I’ve been busy with rehearsals and exhausted afterwards, so haven’t been able to update the site at all. In fact, I haven’t even checked my email since Friday. Anyway, a few things…
Welcome to the new Canada. Today, in Halifax, the Prime Minister announced the Canada First Defense Policy, which is a major shift in Canadian military spending and commitment to global military affairs. It is, without question, extremely alarming.
Listening to the Prime Minister talk this morning I was deeply troubled at his alignment of economic growth with the bolstering of the defense industry – that it will benefit all Canadians, providing jobs. Of course, we wouldn’t dare nationalize the oil sector, but the government can promote the growth of the defense industry by spreading military contracts throughout the country. The Prime Minister also stated that export possibilities would also be providing economic opportunities – meaning that we’re going to start cashing in on arming others to help bolster our economy through the development of the defense sector.
When I have time to sit down with a draft of the policy I will comment further and in more detail.
Also of note this morning is the devastating earthquake that has struck China’s Sichuan province. An estimated 8,500 people are dead, though that number will most likely increase.
I’ll do my best to return to updating the site on a more routine basis in the days ahead.
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It’s really important not to suck, so rehearsing is a good thing. Hope it’s going well, and looking forward to hearing the full band in Ottawa.
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That’s interesting. I wonder if that shift in policy is somehow related to why the government blocked the sale of MDA last week?
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I’d really like to see a draft of that Defense Policy - I think Harper vaguely mentioned they were taking this direction in the throne speech. Regardless, I have a ton of questions. If we are going to involve ourselves further in defense contracts and sell weapons to other countries, how and who will scrutinize who we do business with? Who is going to make sure that our troops don’t end up facing weapons that we sold to somebody else? Does this policy translate into further peacekeeping missions? If that is the case, then will “humanitarian misisons” take precedence over economic ones? If we are going to put more “boots on the ground” around the world then maybe I’d feel better doing it to protect foreing aid in Burma (hope they study Somalia before committing to that) as opposed to throwing troops into Iraq to help them attempt to sort out the mess there. Soup kitchens before gas stations please!
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While the customers for the arms industry buy big ticket items, I’d imagine the frequency of purchases is limited. And it’s really governments who form a large portion of these customers. To ensure his political coffers remain full, Harper has to put some of that money back into his buddy’s pockets.
There’s no need to nationalize or regulate (beyond the industry collusion) the pricing of oil. After all, our insatiable thirst for the product ensures that the price can rise unabated. By not doing anything to this industry, Harper will make his friends in this sector very happy, and they won’t complain at the thought of giving some of that back in taxes. They’re already getting breaks at the other end.
Lastly, he ensures his philosophical alignment with the present US government.
All we can do is pray that McCain does not get in.
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yayayaya cant wait to see you. Just a little more than a week.
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hope the rehearsals are going great… I bet it’s been fun to bust out some early songs like Everything Is Automatic.
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just keep on rehearsing Matt and everything will be ok……JUST DONT GET SICK AGAIN ON TOUR!! :)
Dewey-Lockport,NY
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The earthquake in China is an extremely saddening story, as they are expecting tens of thousands of deaths. The earthquake hit in the middle of the day, and caused the collapse of a school, killing hundreds of children. Also, a chemical plant was hit, causing a massive leak of liquid ammonia. Beichuan county had an estimated 80% of their buildings collapse. My heart goes out to the people of Sichuan province in this horrible time.
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I think I hear the election buses starting up…
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election campaign*
gah. i miss the edit function.
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do we know who is the rest of the band? i apologize if the answer is in need of a search.
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The Harper government’s new policy is troubling indeed. Arming other countries to boost our economy…wow, they really exhausted all other options.
And it’s horrible what’s happening in China. I think that the Myanmar cyclone and this recent earthquake are only signs of disasters to come. There has been an increase in minor earthquakes in Nevada, as well as the dormant volcano that suddenly sprung back to life near Santiago, Chile. The plates need wiggle room and people living near the faults are going to pay for awhile yet. Hopefully all the rescue efforts for all these disasters have more luck than the boat that sunk on the way in to Myanmar.
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Here’s hoping it’s the good kind of exhausted (the one that comes from playing hard at something you love).
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Did I miss something? When the hell did we leave the idea of peacekeeping behind?
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I don’t think we did…but apparently someone with other ideas (and too much power for their own good) forgot to ask us. And I think they probably should’ve.
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It’s sickening when fighting becomes a cash cow for some people…
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I wasn’t a terrible fan of Chretian, but he had one thing right…
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Quoting young305:
Yes, OH MY GOD I just got in from cranking that one…. is there ever a time that that song isn’t played?
Dieing to know how rehearsals are going….. he’s keeping us in suspense….. I need a job.