Say Good Bye to the Spotlight Candy

It has been a tough fight but it looks like Harper and his gang of thugs is going to lose in their bid to scrap the gun registry.

Once we are past that vote and fresh from a rare win perhaps the opposition will suggest some legislation to fix some of the shortcomings of the system.
It won't be pretty. The Conservative bully boys are already threatening those who have, after no doubt months of soul searching, decided to change their votes to support the registry.
It will be a big win for common sense. Now, it is up to Ignatieff, Layton and Duceppe to throw the buggers out of office.
In the meantime, lets start charging people who up until now have refused to register their weapons.

Some Other Time Brad

With time spent traveling to Central Canada and then contracting a bad cold I have been neglecting this blog but I am back, if only at half steam.
Here have been so many issues missed over the last few weeks. Harper and his crew never stop offering opportunities to rant.
While in Quebec I was quite interested in the debate over Federal funding for a new arena in Quebec City as a part of a bid to get Les Nordiques back. Even Harper waded in for a while seeming to support the idea of injecting Federal cash into the project contradicting several of his Quebec ministers. In Quebec it was seen clearly as a vote buying scheme in an effort to garner support much needed by the Reform/Conservative/Alliance bunch. They have taken a big hit in Quebec over the gun registry issue. They are practical people in Quebec. The sentiment seemed to be. “OK, give us the money but we aren’t going to vote for you anyway.”
Now I see that Hamilton wants a bit of Federal cash to refurbish Ivor Wynne Stadium in advance of the Pan American Games. Why not jump on the vote buying bandwagon too, after all?
All this action puts the likelihood of the much hyped Regina stadium project going ahead into doubt. Both Regina mayor Pat Fiacco and Premier Brad Wall see the stadium as a legacy project. Their legacy project.
They are starting to panic.
Wall had a meeting with that motley crew of Saskatchewan Conservative MPs this week and came away with very little. I am not sure how they sounded while they were in the meeting but after the discussions ended a few of the MPs had comments none of which should encourage Saskatchewan Stadium fans. My own MP Tom “A Team” Lukiwski’s comments were incomprehensible. According to media reports he suggested that the Regina bid would have a better chance of success securing funds under a kind of public-private-partnership which of course is what Saskatchewan has already applied to the Feds under. Then he said “We have been facilitating that process for Saskatchewan rather that advocating one way or another. P3 is not a perfect fit, but it has a lot of commonalities in it.”
Now in fairness, no one ever said that Lukiwski was very bright but, his comments make no sense. I sometimes wonder if these Conservatives have been sent on some kind of Ottawa double speak course or, perhaps they are all so afraid of contradicting Little Stevie that they just mumble gibberish when asked a question. The theory being that if they say anything to offend Harper, they will find themselves sitting in the backbenches beside some Independent.
I think Brad is out of luck. Harper was recently quoted as saying, in Saskatoon of all places.
“In terms of financing major sports facilities, there are demands here, there are demands in Quebec City, I am aware of demands elsewhere. In terms of financing these things going forward, we’re going to have to respect the precedents we have had in the past and be sure any treatment we’re prepared to make to one city we’re prepared to make to all,” said Harper.
That sounds to me like “Perhaps some other time Brad.”
Harper needs votes in Quebec and in Hamilton and it appears that he isn’t going to cough up in those cities. Why should he bother when Saskatchewan voters will support him no matter how many promises he breaks in this Province?
And Brad Wall? Brad still clings to the hope that his “special relationship” with Harper will benefit the province at some point. It is kind of cute that Brad can hang onto that small town naivety in politics but I am afraid he heading for a rude awakening.

Greetings From Taiwan

Many of us were wondering this week why Mordon, Manitoba’s own Candy Hoeppner wasn’t around to respond to the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police endorsement of the Long Gun Registry.

It wasn’t as if the conference was a surprise. It is always held in August. So, as her divisive Bill to scrap the long gun registry was once again thrust back into the limelight Candy was nowhere to be found.
Instead of setting up guest spots on the dependable right wing, radio talk shows or meeting with the editorial board of the National Post to defend her bill against this latest blow by the police chiefs, her office simply says she is “away” and not available for interviews, even as "she" continues to put out press releases on the issue.

Media are being redirected to another PMO approved spokesperson, Conservative MP Shelly Glover. This is what she had to say about Candy’s disappearance:
“My understanding is that Candice Hoeppner isn’t available because she is away.”
Where is she?
“I have no clue.”
It seems odd she’s not available to do interviews on her own bill on the very week the issue is heating up.
Glover said, “The woman is away. She is human. I don’t know where she is, you’d have to ask her office. I’m told she’s away.”
It seems like an odd time to take a vacation.
“I don’t know if she’s on vacation even. I don’t know if she’s on Parliamentary business. I don’t know.”

It turns out Candy and a bunch of her MP buddies were in Taiwan on a junket paid for by the Taiwanese government.

Perhaps Harper and his gang have figured out this no-brainer. "Long Gun Registry good." and are starting to soft peddle it. No, that would be too much to hope for.

A little free and easy with the truth

Ok, I think it official now. Prime Minister Stephen Harper thinks we are stupid.

He would have Canadians believe that we were on the edge of being attacked by Russia.  His comments today claiming that the scrambling Canadian military fighter jets somehow stopped Russian bombers from entering Canadian airspace is specious at best.

It is just another example of Harper being fast and easy with the truth.

The Russians have been conducting exercises  with those old bombers for longer than a mojority of Canadians have been alive. It is a game. They never enter our airspace. We always send out a couple of jets to greet them. The pilots wave, shadow them for a bit then both sides go home.

No big deal. No one get pumped about it but the Prime Minister and perhaps Peter McKay who is a bit of a flake to start with.

I just wish they would all just shut up

Another Dirty Grain Car Rolls Past

Over the last several years the Governments have been refurbishing the buildings on Parliament Hill. They sand-blasted the exteriors and replaced the existing roofs with new copper sheets and have done massive upgrades to the interior offices etc. Not that I think  that has been a bad idea. I nation should be proud of the seat of government and the repairs and renovation were well over due.

Harper loves to help Canada’s military put a shiny new face forward too.  Little Stevie's enthusiasm for the dirty little war in Afghanistan has helped Canada’s warriors upgrade their rolling stock and to be honest I don’t begrudge them.

Now the  Harper government is also about to spend an obscene amount of money on new state of the art fighter jets for the Air Force. Why exactly we need new fighter jets  I’ll never know particularly when most of the combat missions we have seen in recent years involves IEDs planted by men in sandals and wearing what the Globe & Mail tells me the American military calls “man dresses.”

I read one commentator recently who suggested that it would be a lot cheaper just to buy all those young men with a need for speed new Porsche Carrera GTs. It would help get that out of their system and it would kill a lot fewer people.

I was thinking about all that today when the traffic on Albert Street here in Regina had to stop to let a train go by.  I was struck by the state of disrepair the grain cars were in. They are so dirty and the paint is so corroded off these cars that you can hardly read where it says Government of Canada on the side.  What a mess!

I remember when those cars were brand new.   They looked great. It made you think that the Government actually gave a damn about getting Canada’s wheat to terminals. It made you kind of proud.

The only newer ones I’ve seen these days are owned by the Government of Saskatchewan either re-painted or refurbished during the NDP’s days in power.  It makes me think of the old days when signs heralding improvements here in Saskatchewan used to say “Brought to you by the people of Saskatchewan.”  What a concept.

But I am getting off topic.

What the government spends money on reflects who is in power. Harper and his gang love the military and these days they happily pay truckloads of money to promote them. Here in Regina everything from rock concerts to football games get a military jet flyby. I have often wondered what budget that comes out of, probably promotion and recruiting.

They love showy stuff like the Olympics and hosting the G8 but they don't like the arts,  immigrants or any group that might actually criticize them.

And, when it comes to practical stuff on the ground, like grain cars, who in Ottawa actually gives a damn.  Agriculture Minister Gerry “The Cracker” Ritz obviously doesn’t.  Stephen and the Harpettes don’t really think anyone out here will notice and anyway, our flawed electoral system almost guarantees him a clean western sweep.

I for one miss the time when our government actually gave a damn.

The Sham Continues

Illegal Detention

The U.S. military judge presiding over Omar Khadr's war-crimes trial does not believe that the child soldier was ever tortured by his American captors or interrogators.

In a ruling released today the co-called judge, Col. Patrick Parrish says there is no "credible evidence" Khadr was abused. The nine-page document explains his reasoning as to why  he is allowing confessions Khadr gave during interrogation to be used against him at trial.The judge of this kangaroo court  said Khadr's self-incriminating statements were given voluntarily and that admitting them as evidence is in the interests of justice.

They next thing is that the judge will most likely claim is that Khadar was not 15 years old when it all happened, that he was not shot and wounded in the gunfight and of course he already believes the process doen't fly in the face of international law.

 I am sorry but there is no justice to be found in this process. The military trial will admit evidence which would never be allowed in any court in the USA or Canada. Khadar is doomed.

This whole process is a sham any supposedly democratic nation should be ashamed of. If Canada had a Prime Minister guided by reason instead of ideology Khadar would have been freed years ago.

Harper has to go.

A couple of Different Approaches to Bullying

NOT MY PRIME MINISTER

As if the RCMP didn’t have enough problems.
The force recently had to hire Reid Morden, the former CSIS head to take a close look at the RCMP’s work environment after several of the senior Federal cops complained that Harper’s handpicked commissioner was acting like more than a bit of an a-hole.

Now they have removed the RCMP officer who was in charge of the Canadian Firearms Program which oversees the gun registry. The action comes just weeks before Parliament resumes debate of the Conservative bill that attempts to do away with the national long-gun registry. Timing is everything.

The Canadian Police Association is asking why Cheliak would be removed from the post shortly before he was supposed to give a presentation on firearms strategy at the annual meeting of the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police later this month. He was also going to receive an award for his work at the conference. The RCMP say Cheliak is welcome to attend to receive the award but he may not take part in conference meetings.

When the PMO lays down the law to the RCMP I guess the expected response is “How high Mr. Harper, Sir?”

These right wingers don’t like anyone who doesn’t see the world quite the way they do and they have been working hard to make sure everyone on the payroll understands.

Things are a bit different on the Veteran’s Affairs front. As the federal ombudsman, Pat Stogran, a retired infantry officer, has spent the last three years advocating better treatment for Canada’s wounded veterans. It was only recently however that he got a real sense how screw up this government really is when it come to their handling of claims made by disabled veterans.

But the only realized the enormity of the battle he was fighting after a recent conversation with a civil servant who watches over the government’s purse. He said at a press conference “I was told … that it is in the government’s best interests to have soldiers killed overseas rather than wounded because the liability is shorter term.” The former senior military officer was shaken to the bone by the comment. “After two and a half years in this job it would be tough for me to say to a young person, ‘You know what? You want to join the Canadian Forces.’”

Stogran also circulated a 2002 Canadian Alliance political pamphlet in which then-leader Stephen Harper promises to defend Canadian soldiers the way that they have defended the country.

Rather that act the government most likely will just wait until Stogran’s term expires in November and until the media forget who he is. Until that point he has made it clear he intends to continue to expose this shameful treatment of Canada’s veterans by the Harper government and he will be urging Canadians to speak up for change. “These are your sons and daughters, your brothers and sisters. The time is now to do something about it. Make sure this government understands that this must stop.”

Meanwhile Prime Minister Harper and his band of flunkies continue to drop in the pools. The latest figures show that 70% of Canadians do not support this government.

So wake up Iggy, Jack and Giles. Give the bugger the boot this fall while we still recognize this country.

An Unprecedented Miscarrage of Justice

 
In an unprecedented miscarriage of justice the American government's trial against child soldier Omar Khadar started yesterday. The judge ruled yesterday that statements extracted from Khadar by the US military using torture will be allowed to be put into evidence. Khadar was 15 years old at the time.

Perhaps the Globe and Mail said it best in their editorial today. "It is difficult to imagine that a 15-year-old, handcuffed to a stretcher after surgery, bullet holes in his chest and his eyes full of shrapnel would feel anything but coerced during interrogation. Yet a U.S. military commission judge ruled yesterday that statements given eight years ago in those circumstances by the Canadian Omer Kader to U.S. authorities at a prison camp in Begram, Afghanistan, were reliable and not the product on coercion"

In her book Guantanamo's Child Michelle Sheppard reports that  he was bolted to the floor, hands and feet bound together. Left in that position for a long time, he eventually urinated on the floor. Guards poured pine oil on the puddle and then used Khadr as a mop. On more than one occasion, he was threatened with rape during interrogations

The very existence of  the Guantanamo prison, located on Cuban land occupied by the U.S. is a travesty in and of itself. Omar Khadar is the only remaining citizen of a western country held there whose government had not taken action to repatriate him.

Canadians should be outraged not only at the illegal actions of the U.S. government but at theshameful  inaction of our Prime Minister, Stephen Harper.

It is raining again

We have had the oddest summer here on the prairies. It is raining again this morning in Saskatchewan.
We were saying over breakfast, "It is just like living in Vancouver without those pesky mild winters and with no need to work in your garden for eight months of the year"

Brad Wall is off Base on MS

I'm not sure about this

In the face of two new European studies debunking controversial Dr. Zamboni's "Liberation Treatment" for Multiple Sclerosis Saskatchewan's Premier figures damn the torpedoes. full speed ahead. Who knows what drives him but I'd wager it was a meeting with someone in small town Saskatchewan or from his church who came to him with a heart wrenching story about living with MS and not a well thought out strategy from within the Saskatchewan Ministry of Health.

When you run a government filled with members whose business experience is limited to small town Dairy Queens and implement dealerships and whose scientific knowledge is just about nil, you can get away with this kind of thing.

There is very little being said by the Saskatchewan medical community, they know enough not to bite the hand that feeds them. Speak out and it is easy pretty easy to find yourself replaced by an old party hack out here on the prairies.

The question if you ask me is "Why does Saskatchewan have the highest rate of MS in the country."

The Montreal Gazette reports that Dr. Jock Murray, a professor emeritus and founder of the Dalhousie Multiple Sclerosis Research Unit, said he doubts wall will get much support in his willingness to fund clinical trials.

"It's an unusual decision for a politician to select a specific therapy, unproven therapy, for a specific disease. It becomes then a political process. Whoever can put the most pressure on politicians will get the priority for medical research..." 

What a way to run a health Care system. I thought there was a national strategy of some sort.

 
The next think we expect that Brad will do is to offer copper bracelets free to arthritis sufferers.

As long as there are crippling and fatal diseases out there will be desperate people keen to find alternative treatments.  I guess we have to be thankful that Brad wasn't in power when Laetrile treatments were the rage in Mexico.

Changes Coming to Kenya

You may have noticed, buried in the back pages of your newspaper, that Kenyans voted yesterday to support their new constitution.

Kenya, which borders Somalia, Ethiopia, Sudan, Uganda and Tanzania, is the fourth largest economy in sub-Saharan Africa and has long been known for its corrupt politics.

This move certainly has the potential to reshape the political landscape in the country and it is an opportunity to move away from ethnic and tribal rule, bring in democratic rule and also should help the country focus on development and battling endemic corruption

The proposed constitution retains a presidential system but places checks on the executive. The president will now be impeachable and key appointments have to be submitted to parliamentary approval. The post of prime minister will be scrapped. A senate is created to include representatives of 47 newly-created counties. There a limitation on the number of ministers.

What makes this all interesting for me is that I have been reading M. G. Vassanji's The in-Between World of Vikram Lall, a book about an African born Asian man's lfe growing up in Kenya from his early years as Mau Mau violence swirled around him, the country's moves to self government and the massive corruption all too familiar when newly independent countries struggle with managing power in politics.


It is a story of a family's struggle with those changes and it is a story about corruption.

I you are interested at all about how this country got into the state it found itself in, I'd recommend giving this book a read.

This one fails the smell test too

A good deal is being written these last couple of days about the new American documents being posted on WikiLeaks. They say a great deal about our Afghan war, how badly it is going, the relationship amongst the players and they give more detail about several situations than have here-to-date been released.

What many Americans have found the most troubling is that the documents show that their administration, particularly under George Bush, glossed over much of the detail and painted a picture much rosier than the reality. No real surprise there to us cynics.

The Canadian reaction to the leaks was initially a brush off saying that the documents were American and that they didn't concern Canada so "No comment".

Later in the day however the government was forced to response when journalists discovered that the documents reference four Canadian soldiers being killed by friendly fire in the form of heat seeking bombs guided by U.S. troops.

At the time the government said they had been killed by enemy fire. In fact Defence Minister Peter McKay still insists that is what happened. The Minister's spokesperson said yesterday "The loss of four Canadian soldiers on September 3, 2006, was the result of insurgent activity in the Panjwai district of Afghanistan."

I know that when you are trying to "sell" an unpopular war to the folks at home "killed by insurgents" goes down a lot better that "killed by our friends by mistake" but, I for one, prefer a little more honesty from my politicians.

Put to the smell test, this one fails. Ask yourself, why would an American military report claim responsibility for killing Canadian troops if it was the Taliban all along?

Ask yourself, can we trust anything Peter McKay has to say? McKay has proved himself less that trustworthy from the promise not to merge the PC Party with the Alliance, to his responses during the Afghan detainee debacle up to this week when he claims that the government  has "always been open and forthright".

Sorry Peter it just doesn't fly.

A few thought about tenting

Well, I am back from my holiday although, being retired, I'm not sure what it was a holiday from. Perhaps from badminton, blogging and Bushwakkers.

It got me thinking about how much camping has changed for me, over the years. In the 1960's I can remember those old canvas tents that leaked in the rain and smelled musty all the time. We ate heavy breakfasts, bologna sandwiches for lunch and weiners and beans for supper. We also drank a lot of beer.

These days we mix it up. A few days camping balanced with a couple of days in a hotel. Our last evening in the tent we stayed at one of my favorite campsites in the National Park above Radium, B.C.

I had a nap in the afternoon while Shelley sat outside and read Ulysses.

We drove down to the hot spring early evening for a soak then made a supper of chicken breasts stuffed with mushrooms, freshly picked corn on the cob and new potatoes, washed down with a bottle of Quail's Gate Pinot Grigio.

A far cry from the old days, but better.

A foggy, foggy day

What is a bit of fog in the day of a surfer

This morning started out lovely but arount 8:00 the fog rolled in from the Pacific. It played around for a while, in and out but although the town of Tofino was spared, the beaches were pretty socked in.

We walked around and up and down a bit and to be honest it all seemed a bit sureal. The tide was out and the fog was so thick that from the water's edge you could hardly see the shoreline. There was a moderate swell so the surf wasn't bad and the surfers were out in force. Surprisingly once we were on the beach it was quite warm although in the trees above the shore it was cold. Tenters must feel that damp cold  deep into their bones.

Tomorrow we hit the road again and drive to Vancouver.

The Trollsons

I forgot to mention that while at the Vancouver Island Music Festival we tented in an area set aside for volenteers. They weren't sure exactly where to put us,   there was a small section set aside for performers which is where they let us set up. We had a bit more space that most of the others.

The first evening our camping neighbours moved in beside us. It turned out they were a husband and wife team called The Trollsons a pair of very funny children's entertainers who have been touring since 1995.

Long Beach

I love this area of the country. Long Beach is magnificent. We spend the better part of the day walking  the beach and climbing up and down rocky outcroppings marveling at the inter-tidal life. Shelley is becoming an expert in identifying differant types of sea weed.

One more day exploring then off to Vancouver. I would move here in a heartbeat if I had an extra $1,000,000 for some where to live. At least that is how I feel about it in the summer. I am not sure about "storm season".

Tofino

Several years ago some forest giant was planning to cut timber on Meares Island across from Tofino. Bob Bossin from Stringbank let us know that a young First Nation's artist called Joe David was selling prints to raise funds for the fight. He was working out of Bill Reid's studio and my brother and I tracked him down one night a bought a couple of prints. Mine has been hanging in my living room for over 25 years now.

So, now here we are in Tofino staying at the Inn at Tough City and our room's balcony looks right across the water to Meares Island. The image is the one hanging on my wall all these years.

Vancouver Island Music Festival

We drove on from Nanaimo to Courtney and the Vancouver Island Music Festival.

We has a ball. There was lots of good music and the festival has a very good vibe. The crowd were great. Very laid back. Lots of B.C.bud. I could live here, no problem.

It was quite hot and sunny to at time in the afternoon anywhere without shade became a bit much to handle for any length of time. Luckily they have a couple of stages in the woods and there is a river running through so, many of us spent a little time cooling off with a swim.

Nanaimo

We moved on from Juniper Creek through Cashe Creek to Lilioet, Pemberton, Whisler and on to Horseshoe Bay. I always like that ferry ride.We spent the night in Nanaimo.

They have done good things with their old city centre. We decided Greek food would be fun considering that Regina's Greek fare is decidedly lacking. I called for reservations and was told that they were closing at 8:00. We were  disappointed but somewhat resigned to having something else but when we passed the place it seemed open so we went in anyway.

Oddly they greeted us with open arms so we had a small Greek feast and a bottle of Retisina. It was very good

Vacation Too

We camped at Juniper Creek just before Cashe Creek heading west. A great spot. Hot! The trains are a bit close though. I thought a couple were coming right through the tent in the middle of the night.

We drove from their through Lilloet to Pemberton. An amazing road but it took us 2 1/2 hours to go 180 km.

We are in Nanaimo. Had a great Greek meal last night

Off to Comox today