In moderation...Charest and Dumont

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf barely meets classless Steve

I was at the Canada 2020 conference for the past 2 days. There were a series of extraordinary speakers including: former NB Premier and TD Bank vice-Chairman Frank McKenna, author Salmon Rushdie, Wired magazine editor Chris Anderson and finally the amazing Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf. There were other speakers as well but I was blown away by those 4 and particularly Ms. Johnson-Sirleaf who proved that with leadership, determination and will a ray of sunshine can polk through the cloudy political skies of Africa to provide a better future for the children of that underdeveloped continent.

So while Ms. Johnson-Sirleaf, President of Liberia visited QP Tuesday and no less than 2 of his Ministers were at the conference, PM Steve only squeezed Liberia's president into his schedule after MPs criticized the snub of this woman Time Magazine called one of the top 100 in the world.

In fact, Steve scrambled yesterday to deny he snubbed the Liberian President during the visit. The PMO said yesterday that Harper did briefly meet with Johnson-Sirleaf late yesterday afternoon. Organizers of Johnson-Sirleaf's trip to Canada say an unofficial request was made but were told Harper did not have time in his schedule.
Liberal MP Bryon Wilfert raised the issue in Question Period stating that Harper made time to meet with former Russian goaltender Vladislav Tretiak but not Johnson-Sirleaf.
"As we celebrate the 200th anniversary of the abolition of slavery in the British Empire, why will the Prime Minister not take time from his schedule today to meet with the president of Liberia," Wilfert said.
Harper told reporters later that he found out Johnson-Sirleaf was in town only when she was introduced in the Commons on Tuesday. Since the Foreign Affairs Protocol office had arranged security and the Parliamentary visit and Harper's office would have been aware of this, could this be a little bit of tit for tat from Steve's former leadership rival potato patch Pete MacKay to try to embarrass his boss?
Liberal MP Belinda Stronach (Newmarket-Aurora) told the Toronto Star that a request was made to have Harper meet with Johnson-Sirleaf but "that the Prime Minister had a busy schedule, (he) met with Tretiak. It is in our national interest to help nations such as Liberia succeed," she said after Johnson-Sirleaf spoke at the conference.
Stronach and Canadian comedian Rick Mercer presented Johnson-Sirleaf with 33,000 anti-malaria bed nets for Liberia.
These bednets are a great thing, for $10 Canadian, they can help reduce child mortality in Liberia from above 30% by killing the mosquitoes that transmit the disease.

Conservative Ethics Sham

Ottawa area Con MP, dweeb ansd sleazebag Pierre Poilievre has publicly disavowed PM Steve's campaign promise that:

A Conservative government will:• Establish a Public Appointments Commission to set merit-based requirements for appointments to government boards,commissions, and agencies, to ensure that competitions for posts are widely publicized and fairly conducted.

It was interesting, thus, to read this morning that the Conservatives have no plan to cleanse partisanship from government appointments and will use the promised Public Appointments Commission to ensure their qualified friends get the jobs, according to Pierre Poilievre.

Poilievre, parliamentary secretary to Treasury Board President Vic Toews, said the government won't appoint people who don't agree with its agenda. "We will be appointing people who will further that agenda. That is nothing new. In fact, it's worth saying twice: We are going to appoint people who agree with the agenda we intend to implement," said Poilievre, during a Commons government operations committee meeting.

This, from a government that has tried to interfere in judicial appointments, tilting other quasi-judicial panels to the right, and sacking the President of the Wheat Board and the Environmental AG because they were critical of the world according to Steve.

Liberal Minority government

The Liberal Party of Quebec won yesterday's election with final results creeping in around 11:30 p.m. This was late enough for some Canadian papers to have a Dewey-Truman moment, with the Globe and Mail announcing incorrectly that Liberal leader Jean Charest had lost his seat.

In the end, and before any recounts, the federalist Liberals beat the right wing ADQ winning 48 seats to 41 for the ADQ. The secessionist Parti Quebecois was relegated to 36 seats, its poorest showing in over 30 years.

At least we won't have to worry about another referendum on separation for awhile.

Pumpernickel Recipe Number 16 - Grilled smoked Turkey and Cheese on pumpernickel

This is part recipe, part description of my lunch today.

Ingredients:

2 slices pumpernickel bread
4 slices smoked turkey breast
2 slices Havarti cheese
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tbsp butter

1 dill pickle

Butter outsides of bread. Spread mustard on bottom and top insides of bread. Add turkey, cheese and top slice of bread. Place on a hot frying pan for 3 minutes, flip and cook for another 2 minutes. Enjoy with dill pickle.

New Patronage Scandal envelopes Conservatives

The Canadian Press is reporting that the Ontario provincial police are probing a Conservative link to the city of Ottawa mayoralty investigation. My favourite part is the absolute flip-flop by Reynolds and his belief that a $550k inducement is not a lot of money:

Canadian Press
OTTAWA -- The Ontario Provincial Police have launched an investigation into a sworn affidavit that claims a senior Tory close to Prime Minister Stephen Harper was involved in an alleged bid to buy off an Ottawa mayoralty candidate.
The affidavit, sworn out by former mayoralty candidate Terry Kilrea, names John Reynolds, the co-chairman of the 2006 Conservative election campaign, as the federal contact in a purported Parole Board appointment offer by eventual winner Larry O'Brien. In return, Kilrea was to drop out of Ottawa's 2006 municipal race.
Such an arrangement, if true, is a possible breach of both the Criminal Code and the Ontario Municipal Elections Act.The Ontario Provincial Police, acting on the advice of the attorney general of Ontario has launched an investigation.
The job offer was allegedly made to Kilrea by incoming mayor O'Brien, a millionaire businessman who, like Kilrea, campaigned as a tough-on-crime, fiscal conservative in the crowded mayoralty field.
"It didn't happen, it's that simple,'' Reynolds said in an interview. "My point of view, I never put anything in for anybody. I don't do that kind of stuff.''Added Reynolds: "I've talked to Larry (O'Brien), and I said, 'Larry, did you ever ask me?' He said, 'Well, we may have talked about it, but he never asked me to do anything.''
Reynolds, a former Conservative MP, interim party leader and currently lobbyist who meets regularly with the prime minister, said he doesn't know Kilrea "from Adam,'' but he hesitated to call Kilrea's affidavit a fabrication.
"If Larry said to him, 'Hey, I can talk to John Reynolds and put your name in,' that would be a fair statement, a fair thing to do. But I never did (forward Kilrea's name), so I doubt that he asked me. I would have done it.''
The complaint is the latest twist in a municipal story that appears to have multiple connections to the federal Conservatives. Then-treasury board president John Baird's unusual, mid-campaign intervention on a federal transit grant dramatically altered the course of the campaign, and ultimately helped O'Brien win by a wide margin. Kilrea's claim that he was offered expense money by O'Brien if he would drop out was previously reported.
In Kilrea's affidavit, he alleges that during a meeting last summer with O'Brien on a coffee-shop patio, he was also offered a Parole Board job. "At approximately 2 p.m. later that day (July 5, 2006), O'Brien called to advise that my name had been put forward for an appointment to the National Parole Board,'' states the affidavit.
"When I asked how this was possible, he responded that he had spoken to John Reynolds. He then instructed me to call John Baird, President of the Treasury Board, and to tell him that my name `was in the queue' for an appointment to the board.''
Kilrea claims he then e-mailed Baird, a local MP whose federal nomination Kilrea had supported, but was told by the Treasury Board president that he knew nothing about the matter.
Kilrea claims that in a subsequent phone conversation with O'Brien on July 19 he was told "the offer 'would not be on the table forever' and that I needed to make a decision.''
Kilrea, a local bailiff who ran unsuccessfully for the Ottawa mayoralty in 2003, is sticking to his story. "Before I turned down the offer, (O'Brien) told me the Parole Board was a five-year appointment at $110,000 a year,'' Kilrea said in an interview.
"Did I consider it a bribe? Looking at it now, a lot of people are saying it is,'' said Kilrea. "It is an inducement. In the Municipal Act it's very clear that you're not allowed to offer a job or anything like that to somebody to get them out of the race. Under the Municipal Act, it looks like this is a violation.''
Reynolds maintains there's nothing sinister. He said he would be happy to put Kilrea's name forward, or any other person's, for a Parole Board appointment because not many people want the job. "They're looking for people to go on parole boards,'' said Reynolds. "Most guys don't want the jobs. They don't pay that much.''

Quebec Election - ADQ candidate named Xenophobia

ADQ leader Mario Dumont has been fending off charges that his candidates are a bunch of genocide deniers, anti-semites and well...losers.
Imagine how Chomedy ADQ candidate Phani Papachristou felt when Super Mario could not even remember her name during a visit to a Montreal radio station. While doing an interview at the Radio énergie morning show, the hosts tested his knowledge of ADQ candidates by flashing photos them and asking him to name them.
He got half a few right before Papachristou’s pic came up and he was stumped. He recognized her as the Chomedy candidate, but just couldn’t come up with her name. To make matters worse, he said that all he knew is that he couldn’t pronounce it.

As they say in Quebec, Phani will never be pur laine.

h/t AR

Schreibergate hits Conservatives like a two by four

Karlheinz Schreiber is suing former PM Brian Mulroney for failing to "provide any services” for the $300,000 that he was paid by the German businessman at the centre of the Airbus affair.

In his statement of claim, Schreiber reveals his explanation of why he gave Mr. Mulroney $300,000 in cash in meetings in hotel rooms in Montreal and New York in 1993 and 1994.
Schreiber states that he initially hired the Mulroney to help establish a Quebec factory to build light-armoured vehicles for Thyssen AG, a German arms company. Mr. Mulroney failed to advance the project despite demands from Schreiber.

The claim also alleges that Mr. Mulroney “further defaulted on his promise” to promote Mr. Schreiber's Reto Restaurant Systems International, a company that sells a specialized pasta-making machine.

Schreiber is seeking $300,000 plus interest.

Another Senior Bush Official CONVICTed

Former Deputy Interior Secretary J. Steven Griles on Friday became the highest-ranking Bush administration official convicted in the Jack Abramoff influence-peddling scandal, pleading guilty to obstructing justice by lying to a Senate committee.
The former No. 2 official in the Interior Department admitted in federal court that he lied to investigators about his relationship with convicted lobbyist Abramoff, who repeatedly sought Griles' intervention at Interior on behalf of Indian tribal clients.
Griles, an oil and gas lobbyist who became an architect of President Bush's energy policies, is the ninth person convicted in a continuing Justice Department probe.

In an unrelated story, at the same time in Canada, Stockwell Day pondered whether or not to have his wetsuit make a come back, but thought better of it.

Escalation in Middle East - Iran seizes 15 British soldiers

BASRA, Iraq (Reuters) - Iranian forces seized 15 British servicemen on Friday in the mouth of the waterway that separates Iran and Iraq, triggering a diplomatic crisis at a time of heightened tensions over Tehran's nuclear ambitions.
Britain said two boatloads of sailors and marines had searched a cargo ship in Iraqi waters on a U.N. approved mission when Iranian gunboats encircled and captured them. No shots were fired and the British servicemen were unharmed, officials said. Iran accused the British of illegally entering its waters.
I always get a nervous, sick feeling when I post and the words Iran and escalation appear.

Gerard Kennedy, Liberal MPs Serve Libel Notices Against The National Post

Former Liberal leadership contestant Gerard Kennedy, Navdeep Bains, MP for Mississauga – Brampton South; and Omar Alghabra, MP for Mississauga – Erindale, served the National Post, columnist Jonathan Kay and related persons with notices of libel over statements that the three politicians were involved in deals to exchange votes in return for changes to national security policy.

Kennedy, Bains, and Alghabra serve columnist Kay, publisher and John Doe sourceIncluded as a defendant in one of the notices is John Doe, representing the anonymous source cited by Mr. Kay in his column published in the National Post February 27th, 2007.“Mr. Kay has suggested criminal conduct on the part of Mr. Kennedy. This suggestion is false and defamatory. The situation is particularly aggravated by the fact that Mr. Kay's article is based on the information of a source whose identity, motives and credibility have been concealed. We look forward to exposing Mr. Kay's anonymous source so that Mr. Kennedy may be fully vindicated,” said Mr. Howard Winkler of Aird and Berlis, LLP, lawyer for Mr. Kennedy.

The conversations involving Mr. Bains related as fact in the column never took place, according to the notice prepared by Julian Porter, lawyer for Mr. Bains."In his notice of libel, Alghabra denies his political and policy decisions are driven by his ethnicity and that he knew of and condoned the vilification of Bob Rae and Arlene Perly Rae, at the Liberal leadership convention," stated Cliff Lax, counsel for Mr. Alghabra. Kennedy said“These are equally very serious and completely false statements that if left alone would mislead the public and distort public debate.”

The service of a libel notice is the first step in a defamation suit.
(National newswatch)

"The White House is adamant That their Advisors...Retain the Right to Lie"

Sometimes Jon Stewart needs no explanation.

Larry 'Bud' Melman dies 85

Associated Press reports that Larry "Bud" Melman passed away Monday.

Calvert DeForest, the white-haired, bespectacled man who gained cult status as the oddball Larry "Bud" Melman on David Letterman's late night television shows, died after a long illness.
The Brooklyn-born DeForest, 85, died Monday at a hospital on Long Island.
He made dozens of appearances on Letterman's shows from 1982 through 2002, handling a variety of duties: dueting with Sonny Bono on "I Got You, Babe," doing a Mary Tyler Moore impression during a visit to Minneapolis, handing out hot towels to arrivals at the Port Authority Bus Terminal.
"Everyone always wondered if Calvert was an actor playing a character, but in reality he was just himself – a genuine, modest and nice man," Letterman said in a statement. "To our staff and to our viewers, he was a beloved and valued part of our show, and we will miss him.''
The gnomish DeForest was working as a file clerk at a drug rehabilitation center when show producers, who had seen him in a New York University student's film, came calling.
"It was the greatest thing that had happened in my life," he once said of his first Letterman appearance.

May he rest in peace.

UPDATE: If you listen to Conservative MP Leon Benoit with your eyes closed, he sounds just like Larry "Bud" Melman.

Ukrainian Drag Queen in Eurovision 2007 contest

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HHR491s3iSw

Having trouble posting directly from Youtube. The Telegraph explains it here.

Couple of things

Oh yeah, the Tories are ducking for cover trying to defend this Budget that screws the people of Nfld, Saskatchewan, Nova Scotia and BC more than other Canadians, and the best defense they can come up with is Premier Lorne Calvert's a "socialist and a liar"? I guess that's what you get when Maurice Vellacott is your bench strength.

On another note, after ignoring a vote in the House of Commons to implement the Kyoto Agreement, Canada's new government has indicated that it will be ignoring a vote in the House of Commons which tonight passed a Private Members Bill asking that the government fulfill the Kelowna Accord. Since when do these so-called law and order guys get to pick and choose which laws they respect?

NF MP says voting against budget he'd be "as good as out of the party"

Looks like Mr. Harper has a small budget-related problem on his hands, what with Budget votes being confidence matters and all:

MP Fabian Manning says he can do more for the province as a member of the governing Tories than as an independent. He says he lobbied to have non-renewable natural resources removed from the equalization formula, but the decisions are made. Manning told VOCM Back Talk with Bill Rowe, if he votes against the federal budget, he's as good as out of the party.

www.vocm.com

Dion makes the right decision

Stephane Dion showed some backbone today in turfing sometimes liberal MP Joe Comuzzi out of Caucus. Dion showed some real leadership today in the face of Comuzzi's public musings:

"The Hon. Joseph Comuzzi, Member of Parliament for Thunder Bay - Superior North, has been expelled from the Liberal Caucus. This is not a decision that I, or anyone in the Liberal caucus, takes lightly.
I encourage the discussion of opinions on matters of policy. However, it is not possible to support this bad Conservative budget and to be a member of the Liberal caucus. Mr. Comuzzi has made it very clear that he will vote in favour of the budget. A vote on a budget or a Throne Speech is always a vote of confidence. The unavoidable consequence of voting against the caucus on these votes is to no longer be part of the caucus."

Despite his near 2 decades in Parliament, Comuzzi is best known as the MP for Boca Raton as he seemingly spends more time in Florida than Ottawa and for his knuckle-dragging stance opposing equality rights for gays and lesbians which saw him leave Paul Martin's Cabinet.

Comuzzi had already announced that he was not seeking re-election and was only seeking to undermine the Liberal leader. It's time to separate the wheat from the chaff. Goodbye Joe and good riddance.

Nova Scotia's Keystone Minister

ATV reported yesterday that Ron Chisholm, Tory MLA and Minister of Fisheries, was stopped by police after picking a prostitute up at a Tim Hortons a month or so ago. He says he was just giving her a drive home because it was very cold outside. He didn’t tell either his wife or the Premier until yesterday.

This morning's Chrinicle Herald had this on the issue:

Passenger trouble for Chisholm
Minister gave ride to woman known to cops in Dartmouth
By JEFFREY SIMPSON
Another provincial Tory cabinet minister has been involved in an incident involving police that he didn’t report to the premier.
Officers pulled over Fisheries Minister Ron Chisholm two weeks ago in Dartmouth as he was driving with a woman they described to him as "a person of interest to them."
Mr. Chisholm wasn’t charged and drove away while the woman remained behind with police. But he didn’t mention the matter to anybody, including Premier Rodney MacDonald, he said. "I didn’t really think anything much of it," Mr. Chisholm told The Chronicle Herald on Tuesday. "I didn’t do anything wrong."
Mr. Chisholm said he had been working until about 10 o’clock that night, which he believes was March 8, and decided to drive to Dartmouth for some Chinese takeout from Yum Yum’s. After picking up some beef fried rice and two egg rolls, he stopped at a Tim Hortons near the Angus L. Macdonald Bridge as he headed back to Halifax, where he has an apartment.
After buying a coffee, he got back into his car, he said, and a woman wearing a hat and scarf beat on the window and asked for a lift home. Mr. Chisholm said he initially turned her down. But she persisted.
He said he felt sorry for her because it was —30 with the wind chill so he agreed to drive her. "She was pleading with me," the Guysborough-Sheet Harbour MLA said. "I gave in, I guess. "I didn’t know who this lady was."
The woman, who he believed was over 25 years old, was directing him to where she wanted to go as they drove. They only got about a mile, he said, before police stopped them. An officer took his licence and explained that they wanted to speak to the woman. Mr. Chisholm said he doesn’t know how the police knew she was in the car. "I couldn’t tell you — I have no idea," he said.
But he suspects they might have seen her getting into his car. "It appears that way," he said. "I had no idea why they wanted to talk to her. They didn’t tell me and I didn’t ask."
Mr. Chisholm was free to continue on his way, while the woman stayed with police.
"Was it good judgment on my part?" he said. "Probably not. But I guess if somebody asked me for a drive home on a cold night, I’d probably say yes again."
Mr. Chisholm said he buys Chinese food from the same takeout all the time; he gets his hair cut at a barbershop in the same area and often patronizes a nearby tailor shop, where he had a snowmobile suit altered a few weeks ago.
He said he didn’t think the incident was worth making a big deal over.

Williams doesn't like the Budget

A word of advice for Finance Minister Jim Flaherty and his staff - Bundt cake. Newfoundland and Labrador Conservative Premier Danny Williams had this to say about his federal counterpart.

"This is the same Prime Minister who basically reneged on money for women, for literacy groups, for volunteers, students, has not lived up to the Kyoto Accord, for aboriginal people. There's a long list of people that have been hard done by this government in a minority situation. If they get a majority government, we have to be very concerned about what commitments they will deliver on,"
Newfoundland and Labrador's Progressive Conservative Premier Danny Williams,today's St. John's Telegram.

The last time that Premier Williams lost his cool and took the Canadian flags down from every flagpole on the "Rock", Ralph Goodale's staff turned to Bundt cake.

Of sluts and vermin

Lady Crossharbour Black-Amiel apparently lost her cool today referring to female journalists as sluts and vermin. I believe that her comments were not only sexist and inappropriate, but belie a need for Lady CBA to go to summer school to brush up on that being humble and endearing stuff that Lord Tubby was spinning last week. Tut, tut...

Carol Burnett Sues Family Guy (the cartoon)

She is suing a cartoon. That's right, the comedienne is suing a cartoon for parodying a 20 year old skit from her variety show.

According to Reuters:

Comedian Carol Burnett has filed a copyright infringement suit against the makers of Fox TV's cartoon sitcom "Family Guy" over an episode poking fun at the performer and her variety show from the 1960s and '70s.
The lawsuit, filed on Thursday in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, claims "Family Guy" violated Burnett's exclusive rights to her name and likeness by depicting her signature cleaning-woman character in a segment last April without her consent.
The suit, which seeks at least $2 million in damages, also says the cartoon episode used a "slightly altered version" of the copyrighted musical theme to "The Carol Burnett Show" without permission from the 73-year-old entertainer.

That's pathetic, I wonder if Tarzan can sue her retrospectively for copying his jungle call...

Bong hits for Jesus

A US Supreme Court case about the free-speech rights of high school students will be argued on Monday, has opened an unexpected fissure between the Bush administration and its usual allies on the religious right.

This story dates back the the 2002 Winter Olympics when the Olympic torch was carried through the streets of Juneau, Alaska, on its way to Salt Lake City, students were allowed to leave the school grounds to watch. With television cameras focused on the scene, Mr. Frederick and some friends unfurled a 14-foot-long banner with the inscription: “Bong Hits 4 Jesus.”

Mr. Frederick later testified that he designed the banner, using a slogan he had seen on a snowboard, “to be meaningless and funny, in order to get on television.” His principal Ms. Morse found no humor but plenty of meaning in the sign, recognizing “bong hits” as a slang reference to using marijuana. She demanded that he take the banner down. When he refused, she tore it down, ordered him to her office, and gave him a 10-day suspension.

And now it is before the Supreme Court wreaking havoc for Dubya.

Rob Anders is an idiot

I was saddened that a judge has overruled the acclamation of neo-Con nutbar Rob Anders in the riding of Calgary West.

Judge overrules MP's acclamation
New nomination meeting ordered in Calgary West riding held by Rob Anders
JAMES STEVENSON (CP)
CALGARY -- The federal Conservative Party appeared unwilling to back down from a legal fight with its own members yesterday after an Alberta judge ordered a new nomination meeting in the Calgary riding held by controversial MP Rob Anders. Just hours after the release of the written ruling that set aside Mr. Anders's acclamation
last August, the party tried unsuccessfully to have it blocked pending an appeal.
A lawyer for an anti-Anders group said yesterday afternoon that he would be "astounded" if another stay application didn't go to Alberta's Court of Appeal early next week. In a terse statement, Conservative Party president Don Plett said the Tories "will be reviewing the decision carefully." The legal manoeuvring came after a victory by 11 disgruntled Conservatives who have fought Mr. Anders's acclamation since last summer, claiming that the party didn't follow its own rules regarding nomination races.
Mr. Justice Ged Hawco of the Court of Queen's Bench agreed that the party didn't conduct a "fair and effective candidate selection process" and didn't adhere to the rules about setting nomination meeting dates.
Along with ordering the Tories to hold a new nomination process, Judge Hawco ordered the party to pay all legal costs in the protracted dispute.
Mr. Anders has been at the centre of unwelcome attention for the Conservative Party and its predecessors dating back to 2001, when he was the only MP to vote against making Nelson Mandela an honorary citizen of Canada. He defended his actions by stating that Mr. Mandela was a Communist and a terrorist.
He faced a wrongful dismissal suit from a former staffer who alleged that the Calgary politician borrowed cash from him, which was repaid, in part, by taxpayers through salary increases, false travel expenses and with furniture from the constituency office.
Before entering politics, the University of Calgary graduate worked as a heckler in the 1994 Senate campaign for Oklahoma Republican Jim Inhofe, which earned him the label of "a foreign political saboteur" from CNN.

The reason I hope that Anders is the candidate is because of my support for big Al at Mascots Galore and that with Anders' removal, mascots will be disenfranchised.
And I for one believe that the rights of mascots are as important as the rights of those who don't want to be represented by an idiot.

The Conservatives are afraid - Schreiber

Karlheinz Schreiber has asked the Conservative government to launch a full public inquiry into the Airbus Scandal. The Harper government has refused. What are they so afraid of? There was something about $300,000 in cash payments...

Conservatives Flip flop on Big Box Daycare

So the Conservatives have failed to fulfil their campaign promise to incent business, through tax credits, to build day care spaces. This approach was doomed to failure, as a similar gimmick in Ontario had produced exactly the same results. Now Canada's Neutered Government will provide 10 cents on the dollar to provinces for having broken the agreements signed by the previous government government before the election. And Steve wonders why the Premiers never say thank you.

Other related duties

Bill Blaikie, the longest serving MP in the House of Commons, has called it quits and will not seek re-election whenever the current minority government falls. "I have advised the executive of the Elmwood-Transcona NDP Association that I will not seek re-nomination, and urged them to begin the search for candidates to run for the NDP nomination in this very winnable riding for our party," the Winnipeg MP said in a written statement.
Blaikie was elected almost 28 years ago, on May 22, 1979, and has served as NDP House leader, NDP parliamentary leader, NDP deputy leader, and deputy Speaker of the House of Commons.

I wish him well and would like to add these 2 anecdotes from a friend who worked for him a long time ago. "Never called him reverend, my friend once told me, alluding to his United Church Minister background, before confiding in me that the worst part of the job was constantly sweeping the dandruff from the tweed jacket."

Oh the glamourous life of those Hill staffers. Other related duties indeed.

Did I ever tell you about the time the former MP and Senator from Quebec answered the door to the office without pants...?

I support the seal hunt

In December, I mentioned my unequivocal support for the Atlantic seal hunt in the Gulf and on "the Front" here. I believe in the rights of natives and rural Quebecers, Newfoundlanders and Labradorans to make a living. Honest, hard-working people in rural and remote communities who make an extra $4-6 thousand from the seal hunt and can buy a few extras for their families are not the villains in this story.

The real villain in this story is the anti-sealing industry. Like the famous five big tobacco executives who swore that they had no knowledge of the ill effects of cigarettes in Congress, the anti sealing groups base their arguments on the big lie.

Even in the images in the media today, these groups portray the hunt as being somehow related to the killing of baby seals, a practise which has been outlawed in Canada for 20 years. And yet they still use the white coat imagery in their ads. Why?

Well according to various reports, the graphic image of the bloodied seal in contrast to the white ice is very effective at raising money for these groups. They invent horror stories such as this one in the Boston Globe. A report in the St. John's Telegram a couple years ago put the advertising revenue gained by anti sealing groups at double the estimated $60 million value of pelts, meat, and omega oils to the Newfoundland economy.

It's no wonder these same activists want to block Radio Canada from airing a documentary that shows them standing around on the ice as a seal pup washes up and eventually dies.

Phoques, le film, (Seals, the movie), produced by Quebec filmmaker Raoul Jomphe, has ruffled feathers at the Humane Society of the United States, because of a scene showing members of the group watching a dying seal for more than an hour as they filmed a promotional video of the hunt on ice floes in Atlantic Canada.
- Report from CanWest news service March 6, 2007

No, I think Canadians understand the interests of the parties. And I didn't even mention the seal-flipper pie.

Dion does the right thing and appoints Martha in Willowdale

The leader of the Liberal Party has the authority to appoint candidates. Today, Stephane Dion appointed last place leadership candidate Martha Hall Findlay in the riding of Willowdale. Other leadership contestants Gerard Kennedy and Bob Rae have both decided to try to win the nomination battles in their chosen ridings. This is noble of both of them.

Is Dion, then, wrong in appointing Martha in Willowdale? Absolutely not. The leader has every right to appoint candidates, but he must choose to exercise that power fairly and judiciously. Martha getting the nod for a safe Liberal seat in a winnable riding is consistent with Dion's leadership campaign promise to up the number of women in the House.

Thumbs up to Dion for this appointment - but everyone will be able to judge the leader's use of this power to make sure that it is consistent and judicious.

After lobbying investigation, Reynolds registers

Last week I mentioned an illegal lobbying investigation and wondered whether it might prompt John Reynolds to action. Well, the Vancouver Sun today reports that Mr. Reynolds has decided to register as a lobbyist...and by the way, he's not breaking his word. Mark it down - "I'm not making a penny out of this..."

Last year there was a revolving door of lobbyists with access to Ministers - and this was bad. This year, Reynolds says,

I'm a prominent person within the party, and I'm going to make recommendations to our guys, cabinet ministers and others, including MPs, that hey, these are good projects for my province (British Columbia) and I'd like them to happen.

You decide if there is any inconsistency.

Now THAT's advance work!!!

From today's Globe and Mail online update. There's something ironic about this...I kinda half expect that his political staff was up all night making crank calls and forgot to report for work.

O'Connor fails to get detainee meeting

KANDAHAR - Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor's attempts to meet with the head of the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission failed Monday when he discovered the organization's director wasn't in Kandahar.
Mr. O'Connor said after arriving Sunday night that he wanted to meet AIHRC head Abdul Qadar Noorzai to look him in the eye and confirm that his group, the newly appointed monitors of Canada's detainee agreement, are "going to do what they say they're going to do."
But the meeting was cancelled late Monday afternoon when it emerged that Mr. Noorzai was in neighbouring Helmand province. It's not known why Mr. Noorzai was in Helmand or whether the meeting will be rescheduled. Mr. O'Connor recently announced that Canada has asked the AIHRC to monitor detainees handed over to Afghan authorities. Unlike Britain and the Netherlands, Canada did not retain the right to verify that detainees transferred to Afghan custody are being properly treated.

H/t to gmac.

Dion affirms Liberal position on WWI Internment of Ukrainians

Canadian Press
WINNIPEG — Stephane Dion used a stop in Winnipeg on Saturday to take a few shots at the federal government — and to rally troops for an election he says his party doesn't want, but will be ready for.The Liberal leader attended a Ukrainian commemorative ceremony and criticized the Tories' lack of action on money committed by the former Liberal government to commemorate the internment of Ukrainian Canadians during the First World War.Mr. Dion said they'd committed $12.5-million for educational outreach programs, but that money hasn't been issued since Prime Minister Stephen Harper and the Tories took power in 2006. “Why are they dragging their feet, I don't understand,” said Mr. Dion, speaking to dozens of members of Winnipeg's Ukrainian community gathered for an annual celebration.
“It's unfortunate because not only does it create a tribute to Canadians of Ukrainian origin, it is to be sure our country understands when we keep in mind the mistakes of the past we will not repeat them in the future.”

How low can you stoop?

So this guy mugged an 85-year old and a 101 year old lady after offering to help them in the NYC borough of Queen's. The two women were each beaten as part of the muggings. God bless 101 year old Rose Morat for her moxy.

"I'm quite sure that if it had happened when I was younger, I would have been
after him," she said.

I am glad that neither woman was injured seriously, but this has got to be one of the most despicable, cowardly acts that I have heard of recently.

I hope police catch this guy quickly and let the 2 ladies have at him in an interrogation cell so that swift, granny justice can be done.

Gingrich: I did have relations, with that woman, not Lewinsky

And so the irony of the headline screemed out at me: "Gingrich admits having an affair during Lewinsky scandal"

These were the holier than thou fellas who were seeking the impeachment of Bill Clinton, with Gingrich leading the charge...while at the same time:

Gingrich, who frequently campaigned on family values issues, divorced his second wife, Marianne, in 2000 after his lawyers acknowledged Gingrich's relationship with his current wife, Callista Bisek, a former congressional aide more than 20 years his junior.
His first marriage, to his former high school geometry teacher, Jackie Battley, ended in divorce in 1981. Although Gingrich has said he doesn't remember it, Battley has said Gingrich discussed divorce terms with her while she was recuperating in the hospital from cancer surgery.

Discussed divorce terms while she was recovering from cancer. Lovely, f*&%in, lovely. The right wingers are always so hypocritical.

What would Thomas Edison say?

At first I thought this was a joke, but unfortunately, socialist Nanny state supporter MP Paul Dewar is proposing legislation to ban incandescent light bulbs.

There are several socio-economic arguments that can be made about this and its disproportionate impact on lower income households, limits on choice, but my big concern is this: "What will cartoonists use to symbolize/represent an idea?"

Guess which Canadian party is duking it out for 4th place with the Greens?

Mr. Dion's next challenge

Bill C-257 (previously discussed here) will be returning to MPs for a vote after next week's Parliamentary break. John Ibbitson of the Globe summed up the challenge facing the Liberal leader last month:

Mr. Dion has to make up his mind about Bill C-257, and then he has to sell
that decision to the caucus and the country. Managing this challenge will tell
us a lot about how, and how well, this Liberal leader leads.

Today, in the National Post, former Grand Chief of the Grand Council of the Crees and AFN National Chief Matthew Coon Come challenged MPs to defeat the Bill. In the last vote, the NDP and the BQ supported, the Conservatives opposed, leaving the Liberals holding the balance of power. Last time, most Liberals supported the Bill. Will the Liberal leader ensure that his Caucus stands up and supports First Nations? I guess we'll find out soon enough.

Wells nails it

Every so often, Paul Wells succinctly nails the essence of an issue, as he does here. As someone interested in strategy, there could be no more apt description than "crack-smoking moron" to describe the hijinx coming out of the Liberal Leader's office. The question is, how will said Principal Secretary respond to that wake-up call?

Justice Served, Libby Convicted

Sometimes the rich and the powerful think that they are above the law. In convicting, former US VP Dick Cheney's Chief of Staff, Scooter Libby, on 4 of 5 counts, we are shown again today that sometimes there is justice in Western societies.

Libby faces 25 years in prison and a $1 million fine for his part in a politically motivated scandal that "outed" a CIA operative, therby putting the agent and spouse in danger. And to quell any suspicions, the reason I am celebrating is not because the chief of staff the the American Vice President was named Scooter...

American GIs getting ugly in Afghanistan

AP reports that American soldiers are trying to sanitize the visuals coming out of Afghanistan after having opened fire on civilians:

Afghan journalists covering the aftermath of a suicide bomb attack and shooting in eastern Afghanistan Sunday said U.S. troops deleted their photos and video and warned them not to publish or air any images of U.S. troops or a car where three Afghans were shot to death.
Afghan witnesses and gunshot victims said U.S. forces fired on civilians in cars and on foot along at least a six-mile stretch of road in Nangarhar province following a suicide attack against the Marine convoy. The U.S. military said militants also fired on American forces during the attack.
The U.S. military and Afghan officials said eight Afghans died and 34 were wounded in the violence. One Marine was also injured.
A freelance photographer working for The Associated Press and a cameraman working for AP Television News said a U.S. soldier deleted their photos and video showing a four-wheel drive vehicle in which three people were shot to death about 100 yards from the suicide bombing. The AP plans to lodge a protest with the American military.

Note to Bush/Cheney and Steve, this is not the way to build democracy in Afghanistan or anywhere else for that matter.

Swiss invade Liechtenstein, accidentally

I thought that the Swiss were known for their precision (not to mention their cheese and chocolate)...but I guess when you invade without ammo or being noticed it doesn't really count.

Pumpernickel Recipe #15 - German Pumpernickel

German Pumpernickel

Ingredients

1 package active dry yeast

1/8 Cup cocoa

1 Tablespoon sugar

1/2 Tablespoon caraway seeds

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups rye flour

1 cup water

1/8 cup molasses

1/8 cup butter

1 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour

Shortening (to grease pan)

In large bowl, stir together yeast, cocoa, sugar, caraway seed, salt and 1 cup rye flour; set aside. In medium saucepan over low heat, heat water, molasses and butter until very warm. Gradually beat molasses mixture into yeast mixture (with low speed mixer) until well blended. Increase speed to medium; beat 2 minutes. Add remaining rye flour. Increase speed to high; beat 2 more minutes. Stir in enough all-purpose flour to make a soft dough. Turn out dough onto lightly floured wooden bread board. Knead dough until smooth and elastic (about 5 minutes). Place into greased large bowl, turning over dough so that top is greased. Cover with towel and let rise in warm place until almost doubled in size, about an hour. Punch down dough. Cover and let rest 5 minutes. Shape into a round loaf. Place on greased large baking sheet. Cover and let rise until almost doubled, 45 minutes. Diagonally slash the top of the loaf, crosswise, 3 times. Bake in 375°F oven for 35 minutes or until loaf sounds hollow when tapped. Immediately remove from baking sheet. Brush top of hot loaf with shortening. Cool on rack.

New Poll has NDP support at 13%!

The new Decima Research poll out today has the Conservatives at 36%, the Liberals at 27%, the Green party and the NDP tied at 13% and the separatist Bloc Quebecois at 8%. This is very bad news for the NDP. And they wonder why people don't take them seriously...

Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Peacekeeping

This year marks the 50th anniversary of former Canadian Prime Minister Lestor B. Pearson's Nobel Peace Prize. Pearson was the "inventor" of peacekeeping and his efforts are being celebrated in Canada this month with a model peacekeeping mission being held in Ottawa at the Canadian War Museum.

I understand that Peter MacKay and General (retired) Lewis MacKenzie will be on hand for a Model Peacekeeping Mission for 100 young people from accross the country who will be trained and participate in a mock mission.

It is thus interesting that Ukrainian President Yushchenko and his Georgian counterpart, Mikheil Saakashvili , have proposed the creation of a joint peacekeeping force. This is an area where I believe that Canada needs to examine all options given the changing nature of international peace operations.

I saw Canada's former ambassador to Afghanistan, Chris Alexander, speak at a lunch earlier this week where he spoke of the tremendous progress that has been made in that country over the past 5-6 years. He rounded off a list of indicators from reduced poppy production to increased enrolment of girls in schools that demonstrated the absolute need for the World to allow Afghanistan to once again be a leader among the nations of the world and to avoid capitulating to the Taliban.

I believe that Afghanistan poses a formidable challenge to the world community and that Canada must re-take a leadership role in providing aid and other development assistance as well as an effective peacekeeping role there in the medium term.

PS: Did you notice that Yushchenko's complexion doesn't look as good as in some of his recent "touched up" photos?