Suppression Surges as Election Nears

With a little more than a week before Election Day, grassroots campaigns are hoping to maximize voter participation among often disenfranchised communities. Cuéntame has launched a series of public service announcements targeted at some 50,000 new Latino voters in three swing states: Colorado, Nevada and Florida. The PSAs, made in conjunction with 300 partner groups, are airing on major Spanish language television stations like Univision, MundoFox and Azteca America.

Romney-Ryan's Real Poverty Plan: Soak the Poor

So what would Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan do for the poor and the working class if they were elected? Let's recap:

• They would allow the payroll tax holiday to expire. This would immediately raise taxes on everyone, and would hit the working poor especially hard.
• They would repeal Obamacare, which would immediately kick about 17 million low-income earners and their family members off of Medicaid.
• In addition, they want to block grant Medicaid and cap its growth. In some states, this wouldn't have a big immediate impact. In other states, conservative governors and legislatures would use their newfound authority to limit enrollments and cut benefits substantially. Over time, all states would have to cut enrollments dramatically, probably by another 15-20 million within a decade.
• If they pursue the cuts outlined in Paul Ryan's budget plan, they would cut funding for SNAP (food stamps) by more than $100 billion over the next decade. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities estimates that this would reduce enrollment in the program by at least 8 million people.
• They would cut funding for Planned Parenthood and other reproductive health organizations. This would especially hurt poor women, since they don't have the resources to pay for services at full-cost clinics.
• They would cut the college tax credit, the child tax credit, and the earned-income tax credit. All of these are programs designed to help the working poor.

This is a short post. Sometimes it's better to lay out the facts simply and starkly, because Romney's priorities really are pretty stark: He wants to cut taxes on the rich and cut spending on the poor. That's Romney's real poverty plan.

Original Article
Source: mother jones
Author: Kevin Drum

Harper government changed course on navigable waters act four months ago

On February 27 2004, Transport Canada decided the construction of a shellfish farm in Blind Bay, British Columbia needed an environmental assessment because of requirements in the Navigable Waters Protection Act.

Five years later, the facility — which required floats, weights and anchors to be placed in BC’s Georgia Strait — was approved after the outfit in charge of performing the assessment, the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency, concluded the project wouldn’t harm the environment.

In an oil world, we need more Chavez, less Harper

Two leaders of two petrostates. Both have been won multiple times in democratic elections. Both have been described as tyrants and great leaders. Both traffic in heavy crude. Beyond that, they don't have much in common.

The first is president Hugo Chavez of Venezuela. The second is Prime Minister Stephen Harper of Canada. You can't get the first one to shut up (his television addresses go on for hours) and you can't get the second one to answer a question (his disdain for the press is legendary).

The truth about why we vote

For a guy who never got involved in serious policy discussions before becoming an MP, or since, and who has yet to say anything serious since announcing his candidacy for the leadership of the Liberals, Justin Trudeau does remarkably well in polls about policy.

“Who do you trust most to negotiate trade agreements?” a CBC Power And Politics/ Nanos Survey asked in mid-October. No surprise that Stephen Harper came first, at 28 per cent, because the Conservative base is about 30 per cent and negotiating trade agreements has been a top priority of his government. But Trudeau came second, at 18 per cent, ahead of Tom Mulcair at 12 per cent.

RBC, SocGen said to be among banks subpoenaed in Libor probe

Royal Bank of Canada, Société Géneralé SA and Bank of America Corp. are among nine additional banks that were subpoenaed in New York and Connecticut’s probe of alleged manipulation of Libor, a person familiar with the matter said Thursday.

The subpoenas, issued by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman starting in August, bring to 16 the total number of banks that have been subpoenaed in the states’ investigation, said the person, who asked not to be named because there wasn’t authorization to speak publicly.

Schneiderman and Connecticut Attorney General George Jepsen are jointly investigating claims that banks rigged the London interbank offered rate, or Libor, a worldwide benchmark for borrowing. The same person said in August that seven banks were subpoenaed in their investigation, including JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Barclays Plc.

Lawrence Grayson, a spokesman for Charlotte, North Carolina-based Bank of America, declined to comment on the subpoenas. Stephanie Lu, a spokeswoman for Royal Bank of Canada, and Société Géneralé spokesman Jim Galvin didn’t immediately respond to e-mails seeking comment.

Original Article
Source: the star
Author:  Bloomberg 

Immigration Minister Kenney announces new immigration restrictions for newlyweds

MISSISSAUGA, Ont. - Some newlyweds now face a new rule the government says is designed to combat marriage fraud.

The regulation applies to Canadians or permanent residents who bring their spouse to Canada from overseas.

They'll now have to live together in what the government calls a legitimate relationship for two years or the sponsored spouse could lose permanent resident status.

Autism: Environmental factors often neglected in search for a cause

In 1990, 6 out of 10,000 children were diagnosed with autism by age 5 in California. In 2001, it was 42 in 10,000 — a 600 per cent spike.

For the past 10 years, Irva Hertz-Picciotto has tried to discover what environmental factors could account for that staggering increase. And she thinks not enough other researchers are trying to do the same.

“From the perspective of funding, a lot more attention has gone to the genetics,” she says.

Kenney Defends Bid For Power To Block Foreigners

Immigration Minister Jason Kenney tried to convince a parliamentary committee Wednesday of the need for a new ministerial power that would allow him to bar certain people from coming to Canada for "public policy" reasons.

The power is contained in the contentious new Bill C-43, dubbed the Faster Removal of Foreign Criminals Act, which would also create stiffer terms for the deportation of non-citizens who commit crimes in Canada.

The bill passed second reading and is now under study by the Commons immigration committee.

Daryl Katz Donation: Edmonton Oilers Owner, Billionaire, Donated Huge Sums To Alison Redford's Campaign

How did Edmonton Oilers owner and billionaire Daryl Katz get away with donating nearly half a million dollars to Alison Redford's then-struggling campaign for office during the spring provincial election?

He didn't, exactly. But he tried. The Globe and Mail reports that Katz wrote a cheque to the Redford campaign to the tune of $430,000 - almost one-third of the party's total fundraising donations - but the donation was eventually broken down into smaller pieces and the resulting donations tallied $300,000.

Documents released Wednesday by Elections Alberta show four Katz family members, including Daryl, his brother, mom and dad, donated $30,000 apiece. His company, Katz group, also donated the same figure.