NICK CAVE " SHIPS SONG " & PM HARPER A BUSH CLONE ?

Anyway to start your week here is a beautiful & touching song THE SHIP'S SONG by nick Cave & his somewhat negative comments about the video but judge it for yourself...




So I got on the subject of Stephen Harper & whether or not he is a true Neocon so here a couple of bits from CBC's " THE HOUR " with George Stroumboulopoulos which illustrate how much Harper -in my humble opinion- sounds like a clone of President Bush :



On terrorism & patriotism & our values



To me the thing about this is that it sounds a bit odd coming from someone who does not really believe in Canada's values ie diversity & an open society & tolerance & compassion for the weak & the poor & equal rights & equality of opportunity for all & not just for an elite ...who split the spoils among themselves...

And it is quite a stretch to claim that Conservatives who are in power are somehow being treated unfairly or are somehow oppressed seeing themselves as victims of some " liberal " or " Secular Humanist "
conspiracy but it is mainly about the control of information because since we are at war the normal rules no longer apply and so the government will tell the people what they consider to be necessary as everything has something to do with " National Security" because the enemy is watching ? Is his desire to move towards a more secretive somewhat " authoritarian form of government or is it just a flaw in his delivery his style or what have you...

And it appears there maybe another scandal brewing in the Bush Regime concerning a " Support the Troops " group endorsed & funded by Bush misspending & a little fraud & other irregularities :

Pentagon Opens Inquiry of Troop-Support Group
By David S. Cloud
The New York Times

Saturday 12 May 2007

" Washington - The Pentagon is looking into complaints that Defense Department officials charged with building public support for troops in Iraq and Afghanistan might have engaged in improper fund-raising and unauthorized spending, officials said Friday.

The inspector general is examining whether officials who run "America Supports You," a three-year-old Pentagon program lauded by Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, helped arrange a fund-raiser for a private foundation set up last December by former Bush administration appointees. The foundation raises money to help troops and their families.

The inquiry is also looking into whether money used for "America Supports You" and other public outreach programs has been shifted improperly from Pentagon accounts intended for other purposes.

Internal memorandums and e-mail messages provided to investigators, copies of which were shared with The Times, suggest that Pentagon officials encouraged Mark Vahradian, a Hollywood film producer, to make the private foundation, called the "America Supports You Fund," the beneficiary of a Los Angeles fund-raiser he is planning for later this year.

Pentagon employees are prohibited from soliciting on behalf of private organizations, said Bryan Whitman, a Pentagon spokesman. But Mr. Whitman said the Defense Department routinely referred members of the public to outside organizations, some of which are listed on a Pentagon Web site."

Take care,
GORD.