heureusement, ici, c'est james

"While it’s true that during the campaign the leaders all said they wouldn’t form a coalition, and it’s true that Mr. Dion won less support in the election than any previous Liberal leader, those are not arguments against the democratic legitimacy of the coalition.

Consider that Winston Churchill governed throughout the Second World War as the head of a coalition government without ever winning an election.

Mr. Harper himself sought to participate in a coalition with the Bloc and NDP in 2004.

Many similar countries, including New Zealand and Ireland, are governed by coalitions."

Labels: canada, cons, constitutional crisis, dictatorial tendencies, Stephane Dion, Stephen Harper

"TOKYO, Japan -- Prime Minister Stephen Harper conceded Thursday that biofuels are 'probably' a small factor in the rising cost of food."

In other news, understanding a problem is probably a small factor in one's ability to find solutions for it.

Labels: biofuels, Stephen Harper

Um, apparently Harper hasn't yet made any kind of impression on the international media. I saw this picture and caption on the Times Online:



"Joseph Harper, the Canadian Prime Minister, is seen off by preschool children in Date, Hokkaido island. Mr Harper pressed the assembled leaders to take a strong stand against Robert Mugabe's regime (Toru Yamanaka/AFP/Getty Images)"

Labels: foreign press, slow learners, Stephen Harper

It's a great idea, but then the whole Conservative party would have to be thrown in jail. What would we do without great leaders?

Careful, Mr. Suzuki.

The dear leader has already fired several scientists. If he can't fire you, he might take his wrath out on you in other ways...

Labels: cons, David Suzuki, environment, Stephen Harper

Psychopath: a person with an antisocial personality disorder, manifested in aggressive, perverted, criminal, or amoral behavior without empathy or remorse.

On a day when we learn that his Harper's been lying to Canadians over the issue of torturing prisoners in Afghanistan, has our dear leader apologized or shown remorse for his perverted behaviour?

No, Harper and his legions of unthinking minions decided instead to spend a few hours in an orgy of self-congratulations, thanking themselves for being great stewards of Afghanistan, of the economy - by cutting taxes and paying down the debt (nevermind about what he said about the environment, it's not worth paying attention to).

Not only was today's bombshell non-existent from his speech, but he lied about the economic record of the opposition, too, saying "their reckless spending would, in one budget, push the country back into deficit, adding to the federal debt and putting upward pressure on interest rates."

Forgive me for my lack of amnesia, but wasn't it only recently that your government fucked up its numbers and eked out a pathetic $100m surplus because of a fetish for cutting taxes and and overconfidence in the economy (it was our dear leader that just over a month ago said "the fundamentals of our economy are as strong as they've ever been").

The irony on the issue of Afghanistan isn't lost on any of us. Our dear leader's psychopathic behaviour isn't just alienating the media anymore. After today's bout of nauseating stupidity, he might even be alienating the military, too.

Labels: economy, psychopathic behaviour, Stephen Harper

Compare this excerpt of the Manley panel's report:

Whenever we asked Afghans what they thought ISAF or Canada should do, there was never any hesitation: “We want you to stay; we need you to stay.” Without the presence of the international security forces, they said, chaos would surely ensue.

... to this journal article he published three months ago, before he was asked to head the panel:

Whenever we asked Afghans what they thought ISAF or Canada should do, they did not hesitate to say that we must stay. Without the presence of the international forces, chaos would surely ensue.

Feels a bit like a smack in the face, doesn't it? Thanks to TSR for some pretty good digging.

For all the reinforced prejudice of its findings, I think the report could indeed be seen as a compromise. Whereas Dion's saying "pull out and force an international rotation," and Harper's saying "stay indefinitely," Manley et. al. are saying "step up the international effort by 1000 troops and stay indefinitely, or pull out."

A pullout isn't without risk. It puts the Netherlands in an even more difficult position and could ignite a domino of withdrawals. But if NATO can't find the 1,000 troops Manley says it needs, as Dion and Manely have both pointed out, this "international effort" might conclusively be seen, sadly, as an exercise in futility.

***Update***

I want to give credit where it's due. Kelly McParland, Politics Editor of the National Post, defied his CanWest brandname and did some great analysis on this, saying that the "Manley report spreads chaos in Punditland." Everyone seems to have interpreted the report based on their preconceived bias:

"So you got that? This is a disaster for Dion, except when it’s bad news for Harper. It’s more of the same, except where it’s a call for change. There aren’t any real solutions, though it’s just what the troops have been demanding"

Labels: Afghanistan, John Manley, Stephane Dion, Stephen Harper

I'm tired of watching the so-called "mainstream press" descend into a black hole of barely-literate political smut. Here's another vitriolic serving of self-righteous editorial slop from another of CanWest's finest:

"counter to the theory that ailing times for an economy are obituaries for a government, there's a good chance Prime Minister Stephen Harper may be leading the recession-defying exception that disproves the rule."

He says Harper isn't responsible for the Canadian economy, because the problem started in the States, a place where the top 10 per cent of their population "now command a share of national income not seen since 1928 -- the year before the 1929 Wall Street crash that ushered in the Great Depression."

If we aren't responsible for our "national" economy, why should we bother pretending we have any control at all? Why not just enjoy the ride and hand out loose government change to the provinces just to pacify us - make us all feel a little better?

Like a growing majority of editorial writers, Don Martin has taken a pass on that relic of the past known as logic-based evidence, opting instead to reinforce political and economic cliches, furthering the character assassination of Stephane Dion in the process.

He casts "economist Harper" against "ivory tower Liberal leader Stephane Dion" who, according to Martin, was "demanding measures long on rhetoric... and short on specifics."

Surely justifiable, with all the undeniable evidence of economic success since Harper applied his Calgary-school orthodoxy. How is it, Mr. Martin, that money from a tax cut spent on goods made in China will benefit Canadian manufacturers?

Nevermind. Harper the economist said so. He also says we have enough of a nest-egg to save us from a deficit, too, even though this diamond in the rough pointed out that "Ottawa itself is only projecting nominal surpluses of slightly more than $1 billion for the next two years, and that was before the global stock market crash."

And there was Dion, suggesting we save our money and make a targeted investment in green technology. What fairy-tale planet it he on, anyway?

"What's confounding Liberals is how to one-up this government on fiscal management when they've become the party aiming billions of dollars at fighting climate change and poverty, with only afterthoughts for economic stimulation."

Yes, you smarmy, fatuous jerk. Poverty and climate change are just aesthetic expenses, far removed from the economy - fuzzy cosmetics aimed at making suburbanites feel better.

Do the world a favour and read a book.

Labels: Don Martin, economy, mainstream press, Stephane Dion, Stephen Harper

Here's a recent bout of analytical verbiage from Chantal Hebert on the National, which aired the night before these recent poll results came out, giving the Liberals a marginal lead and the progressive majority a landslide victory:

"the economy is starting to be on the radar again because of the high dollar; because of what's happening in the United States; because of rising energy prices - go through the list. But I also think that Conservative strategists don't see Stephane Dion as someone who is strong as economic issues. He has made poverty and the environment his two issues and I think they're trying to use tougher times on the economic front to try to portray Dion as someone who would be reckless with public money in difficult times; who would imperil the economy by going overboard on the environment and who would be a spending Liberal"

That might be a great old-fashioned political narrative, but the logic just doesn't hold up.

She thoughtfully omitted Dion's much advertised "third pillar" - the economy - and relied on that dead paradigm where the environment and economy are mortal enemies; the latter always poised to move in for the kill.

But when you turn your brain on, you quickly realize that the high dollar will continue to soar along with the price of energy as long as we pursue oil-intensive economic policies; that oil prices won't come crashing down with the big demand from Asia; that the conservative economic ideology - relying commodity exports - will have the eventual effect of driving up global inflation, and inflation here in Canada as a result; that the trouble in the U.S. economy from the sub-prime lending crisis will carry on for as long as Americans (and much of the rest of the world - us included) continue to finance a debt-based fiat economy through large loans and mass consumption rather than savings.

All this economic bullshit is part of the same ecological crisis.

At the risk of being unkind, I'm not sure what's more harmful to our well-being: dinosaur-pundits egging on our childish, chauvinistic government, or Harper's ancient neoconservative orthodoxy in action.

I never thought I'd see the day when our journalists would be unapologetically confusing Conservative games with actually governing, and then legitimately seeming to respect them for it.

I think it's because their jobs increasingly hinge on the made-up fluff of political soap operas rather than the real-life ramifications of policy positions, which frees them up to rake Dion's personality over the coals with adjectives like "pallid," "inept," "weak," and "incompetent." After all, it makes for a better political narrative.

Believe it or not, it wasn't his charm that won over the party in the first place. It was his priorities. But far be it from me to suggest that they actually figure this out before they spit uncontrollably at the people who are watching them on TV.

Pundits not only underestimate the depth and importance the environmental issue has for Canadians - especially of my generation - but, according to the polls, their comments expire only a few hours after they spit them out.

Harper, it seems, can any weather number of short-sighted flip-flops on the economy, income trusts, the environment, or even the Mulroney-Schreiber affair, by virtue of an emasculated and intellectually decrepit media which continues to laud his "considerable abilities." What a joke.

Believing that conservative orthodoxy will cure any of these persistent problems would be like cutting off the nose to spite the face.

Labels: dead paradigms, environment, Stephane Dion, Stephen Harper

Canada had dismissed the European goals as unattainable, arguing that it would need to cut emissions by 38 to 53 per cent within 12 years to reach the proposed target

No shit, Sherlock. It's called doing what needs to be done. Apparently our government lacks the will and the brainpower to make it happen.

Y'know that annoying classmate? I mean the twerp at the back of the class who does dick all except whine that everything's "too hard" even though they've never really bothered to try to think it through in the first place? That's Bush.

The only thing worse than that - worse than blankly SAYING that you're incapable of something - is pathetically TRYING to fail at it, and then issuing self-congratulations to boot. That's Harper.

Harper is the little dork at the back of the class sitting next to Bush. He isn't thinking it through or doing any of his homework either.

But at least he's learning something. He's learning the same skills as criminals and con-artists; mastering the art of manipulation by aiming low and then selling his abject failure as an accomplishment: "getting things done for all of us."

A line we know so well we can read it in his smug little smirk.

Labels: Bali, cons, global warming, Stephen Harper