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Hi, I'm angry too, and for the first time ever I feel strongly enough about a political issue to spout off about it in writing. I hope that sending this e-mail doesn't get me on some List of Vic Toews' proposed Internet spies. Indeed, I recently read In the Garden of Beasts, by Erik Larsen - basically an account of the experiences of the US ambassador to Germany in the early 1930s, and although the current federal government hasn't yet resorted to public beatings of undesirables,(just renditions to countries where others can do it for them), the way in which they are underhandedly taking apart the very fabric of the society in which so many Canadians believe, and stifling not only all opposition but also the very means to oppose it does bear an uncanny resemblance. Equally scary is the fact that 2 supreme Court judges are due to retire shortly, and their replacements will be Harper appointees. Unfortunately with our system of majority government and 1st past the post wins, so there is effectively no opposition to whatever Harper wants to do, and our representatives having more interest in towing the party line and lining their own pockets than in respecting those that voted for them, there is nothing we can legally do about it for another 3 years. Perhaps, however, we can try and work towards a system of some kind of proportional represention and make sure that the present government and party system are ousted by the next election. Richard Stern sternrichard@gmail.com Sent from my iPhone On May 29, 2012, at 8:11 PM, <garymurray@ns.sympatico.ca> wrote: > > Current events remind me of Germany circa 1939 from what I have read in History books. > > Gary Murray > Beaverbank NS > > > > ---- Rick Whitman <dendroica.caerulescens@gmail.com> wrote: >> Renowned N.S. oil spill expert given job notice >> CBC News Posted: May 28, 2012 9:07 PM AT Last Updated: May 28, 2012 11:12 PM AT >> >> An internationally respected Nova Scotia-based scientist working for >> the federal government has been told his job is in danger, CBC News >> has learned. >> >> Kenneth Lee — an oil spill expert and the executive director of the >> Centre for Offshore Oil, Gas and Energy Research at the Bedford >> Institute of Oceanography in Dartmouth — recently received a workforce >> adjustment letter informing him that his position is being eliminated. >> >> Lee confirmed he received the notice and his research centre is being >> eliminated, but declined an interview with CBC News on Monday. >> >> Others scientists are speaking out. >> >> "I'm no longer surprised but I'm increasingly angry and I'm also >> extremely wary of what the future means for Canada," said Jeff >> Hutchings, a biology professor at Dalhousie University. >> >> "The government's decisions lately are reducing our governmental >> scientific capacity and what that means is that it's reducing or >> seriously compromising the ability of science to contribute >> effectively to those decisions that affect the well being, the safety >> and the health of Canadians and their environment." >> >> According to affected unions, more than 1,000 workers with Fisheries >> and Oceans Canada have received notices across the country that their >> jobs could be affected by pending cuts. >> >> A spokesman for the department told CBC News in an email on Monday >> that only about 400 jobs are actually being eliminated. They declined >> to speak about Lee's case. >> >> In 2010, Lee joined experts trying to contain the BP oil spill in the >> Gulf of Mexico and provided scientific and technical expertise in the >> spill response operations. >> >> "Dr. Lee is a leading expert on the use of chemical dispersants to >> clean up oil spills," Fisheries and Oceans Canada wrote on its >> website. >> >> "The oil spill response operations in the Gulf of Mexico have provided >> new insights for development of international guidelines on the use of >> chemical oil dispersants." >> >> Now that Lee's position is disappearing, it's not clear whether he >> will continue to be in the federal government's employ. >> >> "It's a huge deal. I think Canadians seriously need to wake up to the >> fact that this isn't simply about scientists or researchers losing >> their jobs, but it's about the fact that Canada — over the last >> half-century — has built up an extremely impressive scientific >> capacity to deal with all sorts of different forms of scientific >> research," said Hutchings. >> >> "By cutting back and reducing and eliminating those positions, we are >> not only affecting those individuals but we are affecting us as a >> society and we are seriously affecting our government's ability to >> make wise decisions on our behalf." >
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