Stelmach Government to Fight Back

It's about time. The Stelmach government is about to launch a campaign to fight back at the propaganda that has demonized the oilsands. Energy Minister Ron Liepert pointed that out at a luncheon.

Alberta Energy Minister Ron Leipert has told a Calgary Chamber of Commerce luncheon, the province will roll out a number of information campaigns to fight what he calls propaganda about Alberta's oilsands.

Money will be spent to fight "well funded" international environmental groups who are against the oilsands.

Leipert says people living in Ontario and Quebec need to be informed of the amount of business those provinces' manufacturing sectors receive from our energy industry.

"There is not a lot of product that goes into the construction of the oilsands that comes from Alberta. A lot of it is manufactured in Ontario and Quebec" said Liepert.

He adds the campaigns will also teach students in Alberta about the role the oilsands play in our province.

What I say to the Premier and the Energy Minister is what took ya so long?

PremierEd, you need to call Premier Charest out. He personally attacked our oilsands last December at Copenhagen saying Alberta is the problem, the "dirty tarsands" are the problem. We're evil. Charest touts their hydro-electricity in Quebec as being clean. Well maybe not.

Hydropower Doesn't Count as Clean Energy

Hydro-Québec, the world's biggest producer of hydropower, claims that "compared with other generating options, hydropower emits very little greenhouse gas," thus "contributing significantly to the fight against climate change."

Maybe not. Recent reports on methane emissions suggest that dams are anything but carbon-neutral. According to recently published estimates from Ivan Lima and some of his colleagues at Brazil's National Institute for Space Research, the world's 52,000 largest dams release 104 million metric tons of methane annually. If Lima's calculations are correct, then dams would account for about four percent of the total warming impact of human activities -- and would constitute the largest single source of human-related methane emissions

So there you go. It seems Charest is a hypocrite for demonizing the oil sands when turns out his own hydro-power might not be so clean after all.

Why have we not heard a lot about this in the media? (I had to do some digging.) Oh,yea, it's not Alberta!

Also Premier Ed, tell Greenpeace, Sierra Club, and every other enviro-nazi club etc. to go fly a kite! Educate students on how they have been lied to by the likes of Al Gore and David Suzuki.

While your at it, grab the Euroweeines by the collar and set em straight. That OUR OILSANDS ARE CLEAN!

We Albertans will no longer stand back and allow ourselves to be beat up uninformed Gaia worshiping wingnuts!

Happy St. Patricks Day!

I am not Irish but I would like to wish everyone, especially of Irish descent, Happy St. Patrick's Day! Here is brief history of St. Patrick.

St Patrick is known as the patron saint of Ireland True, he was not a born Irish. But he has become an integral part of the Irish heritage, mostly through his service across Ireland of the 5th century.

Patrick was born in the later half of the 4th century AD. There are differing views about the exact year and place of his birth. According to one school of opinion, he was born about 390 A.D., while the other school says it is about 373 AD. Again, his birth place is said to be in either Scotland or Roman England. His real name was probably Maewyn Succat. Though Patricius was his Romanicized name, he was later came to be familiar as Patrick.

Patrick was the son of Calpurnius, a Roman-British army officer. He was growing up as naturally as other kids in Britain. However, one day a band of pirates landed in south Wales and kidnapped this boy along with many others. Then they sold him into slavery in Ireland. The was there for 6 years, mostly imprisoned. This was when changes came to him. He dreamed of having seen God. Legend says, he was then dictated by God to escape with a getaway ship.

Finally, he did escape and went to Britain. And then to France. There he joined a monastery and studied under St. Germain, the bishop of Auxerre. He spent around 12 years in training. And when he became a bishop he dreamed that the Irish were calling him back to Ireland to tell them about God. The Confessio, Patrick's spiritual autobiography, is the most important document regarding this. It tells of a dream after his return to Britain, in which one Victoricus delivered him a letter headed "The Voice of the Irish."

So he set out for Ireland with the Pope's blessings. There he converted the Gaelic Irish, who were then mostly Pagans, to Christianity. He was confident in the Lord, he journeyed far and wide, baptizing and confirming with untiring zeal. And, in a diplomatic fashion he brought gifts to a kinglet here and a lawgiver there,but accepted none from any.

Indeed, Patrick was quite successful at winning converts. Through active preaching, he made important converts even among the royal families. And this fact upset the Celtic Druids. Patrick was arrested several times,but escaped each time. For 20 years he had traveled throughout Ireland, establishing monasteries across the country. He also set up schools and churches which would aid him in his conversion. He developed a native clergy, fostered the growth of monasticism, established dioceses, and held church councils.

Patrick's doctrine is considered orthodox and has been interpreted as anti-Pelagian. Although he is not particularly noted as a man of learning, a few of his writings remain extant: his Confession, a reply to his detractors, and several letters. The Lorica ("Breastplate"), a famous hymn attributed to Patrick, may date to a later period. By the end of the 7th century Patrick had become a legendary figure, and the legends have continued to grow since then. There are many legends associated with St Patrick. It is said that he used the three-leafed shamrock to explain the concept of the Trinity; which refers to the combination of Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. Hence its strong association with his day and name Legend also has that, Saint Patrick had put the curse of God on venomous snakes in Ireland. And he drove all the snakes into the sea where they drowned.

True, these are mostly legends. But, after some 1500 years, these legends have been inseparably combined with the facts. And together they have helped us know much about the Saint and the spirit behind celebration of the day. Patrick's mission in Ireland lasted for over 20 years. He died on March 17, AD 461. That day has been commemorated as St. Patrick's Day ever since. The day's spirit is to celebrate the universal baptization of Ireland. Though originally a Catholic holy day, St. Patrick's Day has evolved into more of a secular holiday. Or, rather, 'be an Irish Day '. And the Irish has borne it as part of their national tradition in everywhere they populated and prospered. The Catholic feast day for this most loved of Irish saints has become a holiday in celebration of the Irish and Irish culture. The leprechaun, a Celtic fairy, has become entrenched as a chief symbol for this holiday, as is the shamrock, an ancient symbol for the triple goddess Brigit. It is fitting that this holiday should fall at the time of the year when the return of spring begins to seem at hand. But why the icons like the green color, the tri-leafed shamrock, the leprechaun, or the pot of gold and Blarney's stone- all came to be associated with the celebration of this Day? And what do they all mean?

As we wear something green, drink our green beer and celebrating, let's take a moment to reflect who St. Patrick really was.

"May you be in Heaven a full half hour before the Devil knows you're dead"
HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!

This is Harper's Fault

It's gotta be Harper's fault, the recovery is taking hold.

January wholesale trade leap confirms recovery

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canadian wholesale trade jumped by a much greater-than-expected 3.0 percent in January from December, providing more proof that the recovery is well underway, Statistics Canada data indicated on Wednesday.

The increase, the strongest since the 5.0 percent leap recorded in December 2006, was far larger than the 0.5 percent rise forecast by market operators. Statscan revised December's month-on-month growth to 0.9 percent from an initial 0.7 percent.

In terms of volume of sales, January wholesale trade was up 2.9 percent from December. All seven sectors posted advances.

The building materials sector advanced by 4.2 percent on the back of a 5.8 percent increase in housing starts in January from December. The government says it is closely watching the housing sector but has not seen any signs of a bubble so far.

The automotive products sector grew by 4.8 percent in January on a 6.1 percent rise in the sales of motor vehicles, while the machinery and electronic equipment sector was up by 2.6 percent. Wholesale inventories fell by 1.1 percent from December, the 11th consecutive monthly decline.

The TSX closed yesterday at an 18 month high.

Canada's benchmark stock index yesterday posted its highest close since late September 2008, or nearly 18 months, and the third day in a row that it has ended above 12,000.

The S&P/TSX composite finished up 0.7%, or 80.60 points, at 12,089.40, the highest level since before the start of the financial crisis. The Venture composite index rose 17.02 points, or 1.1%, to 1578.53.

The latest jobs report that was released last Friday stated a gain of 21,000 jobs. Unemployment rate went down slightly from 8.3 to 8.2 percent.

All good news for Canadians but not for Liberals. No wonder Mr. Iffy's Liberals were to scared to show up to vote on the budget. Instead just enough got the "flu" to avoid an election. Where is their alternative budget? Is not an official opposition and government in waiting supposed propose one? At least offer suggestions and amendments in which I gather they offered none.

They have nothing What would they going to run on, the economic recovery is starting to take hold? Jobs are being created and the unemployment rate is starting to go down?
Remember Mr. Iffy didn't want anything to do with the recession. He wanted PM Harper to "wear the recession." Well it seems Mr. Harper has worn it fairly well!

That's why the drive by smears and faux scandals from the opposition and their MSM.
The government is doing a pretty good job and that's all they have.

Guess it is all Harper's fault that Mr. Iffy and the Libs have to resort to these smear jobs to get any traction. Sad.