The Cons seem pretty adamant that they won't tell Canadians how much the non-combat mission to kill Iraqi evildoers is costing.
Because ISIS can get key Canadian strategy from a single number
provided by the government to the people of Canada. That would be more
helpful to them then telling them exactly how many soldiers we sent and
crowing about the things they've accomplished.
Teens! Armed Robbery! Terrorism! This is why we should be afraid of
all these "you can't be a terrorist" laws. Seriously? A 15 year old
kid is going to rob a store and fly oversees to fight for ISIS? And he
should be punished extra because of it? Sorry. This is armed robbery,
not terrorism. Thankfully, we don't seem to really have a choice. The Libs have decided to join the Cons (maybe) and are supporting the legislation (I think). And it sounds like some of what is contained in the new "ANTI-TERROR!!!" bill sound like Steve wants our spy agencies to be like a meddling parent. Cancel plane reservations? Block financial transactions? Okay. I'm fine with that. But criminalizing language is all kinds of fucked up and extra-criminalizing people for an arbitrary "TERRORISM" target is unnerving. They know it when they see it, I guess.
The PBO suggests we're heading for a "small" deficit. Who to believe...him or Joe Oliver? Income splitting has raised it's head again. One report says families with incomes higher than $233,000 per year are going to receive the largest benefit. Thank god the little guy is finally getting a
break! And it's easy to say the "middle class" receives the largest
benefit when you arbitrarily pick a large income that qualifies you as
middle class. Joe Oliver thinks $120,000 is that number.
Hooray! We're letting rich people cut to the front of the immigration line again.
This war on crime is fucking amazing! Crime is the lowest it has been
since 1969! All thanks to the Cons and their awesome policies! Woo
hoo! So...mandatory life in prison. Many people have pointed out that there are already mechanisms in place
to achieve this end - but that's never stopped the Cons from introducing
laws to make already illegal things super illegal. This time they're
proposing life in prison with no chance of parole.
The government spent $650,000 in court (so far) trying to not pay seven Veterans injury benefits.
Anti-Marijuana ads cost $7 Million. Which is quite a lot considering
they only really came about when the Liberals started supporting
marijuana legalization.
The damage to our information gathering capacity due to the loss of the mandatory long form census has become more apparent. As well, the government continues to put out bad job data. The actual 2014 numbers have been revised down 35%.
Tax revenues are actually up under the "tax-slashing" Conservatives. That's a pretty neat trick they've pulled off.
Fucking idiots. "Expert says spy agencies 'drowning in data' and unable to follow leads". By "fucking idiots" I mean the "fucking experts", not the professionals within our National spy apparatus. (Hi there!). I mean, who doesn't think monitoring every download on the planet isn't a sound strategy?
Some detail on how Health Canada doesn't seem to hold anybody accountable for not following their drug advertising requirements.
Transport Canada is thinking about letting small boats dump their untreated shit closer to shore. This is a stupidly terrible idea.
Missed this from a few weeks ago. James Moore is threatening exploding
trains all over the place if we don't choose the correct false choice that he presents to us
"Yep. You can either have this clean, safe, responsible pipeline...or trains that explode all over the place. The choice is up to you."
"Oh boy. I don't want trains exploding all over the place. What was that other choice again?"
The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court is wondering why they're putting this bleak bullshit on her doorstep. Another reason to question the silly "Victim's of Communism Memorial".
The Fraser Institute looks at public sector wages and benefits and decides that we should all strive for the lowest common denominator. Thank goodness they're still considered a charity.
Somebody took the time to lay out Thomas Mulcair's various election promises to date.
Elizabeth May points out that the Libs and NDP are probably too delusional to team up and take on the Cons.
With assholes like this running the US, we don't stand a chance. "The
hoax is that there are some people who are so arrogant to think that
they are so powerful, they can change climate. Man can't change
climate." Don't worry though, the Koch brothers are going to make sure they have their way with the next election.
Showing posts with label Tough on Crime. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tough on Crime. Show all posts
Monday, February 2, 2015
Monday, September 22, 2014
Chinese Overlords - Week 176-177 - Sept 8-22
Sorry. Missed a week. Looks like there was a lot going on.
Steve got his free trade agreement signed with China. Opinions vary from "China will take over our country" to "Doesn't really matter...everybody else can already sue us over trade issues anyhow."
Our performance in several key metrics for child health is terrible. Out of 29 countries assessed, we're 27th in child obesity, 22nd in infant mortality and 21st in child poverty rates. 967,000 children live in low income houses/poverty. I think what those families really need is another tax cut. Put a couple hundred dollars in their pockets and I'm sure the problem will fix itself.
Steve loses another court battle. The Ontario Court of Appeal rules a tough-on-crime law unconstitutional.
Steve likes his secrets. A growing number of topics are considered "Cabinet Secrets" and won't be released for 20 years.
The Department of Justice suggest that Peter MacKay and Steve were wrong to criticize the Chief Justice and that she had every right to comment on Supreme Court appointments. Man. Somebody is not getting a mother's/father's day e-mail this year.
Great week for Canada. Bad week for Rod Anders. Sleepy Time loses another nomination battle. Could this be the end for him in Canadian politics? I bet he shows up as a Wild Rose candidate soon.
Steve's precious Museum for Human Rights has opened up. And the Cons seemed concerned about the contents of the exhibits. I'm surprised Steve hasn't been spending weekends there, working on his diorama on how the Charter of Rights ruined oil development. Interesting that as they trumpet human rights, there's been a lot of the work in the background to deny them for trans-gendered people.
Canada appears to no longer be granting North Korean refugee claims. Because we all know how safe and effectively governed that country is.
The MP who proposed a law to empower MP's has been pressured into amending the bill. What we really need to stop things like this from happening is some sort of something...a bill perhaps?...to empower MP's. And you know that a bill that when the PM blesses a bill that is supposed to reel back a little bit of power from said PM....well...maybe it's a bit of lip service.
There's some proof that the government has been tracking hundreds of peaceful protests, panel discussions, etc.
No money to investigate the effects of global warming. Lots of money for an expedition to support Steve's pet project/fascination with the lost Franklin expedition.
This article speculates that the Conservatives have something to fear over mandatory voting laws. Which would explain why they've made such an effort to suppress vote participation.
Apparently our fighter jet choice is down to the F-35 and the Super Hornet.
Steve got his free trade agreement signed with China. Opinions vary from "China will take over our country" to "Doesn't really matter...everybody else can already sue us over trade issues anyhow."
Our performance in several key metrics for child health is terrible. Out of 29 countries assessed, we're 27th in child obesity, 22nd in infant mortality and 21st in child poverty rates. 967,000 children live in low income houses/poverty. I think what those families really need is another tax cut. Put a couple hundred dollars in their pockets and I'm sure the problem will fix itself.
Steve loses another court battle. The Ontario Court of Appeal rules a tough-on-crime law unconstitutional.
Steve likes his secrets. A growing number of topics are considered "Cabinet Secrets" and won't be released for 20 years.
The Department of Justice suggest that Peter MacKay and Steve were wrong to criticize the Chief Justice and that she had every right to comment on Supreme Court appointments. Man. Somebody is not getting a mother's/father's day e-mail this year.
Great week for Canada. Bad week for Rod Anders. Sleepy Time loses another nomination battle. Could this be the end for him in Canadian politics? I bet he shows up as a Wild Rose candidate soon.
Steve's precious Museum for Human Rights has opened up. And the Cons seemed concerned about the contents of the exhibits. I'm surprised Steve hasn't been spending weekends there, working on his diorama on how the Charter of Rights ruined oil development. Interesting that as they trumpet human rights, there's been a lot of the work in the background to deny them for trans-gendered people.
Canada appears to no longer be granting North Korean refugee claims. Because we all know how safe and effectively governed that country is.
The MP who proposed a law to empower MP's has been pressured into amending the bill. What we really need to stop things like this from happening is some sort of something...a bill perhaps?...to empower MP's. And you know that a bill that when the PM blesses a bill that is supposed to reel back a little bit of power from said PM....well...maybe it's a bit of lip service.
There's some proof that the government has been tracking hundreds of peaceful protests, panel discussions, etc.
No money to investigate the effects of global warming. Lots of money for an expedition to support Steve's pet project/fascination with the lost Franklin expedition.
This article speculates that the Conservatives have something to fear over mandatory voting laws. Which would explain why they've made such an effort to suppress vote participation.
Apparently our fighter jet choice is down to the F-35 and the Super Hornet.
Tuesday, September 2, 2014
Who to believe? - Week 174 - Aug 25 - Sep 2
I try to keep the swearing to a minimum on this little blog. Something about "expanding the audience"...but what the fuck? This is amazing! Last year, Employment and Social Development Canada put together a report that suggested the Canadian middle class has seen wage stagnation. Finance Canada is angry because this "appears to conflict with the general message in Budget 2014 and previous internal briefings", so they put together a new report that says the opposite. Man. What the fuck are these guys up to? How the fuck can we take these guys seriously? Fuck!
Steve's fancy "We Hate Communists" memorial? He has appropriated the land from a project for a new Federal Court building. The name of that unbuilt building/project? The Pierre Elliot Trudeau Judicial Building. And they're spending a pile to make it happen.
Oh man...can you imagine saying this shit with a straight face? CRA is auditing a left leaning think tank because of "bias"...They're aware of the Fraser Institute, right?
The Globe lays out the insane number of "tough on crime" bills that are being introduced (and passed) without anybody really noticing. Except for this one. This one was noticed. There was a massive clerical error made with one of the Cons tough-on-crime bills. They sent the wrong version to the Senate for review. Could their own cuts have derailed their plans?
What the fuck is wrong with these stupid anti-science, Conservative zealots? The PC leader in New Brunswick is arguing that Justin Trudeau is wrong to push for more research into fracking. Which is a fucking stupid position to take. This argument that "fracking is safe and has been going on for 50 years" is imbecilic. The process and scale now is way, way different than it was. To argue that we shouldn't look into the effects of massive fracking projects is stupid. Hope this imbecile doesn't get elected.
What does Stephen Harper hope to accomplish with all his tough talk on Russia? We have nothing to back this up. Even if we did, what do we want? World War III? You're supposed to talk trash behind doors, not to the newspapers. Only a psychopath would deny the existence of global warming and then suggest that it's effects are an opportunity (the Arctic) and stoke fears that the Russians are coming. As well, I know one thing an International crisis doesn't need: An official Canadian delegation tweeting snarky comments at the Russians.
Peter McKay posed for a photo in a shirt supporting a gun rights group that supports an end to firearm regulation in Canada. Take the craziest shit the NRA wants and they want that here. "No Compromise". And then...Is Peter MacKay delusional? Only an imbecile would argue that sex workers are not stakeholders in new prostitution legislation.
More bad deeds with temporary foreign workers. A Saskatchewan company laid off Canadian workers and brought in TFW's. And there are some safety issues related to language skills and qualifications in a big Oil Sands construction project.
Veterans groups are questioning why the government is spending millions to commemorate old wars while shafting current veterans. This is a good question.
Somebody is trying to rally Conservative staffers against their evil oppressors - Conservative MP's. They point out two interesting things: 1) Of course, the Conservative majority approved raises for MP's, but cut money for office staff, and 2) Libs and NDP pay their office staff better.
"Traditional Family Values". "Tough-on-crime approach". "Safe and sensible firearms policy". Who can argue with that? What happened to a "steady hand on the tiller". The article also notes that the Tea Party is about "traditional family values".
Our financially responsible government wanted to mothball a bunch of private jets that the Liberals bought because they were "excessive". But then kept them, because they used them so much.
The government spent $24M promoting the Keystone pipeline in the US. It had little impact.
The Tyee speculates that our days of "easy oil" are well and truly gone. Oil company profits prove it.
The Harper Government hasn't filled a post to oversee the mining industry. It's been vacant for over a year.
The Conservatives are upset that "the media" dares to not like them...asks for money from supporters.
This is a really...funny?...interesting?...article on how Canadians get off on punishing people.
This article tears Stephen Harper's "not a sociological phenomenon" comment apart. Some info on why a public inquiry might be called for.
The Harper Government is telling civil servants to delete their e-mails.
A Conservative Senator has to apologize for hiring his girlfriend.
Canada has the most business friendly tax policy in the world.
This isn't even vulture capitalism. It's like super aggressive alien invasion capitalism. Funding for Robert Mugabe's brutal genocide can be traced directly back to American hedge funds.
Great news! An LNG train derailed. And it didn't explode! We're making progress, people.
Steve's fancy "We Hate Communists" memorial? He has appropriated the land from a project for a new Federal Court building. The name of that unbuilt building/project? The Pierre Elliot Trudeau Judicial Building. And they're spending a pile to make it happen.
Oh man...can you imagine saying this shit with a straight face? CRA is auditing a left leaning think tank because of "bias"...They're aware of the Fraser Institute, right?
The Globe lays out the insane number of "tough on crime" bills that are being introduced (and passed) without anybody really noticing. Except for this one. This one was noticed. There was a massive clerical error made with one of the Cons tough-on-crime bills. They sent the wrong version to the Senate for review. Could their own cuts have derailed their plans?
What the fuck is wrong with these stupid anti-science, Conservative zealots? The PC leader in New Brunswick is arguing that Justin Trudeau is wrong to push for more research into fracking. Which is a fucking stupid position to take. This argument that "fracking is safe and has been going on for 50 years" is imbecilic. The process and scale now is way, way different than it was. To argue that we shouldn't look into the effects of massive fracking projects is stupid. Hope this imbecile doesn't get elected.
What does Stephen Harper hope to accomplish with all his tough talk on Russia? We have nothing to back this up. Even if we did, what do we want? World War III? You're supposed to talk trash behind doors, not to the newspapers. Only a psychopath would deny the existence of global warming and then suggest that it's effects are an opportunity (the Arctic) and stoke fears that the Russians are coming. As well, I know one thing an International crisis doesn't need: An official Canadian delegation tweeting snarky comments at the Russians.
Peter McKay posed for a photo in a shirt supporting a gun rights group that supports an end to firearm regulation in Canada. Take the craziest shit the NRA wants and they want that here. "No Compromise". And then...Is Peter MacKay delusional? Only an imbecile would argue that sex workers are not stakeholders in new prostitution legislation.
More bad deeds with temporary foreign workers. A Saskatchewan company laid off Canadian workers and brought in TFW's. And there are some safety issues related to language skills and qualifications in a big Oil Sands construction project.
Veterans groups are questioning why the government is spending millions to commemorate old wars while shafting current veterans. This is a good question.
Somebody is trying to rally Conservative staffers against their evil oppressors - Conservative MP's. They point out two interesting things: 1) Of course, the Conservative majority approved raises for MP's, but cut money for office staff, and 2) Libs and NDP pay their office staff better.
"Traditional Family Values". "Tough-on-crime approach". "Safe and sensible firearms policy". Who can argue with that? What happened to a "steady hand on the tiller". The article also notes that the Tea Party is about "traditional family values".
Our financially responsible government wanted to mothball a bunch of private jets that the Liberals bought because they were "excessive". But then kept them, because they used them so much.
The government spent $24M promoting the Keystone pipeline in the US. It had little impact.
The Tyee speculates that our days of "easy oil" are well and truly gone. Oil company profits prove it.
The Harper Government hasn't filled a post to oversee the mining industry. It's been vacant for over a year.
The Conservatives are upset that "the media" dares to not like them...asks for money from supporters.
This is a really...funny?...interesting?...article on how Canadians get off on punishing people.
This article tears Stephen Harper's "not a sociological phenomenon" comment apart. Some info on why a public inquiry might be called for.
The Harper Government is telling civil servants to delete their e-mails.
A Conservative Senator has to apologize for hiring his girlfriend.
Canada has the most business friendly tax policy in the world.
This isn't even vulture capitalism. It's like super aggressive alien invasion capitalism. Funding for Robert Mugabe's brutal genocide can be traced directly back to American hedge funds.
Great news! An LNG train derailed. And it didn't explode! We're making progress, people.
Monday, August 11, 2014
Dropping Off - Weeks 170/171 - July 28 - Aug 11
Sorry for the lack of posts. I've been on vacation. It's been tough to stay positive the last few weeks, hasn't it?
I'm going to start by talking about the tailings pond spill in Northern BC. Just because it's a nice little reminder that bad things happen. Can you believe the response from the BC Government was anything but "We're going to do everything possible to hold this company accountable to clean up this mess"? It's especially troubling seeing as there were a number of red flags pointing to trouble in the past. Is it a coincidence that the company was a heavy donor to the BC Libs? And their maximum fine might only be $1 Million? If that.
And then we have Israel. Apparently unflinching support includes not getting too bent out of shape if a school is bombed. Just figure out a way to blame the other guys. "Well I wouldn't have to do all these terrible things if you'd just do exactly what I want you to." Lucky for us, a Jewish group has flown 5 MP's to Israel...to visit Israeli soldiers in the hospital...and to better understand the "Jewish perspective"...and then they'll return home and enlighten us with their "facts". No meetings are planned with the Palestinians.
Good news. More government money to advertise the Oil Sands in the US. Some info on the increased budget for "communications" as well. But I guess we need them to run around like crazy sending sexist e-mails for Peter McKay, and then dealing with the repercussions. And millions for public opinion surveys.
We've decided that fracking chemicals are not pollutants.
An interesting window into the CRA and their audits on charities. They effectively admit that they look at political leanings and listen to gripes from cabinet ministers.
I kind of love it. We talk about how tough our sanctions are on Russia...and then call them "short sighted" when Russia responds in kind..and belittle them as ineffective.
Steve lost another legal challenge. The whole "Victim Surcharge" has been exposed as the sham that it is.
I will admit that transparency is a good thing. But why is it always "transparency for others" with the Conservatives? It's very hard to justify a chief taking away a million dollars on a land deal (worth 8 million...), but we have no context. And no other side of the story. Just Conservatives jumping up and down screaming about how correct they are. As well, this is one of 600 bands that reported. So...one bad apple (perhaps) used to shame everybody.
Garth points out that our entire economy seems to be based on building condos for one another (which we then rent out at a loss and call an investment), which is troubling. And the jobs that we do create are not good ones.
Jason Kenney is really angry that Justin Trudeau visited a mosque a few years ago. Is Jason Kenney the new Angry John Baird?
Marc Emery is vowing revenge on Stephen Harper.
It's been ruled that Mr. Big operations can still take place, but with more rules. Hard to find what those rules are.
Even the Government can't even decide if Omar Khadr is a horrible terrorist. But nobody is allowed to talk to him about it.
Somebody finally listened to Dean Del Mastro...An investigation into Wikipedia edits from Parliament computers is launched.
I'm going to start by talking about the tailings pond spill in Northern BC. Just because it's a nice little reminder that bad things happen. Can you believe the response from the BC Government was anything but "We're going to do everything possible to hold this company accountable to clean up this mess"? It's especially troubling seeing as there were a number of red flags pointing to trouble in the past. Is it a coincidence that the company was a heavy donor to the BC Libs? And their maximum fine might only be $1 Million? If that.
And then we have Israel. Apparently unflinching support includes not getting too bent out of shape if a school is bombed. Just figure out a way to blame the other guys. "Well I wouldn't have to do all these terrible things if you'd just do exactly what I want you to." Lucky for us, a Jewish group has flown 5 MP's to Israel...to visit Israeli soldiers in the hospital...and to better understand the "Jewish perspective"...and then they'll return home and enlighten us with their "facts". No meetings are planned with the Palestinians.
Good news. More government money to advertise the Oil Sands in the US. Some info on the increased budget for "communications" as well. But I guess we need them to run around like crazy sending sexist e-mails for Peter McKay, and then dealing with the repercussions. And millions for public opinion surveys.
We've decided that fracking chemicals are not pollutants.
An interesting window into the CRA and their audits on charities. They effectively admit that they look at political leanings and listen to gripes from cabinet ministers.
I kind of love it. We talk about how tough our sanctions are on Russia...and then call them "short sighted" when Russia responds in kind..and belittle them as ineffective.
Steve lost another legal challenge. The whole "Victim Surcharge" has been exposed as the sham that it is.
I will admit that transparency is a good thing. But why is it always "transparency for others" with the Conservatives? It's very hard to justify a chief taking away a million dollars on a land deal (worth 8 million...), but we have no context. And no other side of the story. Just Conservatives jumping up and down screaming about how correct they are. As well, this is one of 600 bands that reported. So...one bad apple (perhaps) used to shame everybody.
Garth points out that our entire economy seems to be based on building condos for one another (which we then rent out at a loss and call an investment), which is troubling. And the jobs that we do create are not good ones.
Jason Kenney is really angry that Justin Trudeau visited a mosque a few years ago. Is Jason Kenney the new Angry John Baird?
Marc Emery is vowing revenge on Stephen Harper.
It's been ruled that Mr. Big operations can still take place, but with more rules. Hard to find what those rules are.
Even the Government can't even decide if Omar Khadr is a horrible terrorist. But nobody is allowed to talk to him about it.
Somebody finally listened to Dean Del Mastro...An investigation into Wikipedia edits from Parliament computers is launched.
Monday, July 28, 2014
Honest and Fair - Week 169 - July 21-28
Here at the 24 Percent Majority, we try to keep a level head. I mean, we hate Conservatives. But it's not just because they're "Conservative". It's because they're jerks with terrible ideas.
But I...sorry...we hate it when people get sucked into the narrative. Take the "Fair Elections Act" for example. All of a sudden, Conservatives everywhere were talking about voter ID with furious passion. Two weeks before, nothing. But all of a sudden, it was the hugest issue in the world and thank goodness Steve was man enough to tackle it. It was crazy.
The flip side to that would be hating things that you never hated for no reason. I'm going to try not to do that.
And somewhat related...it's easy to get sidetracked and think something along the lines of "THAT is what these guys think is importan? What a waste of time? Why don't they focus on serious issues?" So to start the week, we have two examples:
- The CRA focusing resources on auditing charities over political participation (mostly Conservative critical charities)..as well as outlawing poverty prevention as a charitable act
- Drafting a bill to make it easier for gun owners to purchase and transport weapons
To both of these things, I say "Really? THAT's what you think is important?" Well. I understand why silencing your critics with heavy-handed audits might be worth your time.
Speaking of charities. A government memo talked about how effective a non profit was. And then their funding was cut. And then the memo was censored.
Back to the gun ownership bill. Sorry...the The Common Sense Firearms Licensing Act....Thanks to MacLeans for writing the article about how ridiculous these names are so that I don't have to. I just figured they had some kind of automated name generator filled with phrase like "Patriotism" and "Common Sense" and "Excellence".
Elilzabeth May suggests that everybody cooperate for the next election, defeat the Conservatives, implement (real) election reform and call it a day. This makes total sense. I'm sure nobody is listening to her.
We all know that Harpre is very pro-Israel. Doesn't it kind of blemish this message when you use this message to drum up votes and support via online advertisements? I mean...you should at least try to appear impartial on this right? Like you're doing it for the right reasons?
And then you have Leona Aglukkaq speaking out against Greepeace. Which...man...I mean as Minister of Environment you'd think that maybe that wouldn't be the thing to do? No? Oh, and...Stupid Global Warming Fearmongers. COME BACK WITH SOME PROOF!!! Job killers.
Man. This war on crime is so awesome? Did you see how much crime went down? Stephen Harper is doing such a great job. Or should I thank Vic Toews? Oddly, because we didn't allow Vic to see everything that we do on the Internet, child sex crimes went up. He was right! Yes. Sarcasm.
Doesn't it seem weird that the Lac Megantic locomotive is up for sale?
An interesting take on the Ukraine incident. The Russian theory on the incident is impossible. But why would they forward a theory which is more or less impossible?
Ya ya. Mike Duffy is a terrible human being. Attending personal funerals and charging it to the Senate. And a love child! And, surprisingly, Stephen Harper doesn't think he has any relevant information for the trial.
Rafe Mair has an interesting article on the historical divisions between Canadian provinces.
Ha ha ha ha! Anti Obamacare ads convinced people they should sign up for it! That's so awesome. Wait...does that mean anti-Northern Gateway ads would convince people to hop on board with the project?
But I...sorry...we hate it when people get sucked into the narrative. Take the "Fair Elections Act" for example. All of a sudden, Conservatives everywhere were talking about voter ID with furious passion. Two weeks before, nothing. But all of a sudden, it was the hugest issue in the world and thank goodness Steve was man enough to tackle it. It was crazy.
The flip side to that would be hating things that you never hated for no reason. I'm going to try not to do that.
And somewhat related...it's easy to get sidetracked and think something along the lines of "THAT is what these guys think is importan? What a waste of time? Why don't they focus on serious issues?" So to start the week, we have two examples:
- The CRA focusing resources on auditing charities over political participation (mostly Conservative critical charities)..as well as outlawing poverty prevention as a charitable act
- Drafting a bill to make it easier for gun owners to purchase and transport weapons
To both of these things, I say "Really? THAT's what you think is important?" Well. I understand why silencing your critics with heavy-handed audits might be worth your time.
Speaking of charities. A government memo talked about how effective a non profit was. And then their funding was cut. And then the memo was censored.
Back to the gun ownership bill. Sorry...the The Common Sense Firearms Licensing Act....Thanks to MacLeans for writing the article about how ridiculous these names are so that I don't have to. I just figured they had some kind of automated name generator filled with phrase like "Patriotism" and "Common Sense" and "Excellence".
Elilzabeth May suggests that everybody cooperate for the next election, defeat the Conservatives, implement (real) election reform and call it a day. This makes total sense. I'm sure nobody is listening to her.
We all know that Harpre is very pro-Israel. Doesn't it kind of blemish this message when you use this message to drum up votes and support via online advertisements? I mean...you should at least try to appear impartial on this right? Like you're doing it for the right reasons?
And then you have Leona Aglukkaq speaking out against Greepeace. Which...man...I mean as Minister of Environment you'd think that maybe that wouldn't be the thing to do? No? Oh, and...Stupid Global Warming Fearmongers. COME BACK WITH SOME PROOF!!! Job killers.
Man. This war on crime is so awesome? Did you see how much crime went down? Stephen Harper is doing such a great job. Or should I thank Vic Toews? Oddly, because we didn't allow Vic to see everything that we do on the Internet, child sex crimes went up. He was right! Yes. Sarcasm.
Doesn't it seem weird that the Lac Megantic locomotive is up for sale?
An interesting take on the Ukraine incident. The Russian theory on the incident is impossible. But why would they forward a theory which is more or less impossible?
Ya ya. Mike Duffy is a terrible human being. Attending personal funerals and charging it to the Senate. And a love child! And, surprisingly, Stephen Harper doesn't think he has any relevant information for the trial.
Rafe Mair has an interesting article on the historical divisions between Canadian provinces.
Ha ha ha ha! Anti Obamacare ads convinced people they should sign up for it! That's so awesome. Wait...does that mean anti-Northern Gateway ads would convince people to hop on board with the project?
Monday, January 27, 2014
Mandatory Exploding Israeli Train Taxes - Week 143 - Jan 20-27
Stephen Harper has fully, truly, completely gone off the deep end with
his Israel policy. He has officially stated, in front of the Knesset,
that Canada will never criticize Israel in public. Full stop. No ifs,
ands, buts. The hardliner, crazy faction within Israel will thing this
gives them the right to do whatever they want, if they have support like
this. An Arab-Israeli Member of the Knesset explains exactly why Stephen Harper is a short-sighted buffoon. You know you're doing it wrong when Sarah Palin is on your side.
Another judge has decided that mandatory minimum sentencing doesn't work. "Cruel and unusual", even.
Even more library insanity, this time with Health Canada. This story outlines terrible service from the 3rd Party delivery team, rogue unsanctioned libraries and government employees seeking information from industry and universities, all because the Conservatives are breaking the government library system. As well, the Canada Centre for Inland Waters has been losing scientists and facing cuts.
This Tyee article outlines the type of abuse temporary foreign workers face when they come to Canada. Insane fees to recruiting companies. Excessive living allowances. Etc. Seems like it should be pretty easy for government to prevent this - don't grant permits to any person or company found guilty of infractions.
This is how it should work. Government should have independent scientists and Engineers who determine the best, safest way to do things and they then require it from Industry. Hell, Industry should pay the government for those scientists and engineers to do their oversight. Anyhow, the Transportation Safety Board has recommendations for how to haul oil by rail. We'll see what happens now. Because even though these are TSB recommendations, apparently it's not even a done deal on the TSB's side as the Minister has to think about it.
The Globe has a story about ad spending, pointing out that the "Economic Action Plan" ended a few years ago.
The National Post tells the story of Conservative MP Mark Adler scrambling to get closer to the PM for a photo op in Israel. Of course he insists that it was all just a really funny joke on his part.
A breakdown of how delusional and dishonest the Conservatives can be. They raked the NDP over the coals for proposing an "iPod tax", and then introduced one themselves...while insisting it doesn't exist.
Holy shit! I actually agree with part of what Rob Anders said! I agree that "rape" has a more devastating connotation than "sexual assault", and it can make the crime sound less devestating. But perhaps that change in language will further stigmatize victims? That's the only negative I can see. I'm open to hearing the other side of the argument here.
This does not paint a very pretty picture of Afghanistan and Canada's role in it.
When push comes to shove, Chuck Strahl does the right thing...and quits the crappy government job to become a high paid lobbyist. Of course, being the good Conservative that he is he didn't do anything wrong and it's all your fault.
More great copyright news. The Canadian RIAA, or whatever the hell they're calling themselves, want Internet surveillance and control in the name of fighting piracy. Which sounds pretty awesome. Especially when you consider stories such as this one, where a movie theater phones the MPAA who then phones ICE who then comes down to the movie theater and forcefully detains somebody watching a movie wearing Google Glass. Two separate stories, yes. But this is where we are heading when we create laws and use publically funded law enforcement to support an industry (that just sort of makes shit up about things).
What an interesting country. The National Post doesn't really seem to have a problem with bigoted comments or stories. Except when it's bigoted French Canadians. It feels a bit bad to pile on a couple of narrow-minded fools speaking at the hearings on the Quebec Charter of Values, but here we go. I'm actually surprised that these people managed to leave their hometown, let alone travel to predominantly muslim countries.
If you thought the National Post comments section was bad, wowzas! Sun News is like a Conservative infomercial. I wish I could be that passionate about a politician. I guess that's half the problem though, isn't it? Left wingers know things are bad but don't have a pole to rally around. Righties seem to love bending over backwards to cheerlead their dear leader.
The richest 85 humans on the planet own more than the poorest 50% combined.
Another judge has decided that mandatory minimum sentencing doesn't work. "Cruel and unusual", even.
Even more library insanity, this time with Health Canada. This story outlines terrible service from the 3rd Party delivery team, rogue unsanctioned libraries and government employees seeking information from industry and universities, all because the Conservatives are breaking the government library system. As well, the Canada Centre for Inland Waters has been losing scientists and facing cuts.
This Tyee article outlines the type of abuse temporary foreign workers face when they come to Canada. Insane fees to recruiting companies. Excessive living allowances. Etc. Seems like it should be pretty easy for government to prevent this - don't grant permits to any person or company found guilty of infractions.
This is how it should work. Government should have independent scientists and Engineers who determine the best, safest way to do things and they then require it from Industry. Hell, Industry should pay the government for those scientists and engineers to do their oversight. Anyhow, the Transportation Safety Board has recommendations for how to haul oil by rail. We'll see what happens now. Because even though these are TSB recommendations, apparently it's not even a done deal on the TSB's side as the Minister has to think about it.
The Globe has a story about ad spending, pointing out that the "Economic Action Plan" ended a few years ago.
The National Post tells the story of Conservative MP Mark Adler scrambling to get closer to the PM for a photo op in Israel. Of course he insists that it was all just a really funny joke on his part.
A breakdown of how delusional and dishonest the Conservatives can be. They raked the NDP over the coals for proposing an "iPod tax", and then introduced one themselves...while insisting it doesn't exist.
Holy shit! I actually agree with part of what Rob Anders said! I agree that "rape" has a more devastating connotation than "sexual assault", and it can make the crime sound less devestating. But perhaps that change in language will further stigmatize victims? That's the only negative I can see. I'm open to hearing the other side of the argument here.
This does not paint a very pretty picture of Afghanistan and Canada's role in it.
When push comes to shove, Chuck Strahl does the right thing...and quits the crappy government job to become a high paid lobbyist. Of course, being the good Conservative that he is he didn't do anything wrong and it's all your fault.
More great copyright news. The Canadian RIAA, or whatever the hell they're calling themselves, want Internet surveillance and control in the name of fighting piracy. Which sounds pretty awesome. Especially when you consider stories such as this one, where a movie theater phones the MPAA who then phones ICE who then comes down to the movie theater and forcefully detains somebody watching a movie wearing Google Glass. Two separate stories, yes. But this is where we are heading when we create laws and use publically funded law enforcement to support an industry (that just sort of makes shit up about things).
What an interesting country. The National Post doesn't really seem to have a problem with bigoted comments or stories. Except when it's bigoted French Canadians. It feels a bit bad to pile on a couple of narrow-minded fools speaking at the hearings on the Quebec Charter of Values, but here we go. I'm actually surprised that these people managed to leave their hometown, let alone travel to predominantly muslim countries.
If you thought the National Post comments section was bad, wowzas! Sun News is like a Conservative infomercial. I wish I could be that passionate about a politician. I guess that's half the problem though, isn't it? Left wingers know things are bad but don't have a pole to rally around. Righties seem to love bending over backwards to cheerlead their dear leader.
The richest 85 humans on the planet own more than the poorest 50% combined.
Monday, December 2, 2013
A busy week - Week 135 - Nov 25 - Dec 2
I think the most important thing we will talk about today is that the Harper Government invited US spy agencies into Canada to spy on people during the G8/G20, which is all kinds of fucked up. Canadian law prevents Canadian agencies from spying in Canada, so this seems like a nice little workaround. There seem to be a whole lot of "all countries spy on one another" arguments getting thrown around. Really? All the other hosts of Summits invite their buddies over to help them spy on all the other participants? And of course, the only thing the Harper government has to say about this is "Glenn Greenwald got paid for this article", so, logically, any journalist paid to write a piece has to be lying. Or something.
How happy was the government to be able to announce that they caught a Chinese "super spy"?
Canada continues to buck world opinion on anything related to Israel. Of course the Iran nuclear deal isn't supported by the Conservatives.
A tax lawyer that Jim Flaherty appointed as a tax consultant (and Chairman of the Canadian Mint) is embroiled in a massive offshore tax shelter scandal.
Some more details about diplomats shifting their focus to "commerce". Of the people, for the corporations
The Conservatives killed a plan to study the environmental effects of lead shot and bullets. Who needs science when you know all your policies are right regardless?
So the by-elections resulted in a whole lot of nothing.
Another week, another pissed off batch of scientists. Biologists/Fish/Fisheries Law this week.
I know that many, many people don't care at all about criminals and think they need to "get what's coming to them." But what is the point of prison? Punishment? Rehabilitation? I think if you removed the prison culture mentality from the United States you'd have a country that was light years ahead of where it is now. Canada isn't quite as bad but listen to what our "Ombudsman for Federal Inmates" has to say. "More crowded and violent." "Less successful at rehabilitation." Yes, the Conservatives war on crime is creating less rehabilitated, more violent criminals. Well done boys. At least we've cut down on the number of white prisoners! Just to clarify, yes, that is a joke. Honestly. Just read this quote. "You cannot reasonably claim to have a just society with incarceration rates like these. And most troubling, the growth in the custody population appears to be policy, not crime, driven. After all, crime rates are down while incarceration rates grow,"
I don't know what to think about Randall Hopley. Yes, kidnapping a small child is terrible. But...this could have ended so, so very much worse. In the end he did the right thing and there has to be a degree of leniency shown for that. This man obviously (I think) has some mental health issues and needs some help. But if we simply declare him a "dangerous offender" and throw him in jail forever after he makes the right decision, what message is that sending to the next guy facing a similar choice? In the end, 7 years and 10 years of monitoring once released from prison...sounds about right. Hopefully he gets the help he needs.
This sounds a lot worse than it is. E-mails belonging to a lawyer who dealt with Duffy/Wright were thought to have been deleted by the PMO. But have now been found. This is the same guy that has had a complaint filed against him for breach of ethics.
Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha. Stephen Harper thanks Nigel Wright for all his solid ethics help in the acknowledgments of his hockey book.
Let's balance budgets by selling off assets and history! Canada sells a diplomatic building in London for $500 Million.
Jim Flaherty apparently doesn't know how to fill out expense claims. Good quality in a finance minister.
What a strange double standard we have when it comes to marijuana. Yes, you can legally smoke marijuana for medicinal purposes. No, you can't do it in your police uniform. Can you imagine if they banned the taking of all medicines while in uniform? Peter McKay thinks he's setting a "poor example" by using his prescription medication.
We're number one! We're number one! BC has the largest rate of child poverty. By a large margin. Families first, right Christie! Speaking of making fun of Christy "families first" Clark. Shit. I was just making a joke. This article points out just how much of a hypocrite she is. What the fuck, BC? How did she get voted back in?
I was surprised to find out that emergencies on reserves are handled by a separate agency to emergencies elsewhere. I guess this makes sense. It also makes sense that it is run poorly.
Stephen Harper sings at the event where he announces his first trip to Israel.
Who knew that the new pope would be such a bad-ass?
Conservative Senators voted to block a member of the Deloitte audit team from testifying in there...it's kind of confusing. Anyhow. The gist - they don't seem to want to hear from somebody that might make them look bad.
Alberta, the province that pays for the rest of us "takers" and "have nots", caused a spike in the deficit due to flood relief. That's why you're not supposed to get too uppity when you pay a bit more than the next province at any given time, Alberta. You never know who is going to need government resources. This is what a government does.
Speaking of what government does, here is a perfect example. The history of air traffic control. In the US. US Senators know an essential service when they see one.
The Federal Government is going to hire a firm to continuously monitor social media.
The Cold War was always kept in check through mutually assured destruction. You bomb us we'll annihilate you. But there's threatening to turn anybody that attacks you into rubble and then there's actually wanting to turn anybody who attacks you into rubble. This factoid suggests the latter - to speed up the response time, all minuteman missile silos had their launch code set to 00000000.
How happy was the government to be able to announce that they caught a Chinese "super spy"?
Canada continues to buck world opinion on anything related to Israel. Of course the Iran nuclear deal isn't supported by the Conservatives.
A tax lawyer that Jim Flaherty appointed as a tax consultant (and Chairman of the Canadian Mint) is embroiled in a massive offshore tax shelter scandal.
Some more details about diplomats shifting their focus to "commerce". Of the people, for the corporations
The Conservatives killed a plan to study the environmental effects of lead shot and bullets. Who needs science when you know all your policies are right regardless?
So the by-elections resulted in a whole lot of nothing.
Another week, another pissed off batch of scientists. Biologists/Fish/Fisheries Law this week.
I know that many, many people don't care at all about criminals and think they need to "get what's coming to them." But what is the point of prison? Punishment? Rehabilitation? I think if you removed the prison culture mentality from the United States you'd have a country that was light years ahead of where it is now. Canada isn't quite as bad but listen to what our "Ombudsman for Federal Inmates" has to say. "More crowded and violent." "Less successful at rehabilitation." Yes, the Conservatives war on crime is creating less rehabilitated, more violent criminals. Well done boys. At least we've cut down on the number of white prisoners! Just to clarify, yes, that is a joke. Honestly. Just read this quote. "You cannot reasonably claim to have a just society with incarceration rates like these. And most troubling, the growth in the custody population appears to be policy, not crime, driven. After all, crime rates are down while incarceration rates grow,"
I don't know what to think about Randall Hopley. Yes, kidnapping a small child is terrible. But...this could have ended so, so very much worse. In the end he did the right thing and there has to be a degree of leniency shown for that. This man obviously (I think) has some mental health issues and needs some help. But if we simply declare him a "dangerous offender" and throw him in jail forever after he makes the right decision, what message is that sending to the next guy facing a similar choice? In the end, 7 years and 10 years of monitoring once released from prison...sounds about right. Hopefully he gets the help he needs.
This sounds a lot worse than it is. E-mails belonging to a lawyer who dealt with Duffy/Wright were thought to have been deleted by the PMO. But have now been found. This is the same guy that has had a complaint filed against him for breach of ethics.
Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha. Stephen Harper thanks Nigel Wright for all his solid ethics help in the acknowledgments of his hockey book.
Let's balance budgets by selling off assets and history! Canada sells a diplomatic building in London for $500 Million.
Jim Flaherty apparently doesn't know how to fill out expense claims. Good quality in a finance minister.
What a strange double standard we have when it comes to marijuana. Yes, you can legally smoke marijuana for medicinal purposes. No, you can't do it in your police uniform. Can you imagine if they banned the taking of all medicines while in uniform? Peter McKay thinks he's setting a "poor example" by using his prescription medication.
We're number one! We're number one! BC has the largest rate of child poverty. By a large margin. Families first, right Christie! Speaking of making fun of Christy "families first" Clark. Shit. I was just making a joke. This article points out just how much of a hypocrite she is. What the fuck, BC? How did she get voted back in?
I was surprised to find out that emergencies on reserves are handled by a separate agency to emergencies elsewhere. I guess this makes sense. It also makes sense that it is run poorly.
Stephen Harper sings at the event where he announces his first trip to Israel.
Who knew that the new pope would be such a bad-ass?
Conservative Senators voted to block a member of the Deloitte audit team from testifying in there...it's kind of confusing. Anyhow. The gist - they don't seem to want to hear from somebody that might make them look bad.
Alberta, the province that pays for the rest of us "takers" and "have nots", caused a spike in the deficit due to flood relief. That's why you're not supposed to get too uppity when you pay a bit more than the next province at any given time, Alberta. You never know who is going to need government resources. This is what a government does.
Speaking of what government does, here is a perfect example. The history of air traffic control. In the US. US Senators know an essential service when they see one.
The Federal Government is going to hire a firm to continuously monitor social media.
The Cold War was always kept in check through mutually assured destruction. You bomb us we'll annihilate you. But there's threatening to turn anybody that attacks you into rubble and then there's actually wanting to turn anybody who attacks you into rubble. This factoid suggests the latter - to speed up the response time, all minuteman missile silos had their launch code set to 00000000.
Monday, March 25, 2013
Budget Time - Week 99 - March 19-25
Conservatives like to compare governmental matters to personal matters.
"You don't spend more money than you make at home, why should we do it
with government?" Let's extend their analogy out to this decision to link foreign aid with the trade and security interests of Canada.
Perhaps we would only allow the food bank to give food to people who
might come over and mow our lawn? Or help out heroin addicts if they
only promise to stay out of our neighbourhood. Aid and charity aren't
really aid or charity if you ask something in return, no? And check out
that awesome John Baird photo.
I'm going to call this a Freudian slip, as a government agency puts out a
press release with "Harper Canada" instead of "Harper Government" (which is ridiculous enough). Thanks for reminding us.
Surprise, surprise. Steve-O and his band of merry idiots are trying to push through copyright treaties. Again. With no discussion. It doesn't seem to matter what Canadians say. They keep trying to push this stuff through.
The Parliamentary Budget Officer officially pointed out the ridiculousness of Stephen Harper's spending on his tough-on-crime agenda as crime rates continue to drop. As well, the costs of Stephen Harper's War-on-crime are landing on the Provinces. Nice to create things that you don't have to pay for, no?
Jim Flaherty stepped in when Manulife offered a mortgage rate that was too low. And other Conservative MP's don't like it.
Ouch. NP Headline "Questionable fiscal credibility and health leave Finance Minister Jim Flaherty’s political future in doubt".
Jason Kenney says that Turkey won't allow Syrian refugees to leave Turkey. Turkey says Jason Kenney is full of shit. And really needs Canada to accept some Syrian refugees.
Elizabeth May is not going to run a Green Party candidate in Labrador, and is calling on the NDP to do the same. They refuse. Sounds like they're acting a bit high and mighty about it too.
The Conservatives drop tariffs on hockey (and other sports) gear. But then will jack tariffs up on just about everything else.
SNC-Lavalin made some questionable donations to Conservative candidates during the last election. There are some suggestions that employees were compensated for donations in the form of enhanced bonuses, skirting corporate donation laws.
Patrick Brazeau insists that he is innocent. This guy needs to go away.
The National Post suggests that the Federal Government is taking a "divide and conquer" approach to the Northern Gateway pipeline by appointing a special First Nations envoy. Why is it the job of the government to spend boatloads of money lobbying for this pipeline?
We talked a week or so ago about how oil industry connected groups were behind creating the State Department Keystone XL report. Well, looks like that wasn't just an oversight. Looks like they actively worked to cover this fact up.
I feel like Obama worked a nice balance in to his Israel trip. Not-quite-unwavering support while recognizing Palestinian rights and encouraging Israel to not do dumb things. This seems a lot better than the Harper ostrich strategy.
I'm starting to feel lately like it's really just a question of what is going to kill us first. Rising sea levels? Drought? Earthquake/Tsunami? Rogue Asteroid? Or maybe just all the bees dieing out. More with the bees dieing. It seems like they have a pretty good idea of what the problem is now though. Aren't doing anything to stop it, but they know what it is.
Surprise, surprise. Steve-O and his band of merry idiots are trying to push through copyright treaties. Again. With no discussion. It doesn't seem to matter what Canadians say. They keep trying to push this stuff through.
The Parliamentary Budget Officer officially pointed out the ridiculousness of Stephen Harper's spending on his tough-on-crime agenda as crime rates continue to drop. As well, the costs of Stephen Harper's War-on-crime are landing on the Provinces. Nice to create things that you don't have to pay for, no?
Jim Flaherty stepped in when Manulife offered a mortgage rate that was too low. And other Conservative MP's don't like it.
Ouch. NP Headline "Questionable fiscal credibility and health leave Finance Minister Jim Flaherty’s political future in doubt".
Jason Kenney says that Turkey won't allow Syrian refugees to leave Turkey. Turkey says Jason Kenney is full of shit. And really needs Canada to accept some Syrian refugees.
Elizabeth May is not going to run a Green Party candidate in Labrador, and is calling on the NDP to do the same. They refuse. Sounds like they're acting a bit high and mighty about it too.
The Conservatives drop tariffs on hockey (and other sports) gear. But then will jack tariffs up on just about everything else.
SNC-Lavalin made some questionable donations to Conservative candidates during the last election. There are some suggestions that employees were compensated for donations in the form of enhanced bonuses, skirting corporate donation laws.
Patrick Brazeau insists that he is innocent. This guy needs to go away.
The National Post suggests that the Federal Government is taking a "divide and conquer" approach to the Northern Gateway pipeline by appointing a special First Nations envoy. Why is it the job of the government to spend boatloads of money lobbying for this pipeline?
We talked a week or so ago about how oil industry connected groups were behind creating the State Department Keystone XL report. Well, looks like that wasn't just an oversight. Looks like they actively worked to cover this fact up.
I feel like Obama worked a nice balance in to his Israel trip. Not-quite-unwavering support while recognizing Palestinian rights and encouraging Israel to not do dumb things. This seems a lot better than the Harper ostrich strategy.
I'm starting to feel lately like it's really just a question of what is going to kill us first. Rising sea levels? Drought? Earthquake/Tsunami? Rogue Asteroid? Or maybe just all the bees dieing out. More with the bees dieing. It seems like they have a pretty good idea of what the problem is now though. Aren't doing anything to stop it, but they know what it is.
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
A Lot Happens When You're on Vacation - Week 93 - Feb 4-12
Go away for a few days and the world goes crazy. The pope quits?
Brazeau is facing charges? Stephen Harper's stupid hockey book is coming out? Okay. I guess those are the only major
things, but still, it seems a bit shocking. Incidentally, where does the Prime Minister of the country find time to write a book? Imagine if Obama released a book on basketball in the next few months?
It's interesting about Brazeau. The Conservatives seem to have no problem when he is accused of fraud (ya, I'm calling cheating on your Senate housing expenses fraud) or does a major sexist freak-out on a journalist. But they're tripping all over themselves to kick him out of their party when he is accused of assault? This Tyee article nicely puts what I've been thinking in to words: Harper really knows how to cut and run.
There are some interesting nuggets contained in this story about Brazeau getting suspended from the Senate. The other Senators seem pretty pissed that they have to deal with him.
The Conservatives have edited out criticism by the Parliamentary Budget Officer and the Auditor General in a report on the F-35 fiasco.
Remember the Saskatchewan Robo-Calls thing last week. Turns out it is in no way the fault of the Conservatives. It was done by their employee. Who they hired. And who reports to them. But it's her fault. Not theirs.
I tried to post a link about how the Conservatives are funneling funding to aid organizations with religious ties, but I couldn't find a link. Well, they finally got caught funding a really terrible one with horrendous anti-gay beliefs. And somehow claim that it doesn't matter.
Amazing how opinion polls are a Conservatives best friend when they align with their specific plans. But is Mali really "another Afghanistan"? I guess it could be, in the sense that it could drag on for years and people could get killed. But the reasons for going into Afghanistan vs. the reasons for going in to Mali seem worlds apart.
The Federal Government claims that they have killed their internet snooping bill and promise that they won't bring it back. Didn't they already kill this thing once? Why should we now believe their promises?
What bothers me about the Conservative "tough-on-crime" agenda is that it's just tremendously easy politics with no real benefit. It is tough to argue against the stance that criminally insane killers spend more time in custody. But there are two things wrong with this. Number one, we're talking about an incredibly small handful of cases here. Why do we spend so much time worrying about this shit? (answer - easy politics) Number two, if we would perhaps spend some time worrying about support systems for the mentally ill, perhaps we wouldn't have to worry so much about this stuff as the crimes wouldn't happen in the first place.
Rona Ambrose suggests that Canadian Companies should get more involved with defense procurement/manufacturing. Okay. After witnessing British Columbia attempt to create a fast ferry manufacturing industry I'm going to suggest that this is perhaps a bad idea.
HD Mining reached out to the Union to end the foreign workers dispute. To me, it reads like "give us everything that we want and then we can start negotiating". I just can't agree more with the union. Canadian Resources should be used (well, they say to create Canadian Jobs) for the good of the country. If the country isn't benefiting to the maximum possible extent, then what the fuck are we digging this stuff up for in the first place? Why is it a race to dig shit out of the ground? It's not going anywhere.
Did you know that there is a native polar bear hunt and that they're allowed to sell the hides on the international market? Man. That seems a bit fucked up. We're also apparently responsible for dwindling wolverine numbers in the USA.
So not just the Conservatives are making questionable decisions on Queen's Jubilee medals. The NDP awarded one to a guy facing firearms charges. And they're standing by it.
(Since I wrote this, the Cons clarified that they only want to banish people with multiple citizenships. But I think this still stands. It's still war on brown people.) So, we're going to strip the citizenship of Canadians who commit "acts of war against Canadians" or "terrorism". On the surface, I guess this sounds fine. This would justify the Canadian government doing nothing in cases like Omar Khadr. But here's my thought. Once you're a Canadian, you're a Canadian. Good or bad, you're a Canadian. There's lots of Canadians that do really stupid shit. They remain Canadian. So, we're going to strip the citizenship of somebody who, what? Donates money to the wrong people? Does something that the US doesn't agree with? What about somebody who blows up a Canadian pipeline? Are they a "terrorist"? Are they no longer Canadian? Oh. Wait. They're probably white so no problem.
And now CSIS is talking about "domestic terrorism". Is it just a coincidence that the Cons are talking about revoking the citizenship of "terrorists"?
Certain Copyright focussed Organizations are lobbying for the ability to install monitoring software on your computer to track their interests. That's right. Not only do you not really want you to own the stuff that they sell you (by holding on to a piece of it with their crazy, crazy requirements), they want to be able to tap in to the computer that you (thought you) own(ed) to make sure you aren't doing anything that upsets them. Fuck these guys. Honestly. The companies associated with these associations need to be punished. I'm sick and tired of companies making obscene demands that will impact my life.
This doesn't really compute with me. We're drastically cutting our military budget. We're forcing senior officers out (that can't be cheap). And we're spending tonnes and tonnes of money purchasing new equipment. This doesn't add up.
So apparently the LAPD is just shooting random people on their manhunt for a cop killer. You don't hear about that much in the news.
It's interesting about Brazeau. The Conservatives seem to have no problem when he is accused of fraud (ya, I'm calling cheating on your Senate housing expenses fraud) or does a major sexist freak-out on a journalist. But they're tripping all over themselves to kick him out of their party when he is accused of assault? This Tyee article nicely puts what I've been thinking in to words: Harper really knows how to cut and run.
There are some interesting nuggets contained in this story about Brazeau getting suspended from the Senate. The other Senators seem pretty pissed that they have to deal with him.
The Conservatives have edited out criticism by the Parliamentary Budget Officer and the Auditor General in a report on the F-35 fiasco.
Remember the Saskatchewan Robo-Calls thing last week. Turns out it is in no way the fault of the Conservatives. It was done by their employee. Who they hired. And who reports to them. But it's her fault. Not theirs.
I tried to post a link about how the Conservatives are funneling funding to aid organizations with religious ties, but I couldn't find a link. Well, they finally got caught funding a really terrible one with horrendous anti-gay beliefs. And somehow claim that it doesn't matter.
Amazing how opinion polls are a Conservatives best friend when they align with their specific plans. But is Mali really "another Afghanistan"? I guess it could be, in the sense that it could drag on for years and people could get killed. But the reasons for going into Afghanistan vs. the reasons for going in to Mali seem worlds apart.
The Federal Government claims that they have killed their internet snooping bill and promise that they won't bring it back. Didn't they already kill this thing once? Why should we now believe their promises?
What bothers me about the Conservative "tough-on-crime" agenda is that it's just tremendously easy politics with no real benefit. It is tough to argue against the stance that criminally insane killers spend more time in custody. But there are two things wrong with this. Number one, we're talking about an incredibly small handful of cases here. Why do we spend so much time worrying about this shit? (answer - easy politics) Number two, if we would perhaps spend some time worrying about support systems for the mentally ill, perhaps we wouldn't have to worry so much about this stuff as the crimes wouldn't happen in the first place.
Rona Ambrose suggests that Canadian Companies should get more involved with defense procurement/manufacturing. Okay. After witnessing British Columbia attempt to create a fast ferry manufacturing industry I'm going to suggest that this is perhaps a bad idea.
HD Mining reached out to the Union to end the foreign workers dispute. To me, it reads like "give us everything that we want and then we can start negotiating". I just can't agree more with the union. Canadian Resources should be used (well, they say to create Canadian Jobs) for the good of the country. If the country isn't benefiting to the maximum possible extent, then what the fuck are we digging this stuff up for in the first place? Why is it a race to dig shit out of the ground? It's not going anywhere.
Did you know that there is a native polar bear hunt and that they're allowed to sell the hides on the international market? Man. That seems a bit fucked up. We're also apparently responsible for dwindling wolverine numbers in the USA.
So not just the Conservatives are making questionable decisions on Queen's Jubilee medals. The NDP awarded one to a guy facing firearms charges. And they're standing by it.
(Since I wrote this, the Cons clarified that they only want to banish people with multiple citizenships. But I think this still stands. It's still war on brown people.) So, we're going to strip the citizenship of Canadians who commit "acts of war against Canadians" or "terrorism". On the surface, I guess this sounds fine. This would justify the Canadian government doing nothing in cases like Omar Khadr. But here's my thought. Once you're a Canadian, you're a Canadian. Good or bad, you're a Canadian. There's lots of Canadians that do really stupid shit. They remain Canadian. So, we're going to strip the citizenship of somebody who, what? Donates money to the wrong people? Does something that the US doesn't agree with? What about somebody who blows up a Canadian pipeline? Are they a "terrorist"? Are they no longer Canadian? Oh. Wait. They're probably white so no problem.
And now CSIS is talking about "domestic terrorism". Is it just a coincidence that the Cons are talking about revoking the citizenship of "terrorists"?
Certain Copyright focussed Organizations are lobbying for the ability to install monitoring software on your computer to track their interests. That's right. Not only do you not really want you to own the stuff that they sell you (by holding on to a piece of it with their crazy, crazy requirements), they want to be able to tap in to the computer that you (thought you) own(ed) to make sure you aren't doing anything that upsets them. Fuck these guys. Honestly. The companies associated with these associations need to be punished. I'm sick and tired of companies making obscene demands that will impact my life.
This doesn't really compute with me. We're drastically cutting our military budget. We're forcing senior officers out (that can't be cheap). And we're spending tonnes and tonnes of money purchasing new equipment. This doesn't add up.
So apparently the LAPD is just shooting random people on their manhunt for a cop killer. You don't hear about that much in the news.
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Flying First Class - Week 91.5 - Jan 28-30
Oh boy. Look at how folksy and amazing Stephen Harper is! Twitter! High Fives!
Holy shit! It cost a million bucks to fly Harpo's limos to India?
That's crazy. Couldn't they have bought armoured transport for less?
Oh. Wait. We sent Special Forces to Mali as well as an airplane. Oops. Steve forgot to mention that.
Stats Can released some data on income equality/inequality in Canada. The poor 1% only earns 10.6% of the Nations total income (2010) vs. the 12.1% they earned in 2006. This is interesting, but largely academic. However, what I do find interesting is the earnings that would put you in the 1%. Where an American 1 Percenter is probably making at least a few million a year (I can't back this up right now, but when you look at their numbers, their income inequality is staggering), $201,400 per year ($16,783 per month) in Canada puts you in the 1 Percent. Now, don't get me wrong, 200 grand a year is a healthy chunk of cash, but I figured it would require far more than that to beat out 99% of the country. The National Post of course has an interesting take on this. Surprisingly, they take it as an opportunity to poke fun at the Occupy movement. Is this news? Infotainment? Anyhow. I digress. What is interesting is that they manage to point out the median income of the 98%. $28,400 per year. Ouch. Anyhow. Scroll down to the bottom of this post for my take on how this proves we have a ridiculous Real Estate bubble.
Canada! Pillars of the World Economy! Banks made of granite! Oh. Wait. All downgraded due to our ridiculous housing/debt bubble. Just wait. Years of post recession praise of our banking? Yes. All thanks to the Conservatives. Followed by a precipitous decline thanks to the above mentioned issues? Whose fault is that going to be?
So, I heard on the news that the Conservatives are going to "open up a dialogue" with First Nations. But apparently "opening up a dialogue" means "we'll talk, but don't expect anything to change." Peter Van Loan even suggests that the bills that they have the biggest problem with (the two Omnibus Budgets) will actually make them some of the "greatest beneficiaries". This just seems like an amazing strategy. Somebody tells you that they have a real problem with something and you come back and tell them that they are mistaken and this will actually be really good for them.
Hey. You didn't think the Ashley Smith thing could get worse? Well, turns out they tried to buy the guards silence. After more-or-less firing them.
Which leads to... A 12-year-old girl gets thrown in adult jail for 11 days. No word in the article as to whether or not she is large for her age.
Two things from this story about Corporate Income Tax:
1 - Corporations pay lower tax rates than humans.
2 - Corporate tax cuts are not creating jobs.
Did you hear about Israel coercing Ethiopian Jews into accepting birth control? I think Stephen Harper is still drafting the memo that Canada is 100% in support of Israel's right to do this.
So, as I mentioned above, let's talk about Real Estate. This gets a bit number crazy. Let's look at what $201,400 yearly income means.
Yearly Salary - $201,400
After tax take home - $153,580 (plug it in here if you don't believe me)
Monthly take home pay - $12,798 per month
So, you're a fancy 1 percenter. You live in Vancouver. You deserve a big house, right? Chances are, your bank is going to give you a fat mortgage, but you're not greedy. You're going to buy the average Greater Vancouver house at the benchmark price. You get a lovely teardown for $904,000. Here's where it gets tricky as no two mortgages are the same. Let's assume a 15% down payment and let's assume a 5 Year, 3.5% fixed rate. Not too shabby. What does your mortgage look like?
Down payment - $135,600
Monthly payment - $3,900
So, you're paying $3,900 to live in the Greater Vancouver average detached house (trust me, this won't be a fancy place). That is over 30% of your income. According to some, anything over 36% is an unhealthy income/debt ratio. So. If you live in Vancouver. And you're in the top 1 percent of all income earners in the entire country. You can just afford to buy the average detached house. Which leads me to wonder about how all of these properties are paid for. Is Vancouver composed entirely of 1 percenters?
Oh. Wait. We sent Special Forces to Mali as well as an airplane. Oops. Steve forgot to mention that.
Stats Can released some data on income equality/inequality in Canada. The poor 1% only earns 10.6% of the Nations total income (2010) vs. the 12.1% they earned in 2006. This is interesting, but largely academic. However, what I do find interesting is the earnings that would put you in the 1%. Where an American 1 Percenter is probably making at least a few million a year (I can't back this up right now, but when you look at their numbers, their income inequality is staggering), $201,400 per year ($16,783 per month) in Canada puts you in the 1 Percent. Now, don't get me wrong, 200 grand a year is a healthy chunk of cash, but I figured it would require far more than that to beat out 99% of the country. The National Post of course has an interesting take on this. Surprisingly, they take it as an opportunity to poke fun at the Occupy movement. Is this news? Infotainment? Anyhow. I digress. What is interesting is that they manage to point out the median income of the 98%. $28,400 per year. Ouch. Anyhow. Scroll down to the bottom of this post for my take on how this proves we have a ridiculous Real Estate bubble.
Canada! Pillars of the World Economy! Banks made of granite! Oh. Wait. All downgraded due to our ridiculous housing/debt bubble. Just wait. Years of post recession praise of our banking? Yes. All thanks to the Conservatives. Followed by a precipitous decline thanks to the above mentioned issues? Whose fault is that going to be?
So, I heard on the news that the Conservatives are going to "open up a dialogue" with First Nations. But apparently "opening up a dialogue" means "we'll talk, but don't expect anything to change." Peter Van Loan even suggests that the bills that they have the biggest problem with (the two Omnibus Budgets) will actually make them some of the "greatest beneficiaries". This just seems like an amazing strategy. Somebody tells you that they have a real problem with something and you come back and tell them that they are mistaken and this will actually be really good for them.
Hey. You didn't think the Ashley Smith thing could get worse? Well, turns out they tried to buy the guards silence. After more-or-less firing them.
Which leads to... A 12-year-old girl gets thrown in adult jail for 11 days. No word in the article as to whether or not she is large for her age.
Two things from this story about Corporate Income Tax:
1 - Corporations pay lower tax rates than humans.
2 - Corporate tax cuts are not creating jobs.
Did you hear about Israel coercing Ethiopian Jews into accepting birth control? I think Stephen Harper is still drafting the memo that Canada is 100% in support of Israel's right to do this.
So, as I mentioned above, let's talk about Real Estate. This gets a bit number crazy. Let's look at what $201,400 yearly income means.
Yearly Salary - $201,400
After tax take home - $153,580 (plug it in here if you don't believe me)
Monthly take home pay - $12,798 per month
So, you're a fancy 1 percenter. You live in Vancouver. You deserve a big house, right? Chances are, your bank is going to give you a fat mortgage, but you're not greedy. You're going to buy the average Greater Vancouver house at the benchmark price. You get a lovely teardown for $904,000. Here's where it gets tricky as no two mortgages are the same. Let's assume a 15% down payment and let's assume a 5 Year, 3.5% fixed rate. Not too shabby. What does your mortgage look like?
Down payment - $135,600
Monthly payment - $3,900
So, you're paying $3,900 to live in the Greater Vancouver average detached house (trust me, this won't be a fancy place). That is over 30% of your income. According to some, anything over 36% is an unhealthy income/debt ratio. So. If you live in Vancouver. And you're in the top 1 percent of all income earners in the entire country. You can just afford to buy the average detached house. Which leads me to wonder about how all of these properties are paid for. Is Vancouver composed entirely of 1 percenters?
Monday, January 7, 2013
Way to go World! - Week 88 - Jan 2-7
First, and most importantly, the lockout. Yes, hockey is back. There's lots of comments from people claiming they will "never watch a hockey game again", which is ridiculous. This story sums my feelings up nicely. I think the best thing an angry hockey fan can do is not give any money directly to the NHL. No ticket purchases. No jerseys or other merchandise. Nothing. Watch all the "free" hockey you want on TV.
Second update. The audit on the Attawapiskat finances was released. It is damning. You can blame the government for the timing and talk about conspiracies. But Theresa Spence has lost a lot of credibility. There's no justifiable argument for having absolutely no documentation or explanation for spending that was supposed to help your people. I realize that this has absolutely nothing to do with the Idle No More movement, but her association is going to take away from their message. On to the original post.
This story is depressing. If the world had signed on to Kyoto way back when, we would have committed to reducing our current greenhouse gas output by 5% relative to 1990 numbers. Instead, they've gone up 58%. And wow! Look at all those trolls in the comments. They really mobilized
The Idle No More movement really gained traction this week. Judging by the comments and tone of this article, they must be on to something. It seems like they are making some progress.
The government announced the extension of its "innovation fund", and is planning to spend another $250 Million to help the auto industry with R&D. Harper claims that the last round of funding was paid back to Canadians six times over, but there's no facts or numbers to back this up. I'm a bit confused and I wish there was more information here. How does R&D spending ensure Canadian jobs? Is it R&D spending specific to Canadian plants? How have they measured the benefits? Are they attributing the entire rebound of the Canadian auto industry to this funding? The official government website doesn't tell us much. What I would really love to see would be some details on the projects funded with the initial round of money. I can't find that anywhere.
This is a long but fascinating read on the changes to mortgage and CMHC policy that have lead to the potential problems in real estate. Over the last few years I've heard from many people a comment along the lines of "We'll never have the problems the US had with Real Estate. We don't have the sub-prime mess that they did." No, our sub-prime mess is backed by the government. And as David Dodge points out in this article, it's entirely because of Conservative Government meddling that all of this happened.
I saw two interesting about-face articles today. The first was from Salon, about "Jane Roe" and her move to become pro life. The second is about a "prominent environmentalist" who has come to accept genetically modified foods. That article also mentions a "scientist" who disavowed an article that he wrote linking autism to vaccination. I think the important thing here is that we just shouldn't jump to conclusions about anything, and that we shouldn't put too much meaning into the opinions or actions of any one person.
A Surrey judge has determined that a mandatory sentence for gun possession is unconstitutional. I think that's why you're supposed to talk about laws before you throw them into a giant pile and force them through Parliament.
Federal Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver seems to still think the Northern Gateway Pipeline is A-OK. And he suggests that we only need to be "open to the facts" to make it happen. What facts are these? The dishonest sales pitches? The inadequate safety planning? The pipeline company with a history of leaky pipelines?
The general public will not be allowed to attend the public hearings for the Northern Gateway Pipeline when they roll around through Vancouver and Victoria. They'll have to watch in a hotel a few kilometers away.
Two former Liberal MP's are proposing some changes to improve the atmosphere in the House of Commons. I like the Australian idea, where the speaker can send MP's to the penalty box if they get too out of hand.
It's been over two years, but anti-spam regulation passed by the Conservatives is still not enforced.
What could possibly go wrong, drilling for oil in the Arctic?
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
2012 Best Of - Week 87 - Dec 25-Jan 1
The whole purpose of this blog is for me to be able to track all of the crazy shit that the Conservatives are going to do over their 4 year term. As I look back over the past year...Gawd...I'm just overwhelmed by how much crazy shit they've done. It's too much for me. I think that in order to understand how crazy this year was, we need to look at some of the stories that I had to gloss over as I made my list. Allowing two major Canadian oil companies to be purchased by foreign state controlled enterprises? Didn't make it. Allowing a northern British Columbia mine to ship in all of its employees from China at a discounted rate? Didn't make it. Closing down a groundbreaking freshwater research station (perhaps because of some troublesome research into the oil sands)? Didn't make it. Stripping a layer of environmental protection from our lakes and rivers? Didn't make it. What about their continual re-introduction of anti-abortion laws? Their no questions asked support of Israel? Looking back, things are way, way worse than I thought.
Lessons in short-sightedness
After years of a ridiculous pro-asbestos position that was mocked by the rest of the world, the asbestos mine responsible for this ridiculous stance closed down. And somehow the Conservatives are trying to blame the Parti Quebecois for this reckless swerve towards acceptability.
The War on Terror reaches new levels of awesome
A Muslim man in Quebec sent a text message to some work colleagues encouraging them to "blow away the competition" at a trade show. He was arrested on suspicion of terrorism. Reddit agrees that this is awesome.
Government cuts lead to a pretty good idea for a comedy sketch
Did you know that Canada is surrounded on three sides by oceans? I don't think the Conservatives do. Coast Guard and other naval safety cuts seem to be a favourite of theirs. In addition to closing the Coast Guard base in the largest port in Canada, they also seem to be struggling to provide effective services in the places that remain open. This poor Newfoundland fisherman had his emergency medical call transferred to a non-English speaking doctor in Italy when he phoned in for help.
Model citizens
Have you heard about these Queen's Jubilee medals? Ya, there's something like 60,000 of them being awarded and it sounds like it is largely at the discretion of individual MP's. One Saskatchewan MP has decided that a pair of ladies who have continually been arrested for anti-abortion related harassment. He's praised them as "heroines of humanity". Surprisingly, he's a Conservative.
Limits to democracy
It's actually hard to keep track on the amount of times that the Conservatives limited debate, jammed through mountains of legislation via Omnibus Bills and just kind of messed with democracy by preventing people from asking question. These are only three examples of a worrisome trend.
War on Crime
Look at that graph above. See how there has been a steady decline in the crime rate since the early 90's? See how we're basically at levels not seen since the 70's? Ya, me too. But even with all of that, the Conservatives decided to jam through a whole bunch of "Tough on Crime" laws (like mandatory sentencing) even though a whole bunch of people told them that it's a bad idea...And then, they actually have the balls to take all the credit for the last 20 years of dropping crime rates...even though there was a dramatic spike in homicide rates this year.
Not only that, they've decided to:
- Cut prison inmate reform programs - because what we really need is convicts getting out of prison with no real world skills or training
- Close a few prisons even though before their new mandatory minimum sentences can have an affect there are already overcrowding problems...honestly...double bunking!
- Decided that convicts earning between $10 and $69 every two weeks are living high on the hog and they're going to charge them more in rent money
- Created a law whereby it's illegal to riot in a mask...even though it's already illegal to riot in a mask. Great prioritization, guys!
- Supported a bill to outlaw gang recruiting...ya...that's really going to put the brakes on gang activity
Enbridge and their Magic Pipeline
I actually can't believe that there is still a chance that this Northern Gateway pipeline might get built. There is just so much wrong with this whole story, I don't know of any other way to tackle it but point form.
1. The Federal Government has suggested that opponents to the Pipeline are terrorists
2. They've also cut so many research positions over the last few years that there probably aren't enough people remaining to adequately research the effects of this pipeline
3. Enbridge created a promotional video that has a map that conveniently ignores all of the nautical hazards that will be faced by the hundreds of tankers steaming towards Kitimat
4. Their clean-up plan submitted to the government is for crude oil, not bitumen
5. While all this was going on, one of their pipelines in Wisconsin started leaking...and they didn't do a particularly good job in responding to it
6. A report came out that crucified the Enbridge response to a 2010 pipeline leak in Michigan...I don't think governments generally throw around terms like "Keystone Cops" lightly
7. After the above mentioned Michigan oil spill, Enbridge executives gave themselves some hefty bonuses
8. They've created a limited liability partnership that will, you guessed it, limit their liability in the event of an oil spill
9. And while all this was going on...while Alberta was screaming at BC for being selfish about not allowing a pipeline...leak after leak after leak after leak popped up across Alberta.
10. Is it a surprise though, seeing as people connected to big oil have had upwards of 2733 meetings with public officials over the last 4 years?
Honestly. How are we still talking about this pipeline?
Robo-Calls
What is the worst thing about this Conservative government? The fact that they might not even be legitimate. The robo-call scandal continues to roll along. Even worse is the Conservative response to the whole thing. They demanded that Liberals release all records of "all calls made on their behalf" during the last election, but refuse to release their own records because, obviously, there's no possible chance they have done anything wrong themselves. That didn't work, so once the cases finally made it to court, they attempted to shirk responsibility through a series of loopholes, smoke and mirrors. First, they claim the cases were filed too late. Then, they suggest the complainants should be ignored as they are made by "professional agitators" and the bills are paid by people with a "political bias". Last, even though a pollster dug up information suggesting that there was voter suppression (they actually tried to have this evidence thrown out), they claimed that everything is okay because even if there were robo-calls, they didn't actually have an effect.
The next section I'm going to call the 2012 Conservative All-Star Team. With guys like this, how can they possibly get re-elected?
Vic Toews
Where do you start with Vic Toews? He's accomplished so much in a one year period, it's difficult to know what to talk about. First, his fingerprints are all over the "tough on crime" section above. But I think his crowning achievement for the year really was his internet snooping bill. First, he suggested that if you didn't support his bill then you were "with the child pornographers." Then, he freaked the hell out when somebody (well, a Liberal staffer) started posting (completely, 100% true) information about his messy, messy divorce (the babysitter? really?). At this point, Anonymous started threatening him and, despite his bluster, he actually admitted that he was powerless to stop them and temporarily threw in the towel on the whole thing. Until he saw an opportunity to use the horrific Luka Magnotta murders for political gains and then reintroduced an even worse internet surveillance bill. To heap further awful onto an already giant pile of crap, when a journalist asked a pointed question about a particularly over-the-top portion of the bill he became surprised and confused; It was almost as if he had no actual idea about the contents of the very bill he was championing. (This is a bit of an aside, but I'd like to point out that while the Conservatives are all about using the forces of Government to eavesdrop on citizens, they don't believe that Canadians deserve any government help or protection from identity theft or other cyber-security matters. That would be government over-reach) I know you're thinking. At this point, an ordinary man would sit back and be happy with his accomplishments. But not Vic Toews. He was just getting started. He was the point man for Canada refusing to bring convicts back home via prison transfers. He actively worked against bringing Omar Khadr home and then made a series of crazy statements once he finally did make it back to Canada. And he allowed the RCMP and Canadian Border Agency to use information obtained from torture. Nice job, Vic!
Jason Kenney
Jason Kenney didn't have enough actual immigrants for his press conference. So he decided to have some of his staff dress up as as "immigrants" to celebrate their "citizenship reaffirmation". As well, his department decided that the way to deal with the crazy backlogs of applications was just to ignore all applications made before 2008.
Rob Anders
"Sleepy Time" Rob has been caught sleeping several times on the job. I know, I know, we've all dozed off for a few minutes at work. But, I bet your little nappy time didn't come in the middle of a Parliamentary Question Period or during a presentation from a group supporting homeless veterans. Of course, it all would have been alright if he had apologized. But no, he doubled down and called the homeless veterans support group a bunch of "NDP hacks." He did eventually apologize. And then later in the year, he claimed that Jack Layton's death was Thomas Mulcair's fault. And yes, that is a screen capture of one of his Parliament naps.
Bev Oda
Every time I see the above photo of Bev Oda, I'm actually a little bit sad that she left politics. Poor Bev had a problem with her expense account. It all came to a head when it was found she'd racked up crazy bills living it up in London during a conference on the immunization of children in poor countries. She moved from one luxury hotel to another, charged thousands to have a car and driver at her beck-and-call and then washed it all down with a $16 glass of Orange Juice.
Patrick Brazeau
Doesn't that guy look like a Senator? As well, he has an atrocious record of attending Senate sittings (you know...his job). He's absent about 25% of the time. And when somebody pointed it out and asked some questions, he called her a bitch. He also may be fraudulently claiming a living allowance. I will give him credit for his charity boxing match with Justin Trudeau...and his excessive pre-match bragging made it even funnier when he lost.
Lessons in short-sightedness
After years of a ridiculous pro-asbestos position that was mocked by the rest of the world, the asbestos mine responsible for this ridiculous stance closed down. And somehow the Conservatives are trying to blame the Parti Quebecois for this reckless swerve towards acceptability.
The War on Terror reaches new levels of awesome
A Muslim man in Quebec sent a text message to some work colleagues encouraging them to "blow away the competition" at a trade show. He was arrested on suspicion of terrorism. Reddit agrees that this is awesome.
Government cuts lead to a pretty good idea for a comedy sketch
Did you know that Canada is surrounded on three sides by oceans? I don't think the Conservatives do. Coast Guard and other naval safety cuts seem to be a favourite of theirs. In addition to closing the Coast Guard base in the largest port in Canada, they also seem to be struggling to provide effective services in the places that remain open. This poor Newfoundland fisherman had his emergency medical call transferred to a non-English speaking doctor in Italy when he phoned in for help.
Model citizens
Have you heard about these Queen's Jubilee medals? Ya, there's something like 60,000 of them being awarded and it sounds like it is largely at the discretion of individual MP's. One Saskatchewan MP has decided that a pair of ladies who have continually been arrested for anti-abortion related harassment. He's praised them as "heroines of humanity". Surprisingly, he's a Conservative.
Limits to democracy
It's actually hard to keep track on the amount of times that the Conservatives limited debate, jammed through mountains of legislation via Omnibus Bills and just kind of messed with democracy by preventing people from asking question. These are only three examples of a worrisome trend.
War on Crime
Not only that, they've decided to:
- Cut prison inmate reform programs - because what we really need is convicts getting out of prison with no real world skills or training
- Close a few prisons even though before their new mandatory minimum sentences can have an affect there are already overcrowding problems...honestly...double bunking!
- Decided that convicts earning between $10 and $69 every two weeks are living high on the hog and they're going to charge them more in rent money
- Created a law whereby it's illegal to riot in a mask...even though it's already illegal to riot in a mask. Great prioritization, guys!
- Supported a bill to outlaw gang recruiting...ya...that's really going to put the brakes on gang activity
Enbridge and their Magic Pipeline
I actually can't believe that there is still a chance that this Northern Gateway pipeline might get built. There is just so much wrong with this whole story, I don't know of any other way to tackle it but point form.
1. The Federal Government has suggested that opponents to the Pipeline are terrorists
2. They've also cut so many research positions over the last few years that there probably aren't enough people remaining to adequately research the effects of this pipeline
3. Enbridge created a promotional video that has a map that conveniently ignores all of the nautical hazards that will be faced by the hundreds of tankers steaming towards Kitimat
4. Their clean-up plan submitted to the government is for crude oil, not bitumen
5. While all this was going on, one of their pipelines in Wisconsin started leaking...and they didn't do a particularly good job in responding to it
6. A report came out that crucified the Enbridge response to a 2010 pipeline leak in Michigan...I don't think governments generally throw around terms like "Keystone Cops" lightly
7. After the above mentioned Michigan oil spill, Enbridge executives gave themselves some hefty bonuses
8. They've created a limited liability partnership that will, you guessed it, limit their liability in the event of an oil spill
9. And while all this was going on...while Alberta was screaming at BC for being selfish about not allowing a pipeline...leak after leak after leak after leak popped up across Alberta.
10. Is it a surprise though, seeing as people connected to big oil have had upwards of 2733 meetings with public officials over the last 4 years?
Honestly. How are we still talking about this pipeline?
Robo-Calls
What is the worst thing about this Conservative government? The fact that they might not even be legitimate. The robo-call scandal continues to roll along. Even worse is the Conservative response to the whole thing. They demanded that Liberals release all records of "all calls made on their behalf" during the last election, but refuse to release their own records because, obviously, there's no possible chance they have done anything wrong themselves. That didn't work, so once the cases finally made it to court, they attempted to shirk responsibility through a series of loopholes, smoke and mirrors. First, they claim the cases were filed too late. Then, they suggest the complainants should be ignored as they are made by "professional agitators" and the bills are paid by people with a "political bias". Last, even though a pollster dug up information suggesting that there was voter suppression (they actually tried to have this evidence thrown out), they claimed that everything is okay because even if there were robo-calls, they didn't actually have an effect.
The next section I'm going to call the 2012 Conservative All-Star Team. With guys like this, how can they possibly get re-elected?
Vic Toews
Jason Kenney
Rob Anders
Bev Oda
Patrick Brazeau
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