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.