Sept. 7:...oh, my....oh, my...oh my...

...oh, my... If you will check yesterdays' blog, you will find a comment from a reader at the foot of it. The note says that yesterday, CBC news reported that U de Moncton has released the news that it is opening an investigation into the qualifications of Prof. Lapierre. You my remember him. He is the man who was praised to the heavens by Brunswick News when he squashed the report of Chief Medical Officer Cleary, and said that developing shale gas was quite safe. Prof. Lapierre then removed his lips from the read ends of shale gas executives, and lowered his own pants to receive the kisses of Brunswick News. In those pages, he became a scholar of world distinction, highly qualified. Alward, after pulling up his pants, made him official front man for going ahead with shale gas. And now the university is examining his credentials, and doing it openly. It's rare to have such an examination of credentials in any university - though it should be more common. And I have never before heard of a university announcing it publicly. University credentials are maintained by professors in a personal file called a Curriculum Vitae (CV) which lists educational credentials and professional activities such as publication, speaking, committtee service.... Many of them are inflated. But examinations are few. And public examinations almost unheard of. Reporters can't be faulted in this case. A Brent Mazerolle may describe a Prof. Lapierre as eminently qualified - but the reality is that Brent Mazerolle is not qualified to make any such judgement. He has no idea what he's talking about. But still, Brunwick News should have had the story today that the CBC had yesterday. On any news medium there is an assignment editor whose job it is to keep in touch with all news developments so that he/she can then decide which stories are important, and who should cover them. It's possible, I suppose, that the TandT (and all the other Brunswick News) assignment editors are stunningly thick. But this is something of a record. We have a front page story that maritimers are going to Alberta (gee. who would have guessed). Another is about baloons in Sussex - which means we'll have to pay for whole pages of pictures of baloons on Monday. A big story that there are lineups for simming classes. But not a word about Lapierre, the man who is in charge of our shale gas future. It could be simply stupidity. But I would surely be rude if I were to publicly say such a thing about Brunswick News' assignment editors. So let's not say they're stupid. No. Let's be Christian and forgiving about this. Let's say they're liars whose main task is to make sure New Brunswickers are kept in ignorance of how they are daily manipulated and lied to. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ The Faith Page has the usual bland porridge for its message, this time about how gentleness has more power than force. It's examples are nice, safe ones, guaranteed to offend nobody. Rev. Morehouse - Would it even occur to you to deliver that message to foreign minister Baird and to Obama, both of whom want to bomb the daylights out of Syria (and on a case that is not yet, by a long shot, proven)? Would you care to deliver it to American governments which have murdered millions of people all over the world in the last fifty years? Would you care to use these people as examples of the misuse of power? Would you lecture the New Brunswick government on its use of force in dealing with anti-shale gas protesters? Lord, this Faith Page have makes Christianity in a soppy, soggy puddle. The church eventslisted are the usual pancake breakfasts and pie sales. Jesus often spoke of the importance of pancake breakfasts and pie sales. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ In NewsToday, we are told that Harper is talking tough on Syria, and saying Russia should not have a veto on UN action. There are two, odd things about that. 1.Most of the world, and especially the western powers, want nothing to do with an attack on Syria. It is not simply Russia that is holding them back. And one of those leaders who has refused to take part is.......Stephen Harper. So what is all this foot-stamping and self-righteousness? And why didn't we see it when the US smothered Vietnam in Agent Orange, then murdered over a million in Iraq? 2.And if he thinks Russia shouldn't have a veto on UN action, why has he never said a word about the US having (and using) a similar veto? ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ The editorial is fun in a wacky sort of way. The editorialist notes that the Alward government is dropping in the polls. Then, it decides this must mean the Alward government is not moving quickly enough on cuts to the civil service. Now, that is a bizarre conclusion - and I have seen no evidence whatever to support it. And to ignore the effect of the shale gas issue completely? I don't know where Brunswick News finds these clowns. Only one part of it is right. It says Brian Gallant is doing better by saying nothing and doing less. Quite so. And that gives a hint to the real story of why he is rising in the polls. New Brunswickers are being suckers again. They're playing the old Conservative/Liberal shell game. And in that game, it doesn't matter whether Alward or Gallant wins. Mr. Irving will still run the province. Long live the king. Norbert has a good column on the Senate, on the need to reform it or abolish it. It would be nice to see him write a similar column about King Irving. Brent Mazerolle contributes a righteous deunciation of St. Mary's University students' association for it's childish and very bad taste songs about child molesting. Thanks, Brent. None of us readers is smart like you, and we would never guess that such behaviour is unacceptable. Good column by Gwynne Dyer on Russia's Putin. This guy is every bit as ruthless as he looks. Maybe he could replace Professor Lapierre as Irving's pitchman for shale gas.