A chilling scenario

The Poor Man sets up a "how to look like you could be a terrorist" scenario:

One day, you’re sitting at your desk eating Cheetos when the phone rings.
It’s your old college buddy, calling to check in from his exciting new job overseas! He’s working for an important multinational corporation . . . he gives the number of the phone he’s calling you from. By a funny coincidence, that phone number, three years ago, was connected to a cell phone that was stolen by a . . . Pakistani kid who rang up a lot of calls to rural Kashmir. You don’t know that, of course.
A few months later, you take a trip to lovely Mexico. While there, you buy a calling card, so you can check in on the homefront without running up huge roaming charges on your cell phone. You also take some pictures of picturesque Mexican buildings, and post them . . . on the internet for friends and family to see.
When you get home, catching up on your news, you are shocked and horrified to learn that the islamofascists have decapitated another hostage. Intrigued in spite of yourself, and eager to stay informed about the depths to which those murderous bastards will sink, you find the video of the killing on the internet, and watch it on your computer.
Soon, in a festive all-black building in surbuban Maryland, a pock-faced jr. espionagateer gets a message from the big computers with the all the wires and antennas. The message has your name!

I wonder about is this -- that while the alphabet soup agencies are spending tens of millions tracking people like our token Mr. Cheetos here, wouldn't any actual terrorists manage to keep such a low profile that they would get lost in this crowd.
And one other point -- instead of calling this everyman Mr. Cheetos, perhaps we should call him Mr. Arar. The 'evidence' which raised all the suspicion against Maher Arar seems just about as flimsy as what the Poorman posted.

We're progressives. Hear us roar!

We're progressives. Hear us roar in numbers too great to ignore . . .
Shakespeare's Sister writes about what progressives have done:

Thanks to progressives, we have Social Security, a minimum wage, welfare, a 40-hour work week, overtime pay, job protections, equal opportunity, and labor unions—all of which are resoundingly supported by a plurality of Americans, and all of which are also perpetually under attack from conservatives.
Thanks to progressives, we have legalized birth control and safe and legal abortions . . . strides made toward full equality for all . . . voting rights and civil rights protections . . . rural America has electricity, schools are desegregated, we have a National Endowment for the Arts, we have Public Broadcasting . . .
Wanting drinkable water, breathable air, a functioning safety net, universal healthcare, alternative energies, true equality, fair elections, fair taxation, improved public education, and increased workers’ rights isn’t radical. It’s a worthy and achievable agenda, and, perhaps more importantly, it’s what America wants . . .
the Dems need to stop being ashamed of progressives. We are the history of much of what is right with America, and I’m sick and bloody tired of the compulsion to categorize us as anything less. You, and everyone else who looks down their noses at progressives, can shove your contempt for us straight up your arses, you ungrateful pricks.

And I feel the same way about progressives in Canada -- who, as well as all the stuff listed above, also brought in medicare for Canadians.
Now, to be fair, I know conservatives here have done their bit for the country too -- what springs immediately to my mind is the GST and NAFTA.

Again, the CP platform of sentence fragments

Well, I found it surprising. Because the 36-page Green Party platform was released today, I thought I would also check out what the other party platforms were saying.
So first I looked at the Liberal website, not expecting much because Martin hasn't done very many policy announcements. But I did find fairly detailed coverage of six primary issue areas, with each link leading to additional proposals for five or six or more initiatives relating to each policy.
On the NDP website, there are 16 "issue" areas listed. The links mainly seem to focus more on critiques of what they think the Liberals have failed to do rather than details about what the NDP would do instead. Still, at least there is some detail to this site, too, even though the detail is mostly criticism.
And finally I checked the Conservative website. Now, one of my main complaints during the 2004 election about the Conservatives was about how very shallow their platform was then. So now, after a policy convention a year ago, as well as a month of announcement after announcement, I had expected some depth on the Conservative website.
But theirs was actually the worst. I found this page listing six "stand up for . . . " issues. But when you click on the links, you get virtually no detail at all. Once again the Conservatives give us a platform of sentence fragments -- in the "Communities" section, for example, the Conservatives make vague promises like "Action to ensure clean air, land, and water" and "New or rebuilt municipal roads, bridges and other infrastructure", while the Liberals provide specific commitments and dollar details about the Municipal Rural Infrastructure Fund, the gas tax transfer, and the GST rebate to municipalities.
So in the last 18 months, I cannot see that the Conservatives have fleshed out their policies very much at all.

Slavery -- can't live without it!

The Chicago Tribune provides an update on how things are going on the slavery front. For the last three years -- that's right, THREE YEARS! -- the Pentagon has been kicking around how to implement President Bush's order that US military contractors not use slaves. And its just so very, very difficult. As one lawyer for the contractors intones "We don't want to do anything that conveys the idea that we are sanctioning or tolerating trafficking". But, of course, they don't want the Pentagon to actually pass or enforce any rules against it either. After all, how could the military contractors function without being able to use women for sex slaves, and men as labour slaves?

Great lines of the day

In a post titled 2005, Atrios sums it up:

2005 was the year that the president of the United States declared proudly that he had broken the law repeatedly and with full intention, that he had the power to do so whenever he wanted to, and that he would continue to do so whenever he determined it to be desirable. This declaration was met with basic approval from much of the beltway chattering classes, prominent libertarian bloggers, and just about every small government conservative . . . By conferring dictatorial authority on himself Bush has declared that this is, in fact, a dictatorship even if he hasn't (yet) bothered using such authorities to the fullest of his claimed ability.
It's a mystery why Russert and the gang can giggle over their little roundtables, essentially ignoring what amounts to a military coup by our own president. He's asserted the authority of commander in chief over the entire country, and not just the military to which the constitution grants him such authority. Yes, we hope and generally assume that this temper tantrum by our boy king will pass in 3 years, that his overreach will not have long lasting effects, that the crisis will pass.
2005 was the year the president declared he was the law, and few of our elite opinion makers and shapers bothered to notice, or care.

Well, at some point the journalists will likely notice, I think. Whether it will be too late by then to do anything about it, I wonder.
And just how restless is the US military getting over at the Pentagon these days, by the way, if Bush had to change the "doomsday" line of succession to downgrade the status of the military leadership?

Green platform

The Green party platform was released today -- here it is in pdf file. I haven't read it all yet, but here is the executive summary:

In this election, our message is simple.
- We can have a government that is truly accountable to Canadians, by renewing our democratic institutions to bring integrity back to public office.
- We can have a Canada that protects our air, soil and water while developing a strong, sustainable economy.
- We can move beyond our basic Kyoto commitments to make Canada a world leader in combating climate change.
- We can have a Canada that works for all communities, by honouring First Nation rights to self-government, Québec's rightful place in our federation, and the promise that new Canadians bring to our communities from coast to coast to coast. The Green Party's Canada is inclusive and progressive, where our values of diversity, tolerance and compassion ensure that no one is left behind.
Together, we can meet these challenges. Unlike other political parties who are more concerned with
short-term political survival, the Green Party's first priority is the world we will leave for our children and grandchildren.

Great line of the day

From Suburban Guerrilla: It Was A Very Good Year:

I finally realized why, with each new revelation of BushCo's immorality, instead of falling into the pit of despair, I only feel lighter and stronger. Here's why: These are tactics used by losers. They are people who can only rise to power by lying, manipulating and distorting their agenda. They know full well they can't rally supporters on the basis of their true motives. That's why these tactics inevitably fail. People will only give them the benefit of the doubt for so long.
This year, the battle is joined in the open and like the vampires they are, they will run from the sun. Shine on.

Emphasis mine. And I've noticed several "the battle is joined" posts over the last couple of days. Here's a particularly inspirational one: The Battle for America.

Dying of thirst

Paul Celluci doesn't get it and neither apparently does Maclean's magazine (though I didn't read their article).
The reason why Canada cannot sell water to the US is that, once we started, we could never stop.
It would be the end of Canadian sovereignty.
Because if we started selling our water to the US, then US population and industries would increase to match the new supply. But, 20 or 30 years hence, we could never turn around and say "sorry, folks, you'll just have to die of thirst and your industries will have to dry up, because we've changed our minds and we need the water for ourselves" nor could we ever say "sorry, folks, but we just have to increase the price now; tough titties if you can't afford it ..."
Nope, couldn't be done. We would have no choice but to continue to sell our water, year after year, decade after decade, at the price the US was willing to pay.
Remember what happened to the West economy because of Trudeau's National Energy Program? Where the Canadian west took the hit so that Ontario and Quebec wouldn't have to worry anymore about freezing in the dark?
Well, that would be nothing compared to what would happen to Canada from what the US would call the Inter-Continetal Water Program, where the US would dictate to Canada its water requirements.
We'd better not start down this road.

Animal love

Meet Lucky:

Here's a great story for New Year's:

. . . Tuesday morning . . .a pair of passersby spotted the calico cat while crossing a footbridge and called for help. Missoula firefighters arrived minutes later, donned wet suits and launched a rescue boat. Someone had put the animal in a cage, along with a rock weighing about 16 pounds, and tossed it into the Clark Fork River. But instead of landing in the water, it bounced several times on the ice and then became stuck. It's unclear how long the cat had been there. Firefighters took it back to the fire station, dried it off and fed it leftover Christmas turkey and a dish of milk. "It was really skinny, nothing but skin and bones, and had collar marks where a too-small collar had rubbed the fur off its neck. But it was really friendly," firefighter Philip Keating said. Firefighter Josh Macrow decided to keep the cat. After his shift, he took it to a vet and then home to his 12-year-old daughter. "It's the sweetest cat," Macrow said. "It sits on your shoulder when you drive down the road and it curled up with my black Labs this morning." Naming the animal was easy, he said. "We call her Lucky."

And Tommy:

. . . when an officer walked into an apartment Thursday night to answer a 911 call, an orange-and-tan striped cat was lying by a telephone on the living room floor. The cat's owner, Gary Rosheisen, was on the ground near his bed having fallen out of his wheelchair . . . He also wasn't wearing his medical-alert necklace and couldn't reach a cord above his pillow that alerts paramedics that he needs help. Daugherty said police received a 911 call from Rosheisen's apartment, but there was no one on the phone. Police called back to make sure everything was OK, and when no one answered, they decided to check things out. . . . Rosheisen got the cat three years ago to help lower his blood pressure. He tried to train him to call 911, unsure if the training ever stuck. The phone in the living room is always on the floor, and there are 12 small buttons — including a speed dial for 911 right above the button for the speaker phone. "He's my hero," Rosheisen said.

And Mademoiselle Giselle:

who adopted a baby squirrel, Finnegan.

The Horse Sex Story

Thanks to Editor & Publisher for explaining why the Seattle Horse Sex Story was so popular this year. I guess otherwise we just couldn't have figured it out.

Office Assistant -- die, damn you, die!

Oh, if only I had this choice!
I stole this from Canadian Cynic, who also linked to the original article. I don't know if I agree with this author's anti-Word rant, but I do just love this graphic.
I use Word all the time, and I just HATE its automatic formatting -- I have as much of it turned off as I can, but still sometimes the document thinks I'm typing a header or some dammed thing and all of a sudden it bounces into 16 point bold Helvetica.

CTV is reporting that there were leaks

Updating my earlier post, now CTV is reporting that emails about Goodale's announcement were buzzing around the Toronto investment community on the afternoon of the Income Trust announcement. Sounds like this is a lot more than just an "unconscious" leaker. And it sounds like some people made some serious money:

Several people in the investment community told CTV they got the heads up that news was coming that day, and that the information originated from Liberals in Ottawa. Jim Leech, a Vice President who manages the Ontario Teacher's Pension Fund, says he heard definitively that afternoon, from several sources, that the announcement would come after 4 p.m. "I got a bunch of emails (and calls) around 2 p.m. saying for sure that he (Goodale) was making an announcement after the close," said Leech.
Don Drummond, Chief Economist for the TD Bank, says he got the first email sometime around 2 p.m., from a media contact who had heard from "Liberal Party and government sources that he (Goodale) was going to make an announcement at 5 p.m." Drummond's contact did not seem to know exactly the announcement would be, just that it would happen that day. Drummond says he got similar information from a source within his bank, also before 4 p.m. (when the markets close). He believes the original sources of the information were "definitely" not within Goodale's office, but elsewhere in the Liberal government. "I heard it secondhand, but not from Finance," said Drummond. "Liberal strategists were the sources ... from Ottawa. A lot of people seemed to know there was an announcement (coming) and some people seemed to know what it was," he added.
Another fund manager, Sandy McIntyre of Sentry Select Capital Corp, said he was tipped off twice, by phone, by two traders who work for two of Canada's major banks. The first call came before noon that day. McIntyre said the trader who called was told by "an individual well-connected in the Liberal Party" that Goodale would be making his announcement after the close of trading. According to McIntrye, the second trader was also tipped off by a Liberal from Ottawa, who said, "The announcement coming that day would be positive." At 3:04 p.m. that day, McIntyre then sent this email to sales staff, with the subject heading "Goodale": "There is a strong rumour out of Ottawa that Goodale is going to pronounce after the close today re his trust solution. The rumour indicates the results will be benign. Hope my sources are right!" The following day, November 24, McIntyre sent another email -- this time to his contact at the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) -- calling for an investigation.
McIntrye wrote to the OSC: "I feel the events of the past 24 hours should not go unexamined. Starting at yesterday morning persistent rumours began to circulate out of Ottawa that Minister Goodale was going to make an announcement concerning the trust issue. The tone of the rumours was that the news would be positive. By mid-afternoon there was confirmation that he would make a statement at 5 p.m. Heavy buying came into the sector in advance of the statement and substantial windfall profits accrued to those who were in receipt of advance notice that a positive decision had been made. Selective disclosure of this nature is unacceptable in the private sector. Why should the public sector be immune?" McIntyre says the OSC then asked him if he wanted to file a formal complaint, but he declined.
It was that spike in trading activity on November 23, though, that first raised questions about a possible leak from government.
The activity also raised questions about who bought stock that afternoon.
CTV found one of the people who invested heavily that day was the CEO of the company that runs the Toronto Stock Exchange, Richard Nesbitt. The details of Nesbitt's purchases are filed on a public website, sedi.ca, where insiders must register any personal stock purchases. Nesbitt's file shows he purchased six blocks of stock in TSX Group Inc., the company he runs, on November 23. Nesbitt bought a total of $759,242.00 worth of stock in the hours before Goodale's announcement. It was the first time he purchased stock in TSX Group Inc, since becoming CEO in 2004. TSX Group Inc. stock then jumped by more than 10 per cent -- the day after Goodale's announcement -- making Nesbitt a paper profit of close to $100,000.00 in one day. The value of TSX Group Inc. stock has continued to increase since. Al Rosen, a forensic accountant with Rosen and Associates, points out TSX Group Inc. benefitted from Goodale's positive news for investors, because it increased confidence in stock in companies listed on the TSX.
Rosen is troubled by Nesbitt's purchase, especially because Nesbitt also sits on the board of Market Regulation Services Inc., the organization which monitors and regulates trading on the TSX. "The person's (Nesbitt's) position as CEO is troublesome, because in a sense, it (the TSX Group) is a regulatory organization."
CTV asked for an interview with Nesbitt, but he was out of town. The TSX Group Inc. sent a statement, which said, in part: "Mr. Nesbitt had absolutely no advance notice of the announcement made by the Department of Finance on November 23." The statement then went on to explain that Nesbitt bought that day because it was within a one week trading window, given to all TSX Group Inc. employees. "It was his last opportunity to add to his core holding in TSX Group Inc. before the end of the calendar year."

Gee -- just lucky, I guess, that he picked that very afternoon . . .
And if it is true that the leaks came from greedy "Liberal strategists" -- people who pushed Goodale to make the announcement and then tipped off a few dozen of their closest friends and party loyalists -- then they have likely just cost Paul Martin the election.

A strange remark about 'unconscious' leaks

So I'm reading CP's Income Trusts RCMP investigation story and CP quotes Tom Caldwell, chairman of Caldwell Securities Ltd, saying something strange:

"Whenever you're working on a big event and there's a time lag, there's always the possibility of leaks, conscious or unconscious," perhaps through casual chatter by low-level workers. "Remember, this is emanating from Ottawa, so there are people there, maybe working on this, who might not have the wildest idea of the market impact of a misplaced statement - this is just a hypothesis."

Sorry, but EVERYONE who works for the federal Department of Finance knows better than to talk about tax policy announcements. Or should have known better . . .
Enter Rumour, painted full of tongues.

If you work in public service . . .

. . . haven't you wanted to do something like this, just once? Airbus pilot maroons drunken passenger on desert island

"We are selling our souls for dross . . . "

In a remarkable display of what blogs can do now, Daily Kos is publishing the British torture memos today.
These memos were written by the former British Ambassador to Uzbekistan, Craig Murray. He has written a book describing how the UK and US governments are justifying torture in Uztekistan, which Murray says is not only immoral but also useless. Bloggers in UK, and Daily Kos in the US, are publishing the memos simultaneously today, to stymie attempts by the UK Foreign Office block their release.
Here is some of what Murray wrote in July 2004 -- and no wonder the UK government did not want anyone to read it:

CONFIDENTIAL . . . TO IMMEDIATE FCO . . . SUBJECT: RECEIPT OF INTELLIGENCE OBTAINED UNDER TORTURE . . . I understand that the principal argument deployed [to support use of the information obtained by torture] was that the intelligence material disguises the precise source, ie it does not ordinarily reveal the name of the individual who is tortured. Indeed this is true – the material is marked with a euphemism such as "From detainee debriefing." The argument runs that if the individual is not named, we cannot prove that he was tortured.
I will not attempt to hide my utter contempt for such casuistry, nor my shame that I work in an organisation where colleagues would resort to it to justify torture. I have dealt with hundreds of individual cases of political or religious prisoners in Uzbekistan, and I have met with very few where torture, as defined in the UN convention, was not employed. When my then DHM raised the question with the CIA head of station 15 months ago, he readily acknowledged torture was deployed in obtaining intelligence. I do not think there is any doubt as to the fact . . . On the usefulness of the material obtained, this is irrelevant. Article 2 of the Convention, to which we are a party, could not be plainer: "No exceptional circumstances whatsoever, whether a state of war or a threat of war, internal political instability or any other public emergency, may be invoked as a justification of torture."
Nonetheless, I repeat that this material is useless – we are selling our souls for dross. It is in fact positively harmful. It is designed to give the message the Uzbeks want the West to hear. It exaggerates the role, size, organisation and activity of the IMU and its links with Al Qaida. The aim is to convince the West that the Uzbeks are a vital cog against a common foe, that they should keep the assistance, especially military assistance, coming, and that they should mute the international criticism on human rights and economic reform.
I was taken aback when Matthew Kydd said this stuff was valuable. Sixteen months ago it was difficult to argue with SIS in the area of intelligence assessment. But post Butler we know, not only that they can get it wrong on even the most vital and high profile issues, but that they have a particular yen for highly coloured material which exaggerates the threat. That is precisely what the Uzbeks give them. Furthermore MI6 have no operative within a thousand miles of me and certainly no expertise that can come close to my own in making this assessment.
At the Khuderbegainov trial I met an old man from Andizhan. Two of his children had been tortured in front of him until he signed a confession on the family's links with Bin Laden. Tears were streaming down his face. I have no doubt they had as much connection with Bin Laden as I do. This is the standard of the Uzbek intelligence services . . .

Note in particular Murray's observation that the intelligence services are seeking "highly coloured material which exaggerates the threat". That's not surprising.