Wyle And Loring

Under Bridge Art

Anonymous art under a bridge in Toronto.

The Corporate Party Of Canada

If Michael Ignatieff and the Liberal Party of Canada want my vote in the next federal election, they are going to have to prove to me that they are not the party of corporate interests, corporate globalism and Clinton/Chretien style neo-liberalism.

I have little confidence in their ability to do this.

If this were only about speeches, they might well win my vote. But this is 2009 and we unwashed are no longer so easy to fool with platitudes and ponies. With awareness that the Power Corp. type backroom lobbying and cronyism that has dominated Liberal Party history is bubbling up to the surface, there appears – as some have said all along – to be only cosmetic differences between the two traditional powerhouses of Canadian politics.

The mining industry’s recent wholesale purchase of key players in the Chretien government - including the former Prime Minister himself – has served only to add to the cynical distrust with which the public now customarily views the antics of our so called representatives.

I was initially drawn to Ignatieff because of his intellect (I like the idea of smart leaders) and I do not doubt the integrity of his personal quest. But there are stories out there suggesting he was lured or convinced to enter Canadian politics at the behest of the same backroom operators who rely so heavily on their anonymity and the child-like trust and lack of curiosity evidenced repeatedly by the Canadian electorate.

I like Ignatieff. I am proud that one with such accomplisments is a a fellow Canadian and I am open to anyone with new ideas for governing this land.

But I want those ideas to come from Ignatieff’s experience as a teacher, traveller and human rights scholar and not from the Power Corp boys.

Maybe you trust the shady backroom players. Maybe – through ignorance – I once gave them my trust. No more.

Drag it all into the light.

The party that can demonstrate it is truly beholden to the citizens of Canada and not to special interest groups -  corporate or otherwise -  will get my vote.

Irreplaceable

Irreplaceable

 

Surrounded

By all possible realities

We wait, breathlessly

For one, or another

 

And which one

Matters not

 

As this life

Or that death

This moment

Or that

 

Bleed on

 

Each one

Meaningless

 

Yet each one

The center

Through which all else

Must pass

 

And therefore

Irreplaceable

Grow And Eat Local

Up until recently – at least for the food stores referenced in this CBCNews article by Alison Crawford - you could buy a jar of store brand pickles made in Indonesia but you could not buy locally farmed meat. I have nothing against Indonesian pickles or the people who produce them but something sure seems off kilter when corporate policy dictates that a food store cannot sell from local production.

Some stores have broken off from Soebys, the parent company, and have formed the independent Hometown Growers Co-Op to free them from these restrictions.

Canadians are increasingly subscribing to the “buy local” and “100 mile diet” philosophies due to concerns over imported food, Kropf adds. “The pressure was always mounting — the more recalls, the more bad press from China or wherever the product was coming from. I know that in our case, our private label pickles are made in Indonesia. I couldn’t believe that.” As a franchisee for a large grocery chain, Kropf says, corporate policies stipulating that he only buy federally inspected meat prevented him from stocking local products. Most federally inspected meat in Canada comes from large corporations such as Maple Leaf, Cargill and Tyson.

“Most of our beef was Alberta beef. Chicken and pork could be U.S., so to me, that was a concern that, you know, we’ve got all these farmers in our back yard,” Kropf says.

 Mmmm.  “all these farmers in our back yard,” Kropf says. So what is it about the owners and decision makers of the parent company (however high that goes) that they would arrange such a situation? Only some unholy mix of government policy and business manipulation all wrapped up in Free Trade and delivered with a Corporate Globalism singsong mantra could possibly lead to such a bizarre scenario.

Could this be an example of Forced Trade? 

Whatever the accumulated reasons, I see the creation of the Hometown Grocers Co-Op as a shot across the bow of Big Food and the Neo -Liberal government mind set that buys into the Corporate agenda of Free Trade/Globalism without realizing – or realizing all too well – that Corporate Globalism and Peoples Globalism are often two very different and opposing forces. 

I hope that the people living in those areas will support the Hometown Grocers Co-Op .

Former Canadian Govt. For Sale

 Wanna buy a used government? Some of the parts are a little rusty, but the influence peddling and boardroom style personal money laundering components are as strong as ever. Prime Ministers - Ministers - high ranking civil servants,  political aides and advisors are all available for your latest eco- stripping, resource destroying Capitalist Dream Project.

Former Prime Minister Jean Chretien has joined the ranks of those who appear to believe that Canadian Politics and the spirit of this great land can also be a great quid pro quo back scratcher between the money/business/corporate class and the former servants of the people.

From The Canadian Press via The Globe and Mail:

The Canadian Press Last updated on Wednesday, Jul. 08, 2009 02:12PM EDT

Former prime minister Jean Chrétien has been named as senior international adviser to Ivanhoe Mines (IVN-T9.350.384.24%) and its affiliated companies, the Vancouver-based international mineral developer said Wednesday.

Mr. Chrétien will provide advisory services to Ivanhoe Capital Corp.’s affiliates through a contract with Global Mining Management, a private service company based in Vancouver.

Global Mining is jointly owned by several companies, including: Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. and its subsidiaries, SouthGobi Energy Resources Ltd. (SGQ-X12.00––%) and Ivanhoe Australia Ltd.; as well as Ivanhoe Energy Inc. (IE-T1.440.010.70%) and the privately held Ivanhoe Nickel & Platinum Ltd.

Mr. Chrétien has been active in Canadian and global development circles as a lawyer with the Canada-based international law firm, Heenan Blaikie, since retiring from politics in 2003.

“Jean Chrétien was instrumental in advancing relationships between many Canadian businesses and rapidly industrializing China and its neighbour nations through his hands-on, prime ministerial leadership of a series of successful Team Canada trade development missions,” said Ivanhoe executive chairman Robert Friedland.

“We believe that Mr. Chrétien’s experience and knowledge will be a prime asset in assisting the Ivanhoe companies to continue to build their businesses through opportunities that will be encountered in the energy and mineral resource sectors around the world during what is becoming the Asian Century,” Mr. Friedland added.

Ivanhoe Mines, an international mining and exploration company, is focused on mining, development and exploration projects in the Asia Pacific region, including Mongolia, China, Australia, Indonesia, Kazakhstan and the Philippines.

The Brian Mulroney model of used government is still available at fire sale prices but its lost a little luster and influence over the years. No one is interested in the Mulroney version these days, because – as is obvious – influence and access is the name of this game.

For the record, I have no doubt that Mr. Chretien will conduct himself in a manner above reproach as he involves himself in this unseemly activity.

Also for the record – a former Prime Minister of Canada has no business acting as a paid lobbyist for anyone.

Read Loon Theory posts Firewall The Lobbyists (O5/02/09) and Our Leaders Have Always Been Fools… (06/24/08)

 

Update: This is the link to the Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. website. As is usual with these resource stripping corporate websites, the pictures and images are superb – sometimes breathtaking – and you could be forgiven if you thought you’d stumbled onto a Eco or spiritual site. Enjoy the pictures but recognize you are being manipulated and don’t be fooled.

Update: Here is the Wikipedia page on Robert Friedland, the owner of Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. I can’t vouch for Wiki accuracy but I find it both amusing and unsurprising that Friedland is apparently known as “Toxic Bob” and “The Ugly Canadian”. Figures.

What’s Done Is Done – Word Cloud

Click on image for full size version.

A Wordle Word Cloud of the lyrics to What’s Done Is Done (New Reality)

Celebrate Canada!

Canadian flag courtesy of 4 International Flags