277(1) Limit on government advertising during an election […]
(2) During a general election, no Government department shall publish in any manner any information with respect to the activities of the department.
Just In Time For Lorne Calvert’s Universal Drug Plan Campaign Promise
Three Saskatoon heart surgeons have filed a complaint to the College of Physicians and Surgeons stating that surgery backlogs mean they cannot operate in a time frame that meets national standards for care.
60 open heart surgeries – one in five – have been cancelled so far this year. Most patients are now waiting 6 months or more, due to a shortage of intensive care beds in Saskatoon.
(Via CBC)
The Unexpected War
New light on an old Chretien administration lie;
This was a government that was so transfixed at all levels with managing relations with Washington — politician to politician, general to general, senior official to senior official — that the foundation of Ottawa’s policy on the war in Iraq was put at risk. The decisions on exchange officers and the command of Task Force 151 needlessly exposed the government’s policy to daily assault and even ridicule in the House of Commons. As McCallum recalled, “That’s when [Stephen] Harper called me an idiot.”
In an almost schizophrenic way, the government bragged publicly about its decision to stand aside from the war in Iraq because it violated core principles of multilateral-ism and support for the United Nations. At the same time, senior Canadian officials, military officers and politicians were currying favour in Washington, privately telling anyone in the State Department or the Pentagon who would listen that, by some measures, Canada’s indirect contribution to the American war effort in Iraq — three ships and 100 exchange officers — exceeded that of all but three other countries that were formally part of the coalition. McCallum himself told Paul Cellucci, the U.S. ambassador in Ottawa, that Canada was “the opposite of Spain,” a country that originally supported the invasion of Iraq but that contributed very little militarily to the war effort.
The CBC National touched on another aspect of just how thoroughly the Chretien government was invested in misleading the Canadian public – while declaring a “principled” position in supposedly staying out of the Iraq war, Canadian troops were in fact, not wanted there. Instead, “Bush puppet” Chretien agreed to an American request to take on a larger role in Afghanistan.
I can’t find a text version of this report on the CBC website, so if someone has the time and technology to capture the National segment linked above to Youtube, let me know and I’ll post it.
Update – ask, and ye shall receive!
Thanks to Mississauga Matt.
Think Of It As Cause And Effect
“People have realized they can hate George Bush but still not want people crapping in their doorway.”
Bum-run San Franciso gets what they need.
Y2Kyoto: Not Since Yasser Arafat
| Has there been a more appropriate Nobel choice. |  |
Oops – In the wake of a British court ruling that the “documentary” contains material errors of fact, a “call to return Inconvenient Truth Oscar” A nice gesture, if altogether empty. After all, Michael Moore still has his.
Pajamas Media has a roundup of reaction. My favourite – “Just goes to show you that the Nobel Peace Prize is about as authentic a recognition of achievment in the field of peace as a winning lottery notification via email.”
(Via Shaidle) ….GORELERO – by Hugh Hewitt. “It began when Al Gore was a young man…”
Reader Tips
Tips thread.
The Art World’s Answer To The Dustpan
Total cost: $595,000 CAD
Maybe I Am A Pundit
On Sept. 24, I sent the following email to a few selected friends in media;
I’m not much of a pundit, but nonetheless I want to get on record with this.
Harper’s speech at the UN about replacing Kyoto is the election trigger.
He’s going to announce abandonment of Kyoto (in favour of replacement of a wider treaty, or made in Canada, or some such nonsense) in the throne speech … and then watch Dion sh*t himself.
Heh. Sometimes, I outdo myself.
Just In Time For Lorne Calvert’s Universal Drug Plan Campaign Promise
The Canora hospital is closing emergency services tonight for lack of doctors.
More reaction: “Thud”.
Religion of Peace Greater Understanding Outreach Program
“Make peace with us”. Or else;
Prominent Muslim scholars are warning that the “survival of the world” is at stake if Muslims and Christians do not make peace with each other.
In an unprecedented open letter signed by 138 leading Muslim scholars from every sect of Islam, the Muslims plead with Christian leaders “to come together with us on the common essentials of our two religions.”
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, and Pope Benedict are believed to have been sent copies of the document which calls for greater understanding between the two faiths.
The letter also spells out the similarities between passages of the Bible and the Koran.
The Muslim scholars state: “As Muslims, we say to Christians that we are not against them and that Islam is not against them – so long as they do not wage war against Muslims on account of their religion, oppress them and drive them out of their homes.”
The manager of a Christian bookstore in the Gaza Strip who was found dead last weekend was first publicly beaten and tortured by Islamic gunmen accusing him of spreading Christianity, according to witnesses and Palestinian security officials speaking to WND.
The body of Rami Ayyad, who managed the only Christian bookstore in Gaza, reportedly was found Sunday riddled with gunshot and stab wounds. Ayyad had been abducted the previous night as he closed his shop, according to a local Christian group.
Ayyad, a Baptist, was accused by Gaza-based Islamic groups of engaging in missionary activity. His bookstore, owned by the Palestinian Bible Society, was firebombed in April after which he told relatives he received numerous death threats from Islamists.
You can’t accuse them of inconsistency.
The Great NDP Saskatchewan Giveaway 2007
Continues unabated…
“A chicken in every pot and car in every garage” – Herbert Hoover (1928)
On Patrol Through Ramadi
A Michael Totten video.
They Used To Lie About Liberal Media Bias
Now, they brag;
[…] Cuomo and Washington Post reporter seemed to be proud of the media’s ability to turn Americans against the war in Iraq. Kurtz, who has written a book on the subject, asserted, “I believe that these newscasts in 2005 and 2006 played the biggest single role in helping to turn public opinion against the war.”
Cuomo agreed and complimented the journalist’s analysis. He enthused, “It’s easy to say, ‘Oh, well. The war was unpopular. People were looking for the unpopularity of it. At some point, the networks gave that to them.’ But you have a more penetrating look at it. You take a look at it in terms of the role of the nightly newscasts in shaping the ideas about the news…” According to Kurtz, the top three network anchors kept “framing the story in such a way” that the bad news finally had an impact.
The Crazy Old Aunt Of Canadian Politics
Invited down out of the attic?
Saskatchewan organic farmer and anti-free trade activist David Orchard says he’s been approached about running for a federal Liberal nomination in British Columbia. […] Orchard, who endorsed Stephane Dion during the recent Liberal leadership race, declined to say where he was considering running in British Columbia, although rumour has it Burnaby-New Westminster is one possibility.
Oh, please let this be true.
Winning two, losing one
If you read only one piece about Canada’s effort in Afghanistan this week, make it Michael Den Tandt’s article in the Owen Sound Sun Times:
I came back to Afghanistan to find answers to two questions. Is Canada’s deployment here still worthwhile, despite the rising toll in lives? And if it is, then why do so many people back home think it isn’t?
In the past week I’ve spoken to dozens of Canadian soldiers, non-governmental aid workers and Afghans, including some who are very critical of the U.S.-led international effort here and of the Karzai regime. Their message was unanimous: Please, Canada, don’t go.
It’s a ringing endorsement of the efforts of Canadians on the ground in Afghanistan, helping rebuild that country. It’s also a scathing indictment of our government’s communications strategy, and a fully merited one as I see it.
Read the whole thing.
Reader Tips
Your tips thread for today.
Saskatchewan Votes 2007
I’m trying to think of a catchy election title… Use the comments section for your ideas. If I use it, the winner gets a set of steak knives.
Observations made during the Saskatchewan election call.
Lorne Calvert – “We’ve cut the PST by two points to 5%…”
However, after the last election in 2003, the Calvert NDP raised the PST by 1%, from 6% to 7% for three full years. When the Minister Harry Van Mulligan was asked about why that wasn’t mentioned during the 2003 election campaign, Van Mulligan (quite candidly) responded that it was unpopular and not something you talk about during election campaigns.
Lorne Calvert – “We’ve implemented Project Hope…”
Sure, but Project Hope does not have any new addictions beds opening until the year 2009.
Lorne Calvert – “We’ve laid the path for the minimum wage to reach the poverty limit, first in Canada…”
Technically, that’s impossible. The Low Income Cut Off (LICO) is a moving target. Once the minimum wage gets raised, the LICO also gets raised by the present method of evaluation. This is the economic equivalent of Lucy pulling the football away.
Lorne Calvert (defines the wedge issue) – “With Saskatchewan booming like never before; with Saskatchewan families benefitting like never before, the question tonight is simple. Is it really time to put all of this at risk, for the sake of change…Is change for the sake of change worth the risk?… Should we go forward or should we go back?”
Now the best for last…
Lorne Calvert (doing his best Tommy Douglas impersonation) – “It was four years ago at just this time of year, I walked in the Qu’Appelle Valley with our grandson, and he and I decided that the time was right. Well this past weekend, he and I again, walked in the Qu’Appelle Valley, stood on one of the highest hills and again decided the time was right.”
To which the room in which Brad Wall was about to speak in erupted in laughter. Lorne missed the part about birdies eating out of his hand and seeing the doe and her new fawn silhouetted against the setting sun.
Lorne Calvert – “I am pleased to announce that the people of Saskatchewan will go to the polls for a provincial general election on Wednesday, November the 07th, 2007”
A full 30 minutes after 980CJME’s Alex Docking scooped the information off the Elections Saskatchewan website.
What a great way to start off an election campaign…
Would The Last One Jumping From The Good Ship Dion
Please empty the bait bucket?
They Were A Laughing Stock Long Before This
The malnutrition that afflicts millions of Zimbabweans has reduced the country to a “laughing stock”, President Robert Mugabe has admitted. Distributing equipment to black farmers resettled on land seized from white owners, he said: “We have become the laughing stock because of hunger. We all need to eat, whether you are Zanu-PF or MDC. Let’s unite.”
Since Mr Mugabe began confiscating farms Zimbabwe has gone from being an agricultural exporter to a country where millions need food aid. He blames supposed Western sabotage for the situation, rather than his own actions.
Sask NDP Fall For My Ruse
Hoping to take advantage of my declared absence, Lorne “small dead animals doesn’t speak for the people of Saskatchewan” Calvert has scheduled his nomination meeting for Wednesday night.
And not a moment too soon – with no more pulp mills left to “invest in” or casino cash to toss around, the only thing left was a last minute university tuition cut announcement and we’re good to go.
Your Saskatchewan election venting/predictions here!
Update: We go to the polls on November 7. Elections Saskatchewan scoops the Premier. (via 650 CKOM)