TO BE OR WANT TO BE, THAT IS THE QUESTION
Some are elected, or were, some are not, may never be. All aspire to lead Canada's so-called natural governing entity, the Liberal Party of Canada. Indeed, Bourque has learned from a variety of sources over the past 48 hours that devisive Liberal alliances are forming throughout the country as Pretenders to the Throne await a dubious election outcome and the rapid fall of Paul Martin's stewardship of the party, should he fail to gain a majority government in this, his second and final kick at the can. To wit, the names of Bevilacqua, Cauchon, McKenna, Manley, Volpe, Brison, Dryden, even, let it be said, ex-Tory Stronach and the American-dipped Ignatieff, among other lesser mortals, all networking their contacts and cobbling standby underground leadership teams ready to activate in the coming weeks, or not, depending on how the stars align for each aspirant. All are sounding out various Liberal rainmakers, regional chieftains, leftover used-to-be's, and ambitious soon-to-be's. Many will be called, some will be chosen, others will be humoured. But the insurmountable evidence now clearly points to a devastatingly fractured Liberal Party, one held together more by a tenuous vernacular than by a robust idealism and altruism that would otherwise stimulate a lethargic political body hungering for vision and leadership.
via bourque (no links from website?)
marticcauchonblogspot

The Australian police officer could have worked in any major Canadian city and he would have come to the same conclusions.

Judges that demonstrate complete disrespect, almost disdain, for the population at large while satisfying their egos by pretending to live up to some great judicial principle.

Canadian judges are exactly the same - they just bailed a guy on a first degree murder charge here in Toronto, this guy beat and shot his victim before dumping him in a field - and he could be your neighbour while he awaits trial.

Apparently the only exception is if a thug tries to steal a cell phone from a prominent Liberal - no bail for that guy.

Liberal election strategy revealed!! (humour)

www.thiscanada.com/2005/12/31/liberal-election-prospects/

Enjoy, Erik

There is not one name on that list of Lib-leader wannabes that inspires confidence. In fact, seeing Stick Chick there makes me shudder - can you imagine the influence various Quebec business interests would have on her leadership? She's Paul Martin in drag, post South-Beach diet.

A TEEN'S RESPONSE TO A MOONBAT CARTOONIST
michellemalkin.com ^ | 12/31/05 | Michelle Malkin

Posted on 12/31/2005 10:43:01 AM PST by smug

In October, Atlanta Journal Constitution's left-wing cartoonist Mike Luckovich used the names of the fallen in Iraq to create this anti-war image touted by moonbats:

whyluckovich.jpg

James Lileks, among many others, wrote a fabulous rejoinder to Luckovich. But Georgia teenager Danielle Ansley has topped it. Her cartoon response to Luckovich appears in today's Atlanta Journal Constitution:

freedomdanielle.jpg

Danielle also wrote a letter to the editor that accompanies the cartoon:

The first time I saw Mike Luckovich’s drawing of the word “WHY?”, made up of the names of 2,000 troops killed in Iraq, was when my mother was putting it up on our refrigerator. It bothered me that no one did a response showing how others feel. On Nov. 8, I got an updated list of the names of the war dead and started writing them, spelling out “FREEDOM.” Six days later, it was done. I only worked on it in my free time at school. It took me about 12 hours to get it done, so needless to say I devoted many of my classes to this, and stayed late after school to work on it. I didn’t take it home and show it to my mother until I had prints made. She and I have different views of things. She said that, as a mother, she didn’t like it that so many people have been killed. She was not happy when I placed my work next to Luckovich’s “WHY?” on the fridge, but it hasn't been taken down. I may seem as if I am too young to have an opinion on matters like these. I am not saying that my opinion is right, for an opinion is just that — someone’s views on something. But, like a child’s voice, an opinion is often not heard. via freerepublic.com

Multiculturalisim is the death blow to a civilization.

Uh, Kate, wasn't an unmarried female speaking her own mind and racing around town in leather on a motorbike considered indecent at one time? Perhaps the evolution of decency isn't so bad. Keep in mind that your current morality was pretty damn immoral to your grandparents.

My new year's resolution is to become more tech savvy. That said, Harper wrote a brilliant piece in yesterday's National Post on the tragedy in TO and how the government has failed Canadians. Sorry I'm useless here, but it ran yesterday. Maybe somebody can find the link. Got good reviews in the Letters today. It was brilliant, if I do say so myself.

Sean. In Anglo culture women had the right to not marry or travel unaccompanied. It may have been frowned upon but it was not illegal. Go play your liberal moral equivalence games elsewhere.

Sean:
No.

Cheers
JMH

Kate,

O/T, but wanted to say thanks for all the hard work you do on this site.

Have a Happy New Year!

Shabbadoo

More Conservative defence silliness: "Tories' plan for Forces includes a huge boost in troops", Ottawa Citizen, Dec. 31
http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id=b44c4a76-04a8-4c5f-9dc5-d1118abeacca&rfp=dta

Excerpt:

'In addition, the Conservatives would establish urban military bases with upwards of 500 troops each to better aid in responding to natural disasters and other emergencies. Those units would be stationed in various cities including Calgary, Winnipeg, Regina, Toronto and Vancouver.'

One wonders what these troops would usefully do in the absence of a disaster or emergency in the big city, which is about 99% of the time. We are speaking here of around five battalion equivalents (can't see the Navy or Air Force being much use as urban rapid responders): a large number of soldiers essentially doing nothing. Where moreover would they train to keep up their combat skills?

In defence at least the Conservatives are engaging in shameless and thoughtless pandering for votes just as much as the Liberals always do in just about any policy area.

Mark
Ottawa

Say Mark,

Could it be that these troops would be doing what troops do normally? Like training, eh.

I'm not up to speed as to where the Canadian military is today but I remember the PPCLI in Winnipeg, Victoria and Calgary. RCR in London, etc and I didn't hear any crying about turning into a military state. And they did indeed have their own training areas close to the home base.

Oh yes, remember when if a plane went down in the rockies a search and rescue operation could be onsite in under an hour from Edmonton. Now I think they launch from Winnipeg.

It looks like the Ottawa Citizen or at least the editorial writer is a closet Lieberal or NDPer.

BTW: Happy New Year All. I hope really it is a NEW year for political Canada.

Mark in Ottawa I'll never forget the CFB Calgary being hijacked to Edmonton to pacify Screamin Annie et al and I would like nothing more than to welcome them back. BTW isn't it more like re-establishing urban military bases?

The Australian policeman's article really helps to explain the recent 'racist' events there. (it ain't about race - it's about religion)

Having been reading 'The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam' (that was recommended by someone contributing to the comments on this blog whose name escapes me - and that I got for Christmas (that outta turn some cranks)) the observations of the officer and the response by non-Muslim Australians recently makes a lot of sense.

Tolerance of Islam is a bad, bad thing. Read the book and the article and make your own conclusions.

Happy New Year and may the Liberals be defeated.

Cheers,
Brian

"Go play your liberal moral equivalence games elsewhere."

You sound grouchy today. Getting enough fibre in your diet?

Sean; The problem is seeing the morality of a century previous and not realizing it was different than the morality of three centuries previous. Societal mores ebb and flow as time passes but there is a danger in going past certain points. Decadence appears at the end of civilization not the beginning.

And let's not forget the family of five who drowned waiting for Ottawa to okay federal search and rescue teams from Esquimalt, I think it was, while local divers had to sit it out, watching helplessly from the sidelines as the boat sank with all the passengers aboard because they are not allowed to participate in this type of rescue. Nobody ever thought to think or act independently, so lives were lost. I think it happened on the Fraser River, but it was soul-destroying for those who wanted to act but couldn't/didn't. And it was hours before the feds got here.

Corruption Inc., aka Liberal Party of Canada: brought to you by Chretien/Martin, et al. >>>

Judge OKs memos in $30B fight over PS pensions

OTTAWA - A controversial stack of internal and secret government documents will be allowed as key evidence in an unprecedented court battle over who owned the $30-billion surplus in federal workers' pension plans. (Ottawa Citizen)

(Thanks Kenneth)

This explains how Paul Martin got rid of the deficit. No wonder the government wanted to keep them secret. - Leo
link from primetimecrime.com >>> more

Judge OKs memos in $30B fight over PS pensions
Documents 'reliable, relevant' in battle over fate of fund surplus.

Kathryn May, The Ottawa Citizen
Published: Saturday, December 31, 2005

The 18 unions and pensioner groups, however, accuse the government of "raiding" or "stealing" the surplus in their pension funds with "questionable" accounting practices to pay down the deficit. They claim a portion of the surplus belongs to them and they want the court to order the government to return $30 billion to their pension accounts.

They argue the government violated its "legal obligation" to use the surplus in the best interest of the federal workers and retirees who contributed to the plans over the years. They say the government's decision to take the surplus was a "breach of contract" because the pension fund is part of the terms and conditions under which public servants work. The heart of their argument is that the legislation passed in 1999 that allowed the government to scoop the $30-billion surplus -- the Public Sector Investment Board Act -- discriminates against public servants under Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

The documents and flurry of memos at the time show Treasury Board and the powerful Finance Department had significant disagreements over the ownership and handling of the surplus. >>>
ottawa citizen

Re; the SCC assuming the mantle for setting community standards and dispensing civil liberty and the sex club people:

Yet they'll arrest you for smoking a cigar in public.

If Canadian attitudes towards civil liberties weren't so perilously dysfunctional, it would be a clownish source of ridicule.

Berlin Blockade? >>>

Russia starts cutting off gas to Ukraine
Posted by Flavius
On 01/01/2006 6:46:04 AM PST · 14 replies · 251+ views

reuteurs ^ | 1/1/06 | By Christian Lowe
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia began cutting off gas to Ukraine in a dispute that could hit deliveries to a wintry Europe on the very day that Moscow began its first term as chairman of the Group of Eight industrialized nations. The Russian state-owned supplier, Gazprom, said it had begun reducing pressure in the pipeline supplying Ukraine on Sunday after Kiev refused to pay the increased price Moscow was demanding. "In this situation, which is the fault of the Ukrainian side, we have been forced to start reducing pressure in the pipeline to Ukraine," Gazprom spokesman Sergei Kupriyanov told a news.. >>>
via freerepublic.com

Sunday, January 01, 2006
Happy New Year

You've got to wonder what to make of this: Gunmen kidnap Italian peace activist in Gaza:

GAZA CITY, Jan 1 (AFX) - An Italian peace activist was kidnapped by masked Palestinian gunmen in the southern Gaza Strip, security sources and witnesses said. ... The hostage was a member of an Italian peace mission designed to show solidarity with the Palestinians and which had only arrived the night before in Khan Yunis, security sources said.

My fearless prediction is that not a single "peace organization" will denounce this kidnapping. If this hostage is ever safely released, which I hope is the case, this person will utter not a word of condemnation of his/her abduction, an act which in most Western societies is capital crime, and which, under the name of "extraordinary rendition" is considered an international outrage. That, and not the abduction itself, which is dime-a-dozen in Gaza these days, is the real news.

The interesting thing about the Chrobog abduction and the great Ukranian natural gas shakedown (the subject of a Belmont Club post before it really hit the headlines) is that neither can be remotely related to Iraq, even in fantasy. Neither can this: Palestinian gunmen blow up UN club in Gaza City.

GAZA (Reuters) - Masked gunmen stormed into a club for UN workers in Gaza City on Sunday and blew up the drinking hall in a new sign of spiralling unrest ahead of a Palestinian election. It was the first such attack in Gaza on a UN target and came against a backdrop of growing unease. On Friday, a group freed three British hostages that had been seized to demand foreign pressure on Israel. ... "The club has been there for 50 years," said one UN security worker. "This is the first time anything like this has happened."

Although Israel has probably committed it's share of crimes in the world, it's a matter of serious doubt whether they had anything whatsoever, remotely or otherwise, to do with the assault on a UN saloon in Gaza.
Commentary

What we've got here is the failure of a paradigm. The normal controls (taking the Ukranian gas crisis to the UN or issuing an EU statement) of the "international community" don't work any more. The usual suspects (Israel and George Bush) have already been shot while trying to escape. And 2006 is just beginning. The good news is that academic intellectuals can start thinking creatively again, because it is increasingly futile to keep interpreting the world according to Leftist models of the late 20th century. Come writers and critics, prophesy with your pen, and keep your eyes wide, the chance won't come again. Your old road is rapidly aging. You can't criticize what you can't understand. For the times ... well you know.

Happy New Year everybody.

posted by wretchard at >>>
http://www.fallbackbelmont.blogspot.com/

Fisher is worthy of a post. Have not seen one yet in the blogosphere. Could be a first; in addition, it would be a great tribute to a first-class man, veteran, journalist, Canadian.
(Competitions for commenters: Post your reasons for turfing Martin. Limit: 3 per comment.)>>>

By DOUGLAS FISHER, PARLIAMENTARY BUREAU

Why turf Martin? For so many reasons!

Douglas Fisher notes a long list of Liberal foul-ups that dwarf the scandals of their much-maligned predecessor Mulroney

The best reasons for electors to rid of us of the Liberal government are its poor quality and arrogance, a blend of incompetence, wastefulness and amorality.

It starts with Prime Minister Paul Martin, who depends far too much on his personal coterie of advisors and handlers and counts little on the mandarins (deputy ministers) and his own elected cabinet and caucus. In consequence, the prime minister's office absolutely dominates cabinet and the House of Commons.

STUPID INITIATIVES

But the problems go back to 1993 -- and Martin bears considerable responsibility for the many stupid initiatives and glaring inefficiencies in governance since then. After all, in his lengthy stint as Jean Chretien's minister of finance, he played a prime and integral role through three successive Liberal governments.

Any fair retrospective of the Liberals' nearly 12 years in office suggests too much credit was given to Martin for leading us from big annual deficits to robust surpluses. To a large extent it was a sleight of hand, based on overestimating deficits and underestimating revenues. >>>
http://www.rapp.org/url/?NCO4CI04
ottawasun via cnews

policing is not rocket science is a must read by all especially politicians also faith freedoms a letter to mankind is also a must read

Oh where, oh where, will Martin be tomorrow? RSVP, as we are waiting "on a need-to-know basis".>>>

Itineraries for the federal party leaders on Monday, Jan. 2

OTTAWA (CP) - Itineraries for the federal party leaders on Monday, Jan. 2 (all times local):

Paul Martin - Liberal Party

Itinerary not yet released.

-

Stephen Harper - Conservative Party

Rally (8:30 a.m. at Crowne Plaza Hotel, 101 Lyon St., Ballroom A, lower level, Ottawa); Tour event (3:30 p.m. at Holiday Inn Saguenay, 2675 Boul. du Royaume, Jonquiere, Que.).

-

Jack Layton - New Democratic Party

Tour event with area NDP candidates (2:00 p.m. at Montgomery Legion, 330 Kent St., Ottawa).

-

Gilles Duceppe - Bloc Quebecois

Wishes party members a happy 2006, followed by news conference. (2 p.m. at 926 Ste-Catherine St. E., Montreal)>>>
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Politics/CanadaVotes/2005/12/31/1374703-cp.html

"As if the prime minister didn't have enough problems, now he can look forward to hearing about a new documentary, Waiting for Martin, that enthusiastically skewers his pro-business, cost-cutting agenda."
- Brendan Kelly, The Montreal Gazette

"This is a terrific film, both entertaining and thought-provoking, a must see for anyone who is concerned about where Canada is going under Paul Martin."
- Olivia Chow, NDP candidate, Trinity-Spadina, Toronto

"This is not a legitimate documentary effort…"
-Scott Reid, Paul Martin spokesman

“There’s no one in Newfoundland that’s waiting for Martin!”
- Anonymous fisherman, St. John’s, Newfoundland>>
http://www.waitingformartin.ca/
Media partner is rabble (NDP)

Search cnews for leader's itinerary 2 Jan. 2006 gives this:>>>>>

CNEWS! SEARCH:

Your search did not match any document.>>>

Wiped off... into memory hole?

Velly interesting?

Doughnuts, er bagels for Martin>>

Where the leaders are on Monday

OTTAWA (CP) - Itineraries for the federal party leaders on Monday, Jan. 2 (all times local):

Paul Martin - Liberal Party

Photo opportunity (2 p.m. at Kettleman's Bagel Shop, 2177 Carling Ave., Ottawa)>>>
cnews

Estelle denied bail. Smelly?
THE TREATMENT OF MENTAL ILLNESS - NI 132 - Taking liberties
The Soviet psychiatrist will seem to be colluding with the political authorities,
using a false charge of mental illness - usually ‘sluggish’ schizophrenia ...
www.newint.org/issue132/taking.htm - 23k - >>>>

Pettigrew Mistaken for a Male Prostitute
Filed under: Campaigns & Elections, Amusing and Legal & Justice — Tom Cerber @ December 31, 2005

Most of the time Pierre Pettigrew is mistaken for being Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs. During this federal election campaign, one might think he’d also get mistaken for an MP who’s desperately trying to hang on to his seat.

The National Post (subscription required) reports that Frederick Estelle, 24, attacked Pettigrew on a Montreal subway station platform:

Mr. Estelle, a professional painter, has no criminal record. He has undergone treatment for depression, the court heard.

He is accused of robbery and assault in the attack on Mr. Pettigrew in St. Laurent on Wednesday.

Mr. Pettigrew was talking on his cellphone inside the subway station when a man became belligerent, shouting at the Minister that he had no business there and that it was “his” territory.

Jamie Christoff, a spokesman in Mr. Pettigrew’s office, declined to comment at length on the attack.

“The incident itself had nothing to do with his role as Minister of Foreign Affairs,” Mr. Christoff said. “He was in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

This entry was posted on Saturday, December 31st, 2005 at 8:44 am and is filed under Campaigns & Elections, Amusing and Legal & Justice. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
3 Responses to “Pettigrew Mistaken for a Male Prostitute”

1. kaqchikel Says:
December 31st, 2005 at 10:30 am

I’d be surprised if the Cote Vertu metro was a pick up place for male prostitutes. Too busy, too much traffic in and outside the exits. Contrary to what multiculturalist tells us, in a largely north African neighbourhood, male prostitutes would not do very well.

What could be possible, and I had not thought about that until your brought up this “territory” issue that had been trotting in the back of my mind, is that he got confused with a drug pusher. You know, oily, seemingly unkept curls, jeans and a sweatshirt, overcoat and a cell phone looking self-important. See the picture here, and imagine the foggy darkness of a winter evening at 5 PM in what is essentially a dimly lit station.
2. Tom Cerber Says:
December 31st, 2005 at 5:30 pm

I dunno, he’s wearing a trenchcoat. Don’t know what he’s hiding underneath it!
3. Lyndon Simmons Says:
January 1st, 2006 at 6:27 pm

This is really low, guys.
>>>

http://www.thepolitic.com/archives/2005/12/31/pettigrew-mistaken-for-a-male-prostitute/