Pen Meets Paper
Opinion by Helge Nome
I attended the West Central Stakeholders event at the Lou Soppit Community Centre in Rocky Mountain House last Thursday, March 26. The group is financially facilitated by oil and gas companies operating in Clearwater County and exists to minimize conflicts between the industry and land owners. The Sundre Petroleum Operators' Group (SPOG) operates along similar guidelines.
The topic for the meeting was “Understanding Landowners' Rights when the oil and gas industry comes to your door”. The meeting was very well attended by local and industry people and was addressed by representatives from the Energy Resources Conservation Board (ERCB). The Surface Rights Board SRB) and the Farmer's Advocate Office (FAO).
As a landowner listening to the presentation I had the distinct feeling of being back in a classroom along with fellow land owners and being lectured to by the gentlemen in front of us.
For example, we were told that, and please correct me if I am wrong, farmers only contribute some 2% to the overall economy (read: you are not very important). I.e. Landowners should step aside and let the important people come in and do what is in the public interest. Namely to extract oil and gas resources and so create revenues for the public purse (read: extract non renewable resources as quickly as possible from Alberta's soils).
We were also reminded to respect one another in dealings over oil and gas issues by our teachers at the front of the room. We were told that productive negotiations produce win-win outcomes
(read: the oil/gas company moves in and sets up shop). Other kinds of outcomes were win-lose or lose-lose (read: the “lose” part applies to the landowner). Information was provided indicating that a minuscule number of applications for wells (20+) out of several thousands were rejected by the ERCB (read: so you might as well give up opposing them).
We were also told that the ERCB had not really been provided with any kind of guiding philosophy by the Government of Alberta, and so had to make up its own. And this has irrefutably meant maximum possible extraction of energy in the shortest possible time, as determined by market conditions.
Having been given the opportunity to use a microphone, I suggested that the Energy Resources Conservation Board should be renamed to become the Energy Resources Extraction Board, to more accurately reflect its real purpose.
By now, most of us probably realize that the present Alberta Government, and many before this one, is essentially a front shop for Big Energy. The newly proposed Bill 19 is an excellent example of how the government is being used as a tool to pave the way for big energy developments. And the Stelmach puppies just rewarded themselves with a nice pay increase for their good work which consists mostly in tail wagging to Big Energy.
To find out more about this, come to the Leslieville Elks Hall (just across the street from the community hall) on Wednesday, April 8 at 7:30pm. Joe Anglin will be there.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Friday, March 27, 2009
Important Event
LEARN THE FACTS ABOUT BILL 19
The Public is Invited to Attend a Critical Meeting Pertaining to Democratic Rights and the Proposed Bill 19, which gives the Government Unprecedented Powers to
Expropriate Private Property
Come out to the
Leslieville Elks Hall
WEDNESDAY APRIL 8th @ 7:30 PM
Learn the Facts about the proposed Bill 19!
ADMISSION IS FREE
Bill 19 has Serious Consequences for Small Businesses, Farm/Ranch Operations and
Your Democratic Right to be Fairly Compensated!
Attend this meeting and learn what
the Government is not telling you !
Speaker: Joe Anglin - Landowner Advocate/ Leader Alberta Green Party
Presented by: Alberta Progress Party Society
For more information:
Edwin Erickson, Spokesman
Tel: 780-682-2368 Cell: 780-621-3442
Sponsored by the Alberta Social Credit Party
Everyone is encouraged to attend!
The Public is Invited to Attend a Critical Meeting Pertaining to Democratic Rights and the Proposed Bill 19, which gives the Government Unprecedented Powers to
Expropriate Private Property
Come out to the
Leslieville Elks Hall
WEDNESDAY APRIL 8th @ 7:30 PM
Learn the Facts about the proposed Bill 19!
ADMISSION IS FREE
Bill 19 has Serious Consequences for Small Businesses, Farm/Ranch Operations and
Your Democratic Right to be Fairly Compensated!
Attend this meeting and learn what
the Government is not telling you !
Speaker: Joe Anglin - Landowner Advocate/ Leader Alberta Green Party
Presented by: Alberta Progress Party Society
For more information:
Edwin Erickson, Spokesman
Tel: 780-682-2368 Cell: 780-621-3442
Sponsored by the Alberta Social Credit Party
Everyone is encouraged to attend!
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Pen Meets Paper March 23 '09
Opinion by Helge Nome
Lately, I have been a rather avid reader of the works of economist John Kenneth Galbraith who had his beginning in rural Canada and has since risen to world wide prominence in his profession. Among other things, as a young man he was responsible for price controls during WWII in the Franklin D. Roosevelt administration in the U.S.
In his book, Economics and the Public Purpose published in 1973, Galbraith writes about the rise of the “corporation” and its bullying effect on the rest of us. Moreover, he notes how the boards of these corporations are becoming less and less effective in guiding the organization until they end up as rubber stamps for decisions made by executive staff members who increasingly look after their own interests at the expense of both shareholders and consumers of their products.
And wasn't he ever right! Look at AIG and its arrogant and greedy executives who walked away with wads of public money confiscated from the public by a corrupt federal administration.
Over the years the quality of the people who have entered public life, both here in Canada and in the U.S., has gone down hill to the point where those that make it into paid office simply carry out the will of the cliques that run the large corporations. So, the wants of Big Food, Big Pharma, Big Energy, and above all, Big Finance, overrule the needs of us, the real shareholders in what is being produced.
On the federal level here in Canada my point has recently been supported by statements made by the Right Honorable Prime Minister Stephen Harper in regard to the Canadian economy and its relative immunity from the global economic downturn. Harper lays claim to being an economist but was quickly corrected by David Dodge, former Governor of the Bank of Canada (which, by the way, belong to us) who said that the severity of the global crisis should not be underestimated and that Canada is very vulnerable to world events. And you don't need to be a scholar to figure that out with some 80% of Canada's exports going to the U.S.
And finally, here in Alberta we now have Bill 19 which seeks to bulldoze Albertans out of the way of Big Energy, whenever it suits the Minister, with no recourse other than being arrested if you pipe up too much against the Minister's pleasure. It reminds me of something that actually happened in Britain a number of years ago: His Lordship was getting tired of the view from his balcony being spoiled by a part of the local village appearing in his line of sight. So he ordered it razed and replaced with suitable vegetation. Is that what we want?
Lately, I have been a rather avid reader of the works of economist John Kenneth Galbraith who had his beginning in rural Canada and has since risen to world wide prominence in his profession. Among other things, as a young man he was responsible for price controls during WWII in the Franklin D. Roosevelt administration in the U.S.
In his book, Economics and the Public Purpose published in 1973, Galbraith writes about the rise of the “corporation” and its bullying effect on the rest of us. Moreover, he notes how the boards of these corporations are becoming less and less effective in guiding the organization until they end up as rubber stamps for decisions made by executive staff members who increasingly look after their own interests at the expense of both shareholders and consumers of their products.
And wasn't he ever right! Look at AIG and its arrogant and greedy executives who walked away with wads of public money confiscated from the public by a corrupt federal administration.
Over the years the quality of the people who have entered public life, both here in Canada and in the U.S., has gone down hill to the point where those that make it into paid office simply carry out the will of the cliques that run the large corporations. So, the wants of Big Food, Big Pharma, Big Energy, and above all, Big Finance, overrule the needs of us, the real shareholders in what is being produced.
On the federal level here in Canada my point has recently been supported by statements made by the Right Honorable Prime Minister Stephen Harper in regard to the Canadian economy and its relative immunity from the global economic downturn. Harper lays claim to being an economist but was quickly corrected by David Dodge, former Governor of the Bank of Canada (which, by the way, belong to us) who said that the severity of the global crisis should not be underestimated and that Canada is very vulnerable to world events. And you don't need to be a scholar to figure that out with some 80% of Canada's exports going to the U.S.
And finally, here in Alberta we now have Bill 19 which seeks to bulldoze Albertans out of the way of Big Energy, whenever it suits the Minister, with no recourse other than being arrested if you pipe up too much against the Minister's pleasure. It reminds me of something that actually happened in Britain a number of years ago: His Lordship was getting tired of the view from his balcony being spoiled by a part of the local village appearing in his line of sight. So he ordered it razed and replaced with suitable vegetation. Is that what we want?
Clearwater County Municipal Development Plan Update
Clearwater County is currently in the process of creating a Municipal Development Plan and provided community feedback on progress so far at the Caroline Complex last Wednesday, March 11. Chris Ulmer from Parkland Community Planning Services presented a Draft Strategies Report to a handful of interested community people along with county and village councillors. He noted that so far, some 200 people had attended planning sessions at various community halls in Clearwater County to brainstorm over the future of the county. 78 preliminary questionnaires were also returned.
The Municipal Development Plan will deal with the subjects of the County's Natural Capital (agricultural lands, forests,water), Green Places and Recreation (includes use of backcountry trails by large numbers of people) , Rural Residential (includes controversial multi lot subdivisions), Hamlets (expansion possibilities), Economic Development (diversify a local economy that is currently very resource dependent while retaining an agricultural base), Infrastructure (roads, utilities, etc.), Services (health,education, etc.) and Intermunicipal and Local Area Planning.
Caroline, as a Village and independent municipality, fits into this last category and the idea is to undertake a Joint Outline Plan with the Village for a mutually agreed upon fringe area of land..
The two municipalities are well positioned to this after many years of extensive cooperation
The Province requires counties in Alberta to create municipal development plans which create a mosaic that theoretically will form the basis for, and fit into, regional development plans.
The planning process is ongoing and further community involvement will be solicited. To find out more, please Google Clearwater County Alberta.
The Municipal Development Plan will deal with the subjects of the County's Natural Capital (agricultural lands, forests,water), Green Places and Recreation (includes use of backcountry trails by large numbers of people) , Rural Residential (includes controversial multi lot subdivisions), Hamlets (expansion possibilities), Economic Development (diversify a local economy that is currently very resource dependent while retaining an agricultural base), Infrastructure (roads, utilities, etc.), Services (health,education, etc.) and Intermunicipal and Local Area Planning.
Caroline, as a Village and independent municipality, fits into this last category and the idea is to undertake a Joint Outline Plan with the Village for a mutually agreed upon fringe area of land..
The two municipalities are well positioned to this after many years of extensive cooperation
The Province requires counties in Alberta to create municipal development plans which create a mosaic that theoretically will form the basis for, and fit into, regional development plans.
The planning process is ongoing and further community involvement will be solicited. To find out more, please Google Clearwater County Alberta.
Caroline School News
Vice-Principal's Message
A cornerstone of our success at Caroline School is marked by high student
achievement, as you will see on your child’s report card. We are pleased to recognize
our students who are eager to be successful, and ask that when your child’s report
card does come home, you take time to review and reflect upon the substantial
learning and growth that has taken place. It is truly amazing! Elementary Report Cards
and Junior and Senior High Progress Reports will come home on March 13th.
Parent-teacher interviews for Elementary will be held on March 17th and 19th. Please
note your scheduled time, which will be recorded on your child’s report card. Junior
and senior high teachers will be available for interviews after school on March 19th as
well. The opportunity to discuss your child’s progress is value-laden, and we are
looking for a record turn-out!
ECS Registration for September takes place on March 12 between 4:30 – 6:30 at the
school. If you know of a child who will turn five before December 30, you are
encouraged to attend this important meeting. Mrs. Reum, our ECS expert, will be
presenting information to parents about her program and will be on hand to answer any
questions. It is well documented that students who experience ECS are academically
and socially advantaged when compared to their age-level peers.
Students in grade 4, 5 and 6 are working hard to compete in our school Speak-Off, to
be held on March 13th. The Speak-Off will take place from 12:30 – 2:00, and you are
encouraged to come out and be part of our audience! Developing ability in public
speaking is an important life-long skill. Students who are successful at the school level
will compete in our Division-Wide Public Speaking Competition in Breton on March
19th. Good luck, presenters!
The many learning opportunities provided to our elementary students at Caroline
School build the foundation for long term and continuing student achievement
throughout the school experience and beyond. Positive student attitudes, higher
attendance rates, lower drop-out rates, and a sense of belonging are observable
measures that are demonstrated by our junior high and senior high school students.
We are pleased by this. Caroline School continues to be an environment that develops
learning and leadership where school success and student achievement are attainable
goals.
Caroline School staff appreciates your support as we strive to meet these
commitments for our ECS youngsters right through to our young adults in Caroline’s
grade 12 classrooms.
Sincerely,
Pam Wright
Senior Vice-Principal
BREAKFAST PROGRAM
Our Breakfast Club needs help! We are always looking for volunteers. If you can help us out
on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday mornings from 8:00—8:30, we would really appreciate
this. Tasks might involve preparing toast and jam, slicing fruits, or setting our muffins for
individual classrooms. Hope you can help us! If you are interested, please phone the office
at 722-3833 and leave your name and availability.
SCHOOL YEARBOOKS
There are still a few 2007/2008 yearbooks available for purchase ($37) at the office.
As well orders for the 2008/2009 yearbooks are now being taken ($30). Stop by the office
to fill out the order form.
PEER TUTOR PROGRAM
Caroline School has a new Peer Tutor Program! The program will match trained student
tutors with students who request help in any academic area. The program began the
second week of February and is open to students of all ages. It will run Tuesday,
Wednesday, and Thursday from dismissal to 5PM. Volunteer teachers will supervise and
support tutor/learner pairs in the library and provide initial tutor training and monthly
support meetings. Tutors will be paid $10 an hour. The cost to parents will be $5 an hour.
Phone Heidi Brown at the school—722-3833, for more information.
FEBRUARY—STUDENT OF THE MONTH/HARDEST WORKING
Student of the Month Hardest Working
Gr. 1D—Katelyn Willsie Gr. 1D— Aidan Fay
Gr. 1K—Gregory Hensel Gr. 1K—Alyssa Oliver
G. 2—Anika Ahlstrom Gr. 2—Spencer Knight
Gr. 3—Jayden Ogilvie Gr. 3—Riley Westling
Gr. 3/4—Carly Graham Gr. 3/4– Zachary Oliver
Gr. 4—Jordan Maxwell Gr. 4—Samantha Nickerson
Gr. 5—Cole Michalsky Gr. 5—Maggie Timms
Gr. 5/6—Logan Neal Gr. 5/6—Dustyn Boos
Gr. 6—Cole Peters Gr. 6—Danika Wentzell
BOOK FAIR
Congratulations to WYATT MacDONALD from Miss Kanda’s Grade 1 class, who is the Grand Prize winner of the
Scholastic Book Fair. He receives $25 in books as well as $25 in books for his classroom.
Congratulations to the following winners of the classroom draws:
ECS KEELY BUTTS
GR 1D ABIGAIL OPHUS
GR 1K ABIGAIL ANDERSON
GR 2 DAWSON HANSON
GR 3 RYAN BERGEVIN
GR ¾ LIBBY SCHEELAR
GR 4 KATY JOHNSON
GR 5 SHELDON SNELL
GR 5/6 MALLORY WESTERGAARD
GR 6 KEENEN KANDA
GR 7 MAKENZIE PEPPARD
GR 8 CARESSE HARVEY
GR 9 ABBY MERCIER
The Caroline School receives about $1000 in free books for the library
A cornerstone of our success at Caroline School is marked by high student
achievement, as you will see on your child’s report card. We are pleased to recognize
our students who are eager to be successful, and ask that when your child’s report
card does come home, you take time to review and reflect upon the substantial
learning and growth that has taken place. It is truly amazing! Elementary Report Cards
and Junior and Senior High Progress Reports will come home on March 13th.
Parent-teacher interviews for Elementary will be held on March 17th and 19th. Please
note your scheduled time, which will be recorded on your child’s report card. Junior
and senior high teachers will be available for interviews after school on March 19th as
well. The opportunity to discuss your child’s progress is value-laden, and we are
looking for a record turn-out!
ECS Registration for September takes place on March 12 between 4:30 – 6:30 at the
school. If you know of a child who will turn five before December 30, you are
encouraged to attend this important meeting. Mrs. Reum, our ECS expert, will be
presenting information to parents about her program and will be on hand to answer any
questions. It is well documented that students who experience ECS are academically
and socially advantaged when compared to their age-level peers.
Students in grade 4, 5 and 6 are working hard to compete in our school Speak-Off, to
be held on March 13th. The Speak-Off will take place from 12:30 – 2:00, and you are
encouraged to come out and be part of our audience! Developing ability in public
speaking is an important life-long skill. Students who are successful at the school level
will compete in our Division-Wide Public Speaking Competition in Breton on March
19th. Good luck, presenters!
The many learning opportunities provided to our elementary students at Caroline
School build the foundation for long term and continuing student achievement
throughout the school experience and beyond. Positive student attitudes, higher
attendance rates, lower drop-out rates, and a sense of belonging are observable
measures that are demonstrated by our junior high and senior high school students.
We are pleased by this. Caroline School continues to be an environment that develops
learning and leadership where school success and student achievement are attainable
goals.
Caroline School staff appreciates your support as we strive to meet these
commitments for our ECS youngsters right through to our young adults in Caroline’s
grade 12 classrooms.
Sincerely,
Pam Wright
Senior Vice-Principal
BREAKFAST PROGRAM
Our Breakfast Club needs help! We are always looking for volunteers. If you can help us out
on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday mornings from 8:00—8:30, we would really appreciate
this. Tasks might involve preparing toast and jam, slicing fruits, or setting our muffins for
individual classrooms. Hope you can help us! If you are interested, please phone the office
at 722-3833 and leave your name and availability.
SCHOOL YEARBOOKS
There are still a few 2007/2008 yearbooks available for purchase ($37) at the office.
As well orders for the 2008/2009 yearbooks are now being taken ($30). Stop by the office
to fill out the order form.
PEER TUTOR PROGRAM
Caroline School has a new Peer Tutor Program! The program will match trained student
tutors with students who request help in any academic area. The program began the
second week of February and is open to students of all ages. It will run Tuesday,
Wednesday, and Thursday from dismissal to 5PM. Volunteer teachers will supervise and
support tutor/learner pairs in the library and provide initial tutor training and monthly
support meetings. Tutors will be paid $10 an hour. The cost to parents will be $5 an hour.
Phone Heidi Brown at the school—722-3833, for more information.
FEBRUARY—STUDENT OF THE MONTH/HARDEST WORKING
Student of the Month Hardest Working
Gr. 1D—Katelyn Willsie Gr. 1D— Aidan Fay
Gr. 1K—Gregory Hensel Gr. 1K—Alyssa Oliver
G. 2—Anika Ahlstrom Gr. 2—Spencer Knight
Gr. 3—Jayden Ogilvie Gr. 3—Riley Westling
Gr. 3/4—Carly Graham Gr. 3/4– Zachary Oliver
Gr. 4—Jordan Maxwell Gr. 4—Samantha Nickerson
Gr. 5—Cole Michalsky Gr. 5—Maggie Timms
Gr. 5/6—Logan Neal Gr. 5/6—Dustyn Boos
Gr. 6—Cole Peters Gr. 6—Danika Wentzell
BOOK FAIR
Congratulations to WYATT MacDONALD from Miss Kanda’s Grade 1 class, who is the Grand Prize winner of the
Scholastic Book Fair. He receives $25 in books as well as $25 in books for his classroom.
Congratulations to the following winners of the classroom draws:
ECS KEELY BUTTS
GR 1D ABIGAIL OPHUS
GR 1K ABIGAIL ANDERSON
GR 2 DAWSON HANSON
GR 3 RYAN BERGEVIN
GR ¾ LIBBY SCHEELAR
GR 4 KATY JOHNSON
GR 5 SHELDON SNELL
GR 5/6 MALLORY WESTERGAARD
GR 6 KEENEN KANDA
GR 7 MAKENZIE PEPPARD
GR 8 CARESSE HARVEY
GR 9 ABBY MERCIER
The Caroline School receives about $1000 in free books for the library
Monday, March 16, 2009
Pen Meets Paper March 16 '09
Opinion by Helge Nome
The Stelmach government in Alberta has let another animal out the back door. It is called “Bill 19” and makes the previous Bill 46 look like a rather tame puppy.
Just to tickle your memory a little bit: Bill 46 poked its nose out the door in 2007 amongst all the controversy over the proposed 500 kilovolt power line between Edmonton and Calgary. It was an aggressive little beast seeking to limit landholders' rights to oppose power corridor developments over their lands and retroactively legitimized scandalous actions by the Energy Utilities Board in its dealings with the public. During this time, the EUB was also found to have hired spies to listen in on the conversations of objectors to proposals being heard by the board. As the dust settled towards the end of 2007, a slightly muted Bill 46 was passed by the legislature, creating the Alberta Utilities Commission and so splitting the EUB into the Energy Resources Conservation Board (ERCB) and the AUC. And nameplates were shuffled on the doors of the various operatives without any evidence in a change of attitude as is now indicated by the emergence of Bill19.
Here is a quote from the Edmonton Journal:
“Alberta Green Party leader Joe Anglin, who spearheaded landowner opposition during the first hearings into the Edmonton-Calgary 500 KV transmission line, called the bill "one of the most draconian attempts to streamline the expropriation process of private property known to a democratic society."
Bill 19 makes it legal for any cabinet minister to take away anyone's home, land or property "for pretty much any reason they so desire," he said.
"If the minister thinks you are going to contravene his or her orders, they can order you to stop what they think you are going to do, and if you don't stop what they think you might do, they can put you in jail."
The bill carries heavy penalties for people who break regulations. Violators face fines of up to $100,000 or up to two years in prison or both while corporations can be fined up to $1 million.”
Fancy that; the agents of Big Energy are at it again, using the Stelmach puppies to look after their interests by trying to coerce Albertans into letting them do whatever they want.
The Stelmach government in Alberta has let another animal out the back door. It is called “Bill 19” and makes the previous Bill 46 look like a rather tame puppy.
Just to tickle your memory a little bit: Bill 46 poked its nose out the door in 2007 amongst all the controversy over the proposed 500 kilovolt power line between Edmonton and Calgary. It was an aggressive little beast seeking to limit landholders' rights to oppose power corridor developments over their lands and retroactively legitimized scandalous actions by the Energy Utilities Board in its dealings with the public. During this time, the EUB was also found to have hired spies to listen in on the conversations of objectors to proposals being heard by the board. As the dust settled towards the end of 2007, a slightly muted Bill 46 was passed by the legislature, creating the Alberta Utilities Commission and so splitting the EUB into the Energy Resources Conservation Board (ERCB) and the AUC. And nameplates were shuffled on the doors of the various operatives without any evidence in a change of attitude as is now indicated by the emergence of Bill19.
Here is a quote from the Edmonton Journal:
“Alberta Green Party leader Joe Anglin, who spearheaded landowner opposition during the first hearings into the Edmonton-Calgary 500 KV transmission line, called the bill "one of the most draconian attempts to streamline the expropriation process of private property known to a democratic society."
Bill 19 makes it legal for any cabinet minister to take away anyone's home, land or property "for pretty much any reason they so desire," he said.
"If the minister thinks you are going to contravene his or her orders, they can order you to stop what they think you are going to do, and if you don't stop what they think you might do, they can put you in jail."
The bill carries heavy penalties for people who break regulations. Violators face fines of up to $100,000 or up to two years in prison or both while corporations can be fined up to $1 million.”
Fancy that; the agents of Big Energy are at it again, using the Stelmach puppies to look after their interests by trying to coerce Albertans into letting them do whatever they want.
Caroline News March 9 '09
Rhythm and Rhyme Fest in April
The annual Caroline Rhythm and Rhyme event is planned for April 5 at the complex with the theme “Old Boots”. Activities begin at 10am with fellowship followed by a day of Western Poetry, Music and Displays. Featuring local and other well known artists. Don't forget to bring your old boots! Admission: Adult $10, Family $20. Concession will open at 10am. For more information, contact Al at 403 722 2032, Teresa at 403 722 2578 or Louise at 403 722 2409.
Village Council Notes
Caroline's Fire Chief Resigns
All councillors and CAO McKinnon were present at the regular meeting of the Village council last Tuesday March 3 at 2pm in the Village office. The matter of the resignation of Fire Chief Patrick Blowers was noted in the written CAO Report, but was not discussed at the meeting. Fire service delivery in the region is currently in a state of transition with the paid fire services staff at Clearwater County increasing in number. Reportedly, the new designation for Caroline's top fire fighter will be “Battalion Chief”.
Public Works Report.
The written report by Foreman Ron Landry was submitted to Council as follows: “The Public Works Department have hauled a lot of snow that has been piled up off the streets. The water tap in the Little Green park has been leaking. This tap does not have a curb stop to turn off the water. We need to make a decision to either replace the existing tap and put a curb stop on it so that the water can be shut off for the winter, or we need to remove the tap.
Garbage collections are running normally, and we have moved the garbage truck inside the shop so that it is easier to start during the cold weather. We were also able to repaint the floor and pipes in the water treatment plant. The treatment plant will need repairs on the backwash system. This system is leaking and the leak is progressively getting worse with every use of the system.
The hot water system at the RV Park is in need of repair. I am pricing out the cost of replacing the existing system to a tankless hot water system.
CAO Report.
CAO McKinnon presented his written report as follows: (please insert report forwarded by email)
Board Reports
Councillor Van Dijk reported from the regional fire committee that resumes had been received for the regional fire trainer positon at Clearwater County.
Councillor Pryor reported from SPOG that Shell is looking at a program to maximize gas extraction from existing wells as production declines.
Council Rep. For Spring Convention.
Clearwater County is prepared to pay for a Village Council Representative to go to the spring convention of the Alberta Association of Municipal Districts and Counties in Edmonton on March 23,24 and 25. Councillor Pryor will attend this convention.
Discussion On Off-site Levy Contract Proposal.
CAO McKinnon presented draft contracts prepared by Stantec Consulting Ltd. and Parkland Community Planning Services to determine off-site levies charged by the Village to developers tying into existing municipal infrastructure. The idea is to tie into a 10 year Capital Infrastructure Plan that Stantec is currently working on for the Village. This can be a potentially sensitive area as developers are inclined to challenge the validity of extra charges.
The proposed fees for the work of determining off-site levies are quite substantial, Stantec- $29,400.00 and Parkland- $16,850.00, and Councillor Van Dijk questioned the need for this work, which includes five workshops, among other things. After some discussion, Council decided to go ahead and sign the contracts.
Museum Donation
The Village has a plaque dedicated to the memory of Caroline Rebecca Nelson which reads “Forever honoured by her namesake- Village of Caroline”. Based on a request from the Caroline museum, Council donated the plaque to the museum.
Village To Enter The Merchandise Business
CAO McKinnon floated the idea of selling village promotional merchandise such as T-shirts, etc.
A motion was carried to allocate $1,000.00 to implement this idea.
Development Permit Appeal Fee
Council decided to introduce a $100 appeal fee for people that decide to make an appeal against a Development Permit. The fee is refundable if the appeal is successful. This is intended to be a deterrent against malicious or frivolous appeals.
Bobcat Gets Pat On The Back
CAO McKinnon reported that residents have called in to say that they are very happy about the Bobcat brush attachment which is used to sweep sidewalks
Council went in-camera to discuss unspecified issues.
Pen Meets Paper
Opinion by Helge Nome
Canadians are beginning to ask themselves: “What are we doing in Afghanistan?” And the public debate does not even touch on the real reasons.
In order to understand why our elected representatives are prepared to pour a substantial proportion of our Gross Domestic Product, 18 billion dollars, into a dusty mountainous region on the other side of the world, it is necessary to take a step back and review the ongoing global chess game for power that never ends and began when life took hold on the surface of the planet.
Afghanistan has always been important to the world powers of the day because of its strategic position.
Taken from Wikipedia, here is the real reason for NATO's military presence in Afghanistan:
“The Trans-Afghanistan Pipeline (TAP or TAPI) is a proposed natural gas pipeline being developed by the Asian Development Bank. The pipeline will transport Caspian Sea natural gas from Turkmenistan through Afghanistan into Pakistan and then to India. Proponents of the project see it as a modern continuation of the Silk Road. The Afghan government is expected to receive 8% of the project's revenue
The original project started in March 1995 when an inaugural memorandum of understanding between the governments of Turkmenistan and Pakistan for a pipeline project was signed. In August 1996, the Central Asia Gas Pipeline, Ltd. (CentGas) consortium for construction of a pipeline, led by Unocal was formed. On 27 October 1997, CentGas was incorporated in formal signing ceremonies in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan by several international oil companies along with the Government of Turkmenistan. In January 1998, the Taliban, selecting CentGas over Argentinian competitor Bridas Corporation, signed an agreement that allowed the proposed project to proceed. In June 1998, Russian Gazprom relinquishes its 10% stake in the project. Unocal withdrew from the consortium on 8 December 1998.
The new deal on the pipeline was signed on 27 December 2002 by the leaders of Turkmenistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan.[1] In 2005, the Asian Development Bank submitted the final version of a feasibility study designed by British company Penspen. Since the United States military overthrew the Taliban government, the project has essentially stalled; construction of the Turkmen part was supposed to start in 2006, but the overall feasibility is questionable since the southern part of the Afghan section runs through territory which continues to be under de facto Taliban control.
On 24 April 2008, Pakistan, India and Afghanistan signed a framework agreement to buy natural gas from Turkmenistan.[2]
The 1,680 kilometres (1,040 mi) pipeline will run from the Dauletabad gas field to Afghanistan. From there TAPI will be constructed alongside the highway running from Herat to Kandahar, and then via Quetta and Multan in Pakistan. The final destination of the pipeline will be the Indian town of Fazilka, near the border between Pakistan and India.[3]
The pipeline will be 1,420 millimetres (56 in) in diameter with a working pressure of 100 atm.[3] The initial capacity will be 27 billion cubic meter (bcm) of natural gas annually of which 2 bcm will be provided to Afghanistan and 12.5 bcm to both Pakistan and India. Later the capacity will increase to 33 bcm.[4] Six compressor stations are to be constructed along the pipeline.[3] The pipeline is expected to be operational by 2014.[5]
The cost of the pipeline is estimated cost at US$7.6 billion.[2] The project is to be financed by the Asian Development Bank.[6]"
NATO is the military arm of what may be called the “Western Empire” which includes Canada, and the idea is to ultimately gain control of vast oil and gas reserves that used to be part of the Soviet Union and control the territory through which that energy is distributed. Hence our presence in Afghanistan.
The tribal people there have always resisted the intrusions into of foreigners into their territory and they have become very good at it through long practice. We are now on the receiving end of their skills, just like the Soviet soldiers used to be not so long ago.
From the point of view of the average Canadian the complete dishonesty of our politicians is a major issue: The top brass in all the political parties know exactly why our young people are being sacrificed in Afghanistan but tell the public and the young soldiers a completely different story, because the truth would be too upsetting for those that have lost loved ones.
The annual Caroline Rhythm and Rhyme event is planned for April 5 at the complex with the theme “Old Boots”. Activities begin at 10am with fellowship followed by a day of Western Poetry, Music and Displays. Featuring local and other well known artists. Don't forget to bring your old boots! Admission: Adult $10, Family $20. Concession will open at 10am. For more information, contact Al at 403 722 2032, Teresa at 403 722 2578 or Louise at 403 722 2409.
Village Council Notes
Caroline's Fire Chief Resigns
All councillors and CAO McKinnon were present at the regular meeting of the Village council last Tuesday March 3 at 2pm in the Village office. The matter of the resignation of Fire Chief Patrick Blowers was noted in the written CAO Report, but was not discussed at the meeting. Fire service delivery in the region is currently in a state of transition with the paid fire services staff at Clearwater County increasing in number. Reportedly, the new designation for Caroline's top fire fighter will be “Battalion Chief”.
Public Works Report.
The written report by Foreman Ron Landry was submitted to Council as follows: “The Public Works Department have hauled a lot of snow that has been piled up off the streets. The water tap in the Little Green park has been leaking. This tap does not have a curb stop to turn off the water. We need to make a decision to either replace the existing tap and put a curb stop on it so that the water can be shut off for the winter, or we need to remove the tap.
Garbage collections are running normally, and we have moved the garbage truck inside the shop so that it is easier to start during the cold weather. We were also able to repaint the floor and pipes in the water treatment plant. The treatment plant will need repairs on the backwash system. This system is leaking and the leak is progressively getting worse with every use of the system.
The hot water system at the RV Park is in need of repair. I am pricing out the cost of replacing the existing system to a tankless hot water system.
CAO Report.
CAO McKinnon presented his written report as follows: (please insert report forwarded by email)
Board Reports
Councillor Van Dijk reported from the regional fire committee that resumes had been received for the regional fire trainer positon at Clearwater County.
Councillor Pryor reported from SPOG that Shell is looking at a program to maximize gas extraction from existing wells as production declines.
Council Rep. For Spring Convention.
Clearwater County is prepared to pay for a Village Council Representative to go to the spring convention of the Alberta Association of Municipal Districts and Counties in Edmonton on March 23,24 and 25. Councillor Pryor will attend this convention.
Discussion On Off-site Levy Contract Proposal.
CAO McKinnon presented draft contracts prepared by Stantec Consulting Ltd. and Parkland Community Planning Services to determine off-site levies charged by the Village to developers tying into existing municipal infrastructure. The idea is to tie into a 10 year Capital Infrastructure Plan that Stantec is currently working on for the Village. This can be a potentially sensitive area as developers are inclined to challenge the validity of extra charges.
The proposed fees for the work of determining off-site levies are quite substantial, Stantec- $29,400.00 and Parkland- $16,850.00, and Councillor Van Dijk questioned the need for this work, which includes five workshops, among other things. After some discussion, Council decided to go ahead and sign the contracts.
Museum Donation
The Village has a plaque dedicated to the memory of Caroline Rebecca Nelson which reads “Forever honoured by her namesake- Village of Caroline”. Based on a request from the Caroline museum, Council donated the plaque to the museum.
Village To Enter The Merchandise Business
CAO McKinnon floated the idea of selling village promotional merchandise such as T-shirts, etc.
A motion was carried to allocate $1,000.00 to implement this idea.
Development Permit Appeal Fee
Council decided to introduce a $100 appeal fee for people that decide to make an appeal against a Development Permit. The fee is refundable if the appeal is successful. This is intended to be a deterrent against malicious or frivolous appeals.
Bobcat Gets Pat On The Back
CAO McKinnon reported that residents have called in to say that they are very happy about the Bobcat brush attachment which is used to sweep sidewalks
Council went in-camera to discuss unspecified issues.
Pen Meets Paper
Opinion by Helge Nome
Canadians are beginning to ask themselves: “What are we doing in Afghanistan?” And the public debate does not even touch on the real reasons.
In order to understand why our elected representatives are prepared to pour a substantial proportion of our Gross Domestic Product, 18 billion dollars, into a dusty mountainous region on the other side of the world, it is necessary to take a step back and review the ongoing global chess game for power that never ends and began when life took hold on the surface of the planet.
Afghanistan has always been important to the world powers of the day because of its strategic position.
Taken from Wikipedia, here is the real reason for NATO's military presence in Afghanistan:
“The Trans-Afghanistan Pipeline (TAP or TAPI) is a proposed natural gas pipeline being developed by the Asian Development Bank. The pipeline will transport Caspian Sea natural gas from Turkmenistan through Afghanistan into Pakistan and then to India. Proponents of the project see it as a modern continuation of the Silk Road. The Afghan government is expected to receive 8% of the project's revenue
The original project started in March 1995 when an inaugural memorandum of understanding between the governments of Turkmenistan and Pakistan for a pipeline project was signed. In August 1996, the Central Asia Gas Pipeline, Ltd. (CentGas) consortium for construction of a pipeline, led by Unocal was formed. On 27 October 1997, CentGas was incorporated in formal signing ceremonies in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan by several international oil companies along with the Government of Turkmenistan. In January 1998, the Taliban, selecting CentGas over Argentinian competitor Bridas Corporation, signed an agreement that allowed the proposed project to proceed. In June 1998, Russian Gazprom relinquishes its 10% stake in the project. Unocal withdrew from the consortium on 8 December 1998.
The new deal on the pipeline was signed on 27 December 2002 by the leaders of Turkmenistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan.[1] In 2005, the Asian Development Bank submitted the final version of a feasibility study designed by British company Penspen. Since the United States military overthrew the Taliban government, the project has essentially stalled; construction of the Turkmen part was supposed to start in 2006, but the overall feasibility is questionable since the southern part of the Afghan section runs through territory which continues to be under de facto Taliban control.
On 24 April 2008, Pakistan, India and Afghanistan signed a framework agreement to buy natural gas from Turkmenistan.[2]
The 1,680 kilometres (1,040 mi) pipeline will run from the Dauletabad gas field to Afghanistan. From there TAPI will be constructed alongside the highway running from Herat to Kandahar, and then via Quetta and Multan in Pakistan. The final destination of the pipeline will be the Indian town of Fazilka, near the border between Pakistan and India.[3]
The pipeline will be 1,420 millimetres (56 in) in diameter with a working pressure of 100 atm.[3] The initial capacity will be 27 billion cubic meter (bcm) of natural gas annually of which 2 bcm will be provided to Afghanistan and 12.5 bcm to both Pakistan and India. Later the capacity will increase to 33 bcm.[4] Six compressor stations are to be constructed along the pipeline.[3] The pipeline is expected to be operational by 2014.[5]
The cost of the pipeline is estimated cost at US$7.6 billion.[2] The project is to be financed by the Asian Development Bank.[6]"
NATO is the military arm of what may be called the “Western Empire” which includes Canada, and the idea is to ultimately gain control of vast oil and gas reserves that used to be part of the Soviet Union and control the territory through which that energy is distributed. Hence our presence in Afghanistan.
The tribal people there have always resisted the intrusions into of foreigners into their territory and they have become very good at it through long practice. We are now on the receiving end of their skills, just like the Soviet soldiers used to be not so long ago.
From the point of view of the average Canadian the complete dishonesty of our politicians is a major issue: The top brass in all the political parties know exactly why our young people are being sacrificed in Afghanistan but tell the public and the young soldiers a completely different story, because the truth would be too upsetting for those that have lost loved ones.
WINNING TEAM The Caroline Colts Atom hockey team won their game against Stettler, 8 goals to 4, Saturday March 7 at the Caroline complex. They played in the Provincial Tier 3 Finals this last weekend in Legal, north of Edmonton.
The Caroline Colts team members are: Easton Harder (Goalie), Logan Neal, Cole Michalsky, Riley Westling, Dallas Johnson, Darbi Cunningham, Tanner Denham, Dylan Rauch, Andy Larsen, Denton Westling, Tristan Adrian, Cody Graham, Clay Guthrie, Beau Alstott, Jordan Maxwell. Coach Darren Denham. Assistant Coaches: Rod Neal, Cody Haney.
The Caroline Colts team members are: Easton Harder (Goalie), Logan Neal, Cole Michalsky, Riley Westling, Dallas Johnson, Darbi Cunningham, Tanner Denham, Dylan Rauch, Andy Larsen, Denton Westling, Tristan Adrian, Cody Graham, Clay Guthrie, Beau Alstott, Jordan Maxwell. Coach Darren Denham. Assistant Coaches: Rod Neal, Cody Haney.
Friday, March 6, 2009
Chamber of Commerce Looks Back At Busy Year
At its AGM last Monday at the Legion Hall, members of the Caroline & District Chamber of Commerce received a report from Chamber Manager Deana Knight on events and activities hosted by the chamber in 2008. They included a Community Meet and Greet in January, the May Long Weekend Parade, Canada Day Celebration, Federal and School Division Election Forums and Christmas Lightup. An ongoing enterprise and income generating activity for the chamber is the management of the Burnstick Lake Provincial Campground which is contracted out to private individuals every year.
After several years of service, Julie Oliver handed over her responsibilities as President to Reg Dean who was instrumental in reviving the chamber in about 2002.
The chamber is an active member of the Caroline community which is reflected in an annual dollar turnover of about $40,000.
At its AGM last Monday at the Legion Hall, members of the Caroline & District Chamber of Commerce received a report from Chamber Manager Deana Knight on events and activities hosted by the chamber in 2008. They included a Community Meet and Greet in January, the May Long Weekend Parade, Canada Day Celebration, Federal and School Division Election Forums and Christmas Lightup. An ongoing enterprise and income generating activity for the chamber is the management of the Burnstick Lake Provincial Campground which is contracted out to private individuals every year.
After several years of service, Julie Oliver handed over her responsibilities as President to Reg Dean who was instrumental in reviving the chamber in about 2002.
The chamber is an active member of the Caroline community which is reflected in an annual dollar turnover of about $40,000.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Green Light For Boys And Girls Club In Caroline
The Village Council Chamber was packed last Wednesday morning for a Municipal Planning Commission meeting to deal with a proposal from the Rocky Youth Development Society to develop a dedicated site for its Boys and Girls Club programming in Caroline. The building in question, which has been leased by the society, is located on 50th Avenue at the west end of the village, across the road from Caroline Supplies. It is currently vacant and the development proposal includes internal building upgrades and the establishment of a movie theater which can be accessed by the general public.
MPC Chairperson Kim Ceasor called the meeting to order shortly after 9am and gave those present an opportunity to present their cases and concerns before she and the other MPC members (Al Toovey and Councillor Van Dijk) discussed and made a decision on the proposal from the Rocky Youth Development Society.
Village CAO Tyler McKinnon, who is also Caroline's Development Officer, was present to give advice to the MPC during its deliberations and gave the initial presentation to those present about the proposal before the MPC, and Village requirements as per its Land Use Bylaw.
Rocky Youth Development Society President Greg Imeson made a presentation for the proposal and noted that the building had been inspected and found to be up to code. A 100 seat movie theater is planned with 18 spaces being needed for parking, which includes 7 spaces behind the building. Movie showings would be at 7pm, Thursday through Sunday. An after-school program will be hosted in the building on school days until 6pm under the supervision of staff and volunteers.
Caroline resident Al Grimshaw said that the location on a main thoroughfare was not good and suggested that the Boys and Girls Club should be hosted in the Caroline Complex following its planned expansion. A similar view was also expressed by Chris George.
Caroline Supplies owner Reg Dean said that he was not against Boys and Girls Clubs, or the activities they promote, but was against the chosen location. His main concerns were inadequate parking for the intended use of the building, traffic along the highway, congregation of youth next to his retail establishment and their negative impact on his clientelle and building deficiencies in relation to its intended use. He suggested that the Boys and Girls Club should work with the Rec/Ag Society to secure a space in the new complex.
Following its deliberations, the MPC approved the development application with the following conditions as per the minutes of the meeting: “a) All construction is undertaken in accordance with all required building permits and standards, and abides by all applicable legislation and bylaws. b) Use the 1 space to 6 seats for parking concerns as per the Land Use By-law. c) The pickup and drop-off of the Youth for the Clearwater Boys and Girls Club be at the back entrance to the building for safety reasons.”
The Village Council Chamber was packed last Wednesday morning for a Municipal Planning Commission meeting to deal with a proposal from the Rocky Youth Development Society to develop a dedicated site for its Boys and Girls Club programming in Caroline. The building in question, which has been leased by the society, is located on 50th Avenue at the west end of the village, across the road from Caroline Supplies. It is currently vacant and the development proposal includes internal building upgrades and the establishment of a movie theater which can be accessed by the general public.
MPC Chairperson Kim Ceasor called the meeting to order shortly after 9am and gave those present an opportunity to present their cases and concerns before she and the other MPC members (Al Toovey and Councillor Van Dijk) discussed and made a decision on the proposal from the Rocky Youth Development Society.
Village CAO Tyler McKinnon, who is also Caroline's Development Officer, was present to give advice to the MPC during its deliberations and gave the initial presentation to those present about the proposal before the MPC, and Village requirements as per its Land Use Bylaw.
Rocky Youth Development Society President Greg Imeson made a presentation for the proposal and noted that the building had been inspected and found to be up to code. A 100 seat movie theater is planned with 18 spaces being needed for parking, which includes 7 spaces behind the building. Movie showings would be at 7pm, Thursday through Sunday. An after-school program will be hosted in the building on school days until 6pm under the supervision of staff and volunteers.
Caroline resident Al Grimshaw said that the location on a main thoroughfare was not good and suggested that the Boys and Girls Club should be hosted in the Caroline Complex following its planned expansion. A similar view was also expressed by Chris George.
Caroline Supplies owner Reg Dean said that he was not against Boys and Girls Clubs, or the activities they promote, but was against the chosen location. His main concerns were inadequate parking for the intended use of the building, traffic along the highway, congregation of youth next to his retail establishment and their negative impact on his clientelle and building deficiencies in relation to its intended use. He suggested that the Boys and Girls Club should work with the Rec/Ag Society to secure a space in the new complex.
Following its deliberations, the MPC approved the development application with the following conditions as per the minutes of the meeting: “a) All construction is undertaken in accordance with all required building permits and standards, and abides by all applicable legislation and bylaws. b) Use the 1 space to 6 seats for parking concerns as per the Land Use By-law. c) The pickup and drop-off of the Youth for the Clearwater Boys and Girls Club be at the back entrance to the building for safety reasons.”
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Pen Meets Paper March 2 '09
Pen Meets Paper
Opinion by Helge Nome
“The bones of Alexander’s men lie deep in Afghanistan. The Mughals, a Turkic dynasty established in India in the early 16th century that later adopted the Persian language, could not with their affinity subdue the Turkic and Persian tribes in the region. The bleak, mountainous land was unkind to the British Raj during a series of Anglo-Afghan wars that started in 1839 and ended 80 years later. The Soviet invasion of 1979 was seen as a nine year immersion into Afghan hell for its army. And now, under the Obama administration, the U.S. is preparing to commit more troops, with little to show for some 3,300 casualties and the expenditure of more than $173 billion since 9/11”.
This was the introduction to an article written by a Frank Schell recently in the Wall Street Journal.
And, our own Stephen Harper was recently pinned down by an American reporter while visiting the US and asked whether Canada might be prepared to commit more troops to Afghanistan. To which he replied, to my amazement, that there had better be some expected positive outcomes before any such commitment would be contemplated. He did not believe that the “insurgency” could ever be defeated, only contained. Astounding. Stephen Harper must have finally seen fit to open a history book!
I remember Stephen Harper flying into Afghanistan shortly after his installment in the Prime Minister's chair and address our troops there with great bravado, extolling their virtues and achievements, before flying back to his comfortable home in Ottawa.
So why in Heaven's name are our politicians in Ottawa wasting some $18 billion in Afghanistan in addition to squandering the lives of more than 100 Canadians? The answer is only too plain and has nothing to do with the “improvement” in the lives of indigenous people in the area. On the contrary, it has everything to do with who controls the energy flows coming on to world markets from that general region. The real reason for the Iraq war is exactly the same.
I found Stephen Harper's frankness to be quite out of character, compared to his previous statements.
I think he knows that his days as Prime Minister of Canada are numbered and couldn't keep himself from expressing some real sentiments, rather than those he has been paid to utter in the past.
Opinion by Helge Nome
“The bones of Alexander’s men lie deep in Afghanistan. The Mughals, a Turkic dynasty established in India in the early 16th century that later adopted the Persian language, could not with their affinity subdue the Turkic and Persian tribes in the region. The bleak, mountainous land was unkind to the British Raj during a series of Anglo-Afghan wars that started in 1839 and ended 80 years later. The Soviet invasion of 1979 was seen as a nine year immersion into Afghan hell for its army. And now, under the Obama administration, the U.S. is preparing to commit more troops, with little to show for some 3,300 casualties and the expenditure of more than $173 billion since 9/11”.
This was the introduction to an article written by a Frank Schell recently in the Wall Street Journal.
And, our own Stephen Harper was recently pinned down by an American reporter while visiting the US and asked whether Canada might be prepared to commit more troops to Afghanistan. To which he replied, to my amazement, that there had better be some expected positive outcomes before any such commitment would be contemplated. He did not believe that the “insurgency” could ever be defeated, only contained. Astounding. Stephen Harper must have finally seen fit to open a history book!
I remember Stephen Harper flying into Afghanistan shortly after his installment in the Prime Minister's chair and address our troops there with great bravado, extolling their virtues and achievements, before flying back to his comfortable home in Ottawa.
So why in Heaven's name are our politicians in Ottawa wasting some $18 billion in Afghanistan in addition to squandering the lives of more than 100 Canadians? The answer is only too plain and has nothing to do with the “improvement” in the lives of indigenous people in the area. On the contrary, it has everything to do with who controls the energy flows coming on to world markets from that general region. The real reason for the Iraq war is exactly the same.
I found Stephen Harper's frankness to be quite out of character, compared to his previous statements.
I think he knows that his days as Prime Minister of Canada are numbered and couldn't keep himself from expressing some real sentiments, rather than those he has been paid to utter in the past.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Pen Meets Paper Feb 23 '09
Pen Meets Paper
Opinion by Helge Nome
The Stelmach government in Alberta is relying on the apathy of local people for a money grab with historical precedents unbeknown to this writer. Premier Ed Stelmach (“Honest Eddie”) has pledged $2billion to develop carbon sequestration technology to save the planet from ecological destruction. In comparison, the Federal government has pledged $1billion and the US government is kicking in $3billion. In order to gain a sense opf proportion, Alberta currently has 3.3million people living within its borders, Canada has 33million souls and the US lays claim to 306million bipods (excluding chickens and such).
So my message to Honest Eddie goes as follows:
“Hey, Ed it must feel good to set yourself up as the saviour of the world by mortgaging the lives of present and future Albertans so that your friendly oil and gas company buddies can pat you on the back and make you feel important. Seeing yourself as a major player on the World Stage must be a real buzz! And now you are going to borrow the money, on our behalf, from your banking buddies at interest plus principal repayable.
Eddie, do you know how these buddies of yours find the money to lend to you? I'm sure you know but wouldn't like anyone else to know so I'll tell'em: They make it up. Just like that! Plug a number into a computer program and, voila!, your money is there for you. Who says there is no magic in this world?
So as you can see, Eddie, you have excelled in your duty to your masters and will no doubt be rewarded with a comfortable board appointment, or two, at the end of your natural political life. By that time your employers will likely have somebody lined up to take your place and hopefully continue the work of making Alberta America's energy mining pit at the expense of Albertans.”
Opinion by Helge Nome
The Stelmach government in Alberta is relying on the apathy of local people for a money grab with historical precedents unbeknown to this writer. Premier Ed Stelmach (“Honest Eddie”) has pledged $2billion to develop carbon sequestration technology to save the planet from ecological destruction. In comparison, the Federal government has pledged $1billion and the US government is kicking in $3billion. In order to gain a sense opf proportion, Alberta currently has 3.3million people living within its borders, Canada has 33million souls and the US lays claim to 306million bipods (excluding chickens and such).
So my message to Honest Eddie goes as follows:
“Hey, Ed it must feel good to set yourself up as the saviour of the world by mortgaging the lives of present and future Albertans so that your friendly oil and gas company buddies can pat you on the back and make you feel important. Seeing yourself as a major player on the World Stage must be a real buzz! And now you are going to borrow the money, on our behalf, from your banking buddies at interest plus principal repayable.
Eddie, do you know how these buddies of yours find the money to lend to you? I'm sure you know but wouldn't like anyone else to know so I'll tell'em: They make it up. Just like that! Plug a number into a computer program and, voila!, your money is there for you. Who says there is no magic in this world?
So as you can see, Eddie, you have excelled in your duty to your masters and will no doubt be rewarded with a comfortable board appointment, or two, at the end of your natural political life. By that time your employers will likely have somebody lined up to take your place and hopefully continue the work of making Alberta America's energy mining pit at the expense of Albertans.”
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
The Gaza Tragedy
The Language of Death
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Posted on Jan 12, 2009
AP photo / Abdel Kareem Hana
Fire and smoke from Israeli miltary operations light up the night sky over Gaza City.
By Chris Hedges
The incursion into Gaza is not about destroying Hamas. It is not about stopping rocket fire into Israel. It is not about achieving peace. The Israeli decision to rain death and destruction on Gaza, to use the lethal weapons of the modern battlefield on a largely defenseless civilian population, is the final phase of the decades-long campaign to ethnically cleanse Palestinians. The assault on Gaza is about creating squalid, lawless and impoverished ghettos where life for Palestinians will be barely sustainable. It is about building ringed Palestinian enclaves where Israel will always have the ability to shut off movement, food, medicine and goods to perpetuate misery. The Israeli attack on Gaza is about building a hell on earth.
This attack is the final Israeli push to extinguish a Palestinian state and crush or expel the Palestinian people. The images of dead Palestinian children, lined up as if asleep on the floor of the main hospital in Gaza, are a metaphor for the future. Israel will, from now on, speak to the Palestinians in the language of death. And the language of death is all the Palestinians will be able to speak back. The slaughter—let’s stop pretending this is a war—is empowering an array of radical Islamists inside and outside of Gaza. It is ominously demolishing the shaky foundations of the corrupt secular Arab regimes on Israel’s borders, from Egypt to Jordan to Syria to Lebanon. It is about creating a new Middle East, one ruled by enraged Islamic radicals.
Hamas cannot lose this conflict. Militant movements feed off martyrs, and Israel is delivering the maimed and the dead by the truckload. Hamas fighters, armed with little more than light weapons, a few rockets and small mortars, are battling one of the most sophisticated military machines on the planet. And the determined resistance by these doomed fighters exposes, throughout the Arab world, the gutlessness of dictators like Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak, who refuses to open Egypt’s common border with Gaza despite the slaughter. Israel, when it bombed Lebanon two years ago, sought to destroy Hezbollah. By the time it withdrew it had swelled Hezbollah’s power base and handed it heroic status throughout the Arab world. Israel is now doing the same for Hamas.
The refusal by political leaders from Barack Obama to nearly every member of the U.S. Congress to speak out in the major media in defense of the rule of law and fundamental human rights exposes our cowardice and hypocrisy. Those who openly condemn the Israeli crimes, including Israelis such as Yuri Avnery, Tom Segev, Ilan Pappe, Gideon Levy and Amira Hass, as well as American stalwarts Noam Chomsky, Dennis Kucinich, Norman Finkelstein and Richard Falk, are ignored or treated like lepers. They are denied a platform in the press. They are rendered nearly voiceless. Falk, the U.N. special rapporteur for human rights in the occupied territories and a former professor of international law at Princeton, was refused entry into Israel in December, detained for 20 hours and deported. Never mind that nearly all these voices are Jewish.
I called Avnery at his home in Israel. He is Israel’s conscience. Avnery was born in Germany. He moved to Palestine as a young boy with his parents. He left school at the age of 14 and a year later joined the underground paramilitary group known as the Irgun. Four years afterward, disgusted with its use of violence, he walked away from the clandestine organization, which carried out armed attacks on British occupation authorities and Arabs. “You can’t talk to me about terrorism, I was a terrorist,” he says when confronted with his persistent calls for peace with the Palestinians. Avnery was a fighter in the Samson’s Foxes commando unit during the 1948 war. He wrote the elite unit’s anthem. He became, after the war, a force for left-wing politics in Israel and one of the country’s most prominent journalists, running the alternative HaOlam HaZeh magazine. He served in the Israeli Knesset. During the 1982 siege of Beirut he met, in open defiance of Israeli law, with PLO leader Yasser Arafat. He has joined Arab protesters in Israel the past few days and denounces what he calls Israel’s “instinct of using force” with the Palestinians and the “moral insanity” of the attack on Gaza. Avnery, now 85, was seriously wounded in an assassination attempt in 1975 by an Israeli opponent, and in 2006 the right-wing activist Baruch Marzel called on the Israeli military to carry out a targeted assassination of Avnery.
“The state of Israel, like any other state,” Avnery said, “cannot tolerate having its citizens shelled, bombed or rocketed, but there has been no thought as to how to solve the problem through political means or to analyze where this phenomenon has come from, what has caused it. Israelis, as a whole, cannot put themselves in the shoes of others. We are too self-centered. We cannot stand in the shoes of Palestinians or Arabs to ask how we would react in the same situation. Sometimes, very rarely, it happens. Years ago when Ehud Barak was asked how he would behave if were a Palestinian, he said, ‘I would join a terrorist organization.’ If you do not understand Hamas, if you do not understand why Hamas does what it does, if you don’t understand Palestinians, you take recourse in brute force.”
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Posted on Jan 12, 2009
AP photo / Abdel Kareem Hana
Fire and smoke from Israeli miltary operations light up the night sky over Gaza City.
By Chris Hedges
The incursion into Gaza is not about destroying Hamas. It is not about stopping rocket fire into Israel. It is not about achieving peace. The Israeli decision to rain death and destruction on Gaza, to use the lethal weapons of the modern battlefield on a largely defenseless civilian population, is the final phase of the decades-long campaign to ethnically cleanse Palestinians. The assault on Gaza is about creating squalid, lawless and impoverished ghettos where life for Palestinians will be barely sustainable. It is about building ringed Palestinian enclaves where Israel will always have the ability to shut off movement, food, medicine and goods to perpetuate misery. The Israeli attack on Gaza is about building a hell on earth.
This attack is the final Israeli push to extinguish a Palestinian state and crush or expel the Palestinian people. The images of dead Palestinian children, lined up as if asleep on the floor of the main hospital in Gaza, are a metaphor for the future. Israel will, from now on, speak to the Palestinians in the language of death. And the language of death is all the Palestinians will be able to speak back. The slaughter—let’s stop pretending this is a war—is empowering an array of radical Islamists inside and outside of Gaza. It is ominously demolishing the shaky foundations of the corrupt secular Arab regimes on Israel’s borders, from Egypt to Jordan to Syria to Lebanon. It is about creating a new Middle East, one ruled by enraged Islamic radicals.
Hamas cannot lose this conflict. Militant movements feed off martyrs, and Israel is delivering the maimed and the dead by the truckload. Hamas fighters, armed with little more than light weapons, a few rockets and small mortars, are battling one of the most sophisticated military machines on the planet. And the determined resistance by these doomed fighters exposes, throughout the Arab world, the gutlessness of dictators like Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak, who refuses to open Egypt’s common border with Gaza despite the slaughter. Israel, when it bombed Lebanon two years ago, sought to destroy Hezbollah. By the time it withdrew it had swelled Hezbollah’s power base and handed it heroic status throughout the Arab world. Israel is now doing the same for Hamas.
The refusal by political leaders from Barack Obama to nearly every member of the U.S. Congress to speak out in the major media in defense of the rule of law and fundamental human rights exposes our cowardice and hypocrisy. Those who openly condemn the Israeli crimes, including Israelis such as Yuri Avnery, Tom Segev, Ilan Pappe, Gideon Levy and Amira Hass, as well as American stalwarts Noam Chomsky, Dennis Kucinich, Norman Finkelstein and Richard Falk, are ignored or treated like lepers. They are denied a platform in the press. They are rendered nearly voiceless. Falk, the U.N. special rapporteur for human rights in the occupied territories and a former professor of international law at Princeton, was refused entry into Israel in December, detained for 20 hours and deported. Never mind that nearly all these voices are Jewish.
I called Avnery at his home in Israel. He is Israel’s conscience. Avnery was born in Germany. He moved to Palestine as a young boy with his parents. He left school at the age of 14 and a year later joined the underground paramilitary group known as the Irgun. Four years afterward, disgusted with its use of violence, he walked away from the clandestine organization, which carried out armed attacks on British occupation authorities and Arabs. “You can’t talk to me about terrorism, I was a terrorist,” he says when confronted with his persistent calls for peace with the Palestinians. Avnery was a fighter in the Samson’s Foxes commando unit during the 1948 war. He wrote the elite unit’s anthem. He became, after the war, a force for left-wing politics in Israel and one of the country’s most prominent journalists, running the alternative HaOlam HaZeh magazine. He served in the Israeli Knesset. During the 1982 siege of Beirut he met, in open defiance of Israeli law, with PLO leader Yasser Arafat. He has joined Arab protesters in Israel the past few days and denounces what he calls Israel’s “instinct of using force” with the Palestinians and the “moral insanity” of the attack on Gaza. Avnery, now 85, was seriously wounded in an assassination attempt in 1975 by an Israeli opponent, and in 2006 the right-wing activist Baruch Marzel called on the Israeli military to carry out a targeted assassination of Avnery.
“The state of Israel, like any other state,” Avnery said, “cannot tolerate having its citizens shelled, bombed or rocketed, but there has been no thought as to how to solve the problem through political means or to analyze where this phenomenon has come from, what has caused it. Israelis, as a whole, cannot put themselves in the shoes of others. We are too self-centered. We cannot stand in the shoes of Palestinians or Arabs to ask how we would react in the same situation. Sometimes, very rarely, it happens. Years ago when Ehud Barak was asked how he would behave if were a Palestinian, he said, ‘I would join a terrorist organization.’ If you do not understand Hamas, if you do not understand why Hamas does what it does, if you don’t understand Palestinians, you take recourse in brute force.”
The public debate about the Gaza attack engages in the absurd pretense that it is Israel, not the Palestinians, whose security and dignity are being threatened. This blind defense of Israeli brutality toward the Palestinians betrays the memory of those killed in other genocides, from the Holocaust to Cambodia to Rwanda to Bosnia. The lesson of the Holocaust is not that Jews are special. It is not that Jews are unique. It is not that Jews are eternal victims. The lesson of the Holocaust is that when you have the capacity to halt genocide, and you do not—no matter who carries out that genocide or who it is directed against—you are culpable. And we are very culpable. The F-16 jet fighters, the Apache attack helicopters, the 250-pound “smart” GBU-39 bombs are all part of the annual $2.4 billion in military aid the U.S. gives to Israel. Palestinians are being slaughtered with American-made weapons. They are being slaughtered by an Israeli military we lavishly bankroll. But perhaps our callous indifference to human suffering is to be expected. We, after all, kill women and children on an even vaster scale in Iraq and Afghanistan. The bloody hands of Israel mirror our own.
There will be more dead Palestinian children. There will be more cases like that of the U.N. school, used as a sanctuary by terrified families, that was blown to bits by Israeli shells, with more than 40 killed, half of them women and children. There will be more emaciated, orphaned children. There will be more screaming or comatose wounded in the corridors of Gaza’s glutted hospital corridors. And there will be more absurd news reports, like the one on the front page of the Sunday New York Times, titled “A Gaza War Full of Traps and Trickery.” In this story, unnamed Israeli intelligence officials gave us a spin on the war worthy of the White House fabrications made on the eve of the Iraq war. We learned about the perfidious and dirty tactics of Hamas fighters. Foreign journalists, barred from Gaza and unable to check the veracity of the Israeli version of the war, have abandoned their trade as reporters to become stenographers. The cynicism of conveying propaganda as truth, as long as it is well sourced, is the poison of American journalism. If this is all journalism has become, if moral outrage, the courage to defy the powerful, the commitment to tell the truth and to give a voice to those who without us would have no voice, no longer matters, our journalism schools should focus exclusively on shorthand. It seems to be the skill most ardently coveted by most senior editors and news producers.
There have always been powerful Israeli leaders, since the inception of the state in 1948, who have called for the total physical removal of the Palestinians. The ethnic cleansing of some 800,000 Palestinians by Jewish militias in 1948 was, for them, only the start. But there were also a few Israeli leaders, including the assassinated Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, who argued that Israel could not pick itself up and move to another geographical spot on the globe. Israel, Rabin believed, would have to make peace with the Palestinians and its Arab neighbors to survive. Rabin’s vision of two states, however, appears to have died with him. The embrace of wholesale ethnic cleansing by the Israeli leadership and military now appears to be unquestioned.
“It seems,” the Israeli historian Ilan Pappe wrote recently, “that even the most horrendous crimes, such as the genocide in Gaza, are treated as discrete events, unconnected to anything that happened in the past and not associated with any ideology or system. ... Very much as the apartheid ideology explained the oppressive policies of the South African government, this ideology—in its most consensual and simplistic variety—has allowed all the Israeli governments in the past and the present to dehumanize the Palestinians wherever they are and strive to destroy them. The means altered from period to period, from location to location, as did the narrative covering up these atrocities. But there is a clear pattern [of genocide]. …”
Gaza has descended into chaos. Hamas, which despite Israeli propaganda has never mustered the sustained resistance Hezbollah carried out during the Israeli incursion into southern Lebanon, will be ruled in the future by antagonistic bands of warlords, clans and mafias. Gaza will resemble Somalia. And out of that power vacuum will rise a new generation of angry jihadists, many of whom may spurn Hamas for more radical organizations. Al-Qaida, which has been working to gain a foothold in Gaza, may now have found its opening.
“Hamas will win the war, no matter what happens,” Avnery said. “They will be considered by hundreds of millions of Arabs heroes who have recovered the dignity and pride of Arab nations. If at the end of the war they are still standing in Gaza this will be a huge victory for them, to hold out against this huge Israeli army and firepower will be an incredible achievement. They will gain even more than Hezbollah did during the last war.”
Israel operates under the illusion that it can crush Hamas and install a quisling Palestinian government in Gaza and the West Bank. This puppet government will be led, Israel believes, by the discredited Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas, now cowering in the West Bank after being driven out of Gaza. Abbas, like most of the corrupt Fatah leadership, is a detested figure. He is dismissed as the Marshal Pétain of the Palestinian people, or perhaps the Hamid Karzai or the Nouri al-Maliki. He is as loathed as he is powerless.
Israel’s destruction of Hamas and reoccupation of Gaza will not bring peace or security to Israel. It will merely obliterate the only internal organization with enough stature and authority in Gaza to maintain order. The Israeli assault, by destroying Hamas as a governing force, has opened a Pandora’s box of ills. Life will become a nightmare for most Palestinians and, in the years ahead, for most Israelis.
There will be more dead Palestinian children. There will be more cases like that of the U.N. school, used as a sanctuary by terrified families, that was blown to bits by Israeli shells, with more than 40 killed, half of them women and children. There will be more emaciated, orphaned children. There will be more screaming or comatose wounded in the corridors of Gaza’s glutted hospital corridors. And there will be more absurd news reports, like the one on the front page of the Sunday New York Times, titled “A Gaza War Full of Traps and Trickery.” In this story, unnamed Israeli intelligence officials gave us a spin on the war worthy of the White House fabrications made on the eve of the Iraq war. We learned about the perfidious and dirty tactics of Hamas fighters. Foreign journalists, barred from Gaza and unable to check the veracity of the Israeli version of the war, have abandoned their trade as reporters to become stenographers. The cynicism of conveying propaganda as truth, as long as it is well sourced, is the poison of American journalism. If this is all journalism has become, if moral outrage, the courage to defy the powerful, the commitment to tell the truth and to give a voice to those who without us would have no voice, no longer matters, our journalism schools should focus exclusively on shorthand. It seems to be the skill most ardently coveted by most senior editors and news producers.
There have always been powerful Israeli leaders, since the inception of the state in 1948, who have called for the total physical removal of the Palestinians. The ethnic cleansing of some 800,000 Palestinians by Jewish militias in 1948 was, for them, only the start. But there were also a few Israeli leaders, including the assassinated Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, who argued that Israel could not pick itself up and move to another geographical spot on the globe. Israel, Rabin believed, would have to make peace with the Palestinians and its Arab neighbors to survive. Rabin’s vision of two states, however, appears to have died with him. The embrace of wholesale ethnic cleansing by the Israeli leadership and military now appears to be unquestioned.
“It seems,” the Israeli historian Ilan Pappe wrote recently, “that even the most horrendous crimes, such as the genocide in Gaza, are treated as discrete events, unconnected to anything that happened in the past and not associated with any ideology or system. ... Very much as the apartheid ideology explained the oppressive policies of the South African government, this ideology—in its most consensual and simplistic variety—has allowed all the Israeli governments in the past and the present to dehumanize the Palestinians wherever they are and strive to destroy them. The means altered from period to period, from location to location, as did the narrative covering up these atrocities. But there is a clear pattern [of genocide]. …”
Gaza has descended into chaos. Hamas, which despite Israeli propaganda has never mustered the sustained resistance Hezbollah carried out during the Israeli incursion into southern Lebanon, will be ruled in the future by antagonistic bands of warlords, clans and mafias. Gaza will resemble Somalia. And out of that power vacuum will rise a new generation of angry jihadists, many of whom may spurn Hamas for more radical organizations. Al-Qaida, which has been working to gain a foothold in Gaza, may now have found its opening.
“Hamas will win the war, no matter what happens,” Avnery said. “They will be considered by hundreds of millions of Arabs heroes who have recovered the dignity and pride of Arab nations. If at the end of the war they are still standing in Gaza this will be a huge victory for them, to hold out against this huge Israeli army and firepower will be an incredible achievement. They will gain even more than Hezbollah did during the last war.”
Israel operates under the illusion that it can crush Hamas and install a quisling Palestinian government in Gaza and the West Bank. This puppet government will be led, Israel believes, by the discredited Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas, now cowering in the West Bank after being driven out of Gaza. Abbas, like most of the corrupt Fatah leadership, is a detested figure. He is dismissed as the Marshal Pétain of the Palestinian people, or perhaps the Hamid Karzai or the Nouri al-Maliki. He is as loathed as he is powerless.
Israel’s destruction of Hamas and reoccupation of Gaza will not bring peace or security to Israel. It will merely obliterate the only internal organization with enough stature and authority in Gaza to maintain order. The Israeli assault, by destroying Hamas as a governing force, has opened a Pandora’s box of ills. Life will become a nightmare for most Palestinians and, in the years ahead, for most Israelis.
The Art and Craft of Propaganda
How Israel`s Propaganda Machine Works
Posted: 2009/01/14
From: Source
Because it recognizes the importance of the propaganda war, Israel fights on this front as vigorously and disproportionately as it engages on the battlefield.
by James Zogby
(Middle East Online)
As in past Mideast conflicts, both the media story line and political commentary here in the US has closely followed Israel's talking points on the war. This has been an essential component in Israel's early success and in its ability to prolong fighting without US pushback. Because it recognizes the importance of the propaganda war, Israel fights on this front as vigorously and disproportionately as it engages on the battlefield.
Here's how they have done it:
1) Define the terms of debate, and you win the debate. Early on, the Israelis work to define the context, the starting point, and the story line that will shape understanding of the war. In this instance, for example, they succeeded by constant repetition, in establishing the notion that the starting point of the conflict was December 19th, the end of the six-month ceasefire (which Israel described as "unilaterally ended by Hamas"). In doing so, they ignored, of course, their own early November violations, and their failure to honor their commitment in the ceasefire to open Gaza's borders. They also ignored their having reduced Gaza into a dependency, a process which began long before and continued after their withdrawal in 2005. Because they know that most Americans do not closely follow the conflict and are inclined to believe, as the line goes, "what they hear over and over again," this tactic of preemptive definition and repetition succeeds.
2) Recognize that stereotypes work. Because, for generations, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has been defined with positive cultural images of Israel and negative stereotypes of Palestinians, Israel's propagandists have an advantage here that is easy to exploit. Because the story has long been seen as "Israeli humanity confronting the Palestinian problem," media coverage of any conflict begins with how "the problem" is affecting the Israeli people. As Golda Meir once put it, "We can forgive the Arabs for killing our children, but we can never forgive them for making us kill their children." And so, it was not surprising that, despite the disproportionate suffering of the Palestinians, media coverage attempted to "balance" the story, giving an extensive treatment, with photos of anguished and fearful Israelis and the impact the war was having on them. Early on, when media treatment mattered most, Palestinians were reduced, as always, to mere numbers or objectified as "collateral damage."
3) Anticipate and count on your opponent's blunders. Hamas' stupidity played into Israel's strategy. From the outset, Israel could count on the fact that Hamas would launch rockets and issue the kind of threats that Israel could then parley into sympathy in the West. Knowing that these would most certainly come, and could be exploited, was an advantage in their propaganda war.
4) Be everywhere, and say the same thing -- and make sure your opponents remain as invisible as possible. Israel begins each war with a host of English-speaking spokespersons (many born in the West) available at any time for every media outlet (it's no accident, for example, that Israel has an "Arab" Consul General in Atlanta - that's where CNN is). The work of their propaganda operation, which spreads multiple spokespersons in venues across the United States with consistent talking points, guarantees success. At the same time, they are able to deny media access to Gaza, only allowing the Western reporters to operate near the war zone under IDF supervision, guaranteeing Israel the opportunity to shape every aspect of the story while removing the possibility of independent verification of the horror unfolding in Gaza.
5) Give no ground. Since half of the story will be determined by what political leaders say and do, the political apparatus in Washington is also pressed into service, ensuring that White House and Congressional leadership will "toe the line." Statements issued by Congress, therefore, reflect the talking points and, together, the Israeli spokespersons, the political commentators, and the Congressional statements serve as echoes of one another
6) Deny, deny, deny. When events and reality break through, contradicting the Israeli-established narrative, creating stories that run counter to the imposed story line, the propaganda machine works overtime to deny, deny, deny (saying quite boldly, "Who do you believe, me or your lying eyes?"), and/or concoct a counter-narrative that shifts the blame ("We didn't do it, they made us"). In this instance, that means asserting that the death of Palestinian civilians is always the fault of someone else, or that reporters or their opponents are staging the photos of grief (as if to say, "Arabs don't really grieve like we do").
7) The last refuge.... When all else fails, point to a few examples of outrageous anti-Semitism, generalize them, suggesting that that is what motivates critics. It stings, and may be over-used, but it can silence or put critics on the defensive.
--Dr. James Zogby is president of the Arab American Institute. For comments or information, contact James Zogby. #
http://www.middle-east-online.com
Posted: 2009/01/14
From: Source
Because it recognizes the importance of the propaganda war, Israel fights on this front as vigorously and disproportionately as it engages on the battlefield.
by James Zogby
(Middle East Online)
As in past Mideast conflicts, both the media story line and political commentary here in the US has closely followed Israel's talking points on the war. This has been an essential component in Israel's early success and in its ability to prolong fighting without US pushback. Because it recognizes the importance of the propaganda war, Israel fights on this front as vigorously and disproportionately as it engages on the battlefield.
Here's how they have done it:
1) Define the terms of debate, and you win the debate. Early on, the Israelis work to define the context, the starting point, and the story line that will shape understanding of the war. In this instance, for example, they succeeded by constant repetition, in establishing the notion that the starting point of the conflict was December 19th, the end of the six-month ceasefire (which Israel described as "unilaterally ended by Hamas"). In doing so, they ignored, of course, their own early November violations, and their failure to honor their commitment in the ceasefire to open Gaza's borders. They also ignored their having reduced Gaza into a dependency, a process which began long before and continued after their withdrawal in 2005. Because they know that most Americans do not closely follow the conflict and are inclined to believe, as the line goes, "what they hear over and over again," this tactic of preemptive definition and repetition succeeds.
2) Recognize that stereotypes work. Because, for generations, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has been defined with positive cultural images of Israel and negative stereotypes of Palestinians, Israel's propagandists have an advantage here that is easy to exploit. Because the story has long been seen as "Israeli humanity confronting the Palestinian problem," media coverage of any conflict begins with how "the problem" is affecting the Israeli people. As Golda Meir once put it, "We can forgive the Arabs for killing our children, but we can never forgive them for making us kill their children." And so, it was not surprising that, despite the disproportionate suffering of the Palestinians, media coverage attempted to "balance" the story, giving an extensive treatment, with photos of anguished and fearful Israelis and the impact the war was having on them. Early on, when media treatment mattered most, Palestinians were reduced, as always, to mere numbers or objectified as "collateral damage."
3) Anticipate and count on your opponent's blunders. Hamas' stupidity played into Israel's strategy. From the outset, Israel could count on the fact that Hamas would launch rockets and issue the kind of threats that Israel could then parley into sympathy in the West. Knowing that these would most certainly come, and could be exploited, was an advantage in their propaganda war.
4) Be everywhere, and say the same thing -- and make sure your opponents remain as invisible as possible. Israel begins each war with a host of English-speaking spokespersons (many born in the West) available at any time for every media outlet (it's no accident, for example, that Israel has an "Arab" Consul General in Atlanta - that's where CNN is). The work of their propaganda operation, which spreads multiple spokespersons in venues across the United States with consistent talking points, guarantees success. At the same time, they are able to deny media access to Gaza, only allowing the Western reporters to operate near the war zone under IDF supervision, guaranteeing Israel the opportunity to shape every aspect of the story while removing the possibility of independent verification of the horror unfolding in Gaza.
5) Give no ground. Since half of the story will be determined by what political leaders say and do, the political apparatus in Washington is also pressed into service, ensuring that White House and Congressional leadership will "toe the line." Statements issued by Congress, therefore, reflect the talking points and, together, the Israeli spokespersons, the political commentators, and the Congressional statements serve as echoes of one another
6) Deny, deny, deny. When events and reality break through, contradicting the Israeli-established narrative, creating stories that run counter to the imposed story line, the propaganda machine works overtime to deny, deny, deny (saying quite boldly, "Who do you believe, me or your lying eyes?"), and/or concoct a counter-narrative that shifts the blame ("We didn't do it, they made us"). In this instance, that means asserting that the death of Palestinian civilians is always the fault of someone else, or that reporters or their opponents are staging the photos of grief (as if to say, "Arabs don't really grieve like we do").
7) The last refuge.... When all else fails, point to a few examples of outrageous anti-Semitism, generalize them, suggesting that that is what motivates critics. It stings, and may be over-used, but it can silence or put critics on the defensive.
--Dr. James Zogby is president of the Arab American Institute. For comments or information, contact James Zogby. #
http://www.middle-east-online.com
Monday, January 12, 2009
Pen Meets Paper Jan 12 '09
Pen Meets Paper
Opinion by Helge Nome
Many of us wonder about what is happening in our own economy, and those of our neighbours, at this time. There is talk of bull and bear markets, inflation and deflation and many people are watching their retirement nest eggs shrink day by day. Why is this happening? What is the dynamic behind these events and where is leading?.
To answer these questions, I would like to enlist the service of a man whom many of you knew personally: Alfred J. Hooke who represented the Rocky Mountain House area in the provincial legislature from 1935 to 1971.
In 1980, during the economic slump at that time, Alfred Hooke published a little book entitled: “Looking Backward To Go Forward” where he recounts what happened to people during the nineteen-thirties because of a lack of money in circulation at that time.
He witnessed the kind of privation that we now find in third world countries, if we get off the beaten tourist track. Economic activity was literally strangled when people in the financial system, bankers, etc. refused credit to farmers, small business people and others because the financial system they were the custodians of was in turmoil.
That turmoil was brought about by excessive speculative activity within the financial system itself which was driven by greed and euphoria. Anyone who voiced a concern over where all this was leading was promptly called down by the “authoritative voices of the day”.
In 1980, Alfred Hooke could see it coming again and on the last page of his book the following statement is made:
“I shudder to contemplate what the results will be when the present (1980) monetary policy is reversed, as it was in 1929, and the world is once again plunged into a Great Depression. There is no doubt that such a one will make that of 1929-1939 seem like a mild recession. There is but one answer to avoid such a calamity.
We the people must through our representatives, control the monetary policy of our nation, or democracy, prosperity, individual and personal freedom will vanish from this great country.”
Since those words were written, the world financial system has been deregulated, turning it into one giant casino: The worst case scenario from the point of view of Alfred Hooke, who had seen it all before.
So, to find out what lies ahead, take Hooke's advice and look backward.
Opinion by Helge Nome
Many of us wonder about what is happening in our own economy, and those of our neighbours, at this time. There is talk of bull and bear markets, inflation and deflation and many people are watching their retirement nest eggs shrink day by day. Why is this happening? What is the dynamic behind these events and where is leading?.
To answer these questions, I would like to enlist the service of a man whom many of you knew personally: Alfred J. Hooke who represented the Rocky Mountain House area in the provincial legislature from 1935 to 1971.
In 1980, during the economic slump at that time, Alfred Hooke published a little book entitled: “Looking Backward To Go Forward” where he recounts what happened to people during the nineteen-thirties because of a lack of money in circulation at that time.
He witnessed the kind of privation that we now find in third world countries, if we get off the beaten tourist track. Economic activity was literally strangled when people in the financial system, bankers, etc. refused credit to farmers, small business people and others because the financial system they were the custodians of was in turmoil.
That turmoil was brought about by excessive speculative activity within the financial system itself which was driven by greed and euphoria. Anyone who voiced a concern over where all this was leading was promptly called down by the “authoritative voices of the day”.
In 1980, Alfred Hooke could see it coming again and on the last page of his book the following statement is made:
“I shudder to contemplate what the results will be when the present (1980) monetary policy is reversed, as it was in 1929, and the world is once again plunged into a Great Depression. There is no doubt that such a one will make that of 1929-1939 seem like a mild recession. There is but one answer to avoid such a calamity.
We the people must through our representatives, control the monetary policy of our nation, or democracy, prosperity, individual and personal freedom will vanish from this great country.”
Since those words were written, the world financial system has been deregulated, turning it into one giant casino: The worst case scenario from the point of view of Alfred Hooke, who had seen it all before.
So, to find out what lies ahead, take Hooke's advice and look backward.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Pen Meets Paper Jan 5 '09
Pen Meets Paper
Opinion by Helge Nome
In this first week of January, 2009, I would like to shed some additional light on the conflict between power factions in Israel and the surrounding territories. Please step out of the fray for a minute and refrain from looking at this conflict as ideological, ethnic or territorial.
Have you noticed that during the last 60 years, since the formation of Israel as a state, within the territory that used to be called Palestine, there has always been some kind of conflict, or other, which has grabbed the attention of the world and routinely gets featured in the headline news everywhere. This is despite of the fact that the number of people involved, and the total casualties over the years, are miniscule compared to conflicts elsewhere, such as in Africa.
One very significant result of this ongoing attention has been a massive inflow of money into the region from supporters of all factions from all over the world. So the combatants on both sides are continually benefiting directly from their conflicts.
The so called “Two State Solution”, Israel and Palestine existing side by side, is a dead duck in the water, because neither state would be financially viable and there would be little incentive for supporters to pour in money if there was no conflict.
So, as usual, the common folk on both sides are held to ransom by their respective “governments” who are, in fact, armed gangs exploiting them for their own gain. (By the way, the kill ratio is about 100/1 in favour of Israel)
Opinion by Helge Nome
In this first week of January, 2009, I would like to shed some additional light on the conflict between power factions in Israel and the surrounding territories. Please step out of the fray for a minute and refrain from looking at this conflict as ideological, ethnic or territorial.
Have you noticed that during the last 60 years, since the formation of Israel as a state, within the territory that used to be called Palestine, there has always been some kind of conflict, or other, which has grabbed the attention of the world and routinely gets featured in the headline news everywhere. This is despite of the fact that the number of people involved, and the total casualties over the years, are miniscule compared to conflicts elsewhere, such as in Africa.
One very significant result of this ongoing attention has been a massive inflow of money into the region from supporters of all factions from all over the world. So the combatants on both sides are continually benefiting directly from their conflicts.
The so called “Two State Solution”, Israel and Palestine existing side by side, is a dead duck in the water, because neither state would be financially viable and there would be little incentive for supporters to pour in money if there was no conflict.
So, as usual, the common folk on both sides are held to ransom by their respective “governments” who are, in fact, armed gangs exploiting them for their own gain. (By the way, the kill ratio is about 100/1 in favour of Israel)
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Comrade Fidel Comments On Alberta
Reflections by Comrade Fidel
THE UNJUSTIFIABLE DESTRUCTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT
Can the capitalist society avoid it? News about this issue are far from encouraging. The project to be submitted for approval on December next year in Copenhagen, where the new Convention that will replace Kyoto’s will be discussed and approved, is being currently analyzed at Poznan.
The Commission in charge of the drafting of this project is presided over by Al Gore, ex presidential candidate of the United States, who was fraudulently defeated by Bush in the elections of 2001. Those who are drafting the project are pinning all their hopes on Barack Obama as if he could change the course of history.
An enlightening example comes from Canada.
An article published by BBC World entitled “Canada's Black Gold Oil Rush” points out that “the total area currently being mined is 420 Km2 , while the overall area that the Alberta government has leased to oil companies is 64 919 Km2. The area of exploitable reserves is 140 200 Km2 - about the size of Florida.
“From the air, the strip mines have transformed the forest into a moonscape of craters and lakes, with smoke stacks pumping out billowing clouds. All this in a remote part of northern Alberta.”
Further on, the article continues: “…There are three major players at the moment - Suncor, Syncrude and a consortium led by Shell - but more foreign investors and consortiums have piled in.
“…the lack of government action means not enough is being done about the cumulative effects on the environment.
“…an investigation by the Alberta Cancer Board is due to be published soon.
“Earlier this year, 500 ducks died after landing on a tailings pond run by Syncrude…A government investigation is ongoing. Whatever the results, it seems the pace of opposition to the oil sands is quickening.”
According to the Spanish daily “El País”, “… the estimates made by the dependent agency of the OECD (Organization for Economic and Cooperation and Development) are based on the predictions made by the IMF which point to a steady recovery of the global economy as from the second semester of the year 2009, when the world’s oil production will reach 86.3 million barrels per day.”
That same Spanish newspaper announces that “the director of the Department on Climate Change of China wants to state very clearly that Beijing would only limit its emissions in exchange for lots of investments and patents for clean technologies. His signature is indispensable so that all 187 countries gathered at the Polish city could move on to the adoption of a protocol that could replace that of 1997. Obama is causing a twenty years delay in the struggle against climate change.”
Another wire service from the agency NOTIMEX, dated on December 13, explains that “…the colossal fraud in Wall Street carried out by Bernard L. Madoff, ex chief of the firm Nasdaq, is causing losses in Spain amounting to millions”, according to an article published today by the newspaper “Expansión”, specialized in economic issues.
“…This Friday, one of the biggest scandals in Wall Street” –continues the wire service- “has been exposed after the ex chief of Nasdaq, Bernard L. Madoff, was arrested for having taken part in a fraud with an investment fund that could amount to 50 billion dollars.”
“…Madoff, ex founding president of the Nasdaq Stock Market, was arrested on Thursday evening after his own son reported to the federal authorities that his father was part of what he called ‘a huge pyramidal fraud’.”
“…Based on this scheme, only the first investors would obtain dividends from their investments, leaving all of the rest with losses that, according to the Federal Prosecutor’s Office in New York, could amount to the aforementioned figure.”
Another news published by Reuters on the same date stated that: “…President-elect Barack Obama is considering a plan to boost the recession-hit US economy that could be far larger than previous estimates”, the Wall Street Journal reported Saturday.
“…Obama aides, who were considering a half-trillion dollar package two weeks ago, now consider $600 billion –a year- over two years “a very low-end estimate,” the newspaper said,
“…The final size of the stimulus is expected to be $1 trillion over that period, given the deteriorating state of the US economy.
“…Officials with Obama’s camp have declined to comment on media reports about the size of the boost that the Democrat will launch once he takes office as President of the United States on January 20.”
The picture appears to be even gloomier after the news by several press agencies reporting all sorts of problems, ranging from the bankruptcy of the automotive industry as a result of the crisis, up to the natural disasters, including the increasing cost of foodstuffs, starvation, war, and many other facts.
The problem is that there is no more habitable space on our planet. The only one left was Australia, and the United Kingdom took hold of it on January 19, 1788. There’s been a long time since the environment is compromised.
¿Could our species surmount that barrier?
Fidel Castro Ruz
December 15, 2008
6:12 p.m.
THE UNJUSTIFIABLE DESTRUCTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT
Can the capitalist society avoid it? News about this issue are far from encouraging. The project to be submitted for approval on December next year in Copenhagen, where the new Convention that will replace Kyoto’s will be discussed and approved, is being currently analyzed at Poznan.
The Commission in charge of the drafting of this project is presided over by Al Gore, ex presidential candidate of the United States, who was fraudulently defeated by Bush in the elections of 2001. Those who are drafting the project are pinning all their hopes on Barack Obama as if he could change the course of history.
An enlightening example comes from Canada.
An article published by BBC World entitled “Canada's Black Gold Oil Rush” points out that “the total area currently being mined is 420 Km2 , while the overall area that the Alberta government has leased to oil companies is 64 919 Km2. The area of exploitable reserves is 140 200 Km2 - about the size of Florida.
“From the air, the strip mines have transformed the forest into a moonscape of craters and lakes, with smoke stacks pumping out billowing clouds. All this in a remote part of northern Alberta.”
Further on, the article continues: “…There are three major players at the moment - Suncor, Syncrude and a consortium led by Shell - but more foreign investors and consortiums have piled in.
“…the lack of government action means not enough is being done about the cumulative effects on the environment.
“…an investigation by the Alberta Cancer Board is due to be published soon.
“Earlier this year, 500 ducks died after landing on a tailings pond run by Syncrude…A government investigation is ongoing. Whatever the results, it seems the pace of opposition to the oil sands is quickening.”
According to the Spanish daily “El País”, “… the estimates made by the dependent agency of the OECD (Organization for Economic and Cooperation and Development) are based on the predictions made by the IMF which point to a steady recovery of the global economy as from the second semester of the year 2009, when the world’s oil production will reach 86.3 million barrels per day.”
That same Spanish newspaper announces that “the director of the Department on Climate Change of China wants to state very clearly that Beijing would only limit its emissions in exchange for lots of investments and patents for clean technologies. His signature is indispensable so that all 187 countries gathered at the Polish city could move on to the adoption of a protocol that could replace that of 1997. Obama is causing a twenty years delay in the struggle against climate change.”
Another wire service from the agency NOTIMEX, dated on December 13, explains that “…the colossal fraud in Wall Street carried out by Bernard L. Madoff, ex chief of the firm Nasdaq, is causing losses in Spain amounting to millions”, according to an article published today by the newspaper “Expansión”, specialized in economic issues.
“…This Friday, one of the biggest scandals in Wall Street” –continues the wire service- “has been exposed after the ex chief of Nasdaq, Bernard L. Madoff, was arrested for having taken part in a fraud with an investment fund that could amount to 50 billion dollars.”
“…Madoff, ex founding president of the Nasdaq Stock Market, was arrested on Thursday evening after his own son reported to the federal authorities that his father was part of what he called ‘a huge pyramidal fraud’.”
“…Based on this scheme, only the first investors would obtain dividends from their investments, leaving all of the rest with losses that, according to the Federal Prosecutor’s Office in New York, could amount to the aforementioned figure.”
Another news published by Reuters on the same date stated that: “…President-elect Barack Obama is considering a plan to boost the recession-hit US economy that could be far larger than previous estimates”, the Wall Street Journal reported Saturday.
“…Obama aides, who were considering a half-trillion dollar package two weeks ago, now consider $600 billion –a year- over two years “a very low-end estimate,” the newspaper said,
“…The final size of the stimulus is expected to be $1 trillion over that period, given the deteriorating state of the US economy.
“…Officials with Obama’s camp have declined to comment on media reports about the size of the boost that the Democrat will launch once he takes office as President of the United States on January 20.”
The picture appears to be even gloomier after the news by several press agencies reporting all sorts of problems, ranging from the bankruptcy of the automotive industry as a result of the crisis, up to the natural disasters, including the increasing cost of foodstuffs, starvation, war, and many other facts.
The problem is that there is no more habitable space on our planet. The only one left was Australia, and the United Kingdom took hold of it on January 19, 1788. There’s been a long time since the environment is compromised.
¿Could our species surmount that barrier?
Fidel Castro Ruz
December 15, 2008
6:12 p.m.
Monday, December 15, 2008
Pen Meets Paper, Dec 15, '08
Pen Meets Paper
Opinion by Helge Nome
Stephen Harper's days as the Prime Minister of Canada and leader of his party are likely numbered. The “Economic Update” presented to Parliament recently was just the straw that broke the camel's back. The aggressive nature of the proposals put the old Reform Party's platform on center stage and galvanized the opposition parties into action after several years of bickering in Parliament. Harper thought he had the Liberals over a barrel with a discredited leader in the form of Stephan Dion and chose the path of the bully to gain added advantage. What he forgot was that when an animal is cornered, it is likely to bite, and it so happens that this animal has more muscle behind its teeth than Harper does. That was one big mistake.
The next one came when Harper, now backed into his own corner, started sneering at Quebec, alienating that part of the country as indicated by Jean Charet's Liberals winning a majority in the recent provincial election there. Prior to that, Harper had alienated Atlantic Canada by being branded a “liar” by the conservative Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador, Danny Williams. In fact, Harper has managed to get himself branded as”a man who can not be trusted” by people from all sides of the political spectrum. All of which proves that Stephen Harper is not up to the task of being the Prime Minister of Canada. No more so than Brian Mulroney and his “cash in brown paper bags” or Paul Martin and his “Canada Steamship Line” getting federal contracts and being registered in Liberia.
The problem now is for the Central Canadian Money Establishment to find a credible leader for the Liberal Party of Canada and then throw its media weight in behind him. Is that man Michael Ignatieff? Time will tell.
Opinion by Helge Nome
Stephen Harper's days as the Prime Minister of Canada and leader of his party are likely numbered. The “Economic Update” presented to Parliament recently was just the straw that broke the camel's back. The aggressive nature of the proposals put the old Reform Party's platform on center stage and galvanized the opposition parties into action after several years of bickering in Parliament. Harper thought he had the Liberals over a barrel with a discredited leader in the form of Stephan Dion and chose the path of the bully to gain added advantage. What he forgot was that when an animal is cornered, it is likely to bite, and it so happens that this animal has more muscle behind its teeth than Harper does. That was one big mistake.
The next one came when Harper, now backed into his own corner, started sneering at Quebec, alienating that part of the country as indicated by Jean Charet's Liberals winning a majority in the recent provincial election there. Prior to that, Harper had alienated Atlantic Canada by being branded a “liar” by the conservative Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador, Danny Williams. In fact, Harper has managed to get himself branded as”a man who can not be trusted” by people from all sides of the political spectrum. All of which proves that Stephen Harper is not up to the task of being the Prime Minister of Canada. No more so than Brian Mulroney and his “cash in brown paper bags” or Paul Martin and his “Canada Steamship Line” getting federal contracts and being registered in Liberia.
The problem now is for the Central Canadian Money Establishment to find a credible leader for the Liberal Party of Canada and then throw its media weight in behind him. Is that man Michael Ignatieff? Time will tell.
Monday, December 1, 2008
Pen Meets Paper, Dec 1, '08
CAROPEN
Pen Meets Paper
In the midst of an all encompassing financial crisis, affecting all countries around the globe, our politicians in Ottawa are busy creating a constitutional crisis of their own. Instead of working together for the common good, they are now engaged in gamesmanship at our expense: Harper thought he had free reigns in continuing to bully the Liberals with Stephan Dion sulking in the background following his disastrous mistake of proposing a new tax regime prior to the last election. Harper decided to pull federal funding for the various political parties as a “cost saving” measure for the taxpayer, effectively handing political power over to the back room boys with money in their pockets from vested interest groups. Harper was summarily accused of not providing a stimulus package to the Canadian economy in the face of mounting evidence of a severe economic slowdown. So now our government and its opposition are locked in a battle for power fueled by several years of angry bickering in Parliament. The chickens are coming home to roost.
I remember when Australian Labor Prime Minister Gough Whitlam was dismissed by Governor General Sir John Kerr on November 11, 1975. It was a shocker and a lot of Australians lost faith in Democracy on that day. John Kerr ended up taking refuge in Britain following the event as it was felt that his life would be in danger in Australia. But only after installing a Liberal/Country Party coalition Government under the leadership on the Right Honorable Malcolm Fraser AC CH who, following his political demise in 1983 appeared in his underpants early in the morning at the registration desk of a Dallas Motel, as a hooker had evidently taken off with his pants (in lieu of payment?). After a reporter got hold of the story all of Australia literally shook with laughter over the man whose favorite quote was; “Life wasn't meant to be easy”. All except his wife, that is. And everybody knew he had to face the music when he got home. So, poor old Malcolm did not derive a lot of joy from his political coup d'etat. To top it up, he was alienated from his own party. Gough Whitlam on the other hand, at 91 years old, is to this day revered by the Australian Labor Movement.
So the message to our representatives in Ottawa is: “Cool it you guys, remember who is paying your wages!”
Pen Meets Paper
In the midst of an all encompassing financial crisis, affecting all countries around the globe, our politicians in Ottawa are busy creating a constitutional crisis of their own. Instead of working together for the common good, they are now engaged in gamesmanship at our expense: Harper thought he had free reigns in continuing to bully the Liberals with Stephan Dion sulking in the background following his disastrous mistake of proposing a new tax regime prior to the last election. Harper decided to pull federal funding for the various political parties as a “cost saving” measure for the taxpayer, effectively handing political power over to the back room boys with money in their pockets from vested interest groups. Harper was summarily accused of not providing a stimulus package to the Canadian economy in the face of mounting evidence of a severe economic slowdown. So now our government and its opposition are locked in a battle for power fueled by several years of angry bickering in Parliament. The chickens are coming home to roost.
I remember when Australian Labor Prime Minister Gough Whitlam was dismissed by Governor General Sir John Kerr on November 11, 1975. It was a shocker and a lot of Australians lost faith in Democracy on that day. John Kerr ended up taking refuge in Britain following the event as it was felt that his life would be in danger in Australia. But only after installing a Liberal/Country Party coalition Government under the leadership on the Right Honorable Malcolm Fraser AC CH who, following his political demise in 1983 appeared in his underpants early in the morning at the registration desk of a Dallas Motel, as a hooker had evidently taken off with his pants (in lieu of payment?). After a reporter got hold of the story all of Australia literally shook with laughter over the man whose favorite quote was; “Life wasn't meant to be easy”. All except his wife, that is. And everybody knew he had to face the music when he got home. So, poor old Malcolm did not derive a lot of joy from his political coup d'etat. To top it up, he was alienated from his own party. Gough Whitlam on the other hand, at 91 years old, is to this day revered by the Australian Labor Movement.
So the message to our representatives in Ottawa is: “Cool it you guys, remember who is paying your wages!”
Monday, November 24, 2008
Pen Meets Paper, Nov 24, '08
Pen Meets Paper
Opinion by Helge Nome
Some things don't change. In the 1790ies, during the Napoleonic wars pirate ships, based in my home town of Kristiansand, Norway, preyed on the Baltic Sea trade supplying the British/American colony side of the conflict. My sister's investigations, while researching a book on the subject, revealed that some 400 American colonists were held for ransom in Kristiansand at one point, making the owners of local pirate ships wealthy men.
Supertankers are currently being held for ransom in ports of Somalia, shanghaied by pirates in fast moving motor boats. And the party is on in the home communities of the pirates. In a recent interview, one fisherman turned pirate, stated that they were merely protecting the territorial waters of Somalia from illegal traffic and the dumping of toxic waste, as Somalia currently does not have a functional government.
The difference between the two scenarios, separated in time by about 200 years, is that the King of Denmark/Norway gave the nod of approval to his pirates, whereas the puppet regime in Mogadishu is powerless to influence the behavior of local pirates.
For several hundred years the European powers created colonies out of territories stretching across the surface of the globe in Africa, America and Asia. They co-opted local minority groups to work with them to establish regimes that were dependent on the colonizing nation to maintain political power over a given territory. This is precisely what has recently happened in Afghanistan and Iraq. And it has everything to do with the control of, and access to, rich energy sources.
And now something else is happening, which is like an echo from the past and has been reported in “The Guardian” newspaper:
“Rich governments and corporations are triggering alarm for the poor as they buy up the rights to millions of hectares of agricultural land in developing countries in an effort to secure their own long-term food supplies.
by Julian Borger, diplomatic editor
(The Guardian)
The head of the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, Jacques Diouf, has warned that the controversial rise in land deals could create a form of "neo-colonialism", with poor states producing food for the rich at the expense of their own hungry people.
Rising food prices have already set off a second "scramble for Africa". This week, the South Korean firm Daewoo Logistics announced plans to buy a 99-year lease on a million hectares in Madagascar. Its aim is to grow 5m tonnes of corn a year by 2023, and produce palm oil from a further lease of 120,000 hectares (296,000 acres), relying on a largely South African workforce. Production would be mainly earmarked for South Korea, which wants to lessen dependence on imports.”
For a copy of the full article, check my blog http://helgenome.blogspot.com/
Some things don't change.
Opinion by Helge Nome
Some things don't change. In the 1790ies, during the Napoleonic wars pirate ships, based in my home town of Kristiansand, Norway, preyed on the Baltic Sea trade supplying the British/American colony side of the conflict. My sister's investigations, while researching a book on the subject, revealed that some 400 American colonists were held for ransom in Kristiansand at one point, making the owners of local pirate ships wealthy men.
Supertankers are currently being held for ransom in ports of Somalia, shanghaied by pirates in fast moving motor boats. And the party is on in the home communities of the pirates. In a recent interview, one fisherman turned pirate, stated that they were merely protecting the territorial waters of Somalia from illegal traffic and the dumping of toxic waste, as Somalia currently does not have a functional government.
The difference between the two scenarios, separated in time by about 200 years, is that the King of Denmark/Norway gave the nod of approval to his pirates, whereas the puppet regime in Mogadishu is powerless to influence the behavior of local pirates.
For several hundred years the European powers created colonies out of territories stretching across the surface of the globe in Africa, America and Asia. They co-opted local minority groups to work with them to establish regimes that were dependent on the colonizing nation to maintain political power over a given territory. This is precisely what has recently happened in Afghanistan and Iraq. And it has everything to do with the control of, and access to, rich energy sources.
And now something else is happening, which is like an echo from the past and has been reported in “The Guardian” newspaper:
“Rich governments and corporations are triggering alarm for the poor as they buy up the rights to millions of hectares of agricultural land in developing countries in an effort to secure their own long-term food supplies.
by Julian Borger, diplomatic editor
(The Guardian)
The head of the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, Jacques Diouf, has warned that the controversial rise in land deals could create a form of "neo-colonialism", with poor states producing food for the rich at the expense of their own hungry people.
Rising food prices have already set off a second "scramble for Africa". This week, the South Korean firm Daewoo Logistics announced plans to buy a 99-year lease on a million hectares in Madagascar. Its aim is to grow 5m tonnes of corn a year by 2023, and produce palm oil from a further lease of 120,000 hectares (296,000 acres), relying on a largely South African workforce. Production would be mainly earmarked for South Korea, which wants to lessen dependence on imports.”
For a copy of the full article, check my blog http://helgenome.blogspot.com/
Some things don't change.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Rich Man Poor Man
Africa: Rich countries launch great land grab to safeguard food supply
Posted: 2008/11/22
From: Source
Rich governments and corporations are triggering alarm for the poor as they buy up the rights to millions of hectares of agricultural land in developing countries in an effort to secure their own long-term food supplies.
by Julian Borger, diplomatic editor
(The Guardian)
The head of the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, Jacques Diouf, has warned that the controversial rise in land deals could create a form of "neo-colonialism", with poor states producing food for the rich at the expense of their own hungry people.
Rising food prices have already set off a second "scramble for Africa". This week, the South Korean firm Daewoo Logistics announced plans to buy a 99-year lease on a million hectares in Madagascar. Its aim is to grow 5m tonnes of corn a year by 2023, and produce palm oil from a further lease of 120,000 hectares (296,000 acres), relying on a largely South African workforce. Production would be mainly earmarked for South Korea, which wants to lessen dependence on imports.
"These deals can be purely commercial ventures on one level, but sitting behind it is often a food security imperative backed by a government," said Carl Atkin, a consultant at Bidwells Agribusiness, a Cambridge firm helping to arrange some of the big international land deals.
Madagascar's government said that an environmental impact assessment would have to be carried out before the Daewoo deal could be approved, but it welcomed the investment. The massive lease is the largest so far in an accelerating number of land deals that have been arranged since the surge in food prices late last year.
"In the context of arable land sales, this is unprecedented," Atkin said. "We're used to seeing 100,000-hectare sales. This is more than 10 times as much."
At a food security summit in Rome, in June, there was agreement to channel more investment and development aid to African farmers to help them respond to higher prices by producing more. But governments and corporations in some cash-rich but land-poor states, mostly in the Middle East, have opted not to wait for world markets to respond and are trying to guarantee their own long-term access to food by buying up land in poorer countries.
According to diplomats, the Saudi Binladin Group is planning an investment in Indonesia to grow basmati rice, while tens of thousands of hectares in Pakistan have been sold to Abu Dhabi investors.
Arab investors, including the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development, have also bought direct stakes in Sudanese agriculture. The president of the UEA, Khalifa bin Zayed, has said his country was considering large-scale agricultural projects in Kazakhstan to ensure a stable food supply.
Even China, which has plenty of land but is now getting short of water as it pursues breakneck industrialisation, has begun to explore land deals in south-east Asia. Laos, meanwhile, has signed away between 2m-3m hectares, or 15% of its viable farmland. Libya has secured 250,000 hectares of Ukrainian farmland, and Egypt is believed to want similar access. Kuwait and Qatar have been chasing deals for prime tracts of Cambodia rice fields.
Eager buyers generally have been welcomed by sellers in developing world governments desperate for capital in a recession. Madagascar's land reform minister said revenue would go to infrastructure and development in flood-prone areas.
Sudan is trying to attract investors for almost 900,000 hectares of its land, and the Ethiopian prime minister, Meles Zenawi, has been courting would-be Saudi investors.
"If this was a negotiation between equals, it could be a good thing. It could bring investment, stable prices and predictability to the market," said Duncan Green, Oxfam's head of research. "But the problem is, [in] this scramble for soil I don't see any place for the small farmers."
Alex Evans, at the Centre on International Cooperation, at New York University, said: "The small farmers are losing out already. People without solid title are likely to be turfed off the land."
Details of land deals have been kept secret so it is unknown whether they have built-in safeguards for local populations.
Steve Wiggins, a rural development expert at the Overseas Development Institute, said: "There are very few economies of scale in most agriculture above the level of family farm because managing [the] labour is extremely difficult." Investors might also have to contend with hostility. "If I was a political-risk adviser to [investors] I'd say 'you are taking a very big risk'. Land is an extremely sensitive thing. This could go horribly wrong if you don't learn the lessons of history."
Posted: 2008/11/22
From: Source
Rich governments and corporations are triggering alarm for the poor as they buy up the rights to millions of hectares of agricultural land in developing countries in an effort to secure their own long-term food supplies.
by Julian Borger, diplomatic editor
(The Guardian)
The head of the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, Jacques Diouf, has warned that the controversial rise in land deals could create a form of "neo-colonialism", with poor states producing food for the rich at the expense of their own hungry people.
Rising food prices have already set off a second "scramble for Africa". This week, the South Korean firm Daewoo Logistics announced plans to buy a 99-year lease on a million hectares in Madagascar. Its aim is to grow 5m tonnes of corn a year by 2023, and produce palm oil from a further lease of 120,000 hectares (296,000 acres), relying on a largely South African workforce. Production would be mainly earmarked for South Korea, which wants to lessen dependence on imports.
"These deals can be purely commercial ventures on one level, but sitting behind it is often a food security imperative backed by a government," said Carl Atkin, a consultant at Bidwells Agribusiness, a Cambridge firm helping to arrange some of the big international land deals.
Madagascar's government said that an environmental impact assessment would have to be carried out before the Daewoo deal could be approved, but it welcomed the investment. The massive lease is the largest so far in an accelerating number of land deals that have been arranged since the surge in food prices late last year.
"In the context of arable land sales, this is unprecedented," Atkin said. "We're used to seeing 100,000-hectare sales. This is more than 10 times as much."
At a food security summit in Rome, in June, there was agreement to channel more investment and development aid to African farmers to help them respond to higher prices by producing more. But governments and corporations in some cash-rich but land-poor states, mostly in the Middle East, have opted not to wait for world markets to respond and are trying to guarantee their own long-term access to food by buying up land in poorer countries.
According to diplomats, the Saudi Binladin Group is planning an investment in Indonesia to grow basmati rice, while tens of thousands of hectares in Pakistan have been sold to Abu Dhabi investors.
Arab investors, including the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development, have also bought direct stakes in Sudanese agriculture. The president of the UEA, Khalifa bin Zayed, has said his country was considering large-scale agricultural projects in Kazakhstan to ensure a stable food supply.
Even China, which has plenty of land but is now getting short of water as it pursues breakneck industrialisation, has begun to explore land deals in south-east Asia. Laos, meanwhile, has signed away between 2m-3m hectares, or 15% of its viable farmland. Libya has secured 250,000 hectares of Ukrainian farmland, and Egypt is believed to want similar access. Kuwait and Qatar have been chasing deals for prime tracts of Cambodia rice fields.
Eager buyers generally have been welcomed by sellers in developing world governments desperate for capital in a recession. Madagascar's land reform minister said revenue would go to infrastructure and development in flood-prone areas.
Sudan is trying to attract investors for almost 900,000 hectares of its land, and the Ethiopian prime minister, Meles Zenawi, has been courting would-be Saudi investors.
"If this was a negotiation between equals, it could be a good thing. It could bring investment, stable prices and predictability to the market," said Duncan Green, Oxfam's head of research. "But the problem is, [in] this scramble for soil I don't see any place for the small farmers."
Alex Evans, at the Centre on International Cooperation, at New York University, said: "The small farmers are losing out already. People without solid title are likely to be turfed off the land."
Details of land deals have been kept secret so it is unknown whether they have built-in safeguards for local populations.
Steve Wiggins, a rural development expert at the Overseas Development Institute, said: "There are very few economies of scale in most agriculture above the level of family farm because managing [the] labour is extremely difficult." Investors might also have to contend with hostility. "If I was a political-risk adviser to [investors] I'd say 'you are taking a very big risk'. Land is an extremely sensitive thing. This could go horribly wrong if you don't learn the lessons of history."
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