This is good news. I wonder though, if we'll learn much or more importantly, if Mr. Arar will?

Any thinking person realises that some information must be held back, but whenever I think of this case, I think, "what if it was me?". I'd want to know precisely what happened and I'd want to know it could never happen again.

Where has this gone in the States? Wasn't Leahy pushing on this issue? Well, that briefing brought forth little.

Asked if the senators had found out whether Canadian authorities were asked to take Mr. Arar back in 2002, before he was sent to Syria, but rebuffed the offer, Mr. Leahy said, "That's an excellent question," adding, "You should ask them."

Obviously he knows the answer. Shouldn't Mr. Arar?

Because he's still dissatisfied, I'm led to believe that we weren't asked, but I'd like the answer. We've seen the US Administration, react to non-information since 9-11 and worse yet, we've seen them get it wrong, time after time. CSIS? Anyone who has seen the Air India enquiry, will know that there are, or at least were, problems in that organisation. The Government of the day? Well, if they were complicit, we need to know that, don't we?

Justice Simon Noel of Federal Court ruled two weeks ago that those portions of the report would not endanger national security, diplomatic relations with other countries or the defence of Canada, the only things that could legally justify keeping them secret.

To be frank, at this point I couldn't care less about diplomatic relations with the US, as ridiculous as I know that is. They've made bone headed moves, one after the other since 9-11 and personally I think, they deserve no slack.

Roberval-Lac St. Jean Candidate

This looks like a good move. I wonder how long it will take for some conservative group to come out to slam her?

Her bio is here.

Update: One more candidate is announced, this time for for Saint-Hyacinthe-Bagot. I would have preferred a woman, but I presume that the best candidates are being chosen. Based on the last election, it's difficult to imagine we've got a real shot.

His bio is here.

I'm Afraid the Facts Don't Support the Fiction

I'm afraid our PM is rather delusional.

"Despite the occasional squabbling between governments, the fact of the matter is this - our country has not been this united since our Centennial 40 years ago this year," Harper said to loud applause from about 1,000 Conservatives at a barbecue on the Charlottetown waterfront.

It's one thing to rally the troops, but his over the top rhetoric is laugh out loud funny particularly when you consider this.

No matter what Harper does, he simply isn't getting any traction.

A new Ipsos Reid poll finds that the Conservatives, at 34% support nationally, are down slightly from the results of the General Election in January of 2006 (36%)

I suppose he can be forgiven for trying to raise the spirits of his loyal supporters, as they must be extremely discouraged.

Tell Me You're Surprised

It's beyond obvious that Harper is simply not willing to allow his caucus, to speak to the media.

To call in the RCMP? Ridiculous! Of course the meetings are secret. No argument there, but the whole inability for any Conservative member to speak to media without being designated, come on!

RCMP? This man is manic, obsessed with running everything. Hmmm, what do we normally call these people?

Some Follow-up on the Pat Tillman Case

There seems to be something wrong with the embed code, so here is a link to Waxman's opening statement on You Tube.

I'll continue to update as more video becomes available, but the long and short of all of this, no one is responsible and no one knew a thing. It's utter BS of course. These are the same people who have been lying to the world for years. I'm still aghast that these individuals actually hold or held, positions of power.

Some testimony here. Summary here.