Maritime Morning - Andrew Krystal

For months we have been waiting for some signs of life from the man who wasn’t many Liberals first choice. Having Stephan Dion as Liberal leader is a little like getting the last date when the lights go on.

Now we have life.

That being said, many in this region wonder how punishing coal and heating oil with a Liberal carbon tax is going to translate to their wallets, and will Dion’s proposed tax cuts be enough to offset higher costs elsewhere?

The average Nova Scotian family has two kids and an average combined household income of $50,190. In that case the Liberals will kick back $1,000.00 in tax relief. But will that be enough? Lower income earners get a bigger break and upper middle class will get pummeled, I suspect. Overall, for the region here, I am doubtful that the tax cuts are deep enough.

Deeper tax cuts would have been more comforting.

The Liberals say their “Green Shift” plan will be “revenue neutral” and will, in the process, curb pollution and wean ourselves off dirty, increasingly expensive, fuel. But when was the last time somebody told you “it won’t cost a thing”?

The Conservatives cut the GST because the GST is simple to understand. Now our collective eyes are glazing over with carbon taxes, tax cut calculators, the NDP’s “Cap and Trade system” (companies are issued emissions permits and if they go beyond it they have to buy more credits from companies who pollute less), followed by the Conservative’s ventriloquism of singing the environmental anthem without moving their lips. The whole thing is quite a show.

Unlike the nonsensical Liberal policy in Afghanistan, where a non-combat role was preferred in a war zone and the NDP wanted out entirely with the Conservatives wanting to stay the course, there is now bold policy leadership from Dion.

Today the voters have a clear choice and the NDP are the ones left out. The NDP “Cap and Trade” system is even more arduous to explain and administrate. However, it might be the least costly politically due to its industrial targeting.

But higher costs for businesses always transfer to the consumer, correct?

But how do you ever motivate a company like Nova Scotia Power to change from using coal when they are so profitable and their executives pay themselves more than any other public utility?

Stephan Dion has given voters leadership with a bold plan that moves us into the new age but forces us to examine, and self-examine, and change behavior in the process.

It is not the path of least resistance.

Just a terrific job with special coverage of the Nova Scotia wildfires and the evacuations over the week. I could say just how hard everyone worked and how we really connected with our listeners, the public service we provided and how the station grew ‘again’ this week - instead here are just a few of the many emails we received from our listeners.

Well Done.

Mark

As a resident of HRM, I just wanted to thank your news organization for your fantastic ongoing coverage of the wildfire(s

You are heads and shoulders above every other local news media in providing up-to-date information as well as a forum for people to voice their concerns and ask questions. Your news team is to be commended. I’ll be listening to News 95.7 far more often as a result of this.

Regards,
Yvette Fraser

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Thank you so much for your news coverage this weekend. I am a resident of Candy Mountain Road currently vacationing with my daughter in Winnipeg. My husband and our nephew were evacuated Friday afternoon. I can’t tell you how comforting it is to be able to stay updated so many provinces away. Thanks again for your hard work.

Colleen Dafoe

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You were a BIG comfort today for a lot of people, I told my sister how to get on line, she’s docked in NFLD on the navy ship, with a guy who lives on Candy mountain and could not get any info.

Thank you.
Tamara Barker Watson

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Thank you sooooooooooo much for your coverage! We spent the whole night trying to get info. All that we heard was word of mouth & not very accurate. You can’t know what it is like when your loved ones are in danger & all you can get are rumors. All we want is INFORMATION.It was Juan all over again & its not over yet. Thanks so much. What you did was HUGE!

V. Young
East Petpeswick

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Would like to congratulate yourself and NEWS957 for your terrific coverage, we really need more coverage from all news organizations!!

Hard to believe that we can’t get any other live coverage on television etc!!!!!!!!

Again a big thanks for keeping us informed as to what is happening!!!!!

Bruce Hartlin

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My husband and I are listening to you and Richard with your excellent coverage of the fires on the Eastern Shore. We are presently in South Carolina, but have our computer tuned into your show, so that we can know what is happening at home. We wonder if there is any knowledge as to how the fire started. Thank you.

Carol-Anne and Lorne

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Thanks so much to you Andrew, Richard and all your news crews for coming on today to keep us all informed. I just arrived home from work, hungry for news on the fires and was thrilled to hear your voice when I turned on the radio. Thanks again to 95.7 for your continuing great news coverage and of course for you Andrew. Once again you guys all prove to me why I listen to your station every day.

Lynn, Enfield

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Hi Andrew, I’m tuned in listening your broadcast today. This is something we are used to listening to on CNN.

I’m here in Toronto but I’m from Nova Scotia, Annapolis Royal more specifically but I have family around the area of the fire.

Thanks for taking the time to keep everyone up to date. It’s a very important service you and Richard and the team are doing keeping everyone on top of the situation.

Regards,
Eric

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Hi;

Just think it’s great that your station is keeping people informed about the fires. Your staff deserve a huge thanks for providing this extended coverage……

Wayne Boudreau

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Great job this weekend.

Shows that radio can do more than entertain. it can inform, it can educate and bring people together….I know there are people who are desperate for info, probably feel quite lost but are getting info from you guys… Very important job…well done to you, Richard and everyone else…

Mike Savage, MP

Steve Coll is the Pulitzer prize winning author of  “Ghost Wars” (The Secret History of The CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden, From the Soviet Invasion To Sept 10, 2001), and, now, “The Bin Laden’s  — An Arabian Family In The American Century

Without America, there would be no Saudi Royal family or Bin Laden riches. The jet-setting internationalism of their champagne-strewn lifestyle wasn’t just paved with American customers; it was cultivated with custodial geopolitics.

American military protected Saudi royals and their confederates (the Bin Laden family being one of them), after the British stepped away from the Middle East post WW2. Since then, Prince Bandar, and various other Saudi Princes and businessmen have been in the Washington corridors of power more often than any other nation; more so even than the Israelis — because the Saudis write the cheques.

Because the Saudis don’t ask for money, like other American allies, they lend it and spend it and they have bought and paid for that access. They also don’t lobby the way others do either. The Saudis just open their wallets.

But the good times came to an end on Sept 11^th 2001.

As Steve Coll writes, days after the event the Bin Laden family were gathered up and flown out of the U.S., crying and chain-smoking. It was a new world. It still is.

But had Osama’s older brother, Salem, not died prematurely in a plane crash, Author Steve Coll told me, there would probably never have been a 9/11. Salem was the family leader, the Patriarch following their Father’s passing. And while he flew arms and cash into Afghanistan to support Osama when he was fighting the Soviets, Salem would have prevented Osama’s extremism against America. Osama respected his brother. He looked up to him, even in disagreement.

Steve Coll also discussed this week the latest Al Qaeda terrorist plot that was thankfully foiled by British intelligence. Similar to the event planned from Manila by Ramzi Yousef (now in Colorado’s Super Max prison and considered the creepiest inmate, by the way), in the early nineties where many airliners were to be downed by high explosives in mid-flight simultaneously, a similar plan was being cooked up for transatlantic flights despite new airline security measures.

Al Qaeda’s method is to return to their old haunts: airlines, embassies, big buildings (they attacked the World Trade centre twice, the first time in 1993. So, the plan went like this: liquid explosive that looks like Gator Aid matched up to electronic detonators made from digital cameras and assembled mid-flight. Testing on the captured material from the foiled revealed a hell of a bang. The attack involved 15 planes.

Imagine, Steve Coll said, if 15 airliners were suddenly blown out of the sky in a span of 20 minutes.

At that point, the U.S. would invade the ungovernable tribal regions in Pakistan which house both Al Qaeda and Osama Bin Laden himself that border Afghanistan (and which only NATO recognizes, the tribesmen don’t care); and the area from which the Taliban in Afghanistan are also supplied.

The reaction within Pakistan to an American invasion would be horrific: riot, demonstrations, and martial rule – perhaps revolution. With nuclear weapons, a fanatical, angry, fundamentalist
Pakistan is not a good thing.

They would then all risk being martyrs.

Be careful what you ask for.

And the Bin Laden’s are chain smoking still.

The announced retirement of Halifax MP Alexa McDonough from politics occurred Monday in the Lord Nelson. The century-old muscular Edwardian Hotel in Halifax where she started her career and celebrated many political victories was the home to her short goodbye. She told us on the air the next day that she retired when a dear friend died of cancer. It caused her to refocus. Life is short.

However, politically, life has been long for her: as a Federal leader for the NDP, as well as a Member of Parliament, and she has been nothing less than a trailblazer in that longevity.  

The biggest moment in the last Federal election occurred when Peter Mackay told Alexa Macdonough to “Stick to her knitting” in response to her challenge of Peter winning his own riding. As an older person, and as a woman, it was McDonough marginalizing. If it was a guy, Peter would not have involved the word “knitting” — unless he was taking a swipe at the sexuality of Scott Brison. (If he had said that to Scott, Brison would’ve had a good laugh. In the past, Peter has referred to Scott Brison in the House of Commons as “Mr. Fancy Pants”).

And while both Peter Mackay and Scott Brison are good sports and solid public servants — gay or straight residing in the comfort of their gender dominance — the gender issue of Alexa McDonough is something not discussed, but ever present. Politics is a boys club still; but whether or not the partial success of Hillary Clinton and the life long work of Alexa McDonough will translate into encouragement/activism for other women remains to be seen.

Yet, more and more women are graduating ahead of men. This gender disparity is especially true in United States. It still does not mean real power because we won’t let them into the halls of power in adequate numbers. Men are in denial about this.

In Ontario politics in the 1990s, Lyn McLeod was the Liberal leader who was eclipsed by the Mike Harris “Common Sense” Conservative revolution because she was a woman. Had the Liberals positioned a man as leader many feel the outcome would have been different. Harris was behind in the polls significantly at the outset. McLeod’s gender caught up with her.

Kim Campbell, who was PM for 15 minutes suffered from the disease of Mulroneyitis and was devastated in the Jean Chrétien landslide with her party reduced to two seats.

In Nova Scotia recently, Diana Whalen had a good shot as Liberal leader but was eclipsed by Stephen McNeil.

Sheila Copps was Deputy PM and for her public service received scads of hate mail because she was considered “abrasive”. Yet, the public elected the street fighter from Shawinigan to 3 majorities. Jean Chrétien’s abrasiveness was considered a needed strength against the separatist hordes.

Here’s the old canard: “it isn’t because she is a woman, it is because of her personality”.

It is politics. And in politics women, the few that there are, act like politicians.

And we don’t like them for it.

Afghanistan has more women in their government than we do here. Of course, we forced them to over there. Maybe we should try the point of a bayonet here too.

Gentlemen, of what are you afraid?

In Homer’s epic, the Odyssey, the ancient protagonist, Odysseus, asked his ships’ crew to tie him to the mast head and blindfold him, but keep his ears free to hear the Siren’s song, the embodiment of temptation itself, where the Siren’s womanly attributes and heavenly songs drove ships toward them — only to perish into the rocks. For their part, the crew was instructed to wear wax in their ears to protect them from the call of the wild.

Knowing neither Greek oral history nor common sense, (or paying heed to the history of his paramour Julie Couillard), former Foreign Affairs Minister Maxime Bernier dated her anyway – very publicly. He even brought her with him to the United Nations.

The siren in question, Julie Couillard, and her problem isn’t her past criminal associations, it is her street fighting present, her sense of entitlement, her malice. When trying to appear as a non-opportunist, for example, Julie says: “Everyone knows it: A minister earns $250,000 dollars per year. What’s left after taxes: $125,000, $130,000? I am constantly with businessmen who make a lot of cash. A minister has no money.”

What a wonderful act of social and sexual charity for Julie to deign to lower herself to Federal Cabinet status!

Hers is an interesting and telling statement from a woman who has never earned that much money, a woman who lost a house, has no professional or educational pedigree, who operated a “casting service” for wannabe actors and models (most of those operations are specious at best) and who describes herself as an “actress”. Now, she claims to be in real estate — although the company she has been associated with denies it (?!)

Wasn’t it singer Billy Joel who, in his song The Piano Man, characterized these types of people with unachievable pretensions as “real-estate novelists”?

With a Daddy who, himself, has a criminal past with drugs, it appears that her abandonment issues with an absentee Daddy plunged herself, and her neckline, into the arms of the Hell’s Angels (I guess they made more money than Max). I also guess she considered them “businessmen” as well.

The old line about lying down with lions or swine applies here.

The facts are the facts: two of Couillard’s former husbands are dead by violent means; a third man is in witness protection. The link to organized crime enforcers, or operatives, has been consistent. There is a long pattern. Moreover, her style is still from the street: knowing that she had destroyed the career of her former boyfriend Bernier when she went on Quebec TV to reveal that he had stupidly left Government documents regarding Afghanistan at her place, she continued with the media the next day saying “He was spineless” and “Should have protected me” from revelations about her past.

But shouldn’t she have known herself that her past would come out when she dated such a political figure and met President George Bush?

Julie Couillard did not find her way in life because of her brains or because of her character.

And as far as her Hell’s Angels association goes, she is even rumored to be a police informant in that regard, or a past one. It sounds familiar: no rules, no loyalty. Just like the street.

The only true love of her life Julie Couillard says was Montreal crime figure Gilles Giguere who was shot three times in the face and left in a ditch three months before their wedding.

If Maxime Bernier had any brains at all, which he obviously doesn’t, he would have listened to Homer and worn wax plugs in his ears like Odysseus’ crew or would have had someone tie him to the mast.

It is much more honorable to live a life loving those who play it straight instead of those who play the angles. That principle applies to both Julie and Maxime.

Julie knows that too. Deep down, she knows who, and what, she is.