The boss is someone we all seem to hate,
Dick Cheney's thoughts they keep him up late,
Air Canada once they had no cash,
Now they've got Celine to start the bash,
The Yankees they were embarrassed good,
Perhaps Like Sheila, George will write a book
Bill Clinton he's done risen from his bed,
Will his kind words go to Kerry's head.
Seven more days have flown right by,
So sit right back as we recap on the fly!
19-Oct-04 We're just not happy, hate the boss and are generally just annoyed
19-Oct-04 Beg borrow and steal in the name of the Queen
19-Oct-04 From hanging chads, to floating chads
19-Oct-04 Bush/Kerry is just a preliminary, its Carlson/Stewart for the title
19-Oct-04 Lock up the CD players, Shatner sings again!
20-Oct-04 The price of one's convictions
20-Oct-04 Dick Cheney shares his nightmares (again)
20-Oct-04 Do as we said, not as we did
20-Oct-04 Yet more trouble for the Canadian Forces
20-Oct-04 Fly me to the bank
21-Oct-04 A pick and a prick
21-Oct-04 A Dead foot talking
21-Oct-04 Where seldom is heard a discouraging word
21-Oct-04 Bringing back that Band Aid solution
21-Oct-04 The hot dog that just keeps giving
22-Oct-04 Revenge is always best served cold, eh Sheila?
22-Oct-04 A foreign takeover that meets with approval
22-Oct-04 Harry slides out of control
22-Oct-04 He's fallen and he can't get up
22-Oct-04 A suggestion for Steinbrenner
23-Oct-04 The humble Don Cherry
23-Oct-04 Hunter and the Hunted
23-Oct-04 The Flu Cruise
23-Oct-04 Tumbling stocks and skyrocketing oil
23-Oct-04 Will a Kerry win cost Canada?
24-Oct-04 Hmm, didn't Andropov once get the flu?
24-Oct-04 Coming soon to Columbia House: the Bill O'Reilly collection!
24-Oct-04 Bono found what he was looking for
24-Oct-04 One big step over the line
24-Oct-04 She went to London to visit the Queen
25-Oct-04 Bubba's Back
25-Oct-04 Collateral Damage of the Newspaper Wars
25-Oct-04 First for the Post
25-Oct-04 Forget First Past the Post
25-Oct-04 Shades of Milli Vanilli
Monday, October 25, 2004
Saturday, October 23, 2004
Is there something we should know?
The current flood of Americans coming across the border to willingly be given a needle makes me wonder if I should be re-thinking my own flu shot plans. As I sniffle, sneeze and gag my way through a mid fall cold, the idea of lining up for my own flu shot seems actually sensible.
Originally I had decided that I would tempt the Gods and forgo the shot, as I generally fall into the category of Canadians that for the most part are healthy and not in the risk group demographic. I wasn’t even overly concerned over the flood of the blue rinse grannies taking the flu cruise, or the bus tour operators filling up the travel buses and clogging border crossings from Maine to Washington State. The flu shot scare in the US has inadvertantly become one of the great money making opportunities that Canada has seen, we can market entire tour packages built around a visit to a clinic, a prick in the arm and a fifty buck donation to the cause. Kind of a SARS situation in reverse (Maybe we should bring Back Mick and the Boys to entertain our visitors in the line up)!
But with the near panic in the US, I’m now I’m wondering if I should go get a shot just to be on the safe side, because if the Americans are pouring over the border in record numbers to throw their fifty bucks US (and now it’s almost fifty bucks Canadian) into the health care system, then maybe I had best get mine while there is still something to get. I mean their own president offered up the suggestion that perhaps our pharmaceuticals are not safe for consumption by an anxious American public, so if all those old folks are disregarding their own leader and crossing the border, surely they must know something right?
Things are so anxious in the US at the moment that even normally big and strong, NFL football players are receiving flu shots, a less than great PR moment for a group of supposedly fit and healthy athletes. Though to be fair, only those that have asthmatic conditions and such are taking the shot, the bulk of the players are foregoing their shots to spread the already short supply around their towns.
Here in Canada, we’re constantly being reassured that our supply is appropriate for the demand, but simple math tells one that with over 300 million Americans and only 30 million Canadians somewhere down the line the supply is going to be gone. Unless Health Canada has some bizarre 10 for every one ratio of flu serum sitting on shelves, one can see how the flu pipeline would quickly run dry, most likely just when we need it most.
Personally this is one of those situations where I’d like to have the decision made for me, if the government believes that a flu shot is necessary for all then provide enough vaccine to go around and hold a comprehensive inoculation session. Give us the facts, give us our options and provide the resources should be the credo of Health Canada on this issue.
I’m still leaning towards not getting the shot, feeling that the supply should first go to the elderly and the very young, as they are the two groups that are being urged to be vaccinated. I’m willing to suffer a few days of discomfort to avoid someone truly in need not having a flu shot available.
But if I start seeing the Green Bay Packers, Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions and Seattle Seahawks lining up at the border for a flu shot then get out of my way, I‘m heading for the front of the line. I’ll gladly let Grandpa Ed and Granny Mabel of Terre Haute get a shot before me, but when the guys in the prime of their life and the peak of their health start to panic then I’ll now something is up. If Brett Favre and his pals think they have had a rough time on the field, wait til they get in the way of MY flu shot.
Originally I had decided that I would tempt the Gods and forgo the shot, as I generally fall into the category of Canadians that for the most part are healthy and not in the risk group demographic. I wasn’t even overly concerned over the flood of the blue rinse grannies taking the flu cruise, or the bus tour operators filling up the travel buses and clogging border crossings from Maine to Washington State. The flu shot scare in the US has inadvertantly become one of the great money making opportunities that Canada has seen, we can market entire tour packages built around a visit to a clinic, a prick in the arm and a fifty buck donation to the cause. Kind of a SARS situation in reverse (Maybe we should bring Back Mick and the Boys to entertain our visitors in the line up)!
But with the near panic in the US, I’m now I’m wondering if I should go get a shot just to be on the safe side, because if the Americans are pouring over the border in record numbers to throw their fifty bucks US (and now it’s almost fifty bucks Canadian) into the health care system, then maybe I had best get mine while there is still something to get. I mean their own president offered up the suggestion that perhaps our pharmaceuticals are not safe for consumption by an anxious American public, so if all those old folks are disregarding their own leader and crossing the border, surely they must know something right?
Things are so anxious in the US at the moment that even normally big and strong, NFL football players are receiving flu shots, a less than great PR moment for a group of supposedly fit and healthy athletes. Though to be fair, only those that have asthmatic conditions and such are taking the shot, the bulk of the players are foregoing their shots to spread the already short supply around their towns.
Here in Canada, we’re constantly being reassured that our supply is appropriate for the demand, but simple math tells one that with over 300 million Americans and only 30 million Canadians somewhere down the line the supply is going to be gone. Unless Health Canada has some bizarre 10 for every one ratio of flu serum sitting on shelves, one can see how the flu pipeline would quickly run dry, most likely just when we need it most.
Personally this is one of those situations where I’d like to have the decision made for me, if the government believes that a flu shot is necessary for all then provide enough vaccine to go around and hold a comprehensive inoculation session. Give us the facts, give us our options and provide the resources should be the credo of Health Canada on this issue.
I’m still leaning towards not getting the shot, feeling that the supply should first go to the elderly and the very young, as they are the two groups that are being urged to be vaccinated. I’m willing to suffer a few days of discomfort to avoid someone truly in need not having a flu shot available.
But if I start seeing the Green Bay Packers, Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions and Seattle Seahawks lining up at the border for a flu shot then get out of my way, I‘m heading for the front of the line. I’ll gladly let Grandpa Ed and Granny Mabel of Terre Haute get a shot before me, but when the guys in the prime of their life and the peak of their health start to panic then I’ll now something is up. If Brett Favre and his pals think they have had a rough time on the field, wait til they get in the way of MY flu shot.
Irreverent or Irresponsible?
The possibility of George W. Bush receiving a second term seems to be sending the left side of the media spectrum into apocalyptic fits of late. The views of Al Franken, Michael Moore et al have all been well documented over the last number of months. Jon Stewart of the Daily Show has made some pretty good political hay out of the various Bush mis steps, Stewart who at least left no doubt as to where he would cast a vote, came out and endorsed John Kerry. He then took his attack onto CNN, with a nasty nuckle duster with Tucker Carlson and served up a heaping helping of comeuppance to the media machine. A sign that the campaign is ratcheting up the testosterone as we near the end. In short the media has become a battleground all of its own.
The timbre however is becoming a little nastier as voting day comes a calling. The scathing wordprocessing of Hunter S. Thompson has brought us a blistering indictment of the Bush first term and fears of what a second one might bring. Thompson in the latest edition of Rolling Stone mocks Bush as hardly a man worthy of the presidency, calling for a return to the halcyon days of Richard Nixon, a president that may have been a crook and possibly unstable, but never embarrassing! But Dr. Thompson is but a mere peacenik in the world of vitriolic character assassination.
Where Thompson merely destroys the image of George Bush as a statesman let alone as a President, Charlie Brooker of the Guardian newspaper in the UK goes much, much further. Brooker attacks the President mercilessly, he scarcastically mocks the presidents speaking patterns, his disjointed syntax and the less than concise explanations of political belief. He paints the current resident of 1600 Pennsylvania as a man barely capable of bowel movements let alone world policy, its all very nasty stuff. A stream of Journalism that even the much maligned Fox network has yet to swim in.
In blunt language Brooker proclaims that the world is holding its breath collectively hoping against hope that the electors in the US, spare the rest of us the misery of a second term for the President. A very derisive piece it surely leaves the reader fully aware of where Mr. Brooker sits on the issue of the Bush Presidency and the repercussions for all of us of a second term. But all of his salient points and clarity of thought gets tossed out of the window with the final paragraph of his diatribe.
Brooker must surely however, have stepped over the line with his call for the spirit of John Wilkes Booth, Lee Harvey Oswald and John Hinckley Jr. to carry through the waning days of the campaign.
Suddenly an irreverent piece veered dangerously into the territory of irresponsibility. Regardless of ones perception of the fitness of Bush for office, the call for his removal by violent means seems a complete break from conventional thought, not to mention a dangerous and much unwanted change of the political temperature.
Even in their wildest moments, the likes of Moore, Franken, Stewart calling for change and even a public Bill O'Reilly for the stay the course campaign, have managed to keep a handle on the actual process of presidential succession. Something that Brooker clearly has no desire to do. Brooker with his final words has clearly put us beyond the concept of Democracy, instead in his world the end would justify the means and the bullet from a gun, would trump a ballot in a box.
When we allow that to become a solution then the Democratic process will have suffered its gravest blow. Journalism is supposed to inform the public, examine the issues and shine a light where a light needs to be shone. When it gets off message, as this piece clearly did, it demeans its purpose and adds nothing of value to the debate!
The timbre however is becoming a little nastier as voting day comes a calling. The scathing wordprocessing of Hunter S. Thompson has brought us a blistering indictment of the Bush first term and fears of what a second one might bring. Thompson in the latest edition of Rolling Stone mocks Bush as hardly a man worthy of the presidency, calling for a return to the halcyon days of Richard Nixon, a president that may have been a crook and possibly unstable, but never embarrassing! But Dr. Thompson is but a mere peacenik in the world of vitriolic character assassination.
Where Thompson merely destroys the image of George Bush as a statesman let alone as a President, Charlie Brooker of the Guardian newspaper in the UK goes much, much further. Brooker attacks the President mercilessly, he scarcastically mocks the presidents speaking patterns, his disjointed syntax and the less than concise explanations of political belief. He paints the current resident of 1600 Pennsylvania as a man barely capable of bowel movements let alone world policy, its all very nasty stuff. A stream of Journalism that even the much maligned Fox network has yet to swim in.
In blunt language Brooker proclaims that the world is holding its breath collectively hoping against hope that the electors in the US, spare the rest of us the misery of a second term for the President. A very derisive piece it surely leaves the reader fully aware of where Mr. Brooker sits on the issue of the Bush Presidency and the repercussions for all of us of a second term. But all of his salient points and clarity of thought gets tossed out of the window with the final paragraph of his diatribe.
Brooker must surely however, have stepped over the line with his call for the spirit of John Wilkes Booth, Lee Harvey Oswald and John Hinckley Jr. to carry through the waning days of the campaign.
Suddenly an irreverent piece veered dangerously into the territory of irresponsibility. Regardless of ones perception of the fitness of Bush for office, the call for his removal by violent means seems a complete break from conventional thought, not to mention a dangerous and much unwanted change of the political temperature.
Even in their wildest moments, the likes of Moore, Franken, Stewart calling for change and even a public Bill O'Reilly for the stay the course campaign, have managed to keep a handle on the actual process of presidential succession. Something that Brooker clearly has no desire to do. Brooker with his final words has clearly put us beyond the concept of Democracy, instead in his world the end would justify the means and the bullet from a gun, would trump a ballot in a box.
When we allow that to become a solution then the Democratic process will have suffered its gravest blow. Journalism is supposed to inform the public, examine the issues and shine a light where a light needs to be shone. When it gets off message, as this piece clearly did, it demeans its purpose and adds nothing of value to the debate!
Coppin’ a plea: Sheila unleashed!
The Christmas book selling season officially got underway on Friday, as “leaks” about Sheila Copps upcoming tome made the rounds of Ottawa. With a few excerpts giving us a glimpse of what is to come in Worth Fighting For, we are left to believe that this will be a bare knuckles memoir, guaranteed to further isolate the once mighty Liberal cabinet minister from the current crew on the Hill.
The Liberal troops in Ottawa rallied around the Prime Minister on Friday, suggesting that Ms. Copps memory may be a tad faulty, in her remembrances of times in cabinet. Accusations that back in 1995, while he was Finance Minister, Paul Martin wanted to eliminate Old age pensions, get rid of the CBC and scrap our much cherished Medicare law were all treated with scorn by Liberal after Liberal on Friday.
To have Sheila tell it, only her concerns voiced to Prime Minister Chretien, saved the country from the destruction of our medical system. A suggestion that the Deputy Prime Minister Anne McLellan dismissed out of hand, handling the point on the attacks on the Prime Minister McLellan told the Commons that the only thing the Prime Minister has planned for the Health Act is to reinforce it on behalf of all Canadians.
She also fans the fire of Canada’s decision not to become involved in the current Iraqi situation, claiming that Martin would have had Canadian troops on the ground had he been Prime Minister one year earlier. It’s a charge she comes up with based purely on the company he keeps. In Sheila’s world, the fact that many of Martin’s leadership team were more pro American than she and other Liberals, somehow translates into a whole hearted desire to commit troops to Iraq. Apparently Martin’s placement of David Pratt as Defence Minister prior to the last election was a sign of our militaristic nature. One might call this a bit of a stretch. To somehow divine his long term plan from the appointments he made seems to be a rather special talent available only to Ms. Copps.
To confirm her bona fides as a “true Liberal”, Sheila enlists the aid of Jean Chrétien in her forward; Chrétien takes what many perceive to be a veiled jab at his successor, when he describes Ms. Copps as hard working and Loyal! However in true vacillating fashion we are treated to an immediate cautionary note from the Chrétien forces. An aide to the former Prime Minister claims that he was only providing the foreword as a favour to his loyal minister, adding that he hadn’t actually read the book when he did the foreword; we aren’t to read anything into his words. This makes for a bizarre situation that once again shows that even in retirement, some Liberals never seem to want to be responsible for their words or deeds.
Copps who lost her seat in a bitter nomination battle with Tony Valeri in Hamilton denies that she in any way is engaged in a revenge festival, claiming that if that had been the case she would have published her book before the election last May. But then one suspects that the best bitterness is that which ferments for a while.
She saves some of her most determined vitriol for the process that eventually forced her from her place in the party, suggesting that the Liberal party of today under Martin is conducting organized fraud from the top down, engaged in a number of dirty tricks. This from a woman who proudly declared her allegiance to a group of renegade Liberals known as the Rat pack!
She also slyly warns the Prime Minister that he may not be finished with her just yet, claiming that you never know she may make a third run for the party leadership! With these claims she firmly exhibits a delusion of grandeur if ever there was one. Seemingly lost in her place in Liberal history, she just can’t accept that her time may have come and truly gone. Having levelled her guns at many of the current Liberal members one wonders exactly where she plans on picking up any kind of ground swell of support.
What her efforts will do however; will further create division in a party that is suddenly thrust back into the backroom days of the Chrétien slow march to retirement. Complete with old rivalries, old scars and more uncertainty. This should make for an interesting situation for a government that is hanging onto its parliamentary life one vote at a time. The Liberal caucus room will be a cauldron of suspicion in the short term, any wagers on how many folks bring the book into the caucus room? You can bet that Conservatives will however, be checking the book out of the Parliamentary library, making their checklist of wavering Martinites, ready to pounce on a daily basis at any sign of discord with the boss.
Copps claims that her book is nothing more than her “telling truths, her truths!” Truths that apparently come will little or no back up documentation. As far as any form of corroborating evidence goes, Sheila claims she kept no papers, no recordings, nor notes, it’s all from her head and her soul. We are told we should trust her as she will swear on her father’s grave, that these are her simple truths.
And here is where the dilemma for booksellers will begin, with no backing evidence, no paper trail and a bit of an axe to grind with the Martin Liberals, one wonders where will your local book store place this epic purging of a tortured soul.
Will it be Fiction, Biography, Fantasy, Humour or True Crime Stories? Time and the sales count will be the final determining factor as to the fate of Sheila! Is she a crusading beacon for change or just a bitter and jaded politician who had a lengthy run at the trough and now is unable to let go.
One assumes the verdict will be issued by the amount of time it takes to go between the best seller list and remainder bins. Indeed we could also say that her political future is composed of very much those same parameters.
The Liberal troops in Ottawa rallied around the Prime Minister on Friday, suggesting that Ms. Copps memory may be a tad faulty, in her remembrances of times in cabinet. Accusations that back in 1995, while he was Finance Minister, Paul Martin wanted to eliminate Old age pensions, get rid of the CBC and scrap our much cherished Medicare law were all treated with scorn by Liberal after Liberal on Friday.
To have Sheila tell it, only her concerns voiced to Prime Minister Chretien, saved the country from the destruction of our medical system. A suggestion that the Deputy Prime Minister Anne McLellan dismissed out of hand, handling the point on the attacks on the Prime Minister McLellan told the Commons that the only thing the Prime Minister has planned for the Health Act is to reinforce it on behalf of all Canadians.
She also fans the fire of Canada’s decision not to become involved in the current Iraqi situation, claiming that Martin would have had Canadian troops on the ground had he been Prime Minister one year earlier. It’s a charge she comes up with based purely on the company he keeps. In Sheila’s world, the fact that many of Martin’s leadership team were more pro American than she and other Liberals, somehow translates into a whole hearted desire to commit troops to Iraq. Apparently Martin’s placement of David Pratt as Defence Minister prior to the last election was a sign of our militaristic nature. One might call this a bit of a stretch. To somehow divine his long term plan from the appointments he made seems to be a rather special talent available only to Ms. Copps.
To confirm her bona fides as a “true Liberal”, Sheila enlists the aid of Jean Chrétien in her forward; Chrétien takes what many perceive to be a veiled jab at his successor, when he describes Ms. Copps as hard working and Loyal! However in true vacillating fashion we are treated to an immediate cautionary note from the Chrétien forces. An aide to the former Prime Minister claims that he was only providing the foreword as a favour to his loyal minister, adding that he hadn’t actually read the book when he did the foreword; we aren’t to read anything into his words. This makes for a bizarre situation that once again shows that even in retirement, some Liberals never seem to want to be responsible for their words or deeds.
Copps who lost her seat in a bitter nomination battle with Tony Valeri in Hamilton denies that she in any way is engaged in a revenge festival, claiming that if that had been the case she would have published her book before the election last May. But then one suspects that the best bitterness is that which ferments for a while.
She saves some of her most determined vitriol for the process that eventually forced her from her place in the party, suggesting that the Liberal party of today under Martin is conducting organized fraud from the top down, engaged in a number of dirty tricks. This from a woman who proudly declared her allegiance to a group of renegade Liberals known as the Rat pack!
She also slyly warns the Prime Minister that he may not be finished with her just yet, claiming that you never know she may make a third run for the party leadership! With these claims she firmly exhibits a delusion of grandeur if ever there was one. Seemingly lost in her place in Liberal history, she just can’t accept that her time may have come and truly gone. Having levelled her guns at many of the current Liberal members one wonders exactly where she plans on picking up any kind of ground swell of support.
What her efforts will do however; will further create division in a party that is suddenly thrust back into the backroom days of the Chrétien slow march to retirement. Complete with old rivalries, old scars and more uncertainty. This should make for an interesting situation for a government that is hanging onto its parliamentary life one vote at a time. The Liberal caucus room will be a cauldron of suspicion in the short term, any wagers on how many folks bring the book into the caucus room? You can bet that Conservatives will however, be checking the book out of the Parliamentary library, making their checklist of wavering Martinites, ready to pounce on a daily basis at any sign of discord with the boss.
Copps claims that her book is nothing more than her “telling truths, her truths!” Truths that apparently come will little or no back up documentation. As far as any form of corroborating evidence goes, Sheila claims she kept no papers, no recordings, nor notes, it’s all from her head and her soul. We are told we should trust her as she will swear on her father’s grave, that these are her simple truths.
And here is where the dilemma for booksellers will begin, with no backing evidence, no paper trail and a bit of an axe to grind with the Martin Liberals, one wonders where will your local book store place this epic purging of a tortured soul.
Will it be Fiction, Biography, Fantasy, Humour or True Crime Stories? Time and the sales count will be the final determining factor as to the fate of Sheila! Is she a crusading beacon for change or just a bitter and jaded politician who had a lengthy run at the trough and now is unable to let go.
One assumes the verdict will be issued by the amount of time it takes to go between the best seller list and remainder bins. Indeed we could also say that her political future is composed of very much those same parameters.
Wednesday, October 20, 2004
Curses, Martial Law and the joys of a game seven!
The troubles in the sport of baseball are numerous; over the years an entire generation of fans seems to have lost touch with one of the great sports of our era. Greed, mismanagement and a seemingly contemptuous attitude towards its fans have threatened to send the once proud game down in the ninth without a hit.
But there once again is joy in Mudville as the Red Sox and Yankees rise to the occasion of drama and pull us all back to the television and back to the game that transcends time. There is nothing like a Red Sox/Yankee series to bring out the emotion of a game that can live and breathe with every pitch, every hit, and every managerial move and yes every call of the umpire.
The current match up between these two bitter rivals has once again showcased just how enthralling the game can be if left to the players on the field and the managers in the dugout. With a history that dates back past to a curse from 1918, we appear on the verge of writing another chapter in the lore of one of the great sporting rivalries of our time.
In a series that has had it all, we are gladly going back to the tube tonight, begging for more, hoping to squeeze every last ounce of drama from what has become one of the most entertaining championship match ups in recent history.
Down three games to none heading into last Sunday’s game most fans were already preparing the obituary for the Red Sox, embarrassed early on in this series including an astounding 19-8 defeat the Red Sox have picked themselves off the ground, dusted themselves off and stepped right back into the batters box. Battling back one game at a time, the Sox have fought through two games lasting over 4 and a half hours, staved off elimination and now sit just one game away, a winner take all contest that will send the winner tonight (or maybe tomorrow morning who knows with these guys) on to the World Series.
Never before has a team come back from a 3-0 deficit to advance, never before has a team rallied from that deficit to force a game seven, never before have we seen such drama as the last three consecutive nights of baseball have provided. And never have before have we seen the incredible happenings of last nights 4-2 Red Sox victory at Yankee stadium.
Not once, but twice the umpires were called upon to convene as though they were cardinals at a papal summit and render a judgement to the assembled flock. Decisions which were greeted unanimously with disdain by the assembled multitudes (the Yankee fans at any rate) and will fuel the fire of this rivalry for more years to come. A fourth inning hit by Mark Bellhorn provided the first concave of the night, as confusion reigned on the field the umpires gathered to discuss whether his hit cleared the fence or bounced off the rail, television replays clearly showed the ball hitting a Yankee fan in the first row, which would make it a home run. The umps without benefit of replays would have to take a straw vote, home run it was, for Yankee fans the night suddenly got colder, the mood uglier. The Sox were in the lead and by the end of the night that lead would be tested, but would hold.
Backing up a gutsy performance by starter Curt Schilling the Red Sox refused to go away quietly into the night. Blood oozing into his socks from his stitched up ankle, Schilling gave much more than could be expected, Schilling more than made amends for his sub par performance in game one of the series. Lasting until the seventh inning, Schilling provided the kind of pitching the Red Sox wanted when they acquired him for this season, with nothing left in his tank, the Sox relievers went to work and shut down the Yankees for the third night in a row.
The drama of the night completed by the surreal sight of New York City Police dressed in riot gear lining the field during the ninth inning. The need for the reinforcements another controversial call by the umpires that in the end wasn’t controversial at all. In the eighth inning with Derek Jeter on first base, Alex Rodriquez hit a grounder down the first base line, running to the base he swatted the ball out of relief pitcher Bronson Arroyo’s glove a definite contravention of the rules. The play was missed by the first base umpire who was blocked out of the view of the play, resulting in the second concave of the night, and again the Yankee faithful would find the decision wanting. Ruled interference, Rodriquez was called out and Jeter sent back to first base.
Yankee fans with the vision of game six slipping away from them proclaimed their indignation with a barrage of baseballs, cups, programs and other missiles directed at Umpires and Red Sox players alike. Fearing a much uglier scene could be on the horizon home plate umpire Joe West called for the troops, and a battalion of New York’s finest, dressed in battle ready riot gear took their place along the third and first base walls.
With a sense of martial law declared the game once again resumed, the Sox avoiding further bad karma by wrapping the Yanks up in the bottom of the ninth, forcing the greatest experience for a baseball fan a Game seven showdown. One pitch, one hit, one error or a blown call, could make all the difference between ending a curse or adding to it’s legend.
Baseball couldn’t ask for a better series to rebuild its shattered image, with the debacle of the Expos (Podunk passim) still fresh in our minds, we needed a sign that the sport was still worth following. The beauty of this series is that it shows that the game itself, much like hockey can somehow withstand the abuses of those that purportedly have its interests at heart. Leave us with the game between the foul lines and it’s a wonderful sport, no talk of salary caps, commissioner prerogatives or franchise shifts. Just a pitcher, a hitter and the fielders providing thrill after thrill.
When the Expos were born I split my loyalties between them in the National and the Red Sox in the American, following the trail of the Red Sox from Yaz to Fisk, from Clemons to Spaceman Lee and Billy Buckner I cheered when they won and commiserated when they lost. Far too frequently it has been at the hands of this Evil Empire from New York; one crosses one’s fingers, works on some chants and dares to dream that tonight that curse of the Babe will be put to rest. The near panic of the New York Post and New York Daily News a testimony that the momentum has swung to the Red Sox Nation.
The latest chapter in this rivalry of the ages takes place tonight. Game time is 8:20 (5:20 PST) it seems hard to believe that this incredible run can be topped, but you just have a feeling that the best may yet be to come. Baseball history could be made tonight, something that this sport surely needed at this time. In the end it's always about what happens on the field, as it should be.
But there once again is joy in Mudville as the Red Sox and Yankees rise to the occasion of drama and pull us all back to the television and back to the game that transcends time. There is nothing like a Red Sox/Yankee series to bring out the emotion of a game that can live and breathe with every pitch, every hit, and every managerial move and yes every call of the umpire.
The current match up between these two bitter rivals has once again showcased just how enthralling the game can be if left to the players on the field and the managers in the dugout. With a history that dates back past to a curse from 1918, we appear on the verge of writing another chapter in the lore of one of the great sporting rivalries of our time.
In a series that has had it all, we are gladly going back to the tube tonight, begging for more, hoping to squeeze every last ounce of drama from what has become one of the most entertaining championship match ups in recent history.
Down three games to none heading into last Sunday’s game most fans were already preparing the obituary for the Red Sox, embarrassed early on in this series including an astounding 19-8 defeat the Red Sox have picked themselves off the ground, dusted themselves off and stepped right back into the batters box. Battling back one game at a time, the Sox have fought through two games lasting over 4 and a half hours, staved off elimination and now sit just one game away, a winner take all contest that will send the winner tonight (or maybe tomorrow morning who knows with these guys) on to the World Series.
Never before has a team come back from a 3-0 deficit to advance, never before has a team rallied from that deficit to force a game seven, never before have we seen such drama as the last three consecutive nights of baseball have provided. And never have before have we seen the incredible happenings of last nights 4-2 Red Sox victory at Yankee stadium.
Not once, but twice the umpires were called upon to convene as though they were cardinals at a papal summit and render a judgement to the assembled flock. Decisions which were greeted unanimously with disdain by the assembled multitudes (the Yankee fans at any rate) and will fuel the fire of this rivalry for more years to come. A fourth inning hit by Mark Bellhorn provided the first concave of the night, as confusion reigned on the field the umpires gathered to discuss whether his hit cleared the fence or bounced off the rail, television replays clearly showed the ball hitting a Yankee fan in the first row, which would make it a home run. The umps without benefit of replays would have to take a straw vote, home run it was, for Yankee fans the night suddenly got colder, the mood uglier. The Sox were in the lead and by the end of the night that lead would be tested, but would hold.
Backing up a gutsy performance by starter Curt Schilling the Red Sox refused to go away quietly into the night. Blood oozing into his socks from his stitched up ankle, Schilling gave much more than could be expected, Schilling more than made amends for his sub par performance in game one of the series. Lasting until the seventh inning, Schilling provided the kind of pitching the Red Sox wanted when they acquired him for this season, with nothing left in his tank, the Sox relievers went to work and shut down the Yankees for the third night in a row.
The drama of the night completed by the surreal sight of New York City Police dressed in riot gear lining the field during the ninth inning. The need for the reinforcements another controversial call by the umpires that in the end wasn’t controversial at all. In the eighth inning with Derek Jeter on first base, Alex Rodriquez hit a grounder down the first base line, running to the base he swatted the ball out of relief pitcher Bronson Arroyo’s glove a definite contravention of the rules. The play was missed by the first base umpire who was blocked out of the view of the play, resulting in the second concave of the night, and again the Yankee faithful would find the decision wanting. Ruled interference, Rodriquez was called out and Jeter sent back to first base.
Yankee fans with the vision of game six slipping away from them proclaimed their indignation with a barrage of baseballs, cups, programs and other missiles directed at Umpires and Red Sox players alike. Fearing a much uglier scene could be on the horizon home plate umpire Joe West called for the troops, and a battalion of New York’s finest, dressed in battle ready riot gear took their place along the third and first base walls.
With a sense of martial law declared the game once again resumed, the Sox avoiding further bad karma by wrapping the Yanks up in the bottom of the ninth, forcing the greatest experience for a baseball fan a Game seven showdown. One pitch, one hit, one error or a blown call, could make all the difference between ending a curse or adding to it’s legend.
Baseball couldn’t ask for a better series to rebuild its shattered image, with the debacle of the Expos (Podunk passim) still fresh in our minds, we needed a sign that the sport was still worth following. The beauty of this series is that it shows that the game itself, much like hockey can somehow withstand the abuses of those that purportedly have its interests at heart. Leave us with the game between the foul lines and it’s a wonderful sport, no talk of salary caps, commissioner prerogatives or franchise shifts. Just a pitcher, a hitter and the fielders providing thrill after thrill.
When the Expos were born I split my loyalties between them in the National and the Red Sox in the American, following the trail of the Red Sox from Yaz to Fisk, from Clemons to Spaceman Lee and Billy Buckner I cheered when they won and commiserated when they lost. Far too frequently it has been at the hands of this Evil Empire from New York; one crosses one’s fingers, works on some chants and dares to dream that tonight that curse of the Babe will be put to rest. The near panic of the New York Post and New York Daily News a testimony that the momentum has swung to the Red Sox Nation.
The latest chapter in this rivalry of the ages takes place tonight. Game time is 8:20 (5:20 PST) it seems hard to believe that this incredible run can be topped, but you just have a feeling that the best may yet be to come. Baseball history could be made tonight, something that this sport surely needed at this time. In the end it's always about what happens on the field, as it should be.
Tuesday, October 19, 2004
Power at any cost?
Stephen Harper opened up his own personal Pandora’s Box of governing theories last week, with a position paper that seems to put him solidly on the side of the autonomist class in Quebec.
Shut out in that province in the last federal election, Harper seems to have decided that quickest route from opposition to government comes with the partial devolution of federal powers to linguistic groups. Harper suggested areas in the realm of broadcasting, communications and international relations, would all be turned over to representatives of the linguistic majorities in our country, whether those representatives would be elected or not wasn’t fleshed out in his presentation.
For a party that gets all up in arms over the lack of progress on the issue of elected senators, allowing key aspects of Canadian society to be turned over to groups based purely on a language division seems rather strange. The Conservatives have relished at the idea of backroom deals in the sponsorship scandal being made public day after day, yet their leader is floating an idea that seems to provide the platform for much of that same kind of abuse which they rail on about on a daily basis.
Harper put forward his position last Friday in Quebec City, comparing his solution to the ongoing constitutional ennui, to the form of governance currently in place in Belgium. Using the Belgian plan, language not just provincial territory serves as the base for separate French and English institutions. A situation that must surely result not only in redundancy but enormous cost, as the same program is put forward twice for each area, special interest groups coveted and courted at every turn.
Harper stressed that his plans were in the early stages and were non constitutional, designed to break the never ending bickering that reflects all matters involving the two linguistic groups in our country. Which make his selection of Belgium as the Petri dish for his lab experiment in nation building a rather strange one. The animosity in the different regions of that European country make our frequent disputes seem like the whining of squabbling children. You want ancient blood feuds and distrust to the max, head for Belgium. Everything in that country seems to be put forward in a spirit of what they got, we want. Not exactly the most unifying form of nation building.
Caught up in the brave new frontier he was crafting on the fly, Harper even went so far as to back the Action Deomcratique’s Mario Dumont’s desire to have Quebec referred to internationally as “the autonomous state of Quebec”. Suggesting that he personally found the term rather unattractive, Harper said that should the province of Quebec choose to call itself that, so be it, he would have no problem. Claiming such a term would be merely symbolic, he seems to be a tad out of touch with the actual aspirations of the folks he was trying to reach. From this corner, you are either a member of a country or you’re not Mr. Harper, a declaration of autonomy would be just that, the devil may be in the details but that particular declaration surely can’t be any more cut and dried. Remove enough “national” components to a province or “autonomous state” and it’s not such a long step from complete independence.
If that’s what Quebec would want, then allow them to search for it on the up and up, no backdoor, gradual devolution of powers, where we wake up one day to the realization that the country we thought we had is no more. So far in the two attempts at that grand adventure, the populace have stepped back. The idea of some convoluted maybe they are, maybe they aren’t declaration certainly won’t go anywhere in solving whatever legitimate grievances there may be.
His comments apparently were directed to the few Conservatives left in Quebec, the soft separatists (those who want their special place but with banking privileges) and surely would appeal to those sovereigntists that are weary of their own path to independence seemingly never leading anywhere.
We have to wonder how this policy would have sold itself during the last election campaign, never mind the possibility of picking up seats in Quebec or an Ontario breakthrough, one wonders how this defacto special status program would have been presented in Western Canada, the Conservative homeland. Last time I checked the folks west of the Lakehead weren't particularly enthralled with the idea of special deals and non accountability!
The Liberals as could be expected have been quick to ridicule the Harper plan, suggesting that building a better Canada and not improving Belgium should be the goal of a Prime Minister and his government. And while the constitutionally bankrupt Liberals are one’s to talk, they will no doubt benefit from the disjointed Conservative policy currently being offered up.
No doubt the current national system of government is in need of overhauling, but Balkanizing the country into separate fiefdoms, governed by linguistic boards seems a rather poor start in the necessary work ahead.
Harper says that this policy is a work in progress and certainly not his final word. Which is a good thing for him, as right now it has all the appearances of a political science project with no real direction. With that in mind, he would be best served by tearing up the term paper and starting over. Canadians are quite used to sharing ideas, more than used to sharing monies and no doubt ready to make sacrifices for a common good, but at the end of the day the concept that an actual Canada will exist in some recognizable form is a non negotiable point.
There is much work ahead on the nation building front, but if this is the best that the Conservatives can offer up, then that agenda is going to be claimed as their own by the Liberals.
It’s a tactical error to suggest that by using division we are stronger, if anyone would realize that, one would think it would be someone from a party known for its divisive fights of the past!
Shut out in that province in the last federal election, Harper seems to have decided that quickest route from opposition to government comes with the partial devolution of federal powers to linguistic groups. Harper suggested areas in the realm of broadcasting, communications and international relations, would all be turned over to representatives of the linguistic majorities in our country, whether those representatives would be elected or not wasn’t fleshed out in his presentation.
For a party that gets all up in arms over the lack of progress on the issue of elected senators, allowing key aspects of Canadian society to be turned over to groups based purely on a language division seems rather strange. The Conservatives have relished at the idea of backroom deals in the sponsorship scandal being made public day after day, yet their leader is floating an idea that seems to provide the platform for much of that same kind of abuse which they rail on about on a daily basis.
Harper put forward his position last Friday in Quebec City, comparing his solution to the ongoing constitutional ennui, to the form of governance currently in place in Belgium. Using the Belgian plan, language not just provincial territory serves as the base for separate French and English institutions. A situation that must surely result not only in redundancy but enormous cost, as the same program is put forward twice for each area, special interest groups coveted and courted at every turn.
Harper stressed that his plans were in the early stages and were non constitutional, designed to break the never ending bickering that reflects all matters involving the two linguistic groups in our country. Which make his selection of Belgium as the Petri dish for his lab experiment in nation building a rather strange one. The animosity in the different regions of that European country make our frequent disputes seem like the whining of squabbling children. You want ancient blood feuds and distrust to the max, head for Belgium. Everything in that country seems to be put forward in a spirit of what they got, we want. Not exactly the most unifying form of nation building.
Caught up in the brave new frontier he was crafting on the fly, Harper even went so far as to back the Action Deomcratique’s Mario Dumont’s desire to have Quebec referred to internationally as “the autonomous state of Quebec”. Suggesting that he personally found the term rather unattractive, Harper said that should the province of Quebec choose to call itself that, so be it, he would have no problem. Claiming such a term would be merely symbolic, he seems to be a tad out of touch with the actual aspirations of the folks he was trying to reach. From this corner, you are either a member of a country or you’re not Mr. Harper, a declaration of autonomy would be just that, the devil may be in the details but that particular declaration surely can’t be any more cut and dried. Remove enough “national” components to a province or “autonomous state” and it’s not such a long step from complete independence.
If that’s what Quebec would want, then allow them to search for it on the up and up, no backdoor, gradual devolution of powers, where we wake up one day to the realization that the country we thought we had is no more. So far in the two attempts at that grand adventure, the populace have stepped back. The idea of some convoluted maybe they are, maybe they aren’t declaration certainly won’t go anywhere in solving whatever legitimate grievances there may be.
His comments apparently were directed to the few Conservatives left in Quebec, the soft separatists (those who want their special place but with banking privileges) and surely would appeal to those sovereigntists that are weary of their own path to independence seemingly never leading anywhere.
We have to wonder how this policy would have sold itself during the last election campaign, never mind the possibility of picking up seats in Quebec or an Ontario breakthrough, one wonders how this defacto special status program would have been presented in Western Canada, the Conservative homeland. Last time I checked the folks west of the Lakehead weren't particularly enthralled with the idea of special deals and non accountability!
The Liberals as could be expected have been quick to ridicule the Harper plan, suggesting that building a better Canada and not improving Belgium should be the goal of a Prime Minister and his government. And while the constitutionally bankrupt Liberals are one’s to talk, they will no doubt benefit from the disjointed Conservative policy currently being offered up.
No doubt the current national system of government is in need of overhauling, but Balkanizing the country into separate fiefdoms, governed by linguistic boards seems a rather poor start in the necessary work ahead.
Harper says that this policy is a work in progress and certainly not his final word. Which is a good thing for him, as right now it has all the appearances of a political science project with no real direction. With that in mind, he would be best served by tearing up the term paper and starting over. Canadians are quite used to sharing ideas, more than used to sharing monies and no doubt ready to make sacrifices for a common good, but at the end of the day the concept that an actual Canada will exist in some recognizable form is a non negotiable point.
There is much work ahead on the nation building front, but if this is the best that the Conservatives can offer up, then that agenda is going to be claimed as their own by the Liberals.
It’s a tactical error to suggest that by using division we are stronger, if anyone would realize that, one would think it would be someone from a party known for its divisive fights of the past!
The Don is ready to swear!
Well judging by the play of his football team the last three weeks you could hardly blame the man for a few choice words, but for Don Matthews curses will be the farthest thing from his mind on Saturday.
Prior to the Alouette/Renegade match the long time CFL coach will receive his Canadian citizenship, taking the oath from former Alouette George Springate, who is now a Canadian immigration judge. Matthews comes by his Canadian dream honestly, his Mother was born in Tracadie, New Brunswick and relocated to the USA, so in a way we're just reclaiming a son!
And Matthews is not one to sneak into the country unobserved, Saturday’s game takes place at the Olympic Stadium, so Matthews will have over 52,000 witnesses to his leap of faith. The Don has been coaching in the Canadian league for over 27 years now and felt the time had come to join the ranks of “New” Canadians.
By the end of Saturday’s game the CFL will have three “Canadian” coaches leading teams in the league, one suspects the next guy we need to work on is Pinball Clemons, judging by his popularity in Toronto and across the country, he too would be a welcome addition to the family.
Cake and drinks at Matthews place on Saturday, seating for 52,000. Perhaps the joyous occasion will spur his players on to turning around their October swoon; if not our newly minted Canadian coach may be issuing deportation letters of his own come the end of the season!
The above posting first appeared in my Twelve men on the Field blog, for more items about Canadian football check it out!
Prior to the Alouette/Renegade match the long time CFL coach will receive his Canadian citizenship, taking the oath from former Alouette George Springate, who is now a Canadian immigration judge. Matthews comes by his Canadian dream honestly, his Mother was born in Tracadie, New Brunswick and relocated to the USA, so in a way we're just reclaiming a son!
And Matthews is not one to sneak into the country unobserved, Saturday’s game takes place at the Olympic Stadium, so Matthews will have over 52,000 witnesses to his leap of faith. The Don has been coaching in the Canadian league for over 27 years now and felt the time had come to join the ranks of “New” Canadians.
By the end of Saturday’s game the CFL will have three “Canadian” coaches leading teams in the league, one suspects the next guy we need to work on is Pinball Clemons, judging by his popularity in Toronto and across the country, he too would be a welcome addition to the family.
Cake and drinks at Matthews place on Saturday, seating for 52,000. Perhaps the joyous occasion will spur his players on to turning around their October swoon; if not our newly minted Canadian coach may be issuing deportation letters of his own come the end of the season!
The above posting first appeared in my Twelve men on the Field blog, for more items about Canadian football check it out!
Fact or Fiction with the WHA!
Neil Macrae resident sports guru at Vancouver radio station CKNW, has given legs to a rumour that is quickly making the rounds of the hockey world. McRae is reporting this morning that the NHLPA had explored the option of purchasing the WHA but chose to pass on the opportunity.
The story it would seem has it that, the players association thought that a way to get around the NHL lockout might be to buy their own league and get back to work. Having the players working at their sport, the pressure of a rival loop would thus put some pressure on the NHL to settle on the union’s terms. In a way it would become a league of convenience; to be used as a gambling chip in this giant game of ice poker currently going on.
You can listen to Macrae and Brian Burke discusses the idea on the NW morning sportscast at 8:20, check it out here on their audio vault.
If indeed the rumour has something to it, the questions that are out there make for interesting study. It would be interesting to see what factors the NHLPA used when determining that investing in a hockey league was not a wise decision. Was it the possibility of losing its members money that scared off the idea of buying a rival circuit?
Perhaps after doing some number crunching the NHLPA realized that the challenges of organizing a league with arena leases, insurance, player salary structure and such wasn’t going to make for a profitable situation. Salaries would have been an interesting case study, suddenly players that were making multi millions of dollars would have to try and balance the cash coming in with the cash going out. How long before some players used to making a huge salary would have to be told that due to financial constraints they needed to take a pay cut? Who would run such a collective group, would they nominate one of their team reps or would Goodenow become a defacto commissioner, giving him some common ground with Gary Bettman and ironically perhaps some sympathy.
We’ll probably never know, as there is not much likelihood that the NHLPA will ever admit to having given the idea serious consideration. The necessary due diligence of starting into such a venture might have indirectly given them some insight into the situation that the NHL faces at this time. That would not be helpful to their current stand, that Hockey is making enough money to share among the stake holders, without the need for “hard salary caps” or “cost certainty”.
In a way it’s unfortunate that the rumoured plan didn’t proceed, it would have been interesting to see if the union’s position on the state of hockey would stand up to the test of the marketplace. Is their current stand nothing but pure posturing, designed to apply the maximum pressure to obtain the maximum reward? Or were we on the brink of a brand new revolution in the world of hockey? Was this story Fact or Fiction? It’s an intriguing question, but one that apparently will go unanswered.
The above posting first appeared in my HockeyNation blog, for other items about Hockey check it out.
The story it would seem has it that, the players association thought that a way to get around the NHL lockout might be to buy their own league and get back to work. Having the players working at their sport, the pressure of a rival loop would thus put some pressure on the NHL to settle on the union’s terms. In a way it would become a league of convenience; to be used as a gambling chip in this giant game of ice poker currently going on.
You can listen to Macrae and Brian Burke discusses the idea on the NW morning sportscast at 8:20, check it out here on their audio vault.
If indeed the rumour has something to it, the questions that are out there make for interesting study. It would be interesting to see what factors the NHLPA used when determining that investing in a hockey league was not a wise decision. Was it the possibility of losing its members money that scared off the idea of buying a rival circuit?
Perhaps after doing some number crunching the NHLPA realized that the challenges of organizing a league with arena leases, insurance, player salary structure and such wasn’t going to make for a profitable situation. Salaries would have been an interesting case study, suddenly players that were making multi millions of dollars would have to try and balance the cash coming in with the cash going out. How long before some players used to making a huge salary would have to be told that due to financial constraints they needed to take a pay cut? Who would run such a collective group, would they nominate one of their team reps or would Goodenow become a defacto commissioner, giving him some common ground with Gary Bettman and ironically perhaps some sympathy.
We’ll probably never know, as there is not much likelihood that the NHLPA will ever admit to having given the idea serious consideration. The necessary due diligence of starting into such a venture might have indirectly given them some insight into the situation that the NHL faces at this time. That would not be helpful to their current stand, that Hockey is making enough money to share among the stake holders, without the need for “hard salary caps” or “cost certainty”.
In a way it’s unfortunate that the rumoured plan didn’t proceed, it would have been interesting to see if the union’s position on the state of hockey would stand up to the test of the marketplace. Is their current stand nothing but pure posturing, designed to apply the maximum pressure to obtain the maximum reward? Or were we on the brink of a brand new revolution in the world of hockey? Was this story Fact or Fiction? It’s an intriguing question, but one that apparently will go unanswered.
The above posting first appeared in my HockeyNation blog, for other items about Hockey check it out.
Doug was no oridnary Slug!
Canadian pop music lost one of it’s more irreverent and talented personages on Monday morning with the news of the passing of Doug Bennett. Best known as the front man for the 80’s band Doug and the Slugs, Bennett caught that wave of Canadian music that found its voice in the early and mid 1980’s.
He and his Slugs put together catchy pop hooks with some interesting material to provide Canadians with an infectious chuckle to go with their AM and FM programming. The band was at the leading edge of that bubbling Vancouver band scene through the eighties, a period of raucous rock and roll, fascinating blues, eclectic mixes and just plain good times. Like some kind of travelling battle of the bands, the musical class would set forth and travel to the hinterlands bringing the gospel of a newly empowered Canadian rock scene.
Chilliwack, Trooper, Streetheart, The Powder Blues Band, Red Rider, Loverboy, The Paylola$, and Bryan Adams all got started around the same time, the mid to late seventies and found some of their best success in the mid eighties. Heading out from their Vancouver base and travelling through Western Canada and beyond, they all put a show to the sound on the radio. For many smaller communities the appearance of Chilliwack, Trooper, Streetheart or Doug and the Slugs would be the closest they would ever get to the rock and roll circuses of the day. Most were serious and a tad self indulgent, Bennett on the other hand would be one part travelling rock and roll evangelist and one part total buffoon.
His shows were legendary for not only the musical chops but the kind of humour that made an audience take note, that there was more than four chord rock and roll out there. Whether in the local watering hole or up on a stage in a concert setting the Slugs put on a show, though truth be told somehow Slug music always went well with a couple of ales.
From the debut album Cognac and Bologna, you got the feeling these guys weren’t particularly taking the rock and roll business quite as seriously as their contemporaries. Their first hit Too Bad, summed up the ups and downs of life and perhaps gave us an inner look at the business of music. “Too bad you’re not as smart, as you thought you were in the first place” Everyone could relate to that lyric, who hasn’t thought they had things figured out only to have the plan blow up in your face. The Slugs could understand your day as if it were their own, if the boss dumped on you during the morning, give a listen while Doug commiserated over a beer by night.
Probably not many folks could put out a song called Making it work and well, make it work! If it came out today it would most likely be subjected to a bidding war between Viagra and Cialis, such was the power of a turn of a phrase as exemplified in Slug music. With Bennett you needed to listen to the lyrics like some kind of cipher rock code breaker, each song could have many interpretations, subtle nuances that if you missed could send the song in a totally different direction. One person’s feel good song, would be another’s signal that the end of the world surely could not be that far away, considering what was just heard on the radio.
Canadian music in the early seventies consisted of a lot of what was called “legislated hits” songs that were played over and over on Canadian radio to fill CanCon requirements; overexposure would ruin many a Canadian music star in the early days. But by the early eighties the mandated play of Canadian music no longer meant yet another listen for Anne Murray’s snowbird, or the umpteenth time for Seasons in the Sun. With many of the bands from BC making some noise by that time, a rather healthy and prosperous Canadian industry found its feet. Coming along for the ride would be Doug and his fellow Slugs, determined to remind most of the travelling minstrels that it’s supposed to be fun above all else.
There may not be another ten year spread in Canadian music like there was between about 1978-1988, the music generated across the country in that period of time built the blocks for an industry today that still sees some fairly talented artists making waves not only across Canada but around the world.
For all of the new wave of Canadian musicians currently finding the flame glowing bright for their music and careers, perhaps a moment of reflection for the halcyon days of Slug music, it never reached the lofty heights of Shania, Celine, Bryan or Rush to name but a few. But for a few years there, bopping along to Making it Work provided just as much enjoyment as the offerings of the giants of the times.
We’re missing a little bit of our musical history today, filed away under Good Times had by one and all. Bennett’s musical soul can be found doing a Tom Cat prowl along the backstreets of Vancouver’s Chinatown doing some calculations. He took his success Day by Day, we’ll remember Slug music song by song and laugh by laugh!
He and his Slugs put together catchy pop hooks with some interesting material to provide Canadians with an infectious chuckle to go with their AM and FM programming. The band was at the leading edge of that bubbling Vancouver band scene through the eighties, a period of raucous rock and roll, fascinating blues, eclectic mixes and just plain good times. Like some kind of travelling battle of the bands, the musical class would set forth and travel to the hinterlands bringing the gospel of a newly empowered Canadian rock scene.
Chilliwack, Trooper, Streetheart, The Powder Blues Band, Red Rider, Loverboy, The Paylola$, and Bryan Adams all got started around the same time, the mid to late seventies and found some of their best success in the mid eighties. Heading out from their Vancouver base and travelling through Western Canada and beyond, they all put a show to the sound on the radio. For many smaller communities the appearance of Chilliwack, Trooper, Streetheart or Doug and the Slugs would be the closest they would ever get to the rock and roll circuses of the day. Most were serious and a tad self indulgent, Bennett on the other hand would be one part travelling rock and roll evangelist and one part total buffoon.
His shows were legendary for not only the musical chops but the kind of humour that made an audience take note, that there was more than four chord rock and roll out there. Whether in the local watering hole or up on a stage in a concert setting the Slugs put on a show, though truth be told somehow Slug music always went well with a couple of ales.
From the debut album Cognac and Bologna, you got the feeling these guys weren’t particularly taking the rock and roll business quite as seriously as their contemporaries. Their first hit Too Bad, summed up the ups and downs of life and perhaps gave us an inner look at the business of music. “Too bad you’re not as smart, as you thought you were in the first place” Everyone could relate to that lyric, who hasn’t thought they had things figured out only to have the plan blow up in your face. The Slugs could understand your day as if it were their own, if the boss dumped on you during the morning, give a listen while Doug commiserated over a beer by night.
Probably not many folks could put out a song called Making it work and well, make it work! If it came out today it would most likely be subjected to a bidding war between Viagra and Cialis, such was the power of a turn of a phrase as exemplified in Slug music. With Bennett you needed to listen to the lyrics like some kind of cipher rock code breaker, each song could have many interpretations, subtle nuances that if you missed could send the song in a totally different direction. One person’s feel good song, would be another’s signal that the end of the world surely could not be that far away, considering what was just heard on the radio.
Canadian music in the early seventies consisted of a lot of what was called “legislated hits” songs that were played over and over on Canadian radio to fill CanCon requirements; overexposure would ruin many a Canadian music star in the early days. But by the early eighties the mandated play of Canadian music no longer meant yet another listen for Anne Murray’s snowbird, or the umpteenth time for Seasons in the Sun. With many of the bands from BC making some noise by that time, a rather healthy and prosperous Canadian industry found its feet. Coming along for the ride would be Doug and his fellow Slugs, determined to remind most of the travelling minstrels that it’s supposed to be fun above all else.
There may not be another ten year spread in Canadian music like there was between about 1978-1988, the music generated across the country in that period of time built the blocks for an industry today that still sees some fairly talented artists making waves not only across Canada but around the world.
For all of the new wave of Canadian musicians currently finding the flame glowing bright for their music and careers, perhaps a moment of reflection for the halcyon days of Slug music, it never reached the lofty heights of Shania, Celine, Bryan or Rush to name but a few. But for a few years there, bopping along to Making it Work provided just as much enjoyment as the offerings of the giants of the times.
We’re missing a little bit of our musical history today, filed away under Good Times had by one and all. Bennett’s musical soul can be found doing a Tom Cat prowl along the backstreets of Vancouver’s Chinatown doing some calculations. He took his success Day by Day, we’ll remember Slug music song by song and laugh by laugh!
Sunday, October 17, 2004
The week of essentials Oct 12-18
The PM he has found some cash, but the finance minister made his stash.
The subs we bought had history, leaving us with misery.
Micheal Jackson's in the news, pay attention if you choose.
Martha's happy doing time, writing notes that just may rhyme.
Wal Mart tries to stop the union, John an George do their final tunin'
Seven days they went by quick, we list our entries with no tricks.
12-Oct-04 Takes one to know one
12-Oct-04 Greedy, Ignorant, misinformed voters
12-Oct-04 Sticks and Stones may break my bones, but words are going to cost you
12-Oct-04 It's the beer around there
12-Oct-04 Streaking from his past
13-Oct-04 So who is for the common guy then?
13-Oct-04 It's their party and they'll sue if they want to
13-Oct-04 And his mother wore Army boots
13-Oct-04 Micheal Jackson is quite distressed
13-Oct-04 George Bush unplugged
14-Oct-04 Paul and Ralph find some coins under the couch cushions
14-Oct-04 Suddenly drugs from Canada aren't so dangerous
14-Oct-04 Never mind Bush and Kerry, what's happening with Jeb
14-Oct-04 Democratic stupidity or Republican Dirty trick?
14-Oct-04 Rap is still strong, so 25 years on
15-Oct-04 Red Glow in morning, best to take warning, Red Glow at Night, geologist's delight
15-Oct-04 Goo, goo, Googley Good?
15-Oct-04 But what do you really think of him?
15-Oct-04 Just what makes us so smart?
15-Oct-04 Yusuf Islam's upcoming Christmas message
16-Oct-04 Slowhand has a lead foot!
16-Oct-04 Democrats cry wolf, when it's still in the forest
16-Oct-04 Cowabunga Canada, dude
16-Oct-04 The troubled past of HMS Upholder/HMCS Chicoutimi
16-Oct-04 The reluctant platoon
17-Oct-04 Inside the office of Strategery
17-Oct-04 Life at Camp Martha
17-Oct-04 Does Alan drive his own car?
17-Oct-04 The CodFather offers up his opinion
17-Oct-04 26 years and still on the job
18-Oct-04 Lowest prices always, No unions forever?
18-Oct-04 Micheal and Mel: Oscar's outcasts
18-Oct-04 Never on a Sunday
18-Oct-04 Fearing the final days of the election campaign
18-Oct-04 UK tallies up the bill for sub rescue
The subs we bought had history, leaving us with misery.
Micheal Jackson's in the news, pay attention if you choose.
Martha's happy doing time, writing notes that just may rhyme.
Wal Mart tries to stop the union, John an George do their final tunin'
Seven days they went by quick, we list our entries with no tricks.
12-Oct-04 Takes one to know one
12-Oct-04 Greedy, Ignorant, misinformed voters
12-Oct-04 Sticks and Stones may break my bones, but words are going to cost you
12-Oct-04 It's the beer around there
12-Oct-04 Streaking from his past
13-Oct-04 So who is for the common guy then?
13-Oct-04 It's their party and they'll sue if they want to
13-Oct-04 And his mother wore Army boots
13-Oct-04 Micheal Jackson is quite distressed
13-Oct-04 George Bush unplugged
14-Oct-04 Paul and Ralph find some coins under the couch cushions
14-Oct-04 Suddenly drugs from Canada aren't so dangerous
14-Oct-04 Never mind Bush and Kerry, what's happening with Jeb
14-Oct-04 Democratic stupidity or Republican Dirty trick?
14-Oct-04 Rap is still strong, so 25 years on
15-Oct-04 Red Glow in morning, best to take warning, Red Glow at Night, geologist's delight
15-Oct-04 Goo, goo, Googley Good?
15-Oct-04 But what do you really think of him?
15-Oct-04 Just what makes us so smart?
15-Oct-04 Yusuf Islam's upcoming Christmas message
16-Oct-04 Slowhand has a lead foot!
16-Oct-04 Democrats cry wolf, when it's still in the forest
16-Oct-04 Cowabunga Canada, dude
16-Oct-04 The troubled past of HMS Upholder/HMCS Chicoutimi
16-Oct-04 The reluctant platoon
17-Oct-04 Inside the office of Strategery
17-Oct-04 Life at Camp Martha
17-Oct-04 Does Alan drive his own car?
17-Oct-04 The CodFather offers up his opinion
17-Oct-04 26 years and still on the job
18-Oct-04 Lowest prices always, No unions forever?
18-Oct-04 Micheal and Mel: Oscar's outcasts
18-Oct-04 Never on a Sunday
18-Oct-04 Fearing the final days of the election campaign
18-Oct-04 UK tallies up the bill for sub rescue
One part Mr. Rogers, One part Elwy Yost
He had the look of a Hockey Dad dropping into the rink to watch the kids play, just another neighbour. And dressed as he was like the late Mr. Rogers, one expected that Ron McLean might break into the neighbour song at any time. But this was no episode of Mr. Rogers neighbourhood; instead it was the CBC’s programming gap filler known as Movie Night in Canada.
McLean would introduce a triple header on this first night of what should have been NHL action on the people’s network. Instead of the New York Rangers we were given Dinosaur (perhaps not that much of a stretch after all!), the Adventures of Indiana Jones would take the place of the tribulations of Pat Quinn and Jaws would fill in for the Orca Bay whales known as the Canucks.
McLean did an ok job of introducing the flicks and shilling for the new and exciting schedule of CBC programming coming up this season. But one wonders how long the audience might stick around if indeed it did at all. No Cherry, No satellite Hot Stove, no Kelly Hrudy to dissect the play. Instead we get the chance to view movies readily available on 99 cent night at your local video store. If the CBC really wants to mine this movie night idea, perhaps schedule their excellent mini series of a few years ago called Net Worth, it probably will put the current labour dispute into perspective better than all the talking heads combined.
While Mclean practices his best Elwy Yost delivery lines we at HockeyNation wonder how long it is before the likes of Sportsnet and TSN fill the hockey void with games from the AHL or Junior leagues on Saturday Nights. Instead of the Bay Boy or New Waterford Girl how about following the boys of the Screaming Eagles! There’s an audience there for the tapping should they choose to attack the CBC’s hallowed ground.
Sadly the CBC must know something that the rest of us only fear, the labour problems with the NHL will last a while, they have movies scheduled through til mid December! Perhaps the CBC could expand on the use of their celebrities during the hockey shutdown; my personal choice is to have Nicholas Campbell in his character of Dominic Da Vinci conduct an inquest into the death of the NHL season, now there’s a Saturday night program to die for!
McLean would introduce a triple header on this first night of what should have been NHL action on the people’s network. Instead of the New York Rangers we were given Dinosaur (perhaps not that much of a stretch after all!), the Adventures of Indiana Jones would take the place of the tribulations of Pat Quinn and Jaws would fill in for the Orca Bay whales known as the Canucks.
McLean did an ok job of introducing the flicks and shilling for the new and exciting schedule of CBC programming coming up this season. But one wonders how long the audience might stick around if indeed it did at all. No Cherry, No satellite Hot Stove, no Kelly Hrudy to dissect the play. Instead we get the chance to view movies readily available on 99 cent night at your local video store. If the CBC really wants to mine this movie night idea, perhaps schedule their excellent mini series of a few years ago called Net Worth, it probably will put the current labour dispute into perspective better than all the talking heads combined.
While Mclean practices his best Elwy Yost delivery lines we at HockeyNation wonder how long it is before the likes of Sportsnet and TSN fill the hockey void with games from the AHL or Junior leagues on Saturday Nights. Instead of the Bay Boy or New Waterford Girl how about following the boys of the Screaming Eagles! There’s an audience there for the tapping should they choose to attack the CBC’s hallowed ground.
Sadly the CBC must know something that the rest of us only fear, the labour problems with the NHL will last a while, they have movies scheduled through til mid December! Perhaps the CBC could expand on the use of their celebrities during the hockey shutdown; my personal choice is to have Nicholas Campbell in his character of Dominic Da Vinci conduct an inquest into the death of the NHL season, now there’s a Saturday night program to die for!
Friday, October 15, 2004
Perhaps he has bigger fish to fry!
With the absence of any action on the ice, we’re left to ponder all the rumours running wild around the vacant NHL rinks. The latest the suggestion being, that Wayne Gretzky may make the short trek from his partially completed owner’s box to down behind the Coyotes bench.
General Manager Mike Barnet has been busy recounting a summer discussion with the Great One where he suggested that Wayne take the reins and run the on ice product from right behind the bench. Not much happened since that conversation, and many speculate it is just some random chatter designed to keep the Phoenix faithful interested in their team.
Though for Rick Bowness the current interim coach of the Desert Dogs things might be nice if they were a little more fleshed out, Bowness still has that less than secure term interim attached to his name and with this Gretzky rumour making the rounds one wonders where he fits into the equation? Video rewinder? Skate sharpener? Tape dispenser? Clipboard holder? The options are endless.
However, for Rick the news may not be as bad as he might think. For if Chris Chelios has his way, Wayne will skip the bench boss job and head for the penthouse! Chelios offered up the idea of Gretzky taking over the entire league, in Chelios' NHL, Gary Bettman gets a pink slip and Wayne gets the key to the executive washroom!
Chelios, who seems to be taking over the job of outspoken critic of the NHL from Brett Hull, recommended Gretzky for the job on a radio program today. That after blasting Bettman’s performance as commissioner in the Detroit Free Press the day before. Chelios may find his lockout social calendar dwindles a bit though, in his Q & A with the Free Press, he called for 6 or 7 teams to be eliminated, which would of course eliminate roughly 150 NHL jobs for his fellow union members. Expect Bob Goodenow to suggest Chely refrain from his problem solving for the time being.
As for the idea of Gretzky for commish there is just one question Wayne must ask himself. Does he just want to be just a trainer of the Dogs or does he want to run the whole kennel?
The above item first appeared on my HockeyNation blog, for more items about hockey check things out!
General Manager Mike Barnet has been busy recounting a summer discussion with the Great One where he suggested that Wayne take the reins and run the on ice product from right behind the bench. Not much happened since that conversation, and many speculate it is just some random chatter designed to keep the Phoenix faithful interested in their team.
Though for Rick Bowness the current interim coach of the Desert Dogs things might be nice if they were a little more fleshed out, Bowness still has that less than secure term interim attached to his name and with this Gretzky rumour making the rounds one wonders where he fits into the equation? Video rewinder? Skate sharpener? Tape dispenser? Clipboard holder? The options are endless.
However, for Rick the news may not be as bad as he might think. For if Chris Chelios has his way, Wayne will skip the bench boss job and head for the penthouse! Chelios offered up the idea of Gretzky taking over the entire league, in Chelios' NHL, Gary Bettman gets a pink slip and Wayne gets the key to the executive washroom!
Chelios, who seems to be taking over the job of outspoken critic of the NHL from Brett Hull, recommended Gretzky for the job on a radio program today. That after blasting Bettman’s performance as commissioner in the Detroit Free Press the day before. Chelios may find his lockout social calendar dwindles a bit though, in his Q & A with the Free Press, he called for 6 or 7 teams to be eliminated, which would of course eliminate roughly 150 NHL jobs for his fellow union members. Expect Bob Goodenow to suggest Chely refrain from his problem solving for the time being.
As for the idea of Gretzky for commish there is just one question Wayne must ask himself. Does he just want to be just a trainer of the Dogs or does he want to run the whole kennel?
The above item first appeared on my HockeyNation blog, for more items about hockey check things out!
If at first you don't succeed! Trough and trough again!
Well one suspects that our federally elected officials just don't get it. Hot on the heels (and hot under the collar) of having their judicially tied 10% pay raises kiboshed by the Prime Minister, our Members of Parliament have decided the best way to the cash, is through the back door.
The National Post on Thursday revealed the latest little secret, outlining how members of all parties, even in a tense minority government situation, have found some unity on one item, that of pure unfiltered self interest. As all party representatives gathered behind closed doors (while the Prime Minister was conveniently across the ocean), they peeked through the window long enough to give a nod to increasing their perks of office.
Quietly discussing the issue (so softly that nary a taxpayer would hear!), the three main political parties feel that an increase of $55,000 would make a wonderful consolation prize to the much lamented and lost pay increase. Entertainment, travel and other little office expenses will all be topped up under the increased revenue stream.
Conservative House Leader and apparent bean counter John Reynolds, thought that the 55 thou might be a tad much and might just result in a public backlash (you think John?), so he parsimoniously suggested only a $23,800 increase now and then another $23,800 in January (No doubt to cover all those holiday festivities, New Years can be such an expensive time eh!).
For the record, your local MP is already provided with $293,000 to help keep things organized in the office. That does not include the millions of dollars set aside for any foreign travel that may be inflicted upon our hard pressed lawmakers. Strangely no one mentioned the plan to increase the office perks in the last election campaign, perhaps it was an oversight, what with all the hectic activity of trying to get consecrated er I mean elected!
Sean incognito does a wonderful job of detailing the many excesses of our "elected" officials, it truly is must reading for those that can't believe the gall of this pack of self indulgent spendthrifts.
This latest outrage from Ottawa somehow explains why we think like this.
With less than two weeks back on the job, it's the same old, same old, from the new crew on the hill. It brings to mind that ageless classic from the Who.
Yes indeed truer words have never been spoken. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss! Yes, Sadly we will and have been fooled again!
The above posting first appeared on my Boondoggle blogsite, for more stories about Government check it out.
The National Post on Thursday revealed the latest little secret, outlining how members of all parties, even in a tense minority government situation, have found some unity on one item, that of pure unfiltered self interest. As all party representatives gathered behind closed doors (while the Prime Minister was conveniently across the ocean), they peeked through the window long enough to give a nod to increasing their perks of office.
Quietly discussing the issue (so softly that nary a taxpayer would hear!), the three main political parties feel that an increase of $55,000 would make a wonderful consolation prize to the much lamented and lost pay increase. Entertainment, travel and other little office expenses will all be topped up under the increased revenue stream.
Conservative House Leader and apparent bean counter John Reynolds, thought that the 55 thou might be a tad much and might just result in a public backlash (you think John?), so he parsimoniously suggested only a $23,800 increase now and then another $23,800 in January (No doubt to cover all those holiday festivities, New Years can be such an expensive time eh!).
For the record, your local MP is already provided with $293,000 to help keep things organized in the office. That does not include the millions of dollars set aside for any foreign travel that may be inflicted upon our hard pressed lawmakers. Strangely no one mentioned the plan to increase the office perks in the last election campaign, perhaps it was an oversight, what with all the hectic activity of trying to get consecrated er I mean elected!
Sean incognito does a wonderful job of detailing the many excesses of our "elected" officials, it truly is must reading for those that can't believe the gall of this pack of self indulgent spendthrifts.
This latest outrage from Ottawa somehow explains why we think like this.
With less than two weeks back on the job, it's the same old, same old, from the new crew on the hill. It brings to mind that ageless classic from the Who.
Yes indeed truer words have never been spoken. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss! Yes, Sadly we will and have been fooled again!
The above posting first appeared on my Boondoggle blogsite, for more stories about Government check it out.
Thursday, October 14, 2004
CFL is truly a punters game now!
(Def) punter –
1. to lay a bet against the bank as in roulette.
2. Chiefly British slang: to gamble
The CFL has blazed a bit of a trail in North American professional sport with the announcement on Tuesday, that it will ally itself with a well known British based on line sports book and Casino.
Brent Scrimshaw the league’s senior vice president of marketing and partnerships was suitably enthusiastic with the announcement that the CFL and Bowmans will team up for two years, offering CFL contests on line for gamblers to take a chance on.
CFL fans will be seeing Bowman’s signage on the sidelines as soon as the divisional playoffs in November. They will also offer a “free” on line promotional parlay contest which fans can take part in without having to part with any cash. Of course, the regular book will be available as well, for those die hard fans that wish to put their money where their picks are.
The idea of a professional league actively engaging in bookmaking has been a no go area for years. All of the other major North American sports leagues have a hands off; keep your distance relationship with gambling. In effect providing a collective nod and a wink.
Over the last number of years, NFL and American college football, as well as the NBA and NHL, have benefited greatly from the unsanctioned bookmaking. The below the radar gambling has created a surge of interest in the various sports. Check any office on a Friday afternoon and you’ll find somebody with the NFL schedule collecting 10 or 20 bucks, for a winner takes all pool. Not to be left out, provincial governments across Canada have jumped on the sports wagering bandwagon offering up a wide variety of games for play. Gambling has been an unofficial part of sports for a very long time. The CFL it seems is just jumping ahead of the professional curve a little bit, benefiting (it hopes) from any interest in its product.
The one worry of any sport league is the potential for skulduggery in the play of the game as it involves point spreads or kicks made or missed. The CFL claims to have built in “firewalls” into the Bowmans program to make that suggestion of less than honest activity a non starter. With betting limits for fans and a strict no participation policy for its players, the league is of the opinion that the relationship with Bowmans will be of benefit to the league as a whole and something fun for the fan.
If they find that too many problems crop up then they will end the agreement and chalk it up to an idea that had merit but didn’t work out. However, the league believes that this project will only be a positive step for a league that is always looking for new revenues streams, better advancement of its product and a way to connect with its fans.
One thing is certain; the last few years have seen the CFL make some interesting moves all designed to help grow its game. People are talking about CFL football again, creating a buzz about a league many feared was on its last legs. Judging by the successful turn around at the gate this year across the league, betting against the CFL succeeding in their latest project might not be a wager you would want to take.
The above posting first appeared in my Twelve Men on the Field blog, for more information about Canadian Football check it out.
1. to lay a bet against the bank as in roulette.
2. Chiefly British slang: to gamble
The CFL has blazed a bit of a trail in North American professional sport with the announcement on Tuesday, that it will ally itself with a well known British based on line sports book and Casino.
Brent Scrimshaw the league’s senior vice president of marketing and partnerships was suitably enthusiastic with the announcement that the CFL and Bowmans will team up for two years, offering CFL contests on line for gamblers to take a chance on.
CFL fans will be seeing Bowman’s signage on the sidelines as soon as the divisional playoffs in November. They will also offer a “free” on line promotional parlay contest which fans can take part in without having to part with any cash. Of course, the regular book will be available as well, for those die hard fans that wish to put their money where their picks are.
The idea of a professional league actively engaging in bookmaking has been a no go area for years. All of the other major North American sports leagues have a hands off; keep your distance relationship with gambling. In effect providing a collective nod and a wink.
Over the last number of years, NFL and American college football, as well as the NBA and NHL, have benefited greatly from the unsanctioned bookmaking. The below the radar gambling has created a surge of interest in the various sports. Check any office on a Friday afternoon and you’ll find somebody with the NFL schedule collecting 10 or 20 bucks, for a winner takes all pool. Not to be left out, provincial governments across Canada have jumped on the sports wagering bandwagon offering up a wide variety of games for play. Gambling has been an unofficial part of sports for a very long time. The CFL it seems is just jumping ahead of the professional curve a little bit, benefiting (it hopes) from any interest in its product.
The one worry of any sport league is the potential for skulduggery in the play of the game as it involves point spreads or kicks made or missed. The CFL claims to have built in “firewalls” into the Bowmans program to make that suggestion of less than honest activity a non starter. With betting limits for fans and a strict no participation policy for its players, the league is of the opinion that the relationship with Bowmans will be of benefit to the league as a whole and something fun for the fan.
If they find that too many problems crop up then they will end the agreement and chalk it up to an idea that had merit but didn’t work out. However, the league believes that this project will only be a positive step for a league that is always looking for new revenues streams, better advancement of its product and a way to connect with its fans.
One thing is certain; the last few years have seen the CFL make some interesting moves all designed to help grow its game. People are talking about CFL football again, creating a buzz about a league many feared was on its last legs. Judging by the successful turn around at the gate this year across the league, betting against the CFL succeeding in their latest project might not be a wager you would want to take.
The above posting first appeared in my Twelve Men on the Field blog, for more information about Canadian Football check it out.
Wednesday, October 13, 2004
The smell of waffles in the BC air
With a population still not totally convinced on the merits of its Premier, you would think that the time would be ripe for the BC NDP to start to formulate a bit of buzz about their leader and her policies.
As Premier Campbell begins the process of spreading the wealth , proclaiming the good word and paving the roads, the numbers are beginning to turn his way finally. Whether that success lasts will be interesting to watch, but for the moment the strategy seems to be working. While still not the most loved public official to ever call Victoria home, the Premier has been able to arrest the slide of his personal popularity, keeping the untested and relatively unknown Carole James at bay through the summer, into the fall and into an election year.
The strange strategy of the NDP peek a boo campaign, was on display today at radio station CKNW, Ms. James was a guest on the Bill Good show and managed to spend an hour in the studio and on the air without actually providing much information about how an NDP government may change the direction of public governance in BC. Much to the exasperation of host Bill Good, James continually advised that as “we get closer to the election, we’ll have a policy on that, make our views clear”. Til then one assumes we are just supposed to say oh hey, Carole has a plan it will all work out.
The Liberals had all sorts of problems at the start of this year, scandal nipped at their heels, the economy with the exception of the Lower mainland was still very much a basket case in the “heartlands” and the perception of the leader was less than reassuring for Liberals. However, if the latest Mustel poll is any indication the Campbell forces may have weathered the storm and the captain of the ship may actually survive to bring the ship into the electoral port.
The Vancouver and lower Mainland economy is chugging along nicely, parts of the heartland are coming around especially the North east portion of the province which contributes massive oil royalties and promises a rejuvenated minerals sector in aid to the provincial treasury. The lumber industry is still very much a troubled sector and in some places, the Northwest for example the economic indicators are not particularly positive for the short term.
Yet the NDP has offered no solutions, let alone policies on anything, we’re told to wait for the election when James and her forces will offer up something substantial. By then it may be far too late, they have wasted a valuable year, effectively giving the Liberals a free pass at their most vulnerable point. By not getting their leader more involved and the message out to the public they run the risk of once again finding themselves marginalized in the Legislature in the spring election.
The cause of the NDP mission is not served well by comments to wait until they announce their plans. The time to take a stand has arrived; the voters need to know what it is they would change, what they would keep the same and how they would be a viable change to the current government. It says on the NDP website that the countdown to change has begun, if so it's the quietest countdown in history! Don't let these folks run your New Year's Eve party, you may never know the calendar has flipped!
You can listen in to the CKNW archive (select Wednesday, 8:30-10 am for full coverage) to hear what waffling sounds like, like Good the average voter is getting rather frustrated waiting for the NDP to set some kind of course of action.
So far, this peek a boo campaign has only served to give comfort to Liberal election planners. By not engaging in serious debate of the issues, the NDP run the risk of being overtaken by events in BC. The telling tale for the NDP, the one thing that should give them cause for concern? It's only Six months before the next election (May 17th, 2005) and over 55% of the electorate have no opinion of the leader of the opposition. While the optimist will say at least they don’t hate her, the real fact is that she doesn’t even register, a fact that may be more damaging to her and her party on Election Day.
As Premier Campbell begins the process of spreading the wealth , proclaiming the good word and paving the roads, the numbers are beginning to turn his way finally. Whether that success lasts will be interesting to watch, but for the moment the strategy seems to be working. While still not the most loved public official to ever call Victoria home, the Premier has been able to arrest the slide of his personal popularity, keeping the untested and relatively unknown Carole James at bay through the summer, into the fall and into an election year.
The strange strategy of the NDP peek a boo campaign, was on display today at radio station CKNW, Ms. James was a guest on the Bill Good show and managed to spend an hour in the studio and on the air without actually providing much information about how an NDP government may change the direction of public governance in BC. Much to the exasperation of host Bill Good, James continually advised that as “we get closer to the election, we’ll have a policy on that, make our views clear”. Til then one assumes we are just supposed to say oh hey, Carole has a plan it will all work out.
The Liberals had all sorts of problems at the start of this year, scandal nipped at their heels, the economy with the exception of the Lower mainland was still very much a basket case in the “heartlands” and the perception of the leader was less than reassuring for Liberals. However, if the latest Mustel poll is any indication the Campbell forces may have weathered the storm and the captain of the ship may actually survive to bring the ship into the electoral port.
The Vancouver and lower Mainland economy is chugging along nicely, parts of the heartland are coming around especially the North east portion of the province which contributes massive oil royalties and promises a rejuvenated minerals sector in aid to the provincial treasury. The lumber industry is still very much a troubled sector and in some places, the Northwest for example the economic indicators are not particularly positive for the short term.
Yet the NDP has offered no solutions, let alone policies on anything, we’re told to wait for the election when James and her forces will offer up something substantial. By then it may be far too late, they have wasted a valuable year, effectively giving the Liberals a free pass at their most vulnerable point. By not getting their leader more involved and the message out to the public they run the risk of once again finding themselves marginalized in the Legislature in the spring election.
The cause of the NDP mission is not served well by comments to wait until they announce their plans. The time to take a stand has arrived; the voters need to know what it is they would change, what they would keep the same and how they would be a viable change to the current government. It says on the NDP website that the countdown to change has begun, if so it's the quietest countdown in history! Don't let these folks run your New Year's Eve party, you may never know the calendar has flipped!
You can listen in to the CKNW archive (select Wednesday, 8:30-10 am for full coverage) to hear what waffling sounds like, like Good the average voter is getting rather frustrated waiting for the NDP to set some kind of course of action.
So far, this peek a boo campaign has only served to give comfort to Liberal election planners. By not engaging in serious debate of the issues, the NDP run the risk of being overtaken by events in BC. The telling tale for the NDP, the one thing that should give them cause for concern? It's only Six months before the next election (May 17th, 2005) and over 55% of the electorate have no opinion of the leader of the opposition. While the optimist will say at least they don’t hate her, the real fact is that she doesn’t even register, a fact that may be more damaging to her and her party on Election Day.
No puck to drop, no skates to sharpen, No Hockey Tonight!
October 13 would have been opening night for the NHL, had the current labour dispute not rendered the schedule makers work an exercise in wishful thinking. Instead, the rinks remain dark, the negotiations nothing but a distant memory. Instead of the banter of the talking heads about which team improved itself over the off season, we instead hear the latest update on who has processed a passport for Europe. Which owner has laid off arena staff or how the TV networks plan to fill the suddenly huge holes in their schedules.
Hockey in Canada in the fall of 2004 is left to the junior leagues, the college game, and an assortment of minor pro teams in wide spaced locales and of course the early morning practices and late night games of minor hockey and shift worker hockey.
The players sit on their savings and go for a skate on European surfaces, the owners claim they’re not losing as much as if when were actually putting teams on the ice. So with no sense of urgency we just sit back and wait for Ron McLean to introduce the Movie Night in Canada selection of the week. Perhaps a double bill of Slap Shot and Wall Street might be a solid choice for this Saturday!
Brian Burke offered up a solution which was politely received and just as quickly discarded. TSN put together a comprehensive report on the state of hockey and how to fix it, thanks for the memories went the refrain from the league. The lock out will continue until the “financials of the game, make sense”.
With no pucks being dropped this opening night, we are faced with the very real prospect of not having any NHL for the entire year. The owners don’t seem in any hurry to meet the players, nor the players anxious to meet the owners. And if the development from Tuesday is any indication, the chance of the two sides re-uniting any time soon are slim and none.
Nashville Predators part owner (33%), Steve Belkin , stirred up the pot with his declaration that the NHL would operate next year with replacement players if the NHLPA has not agreed to a new contract by then. The hornets nest knocked over by Belkin, sets the tone for the opening week commemoration, quickly turning into a eulogy.
For its part the NHL fined Mr. Belkin $250,000 for his thinking out loud session, suggesting that he does not speak for the league or his fellow owners. Translation: some people need to learn that loose lips sink ships!
The league stated that Mr. Belkin has only been an owner for the last four months and thus was most likely only stating his own personal opinion as to what he would do in our situation. The use of replacement players might be an easier to achieve goal in the USA than in Canada, where provincial law governs labour matters and can vary from province to province. One suspects that Mr. Belkin probably isn’t even aware that there are six Canadian franchises in the league let alone what their legal and governmental issues may be. But the perception is now out there that the NHL plans to wait this out as long as it takes and if it means playing with replacements or even starting a whole new league, then all options are apparently being considered.
Opening night in the NHL is normally a night full of hope, every team goes into the game undefeated, every team hoping to be the next Tampa Bay Lightning and raise a banner to the roof in celebration of a Stanley Cup victory the season before.
This opening night the banner is on hold, the season is on hold and indeed a national sport and national passion seems on hold as well. What remains to be seen is if the fans will still hold that passion in a year from now, it’s a dangerous risk the owners and players are taking, one wonders if they’ve considered that in all of their bluffing, blustering and scheming.
The above posting first appeared in my HockeyNation blog, for more items about hockey, greed and misery check it out.
Hockey in Canada in the fall of 2004 is left to the junior leagues, the college game, and an assortment of minor pro teams in wide spaced locales and of course the early morning practices and late night games of minor hockey and shift worker hockey.
The players sit on their savings and go for a skate on European surfaces, the owners claim they’re not losing as much as if when were actually putting teams on the ice. So with no sense of urgency we just sit back and wait for Ron McLean to introduce the Movie Night in Canada selection of the week. Perhaps a double bill of Slap Shot and Wall Street might be a solid choice for this Saturday!
Brian Burke offered up a solution which was politely received and just as quickly discarded. TSN put together a comprehensive report on the state of hockey and how to fix it, thanks for the memories went the refrain from the league. The lock out will continue until the “financials of the game, make sense”.
With no pucks being dropped this opening night, we are faced with the very real prospect of not having any NHL for the entire year. The owners don’t seem in any hurry to meet the players, nor the players anxious to meet the owners. And if the development from Tuesday is any indication, the chance of the two sides re-uniting any time soon are slim and none.
Nashville Predators part owner (33%), Steve Belkin , stirred up the pot with his declaration that the NHL would operate next year with replacement players if the NHLPA has not agreed to a new contract by then. The hornets nest knocked over by Belkin, sets the tone for the opening week commemoration, quickly turning into a eulogy.
For its part the NHL fined Mr. Belkin $250,000 for his thinking out loud session, suggesting that he does not speak for the league or his fellow owners. Translation: some people need to learn that loose lips sink ships!
The league stated that Mr. Belkin has only been an owner for the last four months and thus was most likely only stating his own personal opinion as to what he would do in our situation. The use of replacement players might be an easier to achieve goal in the USA than in Canada, where provincial law governs labour matters and can vary from province to province. One suspects that Mr. Belkin probably isn’t even aware that there are six Canadian franchises in the league let alone what their legal and governmental issues may be. But the perception is now out there that the NHL plans to wait this out as long as it takes and if it means playing with replacements or even starting a whole new league, then all options are apparently being considered.
Opening night in the NHL is normally a night full of hope, every team goes into the game undefeated, every team hoping to be the next Tampa Bay Lightning and raise a banner to the roof in celebration of a Stanley Cup victory the season before.
This opening night the banner is on hold, the season is on hold and indeed a national sport and national passion seems on hold as well. What remains to be seen is if the fans will still hold that passion in a year from now, it’s a dangerous risk the owners and players are taking, one wonders if they’ve considered that in all of their bluffing, blustering and scheming.
The above posting first appeared in my HockeyNation blog, for more items about hockey, greed and misery check it out.
Sunday, October 10, 2004
The week of essentials October 4-11
A sub set sail and tragedy stalked
A vote in Canada would see Kerry win in a walk
Bermer's war insight was supposed to be off the record
Smokin' Cuban stogies will get a yank a record
Martha's finally in the can
And we have a final farewell for Superman
Seven days, they've gone by fast
Best recap them while the links last!
4-Oct-04 It's all Kerry in the 51st state
4-Oct-04 Ralph's sweet words
4-Oct-04 Unravelling a national government one thread at a time
4-Oct-04 A small break in: Didn't Watergate start this way?
4-Oct-04 Look kids, its Malibu Britney
5-Oct-04 Brawling before the bell
5-Oct-04 Time to pass the ammunition and stock up on the supplies
5-Oct-04 Bremer's off the record speech goes public
5-Oct-04 Billy Bob and the Bard
5-Oct-04 A dark side to Hammy Hamster
6-Oct-04 Toe to Toe and Blow by Blow
6-Oct-04 Run Silent, Run Deep
6-Oct-04 Finally a bit of respect
6-Oct-04 For the love of space
6-Oct-04 51 dollars and rising
7-Oct-04 Tale of the secondhand subs takes a tragic turn
7-Oct-04 Home stretch gift for Kerry
7-Oct-04 A good defence is a strong offence
7-Oct-04 A long COLD winter ahead?
7-Oct-04 Disruptive and Obnoxious? Winnipeg is your destination.
8-Oct-04 Paul Cellucci: Canadian Nationalist
8-Oct-04 Martha's Final mile
8-Oct-04 Tempting fate with the flu
8-Oct-04 Reading the Parliament Hill tea leaves
8-Oct-04 For her next role: Blanche to Crosbie's Stanley
9-Oct-04 Anyone remember the economy?
9-Oct-04 Return of the Jib Jab boys
9-Oct-04 A Dissenting opinion on Micheal Moore
9-Oct-04 Carry the cross on your chain
9-Oct-04 Theres money in that dust
10-Oct-04 A Good omen for George
10-Oct-04 The net sum of our fears
10-Oct-04 A blue print for Bono
10-Oct-04 Happy Birthday Edmonton
10-Oct-04 Reading the political coffee grounds
11-Oct-04 What we never heard in the Throne Speech
11-Oct-04 Superman's farewell
11-Oct-04 British suggest that Canadian sub situation a "Canadian problem"
11-Oct-04 American's fire up a Cuban in Canada at their own risk
11-Oct-04 Wired for help, or rumpled for show?
A vote in Canada would see Kerry win in a walk
Bermer's war insight was supposed to be off the record
Smokin' Cuban stogies will get a yank a record
Martha's finally in the can
And we have a final farewell for Superman
Seven days, they've gone by fast
Best recap them while the links last!
4-Oct-04 It's all Kerry in the 51st state
4-Oct-04 Ralph's sweet words
4-Oct-04 Unravelling a national government one thread at a time
4-Oct-04 A small break in: Didn't Watergate start this way?
4-Oct-04 Look kids, its Malibu Britney
5-Oct-04 Brawling before the bell
5-Oct-04 Time to pass the ammunition and stock up on the supplies
5-Oct-04 Bremer's off the record speech goes public
5-Oct-04 Billy Bob and the Bard
5-Oct-04 A dark side to Hammy Hamster
6-Oct-04 Toe to Toe and Blow by Blow
6-Oct-04 Run Silent, Run Deep
6-Oct-04 Finally a bit of respect
6-Oct-04 For the love of space
6-Oct-04 51 dollars and rising
7-Oct-04 Tale of the secondhand subs takes a tragic turn
7-Oct-04 Home stretch gift for Kerry
7-Oct-04 A good defence is a strong offence
7-Oct-04 A long COLD winter ahead?
7-Oct-04 Disruptive and Obnoxious? Winnipeg is your destination.
8-Oct-04 Paul Cellucci: Canadian Nationalist
8-Oct-04 Martha's Final mile
8-Oct-04 Tempting fate with the flu
8-Oct-04 Reading the Parliament Hill tea leaves
8-Oct-04 For her next role: Blanche to Crosbie's Stanley
9-Oct-04 Anyone remember the economy?
9-Oct-04 Return of the Jib Jab boys
9-Oct-04 A Dissenting opinion on Micheal Moore
9-Oct-04 Carry the cross on your chain
9-Oct-04 Theres money in that dust
10-Oct-04 A Good omen for George
10-Oct-04 The net sum of our fears
10-Oct-04 A blue print for Bono
10-Oct-04 Happy Birthday Edmonton
10-Oct-04 Reading the political coffee grounds
11-Oct-04 What we never heard in the Throne Speech
11-Oct-04 Superman's farewell
11-Oct-04 British suggest that Canadian sub situation a "Canadian problem"
11-Oct-04 American's fire up a Cuban in Canada at their own risk
11-Oct-04 Wired for help, or rumpled for show?
Friday, October 08, 2004
Are they hard at work? Or hardly working?
Much has been made about the revolution of the back bench Liberal MP’s over those denied pay raises in Ottawa, a situation that has caused for public outrage, an outrage expressed most eloquently by sean incognito. Indeed, our elected officials in the national Capital seem of the opinion that we don’t appreciate their hard work, sacrifice and expense account savvy. They believe they are most deserving of a topping up of the bank account, its a chance to sock away some more RRSP monies, maybe buy that second SUV, keep the family well provided for and of course keep up the Gov’t pension plan contributions while their at it.
All of which we should consider against the backdrop of the average Canadian worker, you know the rest of us, the ones who eke out our meagre existences, willingly sending our tax dollars off to Ottawa to be funnelled into the trough. Surely we can relate to the financial travails and the onerous demands of those that must get by on $141,000 (not including the tax free perks and travel allowances that go with such a demanding job).
So while we wait for the long list of whiners and malcontents to leak its way into the public domain (a sure fire don’t rehire list if ever there was one), give a thought to perhaps how hard done by the folks in Ottawa really are; compared to their provincial counterparts.
Take those hard working legislators in Victoria as a case in point. After a particularly stressful first four days of the fall session of the BC Legislature, the Liberal gov’t and its two opposition members will be taking a week off to digest the turkey and enjoy some fall colours. Not wanting to over exert themselves after a lengthy four month summer vacation, the Legislature has already cleared out and will be a ghost town for seven days.
After that chance to recharge the batteries, our MLA’s will be back hard at whatever it is they do, for twelve days and then since no one should have to sacrifice so much time and work so hard, they will then break for another seven days.
With that all too brief respite, they’ll be back hard at (ahem er, uh) work for eight days, and then its clear the calendar time, they are out of the House until after the New Year.
Now for those wondering, out of the 71 possible sitting days since the House last sat on May 20th, our elected officials will have actually sat down in the House for 24 sessions by the time we ring in 2005. 24 days work in seven months, how can they possibly keep that pace! And never on a Friday, for our legislators it’s a three day weekend for every week that they must spend time chained to their desk.
God have pity on Paul Martin when his pack of malcontent MP’s get wind of what’s going on out on the West Coast. As a public service for our Federal MP’s looking for a visual aid when they next tackle the PM, here’s the BC Legislature calendar. Working days are blue, off days are white, make sure PM the PM notices the amount of white space on the calendar.
All of this makes you wonder what Ujjal Dosanjh was thinking of though when he went into Federal politics, compared to what goes on in the BC Leg, his time in Ottawa may actually resemble hard work. At least in that rarefied world of politics!
All of which we should consider against the backdrop of the average Canadian worker, you know the rest of us, the ones who eke out our meagre existences, willingly sending our tax dollars off to Ottawa to be funnelled into the trough. Surely we can relate to the financial travails and the onerous demands of those that must get by on $141,000 (not including the tax free perks and travel allowances that go with such a demanding job).
So while we wait for the long list of whiners and malcontents to leak its way into the public domain (a sure fire don’t rehire list if ever there was one), give a thought to perhaps how hard done by the folks in Ottawa really are; compared to their provincial counterparts.
Take those hard working legislators in Victoria as a case in point. After a particularly stressful first four days of the fall session of the BC Legislature, the Liberal gov’t and its two opposition members will be taking a week off to digest the turkey and enjoy some fall colours. Not wanting to over exert themselves after a lengthy four month summer vacation, the Legislature has already cleared out and will be a ghost town for seven days.
After that chance to recharge the batteries, our MLA’s will be back hard at whatever it is they do, for twelve days and then since no one should have to sacrifice so much time and work so hard, they will then break for another seven days.
With that all too brief respite, they’ll be back hard at (ahem er, uh) work for eight days, and then its clear the calendar time, they are out of the House until after the New Year.
Now for those wondering, out of the 71 possible sitting days since the House last sat on May 20th, our elected officials will have actually sat down in the House for 24 sessions by the time we ring in 2005. 24 days work in seven months, how can they possibly keep that pace! And never on a Friday, for our legislators it’s a three day weekend for every week that they must spend time chained to their desk.
God have pity on Paul Martin when his pack of malcontent MP’s get wind of what’s going on out on the West Coast. As a public service for our Federal MP’s looking for a visual aid when they next tackle the PM, here’s the BC Legislature calendar. Working days are blue, off days are white, make sure PM the PM notices the amount of white space on the calendar.
All of this makes you wonder what Ujjal Dosanjh was thinking of though when he went into Federal politics, compared to what goes on in the BC Leg, his time in Ottawa may actually resemble hard work. At least in that rarefied world of politics!
Thursday, October 07, 2004
Second hand subs leave us with far too many questions!
Up until today I had been working on a piece about the misadventures of our newly purchased Submarine fleet. That collection of four subs, which were having their problems staying afloat, keeping on a budgetary track or actually taking to sea. A project that has been beset by many problems, my little blog item was destined to be a rather light hearted look at the travails of taking mothballed subs and turning them into a major ingredient of our naval forces.
But with the tragic death of submariner Lt. Chris Saunders there is no desire, let alone need, for frivolity, instead perhaps a serious investigation of just what has gone on is in order. It’s something that should have been done six years ago when this project first came up on the Canadian radar.
The death of Lt. Saunders involved that most harrowing of at sea scenarios, the on board fire in a confined space. There is not much that can make a sailor fear for his safety than a fire on board, there’s no fire department on the way, no bucket brigade, just you and your ship mates on your own, battling to save your ship. You train and train over and over again to cover just such a scenario, but in reality the real thing can only bring fear up to your throat from its deepest hiding place. It’s a testimony to the skills of the Chicoutimi crew that an even larger scale disaster did not take place.
By all accounts the fire onboard HMCS Chicoutimi was far more serious than we were led to believe by the early reports of this week. With an emergency airlift of sailors to a hospital in Ireland and a crippled submarine bobbing around the North Atlantic off the coast of Ireland something has gone terribly wrong with this program.
The Chicoutimi is the fourth and final of the Victoria class diesel electric boats, leased by the Canadian Navy from the Royal Navy. Having only taken possession on Sunday the Chicoutimi was on its way to CFB Halifax at the time of its on board emergency. The history of these boats leaves many to wonder if Canada has not perhaps taken on more trouble than it knew at the time of purchase.
Reports from England suggest a litany of glitches on the subs while they were part of the Royal Navy Fleet, eventually mothballed when the UK went to a nuclear Submarine program the four subs sat in dry dock for years while a buyer was sought. Along came Canada suggesting at the time that the deal was a once in a lifetime chance to instantly create a submarine squadron.
However, the changeover has not gone smoothly all four of these subs have had some kind of malfunction or problem since taking on a Canadian commissioning pennant, the most serious of course Tuesday’s tragedy. The British claim there is nothing wrong with their boats, in fact a rather defensive looking Royal Navy representative seemed quite taken aback at the line of questioning about the former British subs.
But one can’t help but wonder if these are such gems, why were they tied up for so long? Why have there been so many reported problems (and one wonders how many unreported ones)? The simple fact that the actual use of these subs in a military role has yet to be fully taken on, gives one cause to think about just what is happening in Halifax.
The program is over budget and far behind schedule. The “Canadianization” of the subs taking much longer to achieve and leaving our sailors with far more questions than answers about the boats they serve on. In fact the trouble that the Chicoutimi has found itself in highlights a major problem with the Armed Forces, we have had to rely on the British and Irish Navy, merchant and fishing vessels to come to the aid of our stricken submarine. So short are we in resources that if we had to launch a rescue mission of our own we would be in dire straits. Without the support vessels and aircraft in place, we are playing a dangerous game with people’s lives.
Canada being a rather parsimonious nation in its defence spending decided to take the cheaper route of acquiring used subs, rather than purchasing new models or developing its own program. It’s a constant theme of late in our Armed Forces, trying to take short cuts in procurement of resources. We bang on about our soldiers, sailors and airmen and the jobs they have to do, yet we seem to short change them in the most important aspect of their work, their equipment.
The fact is we try to do defence on the cheap and that is just not worth the eventual cost. While there is probably no turning back on this program now and most Defence officials believe these subs will eventually prove their worth, we need to find out all that is required about this program and other military projects.
We’re presently wasting millions of dollars on a dog and pony show about questionable spending in the advertising world of Quebec. We already have a pretty clear idea about the waste and less than honest activity of our political representatives and their minions in the civil service. And as distasteful as their actions have been, in the big picture its nothing that the police can’t handle with a dedicated investigative procedure. Redirecting that money to a more sensible cause might make for a good faith gesture.
I’d much rather find out if these four subs are indeed safe to set sail, we owe that much to the folks that serve on the Victoria class boats. Even more importantly we probably owe at least that to Lt. Saunders and his family. A son, father and husband is not coming home, we should be able to tell the family why.
Whenever our military head out on a mission they are aware of the risk and prepared for what may come their way. The job at hand is dangerous enough without sending them to work with substandard equipment. No one should die serving his country because we wanted to do a job as frugally as possible. A government that sanctions that idea is worthy of nothing but contempt!
But with the tragic death of submariner Lt. Chris Saunders there is no desire, let alone need, for frivolity, instead perhaps a serious investigation of just what has gone on is in order. It’s something that should have been done six years ago when this project first came up on the Canadian radar.
The death of Lt. Saunders involved that most harrowing of at sea scenarios, the on board fire in a confined space. There is not much that can make a sailor fear for his safety than a fire on board, there’s no fire department on the way, no bucket brigade, just you and your ship mates on your own, battling to save your ship. You train and train over and over again to cover just such a scenario, but in reality the real thing can only bring fear up to your throat from its deepest hiding place. It’s a testimony to the skills of the Chicoutimi crew that an even larger scale disaster did not take place.
By all accounts the fire onboard HMCS Chicoutimi was far more serious than we were led to believe by the early reports of this week. With an emergency airlift of sailors to a hospital in Ireland and a crippled submarine bobbing around the North Atlantic off the coast of Ireland something has gone terribly wrong with this program.
The Chicoutimi is the fourth and final of the Victoria class diesel electric boats, leased by the Canadian Navy from the Royal Navy. Having only taken possession on Sunday the Chicoutimi was on its way to CFB Halifax at the time of its on board emergency. The history of these boats leaves many to wonder if Canada has not perhaps taken on more trouble than it knew at the time of purchase.
Reports from England suggest a litany of glitches on the subs while they were part of the Royal Navy Fleet, eventually mothballed when the UK went to a nuclear Submarine program the four subs sat in dry dock for years while a buyer was sought. Along came Canada suggesting at the time that the deal was a once in a lifetime chance to instantly create a submarine squadron.
However, the changeover has not gone smoothly all four of these subs have had some kind of malfunction or problem since taking on a Canadian commissioning pennant, the most serious of course Tuesday’s tragedy. The British claim there is nothing wrong with their boats, in fact a rather defensive looking Royal Navy representative seemed quite taken aback at the line of questioning about the former British subs.
But one can’t help but wonder if these are such gems, why were they tied up for so long? Why have there been so many reported problems (and one wonders how many unreported ones)? The simple fact that the actual use of these subs in a military role has yet to be fully taken on, gives one cause to think about just what is happening in Halifax.
The program is over budget and far behind schedule. The “Canadianization” of the subs taking much longer to achieve and leaving our sailors with far more questions than answers about the boats they serve on. In fact the trouble that the Chicoutimi has found itself in highlights a major problem with the Armed Forces, we have had to rely on the British and Irish Navy, merchant and fishing vessels to come to the aid of our stricken submarine. So short are we in resources that if we had to launch a rescue mission of our own we would be in dire straits. Without the support vessels and aircraft in place, we are playing a dangerous game with people’s lives.
Canada being a rather parsimonious nation in its defence spending decided to take the cheaper route of acquiring used subs, rather than purchasing new models or developing its own program. It’s a constant theme of late in our Armed Forces, trying to take short cuts in procurement of resources. We bang on about our soldiers, sailors and airmen and the jobs they have to do, yet we seem to short change them in the most important aspect of their work, their equipment.
The fact is we try to do defence on the cheap and that is just not worth the eventual cost. While there is probably no turning back on this program now and most Defence officials believe these subs will eventually prove their worth, we need to find out all that is required about this program and other military projects.
We’re presently wasting millions of dollars on a dog and pony show about questionable spending in the advertising world of Quebec. We already have a pretty clear idea about the waste and less than honest activity of our political representatives and their minions in the civil service. And as distasteful as their actions have been, in the big picture its nothing that the police can’t handle with a dedicated investigative procedure. Redirecting that money to a more sensible cause might make for a good faith gesture.
I’d much rather find out if these four subs are indeed safe to set sail, we owe that much to the folks that serve on the Victoria class boats. Even more importantly we probably owe at least that to Lt. Saunders and his family. A son, father and husband is not coming home, we should be able to tell the family why.
Whenever our military head out on a mission they are aware of the risk and prepared for what may come their way. The job at hand is dangerous enough without sending them to work with substandard equipment. No one should die serving his country because we wanted to do a job as frugally as possible. A government that sanctions that idea is worthy of nothing but contempt!
Saving money (or saving face) at the NHL head office!
If it comes to penny pinching in Gary Bettman’s office, the first thing to go will probably be the Hockey News subscription. In a hard hitting editorial, Senior Writer, Mike Brophy called for Bettman to step (or be pushed) aside with or without a successful solution to the current impasse.
In a rather sharp and pointed compilation, Brophy painted a rather bleak picture of the league under the sixth president/commissioner since 1917. Brophy recounts the many troubles in the NHL under Bettman’s watch, the sour labour relations with the players, a strike by the officials during a playoff run and franchises that are losing less money by not actually icing a team. Brophy examines an American TV footprint that has dwindled year by year, to the point that should the league ever return to the stadiums, the next US deal will feature no money up front.
Brohpy looks at the current state of the league as dire, featuring a tired product on the ice and a fan base that seems to be falling off city by city, pointing to a league in crisis. All of which happened under the watch of Gary Bettman.
The most damning comment in the article is the suggestion that the current stalemate is all about saving face for the Commissioner, nothing to do with saving hockey. He ends the blistering editorial with a call for Bettman to be replaced; stepping aside in Brophy’s opinion is the best that Gary Bettman has to offer.
It’s doubtful that the Commissioner will be taking Brophy’s advice, doubtful that Brophy will get an exclusive interview with the embattled President and even more doubtful that you’ll find a subscription to the Hockey News in the Bettman hockey stocking this Christmas.
The above posting first appeared in my HockeyNation blog, for more items about hockey check it out.
In a rather sharp and pointed compilation, Brophy painted a rather bleak picture of the league under the sixth president/commissioner since 1917. Brophy recounts the many troubles in the NHL under Bettman’s watch, the sour labour relations with the players, a strike by the officials during a playoff run and franchises that are losing less money by not actually icing a team. Brophy examines an American TV footprint that has dwindled year by year, to the point that should the league ever return to the stadiums, the next US deal will feature no money up front.
Brohpy looks at the current state of the league as dire, featuring a tired product on the ice and a fan base that seems to be falling off city by city, pointing to a league in crisis. All of which happened under the watch of Gary Bettman.
The most damning comment in the article is the suggestion that the current stalemate is all about saving face for the Commissioner, nothing to do with saving hockey. He ends the blistering editorial with a call for Bettman to be replaced; stepping aside in Brophy’s opinion is the best that Gary Bettman has to offer.
It’s doubtful that the Commissioner will be taking Brophy’s advice, doubtful that Brophy will get an exclusive interview with the embattled President and even more doubtful that you’ll find a subscription to the Hockey News in the Bettman hockey stocking this Christmas.
The above posting first appeared in my HockeyNation blog, for more items about hockey check it out.
Sunday, October 03, 2004
The week of essentials Sept 28-Oct 3
Seven days where have the gone,
Bush and Kerry went on and on,
There's a mountain ready to blow it's top,
For the Governor General the work won't stop.
Martha Stewart gets ready for the Big House,
Expos are finished, Bud Selig's a louse!
Many items for your you to view,
Lets get started before there is something new.
28-Sep-04 Higher and Higher and Higher
28-Sep-04 Somebody's going to confession
28-Sep-04 Becoming a nation of ditherers
28-Sep-04 #55170-054 is in transit
28-Sep-04 The audience however does have a preference for brownies
29-Sep-04 They don't need it, We can't afford it!
29-Sep-04 The Bird Flu makes a comeback
29-Sep-04 Nos Amours are almost No more
29-Sep-04 Churchill would be proud of George!
29-Sep-04 Not content to let the Kerry forces blow it
30-Sep-04 Money! It's a gas, get your hands off of my stash
30-Sep-04 A Hot lunch program with oomph
30-Sep-04 Rumbling in the mountain
30-Sep-04 A step beyond painless dentistry
30-Sep-04 Youppi avoids the EI lines
1-Oct-04 Arrianna's campaign advice for Kerry
1-Oct-04 GG keeps her gig
1-Oct-04 No jobs at Nortel
1-Oct-04 Feeling pity for the Montreal ticket scalper
1-Oct-04 A little stiffness isn't so bad considering the alternative
2-Oct-04 His Lordship keeps the lawyers employed
2-Oct-04 Tony's ticker keeps on ticking
2-Oct-04 A Burp, A Belch and a snooze
2-Oct-04 Getting out the vote just got a little bit more complicated
2-Oct-04 GW slept one off here
3-Oct-04 Danny's Band of Brothers
3-Oct-04 Keep on Rockin' in the free world
3-Oct-04 Awaiting the Big Bang
3-Oct-04 The magnificent seven
3-Oct-04 Aye, Ready, Aye
4-Oct-04 It's all Kerry in the 51st state
4-Oct-04 Ralph's sweet words
4-Oct-04 Unravelling a national government one thread at a time
4-Oct-04 A small break in: Didn't Watergate start this way?
4-Oct-04 Look kids, its Malibu Britney
Bush and Kerry went on and on,
There's a mountain ready to blow it's top,
For the Governor General the work won't stop.
Martha Stewart gets ready for the Big House,
Expos are finished, Bud Selig's a louse!
Many items for your you to view,
Lets get started before there is something new.
28-Sep-04 Higher and Higher and Higher
28-Sep-04 Somebody's going to confession
28-Sep-04 Becoming a nation of ditherers
28-Sep-04 #55170-054 is in transit
28-Sep-04 The audience however does have a preference for brownies
29-Sep-04 They don't need it, We can't afford it!
29-Sep-04 The Bird Flu makes a comeback
29-Sep-04 Nos Amours are almost No more
29-Sep-04 Churchill would be proud of George!
29-Sep-04 Not content to let the Kerry forces blow it
30-Sep-04 Money! It's a gas, get your hands off of my stash
30-Sep-04 A Hot lunch program with oomph
30-Sep-04 Rumbling in the mountain
30-Sep-04 A step beyond painless dentistry
30-Sep-04 Youppi avoids the EI lines
1-Oct-04 Arrianna's campaign advice for Kerry
1-Oct-04 GG keeps her gig
1-Oct-04 No jobs at Nortel
1-Oct-04 Feeling pity for the Montreal ticket scalper
1-Oct-04 A little stiffness isn't so bad considering the alternative
2-Oct-04 His Lordship keeps the lawyers employed
2-Oct-04 Tony's ticker keeps on ticking
2-Oct-04 A Burp, A Belch and a snooze
2-Oct-04 Getting out the vote just got a little bit more complicated
2-Oct-04 GW slept one off here
3-Oct-04 Danny's Band of Brothers
3-Oct-04 Keep on Rockin' in the free world
3-Oct-04 Awaiting the Big Bang
3-Oct-04 The magnificent seven
3-Oct-04 Aye, Ready, Aye
4-Oct-04 It's all Kerry in the 51st state
4-Oct-04 Ralph's sweet words
4-Oct-04 Unravelling a national government one thread at a time
4-Oct-04 A small break in: Didn't Watergate start this way?
4-Oct-04 Look kids, its Malibu Britney
Friday, October 01, 2004
Watching the Volcano
Well here's a wonderful use of our little internet world, and an indication on how things have changed for us over the years. No longer need we wait for the papers or the television reports of natural disasters or enthralling earth changes. Today we can sit back in the luxury of our own home and wait for Mount St. Helen to blow its top. The folks at the Mount St. Helens National Volcano monument have set up a Volcano Cam, updating every five minutes you can while away the hours waiting on the lava.
From the angle of the camera we'll be right in the lava flow, dodging the rocks from the comfort of our chairs. Located about five miles away from the volcano the camera should be able to withstand anything mother nature might toss its way, short of a cataclysmic eruption at which point, everyone west of the Mountain may wish to take to the lifeboats.
Scientists haven't given out an expected eruption time, but suggest that at any time the show may begin. Click on the link above and sit back, (way back)objects on your screen may be closer than you think!
From the angle of the camera we'll be right in the lava flow, dodging the rocks from the comfort of our chairs. Located about five miles away from the volcano the camera should be able to withstand anything mother nature might toss its way, short of a cataclysmic eruption at which point, everyone west of the Mountain may wish to take to the lifeboats.
Scientists haven't given out an expected eruption time, but suggest that at any time the show may begin. Click on the link above and sit back, (way back)objects on your screen may be closer than you think!
Solidarity forever!
Oh oh don’t look now, but the folks that brought the sports world into the era of the lengthy labour dispute, have offered up their support to the NHLPA.
Donald Fehr of the Major League Baseball Players Association has sent a letter of support to his brethren in the NHLPA expressing solidarity in a trying time.
Fehr writes “We understand how difficult it can be and we know how long it can last. But we also know what is at stake”. Fehr also went on to express the ideal of maintaining a free market as a worthwhile reason to be on the line.
Baseball and Hockey are the only two “major league” sports that do not have a salary camp, so it’s in his membership’s best interests to come out in support of the NHLPA as it fights the good fight for bonus clauses, incremental pay increases and no trade clauses.
And if Bob Goodenow finds himself bogged down in the details of a work stoppage, then Fehr is his guy. In the last 30 years, Baseball has had 8 work stoppages, the longest and most bitter that of 1994.
In that year, baseball was behind locked gates for 104 days, wiping out league playoffs and the World Series, extending on into the start of the following season. It is also pointed out as pivotal year in the decline of baseball in many cities of North America, most recently exhibited in the death of the Montreal Expos.
For the NHLPA the timing of the support is not particularly great, Sports fans across Canada are still to a degree in shock and mourning over the actual relocation of the Expos to Washington, that after so many failed attempts to move the long suffering team. To have the baseball union jumping into the situation at this time will only serve to focus the public to examine how sports has changed and not for the better.
The watershed moment for that part of Canadianna was the labour disruption of 1994, an event that the Expos never recovered from. For Hockey fans the memory brings back thoughts of cancelled seasons and the death rattle of a once proud franchise.
A situation that may be repeated in larger numbers in hockey, should this dispute carry on for any length of time. The support for the players is no doubt quite welcome, but the reminder of what is at stake probably more important for the fan!
This posting first appeared in my HockeyNation blog, for more items about the fine art of negotiating, check it out!
Donald Fehr of the Major League Baseball Players Association has sent a letter of support to his brethren in the NHLPA expressing solidarity in a trying time.
Fehr writes “We understand how difficult it can be and we know how long it can last. But we also know what is at stake”. Fehr also went on to express the ideal of maintaining a free market as a worthwhile reason to be on the line.
Baseball and Hockey are the only two “major league” sports that do not have a salary camp, so it’s in his membership’s best interests to come out in support of the NHLPA as it fights the good fight for bonus clauses, incremental pay increases and no trade clauses.
And if Bob Goodenow finds himself bogged down in the details of a work stoppage, then Fehr is his guy. In the last 30 years, Baseball has had 8 work stoppages, the longest and most bitter that of 1994.
In that year, baseball was behind locked gates for 104 days, wiping out league playoffs and the World Series, extending on into the start of the following season. It is also pointed out as pivotal year in the decline of baseball in many cities of North America, most recently exhibited in the death of the Montreal Expos.
For the NHLPA the timing of the support is not particularly great, Sports fans across Canada are still to a degree in shock and mourning over the actual relocation of the Expos to Washington, that after so many failed attempts to move the long suffering team. To have the baseball union jumping into the situation at this time will only serve to focus the public to examine how sports has changed and not for the better.
The watershed moment for that part of Canadianna was the labour disruption of 1994, an event that the Expos never recovered from. For Hockey fans the memory brings back thoughts of cancelled seasons and the death rattle of a once proud franchise.
A situation that may be repeated in larger numbers in hockey, should this dispute carry on for any length of time. The support for the players is no doubt quite welcome, but the reminder of what is at stake probably more important for the fan!
This posting first appeared in my HockeyNation blog, for more items about the fine art of negotiating, check it out!
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