The Conservative Movement, that has been gaining momentum since the 1960s, has made one of their missions, destroying progressive agencies; especially those that support the Welfare State.
In the U.S., they honed in on ACORN (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now), that advocated for low- and moderate-income families.
What bothered Conservatives the most about ACORN, however, was their voter registration drives, that encouraged the poor and disenfranchised to take part in the democratic process. They knew that anyone involved with the organization would not vote Republican. Conservatives have always worked to make sure that they didn't vote at all, and ACORN stood in the way of that.
I had written before of one such attack on the group's integrity, perpetrated by two young warriors, Hannah Giles and James O'Keefe.
I only shared the story because it exposed the kind of tactics used by the American Leadership Institute, created by Morton Blackwell, and its Canadian affiliate, the Manning Centre for Building Democracy, created by Preston Manning.
ACORN would take a much bigger hit, however, when it was discovered that Dale Rathke, the brother of ACORN's founder Wade Rathke, had embezzled almost a million dollars from the group. ACORN executives handled the matter internally, not to cover up a crime, but because they knew that word of an embezzlement would be all the ammunition conservatives needed to shut them down.
They were right.
The right-wing noise machine went into overdrive, calling for their immediate defunding, and without so much as a public hearing, the government was forced to stop financial aid to a group that had done so much for so many. ACORN went into receivership and were forced to close their doors.
Fox News, not wanting to draw attention to their advocacy work, instead equated the agency with "voter fraud", despite there being absolutely no evidence to support it.
Bill O'Reilly has since coined the term 'The ACORN Factor', to describe any voter fraud and subsequent defunding, promising to seek out perpetrators and make sure that their punishment was swift.
Of course he only meant liberal groups. If he wanted to include conservative voter fraud, it would become a full time job and require a staff of thousands. Google 'GOP voter fraud' and see how many stories pop up.
Pundits, not wasting an opportunity to expose the hypocrisy, are now suggesting that if O'Reilly wants to defund any group engaged in voter fraud, they should start with the Republican Party.
Harper Government: No Single Acorn but the Whole Damn Forest
Not since before Confederation, when voting booths were often scenes of violence, in an attempt to suppress the vote; has Canada experienced such mass voter fraud, as perpetrated by the Conservative Party of Canada.
The Robocalls scandal, which was national in scope, was a blatant attempt to steer voters, already identified as not supporting Conservative candidates, away from the polls.
Using Bill O'Reilly's ACORN factor would mean that we must defund the CPC.
But if that isn't enough to convince you, how about their attempt to sneak the so-called Fair Elections Act, which is now being challenged in court; past us?
This act will make it difficult for students, seniors and First Nations to cast ballots, but will also make it next to impossible to detect voter fraud.
Elections Canada will be gutted and attempts to encourage voting, no longer part of their mandate.
Not only is the Act unconstitutional, it is undemocratic, as it clearly is designed to give Conservatives an unfair advantage.
In fact, it was McVety, Jim Flaherty's former campaign manager, who brought Karl Rove to Canada to teach Canadian conservatives how to cheat; so he should definitely lose any funding or tax exempt status.
Yes Canadians should listen to Bill O'Reilly. Once in a while he actually makes sense.
When Dalton McGuinty released his party platform, one item had Federal Conservative MP Dean Del Mastro in a flap.
The $10,000 incentive to employers who hire immigrants.
For Del Mastro it brought back chilling reminders of Bob Rae and affirmative action, that made it difficult for him as a "young white male".
Mind you, according to Del Mastro it did not mean that he couldn't find work, only that it restricted his opportunities. He should have tried living as a non-white male, or a female of any shade, when doors were permanently closed. For many there were no opportunities at all.
To me this Peterborough MP is a "chilling reminder" of the racism of his Reform-Alliance-Conservative Party. They were singled out in the 1995 book The Colour of Democracy, as bending toward "white supremacy".
This way of thinking characterizes the ideology and behaviour of right-wing Supremacist groups such as the Heritage Front. While such groups can, to a certain extent, be ignored because of their small numbers, such thinking is also evident in the doctrines of the Reform Party [those doctrines written by their policy chief Stephen Harper], who won a substantial number of votes in the federal election of 1993 and who hold 52 seats in Parliament.(1)
Tim Hudak is going to have enough trouble removing the shadow of Mike Harris, without having to contend with the wider shadow of the Reform Party.
Hudak himself weighed in, suggesting that it was an insult to immigrants to be singled out. Rich coming from the man who sought Jason Kenney's advice on how to mine votes by exploiting immigrants.
I found that offensive.
The fact of the matter is that immigrants remain among the poorest of Canadians. They are also more likely to be exploited in the workplace (2).
Del Mastro's colleague, Lee Richardson, once suggested that most crime is committed by immigrants, not those you lived next door to. He was wrong of course, but it didn't matter. They were convenient scapegoats.
I look forward to the day when hiring incentives are not needed, but unfortunately, today is not that day.
I think that this was not only a smart political move, since it challenges Hudak to remove the "hand up" to those he's hoping to court, but it is the right thing to do.
Sources:
1. The Colour of Democracy, Racism in Canadian Society, By Frances Henry, Carol Tator, Winston Mattis, and Tim Rees, Harcourt Brace & Company, 1995, ISBN: 0-7747-3255-5, Pg. 24
2. Persistent Poverty: Voices From the Margins, by Jamie Swift, Brice Balmer and Mira Dineen, Between the Lines Toronto, 2010, ISBN: 978-1-897071-73-1
The horrible Dean Del Mastro and his brother have launched a smear campaign against a Peterborough resident, simply because she has a Liberal lawn sign.
Dean Del Mastro is announcing that the 'Harper' government is going to spend 100 million dollars to celebrate the 200 year anniversary of the War of 1812, that will include battle reenactments.
Sounds rather sporting doesn't it?
Will they be realistic reenactments or more revisionist history? Afterall, most of the foot soldiers and much of the military intelligence, was provided by our first nations, so will they reflect that?
It doesn't really matter, because what we are talking about here, is an enormous expenditure of our money at a time when unemployment is on the rise again and hunger increasing.
When many seniors can't provide the daily requirements to sustain life and many children are going to bed hungry.
There are two stories making headlines this week, though one is overshadowing the other.
The first of course, is the Egyptian protests over the corruption and brutality of their dictator Hosni Mubarak. And while most nations are backing the protestors, our own government barely even attempts to posture.
Jennifer Ditchburn with the Canadian Press believes that this has a lot to do with Israel and Harper's blind support of that nation, to win votes at home. I did love the comments by Lawrence Cannon though:
"In order for us, here in Canada, to recognize and support the future Egyptian government, it must meet four basic conditions: first, it must respect freedom, democracy and human rights, particularly the rights of women; second, it must recognize the State of Israel; third, it must adhere to existing peace treaties; and fourth, it must respect international law," Cannon said.
Their talking points are nothing if not consistent.
But there is another related story, that I was tipped off to, that speaks to possible corruption involving the Egyptian and Canadian dictators, though officially their titles are president and prime minister.
I think this story needs further investigation, but for now, I'll lay it out as best I can.
The Dictator and the Dictator
The story began when Canadian businessman, Anthony Lacavera, paid a visit to wealthy telecom giant Naguib Sawiris, to garner his interest in the Canadian cell phone industry. His pitch was successful and he walked away with a cheque for $700-million.
The Canadian branch of Sawiris' Orascom, is Globalive, and the resulting cell phone company, Wind Mobile. In the fall of 2009, Lacavere attended a government of Canada auction, and for 442 million dollars, bought into the Canadian telecommunications industry.
However, there was a problem. Orascom/Globalive did not meet the criteria to invest in this type of business in Canada, so CRTC put the brakes on. Our laws clearly prohibit foreign companies from controlling investment in the telecommunications sector.
But this week we learn that a federal court has sided with Canadians, though I'm sure Clement and Harper are busy with their lawyers, to challenge that decision.
A judge has struck down the Harper cabinet’s 2009 decision to overrule the CRTC and let a cell carrier with Egyptian ties operate in Canada. “That decision was based on errors of law and must be quashed,” Mr. Justice Roger Hughes of Federal Court wrote on Friday. He put in place a 45-day stay of judgment in order to avoid chaos and give the carrier, Globalive, a chance to go back to the federal telecom regulator. This means Globalive can keep operating for now.
I wish they'd put half as much effort into protecting Canadian companies.
So Who is Naguib Sawiris?
One of things we hear often, in relation to the protests in Egypt, besides brutality, is corruption. And one name that comes up often in that alleged corruption, is Naguib Sawiris.
In July of 2010, the UK Guardian ran a piece, Naguib Sawiris: prospering under Mubarak’s Government. In it they emphasized the connection between Sawiris and President Mubarak, suggesting that the Egyptian dictator had become a glorified salesman for Orascom.
One example was his bullying of Syria:
The current round of leaders' visits to Washington, and the headlines in Arab newspapers, might create the impression that the only thing Arab rulers have on their minds at present is the peace process. When a three-way summit between Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Abdullah, Assad and Mubarak was held three weeks ago at Sharm al-Sheikh, a private talk between the Egyptian and Syrian presidents attracted little notice. The diplomatic statement issued after the summit, emphasizing that the three leaders denounce the use of violence, won attention; but alongside this display of unity, the meeting featured a stormy discussion about a matter that troubles Egypt deeply.
The issue involves a huge Egyptian telecommunications company, Orascom Telecom, which does business throughout the Middle East, Africa and India and which stands to lose close to $40 million, which it invested in Syria in the establishment of a cellular phone network. Orascom purchased 25 percent of the shares of Syriatel, one of the two companies that hold concessions to erect a cell phone network in Syria (the other is the Lebanese-owned Investcom). Two months ago, the Syrian government designated two Syrian judges to serve as acting directors of the Egyptian-Syrian cell phone enterprise. This step precipitated a major battle between Egypt's Orascom and the Syrian government.
But at issue, besides going to bat for an Egyptian company under the guise of security, was the deep ties between Mubarak and Sawiris.
- Mubarak's son, Alaa Mubarak, is a significant shareholder in Orascom and its affiliates, as well as a personal friend of Sawiris
- Naguib Sawiris' wife, Yousriya Loza Sawiris, serves as chairman and secretary general of the Sawiris Foundation, and President Mubarak's wife, Suzanne Mubarak, is on the board of directors.
So is the Harper government remaining cool, in part, because of their connections to Orascom?
I think this story could have legs, because it's about more than just guilt by association.
As James Travers said this week "In the Middle East, Canadian policy is skewed to winning votes at home." And Jennifer Ditchburn concurs. "Prime Minister Stephen Harper's staunch support for Israel and strong backing within Canada's Jewish community could offer clues about why."
So why is our government supporting violent extremists, and allowing them to conduct witch hunts on Canadian citizens? (see video below)
But back to the Sawiris story. Given that Harper's Middle East polities are to win financial and political support at home, it's interesting to note that in Israel, their government is also being criticized over their connections with Orascom.
BUSINESS tycoon and Orascom Telecom Holding (OTH) Chairman Naguib Sawiris was in the international spotlight last week. A report published by Israeli newspaper Maarev, translated by many local websites and privately-owned newspapers, claimed that Sawiris had paid bribes to Israeli Minister of Defence Ehud Barak and his wife Nili Priel to help him get the approvals needed for OTH to increase its stake in Israeli operator Partners Communication (PC). OTH currently owns 10 per cent of PC, Israel's second largest mobile network operator.
With all the turmoil in the Middle East, few took much notice when Egyptian businessman Naguib Sawiris signed a deal last December involving a firm from a neighboring country. This was no routine transaction. Sawiris, CEO of Orascom Telecom Holding SAE, in Cairo, purchased 9.9% of Partner Telecommunications Co. Ltd., in Tel Aviv, considered to be the biggest investment, valued at $150 million, ever made in the Jewish state by an investor from an Arab country. Sawiris expected the rebukes he received from some fellow Arabs for doing business with Israelis even as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict still rages.
Canadians have no idea the things that are being done in their name, though its reassuring that some in the mainstream media are starting to question Harper's bizarre relationship with Israel. It's time we also started to question it. This one-sided approach to foreign policy is not the Canadian way.
And it would appear that the connection is as much financial as personal.
After complaining every day about the content of the Kingston Whig Standard, after being taken over by Sun Media, I decided to finally do something about it.
I called them this morning and cancelled my subscription.
After buying the paper for 38 years, I simply can no longer justify giving them any more of my money.
I'm too techno-challenged to do any hacking for WikiLeaks, but in my own small way, I feel like I'm part of the army, even if just a humble messenger.
A revolution against corporate media and secretive governments. Ironically, it used to be the media who exposed government secrets. Now they simply help to keep them.
I've had it. I'm done.
It's not bad enough that the Whig via Sun is bringing the likes of Ezra Levant and Peter Worthington into my home, but they are now complicit in an assault on CBC. Canadians only voice.
And the horrible Dean Del Mastro, the man I call Shrek's evil twin, is now musing about completely defunding our only chance at any semblance of unbiased reporting.
"While this situation hardly constitutes a public diplomacy crisis per se, the degree of comfort with which Canadian broadcast entities, including those financed by Canadian tax dollars, twist current events to feed long-standing negative images of the U.S. — and the extent to which the Canadian public seems willing to indulge in the feast — is noteworthy as an indication of the kind of insidious negative popular stereotyping we are increasingly up against in Canada."
Maybe if they stopped acting like insidious negative asses, we wouldn't think of them that way. Besides, have you seen how they stereo-type us? We all live in Igloos, eh?
All of this makes me angry, but learning that we could be losing Hockey Night in Canada, because of another corporate take over, has me steamed.
Is Herr Harper going to leave us with anything?
Hockey Night in Canada to be replaced with Every Night in Harperland, aka: Fox News North.
Oh, well. Buck up and start practicing your goose step. Make sure you move the furniture first. Trust me.
“These proposals included cries for billions of new money for social assistance in the name of “child poverty” and for more business subsidies in the name of “cultural identity”. In both cases I was sought out as a rare public figure to oppose such projects.” - Stephen Harper (1)
We have already established that the entire platform of Stephen Harper has come from the American Republicans and their Religious Right. He left nothing to chance. He took their ideas and replicated them here, right down to Fox News. Safe given their unwarranted success, but stupid given their insanity.
In a piece entitled Luntz of Luck With Newt, Dalton Camp discussed Preston Manning's appearance on an American program with Newt Gingrich and Frank Luntz in 1995.
Also present as interlocutor, and lending a little verisimilitude, was Frank Luntz, president of Luntz Research, who, according to Higgins [the host], was very much involved" in helping the Reform Party in its recent Canadian electoral success in 1993. Luntz is something of an overachiever in the polling and consulting business; his clients have included not only Gingrich and Manning, but also Ross Perot and Pat Buchanan.
As made clear in a recent magazine piece, Luntz is a neo-conservative of Gingrichian proportions. He favours the immediate elimination of public funding for the arts, the humanities, and the Public Broadcasting Service. Before eliminating farm subsidies, Luntz would prefer them to be included in a wider range of cuts. "If everyone is giving up something at the same time, it's okay," he is quoted saying. "But if we make the farmers go first, we're going to get killed in the farm community. We've all got to go together." (2)
And while Harper prefers an incremental approach, so as not to "spook the electorate", there's no argument that Frank Luntz and his Republican pals are running the show. "elimination of public funding for the arts, the humanities, and the Public Broadcasting Service...". And Luntz was just getting started.
Grover Norquist, another Republican hack who speaks for corporate America, was behind Jason Kenney's Canadian Taxpayers Federation.He wants government [regulation] to be reduced to the extent that it can be drowned in a bathtub.
They simply want to eliminate taxes for the rich and transfer them to the poor, believing that if the rich can get as rich as humanly possible, they will be sure to throw a few crumbs to the less fortunate. Just don't touch their stuff, because Stockwell Day is building American style prisons, and praying he can keep them filled.
Which brings us to the Harper government's refusal to address poverty in this country, ignoring every single recommendation of a senate committee.
There is ample evidence that far too many Canadians are falling through the cracks of existing income support and housing programs; yet Harper’s government evidently prefers not to think about new ways to help the 3.4 million Canadians the report identified as still living in poverty. Worse still, the Senate report concluded that, far from lifting people out of poverty, many of our existing programs are so badly designed that they hold people down.
Fighting poverty ought not to be a partisan issue. Indeed, the Senate subcommittee was notable for its bipartisanship, with Art Eggleton, a Liberal, as chair, and Hugh Segal, a Conservative, as vice-chair. That makes it doubly disheartening that Harper’s government has ignored the committee’s call for a comprehensive anti-poverty plan. (3)
And Hugh Segal, the PC Party sellout, was only concerned that Harper and his caucus might say something stupid, so advised that they "temper their message of austerity with compassion." Words that work.
They braced for a disappointment, but the brush-off was more callous than they anticipated. This week, the government delivered its response to the Senate’s 2009 report, In From the Margins: A Call to Action on Poverty, Housing and Homelessness. It rejected every one of the report’s 74 recommendations. It ignored the senators’ evidence that Ottawa is spending $150 billion a year on social programs that merely perpetuate poverty. It concluded with these all-too-familiar words: “The best long-term strategy to fight poverty is the sustained employment of Canadians.”
The glimmer of hope that anti-poverty activists, people with disabilities and overburdened charities had nursed since last December when the Senate’s social affairs committee released its comprehensive plan to eradicate poverty, went out. (4)
But if you believe that Stephen Harper is concerned about the state of economy, and that the only reason for his cutbacks and callous disregard for human suffering, is for the greater economic good, guess again.
This man has given more gifts to the corporate sector than Brian Mulroney or George Bush ever thought of, and has also given more gifts to himself in an ever increasing commitment to his narcissism.
Doug Draper asks "where is the public outcry" over this self-promotion orgy, which included 50 million dollars for bloody signs?
Those signs posted across the Canadian landscape – a few of them highlighted here – make up a good chunk of a record $130 million Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his Conservatives spent on advertising themselves in the 2009/2010 fiscal year ending this past March, according to a wave of recent stories in The Globe and Mail and other mainstream media. And God, or maybe only Harper, knows how much more of our money will be spent on federal government ads in this 2010/2011 fiscal year with an election looming sometime in the not-to-distant future. (5)
He's right to ask: Where is the public outcry?
And while the Harper government ignores the poor, Tony Clement spends 50 million dollars of our money to help a buddy flip a property.
Where is the public outcry?
The scandalous spending during the G-20 weekend from hell included $ 85,000.00 at a mini bar, while Canadian children go to bed hungry.
Where is the public outcry?
More than $ 100,000 to drain a quarry so the RCMP have a place to sleep (??????)
Where is the public outcry?
Image consultants and first class travel, while the rest of us are told to fend for ourselves.
In September of 2007, Michael Ignatieff visited Peterborough to present a speech. His topic was the desperate need in Canada to fight child poverty.
He didn't criticize the city's MP, Dean Del Mastro. In fact he never mentioned him at all. And yet Del Mastro saw fit to write a letter to the Peterborough Examiner.
"Doesn’t it warm your heart when a wealthy person of extreme privilege drops by to speak about how he wants to tackle child poverty! Such was the case when we were graced by the presence of long-time U.S. resident, deputy Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff." (6)
Despite the fact that Mr. Ignatieff only taught at Harvard for five years, and most of his professional career was in Great Britain, where he not only taught at Oxford and Cambridge but worked as a journalist for the BBC. And the notion of him being a "wealthy person of extreme privilege", is rich coming from a man who is known not only for driving the country's biggest cars, but who lives very well on the taxpayer dime.
But seeing as how Mr. Ignatieff was there speaking of child poverty, you might expect Del Mastro to defend his party's position or offer alternative wisdom on the subject.
But nope! Nothing but a partisan rant.
Michael Ignatieff has seen suffering. He's covered wars in places like Kosovo and Sarajevo. He visited Kurdistan after the genocide and travelled to Rwanda with Boutros Boutros-Ghali to examine the skeletal remains of a population. He didn't have to. He could have just enjoyed his "extreme privilege".
But as a man who has dedicated his life to human rights issues, he saw suffering in his own country and wanted to gain support for an initiative to help eradicate it. He deliberately made it non-partisan.
But if Dean Del Mastro, Stephen Harper and the rest of this party, can choose to spend our money on themselves and their corporate buddies, and deny help to those who really need it, I'd like to know one thing:
Where is the public outcry?
Sources:
1. The Bulldog, National Citizens Coalition, February 1997
2. Whose Country is This Anyway? By Dalton Camp, Douglas & McIntyre, 1995, ISBN: 1-55054-467-5, Pg. 186
And while election nights, have seen queer sights The queerest we ever did see Was when we let down our guard, and without reward We elected Mad Stevie
Rob Anders has always been a little weird and his riding association has been trying to get rid of him for years, though Stephen Harper won't allow it.
A Conservative MP says some of his colleagues have fallen into traps laid by seductive Chinese spies, lavished with gifts of alcohol and too-good-to-be true business deals, and at least two MPs have been subsequently blackmailed. Calgary MP Rob Anders claims both cases occurred in Shanghai, where an MP was offered a rich but skeptical business deal. In the other case, he said, the MP accepted sexual favours.
In return, Anders said, politicians can provide access to resources or rubber stamp business deals. Anders said many current MPs have told him that on their trips to China they’ve been approached by stunning women half their age “offering them to go out dancing, go to dinner, get a massage.” “I know MPs who have taken up those offers,” he said, adding that that some ministerial staffers have also been compromised. “They have to understand that when they are being done, they are probably being taped (and) those tapes can, and will, be used,” he said.
Anders has no physical proof and refuses to name names, saying he’s not out to create a witch-hunt. “My purpose in doing this is not to end colleagues’ political careers,” he said. “My purpose is to educated them so they are better aware of how they can be manipulated.” Anders said he has personally witnessed the sons of two different MPs being seduced by women far too attractive to be interested in these “average looking” guys, including a 14-year-old, in Taiwan.
Coming from anyone but Anders, the story might be believable, and I'm sure there's at least some truth to it. Lobbyists for countries and companies often dangle rewards.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s spokesman refused to comments on Anders’ assertions that Chinese infiltration had crept into the federal government. “Mr. Anders’ remarks are his and his alone and do not represent the government’s views. We have no comment on them,” Andrew MacDougall said.
When Dean Del Mastro was trying to defend the abuse at the G-20 and the cancellation of the census long from, it was almost painful to watch. When Tony Clement began just making stuff up, we thought, OK. It's Tony Clement. It's what he does.
"The census in recent years has become very important for churches and religious charities...in understanding their neighbourhoods, and how to intelligently do more outreach within their neighbourhoods," Rick Hiemstra, director of the Centre for Research on Canadian Evangelicalism, told The Canadian Press. "What we have now is the potential of losing that information and losing the historical comparability of the data. We're not going to be able to understand how the religious landscape in Canada is changing."
Bernier doesn't agree. "If some special interest group wants data on Canadians, they can do that, they can pay for that and they can do it," he said.
Hey Max. have you read Armageddon Factor? Those "special interest groups" are the only thing keeping you in power buddy.
Well that's three down. How many more before hell freezes over and Stephen Harper comes out and explains himself?
Tony Clement is looking rather haggard these days. It must be exhausting carrying around such a big head.
He was one of the Whiz Kids when they were controlling Mike Harris (former dictator of Ontario). But now Guy Giorno, a fellow Whiz Kid has his hands full just making sure that Stephen Harper can keep his mouth shut.
Everything choreographed. Nothing left to chance. And when there's trouble as we've seen with Tony Clement and Dean Del Mastro, where's Stephen Harper? At a photo-op. He governs with photos and press releases. I'm still not convinced he even exists. If it wasn't for the damn nightmares.
TV newsmakers need vivid images to illustrate their stories. Harris's Tories, easily the most communications-savvy provincial government this country has ever seen, are delighted to oblige - on their terms. They dodge negative coverage at every chance and will go to ridiculous lengths - giving preferential treatment to friendly reporters, shutting out critical ones and staging elaborate, unrelated events - to avoid it ... "This government, unlike any governments before it, is absolutely obsessed with image," he says, "whether it's what shirt the premier wears or what the bus looks like or what backdrop he's in front of. I don't remember governments before being that concerned. If they stood in front of a grey curtain, they stood in front of a grey curtain. I've seen these guys change the curtain because it clashed with the premier's suit."
Since he became Prime Minister 4½ years ago, Stephen Harper has tormented the press gallery with an almost complete lockdown on government communications, with even cabinet ministers informed that the public is not entitled to their opinions. The assumption has always been that he is just a weapons-grade control freak, but a pair of recent exchanges suggest an alternative theory: that Harper knows something about the ideological leaning of his cabinet that he’d prefer to keep quiet. Last week, Minister of Industry Tony Clement was given the task of defending the government’s decision to eliminate the mandatory long-form version of the census and move those questions to an optional survey. According to Clement, the long census—which asks questions about respondents’ ethnicity, education and income—is “heavy-handed” and intrusive. Clement mounted his libertarian high horse: “You try to limit the amount of state coercion that you have, you try to limit the intrusiveness of government activities, and that’s the balance that we’ve struck,” he said.
Imagine his surprise, then, to find that some of the people most upset by the decision were members of the business community and economists, all of whom stressed the importance of the census data to the crafting of public policy. Clement then took his case to the Twittersphere. In response to one follower who argued that making the long form of the census voluntary will skew the data by eliminating the statistical randomness of the survey, Clement answered, “Wrong. Statisticians can ensure validity w larger sample size.” This was promptly pounced on by Laval economist Stephen Gordon, who corrected the minister: “Wrong. Large samples can’t fix sample selection biases.”
I am so looking forward to the fall when we will have a new prime minister. At least Michael Ignatieff talks to people. And he's smart, and his MPs are smart. I miss smart.
It would appear that most of Harper's decisions these days are based on trying to reclaim his extreme right base, who have been disenchanted with his spendthrift ways.
For four years he has tried to pretend to be moderate but with his cover blown he's back to, as Guy Giorno puts it, "playing to his base".
His Fox News North and the racist Sun playing from his songbook, are helping to seal his fate.
What's that they say: "You can fool some of the people some of the time ... " He's not fooling many these days.
This next election will be a crucial one. Jack Layton will be running for second place. That's not good enough. We need someone who is serious about running for first and we CANNOT afford to split the vote this time.
The Globe had a sorta' kinda' almost nice article about his stop in Peterborough. The Liberal candidate there is Betsy McGregor, a single mom who put herself through University to come a vet.
Dean Del Mastro brings nothing to the table. He's a partisan hack who's past his expiry date.
Mr. Ignatieff is calling on Red Tories, those who don't support neoconservatism to join him. Stephen Harper hates Red Tories and refers to them as 'Pink Liberals'.
Ignatieff called the big red tent of the Liberal party the "compassionate, reforming centre of Canadian life" where the Canada Health Act, pensions, the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and decency and security for every Canadian are found. "That's where the centre is and unless we hold the centre, defend the centre, fight for the centre, renew the centre this country is going in a direction that none of you want and we've got to stop it," he said. "Stephen Harper wants to take the centre from us and move it 10 degrees to the right."
Ignatieff shook hands and spoke with people at an event attended by about 150 supporters at the Holiday Inn on George St. After the barbecue, he went to the Little Lake Musicfest concert. The stop was part of a national tour of more than 90 communities in all 13 provinces and territories over a nine-week period. On Thursday morning, he continues the tour with a stop in Cobourg. NDP and Green voters are people of conscience and feeling, Ignatieff said.
"If you want clean water, if you want clean air, if you want action on climate change there's only one party in government that can do it and that's the Liberal Party of Canada," he said. Ignatieff urged Liberals to reach out to their Conservative neighbours. "(They're) good people, hard working people, caring people, people who love this country just as much as we do.… We can't win this election unless we reach out to those people who wonder where the progressive in Conservative just disappeared. We've got to reach out to the Conservatives who wonder where the fiscal responsibility in conservatism just disappeared. "People who used to be called Red Tories…. They belong in the red tent at the centre of Canadian life."
Prime Minister Stephen Harper is a controlling leader running a “garrison party” in permanent campaign mode, says his former campaign director Tom Flanagan. In a paper written for presentation at a conference in Montreal, Flanagan offers an insider’s analysis that draws on his and Harper’s past experience with the Reform and Canadian Alliance parties.
The University of Calgary political scientist and author casts a critical eye on Harper as prime minister, suggesting his leadership style has created a party that is more like the “old-line parties” that Reform and the Canadian Alliance used to criticize. He says although there is evidence that the Liberals are starting to adopt some of the Conservatives’ tricks of the trade, including centralizing memberships lists, fundraising, and message discipline, the Conservative Party’s continual girding for electoral battle risks turning off grassroots members who view a political party as a way to advance policy, not just win elections.
Harper's last campaign was conducted in a bubble. Every move choreographed, nothing left to chance.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper is shielded from the public as he criss-crosses the country, campaigning in a political bubble. No handshakes on street corners or rallies in the parks. Only highly staged backdrops for his daily political message, and assemblies where Tory staffers and security officers closely monitor the crowds.
It will be nice to have a prime minister who actually talks to us.
The Business Insider posted an article this week: The G20 Plan for Prosperity: Rubber Bullets and Shredded Social Safety Net.
The Toronto G-20 summit sent a message to poor and working people in Europe and North America. “You will pay for the global financial crisis through cuts to your social safety nets. There will be no taxing of those who actually caused the crisis and made fortunes in the various bubbles over the last decades.”
... This was bad enough. But there was another message, too, sent through the Canadian police: “If you don’t like it, how about a rubber bullet?” It looks like G-20 countries will deal with opposition to their plans through martial law and police brutality ... I was there in Toronto, where police turned the downtown center into something resembling martial law.
I mentioned this in another post, because the same thing happened in Ontario when Guy Giorno was chief of staff for Mike Harris. He is now chief of staff for Stephen Harper. The government cut 21.6% from welfare payments forcing many into the streets. Of those homeless people 22 died in those streets. Harris refused to address protesters but instead had his riot squad beat the crap out of them. Jim Flaherty later came up with a perfect solution. He was going to make homelessness a crime, but not by providing homes in the traditional sense. He was going to just throw them in jail.
Lisa Taylor, Associate Professor at the School of Education, Bishop’s University, wrote an op-ed piece for the Toronto Star, pondering what she could now tell her students about civil liberties, given that weekend's events:
Recently, a student newspaper reporter asked a professor what every undergrad should do as part of the university experience. My colleague suggested taking part in student cultural life — join a club, put on a play! Giving back to the local community — volunteer at a local community centre or shelter! And becoming an active citizen — develop informed views on the issues most important to you! Decide how to live out your values! Go to a demonstration!
Recounting this anecdote, my colleague asked herself: Would she offer undergrads the same advice now, after the largest mass arrest in Canadian history? Of course she would — but that teachers are asking ourselves this question this should worry us as Canadians. As educators, our job is preparing active citizens with a strong concern for civic institutions and a sense of duty to participate in democratic processes of public debate, community and civic organizing and shaping policy.
Given that we spent 1.3 billion for security and yet Toronto was anything but secure, we can only assume that the vandals were not the targets of the riot police. It was the civic minded.
With rumblings of massive cuts to social programs, is this government warning us not to oppose them? Will rubber bullets again be used to silence dissent?
Bob Hepburn also asks an important question: Why is Harper escaping G20 aftermath scot-free? I mean he was the one who decided to hold it in Toronto. He was the one who gave a 453 million dollar untendered contract to a firm with links to the oil industry. And he is the one who does not allow dissent.
Whether he likes it or not, Harper may well discover his election prospects forever entangled in the aftermath of the G20 summit. So far, though, he has managed to escape the post-G20 fallout, which includes calls for public inquiries into police actions that weekend, the threats of lawsuits against the City of Toronto and demands for compensation for lost business and destroyed property.
Indeed, since it ended nearly three weeks ago, Harper has said nothing about the summit. Instead, he’s spent the last weeks merrily travelling across Canada, enjoying the Calgary Stampede and hitting the summer festival circuit.
He has left the hapless Dean Del Mastro to try and clean up his mess.
Canadians Demanding a Public Inquiry into Toronto G20now has 54,567 members and they have no intention of leaving Stephen Harper out of this. He used images of burning police cars to justify the expense and the abuse. He's got some explaining to do.
I want to leave you with something though. Back to the original posting about the effect of the decisions made at the G-20. Our government is going through with enormous tax cuts for corporations. They are planning on spending billions to implement their new crime bills, despite the fact that Canada has the lowest crime rate in our history. And they are handing out another untendered contract for 16 billion dollars to buy military jets.
I was absolutely appalled at the image of a seven-year-old little girl standing in line at a soup kitchen in Hamilton. We don't live in a third world country and we should not have children going hungry in this city. Our politicians are spending so much time, effort and money to build a stadium. Our priorities are twisted. We think nothing of using taxpayers' money to spruce up our image. Why don't we filter some of that money to those who really need it? What's more important, stadium or hungry children? There is something very wrong with this picture.
800,000 Canadians currently use food banks. Of that number, one-third are children.
I agree. "There is something very wrong with this picture."
But unless they can hold the job for a decade or so, he's going to be busy getting this country back on track.
My husband shook his hand yesterday and told him that Canada needs him. He looked hubby in the eye and said "I'm not going anywhere".
He's certainly well qualified for the U of T job, after heading up the Human Rights Department at Harvard, but he's better qualified as a Canadian to head up this country.
So all aboard the Ignatieff Express, but first I've got a bit of juicy gossip. Tilly O'Neill-Gordon told Dean Del Mastro who told Jason Kenney who told Rona Abrose who told Gail Shea; that Stephen Harper has not had one single job offer for the fall when he finds himself unemployed.
There was a great column in the Globe about Dean Del Mastro, by Douglas Bell, who aptly refers to him as the Canadian Idiot.
Yesterday’s Globe featured a piece by Steven Chase describing Tory efforts to filibuster an attempt to convene hearings to review policing at the G20 summit. Among those MPs quoted was Peterborough Tory Dean del Mastro. Now you might expect that being a pro-life, anti-gay-marriage backbencher who sits on a lot of committees, Del Mastro would – how to put it – tack down wind on this one. Fair enough. Nobody gets ahead in a Harper caucus going even ever so slightly off message. Del Mastro, though, went above and beyond to the point where I’m thinking a rabies test might not be inappropriate.
Maybe it's not fair to single him out, but his actions regarding the violence at the G-20, epitomizes the way this government handles every awkward situation.
Instead of addressing issues they spew out talking points and hide behind Canadian institutions.
Our men and women in uniform ...
Our brave police officers ...
Our flag ...
The problem of course is that those things are ours, not theirs, and when they are being disgraced, we need to make it right by restoring their honour, and you don't do that by turning yourselves into cartoon characters.
You do it by allowing inquiries to get at the truth. Weed out the "bad guys" if you find any and restore our faith in them.
Another example of the problem with always having to stick to a script, and never being allowed to think for yourself is this guy:
Kady O'Malley noted in a committee live-blog that really is a must-read - that is, unless you want to avoid getting thoroughly depressed about the state of our democracy - Stephen Harper's MPs seemed to be reading from the same talking points as Hudak. To review, Hudak is a provincial opposition leader, and even many supporters of his party will acknowledge that his Toronto Sun op-ed was beneath him. These are the people running the country. And they seem not the slightest bit more interested in taking seriously the fundamental questions that have been raised about the balance between liberties and security. It would be nice to think that, once the theatre is over, some of these people are at least a little bit troubled by what their jobs involve.
This young lad has a great blog and has also been following the story. I love his profile: "I am a geek, world history buff, my interests and hobbies are too numerous to mention. I'm a political junkie with a cynical view. I also love law & aviation! I always promote young people who become engaged in politics, cynical or otherwise. Good job ... hmmmm Geek?
Del Mastro speaks, ignoring the fact that his government gave the 1.3 billion dollar contract to secure Toronto, while the money went to everything but securing the city. Instead it was used to attack anyone who doesn't support their Draconian government. Nice try Dino.
Blogger extraordinaire Northern Insights, has uncovered an interesting bit of "fake journalism" during the G-20. Some of the images of the so-called vandalism in Toronto, were borrowed from vandalism during the Olympics. Check out the images. The same Vancouver Sun box was knocked over in Toronto. Quite a reach.
Toronto Police staged a display of weaponry to demonstrate “the extent of the criminal conspiracy” among hard-line G20 protesters, but several of the items had nothing to do with the summit.
The Black Bloc were allowed (encouraged? paid ?) to run amok.
We need an inquiry and Dean Del Mastro needs a real job. Enough is enough.
In 2007 it came to light that Harper's Reformers had created a 200 page book for their MPs that instructed them on how to make sure that nothing ever gets accomplished that doesn't fit their narrow agenda.
Among the advice contained in the book is that the Conservative Party should help pick committee witnesses and that the chairman ensure witnesses suggested by the Conservative Party of Canada "are favourable to the government and the ministry." The book also advises chairmen to "meet with witnesses so as to review testimony and assist in question preparation." It also suggests witnesses be included from Conservative ridings across the country and the chairmen make sure the witnesses' local MPs take the place of a regular committee member for the hearing.
The book contains advice on how to grind committees to a halt, whether it be by recognizing a Conservative MP just before a vote and letting them speak as long as they wish to stall the vote, or adjourning a "disruptive" committee. The instructions to the committee chairmen may explain in part some of the events that have taken place over the past couple of weeks. The official languages committee has become paralyzed as a result of a series of events that began when chairman Guy Lauzon abruptly cancelled a hearing into the effect on language minorities of cutting the Court Challenges program.
The work of two other committees ground to a halt Thursday as a result of Conservative MPs filibustering to stop discussion on the censorship of documents related to Afghan detainees and of a private members bill to prohibit replacement workers being used during strikes in workplaces that fall under federal jurisdiction.
Dean Del Mastro has memorized the book from front to back and as a result has accomplished absolutely nothing.
In an attempt to make sure his record is not broken, he has also chosen to do nothing about the G-20 anti-security measures that cost 1.3 billion dollars, but failed to secure the city of Toronto.
Canadians Demanding an Inquiry in to G-20 is now has more than 53,000 members. And guess what Dino? Some of them are from Peterborough. I assume you've heard of the place.
And thousands of Canadians marched against your government trying to turn Canada into a Police State. I assume you've heard of Canada. Nice little place. Used to be a democracy.
So put your manual away Dino and get out and look around. Talk to people not within your narrow circle, but ordinary Canadians. You must know a few, right?
You might just have an "opinion", and not a bloody manual that tells you what your "opinion" should be. Next time, don't bother showing up at all. Just leave the book. We already know how it ends.
