Reject The Cookie

Candian Women Win GOLD!!

2006-02-20T16:45:00.000-05:00

Awesome Ladies!!

Canada beats Sweden 4-1.

Does Canada Need the CBC?

2006-02-14T01:26:00.000-05:00

Have you ever felt powerless against the mainstream media (MSM)? Maybe you even started a blog, because the MSM is biased. Speaking of bias, the CBC (media arm of the Liberal Party) is one of the worst offenders. Here is your chance to stick it to the man. The Globe and Mail is running a little survey that is just for you.

Proven - Women=Complicated Men=Simple

2006-02-06T10:05:00.000-05:00

I hope you aren't drinking coffee when you open this:

Phew...No Attacks

2006-02-06T10:02:00.000-05:00

Thank God that none of this happened! A time I am glad to be wrong!!

Muslims React to Cartoons With Calls For Beheadings and Butchering

2006-02-03T21:23:00.000-05:00

So this is how the Muslim community expresses their supposed outrage over satirical cartoons published in newspapers? To say that I am offended that they resort to threats such as 'beheading' and 'butchering' anyone they perceive has insulted islam is an understatement. How many years have Christians endured continual mocking and ridicule from the progressive left, including those in Hollywood? If Christians said that they would slaughter anybody they perceive has insulted Christianity, they would be thrown in jail faster that you can say Al Frankin.

I will not be intimidated by these thugs! In the name of Free Speech, every blogger of every political strip should post a Muhammad cartoon:

Windsor May be a Super Bowl Target for Terrorists

2006-02-01T11:33:00.000-05:00

For the first time in the history of the esteemed sporting event the Super Bowl will be co-hosted by two cities, Detroit and Windsor, in different countries. As part of the festivities, there are huge events for fans on both sides of the border. An article appearing on the World Net Daily (WND) website suggests that it is likely that terrorists are planning to crash the party.

WND draws on the fact that there has been increased ‘chatter’ terrorist community about a major new attack in the West, explicitly citing the February 5th date in their communications. Supporting this supposition are other facts about al-Qaida:

February 5th is significant to bin Laden
The release of al-Qaida videotapes appear to provide clues about the dates of future attacks and, in this scenario, Feb. 5 becomes the most likely near-term terror strike date.

Being from Windsor, I got an uneasy feeling about this. First, the ‘chatter’ does not specify the attack would be on American soil. The only target cited was that the attack would be in the West. Second, the highest security will be concentrated on the primary target, the Super Bowl event in Detroit. According a recent article in the Windsor Star, Windsor’s security will consist of:

500 officers pulling Super Bowl duty to ensure the huge party remains just that.
OPP presence will include two "public order units" consisting of specially trained riot control officers
another OPP team of specially equipped experts is ready to intervene in the event of a chemical, biological or even nuclear attack. (After the fact!!)
police will be assisting a bolstered presence of AGCO liquor inspectors checking for such issues as bar overcrowding, serving minors and intoxicated patrons.
Counterfeiters and the vices will also be targeted, and traffic officers will monitor border crossing flows.

Emphasis mine

So where’s the anti-terrorism teams, JTF2, radiation detectors…anything??? As long as the terrorists don’t get drunk and pee on the sidewalk, they seem to have little to fear from our made in Canada security solution.

It has been long known that Canada is a soft target for terrorists. We even made it on bin Laden’s hit list. Most Canadian’s believe that we won’t be hit because, as a nation, we are nice and haven’t gotten ourselves involved in the Iraq war. A friend of mine, who has been an OPP officer for over 15 years says that it is because terrorists are like dogs, they will not crap in their own house. It is a well known fact that, relative to the US and the UK, Canada is soft on terrorists and their activities. The mostly unprotected border with the United States made Canada a great place to stage attacks from. Terrorists would not attack Canada because it would eliminate their ability to organize so close to the great satan. All that has changed with the strict tightening on the border and America’s increased focus on security for its northern border. The super bowl may provide the terrorists with just the opportunity they have been looking for to scratch another country off their ‘to do’ list.

I am hoping and praying that I am all wrong. Windsor would appreciate your prayers as well.

Afterthought 1: With NORDAD and the US security complex concentrating on the Super Bowl, the terrorist may choose another target in the US. This is still a very unhappy situation.

Afterthought 2: The WND article cites unspecified terror experts for their article. What is the credibility of these people? Why hasn’t the terror threat level in the states increased if this supposition had any credibility? I will be watching to see if they do raise it.

Candians Will Wake Up to a Nice Surprise Tuesday

2006-01-22T22:35:00.000-05:00

I couldn’t resist doing an ‘Election Prediction’ post. I will be concentrating locally in the Windsor region, rounding it out with the overall national seat.

Windsor West

Winner: Brian Masse - NDP
2. Werner Keller - Lib
3. Al Teshuba - Conservative

Masse’s popularity in the former Liberal stronghold will be impossible to overcome for the other candidates. Tough luck Al.

Windsor Tecumseh

Winner: Joe Comartin - NDP
2. Rick Fushi - Conservative
3. Bruck Easton

This one is very tough to call. I hope I am wrong on this one (I voted for Fushi), but I think that Comartins support will squeak this one out. Bruck is not a factor, given his turncoat history and a pathetic national campaign.

Essex

Winner: Jeff Watson
2. Taras Natyshak
3. Susan Whelan

Watson will win by a landslide. Today at the Harper rally in Windsor the crowd was shouting “Jeff, Jeff, Jeff…” An honour non of the other local Conservative candidates received. Whelan’s campaign has been controversial with her being endorsed by the Buzz “bomb” and the question of her lobbyist activities have not been resolved. It wouldn’t surprise me is Watson gets the highest percentage of the vote this side of the Manitoba-Ontario border.

National

Conservatives - 158 seats (MAJORITY)
NDP - 56 seats
Bloq - 53 seats
Liberals - 41 seats

Liberal support is soft. People that say they will vote Liberal will not necessarily show up at the polls because they cannot bring themselves to vote for a corrupt Liberal party and cannot bring themselves to vote for anyone else. That will not be enough to hand a majority to the Conservatives. I see the undecided voters (12 to 15%) hooking up with the party that has all but won the election. Together these conditions will hand the Conservatives a majority, leaving the Liberals in a political wasteland to strip the deadwood from the party.

UPDATE: I just visited Blue Blogging Soapbox and they are predicting 158 also (WOW). I never looked at that before I posted. What a co-inky-dink! I actually had 161 down before I changed it at the last minute.

Confirmed: Ford to May Cut Up to 25,000 Jobs

2006-01-22T20:20:00.000-05:00

Reported in this blog last Tuesday, it has been confirmed that there are heavy cuts coming to the Ford’s Windsor operation. From the Globe and Mail:

Ford may trim jobs in Canada as revamp plan to slash 25,000

Friday, January 20, 2006 Posted at 11:13 PM EST

Ford Motor Co. is expected to trim jobs in Canada as part of a plan to slash its work force by 25,000 people that will be announced Monday [as was predicted], industry observers said yesterday.

[…]

If Ford takes an axe to its Canadian operations, the likely targets are the Essex Engine Plant in Windsor, Ont., with about 1,100 employees, and an assembly plant in St. Thomas, Ont., where 2,500 people work. Salaried job cuts that are expected as part of the announcement will also almost certainly affect Ford Motor Co. of Canada Ltd., which employs about 14,000 people at those two plants, other engine operations in Windsor and another assembly plant and head office operations in Oakville, Ont.

This is will be a sad day in Windsor. It looks like the new Conservative government (please come back for future ‘local predictions post’) has its first set of challenges. My prayers go out to the families affected by these cuts.

Did Whelan Violate the Lobbyist Registration Act?

2006-01-20T02:35:00.000-05:00

During the election campaign, the issue of DaimlerChrysler (DCX) receiving $46 million from the federal government has been in the forefront in the riding of Essex. Susan Whelan, the Liberal candidate, was instrumental in DCX getting the nod from the feds. The Whelan campaign has made this the centerpiece of their campaign.

During the eight week campaign it has come out that Whelan was working as a registered, paid, lobbyist (possibly earning over $100K), casting doubt on her motives. Through a back and forth with Whelan’s campaign manager, Keith Pickard, in the Essex riding forum on the CBC’s website, a startling revelation emerges:

Keith, Thank you for clarifying Susan Whelan’s lobbyist role in assisting the acquisition of $46 million on behalf of Chrysler. Why is it that you are forthcoming with this information in this forum and left these facts out of your “News” item (dated: 2005-12-08) on your campaign website? When you omit the facts it looks very much like you are hiding something.

One point that Keith and Whelan Friendly made is curious when you look at Susan’s lobbyist registration

information* on the Strategis website. Ms. Whelan’s registration clearly states that she is “self employed”, meaning that any money that she received as a lobbyist for Chrysler she deposited into her bank account. Keith and Whelan Friendly assert that it was Paroian Law that paid Susan for her services, meaning that Paroian Law was retained by Chrysler to lobby the federal government for the $46 million.

Secondly, Ms. Whelan’s lobbyist registration filing indicated that Chrysler does not receive any other government funding. This is apparently another misleading statement because Chrysler receives millions of dollars from the federal government for its research and development activities in Windsor.

If these things are true, it suggests that Susan filed her lobbyist registration with misleading information. This would be a violation of the Lobbyist Registration Act*:

-----------------------
14.(2) Every individual who knowingly makes any false or misleading statement in any return or other document submitted to the registrar under this Act, whether in electronic or other form, is guilty of an offence and liable

(a) on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding twenty-five thousand dollars or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months, or to both; and

(b) on proceedings by way of indictment, to a fine not exceeding one hundred thousand dollars or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years, or to both.
-----------------------

The Office of the Registrar of Lobbyists takes these matters very seriously. Ms. Whelan is intimately familiar with the Lobbyist Registration act since she helped implement its current version when she was Chair of the House Standing Committee on Industry. Keith, will Susan voluntarily submit to an investigation by the Registrar General of Canada?
*I cleaned up the links, they were a mess.
Indeed!

The Liberal candidate for Essex has some explaining to do. It is early, but I find it interesting that the Whelan camp (Keith Pickard, who usually responds quickly) has not responded to this potentially explosive development. It is plausible that they are afraid of responding and digging a deeper hole.

I had a look at the Strategis website for Whelan’s lobbyist registration filing. After consulting the Yellow Pages, it was clear that Whelan was working out of the Paroian Law office because she listed their address, phone number and email address in her lobbyist registration information. It seems that Susan Whelan breaks and bends the very rules she developed to get paid handsomely with taxpayer money. This comes from a politician that has heavily criticized other candidates for alleged dishonest statements. If this turns out to be true, Susan Whelan will be the personification of everything that is wrong with the Liberal Party. The Conservative Party has vowed to clear up this sort of dishonesty and unfair lobbyist access in the federal government.

Harper Blazes on CBC Tonight

2006-01-20T00:44:00.000-05:00

I had an opportunity to catch Stephen Harper on CBC's "Your Turn" tonight. He did great. Mr. Harper was calm and humble, listening to questions and answering thoughtfully. Compared to Martin's ranting on the CBC in the program a week ago, Mr. Harper spoke policy and plans for the direction of Canada. Martin took his opportunity with Mansbridge to attack his main opponent and obfuscate on questions about Liberal scandal.

I tried to look at this through an unbiased lens to gauge what others, possibly undecided voters, would be thinking about Harper's performance. I thought he was weak in the foreign policy area and that he would initiate opening the gay marriage thing within the time of his mandate. I do not see the latter point as a priority. There are much bigger issues facing this country, we should not be revisiting this issue. Overall, I believed what Mr. Harper was saying, especially in running the government with integrity and accountability, and could easily see Stephen Harper as the Prime Minister.

600 Ford Workers to Lose Jobs in Windsor

2006-01-17T16:31:00.000-05:00

I was saddened to hear that a friend of mine just received his layoff notice from Ford's Windsor Engine Plant. According to my friend, this is part of a planned reduction of 600 hourly employees locally at Ford. Attrition and layoffs will be the main instruments Ford will use to reduce its workforce numbers. This is a severe body blow to the Windsor economy, which is currently saddled with one of the highest unemployment rates in the country.

The interesting part of this story is that Ford will not be announcing these cuts until sometime shortly after the federal election. This is a curious decision to make when the layoff notices are being handed out now. Could it be that Ford management is trying to influence the election in some way? At this time I am at a loss to guess what purpose they would have for doing this other than to keep the news off the front pages, saving the Liberals another embarrassing campaign moment since the smoking hot economy is the party’s biggest attribute.

Locally, this would be bad news for one candidate in particular. Susan Whelan’s equity would be reduced because she has been shamelessly promoting herself as the saviour of the local auto industry because of a $46 million grant from the now defunct Technology Partnerships Canada program she helped acquire on behalf of Daimler Chrysler. Her motives for working on behalf of the automaker were less than altruistic. Ms. Whelan worked as a paid lobbyist for Daimler Chrysler, being paid handsomely for her efforts. Secondly, Whelan has been working hard to unseat Conservative upstart Jeff Watson since he defeated her in the last election. Apparently, it is not Windsor’s economy that Whelan is referring to on her website “…building an economy with unemployment at its lowest rate in thirty years…”

The Fact is Martin is Fundametally Doomed!

2006-01-17T13:09:00.000-05:00

Kate at SDA is concerned that Paul Martin's handlers have not realized that their "dear" leader's speeches have been reduced to a drinking game because of Martin's overuse of the phrases: "fundamentally", "Let me tell you", "I have to tell you" and "the fact is". Next time you see him talking on TV, count them, it's rather amusing.

I was wondering if I could make the ultimate Martinism?:

"Let me tell you, the fact is that fundamentally Stephen Harper will make the best Prime Minster. I have to tell you, I am not making this up!"

The Cookie Returneth

2006-01-17T00:47:00.000-05:00

I was offline all last week because of my cable company doing line replacements in my neighbourhood. In a perfect storm of technical difficulties, the router at my office went belly up (taking about a week to replace through warranty) and I was unable to get access to the internet. This is where the story gets interesting.

Being offline for the better part of the week taught me that I am somewhat addicted to the internet. When I couldn't get on line I was irritable and very angry with "that stupid cable company". I went through all the stages of loss, arriving at acceptance around Friday. Getting back online was just as bad. I spent WAY too much time catching up with my favourite blogs and news sources. Now, I have to work my tail off to catch up on a few loose ends!

I have just arrived at my new years resolution (yeah, I know I'm a little late), I will make more of an effort to unplug, filling my time with other pursuits. I have a feeling that resolution won't last long.

A Scandal a Day Makes the Liberals Go Away II

2006-01-06T15:22:00.000-05:00

After my previous post, another RCMP investigation into Liberal wrong doing has come to light. It appears that the Liberal Deputy National Director (Organization and Policy) (and professional lobbyist), Kim Doran, got a contract for $380K from the Justice Department to lobby the federal solicitor general, Treasury Board and Privy Council. A portion of that money, $136K ended up back in Librano coffers. Sounds like Adscam, Part Deux!

Angry has all the details.

The Liberals have many hands and the cookie jar appears to be way to big and tempting.

Hint: Paul, Children Don't Vote

2006-01-06T13:49:00.000-05:00

I found this on Warren Kinsella's site (originally from the CP):

"Paul Martin explains to children how the state of Canada will take care of them now. Reaction was mixed."

Check out the kid at the top right. THAT is what I do every time Martin or one of his Liberal candidates/pundits is talking.

Captions people, I need Captions!

(desperate plee for at least one person to make a comment)

A Scandal a Day Will Make The Liberals Go Away!

2006-01-06T09:46:00.000-05:00

Since the campaign started the Conservatives have been running a very good campaign, announcing policy nearly every day. Conservative fortunes have been inadvertently helped by the Liberal running an anti-campaign based on a new scandal/gaffe revelation nearly every day. Here is a partial list (no particular order):

Ignatieff as a hand picked candidate, unwanted by local Liberal Riding Association
"Beer and Popcorn" statement by Scott Reid and John Duffy (Senior Liberal Advisors)
Mike Klander, executive vice-president of the federal Liberal party's Ontario wing, blogging about Olivia Chow.
Sarmite Bulte - the Canadian Liberal Party MP for Parkdale/High Park is having her election campaign bankrolled by the Canadian entertainment cartel.
Paul Martin's CSL tax avoidance.
$8.5B of public money (yours and mine) alledgedly stashed away in secret funds and untouchable private foundations by the Liberals.
The Abotech affair - Liberal MP David Smith adopted aboriginal status (his maternal great grandmother was Métis) so his company, Abotech, could get special access to over $1 million in government contracts.
The RCMP's criminal investigation into the Income Trust Scandal
The RCMP's investigation into Option Canada and $300,000 missing in taxpayer money. Liberals score a bonus on this one because it brings Adscam back to centre stage.

Sadly, I am sure I have missed lots of things at the local levels. It makes a foul stench and must be flushed!

GOLD!!!!!!!!

2006-01-06T01:54:00.000-05:00

In the beginning they were the underdogs! USA was the favourite followed closely by the Russians. Through grit and determination the Americans were taken care of in the round robin portion of the tournament. Tonight in the BIG GAME, it was the Russian's turn. With overwhelming fire power, unbelievably punishing defence and stellar goaltending silenced all critics and captured gold in an astonishing 5-0 win.

WELL DONE BOYS!! WELL DONE!!!

Congratulations to the Russians, they played hard and displayed awesome skill. It was very evident that these players are young. Many of the Russian players including their star Malkin and the goal came to tears after the game. Words of encouragement ring hollow for them right now...losing this game sucks! Period. Many of these players have bright careers ahead of them. In 10 years, a silver medal in this tournament will be a badge of honour!

So I Have Plenty of Time To Cover My Tracks

2006-01-05T14:05:00.000-05:00

Shrewd observer Joel at Proud to be Canadian found this little gem:

Donald Black is a good friend of Ralph Goodale and was present at a secret meeting just before the fateful announcement on November 23rd. Mr. Black is not your run of the mill friend, he gave half a million dollars to Ralph's 1993 campaign. I would say that one would have to have pretty strong ties with the Liberals at the highest levels to pony up that kind of dough. Ethics seem to be in short supply in the Liberal stratosphere."

Last night, Donald Black was interviewed by Mike Duffy (CTV), during which Mr. Black had a huge mouth fart:

“I hope if they (RCMP) ever investigate me, they announce that publicly, so I have plenty of time to cover my tracks.”

Here's the video.

So this is the typical response of a Liberal being investigated by the police. "To the shredders, to the shredders!!" I wonder if the RCMP will be acquiring some court orders to seize files and other evidence before it goes unexplainably missing?

CBC Adds More Poll Data

2006-01-05T10:47:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I was commenting on how the CBC poll tracker seemed to be missing data after December 29th. At the time I wrote the post six days had lapsed without an update to the CBC's Canada Votes website. At 4:50pm, I noticed that they had updated with the January 3rd SES poll, leaving a five day gap in the data. This morning, the CBC's poll tracker now has a poll from Ipsos-Reid added for December 30th. Now the gap is only four days, within reasonability limits over a weekend and a holiday.

BTW...the CBC has added another poll to this feature. Ekos has Conservatives at 36% and the LIberals at 30%. Sweeet! Time to double our efforts and bring this puppy over the goal line.

Canada Goes for Gold

2006-01-05T10:29:00.000-05:00

Team Canada is going for gold at the World Jr. tournament in Vancouver tonight.

Go Get 'Em Guys!!!

Catch the action on TSN at 7pm EST.

RTC Blog Upgrade Finished (for now)

2006-01-05T00:38:00.000-05:00

There were lots of updates and arm twisting, but here it is. I am glad I know a little bit about CSS.

I apologize to all the folks who came here and found things a little off. Apparently, Blogging Tories kept me at the top of the list because of the constant updates. Hopefully you stuck around for a bit of a surf.

If you have a second, please let me know how you like the look. I think the comments are working, but nobody has left one yet.

I am not new to blogging, I am just getting my site moved. I plan on porting most of the old posts over, leaving the stinkers behind.

CBC Unwilling to Face Reality

2006-01-04T14:41:00.000-05:00

It has been six days since the CBC updated its poll tracker. The last update from SES had the Conservatives drawing within a percentage point of the Liberals. Since then, SES now has the Conservatives at 36% (+7) and the Liberals at 33% (-4) [very cool].

I wonder why the CBC (the media outlet for the Liberal campaign) would not want to update their 'Canada Votes' feature? The cynical side of me believes that the CBC is waiting for a poll that is more favourable to the Liberals. They may be waiting awhile because the SES polls during the campaign have consistently had the Conservatives well below other polls. I am sure there is another explanation for it. Here is the latest:

Check here to see if the they have updated their poll tracker yet.

Update: 4:51pm - they now have the current SES poll data included. There were a lot of visits from Toronto after this was posted...I wonder...yeah right!

Black is Depressing

2006-01-04T14:39:00.000-05:00

I will be changing the look of this place soon. The black is easier on the eyes, but man it is depressing. Maybe I will go back to the browns or just save some time and use a template. Anybody have a suggestion?

$8.5B Secretly Stashed Away by Liberals and Ignored by the MSM

2006-01-03T10:26:00.000-05:00

Joel at Proud to be Canadian has a great post on an advanced copy of a book: PAUL MARTIN & COMPANIES - Sixty theses on the alegal nature of tax havens, by Alain Deneault (Talonbooks). This book exposes some $8.5B that has been siphoned from the public purse to secret funds and untouchable private foundations. From Joel's post, it appears that Deneault's book also has explosive revelations about Canada Steamship Lines and the broken social contract between Paul Martin and Canadians.

I added this to the comments:

-------------------------
One other piece of information on CSL, the company regularly violates Canadian environmental laws.

http://www.thismagazine.ca/issues/2005/09/sweepingitunder.php

“The ship’s master would swing the boom out over the water and pass Macdonald the word to have the electrician start the conveyor belts. The belts would whir into motion, and the sweepings would pour off the boom into the waters of Lake Erie for half an hour, leaving a trail of iron-ore dust in the ship’s wake—the only visible sign of the environmental degradation.

It was a routine task but, even though he was a seasoned sailor, it never sat right with Macdonald. He is certainly no tree-hugger, but thinks there must be an alternative. “It’s been a bone of contention for me for years,” he says. “They call this spillage. I love the term.”"

[...]

“Canadian and US shipping companies pump an estimated 2,500 tons of cargo residue into the lakes each year during 11,000 ship transits, according to a 1999 report by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Data from a study commissioned by the US Coast Guard in 2003 suggests that 80 percent of the dumping takes place in shipping lanes that pass through sensitive-species habitats. Its numbers imply that 45,000 to 64,000 tons of cargo—the equivalent of 6,000 to 9,000 garbage-truck loads—has been dumped into the lakes since the practice started. And nearly all the discharges qualify as pollutants under guidelines of the Ontario government, according to a 1993 study commissioned by the Canadian Coast Guard.”

Another example of how rules don’t apply to Liberals.
-------------------------

Bruck Easton's Deep Liberal Links

2006-01-02T23:48:00.000-05:00

Bruck Easton finally has his website up. It is a typically boring Liberal website that is there just because it has to be, with little content or regard for the current state of the internet. It seems that Liberals have no idea about blogs and how powerful they could be for their candidates' campaigns. The Grits probably consider blogs as a thorn in their side, whether it be a right wing blog holding their feet to the fire or a blog of a hateful Liberal Party member.

While Bruck’s website left much to be desired on the form and function scale, I was quite interested in the content. Most notably, the biography. One section in particular struck me as odd. While I see that Bruck was trying to establish his Liberal pedigree, he succeeded in tying himself to the old guard of the Liberals:

"A celebrated tax and commercial lawyer, Mr. Easton practices with the firm of Belowus Easton English. He was born and raised in Windsor and his late father Robert Easton, also a lawyer, was a partner of both the late Paul Martin, Sr. and William Cowan, the father of Sheila Ann Martin, the wife of Prime Minister Paul Martin."

If Bruck is elected, nothing will change for Windsor-Tecumseh. Liberals have proven for the last 12 years that they are more interested in helping themselves and their friends than they are in serving their constituents. What does Bruck Easton know about helping the average person in this riding? Nothing: Bruck is a lawyer in an ivory tower and lives on Riverside drive.

BTW...isn't it strange how the Bruck connects himself to Paul Martin Jr. Bruck's Dad was partner's with a guy names Cowen who was the father of Paul Martin's wife. "Six Degrees of Separation tp Paul Martin"