Democracy Lesson

“We can have Democracy in this country, or we can have Great Wealth concentrated in the Hands of a Few, but we CAN'T have Both.”
--Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis (1856-1941).

Resource Royalties in Saskatchewan

Dr John Warnock says the resource royalties collected by this province are too low. The rates are comparable to what weak, desperate 3rd world countries collect for the extraction of their resources. Resource royalties have not kept pace with GDP, revenue, or profit, but rather are slipping further behind what they once were in the province. The Saskatchewan people are receiving less and less for giving up more and more. These are NON renewable resources. We only get one chance to get the most for them.

I agree with Dr Warnock, the Saskatchewan government is selling out. Short term gain and long term sustainability are being sacrificed. Mining is a very capital intensive industry. It actually creates a small percentage of the jobs in SK. The people of Saskatchewan, the Saskatchewan environment, and  all future generations deserve more.

Greater resource royalties in SK could be harnessed to provide the free post secondary education that Larissa Shasko, Leader of the Green Party of Saskatchewan recommends.

“Put more corrections into the people’s system not more people into the corrections system.”

Advice to Harper's Conservative Administration
Regarding Their" "Get Tough On Crime" Sound Bites.


Alternate:

"We need more corrections in the system not more in the corrections systems."


Vote for your favorite in the comments section.

“Global warming is not some left wing conspiracy theory.”

“More than ever the Green Party is in a position to win elections.”

Quote of the Day:

“It is better to be correct and lose than to be incorrect and win.”

Idealism

Sure the Green Party is idealistic, but that is a good thing, isn't it?

Public/Private Partnerships

In public-private partnerships private partners manipulate public partners into doing the heavy lifting so that private partners can pick up the profits.* Public-private partnerships are fundamentally flawed because of conflicts of interest. Government (public) is meant to serve the people, and business (private) is meant to serve shareholders. There is an inherent conflict in such arrangements which corrupts any government or educational institute which the business entity touches. Compare public-private partnerships (also knownd as: PPP, P3, or P³) to slavery. Slaves did the work and slave owners collected the profit from their work.

From John Kenneth Galbraith’s, The Economics of Innocent Fraud – Truth for our Time, published in 2004:

… As the corporate interest moves to power in what was the public sector, it serves, predictably, the corporate interest. That is its purpose. …One obvious result has been well-justified doubt as to the quality of much present regulatory effort. There is no question but that corporate influence extends to the regulators. … Needed is independent, honest, professionally competent regulation … This last must be recognized and countered. There is no alternative to effective supervision. …

*This opinion refers to public/private partnerships at the provincial level.


also: public/private private-public private/public conflict of interest public private public

Inter-Generational Justice

Ontario Power Generation (OPG) boasts the actual cost of electricity generated in their nuclear power plants is built into the price of their energy for 50 to 100 years. (After that it becomes sketchy.) That would necessarily include the entire phase of the transportation, storage, clean up, and disposal of high level radioactive waste for millions of years. Are they really suggesting that all future generations will be paid for their work cleaning up and storing the nuclear waste generated by current generations? Some simple mental math tells me that is hundreds of thousands of generations. That would require huge cash reserves. It is difficult for financial experts to plan one person's retirement let alone storage of radioactive waste for millions of years. I am very skeptical about such claims. I doubt whether OPG can accurately calculate the actual costs of millions of years of storage, transportation, and clean up of high level radioactive waste.

That is where the phrase: "Inter-Generational Justice" comes up. I first heard the phrase on the February, 2011 anti-nuclear speaking tour of Dr Jim Harding. The phrase questions whether it is fair to future generations to leave them with our high level radioactive waste. In fact high level radioactive waste is already a problem. Radioactive waste is like a hot potato that nobody wants to hold on to.

Furthermore, it seems like a stretch to tout nuclear energy as the "safe, clean, economical alternative" to petroleum products. Jim says: "Let's not get dumped from the frying pan of global warming into the fire of nuclear waste."

Please buy (and read) a copy of Jim's book:

Canada's Deadly Secret - Saskatchewan Uranium and the Global Nuclear System

Congratulations to Mairin Loewen!

Mairin Loewen wins the Ward 7 election in Saskatoon, February 9, 2011. The Sheaf.com was one of the first news sources to report the victory. According to my calculations Mairin captured 25% more votes than the next closest competitor. Saskatoon's city council will benefit from the talent and resourcefulness of Mairin. The atmosphere at the "after" (or should I say "before") party was upbeat.

Egypt may soon get a new leader too...

What's Could Possibly Happen If You Vote Green?

Some people might hesitate to vote Green because they wonder: "What's Going To Happen If I Vote Green?" I would like to assure you that the world will not blow up if you vote green. On the other hand we may be able to prevent it from getting a bad sun burn. ©  2011, Larry Waldinger

Walter Murray's Concert for Renewable Energy feat. Rob Moir

Walter Murray Collegiate is hosting a night of music featuring Toronto's Rob Moir and our own student musicians in support of our Renewable Energy Project. We hope to become Saskatoon's first school that can claim a principal's office powered by wind and solar energy.

 

Walter Murray Collegiate's Concert for Renewable Energy featuring Rob Moir
Tues., Feb. 8 doors at 7pm, show at 7:30pm
Walter Murray Collegiate (1905 Preston Ave)
Students: $5 Adults: minimum $5
Door Prizes, Silent Auction and Concession

Leading The Way Youth Summit

About the Summit (or click here)

Calling youth leaders!

The Prairie & Territories Chapter of the Canadian Urban Transit Association presents

Leading the Way - Youth Summit on Sustainable Transportation
May 6 - 8, 2011
Edmonton, Alberta
Lister Student Residence and Conference Centre
University of Alberta campus

Youth aged 18 - 28 years from Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Yukon and Northwest Territories with a keen interest in transit and sustainable transportation will meet to:

• learn about regional transit and sustainable transportation issues and opportunities;
• get the tools they need to be effective advocates and leaders in their own  communities;
• share ideas and network with like-minded peers and professionals in transit and related industries; and
• explore career possibilities in public transit and other sustainable transportation fields

"There is nothing more alarming than the thought of global warming!" Copyright 2011, Larry Waldinger