Not Happy with the Media - Week 124 - Sept 9-16

The Tyee has determined that the Robocalls saga stinks.  Which is a pretty undramatic revelation.  This Michael Sona thing is getting complicated.  Lucky for us, the Conservatives have dug up witnesses that are able to blame the entire thing on Michael Sona!  Good thing they don't have a vested interest in making him a scapegoat or anything.  Heck, he may have made the whole thing up!  He is prone to exaggeration.

Stephen Harper hired a new spokesperson.  Man.  Who would want that job?

I think Joe Oliver is taking over for Largest Conservative Dipshit now that Vic Toews is gone.  "Hey guys.  All these things we announced we will do just happen to be similar to what the US asked of us.  They're not concessions though.  We just didn't plan on doing them before we were asked to.  By them.  In exchange for things."

What a loony country we live in.  Quebec continues to discuss their "Charter of Values" that limits peoples freedoms...and the Conservatives are going to be the voice of reason behind stopping it.  And then the BQ expels an MP for criticizing it.

This Sun News guy thinks Trudeau is incapable of governing because his stats on Pot arrests don't add up.  Well none of Stephen Harper's stats on crime add up.  What does that suggest?

Pretty staggering information on income distribution in Canada.  Staggering in how little (relatively speaking) it takes to bust into the top 1%.  Staggering at what "average" is.

I know that this is a train disaster, but this is precisely why we need to be careful with who we let build pipelines and where we put them.  As we learn more about Lac Megantic, we learn that this company really cut corners, broke rules and didn't have the public's interest at heart.  Then, before they could be held accountable, they threatened bankruptcy.  I realize that there is a lot of red tape in this country for starting a business, but at some point businesses have got to be held accountable.  This country seems to be all about just letting companies do whatever they want, claiming a pittance in taxes and then yelling at anybody that complains that they're going to cost jobs.  We need a system that:
a) Makes it easier to start a small business.
b) Requires more out of large business (insurance, procedures, trusts, etc.)
Oh.  What am I talking about?  The Lac Megantic train was carrying crude that was far more explosive than labelled.  It should have been classified in a more stringent category.

So many stories about rape chants, so little information.  I commented last week, alluding to stupid things said by University students.  But after seeing some of what was chanted, this whole thing seems even more puzzling.  I never really liked the whole organized frosh/school spirit bullshit that happened when I was in University.  It all seemed a bit too forced.  This whole thing seems so, so odd.  How can similar chants pop up on opposite sides of the country?  What kind of idiot would be putting together a large group event and think that this was a good idea?  We said stupid things, but not quite this stupid.  Not as a group.  Not as a chant.  I do remember somebody leading a busload of students on a pub crawl with a song about beastiality...but that seems a lot more harmless than this.  I don't think anybody went out and raped a goat though, afterwards.

Oh boy.  This article is just kind of sickening, talking about the insane practice of re-adopting kids by people that can't deal with them.  And I totally, totally realize that I'm doing something I hate hear, assigning some sort of master blame to an issue.  But honestly, if there was ever an argument for what government does, why we need governmental organizations and what taxes should be used for, this is it.  No.  I know.  The free market will figure it out.

Why you shouldn't believe everything that you read.  I personally know Mike Zupan and the insinuations of this article are ridiculous.  Can't believe that I'm even linking to this story.

Here is different than there.  Harrison Ford is nearly deported from Indonesia for speaking too directly to a government minister about illegal logging that he witnessed.

I stumbled upon this article when the author was complaining in another story about death threats he had received after writing it.  I read the original piece and all I can think is "This is why people hate 'Liberals'."  I understand what he is saying - Blindly aping the "Support Our Troops" mindset does us no favours.  But come on.  His stance is just such over-the-top, academic, hoity-toity, look-at-me-I'm-a-professer garbage.  You can just see this guy going to every single party, letting a conversation carry on for 10 minutes, and then interrupting with an ill-timed "Well...actually" that just kills the participants will-to-live.  Okay fuckface.  We get it.  War isn't good.  Soldiers are the instruments of war.  Etc.  But you do realize that the average soldier really has no control over these decisions, right?  You realize many of these guys end up in the Army through less than ideal circumstances?  You realize that some of us recognize that these guys are doing a hard job and facing death due to the machinations of corrupt politicians and that perhaps it's not a bad thing to express a degree of support, no matter how hollow, towards that idea?  So fuck off with your pedantic lectures.  Even though that's your job, I guess.

Bored Stiff - Week 121 - Aug 19-26

I've got to admit something, folks.  I'm just bored stiff doing this.  Every week.  Just the same sad stuff.  Anyhow.  Here goes.

Blowback!  Trudeau the pothead has really inspired the Conservatives.  Says Peter McKay: "By flouting the laws of Canada while holding elected office, he shows he is a poor example for all Canadians, particularly young ones. Justin Trudeau is simply not the kind of leader our country needs."  I guess drunk driving is okay?  Embezzlement of public funds?  Ignoring Canada's election laws?  All this is fine, but smoking pot is unforgivable?  Fuck these guys.  I love how there are commenters blasting him for breaking the law, and at the same time blasting him for only admitting this to win votes.

Don't get me wrong...I love Quebec.  It just seems like there are a band of idiots running the place that are ruining it for all.  "Special treatment for us, fuck all the rest of you."

This is a really weird story.  But two questions come to mind...why are Stephen Harper's security agents enforcing who and who can't talk at a press conference?  And this whole language around "allowed to ask a question"?

Stephen Harper...Putin junior with his ridiculous military photo ops.  The shirt is probably coming off soon.

Jim Flaherty thinks the Real Estate market is fine.  Marked down and noted...August 21st, 2013.

It's a prorogue!

Stickin' it to the Senate - Week 106 - May 6-13

Brazeau and Mac Harb have to pay back large chunks of their expense budgets.  They're still working on Pam Wallin.  Wait.  Mac Harb disputes the article suggesting he owes fat bank.  Nope.  He's wrong.  They do have to pay it back.

Mike Duffy appears to have been tipped off that he was under investigation over his expenses.  I listened to an interview from the Liberal Senate Leader and he seems really, really pissed about the whole thing.

Tom Mulcair is asking the Conservatives if the money is in the banana stand.

Let's talk about Unions.  This NP article uses the Queen of the North ferry accident as an argument against unions.  And I do agree here.  Unions should have no place in protecting people from criminal liability.  I'm still not really understanding how the union is even involved here.  I can understand if it was an internal BC Ferries investigation that the union might be able to prevent certain things.  But can a union really prevent an RCMP or Transport Canada investigation?  If so, then yes, that needs to change.  But to extrapolate this and suggest that unions have no place?  Full disclosure.  I'm not in a union and have never been.  I have worked entirely in organizations that are union and have worked with many, many union employees.  And yes, at times it is incredibly ludicrous.  I've seen some really, really bad employees keep their jobs.  I've seen laziness.  I've seen union leaders defying sense and logic.  The traditional union/management mentality no longer works.  But there is two sides to that story.  This relationship generally is created through years and years and years of mistrust.  I've seen examples of younger facilities with progressive unions work quite well.  So...like I said...two sides.  But what if that union completely goes away?  "Non-competitive" is just another word for "too expensive".  And that's the management trap.  Managers aren't evil.  They just get fired if they don't cut and cut and cut and make shit cheaper.  It's very easy for companies to see that they could make so much more money if employees would only work for less.  And only work when they were told to.  And on and on and on.  Is this really what we want?  We want everybody to work for cheaper?  We want worse jobs and less recourse if things don't go our way?  Yes, unions can be a pain in the ass.  For years I wondered why the high school educated floor worker was making more than I was (as a professional engineer).  But that's a different question.  I think we should worry more about elevating non-union jobs to union standards than about getting rid of the unions.

Well.  I think it makes more sense to just have a well funded Revenue Canada, rather than create a "special team" to go after tax cheats.  But I'll take it.  I guess is sounds better to say you have a "special team" than to admit that people haven't been caught because the base organization doesn't have the resources.

"The Harper Government" is spreading.  The phrase has been used on 522 government news releases...since December.  Generally when talking about funding initiatives, tax breaks and projects.



Canada is tripping over itself to assure everybody that the 3rd Via Rail terror suspect did not enter the US from Canada.

Stats Can is putting disclaimers on its data due to non-mandatory long form participation.

Oh shit.  The Conservatives might start re-writing the Canadian history curriculum.

This story about the Liberals improving fortunes goes out of the way to belittle what Trudeau was wearing during the announcement.  This is news?  And they have an editorial that goes even crazier.

The Conservatives hate big government and science!  Except when they can re-purpose national science institutes to do science for businesses and industry.  Science for businesses, not for people.  Correction.  Science for giant corporations, not for anybody else.  Science for business suggests that entrepreneurs might benefit.

Companies are hiring temporary foreign workers for jobs in areas where there are unemployed people with similar sets of skills.

The National Post asks why Canadians still are interested in Al Gore...while writing an article about him every two days.

The potato farmer who was thrown in jail in Beirut is suing the Canadian Government.

Details are coming out about Health Ministry employees fired by the BC Liberals in 2012.  Turns out they were working on studies that may have proved harmful to pharmaceutical companies that are also BC Liberal donors.

This is just a stupid article about Real Estate.  The gist...If you bought a home 10 years ago (you know, right before the largest jump in real estate prices ever) you'll be fine even if there is a crash.  Ummm...let's see.  Haven't most people bought since then?  Isn't that what drove up prices?  Aren't there a whole lot of people out there right now without 50% equity in their homes?  This is a stupid article.

Similar to my comment on another Salon article last week...here's another article about Time magazine articles about Millenials.  I think the comments are more enlightening than the actual article.

Terror, Terror, Everywhere - Week 103.5 - April 22-24

Why are the Conservatives totally incapable of military procurement?  This Tyee article gets fairly technical in pointing out all of the reasons why designing and building our own icebreaking patrol boats is a terrible idea.  Hint: They're slow, they're expensive, they're unstable, they try to do too much and end up doing nothing well.  On and on it goes.

Speaking of Peter McKay being an idiot.  Surprisingly, here he is blaming somebody else for a decision made within his portfolio on danger pay.  Isn't he in charge?

I know that this isn't just a Conservative thing.  But I'm sick and tired of governments using the Bureaucracy as their personal publicists.  Why should we pay a lot of money for the Conservatives to have splashy events announcing the end of the long gun registry?  And then they cancel it?  This is stupid and a waste of money.  And Vic Toews is an idiot.

Oh dear.  Andrew Scheer says that backbench MP's can speak in Parliament, even if Steve-O doesn't want them to.

Timing and buzzwords.  An "Al Qaeda" linked "terror plot" has been foiled by the RCMP.  Surprisingly, after having them under surveillance for more than a year, the arrests are announced as the Federal Government tries to push through tougher "anti terror" legislation.  Not that catching people planning to do things is a bad thing.  I'm just going to be a bit skeptical about the timing of this arrest until I hear a few more details.  Oh wait.  Now it's "Al Qaeda inspired"...no... "supported by Al Qaeda".

And...here comes the publication ban on the terrorism case.  I'm sure we'll get straight to the bottom of everything now.  "We can't tell you why, but we can assure you that there are some really good reasons as to why we're eroding your rights and expanding our police state."

A nice summary of all thwarted terrorist attacks in the US since 9/11.  Note the ranking system.  A "3" is "An Islamist extremist plot to commit violence in the United States that was essentially created or facilitated in a major way by the authorities and then rolled up by arrest when enough evidence is accumulated."  Of 52 plots, 26 (exactly half) are categorized as a "3".

No biggie.  Just 3,000 federal government data breaches affecting 725,000 Canadians in the last 10 years.

Wait.  Somebody commenting on one of the pipeline stories told me that the Gulf Oil Spill was no big deal and cleaned up long ago?  This story about lingering problems can't possibly be true?

The National Post quickly completed an in depth analysis of the most important part of Justin Trudeau's new ad:  The math on the blackboard in the background, of course.

I like science.  I like numbers.  I like Eric Grenier and 308.  Here is a great article breaking down polling data since the 70's, focussed on leadership bumps.

So the Americans are proposing charging Canadians (and Mexicans) a fee every time they cross the border.  And there is outrage, of course.  Which I find really funny, for one reason.  There is absolutely no discussion anywhere on what that fee might be.  Is it a dollar?  Forty?  Who knows.  But it doesn't matter.  Outrage!  I mean, it's in the constitution that Canadians (and Mexicans) can cross the border into the US for free, isn't it?  I'd happily pay a dollar or two at the border if it cut down on wait times.

This is a pretty funny article with some quotes from Laureen Harper.  She sounds like a nice lady.  (this is not sarcasm.  I genuinely feel like she sounds like a nice lady)

I know.  This is Provincial Politics.  But what a fantastic article from the NP about how everything Christy Clark says is total bullshit.  But oh, the comments.  Don't read the comments.  You'll just depress yourself.

Good Week, Bad Week - Week 103 - April 15-22

I don't feel like this is a good week for Stephen Harper.

First up, his Justin Trudeau attack ad seems a bit uninspired.  Is he losing his cynical edge in his old age?  It actually resulted in a boost in donations to the charity featured in the ad.

Then, he has MP's openly complaining (again) about a lack of a voice in Parliament.  I actually feel for the Prime Minister here.  He knows things are going to go very badly if he lets some of these guys speak their minds.  The Globe and Mail has the count at 9.  Is this the start of a new Reform party?

Oh boy.  So, one of studies commonly used to justify austerity spending has been shown to hold some serious errors.  Once corrected, the major finding is no longer valid.  Way to go, guys.

Stephen Harper has made the former head of his security detail the ambassador to Jordan.  This is roughly the equivalent of a CEO making the security guard the branch manager of a far off store.  Perhaps he saw something in him that he liked.  But you'd think things like experience, education, etc. might factor in to who becomes an ambassador.

So what happened in Boston is terrible.  But it got me thinking...I plugged "bomb" in to google news (3:50 PM, Wednesday April 17th).  These are just the stories that popped up about bomb attacks around the world in the last few hours.
Terror Strikes Bangalore, 16 Injured in Bomb Blast
Bomb Attacks Kill 4, Injure 18 Across Iraq
Bomb Kills 7 Civilians in Western Afghanistan

Justin Trudeau condemned the actions of the Boston bomber but then made some comments about understanding the "root causes" that would drive somebody to this kind of action.  Apparently, this is not condemny enough for Stephen Harper.  I guess in a good/bad, black/white world, there is no attempts to understand.  Seeing all the difficulties that Ignatieff had when he parsed issues, I'm not sure this was worth the risk for Trudeau.  Even though Obama just said something similar.

Vic Toews has decided that the Boston attacks really show that we need stronger anti-terror laws.  Okay.  So a bomb goes off, in another country, and the perpetrators are quickly apprehended.  And this shows that Canada needs more anti-terror laws?  How is that? (The NP agrees that this is stupid)

Steady hand on the tiller!  Oh wait.  We're actually seeing the slowest economic growth in the G20 outside of Europe?

Letting the Conservatives handle election reform is like handing over financial reform to Wall Street.  Start by not consulting with the Chief Electoral Officer, end with delays!

And about those delays.  The Conservatives were about to table an election reform bill.  But the Conservative caucus freaked out.  So the bill was pulled before it was tabled.  And the opposition cried foul because the Conservatives aren't supposed to see these things ahead of time.  But the Conservative Speaker of the House (totally unbiased) says there is no evidence that they saw it.

Canada has actually made some progress in reducing GHG emissions.  Except for the Alberta Oilpatch.  And Peter Kent is claiming it's all his doing (just like the decades long drop in crime).  Contained in the report - Industrial facilities in Alberta are responsible for half of all industrial emissions.

Out with the Environment Canada logos, in with the Economic Action Plan advertisements!

Mike Duffy promised to pay back his housing allowance.  That was in February.  He still hasn't done so.  And he might not pay it back at all.  But then he did.  Maybe.  I mean he said he was going to months ago.  I think we're going to have to see some paperwork this time.  Even though he's a "man of his word".

I haven't talked about this guy much.  This gem of a Conservative MP (from Edmonton, up for drinking and driving charges after refusing a breathalyzer and locking himself in his car).  I am with him on not believing everything that the police say, but his explanation for why he refused a breathalyzer doesn't really add up.  Oh well.  I'm sure he'll get re-elected in Edmonton.

The Conservatives have released a number of letters from NDP and Liberal MP's asking the government to consider foreign worker applications.  The article dwells largely on one from Trudeau.  This seems bad on the surface.  But is helping a CHINESE restaurant bring in chef's from CHINA for assistance on developing a regional Chinese menu the same thing as trying to staff a Canadian mine entirely with Chinese workers after eliminating all Canadian applicants with trumped up language requirements?

Justin Trudeau has raised the point that the Conservatives and the NDP do not respect and have not celebrated anniversaries of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.  I must admit that I've been somewhat ignorant of criticism of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and I'm having a hard time even figuring out what the arguments against it are.  It seems like some left wingers don't feel like it went far enough.  Right wingers feel that it is a power grab?  They don't want everybody to share in these rights?  I don't get it.

The Government of Canada opened a food truck in Mexico City, in an effort to create some sort of Canadian Food Brand identity among Mexicans.  Why not start in Canada?  Or New York?  Basically anywhere but Mexico City.


An interesting analysis via Gizmodo.  Contained within the data:
- The 225 richest people in the world have a wealth equivalent to the poorest 2.5 Billion people in the world
- The median US income is about $50,000 per year
- Which puts that earner in the top 1% of the World
So.  Stop bitching about your life because there are probably several billion people that have it worse than you.

Is fracking causing earthquakes in Oklahoma?

Off to a Roaring Start - Week 102.16 - April 8-15

Okay.  So I missed Week 102.  I apologize.  Did anything exciting happen?  There seems to be a lot that went on today.  Even ignoring the obvious in Boston.

And here it is...The Conservative attack ad on Justin Trudeau.  I don't think this is going to be all that effective.  Everybody already knows that Trudeau is young and has done some dumb things.  That's kind of half of the appeal, isn't it?


John Baird pisses off Palestine again by taking a meeting with an Israeli official in disputed territory.  They launched some protests.  Not to worry though.  He quickly apologized for his lack of tact and foresight.  What?  He didn't?  He made a joke about it and laughed it off?

Holy shit.  Read this Russell Brand "eulogy" of Margaret Thatcher.  He precisely sums up modern Conservatism: "diminishing the resources of those who had least for the advancement of those who had most."

Businesses are screaming about labour shortages, and want to bring in low cost foreign workers.  This article points out that if there were truly labour shortages, wages would go up.  And they're not.

The morons at the Financial Post mix up sales with prices.  It will probably fixed by the time you get to it, but the original headline states that "Canada's housing prices drop more than 15% from last year".  The body of the story refers to a drop in sales.

Another way the 1% screw us over.  Buying insider knowledge on yet-to-be-announced regulatory changes from politicians and bureaucrats.

Surprisingly, Albertans have less of a belief in global warming, are big on pipelines and don't think Provinces should share revenue, when you compare their opinions to the rest of Canada.  Thank God they aren't running the country.  A lot of damage could be done with an Alberta focused, archaic Conservative agenda.

A more in depth look at the flight restrictions placed over the Arkansas oil spill.  Seems to be having an effect, as we don't hear shit about this spill any longer.

So, there is a new requirement to comment at the "public" hearings on the Northern Gateway Pipeline.  You have to provide a CV and fill out a 10 page questionnaire.

More from the Tyee on Oil Sands myths.  Money on the table, double discounts, etc.  As well, a great point is made: The interests of giant oil companies aren't necessarily the interests of Canada.  This almost seems to be a weekly column for the Tyee.

The Conservatives don't like tracking weapons.  But they like charging for them.  A license fee is brought back on long guns.

Stories about really, really rich people in London and New York buying insanely expensive property, not living in it and the problems this causes.  One commenter points out that this is happening in Vancouver too, but I don't agree.  In London and New York, obscene amounts of money seem to get you a nice property.  In Vancouver it's a teardown.

An executive at HBO seems to be embracing piracy.