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SUMMER OF '06: LIBERALS, NS ELECTION, N. KOREA, AND LEBANON

Just like me, the Parliament takes a break over the summer. Now I could use this as an excuse for, besides today, why I haven't posted since June but that doesn't mean that the world stops turning. Some very interesting things have happened over the summer of 06 so right now I will attempt to give you a Coles Notes version of it all. Stop me if I'm going too fast.

The Liberal Leadership Race is still going on and won't be finished until Dec. 3rd. The deadline for entering the race hasn't even officially gone by yet until the end of this month (aka. my birthday). There have been many names you have declared and many big names who have said they won't seek the leadership of "Canada's governing party". The top contenders so far are a political newcomer and superstar (Michael Ignatieff), a former Conservative (Scott Brison), a former player in the NHL (Ken Dryden), a former NDP premier of Ontario and almost Governor General (Bob Rae), and a Kennedy (Gerald Kennedy). Ignatieff is considered the front runner on this one but the race is far from over and in no way will it be the blow out that was Paul Martin's leadership campaign... more to come on this soon.

Nova Scotians went to the polls in June as Rodney MacDonald tried to turn his Conservative minority government into a majority but ended up with a diminished minority and his support has slightly faltered since then as well with issues such as Sunday shopping still lurking around after all this time.

Canada was labelled a safe haven for terrorists by many American politicians and caused a lot of political backlash from the federal government. Canadian Ambassador to the United States Michael Wilson and many other high ranking security officials went to the US to defend Canadian security.

North Korea test launched six missiles of which one of them has the potential of reaching the United States. This was after the US urged to North Korean government not to test these missiles. The only positive thing here is that the intercontinental missile failed after 30 seconds.

The biggest story of the summer is the conflict that erupted in Lebanon that started on July 13th. Israeli troops moved into Lebanon followed by massive airstrikes after Hezbollah killed 8 Israeli soldiers. The airstrikes numbered in the hundreds each day as Lebanon was flanked from air, land, and sea. The Israeli Navy blocked all Lebanese seaports, troops moved in, and airstrikes continued as Hezbollah's leader declared war on Israel. This was followed by a mass exodus of Americans and Canadians as their governments evacuated their citizens in Lebanon. This issue is large and will be further addressed later.

Now the summer is over and anything that may have taken a break is back again and in full swing. The Liberal leadership race is back on, Parliament will be reconvening, Harper has made history, and everything seems well. That is it for my summer update. Look back here soon for more on pretty much everything.

- DM

Comments

Rudd said…
Ken Dryden. What a champ he was. And I'm not even talking about his hockey career...

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