Thursday, December 7, 2017
From News and Guts
A new poll out today from CNN finds only 29% of American approve of the GOP tax bill. Almost two-thirds said it would benefit the wealthy most. While Congress haggles over the bill in conference, we were reminded of a different time. A friend of this page sent us a photo from the FDR Memorial in Washington, D.C. Roosevelt made the remarks at his second inaugural in January, 1937.
Wednesday, December 6, 2017
Harper and Kenney in good company
Jacobson is not new to scandal. Back in 2012, he was arrested by Toronto police after pleading guilty to a money laundering charge the U.S. Dept. of Justice had laid against him. In the years leading up to this controversy, Jacobson was a key political ally to former prime minister Stephen Harper's Conservatives. But news of his legal problems sent shock waves through Ottawa, given his ties to the Harper regime and its cabinet.
Indeed, at the pinnacle of his influence, Jacobson was a very wealthy man, a renowned philanthropist, worth “hundreds of millions” he says, with a business empire that stretched from Canada to Russia, Israel, Asia and Central America. He could get audiences with not only Netanyahu, but Russian President Vladimir Putin, the leaders of Costa Rica and Kazakhstan, and had direct access to Harper. He was friends with Jason Kenney – current leader of Alberta’s United Conservative Party – and former foreign affairs minister John Baird.
Businessman, Harper Tory, pal of Putin, Mossad operative - the bizarre life of Nathan Jacobson
Tuesday, December 5, 2017
This happened on Harpers watch
A coalition of health advocates recently held a news conference on Parliament Hill to release more than 800 documents showing how Health Canada officials worked behind the scenes to change Canada's voluntary blood plasma donation system.
Kat Lanteigne of BloodWatch said the documents reveal that government officials knew back in 2010 that they were helping to privatize part of the Canadian plasma sector. The officials knew they were opening up the Canadian plasma market to a large multinational company, Biotech AG, which was in partnership with a smaller company, Canadian Plasma Resources.
"They were actually trying to create a secondary plasma collector in this country and create an American-style model," Lanteigne said. "That's what was so shocking."
Health Canada assisted private plasma clinics, newly released documents say
'They should have said, no thank you, we have a public blood system here,' advocate says
Monday, December 4, 2017
The disingenuous Andrew Scheer
On Wednesday, Conservative Opposition Leader Andrew Scheer intoned gravely that he was calling on Finance Minister Bill Morneau to resign. If Mr. Scheer was trying to invoke a more noble era, when a finance minister who had lost the confidence of the Opposition Leader would immediately resign, he failed badly at it. Mr. Morneau should stay where he is.
Mr. Scheer's reasoning is half-baked. He is accusing Mr. Morneau of insider trading based on the fact that the Minister sold a portion of his shares in his family company, Morneau Shepell, a week before he announced a tax hike on high-income earners. The tax announcement caused the market to fall sharply, taking Morneau Shepell stock with it.
This is not insider trading. The tax announcement on Dec. 7, 2015, had been long anticipated and was being much discussed in the news. Everyone knew it was coming – the Liberals had made it the centrepiece of their campaign and promised to implement it as one of their first acts after Parliament resumed on Dec. 3.
It is simply false to argue that Mr. Morneau took advantage of inside knowledge to game the market. Anyone could have made the same move based on the same timing; some probably did.
Globe editorial: Bill Morneau should stay
The numbers don't lie conservatives do
It turns out the emperor has no clothes after all.
Although Conservatives like to drone on like robots about how Stephen Harper is a “steady hand on the wheel” of the economy, that myth is increasingly hard to square with reality.
Not only does a recent poll suggest Harper’s reputation as a competent manager of the economy has plummeted, a new analysis shows Harper with the worst economic record of any Canadian Prime Minister since the end of the Second World War.
The report, authored by Unifor economists Jim Stanford and Jordan Brennan, crunches the numbers on Canada’s nine Prime Ministers between 1946 and today on issues relating to work, production, distribution and debt, and ranks each according to 16 economic indicators.
The results? On 13 of the 16 indicators, Harper ranks dead last or second last. In fact, Harper does not rank higher than sixth on any single indicator.
6 charts show Stephen Harper has the worst economic record of any Prime Minister since World War II
Sunday, December 3, 2017
Good for him
Pope Francis slams politicians that spread violence and racism over immigration
Pope Francis slammed politicians who spread fear of immigrants, calling on them to stop instigating violence and racism and instead adopt “practical measures” to welcome immigrants into their countries.
Francis wrote in a message titled “Migrants and Refugees: Men and Women in Search of Peace,” which was sent to heads of state and government, that fear of immigrants “demeans the human dignity due to all as sons and daughters of God," according to Reuters.
“Those who, for what may be political reasons, foment fear of migrants instead of building peace are sowing violence, racial discrimination and xenophobia, which are matters of great worry for all those concerned about the safety of every human being,” he wrote.
The pope also said that more wealthy countries have to be compassionate toward migrants fleeing natural disasters, war, discrimination, poverty and numerous other issues.
Francis said that while immigrants can “compound numerous existing problems,” leaders have to find ways to integrate them into their countries.
“By practising the virtue of prudence, government leaders should take practical measures to welcome, promote, protect, integrate and, within the limits allowed by a correct understanding of the common good, to permit (them) to become part of a new society,” he said, according to Reuters.
Sad
BREAKING: From The New York Times, new evidence of what appears to be the clearest case yet for obstruction of justice by Donald Trump.
Here’s an excerpt:
President Trump over the summer repeatedly urged senior Senate Republicans, including the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, to end the panel’s investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election, according to a half dozen lawmakers and aides. Mr. Trump’s requests were a highly unusual intervention from a president into a legislative inquiry involving his family and close aides.
Trump Pressed Top Republicans to End Senate Russia Inquiry
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