening of the Sahara"
http://www.damianpenny.com/archi...ved/
010743.html
Mark
Ottawa
"Afghanistan and Canada, reason and passion"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...reason-
and.html
About John Manley and Janice Stein on TVO's "The Agenda with Steve Paikin".
Mark
Ottawa
Stephen
Not quite a "great moment in Canadian journalism," but a close call.
As the perfectly bilingual Lorraine can confirm--assuming she's recovered from her coffee incident--the CP report filed late today mistranslates the last sentence of my Le Devoir column--"carried to" should have been rendered as "reported at"
"Finally, documents in hand, I believe myself quite capable of helping them identify the source of large quantities of money carried to 24 Sussex while Mr. Mulroney was prime minister of Canada."
"Finalement, documents en main, je compte bien être en mesure de les aider à identifier la source de grandes quantités d'argent comptant rapportées au 24, promenade Sussex, alors que M. Mulroney était premier ministre du Canada."
Norman,
What is you date & time for your "sitting" ?
Have to book a CPAC moment for that
agree with lorraine. looking forward to the testimony because either it was a bad translation or you just dropped a bomb.
As I have said before you have been acting like you knew something more but your statements didnt match. Which was frustrating to say the least.
I look forward to you saying everything you know and maybe we can get somewhere. Up to now there has been precious little proof of a problem and almost as little evidence. Nobody was speaking.
It is marked on my calander.
Is Robert Gates being influenced by Dion? In the event that American troops would conduct joing combat operations with Pakistan, would Harper support it?
Re: Washington Post : The Pentagon is"ready, willing and able" to send U.S. troops to conduct joint combat operations with Pakistan's military against al-Qaeda sanctuaries in Pakistan's tribal areas, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said yesterday.
Well, Mr. Spector, you had me choking on my coffee this morning while I read the last paragraph of your article in Le Devoir. Now, ten days sound like a long, long time to wait... We'll be watching you!
'Afstan: A "misjudgment of historic proportions"
That is what those who oppose our combat mission are making, according to this piece by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon...'
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...f-
historic.html
Mark
Ottawa
" My friends, everything Stéphane Dion knows about economics he learned studying sociology.
[Pause for laughter].
In France. "
Norman . . .. absolutely 100% brilliant.
And very scary. French sociology . . . Steffi's secret, hidden agenda.
And from Terry Glavin:
http://transmontanus.blogspot.co...stan-
panel.html
"John Manley's Afghanistan Panel Report And The Historic Mission of The Left"
Mark
Ottawa
More from Mr Ralston:
http://www.snappingturtle.net/
fl..._23.html#006323
"Quick fact: average age of Cdn. fatalities in Afghanistan
Twenty-nine. A fact little noted by Canadians is that we have fairly mature soldiers by historical standards. (stats from icasualties.org)."
Mark
Ottawa
An excellent politco-military analysis by Bruce Rolston:
http://www.snappingturtle.net/
fl..._23.html#006322
'Manley report: the day after
...
That means that the withdrawal would be effectively limited in the immediate term to as little as the two companies of Canadian infantry, plus some of their logistical tail, and the battlegroup headquarters. It would be hard for the Leader of the Opposition, post-Manley, to not support a proposal along these lines, which would see Canadian troop levels in theatre drop to 2,000 or so and the mission "refocussed", whatever that means. Some of those infantrymen could also be reassigned to a larger PRT or military training presence...
In short, Harper probably shouldn't let the perfect be the enemy of the good on this one: given the plausible outcomes, a Canadian presence in Kandahar, minus a Canadian battlegroup per se, could be the most politically robust option currently achievable to him.'
Mark
Ottawa
"Manley panel: Marines, helicopters and UAVs (and copying)"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...s-and-
uavs.html
Mark
Ottawa
"The Afghan mission is a noble one"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...-noble-
one.html
Mark
Ottawa
Mr Ignatieff should have a chat with M. Coderre:
Asked whether the Liberals would accept rotation to another province in volatile southern Afghanistan, Mr. Coderre said they would only consider rotating Canadian troops somewhere in the more peaceable north.
Out of Kandahar by 2009, Liberals say (Globe)
"The rather more muscular Michael Ignatieff"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...-
ignatieff.html
Mark
Ottawa
If you want to get an appreciation of just how complex the CF's mission at Kandahar is, look at the composition of the next rotation:
http://www.army.forces.gc.ca/
LFW...der_Jan2008.htm
Mark
Ottawa
"Afstan: US Secretary of Defense stirs up a hornet's nest : Part 2"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...tirs-
up_18.html
Mark
Ottawa
"Not that our opposition will pay heed"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...l-pay-
heed.html
Mark
Ottawa
Herringchoker,
Well they may just be allegations. That has been my complaint all the way along, lots of sturm and drang but no evidence, let alone proof.
The teaser seems to indicate there MAY be evidence, it aint proof yet even if it is evidence.
Have to read Macleans to see. Our host has said he has said all he knows but keeps encouraging others to dig. So either he knows more than he says or just suspects.....there have been 20 years of suspicions, so I want to see proof, if it exists. If not then this is fast becoming a history project
"Afstan: Lord High Paddy Ashdown"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...dy-
ashdown.html
Mark
Ottawa
"Ok finally there might be some evidence"
Surely you mean "there might be some allegations" Stephen.
Its worth bearing in mind that the US allegations stemmed from a Boeing complaint after it lost AC business for the first time ever. That would be the same Boeing company that was no stranger to allegations of commissions when it sold aircraft to flagged carriers (including on aircraft it sold when it owned Dehavilland Canada). I believe this is what psychiatrists refer to as "projection".
There's an old saying in the brokerage business, "buy on rumour, sell on fact." It often applies equally well to news outlets peddling "the inside story". After all, if all this money really was floating around with the Air Canada deal, why did AC never ask Boeing for a refund on the "commissions"? It certainly had a contractual right to do so.
Re the Macleans article re Airbus.
Ok finally there might be some evidence....I look forward to the article.
But given the teaser...the fact that there was political decision making...doesnt shock me.
That there was money paid to people...thats the crime
That money made it into the coffers of the Progressive Conservative party....that is news and bad news for whoever was the CFO of the PC party at the time.
This is what had been bothering me, people know stuff and wont say anything. You are left with the disctinct possibility that there is nothing to know.
I was wondering why Boeing was so quiet, and has been so quiet.
So if the Macleans article lives up to its teaser then then we may finally have fire to 20 years of smoke. But we have been down this road before, so I await the proof.
Of course the irony of the NDP and Liberals relying on a US government secret dossier is not lost on me.
"More of M. Dion's ignorance"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...-
ignorance.html
Nothing like open source intelligence.
Mark
Ottawa
"Afstan: US Secretary of Defense stirs up a hornet's nest"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...e-stirs-
up.html
Mark
Ottawa
You read it here first:
"Marine combat troops in Afstan will be under overall Canadian command"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...an-will-
be.html
Mark
Ottawa
"Marines to Afstan"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...-to-
afstan.html
Mark
Ottawa
Thoughts in previous comment better developed:
"The incoherent and ignorant M. Dion"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...ant-m-
dion.html
Poke at Cons in "Update".
Mark
Ottawa
IF YOU'VE MORE TIME ON YOUR HANDS..."Attack Seen As a Setback For the U.N. In Darfur":
http://www.washingtonpost.com/
wp...8011202410.html
"...in Darfur, an ill-prepared peacekeeping force has entered a live battle zone involving combatants from the Sudanese army, neighboring Chad and a major Darfurian rebel group. [United Nations' chief peacekeeping official] Guehenno said: "There is a combination of factors that may lead to the greatest risk to the United Nations since the 1990s. We have a war ongoing, maybe low intensity, but a war ongoing, especially in West Darfur..."
If M. Dion had some time on his hands he might well read the above; instead he spouts this nonsense when demanding Canada cease its Afghan combat mission:
http://canadianpress.google.com/...DxRiWuNJ-
qkkq0w
"We are convinced . . . that we will have plenty of things to do (in Afghanistan) that will involve, yes, to take risks. But anywhere we will go - whether Darfur or Haiti - there are always risks..."
Why are risks in Darfur more acceptable than those in Afstan?
He seems also to have missed this, from the first story:
"Sudan, meanwhile, has imposed technical hurdles for the mission, including the recent rejection of a unit of Nordic engineers, according to U.N. officials. The Sudanese authorities continue to haggle over the force's right to wear the U.N. blue helmets, recruit non-African troops and travel in Darfur without government approval..."
The Sudanese government simply won't allow Canadian (or other Western) forces in; does M. Dion wish us to shoot our way in all on our own?
Mark
Ottawa
"Cyclones: It's all Jean's fault/New maritime patrol aircraft
This really is partisanship at its stupid worst,,"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...eans-
fault.html
" Our new satellite surveillance capability...
...will be owned by a US company..."
http://
toyoufromfailinghands.blo...rveillance.html
Mark
Ottawa
You reveal your colours calling the Johnstone report a Whitewash.
Problem is there is no evidence of wrongdoing, yet, and everyone claims to know nothing more, yourself included.
1) Either people know something more and they cannot or will not say anything.
2) They suspect something more.
Problem is dont we really need some concrete eveidence, not proof, but evidence? And why do we seem to be chasing the wrong thing, the disputed $225,000 or $300,000 in cash versus the $10,000,000 in payments.
I like your idea of a special prosecutor, but I am getting tired of hints and j'accuse by stealth. If there is something to be investigated then someone should say something....concrete not alleged, yourself included. I am conitnually surprised by the many variations I have seen of the following statement....."I have no special knowledge, and I have said all I know, but this requires a full investigation all questions to be answered."
From the outside, there is no evidence, there is only suspicion. Your call to cut a once and for all deal with KHS is the right answer, He either can prove something or he cannot. The fact that he filled a binder with googled newsstories leads me to believe the latter rather than the former.
If nobody speaks soon this will all go away in short order, the greatest non-story and mudslinging exercise ever....and if there is nothing wrong that is as it should be. If there is something wrong then that is a failure on the part of those who knew but would not say, the greatest case of the dog who wouldnt bark.
To quote Dr Evil....throw me a frickin bone here.....
My "Letter of the Day":
'African mission And we may have to kill to save lives in Darfur
http://www.canada.com/ottawaciti...ca-
5870b0d07265
The Ottawa Citizen
Published: Tuesday, January 08, 2008
Re: We may have to lose lives to save them in Darfur, Jan. 4.
http://www.canada.com/ottawaciti...8d-
27fc317d2f21
When Robert Muggah states: " the fact that there is no obvious peace to keep does not mean that protection of civilians cannot be achieved," that is true. But protection is not peacekeeping. The rules of the peacekeeping game are that peacekeepers must be neutral, and may not use their weapons, but for self-defence. And these rules contributed much to the impotence of the UN in the Balkans, until the mission was taken over by NATO, with more robust rules of engagement.
I am very concerned by calls to protect civilians in the same context as peacekeeping, as it reveals a lack of understanding of peacekeeping. There were three essential conditions to the Nobel Peace Prize-winning Pearson peacekeeping concept: peace, or at least a ceasefire, a will to keep the peace by the former belligerents and an invitation, by the former belligerents, to come help them keep the peace. None of these conditions exist in Darfur.
How would a UN-African Union force, known as UNAMID, guarantee protection for humanitarian workers and safe corridors to access displaced people? By fighting those who want to harm the protected.
So the harsh reality is not simply that the international community may lose lives to save them. That is nations, including possibly Canada, would send their soldiers to die. The harsher reality is that the international community may have to kill to save lives.
Calling a mission to Darfur "peacekeeping" when in fact the role is to take sides, protect selected groups against others and kill when needed, is totally misleading. It may be why some Canadians clamour to trade our combat role in Afghanistan for our traditional peacekeeping role in Darfur. The question really is not do we have the stomach to send our soldiers to die for our noble cause, but do we have the stomach to send them to kill for our noble cause.
This is not to argue Darfur is not a noble cause. But let us not be so unwilling to face the truth that we call such an adventure peacekeeping. Peacemaking perhaps, protecting the weak maybe, but not peacekeeping.
Normand Levert,
Orléans
Lieutenant colonel (ret'd)'
Mark
Ottawa
"Darfur: New hats--and not much more"
http://www.damianpenny.com/archi...ved/
010624.html
Mark
Ottawa
"Prime minister grumpy about Afstan
Mr Harper speaks to Maclean's..."
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...out-
afstan.html
Mark
Ottawa
"Taliban defections, casualties and strength"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...alties-
and.html
"Afstan: Dealing with the Pakistan "sanctuary" (Dec. 26)
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...-
sanctuary.html
Mark
Ottawa
And, further to my immediately preceding comment, some (to my mind) amusing comments:
https://www.blogger.com/
comment.g...494177675409042
Mark
Ottawa
Further to "Harper wonders if Canadians understand importance of staying in Afghanistan" (UPDATE):
"The crazed and the ignorant"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...d-
ignorant.html
Mark
Ottawa
"Prof. Byers' self-psychotherapy"
http://
toyoufromfailinghands.blo...chotherapy.html
Mark
Ottawa
"Bugging out on allies"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...-on-
allies.html
Note the "almost two years".
Mark
Ottawa
"Feds announce compromise plan on Aurora surveillance planes (CP)" (SPECTATOR PICKS)--more:
"Auroras to be upgraded after all"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...-after-
all.html
Mark
Ottawa
so Steffi was on MDL saying how great & green Norway is and how Canada should emulate their success.
Uh huh . . .
http://canadianbluelemons.blogsp...cess-
story.html
My "Letter of the Day":
http://www.canada.com/ottawaciti...fb-
07ad6b103c8d
"Low standards
The Ottawa Citizen
Published: Monday, December 17, 2007
Re: Why I said no to Manley, Dec. 13.
Wow. That was close. John Manley and his colleagues on the Independent Panel on Canada's Future Role in Afghanistan must have breathed a sigh of relief when Michael Byers declined their invitation to brief them on his views. I certainly would have found it hard to spend a half hour listening to the views of such a smug academic.
I was aware that Mr. Byers had low standards of argumentation, but I was unaware that they needed to be road-tested in so public a way as to slander five of Canada's leading citizens. I can understand why he might not want to share his tender regard for Canada's sensitivities with such solidly credentialed and experienced public servants. There is no way they would have been able to appreciate the workings of so subtle and fine a mind.
Michael Hart, Ottawa
Simon Reisman chair in trade policy
Norman Paterson School of International Affairs
Carleton University"
Mark
Ottawa
"Why I say "no" to Byers"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...o-to-
byers.html
Only in Canada...
Mark
Ottawa
Afstan: "In Defense of Air Power" (William Arkin, WaPo):
http://blog.washingtonpost.com/
e...r_bombs_li.html
Mark
Ottawa
And a couple on Afstan:
"The Economist assesses Afstan"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...ses-
afstan.html
"Dutch and Aussies in action together in Uruzgan"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...ogether-
in.html
Mark
Ottawa
Further to a LETTER OF THE DAY-"Canada and Darfur"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...and-
darfur.html
Mark
Ottawa
time to really clean the Management outhouse over at AECL.
Fire the lot of them . . . this is beyond pathetic. 10 years late !!
Why didn't anyone in Ottawa see this coming? The construction of Maple 1 and Maple 2, two other reactors that are slated to replace the 50-year-old NRU and could produce isotopes, is nearly 10 years behind schedule and way over budget. AECL bulletins over the years have reported the delays with no sense of urgency
"Making up defence policy on the fly"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...icy-on-
fly.html
Mark
Ottawa
Damian Brooks takes on a real fed (DND/CF) folly:
"Public Affairs strategy: to hell with communicating"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...-hell-
with.html
Mark
Ottawa
"Liberals want Auroras to keep flying until 2025"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...eep-
flying.html
Mark
Ottawa
Aussie denial, pretty thin, "...no formal decisions have yet been made...
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/
2007...W8zqQDjV8qQOrgF
Mark
Ottawa
I wonder if our media will notice this--the Aussies have told the Dutch they'll stay with them in Uruzgan until 2010:
"Afghanistan: troops to stay on"
http://www.smh.com.au/news/
world...6813079401.html
Mark
Ottawa
But I suppose those opposed to our Afstan mission think Canada can somehow "do something" militarily significant in Darfur:
http://thechronicleherald.ca/Wor...rld/
996841.html
'European countries look unlikely to meet an urgent UN call to provide military helicopters for a peacekeeping force planned for Darfur, saying their armies are already stretched by missions in Afghanistan, Kosovo and other hot spots [check link for NATO Kosovo preparations].
http://forums.milnet.ca/forums/
i....html#msg645632
More than 200,000 people have been killed and 2.5 million uprooted from their homes in Sudan’s western Darfur region since a rebellion broke out in 2003, and many European governments have said they support deploying the peacekeeping force.
Despite the verbal support, no one has offered any of the 24 helicopters sought by UN officials.
"There’s something like 12,000 military helicopters in Europe, so it’s bizarre that not one has been found available so far to commit to this force," said Thomas Cargill, Africa program manager at Chatham House, an international affairs think tank in London.
He said European countries risk undermining their credibility "if they commit themselves to resolving a crisis but then can’t commit themselves to providing the necessary hardware."
The joint United Nations-African Union peacekeeping force of 26,000 soldiers is scheduled to take over from a smaller AU force in three weeks.
But UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said Thursday that it is essential the force be equipped with 18 transport helicopters and six light attack helicopters. Without them, he said, the force will not be able to protect its own soldiers, let alone civilians...
Publicly, European government ministers have said they are doing everything they can to get the Darfur mission off the ground, along with a separate, 4,000-strong EU peacekeeping mission in Chad and Central African Republic, which border Sudan.
http://forums.milnet.ca/forums/
i....html#msg642746
But officials said Friday they cannot meet the UN request.
Poland said it is sending four transport helicopters and four attack helicopters — similar to those the UN wants for Darfur — to Afghanistan .
"These helicopters were long ago tabbed for the Afghanistan mission," Foreign Ministry spokesman Piotr Paszkowski said. "We aren’t particularly rich in helicopters."'
Mark
Ottawa
Did I miss something or did KHS exxonerate Mulroney? But drag in Jean Charest and the Nova Scotia bagman for the Liberal party?
Maybe I missed something.
Oh and it looks like Paul Szabo was ready to rub KHS's feet. But that report is important, Speakers Warrant should have been followed. Parliament is Supreme.
And Pat Martin looked really really disappointed after his first question didnt yieled the answer he wanted.
Another "peacekeeping" effort, related to Darfur, that one won't find in our media:
"Chad rebels declare war on French, foreign forces"
http://www.reuters.com/article/
w...061884420071130
"Ireland: EU peacekeeping force for Darfur border faces months of delay"
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2...r-
Spillover.php
Mark
Ottawa
Denis Coderre should have such deep thoughts:
"A civilian maritime patrol aircraft fleet?"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...raft-
fleet.html
Mark
Ottawa
Norman,
While watching the committee hearings I have become uncomfortable with the Speakers Warrant. The Warrant history I am sure goes back to Cromwell, which includes some unfortunate uses.
It appears to be a very blunt instrument. What controls are there on it, is the control only exercised by the speaker, can he revoke at any time? Would that revocation and enforcement be manages by his office?
My discomfort surrounds some of the comments now being made by some members, such as Mr Martin. There appears to be a giddiness at this power and a desire to engage in a widespread fishing expedition. Martin has already asked for his diaries, going back how far I dont know.
The point is clear, he is on a mission to hang Mr Mulroney. And whether that is considered a worthy goal or not isnt the point. It is more the offence to civil liberties this causes. The intent of the warrant was to get Mr Schrieber to talk about things surrounding Airbus....or more specifically around th $300,000 and maybe the $10,000,000 from Airbus.
The opposition wants to go after personal diaries, daytimers and generally root through the life of someone for whatever they will find. Once again there may be dirt there but is this the way to go about it? No controls, no judicial oversight etc etc. This borders on the tawdry to me at best and potentially inquisition like at worst.
Question is, what are the controls on the warrant? What happens when Parlaiment shuts down etc etc. I think the answer is under the warrant they can do whatever they choose, and it really is up to the speaker to enforce and reign in the committee members.
Thoughts?
"Mulroney intervened in project at heart of $500,000 payments scandal, ex-aide says"
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Cana...4695669-
cp.html
Which all goes to show what a nonsensical mess the approach by governments (all stripes) to defence procurements in this country usually is. Might we, maybe, just grow up a little? http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...are-
taking.html
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...aux-
avions.html
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...equest-
for.html
And just wait for the "sole-sourced" screaming stories that David Pugliese of the "Ottawa Citizen" is gasping for (the "Update"):
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...craft-
news.html
Mark
Ottawa
"Some immodest proposals on federal policing"
http://www.damianpenny.com/archi...ved/
010447.html
Mark
Ottawa
"It seems to me that we (RoC and Québécois both) are..." I should have added "increasingly becoming".
Mark
Ottawa
Norman: I'm afraid I disagree with your selection for THE COLUMN I’M GLAD I DIDN’T WRITE:
"In The Globe and Mail, Lysiane Gagnon expresses the ‘La Presse consensus’
Mr. Schreiber should be quickly sent to his fate in Germany and Mr. Harper should scotch the silly idea of holding an inquiry into the minor events of two decades ago. Nobody would object if the Prime Minister reversed his thoughtless decision, except the journalists who wasted months of their lives looking into such trivial matters and the big law firms that would be the only beneficiaries of a full-scale inquiry."
Two guest-posts at "Daimnation!" that I hope explain what I think is important, in terms of real justice, and what is not:
"M. Dion's preposterous priority"
http://www.damianpenny.com/archi...ved/
010422.html
'"Greasegate", and CBC Newsworld on blogging'
http://www.damianpenny.com/archi...ved/
010433.html
It seems to me that we (RoC and Québécois both) are, as Peter O'Toole said of certain Arabs in "Lawrence of Arabia":
http://www.filmsite.org/lawr.html
"a little people...a silly people..."
Though not:
"...greedy, barbarous and cruel...."
Yet we do seem to:
"fight tribe against tribe..."
I've slightly altered the sequence. Those words have always stayed with me since I saw the movie in 1962.
Mark
Ottawa
Jacko the Whacko thinks he has a new bestest friend in PM Rudd. Mr Rudd goes to church regularly, is pro traditional marriage and his official position on Kyoto2 is that EVERYONE has to sign on to make cuts . . . including developing nations.
Mark has already pointed out his Afghanistan position.
Rudd, thy name is Harper. Taliban Jack just proves once again he leads with his gob not his brain.
"What any reporter covering Jack today should read" (ON MY MIND)--and Taliban Jack himself:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-...fic/
7112774.stm
"However, in another area of combat, Afghanistan, there have been suggestions that the new Australian government might even increase the numbers of its troops there from the current level of about 1,000.
Australian special forces are in a frontline role and a commando was killed on the eve of the election, the third Australian death in recent weeks.
Many Western governments have drawn a distinction between sending troops to Afghanistan and sending them to or keeping them in Iraq. They regard Afghanistan as an allied operation with a clear objective - to prevent the Taleban from returning to power in a country where it allowed al-Qaeda the freedom to plan its attacks."
More:
http://www.reuters.com/article/
w...D31991820071124
"FACTBOX: Key policy themes for Australia's Labor
...
...keep and possibly increase troop numbers in Afghanistan."
So far I haven't seen that mentioned in any Canadian news stories or commentary on the election. Odd, given the importance of the Afstan issue in our politics. Deliberate ommission or simple ignorance?
Mark
Ottawa
"What's the UN's exit strategy for the Congo?"
http://www.damianpenny.com/archi...ved/
010421.html
Mark
Ottawa
From "Chretien says Canada less cool under Harper's Tories (CP)" (SPECTATOR HOME PICKS):
'"It was a very good period, the period when we were there," Chretien boasted.
He evinced particular pride in his decision to keep Canada out of the war in Iraq...'
Really?
"He kept us out of war
Well, not in the way M. Chrétien (and most of our media) like to play the Iraq story, having forgotten the facts of only four and three quarter years ago..."
http://www.damianpenny.com/archi...ved/
010413.html
Mark
Ottawa
"Dutch very likely to stay in Afstan until 2010" (plus a whole lot more)
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...-in-
afstan.html
Mark
Ottawa
"Paul Wells nails Don Jean"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...s-don-
jean.html
Then there's Loopy Louise:
"Louise Arbour needs to get a grip"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...o-get-
grip.html
Mark
Ottawa
The UN is always honest. Always.
The United Nations' top AIDS scientists plan to acknowledge this week that they have long overestimated both the size and the course of the epidemic.
Some researchers, however, contend that persistent overestimates in the widely quoted U.N. reports have long skewed funding decisions and obscured potential lessons about how to slow the spread of HIV.
Can you say "IPCC" and "honest" in the same sentence.
"Faites vos jeux on dead Canadians; lose your bet"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...dians-
lose.html
Mark
Ottawa
so Steffi is now 100% sure there is a cover-up.
'There is a cover-up somewhere'
Dion accuses Harper's team of sitting on Mulroney allegations for 7 months;
So the question for Steffi is . . . what does he know and when did he know it ??
Has Steffi been sitting on secret information waiting for a good political "gotcha moment"
fess up Steffi . . since you state their is a cover-up and your one and only claim to fame is your honesty, tell us the truth.
"Blowing Up Statues Of The Buddha All Over Again"
http://transmontanus.blogspot.co...a-all-
over.html
"The Personal, The Political: C'est Problématique"
http://
transmontanus.blogspot.co...oblmatique.html
Mark
Ottawa
topics for Premier Campbell's planned Global Warming Gab Fest
A complete list of things caused by global warming
Agricultural land increase, Africa devastated, African aid threatened, air pressure changes, Alaska reshaped, allergies increase, Alps melting, Amazon a desert, American dream end, amphibians breeding earlier (or not), ancient forests dramatically changed, animals head for the hills, Antarctic grass flourishes, anxiety, algal blooms, archaeological sites threatened, Arctic bogs melt, Arctic in bloom, Arctic lakes disappear, asthma, atmospheric defiance, atmospheric circulation modified, avalanches reduced, avalanches increased, bananas destroyed, bananas grow, beetle infestation, bet for $10,000, better beer, big melt faster, billion dollar research projects, billions of deaths, bird distributions change, birds return early, blackbirds stop singing, blizzards, blue mussels return, boredom, bridge collapse (Minneapolis), Britain Siberian, British gardens change, brothels struggle, bubonic plague, budget increases, building collapse, building season extension, bushfires, business opportunities, business risks, butterflies move north, cardiac arrest, caterpillar biomass shift, challenges and opportunities, childhood insomnia, Cholera, civil unrest, cloud increase, cloud stripping, cockroach migration, cod go south, cold climate creatures survive, cold spells (Australia), computer models, conferences, coral bleaching, coral reefs dying, coral reefs grow, coral reefs shrink , cold spells, cost of trillions, cremation to end, crime increase, crocodile sex, crumbling roads, buildings and sewage systems, cyclones (Australia), damages equivalent to $200 billion, Darfur, Dartford Warbler plague, death rate increase (US), Dengue hemorrhagic fever, dermatitis, desert advance, desert life threatened, desert retreat, destruction of the environment, diarrhoea, disappearance of coastal cities, diseases move north, Dolomites collapse, drought, drowning people, ducks and geese decline, dust bowl in the corn belt, early spring, earlier pollen season, Earth biodiversity crisis, Earth dying, Earth even hotter, Earth light dimming, Earth lopsided, Earth melting, Earth morbid fever, Earth on fast track, Earth past point of no return, Earth slowing down, Earth spinning out of control, Earth spins faster, Earth to explode, earth upside down, Earth wobbling, earthquakes, El Niño intensification, erosion, emerging infections, encephalitis, Europe simultaneously baking and freezing, evolution accelerating, expansion of university climate groups, extinctions (human, civilisation, logic, Inuit, smallest butterfly, cod, ladybirds, bats, pandas, pikas, polar bears, pigmy possums, gorillas, koalas, walrus, whales, frogs, toads, turtles, orang-utan, elephants, tigers, plants, salmon, trout, wild flowers, woodlice, penguins, a million species, half of all animal and plant species, less, not polar bears, barrier reef), experts muzzled, extreme changes to California, famine, farmers go under, fever,figurehead sacked, fish catches drop, fish catches rise, fish stocks decline, five million illnesses, floods, floods of beaches and cities, Florida economic decline, food poisoning, food prices rise, food security threat (SA), footpath erosion, forest decline, forest expansion, frostbite, frosts, fungi fruitful, fungi invasion, games change, Garden of Eden wilts, genetic diversity decline, gene pools slashed, gingerbread houses collapse, glacial earthquakes, glacial retreat, glacial growth, glacier wrapped, global cooling, global dimming, glowing clouds, god melts, golf Masters wrecked, Gore omnipresence, grandstanding, grasslands wetter, Great Barrier Reef 95% dead, Great Lakes drop, greening of the North, Grey whales lose weight, Gulf Stream failure, habitat loss, Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, harvest increase, harvest shrinkage, hay fever epidemic, hazardous waste sites breached, heat waves, hibernation ends too soon, hibernation ends too late, homeless 50 million, hornets, high court debates, human fertility reduced, human health improvement, human health risk, hurricanes, hurricane reduction, hydropower problems, hyperthermia deaths, ice sheet growth, ice sheet shrinkage, illness and death, inclement weather, infrastructure failure (Canada), Inuit displacement, Inuit poisoned, Inuit suing, industry threatened, infectious diseases, insurance premium rises, invasion of cats, invasion of herons, invasion of midges, island disappears, islands sinking, itchier poison ivy, jellyfish explosion, Kew Gardens taxed, kitten boom, krill decline, lake and stream productivity decline, lake shrinking and growing, landslides, landslides of ice at 140 mph, lawsuits increase, lawsuit successful, lawyers’ income increased (surprise surprise!), lightning related insurance claims, little response in the atmosphere, Lyme disease, Malaria, malnutrition, Maple syrup shortage, marine diseases, marine food chain decimated, marine dead zone, Meaching (end of the world), megacryometeors, Melanoma, methane emissions from plants, methane burps, melting permafrost, Middle Kingdom convulses, migration, migration difficult (birds), microbes to decompose soil carbon more rapidly, monuments imperiled, more bad air days, more research needed, mountain (Everest) shrinking, mountains break up, mountains taller, mortality lower, mudslides, National security implications, new islands, next ice age, Nile delta damaged, no effect in India, nuclear plants bloom, oaks move north, ocean acidification, ocean waves speed up, outdoor hockey threatened, oyster diseases, ozone loss, ozone repair slowed, ozone rise, Pacific dead zone, personal carbon rationing, pest outbreaks, pests increase, phenology shifts, plankton blooms, plankton destabilised, plankton loss, plant viruses, plants march north, polar bears aggressive, polar bears cannibalistic, polar bears drowning, polar bears starve, polar tours scrapped, porpoise astray, profits collapse, psychosocial disturbances, puffin decline, railroad tracks deformed, rainfall increase, rainfall reduction, rape wave, refugees, reindeer larger, release of ancient frozen viruses, resorts disappear, rice yields crash, riches, rift on Capitol Hill, rioting and nuclear war, rivers raised, rivers dry up, roads wear out, rockfalls, rocky peaks crack apart, roof of the world a desert, Ross river disease, ruins ruined, salinity reduction, salinity increase, Salmonella, salmon stronger, satellites accelerate, school closures, sea level rise, sea level rise faster, seals mating more, sex change, sharks booming, sharks moving north, sheep shrink, shop closures, shrinking ponds, shrinking shrine, ski resorts threatened, slow death, smaller brains, smog, snowfall increase, snowfall heavy, snowfall reduction, societal collapse, songbirds change eating habits, sour grapes, space problem, spiders invade Scotland, squid population explosion, squirrels reproduce earlier, spectacular orchids, stormwater drains stressed, street crime to increase, suicide, taxes, tectonic plate movement, teenage drinking, terrorism, ticks move northward (Sweden), tides rise, tourism increase, trade barriers, trade winds weakened, tree beetle attacks, tree foliage increase (UK), tree growth slowed, trees could return to Antarctic, trees in trouble, trees less colourful, trees more colourful, trees lush, tropics expansion, tropopause raised, tsunamis, turtles crash, turtles lay earlier, UK Katrina, Vampire moths, Venice flooded, volcanic eruptions, walrus pups orphaned, war, wars over water, water bills double, water supply unreliability, water scarcity (20% of increase), water stress, weather out of its mind, weather patterns awry, weeds, Western aid cancelled out, West Nile fever, whales move north, wheat yields crushed in Australia, white Christmas dream ends, wildfires, wind shift, wind reduced, wine - harm to Australian industry, wine industry damage (California), wine industry disaster (US), wine - more English, wine -German boon, wine - no more French , winters in Britain colder, wolves eat more moose, wolves eat less, workers laid off, World bankruptcy, World in crisis, World in flames, Yellow fever.
http://www.stiknstein.com/?p=4531
"EADS trying to put governments on hook for A400M cost over-runs"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...ts-on-
hook.html
"Will the government sink the Navy's subs?"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...navys-
subs.html
Mark
Ottawa
Does Peter talk to Steven? And who's talking to Bob Fife?
"Hillier vs. Harper"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...-vs-
harper.html
Mark
Ottawa
Great BOUQUET--"Say it ain't so, Steve" indeed:
"Pie Pork in space, or why the C-130Js are taking so long"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...are-
taking.html
Mark
Ottawa
An excellent article, "Reflections on Canada’s first 18 Months in Kandahar and Prospects for the Future" (pdf, p.10 at link), in the Autumn 2007 issue of "On Track", published by the Conference of Defence Associations Institute--do read it:
http://www.cda-cdai.ca/pdf/
ontra...ontrack12n2.pdf
Mark
Ottawa
"Looking forward in Afstan"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...-in-
afstan.html
Mark
Ottawa
'Expectedly partisan
Two things from (via David Akin), and then one about, "Unexpected War Canada In Kandahar"'..
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...y-
partisan.html
Mark
Ottawa
I'm unfamiliar with the LPC's rules but, at this point, does a designate from each of the Rae and Ignatieff campaigns get to kick Mr. Marrisen in the groin? Or something like that?
Actually also a provincial folly, esp. in Ontario:
"The sacred cow that kills"
http://www.damianpenny.com/archi...ved/
010199.html
Mark
Ottawa
Further to the Manley panel: "Commons committee clowns"
http://www.damianpenny.com/archi...ved/
010210.html
Mark
Ottawa
Re: Disillusioned tycoon donors desert Brown
Sir Christopher Ondaatje (CBE), a Canadian publisher...
Glad to see the Nickle Resolution is alive and well.
Excerpts from an article Mr Manley just published following a visit to Afstan in May this year as a director of CARE Canada:
http://www.irpp.org/po/archive/o...ct07/
manley.pdf
"What became very plain to me, however, was that there is no possible way to separate the development or humanitarian mission from the military one. There can be no meaningful progress on development without an improved security environment. This can only exist if the institutions of rule of law can be established and the government of Afghanistan can succeed in establishing a welcome presence in more regions of the country.
Whenever we asked Afghans what they thought ISAF or Canada should do, they did not hesitate to say that we must stay. Without the presence of the international forces, chaos would surely ensue.
But in looking to the future, expectations must be reasonable. Afghanistan is a deeply divided tribal society, with divisions between Sunni and Shiite Muslims [actually between the Shia Hazaras and all the other ethnic groups which are Sunni] further complicating the mix. It has been racked by decades of war, and it remains the third-poorest country on earth. There should be no belief that after five or
even ten years of Western military presence and aid, Afghanistan will resemble Kansas. With patience, commitment and some luck, it will resemble Afghanistan. But an Afghanistan in which people can live together in relative security. Democracy has very shallow roots and has yet to prove itself to Afghans as a viable system of government.
Institutions that are respected will not be built overnight. Police and judges will need time to be trained, and the means to pay them must be established, but a functioning economy needs security in which to grow...
For me, Afghanistan is an enormous opportunity for Canada. For the first time in many years, we have brought a level of commitment to an international problem that gives us real weight and credibility. For once, our 3Ds (defence, diplomacy and development assistance) are all pointed at the same problem, and officials from three departments are working together.
Canadians hear mainly about our military role and are hardpressed to put it into a broader context of either peacekeeping, development or humanitarianism. They should hear more about the important and meaningful contribution our development assistance is making...
We often seek to define Canada’s role in the world. Well, for whatever reason, we have one in Afghanistan. Let’s not abandon it too easily. But let’s use our hard-earned influence to make sure the job is done right."
Amen.
Mark
Ottawa
"UN queries border knock-backs
Canadian Press
OTTAWA — The United Nations is raising concerns about Canada turning away refugees at border crossings without so much as an interview.
The UN high commissioner for refugees says that in the latest incident, five people were sent back to the U.S. at the La Colle crossing near Montreal on Thanksgiving Day.
Four of the claimants were from Haiti, and one was from El Salvador.
The high commissioner says the refugees should have been interviewed to see if they qualified for a claim in Canada even though they had already landed in the U.S.
Under the U.S.-Canada Safe Third Country Agreement, refugees are to make claims in the country where they first arrive.
But the UN agency says the refugees from Haiti should have qualified for an exception because Canada does not allow deportations back to that country, while the U.S. does."
Dear UN,
Ref your concerns over our border, Blow me.
Thank you,
Canada
Loraine,
It would, and did, constitute an idiocy.
Re: Experts say Harper threat to opposition has precedence - But how many of these former PMs had, while Leader of the Opposition, written, jointly with other leaders on the side of the opposition, a letter to the Governor General asking that she only recognize votes on the Throne speech and money bills as votes of non-confidence ? Wouldn’t that also constitute a precedent?
Green Cities Overall
1. Stockholm, Sweden
24. Vancouver, Canada
33. Ottawa, Canada
48. Montreal, Canada
49. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
50. Toronto, Canada
59. Calgary, Canada
Don't be disssing Kuala Lumpur. When I lived there my neighbours kept chickens living in their yard (and the car port, and the street, etc). Very eco-friendly, if a bit noisy early in the morning.
"Hitting a bullet with a bullet"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...ith-
bullet.html
Mark
Ottawa
Further to "Senegal Threatens to Pull Out of A.U. Force" (ON MY MIND, Oct. 2)--with bit from Norman:
"Darfur realities"
http://www.damianpenny.com/archi...ved/
010142.html
Mark
Ottawa
"Military wants to replace spy plane sooner, not later (Citizen)" (FOREIGN/DEFENCE/SECURITY)--"spy plane"?
"Really hot aircraft news"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...craft-
news.html
Mark
Ottawa
Audio of Steady Eddie Greenspon (whom I have taken to task) doing a number on Citoyen Dion about Afstan at the latter's meeting with the Globe's editorial board:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/s...0925&
hub=search
Mark
Ottawa
Further to TODAY'S DISHONESTY, "Any chopper is better than none (Kenny)", a response at Milnet.ca:
http://forums.milnet.ca/forums/
i....html#msg620452
Mark
Ottawa
so Brian has unloaded on Trudeau . . .go figure.
Although Trudeau was a closet commie, an intellectual dilettante, a groupie to mass-murdering dictators, an economic imbecile, big government moonbat of the first order and a 100% moral failure for not answering the bell in WW2, I really can't say he was a coward.
After all he date some pretty scary chicks in his day, and that took guts. Really, girly-manly guts.
Gee, when I saw the headline in your Columns I wished I'd Written "Persistence of Myths Could Alter Public Policy Approach" I was sure it would be an article about Al Gore's impending visit to Victoria and Vancouver (he'll pocket almost $400k + expenses) and a story about how public policy is still being pushed by the Eco-Hysteria public relations campaign that is being debunked as junk and exposed as fraud - thank you Steve McIntyre, you deserve the Order of Canada for your work.
Alas no. Maybe next time
It's official. Steffi is paranoid.
Perhaps too much time watching Iggy sharpening knives behind his back has pushed him over the edge of sensibility into a dream world of paranoid public pronouncements.
" Canada and U.S. in secret talks over bulk water exports, Dion alleges (Globe)
Asked on Thursday by reporters whether there are discussions under way on the contentious issue, a senior government official flatly denied that it was on the agenda or would be discussed at the three-way talks at Montebello, Que., involving Prime Minister Stephen Harper, U.S. President George W. Bush and Mexican President Felipe Calderon.
Mr. Dion said he didn't believe the denial but when pressed by reporters, could provide no proof that the government was involved in any such talks, although he said there were "networks" of interests that would like to see Canadian water flow to the U.S….
"There are talks," he said, and acknowledged it is often difficult to establish the line between official and unofficial discussions. He added, "I have information that I cannot show."
so maybe Pete's first press conference as Minister of National Defense can highlight all that CBC would never, ever tell Canadians about Afghanistan.
http://ruxted.ca/
July 25th entry
Good News!
Caution: this is a long article crammed full of facts; facts which will contradict the ‘stories’ being put about by politicians, journalists and anti-military academics and ‘peace activists.’ It might be dangerous, even subversive because it may cause some readers to actually understand what is happening in Afghanistan. It may shatter some belief systems because the cold, hard facts are at odds with the prevailing 'wisdom' in Canada.
A few days ago The Ruxted Group provided a rather bleak assessment of the likely consequences of a precipitous (early 2009) Canadian withdrawal from combat operations in Afghanistan.
Today we offer a counterpoint: a catalogue of the ‘good news’ items which, we fear, are not sufficiently ‘newsworthy’ and fail to make it on to our TV screens and, therefore, do not ‘inform’ Canadian public opinion. It is a long list but it barely scratches the surface. There is so much aid and development going on that we are persuaded that journalists and NGO workers and officials must be tripping over the projects. Even in deadly dangerous Kandahar where, admittedly, less is being done because the Afghan National Army (ANA) and Afghans National Police (ANP), supported by Canadian combat troops, have not, yet, managed to bring sufficient security to that province – not sufficient, yet, to satisfy the ‘requirements’ of the NGOs who remain hard at work in the relatively peaceful North.
NATO/ISAF PROJECTS
At the national level the NATO led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) development work has ensured that:
1. Millions of girls are back in school with 400,000 new female students starting school for the first time this year;
2. Over 100,000 women benefited from micro finance loans to set up their own business;
3. Over a quarter of parliamentarians are women;
4. Over 7 million girls and boys are in school or higher education;
5. 83% of the population now has access to medical facilities, compared to 9 percent in 2004;
6. 76% of children under the age of five have been immunized against childhood diseases;
7. More than 4000 medical facilities opened since 2004;
8. Over 600 midwives were trained and deployed in every province of Afghanistan;
9. GDP growth estimates of between12-14% for the current year;
10. Government revenues increased by around 25% from 2005/06 to 2006/07;
11. Income per capita of $355, compared to $180 three years ago;
12. Afghanistan is one of the fastest growing economies in South-East Asia;
13. Over 4000 km of roads have been completed;
14. Work has begun on 20,000 new homes for Afghans returning to Kabul;
15. Over 1 billion square metres (roughly 32 km X 32 km) of mine contaminated land cleared;
16. 10 universities are operating around the country, against one (barely functioning) under the Taliban; and
17. 17,000 communities benefited from development programmes such as wells, schools, hospitals and roads through the Government’s National Solidarity Program (NSP).
Most of those projects have some, often substantial, Canadian components: money, management and personnel. Some, like (13) new roads and (17) new wells and schools, are the work-a-day projects of the Canadian soldiers in the Kandahar Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) who are managing or doing the building and rebuilding using funds provided by the Canadian International Development Agency.
Further, the creation of the sorts of institutions which will make it possible for Afghans, themselves, to address their own political problems in their own ways – but free of dangerous fundamentalist propaganda – is also underway in the form of communications and information technology development which facilitates the free exchange of ideas and information:
18. 10% of Afghans now own a mobile phone, compared to 2 lines per 1000 people in 2001;
19. 150 cities across Afghanistan now have access to mobile phone networks and internet provider services; and
20. 7 national TV stations (6 private); numerous radio networks, plus a diverse and increasingly robust and professional print media are up and running.
That's 20 out of a much longer list of ISAF projects.
For FOREIGN/DEFENCE/SECURITY Aug. 12, ChronicleHerald.ca:
"New Coast Guard ships would best fit our Arctic ambitions"
http://thechronicleherald.ca/pri...ml?
story=852819
Mark
Ottawa
"Mickey I.'s road to Baghdad"
http://www.damianpenny.com/archi...ved/
009927.html
"C-130J: 13 months to issue Request for Proposal"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...equest-
for.html
Mark
Ottawa
A true Canadian hero, who should be a candidate for a Governor General's medal, proves the Global Warming Hysteria is fraud . . . Global Warming called off.
http://www.coyoteblog.com/coyote_blog/
Breaking News: Recent US Temperature Numbers Revised Downwards Today
This is really big news, and a fabulous example of why two-way scientific discourse is still valuable, in the same week that both Newsweek and Al Gore tried to make the case that climate skeptics were counter-productive and evil.
Climate scientist Michael Mann (famous for the hockey stick chart) once made the statement that the 1990's were the warmest decade in a millennia and that "there is a 95 to 99% certainty that 1998 was the hottest year in the last one thousand years." (By the way, Mann now denies he ever made this claim, though you can watch him say these exact words in the CBC documentary Global Warming: Doomsday Called Off).
Well, it turns out that according to the NASA GISS database that 1998 was not even the hottest year of the last century. Many temperatures from recent decades that appeared to show substantial warming have been revised downwards. Here is what happened (if you want to skip the story, make sure to look at the numbers at the bottom).
One of the most cited and used historical surface temperature databases is that of NASA/Goddard's GISS. This is not some weird skeptics site. It is considered one of the premier world temperature data bases, and it is maintained by anthropogenic global warming true believers. It has consistently shown more warming than any other data base, and is thus a favorite source for folks like Al Gore. These GISS readings in the US rely mainly on the US Historical Climate Network (USHCN) which is a network of about 1000 weather stations taking temperatures, a number of which have been in place for over 100 years.
Frequent readers will know that I have been a participant in an effort led by Anthony Watts at SurfaceStations.org to photo-document these temperature stations as an aid to scientists in evaluating the measurement quality of each station. The effort has been eye-opening, as it has uncovered many very poor instrument sitings that would bias temperature measurements upwards, as I found in Tucson and Watts has documented numerous times on his blog.
One photo on Hall's blog got people talking - a station in MN with a huge jump in temperature about the same time some air conditioning units were installed nearby. Others disagreed, and argued that such a jump could not be from the air conditioners, since a lot of the jump happened with winter temperatures when the AC was dormant. Steve McIntyre, the Canadian statistician who helped to expose massive holes in Michael Mann's hockey stick methodology, looked into it. After some poking around, he began to suspect that the GISS data base had a year 2000 bug in one of their data adjustments.
read the rest . . .
and remember . . . David Suzuki is funded by Big Oil . . . so according to Al Gore's latest hysterical screed . . he can't be trusted.
Good bye Dr. Fruit Fly.
Jacko-the-Whacko's latest piece of incredible stupidity. The man is a fool.
"Slowing and then stopping climate change as quickly as possible should be an imperative for any Canadian government,” Mr. Layton said. “Climate change policy is Northern policy, and we have no time to waste.”
So now official NDP policy is to be against Mother Nature. What do the Socialists have against poor Mother Nature ??
Is she not enough of a feminist for them ?
"Darfur: New Air Expeditionary Wing (AEW) might make sense"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...y-wing-
aew.html
Mark
Ottawa
Further to Don Mitchell's comment:
"UN head in Afstan wants more NATO troops"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...-more-
nato.html
Mark
Ottawa
To all you nay-sayers, nit-pickers and political commentators (Yes I mean you Jim Travers) do you want the NATO efforts in Afghanistan to fail? Do you want all the blood spilt and treasure spent to be all in vain? Is that your goal? Because the way you concentrate on the bad and ignore the good that goes on there is certainly contributing to the war being lost in Canada long before it is even close to being lost in Afghanistan.
For a typical example of the dismal state of political discussion on Afstan listen to the "Political Panel" this afternoon on CFRA, Ottawa (the host, Rob Snow, is as ill-informed as all the party "strategists"). The links are here
http://www.cfra.com/chum_audio/
P...1.July30.07.mp3
and here.
http://www.cfra.com/chum_audio/
P...2.July30.07.mp3
Mark
Ottawa
"More on A400M shocker"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...0m-
shocker.html
Mark
Ottawa
"Afstan: Now we find out"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...e-find-
out.html
Mark
Ottawa
a short, brutal lesson for the Peace at any Cost crowd lead by the morally bankrupt Jack Layton. The good hearted folks he wants to "negotiate" with
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J...dpress%2Ecom%
2F
"Afstan: Weasel words from the Bundeswehr"
http://
toyoufromfailinghands.blo...bundeswehr.html
Mark
Ottawa
A400M shocker
Surprise (text subscriber only)!
http://www.aviationweek.com/sear...xml&
query=tp400
"Aviation Week & Space Technology
07/23/2007, page 19
EADS CEO Louis Gallois says delays with the TP400 turboprop engine that will power the Airbus A400M airlifter are likely to lead to a deferral of the first flight, which has been scheduled for late March 2008. Test problems already have delayed the initial flight of the engine on a C-130 testbed to the third or first quarter of this year (AW&ST June 11, p. 36). However, initial deliveries should still take place by late 2009, Gallois says."
Place your bets.
Mark
Ottawa
This opposition nonsense about planned defence spending is simply mindless anti-American spew; we're talking mainly transport aircraft, supply ships, patrol ships for Canadian waters, and trucks--not things that go bang overseas:
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/Articl...?
hub=TopStories
'The opposition leaders agree the military needed an upgrade, but they accuse Harper of a U.S.-style defence buildup.
'"We have a prime minister who has George W. Bush as American Idol," Liberal Leader Stephane Dion said.
'"This seems much more attuned to offensive warfare than Canada's role of peacekeeping," NDP Leader Jack Layton said...'
What a disgusting, cretinous level of political discourse.
Mark
Ottawa
UPDATE--"Bagotville airbase gets $300M rapid deployment force".
A post at "The Torch":
"Politics in the air"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...ics-in-
air.html
Mark
Ottawa
Another way to put it: John McCallum is no John Manley.
Mark
Ottawa
LETTERS OF THE DAY: Norman,
Delightful response to M. McCallum, he of the Battle of Vichy Ridge.
http://www.canada.com/nationalpo...a8-
2611ee6fda44
Mark
Ottawa
The first part of this post might be of interest:
"MND O'Connor interview on CFRA, Ottawa...
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...fra-
ottawa.html
Mark
Ottawa
Dear Jack,
Negotiate this you pathetic, hypocritic, "progressive" moron.
"WITH their teacher absent, 10 students were allowed to leave school early. These were the girls the gunmen saw first, 10 easy targets walking hand-in-hand through the blue metal gate and on to the winding dirt road.
A 13-year-old named Shukria was shot in the arm and the back, and teetered into an adjacent wheat field. Zarmina, her 12-year-old sister, ran to her side, listening to the wounded girl’s precious breath and trying to help her stand. But Shukria was too heavy to lift and the two gunmen, sitting astride a single motorbike, sped closer.
As Zarmina scurried away, the men took a more studied aim at those they had already shot, finishing off Shukria with bullets to her stomach and heart. Then the attackers seemed to succumb to the frenzy they had begun, forsaking the motorbike and fleeing on foot in a panic, two bobbing heads - one tucked into a helmet, the other swaddled by a handkerchief - vanishing amid the earthen colour of the concealing wheat.
Six girls were shot here on the sunny afternoon last month; two of them died."
My LETTER OF THE DAY:
http://www.canada.com/nationalpo...67-
b62cffff71c6
"I can only assume that Jack Layton is as outraged as I am. 191 fatalities this year (compared to 66 military deaths), many of them young Canadians, is completely unacceptable. And that's just one province. This is not what Parliament signed up for when we permitted cars on our roads. Canada should stick to its traditional transportation role of riding bicycles and leave the driving to our aggressive American neighbours. The freedom provided by the automobile isn't worth the loss of life, and I expect Mr. Layton to call for Canada's immediate withdrawal from the roads. Some freedoms are simply not worth dying for.
John Ewing, Burlington, Ont."
Mark
Ottawa
"How we die, and why"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...how-we-
die.html
Mark
Ottawa
Recent posts at "The Torch":
"Australia committed long term to Afghanistan"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...ng-term-
to.html
"Fourth UK battalion for Afstan?"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...for-
afstan.html
"Globe and Mail round-up of Afstan security situation"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...-of-
afstan.html
Note the "Update" at the last: "Why we quit".
Mark
Ottawa
Darfur roundup:
http://forums.army.ca/forums/
ind....html#msg583019
Mark
Ottawa
Another post at "The Torch":
"Afstan: Our lack of stomach"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...of-
stomach.html
Mark
Ottawa
Two posts at "The Torch":
"The beginning of the end? More truths about Afstan..."
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...uths-
about.html
"Some truths about Afstan..."
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...out-
afstan.html
Mark
Ottawa
Further to "Airbus redécolle (Le Monde)" (OTHER COLUMNS WORTH READING),
http://www.lemonde.fr/web/articl...6-
926909,0.html
There are some flies in the sales figure's ointment:
"Many of Airbus' 425 orders came not from new customers but were confirmations of previous commitments to buy its planes. The only deal announced Friday was with Singapore Airlines (other-otc: SGPJF.PK - news - people ), which signed a contract for 20 A350-XWB aircraft, affirming a commitment announced last July...
Airbus took in 141 new firm orders this week for the A350-XWB, the company said Friday, though that included conversions of orders for the earlier A350.
The world's biggest passenger jet, Airbus' A380 superjumbo, fared less well, with just three new firm orders. Delays to the A380 wiped billions of dollars off profit forecasts at EADS a year ago, and along with management turmoil made 2006 a bruising year for one of Europe's biggest companies.
Most of Airbus' bookings this week came for the single-aisle A320 family, the company said, with 198 firm orders. It also won 83 firm orders for the A330-A340 family.
In addition to the firm orders, Airbus said it received new commitments [these are promises, not sales] this week for a total of 303 aircraft. Overall, its orders, including firm deals and commitments, totaled more than $88 billion at catalog prices, though airlines routinely negotiate deep discounts..."
Mark
Ottawa
Mister Speaker, since the Liberal dominated Senate rushed approval of the Bill, I rise today to announce measures that my government must take to comply with C288, otherwise known as the “Pablo Rodriguez Law of Unintended Consequences”.
In order to comply with the Bill and Kyoto, it is necessary to take some drastic measures to either reduce emissions I Canada. Because it is not a money bill, we cannot buy credits from other signatory nations of the Kyoto Protocol who do not need to reduce their emission but get to sell these credits. We can force ordinary Canadians to use their disposable income to buy the needed credits.
Canada got hosed at Kyoto. Jean Chretien’s Liberal government signed Canada to a treaty that means we must reduce our standard of living in order to comply. Bill 288 further obligates Canada to reduce its economy in order to comply and because of the way the Bill is worded, our Government must achieve the 2008 - 2012 targets within 180 days of the Bill being granted Royal Ascent, so we must act NOW.
I am instructing a number of government department and agencies to enact the following emergency measure so that we can comply with the will of Parliament, or at least the Liberal, NDP and Bloc Quebecois parts of parliament.
1. Immediate shutdown of all coal fired power plants in Canada. We realize that this will hit Ontario very hard – 1/3 of Ontario’s electricity is coal generated, but look on the bright side, the lack of power will also cause the shutdown of thousands of plants and factories, throwing hundreds of thousands out of work. While we are it, we’ll close down all the top ten GhG emitters, as researched by Pollution Probe, listed below:
Rank Company Name Province
1 Ontario Power Generation On
2 Transalta Utilities AB
3 Sask Power SK
4 Alberta Power Corp AB
5 Nova Scotia Power Inc NS
6 Syncrude Canada Ltd. AB
7 Suncor Energy inc. Oil Sands AB
8 EPCOR Generation Inc. AB
9 Petro-Canada AB
10 Dofasco Inc. On
2. Immediate shutdown of the entire Petroleum industry across Canada – we will need to import our oil but we are only going to import oil from countries that will sell us Kyoto Credits. Besides we won’t need gas or oil because we won’t have the money to buy these big GhG emitters.
3. Immediately ban all wood burning fireplaces, charcoal and propane BBQ’s and summer campfires. All recreational vehicles and activities are deemed frivolous and will be banned. Sorry Bombardier, you are jusr screwed. No more skidoos and water jet boats. We are investigating how to ban forest fires as well, but that has its challenges.
4. A 50 cent per litre “GhG Kyoto Credit Buying Tax. Based on recent data that we use about 45 Billion liters of gasoline every year, this new tax revenue should make up the shortfall in general tax revenues caused by the overall collapse of the Canadian economy caused by the cheap political theatrics of the Liberal Party of Canada. It will not make up for the billions in lost income taxes the Federal and Provincial governments will not collect by the 35% contraction of our economy we need to achieve to be Kyoto compliant.
5. We will not be able to afford generous EI support for all the laid off workers because the numbers will reach in the millions. Shutting down the oil sands alone will result in huge job losses in Alberta, but also in Quebec and Ontario, where tens of thousands of workers make the pipes, valves, machinery, trucks, tires, computers and other equipment that would have been purchased had we not put these actions in place to meet the requirements of the “Pablo Rodriguez Law of Unintended Consequences” Bill. Buzz Hargrove is going to be really, really, pissed off at Steffi & his best buddy Pablo “The economy Killer” Rodriguez. Shutting down the transportation industry will also be hard on employment, but we haven’t had time yet to count how many truck drivers there are in Canada, so we can’t tell you yet how many of their jobs will be toast.
6. For the tens of thousands of workers in the Financial sector, we are aware that the mortgage and credit crisis these moves will cause will result in the devastation of your industry as well, but we expect that the Barons of Bay street will be able to salvage a few jobs scamming a few bucks in the International Carbon Credit Trading Market, or as some have come to call it, the Kyoto Hot Air Credit Socialist Money Sucking Ponzi Scheme. Hopefully you will be one of the few out of the tens of thousands Financial Sector workers who will get one of these new jobs – you might even make megatonnes of money.
7. Since there will be a huge rise in the number of corporate and personal bankruptcies, our government will be enacting new legislation to simplify the process. Simply nail a sign to the front door of your home saying “WE QUIT” or for consumer debt, place your cut up credit and bank cards in an envelope and mail them to Pablo Rodriguez. That’s all, no lawyers or courts needed
8. We will also be reducing the size of the federal government payroll by at least 35% to meet the requirement to keep the budget balanced to the new and much lower levels of Federal revenues. That should be a few hundred thousand fewer Civil Servants at the Federal Level and many, many more at the Provincial level. We understand this will devastate the economy of Ottawa, but what the Hell, the rest of Canada doesn’t care about what happens in Moonbat Land sur Rideau, so no worries. To the 150,000 or so Civil Servants who will lose their ticket to the Golden Pension Plan, tough shit.
9. We will be forced to make massive reductions to the Federal government’s transfer of Social Services & Health dollars to the provinces to fit within the new fiscal capabilities of Canada’s Federal government. We will leave it up to individual provinces to decide to close schools or hospitals, or both, or whatever. It’s a provincial responsibility, but at the very least, expect much longer waits for even basic medical service. Since Canada, in addition to using “more than our fair share of Carbon” also uses more than “our fair share of global health care”, it’s about time we cut back, suffered more, did away with excessive health care and just suffered along with the rest of the world.
Its not all bad news. Canada should be able to save a fortune in Immigration costs. We have a forecast from government experts that Canada will go to last place in the quest for skilled immigrant labour. Somehow they don’t want to come to a country with power shortages, no air conditioning, limited winter heating, no jobs a Health Care system modeled on Zimbabwe and a devastated economy. Go figure. The USA and Australia will benefit from these immigrants and their skills.
Mr. Speaker, let me close by thanking the Liberals, especially Mr Chretien who’s stupidity, ego and driving need to buy himself a political “good-guy” legacy got us into this mess, the current Liberal mega green leader Citoyen Dion, the NDP, under the leadership of Jack “Talban” bin Layton, the Bloc Quebecois and their inspired of Gilles “Hairnet” Duceppe for voting for Bill C288. But especially all Canadians want to thank Liberal Pablo Rodriguez for devastating our economy and depressing our standard of living to upper third world status. And of course, all those unelected, self-serving Liberal Senators with a life long lip-lock on the public, taxpayer funded teat would actually have to work for a living instead of sucking the blood of taxpayers like a swarm of malarial mosquitoes.
As we huddle in the cold and swelter in the summer heat, as we stare at our old car we can’t afford to drive, as we fondly remember how hard it was to get out of bed on a Monday morning to go to the job we used to have, we can take pride in being the best-est, wonderful-est, the most moral-est international goody-goody boy scout country supporting the great socialist ponzi scheme called Kyoto and proving we are doing our part to help the planet be saved.
Thank you Mr. Speaker
"Fore!"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...07/06/
fore.html
Mark
Ottawa
Further to this in the UPDATE, "Taliban hunt spies, target Kabul with Iraq-style tactics: BBC", and contrary to what the Canadian media would have one believe, it's not all doom and gloom in Afstan--see this post at "The Torch" (and the dot connecting):
"Canadians in action in Afstan/Taliban's terrorist tactics"
http://
toyoufromfailinghands.blo...antalibans.html
Mark
Ottawa
"A400M engine testing falling behind schedule"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...ing-
behind.html
Mark
Ottawa
Steve needs help . . . A liberal Libel chill campaign, a Martinista wannbe be hero, going after a good guy,
Check out SDA or Angry in the Great White North.
http://www.smalldeadanimals.com/...ves/
006514.html
TIme for some blogsphere payback.
June 18, 2007
Punished In The Great White North
Steve Janke a.k.a. "Angry" is currently under siege for his coverage of a member of Paul Martin's inner circle. Please consider hitting Angry's tip jar to help defray his legal costs.
Posted by Sean at June 18, 2007 6:57 PM
TrackBacks
"What’s going down today in Canada’s # 1 Kyoto-committed province" (ON MY MIND):
"Hamilton masters Montreal"
http://www.damianpenny.com/archi...ved/
009634.html
Mark
Ottawa
"Afstan and the Internet: Canadians, Aussies and the Taliban/NATO winning?"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...ans-
aussie.html
Mark
Ottawa
A wallflyer:
"Airbus losing more altitude"
http://www.damianpenny.com/archi...ved/
009557.html
Mark
Ottawa
Peggy Mason might benefit:
http://www.members.shaw.ca/nspec...ector4/
LETT.htm
'The Senlis Council: "Canada in Afghanistan"'
http://
toyoufromfailinghands.blo...fghanistan.html
Mark
Ottawa
" OTTAWA, May 28 (Reuters) - Canada's opposition Liberal Party demanded on Monday that the Conservative government delays the approval of foreign takeovers for at least three months while reviewing foreign investment rules.
Liberal leader Stephane Dion says
Ottawa should "hold back decisions on major foreign acquisitions and any changes to foreign ownership rules until after this process has been completed," Dion said in a statement."
Soooooo does this mean Steffi wants Thompson to un-buy Reuters ??
"Now the ball will be in Sudan's court"
http://www.damianpenny.com/archi...ved/
009531.html
Mark
Ottawa
"As long as it's a Harvey's Angus Burger (and not Weetabix)"
http://www.damianpenny.com/archi...ved/
009532.html
Mark
Ottawa
Is Afstan Canada's "moral moment"?
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...-people-
to.html
Mark
Ottawa
"Vast petroleum wealth at stake (Edmonton Journal)" (FOREIGN/DEFENCE/SECURITY)
http://www.canada.com/edmontonjo...66-
e7babb8970bc
'Canada's unresolved Arctic boundary disputes with the United States could be heating up, with a new American push to join the international treaty on the Law of the Sea, say experts on both sides of the border.
Drawn by resource wealth and climate-change concerns, the Bush administration is asking the U.S. Senate to approve the treaty and give the U.S. legal tools to press its claims to an energy-rich wedge of the Beaufort Sea that Canada considers its own.
"That tells me we're probably going to be winding up in a dispute," said Rob Huebert of the Centre for Military and Strategic Studies at the University of Calgary.
Oil and gas producers have explored for petroleum in the large marshy MacKenzie River Delta bordering the Beaufort Sea with considerable success, leading many to speculate that resource wealth will extend further into the sea. Control and future access to that wealth is fuelling a boundary dispute between the U.S. and Canada.View Larger Image View Larger Image
Oil and gas producers have explored for petroleum in the large marshy MacKenzie River Delta bordering the Beaufort Sea with considerable success, leading many to speculate that resource wealth will extend further into the sea. Control and future access to that wealth is fuelling a boundary dispute between the U.S. and Canada.
"Once they've ratified, they can get serious about determination of their continental shelf."'
Quelle horreur! Surely all good, multilateralist Canadians should cheer that the US wants to deal with the problem through international law based on a treaty. Unless we are not all that confident about our case...
Mark
Ottawa
"End family violence, Michaelle Jean says"
http://www.thestar.com/News/arti.../article/
214633
End (fill in the blank) Michaelle Jean says:
War
Poverty
Hunger
Aids
Global Warming
Income inequality
Sickness
Disease
Obesity
Bad manners
Bad behaviour
Poor work habits
Pandemics
Child abuse
Child pornography
Murder
Wait times
Racial discrimination
Religious discrimination
Species extinction
Amphibian genocide
Garbage.
Add your own.
Mark
Ottawa
A guest-post at "Daimnation!":
"Government frowns on Smiley's Canadians"
http://www.damianpenny.com/archi...ved/
009472.html
Mark
Ottawa
Two good posts by Damian Brooks at "The Torch":
1) Taking on DND public affairs:
"A losing battle"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...ing-
battle.html
2) A soldier recently returned from Afstan takes on our politicians:
"What we should really be talking about"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...king-
about.html
Mark
Ottawa
Will the Globe & Mail apologize ??
The paper has an obvious vendetta against the government and it appears it has decided use whatever slimy tactics necessary to push its anti-Afghanistan, anti-military, anti Rick Hillier, anti United Nations agenda.
Give up your no-name sources that claim Foreign Affairs had no involvement in negotiating the Detainee Transfer Agreement, if you even have any.
Shame on the Globe & Mail.
Gutter journalism at its worst.
"Torture in Afghanistan: The Liberals knew":
http://davidakin.blogware.com/bl...28/
2910789.html
Mark
Ottawa
CLAWBACK . . . its about time.
If Danny can afford tax cuts, we don't need to pay for them.
N.L. forecasts $261M surplus, offers huge tax cut
Updated Thu. Apr. 26 2007 2:26 PM ET
Canadian Press
ST. JOHN'S, N.L. -- Premier Danny Williams, in a bid to build on his already commanding majority government, is offering Newfoundlanders the largest personal income tax cut in the province's history in the run-up to a provincial election.
Drawing from a $261-million budget surplus, Williams also slashed user fees Thursday while increasing spending on schools, the health-care system and infrastructure.
The value of the income tax cut was pegged at $155 million.
"For most people in the province, it amounts to an increase in real income by between one and two per cent,'' Finance Minister Tom Marshall told a news conference before he tabled the voter-friendly budget.
"It's like everybody's gotten an after-tax raise, so a lot of people are going to be really happy.''
According to the government, a two-income family, each making $30,000, will see their income tax bill reduced $860. A single income earner with a taxable income of $35,000 will save $567, and someone earning $50,000 will save $911.
Taliban detainees--an excellent post by Damian Brooks at "The Torch":
"A battle lost"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...attle-
lost.html
Mark
Ottawa
Oops: Ms Davies.
Mark
Ottawa
TODAY'S IDIOCY: Why is Ms Black not all in a tizzy over the non-NATO Australian "surge" in Afstan? Maybe she just missed it.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/
natio...5971060087.html
Mark
Ottawa
In the House debate on the Liberal motion to stop combat in 2009, Taliban Jack (the NDP will not support the motion because they want the troops out ASAP!) and his cohorts called for settling everything by negotiating with the Taliban.
National Defence critic Dawn Black even quoted Churchill: "Jaw, jaw is better than war, war."
Ms Black is obviously unfamiliar with what Mr Churchill said after the Munich Agreement:
"Britain and France had to choose between war and dishonour. They chose dishonour. They will have war."
http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/
Win...nston_Churchill
Mark
Ottawa
The unbearable lightness of Denis Coderre:
"Notice paper"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...tice-
paper.html
And, Norman, what I think are the really important parts of this story, "Expected Afghan Rebel Foray May Be Late, General Warns" (ON MY MIND):
"Equipping and training the Afghan National Army"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...n-
national.html
If this effort is successful, the Conservative government's exit strategy may well work.
Mark
Ottawa
1) 'Afstan: The "Q" word'
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...tan-q-
word.html
2) Their joint press conference: St. Elizabeth and Jesus Dion vs. Beelzeharper.
Mark
Ottawa
Taliban don't play by Dutch rules:
"Dutch patrol in Afghanistan is hit by a Taliban ambush"
http://www.iht.com/articles/2007...news/
afghan.php
So much for playing nice:
"Dutch soldiers stress respect and restraint in Afghanistan"
http://www.iht.com/articles/2007...news/
afghan.php
The same NY Times reporter wrote both stories, the first three days after the second.
Mark
Ottawa
If there is reason to believe that all of them should be looked at, then all should be looked at.
There is politics going on here for sure. But maybe something else. Could it be you limit the scope to capture who you can, make progress, and then get them to "squeal" and then you can move to the next set?
Or maybe it is TOTALLY driven by politics.
The report suggests that, after some deliberation, only Earnscliffe will be examined.
Fair enough. Let's look at all of them. I hope that is done.
But, as in sposnorship, some firms are more guilty than others, no?
Why single out Earnscliffe? Why not look at all polling contracts?
Norman, how can you say the treatment of Earnscliffe is "shabby"?
In June 28, 2004, you wrote: "No one believes Martin did not know and get [Earnscliffe] some business too."
As a counterpoint to "A United Front Against the Taliban (Akram)" (OTHER COLUMNS WORTH READING)
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/0...on/
07akram.html
see Arnaud de Borchgrave on the perils facing Pakistan:
http://washingtontimes.com/funct...06-103239-
1054r
Cf: "It is a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma; but perhaps there is a key. That key is Russian national interest."
http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanin...ings/
31000.html
Mark
Ottawa
"Australian special forces likely to head to Afghanistan"
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/
2007...QZGHhAAoiZvaA8F
'Australia is close to committing special forces soldiers to
Afghanistan to counter an expected Taliban spring offensive, Defence Minister Brendan Nelson said Sunday.
Nelson said it was likely that elite Special Air Services (SAS) troops would be sent to southern Uruzgan province, a former stronghold of the fundamentalist Taliban regime.
"We believe there is a need. We think that the Taliban will be mounting a very strong offensive shortly," he told Australian television.
"We are very close to making a decision about it."
Canberra, which currently has 400 soldiers in the Central Asian nation, pulled a 200-strong SAS contingent out of Afghanistan in September.
Nelson said he had spoken Saturday to defence force head Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston, who was in
The Hague to discuss troop deployments to Afghanistan with Dutch officials, and the government was close to recommitting SAS troops.
"We believe we have satisfied and settled the command and control arrangements that are necessary for us to do the job," he said.
"And if we do redeploy, and I think it's likely that we will, it will be a special forces task group."
Nelson said he would discuss additional deployments with US Defence Secretary Robert Gates and other defence ministers when they meet in Canada next month...'
Mark
Ottawa
the proof that Danny Williams is a self absorbed blowhard and is setting himself up for a major skewering at the hands of PMSH.
Let's hope the PM is gentle when he deflates this giant ego.
"The Globe and Mail is onto Danny Millions:
If Newfoundland opts to stay with the equalization formula that it has -- and Mr. Flaherty has allowed such a choice -- its fiscal capacity could continue to exceed the capacity of many of its fellow provinces for the duration of the deal, to 2011-12.
And that is not the end of Newfoundland's good fortune. The accord continues for another eight years so long as Newfoundland's per-capita debt-servicing charges are not lower than those in at least four other provinces and as long as it still qualifies for equalization (minus the inclusion of resource revenues, of course!).
Something is wrong with this picture. Newfoundland spent $8,567 per capita on program expenditures such as health in 2005-06. Ontario, which could not afford middle-class tax cuts in this week's budget, spent only $5,975 per person -- the lowest among the 10 provinces -- during the same period. Newfoundland's debt charges are roughly three times the provincial average, so the accord is likely to remain in force until 2019-20. It is hard to see in what way the province has been shortchanged.
Mr. Williams says the federal budget marks "a very sad day for this federation." In fact, Newfoundland is the big winner in the equalization sweepstakes. Either Mr. Williams does not understand the arithmetic or he is playing his usual politics with the federation. "
"Airbus says problems could get even worse this year:
http://
business.timesonline.co.u...icle1494994.ece
'The A400M is a military transport aircraft. There has been speculation that it was running into difficulties, and Airbus confirmed this for the first time yesterday.
The A400M, which will be larger than existing Hercules transporters, will be delayed by three months, and Airbus acknowledged that there would be “significant challenges until first delivery”, which is scheduled for next year. Costs have blown out on this project, too, and EADS took a provision of €352 million to cover the “risk and technical challenges” of developing the aircraft...'
I wonder if our opposition parties and journalists will notice. Especially this journalist:
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...atchet-
job.html
And the Auditor General:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/
s...rce_login=false
Mark
Ottawa
A post at "The Torch"; you might be surprised:
"Afghan prisoners: Prof. Attaran's agenda/Minister O'Connor"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...f-
attarans.html
Mark
Ottawa
"Afghanistan: James Laxer beats Scott Reid"
http://www.damianpenny.com/archi...ved/
008972.html
Mark
Ottawa
Hillier video link here:
http://www.cpac.ca/asx/clip_hill...eb26-
07_eng.asx
Mark
Ottawa
A post at "The Torch":
"CDS Hillier interview on CFRA, Ottawa/CPAC interview"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...fra-
ottawa.html
My summary of radio interview and audio links at post. CPAC interview will be rebroadcast March 1,2 and 4:
http://www.cpac.ca/forms/index.a...e_id=164&
lang=e
Mark
Ottawa
HWM,
Suck Up of the Day, Column I'm Glad I didnt write....probably one of the worst columns I have ever read from Lawrence Martin....I think it was written more out of frustration, because his distaste for Harper is clear.
I would be wary of letting him anywhere near national politics now, since his objectvity is clearly gone. Time for Lawrence to write another book about how great "da Boss" is.
I can't believe that Lawrence martin's homage to Dion didn't make Suck up of the day...
"What works for Mr. Dion is not high-profile gimmickry or demagogic sloganeering, but his sincere sense of conviction. It takes time to register, but there's an inexorability to it. It's why Mr. Harper, who can make Machiavelli look like Mary Poppins, wanted to strike at him early and did so with the gutter ads."
Good for pointing out the column on the Greens and the Liberals getting chummy.
1) You have to think that is a strategic mistake on the Liberals part. They are going to get pasted if they make the environment the number one platform and then let the greens in. ALl very noble but politically silly
2) Is it just me or do I sense an unwritten part of the story. This is payment to David Orchard. Dont run a Liberal, let the Greens defeat Mackay and Orchard has his head on a spike.
If that is what is going on how come the stenography pool in Ottawa isnt picking up on that...great story, very Shakespearean.
What Harper Has Wrought... "with Quebec acting as a leader and speaking on behalf of a single and unique francophonie in Canada" - I gather that the fate of French-speaking Canadians living outside of Quebec was sealed when Harper discussed the 'nation' motion with Charest, without any public debate. I also gather that the Quebec government will receive funds from the Canadian government with regards to minority language communities. Would Quebec spend it on francophones in Canada? Who would be accountable for this? As a franco-Ontarian, I am not able to vote in Quebec...
A post at "The Torch":
"National Defence critic is Liberal with the truth/Feuding at Fort Ottawa?"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...beral-
with.html
Mark
Ottawa
" What to do with the Canadian Coast Guard?"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...oast-
guard.html
Mark
Ottawa
Mister Speaker, I rise today to announce measures that my government must take to comply with Bill C288, otherwise known as the “Pablo Rodriguez Law of Unintended Consequences”.
In order to comply with the Bill and Kyoto, it is necessary to take some drastic measures to either reduce emissions ort buy credits from other signatory nations of the Kyoto Protocol who do not need to reduce their emission but get to sell these credits.
Canada got hosed at Kyoto. Jean Chretien’s Liberal government signed Canada to a treaty that means we must reduce our standard of living in order to comply. Bill 288 further obligates Canada to reduce its economy in order to comply and because of the way the Bill is worded, our Government must achieve the 2012 targets within 180 days of the Bill being granted Royal Ascent, so we must act NOW.
I am instructing a number of government department and agencies to enact the following emergency measure so that we can comply with the will of Parliament, or at least the Liberal, NDP and Bloc Quebecois parts of parliament.
1. Immediate shutdown of all coal fired power plants in Canada. We realize that this will hit Ontario very hard – 1/3 of Ontario’s electricity is coal generated, but look on the bright side, the lack of power will also cause the shutdown of thousands of plants and factories, throwing hundreds of thousands out of work. While we are it, we’ll close down all the top ten listed below:
Rank Company Name Province
1 Ontario Power Generation On
2 Transalta Utilities AB
3 Sask Power SK
4 Alberta Power Corp AB
5 Nova Scotio Power Inc NS
6 Syncrude Canada Ltd. AB
7 Suncor Energy inc. Oil Sands AB
8 Epcor Generation Inc. AB
9 Petro-Canada AB
10 Dofaco Inc. On
2. Immediate shutdown of the entire Petroleum industry across Canada – we will need to import our oil but we are only going to import oil from countries that will sell us Kyoto Credits.
3. Immediately ban all wood burning fireplaces, charcoal and propane BBQ’s and summer campfires. All recreational vehicles and activities are deemed frivolous and will be banned. Sorry Bombardier, no more skidoos and water jet boats. We are investigating how to ban forest fires as well, but that has its challenges. No
4. A 30 cent per liter “GhG Kyoto credit buying Tax. Based on recent data that we use about 45 Billion liters of gasoline every year. This new tax revenue should provide enough money to both buy the $10 billion in foreign credits we need annually and make up for the billions in lost income taxes the Federal and Provincial governments will not collect by the 35% contraction of our economy we need to achieve
5. We ill not be able to afford generous EI support for all the laid off workers because the numbers could reach in the millions. Shutting down the oil sands alone will result in huge job losses in Alberta, but also in Quebec and Ontario, where tens of thousands of workers make the pipes, valves, machinery, trucks, tires, computers and other equipment that would have been purchased had we not put these actions in place to meet the requirements of the “Pablo Rodriguez Law of Unintended Consequences”.
6. For the tens of thousands of workers in the Financial sector, we are aware that the mortgage and credit crisis these moves will cause will result in the devastation of your industry as well but we expect that the Barons of Bay street will be able to salvage a fee jobs trading in the International Credit Trading Market, or as some have come to call it, the Kyoto Hot Air Credit Socialist Sucking Ponzi Scheme. Hopefully you will be one of the few out of the tens of thousands Financial Sector workers who will get one of these new jobs – you might even make megatonnes of money
7. Since there will be a huge rise in the number of corporate and personal bankruptcies , our government will be enacting new legislation to simplify the process. Simply nail a sign to your property say “We quit” or for consumer debt, place your cut up credit and bank cards in an envelope. That’s all, no lawyers or courts needed
8. We will also be reducing the size of the federal government payroll by at least 35% to meet the requirement to keep the budget balanced to the new and much lower levels of government funds.
9. We will be reducing the Federal government transfer of dollars to the provinces to meet the new fiscal capabilities of Canada’s Federal government. We will leave it up to individual provinces to decide to close schools or hospitals or whatever. It’s a provincial responsibility
Its not all bad news. Canada should be able to save a fortune in Immigration costs. We have a forecast from government experts that Canada will go to last place in the quest for skilled immigrant labour. Somehow they don’t want to come to a country with power shortages, no air conditioning, limited winter heating, no jobs and a devastated economy. Go figure. The USA and Australia will benefit form these immigrants and their skills,
Mr. Speaker, let me close by thanking the Liberals, especially the mega green leader Citoyen Dion, the NDP, under the leadership of Jack “Talban” bin Layton, the Bloc Quebecois and their inspired of Gilles “Hairnet” Duceppe for voting for Bill C288. But especially all Canadians want to thank Liberal Pablo Rodriguez for devastating our economy, depressing our standard of living to upper third world status. As we huddle in the cold and swelter in the summer heat, as we stare at our old car we can’t afford to drive, as we fondly remember how hard it was to get out of bed on a Monday morning to go to the job we used to have, we can take pride in being the best-est, wonderful-est, the most moralist international boy scouts out to help the planet be saved.
Thank you Mr. Speaker
as we plan to spend $billions of dollars, we might want to ponder the wisdom of the hysteria driven decision making.
Go to this site.
http://www.nrsp.com/news.html
Look for this entry
May 16, 2006: Dr. Tim Ball's presentation "Climate Change in an age of Misinformation" delivered to the public at the Westin Hotel, Ottawa.
. . .
Right click the video presentation and download . . . use the “Save page as” option to download the file
it’s a big one so it will take a bit of time depending on your connection.
Right click the PowerPoint presentation and download . . . use the “Save page as” option to download the file
If you don’t have the PowerPoint App, go here
http://www.microsoft.com/downloa...&
displaylang=en
and download Microsoft’s free PowerPoint viewer.
Play the video of the presentation, start up the PowerPoint and watch the slides as Dr. Ball’s explains each one.
Certainly not a slick willy/al gore presentation, but unlike Gore’s film, this presentation is factually correct, free of the scaremongering hyperbole and should be given fair consideration.
Maybe we could get Mr. Harper & Mr DIon to listen to this discussion and see if it changes their attitude towards destroying our economy at the Gaian alter of Kyoto
3w.officiallyscrewed.com/blog/?p=765
"Afstan: Even the French are willing to drop bombs"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...ng-to-
drop.html
Mark
Ottawa
I wonder how long it will take for the usual suspects amongst our politicians, pundits and "experts" to start howling that we're just doing the evil Americans' bidding:
http://www.armytimes.com/news/20...odriguez070202/
"On Sunday [Feb. 4], [UK General David]Richards will turn over command to U.S. Gen. Dan K. McNeil, who will take charge of the more than 40,000 ISAF troops from 37 nations in Afghanistan."
Mark
Ottawa
How many hundred of millions will the Liberals cost us?
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...ar-as-
bell.html
'Denis Coderre, the Liberal defence critic, said that, were his party in power, he would cancel the contract.
"We don't need them. If I was Minister of National Defence, I wouldn't go for that. We don't need these C-17s. If I have a better deal to lease, then why do I need to buy these big planes?" Coderre said.'
Mark
Ottawa
"Question Period" (ON MY MIND): Canada's worst greenhouse gas problem...the carbon dioxide emitted by MPs (all parties).
Mark
Ottawa
"Harper's C- 17 quagmire (Coyne)" (OTHER COLUMNS WORTH READING (2nd cut--7 30 AM)).
http://www.canada.com/nationalpo...35-
5da0b6f92403
While the second part on the pernicious role of industrial offsets is fine, the first part--continuing the near hysteria in the media about supposed dirty work at the crossroads in aircraft procurement--is sadly based on ignorance of things military, esp. in taking the A400M seriously as a potential competitor for the C-17.
See these posts at "The Torch" (not all mine):
"The politics of procurement---and of requirements?"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...ent-and-
of.html
"Yes and no"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...yes-and-
no.html
"Hatchet job"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...atchet-
job.html
"Under the heading of "We need it, and we need it now"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...nd-we-
need.html
"From the Department of Stupefyingly Obvious Statements"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...ly-
obvious.html
"February aircraft follies"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...ft-
follies.html
"Everyone's a procurement expert..."
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...ent-
expert.html
"Fixed-wing SAR replacement: Single-sourced?"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...ent-
single.html
Mark
Ottawa
There is something very weird about this story. Have they confused the Jerc purchase here ?
The Jerc max payload is 20.41 metric tonnes.
The C17 max payload is 77.52 metric tonnes
The A400M max payload is 37.19 metric tonnes.
The article states "in the months leading up to that announcements, the military documents show the military appeared content to make due with a smaller plane with a maximum payload capacity of 19,500 kilograms."
That requirement can easily be handled by the Jerc (20.41 metric tonnes is 20,000kg.
So why say the requirement change was to get rid of the A400M in a competition with the C17 ??
If it was the C17 competition, you'd think they would make it a really big change lie a max payload of 75,000.
Something weird in the wonderful smear land of the MSM.
Very weird . . . journalism at it's finest.
"It's amazing. You call that a fix," said Liberal defence critic Denis Coderre, when told yesterday about the contents of the documents, which were recently released under Access to Information."
Dennis; I'll speak slowly to you: The......C.....17.....flies....and....is....operat
ional.....the .....AM400.......is......still....only.....on.....
paper.
Idiots
"The Royal oui"
http://www.damianpenny.com/archi...ved/
008717.html
Mark
Ottawa
For those in our media who constantly raise the spectre (couldn't resist) of the US cutting and running in Afstan,
http://www.thestar.com/News/arti.../article/
170771
see this:
http://news.bostonherald.com/
int...rticleid=177619
'U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Wednesday that U.S. commanders in Afghanistan have recommended an increase in U.S. force levels, in part to deal with an expected upsurge in Taliban violence this year.
Gates said U.S. troop levels in Afghanistan this year would depend in part on troop contributions from other NATO countries who are part of a U.S.-led coalition attempting to stabilize the country and prevent the Taliban from regaining power...
Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, did not mention any specific troop increase, but said it might make sense for "a short-term plus-up" if that would head off the potential need for even more in the years ahead.
Gates said the commanders’ recommendation for a troop increase would be considered first by the joint chiefs and he would then decide what to recommend to U.S. President George W. Bush...
...There now are about 24,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan, which Lt. Gen. Karl Eikenberry said is the highest since the war began in October 2001...
Eikenberry, the senior American commander here, told reporters he has recommended to the Pentagon that 1,200 soldiers from the 2nd Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment, 10th Mountain Division - which is about halfway through a scheduled four-month tour in eastern Afghanistan - be ordered to stay through year’s end. Eikenberry is due to leave his post Jan. 21.
That battalion is already scheduled to deploy to Iraq later this year, an illustration of how stretched U.S. forces are by the two wars.'
By the way, a US General takes command of ISAF next month.
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...mmand-
nato.html
Mark
Ottawa
This kind of bombastic rhetoric will get Citoyen DIon in much trouble, me thinks, and it has nothing to do with his linguistic skills. Its the common sense, stupid.
"“The world simply must meet this challenge,” he said. “The economic costs of failure would be catastrophic -- greater than the combined costs of the Great Depression of the 1930s and the two world wars.”
Since China and India are each building a new dirty coal fired electrical power plant each week and plan to do so for the next ten years, nothing any other countries do will make Kyoto successful.
The world will fail in its plan to defeat global warming and according to Mr. Dion, the economic consequences for Canada will be totally and utterly catastrophic.
Logic says we should be investing in mitigation strategies, not reduction technologies . . that is where the desperate nations of the newly sweltering world will need to spend megatones of money
Perhaps Mr. Dion better start protesting VERY loudly at the UN that China and India are killing the Canadian economy.
Someone should also tell Mr. Dion that the Canada's economy BOOMED during both World Wars.
Urban military myths and a minister looking silly:
"What was the Minister of National Defence thinking?"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...al-
defence.html
Mark
Ottawa
"What the PM might have meant on X Can Check-up" (ON MY MIND):
"Military procurement under fire"
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/s...PStory/
National
May I suggest perusing this post by Babbling Brooks at "The Torch"?
"From the Department of Stupefyingly Obvious Statements"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...ly-
obvious.html
Mark
Ottawa
OUCH !!!!!!
Best zinger in along time. Dudley Dion, eyes glazed over like a deer in the headlamps, just attracts this kind of punishment.
This time from Andrew Coyne:
On Thursday, Dion said publicly that Khan should make a decision about his loyalties. "You can't have a foot in the government and a foot in the opposition," Dion told reporters yesterday.
No, indeed. The idea's absurd. It's like, I don't know, being Prime Minister of one country and a citizen of another.
Press briefing in December by Anthony Cordesman (recently returned from Afstan) of the Center for Strategic & International Studies--the CSIS the rest of the world recognizes, Washington:
http://www.csis.org/media/csis/
p...sman_afghan.pdf
Says war is winnable but much must be done, over a long haul, to do so.
Mark
Ottawa
Norman,
I listened to you on Bill Good this morning and I agree with your assessment that BC is getting electorally stiffed and PMSH’s Senate proposal won’t do anything to redress the imbalance.
But I have also watched PMSH over this Parliament and he is a chess player, so I think the “vote for Senators” is an early pawn move.
Match it up with “redressing the fiscal imbalance” and PMSH can use the imbalance $$$ as a large hammer to beat on the complaining premiers who will be the ones trying to defend the indefensible allocation of Senate seats. Theses premiers make all kinds of nonsense arguments that there is a fiscal imbalance, but I think PMSH will smoke them out into arguing why they are NOT doing anything about the "Senate Seat Imbalance". The Premiers will be made to look very stupid, very crass and very, very undemocratic in this debate, while PMSH can velvet glove them over the issue.
Its all about linkage.
Mark,
Had the report stated simply and clearly that the US Army CAN'T operate 4 engine aircraft - that's USAF territory, it would present a balanced story. The US Army wants the a two engined "mini-Herc" so that the ARMY owns & controls the assett and they don't have to go begging the USAF for lift capacity.
This story was torqued to make it look like the US has rejected the Jercules and thereby raising the question of why we would buy them.
Typical, we shouldn't be surprised. This type of quasi journalistic fraud is much too common these days.
Why US Army doesn't want C-130J/Airbus A400M faces "'significant' challenges"
http://
toyoufromfailinghands.blo...130jairbus.html
Mark
Ottawa
the A380 is the largest industrial fiasco in history and is now well on the way to becoming the Euro Enron.
Pity the haven't been able yet to link Chirac into the cesspool.
Airbus update:
"Police raid EADS, Lagardère as probe intensifies"
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/s...PStory/
Business
Mark
Ottawa
DIHONESTY OF THE DAY: news today--"Jilted military Airbus contractor wants review":
http://thechronicleherald.ca/Can...ada/
546899.html
"The Tory government flew into a political storm Tuesday as Opposition parties and a jilted defence contractor complained the purchase of new military cargo planes is proceeding with little regard for taxpayer dollars.
A European aircraft-maker, Airbus Military, made an unusual public plea for the Defence Department to look at the firm’s military transport planes, saying the purchase of the A-400M would save the government $3 billion...
All three Opposition parties peppered Defence Minister Gordon O’Connor with repeated questions in the Commons on Tuesday about the sole-sourcing of both contracts with Chicago-based Boeing Aircraft and now Lockheed-Martin [C-130J]...
...Liberal defence critic Ujjal Dosanjh said the specifications for the contract were designed to eliminate all competitors except Lockheed-Martin..."
News November 2005--"$4.6 billion tabbed to buy military transport planes":
http://www.canada.com/national/s...86-
fe16e73b126f
'The federal government tried to rebut claims that the fix is in for Lockheed Martin's C-130J by appointing an independent monitor to oversee the procurement of up to $5 billion worth of military transport aircraft.
With lobbyists already in full-blitz mode, Defence Minister Bill Graham said Monday he's going ahead with a "competitive, fair and transparent" plan to buy 16 replacements for the military's aging fleet of Hercules planes.
The process will be fast -- the one-page statement of performance requirements will go out in 10 days and bidders will have just 30 days to study it...
The Tory defence critic, retired general Gordon O'Connor, said his party will review the decision if it wins the election. He said there's no doubt the military needs airlift, but the process announced Monday may not be the answer...'
Plus ça change...in Canadian politics.
Mark
Ottawa
I see there's a Canadian at the obscene Holocaust denial conference in Iran. Anyone know who this great scholar might be?
BCer: If only Mr O'Connor would make the same phone call on behalf of any Canadian, and if any Canadian could get right through to senior pols to make the request for help. It's two-tier search and rescue, and wrong. Though of course Mr Gainey would try anything he could.
Mark
Ottawa
Mark: Re: Your SUCKUP [AND OUTRAGE] OF THE DAY
Wow! Talk about rightous indignation. Your rant is just a bit over the top. I say good on O'Connor and the SAR folks for exhausting all chances of finding Ms Gainey. Also .... as much as I detest Liberals (and Dryden and Graham in particular) I say hats-off to them as well.
SUCK-UP [AND OUTRAGE] OF THE DAY:
"ATLANTIC SEARCH WINDS DOWN FOR GAINEY'S DAUGHTER
Dryden went to bat for old Habs teammate"
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/s...2/TPStory/
Front
The front page headline (not sub-head) in the Ottawa print edition treated this as a "feel good" story; aren't those Liberals (and, sadly, their Conservative friend) such compassionate compadres?
"Dryden goes to bat for old Habs teammate"
Non-partisan privilege at the top. I thought the Conservatives were supposed to stop this sort of favour-granting. Think you can get a senior federal pol to intervene on your behalf? The peasant with a pitchfork within me is maddened:
'Coming to the aid of a former teammate in his hour of need, Liberal MP Ken Dryden kick-started a weekend extension of the search for Bob Gainey's daughter Laura, who went missing in the Atlantic Ocean after being swept off a tall ship Friday night.
The U.S. Coast Guard continued looking for Ms. Gainey on Sunday after Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor said he wanted to exhaust any possibility that she might still be alive.
Mr. O'Connor's action was prompted by a call from former Liberal leader Bill Graham, who had received an urgent call from Mr. Dryden, a former superstar goalie for the Montreal Canadiens...
"Bill [Graham] did get a call from Ken Dryden, who asked if he knew of any way that the search could be extended and Bill then got on the phone to Gordon O'Connor," said Pat Breton, a Liberal spokesman. "O'Connor very quickly said 'Good idea, let me make a few calls.' He called back and said 'Calls are made, we'll make it happen.' " Mr. O'Connor said it's only natural that he would try to help in this instance.
The U.S. Coast Guard might have co-operated without Mr. O'Connor's intervention, but the minister agreed when it was suggested to him that the Americans might have been more likely to co-operate knowing the situation had his attention.
"That's true, that's true," the Defence Minister said. "But there was nothing unusual in what I did."'
"nothing unusual in what I did"? Hurl. Can you imagine the outrage if similar intervention got preferential health care for a senior pol's friend?
Mark
Ottawa
Further to "Nato troops kill up to 80 militants in Helmand" (ON MY MIND), these are the misguided hard right types doing the killing:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/
afghan...1963670,00.html
'...
A tip-off from local police allowed up to 150 Danish troops to join Afghan forces in an ambush on the militants in Helmand province early yesterday morning.
There were no casualties among the Nato soldiers, who were backed by helicopter gunships and fighter jets, a spokesman said...
"Danish reconnaissance patrols aren't hanging out in the barracks waiting for springtime."...'
But, as M. Dion says--"Dion `not committed' to Afghan role (Star)" (FOREIGN/DEFENCE/SECURITY):
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/
cs...ol=968350116467
'trying to "kill the Taliban in every corner of the mountains doesn't work...["]'
Mark
Ottawa
You too, anywhere in the world, can be a Québécois(e) (LETTERS)--according to Lawrence Cannon, federal Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities (and political minister for Quebec)
'The term "Québécois" includes all those who share or understand the desire to preserve a language, a culture and a common history.'
Mark
Ottawa
If this the way things are,
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2...n-
liberals.html
'Liberal party national director Steven MacKinnon said the Liberals have a strong affinity with the Democrats, who are savouring a victory this week after the U.S. mid-term elections...'
why are Liberals not eagerly agreeing
http://www.canada.com/victoriati...06ab626&
k=94996 with what the former president keeps repeating in his speeches in Canada?
http://www.damianpenny.com/archi...ved/
008100.html
'Former U.S. president Bill Clinton is thankful for the Canadian troops in Afghanistan but said, despite the mounting deaths, even more troops are needed.
"I am grateful," Clinton, the 42nd American president, said yesterday in Victoria before more than 5,000 people at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre.
"I know it is painful for you when you lose your soldiers there, but you are doing a good thing."..'
Mark
Ottawa
last week it was used tanks, now used Hawks . . .
http://www.flightglobal.com/
Arti...+following.html
Canadian Snowbirds aerobatic team set to take former Swiss BAE Hawks to replace Tutors following Arinc inspection
By Graham Warwick
US engineering services firm Arinc has completed an inspection of Switzerland’s retired BAE Systems Hawk jet trainers in support of a proposal to lease the aircraft to the Canadian Forces to replace ageing Canadair CT-114 Tutors flown by the Snowbirds display team.
Canadian firm Venga Aerospace Systems submitted the unsolicited proposal in September, and believes it is being taken seriously by the Department of National Defence (DND) in Ottawa, says company president Hirsh Kwinter.
A letter sent yesterday to the Globe and not published:
'I must disagree with John Ibbitson when he writes that "English Canada never gelled" as a nation ("Can we back-burner the nation thing?", Oct. 31). Mr Ibbitson may be too young to remember but from World War I until 1967 English Canada gelled very well, with Canada's major and identifiable participation in World War II solidifying English Canada's feeling of distinct nationhood.
At the time of Expo 67, as I well recall, English Canadians felt strong and self-confident, both as English Canadians and just plain Canadians (separatism was but a distant spectre in those days). Then, in order to appease Quebec and to seek favour with non-British ethnic groups, the Trudeau Liberals (with the Mulroney Conservatives following on) relentlessly promoted multiculturalism---which in practice applied overwhelmingly to English Canada, not Quebec.
As part of this endeavour virtually all symbols of Canada's British links and heritage, a key part of the English Canadian identity, were steadily eliminated by the federal government along with references to a Canadian "nation". We got instead endless use of a soulless "Canada" this and "Canada" that. For example, as recently as 2004, the National Library of Canada and the National Archives of Canada were merged into the generic "Library and Archives Canada". Why not the "National Library and Archives of Canada"?
English Canada has bit by bit been turned into the "Rest of Canada", a territory without a national identity and common heritage. Certainly the world's finest hotel: a hotel one can check into and out of as one pleases.'
Mark
Ottawa
Norman,
I trust you noticed that Andrew Coyne raised the spectre of the Austro-Hungarian solution in his piece today, "Here we go again, placating Quebec" (Coyne), OTHER COLUMNS WORTH READING:
"But here's a funny thing about contracts: They are struck between equals. As equals, neither may presume to govern the other. Quebecers could have no say in the government of the rest of Canada, and the rest of Canada could have no say in governing Quebec. That may not be the legal effect of the Ignatieff proposal, but it would surely, over time, be the political effect: to de-legitimize federal authority in Quebec, and marginalize the province's MPs in the bargain."
Mark
Ottawa
Meanwhile, back at the "West Lothian Question":
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opini.../
ixopinion.html
'At the heart of it must be the role of the Westminster Parliament. The West Lothian Question remains as pertinent today as when it was first posed by Tam Dalyell in the run-up to the 1979 devolution referendums. Scottish and Welsh MPs can vote on matters affecting English constituencies, while English MPs have no such reciprocal rights over what happens in Scotland and Wales.
This potential instability needs to be addressed now. If there is any "unfinished business" in New Labour's constitutional reforms, it is giving the English greater control over their affairs. Specifically English laws ought to be dealt with by English MPs — just as the Scottish Parliament deals exclusively with Scottish measures and the Welsh Assembly, in the new powers it gained in July, deals with Welsh matters...'
Let Quebec be a nation, and then let us have Austria-Hungary.
http://www.damianpenny.com/archi...ved/
007589.html
http://www.damianpenny.com/archi...ved/
007594.html
Mark
Ottawa
These NATO members spent more on defence per capita in 2004 than Canada ($US, Canada just under $300, figures extrapolated from chart):
http://www.nato.int/docu/review/.../
i3_stats_3.jpg
Italy $320
Belgium $400
Luxembourg (!?!) $500
Netherlands $510
Denmark $560
Norway $850!!!
At least in 1990 we beat Luxembourg. Wonder what the Polaris Institute thinks.
Mark
Ottawa
This line from Copps's article . .
"With the Clarity Act and a solid environmental record, Dion has stature as the candidate with the most national experience"
just has to be the howler of the day .
Dion's record on the environment ??
Solid ??
Ya . . . solid crap
now that's a track record to be proud of and campaign on
CF: a long way to go:
http://ca.today.reuters.com/news...-CANADA-
COL.XML
'Canada's overstretched armed forces "are still very much on life support systems" despite recent budget increases, the country's top soldier said on Thursday.
General Rick Hillier's remarks were clearly aimed at former Liberal Prime Minister Jean Chretien, who was cool to the military and presided over sharp cuts in spending during his time in power from 1993 to 2003.
Canada currently has 2,300 troops in Afghanistan and Hillier said they need more armored vehicles immediately.
Chretien was replaced by fellow Liberal Paul Martin, who upped military spending. Canada's new Conservative government, which won power in January in part on a promise to boost the armed forces, says it will spend C$17 billion ($15 billion) on new helicopters, planes, ships and trucks.
Although Hillier is known for being outspoken, his remarks to the Canadian Association of Defense and Security Industries on Thursday were noticeably blunt.
"We are just starting to emerge from a decade of darkness in the Canadian forces, where everything that we did, every day's activity, all of our focus intellectually and physically (was) designed to constrain, reduce, close, get rid of, stop doing or minimize," Hillier said.
The cuts in both funding and personnel were "incredibly demoralizing" and came at the same time as the remaining troops were being asked to work harder...
Last year the Liberals vowed expand the regular armed forces by 5,000 soldiers to 67,000 over five years. The Conservatives plan to increase that total to 75,000.
"Right now in recruiting centers across our country ... we're seeing twice as many applicants show up as we did this time last year," Hillier said.'
Mark
Ottawa
Will the A380 fiasco kill off the A400M ??
can you imagine if the liberals were still in power . . they would have caved to the Euro weenies and their Quebec aerospace/Bombardier masters and bought the A400M Bratwurst paper airplne instead of the proven C17.
The results, of course would have been catastrophic for our Armed Forces.
Thank you PMSH and Defence Minister O'Connor.
Streiff-torn Airbus
October 10th, 2006
Christian Streiff’s brave experiment in playing save-the-company hardball is over at Airbus. Inheriting a mess not of his own making, he laid out a series of possible maneuvers, ranging from cutting jobs to outsourcing, while proclaiming the need for a fundamental restructuring. Recognizing that the company was in mortal peril of failing, he put everything on table and dared governments, unions, suppliers, potential investors, and maybe even customers to come make their case for preserving something positive out of the fiasco.
Less than week later, the hard-nosed Alsatian executive was handed (or grabbed, depending on what one chooses to believe) his walking papers.
“I progressively came to the conviction that the governance of Airbus did not allow my plan to succeed,” Streiff said in an interview to appear in French daily Le Figaro’s Tuesday edition.
He was replaced by another Frenchman, Louis Gallois, the very model of the type of elite administrator for which France is justly famed. He was educated not just at the École Nationale d’Administration, for government bureaucratic skills, but also at L’École des Hautes Études Commerciales for commercial skills. It gets better: he is politically connected on the left, having served as cabinet director of leftist Minister Jean-Pierre Chevènement during the presidency of Mitterand. Finally, he has run Aerospatiale, a predecessor of Airbus and EADS, as well as the highly respected French railway system SNCF – proprietor of the fastest bullet trains in the world.
Most of all, while Streiff caused a lot of strife, Gallois is renowned for his smooth diplomatic skills. He even got on well with the railway unions.
While it is tempting to take pot shots at Airbus for the chaos, this one-two punch of change agents may have some positive results in the short term, although the negatives at Airbus still vastly outweigh the positives. Streiff was the messenger who brought bad news, and paid the price that such messengers suffer at the hands of autocrats. But the issues he raised are still on table, even after his departure. His successor may have a better personality for getting results, while not sharing the blame for raising the difficult questions in the first place. Think of it as a bit like the good cop/bad cop routine, only played out with heads of governments playing the role of perp.
Now that Chancellor Merkel of Germany is focusing hard on the viability of the Hamburg works and the other 9 Airbus factories in Germany, perhaps the German treasury can be persuaded to come up with the money to buy-out Daimler’s shares or extend other funds in ways which might avoid a trade war with the United States.
The Power 8 Program – still only vaguely defined as a re-do of the way Airbus does business – is still affirmed by Gallois. But many oxen will be gored by substantive change, and even diplomatic skills of the highest order cannot alleviate pain, something that is supposed to be banished in the Europe of state responsibility for everyone’s happiness. Sugarcoating the bitter pills necessary to cure Airbus can only go so far.
Those pills are only targeted at the symptoms, leaving the disease unaddressed.
That disease is, of course, state-control of the enterprise. Airbus is in its present peril because it chose to invest resources in a prestige project more important as a symbol of the New Europe than as a viable product. It is suffering production snafus because it had to buy German financial support via jobs in Germany. It tried to put together the whalejets with factories in different countries using incompatible design software because nobody could tolerate the French winning over the Germans or vice versa.
The A 380 is now an albatross for the company. Cancelling it is virtually unthinkable, because it would maroon airline customers (some of whom would never forgive being stranded), because the workers would revolt, and because it would humiliate government sponsors. But the A 380 is devouring the rest of the company as it lurches about.
But there is ample evidence that devoting enough resources to fixing the 380 is starving the rest of the company of funds and technical resources necessary to carry on beyond the A 380. The A 350, intended to be a direct competitor of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, may or may not get approval, and will arrive four years later than the first 787, if all goes according to plan (a BIG if at Airbus). Gallois is on the record hoping the board will approve. But then again, his chosen role is to speak with honey on his tongue. I would love to hear the coming board discussions.
Meanwhile, the company is “rethinking” a plan to put winglets on it’s A 320 single-aisle plane, by far its biggest seller. The winglets promised a 4-5% reduction in fuel burn, but technical problems and fears of weight increase. Boeing has already put winglets on its latest model 737s, the direct competitor of the 320.
The 320 is currently in a midlife crisis, as it were. Its replacement should be already planned. But will technical and financial resources be available if the company is focused on fixing the 380?
Then, there is the A 400 M military transport, an airplane planned to out-do the venerable Lockheed Hercules C 130. At least one customer/manufacturer for the plane, South Africa, is worried that it might be delayed, due to comments that its schedule is “on the edge.” South Africa has a production deal on the A 400, to have some of its work take place locally.
So, like a dysfunctional family, the political constituents of Airbus bicker away, each worried about its own piece, and more fearful of local forces than of commercial success or failure of the totality. Which should serve as a good predictor for the future. No grand vision is likely to save the company. The drama will continue indefinitely, like the soap opera the Airbus story has become.
Thomas Lifson is the editor and publisher of American Thinker.
http://www.americanthinker.com/
a...article_id=5934
Speaking of Defence procurement initiatives happening and coming up . . . since there is considerable, so we are told by the pundits, push back in Quebec for the Afghanistan mission or for anything military in general, the Federal government should ensure the gentle peace loving, imorally superior people of Quebec are not forced to accept jobs and benefits of current or future military contracts.
The Feds could also help the moral conscience of Quebecers remain pure and pristine by agreeing to close down the current military facilities in that peace loving province, showing the Quebecers how sensitive and considerate the rest of Canada can be to their moral high horse.
Just a thought.
MArk,
More bad news today from the US - procuremnet rules for the USAF KC-X $30 Billion dollar project virtually eliminate the A330 contender. I'd bet the USAF future tanker fleet will be the 767 + 777 offering.
The Americans are making sure the Euros, especially the French, learn that when you poke a foreign policy stick into Anerica's eye, you can expect economic consequences.
Couldn't happen to nicer folks, especially after EADS screwed P&W Canda on the A400M engine deal.
Wooo hooooo.
Subsidies dispute and foreign content restrictions fuel USAF KC-X tanker replacement contest controversy
By Guy Norris
The revised US Air Force KC-X contest for tankers to replace ageing KC-135 is threatening to cause controversy with the USAF requiring competing companies must show full “treaty compliance”.
Contestants must account for any potential advantages as outlined by the US and European government groups locked in the long-running World Trade Organisation (WTO) dispute over subsidies for Airbus and Boeing. The USAF request for proposals (RFT), issued in September, has prompted Boeing to unveil its proposed KC-777 tanker as a running mate to the KC-767.
Each must also meet stringent US government International Trade in Arms Regulations (ITAR) rules, which restrict businesses selling defence-related products commercially from sharing sensitive technical data with non-US citizens. Another compliance hurdle, particularly to Northrop Grumman/EADS team offering an Airbus A330-based tanker, is the Berry Amendment that restricts the US Department of Defense from acquiring particular items that are not produced in the USA. In the past this has impacted on the aerospace industry with provisions applying to speciality metals such as titanium, nickel and zirconium alloys. Northrop and EADS have argued that the current WTO subsidies dispute is a government-to-government matter, and said previously that including the issue in the RFP and acquisition process “would be unprecedented”.
Although the treaty compliance clause appears to threaten the KC-30 more than the Boeing offerings, McGraw says: “Berry compliance is a difficult issue for both of us.” Northrop says “the injection of any issue into this competition that favours one of the bidders over the others is inconsistent...and does not represent fair and open competition”.
With planned production in Mobile, Alabama, the KC-30 team says “more than 50% of the aircraft, subsystems and support is being provided by US partners and suppliers”.
Thank goodness we're well clear of the Airbus A400M--Airbus head says its schedule is on the edge (h/t to Fred).
http://eureferendum2.blogspot.co...real-
thing.html
'Streiff is also saying that the A400M – the military airlifter - could suffer cost overruns or delays. "The timetable is exactly on the edge. It is a tense situation with a number of suppliers and internally. We are exactly on track but without any reserves [of time]," Strieff says...
Streiff is also saying that the A400M – the military airlifter - could suffer cost overruns or delays. "The timetable is exactly on the edge. It is a tense situation with a number of suppliers and internally. We are exactly on track but without any reserves [of time]," Strieff says...
That there is a potential problem seems to be confirmed by the speed with which Francois Lureau, head of France's DGA procurement agency, came rushing to the defence of the project, declaring that, "the key milestones have been respected and that deliveries are on track for 2009." That, of course, is not the point – the question is whether cost over-runs will force Airbus to pull the plug or slow down production...'
Mark
Ottawa
More on the vulpine candidate:
http://images.google.it/imgres?i...6lr%3D%26sa%
3DN
Mark
Ottawa
And just so people don't forget: the NATO force in Bosnia, SFOR,
http://www.nato.int/sfor/
was replaced by the EU EUFOR in Dec. 2005:
http://www.euforbih.org/
So a peacekeeping force has been there almost eleven years (down to 6,000 now)--what was the "exit strategy"?
Election today may not help the strategy much.
http://today.reuters.com/news/ar...-C3-worldNews-
3
Mark
Ottawa
Americans favouring air war in Sudan a la Kosovo:
"We Saved Europeans. Why Not Africans?"
By Susan E. Rice, Anthony Lake and Donald M. Payne [brave Democrats]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/
wp...6100100871.html
"Last chance for Darfurians"
[more from this Ms Rice]
http://washingtontimes.com/op-ed...11551-
8669r.htm
Ms Rice is wrong when she says a UN force entered Kosovo after the NATO bombing. It was a NATO force, KFOR, which--surprise--is still there.
http://www.nato.int/kfor/kfor/about.htm
Mark
Ottawa
Taliban Jack bin Layton has a courageous idea:
"Layton mulls trip to Afghanistan".
http://www.canada.com/topics/new...65-
9f07ce673740
The view of Charlie Company:
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/
cs...id=970599119419
"They all loathe New Democratic Party leader Jack Layton. Each, to a man, interprets Layton's stand on Afghanistan as an expression of indifference for their lives..."
Mark
Ottawa
"NATO set for early takeover of Afghan peacekeeping"
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/...k/
JOH838685.htm
Sooner than expected. I wonder what coverage our media will give the story.
Excerpt:
'NATO defence chiefs were set on Thursday to agree to assume command of peacekeeping across all of insurgency-hit Afghanistan next month despite some allies' concerns over tactics and troop shortfalls.
The move into eastern Afghanistan could take effect quickly because it would largely involve placing under NATO command some 10,000 mostly U.S. forces already in the region, giving NATO commanders a greater pool of troops and equipment.
"The target date is the first half of next month," said one alliance source, who spoke on condition of anonymity ahead of the official endorsement of the decision by defence ministers meeting in the Slovenian coastal resort of Portoroz.
The step was initially expected only some time before the end of the year. But alliance officials said recent battles against resurgent NATO guerrillas in the south showed the need to pool British, Dutch and Canadian troops under NATO with separate U.S. forces...'
Mark
Ottawa
"Afghan mission has gone off track (Star)", BOUQUET OF THE DAY:
There is a Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) at Kandahar, established in the summer of 2005 and of a size that Mr Martin's government approved.
http://www.forces.gc.ca/site/
ope...ex_e.asp#athena
"Since August 2005, a Canadian PRT has operated in Kandahar, where it is expected to remain until February 2009. The PRT brings together elements from the Canadian Forces (CF), Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada, the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), and civilian police led by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) in an integrated Canadian effort known as the “All of Government” approach. Approximately 220 personnel are based at the PRT site at Camp Nathan Smith in Kandahar City."
Perhaps the PRT is not as effective as it might be. A main reason may be that the Taliban insurgency is stronger than expected in 2005 when Mr Martin's government approved the overall new mission in the south. Strange to say such unanticipated things happen in war. That is why there is now quite a lot of combat--without the success of which development, as demanded by Mr Martin and all those others, will not be possible. Easy to understand, is it not?
Paul is--suprise, surprise, wobbly.
Mark
Ottawa
Mark
Ottawa
The Canadian commander of ISAF Regional Command (South), Brig.-Gen. David Fraser, will be replaced by a Dutch officer in November, 2006. Many of the some 200 Canadian Multi-National
Brigade HQ staff will also be returning to Canada.
http://www.forces.gc.ca/site/new...s_e.asp?
id=1703
Mark
Ottawa
"[U.S.]Army General Nominated to be International Security Assistance Force Commander in Afghanistan"
http://www4.army.mil/ocpa/
read.p...ory_id_key=9605
"The Secretary of Defense announced Sept. 21 that the President has nominated Gen. Dan K. McNeill for reappointment to the grade of general with assignment as Commander, International Security Assistance Force, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Afghanistan. McNeill is currently serving as Commanding General, U.S. Army Forces Command, Fort McPherson, Georgia..."
In February 2007 when the term of UK Lt.-Gen. Richards expires, and when US forces in the east are supposed already to be under ISAF.
http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/
as...=cnn_topstories
Mark
Ottawa
meanwhile, Down Under . . common sense seems to be prevailing over political correctness.
Must be something in the water, maybe the Aussies can export it to the rest of the Western world . . could be a really big seller in Europe. Fance alone could use tankers of the stuff and Belgium needs a pipeline to save its soul.
Truth The Aussie Way
INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY
Posted 9/20/2006
Courage: Radical Muslims continue to threaten the foundations of civilization, but the West can't bring itself to talk candidly about Islam. An inspiring exception can be found Down Under.
While our own leaders, despite a few mutterings about "Islamofascists," let political correctness get the better of them, a spokesman for the Australian government has reportedly "read the riot act" to Muslim leaders.
Not what you'd expect from the chief of Australia's office of multiculturalism and immigration. But Andrew Robb didn't hold back as he spoke to 100 Australian imams last weekend in Sydney.
"We live in a world of terrorism where evil acts are being regularly perpetrated in the name of your faith," said Robb. "And because it is your faith that is being invoked as justification for these evil acts, it is your problem. You can't wish it away, or ignore it, just because it has been caused by others. Instead, speak up and condemn terrorism, defend your role in the way of life that we all share here in Australia."
Will Robb apologize? Of course not. He has nothing to apologize for, and Muslim extremists wouldn't accept it anyway.
But the point is well-taken: If Muslims wish to live in developed nations, they should exercise their religious freedom according to civilized norms. And that includes refraining from violence and speaking up about the violence carried out by their co-religionists.
Robb's bluntness is characteristic of the government of Australia's no-nonsense prime minister, John Howard. It's even weighing a citizenship test that examines immigrants' knowledge of Australia's history, culture and system of representative government as well as their commitment to the country's "common values."
Howard himself has called Muslim migrants to task for refusing to embrace Australian values and has urged a full integration into Australian society. This would include learning English and treating women as equals rather than inferiors. Will someone else in the West second his commitment to candor?
We're not asking for a blanket rebuke of all Muslims or a condemnation of their religion. We just want mainstream Muslims to rise to the challenge and denounce the terrorism carried out in their god's name. When they start doing that — and there are enough of them to force change — then non-Muslim leaders won't have to.
Western leaders should have no fear of inflaming Muslims or anyone else by speaking the truth. The fear should be in what happens if the truth is continually swept under the rug.
Norman: Wonderful "TODAY'S IDIOCY".
Mark
Ottawa
Does anyone know who from Canada sat through MadManJimmyDada's revisionist history class speech at eth UN yesterday ??
God forbid it was any diplomat of higher standing than Coffee Fetcher 1.
I urge all to listen to the complete audio of this interview with Ottawa Imam Gamal Solaiman--supposedly a "moderate Muslim"--by Steve Madely of CFRA, Ottawa. Note near the end that he refuses to believe al Qaeda is responsible for 9/11 even in the face of Osama bin Laden's claims of responsibility. Also listen to his views on Canadian troops in Afstan. And there are always the "buts".
The audio:
http://www.cfra.com/chum_audio/
G...man1_Sept19.mp3
http://www.cfra.com/chum_audio/
G...man2_Sept19.mp3
Mark
Ottawa
So Mr Layton now wants Canadian soldiers defending us against foreign fishers. He does not however make it clear how soldiers would do this on the high seas. Maybe he will soon suggest disbanding the Canadian Army in favour of creating a Canadian Marine Corps.
"Military should focus on coastline, not war: Layton" (UPDATE)
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/new-
bru...tonfishing.html
Excerpts:
'Federal NDP Leader Jack Layton says Canada's military should be focusing on domestic sovereignty issues, including protecting Canada's coastline from illegal fishing boats, instead of fighting the Taliban in southern Afghanistan...
In an interview with CBC Radio in Fredericton on Wednesday, Layton also said those troops would be more effective at protecting Canada's fishing grounds from foreign trawlers.
"We feel a big part of our role should be our sovereignty issues, such as up North, and also in dealing with the fishing with fleets off our coastline who are coming in and destroying the ecosystems," he said...
Layton says illegal trawlers are hurting coastal communities all over eastern Canada, and the nation's armed forces has a duty to stop them.
"Dealing with the fishing fleets off our coastline who are coming in and destroying the ecosystems that in many ways provide the livelihood for our coastal communities. That has a place for both the Coast Guard and possibly the military and the navy," he said...'
Mark
Ottawa
Even the anti-Western Non-Aligned Movement, at their current summit in Havana, can--unlike the NDP--support the Kabul government and call the Taliban "terrorists" (at very end of story):
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/
2006...to_060912214702
"In Cuba, a summit of countries of the Non-Aligned Movement issued a draft closing statement expressing support for Kabul and their "profound" concern over "terrorist groups including former Taliban" in the south and east of Afghanistan."
Mark
Ottawa
Norman,
You make an appearance at the end of this spoof:
"Layton: No tanks for Afghanistan"
http://www.damianpenny.com/archi...ved/
007516.html
Mark
Ottawa
re Loans
While business school taught me that the method of financing is the last decision you make and in some ways is irrelevant to the decision I believe this is not the case in politics.
Parties and candidates should not be allowed to borrow. It needs to be all financed upfront from donations. Co signed loans are a problem as well.
All debt finaincing for campaigns, party or individual, election or leadership should be banned. I think we will find it is open to too much abuse.
The strange world of aircraft costs
This from Aviation Week and Space Technology, August 7, p. 17 (text not online):
"...the Royal Australian Air Force has ordered four C-17 transports and support services from Boeing. The airplanes cost [US] $780 million and support costs about $81 million."
As for the Canadian Air Force:
http://www.cbc.ca/cp/business/06...1/
b0811138.html
"The deal will furnish the forces with four C-17s for [CAN] $3.4 billion..."
Sure must be a lot more life-cycle costs being included by our government, as our cost for the same number of planes is about three times the Australian. Why do we always high-ball equipment acquisition costs here?
Mark
Ottawa
Another brilliant result of "peacekeeping":
"Congo staggers towards civil war after election deadlock"
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/
art...2324441,00.html
"EU troops fly into chaos of Kinshasa"
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/core/...l&site=5&
page=0
Mark
Ottawa
One of mine in the Star that did not (gasp) make it as LETTER OF THE DAY:
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/
cs...ol=968350116895
"Give icebreakers to Coast Guard
Arctic defence
Aug. 19.
Much is made in Graham Fraser's article
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/
cs...ist969907621570
of Canada's need for Arctic-capable icebreakers. There may well be such a need, but there is no reason for such vessels to be armed and operated by the Navy as the Conservatives said in an election campaign pledge. The Canadian Navy has not operated an icebreaker since the 1950s. Since then the Canadian Coast Guard has had Canada's icebreaking fleet. Current icebreakers are getting very long in the tooth and will need replacement soon.
The sensible thing to do would be to acquire truly Arctic-capable vessels for the Coast Guard. The Coast Guard, even though not armed, would be perfectly adequate by its presence to assert Canadian legal claims in Arctic waters.
Moreover, assigning the icebreakers to the Coast Guard would avoid the inevitable delays, complications and extra costs involved in the Navy's re-learning very specialized operational skills.
Besides which the Coast Guard can use such vessels for the varied other missions its icebreakers already perform. If Arctic-capable icebreakers are not also used for the full spectrum of Canadian icebreaking operations, then the ships would be severely underutilized and a great deal of money wasted."
Mark
Ottawa
Afstan: Intelligent follow-up by the Afghans, in the context of the Taliban insurgency, to the recent Canadian major military action:
http://www.edmontonsun.com/News/...769282-
sun.html
"Taliban forces asked that the bodies of their dead fighters be returned yesterday after a weekend of bloody battles with Canadian and Afghan forces.
Afghan government officials said 72 Taliban were killed in a massive ground, air and artillery assault in the volatile Panjwaii district, west of Kandahar...
At least 22 bodies were returned by late yesterday, said Haji Niamatullah, a member of the Kandahar Provincial Council and part of the government's reconciliation program.
The rest, many of which had already been buried, were to be retrieved and handed over today, Niamatullah told The Canadian Press...
Following the weekend fighting in Panjwaii, relatives, friends and family members of the Taliban had also asked that the bodies be returned for burial.
As well, Afghan officials see the return as another gesture in hopes that the Taliban will reconcile with the government of Hamid Karzai.
Behind-the-scenes talks aimed at convincing the insurgents to put down their weapons in Panjwaii began late last week when moderate Taliban leaders requested negotiations with the United Nations or NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF)..."
Mark
Ottawa
Darfur latest:
http://www.damianpenny.com/archi...ved/
007335.html
Mark
Ottawa
'Rae: "I will go to Korea"'
http://www.damianpenny.com/archi...ved/
007298.html
Mark
Ottawa
Link for procurement criteria:
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...t-
criteria.html
Mark
Ottawa
Ujjal tells a porkie. Mr Dosanjh, the Liberal defence critic, was interviewed on CFRA, Ottawa, this morning (August 9) about the government's invoking a "national security" clause for proposed military equipment purchases. In the course of the interview Mr Dosanjh said (near end of clip):
http://www.cfra.com/chum_audio/
U...jh.Aug.9.06.mp3
"We as Liberal government had put out some of these requests and tried to enter into these contracts to purchase some of the same equipment. Most of the equipment that is now being sought was being sought earlier..."
That is simply untrue. These are the equipments for which the government has issued procurement criteria (the criteria are available through the links):
Strategic Airlift
Tactical Airlift
Medium- to Heavy-Lift Helicopters
Medium-Sized Logistics Trucks
Joint Support Ship.
Last November then-Minister of National Defence Bill Graham tried to get the Martin government to approve a $12.1 billion plan to acquire transport planes, search-and-rescue aircraft and troop-carrying helicopters. That plan was not accepted. Cabinet would only approve up to $5 billion for 16 CC-130 Hercules replacements (tactical airlift).
http://www.canada.com/national/s...86-
fe16e73b126f
To repeat, Mr Dosanjh claimed that "Most of the equipment that is now being sought was being sought earlier..." False. Only one type of equipment was actually being sought. Mr Graham is now interim Liberal leader; perhaps he should have a few words with Mr Dosanjh.
To be fair, last November the Conservative defence critic, Gordon O'Connor (now Minister of National Defence), was critical of the planned Liberal purchase, claiming the fix was in for the Lockheed Martin C-130J--the same plane the Conservative government is almost certain to buy.
Mark
Ottawa
Stupid Conservative defence promises:
"New B.C. military units may be used for overseas deployments (V Sun)" (FOREIGN/DEFENCE/SECURITY) (stupid headline too)
http://www.canada.com/vancouvers...b6ab7c7&
k=52110
One hopes the government is reconsidering.
Excerpts:
'A new 650-person rapid reaction battalion to be located at Canadian Forces Base Comox and a smaller unit to be stationed in Vancouver could be fully operational by 2010, according to newly released internal documents...
Harper announced the new units during a December campaign stop and also promised more navy personnel at CFB Esquimalt, new equipment such as search-and-rescue aircraft, and the creation of a territorial "defence unit" to be based in Vancouver made up of 100 regular and at least 400 reserve troops...
The Tory election plan included the creation of three other rapid reaction battalions across Canada as well as the creation of smaller territorial defence units in Vancouver and other Canadian cities...
The RRBs [rapid reaction battalions], to be based in Comox, Bagotville, Que., Trenton, Ont., and Goose Bay, N.L., will be launched next year. Each unit would include three rifle companies, light patrol vehicles, a small headquarters, and a combat service support company...
Another document obtained through the Access to Information Act says there will be a dozen territorial defence units, with "emergency response capabilities," based in Vancouver, Calgary, Regina, Winnipeg, Ottawa, Toronto, Montreal, Quebec City, Saint John, St. John's, Halifax and the Niagara-Windsor corridor...
Most of the briefing note is whited out under provisions of the Access to Information Act which allows the government to exclude from the public advice to ministers. One of the exempted sections covers the estimated cost of the RRB initiative.
However, one document -- and some accompanying e-mails -- suggest that military officials are questioning the capacity of the government to meet all its military commitments.
"The initiatives outlined above aid in satisfying a few of the many key defence objectives outlined by the government," concludes the Feb. 21 briefing note [note date] to Buck [Vice-Admiral Ron Buck, the former vice-chief of defence staff].
However, it continues, the desire to create RRBs must be balanced with various other plans, including the creation of the city-based battalions, the doubling in size of the JTF2 special operations unity, and the creation of a Canadian Special Operations Regiment, a new special forces unit...'
Spending large sums of money to create new units and supporting infrastructure in places that are either out of the way or unsuitable would be, there is no other word, nuts--especially when the money is desperately needed to do useful things to build up the Canadian Forces with new equipment and more personnel at existing bases. Even the US military is closing bases.
Mark
Ottawa
How many Canadian politicians--or pundits--would even understand what this is about?
We've failed in Iraq: let's get it right in Afghanistan
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/core/...&site=15&
page=0
Mark
Ottawa
This Charest comment is the idiocy of the decade - even though I understand he is playing to a home province audience's vanity, it just is soooooooo stupid. It'll play very badly in Calgary, if not Toronto.
"Here’s my translation of the juicier parts:
Jean Charest believes that Quebec is not only a nation but that it already enjoys a different political status from the other provinces, which enables it to express itself “without inhibition” on the international stage."
This one line reveals the ongoing myopic pretensions of Quebec politicians who have been drinking their own bathwater for so long they now think it is a VQA vintage.
As Quebec, a have not province in Canada, a province that depends on the charity of other provinces ( hello Ontario & Alberta) to sustain its material well being, its social assistance structure and its health care system, a province that continues to slip down the power and influence structure of Canadian politics, continues to dream the pretentious dream that it has international standing, the rest of Canada just does a "ho-hum, they're at it again"
Time for Charest to remove his head from that region that deprives him of fresh air.
Two views on foreign policy itself; guess again:
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com...p-
4181901c.html
Louis St. Laurent:
1) 'the external affairs minister in 1948...said: "No [Canadian] foreign policy is consistent or coherent over a period of years unless it is based upon some concept of human values," which he said are "continually influenced by concepts of good and evil which emerged from Greek and Roman civilizations, transformed and transmitted through Christian traditions. These are values which lay emphasis on the importance of the individual, on the place of moral principles in the conduct of human relations, on standards of judgment which transcend mere material well-being. We thus have a useful part to play in world affairs, useful to ourselves, through being useful to others."'
2) Softy R2P Lloyd:
'TO shape a coherent approach to our role in the world means finding a way to encompass and utilize the advantages that this 21st-century diverse cultural reality provides in the way of added perspectives, connections, and relationships while forging ways to reconcile the differences and meld the rich but complex mix into a coherent set of values that can replace St. Laurent's formulation without foregoing his basic intent that "we thus have a useful part to play in world affairs, useful to ourselves, through being useful to others."..'
Stuff (in the taxidermic sense) Uncle Louis and bring him back.
http://www.biographi.ca/EN/ShowB...asp?
BioId=42124
Mark
Ottawa
Two views on involving MPs in foreign policy; guess which one I favour:
1)Softy R2P Lloyd:
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com...p-
4181901c.html
"...broaden the participation of Canadians from all backgrounds by giving Parliament, as the legitimate representative institution in our democracy, an enhanced role in setting the mandate of our international engagements. Add to that the need for ongoing parliamentary review of our international initiatives, a broader role in monitoring our intelligence and security activities, and a dedicated responsibility to involve the public in a continuous series of open hearings and educational exchange on the emerging global risks facing Canadians.
Isn't it exceedingly strange that on a matter seen as so vital by so many Canadians as the Middle East crisis that Parliament is on summer holidays?.."
2) Don Martin (THE COLUMN I WISH I’D WRITTEN, August 2)
http://www.canada.com/nationalpo...300cb780c6e&
p=2
"...this much was clear -- if this foot-dragging committee [Foreign Affairs, August 1 on Lebanon] was charged with deciding Canada's role in the conflict, it would still be debating which cruise ship had the right-sized swimming pool for the first Lebanon evacuation attempt and Stephen Harper's plane would still be waiting in Cyprus for his ship to come in.
MPs droned on for hour after hour with a laughable seriousness that suggested they believed they actually were choosing the path for a nation with the clout to ease a crisis that defies resolution..."
http://www.canada.com/nationalpo...300cb780c6e&
p=2
Mark
Ottawa
More on Afstan:
1) "Rules-of-engagement fears quelled"
http://www.canada.com/theprovinc...3a-
85f989ab0c74
2) "Canadians toughen [Pak] border security in Afghanistan"
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/Articl...?
hub=TopStories
Mark
Ottawa
I'II BET YOU DIDN'T KNOW: "Military to Idle NORAD Compound: Operations Will Move to Nearby Base, But Cold War Bunker to Stand Ready"
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp...?
referrer=email
Mark
Ottawa
Norman: This should have been in FOREIGN/DEFENCE/SECURITY, "Royal Canadian Regiment replacing the Patricias; Afghan contingent begins heading home"
http://www.canada.com/ottawaciti...50-
79b0b24b61d3
Mark
Ottawa
Israeli attack on UNTSO post--audio of interview on CFRA, Ottawa, with Colonel (ret'd) Michel Drapeau .
http://www.cfra.com/chum_audio/
C...peau_July26.mp3
Mark
Ottawa
Lewis Mackenzie: Levant crisis/dead Canadian UNTSO member--radio interview: "July 26, 2006, Supporting Israel: Guest host Karen Horsman spoke with retired Major General Lewis Mackenzie".
http://www.cbc.ca/metromorning/
Mark
Ottawa
Further to Macus Gee on "Softy Lloyd" (FOREIGN/DEFENCE/SECURITY), Liberal Senator Colin Kenny speaks the simple truth (full text only for subscribers).
http://www.canada.com/ottawaciti...27-
004437e24842
'The senator said the idea of Canada as an "honest broker" mediating international conflicts is a mirage, simply because no country or world body is ever asking the country to take on that role.
Mr. Kenny, chairman of the Senate's national security and defence committee, also said Canada needs military assets
http://www.canada.com/topics/new...5351acb&
k=45791
if it wants a voice in global conflicts. Decades of government neglect of the Canadian Forces meant Canada's forays into foreign affairs have rarely had any teeth, he said.
"For years, Canada has tried to have a foreign policy without having a defence policy, and (past governments) wondered why no one gives a damn about what we think," he said.'
Good luck to foreign affairs minister Peter MacKay in Rome.
http://www.cbc.ca/story/world/na...ome-
summit.html
Mark
Ottawa
The Globe's John Ibbitson was also on to the tilt:
http://www.stopwar.ca/articles/
i...bbitson1021.htm
Mark
Ottawa
Israel and Canadian politicians as Bush poodles--Aaccording to the Muslim Canadian Congress PM Martin got there first; see "2005-12-03 MCC statement MCC endorses NDP"
http://www.muslimcanadiancongres...g/
20051203.html
How short our memories are.
Excerpts:
'"Paul Martin's recent decision to vote alongside the US on UN General Assembly resolutions on Palestine, demonstrates the fact that he is turning Canada into a satellite of the US," said Tarek Fatah, communications director of the MCC.
For decades Canada had been voting alongside the rest of the world in asking Israel to withdraw from the Arab lands it has occupied since 1967. This month, in a slap to face of Muslim Canadians, the Liberal government of Paul Martin abandoned Canada's principled historic stand, and abstained from voting on a resolution urging Israeli withdrawal from territory it has occupied illegally since the 1967 war...
The MCC statement said if Muslim Canadians have any doubt over the true intentions of Paul Martin and the Liberal Party, they should look no further than the parachuting of Michael Ignatieff into the riding of Etobicoke Lakeshore.
The MCC considers Mr. Ignatieff, who celebrated the illegal invasion of Iraq, as George Bush's Trojan Horse into Canada. The statement said Mr. Ignatieff may try to masquerade as a progressive intellectual, but he cannot fool Muslim Canadians who are familiar with his endorsement of the Bush Agenda and his support of "indefinite detention of suspects, coercive interrogations, targeted assassinations, even pre-emptive war."
The MCC statement said, "Mr. Ignatieff brings to Canada the greed and corporate agenda of the current US administration and we consider him to be a threat to Canadian values. The fact that Paul Martin's Liberal Party machinery would manipulate his candidacy and allow him to bully his way into Canadian politics, should be a clear message to all Canadians, particularly Muslim Canadians. Paul Martin and the Liberals are pushing Canada towards the integration with the USA while deceiving Canadians that they are doing the opposite."..'
Mark
Ottawa
the media sock puppets are soooo quick to say how slow everything is.
So now, in addition to everything else, the talking heads are experts on slowness.
Go figure . . .
And it does remind one of the media madness that was the Katrina Hurricane coverage, where the strident class got everythhing wrong, reported rumours about rumours as fact and then swept their whole lying mess under the carpet as if they had never screwed the pooch.
Our media, just doing their job.
Amazing that people are shocked, simply shocked that we can't evacuate a mere 50,000 folks from a chaotic situation within a couple of days while keeping them comfy and happy. I mean, what could possibly be the problem except sheer incompetence? I guess we could have sent our sub fleet!
so if there are 50,000 lebanese "Canadians" in Lebanon now, how many live there ? How many are just inconvenient Canadians who have the passport for healthcare and a safety door ?? And what wil we do with them if they are 'repatriated" ? Will Canada have to clothe & house them -- they don't have any support system here because they live in Lebanon.
Time for some residency requirements to go along with that passport . . . yes sir, you have to buy the fries if you order the burger . .
if you scream war crimes enough, someone might believe you, but this is just over the top. PAthetic and cheap, it will do nothing to assist any peace process.
It IS a war crime to allow innocent civilians to be TARGETED by Hisbullah terrorists operating with impunity from Lebanese territory.
The CAF best take a long loook in a mirror and figure out they make fools of themsleves and any legitimate cuases they may have with this kind of Arab Muslim cheap tribal loyalty - it is simply a debased propaganda cry.
Truly pathetic coming from Canadians.
The Harper hidden agenda laid bare:
http://www.muslimnews.co.uk/news...p?
article=11378
'16-07-2006
Canadian Arab Federation Press release [not yet on their website]:
http://www.caf.ca/HomePage.aspx
"The Canadian Arab Federation holds Prime Minister Stephen Harper responsible for the death of 8 Canadians in Lebanon.
While Israel was bombarding Lebanon, terrorizing and killing civilians and destroying the infrastructure of the country, Harper appallingly was quoted a saying that these Israeli war crimes are a "measured response" to the capture of 2 Israeli soldiers.
It is outrageous that a Canadian Prime Minister would justify Israel's brutal assault against Lebanon when such action has resulted in the death of hundreds of Lebanese civilians including the murder of 8 Canadians...'
Mark
Ottawa
Mark,
PMSh has found Canada's mojo . . and we thought Lloyd Axeworthy & all the other Trudeaupians had killed it.
its about time we got off our high faluting blind Liberal morality fence and stood with our friends and allies.
Looks like we can join the ranks of the nations that can be trusted again.
Thank you PMSH.
Furthet to the Ibbitson column (THE COLUMN I WISH I’D WRITTEN/Worth reading):
"Rather than cleaving to the multilateral consensus (read the United Nations), the Harper government has chosen to stick close to Canada's traditional allies, with the United States at the centre, Great Britain and Australia not far removed, and continental Europe a distant object…."
From the first para of a Reuters story today on Afstan:
http://www.swissinfo.org/eng/
int...y=1152968870000
"U.S., British and Canadian troops launched a pre-dawn offensive..."
Makes me think of other days. Proudly.
Mark
Ottawa
An excellent survey at the Canadian Institute for Strategic Studies.
http://www.ciss.ca/Comment_july06.htm
Excerpt:
"On the surface there seems little to criticize in last week’s spending package. The total price will be spread over 15-20 years, so it won’t break the bank. The military is not asking for anything particularly exotic, merely the basics. Buying what is essentially a diverse set of transport equipments is unlikely to offend anyone with tender sensibilities since they are not configured to shoot at anyone. And each will handily serve what looks to be the primary purposes of the CF of the 21st century: the security of the home front and stabilization of failed states.
But the five projects will not in and of themselves resolve all the operations shortcomings facing the CF. The navy must deal with the impending loss of its destroyers, which act as command vessels for multi-ship task groups. The patrol frigate fleet is overdue for a mid-life upgrade. The airframes of the Aurora patrol aircraft fleet are wearing out, with implications for the surveillance of Canadian territory. The (arguably good) decision to cancel of the Mobile Gun System (MGS) and Multi-mission Effects Vehicle (MMEV) will leave the army with fewer options to counter ground and air threats (although irregular forces do not normally posses tanks or atttack aircraft). And equipment lost to either enemy action or to the tough environmental conditions in Afghanistan will need replacement if Canada is to remain in theatre until 2008.
Laying out funds for procurement is arguably the easy part. Awarding contracts and having a successor government honour them will be harder. Recall how Jean Chrétien cancelled the Mulroney Conservatives’ EH-101 helicopter contract, even if it meant paying stiff financial penalties. Desperate to discredit the Harper government, the Grits could turn the C-17 buy into an election issue.
And ensuring that there are trained personnel to operate and maintain the new equipment will present this and future governments with an even greater challenge. New gear might serve as a useful recruiting tool, but it will take more to convince a newly-minted C-17 pilot that he should not simply finish up his tour and sell what he has learned to Air Canada.
David Rudd is the President and Executive Director of the CISS."
Excellent pieces by Jack Granatstein
http://www.ccs21.org/articles/
gr...er_Promises.htm
and Sen. Colin Kenny
http://www.sen.parl.gc.ca/ckenny...%
20Military.htm
also point out the people problem.
While William Watson wishes we would just buy the needest stuff cheapest, abroad if that's where it is, instead of all the focus on creating jobs in Canada. The way it should be, but that will always be a dream given Canadian political realities and soft popular support for military spending.
http://www.canada.com/nationalpo...f26bf4b2d1e&
p=2
Mark
Ottawa
Oops. Crypt-kicker.
http://www.lyricsondemand.com/
on...mashlyrics.html
Mark
Ottawa
Anybody else see a large bunch of old white guys without ideas (perhaps Preston and Gluey Huey excepted--vision? my foot, my reluctant partisanship) on Studio 2 tonight?
Especially David Peterson. Gag. And Red Floyd. Cript kicker Blakeney.
Mark
Ottawa
What someone should tell Jack Layton and all the "Sky is Falling" Kyotoistas.
Watch out for Rona in the Fall . . . a plan to fight pollution, not hot air
Gore’s Global Warming Snow Job
June 27th, 2006
Phineas Taylor Barnum, the greatest 19th Century showman and huckster, taught the world that by craftily combining equal parts entertainment, science and sensationalism, our natural sense of wonder and curiosity can be exploited to convince the gullible masses of almost anything. Albert Arnold Gore, Jr., the 21st Century showman and huckster, employs a similar recipe to achieve equally misleading results.
Barnum journeyed the world discovering and creating all manners of oddities – some human, some animal, some both. He liked to refer to himself as the “Prince of Humbug.” Being a modern-day snake-oil salesman, Gore enjoys the benefits of technologies unavailable to his earlier counterpart. While modern “sensibilities” have marginalized the side-show, modern capabilities have greatly enhanced Gore’s slide-show. Of the two men, Barnum was the better wordsmith, and some of his classic aphorisms are employed here as section headings.
Every crowd has a silver lining
Gore’s indulgent exercise in doomsaying has morphed from a Microsoft PowerPoint presentation into the feature film, An Inconvenient Truth. While the man who would be President deftly handles his self-portrayal of a con-artist and the Main Stream Media eagerly accept the role of his shills, we, the crowd, get to pay our silver to be mystified and astounded.
With the adept skills of a carnie 3-card-monte dealer, he flashes melodramatic compare-and-contrast photographs of Mount Kilimanjaro gradually losing its famous snows over three and a half decades before the eyes of the eager onlooker. But this fast-talking conman isn’t telling you to “find the queen to win the green,” but rather to heed the green and accept the scene that:
“Within a decade, there will be no more ‘Snows of Kilimanjaro.’”
Of course, he attributes this shocking loss to global warming, imposed by Homo-Sapiens’ selfish exploitation of Terra. Not surprisingly, he states that the U.S. contributes over 30% of the CO2 and other “Greenhouse gases” which “cause” this dastardly and deadly phenomenon.
And, while this African snow-job is but one of many dubious “truths” he hawks, this one has a particularly interesting history associated with it.
Without promotion something terrible happens… Nothing!
A 02/26/2001 New York Times editorial gave “A Global Warning to Mr. Bush,” adding a Hemingway reference to heighten the gullible reader’s visceral sense of wonder and loss.
“Scientists meeting in San Francisco a week ago heard a startling prediction: the seemingly indestructible snows of Kilimanjaro that inspired Ernest Hemingway’s famous short story may well disappear in the next 15 years. To most mainstream scientists, the rapid erosion of Kilimanjaro’s majestic ice cap, along with the steady retreat of mountaintop glaciers elsewhere, is further dramatic evidence of a relentless warming of the earth’s atmosphere that cannot be explained by normal climate shifts and is at least partly traceable to the burning of fossil fuels like coal and oil.”
The opinion appears to lay the foundation for Gore’s subsequent parable. To be sure, the Times and Gore are well practiced in crowd psychology, which teaches that the key to a successful scam is an utterly convincing shill.
More persons, on the whole, are humbugged by believing in nothing, than by believing too much
In a letter to the New York Times (published March 1, 2001), Dr. S. Fred Singer, Professor Emeritus of Environmental Sciences at the University of Virginia, responded to the editorial. Doctor Singer had devised the satellite technology currently used for measuring stratospheric ozone, was the first director of the U.S. Weather Satellite Service, and is internationally known for his work on energy and environmental issues:
“Before putting pressure on the White House to act …shouldn’t we be asking whether global warming is really happening? The Kilimanjaro ice cap is not a thermometer. It may well be melting, but this is simply a delayed consequence of a natural climate warming during the early part of the 20th century. Moreover, it will continue to melt as long as the climate doesn’t return to the temperatures of the Little Ice Age of past centuries.”
Dr. Singer then concludes his letter with this paragraph of particular interest in light of recent NAS proclamations:
“The National Academy of Sciences published a report last year that defines the geographic regions of warming and cooling during the last 20 years. Surface measurements of East Africa show no warming trend. Weather satellites show a pronounced cooling trend of the atmosphere there. No one has questioned these data.”
Do I detect some sleight-of-hand? Is this death of a literary icon “at least partly caused by gases released by human activities” or is this “simply a delayed consequence of a natural climate warming?”
You can fool some of the people all of the time…
Perhaps another opinion will help clarify matters. In her 11/24/2003 article for Nature Magazine, “African Ice Under Wraps,” Betsy Mason states:
“The celebrated ice cap on Africa’s loftiest peak could vanish within 20 years, taking with it a unique scientific resource. Although it’s tempting to blame the ice loss on global warming, researchers think that deforestation of the mountain’s foothills is the more likely culprit. Without the forests’ humidity, previously moisture-laden winds blew dry. No longer replenished with water, the ice is evaporating in the strong equatorial sunshine.”
So, while the problem is, indeed, anthropogenic, it is not a byproduct of our combustion, but rather of our consumption?
… and all of the people some of the time …
In 2004, as though to add further fuel to the global fire, The Royal Meteorological Society, in its International Journal Of Climatology, published “Modern Glacier Retreat on Kilimanjaro as Evidence of Climate Change: Observations and Facts”, which found that:
“A drastic drop in atmospheric moisture at the end of the 19th century and the ensuing drier climatic conditions are likely forcing glacier retreat on Kilimanjaro. Future investigations using the concept as a governing hypothesis will require research at different climatological scales.”
So then, the problem is, indeed, moisture related, as stated by Ms. Mason, but not, as she proposed, by any actions of mankind? In other words, the snows of Kilimanjaro have been retreating for more than 100 years, fundamentally due to declining atmospheric moisture, neither due to global warming nor any man-made industrial voracity?
… but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time
Finally, on the 8/20/2004 edition of CNN Daybreak, CNN Correspondent Jeff Koinange inadvertently managed to define the current state of our African climate consensus when he reported that:
“By the year 2020, there will be no snow left on Kilimanjaro, according to scientists, because of global warming, deforestation, human encroachment, all of that.”
Well, that’s that—All of that.
Now or Never
So let’s recap this shoddy flimflam which Gore is playing. Consider that each of these scientific entities holds a uniquely divergent opinion regarding the cause(s) of the Kilimanjaro melting:
• The scientists referred to the New York Times article;
• The scientist who was the first director of the U.S. Weather Satellite Service;
• The National Academy of Sciences;
• The Royal Meteorological Society;
• Science reporter Betsy Mason.
And, yet, this grifter standing before those slides, himself lacking any scientific – let alone climatological – credentials, implores us to believe that he and he alone holds the truth, convenient or otherwise. Fortunately, while he does “fool some of the people all of the time,” he lacks the color, wit, imagination, and personality required to ever “fool all of the people some of the time.”
Still, whenever the show comes to town, crowds invariably gather and attract other eager charlatans.
If I Shoot at the Sun I May Hit a Star
The current saturation of parasitic junk science articles clawing their way through all modes of media, epitomizes the relentless launching of propagandistic material that Rush Limbaugh calls the “drive-by media.” Feeding upon the crowd generated by Ozone Al’s medicine show and further incited by the abovementioned, curiously timed report from the NAS, within the last few days:
• The Associated Press says “Earth Hottest It’s Been in 2,000 Years”
• The San Francisco Chronicle says “Study of data on global warming supports earlier findings that recent decades have been the hottest in 400 years.”
• The Canada Free Press contends, “Man-made Global Warming Fears Reach Hysterical Pitch”
• ABC News warns, “Extreme Weather Fits Global Warming Pattern”
• The Miami Herald declares “Warming World Stirring Storms”
There’s a Sucker Born Every Minute
Barnum later denied ever using the phrase which became his most famous motto, suggesting it more likely that he had said, “The people like to be humbugged.” No matter. In the fine tradition of the Barnum-style huckster, today’s junk science scammers are astutely aware of their audience, and that it truly is all in the presentation. They strongly believe that educationalism authorizes sensationalism, and that we, the crowd, want to enjoy both.
Moreover, they recognize that, while the spectacular will capture the attention of the patsies through shock and awe, contrarian intellectual positing is less compelling and, thereby, often remains unheard. The fact that this formula maintains the essentially unchallenged status of their rubbish most definitely
Steve Madely of CFRA, Ottawa, speaks with MND Gordon O'Connor.
http://www.cfra.com/chum_audio/
G...nnor_June27.mp3
Note the larger plan supposed to go to Cabinet this fall, and the limits on increase in CF numbers caused by lack of trainers. Anyone have a plane to propose for the Hercules replacement and for the strategic lift requirement?
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...nt-
euro_20.html
Mark
Ottawa
MArk,
I agree, but the reality is that two types of ships right now are not sellable politically. These will be because they ar not combat ships and will be built locally . . . jobs is votes somewhere
So for now, these are the best decision and the troops will be married up with their equipment via C17 lifts.
No natter, this is a good day for the Forces, a good day for Canada.
The JSSs announced today are being rather oversold.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/s...y/National/
home
Their main role is still supply of ships at sea (auxiliary oiler replenishment--AOR) with an additional, limited capability to support things on land.
Relevant DND sites:
http://www.forces.gc.ca/site/new...s_e.asp?
id=1958
http://www.forces.gc.ca/admmat/d...jss/
index_e.asp
http://www.navy.forces.gc.ca/msp...ws_e.asp?
id=182
http://www.navy.forces.gc.ca/msp...ws_e.asp?
id=164
See this from the last URL:
'-A support ship with some intrinsic fighting capability.
-Provides fuel, supplies, food and ammunition for ships in order to keep them at sea.
-Can carry up to 155 people in addition to the ship's crew.
-Can disembark equipment and personnel relatively slowly and methodically using Roll-On Roll-Off (RO-RO) and Lift-On Lift-Off (LO-LO) capabilities.
-Can offload equipment and personnel in a "permissive," or peaceful, environment.'
In other words, it cannot transport a significant number of troops such as a battalion and could not launch an amphibious assault. One really wonders if we might not be better off buying less complicated AORs and one or two Amphibious Ships (also described at this URL):
'-A fighting ship with some intrinsic support capability.
-Consumes fuel, supplies, food and ammunition in order to project Canadian Forces ashore.
-Can carry a significantly larger military force with equipment and vehicles in 'fighting order,' enabling Canadian Forces to face armed opposition ashore.
-Can rapidly disembark personnel and equipment in 'waves' using 'connector systems' such as landing craft and/or helicopters.
-Can rapidly disembark personnel and equipment in 'waves' using 'connector systems' such as landing craft and/or helicopters.
-Project in early stages. Initial Concept of Operations under development.'
Moreover, there is a lot of doubt how capable Canadian shipyards (Davie in Quebec may be the only one) are of building a ship as complex as the JSS--especially on time and on budget. It might well make a lot more sense to build less complex AORs here and simply have Amphibious Ship(s) built abroad. See:
"Military procurement: Here's really hoping"
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...res-
really.html
And also a 2005 Fraser Institute paper:
"The Need for Canadian Strategic Lift"
http://www.fraserinstitute.ca/
ad...rategicLift.pdf
Mark
Ottawa
Norman: Sorry for the category confusion. Had not realized "Worth reading" was distinct and not subsidiary.
Though I'm not even sure about the "worth" as today's editorial so well demonstrates!
Mark
Ottawa
that Axeworthy article should be read . .it clearly demonstrates the shallow "intellectualism" that is the hallmark of the Trudeaupea Liberals, the blind adherance to "ideals" even after reality has clearly revoked their cred and the easy way in which they can write bald faced lies to bring respect to their beliefs.
It should be read and understood for what it is. Past tense biases provided by a washed up a Liberal Party flunky
Mark
It was included in "worth reading" to bring it to readers' attention.
Norman
Norman: Quite agree about the Globe editorial. In fact the editorial writers--as opposed to reporters and editors--are the only ones not seeming to promote quagmiritis.
My quibble was the WISH I'D WRITTEN. Softy Lloyd's views indeed need to be highlighted but why not in FOREIGN/DEFENCE/SECURITY?
Mark
Ottawa
Mark,
This site is not an echo chamber. Axworthy's piece is worth reading. As is the Globe editorial in Saturday's review.
Norman
Edited By Siteowner
Really Norman, THE COLUMN I WISH I’D WRITTEN/"In The Globe and Mail, Lloyd Axworthy is onto Afghanistan".
Vapourous piffle:
"To utilize this Canadian-sponsored R2P principle in Afghanistan would mean recalibrating our strategy away from simply adopting the counterinsurgency followed by U.S. forces and developing one that focuses much more on the protection of civilians. After all, while NATO troops are off chasing the Taliban in the hills, hundreds of schools and mosques are being attacked and their teachers and moderate imams being kidnapped or killed..."
Hundreds? Precisely when NATO is in the hills? Source? In any event, if those Taliban aren't hunted from time to time they will be able cause even more damage, injury and death.
And as the British general is charge of NATO ISAF said:
http://www.lemonde.fr/web/articl...1-
768888,0.html
'"Ma puissance militaire ne se limitera pas à vaincre les talibans, mais, de manière tout aussi importante, elle servira à assurer l'avenir des villages et des localités"...
That should sound good to Lloyd but he won't care in his anti-US fixation.
And guess who has been chasing the Taliban as part of US counterinsurgency actions for three years? French special forces, operating as an integral part of US Operation Enduring Freedom (ON MY MIND/"What the French are reporting on Afstan: En Afghanistan, Paris suit son ami américain.")
http://www.liberation.fr/page.ph...?
Article=390691
Why are they doing this (translation)?
"It is a very political decision taken directly by the president. As seen from Paris the presence of French special forces in Afghanistan is primarily considered a strong signal to the US, demonstrating France's commitment at their side in the struggle against terrorism."
An idea that would never occur to Lloyd, ever more Liberals, the NDP and the Bloc. The French have a phrase for it: "raison d'état". It is also doing one's duty.
Mark
Ottawa
"O'Connor seeks $15B in extra equipment for troops"
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/Articl...?
hub=TopStories
Excerpt:
'As part of its wish list, the military is asking for:
* More than a dozen new Lockheed-Martin Hercules short-haul tactical aircraft;
* Up to five Boeing C-17 Globe Masters -- long-haul strategic transport planes currently being used by the U.S. military;
* Two naval supply ships, to replace vessels that have been in service for 40 years; and
* Boeing-built heavy-lift Chinook helicopters -- a staple of the U.S. and British armies.'
The $15 billion (life-cycle) cost is nothing to get excited about; last November, Liberal Minister of National Defence Bill Graham put forward a $12.1 billion procurement plan.
http://www.canada.com/national/s...86-
fe16e73b126f
That failed to fly and was replaced by a $5 billion plan for a Hercules replacement.
The main differences from the big November 2005 proposal are the addition of the C-17s and supply ships, and the deletion of a fixed-wing search and rescue aircraft replacement.
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blo...t-dont-
get.html
Mark
Ottawa
why Canada shouldn't be looking at buying militarty kit from the Euros, especially after the screwed over Quebec's aerospace sector on the A400 engines.
Now they are stabbing the Thais.