http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umN_fXKKjxM&feature=youtube_gdata_player
Technical. Bio-chemistry. Addresses topics such as:
- differences, organic and inorganic mercury
- measurement in body – blood, hair and urine
- de-toxifying
- and more.
May 062012
Sandra Finley
May 042012
Hello Josh,
The Freedom Train ride to Toronto, to the Enbridge Annual Shareholders’ Meeting, is inspirational to all of us.
It was my good fortune to meet you on the train platform in Saskatoon.
Many Canadians are unaware of the role of Saskatchewan in tar sands expansion. Perhaps the following will provide a broader understanding that will in some way be helpful.
Best wishes and In solidarity,
Sandra Finley (contact info)
BACK-END: You (and many others in Canada) are fighting to stop the Northern Gateway Pipeline (the back-end of the process, moving the product to market with its destruction of the Earth’s capacity to support your communities and also inevitable, unimaginable destruction of coastal waterways.)
FRONT-END: The tar sands extend from Alberta into Saskatchewan. Here in Saskatchewan, activists are fighting to stop the front-end of the production. The energy supply needed for tar sands expansion is to come from “small” nuclear reactors. The oil and gas industry is partnered with the uranium/nuclear industry (and Cameco (uranium) is vertically integrated with Bruce Power (nuclear) through a 30% ownership stake).
There is a pretty amazing mobilization of people, in North America and internationally to stop tar sands development. You and others can see the impending “more” destruction and disease.
Most people know about Fort McMurray with the downstream consequences for Fort Chipewyan.
Most people are unaware that by 2003 some areas of northern Saskatchewan were already past critical load limits for acidification. The prevailing winds from Fort McMurray are from the northwest. As explained to me by the scientist from the Saskatchewan Research Council who had been studying water quality in the north since the 1980’s when the lakes and streams were perfectly healthy, “Northern Saskatchewan is dying”.
The Saskatchewan Watershed Authority knew the situation. It was reported in the 2003 Annual Report of the Canadian Council of Ministers of Environment (CCME).
You will know how many more tonnes of sulphur dioxide and nitrous oxide have been emitted in the 9 years since 2003, and the plans for the future. Northern Saskatchewan will be a wasteland, by their plans. It is a beautiful area of the Canadian Shield that supports First Nations people.
As mentioned, the “small” nuclear reactors are needed as the energy supply for more tar sands development.
The people of Saskatchewan said “no” to nuclear through public consultations in 2009. The industry, working with the Government of Brad Wall and the University of Saskatchewan, is circumventing the public wish, moving the agenda through the University. The Canadian Centre for Nuclear Innovation (CCNI) is now established at the U of S. (The Petroleum Technology Research Centre (PTRC) was established well over a decade ago at the U of R . . . public funding of oil and gas companies. I’m sure everyone would agree that THEY need public funding!)
The Govt of Sask has given tens of millions of dollars to the U of S, ear-marked for nuclear. (The nuclear industry would not actually exist without public funding – investment companies won’t touch them with a ten-foot pole.) The Govt of Brad Wall went into partnership with Hitachi for the small reactors with a donation of $10 million. They also signed a memorandum with the Idaho National Laboratory (IDL), specialists in all things nuclear. (As did Alberta a year before Saskatchewan, but I think the Govt-Industry-University triumvirate found the Alberta activists formidable – – and decided to move things through Saskatchewan. Bruce Power announced in Dec 2011 that they have abandoned attempts to establish reactors in Alberta.)
American corporate wants the resources (tar sands and water). Their usual modus operandi: undermine local democratic government and set up quisling governments. (If that doesn’t work they drop bombs.) Brad Wall, Premier of Saskatchewan, is the “co-spearhead” of the “Largest on the planet, Canada-U.S. Western Energy Corridor” for the southward movement of tar sands product (“non-renewable” energy) and nuclear power (“clean” energy). Click on [ 2009-06-15 Premiers, governors promote Canada-U.S. energy corridor ] , then scroll down past the headers at the top of the page.
There is increasing militarization. Some examples
- The Canada – U.S. Troop Exchange Agreement
- the “Cougars for Cops” programme (armoured vehicles in Canadian cities)
- drones along the Canada – U.S. border
Some of it is documented in the chronology at http://sandrafinley.ca/?p=527– – scroll down, past the Lockheed Martin info – sorry I do not have a more concise document).
The militarization is a necessary component of the “petro-state”, the back-up in the event that citizens become effective at thwarting the intentions of the corporatocracy.
Lockheed Martin Corporation is the American military, the Pentagon, the ones to whom Harper gave the untendered contract for F-35 stealth bombers, manufacturers of drones, heavily into international surveillance, contracts for the Canadian census, huge funders of political parties, lobbyists, corrupt-as-hell with a string of court convictions and out-of-court settlements. (See Lockheed Martin, War Economy).
Lockheed Martin is establishing itself in Saskatoon. First, through the Saskatchewan Indian Institute of Technology (SIIT) which then mushroomed into an Aviation Training Centre at the Saskatoon Airport with other collaborators: the Sask Institute of Applied Science and Technology (SIAST) commercial pilot programme; Western Economic Diversification; Boeing; and the Govt of Sask. Click on [ 2010-11-01
Saskatchewan Aviation Learning Centre ]. If you know the language, the Training Centre includes drone technology. (You can now earn a Bachelor of Science degree in Unmanned Aerial Vehicles across the border in North Dakota, click on [2011-04-22 The Drone-ification of America. (correction: .. of NORTH America)]
Lockheed Martin is recently plying the University of Saskatchewan with its money: [2012-04-17 Lockheed Martin at U of S. “Collaboration Topics”. Help!] The “Collaboration Topics” are related to war weaponry. The leadership at the University defends collaboration (after running the University into serious financial waters). Some of us got elected to the University Senate in order to challenge what is essentially the theft of the University – – turned over to corporate interests for what is really very little money.
The increasing militarization needs to be combated. By the Troop Exchange Agreement in 2008, the Govt of Canada can call in the American Troops in the case of civil emergency (ostensibly to help out in cases of natural disasters). More recently American police can work in Canada.
It is important to include the RCMP, police and Canadian military personnel in the information flowing through our networks. In response to the Encana pipeline “incidents” near Dawson Creek, the “anti-terrorist” squad of the RCMP was called out. I wrote to the Superintendent (who is now retired) to say, “these are not terrorists. They are people defending their lands, families and livestock against poisoning. It is poisoning that causes
fertility problems, birth defects and slow disease. The RCMP and the Justice system are being used to intimidate citizens and to protect corporate
interests. (Click on 2008-11-06 Tar Sands & Encana: Letter to RCMP anti-terrorism squad and 2008-11-09 Encana Tar Sands: Reply from RCMP. Rule of law? Jane Jacobs.)
It was good to hear your chiefs state the obvious, that they are not “terrorists” or radicals, as Government officials have recently attempted to portray citizens who stand in defence of their lands. Hopefully people will see the propaganda for what it is, another tool to take down democracy.
Because I run an activist email network (for about 12 years) and because I am involved in an on-going trial over refusal to fill out a census form in 2006 (because of the “out-sourcing” of work on it to Lockheed Martin), I receive information I would not find on my own. When pieced together the information forms a clear picture. Canadians should be aware and very active.
We have to stand up, speak out and form yet stronger confederacies. The Freedom Train is an important contribution.
We stand in spirit with you.
Bless you.
Sandra Finley
(contact info)
May 022012
May 2, 2012: Karen Duff, researcher, Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC), 212 305 8790. I left a message on Karen’s phone: “But what causes the “malfunctioning protein?” There is a file/pile of information on the link between alzheimer’s and mercury poisoning from slow off-gasing of mercury from dental fillings over decades. I left my phone number and web address.
The article below is from Bloomberg’s. The link is no longer valid. There are numerous news reports on this research. Copy and paste the title into google to find them.
As far as I know, Karen Duff did not reply to my message.
New clues unearthed on how Alzheimer’s spreads through the brain
ELIZABETH LOPATTO
Alzheimer’s appears to spread through the brain like poison in a river, according to a study that’s the first to track the destruction caused by an abnormal protein implicated in tile disease.
Researchers created genetically engineered mice with abnormal tau protein in the brain’s entorhinal cortex, the first place the substance shows up in people with Alzheimer’s disease, according to a paper in the journal PLoS One. From there, they mapped the mouse brains over 22 months as the tau spread across neurons within the organ to other regions governing memory, reasoning and other functions.
Tau is one of two abnormal proteins tied to Alzheimer’s. The one more closely associated is beta amyloid, which can be detected using imaging tools. While high levels of beta amyloid can predict risk, the amount of tau found after death correlates more closely with dementia, said Karen Duff, the lead researcher.
A TANGLED PROTEIN
A new study suggests that Alzheimer’s disease spreads from cell to cell inside the brain through a malfunctioning protein called tau.
Beta amyloid plaque I TAU PROTEINS normally stabilize the scaffoldlike microtubules that carry messages within a healthy neuron, But in some cases, tau detaches and forms tangled clumps, disrupting the microtubules and eventually killing the cell.
SOME PREVIOUS ATTEMPTS to halt the spread of Alzheimer’s focused on another protein called beta amyloid, which forms plaques in the early stages of the disease, The new findings should allow researchers to test methods for blocking tau. Knowing the path tau takes in the brain may one day improve treatment, she said. “There may be an intervention point that might prevent dementia” if scientists can figure out how to stop the tau from spreading, said Dr. Duff, who is a professor of pathology at Columbia University Medical Center in New York.
The place where abnormal tau shows up earliest isn’t associated with dementia at a1l, she said. Tau also is involved in other kinds of dementia, including frontotemporal lobe dementia, Parkinson’s disease and Lewy body disorder, Dr, Duff said. The spread is probably similar even if the abnormal protein arises somewhere else in the brain.
It’s not clear from the research how tau and amyloid interact, a question Dr. Duff said she wants to study further. When tau is normal, it supplies nutrients to QiIVe cells in the brain. When .if is damaged, it becomes tangled and shuts off nutrients, causing the death of brain cells.
Beta amyloid is known to play a role in Alzheimer’s in part because genes that confer higher risks of the illness have to do with amyloid, Duff said. The new research suggests that it somehow interacts with the tau that ultimately kills the cells. “There’s some interaction, and it seems amyloid has its detrimental effects through tau,” Dr, Duff said. “There’s an interaction at a fundamental level we don’t understand yet” Closer study of the mouse model, as well as imaging tools that would allow scientists to see tau accumulate in living humans’ brains, would be helpful, she said.
The mice may also prove useful for testing interventions to prevent the spread of the abnormal clumps of protein, she said. “Mostly we wanted to mimic the early stages of Alzheimer’s, because that could best give us some idea of where we could target therapeutically,” Dr. Duff said. “And if we layer on an amyloid model, we may also be able to see interactions.”
May 022012
From: Joseph Bourgault
Sent: April-17-12 11:55 AM
Subject: RE: Mercury Fillings re Obstacles to getting the use stopped
Hi Sandra,
Regarding the Issue of convincing our so called “Health Authorities”, i.e. Health Canada, from Banning Mercury Amalgam Dental Fillings few people have put more thought and more energy into understanding this Highly Harmful Situation than Dr. Hal Huggins and when he approached the ADA, American Dental Association, to explain to them what he had learned in his research and experience with helping hundreds of people to recover from all kinds of serious illnesses, he was “Very Strongly Rejected” by the ADA, because they are “Kneck Deep” in potential Lawsuits and Liability Claims if they were ever to admit that “mercury amalgam dental fillings are toxic and causing MS, Depression, Alzheimers etc.” and if they acted to ban mercury dental fillings. No person has invested more time, energies and resources into stopping mercury dental fillings than Dr. Hal Huggins.
What Dr. Hal Huggins, Dr. Vimey and others like them have accomplished is that there are NOW THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE, if not tens of thousands of people like myself, yourself, Grant S. and others who have been made aware and have benefitted from the removal of their amalgam-mercury dental fillings. “The Word”, the truth about the dangers of mercury, is spreading everyday, one person at the time, slowly but surely and someday soon, there will be enough people in our Society to reach the “Tipping Point” or “Critical Mass” forcing Health Canada to ban the use of this poison.
Critical Mass, as I understand it is when there are 5% to 10% of the people in a Society who have been made aware and or have benefitted from a
Truth.
Getting frustrated because things are not moving fast enough to our individual liking is understandable, but not necessarily helpful. (Whenever I
am feeling frustrated I Observe, Accept, Face, Feel, Integrate, Transmute and Transcend these ego thoughts of needing something to happen at my pace. Read/study Emotional Clearing by John Ruskan and also the Conversation with God books by Neale Donald Walsch.)
It is important to not NEED our Health Authorities to stop the use of mercury dental fillings because if we get caught up in the ego illusion of needing something then by the Laws of Mind we actually contribute mental energies or thoughts to perpetuate the harm being done!
I discussed the “ego illusion of need” with Dr. Nestor Shapka, “BY THE LAWS OF MIND” if you NEED something to happen, you actually work against your own best efforts and also against everyone else’s best efforts to stop a “wrong, or evil” action. I highly recommend that you read the Conversation with God books by Neale Donald Walsch, (Book 1) where God explains the Laws of Mind and Book 5 Communion with God in which God explains the 10 human illusions, the Illusion of Need being one of the 10 human ego illusions.
We are creative Spiritual Beings. All that is necessary for us to CAUSE our desires and preferred outcomes to manifest is for us to work diligently
towards their fulfillment or full manifestation, in a manner that is informed and emotionally and mentally clear. It is important to be realistic in the
timeline it takes to manifest “Large Desires” or “Dreams” or “Preferences”, when thousands of people are involved and or whenever our Positive-Constructive Dreams are large in size. The Bigger the Dream the more time it can take to manifest.
For example, Gandhi did not free India from British Rule in 2 hours as the movie Gandhi depicted, but rather it took him over 40 years of 100%
commitment to what he strongly reasoned and felt was a JUST CAUSE! He may have been frustrated at times no doubt, but he did not “burn himself out” and he learned what works and what doesn’t along the Way, as he moved in the direction of what he knew to be Right, Good and True in Principle (that the Indian people were capable of governing themselves). Studying Gandhi is an excellent role model or example for any Activist to understand the “Frame of Mind” that is required to bring about important improvements that require Mass Consciousness Movement.
In order for any action to be truly successful, it is important to be Emotionally and Mental Clear, that is, a person must do his or her best to work diligently to bring about a desired or preferred outcome, i.e. in this case to convince our health authorities (Health Canada and or one Dentist at the Time) to stop the use of mercury dental fillings, by presenting the facts “TO THOSE WHO ARE OPEN MINDED TO LISTEN” in an honest and respectful manner, and then trusting those who are in positions of authority to act based on the factually sound information that is presented. Gandhi said: “If you know a truth, speak it with as much love and respect as possible otherwise they will reject the message and the Messenger!” My observation has been that Most People (Not All People), especially professionals have a great deal of trouble admitting they are doing wrong.
To expand on Understanding what we as individuals can rationally expect to accomplish by our own actions, as one example:
If we are faced with a life and death situation and a person is directly in a position to act to stop the harmful action from occurring then a person of
conscience must act to stop the harmful action.
However, even if the Situation is life and death as it is the Case for some people with mercury poisoning (as millions have these poisonous dental
fillings in their mouth), if the Situation is not something a person is in a position of authority to stop then all a person can do is to work diligently (but not at the level of frustration or need which is a waste of time and energy and counterproductive), to do what one CAN DO, in an emotionally and mentally clear manner, to raise the levels of awareness of the harm that is being done, in one’s own efforts, to work towards stopping the harmful action(s).
Examples of constructive actions in this Case would include writing informative, fact based letters and sending them to the Proper Authorities,
organizing events such as the Mercury Jamboree, informing those who are “open minded”, etc. Whenever we find ourselves getting frustrated it is time to Back Away for a Moment, to get some rest, as Lao-tzu would say: “When a river encounters an obstacle it either stops and gathers enough water to flow over the obstacle or if it can it flows around the obstacle, but the river does not get angry or frustrated at the obstacle.” This is a Taoist Mindset and this is one example of how Nature Operates. Slowly but surely the river finds its way around the obstacles and to ocean. This is how we must view Health Canada…as an obstacle…but in time when the momentum is sufficient (when the river of awareness and informed people gets big enough) even Health Canada will have to yield and or go with the flow! Health Canada is already irrelevant to me as I have come to the realization that they are not led by moral or ethical people and so I place no faith in Health Canada to protect my health. I am 100% responsible to protect my own health!
In order to avoid ego frustration/needing things to change and or its opposite, i.e. ego non-action or apathy….I do the following things;
1) I “Financially Support” Good Organizations and Good People who are headed in the Right Direction. I donate monthly and sometimes annually to those people and to those Organizations such as GreenPeace, Ecojustice, CAPE or Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment, David Suzuki Foundation, and many other Good Organizations whom I reason/feel are heading in the “Right Directions” to support those who are Well Organized and who are working towards a “Just Cause” or towards particular objectives, to improve the Quality of Lives of Others.
It is certainly commendable to be an Activist.
But to be a truly successful Activist, one must learn and understand, the following:
(A) To be physically super healthy one Self, through a very healthy diet and lifestyle so that a person has the physical energies to do good, and a
person can recharge daily with organic foods, pure water etc. so as not to burn out. Even doing good takes energy! Less energy than doing harm/evil certainly, but it still takes energy to swim upstream!
(B) To do one’s homework to be as intellectually-wisely informed on the Important Issue at hand. Know your facts. As a wise U.S. Senator would say: “We are all entitled to our own opinions, but not to our own facts.” As much as possible “facts” and or one’s Case must be based on the 100% honest, objective, pursuit of truth research. In this way a person is able to articulate one’s Case just as a Good Lawyer would do and thus
has the Power of Knowledge to present his/her Case to those who are willing to listen.
(C) A person must work to be as “Emotionally Clear” as possible, by practicing daily emotional clearing (observing, accepting, facing, feeling, integrating one’s hard feelings whatever they are, i.e. frustration is one example of a an emotion which can be integrated) and or study and learn how to do proper emotional clearing as John Ruskan teaches in his great book Emotional Clearing. Other great books for Emotional Clearing include: What You Feel You Can Heal, by Dr. John Gray and Feelings Buried Alive Never Die, by Karol Truman.
(D) A person must be Mentally Fit and understand the Laws of Mind so that one’s thinking is not acting counterproductive, as when a person becomes frustrated or negative in thinking as this acts against the fulfillment of one’s desired outcome.
(E) And spiritually speaking, a person must learn to connect with the Divine Forces, to work in harmony with God, with Nature, listening for Their
Guidance, (intuition and insights) to bring about our desired or preferred improvements in our lives and in our Society.
The teachings of Jesus, Buddha, Gandhi, Lao-Tzu, Confucius, and other Major Change Makers, who have made measurable improvements for every life on earth, these are our Best Teachers and the Conversations with God books are the finest resources I have encountered to intellectually understand how to bring about Positive Shifts in Mass Consciousness.
Also I have learned from my life experience to operate at the level which I am able to and or which I feel intuitively guided to work at and to trust God and Other Enlightened People to do their Part(s) as well.
I do not have to Save the World by my Self. God is in a much better position to do this than I, but I can certainly do my small parts as well. He’s the Coach, I am one of His player’s.
I trust that if I do my best, at every level which I am able to operate within my time, energies and financial resources, then God, Goddess, and Other
Enlightened Persons, that being you, the person reading this, I trust you will do your part and others will do their part, and pretty soon we will have a Major Awakening Take Place on the Planet. I believe this is already happening as there are hundreds of thousands of people on this Planet who are very Awake and many more are following their lead.
But… if this Awakening… does not happen as quickly as I would like it to happen… I do not let my ego take over my mind and operate at the level of
frustration or need…. because I have been informed and realized that this is counterproductive to my own Personal Health and to the Sustainability of my efforts, and therefore would also be Counter Productive to actively CAUSING my desired and preferred outcomes to occur.
Finally, I deserve to have time to rest and relax and to enjoy life, and so I also do my best to invest some of my time, energies and resources resting,
relaxing and enjoying life (visiting with family and friends), because to become depressed and frustrated or needy serves no one.
These are some of my thoughts on your email below Sandra. I would have more to say, but I reason/feel I have said enough and hope you find this
information helpful in your understanding of how to proceed at a Healthy and Sustainable Pace at working towards the Ban of Mercury Dental Fillings.
Kind Regards,
Joseph Bourgault
= = = = = = = = =
From: Sandra Finley
Sent: Sunday, April 15, 2012
Subject: TO: Mercury Fillings group, re Obstacles to getting the use stopped
If we cannot achieve success in stopping the use of mercury fillings, something is very wrong.
From past experience I can tell you with certainty: rational arguments with scientific information supported by personal stories is unlikely to win the day.
Lobbying the Government has a poor record of success.
I am not real fond of banging my head against the wall.
You may be interested in the following. I was prompted to write it because of a different assault on children that any sane person would put an end to. Just as any sane person would not put mercury fillings into the mouths of anyone, let alone children.
You don’t know me. My analysis of the situation is that if we are to stop the use of mercury fillings, I have to move outside my comfort zone. The appended explains. I sent it into my email network today.
SUBJECT: (click on) Figure me out. Figure you out. Salvation is coming. With help from Hannah Arendt.
May 022012
Scroll to the bottom of the linked page. Short video. Dr. Boyd Haley, research on mercury off-gasing from “new” amalgam (more copper, less of the other metals that are mixed with the mercury).
May 022012
Powerful information. Synergistic toxicity.
From the website “Safe Minds” (Sensible Action For Ending Mercury Induced Neurological Disorders“.
Recommend: there is other excellent information on this website.
With thanks to Daeran:
Here are links to 1978 study on mice (Shubert et al. Combined Effects in Toxicology – A Rapid systematic Testing Procedure: Cadmium, Mercury & Lead. J. of Toxicology & Environmental Health 4:763, 1978).
http://www.safeminds.org/mercury/synergistic-toxicity.html
Synergistic Toxicity
(NOTE: I copy the text to guard against “cannot find the web page” in the future.)
How can 1 + 1 = 100? “Synergistic toxicity” refers to the effect that when exposed to two toxins, the toxicity level is far greater than the additive toxicity levels of the two toxins. A good example demonstrating ‘synergistic toxicity’ is a 1978 study on mice (Shubert et al. Combined Effects in Toxicology – A Rapid systematic Testing Procedure: Cadmium, Mercury & Lead. J. of Toxicology & Environmental Health 4:763, 1978). The study took the amount of mercury salt that kills 1 in 100 mice and 1/20th of the amount of lead salt that kills 1 in 100 mice. When these amounts of mercury salt and lead salt were administered, the synergistic toxicity of these two toxins killed 100 in 100 mice:
If Additive toxicity, one would expect 1 + 0.05 = 1.05 mice to die (1 or 2)
With Synergistic toxicity, the results were: 1 + 0.05 = 100 mice died
It is important to understand the concept of ‘synergistic toxicity’, as research is increasingly showing that different toxins are typically synergistic rather than additive in the human body. However when testing is performed on a toxicity of a substance, the ‘level of harm’ is set based on an assumption that the substance is the only toxin to which he body is being exposed.
Synergistic toxicity is likely highly relevant in the causality of autism. Assume, as example, that a fetus or young infant already has high levels of toxins (e.g. lead and mercury from environmental sources) due to a lessened ability to excrete toxins. Then multiple vaccines are administered which contain an aluminum salt (e.g. aluminum hydroxide) which is specifically included as an “adjuvant” to elicit an abnormally large immune reaction (the adjuvant is essentially what makes a vaccine work as it causes the body to build an immune response to the disease-causing virus or bacteria such as measles, pertussis, etc). Additionally, the vaccines can contain live virus, endotoxins produced by the bacteria, and/or organic mercury. There is significant potential for unexpected ‘synergistic toxicity’ effects from vaccines, particularly for a susceptible population that may already have high toxin levels due to a lessened ability to excrete toxins. Yet synergistic toxicity of vaccines has not been studied – studies have focused on only individual toxicity of a single component of the vaccines (e.g. mercury or measles virus). Further, the toxicity of an environmental toxin is generally studied independently of other toxins, although the few studies on combining toxins typically show a strong synergistic toxicity effect.
Apr 302012
Hi Sandra,
i am sending this to absolutely everybody i know! It speaks for itself. SEE http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrhtFKE2V4I (We Love You – Iran & Israel)
Love, brigitte
(2 minutes) April 30, 2012: 22,640 views in the am. 22,798 by suppertime.
- But the number of views is understated.
- The cascade of supporting videos has been phenomenal, more people on the same idea.
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
I am VERY sorry. I lost track of who sent this in, more on We Love You – Iran & Israel:
And then there is this, in the face of the psychopaths who are planning to drop bombs on Iran.
It is rather heart-moving. Israeli-Iranian solidarity exchange sweeps Facebook
On Saturday night, an Israeli couple – two graphic designers named Ronny Edri and Michal Tamir – decided to cut across the growing anxiety and fear over the possibility of an Israel-Iran war, and address Iranian citizens directly. They created a slogan you can impose over your profile picture or any picture of your choice:
I have to admit this is pretty damn cool. (Sandra speaking: don’t stop at the top few (cynical) examples. Keep going, it’s really neat.)
http://972mag.com/israeli-iranian-solidarity-exchange-sweeps-facebook/38565/
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
Note: Buffy St Marie’s “Universal Soldier” SEE http://sandrafinley.ca/?p=5230 Buffy does a short introduction to explain the origin of “Universal Soldier”. The theme is individual responsibility. The lyrics are included.
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
One of the great attractions of patriotism – it fulfills our worst wishes. In the person of our nation we are able, vicariously, to bully and cheat. Bully and cheat, what’s more, with a feeling that we are profoundly virtuous.
Aldous Huxley
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
The biggest bullies are us; we pay for the war machines. Will pay for Harper’s stealth bombers.
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
I like to believe that people in the long run are going to do more to promote peace than our governments. Indeed, I think that people want peace so much that one of these days governments had better get out of the way and let them have it.
Dwight D. Eisenhower, April 1953, SEE 2011-01-17 WATCH: President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s 1961 farewell speech Plus Words of Wisdom from Eisenhower.
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
Hey! How about this? An easy way for us to pitch in.
- Ronny (the Israeli who initiated the video) and thousands of others are stopping the making of war on Iran from below.
- Lockheed Martin is setting up at the University of Saskatchewan. Its “collaboration topics” are listed at http://sandrafinley.ca/?p=5103
- We challenged collaboration with Lockheed Martin at the last meeting of University Senate. (April 21)
- The Dean of Engineering, Ernie Barber, (306 966 5593 ernie.barber AT usask.ca) defended the collaboration.
- The University of Saskatchewan is, at least for now, still owned by the people of Saskatchewan (but the theft continues. I phoned to ask a question of a scientist who is doing a project with the synchrotron at the University. The scientist is with the University; it’s a University phone number. The phone is answered “Cameco . . . ”.)
- The “Collaboration Topics” with Lockheed Martin mean that our children will study and research to aid Lockheed Martin develop more weapons.
Lockheed Martin does not care
– whether their weapons are illegal,
– whether the radioactive poisoning from their DU weapons cause birth defects in the offspring of their own soldiers let alone of the Berbers and Afghans, (Depleted Uranium – which is not depleted at all!) or
– whether they are used to kill and to create tonnes of more hatred in the world – against us in the end.
- We can no longer pretend that we are not part of the American corporate war machine, especially not with Lockheed Martin at the U of S and Canadian participation in the war in Afghanistan (that gets almost no coverage in Canadian mainstream media).
- We CAN help Ronny (We Love You – Iran & Israel, link at top of page) and the tens of thousands of people who are sending messages like his to Iranians. Iranians are sending messages back. People from other countries are pitching in. It is an exciting viral campaign.
- If the war against Iran is launched, Lockheed Martin will be a promoter and large financial beneficiary.
- Our contribution to the battle to stop the wars?
- Quite simple:
tell Ernie Barber (306 966 5593 ernie.barber AT usask.ca) and the University (contact info at http://sandrafinley.ca/?p=5103) that it is wrong to collaborate with Lockheed Martin Corporation. Doesn’t get much easier than that! - Working with courageous and inventive others, using non-violent resistance we CAN stop the destruction and hatred. We are millions in numbers. It is FUN and rewarding work! . . . Way to go Ronny! We’ll do what we can here, to further your brilliance. Again, the video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrhtFKE2V4I (We Love You – Iran & Israel)
Apr 302012
(From: 2010-01-04 People speaking out. Bill Moyers interview re Wall Street. )
I am reminded of Canadian Buffy St Marie’s “Universal Soldier” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGWsGyNsw00&feature=player_embedded.
It is tax-payers who are responsible for illegal war and the deaths and dislocations that accompany it – – they provide the money to make it possible. Lockheed Martin feeds at the public trough. Without tax-payers’ money Lockheed Martin, a destructive force in the World, would not exist. I have criticized the American public for being complicit. I will not now be complicit when Lockheed Martin and the American military worm their way into Canada. I will not pay the portion of my taxes that go to fund what is malevolent, irrational and that displays incapacity to engage in creative problem-solving.
Sometimes it seems that we can never overcome the evils. But in fact we can, because there are so many of us.
THE LYRICS, UNIVERSAL SOLDIER (listen to Buffy sing it, includes a short commentary from her: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGWsGyNsw00&feature=player_embedded)
He’s 5 foot 2 and he’s 6 feet 4
He fights with missiles and with spears
He’s all of 31 and he’s only 17.
He’s been a soldier for a thousand years
He’s a catholic, a Hindu, an atheist, a Jain
A Buddhist, and a Baptist and Jew.
And he knows he shouldn’t kill
And he knows he always will kill
You’ll for me my friend and me for you
And He’s fighting for Canada.
He’s fighting for France.
He’s fighting for the USA.
And he’s fighting for the Russians.
And he’s fighting for Japan
And he thinks we’ll put an end to war this way.
And He’s fighting for democracy,
He’s fighting for the reds
He says it’s for the peace of all.
He’s the one, who must decide,
who’s to live and who’s to die.
And he never sees the writing on the wall.
But without him,
how would Hitler have condemned him at Dachau?
Without him Caesar would have stood alone
He’s the one who gives his body
as a weapon of the war.
And without him all this killing can’t go on
He’s the universal soldier
And he really is the blame
His orders comes from
far away no more.
They come from him.
And you and me.
And brothers can’t you see.
This is not the way we put an end to war
Apr 302012
Early experience with public-private partnerships have enabled this nation’s deal makers and builders to exploit the global trend
- By: Paul Gallant
- From: Business without Borders
- Date: Monday April 30th, 2012
(INSERT: From the top of the webpage:
- “CONTENT PROVIDED BY (logos) Canadian Business, (Globe&Mail’s) Report on Business, (The Economist) Economist Intelligence Unit”.
- “BROUGHT TO YOU BY HSBC”)
Canadian public-private partnerships have come a long way since 1992, when the federal government inked a deal with Strait Crossing Incorporated to design, build and, for 35 years, maintain and operate a bridge between Prince Edward Island and the mainland. Opened in 1997, the $840 million Confederation Bridge was a turning point for public-private partnerships (PPPs or P3s) in this country.
(Photo: Walter Bibikow)
Since then, governments at all levels have been increasingly relying on P3s to reduce public risk, speed up construction timelines, improve efficiencies and give private enterprise an opportunity to innovate on major infrastructure projects like bridges, roads, hospitals and schools. Partnerships BC was founded in 2002, Infrastructure Ontario in 2005, Infrastructure Quebec in 2010 and Partnerships New Brunswick in 2011, while the federal Crown corporation PPP Canada was created in 2009. The Canadian Council for Public-Private Partnership lists 169 P3 projects in Canada, with 49 now under construction. Now, key players are leveraging that experience to take the Canadian P3 model global.
“Canada has developed a mature market with a robust deal pipeline,” says Matti Siemiatycki, an assistant professor of Geography and Planning at the University of Toronto, who has authored several papers on Canadian P3s. ”When the Council [for Public-Private Partnerships] hosts its fall conference, the whole world is at that conference.”
Since financing, contract negotiations and procurement are increasingly taking place on a global playing field, national borders matter much less. Robert Shouldice, a partner in the Vancouver office of Borden Ladner Gervais, is currently working for a Canadian client on a light-rail project in India and last year worked on a light-rail project in Istanbul, both P3 initiatives by local governments. Shouldice’s associate, Doug Saunders, has represented a German company negotiating a P3 in Norway.
“These projects are, from a legal perspective, 95% to 98% commercial contract negotiation. Local law really has very little impact on those negotiations,” says Shouldice. “In fact, a lot of times, for international projects, the parties will choose to have the contracts governed by a different law, just to have the dispute-resolution procedure something other than the local courts.”
Each P3 deal is unique, complicated and, in many cases, expected to spell out the roles of the public and the private partners for decades. The private partner may just design and build a project, or, like with the Confederation Bridge, might also maintain, operate and own it before transferring the property back to the government. With a relatively early start compared to other countries, Canadian players have built a solid P3 reputation.
“The deal history gives us a database of solutions,” says Saunders. “The same experience we’ve gained in terms of the Canadian model is also applicable to those Canadian companies who have understood and gotten involved in the model here. So when they see a P3 project in another jurisdiction, it’s an easy entrée because they know that 95% to 98% of the deal will be the same.”
Mark Romoff, president and CEO of the Canadian Council for Public-Private Partnerships, says Canada has become known for P3 projects that are transparent, fair and good value for money.
“As the Canadian model gets adopted internationally, then it puts in place provisions that should enable Canadian companies to at least compete on a level footing in those jurisdictions,” says Romoff. For example, working with the Canadian Commercial Corporation, Toronto-based construction and infrastructure giant Aecon was chosen as lead contractor for the US$700 million project to design, build, finance, operate and maintain the new airport in Quito, Ecuador (the facility is scheduled to be complete in October 2012).
P3s are often associated with large, elite finance, engineering and construction companies. That was a point of contention when Saunders met recently with British Columbia’s Independent Contractors and Businesses Association, an organization that represents mostly small- and medium-sized contractors. But the finance side and the construction side are different animals. “The reality is that if you look at someone like Macquarie [the large Australia-based provider of banking, financial and investment services], they don’t have one person that has a hammer. Many of these companies coming from overseas are bringing managerial expertise. You’re still going to need local labour, local content for the physical construction.”
Siemiatycki says there is some potential for second-tier Canadian companies to gain access to P3 projects around the world, but it’s not easy. “Because of the way these deals are structured, because part of it is about transferring more risk to the private sector, you need to be a relatively large and relatively well established firm to play in this market. From an export perspective, that raises questions about whether Canadian firms are big enough to participate at that scale. What I have observed is that international firms moving into local markets will partner with domestic firms that have a reputation within the industry already and have networks already in place.”
Canada is not the world leader in P3s. The United Kingdom holds that title and its Partnerships UK, founded in 1999, was a model for Partnerships BC and Infrastructure Ontario. Partnerships UK even earns revenue by advising on P3 deals for non-UK projects, working with more than 14 governments, according to a 2008 working paper out of Stanford University, which looked at similarities and differences between some of the major P3 agencies worldwide.
Perhaps surprisingly, the U.S. has lagged behind the Canada, the U.K., Australia, Spain, France and Portugal.
“In the U.S., this model continues to be controversial and is still going through lots of debate and is still being resisted at a number of different government levels,” says Shouldice. “The P3 model hasn’t caught on there like it’s caught on here and in Europe.” Early toll-road projects in the U.S. were unpopular, says Saunders, giving P3s a bad reputation. Many jurisdictions are still reluctant to change legislation to allow them.
Although Canada’s P3 agencies and contract templates are attracting attention, no P3 model is likely to be one-size-fits all. “It would be misleading to think that an agency designed to fit the rules, codes and conventions of Canada, France or Portugal could be transplanted, say, to the United States, without considerable reinterpretation and recontextualization,” states the Standford working paper. “One important lesson that emerged during the course of this study was that there is no global best practice for agency set-up.”
Apr 282012
Attachment to April 28, 2012, letter from Complaints Officer is the
May 4, 2006 Statement of Defence filed with Court of Queen’s Bench by McKercher “lawyer in charge of file” Joel Hesje