Whooee! Well, friends an’ foes, I recorded up another song. This one’s all about that famous liar from down east in Nova Scotia, Peter MacKay. I reckon ol’ Petey really oughta hang down his head in shame. If he thinks anyone believes his BS, he’s delusional.
Continue readingTag: Peter MacKay
JimBobby Sez: Ol’ JB sings a mournful tune: Hang Down Your Head, Peter MacKay
Whooee! Well, friends an’ foes, I recorded up another song. This one’s all about that famous liar from down east in Nova Scotia, Peter MacKay. I reckon ol’ Petey really oughta hang down his head in shame. If he thinks anyone believes his BS, he’s delus…
Continue readingJimBobby Sez: Ol’ JB sings a mournful tune: Hang Down Your Head, Peter MacKay
Whooee! Well, friends an’ foes, I recorded up another song. This one’s all about that famous liar from down east in Nova Scotia, Peter MacKay. I reckon ol’ Petey really oughta hang down his head in shame. If he thinks anyone believes his BS, he’s delusional.
Continue readingkirbycairo: Lying is Government Policy. . . .
Yesterday Andrew Coyne (once the great apologist for the Harpercons) tore a strip of Peter MacKay and the Government in general so long and so deep that if these events were taking place a generation ago we would see the entire cabinet resign in disgrace. Coyne demonstrates that MacKay (and
Continue readingImpolitical: Pentagon ups #F35 costs again
From one of the leading aviation publications in the U.S., Aviation Week, the latest on the F-35’s increasing costs sees Canada in its headline: “Canada Concerned As F-35 Cost Estimate Rises.” The article’s main point is to highlight still more increasing costs of the F-35 program as announced by the
Continue readingNEW MEDIA AND POLITICS CANADA: More Hash April 11, 2012
So the real costs of the F-35 program continues to make news, while from the opposition we hear calls for the resignation and/or firing of the Defense Minister who is described by Liberal House leader Marc Garneau as being, “…either incompetent or not too bright!” I don’t see why it’s
Continue readingNEW MEDIA AND POLITICS CANADA: More Hash April 11, 2012
So the real costs of the F-35 program continues to make news, while from the opposition we hear calls for the resignation and/or firing of the Defense Minister who is described by Liberal House leader Marc Garneau as being, “…either incompetent or not too bright!” I don’t see why it’s
Continue readingNEW MEDIA AND POLITICS CANADA: More Hash April 11, 2012
So the real costs of the F-35 program continues to make news, while from the opposition we hear calls for the resignation and/or firing of the Defense Minister who is described by Liberal House leader Marc Garneau as being, “…either incompetent or not too bright!” I don’t see why it’s an either/or situation. It could be both. I’ll admit it also could be neither. Perhaps the Minister simply lied. Those numbers are pretty much the same as the ones the PBO announced them back in March of 2012.
So where are the media at currently on the issue of the over-priced F-35 First Strike Fighter Jets replacing the soon to be mothballed CF-18’s? Well, over at Canada’s National Newspaper, J.L. Granastein makes a really poor argument that these jets aren’t just shiny new toys for the military by… talking about all the neat gadgets we get if we buy the F-35:
We might be involved in coalition air operations, and the F-35 could fill that role, both as a strike aircraft and as an interceptor. Its stealth technology – and a host of additional high-tech wonders – make it potentially the best fighter available anywhere for the next quarter-century, and that explains why so many countries want to purchase it.
There’s a lot wrong with his argument for procurement of these first strike weapons, number one of which is (aside from spending exorbitant amounts of Canadian taxpayers money) the idea of always being at the ready to join the Americans in bringing war and destruction to the Middle-East instead of doing something useful like say, peace-keeping. Also the Canadian press is doing its standard crappy job of informing Canadians about the Tory wish list of other toys for the military over the next 6 years. That’s gonna’ cost upwards of $115 Billion. Health care anyone?
Vroooom Baby, Vroooom!
So yesterday I’m having sport at the Tories expense about their lack of a jobs for youths strategy, which they’ve gone and made worse during the current economic downturn by cutting funding for Katimavik. So I open the morning’s local fish-wrap and behold the Conservatives are announcing $27 million dollars worth of spending on… yeah, a youth jobs program. Well good, I think to myself. It’s something anyhow. Right? Wrong!
The $26.7-million, a mix of previously committed and new money, is earmarked for eight projects. The biggest beneficiary is the YMCA of Greater Toronto, awarded 90 per cent of the money. Nearly $9-million of this will be used over the next three fiscal years to bankroll and administer the Y’s youth exchanges program.
So most of this money (90 %) is going to be spent in Toronto. Students looking for a leg up in finding a job in other parts of Canada are on their own.Canada’s Tories are nothing if not short-sighted.
Speaking of which, guess what government department is getting hit hardest by Harper’s budget cuts: …the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and Agriculture Canada will be among the hardest-hit departments as Ottawa rolls out where it will cut 19,200 jobs across the country. What could go wrong with that?
David Suzuki writes about the Gulf of St. Lawrence, its importance to our Canadian identity and the legislative changes made by the governing Tories that will have serious repercussions for the health of marine environments in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. (i.e. ‘…gutting the Fisheries Act by stripping down habitat protection provisions, and it plans to amend the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act in a way that would make it easier for mining and oil companies, for example, to jump through regulatory hoops and get projects up and running faster than the time required to evaluate all their impacts on nature.’)
And wrapping this up this wee post, here in Quebec, students are holding rolling protests today in their latest salvo against planned tuition hikes. They hope to finish the day having held 12 different demonstrations in various parts of Montreal. I wonder who blinks first, the premier or the students?
Cheers!
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: The Sad Tale of the Bumbling, Prevaricating Defense Minister Continues
I was feeling just a tad depressed today until I read this story. Recommend this Post
Continue readingMontreal Simon: The Bobo Cons and the Chinese Menace
Golly. I see Peter MacKay was in the hot seat again today. Claiming he’s smart enough to keep those fancy jets from costing us an arm and a leg. And failing miserably. When questioned by reporters Tuesday, MacKay cited segments of Ferguson’s report that he said showed Parliamentary Budget Officer
Continue readingDavid Climenhaga's Alberta Diary: Explaining the F-35 fiasco: the ‘Yes Minister Defence’
Yes Minister! Senior civil servants advise Defence Minister Peter MacKay, holding the Globe and Mail at right, on the F-35 purchase: “Confidentially Minister MacKay, everything you tell me about the F-35 is in complete confidence, so equally, and I am sure you appreciate this, and by appreciate I don’t actually
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Linda McQuaig on Harper Austerity
In case you missed it, today’s Star has Linda McQuaig’s latest column in which she opines on the Harper austerity program, juxtaposing the P.M.’s insistence that we live in challenging fiscal times and thus must cut spending with his government’s apparently cavalier attitude about the extra $10 billion that they
Continue readingScott's DiaTribes: ‘Accounting Difference’ – your latest F-35 defence by Pete MacKay
Apparently, a 10 billion $ discrepancy in what the F-35 was estimated to cost is now trying to be sold as no big deal – just a minor thing, according to Defense Minister MacKay: Defence Minister Peter MacKay admits he knew that buying F-35 fighters could cost $25 billion —
Continue readingcenterandleft: Why the F-35 Scandal Matters
If the 65 F-35 fighter jets are purchased by the Canadian Government, they will cost Canadians $25 billion dollars over a span of 20 years. Minister of Defense Peter Mackay has argued the jets price tag is closer to $9 billion, contrary to the findings of government watchdogs. What he
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: More Fabrications from MacKay
The Indefensible Defense Minister, Peter MacKay, continues to insult the intelligence of all thinking Canadians. As one who has followed the F-35 jet issue somewhat closely for the past year, I am astounded by his latest contemptible ‘explanation‘ that he says proves there was no intention on the part of
Continue readingPeter MacKay has jet stink all over him
Dry cleaning expenses will cost much more than originally forecast
Continue readingImpolitical: Impetus for the push on the #F35
Dave at Galloping Beaver is going to work, picking apart the Harper government’s tales over the years on the F-35 acquisition. Go there to read the entire post, which I take it is part of a coming insightful series. Here is an excerpt that speaks to the political backdrop motivating
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: Peter MacKay’s Dog Ate His Lunch
Of course he knew that original $9-billion figure was nonsense. And, sure, he knew that $15-billion figure wasn’t the whole story either. And, okay, he knew the $15-billion figure was shy $10-billion and should have been $25-billion all along… …but according to Harper DefMin Peter MacKay the difference between $25-billion
Continue readingLeDaro: Peter MacKay: F-35 Purchase Fiasco
Rex Murphy once in a while gives great commentary. This is one of those commentaries. Peter Mackay an Honoury Defence Minister or not so honoury. “Is anyone in charge? Or is Peter MacKay a kind of honorary Defence Minister?” Murphy asks. “A real minister would resign after this week’s sad
Continue readingFrom Orangutan: Dear Peter MacKay,
In this video, Rex Murphy nicely summarizes the current folly of the Canadian federal government, but I still can’t figure out who you really are, Mr. MacKay. I checked Wikipedia, and I know that you serve as Minister of National Defence. I know that you are a Libra, born in
Continue reading