Mount Baker Revisited

Sunrise behind Mount Baker July 29 2010. Now that's what I'm talking about. Here are a few more:

The future looks bright for Canada Post

Canada Post Board of Directors Appoints Stewart Bacon as Interim President and CEO. Imagine that. Giving the BOD the authority to actually do something. They must be thrilled with the new change in operations now that Moya Greene is gone.

This guy even mentions the word customer service, something that Moya Greene clearly had no regard for. He even mentions a positive work environment implying that he might in some small way actually care for the employees of the said company. Well this certainly is new.

Too bad it's just for the interim. He, unlike Moya, actually has years of experience with the company.

"Like other members of our senior team, I relied to a great degree on Stewart's advice and counsel over the years," says Ms. Greene. "I am so happy to now see this position placed in such capable hands." Why do I find that so hard to believe? Oh that's because she said the public sector managers in the company were stupid.

"My fellow Board members and I are delighted that Stewart has agreed to take on this role at this important time," says Mr. Courtois. "There are very few people who know this company, its goals, people and customers as well as Stewart. That gives us great reassurance that the strategies and plans already set in place under the Board's and Moya Greene's leadership will continue uninterrupted."

Indeed, except it will likely greatly improve since he will likely fill the leadership vacuum that sucked the life out of the company while Moya Greene was there.

I'm a little bit concerned about borrowing billions of dollars for new technology. Not that I oppose technology at all. If it works, great. I just oppose wasting money on bad technology that doesn't work. Yet using public funds implies that the company should remain publicly accountable.

Time will tell but right now the future looks bright.

Whitecliff

I put the kayak in at Whitecliff last night. It was a bit choppy at first but the winds died down and the water was like glass at sunset.

Canada still sells asbestos

It's kind of mind boggling that Canada still mines asbestos not to mention sells it knowing the hazardous side effects. Then spending tax dollars to subsidize the industry. What are they thinking?

Afghanistan plans gas pipeline

Afghanistan plans gas pipeline. Surprise surprise. We know that prior to the invasion of Afghanistan, UNICAL and Bridas were competing for the contract to build an oil pipeline through Afghanistan called CentGas short for Central Asia Gas Pipeline.

The British Telegraph reported in 1997 "Oil barons court Taliban in Texas," the Taliban was about to sign a £2 billion contract with an American oil company to build a pipeline across the war-torn country.

Bridas was an Argentina firm while Unical was American. When the Taliban finally awarded the contract to build the oil pipeline to Bridas, the Argentina firm, not long after Afghanistan was invaded and the contract given to the Americans.

Former BC Hydro CEO tops public-salary rankings

Well this is interesting. Yesterday the Vancouver Sun reported that the former BC Hydro CEO tops public-salary rankings. They claim Bob Elton made $750,000 last year, while 20 other public servants made $400,000 or more.

Although that is a fair chunk of cash, it is nothing compared to what the Moya Greene Mandate aspires to. Moya Greene admitted that private sector ceo salaries are much larger than public sector ceo salaries. That is why she sells herself out to privatize public companies.

Compare the former BC Hydro's salary with Frank Stronach founder of Magna International.

Leaving the BC Rail scandal to the side, look at the ceo raise when CN went from publicly accountable to privately consumed. In 2004 CN CEO made twice what the CEO of Nike did in 2008.

England recently put a cap on public sector ceo salaries. This is a good thing. No wonder they have bought Moya Greene to privatize their mail to get around the ceo salary caps. My beef isn't profit. My beef is exploitation. Stripping decent wages from families and giving obscene raises to ceos is criminal.

Shadows of Gautama bay

I was reading the paper today and I saw a few small stories and had to shake my head. When we think of Gautama bay, what comes to mind? Torture? Yeah that's the predominant message it brings. Gautama bay was a prison on foreign soil where prisoners were not protected by constitutional rights.

Not only did the CIA admit they tortured prisoners there without a fair trial but George Bush vetoed a bill that would stop the torture. Surely that was a defiant war criminal. Many think it's OK to torture terrorists because they are murderers but is it and are they?

When people argue about the death penalty, they always ask what about wrongful convictions. It does happen. Well what about wrongful convictions without a trial or wrongful arrests without a charge? Only the Communists do that? Apparently not.

What about Operation Northwoods? That plan was a historical reality. False flag attacks have been used throughout history to gain public support for invasions of foreign land. What if we tortured someone who was innocent just to obtain a false confession to a false flag attack? Would that be OK if it succeeded in gaining public support for an invasion of a foreign country?

Today we read the news that Omar Khadr, a Canadian prisoner at Gautama bay fired his lawyer and is either gonna pull a Bobby Sands and refuse to participate in what he views to be an illegal trial or he will represent himself.

Now let's pause for a monument and think why is this kid in prison? He was 15 years old, living in Afghanistan. Foreign solders had invaded his country once again. After all Russia tried to invade Afghanistan and the CIA trained the Taliban to repel that invasion. Well here we are once again. Foreign solders invade his country. He is accused of throwing a hand grenade and killing a foreign solder protecting his homeland. So he is arrested and charged with murder in Gautama bay.

If he had thrown a hand grenade at a Russian soldier when they invaded his country, would he be charged with murder? What does the Constitution say about the right to bear arms and providing for the common defense? If foreign solders invaded America and an American citizen shot one of the soldiers dead, would that citizen go to jail for murder or was he exercising his right to bear arms to protect his home and family?

This is assuming he is guilty. What is he is innocent? Everyone knows he will not receive a fair trial at Gautama bay.

Then we read today of the first conviction at Gautama bay. Osama Bin Laden's cook plead guilty to conspiring with al Qaeda and providing material support for terrorism. This after 8 years of torture at Gautama bay. He was accused of helping Bin Laden escape to the Tora Bora mountains of Afghanistan after the U.S. led invasion in 2001.

Why does this sound completely absurd? Before the invasion the Taliban said, what evidence do you have that Osama Bin Laden was responsible for 9/11? The US refused to give them the evidence and demanded they hand him over to face trial in America. They said without evidence we will not hand him over.

These are the same people the Texas oil barons were wining and dining three months earlier lobbying to win the contract for CentGas the Central Asian Oil Pipeline through Afghanistan. As soon as they gave the contract to an Argentina firm instead of an American firm, all of a sudden they were the enemy. After the invasion the American companies were given the contract. If that is not a war for oil, I don't know what is.

Not only that, the bin Laden's built the Twin Towers. They gave George Bush the start up money for his defunct oil company in Texas. Bush helped them escape right after 9/11. Osama was a CIA asset. The 9/11 terrorists got their passports from the CIA in Saudi Arabia.

A war crime is when you torture prisoners. Killing the enemy in a time of war is not a war crime. Neither is helping your leader escape from an invading army.