Remembering when Canada used to build ships

The Harper gang held a photo-op/presser today where Defence Minister Jason Kenney announced that the government was entering into "preliminary discussions" about turning a used oil tanker into a Royal Canadian Navy supply ship.

Back in the day, the government used to make an announcement when they'd signed a contract to have Company X build X number of ships.

And then the ships actually got built! I know, because I worked at the Irving yard in Saint John in the early '90's.

Saint John Shipbuilding.

We built real ships!

But not no more. Now they have the photo-op/presser when they're announcing "preliminary discussions."

What the fuck does that mean?

Well, we're sorta thinking about building a few ships... what do you guys think about it?

That's pretty much the way it goes these days...

Just announcing that you're planning to start talking about stuff qualifies as a Harper Action Plan.

Critical mass at the bullshit factory

Here is an exercise in contemporary propaganda that cries out for a closer look.

Look at that title. Do you think "Cyprus" had stand-alone status in the original drafts of this press release? Or do you suspect it may have been just a part of a Middle East tour?

Canada has a back-story in Cyprus. We've been keeping the peace there since forever. Cyprus was once deemed a hot-spot, a bone of contention between rising Turkey and failing Greece, although it wasn't always as evident who was rising and who was failing.

Our man Baird is off to promote Prosperity and Security over there; in Jordan, UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, Cyprus, Israel, and the West Bank.

Six countries and an occupied territory. Of the six countries, four are monarchist dictatorships, one has recently become a protectorate of the IMF, and only one has the slightest claim to being democratic.

Will this impinge on Mr. Baird's quest to promote Canadian interests and values?

"As part of our principled foreign policy, we recognize that prosperity and security are intrinsically linked."

But are they intrinsically linked to democracy? Apparently not.

"Our friends in the region live every day in the shadow of uncertainty caused by the Syrian crisis and Iranian belligerence."

Aren't our friends in Qatar doing more than anyone to fan the flames of the Syrian crisis?

Do you imagine that our erstwhile Minister will be bringing that up with our Qatari friends?

And wasn't it Baird and Harper who connived to close the Canadian embassy in Tehran, thereby closing off a valuable channel through which to communicate our esteemed values?

And is it not interesting how studiously the Baird travelogue avoids any mention of Gaza? Baird will be preaching to our bumboys in Ramallah about the need for negotiations without preconditions, but there will be not a word about settlements.

Or about democracy, because if a free election were held in the West Bank today in which Hamas was allowed to participate, the charade of the PA being the legitimate representatives of the Palestinian people would be over.

All of which leaves the Honourable Mr. Baird doing exactly what on this grand tour of the Middle East?

Collecting frequent flier points.

Austerity in the Great White North: Harper Gang cuts everything but doubles spending on propaganda

Bruce Cheadle had an informative story in the Globe today. Seems that since they came to power the Harperites have doubled the annual expenditure on advertising. Ironically, most of the advertising campaigns are designed to convince Canadians that the spending cuts are good for them.

Not all Canadians are buying in. Cindy Blackstock, a First Nations spokesperson, says "it's disturbing that millions are being spent on government ads when First Nations children go to school in moldy classrooms."

She might have added "and when entire Native communities live in substandard housing and when Canadian Indians are suffering a suicide epidemic that shames Canada in front of the entire world."

It's not "disturbing", Cindy. It's an outrage and an absolute disgrace!