Environmental Sustainability and Me.

Yesterday over at Exactly Right, I read that Ontario is going to ban the sale of incandescent light bulbs by the year 2012 in an effort to help save energy, and today I see that the feds have announced a similar plan.

With all the environmental talk that has been coming at me from all sides and sources as of late, and perhaps being a wee bit inspired by Stephane Dion's much repeated words about how money can be made off of a green environment; reading the above stories about the proposed ban has caused a light bulb to go on in my head.

Effective 2012, I am going into the incandescent light bulb black market. It will be a few years before it really gets going but like the shrewd capitalist I am, I will start marketing immediately.

----

Do you have a chandelier?

A flood light in your yard, or even a flashlight?

Have you been losing sleep about how Kim Mitchell will light his patio lanterns after the ban?

Well worry no more good people of Canada, because the Ardvark will soon be able to help you deal with this draconian ban on Thomas Edison's greatest gift to all humanity. We care not for authority or rules, we just want the good people of this country to be able to bask in the glow that is incandescent light. Coming soon to a back alley or parking lot near you!!

Watch this space for details.



Ardvark
Environmental and economic sustainability are not just slogans of the Liberals, they are what I am all about and I have the record to prove it.

Act now and Ill throw in some social justice for no charge.

What would Dana Carvey say?

Well, if he was in character as the Church Lady he would probably say:

"Well isn't that conveeeeenient"

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

Steve Janke does it again as he looks at the timing and very convenient relationship between Michael Ignatieff, the second-in-command of the Liberal Party of Canada, and Amir Attaran.

You may know Amir from his recent 'very' media friendly statements on the Taliban prisoner story. His last press conference consisted of the very same mud the Liberals are now throwing at the government in an effort to find something, anything, to stick.

Nice timing.

A little tease from Janke's blog:

He brought his troubles to Mr. Ignatieff, who gave him office space and mentoring support until he could find another academic home. "Michael stuck up for me against some extremely nasty attacks," Prof. Attaran says.

Boxed in: The Mark Holland saga continues.

Those found boxes garner more attention, this time from the Western Standard. Steve Janke has the entire article here.


The stink continues.



Al


related links: More at Angry in the Great White North
Christian Conservative related.

Did Mark Holland mislead the House?

And why did the LPC edit their website? Decide for yourself, and take the time to read on to refresh yourself with the entire story, because it is starting to stink more and more as time goes on.

From Hansard April 17,2007: Liberal MP Mark Holland:

"Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to respond to the question of privilege raised by the member for Lanark—Frontenac—Lennox and Addington on March 29 concerning the issue of files left behind in the offices of the Leader of the Opposition when this office was occupied by the Conservatives and the Alliance before them.

The member for Lanark—Frontenac—Lennox and Addington wanted assurances that the said files had been returned and that none of them had been distributed. In the question of privilege, he also wanted confirmation that these leftover documents were treated with extreme respect.

First, I wish to confirm that all remaining documents were returned to the sergeant-at-arms on April 10.

Second, I can also confirm that these documents were not copied or tampered with in any way. Only one Liberal researcher looked through the files in question and this one staffer is prepared to state under oath that he did not copy or mishandle the said documents in any way.

I would also like to address the allegations made by the member for Lanark—Frontenac—Lennox and Addington that the documents in question were already packaged and waiting to be shipped. The only labelled box contained videotapes of the 2004 Conservative election ads and all other materials were found in desk drawers and cabinets. These have also been returned.

Once again, I can assure the hon. member that all documents in question have been returned to the sergeant-at-arms and were treated with extreme respect."

From Mark Hollands web site this copy of a fax from the 'leftover documents' in PDF format. It sure looks like a copy of one of the documents 'left behind' and in the possession of the LPC for at least 12 months, but what do I know.

----------

This entire story stinks the more I look at it, and I am starting to think the Liberals might agree with me because 2 items that were prominently placed on the Liberal Party of Canada web site dealing with this story have now been deleted.

A link to the PDF file of the above copied fax hosted on Liberal.ca has now disappeared, and a link to the video of the set up media event of MPs Mark Holland and Marlene Jennings returning these documents / boxes to the PMO has also been deleted from the official LPC website.

A screencap of the PDF file formerly hosted on Liberal.ca, as found on Scott Tribes site.



Google cache of Liberal TV April 15th. Screenshot below.




To make some sense of this lets look at story from the beginning.

March 22nd. Holland calls for Stockwell Day to resign and produces the copy of the fax. Press release on Hollands site here, and the LPC site here*. We have no idea where the document/s came from at this point other than what MarkHolland's press release states: "Mr. Holland was referring to documents that came anonymously into his possession indicating that former MP for Okanagan-Coquihalla....." (*Note the links to the document no longer work on the LPC site.)

March 26th. Holland and Jennings hold a press conference display some of the documents and then take them down the street to the PMO. Liberal Press release here (Note: link to the Liberal TV video of the event has been removed from the PR within the last 2 days). So we now learn how the Liberals came into possession of the documents and that the Liberals reviewed them as they are aware of the documents contents. So much for being come by anonymously. Of note this statement; "Mr. Holland said the Liberal caucus is retaining possession of some of the documents to determine whether or not they contain other issues that are in the public interest."


Once this story became public some questions started to emerge as to why the Liberals held on to these for over a year, and even more damning, the video used by the LPC showed that some of the documents were marked confidential and at least one of these boxes was labeled and addressed for moving to the new CPC offices. A Step to the Right has a little different version of the Liberal video here. Soon this story had a life of its own as the video was removed by the Liberals from You-tube for copyright violations (story here and here)




On March 29th MP Scott Reid rose in the House on a matter of privilege as some of the information used by Holland and Jennings in that press conference included files on himself and that the Liberals were still retaining some of the documents.

April 4th. Even though in his press interviews he seemed to know much of what the documents contained, Mr Holland was maintaining that he had little or no contact with the personnel files and launches a libel suit against Ezra Levant for a story he wrote for the Sun.

April 10th: According to Mark Holland all the remaining documents are returned. Presumably after having been examined by the LPC.

April 16th? The Website of the Liberal Party of Canada removes links, the PDF file, video from their site.

April 17th: Mark Holland responds to the matter of privilege (at top of this page). Scott Reid replies with even more questions about the matter and brings to light more inconsistencies regarding just how the files were found.

PoliticsWatch.com on March 26: The Liberals discovered the documents in the research bureau that the Tories vacated "three months" after the election, according to [the member for Ajax—Pickering]. [The member for Ajax—Pickering] said the Liberals didn't get around to sifting through the boxes of abandoned documents until recently because it was not a "priority" at the time. The Liberals incorrectly assumed the boxes contained nothing but garbage.

April 2 edition of The Hill Times: These were files and documents that we found in files and desks. The boxes that they were put in were left behind as empty boxes that may have been used, but most of these were just files that were left in drawers, left on tables, and left in haphazard ways all around the office.

Unnamed media: The hon. member for Ajax—Pickering] said the Liberals are keeping approximately 10 other boxes of documents the Tories left behind... As for the remaining 10 boxes, [the hon. member] said the Liberals would continue to examine the contents to ascertain whether or not there's anything in them in the “public interest”

Remember Mark Holland had just stated "... that the documents in question were already packaged and waiting to be shipped. The only labelled (sic) box contained videotapes of the 2004 Conservative election ads and all other materials were found in desk drawers and cabinets."

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

For myself, I find too many inconsistencies in the story to find it entirely believable, but as I stated earlier, "what do I know?"





Al

I call BS

I call BullSh#t on the new Liberal ad (found here)

From the ad comes this statement "They said he couldn't do it" and my question to ANY Liberal Party official, Liberal supporter, members of the media or just about anyone else is:

Who exactly said that?

I will not ask what "it" means exactly so not to cloud the issue any more than needed, but if you do have an answer to the above feel free to set me straight about this little piece of propaganda.

Please provide links, quotes, sources, napkins or anything else that may be relevant to support this official statement from the Liberal Party of Canada.

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

Speaking of "it". What was accomplished during the Montreal climate change conference? Read the press release here. The Invisible Hand nails it here. More talk, more study, more of just about everything that the Liberals are famous for, including a lack of actually getting anything done.

The NDP choose their Candidate for Central Nova

From the CBC Louise Lorefice of Antigonish will represent the NDP in the Nova Scotia riding of Central Nova, where the Liberals recently agreed not to run a candidate.

Now because the situation is so "urgent" and "there is no time to waste" and because Elizabeth May is so committed to non partisanship; will she announce she is stepping aside so the new NDP candidate, whose party finished second in the last election, can defeat Peter Mackay?


I didn't think so.

Al

This is interesting if it is true. It looks like the NDP constitution does not allow Jack Layton to pull a May/Dion type deal even if he wanted to.

What does the Liberal Party constitution say about the same deal? According to Warren Kinsella, Dion is breaking the rules. Hopefully links to follow.

Attention Imus..... or maybe not

Hawaiian Legend Don Ho died today at the age of 76. No word on whether or not his hair was nappy.



Al

Have a great weekend everyone.

Unanswered Questions about the Dion/May pact

A few questions for Elizabeth May and Stephane Dion.

For Ms. May: As leader of the Green Party of Canada, are you committed to try to form a government and become Prime Minister? If not, why have you not told your own party and Canadians what your goals really are, and explain to Canadians why they should vote for a party with a leader who has no intention of trying to form a government.

From this Green Party Press release the answer to the above should be clear "We recognize that a government in which Stéphane Dion served as Prime Minister could work well with a Green Caucus of MPs, led by Elizabeth May, committed to action on climate."

For M. Dion: If as stated in the press conference that the there is NO time to waste and the urgency of the current situation requires immediate action; are you prepared to, at the earliest opportunity, call a non confidence vote or do everything in your power to have an election? If not, doesn't this "urgency" just look like more political games to the Canadian Public?

For Ms. May: You have stated that this deal was "open and transparent" and that there were no backroom deals. Why have you been hiding the fact that you have been trying to work a deal with the NDP along similar lines?

For M. Dion: What happened to the commitments made at the Liberal Convention to a 308 seat strategy? and Is what you have done even legal within the Liberal Party constitution?

For Ms. May: You have stated over and over that this is deal is an example of cooperation and is for non partisan reasons. How than can you reconcile that with the following, from an article from the Toronto Star? "Green Party Leader Elizabeth May has vowed to make Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay pay for a controversial decision to merge the former Progressive Conservative party with the right-wing Canadian Alliance."

For M. Dion: Are you planning to refund any or all of the money that Liberal Party members from Central Nova have given in donations or for party memberships, now that you have given up on the riding?

For Ms. May: If this deal is for the greater good, why not now step aside from the race and allow the NDP candidate (runner up party in the last election) to win the riding from Mr. Mackay?

For M. Dion: Along the same lines as the last question for Ms. May. If this deal is for the greater good, why is it only good in Central Nova and not in any of the other 306 ridings across this great land?

For Both Ms. May and M. Dion: Why did the Liberals run a candidate in the London by election against Ms. May? How does the excuse that this is a long standing 'tradition' apply now but not then?


Thank you for your time.

Dion and May: aka The New Red Green Show

Rumour has it that sometime later today Stephane Dion and Elizabeth May will be holding a joint press conference to announce that the Liberals will not be fielding a candidate against May in the next federal election. CTV has the story here.

Wow; Dion is demonstrating his leadership skills again as he shows a total lack of respect for every Liberal supporter in Central Nova. I wonder how the local Liberal EDA is taking to the news that all the work they have done for the LPC in the riding has been a complete and utter waste of time and effort all because the dear leader Dion has dictated it so. I think the sound of Liberal Party Membership Cards being ripped in half is echoing all across the riding right about now.

To think that some Liberals wonder why they are having problems at the grass roots level. Stupid, stupid, stupid.




My apologies to The Red Green Show.

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

Update 10:40 am: I just watched the Red Green show live on CTV Newsnet and it is now official. May has just sold out her own party and Dion has taken the 308 riding strategy from the Liberal convention and tossed it out the window.


From TABaker

Breaking: Belinda Quits!!

Just now from CTV. Belinda Stronach has decided not to run in the next election.

Press release here.

With the numbers we saw yesterday showing Dion is not even the top choice among Liberals for PM, is it any wonder that more and more MPs are leaving the good ship Dion as hit heads for the rocks.

I wonder if ol' Belinda has had any second thoughts about that faithful day when she walked into that press conference with Paul Martin. What might have been indeed?


Al

Salt: Global National confuses Canadians Even More.

A Global National news story just may have confused Canadians on how to reduce their salt intake. Some background: A study from Stats Canada came out today stating that Canadians are eating too much salt for their own good.

This is something that we all should be paying attention to because increased salt intake has been linked to increased blood pressure (hypertension) which can also lead to numerous other serious conditions including among others, stroke and kidney disease. The recommended amount of salt intake for an adult is 2300 mg per day but the study found that the Canadian average in 2004 was closer to 3100 mg or almost 1/3 more than the maximum recommended intake! High salt (sodium) intake is a very serious problem to be sure, but the solutions are so simple that with just a little education Canadians can easily reduce their sodium intake and by dong so greatly reduce their risks for hypertension related diseases.

Education is the key but earlier tonight on Global National a story on the study may just have confused more people than it helped. Watch the segment here (under Tuesday Apr 10th. Note link will only be active for 1 week). While you watch the segment listen for when Hannah Bourdreau says the following "Health experts say read the label. If salt is listed in the first four ingredients, that means there is too much; so pick something else." and pay close attention to what he video shows while this is being spoken. Below is a screen shot of what has me concerned.

Did you notice anything wrong? I know some of you have figured it out but I am guessing that many if not most of you have no idea as to what my beef is with this story.

Hannah talks about ingredients yet the video is not showing the ingredients list but instead is showing the nutritional information. Call it nit picking, but if you are supposed to not eat anything with sodium listed in the top four ingredients and you look to the nutritional label as replacement for the ingredients list; you are going to either give up even trying to reduce your sodium intake or die of starvation because sodium, by law, is almost always listed forth from the top. I looked all over the house tonight to find a nutritional label that did not list sodium (give it a try yourself) in the top 4 but was not able to find even 1 item that qualified, or in fact one that contained 0 mg of salt.

Overall the story was well done and covered the basic points, but due to a short 10 second bit of video, the message and the concept as to just how easy it is to reduce your sodium intake may have been lost entirely to numerous people. In a country where many already find nutritional information labels confusing, poor editing of news stories is certainly not going to help out the situation.

Al

Libloggers review the new LPC Quebec ads.

Dion and the The Liberals have released 3 radio ads in Quebec to help bolster the sagging hopes of Stephane Dion and the LPC. Below are the reviews from a couple of prominent Liberal bloggers on the subject.

Antonio from Fuddle Duddle has his take here. A couple of notable quotes: "Did we just witness the same election in Quebec as Stephane Dion? I think the message Quebecers sent is that they want to get rid of the federalist/sovereigntist debate, not elect the poster boy for one of the sides, nor the poster boy (Gilles Duceppe) for the other…"

"“If Stephane Dion and the Liberals are attacking Stephen Harper, is it because they are afraid of something? Afraid that Harper has delivered on his promise to Quebec to fix the fiscal imbalance? Afraid that Harper delivered on UNESCO? Afraid that Harper affirmed the status of Quebec as a nation within Canada? Afraid…to stay out of power?"

Be sure to check out the comments, in what has already been a very bad week for Jason Cherniak continues as Antonio smacks him around a bit more.

Jason Cherniak a dit...

Your criticisms of the ads might be fair, but your complete obstinancy on this stupid "fiscal imbalance" thing makes it difficult to know for sure.

Try to at least think about the other side of the argument.

4/05/2007 12:22 PM

Antonio a dit...

remember Jason, these ads are aired in French...in QUEBEC, where the population does not believe the fiscal imbalance to be a myth.

Also, Harper promised to fix it...

You heard Flaherty. It's fixed!

Maxime Bernier C'est fini!

La Presse "Le dossier est réglé"

everybody and their dog believed the fiscal imbalance existed here in Quebec.

well except one person...and his dog too...

4/05/2007 12:31 PM

Jason Cherniak a dit...

And why don't they believe it's a myth? Maybe because no provincial federalist party made the effort to show that the separatists were lying?

Accept the premise of your opponent's argument and you will always lose.

4/05/2007 2:34 PM

Antonio a dit...

jason by that logic, your opponent can never be right...which proves your logic to be that of a partisan hack.

It means your thinking is governed not by your own morality, but by that of the party's...

4/05/2007 2:57 PM

Ouch!!

Calgary Grit gives his opinion here on the ad campaign.

My favorite quote from CG: "I'm sympathetic to the fact that most of the people who used to handle our Quebec ads are in jail these days but surely there's someone in the province who could have done better than this?"

The Best of Ardvark: From October 1976

Time might be short this week for blogging and with the House not sitting I figured that it is time to go back deep into the archives for another Best of Ardvark.

This entry from The third week of October 1976. Enjoy.

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

So does anybody else think that the next Olympic summer games in Moscow might just be the last one ever? After that financial fiasco in Montreal, I cannot see how any future games will ever be able make enough money to cover the cost of construction, never mind hope to turn a profit. In case you haven't figured it out I am still a bit upset about Canada not even winning a single gold medal in Montreal; even more so after that skinny Romanian chick took home 3 golds herself and scored all those perfect 10's. Dad says that most of those commie women are probably more like Klinger from MASH than real women. Mom hates when Dad says stuff like that.

----

School this week has not been that great, and who would have thought grade 6 would be so hard. Here I am finally at the top of the elementary school food chain and because my marks are so bad I have to study all the time and do not get to enjoy all the benefits of being the big 6th grader. Getting total control of the monkey bars at recess has been a long term goal since grade 2 for most of us. Math as usual is giving me troubles but science is not only getting harder it is also starting to really scare me. Mr. G is teaching us earth science and yesterday he made us all read the Newsweek story about the coming ice age. Great, by the time I am forty I am going to have live in an igloo and probably have to take a dog sled to work every morning. Depressing to say the least.

-----

In politics this week we finally got to see Joe Clark in action against Trudeau after the summer break. Some feel that Joe is not going to turn out to be much of a leader, but everyone forgets that he has always been underestimated and he will grow into the job. He did beat favorite Claude Wagner and that Mulroney guy in the leadership race in February so who knows.

The Quebec election is next month and I think Bourassa will pull out a victory, because if René Lévesque wins I suspect we will be dealing with this problem for probably the next 3o+ years.

Speaking of elections, there was also a by-election this week to replace former Liberal Finance Minister John Turner who quit the Liberals in protest over wage and price controls. I can see why Turner was so upset with Trudeau on this one after PET attacked Bob Stanfield during the election campaign by saying the PC's were going to implement W&PC's, and then Trudeau turned around and did it himself. Dad says that this is just typical Liberal politics, but I really have not paid that much attention to know if it is true. I may be young and naive but if they keep saying one thing and doing another; the label of being hypocrites might just stick to the Liberals for some time.

-------

I think that is about it for now as I have go watch Happy Days in a little while. We just got a new console TV that has a turntable and a radio built right in, and since the Fonz moved over Mr. C's garage this season the show has been a must see. My Brother says that the Fonz must be Canadian because he is always saying "Eh" all the time. I hope the post office takes him because his future as a comedian is not looking that good.

One last thing, I know I have been on record in the past stating that those tartan clad pretty boys, The Bay City Rollers, are probably gay ( 2007 Edit: In 1976 this was a common put down so please no letters) and that their music sucks, but I just love their new cover of Dusty Springfield's old song. I just had a crazy thought; wouldn't it be nice if somehow I could let you guys listen to the song and read this at the same time, that would be so cool. I doubt I will be able to see anything like that in my lifetime because I hope all of the scientists would be working on saving the planet from another ice age rather than on silly ideas like that, besides I doubt it would ever be popular anyway.

(2007 edit)



It is a good thing that this computer dairy thing will never catch on, because if some of this stuff ever became public, it would be hard to live down.


Al

(2007 edit) Dusty's Version from 1964
another from Dutch TV

Cherniak interviews himself?

Currently at the top of the Liblogs home page this "news release" written by Jason Cherniak?

NEWS RELEASE (Posted at/Publié à 2007-04-03 10:32 EDT by/par Jason Cherniak)

Website with Liberal videos expanding fast

Harper’s Conservatives won’t know what hit them

Toronto, April 3, 2007 – Yesterday, the Harper Conservatives opened their new campaign headquarters. It is 17,000 square feet and so expensive to maintain that the Tories will not even discuss the cost. Meanwhile, Liberal bloggers who make videos for free on their home computers are fighting back. Since last week’s launch of a website to display home-made Liberal videos (http://liblogs.ca/news.en.cgi?10), Liberal bloggers have been creating more than one video a day.

“The Liberal Party might not have enough money to spend on pre-election advertising, but that won’t stop Liberal bloggers from fighting back,” explained Jason Cherniak, president of Liblogs. “We have been doing what we can to support Stéphane Dion online and this Liblogs video page is only our most recent step.”

Liblogs is the operating name of a non-profit corporation, Blogger Support Services. For over a year, it has been hosting a list of Liberal bloggers at http://liblogs.ca, where Canadians can scan the headlines of the posts of over 250 Liberal bloggers at any time, on any day.

“This new video page is in addition to our main blog service and Liblogs News, which highlights a selection of some of the best Liberal Blog posts once a day,” said Mr. Cherniak. “Liblogs videos will allow Liberals from across the country to use their creative talents and express their support for the Liberal Party in the most modern manner available. It is great to see that it has taken off so quickly.”

All media inquiries should be directed to:

Jason Cherniak
President, Liblogs
416-921-9482
(jason@jasoncherniak.com)
http://jasoncherniak.com

New Dion Drinking game. ™

Ok, I think I may have discovered a great way to not only get drunk, but to also allow many of you the chance to actually make it through one of Stephane Dion's speeches without the usual urge to harm yourself that come with listening to Dion.

Loosely based on the famous ''Hi Bob" drinking game, I decided to jot down a few rules and then give it a road test to see how it would play and make necessary modifications in the name of science.

The following is a live blogging of the first test of the new game:

First the basic rules: Any time Dion uses any form of the word ideology, you take a drink. The same applies for the use of the word agenda.

A good start, but it may need some fine tuning to turn into a national pastime. Now it's time for the trial. Beverage ready and the speech about to start, so here we go.

Nothing yet, the usual introductions and the subject of the speech today is the Canadian Wheat Board. OK, only seconds in and we get our first "Because of ideology, Prime Minister Stephen Harper is determined to kill the Wheat Board." (drink taken)

So now Dion is going on about the history of the CWB. "Cleanliness'', What is he going on about? We are not opening up a restaurant with raw wheat here. "But Stephen Harper is attacking the Wheat Board, because it doesn’t fit with his rigid ideology." Ah ha!! Another one, this time with an adjective. New rule added. ( 2 drinks taken)

"...and filled the spaces with his ideological cronies." Holy crap that was fast (Drink taken)

So now Dion is talking about the recent vote on barley, a vote that Mr.Social Justice is not going to honour. "I know a little bit about clarity." Clarity, damn I should add that in as well. (Drink taken)

"At the end of the day, the Conservative government isn’t interested in democracy, and it isn’t interested in doing what’s best for farmers." Huh? The PM is the one who is going to listen to farmers and let their votes count. You are the one not interested in democracy.

Dion is now going on how important the CWB is to farmers. Ya sure it is but so are their opinions Steph. "There’s so much at risk – all because this Prime Minister is forcing his ideology down farmers’ throats, no matter what." (drink taken)

" The same ideology that dislikes the Wheat Board dislikes other kinds of agricultural support too." Oh crap, that was only mere seconds after the last one. (Drink taken) Time for a refill! Good thing I stocked up before it started.

"...and a government that care more about ideology than helping farmers." Yee ha!! (Drink taken) They are coming fast and furious now; I barely had time to crack off the cap.

A bit of a side track as Dion brings up equalization. Hey, pal lots of talk but I notice that you didn't say anything about what you would have done. For a guy who doesn't even acknowledge a fiscal imbalance this is rich.

"Protecting that future starts with fighting back against Stephen Harper’s ideological attack on the Wheat Board." (Drink taken) Is it getting warm in here? (shirt removed)

"It serves you, not some neoconservative agenda in Ottawa." I declare a new rule! any mention of neocon requires you to finish off your sweet sweet beverage. (Remainder of beverage happily ingested) Time for a new beverage.

Ohhhhh, andwhat about if he brings up Bush? That would call for a double. Hey, I missed an agenda (drink taken) I should write this down but I can't find my pen.


"Let’s tell him to stop forcing his ideology down your throats. Let’s tell him to show some respect for farmers, and some respect for democracy." (Drink taken)

The speech comes to an end.

Weird, You know I have herd much about Dions poor English, but he is sounding just fine to me and i can understand him prefectly.

I think I had better finsh this off later because uh....
Did I ever tell you guys that I love you? I really do, and it aint the booze talking either. I remember when i first starte #g (unplanned nap)


End Live blogging


Al

Play responsibly!!

Driving supporters Away.

Censorship, strong arm tactics, general stupidity, and cover up. What a great week it must have been to be a supporter of the Dion led Liberal Party of Canada.

The Mark ( consequences) Holland and Marlene (Let Marc Yvan Coté back into the LPC) Jennings saga continues as the Liberal Party (the only ones who can claim copyright on the video) had a video removed for copyright violations from youtube. The video shed some much needed light on those famous boxes the Liberals had somehow 'acquired' and kept for the last 14 months. While they had these boxes in their possession some Liberals also decided that it would be a good idea to look at what was inside those boxes and have some of the information copied.


WTF is going on within the Liberal Party of Canada? Or perhaps a better question would be how the hell can anyone still support these clowns?

Come on all you Liberal supporters and bloggers out there; please try to make a case for having Liberal staffers not only sort through, but also copy some of this private information while they kept these boxes in their possession over the last 14 months. Please feel free to add to this already pathetic display of how Dion's Liberals operate, because so far the silence on this, as well as the incident yesterday at a Dion news scrum where the Liberals had a couple of CPC staffers removed from a PUBLIC area by HOC security staff, has been deafening.

Is it any wonder that Liberal support is heading south if even the Kool-Aid™ crowd of hardcore Libs are silent on these stories; what do you think the thoughts of the public are about what is going on in the LPC?

I am betting there are many liberals out there right now having some very deep thoughts about the reasons they continue to support the LPC, and as I noted yesterday, it must be getting hard to look into the mirror for those that try to spin kind of crap.




Al

Another example of Social Justice

The daily antics of the Liberal party continue to amaze me. They have hit rock bottom and the more they whine the more support they lose.

From CTV : A Commons security guard forced the Conservative research employees to leave Thursday while one mingled with reporters to record a scrum with Liberal Leader Stephane Dion.


Unbelievable. How will this be spun by Dion and his "crew"? I do not think it can be spun but we shall see in good time.

Limiting who can or can not be at a public event is not the best way to display that you are the party of social justice.


I feel that even the most rabid Liberal is starting to see that Dion was a mistake, and spinning this crap is becoming a increasingly difficult thing to do. Well, at least if you want to look in the mirror that is.

Does anyone remember the CPC meeting in Toronto recently? A private function where a Star reporter got into a snit because she was not allowed in. Oh the outrage, I just wonder what the Star will say about this story.

Better yet, I wonder what Garth has to say about this one?

Stay tuned, more to come I am sure.



Al

Editing at Liblogs. Including "the list"

A couple of recent edits from our friends at Liblogs.

First, the List of Libloggers that were in on the famous conference call. A list that has been deleted from JC's blog, but with the wonders of the internet is brought back to life here for your viewing pleasure.

Michelle Oliel
Scott Tribe
Cerberus
Jeff Jedras
The Sir Robert Bond Papers
Calgary Grit
A View from the Left
Tonton Coquillage
Rolling Back the Tide of Extremism, One Post at a Time
Apply-Liberally
Rob's Random Thoughts
Nottawa
Daveberta
Gaultlet.ca
Red Tory
The Dan Report
Woman at Mile 0

A couple of questions. Do these now represent official Liberal policy in their writings? Is it just me or did most if not all the people on this list support Dion in the leadership race?

Update:
To be fair to those that took the time to reply in the comments I will answer my own questions from above.

Do these now represent official Liberal policy in their writings?

No, I never did think that the call was anything, pure rhetoric on my part to push a point about how it looks.

Is it just me or did most if not all the people on this list support Dion in the leadership race?

I guess it was just me. Ok I fess up. I knew that many were supporting other candidates from reading them during the race. I was just fishing.

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Another edit, perhaps for a different reason this time. This one courtesy of another Liberal blog foottothefire. The post found below has been deleted from the blog as of the time of this posting.

"Posted at/Publié sur foottothefire on/à 2007-03-28 20:55 EST

Stephen And The Self-fulfilling Prophecy

Is there anyone in Canada who actually believed the Wheat Board Vote wouldn't be cooked by Stephen Hitler?
Trudeau warned that there was no other democracy more vulnerable to takeover by a dictator than our own; the devil has arrived.
This is what an Alberta conservative can do for your country..........
http://www.liberal.ca/news_e.aspx?id=12621"

Tolerance, thy name is Liberal.

62% of farmers support freedom

The farmers voted and the choice is clear (pdf)

How is Dion going to spin this clear democratic choice by farmers to his position in favour of big government interference, social justice and status quo for the wheat board?

Bob Rae wins nomination in Toronto Centre

Failed Liberal leadership candidate Bob Rae won the nomination in Toronto Centre Monday night over human rights advocate Meredith Cartwright.

I wonder where Mr. Dion is going to put all those women candidates that he said he wants as candidates for the Liberals? My guess, Alberta.

From the Anthill March 22nd 2007

Another from the Anthill post because there is just too much to discuss and some great links are calling out to be saved.

A new poll out today, and the few Liberals supporters that remain are not taking it well, or so says Neo at the Halls of Macadamia. Watch it here at CTV while it lasts.

From the same story (and news clip) John Reynolds has his second quote of the day. The first was when he told Martha Hall Finlay to "Grow up" after she was complaining about what a mean guy Harper is.

Here is his other quote from the above CTV news stories."I like winning -- and we're going to win a majority government."

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Some comments from David Akin's political blog at CTV that made me laugh.

"Joe Comuzzi will be proud of this decision for the rest of his days. Stephen Dion will be lamenting his foolish decision for the few days he has left as the Liberal leader." link

" .....If Brian Tobin doesn't switch his cell phone off this weekend, I doubt that he will get any time at all with his own family." link

I wonder how well Dion would poll in a battle with Tobin about who would make a better leader right about now?

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Backseatblogger has a great clip up about an interesting sentence handed down by a US judge. Double bonus: Watch the reporter at the beginning of the story, it is worth the effort.

Maybe she should sign up for Kates Cat offset program.

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More trouble in the left side of the blog world. First Liblogs and now Progblogs.

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Blogger pleads guilty of death threat to PM. FYI a psych assessment in Alberta usually requires a 30 day stay in a nice mental health facility while the docs get a nice look at you. I wonder if this news is causing Allen Varlaki to loose any sleep?

Good night everyone.

Al

Smackdown today on Duffy

My kingdom for a pvr, hopefully someone else grabs this and gets it up because it was a beauty.

John Reynolds, talking about the so called "smear" yesterday where the PM stated his wishes that the Liberals would show more support for our troops, laid a smackdown on Martha Hall Finlay.

MHF was going on about how bad the 'smear' was and Reynolds took exception noting that conservatives have been constantly smeared by the Liberals for years and ended the Duffy segment with this line.

"Thats politics, grow up"

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John Reynolds is having a good day for being quote worthy. This from a CTV story on the latest poll numbers.

"Former Conservative MP John Reynolds, one of the prime minister's closest confidantes and the man who will run the Tory's next election campaign, was buoyed by the positive reaction to the budget.

"I like winning -- and we're going to win a majority government," he told CTV News."

Cue the outrage, again.

So this is what the fuss is about?

"I can understand the passion that the leader of the Opposition and members of his party feel for Taliban prisoners, I just wish occasionally they would show the same passion for Canadian soldiers."

"I would like to see more support in the House of Commons from all sides for Canadian men and women in uniform," Harper said.

"I think Canadians expect that from parliamentarians in every party. They have not been getting it, and they deserve it."

So the PM states what he would like to see more of in the HOC, and right on cue the Libs are again screaming about him being a bully. I see no outright smear, perhaps there is a bit of a guilty conscious thing happening here but little things like actual words mean nothing when playing the outraged victim card.

OK all you outraged Liberals, prove the PM wrong. Grab your Hansard and see if you can find some examples recently where the Liberals have indeed voiced support for the troops. No "we support the troops but......" quotes either please, context is key.

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No Liberals yet up to my challenge but Steve Janke has some thoughts on the Liberal defense critic Denis Coderre.

Bill 257 is Dead

The vote is in and Bill 257 has been defeated.

The liberals were split on the issue with many voting in favour of the Bill, but those that voted against were enough to stop this sad piece of legislation in its tracks.

A fitting end to a bad bill proposed by the BQ which would have had much negative impact across the entire country.

Liblogs power trip?

It seems that our friend Jason Cherniak has taken exception to audaciousontology posting the latest NDP ads up on their blog and has decided to do what was best for everyone. In a display of that famed Liberal tolerance and social justice, Jason has banned the blog from the Liblogs roll.

Is anyone really surprised?

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A small update: March 19th. More Liberal bloggers leaving Liblogs.

Jason responds, but not on his blog. Catnip snaps. Plenty of links is both of these to keep you busy and up to date on this topic.

Stay tuned tomorrow for another edition of 'As the Cherniak Turns'. Same Liberal time, same Liberal station.

Dion appoints Martha Hall Findlay in Willowdale

That champion of the charter, the defender of all things democratic, the upholder of social justice Stephane Dion appoints Martha Hall Findlay as the Liberal candidate in Willowdale.

No need for nominations or any of that other stuff that is synonymous with free elections, who cares if men are not allowed to apply, because Stephane is demonstrating democracy in action within the Liberal Party of Canada.

See the new NDP ads here.

The NDP are trying to finance a pre-election television ad campaign and have sent emails requesting money to their loyal supporters all across this great land of ours.

Link to the NDP ad in email

Youtube links to the others

This one is the one from the email http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTxodgPdsrA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEaCbbLJGg4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzweVAachUI





update: Liberal Blogger A BCer in Toronto noticed that the above link from the email is hosted on a server in the UK.

http://www.vismailv2.co.uk/direct/clients/......../vismail.php?rid=17379&cid=765

Those NDP, always looking out for Canadian business.

Hey Garth!!

You might have missed this yesterday, but fellow blogger Len has a question for you to answer if you have the backbone to stand up for your own words time.




Some background on the subject for those not playing along at home.

H/T to ChuckerCanuck, who first spotted the fact that Garth did some editing to his site by not only removing his post calling the PM a political whore, but also his statement of retraction regarding that post.

Don't hate us because we are beautiful.

And some people wonder why Alberta does not vote Liberal. If painting Stephen Harper as evil doesn't work, why not just smear Alberta. Don't forget to read the comments for the 'common liberal man' opinion.

For an all inclusive, progressive, uniting, social justice party; those Liberals sure have a big hate on for Alberta.


March 15th update: Feel the love Alberta, feel the love. "Lucky for Steve he has Albertans. Igf (sic) Hitler had Albertans he wouldn't have needed to burn down the Reichstag."

Like a compass in a magnet factory...

Stephane Dion is pointing in all directions but not really going anywhere.

This is the type of thing that drives me nuts about the Liberals. Right from day 1 of his so called leadership; Dion has been quoting from the Liberal script the usual BS about the Conservatives being neo-con evil right wing ideologues who will destroy Canada.

Now in another breath Dion is criticizing the Conservatives by claiming that they are stealing all the good Liberal ideas.

I know many Liberals have a hard time seeing stuff that is right in front of their faces sometimes but when you call someone, who is supposedly implementing your ideas, evil right wing zealots what does that say about not only your criticism, but also of the ideas themselves? Both criticisms of the CPC cannot be true, and to claim so makes flipper Dion look not so much like the intellectual he is claimed to be by some, but more of a typical Liberal politician who like his predecessors will say anything to get elected.

What you will not hear in question period

Here is something that I doubt we will be hearing from any opposition member in oral questions.

Mr. Speaker, this neocon government refuses to do the right thing and abide by our international and treaty obligations. When will this government do as the UN has asked them to do and shut down the safe injection site in Vancouver and restore Canada's reputation on the international stage?

From the article:

UNITED NATIONS - The UN's drug control agency is to warn Tony Clement, the Health Minister, that Canada is flouting international drug control treaties by enabling illicit drug use at a safe injection site in Vancouver and through drug-paraphernalia giveaways elsewhere.

Mr. Clement will be urged to shut down the initiatives, which the agency says effectively condone the use of drugs that Canada has agreed in an international forum are banned without a prescription......

"In a way [Canada] is encouraging illicit trafficking," Zhu Li-Qin, chief of the Convention Evaluation Section of the UN's International Narcotics Control Board (INCB), said from the agency's headquarters in Vienna.

For those playing along at home lets recap the position of the left:

Kyoto obligations good, NATO obligations bad.

UN obligations good, err bad, err just screw it and do as we say.

From The Anthill Mar 1, 2007

Lots of things to comment on but not enough time for single posts on each topic; the curse of the middle class working blogger.

The latest poll numbers are out (Angus Reid Decima) , and while I do not put much stock into polls in general, I do not see the Liberal numbers going up in the near future. The Liberals do not get it, but Canadians do.

More free advice from the Ardvark: Once you guys figure out that you lost the election for good reason and that you are not entitled by some kind of divine right to be the government, maybe then Canadians will give you a shot at power. Your performance and actions so far in opposition has been dismal and it constantly reminds voters as to why they voted your Liberal Party out.

It is really that simple, but judging by how the new brain trust over there has been handling things, I do not expect to see results on this very soon.

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So, Al Gore buys carbon credits from a company he helped found, and is chairman of?

h/t Promo Christian

I think it is kind of a Boris Karloff thing; making money from scaring people, brilliant!!! An angle that even the great Suzuki has yet to think of, but some others have.

And don't forget to send me that cash! We both will sleep better knowing you did.

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Do you think this could be true? A little tease: I think we’ll see Garth pop right back into that National Press Building room he loves to visit every six weeks to announce that Elizabeth May is the only visionary to lead the country in no time!

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Diabetes rates are rising in Canada at an alarming rate. Another sign that we are going soft.

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Pablo Rodriguez deserves something nice, perhaps a nice muffin or fruit basket. *

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It is all over for the Oilers this year; after last years run this is a tough one to take for many fans, but they are fans and will bounce back.

Speaking of the Oilers, why all the fuss about Ryan Smyth being traded? He didn't sign because he didn't get a big enough offer from the Oil, and the tears of a millionaire should not take away the fact that this is business entertainment and it was his choice. Yes I said entertainment; sports is something you play, not watch. ( see the above reference to diabetes)

Besides, anyone old enough to have seen Gretzky get traded, should not get that upset because Smyth left.

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It looks like Bill 257, better known as the Bloc sponsored anti-scab bill, might die. There is still plenty of time for Dion to try to pull another 'I am a leader' ploy, so I will just wait for the vote tally before I relax.

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And last for tonight I must thank Mr. Pierre Bourque from Bourque Newswatch
as he linked my post on Iggy's sideshow comments on his site. I thought my sitemeter was broken when I looked at then traffic numbers, and the best part is that it didn't cost me a thing =)



* for historical reference.

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Update of a few more recent items of interest to myself.

Read the comments on this post from Red Tory as a great example.


Just Right has an angry climate scientist here.

Everybody loves a good smackdown, and Officially Screwed has one up of Marlene Jennings on the receiving end again.


A supporter of Bill 257 has no clue what he is talking about. Telecommunications/ internet service has already been ruled NOT to be an essential service by the CIRB, nor has any airline that I am aware of, so the unions in these areas could easily paralyze the country on a whim and this bill would help them do just that. The bill is so one sided even the Liberals cannot support it in good conscience, and that is saying something.

Breaking Faux News!!!!!

Anteater Worldwide Media™ has learned that the self proclaimed protector of the charter, Stephane Dion, is going to announce more flip flops rights based policy very soon.

Using some of the same justifications he has already given for whipping the Liberals against extending 2 provisions from the ATA, that individual rights are always more important than safety, Mr.Dion is expected to announce the first of many policies beginning with the following obtained by AWM™ from leaked documents:

"All forms of random roadside impaired driving spot check programs will be canceled, as they are an extreme use of police powers that infringe upon the basic rights of Canadians. It is an abuse of the charter to randomly stop anyone without just cause, and even if these programs are for public safety and considered to be a reasonable infringement on charter rights by the Supreme Court, we can not risk the conservative government to have such a power."

Follow up policies are to include:

The elimination of seat belts from automobiles and aircraft that are now ruthlessly imposed on industry by draconian Transport Canada regulations.

Removal of any laws dealing with conspiracy where no crime has yet been committed. Free speech is an absolute right and just because a couple of people are drawing up or discussing plans to kill someone or even everyone, there is no reason for the State to infringe on their free speech with these type of fascist laws in the name of so called safety.

*The elimination of all type of helmet laws for not only toboggans, but also bicycles and motorcycles, and banning any law demanding the use of child safety seats. Because the beer and popcorn crowd are limiting the rights of bouncing babies everywhere to bounce freely.

*It is noted in the leaked document that while these types of laws are provincial responsibilities; that it has never stopped the Liberals in the past from getting involved, and that they are willing to use the not withstanding clause in an effort to make sure our rights are not trampled on in the name of safety.

AWM™, working for Liberals Canadians in the quest for what is good, because we said so!

John McCain announces on Letterman

I don't do much US politics here because I am a Canadian and what happens down there is not really up to me, but this is breaking so...

John McCain announces he is a candidate for President of the US

Dion thinks he is now a leader, but at what cost?

Last night Stephane Dion put his stamp on the Liberal Party of Canada when he whipped his caucus to vote against the extension of 2 provisions of the Anti Terror Act; and in doing so lost any hope what so ever that the centrist voters of this country will vote Liberal in the next election.

Absolutely unbelievable. If Dion wanted to play leader and show everyone just how well he can lead the New Dion Liberals ( NDL), his timing and choice of hill to die on may just be one of the stupidest decisions made by a Canadian politician in recent memory. You cannot play politics with the safety of Canadians and expect them not to notice; and it was all politics from start to finish for Dion and the whipped spineless Liberals who voted against their own legislation. Legislation which is still required, has already passed a Charter challenge, is supported by the majority of Canadians, and is still supported by, dare I say, a majority of those that call themselves Liberals.

Dion has given himself and the once proud Liberal Party over to the far left faction within the LPC, a group that while I suspect has been growing for years, still make up a minority of those that vote Liberal. The list is long of those within the party that oppose this decision including Keith Martin, John Manley, Roy Cullen, Tom Wappel, Bob Rae, Derek Lee, Anne McLellan, Irwin Cotler, among others. Law enforcement, every major MSM editorial board in the country, The Liberal dominated Senate, families of terror victims, and the majority of center voters are also in favour of these provisions being extended, as well there is a very real risk that this may derail the Air India investigation.

Does any of this matter to Dion? I doubt it, because in spite of it all Dion made his call and whipped his caucus to support this bizarre move to the left. What does Dion see as having been accomplished by his twisted decision to vote against former Liberal legislation? Where is the upside to this, not only for himself and party but also for the security of Canadians? While I myself would like some answers, I think I can safely say that there are plenty of Liberal voters out there who would also like to have these same questions answered. He can ignore me without risk, but can he ignore the others?

Al

Update:

Tom Wappel talks about the Liberal Flip flop and why he voted the way he did. Looks like the talk about an open discussion in the Liberal caucus is just more Liberal BS. h/t Middle Earth
From the CTV story:

"Given that it was Liberal legislation, given that our own Liberal ministers told us that there was nothing that they could suggest to us to fix in the act, I'm flabbergasted that I now find myself the only person supporting the Liberal legislation that the Liberal ministers supported,'' Wappel said in an interview.

Before the Liberals were turfed from power last year, two of their ministers, Anne McLellan and Cotler, appeared before the sub-committee and defended the act. Both, Wappel noted, recommended renewal of two controversial provisions empowering police to detain terrorist suspects without charge and to compel testimony before a judge.

In its report last October, the sub-committee also recommended renewal of the two provisions.

Wappel noted that there was not a peep of opposition from Liberals at that time. Nor did the matter become an issue during the Liberal leadership race, won by Dion on Dec. 2.

It was only after a caucus committee meeting on Feb. 5 that he learned the new leader had decreed "a 180 degree reversal'' of the Liberal stance on the issue.

"Under no circumstances did I expect that it would be anything but a formality and, yes, we'll support the extension . . . To me it was a total shock,'' Wappel said.

Iggy Calls 911 victims families a "Sideshow"

I am sure this is going to go over well. From the Hamilton Spectator. (note: original link dead. Updated with link to the Toronto Star)

"At a news conference before the vote, Maureen Basnicki, (pictured with daughter, Erica) whose husband Ken was among two dozen Canadian victims of the 9/11 al-Qaeda attacks, urged MPs to "stop playing politics" and to "vote with their conscience and not with their party."

Deputy Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff said he sympathized with terror victims but labelled their appearance during the debate as "just a sideshow," prompting an angry response from Basnicki.

"Sideshow? I was a victim of terrorism. My husband was murdered. I don't like to be a victim of politics. The issue here is the security of Canadians," Basnicki remarked.

Garth contradicts his new boss.

Who is telling the truth?

While I was checking out Garth Turners blog this morning I noticed a reply that he made in response to a readers comment about Bob Rae writing Liberal campaign policy. (Source, see the first comment)

Readers comment snipped for brevity ..."The Liberals at this time do not have a platform. It is being written by Maurice Strong’s nephew, and PowerCorp VP John Rae’s brother - former NDP Bob Rae as I understand it....Because the Conservatives had already brainstormed their election platform which you endorsed by running under it you did not like the fact that you were not part of it at that time.
Is this fair comment?"

Garth's reply:
"No, it is wrong. First, the Liberal platform is being written now by elected people. I know, for obvious reasons. Second, the Con platform is already written, and your MP has diddly to say about it. This I also know. — Garth''


Liberal Party press release: December 19, 2006 TORONTO – Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion announced today that fellow former leadership candidate Bob Rae will be Co-chair of the Election Policy Platform Committee for the Liberal Party of Canada ...

Another Liberal Press release: ...Leadership race runner-up Michael Ignatieff will serve as the Liberals’ Deputy Leader, bringing his wealth of knowledge and strong policy background, while fellow leadership candidates Bob Rae and Scott Brison will be in charge of developing the Liberal Party platform for the next election campaign.


Last time I checked, Bob Rae was not currently elected, but Garth does seem to be very sure of himself as he added this part to his comment " I know, for obvious reasons" , so what are the possible reasons for such a statement:

Maybe Bob Rae is on his way out because he opposes Dion's position on the anti terror legislation? Maybe Dion lied to Canadians about Rae's position in the party? Or just maybe Garth is just an idiot and has no clue what he is speaking about? Either way it looks like Garth is up to his old tricks again.

Al