Author: Kate

New Listing

New Listing Prime location southwest of Kabul, within marching walking distance of downtown attractions. Beautiful mountain vistas.
Distinctive character home, ideal for the “fixer upper”. Outbuildings in good repair, suitable for moving, plenty of parking. Many upgrades, including an open air gymnasium and running track. Nightly fireworks. more

Subdivision potential.
Owner has over $90 million invested, open to offers.
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Operation Kerry Tantrum

Is John Kerry channelling Howard Dean?

John Kerry Challenges George W. Bush to Debate on War

Upon his arrival in Atlanta, Georgia on Saturday, John Kerry issued a statement and sent a letter to George W. Bush challenging him to a debate on the Vietnam era and the impact of their experiences on their approaches to presidential leadership. The challenge was issued in light of Bush campaign attacks on John Kerry’s service in Vietnam, and his commitment to the defense of our nation.

Kerry: “John Kerry went to Vietnam. John Kerry served with honor. John Kerry knows what it means to pick up a weapon and take a bullet for his country.”
Bush: “I respect that, Senator Kerry – and here’s what I’m going to do. I am going to sit right here and listen quietly while you tell the American people about your timetable for sending American forces back to Southeast Asia to win this war!
Kerry: “Don’t be absurd… Vietnam was over 30… er… I mean ….”
Bush: “Well I’m in if you are. Let’s go. Lemme talk to Rummy. I’ll put in a good word for you. What’ya need there, VietnamMan, a coupla divisions? Nimitz is ready and waiting off Hawaii….”
Heh.

The Ultimate Family Sedan

Stephen Green is shopping for a family SUV and tries his hand at automobile review. Despite the fact that his family consists of himself, a wife plus a tiny percentage of a third adult, space and cargo capacity, along with all wheel drive, are his listed priorities.
Liberty, Grand Cherokee, Pacifica. Explorer, Magnum, Trailblazer, and Durango.
Pussy trucks, each and every one of them.

Now, this is a truck.
Plenty of leg room, a whole back seat for the kiddie chair, leather interior and rides like a lumber wagon. 305 bhp @ 2900 rpm, 555 lb.-ft. of torque @ 1,400 rpm.
Specifications
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You’ll get a half million miles out that Cummins diesel, Stephen, and it sounds better than sex.
Best of all – the foam at the mouth reaction of the SUV haters when you tell them you bought it because your golf clubs don’t fit in the truck of the convertable.

Who Killed Theresa

I’ve been fighting off a fledgling migraine today with coffee, baked potatoes and a heating pad. Staring at a monitor is probably counterproductive but it keeps my mind off my mind, if you know what I mean.
Been looking for interesting Canadian blogs. Slim pickings so far. It seems insipid and self absorbed are characteristics of My Home And Native Land [tm]. (Though I suspect that’s a condition of blogdom in general)….. found one that was promising until I got to the part where she quoted Michael Moore approvingly…. bzzzzzt…. next contestant. These are worth a look, though.
Pol:Spy from Edmonton, Alberta
Bow. James Bow is Kitchener based.
Who Killed Theresa targets the dysfunctions of the Canadian justice system with sometimes personal details about criminal events and court cases.
Happy reading. I’m going to go look for an aspriin, and take a chance on the puking.

NK Defector Expelled

James Bow of Bow, James Bow has an open letter to the Minister of Immigration.

Dear Ms. Sgro
I call upon you to personally intervene in the matter of Song Dae Ri and grant this individual asylum in Canada. It strikes me as inconsistent, not to mention inhumane, that we should have a reputation for lax border controls and immigration laws, and yet send this individual back to certain death in North Korea.
I am particularly confused that your department would rule Mr. Ri to be a war criminal, simply for being a trade official in North Korea’s dictatorship. I remind you that no specific allegations have been made against him and that Canada’s War Crimes Unit have found no evidence of wrongdoing. This perplexing stance, that simply being a part of North Korea’s dictatorship prevents you from defecting from it, prevents North Koreans from speaking out against their country’s dictatorship and saving themselves and their families. In your own small way, by using Mr. Ri’s alleged and unsubstantiated complicity in North Korea’s human rights abuses, you have bolstered North Korea’s dictatorship, allowed it to act with impunity against its citizens, and have made it harder for average North Koreans to bring about democratic change.
Over and above that, your own department acknowledges that Mr. Ri will face execution upon his return to North Korea. For this reason you have allowed his six-year-old son to stay (which, on its own, is reason enough to allow the father to stay). Every measure of humanity and standard of compassion requires that Mr. Ri be allowed to remain in Canada. This country has balked at allowing the extradition of citizens and landed immigrants to countries where they might face execution for legitimate crimes; what does it say about Canada that we make North Korea an exception?
I understand the reasons for having a bureaucratic process, but bureaucracy should never be allowed to get in the way of the most basic human rights. As the minister of immigration, you have the power to intervene. Do so, now, and allow Mr. Song Dae Ri to remain in Canada with his son.
Sincerely,
James Bow

Hockey Night In Shaunavon

Saskatchewan owns the distinction of having produced more NHL players per capita than any other place in the world.
Here’s why;

All of these towns — Shaunavon, Eastend, Climax, Frontier and Cadillac — are clustered in a small, tight area south of the Trans-Canada Highway, north of the Montana border and west of Highway 13. [ed – strange error. Hwy 13 runs east-west from border to border]
Beyond Van Allen, Shaunavon also produced Braydon Coburn of the Portland Winter Hawks, the eighth player chosen in the 2003 entry draft and a player the Atlanta Thrashers believe will ultimately anchor their defence corps. Then there is Hayley Wickenheiser, considered by many to be the best female hockey player in the world.
Wickenheiser did grow up in Shaunavon, which she describes as “essentially, a grain-farming community of about 1,800 people right now. The oil fields are a big part of the economy as well. Farming and oil, I think, is it.
“There’s a hockey rink and a curling rink, two schools, Catholic and public, and a high school. Over all, it’s a pretty quiet community. On weekends, everything is based around the arena. You get the kids cruising up and down Main Street, flipping the half-turn at the end. That’s the cool thing to do when you get into high school.

I grew up on the farm, but schooled in the town of Arcola, at the opposite end of Hwy 13. About 3 years ago a fire razed the local rink complex to the ground – a devastating loss for a rural community where hockey, figure skating and curling are central to social and family life. The million dollars insurance on the building was only half the the sum required to rebuild.
14 months later a new structure was ready to open, and the building fund had a surplus of around $100,000. Today there are plans in motion to add an expansion for curling. All of it community raised, and much of it built through the work of volunteers. The NHL Players Association recognized their efforts by donating the plexiglass for the boards.
Arcola has a population of around 500.

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Arcola’s 100th anniversary in pictures

What Is Marriage?

Donald Sensing just saved me a lot of typing.

All of which is to say that the accidental characteristics of marriage – love, affection, property and other rights – spring from what marriage is rather than define what marriage is. Therefore, whatever relationship homosexuals may have with one another, and whatever legal rights civil authority may confer upon them, marriage is inherently – indeed, metaphysically – the province only of men and women united in matrimony.

Agreed. I have not found an argument to support the extension of legal marriage to include same-sex couples that I could not use in equal measure to demand the right to marry my sister.
Being of the same gender, society’s interest in the health of potential offspring is nullified – though it can also be argued that removing the ability to procreate as a defining property of marriage opens the door pretty wide. I don’t know how you can arbitrarily set aside something as fundamental as procreation to broaden the definition of marriage to include homosexual relationships, but stick it back in to narrow that same definition to exclude incestuous ones.
If it is discriminatory to deny persons the right to legally marry on the basis of same-sex orientation (be it choice or chance), is it not equally discriminatory to deny persons the right to marry on the basis of sexual ambivilance? Being homosexual or heterosexual is not a product of having sex with a person of the same or opposite gender, or having sex at all! Celibacy, whether voluntary or involuntary, does not affect orientation.
(Indeed, the entire discussion of sexual orientation is a red herring. This issue rests on gender, not orientation. Same-sex orientation has never been used to deny a man or woman the right to marry a person of the opposite sex.)
This is not a frivolous suggestion. It’s not uncommon for siblings to live their entire adult lives together, to share incomes, property, to support, comfort, care for, love and commit to each other. Why should such a couple be denied the societal benefits afforded to other such couples – pension benefits, spousal deductions. That they may or may not be having sex is no one’s business but their own.
As Pierre Trudeau remarked many years ago when he started us down this long slippery road, “The state has no business in the bedrooms of the nation.”
Either we take the father of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms at his word, or we don’t.
Feb 26: take a trip round the Beltway for more.

Western Alienation, Pt II

I had to do some finishing work on a Harley tank today, and was unable to catch all of the John Gormley Show interview with Prime Minister Paul Martin. I did listen to the first half on the drive to town, and now I’m catching a repeat broadcast. The calls were varied and the questions well considered.
Martin seemed to acquit himself well enough when it came to general presentation, though the outrage and earnestness he’s trying to convey is beginning to sound a little forced. – “unacceptable, unfathomable … not going to stand for it … going to get to the bottom of it … the old way doesn’t work” …After all, Adscam has been going on 11 days, and it’s hardly news – the Auditor General first reported on the fundamentals of the scandal in 2002.
But in substance, there seemed to be a disconnect on matters “Western”. Questions about the deepening crisis in the cattle industry over BSE resulted in sober expressions of concern about streamlining agriculture relief programs, and assurances that he had discussed this with President Bush in Mexico and had been using “maximum pressure to get those borders open” (cold comfort that) – but nothing new. I know some hearts sank. If there was anything dramatic coming down the chute, one would think he’d have chosen this swing through the province for an announcement.
But the question everyone was waiting for elicited a wobbly response that confirmed that while he may think he sounds sincere about the problem of western alienation … he does not yet get it.

Members of the Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation gathered outside the radio station.
People held a sign reading Remember the Firearms Registry When you Vote.
A caller named Brian from Regina voiced his concerns over the gun registry.
“I’m one of those typical alienated western rednecks. I own guns. I hunt and I trap. Could you please tell western Canada why Canada is safer now that your $2-billion government program knows about my guns,” he said.

The rage that simmers in the west over the indefensibly stupid and unworkable gun registry is not registering with him. Martin made this clear. He mumbled something about the Association of Police Chiefs being in favour of it and being in favour of reviewing it. He mentioned that rural eastern Canadians were also against gun control, as though that diffused the “anti-Western” bias of the legislation. Ah… best not do that, Paul.
In a country where federal laws dictate a farmer in Saskatchewan can have property seized and serve jail time for selling wheat to the same customer that a wheat farmer in Ontario is free to do business with at twice the price…. best not to invoke nonexistant solidarity. Best not to mention it at all.
What he does not “get” is the depth of resentment about the condescension and dismissiveness that has characterized federal (read: central Canadian) attitudes towards Western culture and identity. The $2 million $1 billion $2 billion gun registry that makes my possession of a 65 year old, unregistered ..22 calibre gopher rifle a criminal offence, has become a symbol for this resentment in a way that no other ever has.
Adding injury to insult, when asked about private First Nations MRI clinics and Alberta premier Ralph Klein’s announcement yesterday that his province may withdraw from the Canada Health Act because of dissatisfaction with federal cost sharing, Martin strenuously defended universal health care, and stressed that those who await medical diagnosis (22 months for an MRI in this province) should “you should not be able to buy yourself better health care” to “jump the cue”. Ouch.
In afternoon discussion, Gormley and the other talking heads of the station chatted about the security arrangements and revealed that the studio was crammed with 9 TV cameras during the hour long phone in.
Tyler McMurchy related the most telling anecdote. He returned to his desk to find a voice message from a Toronto Star reporter, “mystified” that the sponsorship scandal had been largely ignored. They asked if the station had intentionally screened callers by topic, to swing the discussion to western issues.
*sigh*
No, they hadn’t.
No wonder we feel alienated.

Human Guinea Pigs

They volunteered to serve their country. They had no idea what their country had in mind.
Winnipeg Sun

Friesen, who’s now 77 and lives in Winkler, was pulled from training at Camp Shilo in 1945. He was among more than 2,500 young recruits who took an oath of secrecy to participate in a top secret mission — most at a military base in Alberta, others at the National Research Council in Ottawa.
They didn’t know their mission would entail being exposed to poisonous gases, and that they’d be denied medical care for days so scientists could study the horrifying effects.
The soldiers were marched into a field at what is now CFB Suffield near Medicine Hat where they were exposed to mustard gas vapours. Fifteen minutes later they were taken back to the base where they were put in a cold chamber for three hours, Friesen recalls.
“We were still wearing our contaminated clothing sitting in there.”
But that wasn’t the end of it. They were then taken to a hot chamber.
“We were made to perspire which opened our pores. That’s when the fireworks started,” Friesen said. “The vapours trapped in our clothing got into our skin and we got huge blisters all over, including the most tender parts of our bodies.”

“We didn’t know what we were going into,” said Tanner, now 77 and living in Kelowna, B.C. “They didn’t tell us what we’d be doing — they said it was top secret. It sounded like something from James Bond.”
After being gassed, the soldiers were taken to the base hospital where they assumed they’d be treated but that didn’t happen despite their cries for care.
“They didn’t give us anything for the pain and they didn’t treat our blisters,” Friesen said. “They just kept us under observation so they could see how our bodies reacted to the gas exposure.”
Many of the men who were gassed in Suffield have not been able to have children, others have been plagued by lung ailments, and other have battled cancer. It’s unknown how many are still alive.

They were paid an additional dollar a day as compensation. Ottawa refused to acknowledge the testing even took place until 1988. Today, defense minister David Pratt announced a $50 million tax-free payout to the estimated 2000 soldiers who were affected.
About damned time.

Western Alienation Rekindled

Well, congratulations to the Canadian Conservative Party national nominating committee. Poised at only a couple of points off the Liberals in the polls, these six individuals have decided that the right of citizens to fully participate in the democratic process is optional in Western Canada.
Four candidates were on the slate for the nomination to run for the Conservatives in the riding of Souris-Moose Mountain. One of them was former provincial premier Grant Devine.

This morning it was announced
that he would not be allowed to stand for nomination. Tom Jarmin was interviewed by telephone on John Gormley Live:

“This is a final process, there is no appeal to this decision”.

Despite heavy prodding by Gormley, there were no further explanations offered. Ken Sutherland, president of the local party board, indicated that he has not recieved an explanation either, and that the association had no input into the national committee decision. The local board has a special meeting called for tomorrow evening, and may consider setting aside the nomination meeting to await the Conservatives selection of a new national leader.
That Devine oversaw a contraversial administration is an understatement. They governed the province through some of the most devasting years of the 1980’s – deficits created mostly by low grain, oil and potash prices, drought and astronomical interest rates placed the province at the brink of bankruptcy. After their defeat, a scandal unfoided that involved the conviction of several provincial MLA’s for improper spending – some were egregious abuses of public funds, but some were blatantly political witchhunts by the NDP.
Some of the MLA’s charged were acquitted on the same evidence that others were convicted on. Some of the charges stemmed from the problems caused by lists of approved expenses that were vague and obsolete. Purchases of computer software for a constituancy office could be considered a breach of the guidellines, for example.
But there is no question as to the continuing popularity and reputation of Grant Devine in his home riding of Souris-Moose Mountain. I grew up in the region and our family still farms there. In the extreme southeast of the province, the oil rich rural riding represents one of the most loyal small “c” conservative regions in the country.
No wrongdoing was ever alleged or charged against Devine himself. An eloquent and sincere advocate of provincial interests, he holds two Phd’s and is highly knowledgable about agriculture and the issues that concern the province. For this, he still recieves widespread respect and support.
All I can say to the Conservatives… bad move. In what may be a tightly fought election, you shot yourselves in the foot twice – by turning your back on what would have been a secure seat, and by throwing fuel on the growing fire of western alienation.
Update: This ain’t over just yet.

Damage Control

Prime Minister Paul Martin is appearing on the Saskatoon based John Gormley show tomorrow morning. He will be live in studio with the talk radio host and former Conservative MP for an hour – taking calls from listeners.
Let that sink in for a moment, and you may get an inkling of how much trouble this PM thinks he’s in.
When Auditor General Sheila Fraser released her scathing report on the mishandling of funds in the Sponsorship Program scandal, it set into motion a political runaway train.
John Chretien had a reason for vacating the office of Prime Minister a few months early.

According to Julie Hebert, media relations manager in the AG’s office, deputy ministers of all of the departments mentioned in Sheila Fraser’s blistering report, were handed draft copies of the report in October, to give them an opportunity to reply, which is standard procedure.
Chretien clearly read the report and as such, read the writing on the wall.
So, instead of taking the heat from the fallout of the report and breaking for Christmas in December, and instead of coming back in the New Year to celebrate his 70th birthday in the House of Commons on Jan. 11 as he long planned, Chretien pulled a fast one on Parliament, his party and most of all, his enemy, Paul Martin.
After all, what’s one more broken promise in a career filled with them?
Martin, who was visibly pleased by Chretien’s early departure, was either too blinded by ambition or too stupid to recognize Chretien’s last act as PM was to stick a long knife in his back.

Originally uncovered two years ago, the jist of the scheme involved the illegal transfer of federal funds through a handful of advertising agencies in Quebec owned by Liberal party supporters. These agencies then moved the money on to various agencies and Crown Corporations, after taking hefty commissions. The odds on speculation is that those funds found their way back to Liberal party coffers. $100 million of the $250 million spent on the program (intended for feel-good-about-Canada PR events prior to the 1995 Quebec sovereignty referendum) was diverted in this manner.
Cited in the illegal transfers are several Crown Corporations headed by Chretien appointees, including Canada Post, Via Rail and the RCMP. Especially embarrassing for the Mounties, they have had to call in the Quebec Provincial Police to conduct the investigation. Irregularities cited by the Auditor General include lack of any indication as to how the program was initiated, or by whom.
And the shoes keep dropping. Although the scandal surfaced two years ago, news that one of the firms involved has recieved further government contracts surfaced yesterday. In December the Martin government awarded $500,000 in contracts to a Groupe Everest subsidiary.
Today Sheila Fraser will be naming names at the Commons public accounts committee.
And what has private citizen Chretien have to say for himself?

“We should be skiing today, it would be better,” he told reporters outside his Ottawa law office.
“I don’t think anymore,” he said. “I was the government, I replied to all your questions � a lot of them. Now if you have questions ask the government.

Update: More meaty details from Andrew Coyne

The Last Three Weeks

Frustration is an understatement for what has transpired in the past three weeks. It all began when there was a router problem at the datacenter the original host resides at. This was complicated by other factors beyond my control…
As mentioned below, I don’t know if the original server will be back online anytime soon, so it’s best to just bite the bullet and start fresh, I guess. On one hand, it’s hard to accept the loss of so much writing, but on the other, most of it was already dated and of limited relevance.
But what a three weeks to be blogless! .. the sponsorship scandal of the federal Liberals, Conan O’Brien, Don Cherry, the projection of the Gun Registry costs ballooning to 2 billion, and of course, the AWOL vs AFFAIR media coverage contraversy south of the border. Missed some weather snob posts and the opportunity to post wild photos of the blizzards.
What else to do but go sledding?

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