At ease General, Pat's got your back

While President Obama wonders where all that good afterglow from just a week ago went, he no doubt will soon have to address the many fascinating (titillating for many) developments out of the ranks of his Generals these days.

With the Generals clearly finding themselves with just a little too much time on their hands it seems,  it reminds us that when it comes to war, the enlisted life seems a little less entitled than those up on Officer row.

What with the grunts on the ground doing all the heavy lifting, while their Officers fight the good fight on the email front and other less dangerous locales.

The talking point that has dominated the US media cycle for the last few days has been the announcement that CIA director General David Petraeus had resigned, caught up in an extra-marital affair that not only has brought his career to a halt, but now seems destined to spin off into any number of directions and topics.

We're not sure if this is good news for the General or not (I suspect Mrs. Petraeus isn't buying it) but someone is on the Generals' side of it all, as Pat Robertson is on board with his apparent infidelity… 

A friend in need is a friend indeed, though considering the recent observations of the televangelist, it's possible that his "help" isn't really going to resonate all that much.

Regardless, this mess is destined to carry on far into the next few months, giving folks much time to weigh in and we would like to think that the Good General will now become part of this wikipedia explanation of Pat Robertson's helpful reference to propinquity

After all, they like to remain current at the wiki, we're pretty sure this would be helpful to the popular culture reference section.

BC Jobs Fair Caravan skips Prince Rupert

While the unemployment rate in Prince Rupert and the North Coast is still among the highest in the province, the opportunity to learn about Job opportunities it seem will require a little travel for local residents.

The Provincial government is in the midst of cross province tour featuring 24 Jobs Fairs in a variety of British Columbia communities, with Terrace next up on the list on the 16th of November, when the BC Jobs Fair sets up at the Terrace Sportsplex.

The list of participants is impressive, offering up information on the paths to follow leading to a number of rewarding employment options.

It's just unfortunate that the last one hundred kilometres or so of Highway 16 couldn't be travelled to deliver all this good news to the North Coast.

You have to wonder exactly what the criteria was, when the destinations were considered for the travelling jobs caravan. A quick glimpse of the roster of participating communities might suggest to the cynical an itinerary of riding's where the governing Liberals are firmly in place, or perhaps believe they may have a shot at capturing in the next provincial election.

The Premier and her Ministers are quick to arrive in the community when they can make the most out of a jobs announcement from the Port or associated development from it. Yet, when it comes to delivering one of the key planks of the Jobs plan that they trumpet endlessly, they can't seem to find the place on a map.

The Premier has made much of that jobs strategy in the last year, so much so, that every Friday night British Columbians can tune into her 90 second weekly update, an infomercial that heralds all the advancements in job creation that the Liberals believe they are delivering.

It is a controversial advertorial campaign that has cost British Columbians some 15 million dollars, subsidized advertising for the Liberal party it would seem, courtesy of the British Columbia taxpayers.

Taxpayers who perhaps, might believe that a better use of that advertising budget would be to take the job opportunities festival to some of those communities that could use it the most.

Cross posted from the North Coast Review

Perhaps he said "I'm here in the lobby"?

When Bill Belsey opened up his email a year ago, who knew that his mail would have such long lasting repercussions.

The email that Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training Minister Pat Bell forwarded to Bill Belsey one year ago may be long forgotten by the two principles in the exchange, however, it may prove to be yet another problem for Premier Christy Clark.

Mr. Belsey, the current Vice President of the BC Liberal Party and the former MLA for the North Coast  became central to the political spotlight earlier this week, when the Globe and Mail relayed the details of the electronic missive from Minister Bell. 

A correspondence which provided some background information for Mr. Belsey on the Skeena Cellulose file, information that some suggest perhaps should have remained within the realm of official government eyes only.

The imagery of it all is certainly damaging to the Premier and her party. The latest  in bad news days, in what of late seems to be quite a number of less than helpful moments from her ministers.

Vaughn Palmer of the Vancouver Sun observes today that the circumstances of the Bell to Belsey email, when coupled with a few other correspondences and requests in recent times, paints a rather unsavoury picture of how the BC Liberals conduct their business.

The NDP seem set to make much political hay over yet another Liberal politician sending information to a lobbyist, however, if the Tyee's research proves correct, there may be some question as to whether Mr. Belsey is even a registered lobbyist in the province.

From the Tyee: " Belsey's name did not, however, appear in The Tyee's search of the province's registry of lobbyists. Nor does Sun Wave's name appear. The deputy registrar of lobbyists, Mary Carlson, also checked. "There's nothing under his name," she said. "The registry is not producing any report showing his registration either as a consultant lobbyist or an in-house lobbyist."

As the email grabs another day of the news cycle, the Bell correspondence would seem to be providing  the kindling for yet another brush fire for the Premier to put out, raising yet more eyebrows at the Liberal's handling of the day to day affairs of the province.

CBC News-- B. C. Cabinet minister under fire for release of email
Victoria Times Colonist-- NDP questions Bell's email to insider, lobbyist
Globe and Mail-- B. C. Jobs Minister must be investigated after e-mail shared, NDP critic says
Vancouver Sun-- Optics of Bell's email stink: NDP
CTV.ca-- B. C. minister forwarded cabinet email to lobbyist: NDP

Cross posted from the North Coast Review

You can get there from here!

Put a pot of coffee on Manitoba, company may be coming!!!

Folks in border areas across the nation may want to make a Costco/Superstore run, stocking up on the Folgers, Maxwell House or for the connoisseurs, some Timmies. Better yet if you wish to make your soon to arrive guests more comfortable, maybe even grab some Starbucks.

With Republicans in full navel gazing mode after Tuesday's electoral defeat for the Presidency, some are giving thought to relocation to above the 49th.

There may not have been a path to the Presidency on Tuesday after all for the GOP, but for the disappointed, there is a path to Canada.

To help with the traffic flow, Jeff Brucculeri, a Tulsa television weatherman at Fox 23 provided this helpful travel guide for how to get there.

You take your Highway 75 NORTHBOUND, through Kansas, watch for 29 at Omaha all the way through the Dakotas and across the border into Winn-ih-peg, though Jeff may have led travellers astray as they seek out the Lord Selkin Highway once they have crossed the line...
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We're not sure that Republicans have perhaps researched this whole northern migration out completely.

Canada has national health care, relatively high taxes by American standards. We're not particularly concerned about gay marriage and of course we're not quite as fond of weaponry, as some of the Republican base might appreciate.

We do however, have some familiar things, a baseball and basketball team on the TV (though they are from Toronto and quickly our new guests will learn that's not always a good thing) and we like football, though Republicans will no doubt be a little confused why teams keep kicking on third down.

Regardless, we're sure the Conservative Party might welcome some new recruits for our electoral cycle, though as to the right of the political spectrum as Stephen Harper may be, in Tea Party eyes, he may still seem a little to LEFT leaning for their liking...

Folks not to seek advice from in your football pools or fantasy hockey drafts

The US Election results have been divined for another four years and with the re-election of President Barack Obama there's more than a few pundits and prognosticators doing some fancy back tracking, walking back their less than sage vision of the electoral count.

The vision of chaos was most complete on Fox News, where Karl Rove began to battle with not only the anchors on the election desk, but with the networks own boiler room of electoral prognosticators.

It all made for great theatre as Rove demanded that Fox return Ohio to Mitt Romney, however,  as events played out Mr. Rove would leave the studios empty handed and off to remedial math class we imagine..


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While the Republicans turn on their own for answers to their electoral defeat (watch your back Chris Christie) the political websites, magazines and other magical portals of politics have weighed in on how their own political class, the pundit class, with a few exceptions got it so wrong.

The Roll call of the failing is as follows, Nate Silver you're dismissed, you had a good night.

Politico
The Atlantic Wire
US News
Slate
Huffington Post
Daily Kos
Tech Crunch
The Daily Caller
Washington Post
National Memo
Crooks and Liars
The Daily Beast

Even Jimmy Fallon's puppy got it wrong.. showing that the entire process has gone to the dogs...

Mediate has compiled a list of the Top 10 of the Wrong, a photographic essay if you will, or a mug shot lineup of the most likely of suspects to get it wrong.

These are the folks not to sit beside when you're making your NFL pool picks this weekend and/or if we ever get hockey back on track and have a fantasy draft in your local pub...

Election Day USA, the Wrath of Homer?

It's time once again for the United States to exercise its democracy, and as we all know exercise is good for you.

However, the actual process of casting that valuable single vote has run into a few snags at the polling stations, in particular one high profile situation which seems to have voters selecting one candidate, only to see their vote recorded for the other one.
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It calls to mind a now legendary episode of The Simpson's, from four years ago, where Springfield's most dedicated voter ran into a wee bit of trouble with his voting machine adventure as well.
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It does leave us a tad confused as considering the importance that Americans attach to their right to vote, leaving the fate up to a machine does seem rather odd.

A piece of paper and a X have worked for hundreds of years in any number of nations (including Canada), time consuming yes, but with checks and balances that at least reduce the odds of trouble, not to mention four years of suspicion as to which candidate "really" won any giving district.

After all, if Homer notices there has been a problem with these machines, perhaps it's time to re-evaluate their contribution to Democracy.

Liberals bask in the glow of Justin's entry to the race

So far, the race for the Liberal leadership has been about as enthralling as sitting around the dentist's office awaiting your turn for a root canal.

There's been previous little in the way of developments, the list of names of the contenders has been rather sparse and the one name most figured at least had some resonance of sorts was Bob Rea, who promptly announced he had decided against the idea after all.

So, as September moved into October with the spotlight awaiting someone to step into it, one of the most famous of Liberal surnames finally went from the whisper stage to a full fledged campaign.

Justin Trudeau took to the stage in Montreal on October 2nd and proclaimed that he was ready and willing to seek the leadership of the Liberal Party of Canada, home of a weather beaten cape that has had little resonance over the last number of years.
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The rebuilding of the brand is seemingly taking baby steps since the demise of Stephane Dion's agenda, still it seems reeling from the last election which sent the Liberals to the uncharted lands of third party status, a social step down that few Liberals it seems were ready for.

With Bob Rae stepping aside earlier this year, the march of the Liberals has provided for a list of names of potential candidates that seem but known only to the inner circle of the Liberal caucus.

Now with the arrival of Justin Trudeau's campaign, the recognition factor has jumped ten fold, good for the Liberal brand we imagine and perhaps enough to spur on other Liberal names to take to a campaign.

Needless to say, the arrival of the new generation of Trudeau's to the Liberal leadership quest has provided for much in the way of publicity. We're not sure if Mr. Trudeau is yet ready for the big step towards leadership and possibly governance, the jury of course still is out on that prospect.

But for the moment at least, people are talking about the Liberal party and not in that quaint kind of way of what once was, which two weeks ago wasn't something that happened with much regularity.

Now the hard work begins for the Liberals, will they seek to have a real debate over their future and seek out a number of would be leaders to shape that future?

Or will they just surrender to the latest  modern wave of Trudeaumania v 2.0 ? Turning the keys over to the new guy and ride some coat tails towards an eventual showdown with the NDP and the Conservatives.

The new adventure for Liberals is underway, a fascinating bit of theatre that could either bring them back from the depths of popular opinion.

Or herald perhaps, that indeed the party of the Canada's historic past, will remain just that.

Some of the reviews of the Trudeau launch can be found below.

Globe and Mail-- Come election time, everyone loves the middle class
Globe and Mail-- Justin Trudeau explains why he seeks Liberal leadership
Globe and Mail-- Justin Trudeau shares his vision for Liberal Party
Globe and Mail-- The best thing for Liberals? Someone to take on Trudeau for party leadership
Globe and Mail-- Liberal Party needs a leadership race, not a coronation
Globe and Mail-- Justin Trudeau grapples with his 'authenticity' as the race begins
Globe and Mail-- Can Trudeau win the Liberal leadership?
Globe and Mail-- On day of LeBlanc endorsement, poll shows Trudeau could recreate Liberals
Globe and Mail-- Former PM Mulroney: Underestimate Justin Trudeau at your own peril
Globe and Mail-- Liberal leadership race stirs to life as Trudeau heads from West to East
Globe and Mail-- Star power, yes, but what does Justin Trudeau stand for?
Globe and Mail-- Trudeau's vision for Liberals high on ambition, short on firm answers
Globe and Mail-- Trudeau seeks to rebuild Liberal party - starting in Alberta
Globe and Mail-- Justin Trudeau's mission is to shake up the system
Globe and Mail-- Justin Trudeau's success grounded in hard work
Globe and Mail-- Trudeau family brand coming to the fore in Liberal leadership race
Globe and Mail-- Justin Trudeau as leader is the Liberals' best and worst hope
Globe and Mail-- If Trudeau leads, will Liberals follow?
Globe and Mail-- Why Justin Trudeau's passion for politics may not be enough
National Post-- Justin Trudeau vows not to use West's resources as 'wedge' ...
National Post-- Tories fear Justin Trudeau's drawing power could create Obama-like surge
National Post-- Trudeau's strategy aims to recapture Canadian values
National Post-- It's time to 'write a new chapter': Justin Trudeau lays out plan to follow father's footsteps
National Post-- 'My friends, we will do better': Justin Trudeau confirms bid to lead federal Liberals
National Post-- Justin Trudeau looking to the West (and the middle class) for Liberal success
National Post-- The son is not the father and the future is not buried in the past
National Post-- Liberal challenge will be to inject substance in Justin the rock star
National Post-- Dear Media, will you and Justin get a room, please?
National Post-- Post approved campaign posters, slogans for Justin Trudeau's leadership bid
National Post-- Smiling Justin's leadership challenge
National Post-- Justin Trudeau's path to PM (if it exists at all) goes straight through Quebec
National Post-- Justin Trudeau's leadership bid could turn campaign into coronation...
Toronto Sun-- Justin, Justin and more Justin Trudeau
Toronto Sun-- Justin Trudeau shows Liberals haunted by Ghost of Glories Past
Toronto Sun-- Justin Trudeau makes Liberal leadership bid official
Toronto Sun-- Justin Trudeau: The Millennial candidate?
Toronto Sun-- Trudeaumania relapse should have us looking for remedy
Toronto Star-- Justin Trudeau coverage is giving readers what they want: Delacourt
Toronto Star-- Here's how the Liberals can make the old new again
Toronto Star-- Justin Trudeau, Barack Obama and the return of class-based politics
Toronto Star-- Did Justin Trudeau's coming-out speech satisfy expectations?
Toronto Star-- Canadians not satisfied with Tory government
Toronto Star-- Justin Trudeau: Northern Gateway pipeline not a 'good idea'
Toronto Star-- Justin Trudeau's fairy tale bid for Liberal leadership needs a big bad wolf
Toronto Star-- Liberal leadership candidates step aside for Justin Trudeau
Toronto Star-- Justin Trudeau's famous name may help him in Liberal leadership race, but not in Quebec
Toronto Star-- Justin Trudeau and a brief history of political coronations
Toronto Star-- Justin Trudeau ready to step into his father's shoes
Toronto Star-- Justin Trudeau officially launches Liberal leadership campaign
Toronto Star-- Justin Trudeau launches Liberal leadership campaign in cross-Canada tour
Toronto Star-- Justin Trudeau and the shape of things to come
CBC-- Justin Trudeau's leadership bid backed by LeBlanc
CBC-- How will Justin Trudeau contend with his father's legacy?
CBC-- Justin Trudeau shouldn't be underestimated, Mulroney says
CBC-- Can Justin Trudeau save the Liberals?
CBC-- Justin Trudeau can fill a room but can he win an election?
CBC-- Justin Trudeau to run for Liberal leadership
CBC-- Justin Trudeau seeks 'new chapter' for Liberal Party
CBC-- Cross Country check up: Does Justin Trudeau owe his appeal to celebrity or a new direction...