Social Media in China Is ‘War,’ Says Communist Official

Social Media in China Is ‘War,’ Says Communist Official

" Li gives a sobering response: “Psychological warfare, legal warfare, and public opinion warfare are all important tools for modern warfighting. Doing battle on microblogs is also within the ‘three warfares’ category.” "

" The Chinese Communist Party is known to carry out an intensive and intricate policy of Internet surveillance and censorship; as well as deleting posts, the regime also hires an untold number of online commentators, called the “50 cent party,” (for the amount they’re putatively paid per post) whose job it is to steer public opinion. "

Communist Party members seem to be suffering a mental illness. Why do communist party members insist on trying to impose totalitarianism on the globe? So much effort to load every comment board with communist propaganda all because they are so determined to try and control public opinion, all so they can impose a system of dictatorship that will only lead to more human suffering.

Message to communist party thugs, nothing good will come of being an extremist, nothing good will come of trying to eliminate your "opposition". If you were enlightened you would understand that the members of the community that disagree with you are not your enemy. Constitutionally protected human rights and democratic governance are social innovations that create tremendous value for society. When you abandon totalitarianism you allow intellectuals to contribute to the betterment of us all.

If people like Hitler, Stalin and Mao had not embraced such madness, think of how much better we would all be better off today. What is the point of all this? What do these madmen hope to accomplish? Where do we want to be as a world? I'm willing to bet most of us, down at the peasant level, want to love one another. How can that be accomplished if the communist party policy is to put so many resources into stamping out dissent? Why resist constitutionally protected human rights for all citizens? If you want to serve the people then you must end the violence against the people, and this can only be accomplished if they have human rights protected by the constitution? This is not a "Western idea", its just an idea. An idea can not be assigned an identity. To deny an idea based upon the "identity" of the creator is the definition of insanity.

If you want to serve the people, you must become a better human being.
End political repression now. Tear down this wall.
The cost of lost human potential is the price of political repression.          

Compassion is Sanity.

In China, When Police Brutality Is So Common An Off-Duty Officer Gets A Taste

Edward Snowden-the Spy Who Loved Me


Snowden’s Disclosures Tar US With Beijing’s Brush
Accusations suggest false moral equivalence

I don't like this brave new world any more than you do, but the reality is if America would disarm its Signals Intelligence it would not make a dam difference for your privacy since China would still be running its own versions of "PRISM". This capability is a lot like nuclear weapons, if one party unilaterally disarms it only creates incentive for conflict to occur.
If Edward Snowden really wanted to protect us from an architecture of oppression why would he defect to Communist China? This looks like a carefully orchestrated phy-op.
Why defect to a completely controlled police state so you can lecture the world on police states?
Of course the privacy issues raised by Snowden are fair comment in a democratic society, but this entire scenario looks completely staged.
Signals intelligence, with proper checks and balances, is a tool that could be used for good or evil.
These are strange times, the world needs good people, so do all you can to make it good.
While America badly needs reform, Americans still have a lot of freedom that people in China don't have. It just doesn't seem to promote the cause of freedom for Snowden to become a propaganda instrument of the Chinese regime. The Snowden case looks like a highly successful and well thought out/carefully planned "public opinion warfare" operation.     

Chen Guangcheng says China Pressured NYU to Kick Him Out


Beijing’s Aggressive New Foreign Policy and Implications for the South China Sea

Second Thomas Shoal Likely the Next Flashpoint in the South China Sea

China’s Great Uprooting: Moving 250 Million Into Cities

Syrian civil war 'dress rehearsal' for world war?

Russia says it will fulfill Syria missile system contract

Treason: Obama wants to cut US nuclear weapons by a third


Defense cuts 'hollowing out' European armies: U.S. envoy

Pressure Pays Off: Obama Administration Finally Lets Congress See Secretive TPP Text (But Still Not the Rest of Us)

The surprising answer from Google on its membership in the U.S. Chamber of Commerce

Brazil’s Leftist Ruling Party, Born of Protests, Is Perplexed by Revolt

How Harper's Office Is Playing News Editor

A look inside the BC government's PR department

The Name Is ‘Power’ and It Fits

VIEW: Coal, bringing you fish too toxic to eat

Its Top Regulator a Petro Insider, Alberta Faces New Major Spill

The Gender-Bending Chemicals in Our Water

How Liberal Staffers Tried to Skirt FOI Laws

Clark admits mistake as BC government reverses pay increase

Big investors call on retailers to support factory safety pact in Bangladesh

China And The Biggest Territory Grab Since World War II

China And The Biggest Territory Grab Since World War II

China’s Stealth Wars

For China, hacking may be all about Sun Tzu and World War III

UN fears for young North Korean defectors sent home by China

Chinese think tank warns of military clashes with Japan

China angry and nervous as Japan joins arms with India


After Scarborough, is Ayungin next? Chinese general boasts of takeover

PH tells China: Don’t tell us what to do within our territory

‪Chinese Kids Brainwashed into Killing Machines‬

Show of Force: The Growth of the Chinese Military

China moves against U.S. pivot to Asia with stepped up military, diplomatic economic ties to Americas

Brother-in-law of Chinese Nobel winner jailed for 11 years

China's Tiananmen Mothers criticize Xi for lack of reforms

US Commander Issues Stern Warning on S. China Sea Disputes

America and China: The summit

As Beijing becomes more bellicose, Washington clings to the hope that military-to-military relations will somehow relieve tensions. They won't.

The India vs. China Border Standoff: Lessons Learned

With troops and techies, U.S. prepares for cyber warfare

Nuclear Weapons: How Few Is Too Few?

Best Case For Sequester Is Still Disaster, Top Experts Say

Tanks in Beirut as Syria protest leaves one dead

Hezbollah leader says terror org ready to wage war on Israel

As Syrian Fighting Nears Border, Israel Considers Its Options

Mideast War in Our Time?

Russia to keep a dozen ships in Mediterranean to protect its national security

Russia to send nuclear submarines to southern seas

Russia Is Upping The Ante By Sending Its Only Aircraft Carrier To The Mediterranean

Tens of thousands on streets, Turkish PM Erdogan defiant

Fears of "Ottoman revival" explode in Turkey

Egyptian draft law said to dash hopes of free civil society

From Arab Spring to Global Revolution, Age of Upheaval

Obama’s Covert Trade Deal

Unemployed workers march on U.S. Chamber headquarters after 150 mile

President to seek fast track authority to override congress, push through “trade” deals

Motorola's Moto X Phone Will Be Part Assembled in America

Illinois becomes 14th state to back constitutional amendment to allow limits on election

A message From Public Citizen:

" We must be heroes.
Corporate greed has infected every aspect of our lives.


Corporations are taking over our elections.



Emboldened by the Supreme Court’s dumbfounding Citizens United ruling, corporations are buying off politicians left and right. I really don’t know how we can expect democracy to survive if we allow dollars to trump votes.


 

Corporations are taking over the media.

Mainstream newspapers, radio stations and television networks are giving up on investigating corporate wrongdoing and, too often, devolving to be little more than plasterers of pro-corporate propaganda. The infamous billionaire Koch Brothers — who have spent hundreds of millions meddling with elections and who don’t believe in climate science — are now trying to buy venerable papers like the Los Angeles Times and Chicago Tribune.



Corporations are taking over national sovereignty.

Not content merely with record profits in the United States, corporations like Apple, Pfizer and Citgroup are offshoring profits to avoid their fair share of taxes while simultaneously backing absurd multinational “trade” pacts that pit countries against each other in a race to the bottom for food and product safety, labor standards, and environmental protections.



And we need to fight back with all the strength and passion we can summon.

This isn’t just about safeguarding consumers from unsafe products or corporate rip-offs.

This isn’t just about advancing progressive ideals like fairness, justice and the American Dream.



This is about standing up — together — to save our country, our fellow citizens spanning the globe, our planet itself from the contagion of corporate power. "

Controversy over temporary foreign miners prompts flood of angry letters

Another pipeline rupture in spill-prone Alberta

Alberta Tory MP Brent Rathgeber quits caucus
``I would submit that if the House does not jealously protect the rights of the members to bring forward matters of concern to their constituents ... the role of the private member, and Parliament and ultimately democracy have all equally been compromised.''

Neoliberal Attacks on the Idea of the Nation State

Human Rights Clause in EU Pact Gives Harper Gov't Pause

Candidates can lie about their finances or omit details thanks to MLAs who nixed penalty

Christy Clark Discloses Zero Assets

Province denies firings aimed to protect BC Liberal donors' profits

NDP tables second wave of legislation to protect lakes and rivers

Canada Defence Minister wants greater military exchange with  China

Raise Oil Sands Tax, Save Alberta (and Our Climate)

Three reasons BC's Northern Gateway rejection is 'good politics'

'What good is it to save the planet if humanity suffers?': Exxon CEO

Canadian Government Officials On Chinese Payroll

‪
Officials Hired to work at Communist controlled Mining Company, conflict of interest.
 
Chinagate: Aftermath‬

Democracy Watch: Less than a quarter of eligible voters supported Libs

Democracy Watch: Less than a quarter of eligible voters supported Libs

Single Transferable Vote Better A System - Must break money, party monopolies

Reasonable, Sincere Public Discourse is an act of Public Service.
The defense of our relatively free society is the primary responsibility of the state.
The arsenal of democracy should never be surrendered. Lest we Forget.

Billionaires Own American Politics

Bloomberg: "Coup d’Etat to Trade Seen in Billionaire Toxic Lead Fight"

Tech, labor brandish dueling studies in U.S. immigration fight

New U.S. Chamber attacks on corporate political spending disclosure

Justice Stevens: A rock star at Public Citizen gala


Stop Persecution of Falun Gong: Solemn, Peaceful Protest

Group of Chinese Lawyers Beaten After Visiting Brainwashing Center

China vs. Japan and U.S. on Okinawa

Having gone unchallenged for decades, and facing budget cuts, the U.S. Navy is in danger of losing its capability to challenge the PLA in its near seas.

US Army's top enlisted soldier says cuts could leave troops unprepared for war

After Fighting Over Mountains, India and China Lock Horns in the Indian Ocean

The Kremlin Antagonizes Obama Administration with Impunity

UK inquest into ex-Russian spy's death may be scrapped

Israel-Syria tensions remind me of pre-1967 war period, says ex-intel chief

Communist China wins BC election

After all polls predicted a major liberal loss, the Communist backed ruling Liberals win a solid majority victory. The battle over the infamous pipelines advances to the next stage as citizens prepare for a showdown with foreign imperialist forces.

Cyber Threats could overwhelm Canada within two years:  CSIS

Harper assailed for cutting Elections Canada budget despite rampant vote problems

Procedural errors rampant during 2011 federal vote: Elections Canada

BC's Labour Market Weaker than Worst of Recession

The Pipeline Plan that Rattled BC, Explained

Probability of Enbridge oil tanker spill as high as '99.9%': SFU study

Enbridge breaks safety rules at pump stations across Canada

No evidence BC gov't investigated recruiters charging temp foreign miners produced

BC's Fish Farm Falling out, Explained

Drug companies not involved in ministry purge, says minister

Five Reasons to Turf Christy Clark's Liberal Crew


Green party's Elizabeth May on Energy Security


Debate has been about how best to export raw, virtually unprocessed bitumen — as much as possible and as quickly as possible. Meanwhile, the eastern half of Canada depends on imports of foreign oil from Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, Kazakhstan, Venezuela, and Norway. As Gordon Laxer of the Parkland Institute tried to point out to a Parliamentary committee (before the Conservative chair ordered him to stop talking and stormed out of the room), Canada has no energy security.

I feel some responsibility for this shift in debate, as I was the first political leader to point out that there was something wrong with the picture.

Unlike the US, we have no Strategic Petroleum Reserves. If there was a blockade of foreign oil or an economic embargo, those in Eastern Canada would have to wait for tankers to bring them bitumen for processing through the Panama Canal and up the eastern seaboard. As bizarre as that sounds, it was the solution offered by a Suncor executive when asked in committee about the vulnerability of eastern Canada to embargos.
Oppositional Canada

The irony is that the dividing line of foreign oil to the east and Alberta oil for the west was the result of deliberate government policy—aimed at helping the Alberta oil and gas sector. Back in 1961, the National Oil Policy decreed that eastern Canadians (east of the Ottawa River) would only receive imported oil while those in the West had to purchase Alberta product. By deliberate policy, Eastern Canadians became dependent on foreign oil, while Alberta oil was consumed by those in western provinces and exported to the US. Now it is time to think like a country.
The Solution: Shipping East?

However, the current proposal also makes no sense. Former New Brunswick Premier Frank McKenna has proposed shipping unprocessed bitumen to St John, New Brunswick, to put it in tankers to export it from there. Others are proposing refining it in New Brunswick.

The first decision point is Enbridge’s application to reverse its Number 9 pipeline. This pipeline was built in the 1970s and had originally flowed west to east. It was reversed in the 1990s as the markets favoured cheaper foreign oil.

Now, Enbridge is applying to reverse it once again, running a different product, dilbit, from west to east. The request to the National Energy Board is being considered in two stand-alone applications; Line 9A (Sarnia to North Westover) and Line 9B to Montreal.

From there the bitumen would likely go south through New England. When I was in Washington DC, I heard from quite a few Congressmen and Senators that they do not want those pipelines over their territory.

Bitumen

The nature of bitumen and diluents in pipelines is a critical issue in why the Green Party oppose pipelines of unprocessed product to either coastline. So, before talking about the direction of pipelines, we need to talk about the product.

Even after the extensive and intensive process of extracting the viscous material known as bitumen from the soil in which it is found (generally about 10% by volume), it is still not processed to even the level of crude oil. Crude oil can flow. Bitumen cannot. It has the consistency of peanut butter, so needs to be mixed with something else to flow. That something else is called ‘diluent’—a mix of undisclosed chemicals. The most commonly used diluent is a natural gas condensate, similar to Naptha. The public does not know the make-up of any particular diluent. Some have more benzene than others—benzene is a well-documented carcinogen.

The resulting so-called dilbit product is about 30% diluents and 70% bitumen. We do know a lot more about dilbit than we used to. And we did a lot of that learning through the 2010 Enbridge dilbit spill in the Kalamazoo River in Michigan. We know it both floats and sinks; that it is far harder and far more expensive to clean-up than unprocessed conventional crude. The Kalamazoo spill is still not cleaned up.

Meanwhile a debate rages about whether dilbit is more likely to cause pipeline failure. Cornell University found that between 2007 and 2010 pipelines carrying dilbit had a spill-rate three times higher than pipelines carrying conventional crude. Oil sands products have a higher sulfur and a higher acidic content than conventional crude and those properties could explain its increased corrosive nature.

This finding led to the Department of Natural Resources to commissioning a study by a group called Alberta Innovates Technology Futures (ATIF). That study compared dilbit and conventional crudes and concluded the types of corrosive compounds between the two products were comparable. So we have labwork versus the real life rate of spills in US pipelines. At the moment, despite what Harper’s Cabinet ministers claim, the science on the corrosive nature of dilbit is not settled.

Meanwhile, if local residents along the Number 9 pipeline wish to speak before the NEB hearings, or even submit a letter, they are required to fill out a 10-page form, and are also encouraged to submit references and a resume! This is an NEB effort to meet the new requirements imposed by the horrific overhaul of the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act that took place last year in the Omnibus Budget Bill (C-38).

Unlike the previous CEAA, which was premised on a fundamental commitment to rights of public participation, the Harperized CEAA restricts access to only those ‘directly affected’. The NEB has made this restriction even worse by demanding that any citizens who want to make comments, fill out the forms and apply within a two-week period—which will close before this article will be in print.
Refineries In Alberta

So, what should be done? The best environmental, economic and climate outcome would be to slow down the boom-and-bust cycle of constant expansion in the oil sands. What the late Peter Lougheed used to describe as the ‘traffic jam’ of feverish expansion in the oilsands prevents the construction of ancillary infrastructure, like upgraders and refineries.

The hyper-inflationary bubble that sits on northern Alberta is what makes it cheaper for Big Oil to build a $7 billion pipeline to Texas, rather than build facilities in Alberta. Any reasonable carbon plan would set a level of managed growth for oil sands production—say 2 million barrels of oil a day (more than the current 1.7 million barrels, but less than Harper’s goal of 6 million barrels of oil a day). That level of production could cool down the capital and labour markets enough to build upgraders and refineries near the resource. Then, we could be talking about shipping—by pipeline, truck or train—a finished product whose properties are better understood. Shipping a product with a far lower risk of environmental impact in the event of spills.

If we are thinking like a country, we should get Alberta oil to Eastern Canada, but we should not ship bitumen + diluents.

Weaver wins first ever Green seat in BC: Globe

Elizabeth May Tables Bill Targeting Excessive Party Discipline


Conservatives boost resources ad spending to $16.5M, target U.S. audiences

Harper Government Media Monitoring: Opposition Accuses Tories Of Spying On MPs

Effort afoot in court to sue Canadians for illegal downloads

Public Citizen and Sierra Club Denounce World Trade Organization Attack on Successful Clean Energy Program

Who hires temporary foreign workers? You’d be surprised

For young Canadians, labour market as bad as during the recession

Trade Talks? Only Business Insiders Invited

Global youth unemployment set to rise, UN warns

Canada's foreign-born population soars to 6.8 million

What Is TPP? Biggest Global Threat to the Internet Since ACTA

Canada loses appeal at WTO over Ontario's green energy legislation

More Conservative MPs say No to taxpayer-paid attacks against Trudeau

John Ivison: Grim report warns Canada vulnerable to an aboriginal  insurrection

12 Latin American Governments Gather to Confront Extreme Investor Privileges Regime

Pentagon plans to share missile secrets with Russia

Did Citizens United thwart the effort to overturn “Citizens United” in Washington

Pentagon Paying Chinese for Satellite Bandwidth

Republicans say U.S. headed toward ‘armed revolution’: Poll

Why the world is reading Gillard's defence paper

‘Get ready to fight’: China shifts from Deng’s ‘low profile’ to Mao’s aggression | World Tribune

China Escalating Territorial Disputes with Neighbors

Chinese think tank warns of more 'serious' incidents

AFP: China should ‘reconsider’ who owns Okinawa: academics

Medvedev Says Russian Rearmament On Level With WWII

Why China Lets North Korea Run Wild

Russian military again flies strategic bombers near Alaska

North Korea missile can hit US with nuclear warhead, Pentagon report says

Xi Jinping and the Chinese dream

China’s rift with Japan is open challenge to U.S.

China Registering the Religious in Xinjiang

Chinese government has U.S. auto industry in cross hairs

Chinese Hackers Raiding U.S. Military Tech Secrets

Inside the Ring: Russia builds up, U.S. down

China risks war as it pushes its territorial claims in Asia

Red Lines, Deadlines, and Thinking the Unthinkable: India, Pakistan, Iran, North Korea, and China | Center for Strategic and International Studies

China's Militant Nationalism

Xi's War Drums

4 reasons Why Christy Clark must go

1) Christy Clark Mismanages the Economy – Increasing debt, deficits – Selling off public property – Creating budgetary dependency on raw resource extraction while spending away the proceeds when they should be saved and invested for future generations.

If the resources of a nation are to be used, they should increase the wealth of the nation. Development can be a responsible and cautious conversion of underground wealth to above ground wealth. Underground wealth should be used to supply domestic industries, entered into a strategic stockpile, or saved and invested in a sovereign wealth fund. In this way the wealth of the nation increases over time. However the current ruling neo-liberal school of thought forces us to shovel as much wealth out the door as soon as possible at the lowest prices. Any revenues generated are spent on current consumption/ operating costs. Neo-liberal economic theory puts the interests of multinational corporate profits over the objective of national wealth/ development/ power. The Communist Chinese dictatorship is taking advantage of the failed economic ideology of Western Neo-liberalism in order to corrupt and interfere in our internal affairs. Any political party that gives away our sovereignty to foreign dictators is a puppet of foreign powers and a danger to the peace. The two headed liberal/conservative movement are the same beast. In the interest of national security, all liberal/conservative candidates should be booted from office as soon as possible. We the people demand a world of non-violence and compassion, and we demand that any trade, investment, or business operations be conducted according to the highest of human rights standards. Hight standards, whereby business, government, and society in general is a place where people love one another, and whereby truth and respect takes precedence over greed and self interest.

Why Isn't Christy Clark More Popular?
“BC Liberals are on their way to doubling the provincial debt since 2001, from $33.8 billion to $66.3 billion in 2015!”

The Era of Tax Cut Stupidity that Starved BC

Election year, BC's small projected surplus depends on asset sales and optimism

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?

Oil riches wasted discredit the 'Calgary School.' But a proven path to prosperity exists.

“Norway produces roughly the same amount of oil as Alberta, yet this tiny nation has managed to salt away over $600 billion in accumulated oil wealth in a sovereign wealth fund that now amounts to more than one per cent of global equity markets. 

Norway has no public debt, full employment and fully-funded social programs that Canadians would drool over. Norwegians enjoy free university tuition, universal day care and 25 days of paid holidays per year. Per capita spending on healthcare is thirty per cent higher in Norway; funding for arts and culture is more than three times higher than Canada.”

Why can't neo-liberal economics (conservative/liberal) ever balance the budget?
your government pays too much of its road, education, and hospital bills with finite and volatile hydrocarbon revenue.

“ must "redirect the revenues gained from the sale of resources away from the government's budget and toward saving," ”

" "As we noted previously this is the solution to the problem of energy price volatility that has been successfully employed by energy-rich Norway... ”

2) Christy Clark Supports FIPA

Premier Clark Supports Canada-China Trade Deal, Abandons BC's Constitutional Rights

Rafe Mair

1. “It applies to trade agreements between Canada and China and, thanks to the premier, BC as well.
2. It is, like NAFTA, a treaty that for practical reasons, is all but unbreakable for 31 years.
3. It gives China the ability to obtain huge damages if we don’t perform our side of any deal and to sue for them in her own courts
4. This agreement has not been debated in Parliament nor in the Legislature of BC
5. It won’t be debated in Parliament or the BC Legislature because both the Prime Minister and Premier Clark don’t think they need the agreement of our legislative bodies
6. Without any question, this treaty will impact upon the Province of British Columbia and could cost us hundreds of millions of dollars
7. It seriously compromises the constitutional rights BC has under Section 92 of the Constitution Act (1982)”

“We live in a federation where both the federal government and the provinces have legal, inviolable rights. This is the glue that holds the nation together.” 

“On the pipelines/tankers specifically there are a number of areas where BC has the absolute right to make conditions or ban them outright. Premier Clark, in her disastrous statement, has, on the face of it, estopped BC from exercising our rights. “Estopped” means that she has taken a position upon which another has acted and can no longer exercise the rights she signed away.”

“In short, by agreeing to this treaty, she has, for the length of the contract, surrendered our right to exercise our constitutional rights.”

“We have, then, given our constitutional rights away without any consultation with the people who lose these powers. It’s been called “economic treason” and I agree.”

The Rush to Ratify: BC Rejected International Investment Deal in '98 and Should Do So Again

3) Christy Clark Supports Pipelines, Tankers

The Economics of Oil Pipelines and Supertankers

Robyn Allan

“The debate about oil pipelines and supertankers is not about economic benefit stacked against environmental cost to see if the risk is worth it.

That’s a false dichotomy. It’s developed by oil interests to pit ordinary Canadians against ordinary Canadians.”

“ The energy strategy in Canada is about multinational oil companies and national oil companies of foreign governments reaping vast financial gain and market power versus economic and environmental cost for the rest of us.

I am going to discuss the oil industry and how two pipeline projects—Enbridge’s Northern Gateway and Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain twining—fit into the oil sector’s strategy for Canada.

The costs of these pipeline proposals come in many forms.

What are they? Here’s the top 10:

1. Decades of higher oil prices for Canadian consumers and businesses across the country;
2. Lost opportunity to add value, create meaningful jobs and control environmental standards here at home;
3. Hollowing out of the oil sector as raw bitumen exports take precedence over upgrading and refining;
4. Twice the number of pipelines and almost double the tanker traffic to move diluted bitumen as compared to upgraded bitumen;
5. As soon as Northern Gateway and Trans Mountain are approved, more pipeline capacity will be requested;
6. Rapidly rising exchange rates along with rising diluted bitumen oil prices, impacting other sectors of our economy and our ability to export;
7. Continued reliance on foreign, higher priced oil imports through eastern Canada;
8. A growing dependence on foreign condensate imports through western Canada;
9. Crowding out of BC’s legitimate and vibrant economic activity; and
10. Supernatural British Columbia becomes a Supertanker terminal for Alberta. ”

Bitumen’s Deep Discount Deception and Canada’s Pipeline Mania: An Economic and Financial Analysis

“1)Western Canadian unconventional heavy (WCS) and light crude (SCO) oil experienced normal differentials as compared to WTI in 2012.
2)The majority of oil sands supply comes from producers who are also integrated downstream operators and they make up the difference in the second step–the WTI to Brent spread–in their refinery margins.
3)It is effectively Canadian consumers and businesses that are price-gouged at the pumps. We pay petroleum product prices as if all Canadian crude oil was purchased by refineries at Brent prices–as if we imported all our crude oil from foreign markets.
4)The “supply glut” in Cushing, Oklahoma was largely industry induced and much of it was anticipated. It is expected to be sorted out within the next year, or so, as companies solve their technical difficulties with refinery and pipeline capacity expansions. This throughput realignment will occur without approval of the three bitumen export pipelines.”

The day after the release of Bitumen’s Deep Discount Deception, CIBC World Markets released a short report claiming losses from the double discount. I contacted CIBC to request their underlying analysis. Unfortunately CIBC will not be transparent or accountable for their calculations and refused to discuss their figures or the shortcomings in their methodology. I have addressed the recent claims in an article published in the Tyee “Oil Sands Money ‘Left on the Table’ and More Myths”.

Oil Sands 'Money Left on the Table' and More Myths
“Economist Robyn Allan on why Canadian petro fortunes aren't hurt by lack of pipelines.”
“Petro industry's interests aren't Canada's, The 'opportunity loss' myth”

Calgary fundraiser for BC Liberals to support oil sands agenda
" More than 100 business elites are expected to attend a private fundraiser Thursday night for Christy Clark's B.C. Liberals -- in Calgary. "

Canada's Petro Lobbyists Grow Faster than Pipelines
"Oil and pipeline companies, including seven of the world's largest corporations, have intensified their lobbying efforts in Ottawa over the last four years and held 2,733 meetings with public officials."

Rafe Mair: All I Want for Christmas Is a May election that puts in power true defenders of BC's natural bounty.
“To me the dominant issue before all others going into May's provincial election is the environment. Fiscal fudge-ups can be fixed as can most bad policy. But environmental damage -- be it due to fish farms, pipelines, tankers, Site C or loss of agricultural land -- is, to all intents and purposes, permanent.”

---

Opposition Statement on Government support of pipelines:

This isn’t the first time the BC Liberals have failed to act in the public interest. When it came time to stand up for our province in the Enbridge pipeline review process, they passed the buck to Ottawa – over 4000 kilometres away from the people the project will directly affect.

 Only you and your neighbours can truly understand the environmental and economic devastation a major oil spill might bring to your community.

4) Christy Clark backs Temporary Foreign Workers Program, HD Mining

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. "

“After winning a court decision to have resumes of 300 Canadians who applied for the positions handed over to them, unions have accused the company of turning down fully qualified Canadians for the jobs.”

“Unions began their fight against the company on the basis that Canadian resources should be used to create jobs for Canadians”

" 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. "

Steelworkers Allege BC Importer of Chinese Miners Tied to Deadly Accidents
“Dehau Mines linked to Shandong energy group, whose subsidiaries had five disasters killing nearly 200 workers”

HD Mining's Biggest Backer Is Mysterious, Say Steelworkers
“It also questions the backgrounds of some of the people involved in the company, such as the company's chief consultant Ye Qing, referring to him as "as high-level an insider as one might hope to become within the Chinese Communist Party."

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The government is not serving the people, it is time for a replacement. Patriots Vote.