Boges

As we, in Canada, Freak out about $90,000 in expenses by a Senator, the US is dealing with some pretty interesting scandals. 

 

http://communities.w...poison-democra/

 

I'm not an expert on US politics but it appears even people on the left admit that having the IRS target Conservative Organization specifically is a pretty big scandal. If Obama didn't know about it, shouldn't he have? 

 

The other one would be the AP scandal where the Justice Department tapped private phone records of reporters because they were investigating a foiled terrorist attack in Yemen.  Imagine if CSIS tried to spy on the CBC? People in this country would freak!

 

Oh and there's that Bengazi thing. 

 

I'm curious why little has been made of these issues on this site. This could really mare Obama's second term like the Lewinsky thing sort of marred Clinton's second term. I'd imagine even the Liberal media find what's happened pretty offensive. 

 

 

http://www.thestar.c...ay_weekend.html

With the real threat of a strike by LCBO workers before the long weekend, the provincial agency is strongly suggesting drinkers stock up before next Fridays strike or lockout deadline.
Neither side appears optimistic a tentative deal will be reached by May 17 as Ontario residents gear up for one of the most popular holidays of the year, the Victoria Day long weekend.
In advance of the first long weekend of the summer, customers are encouraged to shop early for the best product selections, Bob Clevely, LCBOs senior vice-president, retail operations, said in a statement released Friday.
Customers entertaining this weekend can avoid any possible service disruptions by shopping our stores early and stocking up, he said
LCBO says regardless of the status of labour negotiations, all LCBO stores except for some locally owned agency stores will be closed on Victoria Day, which will be celebrated on May 20{+ }this year.
Some agency stores will observe their normal business hours Victoria Day. These operators contract with LCBO to sell beverage alcohol, along with other products, in communities that are too small to support regular LCBO stores.

Yet the government still insists letting private store owners sell alcohol is bad for us!

This is a loathesome organization that holds Ontarians hostage with high prices and limited hours. They say they keep prices high to promote social responsibility yet they promote themselves in almost every marketing avenue they can.

Now employees that make far more than comparable private sector retail staff are threatening to strike? Outrageous doesn't begin to describe it.

Who cares if you believe in psychics or not. I don't really believe in them but I do believe in a God. Some of you probably don't distinguish between the two but that's not what this thread is about. 

 

http://www.huffingto...tml?ir=Religion

 

 

 

 

 

A celebrity psychic has come under fire for telling Amanda Berry's late mother nearly 10 years ago that her daughter was dead. Amanda Berry went missing in 2003 and was found alive in Ohio on Monday.

Sylvia Browne, a self-described spiritual teacher and psychic, has made a career out of prophetic readings and lectures. Back in 2004, Louwana Miller turned to Browne for help on an episode of "The Montel Williams Show." She wanted to know what happened to her daughter, Amanda Berry, who disappeared at 16 years old on April 21, 2003. The psychic told the mother Berry was dead.

“She’s not alive, honey,” Browne said at the time, according to NBC affiliate WKYC's report on the segment. “Your daughter’s not the kind who wouldn’t call.”

Miller then asked Browne if she was ever wrong.

“Only God is right all the time but of course I’m wrong,” Browne responded. “But after 50 years of doing this work, I’d better be more right than wrong. I always say I hope I’m wrong. When it comes to this, I hope I’m wrong.”

I remember I used to watch Montel Jordan when I was younger but didn't watch the episodes with this woman because I don't find psychics interesting. 

I just find people like this Sylvia Brown prey on the broken hearted to make money. You could say that so do church's but good "Men of God" don't hold money as the key to salvation. And if they do, I think most people would see them as no different from psychics.  

 

This woman has made money just making crap up and telling people stuff about very personal issues. It seems to me to be the height of immorality.

 

Thoughts?

It would appear my vacation from this site over April was due to my vitriolic treatment of the Ontario Liberal Party. The day I discovered my unfortunate banning I was all worked up and wanted to start a thread over our new leader Kathleen Wynne telling Greater Toronto Area people the fact that she was completely drinking the koolaid from Metrolinx on it's plan called "The Big Move"

It's a 25 year plan for the GTHA (Greater Toronto Hamilton Area) that's pegged at $50 billion. Of course this coming from the same people that thought canceling the Oakville plant would cost $40 million.

In Ontario our premier and many other UNELECTED advocates have been trumpeting the term "revenue tools" as a way to fund this ambitious plan which essentially is improvement to Toronto Transit with some neat projects for Mississauga, Brampton and Vaughan. The rest of the "GTHA" really doesn't get much out of this plan until much later, if at all.

While Wynne has said she would implement these "tools" without the consent of mayors of the region, most notably Rob Ford who rejects any levies to fund transit. The Casino will solve all of the cities problems.

I clearly don't share his myopia but I'll share with you some of the "tools" Metrolinx has proposed. Also many aren't too popular.

http://www.thestar.c..._cent_poll.html

Though Wynne has trumpeted the need for Revenue Tools she has yet to come out with the ones that she prefers. The budget is coming out tomorrow though. A report today says the one she will preview is a toll on the new HOV lanes that were built on highways in the 905 (QEW, 403 and 404)

Now I don't mind that but there are others that are very troubling. The most troubling is an added 10 cent/litre addition to the Gas Tax. That's insane! That drives up the cost of everything in the region, potentially the province for improvement in Toronto transit.

Tolling the Gardiner and DVP is reasonable solution to Toronto's transit woes. But that's not one of the tools Toronto Transit Advocates support. They want parking levies, a hike to the HST and that Gas Tax idea I so loathe.

We can debate each of these tools on their own merit but there are tools that effect people that drive in the region far more than it effects people that stand to use the transit in Toronto.

IMHO some of these tools should be a non-starter for the NDP and anyone outside the 416 and immediate 905.

Horvath has said she opposes adding these tools to the average Ontarian. Well she better, how can she force the Liberals to try and reduce to cost of car insurance but allow them to exponentially increase the price of driving with some of these more extreme tools.

The one that's the worst is a GPS on each car that would track every km you drive no matter where you go, even if you aren't contributing to gridlock. Talk about Big Brother!

http://business.fina...yprus-tax-levy/

PARIS  People with bank accounts in Cyprus were shocked Saturday to learn that as part of an agreement reached with international creditors the government has imposed a tax on all deposits to help bail out the nation and its banks. Heres a look at the tax, which can be as high as 9.9%, and the problems it may pose.

HEY, HOW CAN THEY DO THAT?

As one of 17 nations that use the euro currency, Cyprus can to raise or lower taxes whenever it wants. Early Saturday, it secured a (euro)10-billion (US$13-billion) bailout from its European partners and the International Monetary Fund to save the banking sector and avoid bankruptcy. In return, the island nation has imposed the new tax, among other moves. It isnt the first time that a eurozone nation has raised taxes to cope with mounting debt and to prop up struggling banks. Residents of Greece, Portugal and Ireland  all bailout recipients  have seen their tax bills skyrocket in recent years as those countries tried to reduce their debts. But Cyprus is charting new ground here, and there could be legal  and political  challenges.

AND HOW EXACTLY WILL IT WORK?

Banks have already acted to seal off the amount of the levy  a 6.75% tax on deposits under (euro)100,000 and 9.9% on those above  so depositors cant access it. Bank customers still can draw on the rest of their funds via ATM machines, although banks that usually open on Saturdays had limited hours. No international transfers will be able to go through until Tuesday, since Monday is a holiday. Cyprus parliament still needs to meet to pass the required legislation. The deal also needs the approval of several eurozone parliaments; its unclear how fast they can act and what will happen to bank deposits in the meantime.

I guess tough times lead to tough measures. I would want to riot if banks raided my accounts automatically taking a certain percentage to my savings but Canada isn't begging other countries for bailouts.

If these countries were more prudent about how they collected revenues and spent money these drastic measures may not have been necessary. It still sucks though.