So long to the Way of the Metal Fist

Sandra Buckler resigns.

Buckler : (French bouclier 'shield', from old French bocle, boucle 'boss') is a small shield gripped in the fist -- it was generally used as a companion weapon in hand-to-hand combat, useful in deflecting the blow of an opponent's sword or mace.
The primary use of the buckler is to protect the sword hand. The buckler's lightness and curved center made it excellent for deflecting attacking blades. Such a deflection would leave the attacker open for a rapid counter-attack.
"Metal fist": A buckler can be used to directly attack an opponent by punching with either its flat face or its rim.

Way of the Metal Fist

Steve and Sandra and Grover and Tom

And here's the article : Harper's 'nation of shopping centres'
"Tom Flanagan, Prime Minister Stephen Harper's longtime confidant and former chief of staff, is delighted at the Conservatives' success in "tightening the screws on the federal government" to dramatically reduce its significance in the daily lives of Canadians.

The Conservatives' three budgets have left Ottawa financially incapable of offering any new national social program like affordable housing, higher education or day care. Although overall spending went up, mostly on the military, measures were taken to deplete revenues to the point future governments' hands will be tied unless they raise taxes or run deficits, both prescriptions for political suicide."

Steve and Sandra send in the drones

Dear Con aficionados of talk radio and Steno mini-Steves:
It's bad enough that the Cons think you are too stupid to articulate in your own words why you are a Con; it's rather worse that you apparently go along with this assessment.

Callers to radio phone-in shows scripted by Conservative headquarters
as well as dittohead letters to the editor.

Steve and Sandra and the $1M question

Almost a third of Canadians think Harper is lying over Cadman affair : Poll
"Almost one-third of respondents said they favoured a public investigation led by a third party, such as the Commons Speaker or ethics commissioner, while 31 per cent said an investigation by the RCMP would be the most appropriate course of action."

H/t Dana at TGB

Steve and Sandra's political football

What's with all this "war is above political football" crap?

Thomas Walkom : Why shouldn't voters discuss war?

"Those who praise the Liberals for supporting the Conservative government on Afghanistan argue that it is crucial to avoid politicizing the war, lest it become an election issue. The argument here is that the war is too important to be left to the voters......When else are we supposed to get a crack at it?"

Answer : Apparently when it's safe enough even for Liberals

Steve and Sandra's new two-tier torture awareness program

Oooops - NYTimes says it is, Steve. And then Max forgot to give Afghanistan special torture dispensation in his presser yesterday :

Ottawa Citizen : "Foreign Minister Maxime Bernier yesterday disavowed the inclusion of Israel and the United States on an official list of countries where prisoners can be tortured, and said the document would be revised.

"I regret the embarrassment caused by the public disclosure of the manual used in the department's torture awareness training," Mr. Bernier said in a statement.

"It contains a list that wrongly includes some of our closest allies. I have directed that the manual be reviewed and rewritten."

Silly civil servants. Why can't they keep up with who our allies are?

Luckily, Max is gonna fix it with his new two-tier torture awareness program.

Steve and Sandra talk tasers

CTV : "RCMP Cpl. Gregg Gillis is the force's expert on Taser training and excited delirium -- the mysterious condition of heart-pounding agitation used as a kind of catch-all label by those who can't otherwise explain why a growing number of people have died soon after being zapped."

Heh.

Steve and Sandra throw Brian under a bus

To : The Ministers of Whatever and your various meaningless minions

From : The PMO

"Effective immediately and until further notice, none of you are to utter the name Brian for any reason whatsoever. Needless to say, talking to anyone named Brian is also strictly forbidden.

Some of you nobodies have displayed the unfortunate lack of foresight to name your firstborn Brian. Too bad, no exceptions.

Signed,

Sandra Buckler

PSA : Steve Won't Teabag Brian No More

TGB : Trouble in the Conservative Sandbox

Steve and Sandra have a cold one

New set of Tory attack ads

Poilievre provided the "normal....having a cold one" quote.
Dickhead.
As Dave says : "Welcome to the Reform agenda. It hasn't changed save for the political party name under which it exists."

Steve and Sandra - I am so the boss of you

Steve says 2011
Hillier says :"Afghanistan's army could need 10 years before it's in a position to fend for itself."
Dave says : "If anyone knows what it takes to train an army, it's Sandra Buckler."

In his non-retraction retraction, Hillier says : "I'm very clear on where the direction comes from. … We're on exactly the same page and I believe actually we see things exactly the same way."
He doesn't scale back to 2011; instead he implies that Harper also knows it will take another decade.
So either the war on Afghanistan is a bad idea and the sooner we get out the better, or the reconstruction is a good idea and we should stay till it's done.

Picking the date 2011 merely fulfills our duty to NATO and has fuck all to do with what's good for Afghanistan.

Steve and Sandra and the Throne Speech

G&M : Liberals may let Throne Speech pass, Dion says

"The trigger for a fall election will not be pulled this week, provided Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Throne Speech is not outrageous, radical and very right-wing," said Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion yesterday.

CP : "The Harper government believes the Liberals are so desperate to avoid an election that they'll accept a speech describing Kyoto climate-change targets as unattainable."

H/T : Accidental Deliberations

Steve and Sandra : Get It Right, Alberta!

Reuters : "International oil producers will flee Alberta if the Western Canadian province's government implements a proposed hike to oil and natural gas royalties and taxes, according to Tristone Capital Inc, an investment bank that serves the oil and gas industry."

HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA

Steve and Sandra Get Things Undone

All this, and they were only elected with 36% of the popular vote

Steve and Sandra - A Secure and Prosperous Partnership

"Only 'virtual protests' allowed at North American summit

H/T Dawg's Blawg and Accidental Deliberations

Steve and Sandra - Spinning the war

Steve and Sandra Go to the G8 : Something or other about 2050

Some previous G8 something or others :

At the G8 Gleneagles Summit in 2005, world leaders promised Africa debt relief, drugs for AIDS and double the annual aid within five years.

Just one year later, total aid from G8 countries actually dropped. Canada's aid fell by 9%; the US by 20%.

Another previous G8 promise : to write off the debts of the 18 poorest African countries.This year's debt in interest alone? A billion and half dollars. Or, more than those countries saved from the debt relief they got in the first place.

If you don't count Bush's nostalgia for the good old days of the arms race in Europe, you can at least say that this year the G8's aren't making any promises they can't keep.

On The Map with Avi Lewis

Steve and Sandra - Dressed to Kill

Just so we're clear here : Steve, who didn't serve in the military, went off on Dion for not serving in the military and Ignatieff for spending time in academia outside the country, because Dion called for the resignation of an incompetent Con cabinet minister who used to serve in the military.

When called on it, Steve said :
"It's true I've never served in the armed forces," the PM admitted. "I consider that an experience in my life that I've missed. But I can say, Mr. Speaker, that I've always worked and lived and paid my taxes in my country."

As Tim put it in The Canadian President : It's really a right wing twofer for Harper. He gets to criticize people who have not served in the military (hypocritical prick that he is) and he gets to sneer at an academic. It's all good!
Got it? No? Just think of it as a more childish variation on "I know you are but what am I?"
The Galloping Beaver : Harper the warrior king, channeling Dick Cheney
Canadian Cynic : Too stupid to know they've been towel-snapped

Steve and Sandra motivate their troops

What? You never wondered what might be playing on some of those little earpieces everyone wears in Question Period ?

Steve and Sandra - In the Year 2025

Relentlessly Progressive Economics :

"The Harper plan is for a 20% reduction by 2020, and will be 13 years late in meeting the Kyoto targets (6% below 1990 levels by 2025). The 18% number is an intensity-based reduction – that is, per unit of output – not a total decrease.

For what it is worth, the intensity of Canada’s CO2 emissions fell by 13% between 1990 and 2005, according to Environment Canada. This was a time when our actual emissions went up by 24%."

Steve and Sandra's blackouts

Link : What Ottawa doesn't want you to know