If the loggers are the canary in the Tories' coal mine, then the fishery is the albatross.
The point is not that there are problems in the industry. Everyone knows that there are problems, some of which can be solved locally and some of which are beyond the government's control. The point is that fishermen are publicly criticizing the Williams government for being out of touch.
As happened with mill workers and loggers, the provincial government has been remarkably slow to respond to local grievances. Their pattern has been to procrastinate until negative media attention finally forces them to act: http://orwellianspin.blogspot.com/2009/06/abcs-of-fishery.html
The most significant part of today's CBC story is this section:
"Of a total population on the Northern Peninsula in the vicinity of 10,000 people, there's a thousand who work directly in the shrimp fishery," McCurdy said. "That's been closed down solid for [the] better part of a month, and there hasn't been a squeak," he said, referring to the Newfoundland and Labrador government's interest in the issue.
McCurdy said he wants to know why the government is not providing the fishery with the kind of assistance it has been giving to the forestry sector. He said he has been asking for a meeting with Premier Danny Williams since December, but instead has been fobbed off to Fisheries Minister Tom Hedderson.
McCurdy said half-hearted and stop-gap measures will not be enough to solve problems in the fishery, which has long been troubled by too many people chasing too few fish. "Do they think no more highly of people in the outports than that to say that make-work projects are good enough for you?" McCurdy told CBC News.
For his part, Hedderson accused both the FFAW and seafood processors of not doing enough to turn things around. "I don't believe that they've done the due diligence that they need in order to get the price that's required to get that fishery going," Hedderson said Thursday."
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/newfoundland-labrador/story/2009/06/26/shrimp-fishery-price-protest-626.html
Politics is about managing expectations. Since he came into office, Danny Williams has been going for broke, raising expectations as high as he can, to the point that he's willing to embarrass himself on VOCM to protect his optimistic dystopia.
Yesterday the Telegram ran a reasonable editorial on the shrimp fishery, which offered a clear picture of a byzantine industry: http://www.thetelegram.com/index.cfm?sid=263680&sc=80
The economics of the fishery may be one thing, but the politics is quite another. Fishermen, like everyone else in NL, hear the loud beat of the optimism drum from the "Tubble," i.e., the Townie Bubble. They hear all about how the sun has shone and have not is no more. They read about the success of the ABC campaign and the endless government spending on the ever growing bureaucracy in the Tubble. And they draw their own conclusions and make their own political calculations. Hedderson's effort to deny responsibility and throw all of the blame back on the FFAW and the processors will be about as successful as Joan Burke's effort to deny responsibility for the debacle at MUN.
Back in the halcyon days of March, the Speech from the Throne boasted that the good ship Williams had navigated a bold and brilliant course to the tropical paradise of Have Status, where everyone was so happy and optimistic that they didn't need a federal government: http://orwellianspin.blogspot.com/2009/03/danspeak-90.html
But as Coleridge understood, sailors are fickle and they will turn on their captain quickly if they think they are being misled by a mariner who carelessly shoots things.
Showing posts with label Seal Hunt. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Seal Hunt. Show all posts
Friday, June 26, 2009
Thursday, June 11, 2009
ABC's of the Fishery
Further evidence on how the ABC folly continues to affect NL, via VOCM of all places:
"McCurdy says Newfoundland and Labrador is a low priority for the feds because of the successful ABC campaign. He says the province has a responsibility in federally regulated industries to play a role in helping those affected. Provincial Fisheries Minister Tom Hedderson says the market issues are not unique to the lobster fishery- all fishing sectors are seeing the crunch. He says at first blush, the monies announced don't seem to go far enough. The Minister applauded the efforts of the protestors in bringing attention to the plight of those in outport communities across the province." http://www.vocm.com/news-info.asp?id=36709
Three questions for Mr. Hedderson:
1) Why did the fishermen have to resort to a protest in order to get the government's attention?
2) Does he agree with McCurdy's view on the fallout from the ABC campaign?
3) How will Hedderson work with DFO, given that he's working for someone whose attitude toward federal-provincial relations was summed up in this remark in the House of Assembly: "If they choose not to fund us at this particular point in time we couldn’t care less, quite frankly." http://orwellianspin.blogspot.com/2009/05/kiss-backsides.html
If you agree with Wangersky's claim on Tuesday about the effectiveness of Williams' combative personal approach, watch the video feed linked to the VOCM story.
At the 1:00 minute mark, one of the fishermen brings up the issue of the ABC campaign. Listen as he clearly and concisely describes how Williams has to take responsibility for the fallout from ABC and its impact on fishermen.
"McCurdy says Newfoundland and Labrador is a low priority for the feds because of the successful ABC campaign. He says the province has a responsibility in federally regulated industries to play a role in helping those affected. Provincial Fisheries Minister Tom Hedderson says the market issues are not unique to the lobster fishery- all fishing sectors are seeing the crunch. He says at first blush, the monies announced don't seem to go far enough. The Minister applauded the efforts of the protestors in bringing attention to the plight of those in outport communities across the province." http://www.vocm.com/news-info.asp?id=36709
Three questions for Mr. Hedderson:
1) Why did the fishermen have to resort to a protest in order to get the government's attention?
2) Does he agree with McCurdy's view on the fallout from the ABC campaign?
3) How will Hedderson work with DFO, given that he's working for someone whose attitude toward federal-provincial relations was summed up in this remark in the House of Assembly: "If they choose not to fund us at this particular point in time we couldn’t care less, quite frankly." http://orwellianspin.blogspot.com/2009/05/kiss-backsides.html
If you agree with Wangersky's claim on Tuesday about the effectiveness of Williams' combative personal approach, watch the video feed linked to the VOCM story.
At the 1:00 minute mark, one of the fishermen brings up the issue of the ABC campaign. Listen as he clearly and concisely describes how Williams has to take responsibility for the fallout from ABC and its impact on fishermen.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Seal Hunt Fallout
Doug Saunders has a thoughtful piece in yesterday's Globe about how the Tories' attempt to make a big splash in Europe was derailed by the seal hunt controversy. Saunders explains how the Tory leader's strident defence of the seal hunt alienated the Europeans. He argues that the inability to compromise seriously undermined relations with European states.
According to Saunders, the unrelenting defence of the seal hunt was part of a pattern of Tory leadership that is at once idealistic and bullying. "Nor would he consider sacrificing the seal hunt," according to Saunders, "despite its negligible role in the economy, in order to gain a larger victory."
Saunders says that the Tory leader's approach is "to project and impose his strongly held" ideals. He quotes a senior EU official as complaining that the mistake “was that they didn't play the diplomatic game – they didn't do the Henry Kissinger stuff and make a big, visible sacrifice so they could get something in exchange. They just wanted to win everything.”
Who do you think Saunders was writing about?
Who do you think took a political hit because he refused to sell out the seal hunt?
The answer may surprise you: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090515.doug16/BNStory/International
According to Saunders, the unrelenting defence of the seal hunt was part of a pattern of Tory leadership that is at once idealistic and bullying. "Nor would he consider sacrificing the seal hunt," according to Saunders, "despite its negligible role in the economy, in order to gain a larger victory."
Saunders says that the Tory leader's approach is "to project and impose his strongly held" ideals. He quotes a senior EU official as complaining that the mistake “was that they didn't play the diplomatic game – they didn't do the Henry Kissinger stuff and make a big, visible sacrifice so they could get something in exchange. They just wanted to win everything.”
Who do you think Saunders was writing about?
Who do you think took a political hit because he refused to sell out the seal hunt?
The answer may surprise you: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090515.doug16/BNStory/International
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
ABC's of the Seal Hunt
Okay, I tried. I really tried. I tried to ignore the news, I tried not to read the papers, I tried to block out the ranting and roaring.
But this morning's latest, predictable outburst of populist cant about the seal hunt is just too much to bear silently.
So I posted a comment on the CBC's web site in response to their story on Williams's kangaroo comments: "So Europeans should have a good, hard look at themselves," says Premier Williams.
Europeans do not have a monopoly on hypocrisy. Williams completely burned the political bridge between St. John's and Ottawa and then launched his own foreign policy initiative to deal directly with the Europeans; now that his reckless gamble has failed, he will place responsibility on everyone but himself.
The failure of Williams's seal hunt foreign policy is part of a larger continuum whereby the ABC virus has infected every aspect of NL's public life. Anyone following Hedderson's foreign policy folly in Ottawa could see that the initiative was doomed from the outset.
Blame Ottawa, blame Liberals, blame Europeans...Williams will blame everyone but himself. I'm sure he'll even try to pin this on Manning somehow.
Williams and Hedderson fooled themselves (and tried to fool the public, too) that they could somehow change European opinion without coordinating their actions with the Government of Canada.
As bad as the EU ban is, it will be important not to burn every bridge with the Europeans. As usual, Williams is putting populist rhetoric before reasoned policy.
Williams seems to forget that there is an international jurisdictional battle over undersea resources looming with France, and Canada will need all the allies it can muster. Ranting and raving may be good for the polls, but it's not a sound basis for foreign policy. In other words, it's better to speak softly and carry a big stick than shout loudly and carry a twig.
Before the nationalist mob starts burning European books in the streets, they should stop and think about what would be the best way to fight the next foreign policy battle, not the last one. Here's the link to the CBC story: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/newfoundland-labrador/story/2009/05/06/williams-seal-hunt-506.html
I'm sure the thumbs down votes on my little comment will be in triple digits before the day is over.
It's not as if there aren't voices of reason out there. The Tely had a sensible editorial on the economic realities (as opposed to political rhetoric) of the seal hunt: http://www.thetelegram.com/index.cfm?sid=248363&sc=80
But trying to make a reasoned argument when it comes to this issue is like spitting in the wind. It was bad enough when DW had the usual arsenal of populist anger to tap into; now he has the seal hunt to whip the public into an unthinking frenzy of rage and revenge.
Lost in all the rage is reasoned policy. Lost in all the frenzy is a sensible strategy for getting the most out of a difficult situation.
Let me be clear: Yes, the Europeans are hypocrites. In fact, as any diplomat can tell you, geopolitics is full of hypocrisy and Machiavellian manipulation. As Orwellian News tried to point out, for example, Putin did not favour a seal hunt ban because he's a soft-hearted guy: http://orwellianspin.blogspot.com/2009/03/bears-seals-and-bad-omens.html
The latest debacle has links to DW's Excellent European Adventure that started in February: http://orwellianspin.blogspot.com/2009/02/dws-excellent-european-adventure.html
Now we've come full circle: the foreign policy chickens hatched by the ABC folly have now come home to roost.
Which brings us back to hypocrisy. Dangovt expects the unreserved support of Harper's government at the same time as it continues to condemn them.
Dangovt wants it both ways: they want to blame Ottawa and they want Ottawa's help.
So what do they do? Hedderson's quote in the Globe sums it up:
"Obviously the seal hunt and perhaps us as Newfoundlanders and Labradorians are not important,” said Fisheries Minister Tom Hedderson. “We joined this country in '49 and we became full Canadians. And we expect our Prime Minister to stand up for us.”
Blame Ottawa for ignoring NL; dredge up Confederation and '49; and demand that Ottawa fix something that wasn't their fault. That's foreign policy in Dangovt.
Before long, the whole thing will be sold as another Shaft, another reason to give DW more blind support in time for the next CRA polling season.
Before Long Is Here Update:
Well, that didn't take very long did it? Note the machismo language of violent revenge (with "muscle" being the Danword of the day), and the lack of thoughtfulness or reflection on the larger contexts or consequences:
http://www.vocm.com/news-info.asp?id=35988
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/newfoundland-labrador/story/2009/05/06/williams-seals-506.html
Here are the links to the original Globe and VOCM stories:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090505.wottseal0505/BNStory/politics/home http://www.vocm.com/news-info.asp?id=35967
Now, back to trying to be on hiatus.
But this morning's latest, predictable outburst of populist cant about the seal hunt is just too much to bear silently.
So I posted a comment on the CBC's web site in response to their story on Williams's kangaroo comments: "So Europeans should have a good, hard look at themselves," says Premier Williams.
Europeans do not have a monopoly on hypocrisy. Williams completely burned the political bridge between St. John's and Ottawa and then launched his own foreign policy initiative to deal directly with the Europeans; now that his reckless gamble has failed, he will place responsibility on everyone but himself.
The failure of Williams's seal hunt foreign policy is part of a larger continuum whereby the ABC virus has infected every aspect of NL's public life. Anyone following Hedderson's foreign policy folly in Ottawa could see that the initiative was doomed from the outset.
Blame Ottawa, blame Liberals, blame Europeans...Williams will blame everyone but himself. I'm sure he'll even try to pin this on Manning somehow.
Williams and Hedderson fooled themselves (and tried to fool the public, too) that they could somehow change European opinion without coordinating their actions with the Government of Canada.
As bad as the EU ban is, it will be important not to burn every bridge with the Europeans. As usual, Williams is putting populist rhetoric before reasoned policy.
Williams seems to forget that there is an international jurisdictional battle over undersea resources looming with France, and Canada will need all the allies it can muster. Ranting and raving may be good for the polls, but it's not a sound basis for foreign policy. In other words, it's better to speak softly and carry a big stick than shout loudly and carry a twig.
Before the nationalist mob starts burning European books in the streets, they should stop and think about what would be the best way to fight the next foreign policy battle, not the last one. Here's the link to the CBC story: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/newfoundland-labrador/story/2009/05/06/williams-seal-hunt-506.html
I'm sure the thumbs down votes on my little comment will be in triple digits before the day is over.
It's not as if there aren't voices of reason out there. The Tely had a sensible editorial on the economic realities (as opposed to political rhetoric) of the seal hunt: http://www.thetelegram.com/index.cfm?sid=248363&sc=80
But trying to make a reasoned argument when it comes to this issue is like spitting in the wind. It was bad enough when DW had the usual arsenal of populist anger to tap into; now he has the seal hunt to whip the public into an unthinking frenzy of rage and revenge.
Lost in all the rage is reasoned policy. Lost in all the frenzy is a sensible strategy for getting the most out of a difficult situation.
Let me be clear: Yes, the Europeans are hypocrites. In fact, as any diplomat can tell you, geopolitics is full of hypocrisy and Machiavellian manipulation. As Orwellian News tried to point out, for example, Putin did not favour a seal hunt ban because he's a soft-hearted guy: http://orwellianspin.blogspot.com/2009/03/bears-seals-and-bad-omens.html
The latest debacle has links to DW's Excellent European Adventure that started in February: http://orwellianspin.blogspot.com/2009/02/dws-excellent-european-adventure.html
Now we've come full circle: the foreign policy chickens hatched by the ABC folly have now come home to roost.
Which brings us back to hypocrisy. Dangovt expects the unreserved support of Harper's government at the same time as it continues to condemn them.
Dangovt wants it both ways: they want to blame Ottawa and they want Ottawa's help.
So what do they do? Hedderson's quote in the Globe sums it up:
"Obviously the seal hunt and perhaps us as Newfoundlanders and Labradorians are not important,” said Fisheries Minister Tom Hedderson. “We joined this country in '49 and we became full Canadians. And we expect our Prime Minister to stand up for us.”
Blame Ottawa for ignoring NL; dredge up Confederation and '49; and demand that Ottawa fix something that wasn't their fault. That's foreign policy in Dangovt.
Before long, the whole thing will be sold as another Shaft, another reason to give DW more blind support in time for the next CRA polling season.
Before Long Is Here Update:
Well, that didn't take very long did it? Note the machismo language of violent revenge (with "muscle" being the Danword of the day), and the lack of thoughtfulness or reflection on the larger contexts or consequences:
http://www.vocm.com/news-info.asp?id=35988
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/newfoundland-labrador/story/2009/05/06/williams-seals-506.html
Here are the links to the original Globe and VOCM stories:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090505.wottseal0505/BNStory/politics/home http://www.vocm.com/news-info.asp?id=35967
Now, back to trying to be on hiatus.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Foreign Minister Replaced
Dangovt has announced that Foreign Minister Hedderson has been benched.
Hedderson has been replaced by Dave Denine, who is being sent on a whirlwind trip to Ottawa to block the proposed ban on seal products by the EU: http://www.releases.gov.nl.ca/releases/2009/exec/0416n02.htm
Sources have told Orwellian News that this change may be the result of last week's negative coverage: http://orwellianspin.blogspot.com/2009/04/foreign-policy-report.html
What the news release didn't say:
1. Whether Denine can, unlike his predecessor, manage to get a meeting with the Federal Minister of Fisheries, or at least find out the location of the Federal International Trade Minister.
2. That Denine is meeting with officials from only second- and third-tier European nations. There are no meetings scheduled with any officials from France, Germany, Italy, Spain, or even Britain. Getting the Irish ambassador to say something nice about DW may make for a swell PR photo, but it's not going to change EU policy.
3. That these meetings are little more than photo-ops. With no less than 9 meetings scheduled for today and Friday (and we all know how much work gets done in Ottawa after coffee break on a Friday), there will be little time to conduct substantive discussions. By lining up a series of bilateral meetings, Denine has ensured that he will have to spend much of his time sequentially repeating Dangovt's position. Denine could have arranged trilateral meetings in cooperation with the Federal Minister of Fisheries -- alternatively, he could have tried to convene some sort of summit or group meeting -- but he's stuck with the tactic that Hedderson has already tried.
4. The Federal Government has been magically wished away, officially redacted from media advisories. No doubt it's part of a grand strategy to force the Minister of Fisheries into a meeting by ignoring her.
5. As even the media advisory admits, the whole thing is an information session. Denine's mandate is merely "to ensure that EU member states are well informed about the seal harvest and its important implications from both an economic and fisheries conservation perspective." Since European opposition to the seal fishery is based largely on ethical arguments that have little to do with economic considerations, telling European ambassadors about how the ban will adversely affect the NL economy (which DW is telling everyone is in fantastic shape) will have about as much impact as trying to shout down Tory hecklers in the House of Assembly.
6. The trip appears to signal an expansion in the mandate of the Ministry of Intergovernmental Affairs. According to their 2007-2008 report, the furthest contacts had been with the Conference of New England Governors and the South Eastern United States–Canadian Provinces’ Alliance, neither of which are bilateral forums:
http://www.exec.gov.nl.ca/exec/iga/pdf/IGAS%20Annual%20Report%2020078.pdf
For initial press coverage, see http://www.thetelegram.com/index.cfm?sid=242703&sc=79
http://www.vocm.com/news-info.asp?id=35530
Hedderson has been replaced by Dave Denine, who is being sent on a whirlwind trip to Ottawa to block the proposed ban on seal products by the EU: http://www.releases.gov.nl.ca/releases/2009/exec/0416n02.htm
Sources have told Orwellian News that this change may be the result of last week's negative coverage: http://orwellianspin.blogspot.com/2009/04/foreign-policy-report.html
What the news release didn't say:
1. Whether Denine can, unlike his predecessor, manage to get a meeting with the Federal Minister of Fisheries, or at least find out the location of the Federal International Trade Minister.
2. That Denine is meeting with officials from only second- and third-tier European nations. There are no meetings scheduled with any officials from France, Germany, Italy, Spain, or even Britain. Getting the Irish ambassador to say something nice about DW may make for a swell PR photo, but it's not going to change EU policy.
3. That these meetings are little more than photo-ops. With no less than 9 meetings scheduled for today and Friday (and we all know how much work gets done in Ottawa after coffee break on a Friday), there will be little time to conduct substantive discussions. By lining up a series of bilateral meetings, Denine has ensured that he will have to spend much of his time sequentially repeating Dangovt's position. Denine could have arranged trilateral meetings in cooperation with the Federal Minister of Fisheries -- alternatively, he could have tried to convene some sort of summit or group meeting -- but he's stuck with the tactic that Hedderson has already tried.
4. The Federal Government has been magically wished away, officially redacted from media advisories. No doubt it's part of a grand strategy to force the Minister of Fisheries into a meeting by ignoring her.
5. As even the media advisory admits, the whole thing is an information session. Denine's mandate is merely "to ensure that EU member states are well informed about the seal harvest and its important implications from both an economic and fisheries conservation perspective." Since European opposition to the seal fishery is based largely on ethical arguments that have little to do with economic considerations, telling European ambassadors about how the ban will adversely affect the NL economy (which DW is telling everyone is in fantastic shape) will have about as much impact as trying to shout down Tory hecklers in the House of Assembly.
6. The trip appears to signal an expansion in the mandate of the Ministry of Intergovernmental Affairs. According to their 2007-2008 report, the furthest contacts had been with the Conference of New England Governors and the South Eastern United States–Canadian Provinces’ Alliance, neither of which are bilateral forums:
http://www.exec.gov.nl.ca/exec/iga/pdf/IGAS%20Annual%20Report%2020078.pdf
For initial press coverage, see http://www.thetelegram.com/index.cfm?sid=242703&sc=79
http://www.vocm.com/news-info.asp?id=35530
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Foreign Policy in the Republic of Newfoundland
Orwellian News has already taken a glimpse at prospective democracy in the Republic of Newfoundland: http://orwellianspin.blogspot.com/2009/03/democracy-in-republic-of-newfoundland.html
And we've analyzed DW's Excellent European Adventure:
http://orwellianspin.blogspot.com/2009/02/dws-excellent-european-adventure.html
So to mark the 60th Anniversary of Confederation, let's take at look at what foreign policy would look like in the Republic of Newfoundland. Today's Tely offers as good a glimpse as we're going to get as long as the maple leaf flies in St. John's:
http://www.thetelegram.com/index.cfm?sid=237552&sc=79
Hedderson gets off to a good start: the Tely has him headlined as meeting with EU Allies. Sounds serious enough to me. NL has formed alliances with foreign nations and is coordinating strategy with them. "We're gathering intelligence and getting some good feel for what this is all about," he told the Tely. While the second part sounds iffy, the first part sounds like 007 territory.
NL not only has a foreign policy; it is conducting intelligence operations. And he has a fast-paced schedule that includes meetings with embassy officials from Denmark, Sweden, Lithuania, Finland and non-EU members Iceland and Norway.
While Hedderson had to concede that he failed to arrange meetings with pro-ban ambassadors, he said that they tried really hard. "We've asked, but in a couple of days, it was very, very difficult to get audiences," Hedderson said. I guess we should cut the new Foreign Minister some slack, since he did give them 48 hours, and he is in a bold and brilliant government from the most optimistic place on the entire planet. Surely the ambassadors would know how very, very busy he is going forward. So what's next?
"We're looking to talk with anyone that [sic] will talk with us, because I need to see the good, the bad and, of course, the ugly," Hedderson said. He added, "There's a big wave over there, and we're just trying to find at least some of the trickles." This must be part of the intelligence operation: tell the press that you have meetings scheduled with allies, then tell them that you're meeting with anyone who will have you over to their place. Must be part of an ingenious plot to keep everyone off-balance while the real negotiations get done in a Blue Line Cab. The big wave must be a secret code word of some sort, since it's unintelligible.
Fittingly, the Tely ends with DW: "Last week, specifically, I wrote every (EU) ambassador in Ottawa a personal letter asking them to address it, pointing out to them that it's our understanding that the EU may even have legal opinions that may prevent them from doing this, that may cause them to have some sober second thoughts."
Well then, if DW sent a personal (as opposed to impersonal) letter setting the record straight, then they will certainly be having second thoughts. What those thoughts will be is anyone's guess.
Meanwhile, Hedderson has been sighted driving back and forth across Ottawa in a Blue Line Cab, talking excitedly about the big wave.
And we've analyzed DW's Excellent European Adventure:
http://orwellianspin.blogspot.com/2009/02/dws-excellent-european-adventure.html
So to mark the 60th Anniversary of Confederation, let's take at look at what foreign policy would look like in the Republic of Newfoundland. Today's Tely offers as good a glimpse as we're going to get as long as the maple leaf flies in St. John's:
http://www.thetelegram.com/index.cfm?sid=237552&sc=79
Hedderson gets off to a good start: the Tely has him headlined as meeting with EU Allies. Sounds serious enough to me. NL has formed alliances with foreign nations and is coordinating strategy with them. "We're gathering intelligence and getting some good feel for what this is all about," he told the Tely. While the second part sounds iffy, the first part sounds like 007 territory.
NL not only has a foreign policy; it is conducting intelligence operations. And he has a fast-paced schedule that includes meetings with embassy officials from Denmark, Sweden, Lithuania, Finland and non-EU members Iceland and Norway.
While Hedderson had to concede that he failed to arrange meetings with pro-ban ambassadors, he said that they tried really hard. "We've asked, but in a couple of days, it was very, very difficult to get audiences," Hedderson said. I guess we should cut the new Foreign Minister some slack, since he did give them 48 hours, and he is in a bold and brilliant government from the most optimistic place on the entire planet. Surely the ambassadors would know how very, very busy he is going forward. So what's next?
"We're looking to talk with anyone that [sic] will talk with us, because I need to see the good, the bad and, of course, the ugly," Hedderson said. He added, "There's a big wave over there, and we're just trying to find at least some of the trickles." This must be part of the intelligence operation: tell the press that you have meetings scheduled with allies, then tell them that you're meeting with anyone who will have you over to their place. Must be part of an ingenious plot to keep everyone off-balance while the real negotiations get done in a Blue Line Cab. The big wave must be a secret code word of some sort, since it's unintelligible.
Fittingly, the Tely ends with DW: "Last week, specifically, I wrote every (EU) ambassador in Ottawa a personal letter asking them to address it, pointing out to them that it's our understanding that the EU may even have legal opinions that may prevent them from doing this, that may cause them to have some sober second thoughts."
Well then, if DW sent a personal (as opposed to impersonal) letter setting the record straight, then they will certainly be having second thoughts. What those thoughts will be is anyone's guess.
Meanwhile, Hedderson has been sighted driving back and forth across Ottawa in a Blue Line Cab, talking excitedly about the big wave.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Bears, Seals, and Bad Omens
You know it's not a good omen for the seal hunt when Vladimir Putin, of all people, wants to save the seals.
Putin showed a bizarre sense of ironic humour when he labelled the seal hunt a "bloody industry" that "should have been banned a long time ago." I guess military invasions or arms exporting don't count as bloody industries, then. On Wednesday the Russian government announced a ban on the hunting of all harp seals less than one year old.
According to the NP:
"The move came as a surprise to Thomas Hedderson, the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture in Newfoundland and Labrador, whose province is preparing for the beginning of its annual hunt. Harp seal reserves off the coast there number well more than five million and are increasing, according to Fisheries and Oceans Canada.
"I'm not as familiar with the Russian hunt as I am with our own, but they're clearly having problems we are not experiencing," he said.
"Our hunt is one of the best-managed and most-regualted [sic] industries you'll see anywhere. It's sustainable, it's viable and it's humane."
As with the naked Spanish seal hunt protestors, this latest development has nothing to do with federalism, Harper, or the never-ending ABC war. It has nothing to do with whether NL has its own foreign policy.
I'm sure some open-line caller will insist that DW could have changed Vlad's mind if DW was President of the Republic of Newfoundland rather than a mere provincial premier. But sooner or later, the politicians and public in NL are going to have to come to grips with the full international scope of the opposition to the seal hunt.
I suspect it will be later. What will happen sooner is that the whole mess will be conveniently blamed on Ottawa. What will happen sooner is that DW will use the seal hunt as a political tool, as another way to attack Harper. What will happen sooner is that the public discussion will devolve into dark tales of yet another federalist conspiracy.
It would be nice to have an open and frank discussion of the geopolitical context of the seal hunt. But I suspect I'll be cashing in my old-age cheque before that happens.
Here's the link to the NP story:
http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=1403213
P.S. And what kind of juvenile, asinine comment is this: "I don't know where he's coming from, whether it's a personal point of view or his country's view," Mr. Hedderson said. Does every cabinet minister in NL have an implant that forces them to utter such DW-style jibberish in public? God knows how they must speak behind closed doors. I guess it's never dawned on them that not all politics is personal.
Here's some geopolitics 101: Vlad is the PM. He's a shrewd politician. He has made a political calculation: the extremely small economic hit Russia will take for the ban is far outweighed by the political gain. His invasion of Georgia last summer, coupled with his natural gas power-play this winter, really pissed off the Europeans; so what better way (and what cheaper way) to curry favour with the seal-loving Europeans than to come out against the seal hunt? That's it. Got it?
Media Update:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/19/world/europe/19seal.html?ref=world
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/mar/19/seals-hunting-russia-ban
Putin showed a bizarre sense of ironic humour when he labelled the seal hunt a "bloody industry" that "should have been banned a long time ago." I guess military invasions or arms exporting don't count as bloody industries, then. On Wednesday the Russian government announced a ban on the hunting of all harp seals less than one year old.
According to the NP:
"The move came as a surprise to Thomas Hedderson, the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture in Newfoundland and Labrador, whose province is preparing for the beginning of its annual hunt. Harp seal reserves off the coast there number well more than five million and are increasing, according to Fisheries and Oceans Canada.
"I'm not as familiar with the Russian hunt as I am with our own, but they're clearly having problems we are not experiencing," he said.
"Our hunt is one of the best-managed and most-regualted [sic] industries you'll see anywhere. It's sustainable, it's viable and it's humane."
As with the naked Spanish seal hunt protestors, this latest development has nothing to do with federalism, Harper, or the never-ending ABC war. It has nothing to do with whether NL has its own foreign policy.
I'm sure some open-line caller will insist that DW could have changed Vlad's mind if DW was President of the Republic of Newfoundland rather than a mere provincial premier. But sooner or later, the politicians and public in NL are going to have to come to grips with the full international scope of the opposition to the seal hunt.
I suspect it will be later. What will happen sooner is that the whole mess will be conveniently blamed on Ottawa. What will happen sooner is that DW will use the seal hunt as a political tool, as another way to attack Harper. What will happen sooner is that the public discussion will devolve into dark tales of yet another federalist conspiracy.
It would be nice to have an open and frank discussion of the geopolitical context of the seal hunt. But I suspect I'll be cashing in my old-age cheque before that happens.
Here's the link to the NP story:
http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=1403213
P.S. And what kind of juvenile, asinine comment is this: "I don't know where he's coming from, whether it's a personal point of view or his country's view," Mr. Hedderson said. Does every cabinet minister in NL have an implant that forces them to utter such DW-style jibberish in public? God knows how they must speak behind closed doors. I guess it's never dawned on them that not all politics is personal.
Here's some geopolitics 101: Vlad is the PM. He's a shrewd politician. He has made a political calculation: the extremely small economic hit Russia will take for the ban is far outweighed by the political gain. His invasion of Georgia last summer, coupled with his natural gas power-play this winter, really pissed off the Europeans; so what better way (and what cheaper way) to curry favour with the seal-loving Europeans than to come out against the seal hunt? That's it. Got it?
Media Update:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/19/world/europe/19seal.html?ref=world
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/mar/19/seals-hunting-russia-ban
Monday, March 16, 2009
Naked Seal Hunt Protestors
The Drudge Report has posted links to a Breitbart.com story about a nudist protest in Spain against the seal hunt.
You put nudists together with one of the most popular web sites in the entire world, and you're going to generate a media feast.
Here's the link to the Breitbart story:
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=CNG.faea6ca815221f889eb08324c42f2bef.1d1&show_article=1
Here's the video link:
http://www.breitbart.tv/?p=298963
Hard to see how this is all Ottawa's fault, but I'm sure DW will find a way to blame the feds for the fact that Spaniards are taking off their clothes in public.
You put nudists together with one of the most popular web sites in the entire world, and you're going to generate a media feast.
Here's the link to the Breitbart story:
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=CNG.faea6ca815221f889eb08324c42f2bef.1d1&show_article=1
Here's the video link:
http://www.breitbart.tv/?p=298963
Hard to see how this is all Ottawa's fault, but I'm sure DW will find a way to blame the feds for the fact that Spaniards are taking off their clothes in public.
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