"Simplistic and Out of Context" says Ms. Oda

Our new Minister for International Affairs is off to a poor start, to say the least. Her comments on the Senlis Report on Afghanistan are quite literally nonsensical. Perhaps they are the PMO phrase for the month for all MPs because they have no relevance whatsoever to what I watched last night on CPAC. I found the report quite restrained but the facts shocking. $5 million Cdn supposedly went from CIDA to a hospital that serves 8 million people but can't feed its patients, especially the starving children, and can't provide anything but overworked doctors who themselves pay for the medicines for the poor - everyone interviewed there said they had not received any financial assistance. The largest refugee camp has never received food aid. No care for civilians wounded in our warfare unless they can get themselves to one of two military bases. Security restrictions on CIDA personnel so they cannot get to the projects they are funding - but Senlis personnel can get there. And more . . . And all Ms. Oda can say is that the report is 'simplistic and out of context'. Say that to the emaciated three year old displaced and starved by our war and our failed economic policies there.

The Alleged 'Agents Provocateurs'

In the Calgary Herald August 11, William Elliott, the new RCMP Commissioner, was quoted as saying at a change-of-command ceremony in Ottawa "We must build on our strengths, recognize our weaknesses, and live up to the high standards that Canadians expect of us."

Canadians will be watching to see if the RCMP live up to our high standards in the handling of the case of the 'agents provocateur' in Montebello Quebec. Remember the buzz words of this government when they took office - 'transparency and accountability' - then tell us who were those three detainees and what were they doing there?

(Just an aside: comments are of course appreciated, but any that make personal comments against fellow bloggers will not be published.)

Jelly Beans Indeed!

Do the three amigos really think that we’re so stupid as to think they spent millions of taxpayers dollars to have a meeting about jelly beans!! Let us pretend that the jelly bean thing was not just a pathetic ploy to make many concerned Canadians look like conspiracy theorists - then they are seriously telling us that these leaders have nothing better to do than the bureaucracy’s job of wrestling over the minutiae of jelly bean labels. Give me a break!

It is well known that they are planning, in their own words, “integration by stealth”, that they are planning energy routes through Canada that are governed by harmonized security regulations, that they are planning to lower the standards on pesticide use on foods . . . If they are only planning boring things of no interest to anyone but specialists – as they love to say – why not just publish an agenda of the meeting and the topics discussed? Why treat the opposition leaders who together represent the majority of Canadians with puerile sarcasm and disdain?

The only people in the entire TV coverage of Montebello that had anything to say that was not spin and deception were the protesters interviewed on CPAC, and I don’t mean the ones planted there by some “law enforcement agency” to incite rioting. I wonder if the US has also proposed harmonizing their methods in that regard.

I Want to Hug M. Dion

I just found Dion's "Strong and Free: the Liberal Blueprint for the North American Leaders Summit at Montebello, Quebec - August 2007" At last, someone is addressing Harper's approach to the SPP!! It's at http:whiletheearthburns.blogspot.com.

Everyone has had their head in the sand as Harper's minions wheeled and dealed our country away - try and avoid the topic now MSM.

I am going to have to reverse my position that Harper copies everything Dion puts forth. He won't be copying this one - he's been outed now. He will have to go on record as being against everything in the blueprint and his secret agenda will be out there. I don't think Canadians will be very happy to hear about his real position.

Mr. H. All Defense, No Offense

Prediction: Mr. H.'s next propoganda push will be the economy. We all know el presidente Mr. H. has an agenda thoroughly disliked by most Canadians, so he can't actually tell us what he wants to do, basically help create a North American right wing state (Canada and the US anyway - not too sure about Mexico). So, instead of laying out his real platform, he has his spies follow Dion around and when Dion throws him a bone, he packages it and tells the people that's what he cares about - because he knows Dion does want to do what most Canadians want. Dion is going to be hot on the economy this fall and el presidente will be scrambling to catch up.

Thoughts on Election Timing

One of Mr. H.'s most telling remarks was, when asked about an election, "I'm enjoying myself". Add that to his utter dislike of interacting with Canadians and his love of the el presidente propoganda moments created for him by his p.r. (dare I say propoganda) minions, and his love of all things Rovian (CarlRove et al), one is left with the distinct impression that the next election will be either very difficult for him, if he gets off his high horse and has to return to the human world, or one of the most bizarre ever seen in Canada, with the other contenders mixing with Canadians and Harper speaking to the us all like 'big brother' transmitted from his remote p.r. centre or from raised podiums cordoned off from all but a select audience.

There must be people in his entourage smart enough to realize that either of these election scenarios could very well be a disaster. Hence I predict, Mr. H. will pretend to be ready for an election but do everything he can to to prevent one happening any earlier than 2009. From a distance it seems his love of power grows by the day and any humility was gone long ago, not a good recipe for meeting the people and putting your fate in their hands.

Thoughts Post Shuffle

With Mr. H. it's all about the image, so that's how we know who he is, by the photo ops he designs: yesterday he spoke to Canadians yet again as "pretend presidente" on his lawn, not just with a massive podium but on a raised platform - not exactly a man of the people. You have to wonder how much more these staged events cost the taxpayer than the hallway scrums of the good old days - given the cost of communications services these days, I'm willing to bet we're in for a good million or two so far.

But then, perhaps in his mind, once he gets his cherished majority, he will be able to save a ton of money, because then he won't speak to Canadians at all; he'll just do what he wants and 'f . . . you' to all of us. Won't have to pay the pollsters either, because he won't care what we think and want for our Country. It must be killing him to pretend (and not that well) that he's rational, open to dialogue, and somewhat moderate - but in his mind, his time will come and he'll get it all his way at last, el presidente.

Afterthought: I've heard from people in the know that there are some Chuck Strahl quotes out there that convey his true feelings about First Nations. Hopefully they'll start surfacing now he's replaced Prentice. I guess Prentice just wasn't delivering those pipelines fast enough.

Bush's Boys

Two images remain in my mind from the summer's news - what little there has been.

The first, the PM coming out of a barn in the Maritimes waving his hand over his head, a cross between an entertainer coming on stage at a cheezy theatre and Mr. Pres. as he exits his helicopter. Do these guys share the same PR firm or does Mr. H. get lessons direct from his idol to the south?

The second, Mr. Sarkozy prancing around and hugging the Pres. It is now confirmed that the wave of insanity that made Canadians elect Mr. H. has spread to France, until now one of the last bastions of sanity. What ever possessed the French to elect such an undignified, dare I say goofy leader, another Bush puppet.

Two great countries, two catastrophic mistakes.

So Much for the New Government's New Relationship with the US

So we watered down our original NAFTA position so that Harper could look US-friendly just as we were about to win big on Softwood. The 'new' government's new agreement was sold to Canadians as a deal that would guarantee stability in the forestry sector. Now, ten months into the seven year deal, the Americans are out for more blood. There is no such thing as getting along with the US - there's just getting walked all over or not getting walked all over. It would be nice if more Canadians paid attention to this fact before we sell the store. (Anyone seen H2O?)

Today the Globe and Mail reports:
"The U.S. government has launched arbitration proceedings in what will be the first major test of the Canada-U.S. Softwood Lumber Agreement.It claims Canada is violating terms of the year-old treaty by pushing too much B.C. and Alberta lumber into the U.S. market and by forest-industry support programs offered by Ontario and Quebec.'It is truly regrettable that, just 10 months after the agreement entered into force, the United States has no choice but to initiate arbitration proceedings to compel Canada to live up to its SLA obligations . . .' U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab said Tuesday in a news release.'Our efforts to resolve these matters through consultations have not been successful. 'http://www.reportonbusiness.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20070807.wsoftwood0807/BNStory/robNews/homeOn

So much for the exultation on October 12, 2006 when Canada's government reported that:

"MINISTER EMERSON MARKS IMPLEMENTATION OF
SOFTWOOD LUMBER AGREEMENT
The Honourable David L. Emerson, Minister of International Trade, today issued the following statement marking the implementation of the Softwood Lumber Agreement.
“Today, Canada’s softwood lumber industry breaks free from the endless cycle of conflict, uncertainty and costly litigation. . .“Today’s achievement is proof that, by focusing our efforts and adopting a new spirit of mutual respect and cooperation, Canada’s New Government is getting things done for Canadians.”

So much for that new spirit of respect and cooperation.

The Real Issue: Using the RCMP as Private Security Guards

The real issue: the press are in the lobby of a hotel that is open to the public. Harper doesn't want them there. He calls in the Mounties. Simple question: is that legal? A second issue: Harper apparently lied when he said it was a question of security. According to CTV: "The Mounties involved made it clear the expulsion was all about message control, not security".

Then in his wrap-up after the secret meeting, Mr. H. outlines his "big themes", among which are tackling crime (taking out reporters in lobbies?) and improving government accountability (having secret meetings to figure out how better to manipulate the electorate?).

He's like a kid who covers his eyes and says "You can't see me".