Modeling Journey

RR: Summer is almost over ...

summer is almost over, as can be easily read from the calendar. Yesterday I heard the first people who talked about the fact that Christmas is soon (? Hää calendar by which you live for: confused:) Well, in the choir we have a few years ago about this time around even with the first Christmas Sheet Music had started today, the maestro is so that we make two trips a year because the Christmas concerts ever come too short.

So in retrospect: My summer was cool even if what I was expecting has not occurred, but when it will occur even ever.? only in this way on the edge ... However - my summer was definitely cool. Cambridge was so amazing I'm really not, that there may be an increase of it. My God, how long has it been since I've durchgesungen with such great people love the night? I do such a great normal happy family with great sound and wise normal happy children have seen? Not only constantly Kaputtos from work. I hope Em is looking forward for a long time in my drawing. Since it also has identified not so much that I've forgotten my art folder. About Slovenia

I've had so much stress before the trip that it could only be better. My friends are not easy, but so tense that I'm going on holiday was new to me. Well, it was in effect only half as bad and it was really relaxing, I did one evening when I rebelled again, even what actually made of creative work. Must extend a holiday. And I also - wait for it - even gotten a little tan, just enough to notice it:-D But of course I am always a real paleface.

sorry is just that I have to say lately more and more how much I am Abi-the friends of my time already outgrown. Am I condemned every five to eight years to expand my circle of life and to see that I have developed over the interests and beliefs once? Especially where I so new people have problems with it get close to me to make real contacts? And you throw away his friends simply because you suddenly hardly common interests - which has a value to such a friendship? There is a band through thick and thin, and shared interests are only one aspect of it. to terminate one reason the friendship is only when I notice that my friends have become people I would never suffer, no matter how much I continue to develop myself, namely, bossy unteachable strunz stupid bitch, make it a habit to other people advantage to lie and cheat and not even before their oh-so-good friends stop off. But there is now a third or fourth generation in my friendship (and I mean certainly not very old age - I've never had a problem with it, much younger or much older to accept people as long as they have the same enthusiasm and the same light in their eyes for our common interests.

But when I got back from Slovenia, was in my mailbox a bad letter from the court and my mood was so corrupt that I have almost forgotten that there was the rehearsal weekend with the Middle Earth choir too. I 'm very happy that I had remembered in time (and especially that my back pain have finally subsided long enough for packing suitcases).

There are many things you could say about Lord of the Rings and many of my many new interests I am indebted to the film, but I never thought that I would ever say - I have to thank for this film that I am the very first experience once with a group of total strangers, the most relaxed and happiest weekend of my life would be. I know myself and I have collected enough of experience as a newbie to know that you as a newbie ALWAYS approach is difficult in an already consolidated group, ALWAYS first is a not necessarily short time an outsider and the insider-jokes do not understand and happiness can talk when they arise in a weekend full of women, not least two new blood feuds. ALWAYS? No. I tried to watch what I say and what I do. But in the end I needed so very little care. I have never once felt ostracized. I have made new friends (and men who can use the moment I really good. I feel like I'm currently stuck on a treadmill, there are always the same stories that are chewed thirty times. Man, my friends will, but coming of age! At 26 life is not all guys and the question he has dredged it or not There are so many other things in life!)

Well, now the reality me again. What to do, what to do? I just hope very much that I have finally implemented sometime soon my corrections in the first chapter of "two houses" and ready to type in the second chapter, so that I can make at least publicly. It is about time that I saw the first results of my brain turns somewhere publish both my drawings and my scribblings. The things gathering dust for long enough in any private folders and docs, my wallflower attitude in this respect is not really appropriate. They are mature enough for initial critiques.

I am definitely in favour of the proposed Mixed Member Proportional system for Ontario, and would love to see it implemented in every province and for federal elections as well.

The proposed MMP system is substantially more democratic than the antiquated first past the post system we currently have.

The citizens of Ontario considered the existing system and opted for the MMP, and for good reason.

The MMP combines, in an elegant manner, representation of geographic units, as well as specific individuals.

The MMP will give 'voteless' citizens a vote, unlike the current system, which has resulted in massive majorities for minority parties. This system debases the value of votes, as shown by the totally distorted results in Alberta.

Parliaments elected using the MMP system will far better reflect the true intentions of the voters, with a much wider spectrum of views gaining representation.

The fact that the MMP system proposed does not lay out rules for the names on the individual list being chosen is not a negative at all. In fact, it allows individual parties to decide on their own criteria, and voters will be better served by this happening. If you feel that the Liberals are not doing enough to ensure that women are represented in Parliament, and their list continues this trend, but the Tories, for example, are, you can cast your vote accordingly. Only those who fear the power of the ordinary voter should be running scared of this wonderful grassroots democratic option.

The opponents of the MMP have to date failed dismally to provide substantive reasons for not supporting the system. You cannot have it both ways: Ontario has a chance to strike a blow for a better democracy; the option of staying with the current first past the post system is a far worse result.

So the Cat calls on all true liberals to vote and work to support the passage of the PPM system in Ontario. Let's not fear the advance of democracy; let us rather step into the vanguard, and help it along!

European political elites in the EU countries are showing a willingness to deceive their voters, which, by any measure, is stunningly anti-democratic. Showing the same wisdom which the royal families did in earlier centuries, before revolts toppled them from power and parted some from their heads, political leaders in many countries are on record as recommending policies of overt deceit, designed to achieve through the backdoor what they could not achieve through the front door.

And the British government under George Brown seems intent to collude with these elites, by denying Britons the right to vote on the changes proposed for the EU.

The background to the issue is summarized very well in http://www.openeurope.org.uk/
There is also very good commentary by an astute blogger at http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/markmardell/

What is the issue? Simply this: the proposed EU constitutional treaty perished when voters in France and the Netherlands voted No in referenda.

The political elite refused to accept the verdict of the citizens of those two countries, and set out on a deliberate course to deceive their citizens by avoiding any referendum, and by using techniques which would make Machiavelli shake his head with admiration. This collective exercise in defrauding the public would, if it was about a commercial matter, and took place in the USA, probably land the politicians in court on charges under the Racketeering Act.

What is now being attempted? A new European Union Treaty, which is essentially the same as the Constitutional Treaty which was defeated.

Why are the politicians trying to sneak the same treaty back in, without leveling with their citizens? Probably because of their contempt for the common voters in their countries.

A few quotations will illustrate the depth of this contempt"

"Professor Steve Peers, EU law specialist, summarises the situation: “The different structure of the Reform Treaty (ie amendments to the current EC and EU Treaties) as compared to the Constitutional Treaty means that the two treaties will look quite different. However, the content, as proposed in the draft mandate is largely the same.”"

"These mechanisms would mean that the new Constitutional Treaty could be incrementally changed. In comparison the process under the current treaties has meant that changes in the Single European Act, and the Maastricht, Amsterdam and Nice treaties have been ‘package deals’, introducing many changes at once, which attracted public interest and sparked debate. The mechanisms set out in the Constitution which would allow it to be gradually altered would be likely to reduce the level of scrutiny of future changes – in theory its adoption could be the last opportunity to call for a referendum."

“The substance of the constitution is preserved. That is a fact.”
(Angela Merkel, German Chancellor, Telegraph, 29 June 2007)

“Only cosmetic changes have been made and the basic document remains the same.” (Vaclav Klaus, Czech President, Guardian, 13 June 2007)


“There’s nothing from the original institutional package that has been changed.” (Astrid Thors, Finnish Europe Minister, TV-Nytt, 23 June 2007)

“The good thing is...that all the symbolic elements are gone, and that which really matters – the core – is left.” (Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Danish PM, Jyllands-Posten, 25 June 2007)

“It’s essentially the same proposal as the old Constitution.” (Margot Wallstrom, EU Commissioner, Svenska Dagbladet, 26 June 2007)

“The constitutional treaty has been abandoned.” (David Miliband, Foreign Secretary, Hansard, 3 July 2007) - Huh?

"Giscard d’Estaing has also argued that: “It is not France that has said no. It is 55
percent of the French people.” (FT, 23 May 2006)"

"Even before the referendums Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker said: “If it's a Yes, we will say ‘on we go’, and if it's a No we will say ‘we continue.” (Telegraph, 26 May 2005) As Juncker previously noted, this is the way the EU has worked in the past. He said: “we decide on something, we leave it lying around and wait and see what happens. If no one kicks up a fuss, because most people don’t know what has been decided, we continue step by step until there is no turning back.” (Economist, 24 September 2004)"

"For example, a leaked letter from Angela Merkel to other EU leaders proposed that: “The consolidated approach of part one of the constitutional treaty is preserved with the necessary presentational changes.” She proposed “To use different terminology without changing the legal substance” and to “Replace the full text of the Charter of Fundamental Rights by a short cross reference having the same legal value.” Another letter from Merkel summarising their recent discussions noted that: “A certain number of Member States underlined the importance of avoiding the impression which might be given by the symbolism and the title 'Constitution' that the nature of the Union is undergoing radical change.”"

"Giuliano Amato, the Italian Interior Minister and Vice-Chairman of the European Convention which drafted the Constitution, has argued that EU leaders should “change the name, but not the substance” of the EU Constitution in the new text. He joked that “the good thing about not calling it a Constitution is that no one can ask for a referendum on it!” (Speech at the London School of Economics, 21 February 2007)"

"“Public opinion will be led to adopt, without knowing it, the proposals that we dare not present to them directly.” 34 “All the earlier proposals will be in the new text, but will be hidden and disguised in some way.” 35 "What was [already] difficult to understand will become utterly incomprehensible, but the substance has been retained… Why not have a single text? The only reason is that this would look too much like the constitutional treaty. Making cosmetic changes would make the text more easy to swallow." – Giscard d’Estaing, Author of the European Constitution"


"“Britain is different. Of course there will be transfers of sovereignty. But would I be intelligent to draw the attention of public opinion to this fact?” – Jean Claude Juncker, Prime Minister of Luxembourg"

So, there appears to be a concerted effort to make significant changes in the powers of the EU, impacting member states in important ways, in a manner which is deliberately chosen so as to avoid any recourse to input from the citizens....

These politicians make George Bush's attacks on America's Constitution look like child's play.

The Cat is of the view that there is no way that George Brown can sign this treaty without running the risk of losing substantial votes in the next election. Why? Because avoiding discussing the issues, and obtaining input from the voters, is dishonest, and British voters will punish any Prime Minister who tries to deceive them very harshly.

The next few months should be very interesting.

began Pötterdammerung ...

I fell in love with the expression Pötterdämmerung over at the Restricted Section's forum the first time I read it. It describes July 2007 just perfectly. Now, mind you, I still haven't seen the movie, but only because I have to organise several birthday parties at once - for my family, my friends and my collegues. And it really have to be three different thingies. Oh well, let's quiz again before the Doom starts.

I like Hagrid. And I am perfectly satisfied to be just Hagrid. He sounds like a really likeable person and he has some deep inner warmth and loyalty (*sigh* even if the person he is loyal to is not really the best). At least I am not some stupid assuming haphazard child after whom the book is named *hinthint*


Find out your Harry Potter personality at LiquidGeneration!

It should be very clear by now that Harper has suckered the two premiers over the equalization formula. Harper is probably technically right when he says the agreement was not breached. The premiers are being offered two choices: the 'new deal' from the 'new' Tories, which has a cap, or stick with the old deal.

However, it is also clear that anyone dealing with this Prime Minister needs to pay very careful attention to what he says, and what he does not say. Harper is becoming rather famous (should that be 'notorious'?) for being very precise with words. If you want to understand this man, you have to understand what he is NOT saying as much as what he is saying. Harper believes that if he did not say exactly the thing you think he said, then he has not mislead you. If you somehow get swept up by the tone, or the excitement of the moment, of headlines which overstate what he says, tough. He won't correct your incorrect assumptions; after all, did HE say it? If not, game over.

What this means for every politician (lissen up, Jack Layton, lissen up, the Bloc, lissen up, every Premier, lissen up, EU governments, lissen up, Canadian voters) is that if you wish to deal with the Prime Minister of these 'new' Tories, you had better bring your lawyer to each meeting, get it in writing, and be ready to sue him if be does indeed breach it.

You have been warned.

This is not good news for the Liberal Party. In her column on June 12, headed 'Sputtering Conservative machine needs a summer tune-up', Barbara Yaffe has this to say about the Liberal Party:

"And its main opposition, the Liberals, have installed a leader in Stephane Dion who so far has failed to impress. Moreover, the party has not advanced a coherent policy platform to lure voters from the government."

The Cat agrees with her comment on the lack of a coherent policy.

At a time when the Harper 'new' government has run out of new ideas he is willing to table with the voters, when Harper is showing an arrogant tone-deafness to people's concerns, when the Tories are relying on sound and sight bytes instead of policies, when Harper is childishly asking the premier of a province to 'take it outside', when the Tories have tried sleight of hand instead of honesty with regards to the environmental concerns of Canadians and the world, and when the Liberals have had six months to work out the kinks of a new leadership team, the comments of Yaffe and others on the lack of a persuasive program of policies for voters to give serious consideration, are serious, and warrant examination and action.

How about it, Liberal leaders? Time to start leading?

The Cat thinks so.

Pinch me. Our prime minister is wandering around Europe, intent on trashing the Kyoto Protocol at the request of Bush, and he claims that many of the major leaders in Europe are in agreement with him?

His attempt to distort reality is embarrassing for Canadians. There was a time when Canadian Prime Ministers had some influence in the corridors of power, arising from the decency of the country. Harper seems bent on trying to change that.

How on earth can this man think that he can deceive people into believing for one moment that his dismal, Luddite-like climate change policies deserve to be viewed by Europe as an example of where they should go?

Get real, Prime Minister. The Europeans have addressed the science, have concluded that the earth is indeed in danger, have decided that steps have to be taken to reduce emissions, including mandatory caps on emissions and a massive rollback of pollution, using 1990 as the baseline.

Harper's sorry sham policy does not in the least stand up against the Kyoto policy of the EU.

Please stop embarrassing Canadians, Mr. Prime Minister. Just keep quiet and come home.