Friday, October 10, 2008

Daily Digest October 10, 2008


The DAILY DIGEST: INFORMATION and OPINION from ST. JOHN'S to VICTORIA.
ARCHIVED at http://cdndailydigest.blogspot.com/

EDITORIALs

ST.JOHN'S TELEGRAM -
Closing the barn door

AMHERST DAILY NEWS -
Farming future looking bleak View comments 2 

MONTREAL GAZETTE -
War costs illuminate debate on Afghanistan

Immigrants' Canadian dream lives on in their children

OTTAWA CITIZEN -
Show us your feelings

KINGSTON WHIG STANDARD-
DEFICIT MAY BE UNAVOIDABLE

No reason to stop talking

Stephen Harper will be the author of his own minority

BELLEVILLE INTELLIGENCER -
Adopt measures to counter voter apathy

TORONTO STAR -
All Harper, all the time

Afghan sticker shock

GLOBE & MAIL -
Harper is growing into the job
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20081010.EBELGIUM10/TPStory/Opinion/editorials

NATIONAL POST -


The cynical prophets of doom

 Panic-mongers

HAMILTON SPECTATOR -
We elect not to select

WINDSOR STAR -
Leadership

The best person for PM

SUDBURY STAR -
Good ideas lost in election politics

WINNIPEG FREE PRESS -
Another minority useful
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/subscriber/westview/story/4236960p-4879948c.html

No-show Tories don't deserve support
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/subscriber/westview/story/4236959p-4879924c.html

What lies ahead
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/subscriber/westview/story/4236957p-4879913c.html

SASKATOON STARPHOENIX -
Afghan mission objective worthy despite price tag

GRANDE PRAIRIE DAILY HERALD TRIBUNE -
Economic plan would be nice - Both Harper and Dion unable to grasp the situation

RED DEER ADVOCATE -
Leftist elites ignore ordinary Canadians

VANCOUVER SUN -
Stephen Harper is our choice for the rough road


ISSUES

AFGHANISTAN -
Afghan talks widen US-UK rift

The savagery of a surge that failed

A long, hot winter for Pakistan

NATO strikes deal for tougher Afghan drug action

Joint Chiefs Chairman Mullen readies for new boss, Afghanistan challenges
The Christian Science Monitor (10/10/2008)
[]
NATO strikes deal for tougher Afghan drug action
Reuters (10/10/2008)
[]
U.S. crafts new Afghan strategy involving militias
The Los Angeles Times (10/10/2008)
[]
French army chief agrees Afghanistan 'cannot be won'
Telegraph, UK (10/10/2008)
[]
Afghan talks widen US-UK rift
Asia Times (10/10/2008)
[]
Thirty Years' War in Afghanistan
The Nation (10/10/2008)
[]
Talking to Taliban sparks controversy in Afghanistan
Deutsche Presse Agentur (DPA) (10/10/2008)


CANADIAN FORCES
Canadian soldiers uncover Taliban supply caches


CANUSA/USACAN
Bring Khadr back to Canada


ECONOMIC AFFAIRS
Dollar falls to 84.18¢

Loonie tumbles below 83 cents
http://www.reportonbusiness.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20081010.wloonie1010/BNStory/Business/home



Buttressing Libor may land in finance ministers' laps

 Ottawa poised to ease credit

Banks lower prime rates again

Dominion Lending Centres: The Current Market Crisis and What It Means to Canadians Seeking Mortgages

Silence surrounds trade issues

Canada's cultural trade deficit widening

Spreading NAFTA's Love Across The Atlantic

One more bad trade deal

Canada adds 107,000 jobs in September


FOREIGN AFFAIRS
US standing in Caspian drips away
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Front_Page.html


POLITICS IN THE PROVINCES
Rule clampdown hits grandparents raising children

Ontario program cutbacks a "blatant attack" on the elderly, poor: NDP


PARTY POLITICS
Tape not altered as Harper claims, analysis finds

Zytaruk's tape is clean: Harper expert
'Now' reporter says timing of statement couldn't be better
http://www.canada.com/surreynow/news/story.html?id=e0137969-4e37-434c-b5bf-a21f6886877f

 Harper's concern too late, Layton says

'This is not a bailout:' Harper

Dion criticizes Harper, CTV over interview

Dion hits back in botched interview flap

Resurgent Dion may get second chance

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: Stephen Harper


POLITICAL OPINION -
Latest Nanos-CPAC Numbers'
CP 33, LP 27, NDP 22, BQ 10, GP 8

The campaigns to stop Harper

Harper Sharpens Attacks on Liberals to Stem Slide (Update1)

Dion hits back over botched interview

NOT: Peter Van Loan.
You can always tell a party is desperate, worried and panicky when it sends out an attack dog to crash another party leader's event.

Arts funding flip-flop won Harper no friends

Mulroney then, Harper now
http://www.nationalpost.com/opinion/story.html?id=871655

 Quebec numbers suggest Conservative debacle

NDP fears being lost in shuffle

Afghan costs stir uproar

Suspect strategy
Harper's dream of a Conservative majority has collided with reality
http://news.therecord.com/Opinions/article/427315


PROGRAMMES
Afghan costs stir uproar

'Costs were not unknown': HarperComment289
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20081009.welxnharper1009/BNStory/politics/home


OPINION AND INFORMATION
It's up to Canadian voters to block a Harper majority

Transfer of Federal Labs: A Blueprint for Dismantling Public Science

This unnecessary election part of Harper's betrayal of Canadian conservatism
http://www.princegeorgecitizen.com/20081009155550/opinion/columns/this-unnecessary-election-part-of-harper-146s-betrayal-of-canadian-conservatism.html


INFOS 
Dion et Harper s'apostrophent sur fond de crise financière
http://info.branchez-vous.com/Nationales/081010/N1010134AU.html

Affaire Cadman: l'enregistrement de l'entrevue n'a pas été modifié
http://info.branchez-vous.com/Nationales/081010/N1010178AU.html

Jim Flaherty annonce une mesure pour maintenir la disponibilité du crédit
http://info.branchez-vous.com/Nationales/081010/N1010124AU.html

Les banques canadiennes réduisent davantage leur taux préférentiel
http://info.branchez-vous.com/Nationales/081010/N1010162AU.html

Des soldats canadiens ont découvert d'importantes caches d'armes
http://info.branchez-vous.com/Nationales/081010/N1010156AU.html

La mission en Afghanistan coûtera au moins 14 à 18 milliards $
http://info.branchez-vous.com/Nationales/081009/N1009153AU.html

Michael Fortier et le Grand Prix: "il faut tout faire pour le sauver"
http://info.branchez-vous.com/Nationales/081009/N1009141AU.html

 Harper se défend de «rescaper» les banques

Harper refuse de dire s'il nommera un non élu dans son cabinet

Exclusif: les appuis aux libéraux diminuent

Les fonctionnaires fédéraux font leur choix

Cinq points d'avance pour le PC

Tournant vert et crise financière - Dion minimise le désaccord avec Rae et Ignatieff

Lac-Saint-Jean - Duceppe se dit victime de manoeuvres d'intimidation

Le chef libéral plus confiant que jamais


Leader under fire: Dion to respond to Harper criticisms
Dion is in  Toronto for an interview with CBC Newsworld to address Conservative Leader Stephen Harper's criticism of Dion's handling of an English-language interview on Thursday. MORE... When Harper calls Dion PM, he's worried
Don Martin: The first reference could've been a slip of the tongue, the second a mental lapse, but the third time Stephen Harper bestowed the prime ministerial title on his Liberal rival it became an interesting last-gasp election tactic. MORE...

Prime Minister Dion loses something in translation
Weston: It was one of those unfortunate technical glitches that eventually bedevils every election campaign, a teleprompter that failed to roll at the start of Stephane Dion's speech to the chamber of commerce here yesterday. MORE...

There's a shift in the Dion narrative, but 'turned things around'?
Jefrey Simpson: Stéphane Dion has certainly improved as a public speaker, although Pericles he will never be. Yesterday in Halifax, as the previous day in Toronto, he read through his prepared speech with some passion.. MORE...

Quebec numbers suggest Conservative debacle
Hebert: Win or lose, Stephen Harper is bracing for a hit next Tuesday. More so than any non-Quebecer of his political generation, the Conservative leader has relentlessly pursued an aggressive Quebec agenda. MORE...

Mulroney then, Harper now
L. Ian Macdonald: Stephen Harper's predicament in the final days of this campaign is strikingly like the difficult situation in which Brian Mulroney found himself in the 1988 election.. MORE...

Resurgent Dion may get second chance
Gwyn: With the election less than a week away, it's time to start pondering about what may happen after it. Until less than a fortnight ago this was self-evident: Stephen Harper and the Conservatives would continue as the.. MORE...

As sound as the Spruce Goose
Ivison: Dion's plans just won't fly. Dion-mania, a three-day-old irrational exuberance that results in its victims believing that Stephane Dion might actually become prime minister, started to wane yesterday.. MORE...

Dion, Layton whip up fear for own gain
Gunter: There has been a lot of grumbling in the past two weeks about whether Prime Minister Stephen Harper cares enough about the current worldwide credit crisis. His Tories' declining poll standings.. MORE...

It's up to Canadian voters to block a Harper majority
Sinclair Stevens: Former Tory minister fears Prime Minister will destroy country with outdated ideology. The legality of the Oct. 14 election called by Prime Minister Stephen Harper was referred to the Federal Court but the court ruled it did not.. MORE...

Get a mirror for PM
Den Tandt: Harper's to blame for a lousy campaign that'll cost him at polls. There are two aloof policy wonks leading national parties in Canada. Prime Minister Stephen Harper, it turns out, is.. MORE...

Stephen Harper is our choice for the rough road
Vancouver Sun:The Liberal leadership convention in 2006 was a turning point for the party as well as the country. It was everything a convention should be, with stirring speeches, tough backroom.. MORE...

PM has bad case of bad timing

Lett: FROM a sweater vest and a pleasant smile, to a dark business suit and a steely grimace, Stephen Harper has certainly come a long way. When the campaign opened, Harper was in Richmond, B.C... MORE...

One can only hope Harper responds like Bennett
Neil Reynolds: You can't libel the dead - but you can disparage them. In the most demagogic moment of the federal election campaign, NDP Leader Jack Layton erroneously compared Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper.. MORE...

All for naught

Michael Harris: If campaign 2008 were a prize-fight, nobody would be making boxing history. It will be a split-decision based on who makes the last mistake. It is the mistakes of this election, not the policies, that will decide the issue. MORE...

Dime-store economics
Riley: Prime Minister Stephen Harper is being pilloried for his lack of empathy over the stock market crisis -- an outrageous charge, I know. But his logic is impeccable: MORE...

Election campaign follows left-right ideological lines
Legault: The split could make it easier for the leftist parties to work together. Whether the next government is a Conservative or a Liberal minority, chances are that historians will register this campaign.. MORE...

Panic-mongers
National Post: We are legitimately amazed that the economy has come to the forefront of the Canadian election campaign in the manner that it has, with the Opposition parties spending.. MORE...

Blowback from Afghanistan
Rick Salutin: In the U.S. "debates," it was the bleakest moment for me so far when Barack Obama said he lamented the war in Iraq because it "weakened our capacity to project power around the world." MORE...

BELOW(30)(30)(30)(30)(30)30)(30)(30)(30)(30)(30)30)(30)(30)(30)(30)(30)30)(30)(30)(30)(30)(30)(30)(30)(30)30)(30)(30)(30)(30)

From: "Suan H.Booiman"
Subject: voting

Joe,
Looking forward to hear that Ontario and Quebec will elect Dion
as Prime Minister,to return a Francophony, the choice of Central Canada.
 
Atlantics will join the selection, the WEST as always will be left out
of this country, just waiting for one Premier to take the lead and snuff
Ottawa where it belongs. Good luck.
 
Happy Thanksgiving, thanks again for all your work.
 
Suan

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Phyllis Wagg
Subject: Harper's Plan

           When Dion says that the reaction of the government is too little too late he is accurate.  However, when he says that the Conservatives did not have a plan he is incorrect.  Their plan was to use the "shock" of the economic crisis to destroy what they refer as the welfare state.
 
The Conservatives had hoped that the crisis would not emerge until after the election.  The "shock doctrine" would be applied by implementing drastic changes to the role of government.   There is no doubt that they miscalculated the timing.  They may have believed that the crash would come between mid-October and the U.S. election in order to use it to re-elect the Republicans in the U.S.  The U.S. government had not been able to stop the freight train.
 
As the crisis unfolded, the strategy was to ignore the reality that the impact would hit Canada hard.  If they could have bluffed their way out of the crisis they would have.   They have been forced to bail out capital before the election.  While these bailouts are adjustments to their plan, they are not out of line with their ideology. They represent the first stage of the incremental plan to destroy the social safety net.  Those who understand the problem realize that increasing levels of public and consumer debt are not going to mitigate the fundamental problems:  too much inequality in the system coupled with far too much debt.
 
When Harper spoke of "buying opportunities" in the market he clearly did not realize that stability was not near being achieved.  At that point he believed that those who had huge amounts of capital could buy up wealth producing factors and increase inequality even more, one of the strategies supported by those who believe in extremist capitalist values.  The actions since then in shoring up capital by transferring debt from capital to taxpayers was something he thought could be avoided before the election.
 
As so called free market governments transfer capitalist debt to their civil societies the Achilles Heel of the system is becoming stark.  This "capitalist" system puts the interests of capital above the common good.  It is designed to reward "greed."  To an extreme capitalist like Stephen Harper: "Private enterprise and trade… can turn individual selfishness into useful social outcomes."  In this case, the "useful social outcome" would be to rid government of its responsibility to care for its citizens.
 
Stephane Dion is wrong about Stephen Harper.  Harper did have a plan but it was not the kind of plan that Canadian voters would readily accept. 
 
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From: "Joel Heard"
Subject: campaigns to stop Harper

Hello Joe, I'm a volunteer here at TheRealNews.com and I'm trying to make some contacts to spread the word for our independent news source. I thought this story might interest you and be good for your blog.  Have a look and post our link if you can. Thanks, Joel.

=====
Try it! You'll like it

     Joe

The campaigns to stop Harper
Election race narrows as Liberal Party polls within 4 points of Conservatives.

Rick Salutin thinks Canada has traditionally had mild social democratic tendencies that have been reflected in both the Conservative and Liberal parties of the past.  Although he feels a genuine American style right wing party has developed in recent years.

 "Voters have been looking all along for some reason to reject this right wing government." According to Salutin.   He gets the impression that Canadians aren't comfortable with right wing government.

 Perhaps Canadians are associating the Harper conservatives with the U.S. hard right neo conservative? Seeing them as being responsible for the current financial crisis.  Salutin affirms the neo con's role in the crisis and claims that Harper is "inadequate for the task" and that Canada needs an interventionist government.

 Although Salutin says Harper has "learned to make the compromises where you sound a bit liberal or a bit Canadian and you accept the fact the country will never be your hearts desire which is the United States."  He claims Harper still has out bursts of hard right impulses.

It seems in recent years Canadians have picked up on strategic voting realizing that they may be wasting a vote when voting for the multiple left of centre options, in effect allowing the right to slip through.  Salutin senses Canadians feel a "conflict between expressing what you truly feel by voting for the party of your choice…..and voting strategically."  This new interest in strategic voting is gaining popularity with many websites appearing addressing the issue and aiding voters on what they can do to make their vote count.

You can find complete coverage of this story at our website: http://therealnews.com/t/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=2545&updaterx=2008-10-10+09%3A13%3A58

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From: "Robert Ede"
Subject: Quarterly Electoral subsidies

 http://www.elections.ca/content.asp?section=pol&document=qua2008&dir=pol/qua&lang=e&textonly=false
 
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From: "Esprit de Corps" <espritdecorp@idirect.com>
To: <espritdecorp@idirect.com>
Subject: Election 2008: Plotting a course for the military

Election 2008: Plotting a course for the military
Canada's political parties weigh in

We are now nearing the end of the election and by this point most that are tuned in are ready to tune out.

For those able to scratch below the daily polls, punditry and horseracing, a substantial policy discourse is actually occurring. Unfortunately, it's often tough to find with the focus mainly on the race itself and not the substance.

To help break through this we asked the five political parties to provide us with a position statement on the Canadian Forces. In particular, we asked the parties to provide their position on future procurement, the mission in Afghanistan, personnel, and a general statement on the military.

With only days to go before Canadians cast their votes, it's time we brought defence back into the political debate!
 
Go to http://www.espritdecorps.ca/election2008.htm

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From: "Wendy Forrest"
Subject: must watch video...

If you've already seen Zeitgeist, this recent addendum is a must see.  Includes interviews with John Perkins, author of Confessions of an Economic Hitman.  Included are a few other must-sees.  When you look there is tons of information out there.  Tons of people fighting back through the alternative media.

Zeitgeist:  The Movie

Zeitgeist: Addendum    recent...

David Icke:  Big Brother, Big Problem      PHENOMENAL

John Pilger:  The War on Democracy

The Revolution Will Not be Televised   (The CIA sponsorsed coup on Venezuela in 2002)

Esoteric Agenda

Canada:

Shawn Buckley on Endangered Natural Health Products (and much more)
 
Wendy Forrest
Independent Candidate for Davenport

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From: Randall Garth McGunigal
Subject: Submissions

Hi Joe,

Man, it's going to take me all day to read the latest Digest!  I honestly don't know how you do it day after day.

I'm attaching a couple of longer pieces that you might consider including in the Digest.  They've been submitted a couple of times to the Free Press, but not taken up on, as recently as yesterday in the case of the one on the economy.

Thanks again for your help in sending the previous one around. It got taken up by at least three outlets that I was made aware of.

Cheers,

Randall McGunigal

Ask yourself this . Would you spend all of the money you had managed to amass over the past year on paying down the mortgage, knowing that your house might need a new roof, or that other unforeseen expenses might arise or that there were improvements you might like to make to your home? Would you, at the same time, cut your future   income by reducing your hours of work or taking a lesser-paying job?

This is precisely equivalent to  what the Harper government has done to the finances of the nation. The tax cuts announced in last Fall's economic statement greatly reduced the inflow of revenue to federal coffers.  The massive 10 billion dollar payment on the national debt took care of the rest. 

These decisions were taken at a time when the high Canadian dollar was hurting our manufacturing sector, when the sub-prime mortgage crisis in the US was just beginning to threaten the stability of financial markets worldwide and when the infrastructure deficit in Canada was pegged at 135 billion dollars.  As the world economy has teetered on the edge of collapse in recent weeks, Mr. Harper pledges to "stay the course".

 So, are the Prime Minister and his compadres from the government of Mike Harris (Flaherty, Clement, Van Loan  and others), mistaken? Were they careless? Ill-informed? Stupid?

The answer is they were none of the above.  The Prime minister, who is fond of stating that  he is an economist (as if all economists think alike), is above all highly ideological and his ideology includes a hatred of taxation and a desire to see the role of government shrink. He is also extremely intelligent and tactical to the core of his being.  However, he seems to see the current crisis as merely a "market correction".

It is likely that the financial situation we now find ourselves in is exactly that which he wanted to create – a government short of operating capital, facing possible deficits. Such a government would have to   either   raise  taxes, run a deficit or cut spending.  Spending cuts would clearly be the first choice of Mr.  Harper. He has made it clear this week that he will neither go into deficit nor raise taxes, which leaves spending and program cuts. It's what his ideology touts as the greatest good – less government.

Harper last week accused Mr Dion of "cheering on a recession". If anyone is doing so, it is Harper himself.  Tight federal finances provide him with the justification to do what he wants to do at any time, let alone in a crisis  – reduce the scope of government by slashing programs.

This is the American neoconservative economic agenda. These ideas were borrowed from Ronald Reagan and the people around him, who drove up the national debt of the US astronomically  by massive, ongoing tax cuts and untold billions in military spending. Sound familiar? As Reagan's budget director, David Stockman made clear, the real goal of this approach was to be able to argue to the American people that the US was "living beyond its means" and that programs had to be cut.

The deficit was a tactic.

 After inheriting a balanced budget and a huge surplus  from Bill Clinton (you know, that  "tax and spend liberal"), George Bush resumed  the Republican pattern, running up trillions in debt using the same formula, while throwing in a questionable war to boot. 

And where does Mr. Harper find his inspiration? A clue may be found in a speech he gave to a June 1997 Montreal meeting of the Council For National Policy, a far-rightwing US think tank, precisely the uber-Replubican free market zealots  who are responsible for the current world economic crisis. Then leader of the National Citizens Coalition (a pressure group founded by a wealthy Ontario businessman in the early sixties to fight against the introduction of Medicare), Harper  fawningly welcomed his guests with the words "your country, and particularly your conservative movement, is a light and an inspiration to people in this country and across the world".  And look what  his heroes have brought us to.

And  now that the cupboard is bare and current and future federal revenues are constrained, get ready for the program  cuts. What will it be?  The   end   of   CBC  TV?     More selling off  of government assets to   the   private sector?      The    further   degradation   of   our  vital  infrastructure?  The weakening of Medicare through an increase in private medical services?  Bulk water exports to the US?

These are among the   few choices left to this and any   future   government, even in normal times,   and that's exactly the way Mr.  Harper   wants it.  He could never run openly and win on his pro-market, anti-government beliefs, so he has given us neoconservatism by stealth.

===================================
From: "Anne Dickinson"

Hi Joe-
 
I am sure you wouldn't miss these articles but just to make sure!
 
I think Susan Riley's article perfectly captures what is so disappointing and
now there is a financial crises, so dangerous about Harper's economic record as PM.
 
Anne
 
http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/decisioncanada/story.html?id=76b6516b-0b45-431e-b7d2-b36967fe1722
 
http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id=e70a32b6-8693-42ef-88c0-3f4a8b74e2fc

===================================
From: Ray Strachan

Subject: Well Joe

As for myself, I am getting tired. I am at the point where I cant fight. I
have 3 children and & grandchildren.   My name is STRACHAN, that is
SCOTTISH .I was born in Saskatchewan (CANADA)  yes CANADA.    I am supposed to
watch Stephen Harper translate  Canada into meaning A STATE of the USA. 
Warmongering,Superior, Uneducated State. What I have decided when the people
who run the United States ,and by the way that is not,  IDIOT Bush or MAD DOG
INSANE CHENEY, They are just the Cardboard figures,    The brains are 100
times more cunning and devious. So as I was saying ,what I have decided is, I
will die on my feet if necessary rather than live on my knees like people in
countries where the PIGS have taken over. Yes,they take over your Rights and
Freedoms, and its like Cancer, it just creeps up on you until either you are
dead or wish you were.   So centralize control in the hands of Stephen Harper
and bring on death,merciful death quickly.   It is a fact that danggling money
in front of their eyes, will mezmerize the stupid.

Ray Strachan

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