Excuses for the win. Anywho, I watched. LAST WEEK. Not on YouTube :)

It was a great debate. Very informative, and... I think Jack Layton did a really good job. I loved how Stephen Harper initiated the attack on the Liberal campaign and Stephane Dion; then all of a sudden the other four party leaders completely blasted Harper and the Conservatives for their failure of a government for the past two years. I believe they were right on.

Another thing I believe is that the Conservatives are more and more like the Republicans of the States. Harper and the Conservatives as of yet do not understand the Carbon Tax. I actually got the Liberal campaign booklet and read everything on the Carbon Tax, through every detail and what Dion says was spot on. Although in my last post on the election I said the Carbon Tax was quite useless; I have seen the light! It is a great method to punish those who are to hurt our environment and give back to the people as another benefit. I hope the Conservatives understand this.

Now, another thing I need to add is that... WOW! I am so surprised about Elizabeth May and her Green Party's platform. It's quite amazing I must say. I thought as a special interest party environment and a few other things were all the Green Party had, but to my constant undisputed belief; the Green Party had a lot to offer the average Canadian and Elizabeth May fought on par with all the other party leaders. If I had a second party to vote for other than the NDP, it would be the Green Party all the way.

I found the Bloc Quebecois leader Gille Duceppe quite... How should I say, useless. Although he was right about many things, he just seemed like he was unnecessary on the debate table. Though I found him to say that he would never become Prime Minister an admirable thing. At least he knows where he stands and does not act as if he could topple over all other parties with what there is available to the Bloc at this moment.

Now, Harper just got attacked throughout the debate. Of course he is the current government and that is to be expected; but in such an incredulous amount? That I don't think so. I think Harper and the Conservatives deserved every attack aimed at them. Canada has fallen into deficit and dropped out of one of the best Kyoto protocols and even entered Afghanistan and the Conservatives had the nerve to cut funds to the arts! The arts a major thing to the Canadian people, and the defence or "repair" of Afghanistan was not an interest Canada was so strong to pursue. Canada to many Canadians, myself included has faced away from it's peaceful presence in the world.

The Conservatives have offered no plan for the next government and  the people are completely lost about the Conservatives. I am appalled to see many die-hard Conservatives tell me that they're just voting on what the last government was about. I believe Harper should understand what responsibilities he really has. Just because  you cut 95, 000 jobs and created 100, 000 is nothing to be proud of. The 95, 000 lost were high paying, good jobs to raise a family on and live a good life. The 100, 000 are labour jobs by working at minimum wage. Harper relied on this so much during the debate, and I was so greatly angered by him just praying on this argument. I don't think he knows exactly what it's like to lose a good job and try to find one on par with the last. Another thing is that the new offenders act by Harper is disgusting. Fourteen year olds should NOT spend life in prison with adults. That is conflicting of the rights of a child.

Only one big thought on the Liberals. I like their campaign a lot; and pragmatically, they have fed off very well from the other parties to improve themselves for today's day and age. But Stephane Dion as the leader is something I do not like. Yes, he is strong in French, but during the debate I could not fully make out whatever he was saying. I think if he wants to see himself as Prime Minister, he needs to improve on his English language skills and better communication with his ideas as I don't think he can speak of them so well as he should. This might be mean, but guys, this is a candidate for the highest position in our country.

Hehehe... Time to comment on my NDP! Jack Layton! I think he might just cut being a good Prime Minister. It seems over the years he has his platform well memorized and it is very beneficial to the average Canadian. His attacks on the Conservatives were very well done. Why? Because he backed it up with what the NDP would do in exchange. I love the health care plan to get more doctors. It is something stolen  from Cuba, but then again, if it worked in Cuba, then surely of course, it would work in Canada. The CMA is greatly diminishing potential doctors and it is time to get those oldies to realize that public healthcare is the way to go. Private healthcare is not in the interest of Canada.

The debate was very good, and I wish it was longer. Eight questions were not enough. Especially when immigration was not tackled at all; I think this is a major issue that should have been questioned.

Jak doniósł "Dziennik", "budżetu państwa nie stać na to, by zapewnić Polkom darmowe znieczulenie przy porodzie. Poród to fizjologia i tak nas, kobiety, stworzyła natura, że pewne rzeczy powinny się odbywać jej siłami - mówi minister zdrowia Ewa Kopacz". Polki rodzić więc będą w bólach, bo Polska nie ma ani wystarczającej ilości anestezjologów, ani pieniędzy dla nich.

Z jakiegoś powodu media i ekspertów oświadczenie to oburzyło. Tymczasem ta decyzja jest znaczącym krokiem w kierunku uzdrowienia polskiej służby zdrowia! Pani Kopacz wkroczyła właśnie na ścieżkę ostatecznej reformy, która definitywnie rozwiąże wszystkie problemy. Po odtrąbieniu sukcesu na polu bezznieczuleniowych porodów, znieczulenie zostanie - tylko patrzeć - stopniowo wyeliminowane z kolejnych zabiegów i operacji (że boli? kochani, nie przesadzajmy! przecież tak nas stworzyła natura!). To powinno skutecznie skrócić kolejki i zmniejszyć apetyty pacjentów na usługi medyczne.

Później, po anestezjologach, wycofa się chirurgów (ich w końcu też nie za wielu, a płacić każą sobie słono). Jeśli pacjent przed zabiegiem nie będzie uśpiony ani nawet znieczulony, to cóż stoi na przeszkodzie, żeby samodzielnie wykonał swój zabieg? W końcu to on najlepiej wie co mu konkretnie dolega. Szpital zapewni pacjentowi profesjonalną salę operacyjną i profesjonalny sprzęt, a cięcia - w ramach budżetowych oszczędności - wykona osobiście sam zainteresowany.

Następnie zrezygnuje się również z zapewnienia sprzętu - w końcu strzykawki, ciśnieniomierze, bandaże i skalpele można z powodzeniem kupić w każdej aptece. Łaszki, w które ubierają nas w szpitalach, oferuje każdy lumpeks, a środki znieczulające - każdy sklep monopolowy. Pacjencie, kładź się i lecz się sam! - jak mówi stare porzekadło.

Po paru latach okaże się zapewne, że pacjenci radzą sobie z opieką nad sobą znacznie lepiej niż służba zdrowia. Wtedy przyjdzie czas, by zupełnie zerwać związek chorego z medycyną. Z obowiązków służby zdrowia ustawowo wykreśli się wszelkie usługi świadczone pacjentom. Wszak to właśnie leczenie ludzi ciągle stanowi najpoważniejszy punkt budżetu placówek i powoduje dokuczliwe deficyty. Gdyby nie pacjenci, służba zdrowia funkcjonowałaby perfekcyjnie!

Tych, których podobny scenariusz niepokoi, uspokajam - przez cały czas wdrażania tej reformy będzie (jak ma to miejsce dotychczas) systematycznie rosła składka na opiekę zdrowotną, więc przed końcem projektu ani chybi wszyscy zdążymy wymrzeć z głodu.

[kp]

 A minister friend of mine recently gave me a stack of books for my library. It has taken quite a while to get around to going through them to see what new treasures he bestowed on me. One in particular stood out because of its humorous cover and title. It is called Read More

'We might as well have been asked to go out and ask our constituents if they'd like us to poke them in the eye with a sharp stick.'—Jane Groenewegen, Hay River South MLA

Miltenberger has floated such ideas as raising taxes on individuals and introducing a sales tax, among numerous other options finance officials are exploring as the territorial government finds more revenue sources.

"We might as well have been asked to go out and ask our constituents if they'd like us to poke them in the eye with a sharp stick," Hay River South MLA Jane Groenewegen told the assembly Thursday.

The government had planned to cut spending by $135 million over this fiscal year and next.

But in a fiscal update Thursday, Miltenberger said that plan was thrown off track when regular, or non-cabinet, MLAs threatened to vote down the last budget over various proposed cuts to government jobs and programs.

"So there was a number of adjustments made throughout the budget process, and we put positions back, we added some money back as we tried to accomodate and still move forward," he said.

The government's cost-cutting target is now down to $111 million over four years, Miltenberger said.

As a result, finance officials are now trying to make up the shortfall by finding more revenues than it had planned.

MLAs urged the government not to consider anything that could add to the rising cost of living in the North. Instead, some proposed a resource tax and finding innovative ways to get more people who work in the N.W.T. to live there.

The government estimates more than 2,000 people working in the N.W.T.'s mining industry live and pay taxes elsewhere.

Miltenberger said he continues to consider all options for raising revenue.

V tem mandatu se mu imamo za "zahvaliti" za mnoge stvari. Najprej za njegove po mojem mnenju precej ohole zunanjepolitilčne manevre. Naj omenimo le Kosovo, Hrvaško, depeše in nazadnje sramotitev lastne države s pritiski na finske medije v zmešnjavi poimenovani Patria. Dimitrij Rupel je nekdo , ki se mu gre sicer zahvaliti za njegovo diplomatsko dejavnost v času osamosvojitve, a potem ni bil več kaj prida. Obračal se je kot gate. Najprej na eno, potem na drugo stran, pol še na ta tretjo. Zdej so gate za oprat.

Rupel je naredil dobro uslugo nekdanji Janševi vladi, ko se ji je pridružil še pred volitvami leta 2004. A je povzročil tudi nekaj drugega. Po nekaj časa so se ga vsi, ampak res vsi, naveličali. Redkokateri državljan kuje zunanjega v zvezde in tudi desni politični pol ga je opeval za voljo miru.

Kakorkoli, zanimivo pa je dejstvo, ki ga je moj kolega izpostavil včeraj na pivu. Zakaj ga v predvolilni kampanji ni nihče uporabil za pridobivanje točk? Če večini ni ravno pri srcu, bi bilo zelo priročno izpostavljati njegove napake. Ni ga levica, še sreča tudi da ga ni desnica ravno na koncu odrezala, saj bi mogoče lahko celo profitirali. Še več, celo kandidiral je.

Zdaj je zanimivo tudi to, da ne bi mogel več igrati žrtve sistema, kot jo je vedno. Sploh pa pri zadnjem obračanju. Če bi se mu odrekli še ti, potem mu živ bog ne pomaga več. Ena od razlag je seveda ta, da so si vsi z njim pomagali in se mu nato nekako odrekli. Dimitrij Rupel pa odhaja, v podzemlje skorajda. V globoko državo, kot je sam poimenoval opozicijo, svoje nekdanje pajdaše. V tujini mu bo lepo, mogoče bo poskrbel vsaj za to, da se ne bodo več širile govorice o njem kot ameriškem plačancu in jamraču, ki s kančnkom preveč zvrnjenega žganja v enem večeru teži svojim sodelavcem in jim jamra takšne in drugačne reči.

Na globoko državo in na globoka grla, Dimitrij! Zdaj boš škodo delal le še v eni državi, ne pa kjer te je volja. Pa dej, napiš še kakšen blog, je škoda, ko si se tako zapustil.

Photo: AP

The Financial Regulator has said there is no difficulty with the capitalisation of the Irish banks. However, we have been asked to accept other statements from and about the banks in recent months which have proven not to be true. I note a nuance in the comments of the Minister for Finance this morning. He says he does not believe there is a difficulty with under-capitalisation. However, the Minister for Finance rather ominously stated that things are changing by the day. Therefore, it is not at all clear that there is not a difficulty with under-capitalisation in the Irish banks. What is the current position in Ireland with respect to the guarantee?

There is no guarantee is the answer.

The Minister for Finance and the Government announced an intention to provide a guarantee, which was a plan for the future, but there is no guarantee for today. This is a serious situation of which I do not make light as a topic for debate. However, the seriousness of the situation is increased with a further delay in the presentation of the scheme.

The delay also raised the question of what we were doing here last week in the overnight session. What was the point of it? We passed enabling legislation which has not been acted upon. Therefore, apart from the amendments to the competition legislation which, although important are marginal, the content of the legislation, the scheme and the guarantee are meaningless because nothing has been carried out. What were we doing here overnight last week? I do not have any difficulty with making myself available, nor do my colleagues. However, the sum total of our efforts add to nothing as nothing has changed. Our job is not to provide an overnight supporters' rally for the work of the Government or the Minister for Finance. We are legislators and we are constitutionally required to scrutinise proposed legislation. The scheme was supposed to be brought before the Houses. Unless and until this happens there is no Irish guarantee; it simply does not exist yet. This is a reflection of the seriousness of the matter.

The Government's intentions are becoming less, rather than more, clear with each day. The Minister for Finance has now indicated, perhaps correctly - I do not claim he has no basis for the comments, but it shows how unclear the position is - the possibility of a limit on the amount of deposits banks can take on. The developments in the UK this morning will have implications for foreign owned banks operating in Ireland. That may have implications for our scheme and there is the wider EU context. The situation is sliding by the day. All of the talk and congratulation we indulged in last week for being first into the breech now rings hollow. It looks like we are now one of the last into the breech in completing a proper scheme to put before the Houses and implement a guarantee. At present there is no Irish guarantee.

More :: I raised these issues in the Seanad and they were featured on RTE's Oireachtas Report. Click here to view the programme (from 6min 10secs onwards).

Bathtubs are made at INAX-Vietnam Sanitary Ware Co, which is backed by investment from Japan’s INAX Corp. Japan is now Viet Nam’s third largest trade partner, with two-way trade expected to reach US$15 billion this year. — VNA/VNS Photo Hong Ky

HA NOI — Domestic businesses would need to study the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA), slated to be signed by Viet Nam and Japan by the end of the year, said the Minister of Industry and Trade, Vu Huy Hoang.

In order to fully utilise the agreement for exporters benefit, local firms needed to understand Japanese import regulations, he said.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade in co-operation with other industries would introduce the provisions of the agreement in order to raise awareness among firms on regulations and help discover opportunities, he said, adding that the EPA, which had received agreement in principle by the two sides, would create opportunities for exporters to better penetrate the Japanese market, especially for agro, forestry and fishery enterprises.

If the EPA was signed, he said, at least 86 per cent of farm and forestry products and 97 per cent of industrial products exported to Japan would enjoy preferential taxes.

In negotiations, the Japanese side asked Viet Nam to further open its market for Japanese industrial products. In return, Japan will open its market to Vietnamese apparel, seafood and farm produce.

Hoang said the two sides still had to discuss concrete tax rates, but the import tax rates would not be lower than the rates Viet Nam set in agreements with China and South Korea.

Phan The Rue, former Deputy Minister of Trade, suggested local firms take the initiative in tapping business opportunities in Japan, in the hope of promoting exports.

Vietnamese businesses, especially small – and medium-sized enterprises, should focus on ensuring the quality of products and establishing stable business relations to foster exports to Japan, said trade counsellor of the Viet Nam Embassy in Japan Vu Van Chung.

He said that opportunities were waiting Vietnamese goods as they made up a modest 0.9 per cent of Japan’s total imports in recent years.

Japan is now Viet Nam’s third largest trade partner. The two countries expect to record US$15 billion in two-way trade this year, two years ahead of the target agreed upon by the two countries’ leaders.

Experts expected that trade turnover between the two countries would surge strongly after the agreement was signed. —