For Harper’s ministers, pictures are worth millions: spending records

Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s government has spent more than $2.3 million to photograph Conservative cabinet ministers since it came to power, iPolitics has learned.

Taxpayers are picking up the tab for a quarter of a million dollars on average each year to hire photographers to take pictures of ministers making announcements. Since 2006, the government has commissioned outside photographers to record more than 2,483 events.

That amount jumped 68 per cent to nearly $500,000 in the year leading up to the 2011 federal election, fuelled by a 38 per cent increase in the number of photo ops.

Despite Claims of Progress, Labor and Environmental Violations Continue to Plague Apple

Though Apple claims that 2014 was "a year of progress," reports from labor rights groups and researchers reveal troubling labor and environmental violations continue unabated.

Apple made headlines in late January 2015 when it reported the largest quarterly profit ever in corporate history: $18 billion. A record-breaking $74.6 billion quarterly revenue generated this profit, thanks in large part to the sale of 74.5 million iPhones during the same period.

For Apple, this is a great start to 2015, just as 2014 was a fantastic year for the company. Last year, they sold more than 169 million iPhones, (1) which earned them nearly $102 billion in sales. With $183 billion in total 2014 revenue, and $39.5 billion in profit, (2) Apple is the most valuable company in the world.

Crunched By His Big Tax Cuts, Scott Walker Will Skip $108 Million In Debt Payments

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) will skip making $108 million in debt payments in the face of a budget shortfall due to a slew of tax cuts he enacted.

The governor has to close a $283 million shortfall by the end of June. To do so, he will delay making the $100 million payment that is due in May on short-term debt, which doesn’t require legislative approval. The terms of the debt allow the state to defer a payment in any given year without defaulting. The move will increase its debt-service bills by $545,000 in the next budget year starting July 1 and by $18.7 million in the following one.

Will Rahm Emanuel Buy Another Term as Mayor of Chicago?

In Chicago, the democracy equation is “50-plus-1.”

If Rahm Emanuel wins the majority of the vote in a five-way mayoral contest on February 24, the Democrat who always seems to be at odds with his party’s base will secure a second term as mayor of the nation’s third-most-populous city. That, in turn, would position the corporate-friendly Emanuel—“Mayor 1%”—an even more influential figure in the “Not Elizabeth Warren Wing of the Democratic Party.”

To avoid an April 7 general election race with the second-place finisher in the multi-candidate field, Emanuel needs his “50-plus-one”: a total vote that is at least one above the 50 percent line. The same goes for city council races, where labor unions and progressive groups are challenging Emanuel’s allies.

Bill C-51: 4 Former PMs Call For Better Intelligence Accountability

OTTAWA - Four former prime ministers and several retired Supreme Court members are among almost two dozen prominent Canadians calling for stronger security oversight.

The statement published Thursday in the Globe and Mail and La Presse newspapers comes as the Conservative government proposes a new, expanded mandate for the Canadian Security Intelligence Service.

"Protecting human rights and protecting public safety are complementary objectives, but experience has shown that serious human rights abuses can occur in the name of maintaining national security," the statement says.

Guest in a stolen house: On immigration, colonialism and Canada

I am a guest in a stolen house. I can sympathize with the victims, because a long time ago, my house was the scene of a crime as well.

Indigenous people in North America (and for that matter, Oceania) have suffered an unprecedented amount of discrimination, violence, silencing and long-reaching emotional and psychological damage. This violence has continually been denied by the white majority and protest has been stifled by governments and civilians alike.

My first encounter with Indigenous people in Canada was in grade 7. Up until that point, I had thought that Canada was just made of white people since time in memorial.

House quietly changes ethics rules

The House of Representatives this week quietly approved changes to ethics rules that government watchdogs fear could help lawmakers obstruct investigations.

The provisions from Rep. Steve Pearce (R-N.M.) adopted on Tuesday take aim at the House Ethics Committee and the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE), specifying that neither body can “take any action that would deny any person any right or protection provided under the Constitution of the United States.”

For the OCE specifically, the amendment to the rules states that any person under investigation “shall be informed of the right to be represented by counsel and invoking that right should not be held negatively against them.”

Illinois Governor Unveils Bleak Budget Plan With Billions Of Dollars In Cuts

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) -- Illinois' new Republican governor called Wednesday for deep spending cuts to Medicaid, pensions and other programs to fix the state's budget mess without raising taxes - a pitch met with quick opposition from Democrats who control the Legislature.

Delivering his first budget address since winning office last fall, Gov. Bruce Rauner said his plan would end "the irresponsible and reckless practices of the past." He said lawmakers must be willing to make politically unpopular decisions to close a more than $6 billion budget hole next year.

"This is our last, best chance to get our house in order," Rauner said.

Isaac Latterell, South Dakota Lawmaker, Says Planned Parenthood Is Worse Than ISIS

A South Dakota lawmaker attacked Planned Parenthood on his official website, calling the family planning center worse than ISIS.

Isaac Latterell, a Republican member of the state's House of Representatives, wrote on his website about "revolting methods of execution" such as the beheadings carried out by the militant group.

Clintons’ foundation has raised nearly $2 billion — and some key questions

Since its creation in 2001, the Bill, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton Foundation has raised close to $2 billion from a vast global network that includes corporate titans, political donors, foreign governments and other wealthy interests, according to a Washington Post review of public records and newly released contribution data.

The total, representing cash and pledges reported in tax filings, includes $262 million that was raised in 2013 — the year Hillary Rodham Clinton stepped down as secretary of state and began to devote her energies to the foundation and to a likely second run for president.