Maurin Quina Likes To Drink

2004-06-04T20:02:00.000-04:00

Bilderberg: The ultimate conspiracy theory

The Bilderberg group, an elite coterie of Western thinkers and power-brokers, has been accused of fixing the fate of the world behind closed doors. As the organisation marks its 50th anniversary, rumours are more rife than ever.

MQ

2004-06-03T21:36:00.000-04:00

Not Withstanding

Stephan Harper is beginning to show histrue colours:

Stephen Harper continued to be haunted by his position on controversial issues, including gay marriage and abortion Thursday, saying he would allow free votes on either issue in Parliament and wouldn't rule out using the notwithstanding clause to prohibit gay marriage...Mr. Harper reiterated his statements from earlier this week; that he would allow a free vote [based on a private members' bill] in Parliament on the definition of marriage. He also said, as he said on Wednesday, that the Tories would withdraw the Supreme Court reference on same-sex unions and that he believed the court would respect the government's decision. "We're going to withdraw the Supreme Court reference and I believe, if Parliament acts in its clear constitutional authority to establish a statute on marriage that's clear in the constitution I believe the courts will defer to Parliament's judgment." But while he didn't rule out using it, he seemed to say the notwithstanding clause would be a last resort.

Equal Marriage is a human rights issue. I have a problem with anyone who feels some members of society have greater rights than others. It seems Mr. Harper does not.

MQ

2004-06-03T14:06:00.000-04:00

Hidden Agenda

"...Stephen Harper's effort to portray his Conservatives as socially moderate came under fresh attack today, as he revealed he would allow a free vote on abortion if an MP introduced a private member's bill...Harper had said a government led by him would not table legislation on the potentially explosive issue. But he had not commented on the prospect of such legislation getting in through the back door via a private bill...Harper's willingness to allow the abortion controversy to live another day is fresh fodder for critics who say the party has a hidden, hard-line agenda...On Wednesday, Harper said he would not allow government-backed abortion legislation "in this term," but he refused to rule out such action in a future mandate..."

Scratch beneath the shiny new coat of paint, and you have the same ol' Reform Party.

MQ

2004-06-03T10:48:00.000-04:00

Tenet Resigns

Holy Shit.

MQ

2004-06-03T08:55:00.000-04:00

Bush Gets a Lawyer

Hey, what do you need a lawyer for if you've got nothing to hide?

Via CBSNews:

"...President Bush has consulted an outside lawyer in case he needs to retain him in the grand jury investigation of who leaked the name of a covert CIA operative last year, the White House said Wednesday.There was no indication that Bush is a target of the leak investigation, but the president has decided that in the event he needs an attorney's advice, "he would retain him," White House spokeswoman Claire Buchan said...She deflected questions about whether Bush had been asked to appear before a grand jury in the case...The probe is aiming to pin down the source of the leak that identified Valerie Plame, wife of former ambassador Joe Wilson, as an undercover CIA agent...Wilson charges that Plame's cover was blown as payback for his challenge to President Bush's claim in last year's State of the Union address that Saddam Hussein was actively shopping for uranium to build a bomb..."

MQ

A note to readers: I've noticed a couple of visitors have arrived to this site by searching google for the CBS news piece. A better bet is to search Google News (http://www.news.google.com). Over 4500 news sources. Doing a regular google search won't get you up to date info.

MQ

2004-06-03T08:49:00.000-04:00

"...We Have a Distributor! Fahrenheit 9/11 Opens June 25!..."

Here we go....

"...We finally have a distributor in America! Actually, two of them! Lions Gate and IFC Films have agreed to aggressively distribute "Fahrenheit 9/11" in theaters all across the country beginning on Friday, June 25th. They will open it on a record number of screens for a documentary...And, as an added bonus, Lions Gate is a Canadian company. Once again, the Canadians to the rescue! It was also a Canadian company, Salter Street Films, that produced "Bowling for Columbine." I know, it's kinda sad we have to keep depending on our good neighbors to stand by us so we can bring our work to our fellow Americans. But maybe this is the year we give them their Stanley Cup back..."

Trailer here.

Go get 'em Big Mike.

MQ

2004-06-03T06:25:00.000-04:00

Chalabi's Revenge?

Via TalkingPointsMemo:

One Bush administration official said that in addition to harboring suspicions that Chalabi had been leaking sensitive U.S. information to Iran both before and after the U.S. invasion of Iraq, some U.S. officials also believe that Chalabi had collected and maintained files of potentially damaging information on U.S. officials with whom he had or was going to interact for the purpose of influencing them.

MQ

2004-06-01T15:58:00.000-04:00

Free Vote on Abortion: Harper

Mr. Harper said his health critic's comments were Mr. Merrifield's opinion, and did not reflect the Conservative Party platform. While the party's platform has not yet been fully released, Mr. Harper's position on abortion is that he would not bring forward any changes to the law. However, if a backbencher pressed the issue, he would allow a free vote.

I have a question for Mr. Harper: "What is your position, as the potential PM of Canada, on a woman's right to an abortion?" Can a reporter please ask that question?

MQ

2004-06-01T12:27:00.000-04:00

Police Thug Charged

A punch caught on amateur videotape has led to an assault charge against a rookie Toronto police constable, but a lawyer involved in the case says more action should be taken.

MQ

2004-06-01T09:18:00.000-04:00

Conservatives Coming After Abortion

Give them enough rope....

The Conservative Party's health critic is advocating a dramatic shift in abortion regulations by calling for third-party counselling for women who are considering terminating their pregnancies.In an interview yesterday, Rob Merrifield said independent counselling would be ''valuable'' for women contemplating abortion because ''people who take part in it may only be seeing one side of it. His comments throw the polarizing issue into the federal election and contrast with Conservative Leader Stephen Harper's attempts to run a tightly controlled, disciplined campaign.

Hear that sound? That's the air coming out of the Conservative balloon. This is the turning point in the election - mark my words.

MQ

2004-06-01T08:40:00.000-04:00

The Expanding Blogosphere

Political blogs--online journals featuring commentary, often highly opinionated--have rapidly become a presence in the campaign landscape. Now some established news organizations are hiring established bloggers or creating their own. How much impact does this instant punditry have on mainstream political reporting?

MQ

2004-05-31T08:30:00.000-04:00

A Saddam Souvenir

"He really liked showing it off," says a recent visitor to the White House who has seen the gun. "He was really proud of it."

MQ

2004-05-31T08:28:00.000-04:00

Christians, Jews & Bush's reelection strategy

Courting the pro-Israel vote, President Bush addresses powerful pro-Israel lobby while his staff meets secretly with theocratic Christians.

MQ

2004-05-31T08:23:00.000-04:00

Cheney Paper Trail

From TIME:

Vice President Dick Cheney was a guest on NBC's Meet the Press last September when host Tim Russert brought up Halliburton. Citing the company's role in rebuilding Iraq as well as Cheney's prior service as Halliburton's CEO, Russert asked, "Were you involved in any way in the awarding of those contracts?" Cheney's reply: "Of course not, Tim ... And as Vice President, I have absolutely no influence of, involvement of, knowledge of in any way, shape or form of contracts led by the [Army] Corps of Engineers or anybody else in the Federal Government."

Both he and the company say they have no ongoing connections. But TIME has obtained an internal Pentagon e-mail sent by an Army Corps of Engineers official—whose name was blacked out by the Pentagon—that raises questions about Cheney's arm's-length policy toward his old employer. Dated March 5, 2003, the e-mail says "action" on a multibillion-dollar Halliburton contract was "coordinated" with Cheney's office. The e-mail says Douglas Feith, a high-ranking Pentagon hawk, got the "authority to execute RIO," or Restore Iraqi Oil, from his boss, who is Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz. RIO is one of several large contracts the U.S. awarded to Halliburton last year.

The e-mail says Feith approved arrangements for the contract "contingent on informing WH [White House] tomorrow. We anticipate no issues since action has been coordinated w VP's [Vice President's] office." Three days later, the Army Corps of Engineers gave Halliburton the contract, without seeking other bids. TIME located the e-mail among documents provided by Judicial Watch, a conservative watchdog group.

MQ

2004-05-28T06:59:00.000-04:00

Casting for the Da Vinci Code and Superman

Nice little update (via Dark Horizons) on the actors in line for 2 plum roles:

"The DaVinci Code"

The Montreal Gazette reports that George Clooney, Russell Crowe, Tom Hanks and Hugh Jackman are all in the running to star in a film adaptation of the runaway best-seller by Dan Brown. The team behind "A Beautiful Mind", Ron Howard, producer Brian Grazer, and screenwriter Akiva Goldsman have reunited for the project. Ron Howard is expected to get to work on this once "Cinderella Man" wraps up.

"Superman"

Teen Hollywood reports that Jake Gyllenhaal is reportedly the hot favorite to take over the role of Superman on the big screen. Hollywood insiders claim Ashton Kutcher and Brendan Fraser were both considered to take to the skies as Clark Kent's alter-ego but now the actor, who almost landed the role of Spider-Man opposite his girlfriend Kirsten Dunst, is set to take the role. Meanwhile, Beyonce Knowles and Keira Knightley are being considered as the new Lois Lane in Charlie's Angels director McG's new Superman film.

MQ

2004-05-27T22:57:00.000-04:00

Big Brother...

...is watching...

MQ

2004-05-27T18:35:00.000-04:00

Conservatives to end bilingualism?

"...Scott Reid, an Ottawa area MP and the Conservative candidate for the riding of Lanark-Frontenac-Lennox and Addington, was quoted in the Moncton Times and Herald News as saying he supports removing Ottawa's obligation to offer bilingual services across much of Canada and that the senior civil servants no longer should be required to speak both of the country's official languages...The Liberals jumped all over the article earlier in the day, saying that the Conservative Party "shows us its true colours in regards to bilingualism by bringing to light the old reform policy of offering bilingual services solely in isolated areas in Ontario and New Brunswick..."

MQ

2004-05-27T18:19:00.000-04:00

Liberated, huh?

Via Atrios, we get a glimpse at the wonderful Islamic state that awaits the citizens of Iraq. Back to the 13th century we go.

I don't know who I hate more - the fundamentalists that attacking this country or the fundamentalists that will take over.

MQ

2004-05-27T12:29:00.000-04:00

Layton, Harper and Martin on Same Sex Marriage

To me, views on same-sex marriage is a barometer on the overall tolerance of a candidate and their party. Take a look at the findings of Canadians for Equal Marriage:

Prime Minister Paul Martin rates a B- for "his support for permitting same-sex couples to marry and ... by voting against the Alliance motion to entrench an opposite-sex definition of marriage."

"However, he expanded the Supreme Court reference to ask whether the opposite-sex restriction on marriage is unconstitutional," the Web site says.

"Martin seems to be struggling with this issue. He has not said that he personally thinks it's the right thing to do, despite repeated calls to do just that. Instead he has couched his support by saying he will uphold the Charter and rely on the courts to say whether or not the Charter requires equal marriage."

The Liberal Party received a mediocre 64 per cent over-all grade, largely due to same-sex foes like Scarborough-Southwest incumbent Tom Wappel.

Conservative Leader Stephen Harper earns an F — and a "defeat" stamp on his page — because he "actively and vigorously opposes equal marriage."

"He sent a letter to every church, synagogue, mosque and other house of worship to whip up their opposition to equal marriage. He has done everything in his power to make this into a wedge issue."

The Conservative Party earned a miserable 4 per cent over-all grade. In contrast, NDP Leader Jack Layton earns an A+ and his party 100 per cent.

"Layton unabashedly supports equal marriage. He has stated that he will not allow a free vote. Layton is a longstanding champion of equality for lesbian, gay, bi and trans (gender) people."

The Bloc Québécois, Gilles Duceppe's party, received an 84 per cent over-all mark and he earned an A for "a solid supporter of equal marriage and of equality for lesbian, gay, bi and trans people generally."

Stephen Harper gets an F.

MQ

2004-05-27T12:18:00.000-04:00

Symbols

Whatever this war means to Americans - whether it be freedom, fighting terrorism or destroying WMDs - there is little question about what this war means to Iraqis - and the rest of the Muslim world.

Symbols are powerful things.

MQ

2004-05-27T10:16:00.000-04:00

Who is Stephen Harper? Part 1

I'm not sure if Canadians really have any idea who they are voting for when they cast a ballot Stephen Harper and the KKKanadian Alliance. So, in the interest of educating our great nation, I'll be posting a few interesting tid bits in the coming days and weeks.

The first - Stephen Harper and the CBC:

via Liberal.ca

"...While the recently leaked Conservative Party platform makes no mention of CBC funding, the Canadian Alliance had a long-standing policy favouring the privatization of most aspects of the CBC, with a capital infusion to be achieved through a public share offering. The only protection they offered was that they would
limit foreign ownership in the new, privatized CBC...The Reform Party platform of 1997 targeted CBC-TV as one of three Crown Corporations to be privatized, and the Canadian Alliance platform of 2000 said the CBC was a target for expenditure reduction...During the recent Conservative leadership race, all three candidates - Stephen Harper, Tony Clement and Belinda Stronach - pledged to review the future of the CBC, but at a minimum they committed to reducing its government funding and return it to its mandate...This policy direction is in contrast with that of the late Progressive Conservative Party, which has - since the CBC first began broadcasting in 1936 - been a supporter of public broadcasting in Canada...The Alliance-Conservative position on the CBC is another example of the takeover of the PC Party and the elimination of traditional Tory values from the new Alliance-Conservative Party..."

Mr. Harper seems to like US style tax structures, US style health care and US style immigration policies. Why not US style news? Fox Canada anyone?

MQ

2004-05-26T20:04:00.000-04:00

A Liar...

...and a drunk.

MQ

(Admit it...you thought I was talking about Dubya.)

2004-05-26T14:42:00.000-04:00

Perle: Iraq a "grave error."

Not sure why this isn't getting wider play.

"One of the ideological architects of the Iraq war has criticized the U.S.-led occupation of the country as "a grave error." Richard Perle, until recently a powerful adviser to U.S. Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, described U.S. policy in post-war Iraq as a failure." I would be the first to acknowledge we allowed the liberation (of Iraq) to subside into an occupation. And I think that was a grave error, and in some ways a continuing error," said Perle, former chair of the influential Defence Policy Board, which advises the Pentagon."

MQ

2004-05-26T14:19:00.000-04:00

Terror Alert

Somebody find these motherfuckers.

Fast.

MQ

2004-05-26T12:52:00.000-04:00

Bloggers Forcing Change

Bloggers' scrutiny is making its mark on traditional journalism.

MQ