STELLA!

Every now and than you get one of these forwarded e-mails that you're tempted to share by passing it on but you're not quite sure of its legitimacy. The latest was from (Uncle) Don Musgrave, an old family friend living in Ontario. It was the top ten winners of this year's Stella Awards.

I was aware of the Darwin Awards but the Stellas are new to me. They were inspired by Stella Liebeck. In 1992, Stella, then 79, spilled a cup of McDonald's coffee onto her lap, burning herself. A New Mexico jury awarded her $2.9 million in damages! Ever since, the name "Stella Award" has been applied to any outrageous lawsuit. The operators of the Stellas search for cases and put them up for our amusement.

Check out the website and all of their entertaining lawsuits at http://www.stellaawards.com.

Enjoy, I know I did


This year's list includes:

• Kathleen Robertson of Austin , Texas was awarded $80,000 by a jury of her peers after breaking her ankle tripping over a toddler who was running inside a furniture store. The store owners were understandably surprised by the verdict, considering the running toddler was her own son.
• Kara Walton, of Claymont , Delaware sued the owner of a night club in a nearby city because she fell from the bathroom window to the floor, knocking out her two front teeth. Even though Ms. Walton was trying to sneak through the ladies' room window to avoid paying the $3.50 cover charge, the jury said the night club had to pay her $12,000....oh, yeah, plus dental expenses.
• This year's runaway First Place Stella Award winner was Mrs. Merv Grazinski, of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, who purchased a new 32-foot Winnebago motor home. On her first trip home, from an OU football game, having driven on to the freeway, she set the cruise control at 70 mph and calmly left the driver's seat to go to the back of the Winnebago to make herself a sandwich. Not surprisingly, the motor home left the freeway, crashed and overturned. Also not surprisingly, Mrs. Grazinski sued Winnebago for not specifying in the owner's manual that she couldn't actually leave the driver's seat while the cruise control was set. The Oklahoma jury awarded her, are you sitting down, $1,750,000 PLUS a new motor home. Winnebago actually changed their manuals as a result of this suit, just in case Mrs. Grazinski has any relatives who might also buy a motor home.

A LITTLE CONSIDERATION

A few weeks back when I decided to start a blog I discussed some of my anxiety with just letting it all hang out. 16 years of playing the part of the dutiful party partisan and oft staffer behind me, I could say good-bye to Pius Lasaga (my long time nom de plume) and be me.

I work hard at presenting myself online in a fairly easy going, polite, balanced and well mannered way. Obviously it doesn’t always work. I do worry about some bloggers who seem intent on promoting themselves through angry and personal attacks.

I think it’s important for us all to remember that the words we write might be written with one intention - but that they can be read and interpreted in a very different way. It has made me think twice before posting about other people.

Consider the costs of your actions and words both on yourself and others before you post. Consider the way you are perceived on-line.

Cheers

CHRISTMAS TREE HUNTING

I am not overly sentimental about much but one thing that is a rule in our home is that we have a real Christmas tree.

“Okay guys, let's go get a tree.” There is only so much pestering that I can take. For the last two weeks, every evening the boys have asked me “Are we going to get our Christmas tree today?” The boys and I are getting dressed and heading out to look for the prefect tree. It is so much fun to do with three little boys!

One of my best friends, Ray, has three girls and he is fanatical about cutting his own tree. I have tried but it seems that I always end up getting some gangly thing that even Charlie Brown would cast aside. Although I do have great memories of hunting for the perfect tree with my dad, a sleigh in tow, in St. Bernard's. We would trudge into the woods in back of the hill up behind Aunt Becky’s Garden along the trail to big mesh. Dad always seems to have scouted one out earlier. Mike, Steve and I were on the lookout for bears. Dad played along until at last we would arrive at the perfect spot. Sometimes we would light a fire and boil the kettle which was an old apple juice can with rabbit wire strung through it. We always fought over who got to carry Dad's old canvas hunting bag, stained from years of lugging moose meat. We would all get a chance to help saw down the tree and Dad would load it onto the sleigh and we would all help tow the tree back down the hill past Aunt Vera’s and in the bank to our house. I think my boys would have loved to grow up out home.

I am a city boy these days. A bayman married to a townie, raising three townies. We will scan all the lots for our tree. If you're heading out for a tree soon, here is some advice. Choose a fresh tree, some of these Nova Scotian trees may have just arrived but they have been cut for a while. Bend a needle between your fingers or touch the needle tip to the stem—if it’s too dry, it will snap. You can also bang the tree a few times on the ground. If it’s fresh, the tree will lose only a few needles.

The newspapers will have to wait until after lunch. I have a family to play with this morning.

IT IS GREAT TO BE A CANADIAN

We have a habit of taking our health care programs for granted until we need them. I have three boys, so we have made the pilgrimage to the Janeway emergency room on more than a few occasions. We have endured the waiting to resolve a particularly bad cough, high fever, disconnected ear (that was a messy one), broken arms and a few nasty virus incidents (rota in particular) but for the most part we have not needed much help.

On Wednesday night while preparing supper, I had some very strong chest pain. It would come and go until it got so bad that my breathing got slow, I was dizzy and my arm felt numb. As there is a lot of heart disease in my family Kristine took me to the Emergency at the Health Science Center.

On the way to the hospital my mind drifted to a comment made recently to me about death, that we do not know when, or how, all we know for sure is that it will come for all of us. Within minutes I was in a bed with an EKG hooked up to me, blood was taken, an iv inserted into my arm and a half dozen medical professionals, nurses, doctors and interns, were poking and probing.

I had forgotten how much I enjoyed baby aspirins. As soon as I crunched into one I traveled back in time to a my cozy quilt-covered bed in my parents' house, the wood stove blazing, all snuggled into my pj's with the feet in them.

The amazing thing is that after a few hours, my blood tested and the results of the EKG analyzed, I was told it was safe to go home. I was handed a prescription and a list of appointments for further tests. It would appear that my heart is in great shape and my pulmonary system is free of blockages. The best diagnosis is a stomach ulcer.

As I was waiting outside in the lobby for Kristine to pick me up, I stared out the window reflecting on the health care system and the benefits of being a Canadian citizen. I had just been seen by a half dozen professionals, had numerous medical tests done, my blood checked and all I needed was my little blue MCP card. No stress for a medical card or decisions to make about shifting priorities to pay my medical bills. It was about that time my brother Mike and his wife Michelle rushed in. They looked more worried than I had been when I first arrived.

I got home. Tore all the tape off my skin and crawled into Liam and Conor’s bed, thankful that my heart was not the problem and realizing how lucky I am to have such a great family, a comfortable lifestyle and access to socialized medicine. I expect Christmas will have much more meaning for me this year.

BRIDGING THE GAP - SOCIAL MEDIA IS NOT MASS MEDIA

Emerging technologies in cyberspace is creating all kinds of exciting opportunities. Wayne MacPhail owns his own emerging media communications company. He has an insightful column on rabble news today that looks at emerging technology, social content and those that utilize it.

HERE WE COME A-WASSAILING

I know there are only ten more shopping days before Christmas (insert VOCM sponsor here) and many of us are in a major rush to get the house painted and finish our shopping, while attending work socials and kids' concerts. It is a hectic time.

That said you might want to relax a little on Saturday afternoon and take in The Gower Street Wassail which begins at 3:00. The event is sponsored by the Newfoundland and Labrador Folk Arts Council and promises to be a good time. The line up of local entertainment is impressive.

Wassail is a hot, spiced punch. In my university days I enjoyed many a good wassail prepared by Dr. Bill Threlfall or his wife Anita. There was nothing like a bowl (cup) of mulled wine to get you into that Christmas spirit and warm you up.

Wassailing is the practice of going door-to-door singing Christmas carols until paid to go away and leave the occupants in peace.

For more information on the Gower Street Wassail check the Newfoundland and Labrador Folk Arts Council web page.

CONSERVATIVES ATTACKING THE CBC

Premier Danny Williams' performances on the CBC television programs “This Hour has Twenty-Two Minutes” and "The Mercer Report” must have really hit a chord with the federal Conservatives.

It would appear that those fun loving Conservatives are paranoid about Canada’s public broadcaster. It's no secret that Reform and the Canadian Alliance both vowed to trim the wings of the CBC if they ever got the opportunity.

Yesterday, the Conservatives went on the attack. They are accusing the CBC and the Liberal Party of Canada of collusion, related to questions asked by grit MPs at the House of Commons Ethics Committee.

An official Conservative press release states, “If proven true these allegations would mark the third major case of orchestrated anti-Conservative bias from a broadcaster that is financed by all Canadians for the benefit of all Canadians.”

It has been my humble experience that legislative reporters' best sources are opposition members and staff. The politicians have obvious political agendas which the reporters understand and work through. Often they are researching similar issues and share information. The opposition and the reporters share a similar mandate to keep the government accountable. Reporters have to hold the opposition to account as well.

This is just another attempt by the Conservatives to justify clipping the wings of our country's publicly owned broadcaster.

I do not recall them expressing their concern when Conrad Black was using his media muscle to defame Jean Chretien. Yes, I know that one is a public corporation and the other was private, but imagine a nation where the media is all in the hands of private corporations. The message for sale to the highest bidder. I like my CBC just the way it is.

THE BOYS FROM BRAZIL

From the news of the weird file comes a story about an endangered species. The Rotterdam Natural History Museum, home to over 300,000 species, is missing a particular species that it fears is dying out. Curator Kees Moeliker points the finger at Brazilians, who already have a reputation for the deforestation of the rain forest leading to the loss of many species.

The missing species is the crab louse or “pubic lice.” Moeliker blames the “Brazilian wax” for the scarcity, noting that “pubic lice can’t live without pubic hair.”

An article from the Journal of Sexually Transmitted Infections entitled “Did the Brazilian Kill The Pubic Louse?” discusses the situation in the United Kingdom. Comparisons are made to the destruction of bamboo forests, leading to habitat loss and the threatened extinction of the Giant Panda. The Centers for Disease Control confirm that the poor public louse is disappearing in the US., as well.

Which gets me back to Brazil. What is it with these guys? They clear-cut anything in their path, creating global environmental issues and forcing entire species to vanish. Perhaps George Bush should be adding them to his Axis of Evil list. They seem to be presenting a clear and present danger to global security.

IS DR. JAMES LAXER ON TO SOMETHING?

The Brian Mulroney – Schreiber connection matters for a heck of a lot more than the $300,000 the former Prime Minister accepted in cash, or the $3 million dollars he collected as an apology from the Canadian Government.

Schreiber appeared on the scene at a very interesting time in Canadian politics. How big a role did he and his Bavarian masters play in dumping Joe Clark and setting the country down the road to Free Trade and dismantling competitive industries in Canada? It is not like Mulroney had not proven his worth to the Americans at IOC!

James Laxer, a political science professor at York University in Toronto, makes some interesting arguments about the wheels within wheels and the German and American desire to see Canadian industry removed from their list of competitors. If you have a few minutes it makes for an interesting read: http://www.jameslaxer.com/blog.html

I am interested in your thoughts.

SNOW IN DECEMBER - GO FIGURE

Never trust the weather guy. In a past life I was a radio broadcaster and boy, did I ever get blasted by listeners for inaccurate forecasts. Talk about shooting the messenger...I was responsible for ruining holidays, for causing water damage to homes that were being re-roofed and snow on the May 24 weekend.

It certainly feels and looks like winter here in St. John’s this morning. Two cm of snow turned into a foot, a big difference on a morning when you have to clear the driveway, get three kids to three different locations, and get yourself to work.

Yea, it is time to set the alarm back another half hour and reduce some family stress. It took 22 minutes to get in and out of the MQP school parking lot with Liam this morning. Which reminds me, how in the name of god did Tim Horton’s get a permit to locate next to the Torbay Mall? That is a traffic accident waiting to happen.

I might as well get used to it. The forecast is calling for flurries and cold temperatures through the weekend. But the kids love sliding, making snow people and a white Christmas for a change it is very seasonal.

NO CANADIAN DMCA THIS YEAR

When the House of Commons opened this morning we were expecting that the Industry Minister would give notice of his new copyright legislation. The buzz all day yesterday was that Jim Prentice was going forward today.

The House Of Commons begins its Christmas break tomorrow and will remain closed until late January. This means this bill will not be introduced for discussion for another month and a half at the earliest.

Copyright is serious business. Let's hope some more time will allow for consultations and legislation that is fair to all. The principle of "fair use" cannot be abandoned without serious consequences for individuals and educators. To my friends on the other side of the debate, there is a recognition of the need to protect you from piracy and exploitation but it has to be done in a way that does not make criminals out of ordinary people.

Mathew Ingram, a technology columnist at the Globe & Mail, has a thought provoking article on the DMCA issue and the successful use of alternative media to galvanize opposition to the government's approach. It is worth the read.

So let's keep up the pressure for fair changes. Other jurisdictions have been able to strike a balance, so should we.

CONSERVATIVE NUMBERS UP, LIBERALS DOWN

A disconcerting Corporate Research poll shows that Conservative support in the province is on the rebound. I think it shows that there is fairly strong traditional support for the Conservatives in the populated Avalon region. Let's face it, for most of the past 50 years these seats have gone Tory. The question that I would like to see answered from this poll is the percentage of identified vote that is willing to switch? How soft is this support and why?

Looking at the alternative, Liberal leader Stephane Dion has not exactly caught on like a house afire. He is identified with putting the province in its place as a Martin and Chretien cabinet minister, who as Intergovernmental Affairs minister refused a better equalization deal for the province to Premiers Tobin, Grimes and Williams . He was the Environment Minister who closed Gander’s weather office and left Scott Simms out to dry. Added to that, the names being bandied about by the Liberals as candidates for the two city seats are not exactly fire crackers. Paul Antle, Siobhan Coady and Walter Noel have Liberal party machinery on their side, but all have stood as Liberal candidates and been defeated in campaigns past. There seems to be some sort of right or entitlement to the nomination that forgoes common sense and discounts electability.

Take CBS councilor Scott Andrews. Young, educated, experienced and an organizational wizard, he's a good choice as a candidate. But if you listen to some of the party mandarins he is some sort of upstart who does not know his place. The party would do well to attract more people like him. It's like this crowd wants to win the little battles but perpetually lose the wars.

If either the New Democrats or the Liberals were offering better candidates their polling numbers might be much higher. We need more people like Scott Simms, Gerry Byrne and Todd Russell. Yes, they are associated with the Liberals but they are young, aggressive and always willing to fight for Newfoundland and Labrador.

If the Liberals and the NDP do not find some decent candidates the Avalon Peninsula might just remain unassailable despite the marvelous opportunities at present.

PRENTICE FORGOES FURTHER CONSULTATION

Sometimes I hate to be proven right. It looks like my prediction that the Harper Conservatives would bring their Canadian DMCA bill forward sooner rather than later has come true. I just received an e-mail from my Ottawa guy telling me that Industry Minister Jim Prentice is going to introduce the proposed legislation tomorrow.

Considering that the introduction of the bill was delayed for just a few days it is highly unlikely that it has been amended to reflect the concerns of consumers and the educational sector.

If you have not joined the Fair Copyright for Canada Facebook group please do so. Let your voice be heard.

It is not very reassuring to know that the Canadian Industry Minister is a puppet on a string for the American publishing industry. Shame!

PS

I just received another e-mail, this time from a good friend of mine who is a photographer. He points out that there is a section in the draft bill that will provide photographers specific rights that all other artists in Canada enjoy. He creates original material and content, and needs legislation to protect his property. He points out this will be the second time this bill has been delayed and with it his rights!

I am not anti-copyright. Just pro doing it right!

THE ART OF THE TATTOO

While researching my entry on the crisis facing the maritime shipping industry I stumbled on some interesting information on tattoos. Sailors and Fishermen have a long history of wearing tattoos. While the art of tattooing is very popular today, there was a time when it was the sole domain of the sailor.

Eleanor Barnes from the Seaman’s Institute says, “Some people pour out their colorful stories to juries. Others relieve the tension by writing for the confession magazines. The sailor enlists the tattooer's needle upon his own body in dull blues, vivid reds, greens, and yellows to record the story of his loves and hates, his triumphs, his religion, and his patriotism.”

Here are a couple of explanations of some of the images frequently used for tattoos by sailors:

The word “hold” spelled out on the knuckles of one hand and “fast” spelled out on the
other: These words are said to make it possible for the seaman to better hold onto his riggings.

A pig on the top of one foot and a rooster on top of the other foot: These images are supposed to protect the sailor from drowning because neither animal can swim. Therefore, they will want to get to shore as quickly as possible.

Anchor: Symbolizes the sailor has sailed in the Atlantic Ocean

Full-Rigged ship: Symbolizes that the sailor has sailed around Cape Horn

Dragon: Symbolizes the sailor served on a China station

Shellback turtle: Symbolizes the sailor has crossed the equator

Golden dragon: Symbolizes the sailor has crossed the International Date Line

Rope around the wrist: Symbolizes the sailor served as a deckhand

I was unable to find an explanation for the lower back tattoo unveiled to me recently by a female server who was reaching for my dutchie at Tim Hortons.

STANDING UP FOR NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR

The premier put the record straight today: “The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador has not signed onto any new equalization deal”. As I said yesterday, the Harper government unilaterally imposed a new equalization formula on the whole country, and in doing so tampered with the offset provisions of the original Atlantic Accord and the revised terms of 2005 Atlantic Accord.

We are stuck with it. It is the law of the land. As the province prepares its revenues for the upcoming year it has to work with the equalization program as it currently exists. Despite signing two different Atlantic Accords with two different federal governments, the Harper Government's unilateral prescription is the existing remedy.

There were no discussions with the province. The provincial government, rightfully so, was not willing to discuss any arrangement that would see the province agree to accept $10 BILLION less than the Harper Conservatives promised in the last election or change the offset provisions of the 1985 Atlantic Accord and thus seriously undermine the gains made in the 2005 Atlantic Accord.

The Provincial Government has the moral and political support of the vast majority of people in this province, many Liberals and New Democrats among them, to continue its campaign to ensure that Prime Minister Harper and his three Newfoundland and Labrador henchmen address the situation prior to the upcoming federal election.

In this situation, I see the Premier as the leader of our province, not the leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Newfoundland and Labrador. I don't have the time or the energy to deal with erroneous and politically motivated statements that attempt to portray this as anything but a principled fight.

Of course who in their right mind, the Premier included, would trust this crowd to honour any promises made during, or in the lead up to, an election.

The bottom line is that the Federal Conservatives have proven that they cannot be trusted to protect the best interests of the people of Newfoundland and Labrador.

GO TO SEA BILLY!

An interesting story on CBC radio this evening pointed out that the demand for maritime workers is increasing faster than the supply, and the officer shortage is now at alarming levels.

The shipping industry is growing but the lure of the sea is not keeping up. Apparently the romance of seeing the world does not hold the same promise as it used to. Sailors spend very little time in port visiting exotic locations. There aren't as many shipmates to call upon for the sailors to take needed time off. Crews work with fewer able bodied mates but keep tighter schedules. In short, an officer's life is not that much fun.

Glenn Blackwood, executive director of the Marine Institute, told a Company Of Master Mariners Of Canada seminar last month in St. John’s that “the growth of the marine transportation industry and oil and gas sector represents an enormous opportunity for young Newfoundlanders and Labradorians," and “A large number of major developments have recently been identified by the Province and they will all require a very large number of marine personnel at all levels."

The conference learned that by the year 2015 there will be a global shortage of 27,000 ship’s officers. One of the key messages flowing from the seminar was that industry, government and maritime training institutions need to work together to ensure that the demand for highly qualified personnel is met.

Newfoundland and Labrador has long provided crewmen, officers and captains for the domestic and international shipping industry. The CBC report indicated that enrollment in maritime courses at the Marine Institute of Memorial University is way down this year. The Institute is now recruiting from all across Canada. Meanwhile, China has 76 marine universities and institutes and cannot keep up with the demand.

The ship officer makeup of the world merchant fleet is dominated largely by six nationalities. The distribution of officers, based on nationalities, are: 46,497 Indians, 46,359 Filipinos, 42,704 Chinese, 28,408 Eastern Europeans, 22,091 Turkish, and 21,680 Russians.

Sounds like an opportunity to me.

PLAYING THE CARDS YOU'RE DEALT

The provincial government has exercised its right to go with the O’Brien Formula and pick up an extra $66 million dollars from the feds this year. Some folks are saying that this is a mea culpa. That the premier is a hypocrite, has fallen down on the job, or worse, misled us all from the start.

At the risk of being labeled a pitcher plant, yet again, I disagree. The Harper Conservatives used their larger numbers to ram changes to equalization, negatively impacting the Atlantic Accord, down our throats. We protested. We screamed. We offered logical opposition. Manning, Hearn and Doyle supported Harper over the wishes of the vast majority of this province. The rules were changed and we have to accept them. That's how it works.

Nothing has changed. The Conservatives made promises regarding equalization that they had no intention (or ability) to keep. The current formula will produce significantly less revenue for this province than what was committed to by Opposition Leader Stephen Harper in the 2006 election campaign. Premier McDonald of Nova Scotia settled for less. The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador has to work with what has been imposed on us.

A BLUE CHRISTMAS

The Christmas lights are all strung and lit along Prince Philip Drive as it snakes through Memorial University past the Confederation Building Complex. It looks festive and puts one in the mood for the holidays.

The public relations machine at the Confederation Building must be in overdrive to find new ways to reinforce the current government's grip on the psyche of the population. As sure as the colours change in the fall, official government colours change with the political seasons, in an attempt to make the party's colour synonymous with government activities. Have you ever noticed how the lettering on license plates, public works signs and even budget covers transform from red to blue in a subtle attempt to ensure that the governing colour is associated with positive values.

You would think, with record-breaking popularity numbers, a huge majority, $892,000,000 in surplus cash and cameos on just about every CBC comedy, that the Premier might be comfortable. Nope - this guy, or someone on his team, does not sleep at night for thinking up more creative ways to sell the Progressive Conservative Brand.

Traditional festive colours must drive a partisan, red-hating, anti-confederate Tory crazy. The jolly old guy who brings the gifts dresses in red, even the toy sack is red. Why can't Santa be a smurf, instead?

With that in mind, you would think that Christmas with all of its reds and whites would be the last safe domain of the Liberals. Not in Newfoundland and Labrador. The Confederation Building and the huge tree that is the center piece all emit a decidedly blue hue. Subtle, no. Intentional, probably not. Cute by half, for sure!

And when those blue snowflakes start falling
That's when those blue memories start calling
You'll be doing all right, with your Christmas of white
But I'll have a blue, blue blue blue Christmas.

ANOTHER EXPANSION AT COME BY CHANCE?

Good news for skilled workers looking for opportunities at home. The new operators of the oil refinery at Come-by-Chance, Harvest Energy, released their third quarter results yesterday. If you scroll through the document past the section on downstream operations there is a section entitled Refinery Investment Opportunities. It appears the Harvest Energy feels there is a lot of potential to generate some attractive returns for shareholders through some investments and expansions at the facility.

The weak refining margin environment that prevailed during the latter half of the third quarter gave us a unique opportunity to accelerate a turnaround on the crude unit and vacuum units originally scheduled for the second quarter of 2008 into the fourth quarter of 2007. Our ability to accelerate the turnaround on very short notice and assemble the required materials and personnel is evidence of the skill and expertise of our downstream team. The refinery is expected to return to full production at the beginning of December, with no major maintenance, shutdowns or turnarounds planned during 2008.

A significant advantage that we recognized with the North Atlantic acquisition is the opportunity to make incremental discretionary investments in the refinery and generate very attractive rates of return. Through our annual capital investment budget, we undertake discretionary projects designed to improve reliability and throughput, enhance margins and reduce costs. These smaller projects can be supplemented by more substantial opportunities that have the potential to create significant value.

- Visbreaker Expansion - This project has a direct impact on margins by effectively upgrading approximately 1,500 bbl/d of heavy fuel oil into higher value distillate and gasoline products. The first phase is underway and expected to be complete by the fourth quarter of 2008. The project has very attractive economics, with payout expected in about one year. A potential second phase expansion, which would upgrade an additional 3,000 bbl/d of heavy fuel oil, is in preliminary development.

- Expansion Program - In concert with the visbreaker expansion, this project would see refinery throughput increased 10%, generating an additional 2% gasoline and distillate yield from the heavy fuel oil, as well as providing increased flexibility in gasoline blending and reduced hydrocracker feed procurement.

- Delayed Coker - Estimates indicate this 4 -5 year project would require between US$400 and $600 million and would effectively eliminate heavy fuel oil production, improving the gasoline / distillate yield by 25%. We could also do a larger and more extensive coker project which would enable the refinery to run lower gravity, less expensive crude oil feedstock.

- Major Refinery Expansion - With a plot of 476 acres of land and existing infrastructure able to handle further capacity, the refinery's production could effectively be doubled with an investment of approximately US$1B and a 4-5 year time horizon. This potential for growth efficiency via expansion provides attractive economics relative to a new build development.

For more detailed information check the companies web page.

POWER TO THE PEOPLE

For those of you that share concerns that the Harper Conservatives are fast tracking the Canadian version of the DMCA, some good news. Michael Geist is reporting on his blog that Industry Minister Jim Prentice may be backing off to allow more consultation.

I am not convinced that the legislation will not be back sooner, rather than later. That said it appears that the Federal Government might have miscalculated the depth of concern about the issue, and are regrouping, and hopefully rethinking their approach.

This delay does prove that when the public bands together on issues they can make the government blink. Stay vigilant and keep up the pressure, it is working.

AND OUT OF RIGHT FIELD

And now for something a little different. I stumbled on this article by Tom Ford in yesterday's Winnipeg Free Press. He is arguing that the Americans are headed into recession and Canada will follow. His real purpose is to paint the federal Liberals as big spenders that will cripple the Canadian economy if they regain power. It's typical right wing rubbish but it provides some insight into the mindset of those Conservative hordes. I guess he must have missed the decade after 1993 when the Chretien Liberals cleaned up the mess left behind by those free market Progressive Conservatives.

THE ART OF THE BUFFET

You know when you look at a sweet menu and you love everything on it? Well, it was that sort of news day today. Was it just me or was today the most hectic news day in months? I am a bit of a news and current affairs junkie. Juggling papers, magazines, CBC radio and a few blogs is always hectic enough with the day- to-day demands of everyday life. Today was like the all-you-can-eat buffet of news, local, national and international. Legal, social, environmental, economic and political stories. Al Gore receives his Nobel prize, Robert Pickton is convicted, The Fraser Institute slams the province as a bad place to do business, Sean Buckingham is convicted, the province announces a $881,000,000 surplus, Lord Black learns his fate and The Economist and Policy Options both arrived in my inbox. All this and I've not even had a chance to look at Michael Kesterton’s Social Studies section in today’s Globe & Mail.

Yea, it's been like a trip to Crusty’s International, just got to remember to pace myself. Has anyone seen my sweatpants?