In the Quebec byelection. While it was a given the BQ would hold onto the riding, what is interesting is that the Liberals fell behind the NDP in votes.
As James Bow points out;Liberal support dropped from 8.65% to 5.6%, putting them behind the NDP, whose support dropped more marginally from 7.74% to 7%.
The NDP are making gains in Quebec, slow and sure and the motion that passed this week had been reaffirmed at the NDP convention in the fall. So now Quebec has a federalist social democratic option to the BQ.
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Wednesday, November 29, 2006
Same Sex Marriage and Violence Against Women
December 6 is the day that will live in infamy in Canada the day that Mark Lepine hunted down and killed 14 women engineering students at L'Ecole polytechnique in Montreal.
It is a day that the Harpocrite government should have brought forward their plans to get rid of the gun registry which was created because of this incident. It is a day that men and women across Canada pledge to end violence against women.
So instead of honouring this day, because of course it would embarass them over their plans to neuter the gun registry, they bring forward their controversial motion to end Same Sex Marriage. A cheap attempt to sideline the issue of the day. Double the infamy. We should be outraged, the Tories have NO Shame.
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Still Quiet
Not a peep. Not a word. Nothing. Nada. Zip.
The Blogging Tories still have nothing to say about Conservative Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Michael Chong's resignation over the Quebecois Nation motion.
That's two days in a row. The silence is deafening.
Why so quiet guys. Why no support for Chongs decision to stand up for Canada. What no nasty denunciations of the guy for standing up to Harper. Why no comment on how he was sidelined in this whole debate by the PM?
No comment on how Harper promised free votes on all issues except money bills, and then applied a three line whip on this motion.
No comment period. How unlike you. A wee bit embarassed are we. You should be.
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Timmies Takes Bite Out of Taxpayers
Tim Hortons for troops less pricey than reported Sure it was first reported that you and me, the Canadian taxpayer were in hock to Timmies for a cool $4 million for setting up their franchise in Kandahar for our troops.
Now the good news. We are only paying $1.4 million for this P3.
And while we pay $80,000 a month for the Timmies operation, the gross profit for the Tim Hortons is five-thousand dollars a day.
But they did wave the franchise fee of $450,000. Gosh thats like well one third of what it's costing you an me to set up the franchise. And the fee waiver will probably be a tax write off. Mighty generous of them considering they are pulling in $150,000 a month. Can you say war profiteering.
You don't have to rrrrrroll up the rim to figure out whose the winner here.
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Bolivarian Democracy
Venezuela’s Secret Grassroots Democracy
With all international eyes on the December 3rd Venezuelan presidential elections, a totally new and revolutionary experience of Venezuelan grassroots democracy has completely slipped below international radar.
These new communal councils were being called a new form of grassroots local government, in which the residents of the local community would have the ultimate decision-making power in their neighborhood. It was said that these councils would even receive funds from the government to carry out community and public works projects that previously could only be acquired through a long and protracted struggle with the local mayor’s office.
It is not Hugo Chavez that is impacting Latin America as much as it is the Bolivarian Revolution from below. The development of constiuent assemblies of the people, a form of counter power to the bourgeois state. It is occuring in Bolivia, Ecuador, Nicaragua, and even Mexico. Old style 18th Century parliamentary democracy is being challenged by direct assemblies of the people. It began with the Workers Party in Brazil under Lulu when provinces controled by the WP held mass constiuent assemblies to deal with developing provincial and municipal budgets.
It arose during the Argentinian melt-down, when facing fiscal catastrophe, the people assembled themselves into constiuent assemblies, as well as economic cooperatives to create a counter economy against the declining Argentinian dollar.
Chavez only took the idea and institutionalized it as part of a program for the Bolivarian revolution in Venezuela. It is now spreading along with election of left wing governments in the region. This is what real democracy looks like. It is what Murray Bookchin called Municipal Libertarianism. Local neighbourhoods create assemblies that run their areas, and set up representative councils or federations made up of the local assemblies. Thus creating a counter or dual power situation against the existing state or government. In Latin America it has been effective in countering the padrone system of local government.
Pity we don't have it in Canada, we are stuck with the old decrepit British Empire model of colonial governance; parliament. And look at what they did this week, recognize Quebec, err, Quebekers, err no make that Pure Laine Quebecois, as a people, err no as a nation, err as a.....???? Without asking the people themselves in Quebec or the ROC what we wanted. Time for a Constiuent Assembly in Canada.
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Left Wing Pragmatism III
Left Wing Pragmatism II
Left Wing Pragmatism
Oaxaca Mexican Revolution Continues
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March Of The Penquins to Extinction
Not so happy news. Half the World's Penguin Species Marching Towards Extinction;'The Planet is in Denial'
"The planet is in denial," said John Collee, co-writer of "Happy Feet," which played to rave reviews as the top movie in the United States over Thanksgiving week. "Coral reefs are in terminal decline. Whales and penguins are literally starving to death as a result of krill depletion. As regards Global warming - the entire West Antarctic ice sheet is balanced on the tips of mountains and fragmenting at the edges. According to experts we have ten years to reverse the current trend before the build-up of greenhouse gases becomes irreversible. Ten Years! Is "Happy Feet" too scary? The horrible reality of our war on the environment is so dark that most people don't want to contemplate it."
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"The planet is in denial," said John Collee, co-writer of "Happy Feet," which played to rave reviews as the top movie in the United States over Thanksgiving week. "Coral reefs are in terminal decline. Whales and penguins are literally starving to death as a result of krill depletion. As regards Global warming - the entire West Antarctic ice sheet is balanced on the tips of mountains and fragmenting at the edges. According to experts we have ten years to reverse the current trend before the build-up of greenhouse gases becomes irreversible. Ten Years! Is "Happy Feet" too scary? The horrible reality of our war on the environment is so dark that most people don't want to contemplate it."
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Tuesday, November 28, 2006
All Quiet On the BT
Cerbeus notes that the Blogging Tories have been notably silent on last nights Quebec motion, and the consequential resignation of the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs. Silent as death. Oh except for Adam Daifallah who mentions it en passant as they say in Chess.
Deafening silence over the real meaning of the motion that passed last night.
Senator Marjorie LeBreton and Transport Minister Lawrence Cannon met reporters to try to explain the government's reasoning for cabinet solidarity on the issue.
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Deafening silence over the real meaning of the motion that passed last night.
Senator Marjorie LeBreton and Transport Minister Lawrence Cannon met reporters to try to explain the government's reasoning for cabinet solidarity on the issue.
But reporters pressed LeBreton and Cannon to clear up confusion on the motion itself, asking why it refers to the Québécois even in its English version and why not Quebecers.
A reporter from the Montreal Gazette, the largest English newspaper in Quebec, wanted to know whether her readers were Québécois too.
"Does it include every resident of Quebec regardless of which boat their ancestors came over on?" she asked.
Cannon replied: "No, it doesn't. It doesn't. Let's be clear on this."
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Tory Losers
Liberals, Bloc win byelections, May finishes 2nd
Well this says alot about the New Government of Canada. They can't win byelections after nine months in power. Even with a right wing parachute candidate in London, handpicked by the PMO with support of paid government hacks. Of course they also didn'tdare run their unelected Senator/Cabinet Minister in Quebec. And Elizabeth May despite being a parachute candidate made a good showing. Strategic voting would have helped May win.
So will Garth Turner be the first Green MP now? Well the party has shifted to the right with its appointment of the former leader of the BC Green Party as its Deputy Leader.
The London byelection shows the NDP have the Green Party to worry about.
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Well this says alot about the New Government of Canada. They can't win byelections after nine months in power. Even with a right wing parachute candidate in London, handpicked by the PMO with support of paid government hacks. Of course they also didn'tdare run their unelected Senator/Cabinet Minister in Quebec. And Elizabeth May despite being a parachute candidate made a good showing. Strategic voting would have helped May win.
So will Garth Turner be the first Green MP now? Well the party has shifted to the right with its appointment of the former leader of the BC Green Party as its Deputy Leader.
The London byelection shows the NDP have the Green Party to worry about.
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Good News From NATO
NATO prepares exit strategy for Afghanistan
NATO forces could start withdrawing from Aghanistan in two years time but more reinforcements are needed now - that was the message from Alliance Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer at a summit meeting in Latvia. De Hoop Scheffer said a gradual transfer of power to local forces was possible, but first the country needed to be stabilised.
Let's see that would be in 2008. At least a year earlier than the Harpocrites committed us too. Good News indeed. good news for our troops who are in harms way, and good news for taxpayers footing the bill. And if NATO can't muster all the troops they need why there will be extra Brit and US forces available next year as they exit Iraq.
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NATO forces could start withdrawing from Aghanistan in two years time but more reinforcements are needed now - that was the message from Alliance Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer at a summit meeting in Latvia. De Hoop Scheffer said a gradual transfer of power to local forces was possible, but first the country needed to be stabilised.
Let's see that would be in 2008. At least a year earlier than the Harpocrites committed us too. Good News indeed. good news for our troops who are in harms way, and good news for taxpayers footing the bill. And if NATO can't muster all the troops they need why there will be extra Brit and US forces available next year as they exit Iraq.
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Stelmach Up The Middle
Ted Morton is scared. He announced yesterday that he was now the moderate candidate for leadership of the provincial PC's. With major endorsements from Hancock and Oberg and now Norris, Stelmach is gaining strength in numbers. And this scares Morton.
Yes I know I said that Stelmach was out of the race earlier however I have crunched the numbers and with Norris supporters added to them he has a chance to win. Mea Culpa and a nod to Ken Chapman.
Obviously the Morton camp has done the same. With Saturdays balloting based on Proportional voting, you chose first, second and third place, Stelmachs chances are now better than they looked on the weekend.
Take a look at Greg Farries Map and you will see why.
Mortons power is in the Socred stomping grounds of Southern Alberta. While Stelmachs support is now enhanced in Edmonton, and Northern Alberta (Oberg), and even with Obergs support in Calgary, which went Dinning red.
Dinning will not win the first ballot on Saturday, the forces in the PC's are united in a campaign of anybody but Dinning.
"I think that Jim Dinning is a nice man" but he's surrounded himself with the "Calgary mafia" and "back-room boys," Norris said, explaining why he didn't hitch his star to Dinning's campaign.
Dinning shot his load last week. And his numbers will not go up. His campaign is stalled thanks to Stelmach.Some of the Oberg support may go to Morton, but it is weak. Doerksons vote will go to Morton and Stelmach. McPhersons support goes to Stelmach.Rather the numbers say that Stelmach can come up the middle and win the second ballot. Add them up yourself.
Dinning 29,470 (30.2%)
Morton 25,614 (26.2%)
Stelmach 14,967 (15.3%)
Oberg 11,638 (11.9%)
Hancock 7,595 (7.8%)
Norris 6,789 (6.9%)
Doerksen 873 (0.9%)
McPherson 744 (0.8%)
Stelmach with support from Hancock, Oberg and Norris alone has 40,989. Which is why Morton is afraid, very afraid.Not only has he gotten support from the four, fifth and sixth place candidates, he is everyones favorite second choice on the three choice ballot next weekend. Morton and Dinning supporters all will vote him as second choice. So if there is no clear winner on the first ballot, Stelmach wins.
"Seventy per cent of our party rejected the establishment status quo of Jim Dinning on Saturday night and, given the preferential ballot system we'll be using, the real race is between Ed and myself," Mr. Morton said.
Dinning is claiming it's a two way fight between him and Morton.
It's Stelmach up the middle. Which would be good forAlberta. Why? Well two little words; Harry Strom.
Morton tries to lure support from leadership rivalsWith Dinning grabbing the majority of the votes and Stelmach’s support growing since the ballots were counted, Morton, who sits in the right end of the political spectrum, yesterday cast a wider net looking for Conservatives of all shades to join his campaign.
“To the supporters of the other candidates ... I’d be honoured to have your support,” he said.
“My goal has always been a broad, inclusive coalition that includes all Conservatives, red Tories, blue Tories, green Tories, back into our party.”
And although he has promised to build a party based on principle, at the end of the day, he will do what the Tory majority wants him to do, he said yesterday(MON).
“A Ted Morton government will be as Conservative or as Liberal or as moderate as our party wants it to be,” he said.
“The key to keeping a conservative coalition together ... means that no one fraction is going to get everything they want all the time, including myself.”
Yes I know I said that Stelmach was out of the race earlier however I have crunched the numbers and with Norris supporters added to them he has a chance to win. Mea Culpa and a nod to Ken Chapman.
Obviously the Morton camp has done the same. With Saturdays balloting based on Proportional voting, you chose first, second and third place, Stelmachs chances are now better than they looked on the weekend.
Take a look at Greg Farries Map and you will see why.
Mortons power is in the Socred stomping grounds of Southern Alberta. While Stelmachs support is now enhanced in Edmonton, and Northern Alberta (Oberg), and even with Obergs support in Calgary, which went Dinning red.
Dinning will not win the first ballot on Saturday, the forces in the PC's are united in a campaign of anybody but Dinning.
"I think that Jim Dinning is a nice man" but he's surrounded himself with the "Calgary mafia" and "back-room boys," Norris said, explaining why he didn't hitch his star to Dinning's campaign.
Dinning shot his load last week. And his numbers will not go up. His campaign is stalled thanks to Stelmach.Some of the Oberg support may go to Morton, but it is weak. Doerksons vote will go to Morton and Stelmach. McPhersons support goes to Stelmach.Rather the numbers say that Stelmach can come up the middle and win the second ballot. Add them up yourself.
Dinning 29,470 (30.2%)
Morton 25,614 (26.2%)
Stelmach 14,967 (15.3%)
Oberg 11,638 (11.9%)
Hancock 7,595 (7.8%)
Norris 6,789 (6.9%)
Doerksen 873 (0.9%)
McPherson 744 (0.8%)
Stelmach with support from Hancock, Oberg and Norris alone has 40,989. Which is why Morton is afraid, very afraid.Not only has he gotten support from the four, fifth and sixth place candidates, he is everyones favorite second choice on the three choice ballot next weekend. Morton and Dinning supporters all will vote him as second choice. So if there is no clear winner on the first ballot, Stelmach wins.
"Seventy per cent of our party rejected the establishment status quo of Jim Dinning on Saturday night and, given the preferential ballot system we'll be using, the real race is between Ed and myself," Mr. Morton said.
Dinning is claiming it's a two way fight between him and Morton.
Dinning has ruled out Stelmach as a contender and says Morton is his only challenger."I have a high regard for Ed Stelmach. I would love to have him as a right-hand person. He cares about Alberta, he's a smart guy. But clearly, I think that this has come down to a serious two-person race with two distinctly different choices."
I thought so do. But it ain't so. Stelmach seen as man to heal party torn over leadership voteIt's Stelmach up the middle. Which would be good forAlberta. Why? Well two little words; Harry Strom.
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