tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-78572097256863669092024-03-12T11:14:31.167-04:00They Call Me "Mr. Sinister"My friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we'll change the world. Jack LaytonUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger2388125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7857209725686366909.post-60287119492456772492012-06-04T08:08:00.001-04:002012-06-04T08:08:15.879-04:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="http://www.blackoutspeakout.ca/">http://www.blackoutspeakout.ca</a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7857209725686366909.post-79540033076864033542012-04-24T08:15:00.000-04:002012-04-24T08:15:06.772-04:00Wasn't That A Party?As I was watching the results of the Alberta election last night, one thing kept going through my head. The Alberta political alignment is a much more honest representation of the national political alignment until 2011. A right wing party and a centre right party fighting it out for power, only instead of Conservative and Liberals it was Wild Rose and Progressive Conservatives. I am relieved in a sense, because Alberta revealed itself as just another part of the country and not some odd foreign entity.
The breakdown of the vote also was interesting because it showed that even in Alberta, the ultra right can't yet breach the 40% ceiling. Now, given our totally screwed up electoral system, that may be enough for the rightists to take power there some day, but again, Alberta is no different than the rest of the country.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7857209725686366909.post-83054932461954272452012-04-14T10:24:00.003-04:002012-04-14T15:39:35.351-04:00Living the Vida One PercentThe PM <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/story/2012/04/13/harper-baseball-trip.html">dropped $45,000.00</a> on a trip to New York on Labor Day. The PMO thinks it's cool to justify it by saying he reimbursed the treasury. But is it really? Do you have 45k to drop on a weekend trip to New York? The PM is paid well, but 45k on a weekend to New York well? If he does have that kind of discretionary cash on hand, it is no wonder he is out of touch with the realities facing the rest of us. If he had help from friends to raise the cash necessary for the trip, I think we deserve to know who they were and what they expect in return.<br />
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<b>Update:</b>Ok, now I see. Harper reimbursed the treasury only for commercial airfare to New York and you and I get to pick up the rest of the tab. It must be nice being the king.<br />
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<b>Update 2:</b> Even dropping 11k plus commercial airfare for one weekend is out of reach of most of us. It gives us more perspective on Harper's 1 billion dollar G8 weekend, doesn't it?<br />
<b>Update 3: </b> Justin Trudeau calls the story "garbage" on Twitter, but he is of course an entitled one percenter himself. Born and raised.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7857209725686366909.post-61682836618342382922012-04-09T09:01:00.000-04:002012-04-09T09:01:34.645-04:00Narrowcast HistoryBasta! Ok, I get it. Vimy was an important event in Canadian history. But, it wasn't the only one. Canada has <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On-to-Ottawa_Trek">other events</a> to <a href="http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/articles/oshawa-strike">think about</a> and share, this month. I am not so much concerned by the commemoration of Vimy, but in the way our federal government has turned our history into nothing more than war porn. It is presenting our complex history as nothing more than a series of old battles and wars fought in far off places. It is shortchanging Canadians by narrowing the historical narrative to one note and robbing them of understanding how interesting our history really is.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7857209725686366909.post-49629865714453746842012-03-01T16:13:00.003-05:002012-03-01T16:14:33.397-05:00Support The ZzzzzzWhat would we do without <a href="http://www.canada.com/news/Veterans+advocates+furious+after+Conservative+sleeps+through+presentation+homeless+vets/6235464/story.html">Rob Anders</a>? Or, as he is referred to in this article, "Old Snoozy". I wonder if on top of being tired, he was emotional too?Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7857209725686366909.post-77376164507080548342012-03-01T13:16:00.001-05:002012-03-01T13:16:44.160-05:00The Memory HoleLest we get swept up in the Conservative narrative that this is a fiction, cooked up in the last week by the opposition. I take you back to election day, <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/canadavotes2011/story/2011/05/02/cv-election-polling-pranks-411.html">May 2, 2011</a>. Note in particular, the first paragraph.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7857209725686366909.post-16314751165212296352012-03-01T12:51:00.000-05:002012-03-01T12:51:52.858-05:00In Fairness, This Is NonsenseI have to say that I find the following paragraph <a href="http://www.edmontonjournal.com/opinion/narrative+perilous+Tories/6226156/story.html">highly offensive</a>:<blockquote>Also in fairness, the reluctance of the Tories to endorse a wide-ranging inquiry might simply be evidence of a lesson well-learned from watching the results of the Liberals' Gomery inquiry into the sponsorship scandal.</blockquote>Why is it fair for the Tories to rule out an inquiry because the one the Liberals called, sunk the Liberal government? That is, not to put too fine a point on it, illogical. Think about it for a second. If the Conservatives were the virgins they are claiming to be, they would be grasping onto the idea of an inquiry with both hands. That way, when they were found to be completely blameless, they could use that fact to bludgeon the opposition to death. They have every reason to be afraid of an independent judicial inquiry, but fairness has nothing to do with it.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7857209725686366909.post-51369714562964056232012-02-29T15:29:00.000-05:002012-02-29T15:29:19.283-05:00Ok Let's Think Like A Robot“The Conservative Party had nothing to do with these inappropriate phone calls,” <a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/ottawa-notebook/harper-dismisses-robo-call-scandal-as-smear-campaign-by-sore-losers/article2354253/?utm_medium=Feeds%3A%20RSS%2FAtom&utm_source=Politics&utm_content=2354253">Mr. Harper said.</a> Note, he did not say that it wasn't a subcontractor.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7857209725686366909.post-43299946223068162982012-02-29T12:02:00.002-05:002012-02-29T12:03:12.668-05:00Tough ShitA new justification for possible electoral fraud, from one of the <a href="http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/Even+there+were+robocalls+Harper+fair+square/6223784/story.html">usual suspects</a>.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7857209725686366909.post-823268650254556022012-02-24T06:07:00.001-05:002012-02-24T06:08:22.259-05:00A Third Rate Crank CallBlaming <a href="http://www.nationalpost.com/m/wp/news/blog.html?b=news.nationalpost.com/2012/02/23/stephen-harper-denies-tories-knew-about-illegal-election-robocalls-linked-to-party">a young party worker </a> for this, is a) typical of Canada's Nixon and b) like pinning Watergate on <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Segretti">Donald Segretti.</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7857209725686366909.post-63748500988290448992011-12-20T11:55:00.001-05:002011-12-20T11:56:07.213-05:00QuestionConservative Party, political organization or <a href="http://www.therecord.com/news/local/article/641986--mp-albrecht-pledges-investigation-after-crank-election-calls-traced-to-tory-office">organized crime syndicate?</a> Discuss.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7857209725686366909.post-55198335562770185412011-12-07T15:47:00.002-05:002011-12-08T10:08:34.718-05:00We Are A Nation Of Men...And not laws. If I had to guess how the Harperites will deal with a <a href="http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Politics/2011/12/07/19092386.html">court ruling against them</a> on the CWB, I would say they are going to ram through their legislation in the Senate, get it royal assent and then argue that they broke no law because the law doesn't exist anymore. Who knows, now that we are ruled like a third world country, they may even get away with it.<br />
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<b>Update:</b> I will bow to my conservative friend Ben's contention that no parliament should be able to shackle a future one. That is the basis for our system of government. However, the means by which this government is proceeding is both arrogant and stupid and could have been avoided. If they had passed a bill first which ended the voting power of farmers, the courts would not have had anything to chew on. By doing it this way, the government left itself wide open to court action and by ignoring the court's decision opens itself up to far ranging political fallout. I expect many rural prairie MP's are afraid to open up their emails today.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7857209725686366909.post-18590834425735428282011-12-01T16:48:00.000-05:002011-12-01T16:48:48.995-05:00Harper's Deal With The DevilSeems to be holding firm. Another <a href="http://blogs.ottawacitizen.com/2011/12/01/peter-mackay-used-cormorant-sar-helicopter-for-private-use-new-documents-indicate/">scandal erupts</a>, at just the right time...to prorogue.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7857209725686366909.post-28097087346751624102011-11-19T17:40:00.000-05:002011-11-19T17:40:49.507-05:00The Empire Strikes BackThe oligarchy is<a href="http://ca.news.yahoo.com/us-lobbyists-aimed-smear-occupy-wall-street-report-203329702.html"> worried</a>, as they should be. They are losing the middle class.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7857209725686366909.post-66074731183634214392011-11-15T21:55:00.001-05:002011-11-15T21:55:13.818-05:00Toews Definition Of Effective Gun Control<a href="http://www.lfpress.com/news/canada/2011/11/15/18974026.html">Use both hands.</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7857209725686366909.post-51430351057755760572011-11-10T12:47:00.000-05:002011-11-10T12:47:30.758-05:00Oil Companies Need Some PatienceThe U.S. is still somewhat of a democracy. Obama knows that he has to <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204358004577030093417692560.html?mod=googlenews_wsj">act like an environmentalist</a> for another year. The oil companies will get their way, I am guessing, a few days after the election, next November.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7857209725686366909.post-48172037040960202652011-11-07T09:45:00.000-05:002011-11-07T09:45:07.954-05:00WedgeThe hiring of a uni-lingual English speaker has nothing to do about qualifications. Like everything else with this government, it is about <a href="http://ca.news.yahoo.com/blogs/canada-politics/liberal-ndp-opposition-unilingual-auditor-general-hypocritical-200504307.html">throwing meat to the base</a> and practicing wedge politics. Harper has calculated that he can rule forever if he keeps his rural-Ontario/Alberta axis intact. He knows his voters despise Quebec and hate bilingualism because they are neither Quebecois nor bilingual. "Fuck the French" is the new motto of this government. It is guaranteed to play well in Conservative ridings across the county.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7857209725686366909.post-87247729299495391372011-11-06T06:52:00.002-05:002011-11-06T06:53:21.633-05:00At LastSomething the Legion and I<a href="http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/canada-in-afghanistan/Legion+takes+more+forceful+role+veterans+advocate/5664540/story.html"> agree</a> about. We made a compact with these people and we have to live up to it. It will be interesting to see how the government reacts.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7857209725686366909.post-25779404292726492202011-11-03T15:34:00.000-04:002011-11-03T15:34:27.462-04:00The Rape Of GreeceWhen even<a href="http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2011/11/03/greek-crisis-is-tragedy-for-democracy/"> Fox News</a> thinks something is unjust, you know it is a fucking catastrophe. This is going to end badly for the everyone, but especially for the Greek people. This is the ultimate example of modern neo-liberalism in action. God save the banks, but to hell with everyone else. It is the guiding principle of the emerging age of oligarchy.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7857209725686366909.post-74377338670709884592011-10-31T08:37:00.000-04:002011-10-31T08:37:51.277-04:00An Iron Curtain Has Descended In OttawaWho the hell has ever heard of needing Ministerial clearance, to use a public auditorium in a library? No one, <a href="http://www.ottawacitizen.com/entertainment/movie-guide/Bureaucrats+muscle+public+Library+Archives/5631136/story.html">until now</a>. Come on libertarians. Make some noise.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7857209725686366909.post-55560380150228044252011-10-27T07:28:00.000-04:002011-10-27T07:28:34.119-04:00Hurrah For The Bright Side<a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/opinions/opinion/occupy-this-truth-worldwide-the-rich-arent-getting-richer/article2214935/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=feedburner&utm_campaign=Feed:+TheGlobeAndMail-HYPolitics+(The+Globe+and+Mail+-+Politics+News)">This</a> reminds me of an old joke. Bill Gates walks into a bar. One of the patrons looks up and says, "Man, are we lucky. The average income in this bar just went up to a billion dollars."Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7857209725686366909.post-31477934762787077332011-10-26T17:25:00.000-04:002011-10-26T17:25:59.632-04:00A City Boy's Thoughts On Killing The Wheat BoardFarmers of the prairies, I understand your pain. It isn't easy to have a government go against your wishes and ram through legislation you don't want. I understand that. What I don't understand is why you voted en masse for the Conservative Party. Did you think they were kidding all these years when they said that they would kill the Wheat Board if they ever got a majority? Who is laughing now, eh? <br />
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Well, life's a bitch. Water under the bridge and all that. Just one more thing. If you expect urban Canadians to bail you out once you are in the clutches of ADM et. al., well, we have other priorities and money is tight. You understand I am sure. Have a nice day.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7857209725686366909.post-28502559410085902482011-10-26T10:24:00.001-04:002011-10-26T10:24:40.675-04:00Homicide ShmomicideSo what if the number of homicides is <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/story/2011/10/26/homicides-statscan.html">down to a 44 year low</a>? What about all of the unreported homicides?Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7857209725686366909.post-47330027684317955732011-10-24T09:32:00.000-04:002011-10-24T09:32:41.899-04:00Morning WTFHands up, if you knew that assault rifles were <a href="http://www.theprovince.com/news/canada-in-afghanistan/Firearms+enthusiasts+fear+lobby+hobby+sights/5596489/story.html#ixzz1bhoxLiD7">unrestricted weapons</a> in the country?<blockquote>Snowdy said he has been sleuthing around the RCMP firearms program. He claims the RCMP wants to reclassify a number of military assault rifle style weapons currently classified as non-restricted, making them either restricted or prohibited. Among these are the Israeli-made Tavor Tar-21; the Robinson Arms XCRL; imitations of the Kalashnikov AK-47 called the CZ858 and CZ2003; the M14; the "civilianized" version of the G36 assault rifle widely used by armies around the world, and a number of others.<br />
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A spokesperson for Public Safety Minister Vic Toews says no action will be taken to increase controls on controversial firearms once the longgun registry dies.<br />
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</blockquote>No surprise whatever however, that the Conservatives plan to take no action other than to make sure no one knows who has such weapons. Of course, they are going to be building a lot of jails. Maybe they know something?Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7857209725686366909.post-30120356614058052912011-10-09T08:14:00.002-04:002011-10-09T08:17:05.792-04:00To Hell With Co-operationThere is much crowing in the <a href="http://www.thestar.com/article/1066870--cohn-a-tighter-leash-and-a-muzzle-for-all-the-top-dogs-at-queen-s-park">Liberal press</a> about how Harper has shown them the way to run a minority government. The fact that the same Liberal press was appalled by the tactics used by said Messiah, has been flushed down the memory hole. I hope they choke on it.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5