Daily Digest March 10, 2009

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

EDITORIAL PAGEs

CORNER BROOK WESTERN STAR -
Shining a bright light on the hunt
http://www.thewesternstar.com/index.cfm?sid=230093&sc=30

CAPE BRETON POST -
Police veracity under scrutiny
http://www.capebretonpost.com/index.cfm?sid=230334&sc=151

MONTREAL GAZETTE -
Auto workers clear the way for bailout
http://www.montrealgazette.com/opinion/editorials/Auto+workers+clear+bailout/1371943/story.html
 
Pakistan's Taliban 'truce' imposes a reign of fear
http://www.montrealgazette.com/opinion/editorials/Pakistan+Taliban+truce+imposes+reign+fear/1371944/story.html

OTTAWA CITIZEN -
Innocent victims
http://www.ottawacitizen.com/opinion/Innocent+victims/1372044/story.html
 
The price of peace
http://www.ottawacitizen.com/opinion/price+peace/1372043/story.html
 
Arab women stand up
http://www.ottawacitizen.com/opinion/Arab+women+stand/1368405/story.html

OTTAWA SUN -
You can't force people to buy cars
http://www.ottawasun.com/Comment/Editorial/2009/03/10/8688906-sun.html

TORONTO STAR -
Harper redefines Afghan 'victory'
http://www.thestar.com/Opinion/article/599208

Keep this promise
http://www.thestar.com/Opinion/article/599206

GLOBE & MAIL -
Ashley Smith's inhumane death
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090310.weSmith10/BNStory/specialComment/home

Charest's responsibility
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090310.weCaisse10/BNStory/specialComment/home

Better late than never
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090310.weAuto10/BNStory/specialComment/home

NATIONAL POST -
Taking on Ticketmaster
http://www.nationalpost.com/opinion/story.html?id=1371576

ST. CATHARINES STANDARD -
Vatican lives in a vacuum
http://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1470645

K-W RECORD -
Direction uncertain
http://news.therecord.com/Opinions/article/500529

THUNDER BAY CHRONICLE JOURNAL -
2 out of 3 new faces
http://www.chroniclejournal.com/stories.php?id=170266

WINNIPEG FREE PRESS -
A fresh start
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/editorials/editorial_a_fresh_start-41011682.html

SASKATOON STARPHOENIX -
Saving NATO serves Canada
http://www.thestarphoenix.com/opinion/Saving+NATO+serves+Canada/1372214/story.html

CALGARY HERALD -
Death row case would set worrisome precedent
http://www2.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/theeditorialpage/story.html?id=c30a2374-853c-4361-b317-bf4eb0edd4cf

GRANDE PRAIRIE DAILY HERALD TRIBUNE -
Some companies still hiring for 'recession-proof jobs'
http://www.dailyheraldtribune.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1471041

EDMONTON JOURNAL -
Today's IRA joins hunt for killers
http://www.edmontonjournal.com/opinion/editorials/Today+joins+hunt+killers/1373020/story.html

Sanity on stem cells
http://www.edmontonjournal.com/opinion/editorials/Sanity+stem+cells/1373022/story.html

RED DEER ADVOCATE -
Courts vs. free market
http://www.albertalocalnews.com/reddeeradvocate/opinion/Courts_vs_free_market.html

Corporate welfare linked to human misery
http://www.albertalocalnews.com/reddeeradvocate/opinion/Corporate_welfare_linked_to_human_misery.html

VANCOUVER PROVINCE -
A time for compromise
http://www.theprovince.com/opinion/editorials/time+compromise/1372659/story.html


ISSUES

AF-PAK PROBLEM -        
Trade-off season on Afghanistan begins
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/KC11Df02.html

A futile search for 'moderate' Taliban 
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/KC11Df01.html

An unlikely engagement
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/KC11Df03.html

Afghanistan war 'far from lost'
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7935588.stm

Obama lays out Afghanistan war strategy
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2009/mar2009/afgh-m11.shtml

Talking to the Taliban has failed before
Obama's call to peel off Taliban 'moderates' has been happening at a local level for several years – and it hasn't worked http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2009/mar/09/barack-obama-afghanistan


CANADIAN FORCES -
Q&A: Canada, NATO and Afghanistan
Can the Afghan mission succeed? Is it time to negotiate with the Taliban? The Star's Ottawa bureau  discussed changing views of the war. Read the archived chat. http://www.thestar.com/News/Canada/article/599030

 Army running on empty   
http://www.thestar.com/News/Canada/article/599366

Military equipment will be upgraded, Cannon says
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20090310/afghanistan_break_090310/20090310?hub=Canada
VIDEO
http://watch.ctv.ca/news/latest/military-fatigue/#clip148148

Army waits for tanks bought two years ago
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090310.wtanks10/BNStory/Afghanistan/home


CANUSA/USACAN -
Despite assurances, Buy American lives
http://business.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090310.wbuyamerican11/BNStory/Business/home

A Canadian accused the U.S. of protectionism
http://translate.google.com/translate?prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&u=http%3A%2F%2Finfo.branchez-vous.com%2FNationales%2F090310%2FN0310219AU.html&sl=fr&tl=en&history_state0 =

Sawmill operators penalized for breaching softwood lumber agreement
http://www.pulpandpapercanada.com/issues/ISArticle.asp?id=96702&issue=03022009

From Bad to Worse for Eastern Canadian Softwood Lumber Producers
http://www.glgroup.com/News/From-Bad-to-Worse-for-Eastern-Canadian-Softwood-Lumber-Producers-35239.html

Biden won't confirm MacKay is top pick for NATO head
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20090309/nato_mackay_090310/20090310?hub=Canada

Stem cell change may lead to Canadian brain drain
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20090310/brain_drain_09/20090310?hub=Canada


ECONOMIC AFFAIRS -
Only U.S. buyers can save car makers, minister says
Auto companies must prove themselves viable before getting tax dollars: Clement
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090310.wclementautos0310/BNStory/crashandrecovery/home

Toyota pushes for funding to rev up car sales
http://business.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090310.wautos11/BNStory/Business/home

Ford calls for boost to scrappage program to boost auto sales
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/090309/national/auto_hearings

Export Development Canada ready to use expanded powers to ease credit crunch
http://business.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090310.wEDCcredit0310/BNStory/Business/home

Even the strongest getting pummelled by the soaring greenback
http://business.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090310.wibworld10/BNStory/Business/home

EU clears biotech barrier to Canada rapeseed import
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/reuters/090310/canada/canada_us_eu_gmo_oilseed

Regulator says Canadian banks eyeing foreign assets
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/reuters/090310/canada/canada_us_banks_regulator


FOREIGN AFFAIRS -
U.S. Vice President Joe Biden appealed to NATO allies on Tuesday to help the United States tackle worsening security in Afghanistan, saying the alliance was struggling to deal with a threat to the West as a whole.
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/22/20090310/tpl-uk-afghan-nato-biden-81f3b62.html

US Continues Military Encirclement Of Russia
http://pakalert.wordpress.com/2009/03/09/us-continues-military-encirclement-of-russia/

UN report criticizes Canada for sharing Arar info 
http://www.thestar.com/News/Canada/article/599895


HEALTH CARE RELATED -
'Do we really need all these nurses?'    
http://www.thestar.com/comment/article/599226

Study confirms link between headaches, weather
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090310.wlheadache10/BNStory/specialScienceandHealth/home

POLITICS IN THE PROVINCES -
Last gasp of the Red Tories
http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/fullcomment/archive/2009/03/10/kelly-mcparland-last-gasp-of-the-red-tories.aspx

Energy program to help low-income households
http://www.thestar.com/News/Ontario/article/599945


FEDERAL POLITICS -
Tories issue budget report required by Liberals
http://www.thestar.com/Business/article/599991

Canada in crisis, budget must be passed immediately, Flaherty tells senators
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/canada/cp

'Do not dally,' Flaherty warns
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090310.wflaherty0310/BNStory/politics/home

UPDATE 2-Canada's Flaherty gets "pushy" over budget bill
http://www.reuters.com/article/economicNews/idUSN1051244120090310?sp=true

Flaherty demands Senate pass budget
http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=1373662

Jobs data grim, Flaherty says
http://www.thestar.com/News/Canada/article/599560

Harper heads to car country to deliver first major speech on recession
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/090309/national/harper_speech

Tory support plummets in Quebec, poll finds
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090309.wpoll10/BNStory/politics/home

Letter asks PM to muzzle minister
http://www.nationalpost.com/todays-paper/story.html?id=1371567

Harper: American economy hit twice as hard as Canada's
http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/posted/archive/2009/03/10/harper-american-economy-hit-twice-as-hard-as-canada-s.aspx

Canada better off than others, Harper says
http://www.thestar.com/News/Canada/article/599663

Liberals still trail in new polls
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/reuters/090310/canada/canada_us_politics_polls

Ignatieff helping Liberals close gap on Tories: poll
http://www.nationalpost.com/most-popular/story.html?id=1371346

Harper boasts of Canada's recession plan
http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=1373857

Harper on the stimulus trail, spreading more than just money
http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/fullcomment/archive/2009/03/10/david-akin-harper-on-the-stimulus-trail-spreading-more-than-free-money.aspx

Canada will be first to rebound, PM says
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090310.wharper0310/BNStory/National/home

Video: Watch Harper's remarks in Brampton Partisan swipe undermines PM's message Stephen Harper as Don Draper

Liberal files $1-million lawsuit against Conservatives
http://www.thestar.com/News/Canada/article/599896


PROGRAMMES -
Adjusting Afghanistan rhetoric 
http://www.thestar.com/News/Canada/article/599364

Canada rejects cutbacks on U.S. series buys
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/reuters/090310/canada/canada_us_canada

Canada says will spend bulk of stimulus fast
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/reuters/090310/canada/canada_us_economy_harper

Transport Canada cutbacks troubling, says Dryden crash inspector
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2009/03/10/dryden-moshansky-aircrash010.html

MP: Don't allow terrorists Access Dechert
http://www.ottawasun.com/News/National/2009/03/10/8688971-sun.html

Canada's naked international ambition
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090306.wdoug07/BNStory/Front

Universities promised stimulus flexibility
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090310.wclement10/BNStory/politics/home

Cable companies call Internet levy unlawful
http://business.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090310.wnewmedia11/BNStory/Business/home


PRESSURE POINTS -
The crumbling case for global warming
http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/fullcomment/archive/2009/03/10/peter-foster-the-crumbling-case-for-global-warming.aspx


OPINION AND INFORMATION -
Stimulus package paid for by all, but benefits few
http://communities.canada.com/shareit/blogs/news/archive/2009/03/09/don-martin-stimulus-package-paid-for-by-all-but-benefits-few.aspx

Sympathy pains? GM, autoworkers give birth to an unimpressive new baby

GM had a gun to the CAW's head - and missed
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20090310.RDECLOET10/TPStory/Business/columnists

NATO nod would be perfect rescue mission for MacKay
http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/fullcomment/archive/2009/03/10/don-martin-nato-nod-would-be-perfect-rescue-mission-for-mackay.aspx

MPs push for more strands to their high-income safety net
http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/fullcomment/archive/2009/03/10/john-ivison-mps-push-for-more-strands-to-their-high-income-safety-net.aspx

The Future of Big Government
http://www.nationalpost.com/opinion/columnists/story.html?id=7508cd0c-c25f-43ec-bb4a-dfcbeff0286e

Those poor, persecuted rich people 
http://www.thestar.com/Opinion/article/599220


INFOS -
Un stratège libéral poursuit les conservateurs pour diffamation
http://www.cyberpresse.ca/actualites/quebec-canada/politique-canadienne/200903/10/01-835191-un-stratege-liberal-poursuit-les-conservateurs-pour-diffamation.php

L'ONU reproche au Canada d'avoir partagé des renseignements sur Maher Arar
http://www.cyberpresse.ca/actualites/quebec-canada/national/200903/10/01-835200-lonu-reproche-au-canada-davoir-partage-des-renseignements-sur-maher-arar.php

Garanties de prêts à l'industrie forestière: le Bloc accuse Harper de mentir
http://www.cyberpresse.ca/actualites/quebec-canada/politique-canadienne/200903/10/01-835105-garanties-de-prets-a-lindustrie-forestiere-le-bloc-accuse-harper-de-mentir.php

Harper: notre économie dépend des États-Unis
http://www.cyberpresse.ca/actualites/quebec-canada/politique-canadienne/200903/10/01-835067-harper-notre-economie-depend-des-etats-unis.php

Flaherty demande au Sénat une adoption rapide du budget
http://www.cyberpresse.ca/actualites/quebec-canada/politique-canadienne/200903/10/01-834981-flaherty-demande-au-senat-une-adoption-rapide-du-budget.php

Harper est optimiste
http://www.radio-canada.ca/nouvelles/Economie-Affaires/2009/03/10/005-recession-Harper2.shtml

Non à une « taxe »
http://www.radio-canada.ca/nouvelles/National/2009/03/10/001-crtc-internet.shtml

Mission en Afghanistan Leslie prône une pause
http://www.radio-canada.ca/nouvelles/National/2009/03/09/002-afghanistan-pause.shtml

Ottawa crée le Fonds des médias du Canada
http://www.radio-canada.ca/nouvelles/National/2009/03/09/001-fonds-tele-fusion.shtml

Commission de l'immigration et du statut de réfugié - Jason Kenney regrette d'avoir nommé un proche d'Aristide
http://www.ledevoir.com/2009/03/11/238514.html

Une entreprise canadienne accuse les Etats-Unis de protectionnisme
http://info.branchez-vous.com/Nationales/090310/N0310219AU.html

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)

A RESPITE

        Having had a busy day I found the following fully as positive in mind and spirit as have others who have Fwd: Fw: it on.

        And so it is forwarded to you in the hope it will provide a few minutes of removal from the pressures of your day.

              Joe

From: Ray Strachan
Subject: Fwd: FW: Amazing Grace...truly amazing...

An amazing rendition of Amazing Grace, performed in the coliseum in Rome
http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid271552717/bctid1913313052


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STRATOS

HALIFAX CHRONICLE HERALD -
Sudan divestment: A cause worth supporting
http://thechronicleherald.ca/Editorial/1110443.html
And if you DON'T divest, we'll MAKE you. Witness the media campaign that drove Canada's Talisman Energy out of Sudan a few years back.
 
Bad English barrier to job: Survey    
http://www.thestar.com/Business/article/598636
Interestingly enough, it's also a barrier in supposedly francophone Montreal. Ask any recent immigrants: they were admitted specifically to Quebec because they speak French ... and many employers here require decent English because much business is done outside of Quebec's borders. And it's no better for 'native' Quebecers who don't speak English very well ... in some sectors, there's simply little getting around English.
 
To all complainers who say that anglophones are 'discriminated' against by the federal government because it gives jobs to francophones: t'aint so. Unilingual francophones have MORE of a hard time than unilingual anglophones do.
 
Plant shutdown puts Steel City in survival mode
http://www.thestar.com/News/Ontario/article/598168
It hurts to say this, but that's been in the cards for the past 20-30 years. Stelco's (now US Steel) approach to profit-making (which wasn't an obviously achievable thing in the latter years) consisted of skimping on investment and keeping old rustbucket equipment running until it upped and died. I used to work in Burlington (right next door to Hamilton, ON) selling control systems and parts to Stelco, among others. Stelco would never replace any equipment, no matter how outdated: it scraped by with stuff that was outdated 15 years earlier. From what everyone was telling me, that's what it did with everything.
 
The result was predictable: like the owners of old, clapped-out cars, Stelco ran down (wore out) its capital to the point that Stelco's wheels fell off. It got bought by US Steel, which is now stuck with a turkey heavier than the one sitting in your stomach after you've eaten too much at Christmas dinner. Even worse: when Stelco's went belly up in the early 90s, Ontario's then-NDP government (led by Bob Rae aka 'Prime Evil' to Ontarians at the time) lifted Stelco's obligation to pay into its employee-pension fund. Now, after years of snoozing, Ontario's government may find itself stuck with a huge bill to cover those pensions. (I recall that Ontario guaranteed the pension fund at the time? I'm not sure oif this, though).
 
GM's new deal with CAW doesn't go far enough: Observers
http://business.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090309.wgmcaw0309/BNStory/Business/home
With 'far enough' presumably meaning the CAW getting kicked out and Mexican migrant workers manning the lines during the crop-picking off-season.

MacKay urges NATO to ignore nationality when choosing new leader
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/090309/national/nato_mackay
In others words, Canadian perceived-to-be stooges of US interests shouldn't be discriminated against.

POLITICS IN THE PROVINCES -
Ontario PC party plans June leadership convention
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/toronto/story/2009/03/09/pc-leadership.html
And many PCs wish that this headline had been run in 2008.
 
Ignatieff's broom sweeps Dion era clean   
http://www.thestar.com/News/Canada/article/598756
Personally, I attribute that to forces of nature. After all, any wind will roll away a tumbleweed, right?
 
Tories fiddle while the economy burns
http://www.thestar.com/News/Canada/article/598169
Well, what? The Star would prefer that the NDP 'play fiddle' with a saw on the family furniture and feed the fire?
 
Another plot to bring down Rob Anders destined for disaster
http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/fullcomment/archive/2009/03/09/kevin-libin-another-plot-to-bring-down-rob-anders-destined-for-disaster.aspx
And here's the best counterargument to protection from nomination challenges. This particularly brutish fellow (Mr. Anders) is the knuckle-dragger who distinguished himself in forcing a vote over Canada's awarding Nelson Mandela (a democratic saint if there's ever been one) honorary citizenship. Y'see, for there to be no counted vote, there had to be unanimous consent of the House's MPs. Well, guess what, there was this one MP who denied the unanimous granting of citizenship ... because Mr. Mandela was a Communist in said MP's eyes.
 
Another amusing footnote: Mr. Anders got stuck with the nickname 'Onan the Calgarian' a few years back. For one thing, it rhymes with Conan the Barbarian, a fictional character dreamt up by Ron (?) Howard. And, hilariously, 'Onan' is a man named in the Bible (Genesis, in particular) who (ahem) 'spilled his seed on the ground' when he'd spent too much time away from women. The in-joke is that Mr. Anders had donated his 'seed' to a (ahem) seed bank a while back.
 
NOTE: If anyone wonders how come up with stuff like 'Onan' and such ... I read it all, folks! It gives me the benefit of having funny tales to tell. Also, it helps me feel that I'm providing some sort of public service, humourwise and culturewise. Take it for what it is, hahahahaha ...
 
Ottawa to spend $134.7M on web-friendly programming
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/article/598997
And now, The NAFTA Happy Hour presents ... the Bam and Steve-o Show :-)
 
Bam is Mr. Obama, of course, and Steve-o is our own Peem.
 
Now, the cringe-making thing that I realized a few days ago: a short while back, there was this TV show that starred a couple of fellows: Bam (Margolis) and Steve-o. The show's name: uuuuhhhh ... Jackass. :-S
 
Quite unintended, this unfortunate connection. Good thing I'm a gentleman, else I'd send it to the media and they'd have a field day. After which, I'd get midnight visits from CSIS, no doubt. So Joe, think twice before putting this up on Free Dominion, or whatever, hahahahaha.
 
A "sober second thought", or not?

Sir John A. Macdonald, Canada's first prime minister, said the Senate was to be a place of "sober second thought" so that legislation would receive proper, careful consideration before finally becoming law.
Personally, any illusions I might have entertained as to 'sober second thought' were blown away when a certain Quebecer got named to the Senate just recently. Not that the Senate doesn't serve a useful second function: it's the fig leaf that hides the fact that proposed laws get modified by folks in the Civil Service while the Senators 'deliberate'. Embarrasingly for the Senators, they could, to a large degree, be replaced in their formal roles by a mandated 'period of reflection and amendment' between a law's readings in the House.
 
To illustrate, one British politico described what having Baroness Margaret Thatcher in the UK's House of Lords: 'She was like a big cat in a poodle parlour, sharpening her claws on the velvet'. 'Nuff said.
 
From: Ron Thornton
Subject: Digest comment...

My first television appearance was on CBC's Reach for the Top. That show meant something in Edmonton and communities across the nation. The event I covered that I enjoyed the most over the years was the Red Deer Farmer's Bonspiel. That show meant something to the folks in Red Deer. Of course, that was back when the local people meant something, and when local television was relevant.
Say it, brother! I couldn't have put this better myself.
 
From: Larry Kazdan
I find it ironic that those who rail against the vile crimes of murder believe in execution, a most cruel and unusual punishment, as a solution.                    
Larry Kazdan
Vancouver, B.C.
 
Personally, I feel that some people really DO deserve to die (think Paul Bernardo). Thing is, though, there's no foolproof way to ensure that only the guilty get fried and even then only when there are no mitigating circumstances.
 
No matter what, there's no way to ensure that innocents wouldn't be killed in significant numbers. Some studies coming from the States, for example, suggest that around one in seven (15%!) Death Row convicts there may actually be innocent.
 

===================================

From: Ray Strachan

Subject: Oh This cant be right,can it?

Larry Silverstein and Mr.Goldman gain control over World Trade Center Bulidings. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122108942858221349.html

Mr. Silverstein get the Devine Guidance to insure them for 3.5 billion, including terrorist attack.

Makes sense to me: of course a property like that would be insured. And as concerns insurance against terrorist attacks: there'd been one in the WTC's underground garage, in which Sheikh Abdel Rahman (or whomever) had set off a bomb in a van back in 1993.

 

What do you know,shortly thereafter, a terrorist attack. 2800 people killed in the towers.

 

If that particular insurance policy gets renewed yearly, an incident happening shortly thereafter would be less than surprising.

 

Hmmmm the towers implode (Common Knowledge) Building next door collapses,Silverstein makes 500 million on that one. Silverstein goes after the insurers for 7 billion because "two" planes were involved (I must remember that in case my house ever Accidently blows up (Yes  Ray, write this down NOW before your old head forgets,  "Set Two Charges, One Hour Apart)

 

Actually, the towers pancake (the roof fell on the highest story, which then fell on the one below, etc.) rather than implode. And as they do so, fire and debris get blown out the sides below, as air between the pancaking stories gets forced out.

As for getting $$$ for Mr. Silverstein's flattened buildings: sure, he got paid for what he lost (or what he insured). Except that payments were held up for a long while and Mr. Silverstein lost the revenue (and presumably, a profit) he would have made had the buildings been left standing, insurance or no insurance.

 

Another thing to consider: if Mr. Silverstein were to prefer money to real estate, all he would have to do is sell the WTC. Let's face it, that WOULD be simpler and less risky than getting his hands on great quantities of explosives, setting bombs everywhere without anyone noticing (or talking ... he likely wouldn't do it himself, what with him presumably not being an explosives expert), and killing almost 3,000 people in the process. Add to that the fact that if any single conspirator who'd talk would lead to Mr. Silverstein's getting the chair for sure.

 

Subject: RE: Daily Digest March 7, 2009

From: "Jim Silye"

Hi Joe,

I think Brad Thompson from Gatineau watches too many movies!!

Take heed, folks! Mr. Silye's a respected former MLA (? what do they call them in Alberta?). He knows a thing or two about how things REALLY work politicswise. Your good reputation has made it here to Quebec, Sir!

 

From: "Serge Crespy"

Subject: EMBRYONIC STEM CELL RESEARCH

Dear Joe:

 

Our economies are borrowing from future generations; likewise, stem-cell research harnesses "futures"; all for having it "Now"!......... The positive spin:   Eventually, "Perfect Humanoids" will relieve us of our responsibilities and problems, including having to deal with normal human beings.

Well I for one can hardly wait. I DISTINCTLY remember reading in my elementary-school books that robots would soon be doing everything for us. That, and we'd have helium-filled belt-packs that would allow us to travel by floating in the air.

 

I have a question: WHERE ARE THE DAMNED ROBOTS?!? I've HAD it with getting up early every day to go to work. We're DUE for permanent vacations, I say!

(No hahahahaha .. I really MEAN it this time! Hahahahaha ...)

 

Sincerely,

Serge Crespy

Collingwood, ON

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