Ironic Headline of the Year..?

A late challenger...

Happy New Year...

Weather Gone Wild...

As 2011 winds down we are inundated with the obligatory top ten lists and persons or stories of the year. More often than not these fluff pieces tell us more about the mindset of those proposing them then offering any meaningful perspective on the year that was. Time magazine declared "the protester" as person of the year in a poorly disguised attempt to keep the Occupy Wall Street debacle front and center as the U.S. enters an election year. The in the tank MSM so desperately want a grass roots movement of their own with which to support President Obama. Don't believe me. I suggest you compare the coverage of the Tea Party movement in 2010 to that of OWS in 2011.

In Canada, the MSM barely recognized the Conservative majority as the leading story. This despite the fact that a majority was realized for the first time without significant representation from Quebec. That coupled with the addition of thirty seats in Parliament spread between Alberta, B.C. and Ontario has dramatically changed the political landscape in Canada. But hey...How about those NDP?

And then there's Elizabeth May. Thin (on logic) Lizzie has declared the story of the year to be...Weather Gone Wild. Now when I first read the headline I must admit an image of a drunken Mother Nature pulling up her Che Guevara t-shirt to flash her sagging endowments came to mind. Not a pretty mental picture. Somebody needs to help Ms. May on her lede's and her logic.

Case in point:

But I think, for me, the biggest story is the one that never gets told. 2011 was another year of record breaking extreme weather events, most of which are likely the result of human-induced climate change. Of course, the single most devastating event, the Japanese tsunami and the nuclear disaster at Fukushima, were unrelated to climate change.

For years the climate alarmists have told us that weather is not climate, apparently 2011 marked the year that they became synonymous. I will however credit Ms. May for refuting the linkage between the Japanese tsunami and climate change that some of the moonbats claimed.

This moment of lucidity is fleeting as Elizabeth reverts to form with specious claims and out and out bullshit. I'll leave it to you readers to spot the howlers in the following:

For Canada, extreme weather events made 2011 the second most expensive year for the insurance industry. The prairie floods put more land underwater than ever in our history. And the flooding lasted from October 2010 until late July 2011. More devastating floods hit Quebec.

The wild fires brought on by extremely dry conditions destroyed one third of Slave Lake. Much of Canada was blanketed in record-breaking heat for much of the summer. Arctic sea ice hit a near record summer low.

There is more, but my biggest story of the year is the on-going refusal to connect the dots and describe climate change events for what they are. Not "Mother Nature" on a rampage; not some "wacky and wild curve ball."

Climate change events, fitting the pattern of increased extreme events one would expect due to, what is in human experience, the all-time high greenhouse gas levels in the atmosphere.

So for political story -- Canada filing legal notice of withdrawal from the Kyoto Protocol. For biggest story of 2011, the ongoing, accelerating losses due to the climate crisis and the fact of, unlike a suicide bomber in a troubled region where media are keen to find who "claims responsibility," the amazing level of denial. These disasters are no longer "natural"--their causes are known and our government is charting a course to make them worse, year by year.

My advice for Ms. May in 2012...Keep your shirt on.

Tradgedy in T.O.

December 12th 2011 A Day Which Will Live in Infemy.

It really all started two days before when Christy Blatchford fired a shot over the prow of T.O. metrosexuals...

The poignant bit...

And the novelty of being the toughest guy in the room – and by this I mean me – is getting really old.


As you can imagine the commentors were aghast, but this was only a precursor of the carnage to come.

No sooner then the latte had settled and a visit to the spa had calmed down our twitchier T.O. friends, the first torpedo hit.

Jason Kenney had declared himself head fashion Nazi!

The first strike here...

It's a "public declaration that you are joining the Canadian family and it must be taken freely and openly," he said, calling it "frankly, bizarre" that women were allowed to wear face veils while they swear their citizenship oaths.

Kenney said he doesn't accept that it's a religious obligation to wear the veil, explaining that when Muslim women perform the hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca required by their faith, they are required not to cover their faces.

"It's a cultural tradition, which I think reflects a certain view about women that we don't accept in Canada. We want women to be full and equal members of Canadian society and certainly when they're taking the citizenship oath, that's the right place to start,"


Who is Jason Kenney to tell anyone what's fashionable...I mean really...

Of course it got worse...in a devastating second wave Peter Kent flew in from Durban with the environmental a-bomb...NoKoyoto...the world suddenly changed...no longer would mankind wonder about it's demise...it's next Tuesday.

One would think that life had treated T.O. bad enough on this day...that would be wrong. The gay penguins went straight.

Sadly, it's true...

It appears a female has come between one of Canada’s celebrity couples.

Toronto Zoo officials say same-sex penguins Buddy and Pedro have been officially separated and Buddy has mated with a female.

Pedro has yet to get lucky, but officials say it’s not for a lack of trying.

December 12th 2011...A Day That Will Live in Infemy...

The NDP Hear the Sirens...Pat Martin does the Math...

I came across this interesting piece about lobbyists in the Grope and Flail...

“The word lobbyist has taken on a bit of a pejorative character to it, so for that I may get the odd joke from my social democratic friends, but it’s all in good humour,” said Mr. MacLachlan, 30, who worked for successive Ottawa Centre NDP MPs Ed Broadbent and Paul Dewar.

“Advocacy is a very important part of democracy … and my friends understand that I’m contributing to that process,” he said.

It seems NDP heavyweights like Pat Martin are applauding this new lobbying reality...

NDP MP Pat Martin, the sharp-tongued MP who criticized Ottawa’s lobbying culture, said the interest from lobbying firms shows the NDP is now in “the big leagues.”

“They’re going to have to update their rolodex because there’s some new kids in town,” he said. “Lots of them.”

That didn't take long...

The Keystone XL takes a hard right...last seen headed for the coast...

From Breitbart:

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Sunday that he was looking at exporting more oil to China after the United States delayed a decision on a controversial pipeline.

President Barack Obama's administration last week put off a decision on Keystone XL project after a major protest campaign by environmentalists, who say the pipeline would be prone to accidents and worsen climate change.

The conservative Canadian leader, taking part in a summit in Hawaii hosted by Obama said the pipeline decision had produced "extremely negative reactions" and that he discussed oil exports with Chinese President Hu Jintao.

Hmmmmmmm........

Charter Rights and Campus Credibility...Incongruent or What?

On this day 11/11/11 those of us who respect our heritage paused. Others presumably held meetings to consolodate their appelate strategy.

The University of Calgary has seen fit to fight a judicial battle based on the premise that St.Peeairs Charter of Rights and Freedoms does not apply on university campus...in other words university campus' are above the law.

From the Calgary Herald:

"The University of Calgary must have autonomy in disciplining students for non-academic conduct and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms should not apply, its lawyer argued before the Alberta Court of Appeal on Wednesday."


Also from the Herald an opinion piece from Licia Corbella that further elucidates.

A snippet:

“The department head hired her spouse, who wasn’t qualified to teach that course and then she’s on the disciplinary committee? I mean it’s hard to believe this can happen. Look at this waste of money,” he said, referring to the high-priced lawyers arguing on behalf of the U of C, the University of Alberta and the Associations of Universities and Colleges of Alberta.

Read it all.

Obama 2012...The Campaign Song...

The 2012 Presidential Election unofficially got underway last week with President Obama making campaign style stops to tout his jobs bill, including this stop at Raleigh, North Carolina.

It occured to me that what the Obama campaign really needs is a theme song that sums up the Prez and what he's all about.





One song and one band came immediately to mind...Cheap Trick and their classic rock anthem "I Want You to Want Me".




Those lyrics would be perfect if "work" was substituted with "golf".

The whole cheap trick thing is, however, entirely appropriate.

syncro

Robert Fife...Projecting His Inner Eeyore?

CTV's Robert Fife has been dutifully trudging back and forth across The Hundred Acre Wood in search of election stories, sadly, all is not well.

During the Friday edition of Power Play Mr. Fife described PMSH as "grumpy" with a "dark cloud" hanging over the campaign. Host Don Martin then asked, "What's the Eeyore complex all about"? During Roberts response he made mention of Mrs. Harper seeming to be happier serving beer to the reporters on the campaign plane.

This inspired me to search YouTube for behind the scenes campaign footage. I found the following examples, courtesy of one R. Fife.




Whatsamatter Bobby...teatotler? And then there's this:



In conclusion, I offer this quote from the original Eeyore:

"People who don't think probably don't have brains;
rather, they have grey fluff that's blown into "their heads by mistake."

CTV; Liberal Fortress Toronto Safe...UofT Experts Assure...

I came across this piece on the CTV News website today. An excerpt:

One of Conservative Leader Stephen Harper's first stops on the campaign trail is a speech Sunday at the Pearson Convention Centre in Brampton, in what will be the first of many attempts to woo GTA voters.

But experts say Toronto's Liberal-leaning voters aren't likely to switch allegiance to the Tories in large numbers before the May 2 election.

Stephen Clarkson, a professor of political economy at the University of Toronto, says even if Tories campaign hard in the GTA, they likely won't break the Liberal stronghold in many ridings.

Interesting observation but I wonder what Professor Clarkson bases it on. Further down he offers this:

Clarkson said the Conservatives likely won't make a big breakthrough in Toronto also because the NDP is likely to put in a strong campaign. He also pointed out that the Liberals can send out Ignatieff on the campaign without worrying about making silly mistakes like previous leaders.

"He speaks well, he has experience in campaigning and he's learned from his mistakes," said Clarkson.

Now this leads me to wonder if Professor Clarkson happened to catch Michael Ignatieff"s non-denial denial vis a vis coalition government. The one in which MI emphatically declares his devotion to democratic principles ..."from the bottom of my feet to the top of my toes..."

From my perspective what Count Ingatieff offered on day one of this campaign was both a mistake and poorly spoken. Then again I'm no polysci expert.

Of course CTV went a step further and consulted another political expert for this piece, one Nelson Wiseman, an associate professor of political science at the University of Toronto.

Professor Wiseman offered the following analysis:

Some ridings are vulnerable to a Conservative takeover on election day, says Nelson Wiseman, an associate professor of political science at the University of Toronto. He says some of these include Eglinton-Lawrence, York Centre, Brampton-Springdale, Mississauga-Brampton South.

Wiseman said that Liberals will campaign hard to hang on to the ridings they have.

"I think they'll also target some of the ridings they lost in the last few elections like Trinity-Spadina," which was lost in 2006 to NDP member Olivia Chow.

And this somewhat out of place observation:

Wiseman said that part of the Conservative's strategy has been, particularly in north-western ridings, to heavily target new Canadians.

"Chinese-Canadians, Filipinos, South-Asian Canadians have been a target," he said, citing the example of Immigration Minister Jason Kenney, who made frequent appearances at events involving Asian-Canadian communities.

"Earlier this month, he was at a Filipino-sponsored affair where they put a cape on him and called him the ‘King of Multiculturalism,'" said Wiseman.

He says that at most, the GTA ridings may switch by maybe six or seven seats. "It's too early to tell, but according to the polls, Conservatives do have an early lead."

The piece concludes with the following:

A recent poll conducted by Nanos Research for CTV and the Globe and Mail shows the Conservatives at 43 per cent support in Ontario, up from 39 per cent last month. The Liberals are at 30.9 per cent, down from 32.8.

"The only thing that strikes me that could work for the Conservatives is this ‘coalition is undemocratic' shtick. It might convince voters to elect more Conservatives." Clarkson said.

So to recap, two UofT polysci Profs offer a "nothing to see here" analysis regarding CPC prospects in the GTA despite polling trends in the Conservatives favor.

This caused me to pause and wonder about the credentials of the two professors CTV consulted for this story. A quick google search produced the following on Professor Clarkson:

Stephen Clarkson, CM, FRSC (born 1937) is one of Canada’s preeminent political scientists and a professor of political economy at the University of Toronto.

His current work focuses primarily on two areas: the evolution of North America as a continental state, reinstitutionalized by the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and two decades of neo-conservatism; and the impact of globalization and trade liberalization on the Canadian state. His recent publications on these themes include Uncle Sam and Us: Globalization, Neoconservatism and the Canadian State, published in 2002; and Global Governance and the Semi-peripheral State: The WTO and NAFTA as Canada's External Constitution in Governing under Stress: Middle Powers and the Challenge of Globalization".

Clarkson has taught and written on Canadian foreign policy and federal party politics. Following an unsuccessful campaign as Liberal candidate for the mayoralty of Toronto in 1969, Clarkson was active in the Liberal Party for six years. After Pierre Trudeau’s retirement from active politics in 1984, Clarkson spent a decade co-authoring the epic, Trudeau and Our Times, with his wife Christina McCall, which won the Governor General's Award for non-fiction.

His knowledge and experience in Canadian politics led to the commissioning of a history of federal election campaigns in Canada from 1974 onward. These essays were the basis of his 2005 book, The Big Red Machine: How the Liberal Party Dominates Canadian Politics.


The good Professor was also once married to somebody named Adrien Clarkson, a name which sounds vaguely familiar for some reason, but I digress.

I also found some interesting mention of the work Professor Wiseman is noted for here:


Nelson Wiseman’s Social Democracy in Manitoba: A History of the CCF/NDP fills a gap present in earlier histories of Manitoba...



...Nelson Wiseman is the first to chart the rise of the NDP as a political force in Manitoba and to provide a detailed account of the activities of the political left over the last ninety years...



...Wiseman began to research and write this book on the NDP as a strongly partisan insider. In the 1960s, he served as president of the University of Manitoba NDP Club and sat on the party’s provincial executive committee. He was active in the left-wing Waffle and quit the NDP in 1972 when the party refused to move closer to the Waffle position. Wiseman’s Waffle perspective is evident in this book, especially in his probing, thoughtful, and often critical account and analysis of the Schreyer years...



...Wiseman, the ex-Waffle member, is very critical of Ed Schreyer’s leadership and the NDP in power. He observes that “little in the NDP government’s performance diverged from what non-NDP government’s did” (p. 139) and that in office the NDP was just like any other government. He charges that little notice was taken of party policy and instead the “cabinet and caucus” (p. 132) were responsible for making policy. Wiseman chides the Schreyer government for failing to promote greater worker control in crown corporations, for failing to bring about major redistribution in income and for failing “to move towards public ownership of natural resource industries and urban land.” (p. 139).



Good to see that CTV found non-partisan experts.

On the Matter of Contempt

It seems the current Canadian government has been found in contempt, not just ordinary contempt but unprecedented contempt.

Many have also noted an unprecedented vitriolic atmosphere in the political air.

Few, if any, mention the unprecedented fact that we are are in our 7th consecutive year of minority government.

My sense of contempt is reserved for those who lack perspective.

Susan Delacourt...Obtuse or Self Satarizing?

Susan's latest effort at the TorStar has me posing the above question. It seems Sue snidely dismisses CPC communications that question Michael Ignatieff's claim of being the child of common immigrants.

She then publishes an entirely convincing case which points out the very privileged position the Ignatieff clan has always maintained regardless of where they resided.

An excerpt:

While the Ignatieffs have made the most of their coming to Canada in their respective fields, they have never ceased to enjoy great privilege, as a function of the financial and educational resources and social status they brought with them, and which are theirs to this day. The Ignatieff immigrant experience is one of significant wealth, first-rate educations and privilege. Very few Canadian families can claim this “immigrant experience.”

Hence my question.

OTOH the whole thing could also have been a poorly constructed vehicle to associate Canadian conservatives with those nasty American birthers. More from Sue...

Somewhere in here, they may well be claiming that he was born in Kenya.

Tradgedy Narrowly Averted

QR 77 Radio in Calgary is reporting that a dangerous sex offender that the RCMP warned the public about on October 10,2010 is now sought in the kidnapping of a ten year old girl from a Calgary shopping mall last night. From the QR77 website:

Warrants issued in kidnapping case
Kelly Turner
2/25/2011

Calgary police say several arrest warrants have been issued for a man who has a history of violence and sexual offenses against females between the ages of 10 and 42. The warrant is in connection with the kidnapping of a 10-year-old girl from Deerfoot Mall. It happened Thursday when she became separated from her dad around 6:30 pm. She was approached by a man who said he was a police officer and accused her of shoplifting. The offender picked up the victim and carried her to his vehicle. A short time later, he drove to a nearby Mcdonald's in Airdrie, and the girl managed to call 911. Canada wide warrants have now been issued for 43 year old John Francis Dionne of Linden, Alberta. He is charged with kidnapping, child abduction, assault, robbery and impersonating a police officer.

Here is the October 10, 2010 article from the Calgary Sun that warned the public about John Francis Dionne. An excerpt here:

RCMP Sgt. Patrick Webb said it’s rare for police to issue such warnings when an offender is released but given his past that includes a conviction for sexual assault, felt the need to warn people.

“These are not done lightly and only when there is a risk to re-offend,” he said.

“If we believe there’s the potential for re-offending and we’re worried about the victimization of people, we feel they should be advised.”

Dionne, 43, was charged after his accuser, a drug-addicted former prostitute, said she was picked up in Calgary’s East Village on Oct. 28, 2008 and was driven outside the city where he forced himself on her for 10 hours.

During the trial, however, the victim recanted and said she lied about being raped.

Mounties said Dionne has a history of violence and sexual offences against females between the ages of 10 and 42 and has recently been diagnosed as HIV positive.

Dionne is white, 5-foot-11, 170 lb. with blue eyes and brown hair and drives a 1992 blue Dodge Caravan with Alberta licence plate NAE 434.

Webb said police won’t be able to keep tabs on him at all times and are making the public aware because of the potential risk.

You will notice that a description of this monsters van along with the licence plate number is included in the article.

What is not included in the text of the QR77 piece is some very disturbing details of how this went down last night. This man was pulled over by RCMP while he had the kidnapped child with him in the front seat. In fact he was issued with a moving violation ticket and sent on his way!!

This raises serious questions about either the competence of the officer involved or the effectiveness of the computer system used to track and flag sex offenders.

To be fair, the child was not yet reported missing when the traffic stop was made and apparently the child was too terrified to say anything to the police officer when he issued the moving violation.

On the other hand, it appears this POS was using the same van the public was warned about last October.

Thank God this innocent little girl is back safe with her family and not a tragic statistic, despite our law enforcement system.

Something more substantial needs to be done about these sick bastards.

When the Nuance Hits the Fan

One of the hallmarks of the left is a self professed capacity for nuance. Us lesser beings are judged to possess inferior discernment betwixt reality and bullshit...right and wrong...because we lack nuance.

The narrative downplays common sense and glorifies complexity. The thing is that the left , through the nuance doctrine, seeks to complicate easy solutions and exacerbate small problems.

This will go through the fan.

Syncro

Jane Taber; Did Conservative Attack Ads Contribute to Egyptian Unrest...Yes! Yes! Yes?

I will be the first to admit that my periodic attempts at blogging in no way qualifies as journalism.

That said, one would think that self professed professional journalists would have a rudimentary understanding of paragraph structure.

Case in point:

Stephen Harper and Michael Ignatieff face off against each other in the Commons Monday for the first time since the Conservatives pulled their nasty attack ads against the Liberals offline and as the situation in Egypt worsens.

The Opposition Leader and his MPs will focus their Question Period efforts on the “Conservatives’ bad spending choices and the billions being spent on corporate tax breaks,” according to a senior Ignatieff official.

Is it just me or is the first paragraph poorly constructed? I suppose it isn't if one believes nasty Canadian attack ads and Egyptian unrest are somehow linked. To Jane's credit she does get back to the Egyptian issue a few paragraphs down.

In addition, the Liberals will demand the government be more clear in its language about the state of play in Egypt. They want the Prime Minister to state that “there needs to be a peaceful transition to free and fair elections,” the Ignatieff official said.

NDP Leader Jack Layton will lead off on the issue as well. “Obviously we’ll also be looking for a stronger Canadian response to the situation in Egypt,” an NDP official said.

I sure hope Harper doesn't say something nasty whilst being clear and stronger.

Syncro

Locked in The Trunk of a Car

It's not just a Tragically Hip tune....it's a way of life...

Apparently, Said Jaziri, picked up on Gord Downie's riff:

U.S. border guards got a surprise when they searched a Mexican BMW and found a hardline Muslim cleric - banned from France and Canada - curled up in the boot.

Said Jaziri, who called for the death of a Danish cartoonist that drew pictures of the prophet Mohammed, was being smuggled into California when he was arrested, along with his driver Kenneth Robert Lawler.

The 43-year-old was deported from Canada to his homeland Tunisia in 2007 after it emerged he had lied on his refugee application about having served jail time in France.

Of course there's more:

His fire and brimstone sermons and rabble-rousing antics catapulted him into the public eye during his short tenure as imam at a Montreal mosque.

He branded homosexuality a disease and led protests over cartoonist Kurt Westergaard's illustrations poked fun at Islam and were published in a Danish newspaper in 2006.

He also caused anger when he campaigned for a bigger mosque to accommodate Montreal's burgeoning Muslim population.

Anyways.....A little Tragically Hip...

Morning broke out the backside of a truck-stop
End of a line a real, rainbow-likening luck stop,
Where you could say I became chronologically "fucked up"
Put ten bucks in just to get the tank topped off
Then I found a place it's dark and it's rotted

It's a cool, sweet kinda place where the copters won't spot it
And I destroyed the map, I even thought I forgot it, however,

Everyday I'm dumping the body
It'd be better for us if you don't understand
Even better for me if you don't understand (Yuh)


Syncro