Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Monday, October 20, 2008
Some Huge Swindles in History
Have you had enough yet?
Much has been written, dissected, and discussed about the current US money market meltdown.
It is the greatest swindle in history, the intentional conversion of real assets (land, houses) to fictional assets (numbers in a banking system computer).
Fact #1 The US Federal Reserve is neither Federal, nor has reserves.
It is a PRIVATE
institution owned by foreign bankers. They are: 1) Rothschild Banks of London and Berlin; 2) Lazard Brothers Banks of Paris; 3) Israel Moses Seif Banks of Italy; 4) Warburg Bank of Hamburg and Amsterdam; 5) Lehman Brothers of New York; 6) Kuhn, Loeb Bank of New York (Now Shearson American Express);
7) Goldman, Sachs of New York.
Source: Secrets of the Federal Reserve by Eustace Mullins, 1952 & 1993.
Mullins was the first researcher to find out who owns the Federal Reserve.
It was first published in 1952. In 1955 a German edition was seized and all 10,000 copies were burned, the only book that has been burned in Germany since WWII. Used copies are for sale at www.abebooks.com
Fact #2 The Federal Reserve Act of 1913 stipulates that the shareholders of the Bank are to be kept secret, and that it is NOT subject to audits. It has never been audited.
Another good book is 'The Creature from Jekyll Island' by Edward Griffin.
Buy it at his web site: http://www.realityzone.com/info.html.
There is a free 42 minute video here:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6507136891691870450.
A great video that takes you through the rise, and fall, of the previous four private central banks in the U.S.: The Money Masters.
It's an absolutely riveting production. It's on Google Video, or buy the DVD at his web site: http://www.themoneymasters.com
Fact #3 This is not the first private bank in the US. The US has had 4 previous private, FOR PROFIT central banks. President Andrew Jackson's re-election platform was, 'Abolish the Bank!' The current is the longest-running one, however, from 1913 to the present date. How much longer will it last? Depend how many people are protesting:
http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/content/sep2008/db20080924_43041
8.htm
Fact #4 The Federal Reserve is NOT part of the U.S, government! Go to the library and open a white city of New York phone book. See the blue pages in the back? That's for government listings. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York is not listed in there. It's listed in the white pages. So why are American taxpayers, and not the Federal Reserve, left with the debt?
Fact #5 The media is not telling the truth. Last week when the world's largest insurer, AIG, was bailed out, media such as The Wall Street Journal reported that, 'The U.S. government
seized control of American International Group Inc. -- one of the world's biggest insurers -- in an $85 billion deal':
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122156561931242905.html. No, the shares of AIG were transferred to the Governors of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, NOT the U.S. Government. Here is the Securities and Exchange Commission filing showing this:
http://sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/5272/000095012308011147/y71385e8vk.htm
Fact #6 All the shareholders in the Federal Reserve are in business together, not against each other. Right now they're either buying their competitors cheap, or asking the US taxpayer to prop up their own companies.
Fact #7 Lehman was bought by Barclay's for $1.35 billion. (Buy your own for a fire sale price). Rothschild has links to Lehmans, the Federal Reserve, and Barclays. Heck, it was his idea to set up the U.S. Federal Reserve!
Fact #8 JP Morgan bought out a competitor, Bear Stearns in March 2008. It could have waited and paid less, but no matter; the Fed has now lent $29 billion to Stearns in a non-recourse loan. This means the loan is collateralized by mortgage debt and that the government cannot seize JP Morgan's assets if the mortgage debt collateral comes insufficient to repay the loan. So, if mortgages fail, US taxpayers get saddled with the debt.
Fact #9 This morning JP Morgan bought WaMu (Washington Mutual), another former competitor, for $1.9 billion. Starting to see a pattern?
Fact #10 When Lehman failed their debt to asset ratio was 30 to 1.
Fact #11 Canadian banks, since 1991, are no longer required to do fractional banking. In other words, they can create as much money as they liked. In the old days they were restricted to lending, let's say, 10 times what they had in customer's deposits and other assets.
Who got this passed? Why, Brian Mulroney. (This was never in the
news.)
Fact #12 The Bank of Canada, of which all shares are owned by the Minister of Finance, are all non-voting shares. So, if you own all the shares, but have no vote, who's in control? Not the Canadian government. Source:
Deliberately in Debt, by Nora Galenzoski.
Fact #13 The Ottawa phone book shows the Bank of Canada listed in the white pages, and not under the blue government pages. The Bank of Canada is not part of the Canadian government.
Fact #14 The 1984 U.S Grace Commission Report, requested by Ronald Reagan, said, 100% of what is collected is absorbed solely by interest on the Federal debt and by Federal Government contributions to transfer payments.
In other words, all income tax revenues are gone before one nickel is spent on the services which taxpayers expect from their Government.'
Source: http://www.freecanadian.net/articles/grace.html
Fact #15 Canada's debt in 1992 was $423 billion. Of this, the principal was
$37 billion. The rest, or $386 billion, was interest.
Source: Canada's 1993 Auditor GeneralÕs Report Translation - most of the income tax US taxpayers pay goes into the pockets, as PROFIT, of the shareholders of the private US Federal Reserve, and not for services for the country, contrary to what the media tells us. Oh, wait we already caught them lying (See #5 above).
Canada? It's probably not that much different from the U.S.
Fact # 16 The bailout will cost the approximately 100 million US taxpayers $10,000 each. However, interest payments on the debt (like debt on a credit
card) means the final bill will be much higher.
Fact #17 The US Income Tax Act and the US Federal Reserve Act, which gave the power of a central bank (again) to private bankers, were both passed in 1913. Coincidence?
Fact #18 The Federal Reserve creates money out of thin air, and then lends it, with interest, to the US government. If the Fed is out of money, no problem; just type in a figure with a bunch of zeros into the computer. So whatÕs the real motive? It's not the money; it's about using money to control people through economic slavery.
Have you had enough yet?
My Opinion
This was all designed to happen by the shareholders of the US Federal Reserve. They re-wrote the U.S. bankruptcy laws about 2 years ago to make it much harder to declare bankruptcy. They allowed the predatory lending to happen. People who opposed this practice were 'taken out'
like Eliot Spitzer, where in his article, Predatory Lenders Partners in Crime, documents the Bush administration deliberately and wilfully looking the other way (this is a must read!):
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/13/AR2008021302
783.html.
This article was published Feb 14th; the New York Times 'outed' him on March 10th. The industry then re-packaged these high-risk mortgages and sold them as triple-A blue-chip investments. Competitors, with clients also demanding high-return products, sold the same toxic products. This forced some of their own firms into bankruptcy but, hey, no problem; the government will bail them out! And we can now buy our competitors at fire-sale prices!
It's absolutely brilliant. Money is not the real issue. The Fed has created money out of thin air for many years. The goal is more control. Here's a big clue (obviously not meant for public
consumption):
The Banker s Manifesto of 1892 Revealed by US Congressman Charles A.
Lindbergh, SR from Minnesota before the US Congress sometime during his term of office between the years of 1907 and 1917 to warn the citizens.
'We (the bankers) must proceed with caution and guard every move made, for the lower order of people are already showing signs of restless commotion.
Prudence will therefore show a policy of apparently yielding to the popular will until our plans are so far consummated that we can declare our designs without fear of any organized resistance.
Capital must protect itself in every possible manner through combination
(conspiracy) and legislation. The courts must be called to our aid, debts must be collected, bonds and mortgages foreclosed as rapidly as possible.
When through the process of the law, the common people have lost their homes, they will be more tractable and easily governed through the influence of the strong arm of the government applied to a central power of imperial wealth under the control of the leading financiers. People without homes will not quarrel with their leaders.
History repeats itself in regular cycles. This truth is well known among our principal men who are engaged in forming an imperialism of the world. While they are doing this, the people must be kept in a state of political antagonism. The question of tariff reform must be urged through the organization known as the Democratic Party, and the question of protection with the reciprocity must be forced to view through the Republican Party. By thus dividing voters, we can get them to expand their energies in fighting over questions of no importance to us, except as teachers to the common herd. Thus, by discrete action, we can secure all that has been so generously planned and successfully accomplished."
Is this why LindbergÕs grandson was kidnapped and killed? (The grandson was the son of aviator Charles Lindbergh, Junior, the first to fly non-stop across the Atlantic in 1927 in his plane, The Spirit of St. Louis). And people think they will make change by voting for either Republican or Democrat?
So my prediction for the future is:
The taking over of the central bank for the U.S was not enough for these people. They are going for the control of the entire financial system, and assets, of the United States (and ultimately, the world.) They then saddle the burden on the taxpayers.
The US government will become the largest landlord in the world. There are rumours that they might change the mortgage system to be similar to the feudalistic system in Europe, where the majority of people pay rent their entire lives.
Economic slavery is ultimate control. And when people cannot pay their rent to their master, they can always go get a job with the US Military, thus fulfilling the US's role in the New World Order (England = monetary control, Vatican = religious control, Washington = military control).
A final video for fun - on YouTube, less than two minutes. What if George Bush was in The Dark Knight?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1X6RQLZtoA
And it's not over yet. And you still want to pay income tax?
Have you had enough yet?
Eric Ho, Human Rights Educator
Paradigm Education Group
Much has been written, dissected, and discussed about the current US money market meltdown.
It is the greatest swindle in history, the intentional conversion of real assets (land, houses) to fictional assets (numbers in a banking system computer).
Fact #1 The US Federal Reserve is neither Federal, nor has reserves.
It is a PRIVATE
institution owned by foreign bankers. They are: 1) Rothschild Banks of London and Berlin; 2) Lazard Brothers Banks of Paris; 3) Israel Moses Seif Banks of Italy; 4) Warburg Bank of Hamburg and Amsterdam; 5) Lehman Brothers of New York; 6) Kuhn, Loeb Bank of New York (Now Shearson American Express);
7) Goldman, Sachs of New York.
Source: Secrets of the Federal Reserve by Eustace Mullins, 1952 & 1993.
Mullins was the first researcher to find out who owns the Federal Reserve.
It was first published in 1952. In 1955 a German edition was seized and all 10,000 copies were burned, the only book that has been burned in Germany since WWII. Used copies are for sale at www.abebooks.com
Fact #2 The Federal Reserve Act of 1913 stipulates that the shareholders of the Bank are to be kept secret, and that it is NOT subject to audits. It has never been audited.
Another good book is 'The Creature from Jekyll Island' by Edward Griffin.
Buy it at his web site: http://www.realityzone.com/info.html.
There is a free 42 minute video here:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6507136891691870450.
A great video that takes you through the rise, and fall, of the previous four private central banks in the U.S.: The Money Masters.
It's an absolutely riveting production. It's on Google Video, or buy the DVD at his web site: http://www.themoneymasters.com
Fact #3 This is not the first private bank in the US. The US has had 4 previous private, FOR PROFIT central banks. President Andrew Jackson's re-election platform was, 'Abolish the Bank!' The current is the longest-running one, however, from 1913 to the present date. How much longer will it last? Depend how many people are protesting:
http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/content/sep2008/db20080924_43041
8.htm
Fact #4 The Federal Reserve is NOT part of the U.S, government! Go to the library and open a white city of New York phone book. See the blue pages in the back? That's for government listings. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York is not listed in there. It's listed in the white pages. So why are American taxpayers, and not the Federal Reserve, left with the debt?
Fact #5 The media is not telling the truth. Last week when the world's largest insurer, AIG, was bailed out, media such as The Wall Street Journal reported that, 'The U.S. government
seized control of American International Group Inc. -- one of the world's biggest insurers -- in an $85 billion deal':
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122156561931242905.html. No, the shares of AIG were transferred to the Governors of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, NOT the U.S. Government. Here is the Securities and Exchange Commission filing showing this:
http://sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/5272/000095012308011147/y71385e8vk.htm
Fact #6 All the shareholders in the Federal Reserve are in business together, not against each other. Right now they're either buying their competitors cheap, or asking the US taxpayer to prop up their own companies.
Fact #7 Lehman was bought by Barclay's for $1.35 billion. (Buy your own for a fire sale price). Rothschild has links to Lehmans, the Federal Reserve, and Barclays. Heck, it was his idea to set up the U.S. Federal Reserve!
Fact #8 JP Morgan bought out a competitor, Bear Stearns in March 2008. It could have waited and paid less, but no matter; the Fed has now lent $29 billion to Stearns in a non-recourse loan. This means the loan is collateralized by mortgage debt and that the government cannot seize JP Morgan's assets if the mortgage debt collateral comes insufficient to repay the loan. So, if mortgages fail, US taxpayers get saddled with the debt.
Fact #9 This morning JP Morgan bought WaMu (Washington Mutual), another former competitor, for $1.9 billion. Starting to see a pattern?
Fact #10 When Lehman failed their debt to asset ratio was 30 to 1.
Fact #11 Canadian banks, since 1991, are no longer required to do fractional banking. In other words, they can create as much money as they liked. In the old days they were restricted to lending, let's say, 10 times what they had in customer's deposits and other assets.
Who got this passed? Why, Brian Mulroney. (This was never in the
news.)
Fact #12 The Bank of Canada, of which all shares are owned by the Minister of Finance, are all non-voting shares. So, if you own all the shares, but have no vote, who's in control? Not the Canadian government. Source:
Deliberately in Debt, by Nora Galenzoski.
Fact #13 The Ottawa phone book shows the Bank of Canada listed in the white pages, and not under the blue government pages. The Bank of Canada is not part of the Canadian government.
Fact #14 The 1984 U.S Grace Commission Report, requested by Ronald Reagan, said, 100% of what is collected is absorbed solely by interest on the Federal debt and by Federal Government contributions to transfer payments.
In other words, all income tax revenues are gone before one nickel is spent on the services which taxpayers expect from their Government.'
Source: http://www.freecanadian.net/articles/grace.html
Fact #15 Canada's debt in 1992 was $423 billion. Of this, the principal was
$37 billion. The rest, or $386 billion, was interest.
Source: Canada's 1993 Auditor GeneralÕs Report Translation - most of the income tax US taxpayers pay goes into the pockets, as PROFIT, of the shareholders of the private US Federal Reserve, and not for services for the country, contrary to what the media tells us. Oh, wait we already caught them lying (See #5 above).
Canada? It's probably not that much different from the U.S.
Fact # 16 The bailout will cost the approximately 100 million US taxpayers $10,000 each. However, interest payments on the debt (like debt on a credit
card) means the final bill will be much higher.
Fact #17 The US Income Tax Act and the US Federal Reserve Act, which gave the power of a central bank (again) to private bankers, were both passed in 1913. Coincidence?
Fact #18 The Federal Reserve creates money out of thin air, and then lends it, with interest, to the US government. If the Fed is out of money, no problem; just type in a figure with a bunch of zeros into the computer. So whatÕs the real motive? It's not the money; it's about using money to control people through economic slavery.
Have you had enough yet?
My Opinion
This was all designed to happen by the shareholders of the US Federal Reserve. They re-wrote the U.S. bankruptcy laws about 2 years ago to make it much harder to declare bankruptcy. They allowed the predatory lending to happen. People who opposed this practice were 'taken out'
like Eliot Spitzer, where in his article, Predatory Lenders Partners in Crime, documents the Bush administration deliberately and wilfully looking the other way (this is a must read!):
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/13/AR2008021302
783.html.
This article was published Feb 14th; the New York Times 'outed' him on March 10th. The industry then re-packaged these high-risk mortgages and sold them as triple-A blue-chip investments. Competitors, with clients also demanding high-return products, sold the same toxic products. This forced some of their own firms into bankruptcy but, hey, no problem; the government will bail them out! And we can now buy our competitors at fire-sale prices!
It's absolutely brilliant. Money is not the real issue. The Fed has created money out of thin air for many years. The goal is more control. Here's a big clue (obviously not meant for public
consumption):
The Banker s Manifesto of 1892 Revealed by US Congressman Charles A.
Lindbergh, SR from Minnesota before the US Congress sometime during his term of office between the years of 1907 and 1917 to warn the citizens.
'We (the bankers) must proceed with caution and guard every move made, for the lower order of people are already showing signs of restless commotion.
Prudence will therefore show a policy of apparently yielding to the popular will until our plans are so far consummated that we can declare our designs without fear of any organized resistance.
Capital must protect itself in every possible manner through combination
(conspiracy) and legislation. The courts must be called to our aid, debts must be collected, bonds and mortgages foreclosed as rapidly as possible.
When through the process of the law, the common people have lost their homes, they will be more tractable and easily governed through the influence of the strong arm of the government applied to a central power of imperial wealth under the control of the leading financiers. People without homes will not quarrel with their leaders.
History repeats itself in regular cycles. This truth is well known among our principal men who are engaged in forming an imperialism of the world. While they are doing this, the people must be kept in a state of political antagonism. The question of tariff reform must be urged through the organization known as the Democratic Party, and the question of protection with the reciprocity must be forced to view through the Republican Party. By thus dividing voters, we can get them to expand their energies in fighting over questions of no importance to us, except as teachers to the common herd. Thus, by discrete action, we can secure all that has been so generously planned and successfully accomplished."
Is this why LindbergÕs grandson was kidnapped and killed? (The grandson was the son of aviator Charles Lindbergh, Junior, the first to fly non-stop across the Atlantic in 1927 in his plane, The Spirit of St. Louis). And people think they will make change by voting for either Republican or Democrat?
So my prediction for the future is:
The taking over of the central bank for the U.S was not enough for these people. They are going for the control of the entire financial system, and assets, of the United States (and ultimately, the world.) They then saddle the burden on the taxpayers.
The US government will become the largest landlord in the world. There are rumours that they might change the mortgage system to be similar to the feudalistic system in Europe, where the majority of people pay rent their entire lives.
Economic slavery is ultimate control. And when people cannot pay their rent to their master, they can always go get a job with the US Military, thus fulfilling the US's role in the New World Order (England = monetary control, Vatican = religious control, Washington = military control).
A final video for fun - on YouTube, less than two minutes. What if George Bush was in The Dark Knight?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1X6RQLZtoA
And it's not over yet. And you still want to pay income tax?
Have you had enough yet?
Eric Ho, Human Rights Educator
Paradigm Education Group
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Exquisite photo of the Northpole
This came in the email today
Isn't it just beautiful - sent by my friend Frank
Check out my recently published content on AC:
St. Thomas Virgin Islands
Check out my recently published content on AC:
The Rustic Casa Del Campo, Dominican Republic
St. Thomas Virgin Islands
Check out my recently published content on AC:
The Rustic Casa Del Campo, Dominican Republic
Monday, September 22, 2008
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Age Activated Attention Deficit Disorder.
Take a moment to LOL - this is a good one for the age-appropriate reader - (55 plus)
This is how it manifests:
I decide to water my garden. As I turn on the hose in the driveway,
I look over at my car and decide it needs washing. As I start toward the garage,I notice mail on the porch table that I brought up from the mail box earlier I decide to go through the mail before I wash the car.
I lay my car keys on the table, put the junk mail in the garbage can under the table, and notice that the can is full. So, I decide to put the bills back
on the table and take out the garbage first. But then I think,
since I'm going to be near the mailbox when I take out the garbage anyway,
I may as well pay the bills first. I take my check book off the table,
and see that there is only one check left.
My extra checks are in my desk in the study, so I go inside the house to my desk where I find the can of Coke I'd been drinking. I'm going to look for my checks, but first I need to push the Coke aside so that I don't accidentally knock it over.
The Coke is getting warm, and I decide to put it in the refrigerator to keep it cold. As I head toward the kitchen with the Coke, a vase of flowers on the counter catches my eye--they need water. I put the Coke on the counter and discover my reading glasses that I've been searching for all morning. I decide I better put them back on my desk, but first I'm going to water the flowers. I set the glasses back down on the counter, fill a container with water and suddenly spot the TV remote. Someone left it on the kitchen table.
I realize that tonight when we go to watch TV, I'll be looking for the remote, but I won't remember that it's on the kitchen table, so I decide to put it back in the den where it belongs, but first I'll water the flowers. I pour some water in the flowers, but quite a bit of it spills on the floor. So, I set the remote back on the table, get some towels and wipe up the spill. Then, I head down the hall trying to remember what I was planning to do.
At the end of the day: the car isn't washed the bills aren't paid
there is a warm can of Coke sitting on the counter the flowers don't have enough water, there is still only 1 check in my check book,
I can't find the remote, I can't find my glasses, and I don't remember what I did with the car keys. Then, when I try to figure out why nothing got done today,
I'm really baffled because I know I was busy all damn day, and I'm really tired.
I realize this is a serious problem, and I'll try to get some help for it, but first I'll check my e-mail.... Do me a favor. Forward this message to everyone you know,
because I don't remember who the hell I've sent it to.
This is how it manifests:
I decide to water my garden. As I turn on the hose in the driveway,
I look over at my car and decide it needs washing. As I start toward the garage,I notice mail on the porch table that I brought up from the mail box earlier I decide to go through the mail before I wash the car.
I lay my car keys on the table, put the junk mail in the garbage can under the table, and notice that the can is full. So, I decide to put the bills back
on the table and take out the garbage first. But then I think,
since I'm going to be near the mailbox when I take out the garbage anyway,
I may as well pay the bills first. I take my check book off the table,
and see that there is only one check left.
My extra checks are in my desk in the study, so I go inside the house to my desk where I find the can of Coke I'd been drinking. I'm going to look for my checks, but first I need to push the Coke aside so that I don't accidentally knock it over.
The Coke is getting warm, and I decide to put it in the refrigerator to keep it cold. As I head toward the kitchen with the Coke, a vase of flowers on the counter catches my eye--they need water. I put the Coke on the counter and discover my reading glasses that I've been searching for all morning. I decide I better put them back on my desk, but first I'm going to water the flowers. I set the glasses back down on the counter, fill a container with water and suddenly spot the TV remote. Someone left it on the kitchen table.
I realize that tonight when we go to watch TV, I'll be looking for the remote, but I won't remember that it's on the kitchen table, so I decide to put it back in the den where it belongs, but first I'll water the flowers. I pour some water in the flowers, but quite a bit of it spills on the floor. So, I set the remote back on the table, get some towels and wipe up the spill. Then, I head down the hall trying to remember what I was planning to do.
At the end of the day: the car isn't washed the bills aren't paid
there is a warm can of Coke sitting on the counter the flowers don't have enough water, there is still only 1 check in my check book,
I can't find the remote, I can't find my glasses, and I don't remember what I did with the car keys. Then, when I try to figure out why nothing got done today,
I'm really baffled because I know I was busy all damn day, and I'm really tired.
I realize this is a serious problem, and I'll try to get some help for it, but first I'll check my e-mail.... Do me a favor. Forward this message to everyone you know,
because I don't remember who the hell I've sent it to.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Collections for Value Village
Did you know that when you get a call from Big Brother and Big Sister Organization in Winnipeg that your stuff does not go to this organization but they are working for Value Village. Nothing wrong with that but I was under the impression that I was helping out big brothers and big sisters. I asked one of the solicitors what do they do with the stuff and then she grudgingly told me that the donation is for Value Village. Now I call that a little deceptive, don't you?
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
BBC NEWS | Americas | Legacy of Canada's residential schools
It is the hot topic of the day, the day when Prime Minister Harper will apologize to the Aboriginal peoples for the wrongs the Government of Canada did to them through the institution of the residential school. It is a day many had hoped for but have not lived to see but their children and grandchildren are bearing witness to this historic occasion.
In Winnipeg there are celebrations throughout the city but the big one is at the Marlborough Hotel where free lunches will be provided for survivors and their families and I am sure friends as well. Schools are participating by having students listen to the apology. It is a buzz and long time coming.
One man said on CBC this morning that the apology does not mean anything to him because it is a little too late and that nothing can erase the pain and memory of the residential school that robbed him of the love of his mother and family.
Well, it's a step in the right direction. For some this will bring closure of sorts and will give them the courage to go on with what is left of their lives. We are all broken people but we must go on. Each of us as human beings have our burden to carry. I do not think it is possible to be human without a burden. And so I hope the Aboriginal people will take comfort in this and press on for the larger victory of equality and greater participation in their own lives.
see story below by BBC - very good story indeed.
BBC NEWS | Americas | Legacy of Canada's residential schools
In Winnipeg there are celebrations throughout the city but the big one is at the Marlborough Hotel where free lunches will be provided for survivors and their families and I am sure friends as well. Schools are participating by having students listen to the apology. It is a buzz and long time coming.
One man said on CBC this morning that the apology does not mean anything to him because it is a little too late and that nothing can erase the pain and memory of the residential school that robbed him of the love of his mother and family.
Well, it's a step in the right direction. For some this will bring closure of sorts and will give them the courage to go on with what is left of their lives. We are all broken people but we must go on. Each of us as human beings have our burden to carry. I do not think it is possible to be human without a burden. And so I hope the Aboriginal people will take comfort in this and press on for the larger victory of equality and greater participation in their own lives.
see story below by BBC - very good story indeed.
BBC NEWS | Americas | Legacy of Canada's residential schools
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Monday, June 9, 2008
Understanding the rationale for a federal taxes is a challenge: Understanding gender impacts of crucial importance to women
According to recent statistics, the traditional nuclear family is no longer a reality for more than 50% of Canadians. As taxation systems have largely been built on the old model,
The first requires analysis of where the budget lies on a broad political spectrum. At one end, the budget may follow the mantra of cutting taxes, reducing the deficit and the overall size of government, while focussing on economic competitiveness, the military, and law and order. At the other end, the budget may allow the government role and its expenditures when there are important social, environmental and economic initiatives needed to build a sustainable and inclusive society. Both approaches require a sense of balance, but the fulcrum between investing in public goods and services and freeing the individual will be differently located.
The second requires an analysis of a budget’s gender impact. This may appear to be a relatively simple task. Just examine individual measures to see if their impact on men and women is similar, and if not to determine how they should be adjusted to achieve greater equality of result. In reality, it is never that simple. Expenditures, taxes and debt can be too high or too low for long term wellbeing, for the individual and for society. Add the nation’s role in the international context – peacekeeping, investment, trade and aid – and you have a more formidable task.
The current aim is to restrict the analysis in the interest of gender equality to the gender impact of various tax measures, with some reflections on recent Canadian budgets. Much of my information comes from Kathleen Lahey, a Queens Economics professor I met through FAFIA in New York, and Armine Yalnizyan who FAFIA engaged to analyze the 1995-2005 decade in terms of gender impact.
The Context:
1. While Canada enjoyed #1 spot in UNDP’s Human Development Index (HDI) during the ‘90’s, we have now sunk to #3 in ;01 and #7 in ’06. Our rating on the Gender Development Index (GDI) has been consistently below that on the HDI.Other top ranking countries have continued tom improve their rating.
2. The UN World Economic Forum Gender Gap Index (GGI), based on economic participation and opportunities, educational attainment, political empowerment, health and survival, told a similar story: #14 in ’06, #18 in ’07.
3. These declines have been attributed to women’s different political economy: lower wages, more responsibility for unpaid work, more single parents.
4. Even women with advanced education experienced lower wages, glass ceilings, more child care hours (13/wk for men, 35 for women).
5. The large gender income gap persists until late in life when inheritance and longevity effects appear.
6. Women are less economically competitive throughout their lives, leading to proportionately more: 2nd class incomes, economic dependency, marginalized and interrupted work, poverty, smaller savings , lower retirement benefits, constrained rights to EI, smaller CPP and fewer opportunities for advancement. Race, class and disability further aggravate the inequality.
Taxation and Gender Budgeting (analysis of different impacts on men and women of revenue and expenditure)
1. Income and assets vary by gender; so does taxation even though it may appear neutral. Its impact is affected by economic status and women’s greater need for social services; tax principles, the total impact of the mix of taxes, and the types of credits and deductions (tax expenditures).
2. Governments should report impacts of tax expenditures as they do now giving economic and social impacts of many tax items (estimates of impact, projections of fiscal impact, how calculated and why considered tax expenditures).
3. Graduated income taxes are seen as “progressive”, “fair” or “redistributive” but the way they are graduated makes the difference.
a. In ’89, the number of tax brackets was reduced from 13 to 4, and all shared an exemption of $9600. People with incomes close to $15,000 paid the same tax rate of 15% (+GST/PST of 13-20% depending on the province or territory) as people with incomes close to $30,000. Many more women than men earn at the lower level so more women spend proportionately more of their income on tax.
b. In ’08, the tax rate was reduced from 17% to 15%, still a higher rate than before the above change.
c. Gender Budget Analysis should analyze the impacts on the majority of men and women using pre-1989 rates as their baseline.
4. Payroll taxes:
a. CPP and EI taxes are paid by contributions from both employers and employees (currently CPP $2.475 each = 4.95 % of income; EI $2.42% by employers + $1.73 by employees + 3.9% income, 8.85% in total) with caps for higher income people.
b. Because of these caps, more women will pay a higher proportion of their income for CPP and EI.
c. Because women on average are paid less than men, and are more likely to experience interrupted or marginal work and have lower lifetime income, their benefits and capacity to save are less.
d. Federal income tax rates and GST are common across the country but provincial income tax rates, PST, and other payroll taxes vary so total tax rates will vary.
5. Income Tax Provisions:
a. Women can experience additional disadvantages when adult relationships (spousal or partner) are embedded in the tax structure; e.g. dependent deduction or credit, as women’s economic dependence is reinforced without her having actual control of any funds.
b. Marriage and co-habitation ‘penalty’ taxes such as GST tax credit and Canada Child Tax Benefits (CCTB) are currently the largest forms. They are really social welfare benefits administered through the tax system for lowest income people, among whom women outnumber men. If there is a couple total income limit, the woman who generally has the lower income does not benefit directly unless the partner shares it equally.
c. Joint tax provisions: joint filing or income splitting is the ultimate form but is not yet in the Canadian tax system except for seniors.
d. Other provisions that reinforce women’s vulnerability, economic dependence and poverty (disincentives to enter the labour force and reduce the labour supply) are:
i. Dependent spouse/partner tax credits
ii. Transferable credits
iii. Tax exemption for unpaid work
iv. Caregiver tax credit
v. Child care deduction expense limits
vi. Tax-back of child care expense deductions in the CCTB
vii. Non-deductibility of work-related expenses
viii. Universal child care allowance
6. Urgent Issue: Income Splitting
a. May appear under guise of softening impact of income trust controls
b. No guarantee that lower income person, generally the woman, actually
has control of half the combined income
c. retirement income splitting introduced in 2007 breaking Canadian tradition of capping joint tax instruments to ensure high income people contribute to neediest.
i. single income couples with a single high earner benefit most
ii. the lower income person will have no incentive to take on paid work unless able to earn enough to offset the benefits to the higher income spouse
iii. half the combined incomes may even push both into a higher tax bracket, as well as depriving the unit of unpaid work..
iv. no benefit received by low income people or people needing more retirement income
v. only of slight benefit to middle income people
vi. low income people subsidize high income people
d. Should be top priority if gender budgeting introduced as it changes
principle of entire Income Tax Act (taxing the individual’s income); joint ownership should require a legal agreement, as with CPP splitting and spousal/partner RRSPs.
e. Legally married and common law partners would be affected differently: a spouse reports a fictional share of the other spouse’s income but retains liability for tax owed; if either spouse refuses to pay both portions of the tax, the other spouse will have no legal entitlement to the income of the other spouse from which to pay the tax until death or legal separation
f. A common law partner (in most jurisdictions) will only have a “moral” right to the property, a disincentive to shared ownership, and contrary to the principles of gender equity incorporated in family law since the ‘70s.
g. Pension income splitting benefits higher incomes more (with incomes of >$70,000) higher income married and co-habiting couples at the expense of single and widowed persons, the majority of whom are women. It also weakens the state’s ability to fund other social programs like child care
h. Gender responsive budgeting should focus on the dangers of income
splitting and the negative effects of all other taxes, credits and deductions.
So how does Budget Canada 2008 stack up for women?
Slight gains were made:
1. Tax relief for lower income (women predominate) , but overshadowed by large
tax cuts for upper income
2. Tax free savings plan – benefits some upper income women but of little help to
lower income women who require all their income for basic needs
3. Arm’s length crown corporation established for Employment Insurance gives
fund some more independence, but no changes made in criteria for qualifying or
level of benefits to remove the current disadvantage faced by most women; the
$2m. allocated the crown is very little when compared to the $57.5m.
accumulation in the fund that remained in general revenue
But Major losses were also there:
1. Service expenditure devolved to provinces, abdicating strong role for federal government in providing services of particular value to women largely because of their family caretaking role.
2. No expenditures on a National Early Learning and Child Care program; military expenditures were increased.
3. Role of central government in funding services curtailed; equalization transfers to provinces shifted to per capita base rather than compensation to provinces with lowest per capita tax base.
4. Large allocations to debt reduction potentially of benefit all but of no help for people living below the poverty line.
In balance, the current gender income gap between women and men was widened by Budget 2008 rather than reduced.
The first requires analysis of where the budget lies on a broad political spectrum. At one end, the budget may follow the mantra of cutting taxes, reducing the deficit and the overall size of government, while focussing on economic competitiveness, the military, and law and order. At the other end, the budget may allow the government role and its expenditures when there are important social, environmental and economic initiatives needed to build a sustainable and inclusive society. Both approaches require a sense of balance, but the fulcrum between investing in public goods and services and freeing the individual will be differently located.
The second requires an analysis of a budget’s gender impact. This may appear to be a relatively simple task. Just examine individual measures to see if their impact on men and women is similar, and if not to determine how they should be adjusted to achieve greater equality of result. In reality, it is never that simple. Expenditures, taxes and debt can be too high or too low for long term wellbeing, for the individual and for society. Add the nation’s role in the international context – peacekeeping, investment, trade and aid – and you have a more formidable task.
The current aim is to restrict the analysis in the interest of gender equality to the gender impact of various tax measures, with some reflections on recent Canadian budgets. Much of my information comes from Kathleen Lahey, a Queens Economics professor I met through FAFIA in New York, and Armine Yalnizyan who FAFIA engaged to analyze the 1995-2005 decade in terms of gender impact.
The Context:
1. While Canada enjoyed #1 spot in UNDP’s Human Development Index (HDI) during the ‘90’s, we have now sunk to #3 in ;01 and #7 in ’06. Our rating on the Gender Development Index (GDI) has been consistently below that on the HDI.Other top ranking countries have continued tom improve their rating.
2. The UN World Economic Forum Gender Gap Index (GGI), based on economic participation and opportunities, educational attainment, political empowerment, health and survival, told a similar story: #14 in ’06, #18 in ’07.
3. These declines have been attributed to women’s different political economy: lower wages, more responsibility for unpaid work, more single parents.
4. Even women with advanced education experienced lower wages, glass ceilings, more child care hours (13/wk for men, 35 for women).
5. The large gender income gap persists until late in life when inheritance and longevity effects appear.
6. Women are less economically competitive throughout their lives, leading to proportionately more: 2nd class incomes, economic dependency, marginalized and interrupted work, poverty, smaller savings , lower retirement benefits, constrained rights to EI, smaller CPP and fewer opportunities for advancement. Race, class and disability further aggravate the inequality.
Taxation and Gender Budgeting (analysis of different impacts on men and women of revenue and expenditure)
1. Income and assets vary by gender; so does taxation even though it may appear neutral. Its impact is affected by economic status and women’s greater need for social services; tax principles, the total impact of the mix of taxes, and the types of credits and deductions (tax expenditures).
2. Governments should report impacts of tax expenditures as they do now giving economic and social impacts of many tax items (estimates of impact, projections of fiscal impact, how calculated and why considered tax expenditures).
3. Graduated income taxes are seen as “progressive”, “fair” or “redistributive” but the way they are graduated makes the difference.
a. In ’89, the number of tax brackets was reduced from 13 to 4, and all shared an exemption of $9600. People with incomes close to $15,000 paid the same tax rate of 15% (+GST/PST of 13-20% depending on the province or territory) as people with incomes close to $30,000. Many more women than men earn at the lower level so more women spend proportionately more of their income on tax.
b. In ’08, the tax rate was reduced from 17% to 15%, still a higher rate than before the above change.
c. Gender Budget Analysis should analyze the impacts on the majority of men and women using pre-1989 rates as their baseline.
4. Payroll taxes:
a. CPP and EI taxes are paid by contributions from both employers and employees (currently CPP $2.475 each = 4.95 % of income; EI $2.42% by employers + $1.73 by employees + 3.9% income, 8.85% in total) with caps for higher income people.
b. Because of these caps, more women will pay a higher proportion of their income for CPP and EI.
c. Because women on average are paid less than men, and are more likely to experience interrupted or marginal work and have lower lifetime income, their benefits and capacity to save are less.
d. Federal income tax rates and GST are common across the country but provincial income tax rates, PST, and other payroll taxes vary so total tax rates will vary.
5. Income Tax Provisions:
a. Women can experience additional disadvantages when adult relationships (spousal or partner) are embedded in the tax structure; e.g. dependent deduction or credit, as women’s economic dependence is reinforced without her having actual control of any funds.
b. Marriage and co-habitation ‘penalty’ taxes such as GST tax credit and Canada Child Tax Benefits (CCTB) are currently the largest forms. They are really social welfare benefits administered through the tax system for lowest income people, among whom women outnumber men. If there is a couple total income limit, the woman who generally has the lower income does not benefit directly unless the partner shares it equally.
c. Joint tax provisions: joint filing or income splitting is the ultimate form but is not yet in the Canadian tax system except for seniors.
d. Other provisions that reinforce women’s vulnerability, economic dependence and poverty (disincentives to enter the labour force and reduce the labour supply) are:
i. Dependent spouse/partner tax credits
ii. Transferable credits
iii. Tax exemption for unpaid work
iv. Caregiver tax credit
v. Child care deduction expense limits
vi. Tax-back of child care expense deductions in the CCTB
vii. Non-deductibility of work-related expenses
viii. Universal child care allowance
6. Urgent Issue: Income Splitting
a. May appear under guise of softening impact of income trust controls
b. No guarantee that lower income person, generally the woman, actually
has control of half the combined income
c. retirement income splitting introduced in 2007 breaking Canadian tradition of capping joint tax instruments to ensure high income people contribute to neediest.
i. single income couples with a single high earner benefit most
ii. the lower income person will have no incentive to take on paid work unless able to earn enough to offset the benefits to the higher income spouse
iii. half the combined incomes may even push both into a higher tax bracket, as well as depriving the unit of unpaid work..
iv. no benefit received by low income people or people needing more retirement income
v. only of slight benefit to middle income people
vi. low income people subsidize high income people
d. Should be top priority if gender budgeting introduced as it changes
principle of entire Income Tax Act (taxing the individual’s income); joint ownership should require a legal agreement, as with CPP splitting and spousal/partner RRSPs.
e. Legally married and common law partners would be affected differently: a spouse reports a fictional share of the other spouse’s income but retains liability for tax owed; if either spouse refuses to pay both portions of the tax, the other spouse will have no legal entitlement to the income of the other spouse from which to pay the tax until death or legal separation
f. A common law partner (in most jurisdictions) will only have a “moral” right to the property, a disincentive to shared ownership, and contrary to the principles of gender equity incorporated in family law since the ‘70s.
g. Pension income splitting benefits higher incomes more (with incomes of >$70,000) higher income married and co-habiting couples at the expense of single and widowed persons, the majority of whom are women. It also weakens the state’s ability to fund other social programs like child care
h. Gender responsive budgeting should focus on the dangers of income
splitting and the negative effects of all other taxes, credits and deductions.
So how does Budget Canada 2008 stack up for women?
Slight gains were made:
1. Tax relief for lower income (women predominate) , but overshadowed by large
tax cuts for upper income
2. Tax free savings plan – benefits some upper income women but of little help to
lower income women who require all their income for basic needs
3. Arm’s length crown corporation established for Employment Insurance gives
fund some more independence, but no changes made in criteria for qualifying or
level of benefits to remove the current disadvantage faced by most women; the
$2m. allocated the crown is very little when compared to the $57.5m.
accumulation in the fund that remained in general revenue
But Major losses were also there:
1. Service expenditure devolved to provinces, abdicating strong role for federal government in providing services of particular value to women largely because of their family caretaking role.
2. No expenditures on a National Early Learning and Child Care program; military expenditures were increased.
3. Role of central government in funding services curtailed; equalization transfers to provinces shifted to per capita base rather than compensation to provinces with lowest per capita tax base.
4. Large allocations to debt reduction potentially of benefit all but of no help for people living below the poverty line.
In balance, the current gender income gap between women and men was widened by Budget 2008 rather than reduced.
The only Albino gorilla in the world was found in Equitorial Guinea
This gorilla is now languishing in a zoo in Barcelonia - taken out of Africa. Pity. PBS will be airing a show on this animal shortly. Watch for it.
Bill Moyer on what's wrong with the media today
Bill Moyers: 'Journalism in Profound Crisis' (Video) | MediaCulture | AlterNet
Link: http://www.alternet.org/mediaculture/87376/
Link: http://www.alternet.org/mediaculture/87376/
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
A custormer is mad at Best Buy... Are they really the Best Buy
BEST BUY, MY FOOT
Best Buy has some bad policies....
Normally, I would not share this with others, however, since this could
happen to you or your friends , I decided to share it. If you purchase
something from, Wal-Mart, Sam's Club, JC Penny, Sears etc. and you
return the item with the receipt they will give you your money back if you paid
cash, or credit your account if paid by plastic.
| Well, I purchased a GPS for my car, a Tom Tom XL.S from 'Best Buy'. They
have a policy that it must be returned within 14 days for a refund!
So after 4 days I returned it in the original box with all the items in
the box, with paper work and cords all wrapped in the plastic. Just as I
received it, including the receipt.
I explained to the lady at the return desk I did not like the way it
could not find store names. The lady at the refund desk said, there is a
15% restock fee, for items returned. I said no one told me that. I said
how much would that be. She said it goes by the price of the item. It
will be $45.00 Dollars for you. I said, all your going to do is walk over and
place it back on the shelf then charge me $45.00 of my money for
restocking? She said that's the store policy. I said if more people were
aware of this they would not buy anything here! If I bought a $2000.00
computer or TV and returned it I would be charged $300.00 dollars restock
fee? She said yes, 15%.
I said OK, just give me my money minus the restock fee.
She said, since the item is over $200.00 dollars, she can't give me my
money back!!!
Corporate has to and they will mail you a check in 7 to ten days.!! I said
'WHAT?!'
It's my money!! I paid in cash! I want to buy a different brand..Now I
have to wait 7 to 10 days. She said well, our policy is on the back of
your receipt.
I said, do you read the front or back of your receipt? She said well, the
front! I said so do I, I want to talk to the Manager!.
So the manager comes over, I explained everything to him, and he said,
well, sir they should have told you about the policy when you got the
item. I said, No one, has ever told me about the check refund or
restock fee, whenever I bought items from computers to TVs from Best
Buy. The only thing they ever discussed was the worthless extended warranty program. He I said Well, I can give you corporate phone number.
I called corporate. The guy said, well, I'm not supposed to do this but I
can give you a 45.00 dollar gift card and you can use it at Best Buy. I
told him if I bought something and returned it, you would charge me a
restock fee on the item and then send me a check for the remaining 3
dollars. You can keep your gift card, I'm never shopping in Best Buy ever
again, and if I would have been smart, I would have charged the whole
thing on my credit card! Then I would have canceled the transaction.
I would have gotten all my money back including your stupid fees! He
|didn't say a word!
I informed him that I was going to e-mail my friends and give them a heads
up on this stores policy, as they don't tell you about all the little
caveats.
It's true! read it for yourself!!
Best Buys return policy
Do you have any stories about bad business practices? Share these with the world. It's the only way change can come about. Many times we do not read the fine prints. Read the fine prints that's where the shockers are always located. Many times we do not bother because the writing's so small and dense - it is for a reason to disguise bad policies.
Best Buy has some bad policies....
Normally, I would not share this with others, however, since this could
happen to you or your friends , I decided to share it. If you purchase
something from, Wal-Mart, Sam's Club, JC Penny, Sears etc. and you
return the item with the receipt they will give you your money back if you paid
cash, or credit your account if paid by plastic.
| Well, I purchased a GPS for my car, a Tom Tom XL.S from 'Best Buy'. They
have a policy that it must be returned within 14 days for a refund!
So after 4 days I returned it in the original box with all the items in
the box, with paper work and cords all wrapped in the plastic. Just as I
received it, including the receipt.
I explained to the lady at the return desk I did not like the way it
could not find store names. The lady at the refund desk said, there is a
15% restock fee, for items returned. I said no one told me that. I said
how much would that be. She said it goes by the price of the item. It
will be $45.00 Dollars for you. I said, all your going to do is walk over and
place it back on the shelf then charge me $45.00 of my money for
restocking? She said that's the store policy. I said if more people were
aware of this they would not buy anything here! If I bought a $2000.00
computer or TV and returned it I would be charged $300.00 dollars restock
fee? She said yes, 15%.
I said OK, just give me my money minus the restock fee.
She said, since the item is over $200.00 dollars, she can't give me my
money back!!!
Corporate has to and they will mail you a check in 7 to ten days.!! I said
'WHAT?!'
It's my money!! I paid in cash! I want to buy a different brand..Now I
have to wait 7 to 10 days. She said well, our policy is on the back of
your receipt.
I said, do you read the front or back of your receipt? She said well, the
front! I said so do I, I want to talk to the Manager!.
So the manager comes over, I explained everything to him, and he said,
well, sir they should have told you about the policy when you got the
item. I said, No one, has ever told me about the check refund or
restock fee, whenever I bought items from computers to TVs from Best
Buy. The only thing they ever discussed was the worthless extended warranty program. He I said Well, I can give you corporate phone number.
I called corporate. The guy said, well, I'm not supposed to do this but I
can give you a 45.00 dollar gift card and you can use it at Best Buy. I
told him if I bought something and returned it, you would charge me a
restock fee on the item and then send me a check for the remaining 3
dollars. You can keep your gift card, I'm never shopping in Best Buy ever
again, and if I would have been smart, I would have charged the whole
thing on my credit card! Then I would have canceled the transaction.
I would have gotten all my money back including your stupid fees! He
|didn't say a word!
I informed him that I was going to e-mail my friends and give them a heads
up on this stores policy, as they don't tell you about all the little
caveats.
It's true! read it for yourself!!
Best Buys return policy
Do you have any stories about bad business practices? Share these with the world. It's the only way change can come about. Many times we do not read the fine prints. Read the fine prints that's where the shockers are always located. Many times we do not bother because the writing's so small and dense - it is for a reason to disguise bad policies.
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Remember this Criminal Roger Shaheed Khan and don't let him leave Guyana
Roger Kahn's rise to notoriety and wealth in Guyana was swift but the Government looked the other way. He was deported from the US because of his criminal activities and returned to Guyana where he was allowed to continue his criminal way until he started embarrassing the government's inept police force. Khan was found with a
cache of arms and sophisticated communication equipment at Good Hope, East Coast Demerara, had accumulated enormous wealth within a short period of time.
However, with a weak Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) and an inept police force, no one investigated how he grew so fast and strong financially in an economy that has remained stagnant for years.
He now stands charged with an 18-count indictment of distribution, importation and possession of cocaine and engaging as a principal administrator, organizer and leader of a continuing criminal enterprise in New York and elsewhere. He is accused also of heading a powerful, violent cocaine trafficking organisation out of Guyana and faces a maximum penalty of life in prison if convicted.
Observers believe the authorities here knew of Khan’s narcotics-related activities long before the US first named him in one of its drug strategy country reports.
In an earlier motion filed by his attorney in New York, it was revealed that during the late 1980s and early 1990s Khan was living in the US and attending Norwich University in Vermont. On or about November 29, 1993 he was arrested on a federal criminal complaint and the next month charged in a one-count indictment with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon in violation of Title 18 US Code 922. He was subsequently released on a US$1,000 bond following his initial appearance in court, and skipped the jurisdiction, returning to Guyana.
He never went back voluntarily to the US. Around March 30, 1994, the US District Court for the district of Vermont issued a warrant for Khan’s arrest and on October 28, 1994, his bond was ordered forfeited.
His lawyer said that on his return to Guyana in 1993 or early 1994, Khan became an “enterprising innovative entrepreneur.” He founded and operated a number of successful businesses including, but not limited to, a housing development and construction company, a carpet cleaning service, a nightclub and a timber mill.
Guyanese first became aware of Khan when he, Haroon Yahya and policeman Sean Belfield were detained on December 4, 2002 by an army patrol and turned over to the police following the discovery of a cache of arms and sophisticated electronic surveillance equipment in a pick-up at Good Hope, East Coast Demerara.
When they were caught, Khan and his partners had told law enforcement officials that they were in search of Shawn Brown and the rest of the prison escapees who had fled the Camp Street prison earlier that year. The men were later charged with possession of arms and ammunition and placed on $500,000 bail each.
The charges were subsequently dismissed by Magistrate Jerrick Stephney at the Sparendaam Magistrate’s Court the next year. Not much had been known about Khan prior that incident, but persons close to him told this newspaper that as soon as he fled the US jurisdiction and returned to Guyana he had allegedly begun associating with drug dealers. From 1994 when he fled from the US to 2002 when he was caught with the arms, Khan had already established himself as businessman and had also secured government contracts working on a building project at the University of Guyana, one of his local attorneys disclosed. Between 2002-2006 Khan kept a relatively low profile, although according to one of the statements he released when local police had set about to arrest him, during this time he was involved in crime-fighting. His lawyers told the court in New York that following the February 23, 2002 jailbreak when the escapees went on a killing spree he responded to the crisis, providing financial and logistical support to the government. “During the crime spree in 2002, I worked closely with the crime-fighting sections of the Guyana Police Force and provided them with assistance and information at my own expense.
My participation was instrumental in curbing crime during this period,” Khan said in one of his media statements.
The US has since alleged that a group he had set up was responsible for the murders of over 200 people during that period. Apart from the period immediately prior to Khan’s departure from Guyana for Suriname in 2006 because he was being sought by local law enforcers, his only other encounter with the police after the Good Hope incident came when properties owned by him were raided.
In 2005, a team of policemen descended on Master’s Touch Carpet Cleaners located at Second Street, Bel Air Village and arrested several of his bodyguards and seized cocaine and arms. The case against the men collapsed in court and they were all set free.
Khan, still in his 30s and with no record of a transfer of assets from relatives to him was able to acquire Kaow Island in the Essequibo River; own a large timber company, called Aurelius; a large housing development project, called Dream Works with houses at Farm, East Bank Demerara and at Blankenburg on the West Coast Demerara. Shortly before he was arrested, he was also the owner of the now defunct Avalanche nightclub and was said to have provided seed capital to a number of small businesses operating along Regent Street.
In a less than strong economy Khan owned a large home at D’Aguiar Park and employed more than two dozen men to provide security for him.
Friday, May 23, 2008
Necessity is the mother of Invention and here is one Cowrolla
This mode of transportation is patented and cannot be reproduced without serious repercussion. No carbon footprint here eh! LOL
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Letter to the Editor - Brandon Sun May 17, 2008
Racism painful and pointless
I am Natalie Beliveau I have been affected by racism since I moved to Souris. I am native and barely know anything about my background. I am 16 years of age and in Grade 10.
I moved to Souris when I was in Grade 6, and on my second day of school and my first time taking the bus, two boys in my grade yelled at me and my sister. "Go back to your reserve where you came from." I have never lived on a reserve. I once went on a reserve, but I was too little to remember.
This town is a nice town, but there are a lot of prejudiced people. In my view, a small town has nothing better to do than make up rumours. There are not many natives in this town, but most of them have been marked or labelled as bad people. I wish that people would say things based on fact and not uninformed opinion.
My parents and brother are white. My twin sister and I were adopted at birth.
Racism is not funny. It is no joke! This needs to be told to people everywhere.
Our country might be multicultural but some people are racist. We have people come to our schools and talk to us about drunk driving and drugs, so why not have people come to our schools and talk to us about racism?
I think racism is absurd and uncalled for. I am not a racist in any way. I see no reason to hate other cultures. How can anyone hate a whole culture without knowing them? You can never meet everyone from one races, so how can you know what the whole culture is like? Racism is completely and truly ridiculous and uncalled for.
In the middle years playground at school there is a mural which we decided to paint when I was in Grade 8. The whole class had permission from the school and teacher. A mural was designed with the earth in the middle of different coloured arms connecting together. Above it says "Middle Years Has Character".
When my friends and I finished painting it, my friends and I noticed that all the hands had actually been left as white. When we confronted the teacher who was in charge she said we could not get a hold of brown paint. I was very disappointed in what was told to us. It has been two years now and it still has not changed.
Another incidence of racism was a girl who said: "I don't want any natives in my school." I am really fed up with all this racism stuff. I am not impressed.
I have handed in a lot of resumes a long time ago and have still received no word from any of the employers. I do not know why they have not hired me. Maybe because they have heard bad things about me, or maybe they are just just plain racists.
I felt like I am not supposed to be who I am. I wish I could be myself without being labelled or judged.
NATALIE BELIVEAU
I am Natalie Beliveau I have been affected by racism since I moved to Souris. I am native and barely know anything about my background. I am 16 years of age and in Grade 10.
I moved to Souris when I was in Grade 6, and on my second day of school and my first time taking the bus, two boys in my grade yelled at me and my sister. "Go back to your reserve where you came from." I have never lived on a reserve. I once went on a reserve, but I was too little to remember.
This town is a nice town, but there are a lot of prejudiced people. In my view, a small town has nothing better to do than make up rumours. There are not many natives in this town, but most of them have been marked or labelled as bad people. I wish that people would say things based on fact and not uninformed opinion.
My parents and brother are white. My twin sister and I were adopted at birth.
Racism is not funny. It is no joke! This needs to be told to people everywhere.
Our country might be multicultural but some people are racist. We have people come to our schools and talk to us about drunk driving and drugs, so why not have people come to our schools and talk to us about racism?
I think racism is absurd and uncalled for. I am not a racist in any way. I see no reason to hate other cultures. How can anyone hate a whole culture without knowing them? You can never meet everyone from one races, so how can you know what the whole culture is like? Racism is completely and truly ridiculous and uncalled for.
In the middle years playground at school there is a mural which we decided to paint when I was in Grade 8. The whole class had permission from the school and teacher. A mural was designed with the earth in the middle of different coloured arms connecting together. Above it says "Middle Years Has Character".
When my friends and I finished painting it, my friends and I noticed that all the hands had actually been left as white. When we confronted the teacher who was in charge she said we could not get a hold of brown paint. I was very disappointed in what was told to us. It has been two years now and it still has not changed.
Another incidence of racism was a girl who said: "I don't want any natives in my school." I am really fed up with all this racism stuff. I am not impressed.
I have handed in a lot of resumes a long time ago and have still received no word from any of the employers. I do not know why they have not hired me. Maybe because they have heard bad things about me, or maybe they are just just plain racists.
I felt like I am not supposed to be who I am. I wish I could be myself without being labelled or judged.
NATALIE BELIVEAU
Winnipeg's family child-scare
Imagine the fear of a poor little boy 23 months old when he found himself alone in huge airport while all the adults four of them are comfortably seated on a plane traveling to Winnipeg without him. How could this happen? Isn’t the child the most important thing that one should make sure is in view at all times or is it the luggage and all that junk. There is no excuse for this mistake. I understand about running between gates to transfer from one plane to the other but no way will my child be left behind. This is gross carelessness and now the boy may never recover from this incident.
Jun Parreno, the boy’s father thought he was with the mother and his grandparents and they thought he was with him.
The Filipino family was lucky because of the quick thinking of Air Canada staff that the boy wandering alone between a security checkpoint and the flight gates. The child did not speak English and had no boarding pass as he was not assigned his own seat. There was no panicked calls so this lost child but after checking flight registers the staff figured out who the child might belong to and so the story ended all good. Air Canada brought the father back with another plane to pick up his son. He did so with tears in his eyes. Lucky him and great job Air Canada. Let this be a less to everyone traveling with children. Always keep a child within your radar, never wonder where the child is, be sure about where that child is before getting on a plane or a bus or anywhere. You may not be as lucky as the Parreno’s
Jun Parreno, the boy’s father thought he was with the mother and his grandparents and they thought he was with him.
The Filipino family was lucky because of the quick thinking of Air Canada staff that the boy wandering alone between a security checkpoint and the flight gates. The child did not speak English and had no boarding pass as he was not assigned his own seat. There was no panicked calls so this lost child but after checking flight registers the staff figured out who the child might belong to and so the story ended all good. Air Canada brought the father back with another plane to pick up his son. He did so with tears in his eyes. Lucky him and great job Air Canada. Let this be a less to everyone traveling with children. Always keep a child within your radar, never wonder where the child is, be sure about where that child is before getting on a plane or a bus or anywhere. You may not be as lucky as the Parreno’s
Monday, April 21, 2008
Top Ten Companies that Hire Blacks
According to Diversity Inc. Magazine, these are the top ten companies that employ African Americans: (Many of these companies also support the other minority groups as well. When companies are good to African Americans then African Americans must go out of their way to show support for these companies)
1. Turner Broadcasting system
2. Darden Restaurants
3. Mcdonald's
4. Wachovia
5. Bright Horizons Family Solution
6. Macy's
7. General Motors
8. Kaiser Permanente
9. Sodexo
10. Cox Communications
Okay there you have it - go do your part.
1. Turner Broadcasting system
2. Darden Restaurants
3. Mcdonald's
4. Wachovia
5. Bright Horizons Family Solution
6. Macy's
7. General Motors
8. Kaiser Permanente
9. Sodexo
10. Cox Communications
Okay there you have it - go do your part.
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Bisphenol A
Bisphenol A is the new tiger in the tank. Beware of it. After we have been using all kinds of Bisphenol A loaded products for years we are now told that it is bad for us. There are dangerous chemicals that leak out of our favourite plastic water bottles that could kill us. There was red flag about this product since the 1930's imagine that.
This hullaballoo might be a just a new ploy to get us ready for a replacement product which we will dutifully run out and buy. Why do we listen to these scientists? They drive us crazy with their contradictory messages.
My advice, throw out all plastics and anything that is not natural. Better to use ceramics, glass or what we used as children, enamel plates and cups. These things will not harm you nor the environment as much.
Do not believe what the scientists tell you. When all is said and down all they would have to tell you when you fill your body with deadly chemicals is "I'm sorry". Buyer beware.
This hullaballoo might be a just a new ploy to get us ready for a replacement product which we will dutifully run out and buy. Why do we listen to these scientists? They drive us crazy with their contradictory messages.
My advice, throw out all plastics and anything that is not natural. Better to use ceramics, glass or what we used as children, enamel plates and cups. These things will not harm you nor the environment as much.
Do not believe what the scientists tell you. When all is said and down all they would have to tell you when you fill your body with deadly chemicals is "I'm sorry". Buyer beware.
Friday, April 11, 2008
Monday, March 24, 2008
Information Overload
Wake up people and listen up. We are under an information overload. We receive all kinds of messages that leave us a bit spiny you would agree. We are treated like puppets on a string. One day we hear in the media that there has been a breakthrough in health - eat chocolate and the promise is that it will lower our blood pressure, or to drink tons of water to saturate ourselves or to help us lose weight. The next day the opposite is good. Do not drink a lot of water or you may kill yourself by drowning or no matter what kind of chocolate you eat - it will make you get fat if you eat more than a small square a day.
Researchers competing with each other for the first to come out with new information start reporting on studies not fully baked.
I am going to try to make it better. This blog will be dedicated to exposing contradictory information.
Whatever you do use your commonsense. It's God-given for a reason. Commonsense cannot be taught you are born with it. If it could be taught we would have been in a bigger mess than we are. Commonsense is our saving grace as human beings and though it is not sexy to use it I urge you dust it off and start putting it to good use.
let's go
Researchers competing with each other for the first to come out with new information start reporting on studies not fully baked.
I am going to try to make it better. This blog will be dedicated to exposing contradictory information.
Whatever you do use your commonsense. It's God-given for a reason. Commonsense cannot be taught you are born with it. If it could be taught we would have been in a bigger mess than we are. Commonsense is our saving grace as human beings and though it is not sexy to use it I urge you dust it off and start putting it to good use.
let's go
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