Thursday, January 26, 2012

A reason for Optomism!

 (Originally posted May 11/2011), It seemed appropriate to rerun it with new links

I don`t know whether to be happy sad or terrified, I on one hand am thrilled with the Federal NDP results and on the other saddened and scared of the Stephen Harper majority, the Canadian electorate is more polarized more divisive more confused than at any time in my memory...

The results may appear to some that the Conservatives have galvanized the Canadian public into a unifying force but the exact opposite is true, before we get going we need to examine raw vote percentages, the Conservatives had a minority Government with almost 39% of the total vote numbers and now they have a majority with about 40% of total votes, 40% of 54% of eligible voters, in other words about 20% of all eligible voters gave us a Conservative majority....

I don`t know if Harper`s bombastic assault on the Federal NDP in the last week stopped the momentum of the orange surge or the 2 year ad campaign against Ignatief made the difference....All I know for sure is less people, fewer Canadians are happy with the Conservatives and even more are deeply concerned ...Big media has had its clutches on the older uninformed Canadians (The Boomers+)for some time now.... and as I stated before Stephen Harper provoked this election for one main reason, his base of support is dying off by thousands, every month his core base shrinks while a younger generation leans clean, leans left..er

Having said that we are about to enter the dark world of right wing Republican ideologues, a war wanting deregulating corporate elite mentality, a world where individual people and communal needs are of little concern, a place where a clean environment gets in the way of profits, a world of fighter jets, super max prisons and lower corporate taxes and a continuation of Harper`s Amercanization of Canada, a majority in the hands of a madman, unrestrained in his agenda with no impeding obstacles has me fearful of the future, projects like Fish Lake destruction and Enbridge pipeline through Northern BC, Jason Kenny (Con MP in Alberta) both campaigned and promoted the pipeline during the writ period, despite what BC`ers want the cornerstone of the Alberta`s energy plan is to ship its product west, tankers and risk, oil spills and river destruction will occur but these accidents and tragedies won`t be in Alberta but British Columbia, it`s very easy to gamble with other people`s ecosystems, Alberta can destroy their aquifers and rivers but how can any Province or Federal Government seize another Province`s environment and destroy it against their wishes, this battle will be epic and further polarize the electorate, rich against poor, the naive versus the informed, the militant against the passive, humanity versus madness..

Fighter jets, prisons, corporate tax cuts, $11 billion in Federal services to be cut or more, rumors abound of even steeper cuts

Here is a little tidbit on the fighter jets(cut n pasted from Wikipedia)


The F-35 is descended from the X-35, the product of the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program. JSF development is being principally funded by the United States, with the United Kingdom and other partner governments providing additional funding. It is being designed and built by an aerospace industry team led by Lockheed Martin.[12] The F-35 took its first flight on 15 December 2006.[1]
The United States intends to buy a total of 2,443 aircraft for an estimated US$323 billion, making it the most expensive defense program ever.[13] The United States Air Force (USAF) budget data in 2010, along with other sources, projects the F-35 to have a flyaway cost from US$89 million to US$200 million over the planned production of F-35s.[14][15][16][17] Cost estimates have risen to $382 billion for 2,443 aircraft, at an average of $156 million each. The rising program cost estimates have cast doubt on the actual number to be produced for the U.S. In January 2011, the F-35B variant was placed on "probation" for two years because of development issues. In February 2011, the Pentagon put a price of $207.6 million for each of the 32 aircraft to be acquired in FY2012, rising to $304.15 million ($9,732.8/32) if its share of RDT&E spending is included.[18][19]

Well, so much $50 million per jet...By the time we get one in the air the price will be a $1/4 billion per jet or better, and just how much would it cost us if we owned these jets and they were all engaged in conflict? It would be $hundreds of millions per week or more...

More planned corporate tax cuts will cost the Federal treasury $billions per year, $billions they don`t have and despite the right wing Fraser institute and Jack Mintz`s claims that further corporate tax cuts will create jobs, that assertion is false,  rightwing spin claiming corporate tax cuts create jobs is pure myth. Never at anytime in history have big corporations had so much cash, $trillions in cash, they`re not hiring, there are no product shortages, there is glut, big profits, lean mean and trim and asking for more, more cheap labour..


Canada as a whole has been losing manufacturing and value added jobs by the boatload and while increased exports may enrich Government coffers both Provincial and Federal those dollars are concentrated in few hands, BC as an export Province have seen towns and communities die a slow death, Teck Cominco, the tar sand whores and raw log shippers can increase their output exponentially with minimal hiring, the myth of corporate tax cuts and higher volume meaning more jobs has been debunked over and over again.....


With these high commodity prices and Governments around the world plundering middle classes the world is soon to fall back into recession, America is still hurting, third world countries can`t absorb these energy costs, food inflation, even Wallmart, yes believe it or not Wallmart is reporting its customers are running out of money, the world king of peddling cheap goods is worried,  Wallmart is the store of  middle class people and when the public can`t afford to shop there what next?...Wallmart is blaming their customers dwindling money supply on energy costs, in other words these energy and commodity prices can`t sustain this price for long, people around the world can`t afford it, maybe China can continue to buy expensive raw resources for now but let`s face it, countries are broke, soon, very soon China`s housing bubble with burst with a thud,  the next recession has already started and when it hits the corporations will write off any remaining taxes against paper loses, government deficits will persist requiring more and more cuts, perpetuating the race to the bottom....Conservatives will turn off the tap and Canada won`t have a tax base large enough to run normal needed services.

Europe has laid off millions of workers, the UK has fired hundreds of thousands, tourism worldwide will continue to decline and here in BC with the HST souring our economy our southern borders will be busier than ever...The Harper corporate tax cuts will bite us in the ass, expect the GST to rise very soon.


When the world`s middle class citizens can`t afford the likes of Wallmart the revolution and uprising won`t be far behind.


$11 billion in Federal fat to be trimmed that can only mean job losses and reduced services, lives could be lost with cuts to food and water inspectors, with the looming federal cash crash the cuts may be even more severe than one could imagine.....New Federal prisons will cost us all, expenses will be downloaded on already cash strapped Provinces, here in BC Gordon Campbell and Christy Clark shuttered 9 prisons and closed 25 courthouses for purely financial reasons in 2002-2004 and now the cost of running new mega-prisons will be thrust upon us, they don`t come cheap, BC has no legal aid now, a shameful judge shortage with our prisons operating at 400% of capacity


 I am thrilled about the rise of the new orange NDP star and when another election comes we can legitimately go for gold, that scenario must be playing in the back of Harpers mind, the left right divide, if he falters just the slightest the NDP will take power, coupled that with Harperites dying in droves, only the old and gray for the most part rely on and still believe mainstream spin.

The Conservative majority worries me and the only solace I have is the looming recession and commodity price retrenchment, for without money Stephen Harper and the Conservatives will be hard pressed to fulfill all their hard right agenda...


I pray for hard times to limit the funds of our Federal and Provincial Governments.....


We are headed down the rabbit hole, entering a long dark tunnel, hang on and hope for the best, I`m proud of the new wired Canadian, I am proud of all who voted orange, we made history yesterday, the Federal Liberal party may yet join with the NDP, one party of the center left against the moral wrong, we also have a loud, sometimes silly voice in Lizzy May speaking for us, her message needs to be heard too, the lay of the land politically also bodes well for the Provincial NDP, the battle lines are clearly drawn, the mushy middle is history, social Democrats against hard right ideologues and we have them outnumbered by far, the future is very bright indeed


So let`s take this train ride through the dark corporate void and hope we survive.

"The tunnel is always darkest before the light shines from the other side"


The Straight Goods


Cheers Eyes Wide Open

17 comments:

Doug Pyper said...

Enbridge was on the CBC news this morning verbally grinning from ear to ear, stating it looks like things will now move forward quickly with the support of the new majority government. The minor problem of public opinion has to be addressed....no big deal in their eyes.

British Columbians must become aware that we are about to be used as a doormat by big oil and an Alberta-based federal government. And it'll be our ecosystem and the lives of our coastal people at risk. There is no risk for them...only ecomomic gain through sale of their dirty oil at the expense of our environment and culture.

If the Liberals are returned to their agenda of environmental destruction in the next provincial election it will be a nightmare. Under a frightening alliance of Harper-Clark British Columbia will be toast. Our only saviour would be out and out civil war. Let's hope we don't have to go there.

Anonymous said...

Many people I have spoken to, have a distrust of Harper. They fear, what Campbell did to BC, Harper will do to Canada.

The fact that Harper chastised the BC people for forcing Campbell to resign, didn't sit well either. Campbell was an out and out monster. He thieved and sold our BCR. Campbell thieved and sold our rivers, the eco damage of that venture, is terrible.

Harper's stand on the HST, also angered the BC citizens. Thanks to Harper, the HST was FORCED on the BC people. The HST is far too heavy a burden.

Harper and Campbell have a very close relationship. Harper backed Campbell's insanity, right to the nines. They have worked on projects together. These pollution projects will eventually rear their ugly heads.

The people of BC said, they would remember Harper's treachery, come Federal Election time, and they did.

seth said...

" almost 39% of the total vote numbers and now they have a majority with about 37% of total votes, 37% of 54% of eligible voters, in other words about 20% of eligible voters gave us a Conservative majority...."

Your numbers are a bit off? From the Globe the 37 should be 39.6 and 54 should be 61 or so.

Evil Eye said...

Grant a note: Stealth airplanes are extremely expensive to maintain and with each plane must come a small army of technicians to check each plane after each flight. Even slight damage to the outer fuselage may render a stealth aircraft very stealthy.

I think the F-35 is a typical American project, designed to be all things to all arms of the American military service and in the end not please anyone.

What Canada needs is a robust (read maintenance friendly) twin engined aircraft that can take on a variety of roles, for operation in the North. The F-35 does not fit this role, as it is a first strike attack aircraft.

I think Harper, the chocolate soldier he is, wants new fighter planes to both please his American masters and bribe the generals in Ottawa into supporting him and his military adventures.

Canada does need new fighter aircraft, but the F-35 maybe the Edsel of 21st century fighter aircraft.

Maybe we should look at a European product, or a Swedish product or heavens forbid, a Russian product!

(The Edsel failed because it was just too expensive for its target market.)

Grant G said...

Seth.....The numbers I used were preliminary numbers, yes they are out a bit but...

The majority Harper Government is NOT a growing force, it`s a dying force.

And as I stated before, the Enbridge pipeline across BC will be where I make a stand...

What better place to die, what better cause exists, what better place to defend.

What better way to get a set of Angel wings.

Good Day

Anonymous said...

40% of eligible Canadians voted. 40% of those voted neocon. We are being led by less than 20% of the eligible voting populations interests.

It is going to get worse - but.

But the NDP is the official opposition. People are waking up. It may take 4 years of things getting a lot worse to wake up the rest - but Canada is waking up.

istvan said...

I just heard on CBC about a big pipeline spill near peace river alta.

Anonymous said...

Check out the GARBAGE released today Grant. These people hired by Christy Campbell are really something.

http://www.timescolonist.com/news/costing+average+family+annually/4726693/story.html

James B said...

A sad accident....How did it happen? Is there a report issued to the public? I think the environment is ALL of ours, and we should be concerned how this is handled(or not handled) How bad does the company feel, and is this just an acceptable part of the life of a pipeline? More pipelines may be crossing over to B.C and to the water....must be good money in it.....spend more on safety and prevention!!

I posted this on CBC on recent spill....I always think of your words of wisdom on these issues and others,Grant. Oil in the ground or in sand will come out when there is good money in it.No one can seem to stop it, but they can do more to prevent the pollution to the earth and animals. Keep up the good fight,Grant!

Rob said...

The spill happened on Friday but it appears that the news was not released until after the election?

http://www.globalwinnipeg.com/Alberta+government+addresses+massive+spill/4728105/story.html

Anonymous said...

Mary's got a everyone Must Read on her board.
http://bctrialofbasi-virk.blogspot.com/
Curt

istvan said...

Why don't we refine the stuff here? Why ship it off and import the finished product from over seas?Sheesh this globalization is a lot of bull shit.I could go on and on about it(but won't this time) Thanks Grant, and as you say "EYES WIDE OPEN" S.

Anonymous said...

Globalization truly is a lot of bull shit.

The argument that we all must debase ourselves because corporations have exploited slavery overseas is barbaric.

It is worth remembering a few things.

1. Left to their own devices their is no motivation (besides shame...) for the elite to stop exploiting slavery and to bring manufacturing back to Canada.

2. A quick look at history demonstrates that shame does little to nothing to motivate the elite.

3. Single income families having heathcare, vacations, 40hr work weeks, weekends, holidays, dental, pensions - was literally fought for and represents an instant in our history.

4. We will have to fight if we want to move forward but first we will have to fight to make up a lot of lost ground.

Anonymous said...

what happens to Harper's contempt of parliament?
does that also get "swept under the rug"?

Anonymous said...

Anonymous said... May 5, 2011 8:22 AM
what happens to Harper's contempt of parliament?
does that also get "swept under the rug"?
..........
Gotta ask, how does one sweep something under a rug, as a rug is fasten down, not as a carpet which sits loosely on a floor.
Thought I would point this out for you, I would hate to hear you had put your back out trying to lift the rug to sweep under it.....

Henri

Crankypants said...

I don't know if my thoughts are a result of thinking outside the box or wishful thinking, but here goes.

Harper may well come to rue the fact that he got his long sought after majority. When he was operating in a minority situation, he was able to stifle the wingnuts in his stable. He was able to argue that playing nice was the only way to retain power. Now that he has a majority, he will find it much harder to keep some of these zealots in line. Remember, he is leading a coalition of nutbars and seasoned, pragmatic professional politicians. If the nutbars get too impatient he may become more involved with keeping them in line than with carrying out his agenda.

His other problem will be dealing with Quebec. The fact that he only has 6 seats will be extremely difficult for him considering that Quebec is still the home of just a shade under 25% of Canada's total population. The Bloc may have been decimated, but the voters that put them in the forefront for the last 20 years are not.

The euphoria Harper and his party may have felt on election night, where they were lying on a bed of roses, may ultimately prove to have been nothing more than a bed of thorns. Only time will tell, and the timeframe may be a lot shorter than he thinks.

Cam

Anonymous said...

Let's face it: The majority of British Columbians are "enemies of Canada" and "foreign funded radicals" according to our federal government - which is the real enemy of Canada.
Since we are being torn apart and sold piecemeal, and are now threatened with violence for protesting the Enbridge Abomination, why don't we just separate from Canada and tell the PM that HE NO LONGER HAS ANY RIGHT to destroy our beautiful coastline. Then he can negotiate with Alaska - maybe they want the pipeline, in which case everyone would be happy. There was a Merv Richie article about it a month or so ago. Except, even if the port is in Alaska, the pipeline will run through BC, which nobody wants.

There is a solution and that is to refine the bitumen in fort McMurray and build a pipeline to deliver it to the East of Canada where almost all the oil used is imported from Arab countries. If we were a country with a government which was thinking for us instead of for their own and their friends profit, that is exactly what we would do.