Tattered Sleeve

Original Song #35: Skeleton Key

2011-10-04T02:29:00.000-04:00

You're hiding out in the open
There's so much said in deeds unspoken
And I know you, and your inflections
Eyes aflutter, laughing stutter

I was walking
You were talking
And you were holding the key
I was walking
You were talking
And you were holding the key
The skeleton key to me

You told me you want to hold me
You say you've stopped it, you couldn't help it
And you know me, know how to snow me
I say I've got my pride
But I'm thinking about my "pride and joy"

I was walking...

How much can you put me through?
How much do you stand to lose?
How do you expect me to love you?
I can't even look at you
Not now, not now
Not now, not now
Not now, not now
Not now, not now

I was walking...

Original Song #34: Prime Meridian

2011-09-30T02:48:00.000-04:00

Where're you gonna' start?
When're you gonna' get up?
How did you get home last night?
Well you can't remember names
You can't remember faces
You can't remember promises you broke

You don't know what you're doing
You don't know where to begin time
Time to find your own line
Your Greenwich

Well it's time to sit up straight
Time to calibrate yourself
To the world around you
You're groping for a line
Someplace to begin
We all have our own Prime Meridian

You washed ashore at Brighton
You got as far as Lewisham
You can't find your own line
Your Greenwich

You're dreaming if you think that'll do
You can't take responsibility

You're sinking without a trace
You've falling out of place
You're losing all your graces

You don't know what you're doing
You don't know where to begin time
Time to find your own line
Your Greenwich

You're dreaming if you think that'll do
You can't take responsibility
And I'm talking to me
You're running out of time
You've got to chart that line
You've got to compromise sometimes
And find your Greenwich Line

Original Song #33: Keep

2011-09-15T21:53:00.000-04:00

Things aren't always as they seem
Lives ripped apart tend to leave
Jagged edges
Better tread carefully
She's not quite the woman
You knew back when
Your naivety made you creative
Don't forget how

I was helpless when I fell out from under your wing
Used to tell you how you seemed to be an angel to me
Now you're thinking what you were thinking was the wrong thing and you know
It's time to think about what you should give
And what you should keep

Life's not meant to be a scream
Lucky if you get to dream
Enjoy it!
I know people who believe
Screwing others keeps the keel even
Looking out for themselves is the only thing
Don't forget how

I was helpless when I fell out from under your wing
Used to tell you how you seemed to be an angel to me
Now you're thinking what you were thinking was the wrong thing and you know
It's time to think about what you should give
And what you should keep

Keep

Original Song #32: Papa Got Hisself a Job

2011-09-08T02:16:00.001-04:00

Papa Got Hisself a Job

Come around kids, listen up good
(Papa’s got hisself a job)
I’ll take you to the movies, Christ we’ll go to the moon
(Papa’s got hisself a job)
So scuff them shoes, g’head and lose that toy
(Papa’s got hisself a job)
Don’t matter a whit what you done broke
‘Cause now papa’s got hisself a job

Papa’s got hisself a job, whoa
Papa’s got hisself a job
Sit up straight, and stiffen your jaw
Your papa’s got hisself a job

I know we ain’t lived near as sweet as your friends
(Papa’s been “between jobs”)
I know you’ve been dressed in them duds second-hand
(Papa was between jobs)
But I’m gonna work hard, I’ll work for the man
(Papa’s got to keep this job)
I’ll open an account for your educatin’
Sure hope I don’t get laid-off

Papa’s got hisself a job, whoa
Papa’s got hisself a job
Sit up straight, and stiffen your jaw
Your papa’s got hisself a job

Kids like you don’t fall from the sky
Kids like you fill your daddy with pride
You’ve gone without but you’ve smiled throughout
You’ll be proud of Daddy too, have no doubt

Remember that day I brought you to my office, son?
(Papa’s old job)
I showed you the view in the morning sun
(Papa had a real sweet job)
When you asked to go back, my face just dropped
(Papa’d lost his sweet, sweet job)
Well now grab your coat, ‘cause I’ll tell you what
Your Papa’s got a new job

Papa’s got hisself a job, whoa
Papa’s got a brand new job
Sit up straight, and stiffen your jaw
Your papa’s got hisself a job

- 30 -

Original Song #31: Elizabeth

2011-09-07T15:06:00.001-04:00

Elizabeth

listen to the live Randboro demo

Her daddy always told her
If she was good, she'd do no wrong
Now somebody's sold her
On some cheap line from some cheap song

She ain't nobody's fool, she don't like the term "girl"
Everybody's over-protective in her world
She's well aware of what's bad for her, thank you very much
And she's not staying home tonight

She says she's got strong shoulders
But they're only so broad
She's standing on her own two feet
But the ground below them is soft

Trained to think on her own, but still told what to do
Callously stifled following other people's rules
Every double-standard is an inexcusable blight
And she's not coming home tonight

She slipped through the door next morning
A little too quickly to not let on
She's been trying to find the answers all day
Only to find they don't always come

Her name is Elizabeth, she don't like the term "girl"
Everybody's over-protective in her world
She's well aware of what's bad for her, now she's had a taste herself
And she's decided on her own,
"You guys go on, I'm staying home
"I'll catch up later"

- 30 -

Original Song #30: One Water Fountain

2011-09-03T13:52:00.003-04:00

One Water Fountain

Baby it's a hot day on the porch on de Gaspé
I feel your kicking but I think we'll be okay
They don't want to put your daddy "in his place"
They just shout his name when he gets on base

Got some plums at the market
Got some nectarines
Those sweet strawberries from Ile dee-Orleans
The stairs are outside so I leave the fruit out there
And when the kids come down I say, "Bon-jou-were"
I smile and say, "Bon-jou-were"

Well I can't make out what the neighbours are sayin'
But I sure like the sounds of their kids playin'
On the baseball diamonds they pretend to be Robinson
And ain't nobody here trying to have us hung

Got some plums at the market...

I love the funny ways of these frenchie Canucks
Who give me their seat at the front of the bus
White or negro, english or french
They got but one water fountain for all thirsts to quench
Yes, white or negro, english or french
Use the same water fountain for the same thirst to quench

Got some plums at the market...

Baby it's a hot day on the porch on de Gaspé
I feel your kicking and I know we'll be okay

- 30 -

Jack Layton: A real gentleman and a citizen politician - 1950 to 2011

2011-08-23T01:59:00.008-04:00

I am privileged to have once met and interviewed The Honourable Jack Layton. He was introducing three local candidates at Bar Bobards on boulevard St-Laurent during the 2006 election.

At least two of those candidates, it should be noted, were fervent Québec nationalists whose acceptance speeches left little doubt they were steadfastly looking for a platform to push Québecois separatism.

I should note that I had previously formed a rather withering opinion of Jack's father (the Honourable Robert Layton) when as a cub reporter during the 1988 election, I saw him in action as a Mulroney Progressive Conservative incumbent, getting booed at an all-candidates debate for suggesting Lac St-Louis water would become clean enough to drink if Mulroney was given a second mandate. As it turned out, Robert Layton was easily re-elected by West Island voters who ultimately voted for him as default support for passage of the Free Trade Agreement with the United States.

Utterly honest
So I was curious to ask son Jack, back in 2006, why he'd spoken so reverently of his father - who had himself succumbed to prostate cancer some four years earlier - on the two occasions I had come out to see him speak as NDP leader. Well, Jack looked me square in the eye and said he had great respect for his father, but that didn't mean they saw eye-to-eye on very much, politically. In fact, he related, that was the one area they were always at loggerheads, notwithstanding having a loving and respectful relationship as father and son.

Can you imagine a more honest, human, and respectful answer? Not I. And I have no idea if my question - which I only posed because I had never heard him asked it before - caused him to rethink his stump speech. But I never again heard him speak of his father's influence when introducing himself as the NDP leader, as if he had determined the astute voter might be as confused as I was, given their almost diametrically opposed politics.

It is in this spirit that I remember and revere the man whom I unfortunately must still blame (partially, at least) for putting Harper in the PM chair, by whipping his party to vote down the Martin government; something historians will doubtlessly argue was or wasn't a seminal moment in the NDP's existential journey as an independent political force.

A mixed legacy on policy
I also recall his insistence on going cap and trade instead of carbon tax when the latter made more sense, and finding his reasoning on that choice rather wanting. I recall with sadness his decision to have his party vote against a 2007 (?) Liberal motion to end the Afghanistan mission in July, 2009, based on the fact they really should be brought home immediately (he was quite right on that point of course), which unfortunately ended up with the misguided mission continuing on much longer. Also, Jack's reticence at allowing Green Party Leader Elizabeth May to be included in the 2008 election debates rankled.

Meanwhile, I championed Jack Layton grandly for forcing the 2005 Martin budget to be amended to halt planned corporate tax cuts while increasing social spending in the period where the NDP held the balance of power. I even voted for one of his throw-away candidates while living in the Outremont riding after Paul Martin had parachuted a former Bloc-Québecois founder (Jean Lapierre) in to take Martin Cauchon's place.

And yesterday morning I cried - yet not so much as on last July 25, when we all saw death tapping impatiently on Jack's shoulder - to hear of his passing.

Despite anything else, Jack Layton was a good egg. He tried. He fought. He brandished humour and a forthrightness that was touching and palpable in both official languages. He worked with dedication to his ideals with true and rare conviction. In short, he stood for something, and he made sure that it was a something he could get fully behind. Then he would make a convincing argument that you and I and every other Canadian could get behind it too.

As long as we listened to our hearts.

What next?
Now, a huge gabble of neophyte NDP Québec MPs will have to find their way in the HoC. They also must prove their worthiness to their constituents, despite being stripped of the coattails of the one guy in whom the voters put their full-throttle faith. And that was no small leap of faith either. These voters bravely abandoned their BQ candidates who had mostly done nothing less than tirelessly represent their constituents' interests in Ottawa with pride and passion for several years.

No, the Bloquistes can only blame their party's connection with separatism on their historic defeat to the mostly unknown Dippers that won their constituents' votes based almost solely on Jack Layton's endorsement. Continued NDP support in Québec will be a very tough sell, regardless of Thomas Mulcair's considerable respect in this province.

But that sort of speculation should be explored another day. For today, I am pleased that our Prime Minister has been honourable enough (against type) to bequeath a state funeral for Jack Layton.

Hard to believe as I type his name that he is no longer with us.

Jack, all in all, you did good by us Canadians. Posthumous gratitude in spades. Many, many thanks. RIP, if that is at all possible for you!

- 30 -

Original Song #29: No Healing

2011-08-16T05:23:00.003-04:00

Messing around
Digging up tarpits
And we'll burn it all away

Mining that gold
Exporting asbestos
Trade the future for today

We don't know why
But I've got a feeling
It could be a long time
Before we start the healing

Frack that shale
Strip that mountain
Extract it all away

Drain all brains
With the freshwater
Rape the future for today's gain

And I've got a feeling
It'll be a lifetime
Before we staunch the bleeding

Hiding your crimes
Building more prisons
Disregard the scientists

Mute all truths
Reason is treason
Ruled by ideology

And I know I've
Got a sickening feeling
Could be a long time
And there won't be no healing

Listen to the rough solo demo

- 30 -

Original Song #28: Phineas Gage

2011-07-20T19:20:00.004-04:00

My name is Phineas Gage
New Hampshire boy, born and raised
I drive a stagecoach here in Chile
You might say I've come a long way

Drive the coach steady, drive the coach slow
From Valparaiso to Santiago
Santiago to Valparaiso
Drive the coach steady, take it slow

The year was 1848
I was blasting Vermont granite
For the Burlington-Rutland railway
When the charge went off in my hand

It blew this iron bar straight through my head
Doctors all said I would soon be dead
But I wanted to get up from my sick bed
...And that's what I did

Drive the coach steady, drive the coach slow
Valparaiso to Santiago
Santiago to Valparaiso
Drive the coach steady, take it slow

In time I relearned everything
And I got all my memories
A two-inch hole on the top of my head
Now I keep that iron bar firm in my hand

People say I'm a changed man
Cursing, cheating and fighting
But what the docs couldn't understand
Was I was just still recovering

Hacks with axes grind away
Swinging their pet theories
But I was still recovering my empathy

You quacks all misrepresent me
But you don't know me
I'm still recovering my empathy
My name is Phineas Gage

Drive the coach steady, drive the coach slow
Valparaiso to Santiago
Santiago to Valparaiso
Drive the coach steady, take it slow

Listen to a rough solo recording

- 30 -

Original Song #27: Walking

2011-05-09T08:38:00.000-04:00

I was walking today
And I passed a man
A man I know named Harry
Who always wishes everyone well

I was walking with a woman
Not just anyone
But the only one
The only one I care to know

I wanted to jump ten miles
Straight up in the sky
I wanted to write right through the heavens
How badly I want you now
So everyone would know

I could've settled for
Saying Hi to Harry
Holding your hand in mine
And saying this here is my lady
The only one I care to know

I took a little break
I stopped walking away
I synchronized my heartbeat and yours
With the grand wheel of the world
And we stopped time
As long as we could hold our breath
So I turned and ran back
And jumped into your car
And we fishtailed out of here
As we held our breath we found
We could hold it forever
As long as we stayed right together
Just stayed there together
Driving til the end of the world

Now I can't say a word to Harry
I can't say a word out loud
To speak I'd lose my breath
And time would crash upon us
And I'd be walking alone
Walking the world with no end
With no one I care to know

- 30 -

R.I.P. Canada

2011-05-03T01:01:00.002-04:00

R.I.P. Canadian Long-gun registry.
R.I.P. Women's reproductive rights in Canada.
R.I.P. The Canadian Senate.
R.I.P. Same-sex marriage (we barely knew you).
R.I.P. National funding for the arts.
R.I.P. Canada Health Act.
R.I.P. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
R.I.P. The Governor-General of Canada.
R.I.P. Any Canadian action on climate change.
R.I.P. CIDA.
R.I.P. Canadian democracy.
R.I.P. National funding for universities and research.
R.I.P. Any hope of a national daycare program in the next five years.
R.I.P. The Canadian Charter of Rights & Freedoms.
R.I.P. Any effective political opposition to The Party.
R.I.P. Dissent (what do you think the new jails are for?)
R.I.P. A future for Québec within Canada.

...please feel free to add more in the comments.

We now are ruled by the All-knowing Great Leader, who will not be swayed by any finger-waving from the opposition benches. Stephen Harper is a Christian Fundamentalist, whose views are shaped by his beliefs. He now has carte-blanche.

How far will he go?
Just watch him.

- 30 -

French Debate Kicked Ass (mostly Harper's)

2011-04-13T23:02:00.001-04:00

I hope people were watching, because tonight's French-language leaders' debate was lively, passionate and substantive. After fighting sleep at about the half-way point in yesterday's English-language debate, tonight I found myself riveted.

This is in no small part due to Gilles Duceppe's fiery energy tonight, after being content to sit quietly on the side-lines for much of the previous night. But also, because Ignatieff really came across, and contrasted strongly against Harper, who himself seemed unsure of his French, and off his game generally. I found Harper did not seen strong tonight, which is the worst thing for the guy who is the current PM to convey.

Layton was taken off his game again by Duceppe's jabbing on the Bill 101 question. Harper's only really good moment was when he pointed at the two of them and asked the audience to imagine them working together in a coalition. That's not saying all that much.

Duceppe went whole-hog on his separatist cred tonight, and that is perhaps a sign he may be setting down some touchstones for a potential jump to provincial politics. He may be positioning himself to take the Parti-Québecois mantle from Pauline Marois, who appears weak going into a confidence vote among the party faithful in coming weeks.

Back to Ignatieff. He looked tough, secure and in charge. His French was generally good, and when it wasn't, his obvious passion made up for it. That is key for the Québec population, so good on him. He can ride this into a lead in coming days.

Again, that's if he plays his cards right.

- 30 -

Ignatieff: I hear a statesman

2011-04-05T02:00:00.002-04:00

This piece by Jane Taber of the Globe and Mail harangues Michael Ignatieff for his lack of specifics, but I think he sounds pretty reasonable here:

There was no mention of the hydro mega-project in the Liberal platform, released Sunday. But when asked about it Monday, Mr. Ignatieff spoke about involving Quebec – and maybe even Ontario – in a “pan-Canadian approach” to inter-provincial energy sharing.

“It’s not just a matter of Newfoundland and Labrador,” he said.

He argued that a Liberal government would not play off one province against another, suggesting that is what Mr. Harper is doing.

A federal government, he said, needs to “sit down with the province of Newfoundland and Labrador and the province of Quebec. ... Let’s think about this medium and long-term.”

He added: “But for heavens sake if we don’t sit in a room pretty soon we are going to be suboptimal as a country when we could be a superpower.”

The Liberal Leader suggested finding a way to “wheel this power through Quebec” and said that Canadians have to start “thinking big” on energy or risk having highly segmented markets that don’t speak to one another.

Contrast this approach to that of Harper, who has riled Québec premier Jean Charest by supporting federal bucks to develop the means to both harnass and transport reams of viable, renewable electricity to presumed New England markets via the maritime provinces - all to curry favour with the new premier of Newfoundland and Labrador in the hopes of taking a couple of parliamentary seats from that province. Never mind the ill will such a move might provoke in other jurisdictions.

It puzzles me that, despite this regional favouritism, Harper still refuses to cough up the dough his most prominent Québec ministers all but promised a few short months ago, to build a new NHL-ready arena for Québec City, on the grounds it would be unfair to other major cities in other provinces who are in the same situation.

I mean, what's a Québecois voter to think, anyway? Gilles Duceppe will gladly provide the answer. Ignatieff, too, except (poor bastard) he's gotta please somebody in 10 different provinces. Not just one.

Hence the statesmanship of his comments today.

And hence this blogger's newfound respect for the man. He is fighting the good fight, and it's possibly Canada's last best hope for a united future.

Moi, je m'occupe d'lui aider dès ce moment-là.

- 30 -

Why I support the Greens but vote otherwise

2011-03-28T01:26:00.001-04:00

I am a big Green supporter and believe they have the best platform. Dagnammit, I joined the party and contribute a few bucks to show that I care. But I also live in Quebec (and on the island of Montreal) and my local candidate both:
a) is a relative lightweight, and
b) has no hope of winning, but might garner enough votes to keep my second choice from winning.

Hopefully most of the other GPC supporters aren't in a similar bind. But I frankly prefer to return Justin Trudeau to his seat than to help get a (yawn) Bloq Québecois elected by uselessly splitting the federalist vote.

There is a bigger picture here. The last few years showed us that keeping Harper to a minority government does not preclude his screwing with everything the majority of Canadians hold dear, including the use of the Senate to thwart the will of the House on partisan grounds. He'll do it again. And again. Right now, we need a Liberal government, imperfect as it may be, to stave off the loss of our country's most cherished shared values.

- 30 -

Smells like '93 Spirit

2011-03-28T00:48:00.003-04:00

Well I'll be damned if Michael Ignatieff isn't suddenly hitting his stride. Now I can't say I have ever been a big believer in the man as a potential PM, but today has me thinking back to 1993, when a guy who had been reviled as a weak and ineffective Opposition Leader came to power after realizing what he needed to do.

Yeah, Chrétien. I recall how much we hated Mulroney and how much we hated how seemingly unimpressive the opposition leader was. But it all changed once the campaign got underway.

It smells like 1993 spirit to me now.

The man is confident and he is campaigning without a net, and in fine form dans les deux langues officiels. I think I see a strategy here:

Get a pile of Quebec seats back from the Bloq and therein take on the swagger of the guy who can woo the sexiest girl at the prom; and that impresses people in the rest of the country (particularly, Ontario).

The anti-coalition declaration on Day 1 was a brilliant first move. Harper is so cossetted from media scrutiny on a daily basis (upon his own doing, note), that he cannot deal with the least bit of adversity from them in the even-keel setting of an election campaign. And it shows.

Yeah, it's way too early to call, but give the Ignatieff Liberals full marks for coming out of the gate stronger than expected, and poised to make a game of it.

I think he might even get a majority, if he keeps it up.

- 30 -

Ain't she a beaut? (Fukushima reactor #4, all duckied-up)

2011-03-16T00:27:00.001-04:00

That is all they got:

Minoru Ogoda, the official with Japan’s nuclear regulatory agency, said a proposed plan to use helicopters to put more cold water into the pool was looking unlikely.

He said Tokyo Electric would probably try to spray water into the reactor building through a gaping hole in the wall blasted open by an earlier explosion.

The hole or holes in the roof caused by that blast did not appear big enough to allow sufficient amounts of water in, he said.

Well that might be a bit of a problem, wouldn't it?

"Today, only a handful of people know what it really means, and they're scared. Soon you will know: The China Syndrome"

UPDATE: Are you fucking serious??? Per Reuters: (http://live.reuters.com/Event/Japan_earthquake2)

"The Japan nuclear safety agency says TEPCO is attempting to build a road to Fukushima Daiichi No.4 reactor to allow fire trucks into site"

I guess that falls under the heading of: never give up, no matter how hopeless.

- 30 -

For Your Consideration

2011-02-22T01:24:00.001-05:00

I can think of two candidates for the next Nobel Peace prize, and they are the heretofore unnamed Libyan Air Force pilots who - when ordered to indiscriminately fire upon their own citizens - opted instead to fly to Malta and defect:

Ali al-Essawi, who stepped down as Libyan ambassador to India, told Al Jazeera TV the situation was desperate.

"People cannot defend themselves against airplane bombings. We need international intervention," he said.

Two senior Libyan Air Force colonels arrived in nearby Malta aboard two fighter jets. They said they had been ordered to bombard protesters from the air but chose instead to defect.

Libya's justice minister also resigned in protest at the "excessive use of violence" against protesters.

Muammar al-Gaddafi is hopefully at the end of his reign. It is a sickenly horrific way to exit, and one hopes he is not allowed to go peacefully, given these atrocities.

May the people of Libya soon know peace and freedom from this unscrupulous dictator.

- 30 -

EXCLUSIVE: Mubarak's conversation with Obama:

2011-02-04T01:21:00.000-05:00

"If I go there will be trouble, If I stay there will be double"

So, go.

Hosni Mubarak, and the world that matters not to him

2011-02-02T23:52:00.000-05:00

With time on my hands, I spent the afternoon flipping between Aljazeera English, CNN, CBC Newsworld and CTV Newsnet in between loads of laundry.

At around 4 pm EST, I watched live footage of a pro-Mubarak bus being driven backwards 50 metres or so into a thick throng of helpless non-violent anti-Mubarak demonstrators, all filmed by the CBC from a hotel balcony a few hundred metres away.

The bus rocked up and down, corner to corner as it rolled over the people. I would guess 20 or 30 casualties from that alone. The Egyptian army is standing down. This is a bloody mess:

6:41pm A former general in the Egyptian intelligence services tells Al Jazeera, "I expect the army will act to remove Mubarak from power ... Mubarak is ready to burn the country".
6:37pm Cairo resident tells Al Jazeera that he witnessed police officers trying to bribe porters and security guards in his apartment building. They we...re asked to go and beat up anti-government protesters in Tahrir Square.

Lisa Laflamme sounded scared. A Radio-Canada cameraman got pummelled by the pro-Mubarak thugs. Anderson Cooper and his CNN team, plus Aljazeera English reporters beaten and forced to report from afar. And yet, I was able to tune it out for a couple of hours and get excited at the Habs beating the Panthers. Life in the 21st Century.

- 30 -

When Facebook becomes Hatebook

2010-07-13T01:39:00.008-04:00

I was a reluctant FB joiner at first. I have known it to cause weird, unintended social faux-pas between people innocently updating their friends' pages with manoevres that turn into clumsy - and very public - rebukes. Plus, the site owners surely love to exploit human frailty with their seductive games and doodads that cull our personal data to feed marketing engines for advertisers.

Still, I have stuck it out with this devil I know because it remains a useful tool for cheaply keeping up with scatter-shot friends and family whom I otherwise risk ignoring completely.

But when they continually allow a nasty page to propagate the damaging message that rape is a trivial, laughable matter, I can't fathom what they are thinking. I wasted no time in reporting "It isn't r.a.p.e.... It's SURPRISE SEX (:" to the FB administration through their internal reporting tool, only to look in shock at the number of people who purportedly "like" the page (currently, 42+ thousand). But wait - how does a moronic page like that get all those deluded people "liking" it without getting shut down? Turns out it has been up with that mind-blowingly offensive title for over three and a half months since it was first reported to the FB administrators!

Well, one of those people who spotted it and flagged it offensive months ago is fed up with waiting. So what action did Facebook user Yasmin Rebelle take? You guessed it: she started up a reaction group on FB called: We Demand the Deletion of "It isn't r.a.p.e.... It's SURPRISE SEX. (:"

Damn straight, Yasmin. I am with you, and I hope any readers of this blog are too. I also have committed myself to deleting my FB account if they don't smarten up and do as this new group requests by this Friday. And I hope any FB users out there are willing to join me. Because it isn't so much that some unthinking juvenile lunkhead created the page in the first place. The problem is the gatekeepers at Facebook are not doing their jobs to shut it down.

Facebook is a very powerful message propagator, and though it is rightly and wonderfully open to all who wish to express their opinions, the owners of the site have a responsibility to stop harmful attitudes like this one from spreading. Because the page creator is calling on others to view rape as something less than the revolting, violent crime that it is, and they need to be reined-in. To wit:

hat tip to Antonia for the youtube find above.

- 30 -

Pixies pulling out of Israeli show = "cultural terrorism": promoter

2010-06-07T02:09:00.009-04:00

Stuck here out of gas
Out here on the Gaza Strip
From driving in too fast
--The Pixies (River Euphrates)

These are lines that will not be sung in Tel Aviv, now that the Pixies have decided to cancel playing what would have been their first-ever gig in Israel, in light of the Israeli government's bone-headed decision to defy world opinion and continue to punish Gazans for voting the wrong way.

Quick to play the victim card was concert promoter Shuki Weiss, who sent out his own release claiming Israel was a target of “cultural terrorism,” and that the government should step in and stop it. “I am full of both sorrow and pain in light of the fact that our repeated attempts to present quality acts and festivals in Israel have increasingly been falling victim to what I can only describe as a form of cultural terrorism which is targeting Israel and the arts worldwide.”

What a bizarre thing to accuse them of, "cultural terrorism". Only someone who completely misunderstands what the WHO called a war crime, could possibly come up with such a moronic phrase as that to describe a band choosing to simply take a pass on playing somewhere.

While Juan Cole points out that there is a sizable contingent of sane and peace-loving Israelis making their voices heard, I cannot put it any more cogently than he:

The musicians are protesting the aid flotilla massacre, in which 9 innocent persons were killed and 30 wounded. Come on. I’m not big on cultural or academic boycotts myself, but ‘cultural terrorism?’ How is declining to come a way of inspiring fear in someone? Maybe you could call it cultural passive-aggression. But terrorism?

...

A kind reader pointed out that Israeli troops and the Israeli authorities have now admitted to firing bullets at the deck of the Mavi Marmara before the commandos landed, and I think the evidence is that these bullets wounded some passengers and provoked the resistance to the landing.

So while we contemplate the complete loss of rational thought from the Israeli government, at least we can enjoy a good dose of Pixies singing about stuff that would almost surely explode the heads of the Israeli hawks.

OK, so yeah, you caught me - any excuse to put the Pixies into a blogpost.

J'suis coupable.

- 30 -

We get mail - from US reporters wanting our opinions on other US reporters!

2010-06-04T00:05:00.013-04:00

From: "Jacobon, Terry" [name changed]
To: randboro@yahoo.ca
Sent: Thu, June 3, 2010 3:56:46 PM
Subject: From Terry Jacobson [name changed] of the [MAJOR ESTABLISHED US NEWSPAPER]

Dear Scott in Montreal:

Hi. I’m a reporter for the [MAJOR ESTABLISHED US NEWSPAPER], and I’m writing under deadline about the media coverage of the BP oil spill.

I was intrigued by your comments on the Daily Kos about Anderson Cooper. He’s working hard and producing dramatic spots.

May I have a comment from you, for inclusion in my piece, about exactly *what* you think Anderson is doing right? What is he telling the world that others aren’t?

To include your quote, I’ll need your real name, and I assume your hometown is Montreal.

And I like Canada. I don’t think your government is sorry-ass. At least not always. Mine, well . . .

Terry Jacobson
Media Editor/Writer
[MAJOR ESTABLISHED US NEWSPAPER]

Re: From Terry Jacobson [name changed] of the [MAJOR ESTABLISHED US NEWSPAPER]
From: Randboro
To: "Jacobon, Terry" [name changed]

Sorry to get back to you so late. I am not typically an avid consumer of US media, although I have plenty of access to it. I usually focus on issues in my own country, plus (as a die-hard Habs fan) hating the Flyers, of course!

I cross-posted the dailykos diary to my own blog, btw, at randboro.blogspot.com. My name is Scott Murray and yes, I do live in Montreal. Quote me at will, if that helps you.

The thing Anderson did right yesterday was he communicated effectively to his audience, and took them by the hand so even a Tea Party stalwart could understand that in the case of BP, something is rotten in the state of Denmark. Given that the medium is the message, an iconic telejournalist like Cooper is a medium unto himself, so when he came down from the mountain to discover corporations are selfish and heartless, that in itself is a powerful message, regardless of the numerous ways in which his basic reporting habits are wanting.

What Cooper did a good job of, was he dismantled the cone of silence (to some degree, at least) that BP is attempting to place on the media. That he got some workers to voice their concerns despite BP's attempts to stifle all comment was probably the most impressive part for me. He could easily have taken it a bit further, and called out BP for not supplying full protection from the fumes for all clean-up workers - like the people they showed in the stock video cleaning up the Exxon Valdez disaster.

Watching again tonight, I found myself wondering why he doesn't get an expert in mechanical engineering / physics / fluid mechanics on the program, instead of lamely shrugging and saying he isn't qualified to judge what they are actually looking at from the live feed. C'mon, you're CNN, get some experts to weigh in! That's Writing and Reporting 101 stuff (with his staff and budget, only his ego could possibly be getting in the way of doing this, no?)

Plus, while those three oil-basted birds make great symbols of the carnage, I can't help thinking that an oceanographer would be a big help in explaining the long-term consequences to the food chain. That, to me, is the biggest long-term scary-scary outcome of all this; and it demands serious consideration by the media on the whole. Maybe Cooper and his producers are pacing themselves, and first dealing with the current #1 priority of their viewers, but who knows? I fear that long-term, the massive shock to oceanic biodiversity will be the legacy of this disaster, more than just the loss of fishermen's livelihoods. Like Vonnegut's Ice-9.

You should read up on the 1990s' collapse of the Newfoundland cod fisheries to get a bead on what Louisiana and other Gulf states may have to look forward to, economically. In that case, it was government mismanagement that took the brunt of the blame (and here I thought it was the insatiable worldwide demand for McDonald's Filet-o-Fish sandwiches).

I like the [MAJOR ESTABLISHED US NEWSPAPER]. Great legacy. Best of luck to you.

Scott

Anderson Cooper is restoring my faith in journalism

2010-06-02T23:43:00.014-04:00

Full credit to Anderson Cooper. In one hour this evening, he did more to awaken his countrymen to the horrors of unchecked neo-liberal corporatism than a thousand indie-film docs on Monsanto, GM or Enron combined.

Having been riveted by Cooper's 360 show during the aftermath of the disastrous Haiti earthquake earlier this year, I felt certain he would have the best daily on-the-ground coverage available from the Gulf of Mexico, where the unfettered oil leak contamination is worsening daily.

I was not disappointed. Unlike most broadcast journalists, Cooper does not shirk to use his considerable status and reach to effectively and boldly tell the story, and to hold the powerful to account. Tonight he did just that.

This evening's show was intelligently and unrelentingly critical of the callous reaction of British Petroleum to the growing Gulf of Mexico oil-spill catastrophe that they created but cannot seem to stop.

Cooper is completely in his element when reporting on the ground from a crisis situation. Back in the territory where he made his name five years ago by tirelessly covering the devastation and abysmal federal response to Hurricane Katrina, Cooper is now setting his sites on this huge multinational corporation (British Petroleum) overdue its comeuppance for generations of being everything rotten about Big Oil that the makers of There Will Be Blood tried hopelessly to tell us. And the wily Cooper knows precisely when, where and how hard to throw his punches for maximum effect.

Just for perspective's sake, BP is the fourth-largest corporation in the world. Its market capitalization at the end of last year stood at 181 billion USD, a figure that surpasses the GNP of entire nations, including Slovakia, Morocco and Chile.

And Anderson Cooper had at 'em. With few new developments today, save for yet another spectacular mishap on BP's part in containing the leak, Cooper stoically gave their CEO Tony Hayward full benefit of the doubt in trying gamely to understand his off-the-cuff explanation for clean-up workers' health complaints as being almost certain cases of food poisoning.

Together with Dr. Sanjay Gupta (who himself was most endearing in his chemically-challenged attempts at describing hydrocarbons as things "surrounded by hydrogen molecules"), Cooper efficiently swatted away Hayward's dubious food poisoning claim by pointing out these numerous sufferers of teary-eyed dizzyness and nausea didn't all eat at the same diner, after all. He also got Dr. Riki Ott to go on camera explaining what long-term effects (including increased cancer rates) she's documented from protected Exxon Valdez clean-up workers.

Next, Cooper got a couple of today's Gulf Coast clean-up workers on camera, even though they were scared of being fired for going against the non-disclosure agreements they'd signed with BP in order to obtain their $12 an hour clean-up jobs. They were speaking out about the lack of timely pay for services; about the lack of protective gear for their personal well-being (in particular, face masks); about the fact they felt they couldn't speak up for what they thought was right because of the waivers they were forced to sign. Cooper remarked on the irony of a British company stifling the free speech of American citizens.

In truth, it could just as easily have been an American or Japanese or Indian company, of course. But the historical precedent must rankle for any American with a passing knowledge of their country's founding history, especially with Hayward doing such a fabulous job of re-enacting King George III in every way that matters.

Not done there, Cooper did everything but hold his hat in his hand, humbly begging for anyone from BP to come onto his show for an interview, while explaining that there has been no shortage of direct invitations to do so. Then, in the last few minutes of his broadcast, a live meter reading of the estimated gallons of oil gushing into the Gulf was prominently displayed in the bottom-right corner of the screen. The figure increased at a rate of about nine gallons per second, with well over 34 million gallons already disgorged.

As the show ended, I realized something more significant than Katrina is now unfolding before us. Unbelievably, I wonder if we mightn't be looking back someday, remembering this time as the beginning of the end of Big Oil.

...if not the end of Big Business itself. In conjunction with Obama's bold words today, one can only assume that some kind of significant change in American capitalism is afoot.

- 30 -

Well Israel, you have really lost the PR war now

2010-06-01T00:34:00.003-04:00

You have got yourselves perfectly embroiled in an international incident that is not going away until you learn that even you must eat crow sometimes.

So far, it doesn't appear to have sunk in. I notice it only took you a few hours to release some propaganda on youtube, so we know you have a crack PR team working this untenable calamity. In a less imperfect world, the UN Security Council would enforce some strong measures. Against Israel, yes. And if you have the slightest desire to regain the upper hand in this PR war, soon you will have to realize there is only one good course of action for you to take.

It starts like this:

Immediately, Israel should send every one of the detainees from yesterday - and their boats - to Gaza and get that aid distributed.

Second: announce you are relaxing the border controls but reserve the right to re-invade Gaza should any proof of weaponization recur there (UN inspectors on the ground, which would both require Hamas approval, and corner them into transparency).

Third: apologize profusely and allow a third party investigation by Interpol, or China or some disinterested and globally respected NGO. Stop being the bad guys and realize your immense US support can be cut back substantially if your actions continue to be a drag on incumbent congress members during an election year.

Meanwhile, everybody: sit down. Have a cream soda.

- 30 -

Blowing Up is Hard to Do

2010-05-29T23:37:00.008-04:00

"This scares everybody"
--British Petroleum COO Doug Suttles, on May 29, 2010, commenting on the failure of the "Top Kill" attempt to stave off the worst crude oil contamination in history

Well folks, it looks like this Gulf of Mexico oil spill is ripe for a good 'ol blow-up, Neil Sedaka style.

Only this time, we are not talking about SCTV's Farm Film Celebrity Blow-up; we are actually discussing using nuclear weapons to halt the runaway oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico, as per Raw Story:As the latest effort to plug the oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico meets with failure, the idea of nuking the immediate undersea area to seal the oil underground is gaining steam among some energy experts and researchers.

One prominent energy expert known for predicting the oil price spike of 2008 says sending a small nuclear bomb down the leaking well is "probably the only thing we can do" to stop the leak.
Lord (and I am an athiest, mind) help us.

- 30 -

Greens, NDP to merge; Layton and May step aside, with support of key Liberal defectors

2010-05-28T00:03:00.010-04:00

Could you just imagine a headline like that? Only if you accept the fact that the federal Liberal party is finished as a viable political entity. It was this particular realization, coupled with Warren Kinsella's post earlier today, that got me thinking along these lines.

Michael Ignatieff, since wresting control of the Liberal Party of Canada a year ago, what have you accomplished? You raised some cash and bored people to tears at every lectern that would plug in a mic for you. Then last Autumn, you boldly stated you were going to challenge the PM in an election at the first opportunity. Then you backed down sheepishly and announced you would be hosting a fabulous thinkers' conference the following Spring.

Allow me to let you in on something (I pray you are sitting down): believe it or not, within hours of its closing, scarcely anyone in this country noticed your big ol' "thinkers conference" even took place. Your middling popularity perpetually wanes like the attention of students listening to a meandering lecture on the nuances of meaning in a post-modern world; their minds wandering as they wonder how their liberal education will ever help them land a meaningful job with hope of putting more than a bit of food on their families' tables.

Meanwhile you and your party are getting railroaded at every turn by a wily, unscrupulous opponent. Your brightest stars and best ideas are the equivalent of Ovechkins and Kovalchuks on otherwise directionless teams, fizzling out hopelessly when the time comes to put up or shut up. Not since Robert Stanfield has a major party been led by someone with such a mix of blandness and dubiously-principled mediocrity.

I hope it hasn't escaped your attention that, when lumped together, the Greens and the Dippers are the favoured option of more Canadians than your own party, historied and entrenched as it is. As a scholar, I trust you can see the significance of this. Tilt at your right-centre windmills all you want, but it isn't getting you anywhere (least of all, into 24 Sussex).

Jack Layton, dear Jack, please please, do go (yes, now). You have done a decent job making your party politically relevant again without completely selling the furniture. You and your party's members have been stalwart cage rattlers and fought the good fight (mostly). Alas, you have had your chance to get the country to trust you and it just hasn't happened. Face facts, Jack, and step aside to allow a fresh face to come forward that can inspire more than just your base.

Elizabeth May, dear Elizabeth, you have gallantly tried to unseat a nasty bit of work in Peter MacKay, and have sold out too easily in launching yourself across the country in search of that magic riding that can propel Canada's first GPC member into the HoC (oh, teehee, would that be you, personally ***blush***?), but this is starting to get ridiculous. No other candidate is helping the cause - if that is the true goal - except by providing more federal dollars to the party coffers just by being so hopelessly listed on the ballots of all the nation's ridings; and thus giving the local Harpercons an even better chance of coming up the middle to win those ridings without any real support. This strategy has sadly failed you and the Greens for two elections now, despite owning the moral high ground definitively. You are an eloquent and intelligent leader, but it just is not going to happen. Please understand this and step aside for a new leader to take hold of a new, merged party.

So who are the party backroomers with the courage, pull and good sense to will this sort of merger to happen? Which individual has the fire, moxie, charisma, wherewithal, smarts and financial backing to make a run of it in leading such a party?

Who will lead the United Progressive Party of Canada?

- 30 -

Shout out to the Saudi Arabian delegation

2009-12-09T07:04:00.003-05:00

Hey guys, when you start allowing the women of your country to drive, then you can share your opinions with the rest of the world on global warming.

Until then, just shut it.

Sad Anniversary

2009-12-05T22:58:00.002-05:00

Geneviève Bergeron (1968-1989)
Hélène Colgan (1966-1989)
Nathalie Croteau (1966-1989)
Barbara Daigneault (1967-1989)
Anne-Marie Edward (1968-1989)
Maud Haviernick (1960-1989)
Maryse Laganière (1964-1989)
Maryse Leclair (1966-1989)
Anne-Marie Lemay (1967-1989)
Sonia Pelletier (1961-1989)
Michèle Richard (1968-1989)
Annie St-Arneault (1966-1989)
Annie Turcotte (1969-1989)
Barbara Klucznik-Widajewicz (1958-1989)

20 years ago the 14 women listed above were brutally killed, simply for being women, by a depraved, damaged man who was brought up to think of women as being somehow less deserving than men. Somehow less than equal. This is backward thinking and hopefully we can quell it with enough time, and enough unrelenting effort at hammering home the vital message:

women and men are equal

I will never forget. And I will do everything I can to ensure my children learn that message.

It saddens me still to think of how these 14 women died so senselessly, except to serve as a tragic example of how we sometimes fail to learn.

May they rest in eternal peace.

- 30 -

Missing the Canada that stood for human rights

2009-11-19T22:51:00.004-05:00

RE: Bureaucrats and other critics often face wrath of Conservatives

It's too bad the Conservative government is so hellbent on political gamesmanship and throwing good civil servants under buses; when they instead could be working to fix a broken situation, take responsibility for errors in the directives provided to our soldiers in Afghanistan, and own up to the fact that we lost our way with our earlier policy of handing prisoners over to known torturers.

There we are, acting just like Bushco, ignoring our obligations under the Geneva conventions.

Canada

I hate when I feel shame for my country. I really wish we could just bail on this pointless mission right now.

- 30 -

Peevey Stevie stimulated by doorknobs?

2009-10-19T16:41:00.005-04:00

Tip 'o the hat to Le Daro and Scott Tribe for uncovering this startling fetish of the Canadian Prime Minister. (Okay, perhaps the Libs figured it out first, as reported by the CTV).

I always took him to be one of those boing-y doorstopper guys, but truth is stranger than fiction I guess.

GPC site redesign a huge improvement

2009-10-16T14:46:00.003-04:00

Go check it out. greenparty.ca is a whole lot snazzier. Bravo!

To work for nothing

2009-10-16T00:21:00.004-04:00

Goddamn you all
Who expect me to give you my labours for free
Goddamn you all
Who go along with this concept that we should be
Grateful for the opportunities
To work for nothing
NOTHING
But the hope that
It could
Possibly
Lead to something
that might mean something
Or at least pay something
That might put food on my table
Mine and my children's
Yes, Goddamn you all
This is not an economy for working people
It is an economy for investment speculators
Bettors
Not my betters
Why don't we learn?

Meanwhile, my labours are not yours to exploit
They have a cost - because they have value
They will not be had for nothing

Eloquence and straight talk - I am missing P.E.T.

2009-10-13T10:53:00.007-04:00

Found this snippet of a 1987 interview with Pierre-Elliot Trudeau and remembered what intellectual leadership sounds like:

"I don't think we need special powers in Quebec... Who needs special powers? The politicians. They're the ones who want special powers, naturally, because they're in the power game... That's the game of politics: power.
...I don't need politicians with special powers to protect me because (with the Charter of Rights and Freedoms) I am no weaker than you are and I don't need to be more protected than you."

Greenbacked-up as hell and not taking it anymore

2009-10-05T23:09:00.008-04:00

Roll out red carpets
Here come the China boys
-- The Payola$ (1979)

A report by Robert Fisk (the only Western journalist to ever interview Osama bin Laden) in today's Independent augurs ill for the continuance of the United States' dominance of world finance - perhaps a body blow to a crumbling empire:

In the most profound financial change in recent Middle East history, Gulf Arabs are planning – along with China, Russia, Japan and France – to end dollar dealings for oil, moving instead to a basket of currencies including the Japanese yen and Chinese yuan, the euro, gold and a new, unified currency planned for nations in the Gulf Co-operation Council, including Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi, Kuwait and Qatar.

"These plans will change the face of international financial transactions," one Chinese banker said. "America and Britain must be very worried. You will know how worried by the thunder of denials this news will generate."

Iran announced late last month that its foreign currency reserves would henceforth be held in euros rather than dollars. Bankers remember, of course, what happened to the last Middle East oil producer to sell its oil in euros rather than dollars. A few months after Saddam Hussein trumpeted his decision, the Americans and British invaded Iraq.

Well that tidbit of truth is a wee bit disturbing.

Denis Coderre: Looking out for #1

2009-09-28T13:54:00.003-04:00

After being over-ruled last week on the Liberal nomination in Outremont riding, Denis Coderre spared no bitterness today in resigning as his party's Quebec lieutenant and defense critic (but not as MP):

Coderre said he still has "confidence" in Ignatieff, but he suggested the Liberal leader make changes to his inner circle of advisers.

"Much more fundamental questions are raised by these events: Who should the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada listen to on decisions that strictly affect Quebec?

"Should he follow his Quebec lieutenant while working closely with a credible team? Or to his Toronto advisers who know nothing about the social and political realities of Quebec?"

...

CTV News' Ottawa Bureau Chief Robert Fife reported earlier Monday that Ignatieff's office was completely unaware of Coderre's plans and said the Liberal leader had not been in contact with his lieutenant over the weekend. However, Ignatieff had left three voice mails on Coderre's cellphone and two emails this morning, all of which had gone unanswered, Fife said.

Coderre certainly has not shone as Defence critic, and the fact he chose today - and so publicly - to resign from the shadow cabinet, proves who he puts first when balancing what's good for the his party and his country, and what's good for Denis Coderre.

Because as impolitical points out, not all of Ignatieff's close advisors are non-Quebeckers. For someone so ostensibly concerned with the over-TO-ification of Iggy's inner circle, an honest MP, loyal to his leader (as he purports to be) might have seen fit to mention that in his all-too-public rant today.

Or perhaps Coderre truly believes that a former Quebec Education minister and a former Quebec Liberal Party president - both with close ties to Jean Charest through three straight electoral victories - really do know "nothing about Quebec".

- 30 -

Being in the "Pre-employment phase"...

2009-09-28T13:25:00.002-04:00

...I instinctively know exactly what our Dear Prime Minister means when he speaks of all the projects in the "pre-construction phase".

Outremont est Ouvert: Iggy, Coderre concede to Cauchon

2009-09-25T15:26:00.005-04:00

Well! No sooner had I suggested in the comments over on Pogge's excellent blog that the Liberals would be wise to allow Martin Cauchon to try and unseat the NDP's Thomas Mulcair in his old Outremont stomping grounds than the G&M reports that they are apparently taking my advice.

Party insiders say Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff has decided to allow an open nomination contest in the prized Montreal riding of Outremont.

Earlier this week, Mr. Ignatieff declared that the riding had been reserved for businesswoman Nathalie Le Prohon.

Mr. Ignatieff made that decision despite Mr. Cauchon's expressed interest in making a comeback in the riding he represented for 11 years before retiring from politics in 2004.

But insiders say Mr. Ignatieff relented in the face of a fierce party backlash and decided to give Ms. Le Prohon another Montreal riding – Jeanne-Le Ber.

Amazingly, I even called the bit about offering up Le Prohon to Jeanne-Le Ber. Cauchon was a Chrétienite whom Paul Martin Jr. didn't want hanging around too long once he became leader. Why he stayed out of politics with Dion's return is unclear, but if the Liberal tradition of alternating english and french leaders continues, then maybe that has something to do with Coderre's earlier reticence at welcoming him back.

At any rate, Cauchon was a fine Justice Minister who fought the good fight on Same-Sex marriage and he deserves to have a crack at winning the nomination in his old riding. And it's good to see Ignatieff has enough grace to admit when a mistake has been made, and then reverse it.

But not so fast, Iggy: what about Stéphane?

(H/T to Mark Francis over at Secion 15)

- 30 -

Give Unto Woman What is Woman's

2009-09-24T11:48:00.007-04:00

A woman must have control over her own body. But the anti-abortionists will never be satisfied with that. I am sickened to learn of this 40-day campaign of self-righteous busy-bodies, bent on harassing women at abortion clinics across the United States and Canada - even here in Montreal.

From Antonia Zerbiasis:

The birds of `pray' who will be targeting women's clinics in Canadian cities for the next 40 days really don't care about saving lives.

If they did, they wouldn't be so much about intimidating the desperate women and girls who are seeking abortions.

That's because, no matter how much they will attempt to cloak their vigils outside two Toronto clinics with solemn vows to "never stop defending life," their true agenda is unveiled by their lack of support for babies once they're born, their often impoverished mothers and the kind of sex education and contraception accessibility that would avoid abortion in the first place.

Nowhere on 40DaysForLife.com is there any discussion of any of these matters.

Of course not. I wonder what these people would have had Mackenzie Phillips do if abortion wasn't an option for her after being impregnated by her own father? There are more than enough unwanted children in this world. And when safe abortion is not an option, the result is that women die. Needlessly.

As for our governing Conservatives, Zerbisias goes on to remind us of where they stand:

There are reports in the blogosphere that Harper will replace Status of Women minister Helena Guergis – who hasn't done much for women, but that's another column – with the anti-choice Cheryl Gallant, who has fought against gay rights and even parental leave.

It just gets worse.

Last weekend, a prominent American anti-choice activist made a speech at the "Value Voters Summit" where she proposed that abortions be performed "in the public square."

This is the true backlash against feminism, whose second wave became a tsunami after the pill became widely available in the late 1960s.

It's all about keeping women down to those Biblical depths where they are little more than breeding stock, born to serve their masters.

...

No wonder Harper boasted two weeks ago, in a closed-door meeting of the party faithful, that he killed the mechanisms for women to protect their constitutional rights.

Zerbisias signs off her blog post saying she worries about the prospect of a Harper majority government.

Antonia, let me just say this: As a Canadian; as a proud father; as a feminist; as a humanitarian, I couldn't agree more. This is a public health issue, and it's also about protecting women's rights, and protecting the integrity of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

That's why we can't get these Harper Conservatives out of power fast enough.

- 30 -

Grow up, Quebec federal Liberals!!!! Cauchon, Coderre, this means you

2009-09-23T23:48:00.003-04:00

Getting Harper out of Dodge should be your primary consideration. So make good and figure it out already. If Cauchon wants to run in the riding he took thrice already (with the stated blessing of the riding association), let him run. Cauchon has more talent in his little finger than the entire Harper cabinet. If that threatens Coderre in some way, then he is not being a very good Québec lieutenant for Ignatieff by being subservient to such a self-serving attitude.

Keep your eyes on the prize, people. Infighting disgusts the voters. Grow up. Please.

- 30 -

Harper Priorities: Preserving Canadian D'oh-how

2009-09-23T14:38:00.005-04:00

Peevey Stevie, focusing on what he thinks Canada does best:

June 10, 2009:

"Eventually, we anticipate Canada will be out of the business" of making isotopes, Harper told the media today.

Sept. 18, 2009:

...the federal government (has) washed their hands of the sale to foreign interests of a key piece of Nortel, the one-time gem of Canada's high-tech sector...

Some have argued that this is an "Avro Arrow" moment – a reference to the decision of a previous Conservative government, under John Diefenbaker, to scrap a Canadian-designed jet fighter. But that was a cost-driven decision, as the government was financing the project.

In the case of Nortel, it would not have cost the government a penny to intervene in order to keep its wireless unit in Canadian hands. In deciding not to do so, Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff declared yesterday, the Conservatives are "wilfully turning their backs on the future of Canada's technology sector."
--Toronto Star

In today's news:

“Tim Hortons’ decision (to re-incorporate in Canada) shows our strategy is working," Prime Minister Harper said.

- 30 -

Im'grints Taking our PENSIONS dagnabbit !

2009-09-21T12:23:00.003-04:00

I got an email [origin: vancouver craigslist?] forwarded from a family member who hoped I would become incensed over Bill C-428:

Subject: URGENT ATTENTION About Our OAS pensions Bill C-428 An Act to Amend the Old Age Security Act ( residency requirements) This bill had first reading in the house on June 18, 2009.

When I saw the video on U tube, I heard that it was seconded by Bob Rae. MP Ms Dhalla who introduced the bill represents the riding of Brampton whose population is mainly east Indian. Right now you have to have lived in Canada for 10 years in order to qualify for Old Age Security. She wants the time reduced to 3 years. So you could come here when you are 62 years old, never work or contribute to this county’s tax system etc and qualify for full Old Age Security benefits. Can you believe this. 10 years is a stretch!!

I certainly hope this bill does not get passed and I am thinking it is about time we call our elected MP’s as well as the NDP and Liberal candidates and ask them if they support this bill. This may be one factor to help us determine who get elected in the next election.

I hope this bill doesn't get passed!!!!!!

What Can You Do?

1. Spread the message to family and friends
2. write letters, send emails or call Members of Parliament
If you don't agree, I apologize for wasting your time

Bill C-428, An Act to Amend the Old Age Security Act.( residency requirements ) It is time Canada looked after it's own citizens before splashing OUR money around on people who have no right to this money, never having contributed to it. If a family wishes to bring elderly relatives here and wish to waive their own right to collect these resources in order that the elderly relatives can - fine, otherwise, look after them yourself and do not expect the Canadian people to do it. There are too many people abusing the generosity of the Canadian people, it needs to stop ... NOW!

Here is my reply:

Sorry, I can't muster the outrage, and here's why:

Let's say you escaped war-torn Congo or Somalia or North Korea or Gaza - where you have likely slaved away in harsh conditions your whole life with nothing to show for it but your new-found freedom as a refugee here in Canada - a land of peace and relative prosperity. What are you supposed to do when you hit 65? You probably need social assistance one way or another. So if it isn't a pension it'll be something else, because the sight of such persons starving to death on the sidewalk wouldn't be pretty.

For them to be in this situation, the government must have previously allowed them to come and live here at an advanced age. So Canada implicitly became responsible for their well-being at that point. We obviously can't leave them to rot just because they didn't pay into the Canadian system all those years. Anyway, it's not like this is a whopping huge number of people, sitting pretty and "living off the fat of the land" while you and I are left with nothing. And remember, this does not affect other pension recipients one iota - only tangentially, by possibly adding a few hundred thousand to our $55+ billion deficit. (Is that what Jim Flaherty last pegged it at? I can't keep up).

This email campaign is just a typical baiting tactic of the right-wing political machine meant to get us all fired up over nothing of much import, distracting us from some of the real mis-steps and atrocities of our Harper government (note that we are asked to pressure our NDP or Liberal candidates, implying them as the "culprits"; leaving the Conservatives as the de facto "good guys".)

- 30 -

Iggy (Ford Prefect) and Jack (Mr. Prosser) Layton star in: "Ottawa Bulldozer"

2009-09-17T20:48:00.005-04:00

H/T to the late, great, Douglas Adams...

The excerpt below came to mind while reading Jack the Obstructionist over at Section 15.

Ford stared at Arthur, who began to think that perhaps he did
want to go to the Horse and Groom after all.

"But what about my house ...?" he asked plaintively.

Ford looked across to Mr Prosser, and suddenly a wicked thought
struck him.

"He wants to knock your house down?"

"Yes, he wants to build ..."

"And he can't because you're lying in front of the bulldozers?"

"Yes, and ..."

"I'm sure we can come to some arrangement," said Ford. "Excuse
me!" he shouted.

Mr Prosser (who was arguing with a spokesman for the bulldozer
drivers about whether or not Arthur Dent constituted a mental
health hazard, and how much they should get paid if he did)
looked around. He was surprised and slightly alarmed to find that
Arthur had company.
"Yes? Hello?" he called. "Has Mr Dent come to his senses yet?"

"Can we for the moment," called Ford, "assume that he hasn't?"

"Well?" sighed Mr Prosser.

"And can we also assume," said Ford, "that he's going to be
staying here all day?"

"So?"

"So all your men are going to be standing around all day doing
nothing?"

"Could be, could be ..."

"Well, if you're resigned to doing that anyway, you don't
actually need him to lie here all the time do you?"

"What?"

"You don't," said Ford patiently, "actually need him here."

Mr Prosser thought about this.

"Well no, not as such...", he said, "not exactly need ..."
Prosser was worried. He thought that one of them wasn't making a
lot of sense.

Ford said, "So if you would just like to take it as read that
he's actually here, then he and I could slip off down to the pub
for half an hour. How does that sound?"

Mr Prosser thought it sounded perfectly potty.

"That sounds perfectly reasonable," he said in a reassuring tone
of voice, wondering who he was trying to reassure.

"And if you want to pop off for a quick one yourself later on,"
said Ford, "we can always cover up for you in return."

"Thank you very much," said Mr Prosser who no longer knew how to
play this at all, "thank you very much, yes, that's very kind
..." He frowned, then smiled, then tried to do both at once,
failed, grasped hold of his fur hat and rolled it fitfully round
the top of his head. He could only assume that he had just won.

"So," continued Ford Prefect, "if you would just like to come
over here and lie down ..."

"What?" said Mr Prosser.

"Ah, I'm sorry," said Ford, "perhaps I hadn't made myself fully
clear. Somebody's got to lie in front of the bulldozers haven't
they? Or there won't be anything to stop them driving into Mr
Dent's house will there?"

"What?" said Mr Prosser again.
"It's very simple," said Ford, "my client, Mr Dent, says that he
will stop lying here in the mud on the sole condition that you
come and take over from him."

"What are you talking about?" said Arthur, but Ford nudged him
with his shoe to be quiet.

"You want me," said Mr Prosser, spelling out this new thought to
himself, "to come and lie there ..."

"Yes."

"In front of the bulldozer?"

"Yes."

"Instead of Mr Dent."

"Yes."

"In the mud."

"In, as you say it, the mud."

As soon as Mr Prosser realized that he was substantially the
loser after all, it was as if a weight lifted itself off his
shoulders: this was more like the world as he knew it. He sighed.

"In return for which you will take Mr Dent with you down to the
pub?"

"That's it," said Ford. "That's it exactly."

Mr Prosser took a few nervous steps forward and stopped.

"Promise?"

"Promise," said Ford. He turned to Arthur.

"Come on," he said to him, "get up and let the man lie down."

Arthur stood up, feeling as if he was in a dream.

For the uninitiated, the above is an excerpt from Chapter One of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Watergate Redux (Canadian style)?

2009-09-17T01:42:00.003-04:00

Say it ain't so, Peevie Stevie! Say it ain't so.

BQ and the separatists' need to forestall a fall election

2009-09-16T10:35:00.016-04:00

It's simply bad for the cause. The big cause: Quebec separation. That's why Bloq Québecois leader Gilles Duceppe's MPs will prop up the Harper government and support the upcoming Ways and Means vote on Friday.

That's also why I suspect the Bloc will keep the Conservatives afloat until at least the first week of November (once the Montreal municipal election is over). Because the real reason former Parti-Québecois cabinet minister Louise Harel jumped into the race for the mayor's chair - under the Vision Montreal banner - is so the separatist movement could establish a strong organizational beachhead on the populous island where all the "money and ethnic votes" flourish. And to do that, first they have to help ensure she unseats incumbent Montreal Mayor Gérald Tremblay - himself a former Quebec Liberal leadership hopeful with strong ties to many in the Charest government.

A little Quebec politics background here: Harel has worked her whole professional life for the PQ and the separatist cause, having joined the party in 1970 at the age of 24. She got elected in 1981, back when René Lévesque was party leader, and went on to serve in both Parizeau's and Bernard Landry's cabinets; including a stint as interim party leader in the National Assembly.

While you won't find a hint of separatist policy (nor any mention of her impressive PQ and separatist bona fides) on the Vision Montreal website, make no mistake about the true motive here: Installing a separatist municipal government with strong PQ ties into Quebec's largest city would serve a similar purpose to the raison d'etre of the BQ: organizational and ideological support that each party can leverage off of between their respective elections.

And any government of Harel's will have at least one eye trained on promoting Quebec separation at any given opportunity. For if the last 40 years of Quebec history teaches us anything, it's that you can take the politician out of the ostensibly separatist party, but you can't take the separatist drive out of the politician.

And with the notable exception of former Vision Montreal leader (and Paul Martin Liberal) Benoit Labonté, who allowed himself to be bumped down a notch from party leader to become Harel's right-hand man, most of the candidates recruited by Harel have similarly strong separatist credentials. For example, yesterday I received a full-colour glossy pamphlate in my mailbox promoting former PQ MNA Elsie Lefebvre as a Vision Montreal candidate for city councillor in the Villeray arrondissement (or district). And how about former Bloq MP Réal Ménard, brought on board by Harel last June to run for mayor of Hochelaga-Maisonneuve borough?

So how does this all fit in with Duceppe's propping-up of the Harper government? Well, voter apathy in municipal elections - the conventional wisdom goes - is not helped one iota by a concurrent national campaign competing for the public's (and media's) attention.

That said, Harel needs to bring up the issues and stir up voter anger towards her opponent. That's her greatest hope for dislodging him in what has become a two-way race. Especially since her history with the PQ does not in any way endear her to the overwhelmingly federalist and entrenched Liberal-supporting constituency of the island.

Because traditionally, Montrealers return their mayoralty incumbents to power unless and until they get really fed up with them. Getting us fed up should be easy, given the rampant allegations of wide-spread corruption within the Tremblay administration. But if a federal campaign comes along in the meantime, that makes Harel's job a whole lot harder. And if she loses, then the possibility of a new (de facto) separatist government lording over Montreal island becomes that much more distant; with the goal of separating from Canada as elusive as ever.

The over-arching separatist strategy, therefore, is best served spending the next 11 weeks quietly putting all three parties' volunteers and support to that purpose - not fighting another federal campaign wherein they will need to concentrate on helping the Bloq maintain their seat count against the ambitious Liberals and Conservatives.

Simply put, there is absolutely no need for the separatists to bring down Harper's government right now, since it would only serve to hamper the separatist cause (not to mention Harel's personal ambition).

I'm surprised Jack Layton is letting all his party's political capital seep away, given this reality. His base must be furious with him, especially considering the Conservative government is comfortably safe without NDP support ...until November at least.

- 30 -

I was on my way to the Death Star that morning...

2009-09-16T00:49:00.004-04:00

h/t to Section 15 for finding this one:

There is comic brilliance, and then there is comic brilliance with exquisite post-modernist satire, done with impeccable execution. Brilliant.

(The real tragedy is that all three brave Stormtroopers pictured here would eventually be killed in the destruction of the second Death Star, just five years later. Contributions to their widows and children are being taken up by the Intergalactic Imperial Loyalist Fund. Your generosity is greatly appreciated.)

- 30 -

What a Find: Schoolhouse Rock pronoun vid

2009-09-14T10:33:00.005-04:00

Sometimes it's good to lighten the load a bit. The Schoolhouse Rock series was the epitome of the 1970s' effort to make good use of television's educational possibilities. If nothing else, it brings back fond memories. I was tickled pink to find my personal favourite among a slew of them on youtube:

Maybe ol' Jim Flaherty could look into using something like this for his project to educate Canadians on the world of finance (I heard them musing about it on CBC Radio One early this morning - link anyone?)

Of course, Flaherty might be wise to sign-up the whole Harper cabinet for remedial Finance 101 first (himself included). How big is that deficit projected to be this week now?

- 30 -

RT @PaulMartinJr - LMFAO: "Transport Canada 'fictitiously' expensing millions"

2009-09-13T23:50:00.010-04:00

Methinks that with G&M headlines like these - just in time for Parliament to return from summer - there will be crow on the menu in Ottawa this week.

Federal public servants at Transport Canada are routinely filing millions of dollars in expenses – including overtime, salaries and computers – toward a construction project that doesn't exist.

Further, The Globe and Mail has learned that public servants who object to the scheme are routinely overruled by their managers.

...

Documents released through access-to-information requests list the expenses, which total $10.7-million since 2004. Expenses continued to be billed to the pipeline project this year.

What's more, government documents show Transport Canada managers insisted employees bill all expenses to the fund for any travel that is loosely in the area of the proposed pipeline – listing 23 communities in the Northwest Territories as “Mackenzie Valley locations.” When employees noted their trips to the region had nothing to do with the pipeline, they were told that Transport Canada headquarters approved the use of the fund based on geography.

I imagine Transport Minister John Baird will sadly be sleep-deprived for tomorrow. Pity, because he'll need his wits about him (all two).

Shall we start the scandal naming now, folks? Vote and contribute in comments, please!

1) Pipeline to Nowhere?
2) Pipe-dreamy accounting?
3) Pipescam?
4) Put that on the pipe and smokescreen it?
5) Other (but not Pipegate; too easy)

Wow. Between this and the earlier confirmation that Clement came down hard on Ablonczy to ensure no ~~goddamned faggots~~ unwarranted groups in Toronto or Montreal would receive any Harper government money, this government appears to be floundering worse than the Fraser river salmon. Iggy might as well invite the CTV cameras into his crypt and let his eyebrows grow out if this keeps up.

(h/t to Montreal Simon)

- 30 -

Libs Not Making it Easy Being Green (for May) Anymore

2009-09-13T14:51:00.008-04:00

The Green Party's stated electoral goal is to concentrate their efforts on winning a seat for leader Elizabeth May.

Last month she announced that she would not run in Nova Scotia again, and moved her home to the West Coast riding (of Saanich-Gulf Islands).

May has said her party has made her election to the House of Commons a priority and insisted that she run in the riding with the best chance of electing a Green MP.

But her campaign manager John Fryer dismissed the notion she's simply a parachute candidate.

"Canada needs Elizabeth May in Parliament and when we surveyed the country we found this riding seems to be the greenest," Fryer said.

Unfortunately, it's always risky to put all your eggs into one basket - especially when that strategy backfired once already.

Here's hoping for the best, but I have to say, both incumbent Gary Lunn and the new Liberal candidate in May's hand-picked BC riding look like pretty tough competition, even for a party leader with May's profile.

I guess in the end, there is no safe riding for the Greens. You'll recall Kermit the Frog sang about our plight, (way back before he became a Disney stooge).

My only beef with this party - which has the best platform of the lot - is that its leader has a nasty habit of painting herself into corners. [gulps] "Quixotic" is definitely not the first adjective one wants people to associate with one's party.

- 30 -

hat-tip to impolitical

Juan Cole's contrast in Joe Wilsons

2009-09-12T09:34:00.002-04:00

This is why the historical perspective is important. I haven't seen anyone sum it up any better than this.

Your Bias is Showing

2009-09-11T15:21:00.005-04:00

Some interesting word choices on the part of Globe & Mail reporter Campbell Clark in this piece about Ignatieff ruling out the coalition question:The Conservatives still insist a coalition is one of Mr. Ignatieff's secret schemes – and it's not yet clear if ruling out will help de-fang the issue for the Liberals, or simply bring more attention to it.

If it became clear in an election campaign that the Liberals might be able to win government, but not a majority, Mr. Harper would use the coalition attacks to argue that only a Conservative majority would stop the NDP and Bloc from gaining a hand in running the country.
(emphasis mine)

Seems like Mr. Clark (or some editor) has the inside track on what the Conservative war-room would do, and is happy to trot out their talking points rather matter-of-factly, as if the numerous "secret schemes" of Michael Ignatieff's were a matter of public record, and the Conservatives are merely insisting this is "one of" them. So where is the attribution for that? Seems like somebody's bias is showing.

- 30 -

The Sound of Conservative Talking Points Fizzling

2009-09-11T12:13:00.003-04:00

Blecccch!

Sputter!

Cough!

Retch!

"My cynicism can't keep up"

2009-09-11T11:25:00.004-04:00

Mark Francis over at Section 15 seems poised to give Canadian Cynic a run for his moniker with this post on Conservative tricks with crime bills, wherein the Globe & Mail piece he quotes includes this:

“This will be the third election we've had that bill before the House,” said New Democrat justice critic Joe Comartin, complaining that Canada's identity-theft laws are years behind those in Europe and the U.S.

Crime has proved to be such a no-risk political winner that the Harper government has for three years stacked up a long queue of crime bills in Parliament, sometimes letting them sit without debate, and blaming the opposition for stalling them.
Mr. Comartin said the Conservatives are transparently slowing the progress of some crime bills so that they can use it as a political weapon, mainly against the Liberals.

“Pushing the crime button has worked for them fairly effectively,” he said. “They'd love to be able to beat up on the Liberals.”

The pile-up occurs in part because the government introduces its crime bills as small amendments, forcing the justice committee to consider them one at a time, in sequence, often hearing the same witnesses repeatedly – instead of combining them in an omnibus bill.

Mark sums up his post with: "My cynicism can't keep up". You know something Mark? Neither can mine.

- 30 -

What was that about appointing idealogues?

2009-09-11T10:25:00.003-04:00

“Imagine how many left-wing ideologues they would be putting in the courts, federal institutions, agencies, the Senate. I should say: how many more they would be putting in?”
--Stephen Harper, in Sault-Ste. Marie, Ontario, September 3, 2009.

Yesterday's news of former Mulroney Tory Pierre Blais's appointment by Peevey Stevie as chief justice of the Federal Appeal Court fell below the radar for a whole slew of newsmakers unable to get their one-track gaze off the "upcoming election" meme. Luckily, the story did not escape the attention of the Canadian Press (view it here, via the G&M), where they know a thing or two about putting perspective into a news story:

Judge Blais was first elected to the House of Commons as a Progressive Conservative MP in 1984 and was re-elected in 1988. He lost his Bellechasse seat, just outside Quebec City, when the PCs were devastated by Mr. Chrétien's Liberals in the October 1993 federal election.

Judge Blais served in multiple junior cabinet roles under Mr. Mulroney before replacing Kim Campbell as justice minister in a January, 1993, shuffle. He co-chaired the PCs' national re-election campaign.

Critics of his tenure accused the Quebec nationalist of being more concerned with party politics than with justice policy.

As justice minister, he rejected mandatory anti-sexism training for judges at all levels. He also proposed lowering the age at which the Young Offenders Act applies to 10 from 12 and reducing the age at which adult criminal law applies to 16 from 18.

Clearly, the right-wing partisan appointments are in full swing under a minority Harper government. Patronage is something opposition leaders have been able to make hay with before, of course.

- 30 -

Calling on Decent Canadians to Stand with Jake Raynard

2009-09-11T08:50:00.005-04:00

I read about this terrible attack earlier this week from Montreal Simon's blog. I was shocked and angered - as anyone would be - to know that people living in this country, under the protection of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, are still subject to episodes of blatantly homophobic violence.

Today, Simon shares an encouraging update:

But luckily for me there are people like Jake, and so many other gay people, to remind me that violence is not the answer, because we are better than the brutish, cowardly, gay bashers who hunt us like animals.

And because we are like that, out of something horrible can come something BEAUTIFUL.

Like this:

Dave Ivany, director of Gender Issues Centre at Lakehead University said that since Raynard’s story has come out, more people are starting to tell their stories about dealing with homophobia in Thunder Bay.

Well I stand with Jake Raynard, and with everyone who wants to see an end to violence, homophobia and hate in general. We must denounce it, loudly and incessantly. I wish you a speedy and full recovery, Jake. And may the justice system do you justice as well.

Also, there is a Facebook group set-up for anyone to join who wants to stand up and be counted as a voice against hate.

Good luck to Jake. And keep up the good fight.

- 30 -

Last Word to Red Tory

2009-09-10T20:19:00.002-04:00

I was going to blog about Michael Ignatieff's presser from this afternoon, but Red Tory sums it up so well I just have to send you over there.

Icky Yucky Nasty Weasley Peevey Stevie

2009-09-10T11:03:00.002-04:00

I saw the report on CBC last night, but it didn't fully sink in how awful Harper's vision of Canada under a majority Conservative government really is. Not until I read impolitical's excellent analysis. Montreal Simon also shares my sentiments. I have nothing more to add at this point - beyond my own considerable nausea.

Is that all ya got, Kenney?

2009-09-08T10:08:00.006-04:00

It was Sunday evening before Labour Day and the only guy in Canada wearing a suit and tie with no funeral to attend was looking like he knew he was laying an egg, and trying hard not to show it. Jason Kenney delivered this pathetically thin personal attack on Michael Ignatieff in response to the release of a pre-writ ad wherein Ignatieff dons the powerfully Chrétienish blue shirt and waxes all sweet and cuddly about us great Canadians.

(here is the ad - try not to fall asleep watching it):

Still awake? While the ad provides little substance, it does subtley fight fire with fire by extolling the virtues of having a broad international view of the world, negating the silly and niggardly provincial argument that Iggy is somehow a bad Canadian for having lived and worked abroad for much of his adult life. That argument didn't wash and the Cons seem to be realizing it.

So now they want to paint Ignatieff as being phony. And they yanked a bland quote, presumably from somewhere in a 2005 Harvard professors' lounge or some such place - wherein he is telling his then-colleagues that he will have to present himself differently as he enters the world of politics. And the Conservatives think Canadians will find this terribly shocking? As if Harper himself doesn't measure every word and gesture in public? As if we voters are such babes in the woods that we wouldn't be able to conceive of a public official having to act accordingly when espousing party politics, as opposed to ruminating on public policy from an academic perspective?

It's another example of the Cons' small-mindedness, and it appears to play right into the Liberals' game-plan of creating a contrast between an outward-looking, confident Canada we can all be proud of on the world-stage; and a petty, snippy, combative Canada that can't even summon enough respect for other world leaders to show up on time for the group photo-ops.

So Mr. Kenney, if that's all you've got, you ain't got nothing. I think you know it, and I look forward to seeing more of these nervous, desperate Conservatives trying to sell us on their laughably lame lines of attack.

- 30 -

Prime Minister Stephen Harper needs to Resign Now

2009-09-03T15:48:00.006-04:00

Let us not beat around the bush: Prime Minister Stephen Harper misled the world about the seriousness of a breach of secret information under his watch that, it turns out was so major, risked compromising Canada's - and NATO's - mission (on several fronts). It also may have provided crucial information to our enemies, according to the lede in le Devoir reporter Bahador Zabihiyan's explosive front page story in this morning's edition.

Yes, thanks to the Montreal daily newspaper, whose editors waited over a year to receive the now heavily-censored documents under the Access to Information Act, we now know that Stephen Harper was at best, disingenuous and completely lacking in judgment in May, 2008, when he dismissed opposition calls for a full inquiry into the matter.

In lieu of the highly sensitive and broad-ranging scope of detailed information we now know was contained therein, it more than stretches credulity to imagine Harper was unaware of the wide-ranging international security implications of the breach - especially given the fact the documents were in the possession of a woman linked to organized crime, and for a period of weeks, before they were retrieved. At the very least, a breach (and possible cover-up) of this importance requires a criminal investigation by the RCMP, since the information may have compromised national security, not to mention that of our NATO allies.

As you'll recall, then Foreign Affairs minister Maxime Bernier was hastily relieved of his portfolio over the incident - but only once the news broke a month after the actual breach occurred, in May of 2008.

Browsing through the points of interest contained within the 560 pages of classified information, Zabihiyan notes that few global flashpoints are absent:

De l'élargissement de l'OTAN aux pays des Balkans à la contribution de celui-ci dans la lutte contre le terrorisme, des prisonniers talibans en Afghanistan à la défense antimissile, du contrôle des armements au conflit israélo-palestinien, de la situation en l'Ukraine à la présence d'al-Qaïda au Pakistan en passant par la position du Canada en ce qui concerne le dalaï-lama et le nucléaire iranien, tous les grands sujets de la politique canadienne à l'étranger y sont abordés de manière détaillée.

The CBC sums that up in english like so:

The documents include classified information about NATO's plans to expand operations in the Balkans, Taliban prisoners in Afghanistan, arms control in the Middle East, security in Ukraine, and al-Qaeda's presence in Pakistan.

Almost every page obtained by the newspaper has large sections blacked out.

The original copies — left at (Bernard's girlfriend, Julie) Couillard's house in April 2008 — were not censored.

Given the seriousness of this breach, there can be no justification for Harper's downplaying of it as being simply a mix of public and confidential material, and briefing notes for meetings, as his government said at the time.

In lieu of the inevitable questions brought up by the scope of the information leaked, the potential damage to Canada's worldwide reputation is incalculable. Our NATO allies must be deeply concerned, with gusts to appalled, that one of their most trusted partners could undermine our collective international security with such flippant disregard for a possibly treasonous breach of secret information - and without any sort of credible investigation having been undertaken into the matter in the 18 months since.

Given what we know today, one imagines that leaders in London, Washington, Brussels, Paris, etc. must be (privately, if not publicly) livid that the Canadians still cannot ascertain:

1) The breadth of the Bernier leak
2) How it was ever possible
3) What was done to mitigate the risk of future breaches (and how come other ministers - hello Lisa Raitt - evidently cannot keep track of their sensitive documents either).

One imagines our allies would be equally unimpressed that Maxime Bernier was allowed to remain in place within the Conservative caucus, then run again for the party mere months later, whence the voters in his riding re-elected him.

So please, Mr. Harper, do it. Visit Rideau Hall and resign as Prime Minister of Canada.

Do it before the Governor-General needs to step in and remove you from power. Because like a chain, NATO security is only as strong as its weakest link. Canada, under the Harper Conservatives, has proven itself unable to live up to its responsibility in regards to its NATO allies' collective security. There may be no way to save our national credibility as a fair partner. But Harper's immediate resignation would be a necessary first step in rebuilding the trust that lies at the foundation of NATO and Canadian security.

- 30 -

Leadership from Ignatieff on medical isotopes crisis - at last

2009-08-31T09:37:00.005-04:00

Probably not to be much noticed on a day the Globe & Mail is jumping up and down about a tiny uptick in GDP, it is still refreshing to see that the leader of the Opposition is finally going on record with a "what the Liberals would do" response to a serious crisis. I am also glad he went the distance in spelling out how the crisis is an obvious failing of the current government. (Hat-tip to Impolitical).

Let's see more focus on the Conservatives' dismal incompetence with running the country the past three years. You want examples? Here are your stinking examples.

- 30 -

Happy Canada Day, everyone

2009-07-01T18:05:00.005-04:00

This is stellar (and they even apologize for Celine Dion):

"I Know that You Want to be Canadian Please"

No Washington Bullets in Iran please

2009-06-21T09:03:00.005-04:00

For the very first time ever,
When they had a revolution in Nicaragua,
There was no interference from America
Human rights in America

Well the people fought the leader,
And up he flew...
With no Washington bullets what else could he do?
--The Clash, from Washington Bullets

As usual, historian Juan Cole has an excellent round-up of the latest news from Iran, taking care to attribute his sources, and contextualizing them with his knowledge of the underlying politics. In Cole's words:Mousavi has thrown down a gauntlet before the Supreme Leader and a battle has been joined. By the rules of the Khomeinist regime, only one of them can now survive. And perhaps neither will.
It doesn't seem like that long ago that Bush's United States was perilously close to invading Iran. Thank goodness this never came to pass. Obama's low-key reaction thus far seems appropriate to me. Let the Iranians find their way on their own and avoid the impression of Washington Bullets dictating the outcome. Because then any reform movement that may come to light will have a chance at being taken as legitimate by the Iranian people and the world at large.

But before we get too excited, we must recall there is always also this possibility.

Meanwhile, we must sit and we wait; and view events from afar with a hopeful (if jaundiced) eye.

- 30 -

Iran's existentialist moment of truth?

2009-06-20T11:28:00.004-04:00

Now comes the inevitable crackdown from the Iranian regime. Unconfirmed reports of beatings, teargas, killings, and a suicide bomber that blew himself up in an important Khomeini shrine.

But out of all the stuff I've seen from Iran in the past week, I liked this (allegedly from a few hours ago, as the crackdown was getting underway) the most.

This day has a real "moment of truth" feel to it. May Iran find its way to a peaceful outcome with a minimum of bloodshed.

- 30 -

"They are killing us all!"

2009-06-17T10:29:00.004-04:00

There is an incredible and detailed first-hand account at Salon from a Tehran protester whose name was withheld for "reasons of personal safety". It details the swings between a festive mood and outright fear that Iranians are feeling from one moment to the next. The entire account is worth reading, but here are some tidbits that stood out for me: (all emphasis mine)

In the crowd there are families, young and old. One cannot help but notice the large presence of women of all ages. The typical daily life of the capital is out here together, the homes, sidewalks and boulevards abandoned for this shared space. There is word that the crowd is millions strong; we know that it stretches eastward to Imam Hussein Square.
...

All does not end well. Seeing the camera around my neck, several people rush up to me, frantically urging me to go take pictures, shouting, "They are killing us all!" Behind a wall, in an alleyway set off from the road, a confrontation is taking place between one spike of the crowd and basiji forces, holed up in a base. There is the unsettling pop-pop-pop of gunfire, and a plume of black smoke rises into the sky. A crowd is gathering in the alley and men rush forward to throw rocks while others tell them, "Stop, stop, that's what they want!"
...

To stop this now would take a tremendous display of violence and thus far, blessedly, that has not happened. And every day everyone says that in a few days the protests will be stopped, and what's the point of going out, but when the moment comes everyone is here.
...

In the late afternoon and lasting until around dinner time it is a place of peaceful civic celebration, a Disneyland of political action for the whole family to participate. At night, the mood shifts abruptly, and the capital becomes a battleground, a city in which fear stalks on motorbikes mounted in helmeted pairs.

Here in Canada meanwhile, the prospect of getting our apathetic asses to the polls for a summer vote is deemed so dreadful, our Opposition Leader has capitulated completely to a government he himself describes as incompetent. What a pushover. Frankly, I would have preferred this outcome.

- 30 -

Iranians Maximizing Tweeter's Potential

2009-06-16T21:32:00.005-04:00

I don't know if the revolution will be televised, but it sure as hell is being tweeted to the nth degree. It's pretty amazing to be able to read witness accounts unfolding in real time.

The below video is prefaced with the tweet: "Basijis breaking into homes in Tehran, terrorizing ppl, psychological warfare". I won't say who because other tweets beg us not to publish the names of Twitterers in Iran since government forces are using that to identify them.

Once again, a new communication technology takes centre stage to redefine our world.

- 30 -

BREAKING: Iggy to Cross Floor, Join Conservatives

2009-06-16T13:59:00.007-04:00

Background: Yesterday on CBC's The National, Michael Ignatieff was loathe to answer Peter Mansbridge's question on when the last time he and the Prime Minister met privately. Today, Paul Wells cautioned Iggy about Harper's legacy as a master manipulator in these settings. Oh, Iggy, no wonder you were so scared. If only you'd held off a little longer. Alas... ;-)

OTTAWA--In a surprise move that is rattling Parliament Hill to its core, Michael Ignatieff emerged from today's one-on-one meeting with Prime Minister Stephen Harper to announce that he is resigning immediately as Liberal leader to cross the floor and join the government benches as the Natural Resources minister, replacing MP Lisa Raitt.

It remains unclear where this leaves the leadership of the Liberal Party of Canada, as well as Her Majesty's loyal Opposition in the House of Commons.

All of Ottawa appears to be in catatonic shock, save for the Prime Minister himself. Harper spoke briefly to the press in the Commons foyer with a mute and serene-looking Ignatieff standing at his side, occasionally picking lint off his Master's jacket.

"Mr. Ignatieff and I agree that the best way to avoid sending Canadians into a summertime election campaign that nobody in their right mind wants is for him to subserviently become my dog," Harper told a stunned throng of reporters, and Robert Fife.

"However, since that's not physically possible, he has agreed to this other arrangement, whereby he will be sworn in later this afternoon as the Minister of Natural Resources, as well as the Minister responsible for Destroying All Opposition to Stephen Harper on Parliament Hill. Isn't that right, Igster?" Harper said, shooting a sly smile at Mr. Ignatieff, his fist clenching slightly.

Ignatieff appeared ready to speak, but meekly nodded his head, smiled and looked down as Harper thanked the press and led him away toward Rideau Hall, where the Governor-General was presumably making preparations for the swearing-in ceremony.

More to come as this shocking story develops.

- 30 -

Finalement, c'est "Anglo à GoGo" pour la Fête nationale - Bon décision, SSJB

2009-06-15T23:02:00.006-04:00

That didn't take too long. From the CBC:

Two anglophone bands from Montreal that were cut from a concert on the eve of St-Jean-Baptiste Day after a flap over language issues are back on the roster, the show's organizer said Monday afternoon.

"The Fête nationale is for all Quebecers, regardless of their language or political affiliation," Chantale Trottier, the organizer's president, said in a release.

Last week, Lake of Stew and Bloodshot Bill were in the lineup for the L'Autre St. Jean concert in the borough of Rosemont but were soon after uninvited.

There is a communiqué up explaining the move on the l'Autre St-Jean site (in French). Bravo to all parties: Bloodshot Bill and Lake of Stew for showing class in the face of the original snub. And hats off to La Société St-Jean-Baptiste de Montreal (or SSJB, who'd previously been behind the decision to uninvite the anglo bands), for coming to their senses.

Now let's just sit and marvel at how far we've come to see this day where anglophone Québecois bands are looking forward to celebrating our Fête nationale and immersing themselves in French Canadian culture. That's the spirit. When you think about it, there is so much we share; and we are lucky to live in a place where, more often than not anyway, cooler heads can prevail. Moi, je suis ben fier de mes voisins au jourd'hui.

I'll leave you with this really cool video of Malajube's (they're the headliner for the show in question), courtesy of Youtube:

Bon nuit.

- 30 -

How to Look Like a Closed-minded and Xenophobic Society

2009-06-15T00:51:00.009-04:00

La Fête Nationale is a civic holiday in Québec. Being a Quebecker (or Québecois si vous préferez) of anglo heritage, it’s my party too and I think uninviting two Québec artists because they sing in English is really small-minded:

La Fête nationale doit être célébrée en français, affirme l'Association culturelle Louis-Hébert, commanditaire du spectacle L'Autre St-Jean, qui confirme avoir exigé le retrait de deux formations musicales parce qu'elles chantent en anglais. Cette décision a été vertement critiquée par des artistes et des membres de la communauté anglophone, mais plusieurs organisations souverainistes l'ont appuyée.

«Ce que nous voulons, ce sont des groupes qui chantent en français le jour de la Fête nationale», a affirmé Mathieu Bouthillier, vice-président de l'Association culturelle Louis-Hébert.

The CTV report sums it up in English like this:

A group of Anglophone musicians has been banned from playing at a St. Jean Baptiste celebration.

The band, called Lake of Stew, is made up of three brothers from the Mile End. They play folksy, bluegrass music - and they sing exclusively in English.

A few weeks ago, they were invited to perform at the first edition of a St. Jean Baptiste celebration called "L'Autre St-Jean".

(Absent from that CTV report was any mention of the other anglo act getting the ax; namely, Bloodshot Bill.) My tax dollars know no language; however they help to sponsor many events meant to bring us all together in a celebration of the richness of our culture.

And today's Quebec is overwhelmingly mature in its openness to different cultures, particularly here in Montreal. So I find it rather strange, this worry that the sounds of English lyrics during la Fête nationale might spark protests. As for the event organizers, it speaks volumes that they lack confidence in their supposedly proud and self-assured fellow Québecois' ability to deal with a little English mixed in with the festivities. In fact, it smacks of intolerance of the reality of the very existence of one culture in particular: anglo Quebeckers. Would these acts have been uninvited if they were made up of francophones (bons gars) who happened to sing all Elvis and Beatles covers?

Besides, does anyone doubt that music forms from many anglo cultures – like American Bluegrass for example – were important influences to francophone Québec acts like les Cowboys Fringants? I know a lot of francophone musicians who write exclusively English lyrics just for reasons of personal preference or aesthetics. There is no need to politicize the language of lyrical content. This bone-headed move is simply a matter of intolerance trumping inclusiveness.

By the way: If you can read French, you'll notice a good majority of commenters on the La Presse story are equally appalled. That's heartening and not at all surprising. The great majority of Québecois are open-minded and generous people, which is why I am proud to call myself one, despite the few yahoos that always manage to make dubious news for the rest of Canadians to muse over.

Tip of the hat to Fagstein; he has lots more on this, including links to the petitions.

Meanwhile: courtesy of youtube, here's a sweet little taste of the hazardously English-singing Lake of Stew:

And the equally dangerously English psychobilly of Bloodshot Bill:

- 30 -

Four and Twenty Assets

2009-05-25T16:49:00.002-04:00

Four and twenty assets
Backing every paper
Graded "Triple-A"
'tho lacking pedigree
When they all defaulted
The value flew away
Wasn't that a dainty dish
To set for you and me?

Little Miss Muffet

2009-05-22T01:08:00.003-04:00

Little Miss Muffet
Sat on her investments
Devalued be as they may
Along came massive lay-offs
Slapped down upon her
And scared Miss Muffet into pulling out her life savings at a mammoth loss so she could afford a handful of fucking curds and whey

Humpty Dumpty

2009-05-21T09:49:00.004-04:00

Humpty Dumpty sat on Wall St.
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall
All the Fed's bailouts and all the Fed's pleas for the credit markets to provide liquidity
Couldn't put Humpty Dumpty together again

This Little Piggy

2009-05-20T07:30:00.003-04:00

This little piggy worked at [Company Name]
This little piggy got laid off
This little piggy got his severance pay
This little piggy got none
This little piggy cried: "Oui!" all the way to Normes du Travail

No Free Content for CanWest - Kudos to you J.T.

2009-03-06T13:47:00.005-05:00

There is power in a factory
Power in the land
Power in the hands of the worker
But it all amounts to nothing
If together we don't stand
There is power in a union
--Billy Bragg

Being a life-long Quebecker and Habs fan, I have been an avid reader of the Gazette's Habs Inside/Out blog site since its inception a few years ago. They built an excellent and successful online community very quickly by providing informed round-the-clock reporting, together with an open forum for commentary. This was of course all leveraged off the parent newspaper's existing sports reporting infrastructure and access to the club.

Long-time Gazette columnist (and prolific HI/O blogger) Mike Boone was rightly proud of their achievements recently:

Speaking of how hard-working and indispensable we are, Google Analytics calculates Habs Inside/Out had 2,383,333 page views in February – up from 1,180,013 in February, 2008.
That's a 102 per cent increase.

And comScore MediaMetrix credits Habs Inside/Out with 92,000 unique visitors in January – up from 40,000 a year ago. That's a 130 per cent jump.

Are we great or what

Yeah Mike, that's great. But evidently not great enough to actually pay some of the people you've tapped to provide content. One of the regular posters on the site's Other Wing page - one of the people whose content has helped draw up those hit counts - has decided to take a stand on behalf of her profession, and stop providing that content free of charge:

I write here as an unpaid volunteer, and I've been having some serious second thoughts about what that means for others. I've noticed the increase in ads supported by the site, and earlier this week Mike Boone posted stats on the number of site visits, which are up more than a hundred percent over last year. In short, the Gazette makes money from HI/O. So, in an age when my professional colleagues in the newspaper business are struggling to keep their jobs and keep their papers viable, a site like Inside/Out could be an important source of work for them. Therefore, I believe it's wrong for me to undermine the work they depend upon for their livelihoods by providing content for nothing.

Mainly for that reason, I am withdrawing from The Other Wing.

Good for you, J.T. As I wrote in the comments on her final post, there is a difference between providing comments and being a featured (published) poster. As the latter, there is a greater benefit to the publisher, and it competes in the same space as paid professionals. Add to that, J.T. has an established career in media as a CBC radio broadcaster in Newfoundland. Content from a pro like herself has added value based on her training, abilities and experience.

For J.T. to be expected to provide free content is no different from expecting a plumber to fix your pipes for nothing more than positive word of mouth - no matter how much they may enjoy their work.

If you want to send J.T. some love, she has a thoughtful site where she writes on her own terms: The H does NOT stand for Habs.

J.T.: This out-of-work writer salutes you!

- 30 -

EI came through blessedly early

2009-03-05T00:36:00.005-05:00

I almost feel ashamed.

While some have been waiting months to receive any EI payments, mine has gone through in just over two weeks since submitting my Record of Employment (or RoE).

But even though it's less than half my former salary, it couldn't have happened at a better time, since I continue to wait for my final paycheck and severance pay from my former employer.

Meanwhile, a friend tipped me off to a Marcom writing job at my alma mater.

I applied within hours.

Because even though it's just a one-year contract, the pickings are too slim not to get excited about it. It's a good thing I have up to forty weeks before the EI money dries up.

-- 30 --

The New Collection-Based Economy

2009-02-26T07:59:00.012-05:00

How bad will it get?

One of the scariest examples of the world economic melt-down is the experience of Iceland. Yes, the tiny but proud country with the Björk-based economy likely did themselves no favours relying on the quirky but prolific pixie-like recording artist for over 45% of their GNP.

(I know that's true cuz I saw it somewhere in an Onion article once...)

All kidding aside, Iceland's real problem was that their banks' finances were way too heavily beholden to the Bullshit Bush financial model, where carefully concealed Bullshit is repackaged to become the investment option of choice for organizations worldwide.

It wasn't Björk's fault the Icelandic banks found themselves holding six times as much debt as real capital to cover it late last year.

The relative health of Canadian financial institutions should be a source of comfort for those of us lucky enough to live here, right? Well, not entirely:

Lost in Traslation?
Apart from the obvious need for political cover, I really don't see the point in Quebec Premier Jean Charest's decision yesterday to haul the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec onto the carpet after suffering its worst year on record.

"As with all other investors, the first element that explains our return this year is the global financial crisis that broke out in the fourth quarter," said Caisse president and CEO Fernand Perreault.

However, he said the fund's decision to delve heavily into asset-backed commercial paper (ABCP)also cost it dearly. The Caisse invested $12.6 billion in the form of short-term debt, making it the largest holder in Canada.

With the market for the debt frozen, ABCP accounted for $4 billion of the Caisse 's total losses in 2008.

Perreault now admits investing so heavily in ABCP was a bad idea.

"In hindsight, we placed too much confidence in these securities …. It was a mistake to accumulate so much ABCP," said Perreault.

"We mistakenly believed that these products were as safe, or almost as safe, as other money market instruments."

Of course, the decision to go so heavily into asset-backed commercial paper can be easily explained by the usual Quebec excuse of the unfair language barrier sticking a knife in our backs. (Mais Jean, c'n'est pas juste! We thought they said "acid-backed paper". We thought it had industrial applications, hôtie...)
[Note to Icelandic bankers looking for some kind of excuse: you're welcome, and don't worry, we won't bill you.]

What knee-jerk Quebec media don't understand is that mammoth funds like the Caisse handles are too big not to be a reflection of the underlying economy on the whole. Yes, Quebec lost 25% of the supposed value of its nationalized pension fund (if you choose the highest benchmark as your relational point), but what else did we expect? Of course the fund managers did the same things as their counterparts worldwide who were using paradigms for risk that assumed triple-a securities were rated accordingly.

From there, the need to get in the game and follow the other lemmings takes over naturally. If everyone else is doing it, it must be okay, right? Over the cliff with us!*

The Bush Trickle-down Bullshit Model
Not if the "assets" on the backs of all that paper amount to utter Bullshit.

It all boils down to the Bullshit right-wing deregulation of the financial markets in the United States. The United States under their Bullshit President and their Bullshit Republican-controlled Congress became a bastion of utter Bullshit generally. And if the right-wing "trickle-down" concept applies to anything, then surely it applies to Bullshit (especially when coupled with governmental leadership).

Because as Bullshit ruled the White House, so did Bullshit rule the way American financial markets were run.

As did it rule the way American companies were run.

Right down to American household economies, where buying a house with nothing down and a 40-year amortization on a mortgage with no principal paid-down in the first few years became common-place. And then, they get a new flat-screen TV and cable and end up watching home renovation shows where the illusion is propagated that 22 minutes later you've got a beautiful, modern kitchen gleaming in the morning sunlight. Add some happily-scrubbed children's faces, munching on microwaved pizza pops and you're in the Promised Land.

So it becomes normal to not just over-leverage your household income, but to dream about over-leveraging it even more (like all the other lemmings in your neighbourhood), and go to that beautiful church-like Home Reno warehouse store and get a Home Reno Platinum Card (fine print showing 28.75% interest, compounded daily, subject to change at the issuer's discretion), and spend, spend, spend to make your own home the temple You Deserve since you don't have any other spirituality to cling to and make sense of your daily existence.

That's what it meant to be a good little consumer in the consumer-driven economy of the Bullshit George W. Bush America.

Dead Stop
And what are we left with? A world where the Bullshit has trickled down world-wide. Hence Iceland. Hence pension funds exposed to have little real value. Hence world-wide panic that filters down to a financial and economic dead stop.

No one is paying anyone for anything unless they absolutely have to. So the new economy is a collection-based economy. At least that is how it appears when I look in my email inbox, where I see the hard-working little application at Workopolis.com has sent me links to the day's new job postings - and more and more of them are related to people trying to lean on other people to pony-up (three out of four today):

Your Job Search Results
We’ve found new jobs that fit what you’re looking for! Click the links below to find out more.

AN UNNAMED COMPANY
Bilingual Customer Service Rep- English/French Required (2/25/2009)

GROUPE MONTPETIT RESSOURCES HUMAINES INC
Collection administrator bilingual - (english and french) (2/25/2009)

HSBC Finance
Collector (2/25/2009)

HSBC Finance
Collector (2/25/2009)

Please, World, Scare me Some More
Meanwhile, with the unknown effects of what's looking more and more like runaway global warming, will all this seem quaintly anti-climactic a generation from now?

Antarctic glaciers are melting faster than previously thought, which could lead to an unprecedented rise in sea levels, scientists said Wednesday.
The warming of western Antarctica is a real concern. "There's some people who fear that this is the first signs of an incipient collapse of the west Antarctic ice sheet," said Colin Summerhayes, executive director of the Britain-based Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research.

Sea levels will rise faster than predicted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Summerhayes said.

An IPCC panel in 2007 predicted warmer temperatures could raise sea levels by 76 centimetres to 120 centimetres this century, which could flood low-lying areas and force millions to flee.

"If the west Antarctica sheet collapses, then we're looking at a sea level rise of between one metre and 1.5 metres," Summerhayes said.

Researchers found that the southern ocean around Antarctica has warmed about 0.36 F in the past decade, double the average warming of the rest of the Earth's oceans over the past 30 years, he said.

Obama doesn't have a monopoly on change. A complete shake-up of society is upon us.

- 30 -

*Turns out the meme of lemmings mindlessly running over a cliff to their deaths is another piece of US-propogated bullshit - this one exposed long ago by the Canadian CBC. The staged lemming "mass suicide" part comes just over a third of the way in.

Peevey Stevie's ungratiousness not befitting a Canadian

2009-02-19T15:15:00.005-05:00

With US President Barack Obama going so far out of his way to publicly thank Canada today for the contribution in effort, monies and blood (he even mentioned our 108 dead in the Afghanistan conflict), would it have been so much trouble for our Prime Minister to say, "You're welcome, Mr. President"?

Canadians used to be known for having good manners. I'm also not impressed with Harper for again playing down the difference between Obama's proposal of meeting absolute greenhouse gas emission targets, and his own government's history of doing virtually nothing and of undermining worldwide efforts to take decisive action on the issue.

Job Hunt: The Craigslist Test

2009-02-19T00:48:00.008-05:00

Recapping my situation:

I got laid-off from my job late last month.

Right now, I am still at least five weeks away from my first potential EI check (of unknown quantity) and have gone unpaid from my former job since mid-January, including my severance pay owed. I have every faith in them paying me once they have the cash on hand to do so, but I am not sure when I can count on seeing it.

I know I must resume bringing home the bacon pretty soon or there will be payments defaulted upon, and the dread fear of foreclosure.

Last week, I started aggressively seeking work in my field by creating profiles on job-hunting and job-recruiting sites over the past two weeks.

Quantum.ca
Workopolis.com
Monster.ca
Sapphireca.com

Earlier today, I noticed a randstad.ca office in my neighbourhood, so I dropped by and explained that I am an out-of-work copywriter/tech writer/journalist and what might they have for someone with my skills? Unfortunately, they are more like office clerk/secretary/administrator recruiters. I was told they couldn't help me.

I came back home to review the jobs posted on the four sites above, only to find nothing new in the past 24 hours. I did apply at one place on Monday, but have not heard back yet. I would have responded to other job postings but they either sought skills I lack, or were out of my sphere. The one job that matched me well enough to apply for looks like a lot of sweat, and comes at a 25% (or more) pay cut from my previous job. But I can see myself taking that job enthusiastically.

With no other good news, today I went on Craigslist.com and did four things:

1. Searched for posts of people wanting anything I can viably offer.
2. Posted my resume.
3. Posted a notice for my mandolin/guitar services.
4. Posted an ad to finally sell all those comic books taking up space in my apartment.

This is serious stuff. I am not yet at the end of my rope, but I sure can see it clearly from here.

- 30 -

UPDATE: Portions of the original post have been removed to respect the wishes of the person they made mention of.

Fun with filling out Employment reports for EI claim

2009-02-14T20:40:00.008-05:00

It still irks me how clumsy the Service Canada website is. I find it disappointing that you have to drill down through much silliness to find a link to any useful destination, such as the page I must return to every two weeks to enter mandatory EI reports.

You would think they might offer a quick login function for "epass" right on their homepage, but no. Same for the reporting page for your EI. It's almost as if it was purposely designed to deter you from providing the information you absolutely must provide in order to keep the government from pulling the plug on your money. Are they hoping people will haplessly screw up so they can use that as an excuse to cut them off? I sure hope not, and I don't want that to be my fate, so I am putting up a link here to that bi-weekly EI reporting page.

Also, they didn't design it with the kind of intelligence you might expect. Instead of hanging onto my info (SIN and Access Code, etc.) for the duration of the session, the user has to go and enter it over again for each period reported, then double-confirm various questions separately. Honestly, does the application really think my banking information for direct deposit has changed in the minute or two since I just told them it hadn't changed (including verifying that I knew that I told them it hadn't, and that it was correct)?

Anyway, I have now updated the past three weeks of info since I made my initial application, including the first two weeks with the regular pay my former employer will pay me (when they can, anyway... someday... hopefully...) That and the week ending today with no work entered.

One of the questions one must answer is a yes or no regarding whether you were physically capable of working such and such days of the past week that you just confirmed you did not work. The only thing missing is a built-in admonishment like: "Well what in hell is wrong with you then? You mean you couldn't work anywhere all last week? Anywhere at all?"

Finally, it told me I should return on Feb. 28 to fill in my next report. Looks like I'm all set because when I try to send in a new report it gives me the following message:Your report is not yet due. Our records show that the period you should be reporting for is the 2 week period from february 15, 2009 to february 28, 2009. The earliest this report can be filed is friday morning, february 27, 2009 at 08:00 eastern time
Note that I am not given access to review my own records entered for the previous weeks. Why not? That's just wrong.

Grumbles...

- 30 -

Canada's EI - the staff are great but the process bites

2009-02-14T02:07:00.004-05:00

Well I'm evidently not the only one left confused by the Service Canada website's process for registering Employment Insurance claims. Another blogger, the Rural Canadian, has had a pretty tough go of it himself, with no action on his claim after 16 weeks - 16 weeks! - of fruitless effort.

That's enough time for any number of financial horrors to befall a family. I know I couldn't hold out that long.

So, no time to waste: I went down to my local EI office yesterday afternoon, and I found it was staffed with courteous, bilingual people and my visit took just 20 minutes altogether, including wait time. The reason for making the trip was simply to produce the RoE (Record of Employment), and since I'd already entered the other info online, the only thing left to do was to stamp my RoE with the date it was received. They then offered to give me a photocopy - which I gladly took since it was the only type of receipt available.

The agent then mentioned the importance of going online or calling in with an update bi-weekly, and how by missing just one, my benefits would be cut-off. So this process begins immediately, and that's the part you have to go through the "epass" login to do. (I swear I could sense she was bracing herself for my reaction to this news, like it was her least favourite part of her job. But I just nodded, having already seen that warning on the website.)

I suppose some people lay into the poor Service Canada employees who are helplessly forced to explain this nasty little policy.

I was also told not to worry about the erroneous End Date I'd initially reported, which I had been forced to enter in order to finish the original application (three weeks ago now). I am not able to correct it myself, they said, and someone in Service Canada would see the true date on my RoE and make the necessary correction.

In retrospect, I notice the webpage for my local office has a fax number listed, so I wonder if making the trip in person was in fact obligatory. Perhaps faxing in the RoE would suffice, but I feel better having a copy that shows a stamp confirming they got it.

I just want to say once again how professional and empathetic the two staff members were (and the woman from the phone centre too). It was truly heartening to be made to feel like a human being, and the understanding they showed reminded me of the sort of feeling you get when you're in the hospital and scared and in pain and - by some stroke of luck - you just happen to get that sympathetic nurse who knows exactly what the term "caregiver" is all about. In short, I left feeling like I knew what I had to do, and the visit was well worthwhile.

Oh, and this was toward the end of the day on a Friday, during what must be the busiest time they have ever seen. Well done, Service Canada employees. I salute you. Now can somebody please tell me why the website is such a terrible mess? And get to work on Rural Canadian's claim, which by all rights should get fast-tracked like nothing else.

16 weeks. I'm still having a hard time digesting that.

- 30 -

EI frustrations partially explained

2009-02-12T16:12:00.003-05:00

Well, about an hour ago, I finally got through to a Service Canada calling queue, and only waited a couple of minutes before speaking with an agent. (Recall that before today, their 1-800 number's outgoing message had been telling me they were too busy to handle my call, and I should try later.)

I found the maze of back & forth using their touch-tone response system was not very productive for my purposes. "All questions must be answered and no response may be entered until the full question is asked. Press 9 for 'no' and 1 for 'yes'. Press * to hear the question again..."

But the woman I finally spoke to was fantastic, helpful and on-the-ball.

She knew about the feature that restricts applicants from going back in and changing the End Date of their employment (or anything else for that matter), and was the first to mention the following bit of information, which I found to be pretty crucial to the whole process:

I have to personally visit my local Service Canada Centre, Record of Employment in hand, during business hours in order to get the ball rolling. And here I had assumed (because there is nothing on their website saying as such, nor in the letter they mailed to me) that I could enter the information online, thus saving a federal employee from carrying out this task manually.

Well, it's too late for me to get there today, but at least I know tomorrow what and how to do, and where to do it.

On the job hunt front, I put my new Resume onto profiles I created on Quantum, Workopolis and Monster, and now it's time to browse their job postings.

To date: Since being laid off, I have six new accounts with usernames and passwords to keep track of, and some that include "challenging questions" (I expect a huge increase in spam). It is indeed an ITIL-defined world after all. Surely someone out there needs a guy who can concoct or update documentation for all these labyrinthine virtual worlds.

- 30 -

On Resume rewriting and applying for EI

2009-02-12T12:11:00.007-05:00

Why does it seem everyone has an opinion on how to write an effective resume (or whether to call it a "CV" instead?) All sorts of opinions sound valid - even when in direct conflict with one other.

In the end, you're playing a fool's game where you try desperately to hit the right tone with every word, so that any recruiter would be inspired to call you for an interview. Will they be offended if I include salary expectations? Did I strike the right balance between confidence and humility? Or do I come off sounding like I'm sickeningly infatuated with myself? Do I mention this blog or will that turn them off? Is it flat-out wrong to go to two-pages? Or to only have one? Does it really matter?

??????????

Worst of all, the presentation and writing on display are particularly crucial for someone going after jobs with "writer" in their titles. That's pressure, because the use of one font or another might be all it takes to dissuade certain recruiters from getting that warm-fuzzy they need to decide to contact you. But then, do I really want to work for someone that hair-splittingly fickle?

[pauses to breathe...]

I have resigned myself to never being completely happy with the damn thing, but at least I now have a basic one that I'm comfortable with. It's designed so I can tweak it a little here or there to meet the specific criteria of one job or another - hopefully without stretching credulity. In a somewhat bold move, I decided to give the thing a headline and an opening summary:

Copywriter with a head for IT and a gift for writing

I offer a unique mix of experience, skill and creativity that enables me to envision the hands-on application of complex technical concepts, then communicate that effectively to both the IT community and the general public. Whether defining ITIL-informed process structure and documentation; writing copy for marketing or technical documentation needs; or journalism of any sort, I am a versatile copywriter looking for an exciting new challenge with the right organization.

Besides that, I just plain really need a Goddamn Job:

Now to get it proof-read by friends & family; then post the long version on Monster, Quantum, Jobboom, Workopolis and any other sites I can find. Then finally: off to a more active job searching.

Meanwhile, I still haven't managed to finalize my EI application, although I did learn there is Access Management in place on Service Canada' site after all: "Epass Canada" they call it. But it's confusing because when I made my initial online application, it gave me a confirmation number and password outside of that (and with no link or explanation of where to use it - plus no mention of either of those things in the letter they sent by snail-mail). It all seems rather disjointed and if it's putting my skills at navigating online services to the test, how difficult is it for the typical non-savvy IT user to get their heads around?

- 30 -

Red Tape Me to the Poor House, Service Canada (virtual-like)

2009-02-12T02:42:00.008-05:00

Well, I finally navigated through four pages on www.servicecanada.gc.ca to get to a login page (to save you the trouble, it's here). Not that that will be of much help to anyone who is careful enough to use an updated browser for their own personal computing security. Here is the text of the bypass page I was redirected to:

At this time, epass Canada does not officially support your browser, your Java Virtual Machine (JVM) or your operating system. However, you may still be able to access epass Enabled Services by clicking Continue below.

If you encounter difficulties, please Contact Us for assistance.

Browsers and operating systems currently supported by epass Canada:

Windows 2000:

* Internet Explorer 6.0 (Sun JVM versions 1.5.0_12 to 1.5.0_99 and 1.6.0_03 or higher; IBM JVM version 1.4.2 or 1.5.0);
* Firefox 2.0.0.7 or higher (version 3.x is not supported at this time) (Sun JVM versions 1.5.0_04 to 1.5.0_99 and 1.6.0_03 or higher).

Windows XP Home and Windows XP Professional:

* Internet Explorer 6.0 (Sun JVM versions 1.5.0_12 to 1.5.0_99 and 1.6.0_03 or higher; IBM JVM version 1.4.2 or 1.5.0);
* Internet Explorer 7.0 (Sun JVM versions 1.5.0_12 to 1.5.0_99 and 1.6.0_03 or higher; IBM JVM version 1.4.2 or 1.5.0);
* Firefox 2.0.0.7 or higher (version 3.x is not supported at this time) (Sun JVM versions 1.5.0_04 to 1.5.0_99 and 1.6.0_03 or higher).

Windows Vista:

* Internet Explorer 7.0 (Sun JVM version 1.6.0_03 or higher);
* Firefox 2.0.0.9 or higher (version 3.x is not supported at this time) (Sun JVM version 1.6.0_03 or higher).

Mac OS X version 10.4:

* Safari 2.0.4 (Apple JVM versions 1.4.2_07 to 1.4.2_16 and 1.5.0_05 or higher);
* Safari 3.0.4 (Apple JVM versions 1.4.2_07 to 1.4.2_16 and 1.5.0_05 or higher).

Mac OS X version 10.5:

* Safari 3.0.4 (Apple JVM versions 1.4.2_16 and 1.5.0_13 or higher).

Linux (Red Hat Fedora Core 8 and Ubuntu 7.10):

* Firefox 2.0.0.6 or higher (version 3.x is not supported at this time) (Sun JVM versions 1.5.0_04 to 1.5.0_99 and 1.6.0_02 or higher).

For more information about supported browsers, operating systems and JVMs please refer to our Technology frequently asked questions.

Please click Continue to proceed or click Cancel to end this process and return to the department.

Interestingly, I am using the same version of the same browser (Firefox 3.0.6) that I used two weeks ago with no problem at all in creating my original request.

Grumbles...

- 30 -

Copywriter/Editor/ITIL-knowledgable Process Designer for hire

2009-02-12T01:30:00.008-05:00

Well, there's no more hiding it - the word is out (thanks, Simon!). Scott in Montreal got laid off and is seeking gainful employment in his field.

In a previous millennium, that field was Quick Service Restaurant Management (what, "fast-food" doesn't sound prestigious enough?)

But surely returning to that isn't the fate for someone with a BA in Communications and Journalism; plus over six years of experience writing marketing, technical and process documentation for different high-tech companies working in IT support activities.

At least that is my hope.

My first priority is getting the EI benefits set up so that if I don't find something soon, my kids don't find themselves foreclosed upon. As someone who has been actively working since he got his first paper route at 13, and has been without a job for less than 6 months cumulatively in the 26 years since, let me start by saying I have never, ever, received any government handouts (unless you include universal child bonuses and child tax credits). I have worked my whole life, and a good deal of it for minimum wage or slightly above. Even when I got my first McDonald's paycheck ($3.54 an hour, back in 1985) I was paying into the UI/EI fund.

Given that my former employer has seen all its usual avenues for financing dry up completely, and they can't even make payroll right now - despite having just had the biggest selling year in their company history - they have only promised the bare minimum required by law in severance pay. At that, they even demanded I come in and work during that two week period. So the upshot is: I haven't received any income since mid January, and only received my Record of Employment, required by the Canadian government to process my application for benefits, yesterday.

Being a hip, online type of guy, I decided to start by setting up an account and application on the Service Canada website on the day I received my layoff notice (I and 25% of the staff of the small Montreal head office, where my whole department was slashed). The website even recommended beginning the process immediately, whether the RoE was in hand or not, so that's what I did.

Before long, I found the form and started filling it out. Then I got to the place where it asks for the End Date of my employment (which was to be, officially, February 6th). Only: the application wouldn't accept my entry since it was later than the current day. Well I'd gotten this far and there was no overriding it so I decided the best way to proceed was to enter the current date, and then I would go back and correct it two weeks later, once the actual End Date came up.

Well, ITIL best practices for online service delivery demand an email notification and Access Management in the form of a username and password - the standard sort of thing Yahoo or Google or most utilities and online banking use for security, validation and service customization/quality of service.

Nothing like that over at Service Canada. As far as I can tell, they have their own proprietary practices, and I'm sorry, but they ain't the best.

Since putting in my request, I have been unable to retrieve it in any form; I wasn't allowed to print or save a copy, nor was I sent an email to tell me (or allow me to verify) my access credentials, or any link to where I might even view and edit it.

I did get a form letter in my (snail-) mailbox the following week, with an "IMPORTANT PERSONAL ACCESS CODE" (four digits) but no specific link on their website to actually, you know, enter my Access Code on, and, you know, actually access my application or anything.

They did include a 1-800 number, good during business hours and evenings. This proved to be useful after I was unable to navigate on their site back to my application, nor to any login button or place I could enter my spiffy four-digit "Access Code".

However, all three times I have tried to use the 1-800 number, I received a message telling me all their lines were busy and informing me to try again later. I wasn't even given an option to wait in a queue for the next available agent. Yikes.

I guess this is all part of making sure we don't lallygag about while living luxuriously off the public teat.

I'll post more on my experience soon. Right now I'm going to try the online service again and see if I didn't miss something the first 300 times.

- 30 -

Obama singing Woody Guthrie lines - WOW

2009-01-19T10:57:00.003-05:00

In the 'Did you ever think you'd live to see the day' department:The Obamas sang along to "This Land is Your Land," performed by Bruce Springsteen, Pete Seeger and a grandson of Seeger, as did the gigantic crowd that stretched from the Lincoln Memorial down to the Washington Monument.

They also sang with Beyonce as she performed "My Country 'Tis of Thee."

Jon Bon Jovi, Sheryl Crow, Josh Groban, John Mellencamp and Irish band U2 also performed. Speakers included Steve Carell, Queen Latifah, Denzel Washington and Tiger Woods.

Sarah Rohrer, 28, from Dayton, Ohio was one of the thousands in the crowd despite freezing temperatures on a gray, overcast January day. Rohrer came to Washington on business and stayed a few extra days to come to the concert because she wanted to join in the excitement.

"There's a new spirit in being involved in politics," she said.
A new spirit indeed. For people like me who grew up in the post-Nixon era, informed by such American TV shows as US of Archie, WKRP in Cincinnati, Taxi, All in the Family, the Mary Tyler Moore show, and other non-right-wing gems that preceded the Reagan era, this is truly a breakthrough in the collective consciousness of America.

When Billy Bragg visited Woodie Guthry's Oklahoma birthplace as research for his Mermaid Avenue project, he ran into no end of hostility toward the very hint of socialism (seen as a threat) at virtually every turn.

Regarding that song the Obamas sang along with (from Wikipedia):

Guthrie was tired of the radio overplaying Irving Berlin's "God Bless America." He thought the song was unrealistic and complacent.[22] Partly inspired by his experiences during a cross-country trip and his distaste for God Bless America, he penned his most famous song, "This Land Is Your Land" in February 1940. It was titled "God Blessed America." The melody is based on the gospel song "Oh My Loving Brother", best known as "Little Darling, Pal of Mine", sung by the country group The Carter Family. Guthrie signed the manuscript with the comment "All you can write is what you see, Woody G., N.Y., N.Y., N.Y.".[23] He protested class inequality in the final verses:

"In the squares of the city, In the shadow of a steeple;
By the relief office, I'd seen my people.
As they stood there hungry, I stood there asking,
Is this land made for you and me?

As I went walking, I saw a sign there,
And on the sign there, It said "no trespassing." [In another version, the sign reads "Private Property"]
But on the other side, it didn't say nothing!
That side was made for you and me

Well I guess sometimes, things really do come full circle. It's nice to be here to bear witness to that.

- 30-

Remembering Dec. 6, 1989: May they rest in eternal peace

2008-12-06T08:52:00.004-05:00

Geneviève Bergeron (1968-1989)
Hélène Colgan (1966-1989)
Nathalie Croteau (1966-1989)
Barbara Daigneault (1967-1989)
Anne-Marie Edward (1968-1989)
Maud Haviernick (1960-1989)
Maryse Laganière (1964-1989)
Maryse Leclair (1966-1989)
Anne-Marie Lemay (1967-1989)
Sonia Pelletier (1961-1989)
Michèle Richard (1968-1989)
Annie St-Arneault (1966-1989)
Annie Turcotte (1969-1989)
Barbara Klucznik-Widajewicz (1958-1989)

"Je Souviens" came to mean something more to me on this day than whatever the original intent of using it as the line on our license plates. I am so grateful to have the chance to raise two boys of my own to understand that we need to build a world without violence - towards women or anyone for that matter.

It's the least I can do in their memory. That and to keep singing:

Each time I feel like this inside
There's one thing I want to know
What's so funny 'bout peace, love and understanding?

Shorter Peevey Stevie: Bloc votes are only legit when aligned with the CPC

2008-12-03T11:19:00.007-05:00

I guess Peevey Stevie feels better when he vents his spleen in public and tells us what he really thinks of the Bloc Québecois caucus that represents the majority of Quebec ridings:

“Mr. Speaker, not a single member of the House, not even a member of the Bloc, received a mandate to have a government in which the separatists would be part of the coalition,” Harper shot back

This attitude is not new. I recall similar feelings of disgust I felt towards Harper when he cavalierly dismissed the votes of the BQ that helped pass legislation legalizing gay marriage back in 2005 when he was Opposition Leader:"Because it's being passed with the support of the Bloc, I think it will lack legitimacy with most Canadians," Mr. Harper said on Monday. "The truth is most federalist MPs oppose this."
Contrast that with his government's record of recognizing BQ votes with no hint of disapproval over the last three years, and you have yet another wonderful example of how full of shit he continues to be. As aptly pointed out by G&M columnist Jeffrey Simpson, Harper is clearly willing to bring on a completely unnecessary and avoidable unity crisis to save his own political skin (and at a time of great economic uneasiness, to boot).
It is therefore fair to speculate that in addition to an economic bungle, a political mess and possible constitutional crisis, Mr. Harper's miscalculations, and subsequent attempts to save himself, might produce a national unity problem, too.
It's never a good idea to tell the voters what they were or weren't voting for - as if anyone could get inside their millions of heads. In the end, you have to respect the members' will; otherwise you are disrespecting the voters who put them there and in the numbers present.

So Stephen Harper is again proving he is more Fascist than democrat. Can't say we weren't warned.

- 30 -

Advice to the GG: if asked to Prorogue, Make him Sweat!

2008-12-02T14:29:00.007-05:00

I see that to top it off, Harper has embarrassingly inconvenienced the office of the Governor-General of Canada. With Michaëlle Jean forced to cancel her trip and fly home early, I suspect Harper will pull out all the stops and ask her to prorogue Parliament before the Opposition benches have a chance to vote in line with their oft and clearly stated position that his government has lost the confidence of a majority of the MPs.

If he does request a prorogation, one suspects that he will hold out as long as possible first while he shores up support for this action among his caucus and grassroots, in order to minimize the negative reaction to "pulling the fire alarm" in this way.

Now, I am no constitutional scholar, and I don't suppose Jean would be very comfortable in not granting a prorogation should Harper request it; but here is an interesting idea to let the G-G off the hook (at least partially):

What is to stop her from deciding to consult with her advisors and take say, a few days' deliberations before making her decision on whether to grant the request? That could even take her as much as a week, perhaps. And if the Opposition acts on the floor of the House to formally declare non-confidence in the meantime, then would not the prorogation request itself be prorogued (or negated?)

Call it the "Let me get back to you when I get back to you" option.

You're quite welcome, your Excellency

- 30 -

Dion Misunderestimated Again

2008-12-01T14:02:00.002-05:00

The strategy of the emerging Liberal/NDP coalition government is evidently designed to drive Peevey Stevie so insanely enraged that his head explodes before the afternoon is out.

The goal is to inform Ms. Jean that a viable alternative to the current government exists within the current Parliament, in the form of a coalition between the Liberal Party and the NDP. The Bloc is expected to promise to support the coalition to survive for at least a year, which would allow for the passage of two budgets.

"We've decided that the only person and the best person to lead and form a coalition government is the elected leader of our party ... Stéphane Dion," said leadership hopeful Dominic LeBlanc.

"We are comfortable with that, we support that and we think that's right."

I, for one, can't wait for Harper to blow up.

Mike Duffy, you are a tool

2008-10-10T01:47:00.005-04:00

And Harper is a fool for taking the bait. Here is The National Post's Don Martin on Harper's comment of the whole incident:To use his first spontaneous media appearance of the campaign to declare Mr. Dion the most unworthy of the two candidates for prime minister based on a minute of misunderstanding is not the most flattering reaction for the prime minister.

In the end the incident they hoped to use to define Mr. Dion as a confused ditherer may actually provide more telling insight into the character of Stephen Harper.
This tempest in a teapot is rather eloquently summed up here. And kudos to Mr. Comartin for his unfailing decency. I hope he gets re-elected on Tuesday.

As for Mr. Duffy? Heck, this isn't even the first time this week he's been a total jerk, and Ms. Elizabeth May was stellar in calling him on it:

CTV has some better assets at their disposal than Duffy. If there was ever a time for fresh blood, it's now. Duffy, I know you're not reading this, but let me tell you something: I studied journalism under Lindsay Crysler, Enn Raudsepp, Rod McDonnell and a host of other painstakingly ethical professors at Concordia University in the 80s and early 90s. This sort of thing would have given me a failed grade and censure from the department. You have a national audience. Canada deserves better than this from its biggest commercial television network.

- 30 -

Tank By Tuesday!! (new CPC slogan)

2008-10-08T10:17:00.008-04:00

If that's not the new slogan, it sure appears to be their new modus operandi. I am starting to put things together here. Seems the SHITs* have lost all the non-Harper backroom assets normally at their disposal.

Michael Fortier and Peter MacKay (the latter of which is a complete dumb-ass anyway) are both fighting tooth-and-nail just for their own ridings. Fortier also has the added burden of covering for many Montreal area candidates' media requests (not entirely surprising, given that some can't even answer a simple question in french). Fortier was key to the strategy behind the 2006 campaign, so that's one major brain that isn't nearly as available to the national campaign as they would surely like.

Back in March, Peevey Stevie's braintrust, Ian Brodie became a liability he could no longer be seen talking to - particularly now that the candidacy he was attempting to sandbag is now clearly heading for the White House. So that's a second "brains behind the operation" gone.

Then they lost number 3 in week one of the campaign when Ryan Sparrow had to be given the boot over Puffin-Poop Peccadillo and his public dumping on the father of a Canadian soldier that had been killed in action in Afghanistan.

So his behind-the-scenes team was already bleeding out profusely by the time he had to dismiss his longtime aide, Owen Lippert, who dutifully fell on his sword over the John Howard speech plagiarism scandal last week.

With his cupboard bare, Harper now has to rely on his own tin ear to lurch along through the rest of the campaign. And all he can do is revel in his own perceived brilliance, and speak over the heads of these silly Canadian voters, directly to his true constituents: the Neo-Con masters such as Karl Rove.

So spread the word: the new mantra is for the Conservatives is "TBT", or

"Tank By Tuesday"

Can they do it? Tune in this time next week to find out!

- 30 -

(Tip 'o the Hat to Cyberwanderer for that last link.)

*For the uninitiated: that's the Secret Harper Imitation Tories.

Dion's got his mojo back

2008-10-07T21:18:00.002-04:00

When asked how he expects Stephen Harper to respond to the news that "more than 230 economists teaching in Canadian universities (were collectively) calling for economically coherent action on climate change and putting a price on carbon", Stephane Dion responded:"He will, Stephen Harper, say that they are crazy, they are insane," Dion said. "There is only one economist who is disagreeing with them and he's still prime minister, but hopefully, won't be by next Tuesday."
SNAP!!

Yeeeeeah, baby!

What was that about corporate greed and corruption?

2008-10-07T14:47:00.004-04:00

Just in case you missed it at the congressional hearings into the AIG collapse, here is a sweet little tidbit:House Oversight Committee Chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif., also said that even as losses were engulfing the company, AIG executives depleted AIG's capital through stock buybacks and higher dividends.
Pretty much sums up a sick and twisted situation for you. Looks like things are going to get ugly, and we have barely scratched the surface.

For more blood-boiling AIG outrages - even post-bailout! - see this stuff over at dailykos.

- 30 -

No Depression?

2008-10-06T16:47:00.007-04:00

Oh joy: The word “recession” wouldn’t describe the deep structural problems affecting everything from the U.S. housing sector to the Canadian oil industry, said Bank of Nova Scotia chief economist Warren Jestin.

“You have to invent a new word to describe what we’re in now,” he said after the banks presented their perspectives at the Economic Club today.
How about: Global Economic Shitstorm?

But please, no depression. (Apologies to Uncle Tupelo).

- 30 -

Tories' record of blood on their hands

2008-10-06T07:24:00.003-04:00

From the CBC: fresh allegations the Secret Harper Imitation Tories turned the CFIA from inspectors to mere paperwork auditors.

"We might not have had anybody dead [if company officials were still obligated to report positive listeria findings]. It's terrible. My dad eats this stuff all the time. I eat it," the inspector said.

...

"Before, you had authority, you were like a cop. We were the meat police. Now, you're just looking at the paperwork," the Toronto-area inspector said.

Gilles Duceppe had it right yesterday, calling Harper out for having no moral compass.

Rae puts Peevey Stevie off-script

2008-09-30T12:33:00.008-04:00

Up there on the platform
He is speaking to the people
The people are responding
With clapping and a cheering
But the meaning of the message
Not revealed to those assembled
They're taken for a ride
Taken in his stride

When the generals talk
You better listen to him
When the generals talk
You better do what he say
--from "When the Generals Talk", by Midnight Oil

That really sets the table for the debates, eh? Harper is going to be on the defensive, while his deputy leader is stuck spending extra time trying to save his own riding (that's the real power play behind the Dion/May agreement). Harper has so few other mouthpieces than himself that he trusts. Now here he is shown up as someone who isn't his own man. So what other speeches has he had imported? And was this even Howard's own speech to begin with? Or possibly something prepared in Washington or London?

Here's another from the Oils: "US Forces"

And while we're at it: "Short Memory"

HELP! I can't stop!!

In case you're wondering, the singer of these songs is today Australia's Right Honourable Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts, and as such, a member of the government that succeeded Howard's late last year.

As Peter Garrett sang in "US Forces" back in 1982:
"Sing me songs of no denying
Seems to me too many dying"

Indeed.

- 30 -

Too Phoquen Phunny

2008-09-19T02:16:00.014-04:00

Tip o' the hat to Paul Wells.

My Kingdom for a Vested Sweater® Take-off

2008-09-19T02:16:00.013-04:00

It's not exactly Mayor Tommy Shanks but it may be even funnier:

Tip o' the Hat to impolitical.

Gerry Ritz and the Sorry (Excuse for) Tories

2008-09-19T02:16:00.009-04:00

Dear Mr. Ritz,

I am a father. I have a 4-year old and a 14-month old, and they both have voracious appetites. I used to make grilled-cheese sandwiches with hungarian salami tucked inside for the oldest one. I'd give him a slice of salami while he was waiting for his lunch.

I'd also give the younger one some tiny pieces of meat. He laps that stuff up like nothing else.

Well, I guess he's lucky to be alive. Some other people's babies aren't so lucky.

And you found it possible to joke about "...death by a thousand cuts, or should I say: 'cold-cuts'?". I think I know what was going through your head at the time. It wasn't guilt, or anguish over the unnecessary illnesses and deaths your actions led to. Instead, you were concerned about the political fallout for your useless party's government, weren't you?

Weren't you?!?

You rhetorically asked if one of the tragic deaths caused by the recent listeria outbreak might be your political opponent. Tell me something: what if it had been your political opponent who'd died as a result of this negligence? Not so funny anymore, eh?

Is that what it would take for you to understand what a disgusting and dishonourable jackass you are?

Let me remind you of something. You are supposed to be "responsible". You are supposed to be in charge of making sure government oversight of the meat packing industry is in place and effective.

You, Gerry Ritz, have blood on your hands.

You, Gerry Ritz, should accept responsibility and step down immediately.

Your government's inattentiveness speaks volumes.

Instead of issuing (and re-issuing - for better photo-ops) lame apologies dripping with faux sincerity, you can start to exercise your sworn responsibilities by reversing this.

Then you might regain a glimmer of whatever humanity you checked at the door when you signed your Conservative Party nomination papers.

- 30 -

Papineau candidates debate from this a.m. (podcast)

2008-09-15T15:05:00.006-04:00

For those who missed it, the most*-candidates debate broadcast this morning on Daybreak - CBC Radio One Montreal - is available for a limited time on the CBC site as a podcast. Ingrid did a fine job showcasing the depth of Green Party policy on several issues: from tackling poverty as a long-term strategy toward public security, to the economic and trade benefits we can realize by promoting our culture internationally, (instead of eliminating the program outright, as the Harper government did just recently). Click here to download the whole debate.

*The Conservative party's nominee, Mustaque Saker, was absent; in his place sat the much higher profile Michael Fortier, Minister of International Trade, even though Fortier is running in the off-island riding of Vaudreuil-Soulanges.

Hein vs. Fortier, Barbot and Trudeau in Papineau riding debate this morning

2008-09-14T22:52:00.007-04:00

Papineau riding's Green Party of Canada nominee, Ingrid Hein and her riding rivals will be participating in a debate on culture and law & order (the real stuff; not the TV show) on Daybreak, CBC Radio One, Montreal (98.5 FM) today, September 15th, at 7:40 am (EDT).

Host Mike Finnerty and the gang will be broadcasting from a popular local eaterie with the candidates. As of last Friday, the Conservatives were planning to send Minister of International Trade Michael Fortier in to pinch-hit for Mustaque Sarker, effectively denying listeners the chance to hear their actual CPC candidate go toe to toe with his rivals on english radio.

Since that's the case, I wonder: Will the Liberals' Justin Trudeau impress us avec ses abilites to change back et en avance dans la same sentence jusqu'au le point of headache-inducing distraction? Will the Bloq's Vivian Barbot and the NDP's Costa Zapirofolous show up? Tune in to Daybreak, 98.5 FM and find out.

Well Ingrid Hein will certainly be there. Listen in on the live feed here.

Should be interesting.

- 30 -

Harper and Layton CAVE: the day belongs to May

2008-09-10T16:20:00.007-04:00

Victory for democracy!

Mother May I? The answer is now yes. From here on in Canada, May Day may now be celebrated on 10 September. Thank you Mr. Layton, and Mr. Harper, for putting an end to this silliness and respecting the will of the vox populi (as well as good ol' common decency).

Dare we hope that this might become a trend?

- 30 -