More To The Story

A New Project

2007-05-23T21:40:00.000-04:00

I've been away from this site for a while now and just don't have time to devote to it and make it what I would want it to be.

But I still have a need to comment on the world around me and have a bit of fun at the same time. To fulfill that need I've started another blog - Copperhead.

So why Copperhead ? From Wikipedia

"During the American Civil War (1861-1865), the Copperheads nominally favored the Union but strongly opposed the war, for which they blamed abolitionists, and they demanded immediate peace and resisted draft laws. They wanted Lincoln and the Republicans ousted from power, seeing the president as a tyrant who was destroying American republican values with his despotic and arbitrary actions."

"Some Copperheads tried to persuade Union soldiers to desert. They talked of helping Confederate prisoners of war seize their camps and escape. They sometimes met with Confederate agents and took money. The Confederacy encouraged their activities whenever possible."

Sound familiar? At least it shows that the "we support the troops but pull out now" faction in both Canada and the US have a historical precedent.

So check out Copperhead at http://copperheadblog.blogspot.com/ and send your suggestions for the Link Of The Day Award.

Bloggers Poker Tournament

2006-06-01T08:17:00.000-04:00

I have registered to play in the
PokerStars World Blogger Championship of Online Poker!

This Online Poker Tournament is a No Limit
Texas Holdem event exclusive to Bloggers.

Registration code: 9681832

Hit the link above to join the battle

ON HIATUS

2006-03-07T08:07:00.000-05:00

Taking a break, but will return when I get angry enough.

More On Cartoon Capers

2006-02-14T09:28:00.000-05:00

I watched the CTV clips of Ezra Levant defending his decision to reprint the cartoons in the Western Standard and thought he did a credible job. You can view the clips here and here. Tarek Fatah from the Canadian Muslim Congress debates him in the second clip but really has nothing to say. He admitted that the Standard had every right to publish the pictures but claimed that unless it also published a biography of the prophet it wasn't balanced journalism.

Meanwhile Indigo Books & Music (Chapters, Coles) and McNally Robinson Booksellers are refusing to carry this issue of the Standard. So to them and all the Canadian media that have elected to self censor on this issue, here's another quote from Ayaan Hirsi Ali.

Shame on those papers and TV channels who lacked the courage to show their readers the caricatures in The Cartoon Affair. These intellectuals live off free speech but they accept censorship. They hide their mediocrity of mind behind noble-sounding terms such as "responsibility" and "sensitivity".

Shame on those politicians who stated that publishing and re-publishing the drawings was "unnecessary", "insensitive", "disrespectful" and "wrong". I am of the opinion that Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen of Denmark acted correctly when he refused to meet with representatives of tyrannical regimes who demanded from him that he limit the powers of the press. Today we should stand by him morally and materially. He is an example to all other European leaders. I wish my prime minister had Rasmussen's guts.

More On The Cartoon Jihad

2006-02-12T14:46:00.000-05:00

How do you have a debate about the cartoons without letting anyone see them? Why do we accept the "spontaneous" eruptions of protest and violence in the middle east as if these actions were even remotely legitiment? Why are is the Canadian press censoring itself? Is it because of their "respect" for Muslim feelings? Or is it because they expect Muslims to behave like ignorant savages and they are afraid?

Whatever the reasons, the Canadian media has elected to dance around the issue. No problem with rabble.ca depiction of the pope (hell, I'm not even Catholic and I found it offensive), the Virgin Mary constructed of dung, etc. Nope, no free speech/sensibility problems there. I guess your sensibilities only count if you have a history of killing those that give you offence.

Whatever the reason, here's a quote from a Muslim woman who has more balls that the entire Canadian press corps combined. From Ayaan Hirsi Ali in Berlin on Feb 9/06.

Today, the open society is challenged by Islamism, ascribed to a man named Muhammad Abdullah who lived in the seventh century, and who is regarded as a prophet. Many Muslims are peaceful people; not all are fanatics. As far as I am concerned they have every right to be faithful to their convictions. But within Islam exists a hard-line Islamist movement that rejects democratic freedoms and wants to destroy them. These Islamists seek to convince other Muslims that their way of life is the best. But when opponents of Islamism try to expose the fallacies in the teachings of Muhammad then they are accused of being offensive, blasphemous, socially irresponsible - even Islamophobic or racist.

The issue is not about race, colour or heritage. It is a conflict of ideas, which transcend borders and races.
(....)
I do not seek to offend religious sentiment, but I will not submit to tyranny. Demanding that people who do not accept Muhammad's teachings should refrain from drawing him is not a request for respect but a demand for submission.

Oh I forgot. We can't really participate in the debate because we have been shielded from these horrible images.

Garth Turner On CTV

2006-02-12T12:32:00.000-05:00

I just finished watching Craig Oliver's panel segment on CTV. Garth Turner was on and made a couple of interesting points:

- in spite of the NDP and Liberal rhetoric, this is not an ethics issue it is a democratic process issue.

- he continues to support the CPC and it's leader

- he was elected as a Conservative and remains a Conservative

- we wants to remain in caucus as long as they will have him

So much for the all the hoo-haa about Garth quitting the CPC or being booted from caucus.

With regards to the first point I agree with Garth (although he has been a publicity hound on this). There is not a whiff of a breach of ethics. Harper has never advocated restrictions on crossing the floor and Emerson did not seek the position.

There is every indication that the entire appointment is about salvaging the softwood deal that the Liberals sat on in order to make bashing the US part of their election platform. That said, it wouldn't surprise me if Emerson retires from politics once the deal is signed. I just wish the impact on softwood was a bigger part of the story.

But right now I can't decide what's more fun - watching Liberals try to explain why this time it's different or watching Oliver and Taber trying to nail the Tories without hitting the Liberals at the same time.

The NDP Boots Buzz

2006-02-12T10:08:00.000-05:00

When I read this I laughed so hard that coffee came out my nose. From the Toronto Star:

The NDP has expelled Buzz Hargrove, the country's most prominent labour leader, for actively promoting strategic voting and Liberal candidates in last month's federal election.

Not to mention hitting the party in the pocketbook as Bill C-24 funds the parties based on the popular vote.

The Ontario NDP provincial executive voted yesterday to pull the membership of Hargrove, president of the Canadian Auto Workers, for violating the party's constitution regarding provisions against endorsing other candidates. It also automatically revokes his membership in the federal party.

He backed strategic voting in Ontario in 1999 which ended with a Tory majority and the NDP being reduced to 9 seats. The Ontario NDP attempted to expel him then and failed.

Hargrove has probably the worst instincts of anyone involved in national politics and a history of picking losers. His endorsement appears to be the kiss of death for those with political aspirations.

In 2006 he endorsed Sid Ryan in Oshawa - Ryan lost, he endorsed Paul Martin - Martin lost. He endorsed the Bloc and the Tories made completely unexpected gains in Quebec. One of his few winners was Belinda Stronach doesn't really have CAW friendly credentials - Tory leadership contender and past president of the traditionally anti-union Magna International where Mike Harris sits on the board.

With friends like Buzz the NDP doesn't need enemies, but with him gone I expect them to increase their popular vote by at least 10% next time around.

Childcare Lunacy

2006-02-12T09:29:00.000-05:00

According to Julie Mason in the Ottawa Citizen (via Norman's Spectator) Harper's move to extract Ottawa from the daycare plans that Martin inked with the provinces about 5 minutes before the election, is causing chaos in Ontario where the province is "ramping up with building renovations, construction and training for early childhood educators. Municipalities were rolling out spaces." If this is true it is the fastest implementation of a program in the history of Canadian politics.

"Harper gave the requisite one-year's notice; now provinces must decide whether to abandon their badly needed plans or get stuck with an ongoing bill they can't afford."

WAKE UP! Notwithstanding that the agreements didn't really require the money be actually spent on childcare, the structure of Liberal plan is exactly like national healthcare. A federal initiative with a limited funding commitment so that once it becomes firmly entrenched as the publics only alternative they can walk away and leave the provinces holding the bag. Eventually sticking the provinces with the ongoing bill is the whole idea.

"Harper must bring in a budget to pay for his $1,200 stipend. By then, all opposition parties must decide if child care - and our children's future - is important enough to trigger another election."

Because the future of Canada's children depends on a national childcare bureaucracy that at best might serve 20% of the nations preschoolers.

Open Letter To CTV re: Government Travel Story

2006-02-10T14:46:00.000-05:00

As many are aware, Craig Smith at Conservative Life broke a story in early January about the government booking luxury hotels in Cancun, Barbados, etc. He also was contacted by CTV about the story well in advance of the January 23 election. Still CTV elected to sit on the story until last night. Given the story would have had some impact on the sitting government and Scott Brison in particular, I questioned CTV decision as follows:

To Whom It May Concern;

Last night I watched your coverage of the above noted story although I have been aware of the content since early January. I am also aware that you had been in receipt if the information from Craig Smith well in advance of the election. Your handling of the story raises a number of questions:

1. Why, when confirmation of the story is as simple as visiting the government websites provided by Mr. Smith, did you choose to sit on the story until after the election?

2. Why would you try to question the incoming Public Works minister about the issue when he's been in the job for less than a week? (Unless you think this file is of such importance that it should have been one of his first briefings - if so see question # 1 )

3. Why was there no mention of any attempt to question Scott Brison on the issue when, as outgoing Public Works Minister, the bookings occurred under his watch?

Or is this simply a case of blatant political partisanship?

One Fake Cartoon Exposed

2006-02-07T16:06:00.000-05:00

As everyone is aware by now, not only were the "offensive" Danish cartoons circulated throughout the middle east by Danish Imam Ahmad Abu Ladan, leader of The Islamic Society of Denmark, but three far more offensive pictures were included that hadn't been published.

Turns out that one of the three additional pictures didn't have anything to do with Islam, it was a photo of a contestant in a pig squealing contest in France.

Neandernews breaks the story with the original photo here.

Another Busy Day For the Religion Of Peace

2006-02-06T12:59:00.000-05:00

More rioting, bloodshed and threats from the religion of peace. A few european papers reprint the cartoons in support of free speech. A cleric calls for cartonists to be executed. Can a Rushdie type fatwa be far behind.

The reaction from the Canadian press:

.....(sound of crickets)........

So what's their reason - Don't want to be intolerant OR just afraid of Islamic retribution.

The New Cabinet Members

2006-02-06T11:44:00.000-05:00

Here's the list in no particular order:

Jim Flaherty - Finance
Bev Oda - Heritage
Peter MacKay - Foreign Affairs
Chuck Strahl - Agriculture
Rona Ambrose - Environment
Jim Prentice - Indian Affairs
Vic Toews - Justice
Tony Clement - Health
Gordon O'Connor - National Defence
Loyola Hearn - Fisheries
David Emerson - International Trade
Tony Clement - Health
Maxime Bernier - Industry
Monte Solberg - Citizenship and Immigration
John Baird - Treasury Board
Rob Nicholson - Democratic Reform
Lawrence Cannon, Transport, Infrastructure and Communities
Stockwell Day, Public Safety
Diane Finley, Human Resources and Social Development
Gary Lunn, Resources
Josée Verner, International Co-operation
Jean-Pierre Blackburn, Labour and Housing
David Emerson, International trade
Carol Skelton, National Revenue and Minister of Western Economic Diversification
Gregory Thompson, Veterans Affairs —
Michael Fortier, Public Works and Government Services
Michael Chong, President of the Queen's Privy Council and Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs and Minister for Sport
Marjory LeBreton, Leader of the Government in the Senate

Well I Told You So....

2006-02-01T17:45:00.000-05:00

I just didn't think they'd consider scrapping it altogether.

From The Toronto Star: Subtract calculus from high school?

From More To The Story: Ontario Liberals To Solve Calculus Problem

The Liberal Leadership Solution

2006-02-01T13:10:00.000-05:00

Although some think that the run of leadership refusniks is because they don't want to be in opposition, I personally think it's because they don't want to carry the can when the chickens come home to roost.

At any rate, with the Liberal old guard unwilling to take on the Sisyphus like task of restoring credibility and integrity to the Liberal party, we're left with the current list of frontrunners: Michael Ignatieff, Belinda Stronach and Scott Brison plus designated import, former NDP Ontario Premier Bob Rae.

But wait a minute. If the US can turn entertainers into politicos (Ronald Reagan, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sonny Bono, Gopher from Loveboat), why can't we? I say the Liberals should draft this guy.

More To The Story Changes Direction

2006-01-31T08:20:00.000-05:00

Now that the election is over I've been thinking of what to do with this blog and have decided to change the focus a bit. While I will still be commenting on federal politics I will be turning more of my attention to the provincial scene in Ontario and the upcoming municipal races in Toronto and Hamilton. Add to that whatever other odds and ends I find interesting (middle east, religion, culture, etc) and I should end up with either something for everyone and/or an unfocused mess of disconnected ramblings. You'll have to decide.

Remembering Old Times

2006-01-31T07:21:00.000-05:00

"Remember when I bitchslapped you in the debate?"
"Yep, that was a good one"

A Dilemma For Hamas

2006-01-26T17:41:00.001-05:00

Now that Hamas has won a decisive victory to become the government of the Palestinian Authority, they find themselves in a precarious position. Fatah could always disavow rocket attacks on Israel by claiming it couldn't control the Hamas militants. Now that Hamas will form the government with a significant majority, will rocket attacks by it's militia members be taken as a declaration of war by Israel. Could be dicey.

Emanuele Ottolenghi in the National Review Online expands on this;

There will be no excuses or ambiguities when Hamas fires rockets on Israel and launches suicide attacks against civilian targets. Until Tuesday, the PA could hide behind the excuse that they were not directly responsible and they could not rein in the "militants." Now the "militants" are the militia of the ruling party. They are one and the same with the Palestinian Authority. If they bomb Israel from Gaza ( not under occupation anymore, and is therefore, technically, part of the Palestinian state the PLO proclaimed in Algiers in 1988, but never bothered to take responsibility for) that is an act of war, which can be responded to in kind, under the full cover of the internationally recognized right of self-defense. No more excuses that the Palestinians live under occupation, that the PA is too weak to disarm Hamas, that violence is not the policy of the PA. Hamas and the PA will be the same: What Hamas does is what the PA will stand for.
(....)
.....unless Hamas reneges on its ideology and endorses a new course, then IsraelÂs claim that there is no Palestinian partner is vindicated. The resulting Israeli policy of unilateralism is vindicated. Israel''s argument that the Palestinians do not want peace is vindicated. Israel's argument that Islamists' nuances and differences of opinion are just tactical, not strategic, is also vindicated. And the prospects of a Palestinian state will become even more remote.

Monte Opens My Eyes

2006-01-26T11:49:00.000-05:00

Now I understand the thinking in Toronto - we don't need CPC representation because after 12 years of Liberal rule there's no problems left. It took Monte Solberg to let me see the light:

Sure its nice to win seats in places like Ottawa, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg or Quebec City. Its even okay I guess to win every seat in Alberta, but if you aren't in TO and Van and Montreal what's the point?

But then it occured to me. We don't have to do anything for the big three. You see they have had ALL Liberal representation for the last twelve years so they don't have any problems.

I haven't asked lately but I'm sure that Toronto waterfront thing is coming along great. I mean they announced it so many years ago now, and it was a Liberal government and it was all Liberal MPs in Toronto so therefore it must be a huge success. I mean that's how you get things done for TO!

I can hardly wait to jump on that high speed train that must now go from Pearson to downtown and then stay at one of those glorious new hotels on the beautiful boardwalk that almost certainly now skirts Lake Ontario. I saw the artists conceptions. Wow. That must be cool to have all that new infrastructure because of all of those Liberal government MPs.

Okay. Let me be straight with you. Just now I was being sarcastic. No, I'm not proud of that.

You see there is no new waterfront development eventhough Toronto has about 50 Liberal MPs per square inch. There is also no new infrastructure. There is no new train. There is no new anything.

Apparently however it is a disaster if these big cities don't have government MPs because then they won't get their problems addressed. Oh...right...okay. Gotcha. Now that's a compelling argument.

Anywho. Eventhough our election win is the worst electoral loss in Canadian history because of the big city thing we will try to carry our heads high. We may even try in our own bumpkin way to help the big cities. Certainly we could never hope to replicate the sophisticated, subtle and imperceptible way that all of those hip city Liberals MPs have propelled Toronto forward with that stunningly beautiful and imaginary waterfront project.

I mean considering that we lost the election how can we help? But we will help eventhough we technically can't help because of the overwhelming Liberal victory. That's the way we are though. Always sticking our yokel noses in city business, even though Prime Minister Ignatieff won that crushing victory yesterday.

Misc Items

2006-01-26T11:34:00.000-05:00

This and that

Carolyn Parrish runs for municipal council.

Parrish filed papers at Mississauga city hall yesterday to run in the new Ward 6, which will be split in two for this fall's municipal election. Longtime political ally George Carlson, who holds the seat now, will run in the other half.

H/T to Kinny's Comments for a link to a nice all-inclusive big tent Liberal's blog.

Thanks America

According to the Canadian Defence Department, after the suicide bomb went off, all the casualties were first transported out by a military ambulance. Soon after, they were picked up by a U.S. Army Blackhawk helicopter, which flew the wounded soldiers to the American military field hospital in Kandahar for immediate medical attention.

After that, our soldiers were taken to an American military hospital in Landstuhl, Germany, a top-notch medical facility that is the largest American hospital not located in the United States. Our soldiers received excellent care there until returning to their home here in Edmonton this week.

In short, then, one of the primary reasons our soldiers are in as good of shape as they are is because the American military went to the aid of an allied country fighting for freedom in Afghanistan.

Our Liberal politicians won't say it. Many Canadians won't say it.

But we'll say it: Thanks to the American soldiers, pilots, and medical personnel who helped save our soldiers' lives. They are all heroes, too.

Oh Please .....

2006-01-26T11:24:00.000-05:00

From the G&M;

There is no shortage of possible Liberal leadership candidates.

They include Frank McKenna, the former New Brunswick premier who is now ambassador in Washington; former Harvard professor Michael Ignatieff who won a seat in a Toronto riding Monday; former cabinet minister Martin Cauchon from Quebec and Ontario MP Maurizio Bevilacqua.

Other possibles are former deputy prime minister John Manley, former Newfoundland premier Brian Tobin, and Liberal MPs Joe Volpe, Scott Brison, and Belinda Stronach, who once ran for the Conservative leadership.

I'm truly amazed that anyone imagine a reptile like Joe Volpe as Liberal leader. Scott Brison - get real. Belinda - you can't be serious.

Note: Manley has already dropped out and he's head and shoulders better than these three.

The Corruption Of Paul Martin

2006-01-24T13:39:00.000-05:00

Excellent piece by Father Raymond J. De Souza in the National Post:

Martin and his advisors failed to grasp that there are two types of corruption in politics. They were so busy distancing themselves from the first type that they did not realize that they were immersed in the second.
(.....)
There is, though, another type of corruption. It's not so vulgar, but more subtle and more soul-destroying. It is not about using political office for one's own gain. It is about compromising oneself to grasp and retain political office. It is about power for power's sake. And it is this corruption which consumed Paul Martin.

If getting power meant undermining his predecessor, he would do it. If heading off Adscam meant throwing his predecessor's allies overboard, he would do it. If winning the 2004 election meant trashing Stephen Harper in hysterical terms, he would do it. If keeping power meant allowing the NDP to rewrite the budget, he would do it.

If it meant embarrassing himself with petty outbursts against the Americans, even after promising to improve Canada-U.S. relations, he would do it. If it meant allowing his chief of staff to negotiate tawdry deals to induce opposition MPs to cross the floor, he would do it. If it meant trafficking Cabinet seats to win a non-confidence vote, he would do it. If it meant engaging in a pre-election spending spree completely contrary to his well-earned reputation as a fiscal manager, he would do it. And finally, if it meant conducting a near-maniacal election campaign -- disgorging smears, proposing constitutional amendments on the fly, playing fast and loose with national unity, and descending into a caricature of the man who will say anything to win a vote -- then he would do it in spades, and have the chutzpah to declare that this election was about his values.

In Need Of Reform - Elections Canada

2006-01-24T11:55:00.000-05:00

Given the seemingly endless reports of problems and incompetence, Elections Canada needs a major overhaul. Here's just a few of the problems that came to light during this trip to the polls:

- reports of widespread issuance of voter information cards to non-citizens. This wouldn't be a problem except for numerous reports of locations where the cards was used in place of proper identification.

- reports of registration of dead people or people who hadn't lived at the "residence" for many years.

- reports of people registering at commercial locations in order to vote in a riding other than where they live (or possibly voting in multiple locations).

- reports of issuing real ballots prior to the election for use in schools without proper safeguards to ensure the ballots were destroyed.

- people being directed to distant (wrong) polling stations

What's Next For The Liberals

2006-01-24T11:33:00.000-05:00

I hate to say it but in all likelihood we are looking at about 15 months before the next election.

I expect the Liberals to drag out their leadership selection process so that they can piggyback their election push on the interest generated by their leadership race. So look for a leadership convention that falls just before '07 budget with the Libs trying to orchestrate the fall of the government on the budget bill.

A Little Brainwashing In The Schools

2006-01-24T11:05:00.000-05:00

A friend of mine told me her ten year old came home and said he hoped Stephen Harper wouldn't get in "because if he does he will attack womens' rights".

Nice to see the indoctrination is well underway by grade five.

What The Liberals Flacks Are Doing Today

2006-01-24T10:56:00.000-05:00

Things to do;
- shred all questionable documents. Better yet shred everything.
- wipe down all hard drives and re-partition
- update resume

Not What We're Against, But What We're For

2006-01-24T10:47:00.000-05:00

I've read a lot of commentary last night and this morning. A lot of talk about Liberal corruption, etc., but the one that rings most true to me is by Arthur Weinreb at Canada Free Press. Here's "We chose our Canada" in it's entirety;

We chose a Canada that is optimistic about the future; not a Canada that is led by a government that preaches doom and gloom;

We chose a Canada where Canadians with dissenting views are respected; where those whose political views do not represent that of the government are merely dismissed as "un-Canadian";

We chose a Canada where we are united and allegations of separatism are not levelled against other Canadians to score cheap political points.

We chose a Canada where "fending for yourself" is not a dirty expression but something that all Canadians can aspire to;

We chose a Canada with a government that is free from continuing and entrenched corruption; where misusing the hard earned money of the taxpayer is not part of the way that business is done in Ottawa;

We chose a Canada where elected officials cannot hold office because they are a "friend" or simply because they are "entitled to their entitlements";

We chose a Canada where people do not die on waiting lists while the government builds up larger and larger surpluses that they call "balanced budgets";

We chose a Canada where revenues from taxation are considered the peoplesÂ money, not the governmentÂs money;

We chose a Canada where action will be taken against more violent criminals instead of taking action against law abiding citizens by banning handguns that are already banned to criminals;

We chose a Canada where criminals will be treated as criminals and not as victims of law abiding Canadians;

We chose a Canada that is a nation of laws; where laws apply equally to all people in Canada and where amendments to the constitution will be undertaken by Parliament; not blurted out during an election debate;

We chose a Canada where Parliament will make our laws and not do nothing, leaving the Courts to legislate;

We chose a Canada where all law abiding people will be treated with respect and not be sloughed off as "beer drinkers" and "popcorn eaters"

We chose a Canada where foreign policy will be made in Ottawa and not be dictated from New York;

We chose a Canada where the United States of America, our largest trading partner, will be treated as a friendly ally and who will not be subjected to juvenile name calling to score political points.

All through the election campaign, Paul Martin asked us to choose our Canada. And we did.

"Who Cares" Story Of The Day

2006-01-21T10:28:00.000-05:00

From The Toronto Sun: Ex-pat stars fear Tories

Eric McCormack and Donald Sutherland are spooked by Stephen Harper's lead in the polls. Why does the Sun print this crap. If you need filler run a picture of a puppy.

Valeri Land Flip Story Still Has Legs

2006-01-21T09:57:00.000-05:00

From the Stoney Creek News: 'Wild night in Stoney Creek'

The Stoney Creek News held a local candidates' debate Jan. 12 (the day the story broke) at Orchard Park Secondary School. CBC radio and television reporters attended the event hoping to ask questions of Mr. Valeri about the issue - but found him to be uncooperative.

"As soon as the debate ended I approached him (Mr. Valeri) at the podium but he basically avoided me," said CBC radio news national reporter Christopher Grosskurth. "His flacks hustled him out the door. They made a premeditated move to escape. He had no intention of answering our questions. In my 25 years in journalism, I've never seen anything like it. It was a wild night in Stoney Creek."

From the Hamilton Spectator: Valeri opens door to more questions

Questions are asked. The cabinet minister offers an explanation, and then suggests the documents were deliberately released as part of a smear campaign to hurt him at a critical point in the election and threatens to sue the website operator.

Stories are published, new questions arise. The cabinet minister declines to answer the new questions or clarify his earlier explanation.

More stories are published and now there's a call for an investigation by a rival party's MP

Liberal Suggests Citizen Move To The US

2006-01-21T09:19:00.000-05:00

Once again a Liberal candidate has suggested that a Canadian citizen leave the country if not in agreement with Liberal policy. This seems to be a theme with the Liberals as I believe it's at least the second time in this election that a Liberal candidate has make this type of comment.

At an all candidates debate (RENFREW-NIPISSING-PEMBROKE), in response to a question about compensation for confiscatedhandguns, Liberal Don Lindsay suggested that with that kind of perspective the questioner should move to the U.S.

From Valley News Net - Lindsay loses control at Debate

After an evening of being questioned and prodded about a law to ban handguns that his Government has said will be put in place if elected Lindsay started to become a bit agitated. The downward spiral began when an audience member asked whether each candidate supported a handgun ban. Lindsay responded that he doesn't "remember hunting ducks with a handgun."
(....)
Don Lindsay's self destruction continued when club member and Canadian Veteran George Tompkins stood to ask the candidates his question. "If the handgun ban goes forward. What plan would your party offer to compensate those of us who legally own the guns that would be confiscated?" To which Lindsay replied "Sir America is our neighbor not our nation, if you elect a society that talks about that kind of perspective I suggest that perhaps you go there!"
(....)
After the meeting I tried to catch up to Lindsay to get a comment on his statement towards Tompkins but no sooner was the meeting adjourned he was gone. All other candidates remained to chat with the club members for about 30 minutes after the debate was finished.

The Supremes - No Liberal Bias Here

2006-01-20T13:46:00.000-05:00

From Norman Spector
Chretien's stacked the deck When he named the latest Supreme Court judge last week, the PM gave it a federalist, socially liberal shape for a decade to come
17 August 2002 in The Globe and Mail

Some commentators noted that the relatively young Madam Justice Deschamps, as she will be known for the next 25 years, was Mr. Chretien's fifth appointee to the Supreme Court -- which means he's now named the majority of the judges. Others explained that the new justice was filling the legally guaranteed third Quebec seat.
What no one pointed out is that four of those nine judges who were already on the court were born, raised and completed university in Quebec ; Judge Deschamps brings that total to five. Now four of the nine are francophones (Louise Arbour, Charles Gonthier, Louis LeBel and Judge Deschamps) and one is English-speaking (Ian Binnie).

With Judge Deschamps's appointment, the majority of the judges on the Supreme Court of Canada now come from one of our provinces. And Quebec 's population today accounts for less than a quarter of the Canadian total.

Or regarding Justice Michel Bastarache

"Mr. Justice Michel Bastarache, one of Chretien’s six appointees to the court, wrote the decision. His appointment aroused some controversy, since by convention the Atlantic seat on the Supreme Court is rotated among the four eastern provinces. Like the judge he replaced, Bastarache is from New Brunswick. While his legal credentials were unimpressive, he did have strong Liberal connections and had been an ally of Chretien in past language and constitutional wars."

Or From Colby Cosh - May 21, 2004 National Post

"On Tuesday a 6-3 majority of the Supreme Court upheld the federal Liberals’ harsh new election spending limits on "third parties," by which is meant, basically, human beings who aren’t running for office. It’s a remarkable moment. Leave aside the question of whether the new Elections Act is good or bad on its own merits, and consider the history.

In 1982, the country was persuaded to adopt an American-style charter of individual rights and freedoms that would empower our judiciary to strike down laws willy-nilly in the manner of the U.S. Supreme Court. It’s a power that has fortified the Supreme Court’s national and international prestige. It has made it an equal partner with, and some would say the distinct superior of, our elected Parliament. The Court has used the Charter with childlike enthusiasm to force governments to abandon or reinterpret countless laws, regulations and social policies.

But when asked to apply the Charter to the issue of election spending limits in the case of Harper v. Canada, the Court discovered a contradiction between a certain concept of "electoral fairness," found nowhere in the Constitution, and the individual free-expression rights clearly described as "fundamental" in section 2 of the Charter.

So what happened when the fundamental rights collided with this idea of "fairness"? They crumpled like a Chevette hit by a freight train.

Obviously, it’s time to move beyond the debate between those of us who would like to see the text of the Charter enforced and those who loathe the revolutionary manner of the Charter’s adoption. The Supreme Court isn’t even pretending to make decisions based on the Charter anymore. This isn’t "judicial activism," it’s judicial whacktivism.

Reading the decision in Harper is a fascinating journey into the bizarre mental universe of the Canadian judge. By way of example, let’s return to that "electoral fairness" thing. This is a phrase that could be interpreted all sorts of ways. The Court majority, subscribing to the judgment written by Justice Michel Bastarache, contemplated two.

There’s the "libertarian model" of electoral fairness whereby the "electoral process [is] subject to as few restrictions as possible." Everybody is permitted as much free speech as they can afford, without limits: ideas fight for approval in a unfettered marketplace. There is also an "egalitarian model" of fairness in which the "overarching objective … is to promote electoral fairness by creating equality in the political discourse." In this model, political speech is deemed a zero-sum game: "the State can restrict the voices which dominate the political discourse so that others may be heard as well."

The Liberals’ new Elections Act reflects the theory of the "egalitarian model" by essentially outlawing political advertising during elections by anyone but political parties. A philosopher’s mind — as opposed to a judge’s — might wonder whether giving political parties a monopoly on election speech fits even this egalitarian definition of "fairness." But Justice Bastarache’s decision:

a) arbitrarily declared the egalitarian model part of the formal ideology of the Canadian state, even though the Charter is premised on the opposing principle;

b) decreed, without investigating the matter too closely, that the amended Elections Act does conform to the egalitarian model;

c) decided that the Elections Act, since "fairness" is an urgent and rational objective of the state, can overpower section 2 of the Charter (i.e., your sacred natural rights) with complete impunity.

Five other judges — our best and brightest — subscribed to this wad of fiat in apparent contentment. Thus the thing is settled in perpetuity.

This all merely confirms that the Charter, whether good or bad in itself, is a filthy lie. It advertises itself as the basic law of the land, yet when more than half the Supreme Court decides that something explicitly contrary to it would be a capital idea, the document’s text evaporates. "Fundamental" freedoms become provisional, negotiable, disposable. The notion of "an egalitarian model of electoral fairness" appears, let me emphasize, nowhere in the Charter. Believe it or not, the Court pulled those theoretical wheezings about "egalitarian" fairness out of a half-baked and much-contested 1992 Royal Commission report on election spending.

Somehow, the judges thought that implementing this dusty shred of bumf was more important than applying the stated essence of the Constitution. Seems odd to me, but I never went to law school or suffered a major head trauma.

I haven’t begun to sum up the Harper ruling’s noxiousness here. One astonishing utterance from the Honourable Mr. Justice Bastarache will, I think, long be remembered: "While the right to political expression lies at the core of the guarantee of free expression and warrants a high degree of constitutional protection, there is nevertheless a danger that political advertising may manipulate or oppress the voter."

The theory here, in case you couldn’t believe your eyes, is that hearing a particular political opinion too often might "oppress" the electorate. To minimize the risk of such "oppression," the Supreme Court is prepared to allow Elections Canada sweeping new powers to register, monitor and outlaw the political speech of private citizens and organizations during federal campaigns.

Which leaves us with just one question: When, exactly, did they make Joseph Stalin a Father of Confederation?

Source: Western Standard, May 18, 2004 and This Canada, May 22, 2004

You Can Smell The Desperation

2006-01-19T17:16:00.000-05:00

From the G&M: Martin says Harper would stack top court

Paul Martin painted his Conservative rivals Thursday as "extreme" right-wingers who intend to stack the Supreme Court of Canada with socially conservative judges.

Because I'm sure that even though seven of the nine current supremes were appointed since the Liberal win in 1993, Mr. Chretien and Mr. Martin didn't bother to even think about their political leanings.

Now let's say he's right. Judges sit until they are 75. Justice Major hits the number this year. The next one is 2013, and two in 2014. So unless someone dies, there won't be a majority of Conservative appointments on the bench until 2014 - most likely at least two elections from now.

So what Martin is really saying is that if the public gets a real chance to look at what the Liberals have been doing and hiding over the past 12 years, they won't be electable until sometime after 2015.

But the real desperation shows with this:

"(The courts) stand between (the Conservatives) and the most socially conservative agenda that has ever been this close to forming a government. . . Never have we seen a major political party with such a conservative agenda as this one - an agenda really drawn from the extreme right in the United States."

Yikes! Nevermind that the Conservative platform would be well to the left of the Democrats. They're Americans! You can't really tell them apart 'cause they're ALL so scary.

Those That Must Go.

2006-01-19T16:39:00.000-05:00

Mike at London Fog covers the whole list and with a fine Peter Tosh tune to boot.

Liberals Attempt A Drive By Sliming

2006-01-19T13:38:00.000-05:00

From a press release by Conservative incumbent MP Maurice Vellacott (Saskatoon-Wanuskewin)

Tuesday night on Shaw Cable, a caller phoned in falsely accusing front-runner Conservative incumbent MP Maurice Vellacott of sexually assaulting his church secretary at North Park Church. The technicians who have no 7 second delay cut the call off. Vellacott responded quickly by looking directly into the camera, stating to the technicians that he needed to get the name and phone number of that caller for defamation proceedings.
(.....)
When the 1-306-956-2570 number provided by the Shaw Cable staff member was dialed, it was found to be Chris Axworthy's campaign office phone number.
(....)
Vellacott has never been accused by any woman of sexual assault and was never a Pastor at North Park Church or ever in attendance there. Bishop Jerold Gliege former long-term Pastor of North Park Church and now of Holy Covenant Orthodox Church, confirms that Vellacott never served there. Gliege says, "Vellacott is an upstanding, honourable man who has served this Saskatoon-Wanuskewin constituency very diligently. He is a courageous person and has been an effective representative for this riding on a whole range of issues. He has a big heart for people and stands up for seniors, the vulnerable and the underdog. Because he is an articulate defender of life, marriage and family, he is the target of attacks by those who have differing views."

h/t Andrew Coyne and OfficiallyScrewed.com

Chantal Hebert on Quebec

2006-01-19T13:25:00.000-05:00

Chantal Hebert is one of the few columnist in the Star that isn't totally blinded by the papers unquestioning support for the Liberals. Today's column on Harper's impact in Quebec is right on the money.

Here is another measure of the magnitude of the Conservatives' psychological breakthrough in Quebec: At this point, Harper's Tories are more popular than Mario Dumont's Action democratique party. In francophone Quebec, they outrank Jean Charest's provincial Liberals. Suddenly, it pays for a Quebec leader to be associated with Harper.

Regardless of Monday's seat count in Quebec, this will have lasting consequences. For better or for worse, the Conservative party has for now become the federalist option of choice in Quebec. For the foreseeable future, it Â rather than the Liberals Â stands to attract the better candidates.

(....)

In the unlikely scenario of a narrow Conservative defeat Monday, the party would still emerge from the vote with more of the attributes of a national party than the Liberals and a more popular leader in all regions of the country, including Quebec.

Tony Valeri Nosestretcher

2006-01-19T12:59:00.000-05:00

Mark-Alan Whittle has an excellent breakdown of the Tony Valeri house flip issue.

Holy Crap!

2006-01-19T12:22:00.000-05:00

This gives new meaning to the name Fat Bastard. By the way, 86 stone is about 1200 pounds.

Is The PC Party A "Stalking Horse"

2006-01-18T17:49:00.000-05:00

I encourage everyone to be proactive about informing voters that the PC PARTY IS NOT THE CONSERVATIVE PARTY. It's simply a way to draw off Conservative votes

Autonomous Source has a great list with links to all the "fringe" parties. See Voter's guide: the kooks, crackpots, and true believers

OK, They're Really Grasping At Straws Now

2006-01-18T13:32:00.000-05:00

Oh oh, pseudo-Tories Carole Jamieson and Eugene Parks claim that the Blogging Tories website was set up by the Conservative Party (no mention of The Blogging Dippers, progressive bloggers, Liblogs or the crew at rabble). The Liberals think this is significant.

Then Buzz Hargrove, who's already jumped from the NDP to the Liberals, goes nuts and decides to support the Bloc. According to Buzz, if they can't bring themselves to vote Liberal, Quebec voters should choose the Bloc Quebecois over the Conservatives.

Harper Beats Me To The Punch

2006-01-18T13:26:00.000-05:00

Man! I've just been writing on and off over the past couple of days about how a Harper win is only the first step in changing the political culture in this country. Even a majority government will face an uphill battle due to a Liberal dominated senate and a judiciary stacked with Liberal appointees. Then in one fell swoop Harper beats me to the punch.

Liberal Strategy Revealed

2006-01-10T18:20:00.000-05:00

Well the next round of Liberal ads are up here and it seems that flogging the anti-Americanism horse will remain a key part of the strategy. It features in two of the three ads, one is about Harper wanting to undo some of the damage done by the Liberals and the third is a rehash of a quote attack from 2004.

One about a Washington Post article about Harper (look out - the evil Americans like him). No mention about The Economist dubbing Martin "Mr. Dithers" though.

The next one is about the Liberals impact on Canada - turning us into a second rate, second tier socialist country reliant on it's economy and social programs for any sort of national identity. Harper vows to change this. I'm not sure why the Liberals are running this one - it's more of an anti-Liberal ad than anything.

The third again to link the U.S. to the Harper campaign. It's also a complete falsehood - Harper has released all of his information for donors over $200.00.

The fourth is recycled from the 2004 campaign. I don't recognize where it's from and haven't been able to find the source so I can read it in context. Any one have a link for this?

New U.S. SEC Policy

2006-01-09T11:41:00.000-05:00

The SEC has recently announced new policy for imposing monetary fines on corporations that violate the securities fraud rules. No word on how that might impact the investigation into government policy and leaks that result in many Canadians (and Americans) losing significant amount of money.

Another Liberano Ad

2006-01-08T18:39:00.000-05:00

Another Liberano ad From efrank.ca

Who Knew...

2006-01-08T17:33:00.000-05:00

... that being a self confessed thief and claiming to be mentally ill would have a negative effect on your election chances.

From The Province: Ring incident haunts Svend

German Cannibals?

2006-01-08T16:45:00.000-05:00

OK, I remember this story from a couple of years ago where a German killed and ate a man he met on the internet. His defense was that the "victim" (entree) wanted him to do it.

His case is under appeal as covered in the The Sunday Times-World but one section really jumped out at me:

German police estimate there are 8,000-10,000 people in their country who fantasise about eating a person or being eaten and are attracted to websites devoted to the practice.

What's German for "Bite Me!"

Martin And The Environment

2006-01-08T16:31:00.000-05:00

Paul Martin has been trying to tie the environmentalist tag to his campaign even though he doesn't seem to understand that Kyoto has nothing to do with cleaning up the Great Lakes. But let's be fair, his real life behavior towards the environment should tell us what we really need to know

From Steven Fletcher's website:

In March 2002, a CSL ship received the largest fine ever issued for ship based pollution in Canadian waters. The CSL Atlas, a 12-year-old, 41,000 tonne ship (registered in the Bahamas), was intercepted 80 miles south of Halifax with an oil slick 22 nautical miles long and fifteen meters wide. Six moths later, CSL pleaded guilty and was fined $125,000. According to government inspectors, "“There was no evidence that the offender took any precautions to avoid the offence. On the contrary..... an inference can be made that the offender attempted to cover-up the offence by providing false information....It can be assumed that the offender obtained significant material gains by choosing not to properly maintain the pollution prevention equipment on board the CSL Atlas"” (Transport Canada/Marine Safety, Report of Senior Marine Inspector, ATI documentation).

Harinder Takhar Does A "Sheila"

2006-01-07T14:53:00.000-05:00

Developing from my post yesterday's - McGuinty Learns Ethics From Martin, the Toronto Star has this:

Critics are calling for Transportation Minister Harinder Takhar to live up to a promise he made last June to quit politics and pay back his salary if he was found guilty of breaking integrity rules.
(....)
The Conservatives yesterday produced a June 21 article from a Mississauga Punjabi newspaper in which Takhar pledged to resign, adding fuel to opposition calls for his resignation.

The article said if the integrity commissioner found him in conflict of interest, Takhar would leave politics and repay all salary received from the government, according to a verified translation.

Just so you remember, cabinet ministers are required to put their business affairs into blind trusts. Takhar, who is the Minister of transportation, controls the Chalmers Group of Companies of which his wife is now president and includes trucking interests. He named Joseph Jeyanayagam as his trustee and Mr. Jeyanayagam later became treasurer of the Takhar's Mississauga Centre riding association. The Integrity Commissioner labeled his behavior "egregiously reckless" but McGuinty stands by his man and continues "to have confidence in Minister Takhar as my minister of transportation and as a valued member of my cabinet and caucus."

So let the weasel word begin;
"I was not found to be in a conflict of interest ... it was never proven I have a conflict of interest"

And the capper: "I think I have been punished enough; I have paid a big price for this"

Please note his "punishment" was a reprimand and having to appoint a new trustee.

Root Causes

2006-01-07T12:43:00.000-05:00

Instead accepting the the standard excuses of "exclusion", "not enough programs" "insensitive educational system" "lack of employment opportunities" or "Mike Harris" being the root cause of street violence I decided to look for someone with some successful hands-on experience in dealing with poverty issues. Avoiding politicians and professional social workers, I came across a series by Gerry Charlotte Phelps on helping the poor called Up and Out and posted at gerrycharlottephelps.com. If you visit be sure to read her biography.

From Chapter 6: Sex And Poverty

Once it was thought that the most basic causes, or "most reliable predictors" of poverty were: high levels of unemployment, racial discrimination and lack of education. Now it is well known, however, that the most reliable predictor of poverty is fatherlessness. Fatherlessness is what is most likely to make children grow up poor. And since the great majority of the poor are in fatherless families, fatherlessness is also responsible for most of the poverty in America.
(.....)
Most alarming of all is the relationship between fatherlessness and violent crime. Of the most violent young criminals in prison, 70% are fatherless.

We now know that fatherlessness is not only the most reliable predictor of poverty, but also of violent crime. Mapping neighborhoods and city blocks by the percentage of fatherless households has been found the most reliable way to predict the location of the most violent crime in any city.

From Chapter 4: What the Poor Are Like

Most of the women began to have sex at an early age. Despite some abortions, most had 2 or 3 children by age 18. Most were never married. Most of their children had different fathers. Their fathers usually did not work.

Whatever they told us, there was almost always a man in the house, usually a boyfriend. Usually he did not contribute financially to the household. If fact, he was usually a financial parasite, living off the mother and often other welfare girlfriends as well.

We would try hard to involve the boyfriend in the program. This was not only because he needed it. It was also because our experience showed that sooner or later, he would try to sabotage her program, when he realized that once she was earning her money instead of just getting a check from welfare, his parasitic position in her life might be at risk.

Typically, he would insist on baby-sitting her children when she got a job. (He would not want her to spend "their" money on someone else.) Then he would do such a bad job, or be so unreliable, that she would have to quit her new job. So things went back to the way they were and he could stop worrying. We saw it over and over and over.

His attitude about working was that it was beneath him. That jobs that he could get were too undignified. He scorned friends who worked at entry-level jobs for "chump change." He usually lacked the concept of starting in a low-level job and working his way up.

Chances were small that he was working.

Chances were large that he had a criminal record of some kind, as the only kinds of work he found acceptable were, for the most part, illegal. He dreamed of making a big killing or winning the lottery.

Usually he had dropped out of school early. Often he would be illiterate or semi-literate. Fatherless himself as a rule, he had no clue as to what being a good father was like. Often, he had been part of a gang, and had been delinquent since an early age. He usually had several children by several women. He may have been an outright pimp at some point. He also may have been in several programs, learning mostly how to fake his way through them. He typically was abusive of his women and sometimes their children.

These men shape much of the social life of their communities. They help create the standards and tone of what is "cool." They know how to be noticed in the party and night-life scene. They are imitated by the youth of their communities.

They learn how to be slick and smooth, and how to turn a young woman's head. To many women in their neighborhoods, they seem to be the best "catch" available. The young women of the community often try to become the kind of woman that kind of man would find attractive.

These men are the true hard core of the poor, even more than the moms. They certainly have a large and negative effect on the moms and their children.

SEC Looks Into Income Trust Trading

2006-01-06T20:37:00.000-05:00

Those following this story know that NDP finance critic filed complaints with the RCMP, the Ontario Securities Commission and the U.S. SEC. The RCMP has launched an investigation and now the SEC's legal counsel responds with a letter stating "We are taking your complaint very seriously and have referred it to the appropriate people within the SEC"

Normally the SEC doesn't talk about investigations that are underway but a few leaks wouldn't surprise me. Perhaps a little payback for this.

More Liberal S**t Hits The Fan - Updated

2006-01-06T15:20:00.000-05:00

My Google alerts are hitting pretty regularly. The MSM is starting to pay attention to the Sarmite Bulte issue. See at the CBC - Liberal MP takes flak for fundraiser by copyright lobbyists

But the better story is at the Toronto Sun - Mounties asked to probe Grit lobbyist

It seems that in 2003 the justice department hired a private lobbyist for $380,000 to lobby the federal solicitor general, Treasury Board and Privy Council for funds for the firearms registry. In other words the government used $380,000 of our money to lobby itself. And who did they use - Kim Doran.

And who is Kim Doran? At the time she represented the Coalition for Gun Control. Today she's employed as the Deputy National Director (Organization and Policy) of the Liberal Party of Canada (see link).

UPDATE: The Reclusive Antiquarian has assembled a number of links relating to this story. Interesting contributions to the Liberal Party from Kim Doran's company, Capital Hill Group.

This Is A CBC "Political Expert"

2006-01-06T10:40:00.000-05:00

Larry Zolf obviously lives on a different planet than I do. At first I was going to "fisk" this but I don't have the time. So have a look at this, this, this and the excerpts below before you read his piece here.

Globe And Mail, May 11, 2005
But perhaps the most stunning finding shows that 61 per cent of Canadians surveyed believe the prime minister is the federal political leader most likely to tell a lie if it would help him politically. Only 26 per cent believe that of Conservative Leader Stephen Harper.

(...)
When asked which party leader is the most hypocritical, 54 per cent chose Mr. Martin, compared to 29 per cent for Mr. Harper. In a similar vein, 63 per cent thought Mr. Martin the most dishonest, compared with 20 per cent for Mr. Harper.

McGuinty Learns Ethics From Martin

2006-01-06T09:17:00.000-05:00

In typical Liberal style, Dalton McGuinty has not required cabinet minister Harinder Takhar to resign for breeching the Members Integrity Act. In fact he hasn't imposed any punishment on Takhar at all.

Takhar, who is compelled to put his business affairs into a blind trust was found to have violated the act by not ensuring the independence of the trustee. Integrity Commissioner Coulter Osborne issued a reprimand, and to Mr. McGuinty that's punishment enough.

Takhar's trustee, having gone through the approval process, was then elected treasurer of Takhar's riding association. The Integrity Commissioner found it was clear then that the relationship was in no way independent nor arms-length.

In April 2005 Takhar also held a three hour meeting with his trustee at the Chalmers Group of Companies offices where his hold controlling interest. He was caught and photographed by a Conservative staff member and claimed that he was there to discuss the financing of his daughter's education with his wife, who worked there, and the trustee.

There is no evidence that Takhar had any other unauthorized meetings with his trustee and I believe that, regardless of their relationship in the riding association, they would not have breached the blind trust requirement by discussing Takhar's business holdings in any way.

The Integrity Commissioner said Takhar showed "an error in judgment, that is negligence". He reprimanded Takhar and ordered him to appoint a new trustee

McGuinty said "It is clear the minister demonstrated a lapse in judgment in this circumstance," but he continues "to have confidence in Minister Takhar as my minister of transportation and as a valued member of my cabinet and caucus."

McGuinty's attitude on this is not a surprise. Given the porous nature of the trust arrangement that Mr. Martin enjoyed for many years, I surprised he didn't challenge Osborne's reprimand and dispute the necessity of replacing the trustee.

In case you don't remember, it was revealed back in February, 2003 that Martin's blind trust arrangement had actually included at least 12 instances of using a "peek-a-boo clause" to discussed Canada Steamship Line's business with members of the CSL board. All approved by Mr. Chretien's personal ethics guru, Howard Wilson. But there's more - Michael Harris in the Ottawa Sun;

When Barbados created a new class of offshore companies back in 1991, Canadian companies who routed their business through Barbados qualified for a corporate tax rate of between 1% to 2.5%. The comparable rate in Canada, including provincial corporate taxes, was approximately 40%.

As you might imagine, Barbados proved pretty popular with the monied classes. Between 1990 and 2001, Canadian investment in Barbados went up 1,453%. It was a deal that cost Canada $1.5 billion in lost revenue but saved companies like Mr. MartinÃ‚’s $2.5 million in taxes for every $10 million of taxable income.

This was not such good news for Canadian merchant mariners. As a matter of fact, the crew members of one Canada Steamship Lines vessel were replaced by Ukrainians. Ukrainians, it turns out, are cheaper than Canadians. There were other changes. The flag of Barbados was raised where the Maple Leaf used to fly.

As CSL explained, it was a dog-eat-dog world; any ship registered in Canada was required by law to have a fully Canadian crew. So the company had no choice but to move its international subsidiary Barbados, where it would continue to pay 2% tax on its corporate profits.

In 2002, the auditor general called on the government to amend CanadaÃ‚’s treaty with Barbados, which was originally aimed at protecting companies that did business in both states against double taxation, but which was now attacking the integrity of our tax base.

It was an awkward moment for Paul. On the one hand, he was finance minister of Canada and on the other CSL International was saving millions by paying taxes in Barbados. Increasing MartinÃ‚’s dilemma, Canadians who paid their taxes in Canada at a rate somewhat higher than 2% had coughed up federal contracts, grants and other contributions to CSL totaling $161 million over the period of a decade.

Then-finance minister Martin took decisive action in his very first budget back in February 1994. Thanks to him, Canadian companies would no longer be able to bring dividends from foreign affiliates back into Canada tax-free.

Rich guys, including Paul Martin, had to face the Canadian taxman. There was only one exception to the new regulations: Barbados. And thatÃ‚’s where Martin moved seven of his Liberian-registered CSL International ships and continued to enjoy a 2% tax rate.

But never fear, ethics wins out in the end. As reported in the National Post in 2003, Paul Martin is "strongly inclined" to stop receiving updates on business affecting his family's shipping conglomerate if he becomes prime minister.

As he transferred ownership to his sons there shouldn't be any problem should there?

Liberal Strategy In Ontario - Run Against Mike Harris

2006-01-03T14:19:00.000-05:00

As Harper continues to make gains in Ontario, Martin has unveiled a strategy of running against Mike Harris instead. Given the "background" info in the article, it appears that the Globe And Mail likes the idea.

Martin invokes Harris legacy to blast Tories' plan for Canada

In a classic "red herring" in order to avoid taking about issues or the Liberal record, Martin goes after Mike Harris and Jim Flaherty.

"I don't know who he'd put in his cabinet, but you take Jim Flaherty. I mean, Jim Flaherty is Mike Harris-plus," Mr. Martin said. "There's no doubt that Stephen Harper is leaning to Mike Harris, and obviously, Jim Flaherty is going to be part of that."

Because, you know, he 'might' put Jim Flaherty in cabinet. And you know Jim was against letting homeless people die on the streets or remain hostage to their addictions and mental problems. Plus he didn't think teachers should jeopardize their pupils' education by going on strike (my God he's practically the anti-Christ).

Add the Jim Coyle and Linda McQuaig articles at the Toronto Star trying to link Harris to the recent upsurge in violent crime and it seems that Mike is going to figure prominently in the Ontario campaign.

Violence In Ontario - It's Mike Harris' Fault

2006-01-03T13:39:00.000-05:00

Well according to Jim Coyle in the Toronto Star, the recent violence in Ontario can all be laid at the feet of Mike Harris. In an article titled Harris and the rage on our streets he makes his case that the Harris cuts of the latter half of the 1990's are responsible for the problem;

....if one were bent on creating a roiling underclass of the neglected, marginalized, hopeless, desperate, demeaned, emotionally deformed, spiritually corrupted and indiscriminately raging, they could hardly have done better than to do as he did.

Amazingly the Harris effect reaches well beyond Ontario. From Richard Foot in the Vancouver Sun:

Between Christmas and New Year's Day, nine people were murdered from British Columbia to Newfoundland. There were also dozens of attempted killings across the country, including nine shooting incidents in the Vancouver area alone.
(.....)
Halifax has also been shaken by a Christmas Day attack on a 62-year-old taxi driver, who died after being stabbed 11 times in the lungs by a passenger. Police have charged a 17-year-old with the crime.

The teen's mother shocked the city three days after her son's arrest by going public with the boy's long record of violent offences, and by saying she had pleaded with justice officials to take her son off the streets, but couldn't convince them to keep him in custody.

Nova Scotia has also been the site of two other murders since Christmas, one in Cape Breton and one in Indian Brook, N.S.

In Newfoundland, the tiny community of Victoria is dealing with the shooting death of a 53-year-old woman on Dec. 27.

That same day in Montreal, a 23-year-old woman was strangled to death in a snow-covered alley. A 19-year-old woman has been charged with her murder.

On New Year's Eve in Windsor, Ont., a 41-year-old man was stabbed to death after an alleged fight with a neighbour.

A gang shootout in Winnipeg's north end early New Year's Day left a 20-year-old dead and three others, including a 16-year-old girl, in hospital with gunshot and other injuries, police and witnesses said Monday.

And in Vancouver, a 39-year-old man died just before midnight on New Year's Eve after being discovered by police lying in a pool of blood from a stab wound.

Although the stabbing was Vancouver's only murder during the holiday season, the city and its suburbs have been rattled by nine separate shooting incidents since Boxing Day matching the gun violence that now plagues Toronto on an almost daily basis.

Elsewhere since Christmas there have been attempted murders in Ottawa and Calgary.

There is also a fresh homicide investigation underway in Edmonton, although police there haven't released details about a victim.

And in Toronto, the new year was heralded by yet another shooting death, this time of a 21-year-old man, found slumped over the steering wheel of his Cadillac, a bullet hole through the windshield.
(.....)
But, while guns may be becoming a bigger feature in Toronto's homicides and while the media's glare remains fixed on its gun problems Gartner says the city still has a long way to go before becoming the murder capital of Canada.

In 2004, the latest year for which figures are available, Winnipeg posted the highest per capita homicide rate in the country, with 4.9 murders for every 100,000 residents. Edmonton (3.4), Regina (2.86) and Vancouver (2.6), each posted far higher rates than Toronto's 1.8 per capita figure.

Wake up people, this isn't a Toronto problem or an Ontario problem, it's a national issue than can be lain squarely at the feet of our judicial system.

From David Frum in the National Post:

Enforcing laws against vagrancy, prostitution and drug dealing works. Yet Canada is either decriminalizing or tolerating all three. The right kinds of gun laws work too: for example, extending the sentence of any criminal who commits any crime -- down to jaywalking -- while in possession of a gun.

Gun registries and gun bans on the other hand do not work. Youth programs do not work. Counselling does not work. Grants to community activists, peer counsellors and after-school facilities do not work. The $50-million Paul Martin has just announced for local crime-prevention will be directed to individuals and groups connected to the Liberal party's patronage machine. That money will do nothing to enhance the safety of the City of Toronto. And if it finds its way to individuals or groups who lobby against effective law-enforcement, that money will actually make the problem worse.

It is not guns from across the border that threaten Canadians. It is the weak and cynical policies of home-grown politicians, and especially the Chretien/Martin Liberals. The $2-billion wasted on the gun registry could have paid for more cops, more prisons, more of everything that would protect the lives and security of Canadians. It is the federal Liberal government that releases young offenders back into the community, the federal Liberals who appoint the judges who refuse to punish, the federal Liberals who run the prison system as if it were a summer camp, the federal Liberals who refuse to deport immigrants who break the law, the federal Liberals who have subordinated public safety to ethnic politics.

For a start I'd like the MSM to report the judge's name whenever they reference that a perpetrator was currntly out on bail.

RCMP Bites

2005-12-30T11:42:00.000-05:00

The Liberal party has a long history of treating the RCMP like it's own private force (i.e. Airbus, Shawinigate, Gurmant Grewal, Juliet O'Neill, funneling RCMP cash through ad agencies thereby having $1.3 million racked off for fees and commissions, etc.). Michael Stein doesn't seem to be aware of this (Ottawa Citizen via Norman's Spectator)

"In fact, the timing of the launch of the RCMP probe is strange, considering it has obvious implications for the election," Mr. Stein said.

"I'm actually surprised the RCMP has even decided to go forward rather than wait," he said. "It's such an obviously political issue, why would they go ahead and push ahead when they know it has the potential of affecting the vote?"

Michael Stein, political science professor at McMaster University.

Gee professor, perhaps they are finally sick of ongoing Liberal meddling in a supposedly "arm's length" agency. Are you sure this guy is qualified to be a professor?

'Tis The Season For Top Ten Lists

2005-12-30T10:42:00.000-05:00

As we near the end of 2005 we will be inundated with various top ten lists. Google "top ten" "of 2005" and you get 2.7 million hits. But I like the ones that are a little different. Here's a trio to get us started. Please add you favourites in comments.

The Top 10 Junk Science Claims of 2005

UFO Digest Top Ten Stories of 2005

top ten sexiest geeks of 2005 (Josie Nutter gets my vote)

Jimmy Carter Makes The Top Ten

2005-12-30T00:40:00.000-05:00

I have always felt that Jimmy Carter epitomised the saying "the road to hell is paved with good intentions". Without a doubt Carter's views on international diplomacy have caused increadable damage throughout the world, yet people continue to cut him slack because he's viewed as a well meaning humanitarian. Whether he is just bloody-minded or a simpleton, he was, and continues to be, an unmitigated disaster. Now Captain Ed has included him in his list of the Ten Worst Americans Of All Time.

#10: Jimmy Carter
I would normally leave off any contemporary political person until they had passed away, as their lives still might provide some kind of merit. However, after a promising beginning of his post-presidential career of building houses for the homeless, Carter has inveigled himself into so many foreign-policy crises and made them exponentially worse that it’s becoming more and more difficult to believe it isn’t done with purpose. His efforts to defuse the North Korean crisis deflected what had been until then a rather effective strategy by Bill Clinton to use a military threat to stop Pyongyang from producing nukes. After Carter jumped into the negotiations uninvited – violating the Logan Act – Carter’s prestige within his party and the US forced Clinton to accept the ridiculous Framework agreement that allowed Pyongyang to go nuclear within months. Carter has done the same with Haiti as well, and has traveled the globe to support many a leftist dictator or autocrat as long as they opposed American interests.

But the real reason Carter winds up here at #10 is because he singlehandedly almost lost the Cold War and allowed the start of the Islamofascist terror war during his single term in office. His naiveté in dealing with the Soviet Union, captured perfectly by kissing the jowled cheek of the Soviet dictator Leonid Brezhnev, led him to believe that worldwide Communism was here to stay and that we could do nothing about it. He also assured Americans that we had nothing to fear from the Soviets, who really weren’t bad guys – right up until they invaded Afghanistan. Even then, his response in boycotting the Olympic Games of 1980 has to remain one of the most embarrassing examples of displayed impotence in our nation’s history.

The winner in that category, however, also belongs to Carter. In November 1979, after pulling his support from the Shah in the highly strategic nation of Iran and watching him fall to an Islamist uprising, the same nutcases sacked our embassy in Teheran, an undeniable act of war. Instead of giving an ultimatum for the return of our embassy and the release of our diplomatic staff, Carter sat for 444 excruciating days, doing little except pleading publicly for mercy. He staged one – one! – military response to the crisis months later, which failed miserably. The failure to act not only allowed the rickety Khomeini government to survive, but gave Islamofascism a tremendous boost of prestige throughout the Middle East. It also allowed Iran to become a center for the funding and direction of terrorist activities for the past three decades, a legacy that has finally engulfed us since 9/11.

Other administrations have made their own mistakes in remaining blind to the threat of Islamist terror, but Carter played midwife to it and enabled it to survive when he had every opportunity and a perfect casus belli to kill it in its cradle.

Guess Which "Religion"

2005-12-29T23:44:00.000-05:00

What religion is so bereft of any accomplishment that it would actually steal a corpse and lie about the person's religion in order to associate itself with the person's achievements?

The answer is here

What religion considers the following punishments to be reasonable:
Literal "eye for an eye" in personal injury cases. Death penalty for murder, rape, apostasy, armed robbery and drug trafficking. Cutting off hands for theft. Public flogging and death by stoning for extramarital sex.

The answer is here.

What religion discounts the testimony of non-adherents and punishes those who's testimony is insufficient to convict?

The answer is here.

What religion claims that last year's tsunami was because of the sins of the people?

The answer is here.

Hat tip LGF

Geldof To Advise UK Tories

2005-12-28T15:57:00.000-05:00

Bob Geldof, ex-musician and global poverty "activist" has agreed to lend his "expertise" in an advisory role to the UK Conservative Party.

Like our own Liberal Party, UK Conservatives have found that there are votes to be had. As Conservative legislator, Peter Lilley, who will chair the new global poverty group, said "The voters are immensely interested in this whole issue of world poverty."

Geldof, famous for organizing Live Aid, Sport Aid and Band Aid, has not developed any particular strengths in economics, international trade, or political theory. Nor have any of these events had any appreciable impact on global poverty. Geldof has however, mastered the art of making western pseudo-humanitarians to feel good about themselves. You don't need to actually accomplish anything at all, simply "raise awareness" of 3rd world issues.

Once again, form triumphs over substance. It would be laughable if it weren't so tragic.

Self Evident , Lame And Just Plain Stupid

2005-12-27T10:09:00.000-05:00

In reference to the Boxing Day shootout on Yonge Street that left one dead and six wounded, Chief Bill Blair said:

"I think everybody in the city of Toronto will be angry about what has taken place here."

"It is infuriating that anyone would use firearms in a public place injuring innocent people."

"I think we have to win this battle, I don't think we have any other choice."

Good God man, would you at least get mad. You sound like you are going to write a nasty letter to the TTC about a rude bus driver.

When Natural Selection Is Thwarted

2005-12-27T10:02:00.000-05:00

From The Times :

Children account for a lot of accidents (5,809 in playgrounds, 1,085 up trees), but for really spectacular flashes of stupidity, it takes a grown-up. Of the 12 injuries sustained through contact with venomous spiders and scorpions, not one victim was under 15. A kid sees a scorpion: he knows what to do. Only weird adults in bedsits keep tarantulas as pets. One guy was hurt by a crocodile. I’m presuming zookeeper. But 50 more became entangled with other reptiles. So a reasonable sample managed to cross a dangerous snake or lizard in a country that does not have either, and no clever Dick from a local health authority issued a pompous statement about that. There were six injuries from a prolonged stay in a weightless environment, including one in a person over 75, while 21 people fell foul of their pyjamas.
Getting a gun is difficult in Britain, so accidentally shooting yourself should be even more so — yet 816 citizens managed it, at a rate of more than two per day. Think about that. If this were America, fine. It is easy to shoot yourself in America, or for someone to do it for you. Kids can pull it off, and frequently do. But in Britain we have to really work at redecorating a room with body parts. We need to get a licence, two referees, join a club, provide a letter from a landowner giving permission to shoot, and all this before peering down the barrel for cleaning purposes one morning and losing an ear. Yet 816 noble souls were prepared to go that extra yard in the pursuit of total foolishness. Just as Peter Cook was the comedians’ comedian, they are the stupids’ stupid. There will be a place in Heaven for them all, if not in their local casualty.

Wait A Minute, I Thought The US Was Worse Than Saddam

2005-12-26T11:51:00.000-05:00

So if Chimpy McHitlerburton and the U.S. is worse than Saddam and the US won't hand over their Iraq prisons until the Iraqis raise their standards, it only follows that the current Iraq government is pure evil incarnate.

From CBC: U.S. won't hand over prisons until Iraq raises standards

Who knew that Saddam was the civilizing influence in the area? I never hear this agrued by any of the anti-war crowd. They probably knew but were afraid to say anything for fear of not being politically correct.

It's a sad state of affairs when the fear of being labled "intolerant" allows the electon of what can only be considered one of the most evil regimes in history.

Help!

2005-12-24T09:48:00.000-05:00

For some reason any comments aren't showing up in my e-mail in basket. Anyone have an idea why?

If You Can't Manage Your Own Account, Why Should We Let You Manage Ours? - Updated

2005-12-24T08:58:00.000-05:00

I would say that how a party runs its own accounts should give you a pretty good indication of how they will look after other peoples' money. Shelia Copps has spent some time looking at the fiscal health of the major parties:

According to Elections Canada, in their last annual filing, the Liberal Party of Canada was $34,818,257.32 in debt, by way of 13 bank loans. The Bloc Quebecois has more than $10 million in outstanding loans, mostly from the Caisse Desjardins. The NDP has several modest loans outstanding, totalling a little more than $3 million. The Conservatives are debt-free.

No indication if the Liberal position is before or after the Gomery payback they claim to have made, but it does give some indication of why they sent some of their staff back to their government jobs (and paychecks) over the Christmas period.

I have to say I was wrong in my initial apprehension of Copps being taken on by the Sun. I still consider her to be a typical practitioner of Liberal politics - no principles, no vision and a single minded goal of gaining and retaining power. However she's got a big hate on for those who turfed her and and her many years as a mid-level insider gives her the goods on how things work in the Liberal party. She knows where the soft spots are as seems more than willing to stick the knife in. I may not like her as a person but she's and entertaining read.

Update: Angry has posted found that the Liberal sources of income are drying up. Read it here.

Duceppe Declines - Updated

2005-12-21T18:36:00.000-05:00

From Cyberpresse (rough translation mine):

Without the presence of the Prime Minister Martin, the Bloc leader thinks that it would be useless to organize a debate. Gilles Duceppe thus does not intend to take part in face to face with the Conservative leader, Stephen Harper.
(...)
For his part, Gilles Duceppe says he is not very inclined to only debate with Stephen Harper. "the direction of this election, it is to sanction the Liberals," said the Bloc leader campaigning in the Quebec countryside. "Any debate where Mr. Martin is not present, I think that it is not very useful. If (Liberals) are not there in a debate, it won't have direction. One beats this government on the lack of moral authority, so it is with them that it is necessary to discuss."

Man my French sucks.

UPDATE
This is on the CBC site now. Read it HERE.

Sometimes Things Line Up Just Right

2005-12-21T17:26:00.000-05:00

I love this shot.

How would you rate the news media's election coverage so far?

2005-12-21T15:17:00.000-05:00

From CTV

How would you rate the news media's election coverage so far?

Excellent ( 8 %)
Good (24 %)
Fair (27 %)
Poor (41 %)

Can't argue with that.

The Law Of Unexpected Consequenses ?

2005-12-21T15:06:00.000-05:00

Saddam claims he was beaten, tortured by Americans in detention

Chief prosecutor Jaafar al-Mousawi said he would investigate and that if American-led multinational forces were abusing the former Iraqi leader, he would be transferred to the custody of Iraqi troops.

We can only hope the Iraq troops are related to gassed Kurds or those he had tossed into shredders.

There is nothing that will do more for Iraq untity than executing this guy as soon as possible.

Zellers Has Lost Me For Good

2005-12-21T13:04:00.000-05:00

I've never been a big shopper and Zellers has always been one of my least favourite stores (lack of product and those damn cool white flourescents than make everyone look like a cadaver - particularly nice on those pimply cashiers). However, unless there's a lot more to this story, they have lost me as a customer for good.

Guy Masse, 47, had planned to give the discarded chocolate to his children, ages six, nine and 15, for Christmas.

Mr. Masse, who was on welfare and had been working at the store only for a couple of months, was first suspended and then fired.

Firing someone for taking garbage home to his kids in the week before Christmas has to be the most boneheaded public relations blunder ever. I can't believe that HBC is that stupid but if there's more to this, they have done a poor job of getting the story out.

Yahoo, The Supremes Approve Sex Clubs

2005-12-21T12:55:00.000-05:00

From CTV:

Canada's top court says clubs that feature group sex and partner-swapping are perfectly legal.
(.....)
The decision is expected to open the door for venues across Canada to begin offering their facilities to consenting adults for the purposes of group sex -- without fear of legal reprisals.

Hands up anyone who can't see a way to turn this into legalized prostitution.

Here's A Headline The PM Doesn't Want To See

2005-12-21T10:59:00.000-05:00

Liberals getting set for run to replace Martin

The knives are coming out.

"If Martin leads this party into the next election you will have a Conservative majority," says a lifetime Liberal at the centre of one of the fledgling leadership efforts. "Anyone who thinks otherwise is crazy."

Harper Taps Into Quebec

2005-12-21T10:09:00.000-05:00

Harper rocked Martin yesterday with a speech in Quebec City that won widespread praise in the Quebec press.

Harper plans to give Quebec greater autonomy over culture and language as well as an international presence on some issues. He also made it an early priority to sit down with all of the premiers to address the issue of fiscal imbalance (as opposed to Martin's endless "one off" deals). As a result, Harper is getting good press in Quebec, including speculation that the CPC might even take a seat or two.

Even though voters in Ontario might buy into Martin trying to make Quebec separatism the major issue in this election, the voters in Quebec recognize that it's the provincial level that pulls the referendum trigger.

Charest has praised Harper's position because, as Chantal Hebert puts it:

.... Charest knows he would be better off campaigning for his own re-election against the backdrop of a government that is open to changes to the federation than against Martin's systematic rebuttals.

The premier is not about to forget that the federal Liberal leader started off his campaign in Quebec speaking as if the demise of the federalist provincial government was a foregone conclusion.

As Harper said, "They (the Liberals) can't wait to see a Parti Quebecois government so they can stand up for federalism and fight the separatists"

Don Martin, Chantal Hebert and Sheila Copps all have interesting articles about Harper getting increased play in Quebec.

Another Good Rant

2005-12-20T14:05:00.000-05:00

Via assorted links, I went to have a look at the censorship on the CTV electionblog. While there I read William Macdonell's rant and thought I deserved a wider audience. Here's a few excerpts:

Even Trudeau wouldn't have wanted the running joke we have become. Liberalism is killing this country, and I don't mean liberalism in the sense of protecting rights, or holding up a placard for the little guy. I mean fundamentally this country was a better place to live as a result of personal accountability and personal integrity, coupled with a high sense of moral value, which our vaunted Liberal party elite has eroded through pork-barrel politics and irresponsible management.
(...)
That is what is happening to this nation, a slow slide into chaos. We allow droves of people to migrate to Canada, and we spend no time giving them a common language to work with, to allow them to flourish. No standards with which to measure themselves beyond the "I get a welfare cheque vs I don't cause I have a job paying minimum wage" benchmark. In fact, we are so "liberal" in our thinking that we promote Immigrants holding onto their culture to the point that they don't speak English or French, so they might as well set up enclaves of their own. We even provide money for cultural centers and such, to help them reinforce their cultural differences and allow them to self-segregate themselves even more. God forbid we help them keep their identity while peeling away the cultural dogma and attitudes that caused them to flee their nations in the first place.
(....)
God forbid we consider the flaw's of our democratic process for even a moment, because if we did that, we might realize that it takes 107,000 people to elect an MP in Alberta, and it only takes 22,000 to elect the same MP in Prince Edward Island. A Senator has near as much power as an MP, and an indexed pension, but you can't be one because you didn't stick your nose up the rump of the last ruling party, and its not an elected post... but don't worry, I hear being a hairdresser is usually good enough for Privy Counsel, and a career in TV is a good stepping stone to Governor General. It’s enough to make one want to throw-up at the ludicrousness and hypocrisy that is literally oozing out of the PMO’s office. We place no value on the institutions which helped form this country. Why have tradition, when our vaunted constitution will just deem it "unconstitutional".

There's lots more. Read it HERE posted at (19/12/2005 6:21:37 PM)

William also writes The Church Of Whats Happening Now

Frum On Martin

2005-12-20T12:58:00.000-05:00

It's hard not to be cynical about Martin's "love" of Canada. David Frum's take on Martin is right on the mark. From the National Post:

Paul Martin's problem is that sincerity is the one thing he cannot quite fake. He displayed that failing most vividly Friday night, when he erupted into his choreographed and stage-managed outburst against Gilles Duceppe. He delivered his lines like some ham actor who's made up his mind: The audience has to see acting, and by God, they are going to see acting!

One of CTV's debate commentators, Joy McPhail, a former NDP legislator from British Columbia, complained during a discussion afterward that Martin had made an error of timing. Wouldn't it have been better, she wondered, if Martin had delivered his attack on separatism and his paean to Canada during the French-language debate the night before? After all, it's not as if anybody watching the English debate would be tempted to vote for the Bloc Quebecois.

But of course there was no error. Delivering that "impassioned" message in French would have been politically risky. To speak those words to an audience that might not want to hear them would have demanded courage and character. So naturally Martin didn't do it.

Instead, he waited 24 hours and delivered those words -- in English -- to an audience that would unanimously applaud. Points scored, and at a cheap price too. For this same Prime Minister who stands ready to "defend Canada" is the same prime minister who condemns Canada's most active patriots, its soldiers, to die in ancient, obsolete helicopters, ships and lightly armed cars.

Read the whole thing here.

Update: I guess we were wrong. According to Paul via the CBC:

"I did it in the French-language debate many times and will do it more often. I will do it right now if you'd like."

— Martin answering a reporter’s question about why his most passionate defence of Canada and attack on Quebec separatism of the campaign was delivered in English, not French, during the Dec. 16 leaders debate.

Did The Liberals Deliberately Poison Our Relationship With The US ?

2005-12-20T10:58:00.000-05:00

It's one thing to have the retention of power as your sole political motivation. It's quite another to consciously attempt to cause lasting harm to our relationship with our largest trading partner in an effort to gain votes.

If the recent diplomatic row with Washington was merely part of a partisan ploy to gain anti-american votes (as many observers have suggested), does the timing of the filming of these ads further confirm that the Liberals were preparing to sour Canadian-US relations for electoral gain?

Full credit to Stephen Taylor and Kate McMillan for an excellent piece. Read it HERE.

Ontario Liberals To Solve Calculus Problem

2005-12-20T10:09:00.000-05:00

It seems that calculus, as it's currently being taught, is too tough for Ontario students. The McGuinty Liberals, in their quest to guarantee 100% high school graduation, have the solution - they'll just take out the hard parts.

From The Globe And Mail:

The Ontario government is studying a proposal to change the current calculus high-school curriculum and scrap certain sections.

A spokeswoman for Education Minister Gerard Kennedy said yesterday that some of the advanced concepts, now taught in Grade 12, may be removed because students need a solid lesson in the basics before getting to university.
(....)
But there is fear in some quarters that the calculus course will be watered down.

"We just don't feel that students would be adequately prepared for an engineering education as they are now," said Annette Bergeron, past chair of the Ontario Society of Professional Engineers and the group's representative on the Council of Ontario Deans of Engineering.

Walkerton Considers Private Sector Water Operator

2005-12-20T09:22:00.000-05:00

In spite of all the spin that was put on this story, the private sector component of the Walkerton fiasco was the only thing that worked the way it was supposed to. ALL of the failures occurred in the public sector but somehow the story focused heavily on the evils of moving away from a strictly 100% government operated system. Now it seems that Walkerton, like a lot of other municipalities, is starting to see the light.

From the National Post:

Five years after its water system delivered a fatal dose of E. coli to some residents of Walkerton, the town is turning to the private sector to run its revamped waterworks, part of a national trend.

The Walkerton disaster at one time raised alarms about creeping for-profit incursions into the management and monitoring of drinking water.
(.....)
"More and more municipalities are turning their systems over to private operators on a contract basis," said Glenn Powell of the Ontario Water Works Association.

Someone should send this article to the scores of reservations that are under boil water advisories.

OK To Oppose Gay Marriage, But Only If You're A Liberal

2005-12-19T17:47:00.000-05:00

Paul Martin has said it's OK for Liberal backbenchers to oppose gay marriage but it's not OK if you want to lead the country.

From the Ottawa Citizen:

Liberal leader Paul Martin said yesterday that Liberal candidates are entitled to run in this election even if they want to deny Charter rights to gays and lesbians seeking same-sex marriage.

Apparently, you are only considered "unfit" if you are running to be PM.

"The issue is, 'What is the role and responsibility of the prime minister of the country?' And the role of the prime minister of the country is to support the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. And it is not, in any way, shape, or form, to call the Charter into doubt."

Martin is still hanging his hat on gay marriage being a Charter Right when it is nothing of the sort. He's rounded up a pool of "experts" to back his claim that the only way to undo the current law is to invoke the dreaded "Notwithstanding Clause". Harper has already said he won't use the notwithstanding clause on this issue.

Still, there is a better solution that effectively eliminates the problem forever. Simply take the Canadian government right out of the marriage business altogether. Remove the ability of the religious establishment to create unions that are recognized in law. The only unions that will be recognized by the state are civil unions or those formed under common law. So, once you've been down to the registry office for your civil ceremony, the decision to have it blessed by your priest, minister, mullah, or whatever, is strictly between you and your faith group.

Frechette Moves To Waterloo - Another Maurice Strong Connection

2005-12-17T12:11:00.000-05:00

From The Canadian Press:

Louise Frechette, the UN's deputy secretary general who was criticized for tolerating corruption in the oil-for-food program, will join a research centre in her native Canada in April, the UN announced Friday.

Frechette, widely criticized in the Oil For Food Scandal (see above link) will be joining the Centre for International Governance Innovation in Waterloo Ontario as a Distinguished Fellow.

CIGI was founded in 2002 with a donation of $30 million from Jim Balsillie, co-CEO of Research in Motion and a matching grant by the Canadian government. Maurice Strong sit on its International Advisory Board of Governors

The White House Likes Martin?

2005-12-17T11:14:00.000-05:00

Thomas Walkom in the Toronto Star puts forth the idea that the White House secretly supports Martin. In White House jab at Martin a calculated move he postulates that "the U.S. would be pleased if Martin were able to form a majority government after Jan.23."

The argument is as follows;

Martin ran for his party's leadership on a platform of mending relations between the two countries. In 2003, he hinted broadly that, had he been prime minister, he would have committed Canada politically to Bush's Iraq adventure. He also made it clear that he'd sign on to the U.S. missile defence scheme once he seized control of government.

Indeed, it can be persuasively argued that the only impediment to Martin's grand bilateral strategy has been his shaky political situation. A minority government with only a tenuous hold on Parliament cannot afford to be seen cozying up to someone as mistrusted in Canada as Bush. Hence, Martin's eventual decision to avoid missile defence.

Myself I think Mr. Walkom is displaying one of the usual Canadian traits, an inflated self-concept (the mental image one has of oneself) which leads to thinking that the US, and the rest of the world, give a rat's ass about our position on, well anything. Myself I don't think the US perception of Martin is anything more than political opportunist with no real ethics, values or agenda other than the retention of power.

Martin is simply playing to the low self-esteem that many Canadians have with regards to the US and has simply taken a page from John Turner, who pretty much based his campaign on fear and hatred of the Americans. Turner came fairly close to winning and Martin, bereft of policies or ideas, is hoping to use the same card to his advantage.

Samuel Johnson hat it right when he said "Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel."

Did Anyone Keep A Count Last Night ......

2005-12-17T11:13:00.000-05:00

of how many times Paul Martin said "the fact of the matter is..."

Canadians' Record Net Worth

2005-12-17T10:37:00.000-05:00

From The Globe And Mail:
Canadians' net worth at a record $4.6-trillion

Sounds like good news, right?

With approx 32.8 million Canadians that puts our individual net worth at $140,222. I wonder how that compares with our neighbours to the south.

Americans have a net worth is 46.7 trillion so with approximately 295.7 million Americans that puts their individual net worth at $157,912. HEY, what the f***! I thought Chimpy McHaliburhitler was destroying their economy? Still that's not to bad, we're at 88.7% so not too far behind.

But wait, we need to adjust for the relative value of the dollar. The Canadian dollar closed at 86.27 US on friday so that reduces the individual Canadian net worth to $120,970 US. DANG, now we're down to 76.6%.

I wonder if the tax, productivity, unemployment gap has anything to do with it?

Keep Poking The Bear, Pt II

2005-12-17T09:46:00.000-05:00

How did the US view Martin in the beginning? From the St. Petersburg Times

Moves are being made between Canada and the United States to improve relations now that Paul Martin prepares to take over as prime minister next month.
(...)
Martin will establish a Cabinet committee on Canada-U.S. relations, which he will chair, and one to improve the ability of Parliament to prevent bilateral problems from becoming crises.

Gee, sounds hopeful. But by March, 2005 from The Washington Post:

A group of 70 influential Canadians and Americans concluded Tuesday that "Canada is losing its influence in Washington." The American Assembly, which is affiliated with Columbia University, fretted about rising Canada-bashing in the United States, but noted that it "pales beside the disturbing and persistent current of anti-Americanism in Canada."

And Stephen hits it right on the money. "This government has engaged in a series of phony and reckless wars of words with the United States that does not help this economy or Canadians"

Keep up the good work Paul. Start a trade war if you think it will get you a few votes. I'm sure Mexico would be more than happy to pick up the slack in supplying the US markets.

Congratulations Iraq

2005-12-15T12:00:00.000-05:00

The polls have closed and, regardless of the outcome, I want to congratulate Iraq on reaching another milestone.

I expect turnout to be 75% or more. I further predict that the Canadian electoral turnout will be significantly lower.

Martin Bobs And Weaves

2005-12-15T11:24:00.000-05:00

Paul Wells coverage of the PM gives some excellent insight into the PM. Just the title and lead in line gives you a good indication of the tone.

He's unbelievable!

Is there no end to Paul Martin's grand pronouncements, stirring appeals, and full-of-holes commitments? Talk about your gaseous emissions.

Read it here.

Harper's "Hardline" Speech

2005-12-15T10:34:00.000-05:00

Oh dear! Mr. Harper wasn't 100% supportive of the status quo when he talked to some Americans. He alluded to us being the greatest country in the world but then he said we were

"a Northern European welfare state in the worst sense of the term, and very proud of it. Canadians make no connection between the fact that they are a Northern European welfare state and the fact that we have very low economic growth, a standard of living substantially lower than yours, a massive brain drain of young professionals to your country, and double the unemployment rate of the United States."

Got that, we're like SWEDEN who the left constantly points to as a role model. What, you don't like the words "welfare state", OK, just substitute "statist country" and you'll feel much better. As for the rest, we still have a significantly higher unemployment rate, our standard of living has fallen further behind the US and the productivity gap is widening. What's to argue with?

But he praised "American conservative values". It was 1997 people. Clinton was in office and "conservatives' thought perjury, adultery, etc. were bad things.

As for the rest, the Globe And Mail has it up in its entirety. Just remember, he's trying to put the Canadian political system in context for a US audience although I doubt many Canadians could give as succinct and acurate a description of our branches of government.

40% Of Canadians Undecided

2005-12-14T20:26:00.000-05:00

From Ipsos Reid:

Half of Canadians (47%) say they "have absolutely made up my mind as to who I am going to vote for and nothing will change my mind", 40% say "have not made up my mind on who to vote for and I intend to park my vote until closer to Election Day in the New Year", and 12% say they "really don't care about the election and I probably will not go out and vote so it doesn't matter what the politicians are saying or doing".

Here we have a classic case of people being embarassed to admit they won't vote so they lie (if we had a 88% turnout it would be the highest in Canadian history). So, who did the liars say they were voting for?

McGuinty Solves The Dropout Problem

2005-12-14T20:16:00.000-05:00

Having already figured out how to solve the problem of underperforming students by dumbing down the standardized test, the McGuinty Liberals have now solved the dropout problem by forcing everyone to finish high school. As no one fails anymore, forcing students to hang around until they graduate will make Ontario the only jurisdiction in the world to achieve a high school graduation level of 100%.

Two more Liberal promises kept! HoooYaaa!

Tootie Dies

2005-12-14T19:43:00.000-05:00

Who would believe that the cute girl on "the Facts Of Life" would turn out to be the founder of the Crips! Anyway it's all over now.

Oh, sorry, it's TOOKIE not Tootie. Still, don't you think she looks like our Governor General?

Letter to David Wilkins re: Kyoto

2005-12-14T15:13:00.000-05:00

Dear Mr. Wilkins;

I see from your recent comments at the Canadian Club, you think the US is doing its bit in dealing with the climate change issue. You said:

"It has been well documented by your news media that the United States is in fact reducing emissions and spending more money on tackling climate change than any other country in the world -- $20 billion in the last five years."

"And we have a better performance with regard to greenhouse gas emissions than many of the countries that ratified the Kyoto Protocol -- including Canada."

"Fact: Between 1990 and 2003, emissions in the U.S. have increased by 13.3 percent but over that same time period Canada increased its emissions by 24.2 percent!"

"So the United States has a real record of results. I would respectfully submit to you that when it comes to a "global conscience" the U.S. is walking the walk. And when it comes to climate change, we are making significant progress - greater progress than many of those who have been most critical of the U.S."

Such a clear misreading of our intent with regards to this issue makes us question your qualifications to be the U.S. Ambassador to Canada.

Let me state this as clearly as possible. Canada has no intention of actually doing anything to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions. You would think our record to date would make that abundantly clear. But, at the same time, we want our people to see us a leaders in environmental sensitivity.

Now one would think that these two goals as mutually exclusive but that's where Kyoto comes in. By setting up a system where we can buy "credits" from some underdeveloped 3rd world backwater we allow our people to continue producing as much CO2 as they like while patting ourselves on the back for "doing something".

So why are we picking on the US? Because, as you say, you actually "walking the walk". Our whole self-delusional house of cards is at risk if someone actually does something. So please, do like we do. Sign the accord, put it in a drawer somewhere, and just forget about it. Don't even bother to make up any plans or fiscal analysis. Just pretend it never happened.

Yours truly,
Canada

PS. You can confirm our approach here.

Playing The Anti-American Card

2005-12-14T14:29:00.000-05:00

The Liberal strategy of poking the bear seems to have got a reaction and from the press you would think that the Americans are trying to influence our election and "dictate" to Paul Martin. What an enormous load of crap.

First off, the Liberals ticked off the Bush administration way back when Chretien endorsed Al Gore. Then, after Canada participated in coordinating our military efforts, Chretien did a last minute about face and pulled out of assisting in Iraq using lack of UN endorsement as a smokescreen (please remember we participated in Bosnia without the UN).

Along comes Martin who supports missle defense until he reads a poll and flips position on that one. Now he's cozying up with former president and historical revisionist, Bill Clinton, and making completely hypocritical comments about the US committment to dealing with climate change. Any wonder the US is a bit put off?

So now they are "dictating" to Martin. Actually I thought their response was pretty tame. Here's some excerpts from David Wilkins speech that I haven't see in the press:

"Here we have the single best, most productive and peaceful relationship in the world and who would know that by following your election campaign or reading the press?"

"But think about this: What if one of your best friends criticized you directly and indirectly almost relentlessly? What if that friend's agenda was to highlight your perceived flaws while avoiding mentioning your successes? Wouldn't that begin to sow the seeds of doubt in your mind about the strength of your friendship?"

Yup, that's some pretty harsh stuff. Good thing we have Liberals like Paul Martin to stand up to such intimidation. A lesser man would folded and begged for mercy but Paul is made of sterner stuff. A modern day David. My hero.

To See Ourselves As Other See Us, pt III

2005-12-13T08:18:00.000-05:00

"The gift, the gift; the gift 'e gi'e us- to see oursel's as others see us"

Following the previous post, a good illustration of where the Conservatives sit on the wider political spectrum is Stephen Harper's Letter To The Editor in the December 11 Washington Times.

A December 2 Commentary piece had touted Harper as "pro-free trade, pro-Iraq war, anti-Kyoto, and socially conservative". Haper's reply takes the US to task over softwood lumber and wants the US to "strengthen the dispute resolution mechanism and to subordinate domestic political pressures to a shared system of rules". This is not a position I have ever heard supported by the Democrats who tend towards protectionism more then the Republicans.

Harper then moves to Iraq, taking the Democratic cop-out position "I must admit great disappointment at the failure to substantiate pre-war intelligence information regarding Iraq's possession of weapons of mass destruction."

Then on to Kyoto "While I think that the Kyoto Treaty is deeply flawed, I support developing a plan, in coordination with the United States and other countries, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by developing new technologies and energy conservation." Even the Democrats don't support Kyoto. Under Clinton in 1997, the Senate adopted the Byrd-Hagel Resolution by 95-0, urging the Clinton Administration not to sign any climate-change protocol that "would result in serious harm to the economy." Clinton never even submitted Kyoto to the Senate.

For same sex "And while I have promised a free vote in Canada's parliament to reconsider the recent change of law to allow same-sex marriages in Canada, and will vote myself for a return to the traditional definition of marriage, I have said any changes must protect the existing status of same-sex couples who have been legally married. As well, a new Conservative government will not initiate or support any effort to pass legislation restricting abortion in Canada."

The point being, none of these positions would be considered even remotely right wing in the US.

To See Ourselves As Other See Us, pt II

2005-12-12T10:43:00.000-05:00

From Robbie Burns
"The gift, the gift; the gift 'e gi'e us- to see oursel's as others see us"

It has always been a particular sore point with me when the Canadian parties are identified as Left or Right in relation to the rest of the western world. Wise up people, Canada is a statist country and even the Conservatives would be considered left of Labour in the UK and well to the left of the Democrats in the US.

However, this failure to rationally assess our political positions on a wider scale does have one benefit, it makes it easier to screen what you read. Anyone who refers to Harper as a Bush clone is so obviously misinformed that you can safely skip whatever else they have written as being completely irrelevant.

Salim Mansur has an excellent piece on this failure to see where we sit on the political spectrum and the inevitable results:

In the meantime we can expect, as our politics become increasingly disconnected with the needs of a fast-changing world economy, our political leaders will confuse their sound and fury with the requirements to think fresh and critically on issues resistant to prevailing consensus.

We've already seen this in the urban violence and "global warming" issues. Full of sound and fury. Signifying nothing.

Layton Supports Worker Rights - Well Not Really

2005-12-12T10:12:00.000-05:00

It seems that Jack's recent tiny shifts towards the centre is pushing his core union supporters towards the Liberals. Buzz Hargrove of the Canadian Autoworkers union has already appeared twice with Martin and in spite of signing a Workers' Bill of Rights, Jack has been unable to secure a clear endorsement by the National Union of Public and General Employees or the United Food and Commercial Workers union. It would appear that the unions are abandoning ideology for whoever will offer the most bribes (is Hargrove bucking for a Senate seat?)

And what is the Workers' Bill of Rights? From the NUPGE website:

The Workers' Bill of Rights Pledge commits the party leaders and their parties to affirm that "all workers have the right to join and form unions without interference by an employer or government and the right to bargain collectively as the means of determining their wages, working conditions and terms of employment."

What is doesn't provide it the right for workers to opt out of union membership without losing their jobs. In other words, you have the right of asociation as long as you join us. You do not have the right not to associate with us if you work here.

Income Trust Medical Connection

2005-12-11T11:02:00.000-05:00

Others have covered this in depth BUT, just casting around to look at M.K. Braaten's sources using the Do-it-yourself income trust investigation, I discovered another connection.

There seems to be a definite medical connection here. Not only did Medisys Health Group jump on Nov 22 but so did CML Healthcare on the 23rd, and Medical Facilities Corp. (also on the 23rd)

Grieving Dad Put Liberals Straight

2005-12-11T10:08:00.000-05:00

Can't say it better than a dad who's lost his son to gun violence.

From the Toronto Sun:

"For this so-called prime minister of ours to come into the low-income areas of this city and make a statement banning guns ... I look at him as a jackass ... and I'll never vote Liberal again as long as I live," said Theodore Huxtable, whose eldest son Jason, 18, was killed on Aug. 30.

(......)

He is furious youths are treated with kid gloves and he accused politicians and other leaders of racial bias.

"Black on black ... who gives a rat's ass," he said with sarcasm.

"No white kids are getting killed."

Unfortunately nothing is going to change in Toronto as long as the left is in power at a all three levels of government and to not vote Liberal within the black community is almost viewed as being a race traitor.

I was listening to CFRB after the handgun announcement and was amazed by the number of black callers that thought this was an effective plan or a "good first step". As long as there is such uncritical, widespread support for Liberals in the black community they can expect no better. The situation is not much different that caused by the overwhelming support by blacks of the Democrats in the US. Written off by the other parties, and taken for granted by the party they support, no one works to earn their vote. Hardly a receipe for change.

Until the community gets a lot more critical about who they vote for, they shouldn't expect anything better.

Montreal Global Warming Summit

2005-12-10T11:59:00.000-05:00

From Rex Murphy at CBC:

The bigger disconnect at this monster seminar goes further than rhetoric, however. It's that Canada's the host of this sequel to Kyoto, and that Canada's performance since Kyoto – and remember, we signed on – is at this date, 24 per cent higher than our 1990 levels. According to our commitment, we're aiming for six per cent lower. So as of 2005, there's a 30 per cent spread from what we've promised and what we've done so far.

The U.S., which didn't sign on, is only thirteen per cent higher than its 1990 levels. Still, around the world, the U.S. is the villain for not signing on, while countries like ours, who talk a virtuous environmental line and host King-Kong-scale conferences to celebrate our commitment, pose as the planet's dearest lovers. Perhaps Kyoto is Japanese for hypocrisy.

Christian Peacemaker Teams

2005-12-10T11:47:00.000-05:00

As of this writing there is still no word on the fate of the four members of the Christian Peacemaker Teams being held by the latest Islamic pschopaths. However, regardless of their fate, I'm pretty sick of hearing about how these are "peace activists" when they are nothing of the sort. Their selectivity in who they seek to protect says it all. Did they stand as shields to the Kurds when Saddam gassed them? Did they record witness statements when he was tossing people into shredders? Are they active in China? How about North Korea? Any sign of them in Darfur?

To quote Upper Canada Catholic:

These "peacemakers" are nothing of the kind. They're just a bunch of left-wing rabble using the Gospels as cover for an anti-American, anti-free market, anti-Israel agenda.

Expose these frauds. Now.

Banning Handguns

2005-12-09T16:45:00.000-05:00

I don't know where I got this from but it fits perfectly. My apologies to the original author.

If you actually and truly believe that banning handguns is going to work.....

I cannot believe how incredibly stupid you are. I mean rock-hard stupid. Dehydrated-rock-hard stupid. World-class, A-1, top of the heap, triple whopper with cheese, supersized stupid. So stupid that it goes way beyond the stupid we know into a whole different dimension of stupid. One-of-a-kind, global, universal, intergalactic stupid. You are trans-stupid stupid. Meta-stupid. Stupid collapsed on itself so far that even the neutrons have collapsed. Stupid so dense that no intellect can escape. Singularly, extraordinarily, incredibly, bewilderingly stupid. Blazing hot mid-day sun on Mercury stupid. You emit more stupid in one second than our entire galaxy emits in a year. Quasar stupid. Your life is a monument to stupidity. I am breathless that anyone or anything in our universe can really be this stupid. You are a primordial fragment from the original big bang of stupid. Some pure essence of a stupid so uncontaminated by anything else as to be beyond the laws of stupidity that we know. A behemoth, a leviathan, a colossus of stupidity.

Foaming Over The Handgun Ban

2005-12-09T16:37:00.000-05:00

I always like a good old fashioned RANT!!! and N=1 has a fine one;

Let's take Grit's comments from above one by one.

Bold? Bullshit. Bold would be: concealed carry laws. Bold would be: immediate deportation of landed immigrants found guilty of violent crimes. Bold would be: cancelling the gun registry (for a Liberal). Bold is certainly not saying "oooooh, guns BAAAD" which in Canada is about as bold as saying "Americans are fat!"

Smart? Bullshit. Does anyone honestly believe that "banning" handguns will reduce by any measurable number the quantity of gun-related deaths in Canada?

[pause for deep cleansing breath]

I don't like to insult people simply on the basis of their opinions. I'm not as arrogant as I once was, and I know that smart people can differ on any number of things. I know as well that no-one has ever been convinced of the error of their ways by insult.

But:

If you believe that banning handguns will make our streets safer, then you are a fucking shit-for-brains dumbass.

(...........)

If a plurality of Canadians votes to re-install that mendacious parasite Paul Martin in 24 Sussex next month, this country is well and truly fucked. I will become a Western Separatist about 5 minutes later.

Any country stupid enough to vote for this feculent nonsense is not a country I can belong to any more.

If you vote for this garbage, you can go fuck yourself.

Read it all here.