Dion questions Canada’s training mission in Afghanistan

“OTTAWA - Former Liberal leader Stephane Dion on Wednesday (Nov 24, 2010) questioned why Canadian Armed Forces need to train Afghan military to fight the Taliban, when the Afghans were strong enough to defeat the forces of the Soviet Union in the 1980s.” The Vancouver Sun

It makes sense that if Afghans can defeat former Soviet Union and so far U.S, Canada and other NATO forces have made not much of headway then who is the better trained to fight in Afghanistan? Who is in need of training?

Does this also mean that there is a revolt within the Liberal caucus over Afghanistan? It looks war hawk Michael Ignatieff is in further trouble.

Read the Vancouver Sun story here.

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Michael Ignatieff’s Coronation

Okay, I did listen to his acceptance speech for the leadership of the Liberal Party of Canada. Was I impressed? No. I got the feeling that the Libs got themselves a robotic arm and with the advancement in modern technology maybe robots shall rule. The man lacked the passion of Jean Chretien, business savvy of Paul Martin, charisma of Pierre Elliot Trudeau, and the sincerity of Stephen Dion. Iggy's speech was robotic at best.

At times Iggy was directly plagiarizing Barack Obama when he talked about unity, saying that Canada is more than its ten provinces and territories and that we are one nation and that "yes we can" be united. Words from Obama's playbook during his campaign when he said that there are no blue states or red states, but rather one nation – the United States of America. Also the "yes we can" slogan. Then Iggy sounded like Hillary Clinton when he described his visit to the former Yugoslavia during the war there. His description seems to match that of Hillary Clinton's trip to Bosnia. I hope though that, unlike Hillary, Iggy's visit is backed by the facts.

I have been pretty good at predicting the future of political leaders and election outcomes but Iggy is an anomaly. Stephen Harper has botched up so badly that even a brick as a leader of Liberal Party may win the next election. However Iggy's positions, or lack of them, on certain issues has been troubling. He admires the Tar Sands as a great asset to Canada. Reality is that it is dirty oil and an environmental disaster. He can talk all he wants about being green, his words do not match his supposed convictions.

Iggy is driven by personal ambition and this seems to be the only motivating factor of his leadership. Iggy is for Iggy. Iggy said in his acceptance speech that Harper put the country on the back burner in November 2008 when he ignored the will of Parliament and saved his government contrary to the will of the majority of Parliament. Okay Iggy, why then did you prop up the Harper government come January 2009? And you have been doing that since then. Was this for Canada or was it for Iggy solely? Iggy your words don't match your actions and I hope you realize it and either take an exit or try being a leader with integrity. Moreover you and your cronies mistreated Stephane Dion and kept a big knife in his back for the duration of his leadership.

Finally, if Iggy is in it for his personal ambition only, then I hope that Igg's gig is soon over.

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My Ratings of Recent Leaders of the Liberal Party of Canada

I will begin with Pierre Trudeau. In my opinion he was the best Liberal leader of the twentieth century. He gave international visibility to Canada and his reforms on immigration, the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and human rights is an extraordinary legacy which will be cherished for decades to come.

Then there was John Turner. The hopes were high for him, he had an image and reputation as Minister of Finance. However, as leader he was lacklustre and he paid a heavy price at the polls.

After that was Jean Chrétien. He was a relatively underestimated leader, but he showed extraordinary political skills and instinct. He pretty well demolished the Progressive Conservatives in 1993. I had the opportunity to listen to Chrétien at a small forum. I found him to be very bright, humorous, and down to earth. He connected well with the needs of ordinary Canadians and overall was an extraordinary Prime Minister. Also, it is important to remember that before his time as Prime Minister, during his tenure as a Cabinet Minister in the Trudeau government, Chrétien played a key role in the negotiations that led to the Charter of Rights.

After Chrétien came Paul Martin. Again, there were high expectation - Martin did exceptionally well as Finance Minister. His intentions were good but as leader he faltered and caused serious divisions in the party. This was especially the case as he tried to get even with the Chrétien Liberals. This was a major force which, in the end, brought him down.

Then there was Stéphane Dion who unexpectedly won the 2006 Liberal leadership race. Dion's heart was in the right place, he is sincere, principled, and very intelligent. Unfortunately though, he was not a great communicator, especially with regards to the English language. As well, he did not have full support of his caucus and knives were constantly out for him.

Now comes Michael Ignatieff. Initially, I thought he had potential and that he would do well as leader given his background and international experience. But he turned out to be more an American conservative than a Canadian Liberal. Ignatieff's hawkish positions on Afghanistan and Iraq are distressing. When he was first running for the leadership, he did take the position that Israel's bombing of Lebanon was excessive. However, the pro-Israel lobby prevailed on him and since then his positions have been very distressful.

Despite Israel's murder and mayhem in Gaza from December 2008 to January 2009, Ignatieff gave even stronger support to them than did Harper and Bush. Ignatieff sounds like someone who wants to be Prime Minister at any cost. Also, he does not quite understand the grassroots in Canada.

One more thing, not entirely related, that I would like to add. I am not sure why the blogger Anxious Liberal was dropped from Liberals Online. I read his post on Ignatieff. It is a strong opinion, but primarily he calls the actions in question "unethical" and not "illegal." For this reason, I do not see it to be libellous. Unfortunately, this word libellous has been used too casually I find.

It would be greatly appreciated if James Curran will give some explanation because this particular aggregate is about tolerance of diverse opinions as long as they are not libellous. After all, tolerance of diversity was the primary reason for the foundation of this aggregate in the first place.

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The Fall of Stephen Harper

Stephen Harper has been daring the opposition for quite a while now, especially before the last election. He forgot he had a minority in the House of Commons. His arrogance and game playing caught up with him and he brought about his own fall. He cannot blame anyone else for it. No matter who the new leader of Liberal Party is, Stephen Harper will have hard time surviving come January. If Liberals roll over again under the new leader then they will lose their credibility. By proroguing the Parliament in order to avoid a no-confidence vote Harper is bordering on being an illegitimate Prime Minister.

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Stephen Harper: Bye bye, It was almost nice knowing you

The Liberal Caucus has agreed that Dion will continue to lead in a coalition. Hello new PM and bye bye Steve. Steve you screwed the country really bad, though maybe not knowingly as you did not know better.

I believe Dion will make a great Prime Minister. He is honest, intelligent and down to earth. It is hoped that good days are ahead for Canada.

Click here to read the story.

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Canadian General Election October 2008

I am sure pundits will be giving many analysis of last night’s election as to who won, who lost and what went wrong. In my estimation all the leaders are losers. Yes, there was no winner last night.

Harper took a big gamble to win a majority, indifferent to what was happening to the country. He lost and got another minority. If he would have waited and handled economy well, he might have had better chance in 2009 on the fixed date.

Dion’s dream to become Prime Minister did not work. He could not deliver a knock out punch when Harper was at his weakest, stock markets were in disarray and the economy headed for a major downturn. He ended up with reduced Official Opposition numbers.

Jack Layton aimed for the Prime Minister’s job but could not even come up with Official Opposition title. He fell short of his expectations although he picked up a few seats.

Gille Duceppe could not quite pull off a major upset in Quebec but he did achieve his objective of denying Harper his majority. Canadians should be thankful to Duceppe. Imagine a Harper majority and full-fledged CON agenda.

Elizabeth May of course could not garnish a single seat in the House of Commons. She would have done better in London Ontario or in British Columbia.

However, the biggest loser in all this was the Canadian public. Harper broke his own fixed date election law to impose the election. All Canadians got was a major loss of time and resources with the same results we had before the election. Harper should have been looking after the economy, but instead his ego to have a majority got the better of him and he lost his credibility in the process.

I think both CONS and Libs need a new leader. CONS need a leader who cares about Canada and not about himself alone. Libs need a leader who not only cares about Canada but also can win. It is hard to predict the future, but both these leaders should head for the exit door.

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“The View” by Danny Williams, and ABC (Anyone but Conservative)

Danny Williams has the ABC (Anybody But Conservatives) campaign against Stephen Harper. Maybe he is on to something. He did deal with Harper face to face and very few get that chance. Is it possible that he knows something that we all should pay attention to? Williams does have alot of credibility as he is a straight talker who has a very high approval ratings in his home province of Newfoundland.

Danny Williams told Steve Murphy of CTV Atlantic that when he confronted Harper on his promise of an off-shore resources deal, Harper looked straight in his eyes and said he did not need the votes of Newfoundland and Labrador. That is quite rude to say to a Premier of any province, especially after breaking his word on the Atlantic Accord.

I watched French Debate and parts of English debate, I do not think Harper did so well. He kept smiling and on economy he said Canada is not the U.S. and repeated the John McCainesque quote of "the fundamentals of our economy are strong." Can you believe this guy? On Thursday the Toronto Stock Exchange took a 814 point hit which does not look good. Yes, geographically we are located north of the US and we are not the US, but anything which happens in the US travels to the North like pollution from smoke stacks in Ohio. This false assurance by Harper is not very comforting. People lost their savings, especially those who have RRSPs up to 20+% on average, and he continues to tell us that "the fundamentals of the economy are strong" (even McCain ultimately admitted there was a crisis, but Harper out-Republicaned him by not admitting this). Maybe Harper means that the economy is strong for him and his rich friends.

I think Danny Williams is right, that Harper cannot be trusted.

In the English debate Harper was repeatedly asked where his platform was which is not available yet. Jack Layton threw a zinger when he said, "Are you hiding the platform under your sweater?" Yes where is his platform and how is he going to deal with the current economic crisis which is getting worse by the day?

Stephane Dion gave a strong performance in the French language debate and held his own in the English debate. Elizabeth May performed strongly in both debates and gave new visibility to her party.

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Stephen Harper, Elizabeth May, Gilles Duceppe, Jack Layton and Stéphane Dion Revealed

CNN aired specials called "Barack Obama Revealed" and "John McCain Revealed". More recently, Joe Biden and Sarah Palin were "Revealed." I thought I will try a Canadian version but in a much simpler way for my readers. I will "Reveal" the answer to, who do they aspire to be?

Stephen Harper: Of course his master George W. Bush. If given the chance, he would change the nomenclature from Prime Minister to President and build himself a Whitehouse.

Elizabeth May: She would like to be her role model David Suzuki. Environmentalist and all green.

Gilles Duceppe: But of course René Lévesque, his role model. A separate nation and he is its Prime Minister or President, whatever the case may be. I wonder if Duceppe will take up smoking too ;)

Jack Layton: Barack Obama of course. He mimics Obama in his speeches and wants to be the leader of change. At times he sounds exactly like Barack Obama and even copies his gestures and mannerisms.

Stéphane Dion: If nothing else he will like to be Prime Minister for 10 years plus like Pierre Elliott Trudeau. He would also like to be like David Suzuki, but then it would complicate the picture a bit.

Good luck to them all.

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Mark Emery - The Merchant of Happiness ;)

My Political Party? ;)


Had it with this cowboy

Waiting for him to assert some leadership

He has his own problems

He is too wrapped up in his ideas of breaking up the country

Nope too green behind the ears
Mark Emery

Marijuana party

Now here is a guy who promises that, in his party, you will surely feel good. So I park my membership and my vote here for the time being ;)

Click here to read more on Mark Emery.

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Stéphane and Stephen

Two cowboys and two different tunes in Alberta at the same time. What tune are they playing, and is anyone listening?

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"Green Shift"

Will Mr. Dion's gamble pay off? Are the people ready for a Carbon Tax? Will it be misunderstood when gas prices are skyrocketing? Will Harper and company be able to exploit the situation?

In a political election, perceptions and rhetoric take over. If Dion loses, it will not only be the defeat of Dion and the Liberal Party, it will also be a defeat for the issue of global warming. Carbon taxes can be a risky election issue.

Time will tell. Reminds me of Joe Clark in 1980 when he wanted to impose certain excise taxes on gasoline, he was soon defeated by Trudeau. Dion's carbon tax is a risky strategy.

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Stephane Dion: Carbon tax will be an explosive election issue

Personally, I believe that Stephane Dion is a decent person. If elected Prime Minister, he has the potential to do great things for Canada. However, as leader he has shown many weaknesses and needs to be more assertive, but the carbon tax is not one of those issues to be assertive on during an election.

The public needs to be informed and educated on it and, given current oil and gas prices, this will be a hard sell. However, if it is made an election issue at the outset, then many working and middle class families will vote against the Liberals. It will be a disaster.

Global warming is a very serious issue and the carbon tax should be introduced only after a majority of the public is onside, and this will take a few years.

I've spent enough years around politics and politicians to have some idea of what I'm talking about with regards to this.

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Bob Rae is back in Parliament... this time as a Liberal

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Stephane Harper and Stephen Dion: Meet the conjoined twins.

Whatever happened to the Official Opposition and Government in Waiting?

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The Chuck Cadman Affair

Harper threatens to sue Dion, key Liberals
OTTAWA — Stéphane Dion will not apologize to Prime Minister Stephen Harper over the Chuck Cadman affair despite the threat of a libel lawsuit, the Liberal Leader says.

Mr. Harper filed a notice of libel suit Monday against Mr. Dion, two other top members of his caucus and the party. Court documents obtained by CTV and The Globe and Mail say two articles published on the Liberal website were “devastatingly defamatory” to the Prime Minister. Click here to read more.

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Jim Flaherty 2008 budget: Reactions

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Stephen Harper daring them again!

What's with the opposition?

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Stephen Harper is daring the opposition

Why is the opposition so complacent, and not obliging Harper?

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Karlheinz Schreiber - 1001 Schreiberian Nights and the Drama on Parliament Hill

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Harper delivers...

"Throne Speech" ;)

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