Bell has made efforts to reassure Canadians that their throttling strategy is in no way linked to any other business strategies.
Their goal is to take the high road and reduce the volume of spammers, P2P thieves and so on.
This article takes issue with that perspective and offers a different angle on Bell’s general strategy.
As the Democrats decide when they’ll finally let Barack Obama run for President, McCain has been in the sidelines watching Obama and Clinton mulch each other’s credibility and quality as a leader. In Canada, we had the exact same issue with the run up to the election, where Stephane Dion was eventually chosen as a surprise leader for the Liberal Party of Canada.
Thankfully, people are keeping tabs on McCain and it’s reassuring to know that someone has carefully pieced together a number of his conflicting statements as they relate to the economic & foriegn policies of the US.
Just like that, $15 Billion evaporates.
The inspector general for the Defense Department said yesterday that the Pentagon cannot account for almost $15 billion worth of goods and services ranging from trucks, bottled water and mattresses to rocket-propelled grenades and machine guns that were bought from contractors in the Iraq reconstruction effort.
The Pentagon did not have the proper documentation, including receipts, vouchers, signatures, invoices or other paperwork, for $7.8 billion that American and Iraqi contractors were paid for phones, folders, paint, blankets, Nissan trucks, laundry services and other items, according to a 69-page audit released to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
Author’s Note: The following is Chapter 34 of the my online book “Excited Delirium”. Please post comments. Please tell your friends about this story. If you’ve missed a chapter, please click here for Chapter 1 (Prelude) or here for the full index.
“You guys have got to listen to this …” Kite said excitedly as he piled into the small hotel room that was tucked in behind Time Square.
Chaos and Hummus were kicking back, playing HalfLife on their video player, drinking a few beers, bong still smoking slightly.
They were slow to respond only because they were intent on hammering each other with the MP5s and Glock 17s, the weapons of choice in this particular game. They were playing in “versus” mode, which meant that they would attached each other rather than team up to destroy a common enemy.
“Guys … c’mon! I’m on something huge here. Do you want to get paid or not?” Kite asked rhetorically, knowing the question would drive their attention. (more…)
Pastor Hagee is someone who’s principles and objectives should be questioned. Of course, he’s also the spiritual advisor to John McCain, who may very well be the next president of the US.
At the center of it all is Pastor John Hagee, a popular televangelist who leads the 18,000-member Cornerstone Church in San Antonio, Texas. While Hagee has long prophesized about the end times, he ratcheted up his rhetoric this year with the publication of his book, “Jerusalem Countdown,” in which he argues that a confrontation with Iran is a necessary precondition for Armageddon and the Second Coming of Christ. In the best-selling book, Hagee insists that the United States must join Israel in a preemptive military strike against Iran to fulfill God’s plan for both Israel and the West. Shortly after the book’s publication, he launched Christians United for Israel (CUFI), which, as the Christian version of the powerful American Israel Public Affairs Committee, he said would cause “a political earthquake.”
At CUFI’s kick-off banquet at the Washington Hilton, attended by over 3,500 members, Republican support for both Hagee’s effort and his drumbeat for war with Iran were on full view. Republican National Committee Chair Ken Mehlman told the group that “no regime is more central to the global jihad” than Iran. Just two days before, Newt Gingrich and John McCain made the rounds of the Sunday talk shows to sound the same message, leading Benny Elon, a member of the Israeli Knesset, to comment to the Jerusalem Post that their remarks originated with Hagee. Rick Santorum and Sam Brownback also addressed the group, and Bush sent words of support to the gathering. Republicans, and even some Democrats, spoke at CUFI events to show their “support for Israel.” But while public and media attention was on the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, Hagee’s focus continued to be on Iran.
With this kind of insanity, what are people supposed to do? Do you lock him up and make him a martyr or do you just hope they self-destruct, like so many other manic evangelists have in the past?
A reminder that Hollywood has long been a mouthpiece for the military and that “Liberal Hollywood” is a myth.
From this story, there was another link, which brought me to a review of the book “The Complex: How the Military Invades our Everyday Lives”. Here’s a quote:
In fact, the Pentagon payroll is a veritable who’s who of the top companies in the world: IBM; Time-Warner; Ford and General Motors; Microsoft; NBC and its parent company, General Electric; Hilton and Marriott; Columbia TriStar Films and its parent company, Sony; Pfizer; Sara Lee; Procter & Gamble; M&M Mars and Hershey; Nestlé; ESPN and its parent company, Walt Disney; Bank of America; and Johnson & Johnson among many other big-name firms. But the difference between now and then isn’t only in scale. As this list suggests, Pentagon spending is reaching into previously neglected areas of American life: entertainment, popular consumer brands, sports. This penetration translates into a remarkable variety of forms of interaction with the public.
Author’s Note: The following is Chapter 32 of the my online book “Excited Delirium”. Please post comments. Please tell your friends about this story. If you’ve missed a chapter, please click here for Chapter 1 (Prelude) or here for the full index.
“So Eddie …”
“So Carl …”
The awkwardness of their relationship and past was a little tense and Kite was trying to figure out the best way to get things going. He knew that Eddie was a very good insider and he knew that without him, he’d have little chance of accomplishing his mission for Diana. (more…)
Author’s Note: The following is Chapter 31 of the my online book “Excited Delirium”. Please post comments. Please tell your friends about this story. If you’ve missed a chapter, please click here for Chapter 1 (Prelude) or here for the full index.
The knot in Kite’s stomach was tense and tight. He hated seeing people from his past, for more reasons than just the obvious security risk. He hated seeing people from his past because they almost always fail to recognize him for who he is. The present never exists. It’s always about the past and for Kite, a lot of traits that represented his old self are ones that he wants to keep in the past.
Eddie was no different.
As Kite saw Eddie from across the conference room, his first instinct was to duck, but he reminded himself that “The Man” would be an important tool in his next mission. (more…)
Canada is no longer in the Top 10 Peaceful Countries, at least according to the Global Peace Index which is created by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).
The good news is that we’re not Israel (rank 136 out of 140) or the US (which actually rose 7 notches to 97 out of 140).
The bad news is that when you look up the methodology that’s used, it’s very likely that Canada’s rank will take a pounding in the next few years, given the level of military spending that the Harper government wants (anywhere from $30-$50 billion per year). This is almost a 100% increase from the 2010-2012 levels of about $18 billion. And a whopping 400% increase from the roughly $11 billion that was spent in 1995 (warning: PDF).
That’s a lot of infrastructure, health programs, provincial transfers, pharmaceutical support, business investment credits & small business support, day care programs, investment in the environment, education support, proper indexing of senior pensions, alleviating poverty and other social programs, but hey, the boogey man is on our doorstep.
Author’s Note: The following is Chapter 30 of the my online book “Excited Delirium”. Please post comments. Please tell your friends about this story. If you’ve missed a chapter, please click here for Chapter 1 (Prelude) or here for the full index.
She’d been beaten. She was wounded emotionally and spiritually. She had no moral compass guiding her through this nightmare. She felt used. She was tired. She was no longer a woman.
Heather decided that it was time and she decided to do it when the kids weren’t around. (more…)
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