Alberta Electricity highest priced in North America!

The new power lines are DC whereas the existing ones are AC. AC causes the electromagnetic disturbance people complain about. NIMBYs use it as an excuse to keep "unsightly" power lines out of their neighborhood and the DC has none; they will have to find new complaints.

The DC power lines are larger in diameter than the AC. This is because AC travels in the line and DC travels on the outside of the line. DC does not have the reactance problems (resistance) that AC has so power companies can more exactly meet the actual demand rather than over guess it to prevent outages.
Power companies are looking at a 20% savings in costs adding the same to their profit lines. This 20% would pay for the new power lines 3 times over! But the Conservatives are telling you your power bills are going to go up to pay for the lines.
This is compounded where the cities use the higher chargers either for the electricity or single line charges as a tax bases; this is indirect taxation! 

So long as this province is stuck on PC or WRP who are arguably worse, the middle class will continue to take a beating!

The Calgary Herald who authored the story will not allow posts that are contrary to both the Conservatives and the Wild Rose Party!.  Yeltsin's story sources are subject of another post.

AutoStart

A holiday break away from politics.  Protect the consumers.
I  had the need to replace a tried and proven remote starter and by a series of defaults I ended up at "Visions".

I told the man what I needed; and he recommended the AUTOSTART  Model as-23TW-FM-V

This unit is said to have 3500 feet of effective communication.

NOT SO!

From the center of a store to the Handicap area- No Response.

From the Doorway of the same store to the rear (not back) of their parking lot.  NO RESPONSE.
There was a dozed snowbank in the area.

What is it good for by default.  From your living room to your street side!

VISIONs who guarantee the world said they should have recommended the unit that was good for 1 mile.  Good for a mile when 3500 feet wont cover a block?? And it would cost me another 700 dollars to fix this oversight!

Fast and loose with number I would say.

My recommendations:  Stay away from Visions for remote car starters.
                                 : Stay clear of AUTOSTART!

Alberta Conservatives turn health care back still another notch!

Using industry figures 75% of people over 60 will develop cataracts!.  Up until very recently there was only one type of lens which could be used for optimal success.

Unfortunately if one has Astigmatism (35% of the population) that part of the treatment had to remain an eyeglass prescription.

Now, a new development is the ACR Sof  IQ  TORIC lens.

This sweetheart will also fix the Astigmatism encountered by 35 percent of the population.  However the patient has to pay 1000 dollars per lens to cover extra time and costs (procedure said to take 15 mins) Patient will still need reading glasses.

What the Conservative have done is eliminate 35% of the population from health care coverage for lens replacements for cataracts!.   This even though it is the only common sense solution to the problems.  This is not an "upgrade" of the service..It is now a common necessity.  Seniors take another beating again relegated to 2nd class citizenship; again.

Alberta Update and; its really bad!

There is a Provincial Election just around the corner; even quicker if the Conservatives are successful in bringing up their sagging fortunes.

They have robbed the Heritage Savings and Trust fund of more than 700 billion dollars!  This was done by restricting growth at 5% and taking everything else out of the fund and putting it into General Revenues to be spent along with the other taxes and miscellaneous revenues.

Plus they have abandoned Alberta's royalty which was contracted, leaving it on the profit side of the oil majors.  Alberta producers have been robbed on going with the Brent oil pricing which was no where to be seen 10 years ago.  It is a pricing invention of the Conservatives and the Oil Industry; a tool to further reduce Alberta's fortunes.  Now, their press releases are reduced to "Alberta Looses Millions because of price drops etc. They are talking a projected number of taxes not collected or not available.

Like the Wild Rose Party who's election was run and funded by the oil companies they fully  believe the resources of this province belong to the oil industry, not the people of Alberta.  This is simply Conservative philosophy!

Add to this massive loss to the province the 10% flat tax which is designed entirely for the oil companies saving them more billions while robbing the province.

Now, with a leadership convention around the corner Redford is buying newspaper space to promote how busy and effective she is.

When Christie Clark was in trouble in the BC election she came to Alberta with a public posture that Alberta would pay a great deal before a pipeline would be allowed.  I said at the time the deal was already in place for the northern pipeline; it was all theater!  Now, Redford in the same boat heads for BC and bring back news of a pipeline which has been agreed upon since its conception.

The deals made on pipelines, health care, power lines and generation are all made at the VERY PRIVATE MEETINGS OF PNWER of which Saskatchewan has hosted meetings on more than one occasion.  It is at these meetings it is decided who will announce a "new" program and what press releases to make both sides of the border so that it looks like a large group of individual companies are on side when in reality it is a closed room leaving the party to pull favors from friends.

Total Summary of PNWER This is a club that is very private an attracts people from the Fraser Institute and represents the US Republican agenda far more than any Canadian agenda. 

PNWER is a US Republican Canadian Conservative private club!  Alberta his hosting this years get together   The party (venue) is set to run November 13th to 16th inclusive at Banff.

The papers are awash with news of pipelines and tar sands projects coupled with big money names from abroad and Foreign countries waiting on our doorstop to get a good deal. Its hard to open any paper without seeing something of that nature.

More often you are hearing of the high cost of real estate for schools and the high cost of maintenance for these often neglected schools.  This means  a longer travel for your kids.  It also leaves the opportunity for a private school to be built  closer.  Private schools get the lions share of provincial funding!   This creeping malaise "Conservationism" is forcing public education to the back shelf while pushing the private school concepts forward  as being better and cheaper if only because the public system is too expensive for them.

You are on the verge of loosing your public school system- it is the Republican way!

University funding cuts have been met with a Hummm. from the public.  So Sad.  They are frozen at 1986 levels much less than that now. Your kids are being forced into trade schools; when you sort out the costs and availability you will find you really don't have choice.  

Your high school curriculum is being further reduced to meet the demands of trade school entrance.  This while any number of secondary educators are calling themselves Universities and offering degrees based on this lower entry.  They say they are the same and if you want to go to a real university just pick up your books and walk over there.   

Nothing could be further from the truth!   To move from one of these store front universities to the U of A as an example, your kid will have to upgrade his courses.  That could take him/her 6 months or a year more in school!  And, it costs!  Thousands more!.   Take the time to find out who will employ your kid after they get one of these new degrees.  You will be very surprised when their prospective employers says "Who?" when they are given the name of the local  retail university.  Followed by "Sorry but---!"

I'm calling Bullshit!

Most of the parties mentioned have no exploration leases.  The ones who do have, have not made a step into the field for survey.   Most have not even seen the properties.  This means absolutely nothing is going to happen until long after the next Provincial Election! 

The citizens of this province are being duped. The only money moving is pension funds and without full disclosure that can only be a bad thing.

There will be no new tax income for this province for about 6 or 8 years; beyond still another election.

This document would not be complete without mention of the new power lines; Direct Current.  The new power lines towers and so on are all being paid for by the Alberta Consumers and most are being built by foreign labour forces.  There is no win win on this project for Alberta.  The contrary; its another bleed bleed bleed!

Why the push for DC power above our existing AC system?  Not so straight forward which makes it very easy to manipulate the truth in the news media and feed the public their endless appetite for lies.  They count on the population's greed to propel them into accept BS unquestionably.  They count on electorate ignorance in thinking their personal lot is the same as every ones and it is mystic, distant fortunes who has all but collapsed their incomes.

The DC power lines allow more of the produced power to reach the market place!  Up to 20% more power which means producers are on the cusp of a 20% increase in profits with very little proportionate overhead investment on their part.  No supplier has said they will pass this 20% on in rate reductions!  No!  They have said your power costs will double in the next several years.  

Your crash course in Electricity.

DC travels on the outside of the wire.  AC travels on the inside of the wire. The wire diameters in DC power lines are greater than in the present AC lines.  They weigh more!

Much of the power put on to AC power lines is lost though "reactance" AKA  micro "resistance".  OHM's law does not work on high power.  The electricity cannot be stored.  What is not used is brought to ground and dissipated.  This is also part of the loss.

DC power on the line does not have a resistance to contend with so how much to put on the line to get to the final destination so to speak is nearly finite.  Because the allotments are more accurate little is wasted though the bleed off.  More cash in the pockets of the producers.

DC does not produce and electrostatic field around the power line!  This puts the NIMBY arguments of irradiating their kids and other horror, nonsense stories out the window so to speak.  The DC power towers carry more weight in wire so are built lower and carry more strands.  Now it will be okay to park school buses under the DC lines where not so much under AC lines.

A point not to be overlooked; the power lines were there long before the houses were built.  Who should move?  And, real problems arrive at the door step or, are they playing us like a harp?  I think half a dozen of one and 6 of the other.

The Globe and Mail allowed until yesterday posts and open conversation in their comment section.  Not so any more.  Conservatives are really circling the wagons.  The dissent reports coming from the Calgary Convention are not about what you may think. They are about knowing they will not be elected again why won't Harper bang through the rest of his hate full policies.  On the Globe; one can speculate this is who Harper is going to hand off the CBC to!  Insiders advise me Harper is going to resign before the next election in hopes it will raise that party's image. 

Gulf Coast crude prices plunge

The article starts out:

Saturday, November 02, 2013

OIL U.S. Gulf Coast crude prices are plunging to an all-time low against foreign oil as a flood of domestic production offers refiners a less-expensive alternative to cargoes from overseas.

Light Louisiana Sweet crude averaged $6.54 a barrel less than dated Brent in October, the lowest level on record, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Refinery maintenance reduced demand while new pipelines and rail terminals increased supply from the inland U.S. and Canada. The Gulf Coast received the least amount of light, or low-density, foreign oil in September since the government began publishing data in 1986.

There has been trillions of dollars in total ripped out of this province; ripped out of your family and your kids futures.   If you don't get out and vote, nothing will change.  If you vote the same way each time you can expect to get the same result.

I said earlier I would be backing the NDP this election but their complete lack of positions on anything has made me re asses that idea.

The Alberta Liberals on the other hand have come forward with some really good policies. Do away with funding private schools!  That would fix 1000 problems!.   Move away from the 10% flat tax to normal progressive tax program.  Now, that is progressive and means billions more in the provincial coffers.  It effects oil a lot more than the automotive dealer or the store down the street!  In fact both of those stores will profit greatly by these policies.  

There is no doubt Sherman is Conservative but he is displaying a truly progressive line of thinking and is available to defend it.  Gotta like that!

Our economies not doing well; here's the test.

If you want to know what is going on in the US and Canadian economies and what your chances are of business growth; look to your news stand; not the TV!

You don't have to be a voracious reader! Look at the thickness of the Monday Morning "US Today" or any of the major Canadian Papers. 

In good, financial times the US Today can be an inch thick as it sits folded on the new stand. Canadian Paper, Monday AM will hold a pretty solid 3/4" thickness. 

These days however these same papers are as thin as a nickel for the most part.  That means the Economy is crap. 

The reason for this very accurate barometer of the economy is advertisement or the lack of it. Not only the pages it fills in a paper but the revenue it represents to buy articles from other organizations!

Become aware of the economies of scale between Canada and the US and/or other trading partners. Alberta and Canada's heavy discounts on our oil are skewing the fundamentals of economy! 

Example. 15 years ago when I was a lot more active than I am now I could look at the Monday morning news and pick up the exchange rate between Canada and he US my principal interest. 

If the exchange was 14% (representing the Economies of scale) I knew I was in for a good week, lots of freight moving both ways. However if the exchange dropped 1% to 13% I knew the week was a goner. That 1% meant the Canadian$ was 1% stronger and the buyers in the US shut down their purchases. This left no loads out of Canada and a sharp increase of loads into Canada as suppliers took advantage of the 1% 

We have been running on nickel thick sized papers for years now. The Conservatives discounting of the oil, our major export, has skewed the Canadian Dollar to an irrelevant position now no more than chewing gum for the mind. 

That said, we have to get up every morning and give it our all if for no other reason than something may fall into our cup.

Conservatives burning up the airwaves doing nothing. Panic Mode!

The Conservatives have lead Albertans into the highest cost of living state in North America.  They keep piling on the costs while cutting services.

The Conservative position is easy to understand!

1. Reduce corporate taxes and any other costs to their lowest possible level.  Cut grade schools to save money to foster the corporate welfare.

2. The only income Alberta receives from the oil  industry is the 6% Can$ announced by Loose Lips Liepert before leaving office.  Because it is Canadian dollar, we are at 5% or below US; the world standard for pricing oil.  The Alberta taxpayers pay for the  oil industries roads, water and power lines.  Our oil, conventional and tar sands oil  is still discounted so that rounds the figure of our take of 3% Canadian.

The only  way they can make money following their philosophy is through taxation on non audited profits.  Yes, taxes from workers and companies is the soul source of income that keeps this province running.  Some small bits of cash comes in on lease sales.

The citizens of Alberta are paying the resource companies to take the oil from the province!

The Conservatives are quick to tell us higher oil prices means windfall profits which, is nothing short of an outright lie.  They also tell us how well small business is doing because of the large amounts spent by oil employees.  Another outright lie!

Only 3 in 4 employees decide to live in Alberta;  25% of these employees commute because of the high cost of living in this province!  They use their home address (not Alberta) for filing taxes.  We loose again!

Here is a good read originating with Stats Can.

Booming oil sands industry not enough to keep workers in Alberta: StatsCan

Only 1 in 4 job seekers staying in the province permanently

CALGARY -- A Statistics Canada study suggests that the lure of jobs in Alberta's energy sector isn't enough to persuade out-of-province workers to make a permanent move.

The study found there were plenty of people moving to Alberta between 2004 and 2009. But only one in four who were coming for jobs decided to make Alberta their primary residence. They listed their home province on their tax returns.

"While some of the inter-provincial workers observed in this study subsequently made a residential move to Alberta, at least as identified on their T1 tax return, most did not," wrote the authors, Christine Laporte, Yuqian Lu and Grant Schellenberg.

RELATED STORIES

• Pipeline projects important for Canadian economy: Harper

PHOTOS

The Syncrude oil sands facility is reflected in a tailings pond near Fort McMurray, Alta., Tuesday, July 10, 2012. (Jeff McIntosh / THE CANADIAN PRESS)

"It is likely that factors such as family ties, social networks, organizational arrangements (e.g. daycare, school enrollment), home ownership and quality of life were important factors," they wrote.

"Nonetheless, the prospects of readily available jobs elsewhere had appeal. When weighed against the costs of moving inter provincially, the benefits of working inter-provincially was the option chosen by these individuals," said the report.

"Quite clearly, people react to employment opportunities in various ways,and, more broadly, labour markets adjust in various ways."

About three-quarters of the job seekers were men under the age of 35 from British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Atlantic Canada. Roughly half of those were employed in construction and oil and gas extraction. More than one-third of female inter provincial employees were working in accommodation and food services or retail trade.

In 2004, there were between 62,000 and 67,500 inter provincial employees in Alberta, accounting for about 3.8 per cent of provincial employment. By 2008, the number of inter provincial employees had increased to a peak of 133,000, making up 6.2 per cent of the workforce. The figures fell somewhat in 2009 following the recession.

Alberta's booming energy sector, tied largely to development of the oil sands in northern Alberta, has created a chronic shortfall of qualified workers in recent years. As a result, there has been an increased reliance on temporary foreign workers.

More than 330,000 workers live and work in Canada as part of the federal temporary foreign worker program -- a number that has nearly tripled over the last 10 years, with the bulk of those job seekers going west in search of work.

Read more: http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/lure-of-alberta-s-jobs-likely-not-enough-to-get-workers-to-stay-in-province-statscan-1.1439949#ixzz2ehFo6SK8

The point is; This Government is robbing us blind at every level and lying about our fiscal positions.

They are down in the polls which show them as not being elected again.

Unfortunately, the Wild Rose Party who seems to be the second contender now is a lot more of a disaster than the present Conservatives.   Oil and Stephen Harper run their last campaign and, I suspect they will do so again.  Your situation will not be any better when them in office.

If you are one of throes people who feels fortunate because of a prospering business or career, think how well off you would be if you were playing with a full deck!

Don't be afraid of a "Left" wing party!  Absolutely no party could do worse or even as bad as what you have now elected!

Here's previous articles that are specific to our operational future and past.

http://albertathedetails.blogspot.ca/2013/01/province-in-rotten-shape-conservative.html

http://albertathedetails.blogspot.ca/2013/01/alberta-to-point-of-no-future-at-all.html
http://albertathedetails.blogspot.com/2012/08/alberta-losses-billion-due-to.html
and
http://albertathedetails.blogspot.com/2012/08/alberta-putting-aside-fear-what-do-we.html

http://albertathedetails.blogspot.com/2012/02/alberta-royalty-explained.html

http://albertathedetails.blogspot.com/2010/12/alberta-conservativs-pushing-us-style.htmlhttp://albertathedetails.blogspot.com/

U of A getting special team of Government Auditors to ID cuts

The  Savaging of Alberta's Universities is an easy choice for the Conservatives.  Some campaign basics to explain how we got here.

1. When campaigning don't waste your time in walk up apartments; statistically those people don't vote!

2. When it's time to cut and slash start with the Universities as the people who attend for whatever reasons, statistically do not vote!

A little work by political parties may be able to turn these gold mines of missing votes around but, not soon enough to help now.

--

Alberta Conservatives took advice that they could not "grow big industry" because we were not graduating enough degrees.  The knee jerk reaction was to  freeze funding at Universities at 1986 levels and advertise around the world for degrees to work in Alberta. 

This came with promises of high paying jobs in a safe environment and a certain guarantee of citizenship and housing supports.

It was far cheaper to hire outside the country  than it was to graduate Alberta kids!

The idea caught on fast as did the success of the program.  With this combination of things the Conservatives see no problems in slashing universities to the bone; slashing to the point it ruins the university turning back in 1 year what has taken 100 years to grow.

After the Conservatives get finished with their micro management the U of A will be an "Also mentioned" university of no stature at all.  Gone are the days when a chemistry degree from the U of A is worth its weight in gold!   All thanks to Conservative ideology not a shortage in cash in the province.

The Wild Rose party is totally aligned with this thinking being the spawn of US Republicans.  To Sherman's credit while the Liberals job was to break up the left wing vote (not win any thing) he did suggest help post secondary students but under the logistical make up I don't see how that would be possible with the teaching staff decimated by private audits.

Our grade schools and Hi Schools will follow as they are forced into prioritization.  That will be sold as an act of necessity where in fact it is the cumulative of a long term plan!

The Eastern Pipeline Yes? Probably Not!

Consider first the Conservative Majority across Canada that see problems in getting elected again! Now, onto the phantom eastern pipeline and the hoopla surrounding it.  The last time they were in so much trouble they promised a royalty overhaul giving Albertans big profits.  It was a pie in the sky document on the eve of the election that was on analysis; impossible.  Royalty dropped from 16% to 6% and the funds were changed from USD to Can$ a to taxpayers of 18% at that time.

This brings me to the dog and pony show they are now pushing with hopes of winning another election. At Election time they will run out their fear and anxiety card; vote for us or loose a major pipeline.  If you do put them back in; it's my bet and, I'm seldom wrong; there will be no pipeline.  The excuse given; Quebec hold out killed possibilities.

India was obliged by the US to shut down a major Nuclear Generation facility because it could produce Weapons Grade Plutonium. This left India massively short on electrical power. India with lots of cash on hand, directed its Energy Department to scour the world for secure oil supplies to make up this shortfall.

One of the items India settled on was the Alberta Tar Sands and purchased a gigantic lease on which to build a new plant. Conditional; there is a pipeline to tide water to export the product to India. Hence the fumbled mismanaged northern pipeline fiasco that could have been done by now.  Since the original opportunity presented itself, much has changed.   In addition Australia, close to India has discovered huge deposits of shale oil.  One draw back for them Water to flood.

Trans-Canada's  gas exports to Eastern Canada have fallen drastically as has the natural gas reserves in Alberta for which we have received nothing for the provincial coffer. They (Trans-Alta) have been trying for more than 3 years to interest industry  into utilizing that line to ship East and for that same time it has been refused because there is no profit in doing so.

Now, in the latest oil theater a Conservative pipeline agreement has been released and construction of the Eastern pipeline is being seriously considered. It is not a done deal; only news speculation at this point.  It's time line takes it past the next election is the key point and I say again; a toss up as to whether it is done or not.

Alberta collects nothing for oil royalty so that is 30% of taxpayer revenue in the pot to help pay for everything. But; that has been the case for years so, where is the new money coming from?  

We are dealing with a Conservative Government and as Ed Stelmach said; "We are Conservatives; not like those other guys". 

Dig deep folks; you are going to pay for an eastern pipeline out of your household budget one way or another!

Edmonton Journal and parent Post Media Supporting Conservatives!

Hi John,

For the e-paper(replica of the print and you would receive email alerts) the subscription prices are as follows:

For each paper: $9.99/month or $99.90 annually

For Postmedia Library (All Postmedia papers): $24.99/month or $249.90 annually

For access to the website, which is where you can only access 10 free articles a month, the prices are as follows:

For each paper: $.99 for your first month then $9.95/month after that or $99.50 annually

Thank-you

Donna M. Williams Service Administration Clerk Reader Sales and Service P: (780) 498-5755 F: (780) 498-5718 E: DMWilliams@edmontonjournal.com	www.edmontonjournal.com 10006-101 Street Edmonton, AB, Canada T5J 0S1

I can't afford the price needed to continue the wholesale fight for Canada.  Perhaps you would care to donate to the costs?

Alberta Heritage and Savings fund: GONE!

The Alberta Heritage and Savings Trust fund is done away with! .   The plan worth  20 billion  in 2006 which was the  remaining is a hold out out of  260 billion dollars not taken to lower corporate (oil taxes).

Now, to do away with public criticism they have renamed it the "Sustainability Account"; a free for all account to buy themselves the next election!   AIMCo are saying it has now dropped to 3.3 billion.  Hardly enough to buy them the next election!

Quote Aimco
Despite the double-digit gains for 2012, AIMCo’s total assets under management declined slightly to $68.6 billion, as the province continued to draw down the balance of its Sustainability Fund. The so-called rainy day fund, which reached a peak of some $17 billion in 2008, held just $3.3 billion of remaining assets at the end of March.

This is your schools, hospitals, health care and so on that there isn't enough money for!

They are picking your pockets clean as they clear the door going out!

Part II.  From Bloomberg 

History repeats itself.  The Alberta Conservatives put up a make work program for the oil industry that they say cost the "Alberta Taxpayer' 6 billion dollars. They figured this was needed as a large portion of the oil patch crew were illegal aliens and could not collect EI. 

At this same time, AIMCO who handle the municipal pensions, declared a 7 billion dollar loss (10% of their portfolio).  During this same period, others in the same industry declared a 3% gain!

Yesterday Redford tells the world she is going to put more than a billion dollars into flood relief. Now, a day later AIMCo are setting the world up for another loss.

Hardly an arm's length operation!

Alberta Southern Floods 2013

Wild Rose country under water and the Conservatives to the rescue! This has to be Daniels Smiths worse nightmare and the taxpayers will be killed as the two parties bid for the country hearts.

Considering the province has no money it is the royal opportunity for P3 to dig in hard and fast!

Up Next: DISASTER CAPITALISM

Naomi Klein's book of warning is about to play-out in Alberta, where The Fascists and Tory Insiders are already licking their chops waiting for open invoices from their friends in power.

New Arena - check
New Campgrounds - check
New Roads & Bridges - check
New Civic Centres - check
New Recreation Centres - check

The list is endless. PRICELESS

Redford's Expensive Gambit.

Across the media you are reading about how very busy the Conservatives are.  The latest is funding a major meeting in New York costing Albertans millions.  All this in the thrust of oil principals telling of a Glut an oil in Alberta that doesn't exist anywhere else on the planet.

Our production is down 300,000 bbls per day right now because of a coker schedualed maintence at Syncrude!

The overall thrust: We are going to hell in a basket and the Conservatives are busy saving us!
It just ain't so Elmer!

Schools are being closed.  The reason given is no funding.  The truth is they are setting you up for private schools as they short you on public facility.  Exactly the same thing is happening in the facilities in place to care for the elderly!  Its all about following the Conservative agenda.

Mismanagement if not outright thievery  has cost Alberta billions and their stuck in the mud view of the market in general. 

They are trying to bury you in BS; have you forget they have cost each household hundreds of thousands of dollars in their chicainary!

The Conservatives are using this BS tail of hardship so they do not have to change the discount (Brent pricing) on our oil, conventional and tar sands.

Alberta has sufficient pipeline to move all the oil we can produce for the next ten years!  The panic is India will not put cash into a new development unless there is a west coast pipeline in place!

Consider for a moment; this same BS has been going on for months now and absolutly nothing, nothing at all  has come of it!   All the players in their games are Conservative Governments from other  provinces!

The basis for their action lay in the Conservative/Republican private club and the plans they have made that are being dismantled.  This association embraces the whole Conservative Party, not just the western premiers.

Lastly, this same group of Conservatives, now entrenched in provincial Governments in Canada can demand the Fed (regarless of party in power) to open the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and change anything they want to in that precious document!  As it stands right now; no one can stop them.

They are, simply put, dismantling Canada!

Conservatives Newest Game in the Media.

The term "Bitumen Bubble" was put in place by Redford to keep our minds off the fact that all our resources; natural gas, Conventional Oil, Pentane, were all sold at deep discounts.  Alberta took no royalty on Pentane at all, stripping it from the producers and passing it on at an extremely low cost.

Over the past few weeks you have probably read articles saying the Brent oil is on its way up while a few articles are saying there would be an advantage if Alberta quit discounting its oil.  Couple this with the fact that our Conventional oil according to CAPP is past Peak.  It is expected to produce half of what it is today at the end of another 5 years.

They have given your resource away and there is nothing in the bank to show for it. 

So, keep the public thinking Bitumen; don't mention Conventional oil.

This brings us to the Bakken oil formation; shale strata.  This is not conventional oil!  Yet, it is talked of as if it is by saying "Oil production is  up etc"

This is done to keep you eye off the ball; the conventional oil is tapped out.

Lastly but not least important is the oil discounts (Brent prices) which are an invention of the Alberta Conservatives and the oil parents nothing to do with market pressure.  These discounts were in place when oil was at its peak and the US could not get enough of it!

Watch what you read on energy in Alberta.  Most of it is Conservative snow jobs.

Edmonton's new Arena-30 million bucks out of municipalities!

The CRB is made up of communities surrounding Edmonton.  A regional board to sound ideas and make joint plans.   Each community as I understand it has one vote except for Edmonton which has a number of votes how many exactly I don't know.

The remainder 24 communities not wanting to face this as an election issue have come up with a proposal to back the idea of these same communities contributing to the Edmonton Arena.

What are we going to be on hooks for?
Mandel says they are short 30 million dollars to make the deal.  Each of these communities are going to be on hooks for 1.25 million dollars if this is the case!

Newer figures out are talking making up the 25 million dollar shortage (coincidentally there are 25 members in total to this organization) Which means each of these communities is going to be on hooks for 1 million dollars.   Paid over 3 years isn't that bad says Mayor Fisher.  Actually it is 416,000 dollars per year I personally would like to see go to other, local projects.

Capital Region Board arena vote prompts council debate

By Mark Wierzbicki

Friday, May 17, 2013 11:09:55 MDT  

An unexpected vote that topped up the City of Edmonton’s share of funding for a new downtown arena reverberated through the capital region late last week.

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The effects of the vote, in which Capital Region Board (CRB) members were asked to approve, in principle, an application for $25 million over three years in Regional Collaboration Grant funding for the City of Edmonton, which would be used towards the arena project, have proved controversial.

In a close and disputed vote at the CRB’s Thursday, May 9 meeting, the body seemed to approve the motion, which had been added to the agenda less than 24 hours before the meeting. Normally, such motions require seven days notice.

Devon Mayor Anita Fisher was among those voting to approve, though earlier in the same meeting she had also voted to defer the motion to the CRB’s June meeting in order to first consult Devon town council members.

The motion to defer was defeated, and the motion to the agreement in principle was then debated and passed.

Fisher’s vote did not commit any resources or funds from Devon for the potential funding, and no formal application for the funding is yet being made, but coun. Sheila Aitken protested Fisher’s vote at the Monday, May 13 Devon council meeting, asking why she would vote to approve the motion without first consulting council.

“A yes vote, when you don’t have enough information, and this council had no opportunity for input… The mayor is speaking on behalf of this council. You should have voted ‘no’, until you could have discussed it with this council.”

Fisher replied to Aitken, saying that the vote did not commit the town to any action or monetary obligation.

“(The vote) was in principle, and with the assurance that the Regional Collaboration Grant application requires an endorsement of council,” Fisher said. “I knew that there was no commitment that would be required from this municipality.”

Fisher also said that she believed that a new downtown Edmonton arena would be an economic driver for the region that would benefit the Town of Devon.
“I believe the saying is, ‘economic development floats all boats’. So I have mixed feelings with regards to this. I believe that we need to collaborate more effectively in regards to economic development in our sub-region as well as our entire region. I think the arena is an economic driver.”

Additional provincial funding under the Regional Collaboration program is expected to be announced later this month, which Edmonton would likely then apply for. Fisher said that would depend on a second vote at the next CRB meeting, booked for June 13. Though Edmonton mayor Stephen Mandel has already said that he would be using the previous vote, which had support from 16 CRB members representing 95 per cent of the population in the region, for the application, the application would also require letters endorsed by the councils voting in support.

Council debated whether to require a council vote before any future CRB vote that does commit any kind of resources from the town.

That motion was not put on the floor, though council did vote to send a letter to the CRB expressing its displeasure with how the vote was handled.

“They clearly circumvented their policy by allowing a motion to be put on the floor and put a collective group of municipalities in a position of having to vote yes or no. I’m absolutely stunned that the board would even accept the motion,” Aitken said.

Some other councillors, including coun. Ray Ralph, agreed that the CRB should not have accepted the motion, but were not opposed to the motion per se, and cautioned council against tying the hands of its CRB delegate.

“The CRB’s been around for several years now and this is the first time something like this has come up, and unfortunately it came from the city of Edmonton, and the way it was brought forward was not the appropriate way to be brought forward in the first place, which did put a lot of mayors in a bad situation,” Ralph said.

“But I don’t want to tie our mayor’s hands at the table for doing regular duties that she’s been doing for the last five years. That wouldn’t make sense either.”
Council will be revisiting the matter, including whether to support the motion and whether to require council approval for certain future CRB votes, at its next meeting on Monday, May 27. That meeting will occur before the next CRB meeting.

On Wednesday, May 15 Edmonton city council finally reached a deal with the Oilers over funding for the arena. The team is to pay $161.5 million, while the city is kicking in $279 million, assuming the city is successful in the grant application.

Edmonton is also planning on applying for another $14 million in other grants, and a further $125 million is to come from a ticket tax.

Mandel expressed relief after the meeting as the fate of the arena, which has been in question for several years, was seemingly decided.
He said that he is expecting that ground will be broken early next year

The above article is out of the Devon Dispatch which also ran a story about the Town of Devon about to review the long term lease of the Devon Lions Club on the now famous Devon Lions Park!

The Devon Lions through volunteer efforts has built the park into  a Famous stop for visitors and is producing a decent  profit to sustain itself.  This is a non profit organization.

It seems rather obvious Mayor Fisher is about to do an end run on the park; take it over; increase fees; charge citizens for access to the park and so on.   All this to turn up coin to put into an Arena in Edmonton which serves the real purpose of stroking Mandel's ego

Town of Devon should really examine why they voted Fisher into this office; this is certainly not looking after the town of Devon.

People should contact their own councils and find out how this rip off is going to be paid.  Probably, on  your tax bill.

Alberta's political Landscape - Surprises!

Since this post was put up, Redford made a major speech deploring the NDP and The Wild Rose Party (same breath) while exonerating the Alberta Liberals.

After the Liberals were busted as being election spoilers; their sole purpose being to split the votes to the left of the Conservatives.  (Which is the rest of the world!) the information started flowing into me about preferences and there, is the surprise.

The Wild Rose Party to this point has seen its fortunes blossom.  People who have come to realize how badly they have been screwed over by the Conservatives but still deathly afraid of the Wild Rose Party and their haywire or non existent policies seem to see a light at the end of the tunnel in the Alberta Liberal Party.

They seem to reason if the Liberals are  bought and paid for by the Petroleum industry they are just what is needed in place of the Wild Rose.

Myself?  I think if the Conservatives, the Wild Rose Party or the Alberta Party are voted into office there will be no changes for Alberta's situation at all!

Health Care will be entirely privatized and out of reach for the majority of Albertans.  We are almost there now.  Our public schools will become the secondary school system and private schools will receive a disportionate portion of the school funding; as they are now.

Water allotments are all taken up in Alberta.  Surplus water and allotments are held by the oil industry who are poised to sell it back to cities and towns as they require it.  This has happened once in central Alberta and it will happen on a regular basis if you vote these clowns back in again!

The legislation enacted in the past 8 years all carry the caveat that the Alberta Government and/or the petroleum industry cannot be held responsible for mishaps.

The NDP, now mature having pushed way their controversial positions is the only party in Alberta that is not bought and paid for by the petroleum industry!  By default it is the only party that can produce the kinds of changes Alberta needs and hungers for.

In defense of Crude derived from Bitumen.

The bitumen bubble is a term invented by the Conservatives in an attempt to cover the fact all their Conventional oil production is also discounted at the same rate!  Alberta producers robbed of billions.

Crude oil derived from Bitumen is allowed to keep its "dirty" reputation as it serves to justify the huge unnecessary discounts on the product.

Cheap oil? Yes! The Conservatives have been discounting oil by 30% for more than 15 years. Hundreds of Billions lost to Alberta!

To make crude from Bitumen they must first know what the end product must look like. Once established they can make the crude. The crude oil from the tar sands is darker in color (carbon).

It is fortified (thinned)  with Natural Gas from the High Level region. You may recall the Government shutting that regions oil in 5 years ago? No one knows how much compensation was paid to the producers (taxpayer pays).

The API or pouring temperate of oil sets it's mark Standard crude has an API of about 19 degrees. Crude made from the Tar Sands has an API of no less than 9 degrees, probably much more.  It travels in the same pipelines as the Conventional crude.

If the customers in the US wanted an API 19 degree oil; they simply ask for it and more gas will go into the mix.  That would mean they would have too much HVB and LVB  (Naptha) and probably have to store it.

The Tar Sands crude oil is clean! It is environmentally safe! It has the sulphur and metals removed from it which, you cannot say about conventional oil! This crude floats on water! The only way it will kill fish is if some brainiac uses solvents and chemicals to disperse an oil spill that is harmless but unsightly!

Yes it takes heat and energy to do this but with the price of gas at 3.00 and expected to drop from there; its a sweet deal.

What is wrong is the Conservative Government following Republican policies. And, the Wild Rose in waiting; conceived and born of the LDS church in southern Alberta totally indoctrinated into the US Republican way.

The carbon footprint of the operation is 1/10,000 th or less of China's and somewhere in that region for the US! I can live with it.

Doing hatchet jobs on the industry to wave some populace environmental flag serves no one.

http://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2013/03/09/Bitumens-Extraordinary-Delusions/index.html#comment-278449