Latest news with #Carvin
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Former Megadeth guitarist says Dave Mustaine damaged his career by calling him a 'liar'
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Ex-Megadeth guitarist Chris Poland says that bandleader Dave Mustaine calling him a 'liar' negatively affected his career. Poland joined the thrash metal icons in 1984 and played on their first two albums, 1985's Killing Is My Business… And Business Is Good! and 1986's Peace Sells… But Who's Buying?, before being fired for disruptive behaviour stemming from heroin abuse. Talking to fellow former Megadeth member David Ellefson on Ellefson's podcast, Poland claims that Mustaine branded him a 'liar' onstage for 'years' after his firing. 'I have no regrets about everything that's happened – except one,' Poland says (via Blabbermouth). 'I regret that Mustaine for years would go onstage and call me a liar. I never really thought much about it, but then I did the math and I realised that's why things were so hard for me to try and get deals.' As evidence, he points to an interaction he had with guitar manufacturer Carvin. 'I walked into Carvin one day and I thought, 'You know what? These guitars aren't bad. I wanna talk to their A&R guy.' So I spoke to the guy and he goes, 'Dude, we don't use people like you on our roster.'' Poland continues: 'I have a feeling that Dave's anger with me about what it was really was like dragging around a fucking 50-pound ball all the time – back then.' Ellefson, who was fired from Megadeth in 2021, then backs Poland up, pointing to the experiences of former guitarist Jeff Young. Young played on the thrashers' third album So Far, So Good… So What! (1988) and was fired due to Mustaine believing that Young had flirted with his then-girlfriend. 'There was some derogatory comment [Mustaine made] that kept [Young] from getting work for a long time,' Ellefson explains. 'I could say the same was attempted at me. Fortunately, I just kept moving. I just kept going and was like, 'Alright, I'm just gonna ignore that comment and keep moving.'' In a 2022 interview with Sofa King Cool, Poland stated that he was the subject of the song Liar from the So Far… album. 'Obviously, Dave was very upset with me when I left the band – when he fired me, basically,' the guitarist explained. When asked if the lyrical scathing made him angry, he said no and pointed towards Mustaine's own heavy drug use at the time: 'It's like the pot calling the kettle black, man. When you point your finger, man, there's three pointing back at you. I just rolled my eyes and was like, 'Really?'' That same year, Poland claimed that he took a job in a diner after his Megadeth exit. 'I would be bussing tables on a weekend, and some guy would go, 'Dude, you're Chris Poland!' And I'd have to go, 'Yeah, I am!',' he told The Metal Voice. 'And it was so weird, because he just looked at me like, 'Dude, what the fuck are you doing here?' And I would just say, 'Hey man, I've gotta eat. I've gotta pay the rent.'' Poland briefly reunited with Megadeth in 2004, playing guitar on their album The System Has Failed. However, things soon soured again, with Poland suing Mustaine over the inclusion of three demos on a 2004 re-release of 1990 album Rust In Peace. Poland said in 2022 that the pair haven't spoken since. Megadeth – now composed of Mustaine (vocals/guitars), Teemu Mäntysaari (guitars), Dirk Verbeuren (drums) and James LoMenzo (bass) – released their latest album The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead! in 2022 and are currently in the studio working on its follow-up.
Vancouver Sun
19-05-2025
- Politics
- Vancouver Sun
22 election candidates were provided private security by the federal government
OTTAWA — The federal government provided private security for close protection or to guard the home of 22 candidates in the last federal election amid a rise in threats and intimidation towards politicians. Throughout the campaign, 15 candidates were granted private security service that acted as their bodyguard during campaign events or daily activities, Privy Council Office (PCO) spokesperson Daniel Savoie told National Post. Another two were provided home monitoring services by an unarmed guard, while five met the threshold to receive both services, Savoie said. Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. This was the first federal election during which the federal government offered private security services to candidates. The program was geared toward politicians who believe their security is at risk during the campaign but where the level of threat does not meet the threshold for police protection. To be eligible, candidates had to have been physically attacked, had their property targeted by protesters or vandalized, felt threatened by a 'disruptive, uninvited individual' at home, or had their personal information posted on the internet, for example. Former CSIS national security analyst Stephanie Carvin said she was surprised by how many candidates applied to receive additional private security from a program that was announced right as the election campaign began. 'I'm glad that resource is there, but it's unfortunate that it's needed,' said Carvin, now an associate professor at Carleton University. 'Individuals who are upset with the politics or politicians are increasingly willing to physically confront the people they see as adversaries or with different point of views. Rather than challenging their ideas, they want to physically confront them,' Carvin added. Savoie declined to identify which candidates were granted additional security or which party they represented over concerns it could compromise their safety. But he noted that half (11) were candidates in Ontario, five were in Quebec, four in B.C. and one in both Manitoba and Nova Scotia. Violence, intimidation and threats were the first concerns highlighted by the Security and Intelligence Threats to Elections (SITE) Task Force during a briefing days after the election was called on March 28. 'One concerning trend is the intensification and rise of threats of violence and intimidation directed at Canadian public figures,' said the government's top communications official Laurie-Anne Kempton on March 31. 'Candidates and public office holders should not be dissuaded from exercising their democratic rights because of a perceived or real threat to their personal security,' she added. 'It is in Canada's vital national interest that Canadians running for elected office feel safe.' The RCMP's Gregory O'Hayon said during the same briefing the national police force is 'very well seized' of the issue of threats to candidates but its protective mandate is limited to members of cabinet, party leaders and a few others designated for protection by the minister of public safety. 'The RCMP unfortunately cannot be everywhere, all at once,' O'Hayon said. The national police force has previously said it is dealing with an 'unprecedented' number of threats towards politicians. Roughly three years ago, MPs were offered mobile duress buttons, or 'panic buttons,' in case they were accosted by a threatening individual. That program has since been extended to senators. On Friday, Carvin said there is increased risk that politicians become more separated from the people they serve as threats increase against them. 'In order to get elected, they have to be able to meet people, they have to be able to mingle. And if, you know, our politicians become separate from the population, it just doesn't work,' Carvin said. 'It's the door knocking, it's the events, the campaigning and things like that that make our democracy function.' During the last campaign, Elections Canada also increased availability of security at polling locations in light of ongoing 'tensions' caused by the Israel-Hamas conflict and the historic trade war with the United States. Chief Electoral Officer Stéphane Perrault told reporters on March 24 that the agency proactively pre-approved security spending for returning officers (who administer the elections in each of the 343 federal ridings) to protect polling locations and offices if needed. That's a change from previous elections, where returning officers had to request approval for security expenses as the needs arose, which slowed down the process. National Post cnardi@ Get more deep-dive National Post political coverage and analysis in your inbox with the Political Hack newsletter, where Ottawa bureau chief Stuart Thomson and political analyst Tasha Kheiriddin get at what's really going on behind the scenes on Parliament Hill every Wednesday and Friday, exclusively for subscribers. Sign up here .
Yahoo
27-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Canada's election offers fodder for US right-wing influencers
Right-wing US personalities who helped propel Donald Trump's 2024 electoral win have weighed in on Canada's upcoming election, with at-times misleading warnings about a range of political issues, including immigration. These media figures often hold up Canada as a case study of a nation where core values like free speech are being purged, with arguments that often cite flawed evidence but may have reached a segment of voters ahead of Monday's election, experts said. Charlie Kirk -- a US conservative activist and Trump ally -- recently invited the leader of Canada's far-right People's Party, Maxime Bernier, on his show to talk about immigration. Bernier, whose fringe party has no seats in parliament, told Kirk that foreigners moving to Canada amounted to "replacement theory in action," referring to a conspiracy theory that talks about a plot to replace white people with immigrants. Meanwhile, top podcaster Joe Rogan has claimed Canadians cannot express themselves online, implying the country is so authoritarian he would "rather go to Russia" than Montreal. Rogan posted on X in February that Canada had banned news content from Facebook and Instagram. In fact, parent company Meta pulled news from its platforms in protest at Canadian legislating that compels digital platforms to pay journalism organizations for their content. - 'It could happen here too' - Amarnath Amarasingam, an assistant professor at Queen's University studying online communities, said given the overlap between the US and Canadian media environments, Canadians can be impacted by American influencer content. "It is certainly having an impact on broader culture war topics, such as immigration, gender fluidity, race, and so on," he said. Prominent figures on the US right have been poking at Canada for years. Former Fox News host and leading podcaster Tucker Carlson has long claimed the country needs "saving." Stephanie Carvin, an associate professor of international relations at Carleton University in Ottawa, said there has also been misleading viral left-wing content about Canada, idealizing the country as a progressive haven while misrepresenting statistics on gun violence. Canada is recognizable for American audiences, and so can be presented as a cautionary tale for how certain policies may impact lives south of the border, Carvin said. For the right, that can include warnings about how higher taxes to fund a public health care system or social welfare programs can plunge society into decline. Carvin described that framing as "it could happen here too." "That's kind of why (Canada) is such a useful tool for a lot of these far-right influencers." - The Trump effect - But in an election campaign dominated by anger over Trump's trade war and annexation threats and a rise in Canadian patriotism, conservative voices from the United States don't ring as loud. University of Ottawa assistant professor of politics, communication and technology, Elizabeth Dubois, said in the run-up to the vote, the Conservative Party made an effort to connect with right-leaning Canadian influencers who have ties to the American online right. "It's important to think about that when trying to assess the impacts of some of those American influencers," Dubois said. gr/mgs/bs/md/jbr
CBC
06-04-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Should Canada build a human-focused, foreign intelligence service?
Should Canada build a spy service to gather foreign intelligence via human sources? It's a question worth asking as the country faces an increasingly unstable relationship with its next-door neighbour, from which Canada has long relied upon to glean key intelligence. Stephanie Carvin, a former national security analyst for the federal government, says it's "something we should consider," or at least have a debate on — and she's not alone in advocating for Canada to assess how it can boost its foreign-intelligence efforts. Yet developing such a service would require significant resources and political buy-in to move forward. "This is not something you do willy-nilly," said Carvin, an associate professor of international affairs at Carleton University in Ottawa. Why would we want this? Given the unpredictability of U.S. President Donald Trump's intentions toward Canada, it's fair to be concerned about the impact that could have on the information Washington shares with Ottawa. Separate from that, any foreign intelligence gathered by other parties won't have necessarily been done so with Canada's interests in mind. So, there are already limits to what Canada has direct control over when it comes to foreign intelligence. Doesn't Canada gather intelligence? Yes, but not necessarily in the way that a dedicated, human foreign-intelligence service could. The existing Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) gathers intelligence, but its efforts are geared toward security threats that Canada is facing. The Canadian military, likewise, gathers intelligence on defence-related threats. There's also the Communications Security Establishment (CSE), the country's cyber-intelligence agency, which collects foreign intelligence but through electronic means, rather than human sources. Foreign Affairs Canada has a small program known as the Global Security Reporting Program (GSRP), which involves diplomats gathering information, but overtly so. It is a relatively small program, involving roughly 30 people. It is not an intelligence agency. What about the Five Eyes? Canada has been part of the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing network — along with the U.S., the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand — for decades. It's been a beneficial arrangement for these members — Canada included. "We consume more intel than we produce," said Phil Gurski, a former CSIS and CSE analyst. Yet the Financial Times reported in February that Peter Navarro, a senior Trump adviser, floated the idea of kicking Canada out of the network — though he later denied the allegation. "We would never, ever jeopardize our national security — ever — with allies like Canada," Navarro told reporters. The story nonetheless raised concerns that the Americans' willingness to share vital information could be less guaranteed in future — though some say it's unlikely that Canada could be booted from the Five Eyes. Former CSIS analyst Jessica Davis said the sharing of intel among the Five Eyes is typically driven by "interests and operational exchanges," with the U.S. and Canada having more strongly overlapping concerns on certain issues, like common threats on the border. "The United States can't really kick us out," she told CBC Radio's The Current last month, noting that doing so would be detrimental to the wider group. While Gurski concurs there's "no mechanism" to remove a Five Eyes partner, he acknowledges that if Canada lost access, "we'd have to fill that gap somehow." Do our allies do this? Yes, and as Gurski points out, Canada is the only member of the Five Eyes without a human foreign-intelligence service. The United Kingdom's Secret intelligence Service, also known as MI6, has operated for more than a century. In the United States, the Central Intelligence Agency, came into being after the Second World War. Down Under, the Australian Secret Intelligence Service (ASIS) has been "quietly protecting Australia and its way of life" since 1952. The New Zealand Security Intelligence Service (NZSIS), which has both a national security and foreign intelligence role, was established a few years later. Both Germany and France have their own foreign intelligence services, while the European Union has been urged to create its own. Has this idea come up before? Yes, but it has never taken root. "This is an issue that comes up every 10 years or so," said Carvin. The Conservatives, for instance, proposed developing such a service as part of their election platform in 2006. But the proposed Canadian Foreign Intelligence Agency never came to be after they won that election and Stephen Harper became prime minister, nor during his party's subsequent two mandates. No such service was developed under former prime minister Justin Trudeau either. In 2023, his then-national security adviser Jody Thomas said it was "not on the policy agenda" at the time. Wouldn't this be hard to do? It would likely take years to bring into existence, given the tasks of setting up a legal framework for it, building an organization from scratch and training up the spies that would serve. In 2006, former CSIS director Reid Morden estimated it would take roughly 10 years to get enough staff trained to meet the needs of such a service. And he put the price tag, at that time, in the neighbourhood of $200 million. Gurski and Carvin both agree it wouldn't happen quickly. "Creating one from scratch is simply a non-starter," said Gurski, "because it would take so long" to achieve. Are there other options? Gurski says he thinks so — and to him, the answer is expanding CSIS's reach outside Canada's borders via legislation. It would also mean turning CSIS into an organization that would do both foreign and security intelligence. Gurski points out there are other organizations in the world that do both, with New Zealand's NZSIS being one example. The Netherlands also has a dual service. CSIS would need more resources, as a result, he says. Carvin, similarly, says he believes that Canada can do more with the tools it has in place now. Is there political will? CBC News asked five major political parties whether they would support Canada developing its own human foreign-intelligence service. The Bloc Québécois said the concept is worthy of study, though it could not say if such a step would be necessary. It suggested that Canada could look to deepening its partnerships with France and other allies that are not part of the Five Eyes. The party also raised the point that espionage carries various risks, including damaging relations with other countries. Green Party Co-Leader Elizabeth May said the party does not support launching a new service, saying that our "existing intelligence gathering apparatus" and our diplomatic links are sufficient. But the party says it is critical to maintain the Five Eyes partnership "despite the recent threats from the American president." NDP spokesperson Anne McGrath said Canada "must have the tools it needs to defend ourselves," voicing support for the work that CSIS does today. "CSIS and its mandate are in place to keep Canadians safe from international threats, including foreign interference in our democracy," McGrath said in a statement. "New Democrats also support a stronger foreign service, which will build Canada's connections and awareness to issues around the world." The Conservative party did not respond to emailed questions about the issue of a human foreign-intelligence service. The Liberals did not return a comment either, though Liberal Leader Mark Carney recently said "we have to look out for ourselves," amid the shifting security priorities of the neighbouring U.S.
