This and That

Here are a few interesting tidbits in the news today:

• Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Danny Williams is so mad at the Prime Minister, he's calling him Steve.
• The Conservatives have re-opened nominations in Calgary-West. Why I think this is good news is here.
• Tory Clean air plan NOT getting rave reviews.
• Sheryl Crow was joking about the toilet paper, wasn't she?
• Reuters reports that Hugh Grant has been arrested and questioned by police after a photographer accused the British actor of attacking him with a tub of baked beans.
  The paper printed photos of Grant with a plastic tub of food raised over his head.
  Grant's lawyers Schillings said an incident had taken place and was now under investigation.

Why I don`t watch Fox News

On Tuesday, Fox News morning show “Fox & Friends” aired at least eight segments on a purported “news” story that was actually a parody article.
The background: Last week in the town of Lewiston, Maine, a group of Somalian Muslim middle school students were the subject of a prankwhen their peers placed a ham steak next to them in order to personally offend the students. School officials filed a report because the students considered the act to be a hate/bias crime.
The actual story was then spoofed by a parody sitecalled Associated Content, which made up quotes and details, such as the school’s intention to “create an anti-ham ‘response plan.’”
On Tuesday, Fox & Friends reported these parody quotes and details as actual news. Poking fun at the students, hosts asked whether ham was “a hate crime…or lunch?” and showed screen shots of ham sandwiches, starving Somalians, belching, animal noises, and mock “reenactments” of the incident.
Ironically, the hosts assured viewers several times, “We’re not making this up!”

Liberals seek investigation of MacKay coverup

At Parliamentary Committee this morning, Liberal MPs asked Canada's Information Commissioner to investigate the whitewashed freedom of information request on Afghan detainees.

He was asked to examine the role of Foreign Minister MacKay and his staff in removing key segments of a report on the torture of Afghan detainees that was released under Access to Information. This morning, Information Commissioner Marleau confirmed that he will investigate the document given to the Globe and Mail, which concealed references to mistreatment of detainees in Afghanistan.

"We've asked that Mr. Marleau determine why government officials would first deny the existence of such a report and then, later, release a whitewashed version of it," said Jim Peterson. Mr. Marleau was asked to compel the government to immediately make the full file public.

There are no legitimate reasons for this type of information to be concealed. Canadians have every right to know that we are meeting our international obligations, which prohibit us from transferring detainees into situations of torture and inhumane treatment.

Constitutional Court hears final phase in Ukrainian standoff

Today, Ukraine's Constitutional Court entered the final stage of hearings into whether President Yushchenko's decree of April 2 dissolving the Verkhovna Rada is constitutional. The Constitutional Court's session devoted to the decree, which officially began on April 17, is taking place in a courthouse cordoned off by police and picketed by representatives of the ruling coalition, who oppose the dissolution of Parliament, as well as of the opposition, which supports Yushchenko's decree.

Culture of Untruth

Paul Wells describes the new modus operendi of PM Steve's government here.

Harper Government leaks Enviro Plan: Baird must be fired

CTV News reports that a copy of Environment Minister Rusty Baird's speech for this Thursday was sent to the Opposition Liberals in the House of Commons. Subsequently, a note was sent demanding that the information be kept confidential.

Given that knowledge of the information may impact on public markets, Liberal Environment Critic David McGuinty advised the media of the fact that the document was received (but not its contents).

The government needs to get to the bottom of this serious leak and refer the matter to the RCMP for investigation. Since it is impossible to know how many other potential recipients may have received this document in error, the government must take immediate steps to asses how this document was leaked and refer the matter to the RCMP.

It is disturbing that the government allowed such a serious breach in advance of such a sensitive announcement. I suppose the only prudent course of action would be for the Liberals or the government to release its contents prior to the markets opening in the morning.

Under the circumstances, I expect that PM Steve will have to fire his Environment Minister.

Grace under fire

PM Steve has been taking flack all day over his government's terrible, incomprehensible position over detainees and may still lose his inept defense minister over the incompetence.

So what does he go out and do? In a very classy move tonight, the PMO issued a release indicating that Senator Gerald Comeau, Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate (a Conservative), and former Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien (the Liberal) will represent Canada at the State funeral of the former Russian President Boris Yeltsin.

Chretien was famous for appointing former Conservative Ministers from former Tory PM Kim Campbell to Justice Minister Pierre Blais to Benoit Bouchard to Perrin Beatty. Many critics will say that Steve was just trying to change the subject from his domestic problems, but this is a classy move and I for one think that Jean Chretien's contribution to Canada-Russia relations merits his attendance at the Yeltsin funeral.

Nice touch PM Steve.

O'Connor misleads Canadians

The Globe and Mail reports today that hapless Defense Minister Gordon O'Connor has once again mislead the House of Commons here.

"For the last six years the position of leader of the free world has remained open" - Barrack Obama

Mr. Obama outlines some of his foreign policy views in the NY Times here.

Canada's First Lady

So I go away for the weekend only to find out that PM Steve's image consultant is also a part-time psychic. Feel free to take your best shot in the comments section.

On the road...

Travelling, won't be posting til Monday. In the meantime, enjoy these

pics of Ukrainian politicos.

Last Night

I was at a dinner here in Ottawa last night with about 400 of my closest buddies where Ukrainian Ambassador to Canada Ihor Ostash presented former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney with the Yaroslav the Wise Medal, the highest honour that the President of Ukraine can bestow on a foreign citizen.

There was some CBC video footage from about twenty years ago, when Mulroney famously went to meet protestors who were waving the then illegal Ukrainian flag. Mulroney spoke eloquently about how during that trip he decided to open the Canadian consulate in Ukraine and met with the head of the Ukrainian Communist Party who spoke to him in Ukrainian (also illegal then) and had to switch from his official Russian translator to Roman Waschuk, then a junior foreign service officer from Canada who was seated a few rows back, who translated from Ukrainian for Mulroney.

Mulroney was awarded the Medal for being the first Western leader to recognize Ukrainian Independence, against the wishes of Gorbachev, Thatcher and George Bush senior. While not a Conservative, I believe that his actions in this instance were appropriate.

Having seen these pictures on Nezalezhnosti site, sometimes given the current situation in Ukraine, we forget what a long way the country has come in the last 15-20 years.

Ukraine to hold Eurpoean Soccer Championships

Michel Platini, the president of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), announced yesterday that the joint bid by Ukraine and Poland has won the contest for organizing "Euro 2012", the European championships in soccer in 2012.

The matches will take place in the Ukrainian cities of Kyiv, Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk, and Lviv, and the Polish cities of Warsaw, Gdansk, Poznan, and Wroclaw.

"The 'Euro 2012' finals will make us better-known in the world and help our capabilities grow. I believe there will be more such victories for the sake of our common European success," Ukrainian President Yushchenko said.

Opposition MPs resign seats

Andriy Shevchenko, a lawmaker (not the Chelsea footballer) from the Yuliya Tymoshenko Bloc in the Verkhovna Rada, said that deputies of his faction have signed statements giving up their seats.

Shevchenko did not disclose how many of the caucus members have signed such statements, but said that the move is a signal of readiness to give the Ukrainian president an additional argument to dissolve the Verkhovna Rada. The presidium of the opposition Our Ukraine People's Union also adopted a decision ordering caucus's members to give up their seats.

According to the Ukrainian legislation, the work of the Verkhovna Rada becomes illegitimate when 150 deputies vacate their seats. The Yuliya Tymoshenko Bloc and Our Ukraine caucuses have 125 and 77 deputies, respectively.

Canada's Prime Make-up artist

I was surprised to learn that Canadian taxpayers are footing the bill for Steve's image consultant.

Payola? That would be cynical

The former Chief of Staff to Conservative PM Mulroney, Bernard Roy, was appointed Chairman of the Port of Montreal. His Port related qualifications, err, umm, he was the legal counsel to the Gommery Commission.

He is also on the Board of World Point Terminals Inc., which can be reached at their Montreal office by calling this Calgary number:
World Point Terminals Inc.

1981 McGill College Avenue, Suite 1100 Montreal,
Quebec H3A 3C1 Canada

(403) 261-3700 phone

What does World Point Terminals do? The Group's principal activity is to own and operate fourteen liquid bulk storage and terminal facilities along with a tug operation. Their 2006 annual report mentions investigations into their European operation.

Back to Roy, I am sure that it is a mere coincidence that he is a Conservative. I am sure that this appointment is based on err, cough, cough...competence.

Not bad for a show that's preceded by puppets making crank calls

A new survey by Pew Research Center found that despite the mass appeal of the Internet and cable news since a previous poll in 1989, Americans' knowledge of national affairs has slipped.

For example, only 69% know that Dick Cheney is vice president, while 74% could identify Dan Quayle in 1989.

Pew judged the levels of knowledgeability (correct answers) among those surveyed and found that those who scored the highest were regular watchers of Comedy Central's The Daily Show and Colbert Report. They tied with regular readers of major newspapers in the top spot, with watchers of the Lehrer News Hour just behind.

Over 20 dead at Virginia Tech

My sympathy goes out the the victims' families of the mass murder at Virgian Tech. this morning.

Ecole Polytechnique, Columbine, Dawson College and now Virginia Tech. As I said last fall when the shooting took place at Montreal's Dawson College, when will we learn that guns kill people and people with guns kill people.

The Ecole Polytechnique mass murder prompted tighter gun laws, including the creation of the National firearms registry. I remember how horrified I was on December 6, 1989, and today's events, like those at awson College stirred up those same emotions.

Now, more than ever, we need to step up action to control these guns that are robbing young people of their futures.

As we saw in Bowling for Columbine, I guess this means that the NRA will be visiting Virginia Tech soon enough.

New Opposition Bloc in Ukraine

ITAR TASS reports that a new election bloc led by Yuri Lutsenko called the People’s Self-Defense has emerged in Ukraine.
The bloc is made up of Forward Ukraine, the Christian Democratic Party and People’s Self-Defense.
“We are stretching out hands to Our Ukraine and the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc,” Lutsenko told a press conference. He believes that a united opposition bloc would have more chances in early parliament elections.

Congratulations to Penny Collenette

Penny Collenette today won the nomination to be the Liberal candidate in Ottawa-Centre over Scott Bradley by a vote of 435 to 298. Bradley moved to make the results unanimous. The folks in Ottawa-Centre will be able to vote for a good candidate in Penny Collenette. She and Scott both ran good, clean campaigns and this puts Dion one closer to his 33% female candidates.

Funny, Elizabeth May hasn't offered to not run a candidate in Ottawa-Centre...it's probably still in the works.

Latest on Ukraine...

Check out Foreign Notes here for a better update than I can provide today.

Pumpernickel Recipe number 17 - french Onion Soup with Pumpernickel croutons

Ingredients
1/2 lb butter
8 large onions, sliced thinly
3 oz. ruby Port
3 oz. balsamic vinegar
2 litres beef broth
1/2 lb bacon, chopped into cubes
1 bay leaf

3 sprigs parsley chopped

1 tsp ground thyme

1 tbsp salt

2 tsp freshly ground pepper

For the croutons and cheese:
8 thick slices of pumpernickel (sliced and toasted in the oven with olive oil)
400 grams Gruyere cheese, grated

Instructions

In a large pot, heat butter over medium heat until melted. Add the onions and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until they are soft and browned (about 10-15 minutes).

Stir in the Port and Balsamic vinegar. Add the beef broth. This soup, in particular, is a very good argument for making your own. Add the Bay Leaf, thyme, parsley and bacon, and bring to a boil.
Season with salt and pepper, reduce heat to simmer and cook covered for an hour, skimming any foam off the top with a ladle. Remove the Bay Leaf.

When the soup is finished cooking, ladle it into the individual Onion soup bowls. Float a piece of pumpernickel crouton on top of each bowl. Spread a small handful of cheese over the top of the soup. Place each crock under a preheated 400 degree broiler until the cheese is melted (4-5 minutes).

Be careful when serving, the bowls retain their heat extremely well.

You can't be a National Party if you don't run 308 candidates

There have been numerous reports that Liberal Leader Stephane Dion has concluded a non-aggression pact with Green Party Leader Elizabeth May. Dion, it has been reported, will break with tradition and history and tell Liberals in Central Nova that he doesn't want their support or $1.75 per vote, that it is more important for him to make nice with the Green Party.

To quote the Halifax Herald, to do so, you'd have to be off your rocker. My friend, Prairie Fire developed a 308 seat strategy to try to run a credible race against the Conservatives everywhere across the country. An "almost-national party", with a "307 seat strategy" doesn't quite have the same ring to it.

Hopefully, smarter heads will prevail...

UPDATE: As Paul Wells points out, apparently they didn't.

BQ MP Quits Caucus

All over the Canadian political punditsphere, people are talking about PM Steve embracing the Quebec separatists. Yesterday, he appointed Andre Paille to oversee a commission to review government polling practices from 1990-2003. Today, they are gnashing their teeth over the resignation of BQ MP Louise Thibeault.

Lots of theories that she's joining the Cons, etc.

Well, you only had to look as far as the French media for the explanation:

La députée Louise Thibault quitte le Bloc québécois pour siéger comme indépendante.
Mme Thibault affirme qu'elle ne peut accepter qu'un parti politique lui refuse le droit à la dissidence.
Elle attribue son départ à un long conflit avec le chef Gilles Duceppe sur la question des mariages gais. Mme Thibault dit avoir subi des pressions pendant la période qui a précédé le vote sur cette question, même s'il s'agissait d'un vote libre.
Louise Thibault avait été de cette poignée de députés bloquistes à se prononcer contre le projet de loi C-38, adopté en mai 2005, qui a confirmé ce droit au mariage.
La députée affirme qu'elle est toujours souverainiste et qu'il est hors de question qu'elle se joigne à un parti fédéraliste aux Communes.
Élue en 2004, puis réélue en 2006 dans cette circonscription auparavant représentée par Suzanne Tremblay, Louise Thibault occupait les fonctions de porte-parole du Bloc québécois en matière de Travaux publics et Services gouvernementaux.
Avant son entrée en politique, la députée avait fait carrière dans la fonction publique canadienne.
Personne dans les rangs bloquistes n'a encore émis de commentaires sur ce départ.

So, there you have it. She is a social conservative and opposes gay marriage and has ruled out joining any federalist parties. And besides, she still needs 3 more years to qualify for her big fat MP pension.

The marching has begun...

Radio Free Europe reports that the Ukrainian Constitutional Court has Postponed its decision on the Dissolution of Parliament.

The Constitutional Court of Ukraine has postponed hearings on the dissolution of the Verkhovna Rada until April 17. Also, five Constitutional Court judges complained about pressure exerted on them and asked for the state to provide them with bodyguard services. Ukraine's security services have agreed to provide them with temporary protection. The judges also said that they cannot decide on high-profile cases unless there are conditions that would allow unbiased rulings. "The president of Ukraine has issued a decree to dissolve the Verkhovna Rada within his constitutional authority. Regretfully, some well-known statesmen and political figures are making premature statements that the decree is unconstitutional, whereas the constitution says that only the Constitutional Court is authorized to decide on the constitutionality of the decree," the judges said in a statement. The Constitutional Court consists of 18 judges, appointed by the president, the parliament, and the Council of Judges, a nonpartisan judicial body, who each name six. An effective ruling requires the support of at least 10 judges.

Subsequently, Ukrainian President Yushchenko stated the obvious. The Constitutional Court's ruling must be obeyed. Yushchenko said yesterday that all political forces involved in the Ukrainian governmental crisis should accept and honor any future Constitutional Court ruling on the legality of the presidential decree dissolving the Verkhovna Rada. "I would like Constitutional Court rulings to be obeyed rather than discussed," Yushchenko said. "I am sure that this rule is applicable to all sides," he replied when asked whether he himself will obey a ruling if the Constitutional Court finds his decree unconstitutional. "Both the constitution and its interpretation by the Constitutional Court should be respected by all parties to the process. This is one of the fundamental preconditions for resolving any conflict, including the conflict that is under way in Ukraine today."

To his credit, Yushchenko has decided to keep the police away from political protestors. Yushchenko told a meeting of the heads of Ukraine's law enforcement agencies that "all law enforcement and security agencies should undertake a peacekeeping mission and stay away from political conflicts." Defense Minister Anatoliy Hrytsenko said that participants in the meeting did not discuss whether to introduce a state of emergency nor whether to beef up law enforcement and security agencies to deal with the situation. According to Hrytsenko, two groups are monitoring the activity of Ukrainian law-enforcement agencies -- one operates on behalf of the president and is led by Vitaliy Haiduk, the secretary of the National Defense and Security Council, and the second acts on behalf of the government and is led by Deputy Prime Minister Volodymyr Radchenko.

Thanks to little miss moi at Nezalezhnosti for the photo. She has a number of good ones from the window of her apartment of the pink corduroy revolution.

750,000 to meet at Maidan

Stratfor reports that Ukraine's Constitutional Court is set to rule today on the legitimacy of President Yushchenko's decision to dissolve parliament and call for new elections.

Ahead of the vote, the court's judges have accused the president's rival, Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich, of threatening them and are now saying they might boycott the vote.

Approximately 750,000 protesters have flooded into Kyiv in anticipation of the vote.

PM Steve

Apparently he's a cat guy. Found this link. Apparently this is meant to show how caring he is. Apparently, he teaches them to shake hands. Just sayin, I'm not gettin that warm buttery feeling about him, despite the picture with former PM Chretien.

It's Spring

Back from Easter celebrations in Montreal and I guess spring is in the air, because I really don't feel much about blogging about Don Imus, or the Conservatives watering down gun control, or allegations that the invisible hand of PM Steve is responsible for the firing of Gerry Nicholls.

I don't know if it's the smell of the thawed dog poop, or something else. But I feel like blogging about hopeful stories, like this one about Barack Obama, or the lineup for Wembly's live earth concert including Madonna, Genesis, Foo Fighters and the Red Hot Chili Peppers playing a concert highlighting the threat of climate change on July 7. Other acts include James Blunt, Duran Duran, Snow Patrol, Razorlight and Damien Rice.

Coincidentally, I watched an Inconvenient Truth again today as well as having seen this guy, Colin Beavan, on Colbert Report. Owl hugging druids...makes me laugh.

Yushchenko threatens to prosecute Yanukovych

Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko today threatened to prosecute PM Yanukovych if he refuses to take part in a new election.

Yushchenko accuses Yanukovich of violating the Constitution by poaching members of Our Ukraine to create a majority in Parliament.

"I stress one more time that it is obligatory to implement the decree of Ukraine's president. Any refusal to implement it will result in criminal proceedings," Yushchenko told a meeting of Ukraine's Security Council, where he sat next to Yanukovich. "I will not take a single step towards rescinding the decree."

Can you say ESCALATION?

Presidential Decree

Here is a copy of the English translation from Ukrainska Pravda of the Presidential Decree to Dissolve the Verkhovna Rada and call new Parliamentary Elections for May 27.

Dion appoints Isabel Metcalfe

Today's Globe reports that the Liberal leader appointed Isabel Metcalfe to spearhead the Party's commitment to have women as one third of candidates in the coming campaign.

Ms. Metcalfe is a former candidate, long-time organizer, and is now volunteer chair to work on finding and nominating women candidates. Good on Dion for bringing in Isabel Metcalfe to lead the female candidate recruitment campaign. This corner was critical of the initial appointment of Linda Julien to the job.

Liberal MP Blew whistle on RCMP scandal - Tories accused of cover-up

Don Martin accuses the governing Conservatives of trying to thwart repeated efforts of Liberal MP Borys Wrzesnewskyj to look into the RCMP scandal and exposes the Tory cover-up effort.

The Tories repeatedly shut down effort by Wrzesnewskyj who repeatedly called on the committee to investigate the matter. Here is what Don Martin had to say:

A one-vote margin of victory on a last-ditch in-camera motion finally allowed RCMP officers to spill the beans in public last week to trigger a national ruckus and an independent investigation. Had the vote gone the other way, the code of RCMP silence would have covered Parliament Hill indefinitely.
And if you're looking for the most bizarre acts of obstruction and interference, look no further than Conservative MPs, possibly acting under orders from above, who voted as a block to sweep the accusations under the rug.
It's incredible and inexplicable why a government under Prime Minister Stephen Harper, which wraps itself in the uniform of aggressive law and order, would vote repeatedly to deny RCMP officers access to the spotlight when they were willing to risk their careers telling the disquieting truth.
But all committee members were hand-delivered the evidence by RCMP whistle-blowers last fall, carefully indexed and the most damning evidence redflagged, and even after they were given a preview of their testimony, MPs still stonewalled the push to bring the RCMP scandal out of the shadows.
"Every colleague I spoke to said, 'Are you sure we want to go there? Remember, this is the RCMP'," says Liberal MP Borys Wrzesnewskyj. "At every key point when the committee voted to deal with the issue, they [Conservatives] blocked it or tried to block it." The second-term Etobicoke MP is credited by RCMP whistleblowers for doggedly pursuing the file and leading the charge to secure their hearing. Mr. Wrzesnewskyj demanded reports used by the Auditor-General be brought forward last December. His motion was rejected by all five Conservative members. He asked to take the matter behind closed doors. He was voted down again.
After hearing from a number of witnesses previewing the allegations in mid-February, he put forward a motion to grant the whistle-blowers parliamentary immunity to testify. He was voted down by the Conservative members and a lone New Democrat.
Finally, after submitting stacks of damning documents, including e-mails showing nine RCMP brass trying to hide their golf fees on hotel bills during a pension fund meeting, Mr. Wrzesnewskyj felt he had enough evidence to secure unanimous support to call in the whistle-blowers. Even so, it only squeaked by on a single vote with all five Tories voting against the motion."All the Conservatives voted against having us testify, even after what was revealed when the brass came in on the 21st of February. I couldn't believe when they were all flabbergasted, acting like they couldn't have been more shocked. I guess I can't figure out politics."

Join the club, but attempts to get a government explanation have not been satisfactory.

The PMO insists it did not have advance notice of the allegations and has no comment on the committee behaviour of its MPs.

Of course, the PMO had no idea what was going on in Committee, just like they didn't know about the visit of the President of Liberia.

Ukraine Update - Yushchenko holds firm

Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko and PM Yanukovych discussed the political standoff in the presidential office on April 3 for 4 1/2 hours, Ukrainian and international news agencies reported, citing the presidential press service.

Yushchenko told Yanukovych that his decision to dissolve the parliament was final and warned the prime minister against resorting to force. "The main issue discussed at the meeting was to ensure strict implementation of the decree on an early election. Viktor Yushchenko, as commander in chief of Ukraine's armed forces, also stressed he would allow no use of force in the country," the president's press service reported.

Central Election Commission Chairman Yaroslav Davydovych said on Channel 5 on April 4 that President Yushchenko has instructed the National Security and Defense Council to provide funding for a campaign for the early parliamentary elections scheduled for May 27. Davydovych estimated that some $340 million hryvnyas ($67 million) is needed to finance the campaign.

On April 2, following Yushchenko's decision to call new elections, the Verkhovna Rada passed a resolution to outlaw the Central Election Commission headed by Davydovych from holding new elections and tried to re-install Davydovych's predecessor.

Colbert - Some Politicians should not do media

Republican Congressman Lynn Westmoreland explains to Steven Colbert how he avoids getting sucked into making laws as well as his support for the 3 commandments (that he can remember) being posted in Court Houses. Some people really can use some media training.

Hat tip to AG

Screwing over parents, it's sad really

The National Post reports today that the Conservative government won't dictate rules on how the$250-million it will send provinces and territories this year to create daycare spaces should be spent.

Monte Solberg said the Tories have no plan to set national child-care standards, unlike the child-care plan of the former Liberal government. Mr. Solberg said he has put his provincial-and-territorial counterparts "on notice" the federal government expects them to use their share of the $250-million to build on their child-care systems.

The $250 million, which started flowing on April 1, is a mere one-quarter of the amount of the previous Liberal government's Child Care Plan and will replace the Conservatives' failed Big Box Daycare approach from their platform.

Under the Liberal plan, which the Conservatives cancelled, money was supposed to flow only to centres providing quality spaces at affordable prices that also offered an educational component.

So just to re-cap, provinces get 25 cents on the dollar and parents lose the assurance that the money is going to quality, regulated daycare spaces...Nice.

What if you called an election and nobody showed up?

So The Yanukovych dominated Verkhovna Rada Parliamentarians decided to reject the Presidential order dissolving Parliament and calling for new elections...

Radio Free Europe is reporting that the political crisis in Ukraine has intensified following President Viktor Yushchenko's order to dissolve parliament and hold new elections.The parliament, dominated by lawmakers loyal to Yushchenko's rival, Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych, has moved to defy the dissolution decree by passing a measure that blocks the government from funding the early parliamentary polls set for May 27.

They also passed a decree reinstating the former head of the Central Elections Committee who was removed from the job as a result of fraud during the 2004 elections. The incumbent, Davydovitch, is an honourable and courageous man who put his own life and personal safety on the line for the truth and the desire of his countrymen to have free and fair elections. He also put in place measures to ensure ballots could not be manipulated.

Hopefully, President Yushchenko knows what he is up against and has come to this knife fight properly armed this time, because there is no honour among Yanukovych's gang of thieves, thugs and poisoners.

Election called for May 27

According to RIA Novosti, Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko just signed an order (Monday) to disband parliament and called new legislative elections, promising that they will be held in line with the constitution.
Viktor Yushchenko signed the parliament dissolution order after hours of crisis talks with parliamentary leaders failed to produce a compromise decision. He accused the majority coalition, led by Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych, of trying to expand its power base by unconstitutional means, notably by taking in individual lawmakers. Under the law, only entire factions can join the coalition.
But Speaker Oleksander Moroz said the president had no legal grounds to disband the assembly. The election, set for May 27, is another attempt by Yushchenko to resolve the country's ongoing political crisis, which has faced Ukraine since the latest ballot in March 2006.
Over the weekend, 70000 Yushchenko supporters and 20000 Yanukovych supporters took to the streets in central Kyiv in mass rallies. Yushchenko's Our Ukraine Party urged him to dissolve parliament while protesters from the Yanukovych camp said they would dispute the legality of such a move with the Constitutional Court.

A lot more interesting to me than the unveiling of Tory Campaign HQ here in Ottawa.

Conspiracy Theory

There was a movie that came out in 1997 starring Mel Gibson called Conspiracy theory where this cabbie has this crazy theory about the inter-connectedness of world events and how government intelligence agencies manipulate world events to have the MSM focus on certain things. This weekend's events made me think about this.

In 2004, I was in Ukraine for the Elections, now known as the Orange Revolution, and as soon as the re-run of the elections was done and while the results were in legal limbo, an earthquake with an epicentre in the Indian Ocean Tsunami swept throught Southern Asia, hitting Sri Lanka, Indonesia, India and Thailand.

Just like whenever a prominent Western looking person gets poisoned be it Litvinenko or Yushchenko, the Russian security services always say, "Must have been some bad sushi."

So I was surprised in a cartoon abstract way when following yesterday's 90,000 person pro-Yushchenko protest in Kyiv, that a Tsunami had swept through the Soloman Islands.

It really is a tragic event, that really had nothing to do with Viktor Yanukovych's Russian backers, but since it happened on April Fools Day, I am left to wonder "or did it?"

This has got to be an April Fool's Day Joke

A CTV News website is reporting that Lord Vader's boy,Ben Mulroney, is set to run in Papineau for Conservatives according to National Newswatch.

CTV News says that Ben Mulroney, will announce his bid to seek the Conservative nomination in the Montreal-area riding of Papineau, Monday.
Last month, Justin Trudeau, the eldest son of former prime minister Pierre Trudeau, confirmed to the media that he would be seeking the Liberal nomination in the same riding.
Conservative Party officials were not available for comment early Sunday morning, however one Tory insider confirmed to CTV News that Mulroney will be parachuted into the riding by Prime Minister Harper. Mulroney is also expected to immediately step down from his hosting duties of the wildly popular CTV series 'Canadian Idol,' currently in production.
Producers of Canadian Idol refused to confirm reports that home-grown comedian Mike Bullard was being wooed to fill Mulroney's hosting shoes.

At least the TV watching public will be rid of him.

UPDATE: The link is a fake. http://www.ctv.nationalnewswatch.com/CTVNews_019291019_TopStories_.htm
But we can still dream about being rid of Ben Mulroney.

90000 out in dueling protests in Ukraine

Here they go again. If nothing else, Ukrainians are bound and determined to have a democratic and representative government.

More than 70,000 Ukrainians rallied in the center of Kyiv to press President Viktor Yushchenko to dissolve the Verkhovna Rada (parliament) and call new elections, deepening a political feud between the President and PM Yanukovich.

President Viktor Yushchenko accused the Yanukovych government on Thursday of violating the constitution by forming a coalition based on individuals rather than political factions. Yushchenko's charges were linked to a recent defection of a dozen opposition lawmakers to the ruling majority.

Yushchenko slammed the ruling (Party of Regions) majority for a "baldfaced revision of the will of the Ukrainian voters, a breach of the constitution, and a direct road to lawlessness." He suggested that he might respond by dissolving parliament. "I will never allow the parliamentary majority to be reformatted in violation of the constitution. If any political forces believe they can claim 300 seats and they declare repeatedly that there will be a 300-deputy coalition in parliament, then a political decision shall be made and we will call early parliamentary elections," Yushchenko said.

Yushchenko has reportedly invited Yanukovych and parliament speaker Oleksandr Moroz as well as leaders of parliamentary factions for consultations on this controversial issue, but it is unclear when such talks could take place.

Demonstrators at Saturday's rally were unhappy with attempts by Yanukovych to expand his power base by siphoning away lawmakers from pro-Yushchenko factions — a move that has significantly strengthened Yanukovych's control over Ukraine.

Earlier Saturday, the increasingly sidelined Yushchenko, who did not attend the evening rally, accused Yanukovych of breaking promises he made in a power-sharing agreement and trying to amass more power by poaching lawmakers from the blocs that support the president. Yushchenko has expressed concerns that Yanukovych could strengthen his parliamentary majority to 300 seats in the 450-seat parliament — enough to override presidential vetoes and make changes to the constitution.

Yushchenko threatened to dissolve the Verkhovna Rada if the situation did not change.

"If the work of the majority is not renewed on the basis of the constitution, I will sign the decree to dissolve parliament," Yushchenko told a conference of his party's delegates Saturday morning, prompting wild cheers and applause.

Seeking to push him to go ahead with the threat, his political backers called supporters out into Kiev's Independence Square, which was the epicenter of the 2004 Orange Revolution protests that ushered Yushchenko into power.

About 70,000 people turned out, waving flags and banners. The demonstrators accused Yanukovych of effectively trying to revise the results of last year's parliamentary election. "It is not the right of the president, it is his obligation," Yulia Tymoshenko told demonstrators.

The crowd shouted, "Together we will win."

Meanwhile, a smaller crowd of about 20,000 Yanukovych supporters held a rival rally nearby.

Dissolving parliament could plunge Ukraine into a new political crisis, particularly since Yanukovych's coalition has stated it will refuse to abide by the president's decision.

The standoff between the the 2 Viktors arose earlier this month after 11 lawmakers allied with the president defected and crossed over into Yanukovych's coalition, in violation of a new law that compels lawmakers to remain with the party they were elected with. The constitution also requires that political coalitions must be formed between entire parties — not individual lawmakers or small groups of lawmakers. There were news reports that the bribes being offered by the party of regions for floor crossers were in the neighbourhood of $6 million (US).

Yushchenko came to power after hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians flooded onto Independence Square to protest Yanukovych's fraud-marred presidential victory in 2004.

"Razom Nas Bahato" may make a comeback...
(With Files from AP/RFE)