About a hundred neo-fascists were only allowed to march 300 meters from their gathering point as left-wingers, trade unions and ordinary Berliners joined forces to stop a neo-Nazi march. Clashes between the groups led to some injuries and arrests. READ MORE: http://on.rt.com/gf4wgq
In recent weeks I have seen articles and memes floating around on social media stating that the Harper government is attempting to sabotage or destroy the publicly funded Canadian health care system.
Leadnow.ca has a petition with nearly 50,000 signatures titled: Tell Prime Minister Harper: Don’t Sabotage Our Public Health Care. The petition states:
“Today, the Harper Conservatives had their first chance to make major changes to Canada’s health care since getting a majority government, and they launched a brutal sneak attack. They just sabotaged the Health Accord that protects equal care for all Canadians, and they’re cutting your public health funding by $36 billion over the next 10 years.1 2 It’s the start of Harper’s long-term plan to destroy our public health care system, and we have to stop it. The Canada Health Accord is the deal between the federal government and the provinces that ensures proper funding, equal access, and high standards for the health care we all rely on.3 Prime Minister Harper has always wanted to replace public care with an American-style for-profit system. He made his career by leading the National Citizen’s Coalition, an organization founded by a wealthy insurance broker determined to destroy Canada’s medicare.4 But here’s the thing – he knows that 94% of Canadians, including most conservatives, support national public health care.5 That’s why he’s trying to sabotage the system quietly by cutting $36 billion over 10 years and breaking the pact that all Canadians should get equal care, no matter what province you live in.” Continue Reading
Beyond the idea that the people at leadnow.ca seem to some how have a “inside scoop” on what Harper’s long term plans are. I decided to do a little fact checking on this.
Lets average out the $36 billion cut in funding over 10 years to a reduction of $3.6 billion each year and lets put that into perspective.
A national report estimates that $211 billion was spent on health care in Canada for the year of 2013. The $3.6 billion reduction represents around a 1% cut each year. Sounds pretty devastating doesn’t it?
Note: Leadnow.ca is strongly connected to organizations such as Tides Canada and Openmedia.ca
Stating that a budget cut of 1% a year for the next decade is “sabotage” or the beginning of a long term plan (with no background information) is quite a stretch.
Now I do not think that I have ever agreed with Stephen Harper on anything until now. Opening up a government monopoly to other groups or companies is not a bad thing. It creates competition, drives down prices, and raises quality.
If people are given a choice between private and public health care, would we see the outrageous wait times? The poor quality of service? etc. No, because they would loose customers.
It is really amazing to watch Canadian people fight so hard to keep a medical system that is forced onto them under threat of violence (watch what happens when you decide you no longer want to take part in it or pay for it), has disgusting service, and limits you on making your own treatment decisions.
Welcome to http://NewWorldNextWeek.com — the video series from Corbett Report and Media Monarchy that covers some of the most important developments in open source intelligence news. This week:
Story #1: Federal Judges Order Obama to Release Memo Justifying Assassination of Americans http://ur1.ca/h5w06
John Yoo makes the case that the President can torture children if necessary http://ur1.ca/h5w1b
Life’s Good If You’re a Drone-Loving Criminal Regime: ‘US Drone Strikes Continue With Impunity’ http://ur1.ca/h5w0j
Makers Say Don’t Worry About Privacy as Civilian Drone Industry Takes Off in Sunny Spain http://ur1.ca/h3von
Story #2: FCC Finally Announces New Rules That Will Kill Net Neutrality http://ur1.ca/h5w1g
Internet “Fast Lane”? Big Companies May Soon Be Able to Pay to Have Their Websites Load Faster http://ur1.ca/h5w1m
Corbett Report Episode 262: Pirate Internet http://ur1.ca/h5w1v
Cronyism At Its Finest, U.S. Government Arguing Against Aereo On Behalf Of Broadcasters Before SCOTUS http://ur1.ca/h5w1z
Story #3: #MyNYPD Hashtag Attracts Photos of Police Violence, Abuse http://ur1.ca/h5w22
The Folks Behind #MyNYPD Are Learning a Tough Lesson Right Now http://ur1.ca/h5w24
General Mills Reverses Legal Terms After Controversy http://ur1.ca/h5w29
Federal Judge Approves Class Action Case Against Ford, IBM for Helping South African Apartheid http://ur1.ca/h5w2j
Colorado Crime Rates Down 14.6% Since Legalizing Marijuana http://ur1.ca/h5w2q
Open Source Comes to Farms With Restriction-Free Seeds http://ur1.ca/h5w2y
Vermont Poised to Enact Toughest US GMO-Labeling Law Yet http://ur1.ca/h5w38
#NewWorldNextWeek Updates:
Researchers Unveil System to Start Storms & Lightning on Command http://ur1.ca/h5w3f
Controversial Light Bulb Listens to Conversations, Tweets What It Hears http://ur1.ca/h5w3n
@Pepsico: Why Are You Bulldozing The Rainforest? Why The Blood-Palm Oil? http://ur1.ca/h5w3z
Capital and ‘Captain America’: Media Oligarchs Plan Comic Book Movies Into 2028 http://ur1.ca/h5w4b
Visit http://NewWorldNextWeek.com to get previous episodes in various formats to download, burn and share. And as always, stay up-to-date by subscribing to the #NewWorldNextWeek RSS feed or iTunes feed. Thank you.
Although North America is now a full month into astronomical spring, the Great Lakes are still almost half frozen. As of April 22, 2014, the Great Lakes were 33.9 percent ice covered. Some scientists say that the amount of ice that still remains could have a big impact on the environment in the months and years ahead.
Lake Superior is the world’s largest freshwater lake by area (82,100 square kilometers or 31,700 square miles) and the third largest by volume. The waters average 147 meters (483 feet) in depth, and the basin is believed to hold about 10 percent of the world’s liquid fresh water.
Lake Superior had 3.6 percent ice cover on April 20, 2013; in 2012, ice was completely gone by April 12.
In the last winter that ice cover grew so thick on Lake Superior (2009), it reached 93.7 percent on March 2 but was down to 6.7 percent by April 21.
In the early afternoon on April 20, 2014, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite captured this natural-color image of Lake Superior, which straddles the United States – Canada border. At the time Aqua passed over, the lake was 63.5 percent ice covered, according to the NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Lab (GLERL). Averaged across Lake Superior, ice was 22.6 centimeters (8.9 inches) thick; it was as much as twice that thickness in some locations.
This episode is an interview with Dave McGowan, titled “The CIA and the “Magic” of Laurel Canyon – Covert Ops & the Dark Heart of the Hippie Dream” and is being released on Sunday, December 01, 2013. This interview with Dave was recorded today.
David McGowan was born and raised in the suburbs of Los Angeles, California, where he still resides. After graduating from UCLA in 1983 with an unused degree in psychology, he went to work in construction and now works as a general contractor. He is the proud father of three daughters and is a lifelong music fan.
Published time: April 24, 2014 09:05
Edited time: April 24, 2014 20:00
Ukrainian special forces take position in the eastern Ukrainian city of Slavyansk on April 24, 2014 (AFP Photo / Kirill Kudryavtsev)
Five anti-government protesters have reportedly been killed and one injured in the eastern Ukrainian town of Slavyansk after Kiev authorities sent tanks and armored vehicles against the local population.
“During the antiterrorist operation, three checkpoints erected by illegal military groups have been destroyed in the northeastern part of Slavyansk,” the Ukrainian Interior Ministry said, adding: “At least five terrorists have been killed. One policeman was injured.”
Witnesses report on Twitter Slavyansk self-defense forces are now burning tires to hamper the entrance of infantry vehicles from Kiev into the city.
According to Rossiya 24 TV channel, self-defense forces have repelled the attack of the Kiev gunmen at the key checkpoint 3 km north of Slavyansk. At least three infantry vehicles had to retreat.
Police has announced the beginning of the crackdown via loudspeakers and a special vehicle is currently patrolling the streets warning local people about the crackdown.
The local citizens in the city are preparing for the Kiev crackdown. The majority of shops, kindergartens and schools have been closed in the city. Only the shops selling bread and water remain open.
Mass shop closures in #Sloviansk and a chilling word from the street here ‘the war has started’. — GrahamWPhillips (@GrahamWP_UK) April 24, 2014
“Fighting the outskirts of Slavyansk started at about 12pm Moscow time (08:00 GMT),” one of the leaders of the self-defense forces, Miroslav Rudenko, told Interfax, “We are checking reports of one dead and one injured. There are shootings at a number of checkpoints at some of Slavyansk exit-roads.”
Rudenko said it was impossible to reach self-defense leaders in Slavyansk by phone, suspecting that mobile phone connection could have been switched off.
Ukrainian special forces take position in the eastern Ukrainian city of Slavyansk on April 24, 2014 (Reuters / Gleb Garanich)
Rossiya 24 TV channel reported there was a slow offensive by Ukrainian troops on Slavyansk.
“Now armored vehicles and special forces are just 10km away from the town,” said Rossiya 24 correspondent currently on the ground.
According to locals, at least eight armored infantry vehicles passed the village of Hrestische, near Slavyansk, on Thursday morning, reports Gazeta.ru.
At least three snipers from Ukrainian army are now at the barricades, the residents also told Gazeta.ru, adding that when one of the journalists tried to approach the barricades, the snipers opened fire.
Meanwhile, two columns of armored vehicles are heading towards Slavyansk. The first column is now 6km from the city, while the second is 3 to 4km, Mayor of Slavyansk Vyacheslav Ponomarev told Rossiya 24 TV channel.
Ukrainian special forces take position in the eastern Ukrainian city of Slavyansk on April 24, 2014 (AFP Photo / Kirill Kudryavtsev)
Meanwhile, the armored infantry vehicles are currently heading towards the town of Izyum in the Kharkov Region, not far from Slavyansk.
Anti-government protesters are still controlling the checkpoints on the outskirts of Slavyansk.
Ukrainian military Mil Mi-24 and Mi-8 helicopters have been detected in the city of Artyomovsk near Slavyansk.
Kiev must investigate checkpoint fatal shooting – Amnesty
Ukrainian forces must respect international standards on use of force, Amnesty International said on its website responding to reports of fatal shootings of anti-government activists at several checkpoints in Slavyansk.
“International standards on the use of force and firearms are clear – law enforcement officials should resort to the use of firearms only in defence against an imminent threat of death or serious injury. They should apply other non-violent means before resorting to the use of force, and the use of firearms must always be the last resort. When the use of force and firearms is unavoidable they must exercise restraint and take steps to minimize damage and injury and preserve life,” Heather McGill, Ukraine Researcher at Amnesty International, has said.
Amnesty stressed that “an independent, impartial investigation should be launched into the events leading up to today’s reported loss of life at checkpoints around Slavyansk,” adding that “if it is found the Ukrainian forces violated international standards and resorted to arbitrary or abusive use of force, they must be brought to justice.”
Blasting the seizure of public buildings and detaining of foreign journalists by the local “pro-Russian armed group” as “human rights abuse,” the Amnesty added that “this must not be met with human rights violations by Ukrainian security forces.”
Screenshot from youtube.com @sherlaimov
Screenshot from youtube.com @sherlaimov
Russian President Vladimir Putin called Kiev’s crackdown on anti-government protesters “a very serious crime.”
“If the Kiev regime started military actions against the country’s population, this is without doubt a very serious crime,” Putin said.
He maintains that the current situation in eastern Ukraine is another proof that Russia was right when it supported the Crimeans when they decided to have a referendum.
Meanwhile, Russian OSCE (Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe) envoy Andrey Kelin proposed sending immediately the observers to Slavyansk, calling the city and near-by regions “hotspots.”
He criticized Kiev’s ‘anti-terrorist’ operation, launched against anti-government protesters in the city as “serious violation of the Geneva agreements.”