Bud: Bombardier's TV ad bombs -&- Kurds winning the war

Bombardier's TV ad bombs

Rarely have I been so infuriated by an advertising campaign. Supposedly, we Canadians are to believe that we are "owners" of this Quebec airplane and railway giant. Well, either directly or indirectly, we suspect that Jean Chretien and Paul Martin are part owners, certainly of the good will that results from sluicing other people's money to it; the hoi polloi get nothing but paying for it. When you look up corporate welfare, there is a picture of Bombardier. The total taxpayers have pumped into a business with such (dubious) political connections, is astronomical.

If there were ever a case for charging a company with fraudulent advertising, this is it. My favourite Bombardier ad is where the guy gets out of the safari truck to point to a plane flying overhead. He enthusiastically informs the other passengers that this is "his plane". Meanwhile he is being stalked by two lions. My fantasy runs along the lines of him being pounced upon and eaten with relish--while the other passengers watch the plume trails of "his" plane, and say, "Do you suppose we are owners too?".

© Bud Talkinghorn--I'm still waiting for my dividend cheque from Bombardier. Received yours yet?

These ads simply enrage me. Where do they get off trying to pull this (feel good?) schtick? Canadians pay while Bombardier and friends win, along with politicians buying votes for the usual suspects in Quebec. Gimme a break! NJC



The Kurds are winning the war

This could be taken two ways. First, they are the main auxilliary strike force for attacking the insurgents in their strongholds. The Americans are turning over more and more of the fighting in the north and north-west to Kurdish Peshmerga divisions. Unlike the Sunni and Shi'ite soldiers, they cannot be infiltrated by al-Qaeda or the Baathist no-hopers. When the Americans turned to the Iraqis for help in the first battle of Falluja, they got a Sunni General and his forces. These actually ended up deserting to the insurgents' side when the battle commenced. Therefore, in the second battle for Falluja, the Yanks depended mainly on Kurdish troops. When the defeated insurgents moved up into Mosul, it was the Kurdish forces that suppressed them.

The second sense of "winning" is that the Kurds have no intention of paying allegiance to their former oppressors. They want to set up an independent state of Kurdistan. If it comes to blows with the Sunnis or Shi'ites, they are expecting a pay-back in loyalty from the U.S. army. That favour may be called on soon. Even if they have to go it alone, their excellent training with the Americans and their major inroads into the Iraqi defense command will be lead them to victory.

© Bud Talkinghorn