Category Archive: Wreckollection

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan was scrambling to respond to allegations that top UN managers helped Saddam Hussein skim huge sums of money from the organization’s $67 billion dollar Oil for Food program in Iraq.  Allegations surround reports of UN agents who bargained with Saddam on behalf of an Oil company run by an Egyptian relative of former UN secretary general Boutros Boutros-Ghali and of a lucrative oil-for-food contract landed by a company who Kofi Annan’s son Kojo was working for.

Canada Post returns 46,500 renewal notices to Gun Registry marked Address Unknown.

On news that they (bombardiaid) are being challenged or at least are not the definite winners of a $1 billion, 20 year Department of Defense flight training contract as its entering the final bid evaluation stage, a Vice President of what Quebec Liberals are (once again) calling a “financially ailing Bombardier” stated that, “…if we were Americans everyone would be pushing the successful company, but Canadians can’t get their minds around success.  There must be something wrong if a company is successful, so I guess everyone feels good now that Bombardier’s kind of on the ropes.”

First Newfoundland refuses to fly the flag over its offices in response to what their Premier claims were unfulfilled Liberal election promises vis a vis offshore oil royalties. Then news breaks that federal officials have signed contracts in China for the manufacture of Canadian flag lapel pins that they are giving away freely at tax-payers expense.  Finally, they track down the original flag that was unveiled over Parliament in 1965 to a dead Liberal MP who took it when he moved to Belgium.  At one point in the negotiations to have it returned, the widow of the deceased threatens to sell it on eBay if Canada doesn’t pony up with what she claims are outstanding pension payments that are due to her.  The Flag is returned just in time for July 1, Canada Day celebrations.

One year after their campaign of doom and gloom predictions and political pressure designed to raise the price on their premiums, Canada’s insurance industry posts a record $4.2 billion profit.  Although policy holders consider a class action law suit, nothing “falls” of it for fear that a win would result in the need for increased insurance premiums.

Drug giant Pfizer Inc. is back(pedaling) in the news again.  This year it has “agreed” to a “request” from regulators to pull their arthritic pain medication, Bextra, off the market in Canada, the U.S. and Europe.   The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has also ”asked” that all other COX-2 inhibitors, such as Celebrex (another Pfizer product), carry the strongest possible warnings about increased risk of heart attack and stroke.

(Hurting) Headitor’s note: Why did you think they called them pain killers?”

It was a case of “Sticks and Stones” versus the “Weaponization of Space” and Goliath lost when our Canadian Ambassador to the US, Frank McKenna, turned the tables and public opinion against Americans when he informed them that, we didn’t dither (on our support for their Missile Defense Shield), they did when they said they would lift their beef ban and didn’t.  Note:  The USDA had been ready to reopen the border on March 7, but the ranchers lobby group R-CALF convinced a Montana judge to block that decision, arguing that Canada doesn’t adequately test for mad cow disease.   The ban was finally lifted several months later on July 14^th 2005.

In a related story: Two years ago, a NAFTA decision on August 13, 2003 ruled that the 18 per cent tariff imposed on softwood lumber by the United States is too high. NAFTA decisions are legally binding and must be put into effect within 60 days.   Two weeks later, a World trade Organization (WTO) panel concluded that the U.S. wrongly applied harsh duties on Canadian softwood exports. Now, almost 2 years to the day later, on Aug. 10, 2005, an “extraordinary challenge panel” under NAFTA dismissed American claims that the earlier NAFTA decision in favor of Canada violated trade rules.  “This is a binding decision that clearly eliminates the basis for U.S.-imposed duties on Canadian softwood lumber. We fully expect the United States to abide by this ruling, stop collecting duties and refund the duties collected over the past three years,” he said.  In December, the Americans reduced their duties by almost half to 10.8%.  The decision is expected to save Canadian lumber companies $600 million a year; however, it is still unclear how or if the U.S. will refund some of the billions in duties it has already collected … and once again, the U.S. lumber industry signaled it might appeal.

A high tech $48,000 bathroom replete with an LCD flat panel TV screen, satellite receiver, digital surround sound speakers, a DVD player and access to thousands of songs stored on an Apple iPod was unveiled on March 8^th at a trade show in London, England.

The borders for Canadian Beef are opened as a result of an American court of appeals judgment in favour of the Canadians.  The judgment comes on the heels of an infected American cow that cannot be traced to Canada.  Where’s that story.  No-one knows.  Apparently American cows don’t get mad, that’s just the way they are.

7 Russian submariners are rescued by British and American robots.

7 American astronauts return home in previously loved space vehicle.