Politicana

Due to poor ice conditions, the annual seal hunt quota is 270,000 seals, down 65,000 from last year. The seals generally breed on the thick ice flows around Newfoundland and PEI, and the thinning of the ice sheets is reducing the numbers in the herd. Experts forecast that as global warming gets worse, the number of seal pups born each year will continue to drop.

While the animal rights activists who oppose the seal hunt welcome the lowered quota, they still largely view the seal hunt as an inhumane massacre. They argue that the seal hunt is both immoral and economically unnecessary, and believe the province should end the seal hunt. They suggest the revenue be replaced by increasing tourism initiatives.

Despite seeming like a perfectly good plan on paper, canceling the seal hunt would likely be a huge economic setback for the people of Atlantic Canada. First of all, making the switch from a hunting/fishing based economy to a tourism based economy is a transition that is far more easily said than done. People who have lived their entire lives as members of the fishing community are not necessarily trained for the tourism sector. These communities are unlikely to possess either the training or the infrastructure to make the overnight switch to a tourism based economy.

Here’s an idea. Let’s keep killing the seals, but start selling the protesters key chains and tee shirts.

So now it’s come out that the British sailors abducted by Iran last Friday were never in Iranian water at all. Of course Iran still claims they were, but the evidence to the contrary is now overwhelming. The British have produced GPS imaging showing that the sailors were still 1.7 km inside Iraqi waters. Even the coordinates that Iran originally produced as evidence that the abduction happened in Iranian water turned out to be on the Iraqi side of the Gulf. Iran has since made a correction and claimed the original coordinates they produced where a result of human error. Yeah, right.

Frankly, I’m surprised that Iran could be both so bold and so stupid. The logic behind the kidnapping seems to be that Iran should feel free to respond to the recent detention of Iranian military personnel with an abduction of their own, because Bush and Blair both have their hands full with Iraq. It’s true that neither the American President nor the British Prime Minister need another war. Tony Blair’s popularity has plummeted because of the war, and British failures in Iraq now seem destined to be his legacy. Bush is in an even worse spot, with the now Democrat controlled Congress threatening impeachment if he starts war in Iran. But that being said, if Iran keeps taking advantage of the public’s anti-war sentiment, that sentiment is going to turn against him.

Iran has already built up more opposition on the international political stage than Iraq had before the Second Gulf War began. If Iran keeps pushing their advantage for no good reason, both the people and leaders of the world are going to realize that a misguided invasion of Iraq does not justify giving Iran a free ticket to do as they please. As things are, Iran does have some leeway, but if they don’t play their cards right, they are going to end up bust.

The Liberals won a minority government last night in Quebec’s provincial election.  The final seat count seems to put the Liberals at 48 seats, the ADQ at 41 seats and the Bloc at 36.

I guess it looks like Jean Charest’s final plea to the Quebec people not to form a minority failed.  Poor Charest.  The Winner’s Circle never looked like such an unhappy place…

As I write, the Quebec election is unfolding before my eyes. With about half the seats in Quebec not yet counted, the Liberals and the ADQ are neck and neck and the PQ is trailing. There is no doubt that this will end up being one of the most exciting nights of the…. well, of the week. The most surprising aspect of the election so far has to be the enormous success of the ADQ.

Even last night, the ADQ were still being projected as the likely third place contender, but at the moment they are even leading the Liberals by a couple of seats. They are also showing well in unexpected ridings. The fact that the ADQ is not only making a mark in its stronghold areas, but garnering votes all across the board really re-enforces their status as an up and coming heavyweight. Dumont must be pleased.

Quebec Liberal leader Jean Charest is coming out today saying that the biggest threat to Quebec after the election is a minority government.  Now really, this comes as no surprise.  With the Liberals leading in the polls slightly, it becomes highly advantageous for them to convince people that a minority would be disastrous.  Anyone who’s priority is maintaining a majority government has to vote for the party who’s in the lead.  To do otherwise would generally increase the chances of a minority.

The real question is whether or not a majority government would actually be a disaster for Quebec.  It’s true that the Quebec Provincial Government has traditionally had to butt heads with the Federal government more than your average province.  Charest’s claim is that a minority would create divisions within the provincial government, and that lack of unity would impair the provincial government so much that Quebec would inevitably become English Canada’s doormat.

This seems like a bit of an exaggeration.   Quebec hasn’t had a minority government in 100 some odd years.  How they will react to it is really anyone’s guess, but I would say that the one thing all three party leaders share in common is wanting Quebec’s government to appear strong federally.  That’s a good start.  Charest’s attempts to turn the prospect of a minority government into a frightening thing are blatant opportunism.  If it weren’t for Quebecers’ historical tendency to refuse to cooperate with pretty much anyone, I would say that a minority provincial government might teach Quebec a thing or two about non-partisanship.

I saw an English interview with Mario Dumont today. I find it kind of funny that you need to speak English to run for provincial office in Quebec. I’d like to see Dalton McGuinty or Ralph Klein speak French. Generally I hate to side with the Quebecois, but in this instance I can see how they might be pissed off.

So apparently this morning, 15 British sailors were taken hostage and brought under Iranian custody.  Iran says the Brits were in their water, the British say they were in Iraqi water.  I figure it’s a coin toss as to who’s lying.

It wouldn’t surprise me in the least to discover that Britain had been secretly patrolling Iran’s waters.  On the other hand it would be right up Iran’s alley to kidnap British soldiers, even if they weren’t in Iranian waters.  My guess is that it was likely the former though.  Iran would have to be really stupid to take British soldiers hostage without just cause.  That would just be tempting fate.

A plastic and gunpowder pipe bomb was placed in an unidentified Calgary woman’s apartment… Terrorists? Personal vendettas? We just don’t know. But it is good to know that Canadian criminals are as inept as ever…

Oliver North (see previous blog entry) was on a roll! Apparently he also was involved in creating a protocol that would suspend the entire U.S. constitution. Nice.

If you’ve never heard of the Iran-contra scandal before, buckle your seatbelt.

In the late ’80s, it came out that senior officials in the Pentagon and in the Reagan administration had been involved in covertly supporting a coup against the communist sympathizing Sandinista government in Nicaragua. Congress never sanctioned this action (which by law they have to), so the operation (called the contras) had to be funded non-governmentally.

They did this in two ways. Firstly, they illegally sold U.S. arms to Iran, which had been considered a terrorist nation ever since the hostage crisis in ‘79. They also (this part is rumored, but not proven) took cocaine that had been produced by the Nicaraguan rebels, shipped it into America on U.S. military planes, and had it sold.

Check this video out, it’s a good explanation of the whole thing.