Nov. 28: Amazing....

NATO helicopters kill some 30 Pakistan soldiers at a border post. and Pakistan ( the main supply route for NATO) cuts off supplies to NATO in Afghanistan. Pakistan is trembling on the edge of either civil war or a break with the US.

I didn't expect The TandT to carry a full story. But I thought they'd - you know - mention it.

No mention, either, that the Arab League has passed sanctions against Syria - even though this could be a prelude to another war in which Canada would be involved. Again, I never thought the TandT would tell the whole story. But I thought there would be at least the usual Reuters half-truth.

But not a word, nada, zip, in either case.

Nor is there any news of the charge of illegal seismic testing for shale gas in Sussex. Of course, it's a complicated case. All they have to go on is the word of eye-witnesses, and the confession of the company that it did test illegally. So far, not even the "sincere" apology that the valiant Mr. Northrup demanded. And not a word in the TandT.

Finally, that page humorously referred to as Your Investments doesn't even mention the recent OECD forecast of a bad year for Canadian exports.

Of course, they needed room for the big story of the day - NB Liberals find new way to elect leader. There's even a picture of real Liberals holding up pink cards to prove it. I'm so glad.

In fairness, there was a very small story that was news "Moncton occupiers promote buy nothing day". But it was buried on the last page of the A section. The buy everything day (Santa Claus parade) covered two and a half pages plus, of course, all the advertising pages.

The op ed page is, well, the op ed page. Craig Babstock is very concerned about a rash of what seems like arson. The cure, he concludes, to tell arsonists that before they start fires, they should realize that some people could get hurt. Right. That should do it.

Allen Abel shows his usual talent to take a theme that looks promising, then do nothing with it.

Today, I both agreed and disagreed with Alec Bruce. Occupiers aren't articulating legitimate grievances that should concern everyone? In fact, in his next paragraph he mentions what he considers legitimate grievances - and the Occupy movement HAS been articulating them.
In fact, I can't think of any group that's been articulating them more - certainly not the Liberal and Conservative parties of New Brunswick; and certainly not BrunswickMedia.

He's certainly right about The Globe. It has become, especially in recent years, a biased,   dishonest, cheap shot paper. It's not yet anywhere close to the TandT in those categories. But, then, the TandT has the advantage of  having Norbert.

Just a few points on today's Norbert.

He praises the Conservatives for "consulting' the people, but cautions that consulting does not mean we always get what we want. Very true. But consulting does not mean simply that the government asks the public to talk. Consulting means it is listening. As a dictionary fan, Norbert should know that.
Has it listened on shale gas, for example? Could you perhaps list some things it has done as a result of listening (besides handing out propaganda sheets and promising regulations and enforcements that never happen?)

Then he slams the Liberal leader for saying the speech has few specifics on deficit reduction - but that the government has a cut and burn policy. Norbert says, well, it has to be one or the other.

No, it doesn't, Norbert. Come on. You're the one who's so keen on the correct use of words. You don't need to know the specifics to know from the throne speech that the policy is cut and burn.

Then he has a gem worth quoting. "Too often intelligent debate has been replaced by intransigence based on stubborn belief or pure ideology."  Now, nobody illustrates that problem better than Norbert.
I would not, though, make such a charge against the Liberals or the Conservatives.

Neither of those parties has a belief or an ideology. They are both parties of stooges and puppets and opportunists. (It's hard to believe that any party of any principal at all would allow a self-appointed committee of corporate bosses to write the budget, harder to believe that any democracy would tolerate that.)

The promise for regulation and "robust" enforcement of the shale gas industry is a good one, says Norbert. Damn right. It's been a good one for 12 years. And it will probably still be a good one for 12 more. But so far, we've seen precious few regulations; and the only enforcement of any regulations has been against people opposed to having their land and water poisoned.

Government is bloated? A waste of money?

Corporations that soak up resources almost free of charge, that pay low taxes (if any), that get big government grants, that are allowed to escape regulations (or to escape enforcement when there are regulations, that pay their senior execs millions in bonuses, and that get billions of our money for corporate owners - thus creating our huge deficits that the poor will have to pay for - these corporations aren't bloated?

How many civil servants in NB make over a million a year? How many teachers get lush bonuses? How many civil servants get special tax breaks and government grants courtesy of the tax payer? How many nurses live in mansions and have chauffeur-driven cars?

Norbert, you can be as bigoted as you like. After all, that goes with having a senior position at the Moncton Times and Transcript.  But please try to stop short of treating your readers as if they were as bigoted (or ignorant) as you seem to be.