I recently posted about our national embarrassment known as Conrad Black, sycophant extraordinaire. The following, by editorial cartoonist Michael de Adder, was tweeted by Neil MacDonald, who observes. And a grateful Black is now vigorously pushing back against any idea that the attack on the Capitol was violent. Just high
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Politics and its Discontents: Our Own Rudy Guiliani
I’m sure I am but one of millions who have followed the antics of Rudy Guiliani, deriving bittersweet amusement from his addled but staunch defence of his master, Donald Trump, who has reportedly now turned against his lapdog and is refusing to pay his legal bill. Standard operating procedure in
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Black’s pal Trump.
If Bob Hepburn of the Toronto Star had not raised it, I never would have noticed. It has been about ten years since Conrad Black was released from prison in the United States and deported to Canada. Obviously, he is more comfortable holing up in Toronto’s Bridal Path area in
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Canada Day Mystery: What happened between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. to Jason Kenney’s holiday message?
It’s a true Canada Day political mystery! What happened between 9:03 a.m. and 1:02 p.m. that dramatically changed Jason Kenney’s holiday message? Alberta Premier Jason Kenney (Photo: David J. Climenhaga). At 9:03 a.m. yesterday, a minion on the Alberta premier’s staff sent the media the sort of Canada Day Message
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Hinterland Who’s Who: Hear the haunting call of the wild Deep South Alberta UCP MLA …
With friends like Drew Barnes, does the United Conservative Party really need enemies in these troubles times? The right-wing Frankenparty may have won the 2019 provincial election convincingly soon after it was cobbled together from the fringy Wildrose Party and the old Progressive Conservatives by former Harper Government cabinet minister
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Alberta’s UCP deploys the red tape weapon: an example from the War on Education
Never let it be said Alberta’s United Conservative Party Government hates red tape. On the contrary, Premier Jason Kenney’s Government loves the stuff – at least if you define red tape as most dictionaries do, to wit, excessive bureaucratic rules that make it more difficult to get stuff done. Advanced
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Why Canadian media won’t call post-Brexit protests ‘pro-democracy demonstrations’
If there are riots in Britain after the hard Brexit Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his Conservative Party cronies have scheduled for Halloween, will mainstream media in Canada describe them as “pro-democracy demonstrations” as they do when similar violent outbursts take place nowadays in Hong Kong or Moscow? On the
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Oh, dear, what can the matter be? They promised to bring us a pretty ‘Blue-Ribbon,’ but all they deliver is cant!
Once upon a time, your blogger worked for a famous newspaper publisher who announced one day that since we journos hadn’t had a raise for a couple of years we could expect a small one in six months. There was a caveat, though. We would only get the raise if
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: To The Obsequious Go The Spoils
And no one is more obsequious than Lord Tubby Black. H/t Michael De Adder Recommend this Post
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: "Silly Old Fart" or "The Conrad Black Story"
Just trying to come up with titles for a biography of Conrad Black, Lord Lightfingers of Piddle Puddle. Wait, how about, “Black, the Dotage Years”? What I admire most about Conrad is that he did nothing wrong. Why, he says as much himself. I’m sure Barbara does too and now
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: He’ll Always Be a Felon to Me
Lots of people make mistakes, run afoul of the law, get convicted and do a stretch in prison only to eventually receive a pardon. Here’s my take. The significance of a pardon depends no end on just who is granting absolution. When that someone is Donald Trump, someone you have
Continue readingAlberta Politics: The Annals of Justice: Vice-Admiral Mark Norman gets an apology and Conrad Black gets a pardon
Remember this important fact: None of us knows whether Vice-Admiral Mark Norman is guilty of the crime with which he was charged. Well, Vice-Admiral Norman knows, presumably, and his legal team would have a pretty good idea, as would a few Crown prosecutors and members of the Royal Canadian Mounted
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Is M’Lord Bored?
Lord Cross-the-Pond must be bored with his visitor status in Canada. It is not as though he does not have a suitably palatial estate in Toronto’s Bridal Path area for his retirement. I think Conrad Black gets bored easily. Many would accuse me of being jealous. I am, a little.
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: Jody Critics – You’ve Got Company. Conrad Black Appears Like-Minded
Lord Connie of PiddlePuddle has spoken. Trudeau should have turfed Justice Minister Jody long ago. And, FFS, stop getting worked up about fine Canadian enterprises greasing a few palms along the way. Pay no attention to that elitist OECD and the 1997 Convention on Combating Bribery that Canada, along with
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Sounds as if the Trudeau Liberals are listening to their Natural Governing Party lizard brain, finally
Amid all the hoo-ha emanating from the nation’s capital over the partial holiday weekend, the bit that didn’t seem to fit was the dispiriting news – for many Albertans, anyway – that the federal cabinet won’t make a decision until summer at least on whether the Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Alberta separation: Are Russian bots messing with our province, or just homegrown right-wing agitators?
Are Russian bots behind the recent busy social media campaign to persuade Albertans they want to separate from Canada, a la Brexit? Or is this just the work of right-wing Canadian agitators using well-tested digital agitprop techniques to undermine the Liberal Government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau? You can’t rule
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Edmonton Conservative MP Kerry Diotte threatens defamation action against young people who criticized him on Twitter
Edmonton Griesbach MP Kerry Diotte has threatened a young writer and former constituent with a defamation lawsuit for tweeting critical comments about his appearance in photos with Faith Goldy, an unsuccessful candidate for mayor of Toronto who is widely viewed as a white nationalist. Bashir Mohamed, 23, who has written
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Conrad loves Donald.
It is hard to think of two people more deserving of their mutual admiration. Both Conrad Black and Donald Trump think the American President is a wonderful guy. And Lord Cross-the-Pond Black has written another coffee table tome to hopefully prove it. As book number 47 (or so) by friends
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Canada needs more Jeremy Corbyn, less Justin Trudeau, 21st annual Parkland Institute conference is advised
PHOTOS: Guardian journalist Martin Lukacs, moments before his remarks to the 21st annual Parkland Institute Conference in Edmonton yesterday morning. Below: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau; British Labour Party Leader Jeremy Corbyn and Prime Minister Theresa May (U.K. Photos: Wikimedia Commons); and bestselling Canadian author Linda McQuaig before her keynote
Continue readingAlberta Politics: How but as a leadership campaign brochure are we to interpret Derek Fildebrandt’s paean to ‘Max’ Bernier?
PHOTOS: Derek Fildebrandt, the Alberta Wildrose Party’s finance critic and, possibly, third unofficial candidate to enter the non-race to lead the still-nonexistent United Conservative Party. Below: Maxime Bernier (Photo: CBC), who is apparently Mr. Fildebrandt’s ideological hero, and British Columbia NDP Leader John Horgan, who seems very close to grasping
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