Sandra Finley

2010-09-23 Opposition parties unite in bid to save long-form census

Lockheed Martin, War Economy (includes Cdn Census & Trials) No Responses »

Sep 232010

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/opposition-unites-in-bid-to-save-census/article1721997/

Opposition unites in bid to save census

Jennifer Ditchburn

Ottawa— The Canadian Press

Published Thursday, Sep. 23, 2010 5:12PM EDT; Last updated Thursday, Sep. 23, 2010 5:23PM EDT

Opposition parties banded together to save the long-gun registry, now they’re trying to rescue the mandatory long-form census.

The Liberals submitted details to the House of Commons on Thursday of a private member’s bill that would specifically insert the mandatory long-form census into the Statistics Act.

The bill could see first reading in the Commons by Oct. 1, and the opposition hopes it can hurry it through second reading and on to committee hearings. The Bloc Quebecois and the NDP said Thursday they would support a bill to resurrect the mandatory long form.

Currently, the act only refers to the requirement to hold a census of the population – the short census – every five years. The Liberal bill would also remove the threat of jail time for those who refuse to fill out the long form, but keep the maximum $500 fine.

“It’s almost a sacred trust that we have with civil society that we will get them the information they need with which to plan, and whether that’s the Bank of Canada, or the public health officials, or the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, people are counting on this information and it must be comparable data with previous censuses,” said Liberal MP Carolyn Bennett, the bill’s sponsor.

“If, all of a sudden, the methodology changes, no matter how much tweaking they say they can do by trying to improve the voluntary census, there is no way you can have the quality of data.”

The Conservative government eliminated the mandatory long-form census in June, citing concerns among some Canadians that the process was intrusive and the threat of jail time unreasonable. They replaced it with a voluntary national survey, that would be distributed to more households.

The move set off a wide backlash from a variety of opponents, including religious groups, major charities, the Federation of Francophone and Acadian Communities, statisticians and academics. Several provinces and large municipalities also balked, saying the loss of data would skew policy-making.

Former chief statistician Munir Sheikh resigned in the wake of the decision, unable to support the government’s contention the survey would adequately substitute for the long-form census.

Both Bloc Leader Gilles Duceppe and NDP Leader Jack Layton were unequivocal Thursday in their support of a bill to revive the long-form. “Legislation, although it would take time to put in place, is something that absolutely we would support,” said Mr. Layton, who earlier called unsuccessfully for an emergency debate on the subject.

Industry Minister Tony Clement stood by the government’s decision during Question Period Thursday. “We are working in a fair and reasonable way to have a balance between the need for data and the idea that we should not coerce or force our citizens who may conscientiously object to giving very private information to government officials,” he said.

Ms. Bennett argues there is enough time to act before the next census, scheduled to begin in May 2011. The Liberals also believe there will be no obstacles to the bill as it makes its way through the parliamentary process.

Bills that involve the expenditure of public money must be introduced by the government, but Ms. Bennett notes that reinstating the long-form census would ultimately save money. She said Ottawa is spending at least an extra $30 million on the short census and voluntary survey to get it to more households and encourage responses.

More related to this story

2010-09-16 David Brooks, NY Times columnist on PBS describes the times as “pre-revolution”. Did I hear right?

Corporatocracy or Democracy or Administrative State or WHAT?, Lockheed Martin, War Economy (includes Cdn Census & Trials) No Responses »

Sep 162010

– An interview on American PBS (Public Broadcast), Sept 16, “Charlie Rose” in conversation with New York Times columnist David Brooks. I interpreted Brooks to say that a reason the Obama strategies have not worked is because they required a buy-in from the American public which did not happen. That was the mistake of the Obama administration: they did not understand that the American public does not trust the Government. They would not get the buy-in they needed to make things work.

– I heard Brooks, who is a mainstream journalist, describe the times as being “pre-revolution”. Which surprised me – – I still wonder if I heard right – – it is unexpected to hear a mainstream journalist on relatively conservative PBS make such a statement! And if I heard right, he said that the American financial structure will not survive for more than another 10 years.

– The addition by the RCMP of “coup d’etat” to the list of four threats faced by Canadians is not independent of the situation in the U.S.

– Which reminds me (recent CBC Radio, “The Current”) : the ratio of individual debt to GDP in Canada is second in the world only to the U.S. And we are rapidly closing the gap so that we will be a contender for the #1 spot. (UPDATE: we have now taken over #1 spot.) That makes our economy very vulnerable. Once defaults on debt-repayment start you get a domino effect, as in the American housing market example. It’s another reason why we as tax-payers don’t need $16 billion more in debt for fighter jets.

Enviropig, trade-marked by the University of Guelph, Ontario. Backup copy of U of G webpage.

Food, Genetically Modified, Health, Take back the University 1 Response »

Sep 142010

For More Information on the Enviropig, see 2011-01-10 Enviro-Pig = pig genes + E. coli genes + mouse DNA. Seriously. Coming to your favourite restaurant and you will never know the difference!

Back-up copy of University of Guelph webpage http://www.uoguelph.ca/enviropig/:

Enviropig™

The Enviropig™ is a genetically enhanced line of Yorkshire pigs with the capability of digesting plant phosphorus more efficiently than conventional Yorkshire pigs. These pigs produce the enzyme phytase in the salivary glands that is secreted in the saliva. When cereal grains are consumed, the phytase mixes with the feed as the pig chews. Once the food is swallowed, the phytase enzyme is active in the acidic environment of the stomach, degrading indigestible phytate in the feed that accounts for 50 to 75% of the grain phosphorus.

Phytase produced in the salivary glands and secreted in the saliva increases the digestion of phosphorus contained in feed grains

Figure 1. Phytase produced in the salivary glands and secreted in the saliva increases the digestion of phosphorus contained in feed grains.

Since the Enviropig™ is able to digest cereal grain phosphorus there is no need to supplement the diet with either mineral phosphate or commercially produced phytase, and there is less phosphorus in the manure. When the phosphorus depleted manure is spread on land in areas of intense swine production there is less potential of phosphorus to leach into freshwater ponds, streams and rivers. Because phosphorus is the major nutrient enabling algal growth that is the leading cause of fish kills resulting from anoxic conditions, and reduced water quality, the low phosphorus manure from Enviropigs has a reduced environmental impact in areas where soil phosphorus exceeds desirable levels. Therefore the enviropig biotechnology has two beneficial attributes, it reduces feed cost and reduces the potential of water pollution. Furthermore, the technology is simple, if you know how to raise pigs, you know how to raise Enviropigs!

University of Guelph

50 Stone Road East

Guelph, Ontario, N1G 2W1
Canada

519-824-4120

2010-09-13 RCMP identify coup d’etat as threat to Canada, Ottawa Citizen. Never Never Land.

Corporatocracy or Democracy or Administrative State or WHAT?, Peace or Violence No Responses »

Sep 132010

CONTENTS

(1) COMMENTARY

(2) RCMP LIST COUP D’ETAT AS THREAT, OTTAWA CITIZEN, September 13, 2010

(3) SOME POLITICIANS UNDER FOREIGN SWAY, CSIS, June 23, 2010

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(1) COMMENTARY

The RCMP have put the risk of a coup d’état on the list of four threats to Canada (item #2).

“Military historian Edward Luttwak says,

“A coup consists of the infiltration of a small, but critical, segment of the state apparatus, which is then used to displace the government from its control of the remainder”, thus, armed force (either military or paramilitary) is not a defining feature of a coup d’état.” (wikipedia)

I’d say that coup d’états happen when the powers-that-be want more power and control than they already have. Or, they feel a threat to their power and agenda.

What would threaten them, in today’s world? . . . Why did the RCMP list coup état? . . . Answer one of the questions, you’ve answered both.

Growing dissatisfaction among growing numbers of “peasants” would be a threat to the powers-that-be. Sufficient dissatisfaction, large enough numbers, intention . . . but that would be called a “revolution”, not a coup d’état.

So let’s see. The RCMP say the threat of a coup d’état exists. Earlier, I and others have said that we have corporatocracy, not democracy in Canada. Which means that the coup d’état has ALREADY TAKEN PLACE (“the infiltration of a small, but critical, segment of the state apparatus, which is then used to displace the government from its control of the remainder”).

What does the RCMP statement mean then? Does it mean that there is a threat of EVEN MORE coup d’état-ing?

To answer that, put yourself into the shoes of the powers-that-be (the ones doing the coups). What do THEY see? . . . I see coup d’état . . . they see revolution. We are viewing the same world, but through a different set of eyes. A power struggle between us and them.

I was astounded to hear “coup d’etat” used in the media, from the RCMP. . . . But why the surprise? I have been saying that the success of the opposition to the tar sands, the success in protection of water, etc., threatens the corporate agenda. That “revolution” threatens the corporate agenda. When I stop to think, as a population moves toward revolution, yes, that is when coup d’états happen. The population wakes up to what has been happening, they stop being sheeple, the powers whose interests are threatened must resort to military/police (violence) to impose their will.

In this network we have documented the growing military/police state in Canada. What is that other than the signs of a coup d’état? But is that the coup d’état that the RCMP are thinking of?

So is there evidence of dissatisfaction and unrest, IN LARGE ENOUGH NUMBERS to trigger pre-emptive (that’s what it would be), MORE coup état-ing by large corporations working with their quislings?

Another question: if the RCMP see potential coup d’état, where does that leave THEM?

We’re all in this together. I think we need to understand the situation and share it. Otherwise we, as Canadians, can’t solve it.

Back to Coup d’état / Revolution:
LARGE ENOUGH NUMBERS? .. . . don’t need to address that one. “They” would see large enough numbers, enabled, empowered and connected by the ability to exchange information by email, the net, and cheap phone technology.

This is part of a short series of postings, one of which talks about the movie “Sounds like a Revolution” http://www.soundslikearevolution.com/ . I recommend the movie. It is very helpful to understanding today’s political affairs.

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(2) RCMP LIST COUP D’ETAT AS THREAT, OTTAWA CITIZEN, September 13, 2010

Ottawa Citizen, Montreal Gazette, etc.

RCMP identify coup d’etat as threat

Considered operational priority. First time such language in planning report, signals emphasis on national security

By IAN MACLEOD, Postmedia News; Ottawa Citizen September 13, 2010

RCMP officials have identified a new threat to national security: a coup d’etat.

The reference to a violent overthrow of the federal government is contained in the RCMP’s plans and priorities report to government for 2010-11. It lists national security as one of five operational priorities for the year.

The document then cites four specific security concerns:

– ¦Espionage and sabotage.

– ¦Foreign-influenced criminal activities detrimental to the interests of Canada.

– ¦Terrorism.

– ¦ “Activities aimed at over-throwing, by violence, the Government of Canada.”

RCMP officials were not immediately available Friday to explain the reference, but such language has not appeared in previous RCMP reports.

Over the past year, the Mounties have signalled a renewed emphasis on national security issues that have been pushed aside by law enforcement’s preoccupation with global terrorism since 9/11.

In a major speech last fall, for example, RCMP Commissioner William Elliott said while transnational terrorism and “homegrown” radicalization remain big threats, so too are economic espionage by foreign states, transnational organized crime, proliferation issues, illegal migration and other border-security issues.

While hyperbolic, the mention of a coup threat appears to reflect the force’s return to a broader operational approach to guarding national security.

It’s also not the first talk of a government overthrow.

The 1999 book Agent of Influence alleged the U.S. CIA plotted a de facto coup of Lester B. Pearson’s government in the early 1960s.

Canadian author Ian Adams claimed that after the 1963 assassination of U.S. president John F. Kennedy, CIA counter-intelligence branch head James Jesus Angleton became convinced Pearson was an agent for Russian intelligence and supposedly had information from a Soviet defector backing him up.

“The CIA took great personal offence at Pearson’s independent stands in foreign policy, his grain trades with the Soviet Union, his antiwar positions on Vietnam, and especially his friendly stance on Cuba,” wrote Adams.

To get at Pearson, the CIA set its sights first on Canadian diplomat James Watkins, Canada’s ambassador to Russia in the mid-1950s and a friend of the prime minister.

After 27 days of interrogation by the Mounties, the 62-year-old Watkins’s troubled heart gave out and he died, apparently without supplying the confession the spymasters hoped could bring down the government.

(3) SOME POLITICIANS UNDER FOREIGN SWAY, CSIS, June 23, 2010

http://www.cbc.ca/politics/story/2010/06/22/spying-csis.html

Some politicians under foreign sway: CSIS

Last Updated: Wednesday, June 23, 2010 |

CBC News

Richard Fadden, director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, in an exclusive interview with the CBC. (CBC)

Canada’s spy agency suspects that cabinet ministers in two provinces are under the control of foreign governments, CBC News has learned.

Several members of B.C. municipal governments are also under suspicion, Richard Fadden, the director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, told CBC News in an exclusive interview.

“We’re in fact a bit worried in a couple of provinces that we have an indication that there’s some political figures who have developed quite an attachment to foreign countries,” Fadden said.

“The individual becomes in a position to make decisions that affect the country or the province or a municipality. All of a sudden, decisions aren’t taken on the basis of the public good but on the basis of another country’s preoccupations.”

He said the politicians and public servants see it as a long-standing relationship and have no idea they are being used.

“There are several municipal politicians in British Columbia and in at least two provinces there are ministers of the Crown who we think are under at least the general influence of a foreign government.”

Fadden said the agency is in the process of discussing with the Privy Council Office the best way to inform those provinces there may be a problem.

“We’ll do the same with the public servants. I’m making this comment because I think it’s a real danger that people be totally oblivious to this kind of issue.”

Fadden warned that foreign regimes — through universities and social clubs — will develop a relationship with people who have a connection to the homeland.

“You invite somebody back to the homeland. You pay [for] their trips and all of a sudden you discover that when an event is occurring that is of particular interest to country “X,” you call up and you ask the person to take a particular view,” Fadden said.

At least five countries are surreptitiously recruiting future political prospects in universities, he said. Middle East countries are also involved.

But China is the most aggressive, funding university clubs that are managed by people operating out of the embassy or consulates, Fadden said in a recent speech to Canadian police chiefs and security experts in Toronto.

Chinese authorities also organize demonstrations against the Canadian government in respect to some of Canada’s policies concerning China, Fadden said.

“A number of countries take the view that if they can develop influence with people relatively early in their careers, they’ll follow them through,” Fadden said. “Before you know it, a country is providing them with money, there’s some sort of covert guidance.”

Fadden said he is concerned that too much of the agency’s resources are focused on fighting terrorism and not counter-espionage. That concentration leaves more chances to steal Canada’s sensitive technology and trade secrets, worth billions of dollars a year.

“The difficulty I have, as does everybody, is you have to balance where you allocate resources, but it most definitely is as serious problem, and if I had to guess, I’d say it was going to get worse,” Fadden said.

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2010-09-13 Petro-state: there is no opposition. Premier Brad Wall on “value added” for uranium. NDP Opposition Leader Lingenfelter on nuke in Saskatchewan. (The nuclear power is for tar sands development.)

Corporatocracy or Democracy or Administrative State or WHAT?, Nuclear, Radioactive waste No Responses »

Sep 132010

CONTENTS

(1) 2008-01-27 NDP Opposition Leader Lingenfelter on nuke agenda in Saskatchewan (when he was a Vice-President of Nexen Oil and Gas)(excerpt). Nexen has tar sands holdings along the border between Alberta and Saskatchewan. The tar sands industry needs huge amounts of electricity to heat up the underground deposits to the point where they will flow, so the tar can be brought to the surface. Tar sands development is the driver behind the nuclear industry in Saskatchewan/Alberta.

A characteristic of a “petro-state”: there is no effective opposition to the Government’s agenda. The Government is in power because of “petro-dollars”. Citizen participation in voting is ineffective.

(2) 2010-09-13 Premier Brad Wall on “value added” for uranium. In spite of the expressed wishes of the people of Saskatchewan through public consultations in summer 2009.

(3) Full text of articles related to Lingenfelter’s position on nuclear.

NOTE: The quote from Lingenfelter is on the “Mines and Communities” blog. There is a list of very good articles on nuke in Canada on their blog: http://www.minesandcommunities.org/article.php?a=8411

– – – – – – – — – – –

(1) NDP OPPOSITION LEADER LINGENFELTER:

http://www.minesandcommunities.org/article.php?a=8411

Canada Uranium update

Published Date: 01-02-2008

‘” . . . . . Some, like former NDP deputy premier Dwain Lingenfelter, say Saskatchewan’s wide open spaces make it ideal for every step of the cycle, including power generation and waste storage. While conventional reactors are widely seen as producing too much power for the province’s needs, Lingenfelter argues Saskatchewan could become a power hub and supply energy to the rest of Canada and the United States.

“The first thing that has to happen is the government in the province has to say to the world that they’re interested, which hasn’t happened to this point,” says Lingenfelter, who is now (was then) an executive with the Calgary-based oil company Nexen.

“I think it takes more than governments saying, ‘Yeah, we are sort of in favour of it, but we will see how it goes.”‘

(2) PREMIER BRAD WALL ON NUCLEAR:

His Government is doing “value added” for uranium.

(Brad Wall, Premier of Saskatchewan, was interviewed by Anna Maria Tremonti, Monday Sept 13^th on “The Current”.

( http://www.cbc.ca/thecurrent/2010/09/september-13-2010.html Click on “Part 1, Boom Town”.)

TRANSCRIPTION

Wall: “ . . . to value-add to uranium . . . want to build, to diversify the resource strength we have (coal .. clean coal . . ) We have a lot of uranium, one-third of the world’s supply, so it makes sense we would add value to that.”

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Saskatchewan Greens participated in generating an information flow and in the public meetings in Saskatchewan, summer 2009, regarding the Government’s uranium/nuclear agenda.

Dan Perrins conducted the public consultations and reported back to the Government: the public does not want the uranium/nuke agenda.

We went through a huge fight; the people of Sask clearly said “no nuclear”. And definitely not high-level radioactive waste imported from other provinces: we want legislation, similar to Manitoba and Quebec, that bans the cross-Canada transportation of radioactive waste.

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3. FULL TEXT OF ARTICLES IN WHICH LINGENFELTER IS QUOTED:

New government considers options for Saskatchewan’s nuclear future

Tim Cook, THE CANADIAN PRESS

27th January 2008

REGINA – It was an analogy that developed in the 1970s as nuclear power plants were being developed around the world: Saskatchewan and its vast supply of unmined uranium would be to nuclear power what Saudi Arabia was to oil.

Over the last three decades the prediction has been realized and the province, better known for wide open spaces and wheat, has grown into the world’s largest producer of the radioactive element.

But mining the raw material is as far as Saskatchewan has progressed in the nuclear cycle. Plans to develop a uranium refinery, build a nuclear reactor and even store nuclear waste have been shelved over the years in the face of stiff public opposition and concerns about feasibility.

Signs of change, however, are starting to emerge with a newly elected provincial government intent on moving the industry forward. The right-leaning Saskatchewan Party is not as fettered by internal conflict over the issue as its left-leaning NDP predecessor, and everything short of the nuclear waste storage idea appears to be back on the table.

“Who knows what opportunities lie ahead in this area for the province?” Premier Brad Wall said recently. “I believe we can lead in this area, certainly in research and development.”

Saskatchewan first looked at developing the uranium industry in the 1940s and ’50s under then premier Tommy Douglas as a means of diversifying its agricultural economy. In the 1970s the mining industry expanded rapidly thanks to several big finds in the north.

The province enjoyed a comfortable relationship with the industry until people began to question where the uranium was ending up, said Bill Waiser, a historian at the University of Saskatchewan.

“They were beginning to question the morality of it,” Waiser says. “There are ecological concerns about it and ‘Are we facilitating the arms race unintentionally?”‘

Former NDP premier Allan Blakeney, who oversaw the widespread expansion in the 1970s, recalls pitching uranium mining in Saskatchewan as something the province had to do for the sake of the rest of the world.

“As the world was developing and as the Third World was developing, there was going to be a need for significant new sources of power. One of those was uranium, and we had a moral duty to contribute,” Blakeney says now.

“We have got virtually every power source in the world and there is one million of us, and we’re saying, ‘Oh, those people over there shouldn’t be generating their power over there using uranium.’ This is not a very good piece of moral ground to stand on.”

Still public opposition prevented the industry from developing further than punching holes in the ground and bringing the ore to the surface.

In 1980 a proposal to build a uranium refinery in Warman, north of Saskatoon, was killed because of the impact it might have on the largely Mennonite community.

In the early 1990s both the Progressive Conservative government and the NDP government were in talks with Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. to build a Candu 3 reactor in the province, but the idea was shelved because of cost and lack of need.

In the mid-1990s the Meadow Lake Tribal Council, an organization representing several northern First Nations, briefly studied the idea of storing nuclear waste on its land but backed down after widespread protests.

“It caused a lot of controversy and a lot of difficult feelings,” Vern Bachiu, general manager with the tribal council’s development corporation, recalls today.

With a new government in power and a premier who talks about nuclear opportunities every chance he gets, people on both sides of the debate are watching the situation closely.

While the previous NDP government had expressed interest in refining uranium in the province, Steve McLellan, CEO of the Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce, figures the business-friendly Saskatchewan Party will take a “hard look” at attracting a company to do it.

“We, particularly, are quite optimistic,” McLellan says. “Anything that adds value to things that are mined here is great for business.”

Some, like former NDP deputy premier Dwain Lingenfelter, say Saskatchewan’s wide open spaces make it ideal for every step of the cycle, including power generation and waste storage. While conventional reactors are widely seen as producing too much power for the province’s needs, Lingenfelter argues Saskatchewan could become a power hub and supply energy to the rest of Canada and the United States.

“The first thing that has to happen is the government in the province has to say to the world that they’re interested, which hasn’t happened to this point,” says Lingenfelter, who is now an executive with the Calgary-based oil company Nexen.

“I think it takes more than governments saying, ‘Yeah, we are sort of in favour of it, but we will see how it goes.”‘

Wall has expressed interest in research being done around small-scale nuclear reactors that would produce power at a level more suitable to the province’s needs. He’s also talked about the idea of developing a research reactor such as the one in Chalk River, Ont., which produces medical isotopes.

Ann Coxworth, with the Saskatchewan Environmental Society, acknowledges that the current political situation in the province does not favour the anti-nuclear movement.

“I think we have quite a struggle ahead of us, so there is a lot of work to be done,” she says. “The forces that want to go down that nuclear path are pretty powerful right now.”

Coxworth is worried that those who oppose nuclear energy may have been lulled into a sense of complacency over the last few years.

“When these issues were being quite actively discussed – say in the 1970s – the public got quite well informed about the issues,” she says.

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http://www.minesandcommunities.org/article.php?a=8411

MAC: Mines and Communities

Canada Uranium update

Published Date: 01-02-2008

“The first thing that has to happen is the government in the province has to say to the world that they’re interested, which hasn’t happened to this point,” says Lingenfelter, who is now an executive with the Calgary-based oil company Nexen.

“I think it takes more than governments saying, ‘Yeah, we are sort of in favour of it, but we will see how it goes.”‘

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Sask. should look at nuclear power: Lingenfelter

Last Updated Nov 9 2005 08:21 AM CST

CBC News

A former NDP cabinet minister is trying to refuel the nuclear debate in Saskatchewan.

Dwain Lingenfelter, who was once considered a possible successor to former Premier Roy Romanow before leaving government, has been talking about the merits of nuclear power lately. It’s a message he brought to business leaders in Saskatoon yesterday.

Lingenfelter’s idea is to build a nuclear power plant in Saskatchewan for Alberta’s massive oil sands. “The opportunity is big. The only question is can we reach out and grab it?” Lingenfelter said in a speech to the North Saskatoon Business Association Tuesday.

The Saskatchewan NDP is officially opposed to nuclear power and it’s rare someone from the party takes such a pro-nuclear stance.

But Lingenfelter, who went to work for a Calgary oil company after leaving the NDP government, insists this is not about politics. “It’s got to do with what’s best for the economy and the environment at this moment,” he said.

ICUCEC-Lingenfelter CBC report file:///Users/johnyates/Desktop/icucecOLD/art-lingenfelter…

2 of 2 2/14/08 11:05 PM

Although the current government favours uranium mining, it doesn’t want nuclear waste or a power plant. Lingenfelter said that’s hypocritical ! if the province will not move forward, he suggests, uranium mining should stop.

On that point, one anti-nuclear lobby group couldn’t agree more. “For both economics and social economics it’s better not to mine,” said Michael Poellet, who speaks for Saskatoon’s Inter Church Uranium Committee.

Lingenfelter said it’s important for people to speak up about the future of nuclear power in Saskatchewan, whether they support it, or not.

2010-09-09 I was in court today. The Prosecutor and my lawyer gave legal argument. The Prosecutor did not argue to override my Charter Right to privacy of personal information.

Lockheed Martin, War Economy (includes Cdn Census & Trials) No Responses »

Sep 092010

The Prosecutor and my lawyer presented their arguments to the Court.

The email from Tony Clement’s office indicates that they are introducing legislation this fall to change the Statistics Act to make the census long form voluntary but also mandatory. (Don’t ask!!)

I don’t think that will change the course of my trial; it has become a Charter of Rights question, proceeding solely on the question of whether the long form is constitutional.

It is no longer about whether or not I am guilty as charged (failure to fill in a census form). Or so I see it.

My cousin asked how things went in court:

The short answer: Well – – it ain’t over yet and maybe not for a long while yet.

The judge’s decision is due December 15th (UPDATE: got moved to January 13th, 2011). But that might only be step 1 ?

As I understand, Judge Whelan and Steve (lawyer) are treating it like a test case that will be appealed, whatever the ruling is. So the Judge is taking her time, being careful. The decision may affect her legal reputation.

In Court it was kind of hard to figure out what was going on:

The prosecutor did not argue that my charter right to privacy of personal information should be extinguished because the census long form is a greater value to all of Canada than my individual right to privacy (he didn’t argue what I call the “section 1 override clause”). His failure to make that argument was a surprise to my lawyer and to me; most likely also to the Judge. Especially because in the laying out of evidence (in January) the prosecutor and StatsCan witness went to great lengths to cover all the benefits of the work done by StatsCan for Canadians – preparing the ground that would permit them to make the argument.

A little speculation from a person who works in legal circles: the prosecutor may have been operating under direction from further up the command chain. By dropping the section 1 override argument, if the Judge’s ruling is appealed, the appeal will be solely on the basis of whether the census long form is unconstitutional because it infringes on the charter right to privacy of a biographical core of personal information which individuals in a free and democratic society would wish to … protect from dissemination to the state.

Politically, in the wake of the vocal opposition to making the long form voluntary, it would be an astute move to have a clear and pointed court ruling on the census long form. “The Courts made me do it.”

Aside from all that, it went well, I thought. The lawyer is excellent – – he knows privacy rights and the related law very well. And has the gift of clarity and succinctness. Which is helpful to the Judge. (Not like having me in Court representing myself, as in the beginning!!)

I do not allow myself to speculate as to when the legal proceedings will be wrapped up. If I am found guilty the case will be appealed. If I am found innocent, the speculation is that the decision will be appealed. There is a substantial charter-of-rights issue. The thinking goes: the decision of a Provincial Court Judge doesn’t have sufficient weight. The Justice system would want a superior Court ruling on the question. – – As I say, it’s not about my guilt or innocence.

Thank goodness I stated the expectation to the Judge, at the outset, that my legal costs will be reimbursed. I told her that it is not me, but the Government, that is operating outside the law. Her ruling on reimbursement of costs will come out with her decision on the legal issue.

Who knows when it might all be over?

2010 A List of URL’s related to Mercury in Dental Amalgams

Mercury poisoning, dental amalgams. See also Vaccinations. No Responses »

Sep 042010

NOTE: this was compiled in 2010.

If you click on the sub-category “Mercury .. . ” under “Health” and then scroll down, you will have a list that includes more than the following. But some of the following are not separate postings and so will not appear, except here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WeanAuZK_DY&feature=player_embedded “Poison in the Mouth” Includes how mercury is treated after it has been removed from the mouth (with hazardous material “haz mat” handling procedures). Includes Dr. Lyle Friberg and the work of researchers at the University of Calgary (the sheep and monkey research), the research from California regarding accumulation of mercury from amalgams in the brain. Kentucky researcher on Alzheimer’s connection. Mercury crossing the placenta. Etc. (Made into a separate posting.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ylnQ-T7oiA 2002 (Smoking Teeth = Poison Gas. Includes some of the information in the preceding video. Mercury amalgams in children. Etc.) By IAOMT (The International Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxicology)

“Smoking Teeth” was refuted by a Dr. Laidler from Oregon. A small group of dentists working in collaboration produced a response to Dr. Laidler’s statements. The rebuttal is at http://curezone.org/forums/am.asp?i=778748 . The text is copied at the bottom.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uccpChyPSLg&feature=related Video done in Auckland, N.Z. of a media interview of Dr. Hal Huggins and contrary evidence from David Symes of the N.Z. Dental Association (which is pretty shaky!).

http://www.iaomt.org/ References to “FASEB” are to the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology Journal.

http://www.fasebj.org/ If you click on “Search the Archives” and then enter “amalgams” in the “search” box, “keywords” you will come up with a number of scientific papers.

http://www.mercury-free-dentistry.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=27&Itemid=35

This is a particularly good presentation of information. It is copied at the bottom

PRO-AMALGAM DENTISTS AND THE ADA ASSERT THAT:

MERCURY-FREE DENTISTS AND ANTI-MERCURY ACTIVISTS RESPOND:

EXCERPT:

“A Canadian study found that blood levels of five metals, including mercury, were able to predict with 98% accuracy which children were learning disabled. Other studies found mercury causes learning disabilities and impairment, and lowers IQ. . . . ”

(Doesn’t that bite, if you have a child with learning disabilities? All invisible possibilities: I jogged in downtown Halifax on my noon lunch breaks. At that time (1980) there was still lead in gasoline. Or was it mercury from my amalgams? — the science is nailed down on mercury from mothers going into foetus (crossing the placenta) and new-borns (through breast milk).

http://www.naturalhealthway.com/articles/amalgam/amalgam.html

by Dr. Zoltan P. Rona MD MSc

“ One American dental group, namely the American Academy of Head, Neck and Facial Pain, has decided to take a stand against the ADA and its outdated policy on mercury dental fillings. According to some of their recent literature, this group states, “We feel the evidence is too overwhelming to continue to practice in ignorance and avoidance of the facts. The Board of Directors, under the name of our Academy, has written a petition to several agencies (the FDA, OSHA, NIH, NIDR, U.S. Public health Service and the National Institute of Environmental health Services) asking that all past and current scientific literature concerning mercury and dental amalgams be reevaluated.”

What is the evidence incriminating the mercury dental filling? The following are documented facts about mercury amalgam toxicity taken from the scientific literature: … “

http://www.holisticmed.com/dental/amalgam/

A listing of articles with web links.

And this statement:

“Obviously, not everyone experiences acute toxicity effects from the mercury in amalgam fillings. However, virtually everyone does have mercury build up in their bodies from implantation of such fillings. The large increase in mercury exposure from the newer non-gamma-2 mercury fillings means that only time will tell how much damage has been caused by daily exposure to mercury to such fillings.

I do not recommend that people assume automatically that they will be healed by the removal of amalgam fillings. Many people are helped tremendously and some are healed. The 80% figure for people showing improvement within a year likely refers to people who had good reason to suspect that they were being significantly affected by the fillings. The percentage of people in the general population who might experience health improvement within one year after removal is probably much lower than 80%. I recommend going into the mercury amalgam removal procedure knowing that, at the very least, you will have removed yourself from a regular exposure to an extremely toxic material such that it will not build up in your organs and possibly cause significant health problems at a later date.

. . . I believe that composite (plastic) fillings are a better replacement than metal (e.g., gold) fillings even in chemically-sensitive individuals. They are, however, not without safety questions, but are still likely to be much less toxic than mercury amalgam fillings. . … “

http://www.stanford.edu/~bcalhoun/AStock.htm The experience of the author, translated from the German, 1926.

The Dangerousness of Mercury Vapor
By Alfred Stock, Berlin-Dahlem
Kaiser-Wilhelm-Institut fuer Chemie
(Eingeg. Febr. 9, 1926)
Translated by Birgit Calhoun

(NOTE: the full text is now posted on this blog at http://sandrafinley.ca/?p=4304 )

http://www.yeastinfectionadvisor.com/mercurypoisoning.html Mercury Poisoning, Candida Yeast, Or Is It Both?

http://www.flcv.com/indexa.html A listing of relevant information with web links.

http://www.cfspages.com/fire.html “Chronic fatigue syndrome or Chronic mercury poisoning?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amalgam_(dentistry)

– The WHO reports that mercury from amalgam accounts for 5% of total mercury emissions and that when combined with waste mercury from laboratory and medical devices, represents 53% of total mercury emissions.^[33] Separators may dramatically decrease the release of mercury into the public sewer system, where dental amalgams contribute one-third of the mercury waste,^[33] but they are not required in the United States.^[34] As of 2008, the use of dental amalgam has been banned in Norway^[35], restricted in Sweden and Finland, and a committee of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has refused to ratify assertions of safety.

– Scientists agree that mercury amalgam fillings expose the bearers to a daily dose of mercury, but the level and effects of the chronic exposure are disputed. In the 1990s, several governments evaluated the effects of dental amalgam and concluded that the most likely health effects would be due to hypersensitivity or allergy. Germany, Austria, and Canada recommended against placing amalgam in certain individuals such as pregnant women, children, those with renal dysfunction, and those with an allergy to metals. In 2004, the Life Sciences Research Office analyzed studies related to dental amalgam published after 1996. Concluding that mean urinary mercury concentration (μg of Hg/L in urine, HgU) was the most reliable estimate of mercury exposure, it found those with dental amalgam were unlikely to reach the levels where adverse effects are seen from occupational exposure (35 μg HgU). 95% of study participants had μg HgU below 4-5. Chewing gum, particularly for nicotine, along with more amalgam, seemed to pose the greatest risk of increasing exposure; one gum-chewer had 24.8 μg HgU. However, from reviewing medical literature, the World Health Organization states mercury levels in biomarkers such as urine, blood, or hair do not represent levels in critical organs and tissues. (INSERT: I think this preceding statement is a critical point.)

– Additionally, Gattineni et al. found that mercury levels do not correlate with the number or severity of symptoms. It concluded that there was not enough evidence to support or refute many of the other claims such as increased risk of autoimmune disorders, but stated that the broad and nonspecific illness attributed to dental amalgam is not supported by the data.^[36] Mutter in Germany, however, concludes that “removal of dental amalgam leads to permanent improvement of various chronic complaints in a relevant number of patients in various trials.”^[37]

– The American Dental Association Council on Scientific Affairs has concluded that both amalgam and composite materials are considered safe and effective for tooth restoration,^[38] and a study has stated that amalgam fillings pose no personal health risk, and that replacement by non-amalgam fillings is not indicated.^[39] Recent randomized clinical trials have found no evidence of neurological harm or deleterious renal effects associated with use of amalgam in children after examining a period of 5–7 years following treatment.^[40] ^[41] Both these trials were published in the same issue of the JAMA. Also published in the same journal was an editorial by Prof. Herbert Needleman noting these two articles, explicitly advising against using them as evidence of dental amalgam safety. He says:

– “It is predictable that some outside interests will expand the modest conclusions of these studies to assert that use of mercury amalgam in dentistry is risk free. This conclusion would be unfortunate and unscientific. The conclusions that can be extrapolated from these 2 studies are constrained by several factors.”^[42]

– The health problems usually focused upon include chronic illnesses, oral lesions, birth defects, mental disorders, autoimmune disorders, neurodegenerative diseases, erethism, and multiple sclerosis^{[citation needed]}. There is strong evidence that a certain percentage of lichenoid lesions are caused by amalgam fillings.^[43]

– – – – – – – – –

http://www.mercurypoisoned.com/

Hi….this is a website with much info and many relevant links.

2010-08-14 Pinehouse Lake, radioactive waste disposal site. Uranium 2010 Conference, Saskatoon Aug 15 – 18

Radioactive waste No Responses »

Aug 142010

Local leaders in Pinehouse, SK are exploring the idea of hosting a nuclear waste storage site.

Please pass to folkswho might have connections to Pinehouse Lake.

Northern Saskatchewan is the second poorest area in Canada. This is after 30 years of the uranium/nuclear industry. Tax-payers subsidize these operations while the water supplies of local people are poisoned.

We must re- direct our resources to the NEW ECONOMY – – we badly need renewables, retro-fitting for conservation, and healing. Our money and energies are being invested in an obsolete, dead-end economy.

Pinehouse Lake, radioactive waste disposal site:

(From MBC Radio, link no longer valid)

Northern Metis Interested In Nuclear Waste Site
Thursday, August 12, 2010 at 15:00

Local leaders in Pinehouse are exploring the idea of hosting a nuclear waste storage site.Metis Nation – Saskatchewan area director Louis Gardiner was part of a delegation from the community that met with Nuclear Waste Management Organization officials in Toronto earlier this week.

Gardiner says the region he represents — Northern Region III — has told the federal agency it is interested in the potential of a nuclear waste storage site established in its area.

However, Gardiner says leaders have to get the green light from area residents before going any further.

NWMO spokesman Jamie Robertson says while the discussion with the Pinehouse delegation was promising, but the community has not made a decision yet on whether it will apply for consideration.

Robertson says his agency is in discussions with a few Saskatchewan communities, but only a community in Ontario has officially filed a formal expression of interest.

The NWMO is looking for a site 100 hectare in size with certain geographic criteria.

The facility will cost between $16 billion and $24 billion to build — money set aside by the companies that are generating the nuclear waste.

Pinehouse officials are reserving comment.

= = = = = = = = = == = = =

Uranium 2010 Conference, Saskatoon Aug 15 – 18

http://www.metsoc.org/u2010/

Welcome to u2010

Join Us at Uranium 2010, in Saskatoon in August 2010

Saskatoon is the host city for the 3rd International Conference on Uranium organized by the Hydrometallurgy Section of the Metallurgical Society of the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM). The 2nd International Conference on Uranium Processing and Mining was also held in Saskatoon in 2000. On the occasion of the 40th Annual Hydrometallurgy Conference, the Hydrometallurgy Section continues its tradition of holding a major international conference on Uranium in Saskatoon.

Saskatoon is the home of Cameco Corporation and AREVA Resources Canada, two of the world’s largest uranium producers. Other mining companies, such as Potash Corporation, Shore Gold, Denison Mines and Claude Resources, also have their head offices or regional offices in Saskatoon. The Canadian Saskatoon Light Source Synchrotron, the largest science project in Canada, is located on the campus of the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon.

On behalf of the organizing committee, we invite you to come to Saskatoon to discover and explore the latest science and technology in uranium mining, milling, refining, conversion, enrichment and the nuclear energy generation. The Uranium 2010 conference will also feature an invigorating and informative short course, an industrial tour to the largest and richest uranium mining and processing operations in the world and a variety of entertaining social and cultural activities.

Mark your meeting calendar for August 15-18, 2010. This will be a truly outstanding conference. We look forward to seeing you there!

= = = = =

DELEGATE LIST: http://www.metsoc.org/u2010/PDFs/U2010%20Delegate%20List.pdf

2010-08-04 Correspondence with a medical doctor, The Science used to defend the use of mercury amalgams contains errors in logic.

Mercury poisoning, dental amalgams. See also Vaccinations. No Responses »

Aug 042010

SENT: August 4, 2010

Dear Dr. Murray,

I appreciate your input.

A couple of questions:

(1) re ” no increase in mercury in MS patients”

(INSERT: I have re-written this point. What I sent to Dr. Murray was muddling.)

The majority of the population has mercury amalgams. That there is “no increase” in mercury in MS patients – – in comparison with other people in the population – – is to be expected. It does not argue for a non-causal relationship between mercury amalgams and MS:

The same toxins cause different health outcomes in different people, and they exist in different bodies in different combinations with other environmental toxins.

If most everyone has mercury amalgams, and people react differently to mercury poisoning, then a level of mercury in you may result in disease A, but that same mercury in your neighbor may result in disease B, and so on. NOT ONE of the disease groups (like MS or alzheimers or whatever) will show an elevated level of mercury, IN COMPARISON with the rest of the population. The mercury levels can be the same or variable across the population, but with different and/or no disease outcomes. Not everyone with the same level of mercury will get the paticular disease. So, MS patients may not have elevated mercury readings in comparison with the rest of the population.

I am concerned about mercury, not just related to MS.

What happens if you add in the fact that babies, who have no amalgams, begin life with a mercury load transferred to them because mercury crosses the placental barrier and because breast milk carries a high level of mercury. (INSERT: see the listed URL’s, item #3) Both are the consequence of the dental amalgams in the Mother’s mouth.

Some of those babies have also been given several vaccinations that contain mercury as a preservative, which is true at least up until the fairly recent past. Compounds that contain the syllable “mer” contain mercury, as in “thimerosal”, a preservative that has been used in vaccines although under pressure to discontinue use. Shipments of vaccines to developing countries continue to contain thimerosal.

Many of these young children then have mercury placed directly and permanently in their mouth through dental amalgams. The slow but relentless off-gassing of mercury, 365 days a year, is set in motion. It compounds the earlier foetal, breast milk (and in some, vaccination) assaults by mercury.

For decades it has been known that breast milk is highly contaminated. We are told that it is because of environmental poisons. (Nursing Mothers are recommended to breast-feed nonetheless because of the offsetting health boosters from breast-feeding. )

Health Canada sends employees to the Arctic to explain to indigenous people how to avoid particular body parts of the fish they catch because it is health-destroying to ingest food that is contaminated by mercury.

You will see in the URL’s listed below a Government web page that only names fish as the source of mercury poisoning. Not one word about dental amalgams.

I am from the Prairies. Many of us eat almost no fish. You cannot tell me that the source of mercury in prairie Mother’s breast milk is only from fish. It makes no sense.

Some people will have seemingly no health consequences from mercury that has entered their body, whether it comes from the chain that starts with the off-gassing from amalgams in their Mother’s mouth, vaccinations, or their own dental amalgams. You can’t measure such things as mental functioning and memory. Other people will eventually develop MS, some alzheimers, some will suffer from migraine headaches, high blood pressure, slowed down functioning of the brain, and so on. Will the people who develop MS have “elevated” levels of mercury, in comparison with the rest of the population? No.

I should think that for sound science you would have to look, for example, at the incidence of (the particular disease – use MS as an example) in a population of people who have dental amalgams, in comparison to the incidence of MS in a population of people who do not have amalgams, and for whom other environmental poisons (including mercury received from their Mothers) are approximately the same?

Or, based on the evidence to date (see the appended), we should just do what the northern European countries have done: stop using mercury amalgams. And then research to follow the long term trend-lines for the incidence of MS (for example) in the population.

(2) re ” no improvement after amalgam removal” (INSERT: the disease doesn’t improve after the amalgam is removed)

Is it REASONABLE to expect that with removal of the amalgam in an MS patient, that there will be improvement in the MS?

Our body is a dynamic system. A characteristic of dynamic systems is that once they pass “overload” or the “tipping point”, there is permanent damage.

Is it possible that there is “no improvement” after the amalgam has been removed from MS patients because the intervention occurred TOO LATE? You can’t wait until after the body is past the critical load point to remove the amalgams. It won’t / can’t do any good. By the time you have the full-blown disease, it is too late; the damage is permanent. So the argument doesn’t hold.

Sincerely,

Sandra Finley

—–Original Message—–

From: Thomas (Jock) Murray

Sent: Wednesday, August 04, 2010 12:45 PM

To: Sandra Finley

Subject: Re: Regarding your interveiw, CBC Radio Aug 4 MS

Dear Sandra,

There has been a lot of promotion of dental filing removal for MS, ALS, Alzheimer’s disease and other diseases in the past but all the well designed clinical research showed no increase in mercury in MS patients and no improvement in amalgam removal. There is a lot of non- scientific promotion of the concept despite this. We did studies many years ago using an Atomic Slow Poke Reactor that measures parts per billion of 40 trace elements and showed no increase in MS patients in any, including mercury. There was also an extensive review of all the studies of mercury and MS and the conclusion was that there was no association. I know some people still believe it, as they believe all sorts of things as causes and cures of MS, but this is about belief in an idea, not on scientific evidence. We do not recommend people with MS have dental amalgam removed. The issue seemed to die some years ago, although I note there are still people promoting it on the internet.

Sincerely,

TJ Murray

2010-08-03 Public debate does not address the two critical issues. Lockheed Martin’s involvement in the census; Charter right to privacy of personal information. Op-Ed not published because of trial in progress.

Lockheed Martin, War Economy (includes Cdn Census & Trials), Privacy of Personal Information; Charter Right; Surveillance; StatsCan Censuses & Surveys No Responses »

Aug 032010

Tony Clement, Minister of Industry, announced on June 29th that the census long form is no longer mandatory.
�
Well-intentioned people immediately campaigned for a “mandatory” nature to the long form.
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The public discussion is woefully uninformed. It does not address the two critical issues:

(1) What does the law say (Charter Right to Privacy)? and

(2) what is the context in which the census contracts exist? Lockheed Martin Corporation is the number one player in the American military-industrial-congressional complex. They have contracts for census work but their name is not mentioned in the census debate. Yet arguably, the furor over the census would not be happening if the Government had not out-sourced to Lockheed Martin Corporation.
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1. The long form NEVER WAS mandatory because of the Charter Right to Privacy (Section 8 re “unreasonable search and seizure“). The associated case law says that the Government cannot force citizens to hand over a biographical core of personal information which individuals in a free and democratic society would wish to maintain and control from dissemination to the state.

Nor can the Government meet the conditions under Section 1 (the “Oakes test”) for an override of the individual Right to Privacy in relation to the census long form.  They cannot legally coerce citizens into handing over a “biographical core of personal information” using the argument that the benefit to Canadians as a whole is greater than the individual Right to Privacy.
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Furthermore, StatsCan has been collecting data on citizens in between censuses under threat of jail and a fine (reference letter-to-editor July 31, “Harassed by StatsCan”, Margaret Fehr. She is not the only example.) This is serious disrespect for Charter Rights, and it is in breach of the Statistics Act, Section 31, which states that “surveys” in between censuses are not subject to the penalties related to the census (every five years). �
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Even under the Statistics Act the long form is not mandatory – a person does not have to fill out the census form if they have “just cause”. The Charter Right to Privacy is just cause – – and it overrides the Statistics Act regardless. (It is legitimate that the Government requires citizens to participate in the census to provide a head count for the establishment of electoral boundaries.)
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StatsCan and the Justice Department have relied on citizen ignorance of their Charter Right to Privacy. The lack of media discussion on the Charter Right serves to erase memory of the Right from the public mind.
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There is poorly-informed discussion regarding the actual personal questions and tactics that have been used by StatsCan. StatsCan, through its surveys and the census long form has coerced citizens into answering questions such as whether they prefer to have sex with males or females, the name of their employer and so on. �
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There are many questions related to ethnic background.    Jewish and Polish people in World War Two were well-advised to hide their ethnic background, if they could. The media and citizens do not know their Charter Right, let alone why we have the Right. We sit in ignorant comfort, lulled into false security and a dangerous loss of memory of history. Knowing what happened to Maher Arar and to Omar Khadr at the hands of the Government, this is personal information that persons should not be coerced into handing over.
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The Supreme Court rakes the police over the coals when their actions contravene Charter Rights. The Federal Department of Justice has no excuse for not knowing the Charter Right to Privacy. When StatsCan and the Justice Department use the threat of prosecution, jail time and a fine to force citizens to hand over “a biographical core of personal information which individuals in a free and democratic society … would wish to control from dissemination to the state”, the Government is in extremely serious breach of the law. The rule of law has been upended.
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On June 29th Tony Clement announced that the long form is no longer mandatory when it never was mandatory. �
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My last day in court was March 16th. I am on trial because I refused to fill in the 2006 census form.   My next appearance in court is September 9th.
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2.    The other critical issue that is not being addressed is (CONTEXT) the involvement of Lockheed Martin Corporation in the Canadian census.   It might be convenient (utilitarian) to contract-out census work to them.   But tax-payers are thereby funding people who break the laws with impunity. At the time the original census contracts with Lockheed Martin were negotiated, Lockheed was openly a manufacturer of land mines. At the time the census contracts were extended, Lockheed Martin was openly a manufacturer of cluster munitions. Both are in contravention of Canadian and International Law. Lockheed Martin is almost the same as the Pentagon. They were influential in the decision of the Bush Administration to launch an illegal war of aggression on Iraq, perpetrating lies and propaganda on the American public. This was happening in 2003 while Public Works Canada was negotiating the census contracts with Lockheed Martin who also has a lengthy record of court convictions and fines.   According to the (American) Project on Government Oversight, in 2000 alone, “Lockheed Martin was charged with 30 violations of the Arms Export Control Act and the International Traffic in Arms Regulations. The violations were regarding the transfer of space launch assistance technologies to China. Lockheed Martin paid a civil penalty of $13 million.” That is a small sampling of their transgressions. Lockheed Martin also specializes in international surveillance. Canadians should not tolerate their participation, in any form, in the Canadian census – – long form OR short form.
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Do we have the backbone for an honest and open debate on the Canadian census? For Saskatonians who missed it, on June 26 the Star Phoenix reported that Lockheed Martin gave $3.5 million dollars to the Saskatchewan Indian Institute of Technology (SIIT) for the development of aviation training packages. Through “offset agreements” in the Lockheed Martin Government contracts, Lockheed is required to spend 75% of the contract value in Canada. Lockheed Martin has a lengthy record of “procurement fraud” in the U.S.: tax-payers pay exorbitantly for what they get.   Lockheed Martin then “gifts” the money, to SIIT, to Whitecap Development Corp, to Dalhousie University, etc. The Canadian economy, through our tax dollars distributed by Lockheed Martin, follows the American model. The economy becomes dependent upon the waging of war.
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For SIIT, in Lockheed Martin parlance, an airplane is an “aerial vehicle” . A “UAV” is an “unmanned” aerial vehicle, commonly referred to as an unmanned drone. Young people proficient in computer games sit at terminals in military installations in the American southwest (Creech Air Force Base). They guide drones to drop bombs in locations in Yemen, Afghanistan, Pakistan, for example. For SIIT, in Lockheed speak, “The advanced modules are similar to those used internally by the corporation and are based on decades of lessons learned in aerospace and systems engineering on major, complex programs”.
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It is convenient that Lockheed Martin’s role in the Canadian census goes unmentioned in the mainstream media.
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(Link no longer valid http://www.thestarphoenix.com/technology/Lockheed+Martin+donates+SIIT/3204419/story.html#ixzz0vTPSo5BC)
(Link no longer valid http://www.lockheedmartin.com/news/press_releases/2006/LOCKHEEDMARTINSUNMANNEDSYSTEMSTECHN.html)

Sincerely,
Sandra Finley

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