Social Capital

Que. to fund companies with 'social conscience' As I have said here before funding for worker owned cooperatives and for alternatives to corporate capitalism needs to be developed across Canada. Using union pension funds and Labour Investment Funds for social investment rather than as they are currently being used as funding for P3's.

See:

Labour Investment Funds

Worker Cooperatives




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Unnesasary Cuts

GST cut taking bite out of government bottom line but it did not take a big bite.

However, the budget surplus for the first six months of the current fiscal year was still more than $5 billion more than during the first half of last year, a year when the government eventually chalked up a hefty, and politically embarrassing, $13.2-billion surplus.

So why the cuts to programs like Status of Women, Court Challenge etc. Which resulted in hardships for social avocacy agencies while making little in savings, which the Tories claimed as their excuse for cutting the programs.

Liberal finance critic John McCallum pointed out that spending on all federal departments and agencies, not including Defence, has risen 8.6% in the first six months of the fiscal year."It strikes me that's a big spending increase for a government that's cutting programs for the vulnerable and at the same time arguing it's a tough, low-spending government," McCallum said.

Of course it was ideologically driven. Instead of funding womens advocacy for feminism this is what the Tories fund; Down the way in the Beauce region of the province, Industry Minister Maxime Bernier doled out a government grant of $23,820 "to promote female entrepreneurship" (think about that one),

And while doling out money to Quebec to buy votes the Tories are still using the working class to build up the surplus to pay for their war efforts. Liberal, Tory same old Story.

Tories walk Grit path

Harper government treats EI as a cash cow

The Employment Insurance Commission this week announced a small cut to EI premiums effective Jan. 1, 2007.

You'll save a whole seven cents per $100 of insurable earnings come the new year. That means someone earning $30,000 a year will save about $1.75 a month.

If you're an employer, the premiums you pay for your workers will fall 10 cents per $100 of insurable earnings.

Wow.

What the EIC doesn't tell you, however, is that despite the small premium cut the massive EI surplus -- pegged at $48 billion last year -- is projected to grow by another $1.5 billion this year, even though the federal government claims EI is now operated on a break-even basis.

According to Human Resources Development Canada's own 2005-2006 estimates, the EI surplus is expected to grow to $49.5 billion in 2006.

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Canadian Values

Remember this from the last election.













Now compare that with this statement.

"Canadian values -- our belief in democracy, freedom, human rights," Harper said. "They don't want us to sell that out to the almighty dollar,"

I guess Canadian values are different from Conservative values.



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Pro Monopoly Tories

Blogging Tory and conservative L' enfant terrible Adam Daifallah prasies the Harper Governments direct interferance in the CRTC. The CRTC is supposed to be arms length from the government, in the past the Conservatives as the opposition howled whenever this came up in Parliament denouncing the actions of the Liberals when they challenged CRTC rulings. However without any debate in parilament, during a week when parilament was in recess the Conservatives do this;Conservatives overrule CRTC on regulation of internet phones

And their reason? Well having destroyed the Income Trusts for Telus and BCE, this is a token kickback to them. But for us as consumers it is an attack on choice, and furthers the monopolistic power of these two giant Telcos. And a conservative like Daiflallah supports such anti-market interferance. Astounding.

The federal government is ordering the CRTC to change its ruling on the regulation of some telephone services offered through broadband internet connections.

The move by the federal government to overrule a decision by the CRTC is a seldom-taken step.

The directive is seen as favourable to the large telephone companies, such as Bell Canada and Telus, even though it fell short of the full deregulation of internet phone pricing that the established phone companies had sought.

The CRTC's initial decision on VoIP in May 2005 ruled against the big telephone companies, saying they could not use their pricing power to undercut smaller businesses and newcomers to the telephone market, such as cable companies.

The agency said it would regulate internet-based phone service the same as any other local phone service, meaning large telephone companies such as Bell and Telus can't offer internet-based phone services below cost.

New companies entering the VoIP market, however, can set prices as low as they want, said the CRTC.

I also have a problem with the so called cable company competitiors Rogers and Shaw which are regional monopolies.

Shaw cable in Alberta is a virtual monopoly for cable services. And true to it's monopolistic practices complained to the CRTC that Vonage was undercutting it's VOIP service. So it arbitrarily uped the cost of purchasing vonage services through its cable network. A network it leases from Telus. A network paid for by the Taxpayers of Alberta. The Tories arbitrary overruling of the CRTC does nothing to address Vonages concerns.

Who controls how you use your Internet access? Vonage Canada challenges Shaw "VoIP tax"

service company Vonage Canada warns that cable and phone
companies could restrict "network neutrality" by limiting Canadians'
freedom of choice on the Internet; requests CRTC investigate
"anti-competitive" action by Shaw

Community Security: the Provident blog: Rogers Home Phone vs. Shaw ...

At best, I would consider the Rogers site misleading... taking a page from Shaw's Digital Phone marketing department, they have decided that rather than explain exactly how their service works, it is just simpler to offer a false statement that is easier for most people to understand.

So, whether using Shaw or Rogers, our position is unchanged: we do not recommend relying on any type of VoIP service (whether Shaw, Rogers, Vonage or anything else other than Telus) without having a secondary, back-up communications method such as cellular back-up or MESH radio.

Daifallah also calls for the elimination of the CRTC, which of course conservatives do.

Forgetting that the airwaves are 'public space', regulated for and by the public for public use.

My complaint about the CRTC is that it does not serve the public interest but the corporate interests. But that is a blog article for another time.

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Science Versus Politics

When the United States banned Cattle from Canada because of the BSE crisis the Canadian government and the then opposition Conservtives all decried the American actions as being political and not based on science.

Today the same Conservatives are the New Canadian Government and oppose the ban on deep sea trawlers.

Spot the contradiction.

There may be as few as 200 bottom-trawlers worldwide

Marine Scientists: Case for Bottom Trawler Ban 'Overwhelming'; Immediate Fisheries Freeze Needed

Marine scientists say the case for a moratorium on the use of heavy trawling gear in deep waters is now overwhelming and should be put in place immediately.





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Danger Nanobots

A new report warns about the dangers of nanotechnology. Its author explains why it's important to act now.

Somebody should let Alberta PC Leadership Candidate Victor Doerksen know about this.

Victor Doerksen – Nanotechnology is great!

But as debate over the nanotech initiative heated up, Drexler's ideal was kicked in the gut by Sun Microsystems co-founder Bill Joy.

"An immediate consequence of the Faustian bargain in obtaining the great power of nanotechnology is that we run a grave risk -- the risk that we might destroy the biosphere on which all life depends," Joy wrote in a landmark Wired magazine essay, "Why the Future Doesn't Need Us."

Left unchecked, Joy wrote, self-replicating molecular machines could endlessly copy themselves, engulfing the globe in a nanotechnological "gray goo."

That is if the little buggers ever can be built. A lot of scientists aren't so sure.

Also See:

Conservative Leadership Race

Alberta

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scince, nanotech, nano, nanotechnology, nanobots, danger, dangersofnanotechnology, nanotch,

Belugas

Now where are those Canadian Ice Breakers the Harpocrites promised?

These folks could sure use them now.
Whale hunters set for grim mission of mercy
Team to kill about 80 struggling belugas trapped under ice in Canadian North

Meanwhile Inuit in Nunavut face criminal charges for hunting belugas out of season.

Canada ponders charges against beluga hunters; 'There will be investigations'

Maybe the folks in Tuktoyaktuk having to kill the trapped beluga's could ship the whale meat to these folks.

See:

Whales


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LOL

This is rich coming from the former spokesperson for unbridled capitalism in Canada; The National Citizens Coalition.

We won't sell out to China, PM says

"I think Canadians want us to promote our trade relations worldwide, and we do that, but I don't think Canadians want us to sell out important Canadian values -- our belief in democracy, freedom, human rights," Harper said. "They don't want us to sell that out to the almighty dollar," he said.

NCC Promotes Workers Rights

Through court battles, media campaigns and direct political action, the National Citizens Coalition has pushed to democratize the workplace. The NCC opposes forcing workers to join unions against their will; the NCC opposes forcing workers to fund political causes through their forced dues; the NCC has countered the political propaganda of union bosses.

Gee workers rights just like they have in China.

See

Gong Show

China

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The One Party State

Lyle Oberg said the province must have a mixed system of public and private health care like many European countries, rather than a solely publicly funded system like Cuba or North Korea.

Well gee what do North Korea, Cuba and Alberta have in common besides public health care? Why they are all one party states.

Also See:

Conservative Leadership Race

Alberta

One Party State

Oberg

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Fair Vote Alberta

What is missing from the current boooooring campaign for the Guy Who Will Replace Ralph is any discussion on the deficit. The democratic deficit in Alberta. Nothing about open government, lobbyist legislation, referendums or heck even proportional representation. In the One Party State such debate is not needed apparently. Tory candidates talk gov’t accountability


According to Daveberta here is what the candidates had to say about reforming government in Alberta at the Edmonton Leadership debate;

Topic: Open and Accountable Government
Dave Hancock – Open up the Legislature, make the policy process more public.
Ted Morton – Federal Liberals are evil. I love Stephen Harper.
Mark Norris – I released my campaign contributions! (-5 points for being off topic).
Jim Dinning – Listen to what the people want and report back in six months (what?).
Lyle Oberg – Term-limits.



While in Ontario a Citizens Assembly has been called to look at reforming the government to be more open and accessible. Fair Vote Canada has created a campaign for PR in Ontario. Sigh when will Fair Vote come to Alberta? This is not even on the agenda in this race to the bottom by the men who would be Ralph.

This is not a new system; in fact, it’s an old Alberta idea. In 1921, the United Farmers of Alberta party implemented a campaign promise to bring electoral reform to the province. The transferable vote system was first used in a provincial referendum on liquor sales; because there were more than two options available to voters (total prohibition, allowed private sales of liquor, liquor only to be sold through government outlets), they were asked to rank their choices rather than choose one option. In the pursuant provincial election, Calgary, Medicine Hat and Edmonton voters selected five MLAs each from their cities (there were no ridings within the cities’ boundaries) using the vote-ranking system.

Also See:

Conservative Leadership Race

Alberta

One Party State

Democratic Deficit

Dinning

Morton

Oberg

Klein

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