Panglossian Notes

July 1

The none sense of it all. Iraq the latest. Afghanistan, next?

I have close to completely despaired of the Republic to the south and none of this helps me a normal dumb Canadian.

But then again it isn't my place to live in the US, eh. But the Republic does have something of an influence on me.

I'm cheered by Cmdr. Charles Smith and the members of the US Supreme Court that in my view honour what that Nation once stood to support.

Recently, as a really dumb thing, I bought my son a copy of "In Cold Blood", Capote's, at the time, stunning re-invention of print media.

I hadn't read the book for close to 30 years. I haven't forgotten the Cluttlers' murders. Me I'm old enough to have followed them and Truman in Life magazine, eh. Ha, Life, what are university stacks really for other than to see your history in pictures.

Enough. I know.

On re-reading the book I'm overwhelming struck at how my/our neighbours have or seem to have changed. And I think the change is for the worse, unfortunately.

Horrible murder by Smith and Hickock are viewed or were viewed in human terms - maybe this is Truman's writing but as I remember those times this was not the case. People were simply maybe less scared, could it be more human.

Where are the real US hero's, Neil Armstrong for example. Hope he is doing well financially meaning not starving but he actually did something and he is not selling Hummers, is he.

I think he is just likely himself. His real connect to the Republic, as an individual with some morals, is not likely up for sale to the highest bidder.

Please, please more Commander Smiths.

Now an aside.

Tomorrow is the 90th anniversary of the Somme. I had 2 great uncles killed there on July 1st. Their deaths ended the Webster name on my Nan's side. Turns out lots and lots of brothers, even twin brothers were killed 90 years ago tomorrow.

My great uncles deaths, likely completely changed the unfolding of my family ultimately and meant I'd be born in Canada.

The progeny of a third generation Irish man from Ontario blinded at the last battle of Cambrai and the sister of a couple of very young Londoners' killed at the Somme and nursing at a St Dunstin's.

The names of my great uncles were Len and Frank Webster. One has a grave one doesn't. I think of them as the boys my nana told me about as a child.

Technorati Tags: Stupidity

Poor baby Okalik, dreaming of being a strong man?

You wonder sometimes about this leader from Nunavut, Okalik and his frustrations.

He told a group of ambassadors at a conference in Whitehorse about his difficult life. Seems his biggest problem may be that someone might ask a question. From the CBC report, he indicated that:

"Using the consensus style of government, with no political parties, means during budget debate all 18 MLAs can ask as many questions as they want, ... ."

For some reason he thinks that this does not happen in a party style parliamentary system.

"It can be frustrating at times," said Okalik [when people ask questions I presume]. "Those days you wish you had party politics."

Blogger's comment in square brackets.

He is supposedly a lawyer, at least he seems to have passed the bar examine in Canada's newest territory Nunavut.

I wonder if he has practiced law? I think he was made the leader of this territory the day he also got called to the bar so maybe that's his excuse for being frustrated, poor baby, no time for any real world experience.

The reason I raised this is that his statements at times seem to make little or no sense and indicated a marked lack of understanding of any parliamentary system whether it be the political party variety or the consensus type.

I would have thought that a graduate of any Canadian law school might know the basics of the Canadian governing system.

Oh well, I guess it's not required if you are, Okalik.

I wonder what party he might dream about forming when he is out on the golf links.

I wonder if he might think that actually developing policy and really leading a party could maybe be just a bit, as he'd clearly think based on his comments to the ambassadors, frustrating.

Why?

Well, of course, because someone might ask a question.

Glad what an idiot. Maybe he needs an internship in a failed foreign state where no one asks questions.

I'd say that stringing this so-called territorial leader's comments together indicates one of the serious problems facing this new territory and it isn't the housing, education or general social issues normally trotted out as dilemmas in this part of the Arctic.

It is that the territory seems to have a completely immature and badly functioning political system and this is underlined and highlighted by the Leader Okalik.

Technorati Tags: Canada, CBC, Democracy, Nunavut, Politicans, Stupidity

Oh what a lovely military.

I don't mind if some of my federal income tax dollars go to paying for a Canadian Forces. I did my time when Canada actually had a Navy, Army & Air Force.

But I mind dumb comments from officer types like the ones sucked out of Ian Hope, Lt. Col. PPCLI, by the CP correspondent, John Cotter.

This character - Hope - is maybe good, least I hope so, at what he has been instructed to do by the Ottawa dwelling types.

But I'm not interested in any of their comments about anything other than maybe the time of day.

Go off and soldier or Canadian forces or whatever you do. Leave the heavy thinking to others, please.

I was thankful when The Harper or his minion the Minister of DND reined in "Bull" Hillier and his spouting.

I'll bet the Colonel has not read the Senli report nor likely has the CP correspondent what'shisname, John Cotter. Why do I say this because the report has only just, in the early afternoon here in the heart of the nation become available electronically.

Also it is 93 pages long.

But it does have some real juicy parts and a completely different spin on The Harper's quick in and out to Afghanistan - sorry remember the media fan-fared triumph (boy are we or our main stream media becoming more and more like the poor fools south of here? Just a question, eh).

What ever the report is certainly a different point of view than what we have recently been getting here on the home-front, eh. Just one example:

"According to the Canadian Department of National Defence, the majority of
Canadian soldiers in Kandahar (at least 2,000) work solely with the US army in
patrols and security work, and do not carry out any reconstruction or development
work.

Locals stated that they see the Canadian troops as overly aggressive, indifferent,
militaristic and lacking communication skills. Insurgents’ guerrilla fighting has
forced the Canadians into a heavily armed posture that alienates the people:
Canadian convoys race at top speed through Kandahar, “like mice running from hole
to hole” according to locals.

Our interviewees stated that the Canadian Prime Minister travelled to Kandahar but
went directly from the airport to the military base. They stressed Prime Minister
Harper ́s failure to properly meet with locals in accordance with Afghan customs, or
to speak to them about their views of the Canadian presence in the province. This
was widely remarked upon as improper, insulting to Afghan pride, and an indication
of cowardice on his part. "

CANADA IN KANDAHAR: NO PEACE TO KEEP:
A CASE STUDY OF THE MILITARY COALITIONS IN
SOUTHERN AFGHANISTAN

Security and Development Policy Group
London
June 2006

Technorati Tags: Afghanistan, Canada, foreign policy, Globe and Mail

Clever

This ad from the Connecticut Democrat primary election between Lieberman and Lamont is very very clever and you must admit extremely effective.

I wonder which party up here will adopt similar ads for the next general election.

It may be hard for The Harper to use against Ignatieff, if he ends up as the Liberal leader, for the latter's support of action in Afghanistan since this is Conservative Party doctrine now.

It would be easy to show Harper and some of his cabinet mouthing the exact same speaking points as some of the Bush cronies on "staying" the proverbial course and "wonderings" about global warming.

Technorati Tags: Canada, Politics

Keep those apolozes coming, eh!

Boy I just love it.

I guess when you are on a roll it's hard to stop.

Looks to me like the Newfies are, ops, were more racist than pre-Newfoundland confederation Canadians, eh.

MainLand Canada 1885 to 1923 = 38 years.

Newfoundland before confederation 1906 to 1949 = 43 years.

Wonder if getting rid of the tax was one of the terms of union.

Who will governments apologize to next?

There has to be lots and lots of poor souls or the poor souls' children out there who have lead embittered lives because someone slandered them in some way.

Come on, The Harper needs votes. Let's have more and more groups put their names into the ring.

I have an idea.

Instead of the Order of Canada you can opt for an apology to your ancestors for something done wrong to them eons ago. In a time when the world was completely different from what it is now. Definitely before the Charter, eh.

Thanks to our recent stellar professional screw-ups we have this type of crap started by Mulroney, stopped by Chretien, dithered over by Martin and adopted by The Harper clown.

I, myself, have always wanted to know when the Turks or Mongolians are going to apologize to Asians and Europeans for the actions of the governments of Attila the Hun and Genghis Khan.

My really stupid country appears to have no real issues for a federal government to handle.

Technorati Tags: Canada, CBC, Politicans, Politics, Stupidity

Older and stupider

Who ever said that as you get older you get wiser.

Maybe the US of A's army is finally learning something. Oriental cultures seem to honour people as they get older Western cultures simply make fun of older people now I know why.

I guess you could be a 42 year poor person and one who is also fit. But isn't that an oxymoron - poor and fit.

Stupid and fit is OK though.

Technorati Tags: Stupidity, Washington Post

The Plague and the Most Powerful man in the world

Earlier I had written a comment about a post over at The Galloping Beaver regarding the Bush surprise visit to Bagdad.

What had struck me, the moment I saw the news flash on BBC World announcing the in and out junket, was how emasculated the President and the Office had become.

I also could not help drawing a connect to the news conference gaffe by George W. in his flag garden yesterday. The current President and administration for all its incompetence bluster and strutting just strikes me as a typical bully. So the comments to the blind reporter unfortunately fit my characterization to a "t".

This morning, however, I read this link throught Juan Cole about the reference to Camus' The Plague and maybe it puts the circumstance of the floundering empire to the South of here into some better context. A pretty deterministic view on the part of professor Mearsheimer and definitely not American so-to-speak.

A different spin on the present snafu can be seen in Helena Cobban's piece the "The incredible shrinking U.S." I think the thumbnail of this piece is that "empires" always over stretch likely because of some idea of natural right.

In the case of the USA, I think, this usual empire like tendency has been intensified by the idea that the American exceptionalism, postulated by de Tocqueville as bubbling from the republic, is a gift that must be bestowed on the rest of the world. I hope, I hope that at least this latter turkey has been finally discredited.

Technorati Tags: BBC, Chaos, Iraqi, Liars, Politicans, Politics, Stupidity

Ahenakew, grist for a thought experiment?

I've generally had problems with our hate laws - you either have free speech or you don't - so I'm glad the tests for conviction under this law are, or seem, to be high.

I think the only way to really determine if you actually agree with free speech as a fundamental freedom is to image defending someone espousing odious ideas. [This assumes that usually individuals don't have problems agreeing to let people speak out on ideas and thoughts they accept.]

Ahenakew fits the kind of thought experiment I mentally run through, to test my support for a basic principle, to a T. Someone dripping with pile and anger and maybe hate.

In my rational world, such a pathetic character at this time and in this country is still seen for what they are, I hope. There is no need for a statute to deal with them as the community knows exactly what they are.

Good the Order of Canada was finally revoked from him and won't be re-instated.

Technorati Tags: Canada, Democracy, Globe and Mail, Stupidity

Our future likely thanks to The Harper

We up here seem to follow the US trends but with a lag. At least this is how it seems at time.

Thanks to The Harper we may have been set on this glorious US path but someone will feel safer, I guess.

Who?

The dumb asses who now seemingly are very happy that political promises are kept.

Why?

Because keeping really really stupid ideas somehow proves something, I guess.

Technorati Tags: Canada, Democracy, Politicans, Stupidity, The Harper

Oh no not Equalization again.

Since my note earlier in May on the Equalization quagmire I haven't followed up with a more lengthy and detailed explanation of how the program was designed to work. At least how it was designed to work prior to the First Ministers' Meeting in the early and late fall of 2004 when the "new framework" was put in place.

At that time an "expert panel" was also delegated by the PM of the time, Paul Martin, to have a pretty specific look see at certain aspects of the program. Check this link to specifically see the mandate that was laid-out: the link.

The panel has now reported and provided two separate reports, one for the Equalization program and one for Territorial Formula Financing program (TFF).

As maybe could be expected here is some early response.

I've only spent time, as of yet, time reading the TFF report. This report certainly has some curious analytical presentations when comparing the impacts of the panel's recommended approach with the current situation put in place by the FMM new framework.

I'm only aware of one territorial leader responding to date, the NWTs Handley commented on the recommendations favorably to CBC North.

[As a side matter, the CBC and particularly CBC North, shows that it is maintaining its now poor level of reporting when dealing with any subject of complexity which appears to be every subject under the sun for the now disastrous public broadcaster. But this is another issue.]

I expect very little awareness of the TFF on the part of average Canadians and for that matter the media.

It's a program which transfers about $2 to $2.4 billion federal taxpayers dollars to the three governments North of 60° to provide services to a population smaller than that of the province of Prince Edward Island but who live in a pretty vast area which accounts for 39% of Canada's land mass.

As with the Equalization program some place will lose relatively under the panel's recommendations and that someplace in regard to the TFF is the oldest territory the Yukon.

The panel's report provides a very confused and misleading presentation of the impacts of their recommendations and I suspect this was done to hid the fact that the Yukon will be everyones poor cousin if this report's recommendations are accept.

Technorati Tags: Canada, CBC, Equalization, Federal Provincial Relations, Finance, Fiscal imbalance, TFF