Further to events of this morning; Reading Coyne’s column again, can anyone point me to a passage that accuses Tim Murphy of committing a crime?
You know, among my first thoughts in reading this were that the National Post is a big place, with lawyers and whatnot, to vet columns before they run. Are we assuming too much in thinking this column is the target, or if it is, is this just a ham-fisted attempt by Murphy to intimidate the leading critic of Papa Paul – and more importantly, the powers that be who publish him?
Pure conjecture on my part, I’ll readily admit. But now that I’m in conjecture mode (and the first beer I’ve ever consumed before dinner hour since I turned 17…);
Recall the threats to bloggers for linking to Captains Quarters – and for all the crowing of the blogosphere, that threat was successful – several bloggers fell into line and delinked, while almost all in the mainstream followed suit. For all the pomposity of our press, they are willing litlle sheeple like the rest of us when it comes to, you know – actually taking risks for the truth.
A very long time ago, before I first ventured onto the blogosphere, I speculated that the core difference between Americans and Canadians wasn’t “a more European world view”, or medicare or our “cultural mosaic”.
It is the singular fact that Canadians have never had to fight on their home soil for the right for their nation to exist. We had no Indian wars, no Canadian revolution, no civil war. No Pearl Harbour, no 9/11.
I think that fact alone explains the national angst about “Canadian identity” more than any other. We don’t know how to fight, truly fight for what should be our inalienable rights.
http://habamusrodentum.blogspot.com/2005/05/finding-love-in-all-right-places.html
AGWM has some stuff on more donations and i added some others in a compilation
anyone who got the link for the coroner’s inquiry into 10 deaths of autistic residents of a home in oakville…my blog has info that there will NOT be in inquirey. it’s sad for justice
Belinda’s website is now sporting a quote that expresses better than any of us can exactly what is wrong with the Liberal Party of Canada. I hope she doesn’t mind if I use a bit of it to help promote her quest for the leadership of her party.
And Kate, yes Canadians did have to fight on our own soil but that soil was not part of the West. The war of 1812 was fought in Ontario and Quebec for the most part against the Americans. It started in Windsor Ontario, where our Prime Minister was born.
The war started because the Americans were obsessing about Manifest Destiny, about colonizing Canada. They also didn’t like that the Canadians gave too much power to the natives, which is part of the declaration of the War of 1812 and asked for loyal American colonists to rise up within the Ontario borders to take arms against the Crown.
During this war, the Canadians also burned down the White House. The 49th parallel established the borders between the two countries since then, including giving back Michigan which was taken by the Shawnee Cheif Tecumseh.
In any case, figuratively, your right, we don’t know how to fight for our inalienable rights because it isn’t forefront in the mind of what it is that we should be fighting for. Canadians don’t know. Why don’t they know? Because they don’t know to know. No one is telling them that they should know something about themselves, about their laws, about standing up for justice or some other principle…They just don’t know…
I say start a “So sue ME” campaign. Have each blogger copy Coyne’s column (I’m assuming it’s Friday’s?) Then Murphy will have to sue a WHOLE lot of people individually. I start how’s that?
Odd version of the War of 1812. I think you are confusing Manifest Destiny with 1848 & all that. By the way, British troops, not Canadians, burned the White House. The distinction is important. The War of 1812 was fought as well on the Atlantic coast – Chesapeake and the Shannon etc.
Not in the West? And I suppose the North West rebellion of 1885 didn’t happen? I wonder why Louis Riel was hanged?
You know Kate,some wag once said that those who do not study history are doomed to repeat it.
Should it be considered “sexist” to describe a sell-out female politician as “whoring”, I commend these final sentences from the American writer P.J. O’Rourke’s 1991 book on the US government, “Parliament of Whores”:
“Authority has always attracted the lowest elements in the human race. All through history mankind has been bullied by scum. Those who lord it over their fellows and toss commands in every direction and would boss the grass in the meadows about which way to bend in the wind are the most depraved kind of prostitutes. They will submit to any indignity, perform any vile act, do anything to achieve power. The worst off-sloughings of the planet are the ingredients of soveignty. Every government is a parliament of whores.
The trouble is, in a democracy, the whores are us.”
Mark
Ottawa
From the Washington Post story “Newsweek Curbs Unnamed Sources” today:
‘Newsweek Chairman Richard M. Smith, responding to a week of criticism over a retracted story about the desecration of the Koran, said yesterday that the magazine is restricting its use of anonymous sources.
“The cryptic phrase ‘sources said’ will never again be the sole attribution for a story in Newsweek,” Smith wrote in a letter to readers.’
One wonders if Edward Greenspon, editor-in-chief of the Globe and Mail, will put a similar restriction on Jane Taber’s use on un-named “insider” sources, usually Liberals.
Mark
Ottawa
Words that I have shouted on more than one occasion, and why I no longer watch tv: “This is just the voice of an ordinary Canadian yelling back at the radio – “You don’t speak for me.”
coyne is back with some tape comments. actually what is back is a shaken (not stirred) version of his former self. ;(
Re: Dump Harper
Dumb move. Liberals will simply develop another pejorative mythology and Keith Boag will be repeating it every night on CBC. (Lord and McKay will be described as lightweights. Harris will be a mean spirited retread. etc etc).
Although a day old this excellent article by Lorrie Goldstein should be laminated and carried by every CPC supporter:
http://www.torsun.canoe.ca/News/Columnists/Goldstein_Lorrie/2005/05/21/1050814.html
E PLURIBUS:
I agree with your comment about poor AC.
My first thought upon reading his latest was: ” OK, who are you, and what have you done with Andrew Coyne?”
It was cleverly written, indeed, but am I the only one who saw the beginnings of an apology to Murphy in there?
Hey, Kate has a new pic up. She’s cuter than I thought she would be.
I agree, Bart.
We have to stop navel gazing and letting ourselves and our party be defined by the media our opponents.
If they want Harper to go, it’s beccause they are genuinely afraid of him. All the more reason for him to stay.
We need to be confident in who we are and consistent in our ac tions and our messaging. And we cannot start these week long panic attacks when some clown who has never supported us anyway starts a meme that we should dump our leader.
ED, ED, ED:
We all like Kate for her keen mind and her indomitable spirit, remember? In Liberal Canada, someone’s looks are not allowed to be a part of the equation…
Yeah, I decided it was time to put a “face” to the site. It’s a couple years old, but it’ll do.
Quit writing Dump Harper. Can you imagine what you’re doing to the dyslectic among us?
Clear, I thought I saw an ironic tip of the hat to a masterful prick. But apology? Not sure. Don’t know AC well enough. I suspect that he is a tad taken aback by the lawsuit or threat of one, given that this stuff is all over the place, everywhere, and not just the NP. But it is a masterful strategy because the Libs’are finished over this, and they know it. But nobody will be able to address it in the House because it is now before the courts supposedly. Just a good way to keep it under wraps. Grewal is under no such threats and continues to sing like the proverbial canary. So while the Libs have it before the court and can’t comment, Grewal can continue to hammer home his point. In addition, Grewal/Tories might want to have a go at Stephen LeDrew who yesterday, on Global Sunday, accused Grewal of leaving Liberia with a bag full of cash after working for a tyrant or dictator, or some such remark. Never heard that before, and even Ezra Levant looked surprised at the venom spewing forth.
Last I read, Murphy is now threatening to sue Grewal.
I especially like this tactic though – they have released 8 minutes, and have 4 hours. Libs are demanding they release it all, and Grewal is saying he’ll release it to the RCMP.
I hope this has the strategy I think it does behind it – or that they’re planning an “Abu Graihb” style assault back on the media that perfected it – release 8 minutes at a time just to keep it in the headlines.
Please, let this be true. Please let there be someone at Tory headquarters who finally knows how to massage a story for maximum impact.
“Grewal is under no such threats and continues to sing like the proverbial canary. So while the Libs have it before the court and can’t comment, Grewal can continue to hammer home his point. In addition, Grewal/Tories might want to have a go at Stephen LeDrew who yesterday, on Global Sunday, accused Grewal of leaving Liberia with a bag full of cash after working for a tyrant or dictator, or some such remark. ”
IRON LADY:
I agree wholeheartedly with your comments. But I’m worried that, having taken the Murphy thing partly off the table by going after Andrew, the Libs and the media are in fullblown “discredit Grewal” mode.
Andrew does seem chastened, or at least overly cautious now. I don’t blame him, but in encouraging him to hang in there I would remind him of his own Andrew Jackson quote: “One man with courage makes a majority.”
I think it’s most interesting that Murphy is not going toe to toe against his accuser Grewal in court, instead choosing to squelch the columnists who may have written against him.
No one has picked up on that in the media of course, because I think they and the Liberals know they can smear Grewal sufficiently to taint him in the eyes of the great unwashed.
Obviously, in soviet Canuckistan, “Da proof is not da proof, even when it’s da proof on tape”… Sad. Bloody sad.
Just read your last comment, KATE.
Is that a threat or is he serious? I really hope, as you suggest, that Grewal has the goods on Dosanjh and Murphy in the balance of the tape and he’s giving them enough rope to hang themselves.
If not, and the rest of it is either confusing or unhelpful it won’t be enough to counter their denials in the court of public opinion. Although, as I have always said, I find it scandalous that they can even begin to deny speaking to the guy with the intent of buying him off when he has 4 HOURS of conversation with them on tape. How long does it take to say no?
There comes a time in the history of any nation when an event/crisis emerges that people feel is worth fighting for. Have we, as Canadians, arrived at that moment? I, for one, think we have and we should consider ourselves “at war”.
Now before the “thought police” pounce on my words, let me hasten to point out that the Oxford Universal Dictionary includes as one of the definitions of “war” the following: “…3. a strong effort to combat crime or disease or poverty etc.” The revelations of the Gomery Inquiry appear to point to criminal wrong doing on the part of certain persons and/or organizations.
And just in case someone thinks I am advocating sedition (which is defined in section 59(4) of the Criminal Code), let me refer to sectuin of the Code which reads in part:
“Notwithstanding subsection 59(4),no person shall be deemed to have a seditious intention by reason only that he intends, in good faith,
(b)to point ut errors or defects in
(i) the government…of Canada;
(c)to procure by lawful means, the alteration of any matter of government in Canada;…”
Given that the weapons of choice are public opinion and the ballot box, I should be safe. On the other hand, I am sure there are those who would say that to speak of removing the Liberal Party from power is treason.
The greatest obstacle will be to galvanize Canadians to action.
JHP:
Truer words were never spoken.
If I offer a bribe to an MP am I off the hook because the MP approached me first?
If the answer is no then it is highly unlikely anything on the witheld tapes will negate the fundamental reality of the released tape.
I agree with Kate. The CPC is witholding further information to maximize it’s impact when it is released. Or possibly for the reason that publicising it now could jeopardize an RCMP probe.
Now would be a good time to haul out the old “they lied about abolishing the GST, didn’t they?” “They told us the gun registry would cost $2-million, didn’t they?” “They told us we wouldn’t have an election last year until we had all the Adscam evidence before us, didn’t they?” “They’ve consistently told us that PM Paul Martin set up this inquiry when in fact, if it hadn’t been for Gilles Duceppe, who repeatedly demanded one, the Liberals would have buried it.” Do you honestly believe the Liberals now?”
You’re welcome, Mr. Norquay.
Of coarse the so-called media and the Libranos are going after the “head of the serpent”, it is really the only “weapon” they have, along with Liberano friendly polls, and it seems to be getting the”ink” that was intended. “Get rid of Harper”! there has been too much said already by “us”, falling into that Fascist trap.
ww 2 Stephen
Well said, stephen ww2vet. Well said.
How come nobody knows the details of the lawsuit against A. Coyne? In New York State a lawsuit starts with the filing of a complaint with the court clerk. The complaint is a publicly available document. Sometimes it’s even online. Sometimes a lawyer for one of the parties is willing to provide copies on request (perhaps charging a per page fee for copying). The substance of the lawsuit is a crucial fact. Can’t somebody find out? Up to this point, it seems as though everybody is guessing.
Stephen, I don’t know that there has actually been a suit filed. In reading the appalling Toronto Star piece yesterday on the wonderful Tim Murphy and how he saved the day, he told the reporter he was considering his options. I haven’t seen anything anywhere, and certainly CTV had Grewal on chatting (this guy has nothing to hide or he’d have caved by now), but I haven’t heard anything about a lawsuit. And these media outlets would love to gloat. Besides, how foolish would Murphy look filing a lawsuit against AC and NP, all the while Grewal and tapes are out there being played/discussed ad nauseum.
Sorry, last post was for Shadow not Stephen. I had a stick chick moment.
Comments from another Blog – sorry I don’t have the source but this is worthy reading I think:
Sinclair Stevens and Magna Inc.
A few days ago, I posted about Sinclair Stevens and his new anti-Harper website bloc-harper.com. In that post I said:
Stevens is a former cabinet minister in the Progressive Conservative government of Brian Mulroney, and was highly critical of the merger of the old Alliance and PC parties into the new Conservative Party of Canada (CPC). So critical in fact that he challenged the merger in court, but lost.
There’s more. A public inquiry in 1987 found that Stevens was in a conflict of interest over some personal business dealings while cabinet minister. That decision was overturned by Federal Court Justice John O’Keefe late last year. See this article from the CBC which gives details of the decision and the original conflict of interest charges.
Parker’s 1987 report said Stevens was in “a real conflict of interest” in at least six situations while serving as a cabinet minister, and had benefited personally from his federal connections.
Principally, Parker said Stevens had gotten involved in approving federal funds for auto parts maker Magna International Inc. The company had provided a $2.6-million loan to a company owned by Stevens’s family.
My emphasis above on Magna International Inc., the company owned by the Stronach family, Frank and his daughter Belinda, Canada’s newest cabinet minister.
So Sinclair Stevens, who has a longstanding connection to the Stronachs, launches an anti-Harper website at about the same time that Belinda betrays Harper and crosses over to the dark side. Is this just a coincidence? or is there more than meets the eye?
Great work, Allison. I knew Stevens was a discredited knave, but I had no idea he was in Frank Stronach’s pocket as well.
It does explain a lot though…
BTW: Who put the pickle up Little Lenny Asper’s bum? Isn’t he satisfied he’s getting $100 million of our tax dollars for his goddamn museum? Or is he worried Harper may cut that off when he gets in?
Allison’s light is a national treasure.
Her posts at AC’s late on black Saturday were like the lighting of a torch. I’m feeling happier about this country today – The MSM’s powdered wigs are clumping.
Genuine thanks, Allison.
Justice John O’Keefe was appointed by Chretien in 1999.
Jean Chretien from Shawinigan.