07.26.2015 08:21 PM

Yahoo!

Just landed in BC and heard the E-L news! 

Take that, brain trust!

  

37 Comments

  1. Matt says:

    I gotta say, I’m actually stunned they let someone who Trudeau stuck his neck out for lose.

    This whole saga has been an embarrassment for Trudeau, Entirely self inflicted too.

    Wonder if:

    A) The Liberals give her an empty riding to run in

    B) Soudas, pissed the brain trust didn’t do more to protect her, takes his ball and goes home.

  2. Eric Weiss says:

    There’s some justice in the world. May all floor crossers suffer the same fate, regardless of party.

  3. Craig McKie says:

    Kate McGarrigle
    Talk to me of Mendocino

    “Talk to me of Mendocino
    Closing my eyes I hear the sea
    Must I wait, must I follow
    Won’t you say come with me”

    “Talk to Me of Mendocino” is track #16 on the album The McGarrigle
    Hour. It was written by Mcgarrigle, Kate.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=2fcBEGjK3cM

  4. Don Wilson says:

    Sometimes we get a tiny inkling that there is a God after all. Now that the music has stopped, we hope that the Liberals will excuse themselves from the dance floor and encourage Adams to find another partner.

  5. Curt says:

    Over analyzing the situation. She is a small fish in the ocean.

  6. cgh says:

    Particularly amusing was Gerald Butts congratulating Marco Mendocino. Must sting like a b*tch to have to congratulate someone you tried to assassinate politically. Equally funny was Susan Delacourt sniffing that it was “no news”.

  7. Merrill Smith says:

    When life gives you lemons…Trudeau could point out that this proves he was not kidding when he said nominations would be open.

  8. BrianK says:

    You know you’re on the wrong side of an issue as the leader when the good guy wins, and people start talking about how bad that makes you look. But this is ultimately less of a problem for him than it would have been if Adams had won, weirdly enough. This mistake was going to bat for her in the first place. Some people close to Trudeau are probably breathing a sigh of relief.

  9. Ron Waller says:

    Trudeau clearly has a bunch of bozos running his campaign. You’d think they’d borrow from the Democrat playbook to fight back against the nasty Republican-style attack ads. But for the 3rd time in a row, the Liberals let Harper define their leader in the media.

    What’s worse is that Trudeau knows nothing about economics and is letting market fundamentalists (pretend experts/technocrats) define his economic platform. So far he’s come out right of Harper on TFWs, Chinese foreign investment and EI tax cuts.

    Trudeau also believes (or his market fundie “experts”) that China is the “future of the Canadian economy.” He’s a big-time supporter of FIPA and the TPP. As he puts it, “For me, it’s either we set the terms now and take the lead role, or 20 years down the line, we’re the poor cousins who accept any deal thrown our way.”

    So we’re supposed to expedite the process of exporting jobs and wealth to fascist Chinese oligarchs because we’ll somehow end up with something worse if we don’t? Yeah right.

    If Trudeau were to get a majority, he would definitely end supply management to sign onto the TPP. Market fundies say the people will benefit. It’s a “no-brainer.” But New Zealand and Australia ended up paying more for. But then again, when don’t neoclassical ideologues end up delivering the opposite of what was promised?

    • terry quinn says:

      But then again, when don’t neoclassical ideologues end up delivering the opposite of what was promised?”

      Remember that if you are planning to vote for either Mulcair or Harper.

    • cgh says:

      Here’s what happened to New Zealand’s dairy industry after they dropped domestic price controls and quotas.
      http://www.stats.govt.nz/tools_and_services/newsletters/price-index-news/oct-13-dairy-exports.aspx

      Also note the huge surge both in export volumes and market diversification post 2008.

      Canada 100 years ago was a large net producer of finished dairy products like cheese.
      In fact, in 1900, with exports annually of 117,000 tons, cheese was Canada’s second largest export.
      With market quotas, Canada’s cheese production sank. Today, Canada is a large next importer of cheese.

      Guess why, genius? Because whole milk is the cheese industry’s principal cost. Dairy quotas drove the price of whole milk through the roof, resulting in most of Canada’s cheese manufacturers in 1900 disappearing. Ontario alone had more than 1200 cheddar cheese producers a century ago. To protect the dying remnants of the Canadian cheese industry, the government was forced to put in place massive tariffs up to 200% against cheese imports. The result is that Canadians pay at least double what Americans pay for whole milk and at least triple what they pay for cheese.

      Any more myths about “paying more” you want to propagate, or do you want to continue just making stuff up?

      • Joe says:

        Yeah I opposed Eugene Whelan when he brought in the boards when Justin’s daddy was PM. The idea that the government could ‘fix’ the prices and control the supply of food production didn’t seem right. Of course friends of mine who farmed and were quick enough to get in on the scam have become very rich men and women. I mean if all you had to do to ensure a healthy income was get up in the morning and milk the cows or feed the chickens…..

      • Matt says:

        Small cheese maker I go to in Eastern Ontario called Maple Dale Cheese won some major awards at Canadian, American and European cheese competitions a few years ago. Naturally, they saw a massivly increase in interest in their products.

        Know what happened? Nothing because the Milk Mafia refused to increase their milk quota. All that new business down the crapper.

      • Ron Waller says:

        Supply management in Canada: Why politicians defend farm marketing boards
        http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/supply-management-in-canada-why-politicians-defend-farm-marketing-boards-1.3166329

        “When Australia ended supply management, the consumer price for milk went up.”

        ANALYSIS | 5 reasons to defend farm marketing boards
        http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/analysis-5-reasons-to-defend-farm-marketing-boards-1.1186293

        “In New Zealand, one of the countries thought to be pushing hardest for Canada to give up supply management, the price farmers receive for their milk is among the lowest in the world, leading to larger-scale “factory” farms trying realize economies of scale. Meanwhile, New Zealand consumers pay prices equal to or higher than average prices in Canada. The extra money is somewhere, but it’s not in the pockets of farmers or consumers.”

        Three points.

        One, neoclassical ideology is self-serving to investors and corporations. Both would benefit from the end of supply management. But would the benefits trickle down to Canadians?

        Two, demand for a good or service determines its price. (Sellers charge as high as people are willing to pay for it.) If people are willing to pay $4 for a 4L bag of milk, the sellers might end up pocketing the savings from ending supply management. (Which would cost taxpayers or consumers $30B dollars in buy-backs, depending how its done.)

        Three, I noticed meat prices rising significantly over the past 4 years sine the 2011 global food price shock. It seems to me the $4 price for a 4L bag of milk has remained the same since then. The reason deregulation coupled with free trade causes domestic prices to rise is that more meat and dairy are exported leaving a shorter domestic supply.

        In short, since I am not rich, I have no reason to put my faith in a narrow-scope agenda-driven ideology whose reforms have consistently failed over the past 30 years.

        BTW, I have no complaints paying $4 for a 4L bag of milk or $2.50 (on average) for a 1L half-and-half cream for my coffee. These seem like low prices to me. If it ain’t broke…

        • cgh says:

          Your reasons are all garbage. With respect to your three points:
          1. As soon as you start ranting about ideology when your opponent just quoted you facts, you lost.
          2. Marketing boards stifle normal supply and demand balances. That’s the point of them. Everyone pays higher prices because the excess being paid is going toward a commodity of no value, a piece of paper called a quota.
          3. Of course meat prices have risen dramatically over the last four years. The principal reason was the surge in demand for bio-fuels. More than half the US corn crop is now being ground up to make ethanol. The result has been food riots, bans on exports from countries like India.

          As for the rubbish about factory farms in New Zealand, look around. Factory farming has been happening here to an even greater degree, and we live in a system supposedly protected from this, at least according to you, by marketing boards. All that marketing boards do is drive up the capital cost of entry into the business, protecting the already established participants and blocking new entries who can’t raise the capital. That’s a large part of the reason why your precious family farms are getting squeezed out. Marketing boards favour the big guys.

          As for the crapola from the CBC, I have not the slightest interest in propaganda written by the lobby organizations for the agricultural marketing boards.

          And this was particularly egregious:
          “BTW, I have no complaints paying $4 for a 4L bag of milk or $2.50 (on average) for a 1L half-and-half cream for my coffee. These seem like low prices to me. If it ain’t broke…”

          Sez you. Ask people on low income about whether these prices are reasonable, particularly compared to the US or lots of other places in the world where milk prices are a fraction of those in Canada. It is indeed broke, and it’s been that way for a long time. Why are limousine liberals defending a protection racket?

          • Ron Waller says:

            LOL. What facts did you quote? None related to prices going down if supply management was ended.

            I, on the other hand, had more to offer than flaky, failed ideology: prices went up in NZ and Australia when they ended supply management.

            I am very grateful for $4/4L milk. Especially after watching meat prices explode. A few years back I could get $1.50 hamburger. Today it’s $5/lb.

            Thanks to the neoliberal ideologues, meat prices will continue to soar due to lame free trade deals with Europe and South Korea. (Export pork and beef, import cars. Higher prices, weaker economy: it’s an economic miracle!)

            I would rather keep the market fundies away from my milk, thanks all the same!

          • cgh says:

            You obviously can’t read.
            Fact: Canada was once one of the world’s largest cheese exporter at more than 100,000 tonnes annually. It sank through the floor after milk marketing came in.
            Fact: New Zealand’s milk production and exports have soared since milk marketing ended. Did you even read the NZ government link? Soaring production are NOT signposts of increasing price unless the domestic market was previously being subsidized. In Canada it’s the reverse. Domestic consumption is being punished by much higher prices because of government policy.

            As to your comment about hamburger prices, I’ve already given you the reason, biofuel diversion.

  10. Merrill Smith says:

    I remember Charles Bird from my days at Ag Canada and I would be leery of putting him in charge — he’s a die-hard, life-long, Leaf fan. Need I say more?

  11. Matt says:

    Just remember this my Liberal friends.

    The people who thought it would be a good idea to bring Adams in, put Trudeau on stage next to her, and ran her nomination campaign are the same people who will be running the Liberals national campaign.

  12. Christian says:

    Tim Harper has the best take on the whole Adams debacle. A lose-lose situation for Trudeau all of his own making.

    http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2015/07/26/eve-adams-crashes-grassroots-repudiate-trudeau-choice-tim-harper.html

    • Fan590 says:

      Tim Harper is entertaining but hardly credible when it comes to writing about Trudeau. Of course he’s going to bash him.

      The reality is this whole thing was a mistake and Adams should have just been avoided. She’s now out of picture and it’s still July and few people are paying attention.

      So this is good news for the Liberal party.

      The real concern is what happens in the campaign, which is winnable. The problem is can this campaign team get on track and avoid these obvious mistakes?

      Harper is looking tired, surprisingly off message most of the time, and the economy is in the crapper. Mulcair is a puffy mirage just waiting to be taken out by ads showing NDP policies. The election is there for the taking, but Liberals need to stop screwing up.

      • Ronald O'Dowd says:

        Fan590,

        Your view is my view — yes, the election is still winnable for the Liberals. But I’ve seen to what lengths Conservatives will go to win when the chips are down. They learned quite a few things at Republican camp…

        They will do anything, absolutely whatever it takes to win. That has me worried. Think of John Tory’s ad for Campbell times ten…get the picture?

      • Christian says:

        This is GOOD news for the Liberal Party???? It was a grassroots revolt against the leader my friend.

        And for the record, its not just Tim Harper. I have not found a single media story saying this shit-show made Trudeau look good.

  13. Smith says:

    Brain trust? …. more like BRAIN BUST !!

    And now the CBC NN is declaring that Justin was “rebuked” by Liberal party grassroots members by rejecting Eve Adams. Looks like Justin is now going to find supporters questioning his leadership judgment and whispering behind his back …. just not ready to lead the Liberals or Canada! Is this the death knell for Justin…. and the CBC putting another nail in his political coffin?

    (I wish Garneau or Martha were the Liberal leader…. Liberals of substance and authenticity. Oh well, next time.)

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