Saturday, January 14, 2006

Don't Count Out Alberta

I don't normally look at the polling for Alberta cause its a given right. Wrong! In this election the winds of change are sweeping everywhere. Here is the latest Ipsos Reid numbers which for the first time in memory, mine as fading as it is, the NDP are ahead of the Liberals!

DATE

CON

NDP

LIB

GRN

MOE

LINK

01/12/06

59

17

16

7

-



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Liberals Put On Notice

Note to Liberal Candidates, please pack up your offices, put away your signs, go for a vacation, the Globe and Mail has announced that it is endorsing the Conservative Party in this election. Editorial: Three reasons why it's time for a change

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Voting for Capitalism On January 23

As Marx said the State is the Executive Branch of Capitalism. Even so called workers parties, are merely the window dressing to ameliorate the worst excesses of capitalism. So lets look at the reality of our Canadian Executive Branch.

The Liberals are State Capitalists, firm believers in the nanny state and giving grants to friends and supporters. They are a centralist party which stands anarchist (Proudhonian) federalism on its head thanks to good old philosopher King PET. Socially they believe in liberalism, allowing the individual social freedoms. The would be considered Libertarian by American standards, if American politicos had standards. They believe the state should fund programs, and business and that with that folks who get their money from the Liberals should be grateful next election.

The Conservatives are Corporate Monopoly State Capitalists, they save their biggest cash handouts to the corporate elites, the Bay St. Boys and the Fraser Institute Board of Directors. While crying for Freedom, they neither believe in a truly free market nor a free society. They believe that the bigger the business the better. They believe the state should fund private capitalism. And they have Reformed over the last ten years, with a strong base of social conservativism which denies liberty. While proclaiming the mantel of Libertarianism, when it comes to gun ownership, they deny choice and liberty on issues like marijuana, sex and abortion. They believe that you should keep all you earn, I'm alright Jack, and please give a tithe to the church of your choice. They are the party of shop keeper's and the self employed like their hero; Ebenezer Scrooge.

The New Democrats and Bloc Quebecois are Social Capitalists, not quite socialist, nor even democratic socialists, these classic liberals are Social Democrats. They believe the State should level the playing field for individuals and business. That a market economy is a mixed economy. That rules and regulations are required for Order and Good Government. They can be liberal on social and personal issues or be intrusive, they support a woman's right to choose, but want to ban guns and smoking. They see the role of the state as making capitalism work as an investment in society, they believe in real shareholder democracy, at the parliamentary level and in the financial sector. They believe in taxation as a way of spreading social wealth around as a social investment.


The Green Party is a liberal party that also believes in Social Capitalism, promoting business that is green to make green. They would tax big business as polluters and regulate social change in the business community to get them to realize that they are wasteful in production, distribution and consumption. They hate smoke stack industries as wasteful, and Newfies as seal killers. They would again promote a shareholder democracy and would be open to more democratic workplaces. They admire faux fur and believe bicycles should be mass transit.

So on January 23 vote for the party that you believe will best act as the executive branch of capitalism.

But have no illusions that any of these will ever change essential nature of capitalist society. That would take a social revolution.

You may think you are voting for Change, but all you are doing is changing managers.

This has been brought to you courtesy of the letter @ for anarchy.

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Imagine A Bloc Canadien

Yep if only it weren't that little item in their platform the BQ could become the Bloc Canadien (BC) and be a second Left/Social Democratic party in Canada. And one that could still champion Quebec and Francophone rights. If only for that one little item in their platform.

National Post | Save separation, many Canadians approve of Bloc platform

MONTREAL -- It will probably never happen, but if Gilles Duceppe would just forget about independence, the Bloc Quebecois might well find itself enjoying support in the unlikeliest of places: the rest of Canada.

And folks like Canada's Lenin cause he has charisma in both official languages.

Loyda Arneson, of Richmond, B.C., also said she finds the separatist leader appealing. "Mr. Duceppe says what he wants to say, he always has intelligent answers or he has facts to prove what he's saying; I just like that," Arneson said.


A tip o the blog to Jacks News Watch for this.

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Greens May Win A Seat

Conservative Life goes out on a limb and predicts; Green Party poised for major break through this election with a glorious win of ONE seat, probably in B.C. I will join him on that limb and second his prediction.

Of course his crew of partisan Conservative readers all think that this will take votes away from the NDP. But as I have blogged here, and commented on the Conservative Life site, Jim Harris and his inner circle are Red Tory's and will have an impact on the Conservatives and Liberals more than the NDP.

The NDP national colours are Orange and Green remember, and whose environmental policies are supported by the establishment Green NGO's. While the Liberals and Tories are failures when it comes to the environment since they believe in Sustainable Capitalism, which isn't.


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Canada Conversation Down

This just in...
CanConv


Sorry! CanConv is down for maintenance.

Check back: Sunday January 15, 10pm EST
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Vote For Canada's Politcal Nutbar of 2005

Courtesy of Scott Tribe at Progressive Bloggers.

Voting For Canada's Political Nut of 2005 begins!
The ballot for the prestigious award of being Canada's Political Nut For 2005 is now open! Proceed here to vote. Warning. you can only vote once, so make it count. Note also that you also wont be able to see the voting results as they proceed.. its a true secret ballot to prevent any "freeping" of the vote if a favoured candidate jumps ahead or falls behind.

And since its a vote for moonbats from the Liberal and Conservative political sphere, I am not included. Nor are any of the Left. Interesting that.

It will be a difficult choice since several of my favorites are listed. And if you have been reading my blog (of course you have) you know who you, err they are. Let the Games Begin!

The Candidates

Rob Anders - Conservative MP for Calgary West.
Reason given for nomination: "for crafting flyers featuring a masked gunman that suggests a link between crystal meth use and violent crimes to "homosexual sex marriage," then mailing it to a constituancy in another province. Maybe he thinks they'll all move to his own constituancy and vote? What a lovely way to spend our tax dollars"

Andre Bosclair - newly elected leader of the Quebec Parti Quebecois.
Reason given for nomination: for his cocaine revelations during the PQ leadership campaign and then his overreaction to Governor-General Michaelle Jean poking a bit of fun at him over said revelations at the yearly media/political roast.

Jason Cherniak - a Liberal blogger well known for his support of Paul Martin
Reason given for nomination: "projecting a Liberal Majority... and how about his recent post on why he feels the campaign is a good one and will only get better. How about his post back in the summer about the David Herle speech that Herle gives to everyone saying that "The libs will win in the east, get a 100 seats in ontario and make gains in the west." Jason bought into that"

Sheila Copps - former Liberal Deputy PM among other things. Now a political commentator/columnist.
Reason given for nomination: for openly admitting to giving out free advice to the NDP and Conservatives on how best to defeat Liberal House leader Tony Valeri in her former riding.

David Dingwall: former Liberal cabinet minister and president of the Canadian Mint
Reason given for nomination: his "I'm entitled to my entitlements" comments which have made their way into Tory TV spots.

John Duffy: Liberal strategist
Reason given for nomination: for attempting to defend Scott Reid's 'beer and popcorn line' (see below) by standing by it and repeating it, and offering the line, ""Well I don't think that any insult was intended to the Beer or Popcorn producers. Liberals are proud of those people."

Gurmant Grewal: former BC Surrey Conservative MP
Reason given for nomination: for trying to pretend he was an agent from Alias with the whole taping episode of purported "crossing the floor" talks he had with the Liberals.. plus his incident at the Air Canada check-in counter.

Carol Jamieson: Vice Chair GTA Presidents Council, CPC
Reason given for nomination: "She basically took the lead of a group of nobodies in the CPC party to try and oust Harper. Fair enough, but she did it this fall, when there's no way there would have been time to even hold a leadership convention to replace him. That alone wouldn't clinch it for her. But the fact that Harper is running a nearly flawless campaign and seems poised to become Prime Minister shows just how insane her entire crusade was".

Warren Kinsella: Former Liberal strategist and noted Canadian political commentator/blogger
Reason given for nomination: "I hate to put his name in for this because I generally like his site, but of late I have to nominate him for his diatribe vendattas on those who disagree with him. In particular, going over the top with first Robert McLelland (myblahg) and now John Baglow (drdawg). There's also the over-defensive and homophobic reaction to Carl Fulsome's rather bland critique of Fury's Hour. (Personally, I would also top it off with his unceasing vendetta against his party because he hates their leader which borders on the pathological ...It's just all too bizarre".

Mike Klander: Former VP for the Liberal Party in Ontario:
Reason Given For Nomination: Posting on his blog the now infamous photos comparing Jack Layton's wife Olivia Chow to a "Chow-Chow" dog... and then expressing surprise that anyone other then his friends would have read the blog entry.

Tim Murphy: Liberal Party adviser- Prime Minister Martin's Chief of Staff
Reason Given For Nomination: his part in the Gurmant Grewal taping affair, for getting involved in talks with Grewal in the first place when he should have known better.

Monte Solberg: Conservative Party MP Finance Critic
Reason Given For Nomination: "for the following quote on his blog in May 2005 upon losing the nonconfidence vote : 'I look forward to going to church where I wish to be chided, and made to feel very sorry and then to be forgiven.' ...it seems to me that wanting to be humiliated in order to feel better just because the Speaker of the House voted for the government is a bit much"

Carolyn Parrish: former Liberal and independent MP
Reason Given For Nomination: her interview in December on CBC's The Current, where she took umbrage at political blogs for attacking her and asked the question how to stop the blogs from attacking her by use of some legal mechanism.

Werner Patels: Alberta blogger
Reason Given For Nomination: "From Blogging Tory to Liberal/NDP then ha ha, it was all a big hoax on you lefties, to I'm a Provincial Liberal in Alberta but now a Conservative National and the latest, I'm too partisan". Rather notable that a Blogging Tory was the first to nominate him. Also notable that there wasnt a rush from that group to congratulate him on his Gurmant Grewal-like stunt.

Scott Reid: Liberal Communications Director:
Reason Given For Nomination: For making the infamous ""Don't give people $25 a day to blow on beer and popcorn" comment while attacking the Conservative Childcare plan.

Gordon Stamp: Former Campaign Manager for Alberta Conservative MP Peter Goldring:
Reason Given For Nomination: Being forced to step down as campaign manager for writing under the pseudonym "Psycho" at right-wing site Free Dominion advocating Alberta separation and comparing Alberta to a battered wife.

Belinda Stronach: Current Liberal Cabinet Minister
Reason Given For Nomination: "She owned the public with the blond hair and see-through cloths; once elected, had a fairly hot affair with Peter MacKay; and finally managed to break his and Stephen Harper's heart by switching over to the Liberals. What a backstabber to her constituents."

Joe Volpe: Current Liberal Cabinet Minister
Reason Given For Nomination: "I'm gonna have to go with Volpe for his ridiculous overreactions. He called the Conservatives racists twice in 2005, once even invoking the Ku Klux Klan." Also mentioned was Volpe's penchant for overspending his expense account when taking guests out to lunch or dinner.

Margaret Wente: Globe and Mail columnist:
Reason Given for Nomination: "for calling Rick Salutin an "apologist for terror" in her Globe and Mail column of July 9, 2005."



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Conservative Governments Kill Workers


Simon Pole reminds us ,Tories Sent Troops Into Winnipeg 1919 .that it was the Borden Conservative government in 1919 that ordered the Army and RCMP to put down the Winnipeg General Strike.


They were backed up by the Chamber of Commerce (then known as the Board of Trade) Militia, the Committee of 1000, armed members of the ruling class, vigilantes in our own Wild West show down. At least one striker was killed and hundreds injured.

The Borden Government also ordered the army into Calgary where they put down the sympathy strike there, forcing railworkers and posties to go back to work at gunpoint.

And it would be remiss not to mention it was under the Conservative government of R.B Bennettthat the RCMP acting as a paramilitary army massacred striking Estavan Miners and their families in 1931.

And it was again the Conservative government of R.B. Bennett that ordered the RCMP to stop the On to Ottawa Trek in Regina, which also resulted in injuries and death to unarmed unemployed workers.

On June 3rd and 4th, after seeing the government's indifference to their plight, more than 1,000 men decided to go to Ottawa to present their grievances, hoping to create awareness for their cause. They set out first by train, but after receiving a decree from Prime Minister Bennett, they were denied access to the train cars. Eight men undertook the walk to Ottawa to argue their case, while 2,000 others settled in Regina, where they were fed and lodged by private citizens while being sustained by the government of Saskatchewan. The Prime Minister refused the delegation's demands and the eight returned to join the Regina group. On July 1st, 1935 they organized a public protest that was broken up by police squads who came to arrest Arthur Evans and a number of other speakers. This act prompted a riot, with the marchers throwing stones at the police officers. Two people died in the clashes, including a local constable; dozens of people were injured; and 130 were arrested.

R.B. Bennet was from Calgary West, and originally had sat in the Alberta Legislature before being elected to Ottawa and later to become leader of the Conservative Party.Sound familar?

The jack boots you hear are the Conservatives marching to power under Calgarian Stephen Harper.

The army. With guns. In our Cities. In Canada. It has happened before.


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Oiling the Wheels of Democracy in the Middle East

I highly reccomend that those in the blogosphere that want to get the goods on the Middle East take advantage of the variety of news sources available on the WWW and add this site to their news readers, Al-Ahram Weekly, from Egypt.
The late Edward Said was a regular contributor.

From which I found this article;

The dilemma of democracy
That true democracy in the Middle East would threaten US strategic and economic interests explains why it won't be happening soon, according to Ayman El-Amir
In the last half-century, US-Arab relations coalesced around defined common interests, not shared values. These were best exemplified by the historic meeting, on 20 February 1945, between US President Franklin D Roosevelt and King Abdul-Aziz Al-Saud aboard the cruiser USS Quincy at the Great Bitter Lake in Egypt's Suez Canal. The upshot of the congenial meeting was very simple: an exchange of guarantees ensuring free flow of oil to US and Western markets in return for securing the continuation of the Saudi ruling family. With the exception of few, short-lived revolutionary-brand regimes in the Arab world, this served as the model for US-Arab relations from then on.
Hence, these relations were unperturbed by the Arab-Israeli conflict or threatened by the brief and measured Arab oil embargo during the 1973 October War. The drama of 11 September changed the paradigm. For the US, the challenge was how to maintain and further strengthen its oil interests based on an unsustainable paradigm

From the pragmatic point of view, the US has little interest to undercut its traditional allies for the sake of democratic ideals.A new paradigm, therefore, will have to develop. Its elements will probably consist of a regional alliance against terrorism as a security threat, heavy US military presence in the region to deter Iran and guarantee the uninterrupted flow of oil, and soft-pedalling on the ambitious agenda of democratic reform. This may not be much to the liking of grassroots forces clamouring for democratic change, the rule of law and full respect for human rights. If they should rebel, armies of security forces will be at hand to control them, with an iron fist in a silk glove. What will be the US reaction? It will not be the first time the US will have abandoned the nationalist forces it once encouraged. In the meantime, autocratic regimes throughout the Arab world will bide their time and wait for Bush to pass too.
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Regressive Tory Tax Plan

In order to pay for the oh so generous 1% GST cut the Tory's plan to renege on the current personal tax cuts that were introduced by the Liberals. So what do economists have to say about this?
Tory plan to roll back low-income tax cuts worries some business

The price tags Costing Liberal, Tory and NDP promises

What do economists have to say about the veracity of Harper's financial plan

The Conservative Party's fiscal plan, a key part of its formal election platform released yesterday, counts heavily on the rollback of a tax break implemented by the Liberals to finance its spending promises.

The Tories confirmed that, if elected, they will reverse a cut of one percentage point in the tax rate for the lowest income tax bracket, and roll back an increase in the basic personal exemption to make the books balance under their spending plan.

But nowhere in the Conservative's 46-page election platform is that crucial policy spelled out, said Dale Orr, chief economist at consulting firm Global Insight (Canada).

"One would have thought they'd be a little more forthcoming," he said. "They certainly are not giving a high profile to something that is very important to a lot of Canadians."

Reversing the two tax changes -- which were part of the Liberals' November economic update -- would generate about $4.5-billion in 2006.

That money would be crucial to implement the plans in the Tory platform, Mr. Orr said. "It finances a lot of things."

In their platform, the Tories say their policies would generate about $45-billion in tax relief over five years, the biggest chunk of which would stem from reducing the goods and services tax.

Finn Poschmann, associate director of research at the C.D. Howe Institute, said restoring the higher income tax rates would carry "some political cost with it."

He noted, however, that the income tax cuts put in place through the pre-election economic update, some of which were retroactive to the start of 2005, are not actually law yet. Still, he said, it would be unpalatable for the Conservatives to roll back the retroactive portion, and it would be tough enough to kill them going forward.

And what does the Business Press have to say about the Harper Budget Platform? Horray more corporate tax cuts. Notice that the Conservatives will keep some of the Liberal promises.

Canada's Harper Pledges Tax Cuts in C$90 Bln Platform (Update1)

 The party will honor the current Liberal Party government plan to cut the corporate income tax rate by 2 percentage points to 19 percent by 2010, according to the party's platform released today. Individuals won't pay capital gains taxes if proceeds from the sale of assets are reinvested within six months, Harper said at an event in Oakville, Ontario.


And the Conservatives seem to be, as usual, getting their economic marching orders from the Fraser Institute. Cut corporate taxes to boost productivity, says Fraser Institute

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