What an a--hole

I'm talking about P--- T-llier, a used-to-be....well....everything.  After leaving as the PCO Clerk, he went to Bombardier where he fired 16,000 people -- something of which he remains very proud.  There was an article in 'The Globe and Mail Report on Business' magazine today about T-llier and it brought back many unpleasant memories for both B and me.  We both worked with him back in the day; B at the PCO and I at PS 2000, where I had the misfortune to report to him. 

At one point, B and T-llier were colleagues at Urban Affairs and -- stop me if you've heard this before -- T-llier kept bugging B to play squash with him.  An excellent raquets player, B kept putting him off until finally he agreed.  Not only did T-llier not win, he didn't get a point!  "Well, I let him have a couple," admitted B the other day.  But the crowning touch was after the match, when B said, "That was fun, P---, but we should play tennis.  That's really my game."

When I heard that, I said, "Well, now that he's Clerk, that's your career done."  "Don't be ridiculous," B said, "He can't hold a grudge that long." 

Yes he can and yes he did.  And it didn't help me when I worked for him that my name was "Marley-Clarke" because he immediately knew to whom I was married:  The guy who cleaned his squash clock.  By the way, T-llier never asked B to play tennis.

In the article, T-llier lauds his glory over and over -- even trashing an unnamed DM I worked for and admired greatly.  (What he said about him told me immediately who it was.)  I had to laugh when he said in the article that he deplored the centralization of power.  OMG!  Nobody did that better than T-llier!  He even took it to the annual Christmas party, where he prowled around seeing who had had one too many.  For some reason, he didn't like anyone who imbibed, so I stayed for a short time and left with my "Marley-Clarke" name sober and in tact.  A real killjoy, that's for sure. 

T-llier was also the guy who fudged his resume to say he had graduated from Oxford in England and then blamed a secretary for mixing his up with someone else's.

Pluuuuuuese.

So, thought I'd fill you in on my inside knowledge.  Oh yeah, almost forgot, a number of Bombardier executives just cashed out their stock and reaped upwards of $36 million among them -- all the while firing employees amid plunging stock values.  And remember, folks, this is the same company the Canadian taxpayer has been subsidising for many years!

Yep, I've been around the block a few times and enjoy sharing these tidbits.

What! Is! Wrong! With! People!

I know I have flogged this before, but the principle of the separation of church and state -- or mosque and state or temple and state -- APPLIES!  People, get over yourselves.  When accessing a public service, one should not know the religion of the public servant providing it.

How has no one -- except me -- pointed this out?!?!

Once you point it out, the entire issue goes away.  Let me repeat:  The entire issue goes away. 

Today, the ignorant Jagmeet Singh removed his turban to reveal his hair.  Why??  What did this prove?  It proved he is a Sikh, which I don't wish to know because I am not a Sikh.  I also don`t want to know if a public servant is a protestant, a Jew, a Catholic, an atheist, a Baptist.....or anything else. 

The religion of any public servant must be unknown.  This ridiculous debate is all so unnecessary and ignorant.  Google `Church and State` and it`s all there.  OMG!

You knew it would happen again

Yep, after hectoring people for years to file on line, the CRA efile option has crashed.  Again.  This happened a couple of years ago, costing the government billions because they had to extend the filing deadline to compensate for the delays they had caused with their incompetence.

I remember when I was working in Client Services -- and I use the word "Services" loosely because we just complicated everything -- we were hammering efile to the back teeth.  In my view, the problem remains that the IT department is too jammed with "experts" to get anything right.  I ran a dinky little national program called the "Problem Resolution Program", yet whenever I asked for a meeting with IT all hell broke loose.  Instead of sending one or two people to the meeting, they came in droves.  One time, no fewer than 11 people were seated around a conference table to resolve one simple issue.  It was ridiculous! 

CRA reaps what it sows.  Good luck with that mess.
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On another note, I have a painful "knot" in my right upper back that will not yield.  Tried physio and chiropractic, but that did nothing.  Finally have resorted to acupuncture.  But instead of forking over $85 a crack, I have been going to the Alberta College of Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine for $25 bucks a session.  Actually, it's been working, to my dismay.  For a pain in your back, they insert two needles in your thumb, two in your thigh, one in your elbow and two where it actually hurts.  Then you lie there for 25 boring minutes. 

We'll see how this comes out in the wash.     
 

Why would you think...

....you could leave the EU with a deal?  I don't get that?!  Britain voted for Brexit, but now wants a deal to leave?  Really?  If you leave the EU, you're on your own.  You then have to negotiate bilateral deals with all the countries with which you trade.  Why would the EU give you a deal?  Were it that easy, everyone would leave.

The EU was a disastrous experiment that has failed miserably.  Britons basically wanted to curb immigration, that's why they voted to leave.  They didn't want a lot of Eastern Europeans wandering in, so that's why they chose to leave.

So leave.  Without a deal.  And take your chances with one-on-one trade agreements with all the European countries you need to deal with. 

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Watching the latest BS about Syria having defeated ISIS.  Really?  Frankly, why do we care here in Canada?  Why are the airwaves full of this?  I don't care that these people -- on both sides -- have destroyed their country.  TV footage is full of burned-out cars and destroyed cities all in the name of....what?  Remind me again.  I have no clue?  I stare blankly at the screen, trying to figure out why this crap is broadcast in Canada?

All I can say is, roll on Spring! 

Finally

Wernick resigned.  About bloody time.  I used to be proud to tell people B worked in the Privy Council Office, but after the disgrace of people like Michael Wernick, I stopped being proud.  Actually, the PCO was ruined many years ago, when Trudeau senior started politicizing the appointment of clerks.  People like Jocelyn Bourgeon, Kevin what's-his-name and their ilk ruined the reputation of this venerable institution.

I met B when my then-boss told me in 1980 I had to report to him to run an IPAC conference.  I thought, OMG!  The PCO?  He must be a pompous ass in a 16-piece suit.  But I was wrong.  He was totally professional and a perfect gentleman.  I was hooked. 

Anyway, that's almost 40 years ago.  I digress.  I am just glad to see the back of Wernick as he leaves the building.  Maybe, some trust can be put back into the PCO.  Maybe.
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Actually, wanted to highlight the Australian Senator who commented on the recent attacks on Muslims in New Zealand.  All the guy said was he was sorry about the killings, but this time it was of Muslims, who were usually the perpetrators.  Well!!!!  He was vilified, attacked and hounded to death.  Both prime ministers of Australia and New Zealand called for his resignation and petitions were launched to practically kill the guy!  Why?  Because he actually told the truth. 

My question is, why is it always open season on Christians, but no one can say a word when it goes the other way?  I am in no way condoning what that lunatic did, but lone Muslim men have killed many in other attacks.  Why can this not be pointed out without people going insane?

Beats me. 

Food for thought

I don't know who wrote this, but it made me think.  The latest atrocity in New Zealand involved Muslims.  Either Muslims are doing the attacking, or they are being attacked.  It seems to me, they are the focus of what is going on.  Have a read, I had actually forgotten about much of these events:

OUR HISTORY LESSON FOR TODAY

 The War started in the 7th Century and lasted

through the 17th Century.  Many will contend...

it never stopped; the Facts below are historically correct.

That is why many of us choke when we hear

someone say we will defeat or contain these Islamic Terrorists in a few Years, or even "30 Years" as has been stated by Leon Panetta.If the latest batch of Murders, Beheadings,and Killing of Innocent Christians has at all shocked you, it is time for you to read this Compilation of Historical Facts about the Intense Hatred that Muslims have for ANY

and ALL who are not Muslim.

 

In 732 A.D., the Muslim Army, which was moving on Paris, was Defeated and turned back at Tours, France, by Charles Martell.

 

In 1571 A.D., the Muslim Army/Navy was defeated by the Italians and Austrians as they tried to cross the Mediterranean to Attack Southern Europe in the Battle of Le panto.

 

In 1683 A.D, the Turkish Muslim Army, attacking Eastern Europe, was finally Defeated in the Battle of Vienna by German and Polish Christian Armies.

 

This has been going on for 1,400 years.  The sad thing is that more than half of all Politicians do not even know any of this.  If these Battles had not been won, we would most likely be speaking Arabic.  And Christianity could be Non-existent.  Judaism certainly would not exist!

 

Reality check:

A lot of Americans, including Canadians, have become so Insulated from Reality that they Imagine America and Canadians can Suffer defeat without any Inconvenience to themselves.

 

Think:

The following events are true historical facts.  It has been many years since 1968, but History keeps repeating itself.

 

1. In 1968, Robert Kennedy was Shot and Killed

    by a Muslim Male.

 

2. In 1972, at the Munich Olympics, Israeli Athletes

    were Kidnapped and Massacred by Muslim Males.

 

3. In 1972, a Pan Am 747 was Hijacked and

    eventually Diverted to Cairo where a Fuse was lit

     on Final Approach.  Shortly after Landing, it was

      Blown up by Muslim Males.     

 

4. In 1973, a Pan Am 707 was Destroyed in Rome

    with 33 People Killed, when it was Attacked with

     grenades by Muslim Males.

 

5. In 1979, the United States Embassy in Iran

    was taken over by Muslim Males.

 

6. During the 1980’s, a number of Americans

     were Kidnapped in Lebanon by Muslim Males.

 

7. In 1983, the United States Marine Barracks in

    Beirut was Blown up by Muslim Males.

 

8. In 1985, the Cruise Ship Achilles-Lauro was

    Hijacked, and a 70-year-old American Passenger

     was Murdered and thrown Overboard in his

      Wheelchair by Muslim Males.

 

9. In 1985, TWA Flight 847 was Hijacked at Athens,

    and a United States Navy Diver,who was trying

     to Rescue Passengers – was murdered

      by Muslim Males

 

10. In 1988, Pan Am Flight 103 was bombed

      by Muslim Males.

 

11. In 1993, the World Trade Center was Bombed

      for the First Time by Muslim Males

 

12. In 1998, the United States Embassies in Kenya

      and Tanzania were Bombed by Muslim Males.

 

13. On 09/11/01, FOUR Airliners were Hijacked. 

      Two of the Planes were used as Missiles to take

       down the World Trade Centers.  One Plane

        Crashed into the United States Pentagon, and

         the other Plane was Diverted and Crashed by

          the Passengers. Thousands of People were

           Killed by Muslim Males.

 

14. In 2002, the United States fought a War

      in Afghanistan against Muslim Males.

 

15. In 2002, reporter Daniel Pearl was Kidnapped

      and Beheaded by you guessed it - a Muslim Male.

       (Plus two other American Journalists who had

        just recently been Beheaded.)

 

16. In 2013, the Boston Marathon Bombing resulted

      in Four Innocent People, including a Child, being

       Killed and 264 other People injured by

        Muslim Males.

What is wrong with her!?

Climate Barbie must be insane!  The budget coming down will apparently include $5,000 for anyone who buys an electric car.  Whaaaaat??!!  Has anyone noticed there is nowhere to charge them?  Has anyone noticed we are still an oil-based economy?

Obviously not.  Yep, Barbie is living in a parallel universe.  Oh that she would disappear into the Twilight Zone and fade away. 

The other insanity is the spectacle of our natural resources minister, Amerjeet Sohi, running down to an oil conference in Houston and lecturing the US Secretary of "oil" (or whatever) about how he has to get Keystone XL moving.  Whaaaaat??!!  This from a guy whose country cannot -- and will not -- get a pipeline built in his own country!  The hypocrisy is not only glaring, it's embarrassing.

Please Gawd, deliver me. 

Deaf and blind

"What fresh hell is this," said the famous writer Dorothy Parker when she encountered something that displeased her.  That's what I said all day, listening to Carolyn Bennett announcing yet more millions for natives, this round for those who attended day school on the reserves, under their parents care and control.  For those who say they were "abused" -- that would be everyone -- handouts will be from $10,000 to $200,000 per student. 

OMG!  I guess all 120,000 ex-students will ramp up to the $200,000 category.  "I hope this will be the beginning of the healing process for these victims," said the naïve and delusional Bennett.  When has more money every healed any native?  Never.  So that's more of your money down the drain -- in addition to the $6 billion paid residential school "survivors"!  One woman interviewed talked about being rapped on the knuckles by her teacher.  Hey, just ask B about knuckle-rapping and head slapping when he got a Latin verb conjugation wrong in the Catholic private boys' school he attended!  It was relentless, but he learned the language.  In fact, he is the only person I know who can actually speak the language. 

The same woman also talked about her happy, carefree childhood before she had to go to school to be "ruined".  You know, I remember being happy and carefree before school myself.  Without an education, where would natives be?  All the successful ones I know were educated in roughly the same system as I.  It's all so bizarre, self-fulfilling and perpeptuating -- basically mob mentality to hate and blame the white man. 

And the dining out on the tragicTina Fontaine continued unabated, with the always reliably-outraged Cindy Blackstock.  The executive director of the native child and caring family society, the tone-deaf and blind-to-reality Ms. Blackstock is, I am sure, thankful for her well-paying job and a pulpit from which to damn every "white" agency she can. 

Yesterday, Don Martin had her on and it was the same-old-same-old.  Everyone failed Tina........but I've gone on about this charade before.  Christie Blatchford had a good column in The Globe about how Fontaine's mother was a ward herself and had a kid at 14 and another at 17 with a man in his twenties, who was later killed in a drunken brawl when she was 11.  If the mother was so damaged and ill-equipped, why did she push to have Tina back with her?  Why did she not supervise her on the night she died?   

Also read today about another native, Adam Capay, who was released without trial after four years in prison because of delays.  I remember watching it on TV and his whole family was rejoicing and damning the "system", as they left court with him, a free man.  What did I read today?  Capay has been arrested again and charged with sexual assault and destruction of property.  The system failed him again, natives claim, because there were no substance-abuse program on the reserve where he lived.  Ah yes, of course.  Poor Adam bears no responsibility once again.
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On another note, I now realize I may have killed people.  Watched a disturbing documentary about DuPont and Teflon, which talked about how those involved in the production of Teflon gave birth to babies with defects.  It also talked about all the adults who produced the product who died prematurely from leukemia, kidney and liver disease and other ailments linked to the product. 

One of the best jobs I had was working for DuPont of Canada in the early seventies in Toronto.  One of my products was Teflon and I was paid handsomely to promote it.  I remember hush-hush meetings back then about accusations of the harm its production was doing, but nothing stuck.  In fact, the documentary I watched said that the truth was only uncovered in the early 2,000's.  I have to say I felt very weird thinking about how we all ignored the whispers because we made good money and wanted to keep our jobs.  Very weird.   

Here we go again

The final report on the death of Tina Fontaine, the 15-year-old girl who drowned in the Winnipeg River five years ago was released today.  The reaction?  It was everyone's fault but the parents'. 

Seriously.

Not once did anyone mention the failure of the parents in this fiasco, who were merely described as "troubled".  How about incompetent?  How about deadbeat?  How about criminally negligent?  But no, the police failed, the child welfare system failed, the mental health system....you name it, the rest of us are the problem.  I'm so sick of it.  And the ridiculous thing was that while they were attacking and blaming everyone but themselves, you could tell it had never even occurred to them to take any responsibility whatsoever.  It's incredible!

(I wrote two blogs about this:  With their faces hanging out, 2014-09-14; and Am I the only one?, 2018-02-18.  Have another read.)

As I have reported, Tina had been released from care and was actually in the custody of her mother who let her wander the inner city of Winnipeg in the middle of the night with her drugging, delinquent friends.  Why?  Oh, it must be the fault of residential schools.  Oh, I forgot, the parents didn't attend one.  Well, it must be the fault of her grandparents who attended.  Oh, forgot again, they didn't either.  We have to go way back to the great-grandparents to pin residential schools on this mess, but they managed it, by gum. 

Yep, it was all the fault of "the system", in other words you and me.

A few truths

The strategy was for Trudeau to get up and make a meaningless, empty, pointless and futile speech and then hightail it out of town.  And that's exactly what he did to evade the press.  But lo-and-behold, Iqaluit was under a fierce white-out and snow squall and gosh golly, they couldn't land!  Who knew?! 

Well, obviously the pilot knew full well before taking off, but they went anyway so Trudeau could head for the hills and hide under a snow bank.  The whole thing was shamelessly staged.  And here's what I took from it:  He has no problem apologizing for something with which he had nothing to do, done in good faith 80 years ago by public servants who were trying to save lives and get an epidemic under control by re-locating Northern residents to get treatment.  But the coward cannot apologize for what he did illegally to try to help SNC Lavalin avoid prosecution.

How does that work?  Frankly, without intervention the Inuit might have been wiped out.  What got me was the young male native who stood at a microphone and said it wasn't enough (is it ever?) and complained there weren't enough "tangibles" in the apology.  Guess what "tangibles" means?  Another rhetorical question, folks. 

The focussing last week by the three amigos on the 9,000 jobs that would have been lost had Lavalin pulled out was a complete falsehood.  And, folks, jobs have nothing to do with prosecutorial independence.  Nothing.  The Attorney General alone makes the decision -- even if it's wrong.  That's what our entire system is based on.  I see, by the way, that a judge has rejected SMC's appeal on the case today to settle out-of-court.  Nothing doing.  The full weight of the judicial system will now bear down and the prosecution will proceed.  So they can kiss a DPA ta-ta.

Speaking of a lousy 9,000 jobs, what about the 100,000 here in the West lost due to a lack of pipelines?  "The government will always try to protect jobs and create new ones," said our boy Trudeau today.  That's patently not true, as we struggle mightily here.  No wonder westerners hate the guy.
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A word about 'International Women's Day'.  Frankly, to me it's a fatuous crock.  Heard an I'm-alright-Jill today go on about how at least women have broken the back of societal prejudice, thanks to the women's movement.  Well, maybe Western women in the civilized world think they have -- and the operative word here is "think" -- but try telling that to Muslim women who still have to hide in their homes under draped robes, virtual prisoners of their husbands.

Wrote a letter to the editor today in response to an article saying this would be a very busy day.  Here's what it said:

 "It’s Black History Month, Aboriginal Awareness Week, but International Women’s Day.  Not to take anything away from other deserving groups, but I guess jamming everything into one day does make it busy."

Won't get published I guarantee you.

Still in charge

After the debacle, fiasco and sideshow of how the three Musketeers remain unable to handle the mess they have created, one can only conclude that yes, 'The Kids in the Hall' are still in charge.  Every, single one of them has made this worse every time they have opened their mouths.

But watching Scheer hold press conference after scrum, it's clear he is hobbled by his inability to say one extemporaneous word with any conviction.  He reads from prepared scripts with his dimples and smile at all times, which is very ineffective and bears no reflection on the gravity of what he is trying to rebut.  He can't seem to get one spontaneous sentence out -- regardless of the myriad of opportunities handed him.  A HUGE disappointment which leads me to believe with so much time ahead of the election, Trudeau will squeak in, perhaps with a minority.  So, so sad and destructive for our country.

But I wanted to point out two very important facts:  Kevin Lynch, the former clerk of the Privy Council, was recruited as a top corporate executive by guess who?  SNC Lavalin!  And guess who was deputy clerk to Lynch before he left?  Michael Wernick, that's who!  So, guess who's been directing Wernick to do SNC's bidding?  That was a rhetorical question.  That's why SNC was able to secure so many meetings with the PMO and the PCO.  That, my friends, is huge in this affair, that the former clerk now works for SNC.  Talk about to high heaven! 

The other little fact is that SNC was given a huge bailout by a Quebec bank on the condition it remain in Montreal until at least 2024.  So, all the BS about 9,000 jobs and leaving Canada was just that, BS.  Again, no one looked into this little nugget.

And speaking of lost jobs, who cares about 9,000 when we in the West have lost 100,000!  It's an unconscionable outrage.  They should all be fired. 

And what about poor Mark Norman, being stymied at every turn for months trying to get emails and phone records pertinent to his woeful case?  He still can't, but somehow Butts could in a matter of days?!  Peter McKay is always good and said this morning that they were condescending to Wilson-Raybould by suggesting she needed an outside opinion, that she wasn't really up to the job and needed help. 

It's all a mess and Trudeau just made it worse.

Now it's 13

With the wonderful Nathan Cullen's announcement that he will not seek re-election, it is now 13 NDP members of parliament who have bowed out.  And we all know why.  They know they will not win with Jagmeet Singh at the helm.

And they would not have.  I have blogged it before:  Singh was elected leader because a whole bunch of Sikhs joined the party 10 minutes before the leadership race and put him into the position.  Then they all buggered off and left traditional NDPers, like Cullen and Charlie Angus, holding the bag.

As I have also blogged before, the separation of Church and State has to be respected because it is a crucial tenet of our democracy.  With Singh, we know his religion and we should not.  Why no one has noticed or mentioned this is beyond me?!  (See "No one gets it...no one", March 12, 2015)  Canadians are afraid if we mention "church and state" we will be classed as racist or prejudiced, but that's bullsh-t.  We need to be vigilant about how democracy works and this is a big part of it.

Have you noticed that no one interviews Singh?  Thomas Mulcair is always the media go-to guy for the NDP perspective.  He should never have been railroaded out of his position, which happened because Avi Lewis and wife Naomi Klein -- having been absent for years -- showed up at the leadership convention and tabled their ridiculous "Leap Manifesto", trashed Mulcair, got him dumped and then also buggered off. 

WTF?!  The NDP is effed.