A Conservative MP tells a truth

Okanagan-Shuswap MP Colin Mayes admits the federal government has an image problem.

Then follows it up with a partial truth:

“The minister is not a rock star but she’s done a great job with that file.”

Then reverts to CPC true colours and tells an outright lie:

“The in-and-out issue is Conservative money being spent on Conservative ads.”

No, the issue is that the in-and-out scam (like the one Vic Toews was found guilty of provincially)  allowed the party to spend more than $1 million beyond its spending limit and permitted Conservative candidates to claim rebates for expenses that were incurred by the federal party.           

In other words, breaking election rules and stealing from taxpayers.

Headline from the twilight zone

CRTC may ease ban on broadcasting false or misleading news

Really.  You see a title like that and you just have to read on, thinking it must surely be an extremely poorly worded title.  What "independent public organization that regulates and supervises the Canadian broadcasting and telecommunications systems" would not fight to enforce nothing but the most reliable news delivered with absolute journalistic integrity?

We would assume that being an independent, public organization, such an agency would want to make sure it shields itself from corporate and political influence.  The public needs to be protected from the constant barrage of paid for ads full of false and misleading statements meant to sell us ideas or goods that we would never consider embracing should we be told the truths behind them.

Unfortunately, the title to this article is not misleading.

Current regulations contain a blanket prohibition on broadcasting “any false or misleading news.”  The (CRTC) wants to considerably narrow the scope of that prohibition.  It is proposing a ban on the broadcast of “any news that the licensee knows is false or misleading and that endangers or is likely to endanger the lives, health or safety of the public.”
 
Michael Geist, a University of Ottawa law professor specializing in communications issues, says the proposed prohibition is far too limited.  “If we're setting a high standard that you've got to actually endanger someone's life, health or safety, frankly almost anything that's false or misleading that's obviously outside of that fairly narrow scope would be fair game,” Geist said in an interview.  For instance, he said false news that caused financial harm would not be covered by the more limited prohibition.

Nor would such a limited prohibition prevent intentionally false news that could ruin someone's career, family life, or reputation.  It would not protect companies under attack by ones intent on destroying their public image.

It would create a new battleground for vicious attacks against political opponents, special interest groups, minorities, or anyone that gets in the way of people with enough money and power to buy or bully their way on the airwaves.

That the new rules would disallow lies which endanger lives, health, and safety of the public is no protection at all since it is often difficult to prove in a court of law that certain words provoked a certain outcome.  The same violent rhetoric can be repeated over and over, working its influence on those so full of anger and frustration they only need a small nudge to act, but as we have seen in the recent Arizona killings, the rhetorical trigger was pulled at a safe enough distance in the eyes of the law that those who promote violence and hatred through their lies can continue to do so without personal repercussions.

Orwell's Bastard has a link where you can reach a site and tell CRTC what you think of this dangerous change.  As OB says, they may not listen, but we should voice our opposition anyway. 

Sure, the box looks all pretty to some...

...until you release the contents and realize in shock you can’t put them back.

When even hard core right-wingers no longer see the glitter, you know it ain’t good.

Norman Spector asks “why would anybody give any credence to the latest warning (issued by harper)?”

Join the 2/3rds of Canadians who have been saying this for years, Norm.

Fox Fiction North: Lies, the series - 1

                                               (photo by Alison)
Might as well start numbering these.  Might as well count on setting an hour or so aside every day for them as well.

Paul Schneidereit of the Chronicle Herald is a dishonest sack of manure:

The vociferous — and at times unhinged — attacks by critics on the proposed new Sun TV News channel, or "Fox News North" as its detractors like to call it, are really about censorship.

No it isn’t.  Many, like Atwood, are concerned about the process - the Sun TV application to the CRTC seems to have been fast-tracked.    Also, there is little doubt that Harper himself has had his fingers in this, it being now confirmed that he met with Fox News reps months ago with Kory at his side.  While we do not have minutes of the meeting, it cannot be ignored considering circumstances and Harper's obsession with message control and free propaganda.  Also, unlike most of his meetings with high level groups where he has his camera crew in tow for the latest photo op, he tried to keep this meeting secret.  No, I’m not going to link to this, it is now common knowledge.

As critics have been saying repeatedly, we cannot have a Prime Minister hand out licenses to media groups.

Another note on the free speech line: some people do object to the proposed content, and rightly so.  Journalists are not like bloggers or folks writing a letter to the editor.  (although bloggers have been sude for printing lies) They are expected to be factual in their reporting.  They have a lot of leeway in opinion pieces, but they are not supposed to knowingly print lies or misrepresent facts.  Kory’s recent involvement in the Avaaz petition and interference is a good example of media crossing not only an ethical line, but a legal one as well.

Consider how ridiculous Don Martin, for example, would sound ranting on about free speech if he decided to knowingly print a lie.  The public has certain expectations when it comes to journalism which is why journalists are supposed to verify their sources and information carefully before printing anything.  That they can be sued for printing lies and misinformation is telling.

Schneidereit indulges in more manipulation of facts by leaving out important information:

Yes, it’s true the potential new channel has Kory Teneycke, Stephen Harper’s former director of communications and now Quebecor’s new vice-president of business development, behind the application to the CRTC.  So what? No law forbids conservatives from starting TV news channels.      

That’s right, no law forbids that, but the laws do forbid political interference, partisanship, and massive conflict of interest.  Which is probably why Schneidereit chooses to leave out the very important fact of Harper’s involvement from the start in his meeting with Kory and Fox News months ago.  He knows that’s what many people object to, it’s been stated often enough in the news.


But the fact remains there’s no reason, other than partisanship, for Sun TV News, which aims to launch in 2011, to not get a licence. The CRTC decision on a licence is expected in November.

OK.  Really.  This is where sane people shake their heads at the utter audacity and hypocrisy of rabid right wingers.  Yes, there clearly is partisanship at play, but can anyone with more functioning brain cells than a flat worm not see that the partisan colour here is blue?  Fox Fiction is run by Harper’s ex director of communications, is beyond any doubt devoted to promoting Harper’s image and themes and denigrating anything the opposition comes up with.

And there’s that very problematic and telling meeting of Steve’s with Fox News.

Keep telling your lies, you Harper whores.  And we’ll keep exposing them.

**update: go to Unrepentent Hippie here, comment section for stageleft's comments on licensing and funding.  Clears up a lot of confusion.

We don’t report news, we make it...up!

Looks like Fox Fiction North is going to keep many bloggers and journalists busy exposing their lies and ideological maneuvering.  Too bad.  Those of us who understand that knowing the truth is essential to shaping policy would really rather be helping Canada and the world move ahead in whatever way we can.

         (terrific FNN photo by Alison)

Meanwhile, we have this daily distraction to deal with because the lies cannot go unchallenged.  Although Fox Fiction reads like the National Enquirer and holds the same disrespect for truth, it can actually cause harm to a great many people because it is interested in more than selling papers.  It seeks to change our beliefs, laws, and government.

So pathetically inept and laughable are its main ad men that most of us can’t help but use humour to counter their ridiculous spins and lies, but we need to make it very clear that our opposition isn’t simply to the korn-kob hilarity of the corporation that eats away at audience’s intellect and encourages their baser natures like a cheezie talk show feeding us the worst of humanity day after day as entertainment.

Fox Fiction backs a political ideology and narrow, corporate interests.  Where it fails in truth and convincing arguments, it hopes to conquer through massive exposure so that the lie is heard so often, people stop questioning.  It doesn’t report news, it decides what ideological product it wants to push, then fashions stories with that in mind.

It is little more than a huge marketing agency using all of its resources to convince us to buy a very harmful product.

That’s why it is important to keep countering and exposing Kory & Co’s lies.  Allison shows us another one where Kory brazenly claims Fox Fiction never applied for the A license.  Wow.  Makes you want to shake your head violently because you begin to doubt if he and his kind actually exist or are leftover, ghostly emanations of some long gone universe that couldn’t hold itself together because it make no fucking sense.

What I found funny and more than a little scary was this quote from Serge Sasseville, Quebecor's VP of corporate affairs (highlights mine):

"We'll get exactly what we're asking for at the end of the day.  We'll ask the CRTC exactly the same conditions we've been asking with a Category 1, and we're pretty confident we'll get it. You can ask for a must-offer even for other categories. It's only labeling. You can call a cat a dog but at the end of the day it's still a cat."

Cats that aren’t dogs:

"We are not nor have we ever asked for mandatory carriage of this station where Canadians would have to be obliged to pay.”

Stephane Dion is not a leader.

Ignatieff: just visiting.

The gun registry is useless.

Canadians don’t want the long form census.

Crime has gone up.

"Canadians are going to face a pretty stark choice. The next election will be a choice between a Parliament with a majority made up of a Liberal-NDP-Bloc Québécois coalition, or it will be a stable majority for our Conservative government." - Harper

While Fox Fiction knows that at the end of the day, cats are still cats no matter how often you try to label them as dogs, they want us to purchase those very dogs by convincing us that they are cats.  Just like they want us to believe a marketing company is really a news outlet.

*no disrespect to dogs, here.  I love the little guys.  Which is why I don't want them passed off as cats.

The Flawed and Disordered Party of Harper

“Sorry Gary, but that's just crazy talk about our police.”

Below are parts of an email exchange between CON MP Garry Breitkreuz and NDP MP Charlie Angus concerning scrapping the long gun registry.  I have to disagree with the journalist’s conclusion that ” Angus may be on the verge of changing his mind and voting to kill the registry.”  I see quite the opposite in Angus’ response, but you decide:

From: Breitkreuz, Garry - M.P.
To: Angus, Charlie - Personal
…I can appreciate that the NDP M.P.s who supported Bill C-391 are now under tremendous pressure to flip-flop by supporting the motion to kill the bill on September 22. This is just a short note to remind you that nothing has changed since you supported Bill C-391 on November 4, 2009.

…In light of the Liberal leader's decision to whip his caucus into killing Bill C-301 on September 22, your voice is even more important…you will be representing them with pride when you vote against the motion on September 22.

From:Angus, Charlie - Personal
To: Breitkreuz, Garry - M.P.
...  I was more than a little surprised to hear from you about the registry, again. Its interesting that this is the only rural issue you ever seem to want to talk to us about. You and your government have hardly been collegial with rural New Democrats on addressing the concerns of our citizens.

… I supported getting Bill C-391 to committee because I felt rural Canadians had legitimate concerns about the costs of the registry, its effectiveness and whether or not it is used effectively by police. I was really hoping we could all work together as Parliamentarians, listen to the problems with the registry, hear from various witnesses and finally get answers to these fundamental questions. Unfortunately, your government has fought against information getting out, actively suppressed departmental reports and publically attacked police officers who dare disagree with you.

But I do appreciate your letter. Thanks to your opinion piece, I learned that the Harper government believes the real reason police are "strident" on this issue is because they dont want Canadians to own guns. And you seem to claim the real reason police want to keep the registry is not for public safety, but so they someday will be able to burst into family homes and seize grampa's 20 gauge. Sorry Gary, but that's just crazy talk about our police.

…So Gary, let's be frank: we're just not on the same page here at all. Rural New Democrats have brought forward legitimate concerns of rural residents and are looking to have those issues addressed. The Harper Conservatives, on the other hand, would rather try and just stir up rural Canadians with all manner of wild and crazy conspiracy theories about our local police forces. And just for the sake of a quick fundraising buck and some negative partisan advertising.

Thanks for the advice, but no thanks.

We should hear from elected MPs.  Keep it up, guys.

Praise to Angus for his integrity and his kick-ass response.

CON-cave and CON-vex

When an issue comes up-  whether initiated by them or not -  Harper & Co decide how to handle it based on two motivators:  covering their ass, and how they can use the situation to forward the goals of their party.
Several recent events demonstrate this well: the Tamil refugee claimants; the Employment Equity complaint  made by one person; the announcement to build more prisons. 

Here Stevie does CON-cave politics:  extremely shallow, superficial response very weak on research, long-term planning or projections, and devoid of any truth as to why he is taking that particular action.  The  EE complaint was one of hundreds of similar complaints made every year and routinely addressed by whichever department is involved, but the CONs decide to cash in on this one by having not one, but two high profile Ministers show up within a couple of days to give interviews.  They take the relatively minor incident, make sure it develops into a bigger one, then use it to appeal to their base and to set up changes to policies they had already decided to change in any event.  Time to review employment equity!!!! they boldly shout.  Guess what?  It’s constantly being reviewed as are most federal programs.  But the CONs grab this one minor complaint,  wave it around, massage the message, and charge in with heroic words and swords well sharpened to hack and slash according to their narrow ideology.

Similarly, the CONs are creating havoc with the Tamil refugee claimants,  taking this incident, pulling out the tough talk to make sure they don’t take flack from their base, and stirring things up to use this occurrence to push their tough on crime and war or terror agendas publicly.  Look at who they send out:  Not Kenney, Minister of Immigration, but Toews, Minister of Public Safety.  Why?  Because they want to forward their never ending get tough policies by creating a crisis which they can then claim to be quelling.  Toews is out there ridiculously trying to label the claimants as victims of human trafficking, terrorists, and members of organized crime all at once while adding in the storm-crow words of prophetic doom: the latest boatload of asylum seekers is but a "test boat" that will be followed by others.
    
Yet nothing is being done to actually deal logically with not only this situation, but lay out good legislation and policies for the future as we anticipate many more political and climate refugees.  Instead, the result will be more hasty decisions and haphazard policies tossed together on the fly as the CONs’ priorities remain massaging the message.

Sometimes the CONs manage to tie a couple of issues together superficially in order to pursue their true agenda.  The plan to build more prisons and the resulting fall-out is a good example.  Day couldn’t sell the plan on unreported criminals, but watch it, Canada! There’s still plenty of crime out there!  Nicholson sets the stage by expanding the definition of serious crimes claiming these lesser offenses are related to that big, scary beast – organized crime.  Guess what? Hang-‘em high Toews frowns like all the storms of the century in one and warns us of…organized crime coming at us from the high seas!!!!!  Oh my!  Crime here, crime there, now crime coming in by the boatloads!!!!  Now were getting’ ascairt!!!!  All that crime and terrorists as well!!!!!

Lots of noise, folks, but very little action.  At least no reasonable action that will address these issues through sound planning.

But there’s the CON-vex at work behind the scenes.  Here’s where Canadians will get more than they ever expected or voted for.  That’s where the real Harper plans hide out.
 
While we have been subject to the stupid that is named Clement, Day, and Toews these past few weeks as they contradict themselves day after day, offer up vague, nonsensical comments, and make ridiculous, unsubstantiated claims, the CONs are hard at work figuring out how to use these issues and how to create others that will justify the changes they plan to make in order to reach their real goals.

In order to figure out what those real goals are, Canadians need to look behind the diversions and superficial reactions of the CONs and see what major changes they have made while using non-credible arguments to do so.  The list is long, but ties into only a few things:  secure the ability to work in almost complete secrecy, reduce the public’s access to information to practically nothing, situate themselves so that public servants and public departments serve the CON party and not the public.  There are other goals as well, but those three would give them almost total control of the country.

They could push through what they want without Canadians knowing until too late; hide the details of how and why changes were made; invent whatever reality they wanted to message the public; shut off avenues for us to find the truth ourselves; effectively muzzle public servants; have the entire public service and all of their resources working for them.  The opposition can scream all it wants, but without facts obtained through ATIP, it's little more than noise.

That’s why, my equally screwed fellow Canadians, Harper cancelled the long form census, has been systematically replacing key personnel in the public service, has been testing the waters by seeing what he can get away with in using federal departmental sites to post his propaganda, why he has been investing our money into greater security and prisons, why he has been expanding the power of law enforcement, why he canceled the long form...  The on-going fear factors?  Those justify violating our privacy and due process rights and have the added advantage of keeping us distracted by playing on our emotions.

Conservative supporters as well as left of right should oppose this Harper government.  I doubt very much that any but a few rabid fanatics really agree with a government having so much power as well as the desire and means to deny us our right to know what they are up to and why.

Boo-hoo-fucking-hoo.

Mr. Clement said he is well aware of what is being said about him. He acknowledges it’s “not fun.”  “I know I don’t have very many allies in the media on this. I’m kind of alone out here,” he said.

Gee, that’s too bad.  You’re religious though, aren’t you Tony?  So take heart, this is probably all part of your god’s plan, everything happens for a reason and all that.

This is probably your god’s way of saying “Tony done a bad, bad, thing.”

Lying,  setting innocent, well meaning people up for a fall, mis-using your position for personal and party gain...I believe your god does not approve of those things.

Maybe he’s also trying to teach you about the harm you do to others by letting you see what it feels like to be under constant attack. 

But you’ll never quite get it, because those you helped set up  and destroy were telling the truth,  simply trying to do their jobs with dedication.  Unlike you and the other Harperites who lie and destroy others for personal gain, for your party, for your mortal master, and for your narrow ideology.

Have your angels abandoned you as well?  When I went to Catholic school, the virgin penguins told me the angels are very sad when people lie and turn their backs on us.

The penguins were also very fond of saying “you shall reap what you sow.”

So try to get the message.  It’s part of your god’s plan: what you’re going through now is what you had planned for Munir Sheikh and the folks at Stats Can.  But Sheikh wouldn’t take on your lie.  You own it.  Wear it.
                                           
Oh yeah.  Last bit of advice.  Don’t try to ride your camel through the eye of a needle unless you turn both cheeks.  Just thought I should point that out.

An aside - if someone chooses to flaunt their religious beliefs in public for political gain, then those beliefs are fair game in the public domain.

Harper can’t get rid of all public servants

He needs a few to kick around and blame shit on.

I’m not a big believer in coincidence when it comes to who is writing about what and when where politics are concerned.  Today, the Ottawa Citizen printed and article by print media’s very own Lowell Green, Kelly Egan. 

Egan valiantly takes it upon himself to inform us that “(we) have no idea how bad it is”… “(d)ealing with the federal government in this town (Ottawa).”  It is so bad, he says, that “(s)ome days, honestly, you just want to scream.”  He supports this claim with plenty of useful and reliable evidence in the form of anecdotes. 

One of the most vital functions for any government department is to be the organized gatekeeper for the flow of information. In this town, there are literally hundreds of people who do nothing but this one thing all day.  Why must it be such a battle?

Why?  Well, Egan, you dishonest Harper bag boy, left me tell you why.

An investigation by The Canadian Press revealed in June that MEPs are being used across the federal government to literally script words uttered by cabinet ministers and lowly backbenchers as well as screen media requests for interviews with public servants who have expert knowledge of government policy.
The tools — aimed at yielding a desired headline or soundbite from a public event — allow Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s Office, through its bureaucratic arm at the Privy Council Office, to stay on message while controlling access to politicians and public servants. They've been used to plan the details of everything from answers for a journalism student seeking information about aid programming to a conference on helping save the polar bear.

Critics say MEPs undermine democracy and transparency because they allow the government to micromanage its message while blurring the time-honoured separation of non-partisan public servants and their political masters.

But you already knew this, didn’t you, Kelly?  This is not news, nor is it speculation.  MEPs control all public messages, and Ministers, as we have seen recently, can and do override departmental policies on information release.

For Pete's sake, the way they treat you, as though guarding information is Job One, not releasing it. What are they so afraid of? Where is their commitment to public discourse?

The commitment is there, Egan, but unfortunately harper has duct-taped it into silence.

What is evident -- and most dangerous -- is the brick wall that has been erected between the public service and the public via the media conduit.  Can you think of one prominent federal public servant who is regularly quoted in the nation's newspapers?   We have 140,000 PS workers in this town and one sealed lip. Amazing.

Egan does what dishonest, partisan neander-hacks do: he blends some truth with blatant omissions, producing an overall lie.

Yes, there is a brick wall, and yes, it is very, very dangerous, and yes, the media isn’t getting the message from the public service.  What Egan doesn’t bother saying, and what I maintain he deliberately misguides readers on, is that the brick wall has been erected by various elected governments, and the bulk of that wall was built by harper who introduced MEPs and is widely known by anyone who isn’t a complete moron as a message control freak of galactic proportions.

So why does Egan pick today to whine about public servants and how they just want to make him scream when it comes to obtaining information from them?  Well, Egan manages to use an anecdote about Stats Can as useful and reliable evidence of how badly public servants suck at communicating info to the public.  Yeah, Stats Can of the long form census.  That very same entity of misinformation gathered through threats and intimidation at 10 pm at night, on your very doorstep.  Bastards!

This bit of news made papers today as well:

Nationwide focus groups assembled by a federal pollster expressed "frustration" over the Harper government's lack of communication, leaving them in the dark about the Tory agenda.

Other articles (presumably not written by dishonest Harper bag boys) actually explain why the flow of info has stalled, linking much of it to Harper’s MEPs.  Even Doris admits to his party’s use of duct tape as a promotional tool:

Treasury Board President Stockwell Day said he'd consider removing the veritable gag on federal public servants that's been in place since the Conservatives introduced a potent messaging tool called the Message Event Proposal four years ago.

Dan Garner writes an entertaining piece with a serious message illustrating the absolute lack of respect the Harper government has for conveying truth. 

A slim majority of Conservative party members believe homosexuals should be arrested and imprisoned in federal dinner theatres, where they would perform The Sound of Music and other wholesome entertainment for children and seniors. Twenty per cent of the Conservative caucus dropped acid with the Grateful Dead. At least three cabinet ministers have outstanding arrest warrants in Nepal; one is a former member of the Manson family.

In the past, I would not have presented these claims as facts because they're not "true," in the narrow sense of an assertion supported by logic and evidence. That stuff mattered to me. I was a "member of the reality-based community," as a Bush administration official famously said about people who "believe that solutions emerge from your judicious study of discernible reality."

But no more. "When we act," that official said, "we create our own reality." That's where I am now. Stephen Harper, the Conservative government, and me. Creating our own reality. And dropping acid with the Dead.

While Gardner’s article is primarily about the distortion of truth as Harper massages the message, it is yet another study of how real information is kept from the public while providing the illusion that valuable communication is occurring.

The astonishing rhetorical genius Doris affirms this (unintentionally, of course):


"When I say that our tax plan is regarded as the most competitive in the G7 countries and I ask people that, hardly any of them are aware," Day said.  "Those are called talking points and we believe they’re important…We send that stuff out all the time whether it’s talking points, speeches, whatever, we’re communicating it daily.”

No amount of letter writing to MPs will change harper’s demolition of information channels, because when the ideology that you are trying to force on an entire nation is so narrow that it only appeals only to a small percentage of the population (the 30% does not apply here because I am talking about the real, hardcore narrow ideology that would send most conservative supporters running en masse for protest sings), then truth and reality are not animals you want roaming free.  Gotta club those babies.  Lobotomize them.  Do some corrective surgery.

… Facts, evidence, logic. Irony. We're moved beyond that. I might even say we've evolved, but some of the guys in the purple van might not like that. So let's just say we've opened the doors of perception. We make reality, man.

And hacks like Egan are more than happy to type up Stevie’s latest versions.  So if we can’t get harper & co. to tell the truth because the truth is their enemy, and if we can’t get brown nosers like Egan to print the truth, we are left with one thing:  vote the mother-fuckers out of office.  Now.  Hammer away at the opposition parties, insist they grow a decent set of balls, vote the CONs out next possible chance, hold a damn election, and vote strategically.  (go see ACR)

Don’t worry...Harper promised

Sinopec's $4.6-billion deal to acquire a minority stake in the Syncrude oil-sands plant would give the Chinese state-controlled company a veto over the crucial decision of whether the company should upgrade more oil in Alberta or export raw bitumen for processing.

That would include decisions on whether to invest in a proposed project that would increase the plant's production and whether to boost capacity to process the additional bitumen into lighter synthetic oil on site. It could also cover investments in technology needed to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions.

That would be bad.  Exporting raw bitumen would not favour job creation for Canadians and would most assuredly lead to greater GHG release in China, which affects us all.

Not to worry, though.

In the last election campaign, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said his government would prevent any company from exporting raw bitumen to take advantage of weaker environmental rules in other countries.

And he always keeps his election promises, right?

Like I said, after the photo op is done...

...the promise becomes no more than a caption.

 (photo)
It was hailed just four months ago by Environment Minister Jim Prentice as one of Canada's "richest ecological areas" when he announced a landmark $5-million study aimed at declaring it a National Marine Conservation Area.  But while one branch of the federal government has moved to protect Nunavut's Lancaster Sound as a one-of-a-kind natural treasure — "an area of incredible beauty that is teeming with wildlife," according the region's Conservative MP Leona Aglukkaq — the Geological Survey of Canada has confounded environmentalists and local communities by planning a seismic seabed survey this summer to probe for potential oil and gas deposits in the beluga and narwhal-rich waters north of Baffin Island, at the eastern entrance to the Northwest Passage.

While proudly announcing their intentions to declare Lancaster Sound a national marine conservation area (and including token Inuit in their promotional photo ops),  Prentice and Aglukkaq stated consultations would be held on an ongoing basis with the Inuit concerning the area.  What do the Inuit have to say about this latest bit of use-it-or-lose-it news?

"The legislation is very clear with respect to marine conservation areas: Oil and gas development is expressly prohibited," said Chris Debicki, Iqaluit-based director of the eco-advocacy group Oceans North. "They just don't go together."

He told Canwest News Service on Wednesday that the proposed resource survey conflicts not only with Parks Canada's high-profile push for a Lancaster Sound protected zone but also with the traditional use of the area by Inuit hunters, who have raised concerns through the Nunavut review agency about the potential impact of the Arctic Ocean survey — and any resource development that could follow — on caribou herds and marine mammals.

The Inuit may be the original inhabitants of the area.  They may offer terrific photo ops.  Their traditional outfits looked super cool at the Olympics.  But really, does Harper intend to consider their needs or listen to their wishes when it comes to the Arctic?

Not likely, considering they were not even invited to the recent Arctic Council meeting.

(photo)
"As global climate change continues and traffic through the Northwest Passage is expected to increase, our government is committed to safeguarding Canada's Arctic and protecting its most special natural features," Prentice said at the time (of announcing the marine sanctuary). "The Government of Canada recognizes the increasing importance of understanding and protecting the Arctic and this project will allow us to significantly advance our knowledge as well as our protection and conservation activities in this area."

Really?

The Harper government is rewriting the rules of environmental assessments, handing the Environment Ministry the power to minimize reviews of projects from open-pit mines to municipal construction along with other changes that critics claim will “gut” the environmental review process...Environment Minister Jim Prentice said the changes to the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act will ensure “that we get good environmental outcomes” while “not delaying and frustrating projects through unnecessary red tape.”

The measures...would give the Minister of the Environment the power to determine the scope of any assessment.

That would be this Minister:

Canada's leading environmentalists say they're losing interest in lobbying federal Environment Minister Jim Prentice because the government has locked itself into an environmental policy "bunker" and is not giving their ideas serious consideration.  Meanwhile, according to the Registry of Lobbyists, representatives for big oil companies frequently lobby the minister, and appear to be a major source of policy advice on energy and climate issues.

...Some say energy interests have an inordinate influence on Canada's national policy, something which is symptomatic of a deeper "corruption" in Canada. Among them is Thomas Homer-Dixon, who holds the Centre for International Governance Innovation Chair of Global Systems at the Balsillie School of International Affairs in Waterloo, Ontario.

In a December interview, Mr. Dixon asserted that "our political processes in Canada are being corrupted by narrow energy interests."

And in what direction are those narrow interests leading Harper?

"A strong and sovereign Arctic must be a healthy and prosperous Arctic. In the weeks and months that lie ahead, our government will continue to introduce measures aimed at unleashing the North's true potential," said the prime minister.

A recent post at Far and Wide talks about how the Liberals should approach the CONs undermining of environmental protection:

Unlike Carbon Emissions /Climate Change, the environmental concerns here are pretty cut and dry – very easy for the media and public to understand the issues at stake. The Reformatories would be on the defensive to explain why they put this into the budget, and why they feel it’s necessary to pollute our lakes and streams for generations to come for dubious short-term economic gain.

The Libs should put out a few trial balloons and see where it goes – have a few MPs talk to the media-types about this little nugget buried in the budget. Then if all goes well make the threat that you’ll vote against the budget unless this legislation is specifically removed. It would be interesting to see how Harper & Co. will try to defend overriding provincial jurisdiction to pollute lakes and poison indigenous communities - while saying this issue somehow proves that Iggy is just in it for himself.

As entertaining as the Guergis-Jaffer train wreck is to watch, and while they should be investigated if there appears to be corruption, opposition parties, and the Liberals in particular need to show Canadians that we can do better.  That is not accomplished by lowering the opponent, but by elevating themselves.  Fighting for protection of our environment is a good platform to speak from as it affects not just voters today, but future generations.  Harper doesn’t care if he kills the golden goose because his narrow vision is also very, very short term.

You know there’s a catch when a CON asks for your opinion.

Jimbo Prentice wants to know what Canadians think of his proposed environmental policy.  So far, the response from critics has been less than kind.

The website allows feedback and the deadline for submitting comments is July 12, 2010. The consultation comes as the government’s environmental policy has taken a sustained attack in the wake of the federal budget.

So why ask us for more feedback, especially when this government seems to be very selective of what comments it pads its findings with?

More than one person with an interest in the environmental file has pointed out that the Federal Sustainable Development Act requires the government to develop a Federal Sustainable Development Strategy by June 26, 2010. There is a legally-required 120-day consultation period written into the Act.

So, says one of them, “all Mr. Prentice is doing is obeying the law and holding a consultation - late. His government forced him to break the law and miss the deadline when they prorogued Parliament, though, so the comment period closes more than two weeks after the final strategy is required to be completed.”

Oh...a CON broke the law...I see...

Dodo can’t do grammar (or reason)

And she doesn’t care about cops.

Well just look!  I couldn't find a thing on her blog about this poor man. 

It gets worse, Ladies and Gentlemen.  MariaS doesn’t care at all about child abuse or child rape.  Not a word did she post on this obscene topic, nor does she follow the ongoing horror.  

MariaS doesn’t care about victims of earthquakes, my fellow bloggers.  It’s true. Don’t take my word for it.  Look for yourselves.  Not a single line has she posted concerning the several earthquakes which took place in Chile recently.

And has anyone seen her posting on this story?  Anyone?  Anyone?  Seems she hates handicapped people as well.

She sure doesn’t have a problem with kiddie porn, either.  Folks, I looked and looked, (and looked!) And nowhere on her site could I find even the slightest mention of this.

What?  She couldn’t care less what happens to aid workers?  Not a word about them either, it seems.

Guess she doesn’t give a damn about Corey Haim,   or Siberian Tigers, or the mutilation of plastic pineapples.

If a blogger is going to slag every single blogger left of a wingnut, she can expect to be challenged on her claims.  However, the nature of the claims in this instance are so mind-numbingly nonsensical that the use of standard logic as a method of argumentation here is utterly pointless.  Hence, my use of the absurd.

The brilliant hypothesis of MariaS:

Canadian Liberals and NDP bloggers do not care about Nigerians hacked to death

MariaS’ incredibly clever deductions:

Conservatives care about all human beings. The others care only about winning elections and NOTHING else, absolutely nothing else. How can these people live with themselves?

Her supporting evidence?  Nada.  Zilch.  Zippo.

Sure, MariaS.,  Blogging for Khadr’s return to Canada is a real election shoe-in, right?

Concern over violation of the Geneva conventions and Canada’s complicity, outrage over child rape being committed by members of the clergy, honour given to our veterans, concern expressed for our troops, taking time to celebrate the day, advocating equality...no one left of the insane asylum housing right wing extremists ever, ever blogs about those things.  Never ever.

This is not the first time MariaS has attempted to imitate Canadian Cynic’s posts concerning the sound of crickets in wingnut-land when it comes to certain topics, but unlike CC, she does not support her claims with any proof, and she lies.  Lies, and lies, and lies.

So, having opened herself to criticism through yet another moronic attack on every damn person (which includes 900 here) left of the fanatic right fringe dwellers, I feel bound by a respect for the English language to take issue with her claim that Dodo Can Spell.  There are times when the line between spelling and grammar can be rather hazy, and I don’t read Dodo enough to know if  MariaS can spell better than a fifth grader, but I can say with certainty that her grammar is appalling.

I challenge all of you elitists (you know, you educated folks) to a grammar test for beginners.

Find the grammatical errors (From MariaS’ above referenced post)

(Tip: most sentences contain more than one error.)

Ladies and Gentlemen, if you had any doubt about the lowliness of the opposition parties, lay them to rest forever.

These are the kind of people who pass themselves off as progressives and lovers of all races and all cultures.

As at 12:15 PM, March 9, I could find nothing but blogs about Afghan detainees, Khadr and as usual brainless ones about Pain.

The difference between the Conservative bloggers and all these others should be is as clear as a summer's day.

No matter what the Muslims do, even if a Muslim were to chop off their mothers' heads, they would remain "mum" about that too.

Is it fear of Muslims or are these people after the Muslim vote no matter what.

Compare their silence to the bloggers on the Conservative aggregate...

Am I being harsh, maybe even cruel attacking her grammar?  Probably.  However, I am fed up with accusation by people like her who scream “How rude!  How uncivil!” at some (or in MariaS’ case, all) bloggers left of the bat-shit crazies, and have no problem lying, distorting people’s words, and applying their own brand of highly unimaginative insults. 

I’m fed up with bloggers who embrace ignorance and hope to pull others down to their level rather than make any effort at bettering themselves.

We, left of the rabid right, are often accused in one breath of being bleeding hearts and uncaring of others.  Well, I have no problem condemning any rude, illiterate, ignorant, lying, racist who tries to spread their lies on the Net or elsewhere.  Lying should be challenged.  Pig-ignorance should be discouraged.

Free speech is a right we constantly fight to preserve.  To those out there doing their best to challenge the lies perpetuated through this right, thanks!

Is there some other Canada I don’t know about?

As CAPP was working out the final details for a nation wide protest against Harper proroguing Parliament and his undermining of democracy, the Big Guy himself was patting himself on the back in a self-congratulatory speech concerning his four years in power.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper, speaking to his caucus on Parliament Hill, says "Canada is safer, stronger and better off" after four years of Conservative rule.

Really?...really?

That man needs to start reading Canadian news.  http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/714708--if-the-news-is-canadian-harper-s-not-watching

"The classic test, as set out by Ronald Reagan, is are you better off four years later?" Scott Reid, former prime minister Paul Martin's communications director, told Canwest News earlier this week. "Here's the verdict: We're less prosperous, less respected, less fair and we're less democratic. That's Stephen Harper's record."

I’ve been kind of picking up on the same things myself.

Unemployment:

December 2005: 6.5
December 2009: 8.5

   
Deficit and spending:

Harper & Co. Quickly ate up a 12 billion surplus left by Paul Martin.  Steve then delivered us a deficit he promised would never occur, earning Flaherty the name of  Deficit Jim.

His budgets have featured steep spending boosts averaging roughly 6% per year, a surge described as "reckless" by the Canadian Taxpayers' Federation. (Oct.2008)

As the rest of the world and most economists agreed we were headed into a recession, Harper denied this and failed to prepare accordingly.  We now face years of massive deficits.

The federal government is expected to run a deficit of $55.9-billion this fiscal year, and Finance Minister Jim Flaherty has said that could be reduced to $5.2-billion by 2014-05. However, parliamentary budget officer Kevin Page has recently said the Canadian government could be facing a “structural deficit” of almost $19-billion at around that time as an aging population leads to a shrinking labour force and diminished economic potential.

Freedom of press:

Took a dive under Harper.

Human rights:

Poverty - Canada's backsliding on indigenous rights has upset its chance for global leadership on poverty and human rights, says Amnesty International secretary general Irene Khan.  By refusing to sign the UN's declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples and failing to close the poverty gap between aboriginal communities and the rest of Canada, Khan said it will be difficult for the Harper government to gain a moral edge when it hosts the landmark G8 and G20 summits at Huntsville next year.

Women’ rights - While most coverage and concern was focused on the SWC regional office closures, the words "equality," "advocacy," and "action" were quietly removed from the Terms and Conditions of the SWC mandate, and from various SWC documents, such as their website (a chilling process of erasure that attempts to change history -- borrowed directly from the Bush administration’s ‘handling’ of women’s organizations in the US).  Oda also eliminated virtually all funding for research on women and women’s issues and made it impossible for women’s organizations involved in advocating or lobbying governments to be eligible for SWC money.

Child soldiers -   Back in 2002, Canada signed on to an international treaty aimed at rehabilitating child soldiers...Canadian troops in Kandahar indeed capture child fighters, only to turn them over to Afghan security forces for what is usually a brutal interrogation.

That, he says, is a clear violation of Canada's international obligations and – depending on how the children are treated by the Afghans – almost certainly a crime under Canadian law..."Canada was once at the top of the heap in this regard," says Attaran. "Now we're keeping company with those at the bottom."

The Omar Khadr case shows just how poorly Harper has performed when it comes to rights of child soldiers.

Death penalty - Canada has actively opposed the death penalty in recent decades, refusing extradition requests to the U.S. unless there are assurances the U.S. prosecutors won't seek the death penalty...In late 2007, however, Stephen Harper's Conservative government indicated a change in procedure.

Then public safety minister Stockwell Day stated Canada would "not actively pursue" the return of Canadians facing the death sentence "who have been tried in a democratic country that supports rule of law."...The Tories' decision drew harsh words from Amnesty International, which accused Canada of softening its opposition to capital punishment.

Environment:

Do I really need to explain this one?

Asbestos:

World Call of Conscience to Prime Minister Stephen Harper to Stop Obstructing the Rotterdam Convention (asbestos)

Afghanistan:

"Quite frankly, we are never going to defeat the insurgency... “ - Harper

And his new position raises the obvious questions: If the Taliban can't be beaten, what are Canadian troops doing in Afghanistan? If the Taliban can't be beaten, why are our soldiers still dying? If the Taliban can't be beaten, why are Canada and its NATO allies encouraging the Afghan government to keep fighting a war that, according to Harper, it may be able to "manage" but can't possibly win?

Soldiers killed in Afghanistan:

Since 2002, 139 Canadian soldiers have been killed serving in the Afghanistan mission.  Four Canadian civilians have also been killed, including one diplomat, one journalist and two aid workers.

Changing the nature of our involvement in Afghanistan drastically increased the number of deaths among our military stationed in that country.

Under the Liberals - 2002-2005: 8  
Under Harper - 2006-Jan. 2010: 131

Pensions and retirement:

Harper not only fails to protect seniors and their pensions, he threatens them further.

Geneva conventions and torture:

Orders from former Canadian Forces chief of defence staff Rick Hillier and the federal Cabinet hindered Canadian troops as they were attempting to process Afghanistan detainees in compliance with international war law and likely contributed to severe detention conditions at the military police compound in Kandahar, previously unreleased documents indicate.

Accountability and transparency:

Information Commissioner Robert Marleau said Thursday the grip on federal files is tightening, largely because of the Conservative government's "communications stranglehold" on the bureaucracy.  "There's less information being released by government than ever before. And that's alarming."

Democracy:

Even the venerable Economist magazine, which normally hovers above the fray of Canadian politics, has condemned the move as a clumsy attempt to muzzle the sound and fury of parliamentary debate..."It's yet another step in a pattern of leadership and governance by Prime Minister Harper that is in an authoritarian direction," said Peter Russell, a constitutional scholar at the University of Toronto. "He seems to want to minimize his exposure to critical review. And I think that's a very dangerous thing."

There are many more items that could be added to the list showing that the real Canada is certainly not the one Harper boasted about in his speech.

Does he think simply making such a statement will convince the chattering classes, or has he isolated himself for so long, listening only to his own words echoed back from his compliant members that he actually believes it himself?

Seems the corner is too hard to negotiate

It appears that the CONs are cutting and running from their own 2007 Turning the Corner plan and not because they have worked so hard and found a better plan.

Hell no.  Not those spineless liars.

True to form, instead of trying to come up with a plan that will boost the economy while reducing GHG emissions, they looked for an out and an excuse to weaken targets in order to allow greater development of the oilsands.

And unimaginative lot that they are, cowardly bunch that they are, they try to position themselves behind the Big Boy, claiming they are simply supporting what the US is doing.

The government draft documents make the argument that the U.S. bill gives smaller targets to trade-sensitive sectors, such as manufacturing. It suggests the Canadian oil and gas sector, including the oilsands, deserves the same treatment.

Two problems with that - it implies that Canada has no independent responsibility to address climate change, that the goal in addressing climate change is to do as little as possible.

Second problem: it’s bullshit -

That last proposal will not go over well in the U.S., said John Coequyt of the Sierra Club in Washington, D.C. ...Coequyt said the measures proposed in the draft documents to harmonize Canada's emissions-cutting with the U.S. make no sense.  "Almost all of those things were not done in the U.S., and the Senate is not talking about doing them, so I have to say I found it almost comical," he said.

Comical?  Well, if viewed from a distance where we have no actual stake in it, maybe.  But these clowns aren’t funny.  As other countries gather to work at reducing emissions for the entire planet so that future generations are less impacted by drought, land wars, famine, flooding, our government is doing what it can to avoid any actions that will limit oilsand development, which of course will increase emissions.  Money for oil companies, power for the CONs funded by oil companies, a dismal future for future generations of those average Canadians and people all over the globe.

The (Conservative) proposal raises questions about how the Tories could cut overall greenhouse gas emissions by 20 per cent by 2020 — a target they insist they can reach — while weakening the targets in the oil and gas sector.

The answer is easy.  The CONs lie.  All of the time.  They have no intention of limiting emission if that means setting targets for oil companies.

For example, the proposal suggests that the oil and gas industry would have to cut 15 megatonnes of emissions, rather than 48 megatonnes under its Turning the Corner plan.

Is there a single informed, intelligent person on this entire planet who still believes the CONs give a damn about reducing emissions and about the health and welfare of those who don’t profit at the expense of others?

"absurd."

A few other words come to mind, but that's a fitting one.