That was then...

What a difference a year makes. Last September, it was a prime minister named Paul Martin who was at the United Nations, while an opposition leader named Stephen Harper also happened to be in New York, taking in some Broadway plays, as it happens. (Harper also stayed at the Best Western last year. Presumably, he's found some better digs this year.)

Martin's advisers were somewhat miffed last September that Harper had chosen that same time to be in New York, believing him to be up to something.

Well, times do change. It's Prime Minister Harper in New York this week and yes, Martin, now the former Liberal leader and prime minister, is also in the city. And actually, he is up to something. Martin has been hanging out with former president Bill Clinton, working on his "global initiative" project, and getting ready to throw himself into some international work, specializing in Africa and aboriginal populations.

Meantime, folks back in Ottawa have been having some fun with counting words and doing comparisons of Harper's UN speech today and Martin's of Sept. 16, 2005. Here's what the numbers say:

'Development/Aid': Martin, 11 - Harper 6.

'Human Rights': Martin, 13 - Harper, 3.

'Environment/Climate': Martin, 5 - Harper, 0.

'Military': Martin, 1 - Harper, 4.

'Terror': Martin, 0 - Harper, 6.

'War': Martin, 0 - Harper, 3.