It's been BS from square one ...

The "war on terror" that is.
http://original.antiwar.com/justin/2016/07/12/myth-war-terrorism/


It really is time to stop our governments and get back to reality.  We are not in danger from external threats!  The military/industrial/corporate crap is what we need to fear.

NATO is a threat to Canada's security

NATO no longer serves any valid defensive purpose for Canada.  It 's time to extricate our country from this expensive messy contract which only serves to keep generals busy inventing imaginary 'enemies', like Syria.  The UN could serve the our defensive treaty needs just as well.

Here's a detailed summary of the situation:

https://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2016/07/04/nato-necessary/DwE0YzPb8qr70oIT9NVyAK/story.html

Sen. Elizabeth Warren on why we need to stop the TPP

'Brexit'!!?? So what?

Here is a rarely heard explanation of why the 'Brexit" was approved:


http://original.antiwar.com/justin/2016/06/26/brexit-glorious-victory/

We should close down NATO before it kills us

Here is a reasoned discussion of NATO's latest ploys.  It is scary.


http://davidstockmanscontracorner.com/whats-wrong-with-these-people/

There is no reason for NATO to exist anymore.  All it does is start stupid wars which Canada is expected to jump into and waste our scant military resources for nothing but dead soldiers and wasted weapons in return.

Another attempt to destroy an idea with bombs

Once again, stupid American congressmen attempt to deal with the problems created by their wars, by starting another war.

http://nationalinterest.org/blog/the-skeptics/declaring-war-islamist-extremism-nonsense-16652

The definition of insanity involves expecting a different result when one repeats the same actions.  I think this could be the real meaning of American Exceptionalism.

Ron Paul still knows what's happening

Here he points out that the only gov't response to the Orlando shootings has been to allow more warrant-less spying on the population based upon prejudice, racism and mindless fear.


http://original.antiwar.com/paul/2016/06/20/orlando-new-911/


Every disaster is used as an excuse to turn the country into an Orwellian dictatorship.   Oh ... wait ... that's already happened.

How the primary system works to defeat democracy

Here is a text book on how to avoid responding to the will of the majority of voters:

http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/36408-was-the-democratic-primary-just-manipulated-or-was-it-stolen

The expediency offered by political parties seems to have given us a system wherein the individual voter's preferences are subservient to those of the party.

This is not a good system.

Some truth about the terrorism prevention industry

Vested interests created by governments are often the primary/root cause of terrorist incidents.  Check out this summary of recent events:



http://original.antiwar.com/AntiMedia_org/2016/06/14/fbi-instead-catching-orlando-shooter/



I don't understand why the agents who controls these informants and provide them with arms, explosives, technical training, transport, support, etc. are not charged with aiding and abetting terrorism.  

Here the real scoop about the bank of Canada

The people of Canada own this bank, and are entitled to share in its profits.  The government of Canada is supposed to borrow money from the Bank of Canada.  Thus, a federal deficit becomes an investment, not a liability for the people of Canada.

Given the availability of the Bank Of Canada as a source of funds, would someone please explain why Canada borrows from charter banks?

Here's and detailed description of the issues:

http://www.watershedsentinel.ca/content/canada-infrastructure-bank-21st-century-trojan-horse

We need to Redefine the Middle East wars

Every so often someone comes up with a good suggestion;



http://original.antiwar.com/engelhardt/2016/05/31/americas-sinkhole-wars/



Why are all the political leaders so afraid of re-justifying the fighting in the Middle  East?  What really do they expect from all of the blood, guts, and hardware being destroyed over there?  Is it really only about continuing to produce weapons so that corporations can get rich?  I think that must be the answer.



If it was just oil, we could simply buy it for much less than is being spent on munitions.  Hence, the main purpose seems to be keeping the gunmakers happy.  Nothing else makes sense.

The EU – A CIA Covert Operation

This is an interesting take on things European.  Certainly worth a read.



. The EU – A CIA Covert Operation - Antiwar.com Original by -- Antiwar.com

Some Guiness collected facts about our neighbour and 'friend'

Check out this list of war and death related stuff:



http://davidswanson.org/node/5123

Israeli Chief Rabbi to Troops: Ignore Courts, Commander, Just Kill Armed Palestinians -- News from Antiwar.com

Israeli Chief Rabbi to Troops: Ignore Courts, Commander, Just Kill Armed Palestinians -- News from Antiwar.com



Ain't religion grand?

"Terror" is a phony problem

A useful analysis of how propaganda has stilted the ability of people to see the truth in their own world.  BS is accepted as the norm.

http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/35030-blowback-donald-trump-is-the-price-we-pay-for-the-war-on-terror

Why they hate us - Mideast version

A good summary of the actions of western corporations and governments in the Mideast over the last bunch of years.

http://www.politico.eu/article/why-the-arabs-dont-want-us-in-syria-mideast-conflict-oil-intervention/

No wonder they do not like the west.

How can anyone like these actions?

The Euripean Trade deal has been accepted by the gov"t

So just what are they details of the European Trade deal that the Liberal gov't just approved?

I look forward to seeing the text.

The TPP would be the final death blow to American manufacturing

This is equally applicable to Canada.

The TPP would be the final death blow to American manufacturing

The pot calling the kettle black, or

...Hypocrisy???  What Hypocrisy???

http://mattpeppe.blogspot.ca/2016/01/media-more-outraged-by-possible-murder.html

I am forced to suggest that ours stinks as bad as theirs.

How conservative policies bankrupted a province

All the Conservative party supporters should be forced to come up with answers to rebut the FACTS presented in this little article about Alberta's woes:

http://www.pressprogress.ca/how_decades_of_conservative_mismanagement_made_a_mess_of_alberta_finances?utm_campaign=jan23_16ppwkc&utm_medium=email&utm_source=broadbent

One of the hallmarks of intelligent people is their ability to recognize when they are wrong when faced with facts. 

How U.S. Interventions Dismembered the Middle East

Just a summary of US and friends' great moments in the Middle East.

How U.S. Interventions Dismembered the Middle East

The truth about western nations' interventions "in support of democracy"

Read this and decide if the west can still be considered the good guys in geopolitical discussions:

http://www.salon.com/2015/11/18/this_is_why_they_hate_us_the_real_american_history_neither_ted_cruz_nor_the_new_york_times_will_tell_you/?source=newsletter

 For many parts of the world, the US and its supporters are the terrorists, and have been since the WWII fire- and atomic- bombing of major cities that did nothing but kill and incinerate civilians.

An alternate approach to dealing with ISIS

This article examines another way of dealing with the mess in the middle east that has been created by western interventions:

http://original.antiwar.com/justin/2015/11/15/how-to-beat-isis-quarantine-them/

I am starting to think that the real purpose of the suicide bombings and terrorist attacks launched by ISIS types is to demonstrate to western populations the conditions under which millions of Iraqis, Afghans, Syrians, Yemenis and assorted other arab people live on a daily basis.  These are conditions which have resulted from western interventions, regime changes, and anti-terrorist drone bombings over the last 15 years or so.  To the best of their ability they are exporting shock and awe back to the western states that have been interfering in the middle east for decades.

The truth about the US drone assassination program ...

... is not to be found in major American newspapers.

http://original.antiwar.com/John_Hanrahan/2015/11/04/ny-times-buries-intercept-whistleblowers-shocking-drone-war-disclosures/

About 90% of the people murdered by US drones are not the intended target.

Even the US military acknowledges that the program undoubtedly creates more new terrorists than it kills.  IE., the US is the source or the new terrorists in the war on terror. How stupid is that!!??

Here's what's wrong with the Trans-Pacific Trade Partnership

This article sums it up very well, and exposes the unmentioned real purpose of this agreement:
to ensure corporate profits supersede the will of a state's citizens.

http://www.thenation.com/article/the-tpp-will-finish-what-chiles-dictatorship-started/

Not one politician has dared argue these provisions of the agreement in a public forum.  The news media never question the implications of surrendering sovereignty to corporate profits.

Remember when you used to yell "You stink!" to your childhood 'enemies'?

Apparently, this is becoming a technical reality among crowd control officials.

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-34227609

Geez, we live in a sick world!

The difference between the US and China

This article shows that exactly the same sort of people are running both the US and China.

http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/32761-china-s-political-elite-take-the-money-and-run-abroad

It's interesting that the masses still think that the terms communism and democracy still mean something to those in power.  It's striking how similar is the behaviour of the powerful in both countries.

9/11 and the road not taken ...

This article really points out the horrible mindset that has pervaded western governments for years, and suggests that maybe we are to blame for the terrorism created on our behalf.

http://original.antiwar.com/lucy/2015/09/11/the-lesson-of-blowback-and-911/

The Harper gov't still thinks war can accomplish good things.  He is a murderous fool.

A summary of freedoms lost ...

... in the USA:

http://fff.org/2015/09/09/americas-police-state-is-rooted-in-four-federal-wars/

Canada is now much  the same.

Despite these wars on drugs, terrorism, immigration and wealth, the governments involved continue to say they are necessary.  But wait, doesn't that mean that these policies have been a failure wrt their original stated intent?  What do you do with someone who cannot accomplish what they set out to do?  You fire them, or at least admit that what you wanted done cannot be accomplished by that method.

The Euro's evil explained

Greg Palast has some very incisive comments regarding the Euro's true purpose:

"
Not a coin, a virus

Tsipras’ claim that Greece can keep the euro while rejecting austerity is crazy-talk. The fact is that German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the Cruella De Vil of the Eurozone, will ignore the cries of the bleeding Greeks and demand we swallow austerity--or lose the euro.
But, so what if we lose the euro? The best thing that can happen to Greece, and should have happened long, long ago, is that Greece flee the Eurozone.

That’s because it is the euro itself that is the virus responsible for Greece’s economic ills.
Indeed, the sadistic commitment to “austerity” was minted into the coin’s very metal. We’re not guessing. One of us (Palast, an economist by training) has had long talks with the acknowledged “father” of the euro, Professor Robert Mundell. It’s important to mention the other little bastard spawned by the late Prof. Mundell: “supply-side” economics, otherwise known as “Reaganomics,” “Thatcherism” – or, simply “voodoo” economics.

The imposition of the euro had one true goal: To end the European welfare state.

For Mundell and the politicians who seized on his currency concept, the euro itself would be the vector infecting the European body politic with supply-side Reaganomics. Mundell saw a euro’d Europe as free of trade unions and government regulations; a Europe in which the votes of parliaments were meaningless. Each Eurozone nation, unable to control neither the value of its own currency, nor its own budget, nor its own fiscal policy, could only compete for business by slashing regulations and taxes. Mundell said, "[The euro] puts monetary policy out of the reach of politicians… Without fiscal policy, the only way nations can keep jobs is by the competitive reduction of rules on business."

Here’s how it works. To join the Eurozone, nations must agree to keep their deficits to no more than 3% of GDP and total debt to no more than 60% of GDP. In a recession, that’s plain insane. By contrast, President Obama pulled the USA out of recession by increasing deficit spending to a staggering 9.8% of GDP, and he raised the nation’s debt to 101% from a pre-recession 62%. Republicans screamed, but it worked. The US has lower unemployment than any Eurozone nation.
As Obama scolded the European tormentors of Greece: “You cannot keep on squeezing countries that are in the midst of depression.” Cutting spending power only leads to less spending which leads to further cuts in spending power – a death spiral we see today in the Eurozone from Greece to Italy to Spain—but not in Germany.

“Not in Germany.” There’s the rub. Normally, a nation such as Greece can quickly recover from debt-induced recession by devaluing its currency. Greece would become a dirt cheap tourist destination once more and its lower-cost exports would zoom, instantly increasing competitiveness. And that’s what Germany can’t allow. Germany lured other European nations into the euro in order to keep them from undercutting Germany’s prices in export markets.
Restricted by the 3% deficit rule, the only recourse left for Eurozone debtors: pay the piper with “austerity” measures.

Tsipras in Wonderland

So therein lies the lie. Tsipras tells his fellow Greeks that we can live in a Looking Glass world, where we can have our euro and eat it too; that we can stay handcuffed to the euro but run free without austerity.

The nonsense continues: Following the announcement of the official results of the referendum on Sunday night, Tsipras tweeted that the Greek electorate voted for a "Europe of solidarity and democracy," while the now-resigned finance minister Varoufakis tweeted that "Greece's place in the Eurozone is non-negotiable," claiming that he would not allow the "only alternative," the old drachma trading alongside the euro.

SYRIZA's euro-fetish was already evident in its pre-referendum proposals to the IMF and European Bank, a 47-page document which included 8 billion euros in new austerity measures plus a new round of sell-offs of state industries, the maintenance of a primary surplus of 1% this year which would increase in the coming years, the increase of the retirement age to 67, and making permanent the previously "temporary" taxes upon an already overtaxed populace. In Tsipras’ own proposal, there was no word of a debt write-down or stoppage of payments, despite the fact that the government's own Debt Audit Commission announced on June 17 that the bulk of Greece's debt is illegal, “odious,” and should not be paid.

Instead, Tsipras has come out in support of the IMF's proposal for a mere 30% "debt haircut" and a 20-year grace period, effectively sweeping the problem under the rug. Greece is currently running a deficit, meaning that in order for the 1% surplus to be achieved, SYRIZA must cut, cut, cut. Exactly as Mundell and the supply-siders intended.

Death by “Reform”

Like Obama, Tsipras knows that cutting pensions, privatizing and closing industries, slashing wages – in other words, “austerity” -- or, to use the latest jargon, “reform” – is not just cruel, it’s plain stupid: it can only push a nation in recession into depression.

That’s not just theory. The Troika (the European Central Bank, IMF and European Commission) first imposed their vicious austerity measures on Greece in 2010. Greeks watched their annual salaries plummet to half of a German’s paycheck. Greece's supposedly generous pensions have been cut eight times during the crisis, while two-thirds of pensioners live below the poverty line. Everything from Greece's airports to harbors, the national lottery to prime publicly-owned real estate was sold off, while schools and hospitals were shuttered.

And, for the first time since World War II, widespread starvation had returned. 500,000 children in Greece are said to be malnourished. Students fainting from hunger in frigid schools which cannot afford heating oil is now a common phenomenon.

This cruel “belt tightening,” the Troika promised, would restore Greece’s economy by 2012 (and then 2013, 2014, and 2015). In reality, unemployment went from a terrible 12.5% in 2010 to a horrendous 25.6% today."
Now, the Troika demands more of the same, a continuation of this disastrous policy.

The Euro, Greece, theft etc.

Greg Palast has a lot to say about the Greek crisis and the Euro as a tool of theft:

http://www.gregpalast.com/euro-krieg-greece-surrenders-to-germany-2013-greek-radio-interviews-greg-palast/

Privatization rears its ugly head again.  Corporations gain control of a country's assets, pocket the profits, and leave the people to starve.

The Greek financial story we were never told ..

... but Greg Palast has the info:

http://www.gregpalast.com/lazy-ouzo-swilling-olive-pit-spitting-greeksor-how-goldman-sacked-greece/

Once again, the big banks/financial institutions prove that they care for nothing except their own bottom line, ... ... ... and they will break every law and ethical canon to get more profit regardless of who suffers from their profit-taking machinations.

Ain't capitalism grand, particularly when it gets to write and enforce the rules under which corporations operate?

Our governments are wasting their time and our money fighting terrorism!

Here's what has been accomplished in the 'terrorism' war recently:


http://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/the-true-cost-of-the-war-on-terror/

All that seems to emerge is the fact that your death matters a lot more if it happens in a 'terrorist' incident, than if your messy death happens in a more mundane way (ie shot while being mugged, for instance).  Also 'terrorists' don't really kill all that many of us, while we seem to be collaterally killing a lot of 'them'

The real obscenity emerges when you consider what could have been accomplished if the money wasted on the 'terrorism' shenanigans (in excess of $2,000,000,000,000 since 9/11/2001) had been spent on something useful, eg:
       leprosy treatment
       malaria vaccinations
       safe drinking water provision
       alternate/renewable energy sources
       eliminating tax havens for corporations
       expanding medical care
       medical research
       education
       transit infrastructure
       etc., etc.,

All of these alternative uses of funds would have been of more benefit to the people of the world than the paltry results of the failed 'war on terror'.

But notice that the banks, corporations, mercenaries and Wall St. types would not have benefited as much as they have in the last 15 years.

There is a lesson to be learned in all of this ...

Some religious comedy

Here's a pretty good exposé of the hypocrisy related to the concept of marriage:


http://www.juancole.com/2015/06/biblical-marriage-between.html

The bible really is not where one should go looking for advice.

The Americam psyche ...

... is hard-wired to a war worldview.  Consider this article's insights:

http://truth-out.org/buzzflash/commentary/war-murder-and-the-american-way

It seems that the war propaganda and military-think are having some serious blowback effects upon the US population at home.  Who would'a thunk it?

Animals are dangerous when they realize they are dying ...

... So is the American empire.  Here a neat little summary of what is happening out there that you won't hear on the evening news:

http://www.lobelog.com/dangers-of-a-declining-global-power/

Canada needs to elect a government that will do more than cozy up to the belly of the dying beast.  Might even be time to distance ourselves from the soon-to-be corpse.

Welcome to Northern New York state ...

... police state, that is.

Watch this little video:

https://youtu.be/Cb8vOHExCYw

The 'officials' involved were US immigration agents, who are allowed to stop anyone they like within 100 miles of the border.  Can anyone discern what the suspicious 'crime' was that caused this stop?  Did it have anything to do with immigration?  Why did the 'officials' refuse to tell the detainee the reason for the stop?  Why was waiting beside her car such an affront to the 'official' that he had to taser the detainee?

From what I heard, the nervous behaviour of the detainee was the reason she was pulled over.  Who in their right mind would not be nervous when pulled over, given the way these 'officials' behaved toward their victim?

I'm sure that the citizens of East Germany, North Korea and hundreds of other despotic police states  fully understand the nervousness of citizens when faced with anyone in uniform.  I guess we North Americans will just have to learn how to deal with the rampaging mobs of  'officials' who are out there to protect us.

The measured effects of Free Trade agreements ...

 ... are not all that great for most of the people in the countries that have entered into them.  But - SURPRISE!! - the top 1% have made out like the bandits they are.  Here's and analysis to consider:

http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/31244-don-t-believe-the-hype-about-the-benefits-of-free-trade

Corporations uber alles!

Crime pays, exhorbitantly and without penalty!

Read this little explanation of things:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/stevedenning/2015/05/31/wall-street-costs-the-economy-2-of-gdp-each-year/

Money for nothing!  At least Dire Straits had to sing a few tunes to get their $.  Banks & Wall Street just steal straight from us and give nothing in return.

Who's a hero?

Here is an interesting argument regarding the ritual fawning over military folks that you see at the start of every NFL, NASCAR, NHL, NBA and most other public gatherings in North America:

http://blog.independent.org/2015/05/20/the-militarys-heroes-and-the-scourge-of-nationalism/

The statistic that astounded me was the death rates for fishermen and for loggers when compared to military types.  It seems we should be saying a prayer every time we walk on a hardwood floor or inhale a fish stick, if we do indeed wish to show respect for those who have died to allow us to maintain our way of life.

It just shows that the way you die determines your value to our society.  Splash your brains and guts across the interior of your car while on your way to the cottage, and nobody cares.  Do it while interfering in the affairs of a foreign country, and you are automatically a hero. 

It is a strange calculus that our culture has adopted.

Krugman on the TPP ...

... can be found here:

http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/05/19/the-mis-selling-of-tpp/?module=BlogPost-Title&version=Blog%20Main&contentCollection=Opinion&action=Click&pgtype=Blogs&region=Body

Notice that the red herring put forth by the supporters of TPP always touts the low tariff BS, never the real problem, which is the surrender of sovereignty to corporate dispute panels.

Oh! Look! The US Gov't hasn't been truthful, ...

... for the nth time.

original.antiwar.com/justin/2015/05/12/bin-ladens-end-the-truth-comes-out/

Obscene ...

... is the only way to describe this practice:

http://www.commondreams.org/news/2015/05/08/patriotism-price-us-military-paid-nfl-teams-honor-soldiers-games

A frightening, but illuminating, insight into why things are deteriorating

In the game of life, it seems, we peasants are not even playing by the same rules as the rich.  In fact, we aren't even aware of the actual rules.  We're still operating on the myths from the post-WWII boom when prosperity became a expectation for the average Joe.


http://prospect.org/article/political-roots-widening-inequality

Corporations uber alles!!

More horror stories about so-called free trade deals ...

Check out this description of recent events:

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/04/26/1380441/-Another-Reason-To-Say-No-To-TPP?detail=email

The real purpose of these agreements is to gut the powers of nations to control their own resources and laws.  Corporations are to be allowed to do anything they want, anywhere, as long as their potential profits are not affected.  Countries are not allowed to do anything that could potentially lower these profits.

Only corporations are to be allowed to reap profits.  Nations will not be allowed to do anything profitable; any such activities must be turned over to corporations.  Examples include the privatization of highways, water supplies, airports, education and health care and the concept of mineral rights that allows corporations to develop mines and 'frack' under land that they do not even own.  The hapless land owner (local government, for instance) is always left to clean up the mess after the extraction process is finished and the corporate shareholders have pocketed their profits.

The TPP is not a trade deal ...

..., it is a means of giving corporations the power to overturn or avoid any laws that limit their ability to make profits:

http://www.truth-out.org/opinion/item/30441-the-battle-over-the-trans-pacific-partnership-and-fast-track-gets-hot

Safety, environmental, health and even tax laws could be repealed if businesses don't like them.  The citizens of the country don't get to have a say in how their country will be run.

Why the TPP (TransPacific Partnership) trade deal should be rejected absolutely

More explanation of why this agreement will be horrible for people, but excellent for corporations:

http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2015/04/bill-black-obama-tpp-every-one-doeth-evil-hateth-light.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+NakedCapitalism+%28naked+capitalism%29

All the really successful thieves wear suits, and act strictly in accordance with the laws that they created that allow them to control the game.  You have more chances of winning at a casino than you do when dealing with corporations.

There is no longer any hope that any government will act in the best interests of its populace.

Why Bill C-51 should be rejected absolutely

This article explains the real purpose of Harper's Bill C-51, in a broad context.  It is worth reading, if only so that we can look back on it when the hammer falls.

http://www.truth-out.org/opinion/item/30270-the-canadian-ministry-of-truth-reality-is-whatever-we-say-it-is

Only masochistic ignoramuses could vote for this bill.

Canadian lawsuit attempts to restore the Bank Of Canada

Here is an interesting development:

http://www.collective-evolution.com/2015/02/05/canadians-sued-the-bank-of-canada-won-mainstream-media-government-blacks-out-story/

This case could be monumental if it succeeds.

Banks usurp democracy ...

... by controlling the money supply.

Read this article:

http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/30093-how-america-became-an-oligarchy#

It seems that all the votes in the world do not matter since all governments are indebted to private banks, most of which are multinationals.

Wikileaks exposes the TPP draft. This is important.

Here are the details about the Transpacific Trade Partnership that our governments are now secretly negotiating.  Thanks to Wikileaks, we finally get a glimpse into the horrors of these trade agreements:

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/03/25/1373335/-BREAKING-WikiLeaks-Leaks-TPP-Draft#

Here is a look at the effect such agreements could have on our food supply:

http://www.truth-out.org/opinion/item/29861-this-trade-deal-will-make-you-sick

So much for governments working for the people.  It's all about corporate greed.

Welcome the totalitarian state ...

... that's on its way to your neighbourhood!

https://firstlook.org/theintercept/2015/03/17/whats-scarier-terrorism-governments-unilaterally-blocking-websites-name/

There is a good look at Harper's new plan to ban thoughts and dissent in Canada in the article above.

Corporate America fights back against dissent from the party line

Google has leapt to the defense of the US military's new lust for war in the middle east by censoring all ads on Antiwar.com:

http://antiwar.com/blog/2015/03/18/google-disables-all-ads-on-antiwar-com/

...

...

...

Why they hate us ...

... is quite obvious from the pictures at this site:

http://www.antiwar.com/news/?articleid=8560

The 'values' demonstrated by the captors in these recently released photos are certainly worth fighting against.

An insight into the miserable flying process ...

... to which we are now routinely subjected:


http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/01/01/1355081/-Why-Airlines-Collude-To-Make-Flying-As-Miserable-As-Possible

Of particular interest is the comment that industry 'deregulation' has not resulted in any of the benefits that were promised when the old regs were abandoned.  The same applies in every case where deregulation has occurred, particularly wrt banking and infrastructure like highways and water systems.

A great source for Documentaries

Here's some good stuff that you will not see on TV:

http://thoughtmaybe.com/

A huge vault of documentaries about all sorts of important topics is found in this website,

US government recruits, trains, funds, supplies and actively assists terrorists ...

... so that it can arrest them and put on a show trial to convince the masses that it is doing something to keep us safe.

I do not invent this stuff:

https://firstlook.org/theintercept/2015/01/16/latest-fbi-boast-disrupting-terror-u-s-plot-deserves-scrutiny-skepticism/

Talk about propagandizing you own population.

An old friend said goodbye today . ..

We'll miss him.

The idiocy of voting Conservative ...

... is demonstrable when one looks at the effects of conservative governments on income distribution over the last 30 years, as described in this article:

http://www.ipolitics.ca/2014/12/10/the-gap-between-rich-and-poor-is-killing-growth/

Basically, most people who voted for conservatives ended up greatly impoverished as a result.  That is akin to a starving person eating his foot to survive.  It only works in the short term, then you die as a result of your self inflicted wounds.

It is amazing that people allow their beliefs to override the evidence of their own suffering.

If you like enriching millionaires, continue to vote conservative.

Torture of Canadians

Glenn Greenwald reminds us of our complicity in the US torture orgy in this article which also references Canada's Maher Arar as one of its innocent victims.

https://firstlook.org/theintercept/2014/12/16/u-s-tv-media-gives-ample-platform-american-torturers-victims/

There has to be trials of the people responsible for allowing this torture  to proceed, including those in Canada who facilitated its operations and covered up its existence.  I would submit that our Prime Minister and many cabinet ministers are guilty of violating our treaty obligations wrt torture and thus should be charged, at the very least, with abrogating their 'duty of care' to uphold Canada's laws.

Unfortunately, the society in which I live is too frightened, bigoted and bloodthirsty to understand concepts like the rule of law.

ISIS et al are the direct result of western interference in the middle east

Here's is an article that points the finger at 'us' (lower case) as the proximate cause of the extremism in the middle east.  If we want them to stop attacking us, our governments must stop inflicting violence over there.

http://truth-out.org/opinion/item/27308-i-love-a-paranoid-country

Given the absolute failure of all our attempts at solving the problems in the middle east, why not try something different.  Let's walk away and let them solve their own problems.  They will still sell us oil, because they need to do so in order to survive.

See - it's not just me!

Others have noticed the destruction of Canada's values by the Harper gov't:

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/mark-taliano/canada-war-crimes_b_6127190.html

Let's hope Canadians realize it as well before the next election.  Maybe the damage can be repaired.

'False Flag' operations in Canada ... ?

Given everything that has been revealed about the US involvement in other countries' affairs, this article strikes a ring of truth:

https://truthandshadows.wordpress.com/2014/11/08/canadas-false-flag-terror-fingerprints-of-u-s-involvement/

There is no doubt that Canadians are now prepared to allow Harper's gang to take away more of our rights as a result of the recent murders.  It would not surprise me if he was just following orders from Washington.

Excuse me while I polish my tinfoil hat, but there are many examples of this sort of interference by US 'interests' in the affairs of sovereign states.  Canada would just be another example to add to the folder.

There is a difference between a war and a soldier ...

Check out this article, and be prepared to think:

http://warisacrime.org/content/war-not-soldiers

It is interesting that all the babble about respecting veterans and troops never includes a discussion of the efficacy of the battles they fought; both for the troops themselves and for the average person in all the countries involved.

Corporations are the only beneficiaries of war.  Money is taken from the citizens and poured into corporate bank accounts, with nothing left to show for it all after the violence ends except mangled bodies and destroyed cultures.

When will we ever learn?

The police state edges closer

Harper takes advantage of soldiers murdered because of his policies, in order to steal our rights to privacy:

http://www.commondreams.org/news/2014/10/27/greenwald-harper-government-exploiting-recent-attacks-expand-powers

Harper's gift to Canada: Homegrown Terrorists

It has been noticed that Canada's military involvement with the world has changed from a peacekeeping to a warmaking state.  This has consequences for Canadians that were predictable  but strangely absent from the statements by all those who wished to get out there and kill people.

This article offers a view of this policy change from abroad:

http://original.antiwar.com/paul/2014/10/26/once-peaceful-canada-turns-militaristic-blowback-follows/

Is it really wise to allow the guy who got us hated by jihadists to attempt to solve the problem?  At what point do we demand competence from our government wrt protecting Canadians?  Even fools know that stuffing your face into a hornets' nest will result in stings.  Doing it repeatedly will only result in more stings.  It won't scare off the hornets, they are protecting their way of life in the only way they know.

Even worse, after all the bombs and bullets have been expended, Canada will gain nothing from the violence it will have inflicted.  If its lucky, Canadians' security might be back to the pre-9/11 level, but we will never regain the freedoms that the Harper government is planning to take from us as it rolls out the next steps to a police state.

Bitcoin's importance explained

Here's a good explanation of Bitcoin and its relation to 'real' money:

http://original.antiwar.com/Nozomi_Hayase/2014/10/08/bitcoin-rises-in-the-death-throes-of-empire/

Obviously any government issuing money does not want Bitcoin to succeed, and that explains why we peasants always hear negative things about Bitcoin from 'official' sources.

The key element of Bitcoin is its independence from government influence and the ability to verify/thwart counterfeiting attempts.  It cannot eliminate crooks, but at least you would know when something has been stolen.

Canadian Government regularly violates the laws of Canada

This article states that our current Canadian government is regularly in violation of international treaties to which Canada has subscribed dealing with privacy rights.


https://firstlook.org/theintercept/2014/10/15/un-investigator-report-condemns-mass-surveillance/

And silly me used to think we were a nation subject to the rule of its laws.

9/11 Scorecard, again

Here's a good summary of the effects of the 9/11 events on the western world:

http://www.unz.com/proberts/911-after-13-years/

and for further consideration:

http://original.antiwar.com/lucy/2014/09/12/never-learn-anything-from-911/

I'm struck by the level of ignorance, incompetence, greed, malevolence, willful blindness, political opportunism, and savagery that has been displayed by our governments in response to the 9/11 incident.

I am saddened by the degree to which our rights to privacy, freedom of association, free speech, freedom of movement, and basic rule of law have been subverted in the name of keeping us safe from the people whose resources and countries the west has been violently pillaging for over a century.

I despair over the opportunity costs that are associated with our governments' actions.  Canada has spent over $22 billion on its Afghanistan debacle.  That money could have been spent on medical research to eliminate things like malaria, leprosy, or even ebola.  It could have been used to create refineries so that the tar sands oil profits would stay within Canada and our energy independence assured for the relatively near future.  So many opportunities lost, along with our vaunted military capabilities that were dumped into the Afghan deserts.

We are behaving like stupid serfs inside an American empire.

Finally, some rational thinking about the Middle East ...

... and it is not uplifting:

http://www.thestar.com/opinion/commentary/2014/07/22/beautiful_dream_of_israel_has_become_a_nightmare.html

Why is it that none of the loudmouth politicians/leaders who open their blood-stained mouths to justify their actions can see things as clearly as the author of the article above?

Perhaps they do ...

 ... and that is truly terrifying!

Your government is giving your country away to foreign corporations

Check out this article:

http://www.aflcio.org/Blog/Global-Action/Scholars-Speak-Out-Against-Troubling-Corporate-Courts-ISDS-in-TTIP

If the TIPP is signed in its current form, citizens will have no control over their own country's laws, assets, or resources but will be left to take care of all the residual damage that industries inflict on the lands in which they operate.

Wow!

John Hubbard, musician, RIP

I just learned of the death of one of my friends from Hong Kong, John Hubbard.  Here's one article:

http://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/1502519/blue-notes-robin-lynam

John was a great player who was also instrumental in the formation of The Discovery Bay Jazz Band (1996-1998) and introduced me to many of Hong Kong's finest players and its musical 'culture'.

I'll miss him.

Here's a pik of him with his Victoria Jazz Band at Grappa's Cellar in Hong Kong, Nov 2, 2011 when we revisited there.  Click on it to see it - in its full, grainy glory.

Chomsky clarifies the Snowden effect

Noam Chomsky reflects on what has been revealed by the Snowden documents.

http://www.truth-out.org/opinion/item/24071-noam-chomsky-edward-snowden-the-worlds-most-wanted-criminal

Does anyone still believe that their government is working for the good of the little man?

What was won in Iraq?

Here is one version which resonates with me:

http://www.counterpunch.org/2014/05/23/iraq-the-biggest-petroleum-heist-in-history/

Big oil would seem to have a lot to answer for, according to this author.  I submit the same forces are driving many other foreign policy initiatives of the so-called western world.

The end of the republic?

If this is the case in the US, can Canada be far behind?

http://original.antiwar.com/justin/2014/05/13/the-american-republic-is-dead/

Harper's boys have been only to happy to do everything that the US says and does so far, and I cannot conceive of them showing any restraint on his government's power grabs at this stage of the game.  Far too much money and resources still to be given to the corporations.

Another loss of our privacy, ...

... this time to the private sector that then sells the info to the government and police, and ANYBODY ELSE WHO PAYS.  Read on:

https://firstlook.org/theintercept/2014/03/17/1756license-plate-tracking-database/

Here is how the ACLU sees this technology being marketed:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ZTWOL_U-OMg

It's nice to know that someone cares about what I'm doing, have done, and might do. 

Cancer harm is caused by doctors diagnosing it!

That remarkable conclusion is the sort of thing that results when people accept the reasoning described in the following article:

https://firstlook.org/theintercept/2014/02/21/judge-tosses-muslim-spying-suit-nypd-saying-damages-caused-reporters-exposed/

Similarly, I suppose that someone embezzling your money causes you no harm until you become aware of the fact that the cash is gone.

More about our governments' love of free expression

Just in case you ever thought that our governments welcome debate and discussion, here's an article about recent activities designed to shield us from knowledge about the activities undertaken by taxpayer-funded organizations that claim to be working for our good:

https://firstlook.org/theintercept/article/2014/02/18/snowden-docs-reveal-covert-surveillance-and-pressure-tactics-aimed-at-wikileaks-and-its-supporters/

A subtle thug is still a thug.

So here's how the first free trade thingy (NAFTA) panned out ...

for Canada and for workers:

http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/21370-the-workers-scorecard-on-nafta

Wow!  Who would have guessed that the only beneficiaries of NAFTA would be corporations?  I bet that won't happen when the next pair of secretly negotiated free trade agreements kick in.

Your government working on your behalf (NOT!!!!)

Free Trade Pacts turn over your country to corporations

The secret negotiations being conducted wrt free trade agreements always contain what is called "investor-state" provisions which effectively mean that corporations can override any laws or regulations in any country if they might limit that corporation's possible profits.

Details are in this article:

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2013/10/another-reason-hate-tpp-it-gives-big-content-new-tools-undermine-sane-digital

Some inconvenient truths about the west's involvement in Iraq

Here's a summary of what Iraq has experienced under the benevolence of the American influenced world.  Read it and be proud:

http://www.unz.com/article/the-american-legacy-in-iraq/

Canada did all it could to support this barbarity at the time, and still does to this day.  My tax dollars at work.

The usefulness of our military in Afghanistan...

has been summed up in this article:

http://www.unz.com/pcockburn/after-12-years-390bn-and-countless-dead-we-leave-poverty-fraud-and-the-taliban-in-afghanistan/

which reveals that the only thing that happened was we got to call our soldiers heroes for spending all that money to destroy an already destroyed country.  Hurray!!!  Bring on the drug lords.

Meanwhile, our own first nations do not have adequate drinking water, education or housing.  I guess the money wasted in Afghanistan would not have made any difference here at home.

Why do our politicians we not demand answers which explain why this happened?

Chris Hedges muses on the America that recently been revealed to us all

Some ideas worth considering

http://truth-out.org/opinion/item/21052-chris-hedges-the-last-gasp-of-american-democracy

The same tendencies exist in Canada, Britain and most other former so-called liberal democracies in the world.

The insanity of the war on terror

Here is an article reacting to the recent LAX murder:

http://www.esquire.com/blogs/politics/lax-shooting-not-a-random-event-110113

The extract below struck me as instructive:
 

"There is nothing "random" at all. We have chosen insanity over reason. We have done it with our eyes open. It is time for me to walk out of the airport now. I am leaving behind a terrible event. But I am not leaving behind something accidental. I am leaving behind what America has determined must happen from time to time, if we are to be a free people. I am leaving behind what America has determined is part of the cost of being an American. I am leaving behind the blood that I am told I must accept as part of the price of being a member of a free society. I am leaving behind a place of death, and I am joining my fellow citizens, as we make an odd pilgrimage out of a place that is now another altar of the blood sacrifice that I am told we must make, regularly, in order to be truly free. I am a free citizen, I am told, of the Republic of Murder, my rights guaranteed by the Constitution of Moloch."

 

Considering the trillions of dollars wasted on the war on terror over the last decade or so, why would the US not direct that money to solving the problem of gun deaths in the USA?  Certainly thousands more Americans are dead as a result of Americans 'randomly' shooting Americans than from any actual terrorists attacks.  Why are these dead people not given the same respect as the 9/11 victims?  Why has the US government taken away everyone's freedoms - the right to privacy, due process, habeus corpus, freedom from arbitrary arrest, search, seizure and even torture etc., etc.,  - in the futile attempt to reduce terrorist attacks, and yet they will not restrict anyone's right to bear arms inside the USA?

Pierce's article also reveals the depradation of the American love of freedom, when he doesn't even recognize the irony when he claims: "I am leaving behind the blood that I am told I must accept as part of the price of being a member of a free society."

 

You are no longer a member of a free society, Charles, you are living in the USA in 2013.

 

Here's why you cannot always trust the news you see, hear or read.

This little article is an important exposé of the shadowy censorship under which we all live:

http://truth-out.org/opinion/item/19759-wikileaks-mediastan-the-true-fifth-estate-bringing-the-first-amendment-to-the-world

The whole story is often never exposed, trivialities occupy the front page, and gross obscenities are hidden from view.

Our Government is breaking our laws

Consider this analysis of our Treaty obligations wrt spying, and we can only conclude that our government is carrying out illegal operations.

http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/future_tense/2013/10/martin_scheinin_u_s_u_k_surveillance_programs_violate_iccpr.html

The persecution of whistleblowers by government seems like Al Capone knocking off rival gang members.

Do you still believe in the rule of law or is the government free of such passé restraints?

Us vs Them: Where do you fit in?

Here is an interesting article by Chris Hedges that discusses how our world actually works these days:

http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/the_sparks_of_rebellion_20130930

He makes some very good observations and then presents us with the choice:  carry on into dystopia or change things so that humans can survive.

Occupy or Submit?  Your choice.

So you think bankers are your friends ...

Check out this under-reported (non-?) story from Geg Palast:

http://www.gregpalast.com/larry-summers-and-the-secret-end-game-memo/

As Greg says:

"The Memo confirmed every conspiracy freak's fantasy:  that in the late 1990s, the top US Treasury officials secretly conspired with a small cabal of banker big-shots to rip apart financial regulation across the planet.  When you see 26.3% unemployment in Spain, desperation and hunger in Greece, riots in Indonesia and Detroit in bankruptcy, go back to this End Game memo, the genesis of the blood and tears."

It's been an interesting summer. To sum up ...

here's where we are at:

http://original.antiwar.com/jwhitehead/2013/08/19/the-nsa-the-abyss-from-which-there-is-no-return/

Is it too early to say I told you so?

This synopsis should get you thinking ...

... about the depths to which our culture has descended:

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2013/06/all-the-infrastructure-a-tyrant-would-need-courtesy-of-bush-and-obama/276635/

Pogo was right - "We have seen the enemy, and he is us!"

A police state at work

FYI

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jun/06/nsa-phone-records-verizon-court-order

If this is true, then perhaps the government should provide everyone with free phone service in the interests of national security.

The FBI comes a-calling ...

... and the result doesn't seem to pass the smell test:

http://www.monbiot.com/2013/06/03/innocent-until-proved-dead/

This really seems to represent the depths to which the rule of law has fallen in the US.

Anybody feeling safer yet?

A revolutionary OLD concept: the CommonWealth

Here is a reasonable starting point for a discussion of the horrors inherent to unfettered privatization and corporate growth:

http://www.truth-out.org/opinion/item/16329-our-common-wealth-the-hidden-economy-that-makes-everything-else-work

Many of the profits that currently accrue to corporations should actually be returned to the common wealth from which they were derived.  It is frightening that so few people feel that they have a common wealth to which they are entitled.

Is this a defining moment for our descent ...

.. into fascist totalitarianism?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/apr/27/bradley-manning-sf-gay-pride

The rather extensive exploration by Glenn Greenwald (see link above) of what should be a minor event in life's little drama reveals the extent to which mindless obedience to authority has pervaded our culture.  I see a parallel to Jews turning in gypsies to the Nazi death squads during WWII quite clearly.

Governments should never be viewed with reverence, and certainly not with unquestioning obedience and acquiescence.  They are formed for the sole purpose of exercising the brute force that is sometimes necessary to allow a culture to defeat thugs, thieves and organized gangs of such people.  Constitutional and democratic governments try to limit the government's use of such power to those occasions for which violence is the last resort.

Dissent and discussion have been found necessary to the health of any truly free society, and nothing guarantees that freedom more than the ability and willingness to prosecute anyone, including and particularly government officials, who violate the laws designed to protect everyone's right to live in freedom and peace.

The little saga of the San Francisco Gay Pride Parade's Grand Marshall detailed above shows haw low our culture has fallen in dealing fairly and courageously with those who would attempt to shine some light on the sins of those in positions of authority.

We are all in danger because of this willfully blind mindset.

Guns don't kill people, bullets do ...

... so who do you think is buying a really monstrous number of bullets? ... ... ...

... why it's ... ...

The Department of Homeland Security!!!

http://news.antiwar.com/2013/04/26/enormous-dhs-bullet-usage-defies-common-sense/

I don't make this stuff up!

I suppose that Canada's Vic Toews (The Minister of Public Safety) will be signing off of the bullet requisitions any day now.  It only makes sense! (in a post 9/11ish, cowardly, bullying, ignorant, lapdogish, wanna-be-tough-looking sort of way).

A necessary study

The recent report from the Constitution Project in the US confirms in great detail that the US government, from its top officials on downward through the ranks, has committed war crimes with its handling of prisoners.

http://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/a-necessary-reckoning-with-torture/

It seems that only by prosecuting those responsible will our society regain its moral compass.  Canada's governments have been compliant in this evil process as well, and there are no shortages of people in need of prosecution up here.

We have to enforce our laws and Treaties uniformly with respect to all classes of society.  The past decades have shown that the bad guys are often those in high office or with great wealth.

Time to restore the equilibrium in our little experiment in democracy.

Time to look into the mirror ...

 ... to see who the real bad guys are.  This article pretty well nails it:

http://fff.org/explore-freedom/article/the-criminal-iraq-war/

So, if we wish to live under the rule of law, there seems to be a lot of prosecuting to do, particularly amongst the ruling classes.

However, as most people don't seem to care about these niceties, due to the the true nature of our world it would be wise to hook up with a strong gang of thugs to ensure your security.  Don't trust the gummint, those guys are taking care of themselves first!

The Gulf Oil Spill might have been prevented ...

if only people had listened to Bradley Manning!

Here's a remarkable story about the sort of information that was leaked from US State Department files by Manning and which should have been acted upon by the 'authorities':

http://www.gregpalast.com/bradley-manning-the-deepwater-horizon/

BP and the US gov't concealed information that proved that the reason for the blowout at the drilling rig was fully explainable and happened simply because BP was too cheap to do the job right.

Another example of the rich corporations being above the law, with the full complicity of those who should be enforcing the laws.

More thoughts on priorities

Here's a paragraph from a discussion by Spencer Ackerman (http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2013/03/trillion-dollar-wars/) that is worth serious thought:

"Money, ultimately, is power. In context, it would take a nuclear strike on the United States to inflict the kind of economic damage that the wars have reaped. The only nations capable of inflicting such damage are disinclined toward doing so; and no non-state actor will plausibly obtain the capability to match such a threat. All of that damage is the result not of what bin Laden or Saddam Hussein or the insurgencies that began in their wake did to America, but because of how American strategiests chose to respond. As Radiohead once sang, you do it to yourself, and that’s why it really hurts."

The people running the US and its allies in the WOT can only be considered as suicidal morons to have done so much damage to their own countries.  Imagine what could have been accomplished if the resources wasted on these wars had been instead spent on education, medical research, medical care, infrastructure repairs and improvements, poverty reduction, etc., etc.

Consider also that the freedoms guaranteed in the American Constitution are now all history, and that, therefore, Osama bin Laden has achieved his stated goal - he has destroyed the American Republic and effectively created a presidential dictatorship enforced by the military.  Wow, that's efficacy for you!

Priorities

If these statistics are true, 9/11 is just a dust spec in the haystack of US mayhem.  However, it has resulted in their government destroying other countries, killing thousands, wasting trillions of $$$ and shredding their own constitution.  Wow!