Burma Shave

So much for caring about the moral economy, the IMF (under the control of the U.S., which says it is all about promoting democracy and capitalism) has this to say to the military autarky/ dictatorship in Burma;

IMF warns Burma on high inflation

Call it a Burma Shave. The IMP wants Burma to shave a few points off inflation, who cares about the exploitation and oppression of the Burmese people. Yes I know it's now called Myanmar, but that was the headline.






See:

Burma

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Send Fentie To Negotiate With the Taliban

The Yukon has re-elected Canada's only sitting Narco Premier. Yukon Party gets majority

It shows Canadian values are not Conservative values. They want a war on drugs, we reward drug dealers by electing them as politicians.

Dennis Fentie, who began his career in crime, which is the origin of all primitive accumulation of capital, had been convicted and spent time in prison for heroin trafficking in 1974

Of course as a smart pusher he didn't use. He went on to to use his wheeling and dealing skills in Construction, another business that is part of the under the table/ underground economy. And his natural instinct for opportunism, going from the NDP to the Yukon Party to Premier, makes him perfect for the job.

So lets get him to negotiate with the poppy growers in Afghanistan.


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Hastert Fires Himself

Those in glass houses.....Hastert Vows to Fire Anyone Who Hid Page Info


See:

Foley

Congress, interns, pages, Foley, Hastert, Speaker, Ethics, Republicans, sex-scandal, email, sexual-harassment, US, politcs, gay, homosexuality, sex

Ambrose Lies, Should Resign

Welcome to New Green Government of Canada ala George Orwell and Jonathan Swift.

Sun Parliament Hill columnist Greg Weston, in his latest column, outlines another lie from our MIA Environment Minister Rona Ambrose, unabashedly presented as fact in front of the parliamentary Environment Committee last week.

In what has become an all too predictable process when she is caught without facts Ambrose doesn't just make them up as she goes but in a true Hegelian fashion turns facts on their head. She fudges facts and outright lies. But that is not an offense under the Conservatives new Accountability Act.

Her other lie in front of the committee was deliberately misquoting from an American pro-environmental document.

And as usual true to form our MIA Environment Minister was not available today for media interviews. Despite the PM announcing that she would have an announcement next week.

These are just two more reasons, in a six month litany of deliberate falsification and lies about facts by Ambrose. Whose first lie was to say she represents Edmonton Spruce Grove when she lives in Edmonton Strathcona. The woman is a compulsive liar.

I am still waiting for someone to set up a on line petition for her to resign that we can all sign.

As it is let your MP and the Opposition parties know we expect them to call for her resignation next week.

Its the least we can do to help cure her of her moral turpitude.


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Ending Child Labour Means Child Exploitation

India has announced a further ban on the use of child labour. This time in domestic service industries. The problem is that children are already working in these industries and the government has no rehabilitation plans. Which leaves these children open to far worse exploitation in the underground economy and the sex industry.

Child Labour laws need to be enforcable, such as being able to offer children an alternative to work, that is having families able to support themselves without using their children, a living wage, and public education.

Which is not occuring in India. Instead this is another example of the State passing legislation that is useless except as a PR effort. Thus what is good for Alberta should be good for India, when it comes to the domesitic industry.

Flip-side to the child labour ban

Toral Varia

CNN-IBN

Posted Tuesday , October 10, 2006 at 19:18Updated Tuesday , October 10, 2006 at 20:32

NO REASON TO SMILE: 15-year-old Arjun had come to Mumbai to earn a living to support his family.

New Delhi: The Labour Ministry notification banning employing children below 14 years as domestic helps or at eateries came into force on Tuesday even as the children had little to cheer about in the absence of a comprehensive rehabilitation package.

The fresh notification prohibits employment of children as domestic help or as servants in dhabas, restaurants, teashops, resorts, spas and recreational centres. But does this notification take into account the problem of rehabilitation of the millions of child workers in India?

“I work from 10 to 3 during the day and then from 6:30 till 11 in the night,” says Child Labourer, Arjun working in a small restaurant in Mumbai.

What exactly is the child labour law?

The Child Labour Act prohibits employment of children below the age of 14 years. According to Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act 1986, those found violating it could face a jail term of up to two-years and a maximum fine of Rs 20,000.

His everyday work includes sweeping the floor, cleaning and serving food in the hotel. “There is no money at home, that is why I am here,” says the 15-year-old who had come to Mumbai to earn a living to support his family. He will be just one amongst many children who have nowhere to go after the implementation of the SC ban.

“There are children from Kolkata and South India, Karnatka and Mdaras who work here. Where will they go if they don work?” the hotel manager says.

Though the ban makes sense, very little thought seems to have gone into the future of the children most of whom are breadwinners for their families.

See:

Child Labour In Alberta

Child Labour Returns to Alberta

Kielburger Wins Nobel

Kids Are Commodities

Wal Mart Exploits Child Labour

Big Brother Wal Mart

CPP Funds Wal Mart

Private Property=Child Labour

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Truckin

Change the speed limit and you reduce the amount of greenhouse gases produced by commercial trucking. And you don't need a new clean air act to do it. Just the will to do it.

Trucking Alliance Leader says "Canada could do better"


Vehicle Emissions Canada Transportation Act Review Panel
The trucking industry is a large and growing contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, currently accounting for about 27% of total emissions from the transport sector.

Canada's Greenhouse Gas Emissions 1990 - 1999

GHGs from Transport, driven by increases in trucking activity and the number of private Sport Utility Vehicles (SUVs) and vans on the road, rose by 24%. Emissions from light duty trucks, which include pick-up trucks, SUVs and vans, have increased by 57% since 1990, while emissions from cars have actually decreased 7%. The Canadian vehicle fleet is growing and shifting towards more light duty trucks that, on average, emit 40% more GHGs per kilometer than cars.

Report to Parliament Under the Energy Efficiency Act 2004-2005

Chapter 6 – Transportation

Total transportation energy use increased by 25.7 percent (483 petajoules) over 1990 to 2003 freight transportation energy use increased by 40.1 percent (271 petajoules).

The transportation sector accounts for 27.9 percent (2361 petajoules) of secondary energy use and 33.6 percent (169 megatonnes) of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. From 1990 to 2003, transportation energy use increased by 25.7 percent, and GHG emissions increased by 25.0 percent. The change in GHG intensity of transportation energy use was negligible.

And it appears some in the industry are willing to go with a reduced speed limit. Typical of Canadian environment policy when it comes to commercial trucking our policy is made in the USA using NAFTA as the excuse to not create a made in Canada policy around road speed reduction. Ironically as the American trucking industry lobbies for such a reduction it uses the Ontario Trucking Association lobbying for exactly this as an example....


Carriers join special interest group in petitioning for made-in-America speed limiter rule

Bill Graves, president and CEO of the American Trucking Associations, has submitted a letter of support for this measure to the FMCSA. The petition will be available for public comment as soon as it is docketed for rulemaking by the federal agency.

Last year, the Ontario Trucking Association was the first trucking lobby group to propose speed limiters on trucks. The group pledged at the time it would export its idea across North America. Since then, the OTA -- which has argued speed limit set at 105 km/h would reduce accidents, save fuel, and cut emissions -- has been successful in getting the endorsements of other provincial trucking associations and continues to market the idea nation wide under the banner of the Canadian Trucking Alliance.

The fear that Independent operators have is that this will mean longer trips, more time on the road and the incease possibilty of accidents and burnout from long shifts. So coincidental with lowering the speed, new hours of work regulations need to be applied in the NAFTA transportation corridor.

Th industry lobby wants to reduce road speeds to 70 mph. When in reality 55-65 miles per hours would produce even greater reductions in emmissions as we learned in the 70's.


See

Kyoto

Ambrose

Green Plan



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Tories Announce Announcement

The Harper government announced today, that like previous announcements, this announcement was to announce that next week they will announce that they have an announcement about their Green Plan which will not be a green plan but an anti-smog plan. Details of the plan that were to be announced today, will not be announced till the announcement next week about the announcement pending further consultations.

Harper presses forward with Clean Air Act despite opposition


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Kyoto

Ambrose

Green Plan



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Vancouver Is Green This Time of Year

Which is why the Tories are launching the first part of their Green Plan there. Its the only Green they have in their plan, the background photo op in Stanely Park or wherever.Government expected to launch green environment agenda in Vancouver

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Ambrose

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North Korea Discovers TNT

Was it really a nuclear blast? The actual explosive material has been claimed to be less than 1 kl.tonne and no more than 4 kl.tonnes. Which can be created with conventional TNT. So like their failed missle test was this another fient? A conventional explosion made to appear as a nuclear blast?! To get the US to the bargaining table? That was the case in 2004.





Success, failure or bluff? Scientists pore over data

US intelligence says detected 'sub-kilotonne' blast in North Korea

Success, failure or bluff? Scientists pore over data

Low Yield Of Blast Surprises Analysts

Experts question North Korea's test claim

N Korea N-test more fizz than pop: US agencies





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Disassociative Humour

It's another Duh'O headline....

FDA Approves the First Drug to Treat Irritability Associated with Autism Is that for the caregivers or the autistic person?

The assumption here is that autism is a disease in search of a pharmaceutical cure.

There was an interesting item on Quirks and Quarks on CBC this weekend challenging the assumption that autism is a mental illness needing a cure.



In the big dictionary of mental disorders known as the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, or DSM for short, autism is listed as a mental illness. According to the psychiatric manual, people with autism don't communicate well, have trouble interacting with others, and often have some unusual and repetitive behaviours. Scientists have been very interested in understanding what causes autism -- mostly with an eye to curing it.

Now, two autism researchers in Montreal are arguing that maybe autism isn't something that needs to be cured. Maybe it isn't even a mental disorder.

The two researchers make an unlikely team. One is Dr. Laurent Mottron, a psychiatrist and cognitive neuroscientist at the Riviere-des-Prairies Hospital. He has been studying autism for 25 years. The other is Michelle Dawson, who is autistic. Ms. Dawson has never been to university, but is working at the level of someone with a PhD. For the last couple of years, these two have been collaborating on research into autism. They argue that autism should be recognized as a different way of being human, rather than as a disease or series of defects to be eradicated.

Related Links

Dr. Mottron's webpage and list of publications
The writings of Michelle Dawson
Michelle Dawson's presentation to the Canadian Senate


See:

Mirror Mirror On The Wall

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