Canadian Musings

Having watched most of today's proceedings, and currently watching a replay on CPAC, I must say that I was impressed overall with how the meeting went, and (as described before) most impressed with the Nominee.

Regarding the process, I would suggest that questions about specific cases are inappropriate, largely because it isn't the right forum to second-guess or defend any judgements issued. Similarly, asking specific opinions about hypothetical future cases would be inappropriate, since not all of the facts of a case can be enumerated in such an environment.

Not so much that the questions cannot be asked, but rather that the answers to them must not suggest that a case is being supplemented outside the justice system, or that a predisposition is formed to particular cases that might appear before the Supreme Court.

What is entirely appropriate would be questions about the process a judge goes through in reaching their decisions. The general basis on which rulings are made.

And we heard much of that today. We now understand that we cannot fairly describe this nominee as a strict literalist, and it would be wrong to describe him as an activist. He tends to view precedent and stability (or predictability) as important considerations, and would not tend to create new law.

The Bloc would have liked to learn his views on the founding of Canada (which I hadn't heard before): whether it was an agreement between nations, or an Act of the English Parliament. In my own view, it is clear that Canada was formed by an Act of England, but the suggestion that this might not be commonly accepted in Quebec is an interesting one.

I might also have been interested in learning his views on whether the Charter is complete and alterations would be up to Parliament through its stated amending formula, or whether the Charter is a living document and that the Courts should "read-in" new rights as society develops. I suspect I know what his answer might be, but that's why it would be interesting: it's his opinion, not mine, that matters.

He did, of course, answer the question of adding "poverty" to the Human Rights Act would be a question for Parliament to address, and (while not directly saying so) did not suggest this was a role for the Courts.

In all, Justice Rothstein demonstrated a balanced, nuanced, and sophisticated approach to law. Much as one might expect.

The exercise would be to wonder how his answers would compare to similar questions posed to, say, Justice Abella.

Today saw an historic first in Canada, with a committee meeting of Members of Parliament putting questions to a nominee for the Supreme Court.

And the Left embarassed themselves with their arrogance.

Joe Comartin, NDP MP, claimed that we learned nothing from the answers. Absolutely untrue. I learned a lot about Justice Rothstein's thought processes, and approach to the law.

Comartin suggested that other candidates might not respect the boundaries of what is appropriate and not appropriate to answer. But if a nominee doesn't know what those boundaries are, they absolutely should not be appointed to the bench.

Sue Barnes, Liberal MP, put her party in the same bed with the NDP in her comments about the process.

It was also suggested, perversely by politicians, that a reporter might do a better job of asking questions than politicians can. If a politician asks an inappropriate question, they won't get an answer, and they will further suffer politically by their behaviour.

Shame on these MPs. And congratulations to those who asked interesting, useful, and probing questions.

I am satisfied in the excellence of this candidate, and very disappointed in the MPs on the left.

The Canadian Olympic Committee have been sloganeering "Own the Podium". But their methods are not showing the best of sporting behaviour.

Canada sent 196 athletes to Turin for the current games. Only the United States, at ten times the population and with just as deep a commitment to winter sports, sent more (211).

Other countries, known for their winter sports, sent much smaller teams. Countries with much larger populations sent much smaller teams.

Own the podium? Sure, if you've sent so many athletes that the rest of the world is squeezed out. I'm proud of Canada's athletes, but I'm ashamed of Canada's Olympic Committee.

The term "multimedia" is widely used to refer to audio, video, and possibly print media used in conjunction with each other.

But with major sporting events such as the Olympics, there's even more available, and of interest to different audiences.

There's going to be a "produced" a/v stream, such as the national broadcast of whatever sports the producer chooses, including highlights, commentary, and selected camera angles.

But we live in a multicultural society. why can't someone take a more basic video feed, and combine it with their selected audio feed, such as the commentary for their own national broadcast, or at least a commentary in their own language.

Or you could combine your own video feed and multiple selected audio feeds, such as you might while watching a Nascar race (listening to in-car audio, and perhaps less of the production commentary).

It's time.

There seems to be so much stupidity around these days that it's hard to find something actually important enough to comment about without going ravers.

Today's choice is the lastest opposition by Democrats and a few stupid Republicans in the U.S. Congress against a corporate takeover by a company based in Dubai of a company based in Britain which was running a few U.S. ports.

As if it'll be a corporate policy to undermine the corporate grounds. As if a foreigner is somehow less capable of running the port than is an American.

Sure, national security interests should be run by committed nationals who have passed the appropriate security screenings. And no matter who runs the ports, it's still the U.S. Federal Government running security at the ports (and underfunded, but that's a whole 'nother beef).

Foreigners have been running ports, and airports, within the U.S. for a long time now. The British Airports Authority (BAA) have done a good job running Indianapolis airport. There's no reason to believe others, who have corportate best interests in mind, would do any less.

In the bleak midwinter.

We're starting to see a bit more sunshine. But it's still on the chilly side, encouraging hibernation.

For myself, hibernation seems natural: I'm hairy enough, a bit overweight, and have been known to growl on occasion.

Just a few more weeks and the spring thaw should be underway. I've been looking forward to it for months.

"It's snowing still. And freezing. However, we haven't had an earthquake lately."
-- Eeyore, The House at Pooh Corner

Recent reality television shows have brought us such wonders as Dancing With The Stars and more recently Skating With The Stars.

Is it time for a Canadian answer to these audience-grabbers? Is it time for Curling With The Stars?

I'm pretty certain that some ages ago I posted my silly little chili recipe. But I'm too lazy to check.

Today, I'm updating that recipe - particularly to replace the traditional ground beef with beef cubes, and ensure simmering long enough to tenderize those cubes into tender little chunks.

2 lb beef cubes (not ground)
Brown on minimum heat, for about 1/2 hour, stirring every 10 minutes or so.

Add 2x28 oz cans of skinned tomatoes
Add 2x14 oz cans of red kidney beans
Add 2x10 oz cans of "pieces and stems" mushrooms

Add garlic (fresh or powder); about 1/2 tsp.
Add chili powder (about 1/2 to 1 tsp)
Add chili peppers (like you might use as a pizza freshener)
Chop and add 4 onions

Add 1 tsp of "Dave's Insanity" sauce, or less - for a hard "kick"

Bring to a boil, then simmer on minimum heat for 4-5 hours. Stir about every 10 minutess to avoid any burning on the bottom of the pan.

Congratulations to the Pittsburgh Steelers for a hard-fought Superbowl win. And to the officiating crew, for what can only be described as a job well done in tough circumstances: while a couple calls could be considered controversial, the replays did not suggest that they were the ones who determined the outcome over the players on the field.

The biggest failure, for which the crew cannot be faulted, is a missed delay-of-game call against Pittsburgh: while the team was granted a timeout called too late, it would be hard to argue that the call changed the outcome of the game.

Bigger calls, such as whether Rothlisburger broke the plane of the goal line, or Seattle's disallowed touchdown (on a simultaneous penalty), are well supported by the video evidence. I believe the officiating crew got both calls correct.

In bigger news, the Budweiser ads were pretty good, and for the first time in my memory Canada-only ads weren't bad: the Bell Canada "beaver" ads ("FrankAndGordon.ca", with Norm MacDonald) were pretty funny, and are not yet annoying. Congrats to Bell, too, in their support of Canada's Olympic athletes!

Ages ago, I posted my recipe for "lazy-man's pizza" (bread, spaghetti sauce, cheese, toppings).

Tonight, I'll update that one: tortilla bread, spaghetti sauce, shredded cheese (cheddar + mozarella), sliced olives, pepperoni, or other toppings. Microwave until the cheese has melted. Slice and Enjoy!

Tonight, Friday February 5 marks the fifth "Referendum of Light" to honour the memories of the four RCMP officers murdered eleven months ago at Mayerthorpe Alberta, and to mark the commitment of Canadians to changes in the Justice system in Canada.

The families of the slain encourage everyone to turn on a light - a porch light, a garage light, a livingroom light, between 8 and 10pm local time.

Additionally, look for a new song, "Heroes", from Keith Myrol (the father of slain officer Brock Myrol), which is expected to come out some time around the one-year anniversary of the deaths of the four officers.

Let us not forget those who serve on our behalf.

Folks will recall the radio blaring the same lines every morning for what seemed an eternity in the movie "Groundhog Day".

Today, without a hint of that movie returning to the airwaves, we celebrate the Second of February.

And as the saying goes (until someone in the media decided to change it): if the groundhog sees his shadow we've got six more weeks of winter; if he doesn't, it's a month and a half 'till spring.

Somehow Wiarton Willie means a bit more to me after having stayed at the "Wiarton Willie" Hotel a number of years back.

Update: As we come up to Feb 3rd, we find CMT airing the movie. And I didn't get the quote exactly right. Oh well.