Walkom: Ottawa’s low-wage immigration policy threatens turmoil
by Thomas Walkom
The Star
National Affairs Columnist
There is an implicit bargain in Canada regarding immigration. Canadians agree to welcome newcomers. In return, the government agrees not to use immigrants to drive down the wages of those already living here.
While never formally acknowledged, it’s a bargain that’s been in place since at least World War II, one that has prevented the kind of anti-immigrant agitation now roiling Europe.
And it is a bargain that Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s Conservatives are deliberately setting out to break.
Human Resources Minister Diane Finley made the break specific this week when she announced that Ottawa will now let employers pay temporary foreign workers less than Canadians.
Montreal Protesters Push Back Riot Cops, Provocateurs Act Up [video]
The Truther Girls
April 28, 2012
The protest last night was massive but had a vibe of peace and solidarity to it. Just before I left, a couple of people smashed a window with rocks, but I suspect they were provocateurs based on a witness’ description of the culprits’ garb and M.O. Moreover, Eric Bouthillette, who was on the front lines the whole night, reported that there were people dressed in provocateur-style gear at the head of the protest trying all night to start confrontations and being stopped by the rest of the protesters. At about 2:00 am the next morning, about 30 arrests were made. According to Eric, the protest ended with a conflict between the vandals/ provocateurs and the rest of the protesters. Some people were breaking windows and the mass of protesters were trying to stop them, which resulted in a conflict among the marchers themselves and not between the marchers and the police.
Essentially, provocateurs or hooligans were trying to start trouble and the legitimate protesters tried to stop them, and people were arrested as a result of this scuffle. Is this a divide-and-conquer tactic being implemented? Isn’t this easier than trying to contain thousands of people or bring on martial law?
The protests continue and so far they have been taking place largely at night. The police seem to be concerned above all with protecting commercial establishments and preventing the protest from interfering with commerce. They would hate for the protesters to start marching during the day, but if this continues, that is likely the next thing they will do.
The government will then have to decide whether they should give in to the protesters’ demands or bring out the army, because the crowds are so large (and determined) that they cannot be controlled by the police or the SQ.
The third option, as I mentioned before, would be to subvert the marches with provocateurs.
I’d like to point out something people often overlook, which is that the main reason tuition is still so low in Quebec is not that we just have a nice government, but that THIS is what happens when they try to hike it up. Will it work again this time or will our NWO corporate police-state government take it to a whole new level?
War zone in Montréal April 20th 2012 – Zone de combat Montréal 20 Avril 2012 [video]
YouTube – TheVerbalmilitia
April 23, 2012
This is a protest against the Plan Nord that turned in to a war zone scenario protesters vs the police state….:S
Voici une manif contre le Plan Nord qui s’est transformé en zone de combat manifestants vs l’état policier…:S
[hat tip: The Truther Girls]
FALLOUT FORECAST BALD EAGLE KILLS VA NUKE PLANT 4.27.2012 [video]
YouTube – ichicax4
April 27, 2012
Radiation Fallout Forecast for Canada, the US & Europe for the weekend of April27th, 2012.
**At time of post 40x background has been recorded in St Louis from a pollen-rain swipe. See POTRBLOG for details.
NATO ENCIRCLEMENT OF RUSSIA. The Strategic Role of the “Visegrad Four”: Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia
by Vladislav Gulevich
Global Research
April 27, 2012
Strategic Culture Foundation – 2012-04-26
In May 2012, Chicago is to host the NATO summit. The alliance is facing the task of improving the relations within the bloc and restructuring its strategy taking into account the current crisis tendencies, which have gripped the Western world and the global challenges the West is facing. With mass media focusing on the events on the Middle East and North Africa, a threat of war against Iran and Afghanistan, Libya’s post war instability, the continuing Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the Syrian crisis, Brussels has a lot to consider. In its turn, Poland is also preparing to submit its ideas and proposals at the coming summit in Chicago.
In particular, in its foreign policy for 2012-2016 Poland pays a special attention to the Visegrad Group or the Visegrad Four (V4) (Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic and Slovakia), a military and political bloc, which was established in 1991. When V4 signed its joint declaration on striving for their European integration, they clearly defined the political and ideological border-line where they planned to “hold back” Russia. In May 2011, the group announced plans to set up a new combat unit under the command of Poland, which was to grow into a full-fledged military and political mechanism by 2016. Formally this mechanism is expected to have the authorities which are separate from NATO.
Already in 2013, the Visegrad Group plans to take part in the NATO Response Force military exercises. It is very important for Poland to unite the countries of the Four around itself, considering that in the second half of 2012 Poland will chair this organization. Warsaw wants to continue acting as the regional pole of power, consolidating the countries of the Eastern Europe and the Baltic region. Poland and the Baltic states have tight allied relations but Warsaw looks into the future and does not rule out that Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia will join the Visegrad Group (В 4+ format).
In April 2012, the Polish authorities organized a meeting with the Baltic allies in order to discuss this idea and to work out a common view of the strategic situation in the region. While Tallinn and Riga are willing to participate Vilnius with its attempts of “lithuanization” of Lithuanian Poles is spoiling the party. Lithuania’s president Dalia Grybauskaitė ignored the meeting of her Baltic counterparts with the Polish president. Reportedly, Poland hinted to Lithuania quite directly that if the Lithuanian authorities did not reconsider their policy with regard to the Polish minority in Lithuania, Warsaw would revise its position regarding the support of NATO’s mission on protection of the Baltic States’ air space.
Meanwhile the Baltic States are eying Scandinavia to build a North-South geopolitical axis instead of an East-West axis. Polish experts regularly recommend the government not to forget about Scandinavia and to strive for the creation of a “geopolitical bridge” between Poland and Sweden. Poland is the regional leader in Eastern Europe. Sweden is the leading Scandinavian power. The Baltic States, sandwiched between Swedes and Poles, were destined to rely on Warsaw. But Lithuania wants to depend on Poland less than on anyone else. Vilnius and Warsaw look at the history of the Polish-Lithuanian relations from different positions. Poles regard the period of the unification of Lithuania and Poland as the peak of the geopolitical power of the Polish State, while Lithuanians consider that epoch to be the time of total Polish domination in everything from the language to the legislation.
For Poland Lithuania is the most important of all the Baltic States. In the 1920-s, the supporters of the Polish statesman Jozef Pilsudski tried to get control over Lithuania and to create a puppet state – the Republic of Central Lithuania (the rebellion of General Zeligowski). The Republic of Central Lithuania included also a part of Belarus and was to form a strong buffer state between Poland and the USSR. But today there is coolness between Lithuanians and Poles. Lithuanians are trying to make Lithuanian Poles forget their “Imperial ambitions”. In their turn, Lithuanian Poles consider Poland to be a stronger state than Lithuania and don’t want to give up their Polish ways. As a result the idea of “В 4+” is still only an idea.
As for V4, these countries do not have any serious contradictions. This is proved by a recent declaration (“Responsibility for a strong NATO”), in which members of the Vysegrad group pledged to contribute to the strengthening of NATO’s defense capacity. The four states have declared they would not withdraw their troops from Afghanistan earlier than the term which was officially set, sticking to the principle “together-in – together-out”. The group has also supported the plans of the US administration on deployment of the components of the anti-missile system and spoken for the expansion of the North-Atlantic alliance by admitting the states, which membership will contribute to a stronger defense capacity of the bloc.
It is not difficult to guess what those states are. First of all it is Ukraine. It is not a coincidence that the Visegrad group issued its joint declaration on the eve of the Chicago summit. Ukraine’s President Viktor Yanukovich has already been invited to attend this event and Poland is acting as the main supporter of Ukraine in the EU and NATO. Warsaw does not mind Georgia’s entry to NATO either, but the problem of the republic’s “territorial integrity’ is a serious obstacle on the way to its dream of European integration. Moldova’s prospects are also vague due to the same reason.
In the declaration the Visegrad Group pledges to stick to NATO’s strategy adopted in Lisbon in 2010. According to V4, during the Chicago summit it is desirable to adopt a “defense package”. In particular, the Four urges the intensification of cooperation within NATO in the field of joint military exercises in particular on the territory of the V4 countries.
According to NATO’s plans, which are to be discussed at the summit in Chicago in May, the countries of the former USSR, which surround Russia, must play the role of an “anaconda ring” pressing Russia and pushing it farther from its navigation routes: the Baltic States would block the access to the Baltic Sea, the scale of Russia’s presence on the Black Sea depends on Ukraine and Georgia; on land the Western direction would be blocked by Moldova and Ukraine and by Muscovites’ eternal opponent, which is Poland.
The essence of the North-Atlantic alliance as a military and political bloc has not changed since its establishment in 1949. NATO has not changed its goals regarding historical Russia which were set back in the beginning of the Cold War. These are only means of achieving these goals which are changing.
Department of Defense Confirms Russian Troops to Conduct Terror Drills Inside U.S.
by Alex Thomas
theintelhub.com
April 27, 2012
The Department of Defense has confirmed various foreign and alternative media reports that claimed Russia troops will be conducting unprecedented anti terrorism drills inside the United States.
In an email to the New American, Cmdr. Wendy L. Snyder, U.S. Defense Press Officer for policy confirmed the reports:
“The Russian soldiers are here as invited guests of the U.S. government; this is part of a formal bilateral exchange program between the U.S. and Russia that seeks to develop transparency and promote defense reform,” Cmdr. Wendy L. Snyder, U.S. Defense Press Officer for policy, told The New American in an e-mail. “This is the first time that American and Russian special operations troops have participated in a bilateral exercise.”
According to Snyder, the exercises — which she said would last about three weeks in all — will serve to train and improve skills related to terror-war fighting. About 20 Russian soldiers will be participating, with most of the training to take place on the Fort Carson, Colorado, Army base and a mountain training area several hours away.
“Aside from typical military training, the exchange will include discussions on the rule of land warfare, developing appropriate rules of engagement, and employing cultural literacy and competency in the tactical environment,” Snyder explained. “This type of training is routinely conducted by 10th Special Forces Group.”
The drills, which will take place throughout May, mark the first time that Russian and US troops will train along side each other on American soil and correlate with a long line of Foreign military’s training to take on the American people.
Interestingly, Russia is actually conducting a joint naval training exercise with Communist China at this very moment.
The armed forces of the Communist Chinese and Russian governments began a series of unprecedented joint naval “war games” over the weekend as part of a deepening “strategic partnership” between the two powers, sparking concerns among geopolitical analysts. The controversial exercises are expected to last all week.
Officials involved in the drills claimed the purpose of the so-called “Naval Cooperation-2012” scheme was to build up the capabilities of both militaries while facilitating future collaboration in confronting “regional threats.” The operations, taking place in the Yellow Sea, involve air defenses, anti-submarine warfare, electronic countermeasures, and unspecified “sensitive technologies.”
The above fact, coupled with claims that President Obama has taken Russian money to fund his campaign, have stoked fears over the use of foreign, communist military’s to take on the American people in a time of crisis.
Navy spends another $262m on drones that don’t work [video]
End the Lie
April 25, 2012
http://EndtheLie.com/ Support us — http://EndtheLie.com/store Relevant links and further reading: War profiteering: a cancer upon America — http://endthelie.com/2011/10/28/war-profiteering-a-cancer-upon-america/ Airborne Laser program dumped after 16 years and billions spent in development
More at EndtheLie.com – http://EndtheLie.com/2012/02/21/airborne-laser-program-dumped-after-16-years-… Danger Room article: http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2012/04/fire-scout-contract/ Contract: http://www.defense.gov/contracts/contract.aspx?contractid=4775
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