Union support, affidavits boost lawsuit's efforts to halt Canada-China investment deal

 

Union support, affidavits boost lawsuit's efforts to halt Canada-China investment deal

" Unions, citizen groups, and environmentalists have joined a growing chorus alarmed about a secretive investment deal with China, voicing their support yesterday for a First Nation's lawsuit seeking to halt the agreement.

The groups said they are concerned about the lack of public consultation and aboriginal consent, and provisions allowing companies to sue governments over legislation, contained within the Canada-China Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (FIPA). "

" "This deal would critically impact every provincial government's ability to make autonomous decisions directly affecting the well-being of their citizens," said Hupacasath First Nation councillor Brenda Sayers. "Our environmental laws have been gutted, so there's very little environmental protection or process around how resources are removed... This is a very big deal for Canada. It is critical for Canadians, at this point in time, to pay attention to this."

The lawsuit presents an opportunity to educate people about the "secretive and extreme" FIPA deal, said Jamie Biggar, executive director of Leadnow.ca. After the agreements came to light last autumn, the advocacy organization fundraised more than $30,000 among its 225,000 members to support Hupacasath's injunction request. "

" "The reason why these negotiated behind closed doors -- the reason this is not going to Parliament and why it's not being brought in front of the public -- is because, for past trade agreements, the government has realized the public does not support [them]," "

" "These free trade agreements give corporations power over governments, and limit a government's ability to put regulations and laws in place to protect the rights of citizens, the land and natural resources of our country," she said. "If corporations think that rules and regulations to protect our labour rights, human rights or our environment get in their way, they can sue our government.

"With no debate or consultation, the Harper government is prepared to undermine our rights -- labour rights we have fought for as unions, human rights, democratic rights and the right to protect our environment, and most importantly, the rights of First Nations over lands and resources."
With tensions rising in the province over Enbridge's proposed Northern Gateway pipeline, and Kinder Morgan's plans to expand its own pipeline from the Alberta oil sands, some have suggested the real intent of the FIPA may be to lock in oil exports to Asia. "

Chinese Idiom: Subduing the Enemy Without War 不戰屈人

"According to ancient Chinese general Sun Zi (孫子), or Sun Tzu, author of the famous military classic “The Art of War” (孫子兵法), this is the ultimate strategy that should always be attempted first before resorting to battle.

Sun Zi believed that the skillful leader subdues the enemy’s army without fighting, captures the enemy’s cities without attack, and overthrows the enemy’s nation without a lengthy operation."

Lead Now

" If the Canada-China FIPA passes, China’s companies could sue Canada if any Canadian government - including our provinces - makes any decision that put our health, jobs and environment before their profit. Worse yet, these suits would be decided by unaccountable arbitrators in secret courts outside our legal system.



That’s not how Canada is supposed to work. We live in a democratic federation, and our provinces should have to consent to any major federal decision that would undermine their authority. Our provinces can defend their constitutional powers from FIPA. If Christy Clark, BC’s premier, acts now to defend the rights of British Columbians, she could stop Harper from locking us into FIPA for 31 years. "

We need to send a flood of messages to ensure our premiers act. Please join us:
http://www.leadnow.ca/stop-fipa-bc

" Four months ago, Prime Minister Harper quietly announced that he wanted to pass the biggest trade deal in a generation without a single vote in Parliament. Your campaign raised the alarm about the danger of FIPA’s secret investor-state courts. You united Canadians, divided Harper’s caucus and made him think twice about ratifying this bad trade deal.

The Hupacasath First Nation are taking this FIPA to court to defend their rights. "

" FIPA would expose Canada to lawsuits from China’s massive companies in secret investor-state courts -- outside Canada’s legal system -- that have a track record of systematically ruling against the interests of Canadians. Under this system, Canada has already been sued more than any industrialized country in the world. 

Investor-state lawsuits undermine our democratic control. "

" Our provinces have defended our rights before. In the 1990s, BC played a leadership role in the successful fight against the Multilateral Agreement on Investment (MAI). A BC legislative committee publicly studied the MAI and expressed serious concerns about the fact that it would expose Canada to investor-state arbitration. It found that if the federal government fails to gain the express consent of the province, “the Province must vigorously defend its authority on behalf of all British Columbians."



Let’s call on our premiers to use every tool they have - political and legal - to stop the Canada-China FIPA from being ratified unless the secret investor-state courts are removed, public consultations are held in every province, and our provinces consent to the deal through a democratic vote in their legislature. "

With hope and respect,

Emma, Jamie, Matthew and the whole Leadnow.ca team

Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe: Chinese need for conflict is deeply ingrained

" "China has a “deeply ingrained” need to spar with Japan and other Asian neighbors over territory, because the ruling Communist Party uses the disputes to maintain strong domestic support, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said in an interview.

Clashes with neighbors, notably Japan, play to popular opinion, Abe said, given a Chinese education system that emphasizes patriotism and “anti-Japanese sentiment.” "

‪Brainwashed School Children in China 2009‬

China Anti Japanese Student Brainwashing 2012

How can you support your leaders when they provide support for the objectives of the Communist Party of China and it's campaign of one-world hatred and oppression. We should not do business or provide resources to a force that is so anti-human. Below is footage of what martial law under Chinese Communist occupation looks like. Is Canada next?

In Tibet you can be arrested for merely walking outside your door and saying:
 "long live the Dali Lama".

It's sad, the Chinese have been trained to hate from a young age, like the Hitler youth.
At one point you can see about 50 Chinese with guns cuffing a scared old woman and laughing.
  

LEAKED Video from Tibet Show China's Ongoing Brutal Repression On Tibetans

This is what martial law looks like, we have to stop the New World Order.

China's sensitivity over Tibet

Chinese Police Detain, Beat Tibetan Protesters

" Of the 104 Tibetans who set themselves on fire since February 2009, 22 were under the age of 18, Save Tibet said. They have taken part in the fiery protests to demonstrate against the Chinese regime’s policies in Tibetan areas, calling for cultural and religious freedom, as well as the return of the Dalai Lama. "

Australian Legislator Proposes Criminalizing Organ Tourism

" He related a recent discussion he had with a doctor: A patient told the doctor that they would not be attending treatment the following day, because they were going to China, where their donor was about to be shot. “That’s a chilling prospect,” Shoebridge said, “and one which we have a moral duty to address.” "

" While Chinese officials admit—after years of denials —that organs come from prisoners, they do not specify which types of prisoners. Available evidence suggests that in large part, the organs have come from practitioners of Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted in China since 1999.

The research of two Canadians, human rights lawyer David Matas, and former parliamentarian David Kilgour, indicates that from 2000 to 2005, 41,500 organs were harvested from Falun Gong prisoners. The consultation paper produced as part of Shoebridge’s bill amendment includes reference to the Kilgour-Matas report. Gutmann estimates the figure was 65,000 by 2008. "

Why can't Canada's wealthiest province break even? Blame the paradox of plenty.

" To most Canadians this curious disclosure seems confounding, if not paradoxical. How can "the economic engine" of Canada run five government deficits in a row yet promise prosperity for the nation? Is no one in charge? "

"Terry Lynn Karl, the acclaimed author of Paradox of Plenty, describes the petromania resource curse more directly: Easy access to oil wealth lowers "financial discipline within bureaucracies and leads to reckless budgetary practices. Most importantly, it preempts efforts to mobilize domestic resources through taxation" which, in turn, creates more dependence on oil."

" Alberta must "redirect the revenues gained from the sale of resources away from the government's budget and toward saving," conclude the pair. "

" "As we noted previously this is the solution to the problem of energy price volatility that has been successfully employed by energy-rich Norway and that has been frequently urged upon the Alberta government. Unfortunately, it is a solution that has eluded the government of Alberta." "

"Easy wealth seems to discourage hard thinking, the same way scarcity stimulates innovation."

" In a petro state politicians and business leaders become so tied to the perverse incentives of mining oil, says Terry Lynn Karl, that they "develop networks of complicity based on the classic exchange between the right to rule and the right to make money." "

" How do you know when you live in petro state? Here are some key signs:

When your government pays 30 per cent of its road, education, and hospital bills with finite and volatile hydrocarbon revenue.

When your province posts five budget deficits in a row during a so-called "bitumen boom."

When the government approves 100 bitumen projects over a ten-year period without a cumulative impact assessment.

When your government fires the Chief Elections Officer, Lorne Gibson, in 2009 for doing his job and reporting on widespread electoral fraud.

When your government estimates that cleaning up toxic waste in the tar sands will cost more than $20 billion but asks industry to set aside only $1 billion.

When the province's oil and gas regulator argues in Queen's Court that it owes "no duty of care" to Albertan landowners or the province's groundwater.

When a bunch of Calgary lawyers decide that the best market for their self-branded "ethical oil" are Chinese national oil firms directed by the world's leading moral philosophers, the Communist Party of China. "

Fracked Gas Won't Solve Energy Crunch: Report

" Governments and financial analysts who think unconventional fossil fuels such as bitumen, shale gas and shale oil can usher in an era of prosperity and energy plenty are dangerously deluded, concludes a groundbreaking report by one of Canada's top energy analysts. "

" The latest panaceas championed by industry and media talking heads are too expensive and will deplete too rapidly to provide either energy security or independence for the United States, concludes the 62-year-old geologist who worked for Natural Resources Canada for 32 years as a coal and gas specialist. "

Unconventional fossil fuels all share a host of cruel and limiting traits says Hughes. They offer dramatically fewer energy returns; they consume extreme and endless flows of capital; they provide difficult or volatile rates of supply overtime and have "large environmental impacts in their extraction." "

‘Cancer Villages’ in China Acknowledged by Regime

" The Chinese regime for the first time admitted the existence of so-called “cancer villages”—areas near factories and polluted waterways where cancer rates have increased to startlingly high levels.

Over the years, Chinese environmental activists have said there is a strong link between increased cancer rates and industrial pollution—in part due to corrupt officials looking the other way when developers and businesses violate environmental regulations. Investigative journalist Deng Fei in 2009 showed some of the worst-hit areas using Google maps. "

Fracking: Feds Throw Wrench in High Profile Lawsuit

" The $33-million lawsuit alleges that Encana, one of Canada's largest natural gas producers, drilled and fracked shallow coal bed methane wells directly in the local groundwater supply between 2001 and 2004 near Rosebud, Alberta and thereby polluted Ernst's water well with enough toxic chemicals and methane to make it flammable. "

Ai Weiwei world famous artist Persecuted for belief in Compassion

North Korea set to conduct intermediate-range missile test

Syrian Rebels Attack Hezbollah

A Toothless Trade Secret Strategy

Housing Bubble 2.0? – Why The US Property Market Is Headed For Another Crash

Cyber-hacking War Finally gets Major Coverage

Cyber-hacking threat

 

MPs on Chinese hacking

Notice how the Conservatives try to avoid saying anything about China when questioned. Harper was on TV the other day saying that the best way to open up closed societies was to engage them in commerce. The opposite is what is happening, the dictatorships are getting stronger and influencing our democracies with all the money we outsourced to them. This has only made the enemy stronger, and provided the communist tyrants legitimacy.

Harper lets communist China have free rein over Canadian telecommunications

 

 

The Canadian Government’s 40 Hour Cyber Security Work Week

" …Government and private-sector systems are attacked by hackers, organized crime and state actors [China anyone? this government won’t say] on a “constant basis,” said [public safety minister] Toews…

Now I guess they think those types don’t work during Ottawa’s night:

  …the [Canadian Cyber Incident Response] centre [within Public Safety Canada] was still not operating on a 24-hour-a-day, 7-day-a-week basis, as originally intended, shutting down weekdays at 4 p.m. Ottawa time and closing for the weekend. The government plans to extend those hours to 9 p.m., seven days a week, but not round-the-clock… "

Chinese firm's Canadian contracts raise security fears

" Even Canada's own intelligence agencies have warned the Harper government of the risks of throwing open the door to Chinese telecom companies.

Despite all the warnings, the federal and Ontario governments have rolled out the red carpet to Huawei, officially praising the Chinese company's partnerships in Canadian telecom projects with Telus, Bell, SaskTel and WIND Mobile.  

During a recent visit to China, for instance, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said he was "honoured" to have witnessed the signing of large contracts for Huawei to provide Telus and Bell with the latest LTE high-speed wireless networks across Canada. "

Canada must ramp up cyber security in wake of alleged China-led attacks, experts say

" “The Canadian government has been somewhat remiss in its approach to the problem” of cyber security, said Queen’s University professor and internet security expert David Skillicorn. "

China's military hacking attacks

 

Canada's reaction to cyber attacks

 

 

Chinese Army Unit Is Seen as Tied to Hacking Against U.S.

 

Chinese Army Hackers Are Trying to Bring Down U.S. Infrastructure

 

US ready to strike back against massive cyberattacks as firm details link to Chinese military

 

BBC reporter detained investigating China hacking

 

 

China military unit behind prolific hacking

 

China rejects Philippine effort at UN mediation over South China Sea territorial dispute

 

Russian military expert: “If Nagorno Karabakh conflict is not solved in 2013, war will be inevitable”

 

Job-Killing Trade Deficits Soar under "Free Trade" Agreements

 

HD misled saying it needed Chinese specialists for 'long wall' mining

" The company said it intended to use the so-called long-wall technique to harvest coal from its Murray River mine and insisted the Chinese workers were needed for their specialties in the use of it. "

"But according to documents obtained by the union, HD Mining's application to the B.C. Ministry of Natural Resource Operations in June 2011 shows during a two-year bulk sample collection period the company had no plan to employ the long-wall technique. "

Pipeline industry pushed changes to Navigable Waters Protection Act: documents

" Documents obtained through the Access to Information Act show it came, in part, from the pipeline industry.

The Canadian Energy Pipeline Association met with senior government officials in the fall of 2011, urging them not just to streamline environmental assessments, but also to bring in "new regulations under (the) Navigable Waters Protection Act," a CEPA slide presentation shows. "

Environmental law centre seeks investigation of muzzled federal scientists

" The complaint arises from a sweeping Conservative communications policy under which federal scientists must get permission before speaking publicly — permission that is often denied, delayed or limited to approved talking points. "

The Making of a Natural Gas Glut

" In recent years Wall Street banks helped a wave of foreign energy companies including Chinese, Norwegian and Japanese firms buy up shale oil and gas leases across North America, even though too few wells had been drilled to assess their longevity and quality.

"Shale gas accounted for $46.5 billion in deals in the U.S. alone in 2011," explains Rogers. "The mergers and acquisitions market for shale assets exploded in the prior two years directly in sync with the downward descent of natural gas prices. In much the same way as mortgage backed securities bolstered the banks' profits before the downturn, energy M&A had now become the new profit centre within these banks." "

Andrew Nikiforuk: The Big Shift

" He also warns that all citizens should prepare for "high and likely volatile oil prices," and that governments should be "educating their citizenry of the risk of contraction to minimize potential future social discord." "

If we are concerned about the availability of energy, why is the government in such a rush to ship the oil to foreign dictators.

NDP Pledges Election Reforms Libs Stalled

" 'City Hall for Sale'

The Tyee began raising awareness of the gaps in the regulation of municipal politics in 2007. "It is entirely possible for offshore money to buy a municipal election in British Columbia," said Patrick Smith, a political scientist at Simon Fraser University, quoted in the series "City Hall for Sale."

"And it would be easy for the recipient of that money to hide it from public view," Smith said. "I think that's pretty stunning." "

BC's small surplus depends on asset sales and optimism

" The sale of government assets will raise $475 million. "

Selling off property to pay the bills, selling off non-renewable resources for a piece of what they are worth, does that sound like strategic fiscal management to you?

OpenMedia's Steve Anderson - Crafting a connected future

‪Chinagate: Who's Minding the Resource Store?‬

Harper lets communist China have free rein over Canadian telecommunications

‪Chinagate: Who's Minding the Resource Store?‬

Tibet's 100th self-immolation takes place in protest against Chinese rule

Tibetan monks protest

Harper: Don't Sell Nexen out to China, Stand up for Tibet

Tenzin Lobsang's message to Prime Minister Harper

 

Colonization. You saw Tibet, don't let it happen to you.

A personal message to Prime Minister Harper of Canada from Rinchen Dolma

Harper China pipeline

Canada's environmental activists seen as 'threat to national security'

" increasingly conflating terrorism and extremism with peaceful citizens exercising their democratic rights to organise petitions, protest and question government policies, said Jeffrey Monaghan of the Surveillance Studies Centre at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario. "

" In 2011 a Montreal, Quebec man who wrote letters opposing shale gas fracking was charged under Canada's Anti-Terrorism Act. "

" He said there was real anger among Canadians about the degradation of the natural environment by oil, gas and other extractive industries and governments working for those industries and not in the public interest. Security forces should see Greenpeace as a "plus", a non-violent outlet for this anger, he argued. "It is governments and fossil fuel industry who are the extremists, threatening the prosperity of future generations." "

Gordon Wilson speaking on the Canada-China Treaty

Idle No More

‪NO to FIPPA Christy Clark's Office‬

Pt2 NO to FIPPA Christy's Office

Online groups back electoral co-operation, boost Liberal hopeful Murray

" Murray is proposing that Liberals, New Democrats and Greens hold run-off nominations to choose a single candidate to run in ridings won by the Conservatives last time with less than 50 per cent of the vote.

Her proposal is for one-time co-operation in the 2015 election, after which she is promising reform of the electoral system so that each party's share of the popular vote would be more accurately reflected in the House of Commons in future. "

Delta port expansion plans opposed

" "The watering down of the environmental assessment process, the consultation process that is a manipulative coverup of their intentions — it's a desire to use fine, fine land for industrial purposes," Huntington said. "

Company to sue B.C. government over Morrison Lake gold mine rejection

Theft of Public Resources.

Bloated bills prompt review of carbon trust

" So far, almost all of the sales have been from private corporations, including TimberWest and the energy giant Encana. Most of the purchases have been made by public agencies, which are forced by government regulation to buy enough offsets at the fixed price of $25 a tonne to counter their emissions.
Reaction to the spectre of schools being forced to turn over scarce dollars to the likes of Encana forced the government to provide extra funding last year, but otherwise, Pacific Carbon Trust has operated largely unchecked. "
" Dubious benefits. High costs. Loose oversight. The “next administration” may be well advised to let the sun set on the Pacific Carbon Trust. "

Report: Canada Should Toughen Rules for Foreign Firms

" The 88-page report, “Canada First: Leveraging Defence Procurement Through Key Industrial Capabilities,” is aimed at addressing growing frustration among Canadian defense firms who complain they have seen little quality work from the billions of dollars of military contracts awarded in the past several years by Canada’s ruling Conservative Party. Those include the purchases of tanks, helicopters and transport aircraft.

The report from special procurement adviser Tom Jenkins noted that the Canadian government intends to invest 240 billion Canadian dollars ($232 billion) on new defense equipment in the next 20 years.

It recommended developing, at least initially, key industrial capabilities in six areas: Arctic and maritime security, soldier protection, command and support, cybersecurity, training systems and in-service support. "

Vows of Change in China Belie Private Warning

" “Why did the Soviet Union disintegrate? Why did the Soviet Communist Party collapse? An important reason was that their ideals and convictions wavered,” Mr. Xi said, according to a summary of his comments that has circulated among officials but has not been published by the state-run news media.

“Finally, all it took was one quiet word from Gorbachev to declare the dissolution of the Soviet Communist Party, and a great party was gone,” the summary quoted Mr. Xi as saying. “In the end nobody was a real man, nobody came out to resist.” "

China muscles US in Pacific

"Senior Colonel Liu Mingfu, at the People's Liberation Army's National Defence University, told Fairfax Media this week that American strategic influence would be confined ''east of the Pacific midline'' as it is displaced by Chinese power throughout east Asia, including Australia."

" It clashes with comments days earlier by his university colleague, General Zhu Chenghu, who told a conference in the US: ''We have no intention of driving the US out of east Asia or the western Pacific.'' "

Why America Is Losing the War Against China's Hacker Spies

" In the last 10 months, Chinese hackers have doubled their forces, with 10 teams deploying 300 malware groups. "There is a tremendous amount of manpower being thrown at this from their side," Stewart, the face of our anti-malware campaign. told Businessweek. Meanwhile, most American businesses and agencies are "outmatched by an enemy with vast resources and a long head-start," Lawrence and Riley write.

There is one slightly encouraging tid-bit in the Bloomberg piece, however. At least some of our important national security organizations have enough resources to combat the hackers. Lawrence and Riley list the Pentagon and a "handful of three letter organizations" as "possibly" having enough manpower to combat the vast Chinese effort. "

Russia tests U.S. air defenses with nuclear-armed bombers over Guam

" Even as President Obama advocates reducing the U.S. nuclear arsenal and transitioning the military to enhanced emphasis on commandos and drone aircraft for active use in hotspots around the world, Russia’s defense model revolves around heavy strategic and conventional deterrence models which American policymakers have long since abandoned as being “outdated Cold War thinking.” "

" Both Russia and China have taken seriously the need to invest in strategic weapons platforms, while the United States’ strategy of calculated nuclear ambiguity and minimal deterrence has placed the defense of the United States behind words rather than weapons. "

" When was the last time the Pentagon actually calculated or assessed how many of our bombers, tankers and ships would be caught on the ground or in port during a nuclear first strike? Is this even a consideration these days? Or is Iran and third world dictators who abuse their people the only enemies of the United States our leaders have the imagination – or political agenda – to prepare against? "

Report: Iranians at N. Korea nuclear test

Wall Street's Derivative Shell Game

China's unofficial extraditions from Canada

So the government doesn't want to have to go through a judge to detain people on behalf of the Communist Chinese. If this was 30 years ago and the government was meeting Soviet agents behind the publics back for the purposes of arranging extra judicial deportation to the gulags, there would have been a great national outrage. In 1939 what would have happened if it was discovered that the government had aided Nazi agents apprehend and deport people from Canada? Our country is under the influence of foreign dictators. 1) don't work with commies 2) don't bypass judicial warrants

You have to ask yourself what kind of a world do you want. Do you want a world controlled by totalitarian thugs?

The objective of the free world should be to create a world governed by compassion.
Or at least insulate ourselves in well defended freedom zones where tyrants have no reach.

China seeks unofficial extraditions from Canada: document

" OTTAWA – Legal experts are raising red flags about “disguised extraditions” after a letter obtained by Global News shows Canadian border officials met with their Chinese counterparts to discuss what to do with fugitives sought by the communist country.

“CBSA is using deportation as disguised extradition,” said Audrey Macklin, a law professor at the University of Toronto. “Essentially China is recruiting Canada to do its dirty work for it and circumventing extradition. This does not look good on CBSA or Canada.”

Extradition normally requires a country to formally request that Canada return an alleged fugitive – a decision that is made by the federal justice minister and an extradition judge.

Immigration lawyer Lorne Waldman has seen firsthand the reliability of Chinese investigators. He cross-examined one who was brought to Canada to testify at an immigration hearing.

On the stand, the Chinese official denied the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre even though reports put the death toll in the hundreds and some in the thousands.

“Extradition puts stricter requirements on the state who is requesting extradition that it has evidence that is capable or constituting genuine criminal offence and the process it uses both to get evidence and to try an individual charged with a criminal offence meets basic human rights and fairness standards,” "

BC's Look into Mining Recruitment Fees Falls Short: Union

" The case snowballed and eventually ended up in federal court where the company was forced to release documents related to permits granted for 201 workers it planned to bring to the project from China.

Such permits require proof the company tried unsuccessfully to find Canadians for the positions and the released documents included the resumes of 300 Canadians who applied for the jobs but were not hired.

The United Steelworkers union is accusing the provincial government of misleading the public about investigating allegations Chinese miners are paying money to work in Canada.

In the letter, Deputy Minister of Tourism, Jobs and Skills Training Dave Byng said it completed its investigation into the allegations in November 2012 and found no evidence B.C.-based companies were charging fees.

In the original report by The Tyee the company found to be charging the miners, Canada CIBS Investment and Trade Group, said on its Chinese website it was a Vancouver-based company. "

Canada China FIPA

Montreal police arrest more than 30 at protest against northern development plan

"In a scene reminiscent of last spring's student protests, lines of riot police were used to break up the crowd and protesters who were arrested were held on city buses.

Just like a day earlier, authorities declared the demonstration illegal as soon as it began because no protest route had been given beforehand.

The protesters, many wearing the red square associated with the student movement, said they are opposed to plans for new mining projects in northern Quebec.

"We want to keep our resources and protect the environment and the resources that we have belong first and foremost to aboriginal people," she said.

"We want sustainable development," she said.
"We want development that's respectful of the environment and communities." "

Organ Harvesting in China Addressed in Canada's Parliament

Show This To Anyone That Believes That “Things Are Getting Better” In America

" Back in 1985, our trade deficit with China was approximately 6 million dollars (million with a little "m") for the entire year.

In 2012, our trade deficit with China was 315 billion dollars. That was the largest trade deficit that one nation has had with another nation in the history of the world.

In particular, our trade with China is extremely unbalanced. Today, U.S. consumers spend approximately 4 dollars on goods and services from China for every one dollar that Chinese consumers spend on goods and services from the United States.

But isn't getting cheap stuff from China good?

No, because it costs us good paying jobs.

According to the Economic Policy Institute, the United States is losing half a million jobs to China every single year.

Overall, more than 56,000 manufacturing facilities in the United States have been shut down since 2001. During 2010, manufacturing facilities in the United States were shutting down at a rate of 23 per day. How can anyone say that "things are getting better" when our economic infrastructure is being absolutely gutted? "

The government has finally listened to Canadians and killed online spying bill C-30!

" We did it! The Conservative government has killed online spying legislation Bill C-30! If passed, the bill would have provided access to your private online information without a warrant, and you would have had to pay for it. "

The government deserves some respect for backing down on this one.
Now only if they would stop working so closely with the communist regime.
The communists are not good for the worlds people, they will bring only deception and slavery.

Emma Jane Hogbin,
Green Party’s Shadow Cabinet Critic on Science and Technology
"Bill C-55, originally part of the internet surveillance legislation, was not scrapped along with the rest of the bill. It would give the police the right to secretly intercept private communications without a warrant. Their only obligation would be to notify affected parties after the fact."

Allow it for counter intelligence from foreign threats, but get a warrant otherwise. Read Orwell.
We can defend ourselves from the enemy without becoming them.

New Surveillance System Tracks Every Moving Object In An Entire City

“Everything that is a moving object is being automatically tracked… You can see individuals crossing the street. You can see individuals walking in parking lots. There’s actually enough resolution to be able to see people waving their arms or what kind of clothes they wear,”

Independent ISP Distributel Stands Up Against Copyright Troll Seeking Private Info of Canadians

" These activities cost us in privacy and they add new costs to our Internet services. These costs will grow substantially if Canada doesn't oppose the Trans Pacific Partnership's (TPP) new Internet restrictions during negotiations (Canada is bound by the outcome of the TPP agreement). "

All Out Blitz by Pro-Spamming Lobby

" Perhaps the most surprising demand from business groups is an expansive exception to a new requirement to obtain express consent prior to the installation of computer software. The groups have asked the government to delay implementation of this rule indefinitely. Alternatively, they are seeking at least ten additional exceptions, including one that would permit surreptitious surveillance for private enforcement purposes. "

U.S. said to be target of massive cyber-espionage campaign

Chinese Troop Movements Signal War?

Troubling signs of the rise of Chinese ultra-nationalists

China firms sanctioned for missile proliferation

Petrogold: Are Russia And China Hoarding Gold Because They Plan To Kill The Petrodollar?

Italian Lawyer Demands Public Prosecutor Investigate Bilderberg Group

 

300 Canadian Applicants, 0 Hired

People of the world, don't let this happen to your country.

We must create a strong democracy that is capable of both defending itself from any world power, and defending the civil liberties that make our society worth fighting for. Our freedom is attacked by land and sea. By corporate traitors and foreign tyrants. The National defense of our peoples, is the common cause of humanity. May one day compassion replace greed as the governing force of the universe. May one day the cultural degradation of our soul be replaced by renewed vigor of will to defend the ancient code. The wise man built his house upon the rock.

HD Mining Offers Unions a Deal in Open Letter

" The case has been an open pit of controversy since it was discovered by the United Steelworkers union the company had listed Mandarin as a language requirement in job advertisements.

Labour groups contested that was done to eliminate Canadian candidates so the company could be granted Labour Market Opinions supporting their case for foreign miners for smaller wages. "

Montreal cop cars vandalized at protest against development of northern Quebec

" They had been protesting at a job fair that was designed to promote opportunities in the natural resources sector.

Police declared the gathering illegal as soon as it began. Authorities said they did so because no route for the march had been given to police beforehand.

A small number of protesters, some carrying sticks and rocks, broke away from the main mob and moved toward the convention centre where the job fair was taking place. They pounded on the windows of the convention centre and someone began spray-painting the words, "Idle No More." "

Jobs, homes, trade all suffer setback in dark day for Canadian economy

" OTTAWA - The Canadian economy was hit by a triple dose of bad news Friday as three major indicators — jobs, exports and housing starts — all tumbled in unison to cast doubt on an expected rebound in economic growth this winter and spring. "

Two Chilling Developments Suggest Asia May Be One Step Away From War

" China and Japan, along with North and South Korean troops at the DMZ, appear one step away from armed combat and tensions don't look likely to ease any time soon. "

Inside the Ring: Blunt warning on China

" “They now regularly challenge exclusive economic-zone resource rights that South Korea, Japan, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia and Vietnam once thought were guaranteed to them by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea,” he said.

The Chinese naval harassment expanded outward over time to cover most of the South China Sea and East China Sea. "

EDITORIAL: China’s provocative acts are raising the risk of a military clash

" Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera revealed Feb. 5 that a Chinese warship locked its fire-control radar on a Japanese destroyer operating in the East China Sea last month. In doing so, the Chinese vessel essentially signaled it was preparing to open fire. "

North Korea set for test launch of new mobile ICBM with upcoming nuclear test

" intelligence agencies monitoring North Korea for signs of a third underground nuclear test recently reported that the isolated communist state appears set to conduct the first test launch of a new road-mobile ICBM built with Chinese technology. "

Communist Chinese Economic Invasion

‪Canada Tar Sands Foreign Owned‬

China Plan To Establish “China Cities” And “Special Economic Zones” All Over America

" What in the world is China up to? Over the past several years, the Chinese government and large Chinese corporations (which are often at least partially owned by the government) have been systematically buying up businesses, homes, farmland, real estate, infrastructure and natural resources all over America. In some cases, China appears to be attempting to purchase entire communities in one fell swoop. So why is this happening? Is this some form of "economic colonization" that is taking place? Some have speculated that China may be intending to establish "special economic zones" inside the United States modeled after the very successful Chinese city of Shenzhen. Back in the 1970s, Shenzhen was just a very small fishing village, but now it is a sprawling metropolis of over 14 million people. Initially, these "special economic zones" were only established within China, but now the Chinese government has been buying huge tracts of land in foreign countries such as Nigeria and establishing special economic zones in those nations. So could such a thing actually happen in America? Well, according to Dr. Jerome Corsi, a plan being pushed by the Chinese Central Bank would set up "development zones" in the United States that would allow China to "establish Chinese-owned businesses and bring in its citizens to the U.S. to work." Under the plan, some of the $1.17 trillion that the U.S. owes China would be converted from debt to "equity". As a result, "China would own U.S. businesses, U.S. infrastructure and U.S. high-value land, all with a U.S. government guarantee against loss." Does all of this sound far-fetched? Well, it isn't. In fact, the economic colonization of America is already far more advanced than most Americans would dare to imagine.

So what happened?
Well, we entered into a whole bunch of extremely unfavorable "free trade" agreements, and countries such as China began to aggressively use "free trade" as an economic weapon against us. "

Joe McCarthy was right all along

" Then along came the declassification of FBI records and releases of intelligence documents, and scholars such as M. Stanton Evans to sift through them. But the far-reaching implications of such research – that anti-Communist “witch-hunters” were right all along

These massive probes yielded, as Evans notes, some 5,000 pages of Senate hearings, plus 1,000 pages of exhibits and, from the FBI, 24,000 pages of now-declassified records.

They reveal the workings of a vast, complex influence operation, Evans writes, that “assiduously worked to guide official and public thinking, and hence the course of U.S. policy,” in this case regarding the Far East.

An open and quickly shut-down case is more like it. What followed was cover-up, perjury and grand-jury rigging by, among others, high-ranking Washington officials. Some were eager to prevent a national security scandal from engulfing the Truman White House. Others were acting to shield a far wider Communist-led conspiracy mounted by confederates inside the State Department, Treasury, White House and elsewhere in the US government, working not merely to filch secret documents but to ensure, through influence and subversion, the Communist takeover of China. These powerful forces of suppression proved overwhelming. The Amerasia case was scuttled, the scandal was buried, and, within a few years, China was Red. "

Delta expansion projects threaten farms and wildlife

"the proposed $10-billion Terminal 2 expansion at the Roberts Bank Superport, which now consists of two terminals, the Westshore coal facility and the Deltaport container operation.
With little opportunity to increase industrial capacity along the prohibitively expensive Burrard Inlet waterfront, Port Metro Vancouver—which is the name of both Canada’s largest and busiest port and a federally established corporation—is set to quadruple its container import-export capacity at Deltaport in the coming years. After all, China beckons.

In fact, for the prime agricultural land below the bridge where Steves stands, a 135-hectare industrial park is slated. Below, too, will be six to eight new sets of train tracks to serve the enlarged port. And the mysterious series of bridges now under construction over Highway 99 and Highway 17 just south of the Massey Tunnel is part of the new 40-kilometre-long South Fraser Perimeter truck route, built specifically to service the new terminal.

As a Richmond city councillor, he’d travelled to Xiamen, China, six months earlier to celebrate that coastal town’s sister-city linkage to Richmond.

The farms and birds he’d anticipated seeing didn’t exist anymore. Instead, Xiamen had become a high-rise city of 2.2 million, its industrialized waterfront marked by train tracks, container cranes, and moored cargo ships.

When Steves asked Xiamen’s mayor where his city’s people—with their farms gone—would get their food, the mayor replied, trying to flatter his foreign guest, that he’d heard that where Steves lives there’s plenty of agriculture.

The solution, the mayor said, is simple: Xiamen would import its food from all the farms in Richmond."

Chinese 'birth tourists' having babies in Canada

"A number of Chinese tourists are giving birth in Canada as a way to circumvent their country's strict one-child policy and to get their child a coveted Canadian passport."

‪Canada Under Siege‬

Taxpayers paid tab for CEOs on Harper's 2012 China trip

"The Conservative government covered expenses for some of the country's top executives as they accompanied the prime minister around China a year ago"

B.C. First Nation asks court to block Canada-China deal

"The government proceeded without any input from First Nations, or Canadians for that matter, so this isn't just a First Nations fight. It just so happens that First Nations are one of the parties that can stop the FIPPA,"

"The Canada-China deal would last for 31 years and was set to be ratified late last year, but public pressure has been building against it from people concerned about the environment and potential job losses."

"Gus Van Harten, an international trade law expert from Osgoode Hall Law School, has filed an affidavit in the case, saying the treaty may be unconstitutional because state-owned Chinese companies would be allowed to dispute laws and regulations passed by provinces."

Canadian MPs Look into Gruesome Business

" PARLIAMENT HILL, Ottawa—Mounting evidence that China’s communist regime is killing prisoners of conscience to sell their organs needs to be investigated, Canadian members of Parliament said Tuesday. "

Government suggests controversial online spying Bill C-30 may be in the works

I’m really worried about what the Harper Conservatives have planned next. We’ve already seen them try to sneak through the potentially devastating Canada-China FIPA. It is only because of public outcry that Harper has not yet ratified the treaty - but it could happen any day. The Green Party needs your help to continue to make sure this treaty never becomes reality.

Now, there are other threats on the horizon and we need your help again!

The Prime Minister is now determined to implement the highly secretive Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP), which will have major impacts to Canada’s policy, economy and environment. The TPP will:

Allow foreign investors and corporations to sue Canada if any level of government passes laws that reduce their profits or adversely affect their businesses.

Promote and protect exploitative tar sands development while safeguarding corporate profits at the expense of the health of our economy and environment.

Introduce harsh laws on Internet use allowing for strict criminal penalties for minor, non-commercial copyright infringements, and force Internet providers to disclose personal information to authorities without safeguards for privacy.

You can send Harper a message that the veil of secrecy surrounding this agreement is completely unacceptable in our democratic society.

While representatives of major corporations have access to the text of the agreement, elected officials, advocacy organisations and citizens are being left out in the cold. These negotiations must be opened to public input and comment.

The Green parliamentary political parties from Canada, Australia and New Zealand issued a joint statement opposing this deal in August of last year.

Send the message to the Harper Conservatives that Canadians will only support fair, transparent and genuinely progressive trade agreements that promote sustainable development and the creation of new jobs alongside the protection of the environment and human rights.

Sincerely,
Emily McMillan

Executive Director

Green Party of Canada

Fighting on as TPP negotiations loom

" “I don’t want to sound apocalyptic about it,” Kirkpatrick told the Georgia Straight over the phone. “But it will definitely entrench the multinational corporations having a much more significant power over the Canadian government and future Canadian governments.”

Kirkpatrick is also worried about how the TPP could affect Canadian copyright law. He’s toying with ideas for Internet parody videos, but he’s worried that the TPP could restrict the use of copyrighted material as inspiration for satire. With that in mind, Kirkpatrick decided to sign the online petition. "

Environmental Assessment of Trans-Pacific Partnership Free Trade Agreement Negotiations

"The S.D. Myers case should be a clear warning to anyone looking at the Canada-China Investment Treaty that international arbitration can come to bizarre conclusions. Chapter 11 of NAFTA has had a higher proportion of environmental law challenges than in other areas of public policy. Mexico lost to Metalclad, a US-based hazardous waste disposal company that wished to locate a large toxic facility in San Luis Potosi. The state level government rejected the application and the federal government of Mexico was successfully sued.

A thorough review of the regulatory process by the Commissioner for Environment and Sustainable Development, within the office of the Auditor General, assessing why certain pesticides and toxic substances have not been banned could provide empirical evidence of the chilling effect. In my view that is the single greatest environmental threat in this treaty. I believe municipal, provincial, territorial and the federal government will find themselves second-guessing policy and law-making related to environmental quality, health and safety based on how they imagine the investors awarded these powers by the TPP might respond."

Dr. Warren Bell on the Northern Gateway Pipeline

"This concentration of power in one element of Canada’s political structure, for whatever murky historical reason, is an invitation to social disaster. The illusion of “efficiency” in political decision-making is subverted by the opportunity for hard-line autocracy.

In the 21st century, when my patients are being encouraged to take increasing responsibility for their lives, such a concentration of power is anachronistic and backward.

The final element in Canada’s structural pathology is the expansion of the influence of the “corporation”, a business model that uncouples personal responsibility from profit, and places dollar gains above all others.

It is significant that as I sit talking to you here the Enbridge consortium is applying to expand its Kitimat terminal from 11 to 16 oil tanks. What clearer demonstration of absolute confidence in an eventual approval could there possibly be?

Taken together:
1. the relentless marginalization of First Nations, with their intimate connection to the ecosystem;
2. the electoral system, which readily generates non-representative governments;
3. the huge concentration of political power in the Prime Minister’s office; and
4. the rise of corporate influence.

The result, in a situation like the one we are addressing today, is growing social pathology. Frustration, anger, cynicism, depression and distrust of leadership are on the ascendancy, as noted in the Edelman Trust Barometer, released just before the World Economic Forum in Davos.

A patient of mine in his mid-twenties came to my office recently to say that he was deeply depressed and anxious, not about his love life, or his financial situation, but about the overheated, depleted future he was heading towards. He felt that the government in this country was acting now to make it worse for him and his young children later.

So what is the cure for this disease?
It is four-fold, in my opinion.

1. First, we must, as a nation, work out a respectful, mutually satisfactory relationship with Canada’s First Peoples – not destroy their culture by stealth.

2. Second, we must reform the electoral system to make it radically more representative.

3. Third, we must alter the power balance in the federal governance system so that one person cannot pre-empt democratic processes as Stephen Harper is now doing.

4. And fourth, we must rein in the overwhelming power and influence of the corporate sector.

Until we do these four things, our country is vulnerable to political, social and ecological upheaval that will retard our development as a nation, and likely offer ruin to the lives of future generations. "

Forecasted Supertankers Growth Make Oil Spill Unpreparedness “Extremely Worrisome”

" “Commissioner Vaughan tells us the Federal government is in a complete state of unpreparedness should an major offshore oil spill happen. He also forecasts a growth of the number of supertankers cruising on the West Coast: 1,800 new tanker movements, including supertankers,” said Green Leader Elizabeth May, Member of Parliament for Saanich-Gulf Islands.

“In a context in which Harper’s Conservatives have a never ending desire to boost oil development, the Commissioner’s report is extremely worrisome,” added May. "

Pipeline opponents says CN's crude-by-railcar pitch poses 'risk to company'

"The Port of Prince Rupert confirms that it has had "very preliminary" talks with Nexen Inc., about using trains to bring oil from Alberta to the north coast port city."

Taxpayers on hook for environmental disasters: outgoing commissioner

" Canadian taxpayers may have to foot the bill for future environmental disasters like oil spills, according to Scott Vaughan, outgoing federal Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development. "

List of Fracking Substances Still Secret

" In his report tabled this morning, the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development revealed Environment Canada and Health Canada do not have a complete list of substances used in hydraulic fracturing (commonly known as fracking). "

Scrambling for Profit, Media Slip 'Custom Content' into Mix

"How does it work? Often like this:

A business agrees to buy pricey ads with the assurance those ads will be accompanied by stories that fit desired themes but which seem to have sprung straight from the publication's newsroom. Indeed, custom content often runs under the bylines of staff reporters and without any disclaimer."

Vancouver Province pulls cartoonist’s Enbridge parody, triggering charges of censorship

"Allegations of censorship under corporate pressure have erupted after the Vancouver Province newspaper pulled an animated cartoon spoofing an Enbridge Inc. promotional TV ad from its web site."

 Elizabeth May on the state of "Democracy"

Stephen Harper is remaking Canada, one brick at a time. The legislative fabric of the country is being decimated through omnibus bills and legislation designed, not as good public policy, but as messages suited for a focus group. He is re-making our civil service into an arm of his PMO, filled with terrorized and demoralized men and women who hope that someday they will be permitted to do their job once again. And he has rallied Canadians to any number of Roman-like circuses to keep our minds off the activity behind the Coliseum. In 2012, we saw $28 million splashed around for the celebration of the Bicentenary of the War of 1812. The 60th anniversary of her Majesty’s reign cost $8 million and $5 million each for the centenaries of the Grey Cup and the Calgary Stampede. Clearly, Stephen Harper likes whipping us up into a fervor about anniversaries of milestones in Canadian history – but only certain milestones…. The 30th anniversary of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms went uncelebrated.

Green points

    Reform our voting system. Hold a national discussion on the health of our democracy, address the growing and undemocratic power of the Prime Minister’s Office and explore the options for a more meaningful electoral system. Consider the risks of “first past the post” and vote on whether it should be replaced. Consider proportional representation.

    Access to information. Seek true solutions to the increasing corporate control in Canadian journalism. Whatever is “dumbed down” must be “smartened up.”

    Fair global trade. Reform, revise and rethink our trade agreements. Trade is a part of a sustainable future only when it is fair for all.

    Healthy industry. A healthy agriculture sector, with support for those who wish to transition to organic farming. A healthy fishery, with an end to devastating draggers. A sustainable forest industry with more emphasis on value added, and less raw log or unprocessed pulp export. More jobs for more people making real things.

    Get the prices right. Get the prices right for long-term sustainability. Avoid structural deficits. Implement a revenue-neutral carbon pricing architecture to modernize our economy. Build a “Made in Canada” Green economy.

Andrew Coyne: No opposition party is going to beat the Tories until they unite behind electoral reform

"it is not just desirable, but urgent, not least to prevent the Conservatives from consolidating their grip on power: the longer they stay in power, the more opportunity they will have to change the rules to their advantage, and the harder it will be for any opposition party to dislodge them. Defeating the Conservatives, all three parties would say, is not only a matter of partisan preference, but of democratic necessity.

Not coincidentally, all three parties broadly agree on another matter: the need to reform our democratic institutions, to prevent such accumulations of power — by any party. In particular, all three support, or say they do, some form of electoral reform."

Rueben George - Enbridge Rally

Even Conservatives must be wondering about the Canada-China Investment Treaty, thinking, "I didn't vote for this."

"As 2013 dawns, we are swept up in the first significant grassroots mobilization since Occupy. Idle No More has inspired me, and I have written a number of articles (here and here) to try to bring a green perspective to the issues. As the primary catalyst for the Idle No More movement was the Harper agenda of anti-environmental laws passed through omnibus legislation, with no consultation with First Nations, shouldn't the rest of Canada step up to support them? After all, Canadians were not consulted either. None of the changes were set out in the campaign platform of Mr. Harper's party in the 2011 election. Even Conservatives must be wondering about the Canada-China Investment Treaty, thinking, "I didn't vote for this." Let us all be Idle No More."

Brian Stewart: More espionage now than during the Cold War

" even more so China, now target Canadian and American secrets — diplomatic, economic, industrial, scientific — with an astonishing fervour.

Quite apart from lost profits, corporate espionage hurts advanced societies, especially when it succeeds in stealing away innovation — and the jobs that would go with it. "

Mortgaging BC, One Deal at a Time

"Since 2001, British Columbians have been witness to the sale of key parts of B.C.'s infrastructure, transfers of its wealth to private interests and sweetheart deals for industries that can afford well-connected lobbyists."

Independent MLAs promote democratic reform agenda

" The MLAs -- Vicki Huntington, Bob Simpson, and John van Dongen -- are calling for six measures to improve the democratic process in B.C. As presented on Simpson's website, three measures involve election reform and three involve legislative reform:Taxpayers on hook for environmental disasters: outgoing commissioner "

 China’s Militancy

China ropes in English-speaking ‘third force’ in PLA exercises

Chinese Warships Prepared To Fire On The Japanese Navy Twice

China restricts access to diplomatic archives over documents showing Senkakus as part of Japan

Chinese attack on US media sets new bar for digital wars

Chinese military behind hacks on major US newspapers

Hackers in China Attacked The Times for Last 4 Months

Chinese hackers attack The Post’s computers

Cyber Breach

US looking at action against China cyberattacks

A Sea of Troubles: Asia Today Compared to Europe Before World War I

Anti-Japan propaganda has handcuffed Beijing

Inside China: War hysteria

China's environment: An economic death sentence

China Demands U.S. Taxpayers Clean Up Its Air

Beware another Pearl Harbor: China may start a war if its economy falters

China's belligerence called 'crisis greater than Iran'

China developing rail mobile strategic missiles

US ICBM Force: Increasingly Creaky Broken Missiles

If You Say "Protest" On A Phone In China, It Cuts Off Automatically

Video: China’s plainclothes police stuff man into unmarked van for speaking to reporters

Alabama Kidnapper being Characterized as ‘Survivalist’

Over 1000 Green Berets Sign Letter Supporting Second Amendment

The best defense against tyranny, A Gun Behind Every Blade of Grass

Who Runs The World? A Core Group Of Wealthy Elitists Is Pulling The Strings