From Celestial Junk: The Little Network that Cried Wolf. CLICK
Zombie takes us on a photo tour of: Global Day of Action SAN FRANCISCO. Richard Evans takes us to the �GATHERING� in Calgary, with op-ed commentary of course.
There are fiddlers and then there are FIDDLERS.
With PM Harper now restricting ministers in how and what they comment to the press, I�ve got to ask: What is the protocol in other countries? I know that in the United States, governmental heads do not go running about dispensing wisdom at new’s scrums. It�s all done in a organized way. But what about England? Australia? or Ukraine for that matter? Is Harper over the top in this one, or is he just bringing the Government/Press relationship in line with what most democracies are used to? CLICK
And finally THIS! Embarrassing, unnecessary, and actually quite common among many militaries from western democracies. Before we get our shirts in a knot, let�s remember that the Canadian forces are now receiving significant increases in funding, and that they already pay wages higher than most.
Harper says one thing (i.e. elected senate)
and does another.
I�m glad I didn�t vote for the conservatives, Canada deserves better.
The story on gear for the troops is no slam dunk. There’ll always be better gear than the government provides and there’ll be arguments about what’s good and what’s not. Not to say that our soldiers aren’t given junk. We just can’t tell from this.
OTOH the part about poor lodgings for field guys sounds familiar. Base-camp people tend to do themselves well. I recall coming in from the bush once to find them hiding the wet rations so we wouldn’t realize what we were supposed to be fed. (Not the Canadian military and I hope that doesn’t happen with them.)
The US is not a good comparison for Canada with its division of powers into the House, the Senate and the Executive branches. There is no centrally controlled message among these three. Cabinet secretaries are answerable to the President, not to Congress.
In Canada, obviously, as in Britain and Australia, you have cabinet members (indeed the Prime Minister and the whole government) who are responsible and answerable to Parliament. So whether you want to justify the position taken by Harper or not, the beginning point should not be a comparison with what they do in the US. (And doing so, some might point out how this is further evidence of the Americanization of our politics by the Conservatives. Not me though.)
Harper is just going a bit further than other Prime Ministers in trying to control the message. It is no more anti-democratic (and it is slightly anti-democratic) than Martin or Trudeau. I think Mulroney and Chretien tended to trust their ministers a bit more and that often got them into trouble. The problem with such centralization is that, as the Liberals found, there is just too much that the government does for that to be an efficient method of communicating to the electorate.
What’s more troubling is that his focus is so narrow focus, as if the government only has to do his 5 things and nothing else is all that important. So a health care fix is not a priority, tax reform is not a priority, education is not a priority, fixing our productivity and competitiveness problems is not a priority. The problem is coupling the centralization and control of communications and the narrowing of the scope of priorities to just five.
Ted
Cerberus
the equipment stuff is blown out of proportion. Soldiers have been buying extra kit for more of time. Check out http://www.cpgear.com to take a look at what a little entrepreneurship can do to address the individual whims of soldiers.
The guys that I’ve had over on Ops came back talking about the quantity and capability of the extra kit that they had thrown at them. From range finders, to night vision goggles, to GPS, to body armour, to next generation rifles- they’re getting top notch stuff. The clothe the soldier project that’s been starting to deliver in the last few years has been turning out quantum leap improvement over what we had a decade ago. It’s not perfect, and there are guys who test it out beyond the breaking point, but it’s head and shoulders better than what soldiers in allied countries are given.
It has been the soldier’s eternal right to complain. As long as the complaining is about stuff like rations, or personal kit, you know that morale is pretty good.
errr … the moonbat gathering as documented by Richard Evans indicates it occurred in Calgary, not Edmonton. (Edmonton was getting dumped upon by what would soon be a record snowfall) Might want to fix that.
Link:
http://www.edmontonsun.com/News/Edmonton/2006/03/19/1495292-sun.html
Ted/Cerebrus, according to Warren Kinsella, Harper is doing nothing more than what Chretien (and possibly everyone else) did at the beginning. Personally, I don’t see what all the stink is about; the Ministers need time to learn their portfolios, and QP & Mike Duffy don’t seem to have problems getting ministers on their shows. Monte is off doing speeches at meetings, Rona was in Europe… they are working/governing.
I think it’s the media throwing a hissy fit because Harper isn’t doing things the way they are used to.
Soldiers have been underequiped since the days of Rome. During WW2 allied troops begged, borrowed and stole necessary bits of gear (and a lot of booze) all the way to Berlin. I’ve heard British vets boast about their ability to steal any bit of military hardware that wasn’t nailed down (for the benefit of their unit).
It’s also worth noting that troops also “lose” a lot of gear that winds up at home. I’ve not served in the military myself but I’ve got a friend who is a quartermaster and he’s got some interesting stories of creative equipment loss.
But its worth noting that the Canadian military actually has half decent food. A lot of Canadian servicemen sell Canadian rations to US servicemen who prefer them to MREs (which are crap).
Check out the pictures on the San Francisco link . . a few pictures down from the top, the NBC camera crew interviewing the young lady in green . . check out the sign behind her . . “Todd Chretien for US Senate”
Couldn’t be a relative could it ????
God help Amercia.
Check out “Biased BBC” for a litany of the Beeb’s leftist spin critiqued with the jugular-cutting humor of which the Brits are past masters.
Edmontonian: Thanks! Correction made.
Candace: If you read my comment, I’m am saying it is no bigger a deal than with others. My perception was that Mulroney and Chretien were a little less centralized, but I may just be remembering the “after spring training” loosening of the reigns. (Kinsella’s company, by the way, was paid big dollars by Harper’s campaign (don’t know if that is ongoing or not) so I take a lot of what he says with two or three bags of salt. He can be very loyal to his good friends and to a good dollar. Don’t know if he’s a good source for anything anymore.)
It will become a problem for Harper, as it did for Martin, if it goes on beyond spring training for two reasons. First, if he isn’t making announcements on major issues quickly enough, with enough transparency and sufficient disclosure, then you’ll have Martin’s leak problem. Canadians will want to know the status of his healthcare review beyond the bandaid wait times smoke and mirrors (Martin was just as guilty, that’s not meant as a partisan shot) for example. It’s not just the media needing to feed its hunger (as though it was one monolithic beast!), but I want to know more than the one paragraph PMO news release, I also want to know what the opposition parties are saying and not just accept the government’s own spin.
More down to earth though, there are hundreds and hundreds of small files that are very important to smaller groups of people across the whole country. It doesn’t necessarily make it to the national news but many people will want to know about what is of concern to them. It’s too much to handle with too much PMO control and the system inevitably breaks down. A good government knows how to balance control and delegation. Just one more thing Harper’s got to learn and learn quickly, never having been in charge of anything before now.
And in my view, by having a seeming over-focus on 5 very simplistic vote-buying campaign policiettes, he will exacerbate his potential problems because Canadians have a whole lot more priorities than his five.
Ted
Cerberus
Dr.D: Do you have the URL? Is it
http://www.biased-bbc.blogspot.com/
Cjunk, yes that’s it.
George Harper & Stephen Bush: Violators of the MSM script.
What Didn’t the President Say?
Ever since President Bush violated the mainstream media�s script by winning the 2004 election the wire services have been in a non-stop frenzy of retaliatory reporting. Now it�s reached the point where they�ve completely stopped pretending to be �impartial,� and instead release one ludicrous �news� piece after another�like this one from the Associated Press: Bush Marks Anniversary, Never Says �War�. (Hat tip: Allah.)
WASHINGTON – President Bush marked the anniversary of the Iraq war Sunday by touting the efforts to build democracy there and avoiding any mention of the daily violence that rages three years after he ordered an invasion.
The president didn�t utter the word �war.�
�We are implementing a strategy that will lead to victory in Iraq,� the president assured a public that is increasingly skeptical that he has a plan to end the fighting after the deaths of more than 2,300 U.S. troops.
Administration officials repeated the mantra that progress continues toward building a unified Iraqi government and nation. +
via LGF +
Let’s bypass the MSM again. Pat O’Brien speaks:
How the Liberal Government Mishandled the Gay Marriage Issue!
I Was There!
This Report is respectfully submitted in response to several requests arising from my presentation made at MUSKOKA II.
Sincerely,
Pat O’Brien,
Executive Director
Vote Marriage Canada +
http://www.voy.com/178771/8168.html
Well, the parliamentary scrum is considered to be somewhat of a democratic landmark among journalists in Canada. No other country does it, which is why the Canadian media prides itself on the kind of access it has managed to established with members of the legislature.
Remember what happened when Stockwell Day tried to ditch his daily scrum in favour of a more US presidential style of press conferences? The media flipped.
So I think Harper has to be careful here about the kind of control he wants to maintain. If he tries to mess with some media traditions, they’ll crucify him for it.
KABUL — An Afghan who allegedly converted from Islam to Christianity is being prosecuted in a Kabul court and could be sentenced to death, a judge said yesterday.
Abdul Rahman was arrested last month after his family went to the police and accused him of becoming a Christian, Judge Ansarullah Mawlavezada said.
Such a conversion violates the country’s Islamic laws.
Rahman, believed to be 41, was charged with rejecting Islam when his trial started last week, the judge said.
During the hearing, the defendant allegedly confessed that he converted from Islam to Christianity 16 years ago when he was 25 and working as a medical aid worker for Afghan refugees in Pakistan, Mawlavezada said.
Afghanistan’s constitution is based on Shariah law, which states that any Muslim who rejects his religion should be sentenced to death.
“We are not against any particular religion in the world. But in Afghanistan, this sort of thing is against the law,” the judge said.
“It is an attack on Islam … The prosecutor is asking for the death penalty.”
The prosecutor, Abdul Wasi, said the case was the first of its kind in Afghanistan.
He said that he had offered to drop the charges if Rahman changed his religion back to Islam, but the defendant refused.
Mawlavezada said he would rule on the case within two months.
Afghanistan is a deeply conservative society and 99% of its 28 million people are Muslim.
Is this what we’re fightng for?
Mr harper
Hey! How come no one has posted on the REALLY important story here, Ashley McIsaac intends to run for Lib leadership!!
Yes! Thank you Lord! What a lineup: Scott Brison, Belinda Stronach, Ashley mcIsaac, Bob Rae!
I’m so excited I may have to go borrow some Prozac from my neighbour.
Check out Scott Burgess’s site. He does a first class job of monitoring the Al Guardian and Baathist Broadcasting Corporation’s biases and sometimes fabrications:
http://dailyablution.blogs.com/the_daily_ablution/
Nothing is more pathetic than moonbat protests. The same damn hackneyed cliches, the same usual suspects. Their placards are more amusing than provocative. A good read on the 60’s and the looney left’s time warp:
“There�s a recent, evocative documentary, The Yes Men, that focuses on two activists inspired by the French Situationists (intellectual forerunners to 1968 France) and the Diggers (politically minded hippies before Hoffman). They pose as representatives of the World Trade Organization and attend business gatherings exhibiting a television monitor that polices workers and pops up like a phallus in a blow-up suit. They get applause in rooms of 30 people, although it�s not clear why. The movie winds up showing these �activists� as all-knowing lefties snickering at their opposition. The climactic scene involves their presentation to a college classroom, where students protest their idea of turning human feces into McDonald�s hamburgers sold to citizens of the Third World.”
“Unlike political humor that entertains, political theater has a pretense of changing public life. The Yes Men think of themselves as activists, but the tendency to laugh at their opposition rather than engage it betrays their project�s limitation. Asked about the �mind-set of the corporate man� who might resist their jokes, these activists call them �ready to goosestep.� Generally, people are �easy prey for the ideas of the corporate decision-makers.� The Yes Men characterize their opposition as �dumb asses� who wouldn�t �listen anyhow.� �Criticizing those in power with a smile and a middle finger� is what they intend. Expression trumps strategy.”
http://www.prospect.org/web/page.ww?section=root&name=ViewWeb&articleId=9389
To all those whining about Harper’s performance so far.It is understandable you are confused,many of us are.
Think about it!…When is the last time any of us witnessed a PM hard at work taking action and making his decisions(actual decisions,can you believe it) based on what is best for Canada,not the Liberal/Conservative Party of Canada.
At first I was pissed at Harper over Emerson et al,basically the optics stank.You see,I have never witnessed in my years a Canadian leader who put getting the job done ahead of manipulating government business to the benifit of his party.WOW…I believe he is actually manipulating it for the people of Canada…Talk about a needed breath of fresh air!
I find the press’s reaction to all this quite hilarious.Generally,they have relentlessly attacked the right and defended the left.Their idea of good journalism amid these exciting times consist of Harper’s belly and shaking his kids’ hands.Now they”demand”access on their terms?What is wrong with these people?I know that I was able to figure out years ago this general rule of life:…”If you want respect,you have to show respect”.The MSM may eventually figure this one out,my guess is they will have no choice.
ANY politician(lib or con)who can prove to me he will put allegience to his country ahead of loyalty to his party will have my support.
Mr.Harper,you have my complete support.
Now,don’t lose your focus.
Deciphering propaganda is going to get testier as we go forward. Maz2 perhaps you can get on top of this? and provide direction to interested electorate.
CBC Sunday news interviewed Diane Finley speaking to child care deal and how it will be go through unprotested by Liberals and NDP. ALL PARTIES HAVE DUMBED-DOWNED THE DEAL. $1200. will translate to $400. after taxation (works out to less than a dog-bone offering to working families) all this while some company — let’s get the supplier is raking in profits from our soldiers having to buy their own gear. Canada the leader of the G-8 with economy rivalling that the China?
Emergency situations still unaddressed by “deaf, mute” government. Farmers’ tractors descending on Queen’s park today along with daycare representatives from across the country while our soldiers purchase their own equipment for better odds at staying alive.
No wonder Diane Finley’s eyes were glazed over as she announced the government’s position that a compromize on child care deal isn’t doable. It’s childcare on the VERY CHEAP. With apparently ALL PARTIES’ GO-AHEAD.
Translation: SHAM GOVERNMENT MINUS THE MORAL AUTHORITY TO GOVERN.
NOONE COMMENTING EITHER IN BLOGOSPHERE OR MSM ON WRIST-SLAPPING SENTENCE AWARDED TO CHILD PORNOGRAPHER. NEED MAIN STREAM MEDIA TO DOCUMENT RATIONALE BEHIND SENTENCING OF THIS BIG BUST ON CHILD PORNOGRAPHERS — NINE OF WHOM ARE CANADIAN.
LIKE COMMENTER, BRUCE SAID. CANADA’S A GREAT PLACE TO DO CRIME.
WHERE’S OUR COUNTRY FOLKS?
WHEN HARPER ANNOUNCED FEB 24TH CHILD CARE DEAL NO GO WITHIN HOURS EARTHQUAKE RATTLED WHOLE REGION — AS A DIVINE WARNING? THE TIMING COULDN’T BE IGNORED.
STRAHL IS STALLING urging farmers to keep the pressure on.
Hope we can afford gas to get to the polls next time round, folks. It’s all about their jobs not at all about yours. Conclusion, don’t waste your gas or your breath.
JUDGES AND POLITICIANS will get theirs when they close their eyes. Of this I have no doubt. And they all think they can micro-manage themselves out of the one out of one fact of life. Death.
We’ll see.
THE PUBLIC’S BEEN HAD.
LET’S EXPOSE THE COMPANIES NOW, GET NAMES MAKING SHORT TERM GAIN FROM FLEDGLING WAR ECONOMY?
Dmorris: Prozac that a good one! Yeah, we have exCP’s exDippers running for the Lib’s, things must be way worse than we thought in the Lib camp!
GOD, with CBC and CTV, coverage on this it is going to be longer than the election! I hope Prime Minister Harper keeps running a tight ship, I love seeing Puffy and Peter getting their knickers in a knot! They are just worried that that cozy senate seat is sliping away…..
Just on CBC Shaprio has found that there was no wrong doing with PM Harper asking Emerson to cross the floor, lets see the spin now!
HolyCrap! My sitemeter just melted! Thanks for the link Junker :o)
Anonymous, get a grip.
Cerebrus & Cyber Menace, I agree to a point that things should loosen up a bit once Parliament is in session; we won’t know for a few more weeks, however. As for the scrum, how many questions were actually ANSWERED? Very few, IMHO.
Harper’s conferences, however, are a completely different picture. He speaks for what, about 5 minutes on whatever it is he wants to announce, then takes questions for 20-25 minutes. He actually answers the questions asked or at worst, defers them to another day (I’ve seen a few “this is not the day to discuss that” but that could easily be because *shock* he doesn’t have an answer & doesn’t want to fake it).
I guess we’ll see what shakes out when the House reconvenes.
I personally would find the press scrum overwhelming with all of the mics, hot lights, cameras, shouting of questions, and certainly the press conference is more dignified. So I don’t have a huge complaint about the switch to the press conference.
However, the powerful thing about the scrum was that you had the politicians by the nards, so to speak, you could surprise them with a question and get a somewhat unscripted answer. It was a little more real. The problem with press conferences is that it becomes just more opportunity for spin. Not only that, but the politicians get to pick who asks the questions and so the “friendlies” are more often chosen the questioners and the hard-working journalists with the tough questions, even the negative questions, don’t get to asked to ask.
That’s not meant as a targeted criticism of Harper or Bush, they just happen to be in government now, but a criticism of how politicians try to make their jobs easier and less transparent. We just had 18 months of a lot of spin and we are setting ourselves up for even more of it. Potentially.
Ted
Cerberus
Re: Peter’s 10:06 comment…
“Harper says one thing (i.e. elected senate)
and does another.”
You want instant gratification? Go find a bottle of scotch. Otherwise, increase your patience and decrease your naivety.
“…Canada deserves better.”
Really?! Debatable. But let us suppose…Would you have Martin or Layton? A cynic would say Harper is the best of a bad lot, a pessimist that he couldn’t be worse, and an optimist that he’s got to be better. There, we have a no-lose situation.
You want better candidates? Run for office.
Re: Peter’s 12:13 comment on our involvement in Afganistan and the man being tried for converting to Christianity (and refusing to recant)
“Is this what we’re fightng for?”
What? You are upset that Harper hasn’t waved his magic wand to make everything perfect instantly? You do want instant gratification! Well, then, let us speed up the timetable. I suggest a hundred thousand new troops to start, and the imposition of Canadian law on the Afgani state. Go sign up…we seem to be short a few troops.
Henry: Great point on the Afghan legal code; but you’ve got to admit, it’s disturbing. We are in a unique position right now to put a lot of diplomatic pressure on; that is one advantage of having a strong military. We will be taken seriously in Afghanistan, now that we have boots on the ground. And, let’s not forget, the Islamist legal code problem is a growing issue, not shrinking. Pakistan is a case in point, as is Kenya… and Kenya has (had) a large Christian population. Extreme Muslim legal code is a growing international problem, from Indonesia to Turkey. Where are all the “human rights” groups????? Bono… etc.
Gee Henry,I had to reread your last paragraph a few times to figure out you were being”tongue-in-cheek.But you make a strong point.
While I am not against our being there to kill terrorists,it goes to show that you cannot IMPOSE democracy on others.Especially those who will never be convinced to separate religion from state.
We need to get our priorities straight here….are we there to eliminate the Taliban rule and terrorism or change the quality of life for the average Afgani and change their system of government?I say the first is vital,the latter is misguided.You cannot change a culture that does not first have a burning desire for change.
Where I do not”denounce”Bush for going into Iraq,this present attempt to create a democracy in a culture that does not respect it’s”basis in equality”is doomed to failure.Yet we seem to be convinced that creating democracies first is the only way to exit these scenarios and not have to return.
I honestly hope I am wrong on this one.
Gotta luv that Global Day of Whining. These people are definitly ODing on their magic mushrooms. Ever notice that all the things they say would not be allowed in those “oppressed by America” countries? Strange folks those.
Re: REMF’s in the military. It is often sad but true that they feather their own nest first. Show me a quartermaster who’s uniform and kit is not up to scratch. The one’s who don’t have top-of-the-line kit are the guys you want taking care of your unit.
“Is this what we’re fightng for?”
Shhh Peter
Keep this under your hat.
Canada’s campaign in Afghanistan is merely a diversionary tactic to keep the media spot light off the Newfoundland seal hunt.
Harper is trying to ingratiate himself with Vice President Cheney who has a little known but sordid fetish with knickers made from dead seal fur.
I know this is hard to believe. Please don’t spread it around.
Well, the Libs have had their ditherer (Martin), and now it appears they may get a fiddler (Mc Isaac). Who next? Perhaps a diddler? 🙂
C’dn obs:
Canada has a few hundred troops that US marines address really politely, and few thousand whose weapons use doesn’t make them nervous…out of an 62,000 “active” troops (from a pool of over 7 million nominally fit males of military service age…don’t have the number for women).
the mere thought makes me think of scotch.
…and yeh, it was tongue in cheek: 100,000 troops?
Re: the military kit. It’s an age old problem, since no two soldiers are the same and every good soldier (like a good hunter) evolves his own kit preferences. I propose a field equipment allowance of $1,000 per year (recieptable) for every soldier in the combat arms to be spent on field equipment/clothing. As for the REMFs up to their old tricks — that’s despicable. The front line grunts should get the best back in barracks.
“Canada has a few hundred troops that US marines address really politely, and few thousand whose weapons use doesn’t make them nervous…out of an 62,000 “active” troops (from a pool of over 7 million nominally fit males of military service age…don’t have the number for women).”
Point taken, however cross-nation military rivalaries have always been rather vicious. When everyone strives to be the best, obviously you look down on your counterparts.
Considering the absolutely withering bombardment our Armed forces has taken from the politicians(and thus the people) over the last several decades, I’d say we should be very proud of what they’ve managed in Afghanistan so far.
That said, the politians, and more importantly the people of Canada give me great reason for concern. How can we expand the forces if people aren’t signing up? How many useless social programs will actually be dropped so we can get decent funding headed towards the DND?
I did a big post on this a while back, and the historical trend is a little disturbing. I’m rather convinced that there is a point of oppulence that a society can reach were the people will refuse to go out and fight to preserve their lifestyle and society. I mean, why leave a coushy appartment, a car, a guy or gal, and a lifestyle better than 95% of the rest of the planet to go get shot at and live in a hole?
Already in Canada, and I’d assume much of the western world, the general ignorance on military and geo-political matters is a little disturbing.
Over the past 20 or 30 years many of those that might have been interested in a career in the forces were reluctant to sign up in Canada. The federal government irresponsibly neglected the armed forces and preferred them to be seen as “good guy school yard monitors” or emergency civil defence forces.
The action in Afghanistan has shown what soldiers are employed to do: kill their nation’s enemies.
And young Canadians are responding, as previous generations have done.
—————
Canadian Press
Published: Sunday, March 19, 2006
CALGARY — Canada’s fight to restore order to Afghanistan is bringing more recruits through the door, say military officials.
Despite a surge in attacks against soldiers in the war-torn country, recruiters at a Canadian Forces job fair in Calgary say their ranks are swelling with candidates
Canadian troops buying own kit.
Kate at Small Dead Animals posts a story about Canadian infantrymen having to buy their own boots, LBE and other basic personal equipment. Kate rightly points out that this isn’t unusual…those of us who served during Slick Willie’s r…
Get the excellent logo supporting supporting our soldiers.. Just cut and paste a bit of copy into your links or make a main post of as I have on http://TonyGuitar.blogspot.com.
Very easy to do:
http://WWW.Cnheroes.blogspot.com
TG
http://WWW.CnHeroes.blogspot.com
You just gotta love Harper’s latest fashion edict for Ottawa (those cute little colour-coordinated “HarperMuzzles” so many Tories will be wearing for next few months). There is absolutely no truth to the rumour that the only permissible colour for the HarperMuzzles is blue. I have it on good authority that any primary colour will do, in fact, some expect Tory ministers to have a different colour for each day of the week! Now, that’s being cutting edge!
But fear not, political discourse inside and outside the House will still find a way to bypass the HarperMuzzles and wander over the rest of the Harper New Tories agenda.
Then the true discussions will start on exactly what sort of Canada Harper wants to have.