Gomery Follows $$$, Whistleblower Legislation 'So Flawed', Stuffing the Mainstream Media Maw, CFRA, Answers.com, Music, Salim Mansur, Mark Steyn

Gomery will be following the money this week -- "AD EXEC, COMPANY CHARGED FEDS MILLIONS IN ADDITION TO SPONSORSHIP CONTRACTS, DOCUMENTS SHOW"

The government refused to make public 24 pages of documents that show Lafleur's expenses in 1995 and 1996, citing that the information contained in them is part of an ongoing RCMP investigation into the $250-million federal sponsorship program.

The last refuge of a scoundrel: using "It is part of an ongoing investigation" -- and of course, "privacy concerns".

$15M in expenses -- do not miss reading this one Maria McClintock, February 27, 2005

ONE OF the key ad executives at the centre of the sponsorship scandal was paid more than $15 million in expenses over four years by the federal government, the Toronto Sun has learned. Jean Lafleur and his firm, Lafleur Communications, earned the millions between 1998 and 2002, according to documents obtained under Access to Information that detail additional cash paid out by the feds to Lafleur. [. . . . ]

C-11 Whistleblower Protection Bill (committee) -- a must read article full of information

The last thing the government wants is a truly effective law that would let the public know how things were / are really run behind the scenes -- like sponsorship times 10. Government prefers the publc be kept in the dark and the mainstream media help them by asking cream puff questions or simply ignoring stories.

The parade of witnesses who appeared before the committee since October were almost unanimous in condemning the idea, saying public servants won't trust the PSC's independence and won't take their complaints there.

MPs say it will take weeks to rehaul bill to protect public servants, some say bill is dead

Treasury Board Reg Alcock's much-hyped whistleblower bill--a key part of Prime Minister Paul Martin's plan to clean up government in the wake of the sponsorship scandal--is in serious trouble and appears headed for major retooling, if not Parliament's dustbin.

After hearing their last witness on Wednesday, MPs studying the legislation say it's so flawed it will take weeks of committee work to fix it.

Some suggest it may be beyond repair. [. . . . ]

One can only hope! This is legislation that this government, in particular, should not have any say in -- but that is impossible. We have a severely diminished democracy and the government is determined to keep Canadians in the dark.

Search: access reform, Natuashish, same-sex, Senate appointments, Liberal dissent, Auditor General Sheila Fraser's, health-related government foundations, STATUS OF GOVERNMENT BUSINESS





Missing In Action?

Has anyone seen Stephen Harper? -- There's still no conservative alternative February 27, 2005. Linda Williamson, Toronto Sun

It's been almost a year since the Conservative party reunited itself under leader Stephen Harper, who promptly told his cheering members: "There's going to be a takeover: The Conservatives taking over the government of Canada."

Yet last week, the familiar refrain could still be heard throughout the land, on talk radio, in letters to the editor, and among the small-c (and even large-c) conservatives of my acquaintance: "We still don't have a conservative alternative in this country."

Sad but true. And why? [. . . . ]

Canadians are so used to empty bluster that if a leader doesn't regularly produce the requisite bafflegab for the press, if he quietly works in the background,

* getting a newly merged political party in fine shape to fight in the House and in the next election, supervising the organizing, researching and preparing the CPC's approach and policies--convention in Montreal Mar. 17-19,

* allowing excellent MP's to speak and question in the House and to shine in their particular areas of expertise,

the media question whether he is an effective leader. Stephen Harper knows how to delegate, unlike some leaders I could mention who are used to micromanaging, no matter what the balls display was intended to suggest -- that he's laid back and not the controlling street tough I suspect he really is. Oh, did I mention Jean Chretien? Consider it done. The media do not as yet seem to recognize--or do not give credit for the fact--that the Conservative Party of Canada has a political leader who does not tell the underlings what to think and to say -- pronouncing from atop the dung heap -- as has been the case for years.

The Conservatives are working from the bottom up, engaging the membership in preparing policies. Stephen Harper and his troops are quite effective. They will speak -- but first they want to have in order the alternatives they will offer and which the policy convention will make final. Until then, spewing hot air is pointless.

Given the mainstream media's choice to support the status quo and to avoid investigating several items in need of a thorough investigation, the media may feel a trifle guilty at their deal with the Liberal devils -- with a few exceptions some of whom I mention on this site.

The mainstream media is the great maw that has been fed BS sound bites by Liberals for years, hence they didn't have to do much journalistic work, just regurgitate. They do not like the idea of Conservatives, excellent MP's, and bloggers changing the system they know -- the BS, status quo system. Media divorced from Ottawa handouts threaten to upset this neat little system; no wonder the media are annoyed. Many free speaking bloggers support philosophical conservatism and Conservatives and these bloggers threaten the media status quo.

Stephen Harper is subject to mainstream media negativity, whatever he says or does -- and the media complain that he is not front and center for them to get sound bites? Give me a quietly decent non-BS leader any time. I would love to see him as Prime Minister. I am sure the media would be upset but the rest of us might get good government -- if we could recognize it any more.




CFRA -- Ottawa radio online -- today's question

I have been listening this morning to www.cfra.com talk radio -- and the question being tossed about is based on ex-MP John Manley's suggestion that the Liberal party should alternate leaders, not just between a francophone and an anglophone, but between Quebec and TROC. Someone has mentioned a male-female alternative, as well. No-one talks about merit in much of anything any more. I don't know about the rest of the country, but I have had it with Quebeckers as always being catered to. They are less than 1/4 of this country and I am sick of the media taking the pulse of the same group all the time. Quebeckers will never support a Westerner for PM nor for leader of the Liberal party.

If Canadians do not get leaders from anywhere except Quebec soon (PM is a Quebecker, whatever he claims) and if I were a Westerner, I would be working to take the West out of Canada. Good decent people being left out of the equation in almost everything -- for the federal Liberals cater to Quebec and France. They insult our friends the Americans -- among their many negatives; don't forget the corruption.





Canada Free Press and Judi McLeod, one of the journalists who actually digs for information

The fact that the member of the "peaceful" Khadr family was allowed into the country means that honest people don't have a hope in Hades when it comes to their safety. The government has bastardized the laws to such an extent that it leaves Canadians vulnerable to attack from terrorists. This violates the first duty of a government to the country which is to protect its citizens. The fact that the government sees nothing wrong with this issue means they have no morality -- just the raison d'etre of adjusting the levers to make sure they are returned to power with the blessing of the media.

"Email me" returned terrorist invites Canadians Judi McLeod, Canadafreepress.com




What bloggers have to say about Answers.com

Answers.com -- and check where that leads

Gutenberg Project -- books online

Librarian in Black

GuruNet

Utterly Boring and Access to GuruNet is Now Free

Finally, may I plug listening online to classical music at

Washington's Classical 103.5

King.org Classical




U.S. can sit back and watch Europe implode February 27, 2005, Mark Steyn, Chicagl Sun-Times

A week ago, the conventional wisdom was that George W. Bush had seen the error of his unilateral cowboy ways and was setting off to Europe to mend fences with America's ''allies.''

I think not. [. . . . ]

Search: EU ''constitution,'', Euro-bigwigs, their mistresses' decolletage, former French President Valery Giscard d'Estaing, Europe's Jefferson, 511 pages, which is 500 longer than, ratified, CIA analysts



Salim Mansur

Salim Mansur: The tide of freedom February 26, 2005, Toronto Sun

Shakespeare's Brutus declares, "There is a tide in the affairs of men," and its meaning, when properly grasped, opens new chapters in human history.

The abiding tide in human affairs is that of freedom, sometimes receding and at other times in full flood. [. . . . ]