(Dec 14)... Do you realise that in 59 weeks you will have reached 25 years of Wednesday nights?
Could be a good time to create a coffee table book covering the issues that have arisen in 25 years of round table discussions.
It will be Jan 31st 2007...1300 Wednesday Nights, or 25 years.
That's impressive.
Marc Nicholson
Be sure to check here for last week's Summary
'T'is the season to be jolly ... but has anyone told the media that? Or the politicians hauling around their Santa sacks of promises, promises?
Poor Mayor Tremblay - losing his "credibility with the electorate" because he tried to raise taxes as quick as the flash of Santa's disappearance up the chimney - there's a metaphor there. So now, he's back where he started, sort-of, although we fear that backtracking does not credibility restore.
At least the Québec by-elections made two leaders happy - each got what he hoped for and in Outremont, Raymond Bachand promises (that word again!) to be an effective and good representative.
But, oh dear, there's the unwanted parade of feds around the country and with it the "beer and popcorn" dispute over daycare/child care. While at first glance this appears to be a tempest in a teapot - or would that be a beer stein? - it casts an interesting light on the fundamental differences between Liberal and Conservative attitudes towards the voters' ability to make decisions for themselves. We suggest that given the Liberals' track record in spending our money, they have little to criticize. Who knows, the recipients of the largesse might wind up spending some of the $1200 on Faith Popcorn and understanding a good deal more about trends than any of our political parties.
And the polls aren't helping us to make up our minds with their contradictory findings.
Speaking of promises, critical acclaim for the Wait-list benchmarks for healthcare was not universal and in any event, Quebec has opted out (of course) and Montreal is preoccupied with the dust-up over the proposed transfer of specializations from one of Montreal's children's hospitals to the other and the immediate negative reaction of the Shriners. (See the Op-Ed page of today's Gazette for Henry Aubin and for the resolution adopted by the MUHC and McGill Board of Governors:
"Any reduction in the role of the Montreal Children's Hospital in providing specialized and ultra-specialized pediatric care is 'unacceptable and would strike a blow to Canada's No. 1 university' "see gazette )
Interesting - did anyone notice that only the Globe & Mail gives prominent place to the opening of the WTO talks in Hong Kong? It's a sad commentary on Canadian navel-gazing. According to Reuters, "Tension between the United States and the 25-nation European Union burst into the open as the meeting got under way, with European Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson calling for radical reform to the U.S. system of food aid for developing nations ... Food aid for poor countries and emergency relief can be a tool to advance development and for humanitarian relief," Mandelson told a news conference. But the U.S. programme is designed to give support to U.S. agricultural producers."
News from many countries is grim. As predicted by Robert Galbraith, Afghanistan is becoming more dangerous, Canadian troops are in harm's way to a much greater extent than the public was led to believe, and as the National Post notes: "Election campaigns [are] silent on Afghan war". The assassination of Gibran Tueni, the courageous anti-Syrian Lebanese MP and journalist is a sad commentary on the effectiveness of Syria's "withdrawal" from Lebanon, especially coming on the heels of the indenting announced yesterday by the UN investigation of the killing of Rafik Hariri.
On the eve of the elections, the fate of the four Christian activist hostages in Iraq is still unknown.
Down-under in the laid-back Land of Oz, race riots in Sydney have shocked Australians and the world. Let's hope that Gerald Henseron of the Sydney Morning Herald is right: "This is not so much a clash of civilisations but, rather, a series of disputes between some aggressive Australians of Lebanese Muslim background and a group of aggressive (and drunk) Australians of Anglo-Celtic background,"
Amidst all the political news and spin from the U.S., we are saddened by Sunday's editorial on New Orleans in the New York Times: "We are about to lose New Orleans. Whether it is a conscious plan to let the city rot until no one is willing to move back or honest paralysis over difficult questions, the moment is upon us when a major American city will die, leaving nothing but a few shells for tourists to visit like a museum"
We are, however, cheered by a few stories. Despite the doom and gloom of last Wednesday's discussion of Kyoto and the Climate Change Conference, the conclusion of the conference appears to be somewhat positive. Bill Clinton's surprise appearance probably helped and , at least, as the Climate Change ConferenceNew York Times said on Monday: "... the countries that care about global warming did not allow the United States delegation to blow the whole conference to smithereens."
From London, Dame Anita Roddick, founder of the Body Shop plans to give away her $100 million and has already started with generous amounts to charity, Amnesty International and Greenpeace.
http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/story.html?id=df28788c-ff7c-4e94-9dac-5223844867c9
In BC, The Raincoast Conservation Foundation has bought the guide-outfitting rights to a prime piece of the province's wilderness with a view to permanently ending the commercial killing of all animals in the area. Trophy animals get protection
And there's always the latest out of Chicago on Lord Black who may be facing charges under the RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations) Act. (Now that news makes the front page of the National Post)
Please join us for the usual eclectic conversation and civil debate. Check here for updates and breaking news/gossip/trivia and links.
We look forward to seeing you,
Diana & David Nicholson
Links to some of the topics we may or may not look at this Wednesday:
Sun 11/13/2005 12:56 PM Hi David and Diana,
I should home be by the 25th ... things are good and I am continually busy. If you would like to see some of my pics, you can go click into my new site below [and please note they are copyright by © ROBERT J. GALBRAITH] I will be loading more as the days advance and have much to include. This site is mostly for clients who wish to purchase my pics and text (which i haven't figured out how to succsessfully load-yet). Miss you all! see you soon!
Rob.
BamiyanFinalText.doc all © ROBERT J. GALBRAITH
BBC
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