August1991

Practical or not, there's a big difference. It's at the heart of life, democracy. Consider two situations: 1) You have a rich uncle. He gets you a neat job with a business friend and says "Ignore what that jerk says. He can't fire you because I'm paying your salary. But show up for work!" 2) You don't have a rich uncle. You find a neat job but the boss is a jerk. You show up for work and you do what the jerk asks. IdealEnd, which situation would you prefer? Feels good, I agree.

Do you own yourself? Can the State take you against your wishes and force you to do military service for two years? (This happens in many countries.) The Draft or Conscription around the World

It's very hard to argue with that. My question is rather can we say the West is "right" in what it is doing? As evidence, are our practices more civilized? IMV, there is no comparison between what happened to the Iraqi prisoners and what happened to this poor American civilian. I heard a report on Radio-Canada today by a French journalist who made the comment that, given Arab culture, a naked man before a woman was worse than a beheading. You no doubt have seen the quote of one Iraqi prisoner, "They wanted us to feel as though we were women, the way women feel, and this is the worst insult, to feel like a woman." Ultimately, I disagree with an argument that goes in this direction. I feel that the ultimate insult, even among Arabs, is a beheading. The My Lai massacre is closer to what happened but that was almost 40 years ago. And Vietnam was not Iraq. --- The Mark Steyn argument would be that these IslamoFascists are simply psychopathic nutters who want to kill us all. Reason? Logic? There is none. I take a slightly different view. I'll make a comparison. Quebec has now the Hell's Angels. These guys are basically thugs. Imagine they get control of a country: that was the Soviet Union. I have never found another way to explain this. (OK, imagine the Hell's get control of the local Rotary and then country. Think Bush is like the Hell's? Then you don't know the Hell's Angels at all.) Saddam Hussein was the same. And these characters on the video also. They are thugs. (These ones took over the local 4H club first. They got a "spirchal" approach to thugdom.) I know the Hell's club house in Trois-Rivières that was recently raided. People in Trois-Rivières were afraid of it/impressed by it. Almost everyone in Trois-Rivières will vote BQ. What's the connection? Should Anglo journalists make one?

"... dogs know best what to do with polls." John G. Diefenbaker, 1 November 1971 (He was wrong, as usual.)

BlackDog, you make an error also common during the Cold War. It's an error common to Western Liberalism. You apply a moral equivalence. In an effort to understand the other guy, you assume both sides are equally bad, or good. That's an error. The Soviets were not the same as the West. And the guys on this video are not the same as the American soldiers in Iraq. There will be no commission of inquiry, no court marshalls of these characters. More important, American soldiers do not wear masks and in cold blood deliberately behead people, film themselves in the act while declaring God's justice and making threats about more to come and then distribute the film for all to see. [The video is quite something, but I suppose the Vietnam War generated the same. I genuinely believe this technology makes war less likely in the future. WWI might have been shorter if video cameras had been aropund. But maybe I'm an idealist.]

This happens in every election but it just seems to be happening more often to the Liberals this time out. And there's an ugly edge to it. G & M - Another Installment

The Pacific Scandal brought down Tory Macdonald in 1873. The Customs Scandal brought down Liberal King in 1925 (who then resurrected himself)! The Pipe Lines debate of 1956 was not so much a scandal as evidence of Liberal C.D. Howe's arrogance. (He believed the Liberal Party and Canada were one and the same thing.) This latest Sponsorship Scandal of 2004 will become part of Canadian political history.

This link provides an idea of who Kierans was (and also says something about Tommy Douglas): Bouthillier in G&M I never liked Bouthillier but this article is interesting for the Kieran quotes. Kierans' memoirs "Remembering" are, along side Crosbie's "No Holds Barred", amongst the best in modern Canadian politics. Kierans said about Trudeau (and about resigning from the federal cabinet around 1971): "Trudeau was like the Pope coming down the aisle. You can scream and shout all you want but you know he's just going to keep on walking." Kierans' speech was filled with "lookit" and "ya know". Smart guy who couldn't speak French but understood Quebec extremely well. Apparently he was in the hospital for the past few months.

Doug Fisher's prediction: Doug Fisher in the Ottawa Sun The article goes on to blame the people aropund Martin and not Martin himself. (I have never understood that kind of argument. It has been used with leaders as diverse as Nixon and Stalin.) But the strange quote is this one at the end of his column: I don't think this will happen but I have to admit the potential is there for a Liberal meltdown.

Odie, don't copy and paste to this forum. Provide a link.

You are entitled to your opinion Black Leaf, but don't copy and paste long tracts from other web sites. The link is sufficient. You should also include any copy-paste inside quote marks. I notice the web site is hosted in the US and the unknown author provides a long list of references, for the most part American. The United States is a quite a country!

Political Compass Test Try this. It takes about 5 minutes. Fun, but answer honestly. I got Economic Left/Right: 5.75 Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -3.79

Absolutely. I have always made a point of reading contrarian opinions. IMO, the CBC is a treasure trove of nonsense that invites counter arguments. And at least, I can try to understand the world view of these numbskulls. But can't they put on a right wing whacko every so often? (If only to shake things up.)

IMV, the main criteria defining democracy is that there's a peaceful way to get rid of leaders when they are no longer welcome. I realize that this seems superficial but it holds up well as a practical test of democracy. There are so many different ways to organize a constitution, hold elections, make collective decisions, ensure free speech, and so on. (For example, in most voting schemes, the person controlling the agenda in effect controls decisions. In the US Congress, the agenda is set by the Ways and Means committee.) And what about an independent judiciary? How independent? The hand over of power is often a nervous moment. When Yeltsin resigned and handed power to Putin, he noted that it was the first peaceful transition in Russian history.

This article started the rumour: G& M Part I Here's the follow up with Harper's dry quote: G&M Part II

All this says is that NDPers and Tories tend to consult the on-line version of the Globe more than Liberals. The Globe has a healthy readership in Quebec too.

I am not forced to give money to CanWestGlobal. But I am forced to give money to the CBC. There is a critical difference. I don't believe I have ever heard a CBC news report or comment that ever presented Bush in a good light. Ever. But I have heard many, many negative comments, snide remarks.About half the US population voted for Bush. According to the CBC, they are all morons. Surely there is a legitimate second side to the story. This is only one example.

I tend to agree BD. I see no reason that we should treat two men sharing a kiss at a street corner any differently from a man and woman doing the same. But: 1) I can see why if the kiss takes place on a private premises, the owner should be able to object. (I'm well aware that we follow US practice and invoke civil rights in such cases. I just disagree with this approach.) 2) I see no harm in one community treating this differently from another community or even from the way I would. (Montreal is not Notre-Dame-de-Nulle-Part.) [incidentally, taking a case to a human rights tribunal is tantamount to burying it. The backload is large and commissions tend to be arbitrary in dealing with cases. If we were serious about this, criminal charges should be laid or else a civil case for damages brought.]

Your little story assumes that 1)the workers are not very bright (and don't notice what's going on) and 2) there is no businessman across the street also looking to hire workers. I am always amazed to notice how leftist take such a condescending view of the very people they espouse to protect. The idea that new technology eliminates jobs is one of the oldest myths around. True, the invention of cars meant horse traders lost their jobs as horse traders; so, they found other jobs doing something else. That's how countries get richer. Incidentally, the myth now goes under the name of "out-sourcing" or "free trade".

I truly meant no harm. Maybe I'm wrong??? Right! Lord Elgin was the best. His statue is on the front of the National Assembly in Quebec City. (To the left of the main entry, I think.) If you say the two words "Lord Elgin" to any francophone, you will speak well.Quebec license plates have "Je me souviens". So, you have a right to ask, in English, do you remember "Lord Elgin" to any Quebecer. If a separatist Quebecer doesn't know who "Lord Elgin" was, then you have every right as an English-Canadian to not feel guilty. PS. Do you know who Lord Elgin was? (Greek stones and a Ottawa hotel complicate web searches. How about Lord Dufferin? All Quebecers know his terrace. Few know how he saved their capital.)

I agree MS. But in a democracy, I want to know what a potential leader believes. (I'm choosing someone who will choose in my place.)More broadly, about 50% of Canadian voters are Catholic. About 20% of American voters are Catholic. Lapsed Catholic or not, political spin doctors in the US and Canada operate differently. Why? I have never heard this "Catholic Canada" idea discussed on CBC/Radio-Canada. Why? Bury the problem? Keep it in the closet? Like gays and lesbians?

Ever heard of the UFP? Union des Forces progessistes (Click on "Politic Platform" for an English version.)

Is that the programme with Jim Corcoran? He is a chansonnier and I was surprised to learn he does radio. (I guess he needs the money.) Yes, the programme is good.There's also Bernard St-Laurent who does local CBC English Montreal and nationally "C'est la vie". (I have little faith in this, as a bridge-builder.) Rather, I recall the words of a German woman from Dresden I knew in Quebec City: "It is good that young people from Saskatoon or Edmonton can drive to Rivière-du-Loup and learn something new", she said. "It is good you young people can travel freely." (True, I thought. We use the same SIN card everywhere in Canada.)

There was quite an uproar on the English CBC.Honest to God, this is how the English CBC presented the story in Montreal. (Did this go national?) My quotes: "Grant Devine led a Conservative government where many members stole money. Some went to jail but not Devine who was never charged with any wrongdoing. Now, Devine wants to run as a Conservative but he can't because the Conservatives don't want him. Grant says that some Conservatives want to silence him so his only choice is to run as an independant." WTF? I had more questions after this report than before. IMV, that's bad journalism.

Here is the Ipsos-Reid web site: Ipsos Reid Poll 7 May Release Date Somebody (CTV/G&M) paid for the poll. (What are we talking? A couple of thousand a question?) Would you pay 1000$ for an insider stock tip and then post the info on the web? Would you allow the tipster to post the info on the web? Wait a few days and Ipsos-Reid will post the details. That's their PR.