How to read a Canadian newspaper.

There's an art to getting useful (or any) information out of a rag like the Ottawa Citizen.  Case in point, today's article entitled

DND looks to sell gear to free up funds

Yes friends, it looks like the Conservative Party is going to [gasp!] -sell- Army stuff!

The Defence Department is looking to get rid of or sell off equipment as it tries to save money and free up funds for the purchase of new gear, according to documents obtained by the Citizen.

Holy crap, that news! ... Well no, truth is they do that all the time. So what is the news?

Buried in the middle, we find this nugget:

The moves come as all federal departments try to contribute to the Conservative government's plan to reduce the deficit.

Various departments have announced that the jobs of thousands of public servants will be on the line. Some workers have already received notices they will be laid off.

They're going to FIRE federal employees? Wow! Now that is news! You have to go alllll the way to the very bottom to find out the point of the DND selling equipment:

Nearly 70 government departments and agencies have or will submit scenarios for a five per cent and 10 per cent cut to their budgets. The Conservative government is expected to unveil its reduction plans in the spring budget. It is relying on the savings to help it eliminate a $31-billion deficit by 2015-16 at the earliest.

Now, had this been a Liberal government the headline would have been "Liberals take bold steps to cut government fat". The relevant information would have been right at the top, and selling military equipment would not have been mentioned.

That's how you read a Canadian newspaper.

The Phantom