Dangers of Bill C30 Misuse by Harper's Conservative Spying

Anyone who reads the national newspapers and writes a blog or posts comments online via twitter or facebook already knows the sockpuppets, strawman sockpuppets and meatpuppets that troll your content.

Harper's bully boys have been called out as shills for overposting on any issue that doesn't back a point of view on the Con party agenda.  They work like spammers.  Check out the regularity of their posts.

click on posters name to view posting frequency.

Anyone who posts each minute is using the platform as a forum conversation to steer perception towards a view in line with their party affiliation and may be a shill.  But to be fair, in the messages to the user section, one can see that a real discussion by readers furthers the conversation.

Users post rebuttals or agreement

There are, however, abusers of the comments section who can trail your i.d. and send messages via your facebook, twitter, blog account.  The Globe's policy is not to delete comments because once posted, they become part of the public record.  Legally, they are protecting themselves before you.  So be careful not to say any slanderous comments.

One type of spam or malware is called clickjacking.  The whole interactivity of the net leaves spying, malicious endangerment of your accounts and misuse wide open.  If we had a government oversight that worked ethically, there wouldn't be a concern.  We'd feel protected.  By the Harper government spies, lies, tampers with the poll results, phones voters to lie to them.  You know what Rob Ford does to whistleblowers. The list goes on.  Now bill C30 will make it even easier to knock us down for good.

If you doubt how nefarious the gatekeeping of information can be, then check out what search giant Google has been up to by crossing the line of fairness.  Look up #search neutrality, #google bombing for example.  For Immigrants to Canada, google page rank will push results for "for profit" suppliers of fast tracking into tar sands Alberta.  For CO2 emissions for Alberta or water use, page rank will push results to Cenovus or Capp.  To avoid the industry self promotion paid for information, use Google Scholar.

look at the number of citings for verity of source

You already know how misinformation is destroying public perceptions of climate change, of tar sands, by counter strategies like climate denial and ethical oil propaganda, of NDP or Liberal policies by slander.  See astroturfing.  So in the general sense, we will lose the capability to get truth from the internet through all the noise of misinformation.  Thank goodness for the CBC for its wonderful reporting, Al Jazeera for a non western point of view, and UK Guardian for its science and environmental reporting.

For an example of lack of information on the environment, look at the UN site which would always post information about World Watch Institute.  Underfunding results in statistics not being made available.

If it wasn't for Twitter, I would never have discovered this article by Senator Tom Banks.  You must read it.

The interactivity of the internet also forces us to have to reveal issues we believe in that will be used against us by a corrupt government.  That's why bill C30 is a danger.

Wikipedia Entry on Vic Toews Edited on Open Record Details

A twitter post and blogger pointed out that the wikipedia entry on Vic Toews was altered and wondered why parts were deleted for no good reason.  Here's what the previous version removed.

Early life and career

Toews' parents, Victor and Anna Toews, moved from Canada with their two eldest children to Paraguay in 1952, where Toews was born in Filadelfia, Paraguay. Victor's father served on a missions assignment as a teacher and minister. The family returned to Canada in 1956. He speaks German (his mother tongue), Spanish and English.^[2] He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from theUniversity of Winnipeg (1973), and a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Manitoba (1976).^[3] He joined the provincial Ministry of Justice in 1976 and became a Crown attorney the following year. He was promoted to Director of Constitutional Law for Manitoba in 1987, and advised the Manitoba government on the Meech Lake Accord.^[4] He was appointed a Queen's Counsel in 1991.^[5]

Toews became a lecturer at the University of Manitoba in 1987, and taught classes in labour law and employment law. He left the civil service in 1991 to become an associate counsel for Great-West Life Assurance, and was given a leave of absence in 1995 to enter politics.^[6]

To access previous revisions, one must be a registered user, fill out the form for the dates and year for the search.  All edits are traced either user name or IP address.  My reason for looking was that I knew there might be an issue of dual citizenship and whether that might have been the reason for the delete.  The current version is here.  The greatest difference is regarding political history and less emphasis on early private history.  I believe the edits were made by an active wiki writer who goes by the name of Bearcat. 

This is the current revision of this page, as edited by Bearcat (talk | contribs) at 19:54, 20 February 2012. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this version.

(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)

 Sorry, this is not a more interesting spy novel plot with my uncovering the RCMP playing games through my stellar sleuthing.  There is no plot to hide a secret cabal of intrigue.  Just a followup of a question.

Where is Harper's Report From the Trade Mission to China?

Not to be missed is Aaron Wherry (@aaronwherry) article on the blowup in HOC of the incompetent PC ministers' comments while he was in China.  Yes, there was hell to pay.  And a great deal of smoothing over necessary for the repeated indiscretions of the incompetents that run amok without their "talking points" scripted for them.

But each time there is a crisis that gets media attention, we know there has been some underhanded machination at play that doesn't make the headlines and isn't subject to scrutiny in the press.  Questions I'd like to hear asked would be:

Prime Minister, you did not meet with a prominent dignitary on your trip. Notable, though, was China’s decision not to have Harper meet with Chinese Vice-President Xi Jinping, who will travel to the United States next week to meet U.S. President Barack Obama. Why is that?

Prime Minister, who did you take with you and why did you not take any agricultural representatives? Was it to present export opportunities for our agricultural products or to encourage Chinese immigration to B.C. which will result in an over burden of non producing elite class second home owners in the area?  Is this the future Canadians want?

A representative from immigrant services organization S.U.C.C.E.S.S. was also part of Harper's trip and is still overseas.

Speaking in Vancouver, CEO Thomas Tan said the organization went to China for two reasons: first, to make S.U.C.C.E.S.S. more visible to Chinese who are thinking of immigrating to British Columbia; and second, to look for Chinese organizations interested in implementing projects S.U.C.C.E.S.S. has developed in Vancouver.

Read more: 

Prime minister, we have a shortage of jobs in B.C. Why are you importing Chinese temporary workers instead of employing Canadians and supporting our work force?

Speaking in Vancouver, CEO Thomas Tan said the organization went to China for two reasons: first, to make S.U.C.C.E.S.S. more visible to Chinese who are thinking of immigrating to British Columbia; and second, to look for Chinese organizations interested in implementing projects S.U.C.C.E.S.S. has developed in Vancouver.

The organization has two programs Tan said could be applicable in China: its health care management system for seniors and its caregiver training programs.

Canada has a reputation in China for its good health care system, Tan said. S.U.C.C.E.S.S. blends that system with the Chinese cultural component in its approach to senior care. "That's the uniqueness of our care home here," Tan said.

The other program S.U.C.C.E.S.S. would like to export is its live-in caregiver training, which would train people in China to become caregivers in Canada.

Exporting the programs would bring in management fees that would help S.U.C.C.E.S.S., a non-profit, become more sustainable.

Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/Harper+trade+mission+opens+opportunity+businesses/6149077/story.html#ixzz1mRsrzmXc

Tar Sands are Not Sustainable Growth, But Quick Buck Exploitation

Conservatives Care about Incremental Transitioning

 The TransCanada Oil Oligopoly of global foreign investors have banded together to rip up as much damage to the province of Alberta as they can before the Conservative plutocracy is stopped by a reality check this coming election.

Andrew Nikiforuk's Tar Sands Dirty Oil and the Future of a Continent  is a scathing report on the damaging project that has completely transformed the Canadian economy and social contract.

Why should Canada embark on this irresponsible greed?  To keep oil business wealthy and to make our economy a slave to big business while in the meantime allowing for a communist agenda to subvert all environmental criticism.  Misrepresentation and untruths abound.

Alberta's bitumen apologists swear that "work is progressing to return the disturbed land to a natural state after development, and it will be done right."  The province's former ambassdor to the United States, Murray Smith, even assured our number ne oil market that the industry will achieve "100 per cent long-term restoration of the lands it makes use of."  Why, major tar sand companies have even planted 7.5 million tree seedlings.  The Mining Association of Canada says reclaiming open pit mines can be done with a "vision worthy of a Group of Seven artist." (Tar Sands, 94)

The tar sands are too big, too destructive, too caustic to soil to rehabilitate.  Nothing will grow there again.  But the plans just keep growing bigger to lay waste more.

Even at that, the mines make up only a small part of the wreckage created by the megaproject.  The Alberta government has leased an additional 23,000 square miles of land (and another 30,000 square miles await global investors) for in situ projects, including steam-assisted gravity drainage.  The Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks, which encompass 9,000 square miles and include Jasper, Banff, Yoho and Kootenay, could fit int this planned industrial zone about six times.  As noted, SAGD development will slice and dice the land with thousands of industrial well sites, seismic lines, pipelines, and roads.  This fragmentation will transform the forest into a bitumen park, exterminating the population of woodland caribou and decimating songbirds home from their winter in the tropics.  Seismic lines, which make a forest look like and engineered spiderweb, typically need more than one hundred years to fill in with trees again.  Yet the government has no tight guidelines for reclaiming forest ruined by SAGD. (Tar Sands, p95.)

Coverup of a tailings pond with sand and grass.  What about the toxins below ground?

These are the facts with real concrete specifics, unlike the vague unrealistic and false statements coming from the Minister of the Environment.

And don't believe that oil is good for the people of Alberta which the Conservative oligopoly likes to pit against all the "have not" provinces against.  They are not doing so well as the lies tell us.
Albertans are losing funding for schools, hospitals, jobs etc. as the money is going to the oil industry. Services such as plumbing and construction are now very expensive and hard to find as most of the workers in this trade are working in the tar sands. The irony of this is that their gas prices are increasing too because most of the oil is shipped to America or elsewhere. The energy security propaganda we hear about from the industry is absolutely false. There have also been many complaints from workers about unsafe, unhealthy and abusive situations. As a result of all this there have been increased rates of gambling, suicide and crime in nearby communities. Long term sustainable economies such as forestry, commercial and recreational fishing, ecotourism, hunting, farming and housing are also taking a hit.   Blog source

Across Canada, we've seen the destruction of B.C. loss of forest industry and tourism slowly becoming a gas and fracking hellhole.  Large sections of coastline which are needed for fish spawning grounds are becoming overbuilt with industry.  Farming in the prairies is taking a hit for growing industry servicing and mining acquisitions.  Quebec has lost so much in manufacturing, the Atlantic provinces to fishery manufacturing loss.  The oil industry is keeping the dollar high which kills off export for any other endeavor across the provinces.

Make sure to keep up the criticism and take action for a change.

Must Read For Analysis of Harper is a Fascist Bag of Tricks

Read this blog for a full summary of a lot of the points I had already been thinking about but for which I didn't know the backstory fully.

Canadian Consulates Closing in US Our Biggest Trading Partner

Eight out of twenty-two consulates in the United States will be shut for a purportedly cost saving measure.  One does wonder, if the ones left will be staffed by Conservatives.  It does seem to be related to a Harper chill after the cancellation of the Keystone and a snub against the too Liberal Obama who would see the China visit as openly shifting allegiances.  Harper's also betting that the Keystone will be a go once the GOP Republicans push it through with all their money and clout.
And if anyone wants to say that this back turning really isn't intended as such, then not at all.  Harper's very calculating about optics and messaging.  All that flag waving and whatnot, the open handed gestures that are de rigueur.  Here are some comments to this latest action.

Clearly you have never been in business before! My company: for every 1 Canadian order we get, we get 100 USA orders are 30 European orders... And you know how many from Asia???

NONE!

That's right, not one... Asians don't buy things from us, they never will. They just sell us stuff.. That is not a business relationship. We must stand with the USA to ensure our economic survival, without them, we're so done!

....................................

Canada is "shifting focus from the US struggling markets".... Tsk Tsk ...Has Harper begun to believe his own propaganda or was this little slip of the truth sneaked into the article to throw the stupid public off?

By all reports, the US economy is growing at a much faster rate than Canada's.

Harper is "shifting focus to China" right now ... to benefit his Conservative pals in the US congress and senate ... and to benefit his pipeline investors who in turn will fund his next election.

Cozying up to China and expanding trading partner offices in every region that can be exploited by Canadian businesses is far more important than supporting where Canadians may be looking for services.  Here is a list of the countries that now have Canadian offices.

Canada's New Investment Strategies - Prisons

Libyan torture prison built by Canadians

It just takes a big accident, a trouble maker to break the law and headlines reveal a nefarious underground story that the media has left out of the eyes of the public.  Yesterday, it was the horrific crash that killed 11 temporary immigrants.  Today it is the Ghadaffi abetting woman in Mexico who worked for SNC Lavalin.  Yes, Canadian companies are finding profits in amoral ways and influencing the politics of Canada.  CBC News ran an article on this company here and I've gathered some comments from people in the know.

Quinton denied reports that SNC-Lavalin was concealing the project.

"It is one of the thousands of projects we work on yearly, not all of which are announced by press release."

Quinton pointed out the project is mentioned in SNC-Lavalin's upcoming annual report for 2010.

"We are proud to be able to deliver such a necessary project and hope that it will become a model for others in the region. What would be the alternative to building a state-of-the-art facility according to the standards of human rights?"

What follows are quotes taken from readers' comments.  They said it so well and many are more informed than I, so here goes.  No attribution given out of respect to their privacy.  You can look it up from the link above.

SNC Lavalin is also one of the many corporations that have Direct input into Canadian politics, through their involvement on the NorthAmerican Security & Prosperity Partnership ; NAFTA , along with Power Corp.

This odious propaganda about free trade around the world will bring democracy just keeps getting exposed for the lie it is, it is all about capitalism and ensuring a small % of citizens have the largest % of influence.

Capitalism is the nemesis of Democracy

 it should be remembered that all jails are built by governments to be used to detain its citizens. The more people detained, the more likely that the government is repressive. When a government starts passing legislation that imposes stiff sentences for minor social 'misbehaviour', takes the imposition of sentences out of the hands of judges, and concentrates the financial supports on punishment rather than rehabilitative programs, then we have the beginning of tyranny.

 As an engineer I am disgusted that SNC Lavalin would put aside any ethical concerns in favour of doing business with a long lasting brutal dictator. It's one thing to build an airport which one can argue doesn't affect people in a negative way, but building a prison for Ghadaffi is helping to build more repressive infrastructure to imprison people who dare complain about their own lack of human rights. And the assertion that the prison meets human rights standards? Give me a break- beatings, torture, murder can happen anywhere a dictator wants it to, even in a "human rights approved prison". So much for professional standards and ethics. I hope the Libyan people burn that prison down.

If SNC didn't get the contract some other foreign company would have gladly accepted it. Libyan Airlines also uses several CRJ900 aircraft from Bombardier so do we condemn them as well? (was this an inducement to win the contract?)

  The difference between Gadhafi and Kim could probably be summed up by paraphrasing the famous old Cold War saying as, "He may be a bastard, but he's a rehabilitated bastard" (referring to Gadhafi).

Having said that, I personally think it's reprehensible that SNC would be involved in helping Gadhafi upgrade his security infrastructure, "rehabilitated" or not. I realize SNC is an engineering company, and engineers tend to be less squeamish about ethics than other people concerning business deals. Still, I think SNC should rightly be feeling some heat over this particular contract.
 Takeaways - Harper's government can be proud of its fascistic methods for wealth creation and its ability to twist a despicable enterprise into a positive.  Beware of the company they keep.
I look at these people and they appear like you and me, but deep down, there is no morality or ethics in them.  How did this happen?  And why did we let it happen?

What's Missing from the Long Form Census According to Former Statistician

There is a need for an improved Consumer Price Index that updates weights more frequently, has a wider coverage of commodities and does a better job in dealing with quality changes.
from Munir Sheikh, former chief statistician of Canada New Directions for Intelligent Government in Canada

•    Canada does not have an ongoing wealth survey. This is surprising since a number of issues the country faces today require information on wealth holdings at the household level. The debate on the adequacy of pensionsNew Directions for Intelligent Government in Canada

is taking place without the knowledge about personal asset levels of Canadians at the time of their retirement. The impact of the financial and eco- nomic crisis cannot be fully examined without an understanding of changes to household wealth.
•    The Drummond Report, prepared for the Council of Labour Market Ministers, highlighted serious labour market data gaps and urged the government to act expeditiously in view of the weak labour market that exists today following the financial and economic crisis (Drummond, 2009).
•    With globalization, trade data have not kept up. There are weaknesses in data for trade volumes, because of inter-industry and intra-industry trade, and trade prices, particularly import prices.
•    Service sector data, particularly service prices, need improvement.

•  Data on aboriginal populations are particularly weak. This is especially true of populations on reserves where the only source of data for reserves which participate was the census. Even that source is now largely gone
with the cancellation of the long form census.

Food Industry Trumps Health of Canadians

Childhood Obesity is on the rise

We need clear labeling on all food to show the amount of additives, transfats, sugars, salt and colorants.  The Canadian people are far ahead of the legislation that is coming out of Ottawa.  Look what happened with the McDonald's goey additive pink slime?  With the BPA's in plastic bottles.

What harm do transfats pose?

"Trans-fats are attractive for the food industry due to their extended shelf life and flavor stability, and have displaced natural solid fats and liquid oils in many areas of food processing.

But scientific reports that trans-fatty acids raise serum levels of LDL-cholesterol, reduce levels of HDL-cholesterol, can promote inflammation can cause endothelial dysfunction, and influence other risk factors for cardiovascular diseases (CVD), has led to a well-publicized bans in New York City restaurants, and other cities, like Chicago."

How did the minister come to her decisions and was it reflected upon with adequate knowledge?  Well, yes it was.  Here's the evidence taken from canpol site.

In 2009, the health minister, Leona Aglukkaq was ready to act on legislation to impose stricter controls on industry, but has neglected to do so and is adamantly averse to following through according to CBC.

A draft news release said Canada has made "significant progress" toward reducing trans fat levels through the industry's voluntary efforts, "however some foods still contain more trans fat than is acceptable." Aglukkaq was going to announce that the proposed regulations would limit the trans fat content of vegetable oils and soft, spreadable margarines to two per cent of the total fat content and all other foods to five per cent.

But the announcement was never made and the plan for regulations appears to have been abandoned.

There are no signs that it will be revived, based on statements made by Aglukkaq in question period Tuesday.

"Our government continues to make prevention and health promotion a priority — that includes reducing trans fats in foods," Aglukkaq said.

"I have instructed my department to continue its engagement with stakeholders to identify the challenges and how best to overcome them without adding a regulatory burden," she said.

I'm getting so sick of this speechifying that comes directly from the PMO office because it sounds just like to drivel and dreck that passes for communication nowadays.

Canadians know better than to believe the vile industry first at the cost of health.  The poll shows it.  By the way, why are there so many "undecideds"?  If you're on the net anyway, why don't you know?

So what is transfat and why is it added to food?

it hardens up liquid oil, making it last much longer, so that it increases shelf-life; it's significantly cheaper than using butter or non-industrialized ingredients; and it willingly transforms according to what a particular food might need – it can make a doughnut glaze more velvety, increase the bulk of a pastry, or add bite to something crunchy. But when it's ingested, our bodies don't know what to do with it. It's toxic, so it clogs up arteries, raises 'bad' cholesterol, and reduces 'good' cholesterol. Its nutritional values are zero. Experts have compared it to eating candle wax or melted Tupperware. 

Along with the attendant risks of heart disease caused by clogged arteries, obesity and diabetes, an argument could also be made that the use of transfats is a class issue too.  Poor people have poor diets and cannot afford the upscale shops that sell healthier fare.

It would be interesting to see which industries have been lobbying to get the attention of the minister and how they did it.

London Has Tank Building for Oil Protection Abroad, Not for Peaceful Productivity

Is this someone's son/daughter driving?

Do you really want your tax dollars supporting building of military equipment that will not be used in Canada but wasted on foreign lands to fight foreign wars that kill your children?  London plant closes and manufacturing jobs are lost.  Where are the glory pics of McKay and Fantino in front of one of these ugly people killing machines that are expected to be built in London, Ontario?  These fey, mewly suits who have never seen combat are enamored of  machinery of death.

“This Government continues to follow through on its commitment to provide our men and women in uniform with the tools they need to do the jobs asked of them,” said the Honourable Peter MacKay, Minister of National Defence. “Whether it be a new fleet of federal ships, a new family of combat vehicles or new planes to defend Canadian skies, this government is providing the Canadian Forces with the foundation to build a first-class, modern military that is ready to take on the challenges of the 21st Century.”
The LAV III Upgrade Project Implementation Phase contract is necessary to improve the protection of these vehicles against mines and improvised explosive devices, improve their mobility, improve the safety of Canadian Forces members travelling on board the LAV III, and incorporate ergonomic and information management improvements. The contract, valued at $1.064 billion, will upgrade 550 LAV IIIs, extending their lifespan to 2035.  source:  London-based company will upgrade Canadian Forces’ fleet of Light Armoured Vehicles

Kill Green Grants and Build These Canada

 These machines do nothing to grow our GDP except grow our reliance on a standing military which is obsolete in today's world.  Let the Israels fight their own war.  Let the Syrians and Egyptians be their own conflict resolvers.  If a free market economy works for the WTO, then it ought to be the same for foreign aggressions. 

If you want to find out more, well it's top secret.  Follow the links for Supply Chain Management

W A R N I N G : This is a General Dynamics Land Systems computer system 

This computer system is a General Dynamics Land Systems proprietary resource. It is for authorized business use only. All information contained on this network is the property of General Dynamics Land Systems. Any use of this system or its contents may be intercepted, monitored, recorded, copied, audited, inspected, and disclosed to General Dynamics Land Systems management, security, and/or law enforcement officials. Unauthorized or improper use of this system may result in appropriate disciplinary action, civil and/or criminal prosecution. Users have no expectation of privacy in the information and use of the Information Assets, their computer, and the Internet. Users must comply with all aspects of the Corporate and BU Information Security, ITAR, and Ethics Policies. By continuing to use this system, you indicate awareness of, and agree to be bound by, the terms and conditions of its use.

We are pleased to be working once again with TACOM in support of their Foreign Military Sales program. 

The Agenda Pushes for Keystone While Jobs Are Lost

Let me be clear.  The media is still pushing all those positive stories about how we need the tar sands and Keystone when in fact it ought to be shut down as a complete failure.  Our country has slid downhill so dramatically that it's hard to recognize it anymore.  Yes, Steve Pakin's The Agenda is stating the positives about the Keystone, despite the evidence of our Petro State linked closely to the fortunes of the wealth exporters and job destroyers.

London's Caterpillar workers were locked out and shut down today.  Harper plans to go to China, for more talks about prosperity, capacity, incremental death.

When Harper took office in the winter of 2006, there were 2,127,200 manufacturing jobs in Canada. Today there are 1,743,700 -- a total loss of nearly 400,000 manufacturing jobs under his watch, according to a Statistics Canada Labour Force Survey. Over 40,000 manufacturing jobs have been lost in the last 12 months alone.

 The federal government has failed to protect Canada's manufacturing sector. Tax breaks have not saved a single job in London. We need to protect Canadian jobs and we need a government that will stand up for all Canadians.( Huffington Post.ca)

There is no immediate fix for lost jobs in London, but a tough lesson learned.  It's time to push back from the sidelines and stop corporate welfare, free money and reckless giveaways.  Impose austerity with taxpayers' dollars and institute taxes on money flowing out of the country.

Bloggers have suggested a Tobin Tax which the Canadian Parliament passed in 1999 but never really implemented.  Flaherty dismissed any thoughts of it as if it were only up to him.  Notice, that's how the reigning party speaks these days.

Comments that make sense

EM_Spectrum

9:38 PM on February 4, 2012

Here's a different thought for all the anti-union Harpocult!

How about the government(s), provincial & federal, delist Caterpillar as a vendor!

That would take a bite out of their $5 billion per year Canadian sales!!!

If they don't want to business in Canada, then why should Canada do business with them!!!

Perhaps, while they are they at it, they can do the same for Vale, which shutdown their Manitoba operation after receiving $1 billion of taxpayers money to NOT close down!!!

Here are some positions in favour of a tax that ends corporate bailouts. 

Green Party position on Tobin Tax
Council of Canadians
Centre for Policy Alternatives

The last link above has a plan on limiting all those free trade, world trade, globalization and free market ideas that have not been any good to any of the countries as a whole.

• oppose any further liberalization of trade and investment rules, including at the World Trade Organization; demand a full review of the social, economic, cultural and ecological consequences of WTO and NAFTA decisions to date; and work for the establishment of new global agreements aimed at regulating the activities of transnational corporations and global investment;
• push for an international Tobin Tax on currency exchanges, to cool down the casino economy; and
• freeze and slowly lower the limit on foreign investment for RRSPs and other tax-subsidized pension plans (so that tax-deductible capital stays at work in Canada). 

The above are push back to recapture some market share for the plebes who at present are being dictated to and in the case of the London Caterpillar workers, simply smacked down.  Follow the U.S. lead to insist on worker's rights to work close to home, to be viable members of their community.


Lost jobs are indeed going to immigrants, of which the new classification is called temporary, so they are not subject to the scrutiny of statistical oversight.  They will never get citizenship, but will be parachuted in for cheap labor in the tar sands, the local Timmys, because there is a shortage in the work camp towns.  And the government wants to give its businesses a cheap supply of labor until they break the backs of its own people into submission.  Why?  Because a weak people become sheep.
Download the full pdf on the temporary worker story here.

• Do Canadians know how increasing numbers of temporary foreign workers is changing immigration? PDF File, 199 KB

Placing Restrictions On Polls To Reveal Backgrounder

Lately, polls are being used and misused to influence public opinion towards issues and to sell bad ideas generally over all the media. 
I don't know enough about the Indian Act at this time to make a vote on whether to change it given that the Keystone discussions are taking place at this time.  To open it up under the Harper regime might expose dangers and loss to the lands of native peoples, their rights over water and mobility.  Care2 Petition gives a slight background, but I'm not sure who originated it, what their interests are, whether Aboriginals have a view on the Act and its repercussions.  For example, voting might be imposed upon them, land ownership might result, then fragmenting the band ethos and allowing for abuses.  Together, the bands are strong, divided, they are going to have to go to court and lose against big business, just like the rest of us.

Wouldn't the harper government just love to be able to have use of "eminent domain".  Or is it already able to use crown lands at will for development?  Under the umbrella term of "best interests of Canada"!

Overhauling Canada's Regulatory Framework Details Lacking

As usual there's the cart before the horse, some half cocked put it out there then we'll get to it ham fisted approach to legislation.  Everything needs to be speeded up to get that economy on track, expedited, action verbed out there.  Just get it in the headlines and let the reporters talk it up with the usual patter, some flag around the Harpo or Joe Oily looking like he's about to collapse from the burden of responsibility on his shoulders, or Peter Kent falling down sagging from his copious notes.

For workers on the front line, here's where all this profitability margins got you.  Deaths and negligence.  Safety personnel at risk in the North.

Inadequate Search and Rescue in the North.

“It’s inexcusable for our country to rely upon search and rescue [resources] located on the shores of Lake Ontario . . . when there’s so much more happening [elsewhere].” NunatsiaqOnline (subscribe and support)  

Arctic Rescuer Dies Waiting Five Hours in Sea in Canada

According to a preliminary report released by the Canadian Forces Wednesday, Gilbert and two other technicians parachuted 600 metres into waves which were three metres high with winds blowing at 50 km/h.

Dust Levels High At Burns' Lake Warnings Dismissed

The WorkSafe BC inspection report shows an officer collected 10 dust samples from the mill on Nov. 22 and Nov. 23 and submitted them for lab tests.

The results released Dec. 28 found dust levels in the basement cleanup area were more than twice the acceptable level for an eight-hour exposure.

Read it on Global News: Global BC | Dust levels high weeks before explosion at B.C. mill: WorkSafe BC 

Since we now know that our local papers are Harper puppets, collect a wiki of your own independent newspapers and journalists that can write true real people points of view.  Submit the names of the reporters to writer's organizations who offer awards of merit for real news reporting and sanctions against  shills like Ibitson, et al.  (more to be added)

MP's Pensions an Outrage

Time for pension reform for MP's.  This is now a hot point that needs to be addressed in times of austerity.  If not, then the point is clear.  All optics for the power elite.  Make sure the underclass know they are an underclass by being callous and supercilious when dealing with issues of equality.  Make no bones about who dictates, and who serves, about who is deserving of wealth and who is not.

The Publicly Funded MP Pension Plan

Rick Mercer describes Parliamentary Secretary, Pierre Poilievre, as someone who has never worked at anything, but is an expert on everything. First elected in his mid-twenties, 31 year-old, Poilievre, has ALREADY qualified for HIS share of the extravagantly outrageous, MP pension plan. Poilievre can start cashing HIS pension cheques at age 55. The Canadian Taxpayers Federation tells us that taxpayers kick in $23.30 for every dollar put in by their MP. CTF says that MP pensions, guaranteed by law, grow 10.4% a year - all courtesy of taxpayers, who, each year, put more money into their MP's pension account - $248,000 - than the MP's base salary of $157,000. MP's themselves, contribute a minimal $10,990 a year. In the face of THIS, Harper, not only plans to stuff another 18 bodies into Parliament, but, he also has the gall to set about attacking the very people supporting such *generosity*? For Harper voters everywhere, just how is THIS sort *accountability* working for you, again?

Lorne Gunter Cheers on Israeli Terrorism

A justified killing

Lorne Gunter

PC supports hits of Iranian scientist civilians

I cannot remember in my lifetime reading about the cheering of killing in a national newspaper.  But here we have it in the National Post, a reporter speaking of such a thing.  Condoning it.  Praising it for being masterfully executed.  This is the new militaristic Canada which scares the hell out of me.

Thwarting Iran's nuclear ambitions has to be the Western world's No. 1 security priority. And since a direct military attack on Iran's nuclear facilities has been all but ruled out for now, Israel and other western nations are left with targeted killings, sabotage and computer hacking to disrupt progress as much as possible.

The Roshan hit was masterful. During rush hour in Tehran on Wednesday, two men on a motorcycle drove up next to Dr. Roshan's car and attached a magnetic bomb. Then they detonated the explosive without killing anyone other than Dr. Roshan and his bodyguard/driver.

Imagine the intelligence and planning needed to pull off such an operation - the months of covert surveillance inside Iran to identify Dr. Roshan and learn his habits; the need for safe houses, explosives and electronics, and communications, all without being discovered by Iranian officials.

And, of course, this was not the Israelis' (or whomever's) only ongoing operation in Iran. In November, an "accidental" explosion at a military base outside Tehran killed the general who headed up the Revolutionary Guard's nuclear missile program. Last summer, perhaps the most sophisticated software virus ever infected the computers that run the centrifuges that refine Iran's uranium, causing them to spin wildly out of control. And in the past 18 months, remote-controlled bombs have killed at least two other senior Iranian nuclear physicists.

If these operations were the Israelis' doing, Israel would be perfectly justified in each case. (Gunter)

I agree with one of the posters on the comment forum who says that Gunter's piece is an abuse of the media as a platform for hate speech.

Comments from Concerned Canadians are here