Mmmmmm…donuts.
Won’t You Be My Carbuncle?
I am anxiously awaiting the day when Alan, the Supreme Carbuncle himself, releases the entire Carbuncle’s Lexicon in book form. That’s some quality CanCon that I’d ante up for in a heartbeat.
It’s just a shame that he hasn’t rounded them all up into a single post for easy viewing. (hint! hint!)
Mea-culpa update
Commenter P-Air, who has much better reading comprehension skills than yours truly, pointed out the The Lexicon is already available in its own spot. Man, do I ever feel silly now.
What About the Victims?
Isn’t this just lovely:
Reviled by many, defended by few, Canada’s most notorious female inmate won’t even be greeted by her family when she is released in less than a month. But CTV News has learned Karla Homolka does have some support in high places.
Homolka made her first public appearance in more than a decade last week at a court hearing in Joliette, Que. After two days of testimony, a Quebec judge imposed restrictions on Homolka’s movements for a year after her release from prison.
Liberal Senator Michel Biron, 71, was present in the Joliette, Que. courthouse last week. He sat beside Homolka’s lawyer during the hearing in a show of support for the convicted killer.
According to witnesses, Biron exchanged a slight smile with Homolka.
It’s a shame that there were no Senators sitting with the French, Mahaffy, and Doe families to speak out in favour of protecting their constitutional rights. You know, the right to not be drugged, raped, sodomized, beaten, and then murdered. But I guess that’s not as important as making sure that the people who do these things don’t get their widdle feelings hurt.
Ah, whatever. I’ve been following the coffee house conversations about Ms. Teale (what Homolka calls herself now), and the truth is that she’s a goner. There are enough people willing to cross the line and apply a little ‘retroactive justice’ that I don’t expect her to last a year before somebody plants her head first in some farmer’s field.
Grewal Tapes Get Clean Bill of Health
This is for MikeP who asked for a post on the latest status of the Grewal tapes. This CPC press release oughta take some wind out of the Libranos’ sails:
Jason Kenney, MP
Opposition Deputy House Leader
Calgary SoutheastFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 9, 2005News Release
Original Murphy/Dosanjh recordings clean and unaltered: expert
OTTAWA � Conservative Deputy House Leader Jason Kenney today released a letter to Conservative Leader Stephen Harper from Randy Dash, Senior Editor and Manager of Operations of dMAX Media in Ottawa. The letter summarizes Mr. Dash�s analysis of copies of original recordings supplied by Conservative MP Gurmant Grewal.
“Mr. Dash’s analysis of the recordings shows that they are clean and unaltered,” Kenney said. “These recordings speak for themselves. Now, it’s time for Paul Martin, Ujjal Dosanjh and Tim Murphy to begin answering the questions about their involvement in offering rewards to members of parliament in exchange for their votes. To this day, there has been no information produced by any of these individuals to dispute the facts on these recordings.”
Kenney pointed out that Mr. Dash, a professional audio engineer specializing in post-production work, is the only expert thus far to have examined copies of the original recordings, and invited others to do the same. “There has been a lot of conjecture about the authenticity of the recordings,” Kenney said. “None of this speculation is based upon fact, and would indicate that those speculating have not taken the time to listen to or examine the entire recordings, which are publicly available.”
Discussion?
The ethics commissioner on a hot tin roof
As reported by Angry, The ethics commissioner Bernard Shapiro has had a bad few days, coming under some severe criticism from the House of Commons ethics committee:
“He’s making it up as he goes along; he’s not sure of himself,” Hebert said after grilling the ethics commissioner about the Grewal issue and about a separate investigation of former immigration minister Judy Sgro.
“He comes across as incompetent; he obfuscates his answers.”
Angry wonders if the opposition are planning to use the commissioner’s poor performance to their advantage in the future.
Tony Valeri’s priorities
Angry in the Great White North notes Tony Valeri’s priorities for the government for next week.
The two A’s
Adoption vs Abortion
This should be a difficult question, but for some people, the answer comes far too easily.
As an adoptee, I know where I, Danger Guy (aka Angry in the Great White North aka Steve), stand.
Go West, Young Man
I tell ya, poor Stephen Harper has got to be feeling like a Hitler pinata at a barmitzvah these days. He has been taking beatings from just about everyone, even those who have supported him strongly in the past. Is some of the current mess his fault? Maybe. And maybe not.
Wolfgang Puck is one of the better chefs in the world. However, one of the reasons that Mr. Puck is at where he is at is thanks to his ability to use only the best ingredients. And what ingredients does Stephen Harper have to work with? Randy White. Cheryl Gallant. Stockwell Day. Gurmant Grewel. Peter MacKay.
Blecccccch.
I just can’t see the current situation as being Harper’s fault. I also can’t see him having a snowball’s hope in hell of fixing it, either. So I’m betting that sometime in the next six months we’ll see Harper being pushed out and someone else — most likely MacK(ay) the Knife — taking over the top spot.
And that would be a shame. It’s not often that a man of integrity gets elected to public office. A competent man. A man whose word still means something.
So we’ll take him if the rest of the country doesn’t want him.
By ‘we’ I mean Albertans*. We’ve suffered along under Klein for many years now and we’re overdue for some competent leadership. There’s just no way we could go wrong by trading up from Ralphie to Stevie.
Imagine, a premier who wouldn’t hose down special interest groups with resource money. A premier who really would stand up to Ottawa. A premier with an attention span longer than five seconds who won’t embarrass Albertans by wandering off to a casino in the middle of an imporant conference. A premier who isn’t a gay-bashing socialist pansy**. A premier that doesn’t have an inflamed proboscis that would do your average AA member proud.
Yeah, we’d take Harper in a heartbeat because personal integrity and the ability to get things done still mean something in this part of the country***.
So come home, Steve. Come home. We’ve left a light on for you.
Notes
* As a matter of fact, I am authorized to speak on behalf of all Albertans (thanks for asking).
** Harper has always taken the Libertarian approach to social peccadillos.
*** Stockwell Day is the obvious exception to this rule.
Canada’s First Family
The Khadr family is in the news again. Niiice. Can we at least turf these losers off the welfare rolls, or is that asking too much?
Abdurahman has publicly declared them to be al Qaeda members. His sister has said they all wished for martyrdom. Family members have spoken scornfully of Canadian society, as they receive medical care and welfare payments that keep them in a pleasant apartment in Toronto.
“They’ve dubbed us the First Canadian Terrorist Family,” Omar’s sister Zaynab, 25, said recently in an interview. “I don’t want to be in a place where I’m not wanted. Give me my passport and I will leave.” The Canadian government has impounded their travel documents, pending resolution of their case.
As you’re reading this you can bet that someone has been turned away from a battered women’s shelter or housing program in Toronto today because of a lack of resources. Resources that are instead being spent keeping freakin’ terrorists in a cushy apartment.
I miss the days of mob rule. I really do.
The Toronto Trim
Harper fans, be of good cheer. Sure, your leader is considered unsightly by many. Reclusive, even. No worries! A small surgical procedure can fix all your problems:
Stubbs performs what he calls �the Toronto trim,� a combo procedure that includes a reduction of the inner labia and a slight �unhooding� of the clitoris so the little man in the boat isn�t being quite so reclusive.
Can’t you just see Harper’s poll numbers shooting — up — already? Ontario here we come!
It’s Not All Bad
I’ve been following the various reactions to today’s Supreme Court decision. Mainly what I’m hearing is that ‘it’s the end of health care, yadda yadda yadda.’ Whatever. Everyone is missing the point as usual.
The point is that for the first time in my lifetime there is actually a reason for someone living in Canada to move to Quebec. I don’t think that’s been the case since, um… Since… Confederation.
Hehhh.
He’s Driving Us To Drink
We need a Paul Martin drinking game. I’d create one myself, but it’s been over thirteen years since my last drink so I’m a bit handicapped here. (I can’t even remember what rum tastes like.) Anyhow, the idea is to listen to Paul Martin on the news. If he says ‘very, very’, that’s one shot. If he blames the Conservative ‘hidden agenda’, that’s two shots.
And so on.
Does someone want to step up to the plate on this?
Canadian Court Chips Away at National Health Care
Canadian Court Chips Away at National Health Care (NYT RSS)
The Canadian Supreme Court struck down a Quebec law banning private medical insurance today, dealing an acute blow to the publicly financed national health care system. The court stopped short of striking down the constitutionality of the country’s vaunted nationwide coverage, but legal experts said the ruling would open the door to a wave of lawsuits challenging the health care system in other provinces.
The system, providing Canadians with free doctor’s services that are paid for by taxes, has generally been supported by the public, and is broadly identified with the Canadian national character. But in recent years, patients have been forced to wait longer for diagnostic tests and elective surgery, while the wealthy and well connected either seek care in the United States or use influence to jump ahead on waiting lists.
The court ruled that the waiting lists had become so long that they violated patients’ “liberty, safety and security” under the Quebec charter, which covers about one-quarter of Canada’s population. “The evidence in this case shows that delays in the public health care system are widespread and that in some serious cases, patients die as a result of waiting lists for public health care,” the Supreme Court ruled. “In sum, the prohibition on obtaining private health insurance is not constitutional where the public system fails to deliver reasonable services.”
The case was brought to the Supreme Court by a Montreal family doctor, Jacques Chaoulli, who argued his own case through the courts, and by a chemical salesman, George Zeliotis, who was forced to wait a year for a hip replacement while being prohibited from paying privately for surgery
Interesting. In the United States, many advocates of nationalized health care point to the Canadian model as an exemplar. Perhaps they should rethink that.
via OTB
A Conversation Over Lunch…
Me: I’m sick of living in a country where being a thief is socially acceptable. Maybe the Saudis are onto something when they lop the hands off the bastards.
Father-in-law: That would never fly here.
Me: Oh? Why not?
Father-in-law: Think about it. There wouldn’t be a single Liberal left who could shake hands with his constituents.
Me: SPLORRRF!! [shooting tea out my nose]
Pushing The Envelope
“The not-so-generic ‘Libranos meeting an advertising agency executive in an Italian restaurant somewhere in Montreal’ post” (from SDA’s ‘biting Goldstein’s style’ conceptual series)
Ad executive: “Excuse me fellas, but I’m pinching here. Time for a trip to the little boy’s room!”
(Leaves phat envelope stuffed with unmarked $100 bills on the table.)
First Librano:
Second Librano (with Al Capone pinky ring):
First Librano:
Second Librano (with Al Capone pinky ring):
Third Librano:
Second Librano (with Al Capone pinky ring):
First Librano:
Third Librano:
Second Librano (playing with his Al Capone pinky ring): “…uh, someone’s gotta pick that up before he gets back, y’know.”
There are two tiers, alright
What Paul Martin said:
“Our purpose is to strengthen our universal public system and to provide timely access to medical services!”
What he really meant:
“We’re going to plug this loophole, and fast, because allowing affordable options for the rabble, er, ordinary Canadians seeking private health care could create waiting time problems for me with my private doctor!”
Will Cotler support international law?
Casting his eyes internationally, Angry notes that American bloggers are doing bang up job of tearing Amnesty International apart for calling on nations to start detaining American officials, from the president on down, for the “gulag” that is Guantanamo Bay.
But he wonders that with Irwin Cotler’s oh-so-uncomfortably close ties with Amnesty International’s sister organization, the Parliamentarians for Global Action, and the PGA’s active support for the International Criminal Court, in front of which Amnesty International would like to George W. Bush in shackles, should Canada warn the Americans of our intentions to start arresting their officials if they cross the border?
Or will Cotler go on record as saying his support of the PGA and the ICC is qualified, and that he has no intention of following up on accusations of crimes against humanity leveled by Amnesty International or anyone else against the Bush administration?
Slowing down on same-sex marriage
Angry in the Great White North watches as the same-sex marriage legislation is now being side-tracked, after promises to get the legislation through quickly before the summer break.
He notes that Irwin Cotler doesn’t seem to have the Prime Minister’s ear, or as Angry puts it:
Perhaps Irwin Cotler should spend more time listening to the echoes reverberating from his boss. Clearly Cotler’s opinions are not “resonating”.
Ouch!
In which I attempt to curry favor with Canadians by carefully caressing their cultural sensibilities, 2
I mean, Batman…? Please! Give me Dudley Do-Right over some self-pitying billionaire in a cowl any day.
Parlez Vous Freedom?
As you read this, I’m doing two things in separate browser windows. First, I’m shopping around for that Shelby limited edition turbo pacemaker that I’ve always wanted. The other is shopping around for a private health insurer in Quebec that can help me get that puppy installed.