LA REVUE GAUCHE - Left Comment

Saturday, February 11, 2006

I Am Shocked

Province taken aback by Wabamun lawsuit
Provincial officials say they're surprised the government has been named in a multi-million dollar lawsuit over a train derailment last summer in Wabamun. The Paul First Nation is suing the Alberta government, CN Rail and the federal government for the disaster, where as much as 1.3 million litres of bunker oil was spilled beside and into the lake.

Because you dolts the Environment is a Provincial jurisdiction.Now how could you forget that little fact? Hmm? Since you make sure Ottawa knows what is Alberta's jurisdictions ad nauseum.

And lets see you didn't have an emergency disaster plan in place. And when the accident occured you threw up your hands and said it wasn't your problem, until the news coverage made you look stupid.

Robert Moyles, a spokesperson for Alberta Environment, says he believes the government took the appropriate action. "Minister Guy Boutilier established the environmental protection commission immediately after the incident to determine how we could develop a better response system," he said. "They've made their recommendations and the government has accepted those."

Yeah after the fact, only when push came to shove and the Minister was embarassed did he call for a study, the Klein Reich's way of dealing with most problems is to study it to death. Like Healthcare. In this case the report said that the Minister and his department weren't prepared with an emergency plan for any kind of predictable disaster like this. Well Duh Oh.

Because despite the clear responsibility of CN for this disaster the Klein governemt didn't sue them, take them to court ion behlaf of the citizens affected or fine them.

The Alberta government conducted an investigation into the derailment, but no charges were ever laid against CN.

Because thats business as ususal in Alberta, regulations and enforcement are just so much damn red tape. And besides they get in the way of business doing business, which is why the Government is out of business.

More CN Stories

Also See

Corporate Watch

Health and Safety

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Storm Clouds Over The US Economy

The reliance on consumer and government debt to produce and maintain the American economy has put that nation under a veritable storm cloud of trouble. It is the equivalent of Hurricane Katrina, and like Katrina America is ignoring their debt crisis until it actually hits home.

Soaring U.S. trade deficit a cloud over robust economy
By Paul Blustein

The Washington Post

WASHINGTON — The U.S. trade deficit soared to a record in 2005 for the fourth year in a row, according to a government report released Friday that provided a reminder of the dangers hovering over a generally robust economy.

The United States imported $725.8 billion more in goods and services than it exported last year, the Commerce Department said. That is up 17.5 percent from last year, and it is an all-time high not only in dollar terms but also as a proportion of the economy; the figure is equal to 5.8 percent of gross domestic product.

For December alone, the trade gap increased to $65.7 billion from a revised $64.7 billion the month before. That is the third highest monthly deficit ever.

In some respects, the trade deficit reflects the strength of the U.S. economy, at least relative to other major trading partners.

Ah there is always a silver lining in those economic storm clouds.......but wait till the levee breaks.

Because U.S. economic growth has been rapid in recent years, U.S. consumers are snapping up foreign goods of all kinds — autos, electronics and clothing being some of the biggest categories.

At the same time, relatively sluggish growth in economies such as the European Union and Japan has dampened demand for goods made in the United States. Thus even though U.S. exports rose 10.4 percent last year to $1.27 trillion, imports surged 12.9 percent to nearly $2 trillion.

The gap worries many economists because it means the United States must borrow heavily from overseas.

The dollars that Americans spend on imports are typically invested by foreigners in the bonds of the U.S. Treasury and mortgage agencies such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, so the more the trade deficit widens and persists the greater U.S. indebtedness becomes.

That is why some analysts fret about a scenario in which foreigners would sell off U.S. securities en masse, causing interest rates to soar and the global economy to fall into recession.

America's economy is not driven by production, hence the less than devastating economic impact of the Ford and GM layoffs and the companies pending collapse into debt, but by credit card capitalism.

As Herr Dr.Marx formulated it M-C-M (Money-Capital-Money), money is making money in the casino capitalism of the American economy, that is until those who have invested decide to cash in their chips and go home.

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Friday, February 10, 2006

The World According to Adam

The new generation Tory Turk Adam Daifallah has weighed in on the Conservatives scandal and crisis with this. Emerson / Fortier, the Energizer bunny story

Where he says this about his elders; I fail to see how anyone can make excuses for what happened. I was particularly surprised to see two rock-ribbed conservatives whom I respect greatly, Ted Morton and Ezra Levant, engaging in excuse-making for these incidents on TV yesterday and today. They appear to have bought into the "it's for the greater long-term good" argument, the line the Harper people are trying to sell.

But Adam is from Ottawa and these guys are from Calgary....as I said before with the Calgary Gang in power at last it's the politics of Alberta that are being played in Ottawa.

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Five days and Counting

Here are my Blog articles on topics around this first week of our new Conservative government which is doing politics differently (sic). The last few articles were written during the week after the election. But the majority have been written since Monday. Has it only been five days. My gawd.

And it's still fifty days till Parliment recovenes, will the Conservativeslast that long? Or will their heads explode?!

And then watch the fireworks in Question Period. Ah this is delicious. It's the country bumpkins go to Ottawa.

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Kettle Calling the Pot Black

Oh this is rich. Now the unelected Senator Fortier, I won't run in a byelection, I didn't want to run in the election, I'll wait to run in the general election, is saying that Emerson should run in a byelection. Just to keep on with the cliches; this is a case of there being no honour amongst thieves.

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Naughty Naughty

A new private health care clinic has opened in Alberta in violation of both the Canada Health Act and provincial regulations. Being Alberta home of deregulation where NO enforcement rules, well all the Minister of Health had to say was; Naughty, naughty musn't do that.

Health officials keep close eye on private clinic's access fees
Alberta Health Minister Iris Evans said that provincial officials are currently investigating whether the Calgary clinic is violating any laws. In Alberta, there is a law that prohibits doctors from billing patients as a condition of providing insured health service.Ms. Evans said that if the private clinic is violating the law, she is hopeful there could be an "amicable conclusion to it."We will have to tell them that that isn't permitted. . . . To my way of thinking, we can't tolerate that," she said.

Which of course is such an effective deterent that a competing private healthcare hotel is planning to also open up in Alberta and they could care less about violating the Canadian Healthcare Act or Alberta's Bill 11. Cause it ain't about healthcare its about business and the bottom line. So far the Conservative government has been deafeningly silent over all this, while Minister Evans dithers.

Calgary doctors make waves with $3,600 annual 'access' fee
The program also follows news that Vancouver-based Copeman Healthcare plans to open private clinics with 24-hour access to physicians and specialists around the country. Don Copeman, company founder, said Ultimate Health Care's opening in Calgary won't deter his company from coming here. "We could care less," said Copeman. "Our phones are ringing off the hook."

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Emerson another Grewal

Oh dear here comes the ghost of Grewal to haunt the Tories even after he is gone. In this case he and Emerson share so many commonalities, both from Vancouver, both offered cabinet positions, both lacking in ethics. Do I smell a byelection?

Emerson accused of violating Parliament's conflict code

Ian Waddell, the New Democratic Party candidate who came a close second to Emerson in the Jan. 23 election, accused Harper, Emerson and John Reynolds, the just-retired Conservative MP who allegedly helped recruit Emerson to the Tories, of breaking the parliamentary conflict-of-interest code.

He said the ethics commissioner has ruled that had former Liberal cabinet minister Ujjal Dosanjh offered former Conservative MP Gurmant Grewal a government appointment to induce him to cross the floor, then Dosanjh would have broken the guidelines.

"This is precisely what the prime minister has done. I'm accusing him of breaking the members' code. The evidence is overwhelming. They offered him a cabinet post and he took it. When such things have happened in the past it's been hidden, but this is so blatant," said Waddell.

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Blasphemous Cartoon

Here is my contribution to Blasphemous cartoons:

Hi I Am God/Allah/YHVH

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Why Rob Anders Supports TheFalun Gong

The cult group the Falun Gong in China which has gotten a lot of support in Canada, including from members of our new Conservative Government like rightwhingnut MP Rob Anders ,has a less than savory background.

MP Rob Anders' Speech at "A Closer Look into China" Forum Special to The Epoch Times

And while the repression they face in China is not acceptable, neither is their ideology except to people like Rob Anders. They are anti-gay and anti-Semitic!

The cult is politically active in Canada distributing their propaganda paper Epoch Times in Canada's cities.

In San Francisco the cult has caused controversy with Republican members of the Board of Supervisors calling for support for them which has alienated both the gay and Chinese American community.

Supes support 'homophobic cult'
SF.Indymedia.org, CA - 6 Feb 2006

Amid accusations it is giving a San Francisco seal of approval to what some contend is a "homophobic cult," the Board of Supervisors passed a resolution this week in support of ending persecution of Falun Gong, a spiritual movement banned since 1999 in China, where members of the group are routinely imprisoned.

Both the city's gay supervisors, Bevan Dufty and Tom Ammiano, joined in the 9-2 vote to pass the resolution, despite calls for them not to give any support to Falun Gong, whose founder has called gays "demonic" and has said that "the priority of the gods will be to eliminate homosexual people."

"People need to be aware of what their leader or founder has written. It is not just the homosexual community, but all the other things he said in the book about who gets to go to what level. It is very anti-Semitic also," said Hu. "I am hoping for support from the entire city, whether the gay community or the entire city."

Falun Gong, Barred From San Francisco Parade, to Show Up Anyway

Falun Gong's practices and meditation were introduced in China in 1992. It has 10,000 followers in the U.S. and tens of millions in more than 60 countries, the group says on its Web site. Sherry Zhang, a spokeswoman for the group, said the parade's decision extends oppression of the group from Asia to the U.S.

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US and Iran Allies

Despite the current furor over Irans nuclear energy plans the U.S. and Iran found common cause at the UN. The US delegation supported Irans motion not to recognize gay organizations as official consultants to the UN. Religious fndamentalist Iran has a friend in Religious fundamentalist Amerika.

The vote occurred in the U.N. Economic and Social Council‘s Committee on Nongovernmental Organizations.

Washington then voted in favor of Iran‘s proposal to deny their applications, which carried 10-5 with three abstentions.
Following the vote, German envoy Martin Thuemmel said the committee decision "will haunt us for a long time" because it sent a message that it was acceptable to discriminate on the basis of an individual‘s sexual orientation.

The January 23 vote denying "consultative status" at the world body to the Belgium-based International Gay and Lesbian Association and the Danish National Association for Gays and Lesbians was a "drastic reversal" of Washington‘s previous stand on the issue, the U.S. House of Representatives members wrote.

Nearly 3,000 nongovernmental organizations have such status, which enables them to distribute documents and speak at meetings of some U.N. bodies and conferences.

In voting for Iran‘s proposal, "the United States joined some of the world‘s most oppressive regimes, among them China, Cuba, Sudan and Zimbabwe" and demonstrated "a reprehensible inconsistency" in the protection of rights based on sexual orientation, the lawmakers said.

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