Thursday, June 06, 2019

CLASS WAR IN ALBERTA 

Alberta MLAs continue marathon debate over workplace rules

By Dean Bennett The Canadian Press
Alberta politicians talked around the clock into the afternoon Thursday in a marathon debate over a bill that would cut the minimum wage for young people and change rules on calculating overtime pay.
Opposition NDP members began delivering speeches during second reading of the United Conservative’s labour bill at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.
SEE


“We’re not about to let the UCP government ram this bill through because they are taking overtime pay away from hardworking Albertans,” NDP house leader Deron Bilous told reporters Thursday morning as debate entered its 15th consecutive hour.
“This bill will have a significant impact on those especially in the construction industry and the energy sector.”
Government House Leader Jason Nixon said the UCP campaigned and won the election on a promise to change workplace rules to encourage business investment and won’t be distracted by the delay tactics.
“If the Opposition wants to filibuster they’re welcome to use the chamber to do that, to get their thoughts on the record. That’s the process. I respect that process,” said Nixon.
“(But) we will get our agenda through the house.”
There needs to be 20 members in the house for quorum or proceedings are adjourned.
On Thursday morning there were about 20 UCP members in the chamber along with nine for the NDP.
During debate some members worked off laptops, others did some reading, looked at their phones, or sat and listened, often with one hand propping up a chin.
Premier Jason Kenney sat in the front row and signed off on correspondence as NDP leader Rachel Notley, in her speech, urged the house to re-think the bill.
The government rejected an Opposition motion to refer the bill to committee for further study.
Bilous said the NDP caucus was ready for the long haul.
“Our crew has been very energetic. In fact we just swapped out our night crew,” he said.
“We have a fresh set of eyes and ears in the legislature that are prepared to talk to this and ensure that Albertans are aware of what’s in this bill.”
Nixon said he’s ready, too, especially given that his home and family are not in Edmonton.
“All I have waiting for me is an empty motel room,” he said.
“If the NDP want to spend the entire night up here hanging out with me inside the legislature, I’m happy to do it with them. Especially when I’m getting something that matters to my constituents so much through the house.”
If passed, the bill would roll back the minimum wage for workers aged 13 to 17 to $13 an hour from $15 an hour, starting June 26.
The $15 rate, the highest in Canada, would remain in place for everyone else.
The bill also proposes to cancel changes instituted by Notley’s government on banked overtime, allowing it to be calculated as straight time rather than time-and-a-half.
The bill would also restore a mandatory secret ballot for all union certification votes, and proposes a return to a 90-day period for unions to provide evidence of employee support for certification.
After second reading, the bill will be examined in detail in committee of the whole before moving to third and final reading.
On a procedural note, the official business of the house that began Wednesday night officially remains Wednesday’s business even after the clock ticks over to Thursday.
So as the debate rages on, time stands still.
© 2019 The Canadian Press

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CLASS WAR IN ALBERTA

 'Full-frontal attack' on workers: NDP filibuster over labour law changes

 JANET FRENCH & EMMA GRANEY
Updated: June 6, 2019

 The NDP protested proposed UCP labour law changes Wednesday night by kicking off an all-night filibuster of Bill 2 in the legislature.

 As Opposition MLAs made their cases Thursday morning for why the bill should go to a committee for further study, it was technically still the Wednesday evening sitting of the house. As of 11:30 a.m., the house had been sitting for 16 consecutive hours.

 “All I have waiting for me is an empty motel room,” government house leader Jason Nixon told reporters in the rotunda Thursday morning, after he’d been up for more than 24 hours. “If the NDP want to spend the entire night hanging out with me inside the legislature, I’m happy to do it with them, especially when I’m getting something that matters so much to my constituents through the house.”

 Opposition Leader Rachel Notley roasted the government over the impact Bill 2 will have on overtime. Specifically, allowing overtime hours to be banked at straight time, rather than time-and-a-half.

 Notley called on the UCP to “go back to the drawing board” and better inform themselves on what she labelled an “aggressive grab at overtime” for 400,000 workers in the province, many of whom are in the oil and gas and construction sectors.

 If the UCP is going to pass the bill, she said, it needs to be held accountable “to working people, their families and their employers.”

 “When we embark upon these risky ways to the bottom, back to these 1980-style Reaganomic economic plans, it’s divisive, because it’s about growing inequality, not reducing it,” Notley said.

 “This is a full-frontal attack on the overtime of working people.”

 Along with changing overtime rules, Bill 2 will cut the minimum wage for students under 18 and return Alberta to old rules around union certification.

 If the legislation passes, only employees who regularly work on a stat will be entitled to holiday pay, and must work 30 days in the previous 12 months to qualify for it.

 Opposition NDP house leader Deron Bilous told reporters Thursday morning his party is delaying the bill to raise awareness about its implications for workers, including those in construction and the energy sector.

 Bilous accused the UCP of not being upfront with voters during the election campaign about how the legislation would affect workers — a characterization Nixon rejected.

 “Albertans deserve to see what’s in these bills and to hear about it,” Bilous said.

 MLAs are taking shifts to maintain quorum of 20 members sitting in the house.

 Notley said last month the NDP would use all tools available to them to oppose any bill they see as an attack on workers.

 Nixon said UCP members will sit as long as they must to get their bills passed.

 “I love doing this. Our MLAs are ecstatic to come up here and fight for what they promised their constituents they would do.”

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LGBTQ RIGHTS ARE HUMAN RIGHTS


Opposition NDP fights over UCP Education Act in marathon meeting

A marathon session in Alberta’s Legislature continued well into the early hours of Thursday morning after the United Conservative Party unveiled its new framework for grade-school education. 
As of 6:00 a.m., the Official Opposition NDP members remained in the legislature to fight against bills related to worker’s rights, health care and most notably, education. 
NDP critics say the UCPs introduction of Bill 8 is nothing more than a cover up to out gay students.

PHOTOS


Gay-Straight Alliance sign, GSA
Gay-Straight Alliance sign
Bill 8, the Education Amendment Act of 2019, builds off the passed, but not proclaimed, Education Act of 2012.
"Once amended, the Education Act will serve as a foundation of excellence for years to come," said Adriana LaGrange, Minister of Education, in a statement released Wednesday afternoon. "The act brings to life the vision for a modern education shared by thousands of Albertans through widespread consultation."
"This legislation is based on the values we believe are fundamental to supporting our students."
The yet-to-be passed law does not maintain the protections that were put in place by the previous government for gay-straight alliance (GSA) members and could result in a ban on the use of the word 'gay' in school club names.
The New Democratic Party's Bill 24 protected students from being outed for joining a GSA.
The UCP says under its act, the disclosure of GSA participation would only be justified if a student was considered to be 'at risk of harm'.
"The intention is to balance the need that, at times, students have around the way that they want to create their organization," said LaGrange, "but also to allow for occasions where there is a need for parents to be involved."
The act would also remove the requirement that principals immediately grant approval to requests to form a GSA at a school. Students facing delays in the creation of a sanctioned GSA would need to launch an appeal to the school board and education minister.
Sarah Hoffman, NDP education critic, questions the Minister of Education's motives. "Either this is intentional, she's intentionally creating massive loopholes to put kids at risk, or she's executing the direction of her premier."
If Bill 8 is passed, the changes would go into effect in September.
MLAs remain in the legislature at this time. 
The meeting began at 7 p.m. Wednesday and could run up until 11 a.m. Thursday.

(With files from CTV's Brenna Rose and MarkVillani)
Opposition MLAs spoke against Bill 8, the Education Act, at the Legislature for more than 12 hours. Mark Villani reports.

The UCP government unveiled its new education Act to replace the old legislation. Brenna Rose reports.

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Monster swarm of ladybugs shows up on San Diego weather radar

June 6, 2019 | 1:50pm | Updated

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A swarm of ladybugs flying through San Diego this week was so massive, it showed up on the National Weather Service’s radar — appearing to be a huge storm.
The weather agency confirmed Tuesday that the blob was alive.
“The large echo showing up on SoCal radar this evening is not precipitation, but actually a cloud of ladybugs termed a ‘bloom’,” the agency tweeted.
Based on the radar, the bloom appears to be about 80 miles by 80 miles, but the insects weren’t in a concentrated mass that large, Joe Dandrea, a meteorologist for the agency, told the Los Angeles Times.
Instead, they were spread throughout the sky at heights between 5,000 and 9,000 feet — and the most concentrated mass is only about 10 miles wide, according to the report.
After spotting the odd formation on the radar, Dandrea said he contacted a spotter near Wrightwood in the San Bernardino mountains.
“I don’t think they’re dense like a cloud,” Dandrea told the paper. “The observer there said you could see little specks flying by.”
About 200 species of ladybugs exist in California, and most are predators both as adults and larvae, the University of California Integrated Pest Management Program said.
Among those species are convergent lady beetles, which mate and migrate to the valley floor, gobble aphids and lay eggs in the early spring, after temperatures hit 65 degrees.
But by the early summer, once the aphid numbers decline, they migrate to higher elevations, according to the program.
It wasn’t immediately clear what species of ladybug showed up on the radar.
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Torn from Their Bindings: A Story of Art, Science, and the Pillaging of American University Libraries by Travis McDade



Tragic true crime story for book lovers
In his 2018 book Torn from Their Bindings, book crimes expert Travis McDade chronicles the criminal career of Robert Kindred, who, along with his partner Richard Green, embarked on a cross-country spree of thefts from academic libraries in the 1980s. Sometimes the two would steal rare and valuable books, but more often than not they would simply remove pages of lithographs and etchings from illustrated volumes, which Kindred would then sell as framed art prints. In this thoroughly researched and well-written history, McDade gives the reader an inside look into the motives and methods of these book thieves, who enjoyed great success up until Kindred’s eventual apprehension at the University of Illinois, where McDade works as a curator of rare books.

Prior to reading Torn from Their Bindings, I had no idea of the truly shocking extent of Kindred’s crimes, which amounted to a cross-country swath of carnage in numerous libraries that were specifically targeted for their valuable holdings. Thousands of pages were excised by razor blade from scientific journals and illustrated periodicals. Kindred amassed enough material to keep entire retail galleries stocked with stolen merchandise. Although Kindred is the main focus of this study, McDade also briefly covers other book thieves whose methods were similar to Kindred’s and whose crimes rivaled or exceeded Kindred’s in their staggering scope.

Lovers of libraries and old books will be filled with dismay at how easy it was to perpetrate these crimes. Most of the materials Kindred and Green pillaged were shelved in stacks open to the public, with no security to stop them from just walking in, spending an entire day cutting out what they wanted, and walking out. Kindred didn’t get caught until he really stretched beyond this easy modus operandi and boldly ventured into breaking and entering. As a library school graduate with a fondness for academic libraries, I have always been a staunch believer in the value of open stacks and the opportunity for serendipitous discovery amidst printed books. The level of devastation McDade reveals, however, really raises troubling questions of access vs. preservation, making it harder to justify open stacks. Also troubling is the question of how many of such thefts go undiscovered, and how many gutted volumes may lie waiting on the shelves of America’s university libraries for that unfortunate researcher or librarian who will find them damaged beyond repair and unsuitable for use.

McDade diligently covers all aspects of Kindred’s crime and punishment, including minutely detailed police procedures and courtroom proceedings. At times it is probably more detail than the general reader really needs, but if McDade’s goal is to document the definitive history of these crimes, then he succeeds. This book is more likely to appeal specifically to those with an avid interest in old books and libraries, since the average true crime buff may not be interested in the history of zoological and botanical journals, the artists who illustrated them, or the specific species of plants and animals that Kindred chose to pilfer. If, however, you find such matters of bibliographic history fascinating, as I do, then Torn from Their Bindings is really an absorbing read. It makes for a disturbingly eye-opening exposé into the world of library theft, one that any academic librarian or archivist should read.
If you liked this review, please follow the link below to Amazon.com and give me a “helpful” vote. Thank you.
https://www.amazon.com/review/RM2670OQBTIGM/ref=cm_cr_srp_d_rdp_perm
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The Man Who Was Marshall Dillon

Patrick Murfin at Heretic, Rebel, a Thing to Flout - 3 days ago
A* High Noon* style gun duel on the streets of Dodge City played out under the opening credits of* Gunsmoke* and an implacable Marshall Dillon left a man dead in the dust. It was an immediate declaration that this was no kiddie fare where a white hat would shoot the pistol out of the hand of a cardboard villain I remember how hard I took the news that *James Arness* passed away eight years ago today on June 3, 2011 with his boots off, in his own bed in *Los Angeles*. After all he was mostly remembered as a *one note actor* for just one *part*, albeit one he played for more than 20... more »
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IN CANADA NO MATTER THE PARTY NAME CONSERVATIVES HAVE ONE ECONOMIC AGENDA; AUSTERITY FOR YOU AND ME, TAX CUTS FOR THE RICH 
THE WOMAN BELOW IS AN EXAMPLE OF THIS A YOU CAN TELL FROM HER
EXPRESSION OF SQUEEZING MORE FOR LESS OUT OF YOU AND ME 

Thursday's letters: Layoffs, service cuts in our future

EDMONTON JOURNAL
Updated: June 6, 2019


Premier Jason Kenney listens to Janice MacKinnon, a former Saskatchewan finance minister, and chair of a blue-ribbon panel announced to examine the Alberta government's financial situation. Taken on Tuesday, May 7, 2019, in Edmonton. GREG SOUTHAM /SUNMEDIA

SHAREADJUSTCOMMENTPRINT
Mr. Kenny has been in power for six weeks and has dramatically cut corporate taxes, got rid of carbon tax, told municipalities to give tax breaks for years to new businesses. So the question remains where will we get the money to fund the province, cities and pay for continual global warming disasters like forest fires and droughts.
I have no crystal ball but believe I can foresee the future. His hand-picked blue-ribbon panel that is to report on how to cut government costs will advise (while claiming it is purely non-partisan) to dramatically cut services, cut staff and cut taxes for the wealthy because trickle-down economics will get this province working again.
The truth is Mr. Kenny has no plans but to reward his friends who got him elected and when it all falls apart he will blame Ottawa and Rachel Notley. The next premier will be left with his mess and perhaps, finally, have the guts to bring in a sales tax, until we can find a way to get our oil to tidewater or diversify our economy. 
Inez Dyer, Edmonton
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Global Military Spending - 2018 Edition

TUESDAY, JUNE 4, 2019



Global Military Spending - 2018 Edition

With Mike Pompeo and John Bolton rattling the sabre at just about every turn, the recent report on global military expenditures for 2018 by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) is particularly pertinent.  Here are some of the highlights that will help you to better understand how much governments around the world spend on equipment that is solely designed to killing maim as many human beings as possible.

In 2018, total global military expenditures rose by 2.6 percent on a year-over-year basis, reaching a record $1.822 trillion in nominal terms.  This is the highest level since 1988, the first year for which consistent global military spending data is available.  Given that the Cold War ended in 1991, it is interesting to note that global military spending is now 76 percent higher than the post-Cold War low in 1998.

Here is a graph showing how global military spending has grown since 1988:


Total global military spending in 2018 represented 2.1 percent of global gross domestic product or $239 per person. 

Here is a pie chart showing the 15 top global military spenders:


In 2018, military spending by the United States and China accounted for half of the world's total military spending.

Let's look at military spending in 2018 by three of the big players in our new multipolar world:

1.) United States - For the first time since 2010, U.S. military spending grew by 4.6 percent on a year-over-year basis, reaching $649.798 billion.  This is almost as much as was spent by the next eight largest-spending nations combined.  Over the past decade, in constant 2017  U.S. dollars, U.S. military spending has actually dropped from a peak of $784.835 billion in 2010.  As a share of GDP, over the past decade, U.S. military spending has dropped from a peak of 4.7 percent in 2010 to its current level of 3.2 percent.  During the Cold War era, U.S. military spending comprised 5.7 percent of GDP in 1988 and 5.5 percent of GDP in 1989.  After the Cold War ended, U.S. military spending actually dropped to a low of 2.9 percent of GDP in the years between 1999 and 2001 but began to grow again in 2002 as the War on Terror was undertaken. 

2.) China - For the 24th consecutive year, China's spending on its military grew hitting a growth rate of 5.0 percent on a year-over-year basis in 2018 and reaching a total of $249.997 billion, 10 times higher than in 1994.  The spending by China accounts for 14 percent of global military spending.  In constant 2017 U.S. dollars, China's military spending has grown continuously particularly in the last decade where it has grown from $108.187 billion in 2008 to its current level of just under $250 billion.  In 2018, China's military spending as a share of its economy was 1.9 percent.  As a share of GDP over the past decade, China's military spending has remained in a very constant range of between 1.9 percent and 2.1 percent of GDP.  Back in the late 1980s and early 1990s, China's spending on its military was as high as 2.5 percent of GDP, still a fraction of what the United States was spending on its military.

3.) Russia - In 2018, Russia's military spending actually dropped by 3.5 percent on a year-over-year basis for the second year in a row, declining to $61.4 billion or less than one-tenth of what the United States spent on its military in 2018.   In constant 2017 U.S. dollars, Russia's military spending is actually dropping after hitting a high of $82.576 billion in 2016, dropping by 25.7 percent over two years.  In 2018, Russia's military spending as a share of its economy was 3.9 percent.  As a share of GDP, over the past decade, Russia's military spending has ranged from 3.1 percent to 5.5 percent.    Just after the end of the Cold War, Russia's military spending as a share of its economy was as high as 4.5 percent (1994) but fell to a range of between 2.7 percent and 3.8 percent in the decade after the end of the Cold War.

The perception of a threat by Russia's military has impacted military spending levels by its neighbours during 2018.  Spending by Poland rose by 8.9 percent on a year-over-year basis to $11.6 billion, spending by Ukraine rose by 21 percent to $4.8 billion and spending by Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania and Romania grew in a range of between 18 percent and 24 percent over the year.

As you can see from this data, global spending on technology that is designed to win wars and  both create and deter threats continues to consume a significant portion of global resources.  Despite the fact that the Cold War ended almost three decades ago, it is interesting to see the impact that the current Russian - United States friction has created and how it has resulted in a very significant increase in spending by the United States and its central and Eastern European vassal states.  On the upside, in the case of American military spending, at least some Americans are growing very wealthy on the backs of taxpayers who fund the hundreds of billions of dollars in military spending.  On the downside, they aren't necessarily getting much for their tax dollars. 
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A Very Erroneous Chart in the Economic Report of the President

ProGrowthLiberal at EconoSpeak - 2 days ago
Menzie Chinn has been reading the latest Economic Report of the President and finds a very erroneous and misleading chart, which is figure 1-6 from this this document (see page 45), which states: Equipment investment, in particular, exhibited a pronounced spike in the fourth quarter of 2017, as both the House and Senate versions of the TCJA bill, which were respectively introduced on November 2 and November 9, stipulated that full expensing for new equipment investment would be retroactive to September 2017. This created a strong financial incentive for companies to shift their equ... more »
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New Brunswick Indigenous chiefs left ‘blindsided’ by decision to lift fracking moratorium
By Silas Brown
Reporter  Global News

 The New Brunswick government has quietly moved to allow fracking in the Sussex area. As Silas Brown reports, environmental and First Nations groups are saying there's a lack of consolation.

 New Brunswick’s PC government is under fire from the opposition Liberals for making a closed-door regulatory change allowing for the lifting of the fracking moratorium in the Sussex area.

 Last month, cabinet approved an order-in-council, clearing the way for the changes that were part of Premier Blaine Higgs’ throne speech motion that passed through the legislature in December.

 But Liberal critic Lisa Harris says the government has ignored the necessary consultation to lift the ban.

 “They’re saying that they’re going to consult, they want to work with New Brunswickers, they want to work with all of the different parties. Well, obviously, they don’t. They lifted this 30 days ago without any consultation,” she said.

 “They say, ‘We’re going to do this, we’re going to move forward, we’re going to do it our way.’ I mean, it’s a little backwards … to lift (a) moratorium and then say we need to consult.”

 Harris said she spoke to several First Nations leaders on Tuesday who said they had not been consulted by the PCs before the change was made.

 A statement from the chiefs of Mi’gmawe’l Tplu’taqnn Inc. (MTI) says they “were blindsided by the decision,” which was made without “consent, consultation or input” from Indigenous groups in the province.

 The statement cites the 2016 final report from the New Brunswick Commission on Hydraulic Fracturing that set out nation-to-nation consultation as a prerequisite to lifting the moratorium.

 “The premier must remember the Crown has a duty to consult and to seek our consent to development in our territory. The Mi’gmaq should’ve been engaged on this issue when the government was just considering lifting the moratorium in the Sussex area,” Chief George Ginnish of Natoaganeg First Nation said in the release.

 Corridor Resources had been extracting shale gas in the Sussex region since 1999. But in 2014, a moratorium was issued by the newly elected Brian Gallant Liberals, stopping the development of new wells..

 “Any business, any government, if you’re involved with an initiative where there are moving parts and you have to figure out how to fit them into a framework, you don’t run out every day and give updates on that,” he said.

 Holland said that consultation with Indigenous groups is “of paramount importance” to any development, adding that any projects are about two years off.

 “We’re not looking at development (until) probably 2021 so that’s why I’m saying let’s just let the temperature down here because this is a long-term project. Nobody’s doing anything knee-jerk, and we’re looking out beyond a year,” he said.

 Along with a lack of Indigenous consultation, there are environmental concerns to consider as well, advocates say.

 “You don’t make the decision and then look for testimony that’s going to support it. You have a discussion first,” said Jim Emberger, spokesperson for the New Brunswick Anti-Shale Gas Alliance.

 “When the Liberals brought the moratorium in, they didn’t do that until they had had months of public testimony from citizens, from industry. We brought in international experts on contamination of water and public health,” he said.

 Sussex Mayor Marc Thorne acknowledged the environmental concerns around shale gas extraction but said the region has a positive track record that speaks for itself.

 “We are the area in the province that truly has experience, hands-on experience, with production of natural gas and we have yet to see any sort of negative impact in regards to that,” he said.

 “We know of no water contamination or any other sorts of pollution or spills that people should be concerned about. We’re concerned about that, too; we’re not in support of any sort of natural resource development that isn’t done responsibly.”

 © 2019 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

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