To all those who enjoy this day, & especially to those of you with young children, have a fun time!
Friday, October 31, 2008
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Vultures
Immediately after the election the vultures came out. And I don't just mean the media & all their pundits. I'm talking about Liberals. Many, many of them swooped down & began attacking Dion, blaming him for the losses the Party engendered in this election.
Have they all forgotten about the Con attack ads that began immediately after Dion was chosen as leader? Two years of them. Non-stop! Do they think this did not have an effect on the public? It was hammered at us so thoroughly that it stuck like crazy glue.
And where was the response to these ads in all that time? There was none. Not by the Party. No responsive ads which did not need to attack Harper but which were needed to re-frame Dion away from how he was being framed by the bullies. These ads have been so effective that not only did the public buy them but so did all you Liberals who profess to "understand" & know better. How do I know that? Look at what you're writing.
Yes, yes I know - no money, no money, no money. The mantra we've heard continually, even through the election. Not enough money for anyone in the Party to present our candidates properly. I worked for my local candidate & it's true - there was a financial deficit in a lot of ridings for the Liberal candidates. Except the really high-profiled ones.
There are other reasons as well & I'm not going into the list right now - but the Liberal party did not do things in a proper, cohesive manner. And one man does not an entire Party make. It takes everyone - working together.
And now the vultures are picking at Dion's supposed carcass in a highly undignified & crass way. Which means we are taking our eye off the ball - Stephen Harper. Which is EXACTLY what he wants. He wants us divided, inward focussed so that we are not watching what he is doing.
Yesterday this is what he stated:
"The Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, hinted Wednesday his re-elected government may look at cutting program spending as a way to avoid the risk of running a deficit."- National Post
So it's begun. Harper implementing, quickly, what he's always wanted to do - destroy Govt. & destroy Canada as we know it. He is also planning on stacking the Senate with appointed Tories if he can't get Senate reform implemented so that he can do it from within the Senate itself. He's made no appointments in his 1st term, other than Fortier who is now history - we hope, unless he's re-appointed by our megalomanic leader & then put in cabinet again (I wouildn't put it past him to do that, would you?), & from what I undertand there are a LOT of seats to be filled.
This article reflects my sentiments exactly. I suggest you all read it if you have time.
Wake up people & do not let Harper frame everything for you. Your smart - use your heads!
Have they all forgotten about the Con attack ads that began immediately after Dion was chosen as leader? Two years of them. Non-stop! Do they think this did not have an effect on the public? It was hammered at us so thoroughly that it stuck like crazy glue.
And where was the response to these ads in all that time? There was none. Not by the Party. No responsive ads which did not need to attack Harper but which were needed to re-frame Dion away from how he was being framed by the bullies. These ads have been so effective that not only did the public buy them but so did all you Liberals who profess to "understand" & know better. How do I know that? Look at what you're writing.
Yes, yes I know - no money, no money, no money. The mantra we've heard continually, even through the election. Not enough money for anyone in the Party to present our candidates properly. I worked for my local candidate & it's true - there was a financial deficit in a lot of ridings for the Liberal candidates. Except the really high-profiled ones.
There are other reasons as well & I'm not going into the list right now - but the Liberal party did not do things in a proper, cohesive manner. And one man does not an entire Party make. It takes everyone - working together.
And now the vultures are picking at Dion's supposed carcass in a highly undignified & crass way. Which means we are taking our eye off the ball - Stephen Harper. Which is EXACTLY what he wants. He wants us divided, inward focussed so that we are not watching what he is doing.
Yesterday this is what he stated:
"The Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, hinted Wednesday his re-elected government may look at cutting program spending as a way to avoid the risk of running a deficit."- National Post
So it's begun. Harper implementing, quickly, what he's always wanted to do - destroy Govt. & destroy Canada as we know it. He is also planning on stacking the Senate with appointed Tories if he can't get Senate reform implemented so that he can do it from within the Senate itself. He's made no appointments in his 1st term, other than Fortier who is now history - we hope, unless he's re-appointed by our megalomanic leader & then put in cabinet again (I wouildn't put it past him to do that, would you?), & from what I undertand there are a LOT of seats to be filled.
This article reflects my sentiments exactly. I suggest you all read it if you have time.
Wake up people & do not let Harper frame everything for you. Your smart - use your heads!
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Saturday Morning News Bites
Here are a few bits & pieces in the news this morning.
From James Travers in The Star:
"Political purpose is admirable when it's transparent. What's worrying in this election is that the extreme effort to hide that chaos beyond the campaign bubble radically changes how those purposes can be pursued. Deficit is such a dirty word that party platforms are built on the now ludicrous growth, revenue and surplus projections of the February federal budget. Chances are between slim and none that even Conservative promises, the most modest of the bunch, can be kept without raising taxes or slashing programs."
More vandalism done to Liberals in Toronto ridings:
"Senator Jerry Grafstein woke up yesterday morning to discover he had become the latest victim of election vandalism in the St. Paul's riding.
The Liberal senator and his wife, who live on a highly visible property on Spadina Rd., had their Cadillac's dashboard pried open, wires pulled apart and the remaining interior vandalized."
And more on the illegality of Harper calling this election:
"The unfairness of allowing Prime Ministers unfettered discretion to call an election seems to be universally accepted; it provides another ground for finding this election to be illegal. In several recent cases (e.g., Figueroa, Harper), the Supreme Court of Canada has held that section 3 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees Canadian citizens the right to vote in "fair" elections. The unfair advantage that the Prime Minister has obtained for his party by choosing the election date might well be found to contravene section 3 of the Charter."
Finally, Ex-NHL' er, Mike Danton, who's in prison in the U.S., wants to come home to serve out the rest of his time here. The Cons Stockwell Day won't let him.
"The Ottawa Citizen has learned that Anne McLellan, the former public safety minister under the Liberal government, approved Danton's transfer in June, 2005, on the condition that U. S. authorities agreed.
The U. S. Department of Justice approved the Danton transfer in May, 2008, but Stockwell Day -- the Tory minister who assumed the public safetyportfolio-- has not, according to the jailed hockey player, Canadian prison officials and U.S. authorities."
From James Travers in The Star:
"Political purpose is admirable when it's transparent. What's worrying in this election is that the extreme effort to hide that chaos beyond the campaign bubble radically changes how those purposes can be pursued. Deficit is such a dirty word that party platforms are built on the now ludicrous growth, revenue and surplus projections of the February federal budget. Chances are between slim and none that even Conservative promises, the most modest of the bunch, can be kept without raising taxes or slashing programs."
More vandalism done to Liberals in Toronto ridings:
"Senator Jerry Grafstein woke up yesterday morning to discover he had become the latest victim of election vandalism in the St. Paul's riding.
The Liberal senator and his wife, who live on a highly visible property on Spadina Rd., had their Cadillac's dashboard pried open, wires pulled apart and the remaining interior vandalized."
And more on the illegality of Harper calling this election:
"The unfairness of allowing Prime Ministers unfettered discretion to call an election seems to be universally accepted; it provides another ground for finding this election to be illegal. In several recent cases (e.g., Figueroa, Harper), the Supreme Court of Canada has held that section 3 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees Canadian citizens the right to vote in "fair" elections. The unfair advantage that the Prime Minister has obtained for his party by choosing the election date might well be found to contravene section 3 of the Charter."
Finally, Ex-NHL' er, Mike Danton, who's in prison in the U.S., wants to come home to serve out the rest of his time here. The Cons Stockwell Day won't let him.
"The Ottawa Citizen has learned that Anne McLellan, the former public safety minister under the Liberal government, approved Danton's transfer in June, 2005, on the condition that U. S. authorities agreed.
The U. S. Department of Justice approved the Danton transfer in May, 2008, but Stockwell Day -- the Tory minister who assumed the public safetyportfolio-- has not, according to the jailed hockey player, Canadian prison officials and U.S. authorities."
Friday, October 10, 2008
"Nato to attack Afghan opium labs"
From the BBC comes this: "Nato has agreed its troops will be allowed to attack opium factories for the first time in Afghanistan."
Which means things are about to get a WHOLE lot worse there. Kandahar is a high poppy cultivation area. There's a map in the article that shows the density of production.
This just adds more to the spiralling downwards conditions in Afghanistan. And we will most likely lose more troops than ever when retaliation begins.
Which means things are about to get a WHOLE lot worse there. Kandahar is a high poppy cultivation area. There's a map in the article that shows the density of production.
This just adds more to the spiralling downwards conditions in Afghanistan. And we will most likely lose more troops than ever when retaliation begins.
Harper Side-Steps a Question
At Harper's photo-op at a Con rally this morning, after his speech, he was asked, by 2 different reporters, if he was re-elected would he be "appointing" anyone to his Cabinet or the Senate. This was in reference to him having appointed someone to the Senate after the last election who was an unelected person. In both instances he answered: I will not answer who I would name to my Cabinet during an election. If I'm re-elected then I will answer.
In other words, by side-stepping, he has basically said, to my view, yes I will appoint anyone I want to. Which means that if he wins this election we can be sure to see Michael Fortier back in the Senate & back in a Cabinet post.
Some things never change.
UPDATE: This brief article from the Canadian Press, in The Star, shows exactly what I'm talking about.
"Stephen Harper has refused to rule out appointing another Quebec senator to his cabinet if Conservative election results in the province are as dismal as indicated by recent polls.
Campaigning yesterday in Brantford, Ont., the Prime Minister would not exclude a replay of his decision after the last election to name the unelected Michael Fortier to the Senate, and into his cabinet. That move gave Harper his only cabinet minister from the Montreal area, and added to his relatively tiny roster of caucus members from the province.
Harper was asked twice at a news conference if he would rule out installing another senator in his cabinet. He twice declined to do so."
In other words, by side-stepping, he has basically said, to my view, yes I will appoint anyone I want to. Which means that if he wins this election we can be sure to see Michael Fortier back in the Senate & back in a Cabinet post.
Some things never change.
UPDATE: This brief article from the Canadian Press, in The Star, shows exactly what I'm talking about.
"Stephen Harper has refused to rule out appointing another Quebec senator to his cabinet if Conservative election results in the province are as dismal as indicated by recent polls.
Campaigning yesterday in Brantford, Ont., the Prime Minister would not exclude a replay of his decision after the last election to name the unelected Michael Fortier to the Senate, and into his cabinet. That move gave Harper his only cabinet minister from the Montreal area, and added to his relatively tiny roster of caucus members from the province.
Harper was asked twice at a news conference if he would rule out installing another senator in his cabinet. He twice declined to do so."
Prejudice, hate, & rascism - alive & thriving in Canada
This morning I got up to the whole Dion, CTV video debacle. I do not watch Duffy, can't stand him, or CTV newsnet, & shamelessly admit I mostly watch MSNBC in the evenings. Or a movie.
Being an immigrant myself, from England as a young child, with a British father & a Polish mother, my parents decided to come here to have "a better life". And that they had - their dream come true for themselves & their 4, then 5, children.
My mother has a strong Polish accent, speaks fluent english but on occasion has difficulty, still, understanding some things, as do many other Canadians to whom english is a 2nd language. Mostly because of the way that they are phrased.
We kids grew up in La Belle Province on the outskirts of Montreal. Then after leaving home I moved into the city itself. I love Quebec & all Quebecoise even though I no longer live there. It's the most multi-cultural province in all of Canada - Montreal especially, & has been for a very, very long time. Now Toronto has about a 50% multi-cultural population. And is continuing to grow in that vein, as are many other areas of Ontario. And B.C. has an extremely large Chinese & East Indian immigrant population.
Since Stephen Harper came to power I seem to see divisiveness, hatred, & rascism growing & getting stronger by the day. His comments in the past on the Asian & East Indian immigrants here, that they should be separated from the rest of the country, "the Northern welfare state" & so many other nasties, to this day, are appalling.
He, along with many others of his party, seeks to divide this nation on many different fronts. Not just different ethnicities but also poor vs rich, corporations vs social programs, "straight" vs "gay", & on it goes.
Even his so-called First Nations policies have not been put into action. Yes, an apology but that's all. He's all talk. And talk he does. Now he has the audacity to criticize M. Dion for not understanding a question due to the confusing tenses used within this question. And Harper uses it to state that M. Dion cannot possibly lead this country as he isn't quick enough on his feet, so to speak. Ridiculous!
We are a 2 language country. English is not everyone's 1st language. This continues to show how prejudiced this man really is. He doesn't care about anyone who is not of his own "race", of his own financial income, or an Albertan. And no, I am not prejudiced against Alberta or Albertans. They, too, are "us".
We have witnessed, during this election, vandalism to people's cars, spray painting of hate graffiti on people's houses, destruction of election signs, threatening phone calls - all to supporters of the Liberal party. I'm not saying this is a concerted "Con" effort but it's the Con, & Harper, message of hatred that has instilled this in certain people so that they act out their thoughts & feelings. And those are some VERY strong feelings. Dangerous to life & limb. And Harper still has not spoken out against these actions. Not a single, solitary word. By not condemning these practices his silence gives tacit approval to them. In my riding, Perth-Wellington in Ontario, signs haven't just been bent, toppled over, or removed, they have literally been BURNT - over & over. The hatred is astounding.
Is this what we want to have continue in this beautiful country of ours? Prejudice, rascism, & hatred? If so then vote Harper & his Cons. If not then vote, strategically, to defeat these goons. M. Dion is a deep, caring man who loves this country - as a whole. Not as some divided up oil patch, tar sands horror. Let's give him a mandate to put this country back together for us - the people!
Being an immigrant myself, from England as a young child, with a British father & a Polish mother, my parents decided to come here to have "a better life". And that they had - their dream come true for themselves & their 4, then 5, children.
My mother has a strong Polish accent, speaks fluent english but on occasion has difficulty, still, understanding some things, as do many other Canadians to whom english is a 2nd language. Mostly because of the way that they are phrased.
We kids grew up in La Belle Province on the outskirts of Montreal. Then after leaving home I moved into the city itself. I love Quebec & all Quebecoise even though I no longer live there. It's the most multi-cultural province in all of Canada - Montreal especially, & has been for a very, very long time. Now Toronto has about a 50% multi-cultural population. And is continuing to grow in that vein, as are many other areas of Ontario. And B.C. has an extremely large Chinese & East Indian immigrant population.
Since Stephen Harper came to power I seem to see divisiveness, hatred, & rascism growing & getting stronger by the day. His comments in the past on the Asian & East Indian immigrants here, that they should be separated from the rest of the country, "the Northern welfare state" & so many other nasties, to this day, are appalling.
He, along with many others of his party, seeks to divide this nation on many different fronts. Not just different ethnicities but also poor vs rich, corporations vs social programs, "straight" vs "gay", & on it goes.
Even his so-called First Nations policies have not been put into action. Yes, an apology but that's all. He's all talk. And talk he does. Now he has the audacity to criticize M. Dion for not understanding a question due to the confusing tenses used within this question. And Harper uses it to state that M. Dion cannot possibly lead this country as he isn't quick enough on his feet, so to speak. Ridiculous!
We are a 2 language country. English is not everyone's 1st language. This continues to show how prejudiced this man really is. He doesn't care about anyone who is not of his own "race", of his own financial income, or an Albertan. And no, I am not prejudiced against Alberta or Albertans. They, too, are "us".
We have witnessed, during this election, vandalism to people's cars, spray painting of hate graffiti on people's houses, destruction of election signs, threatening phone calls - all to supporters of the Liberal party. I'm not saying this is a concerted "Con" effort but it's the Con, & Harper, message of hatred that has instilled this in certain people so that they act out their thoughts & feelings. And those are some VERY strong feelings. Dangerous to life & limb. And Harper still has not spoken out against these actions. Not a single, solitary word. By not condemning these practices his silence gives tacit approval to them. In my riding, Perth-Wellington in Ontario, signs haven't just been bent, toppled over, or removed, they have literally been BURNT - over & over. The hatred is astounding.
Is this what we want to have continue in this beautiful country of ours? Prejudice, rascism, & hatred? If so then vote Harper & his Cons. If not then vote, strategically, to defeat these goons. M. Dion is a deep, caring man who loves this country - as a whole. Not as some divided up oil patch, tar sands horror. Let's give him a mandate to put this country back together for us - the people!
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Tar Sands & the Great Lakes
The Great Lakes will be adversely affected, on a grand scale, by the Tar Sands projects. Water needed for the process will be coming from the Great Lakes with all but one (in Sarnia, On.) processing plant built in the bordering States.
From the Globe & Mail:
"Proposed pipeline and refinery projects around the lakes are expected to lead to total investments of more than $31-billion (U.S.) by 2015, spending similar in scale to expenditures at many oil sands projects. For this reason, the report says the various projects, when taken together, threaten to “wipe out many of the pollution control gains” achieved around the lakes since the 1970s."
"This expansion promises to bring with it an exponential increase in pollution, discharges into waterways including the Great Lakes, destruction of wetlands, toxic air emissions, acid rain, and huge increases in greenhouse gas emissions,” it says."
This is very bad news & one more big oil project approved by Steve Harper, naturally. No blood in his veins, he runs on oil.
From the Globe & Mail:
"Proposed pipeline and refinery projects around the lakes are expected to lead to total investments of more than $31-billion (U.S.) by 2015, spending similar in scale to expenditures at many oil sands projects. For this reason, the report says the various projects, when taken together, threaten to “wipe out many of the pollution control gains” achieved around the lakes since the 1970s."
"This expansion promises to bring with it an exponential increase in pollution, discharges into waterways including the Great Lakes, destruction of wetlands, toxic air emissions, acid rain, and huge increases in greenhouse gas emissions,” it says."
This is very bad news & one more big oil project approved by Steve Harper, naturally. No blood in his veins, he runs on oil.
MIA
As most of us know a lot, & I do mean a lot, of Conservative candidates have been missing in action. Not attending all candidate debates, hiding from the press - Gerry Ritz, Rob Anders come to mind - & many others right across the country. And some of those who do attend the debates are not well-recieved & many make gaffes or are combatant (h/t to Kady O'Malley).
There is now a list of MIA Con's with more being added daily. It started with the BC Lib team only listing those in BC but has now incorporated all the Provinces. Go see if there's any Con in your riding who seems to have disappeared off the face of the earth.
More CFIA News
It seems that in May of this year the Harper govt. wanted the CFIA to change the the phrase in any correspondence from "Government of Canada" to "Conservative Government". That looks like Steve wanted to eliminate every other party in Canada & make us "a country under him". What a sick bobblehead he appears to have become.
Read about it here.
Read about it here.
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Bobblehead Steve
This is too funny!
Courtesy of the latest marketing tool by the Canadian Tourism Commission.
It seems that our boy Harper really has adopted "Steve" as his moniker. He must REALLY like his buddy Bush because Steve's mom was offended by GW calling her boy Steve, way back when.
And here's an article by Greg Weston on Bobblehead. Yes, in these dire financial times this is what Steve is spending our taxpayer monies on. What a narcissistic fool he continues to be!
Courtesy of the latest marketing tool by the Canadian Tourism Commission.
It seems that our boy Harper really has adopted "Steve" as his moniker. He must REALLY like his buddy Bush because Steve's mom was offended by GW calling her boy Steve, way back when.
And here's an article by Greg Weston on Bobblehead. Yes, in these dire financial times this is what Steve is spending our taxpayer monies on. What a narcissistic fool he continues to be!
Monday, October 6, 2008
Listeria "reporting rule" dropped
"Four months before the Maple Leaf outbreak started claiming lives, Canada's food safety agency quietly dropped its rule requiring meat-processing companies to alert the agency about listeria-tainted meat, a Toronto Star/CBC investigation has found."
"One Toronto inspector said there had been a "trend" in positive listeria tests leading up to the outbreak that was never reported by the plant to federal inspectors. The inspector, and three others across the country, spoke on condition of anonymity because they fear disciplinary action if they spoke publicly. "There's something wrong, that an inspector isn't aware of a trend in their own plant," the inspector said.
So the Listeria problem was well known before the outbreak occured. Self-regulation by industry does NOT work & Harper has plans to continue deregulation of the food industry & who knows what else.
Electing Harper & his Cons is a recipe for death - no doubt of that in my mind.
You can read the entire article here.
"One Toronto inspector said there had been a "trend" in positive listeria tests leading up to the outbreak that was never reported by the plant to federal inspectors. The inspector, and three others across the country, spoke on condition of anonymity because they fear disciplinary action if they spoke publicly. "There's something wrong, that an inspector isn't aware of a trend in their own plant," the inspector said.
So the Listeria problem was well known before the outbreak occured. Self-regulation by industry does NOT work & Harper has plans to continue deregulation of the food industry & who knows what else.
Electing Harper & his Cons is a recipe for death - no doubt of that in my mind.
You can read the entire article here.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Couillard Yummies
Julie Couillard's book has been pre-released to certain reporters & has some interesting info in it. Here's an excerpt from the Globe & Mail:
"Could you put all this in the garbage for me," he asked, before asking her to wait for the actual day of the pickup. "After all, they are confidential documents," Mr. Bernier said.
Enjoy the read.
Also, I've had no time for blogging lately as all my time is taken up with volunteering for my local Lib candidate, Sandra Gardiner.
"Could you put all this in the garbage for me," he asked, before asking her to wait for the actual day of the pickup. "After all, they are confidential documents," Mr. Bernier said.
Enjoy the read.
Also, I've had no time for blogging lately as all my time is taken up with volunteering for my local Lib candidate, Sandra Gardiner.
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