Stephen Taylor and I have been working to check out something a reader emailed me about a couple of days ago. Because of my technical limitations and a busy workday yesterday, I asked Stephen to dig into the video of the ads up on the Liberal.ca website to see if there was something to the suspicions cast and he’s pulled together a devastating case.
I’ll be using Stephen’s text extensively in this post as well as the timeline he pulled together. Let’s review;
December 5th: The Liberals release three ads on their website. (1, 2, 3)
December 7th – Paul Martin at Montreal climate change conference: “To the reticent nations, including the United States, I say this: There is such a thing as a global conscience, and now is the time to listen to it, now is the time to join with others in the global community”
December 8th – Canadian ambassador to the US, Frank McKenna (a Liberal) reportedly receives a “dressing down” from the Bush administration over Martin’s comments on December 7th.
December 13th (morning) – US Ambassador to Canada, David Wilkins: “It may be smart election-year politics to thump your chest and constantly criticize your friend and your No. 1 trading partner”
December 13th (afternoon) – Paul Martin: Let me simply say to anyone who wants to question what I have been saying, beginning with (Conservative Leader) Stephen Harper, that I am the prime minister of this country, that our position on climate change will be determined by the government of Canada, that the fact is that we do expect our partners to honour their agreements — and I will defend Canada. Period.
December 16th – Liberals release new ads on their website (4, 5)
Check out the transcript of the 4th Liberal ad, which seems to underscore Martin’s bold response to Wilkins:
Keith White: “I think Paul Martin’s doing a fantastic job representing our interests… in America”
Neil Dhalla: “Paul Martin definitely has the ability to stand up to Mr. Bush”
Art Cowie: “Paul Martin’s taking a very strong stand on the lumber situation”
Bardish Chagger: “He has protected Canadians’ interests, he has fought for our softwood lumber.”
Nathan Van Beselacre: “It’s important to have good relations with our neighbours, but when there’s a problem you have to deal with it diplomatically. I feel he’s done so.”
However, this fourth ad (released Dec 16th) was filmed on the same day as second ad released on Dec 5th – long before the reported “summoning” of Mckenna to Washington.
(I’ve screencaptured Stephen’s shots – be sure to go over to his site for the live links.)
Note the positioning of the parked cars and the same clothes.
Note the pattern of the puddles over Dhalla’s shoulder. Note the time on the clock in the background (ad 4 was filmed 7 minutes after ad 2)
Same clothes, same rainy day.
The clips the ads obviously were filmed on the same day and sometime before December 5th.
Did the Martin campaign deliberately set out to sour relations with the Bush administration for political advantage? Did Wilkins fall into a trap that had been already laid? It might explain why he seemed a bit mystified over the reaction to his speech. On Dec.13, Norm Spector noticed something that David Frum had mentioned in the National Post.
The National Post’s David Frum is onto Paul Martin.
The story of White House reaction to that speech turns out to have been wildly overhyped. The White House official who met with ambassador McKenna on Friday was not the Vice- President, not the National Security Adviser, not even the National Security Council’s Senior Director for Western Hemisphere Affairs: It was the head of the Council on Environmental Quality. Nor had McKenna been “summoned”: He had requested the meeting himself. As for the administration’s alleged fury, the true mood seems to have been closer to one of irritated resignation.
The ads are a little too prescient. Together with Frum’s revelation, what the LIberals have tried to pull off may represent an all-time low in the history of Canadian politics. I agree with Stephen ;
The Liberal braintrust obviously thought that clips of “ordinary Canadians” (er, Liberals) would be required defending what would be future rhetoric of Paul Martin taking on George W. Bush and the USA.
If the recent diplomatic row with Washington was merely part of a partisan ploy to gain anti-American votes (as many observers have suggested), does the timing of the filming of these ads further confirm that the Liberals were preparing to sour Canadian-US relations for electoral gain?
Harper’s been playing a similar game. Witness his letter to the Washington Times (I believe that was the paper) where he disputed the paper’s claims of his closeness with America and his similarity with America’s Republicans. Not as inflammatory or as cynical, sure, but in each case our politicians are ensuring they distance themselves from the US.
For that, the US has only itself to blame.
Although if we’re going to get into conspiracy theories, perhaps you should consider the idea that Wilkins is deliberately trying to get Martin elected. Maybe Wilkins is a rogue Democrat, or worse, a Cindy Sheehan supporter.
You better try reading a little closer, Ade.
The Liberal Hidden Agenda is revealed.
Devastating case is right; awesome job Kate and Stephen!
You’ve connected the dots many sensed were there. Congratulations!
Wow
This would be an excellent front page story on our national papers.
I hope this comes out in the mainstream media.
This level of corruption is absolutely breathtaking.
Power at any cost. And on second thought, no surprise.
So, the next question: Will the MSM run with it? How do you condense this story into 9 second sound bite?
Kate:
Grist for your CBC gig? If they ignore it themselves…
The Liberal have nothing to worry to about. They know their MSM and it shows. This story will never see the light of day. I wish this site had more readers and not just the “preaching to the choir” type.
Spencer – according to my sitemeter stats, which run at around %65 of the actual traffic, over 400 people visited this site in the last hour, many of them media.
Smaul Fartin’ is on live right now from Buxton, Ontario. It sounds like he as an audience of a dozen if he’s lucky. I don’t think anyone, but the brainwashed core Lie-beral will support the PM and his corrupt band of theives.
This is great work and I’ve actually found myself surprised at the Liberal’s level of duplicity.
Having said that, this engineered spat with the Americans has a snowball’s chance in hell of getting reported by any signficant media outlet. It should be a top story on every newscast tonight and Martin should be on the defensive for the next few weeks, but I’m not holding my breath.
Smaul Fartin’s CPAC coverage just ended, when the camera followed him, retreating hastily, there appeared to be nobody other than reporters and his entourage. What a loser, no attack ads against the CPC and Stephen Harper could possibly help Smaul Fartin’ now. The wheels have fallen off, implosion is imminent, just wait for his legendary temper to flare in the next debates, that’ll finish him off.
Kate,
Congratulations to you, Stephen Taylor and to the anonymous emailer! Pretty disgusting eh, when the Martin & Co. attempt to manufacture an international incident with America to increase the xenophobic anti-American vote count.
Why am I not surprised? No manipulation too low, no rhetoric too slanted and hateful, no lie to grotesque. What’s no less sad is that most of the Canadian MSM won’t report it, for ideological reasons.
I wish you Canadians well in attempting to rid yourselves of the Canadian Baathist Party in the election.
Dave
Can you pass this over to Kinsella for his take on it? If anybody knows what kind of convoluted thinking is done in the Liberal warroom, he would.
Kate: Great Work!
POST THIS ON THE CBC WEBSITE, FTLOG!!!
Anybody else know why the msm hasn’t covered the liberal’s “average canadian” (aka librano insider) ads yet?
Sorry to be a wet blanket but I don’t see much here to get excited about. Certainly all the ads were shot on the same day, and certainly Paul Martin has been campaigning against George Bush, but I don’t see the grand conspiracy between the two observations. The Liberal comments in the later ads are so generic that no correlation can ever be drawn.
…And everyone knew that the Liberals were going to try to link Harper with Bush whenever and however possible. Is it possible that the Libs stage-managed the entire thing? Of course. Has it been proven? Not so far.
Did someone in PMPM’s staff finally get on DVD ‘Wag the Dog’ movie?
The line is truly blurred as to who is manufacturing news events, the media or the government.
This is sad. Truly shows how low they will go.
The MSM won’t touch this (unsurprising) revelation because it will expose them as complicit left-lib slackers. These bums are getting paid to do what Kate and company do for other reasons.
If Stephen Harper gets in … he’d better appoint you minister of defense for something like that.
I don’t anyone standing up for Canada like you and some your elves.
And I am talking about the ‘real’ Canada Kate.
xo
Sounds to me like the Liberal Party needs to find a conscious, local, global, I don’t care just something! I hope these crooks don’t get in again!
Howard Dean is coming undone, and this act of desperation proves that he truly is unworthy of re-election. See Lorrie Goldstein in today’s Toronto Sun about a complacent/compliant media. Excellent investigative journalism in its truest form. But judging from Lorrie’s column, it’s unlikely to find a home anywhere. ITscam seems to have died a premature death, strangled by bias and lack of MSM interest.
To anyone who believes that this is politics as usual, you simnply need to imagine the left wing furor (that includes the media)if George Bush’s administration had orchestrated something similar with Mexico, Venezuela or, even China.
And if you still don’t believe it, then that proves that Canada is truly inconsequential in the world. Why would it even matter, right?
SSMartin is loved by America. Here is da proof..is da proof… eh, Jean Chretien. >>>
Sovereignty Watch
America loves Martin
Contributed by: sthompson
The consensus seems to be that Paul Martin will be the next PM, which you know if you’ve watched or read even 5 seconds worth of Canadian mainstream news coverage lately.
This weekend may mark the first “official” steps towards the coronation of the Martini. From the 19th – 21st, Liberal party members from all over the country will vote for delegates to send to the November Liberal Leadership Convention. The vote gives members a chance to say whether they prefer Martin or Sheila Copps as head of the Liberal Party. No one seems to expect Copps will do well (although here’s hoping for some surprises).
The outlook for Canadian sovereignty if Martin does as well as expected? Two words. Not good.
Apparently just yesterday a U.S. official praised Martin on his plans for improving ties between our countries. Roger Noriega, head of the State Department’s bureau of Western Hemispheric Affairs, (and appointed to that position by President Bush himself) said “…[Martin’s] views reflected a healthy appreciation for the relationship. We would look forward to working with the next government team.” Full story: Bush administration likes what it hears from Paul Martin so far
The U.S. is apparently very happy with a speech Martin gave April 30, 2003 to a Canadian Press dinner, called Canada’s Role in a Complex World.
Wonder why? Here’s an excerpt:
“What we must do is to pursue continuously a systematic and coordinated effort to confirm and strengthen the Canada-U.S. partnership.
Let me raise a few specific steps that I believe make sense.
First, our bilateral relations must be conducted on a far more sophisticated basis than it has been to date. We must engage the Americans face-to-face at important levels of our respective political systems � prime minister and president; premiers and governors; members of parliament and members of Congress; mayors, business and union leaders, and civil society.
Second, we should establish a new, permanent Cabinet Committee on Canada-U.S. Relations, chaired by the Prime Minister. Its purpose would be straightforward: to monitor and manage this vitally important relationship in all its aspects. It would serve as a catalyzing force to organize horizontally many of the elements of Canada-U.S. policy � from defence and foreign policy, to transport and customs. We have to break the silos.
Third, we should establish a House of Commons Committee on Canada-U.S. relations. In my view, the capacity of Parliament to review and anticipate bilateral issues must be strengthened. Furthermore, as mentioned earlier, Members of Parliament must be entrusted with the resources required to establish more effective working relationships with their U.S. counterparts, across the broad spectrum of our shared agenda.
Finally, it is clear that September 11th has fundamentally changed the way in which the United States regards its own safety and security, and it should equally affect our approach as well.
We know that the events of that terrible day have burned a deep wound in the American psyche. We understand this.
And when it comes to the fight against terrorism, we are all on the same side.
Let�s not forget that September 11 was a watershed for Canada too. We therefore need to apply greater resources, greater intelligence, and more use of smart technologies, to enhance the security of our country, our borders, our coasts, ports and points of entry.”
“Organize horizontally”? “Break the silos”? All sounds like a pretty way of saying “integrate completely” to me.
Any friend of the Bush administration is likely no friend at all to Canada. Let’s do what we can to make sure this guy doesn’t get to run the country.>>>
http://www.vivelecanada.ca/article.php/20030919144346844
Kate,
You just did to Martin what Joe Louis did to Two Ton Tony Galento.
For those unfamiliar, check out the picture at the link:
http://platostepchild.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/louiskogalento1004_1.jpeg
Sorry to go OT,but this was too good to pass by.
No wonder Liberals and assorted Leftists loved Uncle Joe and his Gentle Regime so much.
They’re his direct offspring.
Stalin’s Army of Half-Man Half-Apes
There’s been a lot of rhetoric – but when the US MSM starts calling Canada it’s ‘little retarded cousin’ I can’t help but wonder why the US expects any kind of respect from any Canadian.
bear – you are implying, I guess, that Martin’s behavior has not been retarded?
Smoke, for sure.
Fire….hmmm almost. I am sure the tipster has provided enough info to make it real to Kate and Stephen…so I am sure they KNOW its real.
But to an outsider…I would believe it but until there is a document or a person who testifies to the strategy you cannot 100% say its true.
But man, it looks bad and I would say on balance of probabilities that they have ben caught.
Cant go mainstream without a second source. I am sure someone will talk.
On another item…what is Kinsella on about…is he chasing a Liberal foe or a Conservative foe?
Even in a court of law, “reasonable doubt” is the standard to convict. A political campaign is the court of public opinion, where the public is supposed to use their common sense and their own eyes to make up their minds about what the evidence suggests.
To state that a document must exist to provide “100% proof” is an unusually high standard to set – many MSM reports go into overdrive on the word or two of an undisclosed insider.
See the Carol Jamieson fiasco of September in which some in the media were complicit in a manufactured leadership crisis over her remarks. There was no evidence whatsoever to support the notion that the party was trying to dump him, and no examination of her true party credentials or significance. Yet it sparked a nationwide debate.
At the very least, the Liberals should be confronted with the timing of these ads, their claims to have been called to the Whitehouse examined, and the question answered as to whether this ad was in the can ready to be released should someone in the US administration react to an intentional provocation.
Hey “the bear”, that retarded comment came from non other than bow-tied Tucker who was fired from Crossfire on CNN, his comments are not to be taken as the whole of the MSM in the U.S. He may be right wing, but he’s about as swift as Scott Reid or John Duffy.
That’s what happened. Now for the impact and the scary part:
http://www.thiscanada.com/2005/12/20/captain-of-the-hinterlands/
Enjoy, Erik
I cringe when i read what you put up there Kate.Playing a game with the Americans can backfire in the worst way.They don’t need us we need them and the libs are stupid to think otherwise.When Chretin stood here in Alberta and tried to use the energy card via softwood lumber the noise that came out of Ontairo was loud! very loud.This is not lost on them…stupid the libs are….even dangerous in their thinking.
Kate,
As I said smoke…lots of it…balance of probablilites…fer sure….as well based on the integrity of the journalists (another valid test since they know things that may not be able to release)…oh yeah I believe you and stephen T have vetted this thing six ways to Sunday.
Not to tell you your business, but I believe a telling quote from the anonymous source. i.e. sources who were involved in the production, or sources within the Liberal party, observers at the scene etc etc….would push this to over the line and become impossible to ignore from MSM. (but remember advice is worth what you pay for it and that was free :-> )
That would force the question and the denial. But remember its the coverup that gets you in trouble…..so the Liberals dont want the question asked.
But please, this is great work!!! Doesn’t shock me at all. There is enough evidence here to drive this scenario as plausible and likely.
Pretty damning. Another outlet SHOULD pick this up
Certainly it’s fair to raise the question, but a little premature (IMO) to level an accusation. I do note, Kate, that both you and Stephen Taylor are less categorical than some of your commentators.
I think we Cons have been accused (sometimes even fairly) of over-reaching when we level accusations against the Libs.
I haven’t done so, but I suspect you could go back to the 2004 campaign and find the Liberals spouting similar “Harper/American” rhetoric.
The timing of the ads and the “manufactured” crisis is certainly suspect but no more suspect than anything else coming out of the Liberal campaign these days. At least not by my reckoning. Co-incidence does not necessarily equate to conspiracy.
It is not a conspiracy. It is manipulation of the press and representatives of a foreign country for political gain. It is not policy, it is not values or any other accepted motives to attempt to persuade the electorate to vote for your party. A cold-blooded, calculating appeal to anti-Americanism in a desparate attempt to hold onto power.
sorry to state the obvious, but this type of information NEEDS to be sent to the CPC war room.
This exactly the type of evidence that makes great negative campaign PR.
If this doesn’t renforce the point about the liberals not being trustworthy, nothing will.
I keep reading words like this ..
“Are the Liberals so stupid that ….”
Yes, they are indeed that stupid, BUT they are very clever and cunning and conniving aaaand dangerous.
If they were smart, they would be doing what’s best for Canada and it’s people.
However, they are psychopathic by nature and all that matters to them is power .. nothing more … nothing less.
Vote them the f–k out fast or we will lose what’s left of our country.
To any liberals reading this blog and I am sure there are many .. if your insane leaders won’t do the right thing .. then it’s up to you.
You do care about Canada don’t you?
And don’t worry, Harper and the CPC will not have enough power to take away your illusion of health care, nor your right to legalized anal sex .. so don’t be afraid. Just help save this country. It’s bigger picture that matters.
And when you have had enough misery reading the fear, the doom and the gloom .. go to Duke’s Place to lighten up and have a laugh at the world.
http://dukemcgoo.blogspot.com/
or Duke’s Place
Candace – not a chance, but only a child lowers itself to the same level.
This theory would make more sense if the ads were about climate change, which is what the whole McKenna thing was about. But they’re about softwood lumber.
There is no doubt there was a deliberate attempt to draw the Americans into the campaign or take make it appear like the Americans were angry at Martin. David Frum’s article, as well as comments by Henry Champ have already refuted the claim that McKenna was called in.
That’s bad enough.
I don’t think these pre-canned ads prove anything other than the Liberals were going to campaign on Martin’s position in the lumber dispute against the U.S.
That was reported on by the Toronto Star in August.
I would like to know from Kate if her e-mail was from a legitimate tipster, or someone who just noticed something.
Kate,
If what you say is true, I would like to suggest that you offer anonymity to anyone in the media who would like to post comments here at SDA.
Then we could ask them for a cadid answer on such questions as “why will the media NOT deal with this issue?” and they could answer without fear of repercussion.
If it’s a matter of a sexy “headline” then here’s one suggestion to the media:
“Liberals Fabricate US/Canada Spat To Win Votes.”
-or-
“Martin’s Secret Agenda”
could go on and on….
Working on the long set-up is not a new strategy for Martin’s Liberals.
What if I told you that Earnscliffe was working on Martin’s leadership, and placing ‘reliable friendlies’ within the Liberal Party apparatus at least as early as 1985 – several years before he took a run at Chretien?
What if I told you that Martin’s position on the GST was definitively decided at least as early as 1989, and that his decision was to keep it in place – thus putting the lie to the entire 1993 Liberal campaign?
When an otherwise unremarkable man, with no intellectual or other gifts, is positioned for 24 Sussex Drive (and not by his father, himself a gray, nondescript man whose ambitions exceeded his grasp), you may want to look beyond the stage-play.
Paul Martin is a small man who has no particular, personal convictions. This is why he has proven very useful. His entire life has been engineered. And those who engineered him know how to script the play. The fact is, they have already moved on from Paul Martin. And that is why he is a ‘dead man walking’.
Damn. That’s all that needs be said.
GREAT work Kate and Stephen.
Hey ANONYMOUS, can you say Maurice Strong?
Brilliant.
What you are missing is that the “leak” that Frank McKenna had been summoned to the White House came as Paul Martin was in the air, flying to Montreal to be seen speaking next to Bill Clinton. The pair held a joint news conference just an hour or two after the story was “leaked” on the wires. Who leaked it to the wires? Why the timing that ensured every journalist on the Liberal campaign plane would have been alerted and ready to ask questions?
Paul Martin is the most dangerous person in Canada. It is his government which has given rise to Quebec separatism and westen alienation. He values the Liberal, undemocratically enshrined and ambiguous Charter over democracy. He is a tax evader of the highest order. And for political expediency and his own greed he is making our greatest trading partner into an enemy. If Canada stands at all for liberty, justice and good government, by all rights his next term should not be spent in the Prime Minister’s office, but in prison.
To “The Bear” and your 11:48 AM posting:
Let me get this straight: Canadian Liberal politicians, left wing pundits and their media allies make unending, relentless often-times crude, insulting and denigrating remarks about the US, President Bush, Americans in general every since the 2000 election.
Yet that doesn’t count?
But a commentator on MSNBC does make an equally churlish remark and you get into an uproar, saying that’s why America doesn’t deserve any respect from any Canadian?
Isn’t that more than a little hypersensitive and hypocritical on your part?
And-by your own logic-doesn’t that also mean that Canada doesn’t deserve any respect from Americans?
Global Warming is hogwash, it’s Liberal Doomsayer Weather Theology at best.
pravda healine.
Liberals promise to mix ethanol with gasoline.
we used to call that drinkin’ and drivin’.
anyway biofuel such as ethanol does not reduce greenhouse gases. ethanol is essentially half burnt ethane. it has half the water molecule already attached. it costs more in fuel to make than it provides in energy unless the source is free which it isnt in farmland. another poor decision based on idealology rather than business sense or even logic.
taking perfectly good food and turning it into fuel. and yea,there was great stupidness across all the land.