Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - September 16, 1992, Winnipeg, Manitoba John Dafoe focus Winnipeg free press a 7 september bunkers or barbells Congress has it All Washington democratic members of a House of representatives committee recently emulated Captain Louis Renault in Casablanca by being shocked at the Perks and High spending going on in the re publican White this theatrical performance did not achieve its goal of diverting Public attention from the High spending and pork barrel Lawman Iii of the 435 House and 100 Senate it was a blow to Canadian reformers who want to improve parliament by increasing maps office budgets and staff or by giving More resources to parliamentary commit their most common example for com Parison is the which has an image problem of herculean these most rage is aimed at House per haps because there Are More of because t they Are elected every two years and because voters hear most often from them about their hard work in at a 1992 mailing Cost of at crowded airports in the capital people driving round and round trying to Park at stiff can be seen waving fists As they pass reserved areas where members of con diplomats and supreme court justices Park close to the Tutt utting about the million annual Cost of operating the White House sounded responsible Only to listeners unaware of the billion Cost of operating Congress in fiscal the cat is out of the voters have Learned How Good life is on Capitol Hill for the privileged this is driving a National move to limit terms for elected for Congress and its democratic majority leadership Bear much of the members regularly travel abroad on so called fac finding they go in first class Comfort on expensive military rather than flying commercial and the destinations Are luxury hotels in luxury resorts with fac finding done aboard when they want a As opposed to fac finding they Book time at bar gain basement rates in exclusive retreats on Federal land on All three in the Vir Gin islands and in the grand Teton mountains of Republican politicians can fulminate on the House floor about Canadas socialist Medicine then go to the House physicians of fice for free medical care and a prescription to pick up free should the Republican members denunciation of Canadian free lunch Medicine bring on a free ambulance permanently Waits tourists visiting the Capitol have collapsed on the Marble Steps with Chest pains or broken within sight of this Only to learn that it is never available for democrats and republicans exercise to Gether in a Well equipped private they paid a raising it to a Quarter Only when the Public heard about there was a bipartisan consensus that House Barber shop haircuts were fairly priced at until voters paying when the Price became and their staffs enjoyed free parking and free car washes until Public knowledge led to withdrawal of free parking for the members driving in the capital can Park Ille if on official thanks to a Law Congress passed 60 years if a police offi cer or traffic Warden ignored the congressional licence plate and wrote a ticket the member gave it to an employee of con Gress to get it voided by City since the Public members have to take their own tickets to City members eat Well in subsidized restaurants inside the some failed to pay Suffi Washington editor David Macdona client monthly tabs to run up a total debt of to the Concession Holder last that improved on when a general accounting office audit found million of unpaid some who did used cheques provided by the easygoing House if insufficient funds were in a members Bank officials covered the shortfall with other Mem Bers House leaders closed the Bank after the Public Learned the Capitol a Good life a dozen top House and Senate leaders have a very special they get Between and annually to pay for unspecified expenses for which they do not have to a All other expenditures by either Cham by be accounted for to the pen congressional leaders not spending All the Money have exempted themselves from a requirement imposed on the George Bush has an annual expense allow unspent amounts of which must be re turned to the in Bush spent he returned to the such exemptions from Law Are common on the Bush pointed out in a speech last fall that Congress exempts itself from the 1963 equal the 1964 civil rights the 1990 americans with disabilities act and the age discrimination in employment he reminded Congress that federalist paper 57 said elected officials can make no Law which will not have in full operation on themselves and their friends As Well As on the great mass of last Public disgust reached a Crescendo when it became known that Congress had an equivalent to the Manitoba govern ments nuclear War the plan was that while citizens were huddled under school desks or in 535 members of Congress and 300 of their staff would ride out a soviet nuclear first strike in a secret million air conditioned Bunker under one of the most expensive Golf resorts in until congressional democrats met annually for policy discussions at the Greenbrier set in acres in West Public anger ended that High priced As it now has led to the abandonment by Congress of its exclusive shelter below the to from which it had planned to govern who Ever remained alive outside the a watchtower stands Over a jewish settlement in the Golan Heights that Israel took from an Opportunity for peace by Joseph Washington Post Washington As talks continue in Washington this week Between Israel and the palestinians and the parties have the Opportunity to move beyond the initial exploratory recent talks i have had in the Middle East with israelis and Palestin ians provide hints of what might prove pos what has happened in Israel in the two months that Yitzhak Rabin has been prime minister Calls to mind president John Kennedy first 100 Days in he has limited changed re stored Good relations with the United garnered the billion loan re turned israeli policy to the territory far peace formula of Security Council resolutions 242 and 338 and provided openings to both the palestinians and what the arabs and palestinians need to understand about Rabin is that he has had it All Herb of the six Day ambassador to the United defence prime having turned the Corner on he has one More Mountain to climb to be the my impression is he intends to fulfil this he wants the talks to Suc but he is determined that should they fail or Israel will not be judged the recalcitrant party by the United which he views As inextricably linked to israels Security and joint principles first is no soviet Patron and finding it necessary to accommodate to the insistence it join the peace talks launched by the Madrid Israel and Syria have exchanged argued about them and will in the weeks ahead be discussing for the first time joint principles for a peaceful Lead ers of both countries Are beginning to pre pare their people for possible responding to my a High level israeli intelligence officer assesses syrian indications of seeking peace As at least Tacti with potential strategic Syria wants a cold peace on its terms full israeli withdrawal from the Golan these maximal terms Are unreal Zable Rabin has said he does not insist on every Inch of but Israel will not get off the Heights and he seeks a warm peace that includes open Bor Ders and diplomatic one possible Avenue at some Point would be to explore an agreement that would give Damascus sovereignty Over the provide for the pullback of military forces and put on the ground a continuing israeli military presence or a presence or in presence of the kind that has operated so effectively As part of the 1974 syrians Rae i disengagement a probably within the context of the in Security would also give added Security to both great stress just a few Days in a speech in Jerusa Lem and subsequently before the Rabin put great stress on the fact that for 18 years Assad had adhered impeccably to the 1974 disengagement agreement without a single syrian he added that once an agreement is made by he can be expected to keep his end of the Only Rabin and Assad can do ways will have to be found at a later stage for More effective communications Between these two whose negotiating styles Are Simi Lar and whose military backgrounds and subsequent political experience have made them both Good strategists and with Syria there is one Leader in command and one this is in Sharp contrast to the leadership of the House divided in a number of parts nationalist leaders from the West mainline Fatah leaders residing other local Lead the Plo and Arafat in the popu Lar front for the liberation of the the democratic front and the Hamas palestinian leaders said to a group of us who met with them last Weekin the West Bank that All factions want to be part of the peace my impression that some want to negotiate others May want to undermine the peace process from the horses among the the palestinian delegations performance thus far has understandably reflected the difficulties of there can be Only admiration for a number of nationalist pales Tinian leaders from the territories who have courageously come putting at risk their own but time is not on their and the moment of truth has is there a Leader or group of leaders that can take the hard decisions and make them stick a wider Gap the Gap Between the proposals put for Ward by the israelis and palestinians is the palestinians want the interim self governing authority to be linked explicitly to an Independent palestinian insistence on this will kill or stalemate the but there Are indications an alternative might be possible to include practical provisions in an executive self governing authority that would give it month ground responsibilities Akin to some legislative functions and would at the same time not foreclose the ultimate permanent Settle ment the interim self governing authority should be agreed on As quickly As then elections can follow to select the pales Tinian leaders to run the Ara palestinian this would legitimize the elected palestinians with authority deriving from their own constituencies the people pursuing their daily lives in the and not from a Plo in with the end of the old War and the de ranging of Saddam Hussein that has reduced the threat to Israel and to Iraq immediate Arab there is a better Opportunity for Progress than there has been for the Middle East has a his tory of lost maybe this time it will be Joseph Sisco is a former american undersecretary of state for political not much Comfort for tories in by election results Gary Hilmons conservatives Clung on to their razor thin majority last but their popular vote drop in their Portage la Prairie sinecure and their fall from second to third place in Crescent Wood will do nothing to ease the premiers tense relationship with his caucus or reduce the suspense around legislature the Victory by Liberal Avis Gray in cres cent Wood and tory Brian Pallister in Portage returned the 57seat House to its election the with 30 have a two vote majority without the a lat summer political defection by former Energy minister Harold neuf eld effectively cuts the governments margin to just and a rejuvenated opposition can be expected to redouble the pressure which already resulted in several tie votes in the 1992 All three political parties had Well defined objectives entering the race for Crescent Wood and Portage la the tories needed a double win to establish a political Comfort Filmon May be personally popular with but he has had difficulty impressing Many of those who know him Best his Cabinet and one disaffected for Mer Cabinet de triggering the Portage Connery has continued to blame his departure on the premiers autocratic leadership hardly were the by elections called but a second disaffected former neuf moved his office out of the Neu Feld promises to exercise his own Good judgment in future t Frances Russell complicating matters the tories face a year of Tough fiscal choices As they Jug Gle a lingering recession and an election prom ise not to increase income the liberals needed to keep what they in they plummeted from official opposition to Only seven they had to hang on to Crescent Wood just to prove they were not headed to often described As the Saf est Liberal seat next to it became vacant with the amid grumbling about of Deputy Leader Jim now a Winnipeg free press editorial a win in Portage would have been a boost for the showing they might still Challenge the nip As official an increased popular vote shaving the tory Victory margin in was not a bad Consolation the new democrats had the least at neither seat is considered nip Howe the party had to increase its particularly in the More volatile to Cement its status As the alternative to the governing political neophyte and former Liberal Tim Sale did just he vaulted the nip Over the tories to finish a Strong second to the the conservatives began the Campaign with High despite their internal the tones had become the Teflon government the re Cessions bite on Manitoba appeared not to stick to nor did a series of Controvert from the ill fated Pines seniors Complex in allegedly fast tracked because of tory to the building of an office Complex for ducks unlimited in Delta one of North americas last remaining wet again allegedly approved due to Politi Cal in an end ironic research group poll found that at 64 per enjoyed by far the highest approval rating of any Cana Dian first the Manitoba Premier has been basking All summer in the limelight of extensive and favourable National Media cover age of his handling of the constitutional Degoti in it appeared to be a prescription for a dual conservative but then things began to internal caucus problems arising from old tensions and new personality conflicts when the former Energy packed up late last he refused to give but speculation Cen tred on his unhappiness with the govern ments decision to plunge ahead with the Mas Sive billion Conaw Apa Hydro project de spite Low Domestic Power out in the Peppery con Nery kept up a steady fire against the he hacked Hilmons name off his tory Lawn sip and eagerly told anyone who asked Why he had he remains a he but he has no use for the Premier and his dicta vicious style of the race in Crescent Wood got damaging to pc Ron senior press aide to the and Cabinet press Secretary Janice Armstrong were caught posing As Crescent Wood voters on a radio Callin they smeared Liberal candidate Avis Gray and promoted tory Hope Ful Jenny confronted with the Arnst initially denied he had made the As did his Boss and close Filmon press Secretary Barbara Arnst and Armstrong May have been just the tip of the iceberg of tory use of Public employees for partisan one source has claimed that a member of the governments policy coordination group drafted lists of questions to Pepper opposition candidates on hotline the lists were then sent out to the governments entire Politi Cal Hillard ended up in a Public fight with a former Boyfriend Over unpaid Filmon has his Skinny majority but his party wont be ;