CIA defended waterboarding, harsh techniques

I know the USA and Canada are at War but when do we draw the line in this thing? War is hell ?


CIA defended waterboarding, harsh techniques
Torture 'is basically subject to perception,' CIA lawyer advised Pentagon

By Joby Warrick

A senior a lawyer advised Pentagon officials about the use of harsh interrogation techniques on detainees at www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/related/topic/Guantanamo+Bay?tid=informline">Guantanamo Bay a in a meeting in late 2002, defending waterboarding and other methods as permissible despite U.S. and international laws banning torture, according to documents released yesterday by congressional investigators.
Torture "is basically subject to perception," CIA counterterrorism lawyer Jonathan Fredman told a group of military and intelligence officials gathered at the U.S.-run detention camp in Cuba on Oct. 2, 2002, according to minutes of the meeting. "If the detainee dies, you're doing it wrong."
The document, one of two dozen released by a Senate panel investigating how Pentagon officials developed the controversial interrogation program introduced at Guantanamo Bay in late 2002, suggests a larger CIA role in advising //www.washingtonpost.com related/topic/U.S.Defense Department interrogators than was previously known. By the time of the meeting, the CIA already had used waterboarding, which simulates drowning, on at least one terrorism suspect and was holding high-level al-Qae/a> detainees in secret prisons overseas -- actions that Bush administration lawyers had approved.

The new evidence, along with hours of questioning of former Pentagon officials at a hearing of thetid=informline">Senate Armed Services Committee yesterday, shed light on efforts by top aides to then-Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld to research and reverse-engineer techniques used by military survival schools to prepare U.S. service members for possible capture by hostile forces. The techniques -- sensory deprivation, forced nudity, stress positions and exploitation of phobias, such as fear of dogs -- would eventually be approved for use at Guantanamo Bay and would spread to U.S. detention facilities in Afghanistan and Iraq, including the prison. Nearly all were later rescinded.
The newly released documents show that in the summer of 2002, Pentagon officials compiled lists of aggressive techniques, soliciting opinions from the CIA and others, and ultimately implementing the practices over opposition from military lawyers who argued that the proposed tactics were probably illegal and could harm U.S. troops.
The memos and other evidence evoked intense bipartisan condemnation from members of the Armed Services Committee who spent nearly eight hours grilling some of the former and current officials involved with the decisions.
"The guidance that was provided during this period of time, I think, will go down in history as some of the most irresponsible and shortsighted legal analysis ever provided to our nation's military and intelligence communities," said Sen. Lindsey O. Graham
Sen. Carl M. Levin (D-Mich.)a, the committee chairman, asked: "How on Earth did we get to the point where a United States government lawyer would say that . . . torture is subject to perception?"

Sask. oil and gas rights sale generates $143M for treasury

I met premiere Wall at a event a month ago. He told me to call him Brad. I just know a guy that down to earth will share the wealth with us the poor people. I just know it . Please Brad share the wealth with the little people. Help us ! More money to the those who need it. Those who need a home also those work for a living.

Sask. oil and gas rights sale generates $143M for treasury

Last Updated: Thursday, June 12, 2008 11:35 AM CT
CBC News
So far this year, oil and gas rights sales have generated $605.4 million for the provincial treasury. (CBC)
The Saskatchewan government's June sale of oil and natural gas rights has raised $142.5 million, the third-biggest sale in history.
It's also the third consecutive month that sales have topped $100 million, the first time that has ever happened, the provincial government said. So far this year, the province has made $605.4 million on oil and gas rights sales, compared with $250.3 million for the entire year last year.
Companies bid on properties and pay the province money for the right to drill for oil and gas.
The Weyburn-Estevan area was responsible for $132.5 million of the proceeds. Also attracting interest was the Kindersley-Kerrobert area, which had $7.1 million in sales, followed by the Lloydminster area at $2 million and the Swift Current area at over $900,000.
The sales take place every two months. The next one will be held on Aug. 11, at which time oilsands exploration permits — something relatively new for Saskatchewan — will also be up for grabs.

Last Updated: Thursday, June 12, 2008 11:35 AM CT
CBC News
So far this year, oil and gas rights sales have generated $605.4 million for the provincial treasury. (CBC)
The Saskatchewan government's June sale of oil and natural gas rights has raised $142.5 million, the third-biggest sale in history.
It's also the third consecutive month that sales have topped $100 million, the first time that has ever happened, the provincial government said. So far this year, the province has made $605.4 million on oil and gas rights sales, compared with $250.3 million for the entire year last year.
Companies bid on properties and pay the province money for the right to drill for oil and gas.
The Weyburn-Estevan area was responsible for $132.5 million of the proceeds. Also attracting interest was the Kindersley-Kerrobert area, which had $7.1 million in sales, followed by the Lloydminster area at $2 million and the Swift Current area at over $900,000.
The sales take place every two months. The next one will be held on Aug. 11, at which time oilsands exploration permits — something relatively new for Saskatchewan — will also be up for grabs.

Ok here we go

The provincial liberal party is going down a new path. We start a fresh again with a leader. Please no more saviours. The party has to figure out what out message is, stick to it .Then develop a made in Saskatchewan vision . A Sask liberal party for Saskatchewan. My personal view the federal party does not help us at times and maybe we have to cut lose. But then we lose money ...and help.. There we be allot thought needed in this now. what we we do ? Is the million dollar question. But the membership need to give there input the time is right now for this in put. New ideas a new fresh start..

This picture says alot

Randoms on Early Sunday AM

I am up early before I go to work So I began to think? These things?
1. How did I get myself invovled in politics? Now i am on team for a leadership cadidate?

2. Are we in the Soccer team every going to win a game?

3. Saskatchewan and Canada are we going to get rid of the Steve and Brad show soon?

4. Is the place I work going to finally get which employees are valueable and credit them and which do something with the ones are not pulling their weight. There has to be something wrong when senior mangers come to me to blow off stream about the owner poor choices>

5. How can I make my relationship even better. I can I make sure i donot screw it up like I have done with alot of things in my life. because i do love this woman.

Ok Is this wrong or right??

Ottawa may use green fund to help GM: Flaherty
Last Updated: Thursday, June 5, 2008 | 7:44 AM ET CBC News
The federal government may be able to use a multimillion-dollar green vehicle fund to entice General Motors to continue manufacturing cars at a plant slated for closing next year, according to the finance minister.

Jim Flaherty suggested Wednesday the Conservative government could put up money from its $250-million automotive innovation fund, meant to assist in the development of environmentally friendly and fuel-efficient vehicles, to help keep the Oshawa, Ont., pickup truck factory alive.

Flaherty said he hopes to use federal money to encourage production of another car to replace the trucks that will no longer be manufactured at the plant.

"I've already spoken with General Motors about that," said Flaherty.

We're going to stay on that as a federal government, and if we can participate in funding that innovation, then we're certainly going to be there. The key is to work with the union, work with the company to see what's necessary in terms of technological innovation."

General Motors announced Tuesday it is planning to halt production at the Oshawa plant, which produces the Chevrolet Silverado and the GMC Sierra, sometime in 2009, axing around 2,600 jobs in the process. Three other plants across North America, including two in the U.S. and one in Mexico, are also due to be closed.

The Canadian Auto Workers union has promised an all-out fight against what it called an "illegal" betrayal, establishing a road blockade outside GM's Canadian headquarters in Oshawa on Wednesday. The blockade was still up on Thursday after angry employees and union activists spent the night outside.

CAW leaders are scheduled to hold a one-hour meeting with GM officials in Detroit Friday morning in a bid to convince them to reverse their decision to close the plant. The meeting will include top-level GM executives, along with senior members of the CAW.

"Decision-makers will be in that room," union president Buzz Hargrove said.

Local 222 president Chris Buckley said GM had promised the Oshawa plant would be employed to work on the next generation of light-duty pickup trucks as part of an agreement reached with the union in May. The agreement with GM also postponed a 900-worker layoff at the plant until September 2009.

Must replace trucks
Buckley said Wednesday that if the company refuses to manufacture pickup trucks at the plant, it must replace them with another vehicle in order to keep workers on the job.

GM, however, has said it does not plan to allocate any new products to the four plants slated for closing.

Meanwhile, the Ontario government has said it will try to recover some of the $175-million loan it provided GM earlier than scheduled if the company violates minimum job levels outlined in their agreement.

Premier Dalton McGuinty expressed sympathy Wednesday for GM's workers in Oshawa, who have said the closing will be devastating.

"This is their livelihood," McGuinty said. "There aren't that many things that are more important than that. It's their ability to feed their families and build a bright future for themselves."

Time to let play?

Study: Organized sports participation among children
2005
A smaller percentage of Canadian children participated regularly in organized sports activities in 2005 than in 1992, and the decline was larger for boys, according to a new study.

The study found that participation in sports rose with household incomes and the education levels of parents.

It also showed that sports participation rates among children were highest in smaller towns and cities, and that children in Canada's three largest cities were least likely to participate in organized sports on a regular basis.

The study, "Kids' sports," published today in the June 2008 edition of Canadian Social Trends, examined trends in participating in regular organized sports among children aged 5 to 14, using data from the 1992 and 2005 General Social Survey (GSS).

Soccer was the most frequently reported sport for both boys and girls in 2005, replacing swimming, which was most frequent in 1992.

In 2005, just over one-half (51%) of children in this age group, an estimated 2.0 million, regularly took part in organized sports during the 12 months prior to the survey. This proportion was down from 57% in 1992.

About half of these active children participated in more than one organized sport. Active children played on average about 2.6 times per week per sport during their sport's season.

Boys still more likely to participate, but gap is narrowing
Data from the 2005 GSS showed that boys aged 5 to 14 were still more likely to participate in organized sports than girls the same age, but the gap between them had narrowed.

In 1992, about two-thirds of boys (66%) were active participants; by 2005, this had declined to 56%. Participation among boys decreased in both the 5 to 10- and 11 to 14-year-old age groups, but among girls, the decline depended on their age.


Note to readers
Data for this article came from the 1992 and 2005 General Social Survey (GSS), which asked respondents aged 15 and over to identify their own organized sports activities, as well as those of other household members.

In the 2005 GSS survey, 2,021 respondents identified 3,112 children aged 5 to 14 living in their household. For most children, the respondent was a parent, an older sibling or a grandparent.

Sport is defined as mainly team or organized activity such as hockey, baseball, basketball, golf, competitive swimming and soccer. A number of recreational physical activities were not defined as organized sports and were excluded, such as non-competitive aerobics, aqua fit, bicycling for recreation/transportation only, body building/body sculpting, car racing, dancing, fishing, fitness classes, hiking, jogging and non-competitive weight-lifting. Guidelines for determining whether a physical activity fell within scope as a "sport" were determined by Sport Canada.

Sports participation refers to sports in which a child regularly participated at least once a week during the 12 months prior to the survey.



In 2005, girls who were aged 5 to 10 played organized sports at about the same rate as in 1992. Older girls aged 11 to 14 were less likely to play sports than they were in 1992, but the decline was not as sharp as it was among boys the same age.

In 2005, boys were not only less likely to participate regularly in organized sports than in 1992, but those who did were involved in slightly fewer sports — an average of 1.8 sports compared with 1.9 in 1992. In contrast, girls who participated played 1.7 organized sports on average, unchanged from 1992.

Household income and education of parents influence participation
Children from households with higher incomes were much more likely to participate in organized sports than those from lower-income families. The same was true of children whose parents were highly educated as opposed to those with parents who had a high school diploma or less.

For the purposes of this study, households were divided into five groups, or quintiles, ranked in order of their income. Each quintile represents one-fifth of the households that declared their income.

The study found that 68% of children in the one-fifth of households with the highest income participated in organized sports. Among the one-fifth with the lowest incomes, only 44% of children did so.

The gap between boys and girls narrowed as household income rose.

The relationship between a parent's level of education and sports participation of their children was linked to household income. The children of university-educated parents were more likely to live in high-income households.

About 60% of children who had a parent with a graduate or first professional university degree played organized sports, compared with 42% of children whose parents had a high school diploma.

Place of residence influences sports participation
Rates of participation in 2005 among children aged 5 to 14 were highest in Atlantic Canada (61%) and lowest in British Columbia (44%) and Quebec (48%).

At the municipal level, rates were low in Canada's three largest cities (Toronto, Montréal and Vancouver) where less than half (47%) of children participated. Rates were highest in smaller cities and towns with populations between 10,000 and 50,000 (58%).

Rural and small town Canada had rates of organized sports participation (49%) that were similar to those of mid-sized census metropolitan areas (51%).

GSS data showed that in large and mid-sized metropolitan areas, children participated less in organized sports in high-density areas (42%) where low-income families are more likely to be found. Participation was highest in low-density suburban areas (52%).

Family structure can affect participation
Family structure can also influence a child's participation, especially if two parents can share responsibilities.

However, children are more likely now than in the past to live in a lone-parent, step or blended family. GSS data showed that participation by boys was almost the same for all family types, ranging from 54% to 58%, contrary to the situation for girls.

About 39% of girls in lone-parent families were participants, below the proportion of 48% among girls in intact two-parent families.

In two-parent families, children's sports participation rates were highest (75%) if both parents were involved in sports themselves, as participants, coaches, referees, sports administrators, as members of sports clubs or organizations, or even as spectators. When only one parent was involved, less than half (49%) of children participated. When neither parent was involved in sports, only 22% of their children regularly participated in organized sports.

In lone-parent families, 69% of children participated in organized sports if the parent was involved in sports in some way, while 27% of children regularly participated if their parent was not involved in sports.

Definitions, data sources and methods: survey number 4503.

The report "Kids' sports" is now available in the June 2008 issue of Canadian Social Trends, Vol. 85 (11-008-XWE, free), from the Publications module of our website. A printed version (11-008-XPE, $24/$39) is also available.

For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact Client Services (613-951-5979; sasd-dssea@statcan.ca), Social and Aboriginal Statistics Division.