Clinton's "vision" thing

End of the year. All I can say is we can only hope 2008 will be a better one although given the events of the last few days, it probably won't be.

To conclude 2007, here's a link to a blog post from freelance journalist Alexandra Kitty about what she perceives -- and I do too -- one of Hillary Clinton's problems; the fact she seems to believe she's entitled to be President, while lacking a vision for it. Alexandra also has some choice words for Peggy Noonan who tries to say the same thing but in a rather ineffectual way.

We may be entitled to our entitlements, but public office isn't one of them. One has to earn that privilege, through the consent of the people. Personally, I hope John Edwards gets the Democratic nom, although his chances of winning it are slim despite his recent ground surge in Iowa. And while I think Clinton is in for the duration, I think even she's smart enough to make sure she has enough of her war-chest saved up for the 2012 Senatorial and Presidential races. She doesn't have to return the money to her contributors, after all. They're not tax deductible; and it's called the grandfather loophole.

Another thing: Clinton has to stop saying phrases like, "This is no time for on the job training." Dubya pulled that stunt in 2004 against John Kerry. No one's going to get fooled again by that one. And seriously ... does anyone believe Bubba when he says he's going to have no role if his wife is elected? This from the same guy who once said, "Two for the price of one?"

Iowa is in just four days time. I think it could be a long night ... and the beginning of the end, or the end of the beginning depending on your point of view. Of what, that I don't know.

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Beijing: Same old city, even worse pollution

When the evildoers from Beijing put forward their successful bid for the 2008 Olympics, their campaign slogan was "New City, Great Games." Looks like they only got one of those four words right -- Games.

Because if the NYT and other media sources can be believed, Beijing is no different. Not only is the government there far more repressive than ever, and even financially backing even worse dictators in North Korea, Burma and Sudan; but because the capital is verifiably one of the most polluted cities in the world.

Forget the "green games." Sure, they've used recycled materials to build their stadia. So what? 1200 new cars are added to the traffic gridlock every day -- in the same city that was famous for nearly everyone getting around on their bicycles. And "clean coal"? They just burn it in even greater amounts than the "dirty" kind.

Bottom line: The city had 120 smog alerts this year. And even many of the so-called "Blue Skies" days had particulate levels far above what most Western countries would consider safe. How many smog alerts did Los Angeles have, by comparison? Maybe a half dozen at most. It's bad compared to the rest of America (with the exception of Houston which has no standards at all), but I can't remember the last time the Southland was covered in pea soup which is an almost daily occurence You Know Where.

And what are the implications, competition wise? Well, we know how the East Germans cheated Canadians out of gold medals in Montréal, only years after the fact. There's no doubt the strict training regimen the Butchers of Tienanmen Square have imposed on its athletes, includes not only mountain training so they can whiz through at near sea level but also day training through smog alerts.

Many Olympic Committees around the world are sounding the alarm over how the pollution in the city will affect their competitors. I'd be more worried about a near complete Red sweep because of the unfair advantage. That, and the continuing insistence of some Western governments that China and other so-called "developing" countries remain exempt from Kyoto et sequens.

In the present instance, the old expression "Better dead than Red" is entirely appropriate. It's way too much to hope for a grass-roots revolution to end Communism once and for all in the short-term, although one must still pray that will happen. But for the present, Beijing has only eight months to clean up its act; at least in the air. If they don't, we should consider trade sanctions to get them into compliance with the norms practiced by businesses in most of the rest of the world.

And of course, they have to get rid of the lead in their toys that winds up in the air anyway. It's simply a matter of fairness.

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Moe: "We have to stop the illegal immigants from ... uh, Haiti"

Yet another piece of the migration puzzle that Lou Dobbs doesn't want to talk about, but it's an important one -- not the south to north migration he and other nativists rail against; but "south to south": moving from one extremely impoverished country to another that is poor as we in the West understand the term but still significantly much better off than the donor country.

Today's NYT has an article about the illegal immigration problem faced by -- the Dominican Republic, and the thousands of Haitians who have crossed the porous border mainly because average incomes are six times higher. This is a common occurrence throughout Central America, Africa, South Asia.

It's not just the recipient country having to take in all those workers who usually just want a better life and to send some money back home; while the "new home" country also has to adjust its social welfare policies. It's the potential security implications. I don't think Latin America is going to be a threat to the US anytime soon. And let's face it, since the modern term "political refugee" was created, more than 50 million have found new homes -- permanent homes. My father was one of them.

But there are 150 million or more economic refugees, split about 60-40 between developed and developing countries who take them in. That kind of mass out migration to countries that can't cope -- unlike the US and Canada -- is the real danger. Not necessarily illegals who come to the rich ones.

Many of us are familiar with the slide from Al Gore's Oscar-winning documentary / slide show that shows the border between Haiti and the Dominican Republic; the mass deforestation in the former, the relatively responsible policies in the latter. With increasing social pressures caused by this migration issue also comes environmental concerns which in many cases leads to ... terrorism. Or an attempt to install governments more corrupt and less democratic than the present ones.

Yesterday's murder of Benazir Bhutto puts that into even greater focus. Things are tough in Pakistan but they're even worse in Afghanistan economically. And just hours before she was shot, Bhutto vowed to do what Musharraf could or would not -- secure the border. Against terrorists openly; but also to deal with illegal immigrants as well who are taking advantage of the perceived greater opportunities.

As always, there has to be compassion for those who are economically distressed. Of course, we have to deal with what is, but we also have to deal with the source issue. It's not just one or the other.

The States could have a role in trying to lead a global answer in solving this issue and creating grass-roots development programs that actually work, rather than throwing good money after bad. But as long as it remains impotent to solving its own problems and caving in to those special interests who want to deport or isolate the unwanted within, it will have no moral authority to act to help the unwanted outside.

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Bhutto dead

It was quite a shock this morning to hear that Benazir Bhutto, the former Prime Minister of Pakistan, was assassinated; although to be honest I had this awful feeling it was coming. Crook she may have been, but she was perhaps the last best hope to bring her divided country together.

Some of my co-workers suspect that Musharraf was behind this. I have a feeling they're quite right. Nothing is more threatening to the powerful than the voice of the powerless. In the present instance, the stakes are that much higher not just because of the al-Qaeda presence in Pakistan but also the fact that it, like India, has nuclear weapons.

Tonight, even the true believers must ask at what price has Bush's unfailing support for Musharraf has exacted; and why he took so long to insist that democracy had to be restored. I don't think most Americans agreed to go to Afghanistan just so they could prop up a dictator or to create even more instability. Nor do I think they agreed to yet another excuse to impinge on fundamental freedoms.

Yet that's exactly what we're going to get in the coming weeks and months. Hopefully in the confusion that reigns, Osama Bin Laden is finally caught and killed.

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Giants, Patriots -- on TWO networks

Now this is very interesting. For the first time since Super Bowl I, not just one but two US networks will broadcast what could be the biggest NFL game this year: Giants v. Patriots. The stakes couldn't be higher: The Pats are attempting to become the first team in 35 years to have a perfect regular season.

This rather remarkable turn occured when someone realized that the NFL Network is only available on cable and satellite -- and only to half those who actually get cable or satellite. And that network was supposed to have the rights to the game. Another hang-up was that because of domestic exclusivity rules, people in Rhode Island and other parts of New England would have been blacked out all together unless they subscribed to the Sunday Ticket Package.

So, instead, CBS and NBC will simulcast the NFL Net's feed Saturday night, and insert their own commercials.

This one game has the potential of having a bigger audience than the Super Bowl itself. It may even get people to tune out of Hockey Night here in Canada; and I hope many do, hockey isn't the only thing in the world. The game'd better live up to the hype. Otherwise, people are going to be really pissed that two networks pre-empted their schedule for this, let alone the anger that already exists over the writers' strike.

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The Castro problem, continued

It's good to be back.

During the weekend, it was announced -- not to much anyone's surprise -- that Fidel Castro would run again for his Parliamentary seat. Technically, he needs to do that in order to qualify to serve another term as El Presidente. So Castro isn't going away any time soon.

It never ceases to amaze me that the Cuban American lobby -- and I stress lobby, because it definitely doesn't represent all Cuban Americans, some of whom want to open up a dialogue with Castro -- but this lobby have been saying all along that they want Cuba to be a democracy. Nonsense. They just want to replace a Soviet style lackey with an American one and make Cuba an American client state again with a US backed dictator, à la Fulgencio Batista.

And whether America wants to admit it or not, that is the official policy of the State Department. To them democracy isn't about a free and fair vote as we understand the expression. It's freedom only as long as other countries vote the way Americans want them too. Especially if the people in that country -- the majority or a significant minority -- isn't white. And it explains why Cuba has been suspended from the Organization of American States. Given a re-vote today, a fair one, one might see Cuba voted back in the club -- but then you could be sure the US would request the OAS to leave Washington and relocate outside the United States.

You're probably never going to see America invade the UK for example, since the three major parties support NATO, and 10 Downing Street has access to Da Bomb. But we saw what America did to Chile, Bolivia, Argentina and El Salvador and how that has strained relations between Latin America and the US Mainland ever since.

None of the major Presidential candidates for 2008 are talking about normalizing relations. In fact, Clinton and some of the Republicans want to tighten the screws even more. But Castro isn't going away any time soon. You play with the cards you're dealt with, and in this post 9/11 world America needs as many friends or at least partners as it can get. If terrorists are using Cuba as a base camp to launch future operations, that might be something they might cooperation on to stop.

As it is right now, they don't even recognize Cuba's right to exist, at least officially. And that's just plain stupidity. Yes, Cuba must be made free and America should insist on it -- real freedom, not Batista freedom. But the first step should be recognition that what is, is.

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A break

I'm going to take a break from blogging until Boxing Day. Whatever your persuasion, my wish for Peace on Earth.

The true meaning of Christmas, Ben Stein style

I certainly wasn't expecting Ben Stein to say this about what Christmas should be about. But he did.

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Borderless Europe gets larger, and that's a good thing

While Lou Dobbs and the Minutemen want to build longer and higher borders, Europe -- or at least the democratic portion of it -- is whittling them away. Today, nine more countries acceded to the Schengen acquis, for a total of twenty-four. (Actually, it's more like twenty-seven; for while Monaco, San Marino and the Vatican are not officially "in," they are de facto given their long standing open borders with their neighbours.) It is now possible to travel from Tallinn, Estonia all the way to Lisbon, Portugal without ever encountering a single border guard. That is perhaps the most significant thing of all, that many of the new signatories were states that were forced in the former Soviet Union or were client states in the Warsaw Pact.

I've mentioned before here that the concept of a fully open Western Hemisphere is a long way off and won't happen in the short term simply because there are too many interests on the left and the right who won't let it happen. But the Europeans must be doing something right. They've had relative peace and prosperity for over six decades after being almost left with nothing after World War II, and have opened or at least loosened border controls for at least a dozen years. If the border between France and Germany could be opened up, it certainly made sense to open them up between Germany and Poland also.

No one has been coerced by fiat to speak a new language or have been forced to become friends with former enemies. The open border regime works simply because it makes common sense ... and in a region about half the size of the United States, perhaps a bit larger, having common basic labour and safety standards benefits everyone; as does the free movement of goods, services, labour and capital.

Two EU countries still conspicuously absent are the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. They have special security concerns, given the presence of the presently inactive but still present paramilitary groups from both sides of the divide as well as other terrorist groups. However, they do co-operate with the Continent on many security issues including information sharing on people they consider trouble, such as the soccer hooligans. Would one have imagined even that say two decades ago? No.

Of course, there's always the Berlin Wall approach that CNN and Fox News both approve of. Just remember, one can always dig under the wall; and money moves by wire these days, not the byways and highways of the planet.

Europe gets the thumbs up from me, at least today.

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Joke of the Day (2007-12-20)

There's been a joke that's been making the rounds as of late. It's a new twist on an old one, but the point is still there ...

One day, a teacher in the Mid-West is asking her class random questions about various Americans and the things they said. She begins: "Who said, 'I regret that I have but one life to give for my country.?'"

Silence from the students in the class, a mixture of whites, blacks and Native Americans. Finally, one student in the back, a Hispanic, raises her hand and says, "Nathan Hale, 1776 ... just before he was executed by the British for treason, I believe. No, um ... espionage; the British treated spies as what we, or at least President Dubya, now call 'enemy combatants.""

"Correct," replies the teacher. "Now, who said, 'Our Constitution is color-blind, and neither knows nor tolerates classes among citizens?'"

Again, dead silence from the class. Then the lone Hispanic student raises her hand and says, "John Marshall Harlan, 1896; in his dissenting opinion in Plessy v. Ferguson, which legalized racial segregation in the United States."

"Right!" said the teacher, smiling. "Okay, now tell me who said, 'I am not a crook?'"

Dead silence, for thirty seconds. Finally, the Hispanic student raises her hand and says, "Richard Nixon, 1973. It was at a press conference at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida; and he was responding to a question not about his involvement in Watergate but allegations he evaded income taxes.'"

"Absolutely correct!!" said the teacher, with a huge grin on her face. "Now, class, see little Jessica over there? She knows her American history, and even the minutiae around specific events that give quotations their context. But the rest of you should be ashamed of yourselves. After all, she's an immigrant from Mexico and the rest of you were born here."

A student in the middle of the class muttered, "Aw, fuck the Mexicans."

The teacher was livid, and screamed, "All right! Who said that?"

In unison, every single student replied, "LOU DOBBS, 2006!!!!"

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Zoe 101 preggers

What kind of role models are left anymore -- after Mel Gibson went on his anti-Semitic tirade, the self-proclaimed moral arbitor Bill O'Reilly slandered the American soldiers massacred at Malmedy, and now Jamie Lynn Spears (sister of Britney) gets knocked up at the age of ... sixteen?

Something is horribly wrong when even the siblings of ex-role models live up to the lowered expectations of their blood rather than try to make a mark for themselves and at least attempt to be different.

At what point do we, the consumers of entertainment, say enough is enough? God forbid we go back to the days when we said that a teenage girl had "gone to an aunt's." But the lack of parenting across class lines is absolutely appalling. At least Zoe 101 can afford to raise her kid. Most teenage moms can't.

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New Jersey delivers guillotine to lethal injections

Yesterday, New Jersey became the first US state to formally abolish capital punishment since the Supreme Court reauthorized it 31 years ago. It joins twelve states and the District of Columbia that have all this time refused to have the ultimate sanction. Signing the bill was the very controversial Governor of the state, zillionaire Jon Corzine, but that's not the point ... the point is that the legislature voted to abolish the procedure after it was found that the system was beyond defective and that those who were put on death row were probably never going to be executed anyway. A commission earlier this year almost unanimously recommended the step Trenton has now taken.

The eight who were awaiting the needle have had their sentences commuted to life without parole. That's as it should be. Murder one should carry LWOP. No more, no less. This surely won't satisfy a large segment of the Jersey population who support the death penalty's continuance, but surely one has to concede the money spent on endless appeals in DP cases could be better spent both on law enforcement and crime prevention.

And keep in mind, this is Soprano country, which at least has some semblance of habeas corpus and people tend to have a more open mind about these things. Completely the opposite from Texas where its citizens take pride in being a legal lynch mob and where -- barring the intervention of the Supremes -- getting rid of the death penalty is less likely than a hair growing in the middle of the palm of one's hand. And Dubya has stacked the courts to make sure that abolition won't happen for at least another fifty years.

Uh, then again, that palm of the hand bit is what someone said about Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair ever facing off. But it did happen.

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Barrie, the next Hamilton?

Some good news in public transit ... and with it, some bad news as well. GO Transit, the inter-city mass transit system here in South Central Ontario, has extended the Toronto-Bradford line to Barrie. More accurately, the train service has been restored and enhanced beyond what existed when Bob Rae cancelled the run fifteen years ago. Reports this morning for the first day indicated surprisingly high usage, especially for a snow day. And that's just for a line that for now will only have rush hour service.

If it gets even some traffic off the 400 during rush hour, that's fantastic.

Or is it? Well, not really. Because while the Greenbelt has contained urban sprawl within the GTA, it doesn't stop developers from leap-frogging it. And Barrie is quickly becoming the new Hamilton, the last refuge from the exhorbitant housing prices in and around Toronto. The last few years, the population of Barrie has doubled. And it's facing the same kinds of problems much larger cities further south have, not the least of which is urban sprawl. What was formerly a staging area for resorts further north is now more or less a suburb ... separated by a lot of farmland, to be sure, but a suburb nonetheless.

We don't need an American style Megalopolis -- the non-stop city from Richmond, Virginia to Boston, Massachusetts.

One other observation I have is that the rail line is well away from both the 400 and the 404. Were it closer or parallel to it, drivers would see the speedy train as compared to the snail's pace of the expressway.

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Why does Canada, provinces allow pedophiles to immigrate?

I don't like snow, but there are far worse things than a couple feet of the white stuff. So today, one of my wishes for 2008.

Immigration is a shared responsibility between the federal and provincial governments here in Canada; although for the most part we only hear about Québec having an active role in selecting immigrants for the "regular" class while the other provinces defer to Ottawa.

This is problematic in one respect. Law enforcement is a provincial responsibility. Yes, we have the Mounties, but they are under contract to most of the provinces who have elected not to have provincial patrols. And there is a big gap in running background checks to ensure people who are coming to Canada are doing do with integrity and not fraudulent intent or malicious aforethought.

I am aware of at least one person who came to Canada from the UK. It was known that he was on the sex offender registry in Britain, as is his ex-wife. He was put there because he abused his own kids. When the law got too hot for him, he decided to try Canada for luck; and what did he do? He abused a divorced mother's kids as well. And on top of that, he gets a work permit under false pretenses, after he comes to the country (not before, as procedure calls for).

In my opinion, blame falls to both the feds (for allowing the man to come in to Canada with a concealed weapon, among other things) and the province (for not doing its job in saying whether such and such person was acceptable).

I don't have a problem with Ontario having more say in who's welcome here; provided that helps to enhance our ethnic mix and the people have the skills that are needed. They should start taking such an active role, and the New Year is as good as time as any. But the OPP needs to do its part too, and call law enforcement in the donor country and find out if potential immigrants had a past. If so, the province should exercise its veto and say, "No." End of story, the person is personna non grata everywhere in Canada. Simple as that.

Because the buck stops at the top, it would be appropriate for the federal and provincial Attorneys-General to resign; for allowing an administrative environment that allows this and other pricks to abuse Canada's hospitality. Harper, McGuinty and all the other Premiers needs to say enough is enough.

Better still, 2008 should be the year when we think about whether immigration should have more of a law enforcement component. Many democratic countries like the UK combine their Immigration and Justice Departments, viewing potential external threats as a matter of national security. And in my opinion, when ill willed people abuse their or other people's kids, they have breached Canada's national security.

Why do I feel so strongly about this? Because my father was a political refugee. And while I have compassion for those who are seeking asylum for humanitarian or political reasons, I have absolutely no tolerance for criminals who just want out of their country so they can commit more crimes in ours.

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Knob of the week (12-15-07)

With apologies to Air Farce ...

I heard on the radio this morning that the Winnipeg branch of the Salvation Army has seen donations really drop ... in the bucket, as much as 50%. Why, you may ask? Seems that some mall operators in Fort Garry have allowed the Salvation Army in with their Christmas Kettles but have forbidden them to ring their Christmas bells, saying they are distracting to shoppers.

Oh come on!

More than a denomination, the Salvation Army has emerged as one of the pre-eminent NGOs on the planet. Even atheists appreciate the good work they do for the community. And this is the biggest time of year for donations for them. Having the kettles without the bells is like a Christmas tree without the presents or a slice of apple pie without the ice cream.

Are these Grinch mall owners hoping that there are some people in Winterpeg who are as beneficent as the mystery guy a couple years back who dropped a Krugerrand worth $20k in a kettle in Manhattan? I don't think the Asper family is that generous. But the CBC reporter (oh yeah, that's another thing, the Aspers would never cover this story, or if so very reluctantly -- they want the CBC to get out of the news business all together!) did an experiment. He went to another mall and saw what happened when the volunteers rang their bells. Donations doubled almost instantly.

So bring back the bells. Better yet, just call the local Sally Ann branch and make a donation directly so you get the tax receipt. Their slogan, "Need has no season" is truer now that some knobs are trying to take what little fun there is left in this season.

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