Harper Government illegally handed 50 million taxpayer dollars to a single Conservative riding?

Dear friends across Canada,

This week, a leaked report alleged that the Harper Government illegally handed 50 million taxpayer dollars to a single Conservative riding – and then covered it up as G8 summit spending. With Canadians heading to the polls in mere weeks, we need to know the truth about Harper. Sign the petition to call for the release of the report:

This week, a leaked report alleged that the Harper Government illegally handed 50 million taxpayer dollars to a single Conservative riding – and then covered it up as G8 summit spending. With Canadians heading to the polls in mere weeks, we need to know the truth about Harper and his loose-fisted ministers.

Parliamentary experts say that no law bars the Auditor General from immediately releasing this report to the public. In fact, it would serve our bruised democracy to reveal the facts about G8 spending before Canadians are asked to choose the next government. We need to know if Harper illegally doled out public money to his supporters before we cast our votes.

Let's raise a massive public call to the AG and all 5 parties to agree immediately to release this report. If enough us join, our outcry will compel the AG to protect democracy by revealing the truth before the vote. Sign the petition below - we'll deliver it when we hit 75,000 signatures:

https://secure.avaaz.org/en/canada_save_democracy/?vl

Harper's G8 summit spending

Dear friends across Canada,

This week, a leaked report alleged that the Harper Government illegally handed 50 million taxpayer dollars to a single Conservative riding – and then covered it up as G8 summit spending. With Canadians heading to the polls in mere weeks, we need to know the truth about Harper. Sign the petition to call for the release of the report:

This week, a leaked report alleged that the Harper Government illegally handed 50 million taxpayer dollars to a single Conservative riding – and then covered it up as G8 summit spending. With Canadians heading to the polls in mere weeks, we need to know the truth about Harper and his loose-fisted ministers.

Parliamentary experts say that no law bars the Auditor General from immediately releasing this report to the public. In fact, it would serve our bruised democracy to reveal the facts about G8 spending before Canadians are asked to choose the next government. We need to know if Harper illegally doled out public money to his supporters before we cast our votes.

Let's raise a massive public call to the AG and all 5 parties to agree immediately to release this report. If enough us join, our outcry will compel the AG to protect democracy by revealing the truth before the vote. Sign the petition below - we'll deliver it when we hit 75,000 signatures:

https://secure.avaaz.org/en/canada_save_democracy/?vl

This is the first time in Canadian history that an AG draft report has been leaked. Members of Parliament knew that the alleged illegal conduct documented in this report was outrageous - they had no choice but to violate the tradition of confidentiality surrounding draft AG reports.

Since the scandal broke, the AG has been “sent” to Nunavut. But she cannot escape a public outcry – nor an official request from all political leaders demanding that the truth be revealed before election day.

A fair and informed vote depends on exposing the truth about Harper and his G8 spending to the Canadian public. Let’s send a flood of messages to the leaders of all five major political parties calling on them to file an official – and immediate – request with the Auditor General for the release of the G8 spending report. Then we'll bring our call directly to the AG:

https://secure.avaaz.org/en/canada_save_democracy/?vl

The Harper Government fell because it was the first in Canadian history to be found in contempt of Parliament for refusing to tell the truth about public spending. This election is in large part about accountability, and if there is yet another massive misappropriation of taxpayer money, we have a right to know. Let’s fight for the chance to make an informed choice at the polls.

With hope,
Emma, Ricken, Janet and the rest of the Avaaz. team

Harper Shenanigans

What Harper has been up to

From stories in the April 11 edition of the Chronicle Herald

According to Joan Bryden of the Canadian Press, the Canadian government led by PM Harper had approved increases in the maximum salaries political staffer are entitled to receive.  If the Tories were to lose the election, the 50% increase would be a very nice cushion.  The separation pay that the political aides can receive is on top of severance pay.  The changes went into effect, April 1, just one week before Harper announced budget cuts to eliminate the federal deficit one year ahead of schedule, in 2014-15.   The Liberals said that the changes would be “ very difficult to explain to working families.”

It is interesting what a $6.2 billion promise can do.  According to NL Premier Kathy Dunderdale, Stephen Harper is a transformed man who learned from his drubbing he got in Newfoundland and Labrador in 2008.  “People change,” she told reporters.  “People change all the time.”  Dunderdale’s  new found trust in Harper just happens to coincide with his campaign promise to offer loan guarantees or an equivalent, for a $6.2 billion hydroelectric megaproject in Labrador.

I guess everyone has his or her price.

The isolation of Bradley Manning

Michael Whitney, Firedoglake

The isolation of Bradley Manning just took a turn for the worse. Now Quantico Marine Base and the government are breaking their own rules to deny visits to Bradley Manning.

Government officials and Quantico Marine Base have just declared that Congressman Dennis Kucinich and the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture - who have tried to visit Manning for months - would not be considered to be on "official government business." That means brig authorities could monitor their conversations and possibly use them against Manning in court.

We need to appeal this decision to the leadership at Quantico and the Pentagon, including Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Quantico Base Commander Colonel Daniel J. Choike, and Brig Commander CWO Denise Barnes. If enough of us call out this wrongheaded decision, we can generate pressure in the media to allow official visits with Bradley Manning.

Sign our letter to Quantico and Pentagon leaders: follow your own rules and allow official visits to PFC. Bradley Manning. Click here to add your name.

What do Quantico and the Pentagon have to hide? Are they afraid of what Bradley Manning might say about his treatment when the brig cameras are turned off?

For 9 months and counting, Bradley Manning has faced almost complete solitary confinement. He is still forced to strip nude nightly. He is still in maximum custody with an unnecessary "Prevention of Injury" order - far beyond that of any other detainee. He is still cut off from appropriate exercise and other rights afforded prisoners at the brig.

When confronted about Manning's harsh treatment, President Obama said the Pentagon had reassured him that Manning's confinement met "basic standards." If Manning's conditions meets our "basic standards," then why is the government going to such great lengths to keep him from meeting with official visitors?

Wikileaks whistleblower Bradley Manning

Right now, Wikileaks whistleblower Bradley Manning is being tortured in a US military prison. Manning is subjected to utter isolation that can drive many people insane, with short periods each day where he is stripped naked and abused by jeering inmates.

Manning is awaiting trial for releasing secret military documents to Wikileaks – including a video of US soldiers massacring Iraqi civilians. And his brutal treatment appears to be part of an intimidation campaign to silence whistleblowers and crack down on Wikileaks. The US government is split on this issue, with diplomats publicly criticizing the military for Manning's treatment, but President Obama has stood aside so far.

Obama cares about the US's global reputation - we need to show him that it's at stake here. Let's build a massive global call to the US government to stop torturing Manning and uphold the law. Sign the petition below -- our message will be delivered through hard-hitting ads and actions in Washington DC as soon as we reach 250,000 signatures:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/bradley_manning/?vl

Canadian Federal Election

Prime Minister Harper told the public that the F-35 jet fighters would cost $75 million each.  Winslow Wheeler, of the Centre for Defense Information in Washington said that price would not include the engine.  The Pentagon recently projected the cost at $151 million each for the same basic version of the fighter.  During a campaign stop last week, Harper stood by his government’s cost estimate for the F-35.  Is Harper telling us the truth…his truth?  Is his math that bad?  Think twice about who you vote for in this federal election.