How times change.

Rude awakening on bilingualism

Stephen Harper, as head of the National Citizens Coalition back in 2001, wrote: "As a religion, bilingualism is the god that failed. It led to no fairness, produced no unity and cost Canadian taxpayers untold millions."

Fast forward to 2007 and Prime Minister Harper, with one eye on winning a majority, is now eager to promote the vitality of Canada's two official languages.

http://calsun.canoe.ca/News/Columnists/Clancy_Roy/2007/12/05/4708493-sun.php

That Harper guy is sharp eh Tomax7?

Who is on the ball now?

France and FInland have just introduced new systems of taxes and rebates for consumers that are based upon the CO2 emissions of the new cars that they buy.

The systems will be similar to the ecoAuto program the Canadian government introduced earlier in 2007.

AutoBlogGreen.Com

Wattaguy! = TG

[He also spoke of research by the Canadian and U.S. cancer agencies, which looked at a relationship between cancer and pesticides. After the five-year study was completed, the agencies said they couldn't find a single piece of evidence linking pesticide residue in foods to cancer in people. He said the most current campaign that fits in this category is that against GM foods.

"The campaign against GM foods is based on fantasy, contrivance, sensationalism and outright misinformation," Moore said. "I find this to be the most despicable campaign."] Leader Post

Dr Patrick Moore knows of what he talks --- Suzuki ? Just compare their respective track-records.

http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/news/business_agriculture/story.html?id=4e002275-b21a-483e-9b27-1cff1521ddda

"We do know that glaciers are retreating around the world," Moore said. "Why are glaciers perceived as something important? They are just big globs of frozen water. Nothing grows on them, they are basically dead zones. When the glaciers retreat, trees come in ... and a healthy ecosystem re-emerges. Ice and frost are the enemies of life." Patrick Moore

Good thing the glaciers retreated ---- hard to make a living under a kilometer of ice !!

The reality is you can spend a dozen years learning French, but with no one to converse with -- as is the case in most of Canada -- linguistic skills soon fade.

I'm not so sure that's true, but I guess it depends on the individual. Once exposed for a bit to the language I find it comes back quite naturally, and I'm not even 3/5 bilingual verbally.

Knowing a second language can be very handy if you have to deal with non-native English speakers since you learn to listen more carefully and pay more attention to other visual clues as to the intended meaning of the speaker and are not as fast to infer meaning due to the use of catch-phrases but this also seems to result in long, run-on sentences that are difficult to follow for the reader.

"Forcing" French on those who don't want to learn it is not the way to go. It'll just cause resentment.

For women who are sometimes home alone.

Be afraid, but not too afraid

Do you follow hedge funds? Want your eyes to either pop out or turn green? Read this excerpt from the Daily Reckoning:

And who says you can't make money in hedge funds? Hedge funds must be one of the dumbest asset classes ever invented. It is like getting someone to put coins in a slot machine and then splitting your winnings with him. Over time, you will lose all your money…but occasionally, you can get lucky. Look at this…and pity the poor dopes on the other side:

"A Californian hedge fund has made more than 1,000 per cent return this year by betting against U.S. subprime home loans, making it one of the world's best-performing funds of all time," reports the Financial Times.

"Lahde Capital, set up in Santa Monica last year by Andrew Lahde, last week passed the 1,000 per cent mark, after fees, following the latest leg of the credit market turmoil. The fall in the value of subprime-linked securities has boosted a group of funds which spotted the problems in advance.

"The decision to use derivatives to short, or bet against, low-quality U.S. home loans taken by a select group of hedge funds last year appears to have become the most profitable single trade of all time, making well over $20bn in total so far this year.

"However, Mr Lahde, whose fund is one of the smallest specialists shorting subprime, has now begun to return money to investors, telling them in a letter: 'The risk/return characteristics are far less attractive than in the past.'

"In his letter, Mr Lahde said he expected the collapse in value of subprime mortgage-linked securities to be repeated for bonds backed by commercial property loans in a deep recession - which he also predicts.

"'Our entire banking system is a complete disaster,' he wrote. 'In my opinion, nearly every major bank would be insolvent if they marked their assets to market.' He also said he would be putting some of his own profits into gold and other precious metals."

Hmmm…looks like a little bit of luck - and a good understanding of the actual trends at play here. Our colleagues, Mish and Brian, over at The Survival Report, have profited from the volatility in the mortgage markets - specifically from Countrywide's wild ride....

This issue hasn't been archived yet, so you'll find it on the home page. If not, go here and look for the December 5th issue. I second the point about Ladhe Capital striking it lucky - almost certainly, one-time lucky.

Is this the proper place to start some commentary about the parole board's decision to deny parole to Robert Latimer? My own opinion is that it is totally unwarranted to continue punishing this gentle and thoughtful man for an act of mercy just because he doesn't give the exact answers the parole board wants to check off in their little check lists.

Is this the proper place to start some commentary about the parole board's decision to deny parole to Robert Latimer? My own opinion is that it is totally unwarranted to continue punishing this gentle and thoughtful man for an act of mercy just because he doesn't give the exact answers the parole board wants to check off in their little check lists.

Is this the proper place to start some commentary about the parole board's decision to deny parole to Robert Latimer? My own opinion is that it is totally unwarranted to continue punishing this gentle and thoughtful man for an act of mercy just because he doesn't give the exact answers the parole board wants to check off in their little check lists.

Kate, for whatever it is worth, you have been mentioned again at Free Dominion, in the Richard Warman context:

-Small Dead Animals has a Richard Warman poll in the works and tells us to stay tuned.--

...it is totally unwarranted to continue punishing this gentle and thoughtful man for an act of mercy...

I wonder if it was an act of mercy when he and another man raped a 15 yr old girl?

What goes around comes around.

Who are you talking about hoss? Latimer?

Got some info on this?

Jim , some info in here

http://www.chninternational.com/chn1-3.htm

The Liberals came for our guns.

Now the Conservatives are coming for our vehicles. The Pollution Police (both fed & prov) are on their way (Calgary Herald, Thurs) and it sounds like it might be 1995 and older vehicles.

By all means - penalize the black smokers but just because of age - bull tweety. It sounds to me to much like forcing people to buy overpriced new vehicles to support the sagging market in new car sales.

Penalties clauses have always been in place to deal with the black smokers - we need more real police doing more valuable things, not new tail- pipe police on the payroll.

Check out bourque.org. Looks like citoyen Dijon is 90 days in arrears on his Commons Restaurant bill. Does the Leader of the Official Opposition not get paid enough? Do we have to subsidize him
even further by paying for his meals? Anybody know a good collection agency?

Did I mention the amount Dijon owes is in excess of two thousand dollars?

Eco-friendly kangaroo farts could help global warming: scientists

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20071206/ts_afp/australiaclimatewarmingkangaroooffbeat;_ylt=AmdZeIU9Vh_HDPsUrVC3BKpvaA8F

Just a thought. Perhaps "they" could come up with a totally new department called The Pipettes - combining language/tail pipe police along with whatever other politically correct components "they" might think desirable to incorporate.

Harper et al just may be having to deal with a western backlash re Official Bilingualism - one,because of his absolute reversal in thinking on this issue to pursue power, and two, because of his hand in very quietly allowing the recent amendment to the Official Languages Act while leader of the opposition in 2005 (read muzzling the western based MPs while this was going on during 2005). The latter was really the beginning of the "New Phase" that is beginning to surface with the appointment of Bernard Lord.

Doing some minor tinkering now re the gun registration (which may well happen just prior to an election) won't cut it as a trade-off.

Francophones are after equal media time en francais for the upcoming Winter Olympics. Can anyone take a guess just how much money from "the patch" is going to end up being diverted on this one?

We now have two Francophone Independent School Boards in AB (one north and one south) despite being (provincially) about 79% Anglo, 1.9%French, and the linguistic groups next to English, in order, being Chinese, German, and Punjabi. Unlike the major immigration/refugee destinations of Montreal, TO, and Vancouver - Allos in AB are, for the most part, highly competent in English.

Our money should be going into working with newcomers to gain skills in English - not to promote Official Bilingualism under the guise of establishing Francophone immersion (read Quebecois speaking) schools as is being done now.

From 580 CFRA web

Thanks for the Tanks

http://www.cfra.com/headlines/index.asp?cat=2&nid=53957

"A Canadian officer has thanked the German government for the Tanks.

The Canadian soldier sent an email to the German Government after his crew survived a roadside bomb blast in southern Afghanistan.

The unidentified tank officer says there likely would have been casualties if they had been in any other type of vehicle.

The Federal Government borrowed 20 Leopard C2A6 tanks from Germany"

Germany lends Canada tanks saving Canadian lives. Canadas' parliament gives Germany the finger, and Canadians the funniest show ever thanks to partisan left wing hacks from the Libs and NDP. Re the Shrieber affair

SENILITY SETS IN AS CHRETIEN DECLARES 9/11 "AN INSIDE JOB".

'TIT GAR GOES TWUFFER:

"Chretien listened to a short speech about Loose Change being responsible for millions of people questioning the official 9/11 story and responded by reminding the truther that he was against the war in Iraq. "Does this prove it?" retorts Chretien when he is told that the former President of Italy recently went public in saying 9/11 was an inside job."

:-) :-) :-)ROTFLMFAO!!
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Waaal jhew know da proof is a proof, han whan you god da good proofs hits a proven proof! Jhew god da proven proofs here, eh?

;-) ;-) ;-)

Might not just be westerners that Harper has a problem with re bilingualism. This is the result of a poll held on the Ottawa 580CFRA web last week.

http://www.cfra.com/polls/index.asp?id=4171

Is official bilingualism a failure or a success? The Census shows that outside of Quebec 7.5% of anglophones say that can carry on a conversation in both official languages. Inside Quebec, 36% of francophones say they can carry on a conversation in English.

A success
9.64%

A failure
90.3%
Total Votes: 1368

In fact his playing up to Quebec could be the reason he can't get into majority figures, a lot of people just don't like it

Jaws?
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/graphics/exclusions/newspuffs/hat.jpg

I'm waiting for a poll (or some other source) to show just how many Anglos/Allos in the total federal employment have achieved respectively AA, BB, CC ratings in terms of their capacity in French (as proven by billion dollar prep/testing that has been ongoing for decades).

Along with this of course would be the percentage of Francophones who have achieved (i.e. passed the tests and have it on their personnel file) in terms of rating AA, BB, CC in terms of their English Skills.

Interesting also would be the total number of federal positions in middle upper management that are coded CC in terms of screening applicants.

AA - being the lowest category in reading/composing and verbal skills and CC being totally functional in reading, composing, and debating.

Here is a translated German article about the letter that pissedoff mentioned.

Involuntary Mine-Test
Canadian thanks for German Leopard tanks

There are times when friendly, almost cordial letters are received by the German Ministry of defence from allies in the Afghanistan mission. Such was the case in an email they recently received. It simply had the subject line “Thanks”. It came from a Canadian officer who wanted to thank the ministry for his new tank. It recently saved his life, and the lives of his crew. The tank in question was the Leopard 2, which the Bundeswehr recently delivered to the Canadians for their deployment in Afghanistan. The 20 Leopards were specially outfitted for the mission, including added mine protection, hence the designation 2A6M.
“My crew hit an IED and as such went down in history as the first to test the “M” variant’” wrote the Canadian. “It worked exactly as it was supposed to.” The driver broke his hip and the rest of the crew’s ears were ringing. However, if the crew were in another vehicle, the result would have been much worse, suggested the officer as he joked, “I realise that this attack will certainly cause a bit more paperwork, because I don’t think that this damage is covered in the rental agreement. I think we just bought this tank.” The tanks are to be returned to Germany in 2009 “as rented”. They do not, however, have to be the same tanks. It doesn’t take much to imagine to soon see these or other tanks with the iron cross in foreign duty

Crossword Bebop is the first Anglospheric crossword blog, blogging on the New York Times crossword, the Canadiana Crossword, the Financial Times Polymath, and the Times of India crossword

Steyn responds to Human Rights complaint:

http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=NzgzNmFmODNmNDJkMWYzMTdkYjlkNDI2ZTA2NmI1ZTU=

Dead man writing

Up north, the Canadian Islamic Congress announced the other day that at least two of Canada’s “Human Rights Commissions” – one federal, one provincial – had agreed to hear their complaints that their “human rights” had been breached by this “flagrantly Islamophobic” excerpt from my book, as published in the country’s bestselling news magazine, Maclean’s. Several readers and various Canadian media outlets have enquired what my defense to the charges is. Here’s my answer:

I can defend myself if I have to. But I shouldn’t have to.

If the Canadian Islamic Congress wants to disagree with my book, fine. Join the club. But, if they want to criminalize it, nuts. That way lies madness. America Alone was a bestseller in Canada, made all the literary Top Ten hit parades, Number One at Amazon Canada, Number One on The National Post’s national bestseller list, Number One on various local sales charts from statist Quebec to cowboy Alberta, etc. I find it difficult to imagine that a Canadian “human rights” tribunal would rule that all those Canadians who bought the book were wrong and that it is beyond the bounds of acceptable (and legal) discourse in Canada.

As I say, I find it difficult to imagine. But not impossible. These "human rights" censors started with small fry - obscure websites, "homophobes" who made the mistake of writing letters to local newspapers or quoting the more robust chunks of Leviticus - and, because they got away with it, it now seems entirely reasonable for a Canadian pseudo-court to sit in judgment on the content of a mainstream magazine and put a big old "libel chill" over critical areas of public debate. The "progressive" left has grown accustomed to the regulation of speech, thinking it just a useful way of sticking it to Christian fundamentalists, right-wing columnists, and other despised groups. They don’t know they’re riding a tiger that in the end will devour them, too.

I was just wondering why there has never been any serious analysis of the Airbus decision. Pierre Jeanniot was the CEO and President of Air Canada, appointed on June 1st 1984 before Trudeau stepped down on June 16, 1984. He was promoted from within Air Canada, but did the Liberals have the final say?

What about board members of Air Canada? Did any of them have ties to the Liberal Party? The Airbus decision was a complete U-turn against the buying history of Air Canada, which favoured Boeing.

"Air Canada, in $1.5 Billion Deal, Orders 34 Airbus Aircraft
Print Save Share
Del.icio.usDiggFacebookNewsvinePermalinkBy JOHN F. BURNS, SPECIAL TO THE NEW YORK TIMES
Published: July 21, 1988
LEAD: Airbus Industrie, the European aircraft consortium, has won a Canadian contract worth about $1.8 billion (Canadian), giving it a valuable breakthrough in its competition with the Boeing Company of Seattle and the McDonnell Douglas Corporation of St. Louis.

Airbus Industrie, the European aircraft consortium, has won a Canadian contract worth about $1.8 billion (Canadian), giving it a valuable breakthrough in its competition with the Boeing Company of Seattle and the McDonnell Douglas Corporation of St. Louis.

Air Canada announced today that it would replace its aging fleet of Boeing 727 airliners with 34 Airbus A320 aircraft made at the European consortium's plant in Toulouse, France. The deal is worth about $1.5 billion in United States currency.

The announcement by Pierre J. Jeanniot, Air Canada's president, marked the first time that Air Canada has bought aircraft from a European manufacturer since the 1950's. At that time, the airline, then called Trans-Canada Airlines, bought Viscount and Vanguard turboprop aircraft from Britain.

The airline's current fleet of 110 planes consists entirely of American-made aircraft, mainly from Boeing and McDonnell Douglas.

Deliveries of the Airbus aircraft, to be used on Air Canada's domestic routes and on flights to the United States and the Caribbean, will begin in March 1990 and continue until 1993. Options for 20 More Jets

The order also includes options for a further 20 A320's, which the airline said could be converted to a ''stretched'' version of the A320 when it becomes available. Other aircraft that had been under consideration for the order were Boeing's 737-400 and the McDonnell-Douglas MD-88.

The Air Canada announcement had been expected for several months, but was delayed until after the Canadian Government completed plans to sell 45 percent of the state-owned airline to the public.

The move is expected to raise about $300 million (Canadian), or about $250 million, easing financing of the Airbus purchase.

Air Canada said that it would use equity financing, public bond issues, bank credits, private placement loans and the sale and leaseback of some of its existing fleet to finance the deal with the Airbus consortium, which includes companies in Britain, West Germany, Spain and France.

Mr. Jeanniot said the factors that influenced the airline's decision to buy the Airbus aircraft were the fuel efficiency of the Airbus A320, which has been said to be 40 percent better than Air Canada's existing fleet of Boeing 727's; the quietness of the aircraft's two CFM-56-5A engines, which are jointly manufactured by Snecma of France and General Electric of the United States, and the advanced ''fly-by-wire'' electronics of the Airbus, which are said to make it the most advanced civilian aircraft in service. Control System Uses Computers."

calgary clipper, pissedoff - I'm completely against Official Bilingualism, which was forced on us by Trudeau.

Indeed, in my view, the Charter has nothing to do with 'rights', which Rights we already had by virtue of our British laws. It was primarily about the installation of bilingualism in Canada. Most of the Charter is taken up with the clauses on bilingualism.

Rules have to acknowledge reality. The reality is that Canada is not, and never will be, bilingual. Use of a language must come from the street, from daily use, and French is one of the least used languages in Canada outside of Quebec and New Brunswick. No amount of money, no special schools etc, will make Canada what it is not.

It's a full generation after Trudeau's Evil Charter, and the proportion of bilingualism hasn't changed from before. It's less than 10% amongst anglophones and about 40% among francophones. Francophones aren't bilingual out of generosity but out of necessity in North America.

And, this bilingualism is primarily focused in the Ottawa-Montreal corridor, the seat of bureaucratic power in the federal govt.

The financial cost of the Canadian taxpayer has been enormous. There are the costs of bilingual classes for civil servants, who receive large salary and pension benefits (many took the classes before retirement to receive higher pensions). The costs of translation. The costs of having bilingual service in Air Canada, in post offices - everywhere. All unnecessary, all required by our Charter.

Then, there is the reduction in power. This is an enormous political loss to citizens. Essentially, no senior govt authority, either elected or appointed, can be done without bilingualism. This means that the majority of anglophones are barred from full and open participation in their own govt. This is a serious disenfranchisement of political power. The majority of anglophones in Canada are not able to participate in the governance of their own country.

What ten year old, living in Saskatoon, is going to become bilingual so that they can become PM or head of a govt dept? Learning a second language has to be done early - or, you'll end up like Stephane Dion. And you don't do it in school; you learn it by daily functional usage.

It's even worse. To be asked to participate in many committees - whether it's awarding govt research grants, reviewing govt legal situations etc - you have to be bilingual.

This requirement has, as I said, barred the majority of anglophones from participation in their own govt. And it has created a 'mandarin class' of civil servants locked into the isolate centralist utopia of Montreal-Ottawa. It is very dangerous when a country sets up an elite bureaucracy that is closed to the majority of its citizens.

You speak with disdain of Harper promoting bilingualism. He has absolutely no choice, in his minority situation. It's a law, it's in the Charter; the Charter is primarily about bilingualism. Just as we ought to acknowledge linguistic reality in Canada, ie, that we are not and never will be, bilingual...Harper has to acknowledge legal reality. The Charter makes bilingualism LAW.

Plus, our Constitution awards Quebec, no matter the size of its population in comparison to the larger size of other provinces, a guaranteed minimum of 75 seats in the House of Commons. This makes Quebec, which has more House seats, despite its smaller population, than Alberta/BC - a lynchpin in achieving a majority in government. You cannot get the seats in parliament without getting them in Quebec.

This is how we have set up our Canada. We have defined ourself as bilingual, when we are not. We have given Quebec the major role in the balance of electoral power when power should be decided by population base, not linguistic history. We have set this up. We cannot change it within a minority government. It has to be a majority - and even then, a change will be difficult.

Hirsi Ali, atheism and Islam
By Spengler
[...]
"Yet all the Muslim apostates whose voices we hear are atheists - not only Hirsi Ali, but also Salman Rushdie, the celebrated author of The Satanic Verses, the Syrian poet Adonis, and the pseudonymous Ibn Warraq, author of Why I am not a Muslim and several compendia of Koranic criticism."

"Why do Muslim apostates gravitate towards atheism? That is not true of other religions." [...]

"Contrary to superficial impressions, Islam is much closer in character to atheism than to Christianity or Judaism." [...]

"...there is indeed a war with Islam, and it is being won in parts of the world where Christians wage it on spiritual grounds. No Christian army has had to march in its support." ...-
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Front_Page/IL04Aa01.html

Russia launches first naval power build-up in the Mediterranean in response to the US about-face on Iran

President Vladimir Putin and defense minister Anatoly Serdyukov decided to send a sortie of six Russian warships, led by the Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier and the Moskva guided missile cruiser, to the Mediterranean. This will be the first prolonged stay of a Russian carrier to the eastern Mediterranean vicinity of Israel’s shores and waters patrolled by the US Sixth Fleet. On its decks are 47 warplanes and 10 helicopters. The Moskva is the Russian Navy’s Black Sea flagship.

According to our Moscow sources, the Kremlin is determined not to be left lagging behind the new Bush administration’s steps towards an accommodation with Iran, which were signaled by the US National Intelligence Estimate absolving Tehran of running a military nuclear program from 2003.

bill- I certainly agree with you about Latimer. He should be out on parole, he should never have been imprisoned.

The court case was sabotaged by the 'Guilt About The Handicapped' when the real issue about his daughter had absolutely nothing to do with her being handicapped (the most severe form of cerebral palsy) but with the fact that her body was disintegrating (bones, muscles) and was causing her excruciating pain - and no painkiller stronger than regular Tylenol could be used.

I don't know how anyone can justify allowing a human being to live in agony - but our courts sanctimoniously continue to justify this. They even told Latimer to use 'stronger painkillers'. When he repeatedly asked what this stronger painkiller that these justices of law recommended, when the medical doctors said that nothing could be used (because it would interfere with her anti-seizure medications) - these justices were silent. But, they based their decision on this point.

Latimer refuses to play the Parole Game, which the majority of criminals, who lack his integrity, do with ease. The Parole Game is where you face the Parole Board, affirm that you are indeed repentent, sorry, and 'have learned your lesson'. And out you go.

Then, we find the robberies, the homicides, the break-and-enter, the slashings - all, all committed by those same people who, knowing how to work those smug Parole Board appointees, received parole from them. They have no remorse, and no integrity. They just Work The System; they receive a 'holiday' from the streets for a while, paid room and board - and then, it's back to the streets for the robberies and homicides. That's what our Parole Board enables in this country.

ET

It comes down to invoking the Notwithstanding Clause by individual provinces. No different than QC invoking the NWC to allow Quebec Law 101 to come into existence and be perpetuated while trumping the Charter.

So far, AB in its 35 years of majority rule by the Progressive Conservatives (the last decade and a half with emphasis "progressive") has shown no interest other than to allow the creep of Trudeau's Revenge. It matters less to me in terms of who rules from Central Canada. Yes, Canada has been set up in the way you describe. I don't believe the power structure has to remain so, and I think others are coming to the same conclusion.

The NWC was included in the Charter for a reason - and the reason is becoming increasingly apparent to Albertans. Without this clause, the Charter would not have come into existence. Since their is no realistic way of changing, modifying, repealing the Charter (intentionally set up this way by the Liberals), and change has to come from individual provinces invoking the NWC.

Please - Mulroney didn't have a choice, Harper does not have a choice. What a crock. Of course Harper had/has choices Just because Harper has a connection with AB, what are we supposed to do - support him unconditionally? That is what he is counting on.

Many are, and the ones that count for the moment are predominantly from the "progressive" wing. This wing took a serious hit at the recent AB leadership convention. It may well take a greater hit in the upcoming provincial election (touted to be in Feb/08.

CFRB: Toronto councillor, Giorgio Mammoliti (Jane-Finch): ...."time to bring in the army" to deal with the "terrorists"...families want it.

BTW, Tommy Douglas's grandson begins his 48 day prison sentence Wednesday, with no chance of early release !

To Charles MacDonald,

I think that there are many factors - other than the one mentioned - as to why the Russians are trying to re-establish themselves in the Mediterranean. The old USSR used to have a permanent base in Syria to exert influence in the Med but this collapsed when the USSR collapsed. Since then, Bulgaria, Romania, and even Georgia have become very close to the US (Bulgaria and Romania recently joined NATO and have allowed American bases to be established. Georgia clearly is moving away from Russian dominance - just like the Ukraine - and this bugs the hell out of Russia). Also the US is starting to make up with Turkey. This means that the US now is dominating in the Black Sea area BUT the Black Sea is now a vital export lane for Russia (oil, gas , steel, raw materials, etc.). So I think that Russia is trying to re-project power in the Black Sea and the Med to protect it's economic interests - and to show that it is a world power again and cannot be tossed aside (we've already seen this with the oil and gas silliness with Western Europe - the Ukraine and Poland).

Agreed, Cconn. Putin undoubtedly seeks to recreate the power of his beloved U.S.S.R., or as nearly as he can manage. Pulling out of the Conventional Forces in Europe treaty is another sign of his intentions.

Outsiders doing work of elected politicians

http://tinyurl.com/2ld6bx

[...]Twice in the last week alone the Prime Minister found innovations that will please those who think government should be more like business and worry those who believe Parliament should be more democratic. In appointing special advisers to develop winning environment and language policies, Harper is effectively contracting out government by commissioning outsiders to do the work of elected politicians and civil servants.[...]

Harper isn't the first to import those methods – commissions and inquiries are familiar responses to political problems. Still, in elevating the practice to new highs, he's exploring new lows for ministers, backbenchers and bureaucrats.

By naming two former premiers to whisper in his ear, Harper is replicating the process now charting Canada's way forward in Afghanistan while muting other nagging voices. In sending Quebec's Pierre Marc Johnson and a handpicked panel to Bali, Harper is breaking tradition by excluding party critics from the climate change delegation. Instead of relying on cabinet, committees and a language czar to advance bilingualism, the Prime Minister is turning to former New Brunswick Conservative premier Bernie Lord.

Those moves make as much sense – and as little – as asking former Liberal deputy prime minister John Manley to head a group reviewing the Kandahar mission. In propping credible public figures in the policy window, the Prime Minister draws some of the partisan poison out of contentious issues. But it also makes Parliament seem less relevant. [...]

Add Harper's palpable distrust of civil servants – except those who jumped from Tory back rooms – to the rising complexity of files that cut across federal departments as well as national borders and the result is ample incentive to tilt towards command and control executive management.

Academics and others following the exponential growth of the democratic deficit see something else: a self-fulfilling prophecy. Given the choice of strengthening Parliament or their grip on power, Liberal and Conservative prime ministers consistently reinforce the centre at the expense of ministers, mandarins and MPs to whom leaders are at least theoretically beholden.

Donald Savoie, arguably the most astute chronicler of a changing system, argues that Ottawa is rolling back history to recreate a kind of royal court. Complete with courtiers who serve at the Prime Minister's pleasure, it trades accountability for efficiency.

Convenient for prime ministers, that back-to-the-future structure asks an awkward question of those forced to the democratic fringes: "What, exactly, do you do?"

Sexing up the feds
$250k campaign to promote public service work

http://tinyurl.com/3bmd4w

"Ottawa is spending $250,000 developing a corporate brand to sex up the image of the federal public service."

To John West: Great video!! Interestingly enough, that's how most innocent people die in firearms accidents in "the land of the free and the home of the brave."
Hubby comes home late from work, forgets his house key in the office drawer. He sneaks around the back to the patio door hoping it's not locked. That's precisely where Suzie Q. is waitng with a loaded chrome plated Ruger .45. Bang Bang!! Hubby's brains are all over the deck!!
Sheriff arrives, suspecting foul play!! Go ahead John boy!! You write the rest of the drama!!

Remember! Bilingual is restricted to persons with an IQ high enought to learn a second language!! It's not about tax dollars!!

For as whole lot of us, bilingualism was just another glass ceiling for anglo-saxon English speaking military types.

The use it or lose it experience was certainly true in my case. After a few months in quebec, I could basically get around with what I call "sandbox french", I could talk to the kids playing in the sandbox and they might understand me. My daughter, God bless her, went to immersion school and has the ability to pick up and retain foreign languages.

btw, Pierre Laporte, IQ has nothing to do with learning a language.

Rudd in the face? Rudd has been mugged by reality. Will Rudd now be labelled a neo-con?
Watch for reaction from Citoyen Dion.
...-

Kevin Rudd recoils from climate change pledge

PRIME Minister Kevin Rudd last night did an about-face on deep cuts to greenhouse gas emissions, days after Australia's delegation backed the plan at the climate talks in Bali. ...-

Gamil Gharbi Day

PRIME Minister Kevin Rudd last night did an about-face on deep cuts to greenhouse gas emissions, days after Australia's delegation backed the plan at the climate talks in Bali. ...-

Must have been because of my post that he wanted to kill canadians by making it colder and while the lows are touching -30 in Winnipeg. I'm pretty sure that ice that the polar bears want is frozen darn it.

has someone redone they physics where a polar bear sitting on ice when it's -30 makes it melt?

Taliban Jack Layton-NDP's head has exploded twice in less than two (2) days.
...-

NDP apologizes - again - for falsely smearing a
political foe
By Joan Bryden, THE CANADIAN PRESS

OTTAWA - For the second time in less than 24 hours, the NDP has been forced to issue an abject apology for falsely smearing a political opponent.

NDP House leader Libby Davies formally apologized Thursday on behalf of her party for spreading allegations that a Liberal candidate in the last federal election tried to bribe his NDP rival to drop out of the race. ...-
http://tinyurl.com/2bg6g2 (canoe news)

Jabotinsky's Iron Wall lives on. Bibi on the 60th anniversary of the UN partition vote:

Netanyahu makes a great speech

The key to Israel’s existence has always been rooted in strengthening Zionism and our ability to defend ourselves - and this remains the key to our existence and the key to forging a genuine peace with all our Arab neighbors. Only when some of them recognized Israel’s permanence and indestructibility did they reconcile themselves to making peace with us.

...Our existence does not depend on the willingness of the Palestinians to make peace with us. Our existence is secured by our right to live in this land and our capacity to defend that right.

al-Jazeera's friends and foes:

http://www.am770chqr.com/station/blog_the_world_tonight.cfm?bid=19710

Chinese stirring the melting pot: Most immigrants from Asia, says census
As an event planner in Hong Kong in the 1980s, Mimi Yeung spoke English for 10 hours every day. Then in 1987, she moved to Toronto. Today, enveloped in Toronto's huge Chinese community, she is frustrated to find that she is losing her English. "I don't need to speak English!" says Ms. Yeung, who now works part-time as a publicist.

..."My English has gotten worse. I have no way of getting interaction with the mainstream."....

..."Every time I take the subway or the streetcar, I always wonder, 'Where have all the real Canadians gone?' " says Ms. Yeung. "I see red people, black people, yellow people — all the ethnicities."....

http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/toronto/archive/2007/12/05/chinese-stirring-the-melting-pot-most-immigrants-in-toronto-arrived-from-asia-says-census.aspx

More from Angry: Socialists say, Go Army.
...-

Liberal Giorgio Mammoliti wants to put soldiers in the streets. In our cities. With guns. In Canada.Well, given that the politician making the recommendation is, in fact, a Liberal, I think we can consider ourselves lucky that the Conservatives won. [...]

Toronto Councillor Giorgio Mammoliti thinks the army ought to take over policing in areas that are suffering from drug violence. Giorgio Mammoliti is a member of the Liberal Party. He was once a member of the provincial NDP and served in Bob Rae's government, and served in cabinet as a parliamentary secretary. In 1997, though, Giorgio Mammoliti switched parties and became a Liberal. He is now a city councillor for Ward 7 York West.
http://stevejanke.com/archives/248593.php

Inuit demand end to 'intrusive' scientific research on whales, bears, caribou
By THE CANADIAN PRESS

Inuit hunters are demanding that scientists change how they study Arctic wildlife from polar bears to caribou to whales.

They say under current methods scientists handle too many animals, injuring and even killing some of them and leaving others with chemical residue that taints their meat.

The group that oversees the Nunavut land claim has passed a unanimous resolution calling on the federal and territorial governments to stop all such research.

Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated says about half the entire polar bear population of Davis Strait has been handled, or shot with darts, over the last three years.

NTI also says that at least six female caribou of 20 captured and fitted with radio collars in 2007 have since died, and that federal government researchers drowned six belugas last summer while affixing satellite tracking tags to their backs.

Inuit believe handling a wild animal insults it, and are also concerned about chemical residue left in the meat from tranquilizers. ...-
http://tinyurl.com/27t2wd

Mitt Romney hits it out of the park on the American tradition of religion and secularism. Powerline has both the video and the transcript.

We separate church and state affairs in this country, and for good reason. No religion should dictate to the state nor should the state interfere with the free practice of religion. But in recent years, the notion of the separation of church and state has been taken by some well beyond its original meaning. They seek to remove from the public domain any acknowledgment of God. Religion is seen as merely a private affair with no place in public life. It is as if they are intent on establishing a new religion in America – the religion of secularism. They are wrong.

Bravo, Mitt, for stating the irrefutable intent and genius of our Founding Fathers.

http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives2/2007/12/019206.php

Monkey see, monkey do, man.
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Jamaica calls on army to stem soaring murder rate

KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) — Jamaican soldiers will join police on patrols on the Caribbean island in a new strategy to fight rising violence, the prime minister said.

Nearly 60 homicides over the last week have pushed the number of victims this year beyond 1,430, police spokesman Karl Angell said. ...-
http://tinyurl.com/38gmme (cnn)

Soldiers with guns in our cities.
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20071206/councillor_wants_army_071206/20071206?hub=TopStories

Soldier in the streets - was that not one of the smear lies that the LIebrals said Harper was going to carry out in the last election. Now we have the liebrals calling for troops in the streets - what a pack of hypocrits

I can't really bear to read this thread, I find the whole situation so heart-wrenching. I think advocates for the disabled community are doing their own community a grave disservice by suggesting that Latimer's act was about Tracy's disability, rather than about her pain. I wish something could be done to end this travesty of justice. Is it possible for the Minister of Justice to intervene in something like this? Enough is enough. Noone is benefiting from continuing to keep Latimer in jail.

Sorry -- meant that last post to go on the Latimer thread.

error in judges instruction may cause a mistrial with Robert Pickton, what a circus /gong show /idiotfest that has become.