In Flanders Fields
By: Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD
(1872-1918) Canadian Army
IN FLANDERS FIELDS the poppies blow
Between the crosses row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
An Introduction to the Books of Remembrance
The Six Books of Remembrance
Hear of their Stories
See where they rest
A Chance to Learn More
Friday, November 11, 2005
Listen to the bells ring and the winds blow.
Who was the most valuable person at the PAC on Thursday night? The lady working the bell to end each of the council candidates allotted bit of speechmaking. Not that I’m against the concept of free speech, but without that bell, some of the folks on the stage would still be talking in circles for us.
All in all, bringing 17 different opinions together for a two hour information session went fairly well. Though with that many candidates one or two must have seen their platforms verbalized by others at least once or twice. This was one session where going first certainly would at least give you the advantage of fresh material.
The council incumbents, Mr. Briglio, Ms. Bedard, Mr. Cote, Mr. Kinney and Mr. Rudolph seemed to be a bit defensive about their time on council. They frequently dismissed the suggestion that the current council conducted too much of its business in secrecy. They all came to the defense of Mayor Pond, a nod at his kind words about them of the night before. And they for the most part expressed a wish to keep their group together to “finish” the job that “we” have done so far.
Of course, that probably is not likely. There were some bright and energetic people among the remaining twelve participants. Many suggested solid community ideas that need a forum to be discussed and acted upon. Marty Bowles, Joy Thorkelson, Sheila Gordon Payne, Erika Rolston and Steve Fitzpatrick seemed to stake out a fair bit of turf for themselves and put forward their ideas in a clear and easy to understand way. On each of the four issues discussed in the main part of the session, they seemed to have thought out their answers and proposals in a fairly consistent way.
The remaining candidates did an admirable job of presenting their views, but as the evening moved along they seemed to end up simply repeating their lawn sign mantras or merely repeating the blurbs we’ve read in the small box ads in the paper. Frank DeBartolo, Mario Castelli, Brenda Cook, Danielle Dalton, Gabe McLean and Mitch Myers had some good thoughts from time to time, but never seemed to move them beyond their positioning statements. They commented on the issues of the day, but didn’t seem to offer up the same kind of solutions as those presented by Bowles, Thorkelson, Gordon-Payne, Rolston and Fitzpatrick.
Lothar Schiese’s commentaries had some interesting points at moments, but he would frequently go off topic and leave the viewer wondering where the discussion was going and if the bell was going to ring soon.
Tom Harvey did a good job of moderating the night’s entertainment. Using questions selected by the audience, he held a lottery draw of inquisition. Four questions were selected of the nine provided by the PAC Audience.
The four questions were:
How should council address the drug issue in Prince Rupert?
How did they see Prince Rupert developing economically?
How would they address our deteriorating infrastructure?
And what would be our future Development prospects?
The Drug issue provided the general consensus that families need to be more involved in their children’s lives and that the issue involved many aspects of our society. The unemployment rate, dim job prospects, cuts to welfare and such, all have contributed to the issue. The key to the problem is to involve the youth in the strategies against drugs. The elimination of services such as a street worker, the YIT squad, lack of a treatment centre were all pointed to as issues that could help in reducing the problems.
Sheila Gordon Payne, Erika Rolston and Joy Thorkelson seemed to be on the same page on the issue, as they suggested similar ideas in different approaches. Their answers seemed to provide the most information and the most thought out solutions to the problem.
For the incumbents it’s a harder issue to address, as their recent decisions at budget time have to a degree contributed to the problems. The suggestion that an improving economy would help is true, but at the moment doesn’t really address the situation as it is. This after all was what the question was all about.
The Economic Development question brought up the usual suggestions. Reduce red tape; speed up the process to get new business growing. Ken Cote gave the audience a glimpse of the Economic Development Commission budget and how the city got it under control, basically reducing staff and expenditures and by turning the Mayor into a traveling salesman.
Mario Castelli suggested that Jim Rushton move into the Mayors office as a special assistant to the mayor on development. Jack Rudolph strongly suggested we find things to do for the wives of business leaders who apparently won’t come here because of their spouses. This of course leads one to wonder if Mr. Rudolph knows that women are business leaders too and perhaps the men will need some diversions as well.
Sheila Gordon Payne urged for open doors and a partnership with NWCC and UNBC to train workers for the jobs to come. Joy Thorkelson approached the issue with a similar tact, stating that the role of City Hall should be to facilitate the needs of business and labour.
Mitch Myers called for tax breaks for small business and a better marketing plan for the city. Tony Briglio said that we are on the radar screen, because we sent the Mayor out of town to sell our city. Steve Fitzpatrick explored the idea of making Economic Development more of a Regional approach. Kathy Bedard like many others on the stage, called for less red tape from the city and more of a lead role in development. The problem with the style of debate in place on Thursday was that no one asked the question; “why this council had not reduced that red tape enough and taken a lead during its three year mandate”.
The Deteriorating Infrastructure issue was another split between the challengers and the incumbents. The Challengers suggesting that there must be different forms of funding available out there to address the infrastructure shortfalls. The incumbents claiming that if they were available, they would have pulled them all in by now.
Two candidates urged the audience to think of infrastructure as more than just the roads and sewers, social deterioration in the city was the theme of both Sheila Gordon Payne and Joy Thorkelson, both said that approaches should be made to the provincial and federal governments to make both aware of our situations.
Once again the argument was brought forward, that until we grow the tax base we’ll constantly be behind the eight ball regarding our infrastructure problems. Ken Cote said that the problems were not insurmountable, that they need to squeeze the budget a bit more in the short term. Ms. Bedard said we had been borrowing on infrastructure for years and now have made the tough decisions required. Jack Rudolph said that we had a problem that needed to be solved, but didn’t offer up any easy solutions for the crowd.
This was a theme that the incumbents went back to time and time again, the tough choices they have made in the last three years. Still as was pointed out by the challengers time and time again as well, we have bridges in need of repair, sewers in need of repair and roads in need of paving, and no money to do any of it.
The final topic of debate on the night was The Future and what our development prospects might be.
For the incumbents it was a motherhood issue, Kathy Bedard said we had unlimited prospects, the port an engine of our growth reflecting our position as a gateway to Asia and to Canada. Ken Cote pointed to the Uplands development at the Cruise ship terminal as a place to watch for future growth. Nelson Kinney invoked the memory of Iona Campagnola and a musical; we are all to dare to dream the impossible dream. Jack Rudolph said that Alaska may be a key for us; they will want to use our port and our airport. He also said we needed to find more co-operation between fishermen and the city. For Tony Briglio the sky is the limit as long as we don’t drive by the rules of the past and not be restricted by the rules of 24 years ago, a reference to the Community Plan.
As for the challengers, Sheila Gordon Payne picked up on the Community Plan, saying that it should be made more accessible and put into clear language for the community. She again stressed the need for partnerships to make the city grown, with education for the current and future labour pool attracted by our industries. Mario Castelli also had an interest in the Community plan and a need to update it, with the container port in operation he said the world would follow. Brenda Cook said we should not fear development but make sure that our values were known. Mitch Myers stressed the need for small business and new ideas.
Joy Thorkelson stressed links with the First Nations and to strengthen the fish industry, suggesting a more pro active approach with the different levels of government. Gabe McLean said we must move forward and must be successful, stressing as well the need for more links with the First Nations. Danielle Dalton said our future was mind boggling, she envisioned fishing boats with catches, containers moving in and out of the city, children playing and adults working. Lothar Schiese said one key to our future would be delivering health services, making our hospital a destination for health care for out of town people. Frank DeBartolo recapped his position statement of bringing together First Nations, Labour and business together.
Marty Bowles supported the fish industry as it is without Fish Farms, wanted the export of raw logs to stop and suggested we explore alternate energy ideas such as wind power. Steve Fitzpatrick recounted how when he ran three years ago he heard many of the same things. Some of which have been acted upon as we have begun the process of diversification. He suggested support for small business, logging and fish workers. Erika Rolston offered the plan of keeping our forest and fishery economy alive, more employment in seafood and eco tourism and said that council needed to lobby other leves more, to improve government policies that impact on our community.
And with ring of a final bell, the home stretch beckoned. The closing statements, were short and non confrontational, a simple refresher on the candidates beliefs and an earnest appeal for support on the 19th of November.
The challengers made their final declarations, some want to ask the tough questions for us, others to bring some common sense to the halls of government. Some would be committed to working for our community, while others have a vision of greatness of the city. Gabe McLean even vowed to stay after the meeting to answer any questions, though after two and a half hours one suspects that he didn’t have too long of a line up to deal with.
In a final flourish the incumbent’s one after the other said they had made the tough decisions and turned the city in the right direction. Willing to continue to represent our wishes in council, they feel we’ve brought things under control and are about to fulfill a destiny, and one assumes that they would like to be there to see the job through. However, for some that’s something that probably won’t happen.
There are some new faces to city politics making a bid this time, but faces with a good community background and some solid ideas behind them. Some of the incumbents will most likely find themselves replaced on November 20th, despite the suggestion of a need for this team to stay united; there seem to be a few breezes of change in the air.
There has been much talk of late of party politics creeping into the municipal scene here in Podunk, the election results will give us a good idea if that procolmation is true or not. Is there a co-ordinated machine trying to wrest power at City Hall? Or just a group of candidates looking to offer their services to their city, many of whom actually seem to have some common ground to share after all.
It will be interesting to see which of these twelve challengers, will have been able to get their message successfully across and which wind will blow into City Hall after Election Day.
All in all, bringing 17 different opinions together for a two hour information session went fairly well. Though with that many candidates one or two must have seen their platforms verbalized by others at least once or twice. This was one session where going first certainly would at least give you the advantage of fresh material.
The council incumbents, Mr. Briglio, Ms. Bedard, Mr. Cote, Mr. Kinney and Mr. Rudolph seemed to be a bit defensive about their time on council. They frequently dismissed the suggestion that the current council conducted too much of its business in secrecy. They all came to the defense of Mayor Pond, a nod at his kind words about them of the night before. And they for the most part expressed a wish to keep their group together to “finish” the job that “we” have done so far.
Of course, that probably is not likely. There were some bright and energetic people among the remaining twelve participants. Many suggested solid community ideas that need a forum to be discussed and acted upon. Marty Bowles, Joy Thorkelson, Sheila Gordon Payne, Erika Rolston and Steve Fitzpatrick seemed to stake out a fair bit of turf for themselves and put forward their ideas in a clear and easy to understand way. On each of the four issues discussed in the main part of the session, they seemed to have thought out their answers and proposals in a fairly consistent way.
The remaining candidates did an admirable job of presenting their views, but as the evening moved along they seemed to end up simply repeating their lawn sign mantras or merely repeating the blurbs we’ve read in the small box ads in the paper. Frank DeBartolo, Mario Castelli, Brenda Cook, Danielle Dalton, Gabe McLean and Mitch Myers had some good thoughts from time to time, but never seemed to move them beyond their positioning statements. They commented on the issues of the day, but didn’t seem to offer up the same kind of solutions as those presented by Bowles, Thorkelson, Gordon-Payne, Rolston and Fitzpatrick.
Lothar Schiese’s commentaries had some interesting points at moments, but he would frequently go off topic and leave the viewer wondering where the discussion was going and if the bell was going to ring soon.
Tom Harvey did a good job of moderating the night’s entertainment. Using questions selected by the audience, he held a lottery draw of inquisition. Four questions were selected of the nine provided by the PAC Audience.
The four questions were:
How should council address the drug issue in Prince Rupert?
How did they see Prince Rupert developing economically?
How would they address our deteriorating infrastructure?
And what would be our future Development prospects?
The Drug issue provided the general consensus that families need to be more involved in their children’s lives and that the issue involved many aspects of our society. The unemployment rate, dim job prospects, cuts to welfare and such, all have contributed to the issue. The key to the problem is to involve the youth in the strategies against drugs. The elimination of services such as a street worker, the YIT squad, lack of a treatment centre were all pointed to as issues that could help in reducing the problems.
Sheila Gordon Payne, Erika Rolston and Joy Thorkelson seemed to be on the same page on the issue, as they suggested similar ideas in different approaches. Their answers seemed to provide the most information and the most thought out solutions to the problem.
For the incumbents it’s a harder issue to address, as their recent decisions at budget time have to a degree contributed to the problems. The suggestion that an improving economy would help is true, but at the moment doesn’t really address the situation as it is. This after all was what the question was all about.
The Economic Development question brought up the usual suggestions. Reduce red tape; speed up the process to get new business growing. Ken Cote gave the audience a glimpse of the Economic Development Commission budget and how the city got it under control, basically reducing staff and expenditures and by turning the Mayor into a traveling salesman.
Mario Castelli suggested that Jim Rushton move into the Mayors office as a special assistant to the mayor on development. Jack Rudolph strongly suggested we find things to do for the wives of business leaders who apparently won’t come here because of their spouses. This of course leads one to wonder if Mr. Rudolph knows that women are business leaders too and perhaps the men will need some diversions as well.
Sheila Gordon Payne urged for open doors and a partnership with NWCC and UNBC to train workers for the jobs to come. Joy Thorkelson approached the issue with a similar tact, stating that the role of City Hall should be to facilitate the needs of business and labour.
Mitch Myers called for tax breaks for small business and a better marketing plan for the city. Tony Briglio said that we are on the radar screen, because we sent the Mayor out of town to sell our city. Steve Fitzpatrick explored the idea of making Economic Development more of a Regional approach. Kathy Bedard like many others on the stage, called for less red tape from the city and more of a lead role in development. The problem with the style of debate in place on Thursday was that no one asked the question; “why this council had not reduced that red tape enough and taken a lead during its three year mandate”.
The Deteriorating Infrastructure issue was another split between the challengers and the incumbents. The Challengers suggesting that there must be different forms of funding available out there to address the infrastructure shortfalls. The incumbents claiming that if they were available, they would have pulled them all in by now.
Two candidates urged the audience to think of infrastructure as more than just the roads and sewers, social deterioration in the city was the theme of both Sheila Gordon Payne and Joy Thorkelson, both said that approaches should be made to the provincial and federal governments to make both aware of our situations.
Once again the argument was brought forward, that until we grow the tax base we’ll constantly be behind the eight ball regarding our infrastructure problems. Ken Cote said that the problems were not insurmountable, that they need to squeeze the budget a bit more in the short term. Ms. Bedard said we had been borrowing on infrastructure for years and now have made the tough decisions required. Jack Rudolph said that we had a problem that needed to be solved, but didn’t offer up any easy solutions for the crowd.
This was a theme that the incumbents went back to time and time again, the tough choices they have made in the last three years. Still as was pointed out by the challengers time and time again as well, we have bridges in need of repair, sewers in need of repair and roads in need of paving, and no money to do any of it.
The final topic of debate on the night was The Future and what our development prospects might be.
For the incumbents it was a motherhood issue, Kathy Bedard said we had unlimited prospects, the port an engine of our growth reflecting our position as a gateway to Asia and to Canada. Ken Cote pointed to the Uplands development at the Cruise ship terminal as a place to watch for future growth. Nelson Kinney invoked the memory of Iona Campagnola and a musical; we are all to dare to dream the impossible dream. Jack Rudolph said that Alaska may be a key for us; they will want to use our port and our airport. He also said we needed to find more co-operation between fishermen and the city. For Tony Briglio the sky is the limit as long as we don’t drive by the rules of the past and not be restricted by the rules of 24 years ago, a reference to the Community Plan.
As for the challengers, Sheila Gordon Payne picked up on the Community Plan, saying that it should be made more accessible and put into clear language for the community. She again stressed the need for partnerships to make the city grown, with education for the current and future labour pool attracted by our industries. Mario Castelli also had an interest in the Community plan and a need to update it, with the container port in operation he said the world would follow. Brenda Cook said we should not fear development but make sure that our values were known. Mitch Myers stressed the need for small business and new ideas.
Joy Thorkelson stressed links with the First Nations and to strengthen the fish industry, suggesting a more pro active approach with the different levels of government. Gabe McLean said we must move forward and must be successful, stressing as well the need for more links with the First Nations. Danielle Dalton said our future was mind boggling, she envisioned fishing boats with catches, containers moving in and out of the city, children playing and adults working. Lothar Schiese said one key to our future would be delivering health services, making our hospital a destination for health care for out of town people. Frank DeBartolo recapped his position statement of bringing together First Nations, Labour and business together.
Marty Bowles supported the fish industry as it is without Fish Farms, wanted the export of raw logs to stop and suggested we explore alternate energy ideas such as wind power. Steve Fitzpatrick recounted how when he ran three years ago he heard many of the same things. Some of which have been acted upon as we have begun the process of diversification. He suggested support for small business, logging and fish workers. Erika Rolston offered the plan of keeping our forest and fishery economy alive, more employment in seafood and eco tourism and said that council needed to lobby other leves more, to improve government policies that impact on our community.
And with ring of a final bell, the home stretch beckoned. The closing statements, were short and non confrontational, a simple refresher on the candidates beliefs and an earnest appeal for support on the 19th of November.
The challengers made their final declarations, some want to ask the tough questions for us, others to bring some common sense to the halls of government. Some would be committed to working for our community, while others have a vision of greatness of the city. Gabe McLean even vowed to stay after the meeting to answer any questions, though after two and a half hours one suspects that he didn’t have too long of a line up to deal with.
In a final flourish the incumbent’s one after the other said they had made the tough decisions and turned the city in the right direction. Willing to continue to represent our wishes in council, they feel we’ve brought things under control and are about to fulfill a destiny, and one assumes that they would like to be there to see the job through. However, for some that’s something that probably won’t happen.
There are some new faces to city politics making a bid this time, but faces with a good community background and some solid ideas behind them. Some of the incumbents will most likely find themselves replaced on November 20th, despite the suggestion of a need for this team to stay united; there seem to be a few breezes of change in the air.
There has been much talk of late of party politics creeping into the municipal scene here in Podunk, the election results will give us a good idea if that procolmation is true or not. Is there a co-ordinated machine trying to wrest power at City Hall? Or just a group of candidates looking to offer their services to their city, many of whom actually seem to have some common ground to share after all.
It will be interesting to see which of these twelve challengers, will have been able to get their message successfully across and which wind will blow into City Hall after Election Day.
Thursday, November 10, 2005
The Poppy
Some of us wear them in remembrance of the lives that were lost in war. It's a simple tribute to those that gave of their lives, not meant to glorify war but to recognize the ultimate sacrifice made on our behalf.
Some choose not to wear a poppy, personal conviction won't allow them to display something they perceive as so closely aligned with war. A noble sentiment, but I believe a tad misguided.
The poppy is not, in my mind anyways, a glorification of battle nor a tribute to warfare. Instead, it's a true faith compact with those that have given of their lives. We vow never to forget their sacrifice, never to waver in our comittment to their memories. We wear a poppy for all those casualties whether they be military or civillian, a true remembrance of the horror of war.
I'll beg to differ with Mr. McLeod. I wear my poppy, to keep that comittment with those that have fallen. I wear my poppy, to honour their memory and to never forget the reason for this day of commemoration.
I wear my poppy!
Some choose not to wear a poppy, personal conviction won't allow them to display something they perceive as so closely aligned with war. A noble sentiment, but I believe a tad misguided.
The poppy is not, in my mind anyways, a glorification of battle nor a tribute to warfare. Instead, it's a true faith compact with those that have given of their lives. We vow never to forget their sacrifice, never to waver in our comittment to their memories. We wear a poppy for all those casualties whether they be military or civillian, a true remembrance of the horror of war.
I'll beg to differ with Mr. McLeod. I wear my poppy, to keep that comittment with those that have fallen. I wear my poppy, to honour their memory and to never forget the reason for this day of commemoration.
I wear my poppy!
Is the end nigh for your local newspaper
In a recent post we explored the arrival of the death stars and the impact on local radio across Canada. Today comes word that unless your local newspaper embraces the digital era, its chances of survival are slim.
A report from Agence France Post (which seems to have time on its hands between nightly riots) suggests that the internet holds the only future for newspapers. No more paper, no more in, it seems we are on the verge of a purely digital paper, one viewed on your home or office computer and not around the kitchen table.
Some news organizations are already ahead of this curve, by far one of the best websites out there is the Guardian Newspaper which offers up a comprehensive gathering of news and opinion and all of it for free. This radical thought seems to run counter to some North American publishers who put their digital product behind a user pay firewall. Which seems pointless to me, since you simply type your topic of search into a google engine and you will find a number of different options to suit your needs.
The folks at the National Post and other Asper owned products have no idea how many "customers" they lose daily to the likes of Slate, Salon and BC's very own the Tyee. The Post allows its home delivery subscribers free access to their site, but if you are unfortunate enough to live out of the delivery zones or buy at a newsbox then its tough darts for you. Recently the Globe and Mail has followed the Post lead and set up a subscription based site, some items can be read for free, others require the viewer to become a preferred member.
Here in Podunk the website for the Daily news, gives the viewer a tease of the days top stories and then suggests that the viewer go and buy the local paper or have it mailed to their home for a fee. While I understand the idea of not wanting to put their paper out there for free, it would seem if they were more creative with their website they might be able to attract more viewers to it and make up the cost on line. Having click through ads (like Salon's where you actually have to watch before moving on) on the way to a few feature stories or the classified ads, would surely recoup the cost of the two or three stories that they used to post on the site complete and for free. Using click through ads might also allow them to keep an on line archive of past stories for folks to use as a reference library.
The current approaches by Canadian media is all so shortsighted, instead of taking a page from Salon and giving the viewer the option to watch a commercial before accessing the site, the two national news gatherers try to pick their pockets. Thirty seconds I can spare, thirty cents I can't.
As the medium evolves, one can imagine that future information and opinion sites will feature flash commercials and classifieds, podcasts to enhance the content and a message board option to give the browsing customer a chance for instant feedback on the issues of the day or that fancy car for sale in the classifieds.
No wonder newspaper people are worried about the brave new world ahead, their old ways of doing things are surely on the way out. Unless they find a way to attract customers without tapping their pockets, they may find that they will suffer the same fate.
A report from Agence France Post (which seems to have time on its hands between nightly riots) suggests that the internet holds the only future for newspapers. No more paper, no more in, it seems we are on the verge of a purely digital paper, one viewed on your home or office computer and not around the kitchen table.
Some news organizations are already ahead of this curve, by far one of the best websites out there is the Guardian Newspaper which offers up a comprehensive gathering of news and opinion and all of it for free. This radical thought seems to run counter to some North American publishers who put their digital product behind a user pay firewall. Which seems pointless to me, since you simply type your topic of search into a google engine and you will find a number of different options to suit your needs.
The folks at the National Post and other Asper owned products have no idea how many "customers" they lose daily to the likes of Slate, Salon and BC's very own the Tyee. The Post allows its home delivery subscribers free access to their site, but if you are unfortunate enough to live out of the delivery zones or buy at a newsbox then its tough darts for you. Recently the Globe and Mail has followed the Post lead and set up a subscription based site, some items can be read for free, others require the viewer to become a preferred member.
Here in Podunk the website for the Daily news, gives the viewer a tease of the days top stories and then suggests that the viewer go and buy the local paper or have it mailed to their home for a fee. While I understand the idea of not wanting to put their paper out there for free, it would seem if they were more creative with their website they might be able to attract more viewers to it and make up the cost on line. Having click through ads (like Salon's where you actually have to watch before moving on) on the way to a few feature stories or the classified ads, would surely recoup the cost of the two or three stories that they used to post on the site complete and for free. Using click through ads might also allow them to keep an on line archive of past stories for folks to use as a reference library.
The current approaches by Canadian media is all so shortsighted, instead of taking a page from Salon and giving the viewer the option to watch a commercial before accessing the site, the two national news gatherers try to pick their pockets. Thirty seconds I can spare, thirty cents I can't.
As the medium evolves, one can imagine that future information and opinion sites will feature flash commercials and classifieds, podcasts to enhance the content and a message board option to give the browsing customer a chance for instant feedback on the issues of the day or that fancy car for sale in the classifieds.
No wonder newspaper people are worried about the brave new world ahead, their old ways of doing things are surely on the way out. Unless they find a way to attract customers without tapping their pockets, they may find that they will suffer the same fate.
Rafe takes on a temp job.
Rafe Mair is not letting the cobwebs gather around him while he seeks out another bully pulpit for his views. Mair, who as reported in a past Podunk posting, found himself off the radio and on the unemployment lines recently, has been filling in his idle hours by contributing articles to the Tyee.ca.
His most recent offering is an interesting look at his presentation to the Gomery Inquiry, during the recent West coast swing of Judge Gomery. Mair was one of a number of prominent BC residents who were recruited to enlighten Justice Gomery about their thoughts on how Canada is governed and what impact scandal has on Canadians. The Vancouver sessions were part of the second half of the Gomery Report mandate, a cross country search for input, to make recommendations to the government to prevent future abuses.
Rafe being Rafe expressed his frustration with the cadre of Gomery servants who sent him briefing books prior to his appearance. They sent him talking points on things that he had no knowledge of and did not show any interest on those matters of which he did.
As Rafe prepared to meet the commision, one has a vision of Judge Gomery taking a deep breath, looking towards an aide with trepidation, but asking Rafe to proceed anyways.
And proceed Rafe did. Putting aside his uneasy feelings about the whole process, Mair put forward his remembrances of scandal both federal and provincial. He suggested that with each successive scandal the Canadian populace just adds another batch of cynicism to its growing pile and carries on, caring less and less each day about the workings of its ruling class.
He had equal condemnation for both politicians and the media, suggesting that a timid media in Canada enables the politicians to become corrupt without fear of recrimination. He said that by not shining a bright light on the dealings of government, the media were allowing that corruption to fester and grow.
He claims that by the end of his presentation he was received as a wild eyed radical, recommending the overthrow of the government. There were no follow up questions to his presentation.
He includes his entire presentation in his Tyee article and it is a well thought out piece and basically reflects those opinions he expressed day after day during his time as one of BC’s top talk show hosts. It may have been all new and perhaps a bit frightening to Justice Gomery, but in BC we've been in the loop for years.
By effectively biting the hand that was feeding him that day, Rafe probably won’t be getting many government appointments in the near future, but somehow you know he probably won’t mind that at all. He doesn’t seem like the type to be comfortable as window dressing, more likely he’s the one throwing the rocks at that window to get some attention.
His most recent offering is an interesting look at his presentation to the Gomery Inquiry, during the recent West coast swing of Judge Gomery. Mair was one of a number of prominent BC residents who were recruited to enlighten Justice Gomery about their thoughts on how Canada is governed and what impact scandal has on Canadians. The Vancouver sessions were part of the second half of the Gomery Report mandate, a cross country search for input, to make recommendations to the government to prevent future abuses.
Rafe being Rafe expressed his frustration with the cadre of Gomery servants who sent him briefing books prior to his appearance. They sent him talking points on things that he had no knowledge of and did not show any interest on those matters of which he did.
As Rafe prepared to meet the commision, one has a vision of Judge Gomery taking a deep breath, looking towards an aide with trepidation, but asking Rafe to proceed anyways.
And proceed Rafe did. Putting aside his uneasy feelings about the whole process, Mair put forward his remembrances of scandal both federal and provincial. He suggested that with each successive scandal the Canadian populace just adds another batch of cynicism to its growing pile and carries on, caring less and less each day about the workings of its ruling class.
He had equal condemnation for both politicians and the media, suggesting that a timid media in Canada enables the politicians to become corrupt without fear of recrimination. He said that by not shining a bright light on the dealings of government, the media were allowing that corruption to fester and grow.
He claims that by the end of his presentation he was received as a wild eyed radical, recommending the overthrow of the government. There were no follow up questions to his presentation.
He includes his entire presentation in his Tyee article and it is a well thought out piece and basically reflects those opinions he expressed day after day during his time as one of BC’s top talk show hosts. It may have been all new and perhaps a bit frightening to Justice Gomery, but in BC we've been in the loop for years.
By effectively biting the hand that was feeding him that day, Rafe probably won’t be getting many government appointments in the near future, but somehow you know he probably won’t mind that at all. He doesn’t seem like the type to be comfortable as window dressing, more likely he’s the one throwing the rocks at that window to get some attention.
Now serving candidate number seventeen!
Seventeen candidates, an hour and a half for debate, a two minute opening statement, a two minute closing statement and well, about 1 and a half minutes each for debate. What exactly will we learn tonight, when the candidates for Podunk city council gather on the stage at the PAC.
If the program holds to Wednesday night's format of an hour and a half for debate, then we may not even get to the panel questions before the lights go out and channel ten returns to the big blue crawler.
It should be interesting to see how such a large gathering of candidates are herded into some semblance of constructive debate. The potential for a free for all of noise, with little tangible information is certainly there. Each candidate probably has his or her own personal issue that they wish to promote, whether they are the same issues that podunkians are interested in remains to be seen.
More than likely the council session will go much longer than the mayoralty debate, at least if we hope to learn more about each candidate than what we've read in their classified ads in the back pages of the Daily News. But the danger with a lengthy drawn out session, is that it will drag on to the point of tedium, leaving podunkians glazed eyed and yawning. The hardest job in the PAC on this debate night will be that of the moderator, who tries to keep each participant on message and on time.
Thursday night is a tough night on TV, what with such huge hits as Survivor Guatemala going up against our Super seventeen. Perhaps they could combine these two pieces of must see TV, give our seventeen candidates a few simple things to do to survive and then vote a few of them off the ballot before we get to election day.
If things go past 9:00 then the moderator could simply turn the proceedings over to Donald Trump, he could help with our choices by vetting their positions and terminating some of our would be apprentices before podunkians head for the polls.
If the program holds to Wednesday night's format of an hour and a half for debate, then we may not even get to the panel questions before the lights go out and channel ten returns to the big blue crawler.
It should be interesting to see how such a large gathering of candidates are herded into some semblance of constructive debate. The potential for a free for all of noise, with little tangible information is certainly there. Each candidate probably has his or her own personal issue that they wish to promote, whether they are the same issues that podunkians are interested in remains to be seen.
More than likely the council session will go much longer than the mayoralty debate, at least if we hope to learn more about each candidate than what we've read in their classified ads in the back pages of the Daily News. But the danger with a lengthy drawn out session, is that it will drag on to the point of tedium, leaving podunkians glazed eyed and yawning. The hardest job in the PAC on this debate night will be that of the moderator, who tries to keep each participant on message and on time.
Thursday night is a tough night on TV, what with such huge hits as Survivor Guatemala going up against our Super seventeen. Perhaps they could combine these two pieces of must see TV, give our seventeen candidates a few simple things to do to survive and then vote a few of them off the ballot before we get to election day.
If things go past 9:00 then the moderator could simply turn the proceedings over to Donald Trump, he could help with our choices by vetting their positions and terminating some of our would be apprentices before podunkians head for the polls.
A glass half empty, or a glass half full?
Can an election be lost in fifteen to twenty minutes? That is the question the two candidates can ask after the great Podunk mayoralty debate.
Incumbent Herb Pond and challenger Gloria Rendell squared off at the PAC on Wednesday night, with the opening statements out of the way by 7:15, the tone thus was set for the rest of the nights festivities.
With their opening remarks completed, the two participants staked out their spot on the Big Box issue, which seemed to be the topic on many minds as the debate got underway.
Ms. Rendell came out against the incursion of the Big Boxes at the expense of our boutique economy, suggesting that Podunk was fine as it is, a home to many small and local businesses.
Mayor Herb counters with a declaration of “If you’re against Big Box type stores, you had better get rid of me”, then perhaps thinking of what he had just said, he modified it with, or at least get yourself a council to slow me down.” He also suggested that Podunk already has a number of Big Box stores on its outskirts and Podunkians regularly shop at them, they simply drive the hour and a bit to Terrace.
And with that, no later than 7:20, the lines were drawn as far as retail development in Podunk goes, Herb slyly suggesting that his opponent might wish to “freeze” development here, throwing in some roadblocks to growing the city.
With a feisty panel of four locals, the mayor seemed on the defensive for the early part of the debate asking the moderator if he was to debate with the panel, as well as his challenger.
Rendell brought up the past performance by the Economic Development Corporation, asking if the city wisely spent money on such projects as the waterfront fish plant that never opened, the sulphur plant that never started business and of course that long trail of money and tears known as SCI.
At times, the panelists on the stage seemed to be more inquisitive than the current city council has been, asking many of the questions that Podunkians have been wondering about for the last three years, but somehow never got asked in the city council chambers.
Some of the social issues of Homelessness and teenagers wandering the streets with nothing to do were discussed. The Mayors' solution was to continue to create jobs for their parents, giving them a better chance to take care of their children with both housing and supervision. Ms. Rendell suggested more communication with the province, to try and change their direction and improve local services here.
The Mayor took a shot at his challengers interest in the situation, by stating that he had been attending Kaien Island anti poverty meetings over the last three years, but where was she?
Parking took up a bit of time in the debate, the challenger suggesting that Parking meters might be a valuable tool in controlling the parking situation and generating revenue. The mayor countered, by suggesting with the advent of a Big Box village on the outskirts of town, the timing is probably not right to inflict meters on the downtown merchants.
Wild Stock Fish Farms took perhaps their final blow in the debate; Rendell was completely against the idea, saying that she would rather support the fishermen and women of the north coast over the fish farm industry. The Mayor said that early on Marine Harvest was the only group looking to create jobs, so they kicked the tires with them. He said that later on, he and his council had heard the population's concerns and had not actively worked on that file in a few years now.
The Airport and its Ferry as always attracted a bit of attention, the challenger suggesting that Podunkians would not be against a raise in the fees to up to 25 dollars. The mayor recounted the struggle against some local operators when they centralized the pick up and drop off in the downtown core again.
For good measure a bit of Terrace bashing took place, the mayor suggesting that just because Terrace calls their airport a regional one, it doesn’t necessarily make it so. He also said that once Podunk grows as he says it will, so shall our airport.
The Fire Department became a hot issue, Ms. Rendell not at all supportive of the current idea to back up the regular force with a volunteer based operation. She also said she would make all info public regarding the plan. The Mayor countered with a statement that we cannot afford a Cadillac service, the trained Auxiliary force would supplement our paid department members.
The final word on the issue went to the challenger, who said that budget cuts should have taken place elsewhere other than in the protective services.
The Container port got a mention during the debate. With the mayor stating that any infrastructure requirements wouldn’t be needed until a few years down the line. Ms Rendell wondered how he would be able to pay for any infrastructure anyways, considering the fragile state of the city finances.
One interesting question from the panel was the “What accomplishment would you see after three years if you were mayor”
Ms Rendell said that she would have a solid financial plan in place and reduce the huge debt that was coming our way in a very short time. She said that if she doesn’t succeed in getting that plan in place, she wouldn’t be there to look back at her three years in office. She observed that Podunkians needed to see things clearly, the city simply can’t spend any more money that it doesn’t have.
The Mayor looked at having reunited Podunkians in his future three year term, repatriating those workers that had to leave town to find work. He talked of growing our schools, a telephone and cable company producing revenues, new taxes from new developments at the Atlin uplands and the BC Hydro site.
Fiscal responsibility was another issue that created some worthwhile quotes. Cuts to services were asked about; the challenger said she would not commit to any cuts to services and such, suggesting a more proactive approach with the provincial gov’t and a partnership with Regional District to find common areas of interest. She also suggested another crack at the provincial government, to try and recapture some of that outstanding Skeena debt money that the city lost out on. She hoped to keep taxes the same.
The Kennedy report, commissioned by the Provincial Government to examine Prince Rupert’s financial situation, garnered a bit of attention. The mayor stating that the current council has done a marvelous job so far of trying to handle the financial crisis as outlined by Kennedy. He pointed to the selling the golf course to a local non profit organization, trying to sell the campground, reducing the police service by 8 members, reorganizing the Fire Dept. all tough choices that had to be made in tough times. He said they were only trying to hang on until we can grow things around here again.
That brought the night to a close and on to the final arguments and the fond farewells.
In his closing statements, the Mayor, Mr. Pond reinforced his belief that we are very close to turning the corner in Podunk that we needed continuity on council and should not change the people that had steered us through the crisis. He said the budget, he and his council have worked under holds the fort, while we rebuild. He commented that he felt that the Pulp mill sale may soon go through; adding jobs back to our community. He finished off with a statement that we need a leader that is positive about these things. A leader that is full time leadership - plus. And a mayor ready to work on a full time basis.
Ms. Rendell suggested that it really was time for a change at city hall. She offered a closing rebuttal, to Mr. Pond’s statement about that hopeful SCI sale to Sun Wave. She said she hoped that the gov’t department supposedly working on that file, wasn’t the same department that did such a good job on the SCI debt relief situation. As for her qualifications for the job, she said she was someone with a sound business base. She wondered how the city could keep going the way it has been of late, not even able to afford repairs to the 2nd street bridge with the state of our budget. She finished off with her positioning statement of wanting to provide a socially responsible approach, coupled with a fiscal responsibility.
As the clock ticked past the 8:30 mark, the debate was brought to an end, no audience questions were allowed, Podunkians merely the studio audience in that channel 10 presentation, of the Herb and Gloria show.
It was a night that gave us two options, one a candidate with the glass half full, the other suggesting that the current state of things is more than a glass half empty. That in a nutshell is our option as Podunk Election Day gets closer. Which glass, do Podunkians believe holds the magic elixir for the future of the city?
Incumbent Herb Pond and challenger Gloria Rendell squared off at the PAC on Wednesday night, with the opening statements out of the way by 7:15, the tone thus was set for the rest of the nights festivities.
With their opening remarks completed, the two participants staked out their spot on the Big Box issue, which seemed to be the topic on many minds as the debate got underway.
Ms. Rendell came out against the incursion of the Big Boxes at the expense of our boutique economy, suggesting that Podunk was fine as it is, a home to many small and local businesses.
Mayor Herb counters with a declaration of “If you’re against Big Box type stores, you had better get rid of me”, then perhaps thinking of what he had just said, he modified it with, or at least get yourself a council to slow me down.” He also suggested that Podunk already has a number of Big Box stores on its outskirts and Podunkians regularly shop at them, they simply drive the hour and a bit to Terrace.
And with that, no later than 7:20, the lines were drawn as far as retail development in Podunk goes, Herb slyly suggesting that his opponent might wish to “freeze” development here, throwing in some roadblocks to growing the city.
With a feisty panel of four locals, the mayor seemed on the defensive for the early part of the debate asking the moderator if he was to debate with the panel, as well as his challenger.
Rendell brought up the past performance by the Economic Development Corporation, asking if the city wisely spent money on such projects as the waterfront fish plant that never opened, the sulphur plant that never started business and of course that long trail of money and tears known as SCI.
At times, the panelists on the stage seemed to be more inquisitive than the current city council has been, asking many of the questions that Podunkians have been wondering about for the last three years, but somehow never got asked in the city council chambers.
Some of the social issues of Homelessness and teenagers wandering the streets with nothing to do were discussed. The Mayors' solution was to continue to create jobs for their parents, giving them a better chance to take care of their children with both housing and supervision. Ms. Rendell suggested more communication with the province, to try and change their direction and improve local services here.
The Mayor took a shot at his challengers interest in the situation, by stating that he had been attending Kaien Island anti poverty meetings over the last three years, but where was she?
Parking took up a bit of time in the debate, the challenger suggesting that Parking meters might be a valuable tool in controlling the parking situation and generating revenue. The mayor countered, by suggesting with the advent of a Big Box village on the outskirts of town, the timing is probably not right to inflict meters on the downtown merchants.
Wild Stock Fish Farms took perhaps their final blow in the debate; Rendell was completely against the idea, saying that she would rather support the fishermen and women of the north coast over the fish farm industry. The Mayor said that early on Marine Harvest was the only group looking to create jobs, so they kicked the tires with them. He said that later on, he and his council had heard the population's concerns and had not actively worked on that file in a few years now.
The Airport and its Ferry as always attracted a bit of attention, the challenger suggesting that Podunkians would not be against a raise in the fees to up to 25 dollars. The mayor recounted the struggle against some local operators when they centralized the pick up and drop off in the downtown core again.
For good measure a bit of Terrace bashing took place, the mayor suggesting that just because Terrace calls their airport a regional one, it doesn’t necessarily make it so. He also said that once Podunk grows as he says it will, so shall our airport.
The Fire Department became a hot issue, Ms. Rendell not at all supportive of the current idea to back up the regular force with a volunteer based operation. She also said she would make all info public regarding the plan. The Mayor countered with a statement that we cannot afford a Cadillac service, the trained Auxiliary force would supplement our paid department members.
The final word on the issue went to the challenger, who said that budget cuts should have taken place elsewhere other than in the protective services.
The Container port got a mention during the debate. With the mayor stating that any infrastructure requirements wouldn’t be needed until a few years down the line. Ms Rendell wondered how he would be able to pay for any infrastructure anyways, considering the fragile state of the city finances.
One interesting question from the panel was the “What accomplishment would you see after three years if you were mayor”
Ms Rendell said that she would have a solid financial plan in place and reduce the huge debt that was coming our way in a very short time. She said that if she doesn’t succeed in getting that plan in place, she wouldn’t be there to look back at her three years in office. She observed that Podunkians needed to see things clearly, the city simply can’t spend any more money that it doesn’t have.
The Mayor looked at having reunited Podunkians in his future three year term, repatriating those workers that had to leave town to find work. He talked of growing our schools, a telephone and cable company producing revenues, new taxes from new developments at the Atlin uplands and the BC Hydro site.
Fiscal responsibility was another issue that created some worthwhile quotes. Cuts to services were asked about; the challenger said she would not commit to any cuts to services and such, suggesting a more proactive approach with the provincial gov’t and a partnership with Regional District to find common areas of interest. She also suggested another crack at the provincial government, to try and recapture some of that outstanding Skeena debt money that the city lost out on. She hoped to keep taxes the same.
The Kennedy report, commissioned by the Provincial Government to examine Prince Rupert’s financial situation, garnered a bit of attention. The mayor stating that the current council has done a marvelous job so far of trying to handle the financial crisis as outlined by Kennedy. He pointed to the selling the golf course to a local non profit organization, trying to sell the campground, reducing the police service by 8 members, reorganizing the Fire Dept. all tough choices that had to be made in tough times. He said they were only trying to hang on until we can grow things around here again.
That brought the night to a close and on to the final arguments and the fond farewells.
In his closing statements, the Mayor, Mr. Pond reinforced his belief that we are very close to turning the corner in Podunk that we needed continuity on council and should not change the people that had steered us through the crisis. He said the budget, he and his council have worked under holds the fort, while we rebuild. He commented that he felt that the Pulp mill sale may soon go through; adding jobs back to our community. He finished off with a statement that we need a leader that is positive about these things. A leader that is full time leadership - plus. And a mayor ready to work on a full time basis.
Ms. Rendell suggested that it really was time for a change at city hall. She offered a closing rebuttal, to Mr. Pond’s statement about that hopeful SCI sale to Sun Wave. She said she hoped that the gov’t department supposedly working on that file, wasn’t the same department that did such a good job on the SCI debt relief situation. As for her qualifications for the job, she said she was someone with a sound business base. She wondered how the city could keep going the way it has been of late, not even able to afford repairs to the 2nd street bridge with the state of our budget. She finished off with her positioning statement of wanting to provide a socially responsible approach, coupled with a fiscal responsibility.
As the clock ticked past the 8:30 mark, the debate was brought to an end, no audience questions were allowed, Podunkians merely the studio audience in that channel 10 presentation, of the Herb and Gloria show.
It was a night that gave us two options, one a candidate with the glass half full, the other suggesting that the current state of things is more than a glass half empty. That in a nutshell is our option as Podunk Election Day gets closer. Which glass, do Podunkians believe holds the magic elixir for the future of the city?
Wednesday, November 09, 2005
The Portable lawsuit
The Steve Moore civil court case will be re-introduced in a Colorado court within the next two weeks. Lawyers for Moore hope to appeal the last ruling made in Colorado, a ruling that effectively threw the case out of the jurisdiction of justice in Colorado.
At the time of the decision, the Judge Shelley Gillman, agreed with Todd Bertuzzi's lawyers that the case belonged in a Canadian court room, owing to the fact that the assault took place on a Vancouver Ice surface.
Should the appeal not be successful, the plan is to then introduce the case to a Canadian court, most likely in Toronto which is where Moore lives. Many thought that it would be a case sent to a Vancouver court, but Moore's lawyers beg to differ on that count.
With the evidence readily available on video tape and played over and over again across Canada, the lawyers feel that the case is best held in Moore's home town. They probably believe that the case would not get a fair hearing in Vancouver as Bertuzzi is still a pivotal member of the Canucks and has a fair amount of support in the city over the situation.
They have until March of 2006 to make their next move and file in Canada if necessary, keeping an eye on locations where they may have the best shot at a ruling in their favour.
The above posting first appeared in my HockeyNation blog, check it out for other items about hockey.
At the time of the decision, the Judge Shelley Gillman, agreed with Todd Bertuzzi's lawyers that the case belonged in a Canadian court room, owing to the fact that the assault took place on a Vancouver Ice surface.
Should the appeal not be successful, the plan is to then introduce the case to a Canadian court, most likely in Toronto which is where Moore lives. Many thought that it would be a case sent to a Vancouver court, but Moore's lawyers beg to differ on that count.
With the evidence readily available on video tape and played over and over again across Canada, the lawyers feel that the case is best held in Moore's home town. They probably believe that the case would not get a fair hearing in Vancouver as Bertuzzi is still a pivotal member of the Canucks and has a fair amount of support in the city over the situation.
They have until March of 2006 to make their next move and file in Canada if necessary, keeping an eye on locations where they may have the best shot at a ruling in their favour.
The above posting first appeared in my HockeyNation blog, check it out for other items about hockey.
Smilin' Jack drops the writ
Well ok, he hasn't actually walked up to the Governor General's residence and advised Madame Jean that it's time to go to the polls (not that he could anyways). But Smilin' Jack has decided that we're all mad as hell and we're not going to take it any more, well, ok we'll take it for a little longer, but not much longer there Paul. Well is January ok for everybody?
Jack Layton laid down the boom on the Martin Liberals today, outlining his ideas for going to the polls. A non confidence vote that isn't really a non confidence vote on the 26th of November, followed by a little break for Christmas and then its off to the election campaign through January and into mid February.
Which would leave the country governed for over a month by a party that a majority of the MP's have no confidence in. An unusual strategy which doesn't exactly make one (ahem) confident in governance these days. Of course Jack's announcement was just more theatre, in this long running slapstick known as the 38th Parliamentary session.
One day we're on the cusp of an election, the next day its business as usual. Now all three opposition leaders are apparently in synch about the need to go to the people, they just can't figure out when they want to do it.
The Tories and Bloc can actually bring down the government sooner should they desire, with opposition days on the horizon for next week. The opportunity to trigger an election is there for the taking. The only stumbling block apparently a hesitation to send Canadians into the electoral battle over the Christmas season.
It requires at least 37 days for an election campaign, so if the Tories or Bloc were inclined, we could be marking our X as early as Boxing Day (the symbolism of boxing up the old gift of a politician and returning one's MP is just too rich don't you think).
I don't think Canadians are so fragile, nor scatterbrained that they can't prepare for Christmas and make an informed choice at the same time. Rather it's probably more a fear of not being able to get their political machines geared up for a campaign over Christmas, that has all the political operatives in fear of a Christmas election.
If we go to the polls, it would be the first Christmas election since the days of Joe, when the Conservatives not only lost a confidence vote but lost their government as well.
The Layton idea would give the nation a thirty seven day decompression before the politicians knock on our doors. Even more interesting would be the timing of an election, just as the final Gomery report was issued in early February. A report that was supposed to trigger an election anyways, thirty days after it was issued.
Layton says that we need an election sooner rather than later, but yet delays the process. One can't have one's cake and eat it too. Don't expect the Prime Minister to allow an election to be determined scant short days after Gomery II is released. He may be more inclined to take his chances with the electorate prior to the Gomery release, using the interim report released last week as his template for action.
While Layton's plans for the 26th will call into question the governments future, it won't necessarily be a vote of confidence, something that has not escaped the notice of Stephen Harper, who casts a wary eye on anything coming from Jack. The Layton proposal has also been shot down by an eminent constitutional scholar, who opines that unless it's a confidence vote it will be business as usual in Parliament. Or as one unidentified Liberal put it "we'll tell the NDP to go screw themselves." Curt but to the point!
The wildcard in all of this debate is the upcoming first ministers meeting scheduled for November 24 and 25 in Kelowna. That meeting was to include the leaders of the First Nations who would address the many issues in their communities. If the government is brought down before that conference, the project would be cancelled and put on the back burner until after a new government is formed, if held at all. The optics of abandoning the First Nations issues so close to the meeting, will be something the four federal parties will be quite conscious of. Then again if there is going to be an election in January, how binding would any agreements be to a new Federal government anyways.
Steven Harper described the developments in Parliament today as "moving rapidly towards a three party consensus to wrap up this Parliament". Most Canadians might suggest the term three ring circus as more appropriate!
Jack Layton laid down the boom on the Martin Liberals today, outlining his ideas for going to the polls. A non confidence vote that isn't really a non confidence vote on the 26th of November, followed by a little break for Christmas and then its off to the election campaign through January and into mid February.
Which would leave the country governed for over a month by a party that a majority of the MP's have no confidence in. An unusual strategy which doesn't exactly make one (ahem) confident in governance these days. Of course Jack's announcement was just more theatre, in this long running slapstick known as the 38th Parliamentary session.
One day we're on the cusp of an election, the next day its business as usual. Now all three opposition leaders are apparently in synch about the need to go to the people, they just can't figure out when they want to do it.
The Tories and Bloc can actually bring down the government sooner should they desire, with opposition days on the horizon for next week. The opportunity to trigger an election is there for the taking. The only stumbling block apparently a hesitation to send Canadians into the electoral battle over the Christmas season.
It requires at least 37 days for an election campaign, so if the Tories or Bloc were inclined, we could be marking our X as early as Boxing Day (the symbolism of boxing up the old gift of a politician and returning one's MP is just too rich don't you think).
I don't think Canadians are so fragile, nor scatterbrained that they can't prepare for Christmas and make an informed choice at the same time. Rather it's probably more a fear of not being able to get their political machines geared up for a campaign over Christmas, that has all the political operatives in fear of a Christmas election.
If we go to the polls, it would be the first Christmas election since the days of Joe, when the Conservatives not only lost a confidence vote but lost their government as well.
The Layton idea would give the nation a thirty seven day decompression before the politicians knock on our doors. Even more interesting would be the timing of an election, just as the final Gomery report was issued in early February. A report that was supposed to trigger an election anyways, thirty days after it was issued.
Layton says that we need an election sooner rather than later, but yet delays the process. One can't have one's cake and eat it too. Don't expect the Prime Minister to allow an election to be determined scant short days after Gomery II is released. He may be more inclined to take his chances with the electorate prior to the Gomery release, using the interim report released last week as his template for action.
While Layton's plans for the 26th will call into question the governments future, it won't necessarily be a vote of confidence, something that has not escaped the notice of Stephen Harper, who casts a wary eye on anything coming from Jack. The Layton proposal has also been shot down by an eminent constitutional scholar, who opines that unless it's a confidence vote it will be business as usual in Parliament. Or as one unidentified Liberal put it "we'll tell the NDP to go screw themselves." Curt but to the point!
The wildcard in all of this debate is the upcoming first ministers meeting scheduled for November 24 and 25 in Kelowna. That meeting was to include the leaders of the First Nations who would address the many issues in their communities. If the government is brought down before that conference, the project would be cancelled and put on the back burner until after a new government is formed, if held at all. The optics of abandoning the First Nations issues so close to the meeting, will be something the four federal parties will be quite conscious of. Then again if there is going to be an election in January, how binding would any agreements be to a new Federal government anyways.
Steven Harper described the developments in Parliament today as "moving rapidly towards a three party consensus to wrap up this Parliament". Most Canadians might suggest the term three ring circus as more appropriate!
No name dropping in Podunk
It's a case of if they build it, we will shop. But the question is where will we be shopping?
The public hearing into redevelopment of a parcel of land on Highway 16, attracted a larger than usual crowd to the City Hall chambers on Monday night. Interested Podunkians gathered to learn more about the development and perhaps try and find out which of the Big Box retailers had its covetous eye on the Podunk shopping dollar.
For the most part they went home not much further informed than when they got there. The developer the Royop Corporation took questions and explained what it's vision for the BC Hydro site would be.
The development is described as a shopping village, which will consist of two major retailers and four or five smaller retailers. For anyone who has been to Prince George, probably the best example would be the College Heights development which has a Wal Mart, Home Depot and Canadian Tire serving as the Big Brothers/Sisters to the little retailers. For those curious minds, the Royop website offers up a number of examples of what they have done in the past or are currently working on.
The bulk of the discussion seemed to center on concerns about the small businesses of Third Avenue, and how they may go under with the new competition. There was also the other side of the coin, as others pointed to the steady flow of traffic out of town presently heading towards Terrace and its big box stores.
The most vocal proponents of the Shopping Village seemed to be the car dealers of Podunk, who were strongly in favour of developing the shopping Mecca of Highway 16. Perhaps they have had the most to lose the last number of years, as countless Podunkians went to Terrace to shop and may have ended up buying a car while browsing the lots of Terrace.
There were some who didn't quite share in the euphoria over the advent of the Big Box culture, only one of the current council candidates made a public declaration about the development. Joy Thorkelson expressed concerns over the plans. Calling for a study whether the net migration of money out of town, really justified a development that might put pressure on current businesses in town. It will be interesting to see if her stand will result in more or less votes for her on election day.
Other local business owners also suggested that the current population base of Podunk might have trouble supporting both the Big Boxes and the little merchants at the same time. Some expressed fears that the Podunk downtown core would suffer greatly with a shopping village on the outskirts of town. Others questioned the environmental aspect of the streams in the development area and how much the necessary infrastructure would cost a city not exactly flush in money at the time.
At any rate the guessing game will continue for a little bit longer. The would be development would be the first major retail project in Podunk since the Canada Safeway project some five years or more ago. (update: sean at seanincognito advises me that the Safeway project was over 12 years ago, my how time flies eh, thanks for the timestamp sean). Royop declined to name the interested retailers at the meeting, stating that negotiations were still under way. They did drop the tantalizing hint that one of the merchants was anxious to get started as soon as February.
As noted in a Podunk passim, the list of rumoured merchants is long and is more of a wish list of Podunkians than a real hard and fast roster of would be retailers. So until the development gets under way we'll all just have to sing the Big Box Mart song and wait to see what develops.
Update: For those that don't read the comments section below, there was a great resource mentioned to follow the debate at a message board called hackingthemainframe. Check it out to get an idea as to the discussion of this and other Podunk issues.
The public hearing into redevelopment of a parcel of land on Highway 16, attracted a larger than usual crowd to the City Hall chambers on Monday night. Interested Podunkians gathered to learn more about the development and perhaps try and find out which of the Big Box retailers had its covetous eye on the Podunk shopping dollar.
For the most part they went home not much further informed than when they got there. The developer the Royop Corporation took questions and explained what it's vision for the BC Hydro site would be.
The development is described as a shopping village, which will consist of two major retailers and four or five smaller retailers. For anyone who has been to Prince George, probably the best example would be the College Heights development which has a Wal Mart, Home Depot and Canadian Tire serving as the Big Brothers/Sisters to the little retailers. For those curious minds, the Royop website offers up a number of examples of what they have done in the past or are currently working on.
The bulk of the discussion seemed to center on concerns about the small businesses of Third Avenue, and how they may go under with the new competition. There was also the other side of the coin, as others pointed to the steady flow of traffic out of town presently heading towards Terrace and its big box stores.
The most vocal proponents of the Shopping Village seemed to be the car dealers of Podunk, who were strongly in favour of developing the shopping Mecca of Highway 16. Perhaps they have had the most to lose the last number of years, as countless Podunkians went to Terrace to shop and may have ended up buying a car while browsing the lots of Terrace.
There were some who didn't quite share in the euphoria over the advent of the Big Box culture, only one of the current council candidates made a public declaration about the development. Joy Thorkelson expressed concerns over the plans. Calling for a study whether the net migration of money out of town, really justified a development that might put pressure on current businesses in town. It will be interesting to see if her stand will result in more or less votes for her on election day.
Other local business owners also suggested that the current population base of Podunk might have trouble supporting both the Big Boxes and the little merchants at the same time. Some expressed fears that the Podunk downtown core would suffer greatly with a shopping village on the outskirts of town. Others questioned the environmental aspect of the streams in the development area and how much the necessary infrastructure would cost a city not exactly flush in money at the time.
At any rate the guessing game will continue for a little bit longer. The would be development would be the first major retail project in Podunk since the Canada Safeway project some five years or more ago. (update: sean at seanincognito advises me that the Safeway project was over 12 years ago, my how time flies eh, thanks for the timestamp sean). Royop declined to name the interested retailers at the meeting, stating that negotiations were still under way. They did drop the tantalizing hint that one of the merchants was anxious to get started as soon as February.
As noted in a Podunk passim, the list of rumoured merchants is long and is more of a wish list of Podunkians than a real hard and fast roster of would be retailers. So until the development gets under way we'll all just have to sing the Big Box Mart song and wait to see what develops.
Update: For those that don't read the comments section below, there was a great resource mentioned to follow the debate at a message board called hackingthemainframe. Check it out to get an idea as to the discussion of this and other Podunk issues.
Tuesday, November 08, 2005
I'll make you promises, promises
Dear Steven:
I've reconsidered things and yes, you are right, I was wrong to take up with Paul. He's not the man I thought he was, he sweet talked me in the Spring, but now that the cold winds blow, he's leaving me twisting, twisting I say.
While you and I haven't seen eye to eye on many things lately, I think we can make things work if only for a short time, short enough to maybe send a message to Paul that it's time for a change. You don't understand, but I really am ready to make a change.
I know you have reservations about me, feel that I don't say what I mean, but I'm a changed person, you make the call and we'll make them fall.
Looking forward to spending some time discussing our options. I don't know about you but I hear that Saskatoon is just wonderful in January, hope to see you out there bringing the word to the people.
Your pal
Jack
I've reconsidered things and yes, you are right, I was wrong to take up with Paul. He's not the man I thought he was, he sweet talked me in the Spring, but now that the cold winds blow, he's leaving me twisting, twisting I say.
While you and I haven't seen eye to eye on many things lately, I think we can make things work if only for a short time, short enough to maybe send a message to Paul that it's time for a change. You don't understand, but I really am ready to make a change.
I know you have reservations about me, feel that I don't say what I mean, but I'm a changed person, you make the call and we'll make them fall.
Looking forward to spending some time discussing our options. I don't know about you but I hear that Saskatoon is just wonderful in January, hope to see you out there bringing the word to the people.
Your pal
Jack
Podunk is.....
While doing a little mindless blogging tonight I discovered a new distraction on the net called Googlisms. It's a site where you type in your name, hometown, or whatever you wish and a list comes up describing your topic. You can discover your inner you and find out what google.com thinks about it.
To give it a test I popped in Podunk into the search engine, below is what developed.
Podunk Is:
1. a small town (nailed that one pretty good)
2. an Indian name meaning place of many burnings (surely there must be a Podunk in France then!)
3. like the breath of fresh air that we have all been gasping for (I'm thinking of using that as a slug line for the site)
4. for unintellectual thugs (I'd like to think not, thank you very much)
5. considered to be a valuable resource (well we'd like to think so anyways)
6. supposed to beat sucker city (never heard Terrace referred to as sucker city but it could catch on with the locals)
7. good for the temperatures (like goldilocks would say, not too hot, not too cold, mind you it is a little damp)
8. not noted for super criminal activity (we do like to give out traffic tickets though)
9. is improving (well at least according to the folks running for mayor and Podunk council)
10. the bermuda triangle of my life (LOL, truer words may never be spoken)
Have fun googling up your own lists for yourself or your friends.
To give it a test I popped in Podunk into the search engine, below is what developed.
Podunk Is:
1. a small town (nailed that one pretty good)
2. an Indian name meaning place of many burnings (surely there must be a Podunk in France then!)
3. like the breath of fresh air that we have all been gasping for (I'm thinking of using that as a slug line for the site)
4. for unintellectual thugs (I'd like to think not, thank you very much)
5. considered to be a valuable resource (well we'd like to think so anyways)
6. supposed to beat sucker city (never heard Terrace referred to as sucker city but it could catch on with the locals)
7. good for the temperatures (like goldilocks would say, not too hot, not too cold, mind you it is a little damp)
8. not noted for super criminal activity (we do like to give out traffic tickets though)
9. is improving (well at least according to the folks running for mayor and Podunk council)
10. the bermuda triangle of my life (LOL, truer words may never be spoken)
Have fun googling up your own lists for yourself or your friends.
Podunkian Pick Ems' Part two
Last week we gave our fine Podunk readership the opportunity to match up the candidate with the slogan. Today we'll give you the answer key so you can check to see how you fared.
THE CANDIDATES AND THEIR SLOGANS
Kathy Bedard-
Experienced, Committed, Concerned, Caring
Marty Bowles-
No more secrets at City Hall
Tony Briglio-
Leadership that does not drive our community by looking at the rear view mirror
Mario Castelli-
For a responsible open City Council
Brenda Cook-
(No sign or slogan provided thus far)
Ken Cote -
Jobs, Jobs, Jobs (or) For a Yes city
Danielle Dalton-
A History of service to the community
Frank DeBartolo-
Business, First Nations, Labour –Lets Pull together
Steve Fitzpatrick-
Your voice at city hall
Sheila Gordon-Payne-
Leadership for a positive future
Nelson Kinney-
Your city, your future
Gabe McLean-
Your Issues are my Issues
Mitch Myers-
Effective representation for the people and Sustainable Development
Erika Rolston-
To bridge the gaps in this community and move forward together
Jack Rudolph-
(No sign or slogan provided thus far)
Lothar Schiese-
(No sign or slogan provided thus far)
Joy Thorkelson-
For Balance on city council
It's interesting to note that Rudolph, Cook and Schiese don't have any positioning statement. Rudolph has put signs up but they basically just say re-elect Jack Rudolph. Schiese and Cook don't even have signs up anywhere.
Tony Briglio's slogans seem a bit strange to follow, looking in rear view mirrors? Yikes then again who wants to revisit the past I guess. Especially this council which has been busy meeting in secret meetings for a fair amount of the term, something that seems to have caught the attention of Bowles and Castelli.
Cote trots out his signs from the last election promising jobs, jobs, jobs (a theme recently picked up by the mayor in his campaign). Interesting strategy that is considering the lack of said jobs around Podunk and the fact a fair amount of the population has left town in the last three years. Perhaps a better slogan might have been those jobs are coming, yes they are, we can see them on the horizon.
Bedard touches those heart strings with the concerned and caring approach. A nice safe place to sit that doesn't offend nor really inform one of a position, and strangely one that has been rewarded year after year.
DeBartolo touches all the demographics with his sign, though to really cover his bases he should have mentioned seniors and school kids then he could have been the all inclusive candidate.
Thorkelson suggests that a fair balance is needed on council, a little bit capitalist, a little bit labour. One guesses she'll be looking to gain some balance from the second category not the first.
The rest offer us up the chance to make our issues their issues, look for effective representation, live in our city and work for our future, seek out leadership, seek out a voice or take advantage of a history of service.
While there's not much to be read into a short positioning statement, they all get to flesh out their thoughts on Thursday night at the PAC when there is an all candidates debate. With James Vassallo withdrawing last week, there will only be 17 contenders looking for a platform to outline their platforms!
For most of them, Thursday offers the one and only chance to make an impression that will carry through until election day. Make a mistake or a mis-statement and it could all be over before the voting even starts.
THE CANDIDATES AND THEIR SLOGANS
Kathy Bedard-
Experienced, Committed, Concerned, Caring
Marty Bowles-
No more secrets at City Hall
Tony Briglio-
Leadership that does not drive our community by looking at the rear view mirror
Mario Castelli-
For a responsible open City Council
Brenda Cook-
(No sign or slogan provided thus far)
Ken Cote -
Jobs, Jobs, Jobs (or) For a Yes city
Danielle Dalton-
A History of service to the community
Frank DeBartolo-
Business, First Nations, Labour –Lets Pull together
Steve Fitzpatrick-
Your voice at city hall
Sheila Gordon-Payne-
Leadership for a positive future
Nelson Kinney-
Your city, your future
Gabe McLean-
Your Issues are my Issues
Mitch Myers-
Effective representation for the people and Sustainable Development
Erika Rolston-
To bridge the gaps in this community and move forward together
Jack Rudolph-
(No sign or slogan provided thus far)
Lothar Schiese-
(No sign or slogan provided thus far)
Joy Thorkelson-
For Balance on city council
It's interesting to note that Rudolph, Cook and Schiese don't have any positioning statement. Rudolph has put signs up but they basically just say re-elect Jack Rudolph. Schiese and Cook don't even have signs up anywhere.
Tony Briglio's slogans seem a bit strange to follow, looking in rear view mirrors? Yikes then again who wants to revisit the past I guess. Especially this council which has been busy meeting in secret meetings for a fair amount of the term, something that seems to have caught the attention of Bowles and Castelli.
Cote trots out his signs from the last election promising jobs, jobs, jobs (a theme recently picked up by the mayor in his campaign). Interesting strategy that is considering the lack of said jobs around Podunk and the fact a fair amount of the population has left town in the last three years. Perhaps a better slogan might have been those jobs are coming, yes they are, we can see them on the horizon.
Bedard touches those heart strings with the concerned and caring approach. A nice safe place to sit that doesn't offend nor really inform one of a position, and strangely one that has been rewarded year after year.
DeBartolo touches all the demographics with his sign, though to really cover his bases he should have mentioned seniors and school kids then he could have been the all inclusive candidate.
Thorkelson suggests that a fair balance is needed on council, a little bit capitalist, a little bit labour. One guesses she'll be looking to gain some balance from the second category not the first.
The rest offer us up the chance to make our issues their issues, look for effective representation, live in our city and work for our future, seek out leadership, seek out a voice or take advantage of a history of service.
While there's not much to be read into a short positioning statement, they all get to flesh out their thoughts on Thursday night at the PAC when there is an all candidates debate. With James Vassallo withdrawing last week, there will only be 17 contenders looking for a platform to outline their platforms!
For most of them, Thursday offers the one and only chance to make an impression that will carry through until election day. Make a mistake or a mis-statement and it could all be over before the voting even starts.
Monday, November 07, 2005
Not only does he pass the puck, he passes that hat!
Not content to be the set up guy for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Mats Sundin now takes on a new challenge, that of the set up and collection guy for Ken Dryden.
Sundin will be the co-host for a fund raising dinner this Wednesday for Liberal MP (and former Maple Leaf executive) Ken Dryden. The Dinner to take place at the Hockey Hall of Fame, will help to build up the election chest of the Liberal MP and with election rumblings getting louder each day it's as welcome as a power play goal in Overtime.
For only 350 dollars you can drop in for a bite and a chat with Mats and his pal Ken. Hockey or politics the topic possibilities are endless. It would seem the Leafs have made the Liberals their party of choice as not only Sundin will be in attendance, but so will current MLSE executive Larry Tannebaum. A sight that probably would have ole Conn Smythe spinning in his grave, Smythe was never particularly fond of the Liberal brand.
If the Leafs thought that they were a hated organization nationwide simply by representing Toronto in the past then things are going to get a whole lot more exciting. Just imagine when word gets out that the Leafs have a soft spot for Liberals. Maybe now we understand the new scheduling, the Leafs wanted to keep close to their constituencies, the two groups may have more in common than they thought! If current trends continue, there will be no votes and no fans West of the Lakehead.
Sundin will be the co-host for a fund raising dinner this Wednesday for Liberal MP (and former Maple Leaf executive) Ken Dryden. The Dinner to take place at the Hockey Hall of Fame, will help to build up the election chest of the Liberal MP and with election rumblings getting louder each day it's as welcome as a power play goal in Overtime.
For only 350 dollars you can drop in for a bite and a chat with Mats and his pal Ken. Hockey or politics the topic possibilities are endless. It would seem the Leafs have made the Liberals their party of choice as not only Sundin will be in attendance, but so will current MLSE executive Larry Tannebaum. A sight that probably would have ole Conn Smythe spinning in his grave, Smythe was never particularly fond of the Liberal brand.
If the Leafs thought that they were a hated organization nationwide simply by representing Toronto in the past then things are going to get a whole lot more exciting. Just imagine when word gets out that the Leafs have a soft spot for Liberals. Maybe now we understand the new scheduling, the Leafs wanted to keep close to their constituencies, the two groups may have more in common than they thought! If current trends continue, there will be no votes and no fans West of the Lakehead.
Building Podunk
Podunk is abuzz with discussions on tonight's mystery re-zoning meeting. A parcel of land on the highway by the BC Hydro site, is about to be rezoned so as to allow commercial development. Rumours fly with the suggestion of possible tenants at the new development, Costco, Wal Mart, Canadian Tire, Real Canadian Superstore, London Drugs, Home Depot, Save On Foods and Future Shop are just a few of the suggested shopping options that may soon set up shop on the South side of Highway 16. Everyone has their favourite and no store has gone unmentioned in Podunk's favourite guessing game.
If passed the development of that parcel of land would be the first major development in town since the renovation of the Safeway store a number of years ago. Cautious letters of support have occasionally made their way to the local paper, suggesting that a development may stem the flow of tail lights presently heading the way of Terrace.
What will be interesting to watch should the development go ahead, will be the state of the local mall, which in the last number of years has seen tenant after tenant pull up stakes and either close up or move out. While a few have moved in to replace the departed stores, the bottom level of the mall is akin to a ghost town, the only thing missing is tumbleweeds blowing through the corridors.
Progress comes to Podunk, or then again maybe not. It's generally expected the zoning will be changed but one never knows what kind of a turnout may show up for the hearing and what kind of pressure may be brought to bear to keep development within the 3rd Avenue corridor. A part of town that doesn't seem to have the same draw as it once did.
If passed the development of that parcel of land would be the first major development in town since the renovation of the Safeway store a number of years ago. Cautious letters of support have occasionally made their way to the local paper, suggesting that a development may stem the flow of tail lights presently heading the way of Terrace.
What will be interesting to watch should the development go ahead, will be the state of the local mall, which in the last number of years has seen tenant after tenant pull up stakes and either close up or move out. While a few have moved in to replace the departed stores, the bottom level of the mall is akin to a ghost town, the only thing missing is tumbleweeds blowing through the corridors.
Progress comes to Podunk, or then again maybe not. It's generally expected the zoning will be changed but one never knows what kind of a turnout may show up for the hearing and what kind of pressure may be brought to bear to keep development within the 3rd Avenue corridor. A part of town that doesn't seem to have the same draw as it once did.
Sunday, November 06, 2005
Jimmy and Alan take to the stage
NBC offers up some interesting television tonight (Sunday) with their live broadcast of the "Presidential Debate" between Arnold Vinick and Matt Santos, the characters portrayed by Alan Alda and Jimmy Smits.
The West Wing which is in an election year thread this season, will air live twice, once on the East coast and again on the West coast, throwing its actors to the television wolves with a throwback to the days of live television.
It will be interesting to see how large an audience tunes in to watch, when NBC moved the West Wing to Sunday nights it found the audience did not follow in the numbers expected. Perhaps having suffered through a couple of sub standard seasons the audience had grown weary of the pensive shots and endless walks through the corridors of power.
The election thread though has breathed a bit of life into the show, it seems to be more energized this year as the two candidates battled their way through nominations and now head into the homestretch of an election campaign.
How the producers will have the nation vote will make for an interesting study, if Vinick should win that would mean a Republican administration and pretty well an exit for the entire cast. If Santos wins, well a few of our favourites could still keep their paychecks and show up for work next September. The shows producers say that the debate tonight will portray the kind of civilized relationship that seems to be missing in politics these days, Alda and Smits will debate real issues, putting ideas across instead of soundbites.
Which if you think about it is a rather sad commentary on politics today, we're hoping that two television actors will show the real players how it should be done. So desperate are we for a sense of relevance to politics these days.
Many think that this might be the last year for the show which has won its share of Emmy awards over the years. Alda and Smits go looking for votes and ratings tonight. How well they pull off the live broadcast could go a long way to showing that this show is still a relevant part of the prime time schedule.
The West Wing which is in an election year thread this season, will air live twice, once on the East coast and again on the West coast, throwing its actors to the television wolves with a throwback to the days of live television.
It will be interesting to see how large an audience tunes in to watch, when NBC moved the West Wing to Sunday nights it found the audience did not follow in the numbers expected. Perhaps having suffered through a couple of sub standard seasons the audience had grown weary of the pensive shots and endless walks through the corridors of power.
The election thread though has breathed a bit of life into the show, it seems to be more energized this year as the two candidates battled their way through nominations and now head into the homestretch of an election campaign.
How the producers will have the nation vote will make for an interesting study, if Vinick should win that would mean a Republican administration and pretty well an exit for the entire cast. If Santos wins, well a few of our favourites could still keep their paychecks and show up for work next September. The shows producers say that the debate tonight will portray the kind of civilized relationship that seems to be missing in politics these days, Alda and Smits will debate real issues, putting ideas across instead of soundbites.
Which if you think about it is a rather sad commentary on politics today, we're hoping that two television actors will show the real players how it should be done. So desperate are we for a sense of relevance to politics these days.
Many think that this might be the last year for the show which has won its share of Emmy awards over the years. Alda and Smits go looking for votes and ratings tonight. How well they pull off the live broadcast could go a long way to showing that this show is still a relevant part of the prime time schedule.
Saturday, November 05, 2005
Dispatches from the Civil War
Sheila Copps has been one busy little correspondent. The former Deputy Prime Minister and Cabinet Minister during the Chretien years has found herself gainful employment as a scribbler (or key pounder I guess) for the Sun newspaper chain. Which is an unusual alliance if ever there was, but I digress.
Ms. Copps has weighed in on the topic on most Canadians minds these days, the corruption scandal explored in the Gomery Commission and the Civil War raging anew in the Liberal Party of Canada.
Sheila put out three columns since October 30th, each one exploring a twist in the Gomery debate. Her October 30th column suggested that the outcome of Gomery would be that of a finger of blame being pointed at her old boss.
The November 2nd column laughed out loud at the concept of PM the PM not having a clue as to what had transpired in the advertising program, during his days as Finance Minister. Copps finds it hard to believe that Mr. Martin was so uninformed during that period of time. She outlined many of the talking points used by Jean Chretien in his speech in rebuttal of Gomery, the use of a Mulroney aide as lead counsel in the investigation, the link to Gomery's daughter at a law firm and other similar points as made by Chretien. You can almost see the courier from Eddie Goldenberg's office with the Coles Notes for Sheila. My favourite line in this column was "Four years later, we still do not have the whole story behind this huge betrayal of the values of the Liberal Party." Well Geez, Sheila maybe share some remembrances of your time around the Cabinet table, surely you must have heard a rumbling or two while you were busy ordering Canadian flags.
The most recent article from November 6th examines the backrooms of the Liberal party. A place where apparently long time Liberal loyalists are on the verge of burning their party memberships, so shocked are they at the machinations of the Martin crew. She suggests that Canadians are more than cynical about politicians, (well who would have thought that, hell during Sheila's time that cynicism probably took quantum leaps) and wonders how that will play out in the next election. Of that election she says that many of the True Grits, may end up sitting out the battle. She wonders aloud how the Prime Minister might win an election if he's busy blowing up half of his party. Which would be a valid point if it came from someone else.
Copps' dislike of the Martin management style is well documented, her battle with Martin loyalist Tony Valeri set a new standard in blood feuds. Now with her new platform Sheila has a chance to revise a bit of Liberal history. Martin forces bad, Chretien people good, seems to be her short hand for the masses.
Those people that are worried about Jean Chretien's reputation getting tarnished over the next little while, have nothing to worry about. As long as Sheila has access to a word processor program and an internet connection, the little guy from Shawinigan has a rewrite gal on hand ready to deflect the storm back into the face of Paul Martin.
Ms. Copps has weighed in on the topic on most Canadians minds these days, the corruption scandal explored in the Gomery Commission and the Civil War raging anew in the Liberal Party of Canada.
Sheila put out three columns since October 30th, each one exploring a twist in the Gomery debate. Her October 30th column suggested that the outcome of Gomery would be that of a finger of blame being pointed at her old boss.
The November 2nd column laughed out loud at the concept of PM the PM not having a clue as to what had transpired in the advertising program, during his days as Finance Minister. Copps finds it hard to believe that Mr. Martin was so uninformed during that period of time. She outlined many of the talking points used by Jean Chretien in his speech in rebuttal of Gomery, the use of a Mulroney aide as lead counsel in the investigation, the link to Gomery's daughter at a law firm and other similar points as made by Chretien. You can almost see the courier from Eddie Goldenberg's office with the Coles Notes for Sheila. My favourite line in this column was "Four years later, we still do not have the whole story behind this huge betrayal of the values of the Liberal Party." Well Geez, Sheila maybe share some remembrances of your time around the Cabinet table, surely you must have heard a rumbling or two while you were busy ordering Canadian flags.
The most recent article from November 6th examines the backrooms of the Liberal party. A place where apparently long time Liberal loyalists are on the verge of burning their party memberships, so shocked are they at the machinations of the Martin crew. She suggests that Canadians are more than cynical about politicians, (well who would have thought that, hell during Sheila's time that cynicism probably took quantum leaps) and wonders how that will play out in the next election. Of that election she says that many of the True Grits, may end up sitting out the battle. She wonders aloud how the Prime Minister might win an election if he's busy blowing up half of his party. Which would be a valid point if it came from someone else.
Copps' dislike of the Martin management style is well documented, her battle with Martin loyalist Tony Valeri set a new standard in blood feuds. Now with her new platform Sheila has a chance to revise a bit of Liberal history. Martin forces bad, Chretien people good, seems to be her short hand for the masses.
Those people that are worried about Jean Chretien's reputation getting tarnished over the next little while, have nothing to worry about. As long as Sheila has access to a word processor program and an internet connection, the little guy from Shawinigan has a rewrite gal on hand ready to deflect the storm back into the face of Paul Martin.
Aye, Captain Stubing, there be trouble on the port side bow
Well this is certainly a problem that Julie, Isaac, Gopher, Doc and the good Captain never had to deal with on the Love Boat. Saturday morning saw a Cruise ship off the coast of Somalia fend off an attack by would be pirates.
The Seabourn Spirit found itself under attack from two speed boats that raced towards it early Saturday morning firing machine guns and rocket propelled grenades. The Captain of the ship maneuvered his ship so as to avoid any attempted boarding, while the crew initiated procedures designed to give the attackers cause to think they were being shot at themselves. Using an onboard loud acoustic bang, the ships company presented a sense of control of the situation that ended with the pirates abandoning their attempted hijacking.
Seabourn Cruises has decided to no longer travel into the afflicted area of the Somali coast, a portion of ocean that has seen an increase in piracy ever since the Somalia government collapsed a number of years ago.
Perhaps Disney might think of taking up the route, after all they have had a bit of experience with Pirates in their day.
Pirate Attacks are not a very common thing in the cruise industry, but one thing I'm sure of is that had the Love Boat faced this kind of situation, things would have been handled well. If nothing else Isaac would have been one busy, busy bartender.
The Seabourn Spirit found itself under attack from two speed boats that raced towards it early Saturday morning firing machine guns and rocket propelled grenades. The Captain of the ship maneuvered his ship so as to avoid any attempted boarding, while the crew initiated procedures designed to give the attackers cause to think they were being shot at themselves. Using an onboard loud acoustic bang, the ships company presented a sense of control of the situation that ended with the pirates abandoning their attempted hijacking.
Seabourn Cruises has decided to no longer travel into the afflicted area of the Somali coast, a portion of ocean that has seen an increase in piracy ever since the Somalia government collapsed a number of years ago.
Perhaps Disney might think of taking up the route, after all they have had a bit of experience with Pirates in their day.
Pirate Attacks are not a very common thing in the cruise industry, but one thing I'm sure of is that had the Love Boat faced this kind of situation, things would have been handled well. If nothing else Isaac would have been one busy, busy bartender.
Sharing our own money
With the Liberals taking a bit of a hit in the polls after the release of the Gomery report, there's no better time for a bit of a hint of better things to come. The Finance Minister, Ralph Goodale has an "economic update" planned for November 14th, it's being hinted widely that he will announce some tax cuts for businesses and individuals at that time. With a federal surplus running at over 6.8 billion dollars Ralph has a bit of wriggle room in his plan to share the wealth.
The Liberal announcement Friday may give Jack Layton cause to pause regarding his Macbeth like deliberations. Layton had said that he would use the weekend, to contemplate whether he would join with the Conservatives and Bloc Quebecois to bring down the scandal shaken Liberal government. Layton had been using his power brokers position this week, to try and squeeze some health care trinkets from the Liberals, but had left those discussions Thursday a disappointed man.
Looking like Peter McKay right after the Belinda break up, Jack took his leave of the Hill (though we doubt we'll see him tending to a pumpkin farm anytime soon) to consult the oracles, runes and ouija boards of political Ottawa, promising to return on Monday with his decision. Hope he's not thinking we're all sitting on the edge of our seats here!
As for the Liberals, a little spreading of the wealth might help out their cause. Since Canadians apparently don't seem quick to action when scandal rears its ugly head, Goodale may be onto something here. Offering up to give Canadians cold hard cash (even if it is their own cold hard cash) may be the answer to the Liberal problems right now. Hey it worked for a while in Quebec, before the bottom dropped out of that little moneymaking scheme called Sponsorgate.
All that's left for Canadians to do is to advise Goodale whether we want our money delivered in a plain brown envelopes! Large bills or small will we take them all?
The Liberal announcement Friday may give Jack Layton cause to pause regarding his Macbeth like deliberations. Layton had said that he would use the weekend, to contemplate whether he would join with the Conservatives and Bloc Quebecois to bring down the scandal shaken Liberal government. Layton had been using his power brokers position this week, to try and squeeze some health care trinkets from the Liberals, but had left those discussions Thursday a disappointed man.
Looking like Peter McKay right after the Belinda break up, Jack took his leave of the Hill (though we doubt we'll see him tending to a pumpkin farm anytime soon) to consult the oracles, runes and ouija boards of political Ottawa, promising to return on Monday with his decision. Hope he's not thinking we're all sitting on the edge of our seats here!
As for the Liberals, a little spreading of the wealth might help out their cause. Since Canadians apparently don't seem quick to action when scandal rears its ugly head, Goodale may be onto something here. Offering up to give Canadians cold hard cash (even if it is their own cold hard cash) may be the answer to the Liberal problems right now. Hey it worked for a while in Quebec, before the bottom dropped out of that little moneymaking scheme called Sponsorgate.
All that's left for Canadians to do is to advise Goodale whether we want our money delivered in a plain brown envelopes! Large bills or small will we take them all?
As the kids would say, BURN!
Paul Martin used the Summit of the Americas to dish out a little smack on the President of the USA on Friday. Martin took advantage of a summit press conference, to make comment about the goals of a unified free market between South and North America, by suggesting that free trade would be a powerful antidote to poverty if only everyone played by the rules. As the young people might say, Burn!
Martin of course was making a less than subtle reference to the softwood lumber dispute between Canada and the USA and the habit of the Americans to not accept trade panel decisions, especially when those decisions don't exactly fit in with the US plans. Martin made his comments just before a meeting with Mexican President Vincente Fox, Martin has called Fox an ally in the quest for fair trade practices from the behemoth state in the middle. Martin said that the three leaders in the Northern reaches of the Americas, realize that trade must be based on rules - and rules that are listened to!
Bush, Fox, Martin and a cast of thousands have gathered in the Argentine seaside town of Mar del Plata, to talk over trade and watch what has become a quaint little tradition of demonstrators trashing the host site. Friday saw some widespread violence in the host city, as demonstrators lit fires, broke windows and battled riot police in the streets.
The President had arrived in Argentina with great plans to push forward his goal of a unified trading area from Canada to the southern reaches of Chile and Argentina, however as the day went on it became clear that his ideas were running into some roadblocks (bureaucratic and physical) along the way.
As would be expected for his troubles, George Bush has borne the brunt of the animus of the crowd, there were numerous signs and pictures of the President, none of them particularly generous nor supportive. Argentine soccer God, Diego Maradona went so far as to attend an anti Bush rally with a Stop Bush t-shirt and some unkind words for the President.
Fellow summit participant Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, has been playing to the crowds in the first days, finding some receptive ears to his proclamations. He has been particularly critical of the President in the last year, suggesting that the President has plans to invade Venezuela and remove Chavez from his office and his pulpit. Chavez has been quick to speak out at the summit with his announcement that the Bush trade deal is dead, "and I didn't come to talk of the dead".
Perhaps this is the reason for the Martin hard line at the meetings, with that much anger directed at Bush, perhaps Martin was worried about some spillover distemper getting directed his way. Short of picking up a napsack with a Maple Leaf on it, his speech will at least help those scoring at home (and in the streets) know which gringo, is the good gringo!
Martin of course was making a less than subtle reference to the softwood lumber dispute between Canada and the USA and the habit of the Americans to not accept trade panel decisions, especially when those decisions don't exactly fit in with the US plans. Martin made his comments just before a meeting with Mexican President Vincente Fox, Martin has called Fox an ally in the quest for fair trade practices from the behemoth state in the middle. Martin said that the three leaders in the Northern reaches of the Americas, realize that trade must be based on rules - and rules that are listened to!
Bush, Fox, Martin and a cast of thousands have gathered in the Argentine seaside town of Mar del Plata, to talk over trade and watch what has become a quaint little tradition of demonstrators trashing the host site. Friday saw some widespread violence in the host city, as demonstrators lit fires, broke windows and battled riot police in the streets.
The President had arrived in Argentina with great plans to push forward his goal of a unified trading area from Canada to the southern reaches of Chile and Argentina, however as the day went on it became clear that his ideas were running into some roadblocks (bureaucratic and physical) along the way.
As would be expected for his troubles, George Bush has borne the brunt of the animus of the crowd, there were numerous signs and pictures of the President, none of them particularly generous nor supportive. Argentine soccer God, Diego Maradona went so far as to attend an anti Bush rally with a Stop Bush t-shirt and some unkind words for the President.
Fellow summit participant Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, has been playing to the crowds in the first days, finding some receptive ears to his proclamations. He has been particularly critical of the President in the last year, suggesting that the President has plans to invade Venezuela and remove Chavez from his office and his pulpit. Chavez has been quick to speak out at the summit with his announcement that the Bush trade deal is dead, "and I didn't come to talk of the dead".
Perhaps this is the reason for the Martin hard line at the meetings, with that much anger directed at Bush, perhaps Martin was worried about some spillover distemper getting directed his way. Short of picking up a napsack with a Maple Leaf on it, his speech will at least help those scoring at home (and in the streets) know which gringo, is the good gringo!
What if no one passes the final exam?
It's too bad that Jon Stewart's Daily Show doesn't air on Friday nights, cause he'd have a field day with this one.
George Bush has ordered his ordered his White House staffers to attend compulsory ethics lessons. Lessons which are apparently designed to teach wayward, or would be wayward White House staffers the difference between right and wrong. And just to keep things moving along, the seminars will include sessions on the proper way to handle confidential documents (shred, shred, shred???) . The sessions will be hosted by White House counsel, Harriet Miers who found herself with a bit of time on her hands, after her Supreme Court nomination was tossed in the permanent Out box.
The meetings come far too late for Scooter, but hey, Karl and the crew can surely use the refresher course. The only question that remains is where in Washigton can they find a room big enough to handle the crowd. There seem to be more than a few in DC, that could use an introduction to ethics, never mind a refresher course.
George Bush has ordered his ordered his White House staffers to attend compulsory ethics lessons. Lessons which are apparently designed to teach wayward, or would be wayward White House staffers the difference between right and wrong. And just to keep things moving along, the seminars will include sessions on the proper way to handle confidential documents (shred, shred, shred???) . The sessions will be hosted by White House counsel, Harriet Miers who found herself with a bit of time on her hands, after her Supreme Court nomination was tossed in the permanent Out box.
The meetings come far too late for Scooter, but hey, Karl and the crew can surely use the refresher course. The only question that remains is where in Washigton can they find a room big enough to handle the crowd. There seem to be more than a few in DC, that could use an introduction to ethics, never mind a refresher course.
Friday, November 04, 2005
One more valuable lesson from Jacques Demers
Jacques Demers was at a book launch on Wednesday, getting the word out about a biography of his storied coaching and media career and a whole lot more. It was a book however, which he probably could not read very well , but one which may help many others face up to the challenge of literacy.
Demers faced a media scrum in Montreal at the launch of his book Jacques Demers: En tout lettres. During the press conference, Demers confessed to something he had been carrying around with him for many years, that he is illiterate. Family problems exacerbated Demers problem growing up, including an abusive father who effectively stripped Demers of his childhood. Demer's formative years were viewed through a prism of fear, one which would result in him entering adulthood with little in the way of reading or writing skills.
As the years would go by, Demers arranged to cover his lack of literacy, having others handle his correspondences, hiring assistants to take care of the contract negotiations. He even had his wife fooled up to a point, his secret was discovered as cheques remained unwritten to handle household expenses, finally Demers had to come clean with someone, his wife. But many others would never know of the situation. It's amazing to many that he was able to handle the job without being able to read. In today's NHL e mails, scouting reports and many other matters are routinely funneled through a computer, it would be a daunting task today, but Demer's seemed so determined he would probably have found a solution.
Many will find it amazing that Demers has limited skills in reading and writing, one of the most engaging of coaches in the history of the NHL, Demers transferred that quality to the broadcast booth. He currently is one of the most astute observers of hockey in Quebec on television, still able to break down plays and explain the inner workings of a hockey team.
His book, which was written by Mario Leclerc, an editor Le Journal de Montreal and a former Canadiens beat writer, it features 26 chapters, one for each letter of the alphabet. It's his hope that by allowing his guard to drop and sharing his darkest moments, that somehow he can get the message out to parents not to be abusive to their children, to leave them alone to grow up in a happy and learning environment.
It very well may be the best coaching advice this quality educator has ever given.
The above posting first appeared on my HockeyNation blog, for more items about hockey check it out!
Demers faced a media scrum in Montreal at the launch of his book Jacques Demers: En tout lettres. During the press conference, Demers confessed to something he had been carrying around with him for many years, that he is illiterate. Family problems exacerbated Demers problem growing up, including an abusive father who effectively stripped Demers of his childhood. Demer's formative years were viewed through a prism of fear, one which would result in him entering adulthood with little in the way of reading or writing skills.
As the years would go by, Demers arranged to cover his lack of literacy, having others handle his correspondences, hiring assistants to take care of the contract negotiations. He even had his wife fooled up to a point, his secret was discovered as cheques remained unwritten to handle household expenses, finally Demers had to come clean with someone, his wife. But many others would never know of the situation. It's amazing to many that he was able to handle the job without being able to read. In today's NHL e mails, scouting reports and many other matters are routinely funneled through a computer, it would be a daunting task today, but Demer's seemed so determined he would probably have found a solution.
Many will find it amazing that Demers has limited skills in reading and writing, one of the most engaging of coaches in the history of the NHL, Demers transferred that quality to the broadcast booth. He currently is one of the most astute observers of hockey in Quebec on television, still able to break down plays and explain the inner workings of a hockey team.
His book, which was written by Mario Leclerc, an editor Le Journal de Montreal and a former Canadiens beat writer, it features 26 chapters, one for each letter of the alphabet. It's his hope that by allowing his guard to drop and sharing his darkest moments, that somehow he can get the message out to parents not to be abusive to their children, to leave them alone to grow up in a happy and learning environment.
It very well may be the best coaching advice this quality educator has ever given.
The above posting first appeared on my HockeyNation blog, for more items about hockey check it out!
Thursday, November 03, 2005
Rumblings from the Blue States
Earlier this week I posted a story about a neo-con commentator expressing concern about the "Monster in the backyard", an excitable little treatise about how dangerous the Canadian border is for the USA. The author one Warner Todd Huston rambled on about how Canada could be a launching pad for troublesome times in the USA.
Well if Mr. Huston is concerned about Canada, he'd going to be positively apoplectic about Vermont. The Northern State (which I'm sure Mr. Huston would note is on the Canadian border), which is decidedly in the Blue camp, is apparently the home of a nascent independence movement. It seems that last week a group of 400 like minded self described "freedom fighters" met at the Vermont legislature to discuss what they called the neo-con takeover of their country.
The group which were not elected officials, but rather concerned citizens gathered for the debate at the State Capitol in Montpelier, Vermont. Armed with copies of the declaration of Independence, those in favour of secession highlighted a clause that summed up their beliefs to the word.
"Whenever any form of government becomes destructive, it is the Right of the People to alter or abolish it and to institute new government" Those gathered, feeling that the neo-con agenda is not in the best interests of America, then voted on a resolution that stated "Be it resolved that the state of Vermont peacefully and democratically free itself from the United States of America and return to its natural status as an independent republic as it was between January 15, 1777 and March 4, 1791."
It apparently is the first such resolution since May 20, 1861 when North Carolina voted to leave the Union.
Now nobody is actually taking the resolution to heart, a small band of 400 constitutional zealots is not about to reduce the number of states in the Union by one. But the group does have big dreams, they have a blue print of an independent Nation, of Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine, sandwiched between the neo-con America to the south and our own little peaceable kingdom (well in between referendums anyways) to the North.
I doubt if Mr. Bush will have to ready the troops to reign in the dissent just yet, but for neo-cons like Mr. Huston it is a timely warning. Many of those in the Red States won't be surprised by the developments in the far north, there's always suspicions about the way they think that close to the tundra. But the development in Vermont is something to take note of, it's a sign that not everyone is signing on with the neo con agenda and there seems to be a constant current of concern over their plans and the fallout from them.
Mr. Huston had best stop looking at the Canadian backyard, it seems to me that his problems are a lot closer to home!
Well if Mr. Huston is concerned about Canada, he'd going to be positively apoplectic about Vermont. The Northern State (which I'm sure Mr. Huston would note is on the Canadian border), which is decidedly in the Blue camp, is apparently the home of a nascent independence movement. It seems that last week a group of 400 like minded self described "freedom fighters" met at the Vermont legislature to discuss what they called the neo-con takeover of their country.
The group which were not elected officials, but rather concerned citizens gathered for the debate at the State Capitol in Montpelier, Vermont. Armed with copies of the declaration of Independence, those in favour of secession highlighted a clause that summed up their beliefs to the word.
"Whenever any form of government becomes destructive, it is the Right of the People to alter or abolish it and to institute new government" Those gathered, feeling that the neo-con agenda is not in the best interests of America, then voted on a resolution that stated "Be it resolved that the state of Vermont peacefully and democratically free itself from the United States of America and return to its natural status as an independent republic as it was between January 15, 1777 and March 4, 1791."
It apparently is the first such resolution since May 20, 1861 when North Carolina voted to leave the Union.
Now nobody is actually taking the resolution to heart, a small band of 400 constitutional zealots is not about to reduce the number of states in the Union by one. But the group does have big dreams, they have a blue print of an independent Nation, of Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine, sandwiched between the neo-con America to the south and our own little peaceable kingdom (well in between referendums anyways) to the North.
I doubt if Mr. Bush will have to ready the troops to reign in the dissent just yet, but for neo-cons like Mr. Huston it is a timely warning. Many of those in the Red States won't be surprised by the developments in the far north, there's always suspicions about the way they think that close to the tundra. But the development in Vermont is something to take note of, it's a sign that not everyone is signing on with the neo con agenda and there seems to be a constant current of concern over their plans and the fallout from them.
Mr. Huston had best stop looking at the Canadian backyard, it seems to me that his problems are a lot closer to home!
The Empire takes back
There's a witty little letter making the rounds of the internet, John Cleese of Monty Python fame pens a notice to America that the English are taking back the country. And since the Chuck and Cammy show is presently running in DC, I figured this was as good a time as any to give it some Podunkian exposure.
A LETTER TO AMERICA: by John Cleese
To the citizens of the United States of America:
In light of your failure to elect a competent President of the USA and thus to govern yourselves, we hereby give notice of the revocation of your independence, effective immediately. Her Sovereign Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, will resume monarchical duties over all states, commonwealths and other territories (excepting Kansas).
Your new prime minister, Tony Blair, will appoint a governor for America without the need for further elections. Congress and the Senate will be disbanded. A questionnaire may be circulated next year to determine whether any of you noticed.
To aid in the transition to a British Crown Dependency, the following rules are introduced with immediate effect:
(You should look up "revocation" in the Oxford English Dictionary. Then look up "aluminium," and check the pronunciation guide. You will be amazed at just how wrongly you have been pronouncing it.)
1. The letter 'U' will be reinstated in words such as 'colour', 'favour' and 'neighbour.' Likewise, you will learn to spell 'doughnut' without skipping half the letters, and the suffix "ize" will be replaced by the suffix "ise." You will learn that the suffix 'burgh' is pronounced 'burra'; you may elect to respell Pittsburgh as 'Pittsberg' if you find you simply can't cope with correct pronunciation. Generally, you will be expected to raise your vocabulary to acceptable levels (look up "vocabulary"). Using the same twenty-seven words interspersed with filler noises such as "like" and "you know" is an unacceptable and inefficient form of communication.
2. There is no such thing as "US English." We will let Microsoft know on your behalf. The Microsoft spell-checker will be adjusted to take account of the reinstated letter 'u' and the elimination of "-ize."
3. You will re-learn your original national anthem, "God Save the Queen", but only after fully carrying out Task #1 (see above).
4. July 4th will no longer be celebrated as a holiday. November 2nd will be a new national holiday, but to be celebrated only in England. It will be called "Come-Uppance Day."
5. You will learn to resolve personal issues without using guns, lawyers or therapists. The fact that you need so many lawyers and therapists shows that you're not adult enough to be independent. Guns should only be handled by adults. If you're not adult enough to sort things out without suing someone or speaking to a therapist then you're not grown up enough to handle a gun.
6. Therefore, you will no longer be allowed to own or carry anything more dangerous than a vegetable peeler. A permit will be required if you wish to carry a vegetable peeler in public.
7. All American cars are hereby banned. They are crap and this is for your own good. When we show you German cars, you will understand what we mean. All intersections will be replaced with roundabouts, and you will start driving on the left with immediate effect. At the same time, you will go metric immediately and without the benefit of conversion tables. Both roundabouts and metrication will help you understand the British sense of humour.
8. The Former USA will adopt UK prices on petrol (which you have been calling "gasoline") -- roughly $6/US gallon. Get used to it!
9. You will learn to make real chips. Those things you call French fries are not real chips, and those things you insist on calling potato chips are properly called "crisps." Real chips are thick-cut, fried in animal fat, and dressed not with mayonnaise but with vinegar.
10. That cold tasteless stuff you insist on calling beer is not actually beer at all. Henceforth, only proper British Bitter will be referred to as "beer," and European brews of known and accepted provenance will be referred to as "Lager." American brands will be referred to as
"Near-Frozen Gnat's Urine," so that all can be sold without risk of further confusion.
11. Hollywood will be required to at least occasionally cast English actors as good guys. Hollywood will also be required to cast English actors to play English characters. Watching Andie MacDowell attempt English dialogue in "Four Weddings and a Funeral" was an experience akin to having one's ears removed with a cheese grater.
12. You will cease playing American "football." There is only one kind of proper football; you call it "soccer." Those of you brave enough will, in time, will be allowed to play rugby (which has some similarities to American "football", but does not involve stopping for a rest every twenty seconds or wearing full kevlar body armour like a bunch of nancies). Further, you will stop playing baseball. It is not reasonable to host an event called the "World Series" for a game which is not played outside of America. Since only 2.1% of you are aware that there is a world beyond your borders, your error is understandable.
13. You simply must tell us who killed JFK. It's been driving us mad.
14. An internal revenue agent (i.e. tax collector) from Her Majesty's Government will be with you shortly to ensure the acquisition of all monies due backdated to 1776.
Thank you for your co-operation. Cheers!
A LETTER TO AMERICA: by John Cleese
To the citizens of the United States of America:
In light of your failure to elect a competent President of the USA and thus to govern yourselves, we hereby give notice of the revocation of your independence, effective immediately. Her Sovereign Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, will resume monarchical duties over all states, commonwealths and other territories (excepting Kansas).
Your new prime minister, Tony Blair, will appoint a governor for America without the need for further elections. Congress and the Senate will be disbanded. A questionnaire may be circulated next year to determine whether any of you noticed.
To aid in the transition to a British Crown Dependency, the following rules are introduced with immediate effect:
(You should look up "revocation" in the Oxford English Dictionary. Then look up "aluminium," and check the pronunciation guide. You will be amazed at just how wrongly you have been pronouncing it.)
1. The letter 'U' will be reinstated in words such as 'colour', 'favour' and 'neighbour.' Likewise, you will learn to spell 'doughnut' without skipping half the letters, and the suffix "ize" will be replaced by the suffix "ise." You will learn that the suffix 'burgh' is pronounced 'burra'; you may elect to respell Pittsburgh as 'Pittsberg' if you find you simply can't cope with correct pronunciation. Generally, you will be expected to raise your vocabulary to acceptable levels (look up "vocabulary"). Using the same twenty-seven words interspersed with filler noises such as "like" and "you know" is an unacceptable and inefficient form of communication.
2. There is no such thing as "US English." We will let Microsoft know on your behalf. The Microsoft spell-checker will be adjusted to take account of the reinstated letter 'u' and the elimination of "-ize."
3. You will re-learn your original national anthem, "God Save the Queen", but only after fully carrying out Task #1 (see above).
4. July 4th will no longer be celebrated as a holiday. November 2nd will be a new national holiday, but to be celebrated only in England. It will be called "Come-Uppance Day."
5. You will learn to resolve personal issues without using guns, lawyers or therapists. The fact that you need so many lawyers and therapists shows that you're not adult enough to be independent. Guns should only be handled by adults. If you're not adult enough to sort things out without suing someone or speaking to a therapist then you're not grown up enough to handle a gun.
6. Therefore, you will no longer be allowed to own or carry anything more dangerous than a vegetable peeler. A permit will be required if you wish to carry a vegetable peeler in public.
7. All American cars are hereby banned. They are crap and this is for your own good. When we show you German cars, you will understand what we mean. All intersections will be replaced with roundabouts, and you will start driving on the left with immediate effect. At the same time, you will go metric immediately and without the benefit of conversion tables. Both roundabouts and metrication will help you understand the British sense of humour.
8. The Former USA will adopt UK prices on petrol (which you have been calling "gasoline") -- roughly $6/US gallon. Get used to it!
9. You will learn to make real chips. Those things you call French fries are not real chips, and those things you insist on calling potato chips are properly called "crisps." Real chips are thick-cut, fried in animal fat, and dressed not with mayonnaise but with vinegar.
10. That cold tasteless stuff you insist on calling beer is not actually beer at all. Henceforth, only proper British Bitter will be referred to as "beer," and European brews of known and accepted provenance will be referred to as "Lager." American brands will be referred to as
"Near-Frozen Gnat's Urine," so that all can be sold without risk of further confusion.
11. Hollywood will be required to at least occasionally cast English actors as good guys. Hollywood will also be required to cast English actors to play English characters. Watching Andie MacDowell attempt English dialogue in "Four Weddings and a Funeral" was an experience akin to having one's ears removed with a cheese grater.
12. You will cease playing American "football." There is only one kind of proper football; you call it "soccer." Those of you brave enough will, in time, will be allowed to play rugby (which has some similarities to American "football", but does not involve stopping for a rest every twenty seconds or wearing full kevlar body armour like a bunch of nancies). Further, you will stop playing baseball. It is not reasonable to host an event called the "World Series" for a game which is not played outside of America. Since only 2.1% of you are aware that there is a world beyond your borders, your error is understandable.
13. You simply must tell us who killed JFK. It's been driving us mad.
14. An internal revenue agent (i.e. tax collector) from Her Majesty's Government will be with you shortly to ensure the acquisition of all monies due backdated to 1776.
Thank you for your co-operation. Cheers!
Podunkian Pick Ems'
As we count down the days to our municipal election, the eighteen candidates for Podunk’s city council are busy putting up their campaign signs (and just as fast the local hooligan class is taking them down). It would that some candidates seem to have more money than others (or an oversupply of signs from the last election), as some parts of town are clogged with sign farms at key areas, while other areas have nary a sign to be seen.
For a bit of sport we offer up some of the “messages” that the candidates have put on their signs, in their little ads in the Podunk Daily News classifieds or in their biographies.
See if you can match the candidate with the mission statement!
Some candidates have yet to get a sign out there or come up with a positioning statement, so the statements won’t number the same as the candidates available. By the way, since the signs seem to get toppled as quick as they get tacked up I may have missed one or two candidates messages, feel free to share the good news with us in the comments box.
Update: James Vassallo has withdrawn from the council race, leaving Podunk with 17 choices for the six council seats.
And now, it’s time for our feature presentation.
THE STATEMENTS
For a responsible open City council
Experienced, Committed, Concerned, Caring
Leadership that does not drive our community by looking at the rear view mirror
Your voice at City Hall
For a Yes City
No More Secrets at City Hall
Your city, your future
To bridge the gaps in this community
Business, First Nations, Labour –Lets Pull together
Your Issues are my issues
For Balance on city council
A History of service to the community
Leadership for a positive future
Effective representation for the people
THE CANDIDATES
Kathy Bedard
Marty Bowles
Tony Briglio
Mario Castelli
Brenda Cook
Ken Cote
Danielle Dalton
Frank DeBartolo
Steve Fitzpatrick
Sheila Gordon-Payne
Nelson Kinney
Gabe McLean
Mitch Myers
Erika Rolston
Jack Rudolph
Lothar Schiese
Joy Thorkelson
For a bit of sport we offer up some of the “messages” that the candidates have put on their signs, in their little ads in the Podunk Daily News classifieds or in their biographies.
See if you can match the candidate with the mission statement!
Some candidates have yet to get a sign out there or come up with a positioning statement, so the statements won’t number the same as the candidates available. By the way, since the signs seem to get toppled as quick as they get tacked up I may have missed one or two candidates messages, feel free to share the good news with us in the comments box.
Update: James Vassallo has withdrawn from the council race, leaving Podunk with 17 choices for the six council seats.
And now, it’s time for our feature presentation.
THE STATEMENTS
For a responsible open City council
Experienced, Committed, Concerned, Caring
Leadership that does not drive our community by looking at the rear view mirror
Your voice at City Hall
For a Yes City
No More Secrets at City Hall
Your city, your future
To bridge the gaps in this community
Business, First Nations, Labour –Lets Pull together
Your Issues are my issues
For Balance on city council
A History of service to the community
Leadership for a positive future
Effective representation for the people
THE CANDIDATES
Kathy Bedard
Marty Bowles
Tony Briglio
Mario Castelli
Brenda Cook
Ken Cote
Danielle Dalton
Frank DeBartolo
Steve Fitzpatrick
Sheila Gordon-Payne
Nelson Kinney
Gabe McLean
Mitch Myers
Erika Rolston
Jack Rudolph
Lothar Schiese
Joy Thorkelson
Wednesday, November 02, 2005
Liberal Wars: Revenge of the Myth
He's mad as hell and he's not going to take it anymore.
Tuesday afternoon, it was deja vu all over again, there he was up on the stage, the lively banter with the media, a few good zingers at the expense of a Harper or a Lapierre, some jibes at his successor delivered with a bit of a smile and to wrap it all up a bit of a whuppin for the Gomery Report.
Jean Chretien returned on the day after Halloween to haunt his former finance minister , perhaps launching the opening skirmish in what may be the final act of the Great Liberal Civil War. Chretien rejected out of hand the findings of the Gomery report and announced his plans to challenge it in Federal Court. This mere hours after Paul Martin had accepted those same findings without reservation.
Chretien seemed to enjoy his moment back on the national stage as the media buzz all day had his statement declared the main event of a rather busy news day. So when he took to the stage it was to a full gallery and an attentive audience.
He scored a few points against the current holder of the job that was once his, Chretien wondered aloud about the ability of a Prime Minister to banish card carrying members of the Liberal party, something Martin had done earlier in the day. You could see his mischievous side at work when he suggested that perhaps had he known he had been in control of such power, that he may have banned a guy named Lapierre when he joined the seperatists. One wonders if he might have wished to use such power on a former Finance Minister as well.
Chretien also suggested that the Gomery Commission consisted of a legal advisor (Bernard Roy) who may have been beholden to former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney (Roy was a former Mulroney aide), and one assumes then may have had an old axe to grind. Chretien also pointed out that Roy worked in the same Legal office as Gomery's daughter, a potential conflict of interest in the eyes of the street fighter of Shawinigan.
He then rattled on about how he had kept Canada out of the Iraq war, given us Kyoto and a clarity act, none of which seem to have much to do with the sponsorship scandal, but did give him a chance to polish up his resume from his days in power and maybe poke a stick in the eye of his successor.
Most importantly though is the sense now that the ancient feud between the Martinites and the Chretienistas is nowhere near done. It leaves the current Prime Minister with a lot to think about, he has worries about Quebec and how the Liberal party must try to rebuild its image quickly. There's a government to run despite the continual smell of scandal eroding it's credibility and now there's an old leader coming back to reclaim his name and seemingly enjoying the battle that may be to come. Say what you will, Chretien still commands some loyalty from Liberals, Warren Kinsella was quick to the defence on his blog today, picking up the torch for the Chretien side.
How Martin navigates his various minefields, will go a long way to determining if he's going to be Prime Minister for many more days after the second Gomery report is issued and that promised election call is made.
Tuesday afternoon, it was deja vu all over again, there he was up on the stage, the lively banter with the media, a few good zingers at the expense of a Harper or a Lapierre, some jibes at his successor delivered with a bit of a smile and to wrap it all up a bit of a whuppin for the Gomery Report.
Jean Chretien returned on the day after Halloween to haunt his former finance minister , perhaps launching the opening skirmish in what may be the final act of the Great Liberal Civil War. Chretien rejected out of hand the findings of the Gomery report and announced his plans to challenge it in Federal Court. This mere hours after Paul Martin had accepted those same findings without reservation.
Chretien seemed to enjoy his moment back on the national stage as the media buzz all day had his statement declared the main event of a rather busy news day. So when he took to the stage it was to a full gallery and an attentive audience.
He scored a few points against the current holder of the job that was once his, Chretien wondered aloud about the ability of a Prime Minister to banish card carrying members of the Liberal party, something Martin had done earlier in the day. You could see his mischievous side at work when he suggested that perhaps had he known he had been in control of such power, that he may have banned a guy named Lapierre when he joined the seperatists. One wonders if he might have wished to use such power on a former Finance Minister as well.
Chretien also suggested that the Gomery Commission consisted of a legal advisor (Bernard Roy) who may have been beholden to former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney (Roy was a former Mulroney aide), and one assumes then may have had an old axe to grind. Chretien also pointed out that Roy worked in the same Legal office as Gomery's daughter, a potential conflict of interest in the eyes of the street fighter of Shawinigan.
He then rattled on about how he had kept Canada out of the Iraq war, given us Kyoto and a clarity act, none of which seem to have much to do with the sponsorship scandal, but did give him a chance to polish up his resume from his days in power and maybe poke a stick in the eye of his successor.
Most importantly though is the sense now that the ancient feud between the Martinites and the Chretienistas is nowhere near done. It leaves the current Prime Minister with a lot to think about, he has worries about Quebec and how the Liberal party must try to rebuild its image quickly. There's a government to run despite the continual smell of scandal eroding it's credibility and now there's an old leader coming back to reclaim his name and seemingly enjoying the battle that may be to come. Say what you will, Chretien still commands some loyalty from Liberals, Warren Kinsella was quick to the defence on his blog today, picking up the torch for the Chretien side.
How Martin navigates his various minefields, will go a long way to determining if he's going to be Prime Minister for many more days after the second Gomery report is issued and that promised election call is made.
Jump On Jack
Tuesday's Question Period session offered up some priceless theatre for the nation, as those that know where their CPAC channel is on the dial, could sit back and watch Jack Layton get all worked up for the cameras and express some outrage.
Layton was responding to the Gomery report released earlier in the day, which outlined the extent of scandal involved in the sponsorship scandal. A scandal that angered and saddened Layton personally, but of course did not stop him from propping up that same Liberal government over the last few months, that of course the same Liberal government that had created the mess in the first place.
Now it's a rather hard road for Layton to travel on one guesses, what with a Prime Minister that no longer really fears him and an opposition leader that spends most of his time calling him chicken. You can see why he might have had a short fuse on Tuesday, what's the use of holding a whip anymore, if no one is worried about you using it. For Layton his "threats" to bring down the government seem to be hollower and hollower with each passing day. Martin has him where he wants him now and one can't help but think that Layton knows it.
Most Canadians realize that Layton has nothing to gain by siding with the Tories and the Bloc in bringing down this government, there's little to no chance of him being able to control a Conservative agenda should they form a government in any upcoming election. And he's probably enjoyed his bit of fame the last six months in his guest appearance as the Parliament Hill power broker. Although his powers of persuasion haven't exactly set the nation on the road to a brave new world of social and political engineering. Then again there's always show business if all else falls apart.
In the meantime, surely we can be forgiven if we take his public proclamations of dismay with a grain of salt, for a guy that is so disgusted by Liberal machinations, he sure has had a funny way of putting his money where his mouth is.
Layton was responding to the Gomery report released earlier in the day, which outlined the extent of scandal involved in the sponsorship scandal. A scandal that angered and saddened Layton personally, but of course did not stop him from propping up that same Liberal government over the last few months, that of course the same Liberal government that had created the mess in the first place.
Now it's a rather hard road for Layton to travel on one guesses, what with a Prime Minister that no longer really fears him and an opposition leader that spends most of his time calling him chicken. You can see why he might have had a short fuse on Tuesday, what's the use of holding a whip anymore, if no one is worried about you using it. For Layton his "threats" to bring down the government seem to be hollower and hollower with each passing day. Martin has him where he wants him now and one can't help but think that Layton knows it.
Most Canadians realize that Layton has nothing to gain by siding with the Tories and the Bloc in bringing down this government, there's little to no chance of him being able to control a Conservative agenda should they form a government in any upcoming election. And he's probably enjoyed his bit of fame the last six months in his guest appearance as the Parliament Hill power broker. Although his powers of persuasion haven't exactly set the nation on the road to a brave new world of social and political engineering. Then again there's always show business if all else falls apart.
In the meantime, surely we can be forgiven if we take his public proclamations of dismay with a grain of salt, for a guy that is so disgusted by Liberal machinations, he sure has had a funny way of putting his money where his mouth is.
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