Canadian, Conservative and Sour. Satire, Cynicism, Snark and Sarcasm is Often the Best Medicine............... Stephen Harper's Favorite Blog
Friday, November 30, 2007
Reid: Canada (with the exception of Southern ON) will have it's coldest winter in 15 years
And of course since the centre of the known universe won't have it's coldest winter in 15 years it won't have happened and AGW will be safely intact. Good job Toronto.
I can't believe I'm actually linking to a CBC story.
I can't believe I'm actually linking to a CBC story.
Thursday, November 29, 2007
What wasn't caused by global warming . . .
Great find by Eric.
Agricultural land increase, Africa devastated, African aid threatened, Africa hit hardest, air pressure changes, Alaska reshaped, allergies increase, Alps melting, Amazon a desert, American dream end, amphibians breeding earlier (or not), ancient forests dramatically changed, animals head for the hills, Antarctic grass flourishes, anxiety, algal blooms, archaeological sites threatened, Arctic bogs melt, Arctic in bloom, Arctic lakes disappear, asthma, Atlantic less salty, Atlantic more salty, atmospheric defiance, atmospheric circulation modified, attack of the killer jellyfish, avalanches reduced, avalanches increased, bananas destroyed, bananas grow, beetle infestation, bet for $10,000, better beer, big melt faster, billion dollar research projects, billions of deaths, bird distributions change, bird visitors drop, birds return early, blackbirds stop singing, blizzards, blue mussels return, bluetongue, boredom, bridge collapse (Minneapolis), Britain Siberian, British gardens change, brothels struggle, bubonic plague, budget increases, Buddhist temple threatened, building collapse, building season extension, bushfires, business opportunities, business risks, butterflies move north, cancer deaths in England, cardiac arrest, caterpillar biomass shift, challenges and opportunities, childhood insomnia, Cholera, circumcision in decline, cirrus disappearance, civil unrest, cloud increase, cloud stripping, cockroach migration, cod go south, cold climate creatures survive, cold spells (Australia), computer models, conferences, coral bleaching, coral reefs dying, coral reefs grow, coral reefs shrink , cold spells, cost of trillions, cougar attacks, cremation to end, crime increase, crocodile sex, crumbling roads, buildings and sewage systems, cyclones (Australia), damages equivalent to $200 billion, Darfur, Dartford Warbler plague, death rate increase (US), Dengue hemorrhagic fever, dermatitis, desert advance, desert life threatened, desert retreat, destruction of the environment, diarrhoea, disappearance of coastal cities, diseases move north, Dolomites collapse, drought, drowning people, ducks and geese decline, dust bowl in the corn belt, early marriages, early spring, earlier pollen season, Earth biodiversity crisis, Earth dying, Earth even hotter, Earth light dimming, Earth lopsided, Earth melting, Earth morbid fever, Earth on fast track, Earth past point of no return, Earth slowing down, Earth spinning out of control, Earth spins faster, Earth to explode, earth upside down, Earth wobbling, earthquakes, El Niño intensification, erosion, emerging infections, encephalitis, equality threatened, Europe simultaneously baking and freezing, evolution accelerating, expansion of university climate groups, extinctions (human, civilisation, logic, Inuit, smallest butterfly, cod, ladybirds, bats, pandas, pikas, polar bears, pigmy possums, gorillas, koalas, walrus, whales, frogs, toads, turtles, orang-utan, elephants, tigers, plants, salmon, trout, wild flowers, woodlice, penguins, a million species, half of all animal and plant species, not polar bears, barrier reef, leaches), experts muzzled, extreme changes to California, fading fall foliage, famine, farmers go under, fashion disaster, fever,figurehead sacked, fir cone bonanza, fish catches drop, fish catches rise, fish stocks at risk, fish stocks decline, five million illnesses, flesh eating disease, flood patterns change, floods, floods of beaches and cities, Florida economic decline, food poisoning, food prices rise, food security threat (SA), footpath erosion, forest decline, forest expansion, frostbite, frosts, fungi fruitful, fungi invasion, games change, Garden of Eden wilts, genetic diversity decline, gene pools slashed, gingerbread houses collapse, glacial earthquakes, glacial retreat, glacial growth, glacier wrapped, global cooling, global dimming, glowing clouds, god melts, golf Masters wrecked, Gore omnipresence, grandstanding, grasslands wetter, Great Barrier Reef 95% dead, Great Lakes drop, greening of the North, Grey whales lose weight, Gulf Stream failure, habitat loss, Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, harvest increase, harvest shrinkage, hay fever epidemic, hazardous waste sites breached, health of children harmed, heart disease, heart attacks and strokes (Australia), heat waves, hibernation ends too soon, hibernation ends too late, homeless 50 million, hornets, high court debates, human development faces unprecedented reversal, human fertility reduced, human health improvement, human health risk, hurricanes, hurricane reduction, hydropower problems, hyperthermia deaths, ice sheet growth, ice sheet shrinkage, illness and death, inclement weather, infrastructure failure (Canada), Inuit displacement, Inuit poisoned, Inuit suing, industry threatened, infectious diseases, inflation in China, insurance premium rises, invasion of cats, invasion of herons, invasion of midges, island disappears, islands sinking, itchier poison ivy, jellyfish explosion, Kew Gardens taxed, kitten boom, krill decline, lake and stream productivity decline, lake shrinking and growing, landslides, landslides of ice at 140 mph, lawsuits increase, lawsuit successful, lawyers' income increased (surprise surprise!), lightning related insurance claims, little response in the atmosphere, lush growth in rain forests, Lyme disease, Malaria, malnutrition, mammoth dung melt, Maple syrup shortage, marine diseases, marine food chain decimated, marine dead zone, Meaching (end of the world), megacryometeors, Melanoma, methane emissions from plants, methane burps, melting permafrost, Middle Kingdom convulses, migration, migration difficult (birds), microbes to decompose soil carbon more rapidly, monkeys on the move, Mont Blanc grows, monuments imperiled, more bad air days, more research needed, mountain (Everest) shrinking, mountains break up, mountains taller, mortality lower, mudslides, National security implications, new islands, next ice age, Nile delta damaged, no effect in India, Northwest Passage opened, nuclear plants bloom, oaks move north, ocean acidification, ocean waves speed up, opera house to be destroyed, outdoor hockey threatened, oyster diseases, ozone loss, ozone repair slowed, ozone rise, Pacific dead zone, personal carbon rationing, pest outbreaks, pests increase, phenology shifts, plankton blooms, plankton destabilised, plankton loss, plant viruses, plants march north, polar bears aggressive, polar bears cannibalistic, polar bears drowning, polar bears starve, polar tours scrapped, porpoise astray, profits collapse, psychosocial disturbances, puffin decline, railroad tracks deformed, rainfall increase, rainfall reduction, rape wave, refugees, reindeer larger, release of ancient frozen viruses, resorts disappear, rice threatened, rice yields crash, riches, rift on Capitol Hill, rioting and nuclear war, rivers dry up, river flow impacted, rivers raised, roads wear out, rockfalls, rocky peaks crack apart, roof of the world a desert, Ross river disease, ruins ruined, salinity reduction, salinity increase, Salmonella, salmon stronger, satellites accelerate, school closures, sea level rise, sea level rise faster, seals mating more, sewer bills rise, sex change, sharks booming, sharks moving north, sheep shrink, shop closures, shrinking ponds, shrinking shrine, ski resorts threatened, slow death, smaller brains, smog, snowfall increase, snowfall heavy, snowfall reduction, societal collapse, songbirds change eating habits, sour grapes, space problem, spiders invade Scotland, squid population explosion, squirrels reproduce earlier, spectacular orchids, stormwater drains stressed, street crime to increase, suicide, taxes, tectonic plate movement, teenage drinking, terrorism, threat to peace, ticks move northward (Sweden), tides rise, tourism increase, trade barriers, trade winds weakened, tree beetle attacks, tree foliage increase (UK), tree growth slowed, trees could return to Antarctic, trees in trouble, trees less colourful, trees more colourful, trees lush, tropics expansion, tropopause raised, tsunamis, turtles crash, turtles lay earlier, UK Katrina, Vampire moths, Venice flooded, volcanic eruptions, walrus displaced, walrus pups orphaned, war, wars over water, wars threaten billions, water bills double, water supply unreliability, water scarcity (20% of increase), water stress, weather out of its mind, weather patterns awry, weeds, Western aid cancelled out, West Nile fever, whales move north, wheat yields crushed in Australia, white Christmas dream ends, wildfires, wind shift, wind reduced, wine - harm to Australian industry, wine industry damage (California), wine industry disaster (US), wine - more English, wine -German boon, wine - no more French , winters in Britain colder, wolves eat more moose, wolves eat less, workers laid off, World bankruptcy, World in crisis, World in flames, Yellow fever.
Agricultural land increase, Africa devastated, African aid threatened, Africa hit hardest, air pressure changes, Alaska reshaped, allergies increase, Alps melting, Amazon a desert, American dream end, amphibians breeding earlier (or not), ancient forests dramatically changed, animals head for the hills, Antarctic grass flourishes, anxiety, algal blooms, archaeological sites threatened, Arctic bogs melt, Arctic in bloom, Arctic lakes disappear, asthma, Atlantic less salty, Atlantic more salty, atmospheric defiance, atmospheric circulation modified, attack of the killer jellyfish, avalanches reduced, avalanches increased, bananas destroyed, bananas grow, beetle infestation, bet for $10,000, better beer, big melt faster, billion dollar research projects, billions of deaths, bird distributions change, bird visitors drop, birds return early, blackbirds stop singing, blizzards, blue mussels return, bluetongue, boredom, bridge collapse (Minneapolis), Britain Siberian, British gardens change, brothels struggle, bubonic plague, budget increases, Buddhist temple threatened, building collapse, building season extension, bushfires, business opportunities, business risks, butterflies move north, cancer deaths in England, cardiac arrest, caterpillar biomass shift, challenges and opportunities, childhood insomnia, Cholera, circumcision in decline, cirrus disappearance, civil unrest, cloud increase, cloud stripping, cockroach migration, cod go south, cold climate creatures survive, cold spells (Australia), computer models, conferences, coral bleaching, coral reefs dying, coral reefs grow, coral reefs shrink , cold spells, cost of trillions, cougar attacks, cremation to end, crime increase, crocodile sex, crumbling roads, buildings and sewage systems, cyclones (Australia), damages equivalent to $200 billion, Darfur, Dartford Warbler plague, death rate increase (US), Dengue hemorrhagic fever, dermatitis, desert advance, desert life threatened, desert retreat, destruction of the environment, diarrhoea, disappearance of coastal cities, diseases move north, Dolomites collapse, drought, drowning people, ducks and geese decline, dust bowl in the corn belt, early marriages, early spring, earlier pollen season, Earth biodiversity crisis, Earth dying, Earth even hotter, Earth light dimming, Earth lopsided, Earth melting, Earth morbid fever, Earth on fast track, Earth past point of no return, Earth slowing down, Earth spinning out of control, Earth spins faster, Earth to explode, earth upside down, Earth wobbling, earthquakes, El Niño intensification, erosion, emerging infections, encephalitis, equality threatened, Europe simultaneously baking and freezing, evolution accelerating, expansion of university climate groups, extinctions (human, civilisation, logic, Inuit, smallest butterfly, cod, ladybirds, bats, pandas, pikas, polar bears, pigmy possums, gorillas, koalas, walrus, whales, frogs, toads, turtles, orang-utan, elephants, tigers, plants, salmon, trout, wild flowers, woodlice, penguins, a million species, half of all animal and plant species, not polar bears, barrier reef, leaches), experts muzzled, extreme changes to California, fading fall foliage, famine, farmers go under, fashion disaster, fever,figurehead sacked, fir cone bonanza, fish catches drop, fish catches rise, fish stocks at risk, fish stocks decline, five million illnesses, flesh eating disease, flood patterns change, floods, floods of beaches and cities, Florida economic decline, food poisoning, food prices rise, food security threat (SA), footpath erosion, forest decline, forest expansion, frostbite, frosts, fungi fruitful, fungi invasion, games change, Garden of Eden wilts, genetic diversity decline, gene pools slashed, gingerbread houses collapse, glacial earthquakes, glacial retreat, glacial growth, glacier wrapped, global cooling, global dimming, glowing clouds, god melts, golf Masters wrecked, Gore omnipresence, grandstanding, grasslands wetter, Great Barrier Reef 95% dead, Great Lakes drop, greening of the North, Grey whales lose weight, Gulf Stream failure, habitat loss, Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, harvest increase, harvest shrinkage, hay fever epidemic, hazardous waste sites breached, health of children harmed, heart disease, heart attacks and strokes (Australia), heat waves, hibernation ends too soon, hibernation ends too late, homeless 50 million, hornets, high court debates, human development faces unprecedented reversal, human fertility reduced, human health improvement, human health risk, hurricanes, hurricane reduction, hydropower problems, hyperthermia deaths, ice sheet growth, ice sheet shrinkage, illness and death, inclement weather, infrastructure failure (Canada), Inuit displacement, Inuit poisoned, Inuit suing, industry threatened, infectious diseases, inflation in China, insurance premium rises, invasion of cats, invasion of herons, invasion of midges, island disappears, islands sinking, itchier poison ivy, jellyfish explosion, Kew Gardens taxed, kitten boom, krill decline, lake and stream productivity decline, lake shrinking and growing, landslides, landslides of ice at 140 mph, lawsuits increase, lawsuit successful, lawyers' income increased (surprise surprise!), lightning related insurance claims, little response in the atmosphere, lush growth in rain forests, Lyme disease, Malaria, malnutrition, mammoth dung melt, Maple syrup shortage, marine diseases, marine food chain decimated, marine dead zone, Meaching (end of the world), megacryometeors, Melanoma, methane emissions from plants, methane burps, melting permafrost, Middle Kingdom convulses, migration, migration difficult (birds), microbes to decompose soil carbon more rapidly, monkeys on the move, Mont Blanc grows, monuments imperiled, more bad air days, more research needed, mountain (Everest) shrinking, mountains break up, mountains taller, mortality lower, mudslides, National security implications, new islands, next ice age, Nile delta damaged, no effect in India, Northwest Passage opened, nuclear plants bloom, oaks move north, ocean acidification, ocean waves speed up, opera house to be destroyed, outdoor hockey threatened, oyster diseases, ozone loss, ozone repair slowed, ozone rise, Pacific dead zone, personal carbon rationing, pest outbreaks, pests increase, phenology shifts, plankton blooms, plankton destabilised, plankton loss, plant viruses, plants march north, polar bears aggressive, polar bears cannibalistic, polar bears drowning, polar bears starve, polar tours scrapped, porpoise astray, profits collapse, psychosocial disturbances, puffin decline, railroad tracks deformed, rainfall increase, rainfall reduction, rape wave, refugees, reindeer larger, release of ancient frozen viruses, resorts disappear, rice threatened, rice yields crash, riches, rift on Capitol Hill, rioting and nuclear war, rivers dry up, river flow impacted, rivers raised, roads wear out, rockfalls, rocky peaks crack apart, roof of the world a desert, Ross river disease, ruins ruined, salinity reduction, salinity increase, Salmonella, salmon stronger, satellites accelerate, school closures, sea level rise, sea level rise faster, seals mating more, sewer bills rise, sex change, sharks booming, sharks moving north, sheep shrink, shop closures, shrinking ponds, shrinking shrine, ski resorts threatened, slow death, smaller brains, smog, snowfall increase, snowfall heavy, snowfall reduction, societal collapse, songbirds change eating habits, sour grapes, space problem, spiders invade Scotland, squid population explosion, squirrels reproduce earlier, spectacular orchids, stormwater drains stressed, street crime to increase, suicide, taxes, tectonic plate movement, teenage drinking, terrorism, threat to peace, ticks move northward (Sweden), tides rise, tourism increase, trade barriers, trade winds weakened, tree beetle attacks, tree foliage increase (UK), tree growth slowed, trees could return to Antarctic, trees in trouble, trees less colourful, trees more colourful, trees lush, tropics expansion, tropopause raised, tsunamis, turtles crash, turtles lay earlier, UK Katrina, Vampire moths, Venice flooded, volcanic eruptions, walrus displaced, walrus pups orphaned, war, wars over water, wars threaten billions, water bills double, water supply unreliability, water scarcity (20% of increase), water stress, weather out of its mind, weather patterns awry, weeds, Western aid cancelled out, West Nile fever, whales move north, wheat yields crushed in Australia, white Christmas dream ends, wildfires, wind shift, wind reduced, wine - harm to Australian industry, wine industry damage (California), wine industry disaster (US), wine - more English, wine -German boon, wine - no more French , winters in Britain colder, wolves eat more moose, wolves eat less, workers laid off, World bankruptcy, World in crisis, World in flames, Yellow fever.
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Our World? FUBAR
Canada and other rich countries must immediately start backing their promises to combat climate change with tough action and hard cash, says a new United Nations study.
The 2007 Human Development Report calls on wealthy nations to not only slash their greenhouse gas emissions but also to provide $86 billion by 2015 to help the world’s poor adapt to global warming.
“We have less than a decade to avoid dangerous climate change,” UN official Papa Seck of Senegal told an Ottawa news conference. “That doesn’t mean safe climate change, there is no such thing. It just means not a catastrophe.”
Hey Papa, how about we give you and your whole Sengalese family a million. Will you change your mind then? Betcha will...
Senegal ... give me an effin break. Where is it and who gives a flying eff.
Meanwhile, the National, does a simulation of what a takedown might look like, as played by actors, in a domestic despute. No one, as it appears, has a blood alcohol level of .24, or(and) two grams of coke. Everything is settled peacefully.
Where is Alice when you need her...
The 2007 Human Development Report calls on wealthy nations to not only slash their greenhouse gas emissions but also to provide $86 billion by 2015 to help the world’s poor adapt to global warming.
“We have less than a decade to avoid dangerous climate change,” UN official Papa Seck of Senegal told an Ottawa news conference. “That doesn’t mean safe climate change, there is no such thing. It just means not a catastrophe.”
Hey Papa, how about we give you and your whole Sengalese family a million. Will you change your mind then? Betcha will...
Senegal ... give me an effin break. Where is it and who gives a flying eff.
Meanwhile, the National, does a simulation of what a takedown might look like, as played by actors, in a domestic despute. No one, as it appears, has a blood alcohol level of .24, or(and) two grams of coke. Everything is settled peacefully.
Where is Alice when you need her...
Monday, November 26, 2007
Miller Throws Hissy Fit
In response to a column almost all Torontonians would agree with.
Editor - Toronto Star
As the elected leader of Toronto City Council, I must respond to Royson James's column. It is an utterly despicable piece of supposed journalism and unworthy of your publication.
I will ignore for the moment that many of James's facts are wrong and go directly to the last paragraph of his column where he states: "Councillors should be hanged, one a day, at noon, in Nathan Phillips Square. Charge admission. We'll net enough money to pay off most of our civic bills."
Such a statement is beneath contempt and shows absolutely no respect for democracy, for the families of elected officials or for those in this country who fought to preserve our freedom.
In a democracy, people can choose to disagree about issues like the future of Union Station, the purchase of food vending carts and the disconnection of downspouts. That's what our political system is all about. But I cannot believe a veteran columnist like James would stoop so low as to think that city councillors should be lynched in the public square, never mind put such outrageous thoughts in writing. And it is beyond belief that a newspaper of the Toronto Star's stature – a publication that proclaims itself as the Voice of the GTA – would actually print such hateful ruminations. I find this absolutely offensive.
Many Torontonians came to this city from countries where public officials and other innocent people have been hanged or otherwise murdered and where such atrocities continue to this day. They came to Toronto to be free from such terror and callous disregard for human life. Perhaps James should have asked them – and others, like my Uncle Jim, who fought for the right to debate and discuss public policy – their thoughts on his loathsome advocacy for public lynching.
The Toronto Star owes every Torontonian, every elected official and the families of those elected officials an immediate apology and retraction. Even that is not enough. But, sadly it is all you can do.
Mayor David Miller, Toronto
Royson today reports that the Star editors and management are supporting him.
This could be the beginning of the end of any editorial support of Miller in the City.
A figurative hanging inNathan Phillips Square.
Editor - Toronto Star
As the elected leader of Toronto City Council, I must respond to Royson James's column. It is an utterly despicable piece of supposed journalism and unworthy of your publication.
I will ignore for the moment that many of James's facts are wrong and go directly to the last paragraph of his column where he states: "Councillors should be hanged, one a day, at noon, in Nathan Phillips Square. Charge admission. We'll net enough money to pay off most of our civic bills."
Such a statement is beneath contempt and shows absolutely no respect for democracy, for the families of elected officials or for those in this country who fought to preserve our freedom.
In a democracy, people can choose to disagree about issues like the future of Union Station, the purchase of food vending carts and the disconnection of downspouts. That's what our political system is all about. But I cannot believe a veteran columnist like James would stoop so low as to think that city councillors should be lynched in the public square, never mind put such outrageous thoughts in writing. And it is beyond belief that a newspaper of the Toronto Star's stature – a publication that proclaims itself as the Voice of the GTA – would actually print such hateful ruminations. I find this absolutely offensive.
Many Torontonians came to this city from countries where public officials and other innocent people have been hanged or otherwise murdered and where such atrocities continue to this day. They came to Toronto to be free from such terror and callous disregard for human life. Perhaps James should have asked them – and others, like my Uncle Jim, who fought for the right to debate and discuss public policy – their thoughts on his loathsome advocacy for public lynching.
The Toronto Star owes every Torontonian, every elected official and the families of those elected officials an immediate apology and retraction. Even that is not enough. But, sadly it is all you can do.
Mayor David Miller, Toronto
Royson today reports that the Star editors and management are supporting him.
This could be the beginning of the end of any editorial support of Miller in the City.
A figurative hanging inNathan Phillips Square.
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Yahoo!! - Toronto Breaks Record
Police are hunting for two suspects after a man was shot to death Sunday night at a townhouse complex in the northwest part of Toronto.
We beat the Year of the Gun. We beat the Year of the Gun!
Remember 2005, when we reached this landmark record when a 15 year old innocent was murdered by gangbangers on Boxing Day outside of the Eaton Centre?
We did it. We beat it!
Even though David Miller implemented all kinds of rec pregrams and hired 250 new cops (against his better judgement) and got homes for all the poor people and all. Remember him and McGuinty and Martin all gathering at the scene of the crime promising this would never happen again and making all those empty promises?
And we still got 36 days to establish a record that will never ever be broken.
This is terrific. And proof of what an incompetent Mayor Toronto has and how bereft of common sense and compassion those Liberals and NDPers who oppose tough laws against violent criminals are.
We beat the Year of the Gun. We beat the Year of the Gun!
Remember 2005, when we reached this landmark record when a 15 year old innocent was murdered by gangbangers on Boxing Day outside of the Eaton Centre?
We did it. We beat it!
Even though David Miller implemented all kinds of rec pregrams and hired 250 new cops (against his better judgement) and got homes for all the poor people and all. Remember him and McGuinty and Martin all gathering at the scene of the crime promising this would never happen again and making all those empty promises?
And we still got 36 days to establish a record that will never ever be broken.
This is terrific. And proof of what an incompetent Mayor Toronto has and how bereft of common sense and compassion those Liberals and NDPers who oppose tough laws against violent criminals are.
Dead Heat Could be Fatal for Clinton
Chicago Tribune
Adding to Obama's perception of momentum is a new ABC News/Washington Post poll released last week. The poll is the first in which Obama has scored a higher percentage than Clinton in Iowa, where the Jan. 3 precinct caucuses will formally launch the 2008 presidential race.
Obama's lead in the ABC/Post poll is within the survey's margin of error, pollsters caution, which means he and Clinton remain in the statistical dead heat in Iowa that they have been in since at least mid-summer. More ominous for Clinton is the apparent shift in what Iowa Democrats say they are seeking in a candidate. A majority in the new poll favor "new direction and new ideas" over "strength and experience" by 55 percent to 33 percent. A July ABC/Post poll found the ratio was 49 percent to 39 percent. Suddenly the lock that Clinton seemed to have on the nomination appears to have come unlocked.
The new battle of perceptions between Obama and Clinton is one of "honesty" versus "experience," in the Iowa poll. Even among Iowa's women, who have been more supportive of Clinton than Iowa's men, 30 percent believe Obama is more "honest and trustworthy," while just 18 percent say that for Clinton. For Obama, Iowa has turned from lackluster into a love fest.
Saturday, November 24, 2007
Reid: So it seems that a Parliamentary committee can hold a gun to the head of a Minister
This is the most insane thing I think I've ever heard with respect to the workings of the Canadian government.
But I was watching Duffy and was gobsmacked to hear that the Parliamentary Ethics Committee, in it's zeal to start a whichhunt, can ORDER Minister Nicholson to override Schrieber's extradition. If they do, and he doesn't, he is in contempt of Parliament. This, in my opinion, is no different than hijacking a plane.
What's the point in having Ministerial discretion if the Minister can have the discretion taken away from a Parliamentary Committee carrying out a partisan agenda of the Opposition?
Reid: CBC's "Politics" was never intended for Western viewers
As someone who has lived his whole life in BC or Alberta, I had never heard of Newman's Politics on CBC until I started seeing synopses of it on this blog.
So then I started to watch it if I got home from work on time. It took me awhile to realize that I was only getting a chopped down version of the show. You see, it airs at 5pm Toronto time. Which is 4pm in MB (sometimes SK), 3pm in AB & SK (sometimes), and 2pm BC and I'm never home from work this early. The half hour version then airs at 5:30pm AB & SK and 4:30 BC. A very large portion of the Canadian population just isn't home from work when the CBC airs this show. So much for being the "national" broadcaster.
At least MDL on CTV airs again at 5pm BC, 6pm AB & SK. CTV, a private broadcaster, is far more of a national network than the CBC is.
The CBC is a dinosaur after all so this perhaps shouldn't be surprising. They're still locked in the mindset of when Federal elections where over when the polls in Ontario closed. Politically speaking, the West doesn't matter in their liberal utopia. So why air their signature show on Canadian politics when Westerns can actually watch it?
CBL's Report on AIDS (Source Spin Mag) Being Proven Correct.
Our Post (originally from June)
15 Years ago, Spin Magazine researched and concluded that the AIDS pandemic was politicized nonsense. That it was being used to transfer funds to certain geographies and to certain people. Consultants, activists, doctors, researchers all lived high off the hog by lying to the public about the scope and scale of the disease. As we said in our post the global AIDS pandemic is a fraud on the scale of Human Caused Global Warming.
Every individual case of AIDS is a tragedy, but the lies being passed on to the public is a scandal.
Peggy Wente behind a firewall at the Globe & Mail (I recommend picking up a copy of today's Globe, or subscribing, to access the whole story). The lies:
15 Years ago, Spin Magazine researched and concluded that the AIDS pandemic was politicized nonsense. That it was being used to transfer funds to certain geographies and to certain people. Consultants, activists, doctors, researchers all lived high off the hog by lying to the public about the scope and scale of the disease. As we said in our post the global AIDS pandemic is a fraud on the scale of Human Caused Global Warming.
Every individual case of AIDS is a tragedy, but the lies being passed on to the public is a scandal.
Peggy Wente behind a firewall at the Globe & Mail (I recommend picking up a copy of today's Globe, or subscribing, to access the whole story). The lies:
What happened was that the UN's top AIDS scientists were finally forced to admit that their numbers had been wildly overstated. “They had clearly been using inflated numbers for some years,” charged Stephen Lewis, the former special UN envoy for HIV-AIDS in Africa. He even accused UNAIDS of being “irresponsible.”
The AIDS epidemic is past its peak -- Even UNAIDS has admitted that global HIV incidence had peaked by the late 1990s.
AIDS is not a big problem outside Africa -- The global infection rate outside of Africa is 0.2 per cent
Outside Africa, people in the general population are unlikely to become infected -- In the rest of the world, HIV is almost entirely confined to men who have sex with other men, intravenous drug users and female sex workers.
The main driver of infection is not poverty, but high-risk sexual behaviour.
The riskiest behaviour is having multiple concurrent sexual partners.
Even in sub-Saharan Africa, the news isn't all bad. The HIV infection rate has levelled off at about 3 per cent
AIDS is a terrible pandemic, but it's not the worst.
And yet, a lot of people don't want to hear the (relatively) good news about AIDS.
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Funding Toronto
CBL Contributor Reid and Raphael from Unambig (et moi) have been having a chat that I think warrants it's own post relative to the City of Toronto wanting to tax bottled water....
Reid said...
What bothered me most was this:
The proposal for a 5-cent tax on water bottled in Ontario and 10 cents on water bottled outside the province was ruled out of order at the time.
Can you say "Interprovincial trade barrier?" Or how about "violation of NAFTA?"
Lemon said...
Bro, they're buffoons and bumpkins.
They have (now) $8 Billion to play with.It's like giving a teenage boy whiskey and the car keys.
None of them - repeat none of David Miller's caucus of 19 councillors - have between them a single credential that would suggest they should manage anything more than a household budget and even then, only a modest household budget (and certainly not mine...)
Raphael Alexander said...
I do believe the solution to the cities lies in some form of higher government transfer. Perhaps income from residency receipts to accommodate the influx of new Canadians.
Reid said...
Raphael:
Here's the problem I have with your suggestion. Why should someone living in Spuzzum, BC have their tax dollars go to Toronto for their infrastructure? Toronto's infrastructure is Toronto's responsibility. Vancouver's infrastructure is Vancouver's responsibility.
A better sollution, in my opinion, would be for the Federal Government to LOWER taxes and leave it up to the municipalities or Provinces to raise taxes accordingly to pay for those items which fall under their jurisdiction.
If the Feds take in the taxes and then pass them over to the Provinces and Municipalities there's a cost in that. Every level of government that handles the money before it gets to the end user means there's less money for the end user. Let the end user collect that money directly. It will be more efficient. And then the voters of that jurisdiction can determine whether or not they're getting value for their money.
As it stands if it's the Feds who end up paying for everything then the Municipalities and Provinces don't have to answer the question of how they are spending their money and why they aren't taking care of their infrastructure.
Lemon Responds:
Cities are solely within the authority of provinces and have very limited legislative authority. Feds can transfer cash to the Provinces (and commonly do) and Provinces can transfer funds to Cities (and commonly do). It is unusual for the Feds to transfer funds to cities directly.
Cities largely function as "ministries" of the provincial governments and are delegated the responsibility to deliver selected basic services (water, sewer, waste, roads, transit, public safety) and usually have limited ability to raise funds other than user fees and taxes on property value.
No one claims that this basic equation works, because not all all cities are created equal. Fredericton is not Toronto is not Calgary is not Corner Brook. Yet any action by the Federal Government is expected to treat all Provinces equally (except for equalization payments...) just as any action by a Province needs to keep all cities and towns happy.
Good luck on figuring out how to solve this.
The stench of raising taxes is, however, avoided by all governments equally. So, the Feds reduce GST giving any province who dares the room to raise Sales Tax. Then (at least in Ontario) the Province gives the City of Toronto the ability to raise other taxes.
And because no politician in their right mind (or left mind for that matter) wants to raise taxes, the problem continues.
Ultimately I see the following action needed for Toronto (likely by a Province appointed Trustee):
-- The City of Toronto refuses to cover any costs of resettlement of immigrants or refugees.
-- The COT begins the process of charging visitor fees - both for tourists and for suburbanites - these likely will come in the form of tolls. These tolls will be electronically collected at every main entrance point to the city, supplemented by "no turn" signs. Transit fares will not be taxed and residents will be exempt. (this will pressure the Province to take action).
-- The COT becomes the main proponent of uploading the TTC to GO Transit / GTTA.
-- The COT refuses to increase expenditure on social programs.
-- The COT requests the right to legislate a $5 hotel tax (now there's a voluntary tax that's used for Tourism promo) and a 1% sales tax on all purchases.
Reid said...
What bothered me most was this:
The proposal for a 5-cent tax on water bottled in Ontario and 10 cents on water bottled outside the province was ruled out of order at the time.
Can you say "Interprovincial trade barrier?" Or how about "violation of NAFTA?"
Lemon said...
Bro, they're buffoons and bumpkins.
They have (now) $8 Billion to play with.It's like giving a teenage boy whiskey and the car keys.
None of them - repeat none of David Miller's caucus of 19 councillors - have between them a single credential that would suggest they should manage anything more than a household budget and even then, only a modest household budget (and certainly not mine...)
Raphael Alexander said...
I do believe the solution to the cities lies in some form of higher government transfer. Perhaps income from residency receipts to accommodate the influx of new Canadians.
Reid said...
Raphael:
Here's the problem I have with your suggestion. Why should someone living in Spuzzum, BC have their tax dollars go to Toronto for their infrastructure? Toronto's infrastructure is Toronto's responsibility. Vancouver's infrastructure is Vancouver's responsibility.
A better sollution, in my opinion, would be for the Federal Government to LOWER taxes and leave it up to the municipalities or Provinces to raise taxes accordingly to pay for those items which fall under their jurisdiction.
If the Feds take in the taxes and then pass them over to the Provinces and Municipalities there's a cost in that. Every level of government that handles the money before it gets to the end user means there's less money for the end user. Let the end user collect that money directly. It will be more efficient. And then the voters of that jurisdiction can determine whether or not they're getting value for their money.
As it stands if it's the Feds who end up paying for everything then the Municipalities and Provinces don't have to answer the question of how they are spending their money and why they aren't taking care of their infrastructure.
Lemon Responds:
Cities are solely within the authority of provinces and have very limited legislative authority. Feds can transfer cash to the Provinces (and commonly do) and Provinces can transfer funds to Cities (and commonly do). It is unusual for the Feds to transfer funds to cities directly.
Cities largely function as "ministries" of the provincial governments and are delegated the responsibility to deliver selected basic services (water, sewer, waste, roads, transit, public safety) and usually have limited ability to raise funds other than user fees and taxes on property value.
No one claims that this basic equation works, because not all all cities are created equal. Fredericton is not Toronto is not Calgary is not Corner Brook. Yet any action by the Federal Government is expected to treat all Provinces equally (except for equalization payments...) just as any action by a Province needs to keep all cities and towns happy.
Good luck on figuring out how to solve this.
The stench of raising taxes is, however, avoided by all governments equally. So, the Feds reduce GST giving any province who dares the room to raise Sales Tax. Then (at least in Ontario) the Province gives the City of Toronto the ability to raise other taxes.
And because no politician in their right mind (or left mind for that matter) wants to raise taxes, the problem continues.
Ultimately I see the following action needed for Toronto (likely by a Province appointed Trustee):
-- The City of Toronto refuses to cover any costs of resettlement of immigrants or refugees.
-- The COT begins the process of charging visitor fees - both for tourists and for suburbanites - these likely will come in the form of tolls. These tolls will be electronically collected at every main entrance point to the city, supplemented by "no turn" signs. Transit fares will not be taxed and residents will be exempt. (this will pressure the Province to take action).
-- The COT becomes the main proponent of uploading the TTC to GO Transit / GTTA.
-- The COT refuses to increase expenditure on social programs.
-- The COT requests the right to legislate a $5 hotel tax (now there's a voluntary tax that's used for Tourism promo) and a 1% sales tax on all purchases.
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