And Speaking Of Walmart ...

Some days, corporate megaliths just can't catch a break:



P.S. I could only get this video to play in Internet Explorer, not Chrome.

Another Walmart Injustice Story

It might be worthwhile to bear this story in mind the next time we contemplate the 'bargains' at Walmart:


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Did Someone Say 'Byelection'?

I'm certainly glad that Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne is adhering to her commitment to a new way of doing politics.

I'm sure the Toronto District School Board also appreciates her integrity.

Star Readers Opine On Harper's Self-Reported Ignorance (I Didn't Do It) And Mike Duffy's Avarice

Some days, all I have to do is open my newspaper for my blog post. Today is one of those days. Enjoy.

Harper kept public in dark, July 6

When the stuff hits the fan, “plausible deniability” allows politicians to say, “I didn’t know; no-one told me.” This is what our Prime Minister would have us believe about Mike Duffy’s bailout with Nigel Wright’s cheque.

But now we hear from the RCMP that at least three others in his office, besides Wright, knew about it. This contradicts the Prime Minister’s claim that it was all Wright’s doing.

By all accounts, Stephen Harper is a control freak, so his denials stretch credibility to the breaking point. The real question is not what he did or didn’t know, but rather: how could he not have played a role in this comedy?

Perhaps this is a case of “implausible deniability.”

Salvatore (Sal) Amenta, Stouffville

In the best case scenario — gross negligence and incompetence — Mr. Harper expects us to believe that there is this big conspiracy going on right under his nose and he is wilfully blind to it.

In the worst, he is part of a criminal conspiracy and cover up.

Thomas Wall, Whitby

Senator Mike Duffy’s alleged use of taxpayers money to increase his wealth is only the symptom of a culture of entitlement by politicians of all parties. Politicians use our money as if no one owns it. The average Canadian citizen is becoming more mistrustful of politicians for that very reason. The government wants every penny that they can get from taxpayers of this country and this how they spend it.

It is unfortunate that Senator Duffy appears not to have learned a simple rule: “The pig that remains at the trough longest gets slaughtered first.”

Calvin Lawrence, Ottawa

Conservative And F-35 Myths

I have written numerous past posts both on the F-35 jets and the Minister of Incompetence who presides over the file in Canada, Peter MacKay. Despite the fact that the aircraft has had problems from almost the beginning, the myth of its superiority and the myth that it would cost our government $75 million dollars each persisted long after compelling evidence was adduced to disprove both.

Although it looks impressive, as the following short video illustrates, the accompanying story quite succinctly inters those two aforementioned falsehoods, along with the big whopper that somehow permeates the brains of the ideologues, i.e. the myth of Harper Conservative fiscal and administrative competence.

Confronting Climate Change/Ignoring Climate Change

Dr. Blair Feltmate, the program director of sustainability practice at University of Waterloo, says Canada needs to be prepared for extreme rainfall, which will occur more frequently with accelerating climate change:

Meanwhile, over in Hamilton, city officials are partying as if it were still 1955. They are exultant over the fact that the Ontario Municipal Board has given the final go-ahead to reclassify hundreds of hectares of farmland around the airport for development — the largest urban boundary expansion in Hamilton's history.

The Ontario Municipal Board has agreed with the city's argument that 555 hectares of developable employment land is required for the so-called aerotropolis, dismissing appeals from Environment Hamilton and Hamiltonians for Progressive Development in a decision dated July 3.

The decision to destroy farmland that would undoubtedly be invaluable to our future food supply in favor of pavement that will be unable to help absorb runoff from the next '100-year-storm' once more amply attests to our species' extraordinary myopia.

Food For Thought

H/t Canadians Rallying To Unseat Stephen Harper