Julius Caesar And Chief Ted Antoine

Gopher News No Comments

Publius;

Canada also granted its subject peoples independence.� Just like other old imperialists the Canadian government replaced its old colonial budget with a new colonial budget.� The new term in Canada was development assistance, the same type of euphemism as foreign aid.� In Canada the term for independence was self government.� What that meant was that accountability in how government funds were spent would henceforth be non-existent.� The western governments of the 1970s and 1980s didn’t ask how their foreign aid money was being spent.� Such an act of intrusion into the affairs of now sovereign states was a form of neo-colonialism. The Canadian government behaved in the same way toward our “First Nations.”�
No matter how many black eyed women, gasoline sniffing juveniles and drunken Indians began appearing on the nightly news casts the blame was always whitey’s.� We interfered before, reasoned the bien pensants, look what happened.� Let’s just stay clear.� It’s an internal matter.� To assuage our guilt we’ll just send a cheque.
To me the aboriginal population of Canada are Canadians.� If we treat them as something separate, something to which – literally – the laws of Canada cannot apply we will never truly give a damn.� We can treat them as ex-colonial subjects.� We can buy into the post-colonial line about exploitation and long term cultural damage.� We can continue to sign the cheques.� We can continue to be damn smug about it all.� Or we can raise one hell of a fuss.� A group at the Poundmaker Reserve are making a fuss.� A few bloggers are making a fuss.� This time it isn’t about whitey.� It hasn’t been about whitey for some time.� The Japanese in Canada had their property confiscated and their liberty revoked during the Second World War.� Their fate was in some ways harsher than that of the Aboriginals.� Yet, they have succeeded.
Perhaps the real reason the Japanese, the Indian Indians, the Chinese and many others succeeded in Canada was because no one tried to help.� No one felt guilty about the injustices leveled at them until long after they can became successful members of Canadian society.� Racism wasn’t the problem as much as welfare handouts.
Hopefully the rebels at Poundmaker understand that.� The last thing we need is to get rid of the new imperialists and see them replaced by the same old, same old.

Darcey, at Dust My Broom got the ball rolling on this one, and others have joined in to publicize the story. He has a number of posts up detailing the events.
London Fog, BumF, Ianism, Debbye, Catprint In The Mash, GenX 40, Mitchieville,
Blank Out Times.
Request for Support;

Poundmaker Working Group;
Dianne J.Tootoosis
Box 490
Cut Knife,Sask.
SOM ONO

For Monetary Donations;
Dianne J.Tootoosis
Cut Knife Royal Bank
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What’s For Dessert?

Military 15 Comments

I expect PETA will soon be announcing they are sending costumed protestors to Iraq.

The warriors of Iraq’s new army excel at wearing balaclavas, eating raw cat and driving into battle at hair-raising speeds. The troops on the front line of the campaign to crush the country’s insurgency roared into action on the fringes of the “Sunni Triangle” recently in a convoy of pick-up trucks. The vehicles’ speedometers rarely dipped below 80mph. “We go fast, they not hit us. No need to be worried. Iraqi soldiers are very brave,” boasted Capt Haidar, although not brave enough himself to give anything other than his first name. “I am special forces,” he said. “To finish training we must catch a wild rabbit or cat with our hands, kill it with our hands and then eat it raw. I have eaten five cats. See how strong is the Iraqi soldier.”

More at Outside The Beltway.

Gomery Roundup

The Libranos 13 Comments

There is nothing that the Libranos won’t lie about. At the same time Paul Martin was on our television sets claiming credit for starting the inquiry, he was dipping into our pockets to pay others to discredit it.

The war room and its cost came to light on the heels of last week’s complaints from Justice John Gomery about officials exaggerating the cost of his inquiry.
Officials at the commission looking into the sponsorship scandal say the total cost of the actual inquiry will come in under $32 million. Judge Gomery said government officials have “leaked” to the media that it is costing departments another $40 million to cover costs at four key departments, including the Privy Council Office. “It’s an exaggeration and it’s twisting reality,” Judge Gomery said last week.
[…]
Judge Gomery has made it clear he doesn’t appreciate the Martin government adding its hidden costs to his overall budget. In an exchange with an ad executive, the judge said: “What they did was … put together the fees of everyone in the Justice Department that worked on the file, the photocopies they made at the PCO and God knows what other expenses that were totally beyond the commission’s control.”

Speaking of dollars and cents, forensic accounting firm Kroll Lindquist Avey is bringing down their Adscam report today. Advance reports suggest it’s going to be ugly.

Internationally renowned forensic accounting firm Kroll Lindquist Avey is expected to shake the foundations of Justice John Gomery’s inquiry today with a detailed report on whether pockets were lined in the sponsorship scandal.
The Kroll report is expected to follow the money trail from federal coffers to the Liberal- friendly ad firms and possibly into the wallets of Grit organizers.
The findings are expected to make more waves than any other testimony before Gomery and have been kept under such tight wraps that not even a kernel of information has leaked out.

(Thanks to tipsters in the comments who have already done the roadwork by the time I check in each morning.)

If I Were A Political Strategerist

Political Animal 47 Comments

…. for a party that had been trying for years to shake a negative catch phrase pinned to it by political opponants and the media … and say I had a summer of pre-election campaigning to fill, do you know what I’d do?
I’d call a news conference, and with the cameras rolling and the microphones recording, I’d announce the launch of the “Hidden Agenda Tour”.
Then, I’d take it nationwide, to – In the immortal words of Mark McKinnon – Love it to death.

Royal Commonwealth Society of Toronto: Owns Anti-Harper website

Radioactive 41 Comments

Bill Strong has stumbled upon a piece of political dynamite;

The registered owner of Sinclair Stevens’ new anti-Harper website bloc-harper.com is The Royal Commonwealth Society of Toronto Foundation.
The website of The Royal Commonwealth Society of Canada, Toronto Branch lists the Hon. Sinclair M. Stevens, P.C., Q.C. as its Foundation Chairman. They also list the following:

  • Patron in Canada: Her Excellency The Right Honorable Adrienne Clarkson, C.C., C.M.M., C.D. Governor General of Canada
  • Honorary Chairman: The Hon. James K. Bartleman, OOnt, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario.
    Given that the Governor-General and the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario are Patron and Honourary Chair, you would think that the Society would wish to avoid purely political issues. Reading the Society’s constitution and values pages does not give any indication that the Society would be / should be involved in partisan politics, such as the bloc-harper.com website. In fact, their purpose is plainly stated on their main page.
    Our purpose is to promote the increase and spread of knowledge respecting the peoples and countries of the Commonwealth. This is pursued by the formation of regional branches and through a variety of educational activities. RCS-Canada is affiliated with the RCS International headquarters in London, England.
    Why then is the Royal Commonwealth Society getting actively involved in Canadian politics?

    • Screenshot:
    bloc-harper.jpg
    UPDATE This morning, the record has been updated to show “Freedom International Ass’n” as the owner, but with the same address. Good thing I grabbed that screenshot.
    Update – the only Freedom Interntional I can find in existance seems to be based in Australia. (I’ve written them for an explanation). Google provides no sign of such an organization in Canada, much less one listed at the address provided in Newmarket. Perhaps others with different tools can dig up more.
    Updated June 2

    Does It Take Four Hours To Say No?

    Political Animal 84 Comments

    As I said in the comments section below, I hope this is a signal that someone in Tory headquarters has learned the “Abu Ghraib�� Strategy” – that to inflict maximum damage to an opponant caught in a story of wrongdoing you must ensure that the dirty details …. dribble … out …. one …. at … a … time.
    As the world media did with the prison abuse story, the controlled release of “new photos” (though all had been taken at the same time) turned a brief moment in history into a multi-chaptered saga that lived for weeks, and worsened with the ugly exposure of each new naked body ….
    8 minute increments, boys.
    Make them squirm. Keep them on the defense for a change.
    OK. Back to gardening.

    Random Links

    Reader Tips 8 Comments

    I think I’ve earned a brief holiday from blogging, so I’ll just throw up some links I’ve had forwarded or spotted on my own that are relevant to recent events;
    I may be taking a break, but Newsbeat1 isn’t. There’s a ton of stuff there this morning. (Take the time to add this site to your blogroll. )
    The apple is climbing back into the tree.
    Further to the tender sensibilities of those offended by the use of the word “Jap”, (I presume you’ll rise in similar indignation next time you hear “Yank”), a few sentimental wartime postcards.
    Greg and others think the Conservatives should release their platform now. Just in time for summer vacation. I don’t.
    Someone asks privately about a detail of the RCMP murders that I wrote about at the time – oddly no photographs of the weapon seem to have been published in the mainstream press. Perhaps a photo of a HECKLER & KOCH, HK91 is “inconsistant” with the more important message that the “smoking gun registry” keeps “banned weapons from the hands of criminals”.
    At Bound By Gravity, More historical photos, these ones of bombing damage at Saint-L�, France in the wake of D-Day.


    darth.gif
    Yes, a Blogger’s strength flows from the Force. But beware of the dark side. Anger, fear, aggression; the dark side of the Force are they. Easily they flow, quick to join you in a fight. If once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny, consume you it will…”

    The Libranos Strike Back II

    The Libranos 132 Comments

    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.

    “An Angry Party With Narrow Views”

    Military 43 Comments

    Rookie Conservative MP Steven Fletcher     has apologized for an incident last weekend where he referred to Japanese soldiers from the Second World War as “Japs” and “bastards.”
    Fletcher made the remarks last weekend at a veteran’s convention in Winnipeg.
    His specific statement was: “The Japs were bastards.”
    In his statement of apology on Saturday, Fletcher referred to his family’s personal experiences during the war, saying they had given him “a very emotional perspective” on that historical period.
    His grandfather was a prisoner of war held by the Japanese, captured during the fall of Singapore.
    “I allowed those emotions to colour my remarks,” he said. “I should have chosen more appropriate language, and will do so in the future. I apologize for any offence I may have caused, and retract my choice of words without reservation.”
    But he also said this: “I stand by the fact that the Japanese were ruthless. If people want to challenge me on that, I look forward to it.”
    Fletcher told The Canadian Press: “They used my grandfather’s friend for bayonet practice. They put my grandfather on a raft when he was ill to die. They shot people indiscriminately.
    “In the context of the time, in World War II, they treated people in ways that were barbaric and disgusting, and it should never be forgotten, and it should never be allowed to happen again.”
    During the 1940s, “Japs” was commonly used to describe Japanese people, but it is now considered to be an ethnic slur.
    Fletcher’s role at the conference was to bring greetings from the federal government.
    Hayden Kent, president of the Army, Navy and Air Force Veterans Unit 283, said the MP’s remarks caught the veterans off guard.
    “I understand his feelings about what his grandfather went through, but that wasn’t the time or the place,” he said.
    “If we’d had a person of Japanese descent on the convention floor, how would that person have felt? We have to forgive.”
    Bev Oda, a Conservative MP and the first Japanese-Canadian elected to Parliament, was mildly critical of her colleague.
    “We have a job certainly as members of Parliament to work against racism but we can do that without using the terminology of the day,” he said.
    The Liberals said Fletcher’s outburst is yet more evidence that the Conservatives are an angry party led by people with narrow views.
    But the NDP said Fletcher’s apology should end the matter.

     

     

     

     

     

    		“Reluctantly, the American prisoners did as they were told, all 150 of them, crawling single file into the dark, poorly ventilated pits. Everyone but Stidham, whose stretcher was conveniently placed beside one of the trench entrances. If the planes came, his buddies would gather his limp form and tuck him into the shelter with everyone else.
    They waited and waited but heard not a single American plane, let alone a hundred. They huddled in the stifling dankness of their collective body heat, sweat coursing down their bare chests. The air-raid bell continued to peal. A Navy signalman named C.C. Smith refused to go into his pit. Suddenly the Buzzard set upon him. He raised his saber high so that it gleamed in the midday sun, and with all his strength he brought it blade side down. Smith’s head was cleaved in two, the sword finally stopping midway down the neck.
    Then, peeking out the ends of the trenches, the men saw several soldiers bursting into the compound. They were carrying five-gallon buckets filled with a liquid. The buckets sloshed messily as the soldiers walked. With a quick jerk of the hands, they flung the contents into the openings of the trenches. By the smell of it on their skin, the Americans instantly recognized what it was — high-octane aviation fuel from the airstrip. Before they could apprehend the full significance of it, other soldiers tossed in lighted bamboo torches. Within seconds the trenches exploded in flames, The men squirmed over each other and clawed at the dirt as they tried desperately to shirnk from the intense heat. They choked back the smoke and the fumes, their nostrils assailed by the smell of singed hair and roasting flesh. They were trapped like termites in their own sealed nest.
    Only a few managed to free themselves. Dr.Carl Mango, from Pennsylvania, sprang from his hole, his clothes smoldering. His arms were outstretched as he peaded — “Show some reason, please God show reason” — but a machine gunner mowed him down.
    Another prisoner crawled from his trench, wrested a rifle from the hands of a soldier, and shot him before receiving a mortal stab in the back. A number of men dashed toward the fence and tried to press through it but were quickly riddled with lead, leaving a row of corpses hung from the barbed stands like dried cuttlefish. A few men managed to slip through the razor ribbon and leap from the high cliff, but more soldiers were waiting on the beach to finish them off. Recognizing the futility of escape but wanting to wreak a parting vengeance, one burning prisoner emerged from his trench, wrapped his arms tightly around the first soldier he saw, and didn’t let go — a death embrace that succeeded in setting the surprised executioner on fire.
    All the while, Lieutenant Sato scurried from trench to trench with saber drawn, loudly exhorting his men and occasionally punctuating his commands with a high, nervous laugh. At his order, another wave of troops approached the air-raid shelters, throwing grenades into the flaming entrances and raking them with gunfire. Some of the troops poked their rifle barrels through the entrances of the trenches and fired point-blank at the huddled forms within. James Stidham, the paralytic who had been watching all of this from his stretcher, quietly moaned in terror. A soldier stepped over to him and with a perfunctory glance fired two slugs into his face.”
    From Ghost Soldiers– an account of the atrocity at Palawan, Dec.14, 1944.

    The Libranos Strike Back

    The Libranos 85 Comments

    Apparently, voicing the same opinion as Jack Layton and Gille Duceppe – that Tim Murphy committed an offense under the Criminal Code in suggesting that rewards would come the way of certain Conservative members if they were to abstain – can get you sued;

    Andrew Coyne is being sued by the Prime Minister’s Chief of Staff Tim Murphy for libel. There’s no other details on exactly what Coyne wrote that was so libelous, but I’m guessing it’s the column in the National Post that directly accused Murphy of breaking the law. Coyne has not put the column up on his site as he usually does, and his site has shut down comments and has had no new content added for a couple of days. Something’s happened; it may be the thuggish hand of the Liberal Party, or it may be a bad case of stomach flu.
    Debbye Stratigacos of Being American in T.O. and I feel that the Prime Minister’s office should not be able to shut down the questioning of their ethics with legal threats and have decided to post the column. Because of copyright issues, we’ll both post just half of it. If Andrew Coyne requests we take it down, we will, but for now, here’s the first part of the offending column.

    Debbye has more.
    Correction According to this Globe & Mail piece titled “Layton joins call for probe into MP’s allegations”, Murphy is “considering” suing Duceppe, too.
    Now, why not Jack Layton, do you suppose? Or is he granted “immunity” so long as he remains a member of da Family?
    update
    Coyne explains why his comments section has been closed. It’s a reminder of why I asked a couple of days ago for folks here to keep it in check. It’s one thing to get pissy – indeed, I think that having a place to allow readers to let off steam is an important function of blogs – it’s quite another to piss in your own bed.
    another update: My presumption that Coyne was “voicing the same opinion as Jack Layton and Gille Duceppe” is inaccurate. (The original quote at Autonomous Source has updated as well).

    Belindarella, Up After Midnight

    More Money Than Brains 82 Comments


    margaret.jpg

    Partying Liberals were treated Thursday night to the incredible sight of Belinda Stronach, Canada’s new human resources minister, and Tim Murphy, the Prime Minister’s chief of staff, dancing atop a speaker at an Ottawa bar. The tune? “Material Girl,” by Madonna. The lyrics to that song include these memorable, and some would say fitting, words: “Some boys kiss me, some boys hug me, I think they’re OK, If they don’t give me proper credit, I just walk away. They can beg and they can plead, But they can’t see the light. That’s right, ‘Cause the boy with the cold hard cash is always Mr. Right.”

    When asked for reaction, Liberal members present at the bash responded stiffly.

    The Supreme Court Case Nobody Will Report On

    Radioactive 32 Comments

    P.M. Jaworsk notices that the New York Times is reporting on an important case that no one in the Liberal wing of the Canadian media seems to want to touch;

    [T]he article, entitled “A Doctor-Lawyer-Gadfly v. Canada’s Medical System,” is a good account of Chaoulli’s struggles and battles with Canada’s health care system. That struggle has been temporarily put on hold, since the Court has not yet issued a ruling in the case. (Chaoulli finished his arguments almost a year ago…)
    In my article, scholars that I spoke to expected the decision to come down before the end of last year. Why the delay? No one really knows for sure, but Chaoulli told me that he sees it as a “good sign.”

    The NYT article is online though you will have to register (free).

    A diminutive man who has trouble keeping his wire-rim glasses on straight, Dr. Chaoulli, 53, hardly looks like the “freedom fighter” that Canada’s conservative news media have called him. But if he wins his case he will tear up the third rail of the nation’s politics and raze what many Canadians consider to be the bedrock of their national identity.
    He argues that regulations that create long waiting times for surgery contradict the constitutional guarantees for individuals of “life, liberty and the security of the person,” and that the prohibition against private medical insurance and care is for sick patients an “infringement of the protection against cruel and unusual treatment.”
    He believes that Canada is disallowing the basic contract rights of doctors and patients, and that the country would serve the sick much better if it had a parallel private health care system, as in France and many other industrialized countries.
    “His argument is credible,” said Patrick Monahan, dean of the Osgoode Hall Law School of York University in Toronto. “The issue of waiting times does raise constitutional issues.”

    Check out the Western Standard article from last year, too.

    I Concede

    Political Animal 128 Comments

    I’ve been listening for weeks now as Liberals defend their party as though theft was simply a policy issue to debate on its merits – a small part of a larger, more important national picture, sometimes marketed as the Greater Good[tm].
    These Liberals seem to genuinely believe that systematic dishonesty is just a point of disagreement for which a sensible compromise could be found, if only both sides would be civil.
    “Compromise” is defined by Websters in this way:

    “An amicable agreement between parties in controversy, to settle their differences by mutual concessions. “

    Well, therein lies the rub. Conservatives aren’t wired the same way as you Liberals. As we are so often reminded, we tend to view the world in terms of “black and white”.
    This Ayn Rand quote is illustrative of this uniquely conservative character flaw, the unreasonably rigid fixation on notions of right and wrong as though they are, you know – meaningful.

    “In any compromise between food and poison, it is only death that can win. In any compromise between good and evil, it is only evil that can profit. In that transfusion of blood which drains the good to feed the evil, the compromiser is the transmitting rubber tube.”

    Stupid woman. Rand should have known that so-called “poison” can be ingested safely if dosage remains within limits of toxicity. Lives are saved through chemotherapy every day by the very pharmaceuticals that would kill you instantly if administered in overdose. The grey area between safety and toxicity is scientific fact – a property of every chemical substance on earth, with the exception of agricultural pesticides, growth hormones and fertilizers.
    Still, hard wired as the conservative that I am, I can’t help myself. I can’t quite resolve a middle ground between good and evil. While on some intellectual level I’m sure I know better – I cannot shake the belief that beaurocratic corruption is an institutional character fault so grave that it should disqualify those afflicted from any position of power. In the case of the Liberal Party of Canada, I believe the party should be deregistered. I know this is harsh, but that’s how I think. Black. White. Crime. Punishment.
    It’s not as though the question of corruption remains in dispute. An announced $750,000 trust fund indicates that Mr. Martin’s Liberals have moved past denial and presumption of innocence, and have entered the plea bargain phase.
    While I acknowledge this is progress of a sort, in the greater scope of events, it’s pretty clear that my outdated “conservative” definition of justice, a justice that includes punishment, will not be realized. Having admitted guilt, there will be no penalty outside of “community service”.
    The Liberal Party will not only continue to exist, they shall continue to govern and enjoy the privilage of stealing from me for the greater good.
    So, to my fellow moderate, mainstream, compromising Liberal Canadian citizens so tolerant of the mischievious ways of our political masters – today I concede.
    You win. I lose. You are right. I was wrong. You were always right, and I was always wrong.
    Having broken the shackles of black and white, I’m ready to venture into this brave new ethical world of “Grey” and work with you. I can’t say I understand it, but nonetheless – it’s time to adapt.
    As my first step, as a show of good faith, I’ve arranged a compromise with you. We will find a middle ground between “honesty” and “dishonesty”, a happy litlle grey parking spot between “respect for property” and “systematic theft”.
    In my previous life in the world of black and white, “fairness” would demand participation of two consenting negotiators to arrive at “mutual concession’. I’m glad we can dispense with that outdated notion.
    I’m going to play by your rules. Just as I had no place at the table when you were conceding the fundamental honour and integrity of the political system I must live under, you’ll surely understand this compromise that I have chosen for you.
    You get to keep your Liberal Party and then some – you may also keep your Liberal government in perpetuity.
    Easy? Easy.
    In exchange I am going to impose a similar system of institutionalized theft on you, but in a more streamlined version. (Some conservative habits die hard) .
    While your political party is stealing my money to fund their own election campaigns and in turn, reward their supporters (which would be you and the others who vote for them), in my parallel system, we’ve cut out the middleman.
    I’ve made a deal with your bank. They have agreed to allow me, at the time of my choosing, to dip into your personal account and take a few dollars when I need them. Or alternately, when I want them. It’s nothing to get worried about, because the amounts I take will be such a tiny percentage of the bank’s overall holdings.
    I won’t be telling you when I’ll be accessing your account, how much I’m going to take or how I will spend it. (I negotiated that, too.)
    Because this is a democracy, you will have the right to complain just as much as you wish – so long as you remain civil. No anger allowed, because I really am uncomfortable – distrustful really – of angry people. They scare me.
    If the tone of your complaint meets with my approval, I will go back to the bank and we shall sit down and discuss your grievance. The process will be completely democratic. You may watch and you can comment, and you will even cast a vote. You, me and the banker all cast votes.
    Majority rules.
    Then, after the majority has ruled, I’ll admit that maybe I took some of your money, look you straight in the eye and tell you I’m very, very sorry about the mess and give you my solemn pledge – let me be very, very clear about this – not to steal from your personal account until next time.
    Then, I’ll instruct your banker to increase your account fees. We shall then distribute the extra revenues to the bank accounts of your like-minded mainstream Liberal Canadian friends.
    They, in turn, will remind you that we do not live in a world of black and white.

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