Chinese Takeover of Tarsands

NDP MP Nathan Cullen remarked via twitter that: "In Ottawa they call it 'taking out the trash' announce it on a Friday 5 pm. You judge. Chinese takeover ok for Harper."

In his own press conference - one of the few times Harper has talked to the press unrestricted, he seemed uncomfortable, trying to justify the deal - only this one time, only this much, he was saying. It sounds like a bad deal to me, a State Owned Company in China taking over tarsands operations in Canada.

What's worse, all the secrecy around this deal - there is much we don't know, that is not being disclosed. While online polls are not scientific, an online Power and Politics poll on CBC showed more than 80% against the deal, that is a huge margin.

Click here to read the story.

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Verizon - When You Watch TV, TV Will Be Watching You

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

This is Big Brother, your own TV spying on you to serve big corporations so they can hawk their wares in advertising. This is really scary, Big Brother is a reality. I'm sure people like Vic Toews will be very happy, you will not be able to watch TV without being watched. This is one invention we don't need, and I don't think it should ever be used.

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John Baird finally says something about Israeli settlements

John Baird and the Harper CONS had been trying to outdo Netanyahu on the UN vote recognizing Palestine, threatening to cut off ties to the Palestinians showing incredible indifference to their plight. Now, an about-face... at least to a degree.

While it is commendable that Baird is finally speaking out against the Israeli settlements on the West Bank, one cannot help but wonder if this is a face-saving measure in light of earlier behaviour.

Click here for the story.

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Mike Duffy swimming in taxpayers’ money

Conservative Senator Mike Duffy  has claimed more than $33,000 in living allowances intended to defray senators’ costs of maintaining a second home in the National Capital Region, even though he is a long-time Ottawa resident.

The quarterly expense reports that senators are legally required to file show that Duffy spent almost $159,000 on his office between June 1, 2011 and May 31, 2012, which included salaries for staff and equipment.

This is over and above the base annual salary of $132,300.

If this does not boil your blood then what will?

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Noam Chomsky on Israel and Gaza - A Must Read Article

An old man in Gaza held a placard that read:
“You take my water, burn my olive trees,
destroy my house, take my job, steal my land,
imprison my father, kill my mother,
bombard my country, starve us all, humiliate us all,
but I am to blame: I shot a rocket back
This article is a really great examination of the situation in Israel and Gaza by Noam Chomsky.

h/t to Mound of Sound for posting this.

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The Denigration of Canada's Peacekeeping Heritage

A United Nations peacekeeping soldier from the Canadian Battalion, part of the United Nations Support Mission in Haiti (UNSMIH), gives first aid to an injured boy in Port-au-Prince in 1997.UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe

Great article by the CBC's Brian Stewart, for all the eagerness by the federal government over the Afghanistan war, the traditional role of peace-keeping - something dating back to Lester Pearson who pushed for the creation of peace-keeping forces in the first place - has fallen by the wayside. This is something which Canada has been renowned and praised for.

Stewart writes that:

"The irony in all this is that Canada — with our military's eager blessing — has ditched the alternative international role our soldiers were long renowned for: peacekeeping."

He talks about the denigration of peace-keeping by military leaders and pro-military politicians.

Harper wants to transform Canada, into a more militaristic state, I guess for him, peacekeeping does not fit in. Of course it was a Liberal government that escalated involvement in Afghanistan in the first place.

Here is another noteworthy quote from Stewart:

"What degraded peacekeeping here was the mindset that used Afghanistan as a way to seek a full revival of a 'warrior nation' ethos through support-our-troops campaigns and media messaging that seemed determined to crush all that was allegedly squishy about our past internationalism."

Peacekeepers play an important role in saving lives and are an important part of Canada's foreign policy legacy, why are they being denigrated?

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What is Justin Trudeau up to?

I was a supporter of Pierre Trudeau - he was one of our country's great prime ministers - bringing official multiculturalism, giving Canada a strong independent foreign policy on the world stage, and repatriating the Constitution with a Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

I participated in the consultation process around the Charter - advocating for individual rights in addition to group rights - something which is a distinct strength of the Charter.

As for Pierre's son Justin, I'm puzzled by him. He's taken some very unusual positions in this leadership race - against the long gun registry (which he voted to save) and in favour of the tar sands and a Chinese take-over of a company there.

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Brad Woodside, Mayor of Fredericton, is a fan of Clint Eastwood

Woodside likes to talk to an empty chair just like his role- model Eastwood. Woodside is very unhappy with beer prices. He is very angry with the Premier of New Brunswick for beer prices,” "Mr. Premier, your beer prices are too high,” he said.

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Mike Duffy's Proposal of Maritime Union, Not Going to Happen

What is wrong with Rob Ford Mike Duffy and these Conservative Senators? Talk of Maritime Union has been going on since pre-Confederation, too many hurdles and supposed benefits are not proven (would not Nova Scotia - or even Halifax itself - just end up dominating?). This is nothing but a distraction. What magic bullet does Mike Duffy think he has that those of generations before did not?

The Premier of Duffy's own province, Prince Edward Island, put it well, saying these Senators have not done their homework and do not know what they are talking about.

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Rob Ford is at it again!

This time shouting during a council meeting.
What a bizzaro!

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