Political Horserace

Over the past few days, I've been observing with some amusement the fallout from the Outremont by-election. A setback for the Liberals? Sure. The end of the world as Dion knows it? Oh most definitely, according to the grave assessment of the "pundits". Forgive me if you catch me stifling a yawn.

Christopher Flavelle at the Walrus takes a much more sanguine view of these events. He notes, quite correctly, that media coverage of politics has been reduced to little more than the manic run-on commentary of horse race announcers. Who's winning? Who's losing? Who's gaining? Who's not?

...It’s hard to fault anybody for looking at Monday’s Quebec by-elections like a horse race. Not only are by-elections all about winners and losers. Even better, these by-elections were a double-shot of excitement, a race within a race: the Conservatives win a seat, so Stephen Harper must be pulling ahead for the upcoming election; the Liberals lose a seat, so Stéphane Dion must be falling behind.

But what about the issues? Major media coverage has become almost completely devoid of this. In a sense, perhaps we have all become too accepting of political talking-points, mistaking them for actual policy. It's much more fun, it would seem, to speculate about political fortunes based on bold assumptions and the knowing winks of anonymous "insiders".

It’s worth remembering that Dion won the Liberal leadership, at least in part, because he was the guy who stubbornly insisted on talking about ideas — specifically, how to make Canada’s economy successful and sustainable at the same time. After winning the leadership, he kept busy, making speeches and releasing policy papers full of new policy proposals. Of course, you wouldn’t know it. The amount of time spent covering Dion’s ideas pales in comparison to the amount of time spent covering the state of his leadership. What are the broad strokes of Dion’s plan for regulating carbon emissions from Canada’s heavy industry? Who knows. But unnamed sources, predicting his imminent demise? Again? Now that’s news.

And what's this? A new poll, showing the Libs and the Cons are running neck and neck! Heading down the stretch....Gentlemen, place your bets!!

Weekend Musings

Sorry for my brief blogging hiatus. Been busy with real life and all. Anyhoo, here are some of the things that have been running through my head today.

Rumors have been floating around that Hollywood is gearing up to make a Magnum, p.i. movie, and that actor Nicolas Cage has been offered the role of Thomas Magnum. I have serious issues with this for a number of reasons. First, do we actually need or want this movie? I grew up watching Magnum...in fact, it was one of my favourite shows. Interesting characters, a great car, and the kind of idyllic tropical life that we could only dream of. So why ruin all of that with a cheeseball remake? Unfortunately, transforming good '80's TV shows into bad modern-day movies seems to be a mistake that Hollywood is intent on repeating. As if Dukes of Hazzard wasn't bad enough. Second, Nicolas Cage??? Nicolas Cage??? Are you kidding me? This guy has made a career of playing morose, monotonal cynics. And the last time we saw him, he was sporting a flaming skull in the insufferably painful Ghost Rider. Maybe he needs the work. Third, Nicolas Cage??? I know, I hate to keep ragging on the guy. But aside from the fact that he bears no resemblance to Magnum, either in looks or in character, he's also, well, old. I mean, if you're going to cast an older actor in the role made famous by Tom Selleck, why not just cast Tom Selleck? The issues abound...

In other news, O.J. Simpson may have run afoul of the law once again. Las Vegas police have arrested a man for armed robbery of sports memorabilia. Simpson is being questioned for his involvement in the robbery and may face arrest. The former NFL star claims he is innocent, and has vowed to spend the rest of his life searching for "the real robber".

Update: The Juice is in jail.

If you thought that being a child with leukemia was bad enough, think again. China has ordered the recall of tainted leukemia drugs produced by the Shanghai Hualian Pharmaceutical Company. Honestly, what is it with these guys? According to the report in the G&M, the drugs methotrexate and cytarabine were contaminated with a third chemotherapeutic agent, vincristine. Some children receiving the drugs experienced adverse side effects from the contaminants, leading to the crackdown.

And finally, this gem (courtesy of the Hill Times)

And In Other News...

...Brian Mulroney is still an asshole. More nauseating horseshit to come from this pompous corrupt windbag. Stay tuned, if you dare.

Nope, No Problems Here....

The emaciated young girl in the picture is a patient at the Mirwais Hospital in Kandahar City, Afghanistan. She is but one of many supposed beneficiaries of approximately $5 million contributed by Canada for supplies, food, and infrastructure at the hospital. If the girl seems a little underwhelmed, she can be forgiven. You see, no one at the Mirwais Hospital can confirm that any of Canada's aid money (given to the Red Cross via CIDA) has ever been received.

Video evidence collected by the Senlis Council has documented child starvation and a largely dysfunctional hospital, lacking in beds, equipment, medications and staff. According to Norine MacDonald, lead researcher for the Senlis Council: "We could not find evidence of CIDA's work or CIDA-funded work at the hospital. We were not able to find the maternity project, or evidence of the $5 million that CIDA says it has given".

Bev Oda, deftly picking up the reins of ineptitude from Josee Verner, has replied merely that she doesn't have those concerns "at all". Demonstrating that peculiar blend of incompetence and arrogance, she remains convinced that "progress" is being made. I don't mean to nitpick here, but wouldn't it be in the government's interest to ensure that Canadian money isn't being funneled directly into the pockets of corrupt administrators and Afghan officials? Don't we owe at least that much to the innocent victims of the NATO misadventure in Afghanistan?

What a Sorry Loss This Will Be

First Lady Laura Bush has informed Janette Howard that, sadly, she will be unable to attend the upcoming APEC summit due to a pinched nerve. However will the show go on?

Janette Howard is of course the wife of Australian Prime Minister John Howard, who will be hosting George W. Bush and other regional leaders at the APEC meeting in Sydney this September. Howard has for the past few years been living in the shadow of Tony Blair as one of Dubbya's international cadre of professional bootlickers. He gained some notoriety recently when he quite gratuitously offered up his thoughts on Barack Obama's presidential candidacy.

"If I were running al-Qaeda in Iraq, I would put a circle around March 2008 and be praying as many times as possible for a victory not only for Obama but also for the Democrats."

On the domestic front, Howard is feeling some political heat. Richard Farmer (former advisor to PM Bob Hawke) has offered Howard some perspective...with a Canadian twist.

[In 2004] Minority government seemed comfortably within the Conservative grasp. So, there was plenty of egg on lots of faces, especially those of political journalists and pollsters, when the [Paul Martin] Liberals were returned to office, albeit with a decline in members, having gained 37 percent of the national vote. That six percentage point error, where the predicted vote of 31 per cent became 37 per cent, is the kind of boost John Howard needs.
Keep plugging away John, but don't think about the Canadian election of 1993 when a Conservative Government did the same thing and ended up with two members in a Parliament of 295!

Farmer's examples are a tad on the irrelevant side. Although both had to battle voter fatigue with their respective parties, neither Martin in '04 nor Campbell in '93 were in the same situation as Howard, who is currently vying for his own 5th term as PM. But isn't it interesting that the debacle of Kim Campbell's campaign trainwreck, fourteen years later, still manages to echo in halls of punditry down under?

Vick Innocent!! (Of Gambling)

Last month, when Michael Vick was brought up on federal charges related to dogfighting, he declared "I'm innocent". And by innocent, he meant guilty.

In July he stated that he "look[ed] forward to clearing [his] good name". In perhaps one of the least effective attempts at clearing one's name, Vick today plead guilty to financing a dogfighting ring and executing underperforming animals.

Strangely, though he readily admitted to running a criminal enterprise and murdering dogs by hanging or drowning them, he bristled at the suggestion that he might have gambled on the "sport".

"Vick did not gamble by placing side bets on any of the fights. Vick did not receive any of the proceeds of the purses that were won by Bad Newz Kennels"

Of course not. He wouldn't want to sully the good name of illegal dogfighting by doing something as tawdry as gambling. Hey, Vick may be a douchebag, a criminal, and an animal torturer...but he's no Pete Rose!

Of Jellybeans and Statesmanship

So I succumbed and decided to watch the closing comments of the leaders at the Montebello Summit. And, as I knew he would, Stephen Harper didn't fail to disappoint. If anything, he's consistent.

When all three leaders were asked by a reporter at Fox News to address the concerns of SPP critics about a progressive loss of sovereignty, George W. Bush and Felipe Calderon spoke at length in vague generalities and empty platitudes about the benefits of partnerships and strategic alliances. You know, the usual leader-speak.

But our own Dear Leader took the opportunity to deride the Opposition in public, and he did so in both English and in French. Apparently, the CEO of a jellybean manufacturer complained to him that regulations for the production of jellybeans differed in Canada, the USA an Mexico. Asked Harper, "Does the standardization of jellybeans pose a threat to our sovereignty? Maybe Mr. Dion thinks so...".

That the increasingly rotund Harper would choose junk food as the launching point for his partisan attack was mildly amusing. But watching our portly PM conduct himself in this manner, I wondered why he has such a strong affinity for the low road. The airing of domestic political squabbles on an international stage is an embarassing act of petty vindictiveness. Harper should be ashamed of himself. But he won't be.