Cutting Your Nose To Spite Your Face

This headline says it all. Science vs. the Bush Administration. When it gets in the way of military projects for the weaponization of space say, or if it is controversial by pointing out patterns of global warming and climate change. Then out come the budget scissors and snip, snip. No more need to censor NASA when you can go for the jugular and put it on basic lifesupport.

Water discovery vs. NASA budget cuts The potential discovery of liquid water on a moon of Saturn is bittersweet for many scientists. The discovery, however, is bittersweet for many scientists. NASA's proposed budget for fiscal 2007 calls for a 50 percent cut in its astrobiology program. Although the program is a tiny piece of the agency's overall spending plan for science, it's a significant source of money for probing fundamental questions of how and why life emerged on Earth and whether life arose elsewhere in the universe. A 50-percent cut "is almost a going-out-of-business-level cut" in a vibrant line of research that stands as one pillar supporting President Bush's vision for space exploration, says planetary scientist Sean Solomon, who heads the Department of Terrestrial Magnetism at the Carnegie Institution of Washington More NASA articles.

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Harper Plays Charest

Harper, Charest do historic lunch
King Stephen the Harpocrite made a historic second visit to Quebec yesterdfay. Where again nothing significant was done, it was all photo op and puff pastery.

But the optics well that's what counts. Did they discuss the health care accord? Non. Post Secondary Education funding? Non. Fiscal Imbalance. Non. It was all about the future. Charest's and Harpers.

They are after all kin, Charest led the Federal PC party before becoming a provincial Liberal. Harper led the Alliance before becoming a born again Conservative.

Harper and Charest need each other. Harper's best hope of growing a minority into a majority lies in Quebec and it can only become reality with the premier's help. Charest's chances of morphing a lacklustre first term into a second turn on winnowing out of Ottawa the latitude and money, in cash or tax points, to pursue Quebec interests in its own ways.

But with discussions on Federal balance of payments being suggested, this draws the Bloc on side as could be seen by BQ MP Richard Marceau's response on Mike Duffy yesterday. Daycare he said is a provincial issue.

Uh oh. Here it comes. The BQ will back the Tories. Daycare should be publicly funded the Bloc will argue, and would be if we didn't have an imbalance of payments from the Feds.

Harper will promise Quebec, not the ROC, to fix their imbalance and the BQ will be happy to vote with the Conservatives.

It's not like they haven't before.CBC News: Conservative, BQ MPs block meat packer fines

Charest's popularity has gone from rock bottom and is increasing after the federal election. A few scores of big bucks from the Feds and all will be forgiven. Its the perfect neo-con job.

Meanwhile the Quebec model of private public healthcare will become the model for the Conservatives revision of healthcare. Still feasible under the CHA, meets the Supreme court challenge and makes Ralph Kleins Third Way the boogie man.
And all will be well in the Harpocrites universe.

NDP Leader Jack Layton said Charest and Harper "seem to be working hand in glove to support the privatization of our health care," noting the topic didn't even come up. "There's some things going in this relationship between Mr. Charest and Mr. Harper that should concern Canadians," Layton said.

Yep, you tell em Jack.

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Brison Affair Dejavu

Oh my gawd!

I just figured out why I kept getting this nagging feeling when I was blogging about Scott Brisons inappropirate email exchange on the Income Trust decision.

He and Martha Stewart both were in the investment business.

She contacted her broker and sold shares on insider information. She lied about it.

He contacted a broker friend and let him in on some inside information on Income Trusts. He lied about it.

She lied to the Feds, he lied to the Globe and Mail.

She knew better, he knew better.

She went to jail. He runs for the Liberal leadership to avoid jail.

She smiles he smiles.

Martha and Scott pees in the pod.

The reckless e-mails that Scott Brison sent

For a cabinet minister, there can be no such thing as idle speculation about future tax policy. Given his earlier investment career, Scott Brison had all the more reason to realize that it was highly indiscreet to predict happier times to a displeased investment banker on the eve of an anticipated tax change.

Mr. Brison compounded his sins this week by claiming that he could not recall his Nov. 22 e-mails about the fate of income trusts -- even though that banter, written when he was still public works minister, provoked a visit from the RCMP two months ago. Then, as more details of his imprudent messages emerged in The Globe and Mail, he protested his innocence. "At the time I was reluctant to discuss what I knew to be the subject of an RCMP investigation," he argued.

Loose lips on the Street came back to bite Brison

Mr. Brison denies he actually knew what was in store for trusts. Fair enough.

Intelligent people would take one look at that e-mail, and know what was coming. "Happier soon" could only mean a boost to the dividend tax credit, and no new levies on trusts. And that's exactly what the Liberals eventually unveiled.

This is the way the trust policy "leaked." The political types were giddy with good news. The Liberals had found a way to make everyone happy, and defuse an unexpected land mine. The impact such a policy might have on capital markets isn't exactly top of mind with politicians and their staff. They're focused on winning a country.

But news that the Street would be "happier soon" was transmitted loud and clear. When that information got into the hands of professional money managers, they knew exactly what to do. Hence the rally in dividend stocks and trusts in the hours before the Finance Minister finally cleared the air.

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