Monthly Archive: May 2007

John Oakley's column in the National Post relates carbon offsets to indulgences. I think he's on to something, but I think his analogy is off. Carbon offsets are less like indulgences and more like tithes paid to the Church of Green.

Stephane Dion addresses a labour rally, quite possibly for the last time. The boos and catcalls are easily picked up by the cameras recording the appearance.

Discrimination against women from gay males horrified by the sight of a woman drinking in their presence. Yeah, it's as stupid as it sounds.

Fans of organic food are bitter because the commercial success has attracted big business. But of course, they reserve their anger for big business. What about the organic food producer who was all too happy to sell out for a handsome profit?

The NDP organized a fund-raiser for IRFAN, a registered charity, but one that has been alleged to have strong ties to Hamas. Those allegations have been known to the highest levels of the Canadian government, and widely reported in the press. But despite that, the NDP feels that helping raise thousands of dollars for this group is a worthy exercise, and MPs Alexa McDonough and Irene Mathyssen lent their presence to make sure as much money as possible is sent from Canada to this group.

Last year, the Iranian government hosted a conference roundly denounced by the West as Holocaust-denial gabfest. One Canadian attended, Shiraz Dossa, a professor from St. Francis Xavier University in Nova Scotia. Drossa was condemned by people both within the university and across Canada. Dossa has now issued a defense.

The problem is that his defense seems to bring focus on his not-so-latent anti-Semitism.

Can the Roman Catholic Church ignore the presence of ordained women priests? Actually she can, since the ordinations were illegitimate. And not because the people who secretly received the Sacrament of Orders were women. The problem with this sort of subterfuge is that the subterfuge is itself reason enough to declare the entire exercise invalid.

Real credit goes to Mrs Angry, who has an eye for detail, as well as superb night vision. I just called it in.

When the Liberal Party fashioned its environmental policy, would it suprise you to learn that one of the people called out for special mention in helping complete that work is in fact the Director of Communications for the multinational manufacturer of Coppertone sunscreen products? That company has, for over ten years, been working very hard to ensure that North American consumers are obsessed with the question of sun exposure, while at the same time making sure that those same consumers understand that the only protection against UV rays comes from the liberal application of sunscreen, instead of, say, wearing a light shirt.

Schering, the pharmaceutical in question, has been attacked for taking climate science, as imprecise and questionable as it is, and spinning it a certain way for corporate profit. I am curious if Liberal Party environmental policy was similarly nudged this way and that in order to profit the shareholders of Schering. The real question, of course, is why the Liberals would have given such a key position to a senior member of this particular corporation.

Mixing plastic component melamine in pet food.

Antifreeze diethylene glycol in cough syrop and toothpaste.

Deaths suffered by both animals and humans.

Imports from China have killed, and continue to kill.

Now Chinese monkfish is contaminated. And with one of the deadlist neurotoxins known to science. Tetradotoxin is best known as active poison in the deadly pufferfish.

The Skyfish Project is an "internet thinktank" set up by Severn Cullis-Suzuki, David Suzuki's daughter. But it is really a parked domain with spammy links for alien t-shirts and bizarre pseudo-Catholic end-of-time prophecies.

A report attributes Canada's slip in productivity in large part to Liberal scandals. Shocking? Well, I wrote an analysis suggesting that this was happening two years ago.

No, really.

And I've waited patiently all this time to be shown to be right.

I find it interesting that Justin Trudeau's contribution to the Liberal Party Renewal Commission appears to have been ghost-written by an Earnscliffe/Veraxis/Gandalf employee. It is doubly interesting that the report bearing Justin Trudeau's name has determined that Canadians want a return of activist government. Is that a subtle reference to a Paul Martin legacy of universal childcare and same-sex marriage and Kyoto enforcement and such? Does this suggest that Justin Trudeau is being used by ex-Martinites to surreptitiously inject their influence back into the party?

In my first post on uber-environmentalist David Suzuki, I wonder if he sees himself as some sort of Medieval lord.

In my second post, I wonder if he is just a garden variety hypocrite.

In this post, I look into just what drives David Suzuki to do what he does.

More accurately, who drives him.

Consider David Suzuki's grand property (named "Tangwyn") on Quadra Island for him and his wife in contrast to my disgusting excess of a three-bedroom detached home on a tiny lot for a household of six. I suppose environmentalism has been good to Suzuki. Everything I hear suggests the world Suzuki wants me to have doesn't include a vast forested estate.

But then Suzuki says he struggles with what it means to be an environmentalist.

Must be so hard for him.

Ever notice that the world the environmentalists want us to live in is a lot like Medieval Europe? And in more ways than you might think?

This senior UN official, Yvo de Boer, seems satisfied that Stephen Harper and the Conservatives have a satsifactory approach to the Kyoto Protocol. What is the punishment for apostasy from the Church of Kyoto?

Probably watching David Suzuki videos.

Lobbyists are an interesting breed. They use their specialized knowledge to help companies and organizations make their view known in government, and hopefully influence public policy. I have nothing against that. But the case of Earnscliffe principal Velma McColl is particularly interesting, since it appears that this former senior Liberal Environment Ministry official is using her specialized knowledge to simultaneously help companies at opposite points of the same issue, Canada's commitment to Kyoto, to influence public policy.

Breaking: Ersatz Colgate toothpaste in the United States might contain DEG. And I just bought a suspicious tube of toothpaste in my local dollar store in Canada.

Brush your teeth...and die! Thanks to Chinese quality controls. On the other hand, the toothy grin on the skull-and-crossbones has never looked so bright and shiny.

I guess it's hard to highlight environmental initiatives undertaken by Environment Minister Stephane Dion when the Liberals were in power.

So the wife and kids went out for a quick drive on Saturday afternoon, and I found myself allowed to put on whatever I want on TV. A rare treat indeed. I browsed through the program guide, and found an episode of the classic Star Trek on one of the HD channels starting in a few moments. Not that a 60s era TV show on HD amounts to anything more that what I recall seeing on old-style over-the-air broadcast TV when I was younger, but I put it on anyways. The stories were always more engaging despite the not-so-special effects.

And my jaw dropped in utter shock.

Al Gore's Oscar-winning An Inconvenient Truth is being shown in Canadian schools, often over and over again. Kevin Libin of the National Post makes the point that the film has problems with the facts, making it a questionable educational tool. But if you look at the curricula guide that accompanies the film, it becomes clear that facts aren't all that important.

Stephane Dion is going to have some fun in the next election if the Liberal Party is going to field candidates who are on record as severely criticizing the leader. This is not the case of long-time Liberals who no doubt have critical comments on record. I'm talking about one Liberal in particular, Drew Adamick, hoping to win the nomination in Cariboo-Prince George.

The Chinese are terrified that the pet food scandal will cause their food exports to collapse in the face of angry Western consumers.

What they don't get is that China primarily exports lies. We ought to close the doors until that changes.

You want to try Joost? Just ask...

Liberal MP Garth Turner turned his razor wit on Conservative MP Dean del Mastro. It is an exercise in tastelessness. It's only redeeming quality is that it gives us an opportunity to hear the story of man who has led a life anyone would be proud of.

Did Jeffrey Kroeker ever have a chance?

In one of those head scratching moments, we learn that a Senator accused of misspending government funds sat on the committee that decided that he had done nothing wrong.

Moreover, this senator, Liberal Colin Kenny, sat in judgment of Jeffrey Kroeker, the man who got him in trouble. After finding him guilty, Kenny is going after Kroeker's boss.

The Liberal MP for Halton, Garth Turner, is a very polarizing person. What of people who annoy him? Apparently, they can expect Garth Turner to lurk around parking lots, looking at their cars and taking pictures.

Because sometimes the news seems so silly:

An ugly brawl broke out today in the House of Commons, where a Liberal MP claims he was physically accosted and threatened by a Conservative who "flipped out."

Ottawa MP David McGuinty accused Tory MP Royal Galipeau of storming across the floor and unleashing a tirade of insults. He called the unruly conduct the worst he's seen in his three years on Parliament Hill.

"The member was clearly out of control, using unparliamentary language and in a threatening fashion grabbed my left shoulder and only left my side when several of my colleagues urged him to stop and to leave, but he would not," McGuinty said. "He was really completely out of control, raising his voice, flailing his arms, gesticulating in a threatening fashion and making wild accusations."

Royal Galipeau, 60 years old, is one scary-ass parliamentarian. Run, McGuinty! Run!

The Conservatives actually plan to do something that would improve the lot of exploited women. One woman on Canada's left scoffs at the move, suggesting that this is about Christian morality and not about protecting women. Indeed, since the exploitation happens behind closed doors, she admits it is not a concern of hers.

The Liberals are trying to find fault with Stephen Harper's fundraising activities from five years ago, when it is clear that by the law of the time, nothing wrong actually happened. If they want to play that game, maybe we should be asking where Jamie Carroll got his hands on $30,000, since unlike the case of Stephen Harper, the answer to that question does indeed matter when it comes to the legality of the donations.

Stephane Dion shows his leadership qualities with regards to Jamie Carroll, the National Director of the Liberal Party and a major Dion backer who is in trouble for suggesting that other senior Liberals can't be trusted, by telling him that the mistake cannot be tolerated before giving Carroll a second chance. And if you're confused, Stephane Dion helpfully announces he is being a leader.

Michael Ignatieff wants Jamie Carroll fired. Liberal Party leader Stephane Dion says absolutely not.

Of course, Ignatieff wins.

Jamie Carroll is in trouble for making some serious allegations against the losing Liberal Party leadership candidates, saying that they are working to undermine Stephane Dion. As a result, there are calls for Carroll to be fired from his position as National Director. Stephane Dion is refusing to do this. Stephane Dion is acting very loyal to Jamie Carroll. There are many ways to earn loyalty.

Young Jesse Fontaine is very concerned about the way the Ontario government has decided to communicate with teens. I don't expect he'll get an answer, but I think he's posed some interesting questions.

Jeff Monaghan, the former Environment Canada contract employee arrested for allegedly leaking secret government documents, has written a letter to a newspaper taking issue with being labelled an anarchist. Has the media made a mistake, extrapolating from Jeff Monaghan's known associates to judge Monaghan by the company he keeps? Or is there some sort of documentary evidence in which Monaghan states that he is an anarchist?

Has Gilles Duceppe's flip-flop on running for the PQ leadership hurt his position in the BQ? I think it clearly has, but the real question is whether there will be consequences?

In his own words, on his radio show.

Is Jeff Monaghan a quiet and withdrawn character driven to act by the hypocrisy of the Harper government, as some would allege? I'm not so sure, if only because quiet and withdrawn characters don't host talk radio shows.

I suppose it's one thing to be part of an anti-globalization riot, where you are lost in the mass of rock-throwing mask-wearing anonymity. But when the media focus is like a laser-beam, then anarchists get nervous.

The Suicide Pilots, the band for which Jeff Monaghan plays the drums, has issued a statement.

Just an amusing aside about how, despite their best efforts to be the human equivalent of chaos, when push comes to shove, anarchists fall back on heirarchy and order in order to save their hides.

Funny video starring Last Minute Man!

You want to try Joost? Just ask...

Jeff Monaghan was arrested for leaking the government's environment plan. Is this anarchist posing as a government worker the only dirt-worshipping, granola-eating, tree-hugging druid wannabe who got by the background checks?

The Liberals are holding another slumber party to raise money for the party. The exciting news is that the wife of the Great Leader will be making an appearance.

Great Leader?!

Nicolas Ruszkowski is taking on the challenge of rehabilitating Stephane Dion's image. It tells you something about Stephane Dion's problems when you go to someone like Ruszkowski.

OK, I don't have an opinion one way or another about how hot Peter MacKay is. But at least I know the difference between "sexist" and "sexiest":

As the investigation into how contracts to manage the RCMP pension fund continues, we learn more about questionable contracts. Casey Computing is raising some red flags.

We are finally learning the details of the way David Smith and his cousin Frank Brazeau gamed the bidding system to make sure pre-selected contractors won competitive bids to manage the RCMP pension system.

There's a subtle hint on the National Post website that speaks to how the newspaper perceives its own value in the world of news media.

It's about spying on the Americans!

Is someone threatening to kill Warren Kinsella and his family? Not likely. In fact, it is a known, if rarely encountered, form of email extortion spam.

David Smith is appearing today in the televised meeting of the Public Accounts Committee investigation into the RCMP Pension Scandal. David Smith's former company, Abotech, has been implicated in the scandal. The firm once run by the former Liberal Party member of parliament for Pontiac is alleged to have been given directed contracts by Frank Brazeau, David Smith's cousin, who worked at Consulting and Audit Canada. The Auditor General has reported that these contracts bypassed the competition guidelines, and the work amounted to little more than passing cheques around, hardly worth the hundreds of thousands charge by Abotech.

What is interesting is that David Smith's appearance was amended to today's schedule.

The notice of the meeting indicates the David Smith was added to the meeting notice as an amendment. It probably doesn't mean anything, but it would be interesting to know just when David Smith was originally expected to testify, if at all, and what prompted this change. Really, just curious.

David Smith and Frank Brazeau are testifying today on the role of Abotech in the RCMP Pension Scandal. I'm looking forward to some very interesting testimony.

How long before the jihad is declared against MySpace? Or against this blog for daring to link to this blasphemous parody, "Allah Allah Allah"?

But seriously, how long before someone gets MySpace to pull this parody?

Yet more horror stories about Chinese exports killing hundreds, if not thousands. But this time we're talking about children being given antifreeze by parents who thought they were being given cough syrup. Why? Because this sort of antifreeze tastes sweet and is cheaper than glycerin. Too bad diethylene glycol is deadly.

Shane Doan's alleged slur is nothing. There are even more vicious targets for Canada busy-body do-gooders with too much time on their hands to go after. There are typos that must be punished.

Just an interesting exploration of the history and the ignoble end of a valuable domain name, and what it means for those of use with our own domains.

I'm not sure whether to giggle or to be impressed with the creative thinking. Well, giggling is out -- too much of that happens at slumber parties as it is.

The Conservative MP for Edmonton-Mills Wood-Beaumont, Mike Lake, delivered a petition on behalf of his constituents. Some people are mocking him for that. Critics have to remember that Mike Lake is working on behalf of his constituents, and not on behalf of Bigfoot.

Bigfoot?

The Green Party of Canada uses an American company to make the t-shirts it sells via the party website. Not only does this beg the question of just how committed the Green Party is to Canadian economic sovereignty, the choice of American Apparel as the supplier makes me wonder just what the Green Party really thinks about sexual harassment and labour standards in the workplace.

Farhan Chak has bowed to pressure and has informed the Liberal Party that he will not be the candidate for Edmonton-Mill Woods-Beaumont. I have some thoughts on all of this.

My member of parliament, Gary Goodyear, took to delivering the most recent jab at Stephane Dion and the Liberals over Farhan Chak.

Farhan Mujahid Chak has some problems on his hands. As the Liberal Party candidate for a riding in Alberta, he has been in the news dealing with the fallout of extreme-sounding writings of his, and serious firearms-related criminal charges that he seems to have not disclosed to the Liberal Party.

I'm going to add a new one to this list. His doctorate from the University of Durham? No such thing.

Millions of people have eaten food tainted by Chinese melamine.

Millions.

Segolène Royal, Elizabeth May, and Farhan Chak have all recently engaged in vicious attacks on their opponents, likening them to dictators of the worst possible kind. When violence erupts because well-meaning fools decide that history ought not to repeat itself, and that these budding Hitlers must be stopped by any means possible, they insist they've been misinterpreted. That is, of course, nonsense.

B'nai Brith is adding its voice to the chorus demanding that Farhan Chak be removed as the nominee for the Liberal Party in Edmonton-Mill Woods-Beaumont.

Conservative MP Pierre Poilievre raised the question of Farhan Chak in the House of Commons today. Poilievre brings into it the question of Liberal leadership, as well as what the attitude of the Liberal Party as a whole is towards terrorism and extremism.

The light-hearted title belies a serious escalation in the food contamination story. Chickens have been fed pet food tainted with melamine.

Elizabeth May would trade appeasement of Nazi Germany if it meant less pollution today. I can't imagine that will play well in Nova Scotia.

Just pondering the details of Farhan Chak's exoneration on the gun charges.