Novocastrian

...that Harper is trumpeting that he's joined a coalition?

No doubt as a very, very junior partner, but surely not a clever tactic?

Canada's state of the art CF-18's are no doubt being ferried across the pond on a rented boat as we speak, and within, oh, a month or so after it's all over, they'll be ready for a decisive role in sorting out this
Gaddafi bother.

But it's going to take the wind out of the sails of Our Glorious Leader demonizing the other parties for contemplating the C-word, isn't it?

<probably not. canadians are immune to irony>

Steve_P

Although I agree with your sentiments I have to correct one little piece.

Canada's state of the art CF-18's as you so quaintly put it, are in actuality already in Italy. It has though been determined the current base is too small and they are likely to be moved to a more adequately sized base in France.

They are also awaiting the arrival of support personnel who may very well the ones being ferried across the pond.

Perhaps they should have contracted these guys to do the ferrying. http://www.icepilots.com/episodes.php

Something else I find difficult to fathom...Conservatives best party to deliver trustworthy government: election poll

How can Canadians be so dumb and blind?

caretaker

Well he had to say something didn't he? Join coalition, not join coalition..... it had to be one thing or the other. The 6 F-18s were supposed to be moved from Italy to Marsailles today and deployed on their missions from there. I wonder how they compare in condition to the 6 F-18s Denmark's sending? How much good can 6 fighter bombers do? They can help justify a 30 billion dollar defence program the opposition's ripping apart with the help of his own government. I wish the damned Liberals would get Ralph Goodale out in front and build up enough credibility to take Harper down instead of just yipping at him.

Novocastrian

My reference to boats and ponds was not meant to be taken literally. But thank you for the correction anyway.

Almost Canadian

So, if I understand the thrust of your argument, and I appreciate I may not, joining a coalition to implement a UN resolution is the same as joining a coalition to achieve what, the electorate of Canada have stated they don't want and you couldn't achieve via the ballet box?

caretaker

Sounds like Tory talk - I can almost see hydrophobic John Baird now.
I don't think Novo was arguing about anything....just pointing out a coincidence. And possibly inviting discussion of the irony, ('anyone else..?) in our PM being in less trouble while at war, (albeit as a junior partner in a coalition) than he's in at the house of commons.
Cdn jets provided hi-cap coverage for raids today staging out of Trapani Italy and they may go drop a few themselves tonight.

Jingsamichty

I'll tell you what I find ironic... I've lived in Canada for 3.5 years and I'm still genuinely surprised every time I discover that Canadians may be involved in real world events.

"Oh, Canada has an air force? Well, who knew...?"

Novocastrian

Well put sir, that is very much where I was coming from.

That and the additional point that so much of Harper's style is invective and distortion, witness his habitual references to the opposition parties as "the coalition" as if the word were an obscenity or an insult to democracy.

Now, all of a sudden, a coalition is laudable and inspiring.

Before AC blows a gasket, I'm perfectly well aware of the differences, it's just that Harper's technique has always been to suppress the reality or content of words (or policies) by debasing them.

George Orwell would be double-plus-chuffed.

Almost Canadian

I have to admit that I am not as informed on Canadian politics as, perhaps, I should be, but I don't recall anyone ever making an offer to form a political coalition with Harper in Canada.

Now, I accept that he has ridiculed the opposition parties for wanting to form one simply to circumvent the results of elections in the recent past but I guess I don't have enough of an interest in poring over what politicians say to see a big issue with any of this.

As DBD often says, Canada's political scene is so devoid of any real "issues" that I guess that, if one wishes to become "political" over here, one has to start threads such as this one.

I have no particular axe to grind.

Novocastrian

Recall the Conservative Reform Alliance Party at all?

Almost Canadian

I don't, I wasn't here at the time such issues arose.

Harper is my MP. I didn't vote for him and I won't in the future. I appreciate that it is somewhat mandatory to ridicule incumbants of whatever policital persuasion but I suggest that, barring a surprising result or Harper dropping the ball between now and the next election, the governing party is going to increase the number of MPs it returns at the next election. There is simply no credible alternative.

I very much enjoy reading that the opposition will force an election once the budget is presented. We all know that they won't. They are in too precarious a position to want to do so and, as always, will act in their own interests rather than those of the electorate.

Ho hum

Alan2005

Deciding that his government will now be known as the "Harper Government" rather than the "Canadian Government" makes him a lot of a twat.

Atlantic Xpat

Oh, they've moved on from 'Canada's new government' then? I must confess I hadn't noticed.

A telephone poller called the house last week & asked for the Mrs (the only registered voter in the house). When he said he was calling on behalf of Stephen Harper and could he count on her vote, I thought she was going to laugh so much that she would pass out. Oddly, the caller didn't seem surprised by the reaction.....

caretaker

It's pathetic all right. Hopefully the lack of talent is just a temporary thing. Without a good opposition there's no way to keep government in check and Ignatieff and Layton are just as bad as Harper for invective and rhetoric and not effectively addressing issues and the Bloc may or may not share the agenda of the rest of us. Ralph Goodale's the real brains of that gang but for some reason isn't leader In Canada we're obsessed with honesty - it's expected that public servants be accountable and transparent. When Paul Martin became PM the sponsorship scandal broke and because he'd been minister of finance we assumed he must of known about millions in govt graft, but he swore he didn't know and said if any investigation proved he had, he'd resign. They had the investigation, he was cleared, and we voted him out asap because we didn't believe it anyway. The present government tried to cover up the involvement of jft2 in Afghanistan at the same time the detainee scandal was going on and they were trying to discredit the whistleblower and I thought jft2 was likely helping the Afghans hook up the wires on the lie detectors or something, and Harper was full of indignation saying national security was at stake and if you asked inconvenient questions you weren't being a good Canadian and were compromising troops' safety. After, it took wikileaks to reveal that a bunch of civilians had been killed and they were trying to stonewall it from the very start. We pay for our government and our troops to act in our name and we deserve to be told the truth about what goes on. He's got a nerve calling me unpatriotic too. In the absence of an effective opposition our government considers the truth to be optional rather than required. It's as if we've managed to elect a dictatorship by default because the other team didn't show up. Soooo depressing it's almost time to go for a beer. We're facing possible clouds of radiation from Japan, the threat of another quake and tsunami, war in Libya, war in Afghanistan, global warming/climate change and biological trends that endanger the world's food supply so I wonder why anyone would even want to be in charge right now. That Elisabeth May from the Greens was kind of cute.. is she still around?
*that should of read 'jtf2'

Novocastrian

My house got one of those calls from "the Prime Ministers Office". My younger son took the call and they asked if they could speak to me. I was sitting right there but my son just said "You don't really want to do that, you really don't" and then hung up.

I've taught the lad something after all.