Jack's Newswatch

Sitting at my machine on the eve of a new decade I find myself thinking about Canada…who we are, where we want to go in the years ahead…and I have hope.

The last time Canada enjoyed a majority conservative government was in the days of Brian Mulroney and we got free trade, a boon to our country. But Mulroney, for all the hooting and hollering he did, was a liberal in drag and that remains true this very day.

Today, as we enter a new decade, we have something very different in Stephen Harper and the “left” is going nuts.

I’m reading Rick Hilliers book which I received as a Christmas present and it is a mind blower if you love our military and support it. His story starts in in 1975.

By that time I had been in our military for some twelve years and I’m here to tell you now that the Canadian military’s problems did not start when he joined. They started when John Diefenbaker was in power and it happened with his new “austerity program”. It happened as I joined the military and it was a long time ago.

This is truth. At that time the Canadian military started to reuse paperclips (literally) because we were so concerned about cost and in the years that passed afterward our military began to suffer as one brainless politician after another piled on. The biggest fool to appear was Paul Hellyer who, trying to save money, combined the air, water and land elements into one unit and everyone adopted the “jolly green jumper”.

Entire units disappeared (the Black Watch was one) but there were many.

That was only the tip of the iceburg.

“Cy Clayton” whom Hillier names in his book was my instructor on my first Junior NCO Course and I failed because I didn’t meet his standards. Rick notes that Cy ended up an RSM and so he should have but for an hour I held his career in my hands. As it turned out the military SIU were after him back in those days for holding “black power” meetings in his home and when they heard about what had happened to me on that course they wanted him…badly.

I supported him because the truth is this. He is one hell of a soldier…big, smart and totally fearless.

I wasn’t strong enough to keep up with him and “truly” — the course was so boring I had lost interest. It was like running the obstacle course “24/7″ and I was learning nothing. It was brutal and it was stupid (as Rick hints at in the book).

Time moved on. I know about those Centurion tanks he writes about. In my day they ran fine and Gagetown was where they ran. But as the years moved on and equipment broke down and wasn’t replaced I began to lose heart. It was also because of “touchy feely” stuff imposed on us by the “gods” in the great white tower. Things like forcing the french language upon us in order to get promoted. Differences in the way that the air force and navy assessed people for promotion (no land element prospective NCO could achieve higher than a B+ whilst the “Air Farce” could get an “A”. Guess what happened?

Army corporals were teaching air force sergeants how to work in a land environment as they took over and it became a hell of a mess. I finally gave up (I was qualified by that time to assume the rank of a Staff Sergeant) and I threw up my arms one day and said “f**k this”.

I left and moved on into civilian policing where the money was a lot better and I remained in one place with my family. The pension was a big draw also and here’s the point Rick is trying to make and I’m an example. I didn’t need the Armed Forces — they needed me — but they were to stupid to realize it as they crawled into a hole and faded away.

Knowing a few officers in the CF one of the things I have noted is how often they were bumped around from one posting to another. Rick writes about that and I know it to be true. I cannot and would not live that life. Not for one minute. My family and their welfare comes first and contrary to what RSM’s everywhere tell the troops (you’re married to the army — your family comes second) I disagree.

After the career is all over and you’re to old to serve anymore you need something to fall back on. That would be family. I think Rick knows that.

Nothing is more important and unlike Rick I was not the least bit interested in trotting my family around the globe to please an organization that apparently did not give a damn about me. I left in 1977 and never looked back.

Did I mention that on five different occasions the military SIU tried to recruit me? On TWO different occasions they tried (and failed) to send me on a French immersion course. I was not about to give these arseholes running the country an inch.

Back to Harper.

Politicians from the days of “Dief the thief” have always lumbered the Canadian military first when they wanted to re-route the money to other pet projects. Canadian Airborne regiment — “poof” — gone (Chretien) and they saved a bundle. One or two soldiers (bad actors) gave them the excuse to remove an entire regiment never mind that 99.9 % of them were hard working and had never put a foot wrong.

By that time I was “out” and I didn’t raise an eyebrow. Exactly as expected.

Then came “911″ and I was around that day standing outside the detachment (it was a local police department at the time) as a fellow officer came running in telling us that New York was under attack. I didn’t even need to think about it to know who was responsible.

Of course, it was Bin Laden.

“Big Willy” had been f**king around with him for years and failed to deal with him. Ten years later it’s all George Bush’s fault.

As all the confusion was going on Harper appeared on the horizon as he took over the Canadian Alliance and all of a sudden Liberals went into full panic mode. Never mind they had a majority government at the time — “Crouton” had to be replaced and the knives came out. PMPM replaced him in short order and as Harper advanced Liberals cringed. Harper took over and PMPM was replaced by Dion in due course as Liberals lost power only to be usurped by “Iggy” — he who walks on water according to the media.

“Iggy” (in his turn) is about to be replaced by an ex-NDP premier (Naked Bobbie) who will restart the process. Then the unification of the left will be complete and we’ll have a real parliament. Meanwhile Harper motors on saying little but RENEWING our forces for the first time in my lifetime. Our troops are finally getting everything they need and in my view it will get better in the days ahead as Harper runs the left into the ground and takes away all their entitlements.

I do not care about people who support the Taliban and that is what is happening.

It begins with the Senate and ends with a majority government where real change can happen.

I wish him well and “Happy New Year” Steve.

You are right on the money.

And “Happy New Year” to everyone. Better days ahead.

Popularity: 3% [?]

The British are all smiles over the release of Peter Moore, a British citizen who was held hostage by an Iranian-backed Shia terror group in Iraq. But there is little talk about the price paid to secure Moore’s release. The US military has freed Qais Qazali, the leader of the Asaib al Haq, or League of the Righteous, as well as his brother Laith, several Qods Force officers, and more than 100 members of the terror group, in exchange for Moore. And that isn’t all. The British also received the corpses of three security contractors who were working to protect Moore when he was kidnapped at the Finance Ministry in Baghdad in May 2007. The three contractors were executed by the Asaib al Haq; another is also thought to have been killed.

Qais Qazli wasn’t just some run of the mill Shia thug; his group is backed by Iran. Qazali’s men were trained by Iranian Qods Force to infiltrate and assault the Provincial Joint Coordination Center in Karbala in January 2007. Five US soldiers were killed during the kidnapping attempt. The US soldiers were executed after US and Iraqi security forces closed in on the assault team.

The attack on the Karbala Provincial Joint Coordination Center was a complex, sophisticated operation. The assault team, led by tactical commander Azhar al Dulaimi (who was later killed by the US military), was trained in a mock-up of the center that was built in Iran. The unit had excellent intelligence and received equipment that made them appear to be US soldiers. Some of the members of the assault team are said to have spoken English. They drove SUVs that looked like ones used by US contractors.

[Source]

Related:

First picture released of Peter Moore amid claims he was held in Iran

It’s Not Yet Friday, But It Is New Year’s Eve

Popularity: 3% [?]

Extremist “patriot” groups and other armed militia have undergone a dramatic resurgence in America, their numbers more than doubling in the past year amid growing Right-wing fears over expanding federal power and gun control.

Such groups – a mix of libertarians, gun rights advocates and survivalists – appeared to be in terminal decline before the election of Barack Obama, according to monitoring bodies.

The Southern Poverty Law Centre, which tracks extremist organisations, says it has so far counted more than 300 patriot groups this year, at least double last year’s total of 150. The real total will be much higher as many groups do not go out of their way to publicise their existence.

A similar wave of anti-government groups, some of whose members dress in camouflage gear and conduct military training at weekends, sprung up during the Clinton administration.

However, SPLC researchers said there was a new race factor reflecting President Obama’s ethnicity and immigration fears.

The groups themselves reject accusations of racism but agree that many members are deeply worried about gun control, are angered by the federal economic rescue packages, and are dismayed by government interference in areas such as health care. They voice frustration at what they perceive as America’s international decline.

Tensions are running high and some fear major bloodshed springing from a minor event. A law enforcement official told the SPLC that “all that’s lacking is a spark”.

[More]

Popularity: 9% [?]

MONTREAL- At Nick Rizzuto Jr.’s wedding in 1995 at the Sheraton Centre Hotel downtown, RCMP and Laval police officers were so shutter-happy, the guests might have taken them for official wedding photographers.

Now that the reputed Canadian godfather’s eldest son is about to be buried, all eyes – and lenses – will be focused on his funeral.

Gunned down Monday near a real-estate developer’s office in Notre Dame de Grâce, Rizzuto’s body is expected to lie in repose at the Complexe Funéraire Loreto in St. Léonard, not least because the swank funeral parlour is owned by the mother of the deceased, Giovanna Cammalleri, and his aunt, Maria Rizzuto Renda.

The funeral service is expected to take place Saturday at Notre Dame de la Défense church in Little Italy.

Vito Rizzuto, the slain man’s father, though previously known as Canada’s Teflon Don, is currently serving a 10-year sentence in the United States for racketeering, related to three murders that occurred in the 1980s. His sentence will end in 2012.

It will be up to the warden of a Colorado prison to decide whether he will be able to attend his son’s funeral in the coming days.

[More]

Popularity: 4% [?]

Stephen Harper is a despot. The decision to “padlock” Parliament is a cover-up designed to avoid scrutiny over the Afghan detainee issue. The Conservatives have a very thin legislative agenda and no new ideas to put forward.

Ralph Goodale, the Liberal House leader, was getting warmer as he groped for explanations for the Prime Minister’s decision, announced yesterday, to prorogue Parliament until early March.

While Mr. Harper may harbour aspirations of despotism, he remains, alas for him, the head of a minority government. The second prorogation in little over a year is unusual and, in large measure, unnecessary. But it is going too far to claim it is a debasement of democracy. There is a budget scheduled for March 4 and, if the opposition parties feel the Conservative government is acting undemocratically, they can bring it down. Noticeably, Mr. Goodale clammed up when he was asked if the Liberals would give vent to their outrage by voting against the budget.

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Notes:

Just read through Jim Travers column today and he’s crying in his beer. Can you just imagine if Harper called him up and said something along the lines of “Hey Jim. I just read your column and you really have me thinking. You’re right. I think I’m going to call an election and let the people speak. What do you make of that idea?”

Popularity: 5% [?]

MONTREAL — A French family who immigrated to Montreal after being wooed by a Canadian embassy official in Paris have been told they must leave the country because their daughter has cerebral palsy and places an “excessive burden on social services.”

David Barlagne settled in Montreal with his wife and two daughters in 2005, hoping to start a computer software business. Barlagne said he had warned Canadian authorities that his daughter, Rachel, has cerebral palsy, a congenital neurological disorder that causes lifelong uncoordinated physical movement.

“I asked whether this would be a problem, and I was told that once my business was established in Canada after a couple of years, I could make a request for permanent residency and it would simply be a formality,” Barlagne recalled.

Four years later, his business is thriving, and his wife, Sophie, teaches French to immigrants as a volunteer.

But Citizenship and Immigration Canada has rejected Barlagne’s request for permanent residency because Rachel, 7, is considered “medically inadmissible.”

[More]

Popularity: 9% [?]

Islands across the Pacific were the first to welcome in the New Year, with celebrations to mark the start of 2010 beginning in the tiny nation of Kiribati at 10am GMT, followed by the Chatham Islands, Fiji, Tonga, New Zealand and Australia.

In Suva, the capital of Fiji, hundreds of people counted down the last 10 seconds of 2009 from Albert Park during the country’s annual New Year’s Eve Street Party.

In Auckland, as thousands poured onto the streets to ring in the New Year, police warned partygoers to “have fun by all means but obey the rules and everyone will have a good time”.

But well before the clock struck midnight, thousands of revellers gathered on Sydney harbour in order to save a spot with a good view of the annual Harbour Bridge fireworks.

[More]

Updates:

4:34 pm EST, December 31st, 2009 — Revelers Met By Snow, Security In Times Square

Notes:

Happy New Year everyone. Stay safe this evening if you’re going out (I’m not).

Popularity: 2% [?]

In the summer of 2010 Queen Elizabeth II is scheduled to come to Canada . Her visit follows that earlier this year of her son Charles and his wife Camilla. I suspect that the Queen’s visit will garner some coverage in the press but not much attention among the general public. Unlike her glamorous late daughter-in-law Diana, Elizabeth II doesn’t pique the curiosity of the average person. Canadians appear to like but not revere the Queen, as exemplified in the attitude of an old Portuguese doctor who in the Toronto weekly Voice wrote that he considered Elizabeth II a genuinely good person yet laughed at the fact she wore hats similar to those his grandmother used to wear.

Though most Canadians don’t seem to have anything particularly against the Queen as an individual, she has increasingly found herself at the centre of a controversy over the institution she represents: the British monarchy. Some people believe Canada should throw off the final yoke of British colonialism, scrap the monarchy, and become a republic. Others by contrast feel equally strongly that Canada should remain part of the British Commonwealth – so strongly that they have formed groups such as the Monarchist League of Canada to ensure our country remains under the royal wing.

I myself am fairly agnostic on the issue.. My sense is that if we embraced republicanism tomorrow, life wouldn’t change much, either for better or for worse, in this country. However, while I’m hardly demanding that Canada go (small “r”) republican, nor would I necessarily fight to keep Queen Elizabeth on as our head of state if there were any serious movement to literally dethrone her. So I’d like to present the “pro” and “con” arguments, with their relevant counterpoints, for making Canada a completely independent nation or not.

[More]

Popularity: 2% [?]

Prime Minister Stephen Harper suspended Parliament yesterday until March 3, and came in for considerable abuse in return. Liberal MP Ralph Goodale called the move “a shocking insult to democracy.” NDP House Leader Libby Davies labelled the decision a “political scam.”

Already equated to a dictator in the Toronto Star, Mr. Harper was compared in Maclean’s magazine to King Charles I, whose confrontation with Parliament ultimately cost him his head.

Enough. Parliament was due to return on Jan. 25. The Vancouver Olympics open Feb. 12 and run to Feb. 28, preoccupying public attention and sending Ottawa into hibernation. In effect Mr. Harper has cut two extra weeks from the opposition’s anticipated window of public attention. It’s not the end of the world.

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Updates:

2:35 pm EST, December 31st, 2009 — Proroguing Parliament is ‘routine,’ Tories say

Popularity: 5% [?]

#1 — OC | 8 U.S. CIA agents killed in Afghan suicide blast

KABUL — Insurgents intensified their campaign against military targets and U.S.-led forces in Afghanistan, killing eight U.S. CIA agents at a base and four Canadian servicemen on patrol and a journalist accompanying them.

[...]

#2 — BBC | US talk show host Rush Limbaugh in hospital in Hawaii

The right-wing US talk show host Rush Limbaugh has been taken to hospital in Hawaii after experiencing chest pains, say reports.

[...]

#3 — BBC | Somali man ‘tried to take bomb onto plane’

A Somali man is in custody in Mogadishu, suspected of trying to take explosives onto a plane in November, officials have revealed.

[...]

#4 — CNN | Parliament calls for arrest of Moussavi, two other opposition leaders

(CNN) — Iran’s parliament has asked authorities to arrest “the main instigators and directors” of Sunday’s violent anti-government protests, the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency reported Wednesday, the same day massive pro-government rallies were held in Tehran and other cities.

[...]

Times | Iran Government stages rallies as Mousavi’s nephew is quietly buried

#5 — Fox | 13 Republican Attorney Generals Threaten Lawsuit Over Health Care

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Republican attorneys general in 13 states say congressional leaders must remove Nebraska’s political deal from the federal health care reform bill or face legal action, according to a letter provided to The Associated Press Wednesday.

[...]

#6 — Fox | Gunman Opens Fire in Finland Mall, Killing 4

HELSINKI —  A gunman killed four people early Thursday in a shooting rampage at a mall in Finland’s second largest city, police told a state broadcaster.

[...]

#7 — NY Times | With Greece Teetering, the Worst May Not Be Over for Europe

LONDON — Never before has Europe’s monetary union seemed so fragile.

[...]

#8 — Times | Obama considering military strikes after Christmas Day aircraft plot

The Pentagon is drawing up urgent plans for increased military co-operation with Yemen, including possible retaliatory strikes against al-Qaeda targets, according to US officials engaged in a high-stakes bid to neutralise Islamist militants without enraging the Arab world.

[...]

#9 — Times | Four foreigners face execution in China over drugs haul

Four foreigners have been arrested in China on drugs charges and may face execution just days after Akhmal Shaikh, a Briton thought to be mentally ill, was executed for smuggling heroin.

[...]

#10 — Telegraph | ‘Dead’ mother and baby revived after Christmas Eve birth

A woman has apparently come back to life after “dying” during childbirth while her newborn son was also miraculously revived by doctors.

[...]

Popularity: 3% [?]