The Globe and Mail - Ottawa forced to buy Sikorsky, sources say
These helicopter stories in the Globe, including this latest "revelation", always seem to be based almost entirely on unnamed "sources". This one sounds like it came from Cormorant's lawyers because it talks mainly about all the possible lawsuits and court options -- I wonder if these will hold up the contract? I think its rather brazen for Cormorant to sue -- wasn't this the same company that was supposed to get the contract 10 years ago, then Chretien pulled it, and paid a half-billion penalty? So they already collected half a billion dollars for which the taxpayers got no value -- and now they want to milk us for more?
I guess Martin should just stand up and say "Look, cancelling the deal 10 years ago was stupid, but Chretien did it anyway. So now that I'm in charge, we're finally getting on with it."
Monday, July 26, 2004
Gonzo bloggers
MSNBC's Hardblogger site - will be a useful one to keep up with DNC blog coverate (though some of their links are to outdated posts rather than to the main site - go to the title bar and click to see the most up-to-date posts).
But what I have read so far on some of the much-touted Convention blogs are travelogs and coverage of the press coverage which mentions the bloggers and gee whiz comments about how great it is to be blogging in Boston. There also seems to be a compulsion to publish photos of the media credentials.
I sincerely hope that the blog content improves or else the whole thing will be a gigantic waste of time.
The ones I am intending to check regularly are Liberal Oasis, Daily Kos, TalkLeft and Pandragon. Eschaton and TalkingPointsMemo are also at the convention though not on the official list.
UPDATE - Buzzflash is also blogging the convention.
But what I have read so far on some of the much-touted Convention blogs are travelogs and coverage of the press coverage which mentions the bloggers and gee whiz comments about how great it is to be blogging in Boston. There also seems to be a compulsion to publish photos of the media credentials.
I sincerely hope that the blog content improves or else the whole thing will be a gigantic waste of time.
The ones I am intending to check regularly are Liberal Oasis, Daily Kos, TalkLeft and Pandragon. Eschaton and TalkingPointsMemo are also at the convention though not on the official list.
UPDATE - Buzzflash is also blogging the convention.
Saturday, July 24, 2004
Ah, but I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now . . .
Great post at Liberal Oasis -- Great Moments In Convention Acceptance Speeches
I particularly liked Clinton's 1996 speech which included reference to terrorism, pleading with the Gingrich Congress to pass his proposed laws to fight terrorism: We need new laws to crack down on money laundering and to prosecute and punish those who commit violent acts against American citizens abroad; to add chemical markers or taggents to gunpowder used in bombs so we can crack the bomb makers; to extend the same power police now have against organized crime to save lives by tapping all the phones that terrorists use. Terrorists are as big a threat to our future, perhaps bigger, than organized crime. Why should we have two different standards for a common threat to the safety of America and our children? We need, in short, the laws that Congress refused to pass. And I ask them again, please, as an American, not a partisan matter, pass these laws now.
I guess Congress didn't do it.
But that was then and this is now.
I particularly liked Clinton's 1996 speech which included reference to terrorism, pleading with the Gingrich Congress to pass his proposed laws to fight terrorism: We need new laws to crack down on money laundering and to prosecute and punish those who commit violent acts against American citizens abroad; to add chemical markers or taggents to gunpowder used in bombs so we can crack the bomb makers; to extend the same power police now have against organized crime to save lives by tapping all the phones that terrorists use. Terrorists are as big a threat to our future, perhaps bigger, than organized crime. Why should we have two different standards for a common threat to the safety of America and our children? We need, in short, the laws that Congress refused to pass. And I ask them again, please, as an American, not a partisan matter, pass these laws now.
I guess Congress didn't do it.
But that was then and this is now.
Friday, July 23, 2004
Well, du-uh!
Waits for emergency room tests longest on weekends
Sometimes I am surprised by what is "news" -- like this story -- didn't everyone already know this? Perhaps we lacked the statistics, but anyone with half a brain always knew that the worst time to get sick is on a weekend, likely followed closely by getting sick after midnight on a weeknight -- in particular, avoid emergency rooms on Friday and Saturday nights, when they are rockin' and rollin' with drunks and drug ODs, not to mention the weekend-warrior injuries (broken bones, etc, suffered by people doing sports and home repairs on the weekend).
A related story in this morning's Globe talked about how difficult it was going to be for Martin to reduce waiting lists. I think the solution for waiting lists is basically pretty simple -- double the number of specialists nationwide, and triple the hospital capacity for them to do their surgeries and other treatments. The trick will be whether Martin can force provincial governments to spend their health dollars on these priorities.
Sometimes I am surprised by what is "news" -- like this story -- didn't everyone already know this? Perhaps we lacked the statistics, but anyone with half a brain always knew that the worst time to get sick is on a weekend, likely followed closely by getting sick after midnight on a weeknight -- in particular, avoid emergency rooms on Friday and Saturday nights, when they are rockin' and rollin' with drunks and drug ODs, not to mention the weekend-warrior injuries (broken bones, etc, suffered by people doing sports and home repairs on the weekend).
A related story in this morning's Globe talked about how difficult it was going to be for Martin to reduce waiting lists. I think the solution for waiting lists is basically pretty simple -- double the number of specialists nationwide, and triple the hospital capacity for them to do their surgeries and other treatments. The trick will be whether Martin can force provincial governments to spend their health dollars on these priorities.
What's that smell?
There's a whiff of desperation in the air -- GOP Seeks Catholic Parish Directories.
9/11 commission comments
A Lesson From 9/11: Openness
I like Dionne's idea -- "Clinton and Bush owe the nation back-to-back news conferences to react to the criticisms contained in the report. The news conferences should be open-ended. No plausible question should be left behind or evaded. If we want to move forward, we have to put the recrimination behind us. As the Sept. 11 commission has shown, openness and honesty are the best means to that end. " However, the only reporters allowed in the room should be ones who have read the whole report cover to cover and who can ask intelligent questions about it.
And I know its fashionable not to blame anyone for anything anymore, but from my skimming of the report so far, I do wonder how the Department of Defense and the office of the National Security Advisor came off so easily -- both appear to have refused to take terrorism as seriously as they should have over the years. Particularly the Department of Defense, which set such an unrealistically high standard for strking Bin Laden in Afganistan prior to 9/11 that they effectively kiboshed any White House initiatives in this area, and which did not appear to take seriously the risk of terrorist individuals, rather than states, attacking the US. And the terrorism response team in 1999 dealt successfully with the millenium threats, and was known to be successful at the time, but I did not see any discussion of why the National Security Advisor did not continue this type of activity.
I like Dionne's idea -- "Clinton and Bush owe the nation back-to-back news conferences to react to the criticisms contained in the report. The news conferences should be open-ended. No plausible question should be left behind or evaded. If we want to move forward, we have to put the recrimination behind us. As the Sept. 11 commission has shown, openness and honesty are the best means to that end. " However, the only reporters allowed in the room should be ones who have read the whole report cover to cover and who can ask intelligent questions about it.
And I know its fashionable not to blame anyone for anything anymore, but from my skimming of the report so far, I do wonder how the Department of Defense and the office of the National Security Advisor came off so easily -- both appear to have refused to take terrorism as seriously as they should have over the years. Particularly the Department of Defense, which set such an unrealistically high standard for strking Bin Laden in Afganistan prior to 9/11 that they effectively kiboshed any White House initiatives in this area, and which did not appear to take seriously the risk of terrorist individuals, rather than states, attacking the US. And the terrorism response team in 1999 dealt successfully with the millenium threats, and was known to be successful at the time, but I did not see any discussion of why the National Security Advisor did not continue this type of activity.
Thursday, July 22, 2004
Bush slogans
I like Talking Points Memo list of possible Bush slogans:.
1. Not as terrible as it could have been!
2. Four more years and we'll be safe!
3. Peace!
4. Incompetence and exaggeration, not bad-faith or lying, as shown in two recent reports!
5. Are you better off today than you would have been today assuming that that idiot Al Gore had won four years ago and he was president instead of me?
Here's some more:
6. I was a war president but now I'm a peace president. Whatever...
7. Saying America is safer while acting as though it is not
8. If Democrats are girly men, then Republicans must be manly girls
Any other suggestions?
1. Not as terrible as it could have been!
2. Four more years and we'll be safe!
3. Peace!
4. Incompetence and exaggeration, not bad-faith or lying, as shown in two recent reports!
5. Are you better off today than you would have been today assuming that that idiot Al Gore had won four years ago and he was president instead of me?
Here's some more:
6. I was a war president but now I'm a peace president. Whatever...
7. Saying America is safer while acting as though it is not
8. If Democrats are girly men, then Republicans must be manly girls
Any other suggestions?
Bush supports three tax increases for poor families!
Bush Quashes GOP Deal on Tax Cuts' Life
Or so the election advertisement tag line should read.
Or so the election advertisement tag line should read.
Sauce for the goose
House Panel to Investigate Berger Case
I don't recall any House investigation of the Plame case -- did I miss it?
I don't recall any House investigation of the Plame case -- did I miss it?
PTSD and Washington
Richard Cohen's column Our Forgotten Panic is a good one. I know we are a great and brave country, but sometimes we react to threats by simply going to pieces. It's great that we have multiple commissions looking into intelligence failures, but none of those commissions will come close to the greatest intelligence failure of all -- our inability to use our heads when we most needed to. The terrorist attacks coupled with the anthrax scare unhinged us a bit -- or maybe more than a bit. We eventually went into a war that now makes little sense and that, without a doubt, was waged for reasons that simply did not exist. We did so, I think, because we were scared. You could say we lacked judgment. Maybe. I would say we lacked leadership.
Before the war, John LeCarre wrote an article entited The United States of America Has Gone Mad, and Margaret Atwood wrote A Letter to America just after the war began. I reread both after seeing Cohen's column because they both also discussed America's panic and fear. Now, I don't think it matters how great and brave a country is, just about everyone always reacts to trauma, initially, by going to pieces. But after 911, I think everyone in Washington descended into Post Traumatic Stress Disorder - some of the symptoms of poor coping with PTSD are "isolation, workaholism, violent behavior, angry intimidation of others . . . and self-destructive behavior" -- and doesn't this just characterize Washington over the last three years? Its a tragedy that the Bush administration took the cynical approach, using America's panic and playing on Bush's own cowardice, just to advance the neocon political agenda and make a few bucks. America deserved better.
Before the war, John LeCarre wrote an article entited The United States of America Has Gone Mad, and Margaret Atwood wrote A Letter to America just after the war began. I reread both after seeing Cohen's column because they both also discussed America's panic and fear. Now, I don't think it matters how great and brave a country is, just about everyone always reacts to trauma, initially, by going to pieces. But after 911, I think everyone in Washington descended into Post Traumatic Stress Disorder - some of the symptoms of poor coping with PTSD are "isolation, workaholism, violent behavior, angry intimidation of others . . . and self-destructive behavior" -- and doesn't this just characterize Washington over the last three years? Its a tragedy that the Bush administration took the cynical approach, using America's panic and playing on Bush's own cowardice, just to advance the neocon political agenda and make a few bucks. America deserved better.
Wednesday, July 21, 2004
Good news
Canada goes to pot
: "Prime Minister Paul Martin said that his government would re-introduce decriminalization legislation when Parliament resumes in October. 'The legislation on marijuana - the decriminalization of minor quantities of marijuana - that legislation will be introduced,' Mr. Martin told reporters after the first Liberal cabinet meeting was held."
The story reports that "3 million Canadians 15 and up admitted to using marijuana in 2001" though also noting that "nearly half (47 per cent) said they used it less than once a month".
: "Prime Minister Paul Martin said that his government would re-introduce decriminalization legislation when Parliament resumes in October. 'The legislation on marijuana - the decriminalization of minor quantities of marijuana - that legislation will be introduced,' Mr. Martin told reporters after the first Liberal cabinet meeting was held."
The story reports that "3 million Canadians 15 and up admitted to using marijuana in 2001" though also noting that "nearly half (47 per cent) said they used it less than once a month".
Kerry by a nose, so far
I don't get it. I keep reading news stories about how poorly Kerry/Edwards are doing in the polls. When I checked the July polls at the Polling Report WH2004: General for the Kerry/Edwards vs Bush/Cheney match ups, this is what I found:
Pew (1,568 surveyed July 8-18): Kerry 46% Bush 44%
Christian Science monitor (842 surveyed July 12-17) Kerry 44% Bush 41%
Marist College (938 surveyed July 12-15) Kerry 47% Bush 46%
CBS/NYT (823 surveyed July 11-15) Kerry 49% Bush 44%
Democracy Corps (1,010 surveyed July 10-13) Kerry 52% Bush 45%
WP (721 surveyed July 8-11) Kerry 46% Bush 46%
CNN/USA Today (705 surveyed July 8-11) Kerry 50% Bush 46%
Newsweek (1,001 surveyed July 8-9) Kerry 47% Bush 44%
Time (774 surveyed July 6-8) Kerry 49% Bush 45%
Zooby (1,008 surveyed July 6-7) Kerry 48% Bush 46%
AP Ipsos (804 surveyed July 5-7) Bush 50% Kerry 46%
NBC (504 surveyed July 6) Kerry 49% Bush 41%
American Research Group (773 surveyed July 1-3) Kerry 49% Bush 45%
So Kerry led every one except AP.
Now, I know that many of these are within the poll's own margin of error. But the tilt toward Kerry/Edwards has been unmistakable for the last two weeks, leading toward the Democratic convention. And Kerry is raising more money than Bush, which is another kind of poll I guess. So obviously lots and lots of people want Kerry/Edwards to win.
Two other poll results worth mentioning: Newsweek also reports that only 43% want to see Bush reelected, while 52% do not. Zooby also reports that 43% said Bush deserves reelection, while 53% think its time for someone new.
(Note that Nader wasn't a factor in any of these polls, really -- I didn't bother reporting these stats as well, but though the percentages were a little lower when Nader was included, the gap between Kerry and Bush remained virtually the same.)
Pew (1,568 surveyed July 8-18): Kerry 46% Bush 44%
Christian Science monitor (842 surveyed July 12-17) Kerry 44% Bush 41%
Marist College (938 surveyed July 12-15) Kerry 47% Bush 46%
CBS/NYT (823 surveyed July 11-15) Kerry 49% Bush 44%
Democracy Corps (1,010 surveyed July 10-13) Kerry 52% Bush 45%
WP (721 surveyed July 8-11) Kerry 46% Bush 46%
CNN/USA Today (705 surveyed July 8-11) Kerry 50% Bush 46%
Newsweek (1,001 surveyed July 8-9) Kerry 47% Bush 44%
Time (774 surveyed July 6-8) Kerry 49% Bush 45%
Zooby (1,008 surveyed July 6-7) Kerry 48% Bush 46%
AP Ipsos (804 surveyed July 5-7) Bush 50% Kerry 46%
NBC (504 surveyed July 6) Kerry 49% Bush 41%
American Research Group (773 surveyed July 1-3) Kerry 49% Bush 45%
So Kerry led every one except AP.
Now, I know that many of these are within the poll's own margin of error. But the tilt toward Kerry/Edwards has been unmistakable for the last two weeks, leading toward the Democratic convention. And Kerry is raising more money than Bush, which is another kind of poll I guess. So obviously lots and lots of people want Kerry/Edwards to win.
Two other poll results worth mentioning: Newsweek also reports that only 43% want to see Bush reelected, while 52% do not. Zooby also reports that 43% said Bush deserves reelection, while 53% think its time for someone new.
(Note that Nader wasn't a factor in any of these polls, really -- I didn't bother reporting these stats as well, but though the percentages were a little lower when Nader was included, the gap between Kerry and Bush remained virtually the same.)
Liar, liar, pants on fire
Love it -- MSNBC - Ice cream mogul puts Bush in the hot seat What a cool idea for a hot summer season!
Imagine there's no countries . . .
Imagine if your neighbour built a 10 foot fence between your yard and his, cutting off half your driveway, and he also jogged it onto your property to enclose some trees he had planted without your permission -- how mad would you be? But then again, if the reason he built the wall was because you kept throwing rocks through his windows and killing his cats and hurting his children . . . well, how can this ever be resolved?
Isn't it too bad that countries can't just pack up and move -- wouldn't it be great if Israel could move to a friendlier neighbourhood -- somewhere between Italy and France, perhaps, or even between New York State and Quebec, though they might not like the winters.
And then maybe Quebec could move to somewhere south of France if they decided to leave Canada. And the Basque region of Spain could move to somewhere just north of Brazil. And the Chechnyans could move out of Russia, maybe somewhere south of Turkey? And Ireland could trade locations with Vancouver Island, settling the so-called Irish Question while also allowing the most "british" part of British Columbia to move closer to home, with the side benefit of letting the provincial capital move to Vancouver, where it should have been all along.
But what, oh what, do we do with Alberta? Would anyone else on the planet want to live next door to Ralph?
Isn't it too bad that countries can't just pack up and move -- wouldn't it be great if Israel could move to a friendlier neighbourhood -- somewhere between Italy and France, perhaps, or even between New York State and Quebec, though they might not like the winters.
And then maybe Quebec could move to somewhere south of France if they decided to leave Canada. And the Basque region of Spain could move to somewhere just north of Brazil. And the Chechnyans could move out of Russia, maybe somewhere south of Turkey? And Ireland could trade locations with Vancouver Island, settling the so-called Irish Question while also allowing the most "british" part of British Columbia to move closer to home, with the side benefit of letting the provincial capital move to Vancouver, where it should have been all along.
But what, oh what, do we do with Alberta? Would anyone else on the planet want to live next door to Ralph?
Comments on things I missed
Being away for a week (and then again yesterday), I missed a few goings-on -- now I think I have mostly caught up, so here are some random comments:
On the CRTC decisions: I found the media furor mystifying -- we set up the CRTC to regulate broadcasting, then they get criticized for regulating broadcasting! Personally, I agreed with all of the recent decisions -- and I was amazed when media kept saying things like that they "turned down" Fox, or the Italian channel, and they "approved" AlJazeera, when anyone who spent five minutes looking into it could have written these stories accurately.
Cellucci leaving: Don't let the door clip you in the ass on the way out.
Setting up a petition to charge Michael Moore under the Elections Act: Is there an award in Canada for dumbest stunt? If so, this would win it. When the Act says its illegal for a foreigner to "induce" a Canadian vote, it seemed quite clear to me that this section meant an actual bribe or monetary payoff of some kind. Not just a speech, for heaven's sake. I have since read that no one knows quite what this section refers to because it has never been used.
Iraq, Iran and all that: POGGE had an interesting piece last week on Chalabi and the intelligence issue. History will, I think, conclude that this was one of the most successful disinformation campaigns of all time, when the minor power Iran was able to trick the most militarily powerful but intellectually stupid nation in the world. The US not only destroyed Iran's long-time enemy, opening the opportunity for the first time in history to a Shiite theocracy in Iraq, but also weakened its own military and undermined its own diplomatic credibility. Now that the stuff about Iran's apparent connection to 911 is coming out, no doubt the US hawks would love to declare war on Iran. But they shot their bolt on Afganistan and Iraq -- they don't have enough soldiers or armament or money to mount another war now, and because the world no longer believes US intelligence, they would have no allies to fight with them.
On the CRTC decisions: I found the media furor mystifying -- we set up the CRTC to regulate broadcasting, then they get criticized for regulating broadcasting! Personally, I agreed with all of the recent decisions -- and I was amazed when media kept saying things like that they "turned down" Fox, or the Italian channel, and they "approved" AlJazeera, when anyone who spent five minutes looking into it could have written these stories accurately.
Cellucci leaving: Don't let the door clip you in the ass on the way out.
Setting up a petition to charge Michael Moore under the Elections Act: Is there an award in Canada for dumbest stunt? If so, this would win it. When the Act says its illegal for a foreigner to "induce" a Canadian vote, it seemed quite clear to me that this section meant an actual bribe or monetary payoff of some kind. Not just a speech, for heaven's sake. I have since read that no one knows quite what this section refers to because it has never been used.
Iraq, Iran and all that: POGGE had an interesting piece last week on Chalabi and the intelligence issue. History will, I think, conclude that this was one of the most successful disinformation campaigns of all time, when the minor power Iran was able to trick the most militarily powerful but intellectually stupid nation in the world. The US not only destroyed Iran's long-time enemy, opening the opportunity for the first time in history to a Shiite theocracy in Iraq, but also weakened its own military and undermined its own diplomatic credibility. Now that the stuff about Iran's apparent connection to 911 is coming out, no doubt the US hawks would love to declare war on Iran. But they shot their bolt on Afganistan and Iraq -- they don't have enough soldiers or armament or money to mount another war now, and because the world no longer believes US intelligence, they would have no allies to fight with them.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)