The Toronto stock market lost another 150 points on Monday. If you don’t care because you don’t have stocks, then perhaps you have money. In that case, you’ll care that there was a brief but brutal run on the stock of the TD Bank, amid rumours the bank will soon be announcing a giant hit, thanks to the current global credit crunch and the American real estate nightmare.
This would follow on the heels of a $3 billion whack that the CIBC took before Christmas, as well as a $35 billion mess in the commercial paper market that still has Canadian regulators shaken. This is all leading to a restriction in available credit and more troubles to come.
No, our banks will not be failing. But they are hurting. 2008, as mused about in past weeks on this blog, is going to be just full of surprises. Oil surging, stocks crashing, American woes, jobs lost and houses at peril. But this is just the prelude to the most memorable bits. The economy across North America, and through a good chunk of the world, is in the endgame of a growth phase that’s lasted about a decade and a half.
Americans have spent about $1.2 trillion on a war they are not winning, legions of jobs have migrated to China, the world’s biggest economy is $4 trillion deeper in debt, real estate values are taking a serious hit, Pakistan and Kenya and Iraq and Afghanistan are a mess, and Canadians are supposed to be diverted by a 1% sales tax cut on their plasma TVs.
Fact is, the current federal government has ill-prepared us for the storm about to blow through, and which has clearly been coming for the past year. Spending by the Conservative government is at a record level (nothing conservative about that), while Ottawa has encouraged the surge in the loonie (a ‘strong dollar is good,’ Mr. Flaherty says) that now makes us uncompetitive and has sucked away good jobs. The feds have stolen tens of billions from senior income trust investors, ignored the ravaging of Ontario’s factories and Quebec’s mills and cut consumption taxes when it’s the income tax load which will hurt people in tougher times.
As I have said for months now, this is bad macroeconomic policy, and individual Canadians will pay the price. The US problems will be our problems. Trade and jobs can’t disappear without wider consequences, while energy prices are romping higher. Real estate and consumer spending are inevitable victims. Can’t you see this coming? The Bay Street boys could today.
But, once again, this is just the prelude.
The more significant story is the climate change crisis and weather-related events that are probably upon us. As I said last week, 100 million people live within one metre of the seas, many of them in cities like Halifax, New York and London. Sea levels are rising, and it’s estimated within ten years many of these people will be environmental refugees, and their priceless real estate worthless in water.
Maybe that will get John Baird’s attention. In retirement. The National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy certainty could not get the man focused on Monday when it came to an interesting conclusion: We’re screwed. (I paraphrase.)
The brains who PMSH asked more than a year ago to come up with ways to combat climate change before it’s too late have restated the obvious – we need to tax polluters to force them to change their ways. We must establish a price for carbon, and make emitters of it pay for their actions. Only by charging companies a price for the gunk they send skyward will we alter behaviour. The money collected can be used to fight climate change by governments, fund the search for technologies that will allow production without as much damage, or actually finance an income tax cut to mitigate any loss in economic activity.
Mr. Baird responded, speaking to reporters, “a new (carbon) tax sounds like a Liberal idea to me.”
And there’s the problem. So long as the Conservatives see all our national problems in partisan terms, protect their oil-rich Alberta voting base, pit East against West, try to buy off plasma-hungry voters with their own money, take no action to defend our eroding trade and lost jobs and work towards the next election instead of the next generation, we risk the country.
Did you expect this of Stephen Harper?
82 comments ↓
Are you going to go “on-the record” and tell us, exactly what the Liberals would do differently; I mean speaking as a member of the inner circle and not as Garth, the individual. Pointing out the problems is the easy part; offering a set of concrete alternatives is key.
Aren’t NAFTA, Globalism, and the very comcepts of NAU and SPP wonderful.
Wait, there will be more. If NAU ever comes about, Canadians will be able to share in the U.S. massive debt. (Psst…You already are folks thanks to our Crown Banks dibbling in the American mortgage market)
BTW, ‘The Border’ was pretty good tonight in its debute. Far better than ‘24′ with Keifer “I can’t stop drinking and driving’ Sutherland!
Garth,
Did you expect this of Stephen Harper?
ABSOLUTELY!
If Canada was to decide to tax carbon, I would most likely have to bite it and pay most likely the 20 cents per litre Carbon tax and go about my day to day life a I currently do. Other then giving more of my tax dollars to Ottawa via a Carbon Tax, what would the difference be on the impact my driving around as normal, and the GHGs emmitted to produce the fuel I am using be, environmentally?
Garth wrote: Did you expect this of Stephen Harper?
Yes. Didn’t you?
Did I expect this of Harper and Flaherty?
You betcha I did. And even worse.
Except that they were stopped by only getting a minority. Yet they have still found ways to circumvent the democratic system to implement their very own brand of Reform-neo-conism. Baird and the rest of Harper’s minions are a bunch of ignominious.
Conservatism in Canada is a disgrace to humanity.
Did you expect this of Stephen Harper?
Did you expect this of John Baird ?
We have no Global Warming problem in Canada. It is just a figment of Dion’s imagination. It is just a Liberal ploy to harm the money boys/Oil boys in Alberta.
Great critical analysis, Garth … and it again confirms why Canada urgently needs a majority Harper Conservative government.
Unfortunately for the Liberal party, Dion is incompetent when it comes to economic matters requiring strong leadership skills. Only economist Harper has the necessary knowhow to deal with looming international economic problems, and bring Canada through those troubled waters. A sociology prof just doesn’t have what it takes.
It’s inconceivable that Canadians would look to Dion for leadership as we approach a difficult future. Canada needs strong leadership with a strong hand on the tiller, and that leader is Stephen Harper.
New year. New Diet. Stephen Harper does not feature prominently. Metaphysically speaking
I have begun the New Year with a new diet regimen. It’s called the No CON Diet. It does wonders for your health, longevity and sense of self esteem. It also does wonders for your IQ, since it permits you to think for yourself rather than digesting the CONs intellectual pablum fed via the MSM and the Sandra Bucklers, Dan Miles, et al in this lonely little corner of the world.
I recommend the No CON Diet to all Canadians who want to be hopeful and optimistic about their future.
Harper and his CON Party cronies, cheerleaders and sycophants are an abhorrent Canadian reflection of George W. Bush and his corrupt US Republican regime.
It’s time to:
TAKE BACK CANADA!!!
Income Trusts:
In no other instance would such a massive fraud, act of deceipt and breach of an oral and written contract that has robbed billions of dollars from millions of Canadians be allowed to stand.
Unfortunately and unbelievably, it appears that the only justice in this case that may be meted out will come with the next election.
TAKE BACK CANADA!!!
Garth,
Welcome to politics…Canadian-style. A style that was perfected by your now ‘colleagues’ and being picked up by yourself.
You state that as long as Harper is out to “protect their oil-rich Alberta voting base, pit East against West, try to buy off plasma-hungry voters with their own money, take no action to defend our eroding trade and lost jobs and work towards the next election instead of the next generation, we risk the country”, is in fact as hyprocritical a comment as I’ve seen you make on your blog.
As an Albertan we are used to libs attacking us. Trudeau did it. Chretien perfected it and you are just carrying on the tradition.
Harper doesn’t have to do crap, to keep his “oil-rich alberta voting base”. Those voters have NO federal options outside of not voting at all.
So what do you say to Saskatchewan. That province too (now a have) is ‘oil rich (as well as uranium and a few other valuable resources). What about your favourite conservative, Danny “I’m taking my ball home” Williams of Newfoundland, now apparently also an oil rich province, given their recent budgetary surpluses, tax cuts (by receiving both resource revenues and equalization, above what other oil-rich jurisdictions receive).
As a westerner who pays into equalization, stop about the ‘lost jobs’. Suck it up like we did back in the ’80’s. Cut some services. Downsize. Do whatever you want. But stop the bitching. The auto industry is dead (at least the big 3) since it was uneconomical and only existed because of the auto pact and the protection offered the industry. The product sucked and we were forced to pay inflated prices to buy a vehicle.
By the sounds of it the manufacturing industry was based almost entirely upon the cheap Canadian $. Now there is something to be proud of. Too bad when the buck is on par, our workers (and industries) can’t compete.
And Baird is right. The idea of a carbon tax is exactly what I’d call a ‘liberal’ idea.
I guess given your negative opinion regarding Halifax, it might be useful/helpful for those same individuals to move now before the big flood. Let’s face it. Even if Canada does exactly what the Sierra Club wanted, it wouldn’t result in any significant change to the pending climate change disaster that awaits us all (because of Canada’s inconsequential contribution to GHG on a global scale – and the lack of interest by the biggest polluters (like US, China, India, etc).
I guess the only thing I could say is thank goodness I’m so far inland. Might mean if I look over the mountains to my west and plan strategically, I might actually buy waterfront if I purchased in Mission (or Nelson) perhaps?
Trade is up dramatically with China (even though Harper slapped the chinese in the face when he met with the Dalai Lama), so inroads are being made. Ontario has depended upon the monopoly that Confederation gave them regarding manufacturing and the geographic luck of being strategically placed near the great lakes and the industrial heartland of the US. Now in the absence of those factors and having to compete with the rest of the world, it is time for Ontarians to stop the complaining and get to work.
And if that is too difficult, then move to somewhere else where the work exists (the rest of the country has had to do it for the past 100 years).
Get over yourselves. Times have changed and so should you.
By the way, Garth. You may want to check it out, but I think that recent evidence (anedoctal or otherwise) would suggest that the ‘war’ in Iraq is being won.
We are seeing stability there now. And thank the good Lord that Bush invaded to get all us all of that cheap oil. $100 a barrel. What a steal…
Ed the Hun
Ummm…
You do underrstand that none of the issues you raise haven’t been widely discussed all over the place, right? You might want to take a read of, say, Fortune, Bloombergs, Forbes, Canadian Business, The Globe and Mail, The Finncial Post, etc.
There’s nothing new here, Garth; all you’ve done is provide a summary of what lots of folks are already aware of and given it the “you heard it here first!” treatment. Don’t underestimate your readers.
Stephen Harper and Barack Obama couldn’t be more black from white
Lest you think I am making a racial distinction here, I am not. Since Stephen Harper is clearly the agent of darkness and Barrack Obama the agent of light. The distinction is between the Stephen Harper politics of divisiveness for personal gain and….
http://caiti-online.blogspot.com/2008/01/stephen-harper-and-barack-obama-couldnt.html
We’re screwed. (I paraphrase.)
Good post, and it’s nice to see an MP of any political persuasion telling those who want to hear what the situation is really like (not good for a few years).
Obviously, there will always be people who will believe the sun always shines, never any storm clouds and people live happily ever after; these are the ones who should see The Truman Show, the film with Jim Carrey where everyone lives in a giant dome (or bubble), and lives forever and ever.
One thing to keep in mind, although I doubt whether many will even bother.
As the economy in the western world takes a timeout, there is a very real possibility of a war — major or minor, it doesn’t matter — with the US and accomplices involved; almost certainly it will be against Iran.
Trouble is, Putin has already stated that “an attack against Iran is an attack against Russia”, and that Russia will defend Iran at all costs. Don’t forget, these two countries now hold approx. 20% of the world’s oil and gas reserves.
The other player in all this is China, which clearly has a vested interest in that oil and gas. This is why these countries signed agreements some time ago, putting their past differences behind them and firmly supporting each other.
So Iran has basically nothing to lose, as it already has the protection of at least one, if not two countries. However, with peoples’ attention focused on the economic downturn here, how much attention will be paid to the lovely garden path that dubya has led us all down with his constant lies and deceptions, and is now going to leave others to clean up the mess?
Not much, I’ll bet.
More (food) for thought.
http://www.mg.co.za/articledirect.aspx?area=/insight/+insight__international/&articleId=328941
I did not know what to expect from Stephen Harper–I certainly did not expect this from the Conservative party.
One thing us life-long Tories must remember is that this is not the Old Progressive Conservative Party that we used to know–these are Reformers at best & even the Preston Manning`s of Canada are wondering who this party represents at times.
They are a sad shadow of the party that was socially progressive & fiscally responsible–how can you run around with such a bulked-up behemoth which creams seniors on income trusts & still call yourself Conservative.
Not in this life-time.
Good luck to us all if we continue to support this party.
After 36 years of being a Conservative supporter the time has come to look elsewhere to try to gain back what this party has squandered all in the name of being decisive.
Dr Mike.
“And there’s the problem. So long as the Conservatives [...] work towards the next election instead of the next generation, we risk the country.
Did you expect this of Stephen Harper?”
posted by Garth Turner on 01.07.08 @ 9:51 pm
Dear Garth,
Oh yeah… saw it coming right from the days when Stephen Harper was making comments like, “Why do we have to consult the people Preston?” and then stabbed Preston Manning in the back to get his hands on the reigns of power.
Nothing has changed from the Harper early days with electoral politics as far as Stephen Harper’s “I know everything and I know best” approach.
Stephen Harper continues to run the country as if it was sole possession, at least the Queen is dignified enough to feel a sense of responsibility towards the people she rules.
Not the Harper!!!
And as far as Financial Advisers go they’ll ALWAYS tell you:
* Investing is a long term thing, buy and hold and you’ll be alright
* Any 7 year period since the inception of the Stock Market has given an 8% yield on your investment
* Nobody can ‘time’ the market
But then every single piece of paper that you sign says, “Past history is NO GUARANTEE of future performance” (read… YOU’RE ON YOUR OWN Mr. and Ms. investor).
They say one thing and then back it up in writing WITH THE EXACT OPPOSITE!!
And if you press these financial folks a little they’ll say, “Of course there were corrections in the market like ‘Black Monday’ and ‘9/11′ and the ‘Tech Bubble’… nobody could have predicted those things” The indication being that you should IGNORE the historical significance of the times that we are facing and their potential disastrous impacts on your life savings and just sit tight and HOPE for the best, rather than parking your life savings in, say, a solid Money Market fund and collecting a nominal, yet solid, return during these times of extreme global uncertainty.
That’s what I did, and it’s paying off BIG TIME while the Markets steadily decline.
Of course I hate looking at the Stock Markets and hoping that ALL stock exchanges will go down because I am cognizant of the lives that will be ruined as a result.
Please park your retirement money in a solid interest bearing Money Market fund until the global uncertainty has cleared up.
Because in my opinion the stock market will be acting exactly like a slot machine… sucking in TONS of money from average folk and rewarding an insignificant few.
Park your retirement savings for now.
Sincerely,
MB
Sincerely,
MB
I would like to suggest a tax on sea-doos and ski-doos. I think at least 1,000$ per unit should do it! All these please units do is pollute our waters and our lands.
Will our politicians from all parties support this type of environmental tax? Who’s got the balls to do it?
Hey Garth, are there not a lot of IT type investors in Oil and Gas. So if our government goes after the Alberta and western oil and gas sectors, wouldn’t that create a negative impact in those investment vehicles?
Maybe that will get John Baird’s attention. IN RETIREMENT.
I watched the learn-ed subject while he was holding the media “in thrall’’ (Certainly not a hypnotic gaze, watch fob or not) yesterday. It occurred to me then, as will shortly become evident to all, Birdy [BOO!] Baird, more than any other individual, including the vegans, has contributed more to GHG-s in his brief tenure. Have we FAILED in our quest to have these three ‘Kings of Science’ rub the lamp and have the genie appear again on our behalf? Perhaps, acknowledging the backdrop in this photo, we should encourage them to RUN FORWARD with the problem to find a solution. Surely it is no longer sufficient to tell them to go to Nipigon!
http://images.ctv.ca/archives/CTVNews/img2/20071025/450_harper_071025.jpg
I mean, What Would Rona Say? … Nod, Nod, NOD, in perfect, unaccented French.
In dedication to all children, including the beauteous Sami, who already have me tabbed as a singer for the BB’s … 1st ‘B’ for belligerent, 2nd for questionable parentage? I will NOT leave such a legacy, through indifference, from our world to her world. Nor will I sing for the TST group, who wander off in their search for the Utopian definition of government. Best company I ever worked for had a two-word rule. If it isn’t working, FIX IT! Now … Where do I make my ‘X’?
Garth, I think you’re right on. We are screwed. I listened to some of the spin yesterday on this proposal for a Carbon Tax and could’nt believe what I was hearing. When these guys say that it won’t affect the consumer, how do they figure that? Any kind of tax or charge is always passed on to the consumer or taxpayer, just look at Ontario Hydro for example. They walk away from their debt and guess who gets to pay it. So now if they get hit with a huge Carbon Tax, seeing that they;re one of the biggest polluters in Ontario guess who’s going to pay for that?
The letter writer essentially stated we will not stand idly by while Birdy [BOO!] Baird is saying UP YOURS!
http://www.thestar.com/comment/article/287549
If a carbon tax is so great howcum all of the Democratic candidates, when asked if they would impose a carbon tax said no. And the reason they said no is that it will be passed on to consumers, so we pay not the polluters
Garth, to answer your question, yes, I did expect this of Stephen Harper. He has a history of being narrow-minded and extremely partisan. He has a view of Canada where the provinces are supreme and the Federal Government is small, underfunded, and ineffective.
We can learn much from history. Look at the history of Stephen Harper and there are no surprises today. It is the future under this zealot that scares the hell out of me.
A couple of points:
1. “is in the endgame of a growth phase that’s lasted about a decade and a half.” – Last Canadian recession, 1990, Last US. recession, 2001. So for Canada, maybe its the end of an economic cycle, and they happen every 10 years or so. BTW. Interest rates and inflation were a lot higher during the last recessions than they are now.
2. “Spending by the Conservative government is at a record level (nothing conservative about that), while Ottawa has encouraged the surge in the loonie (a ‘strong dollar is good,’ Mr. Flaherty says)” – Flaherty and his boss are idiots. Their policies will make any downturn worse than it would have been.
3. “Mr. Baird responded, speaking to reporters, “a new (carbon) tax sounds like a Liberal idea to me.”” – Baird’s an idiot too! So what if its a “Liberal” idea. The panel was asked by his boss to come up with recommendations. I suspect they did so without the partisan ideology of Baird. So maybe the idea is a good idea as well as being “Liberal!”
4. I believe, from MSM reports, the panel also gave caution to the effects of a carbon tax on the economy vs. our competitors. Like the high loonie, imposing a carbon tax will also make our products more expensive.
This however, does not let PMSH of the hook. If he and his Minister of the Environment had had the intestinal fortitude in Bali to do the right thing, a carbon tax in Canada would not have been an issue and pressure would be on the US. to get its house in order. But they had to follow their idological CRAP, sucking up to the White House.
This is a mess created by PMSH and Baird. Either they start cleaning up their own environmental mess, or we kick them out and put someone in who will!
3.
Garth,
Small correction:
You don’t have a negative opinion regarding Halifax, just its future, given it resides on the Atlantic Ocean and the imminense of the seas/oceans rising and the flooding of the coastal cities.
Sorry about that…a typo.
Ed the Hun
Mr. Baird responded, speaking to reporters, “a new (carbon) tax sounds like a Liberal idea to me.”
Conservatives reject advice, say no to carbon tax
Mike De Souza, The Ottawa Citizen; with files from Edmonton Journal
Published: Tuesday, January 08, 2008
The Harper government yesterday rejected an advisory panel’s recommendation to implement a carbon tax while its rivals opened the door to the idea in response to advice that the levy could lead the way to deep cuts in greenhouse gas emissions from Canada.
http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id=fda5013a-e8ce-4864-bf73-126ad816928d
Ottawa turns to polls again, this time on drug strategy
Tories spent $31.2m on public opinion research in 2007, twice that of Liberals
By The Canadian Press
Tue. Jan 8 – 6:26 AM
OTTAWA — Canada’s most poll-reliant government is spending $1 million on polling services to help guide its drug-prevention strategy for youth
http://thechronicleherald.ca/Canada/1009901.html
Did you expect this of Stephen Harper?
Yes … and that’s why I didn’t vote for him or VanKesteren.
“Did you expect this of Stephen Harper?”
Yes, actually, I did.
And to clarify, a carbon tax is not a Liberal idea. It’s a Green idea. But it’s heartening to think that the Liberals might finally be seeing the logic in it.
We’ve said for years that there is no copyright on good ideas and have encourged the other parties to adopt our policies.
We have plenty more for you…
http://www.greenparty.ca/visiongreen/
Hey Garth, another well-written post. But ya Garth, the “getting to 2050″ advisory plan states much of the obvious (putting a price on carbon,etc..). However, it’s also obvious that the plan only calls for 65% GHG emissions cuts below current levels. So what does that mean
? We’d meet Kyoto targets in 2050?!
Either way Garth, what would you like to see done above and beyond what this report calls for?!
Did you expect this of Stephen Harper?
posted by Garth Turner on 01.07.08 @ 9:51 pm
YES, saw it coming a mile away. Sad our media was and is not permitted to discuss it till it’s too late. I wonder why?
Speaking of partisanship – the US citizens are sick and tired of the extreme partisanship in Washington during the Bush years – does Harper not pay attention.
This is one reason Obama is doing so well – not because they’re paying attention to his policies (no one’s challenged him yet in the media which I think is dangerous) but they want change – where the “politicians respect each other and get along”
Harper – you pay so much attention to Bush’s policies – are you paying attention to what the American citizens are saying?
Partisanship is destroying the US and it’s going to happen here.
CBC said that Dion is on the record as being against carbon tax, though his position sounded soft. Has he changed his mind yet?
Yes Harper and his lapdog Baird are being knobs but what you don’t state is this Federaly funded study endorses GREEN Party policy not liberal so while this study an inditement on Conservative inaction on climate change it certainly does not bolster the validity of the Liberal option.
You’ve stated previously that 85ish is your ideal Canadian dollar value, yet you mention the problem that “energy prices are romping higher”
With an .85 dollar Canadian energy prices romp up another .15-.20 a gallon.
Our recent appreciation has shielded us from some of impact of higher oil.
Ron Paul had an interesting comment in the debate the other night. Oil VS the U.S. dollar/Euro etc has gone up 100-200% vs Gold which is real sound money, it’s stayed flat. What is sound money? floating, printable, debaseable paper or real assets. The eagerness of politicians to devalue my savings to defend soft uncompetative companies sickens me. If I act rationaly and save I get penalized.
I believe if I read the news clip correctly theat Mr dion is not for a carbon tax. I took it from Mr Baird that there is a plan that is to be brought forward to address these issues but it will not be at the expese of the economy. To listen to your rant one would believe the sky is falling and we should all find another place to live. If all these things are so important then why have the Liberals not voted to bring this government down and take their argument to the people. The reason is similar to what you accused the conservatives about. You stated they are ignoring all these issues and only concentrating on an eletion. Give me a break that is all you people think of once you get elected. It is getting re elected, nothing else. So lets cut the song and dance scenario and get these people back to Ottawa and do some real work for the people who sent you there. All the talk and criticism is wearing thin getting sickening.
To the gentleman who inexplicably brought up the carbon policies of the Democratic party; it is only natural that the price of polution will be passed on to the consumer. We’re the ones buying products that require polution. We’re the ones who have to start buying low-poluting alternatives. But we’re a bunch of stupid children, and we won’t do something like that unless there is a financial reason (ie, products that release less carbon durring manufacturing become cheaper than large emitters).
Well, as if I’m not surprised and I said way back that Harper would fire Ms. Keen – and apparently he’s going to. It’s the usual, don’t contradict me in any way and gosh I need someone to blame.
Harper “DISGUSTS” me more and more each day.
It was not Keen’s fault that Gary Lunn wasn’t on top of his file.
The long and short of it all we will not make it 2050 under any Conserative plan, and our children and grandchildren are doomed…..are you willing to gamble on their future?
Baird has ignored the report of the panel Harper spent our tax dollars on to study the best approach.
Government says no to carbon tax
and also wants to fire the head of the CNSC Tories ready to fire nuclear watchdog, a person who has stayed the course based on the regulations written by experts who truly know what they speak of, because it disagrees with Harper’s political agenda.
People what would you do, as an individual, if you spent your money to find out truth, and then your doctor or lawyer refused to abide by the findings because it disagreed with his preconceived political beliefs?
Would you not consider such an act to be malfeasance and maladministration of your best interests?
Would you not rid yourself immediately of such incompetence and an imminent threat to your well being?
China has had the guts to ban plastic shopping bags less than 0.025mm thick. They can tally the billions of barrels of oil they consume each year, and the difficulty in recycling. Watch China take the lead and embarass Canada.
China bans plastic shopping bags
Partisanship is destroying the US and it’s going to happen here.
By slg on 01.08.08 8:22 am
Quite correct. Likewise, regarding your ‘policies’ statement for Obama. Consider that he need not write policies yet. First, in the normal course of events in life, one acquires the authority to write policies.
He has done that by education and being a Senator, as well as gaining the respect of his peers.
What he is focused on, and rightly so, is setting a new course, and that is the key issue. Obama, unlike Clinton, Bush, Harper, and the other meglamaniacs seeking power, knows how to listen, analyze, and then act. He will gather the variables, analyze them, and then reach consensus as to what action should, or must be taken.
That is what a real leader does, listen, asks, thinks, and then acts. The American people will be able to work with, and trust him, those are two attributes that have been missing for a long, long time.
As to partisanship…it has already greatly damaged Canada thanks to Stephen Harper, Caesar Disgustus.
Did I expect this of Harper and Flaherty?
You betcha I did. And even worse.
Except that they were stopped by only getting a minority. Yet they have still found ways to circumvent the democratic system to implement their very own brand of Reform-neo-conism. Baird and the rest of Harper’s minions are a bunch of ignominious.
Conservatism in Canada is a disgrace to humanity.
By Emilie on 01.07.08 11:02 pm
As far as I have seen in Harper’s bio, he follows a “neo-liberalism” agenda. Feel free to google the term.
Oops. Bad HTML in my 9:26 comment. here is the link.
Tories ready to fire nuclear watchdog
“Did you expect this of Stephen Harper?”
The short answer here is “yes.”
Stephen Harper operates on the basis of a simplistic economic theory: government should not interfere in the markeplace. While Harper’s followers make a great deal about him being an economist he is an economic theorist not an economic realist.
The theory that Harper promotes is that there is no role for government in a “free competitive market economy.” In the context of this theory “free” means free from government interference. The freedom of capital is the first principle of this theory.
The challenge Harper faces is trying to maintain his commitment to free market principles as “the market” goes into a melt down. Will his belief that selfishness in a good thing withstand the negative implications of an economic recession caused by the operation of the “greed is good” principle? Will he continue to try to find ways to protect the operation of his theories as the potential for its operation further impacts his ability to rule?
Will the wants of capital continue to be the priority over the needs of society and will Harper continue to follow that paradigm?
My expectation is that as things begin to fall apart, Harper will continue pushing the same direction while trying to buy support which will make the situation worse.
Harper is acting as expected except that he has a tendency to be impulsive when caught by circumstances that are not in accordance with the theories by which he operates.
The Toronto stock market lost another 150 points on Monday. If you don’t care because you don’t have stocks, then perhaps you have money. – Garth
And so far today, its back up 132 points. From its high of 14,500 ish, its down about 800 points, or 5.5%. That’s not even a correction (10%)
So, with reference to the TSX, what’s your point?
What I’ve seen is the TSX go up and down, up and down. Since reaching its high, the trend has been down, but the markets are as yet undecided as to the scale of any any possible recession on earnings. Bear in mind, they already have the CIBC and possible TD losses on sub-prime and ABCP priced in.
Usually, the markets are one of the first signs of pullbacks or growth. They fall before a recession, they rise before growth.
5% pullback by the TSX from its all time high, maybe it just an adjustment from an overbought market. It certainly does not indicate the forecoming of doom and gloom!
I did not even comment on the TSX index or reference doom and gloom wth regard to it. The note was about a run on TD Bank shares, one of the market stalwarts. Be accurate. — Garth
Harper “DISGUSTS” me more and more each day.
It was not Keen’s fault that Gary Lunn wasn’t on top of his file.
By slg on 01.08.08 9:09 am
Agreed. He has established a track record not to be envious of with me as well. Maybe we all need to start displaying those rebel license plates “Forget Hell!”, but we have no place to put them. I can think of a place but do not know who Harper or Baird’s proctologists are.
Not in all my life have I ever seen the like of Baird in a responsible public position., The man is a boy mentally, and a disgrace to Canada and Canadians. Harper is just a simple minded power pervert.
We have Captain Bligh at the helm and his first mate is far too gone on the rum. The Good Ship Lolly Pop is headed for the rocks thanks to them both.
No nude is a good nude…then again, Lady Godiva may not agree and so de bait goes on and on and sometimes on the fish hook to the detriment of the fish. Anyway, Garth, another day, another good post…shows you read the papers.
A house used to be a home…now it is part of the real estate market and its value subject to the vagaries of the market place and people are suprised. People build on flood plains and are surprised when they get a flood. People build on the lower mainland of BC and will be surprised as hell when the big one strikes as will a multitude of Californians. The 3 rules of real estate investing are; location, location, location and its been ever thus. I might even open a rubber boot store in Halifax as the market for rubber boots is about to turn bullish.
People elect the politicians they deserve…we got Harper and Flaherity… The US got Bush/ Chaney; all those in favour of trading our two bozos for their two two bozos hit “ECS”.
Now the USA appears to have a Pied Piper and the lemming syndrome is alive and well. We have Dion in the background who appears to be too buisy wooing Elizabeth or her followers to find his own pipe. Hurry up Mr. Dion or the parade will pass you by.
“Hurray for our side”; Lady Godiva rode down the road side saddled so you can imagine who said “hurray for our side. The clothing merchants were not amused as clothing sales took a dive while the peopled cavorted with a new found freedom and abandonment… eventually, the increased birth rate did wonders in curing the slump in the clothing market and so things unfold as they ought.
BTW the 10:30 Post by Michael is not this Michael
Yup, I did expect this of Harper. Just like I expected the US to find to WMDs in Iraq, meaning the war was all about oil.
—–
If Canada was to decide to tax carbon, I would most likely have to bite it and pay most likely the 20 cents per litre Carbon tax and go about my day to day life a I currently do. Other then giving more of my tax dollars to Ottawa via a Carbon Tax, what would the difference be on the impact my driving around as normal, and the GHGs emmitted to produce the fuel I am using be, environmentally?
By Marc on 01.07.08 10:30 pm
$50 tax per CO2-tonne-equivalent would have negligeable impact on GDP, and would end up only adding 12c/L to gasoline. To put that in perspective, gasoline prices in Ottawa go up and down easily 10c every day, some days, and prices are expected to reach 150c/L by summer. I would welcome a carbon tax since it will make a difference; and I dread the summer prices to the point of seriously considering biking to work… once the prices will go that high, they won’t come down.
The impact will be for oil producers to radically improve their efficiency, consumers to stop buying what I call “buses” (i.e. SUVs and ridiculously powerful pickup trucks) and perhaps for a few more of us to take the bus.
By Michael on 01.08.08 10:25 am
As George Carlin said years ago ‘People build their homes next to an active volcano and are surprised to find lava in their living room!’
Question: How can you deny a 10:30 post when you made that comment at 10:25? Are you a tad out east of Newfoundland, near Bimini and the space time discontinuum? LOL
I did not even comment on the TSX index or reference doom and gloom wth regard to it. The note was about a run on TD Bank shares, one of the market stalwarts. Be accurate. — Garth
Come on Garth, have another Timmies.
When you write a blog titled “Screwed?” with the first paragraph concerning your view of the impending downturn, and the first salvo is, “The Toronto stock market lost another 150 points on Monday. If you don’t care because you don’t have stocks, then perhaps you have money” followed by, “This would follow on the heels of a $3 billion whack that the CIBC took before Christmas, as well as a $35 billion mess in the commercial paper market that still has Canadian regulators shaken. This is all leading to a restriction in available credit and more troubles to come,” then what are you writting about if not doom and gloom of an economic downturn, precipitated by the woes in the US., which has been one of your major themes over the past few weeks, using TD and CIBC to illustrate the effects?
Not to mention, “Oil surging, stocks crashing, American woes, jobs lost and houses at peril. But this is just the prelude to the most memorable bits. The economy across North America, and through a good chunk of the world, is in the endgame of a growth phase that’s lasted about a decade and a half.”
Forget the Timmies…. go decaf! (I already have!)
I did not and am not forecasting a stock market crash. The ’screwed’ reference was to the unabated effect of GHG emissions. Be accurate. It’s a good policy. — Garth
It looks to me to be a good time to buy bank stocks. Over time their share price will rise again. A buyer’s market is on the horizon.
And the reason they said no is that it will be passed on to consumers, so we pay not the polluters
By ben burd on 01.08.08 6:23 am
You don’t really understand consumption do you? The consumer IS the polluter. For example, when you buy a car you’re not only creating pollution at the tailpipe of your car but you’ve also created the pollution required to manufacture that car. If you didn’t buy that car the manufacturer wouldn’t have had to make it. Thus the pollution generated by the manufacture of the car wouldn’t have happened. The consumer demand for the car created the manufactering generation of the pollution. People forget to look upstream.
Consumption tax isn’t inherently evil if it REPLACES all other forms of taxation and encompass all forms of consumption. The problem with most carbon tax proposals is that they’re in ADDITION to existing taxation regimes, they’re taxing only 1 item, and they tax production, not consumption. A carbon production tax is a flawed tax policy.
I did not and am not forecasting a stock market crash. The ’screwed’ reference was to the unabated effect of GHG emissions. Be accurate. It’s a good policy. — Garth
By James- Chatham on 01.08.08 11:02 am
Maybe I’ll send my son’s homeschooling English books to you. It talks very clearly about composition. In particular keeping to the subject.
If the subject of Screwed” was only the GHG issue, then why did you commence with the reference to the TSX dropping 150 points? The effects of the US. crisis on TD and CIBC, and the endgame of the growth we’ve experienced? What has that to do with the price of fish, as my mother would say.
BTW, I never said you were predicting a stock market crash. The word I used was downturn, which will happen if the slowdown and effects you predict from the US. come to pass in Canada. On that we should be able to agree.
“Did you expect this of Stephen Harper?”
Yes, actually, I did.
To correct Mr Baird, a carbon tax and an accompanying income tax cut is not a Liberal idea. It’s a Green idea. We were talking about it for years while the Liberals were in power, doing nothing about climate change, conservation or enegy security, and financing growth in the oil sands.
I’m not being partisan, just stating facts. At least it’s good to see a few Liberals starting to see logic, take our advice and adopt our policies. There’s no copyright on good ideas, after all.
http://www.financialpost.com/story.html?id=223548
“Common Elf”, Jim is not going to be happy about this…
No decrease in housing prices coming soon according to this report:
http://www.reportonbusiness.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080108.whousing0108/BNStory/robNews/home
That’s a press release from Royal Lepage. They sell houses. Figure it out. — Garth
“And there’s the problem. So long as the Conservatives see all our national problems in partisan terms, protect their oil-rich Alberta voting base, pit East against West, try to buy off plasma-hungry voters with their own money, take no action to defend our eroding trade and lost jobs and work towards the next election instead of the next generation, we risk the country.
Did you expect this of Stephen Harper?”
- By Garth
Now, if you believe all the elements of that rant, the REAL question is did YOU expect this of Harper? I mean, you did seek the Conservative party nomination, won it, and then sought the nomination again (fending off a battle in your constituency), before getting kicked out of the caucus. I belive that, in earlier posts, you mentioned you were a member of the party for some time prior to seeking the nomination as the CPC halton candidate.
So, did you believe Harper would act as you say he is acting when you became a member of the party? Did you believe Harper would act as you say he is acting when you sought the nomination as the candidate in Halton, not once – but twice? Either you are exagerating what you see as Harper’s flaws or you believe them, but chose to ignore them to join the CPC and battle for the halton nomination.
You cannot have it both ways.
Of course I did not expect it. I was a Progressive Conservative my entire life, and believed Stephen Harper would be – as he told me me – a moderate, mainstream, middle-of-the-road leader. He turned out to be a Reformer. We clashed. He turfed me. I’d venture to say he’s surprised many people who voted Conservative. Let’s remember, that Stephen Harper does not equal Canadian conservativism. He just bought the brand. — Garth
The underlying cause of all this turbulence has always been and currently is our fiat money system.
The swings of instability are getting ever wider. Politicians cannot restrain themselves from allowing too much paper to be printed in order to support their programs, promises, dreams, schemes, and scams.
Money supply has to be directly related to a country’s current account and GDP. All other bogus accounting leads to boom/bust scenarios.
The elite have mastered the art of capitalizing on the financial tsunamis and will not reign in their chaos engine as it spins more out of control.
By BILL-MUSKOKA 10:43AM
Nice quote, Bill, I will hang onto it and may use it later. You have uncovered one of my best kept secrets. Yes, I am a time traveller; not necessarily a Newfie time traveller who manages to get everything ass backwards but a time traveller neverthless.
The other day I took a short ten year trip to the furure and, would you believe, I nearly frozee my butt off. The newspapers and media were full of stories about global cooling…I guess the Russians had it right…after all, they predict a cooling trend beginning about 2012. Garth was still operating his blog but from an igloo in his back yard that he built himself as a little hideway for himself and his dog. His beard is a little whiter but he looks fine and is still blogging away, as opinionated as ever. Yes, Obama became POTUS and flattened a few countries to show how tough he is and of, of course, a new crop of lobbyists became rich. Dion lost his dog and his way and Harper returned to the oil patch to pursue other endeavours. Layton fell off his bike and hit his head, or so it would seem…he is still muttering about making gains in Quebec. Elizabeth merged her green party with the Liberals and became an excellent Prime Minister and is a credit to and role model for the finer sex and wears a beautiful seal skin coat that the Newfies gave her in appreciation for all the freebies she gave them.
As I said before, I am a procrastinator..not a prognosticator.
May the force be with you.
You cannot have it both ways.
By Oscar on 01.08.08 12:16 pm
Of course he can, this is his blog, and the truth is exactly as he sees it.
Mr Garth TurnerMP,
FYI: artical on Global climate change.
Have we past the tipping point already?
“Artic is screaming”
http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/science/12/11/arctic.melt.ap/
Global food stocks are dangerously low.
We need to stop this BAD policy of making fuel from food crops.
And growing crop for fuel on land used to grow food.
It don’t realy help much to reduce GHG.
It is making it harder to feed all the people/human beings like yourself on this world.
Were does your food come from??? Locally grow? How much energy from oil and other fossil fuels did it take to get the food to your table?
We need to stop building stuctures that use oil and gas for heating and cooling.
Mandate more use of geothermal, wind solar, co-generation using natual gas.
Were is make sence.
Mandate better insulation in all buildings.
Stop burning coal for energy that doesn’t capture the carbon and other pollutants!
Burning coal releases mucury into the air and other polutants that shorten peoples lives!
I think we need more Nuclear power plants, hopefully CANDU desiged. there safe. They can’t blow up. No one is letting the spent fuel get out into the environment.
We use hug amount of energy to run our society know. We have a global climate change emergancy NOW. Nuclear can help us stop burning fossil fuels now and give us more time to develop and implement more renewable.
Nuclear power works all the time.
The wind doesn’t blow often on the hottest and coldest days. The sun isn’t always up.
For more info. on CANDU nuclear power.
http://www.aecl.ca/
http://cna.ca/
I think Harper is planing to sell another valuable Canadaian asset to his US corporate bosses. They want AECL that designed the CANDU reactor because there haven’t planed ahead and now need to design and build new reactors to keep the lights on. There wouldn’t be interested in buying AECL if they didn’t think they could make more money.
The nuclear safey comptioner was doing her job. How will replace her?
Another Harper, yes sir person?
The end of oil is in sight.
And we have Global climate change that may make food production for everyone impossible.
We need to stop adding to the GHG NOW.
Do you care about your family and other human beings?
Want have you done to help?
Think globaly and act localy as you can.
Want kind of polluted, over populated, energy depleted world are we all making for ourself, our kids and the future people on our only home?
That’s a press release from Royal Lepage. They sell houses. Figure it out. — Garth
By Marg on 01.08.08 12:10 pm
Yes, but they are supporting their claims with actual statistics. These statistics are available from the provincial real estate associations in each province.
Past sales. No indication of future sales. — Garth
Past sales. No indication of future sales. — Garth
And the US. report you’re using to predict the future …. is based on what exactly?
Oh yes, past sales!
I seem to be having a “not on the same page as Garth” day to day. But this one is a case of differing groups putting together different opinions based on different stats. Yes, Royal Lapage would like us to believe house prices have not softened as they are in the business of selling houses.
But who are these US. folks that wrote the report on the falling US. house prices? Do they have any motives to spin their report?
The US numbers are from the industry professional group, equivalent to the Canadian Real Estate Association. They also have a vested interest in the best possible view of the market. — Garth
May the force be with you.
By Michael on 01.08.08 12:30 pm
Did you mean ‘The Farce’? LMAO
Thanks for the preview, because, darn, it actually makes sense…except about layton falling and hitting his head…that could actually cause an improvement I think?
But, you failed to mention Guilles…Did he open a crepe restaurant?
What about Bush and Cheney…did they go hunting together and have not been seen since?
Oh, one last question…You don’t have any plants growing out in the woods do you? Just checking.
I can recommend a great three legged stool maker because when an Oracle speaks, they should be well seated in their position. LOL
Have a good day….whatever day that may be for you.
By BILL-MUSKOKA 1:56PM
Sorry Bill, I forgot to tell you; Dick Chaney took us his new career as a Range Safety Officer for an army boot camp and other than an increase in accidental shootings he is doing rather well.
GWB retired from politics and became a movie star. He got an Oscar(bought and paid for by a Saudi Prince) for his role in Billy Goat Gruff.
Guilles went on to fame and fortune by inventing a hair spray that prevents hair from standing on end; especially useful during Question Period.
Oh Yes, Opera Winfry became a huge star in her own right…all 450 pounds of her.
Thank God for this wonderful January thaw…it uncovered a few excellent plants in the back 40 that I forgot about. Pot luck, you might say.
Cheers!!!
“Of course I did not expect it. I was a Progressive Conservative my entire life, and believed Stephen Harper would be – as he told me me – a moderate, mainstream, middle-of-the-road leader. He turned out to be a Reformer. We clashed. He turfed me. I’d venture to say he’s surprised many people who voted Conservative. Let’s remember, that Stephen Harper does not equal Canadian conservativism. He just bought the brand. — Garth”
So, you did not expect Harper to be as you say he is…but, you did not resign from the caucus or the party. You got turfed. If you really thought that Harper was as bad as you say he is, why didn’t you resign in protest, holding a press conference, telling the world why you left. No, instead you claimed Harper is not as he seemed – only after you got turfed.
Convenient, no?
BTW, if you were decieved as you claim you were, why were you? Shouldn’t a seasoned politican – heck, you even served as a Minister – be better able to judge people?
Again, it is all just to convenient.
It was my party, too. In fact, I was a Conservative a lot longer than Mr. Harper was. He’s a Reformer, who has usurped the brand and, I’ll wager, will destroy it. My choice was to work within my party, not to walk away and abandon it. I am not a quitter. — Garth
By Michael on 01.08.08 2:57 pm
Thank you for the recap on your futuristic voyage.
Oh, are you saying Bush actually learned to read in the future, or does he still have that hump whispering sweet things into his ears?
“Of course I did not expect it. I was a Progressive Conservative my entire life, and believed Stephen Harper would be – as he told me me – a moderate, mainstream, middle-of-the-road leader. He turned out to be a Reformer. We clashed. He turfed me. I’d venture to say he’s surprised many people who voted Conservative. Let’s remember, that Stephen Harper does not equal Canadian conservatism. He just bought the brand” — Garth
Once again you’re totally full of it! You’re old party had 12 seats and dropping….Mr Harper rescued Conservatism in Canada and became Prime Minister…you became nothing but a self centered bullshit artist who only cares about himself…what really pisses you off is that he is governing from the middle and you idiots in opposition are all standing there with your peck#$@s in your hand….cut the bull for once Turner! Mr Harper is a success and you are a envious, jealous nobody….
Mr Harper is a success and you are a envious, jealous nobody….
By John G on 01.08.08 4:26 pm
Thanks for giving me the biggest laugh of this New Year John G.
By kpn on 01.08.08 5:06 pm
I’d say becoming PM of a country like Canada makes you a success yes….being voted the best current leader in the world by people in 9 of the top countries in the world makes you an even bigger success…
You make not like him, that’s fine but don’t sound like an immature clueless twit KPN??
John G: You should be on Comedy Central with that last post. Harper saves Conservatism in Canada. What a crock!!
Harper believes in the survival of the fittest ( or buy your own health care or die ). He believes in Every man for himself (the women don’t matter anyway).
He has proven to be a cold, calculating, mean-spirited Canadian.
Not fit to be Prime Minister.
Not fit.
So, you did not expect Harper to be as you say he is…but, you did not resign from the caucus or the party. You got turfed. If you really thought that Harper was as bad as you say he is, why didn’t you resign in protest, holding a press conference, telling the world why you left. No, instead you claimed Harper is not as he seemed – only after you got turfed.
Convenient, no?
BTW, if you were decieved as you claim you were, why were you? Shouldn’t a seasoned politican – heck, you even served as a Minister – be better able to judge people?
Again, it is all just to convenient.
It was my party, too. In fact, I was a Conservative a lot longer than Mr. Harper was. He’s a Reformer, who has usurped the brand and, I’ll wager, will destroy it. My choice was to work within my party, not to walk away and abandon it. I am not a quitter. — Garth
By Oscar on 01.08.08 3:26 pm
These comments put a major problem with your party in context. The issue was complex and even after years as a Progressive Conservative I don’t believe anyone realized just how badly Peter MacKay had sold out the PC Party.
What is the new Conservative Party all about? How can you reconcile its contradictions?
Garth fully supported the principles of the party which focused on “individualism.” One would think that a party focused on individualism would support the concept internally. The fact is that the reverse is true.
The question does Stephen Harper support the principles of the party he leads?
For example one principle of the party is “A belief in the freedom of the individual, including freedom of speech, worship and assembly.” What does “freedom of speech” mean within the context of the Conservative Party?
According to Harper’s interpretation it does not apply to party members. In Harper’s concept of party, once an individual joins a party he no longer an individual. The Party becomes a new “person” and that person is represented by “one conservative voice”: that of the leader.
Once Garth became a member of the party he lost the rights of the individual.
The question is should Harper have made that clearer when he was campaigning for the leadership of the new Conservative Party? In a way he did with his adoption of the slogan “one Conservative voice.” However, he certainly did not stress this concept of party during that period.
Most people did not look at what was being proposed closely enough to see the contradictions inherent in new Conservative ideology.
How can you be a “principled” party when you reject for the party and yourself the principles on which the party is based?
I can understand why Garth was confused about what Harper stood for.
He has proven to be a cold, calculating, mean-spirited Canadian.
Not fit to be Prime Minister.
Not fit. by Judy,
Now that is really a crock.
Hmmm…
Dion and David McGuinty both indicated that the Liberals don’t support a carbon tax. I’m a little surprised Garth didn’t catch that!
As far as I have seen in Harper’s bio, he follows a “neo-liberalism” agenda. Feel free to google the term.
By Geoffrey L. on 01.08.08 9:54 am
Actually neo-liberalism is only part of Stevie deception. His preference really is (denying that such a thing as neo-conservatism exists,) http://www.lewrockwell.com/rockwell/neo-con-explained.html
As for Harper being an economist. LOLOLOL Thanks for the laugh. Taking Accounting 101 does not an economist make. LOLOLOL Anyone can read a text book and pretend to be whatever they want. Especially if they haven’t worked at a real job like the average person has to.
By John G on 01.08.08 4:26 pm
Just so you know, John, I am extremely put off by your rude, chauvinistic comment. For the same reason, 80% of women will NOT vote for Harper.
Emilie is exactly right! Truth is the vast majority of us here are probably entirely unqualified to pass judgement on anyone or anything. Consider of few of us have actually reached the exalted academic/financial/career success of those we trash. Anonymous posting on the web allow so much freedom to criticize without being accountable.
Consider of few of us have actually reached the exalted academic/financial/career success of those we trash. Anonymous posting on the web allow so much freedom to criticize without being accountable.
By John L on 01.08.08 9:36 pm
Gee John, excuse the poor low class people for expressing an opinion against your elite superior class members.
I find your list of qualifications to be most informative as to how your values are arranged.
Are you quite sure you would not be happier in England?
Consider of few of us have actually reached the exalted academic/financial/career success of those we trash. Anonymous posting on the web allow so much freedom to criticize without being accountable.
By John L on 01.08.08 9:36 pm
Bill,
I get a little chuckle over this statement. It is exactly what you would expect from someone who would never dare challenge what he sees as the hierarchy.
When you see statements like this you come to realize that is really a lack of self-confidence that creates the abject follower and partisan.
Actually it was a thoroughly tongue-in-cheek comment on how easy it is to sit on the sidelines and pass cmment, often highly inflamatory, on the qualities of those we choose to lead us. I didn’t actually include myself in the “elite superior class members” category. In this particular case “Emilie” chose to belittle Harper as not really being an economist, although he apparently has considerablr academic and career experiences to support the case that he is.
Don’t overreach, boys, the truth is you know next to nothing about me so your attempts at playing psychoalalyst are a bit creepy.
Re: comments by John L on 01.09.08 7:14 pm,
Has it ever occured to you that there are people here who may be fully qualified to question Harper’s abilities as an economist? Harper has no experience working in the field. According to his thesis advisor his main strength was applying the simplist possible theory to a set of facts. That does not surprise me, because from his writings and actions since becoming Prime Minister, I find that his understanding of economic theory is superficial.
There “may well people here fully qualified to question” just about anything, and they probably will. I have no doubt your C.V. is jam packed with one major success after another That’s the beauty of anonymous posting on the net; we can tart ourselves up to be whatever we want to be. He has, however, been able to fool enough people about his abilities to make it into the Prime Minister’s Office.