Friday News Roundup
1. Harper now says he'll comply and submit a Kyoto plan which is...interesting. I kind of suspect he'll submit a mischievous plan rather than an actual one he intends to follow but after seeing Gordon Campbell cut his opposition off at the knees, Harper certainly has the opportunity to do the same thing to Dion.
2. Harper wants the Liberals to apologize for being exonerated in the Income Trust scandal. Uh-huh. It seems to me that no one really has anything to apologize for in this. There were improprieties so the opposition was right to call for a probe, but the Liberal Party was innocent of any wrong doing so obviously they're not to blame. The one thing I do agree with is that the Tories should pull their TV ads which implicate Goodale, since he's been cleared of any wrong doing. But, as for everyone demanding everyone else apologize? Puh-lease.
3. I'm glad to see Dion coming out in favour of term limits for Senators. This is consistent with what he's said and written in the past and makes sense since Prime Ministers will be freer to appoint younger Senators.
4. Rick Hillier has referred to the Liberal rule as the "decade of darkness". If the General finds himself job hunting in a year or two, he should definitely consider writ ting sci-fi, because he certainly has a flair for the dramatic.
5. "Bush Snubs Canada" was the front page of my local paper this morning. I'm reading Eddie Goldenberg's book right now and one point he makes is that the so-called "snubs" are usually just oversights and are rarely intentional. So I wouldn't read much into this.
6. Ditch the penny!
2. Harper wants the Liberals to apologize for being exonerated in the Income Trust scandal. Uh-huh. It seems to me that no one really has anything to apologize for in this. There were improprieties so the opposition was right to call for a probe, but the Liberal Party was innocent of any wrong doing so obviously they're not to blame. The one thing I do agree with is that the Tories should pull their TV ads which implicate Goodale, since he's been cleared of any wrong doing. But, as for everyone demanding everyone else apologize? Puh-lease.
3. I'm glad to see Dion coming out in favour of term limits for Senators. This is consistent with what he's said and written in the past and makes sense since Prime Ministers will be freer to appoint younger Senators.
4. Rick Hillier has referred to the Liberal rule as the "decade of darkness". If the General finds himself job hunting in a year or two, he should definitely consider writ ting sci-fi, because he certainly has a flair for the dramatic.
5. "Bush Snubs Canada" was the front page of my local paper this morning. I'm reading Eddie Goldenberg's book right now and one point he makes is that the so-called "snubs" are usually just oversights and are rarely intentional. So I wouldn't read much into this.
6. Ditch the penny!
Labels: George Bush, Income Trusts, Kyoto, News, Senate Reform
posted by calgarygrit at
3:15 p.m.
23 Comments:
If I was Dion I would have some of my impartially nominated Liberal Senators bury that stupid Kyoto Compliance Bill quicker than his dog can bury a bone. If there is a spring election he's going to get mauled on this one...
By
fair sailing, at 4:12 p.m.
"...but the Liberal Party was innocent of any wrong doing so obviously they're not to blame."
B does not follow A here, just because the RCMP could not find evidence enough to support a charge does not mean that the Liberals were innocent. At least not anymore "innocent" than O.J.
"Rick Hillier has referred to the Liberal rule as the "decade of darkness".
As for this, it may not have been literally dark, but it's hard to describe the Liberal's treatment of our military as anything other than abusive. Hillier is a perveyor of truthiness, and it almost sounds like you're threatening him and his job should the Libs go back to power. That's naughty.
By
The Rat, at 4:55 p.m.
rat; Regardless, no charges were laid so the party has nothing to appologize for.
By
calgarygrit, at 5:36 p.m.
Rat, you don't own the copyright to that image. Please find something else.
By
Ian, at 8:07 p.m.
Ok, now I have been called a pinko more than once in my life, hell probably more than 10 times, and even I have to agree with Hillier. No matter how I feel about the military the fact is we as Canadians willingly let, in some cases encouraged, the feds (Libs) to decimate our military and that they did.
And it was all political... case in point... CFB Calgary was a much more modern and better equipped base, yet when the feds (Libs) were shutting down bases left, right, and center for some reason Calgary was shut down, but CFB Edmonton was left open even though it was older, more run down, and not as well equipped. It couldn't possibly be because of maybe someone who gets elected in Edmonton... say Liberals like Anne??
By
Scooge, at 8:49 p.m.
dn - thank you, no.
By
The Rat, at 9:52 p.m.
Yeah, because the Liberals time in government was just good ole' times as usual for the Canadian forces.... You would have to be a drama queen to not see it like that.
The Liberals are a joke in every way shape or form on the defence portfolio. In just another example here we see some fat snob who marches with Hezbollah trying to discredit a man who has given his life to the Canadian forces.
By
Brad, at 12:40 a.m.
Yeah - like the liberals had nothing better to do in the 90's than decimate the military. Of course the military was the top priority of Canadians in 1993 - we did not care about the deficit, the crime rate, the unemployment rate etc...
Nice to rewrite history though, isn't it.
By
Gayle, at 1:33 a.m.
If Hillier can go public with any comments he wants, then there is no reason why other government employees should not also be allowed to make any public comments they want. What do you think Harper would do if the deputy minister of Health said the governments health plans were a farce or that the government was not meeting its obligations to first nations. What if this employee said the governments equipment procurement plans were irrational. Apparently its ok if you are supporting the goverment line.
By
Doug, at 2:47 a.m.
Well, it's an interesting question with different sides and views.
I do not believe that Hillier was partisan or overdramatic in his comments. I think they were accurate and fair. The Liberals may have been justified in their cuts, they may have been brilliant in them - I don't know. But to anyone serving in the armed forces, it WAS a "decade of darkness".
Atom Egoyan might say the same thing if Telefilm were cut 10 years ago, Roberta Bondar if our "space program" was reduced dramatically, or Wayne Gretzy if - er, government declared hockey "morally unsuitable" or something. A person may feel these imaginary actions justified by the government, but it would still feel like a "decade of darkness" to a career person in the field.
And Hillier has had great things to say about Liberals at other times. He is not, I do not believe, a Conservative prop.
By
Jacques Beau Vert, at 4:23 a.m.
"Gordon Campbell cut his opposition off at the knees"
I think you spoke too soon here CG. Or haven't you heard yet about how the BC Premier turned Eco-Warrior has been exposed for having clearly thrown together at the last minute a bunch of promises that he has no intention of paying for in the near future.
See for yourself what I am talking about.
By
Erin Sikora, at 4:25 a.m.
Some very telling comments about Hillier's comments to the media yesterday. I am a former CF soldier and I was based out of Calgary until the base closed. I saw the great promise of the Mulroney government's white paper on national defense (scrapped within two years of it's release) and I experienced the dramatic cuts under the Chretien government.
A couple of things:
First off, while many people might view CF members as just "civil servants" I would strongly suggest they give their heads a shake. The last time I looked, civil servants aren't being sent to war zones by their government to get their @##%% shot off. I am thinking that if you're country tells you that you're going to a foreign country and you might die while you're there, you're entitled to an opinion. (I won't mention that CF personnel are voters and they have a right to bitch about the government because it's our national passtime.)
Was the 1990's a decade of darkness? Yes and no. There were cuts right across the board and National Defense was an easy target. That being said, the great sin of the Chretien era was that it dramatically INCREASED Canada's operational involvement in high conflict areas while at the same time, forcing the military to live with cuts that negatively impacted the operational effectiveness of our troops.
Closer to home, Chretien scrapped the Sea King replacements with the "stroke of a pen" and people died. All in the name of fiscal restraint. That is unforgivable.
During my time as an infantry soldier, if my combat fatigues wore out, I would go to Base Clothing Stores and exchange them for a slightly less threadbare set of used fatigues. When my boots wore out, I exchanged them for slightly used boots as opposed to, oh, say new boots.
The military could have lived with cuts but the greatest sin was increasing our operational commitments while at the same time gutting the military's capacity to provide the basic equipment that a soldier needs to do his/her job.
No, the 90's wasn't a decade of darkness. It was a period when a firmly entrenched government with little to no interest in providing adequate "kit" for it's troops forced those same troops to do the impossible with less than nothing.
By
Sean Cummings, at 5:08 a.m.
Sean Cummings,
I read Eddie Goldenberg's sloppy tribute to himself and Chretien, and anyone lucky enough to experience their greatness, and he brags about the Sea King decision as good politics. Every mention he makes of the military is with derision. Like so many Liberals he is a manor born elitist, a repugnant little snob, and an excellent reminder of why we must work to keep his ilk away from the exercise of power.
By
Peter, at 8:18 a.m.
About Hillier -- I can remember going to see him speak in Toronto a few years ago and hearing his take on Bill Graham as defence minister.
He had an awful lot of praise to give, then.
But describing the 90s as a decade of darkness for the military is only speaking the truth -- it was necessary darkness, mind, as somebody had to wrestle with that deficit, but it was a bad time for them all the same.
By
The Tiger, at 10:40 a.m.
What up with this?
Disharmony among Liberals? They need this like they need another year long leadership campaign. Not sure if this is National Post sensationalism or not. If it is true (and I think there is some truth to it) Mr. Dion might very well be confirming Harper's assertion that he's soft on terrorism. Don't know if he is going to be able to whip his MP's into supporting his position or not as some of the intelligence gathered might be helpful to the Air India probe.
Either way, I think that Dion may have painted himself into a corner: if he continues his stand, he's soft on terrorism. If he changes his mind he will have flip-flopped and Harper will go to town on the "Dion is not a leader" front.
By
Sean Cummings, at 11:25 a.m.
The link from sean cummings shows the right wing of the Liberal party must be in a panic mode. With Dion ready to sacrifice the 905 area and parts of the Martimes-knowing the Liberals can't win anymore seats in Toronto-it won't be long before Manley, McKenna or Tobin start playing Chretien to Dions Turner.
By
nuna d. above, at 12:46 p.m.
The Liberals are a joke in every way shape or form on the defence portfolio. In just another example here we see some fat snob who marches with Hezbollah trying to discredit a man who has given his life to the Canadian forces.
Amen.
By
pheenster, at 1:24 p.m.
"PhillyC said...
ATTN: CALGARY GRIT
Remove your advertisements and your google search. They are unethical. Your site should not be a business model but educational.
Shame."
And
dn said...
Rat, you don't own the copyright to that image. Please find something else.
Where'd all the Nags come from? Go home!
By
The Rat, at 4:27 p.m.
Calgary Grit:
I want to see MORE advertising dammit! Viva capitalism! Viva free markets! Viva paying your bills for crying out loud!
Now back to Heroes on NBC. :)
By
Sean Cummings, at 4:34 p.m.
Don't change a thing about this site.
By
Jacques Beau Vert, at 6:30 p.m.
phyllic; Given the few pennies I get off google ad revenue, I can assure you that this is not a "business model" for anyone...
By
calgarygrit, at 7:14 p.m.
Gee, Phillyc's command of English is pretty darned good for someone from Yemen. (wink! wink!)
That's the problem with Yemen these days, too many Yemenese focused on criticizing Canadian political blogs when it has such an abysmal human rights record. (nudge! nudge!)
Perhaps he/she would like to purchase an ad to promote his/her work in the Yemenese manufacturing sector. (wink! wink!)
By
Sean Cummings, at 9:34 a.m.
PRIME MINISTER HARPER, GET RID OF THE DAMN PENNY!!!!!!!
By
Hatrock, at 1:30 p.m.
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