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U.S. President George W. Bush called on Congress to quickly approve a $700-billion US plan to bail out financial firms that are coping with billions of dollars in bad debt linked to the collapse of the U.S. housing market. In the meantime, more than $13 billion of American taxpayers money that went for reconstruction projects in Iraq was wasted or stolen through elaborate fraud schemes. Salam Adhoob, a former chief investigator for Iraq's Commission on Public Integrity, told the Senate Democratic Policy Committee, an arm of the Democratic caucus, that many of reconstruction projects that were audited, were not needed, were never built or never existed, except on paper. He said that billions of American tax dollars that paid for these projects are now gone. Salam Adhoob said a report went to Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and other top Iraqi officials but was never published because "nobody cares" about investigating such cases. Many investigators are afraid to speak out because they fear for their safety. 32 of his co-workers have already been murdered.
The crisis in the U.S. financial sector was the lead issue in Friday night's presidential debate between Republican John McCain and his Democratic rival Barack Obama, with both agreeing that Congress needed to take swift action. In the meantime, the main obstacle to approve the bailout comes from a group of conservative Republicans in the House of Representatives whose constituents don't like the idea of giving away taxpayers money to save financial firms from their own folly. While the financial debate continues in Washington, many global financial firms are also in danger of collapsing since the world's largest banks and brokerages have suffered a collective loss of money on loan losses and reserves set aside for bad loans. Those losses have so severely depleted the treasuries of major banks in Europe, which has caused this global melt-down of the economy through their actions, that they had to secure injections of capital from the Middle East and Asia. The global financial system is presently laid up in sick bay, and there's no confident prognosis as to when recovery can be expected.
Well, here is some pleasant news for a change, at least for Quebeckers. Starting next week, they will be able to drive around the province of Quebec in low-speed electric cars. The province of Quebec will allow the Zenn's low-speed vehicles onto its roads on a three-year trial basis. British Columbia had been the first provience in all of Canada to allow low-speed electric cars on its streets and roads. The Zenn Motor's electric cars are a two-seater that tops out at 40 kilometres-per-hour and can travel as far as 80 kilometres on a charge. After that, the car has to be plugged into a conventional electrical outlet for eight hours. The cars are put together in St-Jérôme, Que., and a basic model retails for around $16,000. Plans are in the works for a four-seater that can hit speeds as high as 125-km/h over a greater distance. Quebec is the first jurisdiction in Eastern Canada to allow these low-speed electric vehicles to mingle with regular traffic, which is good enough for commuting around in large cities and towns or go on short runs between towns. People will only be able to use these cars for two months this year in Quebec, before the cold weather set's in. I do not know if these cars are equipped with heaters to enable people to use these cars all year round. In the meantime, our "Liberal" leader, Premier Dalton McGuinty is still studying the matter about letting these low-speed electric vehicles on our Ontario roads. Personally, I find it strange that electric bikes and scooters are being driven on our Ontario roads and are not a problem as they mingle with regular traffic. So why should the Zenn's low-speed electric vehicles be any different?
Environment Canada had issued special weather warnings on Friday for New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island as the storm tracked northward at about 28 kilometres an hour. They are being warned to brace for a wet and windy weekend as tropical storm Kyle gains strength and moves slowly north. Kyle's maximum sustained winds was pegged at about 95 km/h in the Atlantic Ocean. Tropical storm Kyle is about 605 kilometres southwest of Bermuda, and will be heading towards the Canadian maritime proveniences by the weekend.
Sept. 29th. 2008; After having nice warm weather during the past few days, we are now getting some cool weather in the morning (4°C) which rise to around
10°C by afternoon. I read in the news that an Afghan police official said Sunday that a U.S. led coalition airstrike in eastern province of Kunar, had killed three civilians. Apparently they were targeting a suicide bomb cell but it turned out that there were no militants there.
Taliban insurgents had killed Gen. Abdul Jalal Jalal, who was a woman in charge of female police officers. Elsewhere, Islamic militants struck back at security forces in Pakistan. Gunmen abducted a Polish engineer in their extended wave of attacks on foreigners. The recent truck bombing of Islamabad's Marriott Hotel has heightened concern about the stability of nuclear-armed Pakistan. The country is caught between the need to tackle rising Islamic militancy and the unpopularity of its alliance with the U.S.A.
Two Canadian soldiers had been wounded by shrapnel from grenades, after Taliban insurgents attacked a combat outpost in the Panjwai district of Afghanistan. It is an area that has long bedevilled NATO forces. One soldier is in serious but stable condition and the other has been released from medical care. Col. Jamie Cade says the attack began Saturday afternoon with small arms fire and progressed to rocket-propelled grendades.
Chinese celebrated their country's first spacewalk. The spacewalk was mainly aimed at testing China's mastery of the technology. Mission commander Zhai Zhigang's sole task was to retrieve a rack attached to the outside of the orbital module containing an experiment involving solid lubricants. Gathering at outdoor TV screens to cheer live video of the milestone for a program that has ambitions of building a space station and challenging the U.S. and Russia in offworld exploration. Stoking national pride one month after the close of the Beijing Olympics, state television's coverage reflected much of the glory onto president and Communist party leader Hu Jintao, who was present at Thursday's launch and watched the spacewalk at Beijing's ground control centre. "Your success represents a new breakthrough in our manned space program. The motherland and the people thank you," said Hu, who is chairman of the powerful Communist party and government military committees that oversee the space program.
U.S. President George Bush will urge the U.S. Congressional leaders this morning to sign off on a $700-billion bailout plan to rescue the nation's financial sector from the weight of bad mortgage debt. The White House-proposed deal would allow the federal government to buy up those bad loans from these struggling lenders, once again giving them the ability to offer other loans, stimulating the economy and helping head off a recession. Congress will have to vote on the deal on Monday, while the U.S. Senate will vote later in the week. Bush warned the plan must pass, or else without this rescue plan, the costs to the American economy could be disastrous, especially for these financial institutions. One of the main concerns over the bailout is that it will trigger inflation, which would cause mortgage rates to rise skyward as investments are directed towards commodities. Bush really needs to help his "Buddies" in their time of destress. After all, he owns them that much.
Dion and the Liberals accused the Tories of engaging in misleading campaign tactics. During a question-and-answer period at the Liberal rally, Dion dismissed suggestions that a resurgent NDP could overtake the Liberals in the coming election. "The NDP is not in the race to be a government. We all know that. The NDP is offering the "moon" but has no way to pay for the new spending that party leader Jack Layton is promising. The NDP proposals will increase corporate taxes and hurt businesses", Dion said. Look who is talking! Given that our Ontario "Liberal" leader, Premier Dalton McGuinty has had two terms in office, and in all that time, he has refused to let pollution free electric cars on our Ontario streets and roads. We can see that the so-called Liberal "green" shift plan or program is nothing but an illusion, a delusion.
News has come this afternoon that members of the U.S. House of Representatives have rejected a massive US $700-billion bailout for the struggling U.S. financial sector. 228 members voted against the bill, compared to 205 who supported the bailout plan. Most of the "No" votes came from Republicans. Stocks on Wall Street and in Toronto plummeted immediately after the vote. The House then moved onto other business. Bush is hoping that the reaction on Wall Street will scare people and induce the House to support his bailout plan. Canadians hear a lot about the term "subprime" mortgage lending. It isn't well known in Canada because most of our mortgage lending is "prime," or conventional. "Subprime" refers to the risk associated with a borrower, not to the interest rate being charged on the mortgage. Typically subprime mortgages are offered at interest rates above prime, to customers with below-average credit ratings or people with a proven record of not paying their debts on time or to anyone who would have trouble getting a mortgage from a conventional lender such as a major bank. These finincial institutions inticed such people to get
mortgage loans even though they knew full well it was a very bad risk. Now Bush wants the American taxpayers to take on the bad debts so that these finincial institutions can start over again, so that they can continue to offer loans, which might stimulate the economy and help head off a recession. Frankly, after this fiasco, it will take a lot more to stimulate the economy just by Bush's bailout plan. This is a wake-up call for Americans. Those days of freely spending money like there is no end to it has come to an abrupt halt. Americans are now going to be spending a whole lot less money and make do with what they got, and are going hang onto every cent they get.
In an attempt to appease Quebeckers, Conservative Leader Stephen Harper announced that he would provide a $150-million tax credit to help get kids get involved in the arts. The tax credit would be designed to help defray the costs for parents who want to enroll their kids in arts programs that could inspire them to pursue a career in the field. The tax credit will apply on up to $500 to cover the fees for children under 16 who participate in eligible arts activities. This tax cut will encourage and make it easier for parents to give their children the benefits of activities such as music classes, drama or arts classes, and at the same time, parents will save money on their taxes. In the meantime, the Liberals stepped up their attacks against the Conservatives,
stating that Stephen Harper would lead the country into an "economic crisis" if he returns to government.
As to hurricane Kyle, it came ashore north of Yarmouth, N.S., as a Category 1. hurricane. That is where hurricane Kyle had did the most damage. As hurricane Kyle worked its way east, it quickly weakened into a tropical storm. When tropical storm Kyle hit Saint John, New Brunswick, it was still packing some pretty heavy winds and lots of rain but spared most of the Maritime residents from widespread damage as some forecasters thought it would be.
The UN reported that escalating violence in Pakistan's lawless tribal border regions has forced thousands to flee to eastern Afghanistan. It is reported that 20,000 Pakistani refugees have fled the northern tribal region of Bajur to Afghanistan's Kunar province to avoid increased fighting.
Tens of thousands of civilians are also believed to have fled to other parts of Pakistan as a result of the two-month-old offensive. Pakistan's military is carrying out an offensive in Bajur, a region mostly controlled by Islamic militants opposed to the Afghan and Pakistani governments. The UN's refugee agency said most of them are expected to return home after the fighting ceases.
Typhoon Jangmi was downgraded to a tropical storm as it headed toward eastern China after lashing Taiwan with torrential rains and powerful winds which killed two people and injured more than 30.
It was the fourth and most powerful typhoon to hit Taiwan this year.
British chocolate maker Cadbury, is the latest foreign company affected by China's tainted milk scandal. The company ordered a recall of its Chinese-made products on Monday, saying that tests have "cast doubt" on their safety. Cadbury has recalled 11 chocolate products made at its factory in the Chinese capital Beijing, which are distributed in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Australia.
Others companies that make biscuits, cake mix, energy bars, anything that should have protein in it are having to review processes and public relation campaigns. Last week, Kraft Foods Inc. found itself caught up in the scandal after Internet and phone text rumours began circulating that their Oreos may be contaminated with melamine. Kraft hastened to reassure customers that none of its Oreo-brand products contain milk powder from China. That all their milk powder comes from Australia. Tokyo-headquartered Lotte Group, a major snack maker, got caught up in the storm Friday after its popular chocolate-filled Koala cookies were recalled in Hong Kong and Macau because of melamine contamination. Four deaths have been blamed on the bad milk, and some 54,000 children have developed kidney stones or other illnesses after drinking the contaminated baby formula. I wonder if our Canadian authorities are checking products in Chinese stores and Chinese food section in supermarkets that may have the contaminated milk product in them? After all, a lot of food products come from China and find its way on Canadian store shelves.
Oct. 1st. 2008; Another month went quickly by the wayside and now here we are in the month of October. It even feels like October with cold winds and nights. For most of the day, it was a drizzly type of rain and felt cold enough that I expected to see snow. I even had to turn on the heater to take the chill out of the apartment. I see in the news that an Ontario inquiry into a series of faulty pediatric autopsies which led to the wrongful prosecutions of several parents and caregivers has concluded that the pathologist in the cases had "very serious failings," but also that his superiors moved "far too late" to curb him.
The inquiry, led by Justice Stephen Goudge, made 169 recommendations in a report released Wednesday about how deaths should be investigated when foul play is suspected. The report implores the province to overhaul its autopsy system in the wake of the findings against discredited pathologist Charles Smith. Ontario will move to amend the province's Coroner's Act this fall to implement recommendations made in a report that slams a "flawed" child forensic pathology system, government officials said Wednesday afternoon. The government will also form an expert panel to work out compensation for people who became victims of the system and will undergo a review of about 220 medical cases where it was determined that babies had been shaken to death. Premier Dalton McGuinty said the province was keen to restore public confidence in the battered pathology system. Attorney General Chris Bentley, Community Safety and Correctional Services Minister Rick Bartolucci and Ontario's Chief Coroner Dr. Andrew McCallum all apologized for the failures at a news conference as they formally responded to a scathing report on the state of Ontario's pathology system. "We will work diligently with our partners in our review of recommendations and we'll work quickly in our response," Bartolucci said. "Public confidence in the system can only exist when the integrity of the system stands beyond reproach." That statement is true. The law, in every field, is only as good, when people know that its system is based upon truth and integrity that is beyond reproach. I like what Justice Stephen Goudge said as he delivered the inquiry report, that the Law must change their approch and mindset from just looking for the "dirt" to one looking for the "truth".
This artical is as much about politics as it is a religious issue. So I will give my views about
a political debate at a high school in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, in which a Christian political candidate, David Popescu, stated that homosexuals are mentally ill, deviant and should all be executed. He based his assertions on the Bible. "That is what needs to be done to homosexuals, according to the Bible" stated Popescu. Popescu was invited to participate in a federal candidates discussion at Sudbury Secondary School on Tuesday. He made the comment after a student asked his opinion on gay marriage. An advocate for the Sudbury Gay and Lesbian community said " While Popescu's extreme views are well known, he has never said something so extreme. He's not simply saying that lesbians or gay men are mentally ill or somehow deviant or criminals. He's saying we should be subject to the death penalty," said Gary Kinsman. I think sometimes violence and hatred towards gays and lesbians gets dressed up in sort of a religious guise and is somehow tolerated. I just don't think it should be tolerated at all". Kinsman was particularly concerned the comments were made before a group of young people. Within hours, the Greater Sudbury Police Service said they were investigating whether an independent federal candidate committed a hate crime by telling high school students homosexuals should all be executed. It makes me angry to think that in this day and age, people like Christians, Muslims or Orthodox Jews are so stupid not to realize that what was written in their scriptures had been written at a time when little was known in the medical field, genitic and human understanding which was quite antiquated to what we now understand in the science of humanities. Those ancient Hebrews who had written the Torah, which Christianity and Islam had derived most of their religious ideas from, also had the common belief and mindset that those who had epilepcy, were possesed by demons. That people who had lepercy, was because they had greatly sinned
against their God, and were banished from society and were looked upon as unclean. Homosexuals was also looked upon as being an abomination, and that homosexuals should be exterminated. To justify such actions, they attributed such actions as a direct command coming from their pagan Canaanite God.
See GOD, RELIGION AND THE BIBLE about
the Torah or Jewish Bible and its Canaanite God.
According to the Torah or Jewish Bible, homosexual acts are an abomination. The prohibitions on male homosexuality also extend to female homosexuality, since that has been understood by both Jews and Christians for centuries. For centuries, homosexuals who were born in religious communities were often scared to admit publicly they were gay, fearing harassment, banishment or death. In Genesis 19:5 it identifies the specific sin of homosexality by which the city of Sodom was to have defiled itself and was destroyed by the Hebrew God. In Leviticus 18:22, it is written: "You shall not cohabit with a male as one cohabits with a woman; it is an abomination". In Leviticus 20:13, it is written: "And if a man cohabits with a male as with a woman, both of them have done an abominable thing; they shall be put to death; their blood shall fall back upon them". In the Christian bible; God mandated capital punishment under Patriarchy and Judaism for homosexuality. In the Hebrew Torah and the Christian bible, God especially warned men and women in Israel against this sin (Deuteronomy 23:17), the sin of Sodom was one of the sins that Israel had "learned" from the nations around them as stated in 1 Kings 14:24; 15:12; 22:46; 2 Kings 23:7. What a stupid, unintelligent statement that is, that they had "learned" homosexuality from the nations around them. As if there had never been homosexuals amoung the Hebrew people. Yeah Right!
Additionally, homosexuality is also condemned in the New Testament. In 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 (NKJV) the words "homosexuals" and "sodomites" appear among other sins cited. In the Old Testament in the Christian bible it has passages which clearly condemns homosexuality and is punishable by death. In the Islamic culture homosexuality is a sin to be punished by death, in the same manner as adultery. According to the Koran, homosexuality is one of the most sinful acts known to humankind. The Koran say this sin is evidence of perverted instincts, total collapse of shame and honor, and extreme filthiness of character and of the soul. Had Allah not informed us of the sinful deeds of the people of Lut (Lot), one would never have believed that homosexuals would commit such actions together. This is where the origin of attacking, and speaking harshly against homosexuals had originated from. One has to seriously ask the question; Is the Torah, the Christian Bible and the Koran, hate filled literature which purports to do violence against a segment of our society? If so, then these books are equally to blame for perpetuating hate and violence against homosexuals.
A 17-year-old female ski jumper has become the first active Canadian athlete to join a lawsuit over the sport's exclusion from the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. Zoya Lynch is among 10 female athletes, most who are from the United States and Europe, are suing Vancouver Olympic organizers (VANOC) because female ski jumping isn't on the lineup for the 2010 Games. This is a blatent discriminition against women who are ski jumpers which is in direct conflict with Canada's Human Rights and Constitution. Especially when there are men ski jumpers in the 2010 Olympic Games. Frankly, this whole affair stinks and gives a black mark to the Olympic organizers (VANOC) for not having lived up to Canada's own Laws and Constitution.
Update on the US financial bailout. I see in the news that the U.S. Senate has voted in favour of a $700-billion US financial bailout package, improving the chances it will soon garner approval from the House of Representatives and possibly stave off a national recession. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell walks into his office in the Capitol building on Wednesday during Senate negotiations on the financial bailout package. The "sweetened" bill was passed by a vote of 74-25 on Capitol Hill on Wednesday night after Democrats and Republicans teamed up to ensure its passage. It new bill will be returned to the House of Representatives, which voted 228-205 Monday against a similar bill. The House is expected to vote on the new bill Friday. Changes to the proposed legislation included an increase in the size of bank deposits insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. to $250,000 from $100,000. The bill also added $110 billion in tax breaks for businesses and the middle class.
Some Congressional leaders said Wednesday that the changes to the bill, combined with the complaints from constituents over Monday's stock market plunge, have improved the prospects for the measure's approval. Reading the news report, I see nothing about to overhauling the financial
institutions practice to provide integrity beyond reproach so that the public confidence in the financial system can be restored. I also notice the new bill says nothing about penalizing those who had benifited from those crooked investments. From what I see in this new bill, American taxpayers are still going to end up holding those bad debts for a very long time. But I guess, that's the new "American" way.
Update on the new bill that the Senate had passed. The U.S. Senate had approved the
controversial proposed bill in a 74-25 vote. Despite the passage of the bailout package in the
Senate, many stock markets retreated as concerns grew about a global slowdown. The initial bill
ran just three pages. The new version exceeds 450 pages. That's one way to get a bill passed.
Make it so lengthily that nobody would want to read it. From what I gather, the new package
will let the government spend billions of more dollars on top of the trillions already owed, to
buy those bad mortgage securities and other devalued assets held by those troubled financial
institutions. Bush hopes that if he is successful to get this new bill passed in the House, it
will prevent a serious recession. A recession which had started a long time ago. That's like
closing the barn door after all the horses had run out. Yeap! That thare Bush is one heck of a
cowboy! Letting the horses run out of the gate, running wild on Wall Street. According to the
news media, some people in the House, Republicans and Democrats have indicated that the changes
in the new bill were enough to get them to change their minds and pass it, despite the fact
that all the new items which had been added, would substantially increase the burden on
American taxpayers. If the Senate in Canada had passed a bill like that, they would have been
booted out of the Senate Chambers and run out of the country. After all, the Senate is supposed
to work for the interest of the taxpayers, not be a rubber stamp for the government.
Oct. 3rd. 2008; This morning is another cloudy raining
day with temperatures at the 3°C mark. According to our weather forecast, we can expect a high of 7°C with continued
showers throughout the rest of the day. During the French 2008 election debate, both NDP Leader Jack
Layton and Bloc Quebecois Gilles Duceppe had slammed Harper as being a clone of U.S. President
Bush. They said Harper's policies will lead Canada into a financial disaster similar to the one
south of the border. While Green Leader, Elizabeth May called for greater government regulation
on Bay Street. I found all of their comments to be totally ridiculous. Our Canadian Banks and financial institutions are fine, they are not in a mess like those of the USA. Our Banks and financial institutions tend to be very conservative and are not known to be extreem risk takers like those in the USA. While I have no doubt that the recession will effect our economy, I believe we will pull through this whole messy affair just fine. We have a lot going for us. I am glad that Elizabeth May was invited to the
2008 election debate. She deserve to have a place in it. During last night's English election debate on CTV, I found Stephen Harper to be the most credible of the lot. I do not belong to any one of
the parties running in this election, but from what I have heard prior to, and during this
election, I am incline to stay on the Conservative course we are presently on. Our ship HMS Canada,
is sailing on a steady keel. I believe we can weather this financial storm without too much damage.
As for the USS USA, it is already trying to plug up major leaks in her hull while it is
struggling to stay afloat through this financial storm. I think that they have a chance to pull
through, all be it a bit battered and bruised. That is, if this financial storm
does not become a full fledge hurricane.
This afternoon, I see that the House passed the new bill after a topsy-turvy week of power plays. No doubt that US
President Bush was quite eager to sign into law the infamous $700 billion bailout of the financial services industry, promising to
move swiftly and use his sweeping new authority to unlock frozen credit markets to get the economy moving again. House
Minority Whip Roy Blunt says that the finance bill that was passed by the House contains provisions that "virtually ensures"
taxpayers won't lose money. We will see if that statement holds true, within the next couple of years from now. According to
MSN money columnist
Jon Markman , he thinks that at best, Congress voted to approve a quick fix that's bound to fail in the long run. Few
citizens will wish to complain, of course, for U.S. equities actually have a shot at advancing as much as 10% over the next few
months. Wall Street veterans call this the "free-lunch trade," and it could be very tasty for a while. My own personal opinion is
that the reason this bailout plan will eventually fail, is because of the usual set of bugaboos that are inherent within the economic structure of the American financial
system. The levels of debt deleveraging and the slow growth of the economy, job losses due to the outsourcing of brainpower, technology and manufacturing plants to other countries, continued downsizing of employees, high fuel costs, a spending freeze by the consumers, ect., will have a negative effect upon this infamous $700 billion bailout program that U.S. President George W. Bush had called for.
I can not help wonder if any of that $700 billion will somehow end up in Bush’s personal bank account through the wheeling and dealings that will come from this financial bailout program. Forgive me if I may be wrong on this single issue. Maybe I am being unfair to Bush, but this won’t be the first time something like this has happened in history. Maybe it is just my inherent suspicious nature that I call this to mind because Bush has already proven to be a liar, and he will be leaving his prestigious post soon, and may be wanting to feather his nest before he leaves office.
According to The Canadian Press, Paul Martin, who is serving out the remainder of his term as
MP in Quebec's LaSalle-Emard riding, has been taking a bigger role in Stephane Dion Liberal
campaign in recent weeks as Liberal fortunes and support have continued to drop. At this time,
I have to give former prime minister Paul Martin credit for his deficit-busting program which
took us out of the red and left us with annual surpluses instead. Out of the 4 major political party campaign promises, I liked the Liberals the best, aside from their "Green Shift" carbon tax program which I feel will eventually end up increasing the cost on comsumer goods and services. While I liked Liberal Leader Stephane Dion campaign promises best, I fear the huge cost it will incur to implement their program will bring us back into the red, at a time when the economy is heading, if not already, into a global recession. I would hate to see Canada running in the red again with a huge deficit and adding to the national debt, instead of decreasing it. I am hoping that whatever government we get, come election day, they will at least keep that in mind. I hope every Canadian of voting age gets out and vote, on election day. May the best person win.
Oct. 5th. 2008; Today is a cloudy cool gloomy day which
reflect the financial uncertainties which has spread throughout the world. According to an artical I read from CTV News, titled;
What were the Wall Street Titans earning? It shows the lucrative paycheques Wall Street's executives had
recieved while they managed those banks whose practices have dragged down the entire US financial system. Here is in part what
the artical revealed; "Much of the outcry in the current fight over a fat bailout for Wall Street focuses on the size of Wall Street's fat paycheques.
Bottom line: If Wall Street executives want part of the US$700 billion bailout proposal, they'll need to accept some curbs on their pay. The details have yet to be settled, but Congress and legions of irate constituents managed to push Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson into accepting some restrictions. Most likely they'll have to give up lucrative exit packages from failing firms.
Executives at the centre of the current financial storm happened to collect some of the largest. Lloyd Blankfein, chief executive officer of Goldman Sachs, took home $74 million in salary, bonuses and other awards last year. Richard Fuld, chief executive of the now bankrupt Lehman Brothers, received $71.9 million.
Over the past five years, Fuld made $354 million leading his company on a wild ride that ultimately ended bankruptcy. He was Lehman's biggest individual shareholder.
Other failed leaders did equally well. James E. Cayne, former chief executive officer of Bear Stearns made $49.31 million over the last two years. He famously fought the bailout of Long-Term Capital Management, the debt-heavy hedge fund in 1998, only to steer Bear Stearns into a fatal debt-heavy foray into mortgage securities. The avid bridge player was busy at a tournament this spring when Bear Stearns melted down.
Martin J Sullivan, former chief executive officer of American International Group, raked in $39.6 million in the last three years. Sullivan oversaw two quarters of record losses as the insurance giant's head. Shareholders pressured him to quit in June. Severance package plus bonus: $19 million. The Fed took effective control of the company after bailing out its bad bets on credit default swaps. Price tag: $85 billion for 80 per cent of the stock.
The argument for limits is straightforward. Some of the highest-paid executives in the country run banks whose practices have dragged down the entire financial system. In exchange for taxpayers shouldering the burden of their risky assets, Wall Street's executives should submit to some restrictions. Rescue money shouldn't reward mistakes". Frankly, I find it outragious and totally obseen that these people are getting off so easy in this whole affair.
Here is the link to read the full CTV News Artical that give all the details on this financial debt-ridden mess.
.
In an interview with The Sunday Times, the commander of British forces in Afghanistan, Brig.-Gen. Mark Carleton-Smith, suggested that NATO troops may well leave the country before an insurgency is entirely defeated.
"We're not going to win this war," he told the newspaper. Only now these people had figured that out? The Russians had come to realize that after having lost many of its troops and spent countless of their taxpayers money on that venture.
Our Canadian politicians, be they Liberal and Conservatives should have learned the lessons from that Afghanistan war before they
allowed our Canadian troops get sucked into what was essentially an American-Afghanistan war.
We had absolutely nothing to gain by it. I clearly recall that Harper, supported by the Liberals, had
extended the military mission in Kandahar province to 2011 earlier this year, with a shift to emphasize the mission's priorities to
reconstruction and development in the region. What had this war cost Canadian taxpayers so far? What about all
the money which was given for reconstruction and development aid, we find out had been squandered and
lost by a corrupt Afghanistan regime? All that money which was spent on that Muslim/Afghan war
could have better been spent within our own country to help Canadians where it is needed most.
Another Canadian soldier had been injured in Kandahar according to The Canadian Press.
A Canadian soldier was injured in Kandahar, Afghanistan by an explosive device which had detonated near their armoured vehicle in which the troops were travelling in.
The military said the incident occurred shortly before noon local time in Maywand district, some 45 kilometres west of Kandahar City. It said soldiers quickly established a cordon around the area and the injured soldier was evacuated by helicopter to the multinational medical facility at Kandahar Airfield. The military did not identify the soldier, but they say he is in serious, but stable condition. If Stephane Harper wins this election, which I think he will, I hope he will seriously think about pulling out ALL of our Canadian troops soon, rather than let it drag on till 2011 CE and get more Canadian troops seriously injured or killed in which they have finally realized is a lost cause.
According to the 2008 Amnesty International Report on Afghanistan, here are some incidents that
were found there. Killings of civilians in Afghanistan;International military forces reportedly caused the deaths
of several hundred civilians. Some may have been victims of indiscriminate attacks in aerial
bombardments and other operations that may have violated international humanitarian law. After
several high-profile incidents in mid-2007 involving civilian deaths caused by international
military forces, ISAF forces instituted new rules of engagement. It remained unclear what
impact this had, although there were regular reports of disproportionate civilian casualties as
a result of international military operations. On 4 March, 2008 following a suicide attack on a US
convoy on the Jalalabad highway in Nangarhar province, US troops opened fire indiscriminately
along a 12km stretch of road killing at least 12 civilians and injuring 35 people.
Investigations by the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) found that US
forces had used indiscriminate and excessive force. The US military referred the case to its
Naval Criminal Investigative Service citing the need for further investigation.
Freedom of expression in Afghanistan; Severe restrictions on freedom of expression remained
in place. Several journalists were arrested or intimidated and killed. Members of the AIHRC and
representatives of national human rights organizations also faced threats. The Journalists
Independent Union of Afghanistan registered 53 cases of violence against journalists in 2007 by
the Afghan government and Taleban insurgents. In six of the cases a journalist was killed.
Zakia Zaki, who ran the private Peace Radio, was killed by gunmen in her home in the central
province of Parwan on 5 June. Kamran Mir Hazar, a journalist for Radio Salaam Watandar and
editor of the internet news service Kabul Press, was arrested twice, apparently for criticizing
the government, and subsequently released without charge. Violence against women and girls in Afghanistan; Women rights continued to be eroded in many areas. Women working for the government faced threats and several survived attempted assassinations. Massoma Anwary, head of the Department of Womens Affairs in Ghor province, survived an assassination attempt in November. A decrease in the number of attacks against schools allowed some schools in insecure areas to reopen and there was an overall rise in the number of children attending school. However, fears about safety meant many girls could not go to school. According to the Amnesty International second report on economic and social rights, published in August, 36.1 per cent of school-aged girls were not attending schools due to issues of accessibility, including security. Here is the full 2008 Amnesty International Report on Afghanistan.
Here is another report from Amnesty International which is titled; Afghanistan: Women still under attack - a systematic failure to protect
. Perpetrators may be officials of the state, armed opposition groups or individuals – including family members. Violence against women and girls in Afghanistan is pervasive. Few women are exempt from the reality or threat of violence. Afghan women and girls live with the risk of: abduction and rape by armed individuals; forced marriage; being traded for settling disputes and debts; and face daily discrimination from all segments of society as well as by state officials. Strict societal codes, invoked in the name of tradition and religion, are used as justification for denying women the ability to enjoy their fundamental rights, and have led to the imprisonment of some women, and even to killings. Should they protest by running away, the authorities may imprison them.
Afghanistan is in the process of reconstruction after many years of conflict, but hundreds of thousands of women and girls continue to suffer abuse at the hands of their husbands, fathers, brothers, armed individuals, parallel legal systems, and institutions of the state itself such as the police and the justice system. There are reported increases in forced marriages; some women in difficult situations have even killed themselves to escape such a heinous situation whilst others burn themselves to death to draw attention to their plight. (2)
Husbands, brothers and fathers are the main perpetrators of violence in the home but the social control and the power that they exercise is reinforced by the authorities, whether of the state or from informal justice systems such as shuras and jirgas.(3) Members of factional and militia forces are also responsible for perpetrating violence. In some instances, female members of the family have a role in upholding patriarchal structures, and may also commit violence. However, male members of society perpetrate the overwhelming majority of acts of violence against women.
Is this what our Canadain forces are fighting for and are supporting a corrupt Afghanistan regime?
Once again NDP Leader Jack Layton has grossly exaggerate when his new Ad campaign states that most Canadians want to get rid of Stephen Harper. I do not think that is a true assessment of the situation, according to how the Conservatives are standing in the polls.
Latest National Poll; Conservatives are at 34%, Librals at 30%, NDP at 19%, BQ at 10% and the
Green at 7%. In Ontario, the standing as from Oct 4; Conservatives are at 35%, Librals at 37%,
NDP at 22% and Green at 6%. Despite that the Conservatives have lost a little ground in Ontario,
B.C. and Quebec, I believe that when it is time to vote, Stephen Harper and his Conservatives
will have a majority government. Frankly, I would be greatly surprised if the Conservatives do
not have a majority government. But whoever becomes our Government, it had better be strong. If
ever we need a strong Government, it is now. This is not a good time to have a weak Government,
given the global economic situation we will be facing.
Police are searching for a man who allegedly abducted a 7-year-old girl from an Edmonton park. Officers said that Anastasia Whetton was kidnapped by a man near her family's home at around 11 a.m. on Sunday. CTV Edmonton reported that the suspect, a balding blonde man in his late 20s or early 30s who is about six-feet tall, and was wearing silver-rimmed glasses, a dark-coloured zip-up jacket and light blue jeans at the time of the abduction. The last three digits on the blue SUV's license plate are 179. The man driving the SUV had asked the little girl, who was playing with her two brothers at a park, to come to his vehicle to look at some kittens he had for sale. After the young girl had stepped inside the vehicle, the man drove off. The little girl's brothers alerted their parents. Police quickly issued an Amber Alert and the girl was found around three hours later at a service station in Evansburg, Alta, about 100 kilometres west of Edmonton. The little girl had escaped from her captor while the SUV had stopped for gas at a service station. The little girl ran towards the gas attendant as he was making his way towards the blue sport SUV. The service station employee recognized the little girl from the Amber Alert. The suspect fled the station so quickly that the fuel hose was still lodged in his SUV. CTV Edmonton also reported that the man allegedly approached two other young girls prior to this incident telling them he had kittens for sale. Hopefully the Police force will get that man before he does any harm to a little girl. It is quite apparent that is what that man is after, if he is not caught soon. Hopefully, the kidnapper, that predator will be caught before another little girl becomes a victim.
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