I feel like Lady Macbeth

During the last election I cast my vote for Anita Neville the liberal MP from my riding. She won. To my absolute dismay I just watched her stand up in the house of commons with the rest of the Liberals and vote to extend the nightmare in Afghanistan until 2011. Why can't I get this blood off my hands. I suspect that most of the Liberals who just betrayed Canada know in their hearts that I am right. They may comfort themselves with whatever Ignatieff told them or tell themselves that they achieved a compromise but they achieved nothing(accept drive the entire left-wing of the party to the NDP). Let's look at this so called compromise. The combat mission will absolutely end in 2011. Ya until you all vote to extend it again in 2010). NATO must supply 1000 more troops. Unless there is a miracle those troops will be American putting even bigger fucking targets on our soldiers back. It may be nice to have a 1000 Americans on your side in a fire fight if you can withstand all the friendly fire but our troops for the most part aren't dieing in firefights, they are dying from roadside bombs which by the way there will be many more of now that there are a 1000 more American targets standing beside us. Probably more villagers will get killed in the air strikes called in constantly by said Americans. What a recipe for success. Were gonna get some helicopters woo-hoo! now instead of running over roadside bombs our soldiers can be killed by the bushel from RPG fire. That's of course if we ever get these helicopters. They will probably be ready to go right around the time Parliament is voting to extend the mission to 2015. I give up, I guess the powers that be have decided this war is a go no matter what a majority of Canadians think. Now I know how people in England felt when the Labour party abandoned them over Iraq. This country is broken, this democracy is broken. How many of those dickheads that voted to extend this war live in ridings that are hugely against this war? All say it again, Democracy is fucking broken. Dion you were originally against this why did you cave? You know this is fucking wrong, out damn spot indeed. Fuck why cant I get this blood of my hands?

Dion lets down Canada

I just finish up carpentry school for the year in time for the latest scandal to come out of Stephen Harper's scandal free gov't. As we all know by now, it looks as if the conservative party may have tried to buy a dying man's vote with a million dollar life insurance policy. Now that's classy. I have no idea if these allegations are true but I actually hope they are not because they're just that slimy. It really doesn't seem to matter much if dirt sticks to Harper or not on account of the absolutely spineless behavior displayed by the Liberal leadership and Stephane Dion. I've been blogging for a year now and have defended Mr Dion many times. I supported his plan to leave Canadian troops in Afghanistan till 2009 even though I wanted the troops out immediately because I thought it was a plan that Canadians would support and anything was preferable to the Conservative plan which calls for Canadian troops to fight and die in the Middle East until the end of time. I believed like many Liberals that he would pull the party to the left. For awhile it seemed that he might, he was prepared to let the most offensive parts of the Anti-terrorism act die by refusing to support their renewal. A position he has since sadly reversed. He was sticking to his guns on that 2009 withdrawal date and he was properly instructing the senate to pass nothing. Unfortunately this is no longer the case. The last few weeks have been nothing short of shameful for anyone who is Liberal. Is Ignatief a Jedi knight? Does he just wave his hand in front of otherwise sensible people and they loose their fucking minds and start getting into bed with conservatives and extending bullshit wars that half the people in this country want over like right now. Who the fuck speaks for us now? Jack Layton? He's the only one talking any sense when it comes to this war. The Dippers also make sense when they accuse Liberal Mp's of caring more about their seats then they do about doing the right thing. "Boo-hoo my riding has a military base I can't run an election campaign on the war." Not only did Dion drop his pants when it came to the war, he and the Liberal leadership have failed miserably by letting Harper's Crime bill pass. The number one job of all Liberal Mp's, Senators and judges is to make sure that no Conservative anywhere at any time passes a crime bill of any variety. These people have an outlook on crime rooted some where in the middle ages and should never be allowed to subject Canadians to any of their backward social engineering. If you don't get that and you think Harper's crime bill was "moderate" you are a Liberal in name only. Then of course there is the budget. It's true that it didn't contain any poison pills but the last two sure did. If Dion doesn't like this budget he should vote against it. Fuck Harper's threats. I hate to agree with Rex Murphy but he was completely right last week when he said "at some point the opposition has got to well, oppose." Harper might as well have his majority because he is getting away with everything he tries. Mr Dion stop listening to the people around you who's greatest fear seems to be an election and stand up for Canada.

Another speech for Karzai

Now that the NDP has uncovered the fact that Canada's Department of National Defense provided most of the talking points for President Hamid Karzai's speech to Parliament on his last visit to Canada, I thought Mr. Karzai might accept my draft for his next speech to the Canadian people. This speech will presumably take place after an expected fall election.
Thank you Prime Minister Dion for that kind introduction. I am honoured to have been invited by your new coalition government to address the Canadian Parliament and the Canadian people once again. Firstly I would like to thank the families of the Canadian soldiers who have given their lives in Afghanistan for their sacrifice. Next I would like to thank the Canadian people for putting their hard won international reputation on the line and supporting NATO's mission in my country. I feel I must comment on recent developments in Canadian politics. Canada's new Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr. Jack Layton joined with Mr. Dion in a coalition government to defeat Mr. Harper but only under the stipulation that Mr. Dion would hold a vote on pulling Canada's troops out of the south of Afghanistan in February 2008 and pulling out of Afghanistan all together at the end of the current mission in 2009. It may surprise you but I think this is a good idea. Recent negotiations with several Taliban officials have made me optimistic that stability can be achieved. I am not concerned for my own safety. My security is taken care of by American soldiers and private security contractors (mercenaries). Also my own militia protects me. This army is made up of ex-Northern Alliance fighters who used to be aligned with the Russians. You know, back when the US was aligned with the Taliban. There is also an uneasy alliance of other warlords who I am able to bribe with western money, who support my regime, and protect me and the poppy fields of my allies. A peace deal with the Taliban in the south will make your brave Canadian soldiers unnecessary in the region. Of course, we will have to give up on reconstruction in the south but most of what is in need of reconstruction was caused by American bombers. The same bombers that dropped bombs on innocent villagers causing them to chant, "Death to Canada! Death to America!". They will have to live under Taliban oppression but at least they will have some security. This new stability will enable the Americans to build their oil pipeline from the Caspian region to Pakistan. This will allow me and the other warlords to continue our narco state until the next fake election that takes two weeks to complete. The Afghan people will, of course, still be dirt poor and living with a corrupt police force, judiciary and army. The female children of ex-patriots who live under my rule in Kabul will continue to make up the majority of girls going to school. In conclusion, Canada certainly wasn't going to change a single thing that was going on in Afghanistan and leaving now won't change a thing either. However, taking my side in the battle of warlords for control of the "smack" money has really put me in an excellent position. Thanks chum....ps.

P.S. A Liberal-NDP coalition government is not a prediction. Unfortunately, both sides are too partisan to work together. One can dream however.

Woo-hoo! The Tories Suck!

I have had an extra spring in my step the last couple of days, in spite of working outside in some ridiculous heat and humidity. I'm pretty sure it's a case of "schadenfreude", a German word that means taking pleasure from someone's misery and misfortune. Who's misery? The CPC and Deceivin' Stephen Harper.
Decima's new poll has the Libs back in the lead at 32%, and the Cons. 29%, NDP 18%, Greens 9% and the Bloq 9%. Yes, polls don't mean much, but it is still good news and the trend is in the right direction.
Tories are tanking in Atlantic Canada! Nova Scotia Premier Roddy McDonald has joined my boy Danny Williams, the Premier of Newfoundland, in bashing Stephen Harper for what they say is a broken promise not to change the Atlantic Accord. (Side note: Why do I see so many posts bashing Danny Williams? Who cares if he wants his cake and eats too. He's a one-man Stephen Harper trashing machine. He's like a constant free negative ad.) Conservative MPs in Nova Scotia certainly have some 'splaining to do. MP Bill Casey did the right thing and voted against it. Harper, who is falling apart like a '78 Pinto, responded to complaints from Premier McDonald, a Conservative, by basically saying sue me. Huh?! Harper has never liked Atlantic Canada, "culture of defeat", but now he is actively picking a fight with Newfoundland and Nova Scotia voters. I suspect they will show Conservative MPs what defeat is all about. Elizabeth May is looking even better in Central Nova. The thought of Peter McKay losing makes me giggle.
On the Afghanistan front, two-thirds of Canadians believe we should get the fuck out in 2009 at the end of our current mission. I personally believe we should have gotten out long ago. I have advocated for the 2009 withdrawal before though because I believe Canadians will get behind this position. I was right about that. I'm no Nostradamus, I predicted Stockwell Day would go down for buying his way into his riding and boy was I wrong. The RCMP couldn't wait to exonerate Mr. Day. I am concerned however with the new anti-war protests in Quebec. Protesters are sending letters to Canadian troops (Van Doo's) explaining their anti-war position and soliciting them to refuse to go. Everything they say in their letters are right, but I am concerned about their timing. Mr. and Mrs. Mushy-Moderate are on our side right now and this is exactly the kind of behaviour that may send them back into the arms of the fascists. It happened in Vietnam, but I digress. Afghanistan has turned into a nightmare for Stephen Harper and Stephane Dion has just the right position politically, and almost, morally.
There are rumblings that the Senate might block the budget from passing, at least until the end of June, which would effectively kill it. This might actually be good for Harper. If his budget were to pass, Harper's only achievement when he runs back to Calgary after his stunning defeat in the upcoming election, will be passing a budget that gives Quebec enough money to pass a billion dollar tax cut and still maintain more social services than any other province. They must love that in Alberta!
Saskatchewan Premier Lorne Calvert announced today that he'll be taking Harper up on his offer to sue him as Mr. Calvert is also apparently unhappy with being lied to concerning Saskatchewan's equalization take.
Lumberjack Chuck Strahl is facing a court challenge from the "friends of the Wheat Board" and others who say the federal government cannot remove barley from the Wheat Board monopoly without an act of Parliament. Duh! The Supreme Court already ruled on this when Mulroney tried to pull barley out of the single-desk in the '80's. He must go the the House and he certainly doesn't have the votes there. The Wheat Board is gonna live, baby! These thugs are done! It's over! Bring on the election! (Anyone else notice how much better Dion's English is getting?) Even Adler is depressed, now that is "schadenfreude"!

Get tough on crime, put Stockwell Day in jail.

It's a good thing Stephen Harper has decided to crack down on criminals because apparently there is one in his own cabinet. It seems that in 2000 Mr. Day had just become leader of the Alliance party but was without a seat. It was decided that Mr. Day should be given a safe seat in the southern BC bible belt. MP Jim Hart was willing to take one for the team and give up his seat in Okanagon-Coquihalla. He was hailed as a hero for sacrificing his seat. But was it a sacrifice? It turns out Mr. Hart may have been paid to step aside. The Tories tried to say this was old news and that the RCMP had concluded in 2001 that no wrongdoing had taken place. The RCMP however almost certainly did not have in its possession then, documents which have surfaced recently showing correspondence between Mr. Day's office and Jim Hart which discuss his compensation for giving up his seat. See today's Toronto Star for details. Scott's Diatribes also has an excellent article on the subject. When Harper was first elected I crossed my fingers and said "please put Stockwell Day in the cabinet". Everything that tool does eventually ends up hurting Conservatives. This scandal is gonna be huge. It should be the only thing any Liberal talks about in Question Period and on the news until it brings down these backward trolls who currently run our gov't. My only concern is that the RCMP will try to bury it or exonerate Mr. Day, (I think we know what side those guys are on). Liberal MP Mark Holland is all over this scandal and I don't thing he's gonna let it go. Stephane Dion should stop talking about supporting Harper's super-fascist crime bills and start talking about this scandal. My favorite part of this whole story is how it was the Conservatives' own documents left behind in the opposition offices that are gonna be their undoing. Right wingers just have to write everything down. Maybe it's all the self help books they read? I don't know but I'm sure glad of it. Harper is going down over this or at the very least Day will be the scapegoat and get turfed. Either way, go get 'em Mr Holland.

Big Daddy Harper will protect us.

Now that Stephane Dion and his band of freedom hating terrorist enablers have voted against extending two provisions of the Anti-terror act which allowed police to arrest and hold people for 72 hours without a warrant or force people to testify at secret hearings I don't know what to do. I'm that scared.What will stop the terrorists now? I'm sure there are many terror cells operating right now about to strike. The RCMP and CSIS know all about them but darn it, they just cant get an arrest warrant. I guess we'll just have to let them strike. Curse those Liberals and all their human rights talk. If only we could have make all the Muslims in every Muslim community testify about their neighbors in secret hearings we could find out all the nefarious plans of those who hate us for our freedoms. Or if we could just get everyone in the Indo-Canadian community to testify we could finally get to the bottom of this 25 year old Air-India investigation. Thank God we have big Daddy Harper and the Conservatives in charge. They understand that in a post 911 world all personal freedoms are trumped by Americans, (and dumb-ass Canadians) need to feel safe. If you want to feel safe demand the government get our troops out of Afghanistan. Poking at a hornets nest is an excellent way to get stung. If you want to feel safe stop hanging out with the worlds biggest state sponsor of terror, the USA. These are the reasons there is any danger at all of an attack on Canada. How come they don't hate Sweden for their freedom? People hate you when you kick in their door, or drop a bomb on their village, or shoot their Father for driving to close to your convoy. Security is an illusion. The idea that you can be safe from a group of people who are determined to harm you if you just take enough precautions and if you just limit your own freedom is a myth.

Mark Holland is a friend of Alberta oil patch.

There is an interesting little article from the Canadian Press that ran in The Winnipeg Free Press today under the headline " Brash MP risks wrath of Albertans " The story concerns Liberal natural resources critic Mark Holland and his upcoming visit to the province of Alberta in early March which will include a tour of the oil sands. The entire premise of the article is that Mark better watch out because he might get tarred and feathered by Albertans upset that he plans on nationalising the oil sands or shutting them down should the Liberals come to power. Premier Ed Stelmach and Ralph Klein have both warned Holland to stay out of Alberta's business. Many fear a " hidden agenda to take control " I wish. The Alberta Oil sands are an environmental nightmare destroying the land, exhausting Alberta's water supply, burning massive amounts of natural gas in order to create a product that when burned does even more damage to the environment. American oil companies run the place and take an ever increasing amount for America's glutinous need. They care not for the future of Alberta or for Canada and take our natural resource for a relative pittance. The oil industry should of course be nationalized immediately. This unfortunately has never been what Mr Holland has said. Holland like his boss Mr Dion pitch a policy of sustainable development. He is going to Alberta in an effort to work with the industry to clean up the carbon emissions. This doesn't have to cost the industry. On the contrary the idea is to get ahead of the curve and profit from new clean technologies that can be marketed to the world. The Liberals seem to think that this is where the future lies. The oil sector would be wise to embrace this future rather then a business as usual approach that denotes a future where more and more people ( Including in Alberta ) are talking about making some changes. In other words Holland seems to be saying work with us to clean up your act and maybe we can even profit from it or Canadians will force you to clean up your act.

Dion shows leadership

Stephane Dion is refusing to back down from his decision to let two provisions of the Anti-terrorism act die next week. He does this despite massive and hysterical opposition from the Conservatives, many in his own party and even the senate. The absolute panic shown by the powers that be is a little bit concerning. Clearly the security establishment was caught off guard when Dion decided to let these draconian powers sunset and have gone on an absolute offensive in the media and in the house to have the Liberals change course. Dion to his complete credit has steadfastly refused to bow to this pressure. The fact that there seems to be so many who think that we need to keep these provisions and that they are so able to dominate and influence the debate is the scary part. Why are they so concerned? Are they afraid of looking soft to America? Do they see this as a setback to achieving their integrated security state? Regardless of these fascists both within and without of the Liberal party, (those within should be purged.) Dion stands tall. That's leadership. Harpers attempts at tying this in with the Air-India Inquiry are laughable and it smells like the RCMP is in bed with the Conservatives again trying to make the Libs look bad. Suddenly they needed to use this provision? The Supreme court didn't rule last week. The've known for awhile they could use these provisions and haven't felt the need. This is BS and it will come back to harm Harper among Indo-Canadians whom he seems to think are completely gullible.