Chinese Firm Huawei In Control of UK Net Filters

Why not run as a state operation or contract to a domestic firm?
Why are UK politicians handing over control of the internet to the communists?
It's obvious that the politicians are corrupt.

Solution: develop checks and balances that prevent corrupt politicians from damaging the national security interests of democracy. Politicians should not be allowed to sell out their country.       
We need to develop systems that automatically deal with politicians who work for the enemy.
No sane patriot would hand over assets to the communists, not for anything, no surrender.
The people need to organize in support of democratic state sovereignty and security.

Irresponsible traitors will try to bring down our free society and all it has accomplished from within, the people must support the state, and the state must support the people. A symbiotic relationship.

Society is worth preserving, our freedom and the peace that it underpins are not to be cast aside.
Under no circumstance are politicians justified in selling off control to foreign totalitarian regimes. 

The only reason you have rights, the only reason you have democracy is because of the people in the security services and military who volunteer to risk their lives to protect your constitutional rights. If we did not have forces to defend our state security we would not have a state, and with no state we would not be guaranteed constitutional freedom, or a vote, or any sort of basic security.

I very much doubt that MI6 would approve of handing over the keys to the intelligence store to a company founded by a highly placed Chinese Communist military officer. The problem is that the corrupt and incompetent politicians do not listen to the state funded advice provided to them, and in so doing disregard the national security interests of the people. Political re-adjustment is both possible and necessary. Just as the constitution acts as parameters for political action, the national security rights of the public should be enshrined in some kind of parameter that would prevent politicians from betraying state security. If we have freedom of peaceful assembly, freedom to vote, freedom of the press, and general freedom of conscience,  than why do we not have freedom from politicians who sell out national security. Security is the ultimate freedom in that it underpins all else.

Democracy will only last so long as the security services can guarantee its continued existence.
Support the troops, and when you vote, vote to give our lads a fighting chance.
 
Chinese Firm Huawei In Control of UK Net Filters



Chinese firm Huawei controls net filter praised by PM

UK to review involvement of Huawei in Oxfordshire cybersecurity centre, as firm denies spying claims

Britain to review Huawei's UK-based cyber center

Former US Spy Chief Says Huawei Spies For China

Why Xi Jinping's 'Anti-Corruption Campaign' Is Hollow, Unserious, and Ultimately Doomed

Slaying of watermelon seller triggers fresh anger in China

Vigil at Chinese Embassy Marks 14 Years of Persecution

Persecution of Falun Gong Continues Unabated

Party Official, Undercover, Publishes Book on Tibet

Faith and human rights groups join in condemning Chinese regime’s human rights abuses

China’s salami-slice strategy

Japan Alarmed By China’s Air and Naval Surveillance

China Coast Guard ships confront Japanese cutters

Dark days for China and the Philippines

PLA Navy to Begin First Strategic Missile Submarine Patrols Next Year

US Should Take Lead Against Organ Harvesting in China, Says Doctor

Will U.S. Face Trade Sanctions for Anti-Smoking Law?

Obama Administration Stands Firm on ‘Dolphin-Safe’ Tuna Labels; Will the WTO Authorize Trade Sanctions?

Is Economics a Science or a Religion?

There’s nothing partisan about disclosure of political spending

Corporations Express Fear of Democracy

What the Prince of Cambridge can teach the United States about the benefits of a single payer health care system

Expert: Cuba could hit U.S. with EMP death blow

Panama finds MiG fighter jets on North Korean arms ship

Mike Rogers: China, Iran, and Russia Launching Cyber Attacks Against U.S.

Russia opposition leader freed on bail, protests rattle Kremlin

Russia's top lawyers sound alarm about government abuse of the Constitution

Egypt starts amending constitution despite political divisions

New Egyptian PM seeks dialogue, end to divisions

Islamist-Kurdish fighting spreads in rebel-held Syria

Water Crisis in the Middle East

Kitimat ocean program set for oil tankers

‘Nobody understands’ spills at Alberta oil sands operation

Asia driving 'explosion' in global arms trade: study

Asia driving 'explosion' in global arms trade: study

China's Foreign Minister warns nations seeking help From US will find their efforts "futile"

China Military Buildup Risks Accident

Japan vows to help Philippines amid China sea row

The Obama administration’s risky disarmament agenda

The sequester’s bite

Growing Tyrannies across the world are crushing dissent. 
Is it possible that democracy is dying?

Russia evacuates Tartus, also military, diplomatic personnel from Syria. High war alert in Israel

Russia said to be violating 1987 missile accord

China, Russia gained access to Snowden’s secrets

In Shift, Snowden Now Said to Reveal US Monitoring of China

China Activist Chen Guangcheng Visits Taiwan

Movie Review ‘Camp 14: Total Control Zone’

The Dangers of Blogging in Oppressive Regimes: Film

‘Youngest Prisoner of Conscience’ Escapes House Arrest in China

Unjustly Treated Officer Quits the Chinese Communist Party

Chinese Rubber Stamp Legislature Boosts CEO Profits

DID CHINA BUY NICARAGUA?

Oil pipeline shut down as second leak in as many weeks plagues Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain near Hope

First Nations group calls for B.C. to reject Northern Gateway pipeline work permits


Adjournment Proceedings Canada-China FIPA

Time to Put the Pieces of the Puzzle in Place

Elizabeth May

"Energy security would start by establishing the principle that we only export once domestic needs are met."

If all the key pieces of Canada’s energy future – the climate crisis, a prosperous economy, labour issues, east-west connectivity, energy efficiency, technological innovation, federal-provincial relations – were jigsaw pieces on our collective family table, it would be worthwhile to find the picture on the box the pieces came in.

The cover of the box, a glorious sustainable energy roadmap, would depict where we want to be, with: a meaningful carbon reduction plan; phasing out coal across the land; bringing in energy conservation and efficiency standards; producing far more energy from renewable sources; applying cleantech solutions broadly; paying attention to energy security; and shifting from a strategy of rapid export of unprocessed product to managed production at a steady rate of upgraded and refined product, with value-added creating far more employment in oil production while energy efficiency targets create jobs everywhere in overhauling our built infrastructure.

In the case of the current energy debate, the dialogue is so devoid of content that one cannot dignify the noise by calling it debate. Back to that Canadian family table with all the jigsaw pieces we need to fit together, sadly, the family cat got on the table knocking most of the pieces to the floor, while toddlers argue over the three remaining pieces shouting “Mine!”

A grown-up discussion starts with acknowledging that Canada needs an energy strategy. Federal and provincial jurisdictions respected, we need to think like a country. Rather than pit one region against another, we should start the conversation by setting out some over-arching goals.

Energy touches everything. A discussion about an energy strategy is not fundamentally about the oil sands. The oil sands are part of the conversation, but, back to our puzzle metaphor, those toddlers are fighting over the oil sands pieces of the puzzle. Nothing gets solved that way.

National goals should include:
 1.    Energy security
 2.    Energy pricing
 3.    An effective greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction plan for the needed transition to a post-carbon     economy
 4.    Full employment goals
 5.    The promotion of innovation and competitiveness in Canada
 6.    Social justice; ending energy poverty
 7.    Energy strategies for a resourceful and resilient Canada

Taken separately, we could be fighting over these individual elements without resolution. Taken together in a grown-up conversation, they all fit together.

Starting with energy security. Right now, if there were a disruption of supply from OPEC nations, most Canadians would have no home heating oil, no gas, and eastern refineries would be in crisis. While debating how best to export as quickly as possible, as much as possible, raw, virtually unprocessed bitumen, more than half of Canada is dependent on imports of foreign oil from Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, Kazakhstan, Venezuela, and Norway. As Gordon Laxer of the Parkland Institute identified, Canada has no energy security. Unlike the US, we have no Strategic Petroleum Reserves. If there was a blockade of foreign oil or 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 Natural Resources Committee about the vulnerability of Eastern Canada to embargos.

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.

We also need to improve our east-west electricity grid to allow renewable-rich provinces to export to provinces with less.

The current proposal to link us east-west also makes no sense. Former New Brunswick Premier Frank McKenna has proposed shipping unprocessed bitumen to Saint John, NB, to put it in tankers and export it from there.

Energy security would start by establishing the principle that we only export once domestic needs are met.

That brings us to the importance of maximizing employment opportunities. It makes much more sense for Canada to upgrade the bitumen, before trying to make it sufficiently fluid to flow in pipelines. Bitumen is not crude oil. And it isn’t even oil at all. It is thick and solid, described as being the consistency of peanut butter. (Before mining, bitumen is 10 percent of the volume of soils, then described as being the consistency of molasses. Oil-like analogies seem to run to food.)

To make it flow, a naphtha-like fossil fuel substance, called a diluent, is added. All the controversial pipelines now under debate (Keystone XL, Enbridge’s Line 9 and Northern Gateway), are intended to carry a 70-30 mixture of bitumen and diluents – brilliantly described as “dilbit.” According to Enbridge’s evidence in the NEB hearings, its twinned pipeline will carry imported diluents from Kitimat to Alberta to be mixed with the bitumen. And the diluents will be purchased from the Middle East, and put in tankers to Canada. So much for being a domestic source of oil.

Back to energy security, jobs and minimizing environmental risks, if the bitumen was upgraded to synthetic crude in Alberta we wouldn’t be talking about moving the most hazardous of all spillable fossil fuels. Check out the US government reports on the findings about the Enbridge spill in the Kalamazoo River to understand how much more damaging dilbit is in the natural environment than any other pre-crude, as well as how much more challenging and expensive it is to clean up a spill. The   summer 2010 Kalamazoo spill is still not completely cleaned up.

Prior to the 2008 recession, several upgraders were planned for northern Alberta. Once the recession ended, the multinationals with under-capacity refineries for unconventional oil looked south to the refineries already built and sitting on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. The Alberta upgraders were cancelled and replaced with a pipeline proposal to move dilbit to US refineries. No wonder the Communications, Energy, and Paperworkers Union, representing most of the energy patch workforce, is against the Keystone XL pipeline. It’s taking jobs previously slated for Alberta.

One reason the upgraders were cancelled is that what the late Peter Lougheed used to call “the traffic jam.” The hyper-inflationary bubble over northern Alberta is created by the push for constantly expanding production targets. Labour and capital are both scarce and pricey. (This is the explanation for Stephen Harper’s remarkable transformation regarding China. From his holier than thou treatment of the People’s Republic of China over the Beijing Olympics to the compliant, “Where do I sign?” greeting to President Hu in Vladivostok last September, when he penned the Canada-China Investment Treaty. There just isn’t enough capital from profit-oriented private sector oil multinationals to keep building new, and potentially unprofitable, oil sands mines without China).

We could with a bit of the planned approach, once advocated by Peter Lougheed, produce a steady amount of oil, upgraded and refined in Canada. Without the “traffic jam,” the industry could afford to build the ancillary infrastructure of upgrading and refining. We could do so within a plan for dramatically reduced GHG from Canada, by shutting down all coal-fired power plants, following the lead of another former premier, Dalton McGuinty. The carbon reduction plan would have the benefit of diversifying our energy sector with the commercialization of renewable energy – from wind, sun, geo-thermal, tidal. We also need to improve our east-west electricity grid to allow renewable-rich provinces to export to provinces with less.

It would create jobs in all parts of Canada through the retrofitting of buildings – commercial, institutional, residential – from energy wasters to energy misers, as well as through investments in modern, convenient mass transit.

The cleantech sector has the potential of becoming a $60 billion contributor to the Canadian economy within only seven years, according to a study by the Pembina Institute. Our myopic focus on the oil sands, as if it were the only part of Canadian economy that mattered, is blinding us to other and better opportunities. As the World Energy Outlook, reproduced by the International Energy Agency, pointed out, the world is coming to the realization that we must keep at least two-thirds of all known reserves of fossil fuels in the ground if we are to avoid such catastrophic levels of climate change that we put our very survival as organized societies and successful economies at risk.

A major new report from the UK, “Unburnable Carbon 2013: Wasted capital and stranded assets,” engaged the talents and expertise of Sir Nicholas Stern through a collaborative research project involving Carbon Tracker and the Grantham Research Institute for Climate Change and Environment at the London School of Economics and Political Science. The result is a new concept – the “carbon bubble.” The essence of their work is this – a great deal of the stated value of stock exchanges around the world is in unburnable fossil fuels. The level of capital expenditure in developing those reserves over the next decade would amount to $6.74 trillion in wasted capital – developing reserves that simply cannot be burned.

This new realization of the “carbon bubble” means that fossil fuel investments could very rapidly become stranded investments leading to financial ruin.

No harm can ever come from diversifying an economy. And that diversification and embrace of clean tech will help address our growing productivity gap with the US through innovation and R&D.

Sustainable energy is attainable. Stopping the waste of energy, noting that more than one half of all the energy Canada uses is lost as waste, is essential. There is no excuse for not getting it done.

Originally published in Policy Magazine.

Apache spill is one of Alberta's largest pipeline ruptures

Kinder Morgan reports oil leak near Merritt, BC

Regulator, industry find oilsands cleanup harder than first thought

Mining, oil and gas companies to face tougher rules around disclosing payments

New BC Liberal government raises pay for political staff

Steelworkers rally against low wage Temporary Foreign Worker Scam

Insight: In Washington, lawmakers' routines shaped by fundraising

^This is a major problem, lawmakers spend so much time begging for money they have no time to actually lead the country. And what happens with all that money, it gets spent buying political ads that do nothing to enhance the quality of political discourse, buying political staff and spin doctors who contribute nothing to society but counter productive ideological talking points, and further the legislative agenda of a class of people who have demonstrated that their business interests are not aligned with the national interest of our society. The problem is not democracy, the problem is that money in politics has blocked democracy from being able to efficiently function. Money in politics is a threat to national security.   

Time for a change at the White House (de)regulatory office

Obama's Top Trade Official Nominee: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

On June 12, House will approve the “AIG Bailout Certainty

Senkaku Islands are "core interest" of China, Xi tells Obama

In New Book, Former US Army Officer Warns of Romancing China

China buildup generates fear in Asia-Pacific

South China Sea row risks wider clashes

The Nicaragua Canal: China’s Secret Motive

Russian protesters march as Putin seeks firmer political footing

Heavy Pressure Led to Decision by Obama on Syrian Arms

Lebanon threatens retaliation against future Syrian attacks

War of words over anti-aircraft missiles could escalate


Could Syria ignite World War 3? That's the terrifying question as the hatred between two Muslim ideologies sucks in the world's superpowers.

Assad threatens attack against Israel

Wars over water will be everywhere in Africa

Egypt threatens to beat war drums for the Nile

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

Questions Remain in HD Mining Case

Questions Remain in HD Mining Case
Key evidence was struck from the record in federal court, say unions.

‪Chinagate: Who's Minding the Resource Store?‬


Asia tension could lead to conflict—DFA chief

China seals first free-trade deal with Switzerland

China should not be a "free rider" in global trade, the EU's trade commissioner has warned.

Report Hits Out At China's Black Jails, Self-Immolations

Activists Warned Off Tiananmen Memorial March

Toxic Rice Highlights China's Lack of Openness on Pollution

Kinder Morgan takes next step in its Trans Mountain oil pipeline expansion plan

Bitumen Doesn't Float

Activists demand public hearings for coal export project

USDA Stands Firm on Consumer Meat Labels, but Will the WTO Continue its Anti-Consumer Legacy and Authorize Trade Sanctions?

RECAP FROM LIMA: Experts, Activists, and Peruvian Members of Congress Rally Against the TPP

London on edge and police fill the street as public beheading stokes ethnic tensions

Stockholm calmer but violence spreads outside Swedish capital

Accused in alleged terror plot seeks lawyer who will use Qu'ran as 'reference'

Canadian drug policy experts recommend decriminalizing all drugs

Russia’s top military officer skeptical about further nuclear arms cuts

Police agency Interpol quashes Russian bid to hunt down UK investor

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

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Canada's foreign-born population soars to 6.8 million

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

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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

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Xi Jinping and the Chinese dream

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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."

---

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

Gradual politicization of Canadian security apparatus threat to independent state

Senior Mounties told not to meet MPs without prior approval

"Specifically, they are to notify a liaison office that co-ordinates RCMP strategy with the office of Public Safety Minister Vic Toews."

"It's not appropriate for the government to reach into the police operation. It's a very, very fundamental part of what we must be assured exists so that the police aren't doing the work of the government, they're doing the work of the public."

" Garrison, who is the NDP critic for public safety, said "these memos raise some very serious concerns about whether the government is interfering in the operations of the RCMP to try and assist in controlling their political message. So I think it's very serious." "

" Liberal Senator Grant Mitchell, critic for an RCMP reform bill, C-42, said he feared the "politicization of the police force." "
Spy watchdog shouldn't work for Manning Centre, NDP says

"Non-partisan federal appointment conflicts with role as director for conservative think tank"

"Duncan then asked whether the Canada Revenue Agency would investigate the political activities of the Manning Centre, which is a federally registered non-profit organization, although it does not issue any tax receipts and is not a registered charity."

Government Response:

"That would be unlawful, and it would be inappropriate, and it's bizarre that the NDP would suggest it," said Kenney, who repesents a Calgary riding.

The government makes a response that it would be unlawful to investigate the political nature of a non-profit organization that is organized to funnel industry money into training loyal conservative party goons, just after it spend $8 million taxpayer dollars investigating environmental charities for their alleged political activities.

" In its own words, the Manning Centre for Building Democracy, which runs a "state of the art training centre" in downtown Calgary, is "dedicated to building Canada’s conservative movement – by strengthening the knowledge, skills, ethical foundations, and networks of political practitioners." "

^Read: Organization Training Harpers Brownshirts deemed non-political by government
What about the Government using the CRA against David Suzuki:

Suzuki forges onward despite Tory cuts, CRA audits

"David Suzuki says he finally feels free to speak his mind since stepping down six months ago as a director of his namesake environmental charity, which he founded more than 20 years ago."

" “It’s very demoralizing, because so much of that resource then is dedicated to that process, and the last time we were audited I think it cost over $100,000 of our money to do that, so it’s a very expensive, punitive thing that can be done,” he said. "

"The foundation has been audited three times before. A recent internal review of the its finances found less than one per cent of its resources are dedicated to political activity — well within the 10 per cent legal limit."
One year and $5 million later, Harper’s charity crackdown nets just one bad egg

"An $8-million pot of money included in last year’s federal budget to crack down on charities suspected of engaging in “excessive” political activities has so far resulted in only one having its charitable status revoked, out of nearly 900 that were audited."

"Environmental charities were widely reported to be the primary target of ramped up compliance measures after Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver said environmental and other “radical groups” were trying to undermine the national economy by blocking pipeline and other fossil fuel projects."
CRA audits charitable status of Tides Canada amid Tory attack

"The charity – which had revenues of $14.5-million in 2010 – has two main funding arms. Tides Foundation finances other charities ranging from Big Brothers and Big Sisters organizations to Environmental Defence Canada, and Tides Initiatives does its educational, social and environmental work."

"Environment Minister Peter Kent raised the stakes last week when he accused an unnamed group of essentially engaging in “money laundering,” echoing attacks against Tides launched by Conservative senators and the pro-oil-industry, Conservative-connected group, EthicalOil.org."
"In the March budget, the Harper government ordered the CRA to step up its efforts on education and compliance with charities that engage in political activity.The government said then that it was responding to concerns that some charities may not be respecting the rules, and that it also intended to increase the reporting rules for charities that take money from foreign donors."

David Suzuki charity questioned for alleged partisan politics

"The David Suzuki Foundation on Tuesday became the target of a complaint to the Canada Revenue Agency, just days after its namesake co-founder stepped down amid heightened tensions between environmental charities and the Conservative government."

"A week before, David Suzuki stepped down from the foundation he helped create so he can “speak freely without fear” his words will be deemed too political, according to an open letter posted to the group’s website last week."

"Mr. Ellerton said that organizations should forgo charitable status — and all the economic benefits it brings — if they want the freedom to be political."
Battle for Free-speech in Parliament rages

Meet the man who's selling Canada short

Harper regime attacks opposition MP for his Charity fundraising work

Purchasing power: Five ways consumers can be more socially conscious in shopping

Israel wary quiet on Syrian front about to end

Philippines calls China out on de facto occupation

Parliament rejects NDP motion to stop FIPA

Parliament rejects NDP motion to stop FIPA

See 'Whipped,' Sean Holman's Expose on Slavish Politicians


Big thinkers still stumped on global economic crisis

Civil service shuffle sees CSIS director Fadden moved to Defence, Fonberg to PCO

Chris Hedges: Harper is “venal”, U.S. politics is “totally rigged”

Foreign Giants Line up to Develop Chunks of BC's Coast

Politicians Begin to pick up on Growing Public Anger over Foreign Imperialism
Patriot Movement Slowly Seeps into Mainstream Political Discourse.

Adrian Dix on the Kinder Morgan Pipeline‬


‪Too valuable to sell‬


BC NDP promises $24 million to grow local agriculture industry

‪Cullen calls on government to scrap Canada-China trade agreement‬


‪MP Nathan Cullen on Enbridge Northern Gateway‬

In the next 24 hours, a vote in Parliament could stop FIPA

Breaking news from Ottawa:
 In the next 24 hours, a vote in Parliament could stop the secretive and extreme Canada-China investor deal, FIPA, for good.

http://www.leadnow.ca/stop-fipa-vote

If the Canada-China FIPA is ratified, this extreme and secretive deal would pave the way for a massive natural resource buyout, and allow China’s companies to sue Canadian governments in secret tribunals for unlimited damages, restricting Canadians from making democratic decisions about our economy, environment and energy.1

FIPA is the most sweeping trade deal in a generation, and experts thought Prime Minister Harper would sneak it through Parliament without a vote last November.2,3

Nobody expected your campaign to unite Canadians against FIPA. But, together, we put overwhelming pressure on Conservative MPs, divided their caucus, and the government had to shelve the deal while they try to repair the damage.4

Now, the NDP are holding a vote in Parliament that could stop FIPA. There are deep divisions inside the Conservative benches, and if we create a massive public outcry right now we have a chance to stop this terrible trade deal for good.

We only have 24 hours -- tell your MP and all the party leaders to VOTE TO STOP FIPA, then share this with everyone!

http://www.leadnow.ca/stop-fipa-vote

Background
Canadians have a right to determine our future, but this investor deal will undermine our democratic rights and lock us into an inescapable path of foreign-ownership and resource extraction until at least 2040.

In December, Prime Minister Harper approved the takeover of Canadian oil company Nexen by China's state-owned giant, CNOOC. If FIPA passes, companies like CNOOC can take over Canadian resources and then sue Canadian governments in secret, if the government does anything that threatens the company’s profits.

Any Canadian law or government decision – even ones that protect Canada’s environment, create jobs and stop dangerous projects – could be fought in secret tribunals outside of our legal system. Arbitrators unaccountable to the Canadian public would have the power to award billions in damages to foreign corporations if we do anything that hurts corporate profits, like improve environmental standards or slow down the export of cheap, unprocessed resources.1,5,6
We need to act now. Tell your MP and party leaders: VOTE TO STOP the secretive and extreme Canada-China FIPA.

Additional Information
Our government has not been transparent and accountable to the public.
There has been no real debate in Parliament, no binding vote, and no reports on the risks. The government’s talking points about this FIPA have been dismantled for misleading the public by a Canadian international legal expert.7 China is just as important as the US, and there was a whole election fought over NAFTA. If this is such a good deal, why don’t they want us to hear about it?
Investor-state lawsuits undermine our democratic control.

The ability for corporations to sue foreign governments in private courts, called “investor-state arbitration,” is a controversial practice built into many trade deals like NAFTA that has cost Canada millions and over-ruled democratic decisions, but none impose the level of secrecy in the Canada-China FIPA.

These private courts have a track record of systematically ruling against the interests of Canadians.8 Under this system, Canada has already been sued more than any industrialized country in the world.9,10

Right now, an American company called Lone Pine Resources is using a similar measure in NAFTA to sue Canada for $250 million dollars. Why? They are suing because Quebec placed a temporary hold on gas fracking to study the controversial practice’s impacts on health and environment.11
Incredibly, if BC tries to regulate or block Enbridge’s Northern Gateway Pipeline, Sinopec, another Chinese state-owned oil company with investments in Canada’s natural resource infrastructure, may be able to sue for damages, and we may never even hear about it the case or the details of the results.5,6

Other countries are moving away from this runaway global system.
Other countries like India, South Africa and Australia are moving away from this kind of trade deal. Last year Australia rejected investor-state arbitration due to concerns that it would “constrain the ability of Australian governments to make laws on social, environmental and economic matters”.12,13

This deal threatens provincial and indigenous rights.
By allowing foreign corporations to sue Canadians governments for decisions made by any government - federal, provincial, or First Nation - this FIPA threatens the constitutional rights of provinces and First Nations.

In the 1990s, many provinces spoke out against the Multilateral Agreement on Investment (MAI), which had similar investor-state tribunals, joining a global groundswell that stopped the MAI in its tracks.14

The BC Union of Indian Chiefs has written an open letter to Prime Minister Harper condemning the Canada-China FIPA. They begin their letter: "On behalf the Union of BC Indian Chiefs, we are writing to firmly express, advise and direct the Government of Canada to reject the Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement with China as the Government of Canada has breached its fiduciary duty to consult First Nations on our respective constitutionally-enshrined and judicially-recognized Aboriginal Title, Rights and Treaty Rights."15

The Chiefs of Ontario have also written to both Prime Minister Harper and China's Ambassador to Canada advising that the Canada-China FIPA investment deal violates First Nation Treaty rights and international law, and should be postponed indefinitely, pending nation-to-nation discussions between Canada and First Nations.16,17

Sources:
1. Canada-China Investment Deal Allows for Confidential Lawsuits Against Canada (Toronto Star)
http://www.thestar.com/opinion/editorialopinion/article/1264290--canada-china-investment-deal-allows-for-confidential-lawsuits-against-canada

2. Tories quietly table Canada-China investment treaty (Globe and Mail)
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/tories-quietly-table-canada-china-investment-treaty/article4573635/

3. Battle over CNOOC’s proposed Nexen Takeover Heats Up In Ottawa (Financial Post)
http://business.financialpost.com/2012/09/17/battle-over-cnoocs-proposed-nexen-takeover-heats-up-in-ottawa/

4. Opposition, activists in last minute push for more scrutiny of Canada-China treaty (The Globe and Mail)
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/opposition-activists-in-last-minute-push-for-more-scrutiny-of-canada-china-treaty/article4762814/

5. Chinese Companies Can Sue BC for Changing Course on Northern Gateway, says Policy Expert
http://www.vancouverobserver.com/sustainability/chinese-companies-can-sue-bc-changing-course-northern-gateway-says-policy-expert

6. Chairman Harper and the Chinese Sell-Out (The Tyee)
http://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2012/10/11/Chairman-Harper/print.html

7. Taking apart Tories' Party Line on China-Canada Treaty (The Tyee)
http://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2012/11/05/Van-Harten-FIPA/

8. China Investment Treaty: Expert Sounds Alarms in Letter to Harper Toronto-based authority urges PM to halt ratification, laying out numerous 'deep' concerns. The Tyee, October 16, 2012.
http://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2012/10/16/China-Investment-Treaty/

9. Canada has the 6th most investor-state cases against it in the world -- 17 cases against it to the end of 2011. UNCTAD publishes its annual review of investor-State dispute settlement cases, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. February 2012.
http://unctad.org/en/PublicationsLibrary/webdiaeia2012d10_en.pdf

10. If you include all notices of claims on the Government of Canada, Canada would have 34 cases against and be second in the world (US would rise to 16 cases). NAFTA - Chapter 11 - Investment. Cases Filed Against the Government of Canada: Notices of Intent Received and Current Arbitration, Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada.
http://www.international.gc.ca/trade-agreements-accords-commerciaux/disp-diff/gov.aspx?lang=en&view=d

11. Quebec’s St. Lawrence fracking ban challenged under NAFTA. The Globe and Mail, November 22, 2012.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/quebecs-st-lawrence-fracking-ban-challenged-under-nafta/article5577331/

12. Trading our way to more jobs and prosperity (Government of Australia)
http://www.dfat.gov.au/publications/trade/trading-our-way-to-more-jobs-and-prosperity.html#investor-state

13. Multiple Countries Rejecting Investor State Dispute Settlement (Janet M Eaton, PhD)
http://www.sierraclub.ca/en/main-page/multiple-countries-rejecting-investor-state-dispute-settlement

14. Special Committee on the Multilateral Agreement on Investment, First Report. Third Session, Thirty-sixth Parliament. December 29, 1998
http://www.leg.bc.ca/cmt/36thParl/mai/1998/1report/part_iv.htm

15. Open Letter: Canada – China Agreement Abrogates Rights of Indigenous People (Union of BC Indian Chiefs)
http://www.ubcic.bc.ca/News_Releases/UBCICNews10311201.html

16. China Canada FIPA - Chiefs of Ontario Letter to PM Harper
http://www.scribd.com/doc/112459570/

17. China Canada FIPA - Chiefs of Ontario Letter to China's Ambassador
http://www.scribd.com/doc/112459565/

Help raise the alarm
Thousands of us are urgently calling on our MPs to vote to stop the Canada-China investor deal and its unprecedented giveaway of natural resources to foreign control - but we urgently need to reach thousands more before the vote on Thursday, and to do that we need your help to spread the word far and wide.

http://www.leadnow.ca/stop-fipa-vote

NAFTA investor lawsuit against shale gas moratorium adds reason to fear FIPA.

RBC and the Harper government's double message on 'guest workers'

Capitalism as usual: Why RBC's outsourcing isn't really a surprise

RBC replaces Canadian staff with foreign workers

RBC takes heat for Ottawa’s flawed outsourcing policy: CD Howe expert

He said RBC executives told managers, “You can only hire a Canadian if you can show that iGATE can’t supply the worker for you.”

RBC outsourcing jobs

Outsourcing bank jobs is common practice, say employees

Labour Shortage in Canada? Evidence Is Skimpy

George Carlin – Business Globalist Elite Don't Care about You

Oil Sands 'Money Left on the Table' and More Myths

Bitumen Bottleneck and Pipelines Fix a Myth: Economist

Decision looms in case of Chinese workers at B.C. coal mine

China’s Military Issues Implied Threat of War Directed at Japan

The global business elite flocked to China's Boao forum last week


Earlier this month China introduced of a more effective weapon system to assert its territorial claims—a cruise ship with thousands of tourists.

A Chinese show of force to remember in the South China Sea

How China enables North Korea’s mischief

China confirms military exercises near N. Korean border

Russian strategic bomber conducts practice strikes on U.S. missile defenses in Asia

ART CASHIN: It's During Times Like These I Think About How World War I Started


A Gang Of Racist Chinese Kicked a Little UYGHUR Boy in the Head, street crowd laughs 


This is what happens when a gang of thugs rules a country, they teach the people to be thugs, and compassion becomes a lost concept. Imagine if a violent totalitarian regime ruled your country for decades, people lived in fear, people accept the violence and oppression of the authorities. After living through the cultural revolution, standards and norms of acceptable behavior must have changed. To us it may seem strange, but to people who grow up under a such a regime, the culture of violence and racism is normal. Many Chinese people accept the Communist party because they believe the Communist party makes their country strong. For them human rights don't matter, they want power, expansion of the empire, they are doing it all for the so called "race". With an ultra nationalist school curriculum, increasing economic and military capabilities and claims to neighboring country's territory, this does not bode well for world peace.

“China dream.”
“renaissance of the Chinese race:”

Centralized Power Key to Realizing Xi’s “China Dream”

'Pipeline Company Bullies'

Apple attacked by Chinese hackers, Mac software tool coming to protect consumers

Chinese State Media Continue Attack on Apple

China exporting massive amounts of Date rape drug

Why'd the Feds Push to Ratify Four Treaties Without Debate?

Tory MPs rebel against Prime Minister's Office control

We asked: Should all MPs have the right to speak their minds in the House?

Another Conservative MP comes to defence of muzzled backbencher

Congressional momentum on SEC political spending

Ecuador auctions off Amazon to Chinese oil firms

Teeing Off at Edge of the Arctic? A Chinese Plan Baffles Iceland

China stepping up drone deployment

China confirms nuclear deal with Pakistan

A Chinese amphibious task force sparks jitters around the region by reaching the southernmost waters of its claimed domain

China and Vietnam row over South China Sea clash

The dangerous drift towards world war in Asia

Putin foe Berezovsky dead, circumstances "unexplained"

New Report Spotlights Trade Rules' Conflict with Sound Financial Regulation

First SOPA then ACTA, now TAFTA- here we go again