Japan's Whaling Outrage

Clearly the sushi market sets the 'scientific research' agenda in Japan.

Japan hunts 50 humpback whales for research

As if the stupidity of their phony 'scientific research' expeditions for whales, whale hunting by any other name, was not bad enough now Japan intends to hunt the endangered Humpback Whale.

In Moby-Dick, Herman Melville describes the Humpback Whale as "the most gamesome and light-hearted of all the whales, making more gay foam and white water than any other of them".

Guess Star Trek IV is not as popular in Japan as it is here. Or perhaps it lost something in the translation.

The Esperanza, Greenpeace's anti-whaling ship, could use the Enterprise's help now.

Because they won't get any help from the Canadian Government.


Send letters of protest to the Embassy of Japan in Canada
255 Sussex Drive
Ottawa, Ontario
K1N 9E6
Tel: (613) 241-8541
Fax: (613) 241-7415
infocul@embjapan.ca

And copy your protest letter to your MP and the Party Leaders.

I am so outraged over this I have started a Facebook cause.

BLOOD ON THEIR HANDS: A Japanese whaling ship harpoons a whale off Antarctica, in this file picture.

A defiant Japan embarked on its largest whaling expedition in decades Sunday, targeting protected humpbacks for the first time since the 1960s despite international opposition. An anti-whaling protest boat awaited the fleet offshore.

The whalers plan to kill up to 50 humpbacks in what is believed to be the first large-scale hunt for the once nearly extinct species since a 1963 moratorium in the Southern Pacific put the giant marine mammals under international protection.

The mission also aims to take as many as 935 minke whales and up to 50 fin whales in what Japan's Fisheries Agency says is its largest-ever scientific whale hunt. The expedition lasts through April.

Japan says it needs to kill the animals in order to conduct research on their reproductive and feeding patterns.

While scientific whale hunts are allowed by the International Whaling Commission, or IWC, critics say Japan is simply using science as a cover for commercial whaling.

The Japanese hunt, which puts meat from the whales on the commercial market, is growing rapidly despite an increasingly vocal anti-whaling movement. This winter season's target of up to 1,035 whales is more than double the number the country hunted a decade ago.

The head of Japan's Fisheries Agency said Sunday the fruits of Tokyo's research would help prove that sustainable whaling is possible.

"The scientific research we carry out will pave the way to overturning the moratorium on commercial whaling, which will better help us to utilize whale resources," Shuji Yamada told the ceremony.

The focus on this year's hunt is the humpback, which was in serious danger of extinction just a few decades ago. They are now a favorite of whale-watchers for their playful antics at sea, where the beasts — which grow as large as 40 tons — throw themselves out of the water.

Humpbacks feed, mate and give birth near shore, making them easy prey for whalers, who by some estimates depleted the global population to just 1,200 before the 1963 moratorium. The southern moratorium was followed by a worldwide ban in 1966.

Since then, only Greenland and the Caribbean nation of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines have been allowed to catch humpbacks under an IWC aboriginal subsistence program. Each caught one humpback last year, according to the commission.

The American Cetacean Society estimates the humpback population has recovered to about 30,000-40,000 — about a third of the number before modern whaling. The species is listed as "vulnerable" by the World Conservation Union.

Japanese fisheries officials insist the population has returned to a sustainable level and that taking 50 of them will have no impact

"George and Gracie," the humpback whales in Star Trek IV,
were Walt Conti's first animatronic creations back in 1986.

GreenPeace Follow the Great Whale Trail!

Today we launched the Great Whale Trail, following the migration of humpback whales from the warm tropical waters of the South Pacific, where they breed, to the icy Southern Ocean around Antarctica, where they feed. And we're doing it via satellite tracking and Google Maps. Nifty.

It's a collaboration between Greenpeace and scientists studying humpback whales in the South Pacific. We provided the financial support, while the humpbacks have been tagged by the Cook Islands Whale Research, and Opération Cétacés (New Caledonia). Why are we doing this? Well, it's simple, really: whales must not be allowed to die in the thousands for needless, discredited "research," - like that carried out by the Japanese whaling fleet. We're satellite tracking whales in the Southern Ocean to prove that non-lethal means can be used to do some real research!

The Great Whale Trail follows the migration of humpback whales from the warm tropical waters of the South Pacific, where they breed, to the icy Southern Ocean around Antarctica, where they feed. Click on the whale icon to see more information about the individual whales.

The whales are heading to the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary, which should be a safe haven for them. Unfortunately, whaling still continues there.

Why the Japanese Fleet can't use this map to find and kill the humpbacks.

Greenpeace has a long history of defending the whales of the Southern Ocean by activists putting themselves between the whale and the harpoon. We would never let a whale be put in danger. The posting of the location of the whales on this website has been delayed to ensure the whaling fleet cannot locate them through the Great Whale Trail.

In addition, to justify their whaling as "science", the Fisheries Agency of Japan (FAJ) fleet is obliged to follow strict pre-determined search patterns or 'transects', when they hunt the whales. They claim this is to show that they are doing random population sampling. Any deviation for a single whale or large groups would automatically negate their so-called "scientific" programme.

Real live Humpback Whale and her calf courtesy Greenpeace.

SEE:

Your Sunday Bible Reading: Moby Dick

Belugas

Our Whales Are Missing

High Crimes On The High Sea's

Dolphins Say Scientist A Dim Wit

Whales Were Not Always Vegans

General Jackson Slaughters Luna

Canadian Anti-Whalers Attacked

Confrontation on the High Seas

Piracy on the High Seas

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Global Warming Headlines

World on the verge of climate 'catastrophe': UN chief

Climate change accelerating, top scientists warn

Climate change will affect poor countries most, but will be felt everywhere.

Huge death toll after Bangladesh typhoon

Climate change fuelling water crisis

Aid Workers: Climate Change, Rising Prices Threaten Africa's Food Supply

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Chupacabra A Shunka Warakin

A what? Well thanks to BigCityLiberal perhaps we have a solution to what the Chupacabra is. Perhaps this cryptozoological phenomena is just another name for a different cryptozoological creature. Perhaps they are one and the same. Since they are both cryptids. Perhaps the Chupacabra is a Shunka Warakin.

In the Great Plains of the American West, from at least Montana to Nebraska, there have been reports of an animal that seems to be a hyena. With a sloping back and hyena-like features, this beast was known to the Ioway Indians as the shunka warak'in. Similar creatures, with different names, were reported from the lands of other tribes. This animal was generally described as having dark fur, often black and sometimes red. The shaggy areas were distributed in a different way than on wolves. White settlers also thought they had seen this creature, and some were even mounted as trophies. Although the present wherabouts of these trophies is now unknown, one famous trophy had a picture taken of it, although it might have been a strange-looking wolf mounted by an incompetent taxidermist. Only DNA testing could settle the question.

After all the later is a supposed extinct North American Wolf Hyena hybrid as this picture shows of one shot and preserved in the 19th Century.

Shunka Warak'in

In the late 19th century, the Hutchins family moved into an area of Montana along the Madison River's West Fork, in Broadwater County. They were soon to report encounters with a mysterious canine beast known to Native Americans.

One of the descendants of the original clan was zoologist Ross Hutchins. In 1977, he would write Trails to Nature's Mysteries: The Life of a Working Naturalist. Within this book is reference to one of the most obscure creatures to grace North America's cryptozoological landscape. The following account is reproduced from that book.

One winter morning my grandfather was aroused by the barking of the dogs. He discovered that a wolflike beast of dark color was chasing my grandmother's geese. He fired his gun at the animal but missed. It ran off down the river, but several mornings later it was seen again at about dawn. It was seen several more times at the home ranch as well as at other ranches ten or fifteen miles down the valley. Whatever it was, it was a great traveler...

Those who got a good look at the beast described it as being nearly black and having high shoulders and a back that sloped downward like a hyena. Then one morning in late January, my grandfather was alerted by the dogs, and this time he was able to kill it. Just what the animal was is still an open question. After being killed, it was donated to a man named Sherwood who kept a combination grocery and museum at Henry Lake in Idaho. It was mounted and displayed there for many years. He called it ringdocus.

An Ioway Indian named Lance Foster approached Loren Coleman in 1995 and informed him of traditions existing in that tribe of an animal called a shunka warak'in ('Carrying-Off-Dogs') which cried like a human when killed. Foster's descriptions of an animal that looked something like a hyena and the existence of one in an Idaho museum are testimony that the animal killed at the Hutchins ranch was a Shunka Warak'in.

Coleman speculates that the creature may have represented a survival of a prehistoric species known as Borophagus, although my own researches into the animal makes it seem even more likely that it may belong to another prehistoric species, a creodont known as Hyaenodon montanus. H. montanus was a rather lightly built member of the Neohyaenodon subspecies

And these pictures shows the alleged Chupacabra caught in Texas this summer.

Eric Gay / AP

Phylis Canion holds the head of what she is calling a Chupacabra at her home in Cuero, Texas, Friday, Aug. 31, 2007

Creature ID'd As Coyote, Not Chupacabra

updated 8:32 a.m. MT, Fri., Nov. 2, 2007
SAN MARCOS, Texas - The results are in: The ugly, big-eared animal found this summer in southern Texas is not the mythical, bloodsucking chupacabra. It's just a plain old coyote.

Biologists at Texas State University announced Thursday night they had identified the hairless doglike creature.

Oh well.....there are lots more Chupacabra still out there.

But the Shunka Warakin is extinct. Or perhaps not....

Wolf,dog,Shunka Warakin?

Posted by Mark on February 24, 2007, 11:04 am

Did anyone ever here of the dna results on that wolf creature they shot from a helicopter in Nov 2006 in Montana,that killed 120 sheep? It was 106 lbs,& orangeish color.In the 1800's a settler in Montana shot & mounted what they called Ringdocus,the Indians called it Shunka Warakin ("carrying off dogs").I have a picture of the mount in a book I have.Anyway both storys r neat but I never read a follow up story on the dna results.Some said it could've been a wolf from the great lakes region but I never saw an orange wolf out here.Mabey a Wolf-dog X. Who knows?

Your True Tales
August 2007 - Page 6

Shunka Warakin
by James

I was eight in 1992 and went camping with my friends in his backyard. We made camp and lit a fire. We were in the tents when a shadow was cast on the side. We thought it was a dog at first and I went outside to chase it off. But it was not a dog. The most I remember is its eyes, they were red. The fur was black and reminded me of a hog. It smelled awful. Its front legs were longer than the back legs. It just stared at me and then it just walked back into the woods.

I talked to an Native friend of mine and he heard of it. My wife brought home a book called Weird Georgia and it had a picture and an article about it. The picture made the hair stand up on the back of my neck. The book called it a "wog". We Googled "wog" but didn't get much, but then we found a picture of "shunka warakin" and the hair stood up again. I live in southern Georgia and actively deer hunt, but have never seen another creature like this - and hope never too.

Cue eerie music....


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Kucinich and Paul The Perfect Pair

Nice to note that someone agrees with me. That Ron Paul is not the only Libertarian running for U.S. President. This is from Dan Alba, libertarian supporter of Ron Paul. And while he is critical of Kucinich he manages to point out what Paul and Kucinich hold in common.

If Ron Paul is not the most worthy presidential candidate in light of his four-decade track record of preserving individual liberty, states' rights, and national sovereignty; standing up to the Federal Reserve, the IRS, and special interests; and through it all, strictly limiting the bounds of his own power and that of the federal government by obeying the Constitution at every turn — if he is not the candidate who will address the ills by eradicating the cause instead of simply treating the symptom — then one doesn't exist.

Yet there are others, like Mike Gravel and Dennis Kucinich, who, like Ron Paul, are against nation-building, the Iraq war and its escalation, and who are for restoring civil liberties by eighty-sixing the Military Commissions Act, Patriot Act, and the like. They even cite the Constitution on occasion — by far, more often than do any of the other candidates on either side, minus Paul. But therein lies a basic and vital difference between someone like Ron Paul and the Congressman himself: Ron Paul doesn't just reference the supreme law of the land when relevant to a particular position he holds; he zeroes-out his every legislative action at the Constitution.

Dennis Kucinich is an honorable Congressman for his principled bravery in the face of mercantilistic mafiosi and war-profiteers, and his humanitarian compassion is perhaps second-to-none amongst all presidential candidates. He and Paul were the only Members of Congress who defied AIPAC and other war propagandists by voting against the fraudulent Rothman-Kirk Resolution which called on the UN to charge Iranian President Ahmadinejad with incitement to genocide based on words he didn't even say.

He's a refreshing rarity in a Congress full of pandering partisans, hyper-statists, and outright traitors. I am proud to utter the words "Congressman Kucinich."

And it is not just libertarians who are noting the importance of Paul and Kucinich and their anti-war stances. The liberal left in the U.S. is also embracing Paul as the libertarian right embraces Kucinich.

As Mike Mejia writes in Ron Paul; The Pragmatic Choice.

Of the multitude of mainstream 2008 Presidential candidates, there are only three who are truly antiwar. Two of them are running as Democrats, one as a Republican. The two Democrats have little money in the bank, are polling in the low single digits and are clearly headed nowhere fast. The antiwar Republican was in much the same boat as Dennis Kucinich and Mike Gravel the first few weeks of his Presidential bid.

But now his campaign has started to gain momentum: he has broken through the media wall of silence with recent fundraising success and his poll numbers are moving up in the early states of New Hampshire and Iowa. That candidate’s name is Congressman Ron Paul of Texas.This poses a dilemma for any liberal who opposes the Iraq war and the overall war-mongering and empire building of the United States government.

As I wrote in a previous article, a typical liberal will be opposed to Ron Paul on most issues, though Paul is very ‘liberal’ on the questions of war and peace, civil liberties and drug laws. Yet Paul is the only candidate besides Kucinich and Gravel that can be trusted to keep his word and bring the troops back home immediately. And Kucinich and Gravel are simply not making any headway in their respective campaigns.

How can liberals balance their desire for the social programs proposed by Hillary and gang against the near certainty that candidates such as Clinton and Obama will continue Bush’s Middle East war policies, albeit on a scaled-down level? Which should be more important, ending the military conflict and bringing the troops home or expanding the welfare state? The choice seems difficult one, until one digs a little deeper.

The first point I would to make is that even if antiwar liberal’s plans on voting Democratic in the General Election, it does not hurt the Democrats chances in November, 2008 to switch over and vote for Ron Paul in the Republican Primary. The defection of large numbers of Democrats to vote for Paul would send a very clear and unambiguous message to the eventual Democratic nominee: take an antiwar stance or risk losing liberal votes to a Third Party candidate.

The more important point I would like to make, though, is that even if Ron Paul were to ascend to the Presidency, it would not at all be a bad thing for liberal social policy. Paul is opposed to the income tax and wants to eliminate host of federal agencies, ranging from the IRS to Homeland Security. He is ardently pro-gun ownership, anti-choice and would definitely veto any bill that would expand health care benefits. Yet, none of these domestic positions he holds would likely have a practical impact on the actual functioning of government were he to take office in 2009. As President, he would hold no authority to unilaterally eliminate federal agencies or cut taxes or benefits. Any changes would have to take place with the approval of Congress.

But here’s the thing: if a war-mongering liberal Democrat takes office, there still will be no expansion of welfare programs that liberals love. The ‘catch’ with voting for a candidate such as Clinton or Obama, is that their policies on war and defense budgets will likely crowd out any attempt to make a significant expansion of government programs to help the poor and middle class. A prime example is health care. I, personally, am much more in tune with Hillary’s view on health care than I am with Ron Paul’s. Yet, with the current budget deficits and the expansion of the U.S. military expenditures, where is Hillary or Obama or Edwards going to find the money to expand health care coverage? The answer is: they won’t. Health care in America will remain the same, whether under a liberal Democrat or conservative Republican. Any changes that might take place will be at the very far margins.

However, with a Paul Presidency, there might be some hope for some of those programs in the distant future. Because a President Paul could unilaterally start bringing American troops back home. Not only from Iraq, but also from Afghanistan and Kosovo and Korea. A Paul Presidency could finally result in the long sought after ‘peace dividend’. Let’s face it, from a liberal perspective; the expansion of the welfare state can only happen if America scales back its imperial ambitions. Though Ron Paul does not advocate any expansion of the welfare state, he would undoubtedly do much to downsize the American Empire.

And as I have said before given that neither has a chance to win their party's primary they would make a terrific Third Party ticket. Just the thing to mobilize popular opposition to the War and to politics as usual.

SEE:

CNN Debate Debacle

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Wild Rose Party In and Out Scheme

On their website they proclaim;

Wildrose Party policy will reflect the values and priorities of Albertans. Period.

Actually it reflects the values and priorities of Link Byfield and his family, as expressed through his Citizens Centre for Freedom and Democracy as I have pointed out before.

The incestuous relationship between Byfields CCFD and the Wildrose party may actually be even more insidious.

According to WildRose Party Watchdog Blog; Wildrose Report:

The second issue I would like to address concerns rumours of a management services contract that may exist between the Wildrose Party and the Citizens Centre for Freedom and Democracy. Under the terms of the alleged contract, the Citizens Centre for Freedom and Democracy is to provide management services to the Wildrose Party of Alberta, in exchange for compensation in the amount of $150,000.00 per annum.

Is this a bit of the old Flanagan/Conservative In and Out being repeated by Link?


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One Free World

I came across this media post from Jason Kenney's office;

The Honourable Jason Kenney, Secretary of State (Multiculturalism and Canadian Identity), will speak tomorrow at the One Free World International Conference in Winnipeg.

"Our government is committed to supporting the values of freedom, democracy, the rule of law, and human rights," said Secretary of State Kenney. "This conference reminds us that pluralism is a part of Canadian identity."

One Free World International is a human rights organization based in Toronto that focuses on the rights of religious minorities around the world and promotes tolerance, understanding, and respect for diverse religious beliefs. It is dedicated to assisting through awareness campaigns, seminars, and active human rights programs.

Kenney of course is in his new position as "Secretary of State for Multiculturalism and Canadian Identity" (formerly he was Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister for Multiculturalism) in order to gain support for his party in ethnic and immigrant communities.

Communities that in the past have been the base for the Liberal party. The Conservatives quickly applied the politics of opportunism when they picked up the ball the Liberals dropped when it came to dealing with the Chinese Head Tax.

Choosing Kenney for this post is ironic considering that he views Canada through Republican glasses.

The addition of Canadian Identity to the former Multi-Culturalism Secretariat is conservative code for the end of the Liberal endorsed notion of multiculturalism, including the idea of bilingualism and bi-culturalism. Instead the Conservatives endorse the idea of two solitudes. And the rest of us can assume one of two national identities; English or French Canadian.

Contrary to the apparently benign and laudable goal of international human rights and religious freedom for 'diverse religious beliefs' the One Free World religious sect that he addressed are only interested in the oppression of Christians in Muslim countries. They throw in communist countries as an after thought. When they use the term 'Anti-Semitism' it means Islam.

This is an Anti-Muslim sect that Ezra Levant would feel comfortable addressing. The fact that the Conservative Government lends them any credence shows that Muslim bashing is now part of their New 'Canadian Identity'. As was clearly shown by their political red herring; veiled voting.

WINNIPEG – “A lot of people don’t know this, but there is one Christian being persecuted every three minutes, worldwide,” said Rev. Majed El Shafie, president and founder of One Free World International (OFWI) El Shafie Ministries. “Even in Canada, antisemitism has risen by 61 per cent.”

“We’ve helped people, case by case, who are being persecuted,” said El Shafie. OFWI works to help people in at least 13 countries around the world, “mostly in Muslim and African countries, and China and North Korea – Muslim and Communist countries.”

From Nov. 2-4, OFWI is hosting a conference in Winnipeg, on the Price of Freedom. It will be at the Eternity Centre (1111 Chevrier Blvd.), is open to the public, and is free of charge (donations will be accepted).

The main focus of the conference will be “about the persecution happening around the world,” said El Shafie.

The next film El Shafie is working on is about Afghanistan.

He said, “I sat down with Afghani officials and asked them about the Jewish and Christian communities there. They looked right at me and said ‘there are none.’ It is pure lies.

El Shafie said “the [Hamid] Karzai government is corrupt, and Karzai is one of the biggest snakes I’ve ever met. The only way we should be dealing with him is if he starts improving conditions for the people.”

One Free World International | El Shafie Ministries

Our primary focus is on combating the persecution of Christians and anti-semitism and we assist all those whose religious freedom is threatened, regardless of their beliefs. OFWI is based on and guided in its work by Christian principles. It does not endorse the religious beliefs of those on behalf of whom it advocates, but is uncompromising about promoting their right to hold and exercise those beliefs. OFWI’s goal is a world in which people are free to choose, retain, change, and express their religious or non-religious belief system in accordance with their conscience, without fear and with full equality and dignity, while fully respecting the corresponding rights of others.

SEE:

A Union the Conservatives Like

Fraser Institute Racists

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This Deserves A Public Inquiry

Even more than L'affaire de Mulroney this deserves a public inquiry.

Ottawa says Afghan detainees were not tortured, government documents say otherwise

This is Canada's Abu Ghraib.

Canada : Ankle-deep in blood and shit

Amnesty International Canada and the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association had to drag the Harper government before a Federal Court judge to get them to turn over documents they were determined to keep secret. Documents including a Canadian correctional services inspector asking Ottawa for better boots because she was "walking through blood and fecal matter" when she inspected the prisons.

SEE:

Lies & Secrets

PM Fails to Discuss Prisons In Afghanistan

Activist Courts and Afghan Torture

Taliban Dion

Vive Le Difference

Don't Forget About This Guy

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CNN Debate Debacle

It was a debacle last night for the Democratic Presidential Leadership Debate on CNN. It was all fluff and personal attacks encouraged by Wolf Blitzer and his team. There they came the eight candidates for president...nope wait a minute there are only seven.

I was watching and said hey where was Mike Gravel. Well he got locked out. You see it's all about money. But did Wolfie bother to tell us that. Nope. I had to dig around to find this;

Mike Gravel, the former senator from Alaska, will be excluded from this debate. According to Associated Press reports, Gravel didn't meet the fundraising requirement set by CNN. All eight candidates were charged with raising at least $1 million to be invited to the debate and, by September, Gravel raised about $240,000.

So it's not that you're a candidate but that you are a candidate that meets the fund raising demands of CNN!!! Of course CNN is simply doing what MSNBC had already done to Senator Gravel. It seems that media wants to determine who the winners are. Ah say it ain't so.

Actually if CNN had their way they would have dumped Kucinich too. But he raised enough money.

So Wolf did his best to avoid treating Kucinich as a contender. This article gives a good review of just how pathetic the treatment of Kucinich was by Blitzer and Co. And the bias was documented by rival MSNBC.

At 8:26, with Kucinich not having had the opportunity to say one word, CNN asked all the candidates to say whether they would support the Democratic nominee no matter what. They all said yes, except for Kucinich, who took the opportunity to say 10 words, receiving huge applause. His words were: "Only if they oppose war as an instrument of policy." A little vaguely worded, but I don't think that vagueness was Kucinich's intention. I think his intention was to contrast his own position with that of most of the other people on the stage. If he is not nominated, he is not going to be able to support the nominee.

Half an hour into this train wreck, no candidate had had an opportunity to speak to their priorities, but we heard a lot about CNN's. At 8:27 CNN asked Obama about immigration. At 8:29 WB dumbed this down and asked all the candidates for opinions on giving drivers' licenses to undocumented people. At 8:32 Kucinich got a chance to say his 11th word. He shifted the topic to NAFTA and took exception to the stupid question, refusing to answer it, winning loud applause.

Then CNN started asking various candidates about education, and for the first time asked Kucinich a non yes/no question. But instead of sticking with education, the topic of the questions before and after Kucinich's, WB asked Kucinich what he disagrees with labor unions on. Kucinich's answer was good, but not inspired. Maybe after 37 minutes, the Congressman had drifted off into daydreaming.

After education, CNN asked every candidate except Kucinich about Pakistan. At the end of this segment, at 8:52, Kucinich said "Hello? Hello?" But CNN refused to ask him a question.

Next CNN turned to Iraq, and this time Kucinich was included. He said that Congress should cut off the funding [big applause]. Then he answered the Pakistan question that CNN had refused to ask him. Blitzer quickly cut him off.

At 8:58, CNN came back to Kucinich on China trade, and he nailed it. And he criticized Edwards for having voted for normal trade relations with China. Edwards dodged the question. And Edwards criticized NAFTA, although he has made clear he will not end it.

When WB finally turned to Kucinich, rewording an audience member's question, he said "You were the only one who voted against the PATRIOT Act..."

"That's because I read it," Kucinich interjected to huge applause.

Kucinich nailed the question and turned to the topic of preventing an attack on Iran as well. WB saw what was coming and tried to cut him off, but Kucinich said "Impeach them now!" [huge applause]

Them. He did not say Cheney only.

Kucinich was only permitted to speak that one time during the debate's entire second hour.

From NBC's Lauren Appelbaum
There were two periods during the debate where Clinton and Obama dominated the debate. Members of the audience, as well as Kucinich, verbalized that they were upset. Although Wolf Blitzer promised all the candidates would have ample time to speak, the clock says otherwise.

Here are the speaking times for the second half of the debate:

Obama: 7:03 (during 5 times)
Clinton: 6:33 (during 6 times)
Biden: 5:45 (during 4 times)
Richardson: 5:29 (during 4 times)
Dodd: 3:10 (during 2 times)
Edwards: 2:53 (during 3 times)
Kucinich: 2:10 (during 2 times)

And, the totals are:

Obama: 18:22 (during 16 times)
Clinton: 17:28 (during 16 times)
Richardson: 13:41 (during 11 times)
Biden: 10:46 (during 9 times)
Edwards: 10:43 (during 10 times)
Kucinich: 6:52 (during 7 times)
Dodd: 6:34 (during 7 times)

When the candidates were asked abut labour unions, specifically a question bashing Teachers Unions for not allowing merit pay and protecting bad teachers, only Kucinich challenged the premise that unions were bad. He said he was a member of union, IATSE, that his dad was a teamster and he spoke for working people. for the working class. Yep he actually said 'working class'. Way to go Kucinich. Voice of the working class. But of course that voice was stifled by Wolf and Co. at every opportunity.

The former Cleveland mayor said he has never forgotten the poverty he grew up in, and said he still lives in a house he bought in a working-class neighborhood of Cleveland in 1971 for $22,500.

"Look, I know that I'm a long shot, but so are a lot of Americans, and they're in a much more difficult position than I'm in because they're threatened with losing their jobs, their wages are stagnate, they don't have health care benefits, their retirement's in jeopardy or their home is in jeopardy," he said.

"What I stand for is central to the hopes and aspirations of the American people, and as they understand that, my support starts to grow."

When it came to predictable questions about migrant workers Kucinich nailed it.

During the "yes or no" question on support for driver's licenses for illegal immigrants, Obama stumbles further, giving a "Clintonesque" answer before saying, when pressed, "yes."

The rest of the responses: Biden - no; Clinton - no; Edwards - no; Dodd - no.

Dennis Kucinich has the best answer, telling Blitzer: "I take issue with your description of people being illegal immigratns....they're undocumented." There are no illegal human beings. "I take exception to the way you framed that question," he tells Blitzer.

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Why Isn't Today A Holiday?

Time to put out a call for a Pan Canadian Holiday to mark today.

Keeping It RIEL - Louis Riel Day

This would be popular in Quebec, and popular with aboriginal and Metis peoples. And of course for Western Canada it marks the beginning of our alienation from Ontario that bastion of British Colonialism. So it's a winner as a national holiday whose time has come.

And it would piss off the reactionary right wing revisionists like Flanagan, Morton, and Byfield.

SEE:

Remember Riel

Rebel Yell

Liberal Genocide; The Lubicon

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Pay Day For Alberta Teachers

File this under cleaning up outstanding issues before calling an election. What a difference five months make.

Alberta is signing a $2.1-billion cheque to avert a province-wide teacher strike.The Alberta government announced Thursday it will assume the $2.1 billion teachers' portion of their unfunded pension liability. In return teachers' associations across the province must pledge five years of labour peace.

Since it was created in the 1930s, the teachers' pension fund has been underfunded by both the government and the ATA. The liability currently totals $7.1 billion, including $6.4 billion up to 1992 -- when both sides agreed to increase their contributions -- as well as $700 million since then.

If they accept the deal, teachers will stop paying pension liability contributions -- 3.1 per cent of their salaries this year. The deal would save teachers roughly $2,000 a year that has been deducted from their paycheques for years to help cover the pension liability.

They will also each get a $1,500 lump-sum payment and a yearly raise tied to the average weekly earnings index, which is also used to calculate MLA salaries.

The deal came with two months left to prevent province-wide walkouts. If ratified by the 62 affected union locals by Jan. 1, 2008, it will give teachers a 3% raise this year and assume their payments for the fund beginning this year, bringing the immediate salary increase to 6.1%.

Additionally, teachers are limited under the Education Act to working no more than 200 days per year.

If school boards and teachers' ratify the deal, it will eliminate any possibility of strikes or lockouts until September 2012.

Alberta Teachers' Association president Frank Bruseker called the agreement one of the highlights of his career. He pledged to do everything he can to ensure it's ratified at the board level.

Shannon McElroy, president of the Edmonton Catholic teachers' local of the ATA, also praised the pact. "From my perspective as a local president it's unprecedented, historically, that we would reach a deal ... of this magnitude on so many issues," McElroy said. "I'm not seeing any downside to this."

The winners are the teachers and school boards. The province has got province wide bargaining that they always wanted but now they have to foot the bill. Be careful of what you wish for. This frees up school boards to use provincial funding for public education instead of teacher salaries.

But don't think that it means that teachers will vote Tory. On the other hand it does mean the Alberta Liberals have just been screwed.

But the losers are the Alberta Liberals - who in times past acted like they were the political arm of the ATA. "In raw political terms," Liberal finance critic Rick Miller gulped, "this means our policy platform just got a page shorter."

And you just can't satisfy some folks.

But the Canadian Taxpayers Federation was scathing in its reaction to the deal, criticizing Stelmach for selling out taxpayers.

"Premier Stelmach has offered teachers $2.1 billion of taxpayers' money in exchange for them not going on strike during the upcoming provincial election," Scott Hennig, the group's Alberta director, said in a news release.

The federation calculated the deal will cost each Albertan $600, and called on the government to hold a plebiscite before signing any new agreement.

"Teachers are getting their debt paid off 52 years early and all taxpayers get is a lousy five years of no strikes."

$600 bucks for five years of labour peace. Priceless.

See

AIM High for more on the Alberta Government and its public pension plans.

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