When mud started to fly, the chief of staff, Nigel Wright, took the fall and resigned or was fired depending on who is telling the story. PM Stephen Harper has maintained that he knew nothing of the payment and that Wright acted on his own without authority. Unfortunately or fortunately depending on who is doing the talking, emails entered into the court evidence (Duffy has been charged with bribery among other charges) show that the new chief of staff Ray Novak received information on the payment before it was made. The PM’s comeback on that is that those emails while sent and received, were never read. Today’s testimony had the former council to the PM, Benjamin Perrin, telling what he knew about the affair. He maintained that both Perrin and Novak were aware of the situation before the cheque was written. Testimony included some damning information that the PM demanded that his interpretation of the Canadian Constitution was what he said it was, rather than Perrin who is a Constitution specialist. Perrin is a witness for the prosecution and has not yet been cross examined by Duffy’s tough lawyer. This trial is dominating the federal campaign. Harper is questioned at every opportunity about what he really knew about the affair and when he knew. He has a reputation for being very controlling and many cannot believe the $90 000 payment would have been made without his knowledge and approval. Sources: The Star CBC
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Some turned their livestock out to fend for themselves rather than leave them trapped by fences or in barns.
One woman who was forced to flee the firestorm described it to a local newspaper. "It was like a tornado coming — a fire tornado coming up the valley," she said, recalling the moments before their hasty departure. "There was no time. You just have to run."Kelowna Daily Courier While the Rock Creek Fire continues to dominate local news, many other smaller wildfires have consumed people’s homes in other areas of the parched province. Three days ago firefighters were forced to call off the helicopters and aircraft fighting one such fire when someone foolishly chose to fly a drone over the fire, making it unsafe for the aircraft. This was the second incident of this kind this year. BC has registered 1600 wildfires so far this year. Fire season usually starts mid-way through July but because of the drought, it began in May. South of the border, the western US states have been coping with drought and massive wildfires as well. Also at NEWTEKWORLDNEWS: Heat and drought threaten BC salmon runs Western Canada scorched by wildfires Sources: Kelowna Daily Courier Israel has been hit with the high temperatures as well. Medical spokespersons have been urging the public to avoid the sun, drink plenty of water and avoid strenuous activity. They are also suffering with the high humidity that makes the temperature feel about ten degrees higher.
Iran has been hammered by the current heatwave. A temperature reading of 164 F(73 C) was recorded in an Iranian city. The punishing heat has prompted a heat holiday where businesses are shut and people advised to stay home. This summer has been a particularly hot one in many areas. Earlier this year hundreds died in Pakistan due to heat. Europe suffered a killer heat wave in July. North American temperatures in the west from California to Alaska have been unusually hot. One summer’s heat does not signal climate warming. It is the long term trends that signal that change is afoot. This winter is expected to add to the extreme weather. The warm waters of the Pacific Ocean give indications that the El Nino will spread further north and south than usual. If it does, the weather on the west coast of N. America will likely see a warm, wet winter with little snowpack. Sources: Al Jazeera The Jewish Press Both sides in the war were quick to claim that further sanctions against them would damage the peace process.
The process has become more complex as one of the rebel generals has announced that he doesn’t agree with Machar trying to form a transitional government with Kiir. He is rumoured to have split from Machar and taken other rebel commanders with him. S. Sudan started with much promise. It is oil rich. Revenues from oil provide over 90% of its foreign money. It also has great potential in developing its agriculture. Large tracts of land have abundant water and could be developed. Meanwhile the country is dependent on the charity of foreign nations to help it feed and clothe the millions who have lost their homes and livelihoods. Sources: Sudan Tribune All Africa Human Rights Watch He has maintained his cool and smiling demeanor throughout. Duffy was a senior journalist with CTV and a long-time supporter of the Conservative Party.
If the PM’s office thought the buck stopped there, they were completely wrong. The first to be thrown under the bus was Nigel Wright who claimed that no one else knew of his $90 000 gift to the senator. The PM disavowed all knowledge of the transaction. Now that the trial is finally under full swing, the cross examination is revealing that a very tangled web was spun. The current chief of staff for the PM, Ray Novak, has been named in emails as having been appraised of the $90 000 ‘gift’ to Duffy. Now that numerous emails are surfacing, the dirty business of the PMO is being revealed. When Duffy declined to tell a reporter if he had paid back his wrongful claim, Wright wrote the following in an email. "We'll just unleash (Sen.) Tkachuk, who will call him a thief," Wright wrote after a Global News story aired, apparently fearing Duffy might be after more money. More importantly, why the "big lie" of trying to convince Canadians that Duffy paid back his own expenses, “ CBC News There is an email placed in evidence that was sent to both the current chief of staff and the PMO lawyer advising them that the cheque would be sent, yet as of yesterday Harper was maintaining that they had no knowledge of the transaction. He opined that they were too busy to read all their emails. The scandal has continued to dog the PM. The other political party leaders are making hay on the revelations. Mr. Mulcair(NDP) is maintaining that while Duffy is in the courtroom, that it is really Stephen Harper who is on trial. Justin Trudeau(Liberal) commented that the PM looks as if he would do anything to stay in power. In the end, it will be the Canadian public that decides the fate of the politicians in October when the federal election is slated to be held. Sources: CBC News |
Barbara McPherson
Blogger, gardener, farmer. Working toward food security and a 30 foot
diet. Addicted to reading. Love this planet, especially my little corner
on Vancouver Island, Canada Archives
October 2016
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