by Larry Powell  The Premier of Manitoba, Brian Pallister. A Gov't. photo. The lengths to which the Pallister government is going to enable the unfettered exploitation of Manitoba's resources and massive expansion of its hog industry, should now be clear for all to see. For the past few years, it’s been rolling out, at significant taxpayer expense, the truly draconian measures it’s now taking, to make this happen.  While the writing has been on the wall, only now are the worst fears being realized. They expose this government’ naked contempt for the democratic rights of rural Manitobans who have the audacity to point out that these goals are misguided - that the emperor has no clothes. Late last year, the Municipality of Rosser, near Winnipeg, rejected a bid for a gravel mine (euphemistically called a limestone aggregate quarry). The politically well-connected owner of the construction company proposing the mine (who made a substantial contribution to the Conservative P

The Battles  -  DISCUSSIONS BY SANDRA FINLEY USK refuses to disclose Right to Know symposium proceedings. More here.

Common  Dreams A fertilizer plant in Manitoba, Canada. A  PinP  video. Which is more frightening? The destruction of the environment and the climate that sustain human civilization as we have known it? Or the collapse of democracy and the rise of endless war and fascism?  More here.

Alberta's Premier, Rachel Notley, has responded to my proposal to replace all buildings destroyed in the Fort McMurray wildfire with the most energy-efficient ones possible (see letter, below). While her answer to my specific suggestion seems to be a polite "no," she outlines other steps her province is taking to achieve a carbon-free future. Larry  For the background to this story, click here.

theStar.com Green Party leader Elizabeth May says the ballot-box question in 2015 should focus on what's happening to our democracy in Canada. Full story here. Related: " A Wakeup Call From Canada's Green Party Leader. Will Anyone Listen? "

Winnipeg Free Press Canadian democracy is under threat from its own government. Details here.

Murray Dobbin's Blog One of the many things that Hugo Chavez, the charismatic and revolutionary president of Venezuela contributed to the world was his demonstration for people everywhere the difference between democracy and liberal democracy.  Details here.

Council of Canadians. Tories attack Council of Canadians’ involvement in election fraud court cases In the latest twist of the election fraud scandal, lawyers representing the Conservative MPs fr om the seven ridings involved in the citizen-led legal challenges to overturn election results have filed motions to throw out the cases. The initial legal ski rmishes are now underway, and important developments are expected before the end of June. The Council of Canadians is supporting court challenges to overturn election results by nine electors who allege that they received a fraudulent call advising them of a change in their polling location, that these calls were made to other electors, and that this lowered the voter turnout to a degree that affected the outcome of the election. Several affidavits have been filed in support of these applications, including one from Frank Graves of EKOS Research, whose firm surveyed voters and concluded that there were