If you're wondering how to get ahead in the music industry, here are some tips. I'm not advocating this, but if it worked for Christina Aguilera and Joss Stone, maybe it'll work for you.
*****
If you're like me (void of musical talent) you would probably prefer to see a big concert. Here's one: The recently reunited Smashing Pumpkins, the Killers, and others will be headlining the Toronto Virgin Festival. This will be the first North American date of the Pumpkins' reunion tour. Get pumped.
*****
I picked up this bit of news about a week ago, but couldn't think of a good way to report it, so I let it go. Rolling Stone did not have the same problem. If you don't want to bother with the link, I'll tell you it's about Bob Dylan and the Pope. Now you're going to click the link aren't you? I would. If not, Pope Ben says Dylan is the "wrong kind of prophet." I've always been a Christian, but never supported the Church - this is just more justification.
*****
National Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor (Carleton-Mississippi Mills) lied to you...and the House of Commons...and everyone else in Canada. In the immediate aftermath of breaking news of prisoner abuses in Afghanistan, he told Canadians that the government was being informed by the Red Cross about the treatment of detainees handed over to Afghan officials by Canadian forces. It turns out that was a lie. Later he claimed he was misinformed. Now, he has apologized for "providing inaccurate information for [House] members." He lied, and judging by the centrality of control of messages eminating from the Harper government, I think it may be accurate to say Stephen Harper lied to Canadians.
*****
I don't want to say the Globe and Mail is a Liberal newspaper, but this headline seems overtly partisan, even by Western Standard...standards.
*****
If you protest a Liberal Prime Minister you get the Shawinigan Handshake. If you protest Stephen Harper, you get thrown in jail - even if he's not around. Some Greenpeace protesters locked themselves to the gate out front of 24 Sussex Dr (the Prime Minister's residence), and were arrested for the act. The environmentalists were protesting the Harper government's lack of commitment to the Kyoto Accord.
*****
The Toronto Star is reporting that the Conservative budget has votes in mind. No shit. I want real news.
*****
The Conservative government's Senate Reform Bill (C-43) is unconstitutional says Senator Serge Joyal. According to Joyal, the provinces need to be involved in the process, and C-43 does not involve them. I've written on Senate reform recently (as has Mr. McIver). I believe the Senate is fine the way it is. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. (That's Edmund Burke turned redneck.)
*****
Read about the PCO and Stephen Harper's $24,000 party here.
*****
And in the most important news stemming from this past weekend: the Montreal Canadiens beat the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday!
My initial and biased reactions to the various newsbits contained in your post. I understand that you run a "blog" rather than a "factually-driven news source" so I'll be easy...
ReplyDelete1. I've always believed that when a politician apologizes for something that was said, the controversy ends. The Defence Minister acknowledged the error, and apologized for it. I don't draw a link between something that he said and what PMSH said. It would be like saying that because you lied, your mother lied. I know Diane Kerr well enough to know she doesn't lie. Either does PMSH (whom I've never met, but that's besides the point!)
2. It wasn't PMSH that jailed the Greenies; it was the RCMP. Any knowledgeable observer of government would know that. Unless you're in the media, then it's the PM!
3. The Senate's broke. Perhaps you like driven a GM and don't realize that it's actually broken when it continuously makes large clashing sound (hey, "that's the way it's always run"). The Supreme Court has said before (in 1979, I believe) that areas of the constitution completely within federal jurisdiction don't need provincial support. To say otherwise would be ludicris; the federal government can unilaterally repatriate the constitution, but to allow for elected senators or term limits, "No", that needs provincial approval! I wonder what Senate Joyal's position would be if PMPM actually had the political courage to introduce the legislation when he was in power (like he said he would do in 2002)? Just a thought.
4. Glad to hear you had a good St. Paddy's Day. Mine was not as fun as yours, but I did drink a Guinness!
My rebuttal:
ReplyDelete1. The Defence Minister lied. That's enough for me. I'm not concerned with this forgiveness thing - not when politicians are involved. And the extension made that Harper was therefore a liar, that was just so I could call Harper a liar.
2. PMSH clearly, being the leader of the country, and therefore being the powerbroker over all federal government bodies, was responsible for the arrests. The RCMP is a federal government body afterall. I always heard Harper was a micro-manager.
3. Isn't Serge Joyal one of the senators you referenced with such high esteem in your senate debate post? Answer (after some research): yes. But I'll admit I didn't bother reading the whole article, I was taking the Hill Times and Serge Joyal's word for it.
4. A Guinness is all you need!
btw - This blog is "factually-driven," it's the destination that's not always 100% fair.
Here's a comment about this article, from a friend, that was posted on my Facebook:
ReplyDeleteWhy would any government in their right mind want to tell its citizens about the ostracities it commits in third world countries?
Why is it then no suprise that attacks are made against these governments from these very same people.
It's underhanded manipulation of the facts that politics and propaganda rule at.
Money and Power control poltiics, not justice or virtue.
Here's my (evasive) non-response:
ReplyDeleteThe problem here is that O'Connor didn't know the basic rules of war. The duties of the ICRC (Red Cross) are laid out in the Geneva Convention. O'Connor should have known this. He (apparently) didn't (or he outright lied).
The bigger issue though is that the agreement between the Canadian and Afghan governments regarding prisoner exchange is very vague. It does not stipulate anything about prisoner treatment or delineate any way to monitor what happens to prisoners in the long run (i.e. the Afghans could turn around and release the prisoners). The Canadian forces did not commit any of the alleged atrocities (I think, probably, we'll see). They, as many other countries do, simply handed detainees over to Afghan officials. The difference is that many other countries have agreements indicating what the Afghans can and cannot do with the detainees, Canada, apparently, does not.
Canadian forces should not have handed detainees over if there was even a chance that those detainees were going to be subjected to treatment outlawed in Canada. Unfortunately, the Canadian Forces did, and for that, someone needs to be held accountable.