Silver City

Well Gold actually. But having recently watched Silver City it reminded me of this. Canadian

Groups call for action on cyanide spillage

a US-Canadian company, has spilled cyanide, an extremely poisonous chemical, twice into rivers in its operational area.

Gold Mining Companies have a notorious reputation for cyanide spillage in Ghana and other countries.

Though ironically it also should be noted that the John Sayles movie has a strange way of coming true. Son of longtime Silver City senator indicted on aggravated assault ...


A tip o the blog to Here On Planet Earth



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Peter Wanna Cracker

Gee I thought he said that we were not parroting the US.

But it was Canada's position at the Rome conference on Wednesday that stunned many. While 15 European and Arab countries called for an immediate ceasefire and a UN-mandated stabilization force to intervene, Canada lined up behind the U.S. and Britain in refusing to agree. Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay, parroting Condoleezza Rice, said a quick-fix ceasefire is not a good idea because it can't guarantee permanent peace. There's more politics than logic in that reasoning. Mr. Harper's foreign policy

Also See:

Israel

Lebanon

Peter McKay

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Which Priority Is This?

The destruction of the Canadian Wheat Board.

"Canada's new government campaigned on the idea that western Canadian wheat and barley producers should have a choice about whether to market their products through the Canadian Wheat Board (CWB). AAFC: Ministerial Statement Following a Meeting with Farmers

Oh really which priority was that?! There was no such a debate. There has been the Reform/Alliance front to destroy the Wheat Board. Creating a dual marketing situation will leave Wheat and Barley farmers to face this;BSE halts US plans to boost Canada beef imports



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Dinning A Liberal

On a personal note, I worry that our governments across the country have become a 'hotbed of rest' and I can only hope that Mr. Martin and others might be able to re-inject a sense of urgency, passion and priority into the affairs of our nation. Soon.

Kind personal regards,
Jim Dinning


Jim tries to serve up that this was an official donation to the Martin Campaign from TransAlta Corp. Except its signed 'king personal regards' and even though corporations are recognized as 'persons' under the law, no corporation ever sent me a letter with kind personal regards. Oh yeah nor do they add a 'personal note' to their form mail. And if I am not mistaken the $25,000 donation is the maximum, 'personal' donation a 'person', not a corporation, can make.

A tip of' the blog to Calgary Grit for this.

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Dinning Alberta's Next CEO

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CIA Blows It, Again

Meanwhile, a different kind of authority was emerging in Mogadishu: The Islamic courts.

It was an attempt, paid for by local businessmen, to restore order by using religious law to settle disputes and punish criminals.

Each clan's court has jurisdiction only over its own clan members, but it was a start on rebuilding a law-abiding society, and in 2004 they all joined to form the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC). Unfortunately, the mere use of the word "Islamic" spooked the U.S. government.

As usual, Washington's response was mainly military. It decided that the Union of Islamic Courts was a threat and in February, CIA planes delivered large amounts of money and guns to the three warlords who dominated Mogadishu. They named themselves the Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counter-Terrorism, and started trying to suppress the UIC.

Rarely has any CIA plot backfired so comprehensively.

The White House horns in again
Hamilton Spectator
By Gwynne Dyer.

Not so, there was also the leak of nuclear bomb designs to the Iranians. Which is how the US knows that Iran can build nukes.

And once again we can thank the capitalists/businessmen for law and order. Any kind of governance that is to their benefit. Capitalism creates the State. Just watch Deadwood.

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CIA

Somalia


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Israels Measured Response

Kills another Canadian. In a deliberate attack on a UNILF lookout. So here is the real measure of Israels Measured response as King Stephen called it. Israel is now engaging in War Crimes and violations of the Geneva Convention on a daily basis.

It is the Terrorist State against the terrorists. With no criticism from the US. UK or Canada. It bombs civilians and infrasturucture in Lebanon and Gaza, while the ghosts of Guernica weep.

Our PM remains deafingly silent on the war crimes the terrorist state of Israel is conducting against our countries citizens, and those of Gaza and Lebanon.

Israel arose from the abyss and now is the face of the abyss, something I thought the Harper understood.

What do Chomsky, Saramago Think of us?

'The political objective of Israeli policy is the liquidation of the Palestinian nation,' Chomsky, Pinter, Saramago and Roy write in open letter in which they accuse Israel of deepening the crisis in the Middle East
Merav Yudilovitch

When the war began in northern Israel and the Gaza operation was expanded, Palestinian director and actor Juilano Mar Hamis sent out an e-mail asking who would paint the “Guernica” of Lebanon. Pablo Picasso’s “Guernica,” which shows the results of the Nazi bombing of Guernica in Spain, is still considered a symbol of the destruction and devastation that war leaves in its wake.

According to Mar Hamis, his e-mail was intended to awaken the world. “Just as Picasso’s ‘Guernica’ is black and white evidence of the slaughter in Spain under Franco’s reign of terror, someone needs to testify about the atrocities Israel is carrying out in Lebanon and Gaza,” he said.



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Israel

Lebanon

Harper


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Hate Speech

On rare occasions I agree with Werner Patels, very rare, far less often than I agree with Sun Columnist Neil Waugh. However his post on the despicable but predictable venomous hate speech against Lebanese Canadians at the Western Standard, says it all. Also see his Holy Cow. Nuff said. Of course this kind of ranting can be expected from those on the right and those who support Israel unconditionally.



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The Cost Of Democracy In Alberta

What's the cost of democracy. In Alberta; five bucks. Thats cost of a Conservative Party membership.And Democracy in Alberta is all about the Party of Calgary.

Whoever becomes the CEO of this Grant Corporation, this one party state, rules until the next election. So if you want to choose your boss then rush on down and buy a membership, there are lots of little PC's willing to sell you one.

I think that the folks who consider themseleves progressive should join up in droves. No really.

Since Jim Dinning, Mr. Corporate Lobbyist for the backroom boys of Calgary is the front runner, then just to throw a span in the works, Progressives should support either Ted Morton or Lyle Oberg.

Think of what would happen if either of these two right wing dinosaurs got to be leader of the PC's. Why the party would split apart. Better a right wing demagouge than a corporate stooge from Calgary.

At least then we would would not have liberal Albertans voting Tory. Which is what Dinning is hoping for. And of course if Dinning wins then its just the same old same old as it was under Klein and the Calgary boys. Just ask Ted Morton. He agrees with me.

So come on folks, join the fun, lets all elect our next King and make sure he is the right madman for the job.




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The Joy Of Deregulation

Blackouts strike Edmonton, Calgary as power cut

When our City owned EPCOR was not a P3, which it has become, its responsibilities were to the Citizens of Edmonton. As we saw yesterday its responsibilities are to its shareholders and only the citizens it serves incidentally. The deliberate power outage which blew my computer and TV remote, which downed power to stores, created traffic havoc with failing traffic lights, was predicatble.

Since last week we have had a heat wave with history making above average tempratures in the high thirties. A warning should have been issued that folks should reduce their power consumption during peak hours. No such warning was given. Rather an order from the deregulated Electrical Grid management was given to EPCOR and they complied, with no warning.

When contacted by one of the few radio stations left on air, several were off due to power brown outs, CHED News, EPCOR denied it was responsible and blamed the Alberta Electric System Operator, call them they told reporters. Then when pushed they said they were ordered to shut down power by AESO. Then half an hour later they explained what and why they had done it.

This is unacceptable, but predicatable when you deregulate and privatize power. EPCOR is currently selling a $22 a share, and while the city appoints board members, its arms length relationship means EPCOR cares more about the bottomline than the good of its citizen owners.

Ours was a brown out, how about those poor folks in Queens going on ten days with No Power and record tempratures thansk to aptly named Con-Ed. Its enough to turn one into a George Metesky.

If NY politicians can blow their fuses over Con-Ed I expect no less from our City Council over this EPCOR debacle. And folks should tell them so. Oh yeah and send a note of Thank You to Jim Dinning the next CEO of Alberta Inc. who pushed for electrical deregulation as a Board member of TransAlta Utilities.






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Ceasefire Inevitable

Contrary to the assertions of Peter McKay and his girlfriend Condi Rice, there are no long term political solutions to the current Middle East Crisis as they envision them.

The Palestinian ambassador, Salah Zavavi, said he believes the chances for a comprehensive political solution have passed. “The resistance groups will not accept a political end to this,” he said. “They will not put down their weapons.”

"At the same time, if the conflict (between Israel and Hezbollah) means something to the Palestinians, it means that the creaking railway carriage of peace has already derailed and there is no way to put it back on track," Mamdouh Qenawi, political analyst and chief of the Constitutional Social Liberal Party,

And it won't help matters if US diplomacy continues to exclude Syria and Iran.
The only deal that will be brokered with the Arab states intervention is a ceasefire and prisoner exchange. Which is what should have happened in the first place.


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Israel

Lebanon


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