House Republicans Just Let The Cat Out Of The Bag

WASHINGTON -- Since taking control of the House in 2010, Republicans have crafted dozens of bills ostensibly devoted to "streamlining and simplifying" the federal government. They've pushed them through the lower chamber, promising to cut red tape and create jobs. But on Tuesday, they let the cat out of the bag. These bills, it turns out, are essentially efforts to undermine Wall Street reform and Obamacare while greenlighting pollution.

What Netanyahu’s Victory Means for America

The American political class has spent decades convincing itself that the Israeli political class really does want a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The last six years have been the hardest—Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu proclaimed a tepid desire for peace, but consistently acted contrary it—and yet the image of an Israel that would strike the deal if only this or that condition was met by the Palestinians persisted. Perhaps the image even grew stronger: who can forget all the standing ovations Netanyahu received during his 2009 address to Congress and, despite all the controversy, again this winter?

Vic Toews Met With Peguis Lawyer About Kapyong Settlement: Court Documents

Within months of leaving cabinet, former treasury board president Vic Toews met with with a lawyer representing Peguis First Nation on several occasions regarding a settlement of the Kapyong lands, according to court documents.

"I think there are reasonable grounds to investigate this situation as a possible violation of the federal conflict of interest law," said Duff Conacher, co-founder of Democracy Watch and visiting professor at the University of Ottawa.

What Canada Can Learn From Sweden's Unionized Retail Workers

When Toys “R” Us arrived in Sweden in 1995 armed with a translation of its U.S. employee handbook, it underestimated the Swedes’ fierce commitment to the quality of their working lives.

The solidarity among Swedish workers was powerful enough to accomplish a feat that may seem inconceivable in Canadian retail; they brought the global conglomerate to its knees.

The company refused to sign a standardized collective agreement, the heart of employee-employer relations for more than 25,000 companies across all sectors of the Swedish economy. The decision affected only 150 employees, but it resulted in a three-month long strike by the retail-store employees union that snowballed into an all-out boycott.

Target Canada's Failure Translates Into $1.6-Billion Tax Break For Retailer

Target lost some US$5.1 billion in all on its ill-fated Canadian venture, but Uncle Sam is softening some of the blow, to the tune of $1.6 billion.

That’s the size of the tax break Minneapolis-based Target expects to see in the U.S. this year as a result of its writedown of Canadian assets, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, first obtained by the Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal.

Alberta Not Stashing Enough Royalties, Study Finds

CALGARY - An analysis of three oil-producing heavy hitters suggests Alberta isn't socking away enough money from oil royalties.

The Calgary Chamber of Commerce says there would be an extra $150 billion in the Heritage Savings Trust Fund if Alberta put aside resource taxes the way Norway does.

The study also looked at the royalties approach taken by Alaska.

Thousands Of Protesters Clash With Riot Police Near New European Central Bank Headquarters In Frankfurt

FRANKFURT, March 18 (Reuters) - Anti-capitalist protesters clashed with riot police near the new headquarters of the European Central Bank (ECB) in Frankfurt on Wednesday and set fire to barricades and cars, casting a pall over the ceremonial opening of the billion-euro skyscraper.

Nearly 90 police were injured by stones and unidentified liquids hurled by a violent minority from within the thousands-strong protest, police said. Some protesters said they were injured when police used pepper spray.

U.S. Sets New Record For Denying, Censoring Government Files

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration set a new record again for more often than ever censoring government files or outright denying access to them last year under the U.S. Freedom of Information Act, according to a new analysis of federal data by The Associated Press.

The government took longer to turn over files when it provided any, said more regularly that it couldn't find documents, and refused a record number of times to turn over files quickly that might be especially newsworthy.

World No Longer Bound to Defend Israel Internationally

AMMAN -- The Israeli electorate had a choice to make. By re-electing a leader who publicly reneged on his commitments to peace and a two-state solution, they voted against peace. What remains now is how the Palestinians and the world will react to the closure of the charade that was called the peace process.

Palestinians have for years lost hope in the peace process and have been telling everyone who is willing to listen that the Israeli leaders are merely giving lip service to it as their own bulldozers were gobbling up Palestinian lands. The world kept on believing in the lip service until the Israeli public forced their leader to state his case in Hebrew to his own people. Now that we know that Israel is not a democracy to all its citizens (see Netanyahu's racist comments about Arab citizens) and Netanyahu never meant his commitment to a Palestinian state, the world must react.

Binyamin Netanyahu bids to form rightwing Israeli coalition after decisive win

Binyamin Netanyahu has begun efforts to assemble a new rightwing coalition to govern Israel after his Likud party scored a decisive victory in the country’s general election.

Hours after opposition leader Isaac Herzog conceded defeat on Wednesday morning, Netanyahu called Naftali Bennett, the hard-right pro-settlement leader of the Jewish Home party, to open negotiations over the shape of his new coalition.