I can only hope...

It would be great if this turned out to be true. Somehow I doubt it:

OTTAWA -- The federal government is keeping quiet about any plans it may have to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Lester B. Pearson's Nobel Peace Prize win, which has critics worried the Tories will ignore the event altogether.
(...)
"Pearson is a giant," said Francine Lalonde. "I am Quebecois and sovereigntist, but that doesn't prevent me from considering him to be one of the greatest figures of the century."

To say we live in a Liberal country is an understatement. Pearson was no "Giant."

He is responsible for pushing Canada into the untraditional role of being the "peacekeeper" of the world. In reality peacekeeping is just another word for "occupation." That's what "peacekeepers" do. They move into an area and impose stability or "peace" by force.

If you don't like that concept tough. It's the truth. That's what Canadian soldiers do when they are "peacekeeping." Sometimes it's not always a bad thing when it's justified (like Afghanistan).

In contrast most Canadians figure "peacekeeping" just means to go have some soldiers plant trees and sing with village folk.

The idealistic almost fantastical perceptions we have about modern day "peacekeeping" are mainly due to politicians like Pearson.

He was no giant. He was just another Liberal.

Infuriating Gomery

Justice Gomery is doing a good job of stating the obvious today:

Retired Quebec judge John Gomery says the Harper government's plan to create mandatory minimum jail terms for drug crimes is a "slap in the face" to judges and suggests the Conservatives don't trust them to craft appropriate sentences for individual cases.

"This legislation basically shows a mistrust of the judiciary to impose proper sentences when people come before them," says Gomery, who came to national prominence in 2004 when he chaired an inquiry into the federal sponsorship scandal.

"Judges view this kind of legislation as a slap in the face."
(...)
"Judges find that it's an implied criticism when Parliament imposes mandatory sentences," Gomery says. "It leaves the impression that judges aren't using their discretion wisely or in accordance with the wishes of the legislature. And judges are resentful about that."

The arrogance in that statement is astounding. It suggests that under no conditions could the judiciary in Canada possibly be wrong when it comes to sentencing.

The Canadian justice system has had a bad reputation of being an in-and-out way point for some of the worst scum in society for years. The parole system in particular in drastic need of reform.

What Justice Gomery is suggesting, although naive and out of touch in its delivery, clearly identifies what this issue is about: mistrust of the judiciary.

Canadians have started to seriously doubt the neutrality of judges in the last couple decades. The high proportion of divorce cases that end up favoring women, the constant stream of violent offenders that seem to get minimum sentences, and the rewriting of law under the guise of the Charter has seriously undermined the credibility of judges. What's worse, we now know that a majority of donations made by judicial appointments end up going to left wing parties. That's judicial neutrality apparently.

It's about time that judge's like Gomery figure that out.

Harper Should Take Note

Taking advice from certain successful conservative Australian Prime Ministers may have been a good idea in the past, but apparently even Aussie's aren't perfect.

AUSTRALIA’S new prime minister Kevin Rudd will mark his arrival on the international stage by announcing the withdrawal of his country’s combat troops from Iraq and signing the Kyoto treaty on climate change.
(...)
Clearly shaken by the scale of the defeat Howard, 68, told demoralised supporters that he may soon retire. “This is a great democracy and I want to wish Mr Rudd well,” Howard said. “We bequeath to him a nation that is stronger and prouder and more prosperous than it was 11½ years ago.”

Among other things on the new liberal Aussie PM's agenda: signing the Kyoto accord, pulling troops out of Iraq, and pulling troops out of Afghanistan.

Good look with implementing Kyoto. My guess it's nice PR for his new government. Implementing an unrealistic protocol that even Canadian Liberals admitted was unworkable in the last few years of the implementation period seems far fetched to say the least.

Pulling out of Iraq? Well who can blame them. The morality of entering into that war was questionable to say the least. Yet Australia was on the bandwagon of that war, and pulling out at this point begs the question just who do you expect to pay for your mistake? Iraqis? Australia was partially responsible for the mess in Iraq, and I would argue that they have a responsibility to stick it through and do right where they made bad judgment calls in the past.

And Afghanistan? You have to be kidding. Does the Aussie PM even remember 9/11? That's why were all collectively in Afghanistan. It's not another Iraq despite whatever the hell any self-obsessed lefty will try to pronounce. If you're looking for a justification for invading Afghanistan look no further than the 3000 people from around the world that died 6 years ago by a terrorist organization supported by the state of what country?... Afghanistan.

That's why we're there. That's why we have to stay. It's either that or future 9/11's are bound to reoccur.

Tasers and excessive force...

With the recent violent taser shock that lead to the death of polish immigrant Robert Dziekanski out of Vancouver some calls for the banning of tasers have been heard.

I decided to watch the video for myself to form my own opinions before I watched any more media dribble.

Yes Mr Dziekanski is clearly agitated, probably drunk, and in a certain manner threatening. But it is also clear that he was not a clear and present threat to the police, the people around him, or anyone's property. He was a nuisance, yet was willing to clearly follow police orders to stand up against a window as they circled him.

What happened next is confusing to say the least. Without provocation he was tasered twice. And while he writhing on the ground in agony, for whatever reason, RCMP officers felt he was still enough of a threat that they moved down on top of him to restrain him.

This was at the very minimum poor judgement. At worst it was malicious, and a huge abuse of power that should be prosecuted as such.

Khan's Reconing

Well it finally happened. Khan's been turfed:

OTTAWA -- Amid reports that he may be charged under the Elections Act for matters dating back to the 2004 election, MP Wajid Khan is "stepping aside" from the Conservative Party caucus.

These charges are no doubt at least partially politically motivated. That being said I've always secretly doubted Khan's loyalty to the Conservative Party, and his ethical standards.

When the world gets turned upside down...

Well Harper wanted to turn the Conservative Party into a "natural governing party."

It seems like Canadians are reacting already in opinion polls as if it was one:

OTTAWA – Fallout from the Brian Mulroney-Karlheinz Schreiber affair does not appear to have hurt Stephen Harper's Conservative government, a new poll suggests.

The Canadian Press Harris-Decima survey indicates the Conservatives actually increased their lead over the Liberals, despite days of highly charged politicking over the dealings between the former prime minister and the German-Canadian businessman.

A government in crisis, and it's poll numbers go up?

Reminds me of the Fiberal Party of Canada during some of the worst corruption scandals in Canadian history.

Is this a joke?

On the heals of the "anonymous" anti-John-Not-So-Tory letter being circulated around Ontario Conservative circles this quote is a knee slapper:

One Conservative said the letter is evidence of renewed enthusiasm in the party, and does not necessarily mean the end of Tory's leadership.

"It's healthy for the party; it's healthy for John," the source said. "There are some spelling mistakes in here, which makes me worry."

Well it's good that Conservatives are worried about spelling.