It’s possible that I shall make an ass of myself. But in that case one can always get out of it with a little dialectic. I have, of course, so worded my proposition as to be right either way (K.Marx, Letter to F.Engels on the Indian Mutiny)
Thursday, May 25, 2006
More Alberta in Ottawa
Ah more evidence of the practices of the Conservative Government in Ottawa mirroring the practices of the Conservative Government in Alberta, again. In this case the Official Government of Canada Web Site morphing into the Conservative Party of Canada website. Yep just another little treat from Alberta for all you folks.
Ralph Klein Premiers Page
Ralph Klein PC Leaders Page
Also see: Ottawa, Alberta
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Calgary Fraud Funds Dubai Boom
A criminal cell operating across Canada is funnelling millions of dollars to Dubai to fund terrorist activities through a sophisticated credit/debit card fraud scheme, says the head of Alberta's Integrated Response to Organized Crime unit.''For one of the groups, it (cash) goes straight to terrorism in Dubai and some of the other countries. They live on nothing and send all their money to fund terrorist activities.'Canada fraud scheme linked to terrorist activitiesThis is idle speculation, with no factual basis to say it is going to terrorists. Or she would have named the guilty parties. Sure they know its going to Dubai, but it is just as likely to end up here.
Or considering the booming economy of Dubai, being hot money invested into this; Dubai’s building frenzy lays foundation for global power The Gulf emirate is spending £140bn to transform itself into a capitalist powerhouse that will be a model for its neighbours.
Terrorism indeed. Obviously someone here is trying to get more funding for their department.
After this week's budget, taxpayers as well as voters and concerned citizens have even more reason to demand a full exposure of RCMP actions. Those reasons are only reinforced by a national capital consensus that, for a policeman, Commissioner Giuliano Zaccardelli is an usually skilled and determined politician. Budget renews concerns about RCMPTerrorism is so much sexier than saying White Collar Crime which the RCMP have failed to prosecute effectively. The RCMP's IMET has little to show for itself
Also See:
The Joys of Telemarketing
Credit Card Fraud
Free Trade: Primitive Accumulation of Capital
White Collar Crime
Criminal Capitalism
Ponzi Schemes
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Calgary, RCMP, Fraud, ATM, Dubai, UAE, Terrorism, White-Collar-Crime, Canada
Time Stands Still
On Parliament Hill. We knew that. The Conservatives in an attempt to turn back the clock on thirteen years of Liberal rule, have somehow created a cosmic conundrum with the horology of the Peace Tower Clock. It has stopped for the first time since it was installed during the last Trudeau reign. Shocked perhaps by the antics of the Harpocrites, even the Peace Tower is protesting our new war mongering, law and order government.
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He Won't Share
Klein issues warning on sharing the wealth heck he won't share with Albertan's why would he share with the rest of Canada. Besides the fact that the only folks who really share in Alberta's wealth are the Petro Chemical Industry Cartel in Calgary. Come to think of it they are the Party of Calgary that Klein speaks for. And so does the Harpocrite.
Poll queries royalty
Albertans want a public review of the oilsands royalty system because they don't think the province is reaping maximum revenues, according to a new Pembina Institute poll.
The survey suggests 84% of Albertans want a review of the program that allows companies to pay a 1% royalty until their capital costs are paid.
Pembina economist Amy Taylor said oilsands production rose 88% between 1997 and 2005, but royalty revenues increased only 14%.
'DECLINING AMOUNT OF REVENUE'
"We're getting a declining amount of revenue from each barrel we're pulling out of the oilsands."
She said the royalty scheme, which requires companies to pay 25% only after paying off project costs, was created when oil prices were lower, costs were higher and oilsands technology was in its infancy.
"We think the regime should be updated to reflect current developments," Taylor said.
The Pembina findings are based on a phone survey of 500 Albertans between April 7 and 13, with a margin of error of 4.4%, 19 times out of 20.
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Canada, Provinces, Alberta, Oil, Energy, Klein, Royalties, Tar-Sands, Harper, Equalization, politics, wealth, surplus, economics, PC, Conservatives, Calgary, PetroIndustry
ACLU Hypocrites
Today they demand their board take an oath of silence. ACLU May Block Criticism by Its Board
Typical liberals.
Once I was young and impulsive
I wore every conceivable pin
Even went to the socialist meetings
Learned all the old union hymns
But I've grown older and wiser
And that's why I'm turning you in
So love me, love me, love me, I'm a liberal
Love Me I'mA Liberal, by Phil Ochs
A tip o' the blog to Alberta Ardvark
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Elizabeth-Gurley-Flynn, ACLU, IWW, Communist-Party-USA, Communist, Phil, Ochs, Liberal
Happy Birthday Bob
Bob Dylan turned 65 yesterday.
He obviously survived.
Ah, but I was so much older then,
I'm younger than that now.
And now he is a DJ on Sattelite Radio.
Even wierder; Australian actress Cate Blanchett has confirmed that she will play a young Bob Dylan - the name Zimmerman is slightly more familiar as across the globe -- in I'm Not There, reportedly the first Hollywood film the iconic and eccentric singer-songwriter has authorised on his life.
"It's horrible," he told Playboy 40 years ago, on one of the countless occasions when he was asked if being a folk hero was a position of great responsibility. "I'll bet Tony Bennett doesn't have to go through this kind of thing. I wonder what Billy the Kid would have answered to such a question."
For fans of Bob see My Back Pages and Bringing It All Back Homepage
And what goes around comes around, Dylan the protest singer seems just as relevant today as he was waaay back in the early sixties.
It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)
While preachers preach of evil fates
Teachers teach that knowledge waits
Can lead to hundred-dollar plates
Goodness hides behind its gates
But even the president of the United States
Sometimes must have
To stand naked.
Although the masters make the rules
For the wise men and the fools
I got nothing, Ma, to live up to.
For them that must obey authority
That they do not respect in any degree
Who despise their jobs, their destinies
Speak jealously of them that are free
Cultivate their flowers to be
Nothing more than something
They invest in.
Masters of War
Come you masters of war You that build all the guns You that build the death planes You that build the big bombs You that hide behind walls You that hide behind desks I just want you to know I can see through your masks You that never done nothin' But build to destroy You play with my world Like it's your little toy You put a gun in my hand And you hide from my eyes And you turn and run farther When the fast bullets fly Like Judas of old You lie and deceive A world war can be won You want me to believe But I see through your eyes And I see through your brain Like I see through the water That runs down my drain You fasten the triggers For the others to fire Then you set back and watch When the death count gets higher You hide in your mansion As young people's blood Flows out of their bodies And is buried in the mud You've thrown the worst fear That can ever be hurled Fear to bring children Into the world For threatening my baby Unborn and unnamed You ain't worth the blood That runs in your veins How much do I know To talk out of turn You might say that I'm young You might say I'm unlearned But there's one thing I know Though I'm younger than you Even Jesus would never Forgive what you do Let me ask you one question Is your money that good Will it buy you forgiveness Do you think that it could I think you will find When your death takes its toll All the money you made Will never buy back your soul And I hope that you die And your death'll come soon I will follow your casket In the pale afternoon And I'll watch while you're lowered Down to your deathbed And I'll stand o'er your grave 'Til I'm sure that you're dead | |
Copyright © 1963; renewed 1991 Special Rider Music |
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Wednesday, May 24, 2006
CBC on Bolivia
Once again the CBC shows why it is more like the BBC than CNN. In this 'fair and balanced' report by long time international reporter; Joe Schlesinger; EVO-LUTION!
The Bolivian revolution is explained and not spared coverage of its blemishes. The reality is that there is a social revolution occuring here, one that is part of a larger transformation in Latin America that offers all of us hope that the Struggle Continues. Real revolution, by real people, combating American Hegemony and global capitalism.
More on Bolivia
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CBC, Bolivia, Morales
It's My Party
It's my party and I'll cry if I want to
Cry if I want to, cry if I want to
You would cry too if it happened to you
Prime Minister Stephen Harper says he'll no longer give news conferences for the national media, after a dispute led a number of journalists to walk away from an event when he refused to take their questions. Harper says he's finished with Ottawa press corps
Welcome to Ottawa, Alberta. As I predicted here the Harpocrite is using the tried and true tactics of the Alberta PC's in making the media feel small.
Also see:Ottawa, Alberta
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Harper, PM, PMO, Canada, media, news, reporters, press-gallery, Parliament,
Da Vinci Vatican
The Vatican reviews the movie version of the Da Vinci Code and concludes it is long and boring.
Gee just like the Bible.
Also see:
Judas the Obscure
My Favorite Muslim
Antinominalist AnarchismNew Age Libertarian Manifesto
The Morning Star
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Vatican, DaVinciCode, Movies, Hanks
The Job Creation Myth
The reality is much different. With the move by the Neo-Liberal State in Canada to Reinvent Government, large numbers of public sector jobs were contracted out. In some cases this meant those whose expertise was vital to a partiuclar department were allowed to contract back to the Government, or under legislation now sell their services in place of a government department.
In most cases though it meant contracting out and outsourcing, creating a vast army of temporary or replaceable contract workers, who have no beneftis and suffer under low pay regimes. It saved the government millions in benefits and wages. It save corporations and small employers the same. They are not obliged to pay benefits to contract workers, nor do these workers have the right to unionize.
As self employed consultant, and Career Activist Mark Swartz points out;
"The illusion of growth is most evident in the private sector, which
misleadingly counts self-employment as full-time, private sector jobs," says
Swartz. This grossly distorts the employment picture. Of this year's 80.7M new
private sector positions, fully 51.2M, nearly 2/3rds, are self-employment, not
real jobs. He notes "Historically self-employment has hovered around 15% of
total employment. Recent statistics suggest a growing deficit in genuine jobs
masked by inflated rates of self-employment."
Which means that with the increase in precarious employment, those jobs are here today and gone tommorow. And of course give us another reason to quote; "lies, damned lies and statistics"
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Canada, Stats-Canada, Swartz, Precarious, labour, employment, self-employment, contracting-out, outsourcing