I will give away cash, Lisa Laflamme, and some other very strange G20 goings on.

Yes you read that correctly. I will give away cash so please read on for the details.


CTV's Lisa Laflamme lets us, you know the Canadians, know the image that we will always remember about the G20. How nice of her; too bad that the image she wants us to remember doesn't exist.

"the overriding images that this summit will always be remembered for will probably be, you know, turned over police cruisers on fire and smashed windows..."

Turned over police cruisers on fire? Really? I have seen several hundreds of pictures from the G20 trouble spots, including hundreds of the police cars that were burned, but none at all of any turned over cruisers, on fire or not.

( My Andrew Brietbart moment) I am sure Lisa, "CTV's national affairs correspondent", had her facts straight before speaking on national television, so to help her out I will pay cash to the first person who can provide me with a legit picture taken on June 26, 2010 of an overturned, burning Toronto Police cruiser, in downtown Toronto.

UPDATE: Lisa get rewarded for her hard work by getting the anchor job at CTV as Lloyd Robertson announces his retirement after 34 years. 34 years is a long time, in fact it is as long as Ignatieff was out of the country.

--------

More weirdness:The secret (fake or not) 5 meter law, a video of a guy it was enforced against, and a guy arrested for impersonating a police officer; which coincidentally is the same guy from the 5 meter video above.

This story is just too weird and it would take way to long to do it all justice, so here are the necessary links with some commentary to put it together.

The so called secret 5 meter law becomes "public" on Friday.

It was not such a secret as it was online on June 16th, but few knew about it and McGuinty's pathetic after spin that this newspaper ad should have lead people find that webpage is a joke. (where in the ad does it tell you where to find the law changes?)

Police Chief Bill Blair now says that there was no 5 meter law.

But it was just days ago that Blair talked with the media about the law and as did Sgt. Tim Burrows of the G8/G20 Integrated Security Unit who said the new regulations are needed to ensure security and strangely enough also said that police have already made "two or three" arrests under the new rules as of Friday morning. ( How do you make arrests under a law that is not really exist?)

Here is the non law actually being used and cited: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=stzTeJuBI7M&feature=related (video to youtube posted June 25th)




The fellow in the video is one Charlie Veitch.

The same Charlie Veitch who was arrested Tuesday the 29th at Pearson Airport for impersonating a peace officer, possibly in relation to the events in the above video. (update: I believe this may be video that brought about the charges. FF to the 6:20 mark)

If the 5 meter law was not real, what business did the police have asking him to identify himself in the first place?

Madness; all of it.


Well all of it but my offer of cash; that is the real deal.

Liberals use copyright photo to raise money.

The Liberals are at it again. Using other peoples work for their own gain.


Today a fundraising email went out from the LPC to help raise money for Ignatieff's Do-over Tour 2010. In the email they make note of and publish the famous copyrighted picture of Stephen Harper at the Calgary Stampede dressed as a cowboy.

(photo as it originally appeared in the Calgary Herald)


Small problem. The picture that the Liberals are using overtly for financial gain is a copyrighted photo taken by Mikael Kjellstrom and originally published in The Calgary Herald July 9, 2005.


Did they seek permission and pay for the rights to this picture? I don't have the answer, although I will try to find out later today, but if the Liberals record on using other peoples copyrights is anything to go on, I doubt they did.


I should note that the photo in the LPC email is not attributed or identified as being from the Herald, Canwest, or taken by Mikael Kjellstrom.

Ignatieff's leadership skills: Loyalty.

Is it any wonder why Liberal candidates seem to be running away from the LPC lately?

Take a look at what Ignatieff said to former Liberal MP Hec Clouthier:

“I met Mr. Ignatieff and he said to me: ‘Hector, I would like you to consider running for me because you’re the only one who can win the seat back for us.’ ...

This all sounds nice but there is one small problem: current Liberal candidate Christine Tabbert.

I may be wrong but is asking Clouthier if he wants to run in for the Liberals in Renfrew-Nipissing-Pembroke and telling him that he is the "only one who can win the seat back" for the Liberals really the best way to show loyalty for Christine Tabbert or respect to the people of the EDA that nominated her? If Michael Ignatieff is the straight shooter who calls him as he sees them, as the Liberal spin machine would have us believe, does he really believe that Tabbert does not have a chance against current MP Cheryl Gallant, and more importantly has he told Tabbert his thoughts? Way to show your support there Michael!


Clouthier to his credit did not accept the offer, not because there was already a nominated candidate, but rather because Ignatieff would not allow him to properly represent the views of his constituents.

I said I will consider running, but ‘I am going to vote the wishes of my constituents’,” Clouthier recalled.

“He said: ‘I am the leader. If I whip the caucus you have to follow in line.’ I said: ‘No, I’ve been there, done that.’ I toed the party line and lost in 2000. I refuse to do that again.”

Listening to constituents is something Clouthier knows only too well due to his election loss 10 years ago when he toed the party line on the gun registry against the wishes of his constituents and lost to Conservative MP Cheryl Gallant. Something that 8 other Liberal MP's should seriously think about before they vote on the gun registry in September.

Guy Boutilier joins the Wildrose Alliance.

Just in:

WRA leader Danielle Smith announced that Fort McMurray-Wood Buffalo MLA Guy Boutilier has joined the Wildrose Alliance.

Boutilier has been sitting as an independent after Premier Ed Stelmach kicked him out of caucus for standing up for his constituency back in July 2009. Boutilier joins Heather Forsyth and Rob Anderson,who both crossed the floor from the PC party January, along with Paul Hinman in the WRA caucus.

This announcement coming one day before the Wildrose Alliance Party AGM which is being held in Red Deer this weekend.

I wonder if we are going to have some more surprises before this weekend is out?

Shut up and sing.

Paul McCartney should take some advice from the Dixie Chicks; shut up and sing.

Paul McCartney compares global warming skeptics to Holocaust deniers.

I am a huge fan, but seriously shut the hell up Paul.



Related: Another Paul who could benefit from the same advice.

Mr. Iffy goes to China.

Mr. Iffy has decided to go to China; again.

A feeling of deja vu overcomes me.

June 22, 2010 : "During a waterfront news conference, Mr. Ignatieff chided the federal government for inaction on its relationship with China, suggesting Prime Minister Stephen Harper neglected China by waiting too long to travel there."

Just a little reminder from Sept 1, 2009: Michael Ignatieff "Stephen Harper has been prime minister for four years, and he’s never visited China. We’ll be there next week. After that, we’ll plan a trip to India."

But on Sept 2, 2009, yes 1 day later: Ignatieff flip flops and cancels his trip to China that he described as being "imperative".

Now 10 month later, 7 months after PM Harper visited China, Ignatieff decides that he will make that "imperative" trip in a desperate attempt to appear relevant on the world stage. Maybe he can discuss his plans to stop a new terminal being built in BC whose main purpose is selling oil to China and getting it there.

BC Blue has some similar thoughts.

Why did Ignatieff miss so many votes?

Since Ignatieff is going to be running from camera to camera this summer trying once again to revive his dismal political hopes, (how many do-overs can 1 man get?) it would be nice if some enterprising reporter asks him why he has the second worst voting record among our 308 MP's.


Considering all of Iffy's, and the Liberal Party's, bluster over getting parliament to work for the Canadian people during prorogation, I would love to hear his answer.


BTW my MP Mike Lake had a perfect record when it came to votes this session and if you look at the list please note the number of Conservative MP's who totally dominate the bottom ( the best voting record) of that list.

In fact out of the best 100 voting records, 88 of them are from the CPC! On the other end, 60 out the worst 100 offenders are Liberals! So who are the ones that are working hard for Canadians again?


How did your MP do?



H/T The Iceman.

Globe and Mail Televison reporter angling for a different assignment?

Be afraid, be very afraid; because John Doyle, the Globe and Mail TV reporter (yes that really is a paying job) is on to us and our evil right wing ways. In his latest he goes on the attack of the proposed SunTV and happily smears a good percentage of the population in the process, and in typical lefty fashion does the same thing that he accuses others of doing, missing the irony of it all.

Some excerpts: (my comments in parenthesis)

..if it’s anything like the Fox News channel in the United States, it certainly won’t be a news outlet. It will be entertainment. Fluff. Frivolous opinion delivered as fact. That is, showbiz. (What was that you wrote about opinion delivered as fact again? To save me typing, feel free to apply this comment to the rest of Doyle's 'facts')

Right-wingers are as predictable in their news-babe preferences as they are in their conspiracy theories about the CBC. ( That is a mighty wide brush you are painting with there John)

The barking-mad Fox News Channel is something that most Canadians have only heard about. They could watch it, because it is widely available here, but hardly anybody can be bothered. Except, obviously, for those behind this new outfit – Quebecor Media President Pierre Karl Péladeau and its VP of development Kory Teneycke. (Seriously, Barking mad? And yes, only 2 people in Canada have watched Fox News)

Teneycke used to be “Our Glorious Leader” Harper’s snippity spokesthingamajig. Recently, he’s been a pundit on CBC News Network, doing his best to imitate a Fox News pundit, all drive-by sneer and shaky foundation. ( Doyle, all fact all the time. No time for hyperbole with him.)

Instead, I suspect, it will be Erickson swapping bons mots with a giggly Levant, while Rex Murphy, the Red Green of political pundits, waits off-screen to deliver a thundering denunciation of people who oppose catastrophic oil spills. ( Attacking Rex Murphy is never a bright move John. Rex shows more writing skill when addressing a letter than you have with this entire article.)


And my favorite:

An entire channel run by, and aimed at, people who believe that political or social dialogue is advanced by name-calling. The people who support Fox News – here and in the U.S. – must be the most uncivil and foul-mouthed creatures on the planet. They'd give soccer hooligans a run for their money. This is an informed opinion. (Again that rather large brush of smear comes out but this time it is more than just baseless slander, it is an "informed opinion". What is this informed opinion on supporters of Fox News "here and in the U.S" based on you ask? "E-mails from Fox News devotees in the U.S.", and none from Canada.)


And he wrote it all without ever watching a single second of SUN TV!


I look forward to Doyle's next column on the make up and thoughts of the people of New Jersey based entirely on his opinion and the Jersey Shore.

Jack Layton: whining because his party is irrelevant

Prime Minister Stephen Harper is snubbing opposition parties by ending a long establish practiced of inviting foreign heads of state to meet with them, NDP Leader Jack Layton told QMI Agency Sunday.

Poor Jack. He is in a snit because he and his party are irrelevant and PM Harper doesn't want to bore the other world leaders by forcing scheduling time for them to talk to people that they could care less about. Seriously, does anyone think that the PM of Japan or Italy want to waste their valuable time chatting to the leader of the 4th largest party in Parliament? PM Harper might just as well show them his 2004 vacation pictures if his goal is to waste their time and bore them.

Sorry Jack but you just don't make the cut it and even the Liberals agree:“It seems totally normal to me that the leader of the official opposition would have meetings, and the leaders of the third and fourth parties would not,” Ignatieff spokesman Michel Liboiron said.

While I am sure that Jack Layton and the NDP spin crew can verbalize all sorts of reasons why he should be entitled to meet the foreign leaders, but this begs the question, where do we draw the line?

The BQ's Gilles Duceppe has more seats so he has to be included, but what about the leaders of all the other registered parties in this country, and in particular, what about Elizabeth May? If Lizzy was good enough to be in the debates, as argued by Layton and the NDP previously, she has to be good enough to meet and speak with the many foreign leaders who visit Canada. Doesn't she and the rest of the party leaders deserve the same opportunity as Layton believes that he deserves?

Come on MSM, make the most of this slow news period and ask Jack where that line should be drawn and why. I know that I would be very interested in watching Jack Layton try to answer that question, and I bet your customers would as well.

Jim Hillyer wins in Lethbridge.

Jim Hillyer wins the Conservative nomination in the federal riding of Lethbridge.


There were 2,098 ballots cast. Eight were spoiled.
In the preferential ballot, it took all five possible ballot counts as each low vote counter was eliminated to nominate Hillyer.
An insider said the final ballot count was 911 for Hillyer and 816 for Henry Doeve, a Coaldale dairy farmer and deputy reeve of the County of Lethbridge.

Hillyer is running to replace current MP Rick Casson who announced on January 7, 2010 that he would not be running in the next election.


H/T



Too good to be missed = The Iceman has a post up on Ignatieff's chronic absentee problem. Who would have thunk it after all Iffy's whining about prorogation. He couldn't give a rats ass about prorogation but it trended in the polls and so the great pretender pretended to have emotions that he did not really have just for appearance.

With Ignatieff and the Liberals it is all just for show.

The PM's secret weapon.....

An excellent Saturday read from Linda Diebel on the PM's secret weapon; Laureen Harper.

A couple of tidbits:

"Friends and observers describe a shrewd woman who appears to have had more influence in shaping her husband’s career and image than a multitude of professional spin doctors."

“They make one hell of a political team,” says Kinsella.

"She climbs ladders in old clothes to decorate rooms for charity events and endlessly publicizes the Ottawa Humane Society and other rescue organizations. She takes in foster cats that sometimes don’t make it, breaking hearts."



Do yourself a favour and read it all.

Something for Kory Teneycke to consider the next time he is interviewed.

Here is something that Kory Teneycke could consider doing the next time that the media attacks interviews him on the proposed Sun TV where predictably he will be called out for being an conservative and asked if that will influence the new networks balance.

When asked about his conservative stance, which to his credit he readily admits, Kory should again say that yes he is a conservative and that he has no problem admitting this; then he should turn to whomever asked him that question and ask them:

What about yourself? Who do you support and why don't you let your viewers know so they can filter your work and possible biases appropriately?


Watch this little exchange on CBC's Power and Politics with Don Newman for an example of what I am talking about. What would have Newman of Soloman said if he would have asked them to come clean and be honest with CBC viewers?

Want to make a bet that he would not get an honest answer if he did ask?

Sorry about that. We already know what would happen and I don't expect anyone to be dumb enough to actually make a wager on a question that is the definition of a sucker bet.


The only downside is that Kory wants to get media attention; not drive it away.


Related: Mark Steyn's thoughts on the hyperventilating media. (I hear he may be looking for a TV gig ;)

In the last year...

Tonight marks the 1 year anniversary of Ryan Hastman's nomination as the Conservative candidate for Edmonton Strathcona; the only riding in Alberta that is currently not held by the conservatives.

For those that may not be aware, Edmonton Strathcona is currently being held by the NDP and represented in Ottawa by Linda Duncan. Duncan won a squeaker in the 2008 election by less than 500 votes over the now infamous Rahim Jaffer. Edmonton Strathcona is the one yellow spot on a sea of blue that quite frankly needs to be taken back, and thankfully we have the candidate to do just that.

From June 17, 2009, when Ryan Hastman won the Conservative nomination in another incredibly close vote, Hastman has been working tirelessly towards winning back the seat for the conservatives. Ryan has been to countless events both inside and outside the riding, he and his team have been aggressively fund-raising to build up the much needed election war chest, and most importantly he has been extremely active within Edmonton Strathcona having already knocked on over 9000 doors meeting with and talking to the people of the riding. From what I have been told, and from personal experience, I can tell you that the response at the doors has been very encouraging; so much so that the NDP has taken notice at a national level and is targeting the riding to help out the worried Linda Duncan



and she has good reason to be worried, because if honest hard work has anything to do with the results of the next election, there will be a much different outcome for Duncan and the NDP in "Battleground Alberta".



If you are interested in helping Ryan and the conservatives take back Edmonton Strathcona please visit his website (http://www.ryanhastman.com/) or drop him and his team an email at: campaign@ryanhastman.com Lets help Linda go back to her first love of attacking the financial engine of Alberta, the oil industry, but this time she can do it on her own dime and not on an MP's salary.



Update: The past year as written Ryan Hastman. ( I note the door count has increased to 9,500! My numbers were a couple of weeks old)

A deal reached: Karla Homolka, and others will not get pardons

Safety Minister Vic Toews has just announced a deal was reached with the opposition on pardons. The government will still persue Bill C 23 in the fall/

More to come.

From CTV.

The Sun.

Maybe now the CBC will cover the Libby Davies story.

Bob Rae has put the CBC in a bad position with his press release today, calling for deputy NDP Libby Davies to step down, because now they will have to cover her disturbing comments which up until this point the CBC have totally ignored. (Note: The National Post appears to be the only MSM outlet to cover Libby's remarks.)





I guess when you have most of your reporters covering KoryVision and typos on web pages, little things like a deputy party leader saying that Israel is not a legitimate state get missed.


More from Libby: 911, Bush did it.





The PM has also called for Davies to be fired but I don't expect that to carry as much weight with the CBC as a Liberal Party press release, which seems to be where the CBC gets most of its stories from.



Related: BC Blue has a couple of interesting tidbits and related links.

Stephen Taylor on the tolerant NDP.


Update: Libby spoke the words in that first video June 5th and this has been covered on the blogs for days now. The CBC did not have any mention of this story up in any form until this afternoon after the PM made his comments in the House.

Nik Nanos thinks dissent will kill the Liberals election chances

Nik Nanos thinks dissent will kill the Liberals election chances.



Maybe they need to start a culture war to save the day. Oops, wrong pollster.


Related: I wonder if KoryVision is looking for an in house pollster?

BTW KoryVison looks to have hired Krista Erickson, Yes that Krista Erickson.

They have a handful of hires and they are already more balanced than the CBC!

By popular demand: Ethics Committee Kangaroo Court

From last Thursday's meeting of the Ethics Committee:

If Don Newman doesn't like Fox News, why did he steal Bill O'Reilly's slogan?

Most of you are already aware of the proposed "right leaning" news network that is being put together by Kory Teneycke for Sun Media and the recent bizarre article written by Don Newman against such a network.

I use the word bizarre for a couple of reasons. First because nobody who works at a government funded network that does not have to raise it's own money to operate has any business ever criticizing a privately funded network, which is forced to compete against it's own government (CBC), and second, because Newman spends more time writing about the merger of the Liberals and the NDP ( BTW Don believes this to be some kind of conservative plot which shows just how messed up his thinking really is) than he does about the proposed new network.

Don writes in his article that "Fox News has been hugely polarizing. It specializes in drive-by attacks and misrepresentations, and is positively Orwellian at times, claiming to be "fair and balanced" while implying that its competitors aren't. The reality is that it mainly spews out propaganda that is dangerously misleading and often factually wrong."

This is all kind of funny considering that Don Newman, while he was the host of "Politics" on the CBC, "borrowed" the well known tag line (The spin stops here) from the very popular Fox News show The O'Reilly Factor (the highest rated news program in the USA).

I guess when you use the "propaganda" for yourself Don that makes it all OK. Do yourself and the rest of us a favour and stay retired.




Bonus video courtesy of Proud to Be Canadian who has been on top of the shenanigans at the CBC for years.

Bill O'Reilly on Don Newman and the CBC: "The theft starts there."

More rental problems for the Liberals.

The Liberals seem to be having issues with rentals. We had the $1,500 Taj Mahal of toilets rented for a media event where the Liberals were trying to spin excessive spending by the conservatives, we had Judy Sgro who 'gave' her condo to her children and then proceeded to pay them $1,800 a month rent for that same condo for the past four years, and today comes the revelation that another Liberal MP might also be paying rent to a member of his family.

The Chronicle Herald ( alternate link) has been trying desperately to get in contact with Scarborough Centre Liberal MP John Cannis for information on his residence in Ottawa, a condominium owned by his wife Mary, and whether he is paying her rent and claiming it as an expense, which is strictly against the rules. Without a comment from Cannis we cannot know for sure if he is paying rent or not, but what is interesting is that a former Liberal MP Andrew Telegdi shared Cannis’s apartment until he was defeated in the 2008 election. Telegdi said Thursday that he made out his rent cheques for $800 a month to Mary Cannis. It should be pointed out that Telegadi was not breaking any rules by paying rent to Mary Cannis as she is not related to him in any way.

Stay tuned. I am sure Mr. Cannis will come forward soon with an explanation now that he has a little more incentive to do so.


Have a good weekend everyone; blogging will be slow as the sun is finally shining and there are too many things to get done around the ant hill.

Ignatieff's throne was a rental.

Michael Ignatieff held a little garden party yesterday for members of our ever vigilant media; the same media who have been running with the fake fake lake cost story for the last few day.

There were lots of tweets about having Ignatieff serve them food, and about the lake set up to mock that other famous lake, but not one comment on Ignatieff spending big money on a rented porta-potty so our poor media could sit in comfort after being fed meatballs along with an extra large helping of Liberal spin on extravagant spending.

The $1,500 "Taj Mahal of portable toilets with granite countertops, wood panelling and almond-scented hand soap" sat near the Liberal's "Fake Lake" which consisted of a children's wading pool, plastic ducks and a remote-control boat surrounded by plastic Muskoka chairs and a printout picture of a lake posted on a stick. Staffers boasted that the whole thing had cost them $19.95 ­ a fraction of the money the government was spending on its Muskoka backdrop.

Funny how this was missed from most comments/tweets/reports on the garden party, but as long as our media were comfortable I guess it is understandable. /sarc off

The top ten reasons Ignatieff will win

After the crazy day that was yesterday with the aftermath of the CBC story, the denials, and the affidavit, I thought I would remind everyone of the reasons Ignatieff will win the next election; courtesy of Warren Kinsella. (WK link warning)

I like reason #2: 'The Liberal Party of Canada will win the election, because we’ve got the most impressive leader: he’s super-smart, he’s accomplished, he’s decent, he has an extraordinary ability to bring people together....' but personally my favorite* has to be #7: 'The Liberals, meanwhile, will continue to embrace communications discipline – because, as Michael Ignatieff clearly has shown them, communications discipline works. The Grits will utterly dispense of the Chrétien-Martin era internecine warfare, because nobody remembers anymore what they were fighting about in the first place. (I sure can’t.)'


*Yes it is my favorite and I am willing to swear an affidavit to this fact.


Updated: I am reminded that the author of the above once held a different opinion of Ignatieff.
Which position does he take today? I will leave that up to you to decide, but going on the CBC National and dropping the bomb shell that he did while most likely knowing the after shocks that it would cause might be a clue.

Kill it, kill it dead.

To borrow a line from my good buddy Scott Reid. The Liberal Party. Kill it, kill it dead.


From the CBC:

Many Liberal insiders confirmed that discussions between the two parties are not just focused on forming a coalition after an election or co-operation before one, but the creation of a new party.

A new party. Wow, those Liberals really are more united than ever under the leadership of self appointed leader Michael Ignatieff.


Some background on the "kill" it comment for those that may be unaware.


Some do not believe it, or at least one of the sources anyways.

More details emerge on the Pablo Rodriguez incident.

The Chronicle Herald took a look at a police report on the April 16 incident involving Liberal MP Pablo Rodriguez.

Liberal MP Pablo Rodriguez was red-eyed and smelled of alcohol after losing control of his BMW and colliding with a parked car late at night in downtown Montreal. "In spite of my encouragement to blow, Rodriguez breathed very weakly and cut his breath repeatedly, all the while holding the plastic tip at the edge of his lips," the Montreal Police Service officer reported, and after numerous attempts "He told me that he was not able to breath any other way," said the officer’s report. "I informed him that he would be charged if he refused to breathe adequately."

"Rodriguez told me several times that we were going to damage his career that he had taken 30 years to build," the officer reported. "He also mentioned that he hoped that it wasn’t because he was in the Liberal party that I was charging him. I told the monsieur that I was only doing my job."

A party spokesperson said last month that Rodriguez would keep his caucus job while he deals with his legal issue.

Hillary Clinton praises PM Harper's G8 initiative

Hillary Clinton praises PM Harper's G8 initiative.

“We commend the Canadian government for focusing attention on this issue by offering a flagship initiative on maternal and child health at the upcoming G8 meeting,” Clinton told the conference, Women Deliver, which has gathered 3,500 high profile advocates, media and politicians.


Timely stock tip: It might be wise to buy stock in pharmaceutical companies, particularly those that manufacture over the counter analgesics such as Tylenol, ASA or Ibuprofen, as Hillary's comments are going to give many on the left in Canada some nasty headaches.

Judy Sgro. Just one reason the Liberals fear an audit of their expenses.

Judy Sgro, MP for York West and a former minister of citizenship and immigration, acknowledged on Friday that she has been renting the two-bedroom downtown condo from her three adult children since 2006.

The bylaws of the board of internal economy, the all-party committee that supervises MP expenses, forbid MPs from hiring family members or contracting goods or services from them.

The article goes on to tell us that Sgro used to own that very same condo but transferred title to her children back in 2006 and has been paying $1,833 a month rent to her own kids for that condo .


Busted.

h/t National NewsWatch

“Let me be very clear. The Liberal Party would not agree to a coalition. In January we did not support a coalition and we do not support a coalition..

Michael Ignatieff September 2009: “Let me be very clear. The Liberal Party would not agree to a coalition. In January we did not support a coalition and we do not support a coalition today or tomorrow.”

Another day, another flip flop, and another blatant lie.



Let me be clear, the electorate does not like being lied to and whatever little credibility Ignatieff had left with ANYONE is now totally shot. Who could possibly trust him after this?

Ignatieff, Mr. Charisma.

Ignatieff needs work, lots of it, and the good folks at CTV have brought in some outside help to assist.

An American academic has some advice for Canadian Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff: stop talking issues and start talking morality. George Lakoff, a professor of linguistics at University of California Berkeley, told CTV's Power Play that his studies of the language of politics show that the most successful politicians are those who connect with voters by using a few simple principles.

How very nice of CTV for trying to help out like that, but I am not sure if this guy really knows anything about Michael Ignatieff.

"What Ignatieff does is he talks about the details of policy rather than start with the moral principle … and saying: ‘Here is why this is right,'" he said.

"Secondly, you have to connect with people. People have to feel that you're authentic, that you're believable and that you care about them."

Ignatieff talking about the details of policy? What is this guy talking about? What policy? The only thing the Liberals do is complain about conservative policy and whatever meager policy they may have or even agree with, they end up changing their mind later and flip flop on it. Afghanistan, HST, asbestos, free votes, immigration policy, corporate taxes, etc.

As for Ignatieff trying to be authentic; well that is kind of hard to accomplish when you are just playing a role and pretending rather than being truthful and authentic with yourself. Remember Ignatieff's own words ""Nothing is personal in politics, because politics is theater. It is part of the job to pretend to have emotions that you do not actually feel."

Too late CTV, your obvious attempts to resurrect the political fortunes Ignatieff are not going to work. Perhaps you might want to take George Lakoff's advice to be authentic and honest for yourself and just report the news, quit trying to influence it.

While the Liberals are flip flopping on immigration and Afghanistan

While the Liberals are busy with their games flip flopping on immigration and Afghanistan, PM Harper was busy on the diplomatic front.


PM Harper, the first foreign leader to meet with new UK PM David Cameron at #10 Downing St.



PM Harper meeting with French President Sarkozy on the terrace of the Palais de l'Élysee.



The French really know how to make someone feel welcome. (picture courtesy of David Akin)

Kudos to CBC's Evan Solomon

Must see video clip from Thursdays episode of CBC's Power and Politics with Evan Soloman.

IMHO perhaps the best 30 seconds of CBC produced material you have seen all year as host Evan Soloman totally owns NDP MP Pat Martin. (not including sports)

I almost fell out of my chair when Soloman looked at Martin, opened up his arms and said "So maybe......" giving Martin the last second opportunity to come clean and see the hypocrisy of his statements; Martin however never took the very polite cue from Solomon and as a result Martin now looks like a buffoon.

Way to go Evan Soloman! Full kudos for a job well done and an example to others of how to do things.


BLY has more on the interview here and the full episode of P&P is available here. Cue to approx the 1:16:00 mark for the start of the segment and also note how clueless Jack Layton, the guy who may lead the coalition, is about Martin's well publicized remarks.

Update: Ryan Hicks has a blog post up with the entire segment HERE.

---------------

Speaking of kudos and the CBC.

Hockey Night in Canada's Ron MacLean helped save a mans life in Philadelphia and deserves a shout out as well for his actions. WTG!

Didn't they fire you?

Ian Davey writes about 5 things the Liberals must do to win an election in the National Post.

My favorite is number 5:

Hang together. Opposition can be tough at the best of times. Things are particularly challenging these days, but no matter how difficult they become Liberals must stand together and behind their leader. It is worth remembering that one of only two people will be prime minister after the next election. No one should doubt that there is a very real possibility that Canada’s next prime minister will be Michael Ignatieff.

...says the guy fired by Ignatieff and the Liberals.

Hang together indeed.



From the comments at the NP: If Liberals were to win a minority government, is it their intention to bring NDP MPs into cabinet/arrangement to form a coalition majority government? Or are Dippers only usefull if you lose?

Good question, and the NDP already know the answer.

Another flip flop? The Liberals are out of control.

Just when you thought things could not get more goofy for the Liberals, comes this.

An angry backlash from Liberal MPs has forced Michael Ignatieff to back off his party's apparent support for proposed reforms to Canada's refugee system. A host of MPs, including the entire Quebec caucus, told Ignatieff they can't and won't support the reform package — even though the government has agreed to changes demanded by the Liberals' own immigration critic, Maurizio Bevilacqua.

It is anarchy in the LPC and with the ineffective and powerless Ignatieff as leader, I expect it to get even worse before they break for summer.

Grab a beer and some popcorn, and sit back and watch..

Grab yourself a beer and some popcorn, and sit back and watch as the Liberals tie themselves into knots.

...trouble is brewing once more, as Liberal support continues to slide and some of Mr. Rae’s advocates openly agitate for a debate about a coalition with the NDP.


It couldn't happen to a nicer bunch.



More from the NP story: My good buddy Scott Reid had some thoughts on this:

“This is a merger by any other name… A slippery slope to sacrificing our political identity. It would amount to a total betrayal of the Liberal party’s history, identity and success,”

“Would we run 100 fewer candidates? Would we abandon Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the NDP and ask Ralph [Goodale] to step down? I think the notion is absurd. The only person who advocated it was Jean Chrétien on CBC but I have a hard time believing Jean Chrétien thinks the Liberal party shouldn’t run 308 candidates at the next election.”




The party that is more united than it has been in a generation has a funny way of showing it.


UD: Watch Scott Reid in action here @ the Iceman's place.

Fascinating Study on Canadian political bloggers

If you have some time ( it is 259 pages) take a look at this study done on political blogs. (PDF)

The abstract:Self-published web diaries called blogs are one manifestation of the Internet’s potential to create new discursive and dialogic spaces for citizens. Blogs are described by their authors and others in the news media (as well as some academic commentators) as a medium that potentially fosters political dialogue in the spirit of Habermas’ conceptual “public sphere.” Blogs also serve as potential competitors to mass media outlets in political debates in two distinct ways: first, by acting as agenda-setters and framers of issues, events and figures and second, by challenging journalistic norms such as the principles of fairness, neutrality and non-partisanship. In spite of these claims, however, very little empirical evidence exists to date on whether political blogs perform the roles of agenda-setters, gatekeepers or framers, or whether they are actually seen as a challenge or potential replacement to mass media outlets by themselves, by journalists or by those who could utilize blogs to transmit messages to the public. This thesis examines these questions as they pertain to Canadian politics, focusing on the interaction between journalists, partisan bloggers and political communications practitioners to assess whether blogs written by explicitly partisan authors actually: 1) create unique discursive spaces for discussion of Canadian political issues, 2) set agendas for political discussion and set issues and 3) serve as an occupational threat/potential replacement to media outlets for disseminating political information. Using surveys and content analysis, this thesis contends that partisan blogs largely mimic political discussion already occurring in media-produced content and are perceived as a potential, though not completely credible, replacement for shaping political agendas and disseminating information.


Interesting stuff.


h/t David Akin for this and the following highlights.

• A majority of bloggers (69%) are members of a particular party and are highly likely to be engaged in a variety of party activities such as fundraising and volunteering on campaigns.
• Partisan blogs are most likely to get political information from a mixture of online sources, including newspaper and broadcast media outlets as well as blogs
• Bloggers overwhelmingly see their role as being “watchdogs” of journalists
• Better than three of of every four journalists and communicators surveyed said they do not believe bloggers should be accredited to cover Parliament or should have access to public institutions in the same manner as journalists. But just one of ever three bloggers thought the same thing. (I'm in the minority among my peers here. I believe that, for there are plenty of events where 'amateurs' who wish to conduct themselves professionally ought to qualify for the same accreditation as a professional journalist.
• Bloggers overwhelmingly agree they should have the same legal protections as journalists but just 36 per cent of journalists feel that way and only 23 per cent of PR people feel that way.
• Bloggers and journalists largely agree on one thing: The Internet has made journalism better. Oddly, political spin doctors weren't so convinced.
• "How much do you think blogs have changed journalism over the last few years?" More than half of the spin doctors said "A Lot" but only about one-third of journalists or bloggers said "A Lot".
• Eight out of ten journalists and six out of ten spin doctors rated the quality of information on the sites of amateur bloggers as "fair or poor".
• A majority of bloggers, journalists and communicators all "strongly disagree or somewhat disagree" with the statement: Bloggers adhere to journalistic standards"
• I found it fascinating that while 40 per cent of journalists said they have been contacted by a blogger, less than 20 per cent of journalists said they reached out to contact a blogger. And just 7 per cent of political spin doctors have contacted a blogger. (That one I find hard to believe.) On the other hand bloggers are not shy: 64 per cent of have contacted a journalist and 32 per cent have phoned or e-mailed a professional political communicator.

Whitewash.

The CBC releases its interim report on bias/balance.

Report here.

Executive summary here.



A couple of quick thoughts. The report does NOT include CBC's massive coverage of the prorogation issue in the report (even though it falls right in the middle of the events used for the report) and they totally gloss over 'climategate' which the CBC did not even mention at all for days after it became known. They do however include coverage of the PM visiting India and China ( of course these were good news stories which conveniently balances the other crap) and the CBC praises it own coverage of H1N1 (on which Mark Sakamoto agrees) and seems to think that diversity in who reads the news is just as important as the news itself.


More to come...

Nanny State ideas creep into kids soccer

This may be about the dumbest thing that I have read in a long time.

An Ottawa children’s soccer league has introduced a rule that says any team that wins a game by more than five points will lose by default. In the name of making things 'fair' they are going to actually make the kids on the weaker teams more embarrassed by forcing other teams to pity them by holding back and not try their hardest.

In other words, treat the lesser team as if they are not even worthy of your best efforts.

WTG Gloucester Dragons Recreational Soccer league. This will sure raise the self esteem of all the players involved.

How humiliating; for both sides.


h/t The National Post.


Updated: My wife had a very interesting comment on this. If a team is down a couple of goals they now could try to lose on purpose and get the win. Example: Down 4 goals with seconds remaining, just pop one into your own net and win the game!

Have this happen a couple of times and you can bet this goofy rule would be changed.


Update June 11, 2010. Common sense wins out! They have now dropped this silly rule change in exchange for calling the game if the score gets too lopsided but allowing teams to continue to play if they desire.

Do you think these 2 were carrying paintball guns?

2 terrorists were killed by IDF today as they attempted to infiltrate the border.

I wonder if these 2 were carrying paintball guns like the Israeli commandos were.


You can watch the more popular videos of the incident here on Rob Breakenridge's blog. (watch the second video at about the 1 minute mark for a clear shot of the paintball guns being used.)

Peaceful aid workers preparing themselves.

Related:

Some background on maritime law and blockades, for people like Don Newman who have no clue. More here on the same subject.

BTW Egypt is also blockading Gaza but don't expect to hear much about that over the next few days, but don't believe me, ask George Galloway as he is very familiar with the Egyptian blockade.



A little photo editing by Reuters (Must see)