LA REVUE GAUCHE - Left Comment

Thursday, December 01, 2005

From Black to Iraq and Back

Guilty! Guilty! Guilty!

Lord Black is on his way to Jail, like his role model Al Capone. Black granted $20m bail after pleading not guilty to fraud

And like Capone he is protesting his innocence, for in his mind he has committed no crime. He is after all a Baron of Capitalism, and for him it was business as usual. But his days of wine and roses are soon to become days of whining about the nosy lawyers and media he has so vilified in the past. And like his other hero and role model, Randolph Hearst, his cumupeance is based on their shared belief in the idea that the rules do not apply to men like them.

The Wall Street Journal article noted that he had a portrait of Capone on the wall of his directors’ room in New York —

Conrad Black & the Hollinger Kleptocracy

Warren Kinsella's Hero

Making Warren Happy.
Chretien files Gomery sponsorship challenge
"This couldn't come at a worse time for (Liberal Leader Paul Martin)," said CTV's Ottawa Bureau Chief Bob Fife.

Take That Paul Martin

CBC vs. CTV Election Blogs

CBC has a blog on its site, covering the blogs covering the election. Its a one man show written by John Bowman. It has no links to any other blog sites nor does it seem interested in adding any other blog comments. John seems to have penchant for ONLY commenting about rightwhingnut bloggers. Do I detect a bias here? Could it be that the CBC long hated for its supposed liberal/left bias by the rightwhingnuts is sucking up to the right?

On the other hand CTV's Election Blog is written and edited, by a collective! Bill Doskoch who has his own very good blog. Also CTV Parlimentary Reporter David Akin, who also has his own blog, and writers Angela Mulholland, Corey Bellamy and the anonymous CTV Election News Editor. And they are cherry picking comments from the blogosphere and are open to bloggers comments. They have links to the Party Blogs and to the various political blogs; BloggingTories, Liberal Bloggers, Dippers and Progressive bloggers etc.

And the winner is....CTV.

Hey CBC clean up your act or I will take down my I Support CBC banner on my blog (ohh scary threat that).

GST Fall Out

With a bit of cut and paste here is what folks think of the Harpers proposed creation of a 5% GST. While consumption taxes are regressive in principle, they do impact more on the rich than the poor. So consider this another tax break for you know who.....

Speaking at a suburban electronics store near Toronto, Harper said the tax relief will save Canadians a total of $4.5 billion. While he he admitted that will not necessarily stimulate investment, he said "it's more effective in stimulating consumption Heading into the holiday season, the idea of consumers paying less GST is a happy thought for Future Shop salesman Jafra Husein. "As a retailer we love it," he told CTV News. "It motivates the buyer." Among the criticisms levelled at the GST cut is the disportionate 'savings' it would afford people who spend more. Lower-income Canadians, because they're not spending as much, would not realize as much savings. New Brunswick Finance Minister Jeannot Volpe says Conservative Leader Stephen Harper's promise to slash the GST would hurt this province. But party loyalty hasn't stopped Volpe, also a Conservative, from criticizing the plan. He says municipalities that have finally received a piece of the GST will suffer without it. "One per cent is over $90 million for us," said Volpe. "It means that the money will have to come from somewhere else." Finance Minister Ralph Goodale said reducing the GST favours the rich on Thursday.In an interview with CBC Newsworld, Goodale said lowering consumption taxes such as the GST is good for people who spend a lot of money. "The biggest savings will go to the biggest spenders," he said. Herbert Grubel, a senior fellow at the right-wing Fraser Institute and a former Reform MP, Grubel and Harper, also a trained economist, were once caucus colleagues, told the Vancouver Sun last month that "cutting the GST rather than business or personal income taxes may be good politics, but it is definitely very bad economics."Grubel and several other economists say business and personal income taxes are a much stronger drag on the economy because they create a disincentive for consumers. Jim Davies, who teaches economics at the University of Western Ontario in London, "Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid," he said.

Liberals and Organized Crime

Viola! I have discovered the deep undercover investigative journalism source for the Harpers link of the Liberals with Organized Crime. Don't know why the Globe and Mail didn't figure this out.

Harpers Special Prosecutor

Harper would appoint special prosecutor

More Chretien Funnies

Chretien puts spike in Liberals' day

Harper on SM

Canadians didn't know.
The Harper has a kinky side.
As he showed
when he came out this summer
as a Leather Boy.

"When I'm prime minister I will not whip our cabinet,"Harper said.

Decision to hit same-sex unions fast could pay off for Harper

On The Dark Side

Power! Give Me Power!

Tommy Scares Them Still

Election delays Tommy Douglas miniseries

Long after he has passed on, Tommy scares the bejesus out of the political establishment still. The Ghost of Tommy could literally haunt this election campaign as the NDP focus on the privatization of Health Care and how the Liberals and Tories have no plan to stop it. Yep good old Tommy could swing votes to the NDP if the CBC showed this miniseries. Folks would remember when the Left was the New Idea,and that neo-con was just another way of saying Conservative or same old tired ideas. After all Tommy is our Greatest Canadian.

"The [Liberal] federal government's trouble is that they have a wishbone where they should have a backbone."

Tommy Douglas was the most influential politician never to be elected Prime Minister.

Blogging Dippers

Congrats to Robert over at My Bhlag for creating the new Blogging Dippers aggregate newsreader for NDP blogs. No longer just a blog listing site, it actually carries stories. The page looks nice and clean, just in time for the election.

Parental Controls

Adults only? Today’s parents are often shocked by the level of violence depicted in many of the video games...Watchdog group warns parents against offensive video games Uh huh, so who is buying these games for their kids and don't they read the boxes where it says MATURE, Gore and Violence......and do parents really need a watchdog group to tell them the following titles might just be adult, violent, full of blood and gore? Resident Evil 4, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, God of War, Narc, Killer 7, The Warriors, 50 Cent: Bulletproof,Crime Life: Gang Wars, Condemned: Criminal Origins, True Crime: New York City.

Hey We're Famous

Election bloggers waste no time dishing the dirt

This article sure spends alot of time focusing on how the blogosphere responed to Scott Feschuks blog at Liberal.ca With nary a word about the Conservative blog.....so I guess that tells you which of these two blogs should really be drawn, hung and quartered as the poll over at progressive bloggers asks. And it ain't Feschuks cause he at least is actually writing his blog, the Conservative blog is a rehashed press release prior to editing.

Ignatieff Ignites Controversy

Ignatieff endures heckling
Wins nomination
In the foyer outside the meeting, one protester donned a George W. Bush mask and waved a sign saying: "Bush-Ignatieff -- Partners in crime," in protest against Mr. Ignatieff's support for the war in Iraq. Another protester, Irene Oliinyk, complained that Mr. Ignatieff has argued torture was acceptable for detainees in Iraq. "Why would the Liberals parachute someone like that into the riding?" Yep you have to ask yourself that, and I am sure the Liberals are too considering that PM has distanced himself from Ignatieff, but then again what did anyone expect when the new Philosopher King of Empire was touted as the next best thing to replace PM.

Another Harper Gaffe

I love it. Who is running the Conservative media war room Bozo the clown? Global Television has two TVspots one about Harper failing to introduce his Quebec all star team and the other about the media having to chase a Tory candidate for an interview during the scrum. This is hilarious. Harper (doesn't) introduce Tory candidates

CBC Poll-It's Health Care Stupid.

The CBC /Environics poll shows that Health Care remains the top issue with Canadians this election, as it has been in previous elections. It also shows that 66% of Canadians feel SSM is a settled issue, and that the three main parties NDP, Liberals and Conservatives are neck and neck when it comes to honesty in government. However;

Almost three-quarters of Canadians asked said they don't expect politicians to keep their promises once they're in power.
56 per cent expressed little or no confidence at all in federal political leaders.
63 per cent said all the federal political parties are pretty much the same when it comes to honesty and integrity - yet 94 per cent said honesty and integrity in government are either somewhat or very important in determining how they plan to vote.

Wal Mart Exploits Child Labour

Taking a page from Nike and its famous corporate code of conduct, Wal-Mart is now claiming to have changed its evil ways and is no longer exploiting child labour in the third world. And just like Nike, Wal-Marts self imposed code of conduct isn't wortyh the paper its written on.The truth of the matter is always different than the corporate press release. What sounds good on paper, is just that, paper.
Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, is promoting a corporate code of conduct that it calls one of the strictest in the industry. But an investigation by SRC, the French-language service of the CBC, casts doubt on the company's capacity to enforce that code in dealing with Third World countries.

For less than $50 per month, workers in Bangladesh knit, sew and pack clothes for sale around the world, and some garments end up at Wal-Mart stores in Canada.

SRC journalists posed as buyers in the Canadian garment industry so they could videotape inside factories in Bangladesh with hidden cameras.

In one factory, typical of many in the country, children were busy with lower-skill tasks. In badly lit, dirty and overheated workshops, young boys were everywhere.

A label reading Simply Basic, one of Wal-Mart's in-house brand names along with the number CA 28885, the corporate ID of Wal-Mart Canada, was seen in the factory.

The same factory also produces Wal-Mart's corporate T-shirt for Canada.

The factory manager told SRC that the children are working on domestic production.

"They do not work on export garments, like Wal-Mart's," said Liakot Patwary. "I can give you [a] guarantee."

But after filling many orders, Patwary said he had never met inspectors from the company and Wal-Mart had not visited the factory.

When shown the images from the report, Wal-Mart explained that the factories were subcontractors with no direct business link with Wal-Mart. Still, the company's representative in Montreal acknowledged the problem.

Yep Just Do It....exploit child labour but blame it on the subcontractors, just like Nike does........

Still Radical after all these years

Today I turn 51 and must say that all the predictions, when I was younger, that I would mellow with age, go conservative, become 'the man', failed to come true. Kicking Establishment butt for 38 years. Yep I was once a young radical, come to think of it I still am.

TODAY'S FAMOUS BIRTHDAYS

Martin Klaproth
chemist (1743)
Marie Tussaud
modeler in wax (1760)
Walter Alston
baseball manager (1911)
Minoru Yamasaki
architect (1912)
Mary Martin
singer, actress (1913)
Woody Allen
actor, writer, and director (1935)
Lee Trevino
golfer (1939)
Richard Pryor
comedian, actor (1940)
Bette Middler
singer, actress (1945)

Tory Opportunism

Reform/Alliance/Conservative Edmonton East MP Peter Goldring's opportunism knows no bounds.

He has issued a press release denouncing the controversial Etobicoke-Lakeshore Liberal candidate Michael Ignatieff.

Hmmm, now why would he care about a Liberal, even such a high profile one, running in Hogtown?

Well their ridings share something in common, both have lots of Ukrainians in them. And low and behold the Liberal candidate in Edmonton East is Ukrainian.

I love this quote though; "Mr. Ignatieff is descended from Russian royalty,” said Goldring

I thought Goldring and the rest of the anti-Bolshevik right whingnuts loved the Tzar and Russian Royality.

A tip o the blog to Daveberta for this. He also noted that NDP looks like it might take second place in some Edmonton ridings since the Liberals have been so slow off the mark to get anyone nominated. See I am not the only one who says Redmonton ain't a sure thing for the Conservatives or Liberals.

Wednesday, November 30, 2005

Jobs Not Tax Cuts

The issue in this election has to be jobs. Election front runners promise tax cuts

As manufacturing declines in North America its impact on the industrial working class in Southern Ontario is devistating. Not only on those currently being laid off but those who have retired and rely on their pensions and long term benefits for their daily bread. The impact on the local economy is is increased personal and business bankruptcies.

Canadian job cuts highlight decline of North American manufacturing "The real story is what doesn't happen in the headlines; it's the five or 10 jobs that are lost each week or each month and eventually they really tend to add up."

In the last two weeks we have had announcements of the pending layoffs of 6717 people. Literally a small town wiped off the face of the map.

Tax Cuts have not paid for the technology upgrades to make these companies competitive. They have been invested in the market in order to make quick profits off high interest rates, meanwhile Canadian workers lose their jobs. As do workers in all the advanced industrialized countries, capitalism functions the same world wide. This election the issue for workers has to be jobs and pension security.

While jobs are booming in the West and in the North in resource extraction whether Tar Sands in Alberta or Diamond mines in the NWT, these construction jobs are temporary and the actual plant workforce is small and will not be working for a number of years yet.

As the Liberals and Conservatives promise more tax cuts for corporations and Income Trusts, ask them how these are going to guarntee jobs for Canadians.
Cause they don't right now.

What Does It All Mean?

Poll finds Ontario support unchanged for federal parties
Last updated Nov 29 2005 11:22 AM EST
CBC News

Canada's three main political parties each enjoy about the same amount of support in Ontario now as they did coming out of the last federal election, a CBC poll has found. The Environics poll found the Liberals have the support of 44 per cent of Ontario voters. The Conservatives have the support of 32 per cent, while 22 per cent say they support the New Democrats. Coming just as the current campaign begins, the poll results can't be considered an accurate prediction of how the 2006 election will end, said Environics vice-president Donna Dasko. However, Dasko said, "it certainly looks like a deja vu right now." Environics interviewed 626 Ontario residents between Nov. 21 and Nov. 25. The results are considered accurate within four percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

Say It Ain't So

I am Shocked, simply Shocked! Nunavut MLA says companies pad books with phoney hirings A member of the Nunavut legislature says companies are hiring Inuit then paying them to stay home in order to thwart a government rule aimed at boosting native employment.

Modblog Sucks

OFFLINE SINCE NOVEMBER 15

Canada's Four Solitudes

The Thousand Day War

Bush Says U.S. Will Pursue `Complete Victory' in Iraq

"For our men and women in uniform, this debate can be unsettling," Bush said. "When you're risking your life to accomplish a mission, the last thing you want to hear is that mission being questioned in our nation's capital."

Both the Vietnam War and the Iraq war were launched based on intelligence failures and possibly outright deception.

Melvin Laird, Former Defense Secretary under Nixon during the Vietnam War.

Chretien In The News

BEFORE
World's first partial face transplant performed

AFTER

Unite the Right in Alberta

Interesting note in Tom Olson's column in today's Calgary Herald where he notes a potential Unite the Right campaign in Alberta between the Alberta Alliance and the Alberta Social Credit party. Hinman, the rookie Alliance leader, tabled a petition from the province's Social Credit party demanding the government reverse itself on electricity deregulation. Seemed odd, until Hinman confirmed the two parties are looking at merging. Still small potatoes (neither has a massive membership), but any union of conservative forces in small-town Alberta makes the rural Tory rump nervous. Not that there is much to unite since the AA was formed by former Socred Leader Randy Thorsteinson.

But what will they call themselves? Alberta Social Credit Alliance? Social Alberta Credit Alliance? Credit Alberta Social Alliance? That should take them at least a year to figure out. No threat here, except in the rural south of the province, where the left hasn't a snowballs chance anyways. But a right-wing alternative to the Tories would be welcome to help split the vote.

The Real Liberal.ca Blog

Disclaimer I am not a Liberal supporter. But If the you want to read the real Liberal Blog and not the Official Liberal Blog, the blackandblueberry bumblings of Mop and Pail reporter turned PM flack/hack Scott Feschuk, I reccomend none other than Jason Cherniak.In fact the Liberals should have him blogging for them rather than the boy on the bus. He even manages to challenge his old pal, Chretienite turned Harperite; Warren Kinsella. No small feat that. Yes I know there are alot of good Liberal blogs out there, including several from Alberta but, what I am talking here about an election blog with substance, oh am going to get in trouble for this...not that youse guys don't have substance youse do, sigh I think I will just shut up now.....

Tit for Tat Except That...

The NDP issued a press release on controversial Michael Ignatieff today;
Liberal "Star" Candidate Supports War on Iraq
Ignatieff says he's on the "far right" of Canadian opinion
Faster than you can say take that, the Liberals hit back with their factcheck
Now what's interesting about this is that they did not mention Ignatieff once. Nope nary a peep. All they did was challenge an old throw away quote from Paul Martin claiming the NDP took it 'out of context'. Ignatieff, the War in Iraq, not a word....can you smell the disaster thats about to hit in Etobicoke-Lakeshore. Too bad the NDP can't take advantage of it sincethey don't have a candidate there yet.

Labour Relations Board Scandal in Alberta

I have blogged here, and here, and here about the bankruptcy of the Alberta Labour Relations Board. How it is not impartial, nor an independent third party but a direct arm of the Government.

And it has been in disrepute for over a decade, despite union reps sitting on it, since the Klein government putsch that ousted LRB Chairman Robert Blair for being pro union, and replaced him with an Employer Rep Lawyer connected to the anti-union Merit Construction companies.

A set of emails between the LRB and the Government have been leaked to the Press and the Alberta Federation of Labour that shows collusion between the LRB and the Klein Government in passing Bill 27 which outlawed strikes in the Health Care sector and forced elections for union representation on hospital workers forcing them to choose between AUPE, CUPE, and HSAA.

Bill 27 caused an internecine battle between AUPE and CUPE over who would represent hospital workers in Alberta, a battle that proved divisive for the last four years, divisive enough to halt a unified fight back campaign that should have occured. A fight back against the ruling that made all health sector workers essential workers and removed their right to strike.

Now the chickens have come home to roost, and the whole nasty little affair of the governments attempt to castrate the labour movement in Alberta with Bill 27 has come to light. This is yet another scandal to add to a long list of scandals in Alberta. This is what happens when you have a real One Party Dictatorship.

The Edmonton Journal reported on it today.Labour board provided draft of regulations
Collaborated on Bill 27 to detriment of organized labour, says AFL head
Internal Alberta Labour Relations Board e-mails obtained by The Journal suggest the board collaborated with Ralph Klein's government and health-care employers to produce a bill that many in the labour movement consider the strongest anti-union legislation in the province's history.

NDP calls for labour board resignations
The NDP is calling for the resignation of the labour relations board, after news that the vice-chairman had input into controversial legislation that rewrote the labour code, allowing the restructuring of the health-care system. "And if they don't resign, they should be fired for compromising the labour relation's board independence and impartiality," NDP labour critic Ray Martin said. Martin and the United Nurses of Alberta joined the Alberta Federation of Labour in calling for a public inquiry into the board's role in the legislation.

Dan MacLennan, president of the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees, the largest union in the province, says a public inquiry should have a broader scope, looking at labour relations and labour law in Alberta in general. "I've never viewed them as totally impartial," he said of the board. "They're an extended arm of the government and this is further proof of that. "I don't think we've ever gone there in terms of job action or legislation viewing it as a fair process. Publication of e-mails requires prompt, honest answers about conduct of Labour Relations Board, AUPE president says

The AFL has issued the following press release, claiming the Government is attempting to censor them and demanding the emails back. Even though it was the Privacy Commissioner who released them!

For Immediate Release

Wednesday, November 30, 2005

LRB “Biased and Compromised”, says AFL

Lawyers Trying to Get Documents Back from AFL

Documents received by the Alberta Federation of Labour show that key figures of the Labour Relations Board (LRB) breached their role by actively participating in the drafting of legislation, and by consulting with employer representatives about the content of draft legislation, says the Alberta Federation of Labour today.

The AFL received documents as part of a FOIP Commissioners Inquiry. The documents reveal that LRB Chair Mark Asbell, and Vice-Chair Les Wallace were actively involved in the drafting of Bill 27, the Labour Relations (Regional Health Authorities Restructuring) Amendment Act. Their participation in the process contravenes the role of the LRB, and places into serious jeopardy its independence.

The documents also suggest the LRB actively consulted with employer representatives in the drafting of the Bill another contravention of its role that undermines impartiality.

“We have a ‘smoking gun’ that demonstrates a serious breach of the LRB’s mandate,” says AFL President Gil McGowan. “The actions of the two senior officials at the Board have allowed the LRB to become biased and compromised.”

“We need a public inquiry to get to the bottom of how deeply compromised the LRB is,” says McGowan. “The truth needs to come out.” The AFL sent a letter today to Human Resources Minister Mike Cardinal demanding a public inquiry into the breach.

Today, the AFL received a letter from the lawyer for the Privacy Commissioner demanding the return of the documents received by the AFL saying it got them in error. The AFL has responded by refusing to return the documents. The AFL’s position is that it has a right to access these documents and there is a pressing public interest that requires full disclosure of the documents. Neither the Commissioner nor the LRB have not indicated what their next legal steps will be.

Following the receipt of the documents, the AFL sent them to its 350 affiliated union presidents, to update them on ongoing efforts to reveal the truth about the Bill 27 process. The AFL will be calling together senior union leaders in the next couple of days to discuss next steps.

The LRB, as an arms-length quasi-judicial body, has the mandate of interpreting and enforcing the Labour Relations Code. In performing its job, it must adhere to a strict policy of independence and neutrality. As the “court” for labour relations, it must avoid participating in the setting of government policy or regulations regarding labour relations. In other words, its job is to interpret the law, not make it.

“The documents we have received clearly show that the Vice-Chair of the LRB wrote the bill that the government used to attack health care unions,” notes McGowan. “This says to me that the LRB has sided clearly with the employer and destroyed any semblance of fairness in their dealings. For an LRB, this is unconscionable.”

Bill 27 set in motion a process to reduce the number of bargaining units in health care. It led to a series of acrimonious and bitter run-off votes, cancelled longstanding collective agreements, removed the right to strike for community health and other workers, and denied nurse practitioners the right to join a union. It was widely seen as an anti-union piece of legislation.

“The LRB is the anchor of our modern labour relations system. If the parties can’t trust its fairness and independence, the whole system is at risk. The actions of the LRB’s senior officials have jeopardized trust in the system. This could have wide ranging implications.” McGowan concludes.

- 30 -

Edmonton Journal Election Blog

FYI
The Edmonton Journal is offering an elect/shun blog....by Jason Markusoff....he asks you to email him your blog comments on the election take him up on it. He starts off well, better than the Tory and Liberal blogs.....
Masochists.
If you’re visiting this web page, it means the reams of newsprint in the Edmonton Journal and elsewhere aren’t enough for you, and you crave even more musings about the federal election.
You sick and twisted people. My brethren.
I’m a fellow political junkie, curious as heck as to what will emerge from this latest electoral cauldron. Polls be damned, I will not predict an outcome at this point. But it’s probably a safe bet that we’re in for eight (!!!!!!) unfortunately ugly, muddy weeks ahead.

Warren Kinsella Exposed

Blame NAFTA not Liberals

Hey I ain't no fan of the Liberals but Tory Blogger Brent Colbert ( whom I mistakenly called Colby ) misses the point in blaming the Liberals for the job losses at Domtar.

Hmm, Mr. Colbert convieniantly forgets it was the Mulroney Conservatives that brought us the FTA and NAFTA which is directly responsible for these job losses. Tory Revisionist history strikes again. Oh right this Conservative party ain't the party of Mulroney, he just shows up at all their parties and conventions.

Ok blame the Liberals too cause they didn't abrogate NAFTA...another blown promise..... and now they are cheerleaders for Free Trade equating it with Fair Trade....huh?

Say here's a good message for the NDP........ Abrogate NAFTA save Canadian Jobs. Didn't they have that message once upon a time, hmm when a certain John Turner was fighting the battle of his life?

This Says it All

Angus Reid Poll Nov. 30

And it looks good for gains for the NDP in B.C., Saskatchewan and the Maritimes.

	BC	Prai.	Ont.	Que.	Atl.
Liberal	36%	22%	44%	22%	56%
Conservative	34%	56%	32%	8%	22%
New Democratic Party	28%	22%	22%	9%	23%
Bloc Québécois	--	--	--	59%	--
Other	3%	1%	1%	2%	--

Neck and neck with the Liberals in the Prairies, since it includes Alberta the Conservative majority is an anomaly, and neck and neck with the Conservatives in the Maritimes. The messaging that real change means voting NDP looks like it is hitting home even this early. And in B.C. that means coming up the middle between the Conservatives and Liberals.

So if we have another minority parliment that will be the time to push for real change; reform the electoral system to Proportional Representation.

David Orchard Strikes Back

Ah you knew that he would not go quietly into that good night...David Orchard strikes back at Harper and Mckay....Conservative Party owes Orchard more than $70,000
Ex-leadership candidate alleges party being vindictive
"What gets me is, we have a new party talking about ethics, talking about honesty. Well they've grabbed $72,000 made in good faith." The Tories are as ethically challenged as the Liberals, as Orchard points out and as I documented here with their little webscandal in Alberta.

Harper Gaffe #2: SSM

Give the Tory brain trust a loaded gun, the election, and they shoot themselves in the foot. Day 1: Harper tackles same-sex marriage
The Slogan for the Conservative campaign is Stand Up!
Well it appears they are standing up for homophobia. Yep Stand Up! for Intolerance and Bigotry. That's the same old story same old Tory,Harper the opportunist.
The Conservatives have a third party campaign against gay marriage underway, despite the fact that this issue is over. Done. Fini. Fait Accompli. And thats how Canadians see it too. Just not the rightwingnut lobby that continue to dominate the Conservative party rank and file. Pollster Allan Gregg of The Strategic Counsel thinks Conservative Leader Stephen Harper should do the following on same-sex marriage: Don't go there. Too Late.

The Campaign Blogs

The campaigns are off and running and they have discovered the Blogosphere. So I will give a quick review of their campaign blogs on day one.

The Tory Blog is booooring reads like a bloody press release. And no place to comment, which is the fun and purpose of blogging....giving your opinion and getting flack for it.

The Liberal Blog is juvenile. Written by Globe and Mail Reporter Steve Feschuk who is now PM's speech writer, he drivels on like those personal blogs out there that tell you how their day is going, the fungal growth under their toenails, and why they hate the colour pink. To comment you email Feschuk. Which folks have already and let him know his page sucks. But it appears he is unrepentant.

The NDP . Don't have a blog !!!! Can you say DUMB.
Must be relying on the BloggingDippers to do the job for them. Get with the program folks get a blog going. Hey here's an idea get Big Daddy Ed (Broadbent) to do it.....since he is a rap star in his own right.....

The BQ have a blog on their youth page. Unlike the other parties their blog has been up and running before the election.Its in French of course. Parlez vous Quebecois? anyone.

The Green Party has a blog, and like the Jenue BQ its been up since before the election its party Leader Jim Harris (who?) personal Blog...and gosh its a real blog. Score 1 for the Green Party.

Harpers First Gaffe: 3 little words

The very first day and the Harper cannot help but make a gaffe. The first day of the election and he sticks his foot in his mouth. And it was a softball question. Do you love Canada? I thought when I saw the scrum it was a Conservative ringer flinging that out. Nope it wasn't. Here was the Harper primed for the tough heavy hitting questions and bingo he trips over a simple sophomoric question.

As Don Newman pointed out on CBC 's Politics, that was the same kind of question that killed Teddy Kennedy's drive for President of the USA. Why do you want to be President and he couldn't answer.

And not one to leave an opportunity to hit the Harper where it hurts, Martin did just that. "This morning, I'm told that Stephen Harper had a little difficulty saying this, so let me say it: I love Canada!" he said.

To which Jason Kenney, NOT the Harper,issued a press release saying that the Liberals are smearing the Harper as unpatriotic....Well can the Harper say the three little words or not? And Jason may have a hard time saying them too since he is a neo-con trained by the Reganite Republican right down south. Maybe they could hum a few bars of Go Bless America which is the same tune as God Save the Queen, but it ain't no Maple Leaf Forever.

The blogosphere has been full of it today, and this will continue. It was an extrodinary gaffe.

Blogger From A Different Viewpoint asks the important question:
I'd like to know why if Stephen Harper can say "God Bless Canada" pretty much at all rallies that were televised in the last election (i can't remember if he did it in all his official speeches or not) why can't he say "I love Canada".

A Little Bit Left says:
The false notion that Harper doesn’t love Canada will follow him for the campaign. It’s all about avoiding these little glitches and it seems that Harper has more trouble doing that than any other leader at this time.

His full quote to the original question is here, where I left the following comment;

As I said on my blog ; He can't say it, he Loves America more, it's his ultimate Republican Role model.

Come on Harper its three easy words, I Love Canada, and he chokes.

His afternoon rebutal about the Liberals loving Canada but loving power more...he still FAILED to say he Loved Canada.

Hey he's the leader of the CONSERVATIVE Party those three little word should leap off his tongue...but I guess the Liberals love Canada more...which is why Harper is going to lose....

To which I can only add he should fire his Media Director.

Tories Hidden Agenda

Some of the Blogging Tories have initiated an on site campaign with a button called Hidden Agenda with this cute graphic. You click on it and it leads you to the Harpers webstie. Clever eh. Well in the interests of Truth in Advertising I have created an alternative link.

.
Click on this to reveal their REAL agenda

Yes you are free to use this. Heh heh. In fact thats why I made it. I would hope we could get lots of the Progressive, Liberal and Dipper bloggers adding this to their pages.

Tuesday, November 29, 2005

Who Luvs Ya Baby

Well the first hard ball shot in the election has been made off a soft ball question. When asked if he loves Canada, the Harper side stepped the question. The answer was easy, just say Yes. Well he didn't. I know, I know with his Republican Lite politics its hard to say Amour Canada after saying Amour America for so long. He tried to make up for it in a later press conference where in his mock turtle neck he mocked the Liberals love for Canada, 'They love power more' he said. Well Paul Martin is on the hill speaking and he opened up with his off the cuff salvo; "Let me say this I love Canada, Je Amour Canada". Wow this is going to be a love fest election. Who luvs ya baby....

More Income Trust Fallout

Ok here is some more evidence of ponzi nature of the Income Trusts and why they are dangerous for Canadian business as well as Canadian workers and even investors, but good for owners and market managers.

While the Liberals talk about defending Canadian soveriegnty they did nothing to stop the sell off one of Canada's major Oil Field supply companies, Precision Drilling. Which in Alberta should have been as big a scandal as the Terasen sell off in B.C. which the NDP slammed the Feds for. But the silence has been deafing. When Alberta is dominated by Conservatives what did you expect. Whats good for America is good for Alberta......

When Precision Drilling converted to a trust, it spelled the demise of a great Canadian world player
Here's what Weatherford boss Bernard Duroc-Danner said about Precision when he bought it: "Frankly, we could not duplicate what they did, and we need it."
At that point, Goodale and his senior policy wonks cringed, though they made their concerns known only privately at the time. Here was one of Canada's few global champions, led by one of the industry's most respected entrepreneurs, shredding its growth playbook and unloading many in the team of senior executives who had helped build the company—for no other reason than to avoid paying tax. That much was known. Shortly after the Weatherford sale, Swartout said he had no choice but to convert "because the multiple of the trust is so overwhelming," even though he admitted the trust proliferation "is not the best thing for Canada."
The truth is that Canada's most successful companies, and the ones that attract the best and the brightest professionals—Manulife, Bombardier, Scotiabank, Magna and Alcan, among them—have one thing in common: They're players on the international stage. Canada needs more of them. When ambitious companies like Precision suddenly call it quits to exploit a tax loophole, you know you've got a problem.

Labour-sponsored love lost
With tax breaks disappearing, the cliff is fast approaching for labour-sponsored investment funds
And another victim of the Income Trust Tax Break that Goodale has introduced is the union based Labour Funds. Bad enough McGuinty in Ontario was reducing the tax credits avaiable for these funds, now with the tax credit from Goodale for corporate investment and no tax on the Income Trusts, that is the final nail in the coffin of these funds. While they gained little in investment dividends for their investors who are all average working stiffs they gave the average person a very real annual tax break with higher tax credits than a regular RRSP investment.
And they were as easy to buy as an RRSP for the average person, with a 25-50% tax break. And now they too will go the way of the dodo while the rich get tax breaks on thier high end RRSP investments and their coupon clipping corporate investments.

All that Jazz

Here is how Income Trusts work for big capital. Lets look at ACE the holding company for Air Canada. Not only did they manage to manuver out of bankruptcy into profitability by getting concessions from their workers they still maintain a virtual monopoly in the air transport field in Canada. Now thankss to the Liberals recent tax give away they are creating an Income Trust, which is a tax dodge, out of their regional carrier Jazz which competes with West Jet. The advantage, besides lots of new capital and no taxes? Well more concessions from workers.

New Jazz income fund to add planes, routes

The prospectus said Jazz has a pay scale in place that's competitive with U.S. regional carriers, noting that new Jazz employees "hired after May, 2004, excluding pilots, are being hired on this lower scale."

In the case of Jazz pilots, they have agreed to "significant productivity gains," including a system where there is "one pay scale based on seniority and status, regardless of the type of aircraft flown," the document added.

Jazz's work force on Oct. 31 was 3,732 employees, down from 4,086 in April, 2003, when Air Canada sought court protection from creditors. Air Canada emerged from bankruptcy protection in September, 2004.

Polls from Hel

The latest Strategic Counsel Poll for CTV/Globe and Mail cooresponds with the Ekos and Decima polls of last couple of weeks showing a majority in favour of the Liberals. Which is why the PM was all hyped at the defeat of his government yesterday. And it's all the more reason to vote NDP.

This is going to be a Hel of an election campaign ....Hel is the Goddess of the frozen wasteland of the dead in Norse mythology. Icy poll called as Libs licked

SC

35 per cent would support Paul Martin's Liberals (no change)
29 per cent would vote for Stephen Harper's Conservatives (-1)
17 per cent would vote for the NDP (-1)
14 per cent would vote for the Bloc Quebecois (+1)
5 per cent would vote for the Green Party (-3)

Ekos

38.7 Liberals
29.4 Conservatives
16.9 NDP
10.6 Bloc Quebecois
3.9 Green

Decima

33 Liberals
26 Conservatives
22 NDP
13 BQ

Conservative Adscam in Alberta

The web designers for the Federal Conservative Party Edmonton organizer Bill McBeath is Somina communications, who also provides web services for the Alberta Government and the governments communications pals at Calder Bateman Communications as well as InfoTech which has several former Alberta PC cabinet ministers on the board.

Somina is doing the election webpages for Federal Conservative Candidates Mike Lake, for Rahim Jaffer, and for McBeaths Edmonton Team.

Somina was begun three years ago as a project by three business students at the U of A. As an IT company with Tory connections they apparently have benefited from the machinations and political intriques, that have gone on in the Conservative nominations for local Edmonton candidates organized by Edmonton area Tory organizer; Bill McBeath.and PC National Council member Vitor Marciano.

The Blog; What Have I Gotten Myself Into says that a deal was made with Ryan Hastman of Somina over who would provide the web page for Edmononton Beaumont Candidate Mike Lake's web page;

The present webmaster was fired by the board and has now been told to take down the entire present site as we speak. .and who replaced him … guess who? …our old friend Ryan Hastman! Watch for it kiddies … it will be days if not hours from going out of existence. See if I’m not correct.

However seems also that Hastman cut a deal with McBeath and company to take over the EDA site through Mike Lake and his control of the EDA board. The deal includes Hastman will get “future consideration” for creating web sites for other Conservative EDAs, all at “top dollar”.

The cost to Edmonton Mill Woods Beaumont is apparently a “cut rate” over what he usually charges with the understanding and promise that he will go to full price when Mike gets to be MP and there is much more money in the EDA purse.

The “cut rate” cost is incidentally far over the price they have been paying up to now.

The cozy relationship these guys have with the Provincial Conservatives and their Feral err Federal counterparts is an example of another adscam in the making.
Its business as usual for political parties to give contracts to their pals, Mulroney did it, so did the Liberals. The difference was that the Liberals under Chretien created a slush fund for Quebec communications companies and got kickbacks to the Quebec Liberal organization.

Now Somina's cozy Tory relationship may appear to some as a tempest in a teapot however it still smacks of being ethically challenged. But hey n Alberta thats just business as usual.

Thursday, December 01, 2005

This was published in 2004 and a year later Lord Black is on his way to the big house. What's interesting is that Richard Perle was not just dipping into the Hollinger funds but profiting as well from his advice to the White House and his role in the War in Iraq.

Wednesday, November 30, 2005

Tuesday, November 29, 2005