How can we take it back?

[ImaginaryBloke]

Friday, May 26, 2017
Common Dreams
In Face of TrumpCare 'Abomination,' New Jersey Latest State to Join Single Payer Push
'TrumpCare is not the way forward.'—New Jersey State Assemblyman John Wisniewski
Andrea Germanos, staff writer

The same week California advanced its single-payer bill, a New Jersey assemblyman unveiled draft legislation to make healthcare "a fundamental human right." (Photo: Michael Fleshman/flickr/cc)

If the building momentum for a single-payer or Medicare-for-All healthcare system wasn't already clear, developments this week should more than make up for that.

Declaring that "healthcare is a fundamental human right" and TrumpCare is "an abomination," Democratic New Jersey State Assemblyman John Wisniewski on Thursday announced draft legislation to provide universal coverage for the state's residents.

"It is unconscionable that in this day and age, families must go without health insurance coverage because of its cost," Wisniewski, a gubernatorial candidate, said in a statement announcing the Healthy New Jersey Act. "We must find a way to eliminate the profit motive from our healthcare decisions and provide services to everyone regardless of their income."

"TrumpCare is not the way forward," he stated, adding: "The current system prioritizes dollars over lives."

"The only way to truly solve the problem of providing affordable healthcare is creating a single-payer system," Wisniewski said.

The draft legislation was unveiled to get comments from experts and stakeholders and will be introduced in the next legislative session, the statement explains.

The New Jersey chapter of Our Revolution, which endorsed Wisniewski's gubernatorial bid this week, said on Twitter that it applauded the legislation, as "It's long past time we have Single Payer!"

The same day as Wisniewski unveiled his legislation, a single-payer healthcare bill in California, which supporters hope can "send a message" and "be a catalyst for the nation," advanced.

The state Senate Appropriations Committee voted Thursday to advance it to a vote in the full Senate by the end of next week.

The California Nurses Association praised the development, writing on its Facebook page: "Great news —> the healthcare revolution continues!"

Looking at the news from California as well as the New York's State Assembly's passage this month of a single-payer healthcare bill, one observer described them as "victories [that] constitute a positive sign that state-based campaigns for universal healthcare ramping up across the country."

There are positive signs at the national level as well.

Rep. John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.). declared Wednesday: "I've never seen more energy behind this issue of Medicare for All."

The Michigan Democrat reintroduced in January the Improved Medicare for All Act, HR 676, and as of Tuesday, it reached 111 co-sponsors—the most ever—including the chairman of the House Democratic caucus, Rep. Joseph Crowley (D-N.Y.).

"As a Democrat I believe that healthcare of course is a right, not a privilege. I believe [in] universal healthcare, for every American—not just a plan or a contract, but the ability to see a doctor and get treatment whenever they need it. We will never get universal care building on a foundation of private, for-profit insurance," Conyers said.

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2...ew-jersey-latest-state-join-single-payer-push


Health care most certainly is a human right. Economic policy favoring profits over people is not.

Health care is going national. Expect this to be the big issue of state elections in 2018.

 

[ImaginaryBloke]

Friday, May 26, 2017
Common Dreams
DAPL Photographer Cleared of Charges After Drone Footage Proves His Case
Prosecutors said Aaron Turgeon had put police plane and water protectors in harm's way when he used a drone to capture footage over pipeline site
Nadia Prupis, staff writer

Among the footage Aaron Turgeon captured was of police assaulting protesters with water cannons and tear gas. (Screenshot/YouTube)

A Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) protester and photographer was cleared of all charges Thursday after he was accused of endangering a police plane with his drone.

Aaron Turgeon, also known as Prolific the Rapper, faced seven years in prison after he was arrested in October and charged with reckless endangerment and physical obstruction of a government function. Prosecutors said he had put the pilot of a surveillance plane, as well as water protectors on the ground, in harm's way when he used a drone to capture protest footage over a DAPL site.

The footage proved to be useful in the trial, which ended in one day after Judge Allan Schmalenberger found that Turgeon flew his drone in a "methodical manner" and did not put others at "substantial risk of bodily injury under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to the value of human life," the Bismarck Tribune reported.

"The defendant did not fly the drone at the plane. He did not fly the drone in a reckless manner over either the people or at the plane," Schmalenberger said.

Turgeon testified that he was flying the drone to film the protest, and that he was aware of the police plane's position and made sure to stay out of its way. He said protesters raised their fists when they saw the drone, indicating that they wanted to be filmed, the Tribune reported. Turgeon documented the DAPL resistance often, posting videos and livestreams to various Facebook groups. Among the footage he captured was of police assaulting protesters with water cannons and tear gas.

North Dakota Highway Patrol Sgt. Shannon Henke, who spoke with Turgeon at the scene and briefly attempted to confiscate the drone, testified in court that the aerial device could have fallen from the sky and injured someone. The incident helped prompt the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to implement a no-fly zone over the protest sites.

"It's a call for other judges here in Morton County to understand that there might be things happening that you're not seeing," Turgeon said Thursday. "In my case, they tried to take my drone. If they would have taken my drone, I would not have video evidence that showed I never flew toward that plane."

Protests against the controversial $3.8 billion pipeline led to 761 arrests between August and February, the Tribune noted. Many of those arrested face similarly egregious and trumped-up charges. DAPL has already seen multiple oil spills, even before becoming fully operational.

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2...d-charges-after-drone-footage-proves-his-case


Film the abuses of the police. Show the tape in court.

Film the protesters too. We know what Braveheart did.

 

[ImaginaryBloke]

Just sneaking this in here...

FOOD FOR THOUGHT
A New Type Of Food Pantry Is Sprouting In Yards Across America

Maggie Ballard of Wichita, Kan., and her "blessing box" filled with food and personal care items that she and others have donated.

Deborah Shaar/KMUW
There's a small-scale charity movement starting to take hold in neighborhoods across the country. Think of those "little free library" boxes, but with a twist: These are small pantries stocked with free food and personal care items like toothbrushes and diapers for people in need.

They're found near churches, outside businesses and in front of homes. Maggie Ballard, who lives in Wichita, Kan., calls hers a "blessing box."

"I felt like this is something that I could do — something small that you know, would benefit so many people so long as the word got out about it," she says.

The bright red box is about 2 feet wide and is mounted on a post near the street. Ballard and her son check on it every day and restock as needed.

"My son is 6 years old, so it gives him a little chore to kind of watch it and see what comes and goes and who comes and goes, and maybe learn a little lesson from it," she says.

There's a door on the front of the box but no lock, so anyone can take what they need 24-7. In the beginning, Ballard was providing all of the food. Then word spread and donations from the community starting pouring in.

Article continues after sponsorship

THE SALT
For The Next Food Drive, Go For The Canned Tuna, Not The Saltines
Similar "yard-based" food pantries have gone up across the country, in states like Oklahoma, Indiana, Kentucky, Florida and Minnesota. Much of it seems to trace back to Jessica McClard, who created what she calls the "little free pantry" in northwest Arkansas.

"The products that are stocked are put directly inside the pantry and turnover is in about 30 to 45 minutes," McClard says. "The frequency of the turnover and the fact that other sites in town are also turning over that frequently, it suggests to me that the need is tremendous."


THE SALT
More Colleges Open Food Pantries To Address Campus Hunger
All of the items inside the boxes are free and there are no forms to fill out. Those using the boxes come and go as they wish. And that sense of anonymity is something you won't find at traditional community food pantries.

Ballard has seen only a few people using her pantry, because most visitors come when it's dark.

"Most of the traffic is in the middle of the night, I would say between midnight and 7 in the morning," she says.

Ballard says it's both awesome and sad to see the turnover of goods every day.

On Christmas Eve she watched as a family of three opened her box to find a bag of bagels and started eating them right there.


THE SALT
More Military Families Are Relying On Food Banks And Pantries
McClard says these community-supported pantries are multiplying because of their simple concept.

"We're all short on time and money, and this is a way that people can feel like they are making a difference," she says.

The food pantries come in all sizes. Some have religious connections and are located near churches. Others are adopted by businesses whose employees want to pay it forward. All are serving up food and supplies to anyone in need.

We do not have any f---ing food banks in Sweden to that extent.

Now rickets is returning to the UK because of austerity. https://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/aug/30/child-poverty-link-malnutrition-rickets

The experience from the UK where they have had austerity since 2010. Benefit delays and sanctions reflect psychopathic mind games. Poverty is ridiculed as a "lifestyle choice".

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

My research, as well as that of other academics, charities and frontline professionals showed that a major reason for people using food banks was the impact of welfare reform. It was common for people to have experienced significant problems with benefit delays and sanctions, which led to lengthy periods without income for themselves and their families. Other reasons that brought people through the food bank doors were ill health, bereavement, relationship breakdown, substantial caring responsibilities, precarious jobs, and redundancy. These factors were often combined with delays to benefits or harshly administered sanctions, leading to a situation where deepening struggles with mental ill-health inhibited other coping mechanisms or exacerbated wider crises, leading to a worsening of often already poor health.

Despite the obvious connection, government ministers consistently refuse to admit that there is a link between cuts to social security and food bank use, instead preferring to dismiss it as a lifestyle choice made by people who are unable to cook or budget properly, or who would rather spend their money on 20 Marlboros and three litres of cheap cider.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/apr/20/benefit-cuts-food-banks-permanent-fixture-sanctions

 

[Sandie33]

We do not have any f---ing food banks in Sweden to that extent.

Why is that? I was under the belief that Sweden has universal health care and social issues like food banks and such were not needed because the citizens were provided for under government subsidies etc. ?

 

[ImaginaryBloke]

Why is that? I was under the belief that Sweden has universal health care and social issues like food banks and such were not needed because the citizens were provided for under government subsidies etc. ?

That is a good question. I find regular mentioning of "soup kitchens" in national newspapers but I have never paid attention to what it means.

We do not have food banks where people collect food when I search on the Internet. Soup kitchens serve food to homeless people in the major cities. They are run by the Salvation Army or some other charity. Food banks seem to serve the "working poor" rather than the homeless in the US and UK, is my impression.

I also found found some medium-size towns that have soup kitchens. They are not running every day, more like once a week, where people can meet for socializing and talking with someone. Such towns lack homelessness as far as I know, so logically they serve poor people.

The National Board of Health and Welfare has different categories of homeless. Some categories mean that you lack an own abode, i.e. have temporary housing of some kind.

I found the following info about homelessness from a report written in 2011:

"A total of approximately 34 000 people, according to the definition for-
mulated by the National Board of Health and Welfare, were reported as
homeless or excluded from the regular housing market during the measure-
ment week. This group includes people who live under very different condi-
tions and have different needs for support from the community. 4 500 peo-
ple were in acute homelessness, of which 280 were sleeping rough. 5 600
people received institutional care or lived in different forms of category
housing. 13 900 people lived in long-term housing solutions (the secondary
housing market), provided by the social services in the municipalities. 6 800
persons lived in short-term insecure housing solutions that they had orga-
nized themselves."

"Sleeping rough" refers to living in the street. That is 280 people in a population of 10 million people.

We do have universal government health care. Most medicines are partially subsidized, some completely subsidized, and all/most doctor appointments require a fee. Everything else is paid for by the tax payer.

 

[ImaginaryBloke]

Goldman Sachs condemned for buoying Venezuela with $2.8bn bond purchase
Opposition attacks bank for backing Nicolás Maduro’s ‘dictatorial regime’ as it makes ‘a quick buck off the suffering of the Venezuelan people’



Demonstrators challenge the government in Caracas, Venezuela, on Monday. Goldman Sachs has confirmed the purchase of $2.8bn worth of bonds from the country. Photograph: Mauricio Duenas/EPA

Dominic Rushe in New York

@dominicru

Tuesday 30 May 2017 16.36 BST Last modified on Tuesday 30 May 2017 22.00 BST

Goldman Sachs has confirmed it has bought $2.8bn worth of bonds from Venezuela’s crisis-torn government in a move opposition leaders have decried for propping up the country’s “dictatorial regime”.

The Wall Street Journal first reported on Sunday that the bank had bought $2.8bn worth of bonds held by the country’s central bank.

“Goldman Sachs’s financial lifeline to the regime will serve to strengthen the brutal repression unleashed against the hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans peacefully protesting for political change in the country,” Julio Borges, head of Venezuela’s opposition-controlled congress, said in a public letter to the bank’s chief executive, Lloyd Blankfein.

“It is apparent Goldman Sachs decided to make a quick buck off the suffering of the Venezuelan people,” he wrote. “I also intend to recommend to any future democratic government of Venezuela not to recognize or pay on these bonds.”

According to the Journal, Goldman paid just $865m for bonds valued at $2.8bn issued by the state oil company Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) – paying about 31 cents on the dollar for the bonds. Borges said the “fire sale nature” of the deal showed the embattled president, Nicolás Maduro, did not have the country’s best interests in mind when he agreed to the transaction.

[...]

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/may/30/goldman-sachs-venezuela-bonds


This is bizarre. Is Goldman Sachs now a bunch of socialist revolutionaries? 2.8 billion dollars is a lot.

 

[Sandie33]

That is a good question. I find regular mentioning of "soup kitchens" in national newspapers but I have never paid attention to what it means.

We do not have food banks where people collect food when I search on the Internet. Soup kitchens serve food to homeless people in the major cities. They are run by the Salvation Army or some other charity. Food banks seem to serve the "working poor" rather than the homeless in the US and UK, is my impression.

I also found found some medium-size towns that have soup kitchens. They are not running every day, more like once a week, where people can meet for socializing and talking with someone. Such towns lack homelessness as far as I know, so logically they serve poor people.

The National Board of Health and Welfare has different categories of homeless. Some categories mean that you lack an own abode, i.e. have temporary housing of some kind.

I found the following info about homelessness from a report written in 2011:

"A total of approximately 34 000 people, according to the definition for-
mulated by the National Board of Health and Welfare, were reported as
homeless or excluded from the regular housing market during the measure-
ment week. This group includes people who live under very different condi-
tions and have different needs for support from the community. 4 500 peo-
ple were in acute homelessness, of which 280 were sleeping rough. 5 600
people received institutional care or lived in different forms of category
housing. 13 900 people lived in long-term housing solutions (the secondary
housing market), provided by the social services in the municipalities. 6 800
persons lived in short-term insecure housing solutions that they had orga-
nized themselves."

"Sleeping rough" refers to living in the street. That is 280 people in a population of 10 million people.

We do have universal government health care. A few medicines are not completely subsidized, and all/most doctor appointments require a fee. Everything else is paid for by the tax payer.

Thank you for all the info. I didn't think homelessness was such an issue there.

We have many street sleepers. In the mid-sized city 15 miles from me we have what is called 'Hobo Jungle'. The train runs just past there and many of our street sleepers get on and off the train there. They sleep in the small wooded area near the tracks, have makeshift tents, cardboard, and debris shacks. Many of them eat at Loaves & Fishes, Have A Heart, Salvation Army soup kitchens. They are able to get one hot meal a day, and a bed unless the beds are filled. It's amazing to volunteer there handing out meals, clearing the dining room, and then setting up all the cots. A local team of two docs and three nurses and a dentist donate their time at Salvation Army so folks can get general wellness checks. It's good to see when these things are available to those who otherwise would go without.

The flip side is those that choose this type of lifestyle for whatever reason, and the ones that have no choice in the matter.

Thank you again for all the information. I appreciate your time to do so.

 

[Skarekrow]

Thank you for all the info. I didn't think homelessness was such an issue there.

We have many street sleepers. In the mid-sized city 15 miles from me we have what is called 'Hobo Jungle'. The train runs just past there and many of our street sleepers get on and off the train there. They sleep in the small wooded area near the tracks, have makeshift tents, cardboard, and debris shacks. Many of them eat at Loaves & Fishes, Have A Heart, Salvation Army soup kitchens. They are able to get one hot meal a day, and a bed unless the beds are filled. It's amazing to volunteer there handing out meals, clearing the dining room, and then setting up all the cots. A local team of two docs and three nurses and a dentist donate their time at Salvation Army so folks can get general wellness checks. It's good to see when these things are available to those who otherwise would go without.

The flip side is those that choose this type of lifestyle for whatever reason, and the ones that have no choice in the matter.

Thank you again for all the information. I appreciate your time to do so.

Pretty amazing when we have an overabundance of homes that sit empty in the country....but then giving someone a home wouldn’t be teaching them about how they need bootstraps and BS...that’s not the Republican Christian way.
How many kids are in college right now with student loans they will never be able to pay back and still afford to eat?
It’s been gouge, gouge, gouge now for the past several decades with little to zero reinvestment in the societal-forests the corporations have chopped down in the name of industry, now the forest is,
A - Running out
B - Gonna build guillotines...then we’ll see who is eating government cake.

 

[Sandie33]

Pretty amazing when we have an overabundance of homes that sit empty in the country.

I sorely can't disagree with this. (Or the rest of what you stated).

now the forest is,
A - Running out

Theorrtically, we are all suffocating under the blanket of America Forward. With the expansions of concrete replacing forestry, it may just become literal suffocation.

The reinvestment efforts of taking back the concrete in places like Chicago and Detroit are a commendable effort on local levels to reclaim gardens to grow good stuffs. Too bad we couldn't save some of the infrastructure and create affordable housing for those that have become the working poor, ehe?

 

[Skarekrow]

I sorely can't disagree with this. (Or the rest of what you stated).

Theorrtically, we are all suffocating under the blanket of America Forward. With the expansions of concrete replacing forestry, it may just become literal suffocation.

The reinvestment efforts of taking back the concrete in places like Chicago and Detroit are a commendable effort on local levels to reclaim gardens to grow good stuffs. Too bad we couldn't save some of the infrastructure and create affordable housing for those that have become the working poor, ehe?

If only someone had some kind of...idk...maybe some kind of “new deal”?
lol

I actually do think we will come full circle back to a “New, new deal”...probably because of Trump...most likely anyhow.
Once the Boomers are gone and the Gen-Xers and Millennials push back...I think they will decimate the type of BS government we have ruling us now.

 

[Sandie33]

If only someone had some kind of...idk...maybe some kind of “new deal”?
lol

I actually do think we will come full circle back to a “New, new deal”...probably because of Trump...most likely anyhow.
Once the Boomers are gone and the Gen-Xers and Millennials push back...I think they will decimate the type of BS government we have ruling us now.

You may be onto something. Not to drag another thread discussion in here; but, I believe we are going to sink further down into the sludge the establishment is creating before we can bounce back up.
I'm hoping some Xers will start the clean up early, yet, I do think the Mellinials will be the ones to make deeper changes.

Not to sound crass, but Mel's have a cold detachment to others' BS. They tend to be minimalist and green, which is the future's catalyst for change. 'I believe less is more'. They want what they want, but in a more healthy way than the older gens way of bulldozing their way through with the 'buy has a broad-ass materialism concept of 'more equates greater' (the gimmies).

I'm hopeful that within the next 20 years we can see improvements, but accepting that it will be painful getting there is bittersweet.

 

[Skarekrow]

You may be onto something. Not to drag another thread discussion in here; but, I believe we are going to sink further down into the sludge the establishment is creating before we can bounce back up.
I'm hoping some Xers will start the clean up early, yet, I do think the Mellinials will be the ones to make deeper changes.

Not to sound crass, but Mel's have a cold detachment to others' BS. They tend to be minimalist and green, which is the future's catalyst for change. 'I believe less is more'. They want what they want, but in a more healthy way than the older gens way of bulldozing their way through with the 'buy has a broad-ass materialism concept of 'more equates greater' (the gimmies).

I'm hopeful that within the next 20 years we can see improvements, but accepting that it will be painful getting there is bittersweet.

I agree with your predictions...I think there will be some Gen Xers that come forward early....hell, I am tempted myself on quite a few levels to run for some kind of local govt..
I believe it will take a combination of the two, like you said...the Xers and Millennials...the angst combined with the simplicity of resolve.

 

[ImaginaryBloke]

A cheeky idea: Mexican businessman rolls out 'Trump' toilet paper
Offended by insults to his countrymen, lawyer Antonio Battaglia will begin producing toilet paper under the slogan ‘Softness without borders’



An illustration of the toilet paper released by Antonio Battaglia. The product falls outside the sectors in which the Trump Organization has trademarked the name. Photograph: Antonio Battaglia/AP

Associated Press in Mexico City

Wednesday 31 May 2017 20.29 BST

A Mexican businessman offended by Donald Trump’s insults to his countrymen is seizing on a possible oversight in the magnate’s branding plans.

Corporate lawyer Antonio Battaglia is introducing “Trump” brand toilet paper, marketed under the slogans “Softness without borders” and “This is the wall that, yes, we will pay for”.

Mexico’s Institute of Industrial Property has granted Trump’s company trademarks on his name in sectors such as construction, hotels, tourism, real estate and financial services. But the Trump Organization didn’t bother to cover what’s referred to in Spanish as “hygenic paper”, and Battaglia’s trademark for Trump toilet paper was approved in October 2015, according to the institute’s records.

Packages are expected to begin rolling off production lines later this year, with 30% of the profits promised to programs supporting migrants.

Battaglia said he was “really bothered” when Trump launched his presidential bid by characterizing migrants who enter the US illegally as criminals, drug runners and rapists.

“My thinking was: We can’t keep quiet, right?” he said by telephone from the central Mexican city of Leon. “So with this insult that was made, (I figured) I’m going to add my grain of sand in response.”

Battaglia said he has signed a contract to manufacture a small initial run worth about 400,000 pesos ($21,400), enough to fill two cargo trucks. He said he hopes to generate enough demand to expand production.

A mock-up package provided by Battaglia boasts it contains four “puros rollos” – a double-entendre that literally means “pure rolls” but can also be understood as “pure nonsense”. It shows a grinning cartoon character giving an enthusiastic thumbs-up. It’s not an exact likeness of Trump, but its swooping blond locks are a clear nod to the president’s famous hairdo.

A lawyer for the Trump Organization did not respond to phone messages and emails seeking comment. But Trump has been aggressive about protecting his brand when he feels it is being encroached upon.

Battaglia argued he is well within Mexican law as the legal trademark-holder, with no direct link between his product and Donald Trump or his image.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/may/31/donald-trump-mexico-toilet-paper-antonio-battaglia


Very interesting to read.

I am curious about what brand the US embassy in Mexico City procures. Skare, would it be possible to ask the DOS to release documents or is that info top secret, like three levels above POTUS?

I will buy it when I find it in my local store.

 

[ImaginaryBloke]

The view of the Indians​

 

[Skarekrow]

The view of the Indians​

It was a whole lot more full of evil and death and the purposeful murder of the Native Americans...our American holocaust.
That and the backs of slaves, black, Chinese, etc.

 

[ImaginaryBloke]

Fight to stop controversial Canadian pipeline gets fresh backing in BC

• Pact between leftwing NDP and Greens could force showdown with Trudeau
• Critics say pipeline proposal raises chances of catastrophic spill in Salish Sea

Opponents of the Trans Mountain pipeline in May. Photograph: Elaine Thompson/AP
Julien Gignac in Toronto

Friday 2 June 2017 11.30 BST

An alliance between opposition parties in British Columbia has offered new hope to opponents of a contentious Canadian pipeline expansion, and raises the prospect of a confrontation with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who has thrown his support behind the project.

After an inconclusive election in the province’s legislature earlier this month, the Green party – which won three seats – agreed this week to form a minority government with the leftwing New Democratic Party, potentially putting an end to 16 years of rule by the Liberals. A confidence vote is expected to take place this month, which could force Liberal premier Christy Clark to resign.

On Monday, Green party leader Andrew Weaver and NDP leader John Horgan pledged to “employ every tool available” to the new government to stop the expansion of the Kinder Morgan pipeline.

The proposal would expand an existing route to lay nearly 1,000km of new pipeline from Alberta to Vancouver’s coastline. Critics say that oil tanker and barge traffic in the region would increase by nearly seven times, increasing the chance of a catastrophic spill in the Salish Sea, the network of inland waters that straddles the border with the US.

Weaver, a former climate scientist, told the Guardian he and Horgan would put their weight behind groups mounting legal challenges to the Trans Mountain expansion, including First Nations groups who argue that the project violates their indigenous way of life.

Weaver said the minority government would also ensure that environmental conditions are met in full and said “science-based” assessments would be employed.


“We will no longer accept box-ticking exercises for submissions to environmental assessment authorities.”

“This is about a pristine Salish Sea being turned into shipping lanes for diluted bitumen,” he said. “We know that this stuff cannot be cleaned up because it sinks, so the fact we are shipping jobs offshore is one thing, but a product that has catastrophic environment consequences of a spill through our pristine coastal waters is just reckless.”

Trudeau approved the project in November, and BC Liberals support it, too, arguing that it will bolster the province’s economy and insisting that it was in line with the country’s commitment to the Paris climate agreement.

The $7.4bn project will pump enough crude oil to fill 890,000 barrels every day – a sharp increase from 300,000 – and export them to international markets. The route extends from Edmonton, Alberta to Burnaby, BC, adjacent to Vancouver.

But Trudeau has faced a chorus of opposition. Many indigenous and non-indigenous people believe the environmental risks outweigh any economic gains.

Tsleil-Waututh First Nation, located in and around the Vancouver area, is one of 12 indigenous groups to launch legal action against the project.

The group has worked hard to rehabilitate creeks to help salmon and clam beds affected by contamination, said spokeswoman Charlene Aleck. “Any type of industry on top of that would totally decimate that type of work.”

“Sixty percent of the population wanted a change,” said Aleck. “They wanted to see a different government in office, and a lot of that means opposing Kinder Morgan’s expansion. It’s not just the pipeline. People are really looking for change away from fossil fuels and I’m happy we’re on that side of the equation.”

Chris Tollefson, the executive director of the Pacific Centre for Environmental Law and Litigation, said the agreement between the Green Party and the NDP offers hope that the province will enter new period where sustainability and responsible government are upheld.

“When they say they’re going to fight the pipeline, what they’re really saying is they’re going to prevent this pipeline from being built until environmental assessments, until consultations with First Nations have occurred,” he said. “The project represents a test, a challenge in terms of the rule of law, the resilience and effectiveness of our institutions of government to generate science, evidence, public participation in a way that allows us to make wise decisions about the future in the shadow of climate change.”

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jun/02/canada-coalition-block-pipeline-trans-mountain


I wonder how new environmental legal procedures are different from the existing approach of "box-ticking exercises" .

 

[ImaginaryBloke]

 

[Skarekrow]

Not to mention the 2.4 Trillion the government has “borrowed” from SS and not payed back.

They need to do so, and make sure it includes the interest it would have gained had they left it alone...which by law they were supposed to do.
I say we cut Congressional healthcare benefits completely and let them buy it on the open marketplace. Then we should talk about cutting your retirement packages - your golden fucking parachutes.
Really? Medicare? The only means of healthcare for millions and millions of people, most of whom are seniors and the disabled who WORKED for, and contributed a crapload of money out of each paycheck so that there will be a little something to help them out when they need it.
Eat a d**k McConnell, it’s not your money to fuck with.

 

[Skarekrow]

 

[Skarekrow]