Delphi not only halts production, breaks its union contract and lays-off workers, but it also bails on its underfunded pension liabilities. Awash in money GM seperated out Delphi for exactly those liablities. Now they come back to bite both companies in the ass. And they come back and hits workers twice as hard, first as workers losing their pension benefits and then as taxpayers asked to pay for the company outsanding debt on those benefits.
Pensions will also be replaced with defined-contribution plans for hourly employees who are more than seven years from retirement and not covered by the GM benefit guarantee and salaried workers. The company said it will also need to obtain relief from the U.S. Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp., Internal Revenue Service, and Department of Labor in order to amortize funding contributions over a longer period than may have previously occurred. Congressional action may also be necessary, Delphi said.
Supporters of Premier Ralph Klein are planning an orchestrated show of caucus support before Friday's crucial leadership review vote.
Caucus whip Denis Ducharme sent copies of a letter to the 61 government MLAs calling on caucus members to join the premier on the stage in a show of solidarity and support for the premier.
Ducharme's letter leaves little doubt that all MLAs are expected to show their loyalty to Klein.
Ducharme told Tory MLAs that Klein's speech, being touted by some as the most important in his 25-year political career, "will outline how he plans to work with our caucus during the remainder of his term.
"I would like to ask, as a demonstration of our support for the premier, and as a show of party unity, that our entire caucus move up onto the stage to stand briefly with our leader immediately following his speech," the letter says. "A cue from the stage will signal that we should move from our seats and file up via the closest stairs to join Premier and Mrs. Klein."
And I thought of the big mass rally that this weekend is to be for our Great Leader and thought of this.
Dont know why for the life of me.
After all I cannont conceive of what Alberta has in common with these other democratically elected one party states.
Just a thought. Since Daveberta gets all verklempt about this kind of comparison.
Hello, wakey, wakey, we live in a One Party State. We have a Great Leader who wants mass public support. Hmm could it be a metaphor? Meta For what? The Marxist in me wants to say.
Of course Daveberta being the politcal straight edge guy he is, will not find this funny either. Since he thought so little of the comparison of our Dear Leader with This Guy.
As for the headline here's the link, and correct spelling, Eine Kleine Nachtmusik
by a more enlightened German,Wolfgang Amadé Mozart, than our King Ralph.
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| High-tech firms need government help, executive says |
| Last updated Mar 29 2006 11:19 AM MST CBC News |
An Edmonton entrepreneur says the Alberta government has to do more to encourage investment in the province's small but burgeoning high-tech sector. Adrian Banica owns Synodon Inc., a small high-tech company that specializes in gas detection technology. He said without government help, the high-tech sector will disappear from the Alberta landscape because it can't compete for investment with the oil and gas industry. Banica added that he has had trouble for years raising money to develop his product and expand his business. He said for an economy to be strong, it has to be diverse, so the province should provide more incentive for investment in high-tech. "The government has to put some dollars forward and then demand that private investors match it at least. But one thing that could make a big difference is to have some sort of tax credit that's issued on certain investments." A recent survey of 128 high-tech firms by Ernst & Young discovered that 49 per cent of high-tech companies are thinking of moving to other provinces that offer tax credits and financial considerations for technology businesses.
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The past three Liberal immigration ministers all announced plans to regularize the status of illegal immigrants who toil in the vast underground economy -- 10,000 to 15,000 in Ontario alone and an estimated 200,000 nationally. Past promises of an amnesty gave false hope to these underground workers, some of whom came forward to file refugee claims and/or humanitarian applications in an attempt to stay -- only to be ordered deported.Foreign labourers shown the door
Ironically this will come to bite them on the ass as the big Tar Sands companies need and want temporary workers to come to work in Alberta which is going through a labour shortage. Lack of Planning Created Skills Shortage in Alberta
So which is it going to be welcome temporary workers or deport workers already here. The mind boggles but at least we know that the labour crisis in Canada is a low priority for the newly appointed Minister.
Solberg says the numbers of Portuguese the Conservative government has removed pale in comparison to the roughly 700 the former Liberal government had deported in the past three years. Last week, he said that dealing with this issue is a "low priority" for the government -- although he denies Ottawa is stepping up deportations or singling out Portuguese. The Canadian Border Services Agency is on track to deport about 10,000 people this year.
Alberta is fondly refered to as Gods Country. In the house that King Peter Lougheed built; the post 1971 PC controled Alberta Legislature, the TV cameras all focus on the Government Bench and the Premiers front row.
There is no ability to pan across to the opposition or even the public gallery. And if the Premier moves out of range of these anchored camera's well they miss the action... as occured recently when King Ralph threw legislation at a page.
The Press gallery was two floors below any offices of importance. But the fridge used to have beer so that made it barable.
The Press in Alberta is dominated by Kleins autarchy, obey the rules or don't get called. Bite the hand that feeds you press tips and well, so much for your career as a political reporter. And then there is the Alberta Media version of FAUX News the CFCN network, and Limbaugh in Ruthordford.
Back in the ninties the only provincial public radio station in Canada; CKUA was fully privatized and lost its perennial contract to broadcast live from the Alberta Legislature during Question Period when it was held.
They had done this for seventy five years, and even survived the tyranny of the Social Credit government of Bible Bill. But in one fell swoop of anti-democracy the only station willing to carry the QP was cut off from access due to increased costs charged to them now that they were privatized. The logic befuddles the mind.
So good luck in Ottawa, you mighty media giants. You are about to face the wrath of Gods country. How DARE YOU PRESUME on the PM. Welcome to a little bit of Alberta in Ottawa. A little bit of Heaven for Cesar Harper.
Harper tightens secrecy, limits access
Tory gov't secrecy blasted by Graham
Battle heats up between media and Prime Minister's Office
Security on Parliament Hill barred reporters from attending a pair of Stephen Harper photo opportunities Monday as the Prime Ministers Office flexed its media messaging muscles.
The made-for-TV confrontation between security and reporters outside Harper's office door graphically illustrated the deteriorating relations between a PMO seeking total message control and news media defending their hard-won access.
It's a battle that may be beginning to resonate beyond the cozy precincts of the Peace Tower as the Conservatives threaten to hold secret cabinet meetings and withhold information about visiting heads of state.
"Harper ran on a campaign of open and accountable government," New Democrat MP Charlie Angus said Monday.
"And the first thing we see him doing is putting plywood up over all his windows and barring access to the doors. My question is, why? What is Harper afraid of?"
Among a series of media access restrictions already imposed or being contemplated, the most inflammatory is a plan to bar reporters from staking out cabinet meetings, where they can ask departing ministers about their portfolios.
In order to stop the practice, the PMO is suggesting it will keep the weekly meetings secret. At a minimum, it hopes to force reporters to wait a floor below the cabinet room, so that only ministers who want to speak - or have permission - will face the media.
Emmanuelle Latraverse, a Radio-Canada reporter and president of the press gallery, said the PMO is attempting to claw back access rights that have taken years to win.In Alberta it is very bad to be spoken of in the same breathe as Jean Chretien. Very bad indeed. Just ask Paul Martin......And it is reoccuring more frequently......Ralph and Jean, two who took too long to say goodbye........
So how did Ralph Klein, for years the leader who could do no wrong, get himself into such a mess this week?
Mr. Populist Premier, just "Ralph" to most Albertans, the mastermind of massive Conservative majorities for a decade, suddenly finds his grip is slipping. One cabinet minister, Lyle Oberg, openly says it's time Klein is gone and another, Ed Stelmach steps down. With party rank and file torn in their loyalties, the top brass worry Klein may take the party down with him.
It seemed to happen so fast, but signs have been there for awhile.
Who could forget that great moment after the 2001 election when an ecstatic, yes, gloating Klein grinned into the cameras "Welcome to Ralph's world!" He'd crushed the opposition to nine seats and took back much of Edmonton. He had the world in his hands.
That was the zenith. The cult of Klein soon began to fray at the edges and it was evident after the 2004 election,which laid the groundwork for today's messA new fear factor: Speaking up to Ralph
Globe and Mail, Canada
By Deborah Yedlin.
CALGARY — Lyle Oberg has been a hot topic in Calgary's business community since he broke ranks with Alberta Premier Ralph Klein and dared to voice what many in this province have been thinking for at least the past 12 months.
One oil patch industry insider went as far as saying "people were very happy" that someone finally had the gumption to challenge Mr. Klein, even if it has cost Mr. Oberg a run at the top job in provincial politics.
Many business leaders in both Edmonton and Calgary have been equally reticent to confront him. They too have been nattering for months that it's time for the Premier to go but because the oil patch depends on the government for favourable rulings on everything from royalty rates to approvals for new projects, the silence has been deafening.
Now, Mr. Oberg has spoken up and will likely pay the ultimate political price. With luck, his comments will resonate with delegates when they walk into the voting booth this weekend and anonymously cast their ballots during Mr. Klein's leadership review.
Mr. Klein has said he's willing to accept a 70-per-cent approval rating. He'd do better to think of two Jeans: Mr. Béliveau -- who retired after helping the Montreal Canadiens to win 10 Stanley Cups -- or Mr. Chrétien, who will go down in Canadian history books as a leader who held on to power at a huge cost to the country and his party.
Mr. Hargrove said a CAW council decided that the union should endorse strategic voting. Jim Stanford, an economist in the CAW research department, said many members felt it was inevitable that their organization would part ways with the NDP. Recent consultations showed that members wanted the CAW's political action to be driven by issues rather than by party affiliation, he said. "If you force people to choose between their union and a party, it's the union they'll choose. It's the union that delivers their bread and butter.
Where is the CAW Going (Buzz Hargrove and Sam Gindin Exchange Views)
In the early 1990s, the CAW responded to management's notions of work reorganization with their own agenda for defending workers. Today, the union sounds uncomfortably like management as it reinforces GM demands for 'flexibility'.* In 1996, the CAW struck GM - successfully - over the very outsourcing issue it was now giving up in the middle of an agreement (endorsing the loss of some 400 janitors - preferred work for some senior workers - and indicating more 'flexibility' as needed). Since the breakaway from the UAW the CAW consistently fought for improvements in work time. Now, in spite of added pressures on workers and an older workforce, relief time is being surrendered.
The leadership's defence has echoed the earlier refrain of the UAW (not to mention the familiar mantras of Thatcher then Blair): 'The world has changed', 'there is no alternative', 'expectations have to be lowered'. These lame phrases reveal a sad memory loss of the risks and uncertainties of that earlier time when the union resisted in spite of global and national trends, the warnings of its American parent, double-digit unemployment rates in the economy, and concerns about industry trends that were at least as great as today's. The world had changed back then and it is continuing to change today, but the lesson to be learned is not that becoming a spokesperson for the companies or forging closer ties to Liberal politicians will save us. Nor that our expectations should be lowered as technology develops and the economy becomes more productive. The question rather is whether unions are up to changing their own structures, building the appropriate allies, and developing a vision that can excite and mobilize their own members as part of challenging, rather than giving into, corporate power.
Mar 22, 2006 Sam Gindin Concessions in Oshawa: The End of an Era?
Family trying to get kids out of refugee camp A family that has been trying for almost two years to get their children out of an African refugee camp recently learned that one of their children was raped in the camp.
A reluctant new life Over the weekend, 24 people are deported to Portugal ...
Toronto Star, Canada -5 hours ago
... They were told to go to the Immigration Canada office on Airport Rd. on March 10. ... Report to Canada Immigration Centre Pearson International Airport. ... ...
Plane load of deportees flown to PortugalCTV.ca
'Come back'Toronto Sun all 5 related »
Rumours of immigration crackdown untrue: Solberg
CTV.ca, Canada -18 hours ago
... record. They were expected to board a plane Sunday to return to Portugal after exhausting all avenues with Immigration Canada. Members ...
Deal with illegal workers, online readers tell OttawaToronto Star
Solberg mum on illegal workers issueMetro Toronto
Working in the shadowsToronto Star all 4 related »
Immigration debate heating up in US Senate
LA Immigrant Rights March
Ottawa deports Iran-native despite torture fearsAnd so Canadians had better wake up to the stupidity of blame the immigrants/refugees/sans papier, becuase otherwise we end up getting to be known as this.......
Challenging immigration control in Canada
Bordering On Apartheid
Clarification on Where Director Paul Watson Stands on Various IssuesHe condemn's himself in his own words, while he denies those who oppose him the same rights to free speech as he demands.I long ago decided that for this planet to be saved, we have to step outside the paradigm of anthropocentrism and adapt a ecocentric perspective.
A ecocentric perspective does not allow for consideration of special interest groups of human beings whose actions threaten the biosphere. The interests of the biosphere take precedence over the interests of hominid special interest groups.
Racism and Sexism for example are social issues but they are not issues relevant to the survival of the biosphere. They don't sit around the SPLC and the NACCP and discuss species protection and clear cut forestry issues. People don't go to feminist and gay rights meetings to discuss air pollution and wolf re-introduction programs. These issues have their place within the social environment of one species but they are not relevant to the rest of the citizens of the biosphere. Thus I believe that the role of an environmental organization is to discuss and act on environmental issues independent of human social issues.
I also don't believe that racism is relative to the ecocentric world. There is only one race that I recognize and that is the human race and racism is a form of behavior caused by abstract and nonsensical prejudices among members of the same species. No intelligent person can be a racist because it makes no ecological or biological sense. I have found it interesting that when I maintain that all humans are equal and all members of one species that some find this statement racist because I refuse to see any distinctions between people based on skin color or features.
I think that speciesism is a far more serious issue. Human discrimination against practically every other species on this planet has resulted, is resulting and will continue to result in mass extinctions, extirpations and diminishment. Whereas racism is acknowledged, speciesism is not even given a moment's thought by most people. It is willfully and arrogantly ignored.
I am first and foremost a conservationist and this means that I am a conservative. But being a conservationist conservative has no relationship to the present perversion of political conservatism - like this particular right wing Christian fundamentalist Republican rhetoric that is presently posing as conservative.
ECO-WARRIOR OR ECO-TERRORIST?Pie Paul Watson?
At a joint Sea Shepherd and Jack Metcalf news conference yesterday, far right-wing racist Jack Metcalf complained that the civil rights of Sea Shepherd had been violated by the Makahs. This is the same Jack Metcalf that has spent a lifetime seeking to deny civil and human rights to people of color. The same Metcalf who, while in the Washington State Assembly, stated that "Black people are genetically incapable of governing themselves." The same Metcalf that the ACLU gave a 0 rating on his voting record on civil rights in Congress. To Metcalf, and others like him, rights only belong to rich white men.
And even better even the Vegans can see Watson for the racist fascist he really is.
As to Paul Watson’s article, I’m unsure why the EF!J even printed it. Was it because Mr. Watson has achieved legendary status among Earth First!ers? Surely it wasn’t to prove that radical environmentalists aren’t racist. It would have been different if Watson used the space provided to renounce his past decisions, but instead he spends hundreds of words explaining how unapologetic he is for supporting the messed-up policies of groups like SUSPS. While Watson starts off by saying that he is unaware of any anti-immigration sentiment in the organizations he supports, he then goes immediately into explaining the negative costs of immigration. Yes, we need to question what roles humyn populations play throughout the world, but what questions are asked, who is asking them, and who feels entitled to answer? White Supremacy tells us to focus on overpopulation and to stop it through forced sterilization, refusal of health care, genocide, destruction of ecosystems, and other forms of violence. As someone who sees no need for (and has no respect for) centralized governments, I don’t understand anti-immigration sentiment. Borders are nothing but imaginary political boundaries. When we begin to look at why people take daily risks to cross those militarized boundaries (and why those in power prefer to keep them militarized) we can begin to understand why our population grows that 1.3 percent each year.
Darker shade of Green
Far-right attempts to influence the British Green movement take three forms. Firstly, an authoritarian strain in the environmental movement has proclaimed the need for a centralised and strongly 'eco'-policed state, since the publication of Garrett Hardin's 1968 essay 'The Tragedy of the Commons'. Immigration, seen as threatening the ecological carrying capacity of a country, should cease. Population must be cut, by coercion if necessary. Social issues such as homelessness and poverty are seen as a distraction from the essential job of tackling the environmental crisis. In Britain, this strain dominant in the environmental movement of the early 1970s has waned considerably. It is represented by the Campaign for Real Ecology and eco groups disillusioned with the Green Party, with an ideology rooted in the pessimistic conservatism of Malthus. Far from overtly racist, despite some frankly repellent views - neither can this conservative environmentalism be seen as a fascist movement - it is clearly positioned on the statist right.
Eco-fascism also has a lengthy lineage in Britain. The Soil Association, Britain's organic lobbyists, counted amongst their earliest members Jorian Jenks, former agriculture advisor to the British Union of Fascists. AK Chesterton, first Chairman of the National Front, was closely linked to far-right environmentalism of the 1930s. His uncle GK, Catholic apologist and purveyor of the Father Brown stories, invented the ideology of Distributism with Hillaire Belloc. Distributism, proclaiming the principle of 'three acres and a cow', seen as a 'third way' between capitalism and communism, drifted into the anti-semitic sphere before becoming the inspiration behind the modern remnants of the Front. Issues of Distributist newsletters in the 1950s advertised support for car free cities, decentralisation, the racist League of British Loyalists and Rudolf Hess.
Canada last year enjoyed a greater than expected record $30.2 billion surplus in its trade and investment dealings with the rest of the world. But Canadian employees worked for less money in December, according to another set of Statistics Canada data released yesterday.Current account surplus passes $30 billion
As does a comparison between average wages in the same period and corporate profitablity including the stock market. Wages have remained stagnant in the Canadian economy. True unemployment has decreased, but wages have not increased significantly.New research from Statistics Canada concludes the number of Canadian children in single parent families rose 50 per cent in 20 years. It also concludes single mothers are five times as likely as those with partners to end up with a low income. The study, published this week, found the proportion of children under age 18 in a single mother family rose to 21 per cent from 14 per cent in the two decades between 1981 and 2001.
What makes our economy attractive is the social wage, the taxes we pay for social services that supplement capitalist investment strategies. The taxes paid by the average Canadian worker are now 60% of the Federal and Provincial direct funding, while corporate taxes have decreased.According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, as of September 2005, health insurance represented the largest single component of compensation costs for workers in private industry. In Canadian cities, for example, the BizCosts study estimates that benefits add only 20% of agents' annual wages to agents' annual compensation because Canadian residents are entitled to government-sponsored health care.
In a wealthy country that offers, for instance, government-sponsored health care and top-notch public education, you may pay more up front in hourly wages. Yet as a percentage of these wages, you might pay less for some types of benefits, like health care, if they're already available to residents of that country. According to the World Health Organization, as of 2002, private health care expenditures accounted for about 30% of all health care spending in Canada; the government took care of the rest. That same year, spending on health care in the U.S. was nearly evenly divided between public and private entities, with private expenditures representing 55%, or a slim majority, of health care spending.
On our trip to Russia, we saw numerous female "Babas" dating from as early as the Bronze Age (2000 BCE) and as late as the Middle Ages, and many of them have protruberances coming from the tops of their heads that later marked Shiva or the Buddha.
Ukrainians' deal blow to reformist leadershipJust like the people of Argentiana would get when they hear Evita Speak.
Maria Kompaneyets, 63, voted for Yanukovich in 2004, but had hopes that Yushchenko would use his popular mandate to improve life, especially the economy and pensions, recurrent complaints among those who are less well off. "Nothing changed, at least nothing changed for better, neither in the country nor in our own life," she said, voting with her husband, Pyotr. "Of course we had hopes. So much had been said in those days. Who could expect that it would turn out so bad?" Still, faced with the chance to turn again to Yanukovich and his party, which has promised to undo the mistakes of Yushchenko, she decided on Tymoshenko.
The politician's confrontational style has been blamed for much of the economy slowdown since 2004, but her fiery, charismatic oratory remains popular, as the initial results of the election showed. "When I listen to her speaking," Kompaneyets said, "I get goose bumps."
The millionaire revolutionary
She has been a powerful voice during this week's protests in Kiev. But who is Yulia Tymoshenko?
But in a shock result, Ms Tymoshenko beat Mr Yushchenko into third place, raising new doubts about how the warring leaders will now be able to form a governing coalition.
According to three different exit polls earlier, Mr Yanukovich's Regions Party was forecast to win 27-33 per cent of the vote.Mr Yushchenko's Our Ukraine was set to occupy an embarrassing third place with 13-17 per cent, behind Bloc Yulia Tymoshenko with 21-23 per cent.
But the Regions Party was expected to fall well short of an overall parliamentary majority, leaving the country with the prospect of prolonged political uncertainty as politicians struggle to form a coalition. Ukraine set to snub leaders of Orange revolution
It was the New Left that created the term PC or Politically Correct to diferentiate itself from movements of Stalinism and Maoism which took the line that it was the Great Leaders way or the highway, to Siberia. Or in Alberta's case Fort McMurray.Seeking Klein's crown are: former provincial treasurer Jim Dinning, former economic development minister Mark Norris, backbench Tory MLA Ted Morton, Infrastructure Minister Lyle Oberg, Intergovernmental Relations Minister Ed Stelmach and Advanced Education Minister Dave Hancock.
"He is an unprincipled intriguer who subordinates everything to his appetite for power. At any given moment he will change his theories in order to get rid of someone"
Lenin became increasing concerned about Stalin's character and wrote a testament in which he suggested that he be removed. "Comrade Stalin, having become General Secretary, has concentrated enormous power in his hands: and I am not sure that he always knows how to use that power with sufficient caution. I therefore propose to our comrades to consider a means of removing Stalin from this post and appointing someone else who differs from Stalin in one weighty respect: being more tolerant, more loyal, more polite, more considerate of his comrades."
While Vladimir Lenin was immobilized, Joseph Stalin made full use of his powers as General Secretary. At the Party Congress he had been granted permission to expel "unsatisfactory" party members. This enabled Stalin to remove thousands of supporters of Trotsky, his main rival for the leadership of the party. As General Secretary, Stalin also had the power to appoint and sack people from important positions in the government. The new holders of these posts were fully aware that they owed their promotion to Stalin. They also knew that if their behaviour did not please Stalin they would be replaced.
Krupskaya had opposed Lenin's calls for an early revolution but after its success she hid her political differences with her husband. Trotsky's main hope of gaining power was for Lenin's last testament to be published. In May, 1924, Lenin's widow, Nadezhda Krupskaya, demanded that the Central Committee announce its contents to the rest of the party. Gregory Zinoviev argued strongly against its publication. He finished his speech with the words: "You have all witnessed our harmonious cooperation in the last few months, and, like myself, you will be happy to say that Lenin's fears have proved baseless. The new members of the Central Committee, who had been sponsored by Stalin, guaranteed that the vote went against Lenin's testament being made public.
Bukharin's theory was that the small farmers only produced enough food to feed themselves. The large farmers, on the other hand, were able to provide a surplus that could be used to feed the factory workers in the towns. To motivate the kulaks to do this, they had to be given incentives, or what Bukharin called, "the ability to enrich" themselves.
Trotsky accused Stalin of being dictatorial and called for the introduction of more democracy into the party.
Lyle Oberg, who was Alberta's infrastructure and transportation minister until he was stripped of the position for six months after a Thursday night caucus meeting, apologized yesterday for suggesting he would reveal government “skeletons.”
But he did not back away from his suggestion that delegates at next week's annual meeting of the Progressive Conservative Party should rethink Mr. Klein's plan to stay in the premier's chair effectively until the spring of 2008.
Deposed cabinet minister Lyle Oberg says he will spend the weekend considering his political future and whether he will remain in the race to replace Premier Ralph Klein as leader.
Appearing sombre and subdued, Oberg told reporters today the past couple days have been “a difficult time within caucus” but he gave no indication he plans to quit the race.
But he also appeared to criticize Klein’s decision to stick around for two more years and hinted that fellow Conservatives should send a message at a March 31 leadership review that they want a leadership contest before then.
“The vote is not a referendum on the premier’s leadership,” he said, reading from a prepared statement. “The premier has already said he is not running again. The vote is a vote on when the leadership should occur.”
Gregory Zinoviev and Lev Kamenev united behind Stalin and accused Trotsky of creating divisions in the party. In April, 1937, Trotsky appeared before a commission of inquiry in New York headed by John Dewey. Trotsky was found not guilty of the charges of treason being made by Stalin.
After the death of Lenin 1924, Zinoviev joined forces with Lev Kamenev and Joseph Stalin to keep Leon Trotsky from power. In 1925 Stalin was able to arrange for Trotsky to be dismissed as commissar of war and the following year the Politburo.With the decline of Trotsky, Joseph Stalin felt strong enough to stop sharing power with Zinoviev and Lev Kamenev
Ed Stelmach, Klein's intergovernmental relations minister, resigned a week after the premier ordered ministers who want to run for the Tory leadership to step down by June 1 - even though the premier himself doesn't plan to step down for two years. Premier Ralph Klein said he was somewhat surprised that Stelmach decided to resign from cabinet so quickly. "I set June 1 as a deadline and I didn't expect it to happen this fast," the premier told his daily news conference.
Stelmach's move may bolster a sense of urgency among those looking for change.
It's all very confusing for most Albertans watching Conservative politics from a distance. Stelmach's public comments are very reassuring. He's a team player, he supports Klein and all party policies. "Officially, there is no race," said Stelmach, until Klein steps down.
At the same time, he told reporters his resignation means: "Look, there's no doubt about it. We're here, we mean business and we're in the race."
Yes, and there's a new urgency about that business.
On his return to Russia he was elected Chairman of the Moscow Soviet and became a member of the party's five-man ruling Politburo. He reached the peak of his power in 1923 when with Joseph Stalin and Gregory Zinoviev he became one of the Triumvirate that planned to take over from Vladimir Lenin when he died.
When Zinoviev and Lev Kamenev eventually began attacking his policies, Joseph Stalin argued they were creating disunity in the party and managed to have them expelled from the Central Committee. The belief that the party would split into two opposing factions was a strong fear amongst active communists in the Soviet Union.
Until now, the many Albertans who want their next premier to be ready to at least threaten separation with Ottawa in order to get the kind of respect and deference Quebec has received over the past 40 years -- and there are many of them -- thought their best choice was political scientist and Calgary MLA Ted Morton.
Morton is one of the fellas who developed the idea of building the Alberta firewall -- an idea that basically advocates the province taking full advantage of its jurisdictional rights -- such as establishing its own pension plan, having its own provincial police force, controlling its immigration etc. -- Morton was the closest they could get to threatening Ottawa to keep its paws off of our valuable oil and gas resources.
Not anymore.This, in effect, means Morton's leadership hopes are severely dampened, since Norris has already raised about $1.4 million from some heavy hitters with more surely to come as the race heats up.
As usual, that summer Kirov and Joseph Stalin went on holiday together. Stalin, who treated Kirov like a son, used this opportunity to try to persuade him to remain loyal to his leadership. Stalin asked him to leave Leningrad to join him in Moscow. Stalin wanted Kirov in a place where he could keep a close eye on him. When Kirov refused, Stalin knew he had lost control over his protégé.Budget not bold enough, says Norris
Mark Norris, a former cabinet minister who lost his seat in the 2004 election, said he's glad to see Stelmach stepping away from cabinet to focus on the leadership.
"I was a little surprised that it happened this early, but I'm very happy about it," Norris said in an interview. "It's going to be good to get this race going."
Norris said he's been paying all of his own leadership expenses and he'll be glad to see more of the candidates doing the same, especially cabinet ministers.
"It'll not only put interest into the race, but interest back into the party."
Norris, the 43-year-old Edmonton businessman and former Alberta economic development minister who is chock-a-block with fresh, concrete ideas delivered with a folksy, Ralphy kind of charm.
Norris wants to better care for Alberta's seniors and disabled, believes in strategic investing at all levels of education, would institute a two-term limit for a premier and set election dates for the province.
But it's Norris' willingness to play hardball with the feds and even lead this province down the road of separation if necessary that will set him apart from the others running in this race.
Yagoda was a close friend of Joseph Stalin and in 1934 he was put in charge of the Peoples Commissariat for Internal Affairs (NKVD). In 1936 Yagoda arrested Lev Kamenev, Gregory Zinoviev, and fourteen others and accused them of being involved with Leon Trotsky in a plot to murder Joseph Stalin and other party leaders. All of these men were found guilty and were executed on 25th August, 1936.
Advanced Education Minister and leadership hopeful Dave Hancock also indicated he's not too keen on the idea of more cheques. Rather, the dollars should be invested in endowment funds and savings accounts, he said.
"My priority is that non-renewable resource revenue should be saved for the future in a manner which can expand our economy, expand our society and pay dividends long-term into the future," Hancock said Tuesday.
11. This could change everything for Dave Hancock's leadership bid. Over the past week, I was beginning to be convinced that Advanced Education Minister Dave Hancock would drop out of the race in the face of Klein's June 1st deadline, but I now think he may stick around the racetrack. Though I don't think he stands much of a chance at winning the leadership, I think he could probably top the list of "best Tory Premiers Alberta never had." DavebertaIris Evans Alexandra Kollanti
Evans gives Klein healthy boost
Alberta Health Minister Iris Evans says she's squarely behind Premier Ralph Klein and his leadership.
When Joseph Stalin gained power he sent Kollantai abroad as a diplomat. This included periods in Norway (1923-25), Mexico (1925-27), Norway (1927-30) and Sweden (1930-45). Kollantai retired in 1945 and lived in Moscow until her death on 9th March, 1952. She was the only major critic of the Soviet government that Joseph Stalin did not exterminate.
