November 30, 2004
Nov. 30 - Some truly sad news up here: Pierre Berton has died. He was a respected author and his face was one of my earlier introductions to Canadian TV from when he was a panelist on Front Page Challenge.
He was unpretentious (many documentarians could learn a lot from his style and delivery,) had an optimistic view of Canada and the world, and was voted #31 on the recent Greatest Canadians list.
The CBC page has a funny story about Berton giving lessons in rolling a proper joint which is worth reading. That tale fits him wonderfully.
I don't see it listed on the imdb page dedicated to him, but didn't he also host Great Railway Stories?
There's a short biography of him here and which is also where I got the photo.
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Bumping this up as it is very much the news of the day up here.
No, I'm not in Ottawa wishing the president well and adding my voice to those who genuinely welcome him. He heard my voice when I voted, and I think he is aware of the large number of ex-pats who defied the pundits and turned out to vote for him in large numbers.
As I post this President Bush is landing in Canada, and the malice from those polite Canadians at work - which had been suspended after the election - picked up again but with different results because I wouldn't play. Why should I? These are people who assert that if there was oil in Sudan the USA would have been in there ... they trust CBC and the Toronto Star, and I trust facts. There is no common meeting ground beyond work and I can smile, nod, and know I am looking at people who have failed to acknowledge that the world is beyond that which our mainstream media portrays.
Canadians have Martin and we have Bush. We have as president a man who says what he means and means what he says, and they have a prime minister who's most notably strong move has been to kick Carolyn Parrish out of the Liberal caucus for criticizing him despite CNN's assertion that it was for her anti-American statements and behaviour on TV.
I have total confidence that the president will listen to NDP leader Jack Layton and Bloc leader Gilles Duceppe politely and pay little heed to the dial-a-demonstrations; after all, he is President of the USA, not of Canada.
Nevertheless, I really do wish there would be some research into the feasibility of deploying a missile shield that does not cover Canada.
Much of North American is speculating as to whether official relations will or will not be smoothed between the two countries but what has always been at risk are the unofficial relations, i.e., the attitudes of the two populations which are decidedly not affected by official dinners, pomp, and speeches before Parliament.
I warned prior to the election that the rest of the world was gambling far more than they realized with the Bush-hatred, and now that the American electorate has spoken decisively (and the more observant should have drawn the proper conclusions noting how far to the right John Kerry had to bend to get the vote he did get) and as it would appear that much of the world media has chosen to declare that we, the American people, are as dumb as our President, some lines in the sand are irremediably drawn.
So be it. So why are they busy kissing our asses now? It's all about the trade.
I would have said more but Flea beat me to it with comments he made on what is actually a non-related subject but totally apropos:
What surprises me about this latest analysis is the continuing realization that so many people truly believe the United States to be omnipotent. It is not. In this respect I see the street protests as a psychological reaction to an imagined "bad father" who should have protected them on September 11. Continuing troubles in an imperfect world are, in this light, an immoral or irresponsible choice on the part of the bad father rather than an improvisation in the face of the bad hand dealt to us by the jihadists and the better part of a century of accommodation with the ruling family of Arabia. (Bolding added)Either we are all-powerful and all-seeing, in which case we can never make any mistakes, or we are as error-prone as any other human and doing our best under adverse circumstances. One isn't supposed to be able to have one's cake and eat it too, so I wish folks would make up their minds and pick either omnipotent or mere mortal. It would make debates much more manageable.
10:59: I am watching the CBC, and whathisname actually asked what impact demonstrations in Canada would have on Americans. The response by Allen Gottlieb was that the demonstrations would have less impact than had he been heckled in Parliament.
Perhaps so, but my answer would have been that the Democrats - none of whom live abroad except Chelsea Clinton, and she was dismayed at the degree of anti-Americanism in Oxford immediately after Sept. 11 - would whine about how much our "prestige" has "fallen" in the world, and most Americans would shrug regardless. Since the dismal state of the Canadian military is a pretty widely-known fact, how much respect can Americans have for a people who are unwilling to defend themselves?
11:01: The contribution Canada could make to running the elections in Iraq leaves out the fact that any Canadians there would be targets. Would Canada risk their own to help Iraqis have free and open elections? Right.
11:04: David Frum is more analytical than I in a column published in today's National Post (available here) as well as more conciliatory:
Bush is working on the assumption that many allied governments feel that they have allowed their disagreements with the United States to go too far. In 2002 and 2003, for example, Jean Chretien--like Germany's Gerhard Schroeder and some other leaders as well--seemed to have decided he could earn some easy political points on the left-hand side of the political spectrum by running against George Bush. That decision may have been aided by a calculation that Bush was an accidental president likely to lose in 2004. Now that the President has been returned to office with great political power, those 2002-03 calculations are looking less shrewd. A minority Canadian prime minister does not want to spend the next four years quarrelling with a popular president backed by a congressional majority. (Emphasis added)In other words, the president, from a position of decidedly stronger domestic strength than, say, Prime Minister Martin, is extending his hands in friendship; a lesser man would behave far differently, but I doubt rabid Bush-haters will recognize or understand what they are seeing.
Wiser heads may reflect that he is capable of doing so because he has much bigger concerns than personal pique or feelings of self-consequence; they will even recognize that he is indeed a leader because he can consign the slurs and insults to their proper place and keep this young century's chief challenge at the forefront of his agenda.
He is determined to give credit wherever he can, to encourage the efforts - large and small - to the allies in the war on terror, and to continue to build that coalition and urge it forward.
15:00: A Minority of One takes a look from Ottawa and has some well chosen words for Canadians who chose to forget Canada's tradition before peacekeeping:
Hey, you there, you, with the stupid sign. So how should Canada, with its sacred values, have addressed the agression and murderous thuggery of Hitler and Co.? What should we have done in response to the conquest of Hong Cong and the subsequent use of Canadian citizens as slave labour in Japanese coal mines? Curious minds want to know.A small part of an excellent rant!
16:13: The CBC is estimating that 5,000 demonstrators got to mix it up with police, and something very strange:
Also present were activists in favour of legalized marijuana, same-sex marriages, and a woman's right to choose, as well as students, grandmothers and groups ranging from Lawyers Against the War to Bellydancers Against Bush.There are more demonstrations planned for tomorrow, they say.
A CBC Online Diary gives a moment-by-moment account of the Bush visit. Read it and judge for yourselves.
17:32 - Toronto Star headline reads Defiant Bush stands by foreign policy. The-title-under-the-headline is Smaller-than-expected protest greet U.S. president. (It must have really hurt to have to print that one.)
The story:
OTTAWA — George W. Bush rode into town today with kind words for Canada but a defiant message for anyone who thinks he’ll back down from his controversial foreign policy.Still with that excuse? I lived here too many years to let them get away with pretending all the troubles began when we went to Iraq. The Star was especially vicious immediately after Sept. 11.
The U.S. president arrived in Ottawa for a whirlwind two-day visit designed to warm bilateral relations and begin mending international fences in the wake of the Iraq war.
But the Texan was unbowed when asked about a recent poll suggesting most Canadians donÂ’t like his policy direction.He's not the president of Canada but of the U.S.A. It's not his job to please Canadians.
“I’m the kind of fella who does what I think is right,” he told a joint news conference with Prime Minister Paul Martin.Nonsense. The only Canadians pretending to have expected a different message are probably writers for the Star setting up tomorrow's editorial and columns. (Now you all know why I rarely read the Star.)“We just had a poll in our country where people decided the foreign policy of the Bush administration ought to stay in place for four more years.”
It was not exactly the message many had been expecting from a second-term president reputed to be eager to win back allies alienated by his decision to invade Iraq.
It also did nothing to soothe the anger of protesters who scuffled with police after being blocked from marching down the main thoroughfare in front of Parliament.That, of course, is the real reason President Bush is visiting Canada: "to soothe the anger of protesters."
The prevailing attitude in most of the mainstream media seems to be that Bush needs to repair relations with Canada, thus implying that the USA has more to gain from better relations than Canada, yet without missing a beat stories go straight to the numerous trade issues (especially softwood lumber and the beef trade) which are rankling Canadians.
What exactly does the USA gain from better relations from Canada? I have my own reasons which center on increasing US security, but Canada has a great deal to lose should the border be closed in the event of another terrorist attack and should that attack originate in Canada there will be hell to pay.
18:02 - Heh. Lou Dobbs on CNN is reporting that the president found Canadians less than friendly, and John King is also promoting the Myth of Bitter Disputes Over Iraq. (But then CNN is still disconsolate that France didn't join us so their observations may be less than objective.)
As I recall, then PM Chretien announced that Canada wouldn't lend even moral support because he didn't support the notion of regime change, and the bitterness was pretty much limited to those Canadians who felt Canada should support her traditional allies Great Britain and Australia (and the USA,) and those who were far too enlightened to stop a maniacal, genocidal monster who terrorized his own people.
18:30 - The Fox website says that "Bush had a cool relationship with former Prime Minister Jean Chretien (search), but Martin, in office less than a year, has sought to repair the damage." What they imply but don't say is that Martin has had to step carefully because the anti-Americanism which was given full rein under Chretien is harder to put back into the bottle than it was to let out; furthermore, and this is the part that is hard for Americans to understand (as we don't have a Parliamentary system,) is that he is in a coalition government with the leftist New Democratic Party (NDP) and the Liberal Party depends on their support to remain in power.
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November 25, 2004
Officials are particularly concerned about smugglers who meet liberals near the Canadian border, pack them into Volvo station wagons, drive them across the border and leave them to fend for themselves.(Via Absinthe and Cookies)"A lot of these people are not prepared for rugged conditions," an Ontario border patrolman said. "I found one carload without a drop of drinking water. They did have a nice little Napa Valley cabernet, though."
On a more serious note, deserters from the U.S. military who sought asylum in Canada on the basis that the Iraq war was illegal have had that argument rejected by the refugee board.
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Despite the request of her son, Stephan Hachemi, and Canada's backing of that request, Kazemi's body has not been returned to Canada and thus an independent autopsy was never performed.
Why resume diplomatic relations after Iran killed a Canadian citizen?
NDP MP Alexa McDonough said Canada is better served by having a diplomatic presence in Iran.Jean Chretien was prime minister when Kazemi was "interrogated to death" (per Mark Steyn) and his outrage seems to have eased after he left office and vanished entirely when he decided to visit Iran:"It's certainly clear that the Iranian government has not satisfactorily addressed the Kazemi fiasco, but at the same time, when there's an empty chair there's no dialogue ..."
Mr. Chretien, now a private citizen, will travel to Iran next month to meet top Iranian government officials.He succeeded.But Mr. Chretien isn't there to seek justice for Ms. Kazemi. Nor will he speak for the dozens of Iranians rotting in jails for the crime of believing Iran should have the same democracy Canadians enjoy.
Instead, Mr. Chretien is going to Iran as a "special adviser" to the Calgary oil company PetroKazakhstan, which wants to ship Kazakh oil to China and Iran. His job is to convince the Iranians that this is a good idea.
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November 24, 2004
[You know, I believe there is really a chance for South Park Conservatism in Canada. If only people didn't freak out when we try to explain what it is ...]
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November 22, 2004
THE late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat controlled a network of companies, investments and bank accounts with a value totalling at least $US1.5 billion ($1.9 billion), according to Austrian business magazine Format.The speculation about the cause of Arafat's death has overshadowed the hunt for the money which he allegedly invested on behalf of the Palestinian people but about which he failed to make public.Quoting a Central Intelligence Agency report, it said the CIA had conducted inquiries after receiving information that a holding company of the Palestine Liberation Organisation had invested $US9 million in a small pharmaceutical company in the Canadian town of Belleville, Ontario.
Format said investigators had "stepped on an anthill" when they uncovered the stake held by the Palestinian Commercial Service Corporation in Bioniche Life Sciences, revealing a network of PLO funds such as Chalcedony, Onyx, Evergreen, SilverHaze and Avmax International, the last based in Aruba in the Caribbean.
The weekly said it had seen a file "detailing in concrete terms for the first time how much money was involved".
One component of the financial network alleged to have been run by Arafat, who died in a hospital near Paris on November 11, indicated that Austrian interests had been involved.
The magazine said, from 1998 to the Palestinian uprising of 2000, the Austrian bank Bawag and a group called Casino Austria had financed a gambling casino much frequented by Israelis at Jericho on the West Bank. Bawag had later financed Arafat's private jet, a Challenger 604 worth $US23 million registered in Austria.
Format also alleged Arafat controlled $US800 million in bank accounts in Austria, the Cayman Islands, Luxembourg and Switzerland.
According to Nasser al-Kidwa, Arafat's nephew, medical records reveal that no poison was found but the cause of death is still unclear.
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France and Russia are among those who endorse the idea, which alone should raise eyebrows as it was they who blocked U.N. action to address repeated violations of the cease-fire which ended the '91 Iraq war and have been cited as having been among the chief beneficiaries of the corrupt U.N. Oil-for-Food program. Russia has delayed taking action in the Sudan, and Canada lacks credibility as they would contribute talk but no army with which this new council could implement decisions or, to be blunt, is unwilling to put her sons and daughters in any danger but would pressure the USA to do so.
If Canada wants to push for more active international peacekeeping forces she will have to be willing to provide a substantial increase in the troops she can field, and that isn't going to happen.
President Bush is skeptical of the notion and
... challenged Martin to prove his idea would be anything more than a forum of talking heads making speeches before the cameras.Seems Bush's advisors have done a good job of prepping him for his visit to Canada as to how the government up here responds to issues.
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November 18, 2004
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Which, for me, will mean only that, on a daily basis, I have the option of watching the 6 a.m. news on Fox. The bigger picture is that it will certainly challenge the Canadian media who have under-reported things like the Oil-For-Food scandal and offer Canadians a different look at American attitudes and values than that offered by CNN.
I found this amusing:
Critics of Fox complained to the CRTC that Fox News Channel and its high-profile commentators are far too close to the Republicans and U.S. President George W. Bush to justify the slogan of delivering "fair and balanced news."Uh huh. They never, of course, accused ABC, NBC, CBS or CNN of being too close to President Clinton.
The article says "as early as next year," so I need to call my cable company. Several times.
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Yes, the proceedings have revealed much about the little known world of lap-dancers (Pay drop blamed on tiger attack.) I'm going to assume you'll read the post, but can't resist noting these intriguing, little-know aspects of the craft:
ALS lawyer Douglas Wright was cross-examining Cowles on what effect the apparel had on her earnings as a stripper.Please, do not become a nurse. Is it unfair to note that we already have more than enough health professionals who do not follow mundane instructions for things like sterlizing equipment?He noted she notched her best payday --$500 a day -- three times after the attack.
"It was unpredictable," Cowles said of her fluctuating earnings from lap-dancing, saying the totals depended on other factors such as bar crowds and number of competing dancers and the number of private dances she performed.
She kept tallies of her earnings by marking numbers accompanying happy faces denoting profits and "frown faces" indicating losses. She had to pay up to $180 a day in disc jockey fees, cab fares and her bar tab. On some "slow days" she actually lost money as a freelancer. Cowles said she was so depressed that she drank heavily -- consuming between three and 10 double-shots of Southern Comfort and Coke and later vodka coolers -- each shift.
And yes, she lowered the window to take pictures (my husband is grinning because that was his immediate guess after reading the article.)
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SHE'S DONE it again. Liberal MP Carolyn Parrish was filmed this week for the comedy show This Hour Has 22 Minutes stomping on a George W. Bush doll, just weeks before his first visit to Ottawa.Whatever.The TV clip -- the latest of her anti-American gestures -- ignited renewed calls for Prime Minister Paul Martin to oust Parrish from caucus.
Conservative House Leader John Reynolds called Parrish's TV appearance "sick."
What is sick is that my tax dollars go to pay for this display of a Canadian MP behaving like a child, but if that were grounds for expulsion from Parliament we'd be left with legislators who actually worked on crafting policies and passing laws.
It's tempting to find a doll of Caroly Parrish and stomp on it myself, but a) I don't have the time or inclincation and b) I don't think they make fat, ugly dolls with feet in their mouths.
The same issue of the Sun has a series of articles about the failing film industry in Toronto. Somebody is finally realizing the real effect of a high loony loonie.
18:15: PM Martin has thrown Parrish out of the Liberal Party caucus perhaps for reasons other than her boorishness towards Americans:
But the final straw for Martin came after Parrish took direct aim at his leadership in an interview with The Canadian Press.Damn, I was already set to disagree with those who applauded her expulsion on strict freedom of speech grounds, but I actually agree with her criticisms and assessment of that miserable proceeding!Parrish, 58, had said that if Martin "loses the next election and he has to resign, I wouldn't shed a tear over it."
"I have absolutely no loyalty to this team - none," she said.
She said she lost respect for Martin when he refused to intervene to ensure a "clean race" for the Liberal nomination in her riding of Mississauga-Erindale.
"I cannot, as leader of our party and the government caucus, tolerate behaviour that demeans and disrespects others," Martin said less than 24 hours after Parrish's attack.Lighten up, Martin. Look to GWB for inspiration on how a real leader handles jeers from the peanut gallery."It is unacceptable."
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November 13, 2004
Food nazi.
And tied for you couldn't make it up is the exotic dancer from Hamilton who is suing African Lion Safari after her then-boyfriend, David Balac, and she were injured after being attacked by tigers during a visit to the park because it's clearly the park's fault they let the couple in she rolled down the window.
It seems she had dreams:
The disfiguring injuries and psychological toll the tigers' mauling exacted on her cost her dream of becoming a grand-a-day headliner, [Jennifer-Anne] Cowles said.And to work for world peace.[...]
Cowles said she hoped to exploit her natural "assets" -- long hair, large breasts and slim torso -- to become a $1,000-a-day exotic dancer. Ultimately, Cowles wished to become a nurse.
But the scarring injuries to her head and hip forced her to wear bandannas, hats and a skirt. Her colleagues mocked and tormented her and tried to turn patrons, who were used to naked dancers, against her, she said.Bummer: from exotic dancer to waitress.Her earnings plummeted and she was forced to work as a waitress and temporarily leave her children with relatives while she recovered.
She had to abort the baby because the pain-killers she needed would have damaged the fetus. However, she had earlier decided she wasn't going to have the baby.I almost wish I could feel sorry for her, but had she also lost her ability to procreate I'd be submitting this for a Darwin Award faster than you could say Tony the Tiger.She also suffered panic, anxiety attacks and depression.
But really, why I am being a hard-hearted bitch? Maybe due to the ubiquitous millions-of-dollars lawsuits (you knew there just had to be a lawsuit, right?) which will make everything all better:
She is suing the popular Rockton game park for $2.2 million in damages resulting from the April 19, 1996 incident. Balac is seeking $1 million.Are you following this? He took her to the theme park, she opened the window, they are both suing the theme park owners as well as one another. (The article doesn't say in what manner she alleges the car didn't work properly, unless it's that the car should have refused to enter the park with a fool in the passenger seat.)Balac is also suing Cowles, accusing her of opening the window, and she's suing him, charging that he was driving a car that wasn't working properly.
Remember the Monty Python skit "Vocational Guidance Counsellor"? People need to do some reserach, you know? Like the hidden meaning of signs which say "Keep All Windows and Doors Closed Because Big Predatory Animals Will Attack and You Could Die."
And speaking of stuff that comes back to bite you, Ottawa Sun columnist Douglas Fisher is warning that Disdain for Bush is hurting our economic future:
The majoritarian contempt among Canadians for Bush -- for what we take as his strident patriotism, his often ignorant unawareness or thoughtless discounting of other democracies' views and qualities -- is tangible and widespread.Translation into American: Whoops. Kerry lost. Do we have a Plan "B?"Awareness of this contempt seems to be increasing among Americans, particularly the politicians in Washington. Such recognition was not what led to the problems with our softwood lumber and beef exports to the U.S., but surely it's been a factor.
Over time, we cannot escape paying a high price for it with lower, less remunerative trade, including tourism, when we openly radiate a national hostility, largely founded on a Canadian morality we take as superior to that intrinsic in American mores.
This superiority centres on our distaste for the character, style, religiosity, and governance of the American president. Our attitude has become cumulative as he and his views loom larger and larger in international affairs.
Well, what Bush symbolizes is real and he has it for the next four years. We, however, have a government that faces problems of survival, given its minority status in the House of Commons.
John Kerry's defeat means Prime Minister Paul Martin has been denied the interlude in which the executive team changes in Washington.
Heh. 60.480 million Americans thus far voted for Bush, and they're still counting ballots ...
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November 11, 2004
The BBC is planning to axe as many as 50 per cent of jobs across the board, insiders revealed today.I can dream, can't I?A raft of cuts is being designed to prove the BBC is giving value for money before a review of its 10-year royal charter in 2006.
High-ranking sources say earlier rumours of 6,000 losses from 28,000 staff may turn out to be a wild underestimate.
(Link via Instapundit.)
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November 09, 2004
A great deal of informal co-operation has already taken place since Sept. 11 but this a project to formalize that co-operation:
The binational planning group was formed in December 2002 in response to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks against the United States. Morrell said the group is independent of both NORAD and U.S. Northern Command and comes under the command of Canadian Forces Lt. Gen. Rick Findley and his American deputy, Army Lt. Gen. Joseph Inge.The study group has a great deal of support in the US and in Canada:The concept of a "maritime NORAD" has a large group of endorsers, who envision an automated, oceanwide, vessel-monitoring surveillance network.
... The September issue of Canadian American Strategic Review calls a maritime NORAD "a logical next step" in increasing intelligence and surveillance data sharing between the two countries' maritime-security forces.The means by which we could prevent an attack by sea is one area that remains largely unaddressed.Author Philippe Lagasse called the concept "a win-win opportunity," noting that the United States' providing Canada with access to U.S. satellite and radar data increase continental maritime security while saving Canada the cost of building its own comparable capabilities.
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November 07, 2004
My explanation for Martin's sudden concern is that it was prompted by the Suck-Up Factor, i.e., let's pretend we are really, really happy about Bush's re-election to the presidency. (I would have been more impressed had he stated his disapproval before the election, admittedly, but still critical that he was denying her the freedom to speak her mind.)
Evidently the PM thinks that we are as dumb as Parrish believes us to be if he expects us to fall for that old trick.
If Martin knew the first thing about Americans, he would realize that although we may not like what Parrish says, we defend her right to say it.
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In case you haven't been reading Peaktalk, his coverage of the Theo van Gogh murder has been outstanding. His post A War of Courage highlights the essence of this struggle for Muslims:
It requires guts to line up for a police job in Baghdad and you equally have to be willing to risk your life to walk into an Amsterdam mosque and explain the principles of freedom of expression. Without these courageous Muslims this war can never ever be won. LetÂ’s help them, letÂ’s enlist them, they are the most important ingredient in this struggle for freedom and democracy.Bang on!
Pieter has a great many posts of the murder of Theo van Gogh from when it was first reported here to an examination of the existence of a Fifth Column here, the reaction of Ayaan Hirsi Ali here, a less than optimistic outlook for Holland here, a translation of the letter pinned to van Gogh here, a more hopeful outlook here, a re-assertion of political correctness in Holland here followed by a re-assertion of Dutch pride here to the most optimistic post I first cited. Read them all, especially as there is a direct correlation of some events in Canada as the public here tries to digest what has happened, tries to make sense of it, and might recognize an implicit threat and hope.
11:59: This post at Belmont Club points to the way political correctness still constrains a meaningful response to the crisis. I would have run additional showings of the movie Submission and commissioned many more murals as my response to attacks on freedom of speech. When possible responses are assertion or appeasement one would like to think the answer was obvious.
There had been an undercurrent of speculation in Canada over the possibility of a Fifth column here which peaked when the notorious Khadrs (We-are-a-terrorist-family) returned to obtain medical treatment for the youngest (who had been wounded, captured and released by US forces) but three recent events (which also were eclipsed by the US elections) occurred which should have re-introduced discussions about the need to find some tangible means of encouraging tolerance in Canada which do not unintentionally breed intolerance.
On October 8, the Toronto Star carried a report that a Canadian had been killed by the Russians in Chechnya. After the usual expressions of disbelief and doubt as to the accuracy of the Russian claims came a report about the leader of the mosque attended by the dead Canadian, Sheik Younus Kathrada, on which Jay Currie reported here and then on October 19 Dr. Mohamad Elmasry, leader of the Canadian Islamic Congress, was a guest on Michael Coren's TV show and said that all Israelis - including seniors and babies - were fair targets for Palestinian terrorists.
Colby Cosh has a column with the National Post that points out the good news and the bad news. The good news is that as early as August, 2002, 20 B.C. Muslims had published an open letter which called upon Kathadra "to recant his teachings and apologize for them" but the bad news is that he didn't feel compelled to re-examine his views in this multicultural, diverse and tolerant country.
It is becoming more usual to read posts that sarcastically ask where the moderate Muslims are when a Nick Berg is beheaded or the head of CARE is kidnapped in Baghdad, and the fact that letters as the one Colby cites are not reported in the mainstream media does more a disservice to Muslims than would an exposure of a debate which may be quietly taking place within Muslim communities.
Dutch Muslims are responding to van Gogh's murder by recognizing they have a problem and if they don't provide strong leadership now the problem will only worsen.
Back in Canada, three forceful body blows struck the Canadian myth of super-tolerance, and much of the Canadian media responded by (what else?) lamenting the stupidity of the American voter. Do not expect strong leadership here so long as the public's attention can be diverted from issues which actually do impact on the average Canadian (and yet they call us stupid? It boggles the mind.)
Nov. 8 20:30: Some Dutch citizens have taken matters into their own hands, I'm sorry to report. An elementary school, for heaven's sake?
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November 06, 2004
This recent flag controversy is the latest in a lengthy list of flag flaps, and I have to admit I was a bit surprised by the surge of outrage at Andre Bellavance's boorishness. The fact that MPs who represent the separatist Bloc don't mind collecting their Canadian taxpayer funded paycheques, pensions and election campaign funding has been an irritant for a long time, but that's the price one pays for appeasement policies, right?
But the Canadian public has become more honourong of their military (and more concerned about its dilapidated state) these days and Remembrance Day ceremonies have been well attended since Sept. 11, 2001.
The MP from Quebec hit two Canadian nerves: irritation at Quebec's special status and dishonouring good men who died for this country.
Sean's letter to MP Bellavance could easily be signed by millions of Canadians, and his story about a vet's refusal to provide CPR to the same MP is a must read (as is the disclaimer at the bottom of the post!)
Nov. 10 - 7:30: Cyrus doesn't pull any punches.
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The group of clergy cite abuse from parishioners, low wages and a lack of security for their interest in unionizing.Nov. 13 - 17:42: Not everyone thinks it is a good idea, but it seems to be going ahead. From The Saskatoon Star-Phoenix:"Our congregations and presbyteries are served by volunteers who are usually well-intentioned people, but they are not skilled in human resources or versed in labour law," said Karen Paton-Evans, wife of Rev. Jim Evans. "Our clergy need representation by people who are trained in employment rights."
[...]
The United Church, Canada's largest Protestant denomination, has 4,000 pastors and more than 3,600 congregations. In the 2001 national census, three million Canadians identified their religion as United Church.
A United Church minister's pay begins at $30,000, plus housing. Low pay has been cited as one reason why the United Church has had difficulty filling empty pulpits. But security issues seem to be of bigger concern.
However, the church's general secretary said Friday that unionization is not a "good fit" for the clergy.(Link via Neale News.)"They are not a good fit for United Church clergy," Rev. Jim Sinclair Said Friday.
He said unionization would fundamentally change the church's understanding of the role of a minister and the character of his or her relationship with a congregation.
"Labour legislation was not designed for the larger servant role that a minister has with a congregation. Confining it to these historic relationships of labor relations just fails to note there is responsibility to God as well as individuals," said Sinclair.
That said, the CAW's national director of organization, Mike Shields said: "We've just been inundated with calls and requests" from ministers inquiring about joining the union. "I feel like I have been talking to ministers all week."
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Shields said the church's own figures show 18 per cent of the church's 3,000 active ministers are out on a stress leave. "If that happened in your workplace or mine, there would have to be a major investigation."
He said United Church ministers want to join a union because of their treatment by congregations.
"A small group in a congregation have the ability to run them out of town. They have a spouse, and 2.3 kids. When they are uprooted with little or no notice, it affects the whole family. They want some security, and to be treated with dignity," he said.
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November 04, 2004
And, to add to your multiple voting pleasure, a message board has been started: The Greatest Canadian? is open. (And many thanks to Mark for the tip!)
Vote early, and vote often!
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