It appears the attacks on the World Trade Centre succeeded, the U.S. way of life has changed. They are descending into dictatorship and want to take Canada with them. Unfortunately our right-wing polititians and media are too willing to oblige.

Mel is right. And it's all part of that "new ideology" at work within capitalism, of which I keep speaking, that has changed everything.

Whatever one thinks, or however one analyzes and views the evidence, or draws what conclusions therefrom, everything has changed and is never going to be the same again, this side of capitalism. (And I'm thinking here of that body of evidence, and it is out there, though I'm not entirely ready to buy into myself, that suggests 911 was, in fact, a Talibani "pre-emptive" strike, because they knew what was coming after they refused a US controlled pipeline through Afghanistan from the oil rich Northern Aliiance 'stans (Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan), to US tankers in the Arabian Sea.

People are, and will be, slow to get it-, but they will. Pain always catches their attention-, sooner or later.

And make no mistake, the US Empire intends that we shall be on side. And we have the toadying ruling class and political elite who will, in the end, though it may make them squirm a bit, do their bidding, which this article helps make clear.

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0201/08/ltm.05.html Check this out as one source on the above Talibani refusal to endorse, at least quickly enough, the US desire for an oil pipeline through Afghanistan. There are very, very many other articles out there on this issue however. Just plug in some key words like "carpet of gold or carpet of bombs."

I just got a Columbia Basin Trust Newsletter in the mail, and it is trying to sell off its 51% control over power production facilities on our dammed rivers to BC Hydro.

Dear fox; What? Say that again more slowly. Who is offering what to whom?

Read this, it will give you a better handle on, at least, who the Columbia Basin Trust is. Though I would be interested to hear why its share of the power generation downstream benefits to BC Hydro is viewed as such a negative.

Though, that said, privatization in a modified, highly ambiguous legalese form, of aspects of Hydro, has been being handed off to the private sector, of course. Which, going out, as the intent of these manipulations become clearer, could certainly "put at risk" what is a currently "public trust" influence and interest here, being put out there as part of the prize to "market forces".

One can hear salivating over that prospect emanating from many a corporate "untility", or corporate "user" consortium, coming out of many a boardroom on both sides of the border. As always, it's always a question of what can the pull off and get away with? Check it out:

http://www.cbt.org/about/main.asp?fl=2&pg=history

I hope all you good folks have heard our national Gov't is now going to background and security check all of Canada's dock workers. The Feds will require dockers to consent to this. It will include digital fingerprinting, digital facial image, criminal record check, CSIS check, financial check, where you have traveled the past five years, where you have lived the past five years. If you have spent more than 3 months in any country other than America or Mexico a police record check from that country. But wait, thats not all, they will also require information on your parents and your in-laws. The Government said in Vancouver on Sept. 20th that they will share this information with foriegn intelligence agencies "if anything interesting turns up." In St. John's on Sept 30th Transport Canada said they are gearing up to process 10,000 such clearances per year. First, one only need to think about Maher Arar to see how spooky this is - sharing intelligence on law abiding workers and their families. And on the last point, there are slightly less than ten thousand portworkers in all of Canada. So the question begs; who are the nest 10,000 and the 10'000 after that. I think Canadians better wake up to this. The Governement is on the beach right now taking down the much maligned longshore workers. They are planning to march inland. Who's next after maritime workers are knocked off, will it be you?

Sorry, Bailey. The Columbia Basin Trust was set up to administer a restitution to the people within the Basin whose lands, communities, livelihoods and future development opportunities were sold off to the Americans for a depression-era pittance by Wacky Bennett. It took place behind closed doors, as part of an arrangement to store water for the States; dams were built all along the Columbia and Kootenay Rivers. Residents had no say in management of what is starting to become recognized as a valuable resource, water. The treaties will be up for renegotiation within twenty years, and when the Trust acquired its hydro-electric assets by converting what were essentially water-storage facilities into power producers (Keenleyside, Brilliant, and Waneta Dams), it secured a place for the region at the bargaining table. By selling off its assets, it means the region has no leverage in those negotiations. Whether the sale to BC Hydro is a negative depends on how much we can trust the word of the Campbell government to protect our interests (BC Rail, anyone?).

There's a real backlash building out here. Apparently, the New Denver council has already voted to reject the selloff. What with this, the Jumbo approval and other events that have been foisted upon the folks in the area, a lot of smoke is starting to come out of people's ears, and it isn't grow-op.

And what the hell does the Basin Trust have to do with privacy? Well ... it gets down to the fact that our government never seems to have a problem invoking the 'need' for privacy when they're selling our rivers downriver.

the reality is that the b.c. libs seem to despise the tax payers of this province apparently we haven't done anything right for decades now we have no idea how to run hydro, ferries our medical, our parks our lumber our fish our wild life our rail as we see a huge anount of out public services are now being outsourced our public assets are gone we might not see the huge impact of thses decisions for sometime to come, many of us outside of the lower mainland have already felt the devastating impacts of these cuts as for our privacy?? that flimsy bill they passed in leg might as well be written on loo paper as far as the americans are concerned, the b.c. libs show their true colours they would sell their grandmothers if the price was right

Well, the report is out--the Privacy Commissioner says the U.S. Patriot Act does violate provincial privacy laws, because it can secretly order American companies to hand over information on British Columbians. The recent amendments to BC legislation don't address the concerns--this will simply force companies to choose which laws they'll obey. Minister Murray's reaction? They'll simply accept the risks and press on with outsourcing to US companies. This kinda sums up the whole problem with this government--they don't care about actual outcomes, reason and logic are irrelevant, they're just going to stick with what the ideology calls for and then rely on spin, taxpayer-funded ads and their friends at Canwest to try and convince enough voters that everything's just great!

Joyce Murray, just another ignorant arrogant soon to be ex Gliberal MLA. I swear the liberals went to the Goebbels school of propaganda. Tell a lie enough times and people will accept it as the truth. Its also amazing at how much our privacy rights have been eroded since 9/11. Between our medical records, and also what the Longshore Union is being subjected to, its more Orwellian in Canada than ever before. As for the fiberals, Campbell should change his name to Huey Long, a 30s corrupt influence peddling governor from the South (Louisiana I believe.) Because the only people the Fiberals listen to are those that donate large sums to their coffers... Fishfarmers, CN Rail, Sudexco, Anderson Consulting errr sorry Accenture. Sickening.

I'm disgusted, again. So, I sent an email to my MLA, again. I feel so ineffective against this corrupt gang, but I keep telling everyone I meet to make sure they're registered to vote on May 17th. It's the only hope we have. Should Campbell and his thugs be relected, I'm predicting (not advocating) that BC will see strikes, civil unrest, sabotage, and violence shortly thereafter. And by then, THAT may be the only hope we have of ever regaining this province from the treacherous swine currently in charge. Damn, I'm furious with these scum.

Would a supreme court constitutional challenge not be more effective asap, rather than waiting for this gang's electoral demise? It seems to me the courts would see the need to protect our privacy rights, certainly a much more likely event than waiting for Gordon Campbell or Paul Martin to take up their responsibilities. I'm not a lawyer, so don't take my word for it, but I do think we will all soon be on US data bases if nothing is done.

This is just yet another example of the BC Liberals arrogance, incompetence and refusal to listen to British Columbians. Overwhelmingly British Columbians were crying out for the complete halting of the outsourcing of MSP, Pharmacare and now Provincial Revenue, to keep it in house. This particular agenda is primarily driven by Gordon Campbell’s personal ideology. Gordon Campbell was educated in and is a big fan of the USA. You can also find a picture of the white house over his desk in his office. He desperately wants deeper integration with the USA. Just look at the record number of raw logs he sent down south. Gordon Campbell is selling all of us down the deeper American integration river. He must be stopped! Heh, I guess this is why the Liberals can’t figure out why they lost the Surrey byelection.

BC is already known for its raw log exports. What did we send to Ottawa in the last federal election, five bumps on a log? Why aren't they intervening in this issue? Where is the federal Health Minister, formerly the BC Premier? He has recently addressed the Canadian Medical Association, hosted a major federal provincial conference on Medicare and an even more recent conference here in Vancouver and not one word about this was raised by any member of the media! C'mon Tyee! Go after Ujjal, Hedy, Paul Martin, et.al. And where in the hell is Jack Layton??!! This should be a national story, not just a provincial one and the sooner the Feds are called on the carpet over this the better. I'm counting on Tyee to lead the way to make this happen. Go after these guys!!!

Big brother started watching me when I started working .A few years later Iwas being filmed at the bank.Now I'm filmed just about all the time around town...and Big Brother knows even more about me..Pretty soon the liberals will collect their twenty pieces of silver and Really Big Brother will know all about me.It's coming and it aint gonna stop.The catchword of the day is Security and almost anything can be accomplished under that label. Gordos fools are just incredibly gullible pawns in the backeddies of greater currents.Coyote, as usual, and Mel articulate well about these greater currents

This whole issue is much to about nothing contrived by the BCGEU with the hope that they could force the government not to deal away the Unions high paying jobs. For fifty years that I know of, Canada and the United States have had overt arrangements to share information of all sorts. This makes sense. For those of you who are all hot and bothered, then you much have something to hide! For those of us who are law abiding citizens, there is absolutely nothing to fear!

"his makes sense. For those of you who are all hot and bothered, then you much have something to hide! For those of us who are law abiding citizens, there is absolutely nothing to fear!" says sdgreen.

Stick it in your ear, Brownshirt bootlick. You are part of the problem.

Go take a low paying, non-union job. That's just what we all want, right. Only the wealthy need big bucks profits to give them incentive to function. The rest of us need long hours and low pay, eh?.

What does one expect from these Brownshirt-Liberal support base types. Their just wack-jobs themselves.

Coyote, seems that your disposition is coloured 'red'. Capitalism is the 'engine' of the economy! Just ask the Chinese who have embraced capitalism along with competition in the market place. Again, the so-called privacy laws are really unenforceable in this world, whether you like it or not. I take it you would like Canada to embrace the criminals of the world? We not only share info with the US, but also world bodies like Interpol and so forth. Governments across the globe are requiring more and more information on individuals before they allow people inside their borders. Heck, even the Supreme Court agrees. Get use to it. Again if you are law abiding, you have nothing to worry about, period.

Coyote, you've got a live one on line here in its sdgreen uniform. That poor unfortunate fellow thinks you are a communist or at least not the full bodied consumer good little capitalists get fat off. Here we are, the day before all the Enron types get together with investors in Haliburton to keep the scam going, the body count rising and the profits flowing. "Get used to it", this pathetic little capitalist spear-chucker snorts. "Again if you are law abiding, you have nothing to worry about, period." I think what sdgreen meant to say was 'the laws are changing and we are going to get you.' To oppose is to become the enemy in sdgreen's play. Sometimes I just wish evolution would take a giant step forward for humanity, but 'til then I have to find a role for sdgreen in this ongoing comedy called life. I think I'd cast him/her as a gnat, caught between the glass and the screen door. Makes a lot of annoying buzzing sounds flapping its wings in full public display, but entirely harmless as long as you keep an eye on it and remember not to open the door.

It is absolutely impossible for BC legislation to protect our right to privacy in light of the constant contracting out and outsourcing to American companies. It just ensures our loss of privacy. This Government does not listen to the people of the Province. The day will come when we will be very sorry we have done this. As far as the comment that law abiding citizens have nothing to fear - yeah right. As far as our firewalls not being penetratable, Joyce Murray needs to wake up. The Americans will have expert hackers that can get into anything they want and we won't even know they have done it. Talk about selling us out to the Americans. I feel absolutely helpless as a Canadian right now. I am being sold out and there is absolutely nothing I can do about it.

"That poor unfortunate fellow thinks you are a communist..." wrote Allan.

I don't much give a crap what this Brownshirt thinks I am. :-)

And as far as China goes, like Russia before it, there is a whole complex of reasons why these countries have gone overtly "capitalist", from their early "Communit" beginnings. Though I would argue, having some experience with especially the old USSR and eastern Europe, that "capitalism" was always there, never very far beneath the surface of these revolutions. Which mutated in especially the later Stalinist years, into a kind of what could more accurately be described as State Capitalism, than it was anything resembling true "communism". Though later "official" Communists around Lenin especially, later came to conclude that he was wrong, Marx himself held the view that true "communism" could only grow out of advanced capitalism, and that capitalism itself had a historic role to play in the initial "modernization" of the means of production in all societies. What has, in fact, occurred in all hereto "ostensibly" communist revolutions in socially and economically "backward" countries, I think, has only served to prove that Karl himself actually had it right. Though even the Great Brain, as Engles described him, did, in my view, get a number of other matters wrong. (His theory being that there were "preconditions" to the development of "communism", which only capitalism can likely lay the foundations for. Though I might, with the advantage of this side of Marx's time, choose to call his "communism" something different or more updated myself, I think he is right here as well.)

Other than this short version of a reply to his charge, a fuller analysis would take too long in detail, and which I am certainly not going to bother with for a mere inconsequential Brownshirt

Though folks MAY want to get into it another time with me. As for the "communist" charge, I have never hid the fact that I WAS an "official" Communist at one time. Now, I am, though I generally am reluctant to label my ideas as they have evolved, probably, in fact still, very much MY OWN KIND of communist. Of which I am not the least ashamed, or feel the slightest need to apologize.

I'd certainly choose my perspective on the world anyday, over that of a mere regurgitating Brownshirt.

And ehhh, a good day to you Allan. I'm busy with many matters these days, so will be in and out randomly here. Always enjoy your posts.

The implications this article brings to light are pretty freaky, but there's something I still don't understand: why would the US want our medical information? What would they use it for? Forgive my ignorance - maybe someone can answer this for me.

Even within the US there is growing criticism of the Act. The most vocal group has been the American Library Association. Check out their links page at: http://www.ala.org/ala/issues/issuesadvocacy.htm Check out the National Coalition Against Censorship Free Expression After September 11th - An Online Index (http://www.ncac.org/issues/freeex911.html) for a list of incidents involving the Act.

Our provincial government has been supplying information to the Yanks for years--specifically, motor vehicle registrations. Don't believe me--just give the "wrong" answer next time you cross the border--all your petinent information is on the computer screen already--a search was done by license plate number as you approached the kiosk. Such information in the wrong hands is a gross invasion of privacy--and it will get worse with medical info going south. It is not good enough to say "if you are law abiding, you have nothing to worry about"--that is just crap and sdgreen needs to give his/her head a shake. I say no personal information should be in the hands of the American business--time and again they have proven that they cannot be trusted. Likewise to anything that might get filed with the US government.

At least there is a voice of reason in this province.. IT all boils down to money.. EL GORDO can claim that he is actully decreasing government spending and size by outsourcing the record keeping procedures. He sees little shame in reducing employment in this province even though his high priced advertisements claims that BC actually leads the country in job creation.. (those are not real people in those ads by the way, they are actors). THis would not be the first government contract to leave BC either. One of the first was for ICBC who awarded the contract for your license plates to a company in Eastern Canada, effectively destroying a business in BC and forcing the layoff of BC workers. Remember MAY 17 is election day... vote the bum out.

To Em, Do you remember what the Americans did to cows and beef from Canada over Mad Cow disease? Well someday you could try to cross the border and be told that you are not allowed into the US because you have a medical condition that they don't care for, or even a mental condition. They wouldn't know so much about you if they didn't have access to supposedly private medical records. By the way sdgreen, wearing the brownshirt, think about the Jews in Europe during the late 1930's and early 1940's, they were law abiding, good thing, eh?

Heather Mallick's article in the Globe's Weekend Focus section pretty much nailed the issue on the head for me. She was speculating on the global reaction to a Bush victory. Watch their markets and their brands deep-six. I already know people who would do ANYthing to avoid a US airport for connections to transcontinental or overseas flights -- not because they fear being hit by terrorists alongside the Americans, but because they can't stomach the cavalier treatment they get at US Ports of Entry. But I agree with Paul that way too much of our private information has already been passed to the US.

For foxy and the other BC Hydro fans the long arm of the Patriot Act may already have grasped your hydro information and your gas details through a company named Accenture. This company handles all of the customer info for BC hydro. While it is ostensibly a "Canadian" company it is a subsidiary of the re-birth of Arthur Andersen & Co. (remember them ?Enron's accountants and consultants?)which is deeply rooted in the US.For the history of this deal with BC Hydro see http://www.handsoffhydro.com/. They have more recently taken over the same function for Terasen (formerly BC Gas) and have the inside track for ICBC's computer outsourcing now in process. Campbell might as well just sell all our private info to US Homeland Security and save the billions he is wasting in private sector deals to accomplish the same thing.

The reason for the Campbell gang selling everything to Americans is, first of all, to remove services from under public control, thereby removing accountability. Second, because all privatized services sock it to the public, all PPP, Public/Private Partnerships have vastly increased costs to the public all over the world, but this counts as "growth of the GDP" and economists love it. Publicly owned services count as liabilities in their fraudulent accounting systems. Thirdly, because when sold to offshore carpetbagger corporations, the sale is protected by NAFTA and WTO rules and the service can never be put under public control again, whereas, these rules wouldn't apply to Canadian companies and any future government could by them out, as WAC Bennett nationalized BC Electric, Blackball Ferries, etc. Finally, the purpose of economic competition is not to lower, but to increase prices, transfer the costs on a wider base of the public and increase profits. This is proven by the fact that although wages and benefits are cut all over the world, many businesses now employ minimum wage part timers and Asiatic slave labour, corporate taxes are cut to the bone, yet, prices in the stores increase every week, so they can show higher profits and maintain their stockmarket holdings and the CEOs can take home millions, while the soup kitchen and foodbank lines grow every year. This is being taught in our universities as "good neoclassical economics" and our politicians are desperately trying to jump on the bandwagon for lucrative directorships later. Watch Gordo's successful career after he's kicked out of politics.

Do you worry you may be tracked? Followed?? It's already happening. Don't think they won't come after Canada and Canadians, they already are. Read on.

Anybody bank with HSBC? Did you get an official document last November asking you to confirm whether you had U.S. income so it could be reported? (Can you say "Patriot Act"?) If you said no, YOU LOSE anyway because the small print said that simply by signing the document (yes OR no) you were agreeing to their customer contract. That customer contract you didn't know you were signing gave the US government the right to collect "personal information" on you. Their stated definition of personal information was the most detailed I've ever seen, including the right to "track your movements." That made the hair stand up on the back of my neck.

I didn't know that HSBC was a US bank, thought it was British owned, as that's where their headquarters are. But hey, I now know they do business in the US, so they gotta comply. What about all the other so-called Canadian banks who're doing business in the US, or who've bought US financial organizations. Them too??

And how about that little law the US just passed a couple weeks ago. The one that gives them the right to deport ANY non-US citizen to ANY other country, regardless of what citizenship they hold. Maher Arar happened to have dual Canadian-Syrian citizenship, so they had some pretext for sending him to a torture "grave" for a year. Now, if you step across the border into the US, they can send you -- a good Canadian who holds no other citizenship -- ANYWHERE they want. They passed a law. Wanna go to Disneyland now? Not me, not now, not ever ...anymore. There may be lots of nice people down there, but unless they start taking some drastic action, I don't care if they're Mother Teresa, I'm not risking some over-zealous or dyslexic border guard mistaking my name for, say maybe that Will Samson guy who's wanted in Saudi Arabia... Or, maybe the Vancouver guy who spent a year in jail on a trumped up charge... and was finally let go, with the judge noting there was simply no reason...but why go on. Better find out if your last name is similar to ... Oh, forget it! I'll vacation anywhere but the UAssA.

Conspiracy? Heck no, they're doing it right in front of us, it's just that most people are too BUSY watching Survivor s**t and shopping. "I don't have time to keep up on it all." they whine as they wheel their carts around big box stores gobbling up more stuff made in China. Don'tcha think that's just they way they want it? We're like the frog in a pot of water on the stove, not noticing that the water is getting hotter and hotter, until ... Whoops, too late! We're being served up on someone's plate. What a legacy for our children this will have been. What a disservice to those who died in previous wars for our country. To have it all twisted and trampled by the vicious, mocking regime of BUSHCO.

if what's being sold and profitted from is our private information, then we, the entity to which the said information refers, should get a cut. think about it: no us, no information, no contract, no profit. give us our piece of the pie dammit, and stop profitting at our expense.

I see the drunken madman at the helm of the BC government has been entered in the Most Embarassing Canadian contest at http://www.airenet.com/TheLazyK/TMECIntro.htm

Well, I see the BC Lieberal a$$holes sold us down the privatization river. Just while we are all really struggling to hold on to our personal information in an age of ever prying criminal and corporate eyes, salivating to know as much as possible from us, we now have another threat to worry about. All personal information gathered by governments for the common good of society should never ever be outsourced. Governments should be striving to protect our personal info with the utmost regard for security and privacy. I would like to see someone start a class action lawsuit against these BC Lieberal bastards!!!!

What has happend to free choice. I don't like the fact that my personal information gathered by goverments . Sent out of the country . It should not be handed over to the states. I feel that I am being cheated by my own elected goverment.It should be my choice. I say sham on you . How can you trust the states when they have shown little or no regard to our softwood industry . Our cattlemen are suffering . why give them anymore control. Enough already.

I like how the link above to the BCGEU page has a Mastercard application for union members on it. Gee, these guys are really trying to fend off Americans getting access to any of your personal data, aren't they? What a load.

assassination.