We all be shuffelin’ (S.H.- Encore News)

Marching To Olympic Plaza (V.P. – CFP)

http://static.bambuser.com/r/player.swf?vid=2555332

This letter seeks an acknowledgment that certain damages the City accused Occupy Calgary of in the media, were unsubstantiated and found to be so in a court of law by the Chief Justice of Alberta. At the time of his ruling Justice N.C Wittmann concluded various costs submitted by the City could not stand up to judicial scrutiny, specifically :

1. Downtown Parks power shut off, totalling $1,835.25.
2. Extra Garbage Pick-ups by BFI, totalling $1,000.00.
3. Contracted washroom cleaning, totalling $945.00
4. Sod Repairs, totalling $12,705.00
5. Washroom cleaning, painting, plumbing, tile, arborite, totalling $15,198.00.
6. Replacing Heaters & Hand Dryer in Mens Washroom, totalling $1,559.00
7. Statue patina, totalling $472.50
8. Cornice Metal Caps, totalling $500.00

Although the ruling was passed down many months ago, no credible effort has been undertaken by the City to correct this wrong. Recently the City has presented additional damages to the media also attributed to Occupy, but an itemized list has not yet been made available when requested. Therefore this letter seeks recognizance only for the costs that did go before judicial scrutiny, and were struck down in the Justice’s ruling:

“I think it is appropriate to add that there is very little evidence that the Occupy Calgary group itself has caused damage aside from some wear and tear to the turf upon which they have erected their tents…I appreciate that there is significant public interest in this matter. The citizens of Calgary should know that the Occupy Calgary group at Olympic Plaza has been benign.”
-Justice Wittmann, Dec 6th – page 14: 8 – Conclusion – [49]

Please issue a public voluntary retraction for claims regarding the $34,214.75 in damages that Justice Wittmann found to be unassociated with Occupy Calgary.

Signed,
Occupy Calgary

Whoever set up the account that sent the election day message that deceived opposition voters in Guelph was careful to cover his electronic tracks.

According to sworn affidavits from Elections Canada investigator Al Mathews and sources close to the investigation, whoever sent the fake recorded message used a prepaid credit card to buy a prepaid cellphone, registered an account under a fake name and address with robocall provider RackNine, and used a different fake name and address – Pierre Poutine of Separatist Street, Joliette, Que. – to set up his cellphone.

But the CEO of RackNine, Matt Meier, was able to trace Poutine’s electronic trail back to a specific Internet protocol address, which is apparently assigned to a single home. Sources say that revelation has now convinced someone to step forward and own up to the scheme.

Someone with knowledge of the affair is expected to share information with Elections Canada today.

The young campaigners most often associated with the Guelph campaign in media reports have both repeatedly publicly declared their innocence.

Campaign communications director Michael Sona left his job working for Conservative MP Eve Adams after the story broke, but a few days after leaving, he told CTV News he had no involvement.

“I have remained silent to this point with the hope that the real guilty party would be apprehended,” he said.

A woman who identified herself as Sona’s mother cast doubt on the fairness of investigation on Sunday.

“To me, it’s been a setup from Day 1,” she said, without elaborating.

During a brief conversation with the Ottawa Citizen, she also referred to reports about Meier tracing the Internet address used with the RackNine account. “It’s interesting that Matt Meier found the code when he’s working for the Conservative party.”

Sona stayed at his family’s home in Guelph during the campaign but isn’t living there now, she said.

Deputy campaign director Andrew Prescott, who had an account with RackNine that he used for other campaigns, has also said he had nothing to do with the calls.

After the Ottawa Citizen sought comment from him on Sunday, he sent out a tweet, under his handle ChristianConsrv: “Getting media requests for a story from people who just days ago suggested it implied wrongdoing on my part. An apology first maybe?”

Others who played a role in managing the campaign, including campaign manager Ken Morgan, have not returned repeated messages seeking comment. Riding association president John White could not be reached for comment.

Since the Ottawa CitizenPostmedia News investigation into fraudulent political calls last month, opposition researchers have been tracking down reports of similar calls in other ridings.

The reports, which have not been independently confirmed, say that opposition supporters outside Guelph also recall receiving a recorded message from Elections Canada advising them that their polling station had been moved.

The issue has been a political football for weeks with opposition MPs accusing the Conservatives of being behind a national vote-suppression scheme and the Conservatives accusing their critics of smearing them without proof.

Read more: http://www.calgaryherald.com/Robocall+suspect+admit+scheme/6287054/story.html#ixzz1otALBiZb

DUE TO THIS POST BEING LARGE, PLEASE VISIT THE SOURCE LINK TO READ IT.

The event will be held at the Metropolitan Conference Centre from 6: 45-8: 45 p.m.

Panellists include Horne, Liberal health critic David Swann, Wildrose Alliance health critic Heather Forsyth, Alberta Party Leader Glenn Taylor and former federal NDP candidate Shannon Phillips.

Calgary Herald editorial page editor Licia Corbella is moderating the forum.

Questions will be posed by members of the public, Herald readers, a Calgary physician and health-care organizations and non-profits.

“Health care is a priority for Albertans and with the election coming in the next days or weeks, we think it’s a good opportunity to learn more about the positions of the various parties,” said AMA assistant executive director Ron Kustra.

“There’s no doubt health care is one of the most important concerns for Albertans in the upcoming election, and polls continuously show it’s the top issue in the province,” added Calgary Herald managing editor Monica Zurowski.

“This is an excellent opportunity for the public to discuss and learn more about the future of health care in the province.”

The public is invited to attend the meeting. A second town hall is planned for Edmonton on March 12.

© Copyright (c) The Calgary Herald

Read more: http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/Health+care+debate+tonight+Calgary/6255997/story.html#ixzz1oRaeZqpI
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Activists fear another Middle East quagmire may be looming

Protester Samantha Withnell, centre, says she thinks that governments are making Iran's possible nuclear threat out to be more than it really is. Photo by: Christine Ramos

As international concerns mount over Iran’s nuclear program, a group of Calgary activists descended upon the U.S. consulate on Feb. 4 to voice their opposition to Western military intervention.

South of the border, Iran has become top foreign policy concern of Republican presidential candidates, and President Barack Obama has stated that “all options are on the table” when it comes to handling any Iranian threat.

About 30 activists at the small rally lamented what they perceived as a drumbeat from politicians for another war in the Middle East.

“I think [the nuclear issue] is less of an issue than our governments want us to think,” Samantha Withnell, 18, said, while holding a sign that read: “Your tax dollars – their blood.”

Iran insists that it has complied with all inspections from the UN’s atomic watchdog and that its nuclear objectives are limited to energy supply and production of medical isotopes for cancer patients.

Nikki Baker, another activist, stated, “I don’t think Iran is making nuclear weapons and the sanctions are harming innocent people.

“Protester Samantha Withnell, centre, says she thinks that governments are making Iran’s possible nuclear threat out to be more than it really is.
Photo by: Christine Ramos

In a sign of havoc being unleashed on Iran’s civilian economy, Reuters has reported that bread prices in Tehran have tripled, while Iranian traders have defaulted on payments for 200,000 tonnes of rice from India.

However, in his 2012 State of the Union speech, President Obama insisted that harsh international sanctions are necessary to penalize Iran for its uranium enrichment and force negotiations on its program.

Withnell said that she is no fan of Iran’s ruling Ayatollahs but questioned the effectiveness of sanctions as a tool to topple the regime.

“Often Iranians my age are out protesting on the street,” she said. “It’s just a matter of letting (regime change) happen. I don’t know if we’re letting it happen or making it worse.”

Prospect of war

U.S. Defence Secretary Leon Panetta has told the Washington Post that he believes Israel will strike Iranian nuclear targets sometime in the spring, if sanctions fail to slow Iran’s nuclear developments. Similarly, Israel destroyed Iraq’s Osirak nuclear reactor in 1986, effectively ending Saddam Hussein’s pursuit of nuclear weapons.

The fear among peace activists is that any pre-emptive attack by a Western nation may draw others into the fray and lead to a long, protracted war – as what happened in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“I grew up with that whole situation of going into Iraq and Afghanistan, that’s pretty much all I’ve ever known, and I don’t like it at all,” Withnell said.

Brent Talbot, another activist at the rally, said, “Peace is the only way we will achieve anything.”

Talbot also noted that the U.S. seems to have a heightened interest in military intervention in resource-rich countries like Iran and Libya.

In contrast, the resource-poor countries of North Korea and Rwanda have respectively developed nuclear weapons and carried out genocide with no American military intervention.

Organizer Jan Bacon said that more protests will be planned as the situation develops.

gpicketts@cjournal.ca