China's Toxic Capitalism

While apologizing to Russia is nice, the Chinese state capitalists should kowtow to their own citizens with abject sorrow for the disaster their rush to embrace capitalism has once again caused.

Like the numerous mining accidents that have occured over the past two years, these are all a result of the toxic capitalism that China is now embracing in its rush to create a Fordist industrial state.

Chinese decry toxic coverup

Chinese media are leveling rare criticism of the slow, secretive response to a toxic river spill.

As of Sunday the benzene, released into the Songhua Nov. 13 by an explosion at a chemical factory owned by a subsidiary of China National Petroleum Corporation, had largely floated past Harbin on its way toward the Russian border. Five days after shutting down the Harbin water system, local authorities declared the "water had reached a standard level" and turned taps back on late Sunday. But in Russia, authorities are busy helping towns downstream of the spill prepare for when it reaches the country in the coming days. The incident forced Beijing to issue its "profound apologies" to Russia for the expected environmental damage.

And ya gotta love this headline........run boss run....but you can't hide....

China bosses flee as flood traps miners

China, struggling to clean up the world's most dangerous mining industries, has conducted a series of safety crackdowns and has shut nearly 2,000 mines since August.

The government has demanded that local officials sever any financial links to mines and has even called for managers to head down the shaft with each shift of workers.

But booming demand and high coal prices mean some owners ignore regulations, push production beyond safe limits or even illegally continue mining pits that have been formally closed.

Since under state capitalism the local officials are the bosses or in the bosses pocket this is another reason the workers need autonomous unions. A good news feeder on Mining and its impact on communities and workers around the world is;
Mines and Communities: Empowering mining-affected peoples

Web Design 101

It's been a weekend of web design changes on MSM and Blog sites.
Canada.Com which has completely revamped its clumsy ugly pages to look and work better.
But the real change for the better is at Progressive Bloggers A very nice look, very usable, includes polls, slick and cost a lot less than whatever Canada Com. paid. Nice go guys. Now if I use your diary tool what happens, does it appear on in your blogs or what?

Grey Cup Blues

Well its all over when the last field goal is kicked.
But the writing is on the wall, Jason Maas will be going to Hamilton after todays game. Why do I predict this?
Well Danny Maciocia is so enamoured and fiscally indebted to Ricky Ray, regardless of his lousy season and he needs the cash to pay for his football diva.
And that will come with the trade of Maas to Hamilton, which originated earlier this year when Edmonton took two players from Hamilton for future considerations. Sigh, so regardless win or lose we will be left with a prima donna overpaid underachiver for QB, and a starry eyed wet behind the ears coach.
Win or lose Maas is gone and we are stuck with Ricky 'no touchdowns' Ray.
I think maybe the trade should have been these two and the Esks keep Maas, who at least has been a team player unlike Ray.

It's The Economy, Stupid

PM defends party's $10B binge Paul Martins radio ad that ran this weekend is the mock up Liberal Message for the Election, we are going to give you tax cuts and fiscal management if you vote for us. Yep the binge spenders will be using all the announcements over the last two weeks as election goodies. Ahh you knew that was going to happen didn't ya. Notice I din't mention Gomery here once, and as the election plays out watch him disappear into the distance....

Canadian Eh

Colby Cosh has an article on Abortion, oh dear that should rattle a few folks, over at the National Post. Where he asks, in regards to public opinion polls showing that Canadians favour restrictions on abortion, favour capital punishment and restrictive immigration, the following;It is easy for politicians to ignore those who share the majority opinion. You are unorganized and quiet. But why are you?
Well we could ask the same question about Smokers. Who silently allow themselves to be victimized, bullied, and socially ostracized by the majority, it is probably cause they think its good for them, or when facing overwhelming legislative power simply shrug and say 'so it goes'. Very Canadian.

The Election Is On

It's official I just heard it on Joe FM here in Edmonton. An attack radio ad by Laurie Hawn the Edmonton Centre Conservative candidate against the Minister of Security and only Liberal MP in Alberta, Anne Mclellan.

Anne's seat is the one to watch By Paul Stanway

The ad has a couple talking about how the Liberals are soft on crime....thats their messaging for the begining of the election oy, shmucks....and the tag line....its time for a change....obviously listening to the polls.....So there it is folks, not bothering to wait till the shoe drops in the house tommorow the Conservatives are off and running......

the big prize for the Conservatives would be Deputy Prime Minister Anne McLellan's seat in Edmonton Centre.William McBeath, Conservative organizer in northern Alberta, believes high-profile candidates such as Rona Ambrose will help Laurie Hawn in his second attempt to unseat McLellan. Hawn has been campaigning for a rematch ever since losing to McLellan by just 93 votes the last time.

McBeath is a neophyte organizer and BloggingTory; Noise from the Right "In 2004 I graduated from the University of Alberta School of Business with a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Marketing. I work as a political organizer for conservative organizations in the Edmonton and Northern Alberta region."

It is obvious that Alberta is not a serious campaign site for the Conservatives, as they focus their efforts in Ontario. Leaving the campaign to defeat Anne Mclellan to a recent graduate from the U of A, shows either chutzpah or severe underestimation of Landslide Anne's political machine.

Kilgours seat is the other Liberal seat up, but as Kilgour was a Conservative turned Liberal turned Independent, his seat is far more likely to go Tory than Liberal, unless the Liberals really put $$$ and workers into the campaign. Again the Tories must think they have this one in the bag to leave it to the 'kid'.

However there are still two races that could change the dynamic in Alberta, especially if the Tories and Liberal fail to put the effort in here. And from their web page the Liberals are the only party that still has to nominate candidates in Alberta!

Peter Goldring's seat in Edmonton East is being contested by NDP candidate Arlene Chapman who has credentials and public profile. Along with support from the provincial NDP machine to work for her, this is a race to watch. This seat was the only one ever won by the NDP federally. And it has been held by the NDP provincially. Since it includes the provincial riding of Calder, which went NDP provincially, the base is there to unseat Goldring.

The other race is Edmonton Strathcona, where the NDP doubled their vote last election and matched the Liberals but were unable to unseat Rahim Jaffer. This time their candidate is Linda Duncan an environmental lawyer.

The Liberals recycled a former MLA last time, and rumour has it will be their candidate again. This was a neck and neck race between the Liberals and NDP, which polled more votes total than Jaffer, but by splitting the vote, he won.

The question in Redmonton is can the NDP use the voter apathy of the Conservatives and effectively counter the Liberal use of 'fear factor' of the Harper to gain votes from the Liberals to win these seats. Or will these seats go Tory because of strategic voting for the Liberals.

Well that's what makes elections exciting, even in good old predictable Alberta.

Pardon Me While I Laugh

Liberals are about accountability, PM says
Ha ha ho ho hee hee, oh puuuuulllleeaasssee (he said in his best Roger Rabbit imitation) stop you're killing me.....lets take a look at the Liberals accountability as the NDP points out...........

Enough is enough:
Top 6 Examples that Liberal Words Don't Match Deeds
----------------------------------------------
1. HEALTH CARE: For 12 years, Liberals have said they will
protect public health care yet have overseen the fastest
expansion of American-style, private, for-profit health care.
Private clinics, private surgeries, private diagnostics... and
$41 billion thrown around without a single new condition to
prevent privatization from growing.

2. JOBS: For 12 years, Liberals have said they'll stand up for
workers. They've gutted Employment Insurance and today
two-in-three unemployed Canadians don't qualify. They let George
Bush attack our forestry workers and don't fight back. They're 12
years late on an auto strategy and have no idea how to build the
green cars Canada wants right here in Canada. 140,000
manufacturing jobs gone, our forestry industry is in crisis, auto
plants closing and pensions are unprotected.

3. ENVIRONMENT: For 12 years, Liberals have promised to cut
pollution. They promised a 20% cut to pollution in 1993. It's now
up by 24%, and rising faster than even the United States. They
oppose mandatory fuel efficiency and oppose rules to make
polluters pollute less. They give billions of dollars to the oil
and coal industry and smog season in Canada now runs from
February to October.

4. FOREIGN AFFAIRS: For 12 years, Liberals have promised to play
a role in the world that makes us proud. They've cut foreign aid
and broken our promise to the world. They've ignored Stephen
Lewis' plea and not one low-cost AIDS pill has gone to Africa.
They've let the country that invented peacekeeping slip to 33rd
in the world. And Paul Martin only said no to George Bush on
missile defence because he didn't have an unaccountable
majority.

5. UNITY: For 12 years, Liberals have said they'll strengthen
Canada - yet support for separation is at an all-time high. The
Liberal Party's criminal activity in Quebec has insulted
Quebecers, insulted Canadians outside Quebec and is the best
recruiting tool for the Bloc Quebecois.

6. ETHICS: For 12 years, Liberals have said they'll clean up
politics - yet cronyism continues. Corporate lobbyists run the
show and don't play by the rules. Justice Gomery found the
Liberal Party guilty of an organized kickback scheme - and the
Liberal Party ignores Parliamentary votes routinely and has
broken its word on democratic reform.

Enough is enough.

Air Canada Profits From Bankruptcy

ACE Air Canada's holding company has watched its share prices steadily increase since the airline declared bankruptcy last year. In fact the bankruptcy model of corporate restructuring is becoming all the rage both in the Amercian and Euro airline industries and now with GM and Delphi. What it means is using pensions and benefits and workers wage concessions as well as job losses to refinance the corporation. And while ACE has made profits for its shareholders it has been structured to isolate the company from paying any of those profits back to its workers in the form of wage increases. As a weekend special on Air Canada's boss Robert Milton in the Globe and Mail reports;

But making customers happy likely won't be nearly as hard as keeping employees contented. And therein lays Milton's biggest challenge. "I think he's done an awful lot of smart things at the airline, but I think he's based them on the premise of labour peace. I'm not at all convinced that's guaranteed," says Douglas Reid, a professor of strategy at Queen's University School of Business. "The unions do not see current compensation levels as adequate. They see them as an aberration."

As ACE begins racking up profits, the 26,500 employees at the mainline carrier will want their cut. Unfortunately for them, Reid points out, the holding company structure was specifically designed to isolate ACE's most profitable units (Aeroplan, Jazz and ACTS) from the less profitable mainline carrier. A profit-sharing program was put in place at the latter in exchange for union concessions during the restructuring. But if employees can't partake in the booty from ACE's other units, it may not be long before workers begin to balk. If they do, don't expect Milton to cave.

US Government Discovers Peak Oil

Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman has asked a high-level advisory board to answer one of the toughest questions dogging the U.S. economy: Can world oil production meet steadily rising demand?

In a previously unreleased Oct. 5 letter to ExxonMobil CEO Lee Raymond, chairman of the National Petroleum Council, Bodman asked for a study of the industry's ability to produce enough oil and natural gas at prices that won't cripple the economy.

"He's asked them to take a big-picture look out several years. ... He wants to get some definitive information," says Craig Stevens, an Energy Department spokesman.

The most noteworthy aspect of Bodman's request is a reference to the "peak oil" debate. At issue: the claim by a vocal minority of energy experts that the world is at, or near, maximum oil production.

British Anarchism and the Miners Strike

Found this article in the journal Capital and Class which was just published in their fall issue and is available online. Well worth the read as it shows the impact of the Miners Strike and Thatcherism had on reviving anarchism in the UK. The Fall issue is all on the Miners Strike and is available online.

British anarchisms and the miners' strike

Capital & Class, Autumn 2005 by Franks, Benjamin

This paper distinguishes some of the main currents in British anarchism at the time of the miners' strike. It explores the influence of these libertarian movements on the conflict in the coalfield, and assesses how the strike influenced the development of British anarchisms.

Benjamin Franks is a lecturer in Social & Political Philosophy at the University of Glasgow's Crichton campus in Dumfries. His book Rebel Alliances: The Means and Ends of British Anarchisms is due to be published by AK Press and Dark Star at the end of this year.