Tuesday, January 17, 2006

Liberal MP at centre of blog controversy

Liberal MP at centre of blog controversy

Bloggers attack Sam Bulte's stance on copyright laws
Mark Evans, Financial Post
Published: Tuesday, January 17, 2006

"And in practice and theory, she is right because there is nothing wrong with accepting political donations from groups or individuals as long as they follow the letter of the law. The NDP, for example, is not going to turn down financial support from a union that wants politicians to support pro-labour policies."

I don't think Mark has looked at the Conflict Rules that the Office of Ethics Commissioner is charged with enforcing. Of course it requires a complaint from an MP to start the ball rolling.

I wonder if Mark had read the ZDNet UK article, "The Best Democrasy Money Can Buy,"and seen what the UK IT Press thinks of this situation.

And now, newsflash, Peggy Nash of the NDP declares she is not going to take Union money. Wonder how Mark is going to deal with that, in tripe remarks.

To me, pulp comments like he made are a cop out due to his lack of research. Why he could have read "my" little piece on the Conflict of Interest Code for Members of Parliament, enacted by the PM.

Now over to the Toronto Star, for at least a new spin:

Voters ask about global issues
Liberal MP grilled on fundraiser
Jan. 17, 2006. 12:01 AM


Ethics, an issue nationally, was raised locally when a questioner asked Bulte, who has worked on a copyright law, if it was correct for her campaign to accept money raised at a recording industry fundraiser to be held at the Drake Hotel Thursday night.

"How can we count on you to carry on ... impartially when you are taking money from special interest groups?"

Bulte replied: "They are not hosting a fundraiser for me. ... It's a celebration of my support for the arts community."

Nash said she decided in this campaign to accept donations only from individuals.


I hope the electors are smart to see "spin" when they see it and hear it. And the conviction and integrity that Peggy Nash is showing.

Personally this reign of 1 year, 4 months and 10 days, and the election afterwards, is starting to make the prior PM's reign much more appealing particularly when the current PM attempts to distance himself from it in public debates.
Remember one thing about the sponsorship scandal: We were never supposed to find out about it. More treacherous than graft or collusion is the secrecy that provided an environment in which these alleged abuses flourished. This was a secret program, designed to leave as little as possible in the way of paper trail, and when newspaper reporters began investigating, public officials tried to cover up.

Anne Kothawala, President of the Canadian Newspaper Association
in The Hamilton Spectator, Jan 16, 2006
Said "political history" makes me welcome change, not from any zealotry but my sense of right and wrong.


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