Who has flunked the third grade 33 times and is now a symbol of shame for bad cops in Bangkok?
Hello Kitty ™.
As funny as this sounds, the BBC reports that cops who are late, illegally park or commit other "minor" offences will be forced to wear an armband with the legendary Japanese cartoon character for a few days.
They should try that on Karl Rove and Scooter Libby -- heck, why not Tom Delay and Richard Cheney?
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Monday, August 6, 2007
Sunday, August 5, 2007
The spotted owl returns, on the run
Over a decade after a mostly conservative US Supreme Court defied the first Bush Administration and acted to save the spotted owl (the votes of Anthony Kennedy and Sandra Day O'Connor made the difference), the endangered species faces a new threat -- a predator called the barred owl, forcing the spotted to find new habitats. Guess what the current Bush and the forest industry wanted to do? Yup? Cut down the trees where the spotted used to live. Fortunately, a federal judge said they can't do that -- and the issue isn't the owl, but the forest. Off limits means exactly that.
This op-ed piece in the NYT gave me a chuckle -- and a bit of hope that despite Dubya's machinations, there still may be enough tree huggers in the courts to stop the madness that he believes in. After all, the new Chief Justice, John Roberts, says he defers to stare decisis.
At least, that's what we were led to believe.
Vote for this post at Progressive Bloggers.
This op-ed piece in the NYT gave me a chuckle -- and a bit of hope that despite Dubya's machinations, there still may be enough tree huggers in the courts to stop the madness that he believes in. After all, the new Chief Justice, John Roberts, says he defers to stare decisis.
At least, that's what we were led to believe.
Vote for this post at Progressive Bloggers.
Saturday, August 4, 2007
What happened to the "defense" in Interstate highways?
The US Congress voted to appropriate $250 million to rebuild the collapsed I-35W bridge in Minneapolis, on top of an equal amount pledge by the Minnesota state legislature. While there is nothing to suggest what happened was an act of terrorism, the accident has exposed a huge failure in US thinking -- the lack of maintenance of ways.
When the Interstate system was first developed in the 1950s, the main concern was not to do with intercity commerce but defense considerations -- the need to move land forces from one city to another in the event of a civil emergency. The network is called the "National System of Interstate and Defense Highways "and with good reason: When Eisenhower took some troops across America to thank Americans for their support after World War One, it proved to be a national embarrassment as it took two months for the convoy to go across the country and bridge after bridge simply snapped. Later, Ike could only watch with horror when Hitler built the Autobahns and used them with striking force -- continental Europe was indeed Blitzkrieged. After World War Two, Dwight wasn't about to let America get suckered again.
Roads aren't just a means to move goods and services as well as people and capital; they're vital to national security. Imagine if the half a trillion spent in Iraq was instead spent on basic infrastructure improvements. Terrorists have just found a new vulnerability -- just because Washington was too cheap to spend a couple thousand bucks on a simple paint job to cover up rust. And don't forget, 2000 bridges collapse in the US each year. It's just that 1980 of them aren't worthy of coverage even in community papers.
All AQ needs to bring down an endangered bridge is a stick of dynamite or even C4 -- not a truck bomb. Thank Karl Rove for screwing up America's priorities, kids.
Vote for this post at Progressive Bloggers.
When the Interstate system was first developed in the 1950s, the main concern was not to do with intercity commerce but defense considerations -- the need to move land forces from one city to another in the event of a civil emergency. The network is called the "National System of Interstate and Defense Highways "and with good reason: When Eisenhower took some troops across America to thank Americans for their support after World War One, it proved to be a national embarrassment as it took two months for the convoy to go across the country and bridge after bridge simply snapped. Later, Ike could only watch with horror when Hitler built the Autobahns and used them with striking force -- continental Europe was indeed Blitzkrieged. After World War Two, Dwight wasn't about to let America get suckered again.
Roads aren't just a means to move goods and services as well as people and capital; they're vital to national security. Imagine if the half a trillion spent in Iraq was instead spent on basic infrastructure improvements. Terrorists have just found a new vulnerability -- just because Washington was too cheap to spend a couple thousand bucks on a simple paint job to cover up rust. And don't forget, 2000 bridges collapse in the US each year. It's just that 1980 of them aren't worthy of coverage even in community papers.
All AQ needs to bring down an endangered bridge is a stick of dynamite or even C4 -- not a truck bomb. Thank Karl Rove for screwing up America's priorities, kids.
Vote for this post at Progressive Bloggers.
How far does $200 Gs go in Harare?
Things have gotten so bad in Zimbabwe that they are now printing a $200,000 bill -- which at current market rates is worth a mere USD 13. And to add insult to injury, the already plundered country is now facing wage and price controls. Robert Mugabe says he's doing it as another step to prevent his country from being "recolonized." But why would anyone want to take over that country when almost all its natural resources are worthless?
One country normally invades another because it has a bounty of them. Like, when the US took over Iraq for its oil.
Vote for this post at Progressive Bloggers.
One country normally invades another because it has a bounty of them. Like, when the US took over Iraq for its oil.
Vote for this post at Progressive Bloggers.
A city sales tax?
Unlike US cities, municipalities in Canada are severely limited in the kinds of revenue they can raise. Montréal and Vancouver do have a special gas tax and a levy from parking metres and garages that funds public transit, and some cities in Canada have a hotel tax; but for the most part the vast majority of the burden is on property taxes -- putting the burden on residents and corporations which settles in wherever they are. And when they do get taxing authority, it's very limited too. Look in Toronto. They tried raising the land transfer tax and vehicle registration fees -- it failed, now they're looking at basically destroying public transit in the Meeting Place.
There may be a "better way," pardon the expression. I don't like raising taxes, but I'm also against cutting them unless a significant part of the debt burden has been permanaently retired. Cities have been demanding one percent of the GST. I say, why not take the one percent that was cut last year and give that authority back to the cities to raise it?
It makes sense because it can be tacked on to the provincial sales tax. And it would be painless for business since they could remit it as part of the PST and the province in turn would send the money right back to the cities where they came from. This is how many US cities get their bread and butter -- not from ratepayers (which in many cities is less than half of the population) but consumers (which means everyone). Thus both residents and transients would share the pain. In New York state, for example, the state sales tax is 4 % but cities can tack on up to 4.5% on top of that. Some cities choose to put in as little as 0.5% while major centres like Buffalo and New York City elect for the maximum increment.
There is a downside of course -- consumption taxes tend to hit lower income people the most. But those taxes would tend to be less than property taxes in the first place, so in the end there would be a net benefit.
I'd also like to see all cities, not just some, allowed to have a hotel tax. There will always be tourists and business travellers and they will be willing to pay the going rate. Some cities' transient lodging fees in the States can be as much as 20% -- which may be absurd to us Canadians on the surface; but how else can they afford to build new stadia for "free"?
Our cities are facing a funding crisis, and it's time we thought outside the box. Provinces should give cities home rule and let them run their affairs, their way. It's past time to do so.
Vote for this post at Progressive Bloggers.
There may be a "better way," pardon the expression. I don't like raising taxes, but I'm also against cutting them unless a significant part of the debt burden has been permanaently retired. Cities have been demanding one percent of the GST. I say, why not take the one percent that was cut last year and give that authority back to the cities to raise it?
It makes sense because it can be tacked on to the provincial sales tax. And it would be painless for business since they could remit it as part of the PST and the province in turn would send the money right back to the cities where they came from. This is how many US cities get their bread and butter -- not from ratepayers (which in many cities is less than half of the population) but consumers (which means everyone). Thus both residents and transients would share the pain. In New York state, for example, the state sales tax is 4 % but cities can tack on up to 4.5% on top of that. Some cities choose to put in as little as 0.5% while major centres like Buffalo and New York City elect for the maximum increment.
There is a downside of course -- consumption taxes tend to hit lower income people the most. But those taxes would tend to be less than property taxes in the first place, so in the end there would be a net benefit.
I'd also like to see all cities, not just some, allowed to have a hotel tax. There will always be tourists and business travellers and they will be willing to pay the going rate. Some cities' transient lodging fees in the States can be as much as 20% -- which may be absurd to us Canadians on the surface; but how else can they afford to build new stadia for "free"?
Our cities are facing a funding crisis, and it's time we thought outside the box. Provinces should give cities home rule and let them run their affairs, their way. It's past time to do so.
Vote for this post at Progressive Bloggers.
Friday, August 3, 2007
Another Hamilton icon bites the dust
I'll readily admit, some so-called "historical" sites are the kind I think we could do without. The Lister Block in Hamilton, which should have been torn down years ago, is instead going to be preserved at a cost far greater than tearing it down and building a "replica" which was the plan in the first place. The building is so full of rot one could smell it a couple of blocks away.
On the other hand, some demolitions don't make sense. A couple of days ago, a truly greedy developer decided he couldn't wait even to get a demolition permit and tore down a 160-year old institution in Hamilton, the Dynes Tavern -- to make way for a million dollar housing development. I didn't go there that much, but it had pretty decent food for a pub; and it was also the breeding ground for future music stars, among them country singer Mark LaForme who as recently as a couple of years ago still performed there even though he had long ago gotten too big for the "honky-tonk" scene.
Sure, the Beach Strip is a lucrative place. But the more homes that go in there, the less it becomes one of the last small-town neighbourhoods in the city I call home. And having the Dynes as a focal point gave the area a bit of class. For pieces of silver this jerk has thrown that all away. As for the fine he could face -- $200,000 -- he can just write it off as the cost of doing business.
Disgusting.
Vote for this post at Progressive Bloggers.
On the other hand, some demolitions don't make sense. A couple of days ago, a truly greedy developer decided he couldn't wait even to get a demolition permit and tore down a 160-year old institution in Hamilton, the Dynes Tavern -- to make way for a million dollar housing development. I didn't go there that much, but it had pretty decent food for a pub; and it was also the breeding ground for future music stars, among them country singer Mark LaForme who as recently as a couple of years ago still performed there even though he had long ago gotten too big for the "honky-tonk" scene.
Sure, the Beach Strip is a lucrative place. But the more homes that go in there, the less it becomes one of the last small-town neighbourhoods in the city I call home. And having the Dynes as a focal point gave the area a bit of class. For pieces of silver this jerk has thrown that all away. As for the fine he could face -- $200,000 -- he can just write it off as the cost of doing business.
Disgusting.
Vote for this post at Progressive Bloggers.
Thursday, August 2, 2007
Open thread
After yesterday's horrible bridge collapse in Minneapolis, I think you can understand why I don't feel much like blogging today. Besides, I was doing a lot of catching up at work today, after the mainframe in Nashville crashed for more than half the day.
So if you have thoughts about bridges or on anything else, I'll leave this thread open. Keep it clean, please.
So if you have thoughts about bridges or on anything else, I'll leave this thread open. Keep it clean, please.
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
Dead Innocent
A recent paper published in the Tulsa Law Review is worth a read. It raises the question, what would happen if an innocent person was executed? Well, the answer is quite obvious: All hell would break loose. But as Jeffrey L. Kirchmeier of the CUNY School of Law in Queens NY points out, the fact innocent people have been released from death row hasn't necessarily changed people's attitudes about the death penalty, just made them more nervous. What has happened is that groups have been desperately seeking a case of a wrongful execution to bolster their case and, sadly, it's become more and more futile, giving ammunition in favour of those who call those of us who oppose capital punishment "bleeding hearts."
The essay (in PDF) speaks for itself. And it does raise a good point: We're going to have to do more than just merely suggest the worst case scenario. We have to appeal to logic as to why life without parole is the more moral alternative.
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The essay (in PDF) speaks for itself. And it does raise a good point: We're going to have to do more than just merely suggest the worst case scenario. We have to appeal to logic as to why life without parole is the more moral alternative.
Vote for this post at Progressive Bloggers.
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Too little, too late (Darfur)
After many months of wrangling, the UN Security Council finally approved a resolution to send peacekeepers to Darfur. Several years too late, in my opinion and that of many others.
The hold out had been China, which depends on Sudan for a large part of its oil consumption and which only wanted to see what was happening as an internal affair -- that is, until civil society started putting pressure on world governments to threaten to boycott the Beijing Olympics next year. I guess the butchers couldn't stand being embarrassed like that.
I must admit I was rather annoyed by the Sudanese ambassador to the UN, interviewed by the BBC. In one sentence, he said his government would respect the resolution and allow the peacekeepers to come into his country unimpeded; in the next, he said the refugee crisis had been fantasized by NGOs.
That doesn't change the fact too many have been displaced, never to return home. And it was all because the oil was in the wrong part of the country. If it had been elsewhere and a refugee crisis erupted, Bush would have sent in the 82nd and 101st Airbornes in a New York Minute.
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The hold out had been China, which depends on Sudan for a large part of its oil consumption and which only wanted to see what was happening as an internal affair -- that is, until civil society started putting pressure on world governments to threaten to boycott the Beijing Olympics next year. I guess the butchers couldn't stand being embarrassed like that.
I must admit I was rather annoyed by the Sudanese ambassador to the UN, interviewed by the BBC. In one sentence, he said his government would respect the resolution and allow the peacekeepers to come into his country unimpeded; in the next, he said the refugee crisis had been fantasized by NGOs.
That doesn't change the fact too many have been displaced, never to return home. And it was all because the oil was in the wrong part of the country. If it had been elsewhere and a refugee crisis erupted, Bush would have sent in the 82nd and 101st Airbornes in a New York Minute.
Vote for this post at Progressive Bloggers.
Monday, July 30, 2007
Ban the tax-free allowance!
A few days ago, the local council here in Hamilton voted to keep one-third of the annual salary councillors make tax-free. There's nothing illegal about that -- federal and provincial law allows for this possibility and many towns and cities across the country have similar provisions. But it's an outdated one and it's time to pay politicians a straight salary, one that's fully taxable.
The rationale behind giving people from the Prime Minister down to a local alderperson a tax-free allowance was that they received dozens of requests for support from civic society groups and social clubs, and it was just easier to make donations from this stipend without having to ask for a tax receipt. But that goes back to the days when the former Revenue Canada only allowed paper returns and demanded receipts for everything. These days, however, only about 7% of Canadians actually get their returns reviewed each year and usually it is just a request for additional info. Maybe only about 2% of us, if that, get a full blown audit, way less than the 33% quota for the IRS.
In recent years, the federal government and most provinces have gotten rid of the tax-free allowance and make elected representatives pay taxes on a full salary. The trade-off has been their base salary goes way up to make up the difference, but it's a fair trade in my opinion.
That local leaders continue to get this rip-off while raising property taxes on everyone else is inherently a conflict of interest. It's time to put it to an end. All politicians should get a straight salary just like the rest of us. And pay raises should be pegged to the Consumer Price Index, just like Old Age Security is. Not one penny more.
Vote for this post at Progressive Bloggers.
The rationale behind giving people from the Prime Minister down to a local alderperson a tax-free allowance was that they received dozens of requests for support from civic society groups and social clubs, and it was just easier to make donations from this stipend without having to ask for a tax receipt. But that goes back to the days when the former Revenue Canada only allowed paper returns and demanded receipts for everything. These days, however, only about 7% of Canadians actually get their returns reviewed each year and usually it is just a request for additional info. Maybe only about 2% of us, if that, get a full blown audit, way less than the 33% quota for the IRS.
In recent years, the federal government and most provinces have gotten rid of the tax-free allowance and make elected representatives pay taxes on a full salary. The trade-off has been their base salary goes way up to make up the difference, but it's a fair trade in my opinion.
That local leaders continue to get this rip-off while raising property taxes on everyone else is inherently a conflict of interest. It's time to put it to an end. All politicians should get a straight salary just like the rest of us. And pay raises should be pegged to the Consumer Price Index, just like Old Age Security is. Not one penny more.
Vote for this post at Progressive Bloggers.
Prayers for a friend
A request from me to all of my readers. A friend of mine, a single mother, is trying to get a restraining order against a truly evil man -- one who abused her two children and assaulted her. I can't name names at this time due to legal reasons, but from what I understand it's notoriously hard to persuade a justice of the peace to issue such an order let alone criminal charges, because the courts naturally assume it's the custodial parent who had something to do with it; and I know this person well enough to know she truly is a victim here and so are her kids.
Oh ... and the guy's here illegally too, and managed to get a work permit while his immigration application is processed.
So, if you could all spare a prayer today for her? That she begins to see that justice is finally served. And the coward is deported back to his home country where, oddly enough, he faces even more wife assault and child endangerment charges.
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Oh ... and the guy's here illegally too, and managed to get a work permit while his immigration application is processed.
So, if you could all spare a prayer today for her? That she begins to see that justice is finally served. And the coward is deported back to his home country where, oddly enough, he faces even more wife assault and child endangerment charges.
Vote for this post at Progressive Bloggers.
Sunday, July 29, 2007
BC Ferries bomb threat a hoax
Osama Bin Laden's threats a few years back that eventually he was going to attack Canada took on new urgency as a bomb threat was called into the ferry terminal at Tsawwassen, cancelling services from Vancouver's south side to Victoria, Nanaimo and the Gulf Islands. About 50,000 people had their weekend plans torpedoed not to mention all the commercial traffic disrupted. BC Ferries is offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to the culprit.
An uncommonly stupid and cowardly act to be sure. But was this an Al Qaeda operation? Even though the caller sounded "Middle Eastern," according to the ferry company, I doubt that it was.
AQ never announces their operations in advance, especially not to us so-called "infidels." They only communicate on their channels and websites, and exclusively in Arabic and other languages used in Africa and South Asia. These sites are actually well known to intelligence agencies, according to Michael Scheuer, the ex-CIA agent who authored Through Our Enemies' Eyes and Imperial Hubris. The trouble is there still aren't enough spies and analysts who are fluent in Arabic and the other languages we know the evil-doers use, giving the visitors a huge advantage.
Does that mean we shouldn't find this particular moron? Of course not. I hope they do, and sue him for the lost business. At 11.15 per passenger (with 50,000 grounded) plus 39.00 per car (and about 10,000 vehicles were stranded) that works to -- a minimum of $947,500; plus punitive damages for mischief. I don't care if you're a facist or an anarchist or somewhere between the two; there is absolutely no excuse for this kind of stunt.
Kudos, though, to the ferry authority and the police. This was a dry run for what eventually will be the real thing.
Vote for this post at Progressive Bloggers.
An uncommonly stupid and cowardly act to be sure. But was this an Al Qaeda operation? Even though the caller sounded "Middle Eastern," according to the ferry company, I doubt that it was.
AQ never announces their operations in advance, especially not to us so-called "infidels." They only communicate on their channels and websites, and exclusively in Arabic and other languages used in Africa and South Asia. These sites are actually well known to intelligence agencies, according to Michael Scheuer, the ex-CIA agent who authored Through Our Enemies' Eyes and Imperial Hubris. The trouble is there still aren't enough spies and analysts who are fluent in Arabic and the other languages we know the evil-doers use, giving the visitors a huge advantage.
Does that mean we shouldn't find this particular moron? Of course not. I hope they do, and sue him for the lost business. At 11.15 per passenger (with 50,000 grounded) plus 39.00 per car (and about 10,000 vehicles were stranded) that works to -- a minimum of $947,500; plus punitive damages for mischief. I don't care if you're a facist or an anarchist or somewhere between the two; there is absolutely no excuse for this kind of stunt.
Kudos, though, to the ferry authority and the police. This was a dry run for what eventually will be the real thing.
Vote for this post at Progressive Bloggers.
Saturday, July 28, 2007
9/11 Report a go
George W. Bush, the very President who fought so hard against an independent inquiry into the 9/11 attacks until forced to do so by the estates of the 3000 who were murdered, has finally been forced to eat humble pie. Yesterday, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid won a huge victory when Congress voted to adopt most of the 9/11 Commission's recommendations (by votes of 371-40 in the House and 85-8, more than enough to be veto-proof) fulfilling an election promise the Democratic leaders made on the way to getting Congress back last year; and Bush said he would sign the bill. (PDF of the report here.)
It's amazing that it's taken three years to get to this moment. It's going to be very expensive to implement Kean-Hamilton, but the fact is it could have been paid for with all the money blown on Iraq with plenty to spare. Rather than fortify the defences, the US unwisely decided to go on the offence overseas. By now, the states could have had several additional military units with members from all branches as well as stronger ports and airports.
And the lost opportunity of creating permanent jobs at home, good jobs for the long term, paying taxes to the three levels of government to protect against sudden market and interest shocks like we've seen in the last few days. Instead, who knows how much has been lost not just in terms of lives and wounded, but also corruption in Baghdad and kickbacks to terrorists based in Tehran and Riyadh?
Bush had nearly six years to do what the Democrats were telling him was necessary all along. A veto here would have been a total disaster, if for no other reason than it would have been overriden in a heartbeat. But for now, there is some balance back in DC. If the GOP was still running Congress, the 9/11 report would never have gotten into committee let alone on the floor for a final vote.
Vote for this post at Progressive Bloggers.
It's amazing that it's taken three years to get to this moment. It's going to be very expensive to implement Kean-Hamilton, but the fact is it could have been paid for with all the money blown on Iraq with plenty to spare. Rather than fortify the defences, the US unwisely decided to go on the offence overseas. By now, the states could have had several additional military units with members from all branches as well as stronger ports and airports.
And the lost opportunity of creating permanent jobs at home, good jobs for the long term, paying taxes to the three levels of government to protect against sudden market and interest shocks like we've seen in the last few days. Instead, who knows how much has been lost not just in terms of lives and wounded, but also corruption in Baghdad and kickbacks to terrorists based in Tehran and Riyadh?
Bush had nearly six years to do what the Democrats were telling him was necessary all along. A veto here would have been a total disaster, if for no other reason than it would have been overriden in a heartbeat. But for now, there is some balance back in DC. If the GOP was still running Congress, the 9/11 report would never have gotten into committee let alone on the floor for a final vote.
Vote for this post at Progressive Bloggers.
Friday, July 27, 2007
So it was tap water after all!
At my former job at the pizzeria call centre, one of the most popular items from the vending machine was bottled water. Couldn't figure out why that was -- and why people would pay seventy-five cents for what tasted like tap water when it was labelled bottled water. Until I checked the label, and oddly enough, it said it was tap water from Mississauga. Yes, Hazel McCallion country!
Today, Pepsi said they're going to be more upfront about where the water is from as well as how it's filtered (reverse osmosis). Turns out the federal government doesn't think it's a very efficient way to clean up water (about 50% is purged in the process). That may be fine for some parts of the world where many sources are polluted beyond belief; but where we pay utility bills to get the water cleaned up already, it doesn't make sense to filter water even more that's already 99% or more pure.
Get the lead out of the water? Try running the kitchen faucet on cold three minutes about once every other week. It's still less expensive than bottled or a faucet water filter. Or a reverse osmosis system.
Vote for this post at Progressive Bloggers.
Today, Pepsi said they're going to be more upfront about where the water is from as well as how it's filtered (reverse osmosis). Turns out the federal government doesn't think it's a very efficient way to clean up water (about 50% is purged in the process). That may be fine for some parts of the world where many sources are polluted beyond belief; but where we pay utility bills to get the water cleaned up already, it doesn't make sense to filter water even more that's already 99% or more pure.
Get the lead out of the water? Try running the kitchen faucet on cold three minutes about once every other week. It's still less expensive than bottled or a faucet water filter. Or a reverse osmosis system.
Vote for this post at Progressive Bloggers.
Thursday, July 26, 2007
No solicitors means just that
I usually don't blow off my top the way I did today, but I had reason. Earlier today, I got home and no sooner did I try to rest for a few minutes before ordering dinner than someone knocks on my door wanting me to switch gas companies. Now natually he went into his shtick about "we just want to check your gas bill" but it was pretty obvious what he was up to. I pointed to the sign on my door that says "No solicitations" and when he tried to persist, I literally had to scream at him to get off my property.
Maybe I was out of line. But it's my house. And if I wanted to consider pricing options I'd call around myself. They're talking about a "do not call" list for Canada. Maybe it's time we had a "do not disturb" list that applied all around.
I don't care if the door knocker is sixty years old raising money for charity, or six and selling candy. When I say I'm not interested, I mean precisely that!
Vote for this post at Progressive Bloggers.
Maybe I was out of line. But it's my house. And if I wanted to consider pricing options I'd call around myself. They're talking about a "do not call" list for Canada. Maybe it's time we had a "do not disturb" list that applied all around.
I don't care if the door knocker is sixty years old raising money for charity, or six and selling candy. When I say I'm not interested, I mean precisely that!
Vote for this post at Progressive Bloggers.
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