Tuesday, May 3, 2011

A Salute to the French Revolution



Quebec has sent the government a very clear message. Historically the French Revolution was based on liberté, égalité, fraternité. These are principles Stephen Harper knows nothing about. He talks about liberty but when we invade countries for their oil under the lie of fighting for freedom we prove our deception.

Roméo Dallaire was a French Canadian born in the Netherlands and raised in Montreal. He was a noble soldier. When the Canadian military helped liberate the Dutch from Nazi occupation it was not done to rob or extort money or oil from the Dutch. It was done because it was the right thing to do. We would hope they would do the same for us had we been taken over by a cruel military dictator. Canada did not plunder the Dutch and steal from them. That would be no better than what Hitler did. Yet that is what NATO is doing in Libya, Iraq and Afghanistan.

Equality means everyone pays tax to the government including the super rich. It does not mean the super rich pay a disproportionate amount of tax but it does mean they do pay some tax. Donald Trump bragging about how little tax he pays is treason.

Freedom and equality means supporting small business not the huge corporations that bind and enslave us. Giving tax breaks to large corporations for sending Canadian jobs overseas shoots ourselves in the foot. Sending away those Canadian jobs sends away our tax revenue.

Selling public assets like BC rail to their rich friends robs the Canadian people of public assets and tax revenue. These back room deals are dripping with conflict of interest just like Harper's conflicted Jets and Carson's conflicted water.

Privatizing the Nuclear Industry after firing a whistle blower for reporting a leaking reactor in Ontario is insane. A corporation is mandated to make a profit. Selling the technology and the means to make nuclear weapons for profit with no public accountability is corrupt.

Canada was responsible for both India and Pakistan's nuclear weapons tests. Exporting CANDU reactors is exporting nuclear weapon technology. Stockwell Day was in India in 2009 beating the US in providing them nuclear technology. That is wrong and privatizing that industry so there is absolutely no moral public accountability other than the almighty dollar is corrupt.

Historically there has always been an affinity, a sense of fraternity and solidarity between BC and Quebec. Especially between Montreal and Vancouver. They gave us our hero Luongo and they touched our hearts with the nobility of Joannie Rochette during the Olympics. Salut Québec. J'Imagine un meilleur monde parce que je crois en toi et moi. J'imagine cette force nous ralient toi et moi. Je me souviens.



Will someone please tell Mr. Harper that they really do pronounce the letter "L" in French.

Monday, May 2, 2011

Stephen Harper's Deficit



An amusing cartoon in the Province. I found a letter someone sent in to be insighful.

I do not understand people's misconception that Stephen Harper's Conservatives are prudent fiscal managers of the economy or that they care about working families.

In just five years, the Conservative government took us from a $13-billion surplus to a $56- billion deficit. They claim credit for the six-per-cent health-care transfer payments that were put in place by the Liberals in 2004.

They give tax breaks to the likes of John Deere with no strings attached, who take the tax break and ship 800 jobs south of the border.

Stephen Harper claiming credit for the economy is like Yoko Ono taking credit for the Beatles!