Buckdog

The more the RCMP try to talk their way out of the death of Mr. Dziekanski in the Vancouver Airport, the deeper they seem to be digging themselves in. While arguing that the victim was alright, breathing and alive, the RCMP are being directly contradicted by emergency medical personnel who attended to the scene:

"The Richmond Fire Department said that when fire crews checked his (Dziekanski's) vitals, he had no pulse and was not breathing.

"Our crews, while they were doing their assessment, had asked for the handcuffs to be taken off," said Lake. "The RCMP had indicated that he had been violent before and they didn't want to take the handcuffs off and so our crews continued with their assessment." He definitely had no pulse and no breathing," Lake said. "Clinically yes, I guess he was dead."

B.C. Ambulance Service arrived next and also asked for Dziekanski's handcuffs to be removed, at which point police obliged."
CBC

Saskatchewan’s new right wing government is showing exactly how extreme their views on organized labour are with comments Premier Wall made about legislating striking University support workers back to work. First of all, it is well known that the Saskatchewan Party is determined to change labour laws in the province and their hatred for unions is extreme.

So with 2400 CUPE employees on strike at the University of Saskatchewan and the University of Regina, Wall is anxious to give his new powers a little ‘spin around the block’ and is threatening to rule the workers back to work in what clearly is not an essential service.

“Premier Brad Wall issued a stark warning that the newly-installed Saskatchewan Party government is prepared to take action -- including possibly legislating employees back to work -- in the ongoing strike of 2,400 support staff at the province's two universities if the two sides can't reach agreement this week.”
Regina Leader Post

So even though the workers have offered to return to work if the dispute can go to mediation, Wall is anxious to use the heavy hand of ‘legislation’ to crush the union.

“Don Puff, the CUPE local president at the University of Regina, said the government could have played a role in facilitating and questioned the threat of back-to-work legislation, pointing out that the union offered last week to return to work in exchange for non-binding mediation.”
Regina Leader Post

Wall's amateurish performance to date plus his ideological bias against organized labour is setting the stage for what will clearly be a very turbulent time in Saskatchewan.

-Sean In Saskatchewan has more ....
-So does CBC Sask ...

So now we get a better idea of what the right wingers in Regina have up their sleeves. They are going to SLASH government spending .... here is the code they used this morning to signal spending cuts;

"Seeking efficiencies and cost-saving measures and reducing the rate of spending growth in government departments as part of the 2008-09 budget development process and legislating an annual review of government spending practices within the new Saskatchewan Growth and Financial Security Act, which will be introduced in December;"
Sask Finance News Release

"The Saskatchewan Party government says the province expects to rake in an extra $1.2 billion in revenues than it budgeted for — but the news in its mid-year financial report isn't all good. Finance Minister Rod Gantefoer says even though the revenue forecast is way up, operating expenses are, too. The operating expense for 2007-2008 is now forecast to be $8.04 billion, up about $247 million from the budget."
CBC

So in a nutshell ... here is the premise of Brad Wall's PHONY financial crisis ... Revenues are up, $1.2 Billion MORE than expected and Expenses are up, $247 Million higher than expected! This is a crisis???? (nice try Brad!)

Saskatchewan’s new right wing government will attempt today to portray the province as having serious financial difficulties in spite of a record surplus. Why will they do this? For one, the Saskatchewan Party has made so many financial commitments and have promised so much, 'the chickens have come home to roost' and they need to minimize expectations that they themselves have raised.

As a result, in spite of a massive surplus this year, they need to convince their voting base in rural Saskatchewan that they cannot afford to do all that they promised. They will achieve this by pumping up a note in the Provincial Auditors recent reports concerning ‘unfunded pension liabilities’. For those whose eyes glaze over at the mere mention of an auditors report, hang on, I will make this easy.

Saskatchewan has a civil service. All civil servants pay into a pension plan. In 1979, the government created a ‘New’ pension plan where employee contributions and matching contributions from the government employer, were set aside to accrue interest and provide a fund from which to pay out pensions to retired civil servants.

Employees prior to 1979 simply had their pension contributions placed in the province's general revenue fund (Consolidated Fund) and pension entitlements were paid out from the same fund. This pool of aging civil servants in the old plan had the option of going to the new plan in 1979. Many did and many did not. The policy of the Blakeney, Devine, Romanow and Calvert governments was that eventually all old plan employees will have retired off and the remaining civil service will all be in the new plan.

During their years in opposition, the Saskatchewan Party insisted on taking the valuation of the ‘old plan’ liabilities and wanted that amount to be treated as ‘debt’. They insisted that the government should put money into a fund now to pay out all future pension liabilities of the ‘old plan’ obligation. This is nonsense but it's what Premier Brad Wall will try to spin into a financial ‘crisis’ to lower expectations that rural Saskatchewan has to have billions spent in sparsely populated areas of the province.

We will see what the Saskatchewan Party government has up its sleeve later today. Buckdog will update this post at that time.

US Court Judge, Robert Restaino, was angry when a cell phone rang in his courtroom and jailed all persons present when the owner of the phone would not come forward.

"Everyone is going to jail," the judge said. "Every single person is gong to jail in this courtroom unless I get that instrument now. If anybody believes I'm kidding, ask some of the folks that have been here for a while. You are all going." When no one came forward, the judge ordered the group into custody and they were taken by police to the city jail, where they were searched and packed into crowded cells."

Fourteen people who could not post bail were shackled and bused to the county Jail, a 30-minute drive away.

Later in the afternoon, after being told reporters were calling, the judge ordered the defendants released.

Judge Restaino has been removed from the bench.

This is the kind of authoritarian nonsense that is slowly creeping into our daily lives. This judge is clearly nuts, but how could the 46 people just go along with such brutal treatment? I suppose any of the 46 who might have resisted could have been tased or shot.

Welcome to the 21st Century! Stay vigilant!!

-New York Times
-Brisbane Times

Something ‘fishy’ happened at the very first Cabinet meeting of the new Brad Wall government. While it is not unusual to issue Orders In Council to name key new staff in the Wall administration, a little ‘flip flop’ happened with the appointment of a new Deputy Minister of the Department of Intergovernmental Affairs. Former Saskatchewan Party Caucus employee, Iain Harry was named the new Deputy Minister, but the minute that the NDP Opposition questioned the appointment, Harry, it seems, was demoted!?

“Calvert was particularly concerned Monday because the attachment to the order-in-council making the appointment said Harry would serve as deputy minister of intergovernmental affairs, which handles the equalization file. However, a government media spokesperson said that was a clerical error and Harry would not have that civil service post. (Transition chair) Krawetz also said that he's not sure how the error occurred, but said putting Harry in that deputy minister role was never even part of the discussion. The NDP said it's still concerned with the appointment of Harry as a special adviser to Wall.”
Regina Leader Post

In spite of the flip flop, Iain Harry will be paid $12,500 per month for unspecified duties in the Wall government.

Mr. Harry was a longtime Saskatchewan Party Caucus employee who had a history of attracting controversy with the local news media over his ‘research’ results. Most recently, he had been working in Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Office in Ottawa.

During the Grant Devine administration, (1982-1991), Brad Wall and Iain Harry served as Ministerial Assistants in various departments. Another ministerial assistant from the Devine era, Reg Downs, now serves as Chief of Staff to Premier Wall at a salary of $13,693 per month.

The Western Champions - Saskatchewan Roughriders won the 95th Grey Cup held in Toronto.

Here is a big tip of the hat to CBC for a great broadcast of the game and excellent online coverage! .... photos are great!

Another idiotic speech from another idiotic Conservative Cabinet Minister. Where do these jokers come up with this schlock? Here are some snippets of a speech delivered by Canada's Defence Minister, Peter MacKay:

"Waning support for the mission in Afghanistan is a weapon in the hands of the Taliban."

"The Taliban are very intelligent - they read newspapers, they go on the Internet."

"When they see Canadian resolve weaken, that's when they up their effort,"

"The younger generation of Canadians aren't used to seeing flag-draped coffins, and perhaps don't understand sacrifice the way older Canadians do."

NOTE: Recent polls have found that:
- 49% of Canadians consider the military operation in Afghanistan to be futile
- 22% of Canadians considered the NATO mission a success
- 29% weren't sure

You MUST Support The Troops!!

When we finally do get rid of George W. Bush as President of the USA, his legacy may well be that he so crippled the US economy that American influence and power in the world was severely diminished

"The plunging greenback threatens to cripple U.S. power. Why are the candidates ignoring this critical issue?"

Michael Hirsh

Australian Prime Minister John Howard has acknowledged defeat in the country's general election and looks like he will lose his parliamentary seat. Clearly, Howard's willingness to kiss George Bush's bootstraps was a failed political strategy.

Way to go LABOR! - Congratulations!

-BBC
-CBC

Let there be NO doubt about who BUCKDOG will be cheering for this Sunday at the 95th Grey Cup!

"As the RCMP launches a fresh probe into another Taser-related death, the U.S. manufacturer of the stun gun is promoting the weapon as a great Christmas gift.

"What does Santa bring you when you have been good but the world is getting bad?" reads the ad for "personal protector" guns on Taser International's website (www.taser.com.)

Sold in a variety of styles and colours to civilian consumers across the U.S., including metallic pink and "electric blue," the product retails for $299-$349 and can be purchased online.

The Taser C2 uses the same technology as law enforcement models and has "incredible takedown power," according to the site. The special Taser Cam, which features a video and audio recording component for "enhanced accountability" sells for $499."
KATHLEEN HARRIS


Tag taser tazer

"The U.S. Military is demanding that thousands of wounded service personnel give back signing bonuses because they are unable to serve out their commitments. To get people to sign up, the military gives enlistment bonuses up to $30,000 in some cases. Now men and women who have lost arms, legs, eyesight, hearing and can no longer serve are being ordered to pay some of that money back."
CBS Broadcasting Inc.

Supporting US Troops .... now give us the money back you wounded slacker!


H/T to Tomcat at Politics Plus

This MUST be a first! After completing one full day on the job as the new Premier of Saskatchewan, Brad Wall has managed to get a very critical editorial in the Regina daily newspaper and another one from a veteran legislative pundit. Wall either has decided to continue on with the election (even though his side won) or he is setting the stage for MASSIVE government spending cuts.

-Suddenly it's 'Stark'?

-No need to plead poverty

In view of the fact that the Taliban now control about 54 per cent of the territory in Afghanistan, Afghan President Hamid Karzai has entered into talks with them.

I don't hear a lot of right wingers calling him 'Taliban Karzai' - most righties aren't even aware that their Afghan hero, President Karzai, was once a supporter of the Taliban!

Oh, well, Canadians continue to die in a country that is about to be run by the Taliban again. Those of us Canadians who said that the 'mission', as configured, was doomed were soundly attacked by Conservatives and right leaning Liberals.

Oh well .... 'stupid is as stupid does'.

-CNEWS

Today's Regina Leader Post reports the following after Brad Wall's very first scrum conducted moments after being sworn in as Saskatchewan's 14th Premier:

"Wall issued a warning that the province's finances are in sorry shape because of the stewardship of the NDP government that was swept from office after 16 years in the Nov. 7 provincial election. "I think you're going to see in the days ahead that what the previous government has left behind financially is fairly stark," he told reporters following the ceremony."
Regina Leader Post
November 22, 2007

His comments were immediately challenged (in a polite 'first day on the job' tone) by a local columnist:

"Can you explain, Mr. Gantefoer, [Saskatchewan's new Finance Minister] how we're suddenly in a financial crisis at $95-a-barrel oil and with the Loonie soaring above the U.S. Greenback?
Murray Mandryk
November 22, 2007

It sounds like Brad Wall wants to renege on some of his election promises and also to kill Saskatchewan's new Universal Prescription Drug Plan for ALL citizens over 65 years of age. To kill the plan he needs to invent a financial 'crisis' ..... but what do financial experts from outside of the province have to say ?????? .....

Here is what the National Bank of Canada had to say about the last 14 provincial budgets that the Saskatchewan NDP have delivered:

SASKATCHEWAN BUDGET - A FAMILY BUDGET
• Saskatchewan has brought down a 14th straight budget showing a surplus in the General Revenue Fund.
• A surplus is budgeted for 2007-08, achieved by a draw from the Fiscal Stabilization Fund.
• Total operating expenses are budgeted at $7.79 billion in 2007-08, an increase of 1.4% from the current 2006-07 estimate.

National Bank of Canada
March 22, 2007

-CBC Saskatchewan has more ....
-And even more as Calvert reacts .....

If you like this graphic, feel free to copy and use it!

..... A Special Thanksgiving Wish To You And Your Family .....

"Four RCMP officers could face criminal charges in the death of a Polish immigrant who died in Vancouver International Airport after being shot with a Taser last month, Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day says. Mr. Day cited the lead investigator in the case yesterday, explaining an RCMP investigation "will include the possibility of criminal charges."
Ottawa Citizen

To the RCMP, the death of Robert Dziekanski was just an unfortunate incident - just another case where someone happened to die while in custody. Unfortunate as the death was, essentially it was simply RCMP ‘business as usual’ - 'Mr. D should have complied'!

To the public who saw the event on video, it was a shocking wake-up call of what happens when a modern police force uses whatever measures they feel are necessary to obtain immediate compliance from an individual even if the police tactics used terminates the life of that individual in mere seconds.

"The latest taser incident to be captured on film again highlights how fast our society is sleepwalking into a brutal police state where it is the norm for cops to react with extreme physical force and even torture towards anyone who acts out of the ordinary in any way whatsoever."
Steve Watson
Infowars.net
Thursday, Nov 15, 2007

Need more convincing .... ??

-Police taser 68 year old Kelowna man for double parking

-Use of taser on children OK, police say

-Police use taser on handcuffed 9 year old girl

-Police use taser to subdue 6 year old boy

-University student tasered for non-compliance by UCLA police

" ... it took RCMP Commissioner William Elliott until this past weekend to announce that the officers involved had been reassigned. He made the statement only after the video seriously undermined the force's account of the incident. Elliott's timing smacks of damage control, not leadership."

Toronto Star Editorial
November 20, 2007

OTTAWA - Three out of four suspects stun-gunned by the RCMP were unarmed, indicates a review of 563 cases that shows Tasers are often used for compliance rather than to defuse major threats. A Canadian Press analysis of Taser incidents reported by the Mounties reveals that more than 79 per cent of those zapped were not brandishing a weapon. [...]

The figures, compiled from hundreds of partially censored pages filed by RCMP officers, highlight police preference for the 50,000-volt tool that helps them control dangerous situations with usually minimal injury.

But they also suggest a pattern of use by the Mounties as a quick means to keep relatively low-risk prisoners, drunks and unruly suspects in line.
Canadian Press

KELOWNA, B.C.–Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day says he wishes Canadians were as outraged over impaired driving deaths as they are over the death of a Polish immigrant shot with a Taser by police.
Toronto Star
Nov 19, 2007 04:30 AM

Huh? We have a unique opportunity to look into the mind of Federal Cabinet Minister Stockwell Day. Faced with massive national and international outrage over the RCMP killing of Robert Dziekanski at the Vancouver Airport, Day counters with his very own brand of right wing logic.

Why are people so upset that 4 RCMP officers killed an unarmed man asks Day - why aren't we just as upset that drunk drivers cause death? HUH?! Talk about comparing apples to snow mobiles!

The idiocy of Day's statement is mind boggling but it shows an insight into right wing logic. In 'Stockwell Day's World' the RCMP killed somebody but so do drunk drivers so why aren't we raging at drunk drivers? The common element to Day is that if you are going to be angry when someone is killed, then be consistent and treat both types of killers the same (RCMP who kill and drunk drives who kill)!

Here is the part that Stockwell Day doesn't get ... we give the police INCREDIBLE powers and tools to keep the peace. Guns, handcuffs, batons, spray, and tazers. They have the power to detain and question people. The trade off is ..... they can't KILL people who are being detained.

Stockwell Day is an idiot. But what do you expect from a senior Federal lawmaker who believs that planet Earth is only 8000 years old, that humans walked with dinosarus and Noah's Ark should be taught in the history classes of Canadian schools. Moron!

Toronto Star

(I am going to attempt to be both provocative and insulting with this post).

Japan must be an extremely primitive nation indeed IF reports that their whaling fleet has left port to commence the killing of humpback whales is true; a practice that has not happened since the 1960's.


I have nothing but contempt for a nation that disregards both scientific evidence and world opinion in their cavalier desire to convert an intelligent and endangered mammal into sushi.

Let me be perfectly clear if I have not yet done so .... the Japanese whaling industry is criminally insane and deserves to be challenged and condemned! What is wrong with Japanese world view that it so blatantly disregards scientific facts - what a primitive nation indeed! Shame on the Japanese! They are NOT a civilized people IF they cannot see that whales are one of the higher intelligent life forms on the planet. They should not be treated the same way that the Japanese commercial fishery treats a sardine. A humpback whale should neither be considered 'food' nor a commercial resource! They are one of the planets higher life forms and deserve to be treated as such.

BBC

Paul Berton’s article in the London Free Press, “Can we trust citizen journalists?” caught my attention today. Berton grudgingly acknowledges that a public service was rendered to us all by what Paul Pritchard did with his shocking video of four RCMP officers tasering Robert Dziekanski at the Vancouver Airport..

Speaking for traditional journalists of the main stream ilk, he says, “Enter the citizen journalist. Despite the skepticism of many in the business, including me, it's easy to see in cases such as this how valuable they are.”

Berton reminds us of the historic 1963 film shot by Abraham Zapruder on that Dallas morning when John F. Kennedy was gunned down. He looks at what Pritchard caught on film and acknowledges that ‘citizen journalists’ exist whether the MSM likes it or not.

Technology has developed to the point that anyone - in the right place at the right time, can influence the images and impressions that we see of the world and society around us.

It’s time that media moguls and press guru’s acknowledge that they are not the only game in town anymore.

London Free Press Article ...

"I want to get out, help me find the way...Police! Police! Can't you help me?"
Robert Dziekanski
(in the seconds before he was
killed by members of the Royal
Canadian Mounted Police)

The final words of Robert Dziekanski were spoken in Polish and have now been translated from the video of his death in RCMP custody. He was asking the officers for help.
New Zealand Herald

122 years ago today, in Regina, Louis Riel, the leader of the Metis Nation was executed by the Government of Canada.

Riel is widely considered by many to be a Canadian hero because of his vision and fight for the rights of First Nations people. History is written by the victors and in the case of the Metis people, official Canadian history does a disservice to this great leader.

Louis David Riel should be recognized for his role in the creation of the provinces of Manitoba and Saskatchewan. He was elected as a Member of Parliament but was not able to take his seat in the House of Commons because of the political turmoil of the era.

Louis Riel is a true Western Canadian hero!


-Newswire.ca
-Riel Bio ...
-Metis Nation Of Canada

I shit you not! This is fact! And the RCMP and other forces who investigate themselves should be required to explain!!

"Since 1992, 267 people have died while in the custody of or while being pursued by the police in British Columbia, an average of almost 18 each year. From Victoria to Fort St. John, Yahk to Alert Bay, more than 70 cities and towns in the province have experienced a police-involved civilian death in the last 15 years."
-Vancouver Sun

A great big H/T to Dawg's Blog who seems to have caught the attention of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police for simply telling it like it is ....


Do you need a visual of how many 267 is? Here is how many persons 267 is!

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The U.S. Census Bureau reported yesterday that 35.5 million people in the U.S. went hungry in 2006. The majority indicated that they could not find jobs that generate sufficient income to support them. So in the richest nation the world has ever seen, basic human needs are not met.

The data from the Census Bureau does not include the homeless who number about three-quarters of a million people on any given day in 2005, according to federal estimates.

Among the findings:

* Among families, about 12.6 million, or 10.9 per cent, reported going hungry for at least some period last year. Those disproportionately reporting hunger were single mothers (30.4 percent); black households (21.8 per cent); Hispanic households (19.5 per cent); and households with incomes below the official poverty line (36.3 per cent).
* States with families reporting higher prevalence of hunger from 2004-2006 included: Mississippi (18.1 per cent); New Mexico (16.1 per cent); Texas (15.9 per cent); and South Carolina (14.7 per cent).
* Of the 35.5 million people reporting periods of hunger last year, 12.6 million were children.

-CTV News

Click on cartoon to enlarge

On Election night, former NDP Finance Minister, Andrew Thomson made some interesting observations on the demise of the Saskatchewan Liberal Party. He pointed out that prior to the resurgence of the Progressive Conservative Party in 1975 - 78, the Liberals were the sworn enemies of the New Democrats and that their main base of support was in rural Saskatchewan.

The NDP historically held sway over the Northeast part of Saskatchewan - commonly referred to as ‘Red Square.’ The Libs on the other hand held the large Liberal “L” which extended down the western border of the province and along the southern border that fringes on Montana and North Dakota. The Libs generally won enough urban support in Regina and Prince Albert to win a few seats. They last formed government in Saskatchewan in 1964 - were re-elected in 1967 and then were severely defeated by Alan Blakeny in 1971.

With the re-emergence of the Progressive Conservative Party in the 70's, the Liberals saw an erosion of their support in rural areas. They managed to form the official Opposition in 1975 but lost that status by the end of the term when a number of Liberal Members of the Legislature jumped to the P.C.’s. The Libs never survived that fatal blow.

In the 1978 provincial election, they were wiped out for the first time since Saskatchewan became a province in 1905. They won one seat in 1991 and were completely shut out again in the 2003 election as well as 2007. (The Liberals SHOULD NOT be allowed in the Leader’s debate in the next election. They have not earned it).

Getting back to Thomson’s analysis on why this once great party has been relegated to the dumper, you need to understand where it is that they are currently seeking their support.

Modern Saskatchewan Liberals see themselves as an urban party. Unfortunately for Libs, that turf is held by the New Democrats with the Saskatchewan Party also now represented in Regina, Saskatoon, Prince Albert and Moose Jaw. There is NO room for Liberal growth in the urban areas and the Saskatchewan Party dominates for the moment in the rural constituencies.

The second problem is that in the recent election, the Libs TOTALLY misread what was happening province wide. They incorrectly predicted that the New Democrats would be destroyed and they tried to convince NDP’ers to vote Liberal.

Most Saskatchewan Liberals predicted that they would win a number of urban seats. One well known blogger predicted victory in seats like Regina Rosemont and Saskatoon Meewasin, It was not to be. As Thomson said, the Liberals have forgotten their rural roots and thought that they could become an urban power. It is this inability to understand who and where they are that doomed them to winning no seats again!

Those few ‘dyed in the wool’ Liberals remaining in Saskatchewan are going to have to make a decision. By and large, most of them SHOULD be Conservatives or Saskatchewan Party supporters because they are essentially right of center and cannot move beyond their traditional hatred for New Democrats.

The Liberal Party of Saskatchewan is DEAD! It is deader than a door nail! It is deceased! But like a group of political zombies that do not acknowledge their own demise, they wander the province, eyes vacant and without a soul.

I will shed NO tears for the Liberal Party of Saskatchewan! Good riddance!

Buckdog Is Chillin' Today

Kate McMillan is the author/owner of a blog called smalldeadanimals. Her right wing rants are famous - making her one of the most read blogs in right wing circles. But Kate frequently goes over the deep end and says things that blow up in her face ... even with the right wing hordes that she adores! Today is one of those days.

You see, Kate is angry today at the Toronto Star for a cartoon they did yesterday depicting Stephen Harper and General Rick Hillier. To challenge the Star, Kate took the famous poem by McCrae - In Flanders Field' and perverted it to her own deranged logical 'conclusion'.

I posted the following on her site .... "I think Kate's perversion of McCrae's poem would be much more offensive to the old Vets at the Legion Hall today then the cartoon she is ranting and raging over. Shame on you Kate ... your emotional illness is becoming more and more evident to those who read your raging hatred!"

Here is the entire McCrae poem, uncontaminated by Kate McMillan's political agenda and extremely disturbed revisions:

In Flanders Fields
By: Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD (1872-1918)
Canadian Army

IN FLANDERS FIELDS the poppies blow
Between the crosses row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.


NOTE:
... if you need to comment on this why not comment at her site ....

There will be peace:

when attitudes change;
when self-interest is seen as part of common interest;
when old wrongs, old scores, old mistakes
are deleted from the account;
when the aim becomes co-operation and mutual benefit
rather than revenge or seizing maximum personal or group gain;
when justice and equality before the law
become the basis of government;
when basic freedoms exist;
when leaders - political, religious, educational - and the police and media
wholeheartedly embrace the concepts of justice, equality, freedom, tolerance, and reconciliation as a basis for renewal;
when parents teach their children new ways to think about people.

There will be peace:
when enemies become fellow human beings.

David Roberts

2005

"Premier-designate Brad Wall says his government won't pursue intervener status in the legal wrangling between Ottawa, the board and the Friends of the Canadian Wheat Board. [...] The previous NDP government had supported the court action, arguing that the federal government does not have the legal authority to make the change. But Wall says he'll opt out because the Saskatchewan Party supports choice."
CBC Saskatchewan

Surprise, surprise! Saskatchewan's new right wing 'Premier Elect' is having doubts about the recent court action the province initiated against the Harper government over inconsistent application of the rules of equalization.

The Saskatchewan Party is closely related to the Federal Conservative government. Tom Lukiwski, a Member of Parliament from Regina is the former Chief Executive Officer of the Saskatchewan Party. Nancy Heppner, Sask Party MLA for Martensville worked for Stephen Harper until she won a recent by-election.

No one was more happy with a Saskatchewan Party victory this week than Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

"I am concerned that friendships and political allegiances may short-change the people of Saskatchewan,""Political allegiances should not lead to a sellout of Saskatchewan's interests."
Lorne Calvert
November 9,2007


CBC Saskatchewan

One of Saskatchewan Premier Elect Brad Wall’s first tasks was to name his transition team. To put this into context, please remember that the Saskatchewan Party has hollered loud and far that they ‘are not the old Grant Devine Conservatives’ and have ‘NO connection to the former Grant Devine administration’.

So with that in mind, who are the two key functionaries that Mr. Wall has appointed to head up his transition team? ...... Reg Downs, former Ministerial Assistant in the Grant Devine government and Doug Emsley, former assistant Principal Secretary to Grant Devine (and new sweet heart of the Steven Harper government - Steven Harper appointed Emsley to the Board of Directors of the Bank of Canada in June 2007).


Way to go Brad ... nothing like honesty and ethics in government!!!

VOTE HERE FOR THE WORST CANADIAN 'RIGHT WING' BLOG

“Wall's biggest trust problem is the lingering suspicion that his party has a right-wing agenda that it plans to reveal only once it is in power -- a suspicion that may have some merit.”
- Saskatoon Star - Phoenix: Mar 11, 2006


“Wall stances in the past year -- no Crown corporation investment, no gay marriage, and, most recently, no additional hours regulations for part-time workers -- have left you with the impression that his leadership is no less socially and economically conservative than that of his predecessor, Elwin Hermanson.”
- Regina Leader Post: Jan 19, 2005


"[The Sask Party] is perceived as too right wing, too hard-hearted and just generally scary."
- Saskatoon Star - Phoenix: Oct 4, 2005


“Both Wall and D'Autremont insisted, with straight faces, that their party never really has favoured privatization, has always been a "populist" party and not right-of-centre, and isn't allowing opinion polls to dictate its policies[...] After Tuesday's flip-flopping, why would voters see Wall as any more trustworthy than Hermanson?”
- Saskatoon Star - Phoenix: Nov 24, 2004


"While Saskatchewan Party sources are always hyping and shamelessly spinning the notion of moderation, this is a party that, on specific issues, tends to reveal itself to be the same old band of Conservatives and Reformers that the NDP accuse them of being."
- Regina Leader Post: Jan 19, 2005


"It's here where you also begin to see how tiresomely -- and frankly, dangerously -- predictable Wall and the Saskatchewan Party have become. Consider the Saskatchewan Party's tax cut calls in the last six months. Cut business taxes. Cut corporate income taxes. Cut property taxes. Cut income taxes. Cut the provincial sales tax and now cut gas taxes. Even with an extra $255 million in revenue this year, how do you do all that without some cuts to government programs and services?"
- Regina Leader Post: Sep 9, 2005


“The moderate new face of the Saskatchewan Party has been a long time in coming. Perhaps it's because fangs are so hard to remove.”
- Saskatoon Star - Phoenix: Jan 20, 2005


“In short, the sanitation engineers have been sent in to clean up the Sask Party. The question is whether this is a group that really wants to be sanitized.”
- Saskatoon Star - Phoenix: Jan 20, 2005

2007 SEAT RESULTS:
-Liberal Party 0
-New Democratic Party 21
-Saskatchewan Party 37
-Green 0

CONSTITUENCY RESULTS:

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
NOTE:
To those who predicted that Wall would win 50+ seats - you were wrong!
To those who predicted that the Liberals would win seats - you were wrong!
To those who predicted that the NDP would win 10 seats - you were wrong!

The Liberal Party is DEAD is this province ... I will blog more on this in the near future.

CBC Saskatchewan has more ...

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

At dissolution of the Legislature of Saskatchewan the makeup was:
-New Democratic Party 30
-Saskatchewan Party 28
-Liberal 0
Total Seats 58

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Saskatchewan citizens go to the polls today to determine if Lorne Calvert's New Democrats will be given a 5th term in Office or if voters will take a chance on the darling of 'smalldeadanimals', Brad Wall and his Saskatchewan Party.**



** The Saskatchewan Party is the old Progressive Conservative Party of Saskatchewan as they now exist under the 'witness protection program'.

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Defence Minister Peter MacKay had a narrow escape while visiting Afghanistan on Tuesday as a rocket landed near him, spokesman Jay Paxton said.

He was visiting a forward operating base near Kandahar, when the rocket landed close to him and lightly wounded four Canadian soldiers, who are in good condition.

Canada has 2,500 troops in Afghanistan.

CBC television said that within minutes of the attack a Black Hawk helicopter evacuated MacKay to safety at the Kandahar air base.

CTV

A familiar sight in Regina during this election campaign is the number of NDP election signs that have been vandalized. The sign above is on the lawn of a friend of mine, a senior citizen who has had groups of young vandals (Saskatchewan Party he assumes) who have destroyed his sign more than once this election campaign. I helped him right it as well as we could until the candidates sign crew can come by to replace it.

This is the worst I have ever seen of NDP signs being trashed by political opponents!

Preston Manning's father was the longest serving Premier in Alberta history. Preston himself has displayed some political skill in his career and he knows Alberta politics. It should therefore cause a lot of Conservatives to sit up in their chair when he says that Ed Stelmach and the Alberta Tories are heading for the dumpster!

Globe & Mail

All over North America this weekend, people will be setting their clocks back an hour, fixing their DVD / VCR's and getting their schedules adjusted to the time change ....... unless of course you live in Saskatchewan, one of the very few remaining civilized places where such nonsense is ignored!

That is not to say that in Saskatchewan there aren't a few dinosaurs who want to return to the practice of moving their clocks back and forth in the spring and summer.

Saskatchewan Party Leader, Brad Wall has stated that if he is elected Premier, he will ensure that the province has a referendum to determine if we will join the rest of North America in this mindless ritual.

I for one, will be voting NO!!!

-Time Debate Enters Saskatchewan Election As An Issue
-Canadian Press
-Time Change Causes Accidents

A recent poll done to gauge the mood of the Saskatchewan electorate in the current provincial election has made an interesting discovery. Voters are more interested in the Saskatchewan Roughriders and their chances in the playoffs!

In recognition of public sentiment, I am going to today's game at Taylor Field in Regina against the Toronto Argonauts and I am not going to blog politics at all today!

Regina Leader Post

"(An) Ipsos-Reid poll says the Conservatives gained no immediate bounce in popularity, despite the relatively positive response to its mini-budget. The survey, conducted Tuesday through Thursday, said the Tories have the support of 39 per cent of respondents, the same percentage as it got the previous week."
Regina Leader Post

Since Stephen Harper became Prime Minister, he has slowly inched this nation towards the 'Right Wing Utopia' that his ideology dictates.

The fact is that IF Harper had a majority in Parliament and could carry the vote, the death penalty may very well be reintroduced in Canada.

Forget all of the wrongfully accused who would have been executed even though they were innocent like David Milgaard, Guy Paul Morin, Romeo Phillion, Steven Truscotte and others.

Is this what Canadians want?

-CBC Saskatchewan
-Canadian Press

A poll conducted by Sigma Analytics for the Regina Leader Post and the Saskatoon Star Phoenix shows the Saskatchewan Party with a lead over the New Democrats and Liberals.

Rural polls are showing strong support for the Sask Party while Regina and urban polls continue to give support to the NDP. The Liberal Party which has no seats in the Legislature is at 8% and will likely be shut out completely on November 7th.

Regina Leader Post

Liberal Leader David Karwacki is still receiving criticism for his rude and abrasive behaviour in the Leader's Debate held on Tuesday evening.

Most insulting was his comments directed to people who live in Weyburn and the southeast area of the province.

"At Tuesday evening's leaders debate while discussing highways, Karwacki described the Saskatchewan Party's plan as "paving the beer run from Weyburn south straight to the border." Dylan Clarke, manager of the South East Regional Economic Development Authority and chair of the Soo Line Highway Corridor Association, was taken aback by Karwacki's comment.

The association is working towards twinning Highway 6 from Regina to Weyburn and the connecting Highway 39 to the U.S. border, as well as doubling the highway from the border down to Minot, N.D. It would create a four-lane link from Prince Albert into North Dakota, eventually connecting with the Interstate.

"Our group has put a lot of time and effort into what we've done so far with the project and we think there is some tremendous economic, tourism and safety impacts not only for our region but for the entire province. I just kind of thought Karwacki's comment came out of nowhere," Clarke said, adding the Liberal Leader's remark caught the attention of many people in the region."

Leader Post reporter Murray Mandryk indicates that the heat on Karwacki has resulted in an acknowledgement from the Liberal leader ... "Speaking to reporters after, Karwacki acknowledged that his debate night comment that Hwy. No. 6 being little more than a "beer run" to the U.S. might have been inappropriate."


Regina Leader Post

Here is the ad that had the Saskatchewan Party up in arms with claims (LOL) that a subliminal message had been inserted!