"Now, as they say, we were cooking with weapons-grade plutonium."

Given the situation in Korea and this morning Iran's interdiction of British personnel; I think will carefully and gingerly pussyfoot around that comment.

However, Borat Dion did get the hammering he deserved. I would probably liken this to a verbal shelling barrage.

Dion is now finding out why the Opposition benches are placed precisely two sword lengths apart.

How does Dion spell "INCOMING"?

I thought he was going to ask if he could go to the bathroom.....

Poor Stephane. Getting b*tch-slapped every day in QP is really starting to get to him. He's getting more and more flustered and that means he's even more difficult to understand. Hah!

I think it would be appropriate for the government side to always put in their translation earpeices when Borat Dion gets up to speak in English and take them out for french.

They can read the CBCpravda translations later on the website, sans accent , sans garble. sanitized.

The Liberal benches are hosting a pretty pathetic pack of fools. Not the least of which is their leader and his 2-I-C, Ignatieff who is committing political suicide before our eyes. He sure picked a fine time to launch his political career.

When Dion rose to demand O'Connor resign, he was speaking in unintelligible English, could barely get the drift. He and the rest of his pack of fools, Coderre, et al are not fit to lick the boots of O'Connor or our great CDS Hillier.

Someone quick go take a screenshot of Cherniak's home page. The video shows a picture of Navdeep Bains under a very funny headline. Is Cherniak the Liberal mole?

I was quite happy the PM chose to tell the opposition what he did a couple of days ago, it was very good for them to here that they are Taliban supporters because they are, yopu can tell by the snibbling and whining they have done since than about getting an apology, apparantly they can't handle the truth!

"I can understand the passion that the Leader of the Opposition and members of his party feel for Taliban prisoners," Harper shot back, the House falling silent. "I just wish occasionally they would show the same passion for Canadian soldiers."

Perfect. Because it's the truth.

And then there's Hezbollah Coderre making noise and then scurrying off like the pathetic rodent he is.

Led by Stephane Pion, the Liberals are increasingly goose stepping with the moonbat brigade and abandoning the vote rich centre.

Our PM must begin to restrain himself. Should he continue to respond to French citizen Mr Dion's questions he runs the risk of running out of funny comebacks.

I find it hard not to yell at the television every time French citizen Mr Dion speaks, but the PM always beats me to it and says something infinitely more thoughtful.

At times, I find myself almost feeling sympathy for French citizen Mr Dion. I don't, but I do enjoy the fact that he keeps coming back each day for his verbal tongue lashing!

I sure hope that the PM and the Environment Minister start giving the National Defence Minister, BGen (ret'd) O'Connor some lessons in verbal self defence! It would be nice to see Gordon verbally b*tch-slap Denis Coderre.

I don't know if Martha Hell-Findlay's anger is a result of being spanked as a child or wanting to be spanked as an adult. On MDL yesterday, she gave her usual performance of interupting other speakers, in this case John Reynolds. Miss Martha thought PMSH's comments to Dion on the Taliban love, were "personal". John told her that comments in the house were a fact of politics and to "grow up". I think she got her spanking.

So the Liberals make the bold decision to send Canadian troops into Afghanistan to DEFEAT the Taliban, then after that operation the Liberals make the bold decision to send more Canadian troops on an even more dangerous mission to root out and DESTROY any remnants of the Taliban... THESE are the Liberals who are like the Taliban?

Right.

O'Connor should resign because of his clear incompetence.

The rest of all of the jokers - on both sides of the House - should be kicked out because they are making a worse mockery of government than when Martin was on the government side and Harper in the OLO.

Harper in particular because, after all, he IS supposed to be the Prime Minister of this fine country... and we citizens expect him to act with a little bit of decorum and decency. The constant whining about name calling and the return name calling is no better, but Canadians booted Martin because, in part, we got tired of his partisan invective. The name calling is infantile. And Harper and Marting before him seem not only to tolerate it but to thrive on it.

Absolutely infantile.

Ted

You must all be very proud.

A Rat Pack Prime Minister for whom no smear or taunt is too low.

Also, hope you loved your "conservative" budget, with the highest spending ever witnessed or even contemplated by any Canadian government in history.

It is sooooo depressing.

Don't you think O'Connor should be fired? Which is he: dishonest or incompetent?

"Speaking seriously and looking solemn, he gazed directly at Stephen Harper and asked that the Prime Minister dispatch his hapless defence minister, Gordon O'Connor."

Forty-Nine, aka 49, Muslim Islamist terrorists dispatched; killed. This is an independent Afghan operation.

Citoyen Dion scurries for cover. Liberals: soft on terrorists. ...-

CTV | 49 Taliban killed by Afghan forces

KABUL, Afghanistan — Fighting between Afghan forces and Taliban militants in a volatile southern province has left at least 49 militants and seven police dead in what appears to be the biggest independent operation yet by Afghan forces, officials said Friday.

Ted,

O'Connor should resign because of his clear incompetence.

So how much of the job do you have to do wrong to get fired?
I see a rejuvenated CF.
I see an operationally relevant CF.
I see a CF getting new equipment.
I see the CF expanding.
I see an operationally focussed CF.
I see wounded and killed soldiers being treated with respect by both government and citizens.
I see the international reputation of Canada and Canadian soldiers back where it used to be.

The decade of darkness is well and truly over, probably until the Liberals somehow get back into power. (Something I don't wish to contemplate for too long!)

So, Mr O'Connor made a mistake from his briefing book. You will note that the Cols and Generals who briefed him got it wrong as well. I am sure that those people have been sorted out.

Personally I like O'Conner.....as a serving member in the CF, he is the first MND who understands exactly how the military should work...not how the Liberals forced us to work over all their years in office, but how a military SHPULD work. Haper is doing a fine job because he is allowing the MND to DO his job.

As for the childish antics by all members of the HOC, civility and decorum left the HOC a long time ago. Come to think of it...the slide began about the same time the Liberal Rat Pack came to fame!

The Liberals are in no position to demand apologies for "smear". They are masters at it.

Hey this_is_sad,

You'll remember this one:

"Stephen Harper actually announced he wants to increase military presence in our cities.
Canadian cities.
Soldiers with guns.
In our cities.
In Canada."

"Martin said the ad was intended to criticize the Conservatives' policy, saying it would spread soldiers too far apart across the country."

Yeah, right. Climb up on the moral high ground. It makes an excellent target!

I can't wait for Mr Dion to start his attack ads. I am sure that this old ad will pale in comparison.

"dat is not fairr"
"da fas and izzy money"
"grin 'ouse gizzes"

at least with "da liddle guy from Shawinigan" we knew he found his English on the street. but "dis guy is prof fesoor Dion"

As I have said elsewhere today, the situation with the Afgan detainees and the Red Cross was in place under the previous Liberal govt, who got us into Afganistan and thus basically set up all the arrangements. O'Connor has been making the offending statements about detainees / Red Cross supervision for months now...........if it was so easy to know that his statements were wrong, why didn't the Liberal cabinet minister who was responsible for this, know the statements were incorrect right away? Why did we have to wait until the Red Cross came out with it? If the Liberals had known about it, you can be sure they would have shot O'Connor down right away. The Liberals didn't know either, and they are the ones who organized this little hoedown. Don't you think it's mighty rich that they expect O'Connor to resign because he had basically the same level of knowledge on this topic that they had?

People complain bitterly over the antics of politicians - well here's a thought for you. O'Connor's biggest problem is that he is NOT a politician..........he's a military man. The facile manuvering of facts and reality that we loathe in politicians does not come easily to him. When he became aware of the incorrect statement, he took steps to find out what was going on and fix it........isn't that what people in the real world do and expect our leaders to do? Then he stood up, took responsibility and apologized............isn't that what we expect of leaders? Further, in the military, that's how you deal with a problem - you take responsibility and fix it. The problem is that, in an overheated political environment, up becomes down and down becomes up. I suspect that we needed an military guy to clean up the horrid mess that our military has become and that O'Connor is likely operating very well at leading this function. The problem is that he is not a facile politician and there may be a public perception of him that is completely at odds with his real value to his portfolio.

Cautionary note for those of you who think they could do a better job than O'Connor: this is what happens when a non-politican enters the meat grinder of political life.

when i watch question period i always make note of the looks on the faces of those in camera view behind Dion. The look of What the H*** did he just say or it's OH OH here we go again, slap,slap,slap.

O'Connor made the apology to the House, It takes alot of Guts to stand up & admit something. This is more then the Current Opposition ever did when they were the Gov't. Then again the House would have had to forgo alot of time for Questions as the apologies would have taken up the alloted time.

Ted,

ha ha ha ho ho he he ha ha aha hah........

Seriously dude. Find an open mike night at your local comedy club. You've missed your calling.

Isn't it fascinating to watch the liberals' sudden yearning for a kinder, gentler HOC?
During their time in office there was no trick too foul, no attack too personal for them to pull off. Of course, when muttering idiot boy chretien did something dirty, the press fawningly referred to him as "the old street fighter" and gazed in drooling admiration.
Harper isn't doing any name calling - he's simply making some harsh, yet truthful, statements to those who don't want to hear them. Fact is, if they wren't true, i'd regard them as insulting.
If dion wasn't such an abject, hollow shell of a leader, he'd be able to handle himself.

Scene I - The HoC ...Iggy speaking sotto voce to Dion:

"Psst! Hey Stephane! Stand up and demand an apology again! Go On! I double dog dare you!"

As usual, I'm a bit confused.

The Taliban gave sanctuary to Al Quaeda so that they could carry out their objective of waging all-out war on our society.

The took a country that was largely run by women after the soviet takeover and turned women (including doctors, reporters, artists and entrepeneurs) into 4th class citizens.

And I'm supposed to be concerned about how their own people treat them when they're captured?

Sorry, I don't give a shit

As usual, I'm a bit confused.

The Taliban gave sanctuary to Al Quaeda so that they could carry out their objective of waging all-out war on our society.

The took a country that was largely run by women after the soviet takeover and turned women (including doctors, reporters, artists and entrepeneurs) into 4th class citizens.

And I'm supposed to be concerned about how their own people treat them when they're captured?

I don't think the defence minister is incompetent, he may not in a role he is used too completely, but he certainly knows more about the military that most any Liberal could ever hope to know!!!! As for decoram in the house, I am not concerned about it that much it has been a reck for years, it is good the PM offers the opposition a little of there own medicine, it is good for them to be put in there place

Exactly, Slick. The question that needs to be put to the media is "where was your outrage when Chretien pulled every dirty trick in the book?" They thought the "little street fighter" was charming and endearing........that the rat pack was droll and entertaining. The chickens have now come home to roost and they are not enjoying it.

Let me help you understand the "progressive" perspective on this issue, jlc.

Soldiers are not supposed to have guns, they're supposed to carry flowers. When they come across an enemy, they are supposed to dialogue with then (you know, invite them in for tea and ask nicely that they don't do that stuff again...unless their religion is driving them to do it and then freedom OF islamic religion takes precedence...not to be confused with the freedom AGAINST Christian religion, etc. and ad nauseum). When their enemy (who is really just a friend they haven't met yet) decides to give up and surrender, they are to be rewarded for surrendering by granting them Canadian citizenship. And then the soldiers are supposed to beat themselves out of shame for making those poor folks surrender.

That's how the armed forces are supposed to operate in "progressive-lefty-land". Got it now?

/sarc off

If Canada ever needed the help of a foreign army on Canadian soil, I'd DEMAND that any Canadian prisoners be returned to Canadian custody...as would any other country, Afghanistan included. This is just the liberal MSM trying to beat the Conservatives down and prop up the Liberals.

The other night on Puffy, Robert Fife described Stephen Harper's comment re the Taliban as "mean" and Tonda McCharles said that the comment was "not of the values of mainstream Canadians".

No, Tonda, the comment is not in the values of the panty-waisted, twinkle-toed pansies of the GTA, but there are hundreds of thousands of people who took this comment as long overdue Liberal come-uppance after their history of pandering to muslim terrorists, Taliban included.

Here's another thought - should cabinet ministers be chosen for their knowledge of their portfolio?........or just for their ability to play the political game? While I suspect that, realistically, you do need a certain number of people who are quick on their feet with responses, the issue of knowledge does speak to whether a govt intends to bring any level of competence to the exercise of it's responsibilities. What do we as voters, want to see?

Oh and also something I've noticed.

Ralph Goodale used to be the designated apology demander.(There are so many apologies required that it is an official position in the Liberal Party).

But lately it has been the gasbag Hezbollah sympathizer Coderre and even Stephanie himself.

The Liberals must have sensed that Canadians were tiring of Ralphie's vein popping indignation.

Also kudos to John Reynolds for the "grow up" shot at Martha Hall Findlay.

Liberal's wouldn't know a lot about knowledge of your portfolio and competence for the job, if you are a Liberal your ability to steal without truly getting caught is the most important attribute

Claire: Bang on & Good Point's
I would love to see these (as yu call them Panty wasted twinkle toes)& so called reporters just once go to a local legion or army/navy club & say Not the values of mainstream canadians. We don't as a rule talk politics, However as of late there has been alot of talk on What the PM has been saying/doing & Alot on Mr Dion. More & more iam hearing "Right On Mr Prime Minister, About Time"
You see we Support Canadian Troops to the Fullest, We Support Our Veteran's, We Support our Communities with donations to local charities Etc.. & We are Canadian Values.

Watching Dion in the HOC is such a joke! This has got to be an all time low for the Liar's club. I just waiting for Dion to breakdown and start crying. I do think though that O'Connor will have to be very careful on all of his information that he receives and reports on. This is the one "weak" link that the opposition have at the moment. But it is O'Connor's reputation that out shines anyone sitting in opposition. Every day in the HOC is the best entertainment value presently on our paid for media!
Kate: 54,500 to go to 5 million, we are so proud of you girl! Please, keep up the great work!

"O'Connor should resign because of his clear incompetence."

Incompetence then?

The Environment Commissioner's Audit on Dion's performance as Environment Minister: "The response to weaknesses we identified in the past has been disappointing. On the basis of this year's work, I am more troubled than ever by the federal government's long standing failure to confront one of the greatest challenges of our time. Our future is at stake."

Oh, and also - Dion's time as environment minister coincided with a record number of smog days in Canada.

Dion's incompetence has effected the health and well being of Canadians, as opposed to, ah hum, Taliban savages.

By your own reckoning, should not Dion resign for incompetence Ted?

Are any Liberals secretly pining for Jean Chretien to take a walk in the snow and come back to save the Liberals? Surely dear leader Dion would step aside for dearest leader Chretien. Otherwise, good luck with Dionsky.

Re. decorum declined around the time of the liberal Rat Pack.

Exactly - the Rat Pack was an embarrassment to all thinking people and all Canadians.

SO why is it now ok for our Prime Minister to enagage is the same kind of schoolyard childish garbage?

Also, noticed no comments on the ridiculous spending of this so-called "conservative" government, but this does not surprise as "principles" have long since been tossed overboard in favour of crass opportunism.

I had been led to believe principles mattered to conservatives, but I guess only in opposition.

This_is_sad this is what people vote for. Agreed.

Let's be nice and genteel, and take one for the team. Then we can get back to our never governing party role, true to our ideological principles, with Grits again handed keys to treasury. That would be good for Canadian values, eh?

A fair point on the spending - I would have liked to see a bit less spending and some more tax reduction, thereby strengthening the economy on a long-term basis, but unfortunately this sort of pork-barreling seems to be the price of a minority government. The spending choices themselves are not too bad, provided you accept the premise that the government should have those sort of programs at all.

As to snappy comebacks - hey, that's part of the fun of the Westminster system. For all I despised Chretien both as a person and a policy-maker, the man did know how to scrap. Until all the MPs are replaced by CareBears, I'm glad that my party has a leader who can carry the fight to the opposition.

on a totally other topic, anyone with a comment on the number of liberals (with a conservative bent ) not running again. The last election the libs lost O'Brien and Kilgour (plus some others) this time around its Wappell, Commuzzi + 12 others and counting. Should the liberals now join with the NDippers and make it official (new name could be the Democratic-Liberal Party).

Let's not encourage the left to come together, the country really would be in a wreck

Pack it up, Ted.

Harper IS the Prime Minister of this country, not the supposed PM, and when, prey tell, did the Liberal Party of Canada ever "act with a little bit of decorum and decency"?

Where was the MSM when then-PM J. Chretien grabbed a dissenter by the throat? I don't remember any calls for his resignation, when it was clear that not only was he incompetent, he was "mean" and thuggish as well. And what about when the Liberals were robbing the Canadian taxpayers blind, and stuffing the bills in brown paper bags to distribute to Liberal Party supporters?

I agree with your "Absolutely infantile" comment, but I think you're impuning the wrong party. It's the Liberals, Dion, Ignatieff, Coderre, Goodale and co., aided and abetted by a demoralized ('looks good on them) MSM, who are being infantile. If they can't stand the heat they should damned well get out of the kitchen. The Libs have got a wreck of a political Party to rejuvenate, and they're doing a lousy job of it.

Yes, they sent Canadian troops into Afstan to defeat the Taliban, so why the H*ll are they, now that the CPC is in power, trying to make a case to pull them out, and why are they more concerned with the treatment of incarcerated Taliban supporters than the safety and well-being of our brave men and women who are willing to sacrifice their lives for not only our freedom but the freedom of the Afghani people? Try to defend these lopsided priorities, please.

It's easier, isn't it, to demand the Right Honourable Gordon O'Connor's resignation for a mistake he made (the Liberals never made any? LOL, but of course, they never admitted them) than to own up to the glaring deficits of the LPC.

'Sucks to be a Liberal right now, doesn't it? Politics are tough but they're tougher when you're stupid, and arrogant to boot.

"'Sucks to be a Liberal right now, doesn't it? Politics are tough but they're tougher when you're stupid, and arrogant to boot."

Oh yeah. The performance of Scott (beer & popcorn) Reid on MDL was vintage. He's trying to get Stockwell Day to resign. Why, because the Liberals found a blue box, produced a fax apparently, and decided RCMP needed to "reinvestigate," using likely the same info they already had. Then he says Tories "look scared." Look in the mirror buddy, you and Holland have zero credibility. Maybe you smell the fear on yourself. On the other hand, why don't you try to defeat the government. Harper should call an election after QC results in, just to shut these morons up.

Galloway was also priceless on MDL, saying the trick for the Liberals was to get Dion out, to show that he is a leader after all. Funny thing, though, every time he makes a speech or statement, Libs drop in polls.

Hey Reid, what are you gonna do when RCMP tells Libs to shove off? Of course, your conclusion is they are politicized. BTW, if allegations about Day have ring of truth to them (not stupid rens mea comment from Mike Duffy), then he will have to resign and face the music. It's called accountability, and Libs have not idea what that is, because it might interfere with their doctrine of power at all costs.

Slick mixolydian hit it right on the head.

Until Elinor Caplan apologizes for calling all Alliance supporters holocaust deniers, and Joe Volpe apologizes for his "Conservative clan" remark, for any Liberal to bemoan this is not only hypocritical, but emblematic of the sheer disrespect and hatred they have for all things Canada.

On Monday and Wednesday this week, Denis the Thug put questions in which he described Minister O'Connor (who really is doing a poor job in the House) as a former "arms dealer". Which can only be taken as an insult of the rudest sort, a reference to when the minister, before entering politics, was in fact a lobbyist for Airbus (maker of the A400M).

How odd then, that while Mr O'Connor has been minister, Airbus has failed to win either the strategic (C-17) or tactical airlift contracts (C-130J, not yet firm).

And how odd that our media have not reported these facts. Plus the "arms dealer" ("merchant of death" clearly implied) slur.
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blogspot.com/2007/02/national-defence-critic-is-liberal-with.html

Mark
Ottawa

I misled the blog. This is buried deep within a Globe story:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20070320.DETAINEES20/TPStory/National

'"I look the former arms dealer straight in the eyes," said Liberal defence critic Denis Coderre, referring to Mr. O'Connor's post-military career as a defence company lobbyist...'

Mark
Ottawa

So, Shamrock and "been round the block", politics is only about winning and hating and demonizing Liberals, right?

Winning power only means something if it is for a purpose, and those alleged purposes have disappeared less than one year into the new administration.

It is now power for its own sake, which is what made the Libs such a rot in the latter years.

It has happened to this crew in record time. Ig uess that happens when career backroomers become our leaders.

As was stated previously: O'connor is not a politician...he is a military man. Fair enough to critisize his performance in QP, but to call him incompetant as a minister is absurd!

He is the only choice to be MOD, he is a former General in the armed forces...and with that resume' he is 10 times more qualified than anybody in the HOC, PERIOD.

nobody has his experience, knowledge, understanding, of the CAF than he does. Just look at what the CPC has accomplished in terms of equipment purchases?...I'm an aircraft technition, and the aircraft they have selected are the very best available, price-be-damned!

Our servicemen and women deserve the best, nothing short of it. They will have the best strategic air-lifter, the best troop helicopter, and although not officially announced, the replacement of the C-130 Herc's with new versions of the same......also the best, if not the ONLY viable choice for tactical transport.

The Sea King replacement has also been announced...long over-due. The only other thing left is the fixed-wing SAR aircraft.....and unfortunately, there is little in the way of suitable replacements available for that role.

The navy is going to get the multi-use assault ships(official term escapes me) they want to land amphibious troops ect... Overall, the CAf is in the best shape it's been in for 30 yrs.

Not bad for a MOD that has been in office just over a year. If you have any further doubts, look at the big smile on CDS Hillier!

It comes down to this: There are those that prefer we spend countless billions on social programs, and those that would like to see our military be given the tools they need to do the job we ask them to do. Which side of that equation are you?

"So, Shamrock and "been round the block", politics is only about winning and hating and demonizing Liberals, right?"

Except, canadian_22, I never said that. IOW the rest of your post irrelevant. There is power through leadership and there is power through patronage and smear. You do the math.

Must suck to be a Liberal these days. No access to treasury, just demands for apologies. When are the Liberals going to pay back the money they stole from us? Nobody wants to answer that question.

Frankly I think we should go back to a code of dueling. The IQ of politicians would soar in parliament, as the baggage went too their deserved great rewards in the ground.

http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/learning_history/burr/burr_teacher.cfm

"So, Shamrock and 'been round the block,' politics is only about winning and hating and demonizing Liberals, right?"

Are you kidding? You must be kidding! You're kidding, right canadian_22?

Hating and demonizing Liberals isn't what this thread or any criticisms of the Liberals are about. It's about the rot, as you say, that set in over 13 years ago and the rot, which stinks, that the LPC continue to produce from their Opposition benches.

PM Stephen Harper and his CPC members are actually governing this country, something that seemed to allude the Liberals for the many years they were in power: 'get it, canadian_22? Power is all the Liberals ever want, and to H*ll with the rest of Canada who doesn't think like they do.

The CPC, after 14 months in power, have done more than the LPC did in 13 years. And, you know what, canadian_22? Canadians actually know what the heck they've done, what they're doing, and what they're planning to do, because PMSH goes online with his daily announcements and speeches to let Canadians know what's happening.

It's pretty amazing, really, that the LPC, with the full support of the sycophants in the MSM, accomplished so little--except the fleecing of the Canadian electorate.

Think about it, canadian_22, and do your homework.

At least no one in the current CPC is an Andre Desmarais/Power Corporation (you want to talk "power," canadian_22?) puppet.

Ya, the stink and rot hanging over the Liberal benches and they have the gall to talk about pollution!

Every time they call for apologies the Conservatives have plenty to fire back, not the least of which is what happened to our money they 'lost' through Adscam and the various black holes like Gun Registry, Shawinigate and on and on.

It's also killing Liberals that the Conservatives get to decide where all the booty goes they had primed for friends of Libranos to buy their way back to power. Delicious!

The Liberal's should have a public shaming for being such a lousy government to us for so long, but of course the media wouldn't go for that