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!

Canada officially becomes an international pirate

Here's an article form the Montreal Gazette explaining that Canada jumped into Libya's civil war so that Canadian businesses could get control of Libyan valuables.

http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/Government+plan+ensure+commercial+return+military+investment+Libya/8116497/story.html

I guess Canada is trying to join up with the big boys now.  Forget all that helping the downtrodden stuff, there's resources to be plundered!

The Golden Rule - Redux ...

Here's how the US government wants the world to view drone attacks:

http://truth-out.org/opinion/item/14899-what-if-a-drone-attacked-in-the-us

Somehow, I don't think they would agree with the legality of the scenario described in this article.  I mean, really, who would allow that others can do unto you as you do unto them?  That thinking is do pre-9/11, so childishly christian.  Why would anyone expect the rule of law to apply to those who spout the law?

The Way We Were ...

Here's a really good description of the way things used to be in the western world before torture, rendition, and governmental murder became the 'in' thing.

http://original.antiwar.com/andrew-p-napolitano/2013/02/13/obamas-secret-court-for-killing/

How quaint to think that most of us used to support the former rule of law as described in the Judge's article.

Welcome to the new Age of Tribalism

Glenn Greenwald discusses the phenomenon of 'us' versus 'them' that is behind the shabby state of politics and human rights discussions in the modern era:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/feb/11/progressives-defend-obama-kill-list

This willful blindness to the murderous consequences of faithfully supporting your 'party' when it is the governing power applies as much to Canada as the US.

Welcome to the steep descent into the next age of tribalist thuggism.  Fear has triumphed over reason.  Things are likely to get very messy, soon.

A depressing summary of things ...

This is self-explanatory:

http://www.thenation.com/article/172380/government-persecution-aaron-swartz-bradley-manning#

Thought control is the real prize.

Another thought on the Swartz persecution:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2013/jan/20/aaron-swartz-cannon-fodder-internet-freedom

The law as a murder weapon

The recent suicides of two hackers reveal how the government now deals with its detractors - it haggles them to death with the law:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/jan/16/ortiz-heymann-swartz-accountability-abuse

If the power exists someone will abuse it.

The other point that isn't getting enough attention is the comparative effort the DOJ devotes to these hacking crimes versus that given to actual physical murders (drone assassinations) and trillion dollar thefts by Wall Street bankers.

Our current economic system

Just in case you were wondering why nobody has any money or pensions anymore, read this:

http://truth-out.org/buzzflash/commentary/item/17745-the-five-step-process-to-cheat-the-middle-class-worker

If you think this system is just peachy-keen, read it again, then ask yourself why you continue working for someone else's profit (taxed at a lower rate than your meager wages) while the government continues to give the country's natural resource wealth, sans frais, to corporations who don't ever clean up their own detritus, and use bankruptcy laws as a means of evading pension and contract responsibilities.

Servitude! - the modern way of life!

And if  you've read this far, here's another illuminating article about our loss of control over the business beast:

http://www.alternet.org/corporate-accountability-and-workplace/what-watchdog-how-financial-press-has-failed-american-public?akid=9920.1084699.8spl8b&rd=1&src=newsletter775831&t=5&paging=off

Intimidation, and its aftermath

This story illustrates the obscene nature of a government that encourages torture and child murder (collateral damage), and yet throws the full power of the law against those who disagree with the corporatist desire to commercialize every aspect of human life.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/jan/12/aaron-swartz-heroism-suicide1

How depressing.

It Is Happening Here

Your assignment today is to read this article and contrast the activities described therein with the events in Germany during the 1930s:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/dec/29/fbi-coordinated-crackdown-occupy

Then write a short article listing the freedoms for which the western world is hated.  Discuss why it is now so hard to write a long list of these freedoms

Have a great New Year!

Here's what has been trampled by our fear-inducing governments,

An excellent summary of the retrogression of western freedoms:

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2012/12/scandal-alert-congress-is-quietly-abandoning-the-5th-amendment/266498/

This just proves that bin Laden won.  He has destroyed the freedoms that we used to enjoy, by causing our own governments to overturn them and to destroy the rule of law in our society.  Now that's the definition of a successful attack!

Whose dead children are important?

A good article to consider during this time of Newtown overexposure:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/dec/17/us-killings-tragedies-pakistan-bug-splats

A Good Move To Counter Propaganda

Glenn Greenwald describes the formation of a new organization aimed at supporting real journalism and countering government efforts to hide its crimes:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/dec/17/wikileaks-new-press-freedom-group

It cannot happen soon enough!

What we have lost

Here's is an excellent article that outlines what we have lost in the recent panic about terrorism:

http://www.adbusters.org/magazine/105/why-we-torture.html

We no longer can pretend to live in a free country, where rule of law is paramount.

Merry Christmas!

A worthwhile read

Andy Worthington reminds us of some transgressions that seem to have been ignored:


http://fff.org/explore-freedom/article/the-long-pursuit-of-accountability-for-the-bush-administrations-torture-program/

"Freedom", as practiced in the USofA

Here's a good summary of how the freedom thingy is being practiced in the US these days:

http://original.antiwar.com/jwhitehead/2012/11/12/obamas-first-term-track-record-on-civil-liberties/

You can bet that Canada's government wants exactly the same sort of powers, and will probably sneak them into one of Harper's ever-so-popular omnibus bills in the near future.

How the world works

Here's a couple of basic lessons in economics that explain why things never seem to get better in our modern world:

http://www.fff.org/blog/jghblog2012-11-07.asp

Inflation is not inevitable, but it sure passes the debts along to future generations, thus keeping taxes low because the government does not want the current electorate to actually pay for current spending.

Obama , the good guy (?)

Here's what has happened to the US this century.  Things have changed down there in a very big way, and most people seem to think these changes are just fabulous:

http://blog.independent.org/2012/10/30/obama-and-civil-liberties-the-prospect-of-four-more-years/

I believe these changes will result in the destruction of our culture, but, what the hey, who cares?

Ahh ... our British heritage ...

Something to consider when you brag about our ancestors:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/history/9653497/British-have-invaded-nine-out-of-ten-countries-so-look-out-Luxembourg.html

I'll bet the politicians said they were bringing good things to the invaded areas every time.

A new type of fealty ...

for those with liberal tendencies.

http://warisacrime.org/content/indefinite-detention-progressive-voter

This is an interesting slant on how politicians have co-opted the wishes of various 'groups' in order to retain their support.

The fruits of violence

Here's what NATO has accomplished in Afghanistan - It's created a nation of permanently dependent spoiled thugs:

http://news.antiwar.com/2012/11/01/report-afghan-cant-maintain-us-built-facilities-after-pullout/

Again, we need to ask whether it might have been better to have spend all that money inside our own borders as opposed to throwing it all away in the sand (and to continue doing so for the next 10+ years).

Stalin was right

Stalin said that the person who counted the votes determines the winner.  He was right;

http://www.ukprogressive.co.uk/breaking-retired-nsa-analyst-proves-gop-is-stealing-elections/article20598.html

This is very troubling.

Kill lists now official US policy

There is no longer any doubt that the US President is acting as if he has the right to order the murder of anyone in the world without any public notice, presentation of evidence, or opportunity to appeal these death orders.  Read Glenn Greenwald's article about this obscene practice:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/oct/24/obama-terrorism-kill-list

'They hate us for our freedoms' ...

Here's an example of how the brave security boys in Afghanistan are representing the west:

http://news.antiwar.com/2012/10/17/video-shows-drunk-stoned-us-security-contractors-while-on-duty/

I'm so glad Canada was part of this process!  (Hint: ... irony ....).

"Debate" among those with lots to hide

Just in case you were left with a feeling of unease regarding the 'spontaneity' of the US Presidential debates, here is the reason things seem so stilted and phony:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/oct/16/presidential-debate-issues

Nobody is allowed to ask the right questions, nor refute BS in real time.  It's all a pleasant show for the kids (the great ignorant mass of the citizenry), like the way fighting relatives behave when meeting up at grandpa's funeral.

Opportunity knocked flat by 'defence'

Here's an good explanation of why defence spending is so obscene:

http://warisacrime.org/content/all-war-local

The concept is that of opportunity costs.  Money is finite (there ain't no golden goose) and if you choose to spend money on stuff that is only useful to destroy things, then you do not have that money available to spend on something useful, like schools, hospitals, roads, infrastructure, etc., etc.

Glenn Greenwald and questions of bias:

Glenn analyzes the debate show last night to expose the important bias inherent in the actual questions that were asked.


http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/oct/12/raddatz-debate-objectivity

It's the old "When did you stop beating your wife?" problem.  The questions assume as fact things which are usually blatantly wrong, and ask for responses to the question which do not deal with the actual problem.

Questions for the Presidential candidates

Here's some things that will not be asked of either Romney or Obama, for reasons which are not obvious to most North Americans who do not understand where the true power lies in our societies:

http://original.antiwar.com/engelhardt/2012/10/11/dont-ask-and-dont-tell/

Maybe you should ask these questions of yourselves to try and understand what it is that you cheer about as you 'support the troops'

Time for some introversion ...

Some astute thoughts about the contradictions that are accepted by most western people in order to justify the horrific acts committed by our governments:

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2012/10/11

Is the them vs us paradigm so ingrained as to force our brains to accept winning by murder as the only solution to competitions at the international level?

Omar Khadr, some thoughts

Maher Arar puts forward some ideas about Omar Khadr's return to Canada after his sojourn with the US military:

http://www.thestar.com/opinion/editorialopinion/article/1266158---i-miss-being-trusted

If you have forgotten, Mr. Arar was also a guest of the Canadian-government-supported US system for a while.

Some things just need saying ...

... and Phil Giraldi says it very clearly:


http://original.antiwar.com/giraldi/2012/10/03/why-i-dislike-israel/

You certainly don't hear very many express these concepts.  Stuff to think about and rebut, perhaps?

If Iran has nukes ...

... it won't be attacked by the US and Israel.  So says the Guardian:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/oct/02/iran-nukes-deterrence

Iran has not started a war with anyone anywhere in the last 150 years.  Why start now?  It should, however, have the right to defend itself, even from the US and Canada, if attacked by them.

Two of the Good Guys, ...

Wylie and D'Arcy, discussing their world and its foibles:

Time to drop NATO as an entity

Interesting article from The Guardian (UK-based) supporting the comparo with CNN headlines in the entry from Oct 2, below.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/oct/02/why-british-soldiers-dying-in-afghanistan

I would love to see something like this is any Canadian or US newspaper, but I guess we couldn't stand the truth, if it ever were to be told to us.

Maybe I should have a cellphone after all ...

I really wanted to join the navy when I was a kid.

http://news.antiwar.com/2012/10/02/us-navy-can-turn-your-smartphone-into-a-spy/

 I wonder when the "iSpyOnYou" app will be ready?  It would be a shame if iPhone afficianados were not included in the info 'sharing'.

US versus European news media

Nice to see that the important things are right up front in CNNland, isn't it?

What if every choice is bad?

This discussion by Justin Raimondo grapples with the problem faced by a voter when both candidates are despicable.  How do you prioritize your thinking in order to pick the candidate for whom you should vote, or if, indeed, to decide if there a benefit to not voting for either?

http://original.antiwar.com/justin/2012/09/30/race-for-the-white-house-2012-whom-to-root-for/

He makes a strong case exposing the 'war' metaphor so commonly used these days, as a sham excuse to loot the citizenry and destroy their freedoms.  I would suggest that a state that chooses to start a war is actually committing a form of slow suicide by virtue of using its own finite supply of people and property for destructive rather than constructive purposes

Why hornets sting people

Here's are Joseph Hornberger's thoughts and sympathies for those who antagonize hornets:

http://www.fff.org/blog/jghblog2012-09-21.asp

It really is difficult to support idiots who go around poking into hornet nests, and expecting the hornets to thank them for doing so.

Still trust governments?

An article confirming a program that most people refuse to believe would ever be used against them:

http://news.antiwar.com/2012/09/19/post-911-surveillance-far-more-expansive-than-previously-known-new-book-says/

An Important Landmark (or futile blip?)

At least Italy remembers its morals, manners, laws and treaty obligations.

http://news.antiwar.com/2012/09/19/italy-court-upholds-convictions-on-cia-agents-for-torture-and-rendition-program/

I hope this is the start of a trend.  If only Canada would join in.

Afghanistan is less despotic than the US!

Glenn Greenwald points out the horrible irony being played out in the US over the 'lock 'em up without a trial and throw away the key' provisions in the new NDAA.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/sep/18/obama-appeals-ndaa-detention-law

Prisoners have more right under Afghan laws than they would in the good old USA today.  So much for the shining beacon on the hill myth wrt America as an example of justice, rule of law and individual freedoms.

Canada will probably not be far behind now that the CIA and FBI have been given the right to arrest folks inside Canada by Harper in the recent omnibus bill.  More restrictions will inevitably follow in the one currently being introduced sans debate in Parliament.

The next 'free' trade agreement will cost us Billions

Here's the scoop on the next pile of BS our governments are preparing for us at the behest of international corporations:

http://truth-out.org/news/item/11563-obama-says-one-thing-in-spotlight-another-behind-closed-doors

Of particular importance is the part wherein the new TPP prevents member countries from instituting any regulations that the companies do not like.  My bet is that Canada's water will be owned by corporations, not Canadian governments, within twenty years.

Back to the days of one hot bath a month.

"Defending-the-indefensible"

An article in the American Conservative discusses an essay on executive power in the US versus the constitution that created the country.

http://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/defending-the-indefensible/

Worthwhile reading.  More worthwhile discussing amongst yourselves.

Introducing Rocky Anderson ...

... a soon-to-be-vilified independent candidate for the US presidency.

I just ran across this article which presents his views on several topics of interest:

http://warisacrime.org/content/rocky-andersons-response-tom-haydens-obamexcuses

Keep an eye out for news about him.  He is like a humanist's version of Ron Paul, and will be studiously ignored by main stream media and both the democratic and republican parties, despite the truth of what he says.

9/11 lessons for us all

A handy set of facts for your consideration:

http://sheldonfreeassociation.blogspot.ca/2012/09/ten-lessons-plus.html

So much government BS to wade through every day.  It gets discouraging.

Depravity summarized

Jonathan Turley reminds us of how childish we once were to believe in justice:

http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/forum/story/2012-09-10/torture-obama-broken-promise/57735442/1

Today's tough guys sneer at the Nuremberg legal precedents and principles. Welcome to the second coming of the Dark Ages, where might is right and reason and learning are for sissies.

Another Harper blight on canada's recordbook

The Iran embassy debacle is clearly outlined in this article, which you would not likely see in any North American newspaper:

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/americas/2012/09/20129814399526977.html

How is it that this bonehead runs Canada?  He acts like we are already the 51st state of the USA.

The signboard of the new dictatorship

Just in case you were not aware of it, democracy disappeared at the Democratic convention last week during (most appropriately) the god/jerusalem vote.  Consider Justin Raimondo's discussion of the event:

http://original.antiwar.com/justin/2012/09/09/that-villaraigosa-moment/

You should watch the videos of this to see the actual sham vote yourself.  Exercise your google skills to find the relevant videos.

There is no way for the individual to get his vote recorded any more, not even within the so-called Democratic Party.  This is no slippery slope, this is free fall.

When criminals prevail

Another spot-on article from Glenn Greenwald about how the bad guys actually control the courts:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/aug/28/us-israel-justice-whitewash-state-crimes

Again, I was raised to believe that the two world wars were to prevent and punish the criminal behaviour of governments, even my own.  It seems that this is no longer the case in North America and much of Europe.

Hooray for our side!  My gang uber alles!

Understanding some phrases

Here's an explanation of what national security et al really means:

http://original.antiwar.com/kevin-carson/2012/08/27/on-translating-securityspeak-into-english/

Now you know who you're supporting.

Obeisance anyone?

Glenn Greenwald offers an explanation of why the western civilizations that defeated Hitler are now allowing their governments to implement his means of social control at their own home:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/aug/26/compliance-authority-failure

Trust me, I'm a politician.

Still think the big banks are taking care of us?

Read about Iceland and its approach to dealing with the 2008 economic collapse in that country:


http://www.thestreet.com/story/11665082/1/iceland-was-right-we-were-wrong-the-imf.html

It seems that a little guy can get along with out following the dictates of international bankers.  Maybe Canada should look into these methods rather than following the advice (orders?) of thieves as it is currently doing

At least somebody's watching ...

YOU!!

Check this little item:

http://www.businessinsider.com/trapwire-everything-you-need-to-know-2012-8

That should raise your paranoia level a tad.

The thought for today ...

A Big Unpleasant Picture

This article discusses ideas which are disturbing, but which also have a 'ring of truth' since it ties together many of the recent events which seems to characterize our bloody world.  Enjoy!


http://truth-out.org/news/item/10676-how-the-war-on-drugs-in-latin-america-benefits-transnational-corporations-and-undermines-democracy

Who knew?  It's all part of the bigger 'economic' picture that is so often praised by the press.

Speaking of the "commons", here's a suggestion:

Let's nationalize the banks!

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2012/07/23-7#.UA2nqoGscQ8.facebook

After all, what could be more fundamental to the well-being of every citizen than his money?  Why would you allow some corporation to hold your stuff and profit from it?  It's like allowing someone to use your car as a taxi for free, and after a few years all you have is a worn out wreck and the cabbie has a million dollar condo in the Caribbean.

Magna Carta and its meanings through time

This explains a lot about where we came from and the difficulties that have arisen while trying to maintain a western civilization:

http://truth-out.org/opinion/item/10473-destroying-the-commons-how-the-magna-carta-became-a-minor-carta

The idea of a "commons" is not well understood today, and probably never gets mentioned in schools or colleges anymore.  It's a great idea whose time has come once again.

"Just doing my job" ...

"Just doing my job" has important consequences for others.  Consider this article:

http://truth-out.org/opinion/item/10476-the-careerists

When I was a kid, this was used to explain how Germany veered off the civilized course during the Hitler years.  Is history repeating itself?

Politicisation of the Public Service

Consider this story regarding the respect given Health Canada's scientists by the current Minister of Health:

http://www.care2.com/causes/death-of-evidence-government-ignores-scientists-and-risks-public-health.html

Governance by the brain-dead servants of industry.

The trustworthy Canadian Government ...

... NOT!!

Here's behaviour that defines our current government:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/ottawa-throws-wrench-in-khadr-repatriation/article4430435/

After knowing where he was for 8 years, cooperating in this child soldier's imprisonment and torture, negotiating and signing a plea bargain agreement for his sham trial, Harper's boys decide not to live up to their end of the bargain.  They had years to ask for and examine the requested transcripts while working on the plea agreement.  Suddenly it's a big issue.  One has to question their competence in all aspects of their work.

Compared to Karla Holmolka (currently living a quiet, married, free life in Montreal), Omar Khadr's purported crimes are trivial.  Our government's behaviour, however, is loathsome, cowardly, illegal, and cringe-inducing.

Portugal's drug policy works

Here's a summary of the Portuguese experience with decriminalizing drugs:

http://www.businessinsider.com/portugal-drug-policy-decriminalization-works-2012-7#ixzz210SiGluR

One cannot help but wonder whether this sort of approach would also reduce the number of thugs seeking to profit from drug sales.  Time will tell.

Evidence-based decision making

I notice that others are upset by the dumbing down of the Canadian public service:

http://www.care2.com/causes/canadian-scientists-mourn-the-death-of-evidence.html

Maybe if we pray real hard to Tsxaheonf we can revers this trend.

The only other option is to learn how to think and vote accordingly.

Privacy insanity, again

I just had to save David Sirota's article regarding the latest ludicrous government excuse:

http://www.salon.com/2012/06/25/nsas_wiretapping_doublespeak/singleton/

Why does it seem that the western world is slipping back into facism?

The descent into darkness

This article rings true for me. Maybe it might help explain the current state of our society:

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2012/06/18-2

Even Ayn Rand's ideas stem from the concept that reality is not subject to the whim of human wishes.  A=A, n'est-çe pas?

No comment needed

An article about morality and 'terrorism'

Chris Floyd has written an article discussing the reaction to recent US government admissions.

http://www.chris-floyd.com/component/content/article/1-latest-news/2251-unspeakable-things-the-liberals-clumsy-dance-across-obamas-killing-floor.html

Pogo was right, so many years ago.

Judge Andrew Napolitano's concerns

Despite being a FOX News employee, the judge gets some things right:

http://original.antiwar.com/andrew-p-napolitano/2012/06/06/where-is-the-outrage/

A good defense of the rights of the individual vis a vis his government.

Selfish ain't bad if it's consistent with reality

Consider the arguments presented by Joseph Stiglitz in this article:

http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/2012/05/joseph-stiglitz-the-price-on-inequality

The filthy rich don't really need slave labour, they need affluent consumers to buy the stuff that they import from the third world.  Right now the rich are behaving like a snake that starts eating its own tail.  Eventually that behaviour will not help the snake.

Rational selfishness forces one to help out the others that exist in the same world as you do, if only for your own survival.

Obama and genocide

Here's another Glenn Greenwald article that brings out an important aspect of foreign policy that needs to be acknowledged:

http://www.salon.com/2012/05/29/obama_the_warrior/singleton/

How long will it take the general populace to admit this, and then embrace it as its own?

Someone else noticed

... that there are war criminals in high places out there:

http://www.politicususa.com/bush-cheney-war-crimes.html

It's interesting to note that there was an effort to get these war crimes trials going in Canada, but that the Canadian government effectively prevented them from happening.  Another moment of infamy and complacence in which all Canadians may bask.

Why do so many people get all wrapped up in fetus rights when there are so many egregious examples of fully mature humans being savaged by our actions (and inaction) in the middle east?  Can we all spell 'hypocrisy'?  How about 'self-deception' and 'self-contradictory behaviour'?  We surely wouldn't want our rulers to be inconvenienced by having to obey our laws and treaties, would we?

Rational Behaviour in a foreign land

It seems that Malaysia has not forgotten all the lessons that the English Empire tried to impress on it during its colonial status, at least the bits about the supposed underpinnings of Western morality, governance and warfare:

http://www.foreignpolicyjournal.com/2012/05/12/bush-convicted-of-war-crimes-in-absentia/

Maybe there is some hope for our future.

Obama gets rationalized by Tom Englehardt

Here's an interesting read on the path to today's Obama:

http://original.antiwar.com/engelhardt/2012/04/29/the-obama-contradiction/

Not much hope for true freedom or privacy in the near future, is there?

Privacy issues

... are they to become a thing of the past in Britain (and elsewhere)?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/apr/03/privacy-state-snooping-true-democracy

Oh, look! Al Jazeera has a little exposé for us:

http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2012/04/20124518519786175.html


Coming soon to your neighbourhood!

End of an era ...

Privacy - what's 'dat?

http://original.antiwar.com/jwhitehead/2012/03/27/everybodys-a-target-in-the-american-surveillance-state/

By any definition, the 9/11 attacks have been 100% effective in causing the destruction of the American constitutional democracy. Interestingly enough, it has been the American government itself which decided to do all the dirty work which killed off the freedoms that were intended to be enshrined in the US Constitution. The expression "They hate us for our freedoms" no longer has any validity.

It's just as if a hockey team decided to shoot the puck at its own goal.

My Alma Mater makes the news ...

... in a manner that makes me wanna puke:

http://www.care2.com/causes/climate-denier-teaches-university-climate-science-course.html

I sure am glad I don't donate money to the alumni fund at this place.

Another overview of the decline of our western civilization

I realize this is all depressing, but every so often it is worthwhile to examine what has actually happened in our world during our lifetime. There is indeed a concerted campaign to destroy our liberal constitutional democratic way of life and, as of now, any legal impediments that would prevent an absolute dictator are gone.

We no longer have intrinsic rights as individuals against our government's decrees.

http://www.truth-out.org/scorched-earth-politics-americas-four-fundamentalisms/1330979344

Have a nice day!

An overview of our situation

Jonathan Turley offers up a good summary of why the western world is sinking into totalitarianism, even if the politicians deny it:

http://jonathanturley.org/2012/01/15/10-reasons-the-u-s-is-no-longer-the-land-of-the-free/

US Attorney-General Holder's recent speech defending the government's right to murder it's citizens without any recourse to the public justice system is just another example of the thug rationalizing his crimes in pretty words. Here's another analysis of Holder's comments:

http://www.progressive.org/eric_holder_pathetic_rationale_for_assassinating_U.S_ctizens.html

It would be interesting to see this sort of linguistic claptrap used by a defendant in a murder trial. Do you suppose that "I thought he might have been able to help somebody hurt me." is now an acceptable excuse for killing someone you don't like?

Here's another look at private enterprise

This article really does ask the right questions and helps deal with the left vs right shibboleth that consumes so much of our political discussions these days.

http://theragblog.blogspot.com/2012/03/richard-razinkov-privatization-of.html

I am particularly impressed by the argument that there are certain activities within a society which should never be generating a profit for anyone, like prisons.

Here's another look at the meaning of 'free trade'

This makes you wonder whether making money really is the ultimate reason for living:

http://www.truth-out.org/free-trade-or-democracy-cant-have-both/1330792757

Eventually, ya gotta spend your dough. Most people choose to do so with other people, if there's any left around.

The State of The Culture

Here's a great summary of where our culture is these days, according to Phil Giraldi. Good food for thought (if anyone still remembers what that is):

http://original.antiwar.com/giraldi/2012/02/29/corruption-and-the-citizen-american-style/

Something I've suspected recently ...

Here's a theory about the sort of people who caused the recent financial meltdown. It makes sense to me.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-03/did-psychopaths-take-over-wall-street-asylum-commentary-by-william-cohan.html

The scary part is the same people are still in charge.

More on arbitrary imprisonment

More on the due-process-free actions of our governments:

http://www.salon.com/2012/02/20/khader_adnan_and_normalized_western_justice/singleton/

Where have all the values gone?

Habeus Corpus, a primer

Here's an article regarding two people being held at an American base, and how Habeus Corpus just might help them.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/13/opinion/prisoners-are-not-pawns.html?_r=1

This is only possible because Britain, unlike America, still pretends to believe in the efficacy of Habeus Corpus. It will be interesting to see if the British government will obey its own Court Of Appeal, or whether it will abrogate the rule of law in Britain, just as has been done in the United States.

Here's a good sign

This article indicates the influence of Noble Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunos, who started Grameen Bank, the first microbank, in 1983.

http://www.care2.com/care2blog/new-york-rolls-out-new-kind-of-corporation.html

I wish the effort all the best. This could be revolutionary if it caught on in a big way.

Canada's new image noticed abroad

Harper's Davos pronouncements are only part of what is being noticed about Canada's behaviour these days. Check this out:

http://www.truth-out.org/what-happened-canada/1327935024

I wonder if those who live in Canada would see things in the same light?

A musical interlude

Just to lighten things up for a bit, here's some videos of a concert I was involved in recently.

SRO, Unitarian Church Concert 20-Jan-2012
Set 1 v2 [55m22s] – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kf8R1Zbf98o

SRO, Unitarian Church Concert 20-Jan-2012
Set 2 v2 [57m55s] – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBvOH7EaZTE

Standing Room Only:

Little known facts for those curious about 'things'

John Pilger summarizes the accomplishments of our allies wrt encouraging democratic movements in foreign countries in this article:

http://original.antiwar.com/pilger/2012/01/19/the-world-war-on-democracy/

Isn't that a record that should be celebrated?

Hooray for our side!

What it's all about: money!!

Most people do not realize that money is primarily an exercise in faith by those using a currency. We all hope that those with whom we do business will accept the paper we hand them as the medium of exchange for what we actually want.

For most of the years after everyone gave up the gold standard, the American dollar has been the most accepted currency in the world. That may be about to change. I suggest reading through the following article from Pepe Escobar and Tom Englehardt which suggests a very intriguing possibility for our future:

http://original.antiwar.com/engelhardt/2012/01/17/sinking-the-petrodollar-in-the-persian-gulf/

This battle for the role of the world's pre-eminent currency has been used to explain many of the foreign policy adventures upon which the US and its allies have embarked in the last century. It's now looking as if the US dollar may be headed the way of the English pound and the Euro. Too many of the world's other inhabitants no longer have faith in it. Might be time to buy gold.

Here's another take on this subject:

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/NA20Ak02.html

Seems to make sense to me.