Updated: Election Pork $$$, Refugee Turks, China, Oil, PetroKaz, Methamphetamine Abuse, HIV Infection & Brain, Peace Mom

Update 2:

Fixed: I had misspelled Isautier (as Isaultier) -- Sorry. I should have checked.

Additional information:

Presidential Planet -- top managers' remuneration -- original article from Le Devoir here Jean-Robert Sansfaçonm Le Devoir, 05 May 2005

[. . . . ] The Globe and Mail has calculated total remuneration for the bosses of 198 of the 245 companies that make up the Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX Index.

[. . . . ] Robert Gratton, President de Power Financial Inc., a subsidiary of the Desmarais family holding company. . . . 173 million dollars!

Bernard Isautier, of PetroKazakhstan, is in second place (93 million), followed by Gerry Schwartz, of Onex (76 million), and by Frank Stonach, of Magna International (52 million). As for the President of Alimentation Couche-Tard, Alain Bouchard, he came in 11th (with 11 million), the president of the Banque Nationale, 34th (seven million), and Pierre Karl Péladeau, 65th, with barely 3.4 million dollars....

Faced with such a hemorrhaging of millions, we must ask what brings a Board of Directors to offer so much. [. . . . ]

Another weakness is that of the public regulatory authorities, such as the Québec Market Authority. The bigger a company is, the closer are its ties with expert consulting firms and the political milieus, sometimes even to the point of incestuousness.

Search: bonuses and stock purchase programs , Paul Tellier, Jean Monty and John Roth

Is there any pattern here that you may deduce? Probably not.


End of Update 2.


Update 1:

* Links from the Financial Post, Aug. 23 05

The first two articles relating to PetroKazakstan and oil were mentioned in posts previously today; here are the links.

State-owned CNPC shakes up oilpatch


Isautier rides to the jackpot


New Eastern bloc will send Caspian oil to West, bypassing Russia, papers say


Banking on bands: Native communities, flush with cash from land claim deals, find the big banks beating a path to their door -- How fortunate that Minister Scott bypassed Parliament for the Labrador land deal signed this spring for now, who knows what may happen?


Empire buys 27 theatres



The Federal Surplus: two points of view

* From the Financial Post

Projected federal surplus 'staggering'


* From the National Post, Aug. 23, 05

Martin dismisses forecast of big surplus

Overheard: "Hello, the politician lied" -- sotto voce.


End of update 1.

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Election Pork $$$ Ready?

Financial Post: "Projected federal surplus staggering -- up $4.8B in three months -- massive level of overtaxation in budget, critics say" by Paul Viera, Aug. 23, 05, FP6

Well, folks, you voted for PM and this . . . and now, he's got to buy the West, the East, and identifiable voting blocs with their / your own money.

By the way, three Turks who fled their ship in Quebec have applied for . . . refugee status. Others are still loose but just wait at your local refugee claims office. They'll come out of the woodwork shortly for all those tax $$$ you won't get back and then, to support them and those who will come, you will have to be taxed more. It's da Canajun way!

Update: I just heard PM and Min. Goodale porking up the Saskatchewan voters on television.



China kickbacks create trouble for U.S. firms -- Lure of profits tempts some foreign companies to adopt unethical practices -- Why, I'm shocked! Shocked! Peter S. Goodman, The Washington Post, Aug. 22, 05

In interviews, China-based executives, sales agents and distributors for nine U.S. multinational companies acknowledged that their firms routinely win sales by paying what could be considered bribes or kickbacks -- often in the form of extravagant entertainment and travel expenses -- to purchasing agents at government offices and state-owned businesses.

Search: such payments are usually funneled through , Studwell, author of "The China Dream" and an articulate skeptic of business prospects in China

Don't miss the articles in the Financial Post today on the sale of Calgary-based PetroKazakhstan to a subsidiary China National Petroleum Corp. and an interview with Bernard Isautier, "the French oilman who rescued the company from an Alberta bankruptcy court in September of 1999". Isautier came out of retirement during the era of JC and what was formerly Hurricane Hydrocarbon's bankruptcy troubles to lead it to the promised land. Companies which had foreign holdings are doing well and Hurricane had them. Now named PetroKazakhstan, it has come a long way since then. There is a bit of info on other companies -- Paris based Total SA, Kinder Morgan, Terasen Inc. , Deer Creek Energy, India's ONGC, Talisman, Nexen, Niko and Husky.

Claudia Cattaneo and Jon Harding "China scoops up PetroKaz in US $4.18B cash deal . . ." Financial Post, FP1 and FP4

FP Questions and Answers -- interview with Isautier 'This is a very firm and solid transaction' -- also on FP4

If only the rest of us had known, think about the money we could have made. What other Canadians were so precient?




MethResources.Gov -- Note what happens to the brain Last week, I posted a link to photos of what happens to kid's mouth after taking meth for a short while. Now, read this and reconsider whether, if you have chosen to have children, you really need to be at home watching out for them or earning more money to buy more "genuine junque".

"Methamphetamine Abuse, HIV Infection Cause Changes in Brain Structure -- State(s): Federal National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), August 2005. This article highlights recent research, which indicates that methamphetamine abuse and HIV infection cause significant alterations in the size of certain brain structures, and in both cases the changes may be associated with impaired cognitive functions." [. . . . ]

'Peace Mom's' marriage a metaphor for Dems Mark Steyn, Chicago Sun-Times, Aug. 21, 05 via Newsbeat1

The Sheehan Family lost our beloved Casey in the Iraq War and we have been silently, respectfully grieving. We do not agree with the political motivations and publicity tactics of Cindy Sheehan. She now appears to be promoting her own personal agenda and notoriety at the expense of her son's good name and reputation. The rest of the Sheehan Family supports the troops, our country, and our President, silently, with prayer and respect."

Ah, well, they're not immediate family, so they lack Cindy's "moral authority." But how about Casey's father, Pat Sheehan? Last Friday, in Solano County Court, Casey's father Pat Sheehan filed for divorce. As the New York Times explained Cindy's "separation," "Although she and her estranged husband are both Democrats, she said she is more liberal than he is, and now, more radicalized." [. . . . ]

Does anyone just quietly grieve any more? What has happened to a dignified silence? To private mourning? Or is the 15 minutes of media attention worth it?

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