Another idea goes down well in the Dutch Oven

Councillor, I have to look good now, Bob Spooner, finally has done some thing productive. He has put his name on a story about how the local YMCA can really become the recreation department of the Town and get paid for it. The NNews in its lead story, tells of a salivating Kyle barber, the CEO of the YMCA, talking about the Y and the Town becoming partners in the proposed Community Centre. Just how productive this idea is depends on your perspective of public/private partnerships. But look at it from the Ys perspective, get a brand new building paid for by the public and then get paid to administer recreation! Look at it from BS's perspective, after finally having been woken up in Council by his "Yea/Nay" moment he has been ostensibly encouraged by his very own focus group - the Dutch Oven dead white men, to support such an idea. After all what politician wouldn't. They get all the hard work done for them by the Y and all they have to do is to shovel over taxpayers' money to let the Y run it. How the taxpayers are going to react to this will be interesting. There are some who think that the YMCA walks on water and there are others who regularly complain about everything the Y does. From the swimming pool water being too cold (that's why some people prefer to go to Port hope) to the perceived high (for some) membership fees. It will be intriguing to see how the partners balance the public/private ownership/administration but let's look at the way the Town owns the present building and the consequential bickering about the amount of money needed for the upkeep that the Town has to provide as an example of future discussions. The Town has never played hardball in its negotiations and the Y usually gets what it needs. Just look for more of the same but expect the amount of money that taxpayers have to pay for recreation to get much bigger. Personally if I have to pay more money i want more shares! And as John Draper has said before, "Why can't we just have a $2 million dollar Seniors centre?" We will be getting a $50 million dollar complex if the Y comes in and adds an aquatic centre.

Remember the posts about newspapers last week? Well here is another look. It comes from David Sirota who is the best-selling author of the books “Hostile Takeover” (2006) and “The Uprising” (2008). He is a fellow at the Campaign for America’s Future. Find his blog at OpenLeft.com or e-mail him at ds@davidsirota.com. He argues that the woes of the news industry are self-inflicted.

Ok now the time for the bean counters

In this story, which will be used to beat the opponents over the head, Mayor Delanty gloats about the success, in his mind, of the frink. What should happen now is a back of the envelope accounting of the total costs of the operation since its introduction. Some how i doubt we will see one!

The truth will out!

We don't know all the details of the timelines that govern the "Galloway" issue but they are emerging daily. Kady O'Malley, here, of the Globe & Mail, has been detailing the machinations of the issue as it happens hourly on Parliament hill. Now we find that the Jewish Defense League has claimed credit for the ban here in the TO Star. The question now is how many more of the jewish organisations in the Country will now also claim credit. If they do surely the people who denied that the "Jewish Lobby" exists will reexamine their positions!

Now for the Ontario Budget. Harmonization of the GST and the PST is the biggie. But wait we are going to be bribed with our own money - we will get $1,000 per household (under $160,000) to accept the HST. So the whiners will be out on this one, especially the Real Estate industry.

Advise to the mayor

When the Mayor of Cobourg replaces his stolen bike read about it here it is recommended that he take precautions to secure his replacement.
Just like this one:

The BBC says that the Jewish Defense league asked for the Galloway ban

This video (10 minutes long) covers the Galloway issue from the British side.

As usual Jason Kenney is blaming the Canadian Border Security Agency, once again begging the question who tipped off the CBSC about the visit of a UK citizen that requires no visa or advance permission.

Not much this Monday morning

CobourgBlog has a very interesting opinion about the Community centre study and wonders if it may not subjective rather than objective because it relies so much on a minuscule response to a survey. A good point. But Cobourg Council has a peculiar bent to it. They decide on what they want (usually a position impressed upon them by special interests) and then they go for it. The CB brings up a good point about the numbers game, if 2,000 people on a petition wasn't representative in the frink debate then how can 300 drive a $30 million dollar project? But don't forget these people (Mayor et al) have a history of using phony figures. The Harbourfront has been converted into a playground for the affluent because the Mayor pushed through his vision of "greenspace" based on that concocted survey, Oh Brocanier was fond of quoting it too.

So Iggy wants to do something with EI. A goodplace to start would be to undo the changes that the Libs implemented in the 90s. This story explains that changing EI is a "Priority". "People are shedding jobs like crazy," Mr. Ignatieff said on CTV's Question Period. "We've got to have a government that steps in and says 'Let's put some floor under this. Let's give people an employment insurance system that allows them to get training for new jobs.' "
Question for Iggy. How do you train the older worker with limited education. Talking to a service worker this week about this very issue she told me there is not much for those folk, factory workers with long-term attachments - in the system. besides training for what. Does anybody know what jobs are going to be needed in the next fifteen years? We don't have a national jobs inventory or a succession planning policy. besides does anybody share my scepticism about the need for wholesale post-secondary education. The only use for a degree these days is to be used as a screening device to reduce the number of applicants for any vacant job!

Randy Hillier (who's he?) may want to be the top dog PC. Randy Hillier a person that scares the living crap out of the Toronto pundits is mulling a run at the vacant PC leadership position. Bring it on! All it will do is widen the political spectrum to its natural environment in a three party Legislature. PC on the right, Dalton on the centre-right and the Dippers on the left. A good pole position for the next election.

Monday evening the Cobourg Council will move to establish the D'Arcy St. location for the Community Centre. This is the last piece of the puzzle that needs to fall into place for the application for "stimulus (shovel-ready) funding". This $30 million dollar plus project is going to be sold to us as the biggest bargoon of the Century and as taxpayers we would be foolish to speak against it. Hey it's a gift from the recession gods. 33 cent dollars falling from the sky. Never mind the questions: why pay for the lawn Bowling Club to be there, how much will it cost to compensate the Cobourg Soccer Club for its lost pitches, why no swimming pool when there is demonstrated demand, etc? We will be informed in due course and asked for a stamp of approval and you can all be present at the opening of the Peter Delanty Community Centre at about the time of October 2010 (next election campaign and woe betide any candidate that doesn't support the magnificance!).

When has this guy won?

Peter McKay has lost again. This guy gives losers a good name - he keeps on going just like the Duracell Bunny. First the PC leadership, then Belinda's heart and now the post of head of NATO. Last week's shoo-in lasted as long as the US was on his side and that's not long. A story here tells of the US shifting positions. Poor Peter.

First point to George

Here is the story of George Galloway from the UK. GG writing in the Guardian says some colourful things about Jason Kenney. He also says that the ban be will challenged in the courts. We will follow this one.

I love the words being used in this dispute firstly Kenney's spokesman Alykhan Velshi (the xenophobes would have a field day with that name) said, 'We're going to uphold the law, not give special treatment to this infandous (*'infandous: too odious to be expressed or mentioned) street-corner Cromwell who actually brags about giving 'financial support' to Hamas, a terrorist organisation banned in Canada. I'm sure Galloway has a large Rolodex of friends in regimes elsewhere in the world willing to roll out the red carpet for him. Canada, however, won't be one of them.'

It should be noted that the financial support given to Hamas was humanitarian aid.

Then the response from Galloway, "Kenney is quite a card. A quick trawl establishes he's a gay-baiter, gung-ho armchair warrior, with an odd habit of exceeding his immigration brief. Three years ago he attacked the pro-western Lebanese prime minister, Fuad Siniora, for being ungrateful to Canada for its support of Israeli bombardment of his country. Most curiously of all, in 2006 he addressed a rally of the so-called People's Mujahideen of Iran, a Waco-style cult, banned in the European Union as a terrorist organisation. On one level being banned by such a man is like being told to sit up straight by the hunchback of Notre Dame or being lectured on due diligence by Conrad Black."

The war of words can only get more florid and entertaining to lovers of prose!

People who don't like Arabs should not apply

I have kept very quiet about the influence of the Israeli lobby - Bnai Brith, JDL and the Canadian Jewish Congress. Allowing people to voice their opinions about Mid-Eastern affirs is not a matter of taking sides. That is why the BurdReport is apalled by this decision - to bar George Galloway from speaking in Canada. It is obvious to me that this federal Government is taking sides and not only taking sides but doing it with gusto. Jews in, Palestinians out. This story in the Star is only going to get louder.

Who has this guy POd

Local businessman Dave Tredree tried to get a rezoning amendment through Hamilton Twp council and failed again. DT owns a patch of land on Hwy 45 just north of the ramp, a great big piece of open dirt space. He has spent the last few years trucking in and levelling dirt from 401 remodels. He intends to make the land drainable and useable. But he has been stymied in every way by neighbours. Last night was no exception. He asked for permission to park U-Haul trucks on the larg site. But neighbours fearing "grow-ops" (really read about it here) asked to be heard and asked Council to refuse the rezoning. Council agreed and now DT has to keep his land, his money and hopes for further development on hold. Of course Hamilton Twp doesn't put the taxes down. But this decision will probably cost the Twp as it will enevitably end up at the OMB. I can't wait for the application to build a Holiday Inn to come in.