There's nothing conservative in the Harper (Greek) government. Ok, may conservation of power for themselves. Wasting resources on photo ops, that sort of thing.
Here's a thoroughly researched article on Climate Change from the Guardian. Read it thoroughly to be informed and ready to inoculate yourself against propaganda that global warming and our destruction of the environment is attributable to anything other than fools like the above. For update Twitter info, see @RTCCnewswire
Showing posts with label canada politics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label canada politics. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Friday, January 13, 2012
US Firm Wins R&D Contract for Seaspan Ships
Harper's Big Photo Op Doesn't Stand Up to Smell Test
Touted as a big job creator with long term, well paying jobs, the Seaspan contract for B.C. and Halifax is really a poor attempt to spin perception beyond reality. Firstly, Harper praised himself for being transparent and offering a hands off bidding process to prove that the government works above board and doesn't play favorites. Not quite. Quebec was shunned because only two locations were in the running.
In real terms, there are huge issues about the lack of planning in the whole deal.
Fiction: Canadian jobs
Alion engineering (a US engineering design company) won the contract for R&D of the Seaspan ships....so again Canada loses out!
Fiction: Skilled Jobs
People forget that shipbuilding is going to require the same sort of SKILLED workers that are already in short supply from coast to coast:
- Qualified welders
- Plate fitters & CNC machine operators
- Manufacturing Engineers & Welding Technologists
- Marine Engineers (designers)
- Riggers and Operators
- Machinists and Millwrights
- QA & QC people
- Industrial electricians
Where's the plan for training and encouraging young people into these trades and occupations?
A client in Western Canada who just received the permission needed to import ~100 welder-fitters from the Philippines. They've basically given up trying to find and train reliable Canadians for this work.
Fiction: Skilled Designers Needed
Korea and China produce thousands of marine engineers a year....so Canada will always be at a competitive disadvantage in this industry. Besides if memory serves me, Marine Naval Architectural engineers are one of if not the smallest group of PEngs in the country and many are older....so where are we getting the skilled designers?
Fiction: Long Term, Well Paying Jobs
Robotic welding machines can operate faster, more accurately, can simultaneously measure penetration and quality of welds and weld in different orientations. These machines require a minimum of highly skilled technicians to operate and maintain and can keep working 24hrs a day. Modern pipe bending machines can pre-bend pipe in 3D in a continuous manner, such that far fewer connections and welds are required and fewer pipe fitters. Proper engineering design coupled with modular building and technologies means ships can be built faster, larger, and require a much smaller highly skilled labour force. The reality is that IF Irving and Seaspan wish to remain competitive they will have to introduce these new technologies, and as such, fewer workers will be required.
So for all the pomp and grandstanding about jobs, it is likely that the NSBP will not result in the intended number of long term stable well paying jobs; rather fewer skilled jobs with many part time and indirect lower paying jobs!
Thanks @tempsperdu
Proviso: Cost Overruns and Federal Oversight
This week’s agreement “addressed things that both [government] ministers and concerned citizens of Canada have asked,” Mr. Whitworth said. “‘If we are going to put our support into these shipyards, what guarantees that the shipyards will perform?’”
To answer that question, the agreement also grants Ottawa unfettered access to shipyard accounting books for the life of the construction projects, a feature intended to head off cost overruns. (Globe and Mail)
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Transformative Liberal Policies
Transformative Liberal Platform
Journalists are presenting the Liberals as lacking in ideas, leadership, charisma. Isn't that the nature of Canadian politics? Maybe they're expecting the dog and pony show that is the GOP convention, or they'd rather just booze it up as they say during the coming gathering in Ottawa this weekend. Whichever way one sees it, the Liberals have the experience, the NDP's have a solid support amongst the unionized sector and the Greens' strength is growing amongst those who have jobs or who rely on the environmental well being for their livelihood.
Here are the issues as I see them.
Journalists are presenting the Liberals as lacking in ideas, leadership, charisma. Isn't that the nature of Canadian politics? Maybe they're expecting the dog and pony show that is the GOP convention, or they'd rather just booze it up as they say during the coming gathering in Ottawa this weekend. Whichever way one sees it, the Liberals have the experience, the NDP's have a solid support amongst the unionized sector and the Greens' strength is growing amongst those who have jobs or who rely on the environmental well being for their livelihood.
Here are the issues as I see them.
Friday, January 6, 2012
 |
| In the Interests of Oil |
"The Prime Minister was also asked about a proposal by Alberta Premier Alison Redford to create a national energy strategy that would pull together Alberta's oil sands, the hydro power of British Columbia, offshore oil in the Atlantic and Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty's green-energy agenda."
So it's going to be a bundle of bad oil with a bit 'o green to sweeten the deal. B.C. is suffering the lowest job growth of all the provinces and is running out of options given the lack of government stimulus ideas other than gas plants.
The Northern Gateway push seems to be only concerning the Canadian provinces, without any discussion or attention paid to all the native bands who vehemently oppose the pipeline. They see the Chipewyan experience.
The people have complained of illnesses caused by the pollution of water and air. It will take 10 years to guarantee the results of scientific studies to prove their allegations. They don't have that much time. So it is up to us to bring attention to this horrible crime.
“We want to ensure in Canada that we have a regulator system that protects our environment and obviously protects worker safety and various other community interests,” Mr. Harper said. “At the same time, though, we have to have processes in Canada that come to a decision in a reasonable amount of time and processes that cannot be hijacked.”
Harper cannot bring himself to utter the words of the native bands in opposition.
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Canadian Media Supports the Old Boys' Network
Our major papers support the status quo and function as propaganda tools for positive spin. How else to explain the recent glowing headlines:
Think about it. Reading this, I would assume we, the working poor, will see the corporate elite pay more in taxes. No. Harper's really referring to a Forbes magazine article indicating Canada as attractive to investors because of its inviting low corporate tax rate. Here's the evident outrage from a Globe reader:
It is the role of the media to deconstruct the message of the elite. But the only real contrary view comes from the readership, frustrated by the nonsense we are being offered by our key newspapers. We cannot have a democracy without an open dialogue in our mass media.
The "Old Boys Network", began with Jean Chretien and helped to insulate political figures from embarrassment. Favourable stories often lead to more leaks and headlines for reporters. Or the opposite. Witness today the spat between The Toronto Star and Rob Ford over a supposed insult. While Harper's grudge against the CBC curtailed his annual interview with Peter Mansbridge and was instead cast with Gord Martineau at CTV, a much less hardball press.
Over Christmas we had spin after spin of Harper voting results both from Naxos and Macleans attributing positive reception of the Harper agenda. Using polls is fraught with deception and manipulation, but more on that later. We are being numbed with fluff informercials of the nature that Harper is writing a hockey book while in fact, the country is being sold out to the Chinese.
The way in which the stories develop is mainly a one version of events with mollifying qualifier words or abstruse constructions that avoid saying the difficult words. Here are the examples of economic speechifying.
Yes, our low taxes encourage investment. Then our Harper government also gave tax incentives, and then the US Caterpillar company cut salaries by 50%. from $35.00 to $16.00. Are we not delighted with this strategy? See: Net Benefit to Canada
You can call this a one party state, with an information cartel.
Our major papers support the status quo and function as propaganda tools for positive spin. How else to explain the recent glowing headlines:
Stephen Harper in HOC Why Canada’s corporate tax cuts rate a collective cheer
Think about it. Reading this, I would assume we, the working poor, will see the corporate elite pay more in taxes. No. Harper's really referring to a Forbes magazine article indicating Canada as attractive to investors because of its inviting low corporate tax rate. Here's the evident outrage from a Globe reader:
from: Changing Canada 7:27 PM on January 3, 2012
The only "collective" cheer that is going
to take place is at the Granite Club, or University Club, or any other
good old boys club in Canada. The rest of the nation is completely
well-understood economic principle to the fact that this is a tax
transfer from the poor to the rich. No wonder the good old boys are
cheering collectively! Foxes in the roost eating them chickens.
It is the role of the media to deconstruct the message of the elite. But the only real contrary view comes from the readership, frustrated by the nonsense we are being offered by our key newspapers. We cannot have a democracy without an open dialogue in our mass media.
The "Old Boys Network", began with Jean Chretien and helped to insulate political figures from embarrassment. Favourable stories often lead to more leaks and headlines for reporters. Or the opposite. Witness today the spat between The Toronto Star and Rob Ford over a supposed insult. While Harper's grudge against the CBC curtailed his annual interview with Peter Mansbridge and was instead cast with Gord Martineau at CTV, a much less hardball press.
Over Christmas we had spin after spin of Harper voting results both from Naxos and Macleans attributing positive reception of the Harper agenda. Using polls is fraught with deception and manipulation, but more on that later. We are being numbed with fluff informercials of the nature that Harper is writing a hockey book while in fact, the country is being sold out to the Chinese.
The way in which the stories develop is mainly a one version of events with mollifying qualifier words or abstruse constructions that avoid saying the difficult words. Here are the examples of economic speechifying.
Economists predictably disagree on the economic importance of corporate
tax rates, mostly on an ideological basis, but it makes good sense to
keep this particular tax as low as possible. These taxes, after all, are
a direct cost of doing business – and Canada’s corporate cuts ensure
that this country will have a cross-border edge for the next two or
three years at least. With a combined federal-state rate of 39.2 per
cent, the United States has the second-highest rate in the world (after
Japan, with 39.5 per cent).
Yes, our low taxes encourage investment. Then our Harper government also gave tax incentives, and then the US Caterpillar company cut salaries by 50%. from $35.00 to $16.00. Are we not delighted with this strategy? See: Net Benefit to Canada
You can call this a one party state, with an information cartel.
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