Saturday, June 30, 2018
Stephen Harper never could be trusted to support his country
Betrayed? Harper Secretly Meeting Behind Canada’s Back With Trump White House
It's a disturbing pattern of publically undermining Canada during tense NAFTA negotiations
CTV News reports that Stephen Harper is secretly planning to visit the Trump White House on July 2nd, a day after retaliatory Canadian tariffs are set to kick in.
It is unclear why Stephen Harper is meeting the White House at this time. Harper did not inform the Canadian government or the Canadian embassy, as per normal protocol.
While we do not know the reason for the meeting, Harper has recently been off-side with Canadian NAFTA negotiations.
While all Canadian political parties have rallied together to present a unified message against Trump, Harper has taken the opposite approach. In a letter to his corporate clients, Harper publicly undermined Canada’s NAFTA negotiations and argued we should give up environmental and worker protections.
Even the NDP are angry at Harpers back stabbing of Canada
Here's something sensible from Charlie Angus. Too bad he blocked anyone who disagrees with him. This one I do agree with. #cdnpoli
Friday, June 29, 2018
Heather Mallick at her best
Canada is facing huge problems, many Trump-related, but whether hard-line Conservatives detest the PM or not, it would be a tragedy if we fell for Trump tactics. If we have minor political differences, we can brush them away with Freudian know-how, or even simple Canadian decency.
What Freud would say about Scheer’s swing set petulance
The federal Conservatives have gone Trumpish, campaigning online and in the House of Commons in absurd terms that call out to the foolish, spiteful elements of voters’ psyches and Canadian sense of self. That’s a given. But will it work?
I think Canadians are too sensible and fair-minded for this. Still, one does worry.
Tweet from Rob Silver
Andrew Scheer is 39 years old.
If Andrew Scheer never gets elected again in his life, his MP pension is worth more than $3 million.
Andrew Scheer has also been living in free taxpayer owned housing since he was 32-years old.
But please, go on Conservatives.
Link: https://twitter.com/RobSilver/status/1011980643578724352
Link: https://twitter.com/RobSilver/status/1011980643578724352
Thursday, June 28, 2018
The true story on gas pricing
Everyone is talking about the high price of gas in Metro Vancouver, which hit a new record in May, topping $1.60 per litre. The story making the rounds is that taxes are to blame — in particular the April 1 increase in B.C.’s carbon tax. Some have seized on this moment to call for tax cuts to ease the pain at the pump for drivers.
However, a closer look at what is driving price increases shows that it is gouging by the industry — not taxes — that is to blame. Factors controlled by industry (non-tax market factors) include the cost of crude oil, the margin taken (or mark-up) by refineries, and the margin taken by gas retailers. (The latter two items — the margins taken by refineries and retailers — are not the same as profits, since there are additional costs in those businesses.)
However, a closer look at what is driving price increases shows that it is gouging by the industry — not taxes — that is to blame. Factors controlled by industry (non-tax market factors) include the cost of crude oil, the margin taken (or mark-up) by refineries, and the margin taken by gas retailers. (The latter two items — the margins taken by refineries and retailers — are not the same as profits, since there are additional costs in those businesses.)
Gas Gouging: Blame Big Oil, Not Taxes
A look at the numbers show why Greater Vancouver gas prices are so high.
Comment from FB:
"... The cost of crude oil is the biggest factor, up 32.3 cents per litre. This is a reflection not of production costs, but of the going world oil price. This price increase is thus pure profit for oil producers."
If the author is pointing at "world price" being the driver of increased price, that would reflect on both the cost and the revenue for the producer. While that would increase their profit, it is far from the definition of "pure" profit.
"... Parkland recently issued a press release citing a record fourth quarter of 2017 profit of $469 million (its first quarter owning the Burnaby refinery)."
Parkland purchased the refinery at a fire sale price, the facility nearing the end of its useful service life. Chevron had already amortized the development costs, which would have been reflected, along with the limitation of the plant's remaining service life, in the sale price. As is typical with refineries, their net incomes rise dramatically during this period.
If the author is pointing at "world price" being the driver of increased price, that would reflect on both the cost and the revenue for the producer. While that would increase their profit, it is far from the definition of "pure" profit.
"... Parkland recently issued a press release citing a record fourth quarter of 2017 profit of $469 million (its first quarter owning the Burnaby refinery)."
Parkland purchased the refinery at a fire sale price, the facility nearing the end of its useful service life. Chevron had already amortized the development costs, which would have been reflected, along with the limitation of the plant's remaining service life, in the sale price. As is typical with refineries, their net incomes rise dramatically during this period.
Wednesday, June 27, 2018
Read and learn America
But Filipinos have always been susceptible to strongman personality cults, just like your Republicans.
(Yeah don't @ me on this one, Repubs still singing Reagan's praises despite the fact he was FRIENDS with Marcos and helped him retain power, making it 1000x worse for us.)
(Yeah don't @ me on this one, Repubs still singing Reagan's praises despite the fact he was FRIENDS with Marcos and helped him retain power, making it 1000x worse for us.)
Thread by @RinChupeco: "Speaking as someone born in the last years of a dictatorship, you Americans are already several steps in one. Ferdinand Marcos' greatest tri […]"
The truth is out there if you are ready to learn
“The evidence is not there: there’s no correlation between the level of business investment or the level of economic growth or the level of wage increases," Director, Centre for Future Work at the Australia Institute @JimboStanford tells @PatsKarvelas on #NationalWrap. #auspol
Read the comments too: https://twitter.com/abcnews/status/1011029756790243328
Read the comments too: https://twitter.com/abcnews/status/1011029756790243328
Tuesday, June 26, 2018
Read it and weep Ontario be sure to read it all
Carbon pricing is the sad political football that gets kicked down the field come election time. Most economists and sensible corporations in Canada supports putting a price on carbon—why tax income and profit, when you can tax carbon pollution instead? It is so blindingly obvious to anyone with even a modicum of economic sense. Unfortunately, economic sense does not drive voters nor politics. Certainly not the new Ontario government.
An illuminating look at what Doug Ford just did to Ontarians' energy bills
The Ecofiscal Commission, a group of eminent Canadian economists has provided convincing research on the economic benefits of pricing carbon and the conservative-leaning Canadians for Clean Prosperity supports a carbon tax. CEOs of oil companies in Alberta support Alberta’s carbon price system, and the Canadian Council of Chief Executives support carbon pricing, too. This week a new campaign led by U.S. Republicans called 'Americans for Carbon Dividends' came out in favour of a carbon tax. The question is, why isn’t Doug Ford? The cynical answer is that any politician can stand up and say I’ll get rid of a tax and get elected. Another possibility is that even a cut-out poster of a politician would have beat Kathleen Wynne, and that Doug Ford’s opinion on carbon pricing was immaterial.
If there is one thing we have learned watching politicians play with electricity, it is that we are the ones who get burned, (they tend to go down in flames.) #analysis by @brucelourie #ONpoli #canpoli
Either way, the implications for the Conservatives are serious. Scrapping Ontario’s cap and trade system (we don’t actually have a carbon tax, that was part of the misinformation campaign) will be “messy and costly” according to the Ecofiscal Commission. Recall that Dalton McGuinty cancelled a gas plant for political reasons costing Ontarians up to a billion dollars. And the Tories went to town, for years, like dogs with a bone. That experience will pale by comparison to the political folly of Doug Ford cancelling cap and trade, with early estimates showing a figure that will likely exceed $4 billion in compensation, legal fees, penalties, administrative costs and who knows what else. And it will probably take four years to disentangle from the agreements in place with California and Quebec, not to mention the hundreds of major Ontario companies benefiting from the system. Many have already signalled a move out of Ontario into friendlier jurisdictions, taking jobs and investment with them. And these are the companies of the future, but sadly not Ontario’s. Good luck explaining that one next time around to the voters who thought they were getting lower taxes.
Monday, June 25, 2018
The root cause of the immigration problem is America and its policies
Sunday, June 24, 2018
The 50th Anniversary Video
Video prepared by Mike Armstrong of Global National News to celebrate his parents, my cousin Judy and husband Kens 50th wedding anniversary.
Saturday, June 23, 2018
From Michael Avenatti
We are now representing whistleblowers within ICE, outside contractors, etc. They have reached out to us to provide us with info as to what is really going on. We are going to blow this wide open and take the info to the American people so they can decide what happens next.
Link https://twitter.com/MichaelAvenatti/status/1009816989840203776
Link https://twitter.com/MichaelAvenatti/status/1009816989840203776
Friday, June 22, 2018
Liars of America
LIES, LIES, LIES
There is no law that stipules separating children from their parents
Trump is lying to you
This is how children in distress should be cared for NOT held in a "for profit" facility without compassion.
The clip is from the Montreal Gazette 1975 at this point some 270 children had been given warmth and affection as their lives were disrupted. Mom and Dad continued to take children up until Dad's retirement in 1985 from Fisher Trading and they moved in with us in Riverview NB until 1987 when they returned to Greenfield Park.
I have posted this clip previously however it has more meaning today in light of the terrorizing of children who are of no danger but are simply seeking refuge and a better life.
Adam Best on Twitter
Nikki Haley calls the UN Human Rights Council a “mockery.” Mike Pompeo says it’s an “embarrassment.” The Trump admin can start criticizing other human rights efforts when Flint has clean water, Puerto Rico has power and kids are no longer in prisons. Until then they can fuck off.
Link: https://twitter.com/adamcbest/status/1009205174852902912
Link: https://twitter.com/adamcbest/status/1009205174852902912
Thursday, June 21, 2018
Nailed it
Mike Rilstone
I am sharing the following rant by Kent Garry because I believe it was meant to be shared as it showed up on my page.
I have just sent him a friendship request:
He nailed it.
I am sharing the following rant by Kent Garry because I believe it was meant to be shared as it showed up on my page.
I have just sent him a friendship request:
He nailed it.
Please excuse my rant, but I just can’t hold it all in this morning.
Concurrent with the election of this man to the presidency of the United States, we have been downgraded from a full democracy to a flawed democracy by the Economist Intelligence Unit. Now, thanks to this man’s policy of separating children from undocumented immigrant and refugee mothers, warehousing them, farming them out through adoption agencies and loosing track of them, we have been condemned by the UN for human rights abuses. God help us!
We have the largest economy in the world and spend more on war making capacity than the next ten countries with the largest militaries combined. Yet we are the only modern nation on earth that does not provide its citizens with free, quality health care.
We live in the country, with our 326 million people, that produces, the most greenhouse gases. Yet we are not living up to our agreement to combat climate change according to the Paris agreement. Our president has even announced his intention to formally withdraw from the agreement. In the meantime, his appointed head of the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency), Scott Pruitt, is rapidly reversing every protection he can, including provision of the 1948 Clean Air and Water Act. There is even a bill in Congress, introduced by Republicans, to eliminate the EPA.
We live in a country that loves the Bible and our guns more than we care about other human beings. We watch the news, shielding ourselves emotionally from the absolute horror of seeing people, children even, in schools, churches and other public places mowed down by legally-owned weapons of war. We shrug it off time after time and say, “Well, nothing can be done because owning guns is a basic right in this country.”
We don’t see ourselves as our brothers’ keepers. Neither do we treat others as we would wanted to be treated, especially not blacks, gays and undocumented immigrants like the Dreamers. Yet we call ourselves a “Christian” nation. And now our president is insulting the leaders of “former” allied countries and some are cheering him on while he warms up to some of the world’s most nefarious dictators. Well, I’m not!
If none of this bothers you, what the hell is wrong with you?!?!
Heartless in America
How Donald Trump Shifted Kids-Cancer Charity Money Into His Business
LIKE AUTUMN LEAVES, sponsored Cadillacs, Ferraris and Maseratis descend on the Trump National Golf Club in Westchester County, New York, in September for the Eric Trump Foundation golf invitational. Year after year, the formula is consistent: 18 holes of perfectly trimmed fairways with a dose of Trumpian tackiness, including Hooters waitresses and cigar spreads, followed by a clubhouse dinner, dates encouraged. The crowd leans toward real estate insiders, family friends and C-list celebrities, such as former baseball slugger Darryl Strawberry and reality housewife (and bankruptcy-fraud felon) Teresa Giudice.
The real star of the day is Eric Trump, the president's second son and now the co-head of the Trump Organization, who has hosted this event for ten years on behalf of the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis. He's done a ton of good: To date, he's directed more than $11 million there, the vast majority of it via this annual golf event. He has also helped raise another $5 million through events with other organizations.
The best part about all this, according to Eric Trump, is the charity's efficiency: Because he can get his family's golf course for free and have most of the other costs donated, virtually all the money contributed will go toward helping kids with cancer. "We get to use our assets 100% free of charge," Trump tells Forbes.
That's not the case. In reviewing filings from the Eric Trump Foundation and other charities, it's clear that the course wasn't free--that the Trump Organization received payments for its use, part of more than $1.2 million that has no documented recipients past the Trump Organization. Golf charity experts say the listed expenses defy any reasonable cost justification for a one-day golf tournament.
Additionally, the Donald J. Trump Foundation, which has come under previous scrutiny for self-dealing and advancing the interests of its namesake rather than those of charity, apparently used the Eric Trump Foundation to funnel $100,000 in donations into revenue for the Trump Organization.
Wednesday, June 20, 2018
This is truly worrisome
It started with a wall
Then travel bans
Threats to Dreamers came next
Now we hold migrant children in camps
Reports indicate moves to revoke citizenship for “suspicious” errors
Anyone who can’t see where this is going is willfully ignorant
Don’t wait until they come for you
No America it is NOT the Democrats
Nazis separated me from my parents as a child. The trauma lasts a lifetime
Tuesday, June 19, 2018
It's a GOP plan America
Separating Families at the Border Was Always Part of the Plan
President Trump is still trying to avoid responsibility for his administration’s brutal policy of separating migrant children from their parents at the border, but a new report confirms that Trump and his advisers had been considering the extreme measures for as long as they’ve been in power. According to the New York Times, White House senior policy adviser Stephen Miller was “instrumental” in convincing the president to enact the policy, which applies a zero tolerance approach to prosecuting undocumented immigrants caught entering the U.S. — even if that means taking children away from their parents in the process. And while some members of the Trump administration have reportedly been uneasy over the policy and subsequent fallout, Miller is not one of them. “It was a simple decision by the administration to have a zero tolerance policy for illegal entry, period,” Miller told the Times, “The message is that no one is exempt from immigration law.”
Monday, June 18, 2018
You are in more trouble than you know America
First Donald Trump remade the Republican Party in his own image, and now he is trying to remake America the same way — into a selfish, dishonest country with no close friends, totally unpredictable, free of any commitment to enduring values, ready to stab any ally in the back on Twitter if it doesn’t do our bidding and much more comfortable with mafia-like dictators than elected democrats.
God forbid we become the United States of Trump. That would threaten our future and the stability of the world. The world has come to rely on an America that, more often than not, has been ready to pay any price and bear any burden to do the right things, say the right things, model the right things and stand for the right things — when others were unwilling or unable to do so.
Trump: Trying to Remake America in His Own Image
Friday, June 15, 2018
Canadians don't take kindly to threats from cowardly bullies
Be careful, Donald. You know not what you sow. That is not meant a threat, but only advice that you reflect on the situation.
Your words are directed at Canada, but your actions include others, such as Mexico and the EU. While Canada is America's single largest trading partner nation, including the others puts the gamble way over the top.
Canada's and America's economies are so intertwined that any economic or trade action by one against the other results in self-harm at one level or another.
It's akin to two friends and neighbours threatening one another with both their fingers on the same pin of a grenade, or to draw from an earlier example pertaining to nuclear war, the leaders of Russia and America, both standing in a pool of gasoline arguing over who has more matches.
Trump says Trudeau's comments are going to cost Canada 'a lot of money'
The comments are too funny but Ivanka is too thick to understand them
"You can call any old [s***] a Chinese proverb on the internet."
— Confucius
Thursday, June 14, 2018
We have been warned for years
“Representative democracy is in trouble,” the report reads. “Members of Parliament have been drifting away for decades from the essential work citizens require of them — of legislation, representation and scrutiny. It’s getting worse.”
‘Show business for ugly people’: ex-MPs look back at days on Hill
They once held the country’s most powerful positions but after exiting the House of Commons in the last election these 54 MPs aren’t holding back on the state of parliamentary democracy.
It’s “show business for ugly people,” as one former politician put it.
Wednesday, June 13, 2018
The rise of a fascist President
"... Trump loathes the liberal international order and would work against it as president; he wrote that Trump also dislikes America’s military alliances, and would work against them; he argued that Trump believes in his bones that the global economy is unfair to the U.S.; and, finally, he wrote that Trump has an innate sympathy for “authoritarian strongmen.”
A Senior White House Official Defines the Trump Doctrine: ‘We’re America, Bitch’
Because every day deserves some humour:
Greg Sargent Verified account @ThePlumLineGS
2h2 hours ago
Crucial exchange with Trump on ABC today:
2h2 hours ago
Crucial exchange with Trump on ABC today:
Q: Kim is a brutal dictator. He runs a police state, forced starvation, labor camps. ... How do you trust a killer like that?
TRUMP: ... I’ve spoken with him, and I’ve met him … he wants to do the right thing.
Tuesday, June 12, 2018
A fun read
Column:
Forget Trump's tariffs: Let's invade Canada
oday we’re going to talk about tariffs and the need for a swift U.S. invasion of Canada.
I’ll get to that second part in a moment.
As you’ve likely heard, the United States has imposed tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from a number of countries around the world, including Canada, Mexico and all members of the European Union.
Before we get to the “Why are we doing this?” question, let’s answer this: What is a tariff?
A tariff is one of those things you have a vague understanding of but can’t fully explain. Every time you hear the word, you nod as if it makes sense and then, in the back of your mind, swear you’re going to Google it next chance you get, but then you get distracted by things more interesting than tariffs, which, if we’re being honest, is a staggeringly large universe of things.
The good news is, for the purposes of this column as well as for life in general, you don’t need a deep understanding of tariffs. Just know this: When our government imposes a tariff on imports from other countries, it costs you more money to buy whatever is being imported, or whatever is made from the stuff being imported.
So while a tariff on steel or aluminum imported from other countries might help domestic makers of steel or aluminum sell more of their products, it will increase what domestic manufacturers that use steel or aluminum pay for materials, and that cost will be passed along to you, the person who doesn’t really want to be burdened with fully understanding the nuances of tariffs.
The return of tariffs, which haven’t been popular since the 1930s, is part of the Trumpadministration’s “America First!” bumper sticker and hat marketing material, a glossed-up version of protectionism that, if you care to listen to economists or historians or people who understand tariffs, falls somewhere between “incredibly stupid” and “absolutely bound to fail.”
Remember Iran we Canadians saved Reagans sorry ass
WHEN IRAN HELD USA EMBASSY STAFF HOSTAGE IT WAS "WEAK BACK STABBING" CANADA THAT GOT THEM SAFELY OUT
Monday, June 11, 2018
The Koch Bros perhaps
Canadians are realizing foreign groups sabotaged our energy economy — for no good reason
Former B.C. justice minister says the reality is more people in the province support Trans Mountain pipeline than oppose it
Is the pipeline debate starting to resolve in favour of pipelines being built and in favour of Canadians receiving full value for our energy exports? I believe it is, in part due to the realization as to just how much of the anti-pipeline campaign is foreign funded. More about that funding in a moment, but there’s a new reason for finding the blatant U.S.-based interference in Canadian energy policy particularly egregious.
The U.S. organization, 350.org, loves spouting opinions about Canadian energy. Its founder and most vocal spokesperson, Bill McKibben, seems to believe we need a lot of his help in deciding how we here in Canada should manage our affairs. He unsurprisingly celebrates Canadian pipeline opposition. But what should concern all Canadians is 350.org celebrating that it helps get Canadian young people arrested. Here’s a boast from its 2016 annual report: “1,000 people were trained in civil disobedience practices, and 99 youths were arrested in Ottawa protesting the pipeline.”
Canadian teenagers are encouraged by foreign organizations to get arrested in support of foreign interests
Arrest is no laughing matter. Perhaps few if any of the arrests led to charges, but there is no guarantee of that. Criminal convictions can carry lifelong consequences. As a parent, I would have been horrified to think that my teenage children were being encouraged by foreign organizations to get themselves arrested in support of foreign campaigns to suit foreign interests.
Myth definition: Lies your conservative MP tells you
Sadrehashemi and Waldman: Four myths about Canada's border crossings
Michelle Rempel, Conservative immigration critic, tweeted recently that the media was finally writing about “illegal border crossings” after she had been raising it for a year. The problem is that several recurring myths are shaping much of the coverage. Here are four of them:
The first myth is that Canada could designate the entire border as a port of entry. This is not a viable option. The public safety minister cannot legally designate the entire border as a “port of entry.” Under our law, a “port of entry” is a place designated open by the minister based on a number of factors, including the anticipated frequency of persons arriving at a particular location. Border officials must examine and process people seeking to enter Canada at ports of entry.
Imagine that all 8,891 kilometres of our border with the United States were a port of entry. Even if we only had one officer every 100 meters, we would still need more than 270,000 new officers to cover the border 24/7. This is not a serious policy proposal and should not be treated as one.
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