dickhead Comes to Vancouver . . . .

dickhead cheney came to The Vancouver Club tonight to promote his book.

Of course I participated to see Vancouverites welcome him in style.

To the best of my knowledge, he signed no autographs for the crowd outside the facility . . . .

Ralph Nader Speaks . . . .

On the Canadian election, U.S. politics, the "security perimeter" and proportional representation.

All in less than 8 minutes.



Concentrated, rational analysis . . . .

Coming to Canada Soon ? ? ? ? Part II . . . .

Thanks to an email "heads up" from good friend Joylene, the following CBC "The Current" broadcast was brought to my attention.

Chris Hedges was interviewed on the November 2nd show and it blew me away. Hedges gives - in a 26-minute interview - the cause, effect and chilling prediction of the "Death of the Liberal Class" - the title of his new book.

With history on the side of what occurs in the Excited States soon creeps across the 49th parallel, the broadcast and Hedges' book are well worth paying attention by Canadians.

Forewarned is forearmed?

Let's hope so . . . .

H/T Joylene

Smoke 'Em if You've Got 'Em . . . .

Quite the interesting contraption, would you not agree?

Used extensively in Ottawa, Victoria and Washington, DC.

(Click to enlarge)

Gives a whole new meaning to "Let's go outside and light up a butt," eh ? ? ? ?

H/T "drf"

Uh Oh . . . .

Why do I have the sneaking suspicion this does not bode well for Canadian interests?

Per the CBC this morning:

Canada, U.S. unveil plans to renegotiate Great Lakes water treaty
Saturday, June 13, 2009 | 11:36 AM ET | CBC News

Canada and the United States will renegotiate the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Saturday in Niagara Falls, Ont.

Clinton, who was joined by Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon, crossed the border for celebrations marking 100 years of the Boundary Waters Treaty between the two countries.

"We have to update it to reflect new knowledge, new technologies and, unfortunately, new threats," Clinton said.

"The rivers, the lakes, the streams, the watersheds along our boundary do not belong to one nation, they belong to all of us," she said at celebrations overlooking the falls.

Homeland Security will no doubt get involved, not too mention gordo campbell and his buddies selling off BC's water rights.

Great news for Canada, for sure.

Would love to get The Lady Alison's take on this deal . . . .

Blood Pressure Rising . . . .

If this doesn't get you pissed off, I don't know what will:



Undoubtedly, everyone on that panel has had extensive military service, don't you think? Giving credibility to them on military matters is like believing me when I discuss nuclear fusion. Knowledge on subject matter = 0.

Now, how do you feel about the US/Canadian relationship from the FoxNoise perspective ? ? ? ?

H/T Unrepentant Old Hippie

Update March 23: Now even Peter Mackay and the Canadian MSM are up in arms over FoxNoise. Hell, the Bill Good show on CKNW even had a segment of outrage over it this morning. Funny thought, though: Does anyone doubt if Rupert Murdoch wanted to start up a Canadian operation that the current government would not give him the keys to the building?

Seriously . . . .

US Progressives Delusional ? ? ? ?

Living here in Vancouver, BC, Canada for even a short period of time it is getting easier to see the faults in our local, provincial and national politicians.

It takes a great local journalist to bring one back to reality once in a while.

Today, it was Bill Tieleman of Vancouver 24 Hours turn to do the honours:

Too conservative for Canada?
By BILL TIELEMAN - January 13, 2009


Imagine where a Canadian politician who held the following positions would fit in our political system:

This politician opposes legalizing same-sex marriages.

He has no problem with citizens owning handguns - but proposed limiting their purchase - to one per month.

This politician wants to send thousands more troops to Afghanistan - and to keep them there for years instead of withdrawing them in 2011.

He thinks Robert Gates, U.S. President George W. Bush's Secretary of Defence, has done an excellent job in the Iraq war.

The politician is willing to restrict late-term abortions for women and admits he's not sure at what point a human being gets human rights.

So who did he choose to deliver a prayer before a major political event?

A controversial fundamentalist Christian pastor who has called abortion "a holocaust" and who campaigned in California for the successful Proposition 8, which bans gay marriages.

This politician has described government-run public health care as "an extreme" that leads to high taxes and is "wrong" while supporting private health insurance as the best option.

And despite saying that he has done more than anybody to "take on lobbyists and won" - this politician just appointed one to a top position.

So, where would you place this politician on the Canadian political scene?

An elected representative with these policies that are so obviously way out of line with Canadian mainstream values and popular opinion would likely lead a fringe party far to the right of Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper, with little hope of political success.

But in the United States - his name is President-Elect Barack Obama.

_______________


Just make sure that you don't get caught up in next week's Obama-mania and miss the fact that the new American president is in many ways far more conservative than any of Canada's political leaders.

Granted, Canadian politicians - stephen harper in particular - leave a lot to be desired at times.

When one compares them to those south of the 49th, however, we're fortunate.

It's up to all of us to make the political picture here even better . . . .

How Very Sad . . . .

Disappointing, but not unexpected.

Per the CBC this morning:

Harper's office stands firm on Khadr position
Tuesday, July 15, 2008 | 9:59 AM ET

CBC News

Prime Minister Stephen Harper's office has weighed in on the release of videotapes showing Toronto-born Omar Khadr being interrogated by Canadian agents at Guantanamo Bay in February 2003, saying the federal government will not change its position on the case.

"Mr. Khadr faces serious charges. There is a judicial process underway to determine Mr. Khadr's fate. This should continue," Kory Teneycke, the prime minister's director of communications, told CBC News Tuesday morning, hours after Khadr's lawyers released excerpts of the tapes.

The excerpts show Khadr, then 16, weeping as he is interviewed by agents from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service. He also lifts his shirt to show them the wounds he says he incurred during a battle with American troops in Afghanistan six months before — during which the U.S. military contends the Canadian teenager threw a grenade that killed an American soldier.

"Any comments on the actual contents of the interrogation video must be directed to CSIS," Teneycke said. "The [Prime Minister's Office] will not be making any comments on content." (Ed. emphasis)

_______________


Teneycke said the government of Canada will not seek Khadr's return to Canada on humanitarian grounds, as human rights groups and opposition politicians have been demanding.

"We might also add in terms of background that the government of Canada's position is consistent with the previous government's," the spokesman said. "This is a judicial process as opposed to a political one."

Earlier Tuesday, Liberal foreign affairs critic Bob Rae called for Khadr's return, saying the previous Liberal government's decision was in line with what was then known about the case.

Based on new revelations, Rae said, "I think the question is what do we do now?… And the answer is we bring him home."

So, the PMO will not be commenting on "content." What can we expect them to comment on?

Drivel?

Media spin?

Rumours?

Bob Rae is right.

It's time to bring Khadr home to face the Canadian justice system and not a kangaroo court in Guantanamo.

stevie is doing georgie proud, isn't he ? ? ? ?


Update 7/16: (per Reuters)


Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper says Khadr faces serious charges and should go on trial.

"Our position has not changed and it's not going to. We're not going to blow in the wind on something as fundamental as this," Harper's chief spokesman Kory Teneycke told Reuters.


Jerk-sticks . . . .

The Urge to Say "I Told 'Ya So . . . . "

While going through files in preparation for the move north in three weeks (Yay!!), I came across a letter to the editor I wrote which was published in the September 5th, 2005 edition of the Vancouver Sun.

The letter was written commenting on the then on-going turmoil over the US/Canada softwood lumber negotiations. Part of it reads:

If the Canadian government does not demand the return of the money collected for softwood lumber tariffs, the U.S. government will continue to violate agreements unless there are repercussions. The arrogance and heavy-handedness the Bush administration practices in international affairs embarrasses many intelligent Americans. The only things these people understand are money, power and most importantly, oil.

With that in mind, a heavy tax levied on Canadian oil exports would have a major impact and might get their attention. After, all, there are plenty of other countries that would be more than happy to buy Canadian petroleum products.

Why do I bring this up today? Well, also in the Vancouver Sun - today's edition - there is an article referencing the aforementioned softwood lumber deal. Guess what? Now the US looks to be "fine-tuning" the deal to the chagrin of Canadians.

U.S. ties Canadian lumber exporters in red tape

Congress passes bill that will make life even harder for ailing forestry industry.

Gordon Hamilton -Vancouver Sun - Wednesday, May 14, 2008


The U.S. Congress passed a bill Wednesday that could wrap Canadian lumber imports in red tape and has the potential to impose limits beyond the restrictions already in the softwood lumber agreement.

The new legislation, added onto an unrelated farm bill by politicians sympathetic to the U.S. lumber lobby, requires importers to certify that all taxes have been paid on the lumber they receive. The bill includes enforcement measures, including intrusive company audits, penalties and fines.

The bill can add cost, waste time and give the Americans "a political weapon" in the lumber trade that it didn't have before, B.C. Council of Forest Industries president John Allan said Wednesday.

_______________


Washington trade lawyer Elliott Feldman said the Americans have, for the first time in the 25-year-long dispute, written softwood lumber into their legislation. He described it as a flagrant breach of the 2006 softwood lumber agreement, under which Canada monitors exports and collects the appropriate tax.

_______________


International Trade Minister David Emerson was not commenting Monday on the U.S. bill, however, the Canadian embassy in Washington is writing the U.S. administration on the issue.

'Ya need to watch who you're kissin' up to, stevie. Many times it comes back to bite 'ya in the ass.

Why do I have this uncontrollable urge to call MP David Emerson and PM stevie harper and loudly scream: "I Told 'Ya So, You Morons!"

But I won't.

I'm much too refined to do such a thing.

Damn it . . . .

Whoops! That'll Cost You More, stevie . . . .

And further to Alison and Boris, compliments of this evening's Globe and Mail:

Defence plan to cost $20-billion more than announced

STEVEN CHASE - May 14, 2008 at 5:53 PM EDT

Globe and Mail Update

Ottawa — Canada's new defence strategy will cost up to $50-billion over two decades – $20-billion more than what the Harper government announced earlier this week – one of the country's top generals said Wednesday as the military scrambled to quell criticism that the plan lacks sufficient detail.

Lieutenant-General Walter Natynczyk, Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff, said the military would spend between $45-billion and $50-billion on planes, combat vehicles, ships and fighters under the Canada First Defence Strategy, the Conservative government's plan for the military that was originally released Monday without comprehensive details.

_______________


Mr. Harper's office has exerted stronger control over the Department of Defence's communications in recent months, particularly after the treatment of detainees captured by Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan made headlines.

stevie has to be receiving "A's" in the "Follow the bush-league Model of Incompetence" course he's enrolled in.

My gawd. Not only does he make incredibly stupid moves to ruin Canada's image worldwide, he also has no grasp of how to pay for his actions.

Just like georgie: Let future generations pick up the tab for a "legacy" of military stupidity . . . .

With Praise Like That . . . .

From today's Vancouver Sun:

Harper, Bush full of praise at New Orleans meeting
Leaders express mutual admiration on first day of the ‘amigos summit’

BY NORMA GREENAWAYCanwest News Service

NEW ORLEANS - Prime Minister Stephen Harper embraced outgoing U.S. President George Bush on Monday as someone who never over-promised as the two leaders engaged in a round of mutual admiration on the opening day of the “amigos summit.”

_______________


Harper was almost effusive about his relationship with Bush, who leaves office in January and is attending his last summit of North American leaders.

“What I appreciate most, what I appreciated in our relationship over the last couple of years, is the fact that whether we agree or disagree, we’re always able to talk very frankly,” Harper said.

“The president has never promised me anything he couldn’t deliver.”

_______________

Well, that's an understatement, eh? A promise from bush is so underwhelming.

_______________


Though opponents of NAFTA and the Security and Prosperity Partnership were holding workshops in downtown New Orleans, they were out of sight of the three leaders who remained in a small security zone around the old city hall.

Still, NDP MP Peter Julian managed to have anti-SPP brochures and a personal letter left in the hotel rooms of individual reporters. They outlined opponents’ complaints about the process which, they warn, puts Canada’s sovereignty at risk by pursuing unacceptably deep integration with the United States and Mexico on everything from environmental and food safety standards to border security and energy sharing.

At least there are some competent elected officials still in office.

Peter Julian continues to impress . . . .

Cross-Border Crap . . . .

Oh, isn't this just great?

Our fearless Canadian leader is making waves South of the 49th and not in a good way.

From Chris Bowers at Open Left today:

The Canadian embassy in Washington has issued a statement indicating its regret at the fact that information has come out that would imply that Mr.--Senator Obama has been saying different things in public than in private.

So, the Canadian conservative prime minister is calling Barack Obama two-faced on NAFTA at the exact same moment that John McCain is indicating that Canada might pull out its troops on Afghanistan if we make too much a stink about NAFTA? That strikes me as more than a little suspicious. In fact, it strikes me as a directly coordinated attack by McCain and Harper to neutralize McCain on trade during the general election. It wouldn't be the first time Harper and Republican leaders have coordinated, given that Harper uses Republican pollsters and the conservative movements in both countries are deeply intertwined. Further, in addition to making Obama look like a two-face panderer who will anger key international allies, this attack serves a triple purpose of weakening Obama by extending the Democratic primary, which might (I emphasize might) further weaken Obama in the general election. Other conservatives, such as Rush Limbaugh, are already pushing supporters to vote for Clinton for exactly this same reason.


I generally agree with Josh Marshall on this one: the whole thing stinks of cross-border conservative coordination on the presidential campaign. The plus side is that not only is what Harper doing probably unpopular in Canada, but that in the general election Obama can probably appear with opposition leaders like Layton or Stephanie Dion to reinforce his position on the issue. That way, not only does Obama's position gain credibility, but his victory might even bring down the Canadian conservative government.

The Right Honourable PM appears to be pandering to the future repug nominee. This before St. McCain has even faced the dem nominee in November's general election. Guess he's trying to win Best in Show for following orders.

It's time for stevie and his crowd to leave the building . . . .

(Photo credit, Alison @ Creekside)

Hell No . . . .

Well isn't this the pits?

Just as I receive Canadian PR status the ultimate US political creep makes his first Canadian appearance. And right here in Vancouver, no less!

This looks like a job for Alison - or anyone - to organize a protest at the Vancouver Art Gallery on Monday . . . .

(Cross-posted from The Galloping Beaver)

harperco has made it: Now a "Minion" . . . .

From CBC today:

EU lays down ultimatum to U.S. at Bali climate talks

U.S. 'principally responsible' for deadlock, Gore says
Last Updated: Thursday, December 13, 2007

A deadlock between the United States and the European Union jeopardized the climate change talks in Bali Thursday as EU nations threatened to boycott a U.S.-sponsored meeting next month unless Washington accepts their figures for negotiating deep reductions of greenhouse gas emissions.

_______________


Meanwhile, former U.S. vice-president and climate change activist Al Gore told an audience at the conference that the U.S. is "principally responsible" for the deadlock at the Bali conference, which is aimed at launching negotiations toward a new climate change pact.

"My own country, the United States, is principally responsible for obstructing progress here in Bali," said Gore, who shared this year's Nobel Peace Prize with the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change for helping alert the world to the danger of global warming.

_______________


U.S., Canada a 'wrecking crew': environmental group

A number of environmental groups have been critical of Canada, which has adopted a similar bottom line as the U.S. in Bali.

Environment Minister John Baird has said Canada won't accept a climate deal unless it includes major polluters like the U.S., China and India.

Jennifer Morgan of the Climate Action Network accused the U.S., Canada and other countries of holding up the document's final ratification.

"There is a wrecking crew here in Bali led by the Bush administration and its minions," Morgan told CBC News. "Those minions continue to be the governments of Canada, Japan, Saudi Arabia and others." (Emphasis mine, ed.)

Well isn't that just special?

'Ole stevie, john baird and their ilk have successfully progressed to "minions" from the #1 Poodles they were previously.

Well Done ! ! ! !

Photo Credit: Alison

Colbert on Arctic Sovereignty . . . .

Check Stephen Colbert's analysis of the race to the Arctic:



Pick the one you'd least like to spend the evening with . . . .

UPDATE: This just in via the Vancouver Sun

Note the last sentence: Wilkins also said he had no problems if Canada militarized its Arctic islands.

Of course he doesn't.

The US military machine will probably sell the arms to Canada . . . .

Deeply Integrating . . . .

This is the first mention I've seen in US media outlets of the upcoming Montebello conference. Surprisingly, it was in the Washington Post. Lately they haven't been exactly up to speed on "scoops." Since Canadian media outlets have made mention of the meeting for weeks, I guess it's not considered a "scoop" anymore. Well, maybe in the US it is . . . .


Bush to Tighten Ties With Mexico, Canada
By BEN FELLER - The Associated Press
Saturday, August 18, 2007; 12:52 PM

WASHINGTON -- Never fond of interrupting his Texas vacation, President Bush is doing it this year to bolster ties with the leaders of Canada and Mexico, two friendly neighbors and vital partners.

Bush joins Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Mexican President Felipe Calderon in Montebello, Quebec, on Monday in hopes of expanding cooperation among their countries, which enjoy the largest trading partnership in the world.

The two-day North American Leaders' Summit appears to lack a signature issue, except perhaps a new U.S. push to halt Mexico's bloody drug wars.

Instead, the broad theme is economic prosperity, built around several topics: border security, competitiveness with India and China, product safety and energy solutions.

Underlying those points are technical but important matters, such as aligning border-crossing procedures and commercial standards.

"It's not necessarily sexy stuff, but it's essential to our security. It has to be done," said Roger Noriega, Bush's former assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere affairs. "And it just so happens that Mexico and Canada have renewed themselves with the election of two right-of-center leaders who see the world a lot like Bush does."


Oh, Joy. Two leaders in our hemisphere who see the world as bush does.

Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy, how 'bout you ? ? ? ?

You Can't Play In My Sandbox . . . .

Today's On Point radio program with Tom Ashbrook on NPR featured a story concerning global sovereignty. The current activity between Canada and Russia in the Arctic was the main topic. No doubt the US will soon enter the fray with the dwindling natural resources south of the as yet untapped area. (For some unknown reason the audio links on the site are inoperable. I'll update when available)

Global Resources Wars

By host Tom Ashbrook:

This hour On Point: flags and ice and the new resource scramble at the North Pole and around the world.

It was a quirky story in the US news media, and a national triumph in Moscow.

Last Thursday, in the frigid wake of a nuclear powered ice-breaker, Russia sent two mini-submarines 13,000 feet beneath the Arctic ice cap, and planted a titanium-encased Russian flag on the seabed of the North Pole.

"The Arctic," declared expedition leader Artur Chilingarov, "is ours." And with it, Moscow hopes, a huge share of the massive oil and gas reserves under the melting pole.




The US and Canada laughed, but not for long.

Fred Weir, Moscow Correspondent for The Christian Science Monitor

Michael Klare, Professor of Peace and World Security Studies at Hampshire College and author of "Blood and Oil"

Michael Byers, Professor of International Law at the University of British Columbia

Eric Posner, Professor of Law at University of Chicago Law School

One of the panel discussion participants, Michael Byers, is a professor of international law at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. He cautions to not become hysterical at this point over the activity in the area. Hope he's right.

Ashbrook interviews a US Coast Guard lieutenant currently on the largest cutter in the fleet that is mapping the area for who-knows-what purposes?

The listener call-in comments are particularly interesting. Typical of the "us-or-them" US mentality is one caller who advocates setting up alliances with Russia as opposed to Canada in the battle to control resources. It would be interesting to get stevie harper and peter mackay's take on that type of attitude.

Now this headline from the CBC today:

Planned army base, port in North heat up Arctic quest

I wonder how all this figures in to the Deep Integration/SPP discussion?

How this plays out over the next few years should be quite a show. Get your popcorn and grab a seat . . . .

Integrating Pollution . . . . .

How's that Kinder-Morgan Deep Integration thing workin' out for 'ya, Canada?

Kinder Morgan to acquire Terasen
Aug 2, 2005 7:05 AM

Kinder Morgan Inc, Houston TX, is acquiring Terasen Inc, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, for $5.6 billion.

Yesterday we get this result :


Huge Burnaby oil spill
12-metre geyser from broken pipeline empties homes
Derrick Penner and Kelly Sinoski, With Files From Catherine, Vancouver Sun
Published: Wednesday, July 25, 2007

A 12-metre geyser of crude oil spewed from a broken pipeline in a Burnaby neighbourhood Tuesday, forcing people from their homes, contaminating the area and sending a thick, smelly torrent down storm sewers and into Burrard Inlet.


Aerial view of the area of Inlet Drive and Ridge Drive where a Kinder Morgan
crude oil pipeline was ruptured Tuesday afternoon. The geyser of oil coated
roads, vehicles and homes. Photograph by : Ian Lindsay, Vancouver Sun

Back in the spring of '05 we had our first Letter to the Editor published in the Vancouver Sun. In it we suggested that selling Canadian assets to outfits like Kinder-Morgan was ill advised.

We rest our case . . . .

"Gitmo" and Canuck . . . .

From Reuters this morning:

Guantanamo judge rejects charges for Canadian
Sat Jun 30, 2007 11:27AM EDT

MIAMI (Reuters) - A U.S. military judge for the Guantanamo war crimes tribunals has refused to reinstate the charges against a Canadian prisoner accused of killing a U.S. soldier in Afghanistan.

The ruling in the case of Canadian captive Omar Khadr was released late on Friday, hours after the U.S. Supreme Court said it would hear a challenge of the law that established the war crimes tribunals and stripped Guantanamo prisoners of their right to court review of their indefinite confinement.

Khadr, 21, is accused of killing one U.S. soldier with a grenade and wounding another during a firefight at a suspected al Qaeda compound in Afghanistan in 2002.

A tribunal judge, Army Col. Peter Brownback, dismissed the murder and conspiracy charges against Khadr on June 4. He said he lacked jurisdiction to try him because Khadr had not been designated an "unlawful enemy combatant," as required under the 2006 law that authorized military tribunals for foreign terrorism suspects.

So, I'm guessing this is because of peter and "condescending"'s tireless efforts on Khadr's behalf.

Right . . . .

More Wise Decisions . . . .

From the Tyee today - Entire article available here.

Barred from US:
BC psychotherapist denied entry after border guard googled his work. By Linda Solomon

. . . . Then Feldmar disbelievingly listened as he learned that he was being barred from ever entering the United States again. The officer told him he could apply to the Department of Homeland Security for a waiver, if he wished, and gave him a package, with the forms.

The border guard then escorted him to his car and made sure he did a U-turn and went back to Canada.

As I've said before, the damage that has been done to the US the past six years will be around for decades.










Hopefully, our train north is leaving soon . . . .