Monday, August 31, 2015
Canada being recognized internationally for all the wrong reasons
Canada's prime minister wants to make it harder for people to vote against him
Acclaimed Canadian author Margaret Atwood faced censorship in the national press late last week for her satirical take on Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s hair. It might have been a rather amusing episode if it wasn’t symptomatic of darker, Orwellian trends that have marked Harper’s nine years in office.
Stephen Marche’s article in the New York Times mid-month does an excellent job of summarizing how Harper has pulled tight the reins of power, stifled criticism and eroded the freedoms of Canadians. But it is in the prime minister’s assaults on the most fundamental of democratic acts, a citizen’s right to vote, that Harper’s lust for control finds its most disturbing outlet.
Not confident of winning re-election on merit in October, he’s pushed through a series of legal changes spearheaded by the perversely named Fair Elections Act. Harper’s front man for the task, the aptly titled democratic reform minister, Pierre Poilievre, brushed off critics, claiming the changes are “common sense”. But it’s more likely that, after winning by an uncomfortably small margin in the last election and, after nine years, having the distinct honor of the lowest job creation numbers since World War II and least economic growth since the 1960s, Harper is making sure potential naysayers have a harder time accessing the polls.
READ MORE: http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/aug/28/canada-stephen-harper-harder-to-vote
Canada government suspends scientist for folk song about prime minister
An environmental scientist working for a Canadian government agency has been suspended and will be investigated for recording a protest song about the prime minister, Stephen Harper, according to union representatives.
The song is called Harperman and was written by Tony Turner, who worked at Environment Canada and is, in his spare time, “a mainstay on the Ottawa folk music scene”, according to a biography on his website.
The song, which is recorded with a backing choir and a double bass, with Turner himself on the guitar, contains lyrics like “no respect for environment / Harperman, it’s time for you to go”, and “no more cons, cons, cons / we want you gone, gone gone”.
Turner’s union representatives told the CBC that Turner was being accused of having “violated the departmental code of values and ethics in that the writing and performing of this song somehow impeded his ability to impartially study migratory birds”.
“We will stand up for its members who face the prospect of being disciplined for exercising their democratic rights as citizens. The supreme court of Canada has confirmed that public service workers, like all Canadian citizens, benefit from freedom of expression,” Debi Daviau, the president of the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada (PIPSC), the union which represents Turner, told the Ottawa Citizen.
Forget a monument to the victims of Communism - We need a monument to the "Victims of Harperism
"Environment Canada is alleging … [Turner] has violated the departmental code of values and ethics in that the writing and performing of this song somehow impeded his ability to impartially study migratory birds”.
Thanks Ed
Looks promising - Thanks Ed
Breakdown: First riding-level polls show Conservative support slipping across the country
Advocacy organization Leadnow targets 13 swing ridings in strategic voting campaign
Riding-level polls for a baker’s dozen of Canada’s most hotly contested electoral districts were released Thursday by online advocacy organization Leadnow. They paint a picture of a Conservative government whose support is swiftly evaporating in the face of growing “anyone but Harper” sentiment among Canadians.
Leadnow, which describes itself as non-partisan but anti-Harper, released the polls in conjunction with the launch of a new campaign called Vote Together, which aims to defeat the Conservatives through strategic voting.
“We’ve identified 72 Conservative swing ridings across the country,” said Amara Possian, Leadnow’s election campaign manager, “places where the Conservatives could win with less than 50 per cent of the vote, and we are helping our half-a-million-person community channel resources into places that matter the most. These 72 ridings will decide whether Harper wins again.”
Targetting 13 ridings for the first phase of the campaign, Leadnow hired Environics Research to conduct telephone surveys of approximately 500 people in each riding. In total, 7,573 Canadians were surveyed between August 15 and 18.
Harper creating Egypt West - Thanks Ivan
Hair today, gone tomorrow: Margaret Atwood in Canada censorship row
She is a prize-winning author who has conjured vivid dystopian futures, but on Friday Margaret Atwood found herself at the centre of a somewhat mundane censorship debate in the present.
The acclaimed author penned a satirical column lambasting Canada’s conservative prime minister Stephen Harper’s hair, which has become an unusual talking point in the lead up to the general election in October.
Hours after publication on the National Post website, the piece was removed. Senior newspaper staff later said “the necessary fact checking had not been completed”.
“Um, did I just get censored? For my flighty little caper on Hair?” Atwood tweetedafter #Hairgate began trending on Twitter.
Throughout the election campaign, the Canadian Conservative party has attackedLiberal leader Justin Trudeau as inexperienced and lacking in policy focus. It has also mocked him simply for having “nice hair”. Trudeau has hit back through advertising, arguing Harper is struggling to talk about anything else.
Atwood’s piece argued the entire debate had trivialised the election. “Hair, an election issue? Really?” she wrote, before going on to poke fun at Harper.
“Of the three national male leaders, which one travels with a personal grooming assistant – lavishly paid for in whole or in part by you, gentle taxpayer – so that none of his hairs will ever be out of place … Hint: Initials are SH.”
Sunday, August 30, 2015
Quebec votes 2015 - Thanks Ivan
Sondage: le NPD se détache, net recul des conservateurs
Pour la première fois depuis le lancement de la campagne électorale au Canada, un sondage donne jeudi une large avance au Nouveau parti démocratique (NPD) et un recul marqué du Parti conservateur, au pouvoir depuis 2006.
Le NPD de Thomas Mulcair est crédité de 40% des intentions de vote, un niveau qui lui donnerait une majorité absolue à la Chambre des communes, selon le sondage de Forum Research pour le compte du quotidien Toronto Star.
Le parti conservateur du premier ministre sortant, Stephen Harper, majoritaire à la Chambre, chute à 23% des intentions de vote et c'est le Parti libéral (PLC) de Justin Trudeau qui s'installe à la deuxième place avec 30%, selon ce sondage.
Un précédent sondage publié mi-août donnait cette tendance pour les trois partis, mais avec des résultats plus serrés, avec le NPD à 33%, les libéraux à 28% et les conservateurs à 27%.
Selon le président de Forum Research, Lorne Bozinoff, la chute des conservateurs dans les intentions de vote résulterait à la fois des retombées sur l'image du gouvernement du procès du sénateur conservateur Mike Duffy accusé de fraude et corruption, comme des turbulences sur les marchés financiers et du ralentissement de l'économie.
From The Star
NDP in reach of majority, new poll suggests
A new poll puts the NDP with 40 per cent support, with the Liberals ahead of the Conservatives in second place with 30 per cent. The Tories have 23 per cent support.
And then we have the Bloc
The photo used is almost as good as the Duceppe one back in another federal election.
Thanks Ivan
Thanks Ivan
I don't forget and I certainly cannot forgive
This is an attack on me by a former blogger several years ago. He crossed the line then and I have never forgotten.....
Sadly for him I am still here
Sadly for him I am still here
Hospitalized Kitty Gets Picture and Message from Her Best Furiend. Sooo Heartwarming!
This cat received a picture and a heart warming message from her best furiend Jack when she was hospitalized at the clinic.
“This cat has been hospitalized at our clinic. When I came in the other day, I saw the owner had taped this picture in her cage and it’s the sweetest thing ever,” ilmazziere wrote via reddit.
Only in Amsterdam: Tricycle Stunt In The Red Light District
Thanks Ivan.... I trust this is the right video you sent... the one from FB would not open
Saturday, August 29, 2015
Where's our ships Steve????
Chile’s $30 million supply ship – South American nation has capabilities Canada lacks
Ever since I wrote the article on the Chilean Navy ship, theAlmirante Montt, I have been receiving emails from readers questioning why that country is able to field such a capability when Canada cannot. (The RCN’s $2.9 billion Joint Support Ships are late in coming and not expected until at least 2020/2021).
Canada paid $6 million to Chile so that the Almirante Montt (show above in photo courtesy of DND) was available this summer for 40 sea days on the west coast. The ship was used to resupply Canadian warships and train RCN sailors in at-sea resupply skills.
The Almirante Montt is the former U.S. Navy supply ship Andrew J Higgins. The vessel was built in 1987 and mothballed by the U.S. in 1996. It was purchased by Chile in 2009.
Chile spent $30 million to purchase the ship and refurbish it, with the work being done in the U.S.
During that process, the engine systems were modernized and new communications equipment installed.
In 2010 the vessel, renamed the Almirante Montt, went into service as the largest ship in Chile’s fleet. Chile’s navy also purchased a commercial tanker to support its fleet.
Nazi theories growing
An organization of members and former members of the Canadian Armed Forces is promoting Nazi theories, conspiracy theories and extreme right ideas on social networks.
According to information obtained by La Presse, these individuals would find themselves in "Table Rase," a "community" of the extreme right that values "warriors" and "fighting". This group active on the web, is particularly would display in a gym Sports Centre at CFB Valcartier, during combat workshops.
The Facebook page of the organization, which counts nearly 1700 subscribers, including suggesting that the attacks of September 11, 2001, killing of Charlie Hebdo and the Titanic are just fabrications. Table Rase also hosts Nazi quotes and about Adrien Arcand, the Quebec fascist activist who deplored the Nazi defeat in 1945, since it has opened the door to non-Western immigration, underlines La Presse.
According to the Register of Quebec businesses, Clean Slate rests with William Baker, who presents himself as a former member Voltigeurs de Québec. His LinkedIn page says he works as a graphic designer and an infantry soldier for the Canadian Armed Forces.
In an interview with La Presse, he denied being at the head of this community, rather indicating he gave them "a helping hand". Three other employees feed the group's Facebook page, including a man presented as Master Corporal Voltigeurs de Québec, a former corporal in the same unit and a woman who claims to be a soldier in the Canadian Forces, according to La Presse.
Several other people defining themselves as military comment on the Facebook page Blank Slate. The military gives workshops martial arts at the Valcartier base, is also the lot.
Valcartier: mouvement d'extrême droite dans les Forces
READ MORE: http://www.journaldequebec.com/2015/08/28/valcartier-mouvement-dextreme-droite-dans-les-forces
Repairing my Downspout
Today, my wife said to me, "Get off your butt and fix that gutter downspout! And, I want it done before the end of the day!"
Well, as you all know, at my age, I, and most of our friends, are retired and do have the time to address such "Honey do's"..
So, I invited some of our neighborhood buddies over to help with the minor project.
One was a sheet metal fabricator.
One brought his welder.
One brought beer and Nachos.
One brought a grill and burgers.
Took us about 6 hours, and 30-40 beers, but we got it done just as we finished off the last of the beer and burgers.
As usual, my wife is still not happy with me!
Can't understand, cause all us guys loved the work done!
Personally, I cannot wait for rain!
Thanks Randy
Memories from John McC
Hi Bob, I don't know where Normand digs up all of his material but without a doubt he should be the official archivist of GFPK. His pic on todays blog of Chalmers Store at the corner of Third and Empire brought back some memories namely (1) my father sending me on my bike to buy a brick of neapolitain(three flavours in one) ice cream for dessert after our sunday dinner and him carefully cutting the brick equally ,depending on how many people were at the table. If he felt he had made a mistake he would wipe the marks he had made on the top of the brick with his knife and start again (2) again on other occasions after we had finished our tasks around the yard on a hot summer day he would send me to Chalmers to buy a six-pack of coke for 36 cents, (3)Old Pop chalmers would sell individual cigarettes for 2 for a nickel (4) it is amazing just how many of our Third Street gang would be hanging around in front of the store on the day and at the proper time when "Big" Bill drove up in his Guaranteed Milk refrigerated truck to make his regular delivery of iced products to the store and how amazing it was that usually he would always be able to find a few popsicles the were defective I.E. partially broken etc-- to hand out to us kids and (5) it always amazed me how many of us young people who had spent the day caddying at the Country Club of Montreal and with enough jingle in our jeans to be able to afford a 5 cent bag of Duchess potato chips and a 10 cent large bottle of our favourite beverage ,would fit onto that small porch. Ah the good old days. JMcC
Thanks John..... I have many fond memories of Chalmers as well but also one not so fond but somewhat humorous.... for others
It was 1960 and I was 15.... I was on my way home from Pop's when my stomach began growling and thought I could make it home but around Chalmers it became obvious I probably couldn't but Mrs. C wouldn't let me use her toilet so off I went.... squeezing my cheeks as I tried to prevent that bitch Mother Nature from soiling my drawers...... I made it just past Davises when that she devil let loose.... as I struggle to walk bowlegged down the back road into the barracks (Lawrence Park)... Dave S and Roz were driving toward me in Dave blue and white Meteor wagon.... he rolled down the window and said "what the hells wrong with you, you look like you shit yourself".... I whined "I did"
Thanks John..... I have many fond memories of Chalmers as well but also one not so fond but somewhat humorous.... for others
It was 1960 and I was 15.... I was on my way home from Pop's when my stomach began growling and thought I could make it home but around Chalmers it became obvious I probably couldn't but Mrs. C wouldn't let me use her toilet so off I went.... squeezing my cheeks as I tried to prevent that bitch Mother Nature from soiling my drawers...... I made it just past Davises when that she devil let loose.... as I struggle to walk bowlegged down the back road into the barracks (Lawrence Park)... Dave S and Roz were driving toward me in Dave blue and white Meteor wagon.... he rolled down the window and said "what the hells wrong with you, you look like you shit yourself".... I whined "I did"
Friday, August 28, 2015
Should Canada go into deficit? The stupidity of the Mainstream Media
Stephen Harper's election mantra is "Stay the Course"
Canadians have stayed the course for the last nine (9) years under Stephen Harper and the economy has gone nowhere. Canada is in its second recession under his watch. It is also going into deficit as a result of his cuts to revenues.
Now, imagine a Canada without Stephen Harper's slash and gut policies. Imagine a Canada with real tax revenues. Imagine a Canada in recession.
Oh shit! Canada has the revenues to buy itself out of deficit.
So who is right in this election?
It certainly is not Stephen Harper. The other parties may or may not be 100% right but they are definitely a better choice than what Canada has been strapped with over the last nine years.
Mulcair says he will have a balanced budget in his first year. That in itself raises many questions. But I am fine with that.
Trudeau says, "I don't know, it depends on how bad a mess SH has left the economy in". That. to me sounds like the most reasonable and honest response. I'm fine with that.
So who do you vote for..... you vote for the candidate best positioned to beat the garbage conservative in your riding.
Canadians have stayed the course for the last nine (9) years under Stephen Harper and the economy has gone nowhere. Canada is in its second recession under his watch. It is also going into deficit as a result of his cuts to revenues.
Now, imagine a Canada without Stephen Harper's slash and gut policies. Imagine a Canada with real tax revenues. Imagine a Canada in recession.
Oh shit! Canada has the revenues to buy itself out of deficit.
So who is right in this election?
It certainly is not Stephen Harper. The other parties may or may not be 100% right but they are definitely a better choice than what Canada has been strapped with over the last nine years.
Mulcair says he will have a balanced budget in his first year. That in itself raises many questions. But I am fine with that.
Trudeau says, "I don't know, it depends on how bad a mess SH has left the economy in". That. to me sounds like the most reasonable and honest response. I'm fine with that.
So who do you vote for..... you vote for the candidate best positioned to beat the garbage conservative in your riding.
Letter to the Editor, Toronto Star:
Stephen Harper has been boasting of the 43 trade agreements Canada has, implying that this somehow is good for our economy and a tribute to his economic policies. He neglects to mention that of the agreements he has signed with 38 countries since 2006, we have a trade surplus with only one, Norway.
We are actually supporting the economies of the other 37 countries although this includes countries of the European Union with which he signed an agreement in principle but which has never been settled nor finalized by the governments of any of the countries including Canada and is currently in limbo.
Of the other five countries with which we had an agreement before 2006, our trade surplus is with only one, the United States, and that has fallen drastically as the auto industry deserts us for Mexico and the southern U.S. states. Other than the U.S. and Mexico and Korea (since January of 2015), the trade with all the others is minuscule and, while negative, is only a tiny part of our global trade.
Mr. Harper has a well-honed skill in dropping figures without context to confuse the voters and cover up his incredibly poor economic skills.
Denis McKee, Toronto
Harper in Quebec
De passage à Lac-Beauport, Harper cite Maurice Duplessis
(Québec) La campagne de séduction de Stephen Harper au Québec s'est transportée à Lac-Beauport en début de soirée lundi. Le premier ministre sortant, qui espère ravir la circonscription de Portneuf-Jacques-Cartier à la néo-démocrate Élaine Michaud, a livré un discours à forte saveur économique et truffé de références québécoises y allant même d'une allusion à l'ex-premier ministre de la province, Maurice Duplessis.
Le chef du Parti conservateur du Canada (PCC) était pour l'occasion accompagné de sa femme Laureen et entouré de ses candidats dans la région qui ont tous été chaudement salués par la foule entassée dans une petite salle du centre Le Relais où trônait un immense drapeau fleurdelisé.
Lors de son allocution, M. Harper n'a pas tardé à aborder la question de l'économie au terme d'une journée où les marchés boursiers ont fermé en forte baisse. «Dans une économie mondiale turbulente, vous aurez à choisir entre la sécurité et le risque, entre l'expérience et l'inconnu», a lancé celui qui brigue au quatrième mandat à la tête du pays.
Thanks Ivan
SLIDES FOUND AT THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS...
Photos from the days when we were very young. We forget how far the USA has come in 70 years.
Something you may wish to share with your children & grandchildren. What life was like and how it looked when most of us were just a few years old.
The pictures are so clear and the color is so vibrant, it looks as though they were taken just yesterday.
Enjoy.
|
STRANGE THOUGHTS
The location of your mailbox shows you how far away from
your house you can be in a robe, before you start looking like a
mental patient.
My therapist said that my narcissism causes me to misread social
situations. I'm pretty sure she was hitting on me.
My 60 year kindergarten reunion is coming up soon and I'm
worried about the 195 lbs. I've gained.
I'm getting kind of tired always slowly raising my hand when
someone asks, "Who does something like that?!?"
I always wondered what the job application is like at
Hooters.. do they just give you a bra and say, "here
fill this out"..?
Four-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Jeff Gordon
announced that this will be his final season of racing. You
could tell it was time for him to retire during his
last race when he had his blinker on the whole time.
The speed in which a woman says "nothing" when
asked "What's wrong?" is inversely proportional to the
severity of the shit storm that's coming.
Denny's has a slogan, 'If it's your birthday, the meal is on
us.' .....If you're in Denny's and it's your birthday...
your life sucks!
If I make you breakfast in bed, a simple "Thank you" is all I
need.....not all this, "how did you get in my house" !
The pharmacist asked me my birthday again today....Pretty
sure she's going to get me something.
On average, an American man will have sex two to three
times a week; whereas a Japanese man will have sex only one or two times a
year...........This is upsetting news to me............I had no
idea I was Japanese.
I can't understand why women are okay that JC Penny
has an older women's clothing line named, "Sag Harbor."
I think it's pretty cool how Chinese people made a language
entirely out of tattoos.
What is it about a car that makes people think we can't see
them pick their nose?
When I die I want to be reincarnated as a spider. Just so I can
finally hear a women say "Oh my God, it's huge!"
your house you can be in a robe, before you start looking like a
mental patient.
My therapist said that my narcissism causes me to misread social
situations. I'm pretty sure she was hitting on me.
My 60 year kindergarten reunion is coming up soon and I'm
worried about the 195 lbs. I've gained.
I'm getting kind of tired always slowly raising my hand when
someone asks, "Who does something like that?!?"
I always wondered what the job application is like at
Hooters.. do they just give you a bra and say, "here
fill this out"..?
Four-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Jeff Gordon
announced that this will be his final season of racing. You
could tell it was time for him to retire during his
last race when he had his blinker on the whole time.
The speed in which a woman says "nothing" when
asked "What's wrong?" is inversely proportional to the
severity of the shit storm that's coming.
Denny's has a slogan, 'If it's your birthday, the meal is on
us.' .....If you're in Denny's and it's your birthday...
your life sucks!
If I make you breakfast in bed, a simple "Thank you" is all I
need.....not all this, "how did you get in my house" !
The pharmacist asked me my birthday again today....Pretty
sure she's going to get me something.
On average, an American man will have sex two to three
times a week; whereas a Japanese man will have sex only one or two times a
year...........This is upsetting news to me............I had no
idea I was Japanese.
I can't understand why women are okay that JC Penny
has an older women's clothing line named, "Sag Harbor."
I think it's pretty cool how Chinese people made a language
entirely out of tattoos.
What is it about a car that makes people think we can't see
them pick their nose?
When I die I want to be reincarnated as a spider. Just so I can
finally hear a women say "Oh my God, it's huge!"
Thanks John G
Thursday, August 27, 2015
Harpers enemy list - sick son of a bitch
Andrew Coyne: You will be shocked(!) to see who is on Stephen Harper’s full ‘enemy’ list
Like many of you, I was shocked to hear that a member of the Prime Minister’s Office had sent an email asking staff in other ministers’ offices to compile lists of “enemy stakeholders.”
This did not sound like the discreet, professional Prime Minister’s Office with which I think we are all familiar. Just the risk of such an email coming to light made it impossible to believe any member of the current PMO was involved. On top of which: enemies lists? Not on this prime minister’s watch. I distinctly remember the prime minister on election night promising “to govern for all Canadians.” Say what you will about Stephen Harper, but he’s a man of his word.
I was going to consign the whole business to the “silly season” file, when a thick brown envelope dropped through the mail slot in my door. Inside, stamped “EYES ONLY,” was a document, many pages long, bearing the title, “Our Enemies: The Complete List (Revised).” At the top of the first page was the prime minister’s coat of arms. Whoa, I thought. So it’s true.
I hesitate to share this information with the public. As shocking as the existence of the list itself, obviously intended as a sort of aide mémoire, are the names it contains. I include only a selection, with explanatory notes as appropriate.
READ MORE: http://news.nationalpost.com/full-comment/andrew-coyne-you-will-be-shocked-to-see-who-is-on-stephen-harpers-full-enemy-list
I hesitate to share this information with the public. As shocking as the existence of the list itself, obviously intended as a sort of aide mémoire, are the names it contains. I include only a selection, with explanatory notes as appropriate.
READ MORE: http://news.nationalpost.com/full-comment/andrew-coyne-you-will-be-shocked-to-see-who-is-on-stephen-harpers-full-enemy-list
Harper: The heartless bastard of parliament hill
Document raises questions about Harper retirement policies
Canada scores poorly among developed countries in providing public pensions to seniors, according to an internal analysis of retirement income by the federal government.
And voluntary tax-free savings accounts or TFSAs, introduced by the Harper Conservatives in 2009, are so far unproven as a retirement solution and are largely geared to the wealthy.
Those are some highlights of a broad review of Canada's retirement income system ordered by the Privy Council Office and completed in March this year by the Finance Department, with input from several other departments.
The research, compiled in a 30-page presentation deck, was created as the government came under fire from opposition parties, some provinces and retiree groups for declining to improve Canada Pension Plan or CPP payouts through higher mandatory contributions from workers and businesses.
The CPP issue has already become acrimonious in the federal election campaign, with Conservative Leader Stephen Harper saying on Aug. 11 that he is "delighted" to be making it more difficult for Ontario to launch its own version of an improved CPP. The federal Liberals are hoping to use Harper's clash with Ontario Liberal Premier Kathleen Wynne over pensions to win seniors' votes in the province and beyond.
A heavily censored copy of the internal document was obtained by CBC News under the Access to Information Act.
The review acknowledges that Canada trails most developed countries in providing public pensions, and is poised to perform even worse in future.
Low among OECD countries
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