The federal Conservative government says it will no longer fund women's groups that do advocacy, lobbying or general research.

A department significantly hit was Canadian Heritage. The department's Status of Women Canada, an agency which promotes gender equality, stands to lose $5 million from its annual $23 million budget.

The Conservative government has announced it will no longer fund a federal program that subsidizes international promotional tours of Canadian artists.

The budget for the National Wildlife Areas, a program that protects nationally significant habitats for wildlife and birds, has been slashed from $1.9 million to zero.

Serious budget problems at Environment Canada are threatening wildlife programs and services within the federal department, freezing allotted money for some and reducing funds to nothing for others, CBC News has learned.

The Canadian arts community is reeling again after learning yesterday that the Harper government is cutting another five cultural funding programs – in addition to two dumped last week, and totalling as much $20 million – that will make it even more difficult for Canadian musicians, composers, artists and filmmakers to compete in the international marketplace.

The PEI Literacy Alliance has found out that all of its federal funding has been cut, about $100,000 of its $140,000 annual budget, effective last Monday.

Federal spending cuts jeopardize the welfare of adult Canadians with low literacy and undermine Canada’s economic future, say ABC CANADA Literacy Foundation and the Movement for Canadian Literacy, a national group representing provincial and territorial literacy coalitions and learners throughout the country.

NDP MPs condemned the Harper government today for cutting crucial summer employment funding to non-profit organizations, community groups and small local businesses across the country. Organizations began receiving notice yesterday of their ineligibility for funds to hire summer students through the new Canada Summer Jobs Program established by the Conservatives.

A total of $1 billion was cut from the federal budget, including $55.4 million from the Summer Career Placement Program, and put towards debt payment.

"Allowing and/or encouraging people to inject heroin into their veins is not harm reduction, it is the opposite ... We believe it is a form of harm addition," Clement told reporters at the WHO event, according to the Globe and Mail.

Rated: Parental Guidance (Mature Theme)
Runs: 101 minutes
Director: Sarah Gavron
Country: UK
Released: 2007
Starring: Tannishtha Chatterjee, Satish Kaushik, Christopher Simpson

“Brick Lane stems from Monica Ali's debut novel, which was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize for Fiction in 2003. Where her book follows the life of Nazneen, a Bangladeshi village girl who moves to London at age 17 for an arranged marriage to an older man, the film version chooses to focus on a single fateful year, 2001, to capture the essence of how Nazneen, now a mother of two daughters, finds her identity, her strength and her voice after years of self-sacrifice. The film has genuine warmth in its portrayal of this woman and her family and wisdom in how it subtly makes its points without resorting to melodrama.... Flashes of Nazneen's idyllic childhood in Bangladesh, playing carefree with her beloved sister, run through the film, in sharp contrast to her East London home - a grim, unlovely street named Brick Lane and a mean flat, hemmed in by too much furniture and her husband's unjustified yet boundless optimism. Nazneen has made a peace of sorts with her destiny... Letters from her younger sister back home give Nazneen a kind of parallel life. For her sister rebelled against family and ran off for true love, rejecting an arranged marriage. Then everything changes for Nazneen when the passionate Karim enters her life... He is much more assimilated into British culture, yet is angry at the racial intolerance... Hesitantly yet excitedly, Nazneen falls into an ardent affair with Karim. For a time, she and her sister no longer live such different lives. Can this love for Karim save her?... Beautifully acted and written.” - Kirk Honeycutt, The Hollywood Reporter

Advance Tickets ~ IMDB on Film ~
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WOCN31 CWHX 072100
POST-TROPICAL STORM HANNA INTERMEDIATE INFORMATION STATEMENT
ISSUED BY THE CANADIAN HURRICANE CENTRE OF ENVIRONMENT CANADA
AT 6.00 PM ADT SUNDAY 07 SEPTEMBER 2008.

THE NEXT STATEMENT WILL BE ISSUED BY 9.00 PM ADT

 AT 6.00 PM ADT... POST-TROPICAL STORM HANNA WAS LOCATED NEAR
LATITUDE 46.8 N AND LONGITUDE 60.9 W... ABOUT 50 NAUTICAL MILES
OR 95 KM NORTHWEST OF SYDNEY.

 HANNA IS MOVING TOWARDS THE EAST NORTHEAST AT 37 KNOTS... 69
KM/H. MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS ARE ESTIMATED AT 40 KNOTS... 74
KM/H AND CENTRAL PRESSURE AT 997 MB.

THE POSITION OF HANNA IS BASED ON SURFACE OBSERVATIONS.
CIRCULATION IS NOT EVIDENT ON RADAR AND THE SYSTEM IS BEGINNING
TO LOOK BAROCLINIC ON SATELLITE IMAGERY.

THE HEAVY RAINS HAVE JUST ABOUT CLEARED THE MARITIMES AND HAVE
SPREAD ACROSS WESTERN NEWFOUNDLAND. RAIN WILL CONTINUE OVER 
NEWFOUNDLAND THIS EVENING AND TAPER TO SCATTERED SHOWERS
OVERNIGHT.

IMPACTS NOTED...
THE PUBLIC AND HAVE REPORTED FLOODED ROADS AND DITCHS ACROSS
SOUTHERN NEW BRUNSWICK AND NORTHERN NOVA SCOTIA.

RAINFALL AMOUNTS...
NOTEWORTHY RAINFALL ACCUMLATIONS ASSOCIATED WITH HANNA TO 5 PM ADT
INCLUDE...
142 MM AT SAINT JOHN NEW BRUNSWICK
105 MM AT CROWE BROOK NEW BRUNSWICK
104 MM AT PARRSBORO NOVA SCOTIA
92 MM AT HARRINGTON PEI.

 PUBLIC AND MARINE INTERESTS ARE ADVISED TO MONITOR FORECASTS
AND WARNINGS ISSUED FOR THEIR REGION BY ENVIRONMENT CANADA.

END SAULNIER

David has begged for the election pool to be announced and we are happy to be the blog that provides what Canadians want. So:

• What will be the state of the House of Commons come 15 October 2008?
• Bonus question: which party leader faces his last election and why?

Do you want to identify who you plan to vote for? Sure, go ahead. I am wide open, myself. The great Canadian swing voter. I have no idea except it can't be the Bloc.

WOCN31 CWHX 071800
POST-TROPICAL STORM HANNA INFORMATION STATEMENT ISSUED BY THE 
CANADIAN HURRICANE CENTRE OF ENVIRONMENT CANADA AT 3.00 PM ADT
SUNDAY 07 SEPTEMBER 2008.

THE NEXT STATEMENT WILL BE ISSUED BY 9.00 PM ADT

 ... HANNA SOAKS PARTS OF THE MARITIMES AND NOW HEADED FOR
NEWFOUNDLAND...

1. CURRENT POSITION, STRENGTH, CENTRAL PRESSURE AND MOTION

AT 3.00 PM ADT... POST-TROPICAL STORM HANNA WAS LOCATED NEAR
LATITUDE 46.1 N AND LONGITUDE 62.9 W... ABOUT 10 NAUTICAL MILES
OR 25 KM SOUTHEAST OF CHARLOTTETOWN . MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS
ARE ESTIMATED AT 40 KNOTS... 74 KM/H... AND CENTRAL PRESSURE AT 996
MB. HANNA IS MOVING EAST NORTHEAST AT 35 KNOTS... 65 KM/H.

2. FORECAST POSITION, CENTRAL PRESSURE AND STRENGTH

DATE     TIME     LAT    LON   MSLP  MAX WIND
          ADT                    MB  KTS  KMH
SEP 07  3.00 PM  46.1N  62.9W   996   40   74 POST-TROPICAL
SEP 07  9.00 PM  47.6N  58.4W   997   40   74 POST-TROPICAL
SEP 08  3.00 AM  48.8N  53.7W   998   35   65 POST-TROPICAL
SEP 08  9.00 AM  49.7N  49.9W   998   45   83 POST-TROPICAL
SEP 08  3.00 PM  50.5N  45.9W   996   45   83 POST-TROPICAL
SEP 08  9.00 PM  51.2N  42.3W   994   50   93 POST-TROPICAL
SEP 09  3.00 AM  51.9N  38.5W   997   50   93 POST-TROPICAL
SEP 09  9.00 AM  52.3N  34.9W   988   55  102 POST-TROPICAL
SEP 09  3.00 PM  52.7N  30.7W   985   55  102 POST-TROPICAL

3. PUBLIC WEATHER IMPACTS AND WARNINGS SUMMARY POST-TROPICAL STORM
HANNA IS BRINGING PERIODS OF HEAVY RAIN
TO CAPE BRETON AND IS SPREADING INTO NEWFOUNDLAND. RAINFALL
WARNINGS ARE IN EFFECT FOR PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND NORTHEASTERN
NOVA SCOTIA AND SOUTHERN AND CENTRAL NEWFOUNDLAND. TOTAL
RAINFALLS OF 40 TO 60 MM ARE FORECAST FOR REGIONS OF
NEWFOUNDLAND AND LOCALLY HIGHER AMOUNTS ARE POSSIBLE. WINDS
GUSTING UP TO 70 KM/H CAN BE EXPECTED OVER EASTERN NOVA SCOTIA
MOSTLY NEAR THE ATLANTIC COAST.

THERE HAVE BEEN REPORTS OF LOCALIZED FLOODING ACROSS SOUTHERN
NEW BRUNSWICK AND NORTHERN NOVA SCOTIA AND NUMEROUS REPORTS OF
DOWNED TREE BRANCHES AND SOME POWER OUTAGES.

4. MARINE WEATHER IMPACTS AND WARNINGS SUMMARY
GALES ARE FORECAST OVER MARITIME AND NEWFOUNDLAND WATERS SOUTH
OF THE TRACK OF POST-TROPICAL STORM HANNA FOR THE REMAINDER OF
THE AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. GALES WILL PERSIST OVER SOUTHERN
EASTERN WATERS OF NEWFOUNDLAND ON MONDAY.
WAVE HEIGHTS ASSOCIATED WITH THESE WINDS HAVE REACHED 5 TO 6
METRES OVER WESTERN AREAS AND WILL SPREAD EASTERN TONIGHT.

5. TECHNICAL DISCUSSION

A. ANALYSIS
THE CENTRE OF HANNA IS OVER THE NORTHUMBERLAND STRAIT AND IS
WELL PLACED BY SURFACE OBSERVATIONS. HANNA HAS BEEN A TYPICAL
AND WELL BEHAVED EXTRA-TROPICAL SYSTEM. LATEST RADAR DATA
SHOWS THE BULK OF THE HEAVIEST RAIN IS LEFT OF THE STORM'S
TRACK AND THE STRONGEST WINDS HAVE BEEN OBSERVED TO THE RIGHT
OF HANNA'S TRACK.

B. PROGNOSTIC
THE GREATEST CONCERN WITH POST-TROPICAL HANNA IS RAINFALL.
COMPUTER MODELS HAVE BEEN VERY CONSISTENT WITH REGARDS TO THE
TRACK AND INTENSITY OF HANNA..WITH THE CONSENSUS TAKING THE
CENTRE OF POST-TROPICAL HANNA ALONG A PATH THROUGH THE GULF
OF ST LAWRENCE TO CLIP THE NORTHERN EDGE OF CAPE BRETON THIS
EVENING AND AND ACROSS NEWFOUNDLAND TONIGHT AND THEN MOVING
ALONG EASTERWARD WITH THE 500 MB FLOW ON MONDAY. A SHORTWAVE
TROUGH IS FORECAST TO BEGIN INTERACTING WITH THE REMNANTS OF
HANNA IN ABOUT 24 HOURS AND FORM A TRAILING BAROCLINIC STORM
OVER THE NORTH ATLANTIC.

C. PUBLIC WEATHER
SEE ABOVE.

D. MARINE WEATHER
THESE WIND RADII REPRESENT BOTH HANNA AND THE LARGE SCALE CIRCULATION 
AT THE OUTER EDGES OF THE STORM.

PREDICTED WIND RADII (NM)
TIME          GALES           STORMS            HURRICANE
         NE  SE  SW  NW    NE  SE  SW  NW    NE  SE  SW  NW
07/18Z    0 185 185   0     0   0   0   0     0   0   0   0
08/00Z    0 180 180   0     0   0   0   0     0   0   0   0
08/06Z    0 150 150   0     0   0   0   0     0   0   0   0
08/12Z   90 180 180  30     0   0   0   0     0   0   0   0
08/18Z  120 225 200  60     0   0   0   0     0   0   0   0
09/00Z  150 225 200  90     0   0   0   0     0   0   0   0
09/06Z  175 250 200 150     0   0  15   0     0   0   0   0
09/12Z  225 250 250 150     0   0  60  60     0   0   0   0
09/18Z  250 250 250 150     0   0  75  75     0   0   0   0

END SAULNIER

Peter Gzowski interviews John Candy on Morningside in 1991.

What do close advisors to Stephen Harper and George W. Bush have in common? They reflect the disturbing teachings of Leo Strauss, the German-Jewish émigré who spawned the neoconservative movement.

Strauss, who died in 1973, believed in the inherent inequality of humanity. Most people, he famously taught, are too stupid to make informed decisions about their political affairs. Elite philosophers must decide on affairs of state for us.

In Washington, Straussians exert powerful influence from within the inner circle of the White House. In Canada, they roost, for now, in the so-called Calgary School, guiding Harper in framing his election strategies. What preoccupies Straussians in both places is the question of "regime change."

Strauss defined a regime as a set of governing ideas, institutions and traditions. Is regime change possible through the electoral process? It's happening in the U.S., where the neocons are succeeding in transforming the American state from a liberal democracy into a corporatist, theocratic regime. As Canada readies for a federal election, the question must be asked: Are we next?


The Noble Lie

Strauss believed that allowing citizens to govern themselves will lead, inevitably, to terror and tyranny, as the Weimar Republic succumbed to the Nazis in the 1930s. A ruling elite of political philosophers must make those decisions because it is the only group smart enough. It must resort to deception -- Strauss's "noble lie" -- to protect citizens from themselves. The elite must hide the truth from the public by writing in code. "Using metaphors and cryptic language," philosophers communicated one message for the elite, and another message for "the unsophisticated general population."

The recent outing of star New York Times reporter Judith Miller reveals how today's neocons use the media to conceal the truth from the public. For Straussians, telling Americans that Saddam didn't have WMD's and had nothing to do with Al-Qaeda, but that we needed to take him out for geopolitical and ideological reasons you can't comprehend, was a non-starter. The people wouldn't get it. Time for a whopper.

Miller was responsible for pushing into the Times the key neocon lie that Saddam was busy stockpiling weapons of mass destruction. This deception helped build support among Americans for the invasion of Iraq. Miller was no independent journalist seeking the truth nor a victim of neocon duplicity, as she claimed. She worked closely with Lewis "Scooter" Libby, who was U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney's Chief of Staff and responsible for coordinating Iraq intelligence and communication strategy. Libby is a Straussian who studied under Paul Wolfowitz, now head of the World Bank, and before that, deputy secretary of defense, where he led the 'Invade Iraq" lobby. Wolfowitz studied under Strauss and Allan Bloom, Strauss's most famous student.

Paul Wolfowitz's teacher, Allan Bloom, and another Straussian, Walter Berns, taught at the University of Toronto during the 1970s. They left their teaching posts at Cornell University because they couldn't stomach the student radicalism of the '60s. At Toronto, they influenced an entire generation of political scientists, who fanned out to universities across the country.

Two of their students, Ted Morton and Rainer Knopff, went to the University of Calgary where they specialize in attacking the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. They claim the charter is the result of a conspiracy foisted on the Canadian people by "special interests." These nasty people are feminists, gays and lesbians, the poor, prisoners and refugee-rights groups who are advancing their own interests through the courts at the expense of the general public, these Straussians allege.

The problem with their analysis is that the special interest which makes more use of the courts to advance its interests than all these other groups combined -- business -- receives not a mention. Deception by omission is a common Straussian technique. The weak are targeted while the real culprits disappear.

Harper's mentors

Harper studied under the neocons at the University of Calgary and worked with them to craft policies for the fledgling Reform Party in the late 1980s. Together with Preston Manning, they created an oxymoron, a populist party backed by business.

When Harper threw his hat in the ring for the leadership of the Alliance, Tom Flanagan, the Calgary School's informal leader, became his closest adviser. Harper and Flanagan, whose scholarship focuses on attacking aboriginal rights, entered a four-year writing partnership and together studied the works of government-hater Friedrich Hayek. Flanagan ran the 2004 Conservative election campaign and is pulling the strings as the country readies for the election.

Strauss recommended harnessing the simplistic platitudes of populism to galvanize mass support for measures that would, in fact, restrict rights. Does the Calgary School resort to such deceitful tactics?
Political philosopher Shadia Drury is an expert on Strauss, though not a follower, believes so. Such thinking represents "a huge contempt for democracy," she told the Globe and Mail's John Ibbotson. The 2004 federal election campaign run by Flanagan was "the greatest stealth campaign we have ever seen," she said, "run by radical populists hiding behind the cloak of rhetorical moderation."

A network is already in place to assist Harper in foisting his radical agenda on the Canadian people.

In 2003, he delivered an important address to a group called Civitas. This secretive organization, which has no web site and leaves little paper or electronic trail, is a network of Canadian neoconservative and libertarian academics, politicians, journalists and think tank propagandists.

Harper's adviser Tom Flanagan is an active member. Conservative MP Jason Kenney is a member, as are Brian Lee Crowley, head of the Atlantic Institute for Market Studies and Michel Kelly-Gagnon of the Montreal Economic Institute, the second and third most important right-wing think tanks after the Fraser Institute.

Civitas is top-heavy with journalists to promote the cause. Lorne Gunter of the National Post is president. Members include Janet Jackson (Calgary Sun) and Danielle Smith (Calgary Herald). Journalists Colby Cosh, William Watson and Andrew Coyne (all National Post) have made presentations to Civitas.

The speech Harper gave to Civitas was the source of the charge made by the Liberals during the 2004 election -- sure to be revived in the next election -- that Harper has a scary, secret agenda. Harper urged a return to social conservatism and social values, to change gears from neocon to theocon, in The Report's Ted Byfield's apt but worrisome phrase, echoing visions of a future not unlike that painted in Margaret Atwood's dystopian work, A Handmaid's Tale.

The state should take a more activist role in policing social norms and values, Harper told the assembled conservatives. To achieve this goal, social and economic conservatives must reunite as they have in the U.S., where evangelical Christians and business rule in an unholy alliance. Red Tories must be jettisoned from the party, he said, and alliances forged with ethnic and immigrant communities who currently vote Liberal but espouse traditional family values. This was the successful strategy counselled by the neocons under Ronald Reagan to pull conservative Democrats into the Republican tent.

Movement towards the goal must be "incremental," he said, so the public won't be spooked.

Regime change, one step at a time.