Well he did it again. Our Prime Minister Stephen Harper in hot water and deep doodoo over the torture of Afghan prisoners and Copenhagen has gone to the Governor General and got leave to shut down the legislature. Thus everything dies on the Agenda and he is free to rule as he pleases. The Commons were to reconvene on January 25, instead a new Speech from the Throne will be delivered March 3 and a new budget March 4.
Currently the surveys are favorable to the Conservatives, not in majority territory still, but likely to produce a slitghtly better minority. With the Liberals in disarray, the Bloc Québécois losing some grab in Québec and a freshly Conservatives packed Senate, expect a wave of conservative senators nominations in the coming weeks, Harper may end up getting what he wants on harsher criminal laws, scuttling the gun registry and doing nothing climate wise.
Wanna bet on a spring election?
Yes Paul, Happy New Year to us. Thanks for a wonderful friendship.
RépondreSupprimerBlogging is a strange thing. In a way it replaces the letter writing of yesteryears however those letters were exchanged between two individuals, a blog is a wide open public thing. Yet on short order there develops a relationship between bloggers quite akin to genuine friendship, and international to boot.
RépondreSupprimerWhen I began blogging last spring little did I figure that I would develop a link with an Oregonian, a Roman and a Laval guy that I never met, and probably never will meet. Still I have the impression that I know them and can be quite close to them...despite some differences wether political, cultural or social.
Yes Rosaria, it is wonderful.
Happy New Year.
Paul, how can you tell you'll never meet any of us. I mean, how can you tell MoR - together with his 4 boys, ça va sans dire - is not for ex. already lurking your habits, ready to present himself (and make an offer you can't refuse)?
RépondreSupprimerBtw, I'm back from Sicily. It literally blew my mind …
Happy New Year to the dear Canadian sage plus witty companion of so many discussions.
Happy New Year to our generous Rosaria sharing her warmth and intelligence (plus ocean sceneries) to so many of us.
And Happy New Year to the exuberant, unpredictable (and obstinate?) Commish, the dear Laval brat!
PS
I'll try to understand what's happening in your country. Not so clear from over here.
MoR, not so clear even here, what is happening to our country.
RépondreSupprimerGlad you enjoyed Sicily and escaped Etna's wrath.
I heard some tremblement de terre in fact, but had some faith the Sicilian gods might be good enough to the only person who basically hasn't gorgotten them :-)
RépondreSupprimerI'm currently reading a book titled "le Christ Païen" by Tom Harpur. It traces the parrallels between Christian and Pagan beliefs. Astonishing.
RépondreSupprimerI have checked in the French wiki. Donc, un prêtre anglican qui pense que l'existence de Jésus n’est pas evident (not that I care proving that : Jesus to me is historical, but of course who can say that)
RépondreSupprimerAs you say, Tom Harpur perçoit le Christianisme à travers ses racines païennes. Interesting and merci, Paul, could be of help in my research.
In Sicily I have visited Catania and most of all Siracusa and its surroundings (well, Ragusa's). Entrambe, toutes les deux, hanno la loro santa patrona, che è come una dea, like a goddess, really. The devotion people have for these two figures is beyond any imagination. Catania has Sant’Agata, and Siracusa has Santa Lucia, deity of light also for the surcilious Northern (protestant) Europeans, being so sun-starved and all. I have collected materials, pictures books for 20 posts at least, but I’ll summarize all into 2 posts max, lest I’ll lose all my readers.
I am getting more courage to face my retirement. And I have to thank my blog about it, but most of all, the people I have met.
Retirement is a great period for doing all we always wanted to but never could do. It is not the end of our producive life, it's the beginning of another kind of productivity and creativity, providing we do not let go.
RépondreSupprimerOnward retired soldiers.
Ah ah ah.
RépondreSupprimerYes Paul, onward. Retired-soldier-to-retired-soldier. You made me laugh.
Laughing is excellent for one's health.
RépondreSupprimerGood to see you are promoting laughter. Add a strong drink now and then, wonderful meals as often as one can, and life is as good as it can be when our wings are tired, our resources limited, and our prospects for adventure stuff we just dream about.
RépondreSupprimerHey, I just finished another memory piece. I always get nostalgic after that.
Good to see that the weather is not getting you down.
Weather wise we Canadians are tough hombres. You see it keeps our hoping capacity at it's peak all year round. In winter we hope for spring's balmy weather, then we wait for summer and it's blissful farniente, while sweating away we hope for autumn foliage and it's splendours followed by hoping winter will not be too harsh, and the cycle resumes.
RépondreSupprimerOf course, in winter hot toddy and rhum keep us happy, in summer a nice cold beer does it and all year round good wine an food are staples of a happy Canuck's life.
It is said we are boring...and I am happy with that.
Weather wise Canadians - nice concept and colourful depiction of the yearly psychological cycle. I also liked the Canuck thing: you guys teach me a lot of new words!
RépondreSupprimerAnd yes, I'd love more cold weather to be able to drink A LOT MORE than I can here.
Yikes on all levels! Double yikes!
RépondreSupprimerxo
erin
Alcool and cold do not mix well. You, briefly, feel a bit warmer after a stiff shot of Scotch or Gin, but it soon vanishes and you feel even colder...so another shot, when you have had one too many you feel sleepy...and you freeze to death if outside and alone.
RépondreSupprimerBesides, cold slows your metabolism hence your alcool absorption capacity compounding the problem. Better remain in Rome, you will live longer.
Except that people are starting to wake up to how dangerous a man Stephen Harper is, and are responding negatively to him and his actions. Checked yesterday, and Conservatives and Liberals were about equal in the polls.
RépondreSupprimerPeople are awakening and it is about time. Problem is we have not much of a choice, do we? Iggy is not much more trustworthy than Harper. Harper is a potential dictator but Ignatieff flutters in the wind and you can never be sure if he really means what he says or will do it.
RépondreSupprimerIs there a real leader out there somewhere?