NASAA'S Top 10 Threats, Schiavo, Atlantic Accord-Omnibus Bill, David Warren: Same Sex Marriage-Laymen-Sodomy, Military & Lease Deal, Embraer & More

Canadians don't even have a national securities regulator yet

NASAA’s 2005 Top 10 Threats to Investors Current NASAA Headlines, March 24, 2005

NASAA = North Amerihttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.italic.gif
insert italic tagscan Securities Administrators Association

Widmann: "If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is"

WASHINGTON (March 24, 2005) – The North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) today identified the most common ploys being used to cheat investors out of hundreds of millions of dollars. [. . . . ]

If you have any investment money, read it. Informative.

Search:

* PONZI SCHEMES
* UNLICENSED INDIVIDUALS SELLING SECURITIES
* UNREGISTERED INVESTMENT PRODUCTS
* PROMISSORY NOTES
* SENIOR INVESTMENT FRAUD
* HIGH-YIELD INVESTMENTS
* INTERNET FRAUD
* AFFINITY FRAUD
* VARIABLE ANNUITY SALES PRACTICES
* OIL & GAS SCAMS




"Extry..EXTRY...Read All About It"

[. . . . ] Update: March 27th, 2005

Last night, as in many homes across this nation and the one to the south, my daughter, her boyfriend and I, were engaged in a somewhat spirited discussion on the Schiavo matter.

[. . . . ] Here's what Mark Steyn has to say about it:

I'm neither a Floridian nor a lawyer, and, for all I know, it may be legal under Florida law for the state to order her to be starved to death. But it is still wrong.

Atlantic Accord at risk: Newfoundland MP 28 Mar 2005, CBC, via Jack's Newswatch

ST. JOHN'S - Newfoundland Conservative MP Loyola Hearn is worried legislation to give Newfoundland and Labrador and Nova Scotia more offshore petroleum revenues won't pass.

The Atlantic Accord legislation is one of 22 motions bundled into the federal government's omnibus budget bill. The bill is considered a confidence motion and if defeated by the opposition parties, it would trigger an election and the accord would not pass during this sitting of parliament. [. . . . ]

I hate these omnibus bills; MP's must vote on the whole package, even though the MP might agree with some items, but not all. It's a sneaky way to get touchy legislation through. Enough, already.




Atlantic Accord legislation tabled in Commons Mar. 24, 05


Minister says offshore deal threatened Michael Tutton and Susan Aitken, March 28, 2005, CP, via Jack's Newswatch / Jack's Notes

HALIFAX - Conservative Leader Stephen Harper's threats to vote against a Liberal money bill jeopardizes an offshore revenue deal worth billions of dollars to Atlantic Canada, says a federal cabinet minister.

Harper has suggested his party would vote against Bill C-43, claiming it contains provisions that would give the Liberals "unlimited power to implement the Kyoto (treaty) without ever bringing a plan to Parliament." [. . . . ]

Part 12 of Bill C-43 authorizes Parliament to provide Nova Scotia with $1.1 billion, while delivering an estimated $2.6 billion into Newfoundland's coffers over eight years. [. . . . ]

Jack's Note: I don't see the threat. A Conservative government would likely honor the offshore deal and would simply bring it back and pass it as a separate piece of legislation. This is pure Liberal blackmail and if I'm any judge, it won't work.

If the Conservatives honour a deal made by a former desperate-to-be-elected-PM Paul Martin, it will be more than ex-PM Jean Chretien did. Remember when he cancelled the helicopter contracts -- but he is a vengeful politician -- perhaps his statesman's soul was diminished after too many years at the public trough.




David Warren: Breaking upon the law

I still don't apologize for the number of times I have taken up the issue of "same-sex marriage" -- though I know opposition to it among their own class drives media and academic people squirrelly. I even understand why it does: for in today's Canada, these are people who, overwhelmingly, are as libertarian in the "social issues" as they are protectionist in the economic ones. [. . . . ]

David Warren: Easter MMV Mar. 27, 05

I don't know about my reader, but I have had a good Lent; the best ever.

SUNDAY SPECTATOR: We need a leader March 6, 2005

[. . . . ] Moreover, while bona fide "religious officials" may have some formal protection in law, the general body of the faithful now have none. Lay people who object in good conscience to such things as same-sex marriage, but have no "licence to preach", may soon find themselves obliged to hide their views, or risk prosecution for a "hate crime". Even those with such a "licence to preach" will find that it doesn't allow them to preach against sodomy from the pulpit. [. . . . ]

Canada offered deal on planes -- Military can lease new Hercules for cost of maintaining old ones Mar. 28, 05, David Pugliese, CanWest

OTTAWA - A U.S. aerospace giant says it can give Canada a deal on new transport planes, delivering the newest model C-130 Hercules to the air force for about what it costs to keep its older Hercules fleet flying.

If the Canadian Forces were to redirect the money now spent to maintain and operate its E-model Hercules fleet -- some of which are 40 years old -- it could finance the leasing of Hercules C-130Js, the latest generation of the aircraft, officials with Lockheed Martin proposed in a recent pitch to the federal government.

[. . . . ] The Canadian Forces spends about $75-million a year on repairs, maintenance and the purchase of spare parts for its Hercules fleet. Another $25-million is spent on upgrades for the planes on items such as electrical and engine systems. The figures provided by the military are for the entire Hercules fleet and did not break out the costs to maintain the older aircraft, which have been plagued with cracks in their wings and other problems. [. . . . ]

Embraer pulls off mission impossible -- Brazilian jetmaker uses unorthodox methods to get noticed Sean Silcoff, March 28, 2005, Financial Post

Bombardier Inc. may be one of the biggest, best-known and most controversial companies in Canada, but the world's third-largest maker of airplanes has been upstaged recently by rival Embraer. The Brazilian firm has been flying high thanks to the success of a new family of commercial jets, translating into a flurry of orders and worries for its Canadian rival. How did a Third World country like Brazil come to host one of the top aerospace firms in the world? Montreal bureau chief Sean Silcoff travelled to Embraer's headquarters in Brazil this month for an in-depth look at the company. His report, which began on Saturday, continues today. [. . . . ]

To finance the US$1-billion development cost, Embraer used a strategy it had pioneered with its 50-seater. Suppliers paid a fee to Embraer and developed components at their own cost. In return, they became exclusive suppliers. In the past, jetmakers had paid suppliers to develop components for them. "We said 'we can't afford it,' " Mr. Neto recalls. "If you want to get on board, you develop at your own risk. If I sell the product and we deliver, you get paid."

Embraer signed up GE for engines and Honeywell for in-flight systems, among others. The suppliers put up two-thirds of the cost. For its share, Embraer did an equity offering in 2000 on the New York Stock Exchange. "We funded this program totally on market conditions," Mr. Botelho says. "Our suppliers invested in it, and we have our cash at risk. This is our shareholders' money." [. . . . ]

An example of excellent marketing and another method of financing -- perhaps a lesson to our corporate welfare recipients whinging for taxpayer dollars. Now, what will Bombardier do? What will our government do?




Stumbling into an unwanted election March 28, 2005, Lorne Gunter, National Post

The next federal election may come sooner than we think. Last week, three key elements served to solidify the divisions among voters. As a result, it will take very little to trigger the dissolution of Parliament. [. . . . ]

The Liberals this week added a draconian Kyoto implementation clause to the current budget bill. They want to declare carbon dioxide a pollutant under Canadian law. Scientifically, this is nonsense. CO2 is not a pollutant. If it were, every time you and I exhaled we'd be polluters. Every tree that died and decomposed, every compost heap, every naturally occurring forest or prairie fire -- polluters, all.

Carbon dioxide is neither toxic nor noxious -- not even the manmade kind. Some scientists theorize that a build-up of CO2 will trap more solar radiation in our atmosphere and warm the globe, but few outside the Canadian government have tried to argue that carbon dioxide is a pollutant like nitrogen oxide, sulphur dioxide or particulates. [. . . . ]

Federal departments slow to implement antiterrorism measures James Gordon, March 28, 2005, CanWest

OTTAWA - One third of federal departments and agencies are struggling to implement new security measures brought in following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, an internal audit reveals.

"The issue of security awareness continues to be a government-wide concern due to the perception that there is no (or no longer) threats or risks to government working offices or facilities," states the document, obtained by Ottawa researcher Ken Rubin. [. . . . ]

Search: Issues flagged by the fall 2004 Treasury Board document include: