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Debates of June 18th, 2012
House of Commons Hansard #142 of the 41st Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was changes.
- Question Period
- Points of Order
- Federal Framework for Suicide Prevention Act
- Jobs, Growth and Long-term Prosperity Act
- Multiculturalism
- Health Care
- Owen Sound Attack
- Academic Achievements
- Brampton—Springdale
- International Year of Cooperatives
- Whitchurch-Stouffville
- Scleroderma Awareness Month
- John Michael Clarke
- Pacific Coast Hockey Association
- Democratic Values
- Brain Injury Awareness Month
- The Vancouver Canadians
- Health
- Bill C-38
- The Economy
- Government Accountability
- Pensions
- Government Accountability
- International Trade
- Privacy
- Ethics
- International Trade
- The Environment
- Health
- National Defence
- Citizenship and Immigration
- Privacy Rights
- Citizenship and Immigration
- Human Rights
- National Defence
- Citizenship and Immigration
- Library of Parliament
- Employment Insurance
- Immigration
- Points of Order
- Certificates of Nomination
- Government Response to Petitions
- Jobs, Growth and Long-term Prosperity Act
- Message from the Senate
- Jobs, Growth and Long-term Prosperity Act
- Business of the House
- Jobs, Growth and Long-term Prosperity Act
- Copyright Modernization Act
- Committees of the House
Jobs, Growth and Long-term Prosperity Act
Government Orders
9 p.m.
Matthew Dubé Chambly—Borduas, QC
Madam Speaker, when I found out I was going to have an opportunity to speak to Bill C-38, I re-read an almost endless number of emails and letters I received at my office in which people spoke out against the bill.
Obviously, as a member of Parliament, delivering a speech before the House is the best way to represent the support or criticism—in this case the criticism—of the people of Chambly—Borduas. Unfortunately, with all the dissatisfaction of my constituents over this bill and all the measures in this Trojan Horse bill, I have decided to take a different approach to describing how it will affect my riding.
Madam Speaker, if I may, I will relay an anecdote. On the weekend, on Saturday, I took part in an activity that gave me the opportunity to travel down the Richelieu River, which splits my riding in two. It is the heart of my riding. In travelling down the river, I truly saw to what extent Bill C-38 would harm my community. The point of departure was Chambly. Our canoes had not even touched the water and I could already see that my riding would be adversely affected in a number of ways.
I asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance a question last week, but unfortunately she did not give a satisfactory answer in her speech.
This bill will initially affect the tourism sector. As I have said many times in this House, I was pleased to learn in committee that Fort Chambly is one of the most popular Parks Canada sites in Quebec. Unfortunately, its operations will be reduced because of the cuts to Parks Canada. That is interesting because it is a very important site that commemorates the War of 1812. Colonel Salaberry, one of the greatest heroes of the wars, was from Chambly, Quebec. A statue of Colonel Salaberry is located in front of the town hall and a street has been named after him. And yet, the hours of operation at this heritage site will be reduced.
I am just at the beginning of my story, and I have already pointed out very significant repercussions. Obviously, this will have a negative effect on all businesses in the region, such as restaurants and local organizations. All these places, all these people and the services they provide to the community will be adversely affected by these cuts.
We could talk about the Festival Bières et Saveurs, which is held at Fort Chambly, and which allows people to visit the fort at the same time. Parks Canada officials have told me that these cuts will first affect events held in the fall. That is a very significant repercussion.
We then got into our canoes and passed by two very large signs that said "Caution: pipeline"—the Montreal-Portland pipeline to be exact. My predecessor said that there will be a number of problems with this pipeline because the flow of oil is going to be reversed. The infrastructure is 60 years old, and the integrity of the structure could be affected, which would cause a disaster. This pipeline runs under the river; we canoed over it. When we think about the heritage value of this river and its economic and environmental value, we come to realize just how devastating the repercussions could be.
You will surely ask me what the connection is between a 60-year-old pipeline and Bill C-38. It is not complicated: it shows how important it is to have operational, adequate, in-depth environmental assessment structures to ensure that we will never have such a situation again, where the infrastructure is unable to contain an oil spill under a river. We all agree that environmental regulations are not the same as they were 60 years ago. The reason regulations were improved was to ensure that these problems would not occur again.
Representing a community that faces such a problem, I realize the importance of these procedures and I realize that destroying and removing all these measures in order to expedite a process would have negative repercussions. We cannot hurry environmental protection, because it will have repercussions for many generations. We have seen this at home in my riding for 60 years. This is not a new pipeline, like that proposed by Enbridge; this is a 60-year-old pipeline. That is almost a lifetime.
We continued our canoe trip and stopped to attend a first nations ceremony. I should mention that this Festival des voitures d'eau was organized to celebrate the Iroquois's journey with Samuel de Champlain from Lake Champlain to Quebec City. In making this journey to celebrate this heritage, we participated in prayers with the first nations peoples, people from the Maison amérindienne in Mont-Saint-Hilaire in my riding.
During these prayers, as my colleague from Churchill and a number of other colleagues pointed out, I realized the negative impact that this will have on our aboriginal communities because of the lax environmental procedures that will result from the proposed changes in Bill C-38, or because of various funding shortfalls and cuts to social services and health services. My colleague next to me is our health critic for aboriginal communities. Services will be affected, but that is not all.
When other cuts are made, it puts more pressure on the provincial governments that might want to help their aboriginal communities, but will be less and less able to do so. In praying with these communities, I realized more and more the impact this will have on the communities.
Let us continue on our journey and pay a visit to the Résidences Richeloises in the municipality of McMasterville in my riding. Last August, I had the pleasure of celebrating the sun festival with the residents there, who are seniors. I could not help but think of how this will affect them. They told me how proud they were of us, and of our new leader, the member for Outremont, but also of Mr. Layton. Why were they so proud of him? Because he talked about our seniors' dignity, which was improved by this celebration and this residence. Unfortunately, their dignity is not being improved at all by the cuts and measures proposed in Bill C-38.
I thought of these people and of the fact that they asked us to fiercely protect their dignity and their rights. As a little aside, that is why it does not bother me in the least when members opposite, the government members, talk about how we tried to stop this bill, to prevent this undemocratic act, and to allow real debate by separating this bill into the various pieces of legislation that it should have been in the first place. Clearly, these measures should have been introduced in several bills, rather than a single budget implementation bill.
Last week, when we rose almost 160 times in this House, I was not at all uncomfortable that we had launched this process and that we were fighting in this manner. Indeed, I knew that the people I met last summer would be pleased, because this is how we defend their dignity.
So we continue our canoe trip on the river. We finally arrive at our destination. I thought once again about the environment as we reached Pointe-Valaine, which is a woodlot in the town of Otterburn Park that people are fighting for. We could raise the same issues that I already raised regarding the protection of our environment.
On my way back home, I also went by several businesses that provide seasonal work. The workers and owners of these businesses came to see us in our office to explain the impact of all that. I find it very interesting and I will conclude on that note. Obviously I would not have had time to go through all the emails I received, since I do not even have time to finish my story.
These people came to see us, which proves, contrary to what the government claims, that it is not just citizens and workers who are affected. It is also employers, people who help, through team work with employees, to improve our economy, our heritage and our environment. They work to create beauty in the region that I am so proud to represent.
That is why I oppose Bill C-38, why we will continue to do so, and why I am proud of the actions that we have taken so far as the official opposition.
Jobs, Growth and Long-term Prosperity Act
Government Orders
9:10 p.m.
Linda Duncan Edmonton Strathcona, AB
Madam Speaker, I am sure I speak for all of my colleagues and certainly should for all of those in the House. I want to thank the hon. member for putting a human face on the bill.
This is precisely the reason why we have fought so hard to have the bill split and broken up, so that Canadians can come in and speak to members of Parliament about their views on all the measures in the bill.
I think about the people I have worked with for 40 years in aboriginal communities and small communities across the Prairies, across Canada, who simply want to be able to come to a hearing and have their voice heard, so they can tell the tribunal what the impact would be on them, so they can have input to the terms of an environmental impact assessment to make sure there are measures that would protect their communities.
I would like to give the hon. member the opportunity to perhaps tell a little bit more about his canoe trip, and I really want to profoundly thank him for his speech today.
Jobs, Growth and Long-term Prosperity Act
Government Orders
9:10 p.m.
Matthew Dubé Chambly—Borduas, QC
Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for her question.
As she explained so eloquently, her work also brought her into close contact with the community. Anyone working with the community and talking to people knows that this will have a serious impact. That is why I thought the story was so important to tell. As she said, we have to put a human face on the work we do here. Bill C-38 does not have a human face.
We often think of those who feel disconnected from the political process because of what the government has done. It is important to talk with people.
Earlier, my colleague from Longueuil—Pierre-Boucher asked a member opposite a question about whether he not only heard, but also listened. The member opposite seemed to find the question insulting, but that is how things are. People learn that lesson when they are very young. We cannot just hear people.The point of consultations is not—
Jobs, Growth and Long-term Prosperity Act
Government Orders
9:15 p.m.
The Deputy Speaker Denise Savoie
The hon. member for Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing.
Jobs, Growth and Long-term Prosperity Act
Government Orders
9:15 p.m.
Carol Hughes Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing, ON
Madam Speaker, I was also very impressed with the hon. member's speech—and he didn't even use notes. It was excellent. I just wanted to say that it will also have an impact on Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing, the riding I represent.
As we know, there are many lakes in my riding. There is a lot of concern about the impact of these changes on tourism, especially because new mines may be opening soon, and because of the effect on environmental protection.
We need only think of the Grassy Narrows First Nation and the fact that the mercury poisoning that occurred years ago still has an impact today. The environmental laws have been tightened up a great deal since that happened. Still, they are all being dismantled and the impact of new projects on the environment will, I think, be bad for our health and for everyone's health. Perhaps my colleague would care to comment on that.
Jobs, Growth and Long-term Prosperity Act
Government Orders
9:15 p.m.
Matthew Dubé Chambly—Borduas, QC
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her question.
I am happy to hear questions like this because it shows the passion we have for our work in our communities and our ridings.
The hon. member talked about health. It is extremely important, because, as I said in my speech, we have already had to deal with the consequences of our errors. We have already seen what can happen when there is no adequate, in-depth process in place.
Once again, we do understand the importance of proceeding rapidly. No one is against that. But, when the environment is at issue, we must be aware of projects that might, if poorly designed and constructed, have a devastating impact on the communities where they are built. That is especially true in first nations communities, as my colleague mentioned. When the impact is considerable, it is important not to rush things, because we are not just talking about short-term benefits, but about long-term reality. We are talking about long-term impact. That is not true just for the environment and health; it applies to everything. It applies to old age security. When we talk about people my age who want to retire, we have to know what the long-term impact will be.
The government likes to talk about responsibility and making choices. Making choices and taking responsibility mean more than considering the impact for just the next year or two and saying it is no big deal, because people who are retiring in two years will not be affected. They need to think 10, 20 or even 30 years into the future.
When we think of it that way, this is definitely a mistake. It is important to think outside the box. That is the real duty of governance. An NDP government would take on that duty.
Jobs, Growth and Long-term Prosperity Act
Government Orders
9:15 p.m.
Claude Patry Jonquière—Alma, QC
Madam Speaker, what are we about to sacrifice in the name of this so-called economic prosperity?
It is important to point out that this omnibus bill is more than a budget implementation bill. The Conservatives are trying to impose measures that were never previously announced, without allowing Canadians and their MPs an opportunity to study them carefully.
First of all, let me just say that, after one year, we are beginning to see the Conservatives' true colours. Bill C-38 clearly demonstrates the arrogance and irresponsibility of this government, which seems to think anything goes.
The Conservatives pass themselves off as experts at good governance, but in fact, they are going to make workers, families and seniors pay the price.
It is becoming increasingly difficult for Canadians to believe the Conservatives when they talk about economic prosperity, because so far, only the Conservatives' friends and cronies seem to be benefiting from their measures.
When the Parliamentary Budget Officer worries about the lack of transparency and the culture of secrecy, I worry about the interests of ordinary Canadians. This omnibus bill needs to be studied carefully and presented to Canadians for what it is: a partisan bill that defies common sense.
I was always under the impression that the government should build and improve society for the common good and for the general public, but with Bill C-38, the exact opposite is happening. The Conservatives are destroying, degrading and vandalizing what Canadian parliamentarians have spent years building. The rights of workers, environmental protection and Canadians' health are simply not enough for them.
Why is one third of Bill C-38 devoted to environmental deregulation?
Is it so hard to add ecology to a Conservative budget? It is simply irresponsible and undemocratic.
Is this really what Canadians voted for? I do not think so.
Unfortunately, to the Conservatives, a majority mandate means they can do whatever they want, even if it is illogical or harmful. This is a very clear attempt to quickly pass new legislation without having a parliamentary debate.
This budget will cause some very tangible harm. For example, as far as old age security is concerned, increasing the retirement age from 65 to 67 is unacceptable and does not make any sense. Just because life expectancy is increasing significantly does not mean that working conditions will get easier. Even though a number of experts, including the Parliamentary Budget Officer, have confirmed that the old age security program is viable, the Conservatives insist on balancing their budget at the expense of our seniors. It is shameful.
Bill C-38 also changes the Employment Equity Act so that it no longer applies to federal contracts. That is a direct attack on women, aboriginal people and visible minorities. In fact, it was recommended 10 years ago that the employment equity provisions for the federal contractors program be strengthened. This government is weakening those provisions and, as usual, it makes no sense.
In the Conservatives' world, logic no longer applies. They are in an ideological world, where they are becoming increasingly out of touch with Canadians.
When he appeared before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance on April 26, the Parliamentary Budget Officer confirmed that the Conservatives' austerity budget would lead to the loss of 43,000 jobs and slow down Canada's economic recovery. He confirmed that the combination of this budget and the previous cuts would result in the loss of more than 100,000 jobs. The Parliamentary Budget Officer's figures show that this budget will cause the Canadian economy to backslide.
It is important to speak out against the changes made to unemployment insurance. We must remember that the federal government has not contributed a single penny to the fund since 1990.
Its reforms are based on prejudice against the unemployed, and those mainly affected, the workers, were not consulted even though employees and employers fund the program.
One of the most fundamental changes will hit workers with precarious employment very hard. The government is again targeting "frequent" claimants, people who have made three claims and collected more than 60 weeks of benefits in the past five years. It will require these people to accept any job starting in the seventh week of unemployment, with a salary equal to 70% of the salary of their previous job. This measure targets seasonal workers who rely on EI year after year.
The Conservatives are also planning to make other changes that will penalize claimants in remote areas in particular, while making legal procedures for challenging an unfavourable decision more cumbersome. Unions believe that abolishing boards of referees, umpires and appeal mechanisms restricts access to justice.
The changes proposed by the Conservatives threaten regional economies, especially where there is a lot of seasonal work and people make their living from the fishery, forestry, tourism and agriculture.
Moreover, there is no question that these changes will put downward pressure on salaries. What a nice way to bring prosperity to our economy and our country!
The Conservatives' approach is counterproductive. Instead of focusing on creating wealth by providing better support for quality jobs, including in the manufacturing sector, the Conservatives are going after the unemployed and society as a whole by forcing them to accept jobs where their skills will not be put to contribution.
Bill C-38 even repeals the Fair Wages and Hours of Labour Act, which was created in the 1930s to set minimum standards for wages and hours of labour for construction workers engaged in projects funded by the federal government. In practice, removing these minimum standards will allow employers to undercut wage rates set by unions. This shows the scope of the legislation.
Last fall, we brought forward a motion calling on the government to take immediate action to create economic growth and jobs. The Conservatives supported our motion, but the budget does just the opposite. It cuts essential services and it weakens environmental regulations.
As regards old age security, the government has once again surpassed itself, although not in the positive sense of the word. The Conservatives never mentioned that they were going to cut old age security and the guaranteed income supplement, and certainly not during the election campaign. We have known for a long time that costs would increase. Therefore, the Conservatives cannot claim that this was not expected during the 2011 election campaign.
In 2010, the Standing Committee on Finance examined the Canadian retirement security system. None of the recommendations—not even those of the Conservatives—suggested that old age security and the guaranteed income supplement were not sustainable, or that the age of eligibility should be increased.
During the 2011 election campaign, the Conservatives even said they would not reduce transfer payments to individuals or provinces for basic needs such as health, education and pensions. This is some lack of respect for democracy! Not only did the Conservatives hide their agenda, they also misled Canadians by saying repeatedly that they would not cut pensions.
Then they came along with irresponsible and ideological choices that do not reflect the values of most Canadians: major cuts to environmental protection, food safety, old age security and employment insurance, among other things.
The Conservatives have no problem with their ministers spending thousands of dollars of taxpayers' money to take limousine and helicopter rides, but they have no scruples about cutting measures that keep Canadians safe and protect our most vulnerable citizens.
There is so much secrecy in Bill C-38 that it is unacceptable for it to be passed as is in the House. The government should come clean and redo its homework to protect the best interests of Canadians.
I would like to come back to old age pensions. I used to work in a factory where we were familiar with occupational illnesses. It is true that great strides have been made in factories, but the work is still extremely hard. People back home are known for suffering from bladder cancer, lung cancer, industrial deafness and all kinds of things. So how can the government force factory or mine workers to return to work at the age of 60, 62 or 63? What will the Conservatives do with these people?
I would like to talk more about seasonal workers. Here is a solution for the Conservatives. In Tadoussac, when the whale-watching season is over and tourism is done, they could shut down the town and transfer workers to La Romaine to work on the hydro dams. That makes no sense. These are seasonal workers. They make their living off of fishing, tourism and whale-watching. There is no work for them in the winter. The Conservative government did not take that into account.
The employment insurance situation is even worse. The government is creating three classes of unemployed workers, three kinds of people to justify that approach. There will be short-term recipients who collect employment insurance occasionally; others, less fortunate, who find themselves out of a job more often; and yet others who collect employment insurance regularly and will have no choice but to accept lower-paying jobs. Moreover, these people will not be working in their chosen field. It will not be fulfilling for them.
People can accuse the NDP of anything they want, of wrecking one thing or standing up for another, but there are some things we do not understand. Yes, the Conservatives have to make changes; yes, there will have to be cuts. Cuts must be made, but the Conservative government is not cutting in the right places. Cutting health care and seniors' benefits and forcing people to take lower-paying jobs will not contribute to the nation's progress.
Anyway, I have been here for a year now. I have always believed that we should be working for the good of communities, workers and Canadians. But that is not the sense I get here. I get the sense that the government holds workers in contempt. As I have said here in the House, workers pay taxes, and they are the reason that we are here to participate in these debates and get to the bottom of things.
Jobs, Growth and Long-term Prosperity Act
Government Orders
9:25 p.m.
Carol Hughes Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing, ON
Madam Speaker, I really appreciate my colleague's comments. He really knows the issues facing people who work in the industrial sector and truly cares about employment insurance.
With the changes being made by this government, people will lose their benefits in no time at all. Perhaps we need to remind the Conservatives who really pays for EI benefits. I find it truly disturbing that people can lose all the money that would really make a difference to their families when they lose their jobs.
I would like to hear my colleague's comments on the government's cuts to employment insurance.
Jobs, Growth and Long-term Prosperity Act
Government Orders
9:25 p.m.
Claude Patry Jonquière—Alma, QC
Madam Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for the question.
My concern is that when we think of employment insurance, it is supposed to be a safety net. Now the government is going to force people to accept 70% of the wages they were previously earning. If people are truly unfortunate and are let go after three months, they are gong to be offered 70% less in wages. Where will this ultimately lead? Are we headed for cheap labour? That is our concern. That is what many workers are worried about. People do not make a decision to be seasonal workers. People who live on the North Shore live off the fishery. There is no fishing in the winter. Everyone could transfer to La Romaine, I guess. This makes no sense. It is completely absurd.
Jobs, Growth and Long-term Prosperity Act
Government Orders
9:30 p.m.
Elizabeth May Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC
Madam Speaker, I also want to congratulate my colleague from Jonquière—Alma on his presentation.
He has identified a serious problem with Bill C-38. In the House of Commons, we have employees who are unemployed almost all summer. They are long-standing employees who have worked here for 10 or 11 years. For instance, there is the group of servers in the restaurants or the House of Commons bus drivers. In the summer, they are not paid, but in September they get their jobs back. That is how the House of Commons system works. The same applies to people in the tourist regions, the fisheries and forestry.
I will ask my question in English.
I know what happens to people who are in the seasonal industries. If we tell them they have to find another job somewhere for two months, three months, four months, it is unfair to the employers who hire them. Are employers going to hire and train people, knowing they will be gone in two months for the job that is waiting for them back here at the House of Commons?
Jobs, Growth and Long-term Prosperity Act
Government Orders
June 18th, 2012 / 9:30 p.m.
Claude Patry Jonquière—Alma, QC
Madam Speaker, that is a concern I have seen among employers. Often, when things start up again, when the organization resumes its activities and the tourists come back, people come to the ticket office and board the boats to go fishing. It is almost always the same people who come back to work for the same employer. The employers fear that they are going to lose some employees with expertise who might go work elsewhere. If the difference in pay is $1 or $2 an hour and they are given a regular schedule instead of having to work seasonally, there is no problem. The thing that concerns the employers is that their employees are not going to come back when the fishing or tourism season opens.
Jobs, Growth and Long-term Prosperity Act
Government Orders
9:30 p.m.
Niki Ashton Churchill, MB
Madam Speaker, I would like to ask my colleague, the hon. member for Jonquière—Alma, a question.
One of the least discussed items in the budget is the weaker foreign ownership regulations, especially those concerning telecommunications. I would like the member for Alma, a community that has its own challenges as a result of the weaker regulations, to talk to us about what the government needs to do to support our communities.
Jobs, Growth and Long-term Prosperity Act
Government Orders
9:30 p.m.
Claude Patry Jonquière—Alma, QC
Madam Speaker, I will give a short answer.
I would like to mention that there are large multinationals in my riding, but it is the small and medium-sized businesses that create employment. When a big multinational catches a cold, the SMEs cough. We want to create something, keep our people working and have good, well-paid jobs so that people can live decently. We are not asking for MPs' wages. We are asking for decent wages that people can live on.
Jobs, Growth and Long-term Prosperity Act
Government Orders
9:30 p.m.
Calgary Centre-North
Michelle Rempel Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of the Environment
Madam Speaker, on Sunday we celebrated Father's Day in Canada and other parts of the world. It gave me an opportunity to reflect on some of the teachings I was raised on. I really thank my dad, my stepdad and other people who have acted as father figures, someone who is sitting in the Senate gallery today, for their wisdom.
I was talking on the phone with someone about the principle of balancing the books in a household. Something that was instilled in me at a young age was that the principle of balancing books means that one can either spend less money or make more money. This is a challenge that Canadians face every day, how to balance their books. It was an interesting conversation, because we were speaking about how this affects my life as a legislator. Bill C-38 has this embedded in it as a fundamental principle.
Government has a role in managing programs, laws, services and public goods that underpin the competitive advantage our country enjoys internationally, programs such as employment insurance, our health care system, ensuring our streets are safe. Government has a role in all of these things. We provide them to Canadians. These programs also ensure that we have a healthy, productive and vibrant population and subsequent workforce. Those who are able can contribute to our society, and those who are not able are cared for and whenever possible are assisted in finding opportunities to succeed.
These practices are valued by Canadians, and yet, as in anything that has a value, they come with a cost. Programs are funded by taxes, royalties and levies on Canadians, be it individuals or job-creating companies. This means these individuals and entities lose access to these funds and subsequently will change their spending habits, be it for the consumption of goods, saving funds, hiring of employees, investment endeavours, and the list goes on.
Therein lies the rub. Government programs and services play an integral role in our society, and yet they come at a cost. I would hope that all of my colleagues would agree that achieving a balance in this regard is part of the responsibility we are charged with as legislators.
Embedded in this duty is the duty to review the efficacy and delivery of the programs and services, laws and regulations that we manage to ensure they are doing what they are intended to do, to improve on them whenever possible, and to ensure we are being wise stewards of taxpayer dollars.
These are important principles to remember as we watch what is happening in parts of the eurozone. In Greece, we see a country that has borrowed to the brink. Its economy is stalled, and the sustainability of the social programs it provides and which I talked about earlier is in question.
That is why our government has introduced Bill C-38. It is to ensure the long-term prosperity of our country in light of global economic fragility. It is the message that our country is taking to the G20 summit that is happening this week, the need to work toward balanced budgets around the globe while putting forward policies that encourage economic growth, so that populations can ensure they see that prosperity and sustainability of programming which underpins the fabric of our societies.
I talked about the need to ensure there is balance in spending and program delivery.
Since 2006, our government has reduced the tax burden on families. The average family of four pays $3,000 less in taxes. I know that $3,000 makes a lot of difference to the average Canadian family of four, and Canadians have recognized that.
We ensure that job creators operate in a competitive tax regime. People want to invest in our country. We are seeing job creation here. Over 760,000 net new jobs have been created since the economic downturn in 2009. It is also why we have introduced the responsible resource development aspects of Bill C-38, which I want to speak to tonight.
I was speaking with my colleague, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport. He gave a speech recently in which he noted that two of the biggest shareholders in Canadian Natural Resources Limited, the country's largest independent oil producer, are the Quebec pension plan and the Canada pension plan, with $576 million and $165 million invested respectively. There is clearly an interplay between the companies that are undertaking natural resource development projects and energy projects with other fabrics of our society.
In fact, I believe $2.1 trillion is what the oil sands is expected to drive for economic growth in our country over the next 25 years. We talk about long-term sustainability for funding our social programs. The sum of $766 billion is what the oil sands industry alone is estimated will pay in provincial and federal taxes and provincial royalties over the next 25 years. There is no denying that we need to ensure that for the long-term prosperity and growth of our country we recognize that the resource sector is important to Canada's economy.
The measures that are included in part 3 of Bill C-38 are not designed to weaken environmental protection. We still have robust environmental assessments embedded in the country's laws and regulations. We have recognized the fundamental principle of window to market, the concept by which we assess whether or not a project is viable is recognized in our regulatory process. That is why we have inserted predictability and timeliness in the review process.
I was at the subcommittee that reviewed Bill C-38, as well as the Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development, where we reviewed the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act. Absolutely, the need to protect Canada's environment came up over and over again. Certainly, I do not think there is anyone on the government side who would refute that point. However, we need to ensure that we have predictability and timeliness so that when projects are environmentally sustainable according to our laws and they meet those criteria, they can go forward. We as regulators are achieving that balance. We are talking about creating more revenue for the funding of our social programs, creating more jobs for people to enjoy the good standard of living that we have in Canada.
We have heard a lot about the environmental components of the bill and it behooves the House to listen to some of the measures that actually strengthen environmental protection in the bill. At the subcommittee, the environment commissioner noted that something like 99.4% of the environmental assessments that are currently undertaken by our government through the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency, have "little to no environmental impact". One of the examples that was given was a park bench being added in a national park.
We also asked him if he felt that if the resources that were being allocated to the review of these projects were allocated to larger projects with significant environmental impact would be a better use of taxpayer funds. He said yes. The Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency agrees with this as well. That is a component we are using to strengthen environmental protection.
Another thing is that for the first time people who break the terms of their environmental assessment would be faced with stiff monetary penalties. Penalties could range from $100,000 to $400,000. This is a new measure in Bill C-38.
We require follow-up programs after all environmental assessments to verify the accuracy of predictions regarding potential environmental effects and to determine if mitigation measures are working as intended. Again, this is strengthening environmental protection. For the first time, we would provide federal inspectors with authority to examine whether or not conditions set out in environmental assessment decisions are met. I could go on and on.
The opposition is not talking about these things. We are trying to create balance between environmental stewardship and economic growth.
A lot has been said about the consultation process around the bill. As a member of the subcommittee that reviewed part 3, I would like to read a list of those who participated in the consultation process through the subcommittee: Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency, Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, Department of Natural Resources, Department of Environment, Department of Transport, Building and Construction Trades Department, Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, Canadian Construction Association, Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters, Canadian Nuclear Association, Federation of Ontario Cottagers Association, Mining Association of Canada, Ontario Commercial Fisheries Association, Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities, Assembly of First Nations, British Columbia Coast Pilots Ltd., Canadian Federation of Agriculture, Ecojustice, First Nations Tax Commission, Office of the Auditor General of Canada, Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters, Pacific Pilotage Authority Canada, Canadian Hydropower Association, and as an individual, Tom Siddon.
I am getting the signal that my time is expiring.
The point to be made is that we have talked to Canadians. Canadians understand that we need long-term growth and prosperity in this country, and that is what Bill C-38 seeks to deliver.
Jobs, Growth and Long-term Prosperity Act
Government Orders
9:40 p.m.
Dennis Bevington Western Arctic, NT
Madam Speaker, I had the opportunity to speak with Ducks Unlimited in the last two weeks. Its concerns around this legislation were quite strong.
We have lost 70% of the wetlands in Canada. The Conservative side has made much about drainage in farmers' fields. Ducks Unlimited said to me in my office that drainage in farmers' fields is an issue. The wetlands in this country that have been lost are important. So when we talk about drainage on any large piece of land, there has to be some understanding of the impact that draining that land would have on the environment. Installing a culvert is not a simple matter.
I would like to ask my colleague from the Prairies, where the wetlands are in so much danger, what she thinks we should do to promote wetlands in this country. How does she think we should move ahead with that, considering the great problem we have?


text:
Egypt: Coptic church cancels Sunday mass for 1st time in 1,600 years
"We did not hold prayers in the monastery on Sunday for the first time in 1,600 years," Priest Selwanes Lotfy of the Virgin Mary and Priest Ibram Monastery in Degla, just south of Minya, told the al-Masry al-Youm daily. He said supporters of ousted president Mohammed Morsi destroyed the monastery, which includes three churches, one of which is an archaeological site. "One of the extremists wrote on the monastery's wall, 'donate [this] to the martyrs' mosque,'" Lotfy added.

subset: commoncrawl


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This week at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, world leaders are coming together to move the world's health and development agenda forward.
Among the key agenda items is securing a better future for children -- which is also a central focus of the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). Meeting the needs of children, including both children living with HIV and those affected by the disease in other ways, is not peripheral to PEPFAR's mission -- it is central.
The reality is that PEPFAR is the largest contributor to the global response to the needs of vulnerable children affected by AIDS. It's a responsibility, and an opportunity as part of our push toward an AIDS-free generation.
But what does achieving an AIDS-free generation look like? Of course, a key part of this is expanding treatment. Since 2004, the number of people PEPFAR supports on treatment has grown to nearly 4.5 million. Treatment is keeping parents not only alive, but also healthy and productive. It is enabling parents to survive to raise and protect their children, from the very early years right through to late adolescence and early adulthood. Keeping parents alive is the best thing we can do for a child.
An AIDS-free generation also means preventing HIV from entering into the family unit in the first place. The dramatic reduction in new adult HIV infections globally over the past decade is a remarkably hopeful sign. Even more striking is the 24 percent reduction in infant infections over just the past two years. That is wonderful news for children, and indeed for all of us.
Yet more is needed to achieve an AIDS-free generation -- we must build a future where children are also free of the other destructive effects of HIV in their lives.
For people infected and affected by the epidemic, HIV is not only a medical experience. It is also a social and emotional experience that profoundly affects their lives and their futures.
PEPFAR has promoted resilience in children and the broader society by reducing adversity, and building services and systems that reach people directly in their households and communities. And the evidence, which is increasing both in quantity and in rigor, shows that these interventions are working. These orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) programs have kept kids in school and improved education and psychosocial outcomes at the child level. They have developed household economic strengthening initiatives, parent and caregiver education and support groups, and increased health care access and food and nutrition outcomes at the family and household level. Over 4 million children benefited from these efforts in 2011 alone.
OVC programs also support the medical goals of the global AIDS response in mutually-beneficial ways. For example, work to keep children in school has positive impacts on prevention. Economic strengthening activities help remove barriers to accessing facility-based services, and child-focused health interventions are important platforms for targeting mothers for prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV.
In addition, community-based programming for children creates a platform that reaches people in their homes and communities, where they live. These programs reduce stigma and discrimination and create an enabling environment for people living with and affected by HIV to access services.
Finally, by addressing socio-emotional effects of the epidemic, OVC programs reduce the likelihood of children and adolescents moving from being affected by the epidemic to living with HIV. This is especially true for adolescent girls who have lost a mother, which evidence shows makes them more likely to engage in risky sexual behavior. By responding across a child's lifespan and using a multi-sectoral approach, we reduce the social and emotional effects of HIV to protect children and build their resilience.
In July, PEPFAR issued our new guidance for OVC programming. This is the product of an interagency development process that also drew on civil society, the faith sector, and multi-lateral partners.
We are urging a greater emphasis in OVC programming on family strengthening approaches. While programs must continue to improve child outcomes, the primary strategy for achieving this is strengthening parents and caregivers so they can better provide for their children's basic needs.
Another key message is the need to focus on sustainability through capacity-building, systems strengthening and transfer of program responsibility to promote country ownership. These approaches must be balanced with careful planning and monitoring to ensure children's immediate needs are met.
Finally, the new guidance demonstrates that there is a growing evidence-base for OVC programming. Programs should be designed on evidence-based practice wherever that evidence exists. And partners should also help expand and strengthen the evidence base by including rigorous impact evaluation of specific efforts.
In this era of limited resources, PEPFAR -- and all of us -- must continue to improve the impact and efficiency of our programs, so that we maximize the human impact of each dollar entrusted to us while meeting high standards for child-focused programming.
But it goes without saying that PEPFAR cannot meet all the needs on our own. Achieving a generation that is truly free from AIDS and its devastating effects requires that we all support families and communities together.
First, governments must play an orchestrating role to ensure that there is a coordinated continuum of response to the needs of children affected by HIV/AIDS. We must partner with governments to expand their capacity to do so, working with all relevant ministries to ensure a comprehensive response. Our efforts in social welfare workforce strengthening have had a dramatic impact on governments' capacity to respond to children affected by HIV/AIDS.
Second, civil society, including NGOs as well as community and faith-based groups, must continue to play a central role in providing essential services and in advocating on behalf of this vulnerable population. Again, we must support them in growing their capacity to do so, and international NGOs remain central to this capacity-building.
Finally, as is true across the global AIDS response, this is a shared responsibility. Partner countries, bilateral programs like PEPFAR, and multilateral partners must each do our part. We must provide resources in collaborative ways that strengthen, not undermine, countries, families, and communities. It is only by us all working together that we have hope of a sustainable and effective response.
Achieving a generation that is free from AIDS and its devastating social and emotional effects requires a renewed emphasis on families and the communities and systems that surround them. Together, all of us must meet our shared responsibility to make smart investments to ensure a positive future for children living with and affected by HIV/AIDS.
Angela H. in Wisconsin writes:
I spoke to a youth group tonight in a small community in northern Wisconsin. I asked them, "Has anyone ever talked to you about HIV? Do you know anything about HIV?" The answer: "NO" Too many people are FAILING our children!!!!!! World AIDS Day is fast approaching. I called the STD/HIV/AIDS rep with the Wisconsin DPI to tell her I was available to speak if any schools might be interested. She more or less told me, "AIDS is a gay disease of black MSM" OMG!!!!!! If these people are getting funding to teach comprehensive sex education, which is mandated by law in this state, WHY is it that so many young people are absolutely clueless about HIV/AIDS these days?! Why are all of these AIDS organizations that are getting funding dollars for prevention NOT DOING ANYTHING, especially in our schools, especially in rural areas?! I am just DISGUSTED.
Takalani writes:
Enjoy reading.


text:
To report an emergency in progress, call 911.
Winter Storm: See the latest information here »
Many health problems can be prevented, corrected, or the severity reduced, by early detection and prompt diagnosis and treatment.
CHDP provides health check-ups and immunizations, at no cost, to eligible children.
To participate in CHDP you must must be a Placer County resident, and you must meet one of the two following requirements:
CHDP offers one health check-up per age range listed:
CHDP health check-ups include:
For a detailed look at what is included at each check-up, please download our Schedule for Health Assessment Requirements.
Contact CHDP at 530-886-3620 if you have questions about eligibility or need help finding a doctor near you.
In addition, there are a number of low cost Health Insurance Resources available to families in Placer County.
Local CHDP programs also administer a public health nursing program for children in foster care known as the Health Care Program for Children in Foster Care (HCPCFC). Public health nurses in the HCPCFC work with county child welfare services agencies and departments of probation to address the medical, dental, mental and developmental needs of children and youth in foster care. They provide their professional health care expertise and knowledge of the community to the caseworkers, foster care parents and providers, health care providers and others on the foster care team.
If you wish to learn more about about foster care, visit the Placer County Foster Care website.


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|Thread title
|Last replied
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quote WhelanYou say that under the impression that I have a clue on how to edit anything. Just because I have like a 1000+ edits doesn't mean that I can... god forbid revert something.
quote WhelanI've been attempting to get it changed back the way it was, but I don't know how to do it so I've been asking the wiki supers and stuff.Hi, who *bleep*ed with my main page?
quote Master-SackerHe definitely does and he has a page!I think Holtby deserves a page though
quote Master-SackerYeah but I'm guessing after the November patch with a thousand faces we'll deal with that.Aren't you guys making a list of new presets in PES 2014 like in 10,11,12
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text:
Zoe Saldana is Eternal Magic
May 272010
Avon brings us high-definition makeup that will certainly upgrade your makeup routine. Avon has been a familiar brand to me since a very young age. My mother would often bring home Avon catalogs and I would always take a peak at all the pretty products inside that colorful little booklet. Well it's been quite some […read more…]


text:
eSeminar Now Available: Creating an effective self-guided knowledge based eLearning module with AdobeCaptivate 5
Many of us have need to develop traditional knowledge based training. One great way to increase user satisfaction with these modules is to make them self-guided. In this eSeminar Dr. Allen Partridge explains how a typical self-guided knowledge based module is constructed and shows an example.
LINK: https://www.adobe.com/cfusion/event/index.cfm?loc=en_us&id=1753992&event=register_no_session
Below you'll find Continue reading…


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Hyatt House going up in North Minot
Energy industry executives are among those eager for the scheduled late May opening of the Hyatt House, said Lorena Starkey, director of sales and marketing for the new hotel.
The hotel, which is under construction at 21st Avenue Northwest and the U.S. Highway 83 Northwest Bypass, will boast 130 rooms, a pool, a bar, and other amenities.
Starkey said the rooms are all suites of different types: 444-square-foot studio suites; 570-square-foot to 630-square-foot one-bedroom suites; and 860-square-foot to 916-square-foot two-bedroom suites. The studios will cost $179 per night; the one bedrooms $199 per night and the two bedrooms $279 per night. Starkey said discount rates would be negotiable for extended stays and for companies renting rooms for several employees.
"We are set up for an extended stay," said Starkey, who said people who stay at the hotels are considered more residents than guests. "It's also very well set up for weekends if you have a family." Starkey said some families prefer to have their children stay in a separate room instead of having the whole family sleep in one room.
All of the suites will come with a fully-equipped kitchen, including a stove with four burners, an oven, full-sized refrigerator, dishwasher, pots and pans. The living area in each suite also will include a table, a living space and a pull-out sofa. The living area will include a 42-inch flat panel television attached to the wall and an electrical box to which hotel guests can plug in electronic equipment such as iPads, laptop computers, an Xbox or other items. Each suite also comes with a Blue-ray disc player.
The suites come with a variety of bed types, including queen-size and king-size options. A couple of the studio suites are connected to each other with connecting doors.
Starkey said 30 of the suites come equipped with washers and dryers in the suite. There is also a laundry room on site for use by hotel guests and a pool with a waterfall that can be used by guests. The pool includes a lap pool for exercise. There is also a fitness center and a business center for use by guests.
There will be a complementary breakfast for hotel guests, including a made-to-order omelette station. There will also be a hotel lounge and bar that will serve food such as soups and salads, pizza or burgers in the evenings. The bar will be open to the public.
Starkey said there will also be grocery delivery service. Guests will be able to drop off a grocery list at the front desk and give the time they want the items delivered. Hotel staff will put away the grocery items for the hotel guests in the refrigerator and cupboards.
Starkey said she is currently booking reservations and expects that it will tighten up as the opening date nears.
Starkey said the hotel will hold a grand opening in June.
More information can be found on the hotel's Facebook page. People should search for Hyatt House Minot.


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I've been listening to some of the audio streams from Neil's web site. http://www.neilyoung.com
It actually sounds pretty cool. I love the 100-piece choir behind him. The horns sound pretty good, too. It's interesting having those things behind a power trio of guitar, bass, and drums. Lyrically he makes some good points, but I don't know if I agree with all of them. At least he's putting his thoughts and ideas to music as opposed to turning into a politician. I think that's where he's strongest, and I'm pretty sure that's what he thinks, too.
So far I prefer Prairie Wind to this one, but at least it sounds really different than anything else he's ever done before. I'm anxious to hear the whole album.
I never got Greendale or Are You Passionate, so I don't know how to compare it with those two. The last "rock" record of his I got was Broken Arrow, and it was pretty disappointing. (Especially after the incredible albums Sleeps With Angels and Mirror Ball)
I got Silver and Gold when it came out, and I really liked that one. Praire Wind is great, too.


text:
- Carolina Play Chair, Simply White $69
- Carolina Play Chair, Bright Pink $69
- Carolina Kid chair, Soft Lavender $69
- Carolina Play Chair, Kelly Green $69
- Carolina Play Chair, Charcoal $69
- Carolina Kid Chair, Retro Red $69
- Carolina Play Chair, Orange $69
- Carolina Play Chair, Navy $69
- Carolina Play Chair, Chocolate $69
- Bistro Play Chair, Champagne $99
- Bistro Play Chair, Simply White $99
- Bistro Play Chair, Pink $99
- Bistro Play Chair, Yellow $99 Special $89
- Spindle Play Chairs, Navy $69
- Spindle Play Chairs, Bright Pink $69
- Metal Play Chair, Navy $89
- Metal Play Chair, White $89
- Metal Play Chair, Galvi $89
- Finley Play Chair, Vintage Simply White $79
- Star Wars™ Play Chairs $129 Special $77
Play Table Chairs
Create a comfortable craft corner or set up a miniature artist's studio. Play table chairs offer space for your kids to sit down while they work on creative endeavors such as coloring, drawing, writing or crafts. Pottery Barn Kids carries a wide range of different colors, styles and sizes. Choose chairs in bold colors to add some accents and contrasts to the playroom. You can choose chairs in matching colors or mix and match different shades for an eclectic style. Sturdy wood chairs or padded designs can double as comfortable and supportive seating for doing homework and school projects. Our collections include larger sizes that are comfortable for older children. Styles such as bistro chairs or spindle chairs pair well with classic playroom or bedroom furniture and decor.
Our collections include plenty of other items to help you set up an arts and crafts worktable or play table. Choose from a great selection of play tables in complementary colors and styles. Set up bookcases or wall storage systems in the corner to stow craft supplies, art supplies, puzzles and toys. Use boxes and baskets to organize smaller items such as crayons and markers. Wall organizers can help kids track progress on projects and stay on top of school assignments.


text:
Extended maintenance of Ruby 1.9.3 ended on February 23, 2015. Read more
An AttrChanger records a change in attributes. It contains a bitmap of the attributes to turn on, and a bitmap of those to turn off.
Commenting is here to help enhance the documentation. For example, code samples, or clarification of the documentation.
If you have questions about Ruby or the documentation, please post to one of the Ruby mailing lists. You will get better, faster, help that way.
If you wish to post a correction of the docs, please do so, but also file bug report so that it can be corrected for the next release. Thank you.
If you want to help improve the Ruby documentation, please visit Documenting-ruby.org.


text:
We are busy in school trying to stay caught up. Does anyone else have this problem…UGGHHH It's feels as though we're always behind. Our life is so busy, from sports, to school, 4-H, house renovations and 8 kids in general. I am really liking our Monarch program through AOP. It really helps me not have to be so one on one with everyone all day, because that's just impossible. Our kids math have slacked in many ways, from switching curriculums every couple of years to missing out on some key foundations. I came across a math program from a blog I follow, it's called Quarter Mile Math http://www.thequartermile.com/ I'm using it for practice and refresher for the kids. It's a little hard to understand at first and it's not a teaching program, more of a practice. So far it's fun for them, it's not a lot of flair but basic typing in the answers to the problem, racing their car or horse against their times. I started with the basics, making them go back and start with adding, sub, multiplication and division, so that they get a stronger foundation before they keep advancing into harder math. Second thing I did was purchase the Math U See http://www.mathusee.com/ program for my K and 1st grader. It's start from scratch and works on one concept at a time. It only comes with one manipulative which are blocks.. I like that. I have done Bob Jones and other math programs and there were SOOOO many manipulatives you had to keep on hand it was overwhelming. It has an easy to follow DVD with each lesson and the 2 younger ones I am hoping get a stronger foundation in Math than my older ones did. I really wished I had understood this early on in homeschooling. It makes so much more sense. I need EASY!!
Like I said we are busy, kids are in full-blown basketball right now, we have many games coming up. If you home school and your kids are interested in sports, all over the country there are all kinds of home school groups and sports programs you can get involved in. Also there is Homeschool regional tournaments and Nationals events. We have Nationals coming up in March that are held in Springfield Mo. We will have a record-breaking year with over 60+ Varsity teams from 30+ states. It's 5 days and even if your child is not on a team, you can register them with a USA team. http://nchclive.com/ this is the link for more information. They have, basketball, soccer, lacrosse, volleyball. Of course these are different times of the year also. It's all very exciting and there are scholarships and scouts at these events.
We are enjoying our new school room..I promise I will get pictures and a blog soon..I know I've promised before .
My last post I mentioned maybe getting to go to the Homeschool Moms Winter Summit.. Well I didn't go. I wish I could have, but didn't find out about until late, and trying to fit into the schedule with a husband whose always gone, didn't work out either. Maybe next year.
We are done with birthdays for a little while. Trenton is almost 10 months old..I can't believe it. He'll be 1 in April..:( Nursing is still going very well, he is eating solids and he has 3 teeth cutting 2 more at the time. He pulls up everywhere and stands for a second, but not walking yet. He's into everything from pulling out all the drawers and getting into cabinets and wanting to play in the toilet. "disgusting" … I do have a toilet lock, but when you have 7 kids using the toilet and leaving the doors open and lid up, it's hard to make that work.
After my last post on "natural ways to help with thrush" my oldest daughter went through a bad case of cellulitis/staph, it was her 3rd in 9 months, the first 2 times we did the routine antibiotics, hot packs and so forth. This time I did not want to destroy her system again and we tried some natural ways to get through it, and we did.. I of course would have taken her to the doctor if I felt she was not recovering. Thank the Lord it did. We used a combination of many things, including… garlic, Calendula tea packs, tea tree oil, my healing salve, water, and pineapples… If you want more information you can contact me. Or just google it.. I read a lot of home remedy sites.
Since we went through that, my 4-year-old this week was eating pineapples and within minutes of eating them broke out into horrible itchy hives from head to toe. Actually from toe to head. I gave her Benadryl and it went away, at midnight they came back and again yesterday… (mind you, none of my kids have food allergies or have ever responded like this to anything) I took her into the Doctor. They were not completely convinced it's a pineapple allergy, since she had a 2 day virus last week with fever, they believed it was her body fighting that off, only to find out also while they were examining her she had a double ear infection.. Go figure! MOM OF THE WEEK RIGHT THERE!! (she was in no pain and no symptoms) LOL .. Also to find out this was the same type of reaction that happen to my niece on my husband's side from eating pineapple years ago. Everything I've read on pineapple allergies online, sound just like what she's doing. The doctor said to be safe to keep her from them for a couple of years and then introduce them slowly. We shall see. I am tempted to have her tested for allergies. I don't like the "maybe, could be" answers. So if anyone reading this has any advise, I would love to hear it.
With all that said…told you I was busy..lol
If you have read my post before,or if you are new ,our son Trey is a childhood Cancer Survivor. We are due to leave in 7 days, Jimmy ,Trey, myself and the baby will be flying into NYC where we go every 6 months at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center for checkups and scans . Please keep him in your prayers as this will be 5 years since chemo.. He completed his last cycle in Feb 08′ and had his last surgery in March of 08′ .. Thank the Lord for my sister-inlaw who will be driving in to stay with the kids while we are gone. If you'd like to follow-up or know how things went before I get back on here. I keeps his updates and journal at www.prayfortrey.com We will also be meeting with his long-term effects doctor, who from here until he is an adult will be seeing once a year.
Thank you all for reading my blog, I have hit 1 year since I've been blogging. I don't write all the time, I wish I could do more, but as it is my husband is always asking "when are you going to write again?" Love Him !!


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Warren D. Whitford
Warren D. Whitford, 72,
of 35 E. Terrace Ave.,
Lakewood, passed away Friday,
March 29, 2013, in Roswell
Park Cancer Institute
surrounded by his family.
He was born Jan. 16,
1941, in Jamestown, the
son of the late Leland and
Ruth Cowles Whitford.
Warren graduated from
Jamestown Business
College, and attended the Flu-
vanna Community Church.
Prior to retirement in 2007,
he had been employed at
Erie Insurance. Earlier
Warren worked at Blue Cross
Blue Shield, MRC/SKF
Bearings and Dresser Rand.
He enjoyed flying, sailing,
rowing and working with
Habitat for Humanity. He
was a member of the
Chautauqua Lake Rowing
Association, Aero Soaring Club,
Brokenstraw Soaring Club
and Jamestown Civil Air
Patrol. An accomplished
musician, Warren played
saxophone with the Stu
Snyder Big Band, Harold
Olson Big Band, Germaine
and Pappalardo Swing
Band, Chautauqua Big
Band, and the Jamestown
Municipal Band.
Surviving are his
companion of 15 years, Jackie
Thies; two daughters:
Karen Whitford of Bemus
Point, N.Y.; and Susan
(Mike) Brunner of East
Aurora, N.Y.; four
grandchildren: April Jackson of
Harrisonburg, Va.; Alexandra,
Andrew, and Hans Brunner,
all of East Aurora. Also
surviving is Sandra Whitford
of Blockville, N.Y.
The funeral service will
be held at 11 a.m.
Wednesday in the Fluvanna
Community Church. The Rev.
Richard D. Keefer will
Burial will be in Open
Meadows Cemetery.
The family will receive
friends from 4-7 p.m.
Tuesday in the Lind Funeral
Memorials may be made
to the Fluvanna
Community Church Building Fund,
3363 Fluvanna Ave. Ext.
Jamestown, NY 14701; or
American Cancer Society
Hope Lodge, 197 Summer
St. Buffalo, NY 14222; or
JCC Dart Aviation Scholarship
c/o Jamestown Community
College Foundation, 525 Falconer St. P.O.
Box 20, Jamestown, NY
You may light a candle
in remembrance of Warren
at www.lindfuneralhome.


text:
You limited your search to:
Partner: UNT College of Visual Arts + Design
Year: 1885
Collection: Texas Fashion Collection
- Fan
- Folding fan with 17 bone sticks; white lace with round and clover leaf shaped silver sequins. Sticks carved with tiny flower and dot designs on 8 sticks and leaf and curly designs on 9 sticks. Back of fan is not decorated. digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc38096/


text:
Rains bring quick turnaround in Pueblo
But guess what: Precipitation still trailing normal for this time of year
Things turned around in a hurry for Arkansas Valley water users.
"Last week was a wild week of water," Alan Ward, water resources manager for the Pueblo Board of Water Works said Tuesday.
During his report to the water board, he explained that at the beginning of the week, exchanges into Lake Pueblo were curtailed because of low flows in the Arkansas River through the city.
By the end of the week, Pueblo was able to store some water under its flood rights.
"Our storage is about 7,000 acre-feet ahead of last year," Ward said.
Pueblo's storage is at about 38,000 acre-feet, which is more than enough to supply basic needs for a year. The water board's goal this year is to rebuild storage levels lost in 2012, the second-driest on record.
Recent rains have been a mixed blessing for Pueblo.
While they provide needed moisture after three years of drought, much of it has come too late in the season to benefit farmers in the Arkansas Valley. It's been spotty, so not everyone has enjoyed the monsoon weather.
On Friday, Fountain Creek at Pinon passed flood stage for about 12 hours. Later, the Arkansas River at Avondale crested at 9.5 feet, about 2.5 feet above flood stage, and remained high for nearly a full day. It briefly reached flood stage again on Monday afternoon, but quickly dropped.
The worst part is total rainfall for the year — 8.82 inches, officially, remains about 2 inches below average because of the dry winter and spring.
"We'll be watching the snowpack closely this year," Ward said.


text:
From the Manufacturer's Label:
20% Unrefined Shea Butter
Shea Butter Hand Made in West Africa
All Shea Butters are not created equal:
- Our products are made with 20% pure, unrefined Shea Butter that keeps all the moisture intact and are naturally rich in vitamins A, E and F.
- Most other shea butter bar soaps are made with 1-2% refined (processed) shea butter.
From Out of Africa®: Your purchase will contribute $0.15 to help provide education to children in West Africa and support for PBS educational programs.
African Black Shea Butter Soap manufactured by Out of Africa®.


text:
About the Author: Henrietta H. Fore is Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development and Director of Foreign Assistance for the U.S. Department of State.
When future historians look back on our era, they will be as dismayed as the rest of us by the ethnic conflict and violence that tore apart the former Yugoslavia after the collapse of communism. After all, the future was supposed to be about peace, not war. But history was not yet done as war came to the Balkans, and Kosovo was caught in the middle.
For more than a decade, the violence continued, until the UN and NATO intervened to help Kosovo back on its feet. Today, with the help of the international community, the people of Kosovo have begun writing a new chapter in their history, and it is, at long last, an encouraging one. Kosovo has become an independent nation recognized by more than 40 countries, including the United States and over two-thirds of European Union member states. It has a new constitution, a democratically-elected, multi-ethnic government, and a new set of laws to protect minority rights and Kosovo's unique cultural and religious heritage.
By almost every measure, the people of Kosovo have come a long way. But what they need now is our support and on July 11, an international donors' conference, chaired by the European Commission, will be held in Brussels to help Kosovo continue its recovery. Despite the progress it has made, Kosovo still needs our help building national institutions, consolidating its young democracy, and laying the groundwork for future investment and development to help forge sustainable economic opportunity for its people.
So, you may ask: Is Kosovo a good investment? Absolutely and here is why.
First, international assistance is really making a difference on the ground. I saw firsthand on a recent trip as donor aid has helped build roads and schools, strengthened the financial sector, and provided electricity and clean water for citizens throughout this tiny nation. For example, in the divided northern town of Mitrovica, internationally-funded projects have brought high school students from ethnic Serb and Albanian backgrounds together and helped them gain job experience. Other projects have supported the rule of law by providing technical assistance, training and equipment for Kosovo's police force and judiciary and helped municipal governments expand their services to citizens while also increasing their revenues. By operating in both Serb majority and Albanian majority towns, these projects have increased the citizens' confidence in the government as well as in their own future inside a sovereign Kosovo. I was also impressed by the energy and entrepreneurial spirit I encountered from business owners and entrepreneurs eager to sell everything from vegetable seedlings to furniture.
Secondly, Kosovo has also taken important steps to bring together its ethnically divided society. The government has passed new laws on decentralization and minority rights that will support the plan by UN Special Envoy Martti Ahtisaari to help Kosovo become a stable and functional state, oriented toward Europe.
Thirdly, the United States has already spent over $1.1 billion for Kosovo's development, and we will pledge more on July 11. Our commitment is for the long-term but we recognize many challenges still remain. They cannot be tackled without additional international assistance. Kosovo needs help to prepare for the debt it will inherit from Serbia. It needs to create and maintain strong rule of law institutions such as independent courts and police so they can provide the foundation for a safe and secure society. And there is more work to do to support private enterprise, create jobs, improve the energy and transportation infrastructure, and develop a professional security force as Kosovo moves away from international administration. All of these projects will take time, money and commitment.
Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, most of the citizens of Kosovo are more than ready for reconciliation. When the U.S. Agency for International Development sponsored a week of cultural and sports activities last month that attracted more than 1,500 people in five Kosovo Serb communities, one young participant summed up the feelings of many: "Finally," he said with a smile, "there is something happening in our community, and it is not politics." Indeed, Kosovo has become an engine of hope for a region plagued by a history of conflict.
I will be in Brussels this week as head of the U.S. delegation, and I look forward to seeing my counterparts from Europe and other regions. Our presence underscores our belief that Kosovo's success as an independent nation is vital not only to regional stability but also to a larger Europe that is whole, free, and at peace.
The people of Kosovo are still writing their history, they have turned to a new chapter and they need our help.
Joni in Kosovo writes:
I just want to say that Kosovo and Albanians in Kosovo will always be grateful for the help that you Americans gave us here in Kosovo. You helped us from the genocide and crimes from the Serbians and we will never ever forget that... We might be a tiny country but we have a big heart and for Americans we are ready to do anything that is in our hands... Once more, thank you U.S.A. for always helping Kosovo we will always be grateful for this help... God bless America. God bless Americans. God bless Kosovo/Kosovars... Thank you U.S.A.!
Eric in New Mexico writes:
@ Joni in Kosovo -- Living well is the best revenge Joni. Good luck with it.
It's in your hands now.
Zharkov in U.S.A. writes:
A casual reading of Serb and Russian blogs reveals that Serbia's citizens will never be grateful for the bombing of Serbia and loss of territory.
We saved only one side from mutual genocide, not Serbians, and they will never ever forget that. Serbs say Kosovo Liberation Army units are still be burning Serb churches while UN peacekeepers try to avoid noticing the smoke.
Serbs will not thank Albanians for armed insurrection against the Serb government, burning Serb churches, murder of Serb citizens, and America stepping into a civil war on the wrong side. Serbs think Milosevic was murdered during trial. There are two sides to this story but it seems only one side received media coverage.
John in Greece writes:
It was always a religious and cultural mosaic full of differences between people that were forced to live together without their will. Moreover, it was a blood tank that communists used for decades in order to paint in red their "nightmare flags".
Zharkov, as always, you have a very strange relationship with history, but you love political forecasting. However, you do it in your own way: a strange anti-American perspective you have adopted. Sometimes, you forget history, but you love predictions.
The only time N. Balkans were stable and promising is NOW. And this is due to the American "presence", the American diplomatic efforts and the American "thirst" for Democracy around the Globe.
Z, I see that this time your problem is "the bombing of Serbia and loss of territory".
Ok! You are welcome!
Why don't you say that Josip -- your ex-comrade -- never had a real country in his hands, but a "butcher shop" full of injured everyday people that wanted a different future?
Why don't you say that Tito killed more than 7 MILLION PEOPLE?
If Serbs can still survive with the historical memory of a 7MILLION PEOPLE blood tank, I'm sure we have a good chance that they will justify the bombings in the near future.
P.S. According to my opinion, Eric in New Mexico wrote something that is among the highlights ever written in this Blog:
"Living well is the best revenge Joni. Good luck with it. It's in your hands now".
Eric in New Mexico writes:
@ John in Greece --
Works for me...(grin).
Zharkov in U.S.A. writes:
John in Greece wants the US to bomb and occupy every nation that is not peaceful. Yes, that might work. The problem is that it is illegal to do that both under international law and under our own constitution. Serbia is a country that did not attack America.
Sorry, John, that our constitution is such a barrier to world domination. We elect a president for the executive branch, not president for the world.
We attack a country only after a Declaration of War has been voted upon by Congress. For the past 50 years, our Congress has breached its duty in that regard, and this is why most of our wars are so unpopular.
The next time a bar fight breaks out in a Greek tavern, do you want US Army Rangers parachuting into your town to break up the fight and occupy Greece? Maybe you would like to think longer about what you are asking us to do.
John in Greece writes:
@ Z, You can call me "Hitler", but then I can call you "Zanta Clause" - the Russian way you like. However, Christmas is in December and there is no Santa Clause, except if we are babies. I still love and believe in Santa Clause, but when the going gets tough, we must stand up as grown up guys... Mr. Zanta.
(I hate Hitler and I am against wars. I love U.S.A. though, Period.)
I see you cannot talk about ex-Yugoslavia, Tito and the more than 7 MILLION PEOPLE that lost their lives, his mentor Stalin and another 6-7 MILLION PEOPLE that lost their lives, and it goes?
Ok! You are the nice guy, I'm the bad one. However, your "friends" killed and "started the fire". Not US!
Anyway, can you comment on something? Can you comment on Vladimir's (ex-now? president? we are confused) statement that Russia will take military action in case Czechs proceed with their WILL, concerning their defense?
By the way, "how is the weather" in Caucasus?
Note: In case you do not know, there is no war in ex-Yugoslavia that U.S. is involved right now. This is old history. Ancient.
N. Balkans are living the FUTURE!
Eric in New Mexico writes:
@ Zharkov in U.S.A. -- Gee Zharkov, that was a little "over the top" even by your standards.
Let's try to play nice with other children in this sandbox shall we?
What ever happened to your "golden rule" premis...you forget that it applies as well to you, or something?
Zharkov in U.S.A. writes:
@ John in Greece, and others who think the same, like the idea of America being the policeman of the world, and collectively they amount to nothing less than a fifth column intent on involving 300 million Americans in other peoples' religious wars, making them pay and bleed to protect nations in which the United States has no genuine national security interest at stake.
I think most of our voters have rejected the world policeman role - a big reason why Obama is now a serious candidate for president despite his questionable qualifications and lack of wisdom, experience, knowledge, and mental clarity necessary for the job.
If you love America, you will not want to see it die. Today, America is very ill, with confiscatory tax rates, indifferent Congress, destruction of the middle class, poor military decisions, loss of factories and high-paying jobs, devaluation of our currency resulting in impoverishment of our elderly retired workers, and incredible as it seems, a government that borrows money in order to give it away in foreign countries.
Regarding communist thugs like Tito - he is dead, communism is dead, the people they killed are dead, and the point of debating it is also dead. If Russia wants to dig up Tito and place his corpse on trial for violation of human rights and murder, that is fine with me, but I doubt they will ever admit he did anything wrong. There are plenty of other countries to remind them of what they did, such as, Estonia and Latvia.
From what I've read, Russian people generally reject splitting Kosovo from Serbia and pretending it is a separate nation after it was invaded by Albanian immigrants, just as American people reject the "reconquista" of California by Mexican immigrants and their national organizations, like La Raza (The Race). The precedent set in Kosovo will come to haunt America as California becomes a majority Hispanic state.
As I wrote, there is another side to the story in Kosovo, the Serbian view, which nobody cares about at the State Department, but which most of Europe sees differently from us.
Kirk in Kentucky writes:
@ Zharkov in U.S.A. -- It seems you have a firm grasp of the issues at hand. I admire your keen insight and clear and precise writing style. Now I ask you this, if you had your druthers, what would you like to see happen in Kosovo?
Eric in New Mexico writes:
In early 2002 the DOE published a very long letter in an Environmental Assesment for a BioSafety level 3 facility at LANL. It covered a lot of bases regarding the war on terror, and issues involved in the winning of it.
Here is a brief excerpt of what I said then, because it remains relevent to "the now", and places Zharkov's assesment in proper perspective.
"We've been accused of playing world cop, as a nation. If you ask any officer on any street in the U.S. what his/her least favorite call to get is and they'll more than likely say, "Domestic disputes". This is the only politically correct way I can think to describe the current world situation. If we must play that role, folks need to understand that there's a new sheriff in town, determined to prevent domestic violence. This goes as well for the Mideast, the Korean, and other long standing conflicts.
To "protect and serve" humanity, and ensure the preservation of civilization, of all cultures, and ways of tradition that an individual or nation has the inalienable right to choose for themselves as they see fit, so long as it harms no other individual's, or nation's ability to do so.
With this as our philosophy, as policy, the "undiscovered country" may become reality. This is not a role that should be played unilaterally, as it is essentially all nation's task."
It's interesting to see the coming together of nations to resolve problems...sometimes effectively...other times not so. In all of it, I think that one can accurately assess US foreign policy as being incredibly consistant with the premis stated in my letter over the years since it was published.
Personally I don't know what you are complaining about Zharkov, We do what we do because "to whom much is given, much is required", and I agree with Mr. Bush on this.
We may be the only one's that can in certain circumstance. But the world is just starting to grasp that it is their task as much as ours to create conditions for lasting peace on this planet.
Some days will be better than others.
Zharkov in U.S.A. writes:
@ Kirk in Kentucky -- Kirk of Kentucky asked what I would do with Kosovo.
I believe that democratic nations are created by consent of the people, and public consent is necessary to split a region away from the homeland.
Our Declaration of Independence states explicitly that all people have the natural right, or fundamental right, to abolish their government and form a new one, so they also have the right to form a new nation for themselves. This right is inherent - a birthright - and not a mere privilege to be granted or withheld by governments or groups of governments. Governments are not our masters; we are not their slaves. Serb people do not belong to the U.N. as if they were property to be bought, sold, or given away.
There is no treaty authorizing outsiders such as NATO, the E.U., or the U.N., to create new nations or even to order a region to secede from its homeland. These things are for people of Serbia to decide. Illegal nation-building by military force does not reflect well on the participants. Unfortunately, it is too late to reverse the situation - Kosovo is independent for now but maybe not forever.
Personally, I like American-style democracy. Americanism would keep Kosovo part of Serbia until a public vote for all of Serbia could be held on the question of whether Kosovo should be a separate nation. A new nation needs a new constitution. So what does this new Kosovo Constitution say? Is there one? If not, when will there be one?
Sovereignty resides in the people and all power to govern is derived solely from the people, so the citizens should have decided by majority vote whether to form a new nation. Public debate or town hall meetings across Serbia and Kosovo could have allowed Serb citizens to discuss what they want to be done with Kosovo to secure a lasting peace with two alternatives, retention or separation, and then allowed a vote on their choice. The nice aspect of a public vote is that it is acceptable to most nations, which is why we held one in Iraq.
The people of Serbia and Kosovo will decide their own future because a lasting peace must be their own decision and not ours. Some say that bullets are a form of voting, but certainly not a democratic one. If the U.N. held a national referendum on what to do with Kosovo, and respected the vote outcome, there would be less grumbling in Russia and Serbia about it and there would be no complaint that a sham nation was created by illegal means.
If civil wars do not result in victory, they never end. NATO and the U.N. supplied an artificial victory for one side only. How long this will last depends on how long Kosovo is occupied by foreign troops. Perhaps some day Serbs will forget about Kosovo and murders of their relatives, but I doubt it will happen in less than 3 generations. If troops leave before then, Kosovo independence would probably last less than a week.
Joe in Tennessee writes:
Just some points:
1. Accept the fact that this is a game of power. Like it or not.
2. Given that: Allies and new acquisition are the game pieces.
3. Support mechanisms must be stable to continue play; which is where we are hurting now. How does placing a nuclear missile on a boarder help security? In actuality, if it has to be used, it will not matter to anyone in either country. We can reach anywhere in the world from here, or our present bases in less than an hour -- what is the sense of purpose? A physical presence would be better mandated it seems. This was our problem with South Korea at one time and they are still upset. Nuclear determent is a last resort, not a priority. Last resort power is for bullies and usually initiated from a weak stance. That is not what the USA represents, is it?
4. It took well over 100 years to bring some degree of cultural and legal equality to citizens who fought for this country and from whom the land was stolen from as well as enslaved by, yet we walk into other countries and ask them to alter their differences in less than a decade? We have not done it with the BEST Democracy on Earth so how can some of you want to use HISTORY as a lever on other cultures? It is only about today and tomorrow, no more, no less.
5. The creation of any Democracy needs support today for tomorrow. Any use of dialogue which precludes a walk forward is irrelevant and non productive.
Good for Kosovo, good for world democracy and independence.
Eric in New Mexico writes:
"Reality has a way of being...real."
-John Matel-PRTe team leader and Dipnote blogger
It's not a game Joe. So I don't accept your premis of (1) and (2).
(3) In Europe, matching the Soviet threat with medium range missiles helped bring the end of the cold war.
Not many at the time figured it would have that effect.
(4) Arn't we glad we do what we do Joe? Because I sure know folks in Europe are, because like Russia, a lot of them owe their very existance today because of what we do and the things we stand for.
You think Russia would exist had Lend-lease not been policy in WW2?
That Stalin bit the hands that fed his people, and gave them the means to defeat Hitler and take their nation back, is history.
As far as I'm concerned, the Russians still owe the world an appology for the results of the cold war. Not just us.
(5) I agree in principal with this.
Ronald in New York writes:
Time to Invest in Kosovo?
First, repatriate the private lands, properties and businesses of Kosovars who lost everything to corrupt officials and organized crime groups, including UN interim government officials, and others who are laundering millions in international aid. This is not ancient history; but tomorrow's headlines. Drugs,arms,human trafficking, and all other manner of crimes are still being committed, and will continue under the cover of "the kosovo good news collusion programme" now taking hold in Washington, Turtle Bay, and the New Kosovo Administrations. All is not good in Kosovo. many have been deprived of their land, livlihoods, and loved ones. Homes are being flamed with innocents inside. No authority is stepping up to the plate for Human Rights. All entities are bound together in a Global Negatice Contract.
Zharkov in U.S.A. writes:
No one understands why it is our policy to reward muslim terrorism with new bases in Bosnia and Kosovo while we are still fighting them in Afghanistan? Could this only be a game?
On Srebrenica, Karadzic said, "Srebrenica has never been a safe zone. If you don't trust me, ask former UN Secretary General, Boutros Ghali. He admitted on several occasions that Srebrenica is a Muslim military stronghold and that Serb villages around Srebrenica had continuously been attacked from the enclave. During the last month of the existence of the enclave, every day at least one Serb died in Muslim attacks. All together, 1260 Serbs were killed. UN knows about that. The commander of Dutch peacekeeping troops in Srebrenica also knows that.""Nine thousand Muslim soldiers left the enclave and tried to break through our lines towards Tuzla. Three weeks later, they were still fighting around Srebrenica! Nine thousand soldiers is a lot of troops. They pushed towards their lines and our troops followed. They had to break through our fortified lines. The fighting was horrible. At one place 50 our soldiers were killed although they were in trenches. You can guess yourself how many Muslim soldiers died while attacking.""They finally managed to break through to Tuzla, but the fighting was horrible. Their officers simply sacrificed their soldiers. A proof is that we didn't manage to capture any higher and middle ranking officers. On the other hand, the soldiers attacked like ants. In any case, until the fall of the enclave on July 11, 1995, Srebrenica was a military base from which Muslims raided Serb villages, burned and slaughtered the population."
Jeton in Kosovo writes:
Orginized crime is spread all over the Balkans and Europe and one should not identify Kosovo as the only country in the region to have these problems. Guys like Ronald try to do this hoping that the foreign investments don't come to Kosovo, make Kosovo look bad etc.
I am not going to compare between Kosovo, Serbia or another country, but the orginised crime is not so deeply rooted in our society as some try to present it.
Governmnet has pledged to fight it, and will be held accountable by the people.
If you question the Independence of Kosovo than you don't understand the histroy and reality of Kosovo so I am not going to comment because it is pure math. 90% of its citizens would never accept to live, obey or otherwise have any links other than good neighbourhoud relations with Serbia.
Eric in New Mexico writes:
@ Jeton in Kosovo,
If folks in my country had listened to all the negative rhetoric going on during our struggle for independance, and doubted the premis which we fought for, and succumed to the fear of failure....we'd still be under British rule.
So thanks for telling it like it is, because I have no doubt you'll make a success of it.
Jim in Texas writes:
I am a principal in a small but growing Software development company in Houston. I would appreciate information on how we might be able to help.
Jackie in Kosovo writes:
I read all comments and i understand that serbian nationality are still under their stupied fancy, please people, serbia people we are in a way to europe, not to teorrizam and we are moderm muslim do not comperen us with Irak, Afganistan, Iran, they are differet from us we do not have nothing common...
We belive to American goverment and Europe, I adore Bush, GOD bless George BUSH and his family.
DipNote Blogger Luke Forgerson writes:
@ Jim in Texas --
Thanks for your comment. We'll send you additional information. In the meantime, you might find it interesting to read an overview of USAID's assistance to Kosovo as well as the State Department's webpage on U.S.-Kosovo relations.
Kristina writes:
I am a american born Albanian, Kosova has intriqued me since I was a little girl. Now I'm willing to go to Kosova to help in any way I can. I woild love to move there and make a life out of a place that has touched my heart for many years. I hope my american ways could be of benefit to the people of Kosova. Please let me know if I could work there and help. i'm willing to do whatever it takes.


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Announcement: Semester Study Abroad - March 1 Application Deadline for Gustavus Approval
Reminder: Applications for Gustavus Approval for semester study abroad (for Fall 2013, Spring 2014 or Academic Year 2013-14 are DUE by March 1. Students must apply for approval via StudioAbroad (http://gustavus.studioabroad.com). If you haven't yet met with a Peer Advisor, come by the CICE office in Carlson International Center to sign up to meet with one. General Info Sessions on Credit and Cost are held every Monday and Thursday in the CICE. See the calendar for times and details. Do not delay, March 1 is fast approaching.
|Jill Fischer — 507-933-7546
|February 22, 2013; February 25, 2013; and February 28, 2013


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The Bernanke Strangle
Of course, nobody with any self-esteem would think the Federal Reserve can solve all the problems. But whenever there's any problem, everybody remembers the Bernanke Put is there and the problem disappears. If it doesn't, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke can double down until it does.
However, as the Fed balance sheet stands at $3 trillion and is set to increase by about $1 trillion a year (plus a few percent of interest payment and minus an unknown and varying amount of maturing debt), the risk associated with the inevitable and eventual shrinking of the balance sheet increases.
Even before economic strength approaches the Fed limits outlined in QE3/QE4, all bond yields would start to increase in anticipation of the end of quantitative easing. Borrowing costs would increase for everybody, from governments to businesses to home buyers to consumers. This would put the brake on economic recovery and, depending on severity of the bond bubble bursting, may very well kill it.
This is the flip side of Bernanke Put -- the Bernanke Call. The two combined makes the Bernanke Strangle because it literally strangles the economy in limbo.
The unprecedented Fed transparency in publicizing clear and fixed targets for QE has the unfortunate consequence of telegraphing the end to the world. Ambiguity can be a beautiful thing, as Bernanke will one day learn. It's the golden rule of all central banking.
Of course, transparency has its merits, too. But losing flexibility is too big a price to pay, unless one buys into the thinking that the health of economy can be sufficiently defined by two numbers.Perhaps the Fed thinking is that such transparency allows the bond bubble sufficient time to deflate in a manageable way rather than going bust in a hurry.
This is, at the least, a huge gamble. Nobody can predict how bubbles behave with any responsible certainty. But even if it does deflate slowly, it will damp or possibly kill the recovery. Then the Fed would be forced to delay the bond unwinding.Hence my prediction that the Fed can only unwind too late and, in the end calculation, inflation risk is certain.
I found the worry back at the beginning of January over the Fed unwinding quite laughable. But such market anticipation, however wrong in the end, is rational and necessary.It is exactly through such fear that the Fed will be forced to delay the unwind. If the market sees through this and goes on with its blissful recovery, then the Fed would be forced to unwind in a well-publicized yet totally surprising move -- thus killing that recovery. It's a delicious play of game theory resulting in an unintended Catch-22.
Why does the Fed have to unwind? After all, the Bank of Japan bought a huge amount of its own sovereign debt and kept it or 20 years. The difference is that Japan can rely on its massive domestic savings while the U.S. must rely on foreign investors.


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Kate Middleton has been taking some flak from the British press lately for her unabashed use of eyeliner at nearly every social event. If you're like Kate, there are some alternatives out there that can help give your eyes some dramatic flair.
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