Jan. 31, 2007: Bud Talkinghorn

Saint Evergreen is being attacked

Oh, the horror! Stephane Dion is subject to "attack ads", or, as the Tories would refer to them, a heads-up on the man who did nothing for the environment. Depending on your sources, the 13 year reign of the Liberals, with Dion in the Minister of Environment for the last part, has resulted in a 30% to 36% increase in pollution emissions. Now the Liberal Party, along with their old buddies, the MSM, are hyping him as the saviour of the planet. A very late conversion on the road to Kyoto, if you ask me. Dion is also the man. who is so lusting after the Prime Ministership, that he threatens a defeat of the Tory budget--even though it has never been announced. The CBC and The Globe and Mail will have to work overtime to denounce these despicable attack ads.

© Bud Talkinghorn--A friend's term -- "the only virgin in the whorehouse."


Saint Atwood attacks the cultural troglodytes, aka, the Tories

It seems the Conservatives have cut the funding for Canadian Culture Abroad. This is the equivalent of the Vandals sacking Rome according to Margaret Atwood. She is shocked that this "world -renowned Canadian talent" is being denied a world-wide audience. Now, I know that I am a philistine, but what I don't understand is why these "world-renowned artists" can't go it on talent alone. Yesterday, Joni Mitchell was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame. She made a small name for herself here, and then left for the big show down south. Did she ever get a grant, gratuity, foundation scholarship or any other taxpayer welfare paid inducement to sing? I suspect not. Ditto, Neil Young, The Band, or other musical icons. Maybe I'm just prejudiced by knowing a poetess, who wrote the most appallingly incomprehensible rubbish, yet managed to snag two hefty arts grants. She did, however, spend a lot of time cultivating her local cultural abiters of taste. I am glad that a handful of excellent Canadian TV series were able to survive because of ... Fill in any of the numerous government donors. Don't feel constrained to name one or two, only. Nevertheless, those are outweighed by the gushers of mediocrity that also were funded. "Cold Squad" was so good that it probably could have survived without the government largesse. "Everwood" is more doubtful.

Then there is the CRTC, which as Mordecai Richler sarcastically explained, was "the government dumping a law that insisted on (and bankrolled to a yummmy degree), a Canadian pollution of our airwaves." In its earliest manifestation, a.m. radio stood for Ann Murray. I ask you, how many of you have ever seen one of the hundreds of films financed by taxpayer dollars? Who, other than their cultural buddies, does get to see them? Those that are shown on CBC docs display a minnowesque talent and a Moby Dick's load of lefty agitprop. Even though they are supposedly "showing Canadians to Canadians" they lean rather heavily on anti-Americanism. Often they are referred to as "experimental films" -- a favourite term to cover-up their commercial failure. Canada is loaded with talented people who don't belong to the cultural clique that agitates for taxpayer money or who sign the cheques. They manage to survive and prosper, anyway. It is time for governments to get out of the culture racket. In the old days, if you wanted that Paris experience you travelled there steerage, lived in a garret, drank vin ordinaire and produced successful work, or sank without a trace. That is as it should be.

© Bud Talkinghorn



"The Palestinian never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity" -- Abba Eban

Under the treacherous Arafat, the Palestinians had their best chance ever to have a full-fledged independent state. But, no, Arafat decided what the people needed was a second intifada. That new violence, including suicide bombings in Israeli cities, led to the "apartheid" wall. Palestinians were blocked from their Israeli jobs and the Israelis assassinated the suicide ringleaders--as always with civilian casualties. Israeli pulled out of the Gaza settlements and their rewards was that Gaza used as a rocket launching area. So what is the logical answer for the Palestinians now? Why, to vote in a Hamas government, who promised Israel's destruction, of course. Finally, even the most liberal pro-Palestinian Westerner had to cry "uncle". The death wish of the Palestinians was undenialable. They were going to shoot themselves in the foot, come what may.

As the Western welfare dried up, the Palestinians suddenly realized what a mistake their hatreds had wrought. Granted, that some of that vote was a rebuke to the endless corruption of the old Arafat Fatah operation. On paper, destroying the Israelis sounded so good; but the reality was a hard lesson in economics. The situation became so dire that Fatah felt it had to topple Hamas. The Israelis even helped arm them. The result is a budding civil war between the two main groups. However, nothing is ever that straighforeward in that region. Even before the conflict between Fatah and Hamas, Gaza was devolving into anarchy. The lawlessness extended to drug cartels, clan violence and lots of free-lance extortionists, kidnappers, and strong arm robbers. The mayhem was so prevalent that the MSM rarely reported it. Besides, it muddied their favourite linear story line of oppressors and "insurgents". For the left, it was too painful to contemplate. It must somehow be the Israelis' fault.

Today, there has been another truce called; unfortunately sullied by the assassination by Fatah of a top Hamas commander. Stay tuned for the never ending saga of self-inflicted carnage.

© Bud Talkinghorn--Oh yes, there was a meaningful attempt at reconciliation ... by a suicide attack on an Israeli resort. All the major political terrorist groups claimed some responsibility for the act. That should help bring down the "apartheid wall" and free up Western guilt gelt.