You are currently browsing the monthly archive for March 2010.
This story will not make very many people happy. If you happen to believe in left-wing media bias and that Israel is an undeserving oppressed nation (and other farcical notions), please stop reading now. Things will only get worse for you the farther you read into the article.
The story of the Canadian NGO Rights and Democracy has recently received media attention for the firing of three new appointees to the board of directors. As the CBC says:
“Three senior managers at the federal government’s human rights agency who were suspended for publicly declaring their lack of confidence in three Conservative appointees to their organization’s board of directors earlier this year have been fired.”
To understand the how and why this is so particularly egregious requires a fair amount of back story.
“Rights & Democracy, created under Brian Mulroney’s Conservative government to encourage democracy and monitor human rights around the world, has been in turmoil since the Harper government appointed new board members [the ones mentioned in the first quote] last year.
The new members challenged grants being made to three human rights organizations known to be critical of Israel’s human rights record.”
One of things that you do NOT do is criticize Israel (despite the country’s atrocious human rights record), especially if you are in a government funded organization. It appears that these firings stem from this defacto political axiom. Furthermore, if you do have the temerity to question Israeli policy you may be hounded into an early grave:
“Federal opposition politicians and the family of former president Rémy Beauregard, who died in January, are calling for an independent inquiry into the organization. […] Beauregard bore the brunt of the new board members’ outrage over the grants. He died of a heart attack after a stormy board meeting.”
Now in star trekkian like language fresh from the LHC webpage:
Full steam ahead!
Following the completion of the campaign to improve the reliability of the cabling for the new Quench Protection System, the main dipoles and quadrupoles of the eight LHC sectors have now been commissioned up to a current of 6 kAmps. In the early hours of Sunday 28 February, the beams were circulating again in the LHC: the longest run in CERN’s history has just started!
The beams are interfacing appropriately within acceptable parameters! Excellent. :)
Our parliament is back in action after being out of business while supposedly our conservative turd-nuggets “calibrated” their economic plans to “save” the Canadian Economy. What do we get? A large horse and pony show about possibly changing the national anthem and more tax cuts for business and the banking industry.
We are cutting taxes on the financial sector. Don't complain...have some yummy ice-cream to make all those thoughts of fairness go away. Silly Public.
We stopped the business of government so we can get yet another typically conservative budget? Some putrid highlights:
- The finance minister promised many times that this budget would not include any significant tax cuts, but he just couldn’t help himself. No Harper budget is complete without a major tax cut for business, even after business leaders say we now need tax increases.
- The major new business tax cut this year is a complete elimination of tariffs on manufacturing inputs and machinery and equipment. This move aims to make Canada’s manufacturing sector into a free trade zone, consistent with their aggressive new free trade plans and will cost the federal government an estimated $1.3 billion over five years.
- Further planned cuts to corporate income taxes will drive the federal corporate tax rate down to 15% down by almost half from the from 29.12% rate in 2000. These cuts so far have cost more than $100 billion and further cuts will cost the government an additional $20 billion in lower revenues during the next five years.
- The Harper government is continuing with these further cuts even though the steep cuts so far have had little positive impact in increasing investment or productivity
Well isn’t that just fraking grand. The opposition, rather than condemning this albatross of a budget, will quietly vote to pass this budget. Will the Afghan detainee torture scandal resurface? Will Harper and his merry band of neo-conservative business courtiers continue to sell ordinary Canadians down the river?
I hope the we get some real direction from our opposition soon. I’m getting tired and quite cranky over the mendacious conservative rule we are toiling under.
A little knowledge can go a long way.
bleatmop
Mystro
Dead Wild Roses 
Your opinions…